Which Day is the Sabbath?

A basic meaning of the Hebrew word, sabbath, is "rest". Jesus promised a deep, spiritual rest to all who would come to him for it, when he said: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST" (Mat.11:28). Using the tongue of the prophet Isaiah, God foretold of this spiritual rest with these remarkable words: "For with stammering lips and another tongues will he speak to this people. To whom he said, THIS IS THE REST, wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear" (Isa.28:11-12). Approximately 120 men and women were blessed with this heavenly rest when it was first poured out on the Day of Pentecost.

The "sabbath" is not a day of the week any longer. God gave Moses prophetic "symbols" to Israel, of which the sabbath was one. The weekly sabbath day was only one of many days of rest which God commanded the Old Testament Israel to keep. The first and the last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were sabbath days, regardless of the day of the week they fell on. The day called in the New Testament, "Pentecost", was a sabbath day. The 1st, 10th, 15th, and 22nd days of the seventh month were sabbath days. Moreover, every seventh year the fields were to be given an entire year of rest from tillage, and every 50th year (the sabbath year of Jubilee), debts were to be forgiven and inheritances to be restored to their original owners. This was the ultimate prophetic sabbath in Israel. Although these laws were never observed as carefully by Israel as they should have been, they were given to represent the blessing of the Spirit, which would bring us peace and rest from the confusion and despair of this mad world.

In the book of Hebrews the symbols and ceremonies of the Law were called "types" and "figures for the time present". Paul called the ceremonial holy days and sabbaths of the Law "a shadow of things to come" (Col.2:16-17). And what wonderful things have come! The body of Christ, prophesied as "a nation born in a day", and the fellowship of "just men made perfect", the "access to the Father", and the "hope that entereth into that within the veil". We are blessed beyond expression to be in this covenant with God through Christ Jesus. It is, as Peter said, "joy unspeakable and full of glory".

Referring to Isaiah's prophecy which we read in our opening comments as a "rest from sin", Paul wrote, "Brethren, be not children in understanding. Howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be ye men. In the law it is written, `With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that they will not hear me, saith the Lord.' Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not..." (1Cor.14:20-22). Yes, speaking in tongues is a sign to those seeking to know God - for those seeking a true "rest". It is a sign to those who are living in sin and tired of it. It is a sign for those in the midst of religion, but living in condemnation. It is a sign of those practicing sabbaths and other ceremonies, yet still hungry to observe a "true sabbath" that will bless their souls. Tongues are a sign from God, a sign where to find peace, joy, and forgiveness of sins. My friend, if you want to find God's "rest", follow the sign He gave: tongues.

Yet this present life in the Spirit, so rich and so free, is itself another "foretaste" of things which "God has prepared for those who love Him". This wonderful life in the Spirit, so great as to be prophesied about, is itself just a foretaste of the glory and joy which await those who are faithful to Christ Jesus. The Spirit continually directs our footsteps toward the great Day of Rest, the thousand-year reign of Christ on this earth, when the redeemed of all the ages will be resurrected with bright, immortal bodies that shine as the stars, and are given authority over the nations to "reign with Christ a thousand years" (Rev.20:4). One can only imagine the joy that will fill the hearts of the children of God as they work not only for Christ, but with Christ on this earth! "There remaineth therefore a rest unto the people of God...Let us therefore labor to enter into that rest, lest we fall after [Israel's] example of unbelief" (Heb.4:9, 11).

There will be no more wickedness on the new earth, no rebellion, no fear or pain. All will be utmost peace and joy: "Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness". This eternity of restful joy on a new, undefiled earth is The True Sabbath, to which all other sabbaths point us. The Old Covenant sabbath days and years are not to be observed in our day, except "in spirit and in truth". Our "sabbath" is the holy Ghost baptism, and life in the Spirit. It is heavenly and wonderful. But all sabbaths are ever- greater foretastes of life in this new universe which God has created for His people. God will freely give this life to every soul who receives the Spirit (the baptism of the holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues), and then obediently walks in the Spirit now, in this present world.