Missing information leads to misinformation.
Misinformation: False or inaccurate content shared by mistake, through poor understanding, or via accidental errors.
So many people have been taught to reject the seventh day Sabbath, as though it’s some kind of a curse when in reality, it’s a blessed and holy day. Many of these people have fallen into the trap of deception that has led to the great apostasy spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means, for that Day shall not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition.
The word “Apostasy” does not mean people stop believing in God, it means people stop believing and practicing something they use to believe and practice.
Apostasy: the formal or deliberate abandonment, rejection, or disaffiliation from a religious faith, cause, political party, or organization to which a person previously held a strong commitment.
The people of God were once following the Way, which meant their worship and what they believed was in accordance with the Torah and the Prophets until the “Lawless one” began deceiving the world.
Acts 24:14 I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a cult. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Torah and that is written in the Prophets.
When you believe in accordance with the Torah and the Prophets, it means how you worship and what you do lines up with the Torah and the Prophets according to the Way.
In accordance with: to follow, obey, or act in agreement with a rule, law, policy, instruction, or wish.
Following “The Way” points us to the Torah and the Prophets as the guild to righteousness, holiness and godliness, following the “Lawless one” leads us away from the Torah and the Prophets, which is what ushered in the “Apostasy” i.e. the church.
They say the church replaced Israel, which has led today’s church goers to abandon everything that God taught Isreal. Remember, God is using Isreal to be His light to the world, as a matter of fact, salvation itself comes through the Jews.
John 4:22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.
Missing information is one of the most powerful tools used to deceive people because it’s done by quoting the Bibe. People who don’t know the Bible or God’s plan are easily deceived by half quoted or misquoted verses because they don’t study.
Let me give you an example by using the word, sabbath.
The word “sabbath” means “rest”. God would declare a day to be a “sabbath” because the day represented something, so it was special to God and His people. There are many “sabbaths” in the Bible, for example, the seventh day Sabbath. The seventh day was declared a “Sabbath” because it marked God’s finished work of creation. There are also other “sabbaths” used as part of the sacrificial system and the Feast Days. For example, the Day of Atonement is a “Sabbath” the first day of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread is a “Sabbath”. All these sabbaths are part of the sacrificial system that was meant to teach us God’s plan in dealing with sin and restoring His fallen creation. The seventh day Sabbath is not part of the fallen creation in that it’s still a blessed and holy day, just as God created it.
The seventh day Sabbath was part of God’s perfect creation and is the memorial of that perfect creation, a creation that was free of sin and death, so it’s not part of the sacrificial system.
So many people don't know this because they don’t study, so when they are told that Colossians 2:16-17 is doing away with the seventh day Sabbath, they fall for it.
Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Remember, missing information leads to misinformation.
First of all, notice the word “sabbaths” in the above verse. There is an “S” after the word “sabbath” which means there is more than one. This is very telling. Now, when you read Colossians 2:16 I want you to pay close attention to the very first word “Therefore”. The word “Therefore” is telling us there is “Missing information”. The word “Therefore” is there because of what was said prior to Colossians 2:16-17. That missing information will tell you if the sabbaths in Colossians 2:16-17 is the seventh day Sabbath or one of the many “sabbaths” which were part of the sacrificial system and were shadows of how God was doing to deal with sin and restore His fallen creation through His Son. When you read the missing information you will hear it talking about how it’s through Christ that we have the forgiveness of sin, not through the shadows of the sacrificial system, which only pointed to the work of Christ. This is not talking about the seventh day Sabbath of creation. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons why the sacrificial system was enacted was because people were sinning by not keeping the seventh day Sabbath holy. Now, let’s go back and read the missing information, which led to the word “Therefore” being used, this will help clear up the deception caused by the “Apostasy”.
Colossians 2:13-17 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
When it says, “Do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths” it must be understood in light of the missing information. The missing information tells us they are all connected to the sacrificial system in dealing with sin. Notice the same list in Ezekiel 45:17 is all about dealing with sin.
Ezekiel 45:17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the new moons and the Sabbaths—at all the appointed festivals of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites.
This is not saying we can eat unclean animals, as a matter of fact, they would never use an unclean animal in the sacrifical system. It's also not saying that the Sabbath and New Moons of creation are no longer special times, what it is saying is that, theses things were being used in the sacrificial system as shadows, and since we have forgiveness of sin, as a reality, through Christ, and not through the shadows, don’t let anyone condemn you if, or how, you chose to celebrate or not celebrate the shadows because the real substance of the shadows is Messiah.
Do you want to honor them as a teaching resource to remember how and why Christ needed to die, that would be beautiful, but don’t let anyone CONDEMN YOU because you are not following the strict guidelines for observaning these things, as though you were still under that system or that there was some meritorious value in saving you by doing them the right way.
In conclusion, the seventh day Sabbath is still God’s holy and blessed day to be used to gather as a people to hear the word of God.
Acts 13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.
Notice in Matthew 24:19-20 how Messiah gave a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalam, which was to take place 40 years after His resurrection, and He was still confirming the Sabbath.
Matthew 24:19-20 And woe to pregnant women and to those with babies in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter, or on the Sabbath.
Regarding unclean animals, if we willfully and knowingly eat unclean animals we will be unclean and unfit to inherit the Kingdom of God.
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
Ephesians 5:5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Notice what happens to those at the second coming, who secretly and knowingly eat unclean animals.
Isaiah 66:15-17 For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge the world; and the slain of the Lord shall be many. Those who worship idols that are hidden behind a tree in the garden, feasting there on pork and mouse and all forbidden meat— shall be consumed together,” says the Lord.
Holiness, as defined by God, is still holy and the calling to His people is still to be holy as He is holy, which only comes through obedience to His holy ways.
1 Peter 1:14-16 So, you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
Hebrews 12:14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Living a holy life is not hard, it’s just different.
Amen...