Understanding God’s Laws

What is the purpose of the Law?

Why did the LORD give His people the law? Was His intention to restrict us from enjoying life? Was His intention to bring us to some sort of slavery? Was God selfish? Let us take a closer look at this topic.

Let us consider our own world today or our own country where you dwell to find the answer to this very important question. Every kingdom operates based on a set of laws. Every country operates on a set of laws. For example, most countries have constitutions by which it is governed. A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a country is governed. It serves as the supreme law of the land, providing the framework for the structure of government, the distribution of powers, and the rights and duties of the citizens. They typically outline the political, legal, and social structures of the entity they govern. When an individual violates a constitution, the consequences can vary depending on the severity of the violation.

The same is applied to God’s kingdom. God has established a set of laws by which it operates. The violation of those laws is called “Lawlessness”. Unfortunately, many Christians today are of the view that there are no laws that we must follow. They are very quick to condemn the laws of God as invalid and not applicable to us today. But it will do us a lot of good if we understand the purpose of the Law and how it operates before we condemn the law and consider it invalid and not applicable. Here are some verses outlining the purpose of the law:

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess. So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise people.”
Deuteronomy 4:9-10 Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren. You stood before the LORD your God at Horeb and he said to me, “Assemble the people before me so that I can tell them my commands. Then they will learn to revere me all the days they live in the land, and they will instruct their children.”
Matthew 5:17-21: Jesus states that the Torah (Scripture) functions as the guideline for the lifestyle of His disciples, to which obedience and/or disobedience will determine our future status in the Kingdom. Torah (Scripture) demonstrates lifestyle for disciples of Jesus.
Romans 7:7: Paul states that the Torah (Scripture) teaches us what sin is. Torah (Scripture) instructs us on what is clean and unclean, right and wrong, good and evil, what causes death and what brings life.
Luke 24:44 & John 5:39, 46: Jesus stated explicitly that Torah (Scripture) taught about Him. Torah (Scripture) teaches us about the Messiah and His role in redemption.
Romans 5:20: Paul states that the Torah (Scripture) was given to cause offenses (sin) to increase. Torah (Scripture) has the ability to cause sinfulness to increase in certain people.

Remember God saved Israel FIRST by His Grace and then AFTERWARDS gave those His Teachings or His Torah (Scripture), not vice versa. He NEVER gave them the Law first and then said “Obey this to be saved”. The Torah (Scripture) is not efficacious for atonement, because that wasn’t the purpose of the Torah (Scripture). So while the Christians may be right in criticizing the idea that TORAH (SCRIPTURE) observance cannot save, where they are DEAD WRONG is in thinking that the Old Testament actually really taught that TORAH (SCRIPTURE) observance was a means of salvation. The purpose of the law is to teach us the difference between good and evil from God’s perspective. It teaches us how to live a life that results in peace with God. The Law is a guide that puts us on the path to righteous living.

Psalms 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers). But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

We must ask ourselves a question! Should there be a difference between the lifestyle you led before and after being born again? Of course, there should be a huge difference in how you live your life after being born again, right? That is where the law comes into the picture.

Salvation is by God’s Grace to be completed by Messiah and Torah (Scripture) observance is how we live our lives AFTER we are saved.

We have to remember; that during the end of the age, only those who obeyed the commandments of God will go into the kingdom. The judgements are carried out based on these laws.

Revelation 2:26 And to the one who conquers and who continues in my deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the nations –

Revelation 12:17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children (seed), those who keep and obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [holding firmly to it and bearing witness to Him].

Revelation 14:12 This requires the steadfast endurance of the saints – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus.

Who Changed the Sabbath from the 7th Day to the 1st Day?

This is a question we never even think about asking today. Because it has been for centuries that we as a Church gather on Sundays. As part of our research and study, we thought it would be worth the time to consider what the “Convert’s Catechism” says about this matter. Now, what is “Convert’s Catechism”, you might ask. The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine has been in demand for many years. It contains the often-quoted questions and answers regarding why the change of solemnity was made from Saturday to Sunday. It documents the fact that the Catholic Church made the change. Here are some of the questions and answers found in this book.

What day is the Sabbath day?

Saturday is the Sabbath day.

Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.

Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?

The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.

By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?

The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.

What does the Third Commandment command?

The Third Commandment commands us to sanctify Sunday as the Lord’s Day.

As we see Catholic Church is pretty honest about their part in changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.

The following are some quotes from Catholic scholars attesting to this:

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does NOT support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.”-Priest Brady in an address reported in the Ness, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.

“Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. From beginning to end of Scripture, there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.” –Catholic Press, Sydney Australia, August 1900.

“All of us believe many things in regard to religion that we do not find in the Bible. For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today, most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the (Roman Catholic) church outside the Bible.”-Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947 article “To Tell You the Truth.

“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic church alone. The Bible says ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy’. The Catholic Church says: ‘No! By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. ‘ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic church.”-Father T. Enright, C.S.S.R of the Redemptoral College, Kansas City, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884 printed in History of the Sabbath pg. 802.

“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the church ever did, happened in the first century. The Holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The Day of the Lord’ was chosen not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the (Catholic) church’s sense of its own power. People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th day adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” –St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.

“It was the Catholic church which…has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church.” –Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About The Protestantism of Today, p. 213.

“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” –Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, Article: “To Tell You the Truth.”

“Most Christians assume that Sunday is the biblically approved day of worship. The Catholic church protests that it transferred Christian worship from the biblical Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday, and that to try to argue that the change was made in the Bible is both dishonest and a denial of Catholic authority. If Protestantism wants to base its teaching only on the Bible, it should worship on Saturday.”-Rome’s Challenge, www.immaculateheart.com/maryonline Dec 2003.

“Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable for holy days. The (Roman Catholic) Church chose Sunday, the 1st day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days.” –John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, 1936 edition Vol. 1, pg. 51.

“Unquestionably, the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by which the sabbatical observance of Sunday is known to have been ordained is the Sabbatical edict of Constantine, AD 321.- Chambers Encyclopedia, Article “Sunday”.

“Where are we told in Scripture that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh, but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day. The reason why we keep the 1st day of the week holy instead of the 7th is for the same reason that we observe many other things. Not because of the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it.”-Isaac William, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, Vol.1, pp. 336, 338.

“… you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” –The Faith of Our Fathers, by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, 88th edition, page 89. Originally published in 1876, republished and Copyright 1980 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 72-73.

“But since Saturday, NOT Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn’t it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible and not from the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday?”-Father John A. O’Brien, The Faith of Millions, pp. 400-401.

“The [Roman Catholic] Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.” –The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4.

The following is what Constantine’s law required of the people… “Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by Heaven.”

Not long after Constantine’s first Sunday Law of A.D. 321, the Roman church made it official church doctrine by declaring it was a ‘Jewish day’. This church doctrine demanded all Christians to break Commandment #4 by working on Sabbath. “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [in the original: sabbato, shall not be idle on the Sabbath], but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour, and as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out [anathema — excommunicated] from Christ.” Council of Laodicea, c. A.D. 337, Canon 29, quoted in C.J. Hefele’s A History of the Councils of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 316. – Also in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1899 Edition, Vol. XXIII, page 654.

“The Sun was a foremost god with heathen-dom…The sun has worshippers at this hour in Persia and other lands…. There is, in truth, something royal, kingly about the sun, making it a fit emblem of Jesus, the Sun of Justice. Hence the church in these countries would seem to have said, to ‘Keep that old pagan name [Sunday]. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.’ And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus.” –William Gildea, Doctor of Divinity, The Catholic World, March, 1894, p. 809.

“The retention of the old pagan name of Dies Solis, for Sunday is, in a great measure, owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects – pagan and Christian alike – as the ‘venerable’ day of the sun.” –Arthur P. Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, p. 184.

“When St. Paul repudiated the works of the law, he was not thinking of the Ten Commandments, which are as unchangeable as God Himself is, which God could not change and still remain the infinitely holy God.”-Our Sunday Visitor, Oct. 7, I951.

There are just a few things to chew on. The Sabbath was changed by the Roman Catholic Church 300 years after Christ’s death and resurrection. Do you think that all of the other Sunday keeping churches realize they are practicing a major change or doctrine of the Catholic church by observing Sunday as the Sabbath?

“If Protestants would follow the Bible, they would worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church.” –Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal, in a letter dated February 10, 1920.

“The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church.” –Monsignor Louis Segur, “Plain Talk about the Protestantism of Today”, p. 213.

What Important Question Does the Papacy Ask Protestants?

Protestants have repeatedly asked the papacy, “How could you dare to change God’s law?” But the question posed to Protestants by the Catholic Church is even more penetrating.

“You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! but by whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said, Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day, who shall dare to say, Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on the seventh day; but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead? This is a most important question, which I know not how you can answer. You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments; you believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered.” –Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don’t You Keep Holy the Sabbath-Day? (London: Burns and Oates, Ltd.), pp. 3, 4.

“There is but one church on the face of the earth which has the power, or claims power, to make laws binding on the conscience, binding before God, binding under penalty of hell-fire. For instance, the institution of Sunday. What right has any other church to keep this day? You answer by virtue of the third commandment (the papacy did away with the 2nd regarding the worship of graven images, and called the 4th the 3rd), which says ‘Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.’ But Sunday is not the Sabbath. Any schoolboy knows that Sunday is the first day of the week. I have repeatedly offered one thousand dollars to anyone who will prove by the Bible alone that Sunday is the day we are bound to keep, and no one has called for the money. It was the holy Catholic Church that changed the day of rest from Saturday, the seventh day, to Sunday, the first day of the week.” – T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture delivered in 1893.

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.” –C. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath, November 11, 1895.

“Tradition, not Scripture, is the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built.” –Adrien Nampon, Catholic Doctrine as Defined by the Council of Trent, p. 157.

“If we consulted the Bible only, we should still have to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is, Saturday, with the Jews, instead of Sunday; …” –A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, by Rev. John Laux M.A., Benzinger Brothers, 1936 edition, Part 1.

“The Sabbath was Saturday, not Sunday. The Church altered the observance of the Sabbath to the observance of Sunday. Protestants must be rather puzzled by the keeping of Sunday when God distinctly said, ‘Keep holy the Sabbath Day.’ The word Sunday does not come anywhere in the Bible, so, without knowing it they are obeying the authority of the Catholic Church.” –Canon Cafferata, The Catechism Explained, p. 89.

I think this is the greatest deception that happened to the church today. We blatantly disobey the commandments of the Lord.

James 2:10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Did the early church keep the 7th day Biblical Sabbath?

This is a question many Christians ask today, isn’t it? Teachers of our age are quick to conclude this topic, most likely dismantling the truth with their own coined doctrines. It has been over 1900 years since our early Christian fathers walked on this planet. Many things have changed over time. As a matter of fact, we have lost the understanding of what our fathers observed and understood when they walked with Yeshua and when they sat under the leadership of the early disciples of Yeshua. This happens in every generation.

Here is an example to explain what we are talking about here:

Judges 2: 10 That entire generation passed away; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the LORD’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel.

Here is the background of this verse! The Children of Israel under the leadership of Joshua entered the Promised Land. They are working on possessing the land with the help of Joshua’s leadership and others. Now, Joshua and his contemporaries are getting old. These people were strong in their faith having experienced firsthand the wonder-working power of God. They have heard from their fathers what the Lord has done to them in Egypt. And they have experienced God in a very personal manner during the 40 years of wilderness journey. They have a huge influence on the people and therefore as verse 7 says “The people worshiped the LORD throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.” Now, when we come to verse 10, it says “; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the LORD’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel”. The new generation lost touch with the reality that their very existence is a miracle. They lost the understanding of the laws of God and what it means to please God. They lost the enthusiasm to follow God and will a miracle in their lives like Joshua and others did. What was the result; they turned to other gods and did what was displeasing to God. They failed to expel the Canaanites from their midst as commanded by God. Instead, they compromised and disobeyed God. And the consequences are being reaped even today.

My point is this. This is what happened over the centuries after the generations have passed since the disciples walked on the planet. People lost their understanding. People their enthusiasm. People neglected to follow the commandments of God. They began to twist and turn the word of God the way it fits their agenda. They came up with their interpretation of the scripture and compromised the word of God to accommodate the social, economic and political norms of their age. The subsequent generation did even worse. Now, after 1900 years, we have set doctrines that are far away from the reality of what God intended for us. This is only human. But we never question our understanding of the Scripture. We do not consider the Old Testament principles to be relevant to our lives today. We have a church system that comes with its doctrines that fit our lives today. I believe that the teaching of the relevance and the importance of the Sabbath is one of those good examples.

What is the evidence that the early church kept the 7th day Biblical Sabbath? Here are some of the statements from our early fathers for us to consider.

“Declares (Philo) the seventh day to be a festival, not of this or of that city, but of the universe.” M’Clatchie, “Notes and Queries,” Vol. 4, 99.

“The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted but they derived this practice from the apostles themselves, as appears by several Scriptures to that purpose.” Dialogue on the Lord’s Day, p. 189. London: 1701. By Dr. T.H. Morer (Church of England divine).

“…The Sabbath was a strong tie which united them with the life of the whole people, and in keeping the Sabbath holy they followed not only the example but also the command of Jesus.” “Geschichte des Sonntags,” pp.13, 14

“The primitive Christians did keep the Sabbath of the Jews;…therefore the Christians, for a long time together, did keep their conventions upon the Sabbath, in which some portions of the law were read: and this continued till the time of the Laodicean council.” “The Whole Works” of Jeremy Taylor, Vol. IX,p. 416 (R. Heber’s Edition, Vol XII, p. 416).

“The ancient Christians were very careful in the observation of Saturday, or the seventh day. It is plain that all the Oriental churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as a festival. Athanasius tells us that they held religious assemblies on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. Epiphanius says the same.” Antiquities of the Christian Church, Vol. II. Book XX, chap 3, Sec. 1 66.1137, 1138.

“It is certain that the ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed (together with the celebration of the Lord’s day) by the Christians of the East Church, above three hundred years after our Saviour’s death.” “A Learned Treatise of the Sabbath,” p. 77

Note: By the “Lord’s day” here the writer means Sunday and not the true Sabbath,” which the Bible says is the Sabbath. This quotation shows Sunday coming into use in the early centuries soon after the death of the Apostles. Paul the Apostle foretold a great “falling away” from the Truth that would take place soon after his death.

“From the apostles’ time until the council of Laodicea, which was about the year 364, the holy observance of the Jews’ Sabbath continued, as may be proved out of many authors: yea, notwithstanding the decree of the council against it.” “Sunday a Sabbath.” John Ley, p.163. London: 1640.

“The people of Constantinople and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria.” Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, chap. 19.

The observance of God’s true Biblical Sabbath did NOT end with the apostles and the early church. It was practiced and continues to be practiced by those believers who recognize and understand the importance of OBEDIENCE to God’s commandments.

And here are some choice excerpts substantiating that punishment was meted out to those who refused to change their practice of Sabbath observance or to recognize the “Sunday law” being promoted in the majority of the gentile Christian world.

“Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s Day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ.” Catholic Church Council in Laodicea, 364AD, Canon 29.

“We are informed that some people in different districts of the kingdom, have adopted and observed Saturday-keeping. It is severely forbidden – in holy church canon – one and all to observe days excepting those which the holy Pope, archbishop, or the bishops command. Saturday-keeping must under no circumstances be permitted hereafter further than the church canon commands. Therefore, we counsel all the friends of God throughout all Norway who want to be obedient towards the holy church to let this evil of Saturday-keeping alone; and the rest we forbid under penalty of severe church punishment to keep Saturday holy.” Catholic Provincial Council at Bergen. 1435 Dip. Norveg., 7, 397.

Holland and Germany: Babara of Thiers, who was executed in 1529, declared: “God has commanded us to rest on the seventh day.” Martyrology of the Churches of Christ, commonly called Baptists, during the era of the Reformation, from the Dutch of T.J. Van Braght, London 1850, 1, pp. 113-114.

Russia: “The accused (Sabbath-keepers) were summoned; they openly acknowledged the new faith, and defended the same. The most eminent of them, the secretary of state, Kuritzyn, Ivan Maximow, Kassian, archimandrite of the Jury Monastery of Novgorod, were condemned to death, and burned publicly in cages, at Moscow, Dec. 27, 1503.”( Council, Moscow, 1503). H. Sternberf, Geschichte der Juden (Leipzig, 1873), pp. 117-122.

Sweden: “This zeal for Saturday-keeping continued for a long time; even little things which might strengthen the practice of keeping Saturday were punished.” Bishop Anjou, Svenska Kirkans Historia efter Motet i Upsala.

Europe: About the year 1520, many of these Sabbath-keepers found shelter on the estate of Lord Leonhardt of Lichtensein, “as the princes of Lichtenstein held to the observance of the true Sabbath.” History of the Sabbath, J.N. Andrews, p. 649, ed.

Rumania (1760): “Joseph II’s edict of tolerance did not apply to the Sabbatarians, some of whom again lost all of their possessions.” Jahrgang 2, 254.

Bohemia and Moravia: “The condition of the Sabbatarians (from 1635 to 1867) was dreadful. Their books and writings had to be delivered to the Karlsburg Consistory to become the spoil of flames.” Adolf Dux, Aus Ungarn, pp. 289-291. Leipzig, 1880.

As believers in God, wishing to honour God with our lives, if there is one thing that matters to our lives today it is to take a painful exploration of what God has said in His word and follow them. Because the end of the day as far as eternity is concerned is the deciding factor. Nothing else matters. Don’t be a lawbreaker!

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’

‘THE’ Sabbath VS ‘A’ Sabbath In Scripture

Most people do not pay attention to the significance of the Sabbath let alone the difference between ‘THE’ Sabbath and ‘A’ Sabbath. Average Christians do not even care because for them because according to them it does not matter anymore. Yeshua abolished it all! Taking that attitude only brings us a disadvantage in understanding the scripture properly, especially the New Testament. As far as a Jewish person is concerned they well understand this difference. Remember, the entire scripture is written by the Jewish people and for the Jewish people.

Now, in Hebrew, Sabbath literally means “rest” or “cessation”. The word “Sabbath” didn’t really so much mean “to rest” as it meant “to cease”. The idea was to cease doing one’s regular work or chores. This didn’t mean you couldn’t go outside for a nice walk or spend time playing with your children or grandchildren.

As stated, there are two types of Sabbath in the Scripture namely ‘THE’ Sabbath and ‘A’ Sabbath. What is the difference?

The first one is the weekly 7th Day Sabbath. This is established at the creation. Traditionally speaking, the Sabbath prohibited any activities connected to lighting a fire hearkening back to the time when God had a man executed for gathering sticks to start a fire. This is the ‘THE’ Sabbath!

The second type of Sabbath is Special Sabbath Days attached to the Feasts. This is different from the fixed weekly 7th Day Sabbath. The requirements on these Sabbath days varied depending on which feast it was attached to. This is the ‘A’ Sabbath!

For example one of the primary reasons the first day of a Biblical Feast was made a Sabbath was so there could be time put aside to prepare for all that had to be done before a given feast officially began. On ‘A’ Sabbath, all forms of work were NOT necessarily prohibited. Women were allowed to cook and men were allowed to gather sticks for fire, etcetera. Regular work was to stop but work connected to the Biblical Feast preparations was fine.

The 7th day Sabbath was for man’s physical and spiritual rejuvenation and to mimic God’s cessation from the work of His creation. The ‘A’ Sabbath was to give the Israelites a block of time for the feast preparations.

Now, here is something we need to pay attention to about ‘THE’ Sabbath! Let us read from the Book of Leviticus.

Leviticus 23:3 Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for Adonai, even in your homes.

Referring to the 7^th day Sabbath Leviticus 23:3 says “it is a Shabbat for Adonai” or “it is the sabbath of the LORD”. The Hebrew grammar being used here is the possessive form of the word. Hence, this would make the Sabbath the Lord’s possession! It means the Sabbath belongs to the LORD. And that means the Sabbath is the Lord’s HOLY property. And we’ve learned what happens when one trespass on God’s HOLY property. It results in death!

Remember, the word ‘THE’ Sabbath refers to that one and only unique once per week 7th day of rest that God gave to all mankind not just the Jewish people! Another most important point and key difference between these special Festival Sabbath days and the 7th Day Sabbath was that the 7th Day Sabbath was fixed and firm. It never changed. Whereas, the festival Sabbath days were subjected to an allowable degree of moderation depending upon the type of preparations needed for whatever Biblical feast it was attached to.

Like the Jewish people, it is important that we recognize whether we are dealing with a special Feast Sabbath or the regular weekly 7th Day Sabbath when studying Scripture or else you’ll get super confused on the timing of certain events, especially in the New Testament.

In the Book of Mark Yeshua said:

Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, “Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat;

It simply means God ordained the Sabbath for the benefit of the people to honour their creator and prosper. It does not mean to say you can define any day as your Sabbath and do anything you want with that. This is an inaccurate teaching!

‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy’

In the Book of Exodus God required Israel to observe the Sabbath. It was also part of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Israel.

Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the day, Sabbath, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Sabbath, and separated it for himself.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Observe the day of Sabbath, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your God ordered you to do. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Adonai your God. On it you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property — so that your male and female servants can rest just as you do. You are to remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your God brought you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Sabbath.

Now, the command to remember the Sabbath day is the Fourth commandment. And this has become one of the controversial commandments of the Christian Churches today. There is tension between the Messianic Churches and the Gentile Churches on this very topic.

While Gentile Churches accept the Ten Commandments, they conveniently ignore the Fourth Commandment stating it does not apply to them any longer. They would say Messiah or Christ is their Sabbath. Or they will say Messiah or Christ fulfilled the Sabbath. If you question them asking what this means they will find it hard to really justify their argument.

They will hang it in their churches and homes and consider are the foundational building blocks of their faith. Yet they totally ignore this command to honour and set it apart for God. In fact, if they have any power and authority to remove or alter any of the Ten Commandments, without a doubt they will erase this commandment from the list of Ten Commandments. As a matter of fact, the Roman Catholic Church did that already. They did not erase it but altered it. And it remains altered to this very day.

There is another argument that many Christians will give. They will say the original Sabbath has been transferred to Sunday, the 1st day of the week, to honour the resurrection of Yeshua. They call this the Lord’s Day. Sunday has become the new Sabbath day. The Seventh day Sabbath day has been replaced by the First day Lord’s Day.

However, there is a big problem with this. While there is nothing wrong with meeting and worshipping on the 1st day of the week, or any other day of the week for that matter. The Lord’s Day is simply NOT the Sabbath as defined by God in Holy Scripture. It was the LORD who established the Seventh Day as the Sabbath. It was not established by any man. If there is one day that the LORD called by name that was the Seventh Day, Sabbath. All the rest of the days are known by their number. So understand that the Sabbath day was ordained by the LORD Himself. Man has no authority to change that.

As a matter of fact, there is not one scholar or theologian who would disagree with the fact that the LORD has never replaced the Seventh Day Sabbath with the First Day Lord’s Day. Church doctrine 100% agrees that the Biblical Sabbath, which is the 7th day, is absolutely NOT the Lord’s Day, which is the 1st day of the week.

So the question is, does the Sabbath observance for the Gentile church or not? The answer is absolutely, YES! All believers must honour and set that day apart for God. Yeshua did not abolish or replace the Sabbath day, nor Apostle Paul or any other disciples. They both honoured the Sabbath day.

If you, as a Christian revere all of the Ten Commandments, you are saying you revere the Forth Commandment, yet you are not keeping the 4th Word of God, found yourself violating all of the commandments. Instead, you are following an edict that has a Catholic origin. That’s right. All of the modern Protestant denominations have been following Catholic edicts all of their church lives but many just are not aware of it.

To conclude, what is the LORD asking of you here from the above verses?

He is asking you to remember the day, Sabbath, to set it apart for God as a Holy Day.
He is asking you to consider the seventh day as a Sabbath for Adonai your God.
He has blessed the day, Sabbath, and separated it for himself. Therefore Adonai your God has ordered you to keep the day of Sabbath.

It is a time of weekly reflection on how God has delivered you from slavery, slavery of Sin and Death. As far as Israel is concerned they were slaves in Egypt and God has delivered them from their slavery. As far as Christians are concerned, the LORD has delivered us from the slavery of Sin and Death. We have been grafted into the covenant that God has for Israel. The covenant comes with all the laws and ordinances applicable to Israel. Make no bones about it.

Did Paul ever contradict the teachings of Yeshua?

What did Yeshua say about the Law? We read his remarks below:

Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

According to Yeshua, He clearly said that he came not to “abolish” but to “fulfill” the Law and the writing of the Prophets. The question is what does it mean by saying fulfill them? The word “fulfill” does NOT mean to “finish” but to “complete”. The Greek word is “plēroō “, which means to “fill up” or “to accomplish”. For example, if you want your empty glass refilled with water, “pleroo” would be the appropriate word to tell a waitress at a restaurant. It literally means to fill up. When you ask your waitress to fill up your glass with water, you’re not asking her to terminate or put an end to your glass, are you? In the same sense, Jesus came to fill the Law with meaning and bring its meaning to its fullest purpose. We as the followers of Yeshua emulate Him, doing what He did, walking in obedience to the Laws of God.

2 John 1:6 Moreover, love is this: that we should live according to his commands. This is the command, as you people have heard from the beginning; live by it! (CJB)

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands; (CJB)

Besides, Yeshua went on to say that “…until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place…”. The last time I looked up the sky the Heaven and the Earth were intact. So, that did not happen to terminate the Law. As a matter of fact, Yeshua ends with a strong warning “…So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” You do not want yourself found wanting when we get into the Kingdom one day.

If we are of the opinion that the law is done away with, optional or can be changed, we would have to come to the conclusion that Paul contradicted Jesus. If that’s the case, Paul overrides the teaching of Yeshua. And that cannot be true or Paul did not contradict Jesus’s teachings. On the other hand, Paul faithfully observed the law all through his life. Can you see how ridiculous it is to have Jesus say that the Law will never be changed or abolished and then have Paul turn right around and say the opposite?

Did Paul ever break God’s Law?

Many Christian churches and Pastors teach that Paul never kept the law ever since his miraculous conversion in the book of Acts Chapter 9. Is this really true or was it taught to fit their narration against the application of the Laws of God even today, which the church conveniently rejects? But that is not what we see in the scripture.

The problem is, if Paul, for example, actually taught that the Sabbath was done away with, or that God’s eternal commands concerning the Sabbath are no longer valid, then he has disobeyed Jewish Law and disregarded the very sign that God gave to Israel in the Mosaic Covenant. So did Paul ever break Jewish Law or say that parts of it were now done away with? Let’s take a look at some New Testament verses.

Acts 25:8 Paul said in his defense, “I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.“

Acts 28:17 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans.

The above Scriptures make it clear that NOT ONLY did the Apostle Paul NOT go against the Law (Torah) but that he also kept the “traditions of our fathers”, meaning that he scrupulously adhered to the Jewish oral law traditions.

This includes all the 613 laws, all the ordained feasts and the Sabbaths. Remember, Sabbath observance was the very center of Jewish Law and life. If Paul was running around telling people that it was okay to stop observing the Sabbath or the Biblically ordained feasts, he would have been committing a very serious offence against Jewish Law. This is like Paul writing his death penalty.

Is God’s Law a Curse?

In the Book of Galatians Paul wrote as follows:

Galatians 3:10-13 For everyone who depends on legalistic observance of Torah commands lives under a curse, since it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the Scroll of the Torah.” Now it is evident that no one comes to be declared righteous by God through legalism, since “The person who is righteous will attain life by trusting and being faithful.” Furthermore, legalism is not based on trusting and being faithful, but on [a misuse of] the text that says, “Anyone who does these things will attain life through them.” The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by becoming cursed on our behalf; for the Tanakh says, “Everyone who hangs from a stake comes under a curse.” (CJB)

Reading the above verses, some tend to jump to the conclusion that whoever obeys “God’s Law” is “under a curse” and that the “Law is a curse”. Is this an accurate conclusion? Of course not! It was never implied in the text at all. Obeying the law because you love God will turn out to be a blessing for you, not a curse. Apostle Paul is quoting the Torah here:

Deuteronomy 27:26 ‘A curse on anyone who does not confirm the words of this Torah by putting them into practice.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’

The Torah itself, anticipating that people will fall short of complete obedience and thereby go out of fellowship with God, states what those who disobey Torah commands must do in order to restore such fellowship — they must repent, and sometimes they must bring a prescribed sacrifice. And at times there are no sacrifices available to bring to God to restore your relationship with God. How? Because there are no sacrifices for intentional sins. King David provides a good example, of that. King David committed adultery and murder. Both were highhanded and intentional sins. There is no provision for forgiveness according to the Torah. Nevertheless, God forgave him after he repented.

So what is Paul addressing in the Galatians 3? Paul is addressing the legalistic observance of the Torah. You cannot fool God by your legalism, for God sees your heart. God wants you to be trusting and being faithful to Him. That comes from loving Him with all your mind and strength.

Legalism is the exact opposite of trust. Galatians 3:11 assumes this, but Galatians 3:12 proves it. For example, the thought that anyone who mechanically follows the rules for Shabbat, or the commandments, will attain life through them, will be saved, will enter the Kingdom of God, will obtain eternal life and no need to trust God, just obey the rules! This is legalism. You may be able to do things outwardly, but your heart is far away from God. Your intentions are misplaced. The “legalistic obedience to Torah commands” (that is, “works of law”) is actually disobedience to the Torah.

Isaiah 1:14 Everything in me hates your Rosh-Hodesh and your festivals; they are a burden to me — I’m tired of putting up with them!

When God made the Covenant at Sinai and confirmed it at Horeb, He set forth Blessings and Curses before His people. If the people obeyed, they would be blessed. If the people disobeyed, they would be cursed. We see that in the Book of Deuteronomy as shown below:

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. (CJB)

Deuteronomy 29:21 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — the blessing, if you listen to the mitzvot of Adonai your God that I am giving you today; and the curse, if you don’t listen to the mitzvot of Adonai your God, but turn aside from the way I am ordering you today and follow other gods that you have not known. (CJB)

Deuteronomy 9:11 Yes, after forty days and nights Adonai gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. (CJB)

Joshua 8:34 After this, he read all the words of the Torah, the blessing and the curse, according to everything written in the book of the Torah. (CJB)

Life, good and blessings were for the obedient. Death, evil and curses were for the disobedient. Remember, God already saved them from Egypt and declared them holy even before He gave them the Law. It was not the obedience to the Law that saved them from Egypt. The same applies to us today who are believers in Yeshua. We are already saved by putting our trust in Yeshua. The Law of God could save no one. Neither did it have a mind of its own. It was merely a set of instructions to live by. It is a schoolmaster to understand God and walk in holiness with Him so that we can have fellowship with God. Whoever lived by them had life, good and blessings, while whoever disobeyed had death, evil and curses on their lives. This is still true today.

Let us have a short review of the points made by Paul in the Book of Galatians Chapter 3.

The proper obedience to the Law or the Torah brings blessings (Galatians 3:10/Deuteronomy 27:26).

Galatians 3:10 For everyone who depends on legalistic observance of Torah commands lives under a curse, since it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the Scroll of the Torah.” (CJB)

Deuteronomy 27:26 “‘A curse on anyone who does not confirm the words of this Torah by putting them into practice.’ All the people are to say, ‘Amen!’ (CJB)

But, the righteous are not justified before God, through Law, but by Faith (Galatians 3:11/ Habakkuk 2:4)

Galatians 3:11 Now it is evident that no one comes to be declared righteous by God through legalism, since “The person who is righteous will attain life by trusting and being faithful.” (CJB)

Habakkuk 2:4 “Look at the proud: he is inwardly not upright; but the righteous will attain life through trusting faithfulness. (CJB)

The Law is different from Faith, but those who “obey or do” the Law will have life. They walk pleasing to the Lord and being fruitful (Galatians 3:12/Leviticus 18:5). So, conversely, if someone does not obey or do the Law, they will have death.

Galatians 3:12 Furthermore, legalism is not based on trusting and being faithful, but on [a misuse of] the text that says, “Anyone who does these things will attain life through them.” (CJB)

Leviticus 18:5 You are to observe my laws and rulings; if a person does them, he will have life through them; I am Adonai. (CJB)

But Through Yeshua’s sacrifice, we are free from the curse of the Law, which is eternal separation from God (Galatians 3:13).

Galatians 3:13 The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by becoming cursed on our behalf; for the Tanakh says, “Everyone who hangs from a stake comes under a curse.” (CJB)

Does this mean that we can be lawless? Absolutely Not! If we walk in the light or according to the Torah, the blessings come out it is your inheritance. On the other hand, if you are a hypocrite, and legalistic about Torah observance, the very things that are intended for a blessing will be a terror upon your life.

Paul has made his case that no one is “justified or made righteous” before God through the Law, but by having Faith in God alone. Your faith comes first and then comes obedience to the Laws of God.

“Sin” or “Disobedience” against God is the “breaking of God’s Law” as stated by Apostle John.

1 John 3:4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating the Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah. (CJB)

How does Yeshua fit into this equation?

Galatians 3:13 The Messiah redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Torah by becoming cursed on our behalf;

Messiah did two things in terms of the Torah. He has taken away the “curse of the law”, meaning the certainty of the eternal separation of God because we violated the Laws of God. This applies to anyone who has not put their trust in Messiah.

Unbelievers are facing two issues, the “curse of the law” and the “curses of the law”. “Curses of the Law” are the consequences of our sins while living on the earth.

On the other hand, a believer in Yeshua will not be subjected to the “curse of the law”, the eternal separation from God. However, they are subjected to the “curses of the Law”, bearing the consequences of our sins while living on the earth.

Because of Messiah, even when we break The Law, we can still receive mercy through repentance, and not be under the “Curse of the Law” which is Death and eternal separation from God.

The “Curse of the Law” was Death, which was the wage needed to be paid for Sin. Through Messiah’s intervention and death, He took this curse on Himself, giving us freedom from Death and passage to eternal Life.

Our Messiah did not take away the Law through His death. He took away the “Curse of the Law” through His death. We receive salvation through Faith, and not by keeping God’s Law. This was the same with the people of Israel, as they were saved from Egypt and Slavery through God’s Grace and Mercy, and not because of any righteousness they had. After they were saved, God wanted obedience from them. This is the same pattern seen throughout the Scriptures.

We are also required to be obedient towards our Heavenly Father after He saves us through His grace. And whenever we fall short, He still has mercy towards the repentant, because of the redemption work of Messiah Yeshua.

We cannot call the Law of God, a curse, as it is only a guide on how we should live. The choice is up to us. We can choose to live in the blessings or to die in the curses. We cannot blame God’s Law for the choices we make. Let us walk in the “Blessings of the Law” by being obedient to our Creator and choosing life Eternal, for He has paid the ultimate price for our lives so that we are never under the “Curse of Law”, which is death eternal. Remember your blessings, prosperity and peace are tied to your obedience to the Laws of God.

“Curses” of the Law Vs “Curse” of the Law

Most people are confused with these two terms, Curse of the law and the Curses of the law! What is the difference? “The Curse” of the Law refers to being cut off (KARET) from the Lord and having one’s name blotted out, which is eternal separation from HASHEM.

When Paul writes in Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)”, he was referring to the “eternal damnation”. This is what happens when a person willfully chooses death over life. What Paul was telling us is that since Yeshua has become the object of the Curse of the Law on our behalf, one who trusts in the sacrifice of Yeshua will not have to worry about the prospect of eternal separation from the Lord hanging over his shoulders for his sins.

Unfortunately, according to Paul, for those who have NOT accepted the sacrifice of Yeshua, the Curse of the Law hangs over their heads like the Grim Reaper. In the New Testament terms, “the curse of the law” and “the wages of sin is death” are talking about the very same thing.

Now, the “curses of the law” are still in operation as they represent the consequences or individual penalties for breaking the Lord’s commands. The ‘Curses’ Of The Law really mean the ‘CONSEQUENCES’ for breaking the Law. The list of curses is simply the list of prescribed punishments one will suffer for any one of the various acts of rebellion against the Lord.

What did Paul mean when he used the term “A Shadow of things to come”?

Apostle Paul writing to the believers in Colossae wrote:

Colossians 2:16-17 So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Hodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah. (CJB)

This has caused confusion among many Pastors and the Bible teachers. Was Paul rejecting the Jewish Festivals and the Shabbat, which he kept all through his lifetime, in his statement? The Gentile teachers are very quick to bring the conclusion forward as they write and teach. But I do not think that is what Apostle Paul implied here at all.

God told Moses:

Exodus 25:8-9 “They are to make me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them. You are to make it according to everything I show you — the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it. (CJB)

So God showed Moses the Heavenly sanctuary so that Moses could build the same things upon the earth. When the Lord was instructing Moses during Moses’ 40-day sojourn to the top of Mount Sinai, God told him to make the Tabernacle “according to the pattern I show you”. Now, it may not be of the same dimensions but nevertheless, the prototype and its proportion are similar to what Moses saw in the Heavenly places.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews quoted the above event and said:

Hebrews 8:5 But what they are serving is only a copy and shadow of the heavenly original; for when Moshe was about to erect the Tent, God warned him, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.” (CJB)

Now exactly what kind of “pattern” are we talking about here? What really happened, and this is mind-blowing, is that the Lord was giving Moses a tour of God’s heavenly dwelling place! The Hebrew word for “tabernacle” or “dwelling place”. That word is MISHKAN. The tabernacle built on earth to the finest detail was to be patterned after God’s spiritual tabernacle in the heavens.

The principle of as in heaven, so on earth is used here. The Tabernacle (and later the sacrificial system) points to a Biblical principle that can easily get confused in our minds. And that principle is this: By nature, the physical is inferior to the spiritual. Heaven is limitless in terms of time and space while earth has its limitations! What exists or is possible in the heavens or the spirit world is far above or superior to what exists and is possible in the physical world. The Tabernacle and all its rituals were real and they were God-ordained. But compared to the real, original tabernacle that Moses beheld in the heavens, the earthly tabernacle was of course just an inferior copy. When comparing earthly things to heavenly things, the Bible will often use the word “shadows”.

So here we are in the Book of Colossians Paul used the phrase “it was a SHADOW of things to come” in reference to the Tabernacle, the prophecies, and the Mosaic Law. What did he mean? This just means that COMPARED to the spiritual original, a physical copy pales in comparison. Paul did not mean it is the shadow that depicts the originals is done away with. It does not mean it no longer holds any relevance for our lives, nor does it mean that it should be thrown in the trash. On the other hand, the very fact that these teachings are a reflection of God’s Mind and the truth as it exists in the heavens should be more than enough motivational fuel to spur us on to obedience.

I also want to bring attention to the word “but” used in the following sentence, “… these are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah…”. The Greek word is ‘de’, is a conjunction that has many meanings. It could mean, “but”, “moreover”, “yet” or “and” etc. Conjunctions are words that join together other words or groups of words. The purpose of the conjunction was not to negate the previous statement in any way at all. If that was the case Paul would not have observed them all the days of his life. You read that in the Book of Acts oftentimes. If that was a concept Yeshua would not have observed them. And if that is the case the Book of Revelation will not talk about the Festivals and the Shabbat. On the other hand, Paul is encouraging believers to observe them. These are a shadow of things that are coming, meaning the good things that will happen when Yeshua returns; or, alternatively, “These are a shadow of things which were yet to come,” meaning the good things that happened when Yeshua came the first time but were still in the future when these observances and the festivals were commanded.

On a separate note, most English versions (the New International Version is a welcome exception) deprecate the Jewish holidays by gratuitously adding the word “only” (or an equivalent): “These are only a shadow of things to come.” But Paul values Jewish practices; he himself observed them all his life. If one is going to add to the inspired text, the word to add is “definitely” or “indeed”: “These are definitely a shadow of things to come.” The festivals do indeed have value; since God commanded the Jewish people to observe them, they remind Jews of God and of what he has done. They are one of God’s ways of bringing the Jewish people closer to Himself. We must value them because it is of the Messiah.

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