Honor The Sabbath

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” 

The next commandment God gave the Israelites was to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy. Just as the Israelites were commanded to be holy, set apart (Deuteronomy 7:6), they were to set apart, consecrate, the seventh day as a holy day. The Sabbath is holy in that it was set apart, different from the rest of the week. The rest of the week they were to work but on the Sabbath, they were to rest.

The word, Sabbath, comes from the ‘shabath’ (shaw-bath’), which means repose, rest, or intermission. The Sabbath was a day of rest or intermission in the week. The Israelites were not to do any work on the Sabbath. This did not mean that they were not to labor but that they were not to work for profit. After Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused Him of breaking the Law. As Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees that if their donkey had fallen into a ditch on the Sabbath they would have gotten it out; yet they accuse Him of sinning because He healed someone. He didn’t seem to suggest that saving the animal was a sin but was pointing out the fact that they valued their property more than they valued people.

Jesus told the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. God made the Sabbath as a day of rest for mankind. The Pharisees saw the Sabbath as a day to do no work. They legalistically said what could and what could not be done on the Sabbath thus Jesus’ previously-mentioned encounter with them.

They were not only commanded to honor the Sabbath but they were commanded to remember the Sabbath. Remembering the Sabbath means that they were to keep it before them. They were to calendar it. They were not to forget it. He knew that people’s drive for money, power, and success would cause them to work constantly without rest and the body was not designed to work for long periods at that level. The body needs to rest and be free from stress. Even steel will break under constant stress.

What does this mean for us today? Many businesses are open seven days a week. Some people work two jobs. Should we go back to the days when everything was closed on Sunday? Christians are still called to honor the spirit of the Law if not the letter. The spirit is that we are to take a day off from work to rest. It is also that we are to set aside time for the worship of God and communion with Him. Since we are the church, we no longer have to go to a building to worship Him; we can worship Him anytime, anywhere. In that vein, everyday is a Sabbath Day. But we are not to ignore God’s command to rest. He even used Himself as the example. Six days He created the heavens and the earth and everything in it in six days. On the seventh day, the Lord rested (Genesis 2:2).

Revelation 11

The angel, who escorts John around Heaven, gives him a measuring rod and tells him to rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. (We are not given the results of John’s measurements). He is told not to measure the outer court. It represents the Holy City which has been given to the Gentiles to trodden underfoot for 42 months. This is likely in reference to the 42 months or last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation (12 months x 3.5 years= 42 months) when the antichrist breaks his treaty with Israel and invades the city. He then defiles the temple and sets himself up as god. This is the Abomination of Desolation that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24:15 , see also Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11).

Revelation 11 goes on to introduce the two witnesses. The exact identity of these two is unknown. It is speculated that they may be Elijah and Enoch because neither of them died in the Old Testament (Genesis 5:23, 2 Kings 2:11). They have also been identified as Moses and Elijah because they appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3).They are called olive trees and lampstands. This may describe their roles are bringers of peace and light. They are attempting to bring peace (olive trees, Genesis 8:11) with God and light or enlightenment of salvation through the Gospel they preach. They also have the power to shut up heaven and to turn water to blood.

The antichrist and his army will try to stop these two witnesses but they will be protected by God until the time of the ministering is complete. “And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner (Rev. 11:5).” Eventually, the time of the ministry will end and their enemies will prevail over them and kill them. The antichrist will not allow their bodies to be buried. However, three and one half days later, they will rise up and stand on their feet, all on live television.

            Years ago people wondered how this was going to be possible. How could the whole world see the bodies of two people in Israel? Now we know. With the advent of CNN, and now, Headline News, MSNBC, FoxNews, and a host of other news satellites, this is possible. Not only does the plethora of news stations make this possible but also does various means of watching streaming news. People can now watch news on their computers, smartphones, iPhones, iPads, tablets, and other forms of mobile communication. This is what we have now; who knows what the future holds?

            The text tells us that not only will the world watch the murder and death of the bodies in Israel, but they will also celebrate their death. They will be having parties and giving gifts to one another in celebration of their deaths. This goes to the convicting power of the Gospel, especially in that day. People will be so convicted by it that they will party at the silencing of it.

            After three and a half days, breath from God will enter into them and they will stand up on their feet. This will cause great fear to fall upon those watching. This could either be because they are afraid that they will start preaching again and not even death can stop them or it could be because they don’t know what is going to happen next. Maybe they recognize the power of God (who alone can give life).

            A loud voice from heaven calls out to them, “Come up here” and they ascend up into heaven before the eyes of those watching. Then a great earthquake falls upon the city and ten percent of it falls. Seven thousand people die as a result of this earthquake. Those who remained were afraid and praised the God of Heaven.

            The second woe had passed. The third woe is coming quickly. Time is winding down and things are speeding towards a climax. The seventh angel sounds his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven praising God. These are the words Charles Jennens used for Handel’s Oratorio, “Messiah”: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

            Then the twenty-four elders fell down prostrate and worshipped God. Who are these twenty-four elders? No one really knows. They first appear in Revelation 4:4 John’s first entry into heaven and at the opening of the seven seals. One school of thought is that they are not actually people but symbols that represent the gathering of both the OT and the NT. Twelve of the elders represent the Twelve Tribes of Israel—the Old Testament and twelve represent the Twelve Apostles (or Disciples)--the Church—the New Testament. Twelve of the Elders is one of the things prophesy teachers point to when they say the church won’t be here during the Tribulation because we are already in Heaven and this is represented by Twelve of the Twenty-four elders.

            Whoever these elders are, they fell down and worshipped God. They praised him. Then the temple in heaven was opened and the Ark of His Covenant was seen there. Then there were great signs in the heavens: “lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.” Right now no one knows the location of the Ark but this suggests that God has ‘raptured’ it to Heaven. He is now being praised because He has brought fulfillment to His Word. All the seals, vials, and trumpets have been released. History is coming to a close. God is now ready to wrap things up. Jesus is on His way back to vanquish the enemies and start His eternal reign. God has overcome.

            The remainder of the book of Revelation really describes the things that happen during the opening of the seals, vials, and the sounding of the trumpets.

What About the Heathen?

Christian theology states that Jesus is the only way of salvation from Hell. When detractors hear this, the question ultimately comes up, “What about the heathen in Africa or South America who have never heard about Jesus? Will God send them to hell because they have never heard of Jesus?” First of all, that question is loaded. God doesn’t send people to hell because they’ve never heard of Jesus. There are people in hell who have heard of Jesus. But what about the heathen in the hidden villages of Africa or South America who have never heard of Jesus? I believe the answer to that question is a complex one.          First of all, we can thank Paul for addressing that very question in Romans 2. He says that those who sin without the law will perish without the law. He then speaks of those who have not heard the law. When they “by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness…” When pagan or heathen or unreached societies pass laws and obey laws that are in accordance with the Law of God, they witness against themselves that they know the difference between good and evil. Their conscience even testifies against them.
          When Cain killed Abel, the first thing he did was hide the body. When God came to him and asked where his brother, Abel, was, Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Not only did he seek to distance himself from the crime, but he even sought to put God on the defensive. Yet, God would have none of it. He told him that He knew what he had done and He punished Him for it. Cain did not have the Law. The Law was not given until Moses. Yet, societies had rules of law that were in accordance with God’s Law because God’s law is written in their hearts. They were then judged by God based on the amount of knowledge they had. The amount of knowledge they had is based on how well they followed the commands of God  They will not be judged by the Law of Moses but by their own law, with their conscience and their thoughts bearing witness either for them or against them.

Ok, so what about those who have not heard of Jesus? The same principle is true. God will judge people based on the amount of knowledge they have. Even though they have never heard of Jesus, God will not send them to hell based on that but based on how well they sought to know Him and to follow His law. As Paul goes on to say, it is not those who hear the Law that are righteous in God’s eyes but those who do the things that are in the Law.

Theology teaches that God reveals Himself in two ways: general revelation and specific revelation. General revelation means that God reveals Himself to everyone usually through nature. As a painting declares there’s a painter and a sculpture declares there’s a sculptor, creation declares that there is a Creator. When a person realizes this and seeks to know the Creator, He reveals more of Himself to them (Jeremiah 33:3). This is specific revelation. Specific revelation is when God reveal Himself to a person in a personal way. How does He do this? He may send a missionary. He may send an angel. Christ may come Himself to preach to them. God will find a way. It is not His desire that any should perish but for all to come to repentance.

When a person tries to explain away creation through Big Bang Theories and evolution, they reject the revelation that God has given and, therefore, don’t receive any further revelation.

There is no Bible verse on this, but knowing the nature of God and from some testimonies I have heard, it is possible that God gives the person who has never heard a chance to hear and receive the Gospel, even after death. This only pertains to those who have NEVER heard of Jesus nor had the chance to hear of Jesus. I believe God give everyone a chance to accept or reject. This is why Jesus said that the Gospel must be preached in all the world as a witness before the end of the age comes. Again, there is no Bible verse to confirm this. This is just my opinion.

In short, those who have never heard of Jesus will not be without excuse. God will judge them based on the knowledge that they have. That does not mean that we are not to get the Gospel out there. We are. It is how a person can come to have a personal relationship with God and have life abundant. Yet, the Bible teaches us that God is not unjust. He is not going to hold people accountable to a law or a Gospel of which they have never heard.