The Seventh Day: Our Cycle of Rest
The Creator Himself ordained and established our world with a seventh day and tailored His World to fit that pattern. We are designed by this cycle and cripple our own bodies by neglecting the fact. From the moment of our conception inside our mother’s womb, we are developed by this design of seven. In Genesis, the book of God’s creative ingenuity, He rested on the Seventh Day and enjoyed the labor of the previous six days. He made us to enjoy Him and His appointed rest on our Seventh Day. To ignore this is to defy Him. Every Sabbath you steal from Him will have to be repaid.
Even our longevity of life is established with a seven, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten (70 years)” (Psalm 90:10a). The Book of Revelation is a masterpiece of literature. It does not have any competition as the most beautiful of all written eloquences. The structure of this book is composed of sevens. The Spirit of Revelation is described as “Seven lamps of fire burning before the throne” (Revelation 4:5b). The entire church dispensation is prefigured in seven churches called “seven candlesticks.” The Great Tribulation period is complete in seven years. The judgments to cleanse and renew our earth are seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials. We wait for the one thousand years of His Millennium of peace as we complete six thousand years of human failure. The seventh thousand year period will be a rest for this universe.
Understanding the beauty of both a Bible and a world established by sevens, do we dare disregard our seventh day of rest and worship? The Bible plainly warns us of this responsibility. The Fourth Commandment states, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). In this passage “holy” is a very unique word that means “to be observed or appointed; to hallow and consecrate.” The language used to instruct us about our Seventh Day presents this to us as a privilege and a day to come apart and enjoy ourselves with Him. The Son of God was quick to challenge any idea of keeping the Sabbath Day legalistically or as a rigid bondage. His disciples plucked corn and ate as they passed by a cornfield on this day. He rebuked those that condemned them.
By no means did that suggest a disregard of the proper respect for this holy day. In His great lesson in Matthew He said, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day” (Matthew 24:20). His life was so planned by His Father that His three days and nights in the heart of the earth would end at the close of the Jewish Sabbath. By His very resurrection He would establish a New Beginning. John the Revelator called it the “Lord’s Day.” (Revelation 1:10). Order our booklet entitled, “The Lord’s Day and the Feast of Firstfruits,” for information.
Every Born Again believer desperately needs this day of worship and rest. The deep meaning of holy as reflected in the Fourth Commandment means an appointment with Him. Our Holy Day or New Testament Sabbath will never mean what He intended until we see it as our appointment with Him. Worship is the deepest passion in a person’s heart. We will either worship Him or find something or someone else to passionately love and worship. In fact, that is what worship is. It is passionate love poured out on either God or some chosen idol.
In the New Testament the Lord’s Day was prophetically visible in the third feast that God gave to Israel in the Old Testament. The Feast of Passover was to be observed on Nisan 14th, which often varies as to the day of the week. The next day after the Feast of Passover began the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It lasted for seven days with the first and seventh day of the seven being special Sabbaths. Within those seven days came a regular Sabbath. On the next day after the regular Sabbath was the Feast of Firstfruits. This feast was always celebrated on the 8th day or the next day following the Sabbath (7th day). Coming in the spring of the year (March/April) as these feasts did and still do, this included a rejoicing of the firstfruits of their fields as God had blessed them. Remember, these feasts were not just for Israel, but were a rehearsal of the prophetic future in the Messiah’s life and kingdom. In this feast event God was establishing the day of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and our Lord’s Day to be set apart to Him.
We are blessed to set this day (24 hours) apart and give it wholly to Him. To do otherwise is certainly unwise. The Ten Commandments are not suggestions. If we love Him passionately, we will live by them. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (I John 2:4). When His people, who are called by His name, turn back to Him and forsake their disobedience and careless living, we will have a New Testament revival in our land.
Donn Parker, Ph.D.
My Dear Pastor….You writings are so Biblical, so important and always Godly. I look forward to what you write and I have learned much from these pieces. May you be granted good health, allowing you to continue teaching and preaching for a littel while longer…until The Rapture.
We can almost hear the Messiah now.
Your friend in Christ, Dr. Donn
g g
No man has been able to keep the Ten Commandments.
Jesus Christ, kept them, , , but he is God, came to earth, in “human form”.
The death, burial and resurection of Jesus Christ, paid the price, humans owe for breaking,
the Ten Commandments. PRAISE GOD ! ! !
If humans could obey/keep the Ten Commandments, Jesus Christ would not have gone to the cross.
If doctors did not work on Sabbath/Sunday would accidents stop?
Do you know any “Bible Believers” who go to restaurant on Sunday, , making others work !
My friend, I know some that go to restaurants on Sunday and many that do not. I for one do not buy on Sunday, in restaurants or stores. I keep the day separated to the Lord but I’m careful not to condemn others. I find great joy in keeping it a special day. Our Churches would be a differant place if they did not have to worry about getting to the eating place before the church folks down the road.
Pastor Chambers
melvin meyers
You can tell how much a person love [John 14:15] Jesus by the way he keeps the commandments! Matt.5:19 By keeping the cammandments you shall be called great in the kingdom. Those who teach its ok to break them will be called least in the kingdom. Most people don’t understand the Torah. Can Doctor work on the sabbath, and not break Torah. Yes! For some laws override other laws in the matter of life. For Jesus answer did not King David and his men eat the Priest bread. God never sent anyone to condem David for it. Exodus 31:13 Its God sign between He and you. Also verse 17. Remember Jesus is the Word that became flesh.
Mike Doti
Amen and Amen. This is a great article. I wish more people would understand the truths about keeping the commandments and stop using grace as an excuse to live as the world does. A time of judgement will and is about to come upon this entire world. Including the great America. The scriptures say we are without excuse. As far as the sabbath is concerned it actully runs from sundown friday til sundown saturday. Sunday has nothing to do with it. So go to the resturant and eat and don’t lose any sleep. God Bless the true believer’s and thats all otherwise your blessing sin.
Mike, No indeed, our sabbath is established on the resurrection not the law of Moses. The entire book of Acts shows the Christians worshipping, preaching and even bringing there tithes and offering on Sunday.
Hinneo Ninnio
It’s a good principle to strive for to maintain health in body, mind and spirit, but if you obligate yourself to obey the law, you put yourself in bondage in lieu of the freedom and liberty of Christ. We know our religious culture in America has been largely relegated to history and the modern world runs 24/7, so it is virtually impossible for every believer to adhere to a designated sabbath day. There are worship services any time, anywhere also. Every day is holy to the believer in Jesus because He lives in us and we have entered into His rest. Blessed be His Name forever!
Debbie Evans
Bro. Chambers,
Keep telling the truth if it hairlips the devil!!
The bible tells us in 2Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts. We truly are living in the last days. It’s sad that there are folk who profess to know God but all they have is head knowledge and not heart knowlege. The two must go hand in hand. 2Timothy 2:15 has this to say…Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The truth must rightly be divided by all who profess Christ Jesus.
Instead there are folk who pick out certain scripture to live by and make excuses for all the rest that they don’t want to live by. Hosea 4:6 says… My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge. The knowledge is there in the precious book called the BIBLE, and it can be accepted or rejected.I have a question for those who don’t want to accept the truth. What would you give in exchange for your soul? Is it worth doubting God’s word and rejecting the words of His prophet? Hell is forever and ever. Friends, if we truly fall in love with Jesus and pray and seek Him earnestly…we CAN AND WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. This false mess that we sin everyday is just that FALSE DOCTRINE and the one who believes it or teaches is in need of a definite trip back to Calvary. Phillipians 4:13 says…I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. If Christ abides within, we will keep his commandments! Praise God!!
James
Speaking of the number seven: From the time of the flood until May 21, 2011 (Christ’s return)it is exactly 7,000 years. Five months later on October 21, 2011 (end of the world) it is exactly 7,000 years from the time the Ark rested on Mount Ararat (Revelation 9:5, 10). WARNING! It is now time to get into the Ark of Christ. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).
Kenneth
Hi,
I think you are misleading people. Jesus did not establish another Sabbath.(read Matthew 5v17-18) The Sabbath is not for the Jews. The Sabbath was there before the Jews.(Genesis 2v1-3) Jesus says he is the Lord of the Sabbath.(Mark 2v 27-28).Read also Luke 4v16.