"Many ministers and theologians have applied the opposite meaning to Hebrews 4:9. They have completely misinterpreted the King James Version of this verse, which reads, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.†They teach that Christians are no longer required to observe the Sabbath because Jesus Christ has given them “rest†by releasing them from commandment keeping and thereby He “fulfilled the law†for them. As a result, they are told that he or she has entered into a spiritual “rest†from sin and does not have to keep the commandments of God. Such reasoning is completely false. Jesus Himself said that He did not come to abolish or “do away with†the laws and commandments of God, but to fulfill them. Neither did Jesus Christ fulfill any commandment for anyone in order to release him or her from the obligation to keep them. He set the example for us—not to force us but to free us from committing sin (I Pet. 2:21-22, I John 3:4).
When we understand the meaning of the Greek text, there is no question that the New Testament upholds the authority of the Fourth Commandment for Christians today. The Greek word that is used in Hebrews 4:9, sabbatismoV, pronounced sabbatismos, which means “Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance†(Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament).
This definition of the Greek word sabbatismoV sabbatismos is confirmed by other historical works: “The words ‘sabbath rest’ is translated from the GK noun sabbatismos, [and is] a unique word in the NT. This term appears also in Plutarch (Superset. 3 [Moralia 166a]) for sabbath observance, and in four post-canonical Christian writings which are not dependent on Heb. 4:9†(The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 5, p. 856).
The Greek word, sabbatismoV sabbatismos, is a noun. The verb form of the word is sabbatizw sabbatizo, which means “to keep the Sabbath†(Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament).
This definition of sabbatizw Sabbatizo is confirmed by its use in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament which dates from third century BC. It is called the Septuagint, meaning “Seventy†because the first five books were translated by seventy scholars who were Greek-speaking Jews in Alexandria, Egypt. Jews used the Septuagint in synagogues throughout the Roman empire, and by the Greek-speaking Jewish and Gentile coverts in the early New Testament church. The apostle Paul, quotes extensively from the Septuagint in his epistle to the Hebrews. When Paul used the Greek word sabbatismoV sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9, he knew that the meaning of this word was well known to the Greek-speaking believers of that day. The verb form sabbatizw, sabbatizo was used in the Septuagint which was as familiar to the Greek-speaking Jews and Gentiles of New Testament times as the King James Bible is to Christians today.
The use of the verb sabbatizw sabbatizo in Leviticus 23:32 in the Septuagint leaves no room to mistake its meaning. The Greek English Lexicon of the Septuagint defines sabbatizw sabbatizo as “to keep sabbath, to rest†(Lust, Eynikel, Hauspie). The English translation of this verse in the Septuagint reads: “It [the Day of Atonement] shall be a holy sabbath [literally, ‘a Sabbath of Sabbaths’] to you; and ye shall humble your souls, from the ninth day of the month: from evening to evening shall ye keep your sabbaths†(The Septuagint With the Apocrypha, Brenton).
The phrase “shall ye keep your sabbaths†is translated from the Greek phrase sabbatieite ta sabbata sabbatieite ta sabbata, which literally means, “You shall sabbathize the Sabbaths.†The form of the Greek verb sabbatizw sabbatizo is the second person plural sabbatieite sabbatieite, which means, “ye shall keep.†Since the verb sabbathize, means “to keep the Sabbath,†this verb is a special verb that also relates to and defines “Sabbath-keeping,†for God’s command for the land Sabbath every seven years. In the entire Septuagint, the verb sabbatizw sabbatizo is never used to define the “keeping†of anything else. Rather, it is always used in relation to “Sabbath-keeping†and “Sabbath-keeping†only. In keeping with this definition, the KJV translates sabbatieite sabbatieite, this way: “shall ye celebrate your sabbath.â€
There is no question that the Greek verb sabbatizw sabbatizo in Leviticus 23:32 is specifically referring to Sabbath observance. This meaning applies equally to the noun form sabbatismoV sabbatismos, which we find in Paul’s epistle to Hebrews. The fact that Paul used the Septuagint translation in this epistle confirms that the meaning word sabbatismoV sabbatismos, in Hebrews 4:9, is in complete accord with the meaning of sabbatieite ta sabbata sabbatieite ta sabbata, in Leviticus 23:32. Clearly Paul is upholding the observance of the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.
The use of the Greek word sabbatismoV sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9 contradicts the teachings that the Fourth Commandment has been abolished. As the context of this verse shows, the observance of the seventh day as a day of rest and worship is as binding for the people of God today, as it was for Israel of old. In addition to the weekly Sabbath, the annual holy days that God commanded, which are also called Sabbaths, are included in the Fourth Commandment. In the same manner as true believers are commanded to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they are also commanded to observe the annual holy days of God. The early New Testament church kept the holy days of God, as determined by the calculated Hebrew Calendar. The apostle Paul kept the holy days and commanded Gentile converts to keep them (I Cor. 5:7-8). None of the apostles or the early converts to Christianity observed the pagan holidays that are now called Christmas or Easter. These holidays, which originated in sun worship, were later adopted into Christianity, through the influence of the Roman church. They became false substitutes for the annual holy days that are commanded by God, just as Sunday has become a false substitute for the weekly Sabbath.
Paul carries his instruction even further, showing that we have to keep the Sabbath or lose salvation. "For he that is entered into His rest [keeping the Sabbath], He also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His [when He created the Sabbath day]â€
"We should be diligent therefore to enter into that rest [Sabbath-keeping, as well as striving to enter into the Kingdom of God], lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience. For the Word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:10-12, AT).
What could be more clear? God's Holy Word reveals that if we want to be true Christians, we must be loving God the Father and Jesus Christ. We must be living by every word of God, keeping His commandments. This is how we are to follow Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible. There is no question that we should be observing the seventh-day weekly Sabbath as the day of worship and fellowship."
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