Hello all,

I have been thinking and studying and commenting much about the commandments and the sabbath and how these are now spiritual commandments that only by resting in Christ, spiritually through the Holy Spirit, can one keep them. I see that many want to see this as a natural rest on Saturday, and thus we must not break this natural commandment, as our salvation is at stake. This to me is a terrible misconception of the Truth of the New Covenant, and needs to be dispelled.

I was curious to see if the word "sabbath" was used at all in the book of Revelation, and was not surprised to find that it was not used even once. Now, one would think that if it was crucial for ones very salvation it would be mentioned in this book of the Bible. What is mentioned several times is the word "rest", and those who have it and those who do not.

I think this is very telling, and just want to share a few thoughts about some interesting verses in Rev.14 that is addressing what this "rest" or "no rest" entails.

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14:11
"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."

Those who have chosen the Beast (the flesh) will have no rest day or night. It does not say "will have no Sabbath rest, or rest just one day a week. No, it says no rest day or night. This certainly is the state of affairs for all worldly people, they have no rest.

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Rev 14:12

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

Here is where many try and prove that the Commandments of God are referring to the Old Covenant, but these verses are clearly about the New Covenant, because no one is considered a saint unless they are born again, and Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, lives inside of them. The Commandments are now written on their hearts, and the faith that comes from resting in Jesus day and night.

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Rev 14:13

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."

What time henceforth is this verse speaking of? Anytime after the Cross, after the bringing of the New Covenant, for now, we rest in the "Finished Work" of Christ, and because He does His work through us, those works will endure and follow the saints.

Whereas, if one chooses flesh over spirit, they do not have rest in Christ, and any "works" they do of their own strength are filthy rags, and mean nothing.

Ah! Also here, in this verse, is where we see what the Spirit says; "that they, (the saints), may rest from their labors in Jesus Christ, and because they do this day and night whatever works they do are in His name, and therefore are eternal and good works.

There is nothing in any of these verses that say we are resting in His Commandment to keep the Sabbath, for that is of the flesh and became "spiritual" in Christ. We keep the commandments of God by being in Christ, as that is absolutely, positively, the only way we can keep them.

Sabbath keeping of the Old Covenant is a personal choice and should not be considered a requirement by the Lord, nor have anything to do with our salvation. That is very misleading and gets one hung up on a tree instead of seeing the whole forest. First the natural, then the spiritual...the New Covenant that Christ gave His life to give to us, is through the Spirit.

Just some thoughts....always find out for yourself!

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

Hello again,

I just wanted to add this here. I got to thinking about the meaning of the word "sabbath" and how I see it as meaning "rest" and how many see it as meaning the seventh day of the week, or Saturday.

I did find that used as a verb it means to cease, to stop and to rest, as in no works. But, when used as a noun it means the seventh day, or seven.

Then I wondered if there were any "sabbaths" in the Bible that did not fall on the seventh day? And yes there are, in fact the best example is the Last Great Day. Here is what I found out about that:

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Link of article or video : http://www.antipas.net/6_shemini.htm

"Since the first-day-Sabbath of Sukk'ot and this "EIGHTH DAY" Sabbath could fall on any day of the week, along with the routine, weekly, Saturday Sabbath, there could be up to three Sabbaths during this eight-day-period."

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So, for anyone that says that the word "sabbath" only means seven, or the seventh day, they are not being entirely truthful. It also means "rest", as in "ceasing to work". So, Sabbath rest is not just a Saturday thing.

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

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