Colossians 2:16-17, is one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible. One principle of Bible interpretation is that you do not allow what may be somewhat unclear to keep you from doing what you understand. The Bible is plain concerning the Sabbath. It was given at creation (genesis 2:1-3). Jesus observed it (luke 4:16). Paul observed it (acts 13:42-44), and it will be observed in heaven (isaiah 66:22, 23).
The Bible mentions two kinds of Sabbaths; the seventh-day Sabbath and the yearly Sabbaths. The seventh-day Sabbath, instituted at creation and part of the Ten Commandment law, is a weekly reminder of the loving, all-powerful Creator. The yearly Sabbaths relate specifically to the history of Israel.
Colossians 2:16-17, specifically states, " Let no one judge you regarding Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come. "
The Seventh-Day Sabbath is a memorial of creation. It is not a shadow of something to come.
Leviticus 23:5 On the _fourteenth_ day of the first month at twilight is the LORDs _Passover_.
Leviticus 23:6 And on the _fifteenth_ day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; _seven_ days you must eat unleavened bread.
Leviticus 23:10 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you _shallbring_ a sheaf of the _firstfruits_ of your harvest to the priest.
Leviticus 23:37 These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy _convocations_, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, _everything_ on its day—
Colossians 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or _regarding_ a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, [17] which are a shadow of things to come, but the _substance_ is of Christ.
Leviticus 23:38 Besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your _freewill_ _offerings_ which you give to the LORD.
Both the feast of trumpets (verse 24) and the Day of Atonement (verse 32) are specifically called Sabbaths. These annual Sabbaths were intimately connected to events foreshadowing Christ's death and His Second Coming. God designed these feasts, or holy days, to be shadows, or pointers, to the coming Messiah. Since Christ has come, the shadowy Sabbaths of the ceremonial law have found their fulfillment in Him. The seventh-day Sabbath continues to lead us back to the Creator God who made us.
Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover I also gave them My _Sabbaths_, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who _sanctifies_ them.
Sometimes it is helpful to notice what a text does not say, as well as what it does say. Verses 5 and 6 say nothing about either worship or the Sabbath. They simply talk about regarding a day. To say the day being discussed is the Sabbath is an unwarranted assumption.
Exodus 20:8-11 _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 issue revolved around fast days, not Sabbath days. Some Jewish Christians believed there was particular merit in fasting on certain days. They were judging others by their own standards. The Pharisees fasted at least twice a week and boasted about it (luke 18:12).
Paul is making the point that to fast, or not to fast, on certain days is a matter of individual conscience. This is not something that God commands.
The reason this meeting is mentioned in the narrative is because Paul was leaving the next day and worked a mighty miracle in raising Eutychus from the dead. It is clear that the meeting is a night meeting. It is the dark part of the first day of the week.
The Sabbath was observed from Friday night at sunset to Saturday night at sunset, first the evening and then the morning. If this meeting is on the dark part of the first day of the week, it is in fact a Saturday night meeting. Paul has met with the believers all Sabbath. He will depart the next day, Sunday, so the meeting continued late Saturday night. The Jews would have considered what we call Saturday night as the first day of the week because the day started at sunset The next day, Sunday, Paul did travel by foot to Assos, then sailed to Mitylene. The New English Bible Reading Of Acts 20:7 also confirms this as a Saturday night meeting, with Paul traveling on Sunday. If Paul considered Sunday sacred in honor of the resurrection, why would he spend the entire day traveling and not worshipping?
Mark 16:9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He _appeared_ first to Mary _Magdalene_, out of whom He had cast seven demons.
Most Christians recognize that Jesus died on Friday the preparation day, rested in the grave the next day and rose the first day-sunday. The Sabbath is the day in between Friday and Sunday-Saturday.
Here are ten examples: Hebrew: Shabbath, Greek: Sabbaton, Latin: Sabbatum, Arabic: Assabit, Persian: Shambin, Russian: Subbota, Hindustani: Shamba, French: Samedi, Italian: Sabbato, Spanish: Sabado.
Seven has been the ancient and honored number among the nations of the earth. They have measured their time by weeks from the beginning. The origin of this was the Sabbath of God, as Moses has given the reasons for it in his writings. -Dr. Lyman Coleman.
There has been no change in our calendar in past centuries that has affected in any way the cycle of the week. -James Robertson, Director American Ephemeris, Navy Department, U. S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D. C. , March 12, 1932.
It can be said with assurance that not a day has been lost since Creation, and all the calendar changes notwithstanding, there has been no break in the weekly cycle. -Dr. Frank Jeffries, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and Research Director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England.
Next Bible Study: 19-First Day Texts
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