Part one of this series emphasizes how Adventists are not the first Protestants to recognize the principles of creation stewardship.
Again, the concerns of this article resonate with me. However, I just don’t see Paul’s projection of all creation being liberated from bondage as centered on the practice of sabbath keeping. He centered it on being in Christ and the powerful moving of his Spirit. The renewal of all creation is centered on this present reality as a signpost to what’s to come.
Sabbath observance for all societies in order to solve this issue is not practical nor how the now and not yet of new creation was to be realized. How would sabbath play into this for worldwide general societies and not a theocracy in one small parcel of land in the Middle East? Would it be a movement to have governments impose such? And, as I said in response to the first article, how does so much of Torah instruction regarding the treatment of farm animals even apply to largely non agrarian societies?
I would like to see some adjustments made by the writer to general principles than to literal keeping of the sabbath command by all societies. I don’t know if that’s been done successfully.
Frank
The old adage on “hammer and nails” applies. When you’re looking for Sabbath validation, you find it everywhere.
What the denomination seems to ignore is that the weekly sabbath was tied to the entire complex of sabbatical observances, yearly up to jubilee, all carrying the idea of restoration, liberation, etc. This is why when Jesus announced the fulfillment of Isaiah in the synagogue on the sabbath in Luke 4, that the spirit had anointed him to preach the gospel to the poor, giving sight to the blind, freeing the captives…and to proclaim the jubilee, he was announcing that everything that the whole sabbatical complex stood for and pointed to was being fulfilled by him, in and through the power of the Spirit.
This is central Christianity. Don’t need to search for nails to hammer.
Frank
This article reminds me a bit of the old Anabaptist concept of the Gospel of All Creatures, in which the suffering of animals is analogous to the suffering of believers and of Christ, drawing from Mark 16:15. Hence, animals naturally proclaim the gospel.
See (for example) The Gospel of All Creatures: An Anabaptist Natural Theology for Mennonite Political Theology | Journal of Mennonite Studies
What about the plan to distribute 1 billion copies of Great Controversy, how many trees need to be cut to create them? This is another case of say something, do another, the message is self defeating. You need to cut how many trees so that people can find out about the 3 angel’s message which points to the obedience to the commandment meaning the 4th - Sabbath- that teaches you to be good stewards of nature, after cutting the so many trees. Im guessing there are multiple meanings/explanations for one message that makes our minds crazy.
The creation sabbath was not connected to the Jewish feasts. It was established back at creation before sin. Animals did not work on sabbath since people did not work them
Also, have you heard about the sabbath keeping beavers, this family did a study over many years documenting this beaver colony filming them showing they work all work but never on the sabbath, for generations
Hi John🤗, what about the non sabbath keeping donkeys and cows? Why dont they know? Just kidding…wish you posted earlier, this thread is almost closing, will get back if able. Thanks
Maybe all those other animals read that thing Paul said about treating every day as if it were holy?!?!
And maybe they don’t believe EGW is anymore inspired by god then they are?!?!
Find one instance of any story about anyone keeping a Sabbath in Genesis or even the word Sabbath and I’ll be amazed - because it’s simply not there.
Yes, according to the first creation story, El ended his work on the seventh day of creation and then rested and then he sanctified that day, the seventh day of creation because he rested on that day. There is no mention of the Sabbath.
Then how do you explain the sabbath keeping beavers, Tim?!?!
There is the story of the mana that did not fall on the sabbath and neh 13 is mentioning not buying or selling
It seems the miracle of bread from heaven is probably as extraneous as it is unreal given that the The Exodus is most likely a myth:
(Particularly troubling to me, personally, would have been the possibility of having to get up, traverse as much as two miles of tents, probably during the middle of the night, get to the edge of the encampment and, once there, “make use of my shovel”, if you get my drift…)
Regarding Nehemiah’s views on Sabbath Keeping, while I cannot and do not pretend to speak for @timteichman, I’m not a Jew, don’t believe they are god’s favorite people and don’t care what day they go to synagogue anymore than I’m impressed by EGW’s claim that she had inside information on Jesus, or that some beavers supposedly cease their labor on Saturdays.
(And no, I’m not gonna buy that guy’s video. If he’s got scientific evidence to support his “Beavers are Sabbath Keepers Theory”, let him submit it to a peer reviewed journal, see if they’ll publish it, and I’ll read about it there. I’d suggest that The National Enquirer is much more likely to run with his story, though.)
Yes, which is the first mention in the bible of a Sabbath. Some scholars think the manna story was originally placed after the 10 commandments were given, but then got rearranged by the redactor who put the Pentateuch together - who many scholars think was Ezra.
Notably, in the story, the Hebrews were told to gather extra manna on the day before the Sabbath, but many did not and went out on the Sabbath to gather more, and were surprised when there wasn’t any. Basically, they didn’t get it. As depicted, these were not people who were used to keeping a Sabbath, but instead it was new to them, likely because it was just given to them in the Mosaic Covenant. That is after all, what the bible says happened:
“I am the Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall situate/honor none of the other gods above me."
[Therefore…]
“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath of Yahweh your god; you shall not do any business/labor of your occupation - you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.”
The Sabbath was new. It was given to the Hebrews by their god Yahweh at Horeb because they had been slaves, because they had no rest as slaves.
Yes. For one reason, the idea that it would take years to go from Cairo to Jerusalem is rather silly.
Here’s the route, starting in Cairo, going to Jabal Mousa (Mt Sinai), and then trekking up to Jerusalem
If you walk 6 hours a day, you can get there in 31 days on the route above.
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