Wherefore the children of Y’isra-el shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Y’sra-el for ever: for in six days Yah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed. Exodus 31:16-17
What did Yah mean when He told Moses that the Sabbath would be a perpetual covenant between Him and His children Y’isra-el? Well, in the Hebrew, the word “perpetual” does mean eternal. And, He even went on to say, specifically, that it would be “for ever.”
I hear christians objecting now–”IT WAS ONLY TO ISRAEL—THE JEWS. Somewhere in there, He said that for everybody else, He changed His day of the week to “the Lord’s day,” which is Sunday.”
Hmmmm . . . actually, no, He didn’t say anywhere that His ordained Sabbaths have ever been altered or done away with. And, He never calls any other day of the week His day (“the Lord’s day”) but His Sabbath—the seventh day.
But, aside from the fact that He has never altered His weekly Sabbath, or commissioned any other day of the week as the day of rest and assembling (convocation—or, rehearsal), WHO is Y’isra-el? For He gave His Sabbaths to be a sign (family identification) between Him and them.
Not understanding what is physical foreshadow, and what is spiritual real substance, so many christians don’t understand what Paul clearly taught—those who have the covenant, which was poured out (made available) on all mankind (not just the physical Jews) at the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks (Acts 2), are the true Jews who make up the true Y’isra-el.
Being a Jew has nothing to do with anything outward or physical. That was only a physical representation of a future-revealed spiritual real substance. The spiritual is always the true meaning—the physical foreshadow is just a representation of it.
Messiah’s bride is not something called a “church,” as that is a false word that was inserted into the English translations of scripture by Rome. The ekklesia is in no way related, etymologically, to the Roman Catholic “church,” as that word is derived from Circe, the daughter of the sun god (who is ultimately Baal).
And, of the ekklesia (which are all Yah’s children), the bride is specifically those who receive the covenant—the seal of the Holy Spirit—between the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks (Acts 2), and the Feast of Trumpets (which is when the bride will be fully removed from the earth—Rev. 4:1).
The ekklesia (Hebrew: qahal) also includes the friends of the Bridegroom (OT saints), friends of the bride (tribulation saints), and the wedding guests (millennial saints).
In Romans 2:29, Paul explains who the real spiritual substance of the name “Jew” is—it is those whose hearts have been circumcised (those who have received the Holy Spirit—the covenant).
And, the children of Y’isra-el, who are the spiritual real substance of Abraham’s descendants, are the true Jews who are Messiah’s bride (Galatians 3:28-29). It is those who are indwelt by the covenant. And, as He said, He gave His Sabbath as a sign between Him and them—Y’isra-el, Messiah’s bride.
The Sabbaths were not given to any religion, but to those who are Yah’s children by belief in His Son Yahoshua, and who have received the covenant after that belief. And, as Yah Himself told Moses, His Sabbath day each week is an eternal covenant between Him and those who are His children. It is their family sign—their identification.
And, how could it be “eternal,” if we are all going to be taken from this planet, and a new heaven and new earth created? It is eternal because the spiritual real substance of the Sabbath is eternity in heaven. That is the Sabbath rest that those who are Yah’s children have—eternal rest in heaven. And, that Sabbath rest is in, and by, Messiah Yahoshua.
For more information: Circumcision and Spiritual Reproduction