Why Keep the Sabbath?

“And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all his work which He had done.Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created to make.” (Gen. 2:3-4 emphasis added)

“There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience [as those at Meribah in the wilderness when God led them out of Egypt].” (Hebrews 4: 9-11; cf. Ps. 95:1-9, Ex. 17:2-7, Num. 20:13, Deut. 6:16)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and, yes, forever. (Heb. 13:8)” And He is leading us in His tracks of righteousness (Ps. 23) from Genesis to Revelation. And, therefore, He set aside a day each week, every 7th day, to rest in Him, to be renewed in Him, to be sanctified. To be sanctified means to be cleansed, purified, made holy. ” “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be Holy, for I AM Holy.’ (1Pe. 1:15-16; Lev. 11:44-45.)”  We are to grow in Him by the renewing of our mind in the spirit of the Lord (Eph. 4: 22-23). We are to keep our minds on the things above and not on the things of the earth (Col. 3:1-2). So, God in His infinite wisdom set aside a day for us to rest, to be set apart from the world. The Sabbath is a day to remove ourselves from worldly matters and to be sanctified and  renewed in Him. A day to keep our mind stayed on Him, for perfect peace (Is. 26:3) and infinite wisdom and knowledge – in Him. “Trust in the Lord forever, for in God [Heb. rendered – Yah] the Lord [Heb. YHWH], we have an everlasting Rock.(Is.26:4)” The Rock that gave water in the wilderness to those God led via Moses; the Rock that gives us living waters of Life.

Remember the parable of the landowner who prepared a marriage feast for his son and invited all the guests, but the guests were all too busy to attend (Matt. 20:1-14)? He had his armies kill and burn the city of all those who would not attend and mistreated his servants and killed them.  Then he sent his servants to invite anyone who would come. But one man was not clothed in wedding garments and was thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This parable Jesus equated to the kingdom of heaven. But where are we to get our wedding garments? Perhaps on the 7th day when we accept God’s invitation to rest and be sanctified. Yes, this parable also speaks to the Sabbath; and those that refuse to enter on the day He set aside and sanctified for us will not be able to be sanctified and enter the wedding feast when Jesus Christ returns. Your wedding garments, the linen garments, are also your deeds, but your heart must be cleansed and sanctified so that from a pure heart, a heart that believes and obeys, are your deeds manifested.

We are the bride of Christ, we, the church and all those who through faith believe in Christ. Paul elaborates on this theme in his letter to the Ephesians 5:22-33. Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 regarding Adam and Eve and the decree the Lord made “For this cause a man shall leave his Father and Mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.” and with regard to his analogy of the marriage of a man and a woman, Paul continues, “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.” If we are to be made one with Christ we must be sanctified – made Holy. Our oil lamps must be filled with the oil of sanctification when the Bridegroom comes (Matt. 25:1-13). This is the parable of the 10 virgins; five prudent virgins had oil for their lamps and 5 foolish virgins did not. We must receive oil from the Lord, the Lord who sanctifies us, the Lord of the Sabbath. We would not want to be as the 5 virgins who had no oil in their lamps and had to go and purchase oil. They missed the opportunity to enter into the wedding feast with the Bridegroom when they returned. More importantly, when they knocked to enter, the Lord said, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you (v.12).’ The Lord has set an appointment for us to enter His Sabbath rest. If we do keep that appointment with Him on that day, the day he has set aside for us, He will say, ‘I do not know you’. So when are we sanctified and who is the one who sanctifies us?

In Matthew 12:8 Jesus says of Himself, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”. What does it mean that He is Lord of the Sabbath? Where else do we see this in scripture?

Let’s look at Exodus 31:13-18; the Lord speaks to Moses:

“But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. “Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath (seventh) day shall surely be put to death.

So, the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

It is a sign between you and Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.’

And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.”

We see here that Christ is letting us know that He is, indeed, the Lord of the Sabbath who sanctifies us. His repetition here is also to be noted. Clearly, this is not “one of the least” of the commandments, in which the Lord tells us, those who loosen even the least of these commandments will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:18-20)

As we continue to look into all the places in scripture where the Lord tells us about keeping His sabbaths and entering into His rest, we learn that the Sabbath is primary to living in Him, being sanctified by Him and growing up into the full measure of a spiritual inner man in Christ. (Eph. 4:13) In Ephesians 3:1-21 Paul is speaking as a Pharisee who has been redirected by the Lord via direct experience to bring His message to the “Gentiles”; meaning all those who were not formerly the tribes of Israel and Judah. The Lord made Paul a “minister of Christ…to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; (Eph. 3:7-9)”. Paul was chosen as one who knew the Law of God well, and could now reveal how the Lord is wanting us all (Jew and Greek/Gentile) to keep His Law not by obligation but by Love (a circumcised heart); desiring to receive God’s Love and promise in such a way that we rejoice to walk with and in Him and keep holy His sabbath day in Love; an appointment He has made with all of us who believe. “That in Himself He might make the two [Jew and Gentile] into one new man, thus establishing peace [between Jew and Gentile, all those who hear His voice], and might reconcile them both in one body [the body of Christ] to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. (Eph. 5:15-17)” (enmity def.: opposition; more than aversion and less than malice). Enmity is the opposition of one religious enclave and another, opposing beliefs and traditions of men. God is asking us to lay down the traditions of men and walk in His ways. Through Paul the Lord is bringing forth the realization that all people who walk in His ways are His people!

We can see the Lord speaking through His prophet Isaiah (56:6-7) regarding all peoples being one in Him:

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,

to be His servants,

all who keep from profaning the Sabbath,

and holds fast My covenant;

Even those I will bring to My holy mountain,

and make them joyful in My house of prayer.

For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (Is. 56:6-7 emphasis added)

So let us be mindful; if we are called to minister to Him by feeding His little lambs, we best believe Him and not the world. Jesus tells us (Mark 2:27) “The Sabbath is made for the sake of man,” (Gr. ton anthropon – human being, inclusive term, male and female, Jew and Gentile, etc.) The Lord made the Sabbath for all, not just certain people, not just certain religious affiliations. For we are all one in Him, or we are not in Him.

As we read in “Who Is Jesus Christ” under the tab ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ on this website, we establish the fact that Jesus Christ was the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” who appeared to Moses. We also established the understanding from scripture that there are the two as one God, the seen God and the invisible God (Col. 1:15); the One who appeared to Moses and spoke through the prophets, and, the Father, the two as One – this is a great Mystery (Ex. 3:13-15; 1Pe1:10-12; John 14-17; John 1:2; 8:28-29;42; 1Jo. 1:1-4). Therefore, when Jesus says, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath,” he is letting us know that He is the one who established the Sabbath and sanctifies us on the sabbath day. He is the one who created all things and holds all things together by the power of His Word (John 1: 1-13; Col.1:16-18). He who is One with the Father.

We all know the basic 10 Commandments of God, what some call the Royal Law (James 2:8). “Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day, to keep it holy.” is the fourth commandment the Lord gives (Ex. 20:8-11; 1-17). Did Jesus Christ say the Law was finished? Did He say he came to abolish the Law? No, He did not. Let’s look at Matthew 5:17-20. Jesus speaks:

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law until all is accomplished.

Whoever then loosens one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5: 17-20)

Jesus also spoke to His disciples and said, “if you love me you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15)” This He also said when He spoke the commandments to Moses saying he would show lovingkindness, “to those who love Me and keep My commandments.(Ex. 20:6)” ‘Jesus is the same yesterday, today and, yes, forever (Heb. 13:8).’ His commandments are in effect yesterday, today and until He comes again and the heaven and the earth passes away (cf. Rev. 19:11-20:11). However, today, and to come, He wants us to keep them with a circumcised heart, to take the action in Love, in belief, and faith that the Lord has commanded these things for a purpose. We cannot know fully that purpose until we walk in the path He has set for us in His commandments.

Therefore, as it says in Hebrews in the opening quote above, let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest while it is still “Today”. And, heed the warning “Take care brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12-19) [Read Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy to learn how Israel died in the wilderness for having an unbelieving heart and falling away from the living God. They did not believe Him, they did not have faith, and they did not obey Him – to their demise. Deut. 7 the Lord tells Israel and the children of Israel what to, and what not to do in the Promised land. However, in Joshua, the children of Israel entered the promised land. Alas, they all betrayed God and did not obey God. {for those led into the wilderness from Egypt all died in the wilderness due to unbelief and disobedience to God; and only their children entered the Promised land with Joshua (the shadow of Jesus)}]

When will we believe the Lord who created us and obey His ways and commandments? “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and You shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light. (Matt. 11:28-30 emphasis added)” His ways are wise, they protect us, they free us and keep us in His Peace, Love and Joy.

Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see

and ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is, and walk in it;

And you shall find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  (Jer. 6:16)

Again, the Lord speaks through His prophet, Isaiah:

“He who said to them, ‘Here is rest, give rest to the weary,

And, ‘Here is repose,’ but they would not listen.” (Is. 28:12)

Let’s for a moment look at the phrase quoted in Hebrews “an evil unbelieving heart”. We might say, ‘well I may not believe, but I am certainly not evil, nor do I have an evil heart.’ Let’s look up the definition of the word evil:

(Websters Dictionary 1828) Scripture. E-vil n. Evil is natural or moral. Natural evil is anything which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.

Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority (i.e. Moses); or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.

We can not stand still in this world. We are either moving toward God or away from God. If God created us, perhaps His commandments are protecting the “perfection of natural beings”. Perhaps our unbelief “impairs the happiness” of ourselves and those about us? If God tells us that He destroys those who do not keep His ways that sounds like it could create distress, definite loss and perhaps even pain. Therefore, if evil is “deviation from the rules of conduct prescribed by God” is seems we can say that unbelief is evil. If we do not believe God, then we are in the hands of the Adversary, Satan, the cherub in which was found iniquity, and we are choosing to die in Satan, in the lake of fire.

‘But,’ you say, ‘I am not choosing Satan by not keeping the Sabbath day holy.’ Or are you? If we are not “transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His Love,” you are in “the domain of darkness” (cf. Col. 1:13) in the broadcast of the Prince of the Air (cf. Eph. 2:2; 2Cor. 4:4).

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Paul is speaking to the Ephesians about dying to the “old man”; the old self that we formerly walked “according to the course of this world”. Paul reminds disciples that unbelief produces disobedience. We must be mindful that we are not just following what the world and its churches say about the Sabbath day, but what God has told us, and revealed to us in His prophets, His scriptures and His disciples. It is the “traditions of men” (Mark 7:6-9) that changed the Sabbath day (seventh day) to the first day of the week, Sunday, or what some call the eighth day. Why change what the Lord has commanded? Changing the commandment to honor the traditions of men is why Christ chastised the Pharisees. Are we not being like the goat that is disobedient finding his own way up the mountain? (cf. Matt. 25:31-46)

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  (2Cor. 4:4)

Paul speaks to the Corinthians about the treasure we have in these clay vessels, meaning Christ in us the hope of glory, and the light that shines through our hearts…if we believe. (Eph. 3:16-21) If we do not believe, Christ is not in us, and whether we realize it or not the broadcast of the Adversary, the Prince of the Air, the god of this world, the ruler of this world (cf. John 12:31; 14:30), Satan, flows through all that do not keep their mind stayed on God and the things above. It is easy to be “laminated” into the thoughts of this world if we are not mindful – if we do not believe God.

As stated earlier in this paper, Jesus speaks in Mark 2:27 “The Sabbath came into being for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the Sabbath.” This means the Sabbath is not solely a Jewish day of worship, but a day God made for all mankind who are willing to keep it holy. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1Jo 4:16)” “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We love because He first loved us. If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1Jo 4:10; 19-20; 8) “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.(1Jo 5:3, emphasis added) This is what it means to have a circumcised heart. We believe God and we are obedient to His direction and His ways – His commandments. A circumcised heart is not a hardened heart or an evil unbelieving heart, it is a heart filled with the love of God and as we taste His passionate and jealous love for us, we desire to please Him. When we begin to come into His rest on the Sabbath and really believe Him and walk in His ways we realize that no one has more wisdom or knowledge than God. “In Christ is all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Why not trust in Him; if God is for us who can be against us? Whom shall we fear? (Ps.27)

“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God,

And a great King above all gods,

In whose hand are the depths of the earth;

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

The sea is His, for it was He who made it;

And His hands formed the dry land,

Come, let us worship and bow down;

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture,

and the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you would hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah (place of strife),

As in the day of Massah (temptation)in the wilderness;

When your fathers tested Me

They tried Me, though they had seen My work.

For forty years I loathed that generation,

And said they are a people who err in their heart,

And they do not know My ways.

Therefore I swore in My anger,

Truly they shall not enter into My rest.” (Ps. 95: 1-11)

 Today there is not a physical temple and therefore, no physical sacrifice. However, we are a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2). As we offer the old man and we are transformed by the renewing our mind in the Spirit (Eph 4:22-25); we then become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This tent we call our body is God’s (1Cor. 6:12-20). He made it and He has now given us the ability to receive His Holy Spirit so that our tent can become a temple of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is within you. (1Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2Cor. 6:16-18). When Jesus tells us that the Sabbath is made for man, He is saying He has made a weekly time to be separate from the world and all its worldly clamors. A day for no work, no commerce, no politics. This is why Jesus was furious with the money changers in the temple and the commerce they were doing in the temple (Matt. 21:12-13; John 2:13-17). The Sabbath was created so we have a day each week to let go of the hustle and bustle, the stresses and strains, the worries and fears and come into His complete rest. The Sabbath is a time for building our inner sanctuary in which the Spirit of the Lord may dwell. (cf. 1Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2Cor.16-18)

In Amos 3:3 the Lord says, “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?” The Lord has made an appointment with us (Amos 3:3). He has set aside and sanctified every seventh day for us to be in Him, His rest, a rest that is to refresh and renew – yes, and sanctify. A day to deepen in the inner sanctuary where Christ and the Father can come and make their abode in us (John 14:23). A day to deepen in the mind of Christ (Eph. 4:22-25; 4: 15; Rom. 12:1-2). A day out of the world so we can align with the Lords rhythms, wisdom and knowledge. He is always revealing His mysteries to us if we stop and listen. “But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; Tremble and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. (Ps. 4:3,4)”

Maybe there is a question in your mind about the the calendar we keep. Does this affect the Sabbath day? Does it matter that we are in a Roman calendar, or do we need to keep the Hebrew calendar? God is amazing. He has set up His calendar that is not invalidated by any tradition of man. No matter what calendar the world or men follow, we can follow “God’s calendar” set by the moon, sun and stars that He created:

Then God said, ” Let there be lights in the expanse of  the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and for years.”  Genesis 1:14

In Genesis 1:14-19 God creates a fourth day with greater and lesser luminaries (the sun and moon) and stars to be “signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;”. As we read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, God, Himself tells Moses how to keep His calendar. The Lord gives Moses His appointed times (Lev. 23:1-4; 37-38). These are the days the Lord is making an appointment with those of us that believe Him and want to walk in His ancient paths (Jer. 6:16), His tracks of righteousness (Ps. 23). He tells Moses that each new moon is the first day of the new month. The first new moon after the Spring Equinox is to be the first day of the first month of the year. Each seventh day will be a Sabbath rest. (Ex. 12:2; 16:22-35; 20:8-11; 23:14-17; 31:12-18; 35:1-2; Deut. 5:12-14; 16:1-16) Six days you shall work and on the seventh is a day of complete rest in Him. God knew what we needed. He knew how we could be consumed with work and the world, consuming, buying, selling, acquiring. He knew we could fall victim to the broadcast of the adversary, if it were not for a day to surrender all the world and “be still and know I AM God.” (Ps. 46:10) He knew we needed a day to be set aside, to be sanctified and reminded that He is our Creator, our Authority, our Employer, our Provider. God provided manna in the wilderness for 6 days. (Ex.16:1-36) On the 7th there was no manna; however, the manna and all that they made on the 6th day did not spoil and was enough to eat their fill on the 7th day. In this way, they did not have to work by gathering manna on the 7th day. Their clothes and sandals never wore out in the wilderness. The Lord provided. All this to be a physical shadow of the Lord as provider. Providing every good thing in its proper time. Showing us that even if we do not work, buy, sell or acquire on the Sabbath we will have what we need. So let us surrender all into Him, to empty our cup and be filled by His love and wisdom and knowledge in order to go forth and be lights unto the nations (Matt. 5:14-16). He knows we need to be aligned to His rhythms at His appointed times throughout the year, via the moon, the sun and the stars which He created. [another post will address the other appointed times; current post on appointed times include Day of Trumpets ]

“Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you ‘I do not know where you are from.’

Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers (cf. def. of evil above).'” Luke 13:24-30

What does Christ mean when He speaks of entering the narrow door? He is asking us to follow in His tracks of righteousness and live by His commandments, to circumcise our heart and believe Him and in faith walk with Him and be His light unto the nations. However, to do this we must believe and obey Him – His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If we change His commandments, just one stroke, say, Sabbath day from seventh day to Sunday the first or “eighth day”, as some say, are we not loosening and changing a stroke of the letter of the Law He has given us to guide us in Love out of the path of iniquity? (Matt. 5:17-20) The Lord is a jealous God and He wants to keep us out of the path of iniquity; which is the path of the adversary and the broadcast of the prince of the air.

Daniel 7:25 tells us the adversary will change the times and the Law. Beware! The adversary, the devil, is already at work! He has changed the Sabbath day to Sunday through the traditions of men. The adversary has also changed the Law, by changing the Sabbath from a Sabbath rest in the Lord all day on the seventh day, and keeping our mind off of the world and commerce, to going to church on Sunday and also teaching men to do what they wish on that day..and any day. Again, the adversary blinds men through the traditions of men. [more on this in posts to follow]

Jesus is our healer. He healed on the Sabbath because “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working (John 5: 16-17)” He tells us it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:12). It is a day of rest, of communion with God and His Word (word as scripture and Word as Christ),  a day to be sanctified, healed, cleansed, purified, made holy. A day of fellowship with family and fellow believers of God. A day to sing “hymns and psalms and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (1Col. 16-17) Let the Lord heal our unbelief and obey and Live!

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.

For My house will called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (Is. 56:6-7 emphasis added)

If we are called to “minister to Him” by feeding His little lambs and tending His sheep (1Pe, 2Pe), we best be mindful we are keeping His commandments and not the traditions of men. God’s appointed times, His Law and commandments are not the traditions of men. The Sabbath was not created by man or man’s religions, it is a commandment of the Lord on the day He set for us based on His calendar, His new moons, of His creation. And He is wanting all of us “who hear His voice” to be one in His body as we follow His ways. That is His promise as stated in Isaiah above, to name just one instance of many in scripture.

Perhaps if we are not keeping the Sabbath day holy, as our Lord has commanded; perhaps we don’t know what we are missing!  But while it is ‘Today’….perhaps giving the 24 hours that is the seventh day, Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, the Sabbath day, a try and keeping it holy for a period of months or years, you will be blessed to know the Lord in a way you could never have imagined. You will know Him as Lord of the Sabbath…and all that He meant when He said, ‘the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’ (Matt. 12:8).

“And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

“He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (1John 5:11-12)

If we do not believe the Son of God, we do not know the Son of God, if we do not have the Son of God, there is no life in us and we will not have eternal life. And yet, we must be alive before we die in order to be resurrected eternally. So, while it is still ‘Today, harden not your hearts’.

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)

“There remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest.” (Heb. 4:9-11)