The Sabbath

Does this passage below in Colossians abolish the Sabbath commandment? You will be suprised at the answer. 

Colossians 2:1-17 (KJV)

2 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;

2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Verse 14- We know that there were ordinances nailed to the stake=stauros (greek). Which ordinances though? It was the ordinace of circumcision and the ceremonies connected with it as well as the Law of Moses which included offerings and sacrifices.(See Acts 15:1, 5, Ephesians 2:14-15, Matthew 27:51). Remember that the 10 commandments are not the Law of Moses but they are the Law of Jehovah. Keep in mind that the Sabbath was instituted at creation, before the 10 Commandments were given, and was made Holy. The ceremonies connected with the services of the temple were taken away at the impalement of Jehoshua at the stake. Our Saviour was the perfect ransom sacrifice for all time sake thereby nullifying any more need for fleshly sacrifices to obtain atonement. 

The sabbath was never an ordinance of sacrifice for atonment but rather a command to rest and to keep the day Holy for devotion to Jehovah. The ordinances done away with at the stake were those that were sacrificial in nature in order to obtain atonement. With Jehoshua's death on the stake, we no longer need to make sacrifices at the temple for atonement as he is our atonement. We can now go directly to Jehovah by way of His Son Jehoshua for atonement of our sins.

Verse 16- The Old Testament consistently uses the phrase "a festival,  a new moon,  a sabbath

Let's read Romans 3:31 to see if the above scripture in Colossians includes the 10 Commandments. 

Romans 3:31 KJV
" Do we then make void the law through faith?  God forbid: yea, we establish the Law."

The need for the service of sacrifices and offerings ceased when type met antitype in the death of Messiah. In Him the shadow met the substance. Jehoshua was the perfect and complete offering. The law of the 10 commandments lives and will live through the ages (eternity).see Isaiah 66:22-23. Jehovah's law (decalogue) was not crucified at the stake. It was types and shadows, offerings and sacrifices that was nailed to the cross as they had no value after Jehoshua's death.

The Old Testament consistently uses the phrase "a festival, a new moon, a sabbath" to refer to the ceremonial aspects of the law whether practiced weekly, monthly or yearly (see 1 Chronicles 23:31, 2 Chronicles 2:3-4, 8:12-13, 31:3, Nehemiah 10:33, Ezekiel 45:17, Numbers 28 and 29). The aspects of the ceremonial law included burnt offerings, meat offerings and drink offerings. Once Jehoshua died on the cross there.was no more need for these type of offerings as he was the once and for all sacrifice. So verse 16 has to do with the ceremonial aspects of the stated Holy days rather than the Holy days themselves. Since the Sabbath was a creation ordinance, as well as part of the 10 Commandments, it is still to be kept and remembered by us. The word "remember" is even part of the 4th commandment to keep the Seventh day Holy.

Back to verse 14- Remember the context of this verse. It was to do with the death of Jehoshua at the stake. It was the antitype of the burnt, meat and drink offerings which were to obtain atonement. Since Jehoshua's death was the all time, once and for all atonememt there is no need for the above sacrifices as they were the type/shadow of what was to come which was the substance Jehoshua Messiah dying for our sins so that we can have atonement. No longer do we need to go to the Temple and give our offer burnt,  meat and drink offerings to the Levtical Preists for atonement as we (the Church) are the Temple of Jehovah and all we need to do is go to His Son Jehoshua our High Preist and receive atonement by confessing our sins.

So back to verse 16 for a moment. We are not to let anyone judge us concerning the ceremonial aspects of Holy days. This verse has nothing to do with doing away of Holy days but rather doing away with the burnt, meat and drink offerings related to these days. Also, remember that sabbath days here in this passage doesn't just refer to the 7th day sabbath but also the first day of the feast of unleavened bread and the seventh day of that feast and their related rituals. The rituals of these various sabbaths are what was nailed to the stake not the actual weekly Sabbath. The 4th commandment to keep the Sabbath day as Holy in and of itself, has nothing to do with rituals or sacrifices (Numbers 28 does give instructions for meat, drink snd burnt offerings to be done every sabbath) but rather a day of rest and undivided devotion to Jehovah. It is a remembrance of Jehovah and Jehoshua's creation of this world not a day of atonement. In Genesis 2:1-3, it was instituted at creation with no instructions for sacrificial atonement. Note that the Sabbath was instituted prior to sin being introduced to the world so this eliminates any talk of the Sabbath being a day of atonement. This is key as the passage in Colossians in context is talking about the death of Jehoshua at the stake and that it was the once and for all sacrifice. That's the reason Paul says the ordinances of circumcision, meat, drink and burnt offerings were nailed at the stake because they had to do with atonement for ones sins. We obviously don't need these anymore being that Messiah is our atonement. This then removes the need to keep the annual sabbaths and various, other Holy days, new moons (monthly) and such as their purpose was for atonement. The weekly Sabbath is set apart though as it is a Holy day of memorial to honor the Godhead of creation,  Jehovah and His Son Jehoshua. Exodus 20:8-11 institutes the Sabbath as the 4th commandment of the Decalogue with no instructions for sacrifical atonement but a day of rest and Jehovah hallowed it. We no longer keep the annual sabbaths as those were done away with at the stake since they were days where atonement was obtained. The weekly Sabbath was not instituted as a day of atonement but rather as a creation memorial.

Also, Exodus 16:22-34 describes Jehovah's command for the Israelites to keep the Sabbath Holy as a day of rest and undivided devotion to Him. They were told to gather twice as much manna on the preparation day (Friday) so that they can keep the Seventh day Holy as a day of rest and devotion to Jehovah. They were told to keep an omer of it as a memorial to future generations. Jehovah commanded that a pot with an omer of manna it be laid up before the Testimony to be kept. Note that this was before the 10 Commandments were given so we know that the Sabbath was always Jehovah's Hallowed day. Also, there were no instructions for burnt, meat or drink offerings to obtain atonement. The Sabbath was not a day of atonement but rather a creation memorial. The writing of this command to keep the Sabbath holy on tablets of the 10 commandments further solidified the Seventh day as an eternal institution. Read Isaiah 66:22-23 to confirm this. Sacrificial ordinances were later added to the weekly Sabbath (Numbers 28) but those were done away with at the stake. The Sabbath itself as a day of resting from all labours and of undivided devotion to Jehovah and His Son Jehoshua remains intact for all eternity.