In Heb. 8 we see this old covenant has passed away and "place" has been sought for the second, which is "a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." It is most important for us to understand clearly that the covenant between God and the Jewish people is entirely set aside for us, and that the sign of this covenant (resting on the seventh day) does not belong to us. If we clearly understand this important teaching of the Scripture, it will deliver us from the snare of the teaching of Seventh Day Adventists, and all others who seek to put the Lord's people under the law.
But there is more. Our rest is not in this world. The Sabbath was the sign of rest in this world, and the Lord Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The Spirit of God has been careful to show in the four Gospels how often He worked on the Sabbath. The Lord made no mention of the Sabbath in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), where He gave such a precious summary of the fundamental principles suited to the kingdom. The Lord Jesus passed the Sabbath in the grave, a sign of the position of the old covenant now.
The Lord's Day
Many people try to show that the Sabbath day is now the Lord's Day. But the Sabbath day was the seventh day, a rest at the end of the week, after the labor is finished. The Lord's Day is called in Scripture the first day of the week, and for us it is the day above all days. It is the resurrection day, and it shows that we find our rest in resurrection. We find our rest at the beginning of our spiritual life, instead of finding it at the end of our labors. "Come unto Me... and I will give you rest," Christ said. Our rest is in the new creation.
Some Christians think that the Lord's Day is like other days because they understand that our rest is not down in this world. But they do not understand that the Scripture clearly makes a difference between this day and the following six days of the week. The Lord Himself has chosen even the name of this day. He calls it "the Lord's day" in Rev. 1:1010I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (Revelation 1:10). Some people tell us this means "the day of the Lord" of which we read much in both the Old and New Testaments. But the Greek says quite another thing, and is quite a different word. This word is only used twice in the New Testament: "The Lord's supper" and "the Lord's day.”
We should understand clearly the nature of the Sabbath; it was God's appointed sign of seeking rest as the result of labor under the law. The more we understand this, and understand that the Lord Jesus, who is "Lord... of the Sabbath," has disannulled the first covenant, the more clearly will we understand that any person who now seeks to maintain the authority of the Jewish Sabbath is in danger of denying the authority, the dignity, and the rights of the Lord Jesus Himself.
Grace
Let us take care, on the other hand, because we are not under law but under grace, not to forget the thought of man's rest and also of God's rest. As we pointed out before, rest is the special mark of God's own people. When we come to Christ, He gives us rest, and when we take His yoke upon us, we find rest to our souls. To the servant of the Lord who is wearied in the service of his Master (not wearied of His service), we read of another rest: "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while," and there alone in the presence of His Master, far from the rush and toil, He finds rest and refreshment, and comes forth freshly girded for His work.
The Millennium
The Millennium will be a further stage of this rest that God gives, when Christ will reign for a thousand years and Satan will be bound. Then will be fulfilled the prophecy: "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing." Isa. 14:77The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. (Isaiah 14:7). The noise of war is gone. The cry of the oppressed will cease, and "the Sun of Righteousness" will bring peace and plenty to this weary earth. It will keep its Sabbath. But even this is not the final rest. The final rest is from spiritual labors in the midst of this evil, not only from sin.
During the Millennium sin will remain in this world. Satan, though bound, will be loosed again. Eternal rest, this unending Sabbath of God, we shall enjoy with the Lord Himself in a coming day, though now we have the privilege of working for Him who has said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
“Come unto Me..
and I will give you rest.”