The 4th Commandment (Part 7)

The Common Holidays are soon upon us, & with it come those who complain about strict 7 Day Sabbatarianism, Christmas Trees, Halloween, & the food laws.  As a matter of review, these & other practices are encompassed by the 4th Commandment.  The 4th Commandment declares that the people are to work 6 days & set aside the 7th day out of a 7-Day cycle. It does not prescribe a Friday @ sunset to Sat. @ sunset day to the exclusion of any others. You ought to be able to deduce that the actual day or days of the week can be legally expanded.   Sabbath regulations are a package deal.  If Rigid Sabbatarianism is true, there can be no expansion of the Hebrew feast/festival calendar in Lev. 23.  There is no command to observe Purim, yet Esther gives the rationale for it.  Yeshua attended the Festival of Lights — and He did so without sinning.  Changing the times & the Law isn’t limited to the abolition/repeal of worship & rest regulations. ...
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Tackling Tradition 64: Revelation 22: 6 - 9

 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”  (Revelation 22:6–9, ESV)


Many people read this as a lesson not to worship angels, & they are most certainly right about that.  That says, there is more going on here than that.   

Throughout the Book of Revelation, angels appear as non-angelic humanity & animal kind’s fellow image bearers who participate in the investigation & judgment if the created order.   Thus, when the messenger accompanying & paracleting John speaks to him here, exhorting John not to worship him, he isn’t merely reminding John that angels are not proper objects of worship (insofar as only God, THE LORD, is worthy of worship), he is also asking John not to engage in worship without him too. We have just seen the City of God come down from heaven, & in the city of God, angelic & non-angelic beings paraclete one another, exercise shared dominion, & worship THE LORD together.  

I LORD, Hear our prayer(s)!

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