THE LOST MEANING OF THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH
BY: SIGVE K. TONSTAD
Study Guide Through
A Book Review Edition by: Hielvin Ermac
COMPOSITIONS:
A. 27 CHAPTERS
B. 4 BROAD SECTIONS
PART ONE: INTRODUCING THE SEVENTH DAY
Chapter 1: Introducing the Seventh Day
Psalmn74:9 “We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that
knoweth how long” English Version (KJV)
Salmo 74:9 “Wala nato makita ang atong mga ilhanan: wala nay usa nag manalagna: ni may usa sa
taliwala nato nga nahibalo hangtud anus-a na” Bisaya Version
DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH:
-Like a jar buried deep in the sands of time, preserving a treasure long lost and forgotten.
“We have only partial knowledge of the factors that caused this jar to disappear, but we are
nevertheless in a position to predict what will happen when the treasure is recovered”
EXPLAIN AND TRANSLATE:
“Mayroon lamang kaming bahagyang kaalaman sa mga kadahilanan na naging sanhi ng
pagkawala ng banga na ito, ngunit sa gayon ay nasa isang posisyon kaming hulaan kung ano ang
mangyayari kapag ang kayamanan ay nakuha”
THE SEVENTH DAY WILL SPEAK AGAIN TO ITS NATIVE VOICE OF BLESSING:
The Seventh Day:
Genesis 2:1-3 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the
seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work
which God created and made”
WHAT IS THIS NATIVE VOICE OF BLESSING?
“It will illuminate the most basic question of human existence because it exposes the bedrock of what it
means to be human”
EXPLAIN AND TRANSLATE:
This expresses of two components:
a. Human existence and:
b. What it means to be human
“These two has a significant connection of the Seventh Day (Sabbath) which question the utmost
connection to human existence”
FOUNDATIONS:
-God is the primary subject of the Seventh Day
“Just like the dead sea scrolls preserved for millennia in ancient pottery, the content of the jar must
command more attention than the vessel that contains it.”
“When we speak of the lost meaning of the Seventh Day, therefore we are speaking of meaning that has
been lost concerning God”
In the Bible the Seventh Day is marked off as the High point and climax of creation: (need ug edit
pa)
a. Genesis 2:1-3 -Enshrining God’s purpose at the center of human existence
b. Exodus 16:1-30 – When the Israelites emerged from cruel bondage in Egypt: The Seventh day
was made to stand apart as a sign of freedom and dignity
c. Deuteronomy 5:22- The ten commandments, which cover only the most essential ethical
obligations and principle of conduct.
Exodus 20:8-11 and
Deuteronomy 5:12-15- The Seventh Day serve as a Bill of Rights for all God’s creatures, human
and non-human alike.
d. Exodus 20:11 and 31:12-17 – The Seventh Day is also single out as the sign of the Divine
human-relationship
e. “The idea that the seventh day is a passing ordinance intended only for the members of a specific
ethnic group, the Jews, is countered by the prophet who makes it the centerpiece of a vision of
inclusion”
Isaiah 56:1-8- Centerpiece of division of inclusion (dibisyon ng pagsasama)
Isaiah 58: 12-14 - A critical ingredient in the future restoration, restoration for all, a prayer to all
nation.
Isaiah 66:23 – Feature of Life and Earth made new
FEATURES OF THE SEVENTH DAY IN NEW TESTAMENT:
-It focuses on the service of Jesus Healing Ministry
(Mark 3:1–5; Luke 13:10–17; John 5:1–9; 9:1–14)
- These Bible chapters focuses on the Sabbath Healing Ministry
- (Mark 3:1-5, Luke 13:10-17, John 5:1-9: 9:1-14)
- These Bible Chapters focuses on the Sabbath Healing ministry
SYNOPTIC GOSPELS ON SEVENTH DAY
- “In the synoptic Gospels the death of Jesus Christ is conspicuously timed to coincide with the
beginning of the seventh day.
Death of Jesus Christ of the Seventh Day
- (Matt. 27:45, Mark 15:33 and Luke 23:44)
- “Point out that He dies, they all say at three o’clock in the afternoon”
- “His death echoes the imitable hallmark of divine activity”
- JESUS DEATH IS CONFIGURED ACCORDING TO THE SCALE OF CREATION
- (GEN. 2:1-3)
- “Using the reader of Synoptic Gospels to view his death as an event that is part of a large,
unfolding story.
GOSPEL OF JOHN:
(John 19: 14,31)
“Jesus crying out on the cross: it is finished”
- This are his very last words.
(John 19:30 and Genisis 2:1-3)
- But these words, too even more than a timing itself, remind the reader of the climax of creation in
Genesis.
- The words spoken on the cross are taken from the first page of the seventh day, recalling its
original configuration and character. As in the Synoptics, this has the effect of placing the
person of Jesus within the identity of the one God. The acting subject in Creation is also the
acting subject in John’s portrayal of Jesus’s death.
- “On this point all the four evangelists agree; they all see Jesus’s death as an event within a story
that began at Creation.”
“When Revelation rounds off the biblical narrative, the last two chapters read as a virtual mirror
image of the story of Creation “
(Revelation chapters 21 and 22)
- the earth restored to the state of which the seventh day was originally the hallowed
endpoint. All these elements, in the New Testament even more than in the Old, endow the
seventh day with a halo of distinction. (There is a twist: halo- glory and majesty, distinction-
perceiving something that is not the same.)
This is not the whole story, of course.
- Another side of the account asserts that the seventh day was buried long ago in an unmarked
grave.
- According to this version, when Jesus appeared on the stage of history, the seventh day was
doomed. His life, death, and resurrection made the seventh day obsolete- (no longer in use
or valid), allowing and even encouraging His followers to choose another symbol to take over
its functions.
- No matter how great its biblical mandate, the story goes, Christianity turned its back on the
seventh day, embracing in its place the first day of the week, or nothing at all, 2 to serve as
the sign of the new faith.
- The present inquiry pursues and prioritizes the meaning of the seventh day, placing the lost
meaning in the foreground and not only the loss of the seventh day as such.
(Ang kasalukuyang pagtatanong ay hinahabol at inuuna ang kahulugan ng ikapitong araw,
paglalagay ng nawalang kahulugan sa harapan at hindi lamang ang pagkawala ng ikapito
araw na tulad)
- Anticipating where the weight of evidence leads, the character of the seventh day is
misconstrued if it is seen as a national or religious marker of identity and not as a
theological statement. To the extent that it is part of God’s story, it cannot be suppressed
indefinitely. It must reassert itself to complete its God-ordained mission; it cannot remain in
permanent exile.
(Inaasahan kung saan humahantong ang bigat ng ebidensya, ang karakter ng ikapitong araw ay
maling pag-akala kung ito ay nakikita bilang isang pambansa o relihiyosong marka ng
pagkakakilanlan at hindi bilang isang teolohikal na pahayag. Sa lawak na bahagi ito nga ay isang
kwento ng Dios, hindi ito mapipigilan nang walang katiyakan. Dapat itong muling bigyang-diin ang
sarili upang makumpleto ito. Misyon na itinalaga ng Diyos; hindi ito maaaring manatili sa
permanenteng pagpapatapon.)
- The formal elements in this story are easily outlined. They divide into (1) the seventh day in
the Old Testament, (2) the seventh day in the New Testament, and (3) post-biblical issues that are
raised by the eclipse of the seventh day. These three sections make up the body of the present
inquiry. The material issues are more complex, but here, too, we have three main elements. By
way of a preliminary measure, they are (1) the alienation between Christians and Jews, (2) the
estrangement (the fact of no longer being on friendly terms or part of a social group) . of
Christianity from the material world, and (3) the theological depth that lies at the heart of the
seventh day.
