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Some Sabbath keepers, like some SDA's, may keep the correct day of the 7th Day Sabbath, yet may fail to keep the spirit of the 7th Day Sabbath and thus fail to be loyal to the Lord of the Sabbath Day, by having a wrong, too strong overfocus on the temporal things. Like a *too strong* emphasis on the health message or focus only on humanitarian aid and saving this old earth, while neglecting the importance of evangelistic work.
Why?
While we are to have a focus on the things of this world, including health reform and humanitarian aid, to put it first or perhaps as only, suggests that a person view things from a frog’s perspective and walk by sight, rather than from a bird’s perspective, and walk by faith, which is to have an everlasting perspective of things. An atheist who most definitely walk by sight, and not by faith, will often focus largely on both physical health, environmentalism and humanitarian aid, while completely ridicule the idea of evangelism.
What your main focus is, what your FIRST priority is, becomes your idol, your god. In both of these examples, if the main focus is wrong, then the person ends up worshiping creation (the temporal/apparent kingdom) instead of the creator and His spiritual kingdom. And also for refusing to advance forward to greater light, getting stuck in the old, immature (fallen) law, covenant and order, under the prince of the fallen. Both the day and the spirit of the 4th commandment is important though, but the spiritual weighs even heavier. See Matthew chapter 23.
Thus, those who claim to observe the true Sabbath day, may at the same time dishonor the Lord of the Sabbath and the deeper, fuller meaning of the seventh-day Sabbath. They will then walk by “sight” (according to the law and spirit of this perishable, physical world), which is also in the category of self righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ, instead of walking by faith in the spiritual, invisible, first and foremost. (Seek the kingdom of God, first). We shall love God (the Creator) and His kingdom above everything and everyone. And then mankind (the creation) in second place, in terms of priority. Matthew 22: 37-39.
I believe the often debated chapter 4 of the book of Hebrews speak of both the literal, and the spiritual, deeper significance of the 7th Day Sabbath. To enter into Christ's rest, both literally in terms of observing the 7th Day Sabbath, but also to crucify the law and spirit of self/ the flesh/ of this world, and advance from the old, immature law, covenant and order, to the new, mature and everlasting.
The abomination of desolation could also in a wider sense be to embrace the deeper, spiritual significance of the counterfeit Sabbath Day, Sunday. Which is to worship creation or the lord of the old law, covenant and order, over the Creator, the Lord of the true 7th Day Sabbath, who sanctify us from the old, immature, to the new, mature law , covenant and order.
Where?
In the churches and particularly then in God's professed end time, Sabbath keeping church. Both to the left, and to the right. By having a too strong overfocus on the temporal, that of creation, the physical kingdom of this world, hence putting the second greatest commandment above the first. Thus disregarding the deeper meaning of the 7th Day Sabbath and end up as unfaithful to the Lord if the Sabbath in its fullness.
But those Christians who say they keep the spirit of the Sabbath and not the letter, need to be aware that while Christ came to fulfill and make the law greater, He did not come to abolish it. Matthew 5.17.
To reject the day of the 4th commandment, still mean that you disregard a commandment that is part of the first and greatest commandment. The first 4 is about our loyalty to our Creator, and the last 6 about our devotion to creation, to mankind. The Sabbath also symbolize a marriage between divinity and man, while we are always to love and priorotize the Creator and the spiritual, first, and that of creation and the physical and literal, second. When it comes to the Sabbath commandment, the letter vs. the spirit, for those who should argue like that, they are in this instance in total harmony. Keeping the right day does not mean you disregard the spirit and visa versa. The day is important, a day that was sanctified and set a side to worship and remember our Creator and nurture the relationship between the Creator and Creation in a special way. A day that symbolize and make us remember to love and worship God and His New, everlasting, spiritual order and kingdom above all else. A day that will be remembered and observed throughout all eternity. So if we want to show that we are obediant to and love the Creator above all else, and want to inherit this earth made New, why not make the decision to do so already today?
And to those professed Sabbath keepers who think they will be sealed simply for observing the 7th Day, keep in mind that the Jews did and still practice the very same, and yet they are not automatically sealed because of it. Why? Because they refuse the cross, the way the truth and the life, the way of Jesus Christ. The only way that can lead them from the old immature and fallen law, covenant and order and receive the new, mature, everlasting with Jesus Christ as High priest. Which is the deeper significance of the Sabbath as a seal, being recreated in the image of God and receiving the divine nature. From unsanctified humans filled with the law, spirit of the beast, to sanctified humans filled with the law and spirit of God. From having a fallen nature that worship creation, to a character that will naturally always love and worship the Creator and His kingdom first, and put creation on a definite second place. Hence to walk by faith, by the spirit, not by sight, by the letter.
So if you are not being sanctified and refuse to give up old traditions, the worship of creation, of the limited, rather than crucifying the perverted taste of fallen human characters, in order to receive the higher, the fuller, the more mature truth, you are not honoring the lord of the Sabbath, you fail to receive the fuller truth of the Sabbath, and may end up receiving the mark of the beast, rather than the seal of God.
But everyone who truly repent and receive the new, mature, the fuller, can still avoid the mark, and be sealed by the living God, the creator and sanctifier, and inherit this earth made new.
Here it is also of vital importance that you read:
"The greatest of all abominations in the eyes of the Highest God?"
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