Bible Question:
How then do you explain Paul's description of "Sabaths" or "Holy Days" in Colosians 2:16 and 17 when compared to the Author of Hebrews explanation of the creation of man and God's rest found in Hebrew's 3:5 through 4:11. Here (Hebrews) the author thoroughly explains that "God's rest", or the 7th day of creation, is something we strive to enter, and while it is "Today", which, by intent, we can surmise must refer to the 6th day, we should strive to enter "God's rest." Either the author is allegorizing the 7 days of creation, or else he is displaying quite literally that the 6th and 7th days of creation were no more 24 hour periods than the first 4 days. In either case, something is debunked here: 24 hour creaction period following day four OR allegory not being present in the creation. Again, I find Paul's refference to "shadows" lends great credance to this concept. |
Bible Answer: Hi, Stultis! I think that the problem you are having is that you seek to understand the Scripture in human terms... This happens very frequently when we indulge in enlightenment "quests." But we must employ the Holy Spirit as our Guide and Teacher; if we remove God's direction we are working on bare fumes (our finite understanding of both the physcial and spiritual realms). Here's what Jesus said about the Father: His answer to them was, 'My Father still goes on working, and I am at work too. (John 5:17) Would you say that Jesus was confused sinse Scripture tells us that God rested after Creation? I love SciFi--I find many Biblical teachings in the better samples of this genre... one of my favorite films is "Dune." There's an episode where creatures who are able to bend time and space come to correct one of their minion's actions and they speak of plans within plans... True, Yahweh rested on the day after Creation... but there are plans within plans in God's Creation... this is why Paul tells us that: We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Romans 8:22) And the new rest that we are asked to ready ourselves for is a spiritual rest: a new Creation in Christ. Since both the Creator and the creature are in constant growth (the creature searching out its Creator and its Creator guiding the creature in loving patience) Creation is constant (John 5:17). So to attempt to limit Creation to a 6-24-hour period is quite a simplistic view of God. You seek precision? Study nature: before we discovered the sciences of mathematics, physics, chemestry... God had rested from Creation employing his Divine Wisdom and Knowledge into His Design... I mean, have you studied crystals, sea shells, feathers, snowflakes? Nature is not only filled with aesthetic beauty, but there's a fantastic mathematical symphony even in the most basic of forms! This was no accident! God's Wisdom made it so for our gratification and Salvation: For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20) Nature can lead us to God, even when we lack spritual awareness... It is not so with Scripture! We cannot simply use science to disect the Word and expect to discover God's mysteries: but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:10-12--see also 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20; 3:16) True, we must search the Scripture; but if we indulge our finite limitations we will reap finite understanding. God Bless! Angel |