Heb. 4:9 “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Does this verse mean the Sabbath Day has been fulfilled and no longer needs to be kept by Christians? Answer: No, it is to be kept by Christians.
Our question then is what is the “rest” spoken of in Heb. 4:9? In writing on this verse Professor Samuele Bacchiocchi makes the following three observations about the word “rest” as used in Hebrews 4:9. 1)” It commemorates first the completion of creation”. 2) …”it came to symbolize the promise of entry into the land of rest and its temporal realization”. 3) Using Gen. 2:2 and Psalm 95:11 “Hebrews provides unshakable assurance that God’s people through Jesus Christ shares at length in the whole purpose of creation and redemption epitomized by the Sabbath rest.” 1
Consider the following verses: Gen 2:2 God “rested on the 7th day”. Psalm 95: 11 For forty years God was grieved in his heart for Israel until verse 11 we find He did not allow them to “enter into my rest”. Yet they did enter the physical promised land. Ex. 20:11 God commanded the keeping of His Holy Sabbath day of rest. Ex. 31:17 The Sabbaths are a sign and God “rested”. Lev. 23:3 God puts the weekly Sabbath and His Holy Days together in this verse. …”the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest.”
We have seen ancient Israel entered the promised land but did not received the full rest God had intended (Psalm. 95:11). There remains a Sabbath rest for the People of God to enter into. What is this “Sabbath”? It is the weekly Sabbath day and the future Kingdom of God. …”the words translated “rest” in Hebrews come from the Greek katapausis or katapauo, two variations of the same root. According to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, this term means “causing to cease” or “putting to rest.” Hebrews 4:9 uses a different word, the Greek sabbatismos, which is used only here in the New Testament. It means “Sabbath rest” or “Sabbath observance” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Bauer, Danker, Arndt and Gingrich) and appears to have been coined by the author of Hebrews. By doing this, the rest of God was linked to the weekly Sabbath. “So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God”(New Revised Standard Version). This verse presents powerful support for the continued Christian celebration of the seventh-day Sabbath. The weekly Sabbath rest reminds us of the ultimate fulfillment of God’s Sabbath rest that will begin after Jesus Christ returns.” 2
Lastly the context of Hebrews 4:1-11 keenly shows us the intertwined relationship between the weekly Sabbath day and the future Kingdom of God. They are both referred to as his “rest”. The Sabbath symbolizes God’s immense and wonderful creation not only of the universe but of His spiritual family. The culmination of the “rest” God is preparing for all mankind will be at the return of Jesus Christ and the eventual complete Kingship over the world.
We have seen “rest” means the Sabbath day and the future Kingdom of God. The ancient people of Israel entered the “promised land” but did not receive the full rest. The rest that remains to be entered into is for the people of God (Christians) and will be the full and complete “rest” promised to all mankind. It shows our weekly rest in Christ and our future spiritual rest in his Kingdom.
Hebrews 4:9 bolsters the keeping of the seventh day Sabbath for the people of God.
For more information on the Sabbath day of the Bible go to www.cscog7.org and read the one-page article titled, The Sabbath Day.
1 Bacchiocchi, Samuele, From Sabbath to Sunday, The Pontifical Gregorian University Press, Rome, 1977 page 65.
2 Quoted from Mike Bennett Church of God, a Worldwide Association (COGWA).
