We have shown there is no Biblical evidence that even one person rested on the seventh day before the Jews left Egypt. For one to affirm that Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac or Jacob kept the Sabbath is to add to the Bible. We have also shown that the Sabbath was given to remind the Jews of that time when they were in Egypt and had no rest (Deut. 5:14-15). Remembering the Sabbath meant every Jew was to spend time thinking of their deliverance.
In contrast to this is the remembrance Jesus commands every Christian to observe. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” When did they meet to eat the Lord’s Supper? The church at Corinth and the churches in Galatia met every week (1 Cor. 16:1-2). They all came together in one place (1 Cor. 11:18, 20; 14:23) to eat the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:18-34). Christians have no heritage in a day God gave to the Jews to remind them of Egypt. Our heritage is in Jesus’ blood, and early Christians met every week to remember Him.
There is a rest (Sabbath) for Christians. Hebrews chapter four states, “For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterwards spoken of another day. There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God” (4:8-9). Notice the affirmation carefully. The Jews had left Egypt under Moses and entered the Promised Land under Joshua. From the time they left Mt. Sinai until the end of Joshua’s life they observed the Sabbath day every week. The Hebrew writer quotes David (Psa. 95:11) who affirmed that, though they had the Sabbath, they did NOT have the day that remains for the faithful.
The key word in all of this is found in verse eight. “He would not afterwards spoken of another day.” The Jews had the Sabbath day of rest, but there was another rest that remains. The rest that remains is not the same rest—it is another rest! What does the word “another” mean? The dictionary defines it as, “One more; an additional one; distinctly different from the first; an extra one, a different one, an alternative, a variant.” Now read the passage again, substituting the definition as you read. The Sabbath that remains for Christians is NOT the SAME Sabbath (rest) but one different from the first!
The Hebrew Christians knew of the seventh day rest, but they were urged to labor to enter into another rest (4:11). There was a rest which remained for them, but it was not the same rest but another. They were encouraged to keep laboring for a future rest. Those who serve Him faithfully will enter that rest (heaven) which remains for them. Then, they will cease from laboring (4:10). The seventh day Sabbath rest was for those whose heritage was slavery. The rest that remains for us is that eternal rest for all the redeemed of all ages!