I guess I'm too dense to understand exactly what's being advanced as literal or as figurative. Man's words and God's words are all mixed together in this discussion.
So, exactly what does "Figuratively speaking, we will be at rest" mean?
Because it sounds an awful lot like we won't be at rest at all. Perhaps you'd like to re-phrase?
Let me use an example. When we all sit down to eat the communion, we take a piece of bread and a small cup of grape juice and as the pastor recites the account of the Last Supper, we eat the bread and drink the cup at the appropriate time. The bread and cup represent the body and blood of Christ. And as Jesus said, "As oft as you eat this, do it in remembrance of me." The bread and wine are symbolic representations of the body and blood of Christ and as often as we eat and drink them together in church, we are remembering that Jesus gave himself to God as an offering for our sins.
The Next age is real and it will be a wonderful and blessed thing. Those who rest on the Seventh day of the week, are remembering the final age. Just as eating the communion bread remembers the body of Christ who died for our sins, resting on the Seventh day of the week remembers the next age.
When the Sabbath was given to man, there was no sin to rest from. God rested from his sinless work of creating the heavens and the earth. He was setting an example for man in a world that was intended (regardless of foreknowledge) to be without sin. All of this stuff is so simple, but folks can't seem to tolerate simplicity nowadays.
Maybe God was setting an example for us to follow, I don't know. But Moses tells Israel to keep the Sabbath Day Holy because God rested on the Seventh-day and not only did God rest, he blessed the Seventh-day.
What is the Seventh Day? Consider that the "days" represent the ages of creation. There were five ages, eras, eons, or stages of time during which mankind didn't exist yet. The sixth "day" of creation witnessed the dominion of Mankind. Thus, Day Seven is another age or period of time when God is resting and he has dominion over all the earth. THAT future age is the age that God blessed and sanctified.
God says that all Scripture is inspired, profitable, etc., and when He said this, the only testament we had was the Old (which is why dispensationalism has no firm foundation). It's also the Testament that the apostolic church used to evangelize the known world. The New Testament magnifies and amplifies the Old; it does not replace it.
Of course, but one more thing. Paul argued that the Gentiles are not required to live Jewishly. Resting on Saturday is living Jewishly. So Gentiles are not obligated to rest on Saturday. Resting on Saturday marks the Jewish people as his people and applies to them exclusively.
I would very much prefer to doubt myself and trust not my own eyes, which seems to be a prevalent counsel of Scripture if I recall correctly (Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 3:5).
Okay, the Bible says that Jesus will not judge according to what he sees. I believe this means that he will judge fairly and not be influenced by fancy or rich apparel. But the Gospel of John is dedicated to a discussion of why someone should believe the gospel, and he highly emphasizes Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisee's unbelief in view of the miracles. God was critical of Israel for the same reason as he led them through the Exodus from Egypt. Israel continued to distrust God even in the light of his overt protection and provision.
Why worry about the 2nd commandment if the 4th is a wash?
Good question. We all need to come to grips with this question. In my view moral behavior can be divided into two main groups: 1) explicitly moral and implicitly moral.
"Thou shalt not murder" is explicitly moral in that the moral imperative is unqualified. It stands alone without qualification. Committing murder is always wrong and never allowed. There is no case, situation, or circumstance when murder is permitted.
Thou shall not work on the Sabbath day" is implicitly moral in that the moral imperative is qualified by God's covenant with Israel.
Exodus 31:13
“But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
According to the Lord, resting on Saturday is a sign between God and Israel throughout their generations. Since resting on Saturday is qualified by God as being a sign between Israel and God, then it is an implicit moral imperative. It would be wrong for Israel to disobey, but not a moral obligation for a non-Israelite.
And what is it exactly that I might need to give up idolizing?
John warned us all about idolatry. 1 John 5:21. So I wasn't suggesting that you were following an idol. Only that we all, including myself, need to guard against popular teachers who may lead us astray. That's why I recommend personal Bible study.
What's to be careful about in following the figurative Lamb whithersoever He goeth?