Which rule are you referring to? I am not understanding your point. Are you trying to say shadows come first, then the realities? That is simply not true. A shadow is "a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface” … I don't care what words you use regarding shadows as long as you understand they DO NOT come first.
Yes, that rule. I think you are taking the Old Testament things being shadows too literally. The temple and its furnishings and ministry were not actual shadows in the sense of being a dark area that the light is blocked from shining on. That would rob the Law of the light it provided to God’s people, as you said, the Law was a light to their path, the only light they had, a dim and shadowy light in comparison to the True Light, but the only light the people of God had at the time. In Hebrews 10:1 Paul said the Law had a shadow of good things to come, so to insist that this means the Law was a dark area the light was blocked from cannot be correct. The things of the Law weren’t shadows in that literal sense, they were shadows (skia 4639) in the sense that they were an “adumbration,” something represented only in outline, thus a vague or shadowy symbol or outline that foreshadowed (predicted) future things or events.
So if these things were not “shadows” in the literal sense, then it’s simply not true that the things and events they represented had to already exist, which is rather self-evident as so many of them spoke of things that didn’t in fact exist or come to pass until thousands of years later. I mean, I believe that Christ pre-existed his incarnation, but I also agree that this physical body and blood which is our Passover did not come into existence until his incarnation. And the fact that God foreknew he would have a flesh and blood body did not mean they already existed, foreknowledge does not equate to pre-existence, I see that same mistake made by those who hold to a predestination vs. free will doctrine.
In Hebrews 9:9 Paul also calls these Old Testament types “figures,” (parabole 3850) the root of which (paraballo 3826) literally means to throw alongside for comparison and can refer to a symbol or a parabolic story.
In Hebrews 9:24 Paul calls these earthly things “figures of the true” (antitupos 499), something that corresponds to an anti-type, a representative, a counterpart.
And in Hebrews 9:23 Paul calls these earthly things “patterns of things in the heavens” (hupodeigma 5262), which means an exhibit for imitation or warning, and figuratively means a specimen or, again, adumbration-something represented only in outline.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 Paul also calls the history of Israel’s deliverance and wilderness journeying an “example,” (tupos 5179) in the sense that it was a sample or model or figure or pattern for warning to us upon whom the ends of the world have come. (1 Corinthians 10:1-11)
I generally don’t like parsing Hebrew and Greek words, people often get so caught up in the literal meanings, the letter, that they miss the message that the words were intended to convey. Or in contemporary vernacular, can’t see the forest for the trees. You might say the trees are the Law, but the forest is the Gospel.
But the point is that making a rule out of a particular, literal definition of a single word can create far more problems than it solves.
Sabbath keepers rest in the work of Yeshua and we rest from seeking to be justified by the Law.
I have to disagree. Every Sabbath keeper I have ever spoken with says that, but then turns around and claims that, because they obey the Sabbath commandment, they are therefore obedient to God and not guilty of breaking the Sabbath commandment. That is what justified by the works of the Law means, that you are just and innocent before God because you obey the commandments. What you are really saying is you rest in Jesus from some works of the Law (sacrificial ordinances), but other works of the Law you obey yourself.
However, we know full well that Yeshua DOSE NOT provide us with a physical rest for our bodies or the bodies of animals used by us for work. Only the Sabbath rest can do that.
I believe you are a brother in Christ, so I would like to speak very plainly. The purpose of the Sabbath was not to provide physical rest for our weary bodies or that of our animals. God provided that to us on a daily basis, that's what sleep is for. The Sabbath is God’s rest. In six days God created the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested. God did not rest because he was weary. God rested on the seventh day because His work was finished.
You do realize that there are actually ten different Sabbaths in the Scriptures that were all types and figures that teach us different aspects of our salvation. And in some ways the most important is the seventh day sabbath, because it teaches us about God finishing his work and resting and allowing His people to join Him in His rest. That was a type of Jesus and his work, his perfect obedience to every jot and tittle of God’s law to be that perfect, sinless, acceptable sacrifice. That’s why, before he commended his spirit to the Father and died, Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished.” The impossibly heavy yoke of living up to the righteousness required by the Law was fulfilled, perfectly. He was obedient, even to the death. And when his work was finished, he laid down his life.
And those of us who are in Christ, we have entered into and joined him in His rest, because the works are finished, all the works are finished, not some of the works and the rest of the works we have to do.
There is more, much, much more that can be said about God’s sabbaths and what they teach us about the blessings we have through faith, but I think perhaps this is the most important. Trying to rest in Christ for some commandments and at the same time trying to do the works of the law according to other commandments is like trying to take the seventh day off work and yet go out and plow a field. Either you work, or you rest. You can’t do both.
And let me say this, just because we are free from the works of the Law, does not mean we can therefore live without restraint. We are only free from the law because we are joined with Christ and only to the degree that we follow Him and submit ourselves to his spirit, in like measure will our lives bear the fruit of His presence; love, joy, peace … and for people who live such spiritual lives, no law is necessary.
If you choose to reject the concept of the resurrection being the reality of the Jubilee, then view the resurrection as the means to attain the reality of the Jubilee. If that doesn't work for you either, then state your case for what the reality is.
I reject the concept that the
physical resurrection is the reality of the Jubilee and that therefore
since that resurrection hasn’t come to pass then
the Jubilee hasn’t been fulfilled.
And I will have to take a break, but will try to respond to the rest of your post if I can slip away tonight. I dearly love the times and seasons of the Holy Land and all the harvest types and figures and parables, so I don’t want to hurry a response but look forward to talking it over with you.
In Christ,
Pilgrimer