REST
There are 4 Mentioned in scripture.
The 1st one offered to Israel but not accepted through faith
(Heb. 4:2). The 2nd one
offered by Christ and accepted by the true believer in Matt. 11:28; Heb. 4:3. The 3rd is the eternal one
mentioned in Heb. 4:9 whereby the
resurrected and perfected saint is at One with His God (Heb. 3:14) typified by the 4th Sabbath rest at the end
of the work week.
(Heb 4:9 KJV) "There remaineth therefore a rest to the
people of God."
The rest in this verse is not the rest mentioned so
frequently in this section. Rather it is Sabbath rest, from the Greek sabbatismos, occurring only this once in the New Testament. Thus
the people of God not only may enjoy the spiritual rest promised by Christ in
this life (e.g., Matt. 11:28 entered
into by faith in the work of Christ mentioned in vs. 3) but also may look forward to the eternal rest in the new
earth which was typified by a weekly Sabbath rest in Israel. The resurrected and
perfected saint accomplished through the completed threefold work of Christ and
symbolized in the 3-fold communion service of the Church spoken of in John 13.
The latter not only commemorated the completed work of
creation but also anticipated the completed work of redemption and
reconciliation. That coming rest will not be one of inaction, of course, for
His servants shall serve Him there (Rev.
22:3), but rather one of perfect fellowship with God and freedom from the
presence of sin. Our present weekly rest on the Lords Day continues this
observance even more effectively than the sabbatismos
of Israel, for it commemorates both His creation and His resurrection, the two
finished works of Christ, until He comes again.
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