Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever!”
Ps 118:4
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” He said. Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand into the wound in My side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” John 20:26-27 NLT
According to Jewish scholars, the number eight signifies new beginnings because the eighth day was the first day after creation when God returned to work. The week began again. Along this same line of thought, in Matthew 28:1-3 we are told it was after the Sabbath when Jesus’ tomb was discovered to be empty.
The word Sabbath means: A se’nnight, seven, intermission, an interval between two Sabbaths, to repose, desist from exertion, cease, celebrate, cause to fail, keep (Sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down), make to rest, rid, still, take away.
We are told in the beginning God created, and on the seventh day He had finished the work He had been doing. So, on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done Genesis 2:2-3. This is a new discovery we will be investigating: The end of the Sabbath would be eight and eight means new beginnings.
God gave them His statutes and showed them His judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’ Moreover, He also gave them His Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Himself, that they might know He is the Lord Who sanctifies them (Ezekiel 20:11-12 NKJV). God sanctifies us by the Truth; His Word is Truth (John 17:17).
John 1:1-2 says: In the beginning was the Word! The Word of Truth was with God! The Word of Life was God! The Lord was with God in the beginning. And God of His own volition, chose to give us birth through the Word of Truth (James 1:18). From the foundation of the world the Lamb of God was slain (Revelation 13:8 NKJV) so mankind could enjoy new beginnings, as born-again children of God.
Jesus said, “You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. I tell you the Truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again,” John 3:3-8.
God has been a partner in all the Lord’s labor, and we can be assured just as Jesus was, no matter the appearance of the circumstances we must face, God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His design and purpose (Romans 8:28 AMP).
For while the Lord was here on earth He pleaded with God, praying with tears and agony of soul to the only One Who could save Him from premature death. And even though Jesus is God’s Son, He had to learn from experience what it was like to obey when obeying meant suffering, just as we do.
It was after the Lord proved Himself perfect in this experience that He became the Source of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him (Hebrews 5:7-9 TLB). Yes, God destined from the beginning those He knew and foreordained to be molded into the image of His Son and share in His likeness (Romans 8:28-29 AMP).
God chose Jesus long before the world began for this purpose: To pay the ransom for those who believed in His Word of Truth with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. That we could place our faith and hope in our heavenly Father, through the One God raised from the dead and glorified, Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:19), Who said, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath,” Mark 2:27-28.
The word Sabbath means seven, as does “Covenant oath-swearing. To swear an oath means, literally, “To seven oneself.” Biblical scholars reference this to Genesis 21:27-32: Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs before he swore an oath with Abimelech, who asked, “What is the meaning of this?” Abraham replied, “Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well.”
To seven Himself, God confirmed with an oath to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised (Hebrews 16:17). The free gift of Life to enjoy with our heavenly Father throughout eternity! Everyone and anyone who believes in Christ, the Lord identifies as His own by giving us Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised, and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would live doing what glorifies Him (Ephesians 1:13-14 NLT) right now, right here on earth. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, Whom God raised from the dead and glorified, that we trust God, that we know we have a future in God (1 Peter 1:19 Message).
It was to this end that God called us through His Word of Truth, so that we may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah
(2 Thessalonians 2:14 AMP). God so loved the world He chose to seven Himself with an oath so He could grant to us His promise of grace and spiritual peace in Christ’s kingdom. Peace from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come and from the seven Spirits – the sevenfold Holy Spirit – before His throne (Revelation 1:4).
The Lord of Hosts says, “I am going to bring forth My Servant the Branch. If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will both govern My house and have charge of my courts; I will give you a place among these standing here.”
“See I have set a Stone, and on that one Stone are seven eyes – the sevenfold Spirit. I will engrave on it an inscription, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness,’ (2 Timothy 2:19). And I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day,” Zechariah 3:7-10 BSB.
The Son of Man, the Righteous One, He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).
This is the Man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build the temple of the Lord. It is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule as King on His throne. He will be a Priest on His throne, and there will be harmony between His two roles,” Zechariah 6:12-13.
Do you not discern and understand that we, the body of Christ, the Church, are God’s temple – His sanctuary – and God’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling in us (1 Corinthians 3:16 AMP). Yes, a shoot came up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The sevenfold Spirit of God rests upon Him – The Spirit of Truth, The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and of Power, the Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord – and He will delight in the Fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-3 AMP).
Yes, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). And if you honor the Sabbath you will find your joy in the Lord (Isaiah 58:14a). This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high!
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His love endures forever! This is the Gate – Christ Jesus – through which the righteous may enter. I will give Him thanks, for He answered me. He has become my salvation. The Stone the builders rejected has become the Capstone! The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done. He has opened for us the gates of righteousness. Let us enter and give thanks to the Lord (Psalm 118:13-29). Jesus suffered outside the city gate to make God’s people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp bearing the disgrace He bore (Hebrews 13:12-14).
For blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven (Luke 6:22-23). So, do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Let us be glad and rejoice in the Lord! For Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. By Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-17).
The Lord, the Lord, is our strength and our song!
He has become our salvation!
With joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation!
Isaiah 12:2-3