The morning Manna will be provided at
6am. Thanks. Studying Three Cosmic Messages in the SSnet.org series Lesson 8, may the
Holy Spirit be the speaker to your heart. The Topic today is: Sabbath by Heschel
and the Bible compared for Morning Manna of the Sabbath School Lesson Three Cosmic Messages. The Opening Hymn will be 229
"Spirit of the Living God". The Sabbath School Quarterly,
downloadable from SSnet.org in the Teacher's Edition is on page 69. The SSnet.org allows anyone, anywhere to
read the lesson in their own language. Choose your own language to see God
speaking also to your heart. Why don’t you click on this link right
now: https://absg.adventist.org/pdf.php?file=2023:2Q:SE:PDFs:EAQ223_08.pdf ---In
1951 the Polish-American Jewish Philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel published
his book on the Sabbath. ---It
made him famous. ---Talking
about sacred architecture in Jewish Tradition he said that the Sabbath or time
is the “palace” in contrast to the six days space. ---Time
is more important than space. Why? Adventist Timothy Watson analyzed Heschel
and says that time represents God. ---So
in Heschel’s view, every Sabbath it is as if the Messiah descents to the earth and
gives an additional soul to everyone. ---By
keeping this day, man makes himself holy with an innate holiness that man has. ---Watson
says that is not biblical. He says that Sabbath is not holy in the Bible
because man makes it holy but because God rested on that seventh time. ---God
worked six days in time and rested on the seventh time to celebrate His
completion of the work in six days time. ---In
the Bible there is not this philosophical contrast between space six days and time
one day. ---Space
was earthly but time was heavenly and eternal and on the seventh day it is a
means of attaining holiness, Heschel claims. Watson disagrees because it is not
biblical. ---Always
remember that Modern Judaism is a mixture of Arabic philosophy, Christian Mysticism
and Jewish Mysticism and even agnostic and atheistic elements. They
philosophically fabricate their religion in modern times. ---Not
so with Adventism. The Bible has to tell us what Sabbath means. ---God
resting on it makes it holy. Holiness is not innate in the time but from God
Who’s day it is. This is the difference between Heschel and Adventism. ---Heschel
likes Rabbi Hayim who said: “Rabbi Hayim: "We have seen the tremendous
change that the holiness of the Sabbath brings about in the life of the saint.
The light of holiness blazes in his heart like tongues of fire, and he is
overcome with rapture and yearning to serve God . . . all night and all
day." ---Watson
says “In other words, through the Sabbath, the human soul connects with the
divine soul in the form of sanctified time: What is the Sabbath? Spirit in the
form of time. With our bodies we belong to space; our spirit, our souls, soar
to eternity, aspire to be holy. The Sabbath is an ascent to the summit. It gives
us the opportunity to sanctify time, to raise the good to the level of the
holy, to behold the holy by abstaining from profanity.” ---Watson
warns that this is not biblical. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man
not man for the Sabbath. ---Maybe
Finley was too romantic with Heschel in this section of the Sabbath School
lesson today? ---But
the Bible does point out as Finley says, that Sabbath will be on the new earth
in future as well. Eternity with Jesus on the Sabbath is reality to come. ---So
Adventists believe that worshipping on the Sabbath is an opportunity to connect
to their Redeemer Christ to meet God and receive blessing for sanctification or
holiness from Him, not time. Do you see? ---Is
your pastor using time as a means to enrich himself instead of God? Get away.
That is not what Sabbath was made for. It is not a time to play or entertain
ourselves. ---It
is not a time for a community club to sit around and chat. ---Holiness
is a topic and sanctification is a topic for the Sabbath and it is all
connected to God with Whom you can have a relationship closely this next
Sabbath. ---Did
you plan to come? Plan now immediately. Source: Timothy
Watson, Is Heschel’s Sabbath Biblical?” Andrews
University Seminary Studies, Vo1. 40, No. 2, 2002: 265-272. Downloaded
from https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/2002-2/2002-2-10.pdf