| (Copyright) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| Colossians 2:16-17 reads: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” These two verses have caused much controversy among various church groups and individual believers. For some, these two verses support keeping the Holydays and the Sabbath, while for others, it is proof that we no longer have to worry about such “Jewish practices.” Why? Because they were only SHADOWS while Christ is the reality. Christ, the reality, is far greater than any shadows. So why bother with the shadows when we should today focus on Christ. This is how many understand what Paul said with these two verses. The primary problem stems from the translation of verse 17: “Which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” Of course, the body is of Christ. Of course, the sky is blue, but what does that have to do with Paul’s previous statement about the Holydays being shadows? Many reason that if the Holydays were only shadows, then they are of little value today for Christians. Other translations render verse 17 as, “These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” NIV. “which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” NKJV. With the phrase that follows the “but,” the translators always add a verb which is not in the Greek. They do this to provide their interpretation of verse 17. Therefore, they make Paul to be saying that the Holydays and Sabbath were only shadows (and of little value or importance) while Christ is the actual reality or substance. This is what happens when translators, who know and understand koine or common Greek of the New Testament, inject their own bias into their work of translation. They are human and have their own beliefs, so it happens. Yet, when we look at a New Testament Interlinear, we will find that Paul actually said, “which are a shadow of things to come, but the body of Christ.” Notice that there is not another verb after the “but.” Let me use this illustration to explain what this verse is saying that makes sense to me. If I were to write to you, “My shoes are old,” what might you conclude from this simple statement? There is a good chance that you might think that since my shoes are old, then they are also worn out and should be discarded. But to prevent you from assuming something that is not true, I would need to add a “but” or “yet.” This is what Paul did in verse 17. “They are shadows, BUT . . . “But what? What else did Paul say about the Sabbath and Holydays? “But the body of Christ.” Back to my illustration: “My shoes are old, BUT they are in good shape.” Well, that changes everything. If they are still in good shape, then they are probably very comfortable and should not be discarded. Looking at my above sentence, can it be shortened? Could I have just written, “My shoes are old, but in good shape”? With this sentence, I did not repeat the verb after the “but.” And this is what Paul did as well, but I’m not a Greek scholar who can explain the Greek. However, the Holy Spirit can help us to understand things despite not knowing the original language. So, when Paul said, “but the body of Christ,” what did he mean? Consider this: “Which are a shadow of things to come, but [are] the body of Christ.” Wait! Is that what Paul actually meant? That the Sabbath and Holydays ARE the body of Christ? How can that be? How are we members of the body of Christ? It is through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (See I Corinthians 12:13 among others). As you know, the Holy Spirit imparts to us the mind or nature of God. It does not control us like robots. It will guide us, but we have to be willing to follow it rather than the flesh. This is sometimes easier said than done. But God does allow us freewill. Without freewill, God could not work His marvelous plan to bring many sons and daughters to glory. To build Godly character, we must learn to resist various temptations of the flesh and other influences that we may encounter. It is not easy and requires our own diligent efforts in drawing closer to God and being filled with more of His Holy Spirit as Jesus often had to do when He also dwelt in the flesh. Is this what Paul meant when he said to “work out your own salvation”? See Philippians 2:12. Certainly, we can’t save ourselves by our own works. But we have to do what we need to do to stay close to God and be filled with His Spirit which does transform us as we choose to follow its leading. Does the Sabbath and the Holydays express the thinking or mind or plan of God? If they do, then can they be considered part of the body of Christ? And is this what Paul was actually saying about them? They are shadows of things to come which makes them prophetic but also of the body. And if they are of the body of Christ, then they still have great value and should not be discarded or ignored. Keeping them does not give us salvation but it does help us to stay close to God who will save us as we remain in Christ. And if the Sabbath and Holydays are in Christ, then should we still be observing them? This is the controversy that has plagued New Testament believers for centuries. And when scripture is not properly translated, then it does not help with the matter. Yet, people will believe what they want to believe despite how well we may argue for or against something. Since you are a Sabbath keeper, I hope this makes some sense to you. Yet, Colossians 2:16-17 is often quoted by those who believe the Holydays don’t matter anymore. For us reading his words centuries later, Paul’s writings are not always completely clear as to what he meant. And having to rely on translations only adds to the problem. Anyway, just wanted to take a little walk in “my old shoes.” |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Colossians 2:16-17 Article by Dwight Fleming Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| What Dwight wrote in regard to Col. 2:16-17 was originally sent to me as part of a letter and not as an article. At that time, I thought it was good and I still think it is good in that it eventually led me into a deep dive into scripture and what I found was that translators did not all use the same words in these two scriptures. What we need to understand about those who translated scripture is that they probably seldom had God’s Holy Spirit and did not understand the plan of God for the most part. (The major parts of what we disagreed with Dwight in regard to are highlighted in yellow in his article.) At one point in my research, I probably had these two scriptures displayed in front of me from twenty or more bibles at the same time both new and old. In the King James Bible, it says: Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. What Dwight is having a problem with is the word “is” in verse 17. It is italicized so it is not in the original text. One problem I found is that not all Bibles italicize the word “is”, so you don’t always know that it is not in the original text. That is a problem. What Dwight wants to do is make the verse say, “Which are a shadow of things to come, but [are] the body of Christ.” He wants to eliminate the word “is” altogether and then insert “are” after but. When he does this, he then comes up with “That the Sabbath and Holydays ARE the body of Christ?” As we looked at this closer, we did not think it was clear either way. Something was wrong with the unclearness of the scripture in the bible and also with the conclusion Dwight arrived at because on further thought, Holy Days cannot be the body of Christ. The body of Christ consists of people, the church. Therfor no man iuge you in mete, or in drink, or in part of feeste dai, or of neomenye, or of sabatis, whiche ben schadewe of thingis to comynge; for the bodi is of Crist. John Wycliffe Bible 1382 Okay, so that version is a little hard to read, but look at what verse 17 says: “Which be shadows of things to come for the body is of Christ. (This uses the word “is” as if it is part of the original text, but instead of the word “but” it uses the word “for”. Okay, we have all heard of John Wycliffe, but how many of us have ever heard of Julia E. Smith? Until now I hadn’t heard of her either. She was a woman that knew Hebrew, Greek and Latin. She went back to the original text and translated it from the original languages into English. It took her eight years and she self-published it. Now the reason it never became well known to most is because it is a completely literal translation. Most translators put in all these connecting words which don’t always help with understanding but does help the bible to read smoothly. Different translators use different words. For example, go back to the KJV for these two verses. Some translations use conscience for “judge” in verse 16. The word “respect” in verse 16 can be part which is the main meaning for Strong’s #G3313. Well, over time part turned into piece and then peace and later regard and respect. It all just depends on the translator. Julia used the word “turn” instead of respect and if you go back into the Hebrew “turn” and “respect” are part of the same definition, but under respect in Greek you can’t find “turn”. Notice she does not use “But” or “Is” in verse 17 and even without any connecting words it reads smoother. Some bibles also use regard instead of respect. Therefore let not any judge you in food, or in drink, or in turn of festival, or of the new moon, or of sabbaths: Which are a shadow of things about to be; and the body of Christ. Julia E. Smith Translation 1876 You can find these old bibles at: https://textusreceptusbibles.com/Interlinear In my opinion, I do not believe verse 17 is saying that the Holy Days are the body as Dwight believes. I think a better wording for these two verses would be: Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in regard of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbaths Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come for the body of Christ. (My Version) Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (KJV) As you can see, I did not change much in the verse to make it make more sense: And just for the record where it says “or of the new moon” it is talking about Feast of Trumpets and not about keeping a monthly new moon day. Also, since holyday is already mentioned in verse 16 and some translators use “festival” rather than “holyday” why then would scripture single out “New Moon” or Feast of Trumpets and then it adds weekly sabbaths at the end. I suppose you could lump all sabbaths including the annual ones into that word sabbath because they are all sabbaths, but the problem is that “holyday” or “festival” as some translate verse 16 already includes the annual sabbaths. So why is “new moon” or Feast of Trumpets mentioned separately in verse 16. Feast of Trumpets is the day that the Hebrew Calendar is set from, so I believe that it is a reference to the Hebrew Calendar which is set by the New Moon of Tishri One, which is also called the Feast of Trumpets. In conclusion, the verse is not saying, not to keep the Holy Days. What it is saying is that the Holy Days are a shadow or a map of where the Church of God, the Body of Christ is going. If you throw that map away, you have no direction and you lose your way. Dwight made this statement: Keeping them does not give us salvation but it does help us to stay close to God who will save us as we remain in Christ. I sincerely hope you are not teaching this to other people. If you do not keep the Holy Days at the times that God has appointed for them to be kept you will not gain salvation, you will lose it. The Holy Days are part of the law of God, and they are part of the ten commandments. All Holy Days, whether weekly or annual, are sabbaths and we are all commanded to keep them. To remain in Christ, you have to keep all of His Law, which includes the Holy Days. In Leviticus 23 it tells us these are God’s Feasts, and it goes on to list all of them. Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Amo 8:5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? Amo 8:6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? Amo 8:7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Amo 8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. Amo 8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: Amo 8:10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. And also see: Isaiah 1 Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. In the above verses from Amos and Isaiah, He calls them your feasts and He hates them. Throughout the Old Testament they went into captivity or were punished in some way for Sabbath Breaking. Why many people within the Church of God do not understand this, I do not know, but the bottom line here is that you are to keep God’s Feasts and not your own made-up feasts. God only has one calendar, and He only has one set of Holy Days and if you are not keeping the ones that God has appointed for you to keep then you are Sabbath Breakers and you will not be in the First Fruit Resurrection because you are not keeping the Law of God as stated in Lev. 23 and other places in the bible. So yes, keeping the holy days as God has appointed is very much a salvational issue. I hear a lot of people say, what is the difference what day we keep the holydays on just as long as we are keeping them. It makes a difference to God what days you keep them on. If it did not make any difference to God then He would not have to punish people for breaking His Sabbaths. So, continue your lives believing this issue makes no difference to God and see what happens. Do you really want to find out the hard way? Eze 18:4 … the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. You cannot pick and choose which laws of God you will keep and which ones you will not keep. Keeping the law of God won’t save you from the death penalty because Christ already did that for us when He died on the cross, but it will save you from cremation in the “Lake of Fire” (the second and final death).Those who do not want to keep the law of God will not be in the “Kingdom of God,” and that is the bottom line and your choice. |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Colossians 2:16-17 Article by Dwight Fleming Comments by Ray Daly (Lincoln, North Dakota) & Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| Ray writes: Regarding Dwight Fleming’s comments regarding Col. 2:16-17. Does it not show in the use of “shadow”, that it is referring to something not readily identifiable? Let’s use the meanings of the Passover as an example. For the Israelites basically understood that the “Lamb” was a type of human sacrifice for them. They knew it, but they did not know what to look for. Laura writes: Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in regard of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbaths Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come for the body of Christ. (My Version) Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (KJV) These verses are saying that you should not let any man or woman judge you in keeping the law, the annual holy days, the calendar or the weekly sabbaths because all of these things are a shadow of things to come in the future for the church of god, ecclesia, body of Christ. The word shadow means it is giving us a picture, though small of what is to come in the future. And yes, it is similar to how the sacrifice of the lambs were a shadow of Christ coming and being sacrificed. Ray writes: But, when Christ did sacrifice his “Body,” it was supposed to be a clear evidence that it was his body that was the picture given by the lamb. The lamb was of someone to come, and Jesus was the “fulfillment of said lamb’s sacrifice. Note the word “fulfillment”. For it was, as I have read from Hebrew writings, that once the meanings and intents of a holy day were “fulfilled”, it was not necessary to any longer use the “shadow” of said holy days. On this point, note that the Jews of Jesus day no longer observed the Passover practice of killing a lamb, and putting the blood on the doors of their homes. They did not do this anymore, simply because, to them, their “Passover Lamb” had already been sacrificed. Laura writes: That is right, once Christ was sacrificed along with the Passover lambs that part of the plan of God was fulfilled and there was no longer a need for sacrificing the lambs anymore. As far as daubing the blood on the door posts, that was a one-time thing in Egypt. It was part of the plagues that God brought on the Egyptians. The shadows of the law and holy days has not been fulfilled yet, so you still have to keep the law and the holy days that are a part of the Law of God. That has not been done away with or fulfilled. Ray writes: Based on what occurred in the early 600’s BC, when an individual came into Babylon, and had a ministry the exact same as Jesus did in the 1st century AD. They named him “Bel” and ceased worshipping “Baal”. If the reader cares to look up this Bel’s ministry, they can look it up on the net (Wikipedia, for example) under the Persian name “Mithra’s”. Laura writes: If you have this information and can prove what you say is true then why don’t you just give us the web page address for where you have found this information. The only thing I can find on Wikipedia in regard to “Mithra’s or Bel” is that they are pagan God’s. In other words they are of Satan and have nothing to do with God the Father or Christ. Ray writes: And note that Christ’s shed blood and beaten body was for everyone that seeks him. He gave his disciples wine and bread (not unleavened), as a sign of their having accepted his sacrifice. It was a one-time thing for each convert. The apostles and their servants would do the same with each of their “new” converts. Taking the wine and bread regularly, is the same as crucifying Christ over and over again. He told his disciples that when they gave the wine and bread to others, for one time only, then they were picturing what Jesus did for them. For there is no command given to them to do it regularly. Laura writes: If you had not thrown out the Law of God, you would see the command in the bible. Passover and Unleavened Bread are the same feast. Eze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And when it says “this do in remembrance of me” it is saying do it more than once. So if, and most know that Unleavened Bread is to be kept once a year and since Passover and the First Day of Unleavened Bread are the same day then Passover is the first of the appointed annual feast days of God. Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. These verses are talking about Passover. Exo 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exo 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. Exo 12:16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. Where in scripture does it say that the bread and wine of Passover is only a onetime thing? Send me the scripture that says that. |
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