The Two Temples
(A Christian Workbook)
Appendix B: On Colossians 2
ne of The
New Testament passages that seems to present the greatest bit of difficulty to
the study of the Sabbath in the time after Christ’s death is Colossians 2:16,
17. In most English translations it reads along the lines: “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]: Which are a shadow of things to come;
but the body [is] of Christ.” (Col 2:16, 17)
Some,
on reading this, immediately say, “You see we are not to judge others on the
keeping or neglect of the 4th Commandment, because the days for worship aren’t
important.”
But is
this what the Scripture is really saying? Looking at that passage, taken from the
King James Version, we see two words in [brackets]. The reason they are in
brackets is because they were added by translators. Without any “help,” the two
verses read, “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: Which are a
shadow of things to come; but the body of Christ.” (Col 2:16, 17)
There
is a vast difference between these two statements now, and what they are
commonly taken to mean. Without the word “is,” Paul is actually telling the
readers, “Let no man judge you in these matters... which are a shadow of things
to come... but the body of Christ.” A little background will help to confirm
that this reading is the right one.
Colossi
was a largely pagan settlement, and among these idolatrous people the
Christians had established a Church. Those around the believers were involved
in a worship of the planets, the stars and other heavenly bodies, including
angels. (Col 2:18) Because of this, some of the believers of Collosi (as in
Galatia) were being tempted to join their acquaintances in their worship of
times and days, which were often dedicated to false deities and forces of
nature. (Galatians 4:9, 10) The apostle to the gentiles immediately counters
the error, proclaiming Christ as Creator and Victor, having overcome the evil
angels who were receiving worship under the guise of universal guides and
principles. (Col 2:15)
This is
where our two verses come in. Paul warns the Christians not to let the heathen
around them judge them in their keeping of the 7th day Sabbath, and the New
Moon, and the other Judeo-Christian Feasts, and their avoidance of food and
drink offered to idols, for no one is equipped to judge these things but
(except for) the Body of Christ. This is not the only place Paul writes in this
manner, for he says in another place, “What have I to do to judge them also
that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are
without God judgeth.” (1 Corinthians 5:12, 13a) The Church is the guide for its
members, and God is the judge of all men.
Finally,
as further support for reading the passage as it is literally worded in the
Greek, Paul does not say that the Sabbath, or the holy days (or meat and drink,
for that matter) have passed away. The two verses presented here are often
misquoted, with careless readers saying, “...New Moons, or of the Sabbath days,
which were a shadow of things to come...” and then claiming that they
WERE to come, but are now fulfilled in Christ. The problem with this is twofold.
First,
the passage says these ordinances ARE a shadow of things to come, and this was
written after Christ’s death. Isaiah 66 points out the fact that Sabbaths and
New Moons will continue to be kept even in the renewed Heavens and earth (Isa
66:23), therefore the teaching that Christ’s death made these practices void is
manifestly declared false by the words of the prophet.
Second,
in addition to this, those who have an understanding of what the feasts mean
can easily point out that not every feast was fulfilled in the life and
ministry of Christ – yet. The Feast of Tabernacles, for example, represents the
final harvest, which corresponds in the New Covenant to the Messiah returning
to gather His people at the end of human history. (Matthew 13:20, Revelation
14:16)
Thus,
we may be sure that Paul intended his readers to gather from his words exactly
what he wrote. To those who had recently converted to Christianity, he said,
“Do not let yourself be misled by those who are judging your newfound practices
to be useless or flawed, the Body of Christ (the Church) is the only
organization on earth that is unpolluted with error and misinformation. The
Body of Christ is the means by which we can be sure we have the true religion
of the Savior.”
David.
