Col 2:14-17 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (the death penalty, as illustrated by the ceremonial law) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat offerings, or in drink offerings, or in part of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which, meat and drink offerings, are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
The common Adventist explanation of this passage that most of us have heard has some problems with it; it is not very consistent with the rest of the Bible. First I will give some of the reasons why it is not consistent and then I will give an alternative explanation that to me seems much more reasonable.
Problem 1:
There is not a single place anywhere else in the New Testament where the Greek word here translated “Sabbath days” ever refers to any of the feast days. But there are fifty-three places in the New Testament where this word refers specifically to the Seventh-day Sabbath.
Problem 2:
The only one of the Feasts that is referred to in the Old Testament by the word for “Sabbath” (“shabbath”) is the Day of Atonement. The other Feasts were referred to by a different Hebrew word (“shabbathown”) which means “rest”. We can’t readily see this difference in our KJV Bibles, but many newer translations make this difference apparent.
We find the same thing in the Septuagint as well – which is the Greek Old Testament that was in use during the time of Christ and the apostles. We find that the Seventh-day Sabbath (together with the Day of Atonement) is referred to in Lev. 23 by the word “sabbaton”, whereas the festival rest days are referred to by the word “anapausis”.
So which word did Paul use in Col. 2:16? He used the word “sabbaton”, which is the word for the Seventh-day Sabbath. He did not use the word “anapausis”, which is the word for the festival rest days.
Problem 3:
Paul knew the Old Testament very well; he probably had large portions of it memorized. If we look in the Old Testament we find a triad of Feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths, spoken of together over and over again. Numbers 28 is a good example. First it lists the sacrifices and meat and drink offering for the Seventh-day Sabbaths, and then for the New Moons, and then for the Feast days. The rest of the Old Testament continues this trend, with many verses that use these three words together – Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts.
Hos 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
1 Chr 23:21 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord.
Neh 10:33 For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, andfor all the work of the house of our God.
The Sabbaths were the weekly days of worship.
The New Moons were the monthly days of worship.
The Feast days were the yearly days of worship.
Here are some more verses where you will find this triad of Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts spoken of together: 2 Chr. 2:4; 31:3; Eze. 45:17.
Problem 4:
Some people have speculated that since the word “Sabbath days” is plural in Col. 2 it must refer to the feast days. But if you just read through the Bible you will find many places where the Seventh-day Sabbath is referred to in plural form (for example, see Ex. 31:13; Lev. 19:3; 23:38; 26:2; 1 Chr. 23:31; Eze. 20:12; 20:20). Many of our favorite verses about the Sabbath speak of it in plural form – “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you…”
What this means:
As far as I can tell there is no Biblical basis for the idea that the “Sabbath days” in Col. 2:16 is referring to the festival rest days. Paul here used the word for the Seventh-day Sabbath, not the word for the festival rest days. Therefore, I see no other conclusion than that this is indeed referring to the Seventh-day Sabbath.
Now we have a problem. Our traditional interpretation of Col. 2:16 no longer works. We know that the Seventh-day Sabbath has not passed away. Therefore we must look for a new explanation of these verses. I want to propose such an explanation, which to me makes a lot more sense and also continues to prove that the Sabbath should still be kept.
So what did Paul mean in Colossians 2?
There are two ways of viewing Col. 2:16:
- Don’t let anybody judge you because you ARE keeping the Feasts, New Moons, and Sabbath days.
- Don’t let anybody judge you because you ARE NOT keeping the Holy Days, New Moons, and Sabbath days.
Most people have assumed that the second interpretation was correct. But now that we see it includes the Seventh-day Sabbath, we can no longer assume that. We know that we are still supposed to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, so we must take another look at how we interpret these verses.
Following is the first evidence that we see to show us that Paul was not doing away with the Holy Days, New Moons, and Sabbath days when he wrote Col. 2:16:
- Did Paul keep the Feasts? Yes, indeed; he kept them both at Jerusalem, and in gentile cities with his converts. You can read about it in the book of Acts.
- Did Paul keep the Seventh-day Sabbath? Yes, he did! Again, we see in the book of Acts that this was something he did all through his life.
- Will the New Moons still be kept in Heaven? Yes, they will. Isaiah 66:23 makes this very clear.
So we know that when Paul wrote Colossians 2:16, he was not trying to tell people to stop keeping these holy days that Christ had ordained in the Old Testament. He must mean something else. And we know that Paul wrote “some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Pet. 3:16)
We want to make sure we don’t wrest these verses in Colossians 2 to our own destruction. So let’s start with the meats and drinks and see if we can learn what is being said here.
Meats and Drinks:
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (the death penalty, as illustrated by the ceremonial law) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
The ceremonial system was made up of symbols pointing to Christ, to His sacrifice and His priesthood. This ritual law, with its sacrifices and ordinances, was to be performed by the Hebrews until type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Then all the sacrificial offerings were to cease. It is this law that Christ “took . . . out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Colossians 2:14. {PP 365}
So we know that the ceremonial law is what Christ nailed to the cross. What meats and drinks were given in the ceremonial law? We know that the law of clean and unclean meats was not part of the ceremonial law; neither was the prohibition against the priests partaking in alcoholic beverages, or the prohibition against meat with blood and fat in it. So we know Paul is not speaking of any of these laws. But we do find “meats” and “drinks” that were part of the ceremonial law in Numbers 28 – the meat and drink offerings for the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts.
So let’s go look at Numbers 28. This chapter of Numbers lists all the meat and drink offerings that were to be offered on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts. Here is a brief chart of these offerings:
Seventh-day Sabbaths:
- 2 Lambs
- Meat offering
- Drink offering
New Moons:
- 2 Young bullocks, 1 ram, 7 lambs
- Meat offering
- Drink offering
Feast Days:
- Various sacrifices
- Meat offerings
- Drink offerings
At one time these offerings were offered on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts, but they were fulfilled by the Messiah when He died. So we no longer need to offer these offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons, or Feasts.
Ok, so now that we understand the meat and drink offerings, let’s go look at Colossians 2 some more.
Colossians 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.
The word translated “respect” here can also be translated as “part”, or “particulars”. In fact, it is translated as “part” sixteen times in the New Testament. So what if we plug some of this knowledge into Colossians 2:16? Which part of the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts has passed away?
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (the death penalty, as illustrated by the ceremonial law) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat offerings, or in drink offerings, or in part 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.
The meat and drink offerings were once part of the Sabbaths, Feasts, and New Moons, but Christ offered His body as the fulfillment of these meat and drink offerings. In this way, He fulfilled them and they no longer need to be offered on these days.
So it sounds to me like Paul is saying, “Don’t let anybody judge you for not offering meat and drink offerings on the holy days, new moons, or sabbath days, because those meats and drinks were shadows of things to come.”
I am suspecting that the Judaizing teachers were trying to convince the Colossians that it was still necessary to offer meat and drink offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts. They did not realize that Christ had fulfilled these offerings by offering His own body, once for all. Therefore, Paul was probably telling the Colossians, “Don’t let the Judaizing teachers judge you because you are keeping the feasts, new moons, and sabbaths, without offering any of the sacrifices once prescribed for those days (Num. 28-29). The ceremonial law has now passed away and we no longer need to do those things when we celebrate the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts”.