Mat 24:20 - why the Sabbath?

[soldierotc]

Matthew 24:20
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.


Winter seems pretty clear to me, but why the Sabbath?
Hopefully, I won't make myself look too dumb on this one, but I am interested to learn why.

[Allegra]

Matthew 24:20
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.


Winter seems pretty clear to me, but why the Sabbath?
Hopefully, I won't make myself look too dumb on this one, but I am interested to learn why.

Well, Matthew wrote the statements of Jesus to a Jewish Christian audience. Because he was Jewish. So I don't analyze the "Sabbath" too much, only to recognize it was more to the Jewish readers. And perhaps it's bc they still observed the Law & were supposed to rest on the Sabbath. Whereas you don't find in Luke's gospel (in the Olivet discourse parallel) mention of the Sabbath, bc Luke was a Gentile Christian & addressed a more gentile audience.

[Soj]

Matthew 24:20
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.


Winter seems pretty clear to me, but why the Sabbath?
Hopefully, I won't make myself look too dumb on this one, but I am interested to learn why.

This passage of scripture concerns the abomination of desolation (Matt 24:15) and the coming Tribulation period (Matt 24:21), the "flight" is running away from it! It is argued that if it was the Sabbath they would violate it by travelling more than a "Sabbath's day journey," but that interpretation is a bit strained. If the Sabbath is "made for man" (Mark 2:27) and the "Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28) why would it be "breaking the sabbath" to run from the Antichrist till you were out of breath?

[ross3421]

Matthew 24:20
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.


Winter seems pretty clear to me, but why the Sabbath?
Hopefully, I won't make myself look too dumb on this one, but I am interested to learn why.

Thanks for the question....... The destruction of Babylon will occur in winter ansd upon the sabbath, why the sabbath?

The sabbath day is when all upon the earth comes to this city to worship the king (AC) and thus they will be gathered in one central location. Those which survive Babylon's destruction are later taken into the valley and anilated.

We see in chapter 17 the evidence that there were past sabbaths whereby the inhabinants came to worship as the city is adorned in purple and scarlet which are the gifts of the people as in times past. In addition, we see those which trade by the sea have come from thier ships unto the city for worship but STAND afar off and cast dust upon thier heads due to this destruction.

So again, the sabbath is a time the inhabinants are gathered together around the city so they first hand can witness God's power and destruction at a symbolic time when they come and worship a king whom they believe is all powerful.

Mark

[ShirleyFord]

Matthew 24:20
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.


Winter seems pretty clear to me, but why the Sabbath?
Hopefully, I won't make myself look too dumb on this one, but I am interested to learn why.

Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:



Neh 7:3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.

Neh 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

[ross3421]

Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:



Neh 7:3 And I said unto them, <FONT color=blue>Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one%

Who will be able to hear these words and see these signs during this time to escape his wrath upon this city?

[diffangle]

[QUOTE]

Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Matthew 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:



Neh 7:3 And I said unto them, <FONT color=blue>Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one%

The gates of Jerusalem stay open on the Sabbath nowadays.

[ShirleyFord]

Who will be able to hear these words and see these signs during this time to escape his wrath upon this city?

According to historical records, those who believed the words of Christ who heard and then obeyed Him.

[ShirleyFord]

[quote=diffangle;1490688]

The gates of Jerusalem stay open on the Sabbath nowadays.

We find that Nehemiah put that law in place less than 500 years before Jesus gave those instructions. Whether that law to close the gates of Jerusalem before the weekly Sabbath began and open them after it had ended was still in place less than 500 yrs. later at the time of the earthly ministry of Christ during the first century, the Bible doesn't say.

But that would be a reason for Jesus to instruct His listeners to pray that their flight not be on the sabbath day if that were still the case so they could leave Jerusalem freely and quickly.

Some have suggested that it was because of the Phariseeic law of "a sabbath's day journey" that we find recorded only once in the Bible in Acts 1:12 "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey."

There is nothing written in the OT or the NT to explain what a sabbath day's journey meant or if it were even a law of any kind. We don't find anyone breaking it or the Jewish leaders enforcing it if it were one of their laws.

[diffangle]

There is nothing written in the OT or the NT to explain what a sabbath day's journey meant or if it were even a law of any kind. We don't find anyone breaking it or the Jewish leaders enforcing it if it were one of their laws.

Deut 5:14 could indicate what a Sabbath's day journey is...

Deu 5:14But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of YHWH thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

The "within thy gates" is the Hebrew word sha`ar (Strong's H8179) meaning...

1) gate
a) gate (of entrance)
b) gate (of space inside gate, i.e. marketplace, public meeting place)
1) city, town

Imo, I interpret Him as saying that it wouldn't be good to have to break the Sabbath by having to flee instead of resting. I'm not saying that He's saying "don't flee"... just that it would be preferable to keep the Sabbath rather than having to break the Sabbath. We can see in the future that Sabbath-keeping will still be observed...

Isa 66:23And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith YHWH.

[ShirleyFord]

Deut 5:14 could indicate what a Sabbath's day journey is...

Deu 5:14But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of YHWH thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

The "within thy gates" is the Hebrew word sha`ar (Strong's H8179) meaning...

1) gate
a) gate (of entrance)
b) gate (of space inside gate, i.e. marketplace, public meeting place)
1) city, town

When we study the law of the sabbath from the OT, I don't see how "a sabbath day's journey" would apply. I believe "within thy gates" that you cited in Deu 5:14 would mean an entrance to their own habitations, dwelling places.

Moses instructs Israel about keeping the law in Deuteronomy after they get into the promised land of Canaan that he has taught them and instructed them throughout their 40 yrs. in the wilderness:

Deuteronomy 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

13 Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:

14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Exodus 16:29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.



Exodus 16:29 "let not man go out of his place" seems to be saying the same thing as Deuteronomy 5:14 "within thy gates".



Ex 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:




And "throughout your habitations":




Ex 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.



The law of the sabbath prohibited Israel from doing anything on the sabbath but to stay inside their dwelling places. Those breaking the sabbath were to be killed:



Numbers 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.

34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.

35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.



Jesus wasn't teaching about the law of the sabbath in the Olivet Discourse recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. And it is clear that He is speaking about getting out of Judaea where Jerusalem was located by fleeing to the Judaean mountains. And if they were within the midst of the city of Jerusalem, for them to depart out. And those who were outside of the city, not to let them enter in.


Luke 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:



Sounds to me like Jesus is saying that it would be harder for them to depart out of Jerusalem on the sabbath day. But He doesn't explain it since those to who He was speaking understood what He meant evidently.


Shirley

[MeerkatMadden]

In the end times the followers of God will follow the commandments and will have the testimony of Jesus (please read Rev. 12:17).

So those in the middle of the last move of God will be observing the Sabbath.

The true prophets know this, and they have received messages from the Lord that judgment is coming.

Prophet Tom Deckard (perfect 32 year track record) is warning that a horrible judgment is on the way:

[ross3421]

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:



Sounds to me like Jesus is saying that it would be harder for them to depart out of Jerusalem on the sabbath day. But He doesn't explain it since those to who He was speaking understood what He meant evidently.


Shirley

This is a clue to the timing of events. We see those traveling "flight" to somewhere. We can determine that they are coming up to Jerusalem (babylon) to worship as for the remark of the sabbath and for those already there to flee. So Babylon will be destroyed in the winter months on the sabbath day.

Still working on the rest of the equation......

[diffangle]

This is a clue to the timing of events. We see those traveling "flight" to somewhere. We can determine that they are coming up to Jerusalem (babylon) to worship as for the remark of the sabbath and for those already there to flee. So Babylon will be destroyed in the winter months on the sabbath day.

Still working on the rest of the equation......

Mat 24:36¶But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

[ross3421]

Mat 24:36¶But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Thanks for the verse........ do you know why this is so? Tell me how can the Son nor angels which are in heaven not know of this day or see it coming?

In addition, scripture gives us timing right up to the very time in which Christ will return so we definately know the seasons but why will we not know the day?........

Do not be so quick to answer as it is a loaded question. Take some time to study the events which occur when Christ returns and what takes place to the things we see today.

Mark