The Sabbath as the Millennial Bride

revhead.gif (4972 bytes)

THE SABBATH AS MILLENNIAL BRIDE
(Last updated 12/8/00)

Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 119a - Happy are those who will be left alive at the end of the sixth millennium to enter on the Sabbath. For that is the day set apart by the Holy One on which to effect the union of souls and to cull new souls to join those that are still on earth, as it is written, "And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written unto life in Jerusalem"
(Is. IV, 3).’

The concept that man's time on earth is destined for 6,000 years is found throughout Jewish literature. (This was discussed earlier in this Revelation study.) There is a mystical teaching related to the Sabbath that says that when God created the world, He gave creation enough "power" to last for "six days" (6,000 years). He then created the Sabbath for the purpose of restoration and revival of the world. Just as the Millennial Sabbath will renew the earth after its six thousand-year days, the weekly Sabbath gives the earth a renewal every seven days.

As such, the Talmud goes as far as saying:

Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 119:B - "Whoever sanctifies the Shabbat, and recites the 'kiddush' blessing over the wine together with the verse of 'Va'yechulu' on Shabbat, is considered like the Holy One's partner in the creation of the world".

As previously mentioned, the Millennial Kingdom could be brought in even sooner than its "designated" time. The Kingdom offer has been presented more than once. Judaism teaches that the righteous behavior of Israel, namely their proper keeping of the weekly Sabbath, can usher in the Millennial Sabbath -- the era of Messiah.

In this context, the Sabbath is considered to be such an important commandment, that it is said to be the equivalent of all the other commandments:

Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XXV:12 - R. Levi said: If Israel kept the Sabbath properly even for one day, the son of David would come. Why? Because it is equivalent to all the commandments; for so it says, For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the flock of His hand. To-day, if ye would but hearken to His voice! (Ps. XCV, 7) R. Johanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, told Israel: ‘Though I have set a definite term for the millennium which will come at the appointed time whether Israel returns to Me in penitence or not, still if they repent even for one day, I will bring it before its appointed time.’ Hence, ‘ To-day, [redemption cometh] if ye would but hearken to His voice’; and just as we find that the son of David will come as a reward for the observance of all commandments [one day], so also will he come for the observance of one Sabbath day, because the Sabbath is equivalent to all commandments. R. Eleazar b. Abina said: In the Torah, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa we find it stated that the Sabbath is equivalent to all commandments. In the Torah, because when Moses forgot to tell them the command of the Sabbath, God said to him: ’How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?’ (Ex. XVI, 28), and immediately after this it says, See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath (ib. 29) In the Prophets, for it says, But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they walked not in My statutes (Ezek. XX, 13), and immediately afterwards it says, And My sabbaths they greatly profaned (ib.). In the Hagiographa, because it says, Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven (Neh. IX, 13), and immediately afterwards it says, And madest known unto them Thy holy sabbath. God said: ' If ye virtuously observe the Sabbath, I will regard you as observing all the commands of the Law, but if you profane it, I will regard it as if you had profaned all the commands’; for so it says, That keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil (Isa. LVI, 2). When man keeps the Sabbath, whatsoever he decrees God fulfils, for it says, If thou turn away thy foot because of the sabbath (ib. LVIII, 13), and immediately after this it says, Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord (ib. 14), which has the same meaning as the verse, So shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall give thee the petitions of thy heart (Ps. XXXVII, 4). Moreover, whatever benefit you derive in this world, is but the fruit thereof, but the stock will remain for you in the World to Come, because it says, And I wil feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it (Isa. LVIII, 14).

The Midrash Rabbah refers to the Sabbath as being the Lord's bride, specifically that of "the Holy One, blessed be He," which we will show in future sections to designate Messiah:

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis X:9 - Rabbi asked R. Ishmael b. R. Jose: ‘Have you heard from your father the actual meaning of AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY GOD FINISHED, etc.?’ Said he to him: ' It is like a man striking the hammer on the anvil, raising it by day and bringing it down after nightfall.’ R. Simeon b. Yohai said: Mortal man, who does not know his minutes, his [exact] times or his hours, must add from the profane to the sacred; but the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows His moments, His times, and His hours, can enter it by a hair's breadth. Genibah and the Rabbis discussed this. Genibah said: This may be compared to a king who made a bridal chamber, which he plastered, painted, and adorned; now what did the bridal chamber lack? A bride to enter it. Similarly, what did the world still lack? The Sabbath.

The Talmud makes the same connection:

Talmud - Mas. Shabbath 119a - R. Hanina robed himself and stood at sunset of Sabbath eve [and] exclaimed, ‘Come and let us go forth to welcome the queen Sabbath.’ R. Jannai donned his robes, on Sabbath eve and exclaimed, ‘Come, O bride, Come, O bride!’

Talmud - Mas. Baba Kama 32b - ‘Come, let us go forth to meet the bride, the queen!’ Some [explicitly] read:’. . . to meet Sabbath, the bride, the queen.’

The following section from the Zohar makes the important point that the Shekinah, the Sabbath and the community of Israel are all considered to be the Lord's bride:

Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 63b - AND MOSES SAID UNTO THEM, LET NO MAN LEAVE OF IT UNTIL THE MORNING. R. Judah said: Every day the world is blessed through that superior day, the Seventh. For the six Days receive blessing from the seventh, and each dispenses the blessing so received on its own day, but not on the next. Hence the Israelites were commanded not to leave of the manna till the morning. The sixth day has more blessing than the rest, for on this day, as R. Eleazar has said, the Shekinah prepares the table for the King. Hence the sixth day has two portions, one for itself and one in preparation for the joy of the union of the King with the Shekinah, which takes place on Sabbath night, and from which all the six days of the week derive their blessing. For that reason the table has to be prepared on the Sabbath night, so that when the blessings descend from above they may find something on which to rest, as it were, for "no blessing rests on an empty table". Those who are aware of this mystery of the union of the Holy One with the Shekinah on Sabbath night consider, therefore, this time the most appropriate one for their own marital union.’ SEE FOR THAT THE LORD HATH GIVEN YOU THE SABBATH. What is the meaning of the word "Sabbath"? The day in which all the other days rest, the day which comprises the other days, and from which they derive blessing. R. Jose said: ‘The Community of Israel is also called "Sabbath", for she is God's spouse. That is why the Sabbath is called "Bride", and it is written, "Ye shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy unto you" (Ex. XXXI, 13): it is holy to you, but not to other nations; "it is a sign between me and the children of Israel" (Ibid. v, 17): it is Israel's eternal heritage.’

In the days of the Temple, on the Sabbath, the Levitical choir would sing Psalm 92, which was called, “A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day." Jewish tradition holds that this psalm is a song for the Millennial Sabbath, when restoration would come to creation. According to Talmud, at the end of the Millennium, the earth will be destroyed as “the L-rd alone shall be exalted on that day” (Isaiah 2:12):

Tamid 33b: On sabbath they used to say, a psalm, a song for the sabbath day: a psalm, a song for the time to come, for the day that will be all sabbath and rest for everlasting life.

A more modern song, sung on Friday evenings by Jews around the world to greet the Sabbath (Shabbat), is called "L'cha Doedee" (meaning "Come My Beloved"). This song follows in the same tradition of viewing the Millennial Sabbath as the bride of the Lord.

L'cha Doedee

Come my beloved to welcome the bride, the presence of Shabbat we receive.

"Observe and Remember" in one divine utterance, we heard from the One and Only god, the Lord is One, and His Name One, for renown, for splendor, and for praise. Come my beloved.

Shake of the dust, arise! Dress in garments of glory, my people, through the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, redemption draws near to my soul. Come my beloved.

Wake up, wake up! For your light has come, awaken, awaken, sign a song, for the glory of the Lord is revealed to you! Come my beloved.

A number of mystical teachings surround the Millennial Sabbath. Many of the Psalms have deeper meanings that pertain to this. The following section from the Zohar, which concerns the Sabbath, cites several Psalms and also mentions the following:

The "River of Eden" - The same River that appears at the end of the book of Revelation - discussed in the next part of this study.
The "Moon" (the Shekinah) separating herself from "the other side," - the realm of evil - this will be discussed later in this study.
The "Sun (of Righteousness)" - a term related directly to the Messiah - discussed later in this study.
Ezekiel's "living creatures" (hayoth) lifting the throne (in the third heaven) upwards to the highest heaven (unifying it with the "supernal throne) - discussed earlier in this study.
A union of the Sabbath "below" (associated with the Shekinah), with that "above" - associated with "Tifereth" - a term related directly to the Messiah - discussed later in this study.

Shemoth, Section 2, Page 136b-138a - Therefore David uttered this Psalm of praise, through the Holy Spirit, in regard to the light and the effulgence of the Sabbath and its pre-eminence over the other days of the week because of the mystery of the Supernal Name which in it lightens up and radiates and sparkles in the spheres of holiness, and is completed above and below. ‘Therefore the "Men of the Great Synagogue" have ordered that this Psalm of David should be the first one to be sung on the Sabbath day, since it refers to those particular "Heavens" which lighten all the others. Then follows (in the liturgy) that "river which goes out of Eden", alluded to in the Psalm which follows this one in the Sabbath service: "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous" (Ps. XXXIII); for this "River" gathers into itself the whole mystery of the "heavens" and the source of life on this day, and the sun is perfected for its appointed task of the distribution of light. Then the Moon, when she separates herself from the "other side"- as on this day she does-in order to receive light from the sun, is alluded to in the Psalm following this one, namely (Ps. XXXIV): "Of David, when he changed his behaviour towards Abimelech." When the "other side" has separated itself from the "Moon", then the latter is united with the "Sun", and therefore this Psalm begins (acrostically) with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, signifying the merging of the Sun with the Moon. Then follows the union of the Matrona with Her Spouse: "A prayer of Moses, the man of God" (Ps. xc): He spreads out both His right and His left hands to receive Her and to unite Himself with Her in perfect union. Then follow other psalms of joy and ardent longing. "A psalm. Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand and his holy arm hath wrought salvation for him" (Ps. XCVIII). This Psalm has been expounded elsewhere, and the Companions were perfectly correct in their assertion that it was chanted by the kine who bore the sacred ark. [Tr. note: v Zohar, Genesis, 123a.] This corresponded to the mystery above: when the "living beings,’ (Hayoth) lay hold of the Throne in order to raise it to the highest heights, then we sing this Psalm. As to the question, why, then, is it called "new" when it is perpetually being repeated, the fact is that it is indeed a "new song" because it refers to the "new" moon at the time when she receives light from the sun. "His right hand and his holy arm hath wrought salvation for him": this denotes the rousing of the right and the left hand to receive Her (the Moon, signifying the Shekinah) when She arrives at "Beth Shemesh", the "House of the Sun", which hands receive and bear Her even as the kine bare the ark. This psalm of praise was therefore ordered to be chanted on the Sabbath by the "one people", namely the children of Israel. (Ps. XCII): "A song. A psalm for (to) the sabbath day. It is good to praise the Lord, to sing unto thy name, O most high. To proclaim thy lovingkindness in the morning and thy faithfulness in the nights." It has been established by the Companions that this hymn of praise was sung by the first man (Adam) after he had been driven out of the Garden of Eden, when the Sabbath drew nigh unto the Holy One and interceded for the created being. Then he sang this hymn in honour of the Sabbath which had delivered him. It is a hymn of praise sung by the world below to the world above, to a world which is altogether "Sabbath", the sphere of the "King whose is the peace". It is a hymn of the sabbath below unto the Sabbath above: the sabbath below, which is like night, sings to the Sabbath above, which is like day. In fact, whenever "Sabbath" is mentioned it refers to the "eve of the Sabbath" (i.e. the Shekinah), but when it says "the Sabbath day", it denotes the Supernal Sabbath (i.e. Tifereth). The former is symbolized by the Female, the latter by the Male. Thus "And the children of Israel should keep the Sabbath" (Ex. XXXI, I6) alludes to the Female, which is the night (layla), and "remember the Sabbath day" (Ibtd. xx, 8) alludes to the Male. Thus the sabbath here below sings a hymn to the Sabbath above. Therefore this psalm is anonymous, as we find everywhere where there is a reference to the world below (the Shekinah) that the Name is not actually mentioned, as, for example, "And he called unto Moses" (Lev. 1, I), "And to Moses he said, go up to the Lord" (Ex. XXIX, I). Since in this psalm reference is made to a higher sphere, therefore the divine name is not applied to the lower grade, just as a candle cannot shine in the sunlight. All the hymns sung in praise of and on the Sabbath are the aids to its ascension to supernal regions where it is crowned with supernal holy crowns above all other days.

Note the last sentence of this section above. Here we see another example of "helping" to usher in the Messianic era. The hymns sung in praise (which are equivalent to prayers), are directed to the the time when God and His bride, His people, are unified as one.

We see the same prayer of unification of offered by Yeshua Himself:

John 17:21-24 - Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.