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Jesus: Flight on the Sabbath

      An interesting mention of Sabbath occurs in Matthew 24:20. Jesus is talking about a future time of persecution and wickedness. He says that when people see the "abomination of desolation" spoken of by Daniel, those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. (This command was remembered years later by Jesus' followers, who fled the siege of Jerusalem to Pella.)

      Jesus goes on to say that they should pray that their flight would not be in winter or on the Sabbath. Whatever Jesus means by this, it is obvious that Jesus considers that the Sabbath will be in effect at a future time. It will not have been replaced in God's economy by another day of the week.

      This is consistent with the words of Isaiah (66:23) who prophecies of a new heaven and a new earth where the passing of time will still be reckoned by Sabbaths and new moons. This time is obviously still in the future, even to us. Both Jesus and Isaiah consider the Sabbath to be, in the words of Exodus 31:16-17, a lasting covenant and an eternal sign.

The Ultimate Sabbath Observance