The book of Hebrews depicts the Sabbath as a foreshadowing of the Earth’s millennial rest, as well as a memorial of God’s rest at creation. Regarding the ancient Israelites’ disobedience on their way to the promised land, we read, “For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:8–9). The original Greek word for “rest” in verse 9 is sabbatismos, which means “a Sabbath-keeping” (see Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words). Both the Revised Standard Version and the New International Version translate verse 9 as “a Sabbath rest.”
Yes, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, even to this day! But is it merely a symbolic rest, or is it a literal Sabbath rest? If you have access to a copy of the Anchor Bible Dictionary, you can see for yourself that in other contexts, including secular Greek writings not dependent on this verse from Hebrews, that the word sabbatismos plainly and literally means “Sabbath observance” or “Sabbath celebration.” There is no question that this verse is a New Testament statement about a literal Christian observance of the Sabbath!
If Christians are to cease from their works, just as God ceased from His (Hebrews 4:10), we must ask: how did God cease from His works? Scripture gives us the answer: “For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works’” (Hebrews 4:4).
There is no guessing here! New Testament Christians are supposed to rest just as God rested—on the seventh day! Both the Old Testament and the New Testament give Christians the clear example and instruction to keep the Sabbath day holy! If you consider the Bible your authority, rather than some church tradition that claims to overrule the Bible, you have no other choice! So, what is your authority?