Modern theologians use Paul’s writings in Colossians to criticize the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. In Colossians 2:11-17, Paul admonishes the followers of Christ not to have a religion of legalism. He refers to “the handwriting of ordinances” which were nailed to the cross, and finally admonishes the believers in this way:
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Colossians 2:16-17 NKJV).
“The handwriting of ordinances” refers to the ceremonial law, which pointed to the ministry of Christ. It does not apply to the Ten Commandment law.
The sabbaths referred to in verse 16 are mentioned together with food, drink, and festivals, none of which occur in the Ten Commandments. Paul is stating here that the ceremonial law and all the special sabbaths (Not weekly) find their fulfillment in Christ.
He also states in Ephesians 2:15, “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” This law of ordinances was a “shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:17), a symbolic representation of Christ's coming and return. Upon His death, Jesus fulfilled the first step of the sanctuary service—the sacrifice of the lamb to take away the sinner’s guilt.
Colossians 2:14 describes the handwriting of ordinances as being “against us” and “contrary to us.” Paul writes that Christ “took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Many people say that this is the proof that the law of the Ten Commandments was nailed to the cross, and it is no longer applicable to us. But careful reading shows that Colossians 2 is not discussing the Ten Commandment law at all. In Deuteronomy 31:24-26, we learn which book of the law was against us:
And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark fo the covenant of the Lord saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God that it may be there for a witness against thee.
So it is the ceremonial law written by Moses, the very law contained handwriting of ordinances, that was against us. The Ten Commandments is never called a "law against us. It was always called the “perfect law of liberty” or even the "royal law" (James 1:25; 2:8-12). This law is also called just and good, pure, righteous, and perfect (Psalm 19:7,8; 119:172; Romans 7:12).
The ceremonial law or handwriting of ordinances pointed to a future event—the death of Christ—serving to remind people of their salvation only through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. The Sabbath of the Ten Commandments is a memorial to Creation and redemption, and is not "a shadow of things to come."
Adventist theology incorrectly and cynically tries to slice and dice the law (the Torah) into different bits and pieces, using the fact that the decalogue is recorded on stone and the rest of the Torah recorded on parchment scrolls.
They also use the so-called "law of God" and "law of Moses" to further bolster their case - however, even a fairly superficial study of the occurrences of these phrases quickly establishes that are used interchangeably, and therefore the Adventist claim that the 'law of God" represents the Ten commandments, and, the "law of Moses" represents the rest of the law is demonstrably false.
There is no biblical justification for the notion of slicing and dicing the law (the Torah) into bits and pieces, and this notion was unknown to the authors and characters of the Bible!
So, it then becomes impossible for Adventists to claim, as they do, that somehow Jesus Christ in his blood sacrifice on the cross, fulfilled and therefore abrogated the law with respect to everything but the Ten commandments.
No!
The Ten commandments are abrogated along with the rest of the Torah!
The New Testament explicitly makes mention of nine of the ten commandments as being part of the New covenant ethic, however the Sabbath is pointedly absent!
There is absolutely no mention in the New Testament that the Sabbath is binding, in any way shape or form, on New covenant believers!
None whatsoever!
This is especially important since, for all practical purposes, Adventist theology makes Sabbath observance the final discriminator between the saved and the lost!
According to Adventist theology all those who disobey any of the Ten commandments are to carry the Mark of the Beast.
Since NOT observing the Sabbath breaks a commandment that they believe is still in force then axiomatically any person who worships on a Sunday will carry the Mark of the Beast, and therefore are condemned!
To emphasise, Adventist theology also claims that the Seal of God is Sabbath observance!
So here we have it:
* the Mark of the Beast = Sunday worship = condemnation.
* the Seal of God = Sabbath observance = salvation (as long as the individual continues to observe it to the last).
In Adventist theology Sabbath observance is NOT a matter of conscience....
Simply put - all who fail to observe the Sabbath are apostate, carry the Mark of the Beast, and are condemned!