Sabbath

(Gen 2:2-3) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

After the creation of the earth, God blessed the seventh day AND sanctified (set it apart) Because he rested from all His work. Before there was any “ Jewish” or nation of Israel, God took a normal day, He blessed it and set it apart because He rested from creating the world. In other words, God established the seventh day as a set apart day from all the other days to recognize Him as the Creator of the world.

(Exo 16:23) And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Notice that the rest on the Sabbath is to the Lord. It also says that it is the “Holy” Sabbath which means “set apart”. This corresponds to Genesis when God established the Sabbath

(Exo 20:8-11) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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:For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

(Isa 56:2) Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

This is the fourth commandment in the ten commandments. This is the only commandment that god requires us to “remember”. It is as if he knew we would forget it. In addition, He wants us to Keep it Holy or set apart. He does not tell us TO set it apart because it already is set apart. He just wants us to keep it that way.

How do you do that? Well, first of all, you do not treat it like every other day because it is different. Second, you follow what God says to do or not to do and there are very few requirements. By doing what He says will keep it set apart.

The first thing He tells us to do is cease all work. The word “work” implies employment or physical or heavy labor. Now this can open up discussion because we all know that some will take this to extremes while others will swing the pendulum the other direction and treat the Sabbath like any other day. I believe that this is where we must have the Holy Spirit guide us individually as to HOW we are going to worship Him. There are some things that I won't do because it is normal work for me but it may not be for my husband because he has an entirely different employment during the week. But in all things we want to honor God. We are to do good and help others. The Sabbath, as I have said before is TO God to recognize Him as the Creator but it was given to us as a gift:

(Mar 2:27-28) And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Jesus is Lord or Master of the Sabbath and He, himself kept the Sabbath as a set apart day. He never changes the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. That was done by Rome in the third century AD.

The first day of the week cannot be the Sabbath as it was never set apart, made holy or sanctified. Once something is Sanctified or offered to the Lord, it cannot be changed and made common. This is illustrated in the story of Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16 where Korah and his company made censer to the Lord (which was not prescribed by God) and in verse 38 shows that the censors are now hallowed.

(Num 16:38) The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.

Some say that we honor the first day of the week because Jesus resurrected on the first day of the week but God already gave us a day to honor the resurrection of Jesus. It is called Firstfruits (Lev 23) See my teaching on Easter/Firstfruits. Regardless, The first day of the week was never sanctified (set apart).

(Exo 31:14) Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

(Exo 31:16) Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

This Scripture states that it is a perpetual covenant Perpetual means always, eternal or continual. If this covenant is temporary or ended then why did God call it perpetual? Here is the Strongs definition of perpetual:

H5769עֹלָם עוֹלָם ‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm olawm', o-lawm' From H5956; properly concealed, that is, the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), that is, (practically) eternity; frequentative adverbially (especially with prepositional prefix) always.

If this covenant of the Sabbath has been changed or done away with, then how can my salvation or eternal life be different?I looked at the word perpetual in Exodus 31:16 and went to the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. It is from the 1-3 century BC which was around during Jesus's life. The Greek word used for perpetual in this Scripture was:

G166αἰώνιος aōniosahee-o'-nee-os From G165; perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well): - eternal, for ever, everlasting, world (began).

(Joh 3:16)For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting (G166) Life.

The Seventh day Sabbath is everlasting just like our everlasting life through Jesus. We know that God wants us to rest from work. He wants us to keep it set apart and holy to Him.

(Exo 16:23) And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

We should cook on Friday (The day of preparation) all the food we want to eat for the Sabbath. That way it truly is restful for all. Typically, I try to make delicious food and it becomes a joyous day.

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

We should not start a fire and I think this extends to cooking food. If you are in a place where it is cold and you need a fire to keep war, we try to keep the fire burning all day.

(Lev 23:3) Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

We should have a Holy get-together on Sabbath. We usually eat, study Scripture and commune with each other.

There are very few requirements for the Sabbath yet everyone thinks it is a burden. We are commanded to REST! How is this a burden?

That is about all the requirements for the Sabbath. I see it as a Day recognizing the Creator of the Universe and it is called an appointed time. God has an appointment with us. He is going to be there, are we?

(Exo 31:13) Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

The Sabbath is a sign between God and us. The word sign means beacon or symbol. It is like the wedding ring on a bride which is asign that she is married. The Sabbath is our wedding ring.

Here is a beautiful promise from God to us about the Sabbath and keeping His covenant:

(Isa 56:2-7)Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD untothe eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

The Sabbath is a delight:

(Isa 58:13)If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

This is a future prophecy about the sabbath:

(Isa 66:23) And 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 the LORD.

When Jesus was describing the tribulation in Matthew 24, He is concerned that your flight might be on the sabbath, so it is clear that He did not do away with it or change it.

(Mat 24:20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Jesus himself rested on the Sabbath as did the desciples upon His death.

(Mat 28:1) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

(Mar 16:1) And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, andMary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

(Luk 23:56) And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Acts was written around AD 60 which is way after Jesus death and you can see that they were still keeping the Sabbath.

(Act 13:42) And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

(Act 15:21) For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

(Col 2:16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

So when did man change the sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week?

In A.D. 313, the Roman Emperor Constantine, a pagan sun worshiper, nominally accepted Christianity as a matter of political advantage to gain more power. He named himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321:

“On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.” – Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.

In A.D. 325, Pope Sylvester officially named Sunday “the Lord’s Day.” And in A.D. 338, Eusebius, the court bishop of Constantine, wrote, “All things whatsoever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) we (Constantine, Eusebius, and other bishops) have transferred to the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week) as more appropriately belonging to it.”

“The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday.” – Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. XXIII, p. 654

“After Constantine made the legal decree about the change of the Sabbath, the Catholic Church confirmed his act in one church council after another. “The church after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath or seventh-day of the week to the first, made the third commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s day.” – The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 153.

“The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.” – The Catholic Mirror of September 23, 1894.

In A.D. 364, the church followed the dictates of Constantine, and at the council of Laodicea, passed a law requiring that Christians must “not Judaize by resting on Saturday.” God’s seventh day Sabbath, which was instituted by Him (Genesis 2:2,3; Exodus 20:8-11), was trampled by foot. And the pagan Sunday, “The Venerable Day of the Sun,” was honored by man in its place. Henceforth, it was espoused by the church, and supported, as it is in our day.

The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine

The Catholic Church admits that it made the change of the Sabbath. We read:

Q. Which is the Sabbath day?

A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.

Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday….

Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?

A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.

Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?

A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!

– Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50.

Q. Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?

A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her. She could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.

– Rev. Stephen Keenan, (1851), p. 174.

The Catholic Christian Instructed

Q. Has the [Catholic] church power to make any alterations in the commandments of God?

A. …Instead of the seventh day, and other festivals appointed by the old law, the church has prescribed the Sundays and holy days to be set apart for God’s worship; and these we are now obliged to keep in consequence of God’s commandment, instead of the ancient Sabbath.

– The Catholic Christian Instructed in the Sacraments, Sacrifices, Ceremonies, and Observances of the Church By Way of Question and Answer, RT Rev. Dr. Challoner, p. 204.

(Dan 7:25) And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

No one except God can change His times and His laws or change the solemnity of a day.

God warned in both the Old and New Testaments that a blasphemous power would “seek to change times and laws,” and the Catholic Church openly admits to doing that, even boasts about it.

We need to look at our traditions and see if they are from God, man or Pagan origins. We need to keep God's instructions and be blessed.