The Sabbath day is the cause of much debate and anger between fellow professing Christians in the world today. But there is no need, because the Bible reveals the simple truth about the Sabbath day. If you want to learn the truth about keeping the Sabbath, then you need to first put aside all preconceived ideas about it and let God teach you His truth from His Word in the Bible. The majority of professing Christians either keep Sunday as the Sabbath, or they don't keep the Sabbath at all, and there are others like Seventh Day Adventists who keep Saturday as their Sabbath Day. But who is right? Well, that's what we are looking at here, but before you carry on, I ask that you would pray to God for wisdom and understanding on this issue.
If we go right back to the beginning of creation, then we can see what day God set aside as the Sabbath Day ... Genesis 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.' ... I think it's interesting that God confirms which day the Sabbath is on THREE times in these two verses. Seventh day, Seventh day, Seventh day! Makes you think that God is getting His point across. Now I know it doesn't say the word 'Sabbath' in the above verses, but Sabbath means rest and that is what God did on the seventh day. And not only that, God also blessed and sanctified the seventh day, which means He set it apart for holy use and made it separate from the other six days.
Now many Christians claim that we cannot know if our Saturday is the true seventh day in the Old Testament. Well, the truth is, we CAN know what day the true seventh day is today. All you need to do is ask the U.S. Naval Observatory and they will tell you that from the alignment of the stars, they are able to confirm that the seventh day we know as Saturday is the very same seventh day in the Bible. But what about the calendar change? That's a good point, but still the weekly cycle of days never changed. In October 1582, ten dates were omitted from the calendar to keep up with the solar cycle, but this did not affect the weekly seven day cycle. So how did they do it? Well, to give you an example; Friday, let's say the 5th of October, was suddenly changed to Friday the 15th October. Do you see what they did? Ten dates were lost, but the days of the week never changed.
Now I always find it interesting that the majority of professing Christians are willing to defend the Ten Commandments of God, UNTIL they get to the 4th Commandment. Now if we are to keep the Ten Commandments, then surely we should be keeping the Sabbath Commandment too ... Exodus 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.'
"This handwriting of ordinances our Lord did blot out, take away and nail to the cross (Colossians 2:14). But the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, He did not take away..... The moral law stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law ... Every part of this law (Ten Commandments) must remain in force upon all mankind and in all ages." (John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions, 2-Vol. Edition, Vol I, pages 221-222).
Many professing Christians say that the Sabbath Commandment was for the Jews only. Well, if we just delve a little deeper, we will be able to see that the Sabbath was being observed before the Jews, and before the Ten Commandments were given on the two tablets of stone. Do you remember the story of the tower of Babel where God confused the language of man and scattered them abroad? ... Genesis 11:9 ...'Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.' ... Now did you know? In over 100 languages of the world, the meaning of the day that we call 'Saturday' is 'THE SABBATH'. For example: Saturday in French is Samedi, which means 'Sabbath Day'; In Italian it is Sabbato, which means 'The Sabbath'; In Greek it is Sabbaton; In Russian it is Subbota, all meaning 'Sabbath' .... and so on. This is evidence that the Seventh Day Sabbath was being observed BEFORE the time of the Jews and Sinai, when God scattered the language of the people at Babel and they spread all over the earth. What did the people take with them when God scattered the language? THE SABBATH!
In answer to those who believe the Seventh day Sabbath is just for the Jews, take a look at the following Bible verse from the Old Testament:
Isaiah 56:1-7 ...'Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 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 unto the 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.'
These verses explode with truth about the Sabbath day and who should keep it. This is a great promise to ALL PEOPLE (sons of the stranger are non Jews), who will join themselves to the LORD and keep His Sabbath Day Holy. If they do this, God will bring them to His Holy Mountain. In other words, He will save them and give them a 'better name' than the Jews. Take a look at this interesting comparison in Revelation 3:12 ...'Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.' ... This is what God is pointing to in Isaiah 56. He is saying that those who serve Him, who keep His Sabbath Day Holy (plus His other Commandments), Jesus will give them a 'new name' and they will enter into His Holy Mountain, which is the Holy City, New Jerusalem.
Now take a look at another interesting verse in Isaiah:
Isaiah 66:22-23 ...'For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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.' ... So here we have proof that the keeping of the Sabbath Day will still be observed on the new earth. Now some question this because it says from one new moon to another. One new moon to another means from one month to another. Now take a look at what the book of Revelation says will happen every month in the New Jerusalem ... Revelation 22:2 ...'In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.' ... The tree of life will produce new fruit every MONTH. So we will come to the new city every Sabbath Day to worship God and every month to eat the new fruit from the tree of life. What a wonderful thought to behold! Praise God!
Did you know? There are 500 Sabbath keeping churches.
Did Jesus do away with the Sabbath? No He didn't. The Seventh Day Sabbath was changed by man to Sunday, the first day of the week in honor of Christ's resurrection. But is this Biblical? Absolutely not. Take a look at this text from Hebrews 9:16-17 ...'For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.' ... According to the Bible, the testament/new covenant actually goes into force after the death of the testator, which is Jesus. So in order to change anything in the covenant, it must be changed by the testator (Jesus), BEFORE DEATH. Ask any lawyer. Once a person has died it is impossible to change the will of that person, it becomes sealed and rock solid. Now, Jesus did not change the Sabbath day from the seventh (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday) while He lived, therefore once the new covenant was sealed by His blood it COULD NOT be changed by man afterward. Now, when do the majority of professing Christians say the Sabbath was changed? AFTER Jesus' death. Therefore it is a FALSE change, and does NOT have God's approval.
Does keeping the law in "spirit" do away with the sabbath of the 4th commandment? Find out the Bible truth about the spirit and letter HERE.
Also, for more information on the Sabbath truth in the New Testament, see THIS
Jesus Himself said that the Sabbath day would still be in effect after His death ... Matthew 24:20 ...'But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.' ... Jesus was describing the future destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, and told the Jews to pray that their escape would not fall in the winter or on the Sabbath Day.
Friend, we have a choice to make. We can serve and obey God, or we can follow man. Do you know which one I would ALWAYS choose? ... Psalm 118:8 ...'It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.' ... Many professing Christians will do their best to find excuses NOT to keep the Seventh Day Sabbath, and will grasp at straws to back up their view, but I ask you to just look at the clear Word of God in the Bible, open your heart to Jesus and He will show you the truth. It's far better my friend to obey and trust in God, rather than follow man.
There are certain verses in the New Testament which professing Christians turn around to suit their view of not keeping the Sabbath Day. If you would like to delve deeper into these verses, then please visit the Sabbath day site below, where you will find much more great information and Bible truth about keeping the Sabbath. Do I believe we should be keeping the Sabbath Day? Yes! Do I believe we should be keeping the Sabbath Day on the seventh day (our Saturday)? Yes!
CLICK HERE for much more information about the TRUE Bible sabbath day.