The controversy over the Sabbath and Sunday has been going on for almost 2000 years, and the most accepted day for "religious worship" has been Sunday. But, is this the RIGHT DAY? Is this the day that God established and set aside as Holy time, or is the Sabbath - Saturday? Can we really know and does it actually make a difference anyway? You will see that, yes, it DOES make a difference!

The "Sabbath" certainly sounds like a "religious" word, and usually brings up "Jewish" beliefs. However, there is much confusion on this subject, and therefore much misunderstanding. In order to place this topic into perspective, you need to understand the material elsewhere described on this website.

Time affects us every minute of our lives. When God established "special" time which He has called "Holy," set aside for specific purposes, you can be sure that there is something to it.

When was this "Sabbath" established? Let's go to the beginning, as usual.

Have you first considered the normal calendar we've been using all out lives? You know, the one that begins the week on Sunday, and ends the week (the seventh day) on a Saturday? Most calendars in production have this format and have for centuries. There are, of course, a few that show up with the first day of the week being Monday, and of course, if you say "weekend" we normally think of Saturday AND Sunday, but this is incorrect as the calendar clearly shows. Let's look at the proof.

Genesis 2:2-3 "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and "sanctified" it, (set it apart for Holy use) because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

The Sabbath day was established shortly after mankind was created. God RESTED that day and He set the day apart as Holy time, to be used for specific purposes. The Sabbath, or the seventh day of the week, is well known to be Saturday. Just look on most calendars and you will see that Saturday is the last day of the week.

Many people view the "creation days," not as actual days, but "periods of time." They like to use this argument as proof that there isn't a real, specific day set aside as the Sabbath which God commands us to observe. People don't believe what God says in the Bible. He clearly tells us to observe the Sabbath, and even included the practice as the fourth of the 10 commandments. IF the creation days were "periods of time," how would the commandment to "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it Holy," be observed?

How do you apply "Keeping the Sabbath DAY " to an unknown period of time? Some might argue that this just means that "any" time set aside for God is "OK" with God, but is this true?

Are the other commandments of any value if we toss out the fourth, or give it a new definition?

NOTE: Please realize that there is a time span between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. The original creation happened ages ago, as science clearly shows, but Genesis 1:2 and on describe a renewing of something that had BECOME "without form and void." See Saved! for proof of this)

To understand when the Sabbath Day actually begins and ends, we need to know when "any" day begins or ends. God established what we call "day" as beginning at sundown and going to the next sundown, therefore, the Sabbath actually begins on Friday evening at sundown. Notice...

Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."

Did Christ keep the Sabbath Day? Yes, He did...

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

But many will say, "Of course He kept it, He was Jewish." But was the Sabbath made for Jews? Is there any proof from the Bible that only the Jewish people kept it? Ask yourself this: Was Adam a "Jew." How about Moses? The 12 tribes of Israel who wandered in the wilderness contained 12 differing tribes of people, ONE of which was the tribe of Judah... "Jews," however they ALL kept the Sabbath "DAY."

Let's examine some specific scriptures that will answer these questions.

In the Old Testament, "Israel" was the group of people whom God was working with as an example. You will find that "Israel" consisted of BOTH Jews AND others. Israel WAS NOT ALL JEWISH people. The tribe of "Judah" (the Jews) was just ONE tribe of the 12 tribes of Israel, yet ALL Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath. (In 1 Kings 16:6, you will find the word "Jews" used for the first time, and they are AT WAR with the rest of Israel. You can also look at the 12 tribe names and see that they were NOT all Jewish. Jews come from the tribe of Judah only.)

Another argument many use is that "time has been lost" and we can't really know when the Sabbath is today. That sounds logical, but is this something that God would lose track of?

Exodus 16:23 "Then he said to them, This [is what] the LORD has said: Tomorrow [is] a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake [today,] and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning."

Because ancient Israel had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years, they lost all track of the Sabbath Day. They had no way of keeping track, especially since all of God's commands were essentially lost because of that captivity. In order to restore the true Sabbath Day to Israel, God had to perform some miracles...

While Israel was in the wilderness, God made special provisions of food for them, PROVIDING DOUBLE PORTIONS ON FRIDAY, so they would not have to do the work of gathering the manna on the Sabbath. It is quite plain that God made it clear which day was the Sabbath and what He expected Israel to do on that day. You will also notice that the Sabbath day was established PRIOR to the giving of the 10 commandments, which doesn't occur until later, in chapter 20.

Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. :9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, :10 but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the LORD your God. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates. :11 For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

Notice God said, "Remember" the Sabbath day. . . You don't "remember" something that you don't even know about. Obviously the Sabbath day was known about prior to the giving of the Laws of God here, but God was reminding them of the Holy time because they had been in captivity for 430 years and lost track of it. From this point on, the Sabbath day is a pivotal point in history which affected millions of people throughout the Old Testament times, even to the point where God allowed Israel, (not just Jews) His own chosen people, to go into captivity. WHY?

The word "remember" is the key. Israel DID NOT remember the Sabbath any more than they "remembered" the other laws. When we observe something such as a holiday, we are meant to REMEMBER what the day stands for and it keeps us mindful of specific events. The Sabbath is no different. It points to God in many ways. It reminds us of creation, since that is where the Sabbath originated. It reminds us of the millennial time where everyone will be at rest from the spiritual forces that pound on us daily. It also is a day for physical and mental rest from normal work. We, as a nation, have FORGOTTEN the Sabbath day along with most of God's other commands. Do you think we couldn't go back into captivity because of that?

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Mark 2:27 "And He (Christ) said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

Christ's custom was to observe the Sabbath day. Notice also that Christ Himself stated that the Sabbath was made for MAN, not just for "Jews." This day was established for all mankind, men and women. It is a day that has a special spiritual component to it, which God Himself places there. HE sanctified the day, setting it apart for Holy use. Do you think observing the wrong day wouldn't make a difference, spiritually speaking?

Can you go anywhere in the Bible and find ANY command to observe Sunday as the day of rest? The subject of how the days were changed is an interesting one, one which even the Catholic church itself agrees that the change is nowhere commanded in the Bible.

The Sabbath day was observed by the apostles and other converted Christians of the first century. Some people try to claim that Christ's death did away with all of the commandments, including the Sabbath day, so why are the apostles observing it LONG after Christ died?

Acts 13:14 "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down."

Acts 15:21 "For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

Acts 17:2 "Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,"

Acts 18:4 "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both "Jews and Greeks."

The above scriptures make plain the fact that the apostles regularly keep the seventh day Sabbath, just as Christ did. Also note that the Greeks were also there on the Sabbath day, and they were NOT Jews.

Hebrews 4:9 "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."

The word translated "rest" comes from the Greek word, 4520 sabbatismos {sab-bat-is-mos'}

1) a keeping (of the) Sabbath

Literally, the scripture states, "Therefore, there remains a keeping of the Sabbath for the people of God."

Christ Himself makes reference to the Sabbath at a time of "the end..."

Matt 24:20 "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath."

Why would He mention the Sabbath day, especially when His return is close and the tribulations is about to start, if it were no longer relevant to Him, or to God's people at the time of the end? This is proof that "the" Sabbath day, (not just any day) is vital to God and should be to us.

The observance of Sunday as the traditional day of "Rest," is almost universal. As to whether people really rest on this day is questionable. God tells us to refrain from ALL normal work, except for preparing of meals or other services in keeping with the spirit of resting. We don't go to work or do other usual pastime things. . .

Isaiah 58:13-14 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, [From] doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy [day] of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking [your own] words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Does the above scripture make it sound as if the Sabbath is a relative thing? Does it sound like it doesn't matter which day is the real Sabbath? Remember, Satan has a counterfeit for EVERY aspect of God's plan. His counterfeits usually "dis-empower" people because they draw attention and focus AWAY from truth and get people wrapped up in lies. Remember, the Sabbath is set apart for Holy use. God placed an actual blessing on the Sabbath day itself, the actual TIME is Holy. How can you tap into a spiritual power on another day when there IS none there on any other week day because it ISN'T holy?

All you have to do is take a good hard look at traditional Christian beliefs and you may better understand WHY confusion abounds. If people have no access to TRUE SPIRITUAL POWER that is embedded in the Holy time by God, how CAN they understand spiritual things? Remember, the whole world is deceived. . .

Revelation 12:9 "...that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world..."

The Sabbath Day was restored to Ancient Israel. It was also observed by Christ and the Apostles 2000 years later. Christ was God as a Human being so for Him to NOT observe the true Sabbath Day would mean He sinned and this is impossible. If God created the Sabbath Day as a Commandment, would He be unable to assure we had the true day to observe? Historical records from Christ's time to now are very clearly recorded and the seventh day Sabbath IS the seventh day of the week... Saturday (Friday sundown to Saturday Sundown).

The world is deceived in MOST aspects of spiritual truth. Sure, that is hard to believe, but the Bible plainly states that. If you are keeping up with the other pages on this website, you will come to see how this is possible, and what the only solution for it is. Do you have the strength to face the facts? You'll have to sooner or later!

Sabbath - Continue

Friday, Sunset Website

For further reading on the Sabbath question, We recommend, "Divine Rest for Human Restlessness"

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