The Sabbath day commemorates the creation. It was established by the Most High to remind us that he formed everything in the six days of the creation, then on the seventh day he rested. Genesis 2:2 “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.” Verse 3: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it [made it holy]: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” The first mention of the word Sabbath is within these two verses. The Hebrew word Shabath שַׁבָּת or as it is translated in English “rested” is where the word Sabbath comes from.
The Creator never named the days of the week except for the seventh day, the Sabbath. Days were only known by numerical order such as the first day, second day, etcetera, up until the Sabbath day. Matthews 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 sepulcher [the place Christ was buried].” All the names that have been placed on the days of the week can be traced back to pagan worship (satanic customs). This is evidence that the calendar and celebrations you are accustomed to did not originate from the Bible or God. Therefore we must investigate within the scriptures what other changes society accepts that are incorrect.
The Sabbath is to be observed on the seventh day of the week from evening to evening. Leviticus 23:32 “… from even to even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” The natural course of a day according to the Bible is that it starts with evening. This is how the heavenly Father established it from the creation. Genesis 1:5 “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Here we are taught that the beginning of the day is evening, which is the darkness he called Night. Every Sabbath day will begin when the sun is fully down and it is dark. Proverbs 7:9 “In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:” We are taught in this society that the beginning of the day is at midnight (12:00 am) which is the middle of the night. The fact that 12:00 am maintains the name of midnight shows the ridiculous error of starting the day at that time.
Beware that no man deceives you to believe that these changes done by the wicked caused us to be lost in how to determine the seventh day. Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” All these things have been prophesied of in the Bible. Daniel 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.” This is a prophecy about the Romans and their calendar that continues to be used today. The scriptures remove our ignorance of when and what changes were made to cause us to sin.
For instance the Roman Catholic Church thought to change the time the Sabbath is kept to the first day of the week (Sunday). Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not;...” The Heavenly Father never changed his Sabbath to another day. In fact, after the death of Christ and resurrection, the disciples continued to keep the Sabbath. Luke 23:55 “And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his [Christ’s] body was laid.” Verse 56: “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”
Long after the resurrection, the Apostle Paul who is slandered as instituting Sunday worship continued to keep the Sabbaths. Acts 17:2 “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,” Thus Sunday worship did not come from the scriptures or the Apostles. This attempt to change the Sabbath to the first day of the week came centuries after the apostles. This occurred in the fourth century AD by Emperor Constantine, when he designated Sunday as holy for the Roman Empire under the guise of Christianity. This confirms that the seven day week upheld by the Israelites and the seventh day was undoubtedly known. Hence, all historians of different periods agree with each other in stating that there is no evidence of time ever been lost. Since the seventh day of the Roman calendar was identical to the Sabbath day. The thought to change the time of when the Sabbath is held, was an attack on the laws as Daniel prophesied.
Today we will learn how to keep the Sabbath day holy as it is written in the Bible. As it is mentioned in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy.” Verse 9: “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:” Verse 10: “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:…” First we must keep it in the proper time. Since a new day begins at evening and not at at midnight, the seventh day of the week begins on what is known today as Friday evening, and it ends on Saturday evening. Genesis 15:17 “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark,… ” On Friday night, when the sun is fully down and it is dark the Sabbath has begun.
The most High God continues to explain the foundation of his commandment. Exodus 20:10 “… 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:” The Sabbath is a day of rest, no work of any kind is permitted. Henceforth, you must take the day off from your job, or as the scriptures call it servile work. No business could be conducted, therefore those who you employ (thy manservant or thy maidservant) must have the day off even if it is a stranger from another nation. On this day household duties and chores of any kind are forbidden, it is not the day for your children to clean their rooms or do homework. Even the farm animals (cattle) are provided by God with a day to rest.
Many of our people do not realize the evil they do on this holy day; treating it as an ordinary day. Nehemiah 13:15 “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses [donkeys]; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.” In those days people were conducting business on the Sabbath. They were making merchandise by crushing grapes for wine, gathering from their fields crops, and carrying their goods. Also making their donkeys to carry heavy burdens. By all this work they reduced the Sabbath to a market day, in the which they sold victuals (food).
Nehemiah 13:16 “There dwelt men of Tyre [men of other nations, Hamites] also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.” Verse 17: “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What EVIL thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?” The Sabbath is not meant to be a shopping day. Those that are selling are working, therefore the buyer is partaking of their evil even if they are from another nation. See, 1st Timothy 5:22.
Wherefore buying is not allowed on the Sabbath nor selling. Nehemiah 10:31 “And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day...” Notice that the same law applies to all holy days that are celebrated. Leviticus 19:3 “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.” The Sabbath is the commandment that explains how to observe any holy day or feasts; they are considered sabbaths. Therefore at times we read in the scriptures the word sabbath being used for a feast day. See, John 19:14, 31.
We have also learned that we should refrain from carrying heavy things. Jeremiah 17:21 “Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear [carry] no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;”
Nehemiah 13:18 “Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.” God has punished our people in the past for breaking the Sabbath. One of the reasons we were enslaved and continue to suffer the curses is due to the Sabbath being profaned.
Nehemiah 13:19 “And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath,...” This is a great example that conclusively shows us that the Sabbath begins when it is fully dark. Nehemiah 13:19 “… I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.” To ensure the Sabbath was kept holy in Jerusalem, he shut the gates to prevent the sellers of the other nations.
Nehemiah 13:20 “So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.” Verse 21: “Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.” Nehemiah went to the drastic measure of threatening the sellers to make them understand the solemnity of the Sabbath. It is that serious, make preparations and do not buy or sell on the Sabbath. Mark 15:42 “And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,”
A good habit that our forefathers had was to prepare the day before the Sabbath. Purchasing what they needed in advance, such as the food for the Sabbath. Another reason why is found in Exodus 35:3, “Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.” This statute indicates that cooking or heating up food is prohibited. The verse before says, Exodus 35:2 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.” Without question cooking is work. See, Leviticus 11:32-35.
All cooked meals were prepared before the Sabbath. Exodus 16:22 “And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.” Verse 23: “And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth overlay up for you to be kept until the morning.”
Like our forefathers we are to prepare what we desire to eat before the sun goes down on Friday. Eating is not a sin on the Sabbath, you could eat the leftovers without heating it up. Also there are many choices that do not require any cooking; such as cereals, salads, sandwiches, pastries, fruits, etc..
The Pharisees were wicked Israelites that tried to condemn the disciples for eating on the Sabbath. Mark 2:23 “And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.” Verse 24: “And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?” Ironically those in Churchianity, who are ignorant of the statutes of the Sabbath use this scripture in agreement with the Pharisees. Stating that the disciples did not keep the Sabbath. Did the disciples work, buy, reaped the fields, or cook? The answer to this question is NO! Then they did not commit any sin against the Sabbath.
Their actions were actually lawful in every way. Deuteronomy 23:24 “When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.” Verse 25: “When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.” The unmerciful Pharisees did not think of the poor, which God allowed to eat from their neighbors field without having to pay, reap or work.
Christ corrects the false accusation of the Pharisees, by providing an historical example. Which shows the grace provided within the laws. Mark 2:25 “And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?” Verse 26: “How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?”
We admonish you not to use mercy or grace as an excuse to break the Sabbath day or any commandment. In the time of need, grace is not an excuse to commit sin. Romans 6:15 "What then? shall we sin [break the the laws, statutes, and commandments], because we are not under the law [of sacrifices or the first covenant], but under grace? God forbid.”
In the example provided, David was hungry and in need yet he found a way to NOT break the Sabbath. 1st Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” David first went to the high priest requesting help, willing to accept anything to eat that was present. When the high priest responded that he did not have any food, he offered him the shewbread which is holy and only lawful for the priest to eat. David being learned in the laws accepted it knowing that the bread was to be replaced that day being the Sabbath. See, 1st Samuel 21:1-6. Escaping sin by the mercy found in the law; whoever eats the holy bread was not punished instead he must replace it and add the fifth part. Please read, Leviticus 22:14.
Thus the Pharisees condemned the guiltless, whose actions were for the purpose of keeping the Sabbath day holy. The Pharisees did not take into consideration the mercy that is within the laws which will prevent a person from breaking the Sabbath. They rather put souls in danger of the judgment. Remember as it was stated before there is a severe punishment for breaking the Sabbath day. Exodus 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.”
Often the judgment written in the law is read as only applying to the generations before Christ. This belief is rebuked sharply in Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” Verse 27: “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” Verse 28: “He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:” Verse 29: “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
In the past those that broke the Sabbath were put to death without mercy. See, Numbers 15:30-36. But men could only kill the body not the soul, therefore the law was prophesying of a punishment in Christ. Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Some choose their jobs because of money over obeying the most High. But how much is your soul worth to you? Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Therefore we are not to sin willfully to fulfill our own pleasures. Isaiah 58:13 “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy own pleasure on my holy day [one's own pleasures, means buying, selling, cooking or doing any work]; …” Rather than having your soul destroyed for small “pleasures” of no rest, wouldn’t it make sense to actually seek blessing by keeping the Sabbath. Isaiah 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.” As we could receive blessings in this life, likewise curses for breaking the Sabbath. Keeping this in mind, remember what is the purpose of the Sabbath.
Mark 2:27 “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:” Some read these words of Christ with a perverted mind. Titus 1:15 “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” Christ who is the Lord of the Sabbath said these words to make you understand that God gave us the Sabbath as a blessing. Remember the word Sabbath means rest, if we replace the word in this verse it would say rest “was made for man”. Think of this example, the bed that is used for rest, was it made for man or for man to be a blessing to the bed?
Isaiah 58:13 “… 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:” Verse 14: “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” The greatest blessing promised to Jacob, the Kingdom of Heaven is a portion that will be received by those that reverence his Sabbaths.
As the law states the Sabbath is kept holy by coming together in an assembly, Leviticus 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.” The word “convocation” means to come together in an assembly wherein prayers are said and the scriptures are taught. This is the only valid reason to leave your home on the Sabbath. See, Exodus 16:29. If you find the Sabbath to be a delight in this present time, then you are prepared to keep it forever in the kingdom of heaven.
Isaiah 66:22 “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.” Verse 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.” This prophecy shows why it is instrumental to learn the laws, as they also reveal the future of the Kingdom of God. Exodus 31:16 “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.” Verse 17: “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” The prophecy in Isaiah, showed us that the Sabbath day will be kept in the kingdom for ever. Also that it is the basis of how to worship the most High on all holy days. The Sabbath is the root from where all the feasts branch out from.
If you are looking for rest reach out, in all our dwellings we invite those that seek blessings for their souls and the kingdom to fellowship. Luke 4:16 “And he [Christ] 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.” All praise to the Most High and Christ for the wisdom he has given us to be able to teach his people. Shalam (Peace)!