Are we keeping the Sabbath Day Holy?

by

Anthony Valasek

Most Christians wake up every Sunday morning and go to church to worship Yahveh and his son, our Savior Yahushua. I personally see no problem with worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, but most Christians are under the misconception that this same day is the Sabbath day and that they are keeping the Sabbath holy. Within this report, I will show you why and how this change of days occurred and why Sunday, the first day of the week, is not the Sabbath day. The intent is to help those who are misinformed so that they can properly keep the commandments of Yahveh the All Mighty. While you are reading this report, I want you to keep in mind these two very important verses that Jesus spoke concerning the law.

Matthew 5:17-18
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

I suppose the first thing that we should ask is if we should keep the Sabbath. Let us start at the beginning of our Bibles and prove that we should observe the Sabbath Day. The following scriptures will provide sufficient proof that we should indeed be keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

Exodus 20:8
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

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

Leviticus 16:31
it shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

Leviticus 24:8
Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

Isaiah 66:22-23
For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I shall make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and you name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the lord.

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

Notice that these last two verses describe future events and carefully consider this last verse, which is from the New Testament. The time period in which the apostle Matthew is clearly talking about is that of the tribulation. Can we not logically assume that since the sabbath is mentioned during this period of time, that it has not been abolished and will not be abolished? If we did not have to observe this holy day, what would it matter if those who are alive during the tribulation period had to flee on a Sabbath Day or not?

Some of you are now thinking that this only applies to the Hebrews and not to us Gentiles, since it specifically says children of Israel. If you read Gal 3:28-29, Eph 3:6, and Rom 3:28-29, you will see that we are of Abraham's seed through Christ.

Galatians 3:28-29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ephesians 3:6
That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Romans 2:28-29
For he is not a Jew, shich is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Furthermore, the scriptures say that the Sabbath was made for man, not just the Jews (Mark 2:27). Further support for this, is the fact that the Sabbath was established in Genesis 2:3, which is a couple thousand years before there were any Jews.

Mark 2:27
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Genesis 2:3
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.

By studying our Bibles, we will also find other evidence that we also should keep the Sabbath. Consider the following scripture and pay close attention to whom it refers.

Leviticus 25:6
And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee.

Deuteronomy 5:14
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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

Isaiah 56:6
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;

Furthermore, keeping the Sabbath is part of the ten commandments, the holy law of Yahweh. This leads us to the following scripture that tells us that we are also to keep the law of Yahweh.

Numbers 15:15-16
One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, and ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

Numbers 15:29
Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.

As you can see, we are indeed supposed to keep the Sabbath Day throughout our lives. This should prove that this is no Old Testament concept only. Let us now move on to the next issue. Many Christians I talk to agree that we are indeed supposed to keep the Sabbath day but that it was changed to Sunday, the first day of the week.

When I ask these same Christians why they feel that the day changed, I get two main responses. First, Christ was resurrected on Sunday, and second, the apostles taught on Sunday.

Addressing the first response, I have say that I believe that Christ may have been resurrected on the Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week, for reasons I will address in another report. If this belief is true that would nullify that response in itself, but for argument sake, let us suppose that Christ was resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week. Show me anywhere in the Bible that says that the apostles did not keep the Sabbath holy. Show me anywhere in the Bible that says the Sabbath was changed. They of course did pick corn and preach on the Sabbath but Christ showed us that this was not in conflict with keeping the Sabbath throughout the gospels. If indeed he did rise on Sunday, I have no problem with worship on Sunday, in fact, I have no problem with worship on any other day of the week either, but that does not justify changing the holy commandment. The fact remains that the Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week, period! The Bible clearly states that it is the seventh day of the week and nowhere does it state it otherwise. Only through misinterpretation has the Sabbath day been substituted. If you interpret what you read literally, there no way you could see it otherwise.

Exodus 16:26
Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

Exodus 20:10
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:

Exodus 20:11
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.

Tying in closely with the resurrection, is the statement that "I worship on the Lord's day, which is the first day of the week." Are you sure you are worshipping on the Lord's day? Let's see what the Bible says is the Lord's Day. First, in Mark 2:28 tells us that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. If he is the Lord of this day, wouldn't this make the Sabbath his day? In Isaiah 58:13, we see that the Lord calls the Sabbath his holy day. Doesn't that make it the Lord's day? I think it does. Besides, there is only one verse (Rev 1:10) in the whole New Testament that uses the phrase "the Lord's day". If you look at this verse, nowhere can you find the use of the first day of the week. I challenge anyone to show me where the Bible calls the first day of the week, the Lord's day, it simply isn't there!

Mark 2:28
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Isaiah 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:

Revelation 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Addressing the other response, that the apostles taught on Sunday, therefore we should keep Sunday and not Saturday holy. This is found in Acts 20:7;

Acts 20:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech unto midnight.

Looking at the Greek, one can show that this passage should have been translated differently, but again for argument's sake, let us suppose it is correct. First of all, it does not say to not keep the Sabbath day holy, it just says that Paul preached on the first day of the week. This passage also does not say that he always preached on the first day of the week. Even if it did, why would that change the Sabbath day, it simply does not change the Sabbath day. The logic that it changes which day we should keep holy is not very sound, by this same logic, I can easily say that any days that the apostles taught, are Sabbath days. I seriously doubt that the apostles taught on Sunday and then took a vow of silence the rest of the week! In fact, I can show you many scriptures that say that the apostles taught every Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.

Mark 1:21
And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

Mark 6:2
And when the sabbath day was come, he (Jesus) began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Luke 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.

Luke 4:31
And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

Luke 6:6
And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

I could go on and on, that Jesus himself taught on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. Some of you are now saying that this was before the crucifixion and that the Sabbath was changed after his resurrection. First of all, we are to follow Christ's example;

John 13:15
For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you.

Furthermore, the apostles themselves taught on the Sabbath days, well after the crucifixion.

Acts 13:44
And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

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

Acts 17:2
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

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

Some at this point will, in desperation, try to say that the only reason that he preached on the Sabbath was that it was the custom of the Jews. This argument is ludicrous at best and has no basis from the scriptures.

I hope by now that you can see that the Sabbath day is and always was on the seventh day of the week and that we are still supposed to keep it holy. Even if Paul did preach that one Sunday, it was his custom to preach every Sabbath day also.

Now that we have come this far, some of you may be wondering how we should keep the Sabbath day. Let us look at the scriptures to find out how and when we should keep the Sabbath. Any other source can not be justified. From the passages stated earlier we have proved that the Sabbath is on the seventh day of the week. However, a day according to the Hebrews is from sunset to sunset, not morning to morning.

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.

Leviticus 23:32
It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

From these passages we can see that the Sabbath starts on Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at sunset. The Bible also describes what we should and should not do on the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:10
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:

Deuteronomy 5:14
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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

Jeremiah 17:21
Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Isaiah 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:

According to these scriptures, the Sabbath is a time for rest and for worship and praise. The Bible clearly states that you should do no servile work. This brings up a point in the New Testament about Jesus healing and picking corn with his disciples on the Sabbath. If you carefully read the scriptures, you will find that it is lawful to do work in a sense that it promotes God's will.

Mark 3:4
And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

Mark 2:28
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Please keep in mind that there are also seven annual Sabbaths during the year during the feasts and festivals of Yahweh. These are also to be followed accordingly. Descriptions of the feasts can be found in Leviticus 23.

Now that you know what the scriptures say concerning the Sabbath, you need to start observing it according to what the Bible says. I know that for most of you, this would be a drastic change in your lifestyle, but it would be a better one. Keep in mind that things in this world will pass away but things that you store in heaven are eternal. Another way I like to put these things in perspective is that I realize that the Bible is the living word of Yahweh and that it is to be read as if he is speaking to me face to face. Now I ask you, If God himself came down and talked to you face to face and told you that you had better start observing his Sabbath day, would you not drop everything and make sure you never again profaned his Sabbath? Keep in mind while you are telling yourself that it is impossible for you to give up your Friday evening and Saturday lifestyle, this following verse;

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,

Besides this verse, the Bible tells us the penalties for not observing his Sabbath, some of which are quite severe.

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.

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.

Not only is the Sabbath to be kept holy because Yahweh tells me to, which is good enough for me, but he further tells us the significance of the Sabbath.

Ezekiel 20:12
Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

Ezekiel 20:20
And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

Did you get that? Keeping the Sabbath is a sign between us and Yahweh. These bring to mind another interesting point about this sign. The Bible tells us where this sign or signature is found on us.

Exodus 13:9
And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.

As an aside, since this sign or mark is symbolic and is on your hand and in your forehead (between your eyes), maybe the mark of the beast described in Revelation is also a symbolic one. Carefully consider where that mark will be placed and the consequences of accepting that mark. If you do not have Yahweh's sign, it could quite possibly be assumed that you have Satan's mark that would mean eternal damnation. I thank God for his forgiveness and his salvation through Yahushua (Jesus Christ), that I will be gone during the tribulation. I will also cover this "mark of the beast" in another paper.

Revelation 13:16
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

I pray that this report will help those who are not quite clear as to how to interpret certain thoughts about the Sabbath day.