part seven
The True Sabbath -
Saturday or Sunday?
Multitudes have been ignorant of the Enemy’s deception and do not realize how many man made doctrines and traditions have replaced pure biblical truth including to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”
- Exodus 21:8 -
The very first thing that the Creator sanctified and called “holy” was the seventh day, the true Sabbath. It is written, “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy [sanctified it], because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” (Genesis 2:3) The Sabbath is a divine gift from our Heavenly Father and Messiah. All who wholeheartedly want to know the truth about the Sabbath and receive it with a grateful, joyful, obedient heart will assuredly receive abundant blessings from “the Lord of the sabbath.” (Matthew 12:8) As the common man seeks for riches so the righteous remnant seeks Yahshua (Jesus) who is truth, and longs to learn and obey all of the Almighty’s holy commandments. However, multitudes have been ignorant of the Enemy’s deception and do not realize how many man made doctrines and traditions have replaced pure biblical truth including to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)
It is written that the Messiah “always pleased His Heavenly Father” by keeping all of His commandments.
- John 8:29 -
The Holy Scripture is filled with admonitions to love and obey the Ten Commandments therefore those who are the children of the Holy One must love and obey all of His Ten Commandments in order to “worship Him in Spirit and in uncompromised truth.” (John 1:12, 4:24) Yahshua (Jesus) emphasized this by proclaiming, “Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19) Our Savior continues by saying, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth [of the divine word] is not in him; but whoever obeys His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Yahshua [Jesus] ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” It is written that the Messiah “always pleased His Heavenly Father” by keeping all of His commandments. (1 John 2:3-6, John 8:29)
The Creator said, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahveh your God; … For in six days the Lord Yahveh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord Yahveh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11) Additionally, the Eternal God emphasized the importance of the sabbath by making it the first of the prescribed holy days written in His biblical calendar, requiring it to be “a holy convocation.” (Leviticus 23:3) According to the Almighty’s timepiece, which is a lunar calendar, the days of the week begin at sundown and end at sundown the next day (Genesis 1:5). Therefore, the biblical sabbath (the seventh day) begins at sundown on the sixth day (Friday evening) and ends at sundown on the seventh day (Saturday evening). All seven days of the week should be filled with holy reverence, obedience, worship, and the praises of His people. Grievously, however, over many centuries, the true sabbath has been changed by erroneous Gentile doctrines and traditions, falsely making it into a Sunday sabbath.
The highly respected and renowned bible scholar, Dwight L. Moody stated: “This Fourth Commandment begins with the word “remember,” showing that the Sabbath had already existed when God wrote the law on the tablets of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they admit that the other nine are still binding?" 1
The Holy God, the author of truth, gives us this sovereign warning, “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahveh your God.” (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32) Yahshua (Jesus) put an exclamation point to the unchanging eternal words of His Father, “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law [Commandments] until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18) As it is written, “…All His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done [embraced and obeyed] in truth and uprightness.” (Psalm 111:7-8) “Every word of God is tested [and flawless] … Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” It is written “no liar enters the kingdom of heaven." (Proverbs 30:5-6, Revelation 21:8)
This is a heavenward call for the Almighty to re-engrave the Fourth Commandment on our hearts so that we will obey it and be the recipient of all the promised blessings that come from “the sabbath that was made for man.” (Mark 2:27) This brings glory to the Father as His children wear that outward sign of obeying the Sabbath, when the whole world that follows Satan, will not uphold the Creator’s Sabbaths.The observance of the Sabbath is the one commandment that gives an outward sign that we, as children of the Mighty One, have become separate from the world system. It is a visible indication that we have chosen to obey God rather than man.
Footnote
1 D. L. Moody, Weighted and Wanting, p. 47.
