Why I Observe the Seventh-day Sabbath

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Common Objections to Sabbath observance

Who Change the Sabbath to Sunday

I personally wrestled with seventh-day Sabbath observance for twenty years.  I knew it was right from the start because it had been proved to me through the Scripture and the practice of the Apostles; yet with shame, I continued on believing that Sabbath was any day that I decided on, then never deciding on anything.  It is my personal hope that it doesn't take you that long to heed the Divine Voice - you may not live so long.

Dear believer:

Some of my family and I are learning to keep the Biblical Sabbath, which occurs every Friday sundown through Saturday sundown.  The transition has, at times, been difficult, and has taken considerable time.  Being life-long church people, of our problem has not been in observing the Sabbath, but in just changing our minds about it.   We have found that our continuing efforts have been immeasurably blessed as we are finding victory.

  Sabbath observance has become the greatest witnessing tool we have ever encountered.  And Yahweh tells us through the prophet that it is a sign of the identity of the Millennial elect.

  I have written down the biblical reasons we have made the commitment to Sabbath observance in hopes that you will be curious enough to investigate some wonderful truths for yourself.  Things you will read in this tract will surely change your mind at least to a small degree - and perhaps even steer your destiny.    

Preliminary Notes:  
Bible excerpts are from the Revised Standard Version or other as marked.
“Yahweh” is the proper name of our Father in Heaven.  "The LORD," as found in the Bible, is a replacement term for the divine name.
“Yahshua” is the Hebrew name translated into English as “Jesus” in the 15th century.

What Does Scripture Say About the Sabbath?  

Let’s make an assumption to begin the study.  Let’s assume for the time being that the Law of Yahweh beginning with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 was not “nailed to the cross.”  Perhaps by the end of the study, you will find that what you assume for my sake is really the case.  

Sabbath Owned and Commanded

Exodus 20:8.  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  11. For in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

The first day of the week is Sunday.  Biblical days run according to the moon, not the sun.  Biblical days begin at sundown.  The Biblical seventh-day Sabbath runs Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.  The Sabbath observance was originally commanded by Yahweh, not by Moses.  If Yahweh is your god, then realize that your god commanded ALL his people, Jewish, Israelite and Gentile to observe a 24-hour period from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.  Those commanded in love to observe may include YOU.  Study on to find out.

Sabbath Observance for Israel Emphasized

Exodus 31:12. And Yahweh said to Moses, 13. "Say to the people of Israel, 'You will keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, Yahweh, sanctify you. 14. You will keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you; every one who profanes it will be put to death; whoever does any work on it, that soul will be cut off from among his people. 15. Six days will work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh."

The Sabbath is an unmistakable, distinguishing sign of the people belonging to and sanctified by Yahweh.  Observance is so important that there is a ban, and even death, imposed on those who will not observe it.  Why?  So that the world may have a witness to Yahweh through his people.  This passage also maintains that Sabbath observance consists in (a) not working as a rest and an observance and (b) keeping the time holy unto Yahweh, your god.  Notice that it is Yahweh, your god, which speaks these words, not Moses.  

Sabbath Observance also for non-Jews

Isaiah 56: 6. "And the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to minister to him, to love his name, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant -- 7. these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. 8. I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered." 

It has been maintained by most Christians that Sabbath observance is only obligatory for Jews under the Mosaic Covenant and of no effect for non-Jews.  But this passage speaks of “foreigners” (non-Israelites) joining themselves to Yahweh.  Moreover, “others” (non-Israelites) have been gathered.  His House of Prayer will be for all, not just Jews, and his servants will be known because they keep the Sabbath as a sign of his possession.  Burnt offerings were eliminated by Yahshua (Jesus) when he became the last sacrifice and destroyed the Temple soon after.  But the Sabbath has never been eliminated, as we will see.

Yahshua Kept the Sabbath

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

Indeed, Yahshua your Savior observed  every Sabbath – this was his habit, his law and his domain.  He took a rabbinical part in worship.  After all, Yahshua was not only a Rabbi, but a Raboni, a master Rabbi.  As such, wouldn’t he have taught that which he diligently observed and observed what he taught?  Wouldn’t he still teach Sabbath observance, if he is the same yesterday, today and forever?  Wouldn't he teach Sabbath is his Father said that it was the everlasting covenant sign of his people?  Of course he would.  It was his custom.

Yahshua Sabbathmaster

Mark 2:27.  And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:  28.  so that the Son of man is master even of the Sabbath.

Your Savior said that the Sabbath came to be for the sake of humanity.  It was “MADE FOR MAN.”  This passage is always interpreted as having Yahshua say, “The Sabbath is not important.”  But as LORD of the Sabbath, he meant to show friends and enemies alike the proper observance of his Sabbath.  All his life, Yahshua did two things on the Sabbath: (a) he rested from his labors and (b) he attended or ministered a holy convocation.  He commented that it was right to do good on the Sabbath and he demonstrated exactly what “good” consists of – observance and good works.

Yahshua's Supporters kept the Sabbath as Commanded

Luke 23:55.  And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid.  56.  And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Your Savior kept the seventh-day Sabbath all his life and taught his friends to do the same.  Here is an instance in which, even under the tremendous stress of the death of a family-head, those who followed Yahshua (his servants) rested according to the commandment: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: the fourth of ten commandments.

Paul Kept the Sabbath

Acts 17:1.  Now when they … came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue:  2.  and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures.

It was Paul who is often misquoted as though he wrote that the commandments of Yahweh “were nailed to the cross.”   If Yahshua nailed the Sabbath and the other nine commandments to cross, why is Paul continuing the “custom” of seventh-day Sabbath observance?  And why does he say he hastens to Jerusalem to keep the feast?  This is one of many, many instances in Scripture purposefully recorded through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to show that these early evangelists kept the commandments of Yahweh, particularly the Sabbath.  They did so because they knew that the Savior taught them (a) to keep “every word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh,” and that (b) the Sabbath was the sign of their union with Yahweh  to an unbelieving  world.

Sabbath to be Observed in the Millennium

Isaiah 66:22. "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make will remain before me, says Yahweh; so will your descendants and your name remain. 23. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh will come to worship before me. 

If Yahweh and Yahshua annulled Sabbath observance for the so-called “Church Age,”  then why do we herein find seventh-day Sabbath observance instituted in the Millennium rule of Yahshua?  All flesh will not only keep the Sabbath but also the prescribed feasts of Yahweh (“new moons”).  For me, this was the most convincing passage of all:  that if Yahshua were indeed raising up a people for his name and for his Kingdom on earth, shouldn’t Kingdom members (you and I) begin living as though we were in the Kingdom?  Indeed, we are in the Kingdom!  A Kingdom has laws, and among the laws of the Millennial Kingdom will remain the worship of Yahweh and the keeping of Yahweh’s Sabbath.

Feast of Tabernacles Also Observed in the Millennium

Zechariah 14:16.  And it will come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh Sabaoth, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.  17.  And it will be, that whoso of all the families of the earth go not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh Sabaoth, upon them there will be no rain.

Indeed, in the Millennium, all the earth will be required to send dignitaries to Jerusalem and keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  The judgment upon the nations that do not do so is clear – drought.  Shouldn’t we be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and the Sabbath now?  Don’t you think that when Yahshua’s return is made public, he will commend those who are already observing Kingdom living?  It is so clear in this inspired word that it will be required!  And it is required even now. We are, at this writing, in year 1 of the last thousand years (of seven thousand) in Bible history.  If the seventh thousand year period is supposed to be the Millennium of the Messiah, then he must be making his public appearance soon.  Time has run out.  Don’t you think that when Yahshua’s return is made public, he will demand to know why 'believers' are not keeping the words of his Father? 

Yahweh's Sabbath Commandment Remains

Hebrews 4:9.  There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of Yahweh. 10.  For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as G-d did from his.   11.  Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience.

In fact, Sabbath observance is here plainly prescribed for the people of Yahweh, even in the so-called “Church Age.”  How much more plain can the importance of it be?  Sabbath observance is a command that is a sign of your god’s ownership, a joyful blessing, and a mark that sets you apart from the world.  Isn’t obedience to the Ten Commandments desirable and commanded?  And how can we say that they are written on our hearts if we so blatantly disregard this special command (not to mention the others)?

What are the Common Objections to Keeping the Biblical Sabbath?

Sabbath is for Jews Only 

This argument is clearly destroyed in Isaiah 56:6, 66:22 and many other passages from the mouth of Yahweh himself.  The Sabbath is for "all flesh." 

Isaiah 56:6ff.  "And the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to serve him, to love the name Yahweh, and to be his slaves, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; . . . for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. . . . And I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered."

What could be clearer than this?

Law Passed Away   

Indeed, something is passed away in the New Covenant, but not the words of Yahweh.  The Son of Yahweh, Yahshua, has said, “Though heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not.”  This is all the more true for the Father, whose words Yahshua spoke continually.  What has passed away is the sacrificial system, as demonstrated in two historic occurrences: 

    (a) the resurrection of Yahshua after he was sacrificed, and 

    (b) the destruction of the only place sacrifice is permitted, the Temple in Jerusalem.  

Yahshua was a perfect example of the law – and that is how he fulfilled it.  (That means he kept it completely.)  He did not destroy it, therefore it could not have possibly passed away. 

The Sabbath was Transferred to Sunday by the Apostles 

There is absolutely no scripture to make this claim.  The Apostles all, without exception, kept the Sabbath.  One time, Paul had a carry-in dinner and took an offering on the first day, but that passage in no way infers that he tried to change the Sabbath of Yahweh.  In fact, one of the marks of Antichrist is that he will change days and times.  

Paul Preached Against Sabbath-keeping

Two passages from Paul are often quoted as proving that the seventh-day Sabbath is no longer binding.  On the contrary, both passage affirm rather than deny Sabbath-keeping.  The first:

Romans 14:4. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?  ... 5. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. ... 6. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord...  (RSV)

The passage above may or may not refer to the Sabbath.  Either way, it does not annul the Ten Commandments.  The other passage is:

Colossians 2:13. And you ... G-d made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14. having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ... 16. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17. These are a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (RSV)

"Legal demands" refers to blood atonement -- sacrifice of animals for the remission of sins.  This passage is affirming Sabbath-keeping rather than denying it.  Assuming Paul is writing to the Gentile believers at Colossae -- he is saying that the legal demands of the sacrificial system were nailed to the cross, not the fourth commandment.  Yahshua died as the last sacrifice, but by his own word, it was never his intention to destroy Law but fulfill it in all points.  Although sacrificing animals is distasteful and forbidden by Yahweh, righteous living and commandment-keeping is not.  

  Indeed, these Gentile (or Jewish) converts  were living righteously counter to their culture by following the commandments and hailing Yahshua as Sovereign.   That's why unbelievers (the majority) were passing judgment on these new believers -- because they were keeping the Sabbath and the sacred holidays of Yahweh.  Paul is admonishing them to continue in the right despite others passing judgment for these acts of devotion, for, after all, Sabbath- and Feast-keeping are earthly shadows of the heavenly substance of something that belongs to Messiah. 

No passages may be taken out of the context of the entire Bible corpus to prove certain doctrines, especially those that run against the grain of the whole.

Every day is Sabbath

In order to disobey Yahshua with a clear conscience, I chose this notion as the best justification for not keeping the Sabbath.  Every day is indeed Sabbath, for “when we enter his rest we cease from our labors.”  But this scripture is found in the same place as the one I quoted above, “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of Yahweh.”  Taken altogether, this is a clear injunction to keep Yahweh’s Sabbath, not a loophole to disregard it.     

I Choose Whatever Day is Convenient   

I have heard all these reasons for not observing the Sabbath:  “I can’t keep the Sabbath because I have to work.”  “I will lose my job.”  “That is my only day.”  “I’ll choose any day I want” or "The Lord will honor any day I choose."

Dear friend, you haven’t the authority to set your personal law above Yahweh’s command established forever.  If you can’t be obedient to this simple injunction today, how will you ever be found worthy to rule and reign with Yahshua in the Millennium?  No, your will cannot be the overarching law.  The classic term for this viewpoint is anomianism (lawlessness).  If you have to work on the Sabbath (as I did when this truth became clear to me), then you may diligently pray to be released from Sabbath labor.  And Yahweh Almighty, who makes the rules and governs the universe, will annul your employer’s rules in favor of His in due time.  Try that prayer and see if it isn't answered.  When it is, it should be proof enough. 

Yahshua / Jesus  Was Resurrected on Sunday

A quote: “Because Yahshua was resurrected on the first day of the week, Christians are to hold that day (Sunday) as the day of worship and, in some understandings, as the ‘Christian Sabbath.’”  I was shocked to find that, after years of preaching “Easter “ Sunrise services, that the Greek of the New Testament teaches that Yahshua was NOT resurrected on the first day (Sunday).  Behold the literal translation of the Greek of Scripture:

Matthew 28:1.  Now late on the Sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.  

Clearly, Yahshua came back to life on the Sabbath.  The phrase, “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,” means that this was Saturday evening just before sundown.  He was already resurrected by the time they returned to the tomb on the first day!  Remember, the first day of the week begins on Saturday night at sundown.  The women honored the Sabbath, and when it ended on Saturday evening, they came forth to the tomb.  The phrase “dawn toward” is a loose translation of 

epifwskoush eiV mian

which literally means 

drawing on into one

The word "dawn" is not in there.  

This same teaching  is reiterated in Luke.  

Most Bible “translations,” in order to conform with religious tradition, intentionally mistranslate this passage to read, “After the Sabbath on the first day of the week.”  There are literally hundreds of Bible passages that have been altered to conform to popular religious notions; this is just one.  But because it is status quo does not mean  it is correct.  Yahshua returned from death on the seventh-day Sabbath precisely 72 hours after he died.  

“Be not seduced by strange doctrines nor by antiquated fables, which are profitless. For if even unto this day we live after the manner of Judaism, we avow that we have not received grace."

These doctrines and fables include the story of the Ten Commandments and the history of the Savior's holy walk in them, as we see specifically next:

"If then those who had walked in ancient practices attained unto newness of hope, no longer observing Sabbaths but fashioning their lives after the Lord's (kuriou) day, on which our life also arose through Him and through His death . . . "

We find Ignatius not only to be the forerunner of lawlessness (Reformed Faith so-called), but bringing the walk and teaching of the Savior to nothing, as though, before his resurrection, he lived in utter sin and self-satisfaction.  Such was nor is the case.

"It is monstrous to talk of Jesus Christ and to practice Judaism. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity."

"Strange doctrines" and "antiquainted fables" is now joined by "Judaism" as Ignatius attempts to destroy the entire foundation of true belief and worship - as well as the robust faith that the Savior believed and taught.

(Ignatius was a contemporary of the disciples; as the first to undermine the Ten Commandments, he was also the first to regard his faith as "Catholic."  These quotes are from Ignatius' Letter to the Magnesians 8-10, Joseph Barber Lightfoot translation.)

So far as we know, Ignatius teaching began the apostasy that asserts the Commandments of Yahweh to be overruled by bishops and clergymen.  There is much more history on how any Sabbath observance was finally prohibited or annihilated, and there are many written sources that trace the pathway to paganism. Let us end this section with a few quotations from the same type of clergymen, who speak plainly about the issue of Sabbath (from The Bible Sabbath Association, Fairview, OK).

James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers, 88th ed., pp. 89. “But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify."

Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed., p. 174. "Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."

John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies (1 936), vol. 1, P. 51. "Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days."

Daniel Ferres, ed., Manual of Christian Doctrine (1916), p. 67. "Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days? Answer. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of, and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church.'

James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1877-1921), in a signed letter. "Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh day - Saturday- for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day'? I answer no!"

The Catholic Mirror, official publication of James Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893. "The Catholic Church, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."

Catholic Virginian Oct. 3, 1947, p. 9, art. "For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible."

A Remnant    

Today the worship prescribed by Yahweh, practiced by Yahshua and recorded in the Bible is still mostly hidden behind pagan holidays, symbols, titles, rituals and mistranslations created so many years ago by this Roman Emperor and his successors, the Popes and their cronies.  Today old pagan traditions, beliefs and practices are even more prevalent than in times past within Christian churches.  Only a remnant of Messianic Sabbath-observers survived through the “Church Age” of the last two millennia   Most of the followers of the Messiah were wiped out through ongoing persecutions, carried out in the name of the Church, just as Scripture had predicted all along.  Yet, even today when history is clear and correct translations of the words of Yahweh and Yahshua are accessible, those who would be believers remain under a strong delusion. 

What To Do About the Sabbath 

The overarching concern of the believer should be (a) what would please Yahweh and his Son, Yahshua, and (b) what is expected of me in the Millennium Kingdom, which, according to a universal timeline, is soon to be upon us.   It boils down to obedience to what and to who is right; obedience is a valued characteristic in this world, an essential one in the next.  So here is what to do:  

(1)     Pray to Yahweh for a revelation of truth in the matter of the Sabbath and the holy days that Yahweh has already established, especially the Feast of Tabernacles, which scripture says was especially established for non-Jews and will be observed by all in the Millennium.

(2)     Study the passages above in more detail using a correct literal translation of the text.

(3)     If you find yourself intellectually convinced of the value of Sabbath observance (if for no other reason than to be obedient), then challenge Yahweh to make a way for you to actually become observant. 

What to do on the Sabbath  

Like you, I am a pilgrim in Sabbath observance.  There is certainly no prohibition against worshiping on any day.  But starting Friday night at sundown, I do not work at a job for pay until after Saturday sundown.  Yahweh made it possible for me to have this time off as an answer to  prayer.  On Saturday morning, we get together as a family to study the Bible based on a systematic plan to help us learn more about Yahweh and Yahshua from a Biblical rather than a traditional (church) perspective.  We study for an hour or more, and it is a delight – a wonderful time of sharing the things of our Father and learning what we will soon become.  Then we pray.  Then we listen.  Then we spend several hours doing re-creational activities.  Often, we receive the body and blood of our Savior.   And that is all it takes to fulfill the Sabbath. This is what it means to "make Sabbath a delight."  
  We have found that there is no bondage to it; rather, we are blessed in being obedient, knowing it is the right and obedient thing to do.  And we find that when we are obedient in a few things, we begin to believe we can be obedient in greater things.  AND, as I mentioned before, it is the greatest tool for evangelism that we have ever had.