Did I Forget Something?

One of the most forgotten things in Scripture is the one thing we are specifically told to remember.

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

The sabbath day goes back to the very beginning of Creation in Genesis chapter 2, and is an essential doctrine that has been largely forgotten by God's people.

As a result, most are ignorant about the significance of the sabbath day and it's relevance for the times we live in today.

The sabbath (or seventh) day was not the day that God "rested" as someone would rest from being tired, it was the day when he ceased from the work of creation. In addition, he set this day apart and blessed this day specifically.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. 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." (Genesis 2:1-2)

Likewise, He commanded His people to observe this practice of ceasing from work on the seventh day as He had done. Jewish tradition holds that a day begins at evening just as Genesis Chapter 1 says the evening and the morning were the # day, and that the seventh or sabbath day began at sundown on what we would call Friday to sundown on what we would call Saturday in English.

We know from Scripture that Jesus kept the sabbath day, His disciples kept the sabbath day, Paul kept the sabbath day, the early church kept the sabbath day. So what happened in history that caused most of Christianity to abandon the sabbath day? I will cite some sources at the end of this post that may help answer this question. But for now, I want to focus on the prophetic significance of the sabbath.

If this day was so important to God, shouldn't it be just as important to those who follow Him? Just what is so significant about this day that is was to be a perpetual covenant throughout all generations?

Just like with the Feasts of the LORD in Leviticus 23, there are important shadow pictures contained in the commandment of the Sabbath Day, and the sabbath, like the feasts, is a rehearsal that shows God's plan for mankind.

Biblical scholars will largely agree that most Jews and Rabbis believe that the sabbath is a picture of the overall timeline God has set for mankind: Six days of work and a day of rest. A prophetic day is equated to a period of 1,000 years. The Apostle Peter believed and taught this:

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8)

As you read 2 Peter Chapter 3, you will see that this whole chapter is in a "last days" context. This is very literal and not poetic in either language or context.

Thusly, six days (6,000 years) of work and one day (1,000 years) of rest. This time of rest is what is commonly referred to as The Millennial Reign of Christ or the DAY of the LORD. This was the belief of those who penned the books of the Bible under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

We are currently in the Jewish year 5776. Others will claim they are missing 240 years putting us at 6016. It's likely neither are completely accurate. Either way, it appears that we are just about at that 6,000 year mark, a sobering thought when you consider what that means is just around the corner according to the Book of Revelation.

Should Christians Observe the Sabbath?

My goal in any post is typically to present information and scriptural testimony. I avoid infusing my personal beliefs as much as possible and try to present confirming witnesses to establish a matter (according to Deuteronomy 19 and 2 Corinthians 13). The scriptures tell us to study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15), so ultimately it is your responsibility to determine what the Word of God says, rightly dividing the word of truth.

With that said, I will pose just a few thoughts and ideas:

1) God's commandments historically have never excluded or been different for one group of people over another. - "One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD." (Numbers 15:15) The "gentiles/strangers" of the day in the Old Testament, if they chose to identify with God's people, were subject to the same instructions as the Israelites.

2) We must remember the spiritual principle behind any commandment. Outward conformity is never an acceptable substitute for a changed heart - truly devoted to God. You can outwardly/physically obey a commandment and yet still be violating a spiritual principle if you're heart is not right. Also, we must be careful to avoid the error of the Pharisees of Jesus' day and man-made religion of modern day based on traditions that add to or take away from God's word.

3) Believers will be observing the sabbath during the reign of Messiah according to Isaiah 66 - "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." (Isaiah 66:23)

4) If you feel that the sabbath commandment DOES NOT apply to Christians, then how do you feel about the other nine? Are we now free to worship idols? curse His name? murder? steal? lie? commit adultery?

I hope this will at least cause you to evaluate your own understanding of the Bible's teaching on this matter. Most importantly, it should remind us that Jesus is returning soon, and not everyone will enter into that rest. If this age did come to an end very soon and you are not sure of your eternal destination, today is the day to get that settled by putting your faith in the one who will bring us rest.

For some historical context of what has happened to Sabbath observance over the years, read some of these interesting quotes:

“On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” (Codex Justinianus 3.12.3, trans. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 5th ed. (New York, 1902), 3:380, note 1.)

“Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ” (Strand, op. cit., citing Charles J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church, 2 [Edinburgh, 1876] 316).

Cardinal Gibbons, in Faith of Our Fathers, 92nd ed., p. 89, freely admits, “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 [the Catholic Church] never sanctify.”

Again, “The Catholic Church, … by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday” (The Catholic Mirror, official publication of James Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893).

“Protestants do not realize that by observing Sunday, they accept the authority of the spokesperson of the Church, the Pope” (Our Sunday Visitor, February 5, 1950).

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [Saturday Sabbath to Sunday] was her act... And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things” (H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons).

“Sunday is our mark of authority… the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact” (Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1, 1923).

“Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the Catholic Church alone. The Catholic Church says, by my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church” (Thomas Enright, CSSR, President, Redemptorist College [Roman Catholic], Kansas City, MO, Feb. 18, 1884).

“The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ. The Pope has authority and has often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ” (Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop).

"Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the church has no good reasons for its Sunday theory, and ought logically to keep Saturday as the Sabbath." --John Gilmary Shea, "The Observance of Sunday and Civil Laws for its Enforcement," in The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Jan. 1883, p. 152 [Shea (1824-1892), a Catholic priest, wrote an important history of American Catholicism].

"It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church."--Priest Brady, in an address at Elizabeth, N.J. on March 17, 1903, reported in the Elizabeth, N.J. News of March 18, 1903.

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