100 Facts on the Sabbath Question

Over the past several years that my husband and I have kept God's Sabbath day, I have been approached by several people out of concern. Some concerns are that I am keeping the Sabbath to be saved. That the Sabbath has been abolished, nailed to the cross, and that by keeping it I am forfeiting what Jesus did for us on the cross. That the Sabbath was for the Jews not the Gentiles. That we are to now keep the day of Jesus' resurrection instead of the Sabbath.That it has been changed from the 7th day to the 1st day of the week.

I am grateful that there are so many people in our life who love and care for us so much, that they will voice their concerns. It makes me think about why I haven't diligently shared with them, and others, more fervently about the Sabbath. It is something that has been consuming my mind lately. I have been in prayer with the Lord about it often, and believe the Lord would like me to share here, now.

Sometimes I find it difficult to find the right words to speak. I know that the Lord will speak through me, if I just allow Him to. I have been studying more and more in the Bible about this, and have yet to find anywhere that says that it has either been done away with, or that it has been changed. I've heard lots of people's thoughts and opinions but I am not interested in any of those. I am only interested in what God says on the matter of this issue. I am looking for a "Thus saith the Lord". Yet, I can not find one that says the day has been changed, abolished, or anything to that conclusion. I have only read about how the disciples all kept the Sabbath day (Acts 13:27, Acts 13:44, Acts 15:21, Acts 17:2,3). That Jesus also kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16, John 15:10). I have read how it was instituted in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:1-3). How God gave the Israelites double portion of manna the day before Sabbath so they would not have to gather food on God's holy rest day while wandering in the dessert (Exodus 16: 4,5, 25-27). How God wrote about the Sabbath with His own finger, and told us to 'remember' it (Exodus 31:13-18). How Isaiah prophesied that we will be keeping it in the new heaven and the new earth (Isaiah 66:23). I have not found one Scripture telling us to keep any other day, or that it has been changed.

I want to go ahead and list here '100 Facts on the Sabbath Question' from Let There Be Light Ministries. I hope and pray that you take the time to read through this, as I believe this is a truly important issue, and there is much more evidence listed than I stated. God's Word should always be the final authority on all issues. Let us do as the Bereans did, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so".

May God bless you with you clearness of mind, and His Truth on the matter of Sabbath. As always, comments are welcome, even if you disagree with what has been stated here. But please give clear Scriptural evidence for why you disagree, if you do.  =)

100  FACTS  ON  THE  SABBATH  QUESTION

Why keep the Sabbath day?

What is the object of the Sabbath?

When was it made, who made it, and for whom?

Which day is the true Sabbath?

Many keep the first day of the week, or Sunday.  

What Bible authority have they for this?

Some keep the seventh day, or Saturday.

What Scripture have they for that?

     Here are the facts about both days, as plainly stated in the word of God.

Sixty  Bible  Facts  Concerning  the  Seventh  Day

1.  After working the first six days of the week in creating this earth, the great God rested on the seventh day.  Genesis 2:1-3.

2.  This stamped that day as God’s rest day, or Sabbath day, as Sabbath day means rest day.  To illustrate: When a person is born on a certain day, that day becomes his birthday.  So when God rested upon the seventh day, that day became His rest, or Sabbath day.

3.  Therefore the seventh day must always be God’s Sabbath day.  Can you change your birthday from the day on which you were born to one in which you were not born?  No.  Neither can you change God’s rest day to a day on which He did not rest.  Hence the seventh day is still God’s Sabbath day.

4.  The Creator blessed the seventh day.  Genesis 2:3.

5.  He sanctified the seventh day.  Exodus 20:11.

6.  He made it the Sabbath day in the garden of Eden.  Genesis 2:1-3.

7.  It was made before the fall; hence it is not a type, for types were not introduced till after the fall.

8.  Jesus says it was made for man (Mark 2:27); that is, for the race, as the word man is here unlimited, hence, for the Gentile as well as for the Jews.

9.  It is a memorial of creation.  Exodus 20:11; 31:17.  Every time we rest upon the seventh day, as God did at creation, we commemorate the grand event.

10.  It was given to Adam, the head of the human race.  Mark 2:27; Genesis 2:1-3.

11.  Hence through him, as our representative, to all nations.  Acts 17:26.

12.  It is not a Jewish institution, for it was made 2,300 years before ever there was a Jew.

13.  The Bible never calls it the Jewish Sabbath but always “the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”  Men should be cautious how they stigmatize God’s holy rest day.

14.  Evident reference is made to the Sabbath all through that patriarchal age.  Genesis 2:1-3; 8:10, 12; 29:27, 28, ect.

15.  It was a part of God’s law before Sinai.  Exodus 16:4, 27-29.

16.  Then God placed it in the heart of His moral law.  Exodus 20:1-17.  Why did He place it there if it was not like the other nine precepts, which all admit to be immutable?

17.  The seventh-day Sabbath was commanded by the voice of the living God.  Deuteronomy 4:12, 13.

18.  Then He wrote the commandment with His own finger.  Exodus 31:18.

19.  He engraved it in the enduring stone, indicating its imperishable nature.  Deuteronomy 5:22.

20.  It was sacredly preserved in the ark in the holy of holies.  Deuteronomy 10:1-5.

21.  God forbade work upon the Sabbath, even in the most hurrying times.  Exodus 34:21.

22.  God destroyed the Israelites in the wilderness because they profaned the Sabbath.  Ezekiel 20:12, 13.

23.  It is the sign of the true God, by which we are to know Him from false gods.  Ezekiel 20:20.

24.  God promised that Jerusalem would stand forever if the Jews would keep the Sabbath.  Jeremiah 17:24, 25.

25.  He sent them into the Babylonish captivity for breaking it.  Nehemiah 13:18.

26.  He destroyed Jerusalem for its violation.  Jeremiah 17:27.

27.  God has pronounced a special blessing on all the Gentiles who keep it.  Isaiah 56: 6, 7.

28.  This is in the prophecy which refers wholly to the Christian dispensation.  See Isaiah 56.

29.  God has promised to bless every man who keeps the Sabbath.  Isaiah 56:2.

30.  The Lord requires us to call it “honorable.”  Isaiah 58:13.  Beware, ye who take delight in calling it the “old Jewish Sabbath,” “a yoke of bondage,” ect.

31.  After the holy Sabbath has been trodden down for “many generation,” it is to be restored in the last days.  Isaiah 58:12, 13.

32.  All the holy prophets kept the seventh day.

33.  When the Son of God came, He kept the seventh day all His life.  Luke 4:16; John 15:10.  Thus He followed His Father’s example at creation.  Shall we not be safe in following the example of both the Father and the Son?

34.  The seventh day is the Lord’s day.  See Revelation 1:10; Mark 2:28; Isaiah 58:13; Exodus 20:10.

35.  Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28); that is, to love and protect it, as the husband is the lord of the wife, to love and cherish her.  1 Peter 3:6.

36.  He vindicated the Sabbath as a merciful institution designed for man’s good.  Mark 2:23-28.

37.  Instead of abolishing the Sabbath, He carefully taught how it should be observed.  Matthew 12:1-13.

38.  He taught His disciples that they should do nothing upon the Sabbath day but what was “lawful.”  Matthew 12:12.

39.  He instructed His apostles that the Sabbath should be prayerfully regarded 40 years after His resurrection.  Matthew 24:20.

40.  The pious women who had been with Jesus carefully kept the seventh day after His death.  Luke 23:56.

41.  Thirty years after Christ’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit expressly calls it “the Sabbath day.”  Acts 13:14.

42.  Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, called it “the Sabbath day” in A.D. 45.  Acts 13:27.  Did not Paul know?  Or shall we believe modern teachers, who affirm that it ceased to be the Sabbath at the resurrection of Christ?

43.  Luke, the inspired Christian historian, writing as late as A.D. 62, calls it “the Sabbath day.”  Acts 13:44.

44.  The Gentile converts called it the Sabbath.  Acts 13:42.

45.  In the great Christian council, A.D. 52, in the presence of the apostles and thousands of disciples, James calls it the “Sabbath day.”  Acts 15:21.

46.  It was customary to hold prayer meetings upon that day.  Acts 16:13.

47.  Paul read the scriptures in public meetings on that day.  Acts 17:2,3.

48.  It was his custom to preach upon that day.  Acts 17:2.

49.  The book of Acts alone gives a record of his holding eighty-four meetings upon that day.  See Acts 13:4, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4, 11.

50.  There was never any dispute between the Christians and the Jews about the Sabbath day.  This is proof that the Christians still observed the same day that Jews did.

51.  In all their accusations against Paul, they never charged him with disregarding the Sabbath day.  Why did they not if he did not keep it?

52.  Paul himself expressly declared that he had kept the law.  “Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.”  Acts 25:8.  How could this be true if he had not kept the Sabbath?

53.  The Sabbath is mentioned in the New testament 59 times, and is always with respect, bearing the same title it had in the Old Testament, “the Sabbath day.”

54.  Not a word is said anywhere in the New testament about the Sabbath’s being abolished, done away, changed, or anything of the kind.

55.  God had never given permission to any man to work upon it.  Reader, by what authority do you use the seventh day for common labor?

56.  No Christian of the New testament, either before or after the resurrection, ever did ordinary work upon the seventh day.  Find one case of that kind, and we will yield the question.  Why should modern Christians do differently from Bible Christians?

57.  There is no record that God has ever removed His blessing or sanctification from the seventh day.

58.  As the Sabbath was kept in Eden before the fall, so it will be observed eternally in the new earth after the restitution.  Isaiah 66:22, 23.

59.  The seventh-day Sabbath was an important part of the law of God, as it came from His own mouth, and was written by His own finger upon stone at Sinai.  See Exodus 20.  When Jesus began His work, He expressly declared that He had not come to destroy the law.  “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets.”  Matthew 5:17.

60.  Jesus severely condemned the Pharisees as hypocrites for pretending to love God, while at the same time they made void one of the Ten Commandments by their tradition.  The keeping of Sunday is only a tradition of men.

     We have now presented 60 plain Bible facts concerning the Seventh day.  What will you do with them?

Forty  Bible  Facts  Concerning  the  First  Day  of  the  Week

1.  The very first thing recorded in the Bible is work done on Sunday, the first day of the week.  Genesis 1:1-5.  This was done by the Creator Himself.  If God made the earth on Sunday, can it be wicked for us to work on Sunday?

2.  God commands men to work upon the first day of the week.  Exodus 20:8-11.  Is it wrong to obey God?

3.  None of the patriarchs ever kept it.

4.  None of the holy prophets ever kept it.

5.  By the express command of God, His holy people used the first day of the week as a common working day for 4,000 years, at least.

6.  God Himself calls it a “working” day.  Ezekiel 46:1.

7.  God did not rest upon it.

8.  He never blessed it.

9.  Christ did not rest upon it.

10.  Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3) and worked at His trade until He was 30 years old.  He kept the Sabbath and worked six days in the week, as all admit.  Hence He did many a hard day’s work on Sunday.

11.  The apostles worked upon it during the same time.

12.  The apostles never rested upon it.

13.  Christ never blessed it.

14.  It has never been blessed by any divine authority.

15.  It has never been sanctified.

16.  No law was ever given to enforce the keeping of it; hence it is no transgression to work upon it.  “For where no law is, there is no transgression.”  Romans 4:15; (1 John 3:4).

17.  The New Testament nowhere forbids work to be done on it.

18.  No penalty is provided for its violation.

19.  No blessing is promised for its observance.

20.  No regulation is given as to how it ought to be observed.  Would this be so if the Lord wished us to keep it?

21.  It is never called the Christian Sabbath.

22.  It is never called the Sabbath day at all.

23.  It is never called the Lord’s day.

24.  It is never called even a rest day.

25.  No sacred title whatever is applied to it.  Then why should we call it holy?

26.  It is simple called “first day of the week.”

27.  Jesus never mentioned it in any way--never took its name upon His lips as far as the record shows.

28.  The word Sunday never occurs in the Bible at all.

29.  Neither God, Christ, nor inspired men, ever said one word in favor of Sunday as a holy day.

30.  The first day of the week is mentioned only eight times in all the New Testament.  Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2.

31.  Six of these texts refer to the same first day of the week.

32.  Paul directed the saints to look over their secular affairs on that day.  1 Corinthians 16:2.

33.  In all the New Testament we have a record of only one religious meeting held upon that day.  Acts 20:5-12.

34.  There is not an intimation that they ever held a meeting on it before or after that.

35.  It was not their custom to meet on that day.

36.  There was no requirement to break bread on that day.

37.  We have an account of only one instance in which it was done.  Acts 20:7.

38.  That was done in the night--after midnight.  Verses 7-11.  Jesus celebrated it on Thursday evening, (Luke 22), and the disciples sometimes did it every day.  Acts 2:42-46.

39.  The Bible nowhere says that the first day of the week commemorates the resurrection of Christ.  This is a tradition of men, which makes void the law of God.  Matthew 15:1-9.  Baptism commemorates the burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Romans 6:3-5.

40.  Finally, the New testament is totally silent with regard to any change of the Sabbath day or sacredness for the first day.

     So after reviewing these 100 plain Bible facts upon this question, showing conclusively that the seventh day of the week, or Saturday, is the Sabbath of the Lord in both the Old and New testaments, what should be our response to this fourth commandment of God?

     “For he spake in a certain place on the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works....There remaineth therefore a rest (Sabbath) to the people of God.  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the save example of unbelief.” Hebrews 4:4, 9-11.

     “And hereby we do know that we know him (God), if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him....By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 2:3-5, 5:2-3.

     “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (of God).  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Revelation 22:14.

     “Let us here the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

    For more information on this important topic, please click here

The Sabbath Designed to Bring Us Into Harmony With God

Sabbath blessings dear ones! I just wanted to share something I read today with you all. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a dear friend recently regarding the Sabbath. I pray that it speaks to you all, as the Lord has meant it to.

To Be Like Jesus, Page 146

And He said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:” Mark 2:27, KJV.

When accused of Sabbathbreaking at Bethesda, Jesus defended Himself by affirming His Sonship to God, and declaring that He worked in harmony with the Father. Now that the disciples are attacked, He cites His accusers to examples from the Old Testament, acts performed on the Sabbath by those who were in the service of God.

The Jewish teachers prided themselves on their knowledge of the Scriptures, and in the Savior’s answer there was an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the Sacred Writings. “Have ye not read so much as this,” He said, “what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread ...; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?” (Luke 6:3, 4). “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). “Have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple” (Matthew 12:5, 6). “The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:28)....

Jesus did not let the matter pass without administering a rebuke to His enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. He said, “If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7). Their many heartless rites could not supply the lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which will ever characterize the true worshiper of God....

It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men and women into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery.

Is Jesus Our Sabbath?

Prophecy in the News

Below is the first of hope fully many videos that discusses prophetic news articles. I intend to post the videos as they are posted by brother Nicholas from Presents of God Ministries. I hope and pray that everyone is blessed by these videos! Have a blessed Sabbath day!

Praising My Saviour, All the Day Long!

A beautiful hymn, for a beautiful Sabbath day! 

I'll be praising my Saviour ALL the day long! I pray you all are blessed on His Holy day!

Still, Small Voice

This morning, as I was reading through our church's youth study for today, this excerpt from Prophets and Kings by Ellen White really spoke to me. It gave me some comfort, and opened my eyes. In light of the events that have taken place in this last week, this is something I needed to read. I hope it blesses you as well.

 "What Doest Thou Here?"

     Elijah's retreat on Mount Horeb, though hidden from man, was known to God; and the weary and discouraged prophet was not left to struggle alone with the powers of darkness that were pressing upon him. At the entrance to the cave wherein Elijah had taken refuge, God met with him, through a mighty angel sent to inquire into his needs and to make plain the divine purpose for Israel. 

     Not until Elijah had learned to trust wholly in God could he complete his work for those who had been seduced into Baal worship. The signal triumph on the heights of Carmel had opened the way for still greater victories; yet from the wonderful opportunities opening before him, Elijah had been turned away by the threat of Jezebel. The man of God must be made to understand the weakness of his present position as compared with the vantage ground the Lord would have him occupy. 

     In bitterness of soul Elijah mourned out his complaint: "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 

     Calling upon the prophet to leave the cave, the angel bade him stand before the Lord on the mount, and listen to His word. "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." 

     Not in mighty manifestations of divine power, but by "a still small voice," did God choose to reveal Himself to His servant. He desired to teach Elijah that it is not always the work that makes the greatest demonstration that is most successful in accomplishing His purpose. While Elijah waited for the revelation of the Lord, a tempest rolled, the lightnings flashed, and a devouring fire swept by; but God was not in all this. Then there came a still, small voice, and the prophet covered his head before the presence of the Lord. His petulance was silenced, his spirit softened and subdued. He now knew that a quiet trust, a firm reliance on God, would ever find for him a present help in time of need. 

     It is not always the most learned presentation of God's truth that convicts and converts the soul. Not by eloquence or logic are men's hearts reached, but by the sweet influences of the Holy Spirit, which operate quietly yet surely in transforming and developing character. It is the still, small voice of the Spirit of God that has power to change the heart. 

     "What doest thou here, Elijah?" the voice inquired; and again the prophet answered, "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 

     The Lord answered Elijah that the wrongdoers in Israel should not go unpunished. Men were to be especially chosen to fulfill the divine purpose in the punishment of the idolatrous kingdom. There was stern work to be done, that all might be given opportunity to take their position on the side of the true God. Elijah himself was to return to Israel, and share with others the burden of bringing about a reformation. 

       Elijah had thought that he alone in Israel was a worshiper of the true God. But He who reads the hearts of all revealed to the prophet that there were many others who, through the long years of apostasy, had remained true to Him. "I have left Me," God said, "seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 

     From Elijah's experience during those days of discouragement and apparent defeat there are many lessons to be drawn, lessons invaluable to the servants of God in this age, marked as it is by general departure from right. The apostasy prevailing today is similar to that which in the prophet's day overspread Israel. In the exaltation of the human above the divine, in the praise of popular leaders, in the worship of mammon, and in the placing of the teachings of science above the truths of revelation, multitudes today are following after Baal. Doubt and unbelief are exercising their baleful influence over mind and heart, and many are substituting for the oracles of God the theories of men. It is publicly taught that we have reached a time when human reason should be exalted above the teachings of the Word. The law of God, the divine standard of righteousness, is declared to be of no effect. The enemy of all truth is working with deceptive power to cause men and women to place human institutions where God should be, and to forget that which was ordained for the happiness and salvation of mankind. 

     Yet this apostasy, widespread as it has come to be, is not universal. Not all in the world are lawless and sinful; not all have taken sides with the enemy. God has many thousands who have not bowed the knee to Baal, many who long to understand more fully in regard to Christ and the law, many who are hoping against hope that Jesus will come soon to end the reign of sin and death. And there are many who have been worshiping Baal ignorantly, but with whom the Spirit of God is still striving. 

     These need the personal help of those who have learned to know God and the power of His word. In such a time as this, every child of God should be actively engaged in helping others. As those who have an understanding of Bible truth try to seek out the men and women who are longing for light, angels of God will attend them. And where angels go, none need fear to move forward. As a result of the faithful efforts of consecrated workers, many will be turned from idolatry to the worship of the living God. Many will cease to pay homage to man-made institutions and will take their stand fearlessly on the side of God and His law.

Psalm 119

My family has been reading the Psalms together lately. Each day someone picks a number 1-150, and that's the Psalm we read. Well, last night it was Daddy's turn to choose the number. And, of course, he picks Psalm 119. The longest chapter in the Bible. It has 176 verses! Needless to say, we are breaking that one up over a few days time.

Since it was the beginning of Sabbath, we read the first 2 parts - ALEPH & BETH. (I say parts because they are broken up quite nicely into sections.) And we'll be reading more throughout the day. This morning we read GIMEL. 

v17 Deal bountifully with thy servants, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

Thou has rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.

Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.

v 24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.

What a beautiful Psalm to pray, especially on God's Holy day! I pray that I keep close to the Lord in all things. I pray this for all of you out in cyber land today also. Draw near to Him dear ones! He will draw near to you!

Have a blessed Sabbath day!