The Bible says the Sabbath is the day God has blessed and sanctified after the six literal creation days. The Sabbath points to Him as the Creator of all things. (Genesis 2:2-3, Revelation 14:7))
The Sabbath is also the fourth commandment in the Bible. (Exodus 20:8-11)
It is the sign between God and His people. (Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:12, 20)
The Sabbath will be kept for all eternity by those redeemed. (Isaiah 66:23)
The Sabbath was not changed to Sunday as many people think. This teaching is not from the Bible. (Matthew 5:17-19)
Sunday is not a holy day in the Bible. This teaching comes from the councils of man and has nothing to do with God or His Word.
Sabbath Origins
The first mention of the Sabbath in the Bible, is in Genesis 2, after the six literal creation days.
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 2:2 -3 KJV
God created the Sabbath in the Garden of Eden when only Adam and Eve existed. After the marvellous creation of the Earth, He rested on the seventh day.
Then He blessed and sanctified the seventh day or the Sabbath.
This is the origin of the Sabbath.
It was created for all mankind as we see later in the New Testament, and not for a single group of people. (Mark 2:27)
The Sabbath day is a reminder of who made this world, it is something that points us back to the Creator.
Sabbath as the Fourth Commandment
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
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:
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.
Exodus 20:8-11 KJV
Later, in Exodus, we find the Law is given to Moses in written form. The Israelites knew about the Law beforehand, but not in written form. (See Exodus 16)
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments written with His finger.
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 31:18 KJV
The Sabbath is equally important as the other nine commandments.
The Sabbath as a Covenant Sign
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
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.
Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exodus 31:13-17 KJV
The Sabbath is a sign between God and His people.
Sabbath in the New Testament
Jesus shows us that He never changed nor intended to change the Sabbath.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
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.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-19 KJV
He kept the Sabbath.
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 4:16 KJV
He did heal people on the Sabbath and showed us that this day was created for man.
A day to get closer to God, to help those in need, and to do good. (Matthew 12:9-13, Luke 13:10-17, John 5:1-18).
Sunday in honour of Resurrection Day?
There is not a single verse in the Bible that tells us to keep Sunday in honour of the resurrection of Jesus.
His death is as equally important as His resurrection.
And He established baptism in honour of His death and resurrection, not Sunday worship. (Romans 6:3-4)
I challenge you to search in the New Testament for any new commandment to keep Sunday holy. You won’t find any.
The Sabbath and the Apostles
The Apostles were doing the same as Jesus did, honouring the Sabbath on the seventh day, as the commandment says. (Acts 13:42,44, 16:13, 17:2, 18:4)
Act 13:42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
Act 13:44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Act 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
Act 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
Act 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Sunday as Lord’s Day?
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Revelation 1:10 KJV
This verse gets interpreted as the Lord’s day being Sunday, the first day of the week. But where does that come from?
The Bible does not teach that Sunday is the Lord’s day. Instead, the Sabbath is the Lord’s Day.
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:
Isaiah 58:13 KJV
Conclusion
The Bible is clear about the Sabbath. It is the fourth commandment of God. It is the holy day of God that He blessed and sanctified after the six literal creation days.
It is the sign between God and His people. If you want to follow God, then you need to keep the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Saturday.
Sunday, however, is a normal working day that has no support from the Bible to be honoured as being holy.
There are millions of sincere Christians worldwide who do not know better and keep Sunday because that’s what they’ve been told.
God loves them and knows them. However, if we want to follow Jesus and His Laws, we need to study the Bible for ourselves.
It is a dangerous thing to place our salvation in the hands of mortal men, who are as prone to error and mistakes as everyone else on this Earth.
Let’s study today the Bible for ourselves, and grow our faith in the Word of God!
Jesus loves you, and wants you to be with Him in His Kingdom forever! Will you consider studying more and accepting the Sabbath as the Bible teaches it?
May God help you and me to do His will, always! Amen!
My Letter To A Sunday Keeper – Sabbath Documentary
The Days of Noah – Powerful Documentary (Video Format)
Bible Studies – Written Format
