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 THE SABBATH OF YAHWEH
Good News of the
Kingdom The Christ's
Assembly Worldwide January 27th, 2008
The Most Foundational Reason for many churches using Sunday as the
Sabbath is they believe Jesus died on Friday, and was in the grave
during Sabbath, when there is no scripture for that whatsoever. Let us
pay careful attention to all the surrounding scriptures which paint a
clear picture that He resurrected on the 7th Day of the Week, and that
it would have been impossible for Him to have risen on the First Day of
the week. Besides, no scripture says He rose on the 1st day, but it does
say He was already missing while it was still dark at the end of the 7th
day. 72 hours in the heart of the earth:
Mat 12:40 "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth."
"Three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth" would mean 72 hours. (Confirmation by Jesus is found in
John 11:9: "are there not twelve hours in a day?" And twelve hours in a
night = 24 hours.)
With these Biblical Presuppositions Jesus could not have died on Friday
at 3PM because that would have meant He couldn't raise for another 72
hours, which would have been Monday at 3PM. Besides, there is no
scripture saying He died on Friday or the 6th Day of the week. It is
only logical to use the Bible's account to say He was crucified and died
on that Wednesday. Jesus was NOT Crucified on a Friday, but on the
"Preparation of the Passover". There are seven "High
Sabbaths" every year, and the Passover always has a specific preparation
day for the special ceremony which landed on Wednesday that year.
Just because the verses say it was a preparation day for "a Sabbath"
doesn't mean it was the weekly Sabbath. However, all the gospels do say
it was the ANNUAL SABBATH CALLED PASSOVER. Jhn 19:31 "The
Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should
not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day
was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken,
and that they might be taken away." This verse doesn't say it
was the 6th day of the week. However, it does say in context that it was
the preparation of Passover: Jhn 19:14 "And it was the
preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith
unto the Jews, Behold your King!" Where do these churches get
it wrong calling this the Weekly Sabbath of Friday? If you read on you
shall see it is an impossibility! It can only make sense that
Wednesday was the day of His crucifixion, at 3PM. He rose on the 7th Day
Sabbath Day we know as Saturday at 3PM. The rest of the biblical
accounts confirm His resurrection day was Sabbath, because they didn't
find Him in the empty tomb when it was even still Dark Sunday morning!
If He was already gone before Sunday began, then this is more evidence
He wasn't crucified on Sabbath, and then already gone within 1 day. He
had to stay in the grave three days AND three nights. They couldn't find
Him early in the wee hours of the morning, while it was still dark on
Sunday because He had risen the previous day, on Sabbath, on schedule.
No verse in the scripture says that He arose ON the "first day",
but they all say He was already gone when they were there, BEFORE the
First day had dawned!
Matthew 28:1 "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the
first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
sepulcher."
Notice it says "in" the Sabbath, not "after".
We know on God's calendar the day starts at sundown, NOT AT MIDNIGHT. So
in this passage it could actually mean that as it was starting*** to get dark
Saturday Evening, that they went to the tomb and Christ was
already gone. Since we know days start at Sundown according to the bible
(from evening to evening: "From even unto even, shall ye celebrate
your Sabbath" (Lev. 23:32) "And the evening and the
morning were the first day." (Gen 1:15)). If the Sabbath was
"dawning" that would normally mean it was evening.
The next normal argument from those beholden to the First day of the
week is they come questioning whether we lost track of which day it was?
With it they never produce any evidence along those lines. God's word and history is the
best determining factor on this situation.
There have always been a remnant of the Anglo Saxon Caucasian peoples
keeping the Seventh day Saturday Sabbath. I personally have photograph
copies of very accurate Celtic Calendars that date back before Christ.
These were done in stone and preserved well. We know they never lost
track of the 7 days of the week. Christ couldn't have lost track of
which day was the 7th day either if He was to keep the Sabbath day. If
He and those in the 1st Century couldn't lose track of it, neither could
the rest. It can be found that people were more educated and advanced in
earlier times in many ways more than now. Memorization played the most
major role in learning, while today people are more relaxed with texts
and never learn or hardly endeavor to remember what it says.
Exodus 31:12 "And YAHWEH spake unto Moses, saying,
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 YAHWEH 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
YAHWEH: 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 YAHWEH made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested, and was refreshed."
See Lev 23, Deut 5:14, Exod 20:10-11 and notice it says it is not
Israel's Sabbath, but it is "The Sabbath(s) of YAHWEH", as it says it is Holy unto YAHWEH and it's a
commandment for Israel throughout all their generations, FOR EVER. If
you believe it was the 7th Day YAHWEH rested and not the first day then
we also must acknowledge the Sabbath is only on the 7th day. The
Sabbath is a joy and delight. It is "made for man" made for our own good
and betterment. Remember, none of God's commandments have ever been
grievous, but have all been called LIBERTY and true Freedom which we
rejoice in as King David and Solomon related.
1John 5:3 "For this is
the love of THE LORD, that we keep His commandments: and His
commandments are not grievous."
Another good note to make on this subject is we see in the book of acts
alone that the disciples kept the Sabbath on the 7th day 84 times, and
not one time was the First Day of the week called "Sabbath" anywhere in
the New Testament Scripture.
A lot of churches use the one scripture where they broke bread on the
first day as Paul was leaving for a mission; But what they don't talk
about is Acts 2:46, "they broke bread DAILY FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE". We
know the first century church kept the 7th day biblical Sabbath, and a
small remnant always has. It wasn't until the 3rd Century Constantine
enforced the pagan rituals of the 1st day worship to the sun-god "sunday".
Even then God's church continued keeping it by the thousands in every
generation up until this present day. In every generation governments
didn't like anyone taking God's word literal so every hundred years or
so new laws were made to outlaw Sabbath Keeping, and even at one point
the Pope declared a crusade against the Sabbath Keeping Waldensians of
Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. Thank God they prevailed as we
owe our current King James Scriptures to the Waldensians. It is easily
shown from scripture that there are many Sabbaths PLURAL, and the only
logical conclusion is the "Sabbath" that Jesus was crucified on was not,
and could not have been the weekly Sabbath but one of the Annual
Sabbaths. i.e.: Lev 23:24 "Speak unto
the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first
day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of
trumpets, an holy convocation."
This is talking about the Annual Sabbaths, not the weekly
Sabbath.
All God's feasts are called High Sabbaths and will for ever be called
Sabbaths, even in the new heavens and new earth: Isa 66:22-23
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall
remain before me, saith THE LORD, so shall your seed and your name
remain. 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." Even in the new heavens and new earth the
Egyptians will be required to keep the feast of Tabernacles, and if they
do not they will not get rain on their land. (see Zech 14). We today
should also keep proper language in our dialogues concerning the
Sabbaths of God. Many churches have been greatly blessed for moving from the First Day "Sunday" to the 7th
Day Biblical Sabbath "Saturday". A viewpoint also on the issue of the Sabbath is
in regards to blessings (Isa 58:13-14) "If you delight yourself in the
Sabbath,... I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth"
Matt 5:19 "if you keep the least of my commandments and teach men
to keep them you'll be called great in the kingdom of heaven, but if you
break the least of my commandments and teach men to break them you'll be
called the least in the kingdom of heaven."
So it is about rewards and being more set free, not about your
spiritual salvation of going to heaven. Our spiritual salvation is only
accomplished by receiving the the blood penalty accomplished by our
Savior Jesus Christ. Being Sanctified and growing in the spirit only is
experienced by the extents we line up with the exact word of God. |