Seventh-day Sabbath Questions And Answers

[meltzerboy]

My understanding is that the word “sabbath” refers to rest. It is derived from Hebrew as to mean “to cease” and is used to denote one should rest. When you sabbath, you are in the act of resting. It has nothing to do whether it’s Saturday, Sunday or any particular day of the week in terms of what it is. Under Mosaic law, it was set to occur on Saturday, the last day of the week. As Catholics, we are required to keep Sunday as a day of rest and observance.

As an aside, the ISO sets the first day of the week as Monday and the last day as Sunday in a seven day week.

On the Jewish Sabbath, it is not only a matter of resting and praying. One must also refrain from performing ordinary tasks that one would do during the work week, which do not actually require much effort. That would include turning on a light, taking out the garbage, driving, writing, cutting or tearing, walking at a brisk pace, carrying money or keys, using an umbrella, and so on. This is not for the purpose of atonement or punishment, but just the opposite. The Sabbath is to be a day of joy, not misery, during which we are not burdened by weekday concerns and are free to devote our attention to prayer in the company of family and friends. It takes place on the seventh day because G-d Himself rested from His creation on that day. I would be a hypocrite if I told you I observe all these rules pertaining to the Sabbath. If I did, I would not be writing this post on the Sabbath. I admit I do not observe the Sabbath exactly the way I should, and at times feel guilty for not doing so, even as a Reform Jew.

 

[meltzerboy]

As Jesus himself believed and all rabbis concur, if a situation arises that requires work on the Sabbath for the purpose of saving a human life, then all Sabbath rules MUST (not may) be abandoned.

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

On the Jewish Sabbath, it is not only a matter of resting and praying. One must also refrain from performing ordinary tasks that one would do during the work week, which do not actually require much effort. That would include turning on a light, taking out the garbage, driving, writing, cutting or tearing, walking at a brisk pace, carrying money or keys, using an umbrella, and so on. This is not for the purpose of atonement or punishment, but just the opposite. The Sabbath is to be a day of joy, not misery, during which we are not burdened by weekday concerns and are free to devote our attention to prayer in the company of family and friends. It takes place on the seventh day because G-d Himself rested from His creation on that day. I would be a hypocrite if I told you I observe all these rules pertaining to the Sabbath. If I did, I would not be writing this post on the Sabbath. I admit I do not observe the Sabbath exactly the way I should, and at times feel guilty for not doing so, even as a Reform Jew.

Thank-you for the elaboration as I merely provided a very simplified overview of the Sabbath/Shabbos. However, what constitutes work is centered around the creation the* mishkan*, so activities such as weaving, threshing and their derivatives are prohibited. You could carry a couch all around the house all day and it would not violate the rules of Shabbos. Carrying a set of keys outside an *eruv *would.

 

[KathleenGee]

As I continue to grow in my studies of Christ, the Mass, and other faiths, gleaning through these posts, there is so much emphasis in SDA on a certain day of the week, everything regarding a disputed concept, and then how it spirals out to all these external signs and disputing them.

It is completely bypassing life in Christ, and focusing instead on the appearance of language and belief, and sets itself above others. SDA sets itself up as right above everyone else, so this sentiment is continually coming through but bypassing the interior life with Christ.

 

[TRAVIS_WAYNE]

Saturday is the 7th day is the true Sabbath. Isaiah 66:23 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. We all will be worshiping God in heaven and on the new earth on the Sabbath ((Saturday) the scripture says ALL FLESH, not just the Jews…
The 4th commandment is, “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).
Look in any dictionary or Encyclopedia on what they say…I grew up going to church on Sunday and went to a Catholic high school. After studying the bible very long and hard, I read and found that Jesus was raised on Sunday the 1st day of the week (King James vesion). Before Jesus went to the cross he gave no instruction to replace the truth Sabbath Saturday the 7th day to Sunday 1 day of the week the day he rose from the grave,
There are at least four ways which we can tell for certain that Saturday is the seventh day.
The Bible: It clearly reveals that Jesus was crucified on the Preparation day (Luke 23:54). His closest followers rested as commanded on the Sabbath day (Luke 23:56; Mark 16:1). Most Christians recognize Jesus died on Friday, the Preparation day; He rested the next day the Sabbath, and rose the first day, Sunday. The Sabbath is the day between Friday and Sunday, or the seventh day—Saturday.
Language: In more than one hundred and forty languages in the world, the word for the seventh day, which we call Saturday, is the word Sabbath. Language testifies to the Sabbath’s preservation through the centuries.
Astronomy: The leading astronomers in the world testify to the fact that the weekly cycle has never changed. Centers such as the Royal Naval Observatory in the U.S. and The Royal Greenwich Observatory in England affirm the fact of a constant weekly cycle.
History: The Jewish people have kept an accurate record of the Sabbath. For more than four thousand years, they have preserved the true Sabbath on Saturday.
Mark 2:27 And Jesus said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
(it does not say it was made for the jews only)
The Venerable Day of the Sun.” Sunday is the first day of the week, and from it we get our name Sunday. When Constantine pressed his pagan hordes into the church they were observing the day of the sun for their adoration of the sun god. It was their special holy day. In order to make it more convenient for them to make the change to the new religion, Constantine accepted their day of worship, Sunday, instead of the Christian Sabbath which had been observed by Jesus and His disciples. Remember that the way had been prepared for this already by the increasing anti-Jewish feelings against those who were accused of putting Jesus to death. Those feelings would naturally condition many Christians to swing away from something which was held religiously by the Jews. It is therefore easier to understand how the change was imposed on Christianity through a strong civil law issued by Constantine as the Emperor of Rome. The very wording of that law, by the way, can be found in any reliable encyclopedia. Those early Christians, feeling that the Jews should not be followed any more than necessary, were ready to swing away from the Sabbath which was kept by the Jews. Only law that was done away with on the cross was the sacrificial system, the 10 commandments are still binding… Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
John 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

 

[Richard_Kastner]

On the Jewish Sabbath, it is not only a matter of resting and praying.

First of all there is no such thing as “the Jewish Sabbath” Ex 20:10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God

One must also refrain from performing ordinary tasks that one would do during the work week, which do not actually require much effort. That would include turning on a light, taking out the garbage, driving, writing, cutting or tearing, walking at a brisk pace, carrying money or keys, using an umbrella, and so on. This is not for the purpose of atonement or punishment, but just the opposite.

Could you show me where we find these laws in the bible? Jesus says Mark 7:7Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The Sabbath is to be a day of joy, not misery, during which we are not burdened by weekday concerns and are free to devote our attention to prayer in the company of family and friends. It takes place on the seventh day because G-d Himself rested from His creation on that day. I would be a hypocrite if I told you I observe all these rules pertaining to the Sabbath. If I did, I would not be writing this post on the Sabbath. I admit I do not observe the Sabbath exactly the way I should, and at times feel guilty for not doing so, even as a Reform Jew.

You sholdn’t feel guilty for not following the commandments of men.

 

[Richard_Kastner]

As I continue to grow in my studies of Christ, the Mass, and other faiths, gleaning through these posts, there is so much emphasis in SDA on a certain day of the week,

There is so much emphasis on the Sabbath in the SDA church because God emphasizes the Sabbath.

Gen2
3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Ex.20
8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10But 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:

11For 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.

Ex31
12And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

13Speak 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.

14Ye 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.

15Six 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.

16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

17It 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.

18And 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.

Nehemiah13
16There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

17Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?

18Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

Isaiah 56
4For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

5Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

6Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

7Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

 

[Richard_Kastner]

Isaiah58
13If 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:

14Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 66:23
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.

Jeremiah 17
21Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

25Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

26And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.

27But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Ezekiel20
10Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

11And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.

12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

Ezekiel 22:8
Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.

Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Ezekiel 23:38
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

Ezekiel 44:24
And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

It is completely bypassing life in Christ, and focusing instead on the appearance of language and belief, and sets itself above others. SDA sets itself up as right above everyone else, so this sentiment is continually coming through but bypassing the interior life with Christ.

Jn.14
15If ye love me, keep my commandments.