What Is the Sabbath in the Bible? Origin of the Sabbath, Day of the Week, Meaning, and Importance

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The Sabbath is a holy day that God commanded us to “remember and keep it holy.” Most churches today worship on Sunday, but the true worship day is specified as Saturday in the Bible, the seventh-day Sabbath. Some people think that the Sabbath is an abolished law of the Old Testament. However, the New Testament recorded that Jesus and the apostles kept the Sabbath. This means that we must keep the Sabbath without change even in this age. If we are God’s people, we should correctly know the day to worship God and keep it holy. Let’s find out about the Sabbath, which commemorates the power of the Creator and promises us holy blessings.

Origin of the Sabbath

From the first day to the sixth day, God created the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh day.

[B]y the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy . . .Ge 2:1–3

God blessed and sanctified the seventh day and made it the Sabbath. He also appointed it as the fourth commandment among the Ten Commandments for us to remember and keep it holy.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy . . . the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God . . . the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”Ex 20:8–11

Is it okay not to keep the Sabbath, which God specifically commanded us to keep? God said that we cannot be saved when we add to or subtract from the words of God even a single one. The Sabbath is an important commandment mentioned more than 100 times in the Bible.

What Day of the Week Is the Sabbath?

The Bible tells us what day of the week the seventh-day Sabbath is.

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week . . .Mk 16:9

Jesus was resurrected on the “first day of the week,” that is, the day after the Sabbath. At the beginning of the same chapter, it is written, “When the Sabbath was over.” The day Jesus was resurrected is Sunday. This is recognized by both Catholics and Protestants, and in Today’s English Version, it is recorded that Jesus was resurrected on Sunday.

After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday . . .Mk 16:9, TEV

The day after the Sabbath is Sunday, so the Sabbath is Saturday, the day before Sunday. The Sabbath which God commanded to keep is Saturday. As Christianity has been prevalent in Europe for a long time, it is often found that the seventh day that God rested is translated as Saturday in the Bible. For example, Exodus 20:8 is written like this; “Remember Saturday by keeping it holy.” Such translations are found in many languages such as Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Slovak, Bulgarian, and Croatian.

Sunday, which many churches in the world observe, is not the Sabbath that God commanded to keep, but the first day after the Sabbath, that is, the day after the Sabbath. Even churches that worship on Sunday today acknowledge this.

“Not to mention other examples, is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But 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 never sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, pp. 72–73

Even the Catholic Church, which regards Sunday worship as the “most prominent of their sacred duties,” admits that there is no biblical basis for Sunday worship. It is because, as they say, “the Sabbath day in the Bible is Saturday, not Sunday.” Nowhere in the Bible does it say that if we worship on Sunday the first day, we will be blessed. If we want to receive the blessings promised by God, we must worship on Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath.

The Meaning and Importance of the Sabbath Day

The Sabbath Day, which God commanded to keep, is a very important commandment for those who believe in God. God said the Sabbath is a sign between Him and His people. This means that those who do not keep the Sabbath are not acknowledged as God’s people.

“ ‘[Y]ou must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come . . . Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.’ ”Ex 31:13–14

According to the strict words that anyone who desecrates the Sabbath must be cut off from His people, those who violate the Sabbath were stoned to death in the Old Testament times (Nu 15:32–36). If people did not keep the Sabbath in the Old Testament times, their bodies were killed; and in this age, if we don’t, our soul loses life and we become far from salvation.

Was the Sabbath Abolished in the New Testament Times?

Some insist that the Sabbath was a mere Old Testament law that was abolished in the New Testament times. However, this insistence goes against the teachings of Jesus who came as the Savior in the New Testament times. Jesus Himself set the example of keeping the Sabbath Day.

[O]n the Sabbath day he [Jesus] went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.Lk 4:16–20

Jesus kept the Sabbath “as was His customs.” If we do something once or twice, we do not call it a custom. Jesus kept the Sabbath Day every week. When Jesus was asked about His second coming and the end of the age (Mt 24:3), He told His disciples that they should keep the Sabbath until the end of the age.

“Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”Mt 24:20–21

Since the distress is unequaled from the beginning of the world and never to be equaled again, it must be the last disaster. Jesus said we should pray that the last disaster would not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. He said this for the saints not to suffer from the cold weather, and not to fail to keep the Sabbath due to the disaster. This clearly shows that we must keep the Sabbath until the last day. Following the teachings of Jesus, Apostle Paul and other saints of the early Church kept the Sabbath holy even after Jesus’ ascension (Ac 17:2–3; 18:4).

The Reason We Should Keep the Sabbath

The purpose of believing in God and worshiping Him is to be saved and go to Heaven. The Bible teaches us that those who do the will of God, that is, those who keep the Sabbath, can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ”Mt 7:21–23

God consistently taught us to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, both in the Old Testament times and in the New Testament times. It is clear that it is God’s will to keep the Sabbath on Saturday, not Sunday which is not found in the Bible. That is why Jesus set the example of keeping the Sabbath, and the apostles and the saints of the early Church also kept the Sabbath. Anyone who believes in God and goes to Heaven must keep the Sabbath Day holy according to God’s will.

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