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The same spirit of reverence for God's Sabbath which permeates the Old Testament is also evident throughout the New Testament. Contrary to what "Christianity" generally teaches, no other weekly day of worship other than the Sabbath is mentioned, let alone commanded.

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The second personage in the Godhead, the Word, divested Himself of His divinity, and was born into this world as the human being Jesus Christ. As a man, Jesus lived a life perfectly obedient to God's law. Therefore, unsurprisingly, we find that He was a Sabbath keeper, which we read of in Luke 4:16 "So 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 to read".

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We see the same in Mark 6:2 "And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue", and in Luke 13:10 "Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath".

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Christ was often challenged regarding the legality of things He did on the Sabbath, such as healing and driving out demons. The religious leaders of His day had added many regulations to the law, turning the keeping of God's Sabbath into a burden. People have incorrectly interpreted the disputes that Christ had with these religious leaders regarding the Sabbath as a sign that He was against Sabbath keeping. On the contrary, He was attempting to show people the deeper spiritual meaning of this law.

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Let's look at Christ's teachings in Matt 12:1-12:

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1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.

7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.

10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” - that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?

12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath".

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To start with we need to understand the context of the above discussion. The time and place in which this discourse took place stands in total contrast with our western world today. Our societies are increasingly secular and worldly, whereas the nation of Judah that Christ came to was very religious. The Jewish religious leaders were sticklers for detail and felt that the disciples were technically breaking the law. Luke adds that "His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands" (Lk 6:1). It is this "rubbing" that the Jews probably objected to most.

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However, Christ gives examples of where a greater need or a spiritual purpose can override a physical law. David and his men who ate the showbread were extremely famished; the priests at the Temple worked in service of God; a sheep caught in a pit is in distress. These are all exceptional situations. Christ states that God desires "mercy" (one of the "weightier matters of the law" - Matt 23:23) ahead of (physical) "sacrifice", and adds that "it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath". Likewise this is where our priorities should lie.

 

However, exceptions don't create the norm. It has become the practice of many in the end time Churches of God to use examples like those found in Matt 12 to take liberties with the Sabbath.

 

Other people want to be given a list of all the do's and don'ts of Sabbath keeping. However, that is exactly what God doesn't give us. Rather, in various places throughout the Bible He gives us examples and guidelines, and then intends us to learn to make honest judgements as situations arise in our lives.

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The disciples who plucked and ate heads of grain on the Sabbath were declared "guiltless" by Christ. Obviously these men had given over their lives to being taught by Christ, who declared that He was "greater than the Temple" where the priests worked. If those who served at the physical temple under the physical high priest could work and feed themselves in that capacity on the Sabbath, how much more those who served with Jesus Christ, the spiritual High Priest of the spiritual Temple. For some unstated reason the disciples had no food with them for the Sabbath and were feeling weak from hunger, so in the simplest of ways they took care of their need by eating raw grain.

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The account from Matt 12 quoted above is also found in Mark 2. Mark elaborates on Matt 12:8: "And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27-28).

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This verse has been greatly misrepresented by many, but in reality it stresses the role of Christ as the ultimate authority on what proper Sabbath observance is all about. Christ as Creator made the Sabbath day, therefore He is its Lord.

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A remarkable example of Sabbath keeping is found in the account of the women who prepared spices to anoint Christ's body after His death. Christ died on the day of Passover, which is followed by the annual Sabbath called the first day of Unleavened Bread. John verifies this by calling it a "high day" (Jn 19:39). In Mk 16:1, we are told that the women bought the spices for Christ's burial after this high day Sabbath. However, Luke 23:56 tells us that these same women bought the spices and then rested on the Sabbath. It is from putting these two accounts together that we know that there were two Sabbaths in the week Christ died. After He died on Wednesday, the women rested on the high day Sabbath on Thursday, bought and prepared the spices on Friday, rested on the regular Sabbath, and then went to Christ's tomb early Sunday morning.

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Some very important points should be noted in this account.

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Firstly, these women faithfully observed the Sabbaths after Christ died. Having prepared the spices on Friday they could have gone to the grave on the Sabbath, but they didn't. We see in these events great care being taken regarding the sanctity of the Sabbath by people who had been in Christ's presence for years.

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The reverent attitude of the women toward the Sabbath was a direct reflection of Christ's own attitude toward the Sabbath.

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Secondly, the Scripture in Luke 23:56 states that the Sabbath observance of the women was "according to the commandment". This was written by Luke many years after the event, showing that the Sabbath was not "abolished on the cross" or "fulfilled in Christ" as many people claim. Luke doesn't say "according to the former commandment" or "according to the Jewish commandment" or "according to the Old Covenant commandment" or anything like that. Luke was writing to a Gentile audience. How confusing this would have been for his readers if the Sabbath was indeed no longer to be kept!

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The plain word of God states "And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Lk 23:56). What an example for all of mankind!

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Examples in the book of Acts

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In the book of Acts we find numerous references to the Sabbath being kept by Christians.

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In Acts 1:12 Luke uses the phrase "a Sabbath day's journey". He writes this in Greek to a largely Gentile audience. How would this phrase have made any sense to these people unless they themselves were Sabbath keepers? As with the example of the women above, Luke gives no hint whatsoever that this "Sabbath day's journey" was a regulation or unit of measurement that was no longer valid.

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Paul and his companions in their travels attended the synagogue on the Sabbath on a regular basis:

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"But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day" (Acts 13:14).

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"So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath" (Acts 13:42).

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"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God" (Acts 13:44).

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Note that it was the Gentiles who wanted to hear more "the next Sabbath". Why the next Sabbath? Why not the next day? Because the next day was the first day of the week, i.e. a working day. The next day normally designated for religious gathering was the next Sabbath.

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In Acts 15 we read of a conference being held by the apostles regarding the preaching of the gospel message to the Gentiles. Decisions had to be made concerning matters of God's law that were of immediate importance to these people. In conclusion the apostles make this statement "For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath".

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The inference is that all the additional knowledge the Gentiles would need to acquire would be made available to them when they attended the synagogues on the Sabbath days. There, the entirety of the books of the Law of Moses were read out in sections over a set period of time.

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In Acts 16:13 we again find Paul and his companions meeting with other Sabbath keepers: "And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God".

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Likewise Acts 17:1-2: "Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures".

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And also Acts 18:4: "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks".

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Examples in the Epistles

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We find an intriguing passage of Scripture regarding the Sabbath days in Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (KJV). In the King James Version the word "is" appears in italics because it has been added by the translators. The original Greek text just says "but the body of Christ". Most translators have added words to make this verse make sense to them, and in doing so they have altered the true meaning of the passage. For example, the NIV renders this "the reality, however, is found in Christ". They have added the words "reality .... is found in", and left out "body of".

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The explanation of what the phrase "the body of Christ" means is found in the most obvious place, i.e. the verses that precede it. In Col 1:18 and 1:24 Paul already uses these same words.

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In Colossians 1:18 Paul states concerning Christ "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence".

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Col 1:24 is even clearer "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church".

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Therefore putting the opening and closing words of Col 2:16-17 together, the meaning becomes clear: "Let no one judge you ........ but the body of Christ" (i.e. the Church).

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The Church in Colosse was mostly a Gentile congregation. They were new in the faith and therefore susceptible to outside influences. Throughout the New Testament we read of Jews, both those who accepted Christ and those who didn't, introducing wrong ideas among the new converts (e.g. Acts 15:1-5, Gal 6:12, Tit 1:14). This was happening in Colosse as well, as can be seen in the rest of Paul's epistle to them.

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What were some of the things the Colossians were being troubled about? Paul gives a list: "in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days". In other words matters of what foods were acceptable and which were not, and how to keep weekly and annual Sabbaths. Paul was telling them not to take their instructions from anyone but the true Church, of which he was a minister.

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The next part of the sentence is usually translated as "which are a shadow of things to come", which I think is not quite logical. Green's Interlinear Bible renders this "which is a shadow of things to come". I think that the latter translation is more likely the correct one, meaning that the judgement that the brethren were receiving about certain Church practices was only a small beginning of serious persecutions that were to come later.

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So the correct translation is "Let no man therefore judge you, in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath day, which is a shadow of things to come; but the body of Christ".

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The last New Testament verse in this section is Hebrews 4:4-11:

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4 "For somewhere he (God) has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”

5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest (spoken to the adult generation in the wilderness of Sinai who all died before Israel entered into Canaan - see Hebrews chapter 3).”

6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest (to enter the Kingdom of God, of which the physical land of Israel is a type), and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,

7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today (any person's time of calling).” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.

9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God (the weekly seventh day points to the millennial seventh day, i.e. the Kingdom of God. Faithful Christians show their desire to enter that Kingdom by keeping the Sabbath holy);

10 for anyone who enters God’s rest (God's Kingdom) also rests from their works, just as God did from his (on the Sabbath).

11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience" (NIV).

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Many, if not most, translations render Heb 4:9 as "rest" rather than "Sabbath rest". The original Greek word here is "sabbatismos", the only occurrence of this word in Scripture, and it means "a keeping of the Sabbath".

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The Mark of the Beast

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God's people are described in Rev 12:17 as those who "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ". One of the commandments of God is the Sabbath, and as we have already seen, God calls the Sabbath "a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you" (Ex 31:13). 

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However, six passages of Scripture, all in the book of Revelation, refer to a "mark" that the enemies of God possess. They do not believe in keeping God's commandments and therefore they are transgressors of the Sabbath:

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Revelation 13:16-17 "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name". The page "REVELATION 13 - THE BEAST" explains how this mark is Sabbath breaking and how it was enforced by false Christianity.

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 Revelation 14:9-11 "Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name". The mark of Sabbath breaking mentioned here is elaborated on in the article "REVELATION 14 - THE 144000".

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Revelation 15:2 "And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God".

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Revelation 16:2 "So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image". These Rev 15 and 16 passages about the mark of Sabbath breaking are dealt with on the page "THE REAL SEVEN PLAGUES".

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Revelation 19:19-20 "And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone". The final demise of the Sabbath breaking powers mentioned here is expanded on in the article "THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES".

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 Revelation 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years". The ultimate reward is received by God's faithful Sabbath keeping saints, as discussed further on the page "REVELATION 13 - THE BEAST".

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So in example after example we see that the New Testament Scriptures uphold the sanctity of the Sabbath just as the Old Testament Scriptures do. The same spirit and the same message is evident throughout both the Hebrew and Greek writings of God.

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 The Annual Sabbaths

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This article would be incomplete if it didn't touch on the Biblical annual Sabbaths, or feast days. The Scriptures not only speak of a weekly Sabbath to be observed every seventh day, but also of seven unique Sabbaths that each occur once a year.

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In Leviticus 23:1-2 God states "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts".

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Leviticus 23:3 reiterates the weekly Sabbath command we have been looking at in this article. Then, from verse 4 onward, this chapter details seven annual Sabbaths that God also commands us to commemorate.

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These seven annual holy days are to be kept according to the calendar derived from Biblical instructions:

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1) The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the 15th day of the first month. This holy day commences a seven day festival (Lev 23:6-7).

2) The last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the 21st day of the first month (Lev 23:8).

3) The Feast of Harvest, or Firstfruits (Ex 23:16), aka Pentecost (Acts 2:1), 50 days after the "wave sheaf" offering during Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:9-22).

4) The Feast of Trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month (Lev 23:23-25).

5) The Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev 23:26-32).

6) The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, aka the Feast of Ingathering (Ex 23:16), on the 15th day of the seventh month. This holy day commences a seven day festival (Lev 23:33-35).

7) The Eighth Day, or Last Great Day of the Feast, on the 22nd day of the seventh month (Lev 23:36, Jn 7:37).

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All these are elaborated on elsewhere in Scripture.

 

The amazing thing about the annual holy days is that they picture the plan of salvation God is working out on Earth with mankind.

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Crucially, the first day of Unleavened Bread is preceded by the Day of Passover on the 14th day of the first month (Lev 23:5). The death of Christ occurred on this day, thereby making the plan of salvation possible. Without Christ's sacrifice for the sins of mankind no person would be able to be saved, and so no holy day plan would exist. Passover stands alone as a unique day, incomparable in importance.

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Following is a brief outline of the meaning of the holy days:

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After the memorial of Christ's sacrifice on the Day of Passover there follow seven days during which unleavened bread is eaten and all yeast and other leaven is removed from believers' homes. Leaven pictures sin in this setting, and the lesson is that upon repentance and acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for our sins, followed by baptism and the receipt of God's holy spirit, we are to live a life of overcoming sin.

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When Christ was resurrected He became the first human being to be saved and converted to spirit life (I Cor 15:20), setting the precedent for those who follow. His ascension to the Father on the day after His resurrection was pictured in ancient Israel by the waving of the "wave sheaf" (Lev 23:10-11), which was a cluster of the first harvested grain, cut and presented to God on the day after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After this ceremony the early grain harvest would commence. From the day of the wave sheaf offering, 50 days are counted until the Feast of Harvest (now called Pentecost), which was held at the end of the harvest, and pictures the spiritual firstfruits harvest of the 144000 mentioned in Rev 7 and 14, at Christ's return. Therefore it is very likely that Christ will return on the day of Pentecost.

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The celebration of the Feast of Trumpets is only recorded once in Scripture, in the days of King Solomon. Solomon was a type of Christ, his kingdom was a type of God's Kingdom, and the temple he built was a type of the spiritual temple Christ is building.

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Bible chronology shows that Solomon's temple was built during the years 2993-2999 and that the temple was dedicated in the year 3000 from Creation.

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This is very interesting timing when compared to the years we are approaching right now, as seen on the chart on the "HOME" page. The ark of the covenant was brought into the temple, and the temple dedicated, at the Feast of Trumpets, which Solomon extended to a seven day celebration (II Chron 7:8-11, I Kings 8:65). This appears to picture Christ's marriage to the firstfruits (the spiritual temple), which is going to occur in the very near future, and most likely in the exact year 6000.

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The Day of Atonement pictures Christ's atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and those sins being placed back on the one from which they originated, i.e. Satan the devil. The typology of the two goats in Leviticus 16 can be seen in the New Testament events involving Christ and Barabbas in front of Pilate's judgement seat on the day of Passover when Christ was condemned to death (Mt 27:15-26).

 

The two goats in Leviticus picture Christ and Satan. It was determined by lot which goat would be killed as a sacrificial type of Christ. The second goat, with the sins of the people on his head, was sent alive into the wilderness.

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In the New Testament account, Barabbas, a murderer and seditionist, is a type of Satan. Here it was the people who determined the lot of Christ and Barabbas. They chose Christ to be put to death and Barabbas to be released into the world. The release of both the goat and Barabbas picture Satan's soon coming banishment to the "bottomless pit" for a period of a thousand years (See Rev 20:1-3).

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The Feast of Tabernacles, aka the Feast of Ingathering, pictures Christ's 1000 year reign on Earth when most people who have ever lived will be resurrected to judgement and will also hear the true gospel of the Kingdom, or Family, of God for the first time without interference from Satan. This will lead to an enormous ingathering harvest of people, which Rev 7 describes as "an innumerable multitude". This second resurrection to spirit life is pictured by the Eighth Day holy day. It is very likely that this huge event will occur in the year 7000 on the very day that this holy day falls.

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So, in conclusion, we see that the weekly Sabbath and the seven annual Sabbaths are closely linked throughout the Scriptural narrative as they together portray the immeasurably great purpose God is working out here on Earth with mankind.

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