Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

The importance of the Sabbath Day.

The creation of the universe is discussed in the first chapter of the Scriptures.  Starting in verse 2 of the second chapter we read about the beginning of Elohim’s spiritual creation. After creating the heavens and the earth, Elohim created the Sabbath day by resting from His work of physical creation. The Scriptures do not mention the Sabbath for quite some time, after this. There is silence on the subject throughout the entire age of the patriarchs. Abraham was a pivotal figure, being the last of the patriarchs and also the ancestor of the nation of Israel. The book of Genesis condenses the 2,000 year patriarchal age into the first 11 chapters, at which time the story slows down and goes into great detail starting with the life of Abraham, emphasizing the importance of him and his descendants.  Genesis 26: 5 contains the landmark statement about Abraham and his faith, as follows: “Because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”  What laws did he keep? The Scriptures do not say, but, isn’t it remarkable that this is precisely the way in which obedience to the covenant made at Mount Sinai is expressed in Deuteronomy 11: 1[1]? The question is: How did Abraham get to know Elohim’s Law.

A close comparison of Genesis 26: 5 and Deuteronomy 11: 1 reveals the important difference in wording, namely that ‘Abraham obeyed Me (the commentary in the NASB against the word ‘obeyed’ reads: ‘hearkened to My voice’). This tells us that Elohim orally taught Abraham His commandments. Could the Sabbath be one of the commandments that Elohim taught Abraham?  Rav Yaa’cov shows in James 2: 23 that Abraham ‘was called the friend of Elohim.’ Yahshua defines those who obey His commandments as His friends in John 15: 14 and in verse 15 said that He keeps His friends informed of what He is doing.  Similarly Elohim asks in Genesis 18: 17, saying: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” Even though this statement is specifically about Elohim’s intentions regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, it shows the same kind of relationship. Similar to the way in which a man confides in his friend, so does Elohim.  It is therefore only logical that Elohim also revealed the Sabbath to His friend Abraham, as He did many years later to Abraham’s descendants the Israelites. In addition, if Abraham as a friend of Elohim knew about the Sabbath, he would also have kept it set-apart.

Soon after Israel’s departure from Egypt, Elohim started providing them with manna as their daily bread. Elohim used the manna to emphasize the weekly Sabbath as a test commandment, to determine if Israel would obey Him or not. Elohim told them in Exodus 16: 15 – 26 to gather bread from heaven on a daily basis. He commanded them to gather twice as much on the sixth day, as none would be provided on the seventh day Sabbath. We see from verse 27 of Exodus 16, ‘And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.’  Elohim clarified the situation in verse 29, saying: “See, YHVH has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” The prohibition against collecting manna outside your abode means the same for us today we should not go out of our homes to buy food needed for the Sabbath. Such provisions should be purchased on Friday, the preparation day for the Sabbath. Even though some interpret verse 29 above to say that we should remain in our homes on the Sabbath day; the prohibition is only about acquiring food and provisions, and not to do any work - otherwise, how could one attend a ‘holy convocation’ including the weekly Sabbath as also commanded in Leviticus 23: 2 & 3, without leaving ‘his place’?

Next we arrive at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the command to rest on the seventh day was formalized as one of the Ten Commandments, written by the finger of Elohim on two tablets of stone as recorded in Genesis 20: 8 – 11. Note that the Sabbath command was enjoined upon the entire household, including visitors, servants and animals. The Sabbath directed the people to Elohim as Creator and reminded them of His deliverance from bondage in Egypt. The Ten Commandments are given in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. By comparing the texts in both passages, we notice that it is different. Was all the information from both these accounts written on the two tablets of stone? If so, either the tablets were huge, or the writing was very small, but, it is more likely that Elohim wrote only the core commandments and spoke the rest of the information. Why is this important? Simply, because Elohim is only calling individuals from (mainly) the lost ten tribes of the house of Israel during this age and not whole families, in addition to the house of Judah to become part of His chosen people once again. To those of us called out of the religions of the world, it is an individual matter, as confirmed in John 6: 44[2]. But, because we are returning to the covenant made with both the house of Judah and the house of Israel, it is a national matter, as we are busy fulfilling the words of the prophets recorded in Acts 16: 16 & 17, in this way:  “AFTER THESE THINGS I WILL RETURN, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND RESTORE IT, IN ORDER THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK YHVH,  AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME.”   

The Sabbath is essentially a sign between Elohim and His people. In Exodus 31, the Sabbath command is recorded in the midst of Elohim’s instructions for building the tabernacle. Even though the construction of the Tabernacle was of the highest importance, it was not permitted to supersede the Sabbath ordained by Elohim.  Note in Exodus 31: 13 that the Sabbath(s) is described as a ‘sign’ between Elohim and His people. Elohim emphasized the same two lessons as in the two accounts of the Decalogue: to remind them of YHVH who sanctified them (verse 13) and to point back to Elohim as Creator of the heavens and the earth (verse 17). The Sabbath was more than a day of rest; its observance by Israel was a constantly recurring acknowledgment of Elohim as the Creator of the universe. It would be an open denial of Elohim for an Israelite to desecrate the Sabbath, even in the construction of the Tabernacle. In regard to the Sabbath as ‘a perpetual covenant’, the weekly hallowing (or setting-apart) of the Sabbath by the nation of Israel, was a proclamation of belief in Elohim and obedience to His law, affecting an ongoing relationship with Elohim.

However, in fulfilment of the prophecy in Daniel, the fourth world ruling kingdom (the Roman Empire) that has been in force since before Messiah’s time, made alterations in times and in law, and even though the Roman calendar was revised by Pope Gregory XIII during the 1500’s, we are even at this time using it in the western world. As opposed to the Scripturally based Hebrew calendar, where a day starts at sunset, when the previous day comes to an ends, a new day according to the Gregorian calendar starts at midnight and lasts for twenty four hours, until midnight when the next day commences. By following the calendar introduced by Pope Gregory for religious purposes, the Israelites who were scattered into the world, have turned aside from what YHVH commanded His people; exactly what He said we should not do! Now those who are always concerned about the number 666 and what it means. It simply means that we have turned aside from the words which YHVH commanded us, since the transliterated word in Hebrew for ‘turn aside’ is ‘tassur’ as used in Deuteronomy 28: 14, ‘And do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today.’  The gematria for ‘tassur’ is ‘Tav’ = 400; ‘Samech’ = 60; ‘Vav’ = 6; ‘Reis’ = 200, totaling 666.   Most people in the western world call themselves Christian and keep ‘their day of rest’ on Sunday, the first day of the week, defined in dictionaries as the Christian Sabbath. There are three Scriptures in the renewed Covenant that led some to believe that Sunday was the day of rest and worship for the renewed Covenant congregation, and we will discuss each one of these here below:

 

1. Some say that first Corinthians 16 verses 1 & 2 refer to taking up a collection during Sunday services. Examining these verses closer, reveals that, it was not what Rav Shaul meant. Although the Scriptures say that the collection took place on the first day of the week, nowhere does it say that worship services were involved. This was merely a special collection for members of the congregation in Jerusalem who were in need (as explained in verses 1 and 3). It was part of a wider relief effort involving other members in Galatia and Macedonia as well. The support was prompted by a famine described in Acts 11: 28 – 30. Rav Shaul did not say that this collection was to be taken up at a religious service. In fact he tells the Corinthians in first Corinthians 16: 2, to ‘let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.’ These contributions were to be put aside and saved, not to be brought to a worship service on Sunday. To say that this is an account of a collection taken up during a Sunday worship service (which was considered to be a normal working day, in those days), is to read into the Scriptures what it does not say.

2. A Scripture which is commonly cited to justify Sunday worship is Revelation 1: 10. In this portion of The Scriptures, Yochanan was saying: ‘I was in the Spirit on (the Lord’s Day) the Day of YHVH, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet.’ Some say that Yochanan was saying that he was at a worship service on Sunday and had a vision. However, nowhere in the Scriptures is ‘the Lord’s Day’ defined as the first day of the week or Sunday. This is in fact the only place in the entire Renewed Covenant, where this term is used, which would hardly be the case if the congregation (or church) had been observing Sunday for many years, as some claim. In fact the context of the vision which Yochanan had, was not referring to Sunday at all, but he wrote that the vision took him into the future time, which the Scriptures normally refer to ‘as the day of the lord’; ‘the day of the master Yahshua Messiah’ or ‘day of Messiah’ (see 2 Peter 3: 10; 2 Thessalonians 2: 2; first Corinthians 1: 8; Acts 2: 20 and Jeremiah 46: 10). This does not talk about a specific single day, but refer to the end-time events surrounding the return of Messiah Yahshua. This is the time when He will intervene directly in human affairs. This is when mankind’s rule will end and Yahshua will commence ruling us from Jerusalem. We read about this time from Malachi 4: 4 – 6, in this way: “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. (5) Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of YHVH. (6) And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”

3. Another Scripture used by some to show that the renewed Covenant congregation observed Sunday, is found in Acts 20: 7, as follows: ‘And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Shaul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.’ In fact this Scripture is used to suggest that this group kept the Passover on this particular Sunday. We however know that the Passover is a memorial of Messiah’s death which is like any other memorial, kept once a year, on the 14th of Nisan (or Aviv) every year. In this instance ‘breaking of bread’ did not mean the Passover, but the dividing of loaves of bread for a normal meal. This is confirmed in E.W. Bullinger's 'Figures of Speech Used in the Bible', pp. 839 & 840. This is also proven in verse 11 of Acts 20, after Rav Shaul finished speaking, they broke the bread and ate. He continued talking until daybreak, when he left. Breaking bread to eat as a meal is also mentioned in Acts 27: 35 and Luke 24: 30. The timing of the events in Acts 20: 7 - 11, helps us understand things better. Several events are described during the same night. We know that in the Scriptures in both the Tanach and the renewed Covenant, days commence when the sun goes down. These events start with a meal on Saturday evening, after the Sabbath. Rav Shaul planned to leave the next day, to go to another town, so he spoke long into the night. One young man, who was sitting in a window sill, became very tired and fell asleep and fell out of the window from the third floor. We see in verse 10, Rav Shaul healing the young man and returning to the meeting.  In the morning, which was Sunday morning, Rav Shaul continued on his journey.

 

Since most of Churchianity observes Sunday as their day of rest and worship, many people assume that Sunday is the Sabbath. However, the fourth Commandment states clearly: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (or Set-apart). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of YHVH your Elohim; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore YHVH blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” YHVH commanded that the seventh day be observed as the Sabbath. Looking in any dictionary or encyclopedia will reveal that Saturday is the seventh day of the week, while Sunday is the first day of the week.  Elohim, who created the heavenly bodies and set them in motion to mark the passage of time, counts time from evening to evening. We see in the creation account in Genesis 1: 5, that after dividing the day from night, Elohim tells us that the evening and the morning, were the first day. ‘Evening’ is mentioned first followed by ‘morning’. In each of the successive days that Elohim created, He describes each day’s creation in similar terms, as may be seen in Genesis 1 verses 8, 13, 19, 23 and 31.

 

We also read about the creation of the original Sabbath in Genesis 2: 2 & 3, as follows: ‘And by the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. (3)Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which Elohim had created and made.’ The Sabbath day was different from all the other days of the creation week. Elohim blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it. The word ‘sanctify’ simply means to set it apart or makes it ‘holy’. In the quoted Scripture above we read twice that Elohim rested from all His work which He had created and made. The Sabbath follows immediately after the sixth day which we have seen in Genesis 1: 31: ‘And Elohim saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening (dusk) and there was morning, the sixth day.’ This brings us to the very important question: When does the Sabbath of YHVH our Elohim begin? In the Scriptures, evening began when the sun goes down, as we see in Joshua 8: 29 and quoted here in 2 Chronicles 18: 34: ‘And the battle raged that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.’ The usual way of calculating the beginning and ending of days are as given in Leviticus 23: 27 & 32, as follows: “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a Set-apart convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to YHVH. (32) It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath.” This is also confirmed about the Sabbath in Nehemiah 13: 19, as follows: ‘And it came about just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates that no load should enter on the Sabbath day.’

 

However, some might conclude that the above two quotes come from the ‘Tanach’. So let us look at an example in the ‘Renewed Covenant’. We see in Mark 1: 21 that Yahshua and His newly called disciples attended a synagogue on the Sabbath in Capernaum. In verse 32 of Mark 1, we see the Sabbath coming to an end as the sun went down, as follows: ‘And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.’ After the sun had set, marking the end of the Sabbath, crowds brought many sick people to Yahshua to be healed, having waited until the end of Sabbath to come to Him. The gospel accounts witness that Joseph of Arimathea buried Yahshua’s body before evening, to keep from working on an approaching annual Sabbath (the First Day of Unleavened Bread). We see this by comparing John 19: 31 ‘The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away’ with Matthew 27: 57 - 60, as follows: ‘And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Yahshua. (58) This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yahshua. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him. (59) And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.’ This is in total agreement with Luke 23: 50 – 54: ‘And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man  (51) (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of Elohim; (52) this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yahshua, (53) And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. (54) And it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.’

 

We are familiar with Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, which tells of a time when Lucifer rebelled against YHVH our Elohim, wanting to take over His throne in the recesses of the north and was cast down to the earth (Isaiah 14: 12). The war between Satan and his demons, and two thirds of the angels still loyal to Elohim, resulted in the earth becoming formless and void. Then (from Genesis 1: 3 – 31) YHVH our Elohim recreated the earth, but created mankind from physical matter and as opposed to the spiritual beings who used to inhabit the earth and could continue on and on without getting tired, we need rest. In fact in Mark 2: 27 we read about Yahshua: ‘And He was saying to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”’ Yahshua clarified the purpose of the Sabbath, which so many have missed throughout the centuries: The Sabbath, far from enforcing a tiresome bondage of forbidden activities, is something which Elohim made for man. Notice again in Genesis 2, it was sanctified when mankind was made, with Elohim creating Adam and Eve on the sixth day of creation, followed by the Sabbath on the following day. Yahshua understood the Sabbath to be positive and beneficial to man and not burdensome as depicted by the religious leaders of His day. In addition some in other religions will often say that the Sabbath was made for Israel only. However, we see that YHVH made it for man – all of humanity, from the very beginning. Yahshua understood the purpose of Elohim’s Torah, including the Sabbath – which Elohim intended for the good of all mankind.

 

The seventh day according to the Scriptures is – and has always been – the Sabbath day. Even though man has modified calendars through the ages, the seventh day weekly cycle has remained intact throughout history. The days of the week have always remained in the same order, with Sunday as the first day of the week and Saturday as the seventh. The Oracles of Elohim known as the divine instructions were entrusted to the Jewish people, as may be read in Romans 3: 1 & 2, and they have preserved the knowledge of the Sabbath, the Set-apart Days, Torah, which includes the kosher laws, faithfully since well before the time of Messiah to this day.  At this point it is essential that we put the weekly Sabbath aside for a moment and consider another ‘rest’ introduced to Israel in Deuteronomy 3: 20, in this way:  ‘Until YHVH gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which YHVH your Elohim will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession, which I have given you.’  Deuteronomy 12: 9 & 10 identifies this as rest from the Israelites’ enemies in the Promised Land across the Jordan. The same promise is repeated in Deuteronomy 25: 17 – 19, where the rest is understood as relief from the weariness and fatigue of Israel’s battles against their enemies. All those in the first generation that left Egypt were denied access to the Promised Land except Caleb and Joshua. But the next generation crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership. In Joshua 1: 13 – 15, Joshua reminds the Israelites about the rest that Moses had promised them. Near the end of the book of Joshua, we read a summary of the fulfillment of that promise in Joshua 21: 43 – 45, as follows: ‘So YHVH gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. (44) And YHVH gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; YHVH gave all their enemies into their hand. (45) Not one of the good promises which YHVH had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.’

We continue to the time of David and read from Psalm 94: 12 & 13 where David promises rest (relief from adversity) to those who receive instruction from Elohim’s Torah. The context anticipates a time when the wicked are dealt with and justice prevails.  Psalm 95, recognized as the Sabbath Psalm, explains that the Israelites of the first generation out of Egypt failed to enter Elohim’s rest because of the hardness of their hearts (verses 6 – 11). These verses are illustrated in the Renewed Covenant book of Hebrews. The Prophet Isaiah also speaks of the millennial period of universal rest including freedom from sorrow, fear and bondage in Isaiah 11: 10 and 14: 3 & 7, as follows: (11: 10) ‘Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. (14: 3) ‘And it will be in that day when YHVH gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved. (7) The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break forth into shouts of joy.’

Finally we come to the Renewed Covenant, where Yahshua Messiah makes a powerful statement about rest in Matthew 11: 28, saying: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”  His words would have fallen on eager ears thanks to the religious burdens imposed by the religious leaders of His day. The deeper meaning of His promise is release from bondage of sin as in John 8: 31 – 36, in this way:   ‘Yahshua therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; (32) and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (33) They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?” (34) Yahshua answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. (35) And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. (36) If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”’ A second witness comes from Hebrews 2: 14 – 16, as follows:  ‘Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; (15) and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (16) For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham.’

Even so, we are still not completely free from sin, as witnessed in first John 1: 8, in this way: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.’  Therefore the chronicle of rest must of necessity continue. This brings us to the book of Hebrews, where all the basic points of the chronicle of rest are tied together. The faithfulness of Moses and Messiah is spoken about in the first six verses of Hebrews 3. Starting in verse 7, Psalm 95 is quoted to record the failure of the first generation of Israelites as a lesson to Elohim’s people today. Unbelief was the main cause of ancient Israel’s failure to enter the rest promised to them in verse 19 (of Hebrews 3). Hebrews 4 opens with an admonition to faith and obedience as a prerequisite to the rest that is still available to Elohim’s people. No one has yet entered that rest, not because Elohim did not have it ready; in fact, it was finished from the foundation of the world (verse 3). That Elohim rested on the seventh day from all His works is shown in verse 4. David (in Psalm 95) spoke of a promise of rest long after Joshua had led the second generation of Israelites into the Promised Land. This shows that the rest fulfilled at the time of Joshua was only a type of a greater rest to come (verses 6 – 8).  This gets us to the controversial statement in verse 9, namely: ‘There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of Elohim.’  The Greek word translated ‘rest’ in every other passage throughout Hebrews 3 & 4 is ‘katapausis’. The word ‘rest’ in Hebrews 4: 9 is ‘sabbatismos’. In fact this is the one and only Renewed Covenant occurrence of the word ‘sabbatismos’. Its meaning is fundamental to understanding this pivotal verse, which is the conclusion of everything previously said about ‘rest’ beginning in Hebrews 3: 7.

Because ‘sabbatismos’ is found nowhere else in the Scriptures, some authorities think the author made up the word. However, the author of Hebrews affirms in Hebrews 4: 3 – 11 through the joining of quotations from Genesis 2: 2 and Psalm 95: 7 that the promised ‘Sabbath rest’ still anticipates a complete realization ‘for the people of Elohim’ in the end time which had been inaugurated with the appearance of Messiah (Hebrews 1: 1 – 3). The experience of ‘Sabbath rest’ points to a present ‘rest’ (katapausis) reality in which those ‘who have believed are entering’ (Hebrews 4: 3) and it points to the future ‘rest’ reality (Hebrews 4: 11). Physical Sabbath-keeping on the part of the Renewed Covenant believer as affirmed by ‘Sabbath rest’ symbolizes a cessation from ‘works’ (Hebrews 4: 10) in commemoration of Elohim’s rest at creation and manifests faith in the salvation provided by Yahshua. Hebrews 4: 3 – 11 affirms that physical ‘Sabbath rest’ (‘sabbatismos’) is the weekly outward manifestation of the inner experience of spiritual rest (‘katapausis’) in which the final rest is experienced already today (Hebrews 4: 7). Thus ‘Sabbath rest’ combines in itself creation-commemoration, salvation-experience, and end-time-anticipation as the community of called out (us) and chosen (Jewish) believers move toward the final consummation of total restoration and rest.  The word ‘Sabbatismos’ therefore means keeping the seventh day Sabbath, and based on that conclusion, Hebrews 4: 9 stresses the necessity of continuing to keep the Sabbath in Renewed Covenant times, even though the day also embodies all that is meant in the Tanach.

This is a credible explanation, given that the book of Hebrews is addressed to (Nazarene) Jews who also believed in the salvation of YHVH, namely Yahshua. The Sabbath and circumcision have long been considered two of the cardinal tenets of Judaism, identifying the Jews as the people of Elohim. The Sabbath, which even in the Tanach was to be a delight (Isaiah 58: 13 & 14), had become a burden.  What could be more appropriate to the book of Hebrews than the elevation of the Sabbath to its full meaning and intent in the plan of Elohim? So the Sabbath retains its original meaning, identifying Elohim’s sanctified people and pointing back to Elohim as Creator. Added to that is the Renewed Covenant meaning of the rest through Messiah, fulfilled in type by the rest given Israel during Joshua’s time (Hebrews 4: 8). This spiritual rest begins now in this lifetime and reaches its completion in the resurrection to eternal life at Messiah’s return (Revelation 20: 6). In addition His return also signals the beginning of the millennial rest prophesied in the Tanach.  The book of Hebrews weaves the three themes of rest together: the rest from enemies promised Israel, the weekly Sabbath rest and the spiritual rest through Messiah. The conclusion is that Sabbath keeping is still necessary for the people of Elohim as the Renewed Covenant congregation of called out believers, together with our Jewish Brothers. We must all labor to enter the spiritual rest and continue to keep the weekly Sabbath because of what it pictures in Elohim’s master plan, as affirmed in Hebrews 4: 10. The Inescapable conclusion is that observance of the weekly Sabbath remains a vital part of the Renewed Covenant worship of Elohim. This is totally in agreement with what Yahshua said in Matthew 5: 18, namely that not one jot or tittle of the law would pass away until all is fulfilled - when all (YHVH)’s plans have come to fruition. Observance of the seventh day Sabbath as a command of Elohim is consequently a fundamental teaching of both the Tanach and the Renewed Covenant. 

YHVH created the Sabbath for mankind and all alive during Messiah’s millennium rule will be keeping it,  as witnessed in Isaiah 66: 23; a prophecy  about Messiah’s Millennium rule, as follows: “And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says YHVH.” The Sabbath identifies us as the people of Elohim together with our Jewish Brothers, even if we are not sure about our bloodline. We read accordingly in Isaiah 56: 6 and the first part of verse 7: “Also the foreigners who join themselves to YHVH, to minister to Him, and to love the name of YHVH, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant; (7) Even those I will bring to My holy mountain.”

 

Finally we read from Jeremiah 33: 20 – 22: “Thus says YHVH, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day, and my covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, (21) then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne (talking about Messiah), and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. (22) As the host of heaven cannot be counted, and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’” We as people whom YHVH is calling out of the world to follow His will and way, should not be concerned about the way others serve their gods, but should keep His weekly and annual Sabbaths, with our Jewish Brothers. Think about it!

 

 

 

 

[1] Deuteronomy 11: 1, “You shall therefore love YHVH your Elohim, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.”

 

[2] John 6: 44, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”