18-Questions about the Bible Sabbath - KJV

1. Since Paul Declares, "Let No One Judge You Regarding the Bible Sabbath," Isn't Sabbath-Keeping Unnecessary?
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: [17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Colossians 2:16-17, is one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible. One principle of Bible interpretation is that you do not allow what may be somewhat unclear to keep you from doing what you understand. The Bible is plain concerning the Sabbath. It was given at creation (genesis 2:1-3). Jesus observed it (luke 4:16). Paul observed it (acts 13:42-44), and it will be observed in heaven (isaiah 66:22, 23).

The Bible mentions two kinds of Sabbaths; the seventh-day Sabbath and the yearly Sabbaths. The seventh-day Sabbath, instituted at creation and part of the Ten Commandment law, is a weekly reminder of the loving, all-powerful Creator. The yearly Sabbaths relate specifically to the history of Israel.

Colossians 2:16-17, specifically states, " Let no one judge you regarding Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come. "

The Seventh-Day Sabbath is a memorial of creation. It is not a shadow of something to come.

 2. The Following Passage in Hebrews Connects the Law of Shadows with Animal Sacrifices.
Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

3. Ezekiel Uses the Exact Same Expressions in the Exact Same Order As Colosians 2:16-17, Connecting It All with the Ceremonial Systems of Feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths to Make Reconciliation for the House of Israel.
Ezekiel 45:17 And it shall be the princes part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.

4. Leviticus 23 Beginning with Verse 3, Discusses the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
Leviticus 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

5. Then the Ceremonial Sabbaths.
Leviticus 23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

Leviticus 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORDs passover.

Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

Leviticus 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:

6. Feast of First Fruits.
Leviticus 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

7. Feast of Trumpets.
Leviticus 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.

8. Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 23:27-32 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. [28] And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. [29] For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. [30] And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. [31] Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. [32] It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

9. Feast of Tabernacles.
Leviticus 23:34-36 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. [35] On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. [36] Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

Leviticus 23:37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:

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: [17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Leviticus 23:38 Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.

Both the feast of trumpets (verse 24) and the Day of Atonement (verse 32) are specifically called Sabbaths. These annual Sabbaths were intimately connected to events foreshadowing Christ's death and His Second Coming. God designed these feasts, or holy days, to be shadows, or pointers, to the coming Messiah.

Since Christ has come, the shadowy Sabbaths of the ceremonial law have found their fulfillment in Him. The seventh-day Sabbath continues to lead us back to the Creator God who made us.

 10. God's People Will Keep the Seventh-Day Sabbath As a Distinguishing Sign of Their Relationship to Him.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover 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.

11. What About This Text From Romans?
Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Sometimes it is helpful to notice what a text does not say, as well as what it does say. Verses 5 and 6 say nothing about either worship or the Sabbath. They simply talk about regarding a day. To say the day being discussed is the Sabbath is an unwarranted assumption.

 12. The First Verse of Romans 14 Sets the Tone for the Entire Passage.
Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

13. The Seventh-Day Sabbath Set Apart by God at Creation Is Not a Doubtful Teaching.
Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. [2] And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. [3] And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: [10] 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: [11] 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.

14. The Key to This Passage in Romans Is Found in Verse 6.
Romans 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

The issue revolved around fast days, not Sabbath days. Some Jewish Christians believed there was particular merit in fasting on certain days. They were judging others by their own standards. The Pharisees fasted at least twice a week and boasted about it (luke 18:12).

Paul is making the point that to fast, or not to fast, on certain days is a matter of individual conscience. This is not something that God commands.

 15. Didn't the Disciples Meet on the First Day of the Week?
Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

The reason this meeting is mentioned in the narrative is because Paul was leaving the next day and worked a mighty miracle in raising Eutychus from the dead.

It is clear that the meeting is a night meeting. It is the dark part of the first day of the week.

 16. In Bible Times, the Dark Part of the Day Preceded the Light Part.
Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

The Sabbath was observed from Friday night at sunset to Saturday night at sunset, first the evening and then the morning.

If this meeting is on the dark part of the first day of the week, it is in fact a Saturday night meeting. Paul has met with the believers all Sabbath. He will depart the next day, Sunday, so the meeting continued late Saturday night. The Jews would have considered what we call Saturday night as the first day of the week because the day started at sunset

The next day, Sunday, Paul did travel by foot to Assos, then sailed to Mitylene. The New English Bible Reading Of Acts 20:7 also confirms this as a Saturday night meeting, with Paul traveling on Sunday.

If Paul considered Sunday sacred in honor of the resurrection, why would he spend the entire day traveling and not worshipping?

 17. Evidence #1 - the Bible Clearly Reveals That Jesus Was Crucified on the Preparation Day.
Luke 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

18. His Closest Followers Rested on the Sabbath Day.
Luke 23:55-56 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. [56] And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

19. Jesus Rose From the Dead on the First Day of the Week.
Luke 24:1-3 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. [2] And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. [3] And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

Most Christians recognize that Jesus died on Friday the preparation day, rested in the grave the next day and rose the first day-sunday. The Sabbath is the day in between Friday and Sunday-Saturday.

 20. Evidence #2 - Language.
In over 140 languages in the world, the word for the Seventh-Day which we call Saturday is the word "sabbath. " The fact that so many societies call the seventh day of the week "sabbath", shows that the weekly cycle has not been disrupted through the centuries.

Here are ten examples: Hebrew: Shabbath, Greek: Sabbaton, Latin: Sabbatum, Arabic: Assabit, Persian: Shambin, Russian: Subbota, Hindustani: Shamba, French: Samedi, Italian: Sabbato, Spanish: Sabado.

 21. Evidence #3 - Astronomy.
The human race never lost the septenary [seven day] sequence of week days and that the Sabbath of these latter times comes down to us from Adam, though the ages, without a single lapse. -Dr. Totten, professor of astronomy at Yale University.

Seven has been the ancient and honored number among the nations of the earth. They have measured their time by weeks from the beginning. The origin of this was the Sabbath of God, as Moses has given the reasons for it in his writings. -Dr. Lyman Coleman.

There has been no change in our calendar in past centuries that has affected in any way the cycle of the week. -James Robertson, Director American Ephemeris, Navy Department, U. S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D. C. , March 12, 1932.

It can be said with assurance that not a day has been lost since Creation, and all the calendar changes notwithstanding, there has been no break in the weekly cycle. -Dr. Frank Jeffries, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and Research Director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England.

 22. Evidence #4 - History.
The Jewish people have kept an accurate rec

Next Bible Study: 19-First Day Texts

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