Facts About the Sabbath

Below you will see a list of irrefutable facts concerning the seventh day sabbath from the Bible. These facts show us that the 7th day Sabbath has never been abolished or changed to another day. It is our hope that you will see the clear truth about the sabbath day, God's special holy day.

1. Seventh Day Sabbath is the ONLY Day God Ever Blessed

Genesis 2:2-3 ...'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. 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.'

This is the only day of the week that God blessed and set apart (sanctified) for holy use. No other day has received any honour or blessing from God. Only the 7th day of the week has been set apart for holy use.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 ...'I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.'

What God did during creation week was to last forever. And as you will learn further below, the 7th day Sabbath will be kept for all eternity on the new earth. God didn't 'bless the seventh day' temporarily. He blessed it for all eternity, and there is nothing we can do to take away that blessing from the 7th day. Man can try all he likes to abolish or change the Sabbath, but it will utterly fail!

2. Sabbath Day was Instituted Before Sin or Jews Entered the World

We can see from the above verse in Genesis 2 that the seventh day sabbath was made during creation week, BEFORE sin came into the world. And we can confirm that the sabbath day was instituted from the very beginning, because Jesus Himself said that "the sabbath was MADE for man." (Mark 2:27). And when was the sabbath day MADE? During creation week. And if you read the 4th commandment, you will see that it is pointing to that seventh day of creation.

Exodus 20:8 ...'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.'

Can you see how God is talking about the 7th day of creation in the 4th commandment? God didn't later set apart the 7th day as the Sabbath. It WAS the Sabbath day from creation. And this was BEFORE any Jew, or any sin came into the world. Which shows the eternal and universal nature of the Sabbath day.

3. The Sabbath Day was Being Kept Before Sinai

Exodus 16:23,26 ...'And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning ... Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.'

So we can clearly see above that the seventh day sabbath was in effect and binding BEFORE the law was confirmed at Sinai.

4. The Sabbath is God's Holy Day, NOT the "Sabbath of the Jews"

Isaiah 58:13 ...'If 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...'

Many non Sabbath keepers love to proclaim that the Sabbath was the "Sabbath of the Jews" and yet there is not one Bible verse which supports this. But the Bible does say that the seventh day Sabbath is God's Holy Day. It isn't a holy day of any person or nation, it's God's Holy Day.

Now some people say that because God said in Deuteronomy 5:15 that the Israelites should keep the Sabbath because God brought them out of Egypt, then it was just a sign for the Jews due to their deliverence. Well, how about this verse: .. "For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." (Leviticus 11:45). So being holy is just for the Jews? Of course not. God is simply saying "I have done this thing for you .. therefore be holy, keep MY Sabbath" ..etc.

5. The Sabbath Commandment Declares who God is

Exodus 20:8 ...'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.'

Do you see? The Fourth commandment shows us who we are to worship. We worship the LORD GOD, Creator of Heaven and earth. The 4th commandment is a sign between God and His people. By keeping it, we are showing our allegiance to our Creator and not man.

6. The Seventh Day Sabbath Will Continue to be Observed into Eternity

Isaiah 66:22-23 ...'For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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.'

As this Bible verse confirms, we will worship God every sabbath in heaven and on the new earth. Now it also says every "new moon" we will go to worship God. New moon basically means every month, and the book of Revelation tells us why we will go every month ... Revelation 22:2 ...'In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.'

So every month (new moon), we will go to the New Jerusalem to eat the new fruit of the tree of life and worship God, besides worshipping God every seventh day sabbath. This we will do for eternity!

7. The Sabbath has NEVER Been Changed or Abolished

Matthew 5:18 ...'For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.'

Has the heaven and earth passed away? Clearly not. Therefore the sabbath commandment still stands EXACTLY as it is. Jesus had many opportunities to say the Sabbath was soon to be abolished or changed. Look at this example:

Luke 13:14-17 ...'And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that JESUS HAD HEALED ON THE SABBATH DAY, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on THE SABBATH loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, BE LOOSED FROM THIS BOND ON THE SABBATH DAY? And when he had said these things, ALL HIS ADVERSARIES WERE ASHAMED: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.'

This was the perfect opportunity for Jesus to explain that the Sabbath was being done away with or changed. But did Jesus ever make any kind of hint that the 7th day Sabbath was going to be changed or abolished? No! And yet He had many opportunities to say so. The Pharisees attacked Jesus many times concerning the Sabbath, but all Jesus did was to simply CORRECT them on their understanding of what it means to keep the Sabbath. Sadly, the Jews turned the 7th day Sabbath into a burden, rather than a 'delight' which the Lord ordained the Sabbath to be (Isaiah 58:13-14).

8. The followers of Jesus, apostles and Gentile converts kept the Seventh Day Sabbath AFTER Jesus' Death and Resurrection

Luke 23:56 ...'And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.'

Acts 16:13 ...'And on the sabbath, we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made, and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted tither.'

Acts 13:42 ...'And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.'

Acts 13:44 ...'And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.'

Acts 18:4 ...'And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews AND THE GREEKS.'

The Sabbath is mentioned many times in the New Testament, and there are many verses like the above which suggest that the disciples and followers of Jesus continued keeping the seventh day sabbath as per the 4th commandment. And yet Sunday (first day of the week) is only mentioned a couple of times and is given no significance whatsoever!

9. The New Testament and Jews are SILENT on any Change to the Sabbath Day by the Apostles

Have a REAL good think about this one. How important did the Jews and Pharisees regard the sabbath day? VERY important right? So much so that when Jesus healed people on the sabbath, (ie, He DID GOOD), the Pharisees rose up against Him. Now, if the apostles and followers of Jesus CHANGED the sabbath to the first day of the week, don't you think the New Testament would be SCREAMING this change at us? Don't you think that there would be a clear record of the Pharisees rising up against it? And yet the New Testament is SILENT! Want more evidence? Take a look at the following Bible verse:

Acts 23:9 ...'And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, we find no evil in this man.'

This verse is talking about the apostle Paul. And what does it say? The Pharisees could find no evil in him. So if Paul was actually now keeping the first day of the week as sabbath, how could the Pharisees say they could find no evil in Him, when we know how important they regarded the seventh day sabbath? The truth is, no change was ever made to the seventh day sabbath, and the apostles and followers of Jesus continued to keep the 4th commandment, EXACTLY as it is.

10. Jesus Himself Confirmed the Sabbath Day Would Still Stand After His Resurrection

Matthew 24:20 ...'But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.'

This verse has a double application. The first application is to the time in AD70 when Jerusalem was destroyed. And the second application is for CHRISTIANS during the end times, when we would need to flee to the mountains away from the antichrist beasts of Revelation 13. And Jesus confirms that the Sabbath will still be binding.

11. If the Sabbath was just for the Jews (which it is not), then it is also for us converts, because we become "grafted into the tree"

It is amazing that Sunday keepers say the Sabbath is just for the Jews, and yet fail to see the basic understanding of what Gentiles become when we believe in Christ. Look at what the apostle Paul said:

Romans 11:17-21 ...'And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.'

Galatians 3:29 ...'And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.'

Galatians 3:28 ...'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for YE ARE ALL ONE in Christ Jesus.'

Do you see this wonderful truth? Sunday keepers preach that the Sabbath is just for the Jews, and miss the plain truth that WE BECOME JEWS through Christ! So if the Sabbath was only for the Jews (which clearly it is not - see Isaiah 56:6), then it is for us too, because we become 'grafted into the family.'

12. The Seventh Day Today is the Same as the Seventh Day in Bible Times

Many people proclaim that the days have changed because of calendar changes over the years, and therefore we do not know what day is the seventh day. Yes, the calendar has changed, but the weekly cycle never changed. In order to keep up with the solar cycle, on 4th October 1582, ten dates were omitted from the calendar. What would have been Friday, October 5, became Friday, October 15. This did not affect the seven day cycle of the week, just the date.

Also, if you contact the US Naval Observatory, they will confirm to you that the weekly cycle has not changed since Bible times. Therefore the day we regard as the seventh day today (Saturday) is the same as the seventh day sabbath in Bible times. And don't forget, the Jews have meticulously kept the sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday throughout their generations. Don't you think they would know of a change in the weekly cycle and alter their sabbath observance accordingly? And also, the majority of Christians are happy to call Sunday the first day of the week in honor of the resurrection. And what day does that follow? The seventh day, Saturday.

13. The Meaning of the Day "Saturday" is SABBATH in Over 100 Languages

In over 100 languages the original meaning of 'sabbath' is preserved in the names for the day that we call Saturday. For example, Saturday in the Spanish language is "Sabado", which preserves the original meaning of 'the Sabbath.' In Italian, it is "Sabbato," which also means 'the Sabbath.' In Russian it is, "Subbota" and so on. Let me give you a more indepth example of this. In German, the word for Saturday is "Samstag." This is used in Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and of course Germany. Now 'Samstag' derived from the Old High German Word "Sambaztac", which itself derives from the Greek word "Sabbaton", and this Greek word derives from the Hebrew "Shabbat" - SABBATH. This shows that God preserved the Sabbath from Bible times right to this day! Praise the Lord for His glory and power!

These are irrefutable Bible facts about the seventh day sabbath. God's special holy day.