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Concerning Shabbat and the Moadim

Shabbat (the Sabbath)

(Some material on this page was adapted from Messianic.com)

We believe that the seventh-day Shabbat is clearly taught in the Torah, and that has never been changed or rescinded in any way. Failure to “remember" and “keep” Shabbat is a violation of the Fourth Commandment. (Exodus 20:8) We believe that when he blended the Jewish sect known as “The Way” with the Babylon Mystery Religion (ca 431-435 CE), Constantine deliberately abolished the biblical Shabbat and replaced it with the worship of the sun god, hence the name of the first day of the week is sun-day.

“On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.” (Constantine, 321 CE)

That Sunday worship was in place by 435 CE is evident to its reference in Canon 20 of the Council of Nicea (ca. May-August 325):

Canon 20: On Sundays and during the Paschal season prayers should be said standing. Since there are some who kneel on Sunday and during the season of Pentecost, this holy synod decrees that, so that the same observances may be maintained in every diocese, one should offer one’s prayers to the Lord standing.

The Council of Laodicea (ca. 364) ordered that all religious observances were to be conducted on Sunday, not Shabbat. “Christians shall not Judaize and (thus) be idle on Saturday [Saturn’s Day], but shall work on that day.”

The following quotations are mirrored from SabbathToSundayChange.com, which contains much more excellent material on the subject, and is recommended for further study.

Quotes from the Catholic Church in regards to the Sabbath to Sunday change

Does the Bible support the change to Sunday?
“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” — Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, article “To Tell You the Truth.”

“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 (1917 edition), p. 72-73 (16th Edition, p 111; 88th Edition, p. 89).

Who Made Sunday Holy?
“Question - Which is the Sabbath day?
“Answer - Saturday is the Sabbath day.
“Question - Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“Answer - We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” — Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.

“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The day of the Lord’ was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the (Catholic) Church’s sense of its own power…People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” — St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.

Whose Day of Worship is Sunday?
“They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason…The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the divine law of Sabbath observance…The author of the Sunday law…is the Catholic Church.” — Ecclesiastical Review, February 1914.

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday [emphasis added].  Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” — Priest Brady, in an address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.

Who Do We Reverence by Keeping Sunday Holy?
 “I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” — Father T. Enright, C.S.S.R. of the RedemptoralCollege, Kansas City, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, printed in History of the Sabbath, p. 802.

“It was the Catholic church which…has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the (Catholic) church.” — Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p. 213.

Why is it that Sunday is not taught to have any qualities of Shabbat? Why is Sunday not honored by most of those who say they observe it? Why is the seventh day Sabbath not observed or honored by most believers?

Lie #1: We do not need a Sabbath rest anymore.

Some say we do not need a Sabbath rest anymore. That is untrue because our bodies yet need rest, but even if that was so, the Shabbat is not based on our need, for G_d did not rest because He was tired, but rather to appreciate His work. Does the Creator no longer want to have His creation appreciated? The fact is Hebrews 4:9 says, “There remains the Sabbath for the people of G_d.”

Messiah said that He is “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mat 12:8). Now since He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and He is the G_d of the living and not of the dead, then quite naturally the Shabbat remains today. One might also postulate that if G_d does not keep His promise concerning the Sabbath creation, then it would be prudent for us all to worry each morning as to whether or not the Sun will rise.

I hear someone saying, “But the Sabbath was made for man”. Well said! Therefore the Most High has given you a gift from Himself, actually a part of His own holiness. Oh, and don’t forget, “The gifts and callings of G_d are without return” (Rom 11:29). So your statement only proves the continuation of the Shabbat. Then another will say, “Well, if the Sabbath is a gift, then I can do with it what I want.” I would say to that person, “You would be wise not to throw any of G_d’s gifts in the trash! Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” How many times have you done something for someone you love, even if you did not view it with favor? Why would anyone who loves G_d NOT want to do what He loves?

Lie #2: Messiah broke the Shabbat

For too long people have been deceived into thinking that Messiah Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) broke the Sabbath in order to show us we were free from the Sabbath. The entire concept of Messiah breaking the Sabbath is a blasphemy and an affront to the Most High. It is born out of ignorance and rebellion.

Why would anyone want to be “free” from a gift of G_d? Actually, Messiah affirmed the Shabbat with the things that He did and only performed those deeds that were permissible on the Shabbat. His critics came against Him with their current traditions for Shabbat keeping, which were not commanded in the Torah. They were traditions of men, not commandments of G_d. Messiah Yeshua healed on the Shabbat because healing is a form of being freed from labor, which is central to the Shabbat. Also, Messiah Yeshua never committed sin. He never broke the Torah (Teaching, mistranslated as Law), which, by the way, was His own, the thing which He wrote Himself!

Lie #3: Messiah canceled Shabbat by fulfilling Torah

Messiah Yeshua said, “Think NOT that I have come to destroy the Torah. RATHER, I have come to fulfill it” (Mat 5:17). Here we learn that fulfilling the Torah cannot mean canceling it out or overturning it. To argue that fulfilling means cancellation is faulty reasoning. Thinking so illogically can only mean one is either under some kind of deceiving enchantment or a fool, devoid of all reason. Many seem to have no ability to see Messiah’s statement for what it plainly says. Our Messiah was clear: fulfilling has nothing to do with destroying or annulling, and in truth fulfilling is the opposite of annulment. Fulfilling means to complete or make whole; to bring to the full; to provide what was lacking. Messiah Yeshua came to make sure the Torah had all the necessary elements in it, especially the principal thing: His death and resurrection.

Why would Messiah take away the Shabbat by His death and resurrection? How would that correlate? No one has ever given me a common sense answer. Surely Messiah has provided us with a spiritual rest from sin; a kind of Sabbath rest within the soul. However, that in no way removes the seventh day Shabbat. The Shabbat was given before sin came into the world, so it is not a type of rest from sin. Did G_d rest on the seventh day from His sin? To put forth the seventh day Sabbath as a type of rest from sin progresses towards blasphemy, because it implies G_d needed rest from sin, since He rested then. Of course, the New Testament nowhere implies such. It is a feeble excuse perpetrated by unreasonable minds.

Lie #4: We can choose any day to be our Sabbath

The Shabbat is rest from the labor of creative processes. G_d stopped creating on the Sabbath, so we stop also. When our mind and hands have stopped creating we have time and ability to appreciate what has been created, especially by the Creator. Only then are we are experiencing something He experienced. Since He is holy, then the experience of His Shabbat is holy. As we experience His Holy Day, then we are holy also.

The only regular day of the week the Most High ever made holy is the seventh day. Only He can decide what day is holy. No matter how hard we try we cannot make a day holy, because holiness is not dependent on our actions. Holiness is solely dependent on His determination. Many believers have thought to make certain religious days holy by the force of their celebration on that day. Such is arrogance and ignorance. There is not one place in the Bible where anything is holy, except that called holy by the mouth of the “I AM.” Therefore, no person can choose any day they wish to celebrate the Shabbat, because only the seventh day is holy. Celebration of Sabbath rest on any other day is totally void.

How should we celebrate Shabbat?

  1. Shabbat was meant to be a celebration of rest. It should be joyful and fun, while totally respectful and thoughtful of the Most High. It should not be a feast for getting selfish desires. Children should know that G_d loves their playfulness, but it should be balanced. There should not be fasting on Shabbat unless it is an extended fast which goes longer than a week.

  2. There is to be no regular mundane work on Shabbat, especially building or creating with the hands. Spiritual work, emergency work, healing work, protective work, feeding, priestly work, and guarding (military and police) are all allowed exceptions. G_d wants us to use our common sense. He also knows that in a non-Shabbat-honoring world people will be required by employers to work on Shabbat. The Sabbath-keeper should make every effort not to work on the seventh day by being kindly communicative with employers about their wishes and/or looking for an alternative vocation. If a person cannot avoid regular work on Shabbat, they definitely should be seeking the Most High for a remedy as they depart their workday. 

  3. Other kinds of work that are not in the Spirit of Shabbat include building a fire, doing commerce (except that which is necessary according to the above exceptions), seeking out worldly entertainment, and doing any activity that causes a fuss, a ruckus, or disrespectfully loud noises.

  4. On Shabbat there should be praying, praising, worshiping, reading Holy Scripture, singing unto the LORD, even dancing unto the LORD, and talking to others about the LORD and His Word; that is, whatever honors the Most High. 

  5. Remember, the seventh day is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, because “the evening and the morning” separated each day, not sunrise or 12:00 midnight. In many observant homes and synagogues two candles are lighted with prayer to mark the beginning and help establish the celebration. A Hebrew/Jewish calendar will give the time when each Shabbat begins. For computers we suggest the Hebrew Calendar available at www.calendar-maven.com.

The Reward of Shabbat

Isaiah 58 has been an inspiration to many Believers, but it is interesting how the last verses have been ignored. “If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight (oneg) in ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken.” (Isaiah 58:13,14)

Notice that according to the Prophet, the Lord’s holy day is the seventh day Shabbat. Now connect the above with: “Then you will delight yourself in ADONAI, and he will give you your heart’s desire.” (Psalm 37:4)

Everyone wants to know how to get the Most High to give them the desires of their heart. Delight in the LORD seems easy enough! There have been many fanciful interpretations of what it means to delight in the LORD, but only one revelation of what this means is found in the Scriptures.

“Delight” in Psalm 37:4 is the Hebrew word oneg, which is defined “to treat as a delicacy.” There are very few places in the Scriptures were the word oneg is used. Yet, because it is a rarity, it will help us solve a mystery. There is one place, and only one, where it tells us exactly how to delight in the LORD, even using the word oneg. 

Here is the secret: Isaiah 58:13,14 is the only place where we are told by G_d what delighting in Him is. Any other interpretation for "delight yourself in the LORD" is useless speculation and the imagination of men. The only way Scripture provides for  anyone to delight in the LORD is to honor and obey the seventh-day Sabbath. The reward for doing this is “to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance” of Ya'akov. It is sealed as a promise from “the mouth of the LORD.” Also, as it says in Psalms 37:4, the only way anyone is promised to receive the “desires of your heart” is by delighting in the LORD. In other words, if you make His Sabbath a delight, oneg, a delicacy in your life, you will receive your heart’s desires.

It would seem that all people truly devoted to the Creator of the Shabbat would make haste to honor the Shabbat at all costs, what with the great payoff it carries! It would benefit anyone having a difficult time “riding high” in G_d’s favor to examine closely the practice of the Sabbath. Test it by getting this part of your life in line with G_d’s will, then see what will happen.

The Moadim

This section is being developed.