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The Bible Says
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:1-3 NKJB).
If the Great Creator, Himself, considered it necessary to rest one day out of seven, is it unreasonable of Him to ask those whom He has created to do the same? There must be lasting benefits derived from that day of rest. Otherwise, a loving God would not demand it of us. The first Sabbath followed the six days of creation (Gen. 2:2,3). The Law was instituted hundreds of years later (Ex. 20:3-17). Therefore, the nation of Israel had not been born, when the first Sabbath Day was observed. God wants ALL His people to observe A DAY OF REST.
The Jews have always observed Saturday—“the seventh day of the week.” The early church met in the Temple and in Jewish synagogues on Saturday. They had accepted Christ but they were still Jewish and continued to worship the Lord on the seventh day of the week. The churches Paul ministered to were almost 100% non Jewish and they seemed to worship on Sunday---“First day of the week” (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:2). However, we do know that Paul observed Saturday as well, throughout some of his ministry (Acts 13:44). God may be more concerned about the way we worship than the day we worship.
“Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8).
Yes, we go to church on Sunday morning, but what about the rest of the day? Is everything you do on Sunday afternoon Holy? We Christians sometimes spend more time planning our recreation; our Sunday dinner; and our Sunday afternoon and evening exercises; than we do on keeping the Day Holy.
Jesus healed more people and performed more miracles on the Sabbath Day, than on any other day of the week. His answer was, “It’s O.K. to do good on the Sabbath Day.” Some of the things He did not do, was race out into the remote areas with His new 4 Wheeler. That may not be sinful, but it is hardly the way we would expect our Lord to observe the Sabbath Day. He certainly would not watch an off-color movie; or read an off-color book –that day, or any other day!
Under the Law of Moses, keeping the Sabbath was a responsibility . . . God wants it to be a privilege. He gave us the Sabbath for our own good. Christ said, “The Sabbath was made for man -- not man for the Sabbath.” It is a proven fact that those who keep the Sabbath live longer than those who do not.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. . .” (Rev. 1:10).
The Church has long claimed, this statement refers to, “Sunday,” in honor of Christ’s Resurrection (Matt. 28:1-10). Through my study of Bible Prophecy, I have come to the realization that this may not be true. “The Lord’s Day” may refer to “The Day Of The Lord.”
In Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, he told his audience that the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit was only the beginning. He made it clear that eventually God would deal with the Christ-rejecting world in judgment. He referred to that time as, “The Day Of The Lord.” (Acts 2:20).
Was John transported by the Spirit of God, to see firsthand, The Day Of The Lord? In Rev. 1:11 John was given a message of grace to the Church; and in Rev. 4:1 of judgment to the World. Following is a note from the New Scofield Bible: 4:1 Come up here. Beginning with 4:1 the viewpoint of John is from heaven. As the word “church” does not appear again in Revelation until 22:16, the catching up of John from earth to heaven has been taken to be a symbolic representation of the translation of the Church as occurring before the events of the tribulation described in chs. 6-19. after this. Literally after these things. Rev. 1-19.
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