We are ready to begin our study portion for today’s broadcast. And we are going to be going over the subject here that is so important in Yahweh’s eyes and so unimportant to the world and often very much attacked by the enemy.

There was once a father, a very loving father, who decided he was going to take some time and make a gift for his son. He decided he was going to handcraft a small sailboat for his son. And when he was finished with the sailboat, he showed it to his son.

And the son looked at it and was just sort of indifferent. He didn’t seem to really care that his father had given him the gift. And later on the son actually took the sailboat that his father had given him and smashed it into pieces and threw it in the dumpster.

Now, obviously, a son like this would not be showing thankfulness and love toward his kind father. We all understand that perfectly well. But I want to talk today about a gift that Yahweh has given to His children, and yet His children, by and large, do not appreciate but instead trample all over it. And that gift is known as the Sabbath.

Yahushua the Messiah, you may recall, said the Sabbath was made for man. Yahweh made the Sabbath for us, to be a GIFT. It was set apart as the seventh day of His week at the very beginning of creation.

Yahweh, in His hopes that the Sabbath would be a time to take a break from our busy lives and spend time with Him, said in the Ten Commandments, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Today is the day, according to both Old and New Testaments, identified as “the Sabbath.” What are we doing with His gift?

Are we choosing to forget His gift and ignore His gift and trample all over His gift or are we choosing to be among the few who are willing to remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy?

And so, Yahweh says, “I have given this to you. This is a memorial to My creation.”

Think about this. Yahweh has created the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in it, as a blessing for us. And all He asks of us is to remember this creation by keeping this day as a holy day.

And we can understand looking at that from that perspective that, “I have done all of this for you. I want you to do this for Me. And this will be a gift to you. To make use of My gift would be a blessing for Me.” Just as the father said to the son with the sailboat.

Of course, he would expect him to use it, to appreciate it, to not trample all over it.

And so, I think that is why we can look at the Sabbath day, and say, “Well, you know, if there is a human or an animal life that needs saving, it is okay to help them on the Sabbath.” And that is why Yahushua says that man wasn’t made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.

But ever since the very beginning the Sabbath has been under attack. It is an institution that has started at the very beginning of creation.

And we have many today who would cry out over the redefinition of marriage, which was instituted in the book of Genesis. But, you know, the traditions of men have already redefined the Sabbath, which also has its origins in the book of Genesis.

So we really don’t have the authority to redefine the Sabbath day any more than we have the authority to redefine what marriage is. Both the Old and New Testaments call the seventh day of the week “the Sabbath.” Who are we to change that?

But church tradition has pompously thought they could change things. And the Catholic Church will admit it. They are the ones that chose to change it.

Well, I am here to tell you, nobody has the authority to change anything our Father says– not one jot, not one tittle. And we need to understand: YAHWEH is holy, and HE decides what is holy and what is not holy.

There are certain things that belong to Him, and He says they are holy and we need to pay attention. Because all throughout Scripture, we see Yahweh is very concerned that we make a difference between the holy and the unholy, between the things that are set apart and the things that are common.

And in the case of the Sabbath, there are certain days of the week that are normal days and a certain day of the week that is a holy day. He is the One who invented the week. It was His idea. But some are under the impression today that, “Oh, we don’t have to keep the Sabbath. We only have to love.”

But, as in my illustration, I hope I helped you to see part of loving Yahweh is appreciating and making use of the things that He gives us and not try to work our way around it. Just like the father with the sailboat, we need to be willing to receive Yahweh’s gifts and stop listening to man’s excuses to ignore the gift.

Part of loving Yahweh is choosing not to profane His holy things. And one of the things He made holy at the very beginning of creation week is His Sabbath day.

Genesis 2:2 – And on the seventh day Elohim ended 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.

There were no Jewish people around at this time. Only one man: Adam. And He blessed this day and made it different than the others. He sanctified it. He rested from His work.

We are created in His image. He created Adam in His image. And so, the day after Yahweh created Adam, it was a day to fellowship and rest with the one whom He had created. And He set forth in motion a pattern.

The word translated “sanctified” means “set apart.” It is the same word family as the one translated “holy.” And so, the Sabbath is the very first thing in Scripture that Yahweh records making holy and sanctifying.

And so, for those who think the Sabbath was profaned and ignored every week until Yahweh gave the Ten Commandments, they simply really don’t understand holiness.

We are created in His image. Therefore, we are called to do the things He does. We do our creative things during the six days of work and then we rest on His Sabbath day.

Yahweh never approves the profaning of the things that He makes holy.

Ezekiel 22:26 – Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known [the difference] between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

He does not like it when we profane His holy things. And these are actually interconnected if you study the topic– the holy and the unholy; the clean and the unclean.

“I am profaned among them,” as if He is nothing. As if He Himself is not holy. See…

1. They did not distinguish between the holy and the unholy 2. They did not make known the difference between the clean and the unclean 3. They hid their eyes from Yahweh’s Sabbaths.

Now there are more Sabbaths than just the one on the seventh day of the week. There are also the Feast day Sabbaths. And we are not talking about those today, but I point that out. So there are certain days that Yahweh has made holy.

And when Yahushua came was it all of a sudden pleasing to Yahweh that those who would claim to believe in the Messiah and walk as He walked and live as He lived are free now to make no difference between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean, and are free now to hide their eyes from His Sabbaths?

Explain to me the mechanism through which we can do that. That doesn’t make any sense to me.

I know it may be difficult for some to believe, but our defiling of the Sabbath is one of the things that made it necessary for Yahushua to suffer and die for us. He says in the Ten Commandments to observe that day, and if that were the only sin that man had ever done, Yahushua would still need to suffer and die because of that sin.

But sometimes we tend to view what’s “important” through the eyes and perspective of the culture we live in today.

You see, if every person on the earth today, if every person on the face of the planet, kept the Sabbath day, the guy who went out and mowed his lawn and raked his leaves and did whatever he wanted on the Sabbath day, he would be viewed as some kind of strange person, some kind of apostate who needed to repent.

And one day it will be like that by the way (Isaiah 66). But since so many today break the Sabbath and ignore it, it is not really viewed as being all that significant: “Oh well, you know, you have to go work for a living.”

If there was any other commandment, if your boss at work required you to commit adultery with his wife once a week or commit murder or tell a lie or blaspheme your parents or worship an idol or take the Father’s name in vain, you would say, “Absolutely not! Forget it! I am not going to work here if that is going to be required of me.”

But all of a sudden, Commandment #4– “Oh, well, yeah, I have to work for a living.” No, Yahweh says this is HIs holy day. “Seek you first the Kingdom of Yahweh and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Don’t worry about tomorrow, what you will eat, what you will wear. Tomorrow will take care of itself.”

So we need to be careful about letting the world affect us in what we think is important. We need to let Yahweh define what is important. What is important to Him must be important to us, because it is important to Him and He is important to us.

Evangelical Christianity today would say, “Hey, homosexuality is a sin and it is a sin actually in the Bible worthy of death.” I have even gotten e-mails from people decrying this thing. But do you know what? Didn’t Yahweh also have the death penalty for those who violated His Sabbath?

And so, yes, it is very important to Him. To you, and to a lot of people in this culture, perhaps, maybe it is just silly He would require the death penalty, because it doesn’t really affect how you treat your fellow man. Therefore, because it doesn’t affect man, it doesn’t seem very important. But it does affect Yahweh.

When you look at the Ten Commandments and how they are arranged, the first four commandments have to do with how we love our Father in heaven. The fifth one, honor your father and mother, might be connected as well.

But we are talking: 1) no idols before Him 2) don’t make a graven image and bow down and serve it 3) don’t take His name in vain 4) and remember His Sabbath day. And the rest– honor your father and mother, don’t commit murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t lie, don’t steal– those are all how you treat your fellow man.

Why is it that the ones that have to do with how we love our Father in heaven are of lesser importance? It shouldn’t be that way. And yet, people treat the Shabbat, the Sabbath, as if it is a common thing. He says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Exodus 20:8 – Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Isn’t it ironic that the very day we are told to remember is the very day that most people forget?

Exodus 20:9 – Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 – but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of YAHWEH your Elohim. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates.

He gives the reason:

Exodus 20:11 – For [in] six days YAHWEH made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore YAHWEH blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

For this reason He blessed it and made it holy. So we see then the primary way we keep the Sabbath holy is basically to refrain from labor, from work.

We also see, though, that He doesn’t want us to have other people doing our work for us like our son, our daughter, or a slave, a male servant, a female servant, or even animals or strangers. How about that? Gentiles! He doesn’t want them doing our work for us either. Everyone rest. Visitors to our home. Everybody rest just as Yahweh rested.

So what does it really mean to keep the Sabbath day? I think a lot of people don’t understand this today. What does it really mean to keep the Sabbath day?

Even among those of us who believe it is important to keep the Sabbath day, there are a lot of people that really don’t keep it the way they are supposed to.

There are some denominations that are Sabbath keeping denominations that have no problem after Sabbath services going to restaurants and essentially doing what Yahweh says not to do, and that is hiring servants to do your work for you– to cook, to clean up.

He says, “Look, even the stranger.” He might be a believer. He might be an unbeliever. But even the stranger He says needs to rest. The Gentile. Everybody. So we cannot be hiring servants on the Shabbat.

Now I understand. People say, “Well, Tom, aren’t you using electricity on the Sabbath?” Yes, I am. And so did the priests when they were in the temple. They did work on the Sabbath.

Why was it acceptable? Because it was Yahweh’s work. And so, if we use electricity for the purposes of ministry, for the purposes of hearing the Word, for the purposes of proclaiming the way of Elohim, that is an acceptable purpose.

But to go sit in a restaurant somewhere, what does that have to do with anything? In fact, that would be a terrible disservice.

So we see an example here in Nehemiah 13:15. It says:

Nehemiah 13:15 – In those days I saw [people] in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all [kinds of] burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned [them] about the day on which they were selling provisions.

16 – Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold [them] on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

Here are foreigners coming in and selling things to the children of Judah.

Nehemiah 13:17 – Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing [is] this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?

Just by buying things from Gentiles we profane the Sabbath day he says. From non-Sabbath keepers we profane it. So buying and selling is clearly forbidden on Yahweh’s Sabbath, a day He wants us to remember and to keep holy. And so, to go to restaurants, to shopping malls and grocery stores is no way to keep a Sabbath day holy.

Now if there is some kind of human need, some medical emergency and you need something from a store because of a medical emergency, or something like that, I think exceptions are obvious because the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

That is not what we are talking about when we are talking about going to the restaurant.

When Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He reinstituted the Sabbath day that had been forgotten, no doubt, because the Egyptians expected them to work seven days a week. And Moshe told the children of Israel what they should do in preparation for the Sabbath.

Here is what you do to make sure you have the food you need on the Sabbath:

Exodus 16:23 – Then he said to them, This [is what] YAHWEH has said: `Tomorrow [is] a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to YAHWEH. Bake what you will bake [today], and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’

So on preparation day we should prepare our food. That is the sixth day, the day of preparation. We should prepare our food that will be eaten on the Sabbath so that we will not have to cook or prepare it on the Sabbath day.

And so, Yahweh not only wants our bodies to rest on this holy day. He says He wants our minds to not worry about our food, what we are going to have to cook and all this stuff. He wants us to get the full rest that we need, so all you have to do is walk over and get your food and eat it.

In Amos chapter 8, verses 4 and 5, it says:

Amos 8:4 – Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,

5 – Saying: When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit,

They can’t wait for the Sabbath to end so they can make their buying and selling and take advantage of the poor, and so on… falsify the scales. They are a mess.

Now the New Moon here, there is one New Moon out of the year that is a day of rest and that is the seventh month– called Yom Teruah or Day of Trumpets (Feast of Trumpets).

But looking here at the Sabbath day, it is not a day for buying and selling. Now the context of this verse is Yahweh’s displeasure over the poor being oppressed, but the lesson here is, look at the attitudes. They want it to end so they can go out and do their thing.

And so, we need to remember that while the Sabbath is to be kept, we don’t want to be longing for it to end or hurry up so we can go out in the world and do what we want once the Sabbath is over. And it shouldn’t be a problem if our attitude is right toward Yahweh’s commandments and our relationship with Yahweh is intact and where it should be.

In fact, if our relationship with Yahweh is where it should be, this is how our attitude ought to be:

1John 5:3 – For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

It is not a burden. Think about this: All that Yahweh has done for you, can you not do something for Him? I mean, come on! Really!

Imagine if… you hear stories, you know. Someone saves someone else’s life and the person whose life was saved says, “Man, if you ever need anything, just call me. Anything. I will do it for you.”

Well, Yahweh saved our lives. He saved our souls from destruction and death in the lake of fire. He saved us. We ought to look at His commandments, and say, “Yeah, man, anything.” Right? And do you know what we will find out? We will find out what a blessing they are.

And the next verse here in Isaiah 58 and verse 12… you know, I have heard so many traditional Christian preachers quote this verse and claim they are the ones. It says:

Isaiah 58:12 – Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

And they think in their revival that is them. But what are the foundations? What needs to be rebuilt? The foundations. I mean, we can look first of all in the book of Genesis, right? That is the foundation right there we can look to, I would think.

And so, how do you become a Repairer of the Breach, a Restorer of Streets to Dwell in, and raise up the foundations of many generations and build the old waste places? Try reading the very next verse…

Isaiah 58:13 – If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, [From] doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy [day] of YAHWEH honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking [your own] words,

This “from the Sabbath” would mean from a result of the Sabbath.

Isaiah 58:14 – Then you shall delight yourself in YAHWEH; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of YAHWEH has spoken.

What is the “heritage of Jacob”? What is Jacob’s inheritance? Eternal life in the promised land. That is what it is. That is his inheritance. And Isaiah chapter 56, if you read that, talks about the Gentiles receiving that same inheritance if they cleave to the Sabbath day.

Now the context here of Isaiah 58 also has to do with the Day of Atonement. But this is how we can keep a day holy if it is a holy day. How do you keep a day holy? Honor Him, call it a delight, not doing your own ways, finding your own pleasures, speaking your own words.

What are these things? Well, I have it all listed out here for you.

H0W TO KEEP THE SABBATH:

1. First of all, let’s call the Sabbath a delight. We enjoy it. We delight in it.

2. We are going to consider the holy day of Yahweh something to be honorable.

3. We are going to honor Him.

4. We are not going to do our own ways/our own pleasures.

5. We are not even going to speak our own words. The Hebrew there is dabar, dabar, dabar, dabar. It means words, words, words, words– dabar debarim.

6. No buying and selling. Just rest.

7. No cooking. No baking. Prepare ahead of time.

8. Gather together and hear the Word.

It is not a day to find our own things and just do our own pleasures. It is a day to focus on the spiritual things. You know, the beautiful picture of Yahweh’s desire for us here is He just wants our attention. And He wants us to focus on His matters on this day.

We get the other six days. I mean, hopefully, we honor Him every day. That is true. We honor Him every day. But this is a day set apart specifically for that purpose. You are not going to go to work. You are not going to go out and mow the lawn today. Today is His day.

It is a blessing! It really, really is a blessing to have this time to do these things. It really is.

Listen, there have been many times in my walk– and I have been serving Yahweh since 1989, keeping Sabbath since 1990– there have been many times in my walk where, especially when I was working out in the work world, I just get weak spiritually.

And the Sabbath was always there like this shining light at the end of the week to regroup, to gather myself together, to focus on the spiritual things and to reconnect with my Father in Heaven. And so, as I kept the Sabbath day, the Sabbath day kept me.

So many times I think we have in the traditional church world today, you know… two hours on a Sunday is not going to work. You need more than that. And, you know, these new converts come in and they are like, ok, a couple hours. The enemy will let you have that. I mean… two hours!

But what about a whole day to really keep it the way He intended us to keep it? You will find that people who become weak, if you tell them, “Look, there is a Sabbath day– we get to focus completely on our Father in heaven and on the spiritual things,” guess what? Just like Scripture says, you will delight yourself in Yahweh.

When you keep His Sabbath, you will delight yourself in Him, and the Sabbath will cause you to reconnect with our Father in heaven and will bring you back.

Now some think, “Oh, well, Yahweh’s attitude about the Sabbath has changed now. A New Testament, you know. He kind of relaxed a little bit. He used to be real harsh and judgmental, but He is kind of like Grandpa now, sort of relaxed and not so on edge about everything.”

No, not at all.

And listen, the Sabbath is really not about what you can’t do anymore. It is about what you get to do really.

So we get to spend time with Yahweh without interruption, to study His Word without distractions. And some people have the wrong attitude about the Sabbath. They compile a list of dos and don’ts, but Yahweh just wants us to rest and fellowship with each other and with Him.

You know, it is an honor to have a right relationship with Yahweh our Creator. It is an honor to walk with Him and spend time with Him. Is there anybody else more important?

So we need to get to know the One who created us from dust and loved us enough to send His own Son into the world to save us from our uncleanness and wickedness. I tell you what, that sounds like someone I want to get to know. And that is what the Sabbath is for.

And so, this is not a day where we just focus on our own selves, our own words, our own things we are doing. Again, the Hebrew there is dabar debarim– words, words, words. It is a day to focus on His words and not buying and selling and cooking and baking and things like that.

Another thing is, He says gather together and hear the Word. That is what He desires of us.

In Leviticus 23, verse 3, it says:

Leviticus 23:3 – `Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day [is] a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work [on it]; it [is] the Sabbath of YAHWEH in all your dwellings.

What is a holy convocation? The word in Hebrew there is “miqra qodesh.” And the answer may surprise you. It actually means “a holy reading,” “a holy calling out,” which implies a gathering to do that. But the same word is found in Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 5, and it says:

Nehemiah 8:5 – And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was [standing] above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 – And Ezra blessed YAHWEH, the great Elohim. Then all the people answered, Amen, Amen! while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped YAHWEH with [their] faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 8:7 – Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people [stood] in their place.

8 – So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of Elohim; and they gave the sense, and helped [them] to understand the reading.

< Heb. 4744, "Miqra">. This is the calling out, the reading out. This is the word in Hebrew, “miqra,” from which we get holy “miqra,” holy “convocation.” And so, “convocation” or “a gathering together” seems to be implied, but the focus is on hearing the words of Yahweh. And so, this is what this day is for, for hearing the words of Yahweh.

We hear everybody’s words all throughout the whole week– words on radio, words coming from friends, and whoever. We need some time to just hear from Yahweh. And so, that is what it is about.

So what do we GET to do on the Sabbath?

1. First of all, we get to rest/sleep. How about that! Our bodies need it. We were not created to work 7 days, 24 hours a day. He created us to rest. And so, we get a day of rest. HalleluYah!

2. Secondly, we can read scripture, get to know His Word. We can read spiritual books that help us understand the scriptures.

3. We can listen to sermons which help us understand the scriptures or watch spiritual programs which help us understand the scriptures, which are scriptural.

4. It is a day of worship. And by the way, this worship ought to also include music with that. If you know how to speak, you also know how to sing, right? Hey, He just says make a joyful noise. It doesn’t have to be perfect in tune, but He wants us to sing to Him.

5. It is a day to meet with other believers. Hopefully, you have somebody in your area. If you don’t, try to find some.

6. Study scripture together as a family. How about that! Get all your family together and just start opening the Word together and reading it and studying it and talking about it.

7. Enjoy the Creation/light nature walks. Take a walk outside in the Creation of Yahweh. Pay attention to what He has made and take delight in it. That doesn’t mean go out and go jogging, but a light walk where there is not much exertion involved.

8. A day of ministering to others, which is, of course, what I am doing right now.

9. Memorizing scripture is a good activity for Sabbath.

10. There are also some games out there that would teach us spiritual lessons or maybe even teach us about Yahweh’s creation.

11. Special Sabbath meals.

This eleventh one here, “special Sabbath meals,” that is really something that we have developed here personally and other families I know have done. Of course, you cook everything ahead of time. But then as the sun goes down on the Sabbath, we call this a special Sabbath meal.

And we might vary on how we do it from time to time, but some of the things we have done is get out our best dishes, put on our best clothes, let the children choose the meal. We have set a place for the Savior at the table, Yahushua, knowing He is in the midst of where two or three are gathered.

Of course, He gets the best dishes, the best placemat, the best everything. And we have even used cloth napkins. We have a candlelight or oil lamp dinner, and then during the meal, talk about the week, the things we have gained spiritually. And then after the meal, I will get out my guitar.

We sing praise to our Creator, and then I bless my children and my wife. And so, there are beautiful things that we can do on the Sabbath to make it special and very memorable for all of us.

And we rejoice and we long for this special time at the end of the week where we can rest from the cares of this life and focus on what is really important– relationships with each other and with our Father in heaven.

And this will help instill positive memories, positive thoughts, about His day. And every week our children look forward to the Shabbat (the Sabbath), because it is always a blessing to do exactly what our heavenly Father asks us to do. And, certainly, He knows what is best for us.

And so, these are wonderful things that we can do on a Sabbath. And maybe your own family can develop your own things that you like to do, and it is a free day, but within the limits that He has set apart for other days.

So this is a day we are free to just focus completely on our relationships with each other as family members, as brothers and sisters in the faith, and to Yahweh our King.

Now some things you DON’T want to do on the Shabbat:

1. Go to work. It is not a day for work. I don’t care what your boss says. It is not a day for work.

2. Cook/Clean. It is not for cooking and cleaning.

3. Gather firewood.

4. Rake leaves or mow the lawn.

5. Tend to the garden. Yahweh says in seed time and harvest you shall keep the Sabbath day.

6. Engage in things that require physical exertion. I have had people actually contact me, and say, “Hey, can I go jogging? I normally jog every day or I usually work out every day. Can I do it on the Sabbath?” No, it is a day of rest.

7. We are not supposed to be playing unspiritual games or sports. I have been to places where people are gathered on Shabbat and they are out there playing football on the Sabbath. That ought not be. Never, never should be done.

8. Read unspiritual material that is not really focused on Yahweh– perhaps how to fix a car or things that don’t really have anything to do with drawing closer to Yahweh.

9. And we want to refrain from talking about worldly things like “I did this or that; this, that and the other,” having really nothing to do with anything spiritual. He says don’t speak your own words.

10. Starting fires would be another one. And some people say, “Well, do you drive a car to the Sabbath meeting?” Again, if you are doing something for spiritual purposes, that is different.

11. Fight/argue (unholy anger conversation). Fighting and arguing is another way of kindling a fire.

And so, we want to remember this day and keep the day holy as He said and keep our mind and our lives focused on the spiritual things because it is a holy day. And guess what? It will benefit us. We will be stronger spiritually as a result, won’t we?

I mean, can you say we won’t be? Of course, not! You will be stronger spiritually.

There is this little thing inside man that says, “Oh, we have to do all that?” It is the enemy. It is because we are not delighting ourselves in Yahweh and His commandments.

And the front door of many Christian churches is a revolving door a lot of times because people have an emotional conversion, but nothing to keep them strong.

But if we have one day out of the week where we withdraw ourselves from the world and its influences, we turn it off and concentrate on the holy day of Yahweh– worshipping, praying, studying– it will strengthen our faith and keep us growing spiritually. And it can keep us from falling away.

And soon it will be not just a day of rest, but a way of life. Because just like it would be unthinkable not to go to work during the week, the idea of breaking it becomes unthinkable because it is just the way we’ve lived now for so long. And so, as I said, as we keep the Sabbath day, the Sabbath day will keep us.

Yahweh told the children of Judah in Jeremiah 17, verse 20:

Jeremiah 17:20 – and say to them, `Hear the word of YAHWEH, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates.

21 – `Thus says YAHWEH: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Jeremiah 17:22 – nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 – But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

Jeremiah 17:24 – And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully, says YAHWEH, to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,

25 – then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.

Wow! What a promise! Just keep the Sabbath day! Just do it and this city will never be destroyed! Never! Because Yahweh knew the Sabbath would keep them as they kept it.

Jeremiah 17:26 – And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of YAHWEH.

27 – But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.’

And so, how important has this Sabbath day been to Yahweh? Maybe you don’t see a connection between that and your own life, but how important do we see the Sabbath day is to Yahweh in these verses? It was the difference between Jerusalem being destroyed and reigning and being there forever.

See, Yahweh knows His Word would be sewn in their hearts on the Shabbat and His Word would not return to them void. Just give Him His day and you will delight yourself in Yahweh.

Isaiah 58:14 – Then you shall delight yourself in YAHWEH; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of YAHWEH has spoken.

See, the heritage of Jacob is this eternal life, right? Why not grasp it? Why not do it? You can’t say it won’t be a blessing. You know it will be. You hear it.

Now some people would just say, “Oh, you know, it’s just not repeated. It is the one commandment out of the ten that is never repeated in the New Testament. Therefore, I don’t have to do that one.”

Is it about what you have to do or what you should do? See, actually, that is not even true. Show me one place in the New Testament that it says this: “Do not take the name of Yahweh in vain.” Anywhere? It is not repeated.

Would you argue that now you can take His name in vain because it is not repeated in the New Testament? Now blasphemy is a way of taking His name in vain, but there are many different ways of taking His name in vain besides blasphemy.

Either way, Yahushua and His apostles did not need to go around telling people to keep the Sabbath day. It was a way of life. And there are a number of things that are not repeated in the New Testament, but they are still observed by mainstream Christians today.

There is no New Testament scripture forbidding a woman from wearing a man’s garment or a man from wearing a woman’s garment. There is no commandment forbidding bestiality. Don’t tell me that is done away with. Tattoos? No commandment says you shouldn’t be cruel to animals. The Torah forbids it.

No commandment saying that you can’t take interest from brethren or even taking bribes. We have to go to the Torah for that. There is actually no commandment in the New Testament that says, “Take ten percent of your income and give it to your church.” But don’t you even say that is done away with, right?

They like that one. Malachi 3. Oh, have to point that out. That is Old Testament. They pick and they choose. We can come up with a host of excuses as to why people don’t want to do what Yahweh says. There are all kinds of excuses that people come up with. Let’s not fall prey to those things.

Another one that has been made popular, it was almost unheard of a hundred years ago, but now it is… oh, man, it is everywhere. “Well, the Messiah is my Sabbath now and I just rest in Him.”

“And you, Sabbath keepers, you are not finding your rest in the Messiah. You are troubling yourselves with burdensome laws and commandments. Whereas me, I just sit back and rest in Messiah.”

Hmm. I understand your mentality. I understand. You probably got that from the church fathers or whoever you got it from. But, please, listen to me for a moment. Listen very closely.

Yahweh said, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” He was talking about the physical work that you do. He never says, “Seven days you shall rest.”

You can’t say the Sabbath day is every day and then go to work. It is plain and easy to understand, right? I mean, whether you believe in the Messiah or not, we all know we have to work for a living. And we all know that if we try to work every single day our bodies would be exhausted and we would be unhealthy.

And so, when Yahweh gave this commandment, He was talking about physical labor here. And you still have a physical body, whether you recognize it or not, that needs rest. And, furthermore, He says to make sure your animals rest.

Now suppose you were a farmer living in the early 1900s when there were no tractors. The Sabbath wasn’t just made for you. It was also for your animals to get a break, right? I mean, He said in Deuteronomy 5:12:

Deuteronomy 5:12 – `Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as YAHWEH your Elohim commanded you.

13 – Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

14 – but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of YAHWEH your Elohim. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

So notice it is for the stranger, also. Gentiles. Could you claim your animals are now keeping the Sabbath by resting in Messiah while you had them plowing your fields on the Sabbath day?

See, Yahushua didn’t die for the sins of animals, right? It just doesn’t line up. I mean, you can’t claim to be “resting in Messiah” when you go to work. That is not what He came to cause you to rest from. That is not the problem.

He didn’t come to deliver you from physical labor. He even says that if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. He didn’t come to deliver you from having to do physical labor.

Now it is true that Messiah gives us rest in the age to come and that we will rest in Him at that time, and so on. But we have work to do. Right now there is work to do.

But where did all this come from? I mean, because a hundred years ago, the blue laws, you know. Even laws on the books to this day. Alcohol cannot be sold on the first day of the week. There are certain things that have been passed down called “blue laws.” And many Christians today still do make the first day of the week a day of rest.

And so, how is it denying the rest we have in Messiah to rest on the seventh day of the week? It is okay to rest on the first day of the week. Nobody gets in much trouble for it. But then you want to rest on the seventh day of the week and all of a sudden criticism comes. Believe me, that is not from Yahweh (the criticism).

It is not denying Him or denying the rest we have in Him if you observe the first day or the seventh day or any day. It doesn’t make any sense.

Now I understand the scripture you are coming up with here. Here it is. It says:

Matthew 11:28 – Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

And they will say, “Ha! There you go, Tom. Messiah gave me rest. I don’t need to rest. And if you think you need to rest, then you are denying what Messiah wants to offer you, and that is rest.” And they say, “Well, see, listen, it says…”

Matthew 11:29 – Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 – For My yoke [is] easy and My burden is light.

Rest for what? For your souls. Pay close attention to what He is saying: “Rest for your souls.” Scripturally, what does it mean to have rest for the soul?

Psalms 116:6 – YAHWEH preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.

7 – Return to your rest, O my soul, For YAHWEH has dealt bountifully with you.

The soul is at rest when you receive salvation. Now the person who wrote Psalm 116, does that mean he could go out and break the Sabbath day because now his soul found rest? This is Old Testament Scripture. His soul found its rest because Yahweh saved him.

There is a difference between a resting for your body, you know– physical exertion and needing rest– and the rest for the soul.

He is not talking about people laboring out in the fields when He says, “I will give you rest.” He wasn’t saying, “Come to Me and I will give your body rest,” in verse 28 there. That is not what He is saying.

He wasn’t even talking about our bodies. He is talking about a rest for the soul. Yahushua is gentle and lowly. He is not going to condemn our souls. He is going to give us our soul’s salvation.

You see, apart from Messiah, our soul is in great danger. Apart from Messiah, our soul would be in the lake of fire. Apart from Messiah, we have no salvation. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

He isn’t saying, “Come to Me, and you can stop keeping the Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week and only start keeping it on the first day of the week, and then you will get rest for your soul.” That is not what He is saying. You have to inject that into the text. He is not saying that. It doesn’t even make any sense.

The Sabbath was made for man so he could rest and he would have time to stop and focus on his relationship with the heavenly Father. In fact, I can demonstrate very similar words are said in Jeremiah chapter 6. He says this:

Jeremiah 6:16 – Thus says YAHWEH: Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way [is], And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, `We will not walk [in it].’

You start living like Yahushua did, you start walking in righteousness like He did– He walked in the old paths– and guess what? That is when you are going to find rest for your soul, when you actually start doing the things Yahweh commands you.

It is sin that has caused the soul to be unsettled. It is sin that has caused the soul to deserve the lake of fire. Not the Sabbath day! The Sabbath day did not cause problems. Yahweh didn’t give Israel the Sabbath to cause them a bunch of problems, to give them trouble. It was for our blessing.

And so, He says, “Ask for the old paths. Walk in it. Do it. And guess what? You will find rest for your soul.” Oh, but they said, “We will not walk in it.”

Jeremiah 6:17 – Also, I set watchmen over you, [saying], `Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, `We will not listen.’

18 – Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what [is] among them.

Who is He talking to here (“you nations”)? Gentiles! He is talking to Gentiles here. “Congregation” is the Jews.

The whole planet: “Listen to Me!”

Jeremiah 6:19 – Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people — The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words, Nor My law, but rejected it.

What did they do? They rejected it. They rejected the old paths. And guess what? They rejected the rest for their soul.

Now the reason why Yahushua gives us rest for our soul is because He walked in the old paths and He kept them. And so, where we have lacked, His righteousness fills us.

And so, if we want to walk in the old paths like He did, if we really want to let Yahushua live in us and flow through us and do the things in us He did when He was on the earth, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever– guess what? We are going to live like He did. We are going to walk as He did.

And to me, that makes a whole lot more sense and does a whole lot more to manifest the Messiah if we are doing the things that He did and living like He lived.

He died. His body rested in the tomb on the Sabbath day, right? Then He rose to work on the first day of the week because He rose to go and prepare a place for us.

And yet, people say, “Well, I keep the Sabbath on the first day of the week because that is when Messiah rose. What did He rise up to do? Rest? No, He rested in the grave on the Sabbath day. And so, if you are looking for an allegory, think about what He really did.

It makes a lot more sense that we are showing the world what Messiah is like if we are living like He did, we are resting when He rested and we rise to work when He rose to work. And when did He keep a day of rest? He kept it the seventh day of the week.

If He did not keep the Sabbath, He would have been a transgressor of the Law. He would have violated the Ten Commandments. He would be a sinner also in need of salvation Himself. And so, if He really broke the Sabbath, He could not be our Savior. He would have been in need of a Savior, too, right? Because He would have violated the Law.

Now He didn’t keep the Sabbath the way the Pharisees thought He should. Healing on the Sabbath is not violating the Sabbath. Walking in the grainfield and rubbing a few kernels together so that you will not starve to death is not violating the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man.

Listen, the Messiah was not a violator of the Ten Commandments. Otherwise, He would not be perfect. He would not be an unblemished offering. And so, if we really want to manifest the Messiah to the whole world…

1John 2:5 – But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of Elohim is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

6 – He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

And so, I fail to see the logic that if we live differently than Messiah did then we are proclaiming the Messiah and if we live like Messiah did then we are denying Him.

Huh? I mean, that doesn’t make any sense, and it is certainly a different idea than what is being taught in 1 John chapter 2 here. I mean, we are supposed to walk as He walked. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

He is not any different today than He was when He walked the earth, and He won’t be any different when He comes back. And that is why the Sabbath is going to be kept and the whole world is going to gather on that day.

So look at Jeremiah. He is saying: “Stand in the ways and see, ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls.”

And so, here is Yahushua saying: “All you who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.” For what? For the soul. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” What is He doing? He is doing the old paths. Learn from Him and you will find rest for your soul and be blessed by it.

So we will not only receive salvation, which gives us a rest for the soul, according to Psalm 116, but we will begin to walk as He did because we learn from Him. And we will find rest for our soul by living as he did. That is called the two tenets of salvation. That is repentance and faith in Yahushua.

Repentance means I am turning away from what were the wrong things to do and turning back to the right things to do. And then I am putting my faith in Yahushua for the times I have failed to do my Father’s will.

See, it all lines up perfectly. But men have taken these scriptures and they have misinterpreted them and used them to justify breaking the fourth commandment. Some say, “Oh, spiritually I am resting.” That is not what He is talking about. It’s not. It’s just not what He is talking about.

And so, we should be far removed from any teaching which causes one of the Ten Commandments to be kind of sawed out, cut out, changed, abolished or set aside. You can’t claim to be keeping the Sabbath day when you go to work on that day. It doesn’t make any sense. It is no different than… well… I am not even going to say.

The truth is, there is no scripture anywhere that supports the idea of changing the Sabbath day at all. And so, some say, “Well, you know, Tom, as long as you keep one day out of seven, I mean, what does it really matter? I mean, you are resting one day. You are focusing on Him one day out of seven. And so, it doesn’t really matter what day you keep.”

In fact, they will say, “Look, Tom, look at the scripture here in Acts 20.” It says:

Acts 20:7 – Now on the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

It says, here they are on the first day of the week. They are gathered together and they are breaking bread. And so, they must have done something like Sabbath keeping.

Actually, Young’s Literal Translation says “on the first of the week.” It could have been the first day of the week; it could have been the second day of the week– just the beginning part of the week.

Acts 20:7 (YLT) – “And on the first of the week, the disciples having been gathered together to break bread, Paul was discoursing to them, about to depart on the morrow, he was also continuing the discourse till midnight.”

But let’s suppose it was the first day of the week. I find it incredulous that they think this changes the Sabbath, but some people do. They think it changes the Sabbath day.

And I find it ironic that Christians would be so active in spending millions of dollars to keep the Ten Commandments in courtrooms and public buildings and prominent places, and yet if you ask them if they believe in keeping the fourth commandment, very few people will agree that it should be observed as written.

The truth is, it has never been changed– not one place, not at any time, and not anywhere.

So let’s look at this scripture. When does Yahweh begin His days? According to scripture, go back to the first chapter of Genesis: “evening and morning,” first day; “evening and morning,” second day; “evening and morning,” third day… His days begin at evening. They end at evening and they begin at evening.

When the sun goes down a new day has begun. This midnight thing is not even scripture. That is from the Romans. So when the Sabbath day had ended, that would have been a time, “Then you can cook!”

And so, if all the people were gathered together on a Sabbath day and they were fellowshipping in the Word and praise and these things, and the sun goes down– guess what? The first day of the week just started.

And so, they could gather together and have a meal together, and it would be the first day of the week. Also a time for collections and conducting business. And so, the scripture in 1 Corinthians 16, that is when they conducted business and dealt with money and things like that– after the Sabbath was over.

And that is when the first day of the week began, after the sun went down, and so then they could cook, break bread and do those things.

And so, it just happened at this time, Paul continued to discourse and continued his sermon all the way until midnight, because he was going to leave the next day. In fact, if you are going to leave the next day, the next day would have still been the first day of the week.

So by what authority has the Sabbath day been changed? No authority whatsoever.

The other one here…

1Corinthians 16:1 – Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:

2 – On the first [day] of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

Let each one of you pass the collection basket? No. That is what your picture is because that is what you see in churches happening.

This is after the Sabbath had ended. They didn’t just have money in those days. They had other things– food and things that would require physical hard labor lifting to collect together and put in one place. And so, that would be the appropriate time, when it is not a Sabbath day.

And so, there really is no scripture that even says the Sabbath has been changed. Not even one.

During the Council of Trent in 1545– this is not too long ago, almost 500 years ago– we have the Protestant Reformation. And the foundation of the Protestant Reformation was this concept of “sola scriptura,” meaning “only scripture.”

They did not believe that they should observe traditions and they wanted the scriptures to be the sole means of determining what was right and what was wrong. And so, the Pope, during this Council of Trent in 1545, I read somewhere that he was almost ready to set aside tradition altogether and make the scriptures really the sole standard of appeal.

He was almost ready to do that. But then, the Archbishop of Reggio actually turned the whole council against the reformation. And here is what he had said:

Council of Trent, 1545: “The Protestants claim to stand upon the written word only: they profess to hold the Scriptures alone as the standard of faith. They justify their revolt by the plea that the Church has apostatized from the written word and follows tradition. Now the Protestant’s claim that they stand upon the written word alone is not true.”

“If they truly hold the scriptures alone as the standard, they would be observing the Sabbath the seventh day as it is enjoined in the Scripture throughout.

“Yet they not only reject the observance of the Sabbath as enjoined in the written word, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of Sunday, for which they have only the tradition of the (Catholic) church.”

Aha! And at this argument, I am told, the council unanimously condemned Protestantism and the entire reformation, because the Protestants were not willing to let go of that much tradition. And it remains to this day.

And one reason they did not want to let go? They did not want to look like a Jew. They could not conceive the fact that they might look Jewish. It was just unfathomable to them.

And if you look and you read about the anti-Semite known as Martin Luther and the despicable things he said about the Jewish people, you would understand why they would not embrace sola scriptura in truth.

And so, in this New Testament, the first day of the week– listen, it is always called the first day of the week. That is all it is ever called. It is never, ever, ever called the Sabbath day.

Examples:

Acts 13:42 – So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Now, why didn’t he tell them, if you read the context here, “Come back tomorrow– we have Sunday morning church services going on”? No, the next Sabbath is when they were to gather together.

Acts 15:21 – For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.

When? Every Sabbath. This day, called the seventh day of the week, is still called the Sabbath by James and by everyone.

Acts 16:13 – And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met [there].

This was the seventh day of the week.

Acts 17:2 – Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

This is in the synagogue, once again.

Acts 18:4 – And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

Both Jews and Gentiles were gathered there on the Sabbath. What is this day? What day does scripture in the New Testament call the Sabbath? It isn’t the first day of the week. It is the seventh day of the week.

And so, since the New Testament itself identifies the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week, may I ask you the question? What day of the week is the New Testament Sabbath? The answer should be obvious. And so, when we read the Ten Commandments that tells us to keep the Sabbath day holy, what day is that?

Now some of you are saying, “Well, how do you know that today is really the seventh day of the week?” I will get into that in a minute, but please listen to me for a second on this. Some say it doesn’t matter. You just keep any day. Keep one day in seven. It’s okay. And that is whom I am addressing here.

But suppose there is a man who had 7 sheep, and the father told his son to only shear the 7th sheep that was born in their home, because the wool he had set aside for a special purpose… But then the son sheared the 1st sheep instead, and brought the wool to his father… Did he do his father’s will? Of course not. He did not do his father’s will.

Now if the heavenly Father told His children to remember the 7th day of the week, and keep that day holy, setting it aside for a special purpose… But then His children kept the first day of the week holy instead… Did His children do the Father’s will? I think you know the answer.

See, there is only one day that is holy. It is a waste of time to keep another day holy. There is no other day that is holy. There is only one day that is holy.

If you keep another day holy, what good is it? It is not even holy. It is not the sheep your Father told you to shear, right? And so, you are not doing the Father’s will.

And we are no more doing our Father’s will by keeping the first day of the week than this son back here did by shearing the first sheep. And so, rather than choosing what WE think is best, why don’t we do what Yahweh says? Shouldn’t we do the will of our Father?

Now some of you say, “Well, we can’t know what day is actually the seventh day of the week because time has been lost and what we call the seventh day of the week today may not be the same seventh day of the week that Yahweh set aside at creation. How can you really know, Tom, today is the seventh day?”

First of all, I want to point out something to you. If Yahweh said this is the seventh day, to keep it holy, He is not going to allow it to be lost. He is not. He will guard the Sabbath day to make sure you don’t lose when it is. And we haven’t.

I want you to know that the Julian calendar, which most of the world follows today, was actually started back in 45 B.C. Now that is all the further we need to go toward Yahushua’s example, right? Yahushua’s example is all the further we need to go. We don’t have to go any further than what He did, right?

So if we can find out what first century Judaism was doing, in the first century, and we can compare that to what the Roman calendar is today, we might yield some clues as to whether the seventh day of the week has been lost. So just bear with me a minute here.

“The Julian calendar began in 45 BC (709 AUC) as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year (known at least since Hipparchus).”

The “tropical year”– they are trying to figure out when to start the year. That is the Julius Caesar calendar. “The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months with a leap day added to February every four years. The Julian year is, therefore, on average 365.25 days long.”

So that is the calendar people are keeping today almost. There was an adjustment by Pope Gregory. “Spain, Portugal, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and most of Italy implemented the new calendar on Friday, 15 October 1582, following Julian Thursday, 4 October 1582…”

So what they did was, the day after Thursday they still went to Friday. They did not change the series or sequence of the days of the week. They just jumped from October 4th to October 15th.

And then France, they adopted the new calendar on a different day. “France adopted the new calendar on Monday, 20 December 1582, following Sunday, 9 December 1582.”

They adopted this new calendar on December 20th, on a Monday. And then this Monday followed this day of Sunday. And so, they went from the 9th of December to the 20th of December. But they went from Sunday to Monday. So they did not change the series of days.

And so, the world has been keeping this Sunday to Saturday calendar for a very, very long time. And the series of the days of the week has not changed. The calendar itself has only changed once. Okay?

Now in light of this information that the Julius Caesar calendar and the Gregorian calendar, and all this stuff, we have this information, the question is whether or not the Sabbath day would belong on the Saturday of this particular calendar. That is the question.

Now there was a man named Frontinus. He was a Roman soldier who existed from 40 C.E. to 103 C.E., and he wrote a book on military strategy in 84 A.D. And that book was called “Stratagematon.” This is fourteen years after 70 A.D. when the temple was destroyed.

And here is what he said: “The deified Augustus Vespasian attacked the Jews on the day of Saturn, a day on which it is sinful for them to do any business.” Frontinus Stratagem 2.1.17. 70-84 CE/AD.

The day that we call “Saturday” (Saturn’s day) is this “day of Saturn.” So we have a connection between this Saturday and the Jewish Sabbath. And the days of the week and the series of the days of the week on this calendar, known as the “Roman calendar,” has not changed.

And, actually, it was in the interest of three religions to not change the days. The Christians didn’t want to go from the first day of the week to any other day of the week. They wanted to keep their first day of the week.

The Jews did not want to ever change the day they worship, which was the seventh day of the week. And, in fact, even though the Jews were scattered all throughout the world, when they all came back in contact with each other, they were all keeping the same day known as Saturday or the seventh day of the week. They had not changed.

And also, Islam. They keep the sixth day of the week. And so, there was no motivation on anybody’s part to change the seven day cycle. And so, the Sabbath day has not been lost.

Yahweh told us to keep the day holy. He made sure, in spite of man’s mistakes and paganism, and whatever they did, He made sure there was no loss of the Sabbath day. And so, we have no excuse. He kept it for us. He preserved it for us.

And, you know, actually, most Christians today who claim that they keep the first day of the week, actually, they are not doing it right. Because, listen, the Sabbath day and every day of the week does not begin at midnight. It begins at evening.

So if they are really keeping a day of rest on the first day of the week, you don’t keep a twelve-hour Sabbath from sunrise to sunset on the day called “Sunday.” They are not doing it right.

Scripture says: Genesis 1:5 – evening and morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:8 – the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:13 – the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:19 – the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

That is the series. That is how it goes. And so, they are not even keeping the whole thing properly if they are going to keep it on the first day of the week. And so, they are not doing it right.

In fact, when they go in the winter time, they think they are going to Sunday evening services, right? The sun has already gone down at five o’clock. If they go to church six o’clock or seven o’clock on Sunday, it is not even that day of the week.

Now they are doing it on the second day of the week because evening time has already come, and therefore the next day, in Yahweh’s eyes, has already started. So they are really not even doing it right.

Now in recent times, in some Christian circles, they have tried to say a new day begins at sunrise. But there is a scripture that flatly contradicts that notion.

In John chapter 20 and verse 1, it says:

John 20:1 – Now on the first [day] of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw [that] the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

The sun had not yet risen, yet it was already the first day of the week, right? She went to the tomb when? On the first day of the week. It was still dark. Now if the first day of the week began at sunrise, that would be impossible. But the first day of the week had begun the previous night when the sun went down.

And so, the first day of the week had already begun when she went to the tomb and it was still dark. And so, the day could not possibly have begun at sunrise. Impossible unless you don’t believe the scripture.

Now there are other scriptures that talk about her going to the tomb on the first day of the week, but this would describe when she actually left to go toward the tomb, and the other scriptures describe when she actually arrived at the tomb.

Nehemiah 13:15 says:

Nehemiah 13:15 – In those days I saw [people] in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all [kinds of] burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned [them] about the day on which they were selling provisions.

Now pay attention. They brought these things into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah 13:19 – So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted [some] of my servants at the gates, [so that] no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.

No burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. That is why he shut the gates just before dark, because the Sabbath began at evening.

Nehemiah 13:20 – Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.

21 – Then I warned them, and said to them, Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do [so] again, I will lay hands on you! From that time on they came no [more] on the Sabbath.

Now nobody comes at sunrise to spend the night around a wall, right? The time they were coming to spend the night around the wall was evening, right?

And so, since he said they came no more on the Sabbath, and they came (when?) to spend the night around the wall, then the Sabbath would have already begun, because they came to spend the night around the wall, which would have been evening.

And so, the Sabbath began at evening and that is why he shut the gates as it began to be dark so no burdens would be brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

The Sabbath has been under major, major attack since the time that Yahweh established it. And now that more and more people are keeping it today, there are new attacks coming in known as “lunar Sabbaths,” “sunrise Sabbaths.” And I have even heard of people keeping Sabbath day starting at noon.

And these are all devices of the enemy to come in and split up the people of Yahweh so he can divide and conquer. That is his strategy.

Traditional Christians suggest, “Oh, the Jews, you know. They should keep Saturday and Christians keep Sunday.” Listen, that is erecting a wall Yahushua came to destroy. We are all one people. We are not called to be divided. It is not a Jewish Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man not for Jews.

The Sabbath existed since the beginning of creation. And what we really need to do here, and I do this often, is say, “What did Yahushua do?” Let’s look to the example of Yahushua and emulate it.

We know our Savior. He kept the Sabbath. He is our example. And we bring abundant blessings into our lives by following His example and keeping holy the only day our Father ever made holy.

Don’t believe this lie that has deceived Eve in the Garden– “Hath Elohim said? Hath Elohim said you shall keep the Sabbath on the seventh day?”

Satan is always looking for ways to cause people to break Yahweh’s commandments. Yahweh said, “Keep the Sabbath day holy.” He didn’t set it apart at creation and ask us to remember it only to tell us later to forget about it and keep some other day. The truth is:

1John 3:4 – Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

If you don’t do what the Law actually says, you are sinning. And that is why Paul said:

Romans 7:7 – What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet.

And I dare say, you will not know Sabbath breaking unless the Law had said, “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” And, therefore, you would not have known the sin of breaking Sabbath except the Law told you so.

The Ten Commandments are clearly referenced here. The Sabbath is included in them. He said we are to remember it, to keep it holy. It is a waste of time to remember the first day of the week, to keep it holy, because it is not holy at all. It isn’t.

When Yahweh set the example for us in Genesis and He rested on the seventh day, He gave Adam, and all of us, an example to follow. We are created in the image of Elohim, and therefore…

Ephesians 5:1 – Therefore be imitators of Elohim as dear children.

Yahushua is the image of the invisible Elohim.

Colossians 1:15 – He is the image of the invisible Elohim, the firstborn over all creation.

Paul said:

1Corinthians 11:1 – Imitate me, just as I also [imitate] Messiah.

1John 2:6 – He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Imitate Paul. Paul kept the Sabbath day. Yahweh kept the Sabbath day. Be imitators of Paul. Be imitators of Yahushua. Be imitators of Elohim.

A servant is not above his master. Yahushua said so. We are not above Him. If He kept the Sabbath day, we do also.

And so, if Yahushua lives in you, bring the abundant blessings in your life by following the footsteps of Him and His apostles by keeping holy the day Yahweh made holy and Yahushua kept holy, and as Isaiah 58 said, you will delight yourself in Yahweh and you will be blessed!

Brothers and sisters, fellow Christians, friends, it is high time men listen to the Father and do exactly what He tells us to do and ignore the excuses of men. It is time that we pay attention and acknowledge the difference between the holy and the common, because Yahweh wants our time more so than ever.

The world gets six days to attack us with its junk. We need the Sabbath day. He appointed a day for us to come together. Let’s do it. Let’s set aside vain tradition and the commandments of men, which, once again, cause the commandments of Yahweh to be of none effect. And let us just do exactly what He told us to do. We will never go wrong doing that.

You see, the enemy loves substitutes– substitute holy days, substitute holidays, substitute names, substitute Sabbath. I call everyone within the sound of my voice to hear this. I say to you, accept no substitutes. The original is always, always the BEST, especially when it comes from the mouth of Yahweh. Accept no substitutes.

And so, my brothers and sisters, may Yahweh bless you, and may Yahweh truly have mercy on us all.