This wasn't the end however, there was one other observance that was contained in Leviticus 23... This observance was also shouted down from mount Sinai by The LORD Himself! (See Exodus 20:8-10) I'm speaking of the Sabbath day. But this wasn't a problem right? I kept the Sabbath every Sunday. However, as I began studying the law of Moses in the Old Testament, I began to understand that you must take in to account the language and culture of the people at the time the scripture was written to fully understand what The LORD was truly trying to convey. I began to learn that I needed to learn the difference between the Hebrew Yeshua and the Greek Jesus. I also began to learn who God the Father is, but more on that later. We must really look at the scriptures from a Hebrew mindset as they are the principle audience of the entire Bible and Book of Mormon, with some exceptions of latter-day prophecies directed to the gentiles. So the question became, when is the Sabbath day?
Most everyone will say of course it is Sunday, when else could it be? This is where we have to take a few steps back. Before we can determine when the Sabbath day is, we first need to learn what a day is according to The LORD. Remember in Genesis when God declares the evening and the morning was the first day? (Genesis 1:5) Our Greco-Roman calendar we are all familiar with begins and ends the day at midnight, but God's calendar begins and ends the day at sunset.
Next we have to look at the rest of the creation story in Genesis. God created everything in six days and on the seventh He rested and hallowed or set apart this day. Israel has been scattered abroad throughout the nations, but in very recent times has again been able, through the power of God, to return to their native land of Israel. One of the traditions they have maintained throughout their diaspora is the keeping of the Sabbath. When does Israel keep Shabbat (Sabbath in Hebrew)? From Friday evening at sunset to Saturday evening at sunset. Is that all the evidence there is? No, for instance the name of Saturday in Spanish is sábado which also means Sabbath.
But you may say, well it is true in times past that the Sabbath was on Saturday, but Jesus Christ was resurrected on Sunday and then the Sabbath was CHANGED from Saturday to Sunday to honor this wondrous event. Really? While there are some scriptures that are thrown about from the New Testament in attempts to justify this change, if you look carefully at the original language and context, the argument quickly falls apart. Furthermore, the prophecies of how the existence of the Earth itself will play out relies on the six-day premise with a seventh day as a Sabbath or day of rest.
Many will agree that the biblical story from Genesis until today is roughly six thousand years (or days to The LORD see 2 Peter 3:8). The righteous look forward to the Millennial day where the Earth will rest and receive its paradisiacal glory, when? On the First day? On the Eighth day? No, that is absurd, on the SEVENTH day! So with the fact that these prophecies fall apart if the Sabbath day is changed and we learned earlier that God is unchanging there is a problem. When God himself spoke the ten commandments from mount Sinai he didn't stutter, what He said, is what He meant! Therefore, I concluded the Sabbath day is to be observed from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. I justified this initially by the scriptures that stated the Sabbath was made for man, not Man for the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5) This was an attempt to remain in the Church that I had been so involved in for nearly 40 years. So I put this issue on my ever growing "shelf."
YOU ARE READING
My Israel
SpiritualI was moved to write this story in an effort to educate people about God, His laws and how it caused me to separate myself from a religion I practiced for nearly 40 years. I also hope to inspire others to gain an interest and perhaps, as I have obt...
