The Sabbath was originated from creation. In Genesis 2:1-3 is written “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” God has spent six days creating the Earth and on the seventh day He rested from the work He had created; not because He became weary, for our God “neither slumber nor sleep” Psalm 121:4, but made it a memorial for His divine being and a gift for all humanity.

In Exodus 31:16 it states “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.” God chose a nation that would be separate from the world and its traditions; a peculiar people who were to reflect holiness, they were called Israelites. God has commanded them and all generations after them that His Sabbath would never end, being a perpetual covenant.

In fact Isaiah 66:22-23 states “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” It is evident that we will also be keeping the Sabbath throughout eternity in heaven.

So we may ask ourselves, why do so many say that it is no longer binding. There are three possible reasons we can look at.

The first possible reason; in the New Testament some may reference Colossians 2:16-17 which states “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Assuming when others see “Sabbath days” they may believe it is referencing the seventh day; however, these two verses are being referenced to the “feast days” that were also called “Sabbaths” in Leviticus 23:33-39. God has defined the seventh day sabbath separate from the feast days in Leviticus 23:3,38. A shadow points to something temporary. The feast days were created to point towards Christ death on the cross. On these particular holy days a sacrifice, a burnt offering, a meat offering, and a drink offering had to be presented which represented Christ’s body. Since Christ died and replaced this ordinance with communion in 1 Corinthians 11:24-29, these sacrifices are no longer binding; that is why it states don’t let anyone “judge you” for not keeping these feasts, because they are no longer required.

The second reason that others might reference is found in Colossians 2:14 which states “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;.” The handwriting of ordinances is referring to the sacrificial and ceremonial laws found in the Exodus 12 regarding the Passover, Leviticus 23 regarding the feast days, and Numbers 15 regarding the sacrificial offerings for the sanctuary. All these ordinances were found in the book of the law aka Moses Law. The law consisted of The Ten Commandments written by God’s own finger, which is called God’s Law that was placed inside of the ark (Deut 10:2), and the book of the law aka Moses’s Law filled with ordinances was placed on the side of the ark (Deut 31:26). Many try and blend these two precepts together; however, they were made separate and made for different purposes. The Ten Commandments is the standard for righteousness, it is the foundation of God’s kingdom which is love (Psalm 111:7-8); this is the law that we will be judged by according to James 2:8-13. The handwriting of ordinances regarding the Passover, feast days, and sanctuary ordinances were replaced by Christ found in Heb 9:11-28. This is what Christ came to fullfill (carry out, achieve, set an example, etc.) not to abolish the law, but made the new covenant under better promises in way that would make his law possible for us to keep under grace.

The third reference that many bring up is the resurrection. Many claim that Christ had changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday; however, if so the word of God would have informed us “For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.” Hebrews 4:8. God has already mentioned that he is unchangeable and doesn’t go back on his words. In Psalm 89:34 it states “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” and Malachi 3:6 states “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Where did this change originate? In AD 321 Roman Emperor Constantine established Sundays as a day of rest, and at the Council of Laodicea around AD 365, the Catholic Church made it illegal to “Judaize” or be idle from work on the seventh-day Sabbath. “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day, and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ” (Canon XXIX). Well how do we know that Saturday is the Sabbath? Looking at the Hebrew calendar Saturday falls on Sabbath and if we don’t want to look at the calendar, then let’s look at language instead..

English:Saturday,Sabbath

Arabic: Sabet
Armenian: Shabat
Bosnian: Subota
Bulgarian: Sabota
Corsican: Sàbatu
Croatian: Subota
Czech: Sobota
Georgian: Sabati
Greek: Savvato
Hebrew: Shabbat
Hungarian: Szombat
Indonesian: Sabtu
Italian: Sabato
Latin: Sabbatum
Maltese: is-Sibt
Polish: Sobota
Portuguese: Sábado
Romanian: Sambata
Russian: Subbota
Serbian: Subota
Slovak: Sobota
Slovene: Sobota
Somali: Sabti
Spanish: Sabado
Sudanese: Saptu
Ukranian: Subota

Even in language God made manifest which day was His sabbath so we would not have this confusion. It is interesting enough that God had said in His Ten Commandments “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. So many have forgotten the gift that was given to us, and that how it is our sign to show proof that we belong to Him, and that He is our God. Ezekiel 20:20 “And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” If we don’t like to keep the Sabbath, how would we be able to keep it in heaven? Let us continue to remember the gift of the Sabbath that God has set aside for humanity since creation.