Why its important to keep the Sabbath

[Reddogs]

We work and take care of what gives us physical substance to stay alive, but God knows that man also needs the spiritual. If all we did was work we would soon waste away in exhaustion of mind and body with no thoughts of our Creator whom we owe our existence or His love for us, to say nothing of His plan of redemption. The Sabbath is important, as in God's final warning messages to the world we find a call to worship the Creator.
Revelation 14:6-7
6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The call to worship in Revelation 14:7 brings us back to the Sabbath Commandment which God set aside specifically for holy purposes:
Exodus 20:8-11
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Throughout the scriptures we can see an emphasis on the recognition of the Creator.
Revelation 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Nehemiah 9:6
Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Psalm 33:6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Psalm 96:4-5
4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

Psalm 121:1-2
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 45:18
For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.

Acts 4:24
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

By keeping the Sabbath holy, as He commanded us, we show our love for Him and give recognition of His authority in our life.
1 John 5:1-3
1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

All the other commandments we can pretend to follow, but the importance of the Sabbath stands out, it is a sign, the standard of God. When he draws his battle line, the true believers put on the armor and choose God, the deceived put on the "traditions" of men and the false doctrines of the rebel who raises his banner of his 'authority'.

The Sabbath cannot be hidden under a bushel, you can hide your idols, swear against God out of hearing of others and love other gods such as sex, money, fame... and no one would know. But like Daniel praying at his window for all to see the Sabbath is a clear display of our love for God when we worship him. Its important...

[RabbiKnife]

So, are you Seventh Day Adventist?

[Fenris]

How did you miss Exodus 31?

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout the generations as an eternal lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’

Sabbath observance was given to Jews and only Jews.

[RabbiKnife]

How did you miss Exodus 31?

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout the generations as an eternal lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’

Sabbath observance was given to Jews and only Jews.

But if we can culturally appropriate a few Jewish… um… badly transliterated Hebrew words and say them with enough phlegm we will sound more Jesussy to prove our eschatological charts.

Remember Fenris…. Some Christians need all Jews to die or be in a war to the point t if annihilation to provoke Jesus to come back so it will suck to be you but it all works out in the end

The greater good and all that…

[Fenris]

But if we can culturally appropriate a few Jewish… um… badly transliterated Hebrew words and say them with enough phlegm we will sound more Jesussy to prove our eschatological charts.

I'm curious how he's going to legalize all this. How does one "keep" the Sabbath? When does it begin and end? So many unanswered questions. It's almost as if one needed a second bible, an "oral law" that was handed down at the same time...

[RabbiKnife]

But if we can culturally appropriate a few Jewish… um… badly transliterated Hebrew words and say them with enough phlegm we will sound more Jesussy to prove our eschatological charts.

I'm curious how he's going to legalize all this. How does one "keep" the Sabbath? When does it begin and end? So many unanswered questions. It's almost as if one needed a second bible, an "oral law" that was handed down at the same time...

You mean like the Roman Catholic Didache???

😱


Maybe you were thinking of something else… oy!

[Fenris]

Maybe you were thinking of something else… oy!

The mysterious and sinister 63 tractate Talmud. Which is really not sinister at all. Judaism being a rules-based religion means that the finer details of those rules need to be examined and concluded upon. The great thing is that the discussion continues into the present day. 

Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993) called "the Rav" by his students, was the dean of Jewish studies at Yeshiva University. He describes the experience of teaching them the Talmud (edited for clarity):

I start the lecture I don't know what the conclusion will be. Whenever I start the lecture, the door opens, another old man walks in and sits down. He is older than I am. All the students call me the Rav. He is older than the Rav. He is the great, the grandfather of the Rav; his name is Reb Chaim Brisker, without whom no lecture on the Talmud can be delivered nowadays. Then, the door opens quietly again and another old man comes in, he is older than Reb Chaim, he lived in the 17th century. What’s his name? Shabsai Kohen - the famous Shach - who must be present when monetary laws are being discussed; when we study the tractates of Bava Metziah, Bava Kamah. And then, more visitors show up. Some of the visitors lived in the 11th century, some in the 12th century, some in the 13th century, some lived in antiquity - Rebbe Akiva, Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam, the Ra'avad, the Rashba, more and more come in, keep coming in. Of course, what do I do? I introduce them to my pupils and the dialogue commences. The Rambam says something, the Ra'avad disagrees. A boy jumps up to defend the Rambam against the Ra'avad. And another jumps up with a new idea; the Rashba smiles gently. I try to analyze what the young boy meant, another boy intervenes, we call upon the Rabbeinu Tam to express his opinion, and suddenly a symposium of generations comes into existence.

I love how he closes his thoughts. "Suddenly a symposium of generations comes into existence". That's what it is like to study the Talmud.

[Reddogs]

Well, the problem is the rabbis came up with their own, 'oral tradition' to supersede and usurp Gods Law. They claimed the oral tradition they gave was above the written word of God, to say nothing of the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, which they loaded with 'traditions' which Jesus denounced..

Matthew 15
King James Version
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.


Here is a good explanation from scholar Alfred Edersheim, the writer of the
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.. "But evidently these are vague statements, with the object of tracing traditionalism and its observances to primaeval times, even as legend had it, that Adam was born circumcised,
[a Midr. Shochar Tobh on Ps. ix. 6. ed. Warshau, p. 14 b;Abde R. Nath. 2.] and later writers that he had kept all the ordinances.

But other principles apply to the traditions, from Moses downwards. According to the Jewish view,
God had given Moses on Mount Sinai alike the oral and the written Law, that is, the Law with all its
interpretations and applications. From Ex. xx. 1, it was inferred, that God had communicated to Moses
the Bible, the Mishnah, and Talmud, and the Haggadah, even to that which scholars would in latest
times propound. In answer to the somewhat natural objection, why the Bible alone had been written,
it was said that Moses had proposed to write down all the teaching entrusted to him, but the Almighty
had refused, on account of the future subjection of Israel to the nations, who would take from them the written Law.

Then the unwritten traditions would remain to separate between Israel and the Gentiles. Popular exegesis found this indicated even in the
language of prophecy. [b Hos. viii 12;comp. Shem. R. 47.] But traditionalism went further, and placed the oral actually above the written Law. The expression, [a Ex. xxxiv. 27.] 'After the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel,' was explained as meaning, that God's covenant was founded on the spoken, in opposition to the written words. [b Jer. Chag. p. 76 d.] If the written was thus placed below the oral Law, we can scarcely wonder that the reading of the Hagiographa was actually prohibited to the people on the Sabbath, from fear that it might divert attention from the learned discourses of the Rabbis."

In The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim treats oral traditions as a central feature at that time, especially within the context of Rabbinic traditionalism. He shows how these traditions were deeply embedded in the religious and social fabric of the time, shaping both Jewish law and the understanding of Jesus’ ministry.

Edersheim emphasizes the prominence of the scribe (grammatae) in New Testament scenes. These learned men were the authoritative interpreters of the Law, trained through formal ordination, and regarded as the ultimate teachers on matters of faith and practice. Their authority was so great that their sayings were to be believed even if they contradicted literal readings of Scripture. This reflects the oral tradition’s authority—the Talmudic and Mishnaic halakhoth (laws) were not only written but also preserved, interpreted, and applied orally across generations.

[Fenris]

Well, the problem is the rabbis came up with their own, 'oral tradition' to supersede and usurp Gods Law. They claimed the oral tradition they gave was above the written word of God

So first of all, no. The oral law does not "supersede" God's law. It defines it and clarifies it.

To go back to my question earlier: How does one keep the Sabbath? When does it begin and end? I look forward to your answers.

[Reddogs]

Well, the problem is the rabbis came up with their own, 'oral tradition' to supersede and usurp Gods Law. They claimed the oral tradition they gave was above the written word of God

So first of all, no. The oral law does not "supersede" God's law. It defines it and clarifies it.

To go back to my question earlier: How does one keep the Sabbath? When does it begin and end? I look forward to your answers.

And yet when the Creator and writer of Gods Law with His own finger came, these proclaimers of these oral laws they made of self, told Christ how the Sabbath was supposed to be kept, do you see the problem with that..

[Fenris]

Still not answering my question.

How does one keep the sabbath?

[Reddogs]

Still not answering my question.

How does one keep the sabbath?

How do you read this words from Christ.. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

[RabbiKnife]

Still not answering my question.

How does one keep the sabbath?

How do you read this words from Christ.. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

How does that answer the question?

So if I worship God only, is it ok with you if I pick Thursday as my day of worship and celebrate the feast of JesusMas, which happens on the third Tuesday of every other month except for the months that end in “Y”?

Including the consumption of mass quantities?

[Fenris]

How do you read this words from Christ.. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

He's quoting Deuteronomy 6:13.

How does one keep the Sabbath?

[Reddogs]

How do you read this words from Christ.. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

He's quoting Deuteronomy 6:13.

How does one keep the Sabbath?

When you come before the Everlasting, Omnipotent, Almighty God who made heaven and earth, I think you can find how to keep His Holy Sabbath made from Creation...

Nehemiah 9:6
Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.