The Sabbath, my views. Part I

Question: What is the Sabbath?

Answer: First and foremost: The Sabbath is not just a law, it’s a Commandment! One of the Ten Issued from God to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 19-23) and written in stone by His own hand!

As has been stated many times before, God made the world in 6 days, and He rested on the seventh day! God did not name the days of the week, He just simply stated that man should work for 6 days and rest on the seventh day, a day that He called the “Sabbath”.

I’m not a Catholic, but they did influence much if not all of early Christianity. After all Catholics are Christians! Very good reading at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14335a.htm

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

http://www.indepthinfo.com/weekdays/index.shtml in particular:
http://www.indepthinfo.com/weekdays/sunday.shtml
“”The actual word "Sunday" is derived from the German word "Sonntag" (and they likely got it from the Scandanavians). These folk too placed a great deal of importance on the sun. Some tribes of these Germanic peoples invaded England in the 500's or so. They were known as the Angles and the Saxons. The old English work was "sunnandaeg" and it changed over time to become our current, "Sunday".””

And from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14335a.htm


“”…During the first and second century the week of seven days was introduced into Rome from Egypt, and the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day. The Teutonic nations seem to have adopted the week as a division of time from the Romans, but they changed the Roman names into those of corresponding Teutonic deities. Hence the dies Solis became Sunday (German, Sonntag). Sunday was the first day of the week according to the Jewish method of reckoning, but for Christians it (Sunday) began to take the place of the Jewish Sabbath in Apostolic times as the day set apart for the public and solemn worship of God.
…
St. Justin is the first Christian writer to call the day Sunday (I Apol., lxvii) in the celebrated passage in which he describes the worship offered by the early Christians on that day to God. The fact that they ment together and offered public worship on Sunday necessitated a certain rest from work on that day. However, Tertullian (202) is the first writer who expressly mentions the Sunday rest: "We, however (just as tradition has taught us), on the day of the Lord's Resurrection ought to guard not only against kneeling, but every posture and office of solicitude, deferring even our businesses lest we give any place to the devil" ("De orat.", xxiii; cf. "Ad nation.", I, xiii; "Apolog.", xvi). …””

http://www.indepthinfo.com/weekdays/saturday.shtml

“”Saturday is the only day of the week that retained its Roman origins in the wake of the English invasions of the Angles and Saxons. This may have been because there was no Norse God to roughly correspond to the Roman God of Time and the Harvest, Saturn. The Anglo-Saxons simply adapted the Roman, "dies saturni", making it saterdaeg.””


The following is quoted from: http://webexhibits.org/calendars/week.html
“”What Is the First Day of the Week?
The Bible clearly makes the Sabbath the last day of the week, but does not share how that corresponds to our 7 day week. Yet through extra-biblical sources it is possible to determine that the Sabbath at the time of Christ corresponds to our current 'Saturday.' Therefore it is common Jewish and Christian practice to regard Sunday as the first day of the week (as is also evident from the Portuguese names for the week days). However, the fact that, for example, Russian uses the name "second" for Tuesday, indicates that some nations regard Monday as the first day.
In international standard ISO-8601 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decreed that Monday shall be the first day of the week.””
Again, an organization of men, not God.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0002065.html and also a larger chart at http://www.12x30.net/origin.html


The Names of the Days of the Week
See also Greek and Roman Mythology and Norse Mythology
NOTE: The seven-day week originated in ancient Mesopotamia and became part of the Roman calendar in A.D. 321. The names of the days are based on the seven celestial bodies (the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn), believed at that time to revolve around Earth and influence its events. Most of Western Europe adopted the Roman nomenclature. The Germanic languages substituted Germanic equivalents for the names of four of the Roman gods: Tiw, the god of war, replaced Mars; Woden, the god of wisdom, replaced Mercury; Thor, the god of thunder, replaced Jupiter; and Frigg, the goddess of love, replaced Venus.

Question: Did God name the days of the week?
Answer: He didn’t, man did! Man used the Latin language to name the days of the week after the Roman Gods. Man named Sunday (Solis in Latin ) for the Sun, and Monday(Lunae) for the Moon. Tuesday (Martis) was named for Mars the Roman god of war. Wednesday (Mercurii) was named for Mercury the messenger god for the Romans. Thursday (Jovis) was named for Jupiter the Greek god who was king of the gods. Friday (Veneris) was named for Venus the Roman god of Love. And, finally Saturday (Saturni) was named for Saturn the Roman god of the Harvest. German language names were substituted for the Latin names for Monday, and Friday. The Old English names were used to identify the Latin (Roman) names for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Question: Why then is any one particular day of the pagan week considered the Holy day of God?
Answer: "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before Sunday was observed by the Christian church as a sabbath. History does not furnish us with a single proof or indication that it was so observed previous to the sabbatical edict of Constantine in 321 A.D." [William Domville Examination of Six Texts]
"In the year 325, Sylvester, Bishop of Rome (AD 314-337), officially changed the title of the first day, calling it the Lord's day." (Lucium, Historia Ecclesiastica, p. 739)

Question: What day, then, should we stop and worship our Lord God?
Answer: After working six days, you take your day of rest. It does not matter if you work the six days from Thursday to Tuesday, then Wednesday would be your seventh day, your day of rest.

Proof: A simple search of any version of Strong's Concordance (printed form or internet) will show that not once in the Bible is any day of the week mentioned. Not Monday, not Tuesday, or Wednesday. Neither is Thursday or Friday mentioned! Saturday or Sunday are never named. Not one of them, not once! Even our “Good Friday” is never mentioned in the New Testament. This one simple fact only goes to prove that God did not name the days of the week!

What God did mention in many, many locations is the Sabbath. (A simple search in Strong's Concordance ( at http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html for example) for Sabbath will once again back me up, Sabbath occurs 137 times in 116 verses). Here’s the one verse that says it all:
Exd 16:26 Six 08337 days 03117 ye shall gather 03950 it; but on the seventh 07637 day 03117, [which is] the Sabbath 07676, in it there shall be none. is about working 6 days and resting on the seventh day or Sabbath day. (blueletter bible.org)

Question: What is the Sabbath to us (Christians)?
Answer: It (the Sabbath) is the seventh day after working six. The Sabbath is The Day of Rest. If one works six days then he should rest the on the seventh day, the Sabbath.


Now why? Why should we work six days and rest on the 7th? The reason is so simple; He created the world in 6 days and He rested on the 7th!

Gen 2:2 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. (blueletter bible.org)

Gen 2:3 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. (blueletter bible.org)

Notice in Genesis 2:2-3 He has not named the seventh day as the Sabbath, He simply refers to it as the “seventh day”. He did not name the Sabbath until Moses was leading them out of Egypt and they had nothing to eat except the Manna that they were picking up.

Exd 16:22 Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, New American Standard Bible © 1995 Lockman Foundation

Exd 16:23 then he said to them, "This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." New American Standard Bible © 1995 Lockman Foundation

So, here’s the first time that the term Sabbath had been used in the Bible. It (Sabbath) was never mentioned in Genesis! It was simply “the seventh day”!

At this time, Moses and the rest of the Hebrews never mentioned any day of the week, ie: Monday, Tuesday etc. In fact, the days of the week are never mentioned in the Bible. Just Six days for work. Rest for everyone and everything on the seventh (Sabbath). Then it would start all over again, just as it does now.


When Moses received the 10 commandments (Exodus 20: 1-17) God actually included the Sabbath as one of the 10.
Exd 20:8 Remember 02142 the sabbath 07676 day 03117, to keep it holy 06942 . (blueletter bible.org)
Exd 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work (NIV)
Exd 20:10 But the seventh 07637 day 03117 [is] the sabbath 07676 of the LORD 03068 thy God 0430: [in it] thou shalt not do 06213 any work 04399, thou, nor thy son 01121, nor thy daughter 01323, thy manservant 05650, nor thy maidservant 0519, nor thy cattle 0929, nor thy stranger 01616 that [is] within thy gates 08179: (blueletter bible.org)
Exd 20:11 For [in] six 08337 days 03117 the LORD 03068 made 06213 heaven 08064 and earth 0776, the sea 03220, and all that in them [is], and rested 05117 the seventh 07637 day 03117: wherefore the LORD 03068 blessed 01288 the sabbath 07676 day 03117, and hallowed 06942 it. (blueletter bible.org)

It is after this that we find that God does indeed intend to enforce the commandment for the Sabbath day.
Exd 31:14 Ye shall keep 08104 the sabbath 07676 therefore; for it [is] holy 06944 unto you: every one that defileth 02490 it shall surely 04191 be put to death 04191 : for whosoever doeth 06213 [any] work 04399 therein, that soul 05315 shall be cut off 03772 from among 07130 his people 05971. (blueletter bible.org)
Exd 31:15 Six 08337 days 03117 may work 04399 be done 06213 ; but in the seventh 07637 [is] the sabbath 07676 of rest 07677, holy 06944 to the LORD 03068: whosoever doeth 06213 [any] work 04399 in the sabbath 07676 day 03117, he shall surely 04191 be put to death 04191 . (blueletter bible.org)
Did He mean it?
Num 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. (blueletter bible.org)
Num 15:33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. (blueletter bible.org)
Num 15:34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. (blueletter bible.org)
Num 15:35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. (blueletter bible.org)

Num 15:36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. (blueletter bible.org)

Now Jesus was reprimanded for ‘work’ on the Sabbath.

Luk 6:1 And 1161 it came to pass 1096 on 1722 the second 1207 0 sabbath 4521 after the first 1207, that he 846 went 1279 through 1223 the corn fields 4702; and 2532 his 846 disciples 3101 plucked 5089 the ears of corn 4719, and 2532 did eat 2068 , rubbing 5597 [them] in [their] hands 5495. (blueletter bible.org)
This was Also in Matthew and Mark



Luk 6:2 And 1161 certain 5100 of the Pharisees 5330 said 2036 unto them 846, Why 5101 do ye 4160 that which 3739 is 1832 0 not 3756 lawful 1832 to do 4160 on 1722 the sabbath days 4521? (blueletter bible.org)


Luk 6:5 And 2532 he said 3004 unto them 846, That 3754 the Son 5207 of man 444 is 2076 Lord 2962 also 2532 of the sabbath 4521. (blueletter bible.org)

Luk 6:9 Then 3767 said 2036 Jesus 2424 unto 4314 them 846, I will ask 1905 you 5209 one thing 5101; Is it lawful 1832 on the sabbath days 4521 to do good 15 , or 2228 to do evil 2554 ? to save 4982 life 5590, or 2228 to destroy 622 [it]? (blueletter bible.org)

continued in part two