The Day of the Sabbath

Question:

Has the Sabbath been lost? Do we truly know which day is the seventh?

Answer:

What evidence will we accept? The majority of Sabbath history is documented in the Bible; will we accept that as authority? Anyone who believes in the Sabbath should not do otherwise, since it is from the Bible that the idea and institution of the Sabbath have come to us.

In the Beginning

“In the beginning,” humanity recognized the Sabbath. The Creator established the Sabbath through three distinct steps. After working for six days, He rested on the seventh day, designating it as God’s day of rest. He then blessed and sanctified this day, setting it apart for all time (Genesis 2:2-3). This day was the seventh in a cycle of days and marked the week, as all days were numbered in relation to it. When God instituted this day, humanity understood its significance. There was certainly no confusion at the beginning.

At the Exodus

Acknowledging, for the sake of making the truth clearer, that humanity may have neglected the Sabbath during the centuries between the Garden of Eden and the Exodus, it is important to note that God did not forget it. The first thing He did when He called His people out of Egypt was to restore the Sabbath, which they, as slaves in sun-worshiping Egypt, were unable to observe.

Additionally, God marked the seventh day each week with a threefold miracle of manna for forty years. He provided a double portion of manna on the sixth day and withheld it on the seventh day, the Sabbath. Manna collected on the first five days would spoil by the following day, but the manna gathered on the sixth day was miraculously preserved for the Sabbath. Israel must have known about God’s Sabbath, as it was ingrained in the very fabric of their nation during those forty years. This account is particularly detailed in Exodus 16.

The following month, God confirmed this holy day by inscribing its written commandment within the heart of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:8-11). This same Sabbath day, grounded in the same principles, is what we find at the very beginning.

At the First Advent

When our Lord came, the Jews were observing the Sabbath on the seventh day with much outward, Pharisaic ceremony. It was burdened with rabbinical tradition to the point that it had become a heavy yoke. From the time of the Exodus to this period, no one claimed that the Sabbath was forgotten. The Jews were still keeping the same day, but in the wrong way. Jesus Christ, in whom dwelled “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” observed this same day. Moreover, He elevated it to a higher purpose, restoring it to its original design as a blessing for mankind, rather than a burden.

Jesus Christ not only observed the Sabbath but also taught the perpetuity and immutability of the law to which the Sabbath belonged, right down to its very details. (See Matt. 5:17-20.) He taught, through both precept and example, complete obedience to that law. (Refer to Luke 4:16; John 15:10; Matt. 19:17.) He died on the cross to uphold its justice and perfection while saving humanity from sin, the very act of transgressing that law. (See 1 John 3:4; Rom. 7:7.) Through His perfect obedience, which is imputed to us, we, as sinners, are counted as righteous by faith. (Refer to Rom. 5:19.) Moreover, through the Spirit, the life of Christ, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in all His children, “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (See Rom. 8:4.)

Surely, God would not leave humanity ignorant regarding one of the essential and important precepts of that law. And indeed, He did not. For when His own heart stilled in death, those who had followed Him and had been taught by Him “rested on the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” (Refer to Luke 23:56.) The next day was “the first day of the week.” (See Luke 24:1; Mark 16:1-2.)

Therefore, at the first advent of Christ and at the beginning of what is often called the Christian church (although that church began with Adam), the Sabbath was known, and the Sabbath day remained the seventh day, just before “the first day of the week.”

Since the First Advent

What evidence is there that the Sabbath has not been lost since biblical times? Is the evidence sufficient to assure us? In response, we would argue that it is overwhelmingly substantial. Here are six considerations and proofs, each one sufficient on its own:

1. The Unreasonableness of the World Losing a Day: It is not uncommon for an individual to lose track of the days of the week. While it is rare for an entire family to do so, it draws attention for years when it happens. But has anyone ever heard of a whole neighborhood, village, city, country, or even the world losing a day and not realizing it? The idea is too absurd to contemplate, especially considering that a significant portion of the world has historically honored the first day of the week as dedicated to the worship of the sun, a practice from pagan times.
2. God’s Care: It is unreasonable to think that God commands observance of an institution, as He does with the perpetual Sabbath command, and then allows the day of the Sabbath to be lost to the world. God has not allowed this to happen.
3. The Jews: At the time of Christ’s first coming, the Jews were very strict about the Sabbath. When they were scattered to various nations after the destruction of Jerusalem, they brought the Sabbath with them. They have continued to observe it, more or less strictly, ever since. Whether in China, America, Russia, Australia, Morocco, Timbuktu, Alaska, England, or India, Jews have been present, marking the seventh day as “the Jewish Sabbath,” even though God gave it to all people. If the Jews in one part of the world had lost track of the day, there would have been discrepancies when representatives from different regions gathered. However, according to the late Rabbi Wise, no such discrepancies have ever been recorded.
4. Custom and History: Nearly all major nations have, at some point, engaged in sun-worship, which influences the naming of the days of the week. A chart created by the late Rev. Wm. Jones of London, with assistance from linguists worldwide, shows that the week and its days are named consistently in 162 languages and dialects, with many referring to the seventh day as the Sabbath or an equivalent term. Additionally, in histories, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and chronological or ecclesiastical tables of significance, Sunday is recognized as the first day of the week, following the seventh. According to authentic history, both ecclesiastical and secular, the order of the days of the week has remained unchanged since God established it through His life, teaching, and death.
5. The Churches: The early church clearly observed the Sabbath. There is no doubt about this. Prof. Edward Brerewood states in his “Learned Treatise of the Sabbath,” published in Oxford in 1631, that “The Sabbath of the seventh day . . . was religiously observed in the East church three hundred years and more
   after our Saviour’s passion.” And down to the year 1000, no other day was referred to as the “Sabbath.” Over time, Sunday, introduced by partially converted sun-worshipers, gradually displaced the Sabbath. Throughout the Christian era, some Christians have consistently observed the Sabbath, and regardless of whether they kept Sunday or the Sabbath, there has historically been no dispute over the day until recent times when arguments arose to evade the force of God’s commandment.
6. Astronomy: The science of astronomy also supports the idea that there has been no lost time. Astronomical records and dates go back as far as 600 B.C. and align with calculations made by contemporary astronomers, confirming that there has been no lost time or change in the order of the week.

Now, dear reader, consider all these evidences. The order of the days of the week has persisted from the beginning to the present. God’s Sabbath remains unchanged.

Every objection that has ever been raised against it, or that could be raised, has been addressed and can be confronted, save one: the requirement of the cross. Observing the Sabbath requires a cross and faith in God. However, Christ will help us bear that cross, and exercising that faith will lead the soul into a larger, clearer, and more fruitful field of heart and life than ever known before. In all of this, we will have Christ Jesus as our Companion, Friend, and Brother.