Sabbath Command:

Applicable to Gentiles?

The Sabbath is commanded to be observed by one of the Ten Commandments. (Ex 20:8.) Jesus taught the Law was still to be observed by His disciples. (Matt. 5:17-19.) The Sabbath-command applies to sojourners / foreigners (i.e., Gentiles) just as much to Israel. Deut. 5:12-15; Lev. 25:6; Exo 23:12. (On what part of the Law applies to Gentiles, see our discussion at this link.)

The promise in Isaiah 56 of salvation to Gentiles ("my salvation is about to come", 56:1) was predicated on two things: "keep the Sabbath from profaning it and keep his hand from doing evil." (Isaiah 56:2) or "who keep My Sabbaths, and choose things that please Me, and take hold of my covenant." (Isaiah 56:4,6). Essentially, the salvation of a Gentile -- according to God's word -- turns on obeying the Sabbath and keeping from evil as outlined in His covenant, i.e., taking hold of those commands which apply expressly to sojourners / foreigners. God promises eunuchs in return for obedience that "I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off." (Isaiah 56:5.) God similalry then promises the Gentiles / "foreigners" who similarly obey that "I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer," and "their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar...." (Isaiah 56:7.)

Early Church Was Predominantly Obedient On Sabbath

In obvious reliance upon Jesus (and hence rejection of Paul's abolition of Sabbath), the early church continued to obey Sabbath on Saturday for several hundred years while worshipping either on Saturday or on the Lord's Day - our present Sunday.

The Anti-Nicene church records from 125 A.D. to 325 A.D. clearly show the church's general practice was:

• to keep the rest commanded for Sabbath on Saturday, but they typically also assembled on Sabbath for worship; and
• on what we today call Sunday (and they called the Lord's Day), they did not rest but typically assembled for worship.

Bingham, a Christian scholar, summarizes numerous ancient sources besides Constitutions and confirms this was the overwhelming practice of the early church: "The ancient Christians were very careful in the observation of Saturday, or the seventh day... It is plain that all the Oriental [Eastern] churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as a festival... Athanasius likewise tells us that they held religious assemblies on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, Epiphanius says the same." (Joseph Bingham, Antiquities of the Christian Church (1878) Vol. II, Bk. xx, Ch. 3, Sec. 1, 66. 1137,1136). See also Bingham, Works of Bingham at 542 ("Sabbath of every week was observed in many churches;" Id. at 543 (communion was sometimes on Sabbath but typically on Sunday.) See also Bingham, Antiquities of the Christian Church Vol. IV at 233 (quotes Athanasius again).

This means the Sabbath persisted for these several hundred years despite Paul's pronouncement in 50 AD that the Sabbath was abolished. (See our link on Paul's words doing so.)

When Did The Rules Change?

Then in 321 A.D., Rome at Constantine's urging instituted the observance of a day of rest to their Sun-God, i.e., Sun-Day. (See our link.)

The Roman Catholic Church gradually adopted thereafter Sun-day as a day of rest in place of the traditional Sabbath. As Eusebius explains in his commentary on Psalms, a Sabbath rest should now be on Sunday and "we" (the Roman Church to which he belonged) "transferred" the Sabbath to Sun-day, the Lord's Day:

And all things that were duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's day, as more appropriately belong to it, because it has precedence and is first in rank, and more honorable than the Jewish sabbath." (Robert Cox, Sabbath Literature (1865) Vol. I at 361.) See also, Robert Cox, Literature of the Sabbath Question (1865) at 363.)

It was only in 363 A.D. that the Roman Catholic Church went so far as to make it a heresy and anathema to rest on the Saturday-Sabbath.  At the Council of Laodicea of 363 A.D.—one of the first church councils controlled primarily by the Roman Bishop—it was decided to deem heretical and anathema (cursed) the practice of keeping Sabbath. (Canon 29.)  (Nicene and PostNicene Fathers (1990), supra, XIV at 148.)

The Council claimed Sabbath-keeping was “judaizing.” (See next quote below.) Even though the term "judaizing" is not found in the NT, this was how by 363 AD Roman Catholicism came to describe the enemies of Paul's doctrine in Galatians even as the Catholics now embraced Paul's anti-law positions. The Catholic Church now claimed any effort to follow the Law given Moses (besides faith) severs one from Christ. Hence, Roman Catholicism now wielded as a pejorative term "judaizer" against those who resisted the Roman rulers' decrees that Sabbath as Saturday was abolished in favor of Sun-Day  (Nicene and PostNicene Fathers (1990), supra, XIV at 148.) The decree reads in part:

Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather, honoring the Lord’s day [i.e., Sunday]; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ. Id.

See also Bingham, Antiquities of the Christian Church at 235.

The same history is recounted by the Jewish scholar, Abraham Millgram in Sabbath: Day of Delight (1965). We have typed up his four page discussion of such history at this link.

Yet, many Christians resisted and tried to continue resting on Sabbath as had been the tradition from Christ to the late 300s. In the 500s, Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) actually claimed that anyone who wished to still keep the Sabbath by resting from work besides worshipping on the Lord's Day [i.e., on Sunday] had the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Not only that, the pope, relying upon Paul's words in Galatians 5:2, clearly implied that those observing Sabbath were now cut off from Christ. The pope equated them to persons who must endorse circumcision too for Gentiles -- a red-herring:

"What else can I call these but preachers of the Anti-Christ...he must say too that the commandment of circumcision of the body is to be retained. But let him hear the apostle Paul saying in opposition 'If you be circumcised, Christ profits you nothing.' Gal. 5:2.

Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series (2007) Volume XIII Gregory the Great at 92.

As one can see, the Roman Catholic church knew Paul was its ally to abolish Sabbath to conform to the desires of the Roman state. And this was the period where Rome (the state) wished to do away with Sabbath -- a costly second day of rest during a 7 day week. (Rome could not afford our current 2 days of rest of both Saturday and Sunday.) Rome the state instead required all citizens to worship and rest on Sun-Day (i.e., the day of Sol Invictus, the God-of-the-Sun).

Thus, it was precisely in this period when Paul's writings for the first time were taken very seriously, and were now officially promoted. As Thomas F. Martin in "Vox Pauli," in the Journal of Early Christian Studies says:

"From the mid-300s C.E. to the mid-400s, there was a marked turn towards the figure and theology of Paul, indicated by the flurry of commentaries on Pauline letters written during that period." (Journal of Early Christian Studies - Volume 8, Number 2, Summer 2000, pp. 237-272)

Despite the Western church's late turn towards Paul, the Catholic rulings abolishing Sabbath on Saturday in 363 AD at Rome were never accepted outside of Roman territories. The Eastern Orthodox have always maintained Christians must keep the Sabbath on Saturday while worshipping on Sunday. "Orthodox Christians continue to celebrate Saturday as Sabbath." ("Sabbath in Christianity," Wikipedia.)

For a somewhat shorter PDF version of our article here, click here.

What is the consequence of abandoning Sabbath even though God said it applies to foreigners in community with Israel?

God will only remember His children by those who keep His Sabbaths. (Leviticus 23, Exodus 31:13, Isaiah 56:3-6 and Isaiah 66:22-23)

Daniel 7:25: Prophecy of Changing The Law and Times and Seasons

Some say the Roman Catholic Church is the beast of Daniel because in 363 AD it changed the times and the seasons by moving Sabbath on Saturday to Sunday. See Dan. 7:25. Thus, these same voices --- apparently the Adventist church --- claim anyone resting on Sunday has the mark of the beast. I take no position on those claims. But I do want to address an historically inaccurate rebuttal to such claims.

At a popular website, Sabbath Keepers Refuted, it claims the church never kept Sabbath on Saturday, and if any one set Sunday as Sabbath, it was the Roman government, not the Roman church. Hence, they contend those who obey Sabbath on Sunday do not have the mark of the beast - alleged to be Sunday Sabbatarianism. It claims:

"the universal record of history and the New Testament proves that Christians never kept the Sabbath after the resurrection of Christ." (Sabbath Keepers Refuted, Sabbitarians and Mark of the Beast.)

To repeat, I take no position on whether Sunday-Sabbath is the mark of the beast. Frankly, I highly doubt it. What is clear is the early church often worshipped on Sunday, but it did not rest on Sunday. It rested on Saturday (as well as often worshipped). It was the Roman government that first imposed Sunday as a day of rest. The Roman Catholic Church later joined in urging Christians to CHANGE from resting on Saturday to Sunday. Later the RCC made this a threatening command.

As one can see from the above impeccable scholarly sources and early church historians, the statement Christians "never kept the Sabbath" after the resurrection of Christ is untrue. The opposite is the case. Even as of today, the Eastern Orthodox have two milennia of an unbroken history of keeping the Sabbath on Saturday. The Adventists or whoever make these 'mark-of-the-beast' claims are at least historically accurate.

Sabbath: Is It The 12 Hours From Sunrise Saturday to Sunset?

By the way, it was apparently a late oral tradition in Judaism as a hedge around the Law to start Sabbath rest on the prior evening of Friday. However, the meaning of "Day" in Gen. 1:5 was the daylight portion from sunrise to sunset, and "night" was from sunset to sunrise. Hence, true Sabbath Day rest begins Saturday morning, and ends Saturday at dusk. For an excellent article on this at a website dedicated to this issue, see http://www.12hoursabbath.com Importantly, the author explains that Lev. 23:32 is not support for including the prior evening in the weekly Sabbath rest. That verse instead addresses the Day of Atonement, and how it is measured. Id. The 12 hour sabbath is at 23:3 but the annual 24 hour sabbath is in 23:32 which takes in parts of 2 days, and all of one night.

In agreement, please note that Bingham (quoted above) mentioned that the early Christians rested on "Saturday." There is nothing about adding Friday night to the Sabbath rest. Hence, history confirms Sabbath is Saturday only. And Gen. 1:5 proves this means the daylight period.

A Holy Convocation

The Sabbath Command in Leviticus (unlike in Exodus 20:8) refers to a holy convocation:

³six days is work done, and in the seventh day [is] a sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye do no work; it [is] a sabbath to Jehovah [sic: Yahweh] in all your dwellings. (Lev. 23:3.)

"The original Hebrew word that is translated as "convocation" is (pronounced) mik-raw means a called assembly." (Wayne Blank, "Convocation.")

Hebrews 10:25 may speak to this: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together..."

What is required to assemble in compliance with Leviticus 23:3? One commentator says it is simple:

"We should meet and worship with others." ("How do we keep the Sabbath.")

I would say it is more. Jesus says "where two or tree are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20.)

Where would this be? Jesus said the Temple would soon be no more, and "God is a spirit" (who can be anywhere in Spirit), and God then wants a particular kind of worshipper rather than a place of worship:

²¹Jesus saith to her, `Woman, believe me, that there doth come an hour, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father;

²²ye worship what ye have not known; we worship what we have known, because the salvation is of the Jews;

²³but, there cometh an hour, and it now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also doth seek such to worship him;

²⁴God [is] a Spirit, and those worshipping Him, in spirit and truth it doth behove to worship.' (John 4:21-24.)

Thus, once the Temple would be gone, a convocation would be at least 2 persons meeting in God's name to pray and worship. Anywhere. God is a Spirit, and can be with us even in a small assembly anywhere. After the Temple would be gone, there is no applicable regulation as to place or duration or even an order of worship. The early church predominantly met in open fields or in homes. See our page "Church Structure." Furthermore, there is no command to meet with as many people as possible. A meeting in your home with your spouse / children / a friend complies with the Sabbath command now that the Temple is gone. As long as you are truly worshipping God.

What if you live where you can find no other believers? How do you comply?  I believe that Jesus taught even when you are one by yourself and pray in secret, that the Father still hears and still answers. (Matt 6:6, pray in secret, and father who sees in secret will reward you openly.) Aslo, in the Original Gospel of Matthew reconstructed by Rives, we read:  "Wherever there are two, they are not without God. And wherever there is one alone, I say I am with him." (Matt 18:20, OGM.)

Hence, if you alone are worshipping, is that a holy convocation? I don't see why not. Of course, I would recommend a convocation of at least one other as your aim. This can be with your spouse or child, as long as you pray in spirit and truth, and worship God with praise.

Incidentally, there is no barrier to also worshipping on Sunday. You can do that too. God never says no to more time with us. We can celebrate this as the day of Jesus / Yashua's resurrection.

What is Worship?

Ron Owens in an article "Worship Service: A Hindrance or a Highway for Revival" explains what is Biblical worship and that we are not practicing it by-and-large:

The primary word used in the Old Testament for worship is the Hebrew word shachah. In each of its 170 uses, it has the same meaning: to prostrate oneself, to bow down or stoop. In the New Testament, the Greek word for worship, proskuneo, has virtually the same meaning: to crouch, prostrate oneself, to kiss the hand, do reverence, to adore.

Ironically, worship is never done that way in any modern church or assembly:

Today, we see very little of this attitude of stooping, of humbling oneself in worship. Instead, it seems the church is spending an inordinate amount of time standing and celebrating.

In private worship, I suggest you kneel or bow forward during prayer. If the church you attend does not actually worship God except by the gesture of words, God already said 'they worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.' So perhaps you should find a church that does worship God in a truer sense -- by prostrating yourself while praying. Jesus never refused one prostrating themselves to him. So perhaps start worshipping in your own home where you have no one restricting your worship. There is no rule it must take place in a hall called 'church.' See our article on "Jesus' Words on Church Structure."

A Meditation

For those Christians who obey God's command to rest on Sabbath, here is a Sabbath meditation where God attaches a promise to a Sabbath rest focused upon Him:

"If thou turn away thy foot [on] the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure...not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: [that] thou shalt delight in Yahweh...I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken it." (Isaiah 58:13-14.)

Also, remember this verse:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3.)

Do Good On The Sabbath!

Follow Jesus' example and do good on the sabbath. Perhaps do a mitzvot  -- a good deed.

Justin Martyr in 165 AD wrote in First Apology that after the communion service, "we remind each other of his duty, and the rich relieve the poor, and upon such charitable accounts we visit some or other every day." (First Apology LXXXVI at page 91.) "But the wealthy and the willing, for everyone is at liberty to contribute as they think fitting, [make a collection], and this collection is deposited with the bishop, and out of this he relieves the widow and the orphan, and such as are reduced to want, by sickness or any other cause, and such as are in bonds, and strangers that come from afar...." Id., at 94.)

In conformance with Jesus's commands and the example of the early church, on each sabbath perhaps send a donation to orphans if not visit and care for them in your personal ministry. (I have no affiliation with any of the organizations I recommend below.)

A most deserving ministry is New Life Nicaragua. Watch the video, and  learn the story of the family that started it.

New Life Nicaragua
℅ Evangel Fellowship Intl.
PO Box 326
Conway, SC  29528

Its site explains:

This part is really important. Make your check payable to EFI. Please write on the memo line of your check how you want your money directed. For example, nutrition center or child sponsorship or leadership training etc..

One other in Nicaragua is Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (tax deductible for US Citizens) which runs Christian orphanages in several countries, e.g., Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, etc. Here are images of the happy faces of the children they serve at this link.

The donation page, which takes a credit card is at http://www.nph.org/ws/help/donations.php?lang=en

Their mission statement is at http://www.nph.org/ws/about/mission.php?lang=en and it says:

Another alternative, and one you can do by check with your bill pay, is Orphan Care International (a Christian organization) at http://www.warmblankets.org/ Their mailing address is:

Warm Blankets Orphan Care International
5105 Tollview Drive, Suite 155
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

Also consider helping widows. In the world, as of July 2010, there are estimated to be over 115 million women living in devastating poverty as a result of becoming widows. See this link.

Tips on Celebrating Sabbath

A Jewish website gives you some tips on Shabbat worship, and books to purchase as guides.

You could even have blessings played online if you are not good at Hebrew, and enjoy the prayers in Hebrew as I do. Here is a link from that website -- the files are playable in Mp3 and downloadable as well. If you press "Printable version," it gives you the English equivalent to read yourself.

On that page is the "Shabbat Morning Kadush" -- the audio is a 1 minute audio, sung beautifully.

To conclude "Shabbat," come back at sunset and play the Havdallah blessings which are two: a praise of God (only a printed form) and blessings over the food and wine to prepare for dinner, which has an audio version too.

Incidentally, on the same page is a basic blessing of God to use when you thank God for the bread we eat:

Blessing God For the Bread

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, 
Hamotzi lechem min haaretz.

Our praise to You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, 
Who brings forth bread from the earth. (URJ)

Further Research of All Views on Sabbath

William Armstrong, Is Saturday or Sunday The Christian Sabbath? : A Refutation of Sabattarianism (1880) -books.google.com - relying upon Paul

"When Did Sunday Become the Christian Day of Worship?" (webpage of abcog)  - defends Saturday as Sabbath

Scott Nelson, What Day is the Sabbath (defense of Lunar sabbath view)