REASONS FOR KEEPING THE SABBATH

יהוה is the Hebrew form of the Name of the Creator. 
According to most scholars, the most probable pronunciation of this Name is Yahweh.
This site uses ‘the Eternal’ when referring to יהוה
THE ETERNAL (יהוה) HIMSELF KEPT THE SCRIPTURAL SABBATH.-
The Eternal made sufficient proof of His regard for the true Sabbath by resting the very first seventh day that ever came to this earth:
The Eternal rested on the seventh day – Genesis 2:2; Exodus 20:11; Exodus 31:17; Hebrews 4:4.
 

The seventh day is the Sabbath: – Exodus 16:26; Exodus 20:10; Exodus 20:11;  Exodus 31:15; Leviticus 23:1; Deuteronomy 5:14

It is plain that the Scriptures teach that the Eternal, Himself kept the seventh-day Sabbath. The first reason for keeping the Scriptural Sabbath is sufficient in itself to settle the whole question now and forevermore. The Eternal Himself kept the seventh-day Sabbath. That is conclusive evidence to substantiate and vindicate our keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath; for who could be wrong or even be accused of doing wrong when he follows the example of the Eternal Himself in keeping the very Sabbath day which He kept.

THE ETERNAL INSTITUTED IT AT CREATION FOR MAN TO KEEP 
 
Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array.
2 And on the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
3 And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all 
His work which Elohim in creating had made.
Exodus 20:11
11 For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה  blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.
The Eternal blessed the seventh day – Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:11.

The Eternal sanctified the seventh day –Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:11

Please notice that the Eternal blessed and sanctified the seventh-day Sabbath at the end of creation. The blessing and sanctification show it was instituted at that time for man to keep.
 
Genesis 2:1-3.
Elohim blessed the seventh day.
The Eternal has said: <I change not> – Malachi 3:6,
and in Him, there <is no variation, neither shadow of turning> – James 1:17.
Consequently, when the Eternal blesses anything, the blessing cannot be reversed – Numbers 23:20, because when the Eternal blesses anything, it shall be blessed forever.
(1 Chronicles 17:27)

The Eternal blessed the seventh day – Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11.

 
According to Webster’s Dctionary “sanctify” means “to set apart to holy use.”
 
The Scriptures state:
 
Genesis 2:3
And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had made - 
(showing the day had already past before He blessed and sanctified it).
Therefore He blessed and sanctified the seventh day then future, answering to the seventh day which had just past on which He had rested.
The above evidence clearly demonstrates the fact that the Eternal Himself has attached the utmost importance to the seventh-day Sabbath by His personal blessing and sanctification, thereby definitely fixing the seventh day for all time as the only and true Sabbath.
The Eternal is the giver of rest, for He says:
 
Exodus 33:14
My Presence does go, and I shall give you rest
The Eternal knows which is  the right day on which to rest in, and He has given man the seventh-day Sabbath as a day of rest:
 
on the seventh day, you rest –Exodus 23:12; Exodus 34:21.
the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest – Exodus 31:15; Leviticus 23:3.
 
The Eternal appointed the seventh day as a Sabbath to be the day of rest from secular work because that in it He Himself had rested from all His work. His rest was not made necessary by fatigue (Isaiah 40:28), but He rested on that day as an example to all men, thus making His rest on the seventh day a reason why men should rest on the seventh day-that man should do as Yahweh had done. Notice the, following texts which prove that the Eternal rested on the seventh day:

Elohim rested on the seventh day – Genesis 2:2; Exodus 20:11; Exodus 31:17; Hebrews 4:4.
 
No wonder in the Nazarene Writings (New Testament) after the stake, the followers of  Messiah rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment – Luke 23:56.
 
The book of Hebrews in the Nazarene Writings positively states that there remains a Sabbath-keeping («Sabbatismos»: keeping of a Sabbath or Sabbath rest) for the people of the Eternal.
 
Hebrews 4:9, 11:9 
4 So there remains a Sabbath-keeping {Sabbatismos: keeping of a Sabbath or Sabbath rest} for the people of Elohim
...
11 Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience {See 3:18}.

So we can see that the seventh-day Sabbath is not man-made but made by the Eternal. It is not only the oldest institution but also the first institution which the Eternal gave to man, it is older than and as significant as the marriage institution. Since the setting apart of the seventh day as the Sabbath day was coincident with the origin of man, the observance of that seventh day as the Sabbath is to be coexistent and coextensive with the duration of man.

THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MANKIND
Yeshua said: The Sabbath was made for man – Mark 2:27.
Man in this text means human beings, mankind. (Cf. Webster) The same word is used in Matthew 4:4; John 1:9.
The Bible does NOT say: The Sabbath was made for the Jews. But it does say:
The Sabbath was made for man!– Mark 2:27.
It also says: The woman was made for the man– 1 Corinthians 11:9.
How could the Sabbath be made for the Jew only when it was instituted at Creation – Genesis 2:1- 3; Exodus20:8-11 – 2,500 years before a Jew existed?
A Jew is a descendant of Judah, according to Young’s Concordance.
 
Notice the Sabbath commandment itself:
 
Exodus 20:8-10
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart. 
9 “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, 
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
{There are other Sabbaths (annual), but this is the weekly Sabbath}.
To whom <your stranger> refer to? It refers to someone who is not a Jew. The Eternal has taken the most scrupulous precautions against such an idea by writing into the fourth commandment the term <your stranger>, one who is not a Jew – Exodus 12:49; Numbers 15:16, 29; Isaiah 56:6-8.
Those who contend that the Sabbath was made only for the Jew will, by the force of their own consistency, have to admit the woman was also made only for the Jew and the Jew is the only man who can have a wife, because the woman was made for the same MAN for whom the Sabbath was made. The Sabbath was given about the same time marriage was given, and it applies to all men the same as marriage applies.
So we can see plainly that the Sabbath is no more exclusively for the Jew than is the marriage institution. The Sabbath is not man-made but made by the Eternal, and it was made for all men in the entire world for all time. It was set apart before the fall, it was made for man, it was made for all.
 
THE ETERNAL COMMANDED MAN TO KEEP THE SABBATH
Notice how many times the Bible repeats Yahweh command for man to keep the Sabbath:
 
Remember the Sabbath day, to KEEP It holy – Exodus 20:13.
Verily my Sabbaths you shall KEEP – Exodus 31:13.
You shall KEEP my Sabbaths – Leviticus 19:30;  Leviticus 26:2.
KEEP the Sabbath day! – Deuteronomy. 5:12.
KEEP my Sabbaths – Leviticus 19:1.
 
What stronger language could be used? The Sabbath which most men are forgetting, that very Sabbath, the Eternal says to <Remember>. The Eternal knew that man would forget His Sabbath. No wonder the fourth commandment, which deals with the Sabbath,  is the only one of all the holy Ten Commandments of the Eternal which begins with <remember>
 
Exodus 20:8-10
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.
9 “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your
cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 
THE ETERNAL COMMANDS MAN TO KEEP NOT ANY DAY BUT THE SEVENTH DAY
The Eternal does not say in His commandment that man is to keep A seventh day, or ANY seventh day, or YOUR seventh day. Nor did the Eternal say to keep the day of  Messiah’s birth, or the day of Messiah’s death, or the day of Messiah’s resurrection. The ONLY weekly day which the Eternal or the Bible definitely and distinctly COMMANDED should be kept is THE SEVENTH DAY  IS THE SABBATH OF יהוה THY ELOHIM (Exodus 20:10). The Scriptures make this plain in the following texts:
 
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim ended His work – Genesis 2:1-3.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim rested – Genesis 2:1-3.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim blessed the seventh day- Genesis 2:1-3.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim had rested – Genesis 2:1-3.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim told us to remember – Exodus 20:8.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim made the Sabbath day – Exodus 20:8.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim made holy – Exodus 20:13; Isaiah 58:13.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim told us to refrain from work – Exodus 20:10.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim made HIS Sabbath – Exodus 20:10.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim rested – Exodus 20:11.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim blessed – Exodus 20:11.
THE SEVENTH DAY – Elohim hallowed – Exodus 20:11.
 
THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH IS THE ETERNAL’S DAY 
All through the Scriptures, we are repeatedly told that The Eternal has a definite and special day . The regard of the Eternal for the Day is stressed in terms of possession. The Eternal shows His possession of His day by calling it: <Sabbath of rest>, <set-apart to יהוה>, <the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim>, or <My day>. Notice the following texts:
 
My holy day – Isaiah 58:13; Nehemiah 9:14; Exodus 31:15; Leviticus 19:3, 30.
the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim – Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14; Leviticus 23:1.
 
Who can doubt the plain statement of the Holy Scriptures when it gives all these Scriptural witnesses to testify that the seventh-day Sabbath is the Day of the Eternal? 
 
THE SABBATH IS THE SIGN BETWEEN THE ETERNAL AND HIS PEOPLE FOREVER
As most articles have their particular brand or trade-mark to establish their genuineness, as every policeman has a badge to vindicate his authority, as every official has his seal to ascertain his identification and power, so the Eternal has a visible mark or sign between Him and His people that forever distinguishes them. The Scriptures plainly state what this sign is:
 
And I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me – Ezekiel 20:12.
And set apart My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you – Ezekiel 20:20.
My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you – Exodus 31:13.
Between Me and the children of Yisra’el {His people} it is a sign forever – Exodus 3:17.  
 
THE SABBATH IS THE ETERNAL’S FLAG
The Eternal has a flag: 
I lift My hand up to the gentiles and set up My banner for the peoples – Isaiah 49:22.
 
A flag is a sign:
They have set up their standards as signs – Psalm 74:4 [Hebrew Names Version]
 
The sign of the Eternal is His Sabbath:
Ezekiel 20:12 – And I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me
Exodus 31:13 – My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations
Exodus 31:17 – Between Me and the children of Yisra’el it is a sign forever. For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.
 
Since Yahweh has a flag – Isaiah 49: 22
And a flag is a sign – Psalm 74:4
And Yahweh’s sign is His Sabbath – Ezekiel 20:12, 20
Therefore the flag of the Eternal is His Sabbath. Things equal to the same things are equal to each other. The Eternal took of the fabric of time and made Himself an ensign for eternity. He made a unit of time by the rolling of a globe, and He called that unit day. He took a handful of days, seven, and made them a week. And of that week He took the last day, the seventh, and made it the Sabbath. -That Sabbath is His sign, His emblem, His flag.
A flag is more than a mere piece of cloth. It is a special piece of cloth consecrated to the definite purpose of signifying all that a government is and has. So is the Sabbath. It is more than merely a day. It is a special day. Like the cloth in a flag, it is a piece of time that has a special significance, being consecrated by the Eternal  Himself to represent His government with all its power, purpose, and privilege. The Sabbath, therefore, is as different from any other day as the flag is different from any piece of cloth. Since the Sabbath is the flag of the Kingdom of the Eternal and we are subjects of His Kingdom, we want to see the home flag flutter because it speaks of the homeland. The flag of the Eternal reminds us that we are strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land (Hebrews 11:13), that our home is far away upon a golden strand. The Sabbath is the Eternal’s flag all the way from Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained and under it will finally rally the faithful who will be gathered from earth’s remotest bounds – Isaiah 11:12.
No other day could take the place of the Eternal’s seventh-day Sabbath to the true Nazarene. Any flag won’t do; neither will any day do. It is nothing short of high treason to disrespect the flag of the Eternal. Men have too long scuffed the Eternal’s flag under their feet. It is high time to rally round the flag of the Eternal and let it wave as our standard forever at any cost, we must be loyal to and true to the Eternal’s flag.  
 
PRESERVING HIS SABBATH IS A PARALLEL TO THE FINAL REDEMPTION OF MANKIND
When Moses endeavoured to persuade Israel in Egypt to keep the Sabbath, Pharaoh made a law against it – Exodus 5:5-9. Therefore the Eternal took Yisrael out of Egypt to keep the Sabbath:
 
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
12 ‘Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart...
13 ‘Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, 
14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim...
15 ‘And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim{Egypt}, and that יהוה your Elohim brought you out from there by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore יהוה your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day
{See Psalm 105:43-45}
We have every assurance that the Sabbath will play a prominent part in the final redemption of mankind in a manner that will be similar to and parallel to the Exodus. Notice the unmistakable evidence from the Scriptures:
 
Isaiah 11:10-12
10 And in that day* there shall be a Root of Yishai {Jesse}, standing as a banner to the people. Unto Him the gentiles {nations} shall seek, and His rest {Exodus 16:23; Hebrews 4:9} shall be esteem {glory, glorious}.
11 And it shall be in that day* that יהוה sets His hand again a second time to recover the remnant of His people {first time at the Exodus, Deuteronomy 5:12-15} who are left, from  Ashshur and from Mitsrayim, from Pathros and from Kush, from Ěylam and from Shinʽar, from Ḥamath and from the islands of the sea.
12 And He shall raise a banner for the nations, and gather the outcasts of Yisra’el, and assemble the dispersed of Yehudah from the four corners of the earth. 
{*THAT DAY-refers to the Great Day of the Lord, the Great Tribulation or the Day of Ya'aqob's Trouble in the end-time}
THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH BEFORE SINAI 
Since so many falsely believe that the Sabbath command did not exist before Sinai, this reason and the proof is of profound significance to the sincere seeker of Scripture Truth. Notice the Scriptural evidence which shows the Sabbath command existed before Sinai:
 
Exodus 16:28-29
28 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “How long shall you refuse to guard My commands and My Torot {plural of Torah, teachings}?
29 “See, because יהוה has given you the Sabbath, therefore He is giving you bread for two days on the sixth day. Let each one stay in his place, do not let anyone go out of his place on the seventh day.
Exodus 16:23
23 And he said to them, This is what יהוה has said, ‘Tomorrow is A REST, A SABBATH
SET-APART to יהוה.
This Scriptural evidence showing the Sabbath commandment was in existence before Sinai is highly creditable, open, above board, and explicit. Notice the following lessons the Eternal taught His people there that day concerning the Sabbath:
 
               1. What day it is – Exodus 16:26
               2. What it is – Exodus 16: 23
               3. How to prepare for it – Exodus 16:23, 26
               4. How it should be kept – Exodus 16:30
               5. With what it is associated – Exodus 16:29
               6. Who gave it to man – Exodus 16: 29
 
THE TEN COMMANDMENT LAW WILL STAND FOREVER
 
Psalms 111:7-8
7 The works of His hands are truth and right-ruling, All His Orders{commandments} are trustworthy,
8 They are upheld forever and ever, Performed in truth and straightness.{See 119:152}
To prove that <His commandments> in this quotation refer to the Ten Commandment Law which contains the Sabbath, we call to your attention the expression <works of His hands>. The only commandments which were the works of the Eternal’s hands and in fact the only thing that the Eternal ever wrote with His own hands according to the Scriptures, are the Ten Commandments. Notice the following text:
 
Deuteronomy 4:13
13 And He made known to you His covenant which He commanded you to do, the Ten Words, and He and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. {See Exodus 31:18; 34:1}
THE ETERNAL WOULD NOT CHANGE HIS LAW
יהוה would not change it:
 
Malachi 3:6
6 “For I am יהוה, I shall not change
יהוה forbade man to change it:
 
Deuteronomy 4:2
2 “Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it, so as to guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you. {See 12:32}
Messiah taught that the Torah remained unchanged:
 
Mathew 5:17-18
17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets {The Law and the Prophets is a  term used for the pre-Messianic Scriptures or the Old Teastament} I did not come to destroy
but to complete.
18 “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.
{See Luke 16:17}
Paul, James, and John taught the Torah remained unchanged:
 
Romans 3:31
31 Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.
Romans 2:13
2:13 For not the hearers of the Torah are righteous in the sight of Elohim, but the doers of the law shall be declared right. 
James 2:8, 10
8 If you truly accomplish the sovereign law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself", you do well
10 For whoever shall guard all the Torah, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
{See 1 John 2:4; 5:1}

WHOEVER ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE THE ETERNAL’S LAW IS AGAINST THE ETERNAL
For anyone to attempt to change the Eternal’s Holy Torah, it would seem to the true Nazarene like the touch of a profane hand upon the ark of the Eternal.  In spite of this, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and man has attempted to change Yahweh’s Torah; notice what the Scriptures state concerning this high treason:

Daniel 7:25
25 and it speaks words against the Most High, and it wears out the set-apart ones of the Most High, and it intends to change*appointed times
 {*a term for Festivals; changing the law amounts to lawlessness}

Isaiah 24:5
5 For the earth has been defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the Torot {Torot - plural of Torah, teaching}, changed {Jeremiah 23:36} the law, broken the everlasting {Exodus 31:16} covenant.
{See Zephaniah 3:14; Ezekiel 22:26}
This is the only reason, according to all Scriptures, why the earth shall be burned in the day of judgement – See 13:9, 13:11, 26:21, 66:24, Micah 5:15, Zephaniah 1:2-18.

THE ETERNAL IS AGAINST THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST HIS TORAH

Isaiah 5:24
24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, their root is as rottenness, and their blossom goes up like dust – because they have rejected the Torah of יהוה 
Matthew 5:19
19 Whoever, then, breaks ONE of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens
Proverbs 28:9
9 He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, Even his prayer is an abomination
{See Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 30:9; Jeremiah 6:19}.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE THE ETERNAL’S CHARACTER
The Torah (teaching) which contains the Sabbath contains the same great eternal qualities of יהוה Himself. The CLOSE RELATIONSHIP existing between יהוה and His Torah (teaching) is demonstrated below to a mathematical nicety:
 
1. יהוה is JUST – Romans 3:26 HIS Torah is JUST – Romans 7:12
2. יהוה is TRUE – John 3:33 His Torah is TRUE – Nehemiah 9:13.
3. יהוה is PURE – 1 John 3:3 His Torah is PURE – Psalm 19:7, 8
4. יהוה is LIGHT – 1 John 1:5 His Torah is LIGHT – Proverbs 6:23.
5. יהוה is FAITHFUL – 1 Corinthians 1:9 His Torah is FAITHFUL – Psalms 119:86.
6. יהוה is GOOD – Nahum 1:7 His Torah is GOOD – Romans 7:12, 16.
7. יהוה is SPIRITUAL – John 4:24 His Torah is SPIRITUAL – Romans 7:14.
8. יהוה is HOLY – Isaiah 6:3, 1 Peter 1:15 His Torah is HOLY – Ex 20:8, Rom 7:12.
9. יהוה is TRUTH – John 14:6 His Torah is TRUTH –
Psalms 119:142, 151.
10. יהוה is LIFE – John 14:6 His Torah is LIFE – Matthew 19:17.
11. יהוה is RIGHTEOUSNESS –
Jeremiah 23:6		 His Torah is RIGHTEOUSNESS –
Psalms 119:172.
12. יהוה is PERFECT – Matthew 5:48 His Torah is PERFECT – James 1:25.
13. יהוה is ETERNAL – John 8:35 His Torah is ETERNAL – Psalms 111:7,8.
14. יהוה is PEACE – Isaiah 9:6 His Torah is PEACE – Psalm 119:165.
15. יהוה is THE WAY – John 14:6 His Torah is THE WAY – Psalm 119:30-32
16. יהוה is SURE – 2 Timothy 2:19 His Torah is SURE – Psalm 19:7, 111:7,8
17. יהוה is UNCHANGING –
Malachi 3:6

His Torah is UNCHANGING –
Psalms 111:7, 8

18. יהוה is SWEET – Psalms 34:8 His Torah is SWEET – Psalm 19:10, 119:103
19. יהוה is WISE – Psalms 111:10 His Torah is WISE – Psalm 19:7
20. יהוה is OUR MEDITATION – Psalms 63:6 His Torah is OUR MEDITATION – Psalm 1:2
21. יהוה is JUDGE – Psalms 50:6  His Torah is JUDGE – James 2:12 
22. יהוה is ENLIGHTENMENT – Psalms 18:27  His Torah is ENLIGHTENMENT – Psalm 19:8 
23. יהוה is LOVE – 1 John 4:7, 8  His Torah is LOVE – Romans 13:10
24. יהוה is CLEAN – Psalms 19:9  His Torah is CLEAN – Ezekiel 22:26 
25. יהוה is BLESSED – Psalms 28:6  His Torah is BLESSED – Exodus 20:11 
26. יהוה is DELIGHT – Psalm 37:4  His Torah is DELIGHT – Psalm 1:2 
27. יהוה is WONDERFUL – Isaiah 9:6  His Torah is WONDERFUL – Psalm 119:18 
28. יהוה is LIBERTY – Isaiah 61:1  His Torah is LIBERTY – James 1:25, Psalm 119:45 
29. יהוה is COMFORT – Psalm 23:4  His Torah is COMFORT – Psalm 119:50 
30. יהוה is OUR SONG – Revelations 15:3  His Torah is OUR SONG – Psalm 119:54 
31. יהוה is MERCIFUL – Exodus 34:5 His Torah is MERCIFUL – Psalm 119:58
32. יהוה is KNOWLEDGE – Isaiah 11:2 His Torah is KNOWLEDGE –
Psalm 119:66
33. יהוה is HOPE – Psalm 130:7 His Torah is HOPE – Psalm 119:74
34. יהוה is LIFE – Psalm 36:9 His Torah is LIFE – Proverbs 3:1,2
35. יהוה is SOUND – Proverbs 8:13-14 His Torah is SOUND – Psalm 119:80
36. יהוה is UNDERSTANDING – Psalms 147:5 His Torah is UNDERSTANDING – Psalm 119:99
37. יהוה is HAPPINESS- Psalms146:5 His Torah is HAPPINESS – Proverbs 29:18
38. יהוה is JOY – Psalms 16:11 His Torah is JOY – Psalm 119:162
The Torah of  יהוה manifests His qualities to such an extent that He identifies Himself with His law by calling it the <Royal Law> – James 2:8-12.
 

THE STANDARD BY WHICH THE ETERNAL’S FINAL JUDGEMENT WILL BE MADE
The Torah of the Eternal which contains His Sabbath will be the standard of His Judgement. Notice the following Scriptural evidence:

Romans 2:12
...judged by the Torah  
{See James 2:8-13;  Ecclesiastes 12:12,13}
THE PATRIARCHS KEPT THE TEN COMMANDMENT LAW
 
Genesis 26:5
5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and guarded My Charge: My commands, My laws, and My Torot {plural of Torah, teaching}{See 4:3}
Some seem to think the Ten Commandment Law or the Eternal’s law was not in existence before Sinai. The above text shows such an objection is not an explanation but merely an excuse a self-evident falsity. Such an opinion runs counter to facts.
To those who question the existence of the TEN COMMANDMENTS in the PATRIARCHAL AGE we submit the following:
1. Genesis 14:19, 20; 17:1, 9; 35:2-4
2. Genesis 31:19; 30-36; 35:2,4
3. Jude 1:14, 15; 2 Pet 2:6-8
4. Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 5:5
5. Genesis 9:22; 22:7,8
6. Genesis 27:42; 37:21; 4:8-12; 4:23,24; 6:11; John 8:44
7. Genesis 16:4, 5; 19:32-38; 20:1-8; 26:10, 11 34:2-7; 39:9 2:21-25 Jude 1:7
8. Genesis 21:25
9. Genesis 20:1-8 12:18,19 27:24 34:13 37:30-33; 3:4,5 21:23 John 8:44
10. Genesis 30:1 John 8:44
 
THE WRITERS OF THE SCRIPTURES UPHELD THE LAW
ABRAHAM: Kept My commandments – Genesis 26:5.
MOSES: Remember the SABBATH DAY to keep it holy – Exodus 20:8.
NEHEMIAH: Keep My commandments – Nehemiah 1:9; 9:13,14.
JOB: Receive the law – Job 22:22.
DAVID: I shall keep Thy law – Psalm 119:34.44,55; 78:1.
SOLOMON: Whoso keeps the law is a wise son – Proverbs 28:7; 29:18.
ISAIAH: Blessed is the man that keeps the Sabbath – Isaiah 56:2.
EZEKIEL: They shall keep My laws and hallow My Sabbaths – Ezekiel 44:24.
DANIEL: Keep His commandments – Daniel 9:4.
MATTHEW: Keep the commandments – Matthew 19:17.
JOHN: He that hath My commandments, and keeps them he loves Me! – John 14:21.
PAUL: Keeping of the commandments – 1 Corinthians 7: 19; Romans 3:31; 7:6,7.
JAMES: Keep the whole law – James 2:10.
MESSIAH’S CONGREGATION: Keep the commandments! – Revelation 12:17; 14:12.
RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE: Do His commandments! – Revelation 22:14.
ANGELS: Angels do His commandments – Psalm 103:20.
YESHUA: I have kept my Father’s commandments – John 15:10.
YESHUA: If you love Me keep My commandments –  John 14:15.
YESHUA: Keep the commandments! – Matthew 19:17.
 
Please notice the sum and substance of the whole matter as stated by the Bible
itself:
CONCLUSION:
 
Ecclesiastes 12:13
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the entire matter: Fear Elohim and guard His commandments, for this applies to all mankind!
THE LAW OF THE ETERNAL IS ENDORSED BY THE NAZARENE WRITINGS.-
Some seem to think the Nazarene Writings do not endorse the Ten Commandments. Upon what grounds are such decisions based? The facts bear sufficient witness to prove beyond all reasonable doubt or question that the New Testament, as shown below, not only endorses the Ten Commandments, the fourth of which is the seventh-day Sabbath but repeats many of them verbatim.
 
A. Yeshua Kept The Ten Commandments
Commandment 1
Matthew 4:10; 6:24; 6:33; 10:32-33; 10:37-38; 14:33; 19:17; 22:37.
Mark 8:33; 12:24-32 Luke 2:14 Luke 4:8.
Luke 1:16;4:8; 11:2;12:8,9; 12:14; 12:31.
John 4:34; 11:25; 17:3; 19:15.

Commandment 2
John 4:24

Commandment 3
Matthew 6:9-10; 12:31-32; 15:19; 27:29; 27:39-43.
Mark 3:28-29; 7:22; 14:65; 15:18-19.
Luke 11:2; 12:10; 19:3; 22:64-65; 23:36-37; 23:39.
John 19:3.
 
Commandment 4
Matthew 12:1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12; 24:20, 28:1
Mark 3:4  16:9; Mark 16:2
Mark 16:1; Mark 6:2; Mark 1:21; Mark 2:28
Mark 2:27; Mark 2:24; Mark 2:23; Mark 3:2
Mark 15:42; Luke 4:31; Luke 13:10; Luke 6:9
Luke 6:7; Luke 6:6; Luke 6:5; Luke 6:1
Luke 4:16; Luke 13:15; Luke 13:16; Luke 6:2
Luke 14:1; Luke 14:3; Luke 14:5; Luke 18:12
Luke 23:54; Luke 23:56; Luke 24:1; Luke 13:14
John 19:31; John 20:1; John 9:16; John 9:14
John 7:22; John 5:18; John 5:10; John 5:9
John 7:23; John 20:19
 
Commandment 5
Matthew 19:18,19; Matthew 15:3,4; Matthew 12:31; Mark 10:19
 
Commandment 6
Matthew 21:38; Matthew 27:22,23; Matthew 27:20; Matthew 27:3-5
Matthew 27:1; Matthew 26:59; Matthew 5:21; Matthew 26:14-16
Matthew 26:4; Matthew 24:9; Matthew 27:35; Matthew 23:31
Matthew 26:66; Matthew 20:18,19; Matthew 17:23; Matthew 14:8,10
Matthew 11:12; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 10:21; Matthew 22:6
Matthew 19:18; Matthew 15:19; Matthew 23:34,35; Matthew 26:52
Mark 12:5; Mark 7:21; Mark 10:19; Mark 3:6
Mark 6:16; Mark 6:19; Mark 10:33,34; Mark 12:7,8
Mark 13:12; Mark 15:20; Mark 9:31; Mark 15:24
Mark 14:1; Mark 15:13-15; Mark 14:64; Mark 14:55
Mark 14:21; Mark 14:10,11; Mark 6:24-27; Luke 22:2
Luke 10:30; Luke 18:20; Luke 9:9; Luke 24:7
Luke 23:33; Luke 23:23; Luke 22:5,6; Luke 20:19; Luke 20:14; Luke 19:47; Luke 18:33; Luke 13:31
Luke 11:47-51; Luke 9:22; Luke 4:29; Luke 12:4,5
John 19:6,7; John 16:2; John 8:44; John 13:2
John 7:19,20; John 19:15; John 7:1; John 8:37
John 12:10; John 11:50

Commandment 7
Matthew 12:39; Matthew 19:9,18; Matthew 15:19; Matthew 5:27-32
Matthew 14:4; Matthew 5:8; Matthew 16:4; Mark 6:18
Mark 8:38; Mark 10:2-12; Mark 7:21; Mark 10:19
Luke 16:18; Luke 7:37; Luke 15:30; John 8:3,4

Commandment 8
Matthew 19:18; Matthew 23:14; Matthew 21:38; Matthew 21:12,13
Matthew 6:19,20; Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:22; Mark 10:19
Mark 12:40; Mark 11:17; Luke 18:20; Luke 19:46
Luke 3:13; Luke 19:8; Luke 10:30; Luke 20:14
John 2:16

Commandment 9
Matthew 7:15; Matthew 27:63; Matthew 26:69-75; Matthew 26:34, 35
Matthew 26:24, 25; Matthew 26:14, 16 Matthew 24:23, 24; Matthew 28:13;
Matthew 11:18, 19; Matthew 27:12, 13; Matthew 24:10, 11; Matthew 26:59, 60; Matthew 19:18 Matthew 5:11; Matthew 5:33; Matthew 15:19
Matthew 24:4; Matthew 26:48; Mark 13:21, 22; Mark 10:19
Mark 13:22; Mark 3:22; Mark 7:22; Mark 13:12
Mark 14:1; Mark 14:10, 11; Mark 14:21; Mark 14:30, 31
Mark 14:41; Mark 14:66-72; Mark 15:3, 4; Mark 14:56, 57
Mark 13:5, 6; Luke 22:5, 6; Luke 22:54-62; Luke 19:8
Luke 20:20; Luke 6:22; Luke 22:21; Luke 21:16
Luke 6:16; Luke 7:33, 34; Luke 11:15-20; Luke 21:8
Luke 22:34; Luke 23:2; John 3:19-21; John 13:2
John  8:44, 55; John 10:20; John 18:25-27; John 6:71
John 18:17; John 13:38

Commandment 10
Matthew 26:14-16; Matthew 19:22; Matthew 21:38; Matthew 5:28
Mark 4:19; Mark 7:22; Mark 12:7, 8; Mark 14:10, 11
Mark 10:22; Luke 11:39; Luke 12:16-21; Luke 12:15
Luke 16:14; Luke 16:19-22; Luke 18:23; Luke 19:8
Luke 20:14; Luke 22:5, 6; John 8:44;  John 2:16

B. Shaul (Paul) Kept The Ten Commandments
Commandment 1.
Acts 24:14 Acts 27:23 Romans 1:21-32 Romans 1:9
Romans 3:30 Romans 3:18 1 Corinthians 14:25 1 Corinthians 8:4,6
1 Corinthians 10:20,21 2 Corinthians 6:15 Ephesians 4:6 Philippians 3:19
Philippians 3:3 Colossians 2:18 1 Thessalonians 1:9 2 Thessalonians 2:4
1 Timothy 1:17 1 Timothy 2:5 1 Timothy 1:3 2 Timothy 3:4
Hebrews 12:28 Hebrews 9:14 Hebrews 3:12

Commandment 2
Acts 15:20, 29; Acts 19:35; Acts 17:16, 29; Acts 21:25
Romans 2:22; Romans 11:4; Romans 1:23; Romans 11:4
1 Corinthians 10:7, 14; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 10:20, 21; 1 Corinthians10:19
1 Corinthians 5:10, 11; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Galatians 5:20; Ephesians 5:5
Colossians 3:5; Colossians 5:21; 1 Thessalonians 1:9

Commandment 3
Acts 18:6; Acts 26:11; Romans 2:24; Colossians 3:8 1 Timothy1:13;
1 Timothy 6:1; 1 Timothy 1:20;
2 Timothy 3:2; Titus 2:5

Commandment 4
Acts 13:42Acts 20:7 Acts 18:4-11 Acts 17:2
Acts 16:13Acts 13:44 Acts 13:27 Acts 13:14
Acts 15:211 Corinthians 16:2 Hebrews 4:4,9

Commandment 5
Romans1:30; Ephesians 6:2; Colossians 3:20; 1 Timothy 5:4
1 Timothy3:12; 1 Timothy 3:4 2; Timothy 3:2

Commandment 6
Romans3:15; Romans 11:3; Romans 1:29; Romans 13:9
Galatians5:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; 1 Timothy 1:9 

Commandment 7
Acts 15:20; Acts 15:29; Romans 1:29; Romans 2:22
Romans 7:2,3; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 6:13; 1 Corinthians 6:18
1 Corinthians 7:2; 1 Corinthians 10:8,10; 1 Corinthians 5:9; 1 Corinthians 5:1
1 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 6:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9
1 Corinthians 10:11,13; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3,5
Ephesians 5:23,33;  Colossians 3:18,19;  Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3
1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Timothy 1:10; 1 Timothy 3:12; 2 Timothy 3:6
Titus 2:4,5; Titus 1:6; Hebrews 13:4; Hebrews 12:16

Commandment 8
Romans 13:9; Romans 2:21; Romans 2:22; 1 Corinthians 6:8
1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Corinthians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 11:8; Ephesians 4:28
1 Thessalonians 4:6; 1 Timothy 1:10

Commandment 9
Acts 13:6; Romans 3:4; Romans 3:13; Romans 13:9
Romans 1:25; 1 Corinthians 6:8; 2 Corinthians 11:13; 2 Corinthians 11:31
2 Corinthians 11:3; Galatians 1:20; Galatians 1:6-8; Ephesians 5:6
Ephesians 4:25; Ephesians 4:14; Colossians 3:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:3
1 Thessalonians 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:11; 1 Timothy 2:7; 1 Timothy 4:2
1 Timothy 6:10, 21; 1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 2:18; 2 Timothy 4:4
2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:2; Titus 2:3
Hebrews 6:18

Commandment 10
Romans 13:14; Romans 7:7; Romans 13:9; Romans 1:24
Ephesians 4:19, 22; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:3, 8
1 Timothy 6:10; 1 Timothy 6:9; 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Timothy 3:6
2 Timothy 2:22; 2 Timothy 3:2; Titus 2:12; Titus 3:3; Hebrews 13:5
 
C. The Ten Commandments In Revelation
Commandment 1
Revelation 21:3; Revelation 22:9; Revelation 21:22; Revelation 13:4
Revelation 19:4, 10; Revelation 4:8-11; Revelation 5:14; Revelation 7:13-17
Revelation 11:16; Revelation 22:3
 
Commandment 2
Revelation 22:15; Revelation 9:20; Revelation 13:14, 15; Revelation 14:9,11
Revelation 15:2; Revelation 16:2; Revelation 21:22; Revelation 21:8
Revelation 2:20; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 2:14; Revelation 20:4
 
Commandment 3
Revelation 2:9; Revelation 13:1, 5, 6; Revelation 17:1-5; Revelation 16:9
Revelation 16:11, 21
 
Commandment 4
Revelation 14:7
 
Commandment 5
Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12; Revelation 22:14 (Matt 17:17-22)
 
Commandment 6
Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:15; Revelation 2:13; Revelation 6:8-10
Revelation 11:7; Revelation 12:4; Revelation 13:15; Revelation 18:24
Revelation 17:6; Revelation 19:2; Revelation 9:21
 
Commandment 7
Revelation 2:14; Revelation 2:20-22; Revelation 9:21; Revelation 14:8; Revelation17:15, 16 Revelation 18:3, 9; Revelation 19:2; Revelation 22:15
Revelation 21:2; Revelation 17:1-5; Revelation 21:9; Revelation 21:8
 
Commandment 8
Revelation 3:11; Revelation 9:21
 
Commandment 9
Revelation 18:23; Revelation 13:14; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 21:8
Revelation 2:2; Revelation 20:3, 8; Revelation 22:15; Revelation 3:9
Revelation 21:27; Revelation 20:10
 
Commandment 10
Revelation 7:13-17; Revelation 18:9-19; Revelation 9:21

YESHUA THE MESSIAH SUPPORTS THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
The following evidence is not only richly suggestive but affords striking testimony in favour of the seventh-day Sabbath law.
The Messiah came not to destroy the law – Matthew 5:17.
The Messiah testifies to the perpetuity of the law – Matthew 5:17-19
The Messiah came to magnify the law, and make it honourable – Isaiah 42:21
The Messiah kept His Father’s commandments – John 15:10
The Messiah is our example. We are to keep what He kept – I Peter 2:21. I John 2:6
The Messiah said: if you want to enter into life, obey the commandments – Matthew 19:17-19

By their association together in the Scriptures, the Nazarene Writings (New Covenant) as well as the Tanach (Old Covenant), the words TORAH (teaching) and COMMANDMENTS are interchangeable and have the same meaning. (see Genesis 26:5; Exodus 16.28; 24:12; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 17:37. 2 Chronicles 14:4; 19:10; 31:21; Ezra 10:3; Nehemiah 9:13, 29, 34; Proverbs 3:1; Matthew 19:17, 18; Luke Romans 13:8, 9: James 2:8-10)
 
THE RENEWED COMMANDMENT OF MESSIAH LEADS TO THE KEEPING OF THE SABBATH

The Renewed Commandment is worthy of attentive study and careful consideration. Here is Messiah’s renewed commandment:

John 13:34
34 “A renewed command I give to you, that you love one another {see John 15:12; 1John 3:23; 4:21}

{Some translations render this verse as “a new command I give you, that you love one another”. This command is already given in Leviticus 19:17-18. Yeshua is giving a renewed command and not a new one}

The Renewed Commandment does not do away with the Eternal’s Ten Commandments according to the Scriptures. Notice what the Renewed Commandment leads the true Nazarene to do:

2 John 1:5-6
5 And now I ask you, Kuria, not as though I wrote a fresh command to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 
6 And this is the love, that we walk according to His commands.1 This is the command, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

1 John 5:2-3
2 By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. 
3 For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy

Yeshua Himself did not teach the renewed commandment was the ONLY commandment that man should keep.  Messiah said:

John 14:15
15 If you love Me, you shall guard my commands.

Of which commands did Yeshua speak? “Which? Yeshua said:

(Matthew 19:18-19)
YOU DO NOT MURDER,
YOU DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,
YOU DO NOT STEAL,
YOU DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,
RESPECT YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER
YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF
These commandments are contained in the TEN COMMANDMENTS which also contain the SABBATH. In this passage, Yeshua did not command the keeping of any of the first four commandments. Is that any reason for man to break them? Is that any reason for man to worship idols, curse the Eternal or break His Sabbath? “Is the silence of the Eternal’s New Testament servants in the valleys of Judea more weighty than the thundering of the Eternal Himself on Mt. Sinai? The answer is no.

These with the other four are the commandments of which Yeshua was speaking when He said:
 
If you wish to enter into life, guard the commands – Matthew 19:17-19;  Exodus 20
 
Since the Eternal is love (1 John 4:8) and the whole gospel is based on love (1 Corinthians 13). Since Yeshua has said, <If you love Me, guard My commands>, we understand that love is the basic factor of  Nazarene belief and that Yeshua, stresses love in His Renewed Command. No wonder the Renewed Command, which is the real essence of the whole Ten Commands, was given. This agrees with the following text: Love is the completion {Greek, fullness} of the Torah (Romans 13:10).

YESHUA THE MESSIAH THE SON OF THE ETERNAL KEPT THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH ALL HIS LIFE
If anybody would know which was the right Sabbath day to keep, surely it would be
Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of Yahweh, and He kept the seventh-day Sabbath all His life: 

Luke 4:16, 
16 And He came to Natsareth, where He had been brought up. And according to His practice, He went into the congregation on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

The custom of the world is not the custom of Yeshua. The custom of the world causes men to keep any day, but the custom of Yeshua caused Him to keep THE Sabbath day-the very day that His Father kept at creation (Genesis 2:1-3). If it was good enough for Yeshua, it should be good enough for us. I am confident of one thing and of this thing there can be no doubt or question: It was the custom of Yeshua to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

Capernaum congregation (synagogue) :

Mark 1:22 And they went into Kephar Nahum, and immediately on the Sabbath He went into the congregation and taught.

Nazareth congregation(synagogue):

Luke 4:16
16 And He came to Natsareth, where He had been brought up. And according to His practice, He went into the congregation on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

His attendance:

Matthew 12:9
9 And having left there, He went into their congregation.

Luke 13:10; 6:6
10 And He was teaching in one of the congregations on the Sabbath,
6:6 And it also came to be on another Sabbath, that He entered into the congregation and taught
Mark 6:22 And Sabbath having come, He began to teach in the congregation.
Yeshua is the great example of every Nazarene. What He did we are supposed to do.
Notice how plain the Scriptures makes this:
 
I Peter 2:21
21 For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps
1 John 2:6
6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.
Since Yeshua is our example and He kept the seventh-day Sabbath, who dare accuse anyone who follows the example of the Eternal Himself (Genesis 2:10 ) and the Son of the Eternal Himself (Luke 4:16) in keeping the very Sabbath day which They kept?  
 
YESHUA THE MESSIAH KEPT THE SABBATH AFTER THE STAKE
It is a matter of common knowledge that after being impaled, Yeshua rested in the grave. The Eternal rested on the seventh day at creation, and Yeshua, the Son of the Eternal, rested on the seventh day at redemption. Both in life and death Yeshua honoured the Sabbath.
He lay there before the Sabbath – Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:52-56.
He remained there until after the Sabbath was past – Matthew 28: 1: Mark 16:1, Luke 24:4, 6.
Messiah’s life climaxed in keeping the Sabbath. It was His custom to keep it all His life and it was the last thing He did before He arose from the grave and went to His Father. Since it was the last thing that Messiah did, if it is the last thing we ever do, we should keep the Sabbath. Messiah, while on earth, always kept the seventh-day Sabbath. It was His custom to do so. His first sermon was on the Sabbath. During His life’s record, we have no mention of any other day but the seventh as the Sabbath.
It seems very significant that Yeshua, during His ministry instructing His disciples, often discussing the Sabbath with them and freeing it from its false burdens, making it a day of rest rather than a day of arrest, never once alluded to any change of the Sabbath to Sunday. Moreover, there is not the slightest intimation of any change during the forty days of His resurrection. There is not a hint in the whole Renewed Covenant to even suggest the sanctity of any day besides the seventh day Sabbath. Where the Scriptures are silent man ought to be silent.
It is strange that some would endeavour to change the Sabbath day after the death of Yeshua, since the worst kind of fraud and forgery is that which changes a man’s will after He dies. The Eternal has given man a memorial of Yeshua’s death and resurrection. We should seek to commemorate the death and resurrection of our Messiah in the way of his own appointing, namely, by means of the Messiah’s supper and immersion. The Master’s supper was given by Messiah Himself to be a memorial of His death (1 Corinthians 11:26); and the sacred rite of immersion, to commemorate His resurrection (Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:3-5). Immersion, then, and not Sunday or any other day, is the Bible memorial of Messiah resurrection. Since we are plainly told not to add or diminish from the Word of the Eternal  (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18), it seems that all real Nazarenes would want to honour Messiah’s resurrection the way He wanted us to do so-not by a day but by an institution-the ordinance of immersion.
 
YESHUA COMMANDED THE KEEPING OF THE SABBATH AFTER THE STAKE
Those who have the erroneous notion that Sunday should be kept after the stake may be sincere, but they are mistaken. While Yeshua left no command or example for the observance of Sunday, the solid fact behind it all is He did leave command and example for the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Here is Scriptural proof of Messiah’s example:  
 
Luke 4:16
16 And He came to Natsareth, where He had been brought up. And according to His
practice, He went into the congregation on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read 

Matthew 24:20
20 And pray that your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath

The Eternal’s and Messiah’s Command Obeyed:

Luke 23:56
56 And they rested on the Sabbath according to the command.
Why did Yeshua say <neither on the Sabbath day>? Because He recognised and stressed the sanctity of the Sabbath with its keeping even at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, 70 AD, almost forty years AFTER the STAKE. This clears the air of any fog that might have settled over the minds of some who question whether Messiah commanded the keeping of the Sabbath after the stake.
 
MESSIAH’S FOLLOWERS KEPT THE SABBATH AFTER THE STAKE
It is highly significant that the Scriptures record the observance of the Sabbath by the followers of Messiah after His death on the stake. If anybody ought to know about the proper Sabbath, it should be those who were instructed by the Messiah Himself. He kept it while He was with them and they kept it when He left them:
 
Luke 23:56
56 And having returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the command.
As much as they loved Yeshua, they would not desecrate the Sabbath even for Him (Luke 23:52- 56; 24:1; Mark 15:42-47; 16:1). Another notable feature about it all is that Messiah was with them for over a month after His resurrection and nowhere or no place do we find any hint of His changing the Sabbath or of His correction for their keeping of the Sabbath after He died.
 
SHAUL (PAUL) KEPT THE SABBATH AND PREACHED ON IT
The fact is irrefutable that Paul’s life-long manner or custom was to keep the very seventh-day Sabbath that the Eternal kept at creation and Yeshua kept at redemption:
 
Acts 17:2
2 And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures,

Another very striking proof of Shaul’s observance of the Sabbath is found in Acts 18 where it states:

Acts 18:4
4 And he was reasoning in the congregation every Sabbath, and won over both Yehudim and Greeks.

The Scriptures says Shaul knew the teaching  of the Master – Acts 13:12)
In the same chapter, he preached it on the next Sabbath– Acts 13:42)
Other verses showing Shaul kept and preached on the Sabbath – Acts 13:44; 16:13; 13:14
Those who contend that nobody but Jews kept the Sabbath are parting company with the facts given in the Scriptures. Notice the textual evidence showing others besides Jews kept the Sabbath:

Acts 13:42, 48
42 And when the Yehudim went out of the congregation, the gentiles begged to have these words spoken to them the next Sabbath.
48 And when the gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Word of יהוה

According to the above scripture, the Gentiles asked Shaul to meet with them on SABBATH. No other day is mentioned. Paul did not change the appointment, because the next Sabbath <the Gentiles heard>!
Sufficient evidence to prove that Shaul preached to a non-Jewish audience on a Sabbath by their own appointment:

Acts 18:4
4 And he was reasoning in the congregation every Sabbath, and won over both Yehudim and Greeks
With the above evidence at hand showing Gentiles and Greeks kept the Sabbath, the theory that only Jews kept it is proved wrong.
 
THE APOSTOLIC CONGREGATION KEPT THE SABBATH AFTER THE STAKE
Anyone who thinks the Scriptures teach that any other day besides the seventh day was observed as the Sabbath after the STAKE is asked to examine carefully the following texts:
 
VERSES CONGREGATION DATE
Acts 31:14, 42-44 Antioch
(2 meetings)		 45 AD
Acts 16:12-13 Philippi
(1 meeting)		  53 AD
Acts 17:2 Thessalonica
(3 meetings)
 53 AD
Acts 18:11 Corinth
(78 meetings)		 54 AD
 

Here is listed a total of eighty-four meetings on Sabbath. So we can easily see
that nothing is more certified than the fact that the apostolic church kept the Sabbath after the cross.

THE SABBATH HAS BEEN KEPT TO THE PRESENT TIME
It is a fact, obvious to any student of history, and the proofs are plentiful to furnish substantial evidence, that there have always been faithful seventh-day Sabbath-keepers from the time of Messiah to the present age.

AD. 75 –FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS:

For there is not any city of the Greeks, nor any of the barbarians, nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on THE SEVENTH DAY hath not come!
Flavius Josephus Against Apion from The Works of Flavius Josephus, p. 925.

AD. 250- ORIGEN, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA:

“Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after Jewish manner. . . . But let every one of you KEEP THE SABBATH after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law.”
-Epistle to the Magnesians, Chap. lx.

AD. 350- ATHANASIUS:

“We are assembled on the day of the SABBATH, not because we are infected with Judaism,. . but we approach the SABBATH to adore Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath.” –
The Signs of the Times,” Jan.17, 1933, p. 13.

AD. 400-AUGUSTINE:

“On this day, which is THE SABBATH, mostly those are accustomed to meet who are desirous of the word of God.”
Augustine’s Sermon 128, tom. 7, p. 629.

AD. 450-SOCRATES:

Almost all of the churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the SABBATH of every week.”
Socrates, Book v, chap. 22

AD. 590-POPE GREGORY I:

“It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you somethings that are wrong and opposed to holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the SABBATH DAY.”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 13, bk. 13, epist. I, p. 336.

AD.791-COUNCIL OF TRIAU: (In Italy)

“Further,when speaking of that SABBATH which the Jews observe, that last day of the week, and which also our peasants observe.”
13th Canon of the Council of Triau!

11TH CENTURY -SCOTLAND:
“They worked on Sunday, but kept SATURDAY in a Sabbatical manner.”
History of Scotland –  Andrew Long, Vol. 1, page 96.

14TH CENTURY -ABYSSINIA:
“It is not therefore, in imitation of the Jews, but in obedience to Christ and His holy apostles that we observe that day [Sabbath].”
Reason for keeping Sabbath, given by Abyssinian legate at the court of Lisbon (1534)
Church History of Ethiopia – Michael Geddes, pp.87. 88.

AD 1576 -WALDENSES:
“They were called Inzabbatt, not because they were circumcised, but because they kept the SABBATH according to the Jewish law.”
“They kept the Sabbath day.”
Deuteche Biographie,- Art., Goldast – Godstus, historian.

1653 AFTER YAHSHUA – GOA, INDIA:
“They keep Saturday holy, nor esteem the Saturday fast lawful, but on Easter even. They have solemn service on Saturdays.”
History of the Sabbath,” J. N. Andrews, p. 569.

1665 AFTER YAHSHUA – SIANFU, CHINA:
Stone tablet unearthed dating before the eighth century: “On the seventh day we offer sacrifice. after having purified our hearts and received absolution for our sins”
Id., Page 565.

1738 AFTER YAHSHUA – COUNT NICOLAUS VON ZINZENDORF:
He was the founder and first bishop of the Moravian church. “The days which we keep are Sunday as the Lord’s resurrection day and the SABBATH or the REAL REST DAY OF OUR LORD!”
Id., 753.

THE ETERNAL’S FAITHFUL WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS IN THE LAST DAYS

Revelation 12:17, 14:12; 12:17
17 And the dragon {Satan - Revelation20:2} was angry concerning the woman {Eloah's congregation}, and he went to wage war with the remnant of her seed--those who keep the commandments of Eloah and have the testimony of Yeshua….

VARIOUS CONGREGATIONS SAY THAT KEEPING THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH IS RIGHT

These quotations have been selected from the writings of reputable Sunday-keeping authors. 

Job 15:6
6 Not I, but your own mouth condemns you. And your own lips witness against you.

LUTHERAN:
“The observance of the Lord’s day (Sunday) Is founded not on any command of God but on the authority of the church.”
Augsburg Confession of Faith,” as quoted In Cox’s Sabbath Manual page 287.

EPISCOPAL:
“We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy catholic, apostolic church of Christ.”
Why We Keep Sunday by Bishop Seymour.

METHODIST:
“It is true there is no positive command for infant baptism. Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week.”
Theological Compendium 1902 – Amos Binney, pp.180. 181.

BAPTIST:
“There was and is a commandment to ‘keep holy the Sabbath day,’ but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. There is no Scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath Institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.”
Edward T. Hiscox, D.D., author of “The Baptist Church Manual.”

PRESBYTERIAN:
“The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scripture, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath.”
Dwight’s Theology, Vol. 4. p. 40 1.

CONGREGATIONAL:
“There is no command in the Bible requiring us to observe the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath.”
Mode and Subjects of Baptism by Fowler.

CHRISTIAN:
“The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath. There never was any change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not at any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change.”
First Day Observance pp. 17. 19.

CATHOLIC:
Cardinal Gibbons in the following statement hit the nail on the head. In this statement the is splendidly right. “But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday. A day which we never sanctify.”
Faith of Our Fathers pp. Ill,112.

THE CHANGE OF THE CALENDAR HAS NOT ALTERED OR LOST THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH
What higher authority could we cite than the Royal Astronomer of England and the Director of the U. S. Naval Observatory? Notice what these authorities state concerning the change of the calendar and the altering of the weekly cycle.

F. W. Dyson, Astronomer Royal, Greenwich, London, in 1932 stated:
“As far as I know, in the various changes of the Calendar, there has been no change in the seven-day rotation of the week.”

James Robertson, Director American Ephemeris, U. S. Naval Observatory:
“We have had occasion to investigate the results of the works of specialists in chronology and we have never found one of them that has ever had the slightest doubt about the continuity of the weekly cycle since long before the Christian era. There has been no change in our calendar in past centuries that has affected in any way the cycle of the week.”

The change from the old style to the new style did not Interfere in any way with the free-running week. The change was made on Friday. October 5, 1582. Ten days were made up by calling the 5th of  October the 15th of October. This is all that was done. The various changes of the calendar affected the days of the month and not the days of the week, hence no time has been lost. Consequently, the Sabbath day is still the seventh day of the week or SATURDAY.

KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS GIVES US THE RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE
 The commandment KEEPERS and DOERS have the RIGHT TO ENTER INTO the Kingdom of the Eternal.

Revelation 22:14
14 Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.

It is admitted man cannot do this in his own strength but he can do it through Messiah

Philippians 4:13
13 I have strength to do all, through Messiah who empowers me

THE SABBATH WILL BE KEPT IN THE KINGDOM BY ALL FLESH
This reason has the ring of finality in it because it leads to the inevitable conclusion that the Sabbath will be kept in the kingdom by ALL-Jew as well as Gentile. Every man that gets to the Kingdom will keep the Sabbath there. Here is the Bible proof:

Isaiah 66:22. 23
22 “For as the NEW heavens and the NEW earth that I make stand before Me,” declares יהוה, “so your seed and your name shall stand. 
23 “And IT SHALL BE that from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, ALL flesh shall come to worship before Me,” declares יהוה.

Since the seventh-day Sabbath was in the world before sin came, it will be in the world when sin is gone. Genesis 2:1-3; Isaiah 66:22, 23. Consequently, the incident of sin in the history of our world has not, does not and will not make void the eternal claims of the seventh day as the Sabbath on this earth.

CONCLUSION:
The Scriptural conclusion and the final analysis of the Sabbath leads us to the ultimate fact that beyond all doubt or question of uncertainty, the seventh day (Saturday) is the true
Sabbath of Scripture and all true Believers ought to keep it.

Notice the conclusion of the Scriptures:

Hebrews 4:9, 11
9 So there remains a SABBATH-keeping for the people of Elohim.
11 Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.
Ecclesiastes12:13
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the entire matter: Fear Elohim and guard His commands, for this applies to all mankind!

The Eternal kept the seventh-day Sabbath at creation and commanded man to keep it – Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11.
Messiah kept it at reemption and commanded man to keep it – Luke 4:16;
Matthew 28: 1; 24:20.
ALL THE SAINTS will keep it in the kingdom – Isaiah 66:22, 23.

If we are going to keep it there, why not here? If we are going to keep it then, why not now?
Source: George Burnside
In the original: the Eternal (יהוה appears as ‘God’; Yeshua appears as ‘Jesus’; Messiah appears as ‘Christ’ ; The Scriptures appear as ‘the Bible’.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are from The Scriptures,
Copyright by Institute for Scripture Research.
Used by permission.

NAZARENE NOTES