When Is The Actual Sabbath?

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blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
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#1
That's the question I'm asking. :) My family and I always went to church on Sunday's. However, I know some people go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. So what is the actual Sabbath on? And does it matter to God what day we do worship on? Bible verses would be helpful. :)
 
Dec 19, 2009
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#2
That's the question I'm asking. :) My family and I always went to church on Sunday's. However, I know some people go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. So what is the actual Sabbath on? And does it matter to God what day we do worship on? Bible verses would be helpful. :)
Does the Bible say we have to worship on the Sabbath, or does it simply say we are supposed to do no work on the Sabbath?

Of course, you are opening up a huge argument here, I’m guessing. That’s the way it usually turns out when we discuss this topic. Some people have really strong opinions about this.

My own belief is that the purpose of the Sabbath is to give us a day of rest each week. It can be any day of the week. If you can’t rest for a full day, then rest for two half days.

Jesus said this:

[27] And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath;
[28] so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath." Mark 2:27-28 RSV
 

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,869
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#3
More or less, I'm just trying to find out what day IS the actual sabbath. Saturday, Sunday, when? I don't want to worship on Sunday, if the actual sabbath is Wednesday.. or whenever.
 
F

FreeNChrist

Guest
#4
I am enjoying my Sabbath Rest ‘today’. And, God willing, when tomorrow becomes for me ‘today’, I will be enjoying my Sabbath Rest then as well. My Sabbath Rest is in Christ Jesus, and I rest in Him every ‘today’. (ref. Hebrews)
 
T

Tintin

Guest
#5
The Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday. The Christian Sabbath is on Sunday. But the Sabbath is Christ Jesus. We're to rest in Him, each and every day.
 
Mar 2, 2016
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#6
I prefer Wednesday. Mostly because it's the only day that begins with a W. A person could choose Monday cuz it's the only day that begins with an M but isn't M really just an upside down W?
 

TMS

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2015
3,560
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Australia
#7
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The seventh day of Creation and ask any Jew which day that is and you will get an accurate answer because they have been keeping it every week for thousands of years. (Saturday).

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
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.
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.

Gen 1:5 ..... And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Most Sabbath keeper open Sabbath at sundown Friday and close Sabbath at sundown Saturday, (24 hours).

Exo_16:29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

Friday is often called the preparation day because they get things ready for the Sabbath.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#8
Spanner in the works time. Lol


When is the sabbath day of rest for church ministers who work on Sunday's preaching
and teaching. Maybe taking people home after and maybe visiting some of the
congregation who are in hospital. Or what about people who work during the week then
take the Sunday school classes, then maybe take the young people's meeting
later on Sunday afternoon etc. :D


These are all scenarios I have been in or seen others in.
 
S

sparkman

Guest
#9
I would recommend reading Sabbath in Christ by Dale Ratzlaff.

I was a former Sabbathkeeper, as a member of Worldwide Church of God (Armstrongism), for over a decade.

My conviction is that the Sabbath is not applicable per Colossians 2:16-17. In addition, Sabbath-breaking was not mentioned on any of the sin lists of the Gentiles. In addition, the Sabbath was a sign of the Old Covenant between God and Israel and not God and mankind, therefore it never was applicable to those who were not under the Old Covenant.

SDAs spend a lot of effort claiming that the weekly Sabbath isn't mentioned in Colossians 2:16-17 but they cannot prove it. The word Sabbath is sabbaton, which has a weekly context. Indeed, it is translated "week" eight times in the NT. For example, mia ton sabbaton means "first day of the week" where mia means one and sabbaton means week.

One basic question that should be asked is whether the Old Covenant is in effect, and whether the Sabbath, festivals, and clean/unclean meat laws are moral in nature, or were part of the "boundary markers" which separated ancient Israel from the Gentile nations around it.

This is a very long discussion, though, and usually those in the discussion have already made their minds up. Unless they are claiming that the Sabbath is a requirement for salvation, and everyone else is unsaved, I typically won't waste the time explaining the problems with their position. Most Sabbath keepers in the chat room don't make such claims, but there are cultic individuals which make such claims (Armstrongites for example).

For every point the Sabbathkeepers make, a counter-point can be made.

I would recommend this video to understand the Abrahamic, Old, and New Covenant, and why the Sabbath is included in Colossians 2:16-17. Also, is the Ten Commandments a separate group of laws which are still applicable, while the Book of the Covenant is not applicable?

It is based somewhat on the "Sabbath in Christ" book by Dale Ratzlaff. Dale is a former SDA pastor and teacher. I highly recommend the book as well. I don't agree with one minor point Dale makes, but I agree with the overall thesis.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKnzCuBYVJm5aePMh-rTUtoi2-QNiKDs2


At any rate, individuals should follow their own conscience on the issue of days, and I respect the willingness of Sabbathkeepers to obey God in what they understand to be true, whether I agree or not. Hopefully all Christians have this spirit. Read Romans 14 regarding these issues of differences of opinions on days and food.
 
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abcdef

Senior Member
Mar 30, 2016
2,809
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#10
If I may offer this,

Rom 8:6, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

Yes, "Saturn" (Saturday) day is the Sabbath.

The day of the Sun is Sunday, etc.

When the sun goes down in Israel, does that start the Sabbath for the whole plant, Or we have to wait for the sun to go down here?

If you were an astronaut, orbiting the earth, how would you "keep the Sabbath" with 5 or 6 sun sets per day?

If you were at the North Pole in the winter, you would have a really short Sabbath day.

1 Thess 5:16 "Rejoice evermore."
1 Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."

If we are in constant prayer with Jesus, what does it matter what day it is, or where we are? (outer space)
We have within us His "Spirit" of love. Nothing can separate us from His love, not even death. Rom 8:35-39.

If we feel closer to Him on "Sundays", maybe it's because of the fellowship (rejoicing in God's love together) we share with each other, and not what "day" it is.

For Christians being "in the Spirit", loving, is something that should be constant.

Is one day more holy than another? Or are all days and nights holy to God?
 
Dec 19, 2009
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#11
More or less, I'm just trying to find out what day IS the actual sabbath. Saturday, Sunday, when? I don't want to worship on Sunday, if the actual sabbath is Wednesday.. or whenever.
I don't think there IS an actual sabbath. I think you're just supposed to take a day off each week. Jesus told us that the sabbath was made for us, not us for the sabbath.
 

tanakh

Senior Member
Dec 1, 2015
4,635
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#12
That's the question I'm asking. :) My family and I always went to church on Sunday's. However, I know some people go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. So what is the actual Sabbath on? And does it matter to God what day we do worship on? Bible verses would be helpful. :)
The weekly Sabbath starts at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday. There are also special sabbaths connected with festivals. As far as I know they follow the same pattern.
 
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santuzza

Senior Member
Feb 12, 2013
1,609
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#13
More or less, I'm just trying to find out what day IS the actual sabbath. Saturday, Sunday, when? I don't want to worship on Sunday, if the actual sabbath is Wednesday.. or whenever.
No one REALLY knows. Our word "Saturday" has its linguistic roots in the word "Sabbath." But this is no guarantee that our Saturday today was the REAL Sabbath that God established over 4,000 years ago. Calendars have changed, so there's no real way of knowing.

JMO
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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Tennessee
#14
I prefer Wednesday. Mostly because it's the only day that begins with a W. A person could choose Monday cuz it's the only day that begins with an M but isn't M really just an upside down W?
Sorta like turning a frown upside down.
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
41,313
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Tennessee
#15
That's the question I'm asking. :) My family and I always went to church on Sunday's. However, I know some people go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. So what is the actual Sabbath on? And does it matter to God what day we do worship on? Bible verses would be helpful. :)
Actually, that is a very interesting question. Where in the bible does it say what day the first day of the week really is as there doesn't seem to be any specific name assigned to any of them.
 
D

Depleted

Guest
#17
That's the question I'm asking. :) My family and I always went to church on Sunday's. However, I know some people go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. So what is the actual Sabbath on? And does it matter to God what day we do worship on? Bible verses would be helpful. :)
Your seventh day; i.e. whichever day of the week works for you (and your family preferably, but it's optional, and moot if you live alone) on a regular basis.

My brother is a chef, so guaranteed when everyone takes their weekend off, he's not one of those people. Hospital staff has different days and nights to work. If they're the weekend staff, then a Saturday or a Sunday aren't their Sabbath rest. Same thing with cops, firefighters, the military, and so many others.

The purpose is to renew once a week. To set a day aside to renew physically, mentally, and spiritually. To reconnect with God and to rest -- to recover, so there is energy back to get back to work.

One of the things bodybuilders do is let their muscles recover from workouts. When you do five sets of curls for their arms, (and
at me doing that much exercising any given day of the week) what's really happening is they are making lots of mini rips in their arms so the arm rebuilds the tear with more muscle. The burn after a good workout, (and excuse me while I do this again, because I tend to avoid exercise altogether
) is the body bringing in the proper material to do the rebuilding. It's a reconstruction zone that takes 36 hours from start to finish. It's like a broken bone, by the time the bone is fully healed, you have more bone because the body adds more materials to fix the problem.

So, we work for six days a week, and we literally need to recover from that to build our endurance and rebuild us. (This time not as funny, because the work isn't always just physical. It can be mental, emotional, and I really hope spiritual too.) Just as long as we get that day off, no matter what day. God knows how he made us, and he knows we can't last much past six days without needing the rest. We need it spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

And we don't know if the seventh day landed on a Saturday, Sunday or Wednesday either. IMO, (and it really just is opinion), I think that is so we don't get too legalistic on it, and take God at his word. We need to rest. And we need to rest in him -- literally.
 

Billyd

Senior Member
May 8, 2014
5,048
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#18
I end my week with a day of rest, then start my next week with a day of worship.
 
B

bikerchaz

Guest
#19
That's the question I'm asking. :) My family and I always went to church on Sunday's. However, I know some people go on Saturdays or Wednesdays. So what is the actual Sabbath on? And does it matter to God what day we do worship on? Bible verses would be helpful. :)
It starts on Friday night or evening and finishes on Saturday evening, I think it may be about 6pm, not to sure though.

Romans chapter five mentions days of the week and their importance.
 

TMS

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2015
3,560
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Australia
#20
Jesus died on Friday, rested on Sabbath and rose on Sunday.
Luk 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
Luk 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
Today we accept that Jesus rose on Sunday. Died on Friday.