What is it the little horn power attempts to
change? Daniel 7:25
And try to change the set
NOTE: The little horn is not just attempting to
change the law, but the times and the law.
Which of the Ten Commandments in the law
deals with time? Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the
NOTE: Only the fourth commandment deals with
time. The purpose of the Sabbath is to give God and His people time to
get better acquainted. People need to spend time every day with God in
Bible study and prayer. If a deep personal relationship with God is
going to be formed, God says we also need one full day a week to spend
in contemplation of God and His blessings to us.
Like a marriage, when a husband and wife spend
time together each day, they will develop a relationship. But their
marriage and their relationship will never be as deep as it can when
they take an day each week to be together. The only way to get to know
someone is to spend time with them. The only way we can get to know God
is to spend quality time with Him. The fourth commandment performs a
special function, because it gives us time to build our relationship
with God.
If anyone obeys the fourth commandment as God
intended and builds a solid relationship with God, there will be little
question about that person keeping the rest of the commandments. It is
not surprising, then, that Satan has attacked this commandment. He well
knows that if he can destroy a person's relationship with God, that
person will end up serving Satan. No wonder God has warned us against
this power that would think to change the times in the law -- the one
commandment that ties time to our relationship with God.
THE SEVENTH
DAY Which day has God specified to be set aside
as the special day in which God and His people build a solid
relationship together? Exodus 20:10
The
NOTE: God has set aside a specific day, the
seventh day, as a special time to get better acquainted with His
people.
Which is the seventh day?
NOTE: To discover which is the seventh day, one
only has to take a quick look at the calendar to see that the seventh
day is the day we commonly call Saturday, not Sunday.
Has there been any change in the calendar
that has affected the weekly cycle?
NOTE: Since the time of Jesus, there has been
only one major change in the calendar. This was the switch from the
Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The Julian calendar had
allowed too many leap years. As a result, the calendar was out of sync
with the solar year. In order to realign the calendar, ten days were
dropped from the calendar in October, 1582.
October, 1582
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
-- 1 2 3 4 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 -- -- -- -- -- --
Even though ten days were dropped from the
calendar the weekly cycle was not changed at all. The order of the days
of the week remained the same. Just the numbering changed.
What other evidences are there that the day
of the week called Saturday is the same as the biblical seventh-day?
Over 105 languages use for Saturday a word
that has as its root "Sabbath." For example:
Greek Sabbaton
Russian Subbota
Italian Sabbato
Spanish Sabado
In other words, in over 105 languages on
earth today the word currently used for Saturday basically means
"Sabbath."
The history of the Jews, who have
consistently kept the Sabbath from the Exodus, and who still keep the
Sabbath on Saturday today, indicates clearly which is the seventh day. During the Exodus, God, by the double
miracle of the manna, clearly revealed which was the seventh day. On
every day a certain portion of manna would fall. There was always
enough for everyone that day, but any kept for the next day always
spoiled. However, on Friday a double portion of manna fell and people
had enough for two days with no spoilage. On Saturday, no manna fell.
For forty years God performed this double miracle every week to
thoroughly establish which day was the seventh. The Jews have strictly
kept that same seventh day until today. ( see Exodus 16 ).
What further Biblical evidence is there that
the seventh day is Saturday?
Jesus died on Good Friday. The day that He
died is called in scripture "the day Mark 15:42 . The next day was Sabbath. The disciples
"rested on the Luke 23:56 Following the Sabbath came Sunday. Jesus
rose on Sunday, the first day of the week. The Bible says that the day
He rose was the day Mark 16:1, 2, 9 .
NOTE: The Bible clearly indicates that the
Sabbath was the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Since
Saturday is the only day in between, the inescapable conclusion is that
the Biblical seventh-day Sabbath is Saturday.
THE CHANGE
OF THE SABBATH Since the Scripture is very clear that the
original Biblical Sabbath was on Saturday, the seventh day of the week,
it might well be asked, "Why do most Christians today observe Sunday,
the first day of the week?" Somehow, somewhere, a change has come
about. God says that He never changes, and His law never changes. He
embodied the seventh-day Sabbath in His holy law. Who then changed it?
Who did Daniel declare would think to change
the times and the law? Daniel 7:25
The little
NOTE: The Bible predicted that the little horn
would attempt to change the times and the law. The Sabbath is the only
commandment in the law dealing with time. An attempted change has been
made in the time for the Sabbath, from Saturday to Sunday. Could it be
that the papal power is the very one who has attempted to change the
Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? (Read the amazing story of how the
papal power attempted to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday ).
ORIGIN OF
THE SABBATH When did the Sabbath originate? Exodus 20:11; Genesis 2:1-3
At the
NOTE: Even in the giving of the Ten
Commandments, the origin of the Sabbath is clearly identified as the
Garden of Eden rather than Mount Sinai.
With what word does God begin the Sabbath
commandment? Exodus 20:8
Note: God chose the word "remember" to begin
the Sabbath commandment. The word "remember" denotes three
possibilities:
You cannot remember something you have never
heard of before. Therefore the origin of the Sabbath must be before
Sinai, and not at Sinai. The word "remember" signifies that a person
should pay special attention. "Remember" is generally used to indicate
things that are of special importance. God chose the word to
reintroduce the Sabbath at Sinai. The word "remember" indicates that God
looked down the stream of history and saw that this would be the one
commandment that the world would forget. And so He tells us to remember
it, and not forget this commandment. God knew we would never forget the
other commandments if we would remember the Sabbath, because the
Sabbath would help us to develop a relationship with God. The one
commandment that many would forget is the one that deals with time set
aside to establish a relationship with God.
What three things did God do when He
instituted the Sabbath at Creation? Genesis 2:2, 3
He
NOTE: God gave us an example by resting
Himself. He blessed this day as He blessed no other day. He made it
holy for special use. God did not bless the ACT of resting, He
blessed a specific DAY . If the whole world rested on some day
it wouldn't make that day a Sabbath. What makes it the Sabbath is that
God rested, blessed and made it holy. People do not have the authority
to change what God has sanctified. Some people feel it makes no
difference what day is kept as long as they keep one day in seven. But
please remember that God blessed and sanctified only one specific day
-- the SEVENTH day.
Did the Sabbath exist before sin, or only
after sin? Exodus 20:11; Genesis 2:2, 3
sin.
NOTE: This point is very clear in Scripture.
The Sabbath is a creation remembrance, coming to us from the Garden of
Eden before Adam and Eve sinned. On the cross Jesus dealt with sin.
Since the Sabbath existed before sin, there is absolutely no way it
could be altered by the cross.
Was the Sabbath given for the Jews only? Mark 2:27
The Sabbath was made for
NOTE: The Sabbath existed thousands of years
before there was a Jew. It is true that the Jews kept it, because they
were the covenant people of God. But the Sabbath was made for the
entire human race.
THE
PERPETUITY Will the human race still keep the Sabbath in
the New Earth? Isaiah 66:22, 23
From one
NOTE: In God's newly recreated earth, after sin
is removed, people will still be keeping holy God's sacred Sabbath.
What a delight and what a joy it will be for people to enter the
Sabbath rest of God in the new earth where they can get even better
acquainted with God than they can here. This verse clearly indicates
that our relationship with God will grow deeper in the new earth as we
spend even more time together.
Of what is the Sabbath a sign? Ezekiel 20:12
Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between
us, so they would know that I the LORD
NOTE: The Sabbath is God's great sign of
sanctification. Sanctification describes the process whereby God lives
out His life in the believer, transforming the believer into the divine
image. The sign that it is the Lord who sanctifies is the sacred
Sabbath. The keeping of the Sabbath indicates that a Christian is
taking time to build a solid relationship with God, which is the basis
of sanctification.
Of what else is the Sabbath a sign? Ezekiel 20:20
Then you will
NOTE: How clearly the scriptures bring out the
special significance of God's Sabbath. It is a special sign that people
know the Lord. It is a sign that people have a relationship with God.
That's why the Sabbath, to the Christian, becomes such a beautiful day
of delight and joy in the Lord. The Scriptures do not require a
legalistic keeping of the day, but rather the setting aside of this
special day to build a relationship with God. That's why the Christian
gets excited about the Sabbath, and why the Sabbath is such a blessing
in the midst of the troubles of the world. The Sabbath is a relief from
the burdens of life, a time when God and His people can draw apart and
develop an intimate relationship.
The troubles of the last days are going to be
so great that unless people have a deep personal relationship with God,
they will not make it through the end times. That's why the Sabbath is
so important in these last days and why Daniel warns against the power
that would think to change the day that God had set aside for a
relationship with Him. If there ever was a time in earth's history when
people needed the Sabbath, it's today. Let us make certain that we use
this special time to build a solid relationship with Jesus, that we
might be prepared for the climactic scenes of earth's history soon to
take place everywhere.
Would your relationship with God be improved
by taking time out each week on the Sabbath?
