When Is the True Sabbath?

What day of the week is the seventh day? According to the Hebrew Calendar, or Jewish Calendar, Sunday is the first day of the week, and Saturday is the seventh and the Sabbath. The following Bible scriptures will help explain the traditionally recognized Sabbath day and what it means. Should Christians go to church on Saturday? Should Christians rest and relax on Saturday?

Genesis 2:1-3 (NKJV), “Thus the heavens and the earth, andall the host of them, were finished.And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then Godblessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

The fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus 20:8-11 (NKJV) tells us, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is theSabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no 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. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus says in Mark 2:27, “And He said to them,‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’”

The Hebrew Calendar is still used today by the Jewish faith to calculate their annual holiday celebrations. However, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. This calendar was adopted by western cultures, gradually between 1582 and 1700, and is influential in changing the Sabbath Day to Sunday.

This calendar was created because the technology of the day proved that 1 calendar year was actually 365.25 days; giving us a leap year every 4 years, and adding February 29 to the annual calendar. Wanting to calculate the celebration of Easter Sunday correctly, the Pope devised this calendar to do just that.

This coincides with the time when the English speaking Puritan Protestants began to recognize Sunday as the Sabbath in order to recognize and celebrate the Resurrection Day of Christ Jesus; also known as Easter. More recently, the Latter Day Saints (Mormon faith) also celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week.

As mentioned before, the Jewish faith still recognizes the Sabbath as the seventh day, Saturday. Most modern day Christian churches observe the first day, Sunday, as the Sabbath in recognition of the Resurrection Day. There are, however, some modern day Christian churches who still believe that Saturday is the intended Sabbath for all time. Some of those churches include:

• Seventh Day Adventists
• Seventh Day Baptists
• Church of God (has a seventh day chapter)
• Seventh Day Evangelists Church
• United Church of God

So which is it, Saturday or Sunday? I’ll leave that up to you. Please participate in the poll. It will be interesting to see what the results are.

Thank you for your interest in my writing. Please feel free to leave a comment.

"Be kind to one another" ~ Ellen

God Bless You ~ Margaret Sullivan