BIBLE’S MESSAGE UNCOVERED

The Different Sabbaths

God’s 7,000-year rest day of creative week.

The weekly sabbath (God’s law to the Israelites).

Other sabbath days of God’s law to the Israelites.

Sabbath years (seventh and fiftieth) of God’s law to the Israelites.

The 1,000-year “Kingdom Sabbath” under Christ as King.

1. Jehovah’s 7,000-Year Sabbath

Genesis 2:2, 3 “On the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hal­lowed it; because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

Exodus 31:17 “In six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.”

God desisted only toward earth­ly creative works

John 5:17 “But He answered them: ‘My Father has kept work­ing until now, and I keep work­ing.’ “

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Consequently, if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away, look! new things have come into existence.”

Galatians 6:15 “For neither is cir­cumcision anything nor is uncircumcision, but a new creation is something.”

Ephesians 1:19, 20 “It is according to the operation of the mightiness of His strength, with which He has operated in the case of the Christ when He raised Him up from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”

Length of God’s six creative days and the rest day not 24 hours each, but many years

Genesis 2:4 “These are the genera­tions of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day [Hebrew, yom] that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.”

God’s creative rest day 7,000 years long

God rested shortly after creat­ing Adam and Eve and giving them His law and the procreation mandate.

Genesis 2:7, 16, 17, 22; 1:28-31 “And Jehovah God formed man . .. and man became a living soul. … of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: .. . and the rib .. . He made a woman, and brought her unto the man.” “And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and mul­tiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish . . . birds … and over every living thing … I have given you every herb … and . . . fruit… for food: … And there was eve­ning and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Seventh day not shown as ending back there, as are the other six.—See Genesis 2:1-4.

God’s rest day still continues

Hebrews 3:9-4:11 “So I swore in My wrath: ‘They [Israelites in the wilderness] shall not enter into My rest.’ ” “He again marks off a certain day by saying after so long a time in David’s psalm ‘Today’; … So there remains a sabbath resting for the people of God.”

Isaiah 28:12  To whom He said, This is the rest, give rest to him who is tired; and by this you may get new strength; but they would not give ear.

Man’s existence covers near­ly 6,000 years (4025 B.C. to over 1,950 years A.D.) as shown by Bible chronology.—Luke 3:23-38.

Armageddon and change in system of things near—in this generation—as shown by physi­cal facts in fulfillment of Mat­thew, chapter 24, and other proph­ecies

Matthew 24:34 “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.”

1,000-year rule of Christ immediately follows Armageddon

Revelation 20:1-6 “An angel… seized the dragon, the original serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. … that he might not mislead the nations any more until the thou­sand years were ended.”

God’s rest day ends at the end of the 1,000-year rule of Christ as King, making the great Best Day 7,000 years

1 Corinthians 15:24, 28 “Next, the ac­complished end, when He hands over the kingdom to His God and Father, . . . But when all things will have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also subject Himself to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all things to every­one.”

Sabbath set aside for vindication of Jehovah as Creator, Purposer, Maintainer, of what is good

Genesis 2:3. “And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.”

Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from an­cient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”

Isaiah 48:3 “I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of My mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.”

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Acts 15:18 “Jehovah, who is doing these things which He has known from eternity.”

Works of self-interest to be avoided during God’s rest day

Hebrews 4:10 “For the man that has entered into God’s rest has also himself rested from his own works just as God did from His own.”

Romans 9:31, 32 “But Israel, al­though pursuing a law of right­eousness, did not attain to the law. For what reason? Because he pursued it, not by faith, but as by works.”

Romans 10:3 “For, because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject them­selves to the righteousness of God.”

Job 32:2 “Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu . . . against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.”

Jeremiah 10:23 “O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.”

Colossians 1:21 “Indeed, you who were once alienated and enemies because your minds were on the works that were wicked, He now has again reconciled.”

1 Corinthians 5:8 “Consequently, let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with yeast of injuriousness and wickedness, but with unfermented cakes of purity and truth.”

Matthew 7:22, 23 “Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and expel demons in Your name, and perform many powerful works in Your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you at all.”

Isaiah 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day.”

Ecclesiastes 4:4, 6 “Then I saw all labor and every skilful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind.”

1 Timothy 6:9 “However, those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires which plunge men into destruction and ruin.”

Christian’s unselfish work, to be done during God’s rest day; faith and obedience

John 6:29 “In answer Jesus said to them: ‘This is the work of God, that you exercise faith in Him whom that One sent forth.’ “

Romans 11:6 “Now if it is by undeserved kindness it is no longer due to works; otherwise, the undeserved kindness no long­er proves to be undeserved kind­ness.”

Hebrews 4:3, 6, 11 “For we who have exercised faith do enter into the rest,… those to whom the good news was first declared did not enter in because of disobe­dience. Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, for fear anyone should fall in the same example of disobe­dience.”

Isaiah 56:2 “Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that holds it fast; that keeps the sabbath from pro­faning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Satan, Adam and Eve violated God’s rest by disobedience, by trying to become judges, supe­rior authorities, trying to build world of their own making

Genesis 2:17; 3:4-6, 22 “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it.” “The serpent said,… Ye shall not surely die: for God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit…. And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil.”

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be in subjection to the superior au­thorities.”

Romans 5:12, 19 “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, . . . through the disobedience of the one man many were constituted sinners.”

2 Corinthians 11:14 “Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.”

The nations have violated God’s rest day by their own worthless works

Matthew 6:31, 32 “So never be anxious and say: ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing.”

Isaiah 24:5, 6 “The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty.”

Isaiah 30:1, 2 “Woe to the rebel­lious children, says Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of Me; and that make a league, but not of My spirit, that they may add sin to sin; that set cut to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at My mouth; to strength­en themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt!”

Isaiah 8:9-13 “O you peoples,… gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; … Do not say, A conspiracy,… neither fear their fear,… Je­hovah of hosts, Him shall you sanctify.”

Jeremiah 51:58 “The peoples shall labor for vanity, and the na­tions for the fire; and they shall be weary.”

Psalm 127:1 “Except Jehovah builds the house, they labor in vain that build it: except Jehovah keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.”

Daniel 4:30 “The king spoke and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”

Genesis 11:4 “And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name.”

Earthly resurrection not a viola­tion of rest day. Life pattern re­produced; no new humans created

John 5:28, 29 “The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear His voice and come out.”

Job 14:13-15 “Oh that You would hide me in sheol,… that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? . . . You would call, and I would answer You: You would have a desire to the work of Your hands.”

Psalm 119:73; 139:13, 15, 16 “Your hands have made me and fash­ioned me.” “For You did form my inward parts: … My frame was not hidden from You,. . . and in Your book they were all written.”

Matthew 12:11 “Who will be the man among you that has one sheep and, if this falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not get hold of it and lift it out?”

2. Weekly Sabbath

Genesis, chapters 1, 2, 8, 9, although mentioning seven-day divisions, do not command or in­dicate these to end with a sab­bath day.

First instituted with Israelites

Exodus 16:23, 26-30 “Jehovah has spoken, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto Je­hovah: . . . Six days you shall gather it [manna]; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none. And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See, for that Jehovah has given you the sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; let every man stay in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.”

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Deuteronomy 5:2, 3, 12, 15 “Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.. . . You were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an out­stretched arm: therefore Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.”

As a sign given only to the Jews

Amos 3:1, 2 “O children of Israel, .. . You only have I known of all the families of the earth.”

Exodus 31:16, IT “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever.”

Nehemiah 9:13, 14 “You came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes . .. and commanded them command­ments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses Your servant.”

Psalm 147:19, 20 “He shows His Word unto Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances unto Israel. He has not dealt so with any nation; and as for His ordinances, they have not known them.”

Good works of preaching and helping others could be done on Jewish sabbath

Luke 14:3, 4 “So in response Jesus spoke to those versed in the Law and to the pharisees, saying: ‘Is it lawful on the sab­bath to cure or not?’ But they kept silent. With that He took hold of the man, healed him and sent him away.”

Mark 1:21 “No sooner was it the sabbath than He entered into the synagogue and began to teach.”

Mark 3:4 “Next He said to them: ‘Is it lawful on the sabbath to do a good deed or to do an in­jury, to save or to kill a soul?’ “

Acts 13:42, 44 “Now when they were going out, the people began entreating for these matters to be spoken to them on the follow­ing sabbath. The next sabbath nearly all the city gathered to­gether to hear the word of Je­hovah.”

Acts 16:13 “And on the sabbath day we went forth outside the gate beside a river where we were thinking there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women that had assembled.”

Acts 17:2 “So according to Paul’s custom he went inside to them and for three sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.”

Acts 18:4 “However, he would give a talk in the synagogue every sabbath and would win over Jews and Greeks.”

Weekly Sabbath Not Enjoined upon Christians

Acts 15:28, 29 “For the holy spirit and we ourselves have fa­vored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep yourselves free from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things killed without draining their blood and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will pros­per.”

Galatians 4:9-11 “How is it that you are turning back again to the weak and inadequate elementary things and want to be slaves to them over again? You are scrupulously observing days and months and seasons and years.”

Colossians 2:16 “Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a feast day or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath.”

Romans 14:5, 10 “One man judges one day as above another; an­other man judges one day as all others; let each man be fully convinced in his own mind…. why do you judge your brother?”

3, 4. Other Sabbath Days and Years All Equally Binding upon the Israelites

Leviticus 16:29, 31 “In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, … It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you,… it is a statute for ever.”

Leviticus 23:2, 3, 6-8, 15, 21, 24, 39 “The set feasts of Jehovah,. . . on the seventh day is a sabbath … on the fifteenth day of the first month is the feast of un­leavened bread … you shall do no servile work. … in the seventh day … you shall do no servile work. And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath. . .. seven sabbaths … on the selfsame day; … ye shall do no servile work… In the sev­enth month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you,… on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,… you shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.”

Leviticus 25:1-13 “When you come into the land which I give you,… in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, . . . And you shall hallow the fiftieth year.”

Jesus Did Not Destroy Law by Breaking It, but Fulfilled and Completed It, for Moving It Out of the Way

Galatians 4:4, 5 “God sent forth His Son, who was produced out of a woman and who came to be under Law, that He might release by purchase those under Law.”

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill.”

Ephesians 2:15 “By means of His flesh He abolished the hatred, the Law of commandments con­sisting in decrees.”

Christ Considered the Entire Law One, Not Divided into “Moral” and “Ceremonial” Parts

Matthew 5:21, 23, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43 ” ‘You must not murder.’ [Exodus 20:13] … If, then, you are bring­ing your gift to the altar [Deuteronomy 16:16, 17] … ‘You must not com­mit adultery.’ [Exodus 20:14] . . . ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of di­vorce.’ [Deuteronomy 24:1] … ‘You must not swear without performing.’ [Numbers 30:2] …’Eve for eye and tooth for tooth.’ [Exodus 21:24]… ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'” [Exodus 23:4]

Matthew 5:18, 19 “Whoever, there­fore, breaks one of these least commandments and teaches mankind to that effect, he will be called ‘least’ in relation to the kingdom of the heavens.”

James 2:10 “For whoever observes all the Law but makes a false step in one point, he has become an offender against them all.”

5. Seventh-Day Sabbath a Shad­ow of 1,000-Year Rule of Christ as Glorious King to Benefit of Mankind

Mark 2:27, 28 “So He went on to say to them: ‘The sabbath came into existence for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the sabbath; hence the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath.'”

Luke 13:16 “Was it not due, then, for this woman who is a daughter of Abraham, and whom satan held bound, look! eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”

Matthew 12:11, 12 “Who will be the man among you that has one sheep and, if this falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not get hold of it and lift it out? All considered, of how much more worth is a man than a sheep!”

As Greater Noah (Meaning “Rest”) His Kingdom Sab­bath Will Bring Rest and Peace to the Earth

Genesis 5:28. 29 “And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh because of the ground which Jehovah has cursed.”