[Question]

Can you explain the Sabbath in a simple way?

[Answer]

The Sabbath means to rest without doing any labor, and its origin is found in Genesis 1. God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, which became the origin of the Sabbath. The first proclamation of the Sabbath was when Israel was freed from slavery after 430 years in Egypt. At that time, God declared the Sabbath to give the Israelites rest, as they had labored without rest in Egypt. The Sabbath was established as a system to give rest and freedom to those who were poor and enslaved.

Sabbath = A system made for people

In terms of days, the Sabbath is observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, based on the Israelite method of defining a day, which starts at sunset. On the Sabbath, the people in the Old Testament (from Moses’ time to the time of Jesus) stopped all labor and gathered in synagogues to rest. The priests also offered sacrifices at the temple at 9 AM and 3 PM, killing unblemished lambs as offerings to God.

Unlike the Jews who forbade work on the Sabbath, Jesus healed the sick and performed many works, which led the Jews to criticize Him for breaking the Sabbath. However, Jesus corrected them, saying that the Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. Therefore, Jesus argued that saving people on the Sabbath was not a violation of it.

Mark 2:27 - "Then he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'"

Thus, the saints of the New Testament performed acts of salvation on the Sabbath, such as evangelizing.

Old Testament Sabbath = Prohibiting all labor
New Testament Sabbath = Allowing labor for the salvation of people

The Church of God claims that the method of observing the Sabbath changed from the Old Testament, where lambs were sacrificed, to the New Testament, where the Sabbath is kept by preaching the Scriptures. However, this claim is an ignorant misunderstanding of the Bible. In the Old Testament, the priests sacrificed unblemished lambs at the temple on the Sabbath. These sacrificed lambs symbolized Jesus and the early church saints. Therefore, while the Old Testament Sabbath involved sacrificing unblemished lambs, the New Testament Sabbath involves unblemished saints preaching the gospel and, through martyrdom, entering the Sabbath rest in heaven.

Old Testament Sabbath = Sacrificing an unblemished lamb
New Testament Sabbath = Unblemished saints preaching the gospel and entering heaven through martyrdom

Therefore, in the Old Testament, the Sabbath was observed through sacrificing lambs and resting, but in the New Testament, the Sabbath itself was abolished for the purpose of evangelizing. Those who insist on observing the day and attending Sabbath sermons, claiming it is required to go to heaven, are ignorant of the Bible.

Colossians 2:16-17 - "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

Acts 18:4 - "Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks."