2022.03.01 The Essence of my Message Regarding Sabbath Observance Created by James on 3/6/2022 3:17:25 PM It seems that many people struggle with the concept of Sabbath Observance. In saying this, I must stress that this relates ONLY to committed Believers who are doing their best to serve Father Yah, the Eternally Self-Existing Creator of the Heavens and the Earth faithfully. This article seeks to present my understanding of Sabbath observance having done my best to be observant since around 2000, so for about 22 years.
As a point of departure, I hold that, unless otherwise specified in the case of a specific High Sabbath every Day begins at Sunrise and the weekly Sabbath therefore begins at Sunrise on Saturday and runs to Sunrise on Sunday. I understand that there are all sorts of arguments that the day begins with night, etcetera but I hold that these are not valid. This is discussed elsewhere on the website https://www.eti-ministries.org/
2022.03.01 The Essence of my Message Regarding Sabbath Observance
It seems that many people struggle with the concept of Sabbath Observance. In saying this, I must stress that this relates ONLY to committed Believers who are doing their best to serve Father Yah, the Eternally Self-Existing Creator of the Heavens and the Earth faithfully. This article seeks to present my understanding of Sabbath observance having done my best to be observant since around 2000, so for about 22 years.
As a point of departure, I hold that, unless otherwise specified in the case of a specific High Sabbath every Day begins at Sunrise and the weekly Sabbath therefore begins at Sunrise on Saturday and runs to Sunrise on Sunday. I understand that there are all sorts of arguments that the day begins with night, etcetera but I hold that these are not valid. This is discussed elsewhere on the website https://www.eti-ministries.org/
Following are some Bible verses that have a bearing on this:
Exodus 20:8 to 11 sets out the Fourth Commandment in some detail: “8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it Set-Apart {holy}. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yah the Eternally Self-Existing your Mighty One {the LORD your God}, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. 11 For in six days Yah the Eternally Self-Existing {the LORD} made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore Yah the Eternally Self-Existing blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as Set-Apart {holy}.”
Other verses that have a bearing include:
Genesis 2:2 “And by the seventh day the Almighty {God} had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.” Note that in this instance “day” refers to an indeterminate period of time, we are currently in the seventh “day” of Yah’s endeavours and Yah is resting waiting for us to make His enemies a footstool to His feet.
Exodus 16:23 “He (Moshe {Moses}) told them, "This is what Yah the Eternally Self-Existing has said: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to Yah the Eternally Self-Existing So bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Then set aside whatever remains and keep it until morning.'"
Exodus 23:12 “For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.”
Exodus 31:13 "Tell the Israelites, 'Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am Yah the Eternally Self-Existing who sanctifies you.”
Exodus 31:15 “For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, Set-Apart to Yah the Eternally Self-Existing. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.” So, as with ALL of the Ten Commandments there is a death penalty or at the very least torment in Hell after death for violating the Sabbath.
Leviticus 26:2 “You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am Yah the Eternally Self-Existing.”
Deuteronomy 5:14 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yah the Eternally Self-Existing your Mighty One: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.”
We then obtain some clarification from Yahooshua:
Mark 2 23 to 28 “23 One Sabbath Yahooshua {Jesus} was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. 24 So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 Yahooshua replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.” 27 Yahooshua declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Adam {Man} is Adonai {Lord} even of the Sabbath.” This is confirmed in Matthew 12:1 and 2 and Luke 6:1. Note that all human beings are sons of Adam {sons of Man}.
Luke 14 1 to 6 “1 One Sabbath, Yahooshua went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely. 2 Right there before Him was a man with dropsy. 3 So Yahooshua asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
4 But they remained silent.
Then Yahooshua took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. 5 And He asked them, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will not immediately pull him out?”
6 And they were unable to answer these questions.”
Luke 13 10 to 17 “10 One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight. 12 When Yahooshua saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your disability.” 13 Then He placed His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and began to glorify the Almighty.
14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Yahooshua had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
15 “You hypocrites!” Adonai {the Lord} replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water? 16 Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
17 When Yahooshua said this, all His adversaries were humiliated. And the whole crowd rejoiced at all the glorious things He was doing.”
My interpretation
There are some challenges in the above verses.
I would like to offer my interpretation of the Commandment as follows – specifically, the Sabbath IS to be strictly observed BUT there are situations where Grace applies such as the healing of infirmity by the Spirit of Yah, rescuing someone in danger, feeding domestic animals, etc.
My application of these principles is as follows:
- What is permissible?
- Eating and basic food preparation.
- Worshipping, fundamentally the Sabbath is a day to worship Yah.
- If you are a minister serving Yah then ministry is permissible whether this is your full time occupation or part time.
- Reading about the matters of Yah.
- Teaching about the matters of Yah.
- Researching about the matters of Yah.
- Discussing the matters of Yah.
- Anything relating to the service of Yah.
- Urgent medical treatment.
- I hold that it IS permissible to visit a restaurant to eat a Sabbath meal but I accept that is controversial – my perspective is that there is no restriction on unbelievers working on the Sabbath so if they want to prepare and serve food to Believers on the Sabbath that is acceptable.
- What is NOT permissible?
- Anything that can be done on another day of the week that is NOT time critical on the Sabbath.
- Any form of commercial activity.
- Anything to do with your day job.
- Any form of studying, discussing, writing, researching of a commercial nature.
- Non-essential medical treatment.
- Shopping including online shopping.
- Watering plants that can be watered on another day of the week.
- Cutting toe nails or finger nails or any form of beauty treatment or similar.
- Banking.
- Any form of secular errand.
- Anything analogous to the previous points.
- Barring the matters listed above as permissible I take a fairly narrow and fairly strict view of what is permissible. I hold that fundamentally the Sabbath is time for serving Father and doing His work and worshipping Him.
Essentially I hold that the Sabbath should be a pleasant day in service of Yah. It should NOT be oppressive and unpleasant and at the same time this is qualified by the need to keep the day set-apart to Yah.
High Sabbaths
The seven High Sabbaths should be observed even more strictly than the weekly Saturday Sabbath.
Specifically in sequence through the calendar year:
- Pesach {Passover} – commemorates the Covenant between Yah and the people of Yisrael {Israel} prior to their deliverance from Egypt (Mitzraim). Also commemorates the final supper of Yahooshua and the New Covenant entered into through his death, see https://www.eti-ministries.org/miracle-of-yahooshua-jesus-death
Observe strictly taking account of the above points. Might usher in with roast lamb the night before the Passover. There are various Jewish traditions regarding “The Seder” which I do NOT observe. You may choose to investigate them and observe them.
- Shavuot {Pentecost} – commemorates when Yah came down on Mount Sinai after the Ysraelites came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. Also commemorates when the Spirit of Yah was poured out on the Believers in the Upper Room 40 days after Pesach.
Observe strictly with particular emphasis on remembering the events above and asking Father to pour out His Spirit on you.
- Yom Teruah {The Feast of Trumpets} – commemorate with the blowing of the Shofar (Ram’s Horn trumpet). If you do not have a Shofar you may be able to find one to purchase on Amazon. Sound the Trumpet at least once during the day. This is a day of rejoicing and feasting.
- Yom Kippur {the Day of Atonement} – the day on which the annual atoning sacrifice was offered when there was a Temple. Yahooshua has fulfilled this Sacrifice so that should be commemorated on this day. This is a strict water only fast from Sunset to Sunset. A time for introspection and examining oneself seeking to repent of ALL unrepented sin.
- First Day of Sukkot {First Day of Tabernacles} – start of the Harvest Festival in the Northern Hemisphere, observe as such whether you are in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere. A day of rejoicing, giving thanks and feasting.
Also the day on which Yahooshua was born so if you have a real need to commemorate Yahooshua’s birth this is the day to do it and NOT 25th December, see https://www.eti-ministries.org/yahooshua-and-feast-of-tabernacles and https://www.eti-ministries.org/true-birthday-of-yahooshuaI personally do NOT see a need to particularly recall the birth of Yahooshua.He is, after all, simply a human being, albeit a human being who played a very special role in history.
- Great Day of Sukkot {Great Day of Tabernacles} – eighth day – Feast day, the culmination of eight days of celebrating the Harvest and giving thanks. If you have traditionally observed Christmas and / or Thanksgiving as major feasts THIS is the day for a major feast according to Father’s parameters.
Conclusion
I hope that this has helped to clarify priorities with regard to Sabbath Observance.
May Yah the Eternally Self-Existing, the Almighty Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you His peace.
May Yah judge me severely and correct me harshly with regard to any sin or error in my life or in this message.
Dr James A Robertson
Spokesman and Emissary of Yah
End Time Issue Ministries
Sunday 06 March 2022
Radio Broadcasts on www.W4CY.com Radio, please join me -- Friday at 11 am USA Eastern Time, UK 4 pm, SA 6 pm; Sydney Australia 3:00 am Saturday.
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