Sabbath

The Church of God, that has received the Second Coming Christ Ahnsahnghong, keeps the Sabbath on Saturday, according to the Bible. The seventh-day Sabbath is the day on which God rested from creating the heavens and the earth. Most Christians are mistaken as to what day the seventh-day Sabbath is, believing it to be Sunday, even though the Bible testifies that the Sabbath is Saturday. And they do not keep the Sabbath day, being bound to their customs, even though they realize that the Sabbath is actually Saturday. The Bible warns us not to add or subtract even the smallest letter from the Bible. Rev. 22:18-19 『I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.』 The Day to Commemorate God the CreatorThe Sabbath day is "a memorial day honoring the Creator, who made the heavens and the earth," and is also "a day of rest." God created the heavens and the earth in six days and then rested on the seventh day from all of His work, even blessing this day. Gen. 2:1-3 『Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.』 In the time of Moses, God commanded His people, in the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments, to "remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." God explained the purpose for keeping the Sabbath by saying, "In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Ex. 20:11). The seventh day was the day that God, the Creator, had blessed and it was the day that God's people were given to commemorate God's authority. God's people, who worshiped the Creator, kept the Sabbath day as their holy day. God gave His people the Sabbath as the sign by which God would recognize them as His people (Ezek. 20:11-17; Isa. 56:1-7). The Sabbath day is to be a day of worshiping and of offering sacrifices to God, rather than simply a day of rest. God blessed those who kept the Sabbath day and brought great punishment and disaster upon those who did not keep the Sabbath day. Jer. 17:24-27 『"But if you are careful to obey me, declares the LORD...keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it,...this city will be inhabited forever.... But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses."』 The Sabbath Day Is SaturdayToday, we refer to the days of the week as 'Sundaay, Monday, Tuesday,' and no longer 'the first day, the second day, the third day.' Our present-day system was developed in Rome where people decided to call the first day of the week 'Sunday,' the second day 'Monday,' the third day 'Tuesday,' and the seventh day 'Saturday.' 1) A calendar week has seven days; Sunday is the first day and Saturday is the seventh day. 2) Think about the word. "Weekend." Which day does the 'end' of the 'week' indicate? 3) Even in the dictionary, Sunday is defined as 'the first day of the week,' and Saturday as 'the seventh day of the week.' 4) The Bible also testifies that the seventh day, the Sabbath day, is Saturday. Mark 16:9 (When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week...) Jesus resurrected on the first day of the week. No one argues that Jesus resurrected on Sunday-the 'first day of the week'-which is why all Christians now celebrate Resurrection Day on Sunday. In the Good News Bible, this verse is written, 'After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday...' Since the first day of the week is Sunday, what day is the seventh day? Through the Bible, we can confirm that the Sabbath day is Saturday. Jesus and His Apostles Kept the SabbathThe Old Testament is a shadow and a copy of the New Testament. Thus, the law of the Old Testament was a shadow of the good things that were to come in the New Testament times (Heb. 10:1). The Sabbath day in the Old Testament was called "the Sabbath of Jehovah" (Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12), while the Sabbath day in the New Testament was called "the Sabbath of Jesus" (Matt. 12:8; Luke 6:5). The Sabbath day, according to the Old Testament law, was only a copy; the Sabbath day of the new covenant, kept in Christ, is the reality. In the New Testament times, the apostles kept the Sabbath day by worshiping God in spirit and in truth, following Jesus Christ's example. Jesus kept the Sabbath as His custom. Luke 4:16 『He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom....』 In the New Testament times, the Sabbath day is referred to as "Jesus' [the Lord's] day" because the true Lord of the Sabbath is Jesus Christ. "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Matt. 12:8; Luke 6:5). The apostles kept the Sabbath day as the "Lord's [Jesus'] day." Rev. 1:10 『On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit...』 As the times of the Old Testament passed away and the New Testament times began, the way in which God's people were to keep the Sabbath day was changed; however, the day the Sabbath was to be commemorated was never changed. (In the Old Testament times, God's people offered burnt offerings and could not even kindle a fire in their houses, while in New Testament times, people worshipped God in spirit and in truth.) The day itself could not be changed because it was on the seventh day that God had rested from all of His creating work. The apostles kept the Sabbath day as their custom, reasoning from the Scriptures as follows: Acts 17:2 『As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures...』 Acts 20:6-7 『But we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week we came together to break bread...』 As it is written in the above verses, the apostles kept the Sabbath day. It is proven throughout the Scriptures that the Sabbath day?the seventh day, Saturday, Jesus' day?was kept until the apostolic age. So why do so many present-day Christians hold services on Sunday [the first day] and not on the Sabbath day? According to history, Sunday service originated from pagan sun-god worship. The Romans had been worshiping the sun god on the first day [Sunday], recognizing it as "the day of the sun," even before the birth of Jesus. The Sabbath Was Changed to SundayAfter the apostles died, Christianity spread to western regions, including Rome. The gospel was preached to sun-god worshipers, and in the early 4th century, even the Roman emperor had heard the message of Christ. The emperor happened to be a leader of the sun-god worshipers, and when he converted to Christianity, many sun-god worshipers began to attend Church. As time passed, the faith of the Christians weakened, and they began to accept the customs of the sun-god worshipers. During this turn-over, they even began to rest and to worship on the first day of the week [Sunday]. In A.D. 321, Constantine, a Roman emperor, decreed an edict: "All judges, city-people and craftsmen shall rest on the venerable day of the Sun." Some argue that the abolishment of the Sabbath compelled many people to convert to Christianity, but we must not forget that altering God's commandments was Satan's scheme. Satan, the devil, opposes God and has historically harassed God's people, using various methods. He tried to destroy the Church of God through severe persecution. But, taking a close look at history, the more that God's people were persecuted, the more that they depended on God. When Satan changed his methods of persecution, however, and praised the Church, he tempted the Christians to combine their faiths together. They were given back the properties that had been taken from them, ministers were exempted from military service, and the Church was even given the right to emancipate slaves. Through all of these outwardly positive changes to the Church, the Christians unwittingly fell into Satan's schemes and knelt down before him. They turned their backs away from God, like an ignorant bear who doesn't realize that his gallbladder is going to be stolen, only focusing on the sweet candy he is being tempted with. God clearly said that only he who does the will of God can enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21-23). Which day should we worship God to please Him, Sunday which most people keep, or the Sabbath, Saturday, which God commanded His people to keep? It is unnecessary to reveal the answer, because the Sabbath day is clearly Saturday. The Church of God Established by GodThe Church of God, established by God, does not follow man-made rules, only God's laws. They recognize that no one is able to give salvation except God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Jesus already revealed that those who follow the laws of men cannot be saved. Mark 7:6-9 『He [Jesus] replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!"』 The Church of God was established on the foundation of the apostles who followed the teachings of Jesus Christ, and it has not changed since its inception. The true Church follows the laws which Jesus and the apostles observed. No matter how many members a church has, if the church has different doctrines than those of Jesus Christ, it could not have originated from Jesus. We keep the Sabbath day?the memorial day of the Creator?not observing the law of the Old Testament, but following the law of the new covenant which Jesus and the apostles obeyed. The saints, who will be saved on the last day, the day of God's judgment, are those who follow in Jesus' footsteps. The Sabbath day, one of Christ's footmarks, is a very precious commandment of God.