lYhy I Keep the Seventh Day

Sabbath

I was not raised as a seventh day Sabbath-keeper. From the monrent of my birth until the age

of 27 years I remained in the tradition of keepingSunday (the first day of the week) as the weeklyholy day.

I realll' had no reason to quest,ion Sundaykeeping early in my life. My immediate familyc:ame from the t radition of the German BaptistBrethren, which for some years now (since the1920s) has been known as the Church of theBrethren. My family was religious to the pointwhere we regu larly attended services. We avoidedother religions; for the most part we wereseparatists. F'rlr example, we never talked to the,lehovah's Witness representatives who visited infre-quentlv. rlr to any representative of other religions.

I wus quite c:oncerned about my religion from myvery youth. My family cautioned the children toread, believe, and obey the Bible. At the age of 10,

I felt convieted to join the Church of the Brethrenduring a revival meeting. I was baptized andber:ame a member at that time, perhaps more out ofemotion than out of dnderstanding, although I hadalreadl' absorbed a vast amount of Scripture, havingattended literally hundreds of worship services bythat tinre. My grandfather, who was a deacon inthe lrnrl ('ongregation, would take me with him toservi(:es, and many times I sat with him in thefront of the meeting house (we didn't call it a

chureh then) with the elders of the congregation.That time much Scripture was still being preached.

Flach serviee started with an opening sermonette,folkrwed by a long sermon, and then another closingor sumnlary sermonette. Sometimes servicescontinued on frtr three hours or more.

Probably because of my family background, I waslater appointed as a Sunday school teacher,eventually teaching three different classes. Ireal ized I needecl more education in the biblicalmessage, And so decided to apply myself to Biblestudy. I remember a minister in the localcongregation kindly gave me direction and helpedme get started. However, during the middle andlate 1950s the economy was rapidly expanding, and

for a time I applied myself more to obtainingmaterial possessions than Bible knowledge.

It just so happened that the Berks CountySunday School Ass<rciation was offering two courses

to ehurch leaders about that time. The courses were

sponsored by Albright College and taught by college

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professors. One of these teachers was a Lutheranm inister, and the other teacher was a minister ofthe German Reformed Church (currently UnitedChurch of Ch-st). fire cource in "Teaching Bible"aided me to teach more effectively, but it wasactually the course in "Bible" that became theturning point in my life. This course was taught bythe Lutheran minister, who, after explaining thetools for thorough Bible study (obtain a good studyBible, Concordances, Commentaries, etc.), began hiscourse lecture by stating, "The Almighty's Name isYahweh." But then he added, "'We call Him L-rd orG-d." Several years later when it came to myattention that the Name of the Almighty is ofsupreme importance in our faith, I already hadknown the Name, used it in prayer, and encoun-tered it several times in my personal Bible study.

Approximately November, 1961, the Sundayschool lesson I taught to my young married people's

class concerned the fourth commandment, thekeeping of the Sabbath. We studied through thefourth commandment in the allotted time of anhour. After some additional study and thought, Iwas not as convinced about keeping Sunday as I hadbeen before. But, the challenge still had not beenforthrightly presented to me regarding which day Imust personally choose to keep in my daily life.

Since several perplexing problems were creatingturmoil in the Church of the Brethren congregationI was then attending, my mind started to open as Ibegan asking the question, "Where Is the TrueWorship? Where is the Holy Spirit at work todayas it was in the Apostolic Assembly in the book ofActs?"

The previous year I had taught six months oflessons and gone through the book of Acts. I sawthere before my eyes the candid manifestation of thepower of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives ofmen, mightily moving the brethren of the ApostolicAssembly following the impalement of Yahshua theMessiah. Clearly, I could not balance out or justifysome of the things I saw happening in the Church ofthe Brethren local congregation.

One Saturday evening I was lying on the sofareading a pamphlet that had come in the mail inwhich a fundamentalist preacher was exhorting thereader to become more zealous for his faith. Ilooked up at my wife and asked her, "Why can't wesee this kind of a display of sincerity in ourchurch?" She forthrightly stated, "lt is evident thatthe Holy Spirit is not at work here, or else thepeople are not following the Holy Spirit." Suddenly,into my mind popd the idea of attending anotherehurch.

Over the next several weeks I attended serviees ina number of different churches.

TWo young couples that I had been teaching inSunday school class then heard that I was searching

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for the group where the Holy Spirit was active. Itseems they had joined a Bible Study group and hadbecome convinced of usi4g the Saered Name ofYahweh and Yahshua the Messiah. I clearly recallhow they telephoned me and asked if we could allsit down and have a Bible study. "Sure," I replied,"Come right over." I always enjoyed studying thesacred Scriptures and discussing the Word.

That was on a Saturday evening. As we sataround our dining room table they asked mefirst if I knew the true Name of the A l-mighty. I replied, "Yes, it's Yahweh." I guess

my answer shocked them, but their rejoinder causeda bombshell to explode in my mind when theyasked, "If you know it, why don't you use it?" Yes,I had to admit immediately, why am I substitutingdifferent words for the revealed, personal Name ofour Heavenly Father? He tells us in His Word thatHis Name is Yahweh, then why am I calling Himsomething else? (He tells us also that the seventhday is the Sabbath, how does the first day 0f theweek then mysteriously become the "Christian"Sabbath?)

We next discussed the keeping of the command-ments (including the Sabbath and the annual feasts),and that's about where our talk ended for the night,as I said I wanted to study these subjects flsoper onmy own.

The following day was the last Sunday I haveever observed as a holy day. On that Sunday Ididn't go anywhere to worship services. I stayedhome and studied the Scriptures, seeing things I hadnever seen before in my Bible. I studied the subjectof the keeping of the seventh day Sabbath. I readthe passages from my own Bible, and with thecenterrolumn referenees, pursued the subjectthrough the entire book. Then, I happened toremember a correspondenee Bible Study course mywife had taken which had advocated the keeping ofthe seventh day Sabbath. I asked her to dig up thecourse for ffie, and then I went through it rapidlyand read the Scriptures they had noted. Severaladditional Scriptures were given that I had notbefore considered.

After a long productive morning of Bible studywith my wife, I turned to her and said, "Honey,next week we will begin keeping the seventh daySabbath." From then on (early 1962) we haveobserved the Sabbath and plan to continue to theend of our lives or until Yahshua returns.

We didn't really know how to keep the Sabbath.My wife and I had to learn this on our own.Initially we made some mistakes that helped us gainexperience. We had to apply the principles ofproperly keeping the Sabbath ac.eording to thebiblical day, from Friday night sundown toSaturday night sundown (Leviticus 23:32 and Mark1:32I We had to learn that we cannot buy and

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sell-anything-on the Sabbath, Jererniah 17 :19-Zland Nehemiah l3:l*22.

Together we learned that we must avoid doingour own pleasure on the Sabbath, Isaiah 58:12-13.We also learned that it is lawful to do good on theSabbath (Mark 3:4), and that we must have a holyconvocation each week (Leviticus 23:3). We learnedthat Yahweh means to give us a reeuperative resteach week.

In the last days, the Bible says, knowledge will be

increased, Daniel l2:4. The question now before youis this: Which day will you keep? You also mustmake your personal choice. You can no longer jumpback and forth between two opinions, keeping thewrong day or keeping two days each week holy, IKings 18:24. If there is no concrete reason to befound in the Bible for keeping Sunday, and certainlyno commandment anywhere in the sacred Scripturesto keep it, why do you continue keeping Sunday?

If there is indeed a concrete commandment in theBible, the same commandment with which I beganthis article, why do you not keep it? Certainly, youcannot lose by keeping the Sabbath, can you? IfSunday is not legislated, but the keeping of theseventh day Sabbath is, then, by simply beingobedient to our Heavenly Father Yahweh, you willreceive His blessing. If sin is the transgression ofYahweh's Law, and you are breaking that law bynot keeping the seventh day holy, will you not loseyour everlasting salvation by continuing Sundayworsh ip?

The world today is a Babylonish system builtupon the keeping of the first day of the week andpagan holidays that are not cornrnanded, in theBible. But we can change that! We can make ourdetermined stand for TRUTH in these last days, andthereby sanctify Almighty Yahweh our HeavenlyFather and His authority by which He declares theseventh day of the week to be the day of rest andthe seventh day Sabbath.

If you are conternplating the decision of whichday to keep, perhaps the following reasons why I nolonger keep Sunday will be helpful to you infinalizing your personal decision.

I can no longer keep Sunday bequse it is thefirst day of the week, and not the seventh. Anycalendar you would care to peruse will plainly giveyou that infrrrmation. [.,ook at the ealendar. TheChristians are keeping the first day of the uteek,and not the seaenth. Yahveh's commandment tells us tokeep the seoenth daU holy, Exodus 20:&I I.

Almighty Yahweh has declared the seventh dayof the week as the day He set apart, sanctified andmade holy, Exodus 31:12-18.

He has never placed that kind of ernphasis uponthe first day of the week.

Although Christians will tell you that they keepthe first day of the week holy because yahshua the

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Messiah was resurrected on that day, there is absolutely

no biblical support for that assertion. Yahshuathe l{essiah wirs raised from the dead in the end ofthe Subbuth. Matthew 28:1. This makes three fulldrtvs lrnrl thrt.e full nights (seventv-two hours) thatht' slx,rrt in the tomb, Mutthew 12:.10 If He was notl'esut'r't,t'tt'rl on the morning of the first da.y of thervr,(,k. tht,n r+'hv t'ontinue to keep it? The only sign,rl' IIis Nlessiirhshilr is His predit'tion of how long Hes'orr lrl lic in the tonrh-and no human (,an predictsrrch rr nrinrt'ulotrs r(,surrection ev(,nt ftrr himselft,\r't,|)t tlte tt'ut, Nlessiirh.

SrrnrLrv w:rs u rilrv on vvhich the pugalns worshipedtht, sun. Iiirirl r,r'orship. esyx,ciallv, with its worshipol' n:ttul'r' \r'rrs :r sun-\4'orshiping religi<ln. Ry readingI'lz.t,kit,l ,8: l(i \rou ntirv see that Israel had emulatedIl:t:r l-u',,t'sh i1t.

It \\'rrs lr Iionurn (,nll)eror, (.onstAntine, who in:|l; ('.ll lt,gislirtt,d the keeping of the Subbath frrrthis ('hristiirn enr. He witsn't even baptized then!I ip to tlrirt lxrint t]re Alxrstolic' Assenrbly and itsl:ritlrtul rc.nrn:rI)t gt'oup had t'ontinued to keep theSittrlxrt h. 'fhev were t.rrlled Nazarenes. Acts 24.5.

Tht'r' rrrovt'd to Tt'irrtsjot'dan, fleeing befrrre theItorrr:rn Arnries just prior to the destruction of,lt,r'usirlt,rn. Flven itfter ('onstitntine legislated thekeepi ng of Su ndav in zl determ ined program ofreligir)us svn('t'etism for his empire, remnants of the'l'l'ut,Worshipers who migrated to Europe continuedt o rt,sist the religious authorities of Rome. WhenItorrrt, tried to st:rnrp out the keeping of the Sabbath,('ountlt'ss hundrerls of these devoted Sabbath keepersd i t'rl.

I ket,p the hiblit'ul seventh dr.v Sabbath because

our tlt'avenlv F rrther legislated its sanctity at('r't,ittion ((ienesis 2:l :|). itnd it reflects the propheey

of the grcat rla1, of s:tlvittion frrr this world duringthe sel)enlh one thousand year perird called theMillennium (Hebrews 4:9). ('onsec;uentl.y. the keeping oftht'sirtrllitth rnust stand as iI sign uniting Yahwehw'ith His true Spirit-begotten preople and mustenrlurt fronr the ('t'eation to the Millennium (Ezekiel

20:12, 20).

Sorne p,ople keep Su nday becituse they bel ieveour lUessiah did nrtt legislitte the observan('e of an1'

spet'ifit'day in the New Testantent era. Such is a

ftrlse irssunlption. All vou need to do is read

Mitttlreu'2.1:20. in whit'h our Saviot'Yahshua theMt,ssialt ind it'ittes that the Sabbath would be

ot)s('r'r'r,(l both in 7ll C.E. as well in the end of the:rg(,u'ht'rt:rll things ilt'e to be fulfilled. Tlre

Sirlrlxrtlr is st ill it sitt't'ed ditv. itnd we must

nol lx,gin ir.iout'ner'ott the Sabbitth. Our only'

.journel'nrust be the fulfillment of the t'ommand-

rnent to have zI hol.y convocation. In fact, it was

Yuhshuir's ('ustont to keep the Sabbath each week

and go to the house of worship. [.,uke 4:16. [)o vou

follow His example, 1 Peter 2:21? Christians don'tfollow Him in many doetrines taught in theirchurches.

I cannot keep the first day of the week, because

Almiehty Yahweh, through the prophet Isaiah(56:l-7), tells us that those who keep the seventh daySabbath will be included in the covenant withAlmighty Yahweh. Even Gentiles are obligated tokeep the Sabbath. The Sabbath, not Sunday, will be

observed during the Millennium, Isaiah 66:23. Imust learn these lessons now.

I keep the Sabbath because the Savior, Yahshuathe Messiah, kept it, Luke 4:16. He is Master of theSabbath, Mark 2:27-28.

I observe the biblical seventh day Sabbathbecause the Apostles observed it, AcLs 13:14, 44. Itwas eustomary for Paul (as well as the others) toattend services on the Sabbath, Acts l7:2.

The Apostles inform us in Hebrews 4:9 that thereremains the keeping of the Sabbath for the peopleof Yahweh. How can I spurn such a plainstatement pointedly indicating that the Sabbathcontinues in a position of vital and supremeimportance throughout this New Testament era?

In the final analysis, I keep the biblical seventhday Sabbath because I wish to be obedient to theeommandments of the Almighty Heavenly Fatherwho legislated it. The Sabbath is among the mostimportant commandments, because of the manytimes that Almighty Yahweh mentions it in Hislaw. Sin is the transgression of the law, I John 3:4

and Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22, 27. I can prove that thesame day the lsraelites observed for the Sabbath inExodus 16 is the very same day we keep today.

Consequently, with these and many other reasons,

my personal deeision has been unalterably made. Iwill obey Almighty Yahweh and keep the day Helegislated in His Word-the seventh day of theweek.

What will be your own personal decision? Willyou obey Him? Or, will you reject the Word of thetrue Mighty One Yahweh and our Savior Yahshuathe Messiah? If you want to be there with theMessiah in His Kingdom, you must obey His Wordand beeome a seventh day Sabbath keeper too. Canwe expect you to attend our services th is comingSabbath? We hope so!

Special Note: If you have never read ourbooklet, "The l.ourth Commandment Enigma, Which[)ay to Keep?" write in immediately and request it.This booklet is absolutely free for the asking. Writeto:

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kthel, PA 19507Telephone 1lD 933-4518

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KeUs to Knowledge

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O Copyrlgh, 19t3, Aoaembllco of YahuehBethel, PA 19507

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