The Sabbath
- The Sabbath was introduced on the seventh day of creation week as
a memorial of God's creatorship. On that day God rested; then He
blessed the seventh day and set it apart for a holy purpose. Genesis
2:2, 3.
- After Israel left Egypt, God again made plain the obligation of
the seveth-day Sabbath to His people, and included it in His Ten
Commandments. Exodus 16:4, 5, 14-30; 20:8-11.
- In the centuries that followed, the obligation of the Sabbath was
kept before Israel by the prophets. Ezekiel 20:12, 20.
- It was because of their violation of the Sabbath that Israel and
Judah went into captivity. Jeremiah 17:27.
- After the Babylonian captivity, Sabbath reform was prominent
among the needed changes as the people were established again in
their homeland. Nehemiah 9:14; 10:31; 13:15-22.
- The life and teachings of Jesus highlighted the sacredness and
significance of the Sabbath. Mark 27, 28; Luke 4:16.
- The coming of apostasy and turning away from the Sabbath was
foretold in prophecy. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13.
- Special emphasis is placed on the commandments of God and the
restoration of the Sabbath among God's people in the last days.
Revelation 14:7, 12; Isaiah 58:12-14.
- The sabbath is to be a test for the world in last days.
Revelation 13:17.
- The Sabbath will be kept by God's people in the new earth.
Isaiah 66:23.