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Monday
Today I would
like to talk to you about the Sabbath Day, which is called
in Hebrew, “Shabbat”. Shabbat is a primary Hebrew root
word which has many meanings. It means “to cease from
exertion, to rest, to put away, to rid your self of”. But
it also means “to celebrate” (as in celebrating the
benefits of entering that rest).
In Genesis 2:2&3 we see
that God created the Sabbath day in the very beginning,
long before the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were
born. God created Shabbat, sanctified it and blessed it,
and set it apart as a special holy day for His creation to
“rest” and to be in “fellowship” with Him.
In Gen 2:2&3 we also see
that Shabbat is definitely the 7 th day of the week. It
reads in Hebrew, “Yom hash-vee-ee” which means the 7 th
day. That means from Friday evening at sundown to Saturday
evening at sundown, not only according to the Hebrew
calendar, but according to the Bible as well. Therefore
Shabbat should not be “watered down” to any other day of
the week, not even Sunday (don't get me wrong, I'm not
saying that you shouldn't go to church on Sunday – God
should be worshipped every day of the week.) But don't
call Sunday the Sabbath Day, because it is not!
In Exodus 20:8-11 we see
that observing the Sabbath day is one of the 10
commandments. God gave the Sabbath to the Israelites, but
He also gave Shabbat to any “strangers,” who were living
amongst or who had “joined” themselves to the Israelites
(Ex 20:10 ). The word stranger reads in Hebrew, “geyr”
which means a foreigner, an alien, a stranger, a
non-Israelite or one who is from the nations – in other
words, a Gentile!. Even in the 10 commandments in the
Torah itself, God clearly states that Shabbat is for Jews
and Gentiles alike
As you further examine the
Scriptures you will see that God gave all the biblical
feasts to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles as well.
This would include the Feast of Passover, Unleavened Bread
in the early spring, all the way through the Fest of
Tabernacles in the fall according to Ex. 12:19 and Deut
16:9-14.
According to Lev. 23:1-3
Shabbat is definitely a feast of the Lord, a feast that we
get to celebrate not just once a year like the other
biblical feasts, but a feast that we get to celebrate once
a week, every week of the year. At the end of a long “work
week”, what a blessing it is to be able to “throw your
hands up in the air” and say “Thank God, it's Shabbat!”
Lev. 23:3 also calls
Shabbat a “holy Convocation”, a “sacred assembly”,
indicating that the Israelites and any Gentiles who had
“joined themselves” to the Jewish people “gathered
together” on Shabbat to worship the Lord. The writer of
Hebrews adds to this in Heb. 10:25 that we, as believers
in Yeshua (Jesus) “should not forsake the gathering of the
assembly”.
We hope that you will join
us each week at the Tabernacle as we gather together to
praise and worship the God of Israel, to study His Word
throughout the entire Bible, to pray for the peace of
Jerusalem, and to fellowship together in the Holy Spirit
and above all, to lift up the Name of all names – the Name
of Yeshua (Jesus), who is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Tuesday
Yesterday I
began to speak to you about the Sabbath Day, called in
Hebrew, Shabbat. We saw that is definitely the 7 th day of
the week (Gen. 2:2&3), which reads in Hebrew “Yom Hash-vee-ee”,
which means the 7 th day, which according to the bible is
from Friday evening at sundown through Saturday evening at
sundown. We also saw that the observance of Shabbat is one
of the 10 commandments and that it is to be observed not
only by the Jewish people, but also by any non-Jews
(meaning those who are from the nations) who are living
amongst, or who have “joined themselves” to the Jewish
people (Ex 20:10).
We also saw that God
created Shabbat for all mankind, long before the 10
commandments and the Torah were given to Moses and the
children of Israel – again according to Gen 2:2&3.
Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah
Himself re-affirmed this in Mark 2:27 when he said “The
Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” He
said this because the Pharisees (like many Talmudic Rabbis
today) were imposing many man-made traditions upon the
people in regards to Shabbat, making it a hardship to keep
the Sabbath; when all along, God created the Sabbath to be
a blessing for mankind, and that they should “delight in
the Sabbath” (According to Isaiah 58:13&14).
Now Yeshua of course was
Jewish. He was circumcised on the 8 th day (Luke 2:21 )
which was the seal of God's covenant with Abraham. He was
dedicated, officially named at the Temple on the 8 th day
(Luke 2:21 ), which was the custom of the Jewish people.
He fulfilled his “rite of passage” (which was a former
name for “Bar Mitzvah”) (Luke 2:46 &47), and according to
Luke 4:16 , Yeshua attended Shabbat services on a regular
basis – HE STILL DOES!
Yeshua never did away with
Sabbath – remember, he said in Matt. 5:17&18 “Do not think
I've come to abolish the Law or the prophets, I've come to
fulfill them. Until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen will
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Not only did Jesus honor
and keep the Sabbath – he Himself created it! In the
gospel of John, chap. 1:1-3 it says “In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God-all things that were made were made through Him. It
goes on to say in verse 14 – “and thy Word became flesh
and dwelt among us”.
Yeshua is the Word made
flesh. The One who upheld His Father's Torah, which
includes the keeping of the Sabbath and the keeping of the
Sabbath is not only for the Jewish people, but for Gentile
believers in Jesus who are led by the Holy Spirit to do
so.
Let me leave you with one
last scripture from Isaiah 56:3-7. “Do not let the son of
the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say ‘the
Lord has separated me from His people' for thus says the
Lord – to those who keep my Sabbaths, and to the sons of
the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to serve
Him, and to love the Name of the Lord – everyone who keeps
from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps my covenant, even
them I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful
in My House of prayer.”
Wednesday
For the past
few days I've been speaking to you about the Sabbath Day
(Hebrew “Shabbat”), which according to the Scriptures is
definitely the 7 th day of the week (from sundown on
Friday to sundown on Saturday.) Keeping of the Sabbath is
one of the 10 commandments (Ex. 20:8-11), and the Sabbath
was given not only to the Israelites, but who to any
Gentiles who have “joined themselves” to the Jewish people
(Ex 20:10 and Isaiah 56:2-7).
We also saw
how Yeshua (Jesus) was a Torah observant Jew. Not only was
He circumcised on the 8 th day (Luke 2:21 ) but that He
also attended Shabbat services in His hometown synagogue
on a regular basis (Luke 4:16 ).
We also saw that Yeshua
Himself created the Sabbath. John 1:1-3 – “In the
beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God – all things created were created by Him
(including the Sabbath) John 1:14 – and the “Word became
flesh and dwelt among us”. This is the same Jesus who said
“Do not think I've come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets, I've come to fulfill them (Matt 5:17 ) upholding
the laws of Moses. He also said in Mark 2:27 that “the
Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”
teaching us that Shabbat is a blessing from God to all
mankind and that we should “delight in it”.
Shabbat is also the sign
and the seal of the Mosaic Covenant (Ex 31:12-17), and
again, Yeshua observed, taught and upheld the Torah of
Moses, and taught others to do the same. (Matt. 5:17-19)
Shabbat also has great
prophetic application toward the millennial reign of
Yeshua. Shabbat is the 7 th day of the week (a day of
rest). The land itself rested every 7 th year (Lev. 25:4);
pointing toward the millennial reign of Yeshua when there
will be peace and “rest” in the earth for a thousand
years.
The biblical account of the
millennial reign of Yeshua is found in Zech. 14 and Rev.
20. The Scriptures say that Yeshua will rule and reign in
Jerusalem for a 1000 years and again, there will be peace
and “rest” throughout the whole earth. This is all
connected with the beginning of the “eternal “Shabbat”
that God has prepared for His people since the beginning
of time.
What's even of further
interest to all of us is that the millennial reign of
Yeshua is connected with the Feast of Tabernacles, which
just happens to be the 7 th annual feast of the Lord,
celebrated for 7 days in the 7 th month of the year (Lev.
23:34 ).
Zech 14:16 says that is
should come to pass that all of the nations (notice that I
said “all the nations”) shall to up year after year to
worship the King during the Feast of Tabernacles (This is
connected with the millennial reign of Yeshua according to
Rev. 20:1-5).
Somehow, through all of
this, every believer, whether Jew or Gentile, has got to
understand that God created the Sabbath not just for the
Jewish people, but for the Gentiles as well, pointing
towards a time of eternal peace and “rest” in the earth,
when we will all be worshipping Yeshua, the King of all
Kings together in Jerusalem.
Thursday
Today I would
like to continue to speak to you about the Sabbath day,
which is called “Shabbat” in Hebrew. Of course, Shabbat is
a vast subject, as we've seen during the teachings this
week, and that it has many different meanings. It is a day
when God Himself rested; it's a day of rest for all
believers in Jesus; it's the sign and seal of the Mosaic
covenant and points to Yeshua (Jesus) who upheld the laws
of Moses; it's a day of “delighting in the Lord' (Isaiah
58:13&14), a day of “delighting with your family” and a
day of “delighting with other believers”. (For we are all
the family of God) Shabbat also points toward the
millennial reign of Yeshua (Zech. 14 & Rev.20), when there
will be peace and “rest” in the whole earth. And very
importantly we have seen that Shabbat is definitely the 7
th day of the week (Gen 2:2&3) and should not be “watered
down” to any other day of the week.
The book of Hebrews also
speaks of a Sabbath rest for all the people of God. Heb.
4:9-11 says, “There remains therefore a rest for the
people of God, for he who has entered God's rest has
himself also ceased from his works, as God did from His –
let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest”.
In connection with these
verses are vs. 14-16 of the same chapters, which speak of
Yeshua (Jesus) our Great High Priest who has “passed
through the heavens, who is a merciful and compassionate
High Priest, able to sympathize with our weaknesses and
that we can come boldly to the throne of grace and find
mercy and grace in time of need.
This to me is one of the
most profound meanings of Shabbat. It goes beyond any day
of the week, or any place in the earth. It is not in any
man-made church building or synagogue. It's a place in the
“spirit realm”. In the Holy of Holies in a tabernacle
pitched not by man, but by the Lord Himself, it's within
the veil of the Heavenly Sanctuary, and the only way you
can enter that “Sabbath rest” is through the shed blood of
Yeshua Ha Mashiach, Jesus the Messiah. It is a place where
you can come before a merciful and compassionate Great
High Priest and cry out “Lord, help me, Lord heal me, Lord
save me, Lord deliver me, Lord have mercy on me!
It's also a place where you
can “worship in Spirit and in truth”, where you can stand
before the Throne of the Almighty, cast your crown before
Him and cry out “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty, the One who was, the One who is,
and the One who is to come.
It's a place where you can
cry out with all the heavenly beings, “Glory, Honor,
Power, Praise, riches, strength, wisdom, and blessings,
belong to the Lamb who sits upon the Throne forever and
ever! Hallelujah!
Yes, there is a Sabbath
rest for the people of God, especially for those who know
how to “enter in” and worship the Lord in the splendor of
His holiness.
Friday
I've been
speaking to you about the Sabbath Day which is called in
the Hebrew language “Shabbat” – the 7 th day of the week
(Gen 2:2&3), observed from Friday evening at sundown
through Saturday evening at sundown.
As a Messianic Rabbi, I am
often asked: “If God created Shabbat to be the 7 th day of
the week as a day of rest in Him, why is it that most
believers in Jesus worship on Sunday, which is the first
day of the week?”
Well, first of all, let me
say that God should be worshiped every day of the week.
However, we should note that Friday evening through
Saturday evening (the 7 th day) is the official day of
worship, rest and fellowship with the Lord, according to
the Scriptures in Gen. 2:2&3, Ex. 20:8-11, Ex 31:12-17 and
Lev. 23:1-3, just to name a few.
In addition, it was the
regular custom of Yeshua (Jesus) and the apostle Paul to
attend synagogue services on the Sabbath Day (Luke 4:16
and Acts 13:14-16). As a matter of fact, the entire body
of the early Messianic believers in Jesus, both Jew and
Gentile, worshipped on Shabbat, the 7 th day of the week,
honoring the Sabbath Day as was commanded by God for the
Jewish people and any Gentiles living amongst them (Ex.
20:10), also conforming to Isaiah 56:6 which says, “Let
the sons of the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord
keep my covenant and honor the Sabbath”. This scripture
points toward Romans 11 which says that Gentiles are
grafted into the House of Israel and Eph. 2 which says
that Gentiles are now part of the commonwealth of Israel .
However, in the early
centuries after the death and resurrection of Yeshua,
things began to change. After the destruction of the
temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D., most of the
Jewish believers fled from the city, many others scattered
over the earth. The Messianic Jewish influence over the
Gentile Christians was for the most part, gone!
Then came the de-Judiazation
process, by the early Roman emperors and Roman Church
fathers, which was rooted in the demonic spirit of
anti-Semitism, saying that the Christian Church has
“replaced the Jews” as the true Israel of God, that true
Christians should have nothing to do with those Jewish
people nor their practices, because they “murdered our
Lord”.
In 135 A.D. the Roman
Emperor Hadrian made it illegal to keep the Sabbath,
period! Any Jew or Gentile Christian found keeping the
Sabbath was immediately arrested or martyred.
At the council of Nicea in
325 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine took it a step
further changing Passover into something called Easter,
which finds its roots in paganism. By the late 4 th
century, further legislation forbid Christians from
observing the Sabbath, from keeping the Jewish Passover,
and from observing any of the laws of Moses (God's Torah).
Even though Jesus said in Matt. 5:17 “do not think I've
come to abolish the law, I've come to fulfill it. Even
though Paul warned the church in Rome in Rom. 11:18
“remember, you don't support the root…the root supports
you!”
The changing of the Sabbath
from Saturday to Sunday was born out of a spirit of
anti-Semitism, which comes from Satan. But praise be to
God whose turning things around in these last days, as He
is restoring the church to its biblical Jewish roots.
As I said earlier, God
should be worshiped every day, but let's remember the
Sabbath Day and KEEP IT HOLY! |
