The Sabbath

By Alex Toukam

Now days, most of the time when the Sabbath theme is brought up, people are being accused of legalism (meaning to put the law above the gospel by establishing requirements for salvation).
Some people claim that the Sabbath was done away with at the cross by Yahshua, others claim that it was changed into Sunday. Some even say that we need to keep the Sabbath in order to be saved. Who is right and who is wrong? How can we solve this issue?
In this study, we will focus on the first part on the biblical view of the Sabbath in which we’ll look at what the entirety of the Scripture has to say about it. Then we’ll study the historical view the Sabbath by looking at what the primitive Christians did and what the Reformers thought on this issue. And finally we’ll analyze the cryptographic view of this mysterious day by searching for hidden meanings and symbolism of it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329659438

Book preview

The Sabbath

The Sabbath

I:\User\Images\Digital Wallpapers\1366-768-354218.jpgShabbat (in Hebrew)

Copyright © 2015 by Alex Toukam

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2015

ISBN 978-1-329-62443-6

Alex Toukam Publishing

3 Kurstraße

Berlin, AZ 13585

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Dedication

To my grandfather who was a priest. I guess mum was right…it’s been passed down through the genes. Until we meet again rest in peace. May God keep you in His mind.

To my wonderful parents. Starting with my fathers Roger and Ingo. You are the two most important men in my life, thank you for the discipline and making me the man I am today. My deepest wish is that you should come to the knowledge God as I do and even more.  To my lovely mother who raised me in godly fear, I’m proud to be your child. I thank for God for having parents like you. May God richly bless you for raising us like that.

To my dear little brother Dominique, words can’t explain the love our God has given me for you. May He keep your feet from doing evil and give you strength to do His will. May you acknowledge Him in all your paths.

To my other lovely little brothers and sisters, Sharon, Elena, Francheska, Kathy, Francis and Serge, may the God of heaven protect you and that you stay grounded in your faith. And remember always to give thanks and praise to Him that has given us such beautiful parents. May you acknowledge Him also in all your paths.

To my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Elvis Mensah, you’re the one whom our Lord chose to lead me to Him without you even noticing. Although we spiritually biker on some issues like Martin Luther and John Calvin or as nowadays great scholars like Michael Brown and James White, let us learn from their mistakes so that God be glorified in all. May He give you the strength to overcome and to find what your high calling is and abide in it.

Kingsley Kyeremeh, you’re the one who keeps me grounded in the faith so that I do not to go overboard. You remind me of Joseph who checks on his brothers to see if everything is alright but you also rebuke as Nathan the prophet. May our Savior show you what your high calling is and keep you blameless.

Henok Yasin, one of the most humble person I have ever encountered. Now I know why Enoch the patriarch was first to be transliterated in heaven. I thank God that He put you on my path because you truly have some attributes that I don’t have and believe me I’m learning from you. May God show you also what your high calling is and bless you abundantly.

David, Pawel and Brennus, true men of God and visionaries, I will never forget those spiritual meetings we had. It was truly a blessing and hope for more of those. May God keep you safe so that you abstain from worldly things and may He show you also what your high calling is and bless you abundantly.

Hélèna, Meron, Salome, Abi, Betty, Feven, Jayne I thank God for proving me else that there is truly a remnant of godly women in my generation. May our King bless you and give you a spirit of discernment and wisdom so that you may grow in the knowledge of God.

To all the true Christian brotherhood of the world may our Savior richly bless you and give you understanding and fill you with His unworthy love. Amen

Table of Contents

Preface….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5

Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………....................................7

Chapter 1: What is the Sabbath?............................................................................................................8

Chapter 2: What is the Purpose of the Sabbath? ……………………………………………………………………………..12

Chapter 3: When and Which Day of the Week is the Sabbath?..…………………………………………………….…16

Chapter 4: Should We Still Keep the Sabbath? What about the Sabbath in the Future? ………………….26

Chapter 5: Should We Still Keep the Ten Commandments? …………………………………………………….……….58

Chapter 6: The Sabbath Controversy………………………………………………………………………………………………..81

Chapter 7: What Was Nailed To the Cross? ……………………………………………………………………………………140

Chapter 8: Exhortation.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..177

Chapter 9: How to Keep the Sabbath? ……………………………………………………………………………………………181

Chapter 10: The Secret of the Shabbat……………………………………………………………………………………………190

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….193

Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..197

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………198

Preface

(Galatians 1:12):I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

When I started writing this book, I didn’t want to make it as a storybook full of suspense etc.…

But I choose rather to go straight into the heart of the matter since I am a person that has also pretty straight forward mentality and especially when it comes to God’s word. 

This book is first and foremost a study guide, a sort of Encyclopedia in regards to the issue of the Sabbath. It is a compilation of the works from other brothers and sisters in Christ who were led by the Holy Spirit to test everything according to the Scriptures as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11).

In this book, I chose to let the Scriptures speak for themselves, to mention many quotes from scholars so that people are without excuse when they finish reading it.

My wish is that the Holy Spirit opens your eyes and ears as you read this book, so that you may see the glory of God and hear His witness through history in every page. (Ephesians 1:16-19)

I wish that it strengthens the faith and love of those who already believe and bring to repentance those who have hardened their hearts without knowing the whole truth. For those who still haven’t believe, it is my deepest desire that you may know that you have been redeemed with a price and have access to eternal life, if only you would accept the Son of the living God as your Lord and Savior so that you may live righteously before Him.

And ultimately that the strife between brothers and sisters in Christ over this particular doctrine may come to an end so that we love and understand each other as our Master Yahshua told us to do. I myself do not belong to a particular denomination but I consider myself as a disciple of Christ.

Those who truly accept His atoning sacrifice and the fundamental pillars of the Christian faith are His disciples and are therefore my brothers and sisters in Him, the Church of God. (1Timothy 3:15)

I believe that the Bible is the infallible, inspired word of God from cover to cover. (2 Timothy 3:16)(2 Peter 1:21)

I believe that Yahshua is the Messiah (John 4:25-26)(John 20:21), the Savior of mankind (1 John 4:14) and that He is God the Son manifested in the flesh (John 1:1)(1 Corinthians 12:3)(1 Timothy 3:16).

I believe that Yahshua is the only way to salvation by the power of His blood. (John 14:6)

May the knowledge of the Almighty overflow His people abundantly.

Your brother in Christ

Alex Toukam

Acknowledgement

First of all I would like to give all credits to my Lord and Savior Yahshua, who took me in His wings while I was completely against Him. A grace that I still cannot comprehend and to which I am profoundly thankful. He is the source of it all, the One who made me persevere when I was about to give up writing this book. May He be praised and exalted forever and ever. Amen.

Secondly I would like to pay my respect to all great men of God who went through great persecution and martyrdom to deliver the word of God and the faith the saints once had, at the cost of their lives.

I thank Yahuah my God for men like these for passing the torch throughout the centuries to the next generation. May He give the new generation the double portion of your Spirit so that they may bear greater fruits for Him who redeemed them. May you rest in peace until the day of our glorious resurrection at the last trumpet.

Introduction

Note:

-Yahuah stands for the Tetragrammaton YHVH, the holy name of God

-Yahshua stands for Jesus in Hebrew

-Shabbat stands for Sabbath in Hebrew

-Quotes are marked like this [Pastor Lew White (professor at Louisville Kentucky)]

-Verses with the same reference are marked like this (Psalm 119:39 / Romans 7:12)

Throughout times, the Sabbath has always been one of the most controversial debates in Christianity and it still is today. It has been the source of numerous disputes among the Christian brotherhood. After all, let us not forget that in the Old Testament, people were put to death because they simply did not follow the Sabbath. Why did God have such severe punishment for breaking that day? Does this day have a special value in His eyes?

Now days, most of the time when the Sabbath theme is brought up, people are being accused of legalism (meaning to put the law above the gospel by establishing requirements for salvation).

Some people claim that the Sabbath was done away with at the cross by Yahshua, others claim that it was changed into Sunday. Some even say that we need to keep the Sabbath in order to be saved. Who is right and who is wrong? How can we solve this issue?

In this study, we will focus on the first part on the biblical view of the Sabbath in which we’ll look at what the entirety of the Scripture has to say about it. Then we’ll study the historical view the Sabbath by looking at what the primitive Christians did and what the Reformers thought on this issue. And finally we’ll analyze the cryptographic view of this mysterious day by searching for hidden meanings and symbolism of it.

I/What is the Sabbath?

A) The seventh day of the Genesis

The Sabbath is the seventh day after the creation in which Yahuah rested from His work as the Creator.

It's the day He blessed, sanctified and rested on. It is an arbitrary period of time in which there is no natural phenomenon involved, the culmination of God's creation.

In Hebrew the word Shabbat means rest.

(Genesis 2:1-3):"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on         the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested    from all His work which God created and made."

[Dr.Elliot Dorff (professor of philosophy in the University of Judaism) in the interview for the documentary The 7th Day]

God creates the entire world in six days and then rests on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is though a creation in it on itself...because what it does is that it puts the rest of the six days in perspective.

[Tamara Cohn Eskenazi (professor of Bible in the Hebrew Union College) in the interview for the documentary The 7th Day]

What did God create on the seventh day?...As a matter of fact God created nothing on the seventh day...God created nothing but instead God created a CONTEXT in which everything that has been created... the natural world, the material world then life itself can really be appreciated and enjoyed and celebrated.

[Pope John Paul II, in his book entitled Dies Domini 1998]

The Sabbath has...been interpreted evocatively as a determining element in the kind of sacred architecture of time...It recalls that the universe and history belong to God.

[Pastor Lew White (professor at Louisville Kentucky)]

The week itself is the heartbeat of creation pointing to the Sabbath.

Thus the Sabbath is God’s signature of His creative work just like a painter, who just after finishing his design, signs his masterpiece as the finishing touch.

(For more details look Chapter 10A on the seal of God’s Law)

B) The Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue of Yahuah

The Sabbath command belongs to the Ten Commandments given in Sinai by God Himself to the Israelites.

(Exodus 20:8-11):"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

A Day to remember

It is the fourth and the longest of all commandments and starts with the word REMEMBER.

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines To remember as:

-To have or keep an image or idea in your mind of (something or someone from the past): to think of (something or someone from the past) again

-to cause (something) to come back into your mind

-to keep (information) in your mind: to not forget (something)

The Hebrew word ZAKAR is almost always translated REMEMBER in the King James Version of the Bible. The same word is occasionally rendered as think, mention, or record.

For instance, in:

(Genesis 40:14):But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.

Joseph would like the butler to do more than just be aware of the fact that he is still incarcerated.

He is urging the butler to take positive action to help him get out of prison.

The word ZAKAR also appears prominently in the prayers recorded in the Bible.

People like Moses (Exod. 32:13), Samson (Judges 16:28), Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:3), Nehemiah (Neh. 13:14, 22, 29, 31), Jeremiah (Jer. 15:15; Lam. 5:1), and Habakkuk (Hab. 3:2) pray that God will remember them and the rest of His people.

Such prayers call upon God not just to be cognizant of their existence, but in addition to take action on their behalf.

These variations in translation give an indication that zakar includes both thought and deed. In the Hebrew mindset it means to meditate upon and keep the Sabbath holy.

That’s why He told the Israelites to bind His Law on their head and on their hands, not as to literally do so as the Pharisees did but figuratively to think and act according to His commands.

(Exodus 13:9, 16):" And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.

And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt."

(Deuteronomy 6:8):And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

(Deuteronomy 11:18):Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

(Proverbs 3:3):Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

(Proverbs 6:20-21):My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.

(Proverbs 7:2-3):Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Yahuah, being the Designer of our minds, was surely taking into account the characteristics of human memory when He announced the fourth of the Ten Commandments from Mt. Sinai. It is as if God wanted to remind His people not to forget the uniqueness of this day.

God wanted to etch on the minds of the Israelites that He is the Creator (Exodus 20:11) and Redeemer (Deut. 5:15) of mankind, so He set aside a regular block of time for the rehearsal of these facts.

Week after week, the Sabbath returns with a reminder of who God is.

Is it possible that God knew that His people would forget about His holy day? This is why we'll thoroughly study this matter in the chapters to come.

(For more details, look at Chapter 6 on The Sabbath Controversy)

C) An Everlasting Ordinance

Also the seventh day Sabbath is a perpetual covenant that God made with the children of Israel. It's not only for Jews but also for Gentiles.(For more details look Chapter 4D)

(Exodus 31:16-17):"Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

(Leviticus 16:31): It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute forever.

(Isaiah 56:4-7):" For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."

II/What is the purpose of the Sabbath?

A) Sabbath for Man

Not only is the Sabbath a Hebraic covenant but Yahshua says that it was made for humanity in order for people to rest from their work (rest for senses).

(Matthew 11:28-30):" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(Mark 2:27-28):" And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

(John 7:22):" Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers ;) and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man.

[Roy Gane (Professor of Hebrew in Andrews University) in the interview for the documentary The 7th Day]

By creating the Sabbath, God gave human beings an opportunity to emulate Him and to enter into His rest. And thereby to signify their special relationship with Him as their Lord and Creator.

As a matter of fact, modern chronobiology discovered that the seven day biorhythm is designed into our very own nature.

[Anthony Aveni, in his book Empire of Times states]

...the probability of rejection of certain organs is now known to peak at weekly intervals following an implant.

It seems that God's people kept the Bible Sabbath before the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai because of the first statement REMEMBER. How would they have remembered something if they did not know about it before? In Chapter 3B on the universal Sabbath we’ll see in more detail that the Sabbath can be traced since the time of Abraham and further back.

Therefore God’s people must have had it before Mount Sinai. In fact four chapters before the Ten Commandments were given on Mount Sinai; the God of heaven spoke in such a way that it is obvious that the seventh-day Sabbath was already well-known by the people of God but not always well-kept.

(Read Exodus 16)

[D.L Moody, Addresses on the Ten Commandments p.47]

The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. The fourth commandment begins with the word remember", showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote this law on the tables of stone at Sinai.

How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?"

[Methodist author E.O.Haven, Pillar of Truth]

The Sabbath was made for MAN, not for the Hebrews, but for all men.

The Sabbath truth was first given to our race in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man and thus existed before sin and apart from it.

It was gift from Yahuah to every man to link them to Him. And if Adam needed the Sabbath, we need it all the more today.

B) A Marriage Covenant

Moreover the meaning of the Sabbath is not only as the seventh day of creation, but also a memorial of redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by God.

(Exodus 6:7):And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

(Deuteronomy 5:12, 15):"Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and