Sabbath Day

[Whitman]

I need some background on this subject.

When was the sabbath (7th day rest) first practiced by man?
Someone had to keep records to be able to keep up with every 7th day of the week.
Is there any historical data to show that the 7th day of the week is the same as the day marked Saturday on our calendars?

Thank you for any light you can shed on this for me.

[Hix]

Shabbat is not on Saturday, it is from Friday sun set to Saturday sun set. This is pointed out in Oral law which dates back to Sinai.

Shalom and G-d bless
~Hix~

[Whitman]

Thank you. That clears up most of it.
I knew about sunset to sunset. The reason I asked the questions is because my son asked how we knew the 7th day has always been Saturday (or as you say, Friday sunset to Saturday sunset). He wondered if the calendar has always been the same.
Frankly, I did not have an answer for him and said I would try to find out.

Thanks for helping.

[Linda8]

Regarding Sabbath, what will happen to people when the Sunday law is enforced?

Things will be quite tough.

[Henaynei]

Regarding Sabbath, what will happen to people when the Sunday law is enforced?

Things will be quite tough.
Pardon me, what??

[ShirChadash]

"Sunday Law"


I have heard of this. Many amongst protestant christians have been quietly, and not-so-quietly, pushing for mandatory Sunday rest types of laws, restricting noise, business-conducting etc. on Sunday, as it is a "holy" day.
Seventh-Day Adventists are very vocal against such laws. I believe there is some concern that the country will officially declare Sunday to be THE day of worship and rest, outlawing literally many types of activities that would be considered associating the day with other workdays, and that following such action would come persecution and forbading of anyone worshipping and holding as a sacred day for rest the Shabbat or any other specific day of the week.

http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/index_two.htm

As a bit of history, Constantine enforced Sunday Laws in 321 AD.
"The earliest recognition of the observation of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D. enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die Solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, article "Sunday."
http://www.biblerevelations.org/sundaylaw/appendix09.htm

I believe the Seventh-Day Adventists see a return of the Sunday Law situation ( and not just in America, I assume) as being part and parcel to the end times events (someone please correct me if I am wrong)...

I did a quick google search and got loads of documents up. Some I found:

http://www.ellenwhite.org/egw22.htm
http://www.biblerevelations.org/sundaylaw/
http://www.seventh-day.org/Read_NSL.htm

and much more.


HTH.

[ShirChadash]

Here's an interesting one that may explain more concisely...

http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/on_opposing_sunday_laws.htm

[The Thadman]

Shabbat is not on Saturday, it is from Friday sun set to Saturday sun set. This is pointed out in Oral law which dates back to Sinai.

Shalom and G-d bless
~Hix~

Oral Law DOES NOT date back to Sinai. The tradition of it dating back to Sinai is ONLY found within Oral Law, and all evidence points to a time after Ezra. Additionally, all mentions of Torah within Torah are specifically WRITTEN.

Shlomo,
-Steve-o

[BenTsion]

The 'Sunday Law' is yet another prophecy of Ellen White, the 7th-day Adventist prophetess. She said the 'mark of the beast' is going to be Sunday-worship. The only scriptural foundation they have for this is the fact that the Shabbat is declared to be a sign of the covenant between G-d and His people. Not only does this theology
overlook all other things which are listed as signs between G-d and his people, but also I can 'sense' some Replacement Theology background (since the Shabbat is a sign between G-d and Israel).

Then, Ellen White, supposedly under guidance of the Ruach HaKodesh, concluded that if the Shabbat is a sign of G-d, then Sunday-worship must be the mark of the beast.

I find such theology quite odd and lacking in terms of scriptural foundation, to say the very least.

In Messiah,
Ben Tsion

[Hix]

Oral Law DOES NOT date back to Sinai. The tradition of it dating back to Sinai is ONLY found within Oral Law, and all evidence points to a time after Ezra. Additionally, all mentions of Torah within Torah are specifically WRITTEN.

Shlomo,
-Steve-o

Thats off topic but the Mishna part of the Oral Law dates back to Sinai and existed before the Torah was even written. That is the JEWISH belief regarding the JEWISH scriptures.

Anyway there is something of a Sunday law over here in that alot of things have been forbidden, such as sport activities, noise polution etc. From what I know its even worse down south in the free state, since it is an entirely catholic state with only a small number of Jews. :sigh:

[simchat_torah]

In my hometown there were sunday laws regarding the bars, and I know of several cities and towns that have sunday laws as well.

[Linda8]

Pardon me, what??

Yes, I know it sounds weird but some interpreters of prophecy

are convinced that due to some desire for world control, those Church leaders who currently worship on Sunday would wish to enforce this at some point in time.

The idea being that any non Sunday worship would be seen as a direct

affront to those so called world powers.

Such strict enforcement was typical in the hey days of the roman empire

and people claim that our world would become somehow primitive

in character once again in the end times with such attacks on personal liberty.

I find it hard to believe though unless something really nasty happens to earth causing drastic changes in human behaviour unleashing sin and disorder etc.

Gentile converts observed sabbath in the days before the gentile churches moved ahead with their own rules so Sunday worship is not scriptural from that perspective.

[visionary]

Shemot (Exodus) 31:12-17 Then HaShem said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am HaShem, who makes you holy. "'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to HaShem. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days HaShem made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"

[muffler dragon]

When I read the mini book "Sunday Law" which came to me in the mail, I found their exegesis to be quite lacking and more of a manner that seemed to fit their 'end'. The Seventh-Day Adventists, that I have met, use this whole thing as a way to place themselves above other 'Christians'.

I'm far from concerned about it, but that's just my feeling.

[visionary]

As far as the fulfillment of SDA teachings, we will have to see what the furure holds in that regard. If the event occurs that we can not buy or sell unless we, in some manner, give alegiance to sunday keeping, then I think we will have to take a stand for our Sabbath Yeshua. For we can only worship one, He who created us and will redeem us.

[debi b]

I have every confidence that the citibank execs, Wal-mart CEO and the like wield enormous influence. They rather like conducting business on everyday alike....

[Koey]

If all Sabbath keepers on earth suddenly had a brain freeze at the same time, or went into a time warp, then conceivably the time could be lost. The fact that diverse communities in different geographical areas still keep the same day (ie. Saturday or more exactly sunset to sunset), then I think the logic is inescapable that the day has not been lost.

[Henaynei]

If all Sabbath keepers on earth suddenly had a brain freeze at the same time, or went into a time warp, then conceivably the time could be lost. The fact that diverse communities in different geographical areas still keep the same day (ie. Saturday or more exactly sunset to sunset), then I think the logic is inescapable that the day has not been lost.
Omeyn!!!