Sabbath Keeper: Why Not Keep ALL the
Commandments?
Many acknowledge the Bible as the Book of
books, which contains the very words of our great Creator. But a few fully
pursue the deeper truth of His Word. Many are like the puzzling, would-be treasure
hunter who was satisfied with just knowing which mountain contained the gold
vein, but would not dig down to get the precious mineral it held.
The Savior forewarned us in Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for
many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke
13:24).
The most common interpretation of the Third
Commandment is that one must not curse using the Father’s Name. That is part of
what the commandment enjoins, but it’s the lesser part. If we examine the
Hebrew for the world “take” in this commandment, we find the word nasa, meaning to “lift” or “bring
to.”
So we are not to bring His Name to
something. What is that something? The Hebrew for “vain” is shoah,
which means to rush over (as a storm rushes past) and brings to devastation or
ruin, waste, uselessness,
Simply put, we are told not to bring the
Name Yahweh to a condition of worthlessness or destruction by refusing to use
it, breaking the Third Commandment.
Heard That One Before?
If you are already a Sabbath keeper,
wonderful! You have taken a big step toward the True Worship of the Mighty One
of the Scriptures. You are keeping the same day the Creator did at creation –
the seventh day. Now its time that you went on to perfection.
If you have grown up keeping the seventh
day Sabbath, you are likely familiar with the many arguments used against
Sabbath keeping. You yourself may at one time have used the same arguments against
keeping the seventh day.
Not only did you come to the truth of
accepting Sabbath, but you also had to change your life-style to prove your
acceptance. There is not one Bible command to keep any other day than our
Saturday as the Sabbath. And as you discovered, the arguments against the true
Sabbath are quite flimsy; the support for Sunday worship being virtually
nonexistent in the Scriptures.
Interestingly, the same line of reasoning
often used against true Sabbath-keeping has also been used to discount Yahweh’s
Name and “prove” that it is unnecessary. As you have found with the usual
polemics against the Sabbath, such circumlocutions repeatedly deny plain
Biblical statements.
Let’s see how the reasoning is much the
same, whether employed against the Sabbath or in opposition to the revealed,
personal sacred Names.
‘But I Don’t Speak Hebrew’
The argument, “I do not speak Hebrew,”
which is often used against the Name parallels the common argument against the
Sabbath: “I am not Jewish.” Probably the most popular objection to using the
sacred Name is that Yahweh’s Name was given to Jews and is for them only. The
Jews speak Hebrew and because one does not speak Hebrew and is not a Jew, one
is not expected to call upon the Name Yahweh, which is assumed to be a Jewish
Name.
Whether or not we speak Hebrew is not
germane to using the one Name “which is above every name,” Philippians 2:9. His
Name is the same in all tongues, allowing, of course, for the accents of the
various languages. Names do not change from one language to another. Rather,
names are transliterated (sound for sound) from one language to another. It
makes little difference what the language of the Bible might be. His Name would
still be Yahweh.
Note: The familiar word “Halleluyah” is a Hebrew imperative meaning “praise you
Yah,” and is the same in any language. If the argument is legitimate that we
speak English and should not use any Hebrew words, like the sacred Name, then “halleluyah” is forbidden and so are hundreds of other
Biblical words and names coming directly from the Hebrew into our English text.
The fact is, the
names of many Hebrew Bible patriarchs are easily recognizable in English.
Abraham and Sarah are pronounced almost the same in the Hebrew as in English.
The Hebrew names Rebecca and Deborah are pronounced the same in English. Other
names include: Adam, Benjamin, Dan, Daniel, David, Joseph, Reuben, Saul, and
Solomon. Even the name of the adversary, Satan, sounds almost the same in
Hebrew. (Satan sounds more like Saw-tawn, in Hebrew,
but is still recognized.)
Because names are transliterated (the sound
brought across) from one language to another, we can know that Schaffer is
German, Kawasaki is Japanese, Renault is French, Andropov is Russian, Mussolini
is Italian, and Kowalski is Polish. Curiously, names do not change from one
language to another. If they did, then we would need to come up with an English
version of these and thousands of other foreign names!
In our culture we employ many foreign names
every day without any problem or objection. Names such as
By refusing to keep the Sabbath, one
rejects it, denying its importance. Refusing to call upon Yahweh’s Name is
denying His Name (Rev. 2:8), treating it with no reverence or value.
When we observe the Sabbath we acknowledge
that this day belongs to Yahweh, and by it we remember His creative power and
look forward to redemption in His Son. The Sabbath, like His Name, is His exclusive
property. When we call on His Name we enter into a close relationship with Him,
showing Him respect and honor that are due Him.
When Yahweh spoke to Moses He said His Name
“Yahweh” was His memorial to all generations, Exodus 3:15. His Name is the verb
of existence and means “He exists because He wills to exist: or “He brings into
being whatever He wishes” or “He is, was and will be.” The Name Yahweh has a
depth of meaning that cannot be derived by calling Him “G-d.” Just as we are to
keep His Sabbath forever – throughout eternity – we also are to call upon His
true Name, Yahweh (Mal. 2:2).
Keepers of Sabbath, Name
A frequent argument posed against calling
upon Yahweh’s Name, which also is often applied to the Sabbath, is that His
Name was given to the Jews. The implication is that because these commands were
given to Jews no one else need to be concerned about
them.
Romans 3:1-2, however, tells a much
different story: “What advantage then has
the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly,
because that unto them were committed
the oracles of Yahweh.” The word oracle means “sacred pronouncements” of
Yahweh, His Bible.
The Jews continue as preservers of Yahweh’s
oracles, safeguarding them for us. It was from the Old Testament that our
Savior, His disciples, and Paul himself preached in the New Testament. He told
Timothy that the Old Testament was able to make him wise unto salvation through
faith in Yahshua the Messiah: “And that
from a child you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you
wise unto salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yahshua” (2Tim. 3:15).
In His foresight, Yahweh gave custody of
the Sabbath and the Name to the Jews so that neither would be lost, as general
worship soon became paganized.
Examining Other Arguments
What follows are other common polemics used
by those who reject calling upon their Heavenly Father by His personal,
revealed Name Yahweh. These are very similar to
arguments against keeping the Sabbath, and they reflect the same misguided and
erroneous reasoning.
“Every day is the Sabbath” or “We keep every day holy.” These statements are often made by well meaning
people who reject the seventh day, giving them the opportunity to observe the
first day of the week with their friends and relatives on Sunday. But Yahweh
blessed only the Saturday Sabbath and nowhere does the Bible change the seventh
day. We are specifically commanded to work six days and rest the seventh,
Exodus 23:12, which is impossible if we are keeping every day a sanctified
Sabbath.
“Yahweh has many names.” This
allows one to call Yahweh whatever one wishes. Including the
title God. Many people confuse titles with names. He has only one Name.
The Bible refers to “His Name” 108 times; “Thy Name” 109 times; “My Name” 97
times—always in the singular. He has but one Name, Yahweh, YHWH, which is
referred to as being holy more than anything else in the Bible (Ps. 83:18,
Phil. 2:9).
“The
Sabbath was given to Moses at Sinai.” The implication is that until Sinai
the Sabbath was unknown to Yahweh’s people. Further, the Ten Commandments are
allegedly done away in the Messiah. But the Sabbath was a part of creation,
Genesis 1:14, and is first mentioned in Genesis 2:2 – long before Moses. And
Yahshua observed it and taught it as well.
“Moses was first given Yahweh’s Name at the burning bush.” The belief is that because His Name was unknown
before Moses, it is unimportant and just another “law of Moses.” The fact is, Yahweh’s Name appears in the Hebrew in Genesis 2:4; Eve
called on the Name “Yahweh” in Genesis 4:1; Yahweh emphasized His Name to Abraham
(Gen. 15:7) and to Jacob (Gen. 28:13), both long before Moses. Furthermore,
Moses’ mother was Jochebed (correctly Yahkebed), meaning, “Yah is glory.”
“The Sabbath was given to the Jews only.” This implies that only Jews are responsible for keeping
Yahweh’s law. To keep the Saturday Sabbath is to be under bondage, goes the
reasoning. Others can keep any day they wish, it is alleged. Yet, Scripture
says all flesh will keep the same Sabbath, Isaiah 66:23.
“The Name was given to Jew only.” It is assumed that only the Jewish people are to use His “Jewish” Name, Yahweh.
Others may call Him whatever they wish. But the argument is groundless. First,
His Name was revealed to patriarchs before there ever was a Jewish nation.
Second, He is the Almighty of both Jew and Gentile,
Romans 3:29. We can change neither His Sabbath nor His Name. Third, His Name
Yahweh is for ALL generations, Exodus 3:15-16.
“The Sabbath was changed to Sunday.” Man changed it. Yahweh never changed the Saturday Sabbath to Sunday as
His day of worship. It is still the Sabbath and will be so in the Millennium.
Isaiah 66:23 tells us so. Man’s rebellion caused him to change his day of
worship, as well as the name of the One worshiped.
“Names
change from language to language.” Not so. Names remain the same, and are
merely transliterated from one language to another. That is, the same sounds
are brought across from one tongue to another. Man has rebelled against
Yahweh’s Name, calling Him God, Lord, Deos, Theos, Pan, Bog, Gott, and Baal –
names and titles used for pagan deities!
“Time
has been lost and no one knows which day is the Sabbath.” Napoleon ended
France’s short-lived attempt to have a 10-day week and Frances rejoined the
world calendar. Other than this experiment, history proves that we are keeping
the same week as did Messiah and before. The days of the week were not changed
at all. It can be proved that the sequence of days that gives us the Saturday
Sabbath is the same from antiquity. The Savior knew which day was the Sabbath
for He kept it, Luke 4:16. It was the same day the Jews of His time were
observing, as He was constantly criticized by the Pharisees and Sadducees for
doing various things on the Sabbath. They never attacked Him for keeping the
wrong day. And the Jews have kept the same day in the weekly sequence ever
since. They would never change their day of worship.
“The True Pronunciation of the Name has been lost.” Under “Yahweh,” the Encyclopedia Britannica says,
“Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used the form Yahweh, thus this pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was never really lost. Greek transcriptions
also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh” (Micropedia,
15th ed., Vol. X, p. 786). The Encyclopedia Judaica,
vol. 7, p. 680, 1971, admits, “The true pronunciation of the Name YHWH was
never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian church testify that
the name was pronounced YAHWEH.”
“Time was lost in the Old Testament and so was the true Sabbath.” There is Joshua’s long day (Joshua 10:12-14) when the
sun stood still in the heaven. Then there’s Hezekiah’s time when the sun went
back 10 degrees, 2 Kings 20. Still, the day ends when the sun sets. We need
only to go as far as Yahshua the Savior who kept the Sabbath properly, and
history from His time can be easily traced.
“The Name was lost at the Tower of Babel.” Yahshua declared Yahweh’s Name in the New Testament,
Hebrews 2:12. The confusion of tongues was upon those building the tower. The
Hebrew Shemites who kept His Name were not involved
in building. Yahweh dwelt with them, Genesis 9:27. “Shem” means name or renown
and they have brought Yahweh’s Name down to us today. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
were Shemites.
“The Sabbath is not commanded in the New Testament.” There is no statement in either the Old or New
Testament doing away with the Saturday Sabbath. The Savior and His disciples
based their teachings upon the Old Testament, as the New had not yet been
written. Both Testaments teach the keeping of the Sabbath. Paul met with both
Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath, Acts 13:14:42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4.
“The Name Yahweh is not found in the New Testament.” English Bibles erroneously substitute “Lord” for
Yahweh’s Name in the New Testament, eliminating His Name in direct quotations
from the Old. This substitution has engendered confusion in verses like Matthew
22:44: “The Lord said to my Lord,” or in 1Corinthians 1:31 where it is
uncertain whether Yahweh or Yahshua, is meant. In Luke 4:18-19 the Messiah
Himself quoted directly from Isaiah 61, where Yahweh’s Name appears. He even
declared Yahweh’s Name to His brethren, John 17:26; Hebrews 2:14. The
translations themselves are at fault.
“You
teach salvation comes by keeping a special 24-hour day.” All Sabbath
keepers know that we are saved by the grace of Yahweh through faith in His Son.
We show that we are His children by obedience to His commandments out of love
for His great sacrifice, Ephesians 2:8-10. By obedience we are sanctified, set
apart.
“You teach that salvation depends upon the proper vocalization of the
Name.” We in effect rebel against
Yahweh when once we know His Name we refuse to revere or hallow the Name by
which He reveals Himself, Matthew 6:9. When we call upon His Name we
acknowledge that His Name is bound up in His promise of everlasting life, as
says the Psalmist: “Pour out your wrath
upon the heathen that have not known you, and upon the kingdoms that have not
called upon Your Name” (Ps. 79:6).
“We rest in the Messiah – He is our Sabbath.” The Bible teaches spiritual truth through physical
acts. Our actions spring from our beliefs, Romans 12:2. As we ourselves learn
of His ways, we become prepared to teach others of the Sabbath in the future
Millennium. There remains a keeping of the Sabbath for His people now, Hebrews
4:9 says, and in the Kingdom, Isaiah 66:23.
“Faith alone is all we need because He knows who we mean whatever we
call Him.” Is He also satisfied with
any day we choose to worship Him? When we keep His Sabbaths and call upon His
Name, Yahweh brings us into a closer walk with Him. When we desire to follow
Him in ALL truth we will call on His true Name. In the Millennium all will call
on Yahweh and serve Him in one accord, Zephaniah 3:9. Notice also, “Then they that feared Yahweh spake often one to another: and Yahweh hearkened, and heard
it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared
Yahweh and that thought upon His name,” Malachi 3:16.
“We will learn of the Sabbath when the Savior returns.” The purpose of this life is to learn of His ways to
be worthy of the Kingdom by our actions, Luke 20:35. We should be able to teach
others about the Sabbath and His holy days, which will also be kept in the
Kingdom, Ezekiel 45:25.
“When we get to the Kingdom we will learn His Name.” In this life, His people are called by His Name,
2Chronicles 7:14. Isaiah 52:6 says His people SHALL know His Name. Yahshua
prayed that we be kept (preserved) through His Name, John 17:11.
“The world observes Sunday and the world’s great Bible teachers teach
Sunday. How do you know that Saturday is the Sabbath?” Satan deceives the whole world, Revelation 12:9. We
are not to follow the broad way of the world. Only a few will find the strait
gate and the narrow way, Matthew 7:13-14.
“The world’s great Bible teachers all use the title ‘God,’ and the world
in general call Him ‘God.’” History
records that the majority is usually wrong. Yahshua called His people a “little
flock,” Luke 12:32. Psalm 79:6 tells about the “majority”: “Pour out your wrath
upon the heathen that they have not known you, and upon the kingdoms that have
not called upon your Name.”
“We have fewer problems if we go along with keeping Sunday.” No one said that keeping the Sabbath would be easy.
To follow the truth promises to be a trial, 1Peter 1:6-7. By overcoming
obstacles we show Yahweh our true hearts and prove our willingness to forsake
all for Him. Yahweh says His day of rest was the seventh day. Observing
Sabbaths is a sign between Yahweh and His people, Ezekiel 20:12, 20.
“No one knows the Name Yahweh; it makes for confusion.” Psalm 22:22 is a command to declare His Name as did
Yahshua, and praise Him in the assembly. Yahshua had proclaimed Yahweh’s Name
to His disciples. We also are to “Teach all nations,” Matthew 28:19. If we
don’t, how will they learn? (See our booklet, Our Savior Spoke the Sacred Name.)
“We are now under grace, not the letter of the law, and can observe any
day we choose.” The correct
understanding of grace is found in justification: as we repent of breaking the
law, we come under grace and are forgiven. Grace does not mean we are at
liberty to break any or all commandments.
“Our salvation is in a person, not the sound of a name.” No matter how some try to get around it, they cannot
separate Him from the one true Name that identifies Him. The Name is part of
His person. Salvation is bound up in the holy Name Yahweh is and the most
powerful Name on earth or in heaven. Yahshua (Yah-Hoshea)
means, “Yahweh is salvation”! “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of Yahweh shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). “There is no other Name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts 4:12.
“We are a New Testament Assembly; No Jewish Sabbath for us.” The implication is that the New Testament did away
with the Seventh-day Sabbath. Yet, we know that the Messiah, His disciples, and
Paul all kept Yahweh’s seventh day Sabbath. This holy time is not the Jewish
Sabbath, but Yahweh’s Sabbath. The New Testament did not do away with the
Fourth Commandment, nor did it change the Third (“Thou shalt not take the Name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain…”)
“We all speak English: no Jewish name for us.” Names are transliterated; that is, carried across
phonetically to other languages. If you traveled to a foreign country your name
would remain the same in the local papers, just as the names of statesmen are
the same in our newspapers. Yahshua was of the tribe of Judah, having a Jewish
mother who spoke Hebrew and worshiped Yahweh, the Mighty One of the Hebrews.
"The
Sabbath was nailed to the tree when the Messiah died, and therefore it was done
away.” The Book of Acts has many examples in which the disciples continued
keeping the Sabbath long after the Savior’s resurrection (Acts 13:42-44; 16:13;
17:2; 18:4). Revelation speaks of keeping Yahweh’s commandments; 12:17, 14:12.
“At the time the Messiah died the world spoke Greek and we call Him by
His Greek name, Jesus, no longer calling Him a Hebrew Name.” Actually, Jesus is not even a Greek name, for there is
no “J” sound in the Greek (or in the Hebrew). His Name was spelled “Iasua” in Greek letters because both the I and the y have
the “ee” sound. Greek has no “sh”
sound as does Hebrew, German, and English. “Jesus” is a Greek-Latin hybrid of
the Hebrew Yahshua and has no etymological meaning in ANY language, let alone
Hebrew or Greek.
“To keep the seventh day would be to observe ‘Saturn’s day’ (Saturday),
which stem from paganism.” Man has
changed the Biblical method of numbering days of the week by ascribing pagan
names to them. Yet this in no way changes the holiness of the seventh day
Sabbath that our Creator has ordained. He calls the seventh day the “Sabbath,”
the only day of the week named in Scripture. (All others are simply numbered.)
This tells us how important His Sabbath is.
“The Name Yahweh stems from pagan Egypt.” Not so! Hebrew was the first language spoken by
Yahweh to Adam and Eve in the garden as well as the patriarchs. Yahweh’s Name
is first found in Genesis 2:4. In every one of the first five commandments,
Yahweh uses His personal Name. The Third Commandment is a direct proscription
against falsifying His Name.
“The Bible does not tell us the Sabbath is our Saturday. It could be on
Tuesday or Thursday.” The sequence of
the days of the week has remained the same all down through history to this
day. The Catholic church has maintained records from Yahshua’s time and before,
showing that they have changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
“The Tetragrammaton ( hwhy ) has no
vowels, so how are we to pronounce His name? Maybe it is something else.”
The Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi 4:6 is written primarily in Hebrew
without vowels, yet scholars are able to read and bring it into English thanks
to the diacritical marks placed above, below and with certain letters. Nearly
all-reputable scholars agree that the best English spelling is Yahweh. Jews,
like the first century historian Josephus, tell us that the sacred Name was
made up of vowels. Many encyclopedias say the pronunciation was never lost.
(See our booklet, The Mistaken J.)
“The early believers worshiped on Sunday instead of Saturday.” Reliable historians agree that the weekly Sabbath was
the recognized day of worship of all True Believers until pagan converts became
the majority. In the Council of Nicea Constantine
passed legislation in 354 CE that the day of worship be changed to Sunday.
“The
early believers called on Jehovah and Jesus.” There is no letter J in
either the Hebrew or Greek alphabets to this day. Not until Christopher
Columbus’ time was there a J in the English. Because there was no J in the
English until 500 years ago, what name was used before that? Certainly not one
with a J.
The Sign
The Bible reveals that the Sabbath is a
sign between Yahweh and His people: “Hallow
my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you that you may know that
I am Yahweh your Elohim,” Ezekiel 20:20 (see also Ex. 31:13-17; Ezek. 20:12). Keeping His Sabbaths is a witness or a
sign to the world that we are His people. He will bring things about so that we
will know that Yahweh is our Elohim.
The Seal
We are also told that His people shall be
called by His Name, 2Chronicles 7:14. We learn that at the end of the age His
people will be “sealed with His name.” Revelation 7:2-4. In Revelation 14:1 we
learn that the saints are sealed with “His name and His Father’s Name” in their
foreheads.
Yahweh’s people are those who keep His
Commandments and have the faith of Yahshua, Revelation 14:12. Paul says we are
not to grieve or act contrary to the promptings of Yahweh’s Spirit, for by the
power of the Holy Spirit we are sealed and kept: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of Yahweh, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).
Thus, the Sign of Yahweh’s people
is keeping the Sabbath, and the Seal is His Name in the forefront of
our thinking. Both of these truths are critical for True Worship. Yahweh says
He will accept the son of the stranger providing he will “serve Him and love
the Name of Yahweh, to be His servants, every one that keeps the Sabbath from
polluting it, and takes hold of My covenant,” Isaiah 56:6. Notice that Yahweh simultaneously
speaks of those who serve Him, love His Name, keep His Sabbath, and take hold
of His covenant.
Name in 5 Commandments
Are you one of those Sabbath-keepers who
delight in the increased knowledge our Creator has given you in the keeping of
His Sabbath? Yet are you neglecting the Third Commandment? All of the first
five commandments either concern His Name Yahweh or contain it.
Surely you know that if you offend His
commands in one point you are guilty of breaking all (James 2:10). By calling
upon His Name Yahweh, you keep the First Commandment. Was it just happenstance
that the first of the Ten Commandments introduces Yahweh by His Name? His
majesty is in His Name, which is above every name in heaven or earth.
His glory He will not give to another nor
His praise to graven images, Isaiah 42:8. Thus we keep the Second Commandment
when we acknowledge the Mighty One of the heavens as the Highest over all the
earth.
We bring the great Creator to degradation
by referring to Him by a mere title such as “god.” The title god is used for
Satan and his demons, 1 Corinthians 4:4, as in the title lord, 1Corinthians
8:5. Revelation 14:1 says that His 144,000 will be sealed with His Name in
their foreheads.
Up Close and Personal
To those with whom the great Heavenly
Father is in covenant relationship, He promises to be whatever His people need
at that time. He will be their Provider, Comforter, Strengthener, Healer,
Shepherd, Restorer – whatever His people need. His Name Yahweh thus brings Him
much closer to us as He fulfills our needs on a personal level.
The titles Eternal, God, and Lord lack this
personal intimate relationship; instead they connote a far-off being who has no
personal concern for His people. The pagans felt that way with their deities.
The true One we worship is close and personal – because He has a Name!
As you set aside the seventh day for
rest and spiritual renewal, draw closer to the Creator by calling on His
revealed, personal Name Yahweh. He will draw near to you. How can you keep the
Sabbath holy unless you observe it? How can you hallow His Name unless you use
it?
© 2007 Yahweh’s Assembly in Yahshua