Commandment No. 4 OBSERVE THE SABBATHS

Commandment No. 4      Observe the Sabbaths

Our study module on Commandment No. 4 tackles the Sabbaths.

³ You must observe My Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. LEVITICUS 19

Did you notice that God is talking of Sabbaths (plural) and not Sabbath (singular)?

 ²⁰ Keep My Sabbaths holy. EZEKIEL 20

³⁰ Observe My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the Lord. LEVITICUS 19

There are different Sabbaths, all holy days.

⁹ [God] made some days holy and important, and made other days ordinary. SIRACH 33

Popularly known is the Seventh-Day Sabbath. There are seven others:

§  The Passover Feast (Pesach)

§  The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah)

§  The Feast of Firstfruits (Yom Ha’Bikkurim)

§  The Feast of Harvest (Shavu’ot)

§  The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)

§  The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

§  The Feast of Tabernacles (Suk-kot)

Lucifer loves it whenever the Fourth Commandment is written as “Observe the Sabbath” because those who are not well-versed in the Scripture are likely to assume there is only one Sabbath.

He does not want anyone to observe the Sabbaths. Thanks to him, western culture has adopted the Gregorian calendar and replaced the lunar calendar (the time system) which is the reference point for the Sabbath days. The Gregorian calendar is 11 days longer and made to begin in the middle of dead winter—not in the early spring as God instituted (Exodus 12:2). This causes confusion as to when exactly to observe the Sabbaths, which often results in failure to observe.

Thanks to him, western culture observes the Seventh-Day Sabbath on the first day of the week (Sunday) and Y’shua’s nativity (the Feast of Tabernacles) on December 25, not on Tishri 15.

Thanks to him, the holy days are replaced with holidays: municipal and village fiestas, Independence Day, Labor Day, Heroes Day, All Soul’s Day, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. The Catholic Church has replaced the Sabbath days with man-made feasts: Epiphany, Ascension of Christ, feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and All Saints Day.[1]

Replacing the Sabbath days has been prophesied in the Scripture:

²⁵ The fourth beast will try to change the set times and the laws. DANIEL 7

Set times is a euphemism for the Sabbath days. Appointed feasts as in Leviticus 23:4 and high days as in John 19:31 kjv are other euphemisms for it.  

Just what is a high day? Herbert Armstrong said, “Ask any Jew! He will tell you it is one of the annual holy days or feast days. The Israelites observed seven of these every year—every one called a Sabbath! …If you will notice the following texts, you will see these annual holy days were all called Sabbath days: Leviticus 16:31; 23:24, 26-32, 39.”

Now, let us be familiar with the Sabbath days:

⁴ These are the Lord’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:

The Seventh-Day Sabbath reminds us of the day of resurrection of Christ, an assurance of life after death for those who put their faith in Him.

³ There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord. LEVITICUS 23

The Passover Feast reminds us of the day of His death; also, of the day when the New Covenant was formally instituted.

⁵ The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month [Abib, also called Nisan, of the Jewish calendar]. LEVITICUS 23

The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of our need to get rid of the old hametz (the satanic yeast of wickedness and lawlessness) in our tents, so we may be pure, for nothing impure can enter the kingdom of purity. 

⁶ On [Abib 15] the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must not eat bread made with yeast. ⁷ On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. ⁸ And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. LEVITICUS 23

The Feast of Firstfruits reminds us of love-in-action: that part of holiness which mirrors the love of Christ and helps complete the ministry He began. 

¹⁰ Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. ¹¹ He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on [Abib 16] the day after the Sabbath. LEVITICUS 23

The Feast of Harvest (aka. Day of Pentecost) reminds us of the day of Baptism in the Spirit of the first Christians, an assurance of empowerment before we are sent to the warfront. 

¹⁵ From [Abib 16] the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶ Count off fifty days up to [Sivan 6, which could be in the month of May or June to us] the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord… ²¹ On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. LEVITICUS 23

The Feast of Trumpets reminds us to keep an eye on the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming and the Judgment; and that there’s a limit to our earthly stay.

²⁴ Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month [Tishri, which could be September or October to us], you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. ²⁵ Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire. LEVITICUS 23

The Day of Atonement reminds us of the new High Priest who came down from heaven to perfect the Ten-C, make atonement for our sins, and lead us back to God’s kingdom.

²⁷ The tenth day of this seventh month [Tishri 10] is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves…²⁸ Do no work on that day… ³⁰ I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. LEVITICUS 23

The Feast of Tabernacles reminds us of the day of nativity (birth, incarnation) of Christ.

³⁴ Say to the Israelites: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month [Tishri 15] the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ …and on the eighth day [Tishri 22] hold a sacred assembly… It is the closing assembly, do no regular work… ³⁹ The first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. LEVITICUS 23

Calendar of Sabbath Days

Sabbath Day	Sha'vat	Pesach	Matzah	Yom Ha'Bikurrim	Shavu'ot	Yom Teruah	Yom Kippur	Suk-kot
English Name	7th-Day Sabbath	Passover Feast	Unleavened Bread	Feast of Firstfruits	Feast of Harvest	Feast of Trumpets	Day of Atonement	Feast of Tabernacles
Hebrew Day	7th Day of Week	Abib 14	Abib 15-21	Abib 16	Sivan 6	Tishri 1-10	Tishri 10	Tishri 15-21
2010	Saturday	March 29	Mar 30-April 5	March 31	May 23	Sept 9-18	Sept 18	Sept 23-29
2011	Saturday	April 18	April 19-25	April 20	June 12	Sept 29-Oct 8	Oct 8	Oct 13-19
2012	Saturday	April 6	April 7-13	April 8	May 27	Sept 17-26	Sept 26	Oct 1-7
2013	Saturday	March 25	Mar 26-April 1	March 27	May 19	Sept 5-14	Sept 14	Sept 19-25
2014	Saturday	April 14	April 15-21	April 16	June 10	Sept 25-Oct 4	Oct 4	Oct 9-15
2015	Saturday	April 3	April 4-10	April 5	May 25	Sept 14-23	Sept 23	Sept 28-Oct 4
2016	Saturday	April 23	April 24-30	April 25	June 12	Oct 3-12	Oct 12	Oct 17-23
2017	Saturday	April 10	April 11-17	April 12	May 31	Sept 21-30	Sept 30	Oct 5-11
2018	Saturday	March 30	Mar 31-Apr 6	April 1	May 20	Sept 10-19	Sept 19	Sept 24-30
2019	Saturday	April 19	April 20-26	April 21	June 9	Sept 30-Oct 9	Oct 9	Oct 14-20
2020	Saturday	April 8	April 9-15	April 10	May 29	Sept 19-28	Sept 28	Oct 3-9
2021	Saturday	March 27	Mar 28-Apr 3	March 29	May 17	Sept 7-16	Sept 16	Sept 21-27
2022	Saturday	April 15	April 16-22	April 17	June 5	Sept 26-Oct 5	Oct 5	Oct 10-16
2023	Saturday	April 5	April 6-12	April 7	May 26	Sept 16-25	Sept 25	Sept 30-Oct 6
2024	Saturday	April 22	April 23-29	April 24	June 12	Oct 3-12	Oct 12	Oct 17-23
2025	Saturday	April 24	April 13-19	April 14	June 2	Sept 23-Oct 2	Oct 2	Oct 7-13

 

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2177 teaches that “The conference of bishops can abolish certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday with prior approval of the Apostolic See.” In plain language, that means the church can override the instructions of God!

---