An Amazing Fact: Did you know that two nations have tried to change the seven-day week? France instituted a 10-day week following its 1789 revolution, and the former Soviet Union tried a five-day week under Stalin in 1929. Both experiments failed as French and Soviet workers and families revolted at the new arrangements for lack of rest and regular time with families. Eventually, each nation returned to a seven-day week with at least one common day of rest.

It seems that life on a seven-day cycle is baked into our DNA. From the very beginning, humanity has organized its societies around this weekly schedule. But why seven days? Why not five days or ten days? While days are measured by the earth’s rotation, while years are measured by our trip around the sun, and while each month is measured by the moon’s trip around the earth, there is no astronomical reason for a seven-day week.

Instead, God Himself ordained this seven- day pattern! And did you know that He also ordained a special day of rest every week for you? It’s called the Sabbath—and just like the weekly cycle, the Sabbath still impacts your life today. Read on!

Here are six Bible-based facts about the Sabbath!

The Sabbath Was Created for Everyone!

At the dawn of Creation, God knew that the people He made would need to rest from their labors. After six days of creating, He rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). It wasn’t because God was tired; instead, He was setting an example for us. Why? Because the Sabbath is a day designed to provide everyone with the same day of rest—a day to worship God together and to spend time with family and friends.

And Jesus affirmed that the Sabbath was made for all humanity (Mark 2:27). Adam and Eve were the only two people alive when God established the Sabbath during the creation—the Lord blessed and sanctified the seventh day long before there were any Jewish people in the world (Genesis 2:1)

The Sabbath Is the Seventh Day!

In Genesis, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day—Saturday! In fact, did you know that more than 100 languages use the word “Sabbath” for Saturday, the seventh day of the week? For example, the Spanish word for Saturday is “Sabado,” meaning Sabbath.

How do we know Saturday is still the seventh day of the week mentioned in the Bible? The Jewish people have strictly observed the seventh day for 4,000 years—during the time of Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus—and they have kept it unbroken ever since. Moreover, nowhere in Scripture do we find God changing the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day.

Jesus Kept the Sabbath!

Did you know that the word “Sabbath” appears in the four Gospels nearly 60 times? In Luke 4:16, we also read that Jesus’ “custom” was to go “into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.” Jesus also healed and taught on the Sabbath— actions that are central to sharing the good news.

Even in death, Jesus observed the Sabbath. The Bible says that He was crucified on the “preparation day” (Friday), He “rested” in the tomb on Sabbath (Saturday), and rose after sunset at the start of the first day of the week (Sunday). See also Luke 23:52–56.

The Early Church Also Kept the Sabbath!

Some people believe that after Jesus died, the Sabbath was “done away with.” Yet the early church kept doing what Jesus did—they kept the Sabbath holy.

An ardent Pharisee, Saul was a strict Sabbath observer when he converted to Christianity and became known as the apostle Paul. As he began to preach the gospel of Jesus, his “custom” was to go to the synagogue on Sabbath (Acts 17:2). What happened when the Gentiles heard the good news? They “begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath” (Acts 13:42). Those in the early church—Jew and Gentile alike—observed the Bible Sabbath.

The Sabbath Is in Prophecy!

Amazingly, we can know that the Sabbath still matters today because God says that we will be celebrating the seventh day throughout eternity. “‘As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from … one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me’” (Isaiah 66:22, 23).

That’s right! The Sabbath is so precious that God’s people will observe it throughout all time in the beautiful new earth to come. If we are going to keep it through all eternity, why not keep it now as our pledge of obedience to His fourth commandment?

The Sabbath Still Matters!

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Jesus kept the Sabbath, and He desires that His followers today will join Him. He said, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Jesus was referring to the Ten Commandments, which includes the fourth: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:8–10, emphasis added). Notice:

  1. God said "remember the Sabbath" for a reason-because He knew we'd forget!
  2. The passage says "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord," which means Sabbath, not Sunday, is the "Lord's Day".

The Sabbath is the Best Day of the Week!

Just as God designed the Sabbath to be a rest from our physical labors, the seventh day is also a memorial to Jesus’ restoration of our spiritual health. He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. … I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–30). Jesus is our ultimate Sabbath rest! (See Hebrews 4.)

The Bible also says, “The Sabbath [is] a delight” (Isaiah 58:13). God created the Sabbath as an “oasis in time”—where all your work stress is cast aside—for you to remember Him as your Creator and to connect with others. Every week, you can find peace, relaxation, and restoration for your body and mind by observing the Bible Sabbath. So give it a try and see how God blesses your obedience to Him!

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

The Lost Day of History study guide will help you to understand your need of the Sabbath and how to find joy in it! Download your free digital copy at Lost07.AFTV.in.