Book titled “Understanding the Ten Commandments and their entirety”
The Fourth Commandment
Exodus 20: 8-11 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it, you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
Example: Sabbath is another word for seventh. The day of rest. Genesis 2:2, “ And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”
The Sabbath day, if only we knew how important it is, everyone would have observed it and kept it holy. I have to say, anyone who truly respects and honors our heavenly Father will honor all of His commandments with no questions asked. I’m going to put the definition of the word hallowed, so maybe, you will understand the importance of that commandment. Sometimes lack of meaning or understanding of words can block the effectiveness, or stance of a command. That’s why I will keep saying it, to ask our heavenly Father for wisdom and understanding so that you can understand His instructions, so you do not err.
Let me tell you something, ignorance is not an excuse to sin, because everyone has the access to ask our heavenly Father anything that means wisdom and understanding should be the first on your list. James 1: 5-7 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” Now, at the end of verse eleven in Exodus twenty, you see the word hallowed. Let’s look up the definition of Hallowed. Hollowed: made holy; consecrated; greatly revered and honored; to keep holy and set apart. With the definition, you should have an idea of the importance of the Sabbath Day. Deuteronomy 4:2 “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
Let’s go back to the beginning of Creation in Genesis chapters one and two, but I will only go to chapter two verse two and which reads, “2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Look, guys, this is as clear as it could be. Our heavenly Father is saying look upon me as an example. See that I work six days meaning it took Him six days to create everything, and on the seven days, He rested, so He can be refreshed to start the new week. He was saying, I want you to keep that day set apart, respect, and honor it. Get this, on that day, He wants everyone in your household, servants and even your animals to rest, and it’s not a negotiation. To show you the seriousness of that day, when the children of Jacob were in the wilderness, he exhorted Moses to make sure to tell the people to keep the Sabbath Day.
Anyone who breaks it is worthy of death. Exodus 16:23 “He said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.” Moses made it clear that no one should be cooking, fetching water, or doing anything else on that day but should be indoors resting as God instructed him (Isaiah 58:13-14). Exodus 16: 29 “See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth-day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” Some people are confusing the weekly Sabbaths and the day of atonement Sabbaths. The day of atonement Sabbath is a day of fasting from evening to evening without food or water from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth on the seventh month. Therefore, you do not need to prepare anything to eat. Understand the regular Sabbath, you are not allowed to fast (Jubilees 50).
That’s what makes it different from The day of atonement. But many have got it confused and start their Sabbath from evening to evening instead from dawn till dusk. You will find that in Leviticus 23:26-32. Moreover, as you see in the verse above that you must prepare your food the night before for the morning. This means, your Sabbath starts at dawn not even from the night before. Think about it, how are you going to prepare your food if you start in the evening? I also think the reason for the confusion is that many people still don’t understand the difference between day and night. When you see the word day, it means from dawn to dusk. The word night means from dusk to dawn. If you go back to Genesis 1:16 “God made the two bright lights: the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars.”
From reading the verse above as you can see, the larger light rules the day meaning dawn till dusk that’s how the day is described. I know, you were told that the day starts at midnight which doesn’t make any sense at all. That also tells you if the day starts at midnight, there are roughly about six hours or less in the night which is not possible. That’s why we must look into everything with a magnifying glass. The question remains, why do they say morning at midnight, I do not know, but according to the scriptures, it is still dusk, not dawn. Furthermore, some of the children of Jacob understood the importance of keeping the Sabbath. A man like Nehemiah was a witness to the punishment they endured for not keeping the commandments. That’s why when he returned to rebuild the city, he had zeal because he didn’t want to repeat or return to slavery. He wasn’t playing, and he wasn’t having it either.
Let’s read his actions, Nehemiah 15:15-21 “In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. 16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” 19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 Then I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.”
Nehemiah understood the command God gave to Moses. He was aware of the punishment that follows those who break it. He knew when it comes to the commandments there is no negotiation, no compromising, it is all or nothing. He knew the curse that came upon their forefathers for breaking the Sabbath day. That’s why he threatened them that he will lay hands on them if they do it again. That’s the level of respect we need to have for our heavenly Father and his commandments. Nehemiah stood up for what he believed, and they did not return. The merchants knew what the children of Jacob were capable of and they wouldn’t want to test him. When you read 1 Maccabbees 2 you will see how zealous the children of Jacob were for the Torah. Jubilees chapter fifty also gives you details of what you should not be doing on Sabbath day. In the New Testament, it said to make sure when you flee it is not on Sabbath day. Matthew 24:20 “But pray ye that your flight is not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day.”
How many warnings do you need to take heed of? You find the Jews, again, man-made doctrine, telling people they can walk one mile to go to the temple.
You also find Christian pastors telling the people that it is eternal rest, they don’t need to keep it, but it will be after they die they will be rested eternally. Without a doubt, it is an eternal ordinance, and it should be kept when you are alive also it will be kept when the new heaven and new earth are established. You need proof, Isaiah 66:22-23 “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord.” The only Christian group that keeps the Sabbath every Saturday like the Jews are the Seven Days Adventists and some of the Torah keepers. I mean, the Christians are so divided it is ridiculous. Get this, they are quick to say that the Catholics are not Christians, but guess who changed the Saturday Sabbaths to Sunday that all Christians follow? The Catholic Church, the mother of all churches is the one. Yet, they don’t recognize the Catholic Church as Christians when they are the head, and they all worship the same idol called Jesus.
When I used to attend Calvary Chapel some years ago, Pastor Doug Sauder, I remember stood on the pulpit and said, “You can choose any day to keep the Sabbath.” He continued, “as for myself, I choose a day to read and meditate.” This is a guy that many people think highly of and is supposed to be knowledgeable in the word of God. People always look up to Christian pastors for knowledge, but little do they know they are blinds leading the blinds. If you truly desire wisdom and understanding, you must seek it from our heavenly Father above. There are so many others who claimed that they are in the truth and are following the footsteps of the Jews and observing the Sabbath day every Saturday which is not in the scripture.
Understand the Julian Gregorian calendar is man-made based on the sun. They also use the names of their pagan gods to commemorate them. If you research, you will see that each day of the week is named after a Greek god or goddess. Nonetheless, when you read Genesis chapter one and the books of Enoch you will see that God’s calendar is based on the moon and sun which is called the lunisolar calendar. To keep the Sabbath, you must use the lunisolar calendar which is the calendar God created at the beginning of time. The lunisolar calendar has been with us since the beginning of creation, and all you have to do is look up. I know, at this moment those of you who have never heard of the lunisolar calendar scratching your head in confusion. Don’t be confused because it is the easiest calendar. I will not dwell too much on it, but I will make it simple enough for you to understand. If you read the Torah also known as the Old Testament, you will see many references to the New Moon, and it is one of the feasts that should be celebrated every month.
New Moon is another word for New Month because Month comes from the word Moon or Mooth. New Moon is also the first day of the month. Understand that the moon recycles restart every month. You should be familiar with the moon phases which give you the percentage of the moon. You have the first quarter; it is what they called New Moon. The second quarter is when the moonlight reaches fifty percent. The third quarter is when it reaches one hundred percent which is called Full Moon. The fourth quarter is when it is decrease to fifty percent until it reaches zero percent. There are many apps on the moon calendar you should look into. Now, we are going to some scriptures to back it up. Look, guys, you have to read this information yourself that’s why I’m providing the scriptures. Let’s go to Enoch 78:14 “And when it is wholly extinguished, its light is consumed in heaven; and on the first day it is called the New Moon, for on that day light is received into it (In the Cepher start reading from chapters 73-79 for a better explanation). There are so many other references in the Bible, but the next verse I want to share with you is 1 Samuel 20: 24-27, “Then David hid in the field: And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean.” And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?” So, here you see verse 24 which states that David hid on New Moon and didn’t show up to dine with King Saul. Then, in verse 27 it says, and it happened the next day, the second day of the month which was after the New Moon. That is just to confirm to you that New Moon is the first day of the month as you see it in Enoch 78. As I mentioned before, I’m not going to overwhelm you with too many scriptures, besides those verses that make it clear as it could be for you.
Now that you know the first day of the month starts on New Moon day, to find the correct day to celebrate Sabbath all you have to do is count seven days starting from New Moon. As a bonus, I will also explain how you will find your new year per the lunisolar calendar. To find the New Year is very simple, and I will give you the scripture for that as well. Keep in mind, that you cannot use the Julian Gregorian calendar to observe the feast days our heavenly Father gave to Moses in Leviticus 23. Again, the God of Avraham, Isaac, and Jacob gave the whole world a calendar that He built from the beginning of time, and it must be followed. To find when the New Year begins all you have to do is follow the scriptures, and if you don’t understand them just ask our heavenly Father to give you wisdom and understanding. Let’s go to Exodus 12:2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” The simplest way I can put it is the feast of Passover, it is always celebrated at the beginning of the year or the first month of the year. The wicked change the Passover feast name and called it easter. Easter is celebrated in the spring. Many of you didn’t know that spring is the beginning of the year as well. If you think about it, it is when all the flowers blossom. It’s like nature restarting again fresh.
On the New Moon of that month, which falls in March, you have entered a new year and that’s the time you should celebrate the New Year. The Passover feast follows on the fourteen days of that month. The New Year will fall on a different month of the year because we are in different hemispheres. Nonetheless, since the continent of Africa is where everything begins, the Garden of Eden, Jerusalem the city of great Kings, and the children of Jacob’s Promised Land are located there if you choose to celebrate your new year in the same month as theirs you can. So I don’t lose you, springs begin in September for Africa, therefore, New Year begins in September. Deuteronomy 16:1 “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.” Let’s look up the word Abib. Definition of Abib: the first month of the ancient Hebrew calendar corresponding to Nisan. Let’s look up the word Nisan. Nisan (or Nissan; Hebrew: נִיסָן, Standard Nīsan, Tiberian Nīsān; from Akkadian: 𒊬𒊒𒄀 Nisanu) in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. In the Merriam-Webster: Definition of Nisan: the seventh month of the civil year or the first month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar. Two things you see mentioned in both definitions are spring and the seventh month of the civil year. Let’s look up Civil Year: the time taken by the earth to make one revolution around the sun. The civil year is also referring to the Julian Gregorian calendar which is based on the sun. With all that said, the seventh month of the civil year is what you called September. Interestingly, September is when spring begins in Africa. If you are in that region, the New Year Start in September which is also the month to celebrate Passover. Now, in the Northern hemisphere like America, spring start in March, meaning your biblical New Year start in March which would be the year to celebrate Passover as well. The feast of the Passover is a very important feast to observe at the beginning of your months or the first month of the year (Read Jubilees 49). I think you have enough information to help you keep our heavenly Father’s feast days on the correct calendar days. Remember to read Leviticus 23 to keep up with all the feast days because in each of them you must be observed as an eternal ordinance. We are going to move along to the fifth commandment.