Chapter 8 | The End Times Sabbath

THE END TIMES SABBATH

Chapter 8 | The End Times Sabbath

Matthew 24:3-5 KJV And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

In Jesus’(Yahusha’s) unveiling of the signs of the time of His return, He begins with a warning that we allow no man to deceive us. Unfortunately, the times in which we live are defined by deception even in the church. This is referred to as the “strong delusion” and at the heart of this, is the Sabbath. In this age, this will become the dividing line between the Biblical ekklesia and those who are in danger of being turned away on Judgment Day. The Sabbath is not salvation but those truly seeking relationship with Him will find it. This is important because Messiah invokes the Sabbath practice to the very end times.

Matthew 24:20-21 KJV But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

If Sabbath passed away, why did Messiah say it will still matter in the End Times? Even in the Great Tribulation, believers will keep His Sabbath and it will matter in practice as this denotes observance. Sabbath includes a rule to limit one’s travel on the Sabbath Day.

Isaiah 66:22-23 KJV For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

When do we get new heavens and a new earth? The Day of Final Judgment. Messiah told us every letter of the Law will remain at least until this day (Matt. 5:17-18). Isaiah is indicating the same in prophecy. On the Day of Judgment, all flesh will come to worship Yahuah on the Sabbath and from one Sabbath to another. Sabbath does not even pass away at that point but will be practiced forever.

Revelation 22:14 KJV Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

The End Times and the Garden have always tied together as has the Sabbath from beginning to end. The End Times remnant will be found keeping His commandments all the way to the point that they enter into New Jerusalem. This is where we will have access once again, as Adam and Eve once did, to the Tree of Life. However, we will do so keeping His commandments. They are not salvation but they define relationship that is salvation.

Revelation 14:12-13 KJV Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The consistent saints will have the patience to keep the Sabbath rest to the very end. We will observe His commandments that include the Sabbath. It is time to start now. Daniel predicted the Sabbath would be changed and it has been.

Daniel 7:25 KJV And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

The only Law that is a time is Sabbath. The Beast will change it and his system and religion already has. When one reviews prophecy with intensity, it becomes clear that to be against Sabbath is to support the Beast. The line is being drawn right now. Will we have the patience to follow His ways even when our livelihoods are at stake?

Ezekiel 36:22-28 KJV Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

The Prophet Ezekiel foretells of the return of the Lost Tribes of Israel in the very End Times. He sanctifies His great name in the end in multiple scriptures even after Gog of Magog’s forces are destroyed. At that point of return, Israel will renew covenant and once again, walk in His statutes and keep His Commandments. This includes the Sabbath. We also know that Messiah is our Lord and He is Lord of the Sabbath. He remains Lord to this day and will be in the end and forever. This means He will continue His Sabbath practice in which He is Lord.

Mark 2:27-28 KJV And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Believers will not find this foreign because they will keep His commandments because they love Him. Is the Lord of the Sabbath our Lord? Then, we will learn to keep His Sabbath. They will learn that Sabbath is paramount in understanding His ways since Creation and to the end. Even when Israel was given the Law, the Sabbath especially comes with no expiration date but it is to be observed by Israel and the Gentiles among them throughout your generations, for a perpetual covenant, a statute forever, continually, as an everlasting covenant. Can we really overlook such language?

Exodus 31:16 KJV Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. Leviticus 16:31 KJV It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. Leviticus 24:8 KJV Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

Messiah told us the Law, even 1 letter, does not have an expiration date until at least the Day of Final Judgment. Baruch, the scribe for the Prophet Jeremiah, takes this a step further declaring the Law is forever.

Baruch 4:1 KJVA

This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that endureth for ever: all they that keep it shall come to life; but such as leave it shall die.

The Old Testament prophets well knew the Sabbath had no end. Isaiah speaks of the End Times again as salvation is near to come and Yahuah’s righteousness revealed. What does this mean to believers? He

says it means it is time to keep the Sabbath. When we do not observe it, we pollute it. Isaiah is not only referencing Israel but he says this is also for the Gentile that is a recurring theme in scripture. Anyone that claims the Sabbath is Jewish, does not know Hebrew nor who a Jew is and certainly does not know the Bible. Just as Paul says many times, the Old Testament has offered this consistently all along. Everyone, even the stranger or Gentile, will be brought to His Holy mountain in the end which is a reference to New Jerusalem.

Isaiah 56:1-8 KJV Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Many in the church have ignored the Old Testament as if it is impertinent and passed away yet these prophesies and the ways of the Old Testament are still relevant to the very end. They cannot pass away. When it comes to Sabbath, not only is the day critical, but the prophetic time clock appears set on a Sabbath schedule for our coming 1,000-year rest in Him.

2 Esdras 8:52-54 KJVA For unto you is Paradise opened, the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plentiousness is made ready, a city is built, and rest is allowed, yes perfect goodness and wisdom. The root of evil is sealed up from you, weakness and the moth is hidden from you, and corruption is fled into hell to be forgotten. Sorrows are passed, and in the end is shown the treasure of immortality.

We are soon to behold the works of Messiah like the world has never seen. He will do this to bring goodness, wisdom and rest or Sabbath to us all. There will be a 1,000-year Sabbath rest in peace with no satan.

2 Esdras 2:34 KJVA And therefore I say unto you, O you heathen, that hear and understand, Look for your shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest; for he is near at hand, that shall come in the end of the world.

The Lord of the Sabbath will then destroy satan and we will have everlasting rest in Him. You can have that rest every week right now on His Sabbath. There is a satan now and demons and a world full of those who hate Jesus(Yahusha) and even hate you for His sake. Take courage and know that He will give you rest every week even now. You know you need it. This will be restored in our time. His Law cannot pass. If it does, that would mean there is no way to define sin (lawlessness) that appears to the end of Revelation. How does He Judge without Law on the Day of Judgment? Better yet, how is it that anyone calling themselves a scholar has not considered this question and the hypocrisy of claiming there is no Law? This means they teach lawlessness that is the definition of sin. It matters not whether that is their intention, it is what they are teaching. 2nd Esdras defines this in enhanced resolution. We know from Revelation, in the end, Jesus(Yahusha) will consume His enemies with a sword from His mouth. What is this sword? Not only is it the flaming sword of His eternal fire, but He destroys His enemies with... the Law.

2 Esdras 13 KJVA

4 And whensoever the voice went out of his mouth, all they burnt, that heard his voice, like as the earth fails when it feels the fire. 38 ...and he (Messiah) shall destroy them without labor, by the law which is like unto fire... (Cf. Rev. 1:16, 2:16, 12:17, 14:12, 19:15, 21, 22:14; 1 John 2:3-4, 3:22-24, 5:2-3; 2 John 1:6; Matt. 5:17-18)

Jeremiah also encourages Israel that it will return but also, that it will face the measure that is the Law in correction and punishment. That is what righteousness is all about.

Jeremiah 46:28 KJV

Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Most of us recall by memory that His people perish for lack of knowledge. However, have we truly read this in context? What knowledge is it that we lack? The Law.

Hosea 4:6-8 KJV

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

One pastor stood against us claiming we teach knowledge and he, the spirit. If a pastor does not know we perish from the lack of knowledge and that is the Law even, yet thinks that he is to teach people from his feelings or better said, whatever he feels like teaching, then he is not of Yahuah. He doesn’t know Him. Bear in mind, these are prophesies of the very End Times which the church believes but they ignore the part

that says His Law will be restored. They were talking about the Law at their time of writing not some new Law. The Sabbath is a foundational pillar of His Law since Creation and it is applied throughout the End Times as significant to Him. He did not abolish His role and title as Lord of the Sabbath and told us in Matthew 5, He would not. This is the doctrine of the Bible. It is the only doctrine that matters. Our foundation must include His foundation. Otherwise, we are building our house on sinking sand. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Catholic Church in 1517, an awakening began as people realized that church was not following the Bible. The staple of those Dark Ages was the Catholic Church’s demand that only they could read and understand the Word yet they proved illiterate. He rebuked them for things like seeking indulgences where men pay for forgiveness of sin like going to a McDonalds Drive-Thru to be absolved. The rich could buy their indulgences in bulk even covering a lifetime of sin. Essentially, the Catholic Church was representing the opposite of the Word. As much as one must applaud the content of his rebuke, Luther was wrong. You do not protest a Biblically illiterate church yet keep it’s foundations built on sinking sand. In Matthew 5, Messiah tells us to set our foundation on the solid rock instead. If you discover after many years your house has a faulty foundation, you do not continue to build up on such because it is already set to fall. The only question is when. The Protestant Church has continued many Catholic illiteracies which are far from the Bible especially in interpretation. The Sabbath is at the very center and part of the Catholic foundation is to profane it. For this is the calling of our age. That is not our prophecy. This is the time that Moses predicted that we would return to His Law. In Jubilees, which he wrote, Moses offers prophecy of the very End Times in which we are entering. The amazing thing is even if this were written in 150 B.C. as some scholars guess ignorantly, it would still be prophecy and it rings true. That is a sign of inspired scripture further proving it was written when it says. We will begin to study the Laws again and relearn His Commandments and ways in a return to the path of righteousness. This is not a revival, this is a lifestyle that once ignited, never ends.

Jubilees 23:26 [End Times Prophecy]

And in those days the children will begin to study the laws, And to seek the commandments, And to return to the path of righteousness.

We will go back in time and cover the history of Sabbath in the time of transition from the Old to the New Testament. We already covered the New Testament practice to the end that is well documented. However, did the exiled Temple Priests who were connected to Messiah as He was baptized and launched His ministry right there in Bethabara which they still call by it’s Muslim name, Qumran, continue the Sabbath just before, during and just after His time? Did the true Biblical ekklesia after the Apostles continue to keep the 7th-Day Sabbath? We will explore these next and expose the powers who oppose His Law and His Sabbath.

O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him that has called you to the heavenly kingdom. Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the feast of Yahuah: Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of Yahuah. Take your number, O Sion, and shut up those of yours that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the Law of Yahuah. The number of your children whom you long for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of Yahuah, that your people which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.

– 2 Esdras 2:37-41 KJVA