Sabbath–keeping in the End Time

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Mt. 24:1-5)

The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ asked Him two important questions. The first question is when the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. The second question is what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. As we read the Lord's discourse we have to bear in mind that He was referring to the two events, one in 70 AD and the second one refers to the events in the End Time which is our present time.

“And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.” (Mt.24:20-22)

There are practical as well as religious reasons why the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples to pray that their flights “may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” First, He wanted His disciples to pray for the best time for them to “flee to the mountains” (Mt. 24:16). During the Winter time the days are short and it is also cold, therefore moving from one place to another would have much difficulty and inconvenience. The Sabbath is the day of rest and to worship God, therefore it is not the best day to move. In any case the Lord instructed His disciples to be prepared to move away from the city to a safe place in the "mountains."

Another thing we can infer from the Lord's instructions is that the Early Christians had been keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath in 70 AD when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, which is more than 30 years after the Lord's death, burial, resurrection and ascension into Heaven. Not only that, the Lord Jesus Christ had also instructed the Christians in the End Time not to flee on the Seventh Day Sabbath. Here is clear and definite evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ had anticipated and expected the Christian Preppers Communities in the End Time to keep the Seventh Day Sabbath.

The Children of Israel are called the Church in the Wilderness. "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,”(Acts 7:38) The Greek text for “congregation in the wilderness”is ekklēsia en ti erēmos - ἐκκλησία ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ that refers to the Church.

In the New Testament the faithful Christians are symbolized by the “woman” (2 Cor. 11:1-2; Eph. 5:30-32). In the End Time the “woman” would be persecuted by Satan (Rev. 12:13). “But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” (Rev. 12:14) "Two wings of a great eagle" represent the "holy hands" of the saints when they are lifted up in prayer (1 Tim. 2:8). This Place of Refuge in the wilderness point to the Christian Preppers Communities “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:17) The Seventh Day Sabbath is the Fourth Commandment. God would protect His people from harm's way and also give them provisions when they obey His commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy (Ex. 20:8-11).

The Children of Israel had been in Egypt for four hundred years. “So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.” (Ex. 1:13). It is unlikely they would be given any day of rest once a week. Moreover, the Children of Israel had forgotten the Seventh Day Sabbath. On the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt God revealed to them the Seventh Day Sabbath through the miracles of the manna.

God rained manna (bread) from heaven every day for six days. The Children of Israel must gather the manna every day only sufficient for their daily needs. Any leftovers would breed worms and stink. (Ex. 16:15-20) On the sixth day they must gather double portion of the manna because there would be none on the seventh day which is the Sabbath Day. On that day the extra portion of manna would not go bad. All those miracles were repeated every week for forty years (Ex. 16:35). The Children of Israel had experienced the miracles of the manna 52 x 40 = 2080 times. There is no way they could have forgotten the Sabbath day.

During His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ had established an excellent example in Sabbath observance.

“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”(Lk. 4:16)

Our Lord's observance of the Sabbath was a custom, a regular weekly affair. The Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect role model. He leaves us examples so that we can follow in His steps (1 Pet. 2:21) Our Lord said, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (Jn. 13:15) True Christians in the End Time are described in this way. “These are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.” (Rev. 14:4-5) The true Christian Preppers Community in the End Time will faithfully observe the Seventh Day Sabbath.

Acts of the Apostles which is the most reliable historical record of the Early Apostolic Church states, “And when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. . . . And the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:42, 44) The “whole city” refers to the Gentile city of Antioch in Pisidia (Turkey). “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.” (Acts 13:48-49) The Early Apostolic Church that consisted of both Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians, was a Seventh Day Sabbath-keeping church. When Paul and Silas came to Philippi, a Gentile city in Greece, there was no synagogue but it did not stop them from worshiping on the Sabbath. “And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.” (Acts 16:13) They preached to Lydia who became the first convert in that city. In Corinth Paul and Silas “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 18:4) There is overwhelming evidence that the Early Apostolic Church had consistently kept the Seventh Day Sabbath.

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:10-13)