Revelation makes no mention of the Sabbath – therefore invalid – Really?

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If many Christian believers used their subtleties and sometimes even clever tactics to understand and correctly interpret the written word of God, they would already be halfway there. Instead, this potential is used to supposedly justify a deliberate disregard for God’s law, especially the seventh-day Sabbath.

“There’s nothing about the Sabbath in there.”

“There is no mention of the Sabbath anywhere in the Book of Revelation, therefore it cannot (or no longer) exist!” This is one of the many arguments used to declare God’s Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, invalid. “Furthermore, Jesus Christ repeated numerous commandments, but nowhere the Sabbath!” goes another, complementary argument. And the final straw: “Jesus himself broke the Sabbath and thus abolished it!”

Claims that roll off the tongue easily, just as easily as disregarding all or even one of God’s Ten Commandments. Yet, virtually no effort is ever made to investigate these variations. Why bother? They only confirm one’s own wishful thinking. But if such an effort were made, one would discover that Jesus Christ by no means broke the Fourth Commandment, that He himself consistently observed the Sabbath, as did His disciples after Him, and that the absence of the explicit word “Sabbath” in the Book of Revelation does not eliminate this day of God, but rather that the opposite is true.

God’s law or human tradition?

What is described as breaking the Sabbath of Jesus Christ is nothing other than the ignoring of the human additional rules surrounding the Sabbath by the scribes and Pharisees. Even today there are “deeply Orthodox” people who even avoid buttoning their coats on the Sabbath, because that is work.

These are the same people who, on the one hand, teach that the house key should not be carried when leaving the house, as this constitutes work, but then use provisions on the belt to which the key is attached “decoratively.” Because then it is not considered carrying the key while working, but rather the key is simply part of the clothing.

Inflated rulebook

These are just two examples from a body of work containing well over 1,000 additional rules concerning the Sabbath. Jesus Christ couldn’t care less about this, because picking ears of grain for immediate consumption is by no means a violation of God’s Sabbath commandment, but rather an affront to the law-making Pharisees (see Info). They reacted accordingly and accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. Jesus expressed his general attitude toward the Pharisees primarily in Matthew 23 (“hypocrites”).

Are regular refresher courses necessary?

To now claim that the word “Sabbath” doesn’t appear anywhere in the Book of Revelation is, to put it mildly, quite naive, even ignorant. If it were written, “You shall not take what is your neighbor’s,” but the word “theft” is missing from Revelation, and therefore it is not obligatory to seize the property of others, that would simply be cheap.

The question also arose whether it was actually expected that a law, once formulated, would need to be reactivated through some form of regular repetition. Without official, governmental reaffirmation, there would otherwise be an automatic expiration date. Really? For example, 150 years ago, assassination was declared illegal, but if this legislation isn’t renewed, can one then just as easily sharpen one’s knives?

The abolition of a law requires a separate law, perhaps a “repealing law.” That’s the reality. Nowhere in the Gospels is there such a clear abolition of the seventh-day Sabbath. It’s formulated at least as clearly as its introduction. Everything else is simply tradition.

Sabbath is indeed mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation does indeed describe the Sabbath, not by its direct name, but repeatedly mentioning its characteristics and, above all, the justification for its unrestricted existence.

Revelation 4:11:

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.“

The seventh day was ordained by God to mark the conclusion of His six-day creation. At that time, there was neither the nation of Israel nor any other nation. Only two people constituted all of humanity up to that point. As Jesus Christ himself emphasized, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:” (Mark 2:27), God did not establish the Sabbath for a select group, but for all of humanity. This is also a component of the Ten Commandments, specifically the Fourth Commandment.

Revelation 5:13:

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.“

Everything, without exception, was created by God, through Jesus Christ, the living Word of God. There is nothing that existed before it or that otherwise came into this world, whether visible or invisible (John 1:1-3). The Sabbath is a sign of God’s creation. This verse establishes the connection to this one living Creator, and therefore also to the Sabbath.

Revelation 11:19:

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.“

This scene describes the seventh trumpet, the final scenario, the conclusion. The Ark of the Covenant, which was carried by God’s people during their wanderings through the desert, is depicted, only to be placed back in the Holy of Holies, the Tabernacle. To understand this, one “only” needs to consider what the Ark of the Covenant represents. It is the seat of God among His people. The lid of the Ark is also the mercy seat.

Inside the Ark of the Covenant, besides Aaron’s rod and a bowl of manna, are the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. God’s law and His grace converge here, for the law is the standard for God’s judgment. Guilty because one has sinned? Yes, then it is necessary to examine whether this sin is worthy of grace. A godless person, an idolater, an unclean person, a habitual sinner—in short, someone who disregarded or ignored God’s law—is not worthy.

For him, his sins fall back upon the sinner, and he himself must answer for them. And for sin, there is only one consequence: death (6:23). This also shows that this sin and its perpetrator are subject to judgment only if the person ever confessed and repented of their sin, directly to Jesus Christ, not to a human priest. Such confession is null and void. But if confession and repentance are absent, the sins remain unchanged and cling to the sinner.

Revelation 12:17:

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.“

In the last days, only a few people will still follow God’s commandments, specifically according to Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5, and not according to any church’s own catechism. Here, too, “in the middle” of these Ten Commandments, we find the Fourth Commandment, the seventh-day Sabbath.

Revelation 14:6-7:

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.“

This passage is the so-called first message of the Three Angels’ Messages, a series of urgent warnings and admonitions to humanity (Info). As before, the connection between God and He, the one living Creator, is clearly established here. And the unmistakable expression of His authorship of creation, His sign of His authority, is indeed the seventh-day Sabbath.

Revelation 14:12:

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.“

The conclusion of the Three Angels’ Message is based on this admonition to keep the Ten Commandments of God, and thus, of course, also the fourth commandment.

Revelation 22:14:

“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.“

Also here. Not 9 out of 10 commandments, but 10 out of 10 commandments. Eternal commandments, written by God himself in stone, not like the so-called laws of Moses (ceremonial laws), which, although dictated by God, were written by Moses himself in a book. This book, unlike the 10 commandments, was not inside the Ark of the Covenant, but stood beside it. A fundamental difference, because the 10 commandments are eternal, while the ceremonial laws were abolished at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Info).

Conversely, whoever does not keep the Ten Commandments forfeits their right to receive from the Tree of Life. This is a simple way of describing a person’s “self-imposed renunciation” of receiving eternal life from God.

The Sabbath was, is, and will remain

The Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, will forever remain the mark of God’s authority. The very idea that the Sabbath, once obligatory, even if only for the people of Israel, was abolished for Christians, and will be reintroduced on the new earth, makes absolutely no sense. The Sabbath has been in effect since God’s creation and, just as God is and remains the eternal Creator, it will also be valid for eternity.

Then, as now, the Pharisees were extremely angry, even gnashing their teeth in rage, because Jesus Christ followed God’s commandment, not their rules. It was a direct attack on their self-proclaimed authority (power). Thus, the Sabbath was and remains the unique mark, the seal of God’s authority. The counterpart to this will be the “famous” mark of the beast, likewise a sign of the proclaimed authority of a human power.

The Mark is a Sabbath question

This can only be an alternative to the Sabbath, precisely the day that this power, representing the adversary, claims for itself as its mark. This day has long been defined. It is the “alternative” Sunday, the first day of the week (Info). All that was “missing” was the legislation for it, that is, the coercion along with the threatened consequences for non-compliance. And suddenly Revelation 14:12 makes even more sense.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)