REF: TR10EN
Core Questions
Where in the Bible was the day of rest, the Shabbat, changed from the seventh day to the first day of the week?
Who, within the Bible, made that change?
And if no such change exists in Scripture, when did this change begin to be imposed, by whom, and why is this so relevant today?
This study should not be taken as a personal attack against pastors, leaders, ministers, congregations, or denominations. It is a serious call to attention. If this is correct, then millions of sincere people may be breaking the fourth commandment while believing they are honoring God. That is not something to take lightly.
The goal is not to condemn anyone, but to invite each person to examine the Scriptures with humility. God has never been interested in people approaching Him “their own way,” even if done sincerely. From the beginning, God established that we must approach Him according to His will, not according to our traditions.
1. God Established the Shabbat at Creation
The Shabbat did not begin with Moses, Judaism, or any religion. It began at creation.
Genesis 2:2-3
“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.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. The Bible never says that God blessed and sanctified the first day of the week as a replacement for the Shabbat.
2. The Shabbat Is Part of the Ten Commandments
The fourth commandment does not say, “Remember any day.” It is specific:
Exodus 20:8-11
“Remember the Shabbat day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Shabbat 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.
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 Shabbat day and hallowed it.”
This commandment is directly connected to creation. It was not presented as a Jewish custom, but as a divine instruction based on what God Himself did.
3. The Shabbat as a Sign Between God and His People
Exodus 31:13
“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Shabbats you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.’”
Exodus 31:16-17
“Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Shabbat, to observe the Shabbat throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever…”
The words “perpetual” and “forever” do not present the Shabbat as something temporary or disposable.
Let me pause here, because I believe I know what you might be thinking: that God is speaking here only to the children of Israel and not to Gentile believers in Yeshua. I recommend that you review the study on our website titled “What Is Your True Identity According to the Bible?”, where you will discover how God sees you once you receive salvation through Yeshua. According to the apostle Paul, we are no longer considered Gentiles. This may challenge many deeply rooted beliefs that lack biblical foundation.
4. Did Yeshua Change the Shabbat to Sunday?
No. Yeshua never changed the Shabbat. On the contrary, He kept it and taught its true purpose.
Luke 4:16
“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Shabbat, and stood up to read.”
Yeshua did not teach against the Shabbat. What He confronted were the man-made burdens added by religious leaders.
Mark 2:27-28
“And He said to them, ‘The Shabbat was made for man, and not man for the Shabbat.
Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Shabbat.’”
Saying that Yeshua is “Lord of the Shabbat” does not mean He abolished it. It means He has authority to restore its true meaning.
5. Yeshua Did Not Come to Abolish the Torah
The Torah consists of the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It is not “a Jewish book” in the modern religious sense. It is God’s instruction revealed to His people.
Matthew 5:17-19
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
This passage is extremely important. Yeshua did not say that after His death the commandments would be abolished. He said that whoever breaks them and teaches others to do so will be called least, but whoever does and teaches them will be called great.
6. Did the Apostles Change the Shabbat?
Neither. In the book of Acts, we see that Paul continued participating in gatherings on Shabbat.
Acts 13:42-44
“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Shabbat.
Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
On the next Shabbat almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.”
If Paul had taught that the Shabbat had been changed to Sunday, this would have been the perfect moment to say: “Do not wait until the next Shabbat; now we gather on Sunday.” But he did not.
Acts 17:2
“Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Shabbats reasoned with them from the Scriptures,”
Acts 18:4
“And he reasoned in the synagogue every Shabbat, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.”
Paul did not speak only to Jews. He also persuaded Greeks. The Shabbat remained a natural time for teaching and gathering.
7. What About the Verses Used to Defend Sunday?
Some use Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2 to argue that the Shabbat was changed to Sunday. However, those texts do not command any change.
Acts 20:7
“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”
This text describes a gathering, not a commandment to replace the Shabbat.
1 Corinthians 16:2
“On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”
This text speaks about setting aside financial support, not about changing God’s holy day.
A description is not a commandment. The fact that the disciples gathered at another time does not mean that God had changed the Shabbat.
8. So Who Changed the Shabbat?
Biblically, no one.
There is no verse where God, Yeshua, or the apostles change the Shabbat from the seventh day to the first day of the week.
Historically, the process occurred later, with the rise of religious structures that moved away from the original Hebrew context of the Scriptures. In the year 321 A.D., Emperor Constantine issued a civil law mandating rest on “the venerable day of the sun,” that is, Sunday. Later, the Council of Laodicea, in the 4th century, taught that Christians should not “Judaize” by resting on Shabbat, but instead honor the “Lord’s Day”; Canon 29 even states that Christians should work on Shabbat and rest on Sunday if possible. (The Sabbath Sentinel)
This was not a change commanded by God in the Bible. It was a change promoted by human, civil, and religious authority.
9. The Prophecy About Changing Times and Law
The Bible does warn that an arrogant power would attempt to change times and the law.
Daniel 7:25
“He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
and shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
for a time and times and half a time.”
This text should not be used lightly, but it should cause us to reflect. Changing the times established by God and altering His law is not a small matter. The Shabbat is precisely one of those appointed times, directly connected to His creation, His covenant, and His authority.
10. Why This Matters
Because many religions and denominations claim to keep the Ten Commandments, yet they ignore the fourth commandment or reinterpret it.
They say: “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall have no other gods,” but when they come to the Shabbat, they say it was changed, abolished, spiritualized, or replaced.
But the question still remains: where does God say that?
The issue is not simply that people gather on Sunday. A person can gather on any day to study, pray, or worship. The issue is claiming that Sunday replaced the Shabbat without biblical authorization.
And even when many say that Sunday is “the Lord’s day,” in practice it is usually not kept as a full day set apart for God. People go to church for a few hours, and then spend the rest of the day going to restaurants, shopping, watching movies, working, playing sports, or engaging in personal activities. So in reality, they neither keep the biblical Shabbat nor truly sanctify Sunday as they claim.
11. Blind Leading the Blind
Yeshua spoke very seriously about religious leaders who teach without seeing correctly.
Matthew 15:14
“Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
I know these are very strong words, but it is God Himself who is saying them. This does not mean that all leaders act with bad intentions. Many have inherited distorted teachings. But sincerity does not turn error into truth.
It is also written:
Jeremiah 16:19
“O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
‘Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.’”
We have inherited lies. Not just some people—the whole world has been affected by deception since Eden. Yeshua and the apostles already warned that there would be deceivers.
12. Grace Does Not Cancel Obedience
This topic is not about gaining salvation by keeping the Shabbat. We are saved by grace, not by works.
Ephesians 2:8–10
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
But grace does not give us permission to live ignoring God’s instructions. Obedience does not purchase salvation; obedience demonstrates love, gratitude, and faithfulness.
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
1 John 5:3
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
We have misunderstood grace when we use it as an excuse to ignore the Torah, which means instruction, teaching, or direction from God.
13. The New Covenant
The New Covenant does not say that God would remove His Torah. It says that He would write it on the heart.
Jeremiah 31:33
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
The problem was never the Torah. The problem was the disobedient human heart. The New Covenant does not eliminate God’s instruction; it transforms the heart to obey it correctly.
14. Return to the Ancient Paths
Jeremiah 6:16
“Thus says the Lord:
‘Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.’
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”
It is never too late to return. God does not change.
Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
The question is not: “What does my denomination teach?”
The question is: “What did God establish?”
The question is not: “What have I believed all my life?”
The question is: “Am I willing to correct my path if Scripture shows me that I have inherited a lie?”
Conclusion
The Bible did not change the Shabbat from Saturday to Sunday. God did not change it. Yeshua did not change it. The apostles did not change it.
The change came later, through human decisions, religious structures, and civil authorities that moved away from the original foundation of the Scriptures.
This is not a call to Judaize, nor to return to a man-made religion. It is a call to return to God, to His Word, to His Torah, and to the teachings of Yeshua in their proper context.
Let us not make this mistake: God is not interested in us approaching Him through methods He did not establish, even if we do so with all the love in the world.
The redemptive work of Yeshua did not come to free us from obeying God. It came to rescue us from sin, deception, condemnation, and human traditions, and to bring us back to the Father.
Glossary
Shabbat: Hebrew word meaning rest, to cease, or to stop. It is the seventh day established by God as a holy day.
Torah: Instruction, teaching, or direction from God. It refers especially to the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Yeshua: Hebrew name of the Messiah, commonly known as Jesus.
Mitzvot: Commandments or instructions given by God.
Brit Hadashah: New Covenant. It does not mean the cancellation of the Torah, but the work of God writing His instruction on the heart.
All biblical quotations are based on the New King James Version (NKJV).
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God bless you,
Ed Silva
torahrooted@pm.me
