​​Welcome  to    Joy By Surprise

The word Sabbath implies rest, peace, tranquility and refreshment. And who will doubt but that in this turbulent and confused world every soul on earth is in need of spiritual rest and refreshment. Consequently, those who faithfully remember the Sabbath of the Most High and draw apart from the world each weekend to worship Him on His holy day, will receive the spiritual blessings promised in His Holy Word; blessings that will find full scope in the ages to come.

1. The seventh day Sabbath according to the Bible, was blessed, sanctified and set apart for sacred use by YaHuWaH the Elohim of Israel at the creation of the world, and on that memorable occasion it was first observed by YaHuWaH Himself.
   (Genesis 2:2-3)

    

2. Furthermore, all mankind is required by the Torah to keep holy the seventh day. The Sabbath command is one of the Ten Commandments, a law which is not only scheduled to outlast this universe but which every soul on Earth is obliged to observe. Therefore as long as Heaven and Earth shall last, the seventh day is the Sabbath day. Disobedience of YaHuWaH 's Torah, of which the Sabbath commandment is merely a part, is sin. These unequivocal facts cannot be rejected without serious consequences.
   (Exodus 20:8-11, Matthew 5:17-19, 1 John 3:4)

    

3. Sabbath desecration is strongly condemned by the true prophets of YaHuWaH and their inspired messages have been recorded in the Scriptures for the benefit of succeeding generations of readers from every nation under heaven. Dare we ignore their warnings?
   (Ezekiel 20:19-24, Ezekiel 22:8,26,31, Jeremiah 17:27)

    

4. In recognition of His Father's Sabbath commandment YAHUSHUA the Messiah kept holy the seventh day and the Scriptures testify to the fact that it was His custom to do so.
   (Luke 4:16)

    

5. Like his Master, it was also the custom of the Apostle John and his companions to observe the seventh day Sabbath. The disciples were still observing the true Sabbath day some sixteen to twenty years after the resurrection. 
   

    

6. In addition to the above, new converts, both Jews and Gentiles alike, regularly attended the synagogue for worship on the Sabbath. 
   

    

7. In His prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the Master advised His followers to pray that their flight from the city "be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." This passage is also strong proof that YAHUSHUA the Messiah had absolutely no intention whatsoever of doing away with the Sabbath commandment at the cross. On the contrary it shows his high regard for the Sabbath day in that he advised his followers - who were mostly Jews - to even go to the extent of praying to YaHuWaH about it, that He would make it possible for them to keep the Sabbath day some 40 years after the crucifixion!
   (Matthew 24:20)

    

8. The Seventh day Sabbath is also the divine Sign which YaHuWaH the Elohim of Israel places in the minds of His people. It is YaHuWaH 's Signature which He inscribes on the believer's mind to commemorate his work of creation, sanctification and salvation through YAHUSHUA. The Sabbath is, in fact, the eternal memorial token of the perpetual covenant between The Almighty and His Church. What's more, it will continue to be so even in the new heavens and the new Earth.
   (Exodus 20:12&20, Isaiah 66:22-23)

    

9. The Sabbath rest is a token or sample of the divine Rest of YaHuWaH which the Most High is eagerly looking forward to. Many believers are going to be excluded from that divine rest because of their deliberate and persistent disobedience of the Sabbath commandment.
   (Psalm 95:10-11)

    

10. Students are therefore advised to "Remember the Seventh day to keep it holy." If they do this, they will, according to the divine declaration, feast on the heritage of Jacob and be made welcome in the Holy Mountain of YaHuWaH.
    (Isaiah 56:2-7, Isaiah 58:13-14)

     

11. In some strange way the Most high values His Sabbath days more than any human mind can appreciate. They are to Him a unique, spiritual treasure of inestimable worth. Try to understand His pleadings in these amazing words:
    

    Ezekiel 20:11-12

    "And I gave them My statutes, and shewed them My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them My Shabbats, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am YaHuWaH that sanctify them."

    
    

    Note how the Shabbat is given a special place of honor, far above the other statutes and judgements, important as they obviously are. YaHuWaH 's Shabbat is an eternal token of sanctification; the sacred sign that sets the obedient believer apart from all the other peoples of the Earth. It is His SIGN, His Signature on the true believer's mind. We trust that you dear student are not missing out on this vital commandment?

     

12. In addition to the seventh day Shabbat, YaHuWaH the Almighty Elohim of Israel has seven annual Shabbats. Every one of them is a memorial of a great event in the Plan of Salvation.