In a prophecy of the end time, Jesus Christ foretold that true Christians would be observing the Sabbath! And in the Bible, the weekly "Sabbath" always means the seventh day of the week.

Christ meant that His followers would still be obeying God's Fourth Commandment to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). In fact, a Bible definition of true Christians is "those who keep the commandments of God" (Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12; see also 1 John 2:3-6).

In Christ's "Olivet prophecy" recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus' disciples asked Him, "And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age" (Matthew 24:3, emphasis added throughout).

Half-way through His answer, He said, "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath" (Matthew 24:20). Interesting! Why be concerned about the day of the week?

Jesus spoke of growing crises, persecution and "tribulation." Then He said, "But he who endures to the end [remains faithful to Christ] shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13).

In Matthew 24:15, Jesus spoke of a crisis that will be the sign that the "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21) is about to begin and His followers should immediately flee for their lives (Matthew 24:16-18). To understand the prophecies of these end-time events, please read the free Bible study aids You Can Understand Bible Prophecy and The Middle East in Bible Prophecy.

Because the trip will be exhausting, Jesus warned of the stress on women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies (Matthew 24:19).

Jesus then brings up two needs so important that He urges His followers to be praying about them ahead of time. Mark 13:18 and Matthew 24:20 both record "pray that your flight may not be in winter. "Why? To avoid the prolonged exposure to winter weather.

And Matthew adds these words of Jesus: "or on the Sabbath" (Matthew 24:20). Why? Because His followers will be trying to rest and worship God every Sabbath!

Why would Christ say this if His followers were not going to be Sabbath-keepers?

The Old Testament also has some specific prophecies of God's people observing the Sabbath after Christ returns to earth. See Isaiah 56:1-7; Isaiah 66:15-16, Isaiah 66:18, Isaiah 66:22-23; Ezekiel 46:1, Ezekiel 46:4, Ezekiel 46:12.

Just think: God's Commandment to all humanity was to forever observe His Sabbath. Jesus, the apostles and all the early Christians kept the Sabbath. Jesus foretold that His followers will be keeping the Sabbath in the end time. And Bible prophecy tells us that all people will observe God's Sabbath after Christ's return. Doesn't it make sense that God wants His people to keep the Sabbath right now?