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Sabbath or Sunday Keeping
Sabbath or Sunday Keeping
There is no evidence of a Sunday observance before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. With respect to the destruction of the city, Jesus told his disciples: "Pray ye that your flight may not be in winter, nor on a Sabbath." (Mat 20:24)
Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667): "The primitive Christians did keep the Sabbath of the Jews; therefore, the Christians for a long time together, did keep their conventions on the Sabbath, in which some portion of the Law were read: and this continued till the time of the Laodicean council." The Whole Works of Jeremey Taylor, Vol. IX, p416 (R. Heber's Edition, Vol.XII, p.416)
Joseph Bingham (1668–1723): "The ancient Christians were very careful in the observation of Saturday, or the seventh day. It is plain that all the Oriental churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as a festival... Athanasius likewise tells us that they held religious assemblies on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with Judaism, but to worship [Jesus], the [Lord] of the Sabbath, Epiphanius says the same." Antiquities of the Christian Church, Vol. II, Book XX, chap. 3, Sec. 1, 66.1137, 1138
The origin of Sunday keeping is this: Emperor Constantine made concessions to the Roman Church and treated the Church as one of his Government branches. An evidence of this is that Church officials started to dress more like Roman officials than apostles. Then, Constantine decreed that the first day of the week will be the official day of rest in his Empire and the compromised Church at the most important cities began to practice the Sunday rest in compliance with Roman Authorities.
Constantine (306–337): "All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun. Country people, however, may freely attend to the cultivation of the fields, because it frequently happens that no other days are better adapted for planting the grain in the furrows or the vines in trenches. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish." Wikipedia, Sabbath in Christianity.
Christian leaders dressed with exalted Roman garments.
None of the apostles or prophets dressed like that.
To persuade the Christian World, the Roman Church had to come up with appealing arguments. First, Jews (who kept the Sabbath) were hated by Romans and the Church did not want to be associated with the Jews. Second, in order to gain new converts, the Roman Church made compromises by adopting pagan traditions. Third, Roman Church wanted to exalt their authority and be the center of Christianity after the fall of Jerusalem.
The Roman Church and her Popes exalt themselves
as the only way of salvation and the visible head of all Christians.
Socrates of Constantinople (380–439): "For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this." (Socrates Scholasticus, Eccleslastical History)
The reality is that the Roman Church started to introduced pagan practices that were not part of the Christian Church.
Peter Heylyn (1599–1662): "Ambrose, the celebrated bishop of Milan, said that when he was in Milan he observed Saturday, but when in Rome observed Sunday. This gave rise to the proverb 'When you are in Rome, do as Rome does,' "Heylyn, The History of the Sabbath, 1613
Sunday Laws to regulate morality.
Roman Church converted the Sabbath feast in a day of fast. In a matter of few generations, they succeeded in changing the fourth commandment.
Sunday Laws to protect workers.
Socrates of Constantinople (380–439): "At Rome they fast every Saturday." (Socrates Scholasticus, Eccleslastical History)
As the Roman Church gained authority over the Christian world, they began persecuting Sabbath keeping Churches accussing them of being Judaizers. Sunday keeping through History is always associated with human law enforcement. Its lack of Biblical authority is compensated with civil and religious penalties.
Laodicean Council Canon 29 (363-364): "Outlawing the keeping of the Sabbath (Saturday), and encouraging rest on Sunday" - Wikipedia "Laodicean Council"
Save the planet by keeping Sunday holy.
The common 'Biblical' arguments for Sunday keeping comes from forged documents and man-made traditions. For example, the Epistle of Ignasius is a forged document written between 300-500 AD. The epistle exalts the Virgin Mary, the Catholic Church and the Sunday rest. Biblical apologetics based on the Apocripha literature are simply unacceptable for a "The Bible and the Bible Only" Christian.
Traditionally Catholic scholars have acknowledge the Church authority to change the commandments of God. The Sabbath was changed to Sunday because the Roman Catholic Church claims to have the authority to ammend the Moral Law of God.
Sunday to protect families.
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274): "In the New Law the observance of the Lord's day took the place of the observance of the Sabbath, not by virtue of the precept but by the institution of the Church and the custom of Christian people." Summa Theologiae Q. 122 Art. 4
There have always been Biblical Christian who have decided to be Sabbath keepers. These have been accused of being Judaizer because they have refused to accept men's traditions at the expense of breaking God's fourth commandment.
Charles Gabriel Dellon (1649–1710): "The Jewish wickedness of which Xavier complained was evidently the Sabbath-keeping among those native Christians as we shall see in our next quotation. When one of these Sabbath-keeping Christians was taken by the Inquisition he was accused of having Judaized; which means having conformed to the ceremonies of the Mosaic Law; such as not eating pork, hare, fish without scales, of having attended the solemnization of the Sabbath." Account of the Inquisition at Goa, Dellon, p.56. London, 1815
All the days are made equal... but Sunday
is the day of the Lord???
1. We, Seventh Day Adventist, believe that:
the Sunday Keeping,
Blue Laws (Sunday Keeping enforcement),
the veneration of Saints and images
is an invention and forgery of the Catholic Church founded by the authority of roman emperors and popes (including Constantine) and not by Peter nor Jesus.
2. We also believe that Sunday keeping by Christianity, veneration of images and sacred is an attempt of the Little Horn, the papacy, in conjuntion with the European States (Read Daniel 7) to invalidate the times and the law.
3. We believe that there is no valid hermeneutical basis (contextual evidence, explicit or implicit change) to validate Sunday keeping.
4. We believe that the moral law (the ten commandments as understood by the Reformers) is valid and must be obeyed by all moral creatures.
In conclusion: We must obey God rather than men.
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