atholic Church Sabbath to Sunday statements
For extremely detailed information on who changed the Sabbath to Sunday, please read who changed the Sabbath to Sunday or the Sabbath to Sunday change.
“Most Christians assume that Sunday is the biblically approved day of worship. The Catholic Church protests that it transferred Christian worship from the biblical Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday, and that to try to argue that the change was made in the Bible is both dishonest and a denial of Catholic authority. If Protestantism wants to base its teachings only on the Bible, it should worship on Saturday.” Rome’s Challenge http://www.immaculateheart.com/maryonline Dec 2003
“Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 edition), p. 72-73 (16th Edition, p 111; 88th Edition, p. 89).
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“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, article “To Tell You the Truth.”
Who Made Sunday Holy?
“Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code (ten commandments) was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai…Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept of charity–love of God and of the neighbour; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law in Matthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5)…The (Catholic) Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day…He (God) claims one day out of the seven as a memorial to Himself, and this must be kept holy…”The Catholic Encyclopaedia, vol. 4, “The Ten Commandments”, 1908 edition by Robert Appleton Company; and 1999 Online edition by Kevin Knight, Imprimatur, John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
“Question: How prove you that the church had power to command feasts and holydays?
“Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.
“Question: Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?
“Answer: Had she not such power, she could not a done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; -she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day of the week, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism On the Obedience Due to the Church, 3rd edition, Chapter 2, p. 174 (Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York).
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“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The day of the Lord’ was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the (Catholic) Church’s sense of its own power…People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.
“Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday…Now the Church…instituted, by God’s authority, Sunday as the day of worship. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made. We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday.” Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About, 1927 edition, p. 136.
“Question – Which is the Sabbath day?
“Answer – Saturday is the Sabbath day.
“Question – Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“Answer – We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.
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“Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh day – Saturday – for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day’? I answer no!”
“Faithfully yours, J. Card. Gibbons.” James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, Md. (1877-1921), in a signed letter.
“Question. – How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
“Answer. – By the very act of changing Sabbath into Sunday which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church.
“Question. – How prove you that?
“Answer. – Because by keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the Church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin: and by not keeping the rest by her commanded, they again deny, in fact, the same power.” An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine, composed by Henry Tuberville, p. 58.
“Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The (Roman Catholic) Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days.” John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, 1936 edition, vol. 1, p. 51.
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“Question. What warrant have you for keeping Sunday preferably to the ancient sabbath which was Saturday?
“Answer. We have for it the authority of the Catholic church and apostolic tradition.
“Question. Does the Scripture anywhere command the Sunday to be kept for the Sabbath?
“Answer. The Scripture commands us to hear the church (St.Matt.18:17; St. Luke 10:16), and to hold fast the traditions of the apostles. 2 Thess 2:15. But the Scripture does not in particular mention this change of the Sabbath.
“St John speaks of the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) but he does not tell us what day of the week that was, much less does he tell us what day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandments. St.Luke speaks of the disciples meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7. And St. Paul (1 Cor.16:2) orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians should lay in store what they designated to bestow in charity on the faithful in Judea: but neither the one or the other tells us that this first day of the week was to be henceforth a day of worship, and the Christian Sabbath; so that truly the best authority we have for this ancient custom is the testimony of the church. And therefore those who pretend to be such religious observers of Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act more by humor, than by religion; since Sundays and holidays all stand upon the same foundation, namely the ordinance of the (Roman Catholic) church.” Catholic Christian Instructed, 17th edition, p. 272-273.
“Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the (Roman Catholic) Church, has no good reasons for its Sunday theory, and ought logically to keep Saturday as the Sabbath.” John Gilmary Shea, American Catholic Quarterly Review, January 1883.
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“The Catholic church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday…The Protestant World at its birth found the Christian Sabbath too strongly entrenched to run counter to its existence; it was therefore placed under the necessity of acquiescing in the arrangement, thus implying the (Catholic) Church’s right to change the day, for over three hundred years. The Christian Sabbath is therefore to this day, the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church as spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant World.” James Cardinal Gibbons in the Catholic Mirror, September 23, 1983.
Whose Day of Worship is Sunday?
“They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason…The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the divine law of Sabbath observance…The author of the Sunday law…is the Catholic Church.” Ecclesiastical Review, February 1914.
“The Sunday…is purely a creation of the Catholic Church.”American Catholic Quarterly Review, January 1883.
“Sunday…is the law of the Catholic Church alone…” American Sentinel (Catholic), June 1893.
“Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles…From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.” Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900.
“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” Priest Brady, in an address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.
Who Do We Reverence and Pay Homage to by Keeping Sunday Holy?
“From this we may understand how great is the authority of the church in interpreting or explaining to us the commandments of God – an authority which is acknowledged by the universal practice of the whole Christian world, even of those sects which profess to take the holy Scriptures as their sole rule of faith, since they observe as the day of rest not the seventh day of the week demanded by the Bible, but the first day. Which we know is to be kept holy, only from the tradition and teaching of the Catholic church.” Henry Gibson, Catechism Made Easy, #2, 9th edition, vol. 1, p. 341-342.
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“It was the Catholic church which…has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the (Catholic) church.” Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p. 213.
“Sunday is our mark or authority…the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” Catholic Record of London, Ontario, September 1, 1923.
“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was her act…And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons.
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“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” father T. Enright, C.S.S.R. of the Redemptoral College, Kansas City, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, printed in History of the Sabbath, p. 802. Hover hereFather Enright Sabbath for a document clip or select for full original image.
“Protestants…accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change…But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that…In observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.” Our Sunday Visitor, February 15, 1950.
Conclusion and the Challenge.
“The (Roman Catholic) Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday.” The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4.
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“Sunday is founded, not of scripture, but on tradition, and is distinctly a Catholic institution. As there is no scripture for the transfer of the day of rest from the last to the first day of the week, Protestants ought to keep their Sabbath on Saturday and thus leave Catholics in full possession of Sunday.” Catholic Record, September 17, 1893.
“Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:
“1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.
“2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws…
“It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible.” Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Magazine, USA (1975), Chicago, Illinois, “Under the blessing of the Pope Pius XI”
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“I am going to propose a very plain and serious question to those who follow ‘the Bible and the Bible only’ to give their most earnest attention. It is this: Why don’t you keep holy the Sabbath day?…
“The command of the Almighty God stands clearly written in the Bible in these words: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.’ Exodus 20:8-10…
“You will answer me, perhaps, that you do keep the Sabbath; for that you abstain from all worldly business and diligently go to church, and say your prayers, and read your Bible at home every Sunday of your lives…
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“But Sunday is not the Sabbath day. Sunday is the first day of the week: the Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week. Almighty God did not give a commandment that men should keep holy one day in seven; but He named His own day, and said distinctly: ‘Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day’; and He assigned a reason for choosing this day rather than any other – a reason which belongs only to the seventh day of the week, and cannot be applied to the rest. He says, ‘For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it’, Exodus 20:11, Genesis 2:1-3. Almighty God ordered that all men should rest from their labor on the seventh day, because He too had rested on that day: He did not rest on Sunday, but on Saturday. On Sunday, which is the first day of the week, He began the work of creation; He did not finish it. It was on Saturday that He ‘ended His work which he had made: and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.’ Genesis 2:2-3…
“Nothing can be more plain and easy to understand than all this; there is nobody who attempts to deny it. It is acknowledged by everybody that the day which Almighty God appointed to be kept holy was Saturday, not Sunday. Why do you then keep holy the Sunday and not Saturday?
“You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! But by whom? Who has the authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said, ‘Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day’, who shall dare to say, ‘Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on the seventh day: but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead?’ This is a most important question, which I know not how you answer…
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“You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only; and yet, in so important a manner as the observance of one day in seven as the holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the Ten Commandments; you believe that the other nine are still binding. Who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principles, if you really follow the Bible, and the Bible only you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered.” Excerpts from “Why Don’t You Keep Holy the Sabbath Day?”, pages 3-15 in The Clifton Tract, vol. 4, published by the Roman Catholic Church 1869.
“The arguments…are firmly grounded on the word of God, and having been closely studied with the Bible in hand, leave no escape for the conscientious Protestant except the abandonment of Sunday worship and the return to Saturday, commanded by their teacher, the Bible, or, unwilling to abandon the tradition of the Catholic Church, which enjoins the keeping of Sunday, and which they have accepted in direct opposition to their teacher, the Bible, consistently accept her (the Catholic Church) in all her teachings. Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicism and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible.” James Cardinal Gibbons, in Catholic Mirror, December 23, 1893.
What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day
Question: "What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day?"
Answer: It is often claimed that “God instituted the Sabbath in Eden” because of the connection between the Sabbath and creation in Exodus 20:11. Although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future Sabbath law, there is no biblical record of the Sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that Sabbath-keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.
The Word of God makes it quite clear that Sabbath observance was a special sign between God and Israel: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested” (Exodus 31:16–17).
In Deuteronomy 5, Moses restates the Ten Commandments to the next generation of Israelites. Here, after commanding Sabbath observance in verses 12–14, Moses gives the reason the Sabbath was given to the nation Israel: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15).
God's intent for giving the Sabbath to Israel was not that they would remember creation, but that they would remember their Egyptian slavery and the Lord's deliverance. Note the requirements for Sabbath-keeping: A person placed under that Sabbath law could not leave his home on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29), he could not build a fire (Exodus 35:3), and he could not cause anyone else to work (Deuteronomy 5:14). A person breaking the Sabbath law was to be put to death (Exodus 31:15; Numbers 15:32–35).
An examination of New Testament passages shows us four important points: 1) Whenever Christ appears in His resurrected form and the day is mentioned, it is always the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, 9, 10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1, 13, 15; John 20:19, 26). 2) The only time the Sabbath is mentioned from Acts through Revelation it is for evangelistic purposes to the Jews and the setting is usually in a synagogue (Acts chapters 13–18). Paul wrote, “to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews” (1 Corinthians 9:20). Paul did not go to the synagogue to fellowship with and edify the saints, but to convict and save the lost. 3) Once Paul states “from now on I will go to the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6), the Sabbath is never again mentioned. And 4) instead of suggesting adherence to the Sabbath day, the remainder of the New Testament implies the opposite (including the one exception to point 3 above, found in Colossians 2:16).
Looking more closely at point 4 above will reveal that there is no obligation for the New Testament believer to keep the Sabbath, and will also show that the idea of a Sunday “Christian Sabbath” is also unscriptural. As discussed above, there is one time the Sabbath is mentioned after Paul began to focus on the Gentiles, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16–17). The Jewish Sabbath was abolished at the cross where Christ “canceled the written code, with its regulations” (Colossians 2:14).
This idea is repeated more than once in the New Testament: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord” (Romans 14:5–6a). “But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years” (Galatians 4:9–10).
But some claim that a mandate by Constantine in A.D. 321 “changed” the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. On what day did the early church meet for worship? Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul urges the Corinthian believers “on the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection must have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century.
The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. But the Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law, and Christians are free from the bondage of the Law (Galatians 4:1-26; Romans 6:14). Sabbath keeping is not required of the Christian—be it Saturday or Sunday. The first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) celebrates the New Creation, with Christ as our resurrected Head. We are not obligated to follow the Mosaic Sabbath—resting, but are now free to follow the risen Christ—serving. The Apostle Paul said that each individual Christian should decide whether to observe a Sabbath rest, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). We are to worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday.
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Introduction
On ‘Easter’ Sunday, 7 April 1996, the Archbishop of Canterbury, England stated on Sir David Frost’s television program, ‘The Easter Enigma’ that the apostles, "these very devout Jews, changed their holy day from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week …why? Because the resurrection happened."
Not only from the highest religious authority in England, but throughout most of Christendom, Sunday is considered to be the replacement of the seventh day Sabbath, but is this true? Let us find out what the Bible tells us.
Which Day does the Bible say is the Sabbath?
In Exodus 20:8-11, Yahweh said to the children of Israel through Moses: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of [Yahweh] your [Elohim]. 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 [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore [Yahweh] blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Observe Yahweh said, the SEVENTH day is "holy", and that He blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Why? Because in six days [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That was and is Yahweh’s reason for making the day holy, and for commanding us to keep it holy. It cannot be changed for as long as the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, remain. His creation work is already completed and cannot be undone. Therefore the explanation He gave for choosing the seventh day will always stand, except He Himself decided to change His reasons and the day. Now let us suppose that He subsequently made a decision to alter His Sabbath commandment, it would seem right that He would tell us just as plainly of that amendment as He did in enacting this law for the first time.
There is definitely no record wherever the word ‘Sabbath’ is used in either the Old or New Testament that Yahweh ever made this change or intended or authorised anyone to do so.
The Sabbath is not like a national holiday that this world’s leaders can arbitrarily change. They are not man’s Sabbaths, or even the Jewish Sabbaths. They are Yahweh’s Sabbaths.
In Ex 31:13, 16, Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely MY SABBATHS you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am [Yahweh] who sanctifies you ... Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant'".
Here Yahweh has said that HIS Sabbath has special significance as a mark of identification of His chosen (set apart) people. It is for all times without end as a perpetual covenant, which means it shall never be changed. In Malachi 3:6 Yahweh said, "I am [Yahweh], I do not change". Since He is unchanging, there is absolutely no possibility that He would replace His seventh day Sabbath of rest, which He sanctified on the seventh day of the creation week, and established as a "perpetual covenant".
The weekly Sabbath is of great importance to Yahweh. In Leviticus 23 He commanded Moses to tell the people, which specific days were His holy appointed times for ceasing from work, and to assemble for meetings. Only Yahweh has the power to make any day holy. Man has no such authority. Therefore when Yahweh says that a particular day is holy (sacred, blessed, hallowed, consecrated and divine), it does not give anyone the freedom to choose an alternative day. The weekly Sabbath day, was first on Yahweh's list of appointed times, which He gave in Leviticus 23.
Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The feasts [appointments] of [Yahweh], which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts [appointments]. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of [Yahweh] in all your dwellings" (verses 2-3).
The chapter continues with details of His annual appointments or times for meeting Him. Each of Yahweh's designated days is of special significance to Him and has its own meaning. Together they represent an indivisible package that we are to embrace.
The excuse for Sunday Worship
It is clear throughout the Old Testament that the Sabbath is fixed for all times and will not be changed. In spite of this, most ‘Christians’ believe that Yahshua’s resurrection on a Sunday morning is a good enough reason to worship on a Sunday instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Indeed they actually believe that the day of Yahshua's resurrection has precedence over the weekly Sabbath that Yahweh has ordained.
Another reason that is often given why non-Jews should not keep the weekly Sabbath, is that it applies only to Israelites by birth. If that were true, then Abraham, Isaac, Noah and all persons who were not descendants of Jacob would not have observed the Sabbath, even though it had begun from the week of creation. It is also incorrect since we are told in Leviticus 24:22 "You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am [Yahweh] your [Elohim]."
Many Gentiles, who accept that Yahshua is the Messiah, believe they have been grafted into the family that was once reserved only for Yahweh's people in the Old Testament. This is Biblically correct. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as [Yahweh] our [Elohim] will call" Acts 2:39. With privileges also come responsibilities. If the commandments were applicable only to Israelites and their predecessors, then by coming into the Israelite family, the 'stranger' is required to abide by the same original rules, for You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country.
Yahshua said in John 4:23 "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth". Whatever may be one's origin, anyone who is a true worshipper, will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The 'spirit and truth' are the same for all people and for all times. Like Yahweh Himself, His truth endures to all generations Ps 100:5.
Having the desire to honour the day of our Saviour's resurrection is good, but if you do so in a way that disobeys and dishonours the Father's instructions, then you are not worshipping in truth, and by Yahshua’s definition, you are not a true worshipper. Yahshua always obeyed the Father, and declared, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" John 6:38. This is what all true worshippers should seek to do.
Matthew, Mark and Luke's Resurrection Version
Since it is said that the disciples changed the Sabbath day, let us see if Matthew, Mark and Luke provided any suggestion of this change in their report of the resurrection. Did they in their records indicate that the day of Yahshua's resurrection displaced and was of greater significance than the weekly Sabbath?
Matt 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Here Matthew, who had been a disciple of Yahshua and would have known when was the Sabbath, tells us quite plainly that the Sabbath ended BEFORE the first day of the week dawned. This means that at least to Matthew, Sabbath and Sunday were two different days. He has not specified or even implied that Yahshua’s resurrection had brought about a change in the day of Sabbath.
Mark gives the following account:
Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen Mark 16:1,2.
Mark also says that the Sabbath had passed before the first day of the week came - two separate days are clearly indicated here. Mark was not aware that the Sabbath had changed to the first day of the week, even though he had written this some time after the resurrection.
Luke 23:55-56 tells us, the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
We can safely take this to mean that the women rested according to the commandment in the Torah (the instructions of Yahweh in the first five books of the Old Testament). Exodus 35:2 for example states: the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to [Yahweh]. That is the day on which these women would have rested. Luke continues his account in the next verse, where he wrote: Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared Luke 24:1. Clearly the women came to the tomb on the day following their rest on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
As in Matthew and Mark, the first day of the week came AFTER the Sabbath, and there is not even the slightest hint of a change of the day on which Sabbath was observed. Matthew, Mark and Luke, as followers of Yahshua who practised the Torah, knew fully well which day was the Sabbath according to the commandment. Out of respect and love of Yahshua and the Torah they would not have considered violating the commandments of Yahweh. To them, in spite of Yahshua's resurrection on the first day of the week, Sabbath was still the unalterable seventh day. They were true worshippers who worshipped the Father in spirit and truth on the Sabbath day as He had commanded.
Yahshua and the Sabbath
What was Yahshua’s attitude towards the laws? Did He come to change them? Definitely no! Yahshua was the best teacher of the Torah. True followers of Yahshua will follow Him and He followed the Torah. He did not come to start a new religion apart from the foundation established in the Old Testament. Rather He came to build upon it.
Yahshua said in Matthew 5:17-18 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah -- not until everything that must happen has happened" Complete Jewish Bible. Above all others He would not and did not change or break the Sabbath law. He merely expanded the full meaning of what had been given before.
Did He keep the seventh day Sabbath or the first day of the week?
Mark 1:21 tells us they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.
Mark 6:2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.
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 Sabbath day, and stood up to read
Note as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day – not on the first day of the week. In a Jewish society, Sabbath means only one thing, the seventh day that is popularly known as Saturday, and that was the day Luke meant when he wrote this verse.
Luke 6:6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
Not even once was it specified that Yahshua went into the temple to teach "on the first day of the week”. There is record that He taught daily in the temple "I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me" Mark 14:49. But there is no special mention that He had been in the Temple on a particular day, other than Sabbath.
Yahshua taught His followers, "Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath" Matt 24:20.
Yahshua was here teaching about a future occurrence in the time of the tribulation (see verse 21), and which would occur a long time after He had been resurrected. This event has not yet taken place. Nevertheless He was telling His followers of all times to pray that this would not happen on the Sabbath day. Why would it have mattered whether or not their flight would have been on the Sabbath if the Sabbath were to be abolished? Clearly a big upheaval caused by the desperate need to flee, would not be consistent with observing the day of rest, and would cause distress to persons forced to flee, whilst at the same time desirous of keeping the Sabbath.
Did the apostles change the Sabbath?
There is no evidence that after Yahshua's resurrection and ascension the apostles kept the first day of the week as the Sabbath. Nowhere in any of their writings have they said so, but instead we have many verses to prove that they still kept the Sabbath AFTER Yahshua had left them.
Acts 13:14-15 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." Observe that on the Sabbath day, Paul, was invited to speak in the synagogue after the reading from the Torah and prophets. In his sermon he said,
Acts 13:27 Those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.
Speaking in the Jewish synagogue, there can be no question that in referring to the 'Sabbath' he could only have meant the seventh day of the week.
Acts 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Notice that the Gentiles were eager to hear more on the next Sabbath. On that following Sabbath, they came out in large numbers.
Acts 13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of [Yahweh]. Note that Gentiles were hearing the word that was being preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath. This was not the first and only occasion for we learn in Acts 15:21 that Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
Acts 17:2 then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures. Those of you who think Paul has given you a good reason to change the Sabbath, please note that, like Yahshua, it was his custom to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
Acts 18:4 gives us the added information that he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
In Paul’s defence before Felix (Acts 24:14) he said, "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the [Elohim] of my fathers, BELIEVING ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS".
Has Christendom that uses some of Paul's writings as the basis for saying the law (including Sabbath) is abolished, torn the foregoing verses and especially Acts 24:14 out of their Bibles? Please read our article 'Be not deceived! - Part 2' The Grace Deception.
Neither Yahshua nor His disciples and apostles who continued His work after Him changed the Sabbath day. No one has authority to change Yahweh’s Sabbaths, which He Himself has said are to last forever. THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH ANYWHERE THAT THE SABBATH IS CHANGED TO SUNDAY.
Who then is responsible for Sunday worship?
The originator of all false doctrines is the father of lies, Satan, who since the Garden of Eden has continued to question what Yahweh has said. Yahweh has said that His Sabbath is a perpetual covenant - lasting forever. As Satan asked Eve in the Garden, he would have asked Christendom a long time ago, "Has [Yahweh] really said...?" Only this time, his sentence would have finished with "that the Sabbath is to last forever?" Just as Eve jumped at the prospects of being like the Almighty, so man has jumped at the prospect of demonstrating his equality with Yahweh by rejecting His words and accepting instead the lies of the enemy. Ultimately responsibility for sinning rested with Adam and Eve. Disobedience to Yahweh's instructions regarding His Sabbath rests with those who had chosen to initiate this open rebellion. All others who have perpetuated this evil are equally guilty.
It was man, without the authority of Yahweh, who took it upon himself to try to replace the Biblical seventh day Sabbath with the first day of the week. Although the excuse is often given that Sunday became the day of worship to commemorate the day of Yahshua’s resurrection, the evidence rather suggests that it had been brought about by sinister factors unrelated to the Bible.
We must not lose sight of the fact that the fall of the temple in 70 C.E was the culmination of wars between Jerusalem and Rome, which had begun since the days of Pompey in 63 BCE. Each defeat of the Jews by the Romans led to more concerted efforts by Rome to suppress the Jewish people and anything Jewish.
Constantine 1, the Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 C.E., played a significant part in this. His position as Emperor cannot be isolated from his influence on the Roman Church. In 313 C.E. he legislated that his brand of what has been called 'Christianity' should become the state religion of Rome. He gave generous gifts and privileges to the Church in Rome. In 321 C.E. he enacted the first Sunday Law, which stated, "On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost". The Encyclopaedia Britannica confirms "It was Constantine the Great who first made a law for the proper observance of Sunday; and who according to Eusebius, appointed that it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman Empire. Before him, and even in his time, they observed the Jewish Sabbath as well as Sunday." This law had nothing to do with the commandment of Yahweh or the resurrection of Yahshua, but as the law itself said, was in veneration of the sun. Prior to all this, sun worship had been already entrenched in Rome, where the official sun god was Sol Invictus. There are many relics in the Vatican even today that demonstrate this.
See: http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/wheel.htm,
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus
While Constantine helped to foster the growth of a distorted religion that had its roots in paganism rather than the Bible, he tried at the same time to destroy the Jewish religion. In his letter to attendees at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D, he made this comment of why Easter should replace the Passover: "we desire, dearest brethren to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jew". You can find the whole text of the letter for yourself on any of several websites, including http://www.kad-esh.org/document-from-the-council-of-nicea/
The Jewish Encyclopaedia states, "In 329, however, the Jews were forbidden to perform the rite of circumcision on slaves or to own Christian slaves; the death penalty was ordained for those who embraced the Jewish faith, as well as for Jews versed in the Law who aided them. On the other hand, Jewish converts to Christianity were protected against the fanaticism of their former coreligionists. Simultaneously with this an edict was issued forbidding marriages between Jews and Christians, and imposing the death penalty upon any Jew who should transgress this law. Some of these enactments were affirmed in 335. Noteworthy is the hostile language of several of these laws, in which Judaism is spoken of as an ignominious or as a bestial sect."
The historical conflict between Roman Catholicism and the Jews is well documented and can be found in many places on and via the World Wide Web using the underlined or similar key words.
It was as part of this anti-Jewish attitude by the Roman Catholic Church, that the ‘Jewish’ Sabbath was gradually superseded in early Christendom, by Sunday - the day of the sun, which was made attractive to Christians by the deceitful association with the resurrection of Yahshua, (Jesus). In the mid fourth century, the Catholic Council of Laodicea finally forbade Christians from worshipping on the Sabbath day, and succeeding generations globally have largely in their ignorance, come to believe that the proper day for worship and rest is Sunday.
It is no secret that the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church, which had been historically opposed to the Jews, made this change to Sunday worship and not the early disciples. Without exploring the truth for themselves, most Protestants as in several other instances, have merely complied with the ruling of the Roman Catholic Church, but to save face either add that they do so in commemoration of Yahshua’s resurrection, or that the apostles had changed the Sabbath.
The following quotes from various sources including Roman Catholics clearly place the responsibility at the doors of the Catholic Church:
"From this same Catholic Church you have accepted your Sunday, and that Sunday, as the Lord’s Day, she has handed down as a tradition; and the entire Protestant world has accepted it as tradition, for you have not an iota of Scripture to establish it. Therefore that which you have accepted as your rule of faith, inadequate as it of course is, as well as your Sunday, you have accepted on the authority of the Roman Catholic Church" (D.B. Ray, The Papal Controversy, p. 179, 1892).
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the … Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! the entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church” (Bishop T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18, 1884).
"It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible" (Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975).
"If we would consult the Bible only, without Tradition, we ought, for instance, still to keep holy the Saturday with the Jews, instead of Sunday..." (Deharbe's Catechism, translated by Rev. John Fander, published by Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, 53 Park Place, New York, Sixth American Edition, Copyright 1912, 1919, 1924, page 81)
"They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason. ...The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the Divine law of Sabbath observance. The author of the Sunday Law...is the Catholic Church." (Walter Drum, Catholic priest, Ecclesiastical Review, February, 1914)
"Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles.... From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." (Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900)
"Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the apostles ordered the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] Church outside the Bible." (Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947)
"Which church does the whole civilized world obey? Protestants call us every horrible name they can think of-anti-Christ, the scarlet-colored beast, Babylon, etc., and at the same time profess great reverence for the Bible, and yet by their solemn act of keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the power of the Catholic Church." (Industrial American, Harlan Iowa; a published lecture by T. Enright, December 19, 1889)
Most of Christendom has forsaken Yahweh's commandments and accepted without question, the traditions handed down by the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation did not get rid of all false doctrines of Roman Catholicism; and many of that church's traditions have persisted among Protestants to this day. Yahshua explained such an approach when He said, in Mark 7:8-9 "laying aside the commandment of [Yahweh], you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of [Yahweh], that you may keep your tradition".
The tragedy is that Christendom has given more credibility to the laws and teachings of a religious organisation than to the laws and teachings of the Bible. They have not bothered to find out where and how Sunday-worship started, and they have not believed what the Bible teaches about Yahweh’s day of worship and rest. Instead they have preferred to blindly and naively put their confidence in man’s popular doctrines, without regarding the fact that these new and unscriptural teachings originated out of hatred for the Jews and anything associated with them. Let no one forget that the Messiah told us to beware of the broad and well-liked road that leads only to destruction (Matt 7:13).
Those who have tried to replace Yahweh’s Sabbath with a day that reveres the sun, and think they are pleasing Yahweh, have been deceived. You may say you are not worshipping the sun by keeping Sunday. But Sunday worship had its origins in honour of the "venerable day of the sun". No 'true worshipper' who wants to worship Yahweh 'in spirit and truth' would want to have any part in this idolatry, and then say it is in honour of Yahshua's resurrection!
The prophet Ezekiel records in 8:16-17: So He brought me into the inner court of [Yahweh’s] house; and there, at the door of the temple of [Yahweh], between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of [Yahweh] and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here?" A pig remains a pig, however well it may be dressed. An abomination (in this case sun worship as was practised in Biblical times and was rampant in early Roman history) continues to be abhorrent even when fraudulently mixed with reverent memories of the risen Saviour.
Does the New Testament suggest a Sunday Sabbath?
There are eight occasions in the New Testament when the expression "first day of the week" was used. None of these suggest that the Sabbath had changed to Sunday. For confirmation of this, please check the following for yourself: Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7, and 1 Cor 16:2.
Of these, only in the following three references does there seem to have been an assembly of the disciples on the first day of the week:
John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, [Yahshua] came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
This verse does not in the slightest way give hint of a change of the Sabbath. They were assembled as they could have been on any other day of the week. On this particular day however, they would certainly have had much to discuss, with all that they had discovered on this unforgettable resurrection day. But there is nothing here to indicate that they had assembled on this day because it was the Sabbath, or because the resurrection had altered their day of worship.
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.
On this day, the disciples came together to break bread, as they were in the habit of doing daily. Acts 2:46 tells us, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. If Acts 20:7 is a basis for thinking the disciples’ day of worship (Sabbath) was changed to Sunday, then in like manner, according to Acts 2:46, Sabbath could have been on any other day of the week, on which they gathered together and broke bread. But this is certainly not the case. According to the highest authority in the universe, only the seventh day is the Sabbath, and only He – not the disciples, the church, or any religious head has the power to make any day holy.
We have quoted many verses to show that Sabbath is the seventh day and that Yahshua and His disciples observed it. Acts 20:7 however does not give any similar cast-iron proof that the disciples had started to worship on the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Those who are desperate for proof of change will grab at anything to justify their Satan-inspired SUN-day worship.
Another verse often quoted to show the Sabbath had changed is 1 Cor 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 verse does not say that the first day of the week was the Sabbath. It has simply said that on that day something should be set aside for collection later. That is all – nothing more or less.
Yet many Bible commentaries on this verse suggest that the first day of the week was now the Sabbath. Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary for example states, "It appears from the whole that the first day of the week, ... was the day on which their principal religious meetings were held in Corinth and the Churches of Galatia; and, consequently, in all other places where Christianity had prevailed. This is a strong argument for the keeping of the Christian Sabbath."
Observe that this "strong argument" is introduced by the phrase "it appears". No Biblical evidence is given or can be given of when or how this change took place.
No wonder that with such unfounded and unscriptural assertions by those respected as instructors, there is a worldwide propagation of false Bible teachings. When you attach more importance to what some esteemed person tells you the Bible says, rather than studying the Bible for yourself to find out what it actually says, you will always end up getting man’s views instead of Yahweh’s. Your belief must be based on Yahweh’s facts and not on man’s assumptions. 1 Cor 16:2 provides no foundation for arriving at the conclusion that the Sabbath has changed. To put it as mildly as possible, such deduction is far removed from the truth.
How about Yahweh’s (the Lord’s) Day?
(Note: in this section we will use the expression the ‘Lord’s Day’ and not the correct ‘Yahweh’s Day’, as we are discussing a particular quotation exactly as it is recorded.)
A Scripture often cited as evidence of a Sunday Sabbath is Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.
We come back once again to the recurring problem of persons assuming Bible truth rather than accepting what the Bible actually says. In this instance, those who are hard-pressed to find Biblical support for their erroneous Sunday worship, take it for granted without any proof that "the Lord’s day" means Sunday.
It is a common elementary fact of the English language that the phrase "the Lord’s Day" can be re-written as "Day of the Lord", since ‘Lord’s’ is the possessive noun. It is the same as if we substituted "the father’s name" with "the name of the father". So when the apostle John wrote I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, it is the same as saying I was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord. Depending on the Bible version you use, there are between 30 and 32 times in the Bible where "the day of the Lord" is used and each time it is NOT with reference to a day of the week. Once in Isaiah 58, it was referring to Yahweh’s Day of Atonement. In all other cases it was relating to a time at the end when Yahweh’s cleansing judgement would be poured out upon the earth. It would have been incorrect to assume that ‘the Day of the Lord’, related to the weekly Sabbath or to Sunday in each of those instances, especially since it would not fit the given context.
Right at the outset, the book of Revelation itself explains that it is an account of "things which must shortly take place" Rev 1:1. So ‘the Lord’s day’ or ‘the Day of the Lord’ would seem to suggest, that we were being transported into or given a preview of future events, for indeed that is what Revelation is all about. No Greek word is used for ‘the Lord’s day’ that might suggest a specific day of the week. But the Sunday keeping fraternity in their desperate and anxious bid to bolster their false claims of a change in the Sabbath, gladly latch on to this straw, as if they had evidence that this is what John was saying or meant. Equally wrong are those Sabbath keepers who claim the expression relates to the Sabbath day.
There is no justification in believing John meant Sunday or Sabbath, when the setting of the whole book of Revelation, suggests it referred to a time at the end of the age, when Yahweh’s awesome power would be unleashed upon the earth. This is the same meaning of the "Day of the Lord" in the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and in the writings of Peter and Paul. For instance Joel 1:15 states, Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. Try substituting Sunday for ‘day of the Lord’ in this verse from Joel and all other cases in the Bible when the expression is used. Then ask yourself why this phrase in Rev 1:10 should have a meaning that is different from that of the prophets and apostles, although they were all describing the same end-time event?
This verse taken out of its context does not prove that the Sabbath was changed, and in its context it suggests a totally different meaning.
The choice is yours – the Bible or lies
We have examined all relevant Scriptures in the New Testament and were unable to find any reference in the whole New Testament to the Jews or Gentiles worshipping in the synagogue on the first day of the week as their new Sabbath. On the other hand, there are many evidences of them worshipping in the synagogue on their customary Sabbath day. The reason is simple: the apostles were mainly Israelites (more commonly referred to as Jews) who were followers of a Jewish Messiah. They believed in and lived by the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and the other books of the Tanakh (the Old Testament). Yet their messages are for the whole world – Jews and Gentiles alike. Unlike today’s false ‘followers’ of the Messiah they would have shown contempt to any thought of a ‘Sabbath’ other than the seventh day as commanded in the Torah.
Christendom has despised or ignored the Jewish roots of the Bible from whence they are supposed to have come. Please read our article 'In Search of Truth. They have rejected sections of the Bible, which they claim are no longer relevant for today or to Gentiles. By doing this, the branches that should have been grafted into the tree have separated themselves from the trunk and roots to form an insubstantial new religion. Yahshua and His commandments are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. Yahshua said in John 15:6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned". Christianity will remain like that withered branch, heading to destruction, unless they become connected to their Messiah and His much-despised laws.
Yahshua said in Matt 7:22-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, [‘Master, Master’], shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, [‘Master, Master], have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
There is not one commandment to Jews and another to Gentiles. We will all stand before the same Judge, who will apply the same set of standards to all. Paul stated in 1 Cor 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" KJV. In Ephesians 4:5 Paul also said we are all one, "One [Elohim], one faith, one baptism". What "faith" could Paul have meant, if it were not what Jude calls the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints [the fathers of old]? Jude 3.
Numbers 15:16 tells us, "One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you."
Those who keep the commandments of Yahweh and also believe in Yahshua the Messiah are hated by Satan and ridiculed by his stooges. Rev 12:17 says that The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of [Yahweh] and have the testimony of [Yahshua the Messiah].
Make no mistake about it; Yahweh said the Sabbath is the sign separating those who are His from others. The two camps are likely to become more segregated as we approach the time when Satan will be enraged at Sabbath keepers who are prepared to keep Yahweh's commandments. But Yahweh's reward will be to the true and faithful for He is taking note. A book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear [Yahweh] ... "They shall be Mine,” says [Yahweh] of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him" Mal 3:16-17. Yes, Satan will persecute those who keep the Commandments. But nothing he can do will equal the pouring forth of Yahweh's wrath, from which Yahweh's chosen people will escape and afterwards receive their eternal inheritance.
Torah (instructions of Yahweh), which include the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 with the Sabbath, are for all people everywhere who choose to come into the family tent of Yahweh. However not everyone will be willing to embrace and practise them, because the carnal mind is enmity against [Yahweh]; for it is not subject to the law of [Yahweh], nor indeed can be Rom 8:7.
The apostle John wrote, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" 1 John 2:4. Those who are truly Yahweh’s people will know that the seventh day Sabbath is a perpetual command by Yahweh, which has not been changed and never will be, since no one has the authority to change it. The Roman Catholic Church motivated by its historical anti-Jewish stance is responsible for the globalisation of Sunday worship, in total disregard of Yahweh’s commandments, but that does not make Sunday the Sabbath. That church does not have the power they think they have. Yahweh’s truths will always remain, even though some may try to usurp His authority. Satan tried that, but was dethroned, and is awaiting his final punishment. Anyone who dares to oppose Yahweh and His chosen people will receive a similar fate as Satan.
The day of reckoning is coming. Those who have been deceived by false doctrines of the adversary, should heed Paul’s message at the Areopagus in Athens, These times of ignorance [Yahweh] overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent Acts 17:30.
Yahshua said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" John 8:31-32.
If you earnestly desire to be a disciple of Yahshua and to become a true worshipper of Yahweh, then you must start to believe and practise what the Bible really says. As you do so, you will be compelled to dismiss as totally irrelevant, any religious authority that prides itself in the false and ludicrous claim that it has a divine right to violate and replace the laws of Yahweh. In the days when a copy of the Bible was not readily accessible, perhaps one could be excused for not knowing which day is the Biblical Sabbath; but now that the Scriptures are easily available, no one is defensible for this wanton disregard of the truth and flagrant disobedience to Yahweh. You "ought to obey [Yahweh] rather than men" Acts 5:29.
With the easy accessibility of information on the Internet, most persons who desire to know the truth concerning the origin of Sunday worship can find abundant facts for themselves. What is written in this article is no newly discovered secret. It is in the public domain for any who cares to search.
Conclusion
Having read this article you can no longer claim to be ignorant of the truth. Only YOU are ultimately responsible for what you believe. The Bible defines sin as the transgression of the law 1 John 3:4 KJV. Now that you know Yahweh’s instructions concerning the Sabbath, and have learned the true origin of Sunday worship, you have no excuse for continuing to dishonour Him and His Sabbath. It is time you stopped following the crowd in the idolatrous Sunday worship. The day is coming when each of us shall give account of himself to [Yahweh] Rom 14:12. As from today you will not be able to blame others, however wrong or influential they may have been. The choice is yours and yours alone. Which will it be - Yahweh's Sabbath law or Constantine's Sunday Law?
SUNDAY WORSHIP IS NOT SCRIPTURAL, AND VIOLATES YAHWEH’S SABBATH COMMAND. THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE ONLY BIBLICAL SABBATH. HONOUR IT!
Of those who love me and my commandments, even tens of thousands of generations God is showing mercy. Exodus 20 6
If you love me keep my commandments. I will ask the Father. John 14 15
I am his father, and You are in me, and, I am among you, and On that day you will know that. I will keep the commandments. He loves me. He loves me, my Father will love. I love him, and will manifest itself in him. John 14 20-21
And one of them, the scribes tried to Vex him, Rabbi, In the law and what the law is greater, if asked
Jesus said, The Lord your God with all your heart and all the love and understanding of the law, which is the first commandment. It is the great commandment. Matthew 22 35-38
Those who love me, my commandments, unto a thousand generations is God showing mercy. Deuteronomy 5 10
The fear of the Lord your God with your children. I will keep all the law forever, and may prolong your life Do you go to possess the land which I teach you, in order to He put the Lord your God decrees the law, saying, O Israel, The Lord, the God of their fathers, according to the promise You can have peace in the land flowing with milk and honey. Hear may increase greatly.
Keep with you, O Israel. Listen. He is the Lord our God is one Lord, the Lord your God with all your heart. Today, all the strength and love. I have tried to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children must be taught.. Sitting at home, Walk along the road. You lie down. You rise He must have spoken. And for a sign upon your hand, and Like the plate between your eyes must be tied. Must be written in the gates. Deuteronomy 6 1-9
The testimony of the Lord your God commanded, judgments, Laws and try to win. You can keep the rest. Deuteronomy 6 17-18
The Lord is good to this day, even as the Lord He will keep us alive, For our good always, Fear the Lord our God, This may do all the commandments of the Lord our God commanded him. Therefore, just as he Us to do all these commandments before, take heed The righteous will answer. Deuteronomy 6 24-25
Then Moses called for all Israel. Hear, O Israel, I declare to you today, decrees, and you are taught to do. Listen, the Lord our God. We will take care to his covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord of the covenant of our fathers, and he did not. Today, we all live here. Out of the fire on the mountain of the Lord, and he did. He spoke with you face to face.. Then you are afraid of fire, because he dares did not go up the mountain. I have the word of the Lord, in order to speak Standing between you and the Lord. These are the words that he spoke, I will help you out of the land of bondage in Egypt brought the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before. In the sky above, and And in the earth beneath, What is in the water under the earth, and the image and make for yourself an idol. Serve them. For Your God, I am the Lord that you are jealous, Generations of those who hate me, Third, The fourth generation shall repay all their judgments of God, Those who love me, my commandments, unto a thousand generations the name of the Lord your God is God showing mercy.. Invoke lies. For The name and lies. Mouth, but he did not sin the Lord. The Lord your God, as he put To keep the Sabbath holy, Waiting for the day.
For six days, work and work hard.. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On that day, you and your children Servants, both men and women Your animal, such as donkeys, cows Visitors who are within thy gates, temporary work. As they rested, Your male and female slaves from the rest is that they will.
And that you were slaves in Egypt, The Lord your God, and stretched out his mighty arm And that has brought you to the land of the remembrance. For this reason, You shall keep the sabbath of the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 51-15 Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am your slavery brought you out of the land of Egypt, it is the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before, and in the sky above. And in the earth beneath, In the water under the earth, like the shape of things Do the images for yourself. Do not serve them. But about I am the Lord, your God A jealous God, Generations of those who hate me, Third, Until the fourth, Repay all their judgment of them that love me, my commandments, unto a thousand generations, God is showing mercy, and lies in the name of the Lord thy God.. Invoke. For Lying with the name. Lord, innocent words that he might sanctify the Sabbath. Remember this day.
For six days, work and work hard.. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On that day, you and your children Servants, both men and women Animal. The guests who are within your gates, because temporary work. Lord of heaven, Earth,It Creator of all that is in them in six days. He rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Exodus 20 1-11
I am the Lord who sanctifies you, and you may not know Me and you throughout your generations, for it is a sign between I surely shall keep the Sabbath. Sabbath is holy because you will keep the same day. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among his people.
Six days shall work be done. The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.. For those who work on the Sabbath, will surely be put to death. So the people of Israel to their generations, Make an everlasting covenant, As the Sabbath days, it shall keep the sabbath. Between Israel and I will be an everlasting sign. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth for six days. And rested on the seventh day, He reinforced that he spoke to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. In the end, he spoke with Moses, Laying his finger and gives the two tables of the testimony. Exodus 31 13-18
Moreover over a neighbor, and I agree with the second commandment, which is the first commandment of the law. These two cars with the law is a summary of all the Prophets them. The Book of Matthew 22 39-40 in the land that the Lord your God hath given you may live long and prosper. As he put the Lord your God, your Honor thy father and mother. You shall not murder, and have not spoken with his wealth and power.. And shall not give false testimony against his neighbor, and Your neighbor and his wife with lust. The house of your neighbor and, farm, Servants, both men and women Oxen asses and anything that your neighbor and his property he said, and there is no desire on the mountain of the Lord of the word. Clouds, Out of the thick darkness with a great voice, and he spoke to all your assembly. He has not spoken again. Then he is given on two tablets of stone. I clearly. You have heard the voice out of the darkness. When the mountain was blazing, Your seed
The heads of them, The elders came to me the power, and the glory of the Lord our God hath shown us his majesty. We have heard a voice from the fire. Though he talked with God, The man is still alive, And now we have seen that. I Why must die. This great fire will consume us, and we will. Thus saith the Lord our God will die if we hear again the voice of the living God. We heard his voice, he spoke as a living creature., Came near to him. He went Thus saith the Lord our God, for all to hear from us. All that the Lord our God, the Lord spoke to him, and he listened. We will hear and act on them. So you have heard the Lord speak to me. The Lord said to Moses, For these people, I heard a voice. Everything they said was good. Generations of their descendants and the rest, The judge was angry with me. I want to keep the command. Let them be filled with, because Deuteronomy 16-29 As a neighbor, and if you do the commandment, 'You shall love For all the works of the law 14 of the book of Galatians 5.
As a neighbor, and I love the royal law found in Scripture, said that, if you keep We were doing a good thing, or show partiality. Commit sin. Transgressors of the law. But what For anyone who keeps all the law, if he is wrong, Beyond all the law of sin. Sin against the neighbor, and one of which he said, You shall not murder, and of which he said. So you have not spoken yet, Murder, He has broken the law. Liberty, as they that shall be judged according to the law speaking, For judgment is without mercy. Without mercy, Will be judged. Mercy and judgment. Boasts of the book of James. 2 8-13 we love God, If we keep his commandments, And we know that we love the children of God. Of which we know that we love him and keep his commandments. God is love. His commandments are not burdensome. Books of the book of John first 5 2-3
The love of God has loved us, and we have known and believed. God is love. Whoever lives in love abides in God. God, he remains in him.
It is filled with the love we made, On the day of judgment, and there will be opportunity to bold. For We like him in this world. And no fear in love. Fear because of the torment The perfect love cast off the fears. And he fears is not yet complete. We love because He first loved We love God, is one of them. I love God, 'and hates his brother, He is a liar himself. If you love to see his brother, Seen, how can he love God. God must love his brother loved this commandment we have from him, the first book of John. Blankets 4 16 21
The dragon of the female grudge. Obeying the commandments of God. He testified of Jesus, who has had the house, which she had left in the battle, and the commandments of God.
Revelation 12 17 And the faith of Jesus Saints who keep this endurance. Revelation 14 12
And the knowledge of the master himself, but what does he know If we keep his commandments, I know him. He does not keep his commandments because He is a liar, and the truth is not in him. You belong to your father, the devil, and. The desires of your father. From the beginning, the devil himself a murderer. Because there is no truth in the building in the ghost. When he lies to his nature, he speaks. If you love me keep my commandments is the father of the lie.gospel of John 8; 44 Whoever does not obey the voice of the Lord The love of God is perfected. We know the Lord through that book. John first four blankets 2 3
Was There a Cover-up?
Even though Dan Brown has so many facts wrong, and even though his theories are speculative at best and heresy at worst, he might just be onto something. We can clearly see the rise of Roman power in history as fallible men declared themselves gods and sought to replace the authority of the Bible with the traditions and pagan rituals of men. The facts indicate that there has indeed been a cover-up, one that Dan Brown missed: Constantine and the bishops of Rome did conspire in one of the greatest secrets of all history.
Who Was Constantine?
Constantine The GreatConstantine the Great was a Roman emperor who reigned from A.D. 306 to 337. Tradition has it that on his way to an important battle in A.D. 312, a vision of a flaming cross appeared to him with the inscription, "In this sign conquer." He therefore authorized his mostly pagan soldiers to place a cross on their shields, and went on to win the battle. Believing the Christian God to be his secret to military success and the key to uniting his empire, Constantine adopted Christianity as the official religion of Rome in A.D. 324. His life continued to be marred by bloodshed and political intrigue until his death, but through his influence the bishops of Rome gained rapid ascendancy to political and temporal power.
Sun Worship
The real secret of Constantine and the bishops of Rome is their cunning introduction of sun worship and paganism into Christianity. It was done so shrewdly that, incredibly, it has been veiled within the faith for centuries. Through Constantine, paganism and Christianity joined hands in the Roman Empire.
History readily records that Constantine was a sun-worshiper. In one decree he declared, "On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed" (March 7, 321). He made this decree in honor of the sun after his supposed conversion to Christianity! Constantine, even after his "conversion," remained a pagan.
Constantine sought to unite his kingdom’s pagan and Christian worshipers, in order to promote stability and ensure that his empire lasted. The easiest way to bring harmony would be to blend sun worship and Christianity. History shows that the Church of Rome did not object; indeed, it had been engaging in the practice for nearly two centuries!
The bishops at Rome also claimed Peter as the head of the church, instead of Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Developing a non-biblical doctrine of "apostolic succession," they claimed that the authority conferred on Peter was transferred to themselves. The "Saint Peter" that was created was actually a combination of pagan idolatry and Christian veneration. Even today, the statue in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome includes a solar disk above his head. Tradition has it that this was actually a statue of Jupiter taken from a pagan temple and simply renamed "St. Peter"! Sun worship, which appears in nearly every pagan religion in the world, soon appeared in Christian art, imagery, and theology. The halo often seen on Christ and Mary is actually a symbol of sun worship. Madonna ("Mary") was depicted holding sun disks.The Silent Conspiracy
scrollOne of the earliest entrances of sun worship into the church was through the spring pagan festival. The festival was celebrated in honor of Eostre (according to the eighth century cleric Bede). The festival often honored a goddess (such as Ishtar), and one of the more popular tales of this time concerned the god Attis, who was said to be resurrected each year during the month of March. According to one tradition, the festival of Attis began as "a day of blood on a black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over a resurrection."3 These spring festivals eventually became the Christian festival of Easter, complete with eggs and rabbits, both ancient pagan symbols of fertility.
At the Council of Nicaea, Constantine also persuaded those in attendance that only one Easter "Resurrection" day should be kept. "Our Savior has left us only one festal day … and he desired to establish only one Catholic Church," he argued. Then he added this significant statement. "You should consider … that we should have nothing in common with the Jews."4
Constantine felt that the Jews were "murderers of the Lord," and therefore desired to blot out any links between Christianity and Judaism. For this reason he persuaded the Christian church to drop the ancient biblical Sabbath, given at Creation, and replace it with Sunday worship. "The Church made a sacred day of Sunday … largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun; for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to the people by tradition, and to give them a Christian significance."5 Pope Sylvester I (314–335) finally made Christian Sundaykeeping official by decreeing that "the rest of the Sabbath should be transferred to the Lord’s day [Sunday]."6 Perhaps this was Constantine and Rome’s crowning conspiratorial victory—sneaking sun worship into Christianity by exchanging the true Christian day of worship for the day dedicated to ancient sun worship.
So Dan Brown was partly right after all. There has been a conspiracy. Constantine and Rome did change history. What Mr. Brown does not seem to realize is that the very things he has attacked are the only things that have kept truth alive. Believing in Jesus as Lord and in the Bible as His infallible Word are the only ways to safely combat error and ground ourselves in truth. Through the Dark Ages these facts were lost sight of, and paganism took over the church. Thank God that today we have ready access to the Bible, the ultimate resource, and to the throne of grace. God’s truth will always prove stronger than the world’s fiction.
______________________________________________
Endnotes
1 Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 1.
2 December 17, 2004, "No Gospel in ‘Da Vinci Code’ Claims, Scholars Say" National Geographic News.
3 Gerald L. Berry, "Religions of the World," Barnes & Noble, 1956.
4 From the Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council, Found in Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 3: 18-20.
5 Arthur Weigall, The Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 145. (Copyright 1928, by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York).
6 Rabanus Maurus, as quoted in Sabbath and Sunday in Early Christianity, by Robert L. Odom, 1977 by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, pp. 247, 248.
http://www.marytruth.com/
What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath dayEven though Dan Brown has so many facts wrong, and even though his theories are speculative at best and heresy at worst, he might just be onto something. We can clearly see the rise of Roman power in history as fallible men declared themselves gods and sought to replace the authority of the Bible with the traditions and pagan rituals of men. The facts indicate that there has indeed been a cover-up, one that Dan Brown missed: Constantine and the bishops of Rome did conspire in one of the greatest secrets of all history.
Who Was Constantine?
Constantine The GreatConstantine the Great was a Roman emperor who reigned from A.D. 306 to 337. Tradition has it that on his way to an important battle in A.D. 312, a vision of a flaming cross appeared to him with the inscription, "In this sign conquer." He therefore authorized his mostly pagan soldiers to place a cross on their shields, and went on to win the battle. Believing the Christian God to be his secret to military success and the key to uniting his empire, Constantine adopted Christianity as the official religion of Rome in A.D. 324. His life continued to be marred by bloodshed and political intrigue until his death, but through his influence the bishops of Rome gained rapid ascendancy to political and temporal power.
Sun Worship
The real secret of Constantine and the bishops of Rome is their cunning introduction of sun worship and paganism into Christianity. It was done so shrewdly that, incredibly, it has been veiled within the faith for centuries. Through Constantine, paganism and Christianity joined hands in the Roman Empire.
History readily records that Constantine was a sun-worshiper. In one decree he declared, "On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed" (March 7, 321). He made this decree in honor of the sun after his supposed conversion to Christianity! Constantine, even after his "conversion," remained a pagan.
Constantine sought to unite his kingdom’s pagan and Christian worshipers, in order to promote stability and ensure that his empire lasted. The easiest way to bring harmony would be to blend sun worship and Christianity. History shows that the Church of Rome did not object; indeed, it had been engaging in the practice for nearly two centuries!
The bishops at Rome also claimed Peter as the head of the church, instead of Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Developing a non-biblical doctrine of "apostolic succession," they claimed that the authority conferred on Peter was transferred to themselves. The "Saint Peter" that was created was actually a combination of pagan idolatry and Christian veneration. Even today, the statue in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome includes a solar disk above his head. Tradition has it that this was actually a statue of Jupiter taken from a pagan temple and simply renamed "St. Peter"! Sun worship, which appears in nearly every pagan religion in the world, soon appeared in Christian art, imagery, and theology. The halo often seen on Christ and Mary is actually a symbol of sun worship. Madonna ("Mary") was depicted holding sun disks.The Silent Conspiracy
scrollOne of the earliest entrances of sun worship into the church was through the spring pagan festival. The festival was celebrated in honor of Eostre (according to the eighth century cleric Bede). The festival often honored a goddess (such as Ishtar), and one of the more popular tales of this time concerned the god Attis, who was said to be resurrected each year during the month of March. According to one tradition, the festival of Attis began as "a day of blood on a black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over a resurrection."3 These spring festivals eventually became the Christian festival of Easter, complete with eggs and rabbits, both ancient pagan symbols of fertility.
At the Council of Nicaea, Constantine also persuaded those in attendance that only one Easter "Resurrection" day should be kept. "Our Savior has left us only one festal day … and he desired to establish only one Catholic Church," he argued. Then he added this significant statement. "You should consider … that we should have nothing in common with the Jews."4
Constantine felt that the Jews were "murderers of the Lord," and therefore desired to blot out any links between Christianity and Judaism. For this reason he persuaded the Christian church to drop the ancient biblical Sabbath, given at Creation, and replace it with Sunday worship. "The Church made a sacred day of Sunday … largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun; for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to the people by tradition, and to give them a Christian significance."5 Pope Sylvester I (314–335) finally made Christian Sundaykeeping official by decreeing that "the rest of the Sabbath should be transferred to the Lord’s day [Sunday]."6 Perhaps this was Constantine and Rome’s crowning conspiratorial victory—sneaking sun worship into Christianity by exchanging the true Christian day of worship for the day dedicated to ancient sun worship.
So Dan Brown was partly right after all. There has been a conspiracy. Constantine and Rome did change history. What Mr. Brown does not seem to realize is that the very things he has attacked are the only things that have kept truth alive. Believing in Jesus as Lord and in the Bible as His infallible Word are the only ways to safely combat error and ground ourselves in truth. Through the Dark Ages these facts were lost sight of, and paganism took over the church. Thank God that today we have ready access to the Bible, the ultimate resource, and to the throne of grace. God’s truth will always prove stronger than the world’s fiction.
______________________________________________
Endnotes
1 Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 1.
2 December 17, 2004, "No Gospel in ‘Da Vinci Code’ Claims, Scholars Say" National Geographic News.
3 Gerald L. Berry, "Religions of the World," Barnes & Noble, 1956.
4 From the Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council, Found in Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 3: 18-20.
5 Arthur Weigall, The Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 145. (Copyright 1928, by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York).
6 Rabanus Maurus, as quoted in Sabbath and Sunday in Early Christianity, by Robert L. Odom, 1977 by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, pp. 247, 248.
http://www.marytruth.com/
What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day
Question: "What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day?"
Answer: It is often claimed that “God instituted the Sabbath in Eden” because of the connection between the Sabbath and creation in Exodus 20:11. Although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future Sabbath law, there is no biblical record of the Sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that Sabbath-keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.
The Word of God makes it quite clear that Sabbath observance was a special sign between God and Israel: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested” (Exodus 31:16–17).
In Deuteronomy 5, Moses restates the Ten Commandments to the next generation of Israelites. Here, after commanding Sabbath observance in verses 12–14, Moses gives the reason the Sabbath was given to the nation Israel: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15).
God's intent for giving the Sabbath to Israel was not that they would remember creation, but that they would remember their Egyptian slavery and the Lord's deliverance. Note the requirements for Sabbath-keeping: A person placed under that Sabbath law could not leave his home on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29), he could not build a fire (Exodus 35:3), and he could not cause anyone else to work (Deuteronomy 5:14). A person breaking the Sabbath law was to be put to death (Exodus 31:15; Numbers 15:32–35).
An examination of New Testament passages shows us four important points: 1) Whenever Christ appears in His resurrected form and the day is mentioned, it is always the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, 9, 10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1, 13, 15; John 20:19, 26). 2) The only time the Sabbath is mentioned from Acts through Revelation it is for evangelistic purposes to the Jews and the setting is usually in a synagogue (Acts chapters 13–18). Paul wrote, “to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews” (1 Corinthians 9:20). Paul did not go to the synagogue to fellowship with and edify the saints, but to convict and save the lost. 3) Once Paul states “from now on I will go to the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6), the Sabbath is never again mentioned. And 4) instead of suggesting adherence to the Sabbath day, the remainder of the New Testament implies the opposite (including the one exception to point 3 above, found in Colossians 2:16).
Looking more closely at point 4 above will reveal that there is no obligation for the New Testament believer to keep the Sabbath, and will also show that the idea of a Sunday “Christian Sabbath” is also unscriptural. As discussed above, there is one time the Sabbath is mentioned after Paul began to focus on the Gentiles, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16–17). The Jewish Sabbath was abolished at the cross where Christ “canceled the written code, with its regulations” (Colossians 2:14).
This idea is repeated more than once in the New Testament: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord” (Romans 14:5–6a). “But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years” (Galatians 4:9–10).
But some claim that a mandate by Constantine in A.D. 321 “changed” the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. On what day did the early church meet for worship? Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul urges the Corinthian believers “on the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection must have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century.
The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. But the Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law, and Christians are free from the bondage of the Law (Galatians 4:1-26; Romans 6:14). Sabbath keeping is not required of the Christian—be it Saturday or Sunday. The first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) celebrates the New Creation, with Christ as our resurrected Head. We are not obligated to follow the Mosaic Sabbath—resting, but are now free to follow the risen Christ—serving. The Apostle Paul said that each individual Christian should decide whether to observe a Sabbath rest, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). We are to worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday.
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Introduction
On ‘Easter’ Sunday, 7 April 1996, the Archbishop of Canterbury, England stated on Sir David Frost’s television program, ‘The Easter Enigma’ that the apostles, "these very devout Jews, changed their holy day from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week …why? Because the resurrection happened."
Not only from the highest religious authority in England, but throughout most of Christendom, Sunday is considered to be the replacement of the seventh day Sabbath, but is this true? Let us find out what the Bible tells us.
Which Day does the Bible say is the Sabbath?
In Exodus 20:8-11, Yahweh said to the children of Israel through Moses: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of [Yahweh] your [Elohim]. 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 [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore [Yahweh] blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Observe Yahweh said, the SEVENTH day is "holy", and that He blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Why? Because in six days [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That was and is Yahweh’s reason for making the day holy, and for commanding us to keep it holy. It cannot be changed for as long as the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, remain. His creation work is already completed and cannot be undone. Therefore the explanation He gave for choosing the seventh day will always stand, except He Himself decided to change His reasons and the day. Now let us suppose that He subsequently made a decision to alter His Sabbath commandment, it would seem right that He would tell us just as plainly of that amendment as He did in enacting this law for the first time.
There is definitely no record wherever the word ‘Sabbath’ is used in either the Old or New Testament that Yahweh ever made this change or intended or authorised anyone to do so.
The Sabbath is not like a national holiday that this world’s leaders can arbitrarily change. They are not man’s Sabbaths, or even the Jewish Sabbaths. They are Yahweh’s Sabbaths.
In Ex 31:13, 16, Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely MY SABBATHS you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am [Yahweh] who sanctifies you ... Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant'".
Here Yahweh has said that HIS Sabbath has special significance as a mark of identification of His chosen (set apart) people. It is for all times without end as a perpetual covenant, which means it shall never be changed. In Malachi 3:6 Yahweh said, "I am [Yahweh], I do not change". Since He is unchanging, there is absolutely no possibility that He would replace His seventh day Sabbath of rest, which He sanctified on the seventh day of the creation week, and established as a "perpetual covenant".
The weekly Sabbath is of great importance to Yahweh. In Leviticus 23 He commanded Moses to tell the people, which specific days were His holy appointed times for ceasing from work, and to assemble for meetings. Only Yahweh has the power to make any day holy. Man has no such authority. Therefore when Yahweh says that a particular day is holy (sacred, blessed, hallowed, consecrated and divine), it does not give anyone the freedom to choose an alternative day. The weekly Sabbath day, was first on Yahweh's list of appointed times, which He gave in Leviticus 23.
Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The feasts [appointments] of [Yahweh], which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts [appointments]. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of [Yahweh] in all your dwellings" (verses 2-3).
The chapter continues with details of His annual appointments or times for meeting Him. Each of Yahweh's designated days is of special significance to Him and has its own meaning. Together they represent an indivisible package that we are to embrace.
The excuse for Sunday Worship
It is clear throughout the Old Testament that the Sabbath is fixed for all times and will not be changed. In spite of this, most ‘Christians’ believe that Yahshua’s resurrection on a Sunday morning is a good enough reason to worship on a Sunday instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Indeed they actually believe that the day of Yahshua's resurrection has precedence over the weekly Sabbath that Yahweh has ordained.
Another reason that is often given why non-Jews should not keep the weekly Sabbath, is that it applies only to Israelites by birth. If that were true, then Abraham, Isaac, Noah and all persons who were not descendants of Jacob would not have observed the Sabbath, even though it had begun from the week of creation. It is also incorrect since we are told in Leviticus 24:22 "You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am [Yahweh] your [Elohim]."
Many Gentiles, who accept that Yahshua is the Messiah, believe they have been grafted into the family that was once reserved only for Yahweh's people in the Old Testament. This is Biblically correct. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as [Yahweh] our [Elohim] will call" Acts 2:39. With privileges also come responsibilities. If the commandments were applicable only to Israelites and their predecessors, then by coming into the Israelite family, the 'stranger' is required to abide by the same original rules, for You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country.
Yahshua said in John 4:23 "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth". Whatever may be one's origin, anyone who is a true worshipper, will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The 'spirit and truth' are the same for all people and for all times. Like Yahweh Himself, His truth endures to all generations Ps 100:5.
Having the desire to honour the day of our Saviour's resurrection is good, but if you do so in a way that disobeys and dishonours the Father's instructions, then you are not worshipping in truth, and by Yahshua’s definition, you are not a true worshipper. Yahshua always obeyed the Father, and declared, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" John 6:38. This is what all true worshippers should seek to do.
Matthew, Mark and Luke's Resurrection Version
Since it is said that the disciples changed the Sabbath day, let us see if Matthew, Mark and Luke provided any suggestion of this change in their report of the resurrection. Did they in their records indicate that the day of Yahshua's resurrection displaced and was of greater significance than the weekly Sabbath?
Matt 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Here Matthew, who had been a disciple of Yahshua and would have known when was the Sabbath, tells us quite plainly that the Sabbath ended BEFORE the first day of the week dawned. This means that at least to Matthew, Sabbath and Sunday were two different days. He has not specified or even implied that Yahshua’s resurrection had brought about a change in the day of Sabbath.
Mark gives the following account:
Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen Mark 16:1,2.
Mark also says that the Sabbath had passed before the first day of the week came - two separate days are clearly indicated here. Mark was not aware that the Sabbath had changed to the first day of the week, even though he had written this some time after the resurrection.
Luke 23:55-56 tells us, the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
We can safely take this to mean that the women rested according to the commandment in the Torah (the instructions of Yahweh in the first five books of the Old Testament). Exodus 35:2 for example states: the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to [Yahweh]. That is the day on which these women would have rested. Luke continues his account in the next verse, where he wrote: Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared Luke 24:1. Clearly the women came to the tomb on the day following their rest on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
As in Matthew and Mark, the first day of the week came AFTER the Sabbath, and there is not even the slightest hint of a change of the day on which Sabbath was observed. Matthew, Mark and Luke, as followers of Yahshua who practised the Torah, knew fully well which day was the Sabbath according to the commandment. Out of respect and love of Yahshua and the Torah they would not have considered violating the commandments of Yahweh. To them, in spite of Yahshua's resurrection on the first day of the week, Sabbath was still the unalterable seventh day. They were true worshippers who worshipped the Father in spirit and truth on the Sabbath day as He had commanded.
Yahshua and the Sabbath
What was Yahshua’s attitude towards the laws? Did He come to change them? Definitely no! Yahshua was the best teacher of the Torah. True followers of Yahshua will follow Him and He followed the Torah. He did not come to start a new religion apart from the foundation established in the Old Testament. Rather He came to build upon it.
Yahshua said in Matthew 5:17-18 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah -- not until everything that must happen has happened" Complete Jewish Bible. Above all others He would not and did not change or break the Sabbath law. He merely expanded the full meaning of what had been given before.
Did He keep the seventh day Sabbath or the first day of the week?
Mark 1:21 tells us they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.
Mark 6:2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.
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 Sabbath day, and stood up to read
Note as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day – not on the first day of the week. In a Jewish society, Sabbath means only one thing, the seventh day that is popularly known as Saturday, and that was the day Luke meant when he wrote this verse.
Luke 6:6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
Not even once was it specified that Yahshua went into the temple to teach "on the first day of the week”. There is record that He taught daily in the temple "I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me" Mark 14:49. But there is no special mention that He had been in the Temple on a particular day, other than Sabbath.
Yahshua taught His followers, "Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath" Matt 24:20.
Yahshua was here teaching about a future occurrence in the time of the tribulation (see verse 21), and which would occur a long time after He had been resurrected. This event has not yet taken place. Nevertheless He was telling His followers of all times to pray that this would not happen on the Sabbath day. Why would it have mattered whether or not their flight would have been on the Sabbath if the Sabbath were to be abolished? Clearly a big upheaval caused by the desperate need to flee, would not be consistent with observing the day of rest, and would cause distress to persons forced to flee, whilst at the same time desirous of keeping the Sabbath.
Did the apostles change the Sabbath?
There is no evidence that after Yahshua's resurrection and ascension the apostles kept the first day of the week as the Sabbath. Nowhere in any of their writings have they said so, but instead we have many verses to prove that they still kept the Sabbath AFTER Yahshua had left them.
Acts 13:14-15 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." Observe that on the Sabbath day, Paul, was invited to speak in the synagogue after the reading from the Torah and prophets. In his sermon he said,
Acts 13:27 Those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.
Speaking in the Jewish synagogue, there can be no question that in referring to the 'Sabbath' he could only have meant the seventh day of the week.
Acts 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Notice that the Gentiles were eager to hear more on the next Sabbath. On that following Sabbath, they came out in large numbers.
Acts 13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of [Yahweh]. Note that Gentiles were hearing the word that was being preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath. This was not the first and only occasion for we learn in Acts 15:21 that Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
Acts 17:2 then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures. Those of you who think Paul has given you a good reason to change the Sabbath, please note that, like Yahshua, it was his custom to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
Acts 18:4 gives us the added information that he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
In Paul’s defence before Felix (Acts 24:14) he said, "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the [Elohim] of my fathers, BELIEVING ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS".
Has Christendom that uses some of Paul's writings as the basis for saying the law (including Sabbath) is abolished, torn the foregoing verses and especially Acts 24:14 out of their Bibles? Please read our article 'Be not deceived! - Part 2' The Grace Deception.
Neither Yahshua nor His disciples and apostles who continued His work after Him changed the Sabbath day. No one has authority to change Yahweh’s Sabbaths, which He Himself has said are to last forever. THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH ANYWHERE THAT THE SABBATH IS CHANGED TO SUNDAY.
Who then is responsible for Sunday worship?
The originator of all false doctrines is the father of lies, Satan, who since the Garden of Eden has continued to question what Yahweh has said. Yahweh has said that His Sabbath is a perpetual covenant - lasting forever. As Satan asked Eve in the Garden, he would have asked Christendom a long time ago, "Has [Yahweh] really said...?" Only this time, his sentence would have finished with "that the Sabbath is to last forever?" Just as Eve jumped at the prospects of being like the Almighty, so man has jumped at the prospect of demonstrating his equality with Yahweh by rejecting His words and accepting instead the lies of the enemy. Ultimately responsibility for sinning rested with Adam and Eve. Disobedience to Yahweh's instructions regarding His Sabbath rests with those who had chosen to initiate this open rebellion. All others who have perpetuated this evil are equally guilty.
It was man, without the authority of Yahweh, who took it upon himself to try to replace the Biblical seventh day Sabbath with the first day of the week. Although the excuse is often given that Sunday became the day of worship to commemorate the day of Yahshua’s resurrection, the evidence rather suggests that it had been brought about by sinister factors unrelated to the Bible.
We must not lose sight of the fact that the fall of the temple in 70 C.E was the culmination of wars between Jerusalem and Rome, which had begun since the days of Pompey in 63 BCE. Each defeat of the Jews by the Romans led to more concerted efforts by Rome to suppress the Jewish people and anything Jewish.
Constantine 1, the Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 C.E., played a significant part in this. His position as Emperor cannot be isolated from his influence on the Roman Church. In 313 C.E. he legislated that his brand of what has been called 'Christianity' should become the state religion of Rome. He gave generous gifts and privileges to the Church in Rome. In 321 C.E. he enacted the first Sunday Law, which stated, "On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost". The Encyclopaedia Britannica confirms "It was Constantine the Great who first made a law for the proper observance of Sunday; and who according to Eusebius, appointed that it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman Empire. Before him, and even in his time, they observed the Jewish Sabbath as well as Sunday." This law had nothing to do with the commandment of Yahweh or the resurrection of Yahshua, but as the law itself said, was in veneration of the sun. Prior to all this, sun worship had been already entrenched in Rome, where the official sun god was Sol Invictus. There are many relics in the Vatican even today that demonstrate this.
See: http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/wheel.htm,
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus
While Constantine helped to foster the growth of a distorted religion that had its roots in paganism rather than the Bible, he tried at the same time to destroy the Jewish religion. In his letter to attendees at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D, he made this comment of why Easter should replace the Passover: "we desire, dearest brethren to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jew". You can find the whole text of the letter for yourself on any of several websites, including http://www.kad-esh.org/document-from-the-council-of-nicea/
The Jewish Encyclopaedia states, "In 329, however, the Jews were forbidden to perform the rite of circumcision on slaves or to own Christian slaves; the death penalty was ordained for those who embraced the Jewish faith, as well as for Jews versed in the Law who aided them. On the other hand, Jewish converts to Christianity were protected against the fanaticism of their former coreligionists. Simultaneously with this an edict was issued forbidding marriages between Jews and Christians, and imposing the death penalty upon any Jew who should transgress this law. Some of these enactments were affirmed in 335. Noteworthy is the hostile language of several of these laws, in which Judaism is spoken of as an ignominious or as a bestial sect."
The historical conflict between Roman Catholicism and the Jews is well documented and can be found in many places on and via the World Wide Web using the underlined or similar key words.
It was as part of this anti-Jewish attitude by the Roman Catholic Church, that the ‘Jewish’ Sabbath was gradually superseded in early Christendom, by Sunday - the day of the sun, which was made attractive to Christians by the deceitful association with the resurrection of Yahshua, (Jesus). In the mid fourth century, the Catholic Council of Laodicea finally forbade Christians from worshipping on the Sabbath day, and succeeding generations globally have largely in their ignorance, come to believe that the proper day for worship and rest is Sunday.
It is no secret that the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church, which had been historically opposed to the Jews, made this change to Sunday worship and not the early disciples. Without exploring the truth for themselves, most Protestants as in several other instances, have merely complied with the ruling of the Roman Catholic Church, but to save face either add that they do so in commemoration of Yahshua’s resurrection, or that the apostles had changed the Sabbath.
The following quotes from various sources including Roman Catholics clearly place the responsibility at the doors of the Catholic Church:
"From this same Catholic Church you have accepted your Sunday, and that Sunday, as the Lord’s Day, she has handed down as a tradition; and the entire Protestant world has accepted it as tradition, for you have not an iota of Scripture to establish it. Therefore that which you have accepted as your rule of faith, inadequate as it of course is, as well as your Sunday, you have accepted on the authority of the Roman Catholic Church" (D.B. Ray, The Papal Controversy, p. 179, 1892).
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the … Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! the entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church” (Bishop T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18, 1884).
"It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible" (Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975).
"If we would consult the Bible only, without Tradition, we ought, for instance, still to keep holy the Saturday with the Jews, instead of Sunday..." (Deharbe's Catechism, translated by Rev. John Fander, published by Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, 53 Park Place, New York, Sixth American Edition, Copyright 1912, 1919, 1924, page 81)
"They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason. ...The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the Divine law of Sabbath observance. The author of the Sunday Law...is the Catholic Church." (Walter Drum, Catholic priest, Ecclesiastical Review, February, 1914)
"Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles.... From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." (Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900)
"Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the apostles ordered the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] Church outside the Bible." (Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947)
"Which church does the whole civilized world obey? Protestants call us every horrible name they can think of-anti-Christ, the scarlet-colored beast, Babylon, etc., and at the same time profess great reverence for the Bible, and yet by their solemn act of keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the power of the Catholic Church." (Industrial American, Harlan Iowa; a published lecture by T. Enright, December 19, 1889)
Most of Christendom has forsaken Yahweh's commandments and accepted without question, the traditions handed down by the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation did not get rid of all false doctrines of Roman Catholicism; and many of that church's traditions have persisted among Protestants to this day. Yahshua explained such an approach when He said, in Mark 7:8-9 "laying aside the commandment of [Yahweh], you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of [Yahweh], that you may keep your tradition".
The tragedy is that Christendom has given more credibility to the laws and teachings of a religious organisation than to the laws and teachings of the Bible. They have not bothered to find out where and how Sunday-worship started, and they have not believed what the Bible teaches about Yahweh’s day of worship and rest. Instead they have preferred to blindly and naively put their confidence in man’s popular doctrines, without regarding the fact that these new and unscriptural teachings originated out of hatred for the Jews and anything associated with them. Let no one forget that the Messiah told us to beware of the broad and well-liked road that leads only to destruction (Matt 7:13).
Those who have tried to replace Yahweh’s Sabbath with a day that reveres the sun, and think they are pleasing Yahweh, have been deceived. You may say you are not worshipping the sun by keeping Sunday. But Sunday worship had its origins in honour of the "venerable day of the sun". No 'true worshipper' who wants to worship Yahweh 'in spirit and truth' would want to have any part in this idolatry, and then say it is in honour of Yahshua's resurrection!
The prophet Ezekiel records in 8:16-17: So He brought me into the inner court of [Yahweh’s] house; and there, at the door of the temple of [Yahweh], between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of [Yahweh] and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here?" A pig remains a pig, however well it may be dressed. An abomination (in this case sun worship as was practised in Biblical times and was rampant in early Roman history) continues to be abhorrent even when fraudulently mixed with reverent memories of the risen Saviour.
Does the New Testament suggest a Sunday Sabbath?
There are eight occasions in the New Testament when the expression "first day of the week" was used. None of these suggest that the Sabbath had changed to Sunday. For confirmation of this, please check the following for yourself: Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7, and 1 Cor 16:2.
Of these, only in the following three references does there seem to have been an assembly of the disciples on the first day of the week:
John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, [Yahshua] came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
This verse does not in the slightest way give hint of a change of the Sabbath. They were assembled as they could have been on any other day of the week. On this particular day however, they would certainly have had much to discuss, with all that they had discovered on this unforgettable resurrection day. But there is nothing here to indicate that they had assembled on this day because it was the Sabbath, or because the resurrection had altered their day of worship.
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.
On this day, the disciples came together to break bread, as they were in the habit of doing daily. Acts 2:46 tells us, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. If Acts 20:7 is a basis for thinking the disciples’ day of worship (Sabbath) was changed to Sunday, then in like manner, according to Acts 2:46, Sabbath could have been on any other day of the week, on which they gathered together and broke bread. But this is certainly not the case. According to the highest authority in the universe, only the seventh day is the Sabbath, and only He – not the disciples, the church, or any religious head has the power to make any day holy.
We have quoted many verses to show that Sabbath is the seventh day and that Yahshua and His disciples observed it. Acts 20:7 however does not give any similar cast-iron proof that the disciples had started to worship on the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Those who are desperate for proof of change will grab at anything to justify their Satan-inspired SUN-day worship.
Another verse often quoted to show the Sabbath had changed is 1 Cor 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 verse does not say that the first day of the week was the Sabbath. It has simply said that on that day something should be set aside for collection later. That is all – nothing more or less.
Yet many Bible commentaries on this verse suggest that the first day of the week was now the Sabbath. Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary for example states, "It appears from the whole that the first day of the week, ... was the day on which their principal religious meetings were held in Corinth and the Churches of Galatia; and, consequently, in all other places where Christianity had prevailed. This is a strong argument for the keeping of the Christian Sabbath."
Observe that this "strong argument" is introduced by the phrase "it appears". No Biblical evidence is given or can be given of when or how this change took place.
No wonder that with such unfounded and unscriptural assertions by those respected as instructors, there is a worldwide propagation of false Bible teachings. When you attach more importance to what some esteemed person tells you the Bible says, rather than studying the Bible for yourself to find out what it actually says, you will always end up getting man’s views instead of Yahweh’s. Your belief must be based on Yahweh’s facts and not on man’s assumptions. 1 Cor 16:2 provides no foundation for arriving at the conclusion that the Sabbath has changed. To put it as mildly as possible, such deduction is far removed from the truth.
How about Yahweh’s (the Lord’s) Day?
(Note: in this section we will use the expression the ‘Lord’s Day’ and not the correct ‘Yahweh’s Day’, as we are discussing a particular quotation exactly as it is recorded.)
A Scripture often cited as evidence of a Sunday Sabbath is Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.
We come back once again to the recurring problem of persons assuming Bible truth rather than accepting what the Bible actually says. In this instance, those who are hard-pressed to find Biblical support for their erroneous Sunday worship, take it for granted without any proof that "the Lord’s day" means Sunday.
It is a common elementary fact of the English language that the phrase "the Lord’s Day" can be re-written as "Day of the Lord", since ‘Lord’s’ is the possessive noun. It is the same as if we substituted "the father’s name" with "the name of the father". So when the apostle John wrote I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, it is the same as saying I was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord. Depending on the Bible version you use, there are between 30 and 32 times in the Bible where "the day of the Lord" is used and each time it is NOT with reference to a day of the week. Once in Isaiah 58, it was referring to Yahweh’s Day of Atonement. In all other cases it was relating to a time at the end when Yahweh’s cleansing judgement would be poured out upon the earth. It would have been incorrect to assume that ‘the Day of the Lord’, related to the weekly Sabbath or to Sunday in each of those instances, especially since it would not fit the given context.
Right at the outset, the book of Revelation itself explains that it is an account of "things which must shortly take place" Rev 1:1. So ‘the Lord’s day’ or ‘the Day of the Lord’ would seem to suggest, that we were being transported into or given a preview of future events, for indeed that is what Revelation is all about. No Greek word is used for ‘the Lord’s day’ that might suggest a specific day of the week. But the Sunday keeping fraternity in their desperate and anxious bid to bolster their false claims of a change in the Sabbath, gladly latch on to this straw, as if they had evidence that this is what John was saying or meant. Equally wrong are those Sabbath keepers who claim the expression relates to the Sabbath day.
There is no justification in believing John meant Sunday or Sabbath, when the setting of the whole book of Revelation, suggests it referred to a time at the end of the age, when Yahweh’s awesome power would be unleashed upon the earth. This is the same meaning of the "Day of the Lord" in the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and in the writings of Peter and Paul. For instance Joel 1:15 states, Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. Try substituting Sunday for ‘day of the Lord’ in this verse from Joel and all other cases in the Bible when the expression is used. Then ask yourself why this phrase in Rev 1:10 should have a meaning that is different from that of the prophets and apostles, although they were all describing the same end-time event?
This verse taken out of its context does not prove that the Sabbath was changed, and in its context it suggests a totally different meaning.
The choice is yours – the Bible or lies
We have examined all relevant Scriptures in the New Testament and were unable to find any reference in the whole New Testament to the Jews or Gentiles worshipping in the synagogue on the first day of the week as their new Sabbath. On the other hand, there are many evidences of them worshipping in the synagogue on their customary Sabbath day. The reason is simple: the apostles were mainly Israelites (more commonly referred to as Jews) who were followers of a Jewish Messiah. They believed in and lived by the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and the other books of the Tanakh (the Old Testament). Yet their messages are for the whole world – Jews and Gentiles alike. Unlike today’s false ‘followers’ of the Messiah they would have shown contempt to any thought of a ‘Sabbath’ other than the seventh day as commanded in the Torah.
Christendom has despised or ignored the Jewish roots of the Bible from whence they are supposed to have come. Please read our article 'In Search of Truth. They have rejected sections of the Bible, which they claim are no longer relevant for today or to Gentiles. By doing this, the branches that should have been grafted into the tree have separated themselves from the trunk and roots to form an insubstantial new religion. Yahshua and His commandments are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. Yahshua said in John 15:6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned". Christianity will remain like that withered branch, heading to destruction, unless they become connected to their Messiah and His much-despised laws.
Yahshua said in Matt 7:22-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, [‘Master, Master’], shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, [‘Master, Master], have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
There is not one commandment to Jews and another to Gentiles. We will all stand before the same Judge, who will apply the same set of standards to all. Paul stated in 1 Cor 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" KJV. In Ephesians 4:5 Paul also said we are all one, "One [Elohim], one faith, one baptism". What "faith" could Paul have meant, if it were not what Jude calls the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints [the fathers of old]? Jude 3.
Numbers 15:16 tells us, "One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you."
Those who keep the commandments of Yahweh and also believe in Yahshua the Messiah are hated by Satan and ridiculed by his stooges. Rev 12:17 says that The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of [Yahweh] and have the testimony of [Yahshua the Messiah].
Make no mistake about it; Yahweh said the Sabbath is the sign separating those who are His from others. The two camps are likely to become more segregated as we approach the time when Satan will be enraged at Sabbath keepers who are prepared to keep Yahweh's commandments. But Yahweh's reward will be to the true and faithful for He is taking note. A book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear [Yahweh] ... "They shall be Mine,” says [Yahweh] of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him" Mal 3:16-17. Yes, Satan will persecute those who keep the Commandments. But nothing he can do will equal the pouring forth of Yahweh's wrath, from which Yahweh's chosen people will escape and afterwards receive their eternal inheritance.
Torah (instructions of Yahweh), which include the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 with the Sabbath, are for all people everywhere who choose to come into the family tent of Yahweh. However not everyone will be willing to embrace and practise them, because the carnal mind is enmity against [Yahweh]; for it is not subject to the law of [Yahweh], nor indeed can be Rom 8:7.
The apostle John wrote, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" 1 John 2:4. Those who are truly Yahweh’s people will know that the seventh day Sabbath is a perpetual command by Yahweh, which has not been changed and never will be, since no one has the authority to change it. The Roman Catholic Church motivated by its historical anti-Jewish stance is responsible for the globalisation of Sunday worship, in total disregard of Yahweh’s commandments, but that does not make Sunday the Sabbath. That church does not have the power they think they have. Yahweh’s truths will always remain, even though some may try to usurp His authority. Satan tried that, but was dethroned, and is awaiting his final punishment. Anyone who dares to oppose Yahweh and His chosen people will receive a similar fate as Satan.
The day of reckoning is coming. Those who have been deceived by false doctrines of the adversary, should heed Paul’s message at the Areopagus in Athens, These times of ignorance [Yahweh] overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent Acts 17:30.
Yahshua said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" John 8:31-32.
If you earnestly desire to be a disciple of Yahshua and to become a true worshipper of Yahweh, then you must start to believe and practise what the Bible really says. As you do so, you will be compelled to dismiss as totally irrelevant, any religious authority that prides itself in the false and ludicrous claim that it has a divine right to violate and replace the laws of Yahweh. In the days when a copy of the Bible was not readily accessible, perhaps one could be excused for not knowing which day is the Biblical Sabbath; but now that the Scriptures are easily available, no one is defensible for this wanton disregard of the truth and flagrant disobedience to Yahweh. You "ought to obey [Yahweh] rather than men" Acts 5:29.
With the easy accessibility of information on the Internet, most persons who desire to know the truth concerning the origin of Sunday worship can find abundant facts for themselves. What is written in this article is no newly discovered secret. It is in the public domain for any who cares to search.
Conclusion
Having read this article you can no longer claim to be ignorant of the truth. Only YOU are ultimately responsible for what you believe. The Bible defines sin as the transgression of the law 1 John 3:4 KJV. Now that you know Yahweh’s instructions concerning the Sabbath, and have learned the true origin of Sunday worship, you have no excuse for continuing to dishonour Him and His Sabbath. It is time you stopped following the crowd in the idolatrous Sunday worship. The day is coming when each of us shall give account of himself to [Yahweh] Rom 14:12. As from today you will not be able to blame others, however wrong or influential they may have been. The choice is yours and yours alone. Which will it be - Yahweh's Sabbath law or Constantine's Sunday Law?
SUNDAY WORSHIP IS NOT SCRIPTURAL, AND VIOLATES YAHWEH’S SABBATH COMMAND. THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE ONLY BIBLICAL SABBATH. HONOUR IT!
Of those who love me and my commandments, even tens of thousands of generations God is showing mercy. Exodus 20 6
If you love me keep my commandments. I will ask the Father. John 14 15
I am his father, and You are in me, and, I am among you, and On that day you will know that. I will keep the commandments. He loves me. He loves me, my Father will love. I love him, and will manifest itself in him. John 14 20-21
And one of them, the scribes tried to Vex him, Rabbi, In the law and what the law is greater, if asked
Jesus said, The Lord your God with all your heart and all the love and understanding of the law, which is the first commandment. It is the great commandment. Matthew 22 35-38
Those who love me, my commandments, unto a thousand generations is God showing mercy. Deuteronomy 5 10
The fear of the Lord your God with your children. I will keep all the law forever, and may prolong your life Do you go to possess the land which I teach you, in order to He put the Lord your God decrees the law, saying, O Israel, The Lord, the God of their fathers, according to the promise You can have peace in the land flowing with milk and honey. Hear may increase greatly.
Keep with you, O Israel. Listen. He is the Lord our God is one Lord, the Lord your God with all your heart. Today, all the strength and love. I have tried to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children must be taught.. Sitting at home, Walk along the road. You lie down. You rise He must have spoken. And for a sign upon your hand, and Like the plate between your eyes must be tied. Must be written in the gates. Deuteronomy 6 1-9
The testimony of the Lord your God commanded, judgments, Laws and try to win. You can keep the rest. Deuteronomy 6 17-18
The Lord is good to this day, even as the Lord He will keep us alive, For our good always, Fear the Lord our God, This may do all the commandments of the Lord our God commanded him. Therefore, just as he Us to do all these commandments before, take heed The righteous will answer. Deuteronomy 6 24-25
Then Moses called for all Israel. Hear, O Israel, I declare to you today, decrees, and you are taught to do. Listen, the Lord our God. We will take care to his covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord of the covenant of our fathers, and he did not. Today, we all live here. Out of the fire on the mountain of the Lord, and he did. He spoke with you face to face.. Then you are afraid of fire, because he dares did not go up the mountain. I have the word of the Lord, in order to speak Standing between you and the Lord. These are the words that he spoke, I will help you out of the land of bondage in Egypt brought the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before. In the sky above, and And in the earth beneath, What is in the water under the earth, and the image and make for yourself an idol. Serve them. For Your God, I am the Lord that you are jealous, Generations of those who hate me, Third, The fourth generation shall repay all their judgments of God, Those who love me, my commandments, unto a thousand generations the name of the Lord your God is God showing mercy.. Invoke lies. For The name and lies. Mouth, but he did not sin the Lord. The Lord your God, as he put To keep the Sabbath holy, Waiting for the day.
For six days, work and work hard.. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On that day, you and your children Servants, both men and women Your animal, such as donkeys, cows Visitors who are within thy gates, temporary work. As they rested, Your male and female slaves from the rest is that they will.
And that you were slaves in Egypt, The Lord your God, and stretched out his mighty arm And that has brought you to the land of the remembrance. For this reason, You shall keep the sabbath of the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 51-15 Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am your slavery brought you out of the land of Egypt, it is the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before, and in the sky above. And in the earth beneath, In the water under the earth, like the shape of things Do the images for yourself. Do not serve them. But about I am the Lord, your God A jealous God, Generations of those who hate me, Third, Until the fourth, Repay all their judgment of them that love me, my commandments, unto a thousand generations, God is showing mercy, and lies in the name of the Lord thy God.. Invoke. For Lying with the name. Lord, innocent words that he might sanctify the Sabbath. Remember this day.
For six days, work and work hard.. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On that day, you and your children Servants, both men and women Animal. The guests who are within your gates, because temporary work. Lord of heaven, Earth,It Creator of all that is in them in six days. He rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Exodus 20 1-11
I am the Lord who sanctifies you, and you may not know Me and you throughout your generations, for it is a sign between I surely shall keep the Sabbath. Sabbath is holy because you will keep the same day. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among his people.
Six days shall work be done. The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.. For those who work on the Sabbath, will surely be put to death. So the people of Israel to their generations, Make an everlasting covenant, As the Sabbath days, it shall keep the sabbath. Between Israel and I will be an everlasting sign. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth for six days. And rested on the seventh day, He reinforced that he spoke to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. In the end, he spoke with Moses, Laying his finger and gives the two tables of the testimony. Exodus 31 13-18
Moreover over a neighbor, and I agree with the second commandment, which is the first commandment of the law. These two cars with the law is a summary of all the Prophets them. The Book of Matthew 22 39-40 in the land that the Lord your God hath given you may live long and prosper. As he put the Lord your God, your Honor thy father and mother. You shall not murder, and have not spoken with his wealth and power.. And shall not give false testimony against his neighbor, and Your neighbor and his wife with lust. The house of your neighbor and, farm, Servants, both men and women Oxen asses and anything that your neighbor and his property he said, and there is no desire on the mountain of the Lord of the word. Clouds, Out of the thick darkness with a great voice, and he spoke to all your assembly. He has not spoken again. Then he is given on two tablets of stone. I clearly. You have heard the voice out of the darkness. When the mountain was blazing, Your seed
The heads of them, The elders came to me the power, and the glory of the Lord our God hath shown us his majesty. We have heard a voice from the fire. Though he talked with God, The man is still alive, And now we have seen that. I Why must die. This great fire will consume us, and we will. Thus saith the Lord our God will die if we hear again the voice of the living God. We heard his voice, he spoke as a living creature., Came near to him. He went Thus saith the Lord our God, for all to hear from us. All that the Lord our God, the Lord spoke to him, and he listened. We will hear and act on them. So you have heard the Lord speak to me. The Lord said to Moses, For these people, I heard a voice. Everything they said was good. Generations of their descendants and the rest, The judge was angry with me. I want to keep the command. Let them be filled with, because Deuteronomy 16-29 As a neighbor, and if you do the commandment, 'You shall love For all the works of the law 14 of the book of Galatians 5.
As a neighbor, and I love the royal law found in Scripture, said that, if you keep We were doing a good thing, or show partiality. Commit sin. Transgressors of the law. But what For anyone who keeps all the law, if he is wrong, Beyond all the law of sin. Sin against the neighbor, and one of which he said, You shall not murder, and of which he said. So you have not spoken yet, Murder, He has broken the law. Liberty, as they that shall be judged according to the law speaking, For judgment is without mercy. Without mercy, Will be judged. Mercy and judgment. Boasts of the book of James. 2 8-13 we love God, If we keep his commandments, And we know that we love the children of God. Of which we know that we love him and keep his commandments. God is love. His commandments are not burdensome. Books of the book of John first 5 2-3
The love of God has loved us, and we have known and believed. God is love. Whoever lives in love abides in God. God, he remains in him.
It is filled with the love we made, On the day of judgment, and there will be opportunity to bold. For We like him in this world. And no fear in love. Fear because of the torment The perfect love cast off the fears. And he fears is not yet complete. We love because He first loved We love God, is one of them. I love God, 'and hates his brother, He is a liar himself. If you love to see his brother, Seen, how can he love God. God must love his brother loved this commandment we have from him, the first book of John. Blankets 4 16 21
The dragon of the female grudge. Obeying the commandments of God. He testified of Jesus, who has had the house, which she had left in the battle, and the commandments of God.
Revelation 12 17 And the faith of Jesus Saints who keep this endurance. Revelation 14 12
And the knowledge of the master himself, but what does he know If we keep his commandments, I know him. He does not keep his commandments because He is a liar, and the truth is not in him. You belong to your father, the devil, and. The desires of your father. From the beginning, the devil himself a murderer. Because there is no truth in the building in the ghost. When he lies to his nature, he speaks. If you love me keep my commandments is the father of the lie.gospel of John 8; 44 Whoever does not obey the voice of the Lord The love of God is perfected. We know the Lord through that book. John first four blankets 2 3
