The word of the Myanmar Baptist teachers that they were dead, and they say they have been raised, Go deviated from the truth, To others that they were overthrowing their faith. For teachers, They are false apostles. Claiming to be a messenger of Christ. Are deceptive. This is no wonder. For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Then his teacher righteous as if they profess to be, What is spoken. According to their works whose end shall be. Why do not disturb

The word of the Myanmar Baptist teachers that they were dead, and they say they have been raised, Go deviated from the truth, To others that they were overthrowing their faith. For teachers, They are false apostles. Claiming to be a messenger of Christ. Are deceptive.

This is no wonder. For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Then his teacher righteous as if they profess to be, What is spoken. According to their works whose end shall be. Why do not disturb

Catholic 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.

– http://www.GodsSabbathTruth.com

The Conversion of Constantine

ConstantineBy the time Constantine was established as the emperor of Rome in the early fourth century, there was a decided division in the church as a result of all these factors. I think most of you know that Constantine was the first so-called Christian emperor of the Roman Empire. The story of his conversion has become very well known to students of ancient history. He was marching forth to fight the battle of Milvian Bridge when he had some kind of vision, and saw a flaming cross in the sky. Underneath the cross were the Latin words meaning “In this sign conquer.” Constantine took this as an omen that he should be a Christian, and his army as well. He declared all his pagan soldiers to be Christians, and became very zealous to build up the power and prestige of the church. Through his influence great blocks of pagans were taken into the Christian ranks. But, friends, they were still pagan at heart, and they brought in much of the paraphernalia of sun-worship to which they continued to be devoted. We mentioned in a previous broadcast about the adoption of Christmas and Easter into the church. At the same time, many other customs were Christianized and appropriated into the practice of the church as well.

Sun Worship

You see, at that time the cult of Mithraism or sun-worship was the official religion of the Roman Empire. It stood as the greatest competitor to the new Christian religion. It had its own organization, temples, priesthood, robes—everything. It also had an official worship day on which special homage was given to the sun. That day was called “The Venerable Day of the Sun.” It was the first day of the week, and from it we get our name Sunday. When Constantine pressed his pagan hordes into the church they were observing the day of the sun for their adoration of the sun god. It was their special holy day. In order to make it more convenient for them to make the change to the new religion, Constantine accepted their day of worship, Sunday, instead of the Christian Sabbath which had been observed by Jesus and His disciples. Remember that the way had been prepared for this already by the increasing anti-Jewish feelings against those who were accused of putting Jesus to death. Those feelings would naturally condition many Christians to swing away from something which was held religiously by the Jews. It is therefore easier to understand how the change was imposed on Christianity through a strong civil law issued by Constantine as the Emperor of Rome. The very wording of that law, by the way, can be found in any reliable encyclopedia. Those early Christians, feeling that the Jews should not be followed any more than necessary, were ready to swing away from the Sabbath which was kept by the Jews.

Historical Accounts

Some of you may be greatly surprised by the explanation I’ve just made, and I’m not going to ask you to believe it blindly. I have before me a multitude of authorities to verify what has been said. Here are historians, Catholics and Protestants, speaking in harmony about what actually took place in the fourth century. After Constantine made the initial pronouncement and legal decree about the change, the Catholic Church reinforced that act in one church council after another. For this reason, many, many official statements from Catholic sources are made, claiming that the church made the change from Saturday to Sunday. But before I read those statements I shall refer to one from the Encyclopedia Britannica under the article, Sunday. Notice: “It was Constantine who first made a law for the proper observance of Sunday and who appointed that it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman empire.” Now you can check these statements in your own encyclopedias or go to the library and look into other historical sources.

Here is a statement from Dr. Gilbert Murray, M.A., D.Litt., LLD, FBA, Professor of Greek at Oxford University, who certainly had no ax to grind concerning Christian thought on the Sabbath question. He wrote: “Now since Mithras was the sun, the Unconquered, and the sun was the Royal Star, the religion looked for a king whom it could serve as a representative of Mithras upon earth. The Roman Emperor seemed to be clearly indicated as the true king. In sharp contrast to Christianity, Mithraism recognized Caesar as the bearer of divine grace. It had so much acceptance that it was able to impose on the Christian world its own sun-day in place of the Sabbath; its sun’s birthday, the 25th of December, as the birthday of Jesus.” History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge.

Looking a bit further into historical statements, Dr. William Frederick says: “The Gentiles were an idolatrous people who worshipped the sun, and Sunday was their most sacred day. Now in order to reach the people in this new field, it seems but natural as well as necessary to make Sunday the rest day of the church. At this time it was necessary for the church to either adopt the Gentile’s day or else have the Gentiles change their day. To change the Gentiles day would have been an offense and stumbling block to them. The church could naturally reach them better by keeping their day.” There it is, friends, a clear explanation by Dr. Frederick as to how this change happened. Another statement very parallel to this one is found in the North British Review.

But let’s move on to a statement from the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 153. “The church 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.”

Catholicism Takes Credit for the Change

St. Peter's Square and BasilicaNow a quote from the Catholic Press newspaper in Sidney, Australia. “Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. From the 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.”

The Catholic Mirror of September 23, 1894, puts it this way: “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.”

To point up the claims we’re talking about, I want to read from two Catechisms. First, from the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine by Reverend Peter Giermann. “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 transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”

Second, from Reverend Steven Keenan’s Doctrinal Catechism we read this: “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 have 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; a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.”

Then from Cardinal Gibbons’ book, The Question Box, p.179, “If the Bible is the only guide for the Christian, then the Seventh-day Adventist is right in observing Saturday with the Jew. Is it not strange that those who make the Bible their only teacher should inconsistently follow in this matter the tradition of the Catholic Church?”

One more statement taken from the book, The Faith of Millions, p. 473. “But since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn’t it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible and not from the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Yes, of course, it is inconsistency but this change was made about fifteen centuries before Protestantism was born, and by that time the custom was universally observed. They have continued the custom even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text from the Bible. That observance remains as a reminder of the Mother Church from which the non-Catholic sects broke away like a boy running away from home but still carrying in his pocket a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair.”

That is a most interesting statement, is it not, friends? And it is a very true statement. There is some inconsistency somewhere along the line, because we have examined the statements of history, and you can check them for yourself in any library. I’m not reading anything one-sided here at all. I’ve tried to give you an unbiased picture. Although we have seen the claims made by the Catholic Church in their publications, we are not reading them to cast any reflection upon anyone, by any means. We are simply bringing you a recital of what has been written and what claims have been made.

What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day

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.

(Note: All Scripture quotations are shown in blue italics. Unless otherwise indicated, they are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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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!

Many are asking what day is the Sabbath or who changed the Sabbath. How often do you hear that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday based upon Acts 20:7 despite what history reveals? You are about to discover beyond all doubt that this meeting was not even on Sunday and that breaking bread was not communion here. You may also hear some say that Constantine was not responsible for the change of the Sabbath to Sunday. This is also incorrect as the final change did in fact begin with his first Sunday law. Read on for the rest of the real story that the proponents do not want you to hear.

Paul exhorts in the following verse that Circumcision is nothing in comparison to the Ten Commandments. “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the Commandments of God.” 1 Corinthians 7:19. Since there are more than forty verses and up to ten verses at a time stating that Circumcision of the flesh is a yoke of bondage and abolished, how many scriptures would you expect stating the Sabbath was abolished or changed to Sunday? Perhaps seventy or more?

The fact is there is not even one verse that says, “The Sabbath is abolished or is now Sunday.” The Ten Commandments are the only thing that God personally spoke in such inconceivable fiery majesty, thundering His voice from the mountain top while everyone trembled in fear below, and then personally etched this magnificent law into stone tablets with His own finger. Yet there is not one clear scripture! Just a couple of erroneous assumptions. One of God's Commandments supposedly changes or is abolished and we do not have even one clear verse. Why not? The answer is simple. It was never abolished or changed to Sunday by the authority of God so no such scripture exists. It was changed to Sunday by Satan through idolatrous sun worship, hence the name SUN-day. Sunday - Dies solis (Latin) which means “day of the sun” from which we get Sunday. The English names for the days of the week are pagan names. In over 100 other languages around the world, Saturday is still called the Sabbath just as God named it at creation. This can be dated as far back as Babel in Genesis 11 where Saturday was recognized as the Sabbath day and was incorporated into the very name of the day. See the table below and note the names of the week days for the older languages. This is also very relevant for the argument that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible.

What Day is the Sabbath according to History?

Below is a Table of the Week (Showing the position of the true Sabbath). Apart from Latin and English, unless otherwise stated the name of the Seventh day means “Sabbath.”

Language 1 2 3 4 5 6 7th Day Name

Hebrew

(Ancient and Modern) One into the Sabbath Second into the Sabbath Third into the Sabbath Fourth into the Sabbath Fifth into the Sabbath Eve of Holy Sabbath Shab-bath

Shemitic

Hebrew Bible world-wide Day One Day Second Day Third Day Fourth Day Fifth Day the Sixth Yom hash-shab-bath

Day the Sabbath

Ancient Syriac

*Each day proceeds on and belongs to the Sabbath One into Sabbath Two into Sabbath Three into Sabbath Four into Sabbath Five into Sabbath Eve

(of Sabbath) Shab-ba-tho

Chaldee Syriac

Kurdistan and Urdmia, Persia One into Sabbath Two into Sabbath Three into Sabbath Four into Sabbath Five into Sabbath Eve

(of Sabbath) Shap-ta

Samaritan (Old Hebrew Letters)

Nablus, Palestine Day One Day Second Day Third Day Fourth Day Fifth Day Sixth Shab-bath

Babylonian (Written lang. 3800 B.C.)

Euphrates & Tigris Valleys Mesopotamia First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Sa-ba-tu

Arabic (Ancient and Modern)

Western. Asia, E,W & N. Africa The One The Two The Three The Four The Fifth Assembly

(day, Muham) as-sabt

The Sabbath

Coptic / Egypt

(A dead lang. for 200 years) The First Day The 2nd Day The 3rd Day The 4th Day The 5th Day The 6th Day pi sabbaton

The Sabbath

Urdu or Hindustani (2 day names)

(Muhammadan and Hindu, India) One to Sabbath. Sunday 2nd to Sabbath. Moon-day 3rd to Sabbath. Mars 4th to Sabbath. Mercury 5th to Sabbath.

(Eve of Juma) Assembly (day) shamba - Sabbath

sanichar - Saturn

Greek Sabbaton

Latin (Italy) dominica feria secunda feria tertia feria quarta feria quinta feria sexta Sabbatum

Spanish (Spain) domingo lunes martes miércoles jueves viernes Sábado

Portuguese (Portugal) domingo segunda-feira terça-feira quarta-feira quinta-feira sexta-feira Sabbado

Italian (Italy) domenica lunedì martedì mercoledì giovedì venerdì Sabbato

French (France) dimanche lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi Samedi

Sabbath day

German (Germany) sonntag montag dienstag mittwoch donnerstag freitag Samstag

Russian (Russia) voskresenye ponedelnik vtornik sreda chetverg pyatnitsa Subbota

Polish niedziela poniedzialek wtorek środa czwartek Piątek Sobota

Latin dies Solis dies Lunae dies Martis dies Mercurĭi dies Jovis dies Venĕris dies Saturni

English (Pagan names) Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

This table includes some of the oldest languages known to man. The Babylonian language for instance was in use hundreds of years before the Hebrew race was founded by Abraham. That language designated the seventh day of the week as “sa-ba-tu”, meaning Sabbath or rest day and is another indisputable proof that the Sabbath was not and is not exclusively Jewish. Very few realize that the word Sabbath and the concept of resting from work on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) is common to most of the ancient and modern languages of the world. This is evidence totally independent of the Scriptures that confirms the Biblical teaching that God's Seventh day Sabbath predates Judaism. The concept of a Saturday holy day of rest was understood, accepted and practiced by virtually every culture from Babylon through modern times. In the study of the many languages of mankind you will find two important facts:

1. In the majority of the principal languages, the last or seventh day of the week is designated as “Sabbath.”

2. There is not even one language which designates another day as the “day of rest.”

The proponents that state the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible are looking for something that does not exist and something that would contradict the words of Jesus if it did. Since History is also so clear on how the day was changed, then these proponents can only be doing one thing. If they admit the Sabbath was changed by persecution and force then they have to admit that they are worshipping on the wrong day. However, this group does not want to do that so they search the scriptures for some verse that they can make an assumption on to try and say that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible. Of course you also get the other groups that will tell you the fourth Commandment was abolished using one of hundreds of different reasons. Then there is another group that found that they could not prove from the Bible that the fourth Commandment was abolished and so they attempt to prove that ALL Ten Commandments were abolished. When you have the inconsistency of Christians teaching that it is either Ten, Nine or Zero Commandments or the day was changed, you know something is definitely very wrong and God's law is under attack. Daniel 7:25 also tells us that the little horn would change God's law and persecute the Christian saints, and of course they did both just as we are told. This also seems to be conveniently ignored or misunderstood. Watch a true story on the death of a Sabbath keeper.

Sunday cannot be the Sabbath

Before covering the real truth on the Sabbath to Sunday change, let's look further at the Bible weekly day names. In Biblical times, the days of the week were basically called 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th or Preparation and Sabbath. The numbering of the days actually revolved around the Sabbath as shown in the above table. The verses translated “first day of the week” are actually saying first day after the Sabbath. This in itself says that these days were NOT the Seventh day Sabbath! The phrase “first day of the week” in the King James Version uses the Greek words “mia” (first) “ho he to” (of the) “sabbaton” (Sabbath). The word day is an added word and does not exist in the Greek. So the phrase more correctly reads “first [day] of the sabbath” which for clarity could be translated as first day after the Sabbath or first day of the week. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible (1690-1771) commenting on Matthew 28:1 on the phrase first day of the week says: “towards the first day of the week, or “sabbaths”; so the Jews used to call the days of the week, the first day of the sabbath, the second day of the sabbath, &c. take an instance or two (z).” There would not be many people today who would understand the meaning of the phrase first of the Sabbath or second of the Sabbath etc, and so it is typically translated as first day of the week. Thus Luke in this case is saying that this day is the first day AFTER the Sabbath and hence is also saying that this day is NOT the Sabbath. It is in fact NOT possible to say that the Sabbath is Sunday due to the very names of the days of the week since they are actually named around the Sabbath and so the first day of the week can NEVER be the Sabbath. The upper portion of the Nestorian StoneThis blows both “first day of the week” arguments right out of the water before we even start.

Satan's typical perpetuated excuse for the above facts is, “Yes, the Sabbath is still Saturday but we worship on Sunday now!” To begin with, the Sabbath cannot be so called when what makes it the Sabbath is done on another day now can it? While those taking this path may feel comfortable with this reasoning, don't they realize that God will not accept such nonsense?

The image here is the upper portion of the Nestorian Stone (Hsian monument), discovered by Jesuit missionaries in 1625 AD in the province of Shensi in China. The title of the stone reads, “A monument commemorating the propagation of the Ta-Chin luminous religion (Christianity) in the middle kingdom.” The day of the stone's erection was called, “ta vao shen wan ji” meaning, “the great first of the Sabbath day.” The use of Jewish terms for the days of the week in the heart of China indicates the powerful influence of the Nestorian Church in Asia.

Would God tell us if He changed the Sabbath to Sunday?

God's Ten Commandments do not change on assumptions. If I told you that the sixth Commandment that says “thou shalt not murder” was changed because I saw in the Bible where one Christian killed another and no one said anything, would you believe me? Not a chance! And why not? Because this would be absurd reasoning and a ridiculous assumption! If we see the mention of what we think is a Sunday meeting in the Bible and say the Sabbath is now Sunday, what do we call that? The very same thing! Besides the witness of history, the names of the days, and the fact that Jesus said that not even a jot or a tittle was going to pass from the law, do we really think we have to make assumptions to decide if one of the Ten Commandments of God has changed? Of course not! There is no way that any of the Ten Commandments that define sin would change without the Bible absolutely SCREAMING the change at us so loudly the Earth would move! See also misunderstandings on Jesus fulfilling the law.

So what about those wrong conclusions or assumptions from the proponents who apparently did not understand or examine Acts 20:7 to closely or never intended to? Apart from Acts 20:7, there is also one other verse that says “first day of the week” that is less commonly used as supposed proof that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible. This is the worst of the two assumptions that one can only describe as an absolute abuse of scripture. The expression “lay by him in store” in 1 Corinthians 16:2 means putting aside at home or to store goods away. It would be a rather strange expression for passing around an offering plate don't you think? The needs at the time were clothing and food etc, which would be taken from the field or storage. Famine conditions and the need for clothing were not unusual in areas of the Middle East, as Luke reminds us in Acts 11:28-30. This explains Paul's counsel to the Corinthians to do their work on the first day of the week, “so that there be no gatherings when I come.” Such work as gathering and storing up produce from the field would certainly not be appropriate on the Sabbath. The request would have been made during the previous Sabbath meeting and the first opportunity would be the first day of the week or should we say the first day after the Sabbath.

With Acts 20:7 it is claimed that the Sabbath must have been changed to Sunday because the verse says they are breaking bread on the first day if the week. You frequently hear statements like, “It is well documented that the early church adopted Sunday as their day of worship based on Acts 20:7.” But how often do you also hear Acts 2:46 quoted when Acts 20:7 is used as the supposed conclusive proof that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible? Those who study their Bible will have also read Acts 2:46 that says they did this every day of the week! I also know of several large Churches that hold worship services on Sabbath and Sunday and both include communion. Can we hold a Church meeting on any day of the week? Can we partake of communion everyday of the week? The answer as you already know is yes to both. So on that premise alone, how could one say this proves the Sabbath was changed to Sunday? We cannot. It is a very bad assumption that gives God no credit for wisdom, intelligence or being fair. My God would tell me if He changed one of His Commandments that defines what sin is. He would not leave me to play guessing games on something that affects my salvation. What sort of a God would do that? So why is it that the proponents find Acts 20:7 but miss Acts 2:46? The answer is simple. Most people hate change and especially major changes to their lifestyle. This makes it easier for our adversary to push the majority away from the truth. So is the Seventh day Saturday or every day of the week? We can certainly worship God everyday but if we kept the Sabbath everyday, we would not be Holy, we would be LAZY. God said to keep the Seventh day and He has NEVER told us to the contrary and until such time that He does, that is what we should be doing. It is SIN not to do so and wilful, unrepented sin can have no forgiveness. See Hebrews 10:26-29.

Acts 20:7 Breaking Bread or a Fellowship Meal and was it Sunday or Saturday Night?

In Biblical days, the first day of the week did not start at midnight but at sunset. All Bible days begin and end at sunset. This meeting was after sunset and before midnight on the first day of the week. This meeting was in fact on what we would call Saturday night or Saturday evening. So much for a Sunday meeting anyway! Paul was about to depart the next day and so this was a Sabbath meeting that had been extended very late into the night. So much so that Eutychus fell asleep (Acts 20:9) while listening to Paul's long hours of preaching, and fell out the window. The Greek word parateino translated continued in Acts 20:7 means to (to stretch); to extend along, that is, prolong (in point of time).

Because so many are familiar with the term “breaking bread” being used with communion, it has become a mind set to associate this term with communion. But this is another wrong assumption. Breaking of bread was actually done at every meal. When bread was eaten at a meal, one would take the bread from the table and break of a piece. The last supper with Christ was also a meal and the bread was broken just as it would have at any other meal. The only difference was that Jesus used the bread and the wine as an analogy at the same time. The following two verses demonstrate this well. In the first verse Jesus breaks bread and feeds the multitudes and the second is the Lord's Supper. Both involved giving thanks and breaking the bread. One was communion and one was not. There is a lot of confusion over this issue among Christians and even some theologians. In any case, this took place on Saturday night and this is something that many have failed to notice. The Greek word used in both instances is also the same.

Matthew 15:36 “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

1 Corinthians 11:24 “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

Note how the Good News Bible translates the breaking of bread to the “fellowship meal” and note also how this Bible and the New English Bible translates “first day of the week” to “Saturday evening” and “Saturday night” to avoid confusion for the reader.

Acts 20:7 KJV “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”

Acts 20:7 GNB “On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.”

Acts 20:7 NEB “On the Saturday night, in our assembly for the breaking of bread, Paul, who was to leave next day, addressed them, and went on speaking until midnight.”

Acts 2:46 KJV “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,”

Acts 2:46 GNB “Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,”

After Eutychus fell asleep and fell out the window, Paul went downstairs, prayed over him and the Lord restored his life. Paul then went back up stairs and preached ALL night as he was leaving them first thing in the morning. Paul was hungry and no doubt so were those who were listening. Would they have had bread and refreshments to get them through the night? Of course. Paul says that if we take of the Lord's Supper to satisfy our hunger we take it to our condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:34). The context of the verse is that this was done for sustenance to get through a long night of preaching and was not done in reverence. In any case, this was a Saturday meeting that extended right through the night to Sunday morning and so it is not really relevant if this were communion or not but it seems more likely that it was just a meal.

Acts 20:11 “When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.”

Here is one more circumstance where food was required for strength and is definitely not communion but here we have Paul giving thanks and breaking bread again. This was a meal for strength and survival.

Acts 27:34-36 “Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.”

Why are the proponents so desperate to prove a lie?

The proponents of the Sabbath to Sunday change are so desperate to justify why they can keep Sunday as the Sabbath, that many are now looking for any event that they think may have occurred on a Sunday and saying this is their so called proof. It grieves me how Satan always manages to find someone he can use to do his bidding and attack God's Commandments. The latest supposed proof that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible is based on Pentecost being a Sunday, and so they now quote a variety of verses from Acts chapter 2. This chapter in fact does not mention the first day of the week even once. Pentecost falls on the 50th day after Passover each year, but the fact is that Passover falls on a different day every year and hence so does Pentecost. Just because it or any other event happens to fall on a Sunday sometimes does not make it a new day of worship. Pentecost fell on different days every year prior to that in both the Old and New Testament, but the Sabbath still remained on the Seventh Day!

These deceived Christians have gone as far as to say that the early Church met habitually on the first day of the week based on scriptures such as Acts chapter 2, Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2 and as we have seen so far, every argument has been a desperate attempt at proving a lie. Their argument is also that if the early Church did meet habitually on the first day of the week then the real truth on how the day was changed must be wrong. It grieves me to have to answer one more fallacy but the truth must be triumphant and Satan's lies exposed. Those who believe that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in honour of the resurrection also typically cite John 20:19, which is the upper room meeting of the disciples on the same day Jesus arose from the grave. They say this gathering on the first day of the week was to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. But when we read the Bible record of the event, we discover that the circumstances were quite different. Luke tells us that, even though the disciples were confronted with the eyewitness story of Mary Magdalene, they “believed not.” Mark 16:12-14 states, “After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” None of these disciples believed Jesus was raised so how could they have been joyously celebrating His resurrection? This is yet another shameful attempt at proving the Sabbath had changed. God's law does not change on assumptions, though this one is an outright deception! John explains their reason for being together, “…the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews…” John 20:19.

What day is the Sabbath according to Paul?

Did Paul keep the Sabbath and if so on what day? Note that we are going to use real Sabbath meeting scriptures and none will be assumptions! Acts 13:42 says “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” Paul had just finished preaching on the Sabbath and the Gentiles (NOT the Jews) asked him to preach to them again the next Sabbath. The next Sabbath? If the Sabbath was abolished or changed to Sunday, then why didn't they ask Paul to preach to them the very next day which was Sunday, the first day of the week? But not so! They asked him to come to them the next Sabbath where we see that nearly the whole city came, both Jews and Gentiles. If Sunday was the new day of worship that some erroneously claim then they would have worshipped the very next day but not so! So here is further proof that the proponents are just trying to prove a lie, and this also proves that the Sabbath was a day of worship and that this Sabbath worship was only done on this one special day. Acts 13:44 “And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”

And here we have Paul preaching three consecutive Sabbath days and hence not on other days and was always for Jews and Gentiles. Acts 17:2 “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,” Acts 18:4 “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.”

So what day was Paul keeping as the Sabbath? We also know the answer by the names of the days of the week but let's look at this anyway. Paul was a Pharisee and hence a Jew and followed the Jewish ways to the strictest letter. Acts 26:4-5 “The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.” Now notice in the following verse that this is a Jewish synagogue and Jews have all through history, without change, worshipped on Saturday as they still do today. Note that Paul is only seen preaching in the synagogue on Sabbath days and not on any other day. Three consecutive ones here for an example. Acts 17:2 “…they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his CUSTOM was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” It was not only Paul's custom and example to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath in establishing the early Church but that of Jesus also and He is our perfect example. Luke 4:16. There are many such scriptures of Jesus and Paul preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath but not one single verse exists where anyone preached in the synagogue on the first day of the week!

The Pharisees falsely accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath and are found numerous times being extremely loud over the issue of Sabbath keeping to the point of making the day a burden instead of a blessing. We find Jesus correcting them on this numerous times as a result. If Paul had ever kept any other day than Saturday, the Pharisees would have condemned Paul in an instance. Did this ever happen?

After they arrested Paul and put him on trial before the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees said, “we find no evil in this man” Acts 23:9. Paul stated before Felix, “so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” Acts 24:14. To Festus Paul declared, “Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all ... to the Jews have I done no wrong.” Acts 25:8, 10. And to Agrippa Paul said, “I continue unto this day ... saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.” Acts 26:22. Did the prophets or Moses say that “Sunday keeping should come.” No! Paul finally spoke to the Jews in Rome, “persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.” Acts 28:23. During all of Paul's trials, the Jews not so much as once accused Paul of breaking the Sabbath. Why? Because Paul never did! Paul was a Pharisee since childhood and so there can be no doubt that Saturday is the only day Paul ever kept!

Some say that the Sabbath is not a day of worship but scripture definitely shows otherwise. What day was the custom of Jesus and Paul to preach and worship on? Many Churches today hold worship services on any day of the week but in the beginning it is perfectly clear that they only did this on the Seventh day Sabbath. I am not saying that we cannot worship on other week days but just want you to note that in the days of the early Church, they only held worship services on the Sabbath day. You can consider what this means for yourself but you may like to consider if any of the scriptures we are quoting are assumptions. Are Acts chapter 2, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2 and John 20:19 assumptions? Do any of these scriptures say, “Paul was preaching in the synagogue on the NEW Sabbath that is now Sunday.” or “Paul was preaching in the synagogue on the first day of the week which is the NEW Sabbath.” or “Jesus changed His mind and now He is going to change His law by more than a jot or a tittle and has changed the Sabbath to Sunday?” If the Sabbath was changed to Sunday in the Bible and the early Church was worshipping habitually on the first day of the week as those deceived try and tell us, there would certainly be no shortage of scriptures showing someone worshipping in the Synagogue (Church) on the first day of the week. However, did you know that there is not one single verse or one single person found worshipping in the Synagogue on the first day of the week anywhere in the Bible? There are however heaps of scriptures that show it was only the Sabbath the early Church habitually worshipped on. Unlike those trying to prove a fallacy, you will note that these scriptures are not assumptions: Mark 1:21, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:16, Luke 6:6, Luke 13:10, Acts 13:14, Acts 13:27, Acts 13:42, 44, Acts 15:21, Acts 17:1-2 and Acts 18:4.

The Sabbath and the New Covenant

The following story also reveals what many do not understand and further proves that a Sabbath to Sunday change in the Bible is absolutely impossible.

I had just finished preaching on the subject of the Sabbath in one of my evangelistic crusades. As I stepped off the platform to greet people as they left, three young men blocked my way in the aisle. One of them addressed me in quite a loud voice… loud enough to cause about fifty people near the front of the auditorium to stop and listen. “Dear brother” he said, “we were disappointed tonight with the way you put us back under the Old Covenant. Don't you realize that we are living under the New Covenant now, and should keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath?” Although most of the congregation were leaving the Church, the group near the front gathered closer to hear all that the young men were saying. It was obvious that I would have to take the time to answer this trio's challenging question. As I suspected, they turned out to be young seminarians in training at a local Bible college. Eagerly they held their Bibles in their hands and waited triumphantly for me to answer. Usually, I do not like to debate controversial matters in a public forum for fear of stirring combative natures, but there seemed no way to avoid dealing with these ministerial students. Anyway, they had my path completely blocked and the circle of listeners looked at me expectantly for some explanation. “Well, it seems as though you have studied the subject of the covenants quite deeply,” I suggested. “Oh, yes,” they affirmed, “we know all about the covenants.” “Good,” I replied. “You undoubtedly know when the Old Covenant was instituted.” One of them spoke up quickly, “It was instituted at Mt. Sinai.” “And how was it ratified?” I asked. Without a moment's hesitation one of them answered, “By the sprinkling of the blood of an ox.” “Very good,” I commented, “and how was the New Covenant ratified?” All three chorused the answer, “By the blood of Jesus on the cross.” I commended the young men for their knowledge of the Scriptures and asked them to read me two verses out of their own Bibles. Galatians 3:15 and Hebrews 9:16-17. They responded eagerly to the invitation, and read the verses, commenting on each one after reading. “We agree that the New Covenant did not go into effect until after Christ died, and nothing can be added or taken away after He ratified it on he cross,” the spokesman for the group asserted. All three nodded their heads emphatically over this point. I said, “Now you must answer two more questions for me. Here is the first one, and you must think carefully to give me the correct answer: When did Sunday-keeping begin?” There was a moment of shocked silence, and then another, and another. The boys looked at each other, and then down at their feet, and then back at me. I gently prodded them for the answer, “Surely you can tell me the answer to this question. You have known all the others, and have answered correctly. When and why do you think people began keeping Sunday?” Finally, one of them said, “We keep Sunday in honour of the resurrection of Jesus.” I said, “Then I must ask you my last question. How could Sunday keeping be a part of the New Covenant? You just stated that nothing could be added after the death of Christ. He died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday. If Sunday was added after Jesus died, it could never be a part of the New Covenant could it?” The three young men shuffled their feet, looked helplessly around, and one of them said, “We will study into that and talk to you later.” They then fled from that auditorium as fast as they could go and I can assure you that they never returned to talk further about the covenants.

Besides the witness of history and how many died for keeping the Seventh day Sabbath because of the real truth on how the day was changed, there can be no doubt that those who say the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday based on Acts 20:7 are deceived and are either deliberately trying to avoid the fourth Commandment or just did not bother to study scripture and history. The last thing we need is people assisting Satan in disobeying God's Ten Commandments. My apologies for being direct but it really grieves me to see Christians that claim to love God with all their heart, soul and might, but fight with all their heart, soul and might to bury one of the Ten Commandments of God that is a SIGN that He is our God that we love and worship and God that sanctifies us making us Holy when we keep His Sabbath Holy. Does one really believe we have to try and establish if one of the Ten Commandments changed by going, “Hey! That looks like a Sunday meeting. God must have changed the day,” and how could this be when Jesus said that not one jot or tittle of the law is changing? The fourth is the biggest of the Ten Commandments and a jot or tittle is equivalent to crossing your “T's” and dotting your “I's.”

If God said to you, “I added an extra day of the week at creation just so you can rest and spend really good quality time with me, so will you please put all work to one side on this day and devote it entirely to me?” Would you reply, “no way God, forget it! I have other things to do. It is legalism and to much of an effort, I don't have to do that. That day is not convenient for me but I will spend some time with you on Sunday if you like.” Is this how most would really respond to God? Apparently so, because this is what many Christians are doing when they try to make God's Ten Commandments into nine or even none. The majority are doing this, however, there are many doing this in ignorance because people have deceived them with wrong information that are also deceived or would like others to join them so they feel more comfortable in their act of disobedience. These people spend their time putting up web sites condemning and attacking those who love God and find this day a delight. There is no doubt what spirit is behind this. Acts 20:7 is just one example and you can see just how wrong they are. Below are a few of the other common excuses in brief detail that people come up with to try and avoid the fourth Commandment.

Common Sabbath Day misunderstandings

The Sabbath of the Lord is not a ceremonial sabbath that was practised because of sin. Breaking it or any of the Ten Commandments is sin. The ceremonial law was written in a book and why it was also called the “Book of the Covenant.” This is where God would have written it if it was for Israel only but God wrote it in stone with the other nine Commandments. Have you ever heard the expression it is not written in stone? Written in stone means forever. On paper and in a book is temporary. So put very simply, God had two main laws. One was temporary and only for the Jews and was nailed to the cross. The other was written in stone and was eternal and for everyone. If the Sabbath of the Lord was temporary and only for the Jews, which law would you place it in? Would you place it in the temporary law or the eternal law? So did God place it in the temporary law that was only for the Jews? No! God placed it in the law that was eternal and for everyone! So unless God is the author of confusion, then this alone reveals the truth. God makes a distinction between His Sabbath and the ceremonial sabbaths in the Ten Commandments by exhorting, “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God:” (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14). It is the Lord's Sabbath! It did not belong to Israel. God further demonstrates this by calling His Sabbath, “My Sabbaths,” as in His weekly Sabbaths, (Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:20) while calling the ceremonial sabbaths that were only for Israel, “Her Sabbaths.” (Hosea 2:11, Lamentations 1:7) Loving God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself does not turn the Ten Commandments into nine or none. (Matthew 22:35) Jesus said ALL the law hang on these two Commandments as He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5, which is 17 verses after the second reading of the Ten Commandments when no one can argue the fourth Commandment was being kept. The Sabbath has existed since creation (only reason we have a seven day week) before sin and Jews and God asked us to “remember” the day when He personally gave His law and all flesh keep the Sabbath forever in the new Heaven and Earth. (Isaiah 66:22-23) Luke 23:56 says they “rested the Sabbath day according to the Commandment.” and Luke was written 30 to 50 years after the cross. Jesus confirmed the Sabbath would still be kept when the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. (Matthew 24:20) and yet another proof of Sabbath keeping in the New Testament. Leading historians say the Sabbath was kept by everyone until around 90-120 A.D. where persecution for Judaism became so intense that some began keeping Sunday saying it was in honour of the resurrection to avoid persecution. Baptism is the memorial of the resurrection commanded in the Bible. God attested the correct day matters when he tested His children to see if they would keep His Commandments by testing if they would keep THE seventh day. (Exodus 16:4-30) We worship God everyday but if we kept the Sabbath everyday, we would not be Holy, we would be lazy. We should not mock God when He says the Seventh Day by telling Him He is wrong saying we can keep any day or the day does not matter. It is not the Sabbath of the Jews. There were no Jews at creation or when the Ten Commandments were given, and God is not a God of confusion that mixes temporary laws with eternal laws. The Ten Commandments are love and for everyone. This should be obvious to anyone who truly loves God with all their heart! The Ten Commandments or Sabbath were not nailed to the cross according to Colossians 2:16. Paul speaks of the ordinances (ceremonial law) which had yearly ceremonial sabbaths that were nailed to the cross. Galatians 4:10 does not say that we can observe any day or that the Sabbath was bondage. Paul refers to the ceremonial law here also that he called bondage, which it was, and this law did include Days, Times, Months and Years. We cannot decide to keep or not keep the Sabbath based on Romans 14:5, which is about Jews and Gentiles judging one another and was over the yearly feast days of the ceremonial law. Note the following Commentary on Romans 14:5 and how it associates all three of these passages and with the ceremonial law. See also confusion between the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial law.

People's New Testament by B. W. Johnson. One man esteemeth one day above another. A second difference of opinion is now cited. Some, Jewish converts or Gentiles who did not understand that the old covenant was ended, believed that the Jewish [ceremonial] Sabbaths and new moons should be kept sacred. Compare Col 2:16, and Gal 4:10.

While comparing these two passages, note that the ceremonial law (Mosaic Law, Ordinances, Law of Moses etc) had meat and drink offerings, Holy feast (days), new moons (months) and sabbaths (yearly) that were only for the Jews and ended at the cross. See also Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes Commentaries on Colossians 2:14-16 and Albert Barnes and People's New Testament Commentaries on Galatians 4:10 and in addition to People's New Testament above see Adam Clarke's Commentary on Romans 14:5.

When it comes to the fourth Commandment, there seems to be three basic groups of people. Group 1 know the truth and keep all Ten Commandments and state that the fourth Commandment is a blessing and their favourite day of the week. (Isaiah 58:13-14) Group 2, which is comprised of most Churches have one of a 101 different excuses. Group 3 is the Catholic Church and they have only one excuse: “We can change the law of God.” The crazy thing is that group 2 with all their different excuses very rarely know that group 3 changed the Commandment and is why they worship on Sunday. Satan really has this one all wrapped up and claps his hands with glee with the victory he has achieved over this one very special Commandment that is not just about resting but defines who we worship.

Note: Satan has always had a long term plan in attacking the law of God, which should be blatantly obvious to us, and is desperate to keep Christians from discovering the real truth on the fourth Commandment. As a result you will find that he has had no trouble in finding those that he can bring against the truth. The deceived however are fairly easy to spot as they claim the early Church worshipped habitually on the first day of the week based on those few scriptures that we covered and have proven to be nothing but deliberate attempts at proving a lie. They also often attack the issue of sun worship, Constantine and the Catholic Church saying that people quoting the truth cannot make up their mind who changed the Sabbath to Sunday or they even claim that none were involved and deny all the historical quotes while giving some of their own quotes from those who did yield to temptation and began keeping Sunday in honour of the resurrection against God's will. The truth that they usually avoid is that all three played a part in the Sabbath to Sunday change. Also typically quoted are Colossians 2:16, Galatians 4:10 and Romans 14:5. These as you have seen are also quoted in ignorance and if you understand these passages you will be able to easily identify those deceived by those quoting them which thereby demonstrates they have no idea what the truth is. See Colossians 2:14-16 for very detailed information on this passage as well as Galatians 4:10 and Romans 14:5. See also Galatians and the law for truth on a very abused and misunderstood book.

The Sabbath to Sunday change

We now know that the change of the Sabbath to Sunday did not occur in the Bible and the real truth will permanently seal the death of this fallacy. Leading historians say the Sabbath was kept by the majority until at approximately 90-120 A.D. where persecution for Judaism became so intense that some began keeping Sunday saying it was in honour of the resurrection to avoid persecution and death. The first areas where Sunday keeping began was Rome and Alexandria but the exact year is not known. While some of the facts may be somewhat sketchy, there are plenty of solid facts that make it perfectly clear how the day was changed. What is also abundantly clear is that Judaism had become much hated and why some Christians had changed to Sunday in fear of persecution and their lives. Constantine also knew this and with sun worship now being so popular throughout the Roman Empire realized he would not get much opposition to a Sunday change. So here is a brief exegesis on how the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday. See the origin of Babylon and Sun worship first for a much better understanding of this topic and the real origin of the change.

In Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus predicted that every stone of the Jewish Temple would be “thrown down.” This occurred when the temple was destroyed by the Romans during “The First Jewish War” in 70 A.D. When the Romans made war again with the Jews from 132-135 A.D., the Roman Emperor Hadrian banished all Jews from Palestine. These Jewish Wars took place after the book of Acts was written and resulted in great pressure upon the early Christian Church to move away from anything that “appeared Jewish,” including the Sabbath. Since Sunday was already popular throughout the Roman Empire as a day for sun worship, some Christian leaders (now called the early “Church Fathers”) yielded to temptation and began shifting from “Sabbath to Sunday.” “Jesus Christ rose on Sunday!” became their rationalizing cry. Thus they used the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who “died for our sins” of which sin is the breaking of God's Law (1 John 3:4), as an excuse to break one of the Ten Commandments. Because these early “Church Fathers” yielded to temptation and began keeping Sunday in honour of the resurrection, this also eventually resulted in Sunday being called the Lord's day but it was not and is not the Lord's day as so designated in the Bible. Just like today, these people chose tradition and their own ideas rather then the Commandment of God. (Mark 7:6-9)

Before the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., a strong Christian Church was planted inside the city of Rome itself in the heart of the Roman Empire. Paul wrote his letter, “The Epistle of Paul to the Romans,” to those early believers “in Rome.” Romans 1:7. But because it was surrounded by paganism inside the world's mightiest capital, this Church soon experienced a “falling away” (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3) from the purity of the gospel and meta morphed into the wealthy and powerful Roman Catholic Church. This transition especially took place during the time of the Emperor Constantine in the 4th century who favoured the Roman Catholic Church above all other Churches.

In 312 A.D., prior to his pivotal victory over his rival Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine became a “Christian” after claiming to see in broad daylight a vision of “a cross above the sun” with these words emblazoned, “in hoc signo vinces” (by this sign conquer”). After defeating his enemies and becoming Emperor of Rome, Constantine presided in full royal pomp over the “First Council of Nicea” in 325 A.D.

As a shrewd political genius, his scheme was to unite Christianity and paganism in an effort to strengthen his disintegrating empire. Constantine knew that pagans throughout the empire worshiped the sun on “the first day of the week,” and he discovered that many Christians and especially in Rome and Alexandria also kept Sunday because Christ rose from the dead on that day. So Constantine developed a plan to unite both groups on the common platform of Sunday keeping. On March 7, 321 A.D., he passed his famous national Sunday law:

First Sunday Law enacted by Emperor Constantine - March, 321 A.D.

“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. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time [A.D. 321].)” Source: Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol.3 (5th ed.; New York: Scribner, 1902), p.380, note 1.

Now a professed Christian, Constantine nevertheless remained a devout sun worshipper. “The sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine,” notes Edward Gibbon in his classic Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. xx, par. 3.

Constantine even printed coins which “bore on the one side the letters of the name of Christ, on the other the figure of the sun god.” Arthur P. Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, lect. vi, par. 14.

Again, Constantine's promotion of Sunday observance was part of his definite strategy to combine paganism with Christianity: “The retention of the old pagan name of dies Solis, or 'Sunday,' for the weekly Christian festival, is in great measure owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects, pagan and Christian alike, as the ‘venerable day of the Sun.’” Stanley's History of the Eastern Church, p. 184.

In spite of the rising popularity of Sunday sacredness, Church historian Socrates Scholasticus (5th century) wrote: “For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries [of the Lord's Supper] on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this.” Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, ch. 22. Another historian also confirmed this by stating, “The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria.” Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, ch. 19. Thus even in the 5th century, Sabbath keeping was universally prevalent (except in Rome and Alexandria), along with Sunday keeping. Many Christians kept both days. But as the centuries wore on, Sunday keeping grew in prominence and especially within Roman Catholic territories.

In 330 A.D., Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople (modern Istanbul), thus preparing the way for the Roman Catholic Popes to reign in Rome as the successors of Constantine. As the Papal Church grew in power, it opposed Sabbath observance in favour of Sunday sacredness and outlawed resting on the Sabbath in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363-364). Constantine's change was accepted by the Papal Church and the Sabbath to Sunday change was well under way. Some correctly teach that Constantine only instituted the first Sunday law, but they very conveniently fail to acknowledge the remainder of the story. See also did Constantine change the Sabbath.

Who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?

In the Council of Laodicea around the year A.D. 364, the Catholic Church decreed 59 Canon laws. The following Canon law XXIX is very clear and cannot be disputed. Did the Catholic Church outlaw Seventh day Sabbath keeping? There can be no doubt and even they make no attempt to hide it. Note that this law also reveals the hatred for Judaism. The Jews of course have always kept the Seventh day Sabbath very strictly and some to the point of making it a burden rather than a blessing and this explains a lot. The Pharisees were guilty of doing this and we find Jesus correcting them many times. Canon law number 29 is as follows:

Canon XXIX: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.” (Percival Translation).

Sadly, there is no shortage of professed Christians teaching against the fourth Commandment but thankfully some lose credibility straight away and prove their ignorance by calling it a Jewish Sabbath. This as we saw previously is not only unbiblical but also impossible. Most of the proponents quote only want they want you to see to support their fallacy and so are not likely to quote Canon law XXIX unless done dishonestly. I especially doubt that you will ever find any of the proponents giving the quotes from the Catholic Church shown below as they know their attack on God's law would suddenly lose all credibility. The Catholic Church believe they are above the Word of God and can change the Ten Commandments. This of course is not true. Below are a few quotes on what the Papal Church have to say about the Ten Commandments and being able to change the law of God. The Catholic Church may be wrong on a lot of things but everything about these quotes below is true. When they say they changed the Sabbath to Sunday they are not delusional and they speak truth. See also who changed the Sabbath to Sunday or the History of Sun-Day Worship for more detailed and enlightening information on how Sunday worship actually began 2000 years before Christ and for the origin of 666 the number of the beast.

“The Pope is of great authority and power, that he is able to modify, declare, or interpret even divine laws. The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth...” — Lucius Ferraris, in “Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica, Historica”, Volume V, article on “Papa, Article II”, titled “Concerning the extent of Papal dignity, authority, or dominion and infallibility”, #30, published in Petit-Montrouge (Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition.

Even those responsible for the final change of the Sabbath to Sunday know that those two first day of the week scriptures are not a new day of worship. Note also that they know that 1 Corinthians 16:2 was laying aside goods for charity that would not be done on Sabbath but the first day after.

“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.

Who Do We Reverence by Keeping Sunday Holy?

“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.

“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 hereEnright $1000 confession for a document clip or select for the full original image.

Who Made Sunday Holy?

“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.

“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.

Does the Bible support the change to Sunday?

“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).

“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.”

Whose Day of Worship is Sunday?

“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.

“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.

Why do we find the Catholic Church making fun of Sunday keeping Protestants in the above quotes? Because the Catholic Church through murder and persecution became the only Church in existence for hundreds of years known as the dark ages. As Martin Luther and others found out that the Papal Church was the first beast of Revelation 13, the Protestant reformation got under way. But the problem was that the fourth Commandment was nearly completely lost by the time this happened. As these Protestants discovered that antichrist was the Roman Catholic Church, they began all these new Protestant Churches but after so many centuries of persecution, they continued keeping the pagan day Sunday for worship in ignorance. If the Catholic Church had not changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, we would all be worshipping on Saturday today.

James 2:10-12 says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

Every single person will be judged by the mighty moral code of the Ten Commandments. To break just one is to be guilty of sin. The Bible demonstrates that the Ten Commandments are like a chain of ten links. When one link is broken, the whole chain is broken. Those who stand in the judgment will have to meet the acid test of the Ten Commandments. If a practicing thief should seek entrance into the kingdom, he would be rejected. This is why Paul says thieves will not inherit the heavenly city. Furthermore, the Bible specifically declares that idolaters, adulterers, liars and covetous men will not be in the kingdom. Why? Because the Ten Commandments forbid those things and men will be judged finally by this law. Not one single person will be admitted into heaven who is WILFULLY (Hebrews 10:26-29) violating any one of the Ten Commandments because breaking anyone of the Ten Commandments is breaking them all. We find a good example of this in Exodus 16:4-30. Just like today, these non-Jews thought that God did not mean what He said when He said the Seventh day. So how did God respond to them? He accused them of breaking ALL His Commandments and laws.

Some may object that this is making works the basis of entering the kingdom. Not so. This is making love the qualifying factor. Jesus said that the greatest Commandment of all is to love God supremely. Quoting from the second of the Ten Commandments, Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my Commandments.” John 14:15. Those who practice any known sin are really confessing that they do not love God with all their heart, soul and mind. So it is the lack of love that shuts them out and not the act of disobedience that exposes that lack. Only when love is motivating the obedience does it become acceptable to God. Any other work is man's vain attempt to earn salvation and to deny the efficacy of Christ's atoning sacrifice.

We should now realize that the Ten Commandments do not change based on assumptions. If something as vital as the Ten Commandments that define love and sin were to change, then God would have VERY clear scriptures saying so. We know we can rule out was the Sabbath changed to Sunday in the Bible but are there scriptures (there should be many) that say the fourth Commandment is abolished? If the answer is no, then it is just as much sin to not keep the Seventh day Holy as it is to murder. Those with wisdom reading this now will also realize that Satan is behind both this change and those who attack this truth and with very good reason. So what should we do now?

Acts 5:29 “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

For more information on the Sabbath you may like to start with the Sabbath day. See also the Catholic version of the Ten Commandments. I plead with all you dear Catholics especially to read is the Catholic Church God's true Church and was Peter the first Pope? See also who or what is the Antichrist and the Sabbath to Sunday change.