What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day
Question: "What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Do Christians have to observe the Sabbath day?"
Answer: It is often claimed that “God instituted the Sabbath in Eden” because of the connection between the Sabbath and creation in Exodus 20:11. Although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future Sabbath law, there is no biblical record of the Sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that Sabbath-keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.
The Word of God makes it quite clear that Sabbath observance was a special sign between God and Israel: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested” (Exodus 31:16–17).
In Deuteronomy 5, Moses restates the Ten Commandments to the next generation of Israelites. Here, after commanding Sabbath observance in verses 12–14, Moses gives the reason the Sabbath was given to the nation Israel: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15).
God's intent for giving the Sabbath to Israel was not that they would remember creation, but that they would remember their Egyptian slavery and the Lord's deliverance. Note the requirements for Sabbath-keeping: A person placed under that Sabbath law could not leave his home on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29), he could not build a fire (Exodus 35:3), and he could not cause anyone else to work (Deuteronomy 5:14). A person breaking the Sabbath law was to be put to death (Exodus 31:15; Numbers 15:32–35).
An examination of New Testament passages shows us four important points: 1) Whenever Christ appears in His resurrected form and the day is mentioned, it is always the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, 9, 10; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:1, 13, 15; John 20:19, 26). 2) The only time the Sabbath is mentioned from Acts through Revelation it is for evangelistic purposes to the Jews and the setting is usually in a synagogue (Acts chapters 13–18). Paul wrote, “to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews” (1 Corinthians 9:20). Paul did not go to the synagogue to fellowship with and edify the saints, but to convict and save the lost. 3) Once Paul states “from now on I will go to the Gentiles” (Acts 18:6), the Sabbath is never again mentioned. And 4) instead of suggesting adherence to the Sabbath day, the remainder of the New Testament implies the opposite (including the one exception to point 3 above, found in Colossians 2:16).
Looking more closely at point 4 above will reveal that there is no obligation for the New Testament believer to keep the Sabbath, and will also show that the idea of a Sunday “Christian Sabbath” is also unscriptural. As discussed above, there is one time the Sabbath is mentioned after Paul began to focus on the Gentiles, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16–17). The Jewish Sabbath was abolished at the cross where Christ “canceled the written code, with its regulations” (Colossians 2:14).
This idea is repeated more than once in the New Testament: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord” (Romans 14:5–6a). “But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years” (Galatians 4:9–10).
But some claim that a mandate by Constantine in A.D. 321 “changed” the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. On what day did the early church meet for worship? Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul urges the Corinthian believers “on the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection must have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century.
The Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. But the Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law, and Christians are free from the bondage of the Law (Galatians 4:1-26; Romans 6:14). Sabbath keeping is not required of the Christian—be it Saturday or Sunday. The first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10) celebrates the New Creation, with Christ as our resurrected Head. We are not obligated to follow the Mosaic Sabbath—resting, but are now free to follow the risen Christ—serving. The Apostle Paul said that each individual Christian should decide whether to observe a Sabbath rest, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). We are to worship God every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday.
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Introduction
On ‘Easter’ Sunday, 7 April 1996, the Archbishop of Canterbury, England stated on Sir David Frost’s television program, ‘The Easter Enigma’ that the apostles, "these very devout Jews, changed their holy day from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week …why? Because the resurrection happened."
Not only from the highest religious authority in England, but throughout most of Christendom, Sunday is considered to be the replacement of the seventh day Sabbath, but is this true? Let us find out what the Bible tells us.
Which Day does the Bible say is the Sabbath?
In Exodus 20:8-11, Yahweh said to the children of Israel through Moses: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of [Yahweh] your [Elohim]. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore [Yahweh] blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Observe Yahweh said, the SEVENTH day is "holy", and that He blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Why? Because in six days [Yahweh] made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That was and is Yahweh’s reason for making the day holy, and for commanding us to keep it holy. It cannot be changed for as long as the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, remain. His creation work is already completed and cannot be undone. Therefore the explanation He gave for choosing the seventh day will always stand, except He Himself decided to change His reasons and the day. Now let us suppose that He subsequently made a decision to alter His Sabbath commandment, it would seem right that He would tell us just as plainly of that amendment as He did in enacting this law for the first time.
There is definitely no record wherever the word ‘Sabbath’ is used in either the Old or New Testament that Yahweh ever made this change or intended or authorised anyone to do so.
The Sabbath is not like a national holiday that this world’s leaders can arbitrarily change. They are not man’s Sabbaths, or even the Jewish Sabbaths. They are Yahweh’s Sabbaths.
In Ex 31:13, 16, Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely MY SABBATHS you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am [Yahweh] who sanctifies you ... Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant'".
Here Yahweh has said that HIS Sabbath has special significance as a mark of identification of His chosen (set apart) people. It is for all times without end as a perpetual covenant, which means it shall never be changed. In Malachi 3:6 Yahweh said, "I am [Yahweh], I do not change". Since He is unchanging, there is absolutely no possibility that He would replace His seventh day Sabbath of rest, which He sanctified on the seventh day of the creation week, and established as a "perpetual covenant".
The weekly Sabbath is of great importance to Yahweh. In Leviticus 23 He commanded Moses to tell the people, which specific days were His holy appointed times for ceasing from work, and to assemble for meetings. Only Yahweh has the power to make any day holy. Man has no such authority. Therefore when Yahweh says that a particular day is holy (sacred, blessed, hallowed, consecrated and divine), it does not give anyone the freedom to choose an alternative day. The weekly Sabbath day, was first on Yahweh's list of appointed times, which He gave in Leviticus 23.
Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The feasts [appointments] of [Yahweh], which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts [appointments]. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of [Yahweh] in all your dwellings" (verses 2-3).
The chapter continues with details of His annual appointments or times for meeting Him. Each of Yahweh's designated days is of special significance to Him and has its own meaning. Together they represent an indivisible package that we are to embrace.
The excuse for Sunday Worship
It is clear throughout the Old Testament that the Sabbath is fixed for all times and will not be changed. In spite of this, most ‘Christians’ believe that Yahshua’s resurrection on a Sunday morning is a good enough reason to worship on a Sunday instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Indeed they actually believe that the day of Yahshua's resurrection has precedence over the weekly Sabbath that Yahweh has ordained.
Another reason that is often given why non-Jews should not keep the weekly Sabbath, is that it applies only to Israelites by birth. If that were true, then Abraham, Isaac, Noah and all persons who were not descendants of Jacob would not have observed the Sabbath, even though it had begun from the week of creation. It is also incorrect since we are told in Leviticus 24:22 "You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am [Yahweh] your [Elohim]."
Many Gentiles, who accept that Yahshua is the Messiah, believe they have been grafted into the family that was once reserved only for Yahweh's people in the Old Testament. This is Biblically correct. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as [Yahweh] our [Elohim] will call" Acts 2:39. With privileges also come responsibilities. If the commandments were applicable only to Israelites and their predecessors, then by coming into the Israelite family, the 'stranger' is required to abide by the same original rules, for You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country.
Yahshua said in John 4:23 "the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth". Whatever may be one's origin, anyone who is a true worshipper, will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The 'spirit and truth' are the same for all people and for all times. Like Yahweh Himself, His truth endures to all generations Ps 100:5.
Having the desire to honour the day of our Saviour's resurrection is good, but if you do so in a way that disobeys and dishonours the Father's instructions, then you are not worshipping in truth, and by Yahshua’s definition, you are not a true worshipper. Yahshua always obeyed the Father, and declared, "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" John 6:38. This is what all true worshippers should seek to do.
Matthew, Mark and Luke's Resurrection Version
Since it is said that the disciples changed the Sabbath day, let us see if Matthew, Mark and Luke provided any suggestion of this change in their report of the resurrection. Did they in their records indicate that the day of Yahshua's resurrection displaced and was of greater significance than the weekly Sabbath?
Matt 28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Here Matthew, who had been a disciple of Yahshua and would have known when was the Sabbath, tells us quite plainly that the Sabbath ended BEFORE the first day of the week dawned. This means that at least to Matthew, Sabbath and Sunday were two different days. He has not specified or even implied that Yahshua’s resurrection had brought about a change in the day of Sabbath.
Mark gives the following account:
Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen Mark 16:1,2.
Mark also says that the Sabbath had passed before the first day of the week came - two separate days are clearly indicated here. Mark was not aware that the Sabbath had changed to the first day of the week, even though he had written this some time after the resurrection.
Luke 23:55-56 tells us, the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
We can safely take this to mean that the women rested according to the commandment in the Torah (the instructions of Yahweh in the first five books of the Old Testament). Exodus 35:2 for example states: the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to [Yahweh]. That is the day on which these women would have rested. Luke continues his account in the next verse, where he wrote: Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared Luke 24:1. Clearly the women came to the tomb on the day following their rest on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
As in Matthew and Mark, the first day of the week came AFTER the Sabbath, and there is not even the slightest hint of a change of the day on which Sabbath was observed. Matthew, Mark and Luke, as followers of Yahshua who practised the Torah, knew fully well which day was the Sabbath according to the commandment. Out of respect and love of Yahshua and the Torah they would not have considered violating the commandments of Yahweh. To them, in spite of Yahshua's resurrection on the first day of the week, Sabbath was still the unalterable seventh day. They were true worshippers who worshipped the Father in spirit and truth on the Sabbath day as He had commanded.
Yahshua and the Sabbath
What was Yahshua’s attitude towards the laws? Did He come to change them? Definitely no! Yahshua was the best teacher of the Torah. True followers of Yahshua will follow Him and He followed the Torah. He did not come to start a new religion apart from the foundation established in the Old Testament. Rather He came to build upon it.
Yahshua said in Matthew 5:17-18 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah -- not until everything that must happen has happened" Complete Jewish Bible. Above all others He would not and did not change or break the Sabbath law. He merely expanded the full meaning of what had been given before.
Did He keep the seventh day Sabbath or the first day of the week?
Mark 1:21 tells us they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.
Mark 6:2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.
Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read
Note as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day – not on the first day of the week. In a Jewish society, Sabbath means only one thing, the seventh day that is popularly known as Saturday, and that was the day Luke meant when he wrote this verse.
Luke 6:6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
Not even once was it specified that Yahshua went into the temple to teach "on the first day of the week”. There is record that He taught daily in the temple "I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me" Mark 14:49. But there is no special mention that He had been in the Temple on a particular day, other than Sabbath.
Yahshua taught His followers, "Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath" Matt 24:20.
Yahshua was here teaching about a future occurrence in the time of the tribulation (see verse 21), and which would occur a long time after He had been resurrected. This event has not yet taken place. Nevertheless He was telling His followers of all times to pray that this would not happen on the Sabbath day. Why would it have mattered whether or not their flight would have been on the Sabbath if the Sabbath were to be abolished? Clearly a big upheaval caused by the desperate need to flee, would not be consistent with observing the day of rest, and would cause distress to persons forced to flee, whilst at the same time desirous of keeping the Sabbath.
Did the apostles change the Sabbath?
There is no evidence that after Yahshua's resurrection and ascension the apostles kept the first day of the week as the Sabbath. Nowhere in any of their writings have they said so, but instead we have many verses to prove that they still kept the Sabbath AFTER Yahshua had left them.
Acts 13:14-15 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." Observe that on the Sabbath day, Paul, was invited to speak in the synagogue after the reading from the Torah and prophets. In his sermon he said,
Acts 13:27 Those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.
Speaking in the Jewish synagogue, there can be no question that in referring to the 'Sabbath' he could only have meant the seventh day of the week.
Acts 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Notice that the Gentiles were eager to hear more on the next Sabbath. On that following Sabbath, they came out in large numbers.
Acts 13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of [Yahweh]. Note that Gentiles were hearing the word that was being preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath. This was not the first and only occasion for we learn in Acts 15:21 that Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
Acts 16:13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
Acts 17:2 then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures. Those of you who think Paul has given you a good reason to change the Sabbath, please note that, like Yahshua, it was his custom to be in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
Acts 18:4 gives us the added information that he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
In Paul’s defence before Felix (Acts 24:14) he said, "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the [Elohim] of my fathers, BELIEVING ALL THINGS WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS".
Has Christendom that uses some of Paul's writings as the basis for saying the law (including Sabbath) is abolished, torn the foregoing verses and especially Acts 24:14 out of their Bibles? Please read our article 'Be not deceived! - Part 2' The Grace Deception.
Neither Yahshua nor His disciples and apostles who continued His work after Him changed the Sabbath day. No one has authority to change Yahweh’s Sabbaths, which He Himself has said are to last forever. THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH ANYWHERE THAT THE SABBATH IS CHANGED TO SUNDAY.
Who then is responsible for Sunday worship?
The originator of all false doctrines is the father of lies, Satan, who since the Garden of Eden has continued to question what Yahweh has said. Yahweh has said that His Sabbath is a perpetual covenant - lasting forever. As Satan asked Eve in the Garden, he would have asked Christendom a long time ago, "Has [Yahweh] really said...?" Only this time, his sentence would have finished with "that the Sabbath is to last forever?" Just as Eve jumped at the prospects of being like the Almighty, so man has jumped at the prospect of demonstrating his equality with Yahweh by rejecting His words and accepting instead the lies of the enemy. Ultimately responsibility for sinning rested with Adam and Eve. Disobedience to Yahweh's instructions regarding His Sabbath rests with those who had chosen to initiate this open rebellion. All others who have perpetuated this evil are equally guilty.
It was man, without the authority of Yahweh, who took it upon himself to try to replace the Biblical seventh day Sabbath with the first day of the week. Although the excuse is often given that Sunday became the day of worship to commemorate the day of Yahshua’s resurrection, the evidence rather suggests that it had been brought about by sinister factors unrelated to the Bible.
We must not lose sight of the fact that the fall of the temple in 70 C.E was the culmination of wars between Jerusalem and Rome, which had begun since the days of Pompey in 63 BCE. Each defeat of the Jews by the Romans led to more concerted efforts by Rome to suppress the Jewish people and anything Jewish.
Constantine 1, the Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 C.E., played a significant part in this. His position as Emperor cannot be isolated from his influence on the Roman Church. In 313 C.E. he legislated that his brand of what has been called 'Christianity' should become the state religion of Rome. He gave generous gifts and privileges to the Church in Rome. In 321 C.E. he enacted the first Sunday Law, which stated, "On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost". The Encyclopaedia Britannica confirms "It was Constantine the Great who first made a law for the proper observance of Sunday; and who according to Eusebius, appointed that it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman Empire. Before him, and even in his time, they observed the Jewish Sabbath as well as Sunday." This law had nothing to do with the commandment of Yahweh or the resurrection of Yahshua, but as the law itself said, was in veneration of the sun. Prior to all this, sun worship had been already entrenched in Rome, where the official sun god was Sol Invictus. There are many relics in the Vatican even today that demonstrate this.
See: http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/wheel.htm,
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus
While Constantine helped to foster the growth of a distorted religion that had its roots in paganism rather than the Bible, he tried at the same time to destroy the Jewish religion. In his letter to attendees at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D, he made this comment of why Easter should replace the Passover: "we desire, dearest brethren to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jew". You can find the whole text of the letter for yourself on any of several websites, including http://www.kad-esh.org/document-from-the-council-of-nicea/
The Jewish Encyclopaedia states, "In 329, however, the Jews were forbidden to perform the rite of circumcision on slaves or to own Christian slaves; the death penalty was ordained for those who embraced the Jewish faith, as well as for Jews versed in the Law who aided them. On the other hand, Jewish converts to Christianity were protected against the fanaticism of their former coreligionists. Simultaneously with this an edict was issued forbidding marriages between Jews and Christians, and imposing the death penalty upon any Jew who should transgress this law. Some of these enactments were affirmed in 335. Noteworthy is the hostile language of several of these laws, in which Judaism is spoken of as an ignominious or as a bestial sect."
The historical conflict between Roman Catholicism and the Jews is well documented and can be found in many places on and via the World Wide Web using the underlined or similar key words.
It was as part of this anti-Jewish attitude by the Roman Catholic Church, that the ‘Jewish’ Sabbath was gradually superseded in early Christendom, by Sunday - the day of the sun, which was made attractive to Christians by the deceitful association with the resurrection of Yahshua, (Jesus). In the mid fourth century, the Catholic Council of Laodicea finally forbade Christians from worshipping on the Sabbath day, and succeeding generations globally have largely in their ignorance, come to believe that the proper day for worship and rest is Sunday.
It is no secret that the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church, which had been historically opposed to the Jews, made this change to Sunday worship and not the early disciples. Without exploring the truth for themselves, most Protestants as in several other instances, have merely complied with the ruling of the Roman Catholic Church, but to save face either add that they do so in commemoration of Yahshua’s resurrection, or that the apostles had changed the Sabbath.
The following quotes from various sources including Roman Catholics clearly place the responsibility at the doors of the Catholic Church:
"From this same Catholic Church you have accepted your Sunday, and that Sunday, as the Lord’s Day, she has handed down as a tradition; and the entire Protestant world has accepted it as tradition, for you have not an iota of Scripture to establish it. Therefore that which you have accepted as your rule of faith, inadequate as it of course is, as well as your Sunday, you have accepted on the authority of the Roman Catholic Church" (D.B. Ray, The Papal Controversy, p. 179, 1892).
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the … Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! the entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church” (Bishop T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18, 1884).
"It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible" (Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975).
"If we would consult the Bible only, without Tradition, we ought, for instance, still to keep holy the Saturday with the Jews, instead of Sunday..." (Deharbe's Catechism, translated by Rev. John Fander, published by Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, 53 Park Place, New York, Sixth American Edition, Copyright 1912, 1919, 1924, page 81)
"They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason. ...The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the Divine law of Sabbath observance. The author of the Sunday Law...is the Catholic Church." (Walter Drum, Catholic priest, Ecclesiastical Review, February, 1914)
"Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles.... From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." (Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August 1900)
"Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the apostles ordered the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] Church outside the Bible." (Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947)
"Which church does the whole civilized world obey? Protestants call us every horrible name they can think of-anti-Christ, the scarlet-colored beast, Babylon, etc., and at the same time profess great reverence for the Bible, and yet by their solemn act of keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the power of the Catholic Church." (Industrial American, Harlan Iowa; a published lecture by T. Enright, December 19, 1889)
Most of Christendom has forsaken Yahweh's commandments and accepted without question, the traditions handed down by the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation did not get rid of all false doctrines of Roman Catholicism; and many of that church's traditions have persisted among Protestants to this day. Yahshua explained such an approach when He said, in Mark 7:8-9 "laying aside the commandment of [Yahweh], you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of [Yahweh], that you may keep your tradition".
The tragedy is that Christendom has given more credibility to the laws and teachings of a religious organisation than to the laws and teachings of the Bible. They have not bothered to find out where and how Sunday-worship started, and they have not believed what the Bible teaches about Yahweh’s day of worship and rest. Instead they have preferred to blindly and naively put their confidence in man’s popular doctrines, without regarding the fact that these new and unscriptural teachings originated out of hatred for the Jews and anything associated with them. Let no one forget that the Messiah told us to beware of the broad and well-liked road that leads only to destruction (Matt 7:13).
Those who have tried to replace Yahweh’s Sabbath with a day that reveres the sun, and think they are pleasing Yahweh, have been deceived. You may say you are not worshipping the sun by keeping Sunday. But Sunday worship had its origins in honour of the "venerable day of the sun". No 'true worshipper' who wants to worship Yahweh 'in spirit and truth' would want to have any part in this idolatry, and then say it is in honour of Yahshua's resurrection!
The prophet Ezekiel records in 8:16-17: So He brought me into the inner court of [Yahweh’s] house; and there, at the door of the temple of [Yahweh], between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of [Yahweh] and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here?" A pig remains a pig, however well it may be dressed. An abomination (in this case sun worship as was practised in Biblical times and was rampant in early Roman history) continues to be abhorrent even when fraudulently mixed with reverent memories of the risen Saviour.
Does the New Testament suggest a Sunday Sabbath?
There are eight occasions in the New Testament when the expression "first day of the week" was used. None of these suggest that the Sabbath had changed to Sunday. For confirmation of this, please check the following for yourself: Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7, and 1 Cor 16:2.
Of these, only in the following three references does there seem to have been an assembly of the disciples on the first day of the week:
John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, [Yahshua] came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
This verse does not in the slightest way give hint of a change of the Sabbath. They were assembled as they could have been on any other day of the week. On this particular day however, they would certainly have had much to discuss, with all that they had discovered on this unforgettable resurrection day. But there is nothing here to indicate that they had assembled on this day because it was the Sabbath, or because the resurrection had altered their day of worship.
Acts 20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
On this day, the disciples came together to break bread, as they were in the habit of doing daily. Acts 2:46 tells us, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. If Acts 20:7 is a basis for thinking the disciples’ day of worship (Sabbath) was changed to Sunday, then in like manner, according to Acts 2:46, Sabbath could have been on any other day of the week, on which they gathered together and broke bread. But this is certainly not the case. According to the highest authority in the universe, only the seventh day is the Sabbath, and only He – not the disciples, the church, or any religious head has the power to make any day holy.
We have quoted many verses to show that Sabbath is the seventh day and that Yahshua and His disciples observed it. Acts 20:7 however does not give any similar cast-iron proof that the disciples had started to worship on the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day Sabbath. Those who are desperate for proof of change will grab at anything to justify their Satan-inspired SUN-day worship.
Another verse often quoted to show the Sabbath had changed is 1 Cor 16:2: "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come". This verse does not say that the first day of the week was the Sabbath. It has simply said that on that day something should be set aside for collection later. That is all – nothing more or less.
Yet many Bible commentaries on this verse suggest that the first day of the week was now the Sabbath. Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary for example states, "It appears from the whole that the first day of the week, ... was the day on which their principal religious meetings were held in Corinth and the Churches of Galatia; and, consequently, in all other places where Christianity had prevailed. This is a strong argument for the keeping of the Christian Sabbath."
Observe that this "strong argument" is introduced by the phrase "it appears". No Biblical evidence is given or can be given of when or how this change took place.
No wonder that with such unfounded and unscriptural assertions by those respected as instructors, there is a worldwide propagation of false Bible teachings. When you attach more importance to what some esteemed person tells you the Bible says, rather than studying the Bible for yourself to find out what it actually says, you will always end up getting man’s views instead of Yahweh’s. Your belief must be based on Yahweh’s facts and not on man’s assumptions. 1 Cor 16:2 provides no foundation for arriving at the conclusion that the Sabbath has changed. To put it as mildly as possible, such deduction is far removed from the truth.
How about Yahweh’s (the Lord’s) Day?
(Note: in this section we will use the expression the ‘Lord’s Day’ and not the correct ‘Yahweh’s Day’, as we are discussing a particular quotation exactly as it is recorded.)
A Scripture often cited as evidence of a Sunday Sabbath is Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.
We come back once again to the recurring problem of persons assuming Bible truth rather than accepting what the Bible actually says. In this instance, those who are hard-pressed to find Biblical support for their erroneous Sunday worship, take it for granted without any proof that "the Lord’s day" means Sunday.
It is a common elementary fact of the English language that the phrase "the Lord’s Day" can be re-written as "Day of the Lord", since ‘Lord’s’ is the possessive noun. It is the same as if we substituted "the father’s name" with "the name of the father". So when the apostle John wrote I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, it is the same as saying I was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord. Depending on the Bible version you use, there are between 30 and 32 times in the Bible where "the day of the Lord" is used and each time it is NOT with reference to a day of the week. Once in Isaiah 58, it was referring to Yahweh’s Day of Atonement. In all other cases it was relating to a time at the end when Yahweh’s cleansing judgement would be poured out upon the earth. It would have been incorrect to assume that ‘the Day of the Lord’, related to the weekly Sabbath or to Sunday in each of those instances, especially since it would not fit the given context.
Right at the outset, the book of Revelation itself explains that it is an account of "things which must shortly take place" Rev 1:1. So ‘the Lord’s day’ or ‘the Day of the Lord’ would seem to suggest, that we were being transported into or given a preview of future events, for indeed that is what Revelation is all about. No Greek word is used for ‘the Lord’s day’ that might suggest a specific day of the week. But the Sunday keeping fraternity in their desperate and anxious bid to bolster their false claims of a change in the Sabbath, gladly latch on to this straw, as if they had evidence that this is what John was saying or meant. Equally wrong are those Sabbath keepers who claim the expression relates to the Sabbath day.
There is no justification in believing John meant Sunday or Sabbath, when the setting of the whole book of Revelation, suggests it referred to a time at the end of the age, when Yahweh’s awesome power would be unleashed upon the earth. This is the same meaning of the "Day of the Lord" in the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and in the writings of Peter and Paul. For instance Joel 1:15 states, Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. Try substituting Sunday for ‘day of the Lord’ in this verse from Joel and all other cases in the Bible when the expression is used. Then ask yourself why this phrase in Rev 1:10 should have a meaning that is different from that of the prophets and apostles, although they were all describing the same end-time event?
This verse taken out of its context does not prove that the Sabbath was changed, and in its context it suggests a totally different meaning.
The choice is yours – the Bible or lies
We have examined all relevant Scriptures in the New Testament and were unable to find any reference in the whole New Testament to the Jews or Gentiles worshipping in the synagogue on the first day of the week as their new Sabbath. On the other hand, there are many evidences of them worshipping in the synagogue on their customary Sabbath day. The reason is simple: the apostles were mainly Israelites (more commonly referred to as Jews) who were followers of a Jewish Messiah. They believed in and lived by the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and the other books of the Tanakh (the Old Testament). Yet their messages are for the whole world – Jews and Gentiles alike. Unlike today’s false ‘followers’ of the Messiah they would have shown contempt to any thought of a ‘Sabbath’ other than the seventh day as commanded in the Torah.
Christendom has despised or ignored the Jewish roots of the Bible from whence they are supposed to have come. Please read our article 'In Search of Truth. They have rejected sections of the Bible, which they claim are no longer relevant for today or to Gentiles. By doing this, the branches that should have been grafted into the tree have separated themselves from the trunk and roots to form an insubstantial new religion. Yahshua and His commandments are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. Yahshua said in John 15:6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned". Christianity will remain like that withered branch, heading to destruction, unless they become connected to their Messiah and His much-despised laws.
Yahshua said in Matt 7:22-23 "Not everyone who says to Me, [‘Master, Master’], shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, [‘Master, Master], have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
There is not one commandment to Jews and another to Gentiles. We will all stand before the same Judge, who will apply the same set of standards to all. Paul stated in 1 Cor 12:13, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" KJV. In Ephesians 4:5 Paul also said we are all one, "One [Elohim], one faith, one baptism". What "faith" could Paul have meant, if it were not what Jude calls the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints [the fathers of old]? Jude 3.
Numbers 15:16 tells us, "One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you."
Those who keep the commandments of Yahweh and also believe in Yahshua the Messiah are hated by Satan and ridiculed by his stooges. Rev 12:17 says that The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of [Yahweh] and have the testimony of [Yahshua the Messiah].
Make no mistake about it; Yahweh said the Sabbath is the sign separating those who are His from others. The two camps are likely to become more segregated as we approach the time when Satan will be enraged at Sabbath keepers who are prepared to keep Yahweh's commandments. But Yahweh's reward will be to the true and faithful for He is taking note. A book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear [Yahweh] ... "They shall be Mine,” says [Yahweh] of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him" Mal 3:16-17. Yes, Satan will persecute those who keep the Commandments. But nothing he can do will equal the pouring forth of Yahweh's wrath, from which Yahweh's chosen people will escape and afterwards receive their eternal inheritance.
Torah (instructions of Yahweh), which include the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 with the Sabbath, are for all people everywhere who choose to come into the family tent of Yahweh. However not everyone will be willing to embrace and practise them, because the carnal mind is enmity against [Yahweh]; for it is not subject to the law of [Yahweh], nor indeed can be Rom 8:7.
The apostle John wrote, "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" 1 John 2:4. Those who are truly Yahweh’s people will know that the seventh day Sabbath is a perpetual command by Yahweh, which has not been changed and never will be, since no one has the authority to change it. The Roman Catholic Church motivated by its historical anti-Jewish stance is responsible for the globalisation of Sunday worship, in total disregard of Yahweh’s commandments, but that does not make Sunday the Sabbath. That church does not have the power they think they have. Yahweh’s truths will always remain, even though some may try to usurp His authority. Satan tried that, but was dethroned, and is awaiting his final punishment. Anyone who dares to oppose Yahweh and His chosen people will receive a similar fate as Satan.
The day of reckoning is coming. Those who have been deceived by false doctrines of the adversary, should heed Paul’s message at the Areopagus in Athens, These times of ignorance [Yahweh] overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent Acts 17:30.
Yahshua said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" John 8:31-32.
If you earnestly desire to be a disciple of Yahshua and to become a true worshipper of Yahweh, then you must start to believe and practise what the Bible really says. As you do so, you will be compelled to dismiss as totally irrelevant, any religious authority that prides itself in the false and ludicrous claim that it has a divine right to violate and replace the laws of Yahweh. In the days when a copy of the Bible was not readily accessible, perhaps one could be excused for not knowing which day is the Biblical Sabbath; but now that the Scriptures are easily available, no one is defensible for this wanton disregard of the truth and flagrant disobedience to Yahweh. You "ought to obey [Yahweh] rather than men" Acts 5:29.
With the easy accessibility of information on the Internet, most persons who desire to know the truth concerning the origin of Sunday worship can find abundant facts for themselves. What is written in this article is no newly discovered secret. It is in the public domain for any who cares to search.
Conclusion
Having read this article you can no longer claim to be ignorant of the truth. Only YOU are ultimately responsible for what you believe. The Bible defines sin as the transgression of the law 1 John 3:4 KJV. Now that you know Yahweh’s instructions concerning the Sabbath, and have learned the true origin of Sunday worship, you have no excuse for continuing to dishonour Him and His Sabbath. It is time you stopped following the crowd in the idolatrous Sunday worship. The day is coming when each of us shall give account of himself to [Yahweh] Rom 14:12. As from today you will not be able to blame others, however wrong or influential they may have been. The choice is yours and yours alone. Which will it be - Yahweh's Sabbath law or Constantine's Sunday Law?
SUNDAY WORSHIP IS NOT SCRIPTURAL, AND VIOLATES YAHWEH’S SABBATH COMMAND. THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE ONLY BIBLICAL SABBATH. HONOUR IT!
