The Sabbath in History Part 2

THE SABBATH in HISTORY part 2, It will surprise most that the Celtic Christians were all Sabbath keepers that is they worshiped on Saturday until the start of the twelfth century, and there are others.

THE SABBATH IN HISTORY (EXTENDED STUDY BELOW)

The Sabbath in History – It is a scary thought, walls and gates are meant to keep enemies out, but in our study we will see that in fact that the enemy has entered the stronghold of Christianity and destroying it from within. There are many Christians today who believe that what we identify as Christian doctrines today, are what the first century disciples taught and first century Christians believed and can be supported in the Bible, but that is just not the case. I am reading from Matthew 28:19,20

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

In these two verses Jesus not only gave the disciples their work, but gave them their message. Teach the people he said, to observe all things that I have commanded you. The disciples were to teach what Jesus taught. That which He had spoken, not only in person, but through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. Human teaching is shut out. There is no place for tradition, for man’s theories and conclusions, or for church legislation and laws ordained by ecclesiastical authority, but sadly that is what happened, ., and we see that after the death of the apostles in the first century many false teaching entered the church. At times the motives were good, to build bridges into pagan society to make the gospel of Christianity more appealing, at other times it was just rank apostasy when pagan teachings were given a Christian form and names and became a part of church tradition.

For example many false teachings, unscriptural doctrinals have entered the church like prayers for the dead, infant baptism that might surprise some but it is not in the Bible, a literal hell where people are burning now it just does not exist, the sign of the cross after the completion of a prayer is not in the Bible, the secret coming of Jesus and a plethora of others.

But the one that strikes most boldly against God’s government is the teaching pervading Christianity that the Ten Commandments finished at the cross. We looked at that in our fourth session called “Why the Ten Commandments are still important today!” We all now know that that was never God’s intention and we saw that all of the disciples continued to teach and preach the Ten Commandments while they were alive, and even in the last book of the Bible the book of Revelation there are numerous verses which highlight that in the last days God’s people will still be faithful to Jesus Christ and keep God’s Ten Commandments. In Revelation 14:12 we read this

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

You will remember, as we turned to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 , we saw God’s law is not just cold hard rules, filled with “thou shall not,” but give us wonderful insights on the type of relationship that God wants with us, and the sort of relationships He wants us to have with those around us.

(Mat 22:34-40 KJV) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

These Ten Commandments show us that there is no one in the universe more deeply and totally committed to preserving relationships than God Himself. The Ten Commandments begin by prioritizing and protecting our relationship with Him, and then He shows us how to prioritize and protect our relationships with others around us. The Ten Commandments cover both the vertical and horizontal aspect revealing our duty to God and our duty to our fellow men. And it is for those reasons that every minister of every denomination, should be advocating strong and loud for the Ten Commandments to be re-established into every family of our great nation.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

Let’s go now to the beginning of the Bible. In the first chapter of Genesis we are told that God created the world in six twenty-four-hour days. Now, when God had finished His work of Creation, we read in chapter 2 that God gave mankind a special gift;

(Gen 2:1 KJV) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (Gen 2:2 KJV) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (Gen 2:3 KJV) 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.

It says that on the seventh day, after He ended His work, that God rested, God blessed the seventh day and God sanctified the seventh day. The resting of God was not because he was tired because in the book of Psalms we are told that God never slumbers or sleeps, and in Isaiah 40:28, that He fainteth not, neither is weary. So he was not tired, but rather God’s “resting” served as a Divine example to mankind that we should too.

Lets continue; it says that God blessed the Seventh day. So not only did God rest but He placed His special blessing on the Seventh day. In 1 Chronicles 17 we read that when God blesses something it remains blessed forever. Furthermore, the blessing on the seventh day implied that it is a special object of divine favor and a day that would bring blessing to mankind. No other day has received the blessing of God. But let’s keep studying, because it says that God sanctified the Seventh-day. That word sanctify means to “set aside for Holy Use”. In other words this is a special day, and has spiritual significance. God never sanctified any of the other days, he did not set any of them apart for Holy use, only one, the Seventh day of the week. So we see that God rested, blessed and sanctified the seventh-day. It is a special day that God has set a side for a particular purpose and no other day can take its place.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

Well let’s find out what day is the Seventh day. Let’s turn to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20

(Exo 20:8 KJV) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exo 20:9 KJV) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:(Exo 20:10 KJV) But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (Exo 20:11 KJV) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The fourth commandment tells us very clearly that the Seventh-day is the Sabbath. This commandment begins with the word “remember”. All of the other commandments begin with “Thou Shall Not”, except the fifth, which begins with “Honour”, but the fourth commandment begins with that word Remember. Obviously as God looked down through the pages of history into the future, he could see in this fourth commandment, the Sabbath would be forgotten, even forgotten by the very people who claimed to follow and serve Him.

Now we ask the question: “Why Lord, should we remember Your day, the Seventh day, the Sabbath day? Why can’t I rest and worship corporately on some other day?” Well, if we look at this commandment, it clearly tells us that we are to remember His day because He is our Creator, and it is because He created us that we are to worship Him on His appointed day. You see my friends, the Sabbath is the memorial to Creation.

Jesus remembered the Sabbath Day, and both the Apostle Peter and Apostle John tell us we should walk as Jesus walked. In other words, the things that Jesus did we should do, the things that Jesus believed, we should believe. Notice what it says in Luke 4:16, to see what Jesus’ example was!

(Luke 4:16 KJV) And 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 for to read.

This is a very important verse in our study, because we see that Jesus went to the Synagogue. Stop; -what’s a synagogue? It is a Jewish Church right? Yes, so Jesus went to church on the Sabbath day and it says that it was His custom. What is a custom? That’s right it is something we do regularly, in other words Jesus went to church regularly on the Sabbath day. Now let’s find out for sure what day Jesus went to church, what day is the Sabbath day.

When we observe Easter what day do we say Jesus died? What day do we call it? Yes, Good Friday. What day we say that Jesus rose? Yes, Easter Sunday. The whole of Christendom knows that, it is common knowledge. Every denomination agrees with this record. Let’s turn in our Bibles to Luke chapter 23.

(Luke 23:50 KJV) And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counseller; and he was a good man, and a just: (Luke 23:51 KJV) (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.(Luke 23:52 KJV) This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.(Luke 23:53 KJV) And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.(Luke 23:54 KJV) And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.

Lets pause here for a moment. What day are we told that Joseph asked for the body of Jesus? Yes, the Preparation day, and that is the day we call Good Friday, because it is the day that Jesus died. Lets continue on;

(Luke 23:55 KJV) And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

(Luke 23:56 KJV) And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.

Again lets pause, what have we learnt? Jesus died on the Friday. The Bible calls the day the Preparation day. Then the women rested on the Sabbath Day according to the commandment. What commandment is that? Yes the fourth commandment of God’s Ten Commandments. Lets read on now in chapter 24 verse 1

(Luke 24:1 KJV) Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. (Luke 24:2 KJV) And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. (Luke 24:3 KJV) And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

What day are we told that Jesus rose? That’s it, -the first day of the week, which we call Easter Sunday. Therefore Jesus died on the Preparation day which we call good Friday, He rose on the first day of the week, the day we call Easter Sunday, and according to the verses we have just read the Sabbath is the day in between Friday and Sunday, the day we call Saturday. It is so clear even a young child could work that out! Saturday is the Sabbath of the Bible, Saturday is the day that God rested, blessed and sanctified. Saturday is the day that God has called us to remember. Saturday is the day that Jesus went to church.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

If you go to the Mirriam Websters International Dictionary and look up Saturday you would see that it identifies Saturday as the Seventh day of the week, the day that follows Friday. Go to a wall calendar, my friends the evidence is just too compelling to ignore, Saturday is the the seventh day of the week, the Bible Sabbath. Furthermore anyone who has even the smallest knowledge regarding the Jews, knows that they would not make a mistake regarding the correct day to worship. Here is a whole nation – millions of individuals – who have been counting off time meticulously, week after week, since the time of Jesus. Could they have lost track? Impossible. Oh yes, Saturday is definitely the Bible Sabbath.

Actually this leads on to our next point because some people will say that Saturday is a Jewish day, and defend Sunday keeping by the fallacious and puerile statement we are not Jews so we don’t have to keep the Sabbath. But let’s read what Jesus said on this very subject in Mark 2:27.28.

(Mark 2:27 KJV) And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: (Mark 2:28 KJV) Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was made for man! That sure is a funny way to spell Jew isn’t it? Before a Jew even stepped foot on the earth, it was made for all of mankind right back at Creation as we have already seen. God never intended that only one nation would recieve the blessings which comes from keeping the Sabbath, He intended the whole world should keep the Sabbath, because Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, for every man woman and child. Just before we move away from Mark 2, Jesus said that “the Son of Man…….”, Who is the “Son of Man”? …….Yes, Jesus. Jesus said that He was Lord also of the Sabbath. In verse 28 that is what your Bible says. So my question to you is what day is the Lord’s day? You know I have heard people tell me that Sunday is the Lord’s day.

Have any of you ever heard such a thing? But my friends the Bible makes it very clear in this passage, these are Jesus word’s Himself that the Lord’s day is the Sabbath, the seventh day, the day we call Saturday.

It is amazing in all of the three and a half years of Jesus ministry He never talks about any change of the Sabbath, and it is highly significant that during the 40 days after His resurrection when He taught and instructed the disciples till His ascension, not once, not a word, is mentioned about any change of the day of worship. In fact all of Jesus’ disciples continued to worship on the Sabbath day (Saturday) their entire lives. Before we continue, -what year was Jesus crucified and rose again? 31AD, that is a very important date, lets remember that as we turn to a few texts in the book of Acts beginning with Acts 13;14

(Acts 13:14 KJV) But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. (Acts 13:15 KJV) And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

This event happened about 45 ad, 14 years after Jesus death and resurrection, and still the Apostle Paul and His companions are worshipping on the Sabbath day, turning now to Acts 17:1,2

(Acts 17:1 KJV) Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

(Acts 17:2 KJV) And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

We have now moved to 53 ad, 22 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and what does the Bible say Paul’s custom or manner was? Yes to go to church on Sabbath.

(Acts 18:1 KJV) After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Cornish; (Acts 18:2 KJV) .(Acts 18:4 KJV) And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. (Acts 18:11 KJV) And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

The year now is 54 ad, 23 years after Jesus death, and again we read that Sabbath is still the day for corporate worship, nothing has changed after 23 years. Now that is clear isn’t it. All right let’s change our tact and examine Bible prophecy.

In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus announces a prophecy against the temple of Jerusalem and the city of Jerusalem which is highly significant for our study tonight. Remember Jesus died in 31 ad, and Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed until 70ad by the Romans, 39 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. Matthew 24:15-20

(Mat 24:15 KJV) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)(Mat 24:16 KJV) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:(Mat 24:17 KJV) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:(Mat 24:18 KJV) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.(Mat 24:19 KJV)

And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!(Mat 24:20 KJV) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:

Jesus said, when you see those desolating Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem, don’t run back into your homes but flee into the mountains, as I said this event didn’t happen until 39 years after Jesus death and resurrection , but in verse 20 Jesus said pray that your flight be not in winter, why? Because it would be difficult to travel, but He also adds nor on the Sabbath day! Why, because the gates of Jerusalem were locked on the Sabbath day and none could escape, therefore it is quite clear that Jesus still expected His followers to be keeping the Sabbath after His death. The point is that Jesus never intended that the day of worship would be altered and that was also the view of the Apostles after His death. Turn to Revelation 1:10

(Rev 1:10 KJV) I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

What day was the Apostle John in the Spirit? On the Lord’s day, what have we found to be the Lord’s day in the Bible? That’s right the Sabbath, Saturday, but did you know that the book of Revelation was written around 95ad by John and that is when this event happened and still John is recognizing the authority of the fourth commandment the Sabbath Commandment 64 years after the death of Jesus Christ.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

Friends if the Sabbath, God’s own day is so precious to God, should it not be precious to us? In an age of false gods, of atheistic evolution, and traditions of men, the world needs the Sabbath more than ever, and it is a test of our loyalty to the great Creator-God. Can I say this; I have never known anyone who has been loyal to the Sabbath to be disadvantaged in the long run.

This is not only about one day in preference for another, this is about loyalty and our commitment to Jesus Christ, it reflects our love for Jesus Christ and our appreciation of His great sacrifice for us. In John 15:10, Jesus said Keep my Commandments as I have kept my Father’s commandments because they are one and the same thing, Jesus commandments are His Fathers, Our Gods, are more specifically the Ten Commandments including the fourth the Sabbath

Remember the Sabbath Commandment is one of the Ten Commandments written by God’s own finger on tablets of stone. He gave them to us for our benefit, so that we would live happier more satisfying lives. And He wants us to get the most out of our time in this life, for He who made us knows that if we ignore the God’s laws it only brings unhappiness to the family and discontent with the life.

Our lives pass away so quickly, why play games with God, if you want to be truly faithful God, then demonstrate it by your obedience to His commands. Please listen to this final statement I am going to make. In the Judgment men and women will not be condemned because they conscientiously believed a lie, but because they did not believe the truth, neglecting the opportunity of learning what is truth.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

I want to begin with something that I hear more than anything else from Christians who are in search of a reason to deny the Ten Commandment, the corollary being an excuse to reject the Saturday Sabbath. Christians say that we are “no longer under the law but under grace.” Have you ever heard that when people are trying to set aside the Ten Commandments, but more predictably the binding claims of the Seventh-day Sabbath? Put up your hands if you have heard that before. Oh, they say you don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments any longer because we are no longer under the law but under grace. What they are implying is that people who keep the Ten Commandments believe that they are saved by keeping the law and they are under the law, but the rest are saved by grace, and don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments anymore. But let me tell you, that is not what under the law or under grace means. I want to give you three simple Bible texts to refute that specious argument and you can use yourself at any time when discussing this with them. Turn with me to Romans 6:14

(Rom 6:14 KJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Let me ask you what is sin, some say is doing the wrong thing, yes that is true, others say rebellion against God, yes that is true, but let’s get a Biblical definition, and there are a few of them, but tonight let us focus on the principle definition of sin found in 1 John 3:4.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Here the beloved disciple John, who wrote more about love than any of the other followers of Christ, is making it very clear that sin is when a person breaks the Ten Commandments of God. Now let’s take our mind back to the earlier text in Romans 6:14 which says for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace.

This text tells us if we sin we are under the law, and we already know as it reads in 1 John 3:4 that sin is breaking God’s Ten Commandments. So the Bible clearly tells us that that to be under the law actually means to be breaking the law of God, is that right? Of course it is keep your hand in chapter 6 and lets quickly turn to Romans 3:19

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Lets make no mistake about it when a person is under the law they are guilty before God and to be under the law actually means you are breaking the Ten Commandments not keeping them do you get it? That’s why they are guilty before God. Lets’ go back to chapter six and continue reading from verse 15

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid

Paul now says shall we sin, shall we break God’s commandments because we are now under grace, he says God forbid, you can’t do it. You see what we have discovered here is that to be under grace does not means we can break or ignore the Ten Commandments. Because when a person accepts Christ as Lord and Saviour of their lives they come under grace, they receive God’s mercy because the merits of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross now encompasses them. The benefits of Jesus’ atoning death now includes them. That’s why all true born again Christians are saved by grace, nevertheless the Ten Commandments are still binding, including the fourth commandment the Sabbath. There you are, three simple Bible verses Romans 6:14, Romans 3:19 and back to Romans 6:15 to refute the accusation we are no longer under the law. Let me explain this by way of illustration, supposing a man had been found guilty of murder he has been convicted of the murder by the jury and he has to face the death penalty. Now this man is condemned by the law he is under the penalty of the law. While he awaits the day of his execution, his lawyer discovers there was some circumstantial evidence that was not taken into account, so his lawyer makes an appeal, the judge reviews the evidence, and the man is guilty alright, but in light of the new evidence, the judge decides to give the man a pardon or grace. This man can walk free from the prison, no police can arrest him because he has been given grace, but even though he has been given grace, he still cannot speed when he drives, he cannot rob a person, he cannot shoplift, why is that? Because even though this man has been given grace, the law is still in place. And that is how it is for us, we have been given grace by virtue of Jesus’s death on the cross, He has removed the death penalty from us, but even though we have been given grace, and are saved due to the merits of Christ’s substitutionary death for us, the law is still in place, the Ten commandments are still there, and both the Old and New Testaments make that very clear.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE HISTORY OF THE SABBATH AND BEGINNING FROM THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH

The opening labors of the Christian church were attended with joy and success as the message of the risen Christ spread through Asia, Europe and North Africa, but also with hardship and bitter grief. The disciples had to contend against bigotry, hatred and prejudice. Jesus warned His disciples of this by saying in Luke 21:17

¹⁷And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.

The history of the early church testified to the Saviours words. The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves against Christ in the person of His followers. Paganism could see that if the gospel would triumph, her temples and altars would be swept away, and strong opposition rose which turned into persecution. This persecution begun under Nero. The year is 64ad the capital of the world is in flames, that being Rome. For six days and six nights the great fire races out of control through the most populous districts of the imperial city.

Nero desires to rebuild a more glorious Rome and it is widely rumoured that Nero ordered the lighting of the fire himself. However to divert attention away from himself, Nero lays the guilt at the door of the new group called Christians of Rome. The Christians were Nero’s logical choice, they are already despised and distrusted by many. They shun the worship of the Old Roman gods, and much of Roman social life. So Christians were falsely accused and large numbers were thrown to the wild beasts or burnt alive in ampi theatres.

Following the martyrdom of many of their faithful leaders, many Christians fell victim to error. Confused and disheartened, they became easy prey for the wolves which :Paul warned about in Acts 20:29,30.

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Persecution continued throughout the Roman Empire after Nero. Nearing the end of the first century the Emperor Domition, made it compulsory that once a year all people were to burn a pinch of incense. This was to publically acknowledge their political loyalty to Rome and the divinity of the Emperor. Christians refused and it cost them their freedom and often their lives. Throughout the empire Christians were imprisoned, exiled and murdered, as the forces of apostate Judaism, paganism and the Roman conquerors did all in their power to extinquish the fledgling movement.

The bloodiest of all persecutions was inaugurated by Diocletian in 303ad. An edict requiring the uniformity of worship was issued. By refusing to pay homage to the image of the emperor, all Christians in the empire became outlaws. Their property and sacred writings were destroyed. The victims of death and torture numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Ten years later the persecutions ordered by Emperor Diocletian were still raging.

But a change came almost overnight, it is October 28, 312ad. Emperor Constantine meets with the Bishop of Rome. Pope Miltiadies, and tells him that just before his victorious battle at Mulvane Bridge, he had seen a flaming cross in the sky and above it the words HOC SIGNO VINCES. Meaning “In this sign conquer.” The battle was fought under the Christian banner and Constantine was victorious. Constantine donates the opulent Lateran Palace to the Bishop of Rome and when Pope Miltiadies died in 314ad, he is crowned and clad in imperial raiment as an earthly prince.

Soon afterwards Constantine issues the edict of Milan (313AD) granting full freedom to Christians to practice their religion, by 324ad Emperor Constantine formerly establishes Christianity as the official religion of the empire.

The leading positions in the empire go to Christians, Constantine surrounded Himself with Christians who were his advisors and chief officials. Christians in decades past would not have believe it. They are free from persecutions and even the Emperor is a Christian. It is simply to good to be true, but it is true.

But listen as persecution ceased and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Jesus Christ and the disciples for all the pomp and pageantry of the state. Pagan rulers and priests nominally converted to Christianity to gain the favor of the Emperor, and the simple teachings of the Biblee began to be corrupted with pagan thought.

Emperor Constantine opens the treasuries of the Empire to fund the building of lavish churches, up to this point in history, Christians met in homes and secret places. The ministers of the gospel also were paid for by the state for the first time, and while many would say that Christianity was the conqueror, in affect the spirit of paganism began to control the church.

Emperor Constantine’s could see that it was to his political advantage to unite pagans and Christians through out the empire and so in a dramatic act to bring them together on points of agreement, he issued his decree reinforcing the solemnity of Sunday worship with his Sunday law in 321ad . In fact let me read to you the Sunday decree

“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.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

But despite that, the vast majority of Christians continued to keep the Sabbath Saturday throughout the empire defying the Roman Empire and increasingly paganized Church. This is a quote from a book called Early Christianity by Lyman Coleman published in 1852.

“Down even to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian Church, but with a rigor and solemnity gradually diminishing until it was wholly discontinued.”

ancient Christianity Exemplified. Lyman Coleman, chap.26, sec.2, p.527. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co, 1852

So we see from this quote that the Sabbath was kept by Christians well after the time of the Apostles, but outside forces arrayed themselves against the Sabbath keeping Church that made it increasingly difficult to practice Sabbath keeping openly.

However, to further underpin the acceptance through out the Roman Empire an Ecclesiastical Conclave of Church leaders gathered in Laodicea in 364AD supporting the State law thus the church put its seal of approval on Sunday.

Now this was not the first time Sunday was kept by Christians, in fact it first appeared in the first and second century in Rome and Alexandria, as Christians endeavoured to distance themselves away from Jews and worship on the day of the resurrection, but the reality was that the great majority of Christians continued to observe the Sabbath, the day we call Saturday even after this decree issued by Emperor Constantine on 321ad.

During the reign of Emperor Constantine, the Capital of the Pagan Roman Empire had been moved from Rome to Byzantium in 324ad and renamed Constantinople, modern day Istanbul in Turkey. From that time on, Rome’s Emperors governed from there, but the vacancy that was left in Rome was filled by another power, a religious power that had grown in size and influence until a letter that was written to Pope John II on March 26 533ad by Emporer Justinian gave complete control of the Christian Church to the Bishop of Rome becoming the Roman Catholic Church. The word catholic means universal, therefore The church in Rome is now given absolute authority over all of Christianity universally. The bishop of Rome the Pope was to be the great moral teacher, and ecclesiastical voice for the Roman Empire and the leader of every Christian Church

Here is a part of that letter

We hasten to bring to the knowledge of Your Holiness everything relating to the condition of the church. As we have always had the greatest desire to preserve the unity of your Apostolic See… Therefore we have exerted Ourselves to unite all the priests of the East and subject them to the See of Your Holiness, and… according to the doctrine of your Apostolic See, are constantly firmly observed and preached by all priests. For we do not suffer anything which has reference to the state of the church… to be discussed without being brought to the notice of Your Holiness, because you are the head of all the Holy Churches…

Code of Justinian, book 1 titles 1,8, Thomas Collett Sandar. Ed. And Translator. The Institutes of Justinian 8^th ed. London. Longmans, Green and Co, 1888.

It was that decree which came into force in 538ad, along with the intolerance against any that did not submit to the doctrinal authority of Rome that caused God’s faithful people to flee into the remote places of the empire, or to worship secretly, to ensure that the pure truths of God’s Word survived including the Sabbath, and for the next 1000 years a period of intolerance and spiritual gloom descended up Christendom where the Bible was chained to Churches walls and Monasteries and the Bible was not available for the common people to read. But hidden throughout Christendom were people who remained true to the Bible, who transcribed the Bible into their native tongue and secretly shared it among those they believed may be interested. This quote is from a series of volumes called the Epistles of St Gregory the Great. He was a Pope during the seventh century.

“It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and apposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of AntiChrist.”

Epistle of St Gregory the Great. Book 13, epistle 1; Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers,” volume XIII, p.92

What do you make of that quote? Yes Christians were practicing and teaching the Sabbath 300 years after the time of Constantines Sunday Law in 321AD.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

In your Bible you have a book called Galatians, you may not know it by they were Celts of the Celtic family of nations who were Sabbath keepers, but the family of Celts was also found in Ireland, Scotland, England and some of the Northern European countries Notice the following quote in regard to Sabbath keepers in Scotland upto the 11^th century.

“Sabbath observed by Celtic Church Scotland during the eleventh century AD, they worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner.”

A History of Scotland. Andrew Lang, vol.1,p. 96 Edinburgh William Blackwood and Sons, 1905

Sabbath In Scotland – “They seem to have followed a custom of which we find traces in the early monastic church in Ireland, by which they held Saturday to be the Sabbath on which they rested from all their labors.”

When the Catholic Queen Margaret of England married Malcolm of Scotland in 1069ad , she set herself to turn the Celtic Church of Scotland from Sabbath keeping to honouring Sunday the child of the Roman Catholic Church. Notice what her confessor and biographer Turgot says

“It was another custom of theirs [the Scots] to neglect the reverence due to the Lords day [Sunday] by devoting themselves to every kind of wordly business upon it, just as they did upon other days. That this was contrary to the law, she [Queen Margaret] proved to them as well by reason as by authority. “Let us venerate the Lord’s day, because of the resurrection of our Lord which happened upon that day, and let us no longer do servile works upon it, bearing in mind that upon this day we were redeemed from the slavery of the devil. The blessed Pope Gregory affirms the same.”

Life of Saint Margaret. Turgot. P. 49, sec. 20. Edinburgh:David Douglas 1896 .

See in Scotland and Ireland the Sabbath was kept for many hundreds of years. As you read Revelation chapter 12 you discover that God’s Church was to be protected by God, as it fled beyond the reach of persecution of the Roman Catholic Church, as believers sought refuge in the more remoter parts of Europe, in the hard to get to places such as the Alps and Valleys’ of Northern Italy. Isolated from the terrors of the Roman Church, Sabbath keepers were able to practice their faith freely.

Can I ask you have any of you heard of the Saracens, do you know who they were? Great they were Turks or Arabs who were Muslims followers of Muhammad and in around 620AD Mohammad began conquering and taking control of the Arabian Peninsula, he drove Christians from Jerusalem, and Palestine, Turkey, Parts of North Africa, and Arabia came under Muslim control. But the Western part of the old Roman Empire remained under Roman Catholic control, but there is an amazing story of Sabbath keepers who were separated from the influence of the Roman Catholic church by the Saracens.

Have you ever heard of Abyssinia? What country is that today? Yes it is Ethiopia and I want you to look at this map, because you will see that that the Muslims formed a buffer that isolated the Sabbath Keeping Christians of Ethiopia from the Roman Catholic church. Notice the following from a book called Church history of Ethiopa.

“Because God, after he had finished the creation of the word, rested thereon, which day as God would have it called the holy of holies, so the not celebrating thereof with great honor and devotion seems to be plainly contrary to God’s will and precept, who will suffer heaven and earth to pass away sooner than his word; and that especially since Christ came not to dissolve the law, but to fulfill it. It is not, therefore, in imitation of the Jews, but in obedience to Christ and his holy apostles, that we observe that day…”

Church History of Ethiopia, Michael Geddes, pp.87,88. London: R. Chiswell, 1696

The Abyssinians received the truth of God and the Sabbath, centuries before the time of Jesus Christ.

Turn with me to Acts 8:26,27

And the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.

In the passage we have read of a man of great authority from the Ethiopia, who was the nation’s treasurer during the reign of Queen Candace, has come to Jerusalem to worship, therefore it is highly likely he is a Sabbath keeper. Furthermore, history tells us that it was probably the Apostle Matthew who first took the truth of Jesus Christ to Ethiopia. It is suggested that he was martyred in that country by having his head pinned to the ground with a halberd which is a long spear that men used to kill and maim horses during a cavalry charge in battle. Nevertheless it was Matthew who brought the Jesus Christ to those Sabbath keeping people. Notice what Edward Gibbon the famous historian who wrote the fall and decline of the Roman empire says in regard to those Sabbath keeping Christians in Ethiopia.

“Encompassed on all sides by the enemies of their religion, the Ethiopians slept near a thousand years, forgetful of the world by whom they were forgotten. And when discovered by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, they were found making the seventh day the day of rest, nor having known of its being set fully aside in the course of apostasy. The Jesuit priests never rested until they persuaded the Abyssinian king in AD1604 to submit to the Pope and to prohibit Sabbath observance.”

Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire chapter 47 para 37

Isn’t that interesting and there are many such groups of people that we could turn to that has a similar history where the isolation away from the Roman Catholic Church saw the Sabbath observed.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

If I was to say to you one of the greatest heroes in Sabbath keeping history, was renowned for driving his staff hard into the ground when he taught and on one occasion legend had it that he preached so long that his ash wood staff grew roots who would that be?

It was said that when this man came to Ireland that a leper wanted to come, there was no room in boat so he threw his small stone pulpit into the Irish Sea and it floated carrying the leper to Ireland. Who is it?

All right then I will give you another clue it is said that he banished snakes from the island and today there is not a snake to be found there. Who is this Sabbatarian hero?

These legends refer to Patrick of Ireland, and certainly they are fictitious, but the man is not and the heroic figure of Patrick, taken captive as a boy into slavery around 385AD stands out as a creator of Sabbath keeping civilisation in Ireland. Patrick belongs to the Celtic race of which the Britons of England, the Scots and the Irish are a part. Let me tell you a little about Patrick of Ireland before we close

At the age of 16 Patrick was carried captive to Ireland by slavers who had sailed up the Clyde river and raided the village of his birth in England Banavan. During his seven years in Ireland he learned the Irish form the of the Celtic Language. He escaped the slavers at the age of 23 and returned to England later becoming a Christian

The words of Patrick himself reveal his unrest of soul after his escape from slavery until he submitted to the call of God to proclaim the news of salvation to the Irish. He had constantly heard voices from the woods of Hibernia begging him to come, as did the man in the night vision of Paul who said “Come over and help us” in Acts 16. Neither the tears of his parents nor the reasonings of his friends could restrain him, he determined whatever the cost to return to Ireland.

. Leaving England with a few companions according to the record in the book of Armagh he landed at Wicklow Head on the southeastern coast of Ireland. Patrick preached the Bible and the Bible only. He appealed to it as the sole authority for founding the Irish church. Wherever this Christian leader sowed he also reaped. Ireland was set on fire for God by the fervor of Patrick’s missionary spirit. Sabbath keeping, Christ following men and women were converted from among the Irish pagans.

Patrick believed that Christianity should be founded with the home and the family as its strength. The Roman Catholic Church of his day practiced celebacy. This was not true of the Irish Church , the Celtic church as organized and developed under Patrick permitted its pastors to marry. The absence of celibacy in the Celtic church and their worship on the Sabbath day gives added proof that Patrick and his followers had no connection with the Roman Catholic church. He established missionary training schools which later grew into colleges and universities, but were all bible schools. Here is a quote from the Catholic Historian T. Ratcliffe Barnett

“In this matter the Scots had perhaps kept up the traditional usage of the ancient Irish Church WHICH OBSERVED SATURDAY INSTEAD OF SUNDAY AS THE DAY OF REST.”

Margaret of Scotland: Queen and Saint, page 97, Barnett

Just in closing Patrick was no Catholic, he was a Sabbath keeping Celt, he beheld Jesus as his substitute on the cross. He took his stand for the Ten Commandments, worshipped on the Sabbath, accepted the prophecy of Isaiah that Christ came to magnify the law and make it honorable. The Celtic church preached as did Jeremiah and Paul that the purpose of the new convenant was to write God’s law in the heart and that God could be just and justify the sinner who had fled to Christ. No wonder the Celtic church differed so profoundly from the papacy. The church in the wilderness clung to the beautiful truths of God’s word.

Sabbath keeping is not about salvation by works, because we are saved by grace, but we demonstrate our love and appreciation for what Jesus has done for us, but our obedience by our loyalty to what He has commanded us. Remember the truth has nothing to fear from investigation.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

SABBATH TO SUNDAY – AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

I want to begin with something that I hear more than anything else from Minister and Pastors who want to find an excuse to deny the Ten Commandment, the corollary being an excuse to reject the Saturday Sabbath. Christians say that we are “no longer under the law but under grace.” Have you ever heard that when people are trying to set aside the Ten Commandments, but more predictably the binding claims of the Seventh-day Sabbath? Put up your hands if you have heard that before. Oh, they say you don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments any longer because we are no longer under the law but under grace.

What they are implying is that people who keep the Ten Commandments believe that they are saved by keeping the law and they are under the law, but the rest are saved by grace, and don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments anymore. But let me tell you, that is not what under the law or under grace means. I want to give you three simple Bible texts to refute that specious argument and you can use yourself at any time when discussing this with them. Turn with me to Romans 6:14

(Rom 6:14 KJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

This text tells us if we sin we are under the law, and we already know as it reads in 1 John 3:4 that sin is breaking of God’s Ten Commandments. So the Bible clearly tells us that to be under the law actually means to be breaking the law of God, is that right? Of course it is, keep your hand in chapter 6 and let’s quickly turn to Romans 3:19

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Let’s make no mistake about it, when a person is under the law they are guilty before God, and to be under the law actually means you are breaking the Ten Commandments not keeping them do you get it? That’s why they are guilty before God. Lets’ go back to chapter six and continue reading from verse 15

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid

That’s why all true born again Christians are saved by grace, nevertheless the Ten Commandments are still binding, including the fourth commandment the Sabbath. There you are, three simple Bible verses Romans 6:14, Romans 3:19 and back to Romans 6:15 to refute the accusation we are no longer under the law. Let me explain this now by way of illustration, supposing a man had been found guilty of murder he has been convicted of the murder by the jury and he has to face the death penalty. Now this man is condemned by the law he is under the penalty of the law. While he awaits the day of his execution, his lawyer discovers there was some circumstantial evidence that was not taken into account, so his lawyer makes an appeal, the judge reviews the evidence, and the man is guilty alright, but in light of the new evidence, the judge decides to give the man a pardon or grace.

This man can walk free from the prison, no police officer can arrest him because he has been given grace, but even though he has been given grace, he still cannot speed when he drives, he cannot rob a person, he cannot shoplift, why is that? Because even though this man has been given grace, the law is still in place. And that is how it is for us, we have been given grace by virtue of Jesus’s death on the cross, He has removed the death penalty from us, but even though we have been given grace, and are saved due to the merits of Christ’s substitutionary death for us, the law is still in place, the Ten commandments are still there, and both the Old and New Testaments make that very clear.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE HISTORY OF THE SABBATH BEGINNING FROM THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH

¹⁷And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.

The history of the early church testified to the Saviours words. The powers of secular rulers, pagan cults, Jewish bigotry and the Roman authorities arrayed themselves against Christ in the person of His followers. Persecution against the Christian movement first began among the Jews soon after the ascension of Jesus Christ in 31ad, but along with that as the Christianity spread from Jerusalem beyond the borders of Palestine, it attracted worshippers from cults perculiar to the host nations.

Paganism could see that if the gospel would triumph, her temples and altars would be swept away, and strong opposition rose which turned into outright persecution. This persecution begun under Nero. The year is 64ad the capital of the world is in flames, that being Rome. For six days and six nights the great fire races out of control through the most populous districts of the imperial city.

Following the martyrdom of many of their faithful leaders, many Christians fell victim to error. Confused and disheartened, they became easy prey for the wolves which Paul warned about in Acts 20:29,30.

But listen, as persecution ceased and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Jesus Christ and the disciples for all the pomp and pageantry of the state. Pagan rulers and priests nominally converted to Christianity to gain the favor of the Emperor, and the simple teachings of the Bible began to be corrupted with pagan thought.

Emperor Constantine’s could see that it was to his political advantage to unite pagans and Christians through-out the empire, and so in a dramatic act to bring them together on points of agreement, he issued his decree reinforcing the solemnity of Sunday worship with his Sunday law in 321AD. Instead of pagans worship the sun SUN the greek word being Helios, and the Latin Sol on the day of the sun, they were to worship the SON on the day of the SUN in honour of the resurrection. In fact let me read to you the Sunday decree

The Roman secular government led by Constantine legislated for the first time a Sunday law. Nevertheless, despite that, the vast majority of Christians continued to keep the Sabbath Saturday throughout the empire defying the Roman Empire and increasingly paganized Church. This is a quote from a book called Early Christianity by Lyman Coleman published in 1852.

Ancient Christianity Exemplified. Lyman Coleman, chap.26, sec.2, p.527. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co, 1852

However, to further underpin the acceptance throughout the Roman Empire an Ecclesiastical Conclave of Church leaders gathered in Laodicea in 364AD supporting the State law, thus the church put its seal of approval on Sunday.

Now this was not the first time Sunday was kept by Christians, in fact we can go back to the first century in Rome and Alexandria, as Christians endeavoured to distance themselves away from the Jews whom they worshipped with on the Sabbath in synagogues throughout the empire. You see the Jews often incurred the wrath of the Roman authorities because of their unwillingness to cooperate with the customs of the nations they domiciled with, attempting to be seen of a different character, some Christians believed to protect the fledgling movement from extinction it was necessary to distance themselves from any Jewish association and depart from Sabbath keeping and the logical alternative was the day of the sun in honour of the resurrection. Sunday worship never came from a scriptural imperative, but rather Christians wanting to distance themselves from Jewish association.

Nevertheless the reality was that the great majority of Christians continued to observe the Sabbath, the day we call Saturday even after Sunday legislation issued by Emperor Constantine on 321ad.

During the same century the state recognized church would have its prestige raised even further, due to policy of the Senate in Rome, with the relocation of the Empire’s Capital moved from Rome to Byzantium in 324ad and renamed Constantinople, modern day Istanbul in Turkey. From that time on, Rome’s Emperors governed from the Bosphorus, but the vacancy left in the city of Rome was filled by the bishop of Rome whose power had grown in size and influence, until a letter written to Pope John II on March 26 533ad by Emperor Justinian gave complete control of the Christian Church to the Bishop of Rome with his church becoming the Roman Catholic Church. The word catholic means universal, therefore The church in Rome is now given absolute authority over all of Christianity universally as legislated by the secular state. The bishop of Rome the Pope was to be the great moral teacher, and ecclesiastical voice for the Roman Empire, and the leader of every Christian Church.

Here is a part of that letter from Emperor Justinian

Code of Justinian, book 1 titles 1,8, Thomas Collett Sandar. Ed. And Translator. The Institutes of Justinian 8^th ed. London. Longmans, Green and Co, 1888.

It was that decree which eventually came into force in 538ad, the delay due to political instability, along with the intolerance against any that did not submit to the doctrinal authority of Rome, that caused men and women desiring to be faithful to the truths of God’s Word, to seek out the remote places of the empire, to worship secretly and practice their religion in peace.

The historical fact remains, the rise of the Roman Catholic Church from the sixth century on, and extending over a period of 1,000 years, given absolute power from and supported by the State became as draconian as the worst oligarchy, junta or dictatorship as can be found in the 20^th century.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

For the next 1000 years a period of intolerance and spiritual gloom descended up Christendom where the handwritten Bible as rare as they were, was chained to churches walls and monasteries and being beyond the reach of the common people, saw Christianity become the chief depository of heathen superstitions and fables.

The Roman Catholic Church with farsighted policy, perceived that in order to enslave men and women effectually, the shackles must be bound and doors barred to the next life, and the surest way to prevent them from escaping their bondage, was to render them incapable of freedom, submitting their will in recognition that the church and the church alone was the door to the next life.

But hidden within and without Christendom were people who remained true to the Bible, who transcribed the Bible into their native tongue and secretly shared it among those they believed may be interested. This quote is from a series of volumes called the Epistles of St Gregory the Great. He was a Pope during the seventh century.

Epistle of St Gregory the Great. Book 13, epistle 1; Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers,” volume XIII, p.92

What do you make of that quote? Yes Christians were practicing and teaching the Sabbath, 300 years after the time of Constantine’s Sunday Law in 321AD

“Sabbath observed by Celtic Church Scotland during the eleventh century AD, they worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner. They seem to have followed a custom of which we find traces in the early monastic church in Ireland, by which they held Saturday to be the Sabbath on which they rested from all their labors.”

A History of Scotland. Andrew Lang, vol.1,p. 96 Edinburgh William Blackwood and Sons, 1905

When the Catholic Queen Margaret of England married Malcolm of Scotland in 1069AD, she set herself to turn the Celtic Church of Scotland from Sabbath keeping to honouring Sunday the child of the Roman Catholic Church. Notice what her confessor and biographer Turgot says

Life of Saint Margaret. Turgot. P. 49, sec. 20. Edinburgh:David Douglas 1896 .

In Scotland and Ireland the Sabbath was kept for many hundreds of years, after Europe became the bastion of Roman Catholicism. However, if we dig a little further into the historical archives we learn of Sabbath keepers within the bounds of the continent, in the hard to reach places such as the Alps and Valleys’ of Northern Italy. Isolated from the terrors of the Roman Church, Sabbath keepers were able to practice their faith freely.

Can I ask you have any of you heard of the Saracens, do you know who they were? Great, they were Turks or Arabs who were followers of Muhammad and in around 620AD Mohammad began conquering and taking control of the Arabian Peninsula, he drove Christians from Jerusalem, and Palestine, Turkey, Parts of North Africa, and Arabia came under Muslim control. But the Western part of the old Roman Empire remained under Roman Catholic control, however, the Saracens feared by the West, also caused pockets of the Christian faith to be isolated and in effect protected by Roman Catholic policy.

Have you ever heard of Abyssinia? What country is that today? Yes it is Ethiopia, and I want you to look at this map, because you will see that that the Muslims formed a buffer that isolated the Sabbath keeping Christians of Ethiopia from the Roman Catholic church. Notice the following from a book called Church history of Ethiopa.

Church History of Ethiopia, Michael Geddes, pp.87,88. London: R. Chiswell, 1696

The Abyssinians received the truth of God and the Sabbath, centuries before the time of Jesus Christ.

Turn to Acts 8:26,27

In the passage we have read of a man of great authority from the Ethiopia, who was the nation’s treasurer during the reign of Queen Candace, has come to Jerusalem to worship, he is a Sabbath keeper. Furthermore, history tells us that it was probably the Apostle Matthew who first took the truth of Jesus Christ to Ethiopia. Notice what Edward Gibbon the famous historian of the 18^th century who wrote “the fall and decline of the Roman empire” says in regard to those Sabbath keeping Christians of Ethiopia.

Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire chapter 47 para 37

Isn’t that interesting, and there are many such groups of people that we could turn to that has a similar history where the isolation away from the Roman Catholic Church saw the Sabbath observed.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

Who was one of the greatest heroes in Sabbath keeping history, was renowned for driving his staff hard into the ground when he taught ,and on one occasion legend had it that he preached so long that his ash wood staff grew roots who would that be?

All right then I will give you another clue it is said that he banished snakes from the island, and today there is not a snake to be found there. Who is man?

These legends refer to Patrick of Ireland, and certainly they are fictitious, but the man is not and the heroic figure of Patrick, taken captive as a boy into slavery around 385AD stands out as the man most responsible for bringing Sabbath keeping into Ireland. Patrick belongs to the Celtic race of which the Britons of England, the Scots and the Irish are a part. Let me tell you a little about Patrick of Ireland before we close

At the age of 16 Patrick was carried captive to Ireland by slavers who had sailed up the Clyde river and raided the village of his birth in England calaled Banavan. During his seven years in Ireland, he learned the Irish form of the Celtic Language. He escaped the slavers at the age of 23 and returned to England later becoming a Christian.

The words of Patrick himself reveal his unrest of soul after his escape from slavery until he submitted to the call of God to proclaim the news of salvation to the Irish.

Leaving England with a few companions according to the record in the book of Armagh, he landed at Wicklow Head on the southeastern coast of Ireland. Patrick preached the Bible and the Bible only, and the cornerstone to corporate worship was the Sabbath, the day in which Christ and the Apostle’s worshipped on.

Patrick believed that Christianity should be founded with the home and the family as its strength. The Roman Catholic Church of his day practiced celebacy. This was not true of the Irish Church , the Celtic church as organized and developed under Patrick permitted its pastors to marry. The absence of celibacy in the Celtic church and their worship on the Sabbath day gives added proof that Patrick and his followers had no connection with the Roman Catholic church. Here is a quote from the Catholic Historian T. Ratcliffe Barnett

“In this matter the Scots had perhaps kept up the traditional usage of the ancient Irish Church WHICH OBSERVED SATURDAY INSTEAD OF SUNDAY AS THE DAY OF REST.”

Margaret of Scotland: Queen and Saint, page 97, Barnett

THE SABBATH CONTINUES THROUGHOUT HISTORY

The text that people use to prove that the Sabbath is no longer relevant is found in Colossians 2:14-17,

¹⁴Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; ¹⁵And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: ¹⁷Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

So Paul talks about the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, having nailed it o the cross, and people look at those verses and they say “see there you we don’t have to worry about the Sabbath it says so right there in verse 16,” but it is not the weekly Sabbath day that the Apostle Paul is referring to, because he explains what these handwriting of ordinances contain because in verse 16 he says words to the affect because the handwriting of ordinances was nailed to the cross don’t let anyone judge you on meat or drink or holydays or new moons of the Sabbath day which were a shadow of things to come but the body is of Christ. Paul says all of these different festivals are those which make up the handwriting of ordinances.

Now those various festivals were also ceremonial feast days and were known as Sabbaths, and Sabbath in Hebrew means rest, it is a holy convocation a rest day, just when we have a public holiday for Christmas or Good Friday, in other words those feast days were honoured by a day of rest and they happened on different days of the week from year to year, just like your birthday does and Christmas falls on a different day every year. Lets now turn back to Leviticus 23 and commencing from verse 1

¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. ³Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

Here Moses begins by identifying the weekly Sabbath the memorial to creation as found recorded in the Ten Commandments and then he contrasts that with the ceremonial Sabbaths that we are to read about. Moses as commanded by God describes 6 ceremonial feasts the Passover, the feast of Unleavened Bread, the feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles, now each of these rest days, these Festivals happened on the same date each year, just as I said earlier like your birth date is the same date every year but the day it falls changes from year to year. The same as Christmas on December 25 but one year it falls on a Tuesday and another a Monday, well it is the same with these ceremonial feasts but now I would like you to see how these days are referred to in Leviticus lets look at verse 24

²⁴Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

How does it describe the memorial of trumpets as a whatin verse 32?

³²It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

When does this annual feast happen on what day? Yes on the ninth on the month would that happen the same day of the week each year? No of course not.

³⁸Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD. ³⁹Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

What day and what month were people to gather after gathering the fruit of the land? Was it a weekly or annual Sabbath, these were annual Sabbaths which happened on the same date each year, but on a different day of the week.

See these annual Sabbaths or rest days all revolved around the priestly work of the sanctuary and later the temple, and it was the responsibility of the Levites to administer these feasts. Lets turn to 1 Chronicles 23 and verse 27, it is describing King David’s support of the ceremonial system about 1050 years before the time of Christ.

1 Chronicles 23

²⁷For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above: ²⁸Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God; ²⁹Both for the showbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baken in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size; ³⁰And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even; ³¹And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD: ³²And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.

You see David is reinforcing what had been done for over 400 years by this time, but my interest in these verses is particularly focused on verse 31 where the Bible again identifies new moons and feast days as what sort of days? Yes Sabbaths and these words here are almost identical to the words that we find recorded in Colossians 2:14-17, which refers to meat and drink offerings of new moon festivals etc. So yes in the old Testament these ritual days were identified as Sabbaths but they were annual Sabbaths, not the weekly Sabbath found in the Ten Commandments God’s moral law.

And so you understand why Paul would have used this language in Colossians 2 there were major issues with Jews, particularly from Pharisees and priests after having accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah and becoming a part of the movement known as Christianity they tried to impose these same feast days upon the Gentile believers, that is non Jews, but Paul said all of those services ended at the cross with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

You will remember the situation with this same group who were trying to force the Gentile’s to be circumcised in Acts chapter 15, and the council of Jerusalem led by James said no circumcision is not necessary any more, but have them avoid fornication and food offered to idols. Knowing all these things now lets reread Colossians 2:14 – 17

I have already asked this question and I have already identified the answer but what was contained in the handwriting of ordinances? Yes those Mosaic ceremonial laws which included food and drink offerings, new moons and harvest festivals etc. Let read on

¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: ¹⁷Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

One of the golden rules of good Biblical exegesis is to compare Scripture with Scripture and now we see that these can in no way be talking about the weekly Sabbath as recorded in the Ten Commandments with the rest of the moral law of Exodus chapter 20 Lets look at Ephesians 2:14, 15

¹⁴For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; ¹⁵Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

How did Jesus abolish in his flesh the law of commandments contained in ordinances so making peace. Yes through his death, he abolished the old sacrificial system with its feast days, and new moons, by his death on the cross reinforced the importance of the Ten Commandments and the perpetuity of the Sabbath.. Good news it is as simple as that, and we have not followed cunningly devised fables, our beliefs are based on the Bible and the Bible only unlike those that teach that the Sabbath finished at the cross.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

We discovered that for over 1000 years communities of Christians throughout Europe, Ireland, Scotland, England, North Africa and elsewhere remained faithful to God’s word and were obedient to the teaching of the first century church, in that they kept the Ten Commandments including the Sabbath.

But let’s go back to the fifth century and read the testimony of Socrates the fifth century Christian historian in his work “Ecclesiastical history” saw that that throughout the Christian world Sabbath keeping was widespread.

For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome on account of some ancient tradition have ceased to do this.

(Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 5, 22, NPNF 2nd Series, 2:132.)

Sabbath keeping was still widely practiced though outlawed after the time of Emperor Constantine. The references to Alexandria and Rome as the exceptions to the Sabbath keeping rule, were if you remembered responses by the Christian leadership of those cities to distances themselves from the Jews by rejecting the Sabbath, and worshipping on the day of Sun, in honour of the resurrection of Christ because of terrible persecution. Nevertheless it was not Biblical, in fact Jesus never said to compromise when prosecution or persecution against Christians was active, but rather move to another location and continuing working their in Matthew 10:23. Let’s turn our attention to Sabbath keepers in Europe now during the period of the Dark Ages, when the State Church was at its most intolerant.

In respect to Holland an Germany, “Dr. Cornelius stated of East Friesland, that when Baptists were numerous, “Sunday and holidays were not observed, they were Sabbath-keepers.” Der Anteil Ostfrieslands and Ref. Muenster,” 1852, pp l29, 34

Of Sweden, “In the district of Uppsala the farmers kept Saturday in place of Sunday. “About the year 1625 this religious tendency became so pronounced in these countries that not only large numbers of the common people began to keep Saturday as the rest day, but even many priests did the same.” History of the Swedish Church, Vol.I, p.256

We spent a little time above learning about Patrick of Ireland but I want to spend a little time telling you about one of the students of the Missionary colleges established by Patrick, his name was Columba, please do not confuse this man with Christopher Columbus who I will be speaking nearing the end of this presentation. This men was a Celt and the man largely responsible for converting the heathen Pict of Scotland to Christianity.. He dedicated his life to the spread of Bible religion, he was of royal descent, it is said of him that he renounced his chance to sit up the Irish throne. He was a descendant of Niall an Irish king so mighty that it is said that he held hostages for the nine kingdoms he subdued. At the age of 25 Columba built the church of Derry in Northern Ireland and for the next 7 years he founded many churches and Biblical institutes.

Around 563 AD he sailed toward Scotland with 200 of his followers and chose to establish a mission school on the Ireland of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides. Iona was the burial ground of kings and nobles of Scotland, it was a sacred seat of the heathen Druidic learning and religion, but it became the centre of the Celtic Church for the next 600 years until they were driven out by the Benedictine monks in 1204ad.

On Iona they built dwellings, planted crops, established schools, and as a result of Columba’s work Iona became a famous mission school. It was a training school for missionaries who went out to Scotland England and Europe during the time of the Dark Ages, but the men and women of wealth from Europe sent their children there to be educated. So much so that on Iona are buried not only the Kings of Scotland, but of Ireland, France, Denmark and Norway. During Columba life hundreds of copies of the New Testament were translated and distributed through Europe. Here is a quote from an historian by the name of Maclauchlan.

There was a continual stream of missionaries from the churches of Ireland and Scotland flowing toward the continental church, of which we have ample evidence in the numerous Gaelic MSS belonging to these churches found in continental monastries.

Maclauchlan, Early Scottish Church, page 336.

And this from an Historian named Killen

The monastery was in fact a college where all the branches of learning then known were diligently cultivated; where astronomy was studied where Greek as well as Latin literature entered the curriculum; where sons of kings and nobles received tuition…

Killen, The Old Catholic Church, page 292.

Columba himself took the gospel to Scotland making the land a Christian stronghold those people were Sabbath keepers, they worshipped on Saturday, they believed in baptism by immersion, they believed in the literal return of Jesus Christ. Iona continued as the main centre for Celtic Christianity for 600 years until it was overrun by Benedictine abbots in about 1204 ad.

Sabbath keeping thrived even during the 12^th century, despite the Drocanion laws against Sabbath keepers instituted by the State Church, please note the following,

[Referring to the Sabbath keepers] “The spread of heresy at this time is almost incredible. …From northern France to the Tiber, everywhere we meet them. Whole countries are infested, like Hungary and southern France; they abound in many other countries, in Germany, in Italy, in the Netherlands and even in England they put forth their efforts.”

Dr. Hahn, “Gesch. der Ketzer.” 1, 13, 14

During the period of the Dark Ages Christians continued to honor the Sabbath but if discovered they were persecuted , even when we come to the early years of the reformation in the 16^th century Sabbath keepers were persecuted. This is a quote from the a series of works called Literature on the Sabbath Question by a Dr R Cox

“I find from a passage in Erasmus that at the early period of the Reformation when he wrote, there were Sabbatarians in Bohemia, who not only kept the seventh day, but were said to be…scrupulous in resting on it.”

Dr. R. Cox. Literature of the Sabbath Question, Cox, Vol. II, pp. 201, 202

You see the light of the Sabbath continued to shine throughout those centuries even with the best efforts of State and Church to eradicate it. Even as far as the lands of India and China the gospel had been proclaimed in the first century during the time of the disciples. Christ had told His disciples that they should be witnesses for Him unto the uttermost parts of the earth and the apostles were ready to go anywhere and there is good evidence that Thomas the doubter came to India where he established Sabbath keeping Christian churches. Notice the following statement,

It is the constant tradition of the Eastern church that the apostle Thomas evangelized India, and there is no historian, no poet, no breviary, no liturgy, and no writer of any kind who having the opportunity of speaking of Thomas does not associate his name with India.

Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church, vol. 1, p. 145

All the Greek, Latin, and Syriac monuments proclaim that St Thomas was the apostle of the Indies, who carried the torch of faith into the remote regions where he suffered martyrdom. Some writers have affirmed that he prosecuted his apostolic labors as far even as China.

Huc, Christianity in China, Tartary and Tibet, vol.1, pp 17,18

But now look what happened after Christians in India had practiced Sabbath keeping for over 1600 years.

The famous Jesuit, Francis Xavier, called for the Inquisition, which was set up in Goa, India, in 1560, to check the ‘Jewish wickedness’ (Sabbath-keeping).”

Adeney, “The Greek and Eastern Churches,” p.527, 528

In A.D. 781 the famous China Monument was inscribed in marble to tell of the growth of Christianity in China at that time. The inscription, consisting of 763 words, was unearthed in 1625 near the city of Changan and now stands in the “Forest of Tablets,” Changan. The following extract from the stone shows that the Sabbath was observed:

“On the seventh day we offer sacrifices, after having purified our hearts, and received absolution for our sins. This religion, so perfect and so excellent, is difficult to name, but it enlightens darkness by its brilliant precepts.”

Christianity in China, M. I’Abbe Huc, Vol. I, ch.2, pp. 48, 49

Let me tell you of Marco Polo the Venetian (Italian) explorer who travelled through Central Asia and China in the 14^th century. Marco Polo was born in 1254 and died in 1324. He was an Italian explorer from Venice. He was seventeen on his first journey to China in 1271, travelling with his father and uncle over the Silk Road which was an overland route to China. He worked for Kublai Khan, the Mongol Emperor, for seventeen years. He sailed home instead of going overland bringing back ivory, jade, jewels, porcelain and silk. He told the Europeans about the Chinese use of coal, money and compasses. He met Rustichello, a famous writer, who wrote about Marco Polo’s travels in a book called THE BOOK OF TRAVEL, which became famous for his travels through Central Asia and China. His book gave Europeans some of their earliest information about China, but was received with astonishment and disbelief. Remember we have already established that there were Sabbath keeping churches in China notice what we find in Marco Polo’s account of his journeys and the Christian churches he found, remember he was a Roman Catholic.

“Mosul is a large province inhabited by various descriptions of people, one class of whom pay reverence to Mahomet…others profess the Christian faith, but not according to the canons of the church, which they depart from in many instances. They have an archbishop, bishops and abbots are consecrated and sent to all parts of India..or to Cathay (China), just as the Pope of Rome does in the Latin countries.

Komroff, The Travels of Marco Polo, p.29

Discuss the above.

When he reached Tangut, one of the places mentioned by Sauma, Marco Polo noticed the existence of Assyrian Christians, and also in Tun-Huang…from there he travelled to the city of Campichu in which he says, the Christians have three very fine churches.

Yule. The book of Marco Polo, vol. 1, pp, 203.

Again these Christians were of the Eastern churches Sabbath keepers. In China the gospel was established in the first century but due to the rise of Islam China and India were shielded for over 1000 years from the influence of the Latin Church the Roman Catholic Church that substituted the Sabbath for Sunday.

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

Probably the most famous and vocal of all opponents of Christianity of the 19^th century a man by the name of Robert G. Ingersoll. He was brought up in a Christian home, but rejected it as he grew into his adult years because of the unscriptural teaching of hellfire and eternal torment. Ingersoll was unable to reconcile how a loving merciful God, could be at the same time so capricious and malevolent in condemning people to a fiery hell for eternity, we will be studying that subject in depth in a few weeks time, but this belief became the chief reason to turn his back on Jesus Christ and mock Christiantiy. However, it is what he has to say on the Sabbath that very much interests me, because often atheists and agnostics no the Bible better than most Christians, and he is no exception to this general rule. This is what he says after talking about the seventh day rest of creation week found in Genesis chapter 2, in a book called Some Mistakes of Moses.

There are, in the Old Testament, two reasons given for abstaining from labor on the sabbath : the resting of God, and the redemption of the Jews from the bondage of Egypt. Since the establishment of the Christian religion, the day has been changed, and Christians do not regard the day as holy upon which God actually rested, and which he sanctified. The Christian Sabbath, or the ” Lord s day” was legally established by the murderer Constantine, because upon that day Christ was supposed to have risen from the dead. It is not easy to see where Christians got the right to disregard the direct command of God, to labor on the day he sanctified, and keep as sacred, a day upon which he commanded men to labor. The sabbath of God is Saturday, and if any day is to be kept holy, that is the one, and not the Sunday of the Christian.

R.G Ingersoll, – Some Mistakes of Moses, page 106.

Even agnostics, athiests and antithiests know the Bible and ecclesiastical history better than most Christians, and here one of the most prominent agnostics to have ever lived mocks Christians who ignore the Sabbath and substitute it for Sunday.

CAN SUNDAY KEEPING BE SUPPORTED IN THE BIBLE?

We have already discovered from Genesis to Revelation, that God asks us to Remember his special day the Sabbath, we saw Jesus kept the Sabbath, the Disciples all kept the Sabbath, and in fact God wants you to keep the Sabbath, which we learnt refers to the day we call Saturday. In fact that is what Jesus says in John 14:15

If you love me keep my commandments

Now some Christian’s say Jesus gave us two new commandments, but we saw that was absolutely false, because the commandments that Jesus asks us to keep, which He identified as His own are found in John 15:10

If you keep My Commandments, you shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s Commandments, and abide in His love.

What Commandments did Jesus keep, yes His Father’s commandments which were the Ten Commandments, so what commandments is Jesus asking us to keep so we abide in His love. Yes the Ten Commandments, which includes the fourth which begins with the words, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy? Now we have already discovered that the Bible Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday as some teach.

So the question needs to be asked, how is it that churches are worshipping on Sunday and not on the Saturday Sabbath as the Bible instructs. The first and most obvious reason is that most Christians do not study the Bible for themselves properly, and largely accept what the majority is doing and has done for a long time. Secondly they know little about the history of Christianity and thirdly they overlook the warning the Apostle Paul gave in the book of Acts 20:29,30

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

Paul warns of leaders that would come up among Christians and teach error and would persuade other Christians to follow them. This has be the Christian churches experience over the centuries as people have followed false teachers and neglected the study of the Bible for themselves.

Therefore, in order to leave no stone unturned in our quest for truth, we would have to admit particularly if you have an allegiance to Sunday keeping, if Sunday keeping is true and it is the day that each of us should worship on, then we would expect to find a commandment in the Bible authorizing Sunday worship. Right? Yes of course, or we would find a commandment clearly saying, stop worshipping on Sabbath and change to Sunday right? Of course, so what we are going to do now is look at every text in the Bible that refers to Sunday, and obviously if there is a command to keep Sunday holy we will find it associated with one of those texts. Alright lets begin.

As we study the Bible we see that Sunday or the first day of the week is only mentioned nine times in the entire Bible, so let’s go to the first text found in the Bible, and it is in the first book of the Bible the book of Genesis 1:5,

(Gen 1:5 KJV) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Now this is the only time that the first day of the week, Sunday is mentioned in the Old Testament, its not mentioned again, and it does not call us to keep the day as a holy day of worship does it? No. Alright lets go to the last remaining 8 references to Sunday and they are all found in the New Testament, beginning at Matthew 28:1

(Mat 28:1 KJV) In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Can I ask you does this text tell us that we are to keep the first day of the week Sunday holy? No it does not, but what it does tell us is that the Sabbath is ended, so the first day of the week Sunday is not the Bible Sabbath that is for sure. Let’s turn to our second text that refers to Sunday the first day of the week and it is found in Mark 16:1,2

(Mark 16:1,2 KJV) And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Friends does this text tell us we are to worship on Sunday or keep it holy? No it does not, Mark 16:9

(Mark 16:9 KJV) Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

Again this text does not tell us to place any special importance on the first day of the week, all it tells us is that it is the day that Christ rose, in fact the first five of these verses referring to Sunday all deal with the morning of the resurrection. Well let’s move to our fourth text this evening in John 20:1

(John 20:1 KJV) The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Any command here to keep Sunday Holy? No, well let’s move on to our fifth text this evening found in the book of Luke 24:1.

(Luke 24:1-3 KJV) Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

Does this text tell us to go to church on Sunday in honor of the resurrection? No of course it doesn’t. The book of Luke was written by a Greek convert to Christianity who was a doctor named Luke. It was written about 26 years after the ascension of Christ, but there is no change in the day of worship mentioned here. Dr. Luke also wrote the book of Acts which deals with the first 30 years of the early church, after ascension of Christ, and in Acts 1 Luke makes a very significant statement lets turn there now Acts 1:1

(Acts 1:1 KJV) The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, (Acts 1:2 KJV) Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

This is a highly significant and telling text, because Luke is saying that in his gospel referring to the Gospel of Luke, he included information regarding all that Jesus did and taught including any commandments given to His disciples, but the book of Luke only mentions the first day of the week one time, with no hint to keep the day holy, on the contrary it tells us Saturday is the day that should be kept holy in Luke 23:50-56. Our sixth text referring to the first day of the week is seen by some as strong evidence that the disciples were instituting Sunday worship. Let’s turn there now in John 20:19

(John 20:19 KJV) 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, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

This is the evening of the resurrection and the Apostle John says that the disciples are gathered in the upper room, now some preachers teach that they were worshipping in honor of the resurrection, but that is not what the Bible says because we are told the disciples were assembled for what? Fear of the Jews, they were afraid that what had happened to Jesus was going to happen to them also, so they were hiding with door locked. The Disciples had not gathered to inaugurate a new holy day, in honor of the resurrection because until Jesus appeared in their midst they refused to believe that He was resurrected! How do I know that well turn with me to Mark 16:14

(Mark 16:14 KJV) 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.

You see they did not even believe that Jesus had risen on that evening on the first day of the week, so how could they have been celebrating a service in honor of the resurrection? They couldn’t could they, no way at all, again this text does not command us to keep Sunday holy, well let’s move to our seventh text in the New Testament which deals with the first day of the week. Turn with me to Acts 20:7-12

(Acts 20:7-12 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. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. 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. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

Does this text tell us to observe Sunday as holy? No. Does it say that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday? No, does it say they met every Sunday for worship? No…Paul was on a farewell trip to the churches. The meeting at Troas was a special farewell meeting. This meeting was held in the evening because there were many lights on in the chamber, and Paul preached until midnight and then continued preaching to the break of day. But listen this was not a Sunday evening meeting this was a Saturday evening meeting.

You see we measure a day from midnight to midnight, but a day in Bible times was measured from Sunset to Sunset. If we were to turn to the book of Genesis we would see that it says the evening and the morning was the first day of the week, and the evening and the morning was the second day of the week, etc. So the dark part of the day came first and then the light part of the day. When does evening begin? At sunset so, evening or sunset marked the beginning of a new day in Biblical times. Just to clarify this point turn with me to Leviticus 23:32

(Lev 23:32 KJV) It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.

When was the Sabbath measured from? From even to even or sunset to sunset. Now Saturday is the seventh day of the week, and using the Bible method of measuring a day it commences sunset Friday night and concludes sunset Saturday night. In the New Testament we read of the Jewish people’s rigid beliefs about Sabbath observance in Luke 4:40

Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with different diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them.

Why did they come when the sun was setting because that marked the end of the Sabbath day, and they were taught by the Jewish rabbis that healing on the Sabbath was a sin, so they waiting until the Sabbath was past, So going back to this meeting on the evening of the first day of the week recorded in Acts 20, today we would call it Saturday night, Paul preaches past midnight and then continues on till dawn and goes on his way by foot to the city called Assos which was about 48 kilometers away. See Paul didn’t stay in Troas on the first day of the week Sunday to keep it holy, as he did the Sabbath\Saturday, no Sunday was just another day, just another working day and he used it to travel. Some people say that because Paul broke bread that night it was a communion service so this was a religious service, but let’s turn back to Acts 2:46

(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,

How often did they break bread, it says they did it every day, now whether they were having a communion service or not it doesn’t matter, because they did it every day so the point I am making is that the breaking of bread does not make a day holy, only God can do that, would you like to know why Luke included this story in the book of Acts? Because of the miracle of the restoration of the young lads life, he was dead, but as Paul prayed over him, God restored his life and it was a notable miracle worthy of recording, that is why Luke included it in his journal we call the book of Acts! Not because of any religious significance because from our previous studies all Christians were still worshipping on the Saturday Sabbath their entire lives. Let’s turn to our eighth and final text which refers to the first day of the week found in 1 Cor. 16:1,2

(1 Cor 16:1-2 KJV) Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Can I ask you does this final text in the New Testament say that the first day of the week is holy? No, does this passage say “Drop you money into the collection plate when it is passed around in your church on the first day of the week in honor of the resurrection? No of course it doesn’t, but what this does say is that the Corinthians were to lay by him in store which means to put aside at home or do it privately. The Revised Standard version Bible says “each of you is to put something aside and store it up.” Paul was gathering funds for the Jerusalem Christians who were suffering from famine (Acts 11:27-30), he was on a humanitarian mission to relieve the suffering of those in Jerusalem. Paul knew that if was just to arrive an announce the great need back in Jerusalem that he would get very little, so what does Paul do he writes to the Galatian churches, the churches in Corinth and elsewhere so that they can store up or save up the money when he was to come a few months later, in fact Paul in verse 2 says “so there would be no gatherings when I come.” In other words he was in a hurry, but why store money up on the first day of the week Sunday? For Christians in the early centuries there working week finished on Friday, the preparation day, the sixth day of the week. The next day was the Sabbath when they were to cease from all worldly business, and then the first day of the week Sunday is when they prepared their finances or budgeted for the rest of the week and Paul is saying as you plan your finances for the week, lay a little aside, store something away privately as you remember the suffering followers of Christ in Jerusalem. “That is all 1 Corinthians 16 is referring too, it has nothing to do with a new day of worship or a church service at all!

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

Now we have seen in the New Testament every text related to Sunday and not one of them supports Sunday sacredness! And friends the Sabbath is just as important to God today as it was two thousand years ago. The Sabbath is just as important today to Jesus Christ as it was right back in the beginning of this world, and friend you too can experience the blessing that comes from the keeping the Sabbath day, and I would encourage you in that, because it is pleasing to God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 13:10 that Love is the fulfilling of the law, and friends love for Christ is what drives us to do what we do, our desire to please Him because of all the things that He has done for us and will do for us. He has given us life, He keeps our hearts beating this very moment, Jesus chose to die on the cross for us, and would have done that if even you were the only person who was to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour, and He will gather us up in the air at the Second Coming to take us back to heaven. That is why we want to follow Him not in order to be saved but because we are saved. Remember that important verse in Revelation 14:12

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Here the John, identifies God’s people in the last days, as those who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus, in other words, these people in the end, keep all of God’s commandments including the Sabbath, but they do not believe that they are saved by keeping the law, because they know their salvation depends on their faith in Jesus Christ. Those people at the end, have faith that what Jesus did on the cross, when He gave his life removed the death penalty from them and the merits of Christ’s sacrificial act has saved them, in other words they are saved by grace, yet they are still obedient to God’ Commandments. You see obedience to God’s commands is the loving response to the gift of salvation offered them by Jesus Christ, that is why all true born again Christians will respond by obedience. God’s people in the last days keep the Commandments of God and have faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation.

Agnes de Rochier was the only daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants of Paris, and was admired for her beauty and virtue. In 1403 her father died leaving her as the sole possessor of His wealth. Immediately she was surrounded by men or all ages who wanted to marry her. This became unbearable so she decided that she would devote herself to God by being a recluse and pass the remainder of her days in a narrow cell within the wall of a church. On the 5^th of October she entered the cell of the church of St. Opportune. The Bishop of Paris sprinkled holy water in the cell and celebrated a Pontifical Mass then she was sealed in except for a little hole where the charitable would pass her food and she could hear the mass. She was eighteen years of age when she went in, she lived another 62 years in the cell.

Alas for mistaken piety and misplaced loyalty, she did not understand what the Bible meant by devotion, our devotion to God does not happen by hiding ourselves away, but by living in the real world and letting our light shine so others can learn and see what a rich and happy life accompanies all those who follow Jesus Christ. And it is because the followers of Jesus Christ prove their love for Him by being obedient to Him. People know that I love my wife and she loves me because we are faithful to each other. We prove we love Jesus Christ because we are faithful to Him, in other words our faith is full towards Jesus and we gladly follow His example. Jesus kept the Sabbath, the disciples after Jesus all kept that Sabbath and because I love Jesus Christ I keep the Sabbath as well, what about you? Do you really love Jesus? Do you really appreciate what He has done for you on the cross? Do you really want to follow Jesus?

THE SABBATH in HISTORY THE SABBATH in HISTORY

The Sabbath in History Part 2

THE SABBATH IN HISTORY (EXTENDED STUDY BELOW)

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

SABBATH TO SUNDAY – AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE HISTORY OF THE SABBATH BEGINNING FROM THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH CONTINUES THROUGHOUT HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

CAN SUNDAY KEEPING BE SUPPORTED IN THE BIBLE?

THE SABBATH in HISTORY

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