Who changed Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday

Since the Bible from Genesis to Revelation recognizes only the Saturday Sabbath as the weekly day of rest, then how did the practice of Sunday worship come about? What is its origin? Some Christians feel that Sunday should be observed to commemorate the resurrection, but where in the Bible did Jesus or the apostles make such a statement? Who sanctioned the replacement of the Sabbath with Sunday or claims to have done so? There has been much debate so lets look at what we can find in the historical record:

In his book 'From Sabbath to Sunday', Samuele Bacchiocchi claimed that the change from Sabbath to Sunday "was introduced at Rome about the middle of the second century."
In support of that position, Samuele Bacchiocchi argues that Sunday-keeping was a Roman Catholic innovation that achieved universality because of the authority of the Roman church. Anti-Jewish sentiments were strong in Rome, and Gentiles became prominent in the church there. Since Hadrian fought against the Jews, his reign would be a likely candidate for the beginning of Sunday observance.

Because of the exigency that arose to separate Christians from the Jews and their Sabbath, Gentile Christians adopted the venerable day of the Sun from pagan sun worship as a substitute. Although the church in Rome influence some areas of the empire, it was not able to change long-standing Sabbath worship in all parts, especially in the East where those beliefs were based on apostolic practice.


Emperor Aurelian begins new Sun cult. (274 A.D.)

Source: Franz Cumont, Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans (reprint; New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1960), pp. 55, 56.
First Sunday Law enacted by Emperor Constantine -

March, 321 A.D.
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.

Transition from Pagan to Christian

Source: Hutton Webster, Rest Days, pp. 122, 123, 270. Copyright 1916 by The Macmillan Company, New York.
Yes, the title Pontifex Maximus is pagan, derived from the Sun worshipping Roman Empire, and the source of the papal title of Pontiff.

Pagan Festivals and Church Policy
Source: Arthur Weigall, The Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 145. Copyright 1928 by G. p. Putnam’s Sons, New York.

Pope Sylvester I (314-335 A.D.)
Decrees the Transfer of Sabbath Rest to Sunday:

Rabanus Maurus (776-856), abbot of Fulda and later archbishop of Mainz, Germany, was rated one of the greatest theologians of his age and probably the most cultured man of his time, and exceptionally learned in patristics. Besides, he was a zealous defender of the papacy and its teachings. In one of his works, he says,

Rabanus Maurus does not mean to say that Sylvester was the first man who referred to the days of the week as feriae or who first started the observance of Sunday among Christians. He means that, according to the testimony of Roman Catholic writers, Sylvester confirmed those practices and made them official insofar as his church was concerned. Hence Rabanus says elsewhere in his writings:

Note particularly, he says that "the same pope [Sylvester I] decreed that the rest of the Sabbath should be transferred rather to the Lord's day [Sunday]."8 According to this statement, he was the first bishop to introduce the idea that the divinely appointed rest of the Sabbath day should be transferred to the first day of the week. This is significant, especially in view of the fact that it was during Sylvester's pontificate that the emperor of Rome [Constantine] issued the first civil laws compelling men to rest from secular labor on Sunday, and that Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, was the first theologian on record to present arguments, allegedly from the Scriptures, that Christ did transfer the rest of the Sabbath day to Sunday.

Source: Sabbath and Sunday in Early Christianity, by Robert L. Odom.

Dies Solis - The Day of the Sun.
Source: The Douay Catechism,(An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine) of 1649, by Henry Tuberville, D.D., published by P. J. Kenedy, Excelsior Catholic Publishing House, 5 Barclay Street, New York, approved and recommended for his diocese by the Right Rev. Benedict, Bishop of Boston, April 24th, 1833, page 143.

Sunday and Paganism.
Source: PASCHALE GAUDIUM, by Willliam L. Gildea, D.D., in The Catholic World, Vol. LVIII., No. 348., March, 1894., published in New York by The Office of the Catholic World., pages 808-809.

Church decrees Sunday sacredness-

Council of Laodicea (343-381?)
Source: Charles Joseph Hefele, A History of the Christian Councils, Vol. 2, trans. and ed. by H. N. Oxenham (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1896), pp. 310, 316, 320.

Councils of the Church enforce Sunday observance.
Source: M. G. Glazebrook, “Sunday,” in James Hastings, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (New York: Scribner, 1928), Vol. 12, pp. 105, 106.

If as many suppose, Christians as a whole observed Sunday in place of the "Jewish" Sabbath from resurrection Sunday forward, then why was it necessary for the church to enact ecclesiastical laws to enforce Sunday worship as a day of rest? Simply put, the issue to the Catholic Church has always been one of authority, authority to declare binding holy festival days. It is a mark of their authority to institute such days, even appropriating previously pagan days and declaring them obligatory, and that one commits a sin if you do not attend services on those days. The Bible is quite silent on Sunday sacredness, so the "Bible Only" Protestants contradict themselves by observing it as a replacement for the Sabbath.

Sabbath keepers denounced as Antichrist
by Pope Gregory I (590-604)
Source: Gregory I (Pope, 590-604), Selected Epistles, bk. 13, Epistle 1, trans. in NPNF, 2d series, Vol. 13, pp. 92, 93.

In both Old and New Testament there is not a shadow of variation in the doctrine of the Sabbath. The seventh day, Saturday, is the only day ever designated by the term Sabbath in the entire Bible. Not only was Jesus a perfect example in observing the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, but all His disciples followed the same pattern after Jesus had gone back to heaven. Yet no intimation of any change of the day is made. The apostle Paul, who wrote pages of counsel about lesser issues of Jewish and Gentile conflicts, had not one word to say about any controversy over the day of worship. Circumcision, foods offered to idols, and other Jewish customs were readily challenged by early Gentile Christians in the church, but the weightier matter of weekly worship never was an issue. Why? For the simple reason that no change was made from the historic seventh day of Old Testament times, and from creation itself. Had there been a switch from the Sabbath to the first day of the week, you can be sure the controversy would have been more explosive than any other to those Jewish Christians.

Now lets turn to Scriptures before we turn back to history for the answers to the question. Did Jesus or the Apostles change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday the first day of the week? Here is a excerpt from a book by Kenneth A. Strand, The Sabbath in Scripture and History.

"...The word Sunday is not found in the Bible. In the New Testament the first day of the week is mentioned eight times. In none of the eight instances is the first day said to be a day of worship, never is it said to be the Christian substitute for the Old Testament Sabbath, and never do the texts suggest that the first day of the week should be regarded as a memorial of Christ's resurrection. Let us briefly consider each of the eight New Testament passages that mention the first day of the week.

Matthew 28:1, "After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. . . ." Jesus was crucified on Friday. He rested in the tomb over the Sabbath and rose early on Sunday morning. The verse indicates that the women disciples returned to the tomb at the very first opportunity after the death and burial of Jesus. Because the Sabbath came so soon after His burial, they could not approach the tomb again until after sundown on Sabbath evening. (The Sabbath began at sundown on the sixth day and ended at sundown on the seventh day; compare Lev. 23:32; Neh. 13:19; Mark 1:21, 32) Early Sunday morning was the most convenient time for them to visit the tomb.

Mark 16:1, 2, "When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb."Mark records the same events as Matthew with the additional information that the women visited the tomb early on the Sunday morning for the express purpose of anointing Jesus' body with spices.

Mark 16:9, "Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons."This verse simply records that, after His resurrection early on the Sunday morning, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene.

Luke 23:54 & 24:1, "It [the day of Jesus' death and burial] was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared." The Sabbath came a few hours after Jesus' death on the cross. The women disciples "rested the sabbath day according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56, KJV). Then very early in the morning of the first day they visited the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. The fact that they observed the Sabbath rest is sufficient indication that Jesus had never attempted to change the day or to suggest that after His death the first day would replace the Sabbath. Writing years after the event, Luke gave not the slightest hint that, even though the women disciples of Jesus observed the Sabbath, such a practice was no longer expected of Christians. He simply recorded that the Sabbath day "according to the commandment," which Jesus' followers were careful to observe, was the day after the crucifixion day (Friday), and before the resurrection day (Sunday).

John 20:1, "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb."Mary Magdalene visited the tomb early the first day of the week. Nothing is said of Sunday as a day of worship or rest.

John 20:19, "When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.'" On the evening of the first day of the week the disciples were assembled behind locked doors "for fear of the Jews." Jesus appeared to them at that time. The passage does not say that henceforth Sunday was to be the day for worship. Since it was the evening of the first day of the week that Jesus appeared to the disciples, it was after sundown. According to Jewish reckoning this was actually the beginning of the second day (Monday; compare Gen. 1:5, 8). A week later when Thomas happened to be present, Jesus met with the disciples again (verse 26). But, writing years later, John records nothing regarding Sunday as a day of Christian worship. John's narrative gives no warrant for regarding Sunday as a substitute for the Sabbath or as a day to be distinguished by Christians above any other day of the week. And there is no indication in the passage that Sunday should henceforth be observed as a memorial of Christ's resurrection.

Acts 20:7, "On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight."Since the meeting was held at night on the first day of the week, it may have been Saturday night. According to Jewish reckoning, the Sabbath ended and the first day of the week began at sundown of the seventh day. If it were Sunday evening, the event gives no suggestion that Sunday should be observed as a day of worship. The following verses record that Paul preached a sermon on Thursday. The next day after the meeting recorded in Acts 20:7 (Monday), Paul and his party set sail for Mitylene (Acts 20:13, 14). The following day (Tuesday) they arrived opposite Chios (verse 15). The next day (Wednesday) they passed Samos (verse 15), and the day after that (Thursday) they arrived at Miletus (verse 15). The elders of the church of Ephesus met Paul at Miletus, and he preached to them (Acts 20:16-36). Because a Christian service was held on Thursday, do we conclude that Thursday is a day for regular Christian worship replacing the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath? A religious service on Sunday, Thursday, or any other day certainly did not make that day a replacement for the seventh-day Sabbath or a day of regular Christian worship and rest. There is no special significance in the disciples breaking bread at this first-day meeting, for they broke bread "daily" (Acts 2:46). We are not told that it was a Lord's Supper celebration, nor are we told that henceforth Sunday should be the day for this service to be conducted. To read Sunday sacredness or Sunday observance into Acts 20:7 is to do violence to the text.

1 Corinthians 16:1, 2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave the churches of Galatia. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem."These verses may be literally translated from the Greek as follows: "And concerning the collection for the saints, as I instructed the churches of Galatia, so also you do. On the first day of the week let each of you place (or 'lay') by himself, storing up whatever he might be prospered, so that when I come there might be no collections." (Italics supplied.) The phrase "by himself" (par' heauto), followed by the participle "storing up" or "saving" (thesaupizon), rules out the possibility that this is a reference to an offering taken up in a worship service. The Christian believer was to check his accounts on Sunday and put by at home the money that he wished to give to Paul for the support of the church. When Paul arrived, then the offerings of each individual would be collected.
None of these eight New Testament references to the first day of the week (Sunday), provides any evidence that Jesus or His disciples changed the day of worship from the seventh to the first day. Nor is the first day of the week represented as a time to memorialize the resurrection of Christ. Whatever special significance was given to Sunday in the later history of the church, it had no basis in the teaching or practice of Jesus and His apostles.
As pointed out in the previous chapter, Jesus instructed His disciples to observe the Sabbath after His death (Matt. 24:20). Jesus' instruction was incorporated into His interpretation of Daniel 8 (compare Matthew 24:15 ff.). Daniel predicted that the work of the little horn power would continue until the setting up of God's kingdom (Dan. 8:25). Hence, Jesus' instruction to flee from the little horn power was not confined to Christians at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70). Toward the end of time, during the great tribulation of Matthew 24:21, of which earlier tribulations were a type or preview, God's people will be obliged to flee again. Jesus' instruction that we pray that our flight will not be on the Sabbath day emphasizes His will that we engage in only those activities on the Sabbath that are consistent with worship and spiritual rest.

The record of the book of Acts (chapters 13, 16 &18) establishes that the apostles consistently kept the Sabbath day as a time for worship and fellowship. This observance was not merely a means of meeting the Jews in the synagogue on their Sabbath day. In Philippi, Paul and his companions met for worship by the riverside. Luke says, "On the sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed [or "thought" or "assumed" : Greek nomizo] there was a place for prayer. . . ." (Acts 16:13). The apostles selected a place by the river that they thought would be appropriate for their Sabbath worship service, and there they prayed and witnessed for their Lord.

Jesus and the apostles kept the seventh-day Sabbath and instructed others to do likewise, so it wasn't changed by them....."STRAND, Kenneth A. The Sabbath in Scripture and History.pdf | Genesis Creation Narrative | Shabbat

So how about Paul as many christians feel he supports the changing of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday:

"...In his writings, Paul consistently accepted the authority of the Ten Commandments as the standard of righteousness. "Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law" (Rom. 3:31). Paul identified the law that faith upholds as the Ten Commandments. "What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.'. . . So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. . . . For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin" (Rom. 7:7, 12, 14). Christ died "so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4).
It is inconceivable that one who had such a confirmed respect for the Ten Commandment law of God should summarily reject one of the commandments as no longer valid for Christians. Raoul Dederen pertinently comments: "It is to be noted, however, that the attempt to connect the Sabbath of the Decalogue with the 'days' mentioned in this passage is not convincing for everyone.(3) Who could have a divine commandment before him and say to others: 'You can treat that commandment as you please; it really makes no difference whether you keep it or not'? No apostle could conduct such an argument. And probably no man would be more surprised at that interpretation than Paul himself, who had utmost respect for the Decalogue, God's law, which is 'holy, and just, and good' (chap. 7:12). Christ, the norm of all Pauline teaching, was indisputably a Sabbathkeeper. And Paul himself, who evidently cannot be reckoned among the 'weak,' worshiped on the Sabbath 'as was his custom' (Acts 17:2, R.S.V.; cf. Luke 4:16).

The Bible records no dispute between the Christians and the Jews concerning the observance of the Sabbath day. There was a dispute whether the Gentile converts to Christianity were to be circumcised or not. A dispute so great that a general church council was held to settle the matter.(Acts 15) The fact that there is absolutely no council held nor dispute concerning Sabbath observance proves that Christians kept the same day as the Jews did.

The Apostle Paul was accused by the Jews of teaching against the Law, but other than saying circumcision is no longer of the flesh but of the heart, he denied this allegation against him. Paul was arrested on this charge, notice his own defense before the governor Felix, Acts 24:13-14 -"Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect (Christianity) I do serve the God of our fathers, BELIEVING EVERYTHING that is in ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW and that is written in the Prophets." Sabbath observance was Law.

Never in the Scriptures was Paul accused of teaching against Sabbath observance. The Sabbath is mentioned fifty-nine times in the New Testament alone, and always with respect, bearing the same title it had in the Old Testament, -"the Sabbath Day."

"There is no conclusive evidence to the contrary. Paul was in no doubt as to the validity of the weekly Sabbath. Thus, to assume that when they were converted to Christianity by Paul, Gentiles or Jews would be anxious to give up the 'Jewish' Sabbath for their 'own day' is hardly likely. This could be expected only at some later time in the history of the Christian church, and for other reasons."(4)..."(Kenneth A. Strand, The Sabbath in Scripture and History.)

Now lets go back to the History and see what we find:

"Unquestionably the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by which the Sabbatical observance of that day is known to have been ordained, is the edict of Constantine, 321 A.D."--"Chamber's Encyclopedia," article, "Sabbath."

Here is the first Sunday Law in history, a legal enactment by Constantine 1 (reigned 306-331): "On the Venerable Day of the Sun ["venerabili die Solis"--the sacred 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, [A.D. 321], Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time."--The First Sunday Law of Constantine 1, in "Codex Justinianus," lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Phillip Schaff "History of the Christian Church," Vol. 3, p. 380.

"This [Constantine's Sunday decree of March, 321] is the 'parent' Sunday law making it a day of rest and release from labor. For from that time to the present there have been decrees about the observance of Sunday which have profoundly influenced European and American society. When the Church became a part of State under the Christian emperors, Sunday observance was enforced by civil statutes, and later when the Empire was past, the Church, in the hands of the papacy, enforced it by ecclesiastical and also by civil enactments."--Walter W. Hyde, "Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire," 1946, p. 261.
"Constantine's decree marked the beginning of a long, though intermittent series of imperial decrees in support of Sunday rest."-- Vincent J. Kelly, "Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations," 1943, p. 29.

"Constantine labored at this time untiringly to unite the worshipers of the old and the new into one religion. All his laws and contrivances are aimed at promoting this amalgamation of religions. He would by all lawful and peaceable means melt together a purified heathenism and a moderated Christianity . . . Of all his blending and melting together of Christianity and heathenism, none is more easy to see through than this making of his Sunday law: The Christians worshiped their Christ, the heathen their Sun-god . . . [so they should now be combined."--H.G. Heggtveit, "illustreret Kirkehistorie," 1895, p. 202.

"If every Sunday is to be observed joyfully by the Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to be regarded in execration [cursing] of the Jews."--Pope Sylvester, quoted by S.R.E. Humbert, "Adversus Graecorum Calumnias," in J.P. Migne, "Patrologie," p. 143. [Sylvester (A.D. 314-337) was the pope at the time Constantine 1 was Emperor.]

"All things whatsoever that were prescribed for the [Bible] Sabbath, we have transferred them to the Lord's day, as being more authoritative and more highly regarded and first in rank, and more honorable than the Jewish Sabbath."--Bishop Eusebius, quoted in J.P. Migne, "Patrologie," p. 23, 1169-1172. [Eusebius of Caesarea was a high-ranking Catholic leader during Constantine's lifetime.]

"These Gentile Christians of Rome and Alexandria began calling the first day of the week 'the Lord's day.' This was not difficult for the pagans of the Roman Empire who were steeped in sun worship to accept, because they [the pagans] referred to their sun-god as their 'Lord.' "--EM. Chalmers, "How Sunday Came Into the Christian Church," p. 3.

The following statement was made 100 years after Constantine's Sunday Law was passed: "Although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this."--Socrates Scholasticus, quoted in "Ecclesiastical History," Book 5, chap. 22. [Written shortly after A.D. 439.]

"The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria."--Hermias Sozomen, quoted in "Ecclesiastical History," vii, 19, in "A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers," 2nd Series, Vol. 2, p. 390. [Written soon after AD. 415.]

"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."--Lyman Coleman, "Ancient Christianity Exemplified" chap. 26, sec. 2, p. 527.

"Constantine's [five Sunday Law] decrees marked the beginning of a long though intermittent series of imperial decrees in support of Sunday rest."--"A History of the Councils of the Church," Vol. 2, p. 316.

"What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, enjoined with increasing stringency abstinence from labor on Sunday."--Huttan Webster, "Rest Days," pp. 122-123, 210.

So going back to scripture, how how about that certain law of ordinances that was nailed to the cross, what was it. This was the ceremonial law of types and shadows that pointed forward to the death of Jesus and that had no further meaning beyond the cross. This is why Paul said it was contrary to the Christian. The rent veil in the temple at the death of Christ (Matthew 27:51) indicated the end of that ordinance of animal sacrifices, and Ephesians 2:15 say s that Jesus "abolished...the law of commandments contained in ordinances."

This is why Paul wrote in Colossians 2:16,17 that we are no longer judged by the meat offerings, drink offerings, and sabbath days "which are a shadow of things to come." Take note that these are yearly and not the weekly Sabbath of the moral law. These shadowy sabbaths are described in Leviticus 23:24-37. They fell on certain set days of the month - a different day of the week each year, yet they were called sabbaths. But please observe in Leviticus 23:37-38 how they were distinguished from the weekly Sabbath: "These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, every thing upon his day, beside the sabbaths of the Lord."
Now the mystery of Colossians 2:16 is completely cleared up. The law of the yearly sabbaths, with all its meat and drink offerings, was nailed to the cross, but the great Ten Commandment law with its weekly Sabbath was not affected by that "blotting out" of ordinances.

Then we have the verse on Paul preaching:
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." Acts 20:7

The reason this meeting is mentioned in the narrative is because Paul was leaving the next day and worked a mighty miracle in raising Eutychus from the dead. It is clear that the meeting is a night meeting. It is the dark part of the first day of the week. In Bible times, the dark part of the day preceded the light part (Gen. 1:5). The Sabbath was observed from Friday night at sunset to Saturday night at sunset (Lev. 23:32, Mk. 1:32). If this meeting is on the dark part of the first day of the week, it is in fact a Saturday night meeting. Paul has met with the believers all Sabbath. He will depart the next day, Sunday, so the meeting continues late into Saturday night. The next day, Sunday, Paul travels by foot to Assos, then sailed to Mitylene. The New English Bible reading of Act 20:7 also confirms this as a Saturday night meeting, with Paul traveling on Sunday. If Paul considered Sunday sacred in honor of the resurrection, why would he spend the entire day traveling and not worshipping? The record indicates that Paul was a Sabbath keeper (see Acts 13:42-44; 17:2; 16:12,13; 18:4).

Here is a good website with a timeline of Sabbath History from the of The Seventh Day television series with events and indivuals as points of reference.

http://www.tagnet.org/llt/sabbath_history.shtml


History of the Church
The history of the church included many significant events:

AD 284-305 Emperor Diocletian worships the sun and persecutes Christians


AD 306-337Constantine - first Roman emperor to adopt Christian religion
The Conversion of Emperor Constantine
The organized Roman persecution of the Christian church ended with the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine became the western emperor after the death of his father, and after Diocletian and Maximian retired. During a battle outside rome in 312 A.D. , he said he saw the sign of the cross in the sun, with the words In hoc signo vinces which means by this sign conquer. The next day he added this sign to the standards of his army, and won the battle. He entered Rome and became unchallenged as western Emperor.

Although he did not convert immediately, from this time forward he began to favor Christianity by his legislation. He and his mother, Helena, who had also converted to Christianity, spent large sums of money building new churches and visiting the Holy Land. He was baptized close to the end of his life and died on May 22, 337 A.D.
Following are some of the legislation that favored Christianity:

1. Establishment of Christianity as the State Religion
   • Edict of Milan (313) - granted liberty of worship to all Romans, and restored Christian church property confiscated during Diocletian's and Galerius' persecutions.
   • Protection of Clergy (313)- Christian clergy exempted from government duty.
   • Economic Laws (321)- Bequests to churches legalized.
   • Council of Nicaea (325)- Emperor Constantine summons council of Nicaea and helps to write some of the creed.

Historical evidences and lack of evidences show that Sunday as a day of rest was not prominent at all.

1. Just a few writings are pulled from the early church and they fail to address the change to Sunday, we have much more Christian literature from the second century, and yet none of them deal with the Sunday question.

2. Hippolytus, a spiritual son of Irenaeus, mentions neither Sabbath nor Sunday.

3. Cyprian (258), Bishop of Carthage and the successor of Tertullian, writes of a new law and new covenant, but does not mention the Sabbath or Sunday, but in a vague, unmeaning mysticism he speaks about the eighth day.

4. Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, and a pupil of Origen, mentions the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week, but gives no clue whatsoever as to the type of worship.

5. Victorianus (300)
He writes, "On the Lord's day we go forth to our bread with the giving of thanks. Lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews, which Christ himself the Lord of the Sabbath in his body abolished."On the Creation of the World, Section 4.
Comment: Anti Judaism is obvious in his writings. A lack of exegetical comprehension of what the Bible teaches on the Sabbath issue is also seen. Most of these men spoke not authoritative on this subject but just made an observation of some customs or voiced their unstudied opinion.

6. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria (324), said, "But the Lord's day we celebrate as the day of joy because on it He rose again."
Comment: No scripture is quoted to indicate that these men studied the Word of God to come up with such teachings. They are merely furtive decisions on the part of his contemporaries to distinguish themselves from Jews and even the Jewish Apostles and are based on false theology.
No traces of the observance of the Sunday are found until about the middle of the second century. Those appear first in Justin Martyr's First Apology. The leading reason assigned by him for its observance is founded on a mystical interpretation of certain passages supposed to refer to the millennium. The supposed resurrection of Christ on that day is mentioned incidentally as a secondary reason. About the close of the second century, the idea of commemorating the resurrection by the observance of the Sunday increases, and the term "Lord's Day" begins to be applied to it.

During the third century, pagan converts and the "anti-Jewish Sabbath" theory gain the ascendency in the theories of the leaders. The representative writers of that century teach that there is no sacred time under the gospel dispensation. That no days are holy, and no observance of specific time is religiously binding. That the true idea of the Sabbath consists in rest from sin. The fancies of Cyprian concerning circumcision as a type of the eighth day appear toward the close of the third century.

The observance of the Sunday which then prevailed was not sabbatic. In the second century there is no trace of the sabbatic idea connected with it. It is a day, some part of which is used for the purpose of public religious instruction. In the third century the celebration of the Lord's Supper on Sunday seems to have become quite general [40]. This was also celebrated regularly on the Sabbath. The interpretation of business and kneeling on that day which appears during the last half of the third century, was made because business cares interrupted the festal enjoyment of the day, and not because any true idea as of a Sabbath was entertained.

The first Sunday law issued 7th March, 321 A.D., speaks about Sunday only as the "venerable day of the sun", a title purely heathen. Codex Justinianus, lib.3, tit.12:3 quoted in "History of the Christian Church" by Philip Schaff, Vol.III, p.380, 7 vol.ed.

They emphasize the creation of light and the resurrection of the `Sun of Justice' nowhere commanded or even spoken of in the Bible.

What follows is the translated wording of the First Sunday law: "Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun: but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by heaven."

[`The First Sunday Law']

At the synod of Laodicea, held about 365 A.D., it was decided: "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday (Sabbath in the original), but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honour, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."
Still this resolution did not mean that they were not to have any religious services on Sabbath, for at this same synod they passed several laws concerning Sabbath services. Canon 16 reads: "The Gospels are to be read aloud on the Sabbath with the other Scriptures."
Canon 49 reads: "During Lent the bread must be offered except on the Sabbath day and on the Lord's day only." Hefele, "Councils" Vol.2b, per.93.

Athanasius (ca. 295 - 373 ) left very little which bears upon the Sabbath question. In letter 54th, to Serapion Concerning the Death of Arius, the following passage occurs: "As we have caused him to be invited by the Emperor in opposition to your wishes, so tomorrow though it be contrary to your desire, Arius shall have communion with us in this church. It was the Sabbath when they said this."
(Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second series, Vol.4, p.565)

This use of the word Sabbath indicates that the Sabbath still held its place as a day of worship. In the same volume, p.523, in Letter Six for Easter, 334 A.D., Athanasius says that the fast of 40 days began on the 25th of February and continued until the 31st of March, but that it was suspended on the Sabbaths and Sundays during that period.

Now lets let look at who points the finger at the Pope and lays claim that Catholic Church changed it:

CONVERTS CATECHISM:
QUESTION: Which day is the Sabbath?
ANSWER; Saturday is the Sabbath day.
QUESTION: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
ANSWER: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."

QUESTION BOX by Father Conway, P. 179:
"What Bible authority is there for changing the sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week?
"Who gave the Pope authority to change a command of God?
ANSWER: "If the Bible is the only guide for the Christian, then the Seventh-day Adventist is right in observing Saturday . . . but Catholics learn what to believe and do from the Catholic Church WHICH MADE SUNDAY THE DAY OF REST."

PLAIN TALK ABOUT PROTESTANTS, P. 213: "It is worth while to remember that this observance of Sunday, in which after all, the only Protestant worship consists' not only has no foundation in the Bible, but is in flagrant contradiction to its letter, which commands rest on the Sabbath, which IS SATURDAY. It was the CATHOLIC CHURCH, WHICH HAS TRANSFERRED THIS REST TO SUNIDIAY. Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is a homage they pay in spite of themselves, to the AUTHORITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH."
KANSAS CITY CATHOLIC, Feb. 9, 1893: "The Catholic Church by virtue of her divine mission, CHANGED THE DAY FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY."

Protestants who claim that they do take the Bible, should give proof for their doctrines from its pages.
(EDIFYIING INSTRUCTION IN THE CATECHISM, by K. A. Dachel, pp 23, 24,)

(Lutheran):
"When God gave the third (the Lutherans did not change their catechisms either and the second commandment is left out as in the Catholic Catechism) commandment ... he designated definitely the seventh day, which already had been sanctified by Him at creation, as this rest day. And as Christ says that He had not come to destroy the law (Matt. 5:17) so he has also in the words' of His last prophetic speech (Matt. 24:'20) which has reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, expressly emphasized the sabbath, or Saturday as the still valid rest day, by saying: "Pray that your flight toe not on the sabbath." For this' reason many godly Christians have solemnly upbraided the Christian church for keeping Sunday instead of Saturday; The church can have no right to change God's commandment, and, if in the catechism the whole commandment had been, embodied verbatim in its entire wording from Exodus 20:8-11 then we should still keep the Saturday holy, and not the Sunday."

"Is there any command in the New Testament to change the day of weekly rest from Saturday to Sunday? - None." ( Manual of Christian Doctrine - ( Protestant Episcopal ) page 127 )

"It is quite clear that however rigidly or devoutly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath ... The Sabbath was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday. There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday." ( Dr R W Dale ( Congregationalist ) in his book Ten Commandments, page 127-129 )

"The observance of the Lord's Day ( Sunday ) is founded, not on any command of God, but on the authority of the Church." ( Augsburg Confession of Faith ( Lutheran ) )

"Where are we told in Scripture to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day ... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but the church has enjoined it." ( Rev. Isaac Williams ( Church of England ) in his Plain sermons on the Catechism. Volume 1, pp. 334-336 )

"There was and is a command to keep holy the Sabbath day: but the Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask: Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament, absolutely not. There is no Scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week." ( Dr. Edward T Hiscox, author of the Baptist Manual )

Abridgement of Christian Doctrine," by Rev. Henry Tuberville: QUESTION: How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
ANSWER: By the very act of CHANGING THE SABBATH INTO SUNDAY, which Protestants allow of and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feast days commanded by the same church."

A conclusion to this is well written by by Carlyle B Haynes in his book 'From Sabbath to Sunday' page 34. "After a careful examination of the Bible, of history, both civil and ecclesiastical, of theological writings, commentaries, church manuals, catechisms and the candid admissions of Sunday observers, we are compelled to conclude that there is no authority in the Holy Scriptures for the observance of Sunday, no authority given to man to make such a change from the seventh to the first day, no divine sanction given the change now that man has made it; that this substitution of a false Sabbath for the true Sabbath of the Lord was entirely the work of an antichrist movement which adopted the observance of a purely pagan day and presumptuously established it in the Christian Church; and that this observance has no binding obligation upon Christian believers, but should be instantly discarded as a matter of practice, and the true Sabbath of God restored to its rightful place both in the hearts of His people and in the practice of His church."

So lets look at Samuele Bacchiocchi's book From Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity.

"...How did the change come about from Saturday to Sunday in early Christianity? To find an answer to this question I spent five years at the Pontifical University in Rome, investigating for my doctoral dissertation the earliest Christian documents. This short article represents a brief summary of my research.

Historically, the change from Sabbath to Sunday has been attributed to the ecclesiastical authority of the Roman Catholic church rather than to Biblical or apostolic precepts. Thomas Aquinas, for example, explicitly states that: Recently, however, some scholars have argued that Sunday observance has a Biblical and apostolic origin. According to these scholars, from the inceptions of the Church the Apostles themselves chose the first day of the week in place of the seventh day in order to commemorate the resurrection of Christ. (2)
My own assessment of the sources is that this thesis is wrong on two counts. First, the change from Saturday to Sunday occurred sometime after 135 A.D. as a result of an interplay of political, social, pagan and religious factors to be mentioned below. Second, the change originated in Rome and not in Jerusalem. Before submitting the reasons for my conclusions, we shall briefly examine the alleged role of Christ, of the resurrection and of the Jerusalem church in the origin of Sunday.

Jesus and the Origin of Sunday
A popular view holds that Christ by his provocative method of Sabbath keeping-which caused considerable controversy with the religious leaders of His day-intended to pave the way for the abandonment of the Sabbath and the adoption of Sunday keeping instead. This view clearly distorts the intent of Christ's controversial Sabbath activities and teachings which were clearly designed not to nullify but to clarify the divine intent of the Fourth Commandment.

Christ never conceded to have broken the Sabbath commandment. On the contrary He defended Himself and His disciples from the charge of Sabbath breaking by appealing to the Scriptures: "Have you read . . ." (Matt 12:3-5). The intent of Christ's provocative Sabbath teachings and activities was not to pave the way for Sunday keeping, but rather to show the true meaning and function of the Sabbath, namely, a day "to do good" (Matt 12:8), "to save life" (Mark 3:4), to loose people from physical and spiritual bonds (Luke 13:16), and to show "mercy" rather than religiosity (Matt 12:7).

The Resurrection and the Origin of Sunday
Did the apostles introduce Sunday keeping instead of Sabbath keeping in order to commemorate Christ's resurrection by means of the Lord's Supper celebration? This view, though popular, is devoid of Biblical and historical support. The major reasons, briefly stated are the following.

The New Testament never suggests or commands to celebrate Christ's resurrection by a weekly or annual Sunday celebration. This silence is noteworthy in view of the specific instructions given by Christ regarding such practices as baptism (Matt 28:19-20), the Lord's Supper (Mark 14:24-25; 1 Cor 11:23-26) and foot-washing (John 13:14-15).
If Jesus wanted the day of his resurrection to be observed as a day of rest and worship, would He not told the women and the disciples when He rose: "Come apart and celebrate My Resurrection?" Instead He told the women "Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee" (Matt 28:10) and to the disciples "Go . . . make disciples . . . baptizing them" (Matt 28:19).None of the utterances of the risen Savior reveal an intent to memorialize His resurrection by making Sunday the new day of rest and worship.

Sunday is never called in the New Testament as "Day of the Resurrection." It is consistently called "First day of the week." The references to Sunday as day of the resurrection first appear in the early part of the fourth century. (3) By that time Sunday had become associated with the resurrection....."

"....The Earliest Reference to Sunday
The earliest explicit references to Sunday keeping are found in the writings of Barnabas (about 135 A.D.) and Justin Martyr (about 150 A.D.). Both writers do mention the resurrection as a basis for Sunday observance but only as the second of two reasons, important but not predominant. Barnabas' first theological motivation for Sunday keeping is eschatological, namely, that Sunday as "the eight day" represents "the beginning of another world." (4) Justin's first reason for the Christians' Sunday assembly is the inauguration of creation: "because it is the first day on which God, transforming the darkness and prime matter, created the world." (5)
The above indications suffice to discredit the claim that Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week caused the abandonment of the Sabbath and the adoption of Sunday. The truth is that initially the resurrection was celebrated existentially rather than liturgically, that is, by a victorious way of life rather than by a special day of worship....."

".....The attachment of the Jerusalem Church to the Mosaic Law is reflected in some of the decisions of the first Jerusalem Council held about 49-50 A.D. (See Acts 15). The exemption from circumcision is there granted only "to brethren who are of the Gentiles" (Acts 15:23). No concession is made for Jewish-Christians, who must continue to circumcise their children. Moreover, of the four provisions made applicable by the Jerusalem Council to Gentiles, one is moral (abstention from "unchastity") but three are ceremonial (even Gentile Christians are ordered to abstain "from contact with idols and from [eating] what has been strangled and from [eating] blood" (Acts 15:20). This concern of the Jerusalem Council for ritual defilement and Jewish food laws reflects its continued attachment to Jewish ceremonial law and its commands. It would be unthinkable that this Church at this early time would change the Sabbath to Sunday.
James' statement at the Jerusalem Council in support of his proposal to exempt Gentiles from circumcision but not from Mosaic laws in general, is also significant: "For generations past Moses has had spokesmen in every city; he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues" (Acts 15:21). All interpreters recognize that both in his proposal and in its justification, James reaffirms the binding nature of the Mosaic Law which was customarily taught every Sabbath in the synagogue.

Further insight is provided by Paul's last visit to Jerusalem. The Apostle was informed by James and the elders that thousand of converted Jews were "all zealous for the Law" (Acts 21:20). The same leaders then pressured Paul to prove to the people that he also "lived in observance of the law" (Acts 21-24), by undergoing a rite of purification at the Temple. In the light of this deep commitment to the observance of the Law, it is hardly conceivable that the Jerusalem Church would have abrogated one of its chief precepts-Sabbath keeping-and pioneered Sunday worship instead.

The foregoing evidences has led some scholars to argue for the Palestinian origin of Sunday observance at a slightly later time, namely, after the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. (8) They presume that the flight of the Christians from Jerusalem to Pella as well as the psychological impact of the destruction of the Temple weaned Palestinian Christians away from Jewish observances such as Sabbath keeping.
This assumption is discredited by both Eusebius and Epiphanius who inform us that the Jerusalem Church after 70 A.D. and until Hadrian's siege of Jerusalem in 135 A.D., was composed of and administered by converted Jews, characterized as "zealous to insist on the literal observance of the Law." (9) The orthodox Palestinian Jewish-Christian sect of the Nazarenes, who most scholars regard as "the very direct descendants of the primitive community" (10) of Jerusalem, retained Sabbath keeping on Saturday until the fourth century. Indeed, seventh-day Sabbath keeping was regarded as one of this Church's distinguishing characteristics. (11) This implies that Sabbath observance was not only the traditional custom of the Jerusalem Church, but also of Palestinian Jewish-Christians long after 70 A.D.
Of all the Christian Churches, the Jerusalem Church was both ethnically and theologically the closest and most loyal to Jewish religious traditions, and thus the least likely to change the day of the Sabbath....."

I still am in shock from finding out the ones most set against the Sabbath truth in GT were not posters from other denominations, but former Adventists. However, we should not have been surprised as many will turn from the truth in the last days just as they did in the early church. In the controversy between good and evil in the final days, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:4, "They will turn away from listening to the truth and give their attention to legends." Apostasy is when you reject Gods Truth. And so all these false beliefs, the corrupt system of worship, would be based from "traditions of man", in the councils of man, in the decrees and statements of man, in word of man rather than God.

We have come full circle and we are repeating the errors that came into the early church and in the Middle Ages, as one historian noted: "Christianity had now become popular. A large portion, perhaps a large majority of those who embraced it, only assumed the name. They were as much heathen as they were before. Error and corruption now came in upon the church like a flood" (Dr. James Wary's Church History, page 54). The church drifted from its faith in scripture, from its reliance upon the Word of God, from those truths of scripture. Church councils and their decrees and traditions, man's word, took the place of the Word of God.

Jesus said in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is Truth." In the great controversy between good and evil, between truth and error, between Christ and Satan, man's word never can substitute for God's Word, because God's Word is Truth.

The Babylon kings served as both king and priest of the pagan Babylonian Mystery religion. As priests, they bore the title Pontifex Maximus.




Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Arians left . . came under the protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was the chief person there after the Emperor disappearance . . The Roman Church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation . . The Roman Empire had not perished, but had only undergone a transformation . . The pope, who calls himself Pontifex Maximus, is Caesars successor.[Adolf Harnack, What is Christianity? (1903), pp. 269-270.]

The names, pontiff (meaning king) and Pontifix Maximus (meaning king over all other kings) had previously been the titles of the Roman emperors, whom the people had obeyed and worshiped.

The original churches generally held the Sabbath for some time. "The ancient Christians were very careful in the observation of Saturday, or the seventh day...It is plain that all the Oriental churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as a festival...Athanasius (A.D. 297-373, Bishop of Alexandria) likewise tells us that they held religious assemblies on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. Epiphanius says the same." (Antiquities of the Christian Church, Vol. II, Bk.xx, Ch.3, Sec 1, 66. 1136,1137)

The early church taught the Sabbath was for God's work of providence and meditation on His way of life. "Thou shalt observe the Sabbath, on account of Him who ceased from His work of creation, but ceased not from His work of providence; it is a rest for meditation of the law, not for idleness of the hands." (Constitution of the Holy Apostles, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7, pg 413, 3rd century) This was over 300 years after the resurrection of Christ.

The Sabbath was kept in the early Eastern Churches, and some Churches of the West. "For in the Church of Millaine (Milan), it seemes that Saturday was held in a farre esteeme... Not that the Easterne Churches, or any of the rest which observed that day were inclined to Judaism; but that they came together on the Sabbath day, to worship Jesus Christ the Lord of the Sabbath." (History of the Sabbath, Dr. Peter Heylyn, London 1636, Part 2, para. 5, pgs 73-74)

Sabbath observance was widespread and appears to have been opposed by the Roman Catholic Church. It was kept holy by Christians in Egypt in the third century, as the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus shows.(c. 200-250 A.D.) "Except ye make the Sabbath a real Sabbath [Greek, "sabbatize the Sabbath"], ye shall not see the Father." (The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Pt. 1, pg 3, Logion 2, verses 4-11, London: Offices of the Egyptian Exploration Fund, 1898)

Sabbath keeping was the original position of the Church. "Sabbath-keeping, the original position of the Church, had spread west into Europe and from Palestine it spread East into India (Early Spread of Christianity, Mingana, Vol. 10, pg 460) and then into China. The introduction of Sabbath-keeping to India caused a controversy in Buddhism in 220 A.D. According to Lloyd (The Creed of Half Japan, pg 23), the Kushan Dynasty of North India called a council of Buddhist priests at Vaisalia to bring uniformity among the Buddhist monks on the observance of their weekly Sabbath." Even many Buddhist monks embraced the Sabbath after receiving and studying the Holy Bible.

In an effort to stamp out Sabbath keeping the Roman church commanded Christians to fast on that day. (Go without food or water, 24 hours). From canon 26 of the Council of Elvira (c.305 A.D.) It appears that the Christian church in Spain were Sabbath keepers. Rome had introduced the practice of fasting on the Sabbath to counteract Sabbath keeping. Pope Sylvester (314-335) was the first to ORDER the churches to fast on the Sabbath, and Pope Innocent (402-417) made it a binding law in the churches that obeyed him.

The Sabbath keeping Churches in Persia underwent forty years of persecution under Shapur II from 335 to 375 specifically because they were Sabbath keepers. "They despise our SUN-GOD. Did not Zoroaster (Prophet of Mithra, the sun-god), the sainted founder of our divine beliefs, institute Sunday one thousand years ago in honour of the sun and supplant the Sabbath of the Old Testament. Yet these Christians have divine services on Saturday." (The Syriac Church and Fathers, by O'Leary, pg 83-84)

The Roman Catholic Church pronounced all Christians keeping the Sabbath as being condemned and cut off from Christ. Council of Laodicea (c.366), Canon 29, -"Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day honouring rather the Lord's day (reference to Sunday) by resting, if possible, as Christians. However if any shall be found Judaizing, let them be ANATHEMA for Christ." (Mansi, II, pgs 569-570, also Hefele Councils, Vol. 2, b. 6) Notice the definition of "anathema" according to the World Book Dictionary, -"A person or thing that is utterly detested or condemned." And, -"A solemn curse by church authorities excommunicating some person from the church." Also, -"The act of denouncing and condemning some person or thing as evil."

Now, there was a idea by the bishop of Rome to introduce the old Roman 'Nundinae' 8 day weekly cycle, basically a 'eight day' as the 'Lords Day' to the week in the churches in the east, and we see this in Alexandria..

"Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215 A.D.)' has been credited with being "the first Church Father whose extant writings use the term 'Lord's day' to apply to the weekly Christian Sunday."' Indeed, several authors have connected a particular passage in the writings of Clement with such a weekly 'celebration.' However, Clement's words do not seem to bear out such a connection. The passage at issue occurs in Stromata V. 14, in a section entitled "Greek plagiarism from the hebrew," which endeavors to demonstrate parallels between the Greek poets and philosophers, on one hand, and the Scriptures, on the other. The passage states:
"And the Lord's day Plato prophetically speaks of in the tenth book of the Republic in these words: "And when seven days have passed to each of them in the meadow, on the eighth they are to set out and arrive in four days." By the meadow is to be understood the fixed sphere, as being a mild and genial spot, and the locality of the pious; and by the seven days each motion of the seven planets and the whole practical art which speeds to the end of rest. But after the wandering orbs the journey leads to heaven, that is, to the eighth motion and day. And he says that souls are gone on the fourth day, pointing out the passage through the four elements. But the seventh day is recognized as sacred, not by the Hebrews only, but also by the Greeks. . . ."5

The elegies of Solon, too, intensely dedy the seventh day. Clement applies this quotation from the Republic to the experience of preexisting souls, who have to incarnate or "pass through the four elements." According to this concept, shared by his disciple Origen,6 human souls have been created in a distant past and come to this world by incarnation, here conceived as a descent from a place above the planets. On the same page of Stromah, we read that "the path for souls to ascension lies through the twelve signs of the zodiac, and [Plato] himself says that the descending pathway to birth is the same".... https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/2002-2/2002-2-11.pdf

"..My dissertation From Sabbath to Sunday has shown that pagan Sun Worship on the Day of the Sun, was indeed a major factor that influenced the abandonment of the Sabbath and the adoption of the Day of the Sun by most Christians.." "The Da Vinci Cracks" by Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,

"...Did the apostles introduce Sunday keeping instead of Sabbath keeping in order to commemorate Christ’s resurrection by means of the Lord’s Supper celebration? This view, though popular, is devoid of Biblical and historical support. The major reasons, briefly stated are the following.








The first known Sunday law was passed by the Roman emperor, Constantine in AD 321 and legislated that people rest on Sunday. In AD 364, the Council of Trent issued the first ecclesiastical Sunday law. This law asked that people work on Saturday and rest on Sunday. By 535, a even more severe law concerning Sunday worship was passed by the church.

"....Such was the final form reached by the religion of the pagan Semites, and, following them, by that of the Romans...when they raised 'Sol Invictus' [the Invisible Sun] to the rank of supreme divinity in the Empire." (Franz V.M. Cumont, "The Frontier Provinces of the East," in "The Cambridge Ancient History,")

Vol. 11, pp.643, 646-647.
"To conciliate the pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and pagan festivals [Sabbath and Sunday] amalgamated, and to get paganism and Christianity - now far sunk in idolatry - in this as in so many other things, to shake hands." (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, page 105.)

"The retention of the old pagan name of Dies Solis, for Sunday is, in a great measure, owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects- pagan and Christian alike-as the 'venerable' day of the sun." (Arthur P. Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, page 184.)

"The new Christians were, as far as thinking and habits went, the same old pagans. Their surge into the churches did not wipe out paganism. On the contrary, hordes of baptized pagans meant that paganism had diluted the moral energies of organized Christianity to the point of impotence." (Concise History, Page 58.)

"We are told by Eusebius that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own." (The Development of Christian Doctrine, page 373.)

In the early part of the fourth century the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman Empire. The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects it was the emperor's policy to unite conflicting interests of heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do this by the bishops of the church, who perceived that if the same day was observed by both Christians and heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by pagans and thus advance the power and glory of the church.

It was not long after Constantine's civil law for Sunday observance was promulgated until the church, through its councils, bishops, and popes, began to make religious laws in favor of Sunday. The church was by now in an almost complete state of apostasy. The rites and ceremonies of the pagan religions had almost wholly taken the place of the commands of God and the ordinances of the New Testament. The crowning act in all this apostasy was the changing of the Sabbath, substituting by church authority the pagan festival of Sunday for the Christian Sabbath, Saturday. This the church began to enforce by edict. The first ecclesiastical law for Sunday observance recorded in history is that of the Council of Laodicea, held about the year AD 364.

By the end of the Roman Empire's dominance, the western part of the Roman Empire was constantly invaded by the Mongol and Germanic tribes (Barbarians). Eventually, the divisions were roughly according to these nations: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Allemanni, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Lombards and Burgundians. Until the year AD 476, Rome had managed to resist subjugation. But in that year, when Odoacer, leader of the Heruli, subdued the former Capital of the world. Later, the Ostrogoths, led by Theodoric, occupied the Italian peninsula and it became the most prominent among the new kingdoms. He would rule from 403-526.

While the emperors of Rome retreated to Constantinople, (by 476 A.D. there was no more emperor in Rome) the Pope returned to the imperial city of Rome. No longer did the Roman bishop dwell in catacombs, he lived in the Lateran palace, bequethed to him by Constantine for a residence, and it remained the papal residence until 1308.

In A.D. 533, emperor Justinian issued a decree recognizing the bishop of Rome as the "head of all the holy churches." But full sovereignty could not be realized as long as the Ostrogoths held power in Rome. You remember that the Ostrogoths were the last of the three kingdoms which would not recognize the Roman bishop’s authority. The Vandals, Ostrogoths and Heruli were Arian powers who strongly opposed the rise of the Catholic Church. History reveals that the other two powers challenging full sovereignty had already been destroyed starting with the Heruli in A.D. 493, the Vandals in A.D. 534.Then in 538 the Ostrogoths were overwhelmingly defeated. The bishop of Rome, with unchallenged political and ecclesiastical authority, was now the most powerful man in the West.

In 538 AD, the year when the Ostrogoths collapsed, it was out of the smoking ruins of the western Roman Empire and after the overthrow of the three Arian kingdoms that the pope of Rome emerged as the most important single individual in the West, the head of a closely organized church with a carefully defined creed and with vast potential for political influence. Dozens of writers have pointed out that the real survivor of the ancient Roman Empire was the Church of Rome. (E.G. McKenzie, "Catholic Church" p. 14.)

Vigilius...ascended the papal chair (538 A.D.) under the military protection of Belisarius." (History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 327)

History affirms that in AD 538, Justinian, a Roman Emperor crowned the Pope of Rome as the universal spiritual leader. "The papacy is but the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon its grave." (Stanley's History, page 40.)

In 538 A.D. a decree by Emperor Justinian went into effect which assigned absolute spiritual preeminence to the church of Rome. Henceforth, its reign would be known as the "Holy Roman Empire". Gradually, this religious tyranny drifted into union with civil powers until eventually kings were forced to seek permission from the pope before they could begin to rule.

"Under the Roman Empire the popes had no temporal powers. But when the Roman Empire had disintegrated and its place had been taken by a number of rude, barbarous kingdoms, the Roman Catholic Church not only became independent of the states in religious affairs, but dominated secular affairs as well ... Under the weak political system of feudalism, the well-organized, unified, and centralized church, with the pope at its head, was not only independent in ecclesiastical affairs but also controlled civil affairs." (Carl Conrad Eckshyhardt, The Papacy and World Affairs (1937), p. 1.)

Byzantine Emperor Justinian was the bold architect of a revitalized Byzantine Empire that would leave a lasting legacy for Western Civilization. As much of Europe entered the Dark Ages, Justinian's vision of a restored Roman Empire would reverse the decline of the Byzantine Empire.

Justinian, whose full name was Flavius Anicius Julianus Justinianus, was born around 483 AD at Tauresium in Illyricum in the Balkans of present-day central Europe. He was the nephew of Byzantine Emperor Justin, the son of Justin's sister Vigilantia (Fortescue).

Justinian's uncle, Justin, was the Byzantine Emperor from 518 until his death in 527. As a young man, Justin had left his home province of Dacia, going to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople to seek his fortune. He eventually rose to the position of commander of the "excubitors", the handpicked 300-soldier guard of the Byzantine Emperor. When he was selected to succeed Emperor Anastasius, he was an old man, weak in body and mind. He took the office reluctantly, writing to Pope Hormisdas in Rome, announcing his elevation to the Emperor's throne and complaining he had been chosen against his will (Evans).

Justin handed over much of the duties of governing the Empire to his wife, Lupicina, and his nephew, Justinian. This power sharing arrangement would help to prepare Justinian to succeed him. Justinian worked hard and rose in position in his uncle's government. He was proclaimed consul in 521, and rose to the post of general-in-chief of the Byzantine military in April, 527. In August of the same year Justin died, and Justinian became Emperor (Fortescue).


Justinian had dreamed of restoring the Roman Empire in Europe (Norwich 68). In order to accomplish his goal, Justinian was faced with the difficult task of retaking the Western provinces once controlled by Rome. Much of the Western Roman Empire had fallen into the hands of Germanic barbarian tribes: the Vandals, who had conquered the North African Roman territories; the Ostrogoths, who had taken control of the Italian peninsula, including Rome itself; and the Visigoths, who held the Spanish peninsula (Fortescue).

Justinian's first obstacle to conquest in the West lay in ending centuries of warfare with the Persian Empire. During the 400's, both the Romans and Persians struggled to cope with invasions of their Empires from new, outside groups, and avoided conflict with each other until 502, when the old rivalry with the Persians re-ignited. The Byzantines and Persians would fight each other from 502 to 505, and again, from 527 to 532. This round of renewed warfare between the rival empires would end when the Byzantines fought the Persians to a standstill and forced them to accept a peace agreement (Whittow 41).

Taking advantage of peace in the East, Justinian appointed General Belisarius, who had exemplified himself in battle against the Persian Empire, to lead an army and fleet to the West to retake the western Roman provinces (Fortescue). In 533, Belisarius' army's first stop was North Africa. The Byzantines quickly smashed the Vandals, conquering the North African provinces they had taken from Rome and sending their king, Gelimer, along with his family, back to Constantinople as a prisoner (Norwich 68). Two years later, in 535, Belisarius captured Sicily without a fight, and then sailed for Italy (Norwich 69).

The Ostrogoths had taken control of the Italian peninsula with Odoacer's ouster of Romulus Augustus. Theodoric had ousted Odoacer with the backing of Byzantine Emperor Zeno (Norwich 54). After taking power of the Ostrogoth kingdom, Theodoric had merged many aspects of Roman government into his own rule. However, his Ostrogoths were Arian Christians, a "cult" in the eyes of Roman Church doctrine (Loffler). His death in August 525 left his daughter as his only descendent, which left no clear successor to his throne. This uncertain line of succession, coupled with a strained relationship with the Church in Rome, opened the door to a Byzantine invasion of the Italian peninsula (Norwich 68).

It would take almost two years, but at long last, in December 536, Belisarius' army entered the gates of Rome (Norwich 69). But the Ostrogoths surrounded Rome in overwhelming numbers, forcing Belisarius and his army to remain under siege in the city until reinfocements in 538 allow him to break the siege and take over Rome.

Justinian viewed a split in Christian Church as dangerous to the Byzantine Empire. Religious disturbances were common in the Byzantine Empire, as the Church, State and Byzantine society were deeply intertwined. Two years of religious riots in 511 and 512 raged in the Empire until Anastasius threatened to step down rather than deal with the continued violence (Norwich 59). As Consul under Justin, Anastasius' successor, Justinian had negotiated an end to a 35-year schism between the Eastern churches and Rome (Norwich 60).

The legal reforms of the Justinian Code embraced the teachings of the four general ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church, including the Chalcedonian council, which had sparked great unrest in the Byzantine Empire (Fortescue):

"Therefore We order that the sacred, ecclesiastical rules which were adopted and confirmed by the four Holy Councils, that is to say, that of the three hundred and eighteen bishops held at Nicea, that of the one hundred and fifty bishops held at Constantinople, the first one of Ephesus, where Nestorius was condemned, and the one assembled at Chalcedon, where Eutyches and Nestorius were anathematized, shall be considered as laws. We accept the dogmas of these four Councils as sacred writings, and observe their rules as legally effective" (Scheifler).

Justinian's legal reforms also included the introduction of laws against paganism, Judaism and others who did not embrace Christianity. Pagans were barred from public service, synagogues of the Samaritans were ordered destroyed, and Christians who converted to Paganism were to be put to death. When the Samaritans revolted against these new laws, Julian, their leader was beheaded and 20,000 Samaritans were sold into slavery when their revolt was crushed (Neelin).

In spite of these efforts to uphold Church doctrine, Justinian's relationship with the Christian Church in Rome was rocky at best. Following the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon, a theological conference called by Roman Catholic Pope Leo I in AD 451, many Christians in the Middle Eastern Byzantine territories broke away from the Roman Church. Led by Cyril, the Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, the churches in Egypt and the Middle East rejected the Roman Church's official statement regarding "Chalcedoniansm" and broke away from the Roman Churches. Those who opposed the findings of the Chalcedonian council would become known as Monophysites (Kishkovsky and Stockoe 59).

Justinian made considerable efforts to reconcile the differences between the Church in Rome and the Monophysites. However, the Bishop of Rome considered the matter closed and refused to deal with anyone who held views contrary to official Church doctrine on the matter. So it makes great political and religious sense that Justinian would try to patch up diferences with the Bishop of Rome by declaring the Bishop of Rome the head of all Christian churches in 533. When the siege of Rome was finally broken by General Belisarius in March of 538, the Ostrogoths withdrew from Rome in defeat, leaving it in the Emperor's control, and Vigilius as the Bishop of Rome (who reigned until 555 A.D.). So it was in 538 A.D. that Emperor Justinian's Decree of the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over the Church could actually be implemented.

The Ostogoths had settled into the Western part of the Roman Empire and were led by Theodoric, who at first maintained complete religious liberty for all classes and creeds.

"...He wrote to Justin, Emperor of the East, who was persecuting the Arians:
To pretend to a domination over the conscience, is to usurp the prerogative of God; by the nature of things the power of sovereigns is confined to political government; they have no right of punishment but over those who disturb the public peace; the most dangerous heresy is that of a sovereign who separates himself from part of his subjects, because they believe not according to his belief." - "History of Latin Christianity," H. H. Milman, Vol. I, Book III, chap. 3, p. 439. New York: 1860.

"'Theodoric deserves the highest praise; for, during the thirty-eight years he reigned in Italy, he brought the country to such a state of greatness, that her previous sufferings were no longer recognizable.'...What then prevented this man, with so great a genius for government, and so splendid an opportunity for its exercise, from organizing a Germanic empire, equal in extent and power to that which obeyed the sceptre of the old Roman Caesars? Or why did he fail, when Charlemagne, with a greater complication of interests to deal with, for a time at least, succeeded?

The causes were mainly these; causes...very similar, at all times, in their operation. In the first place, Theodoric was an Arian, and there was a power antagonistic to Arianism growing up already on the banks of the Tiber, stronger than the statesmen's policy or the soldier's sword - the spiritual power of the church of Rome....Such a power was necessarily altogether incompatible with the existence of an Arian empire. And it proved mightier than its rival." - "Fall of Rome," John G. Sheppard, D. D., pp. 301, 302. London: 1861.

In order to give the reader a better understanding of the means used by the Papacy to destroy these Arian kingdoms, we shall quote from Thomas Hodgkin a few brief statements. He states that Theodoric, the Ostrogothic king, endeavored to have "a close league for mutual defence formed between the four great Arian and Teutonic monarchies, the Visigothic, the Burgundian, the Ostrogothic, and the Vandal." But "diplomatists were wanting [who could act] as their skillful and eloquent representatives, traveling like Epiphanius from court to court, and bringing the barbarian sovereigns to understand each other, to sink their petty grievances, and to work together harmoniously for one common end. Precisely these men were the Catholic prelates of the Mediterranean lands to whom it was all-important that no such Arian league should be formed....All over the Roman world there was a serried array of Catholic bishops and presbyters, taking their orders from a single centre, Rome, feeling the interest of each one to be the interests of all, in lively and constant intercourse with one another, quick to discover, quick to disclose the slightest weak place in the organization of the new heretical kingdoms. Of all this there was not the slightest trace on the other side. The Arian bishops...stood apart from one another in stupid and ignorant isolation." - "Italy and Her Invaders," Thomas Hodgkin, (8-vol. ed.) Vol. III, Book 4, pp. 381-383. Oxford: 1899.

This same principle was clearly stated by the Catholic bishop Avitus, when the Arian king Gundobad appealed to him not to allow the Catholic king Clovis to overrun his country. Avitus answered: "If Gundobad would reconcile himself to the Church, the Church would guarantee his safety from the attacks of Clovis." - Id., p. 384.

The religious liberty, with its attendant blessings to the country, which Theodoric had inaugurated, did not satisfy the Catholic bishops; for Rome does not want religious liberty for other churches, but sole domination for herself.

"The religious toleration which Theodoric had the glory of introducing into the Christian world, was painful and offensive to the orthodox zeal of the Italian." - "Decline and Fall," Edward Gibbon, chap. 39, par. 17.

"Theodoric,...being an Arian, could not long remain on harmonious terms with a Pope and [an] Emperor of the Orthodox creed, [who were] necessarily bound to combine against him sooner or later." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," P. Villari, Vol. I, p. 178. London: 1913; New York: Scribner, 1902.

This was only natural. The fundamental principles of the church of Rome are such that she can never concede to any other denomination the equal right to exist and to carry on its worship. Urged on by the pope and his bishops, Emperor Justin had enacted severe laws against Arians (524 A.D.), and Justinian began his reign in 527 by making laws still more severe.

"Theodoric, the King of Italy, at first maintained something of his usual calm moderation; he declined all retaliation, to which he had been incessantly urged, on the orthodox of the West." - "Latin Christianity," H. H. Milman, D. D., Vol. I, Book III, chap. 3, p. 440.

"But the concerted efforts of pope and emperor, by fire, sword, and exile, to exterminate "Arianism" at last "awakened the just resentment of Theodoric, who claimed for his distressed brethren of the East the same indulgence which he had so long granted to the Catholics of his dominions....And a mandate was prepared in Italy, to prohibit, after a stated day, the exercise of the Catholic worship. By the bigotry of his subjects and enemies, the most tolerant of princes was driven to the brink of persecution." - "Decline and Fall," chap. 39, par. 17.

"In Italy, Theodoric's prolonged toleration had reconciled no one to him, and his ultimate severity exasperated his Roman subjects. A dumb agitation held sway in the West, and the coming of the Emperor's soldiers was eagerly awaited and desired." - "Cambridge Medieval History," Bury, Gwatkin, and Whitney, Vol. II, p. 10. Chicago: The Macmillan Company, 1913.

"And truly the chief men of Rome were suspected, at this very time, of carrying on a treasonable correspondence with the Court of Constantinople, and machinating the ruin of the Gothic empire in Italy." - "History of the Popes," A. Bower, Vol. II, p. 421. Dublin: 1749.

In the summer of 535 Belisarius started with 7,500 men besides his own guards to conquer Italy and destroy the Arian heretics. This he could do only by the assistance of the Roman Catholics.

"But with great shrewdness he had quickly won their good will, by announcing that he came to deliver them from the barbarian yoke, and from the Arian persecution, and also for the purpose of restoring Rome to her ancient grandeur." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," P. Villari, Vol. I, p. 201.

Witigis [Vitiges] was now the king of the Ostrogoths, and Rome was continuing its usual policy. Professor J. B. Bury says:
"In the meantime Belisarius had left Naples and was marching northward. The Romans, warned by the experiences of Naples, and urged by the Pope, who had no scruples in breaking his oath with Witigis, sent a messenger inviting him to come. He...entered Rome on December 9, A.D. 536." - "History of the Later Roman Empire," Vol. II, pp. 179, 180.

"Such, then, was the Pope Silverius...who, having sworn a solemn oath of fealty to Witigis, now, near the end of 536, sent messengers to Belisarius to offer the peaceful surrender of the city of Rome." - "Italy and Her Invaders," T. Hodgkin (8-vol. Ed.), Vol. IV, Book 5, p. 93. 1885.

"Rome betrayed. The Catholics, on the first approach of the emperor's army, boldly raised the cry that the apostolic throne (!) should no longer be profaned by the triumph or toleration of Arianism, nor the tombs of the Caesars trampled by the savages of the North; and deputies of the pope and clergy, and of what is called the senate and people, waited upon the approaching army to whom they threw open the gates of the city; and the Catholics were rewarded for their treason by the apparent respect of Belisarius for the pope." - "History of the Christian Church," N. Summerbell, page 340, third edition. Cincinnati: 1873.

Witigis then besieged the city of Rome from March, 537, to March, 538, when he raised the siege, after losing the flower of his army, and retired to Ravenna, his capital. T. Hodgkin says:
"With heavy hearts the barbarians must have thought, as they turned them northwards, upon the many gallant men which they were leaving on that fatal plain. Some of them must have suspected the melancholy truth that they had dug one grave, deeper and wider than all, the grave of the Gothic monarchy in Italy." - Italy and Her Invaders," (8-vol. Ed.), Vol. IV, p. 285.

A deathblow was thus given to the Ostrogoths in 538 A.D., and their attempts to re-establish themselves after this were but the last flicker of a lamp being extinguished. Belisarius followed them this same year to their "last stronghold of power. Ravenna was soon entered by the troops of the empire, and with it fell the great kingdom of the Ostrogoths." - "Fall of Rome," J. G. Sheppard, p. 306. London: 1892

The first Sabbath mentioned in Genesis was created by God, with His Spirit and Jesus at creation. After working the first six days of the week in creating this earth, our great God rested on the seventh-day. (Genesis 2:1-3) This memorialized that day as God's rest day. Therefore, the seventh day is from creation as God's Sabbath day, and a memorial of creation. Can you change your birthday from the day on which you were born to one on which you were not born? Likewise, neither can you change God's rest day to a day on which He did not rest. Therefore, the seventh day will always be God's Sabbath day. The Creator blessed and sanctified the Sabbath day. (Genesis 2:3)

Jesus said the Sabbath was made for "man". That is, the human race. The word "man" is unlimited, hence, it is for the Gentile as well as the Israelite. It was first given to Adam, the head of the entire human race. God walked and talked with Adam and told him the story of creation and the gift of the Sabbath. This was passed on through the ages and followed by Noah and Abraham and Moses finally put it into writing.

27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:1-3)

The Bible calls it the "Sabbath of the Lord thy God". Not the "Jewish Sabbath" or as some put into decrees, "Christians shall not Judaize" when they mean the Sabbath. We should not add a label to this day that God has not. Men should be cautious how they stigmatize God's holy rest day. Much of this comes from anti-Semitism.

It was a part of God's Law before the Commandments were given on Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 16:4) God placed it in the very heart of His moral Law, the Ten Commandments. Why did He Place it there if it was not like the other nine commandments, which most all Christians admit to be immutable? One should carefully, and prayerfully study this to be sure, because by God's own words, it is a "commandment" not a "suggestion." (Exodus 20:1-17)

The Sabbath was commanded by the VOICE of God, WRITTEN with His own finger and engraved in STONE. Of all the Laws and Commandments of God, only the TEN COMMANDMENTS were written in stone by the finger of God. Does this indicate an enduring, imperishable nature? (Deuteronomy 4:12,13/Exodus 31:18/Deuteronomy 5:22)

It is a "sign" of the true God, by which we are to know Him from false gods. Notice Ezekiel 20:19-21 -"I AM the Lord your God; walk in MY statutes, and keep MY ordinances, and observe them. And sanctify MY Sabbaths; and they shall be a SIGN between Me and you, that you may KNOW that I AM the Lord your God. But the children rebelled against ME; they did not walk in MY statutes, nor were they CAREFUL to observe MY ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will LIVE; they profaned MY SABBATHS. So I resolved to pour out MY WRATH on them, to accomplish MY anger against them in the wilderness."

When Jesus, the Son of God came, He kept the Seventh-day Sabbath all His life. (Luke 4:16/John 15:10)

Instead of abolishing the Sabbath, Jesus carefully taught how it should be observed, and that it should not be a burden. (Matthew 12:1-13)

Jesus vindicated the Sabbath as a merciful institution designed for Man's good. (Mark 2:23-28)

Jesus taught His disciples that they should do nothing on the Sabbath day but what is "lawful". (Matthew 12:12)

Besides possessing the indwelling of the holy spirit, the keeping of the Commandments along with the testimony of Christ, is an identifying sign of a true Christian in the end-time. Revelation 12 tells the story of God's people from ancient Israel to the "spiritual Jew" called the Christian today. According to this Scripture the church (symbolized as a woman) is attacked by an army (flood) provoked by Satan, but God will cause the earth to open and swallow up the army. Notice Revelation 12:17 -"And the Dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, WHO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD and hold to the testimony of Jesus." These END-TIME Christians hold both the teachings of Jesus and the Commandments of God.

Jesus warns throughout the Gospels that false teachers would come teaching heretical doctrines in His Name. So did the Apostle Paul, John, Peter and Jude. At the time of Jude, false teachers were infiltrating the churches of God everywhere. So much so, that he was inspired to write a general epistle (letter) that was sent to all the churches. In it he warned that false teachers had crept in the churches teaching doctrines that were far removed from the original teachings of the Apostles, and were leading many of the brethren to their destruction.

So if Jesus didnt change the Sabbath, and the Apostles didnt change the Sabbath, and Paul didnt change the Sabbath, who changed the Sabbath and do they know and claim they changed it?
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"From this same Catholic Church you have accepted your Sunday, and that Sunday, as the Lord's day, she has handed down as a tradition; and the entire Protestant world has accepted it a tradition, for you have not an iota of Scripture to establish it Therefore that which you have accepted as your rule of faith, in adequate as it of course is, as well as your Sunday, you have accepted on the authority of the Roman Catholic Church."--D. B. RAY, "The Papal Controversy,"1892, page 179.

"The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."--The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893.

"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we [Catholicsl never sanctify." --JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS, "The Faith of Our Fathers," page 111.

"There is but one church on the face of the earth which has the power, or claims power, to make laws binding on the con- science, binding before God, binding under penalty of hell-fire. For instance, the institution of Sunday. What right has any other church to keep this day? You answer by virtue of the third com- mandment [the Papacy changed the fourth commandment and called it the third], which says, 'Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.' But Sunday is not the Sabbath. Any school- boy knows that Sunday is the first day of the week. I have re- peatedly offered one thousand dollars to anyone who will prove by the Bible alone that Sunday is the day we are hound to keep, and no one has called for the money. It was the holy Catholic Church that changed the day of rest from Saturday, the seventh day, to Sunday, the first day of the week."--T. ENRIGHT, C. S. S. R., in a lecture delivered in 1893.

"Reason and sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible." --JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS, Catholic Mirror, Dec. 23, 1983.