Yes I corrected my post to say that my quote of you is what you conclude the teaching of SDAs is on this topic on a given point.
you give this quote -
"T
he spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further disregard of Heaven’s authority. Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also, and essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had blessed and sanctified (
Genesis 2:2,
3), and in its stead to exalt the festival observed by the heathen as “the venerable day of the sun.”
http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/GreatControversy.pdf
That book describes a gradual compromise over time with paganism and says nothing about all Christian remaining true to the Bible Sabbath until the 4th century.
Notice -- starting at page 49 - Ellen White states error was coming into the church as early as the writing of the book of 2 Thessalonians.
"Page 49 3. An Era of Spiritual Darkness The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold the great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal power. He declared that the day of Christ should not come, "except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." And furthermore, the apostle warns his brethren that "the mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7.
Even at that early date he saw, creeping into the church, errors that would prepare the way for the development of the papacy. Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, "the mystery of iniquity" carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work.
Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism."
So she describes error coming in very early and continuing until wide spread persecuting put the advance of inclusion of heathen customs on hold/on-pause ... until that persecution was lifted
Then we have this ..
"But
as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, Page 50 in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing;
and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. GC 49-50
That singular point is also admitted by the RCC's own historians - such as Thomas Bokenkotter in his book.
GC 50
Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ. This compromise between paganism and Christianity...
GC 52
The s
pirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further disregard of Heaven's authority. Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also, and essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2:2, 3), and
in its stead to exalt the festival observed by the heathen as "the venerable day of the sun."
That is a singular event that took place in the 4th century and is not an event claimed to have taken place any sooner -- with Christian trying to incorporate "the venerable day of the sun" as we see in the 4th century.
"This change was not at first attempted openly." -- so it was gradual over time..
"In the first centuries the true Sabbath had been kept by all Christians. They were jealous for the honor of God, and, believing that His law is immutable, they zealously guarded the sacredness of its precepts. But with great subtlety Satan worked through his agents to bring about his object."
So we would expect to see in the first and second centuries , Christians keeping the Bible Sabbath. But at no point does that text claim that no error came in during the first or second centuries.
As Bacchiocchi pointed out -- you can find instances of the errors in the earlier days including some groups of Christians denegrading Sabbath and uplifting week-day-1. Not that they had no observance on Saturday but they tended in some extreme cases to make it a day of fasting and drudgery while making week-day-1 a day of joy and celebration.
