Justin Martyr and the Sabbath

[David Conklin]

To help keep another thread from being taken totally off-topic (more than it already is):

"After the Apostolic Fathers and before the council of Nicaea A.D. 325, we have the ante-Nicene Fathers,— Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, etc. How much all the Fathers were influenced in their writings by philosophy and Gnosticism, Mosheim testifies:—

“They all believed the language of Scripture to contain two meanings, the one obvious and corresponding with the direct import of the words, the other recondite and concealed under the words, like a nut by the shell; and neglecting the former as being of little value, they bestowed their chief attention on the latter; that is, they were more intent on throwing obscurity over the Sacred Writings by the fictions of their own imaginations than on searching out their true meaning.”40"

From HISTORY OF THE SABBATH AND THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK by
John Nevins Andrews, 1829-1883, Ludwig Richard Conradi, 1856-1939, page 237. Found at History of the Sabbath and the first ... - Google Books

 

[David Conklin]

Same source (page 252):

"How positively Dr. Boehmer protests against the idea of any apostolic appointment,
is seen from the following paragraphs. After considering 1 Cor. 16:2 and Acts 20:7, and the statements in Justin Martyr, he concludes:—

“In the original mother church (as Tertullian calls it), the early Christians in Jerusalem
gathered together every day, pouring forth their united prayers, and thus by no means preferring any certain definite day to any other. It is well to observe that there is nowhere a statement that the apostles ever held any consultation or gave any command concerning the appointment of a definite day; should this have happened, Luke surely would not have omitted mentioning it. As he does not pass by institutions of minor importance. In fact, the very Acts of the Apostles most decidedly show that the Jewish believers had not departed from their custom, but most tenaciously adhered to the customs of their fathers. We must therefore conclude that they assembled on the Sabbath according to their wonted custom. The apostles desired no difference of days, decidedly insisting upon liberty, and would never prescribe any laws or holy days … How can one therefore believe that they charged all the churches to keep the first day holy? From all this, therefore, how easily one can guess that it can not be ascribed either to the law or to apostolic command, but to mere custom that Christians had held holy assemblies on that day.”10"

 

[k4c]

You'll probably think I'm a little slow but I don't get it. What does it all mean in plain language?

 

[Cribstyl]

You'll probably think I'm a little slow but I don't get it. What does it all mean in plain language?

The writer is saying; dont trust the earliest church fathers, they were influenced by heretic doctrines. The Jews kept Sabbath and there's no command to keep the first day of the week.......

 

[k4c]

The writer is saying; dont trust the earliest church fathers, they were influenced by heretic doctrines. The Jews kept Sabbath and there's no command to keep the first day of the week.......

That's what I kinda thought but I wasn't sure...thanks.

 

[Cribstyl]

DJ......I could not find that thread we were talking about Sabbath being kept by most of the Christian to 500ad.... here is a perspective.........Im not sure if you provided the two history sources you metioned.

Jewish persecution: 70 to 1200 CE


You should like their research especially since they cite your article in defense of EGW......you're an icon in Adventism.

Beliefs and practices of the Seventh-Day Adventist denomination

 

[David Conklin]

>You should like their research especially since they cite your article in defense of EGW......you're an icon in Adventism.

Imagine that, an unbiased researcher from outside the SDA church who looked at the facts I presented who agreed with me and not with my caviling critics.

 

[David Conklin]

>Im not sure if you provided the two history sources you metioned.

Found 'em! Totally different hard drive!

“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.” Salaminius Hermias
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, Chapter XIX at http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF Books/Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories.pdf – page 592

Socrates Scholasticus:

"For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this." Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, chapter 22 found @ http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF Books/Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories.pdf – page 244

See also the histories of Ireland and Ethiopia (early 1600) which kept the seventh-day Sabbath till Rome found out about it.

A Catholic Provincial Council suppressed the practice of keeping the Sabbath in Norway in 1435 CE.

The reign of Vasily (1505-1533) was characterized by cruelty and a return to ignorance. His son and successor Ivan IV (1531-1584) turned out to be a bloody ruler who terrorized all Russia, earning from history the infamous title, Ivan the Terrible. Even during his reign, there were people in Russia who were true to the teachings of the Bible, especially the Sabbath. The “One Hundred Head” Church Council, called in 1551 during the reign of Ivan IV, adopted a resolution which until today has not been annulled by the Russian Orthodox Church. This regulation states that the people, besides worshiping on Sunday, could also worship on Saturday in the confines of the Russian Orthodox Church—a statement which was recognized by the church council as authorized by the Apostles Peter and Paul (D. E. Kozhachnikov, ed., Stoglav [Source: One-Hundred-Head Council] (St. Petersburg: Tipografiia Imperatorskoi Akademy Nauk, 1863), pp. 270, 271. As cited by Zhigankov, Oleg. Ahead of their time? The 15th century Reformation in Russia. College and University Dialogue Journal).

 

[Cribstyl]

>You should like their research especially since they cite your article in defense of EGW......you're an icon in Adventism.

Imagine that, an unbiased researcher from outside the SDA church who looked at the facts I presented who agreed with me and not with my caviling critics.

You're welcome..