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LoveGodsWord

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DOES LOVE ABOLISH GOD'S LAW ?

LOVE IS EXPRESSED IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S LAW NOT BY BREAKING IT

Jesus is quoting from old testament scriptures in Matthew 22:36-40 from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18
  • Matthew 22:36-40 [36], Master, which is the great commandment in the law? [37], Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (from Deuteronomy 6:5). [38], This is the first and great commandment. [39], And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (from Leviticus 19:18). [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Note: Jesus is quoting old testament scriptures here and also note that Jesus says on these two great commandments of love to God and love to man hang all the law and the prophets. This is what Paul is referring to in Romans 13:8-10 when he shows that we show our love to our neighbor by obeying those laws in God's 10 commandments that show us how we are to love our fellow man. Notice what the scriptures say.
  • Romans 13:8-10 [8], Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. [9], For this, thou shall not commit adultery, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness, thou shall not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.[10], Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling (obeying) of the law.
Note: Paul is agreeing with Jesus where he shows that if we love our fellow man we will obey those commandments in God's 10 commandments that show us how we are to love our neighbor from the heart and that Leviticus 19:18 to love our neighbor as yourself is simply summing up obeying God's commandments (Romans 13:9). If we study a little deeper you will see that James and John are also in agreement with Jesus and Paul. Let's have a look first at what James says then John.
  • James 2:8-12 [8], If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well: [9], But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. [10], For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. [11], For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law. [12], So speak you, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Note: Once again we see James in agreement with Jesus and Paul showing the love is not separate from obedience to God's law and showing that if we brake those commandments that are to do with our fellow man we do not show love to our fellow man and are convicted by the law as breaking the law which we will be judged by. Let's move on to John who defines what God's love is.
  • 1 John 5:2-3 [2], By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. [3], For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
............

Summary
: As shown above from the scriptures Paul, James and John are all in agreement with Jesus and state that love is not separate from obedience to God's law. Love to God and our fellow man in expressed in obedience to God's law and is why Jesus says; "On these two commandments of love to God and man hang all the law and the prophets.

Hope this is helpful.
 
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LoveGodsWord

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LOVE IS NOT SEPARATE FROM GOD'S LAW IT IS EXPRESSED IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S LAW

According to the scriptures, love is not separate from obedience to God's law. According to the scriptures love is obedience to Gods' law from a new heart and is linked into Gods' new covenant promise. Let's look at the detail. According to Jesus love is not separate from Gods' law. Love is expressed in obeying God's law from the heart which is a part of Gods' new covenant promise written in Hebrews 8:10-12 from Jeremiah 31:31-34; and Ezekiel 36:24-27.

This is why Jesus says in Matthew 22:36-40 that "on these two commandments" of love to God and man "Hang all the law and the prophets." Love to God and man is not separate from obedience to God's law. Love is obedience to Gods' law. This is in agreement to what Paul says in Romans 13:8-10 where he shows that love to our neighbor is obeying all of those commandments in God's 10 commandments that are our duty of love to our fellow man. Paul agreeing with Jesus goes on to show if we love our neighbor as our self we will not commit adultery, we will not kill, we will not steal, we will not bear false witness, we will not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So love is obeying God's law not breaking it. James also agrees with Jesus and Paul when he says if we show partiality in love it is the same as showing partiality in keeping God's 10 commandments and the result is standing guilty before God of sin in James 2:8-12. John is also in agreement with Jesus, Paul and James when he defines love as obeying Gods' commandments in 1 John 5:2-3. So no one here can claim to love God by breaking Gods' law. If we are practicing sin and breaking Gods' law that is a sign that we do not love God. *John 14:21 as love is not just a feeling separate from our actions *John 14:15.

If we love God therefore according to Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10; James 2:8-12; 1 John 5:2-3; John 14:21 and John 14:15
  • Will we have other Gods?
  • Will we make idols and worship them?
  • Will we take his name [follow] him in vain?
  • Will we remember his seventh day Sabbath and keep it holy?
If we love our neighbour therefore according to Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10; James 2:8-12; 1 John 5:2-3; John 14:21 and John 14:15
  • Will we honor our parents?
  • Will we murder?
  • Will we commit adultery with our neighbor's spouse?
  • Will we steal from them?
  • Will we lie to them?
  • Will we covet what they own?
Now if your answer is no then you agree with me. If your answer is yes what kind of love are you talking about where breaking any of Gods' 10 commandments is loving God or loving our fellow man? Yet the above is only what Jesus is telling us in Matthew 22:36-40; Paul in Romans 13:8-10; James in James 2:8-12 and John in 1 John 5:2-3 (see also 1 John 3:6-9; Romans 3:31; Romans 8:4; Romans 6:1-23 and 1 John 2:3-4).

..............

According to the scriptures, love is not separate from our actions. According to the scriptures we are saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves it is a gift of God and not of works lest any man should boast *Ephesians 2:8-9 but Gods grace is so we can be obedient to the faith *Romans 1:5. Obedience to God's Law is not how we are saved it is the FRUIT of faith of one that is already been given Gods promise of salvation and the fruit of God's work in us *Philippians 2:13 as we believe and follow his word *John 10:26-27. If our faith has no fruit it is dead *James 2:18-20; 26 and our tree will be cast down and thrown into the fire *Matthew 3:10; 7:19-20; 13:49-50; Hebrews 10:26-27. Therefore we do not abolish God's law through faith like some people teach but God's law is established in the heart by faith that works by love *Romans 3:31; 1 John 5:3-4; Romans 13:8-10. According to the scriptures, sin (breaking God' commandments and not believing and following God's Word) is the difference between the children of God and the children of the devil *1 John 3:6-10; 1 John 2:3-4; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12; Revelation 22:14.

Your may also want to consider that Jesus saves us from the inside out which is why we need to be born again *John 3:3-7; 1 John 3:4 into God's new covenant promise through faith to receive a new heart to love and walk in His Spirit *Hebrews 8:10-12; from Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-27; Romans 3:31; 1 John 5:2-4; Galatians 5:16.

Take Care.
 
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2PhiloVoid

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Please read the post you are quoting from. The scriptures are God's Word and "he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure to him." - John 3:34. You you do not provide any accept for your words that are not Gods' Word.

Take Care.

No. You don't get to identify 'Babylon' and call it "clear truth" when it's not clear to everyone.

So, be accountable and admit the weakness of your interpretation and the fact that none of us really knows what MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT fully is.

You might also back off from putting up a front that is way, way over your spiritual pay-grade. You're not any more authoritative than I am. Get used to it!
 
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LoveGodsWord

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AMAZING FUN FACTS ON GOD'S 4th COMMANDMENT AND SUNDAY WORSHIP!
  • Fact # 1. Chapter and scripture context to Colossians 2:16 is to the ceremonial shadow laws of circumcision and baptism, ceremonial laws in ordinances, that are nailed to the cross, food offerings and drink offerings, new moons in the annual feast days and their sabbaths and not judging others in context to the above. (detailed scripture exegesis starting here)
  • Fact # 2. Colossians 2 no where states that is talking about any of God's 10 commandments but the context is to the ceremonial Mosaic laws (e.g. sin offerings etc)
  • Fact # 5 There is not a single scripture in all of Gods' Word that says God's 4th commandment has been abolished and we are now commanded to keep "Sunday" or the "First day" of the week as a Holy day.
  • Fact # 6 "Sunday" or the "First day of the week" is never called a "Holy day" in any scripture in the bible.
  • Fact # 7 "Sunday" or the "First day" of the week was never "blessed" or set aside by God for anything in any scripture in the bible other than work.
  • Fact # 8 God set apart the "seventh day of the week from all the other days of the week at the end of creation as a day of rest for all mankind *Genesis 2:1-3; Mark 2:27
  • Fact # 9 God set apart the "seventh day of the week from all the other days of the week at the end of creation as a day of rest for all mankind and made the seventh day of the week a "Holy day of rest" *Genesis 2:1-3; Mark 2:27
  • Fact # 10 God commands his people to keep the "seventh day" of the week as a Holy day or rest and it is one of God's 10 commandments that define what sin is if knowingly broken *Exodus 20:8-11; Romans 3:20; James 2:10-11
  • Fact # 13 God's 4th commandment Sabbath of the 10 commandments is not a shadow law because the shadow laws were not given until after the fall of mankind when Adam and Eve sinned against God. The prophetic "shadow law" part of the Mosaic laws (not 10 commandments) foreshadowing the coming of Christ and God's plan of salvation for all mankind. The Sabbath points back to the finished work of creation not forward to something to come because there was no sin when God created the Sabbath for man and no plan of salvation was given *Genesis 2:1-3
  • Fact # 14 God's people will be still keeping the Sabbath after the second coming in the new heavens and the new earth *Isaiah 66:22-23
  • Fact # 15 There is no scripture that says that God's Sabbath was changed to "Sunday" or the first day of the week
  • Fact # 16 There is no scripture that states anywhere that JESUS is a Sabbath. The sabbath is defined in God's Word alone as "the seventh day" of the week *Exodus 20:10
  • Fact # 17 There is no scripture that says we are to keep the first day as a Holy day of rest before or after the resurrection of Jesus by any of the Apostles.
  • Fact # 18 There is no scripture that ever calls the first day of the week (Sunday) a holy day. Sunday has it's origins in pagan sun worship.
  • Fact # 19 There is no scripture that ever givers Sunday or the first day of the week a sacred name.
  • Fact # 20 There is no scripture that says any of the Apostles kept Sunday or the first day of the week as a Sabbath.
  • Fact # 21 There is no scripture from any apostolic writings that authorizes Sunday observance as the Sabbath.
  • Fact # 22 There is no scripture where we are told to rest and not to work on the first day of the week.
  • Fact # 23 There is no scripture that says the seventh day is no longer God's Sabbath day.
  • Fact # 24 There is no scripture that says the seventh day Sabbath has been abolished.
  • Fact # 25 There is no scripture that the apostles ever taught any convert to keep the first day of the week as a Sabbath or a holy day in honor of the resurrection of Jesus.
  • Fact # 26 There is no scripture that says first day was ever appointed to be kept as the Lord's Day.
  • Fact # 27 There is no scripture that says the first day of the week is ever called the Lord's Day.
  • Fact # 28 There is no scripture that says the first day of the week was ever sanctified and hallowed as a day of rest.
  • Fact # 29 There is no scripture that says that says that the Father or the Son (Jesus) rested on the first day of the week
  • Fact # 30 There is no scripture that says that Jesus, Paul or any other of the apostles taught anyone to observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath.
  • Fact # 31 There is no scripture that says that calls the seventh day the “Jewish Sabbath” or one text that calls Sunday or the first day of the week the “Christian Sabbath”.
  • Fact # 32 There is no scripture telling man to keep the first day of the week holy or to worship or rest on the first day of the week.
  • Fact # 33 There is no scripture authorizing anyone to set aside God's Sabbath and observe any other day
  • Fact # 34 There is no scripture showing any of the apostles keeping the first day of the week as the Sabbath
  • Fact # 35 There is no scripture authorizing someone to set aside the fourth Commandment and observe any other day of the week?
  • Fact # 36 There is no scripture where any apostle taught us to keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath.
  • Fact # 37 There is no scripture declaring that the "seventh day" of the week is no longer the eternal Sabbath day as given in God's 4th commandment of the 10 commandments.
  • Fact # 38 There is no scripture that says Sunday is now appointed day to be kept as the New Testament Sabbath or holy day.
...................

Something to pray about here because we are all accountable to God come judgment day where we will all be judged by the Word of God we accept or reject (John 12:47-48).

May God bless you all as you seek him through his Word
 
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LoveGodsWord

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THE WATERING DOWN OF THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT AND THE REAL REASON PEOPLE STARTED GATHERING ON THE SABBATH AND SUNDAY (PART 1).

THE WATERING DOWN OF THE SABBATH IN THE FIRST 300 YEARS

The Christians during the apostolic era, from about 35 to 100 A.D., kept Sabbath on the designated seventh day of the week. For the first 300 years of Christian history, when the Roman emperors regarded themselves as gods, Christianity became an “illegal religion,” and God’s people were scattered abroad (Acts 8:1). Judaism, however, was regarded at that time as “legal,” as long as they obeyed Roman laws. Thus, during the apostolic era, Christians found it convenient to let the Roman authorities think of them as Jews, which gained them legitimacy with the Roman government. However, when the Jews rebelled against Rome, the Romans put down their rebellion by destroying Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and again in A.D. 135. Obviously, the Roman government’s suppression of the Jews made it increasingly uncomfortable for Christians to be thought of as Jewish. At that time, Sunday was the rest day of the Roman Empire, whose religion was Mithraism, a form of sun worship. Since Sabbath observance is visible to others, some Christians in the early second century sought to distance themselves from Judaism by observing a different day, thus “blending in” to the society around them. During the Empire-wide Christian persecutions under Nero, Maximin, Diocletian, and Galerius, Sabbath-keeping Christians were hunted down, tortured, and, for sport, often used for entertainment in the Colisseum. (Persecution in the early Church by E. A. RYAN, SJ. p 310-339)

TO WHAT EXTENT WAS THE SABBATH OBSERVED AS A SACRED DAY OF WORSHIP BY EARLY CHRISTIANS?

There are many historical references out there. Kenneth A. Strand provides very convincing historical evidence that, although in Rome and Alexandria the trend was to replace weekly Sabbath worship with Sunday worship services, elsewhere in the Roman Empire the Sabbath was observed along with Sunday until the fifth century. Strand writes: "The situation in Rome and Alexandria, however, was not typical of the rest of early Christianity. In these two cities there was an evident early attempt by Christians to terminate observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, but elsewhere throughout the Christian world Sunday observance simply arose alongside observance of Saturday."(23)

The evidence Strand presents is very impressive. Some of it is given here:

1. Two fifth-century church historians, Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen:
"For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries [the Lord's Supper] on the sabbath [Saturday] of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebais, hold their religious assemblies on the sabbath, but do not participate of the mysteries in the manner usual among Christians in general: for after having eaten and satisfied themselves with food of all kinds, in the evening making their offerings they partake of the mysteries."(24) "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. There are several cities and villages in Egypt where, contrary to the usage established elsewhere, the people meet together on Sabbath evenings, and, although they have dined previously, partake of the mysteries."(25)


Strand comments: "Thus, even as late as the fifth century almost the entire Christian world observed both Saturday and Sunday for special religious services. Obviously, therefore, Sunday was not considered a substitute for the Sabbath."(26)

2. In the late second or early third century, Origen, the famous Alexandrian Church Father wrote of the proper kind of Sabbath observance:
"Forsaking therefore the Judaic Sabbath observance, let us see what kind of Sabbath observance is expected of the Christian. On the Sabbath day, nothing of worldly activity should be done. If therefore desisting from all worldly works and doing nothing mundane but being free for spiritual works, you come to the church, listen to divine readings and discussions and think of heavenly things, give heed to the future life, keep before your eyes the coming judgment, disregard present and visible things in favor of the invisible and future, this is the observance of the Christian Sabbath."(27)

3. The fourth-century compilation known as the Apostolic Constitutions, probably produced in Syria or elsewhere in the East, urged that both Sabbath and Sunday be observed.
"Have before thine eyes the fear of God, and always remember the ten commandments of God. . . . 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."(28) "But keep the sabbath, and the Lord's day festival [Sunday]; because the former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter of the resurrection."(29) "Oh Lord Almighty, Thou hast created the world by Christ, and hast appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof, because that on that day Thou hast made us rest from our works, for the meditation upon Thy laws. . . . We solemnly assemble to celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the Lord's day, and rejoice on account of Him who has conquered death, and has brought life and immortality to light."(30) "Let the slaves work five days; but on the Sabbath-day and the Lord's day let them have leisure to go to church for instruction in piety. We have said that the Sabbath is on account of the creation, and the Lord's day of the resurrection."(31)

4. Gregory of Nyssa and Asterius of Amasea:
"Gregory of Nyssa in the late fourth century referred to the Sabbath and Sunday as 'sisters,' and about the same time Asterius of Amasea declared that it was beautiful for Christians that the 'team of these two days come together' -- 'the Sabbath and the Lord's Day.' According to Asterius, each week brought the people together on these days with priests to instruct them."(32)

5. John Cassian:
"In the fifth century John Cassian makes several references to church attendance on both Saturday and Sunday. In speaking of Egyptian monks, he states that 'except Vespers and Nocturns, there are no public services among them in the day except on Saturday and Sunday, when they meet together at the third hour [9:00 A.M.] for the purpose of Holy Communion."(33)

The historical evidence establishes that the Sabbath was kept by most Christians until at least the fifth century. Although Sunday was observed along with the Sabbath as a day for worship services, in most areas of the Roman Empire it did not replace the Sabbath. The trend in Rome and Alexandria, however, was for Sunday to replace the Sabbath. As we shall discover, in later centuries Sunday was treated as a day of rest, and Sabbath observance, although not discontinued by all Christians, was neglected by most.


Continued in the next post...
 
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LoveGodsWord

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WHEN DID SUNDAY OBSERVANCE REPLACE SABBATH OBSERVANCE IN THE PRACTICE OF MOST CHRISTIANS?

Sunday gradually became a rest day. Although in the early Christian centuries Sunday worship services were held in Rome and Alexandria, and increasingly in other places, Sunday was not regarded as a day of rest required by the fourth commandment. The development toward regarding Sunday as the complete substitute for the seventh-day Sabbath was a gradual process from the fourth to the twelfth century.

1. Constantine made Sunday a civil rest day.
His famous Sunday law of March 7, 321 reads as follows: "On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."(34)

Kenneth Strand comments: "This was the first in a series of steps taken by Constantine and by later Roman emperors in regulating Sunday observance. It is obvious that this first Sunday law was not particularly Christian in orientation. We may note, for instance, the pagan designation 'venerable Day of the Sun.' Also, it is evident that Constantine did not base his Sunday regulations on the Decalogue, for he exempted agricultural work--a type of work strictly prohibited in the Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20:8-11."(35)

2. Theodosius I and Gratian Valentinian
in A.D. 386 ruled that legal cases should not be heard on Sunday and that there should be no public or private payment of debt. Laws also forbad Sunday circus, theater, and horse racing.(36)

3. Ephraem Syrus
(c. A.D. 306-373) wrote that the law requires rest for servants and animals on Sunday. The law is a reference to the Old Testament Sabbath commandment (Exod. 20:8-11).(37) Hence, by the second half of the fourth century some Christians were treating Sunday as a rest day in place of the seventh-day Sabbath, and they were justifying their practice by appealing to the fourth commandment.

4. The Council of Laodicea about A.D. 364
The council showed respect for the Sabbath as well as Sunday, but Canon 29 stipulated: "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday 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."(38)

While such fourth-century documents as the Apostolic Constitutions were urging that both Sabbath and Sunday be observed, the Council of Laodicea and certain influential church leaders were attempting to substitute Sunday for the Sabbath as the day of rest.

5. In medieval times the Sunday "Sabbath" displaced the Saturday Sabbath throughout Europe. (39)
i. Pope Gregory (Pope from A.D. 590-604) demanded that all secular activities should cease on Sunday so that the people could devote their time to prayer.(40)

ii. The Arian rulers must have accepted Sunday as a day of rest and worship, for the Visigoths were defeated by the Romans in A.D. 543 because they refused to fight on Sunday.(41)

iii. Pepin III, known as "the Short" (714-68), the Frankish king, Charlemagne (c. 742-814), the first Emperor (from 800) of the 'Holy Roman Empire,' and their successors attempted to enforce rest on Sunday.(42)

iv. "By the twelfth century, Sunday had become quite fully the church substitute for the seventh day. The rest began at sunset and lasted until the next sunset. All secular work was strictly prohibited under stern ecclesiastical and civil penalties, for nothing except very stringent necessity was allowed to interfere with church attendance (though dispensations could be granted by ecclesiastical authority). This concept of Sundaykeeping was spelled out clearly by the great decretalists. In his collection of 1234, Gregory IX, for instance, collated a decree from the Synod of Mayence from the early part of the ninth century and a letter from Pope Alexander III to the Archbishop of Trondheim in Norway teaching how Sunday must be kept. Although those were local documents, they acquired a much greater authority when they were included in a major canonic collection."(43)

6. One notable exception to the above trend was the Christian Church of Ethiopia
...which observed both Sabbath and Sunday throughout the Middle Ages and has continued to do so until the present.(44)

7. In every Christian century, even during the Middle Ages, there have been faithful observers of the seventh-day Sabbath.
Daniel Augsburger concludes his chapter, "The Sabbath and Lord's Day During the Middle Ages," by writing: "But also, all throughout that period there were groups of people who, either through the example of the Jews or because of their study of the Scriptures, attempted to keep the day that Jesus and the apostles had kept. For obvious reasons we know little about their number or their names, but their presence shows that in every age there were some who attempted to place the Word of God above the traditions of men."(45) He mentions, for example, the Passagini in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In 1420 a group of Sabbathkeepers in northern France were dealt with by the authorities. Also some of the Bohemian "Picards" were Sabbathkeepers. In the fifteenth century some of the English Lollards (followers of John Wycliffe) and certain Christians in the Scandinavian lands kept the Sabbath.(46)

The trend from the fourth century on was away from observance of the Sabbath by most Christians and the substitution of Sunday as the day of worship and rest. Even so, in every century there were those who resisted the trend by adhering faithfully to the seventh-day Sabbath of the Scriptures.

We now summarize this article by reiterating that Jesus and the apostles observed the seventh-day Sabbath. There is no evidence in the New Testament for Sunday as a day of rest and worship. The New Testament nowhere invites or instructs Christians to observe Sunday as a memorial of Christ's resurrection. The apostle Paul did not attempt to abolish the seventh-day Sabbath. He consistently observed it. The Sabbath was neglected and depreciated in second-century Rome and Alexandria. Sabbath observance was progressively replaced by Sunday observance in the centuries that followed. But time and tradition to not abolish the law of God. Jesus said, "Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:19). John wrote, "Whoever says, 'I have come to know him,' but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, 'I abide in him,' ought to walk just as he walked" (1 John 2:4-6).


1. The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans (Columbus, Ohio: Wartburg Press, 1945), p. 821.
2. See Charles R. Erdman, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1983), p. 157; F. Godet, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1883, 1956), pp. 456, 457; Howard Rhys, The Epistle to the Romans (New York: Macmillan, 1961), p. 172.
3. Dederen cites Joseph Parker, Romans and Galatians, the People's Bible (New York, 1901), 26:123-125; A Barnes, "Romans," Notes on the New Testament (London, 1832), 4:299, 300; Wilbur T. Dayton, Romans and Galatians, Wesleyan Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1965), 5:85, 86.
4. Raoul Dederen, "On Esteeming One Day as Better Than Another--Romans 14:5, 6," in Sabbath in Scripture and History, ed. Kenneth A. Strand (Washington D.C.: Review and Herald, 1982), pp. 335, 336.
5. Ibid., pp. 336, 337.
6. Cyril C. Richardson, trans. and ed., Early Christian Fathers (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1953 ), pp. 161-163.
7. Didache 8:1, in Richardson, p. 174.
8. Speaking of the Jews, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1962), vol. 2, p. 243 comments: "It was the custom of the pious to fast on the second and fifth days of the week (Ta'an. 12a; Luke 18:12; Did. 8:1), and the especially devout might fast even more (Jth. 8:6)."
Renaissance New Testament Full Set- Volumes 1-18 (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1985), vol. 15, p. 64; William F. Arndt and F Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University Press, 1957), s.v. cheirographon.
10. Judith 8:6; R. H. Charles (ed.), The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), I:256.
11. Jubilees 50:12, 13; Charles, op. cit., II, 82.
The early Christian Sabbath: Selected essays and a source collection (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ann Arbor Publishers, 1979), pp. 9-15.
13. Tertullian, On Fasting 14; Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (eds.), The Ante- Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1965), IV:112.
14. C. J. Hefele, A History of the Christian Councils (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1894), I:146, 147.
15. Innocent I, Epistle 25.4; J. Migne, Patrologia latina XX, col. 555.
16. Samuele Bacchiocchi, "The Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity," in The Sabbath in Scripture and History, ed. Kenneth A. Strand (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1982), p. 137; citing S. R. E. Humbert, Adversus Graecorum calumnias 6 (PL 143:937). See also Bacchiocchi, From Sabbath to Sunday : A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity (Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University Press, 1977), 185-198.
17. Bacchiocchi, "The Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity," in The Sabbath in Scripture and History, ed. Kenneth A. Strand, p. 136. He cites Tacitus, Historiae 5, 13 and Dio Cassius, Historiae 69, 13.
18. Bacchiocchi, Ibid.
19. Bacchiocchi, Ibid., p. 137.
20. Justin, Apology 1, 67; The Ante-Nicene Fathers I:186.
21. Bacchiocchi, Ibid., p. 140.
22. Bacchiocchi, Ibid., p. 141.
The Sabbath in Scripture and History, p. 323.
24. Strand, Ibid., pp. 323, 324; citing Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History 5, 22 in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers/2 2:132.
25. Strand, Ibid., p. 324; citing Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History 7, 19 in NPNF/2 2:390
26. Strand, Ibid.
27. Strand. Ibid., citing Origen, Homily 23, on Numbers, par. 4; J. Migne, ed. Patrologia graeca 12:749, 750.
28. Apostolic Constitutions 2.36; ANF 7:413.
29. Apostolic Constitutions 7.23; ANF 7:469.
30. Apostolic Constitutions 7.36; ANF 7:474.
31. Apostolic Constitutions 8.33; ANF 7:495.
The Sabbath in Scripture and History, p. 325, citing Gregory of Nyssa, On Reproof (PG 46:309, 310); Asterius of Amasea, Homily 5, on Matthew 19:3 (PG 40:225, 226).
33. Strand, op. cit., citing John Cassian, Institutes 3.2; NPNF/2 11:213.
34. Codex Justinianus 3.12.3, trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 5th ed. (New York, 1902), 3:380, note 1.
The Sabbath in Scripture and History, p. 328.
36. Strand, op. cit. He cites the Theodosian Code 11.7.13 and 15.5.5, trans. by Clyde Pharr (Princeton, N.J., 1952), pp. 300, 433.
37. Strand, Ibid., p. 329.
38. Strand, op. cit., citing Charles J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church, 2 (Edinburgh, 1876) 316.
39. See Daniel Augsburger, "The Sabbath and Lord's Day During the Mddle Ages," in The Sabbath in Scripture and History, ed. Kenneth A. Strand (Washington D.C.: Review and Herald, 1982), pp. 190-214.
40. Augsburger, Ibid., p. 193; citing Epist. 13:1, note (PL 77:1254, 1255).
41. Augsburger, Ibid., p. 194.
42. Augsburger, Ibid., p. 201.
43. Augsburger, Ibid., p. 204.
44. See Werner K. Vyhmeister, "The Sabbath in Egypt and Ethiopia," inThe Sabbath in Scripture and History, ed. Kenneth A. Strand (Washington D.C.: Review and Herald, 1982), pp. 169-189.
45. Augsburger, Ibid., p. 210.
46. Augsburger, Ibid., pp. 208-210.
(Source is; How When and Why the Sabbath was Changed from Saturday to Sunday)
 
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THE REAL REASON CHRISTIANS STARTED GATHERING TOGETHER ON SUNDAY (PART 2).

Persecution of the early Church after the death of Jesus


Early Christians expected suffering. Christ had died on the cross, so there was no higher honor than to imitate that death through accepting martyrdom (witness by one’s blood). The Jewish legacy portrayed, in writings such as the Fourth Book of the Maccabees, the glorious nature of death rather than renunciation of Israel; even without this, Christianity would inevitably have held the martyr’s death in high esteem. As the writer of 1 Peter expressed it, “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (4:16).

Why Were Christians Persecuted?

How was it that the church underwent such sacrifices? The Roman religion was not intolerant; Rome had accepted into its pantheon deities from the Italian tribes and from Asia Minor. In the provinces, the great territorial gods—such as Saturn in North Africa and Jehovah among the Jews—were accepted as “legal religion” on the grounds that their rites, even if barbarous, were sanctified by ancient tradition. Countless local gods and goddesses, worshiped by the ordinary inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world, were often provided with a classical equivalent name and worshiped as “Roman” deities.

Despite this toleration, by the early second century the Roman governor of Bithynia (on the Black Sea) had no hesitation in sending to immediate execution those who had been denounced as being Christians. The name alone was a sufficient death warrant.

Reasons for the persecution emerge from the record of Christianity’s first three centuries.


1. Fratricidal Strife

Persecution did not begin with the Roman authorities. The New Testament writings tell of fratricidal strife between Jews and Christians, the latter challenging the Jews by claiming to be “the New Israel.” In the early chapters of Acts, Stephen (7:57) and James, the brother of John the disciple (12:2), became victims of the Jerusalem mob and of King Herod Agrippa, respectively. Indeed, the writer of Luke-Acts appears to go out of his way to reassure the Roman authorizes of the loyalty and general value of the Christians and the hostility of the Jews toward them.

The persecutors and their motives changed in A.D. 64. On July 19 that year a great fire engulfed much of Rome; only four of the fourteen quarters of the city escaped damage. Suspicion immediately fell on Emperor Nero: was this a madcap way of clearing part of the city to make room for new, magnificent streets and buildings in his honor? Nero, however, managed to deflect blame first, apparently, on the Jews, who had a reputation for large-scale arson but also had friends at court; and then onto the Christians. Many Christians (perhaps including Peter) were seized, tortured, and done to death in the arena.

Tacitus, writing in c. 115, included an account of the incident in his Annales (XV, 44). Except for the manner of the Christians’ deaths, which he thought excessively cruel, he showed no sympathy for the Christians. Recording that “Christus, from whom the name [Christians] had its origin” was executed by “one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate,” Tacitus described the Christians as a “class hated for their abominations” and guilty of “hatred of the human race,” an accusation he also made against the Jews. Theirs was not a “religion” but a “deadly superstition,” and hence worthy of repression. Though there was no immediate sequel to Nero’s persecution, the fire forfeited any chance Christians might have had of being recognized as “legal religion” (religio licita) separate from Judaism.

2. Imperial Policies

Another 30 years pass before we hear of further action against the Christians, and then the evidence is not watertight.

Emperors were extremely suspicious of anything that seemed like “superstition” (for example, carrying a memento given by a Druid priest cost one Roman officer his life!). In 95–96, the emperor Domitian acted drastically against some members of the Roman nobility accused of “atheism” and “lapsing into Jewish customs.” It is not sure that Christianity was meant. However, Domitlla, the emperor’s kinswoman (neptis) who was exiled to the island of Pantelleria [near Sicily], was believed to have been a Christian. The accusation of “atheism”—denial of the existence and power of the gods—might point in that direction.

The veil is lifted, however, about 15 years later. In c. 112, Pliny was sent by the emperor Trajan (98–117) to Bithynia to restore the province from ravages caused by maladministration and corruption. He toured the province and when he reached the far east end, near Amastris, he encountered Christians. Pliny, though a lawyer by profession, had never been at a trial of Christians. The procedure he used was the same as for the vast majority of criminal cases in the province: cognitio extra ordinem, an arbitrary system of trial before a magistrate for offenses that fell outside the range of “statutory crimes” such as treason, forgery, or adultery.

As already mentioned, Pliny condemned to immediate execution those who confessed to being Christians, “for I held no question that whatever it was that they admitted, in any case obstinacy and unbending perversity deserve to be punished.” Christianity itself was punishable, but the defiant, martyr-attitude of the accused left Pliny in no doubt that his action was right.

Pliny’s difficulties arose when individuals agreed that they had been Christians once but were so no longer, and his letter to the emperor indicated his preference for lenience toward them. Trajan responded in an ambiguous but fair-minded way. Christians were “not to be sought out” (i.e., treated like common criminals). If they recanted and “worshiped our gods,” they were to be freed, but those who persisted must be punished. Anonymous denunciations, however, were to be rejected as being “a bad example and unworthy of our times.”

Twelve years later (in 124–125), Christian gained a further concession. Anti-Christian riots had broken out in the province of Asia (western Asia Minor) in 122–123, and the governor had written to Emperor Hadrian for advice. In response, Hadrian’s rescript (imperial order) allowed cases against Christians to be brought to trial, but ordered that the Christians had to be proven guilty of illegal acts before they could be condemned. Once again, “slanderous attacks” against Christians were forbidden. The rescript helped protect Christians, for now the emphasis was less on their name than on specific misdeeds. Christians might be unpopular, and their cult technically illegal, but it would take a bold man to file an accusation that, if in any way flawed, could rebound with serious consequences. An accuser also had to await the arrival of the one senior of ficial (the proconsul) able to try a capital case in the large province of Asia. No wonder Justin Martyr attached the text of Hadrian’s rescript to the end of his First Apology, written c. 155.

3. Precarious Toleration

Between 125 and 160, Christians enjoyed a precarious toleration. Few martyrdoms are recorded in this era of prosperity that marked the climax of the Greco-Roman achievement.

With the accession of Marcus Aurelius as emperor in 161, however, the situation changed. First, the Christians were becoming exceedingly unpopular; they were blamed for causing natural disasters by refusing to worship the deities that protected communities. Christians were also accused of immorality, unnatural vice, and black magic, all calculated to bring the rest of the population into peril.

An urban mob demanded the arrest of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, during what the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius of Caesarea termed “great persecutions that disturbed the province of Asia” (perhaps in February 156, but more likely 166–69). Other Christians had been seized, tried, and executed before Polycarp was arrested. One, a Phrygian, had rushed toward martyrdom—only to recant at the sight of the beasts in the amphitheater.

Polycarp was brought before the proconsul, who begged him to have respect for his great age (he was probably nearly 100), saying, “Swear by the genius of Caesar” and denounce “the atheists.” But Polycarp, seeing “the lawless heathen” in the amphitheater, “waved his hands at them, and looked up to heaven with a groan and said, ‘Away with the atheists.’ ” The proconsul persisted, “Swear, and I will release you. Curse Christ.” And Polycarp replied, “Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has done me no wrong; how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He was condemned to death and burned alive.

The story shows the efforts made by an average, reasonable administrator in the second century to persuade a Christian leader not to sacrifice his life, and the latter’s complete commitment to Christianity, even in the face of death. Between the two outlooks there was little room for compromise.

Later in Marcus’s reign, in c. 175, we hear of “new decrees,” probably emanating from the proconsul of Asia, making it easier for enemies to denounce Christians and seize their property. In one terrible pogrom at Lyon in Gaul [modern France] in 177, forty-eight Christians were done to death in the amphitheater.

4. Rising Tension

A new dynasty, the Severan Dynasty, seized power in 193, at a crucial moment in the church’s relations with the Empire. Though it remained illegal, the church was now much stronger than in the previous century. Christians were consolidated around urban communities governed by bishops, who were in frequent contact by letter with one another. The church had its own liturgy, its own sacred writings separate from those of the Jews, and established rules of faith on which orthodox doctrines could be built. It also had begun to acquire property (the Areae, or cemeteries; and in Rome, the earliest catacombs date to c. 200). Most important, the church had recovered its missionary urge, which after St. Paul and his disciples seems to have diminished through much of the second century. The result was great tension between Christians and pagans in provinces where the church was strong.

The dynasty’s individual emperors—Septimius Severus (193–211), Caracalla (211–217), Elagabalus (218–222), and Alexander Severus (222–235)—do not seem to have been personally ill-disposed toward Christians. In Alexander Severus’s reign, the first building identifiable as a house-church was erected in the frontier town of Dura-Europos on the River Euphrates. The emperors’ individual dispositions, however, were nullified by the wave of anti-Christian feeling in Carthage, Alexandria, Rome, and Corinth from about 202 to 210. The recorded victims of persecution were mainly converts—such as Perpetua and Felicitas in Carthage (martryed March 7, 203), or the disciples of Origen in Alexandria. The bishops and clergy seem not to have been affected.

The end of the Severan Dynasty in 235 brought another brief period of persecution under its supplanter, Maximinus Thrax (235–238), aimed, according to Eusebius, against the “leaders of the Church.”

This was followed, however, by 12 years of calm in which the church expanded, extended its catacombs in Rome, and through its great teacher Origen (186–254), established for the first time an intellectual superiority over its pagan contemporaries. Origen, however, perceived the danger of the situation. There might not have been many martyrs to date, but persecution, if it came now, would be on a worldwide scale. He was right.

to be continued...
 
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5. Empire-Wide Persecution

Under the emperor Decius (249–251) the church experienced what, in retrospect, was its most severe test. Decius had come to power at a moment of grave military threat from the Goths, and economic and social decline in the cities. He blamed his predecessor, Philip, for military incompetence and the Christians, whom he believed Philip had favored, for the breakdown of morale in the Empire. His remedy was an explicit return to former Republican virtues (Roman mores) and the association of all inhabitants of the Empire with the emperor’s yearly sacrifice to the gods of Rome on the Capitol. Decius combined this move, evidently, with an order (probably in December 249) to seize leading Christians. By January 20, 250, Pope Fabian had been tried before the emperor himself and sentenced to be executed.

The authorities went to great lengths to ensure compliance. In major cities, such as Carthage, commissions saw that individuals did perform sacrifice and punished those who refused. In Egypt, at least, there were commissioners in the country areas, and 44 of the certificates (libelli) have survived. They follow a set pattern. One reads, “To those appointed to see the sacrifices: From Aurelia Charis of the Egyptian village of Theadelphia. I have always continued to sacrifice and show reverence to the gods, and now, in your presence, I have poured a libation and sacrificed and eaten some of the sacrificial meat. I request you to certify this for me below.” The date and official signatures follow, occupying several lines of papyrus. Charis retained one certificate for herself, and the other was deposited in the official archives, so one can imagine the bureaucratic nightmare the order caused.

Contemporaries, both pagan and Christian, and Christian historians of the next century indicate that Decius’s measures were initially very successful. “All cowered with fear,” as one contemporary writer said of the Christians in Alexandria. Many fled; few wished to defy the emperor openly. Alexandria and Carthage saw massive apostasies. In Smyrna, the bishop himself performed sacrifice. Those who defied the authorities, like the presbyter Pionius of Smyrna, were often regarded as simpletons or fanatics eager to throw away their lives. The edict caused deep divisions among Christians, moreover, that brought merriment to pagan authorities.

Decius’s main aim had been to secure universal support by a sacrifice to the gods to “restore Roman liberty.” Once that had been achieved, by the early months of 251, the persecution was over. Decius died in June 251 on a campaign against the Goths, and Bishop Cyprian, who had fled, returned to Carthage to aid demoralized and disorganized congregations.

The church recovered its adherents rapidly but faced problems: what to do about the multitudes who had lapsed, and how to treat the Novatianist schism in Rome and North Africa, which had repercussions throughout much of the church. The Novatianists, according to Eusebius, called themselves “the pure.” They would not allow those who had given in during the persecution to return to the church. Their movement foreshadowed more permanent division in the Christian church between those who put its integrity above all other values, and those who regarded universality (the Katholike) as all important.

6. “Sacrilegious Instigators”

The new emperor, Valerian (253–60), at first tolerated the Christians but in the summer of 257 suddenly altered his attitude. The emperor’s policy was not to destroy the Christian church but to bring it into conformity with public rites (aimed at safeguarding the empire in time of peril). In July-August he sent orders to deport Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, and Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria. Other bishops were sent to the mines. In addition, Christian places of worship and cemeteries were closed, and anyone entering did so at risk of execution.

For nearly a year there was an uneasy calm. The Christians, however, were not cowed as they were a few years before. We learn of numbers of visitors to Curubis, where Cyprian was living; of forbidden Christian assemblies in a suburb of Alexandria; and of proselytizing by Dionysius where he had been exiled.

The emperor’s patience broke. Around July 258, Valerian ordered that bishops, priests, and deacons be executed, that church property be confiscated, that socially superior (honorati) laity lose their privileges and imperial civil servants (Caesariani) be reduced to slavery (a status from which many had emerged).

In some parts of the Empire this persecution of 258 259 was the bloodiest the church endured. On August 6 Pope Sixtus II was discovered conducting a service in the Catacomb of Praetextatus and was martyred, as were all seven of his deacons. Next month, Cyprian was brought from his place of exile to face the ailing governor, Galerius Maximus. Once again Cyprian refused to perform sacrifice. In words that summed up the authorities’ case against the Christians, the proconsul said, “You have lived a sacrilegious life, and you have gathered around yourself many vicious men in a conspiracy. You have set yourself up as an enemy of the Roman gods and of their sacred rites. And the pious and most religious emperors Valerian and Gallienus Augusti, and Valerian, the most noble Caesar, have been unable to bring you back to the observance of their own sacred rituals. Therefore, having been apprehended as the instigator and ringleader of a criminal conspiracy … you will be executed.” Conspiracy, illegal association, enmity toward the gods of Rome—these charges formed the basis for the persecutions during the first three centuries.

7. Lull Before the Storm

Valerian’s death brought more than 40 years of peace (260–303). Christian could still be arrested, however. For example, a Christian soldier, Marinus, lost his life when a jealous fellow soldier found that Marinus was to be promoted to the rank of centurion and denounced him as a Christian. Yet bishoprics multiplied, and church building seems to have gone on unhindered. In the imperial capital at Nicomedia (on the opposite side of the Bosporus to Constantinople), the Christian church stood in full view of the imperial palace. More important, the church now became a movement of the countryside as well as of the towns. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius quoted Dionysius of Alexandria, who hailed Gallienus as an emperor under whom “the monarchy, as it were, put aside its old age and cleansed itself from its former wickedness and now blossoms forth in fuller bloom.… ”

8. Final, “Great Persecution”

In 303, however, came 10 years of persecution, the “Great Persecution” as it became known. How and why, after 43 years of peace, did this happen?

First, while the church appeared to be accepted, opposition to it was never far below the surface. Since 270 the pagans, inspired by the Neo-Platonist philosopher, Porphyry, had begun to mount a serious intellectual assault on Christianity. “The evangelists,” Porphyry wrote in 15 books Against the Christians (c. 280–290) “were the inventors, not the historians, of those things they record about Jesus.” This propaganda war between Christian and pagan champions intensified in the 290s.

Second, in 284 Diocletian seized power by a coup d’etat and survived to become one of the greatest conservative reformers of all time. In March 286 he appointed a comrade-in-arms, Maximian, as co-emperor (Augustus) in the West; and on March 1, 293, the two Augusti appointed two other military men, Constantius and Galerius, as their assistants, or Caesars. The emperors’ ideal was to return to the traditional values of Rome. They imposed a uniform system of administration, currency and, in 301, prices throughout the Empire. Uniformity and discipline were the watchwords of the age, yet Christian remained a standing challenge to the unifying and conservative ideals of the emperors.

Persecutions might not have occurred, however, but for the fortunes of war. In 296 Caesar Galerius, who was strongly anti-Christian, won a decisive victory over the Persians. With his victory his influence over Diocletian increased. Diocletian’s family contained some who were pro-Christian, and he was unwilling to act against the Christians. But his hand was forced, partly by Galerius’s steady pressure and partly by anti-Christian propaganda from some provincial governors. Between 298 and 302 the civil service and army were gradually purged of Christians Late in 302 the emperors visited the shrine of Apollo at Didyma and the oracle complained of the baneful influence of the Christians (“the just on earth”) in its pronouncements. The die was now cast. On February 23, 303, the Feast of Terminalia, repression would start.

Churches were destroyed, Christian services banned, and the Scriptures seized and burned. Christians in high places lost civil rights, and “those in households” (perhaps meaning, “private citizens”) were deprived of their liberty. One concession Diocletian secured: no bloodshed.

A second edict imposed an obligation on all clergy to sacrifice, but the prisons became too full, and in the autumn of 303 this was modified and most of those imprisoned for refusing were released.

So far the persecution had not been as severe as under Valerian. Scriptures were seized, but among Christians there was often consternation and grudging compliance. Only a minority of determined souls held out. Years later, the “day of handing over” was remembered as a day of disaster by the North African Christians.

In 304, with Diocletian ill in Rome, Galerius seized his chance and imposed a universal obligation to sacrifice on pain of death. Up to then only the clergy had been involved directly; now the pressure was on every Christian. The number of martyrs increased, as did the defiance of the Christians. One inscription from a North African church lists 34 men and women who “suffered under the laws of the divine emperors Diocletian and Maximian.” In Phrygia a whole community was wiped out, and Egypt saw eight years of ruthless repression, which among the Coptic Christians earned the reign of Diocletian the title “The era of the martyrs. ”

9. A Grudging Concession

This phase ended on May 1, 305, when Diocletian and his western colleague, Maximian, formally abdicated, to be succeeded by Galerius and Constantius respectively. In the West, Constantius took no further action, and on his death, his son Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troops. In the next five years Constantine gradually increased his authority, and though an adherent of Apollo, followed his father’s policy of toleration toward Christians.

In the East, however, Galerius renewed persecution, accompanied by anti-Christian propaganda and a great effort to reorganize paganism along Christian hierarchical structures.

It was too late. Steam gradually ran out of the enforcement of the edicts, and no martyrs are recorded in this phase after 310. In April 311, Galerius, realizing that he was dying, decided that enough was enough and revoked the edicts of persecution. In the spirit of Diocletian’s reform, he wrote, “We wished previously, always acting for the good of the commonwealth, to correct all things according to the ancient laws and public discipline of the Romans.” However, too many Christians had failed to conform, and rather than they should not worship any god, “they might henceforth exist again. Their meeting houses were to be restored,” and their prayers “for our good estate” were asked. This last request was in vain, for Galerius died six days later. Galerius’ concession of failure was grudging but decisive. The Empire could not be preserved by the “immortal gods” with the Christian God possessing a veto over their powers.

In the spring of 312, Constantine entered on a final bid for supremacy in the West. Campaigning against his rival, Maxentius, through north and central Italy, he reached within five miles of Rome on October 27. That night he had a vision or dream that convinced him that his own destiny lay with Christianity. Next day he defeated Maxentius’s superior forces and entered Rome in triumph. In February 313 Constantine met Licinius (who had succeeded to Galerius’ European dominions), and in a document that has become known as the Edict of Milan formally ended the persecution. All individuals were to be free to follow their own consciences. In fact, the Edict proved to be the deathknell of the immortal gods. Eleven years later (in 324), Constantine defeated Licinius and proclaimed his adherence to Christianity and his aim that Christianity should become the religion of the Empire now united under his sole rule. The church had triumphed.

10. Why the Christians Triumphed

Why had the Christians won?

First, they had become too strong to be defeated. In some provinces, such as Bithynia and Cyrenaica [today, northern Egypt and Libyal, they may already have formed a majority, and they were well organized.

Further, Christians attracted people, as a Neo-Platonist philosopher explained c. 300, by their religion’s “simplicity,” its direct moral teaching and promise uncomplicated by its rivals’ mythology.

More than that, Christianity had never lost its martyr spirit. As one contemporary (Lactantius) explained, “There is another cause why God permits persecutions to be carried out against us, that the people of God may be increased.” People rejected the old gods because of the cruelties perpetrated in their names. People inquired what was so good that it seemed preferable to life itself, “so that neither loss of goods, nor of the light, nor bodily pain or tortures deter them.” In Egypt in 311–312, Eusebius of Caesarea was an eyewitness of the final horrors of Maximinus’s persecution. He writes that “we ourselves beheld, when we were at these places, many [Copts] all at once in a single day, some of whom suffered beheading, others punishment by fire, so that the murderous axe was dulled, and worn out, was broken in pieces, and the executioners grew utterly weary.… It was then that we observed a most marvelous eagerness and a truly divine power and zeal in those who placed their faith in the Christ of God. Thus, as soon as sentence was given against the first, some from one quarter and others from another would leap up to the tribunal before the judge and confess themselves Christians.… ”

Popular opinion had been changing in favor of Christianity in the previous 30 years. Against such spirit the pagan authorities were powerless. They might sometimes win intellectual combats, proving Plato was a cleverer man than St. Paul, but those who regarded death as liberation had the last word.

...............

From Dr. Everett Ferguson a professor of Bible at Abilene Christian University and author of Backgrounds of Early Christianity (Eerdmans, 1987)

Source: Historical Article from Christian History
link; Persecution in the Early Church: Did You Know?

References....
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The real origin of Sunday worship was persecution of the early Church by the Romans Empire against the Jews. Which over time the early Church had forsaken the Sabbath in place of Sunday worship following a man-made teaching and tradition that is not supported in the scriptures as a replacement for God's 4th commandment of the 10 commandments.

May God bless you as you seek Him through His Word.
 
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MANS CHANGING OF GOD'S SABBATH COMMANDMENT TO SUNDAY WORSHIP

Historically, Constantine did not change the day of worship as many claim. According to the historical records, Constantine made a civil Sunday law that the Roman Catholic Church adopted in order to practice and promote Sunday worship over the Sabbath of God's 4th commandment...

First Sunday Law enacted by Emperor Constantine - March, 321 A.D.

On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time [A.D. 321].)” Source: Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol.3 (5th ed.; New York: Scribner, 1902), p.380, note 1.

Now a professed Christian, Constantine nevertheless remained a devout sun worshipper. “The sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine,” notes Edward Gibbon in his classic Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. xx, par. 3.

Constantine even printed coins which “bore on the one side the letters of the name of Christ, on the other the figure of the sun god.” Arthur P. Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, lect. vi, par. 14.

Again, Constantine’s promotion of Sunday observance was part of his definite strategy to combine paganism with Christianity: “The retention of the old pagan name of dies Solis, or 'Sunday,' for the weekly Christian festival, is in 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.’” – Stanley’s History of the Eastern Church, p. 184.

In spite of the rising popularity of Sunday sacredness, Church historian Socrates Scholasticus (5th century) wrote: “For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries [of the Lord's Supper] on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this.” – Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, ch. 22.

Another historian also confirmed this by stating, “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.” – Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, ch. 19. Thus even in the 5th century, Sabbath keeping was universally prevalent (except in Rome and Alexandria) along with Sunday keeping. Many Christians kept both days, but as the centuries wore on, Sunday keeping grew in prominence and especially within Roman Catholic territories.

In 330 A.D., Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople (modern Istanbul), thus preparing the way for the Roman Catholic Popes to reign in Rome as the successors of Constantine. As the Papal Church grew in power, it opposed Sabbath observance in favour of Sunday sacredness and made the day change official in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363-364). Constantine's law had now been fully integrated into the Papal Church and the final step of the Sabbath to Sunday change was complete.

So around the year A.D. 364, the Catholic Church outlawed Sabbath keeping in the Council of Laodicea when they decreed 59 Canon laws. The following is the relevant Canon law: Canon XXIX:Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.” (Percival Translation).

Four hundred years after the death of Christ and one hundred years after Constantine's linking of Church and State by his Sunday law edict, Rome and Alexandria were the only places in the world where many of the Christians kept only Sunday and not the true Sabbath. Why was it that Rome and Alexandria were also the first locations that Sunday worship began? Because this is where the pagan practices of Babylon eventually landed after it was conquered. And what was the dominant pagan practice that the Babylonian priests brought with them? Sun worship which was done on Sun-day! See the history of Sunday worship for more detail.

So one can understand why Rome and Alexandria did not bother to keep the true Sabbath as they had not done so for 200 years. Throughout the entire history of the changeover from Sabbath to Sunday, Rome and Alexandria had worked together. Alexandria provided the philosophical reasons for the changes and Rome provided the decrees and anathemas. Constantine's help was given only to the worldly Church leaders at Rome and those Christians that resisted the errors that were being introduced into the Church met with his opposition. “Unite with the bishop of Rome or be destroyed,” was Constantine's position.

Great as were the favors which Constantine showed to the church, they were only for that strong, close-knit, hierarchically organized portion that called itself Catholic. The various [so-called] heretical sects could look for no bounty from his hands.” – Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, page 105.

The change of the Sabbath to Sunday was totally completed by the seventh century as the Popes consolidating their enormous power persecuted all who resisted their innovations. Did Satan use Constantine to play a key part in his plan to change the Sabbath to his day being Sunday? The answer is clear! From sun worship 2000 B.C., to Sunday worship in the Church. Satan infiltrated the Christian Church and most are oblivious to the fact that this has happened or understand the relevance. Sunday or “dies solis”, the day of the sun came from Satan worship and is his day. (more from here).

God bless
 
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Maria Billingsley

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TIME TO UNLEARN THE LIES ABOUT GOD’S WORD

Welcome dear friends. May God bless you as you seek Him through His Word.

All you have to do is turn on the news today to see that the signs of the times of the end of the world are being fulfilled in quick succession. Nearly everyday we see wars and rumors of wars, pestilence has been ravaging the world already for some time in many forms and of more recent COVID-19, natural disasters are happening more severely and in quick succession. God’s judgements are coming to all those who do not believe and follow His Word.

According to the scriptures just prior to His coming there will be two classes of Christians. All fall asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. One class purchased extra oil without money and without price and when the call was made to go out and meet the bridegroom, they trimmed their lamps (the Word of God) and went out to meet Him. The other class we are told did not purchase enough oil and when the call was made their lamps went out and they were sitting in darkness and could not find their way because the road was too dark and narrow until the door was shut and when they arrived, they were locked out of the marriage and lost everything because God did not know them.

Likewise, we are told that Babylon has fallen representing fallen Christianity that promotes man-made teachings and traditions over the Word of God. Jesus is calling us all out to trim our lamps to get ready for the marriage where Jesus will marry (unite) with His bride (the Church). Only those who purchase enough oil (faith in Gods’ Word to receive His Spirit), will be able to find their way because they trimmed their lamps (know the truth of Gods’ Word through His Spirit) to find their way to the marriage when the call is being made to go out and meet the bridegroom because the road is dark and narrow and will keep all those in darkness if their lamps (the truth of Gods Word) go out. The call is being made today dear friend. Have you trimmed your lamp? Do you know the truth of Gods’ Word or are you following in the lies we have been taught from the teachings and traditions of men that have led “the many” away from Gods’ Word to break the commandments of God leading many to sit in darkness when Jesus is calling us all back to His Word to worship Him in Spirit and in truth?

These are questions we must all ask ourselves personally and only we can personally answer them prayerfully asking God are we ready? Do we know the truth of your Word Lord? How do I know that I am following God’s Word and not the man-made teachings and traditions of men that have led “the many” away from God and His Word to break the commandments of God? The latter according to Jesus are not worshiping God according to the scriptures (Matthew 15:3-9) Jesus is calling us all and says the hour is coming and NOW IS, that the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him MUST worship him in spirit and in truth. God is calling us all back to His Word to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

This thread is about unlearning the lies we have all been taught in Sunday schools and in regard to “Sunday worship” Which is a man-made teaching and tradition that has led many away from God and His Word.

...............

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION?

1. What are the lies we are being taught in Sunday school in regards to Gods' 10 commandments?

2. Where does it say in the scriptures that Sunday is "the Lords day"?

3. Where does it say in the scriptures that God's seventh day Sabbath has been abolished and we are now commanded to keep Sunday as a holy day of rest?
...............

It's time to unlearn the lies we have all be fed and to seek Jesus for ourselves through His Word asking Jesus to teach us His Word so that we can know the truth of His Word personally for ourselves. God promises all of us... "You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13. God is calling us all to return to Him because he loves us and is not willing that any should perish *2 Peter 3:9. He promises that "if any man wants to know the truth of Gods' Word they will know if we turn away from the teachings of men and seek Him for it *John 7:17. All we need to do is ask him and believe His Word and claim His promises (see also John 16:13; John 14:26; John 7:17; 1 John 2:27; Hebrews 8:11).

None of us should be afraid of coming to the light of Gods' Word to see if we are really in the faith of Gods' Word or not. Let God bless you through His Word. Friendly discussion please please provide scripture for your view.

May God bless you all as you seek Him through His Word.
Does not keeping Sabbath mean I am not saved by Jesus Christ of Nazareth?
Thanks for sharing.
 
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LoveGodsWord

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Does not keeping Sabbath mean I am not saved by Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Thanks for sharing.

According to the scriptures it is written; "Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin." - James 4:17 and again "In times of ignorance God winked at; but now (when we receive a knowledge of the truth) commands all men every where to repent because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead." - Acts of the Apostles 17:30-31 Now compare the above two scriptures in James 4:17 and Acts of the Apostle 17:30-31 with Hebrews 10:26-31 which says; "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26-27. Now you tell me, according to the scriptures, if someone has been given a knowledge of the truth of Gods' Word and they then choose to reject the truth of God's Word in unbelief in order to now continue in known unrepentant sin, are they in a saved state with God or an unsaved state with God according to these scriptures just provided? Sin is defined in the scriptures as breaking anyone of God's 10 commandments in James 2:10-11; 1 John 3:4 and Romans 7:7 and not believing and following what God's Word says in Romans 14:23.

May God bless you as you seek Him through His Word.
 
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2PhiloVoid

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According to the scriptures it is written; "Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin." - James 4:17 and again "In times of ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead." - Acts of the Apostles 17:30-31 Now compare the above two scriptures with Hebrews 10:26-31 which says; "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26-27. Now you tell me if someone has been given a knowledge of the truth of Gods' Word and they then choose to reject the truth of God's Word in unbelief in order to now continue in known unrepentant sin, are they in a saved state with God or an unsaved state with God according to these scriptures just provided? Sin is defined in the scriptures as breaking anyone of God's 10 commandments in James 2:10-11; 1 John 3:4 and Romans 7:7 and not believing and following what God's Word says in Romans 14:23.

May God bless you as you seek Him through His Word.

ok. So, now you're contradicting yourself. You know why, don't you?
 
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LoveGodsWord

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ok. So, now you're contradicting yourself. You know why, don't you?
There is no contradiction. Only scripture has been provided. Our part is to believe and follow them over the teachings and traditions of men that lead us away from God's Word to break the commandments of God.
 
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2PhiloVoid

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There is no contradiction. Only scripture has been provided. Our part is to believe and follow them over the teachings and traditions of men that lead us away from God's Word to break the commandments of God.

Yes, you've contradicted yourself. You stated earlier that based there are Christians in many other churches, but when answering Maria you said that for her not to risk losing out on Judgement Day, she would have to repent of worshiping on Sunday.

The problem here is: a lot of fellow Christians will not stop worshiping on Sunday. You're implication is that they are really, fully Christian, that they're "really" a part of Babylon.

I'm I not correct in putting these things together? Is this not what you're saying all along?

Don't play games with me! Answer the question!
 
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Gregory Thompson

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There is no contradiction. Only scripture has been provided. Our part is to believe and follow them over the teachings and traditions of men that lead us away from God's Word to break the commandments of God.
This is incorrect, this statement implies your interpretation is on par with scripture. Therefore only scripture has not been provided. Your personal interpretation has been provided also.
 
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LoveGodsWord

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Yes, you've contradicted yourself. You stated earlier that based there are Christians in many other churches, but when answering Maria you said that for her not to risk losing out on Judgement Day, she would have to repent of worshiping on Sunday.

The problem here is: a lot of fellow Christians will not stop worshiping on Sunday. You're implication is that they are really, fully Christian, that they're "really" a part of Babylon.

I'm I not correct in putting these things together? Is this not what you're saying all along?

Don't play games with me! Answer the question!

There is no contradiction if you understand what James 4:17 and Acts of the Apostles 17:30-31 means. Do you know what they mean?
 
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LoveGodsWord

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This is incorrect, this statement implies your interpretation is on par with scripture. Therefore only scripture has not been provided. Your personal interpretation has been provided also.
Not really. The context of post # 53 that you are quoting from is to post # 51 linked where the scriptures are provided. What is it there from the scriptures that have been provided that you disagree with?
 
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Maria Billingsley

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According to the scriptures it is written; "Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin." - James 4:17 and again "In times of ignorance God winked at; but now (when we receive a knowledge of the truth) commands all men every where to repent because he has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead." - Acts of the Apostles 17:30-31 Now compare the above two scriptures in James 4:17 and Acts of the Apostle 17:30-31 with Hebrews 10:26-31 which says; "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26-27. Now you tell me, according to the scriptures, if someone has been given a knowledge of the truth of Gods' Word and they then choose to reject the truth of God's Word in unbelief in order to now continue in known unrepentant sin, are they in a saved state with God or an unsaved state with God according to these scriptures just provided? Sin is defined in the scriptures as breaking anyone of God's 10 commandments in James 2:10-11; 1 John 3:4 and Romans 7:7 and not believing and following what God's Word says in Romans 14:23.

May God bless you as you seek Him through His Word.
That's a lot of scripture and commentary over one day. God rested and asked us to rest through Him by His Son. So am I not saved because I choose to rest in Him everyday rather than just rest on one day?
Thanks for sharing.
 
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2PhiloVoid

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There is no contradiction if you understand what James 4:17 and Acts of the Apostles 17:30-31 means. Do you know what they mean?

Yes. Do you? AND...do you understand the implications? Christians who worship on Sunday AREN'T going to stop. Like ever, until they die.

So, apparently YOU "know" what that means, because you're all too ready to tell everyone about it.

Anyway, I'm done. I'm not reading anything you've written---not more than one paragraph---if you're not going to reciprocate in bilateral fashion. So, get you're act together, then we can talk.

Feel free to just keep wasting your time in the meantime.
 
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That's a lot of scripture for one day. God rested and asked us to rest through Him through His Son. So am I not saved because I choose to rest in Him rather than just rest on a day?
Thanks for sharing.
We rest in Jesus by believing and following what God's Word says according to the scriptures, which is why Jesus says; "Come to me (the Word), all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (through believing the Word). Take my yoke on you (believe and obey), and learn of me (through the Word); for I am (God) meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls (believing the Word). For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." No one therefore can rest in Christ by not believing and obeying what Gods' Word says because it is written; "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, said my God, to the wicked." - Isaiah 57:20-21. Your welcome. May God bless you as you seek Him through His Word. Ignoring it will not make it disappear. According to Jesus the Words of God we accept or reject will become our judge come judgement day *John 12:47-48.
 
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