By: Mike Wallace
What cultural background in the time of the Roman Empire persuaded the church of Rome to begin meeting on Sunday rather than the Sabbath day? Was the cultural religious worship of the “Sun” in the time of Rome a major factor in declaring Sunday the day of rest in the western Roman Church? Answer: yes.
First, we must put into context and declare the long history of the 7th day Biblical Sabbath. From the very beginning of the creation God “rested on the seventh day” (Gen. 2:2). This was His declaration to all man of His awesome creation of the universe. God created the seven-day calendar from the creation of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, it is impossible for any “man” to change what God did. God commanded and never rescinded His Sabbath command. Ex. 20:8-11; 31:17; Lev. 23:3; Isa. 58:13; Acts 13:42,44-48; Acts 17:1-2; 18:4; Isa. 56:1-7; 66:18-24. The Sabbath day is firmly given to man from God.
By the beginning of the second century the church of Rome had begun to migrate to “Sunday” church services rather than the 7th day Sabbath day. At this time the worship of the sun as “God” was widespread not only in the Roman empire but much of the world. “India, Persia, Syria and in the Greek and Roman” areas of habitation the Sun was revered. Bacchiocchi p. 237. “Sun-worship was ‘one of the oldest components of the Roman religion’ “. P. 238. The sun was “regarded as a Roman god.” P 239. By the end of the first century there were two branches to the worship of the sun in the Roman empire. “Sol Invictus Mithra”, a private worship of the sun on an individual basis and “Sol Invictus Elagabal.” Sol Invictus Elagabal was a “popular cult with grandiose temples.” It was a corporate government sponsored forced worship of the sun as a god. The corporate government sponsored Sol Invictus Elagabal was a state religion and was viewed as “a contract between the State and the gods.” One had to worship on Sunday or face death. It was very simple. Follow the forced religion of the Roman Empire or face death. There was no true freedom of religion. Being a Sabbath keeping Christian could be life ending in the empire.
The “Christians” of Rome under pressure to conform to the Roman Government began to worship on Sunday in honor of the “Sun” god. “Numerous Fathers abstracted and reinterpreted the pagan symbols and beliefs about the Sun and used them apologetically to teach the Christian message.” P. 253 As time passed and governmental persecutions grew the Roman church slide away from sound doctrine and gave in to substituting the Sabbath day with Sunday. “Cultured and well-meaning pagans, according to Tertullian, correlated the Christians praying toward the East with their Sunday observance, presenting both customs as one basic evidenced of Christians’ Sun-worship.” P 256 Christianity had slid into apostacy as it “absorbed and made its own what could be salvaged from pagan antiquity, not destroying it but converting it, Christianizing what could be turned to good.“ p. 261
The western Christian church of Rome had mixed paganism into Christianity. Christians are NOT to add or take away from what God made and commanded. Christians are NOT to be “snared” by following after the religions of the world asking “How did these nations serve their gods?” Deut. 12:30-32. Do not participate in idol worship (I Cor. 10:19-21). Do not “yoke” yourself to unbelievers (II Cor. 6:14-18).
By observing Sunday as the Sabbath day, one is worshiping the “Sun” in the manner of the ancient Romans. By observing the 7th day Sabbath one is worshipping God in the manner of the ancient apostles and Christians of the first century.
*All references: Bacchiocchi, Samuele, From Sabbath to Sunday, The Pontifical Gregorian University Press, Rome, 1977.
