Sunday is considered by the vast majority of the world of “Christianity” as the day of worship. Early Roman Christianity changed the day of worship from the seventh day Sabbath to Sunday. By the year 200 Sunday was firmly entrenched in the western church as the day of rest. We need to understand the history of this un-Biblical change from the seventh day Sabbath to Sunday. What do historians, scholars and theologians say about this?
Mithraists from Egypt introduced the worship of the physical sun as a god sometime before 100 BC. Mithraism was adopted into the worship of the Roman Empire and after several centuries was the Emperor commanded day of rest for the secular Roman Empire.
In 321 A.D. the Roman Emperor Constantine officially converted to “Christianity”. He appointed himself a Bishop and commanded Sunday worship rather than the 7th day Sabbath.
Constantine, “On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest…” Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.
Pope Sylvester officially named Sunday “the Lord’s Day,” and in A.D. 338, Eusebius, the court bishop of Constantine, wrote, “All things whatsoever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) we (Constantine, Eusebius, and other bishops) have transferred to the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week) as more appropriately belonging to it.”
From the Catholic Catechism of Catholic Doctrine. “We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (336 A.D.) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday…” “The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plentitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.” Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946, p. 50.
“The (Catholic) Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday!” Catechism of the Council of Trent.
“…Great, they say, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the ten commandments.” Augsburg Confession.
From Roman Catholic Confessions. “But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday…” James Cardinal Gibbons.
“Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh day- Saturday- for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day? I answer no!” J. Cardinal Gibbons.
From the Anglican/Episcopal church.
“There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday… Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters…” Canon Eyton. “We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church.” Bishop Seymour.
From the Baptists.”
“…what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!” Dr. Edward T. Hiscox.
Disciples of Christ.
“No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again.” Alexander Campbell.
Lutheranism.
“The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance…” Dr. Augustus Neander.
Methodist.
“The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word ‘remember’, showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai.” D.L. Moody
We read in Exodus 31:12-18 the Sabbath is a “sign” between God and His people. Revelation 22:18-21 We are told not to add or take away from this book. Changing the seventh day holy Sabbath to Sunday breaks this command from God. Without the Sabbath day we do not have the link- the sign- between us and God.
Credit to: “The Bible Sabbath Association”, Sabbath truth.com and Samuele Bacchiocchi, From Sabbath to Sunday.
