WRITINGS OF THE
CHURCH FATHERS DOCUMENTING THAT THE EARLY CHRISTIANS UNANIMOUSLY OBSERVED
SUNDAY AS THE LORD’S DAY AND THEIR DAY OF WORSHIP
By Dr. Rey V. Entila, Ph.D
In the book entitled “The Almost Forgotten Day”(Finley, 1994:.55-56),
SDA television evangelist Mark Finley, stated, “A careful study of the existent
historical sources from the First to the Fifth centuries reveals the amazing
fact that the transference of the sacredness of the true Bible Sabbath to
Sunday was a long and gradual process” . He quoted Dr. Kenneth Strand,
Professor of Church History at Andrews University, Michigan who wrote:
Until the Second century there is no concrete evidence
of a weekly Sunday celebration anywhere.
The first specific reference during that century come from Alexandria
and Rome,
places that also rejected the observance of seventh-day Sabbath.”(The Sabbath
in Scripture and History, p. 330, Review and Herald Publishing Association,
1982).
There
is no evidence of Christian weekly Sunday worship before the second century,
but the evidence indicates that by the middle of that century some Christians
were voluntarily observing Sunday as a day of worship, not a day of rest. (Seventh-day
Adventists Believe, p. 259).
This
researcher has to answer to Finley that to say “There is no evidence of
Christian weekly Sunday worship before the second century” is to ignore ALL the
New Testament passages that clearly show the Apostles and first century
Christians worshipped Christ on Sunday. The first public worship of the
Apostles to Christ happened on Sunday (Mt.28:1-9); Jesus appeared and
strengthened the Apostles gathered on Sunday (Jn.20:19-23); Jesus appeared once
to the assembled Apostles and was worshipped as Lord and God by Thomas
(Jn.20:24-29); the Apostles and Christian disciples gathered in prayer and
worship when the Holy Spirit came down to them on Pentecost which was Sunday
(Acts 2:1-12); the first Christian kerygma or proclamation of the Gospel after
Christ’s resurrection happened on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:14-36); and the
first baptism of 3000 Christian converts happened on that Pentecost Sunday
(Acts 2:37-41); the holy assembly of the Apostles and first Christians were done on Sundays (Acts 20:7, 1
Cor.16:1-2);Finally, St. John was in the Spirit during the Lord’s Day or Sunday
(Rev.1:10).
Mark Finley then quoted
as other proofs the following church historians of the early church.
First Century
Christians. “Then the spiritual seed of Abraham fled to Pella,
on the other side of Jordan,
where they found a safe place of refuge, and could serve their Master and keep
his Sabbath.” (Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical history, b.3, chapter 5).
The quotation
above, however, is highly questionable when it added the words “and could serve
their Master and keep his Sabbath”. The actual words of church historian
Eusebius in Book 3, Chapter 5 verses 6-8 are:
The
death of the rest of the Apostles was plotted in numerous ways and they were
driven from the land
of Judea, and they went
their way to teach the Gospel among all nations, supported by the power of
Christ, who said to them: “Going teach ye all nations in my name. But
the people of the Church at Jerusalem were
commanded by an oracle given out by revelation before the war to esteemed men
there to depart from the city and to inhabit a city of Peraea
which they called Pella.
Those who believed in Christ migrated to this city from Jerusalem, that, when
holy men had entirely abandoned the royal capital of the Jews and the entire
land of Judaea, the judgment of God might soon overtake them for their many
crimes against Christ and His Apostles and utterly destroy that generation of
the wicked from among men. (The Fathers of the Church, Vol. 19:
Eusebius on Ecclesiastical History Bk.3, Ch.5:6-8).
This researcher also
searched from the internet on-line writings (38 volumes) of the Church Fathers
found in www.newadvent.org/fathers and in Christian classics Ethereal library www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf.
It is surprising to see that all three sources are similar, but the additional
words by Finely are nowhere to be found. Did Pastor mark Finley consult the
voluminous books or did he copy only from a wrong quotation from an old,
recycled SDA publication? Good scholarship and intellectual honesty requires
any religious writer to truly check the sources. Else, well-intentioned readers
will be swayed by a dishonest work.
Furthermore, to use Eusebius
to advance the Sabbatarian cause is futile since Eusebius himself testified
that Sunday was the day of worship for the Christian assembly. Here are the quotations below. Bold words are emphasized as
anti-Sabbatarian points of these Church Fathers.
Eusebius of Caesarea - "They [the
early saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body,
neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths,
nor do we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard
the other distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be
observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things"
(Church History 1:4:8 [A.D. 312]).
"[T]he day of his [Christ’s] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from
the dead, which they say, as being the one and only truly
holy day and the Lord’s day, is better than any number of days as we
ordinarily understand them, and better than the days set apart by the Mosaic
law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the apostle [Paul]
teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality" (Proof of the
Gospel 4:16:186 [A.D. 319]).
The early Church Fathers
can be quoted out of context and interpreted erroneously by anybody who would like
to support his or her own theological view. To avoid misquotation and
misinterpretation, this researcher himself consulted the voluminous books of
the early Church Fathers from the university library. The same material can be
read on-line in www.newadvent.org and
in www.ccel.org on the writings of these
Church Fathers. This is just and fair for any Christian who would like to
investigate objectively the history of early Christians through the ancient
documents. Therefore this researcher endeavored to show the larger contexts of
those quotations used by SDA’s particularly by Mark Finley.
Below is Finley’s short
quotation which he interpreted in favor of Sabbatarianism.
For almost all churches throughout the world celebrate
the sacred mysteries (Lord’s Supper) on the Sabbath of every week. Yet the
Christians at Alexandria and Rome, on account of some ancient tradition,
have ceased to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria and inhabitants of Thebais hold
their religious assemblies on the Sabbath. (Italics supplied.) (Socrates
Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, 5.22(NPNF)/22:132).
But here is the larger quotation of the
writing of Church historian Socrates Bk 5 ch 22 as found in the book and in the
internet.
Chapter
22. The Author's Views respecting the Celebration of Easter, Baptism, Fasting,
Marriage, the Eucharist, and Other Ecclesiastical Rites.
As we have touched the subject I deem
it not unreasonable to say a few words concerning Easter. It appears to me that neither the ancients nor moderns who have affected to follow the Jews, have had any
rational foundation for contending so obstinately about it. For they
have not taken into consideration the fact that when Judaism was changed into Christianity, the obligation
to observe the Mosaic law and the ceremonial types ceased. And the proof of the matter is
plain; for no law of Christ permits Christians to imitate the
Jews. On the
contrary the apostle expressly forbids it; not only rejecting circumcision, but also
deprecating contention about festival days. In his epistle to the
Galatians Galatians 4:21
he writes, 'Tell me ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the
law.' And continuing his train of argument, he demonstrates that the Jews were in bondage as
servants, but that those who have come to Christ are 'called into the liberty
of sons.' Galatians 5:13
Moreover he exhorts them in no way to regard 'days, and months, and
years.' Galatians 4:10
Again in his epistle to the Colossians Colossians 2:16-17
he distinctly declares, that such observances are merely shadows: wherefore he
says, 'Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of any holy-day, or of the new
moon, or of the sabbath-days;
which are a shadow of things to come.' The same truths are also
confirmed by him in the epistle to the Hebrews Hebrews 7:12
in these words: 'For the priesthood
being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.' Neither
the apostles,
therefore, nor the Gospels,
have anywhere imposed the 'yoke of servitude' Galatians 5:1
on those who have embraced the truth; but
have left Easter and every other feast to be honored by the gratitude
of the recipients of grace….
Such is the difference in the
churches on the subject of fasts.
Nor is there less variation in regard to religious assemblies. 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. The Egyptians in
the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebaïs, 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. At Alexandria again, on the
Wednesday in Passion week and on Good Friday, the scriptures are read, and the
doctors expound them; and all the usual services are performed in their
assemblies, except the celebration of the mysteries.
The Sabbatarians quoted the passage above
out of context to imply that early Christians churches were Saturday-keepers.
Yet, as this researcher has included the preceding parts of the quotation used,
it is clear through the bold and italicized words that Christians were prohibited to
follow the Jews in observing Jewish festivals and Sabbaths. This
includes the yearly, monthly and weekly Sabbath observances. Therefore, it is
clear that early Christians were not Sabbatarians.
The paragraph quoted by Sabbatarians
cannot support the Sabbatarian cause. While almost (not all) other Churches
outside of Rome and Alexandria
celebrated the sacred mysteries (or the Eucharist as ancient historians
write), that refers only to their assembly, but it does not prove that they
observed the Sabbath the way Jews and Sabbatarians observed the whole Sabbath
duration. In fact, as was seen above, Christians were forbidden to follow the
Jewish laws and observances since Judaism was replaced by Christianity.
The Sabbatarians are not correct in pitting
other Churches in Europe or Asia against
Rome and Alexandria
(Egypt)
as equals. While Christian churches spread throughout the world, the three ancient centers of Christianity in ancient
times were Rome, Alexandria
and Antioch, while Constantinople
became another center during the 4th century reign of Emperor
Constantine. Jerusalem
was not any more its center since the Jews (Christians and non-Christians) were
killed by the thousands in 70 AD and the temple ruined to the ground.
Christians themselves spread throughout the world. Biblically speaking, Christ
prophesied against Jerusalem, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to a
nation producing the fruits of it" (Mt.21:43). Jerusalem was
even named by the Apostle John as Sodom and Egypt
“Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city, which has
the symbolic names ‘Sodom, and ‘Egypt,’
where indeed their Lord was crucified (Rev.11:8, NAB).
Concerning the Roman Church, St. Paul
himself who was inspired by the Holy Spirit, recognized the leading role of
Roman Christians who were martyred for their faith by the thousands by the
pagan Romans “To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.” (Rom.1:7-8,
RSV). It is the very Church which ALL the Churches of Christ salute to “All
the churches of Christ salute you.” (Rom.16:16, Am. Standard Bible). The
historian Socrates writes that Rome and Alexandria have ceased to
observe Eucharistic gathering on Sabbath because of some ancient tradition, tradition which, according to this
researcher’s previous chapter on the analysis of Sabbath in the New Testament
letters, the Apostles observed Sunday instead of Sabbath day.
The paragraph quoted by
Sabbatarians do not help their cause because it says that Roman and Alexandrian
Christians, leading Churches in early
Christianity ceased to observe
Sabbath gathering. Furthermore, Rome
is clearly the leading church followed
by all Christians throughout the world. Church historian August Franzen wrote
of the primacy of Rome
over all Christian churches, “From the beginning, the Roman community assumed
eminent position in the church as a whole. In the West it was always the
recognized leader, if for no other reason than that it was he oldest, the
largest, and the only western apostolic community” (Franzen, 1968: 100). The famous Protestant historian J.N.D. Kelly
writes concerning the Primacy of the Roman See:
Everywhere, in the East no less than the
West, Rome
enjoyed a special prestige, as it is indicated by the precedence accorded
without question to it. The only possible rival was the new, rapidly expanding
see of Constantinople, but the highest claim that the second Ecumenical Council
(381) could put on for it (even that claim was ignored by Alexandria, and was
to be rejected by the papal legates at Chalcedon and declared null by Pope Leo
I) was to the effect that the bishop of Constantinople shall hold the first
rank after ‘the bishop of Rome, because Constantinople is the new Rome’. Thus Rome’s preeminence
remained undisputed in the Patristic period. (Kelly, 1978: 406).
Here is another quotation
used by Mark Finley which he supposed to favor of Sabbatarian belief:
“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 Alexandria.”
(Italics supplied.) (Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 7.19 (NPNF)2/2:390).
But here is the fuller
context of the writing of Church
Historian Sozomen Bk VII ch 19:
Chapter
19. A List Worthy of Study, Given by the Historian, of Customs among Different
Nations and Churches.
At Alexandria the bishop of the city alone
teaches the people, and it is said that this custom has prevailed there ever
since the days of Arius,
who, though but a presbyter,
broached a new doctrine. Another strange custom also prevails at Alexandria
which I have never witnessed nor heard of elsewhere, and this is, that the
archdeacon alone reads the Gospel
in this city, whereas in some places it is read by the deacons, and in many
churches only by the priests;
while on noted days it is read by the bishops, as, for
instance, at Constantinople, on the first day of the festival of the
resurrection. In some churches the interval called Quadragesima, which occurs
before this festival, and is devoted by the people to fasting, is made to
consist of six weeks; and this is the case in Illyria and the Western regions,
in Libya, throughout Egypt,
and in Palestine; whereas it is made to comprise seven weeks at Constantinople,
and in the neighboring provinces as far as Phœnicia. In some
churches the people fast three alternate weeks, during the space of six or
seven weeks, whereas in others they fast continuously during the three weeks
immediately preceding the festival. Some people, as the Montanists, only fast
two weeks. Assemblies are not held in all churches on the same time or manner. 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.
Concerning church historian Sozomen whom Sabbatarian quote to
buttress Sabbath agenda, former SDA defender, writer and champion, Pastor DM
Canright, renounced Seventh Day
Adventism. He wrote: “5th century. Passing back to about A.D. 450, we come to
the history of the church written by Sozomen.
In book 2, Chapter VIII, page 22, of Constantine,
he says: "He honored the Lord's Day,
because on it he arose from the dead." This shows what was meant by Lord's
Day in those early times” (Adventism Renounced, 1914, ch.10, p.125).
If Sabbatarians truly read and quote
contextually Book 7 chapter 19 of Sozomen and believe in him as a faithful
church historian, one shall discover that the early Christian church is
hierarchical in its structure, the bishops, priests and deacons as leaders, not
different from the present Catholic Church structure, but not same with SDA
church structure. Secondly, the same chapter proves contrary to Sabbatarian
belief that Resurrection day was not commanded to be observed by Christians.
The fact is Christians recognized the supreme importance of the resurrection of Christ and observed it
as a festival. This further proves
that Sunday observance in honor of the
Resurrection of Christ is a correct
Christian practice as is proven by the post-resurrection Church, onwards to the
Apostolic Fathers in the 2nd century, to the apologists and
subsequent centuries of Christian history.
If one reads carefully the quotation from
Sozomen, the Christians had holy assembly in both Sabbath (Saturday) and Lord’s
Day (Sunday). This is fatal to the Sabbatarian cause because they do not
assemble on Sunday, but only on Saturday.
Since the quotation above bears similarity
with the quotation from church historian Socrates, so the same argument above
can be used with the quotation from Sozomen that Rome
and Alexandria
were leading Churches in early
Christianity and that practice was correct.
Lastly, gathering on Sabbath for
Eucharistic assembly or the breaking of the Bread (popularly known as the Holy
Mass for Catholics), is done everyday (Acts 2:42,46) by the Apostles and the
early Christians. Surprisingly, among more than 33,000 Christian sects,
denominations and cults today, it is the Catholic Church that stands out to be
faithful to this ancient Biblical practice. Therefore, gathering on Saturday
for Mass in no way opposes the fact that for early Christians as well as for
Catholics today, that Sunday is the greatest DAY of the week for worshipping
the Father, son and the Holy Spirit. Yet, to say, as the Sabbatarians do, that
Sabbath is THE Day for Christians to gather and worship is contrary to all
known and established facts found in the Bible and the history of Christianity.
Sabbatarians only pick and choose some ancient
quotations from the early Church Fathers, whose works are truly unavailable to
millions of Church goers. But thanks to Christian theological libraries and the
internet especially, the truths contained in their writings are now available
to everyone on-line. Anybody who uses ancient documents can truly investigate
concerning the truthfulness or falsity of his or her claims and
interpretations. This researcher believes that the Lord uses human
technological advancement to light the truth shine in the world. Below are the
authentic testimonies of the early Church Fathers who unanimously, without
exception, proclaim that the Lord’s Day as the day of worship for all
Christians. Sabbatarians who proclaim other wise go against the clear,
infallible truth.
On page 152 of SDA
official book, Seventh-Day Adventists
Answer Questions on Doctrine, it is written:
The seventh-day Sabbath continued to be
kept by Christ’s followers for several centuries. But along with the Sabbath
there was a growing observance of what was known as the festival of the
resurrection, celebrated on the first day. This was observed at least from the
middle of the second century (See Socrates, Ecclesiastical
History Vol.V.22).And the first recorded observance was at Rome (Justin Martyr, First Apology, ch.67).
The quotation above
should not be accepted immediately by any person reading the Adventist material
without examining the veracity of its claim. First of all, the authentic
Christian documents of the early Church flatly deny such contention. Documents such as the Didache (80-100 A.D),
Letter of Barnabas (circa 70-79 A.D), and Ignatius of Antioch (110 A.D), tell
us that true Christians who were the disciples of the Apostles themselves
observed the Lord’s Day, instead of the Sabbath Day. Secondly, it is not true
that the first recorded observance is
that of St. Justin Martyr in Rome.
The quotations below prove the official declaration of Seventh-Day Adventist
Church is wrong and
misleading. True Christians observed Sunday as the Lord’s Day from the first
century onwards. It was later in the Council of Laodicea in 360 A.D that heretical Christians who were
Sabbathizing and did not follow the true Christian practice were condemned by
the Christian Church herself.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The Didache - "But
every Lord’s day . . . gather
yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having
confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one
that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be
reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned" (Didache 14
[A.D. 80-100]). (Belmonte, 1996).
The Letter of Barnabas - "We
keep the eighth day [Sunday] with
joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead" (Letter
of Barnabas 15:6–8 [A.D. 74]).
Ignatius of Antioch - "[T]hose
who were brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e. Jews] have come to the
possession of a new hope, no longer
observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s day, on
which also our life has sprung up again by him and by his death" (Letter
to the Magnesians 8 [A.D. 110]).
Justin Martyr - "[W]e
too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all
the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined [on]
you—namely, on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your heart. .
. . [H]ow is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not
harm us—I speak of fleshly circumcision and Sabbaths and feasts? . . . God
enjoined you to keep the Sabbath, and imposed on you other precepts for a sign,
as I have already said, on account of your unrighteousness and that of your
fathers . . ." (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 18, 21 [A.D. 155]).
"But Sunday is the day on which
we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God,
having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus
Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead" (First Apology
67 [A.D. 155]).
Tertullian - "[L]et
him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of
salvation, and circumcision on the eighth day . . . teach us that, for the time
past, righteous men kept the Sabbath or practiced circumcision, and were thus
rendered ‘friends of God.’ For if circumcision purges a man, since God made
Adam uncircumcised, why did he not circumcise him, even after his sinning, if
circumcision purges? . . . Therefore, since God
originated Adam uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, consequently
his offspring also, Abel, offering him sacrifices, uncircumcised and unobservant
of the Sabbath, was by him [God] commended [Gen. 4:1–7, Heb. 11:4]. . . . Noah
also, uncircumcised—yes, and unobservant of the Sabbath—God freed from the
deluge. For Enoch too, most righteous
man, uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, he translated from this
world, who did not first taste death in order that, being a candidate for
eternal life, he might show us that we also may, without the burden of the law
of Moses, please God" (An Answer to the Jews 2 [A.D. 203]).
The Didascalia - "The
apostles further appointed: On the first
day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the holy scriptures,
and the oblation [sacrifice of the Mass], because on the first day of the
week [i.e., Sunday] our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first
day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he
ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last
with the angels of heaven" (Didascalia 2 [A.D. 225]).
Origen - "Hence it is
not possible that the [day of] rest after the Sabbath should have come into
existence from the seventh [day] of our God. On the contrary, it is our Savior
who, after the pattern of his own rest, caused us to be made in the likeness of
his death, and hence also of his
resurrection" (Commentary on John 2:28 [A.D. 229]).
Cyril of Jerusalem - "Fall not away either into the sect of the Samaritans or
into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has henceforth ransomed you. Stand aloof from all observance of Sabbaths
and from calling any indifferent meats common or unclean" (Catechetical
Lectures 4:37 [A.D. 350]).
Note: Sabbatarians
assert that Churches in the East, most especially Jerusalem was ever observant of the Sabbath
Day as Christians. This flatly contradicts the clear authentic testimony of St.
Cyril of Jerusalem.
The Apostolic Constitutions - "And on the day of our
Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending
praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and
condescended to let him suffer, and raised him from the dead. Otherwise what
apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day . . . in which is
performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel, the
oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food" (Apostolic
Constitutions 2:7:60 [A.D. 400]).
Augustine - "Well, now, I
should like to be told what there is in these ten commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which
ought not to be kept by a Christian. . . . Which of these commandments
would anyone say that the Christian ought not to keep? It is possible to
contend that it is not the law which was written on those two tables that the
apostle [Paul] describes as ‘the letter that kills’ [2 Cor. 3:6], but the law
of circumcision and the other sacred rites which are now abolished" (The
Spirit and the Letter 24 [A.D. 412]).
Council of Laodicea -
"Christians should not Judaize
and should not be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on that day; they
should, however, particularly reverence the Lord’s day and, if possible, not
work on it, because they were Christians" (Canon 29 [A.D. 360]).
Mark Finley on page 61 of his book (The Almost Forgotten Day) comments:
Council of Laodicea – A.D. 365 “Canon 16 – On Saturday the
Gospels and other portions of the Scripture shall be read aloud.” “Canon 29 –
Chistians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that
day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians,
shall, if possible, do no work on that day.” (Hefele’s Councils, Vol.2, b.6).
He further comments, “The Council of
Laodicea was an eastern gathering which represented Greek Orthodox churches. An
eastern church was revising the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on the Sabbath
at about the time this Council was held. The
Council of Laodicea
attests to the re-establishment of Sabbath observance of the east. This was one
factor which led to the split in eastern and western branches of Christianity”.
Finley’s comments which are italicized
here for emphasis flatly flies on the face of what was written in Canon 29 of
what the Catholic bishops have condemned in their local Council of Laodicea
(360 AD). One should read it again if one misses its crystal clear command. It
commands Christians not to Judaize, meaning, not to follow the
Jewish Sabbatarian laws and other Old Testament practices which have been
abolished in the new Testament (see Col.2:16). Christians instead should
observe the Lord’s Day. This again refutes the Sabbatarian belief that the
Lord’s Day is the Sabbath day, because clearly, this Council differentiates
Sabbath day or Saturday from the Lord’s day which is Sunday. If one asks what
is the power of the Church council of Bishops, the answer is, the bishops have
the power of binding and loosing (Matt.18:18), the power to forbid and to
permit in the name of Christ. Since heresies arise from time to time as
self-proclaimed prophets and teachers, not legitimately ordained by the Church, so
this is the same Church that was established by Christ has the power to condemn
false teachings and uphold the Christian truth. Sabbatarians should learn from
this important Council of Laodicea.
Finley further wrote,
“For 200 years (110-300 A.D.) Sunday
observance existed side by side with the true Sabbath observance. But the trend
set by Constantine
eventually led to the change of Sabbath to Sunday” (Finley, 1994, p.57).
Finley finely ruins his
own Sabbatarian argument that Sabbath was the day that early Christians
observe, not Sunday. If he means that Sunday was also observed by Christians this also ruins his argument
that Sunday is pagan practice. Furthermore, to say that it was Constantine who
eventually set the trend for Sunday observance, this runs counter also to what
he has written that Sunday observance existed side by side with Sabbath observance, which means that it was already a trend before Constantine arrived in the 4th
century.
SDA’s most authoritative
book today “Seventh-Day Adventists Believe” advanced the following quotations
to show that it was the Catholic church which changed the Sabbath law to Sunday
obligation.
Catholic
Cardinal Gibbons once wrote, “You may read the bible from Genesis to
Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification
of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday”.
(Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p.258, quoting James Gibbons The Faith of Our
Fathers, 47th rev.enl.ed., Baltimore, 1895).
To answer the
above-mentioned quotation, Cardinal
Gibbons was right because the context was that he was discussing the
relationship between the Church and the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible say that
it is the ONLY authority in teaching the truths about our Christian faith. In
fact the Church ALSO is given that infallible authority of which every
Christian should follow (Lk10:16; Mt.16:19; Mt.18:17-18; Mt.28:19-20; Mk.16:15-16;
1 Tim.3:15). The truth is, the Bible does not have the Table of Contents for
the number of inspired books in the New Testament. But Christians throughout
the world, including non-Catholics and Seventh-day Adventists, followed the
authority of the Catholic Church in proclaiming in the Councils of Rome (382
A.D), Council of Hippo (393) and Council of Carthage (397) ( Beginning
Apologetics 1, 2004, p.11) that there are 27 books in the New Testament. The
same Catholic Church which is the “pillar and the ground of truth” (1 Tim.3:15)
and was given full authority to “teach everything” what Christ taught
(Mt.28:19-20) proclaimed that the Lord’s Day (Sunday) is to be observed instead
of Saturday Sabbath.
This argument
collapses all the myriads of oft-repeated quotations coming from Catholic
publications which the SDA’s hopelessly try to buttress in order to uphold
Sabbatarianism. These same answer above destroys ALL his quotations and arguments made by
Seventh-Day Adventist Steve Wohlberg in his website www.whitehorse.org.
Finley inscribed,
“Yet faithful men and women of God resisted the trend.
Existing historical documents reveal a deep interest in Sabbath worship. God
had His faithful and obedient followers who championed His truth. Although the
candle of Sabbath truth flickered, loyal stalwarts of truth obediently guarded
the flame”. Then he quoted from the following sources:
Pope Gregory I,
A.D. 590 to 604. “Gregory, bishop by the grace of God to his well-beloved sons, the
Roman citizens: It has come to me that certain men of perverse spirit have
disseminated among you things depraved and opposed to the holy faith, so that
they forbid anything to be done on the day of the Sabbath. What shall I call
them except preachers of anti-Christ?” (Epistles, b.13:1).
Thanks to
Mark Finley for quoting Pope Gregory the Great. That further proves that
sabbatarianism was a heresy condemned long time ago by holy and exemplary
leaders of Christ’s Church, but men and women who do not study past errors and
learn from them are prone to commit the same condemned errors. What is at stake
is the eternal destiny of man who obstinately teaches and repeats long-past
false doctrines .
THE TESTIMONY OF A FORMER SABBATARIAN
A former Seventh-Day Adventist Pastor
Canright, who became a Baptist pastor, wrote in his classic book “Seventh-day Adventism
Renounced” (1914):
“Almost universally Christians regard Sunday
as a sacred day. Do they offer for this any adequate reasons? Yes, indeed, and
those which have been satisfactory to all the best and ablest Christians the
church has ever had. After keeping the seventh day and extensively advocating
it for over a quarter of a century, I became satisfied that it was an error,
and that the blessing of God did not go with the keeping of it. Like thousands
of others, when I embraced the Seventh-day Sabbath I thought the argument was
all on one side, so plain that one hour's reading ought to settle it, so clear
that no man could reject the Sabbath and be honest. The only marvel to me was
that everybody did not see and embrace it.”
Some
religious organizations (Seventh-Day Adventists, Seventh-Day Baptists, and
certain others) claim that Christians must not worship on Sunday but on
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. They claim that, at some unnamed time after the
apostolic age, the Church "changed" the day of worship from Saturday
to Sunday.
However, passages of Scripture such
as Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Colossians 2:16-17, and Revelation 1:10
indicate that, even during New Testament times, the Sabbath is no longer
binding and that Christians are to worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, instead.
The early Church Fathers compared the
observance of the Sabbath to the observance of the rite of circumcision, and
from that they demonstrated that if the apostles abolished circumcision (Gal.
5:1-6), so also the observance of the Sabbath must have been abolished. The
following are few quotations taken from the early Church documents and the
writings of the Church Fathers up to St.
Augustine in the 5th century A.D. They
undoubtedly the show that the first Christians understood this principle and
gathered for worship on Sunday.
IV. HISTORICAL BASES FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF THE
LORD’S DAY INSTEAD OF THE SABBATH DAY BY CHRISTIANS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS UP TO THE PRESENT TIME
THE TESTIMONY OF CHURCH
HISTORY FROM THE RECENT PAST
TO THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
This
researcher met one elderly SDA Pastor
during their 2005 Negros Annual Convention held at Negros
Mission Academy
at Taculing, Bacolod
City. He was friendly and
the conversation pro9ceeded to the truth about Sabbath-keeping of the
Adventists and why they differ from all other Protestant Sunday-keepers. The
conversation led to historical discussions on whether or not Christians before
the coming of the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church
were Sabbath-keepers or Sunday-keepers. He said that even the Protestant
Reformers, anti-Catholic as they were, were not really freed from the fetters
of Roman Catholicism which invented Sunday-keeping. This researcher asked him
how sure was he that millions and even billions of Christians are wrong
throughout history and all of a sudden only a handful Sabbath-keeping
Adventists were right? Did the Holy Spirit totally abandon the people of God
and therefore, the Church
of Christ was defeated by
Satan? Is it not arrogant to claim that they alone are right and all Christians
throughout the history of the world were wrong? The interesting discussion
began.
In line with the unfailing guidance of the
Holy Spirit to the Church
of Christ which was meant
to be universal ( Gk. “katholikos” = Engl. “catholic”), this researcher would
point to one outstanding example in SDA history. Pastor DM Canright, who, after
28 years of championing the Seventh-Day Adventist cause, renounced Sabbatarianism.
Below are excerpts from his scholarly book “Seventh-Day Adventism Renounced”,
which as of this writing and as far as this researcher knows, no SDA book has
ever demolished, or tried to demolish, and will never demolish.
But after keeping it (Sabbath) twenty-eight years; after having
persuaded more than a thousand others to keep it; after having read my Bible
through, verse by verse, more than twenty times; after having scrutinized, to
the very best of my ability, every text, line and word in the Bible having the
remotest bearing upon the Sabbath question; after having looked up all these,
both in the original and in many translations; after having searched in
lexicons, concordances, commentaries and dictionaries; after having read
armfuls of books on both sides of the question; after having read every line in
all the early church fathers upon this point; and having written several works
in favor of the Seventh-day, which were satisfactory to my brethren; after
having debated the question for more than a dozen times; after seeing the
fruits of keeping it, and weighing all the evidence in the fear of God, I am
fully settled in my own mind and conscience that the evidence is against the
keeping of the Seventh-day.
Those who observe Sunday say that they do it in honor of the
resurrection of Christ upon that day, and that this practice was derived from
the apostles and has been continued in the church ever since. Let us see.
"The Lord's Day" is a term now commonly applied to the first day of
the week in honor of the Lord's resurrection on that day. Thus: "We believe
the Scriptures teach that the first day of the week is the Lord's day."
Baptist Church Directory, page 171. Excepting a few Sabbatarians of late date,
all Christendom, numbering four hundred and sixteen million people, of all
sects and all nations, regard Sunday as a sacred day and agree in applying the
term "Lord's Day" to Sunday. So every dictionary, lexicon and
cyclopedia applies that term to the first day. Here is a grand, undeniable fact
of today. When did this stream begin? Let us trace it up to its head through
all the centuries.
18th century, A.D. 1760. Rev A.H.
Lewis, D.D., Seventh-day Baptist, is the author of "Critical History of
Sunday Legislation." From page 181 I quote: "The profanation of the
Lord's Day is highly offensive to Almighty God." Laws of Massachusetts, A.D. 1760.
17th century, A.D. 1676. The Laws of
Charles II of England say: "For the better observation and keeping holy
the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday, be it enacted," etc. Critical
History of Sunday Legislation, page 108.
16th century, A.D. 1536. Going back
over 300 years ago to the reformers, we find all Christians calling Sunday the
"Lord's Day." Calvin, voicing the universal sentiment of his time,
says: "The ancients have, not without sufficient reason, substituted what
we call the Lord's Day in the room of the Sabbath." Calvin's Institute,
Book 2, chapter VIII, section 34. Luther, Zwingle, Beza, Bucer, Cranmer,
Tyndale, etc., likewise speak of the Lord's Day as the first day of the week.
Here is another great fact as to the Lord's Day. It was in existence and
universally observed 300 years ago.
15th century, A.D. 1409. "He
that playeth at unlawful games on Sundays...shall be six days imprisoned."
Statute of Henry IV of England.
Critical History of Sunday Legislation, page 90.
14th century, A.D. 1359. "It is
provided by sanctions of law and canon that all Lord's Days be venerably
observed." Archbishop of Canterbury.
Critical History of Sunday Legislation, page 82.
13th century, A.D. 1281. "The
obligation to observe the legal Sabbath according to the form of the Old
Testament is at an end...to which in the New Testament hath succeeded the
custom of spending the Lord's Day...in the worship of God." Archbishop of Canterbury. Critical
History of Sunday Legislation, page 81.
12th century, A.D. 1174. "We do
ordain that these days following be exempt from labor:...All Sundays in the
year," etc. Emperor of Constantinople.
History of Sabbath and Sunday, page 191.
11th century, A.D. 1025. "Sunday
marketing we also strictly forbid." Laws of Denmark. Critical History of Sunday
Legislation, page 77.
10th century, A.D. 975. "Sunday
is very solemnly to be reverenced." Saxon Laws. Critical History of Sunday
Legislation, page 75.
9th century, A.D. 813. "All
Lord's Days shall be observed with all due veneration and all servile work
shall be abstained from." Council of Mayence.
8th century. In the year 747, an
English council said: "It is ordered that the Lord's Day be celebrated
with due veneration, and wholly devoted to the worship of God." Andrew's
History of the Sabbath, page 377.
7th century, A.D. 695. "If a
slave work on Sunday by his lord's command, let him be free." Saxon Laws.
Critical History of Sunday Legislation, page 71.
6th century, A.D. 578. "On the
Lord's Day it is not permitted to yoke oxen or to perform any other work except
for appointed reasons." Council of Auxerre.
5th century. Passing back to about
A.D. 450, we come to the history of the church written by Sozomen. In book 2,
Chapter VIII, page 22, of Constantine,
he says: "He honored the Lord's Day, because on it he arose from the
dead." This shows what was meant by Lord's Day in those early times.
Stepping back once more to about A.D.
400, we reach the great theologian of the early church, St. Augustine. He says: "The day now
known as the Lord's Day, the eighth, namely, which is also the first day of the
week." Letters of St. Augustine,
letter 55, Chapter XIII. He says the first day of the week was known as the
Lord's Day in his times.
4th century. In A.D. 386, the Emperor
of Rome decreed as follows: "On the day of the sun, properly called the
Lord's Day, by our ancestors, let there be a cessation of lawsuits, business,
and indictments." Critical History of Sunday Legislation, page 36. Even
the civil law at that early date recognized Sunday as the Lord's Day.
Going back again to the era of
Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor, we reach Eusebius, the
"Father of Church History," A.D. 324. He constantly and familiarly
uses the term "Lord's Day" for the first day of the week. One
passage: "They (the Jewish Christians) also observe the Sabbath, and other
discipline of the Jews, just like them; but, on the other hand, they also
celebrate the Lord's Days very much like us in commemoration of his
resurrection." Eccl. History, book 3, Chapter XXVII. Here Lord's Day is
distinguished from the Jewish Sabbath, and is said to be kept on account of the
resurrection.
This brings us to the era of the
Early Christian Fathers. I quote them as translated in the "Ante-Nicene
Christian Library."
A.D. 306. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria
in Egypt:
"But the Lord's Day we celebrate as a day of joy, because on it, he rose
again." Canon 15.
3rd century, A.D. 270. Anatolius,
Bishop of Laodicea, in Asia Minor: "Our
regard for the Lord's resurrection which took place on the Lord's Day will lead
us to celebrate it." Chapter X.
About A.D. 250. The Apostolic
Constitution: "On the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's
Day, meet more diligently." Book 2, sec. 7.
A.D. 250, Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage
in Africa: "The eighth day, that is, the
first day after the Sabbath and the Lord's Day." Epistle 58, section 4.
A.D. 200. Tertullian in Africa: "We solemnize the day after Saturday in
contradiction to those who call this day their Sabbath." Apology, Chapter
XVI. "We however, just as we have received, only on the day of the Lord's
resurrection, ought to guard not only against kneeling, but even posture and
office of solicitude, deferring even our business." On Prayer, Chapter
XXIII.
2nd century, A.D. 194. Clement of Alexandria, Egypt:
"He, in fulfillment of the precept, according to the gospel, keeps the
Lord's Day, when he abandons an evil disposition, and assumes that of the
Gnostic, glorifying the Lord's resurrection in himself." Book 7, Chapter XII.
A.D. 180. Bardesanes, Edessa, Asia: "On
one day the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together." Book of
the Laws of Countries.
A.D. 140. Justin Martyr: "But
Sunday is the day which we all hold our common assembly, because Jesus Christ,
our Saviour, on the same day rose from the dead." Apology, Chapter LXVII.
A.D. 120. Barnabas. "We keep the
eighth day with joyfulness, the day on which Jesus rose again from the
dead." Chapter XVII.
A.D. 96. St. John
on Patmos: "I was in the spirit on the
Lord's Day." Rev. 1:10.
A.D. 60. Luke, Asia
Minor: "And upon the first day of the week, when the
disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them." Acts
20:7.
Thus we have traced the Lord's Day or
Sunday as a sacred day among Christians from our time back through all the
centuries up to the New Testament itself.
Who can fail to see that the “Lord’s Day” and
the “first day of the week” are spoken of in the same manner both by the
apostles down through all the fathers and reformers to our day? To every
unbiased mind the evidence must be conclusive that the Lord's Day of Rev. 1:10,
written A.D. 96, is the resurrection day the same as it is in every instance
where it is used by all the Christian fathers immediately following John. Mark
this fact: IN NOT ONE SINGLE INSTANCE EITHER IN THE BIBLE OR IN ALL HISTORY can
a passage be found where the term the LORD'S DAY IS APPLIED TO the seventh day,
the JEWISH SABBATH. This fact should be and is decisive as to the meaning in
Rev. 1:10. Even Sabbatarians themselves do not call the seventh day the Lord's
Day, but always say "Sabbath day.
