The Bible teaches that Christians should keep the
Sabbath, but what day is it?
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week.
Just look for the seventh day on your calendar.
That's the Sabbath.
Today, we call the seventh day Saturday.
But in the Bible, it's called the Sabbath.
It's a day of rest.
It's a day to cease from our normal labors.
And it's a day to worship God, to assemble with
other Christians.
It's holy time, made holy by God.
Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath.
He taught His followers to keep it with the other Commandments.
The apostles also kept it, and taught its observance.
The Bible never says that Sunday is holy.
The Bible never tells us to worship God on Sunday.
And yet, most mainstream Christians do just that.
So, if Jesus and the apostles kept the Sabbath on the
seventh day, why don't most people keep it today?
What happened?
Who changed the Sabbath?
This is an important question that strikes at the very heart
of the worship of God.
It's something we need to know the answer to.
So, let's dig into this and see what we can find together,
in this edition of Tomorrow's World.
And be sure to get a pen and paper, because later
on we'll give you an opportunity to order your
free copy of the study guide, God's Church Through the Ages.
So, "Who Changed the Sabbath?"
I'll be right back with the answer.
♪
Welcome to Tomorrow's World, where we help you make
sense of your world, through the pages of the Bible.
From time to time, viewers ask us, "If the Bible says
the seventh day is holy, why don't most churches keep it?"
You might be wondering, too.
Maybe you've asked your pastor or your priest.
It's a really good question, and it deserves an answer.
Not just a "oh, you know, Christ came and did everything for us."
But a real answer.
From the Bible.
And from documented history.
And as we always say on Tomorrow's World, don't believe
us, open your Bible and believe what you see written in the
pages of that Bible.
You see, after the death of the original apostles, the church
underwent radical changes.
What happened?
The late pastor and evangelist John Ogwyn summed it up
this way in the study guide we're offering today,
God's Church Through the Ages.
On page 2, he writes:
"When we look at the story of the mainstream, professing
Christian church throughout the centuries, it appears to
be a vastly different church from the one described in the
pages of your New Testament.
In the book of Acts we find that God's Church celebrated
"Jewish" holy days....
Yet less than 300 years later, we find a church claiming
Apostolic origin but observing the "venerable day of the Sun"
instead of the seventh-day Sabbath....
How could such an amazing transformation have taken place?
What happened?"
How do you go from a Church keeping the Sabbath
to worshipping on an entirely different day?
Does it make sense that Christ would lead His Church to observe
one day, and then a few years later direct that an entirely
different day is to be kept?
After all, as Paul said in Hebrews 13:8...
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
It's important to note that Jesus Christ taught and kept
the Sabbath.
In fact, in Luke 6:5 He said...
"The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
So, when we speak of the "Day of the Lord," the
Day of the Lord is not Sunday.
By Jesus' own testimony, the Day of the Lord,
the Day that He is the Lord of, is the seventh Day.
The Sabbath.
Another important key to keep in mind is we have a record
of Christ's Church keeping the seventh-day Sabbath
years after His death and resurrection.
In Acts 13, we read about Paul teaching the Jews in Antioch,
in Pisidia, on the Sabbath day.
But notice what happened at the conclusion of His teaching.
This is found in Acts 13:42...
"So when the Jews went out of the synagogue,
the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached
to them the next Sabbath."
Wouldn't this have been a beautiful opportunity
for Paul to tell these Gentiles the Sabbath
wasn't required for them?
But he didn't.
Instead, notice.
In Acts 13:44...
"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together
to hear the word of God."
Now, we're not going to go into all the proofs of the
Sabbath on this program.
That's covered in other telecasts and articles
on TomorrowsWorld.org.
Just type in the word "Sabbath" in the search bar.
Or, you can go on our Tomorrow's World YouTube channel.
So, again--how did the Church go from keeping the seventh-day
Sabbath, to keeping Sunday only three centuries later?
To understand what happened, we'll examine three
basic points.
These three points describe what was happening in the first
few centuries after Christ.
Let me share them with you now.
And then, we'll discuss each of them, one by one.
So what happened to the church from the first century to
the fourth century?
1. False teachers introduced heresies against the
laws of God.
2. Anti-Jewish sentiment grew, leading many to
abandon the Sabbath.
And 3. Sunday-keepers became the majority; Sabbath-keepers
the minority.
So, let's take these points one by one, and see what
we can find, from the Bible and the record of history.
1. False teachers introduced heresies against the
laws of God.
Jesus warned of false teachers when He was yet alive.
He said in Matthew 7:15-16...
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits...."
That warning was repeated by the last living apostles as well.
In fact, in some instances, they warned that false teachers
were already beginning to infiltrate the Church.
Notice what the apostle Jude wrote in Jude verses 3 and 4...
"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you
concerning our common salvation, I found it
necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all
delivered to the saints.
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago
were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men,
who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny
the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ."
Jude said false teachers were already introducing the idea
that grace meant you don't have to keep the law.
But God does require us to keep His Law.
In Romans 7:12 the apostle Paul said...
"The law is holy, and the commandment
holy and just and good."
That law defines how to love.
But what we're seeing is even in the first century,
there were men who were trying to do away with that law.
The apostle John was the last living apostle of
the original Church.
He died in the 90s AD.
But before his death, he also warned against
false teachers claiming to be followers of Christ.
Notice what he said in 1 John 2:4...
"He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
So, toward the end of John's life, false teachers were
already infiltrating the Church.
And John called them liars.
If this was already happening during the lifetime of John,
imagine what would happen after his death.
And we'll find out what did happen in the next segment.
But before that, I want to offer you our free study guide,
God's Church Through the Ages.
It's written by the late John Ogwyn, who served
for decades as a pastor and evangelist.
In this booklet, you'll find out "what happened to the Church"
that Christ built.
You'll see that "a new gospel" and "new truth"
crowded out the clear teachings of the Bible.
And you'll see how "truth was abandoned in favor
of unity and tradition."
This is a hard-hitting booklet that pulls no punches.
You need this study guide.
So be sure to call, write or order online.
Order now.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
This clear and straight- forward resource will
help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
If you're calling for the first time,
you will also receive a free annual subscription to
Tomorrow's World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science,
and modern culture will help you make sense of
your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
Call now!
Or go to...
♪
Welcome back.
In the first segment of our program, we saw that even
during the time of the apostles, false teachers were already
teaching against God's law.
But other forces were also at work that were going to
lead many to compromise on keeping the Sabbath.
So how did that happen?
That brings us to our next point.
Over time, after the death of the original apostles:
2. Anti-Jewish sentiment grew, leading many to abandon
the Sabbath.
The 1st century AD was a tumultuous time for Jews
under the Roman rule.
Multiple uprisings against the Romans had occurred.
One of them, from 66 to 70 AD, resulted in the Temple being
destroyed and Jerusalem overrun.
But that was not the end of it.
As the website christianhistoryinstitute.org
points out:
"After the Jewish War (66-70), progressively more
disastrous uprisings followed: the Kitos War of 115-117
and the Bar Kochba revolt 20 years later.
After each conflict Rome leveled punitive taxes and
other restrictions on Jews, regardless of whether they
had supported the revolts (many had not)."
These restrictions grew more severe, until, in 135 AD,
in exasperation, the Romans expelled all Jews from
Jerusalem on pain of death.
This had a huge impact on the church.
Many Christians in Jerusalem completely stopped keeping
the seventh-day Sabbath.
Why?
Because they didn't want to be mistaken for Jews in the
eyes of the Roman authorities.
As the article concludes:
"Non-Jewish Christians now had reason to avoid
calling attention to their relationship with this
potentially seditious sect...."
The renowned historian Edward Gibbon describes how
the Jerusalem church changed dramatically under the
leadership of their new Latin bishop, Marcus, after 135 AD.
This is detailed in his famous work
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:
"At his persuasion the most considerable part of the
congregation renounced the Mosaic law, in the practice
of which they had persevered above a century.
By this sacrifice of their habits and prejudices, they
purchased a free admission into the colony of Hadrian,
and more firmly cemented their union with the
Catholic church."
Understand, when it says they "renounced the Mosaic law,"
they're talking about the Ten Commandments.
They're talking about the keeping of the Sabbath.
Gibbon continues:
"...the crimes of heresy and schism were imputed to the
obscure remnant of the Nazarenes which refused to
accompany their Latin bishop....
In a few years after the return of the church of Jerusalem,
it became a matter of doubt and controversy whether a man
who sincerely acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah,
but who still continued to observe the law of Moses,
could possibly hope for salvation."
Wow.
The bulk of these church-goers turned their back on the
Law of Moses.
And that includes the Ten Commandments, which includes
the seventh-day Sabbath.
But why?
Because they didn't want to be mistaken for Jews.
This was not the only time that Jews were expelled from their
homes in the Roman empire.
In Acts 18:1, we find a record of it happening in Rome...
"After these things Paul departed from Athens and
went to Corinth.
And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus,
who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because
Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome)...."
So, we see tensions between the Jews and Roman authorities
were flaring up again and again throughout the Roman empire
during this time.
And that had an impact on the church, in creating
a desire to distance themselves from the Jews.
Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi explains this in his book
From Sabbath to Sunday:
"The adoption of this negative attitude toward the Jews
can be explained (but not necessarily justified!)
by several circumstances existing particularly at
the time of Hadrian.
First, the relationship between Rome and the Jews
was extremely tense....
Such circumstances invited Christians to develop a
new identity, not only characterized by a negative
attitude toward Jews, but also by the substitution of
characteristic Jewish religious customs for new ones....
Not only was Sunday worship urged there, but concrete
measures were also taken to wean Christians away from any
veneration of the Sabbath."
Think about it.
How powerful is peer pressure?
And how difficult it is to do the right thing,
in the face of persecution.
But what did Jesus say?
In Matthew 7:13-14...
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by it.
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way
which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
What did the apostle Paul teach the disciples, after
he had been stoned for the gospel of Christ?
We read that in Acts 14:22...
"We must through many tribulations enter the
kingdom of God."
So, what we're seeing is the beginning of Sunday worship.
Compromise in an attempt to avoid persecution.
But God has not called us to compromise.
God has called us to believe what's written in His Word,
and follow the truth no matter what.
And with God's help, if we ask for His help,
we can give our lives to Him, and obey this Book.
So again, many of the Christians in the early
decades of the second century were intimidated into
compromising on the Sabbath.
And they were deceived by teachers teaching contrary
to Scripture.
Dr. Bacchiocchi refers to church leaders who urged
members to abandon the Sabbath on page 186:
"While prior to him [that is, Justin Martyr]
Ignatius in Asia Minor (ca. A.D. 110) and Barnabas in Alexandria
(ca. A.D. 135) explicitly upbraided Sabbath-keeping,
it is Justin who provides the most devastating and systematic
condemnation of the Sabbath and the first explicit account of
Christian Sunday worship."
What a remarkable transformation.
From the teaching of Paul to the Gentiles on the Sabbath,
to Christians being questioned as to whether they could
even be saved, if they kept the Sabbath.
Do you get the picture?
But it doesn't stop there.
There was much more to come.
But before we move on, let me pause again to
offer you our free study guide,
God's Church Through the Ages.
In it you'll see the "dramatic transition"
that took place in the church calling itself Christian.
Not just the Sabbath was abandoned, but other
doctrines as well.
During this remarkable time, pagan ideas and Greek
philosophy replaced the clear, plain truths of the Bible.
You may be shocked at what you'll find.
You need this study guide.
So ask for God's Church Through the Ages.
Call, write or click today.
Order now.
♪
This clear and straight-forward resource
will help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
Call now!
Or go to...
♪
Welcome back.
In the previous two segments we saw that by the early
to mid second century AD, many Christians were
abandoning the Sabbath.
By the end of the second century, Sunday-keeping was
even more entrenched among the mainstream, visible
Christian church.
And soon it would become the enforced doctrine in
the official religion of the entire Roman Empire.
And that brings us to our next point:
3. Sunday-keepers became the majority;
Sabbath-keepers the minority.
Tertullian was an author and theologian from Carthage,
who wrote in the late second century and early third century.
He was one of the primary defenders of mainstream
Christianity of his day.
In one of his works, "Ad Nationes" he defends
Sunday worship against an unlikely foe--the pagans.
Notice what he wrote:
"Others... suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians,
because it is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east,
or because we make Sunday a day of festivity..."
Now, stop and think for a moment.
Why would worldly, idol- worshipping pagans get
confused that Christians were actually sun-worshippers?
Well, because those Christians were worshipping on a day set
aside by the pagans to honor and give deference to their sun-god.
Now, these Christians were undoubtedly keeping Sunday--
in their minds--to honor Christ's resurrection.
But, by the way, Jesus wasn't resurrected on Sunday.
He was actually resurrected toward the end of the
previous day, on the Sabbath.
But that's a different story.
If you'd like to explore that topic, go to our
TomorrowsWorld.org website, and in the search bar type "Easter."
But back to Tertullian.
What we see is that mainstream Christianity was distancing
itself from the Jews.
And at the same time, it was moving closer to the pagans
and their traditions, including keeping Sunday.
This point is even more bluntly made by the respected
historian Will Durant.
In The Story of Civilization, Volume III he writes:
"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it....
Christianity became the last and greatest of
the mystery religions."
Is it any wonder, then, a century later, when
Constantine wanted to unify the Empire, that he astutely
chose Christianity as his new religion?
He saw some Christians worshipping on the day
set aside by the pagans to honor the Sun.
And so, it fit well for him to even issue an edict for
all Christians, to honor the "venerable day of the Sun."
Notice what Paul Johnson, a devout Catholic,
said about this:
"Many Christians did not make a clear distinction between
this sun cult and their own.
They referred to Christ 'driving his chariot across the sky';
they held their services on Sunday, [they] knelt towards
the East and had their nativity-feast on 25 December,
the birthday of the sun at the winter solstice...
Constantine never abandoned sun-worship and kept the
sun on his coins.
He made Sunday into a day of rest."
Wow.
From the Sabbath being kept and taught by Christ
and the apostles, to a pagan, sun-worshipping,
political Emperor embracing Christianity as his own.
What a profound change in only three centuries.
And now with the stamp of approval from the
mighty Roman empire.
In fact, this was prophesied in Daniel chapter 7.
In a vision, Daniel saw a prophecy of four successive
world-ruling kingdoms.
But notice what he saw regarding the final kingdom,
identified as the Roman Empire.
In Daniel 7:25...
"He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
and shall intend to change times and law."
The Roman empire was prophesied to be part
of a system intended to change times and law.
What "time" is included in a "law" of God?
Well, the Sabbath.
But did Constantine's decree really change the Sabbath?
Did the Roman Empire, in concert with the
mainstream church really change the day to worship God?
No.
No one can change it.
You can't change something that God has ordained.
Exodus 20 outlines the Ten Commandments given
at Mount Sinai.
And one of those commandments, the fourth, is the command
to remember and observe the Sabbath.
Notice, in Exodus 20:8-10...
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.
In it you shall do no work..."
But how and when was the Sabbath instituted?
Read on, in Exodus 20:11...
"For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
God hallowed the seventh day by resting Himself.
He made it holy.
And all the councils and all the canons of man cannot
change what God purposed.
So, who changed the Sabbath?
Nobody.
And in fact, even after Constantine's edict,
there were faithful Christians still adhering
to the true Sabbath, the seventh-day.
So much so that forty years later, the Council of Laodicea
was convened to address, among other questions,
the keeping of the Sabbath.
Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea:
"...Forbids Christians from Judaizing and resting
on the Sabbath day, and actually enjoins them
to work on that day."
Why was that canon published?
Because true followers of Christ were still
keeping the Sabbath.
They were harassed, they were persecuted, and they
often had to flee to the outer parts of the Empire,
but they were faithful.
Evangelist John Ogwyn explains this in the study guide
God's Church Through the Ages:
"After Constantine began the systematic enforcement of
compliance with Roman theology in 325 AD,
the remnants of the true Church were in large part
forced to flee the bounds of the Roman Empire into
the mountains of Armenia, and later into the Balkan
areas of Europe.
They were few in number, utterly lacking in prestige
or wealth, and labeled as enemies of the state by a
supposedly "Christian" Roman Empire..."
And over the next 1,000 years, we have faint historical
traces of Christians who obediently followed God,
keeping His Sabbath, in spite of persecution.
Mr. Ogwyn continues:
"In God's sight... they were precious.
It was not God's purpose that His true Church grow
into a great, powerful organization that would
"Christianize" the world....
Its continuity would be measured not by a succession
of proud, powerful, presiding bishops in a particular city...
but by a succession of faithful, converted people--
who, though scattered and persecuted, continued to
worship the Father in spirit and in truth..."
Again, let me pause to offer you your
free copy of the study guide,
God's Church Through the Ages.
This powerful booklet will guide you through the historical
path of God's faithful people.
It's a fascinating story, as God watches over
His little flock, as the "Church in the Wilderness,"
and as they "Take Root in a New World."
It's straight from the Bible, and the pages of history.
You don't want to miss it.
So order your free copy today.
Call, click or write to us.
Order now.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
This clear and straight- forward resource will
help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
If you're calling for the first time,
you will also receive a free annual subscription to
Tomorrow's World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science,
and modern culture will help you make sense of
your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
Call now!
Or go to...
♪
"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."
So, who changed the Sabbath?
No one.
The Scriptures reveal the Sabbath as the seventh day,
and all the councils and canons of man cannot change
what God purposed.
When we observe the Sabbath each week, we are honoring
and remembering God's work at Creation.
And, we're recognizing His loving guidance in our lives.
The Living Church of God continues to keep God's
holy Sabbath day, looking to Christ and His apostles
as our examples.
If you're interested in finding out more about the
teachings and practices of the Living Church of God,
we have representatives all over the world who'd
love to hear from you.
And don't forget to order your copy of
God's Church Through the Ages.
Be sure to join us next time, as Gerald Weston, Wallace Smith,
and I explain the Good news of Tomorrow's World, and the
truth, comfort and hope it can bring to you and your family.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
Call today and join millions around the world who are
turning to Tomorrow's World for truth, prophecy, and hope
in these confusing times.
The preceding program is produced by the
Living Church of God.
♪