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The following is a compilation of compelling quotes regarding the Sabbath and how many professing Christian denominations came to adopt Sunday as their day of worship. These quotes clearly demonstrate that despite its absence in most churches, the seventh day Sabbath is alive and well in the pages of your Bible.

Consider what the scriptures clearly state about God’s Sabbath as well as what those who reject this command clearly admit. The quotes you are about to read contain both the Biblical injunction regarding the Sabbath as well as the words of various religious communities concerning the Sabbath and Sunday. These quotes have been arranged in the following categories.

Part 1: The Sabbath throughout the Bible

The Sabbath was Created at the Beginning

"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." (Gen. 2:2-3)

The Sabbath Was Reinstated at Sinai

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Ex. 20:8-11)

The Purpose of God’s Sabbath

"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, ‘Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord That doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ‘Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.’ Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." (Ex. 31:13-17)

Note: The word "sign" used in verses 13 and 17 is owth and can be translated "a signal," "a flag," or "a mark." Clearly, it is something that sets God’s people apart from all others.

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"Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord That sanctify them." (Ezk. 20:12)

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"I am the Lord your God; walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, and do them; And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." (Ezk. 20:19-20)

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Israel Polluted the Sabbath and God Punished Them for Their Rebellion

"But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness: they walked not in My statutes, and they despised My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them." (Ezk. 20:13)

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"... they despised My judgments, and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols." (Ezk. 20:16)

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"Notwithstanding the children rebelled against Me: they walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted My Sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness." (Ezk. 20:21)

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Note: It is interesting to note that in the book of Revelation, God pours out His wrath in the form of trumpet plagues and vial plagues on those who have the mark of the beast. (Rev. 14:9-10)

The Sabbath Will be Kept During the Last Days

"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day..." (Mt. 24:20)

The Sabbath Will be Kept During the Millennium

"And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." (Isa. 66:23)

The Sabbath Was Honored by Jesus Christ

"And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught." (Mk 1:21)

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"And He said unto them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.’" (Mk. 2:27-28)

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"And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?" (Mk. 6:2)

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"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." (Lk 4:16)

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"And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power." (Lk. 4:31-32)

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"And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath..." (Lk 13:10)

The Sabbath Was Honored by Paul

"But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down." (Acts 13:14)

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"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." (Acts 13:42-44)

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"For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." (Acts 15:21)

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"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." (Acts 17:2)

Part 2: The Sabbath and God’s Church

"The gentile Christians observed also the Sabbath." Gieseler’s Church History, Vol. 1, ch. 2, p. 93

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"Down even to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church." Ancient Christianity Exemplified, Ch. 26, sec. 2, p.527, Lyman Coleman

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"The seventh-day Sabbath was... solemnized by Christ, and primitive Christians, till the Laodicean Council did in a manner quite abolish the observations of it." Dissertation on the Lord’s Day, pp. 33, 34

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"The ancient Christians were very careful in the observation of Saturday, or the seventh-day... It is plain that the Oriental churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as a festival... Anthanasius likewise tells us that they held religious assemblies on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath..." Antiquities of the Christian Church, Vol. II, Book XX

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The Primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the Day in Devotion and Sermons. And ‘tis not to be doubted but they derived this Practice from the Apostles themselves." A Discourse in Six Dialogues on the Name, Notion, and Observation of the Lord’s Day, p. 189

Part 3: Christianity’s Confession Regarding the Sabbath

“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, a day which we [The Roman Catholic Church] never sanctify.” Faith of Our Fathers, pg. 111, James Cardinal Gibbon

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“Nor can we imagine any one foolhardy enough to question the identity of Saturday with the Sabbath or seventh day, seeing that the people of Israel have been keeping Saturday from the giving of the Law.” The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 9, 1893

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“...the Redeemer, during His mortal life, never kept any other day than Saturday.” The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 2, 1893

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“We deem it necessary to be perfectly clear on this point... The Bible - the Old Testament - confirmed by the living tradition of weekly practice for 3383 years by the chosen people of God, teaches, then, with absolute certainty, that God had, Himself, named the day “to be kept holy to Him”- that the day was Saturday, and that any violation of that command was punishable with death.” The Catholic Mirror, Sept.9, 1893

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“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... The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday.” The Ten Commandments, Canon Eyton

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“The Bible commandment says on the seventh day thou shalt rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday.” Toronto Daily Star, October 26, 1949, Philip Carrington

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“There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance.” The Lord’s Day in Our Day, William Owen Carver

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“The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a Divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic Church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday.” The History of the Christian Religion and Church, 1843, Dr. Augustus Neander

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“But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel... These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect.” Sabbath or Sunday, John Theodore Mueller

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“Take the matter of Sunday. There are indications in the New Testament as to how the church came to keep the first day of the week as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling Christians to keep that day, or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day.” Christian Advocate, July 2, 1942, Harris Franklin Rall

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“But, the moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he [Christ] did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken... Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.” The Works of the Reverend John Wesley, John Wesley

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“The Sabbath instituted in the beginning and confirmed again and again by Moses and the Prophets, has never been abrogated.” New York Herald, 1874

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“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. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?” Weighed and Wanting, Dwight L. Moody

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“It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labor. They obeyed the fourth commandment literally upon the seventh day of the week.” The Church in Scotland, pp140, Professor James C. Moffat, D.D., Professor of Church History at Princeton

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“There is much evidence that the Sabbath prevailed in Wales universally until AD 1115, when the first Roman bishop was seated at St. David’s. The old Welsh Sabbath-keeping churches did not even then altogether bow the knee to Rome, but fled to their hiding places.” Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, Vol. 1, p. 29, Lewis

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“It was the practice generally of the Eastern Churches; and some churches of the west... For in the church of Millaine [Milan];... it seems Saturday was held in farre esteeme... Not that the Eastern churches, or any of the rest which observed that day, were inclined to Iudaisme [Judaism]; but that they came together on the Sabbath day, to worship Iesus [Jesus] Christ the Lord of the Sabbath.” History of the Sabbath Part 2, pp. 73,74, London: 1636

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“The primitive Christians did keep the Sabbath of the Jews... therefore the Christians for a long time together, did keep their conventions on the Sabbath, in which some portion of the Law were read: and this continued till the time of the Laodicean council.” The Whole Works of Jeremey Taylor, Vol. IX, p. 416

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Note: In 363, the local Council of Laodicea passed the following decree: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But if any man be found to be judaizing, let them be anathema from Christ.”

Note: In 363, the local Council of Laodicea passed the following decree: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But if any man be found to be judaizing, let them be anathema from Christ.”

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“It will surely be far safer to observe the seventh day, according to express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human conjecture to adopt the first.” Sabbath Literature, pp. 46-54, John Milton

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“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” Roman Catholic Priest T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18, 1884.

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"And on the seventh day God rested from the work he had done. ... He blessed the seventh day and hallowed it’. The ‘shabbat’, the biblical Sabbath, is tied to this mystery of God’s rest. If we Christians celebrate the Lord’s day on Sunday, it is because on that day the Resurrection of Christ occurred.” Pope John Paul II, July 12 1998

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“Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. 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!” Faithfully yours, James Cardinal Gibbons – in a letter written by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore (1877-1921), recorded in The Catholic Press, (Sydney, Australia), Aug. 25, 1900.

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“...Nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947

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“Examining the New Testament from cover to cover, critically, we find the Sabbath referred to sixty-one times. We find too, that the Savior invariably selected the Sabbath (Saturday) to teach in the synagogues and work miracles. The four Gospels refer to the Sabbath fifty-one times. In one instance , the Redeemer refers to Himself as ‘Lord of the Sabbath’ as mentioned by Matthew and Luke, but, during the whole record of His life, while invariably keeping and utilizing the day, (Saturday), He never once hinted at a desire to change it.” The Catholic Mirror, Nov. 25 1893, James Cardinal Gibbons

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“...with the Bible alone as the teacher and guide in faith and morals. This teacher most emphatically forbids any changes in the day for paramount reasons. The command calls for a ‘perpetual covenant’. The day commanded to be kept by the teacher (the Bible) has never once been kept (by the Protestant or Catholic churches), thereby developing an apostasy from an asumedly fixed principle, as self-contradictory, self-stultifying, and consequently as suicidal as it is within the power of language to express.” The Catholic Mirror, Nov. 25, 1893, James Cardinal Gibbons

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“Everyone knows that Sunday is the first day of the week, while Saturday is the seventh day, and the Sabbath, the day consecrated as a day of rest. It is so recognized in all civilized nations, I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to any one who will furnish any proof from the Bible that Sunday is the day we are bound to keep, and no one has called for the money.” (Father T. Enright, Roman Catholic Priest, Kansas City, MO)

Part 4: The Roman Catholic Church Changed Sabbath to Sunday

"Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday. The fact is that the Church was in existence for several centuries before the Bible was given to the world. The Church made the Bible, the Bible did not make the Church." Things Catholics Are Asked About, p. 136, Martin J. Scott, 1927 edition

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"Sunday is our mark of authority. The church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact." The Catholic Record, Sept. 1, 1923

Note: It is interesting to note that God also has a mark. That mark, which is an identifying sign between Him and His people, is His Sabbath. See Exodus 31:17 and Ezekiel 20:12, 19, 20.

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"Because the Third Commandment (which is really the fourth commandment but Catholicism does away with the second commandment so they do not have to acknowledge their idolatry, which to them makes the Sabbath the third) depends upon the remembrance of God’s saving works and because Christians saw the definitive time inaugurated by Christ as a new beginning, they made the first day after the Sabbath a festive day, for that was the day on which the Lord rose from the dead." Pope John Paul II, May 31, 1998

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"They [Roman Catholics] refer to the Sabbath Day as having been changed into the Lord’s Day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of the Sabbath Day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments!" Augsburg Confession of Faith, Article 28, approved by Martin Luther, 1530

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Question: "Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"

Answer:"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her - she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."

A Doctrinal Catechism Third Edition, p. 174, Stephen Keenan

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Question:"How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days?"

Answer. "By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of, and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church." Manual of Christian Doctrine, 1916, p. 67, Daniel Ferres

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"Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observation can be defended only on Catholic principles . . . From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." The Catholic Press

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"The Catholic Church, . . . by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday." The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893

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"If any person in this town will show any scripture for it, I will tomorrow evening publicly acknowledge it and thank him for it. It was the Holy Catholic church that changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week. And it not only compelled all to keep Sunday, but at the Council of Laodicea, A.D. 363, anathematized those who kept the Sabbath and urged all persons to labor on the seventh day under penalty of anathema." Father T. Enright, Roman Catholic Priest, Kansas City, MO

* * *

"My brethren, look about you upon the various wrangling sects and denominations. Show me one that claims or possesses the power to make laws binding on the conscience. There is but one on the face of the earth, the Catholic Church, that has the power to make laws binding upon the conscience, binding before God, binding under pain of hell fire. Take, for instance, the day we celebrate Sunday. What right have the Protestant churches to observe that day? None whatever. You say it is to obey the commandment, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ But Sunday is not the Sabbath, according to the Bible and the record of time." Father T. Enright, Roman Catholic Priest, Kansas City, MO

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"Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. 'The day of the Lord' was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church's sense of its own power....People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically...keep Saturday holy." St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.

* * *

"Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days." John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, 1936 edition, vol. 1, p. 51.

* * *

"The Catholic church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday....The Protestant World at its birth found the Christian Sabbath too strongly entrenched to run counter to its existence; it was therefore placed under the necessity of acquiescing in the arrangement, thus implying the (Catholic) Church's right to change the day, for over three hundred years. The Christian Sabbath is therefore to this day, the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church as spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant World." James Cardinal Gibbons in the Catholic Mirror, September 23, 1893.

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"From this we may understand how great is the authority of the church in interpreting or explaining to us the commandments of God - an authority which is acknowledged by the universal practice of the whole Christian world, even of those sects which profess to take the holy Scriptures as their sole rule of faith, since they observe as the day of rest not the seventh day of the week demanded by the Bible, but the first day. Which we know is to be kept holy, only from the tradition and teaching of the Catholic church." Henry Gibson, Catechism Made Easy, # 2, 9th edition, vol. 1, p. 341-342.

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"Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code (ten commandments) was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai...Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept of charity--love of God and of the neighbour; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law in Matthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5)....The (Catholic) Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day." The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 4, "The Ten Commandments", 1908 edition by Robert Appleton Company

Part 5: Protestant Denominations and the Sabbath

ANGLICAN / EPISCOPAL

"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it." Plain Sermons on the Catechism, Isaac Williams, Vol. 1, pp. 334, 336

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"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." Why We Keep Sunday, Bishop Seymour

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The Lord’s day was merely of ecclesiastical institution. It was not introduced by virtue of the fourth commandment." Jeremy Taylor

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The Primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the Day in Devotion and Sermons. And ‘tis not to be doubted but they derived this Practice from the Apostles themselves." A Discourse in Six Dialogues on the Name, Notion, and Observation of the Lord’s Day, p. 189

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BAPTIST

"We believe the Scriptures teach that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government; that it is holy, just, and good; and that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe to fallen men to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin; to deliver them from which, and to restore them through a Mediator to unfeigned obedience to the holy law, is one great end of the gospel, and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible church.” New Hampshire Confession of Faith, Article 12, quoted in O.C.S. WALLACE, What Baptists Believe (1934), p. 79.

"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question... never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated..." Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, New York ministers’ conference, Nov. 13, 1893

* * *

"...But what a pity [Sunday worship] 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, New York ministers’ conference, Nov. 13, 1893

* * *

"The Lord’s Day is not sanctified by any specific command or by any inevitable inference. In all the New Testament there is no hint or suggestion of a legal obligation binding any man, whether saint or sinner, to observe the Day. Its sanctity arises only out of what it means to the true believer." The Sabbatic Question, p. 72, J. J. Taylor

* * *

"Of course I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the sun-god, then adopted and sanctified by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism." Dr. E. T. Hiscox, report of his sermon at the Baptist Minister's Convention, in 'New York Examiner,' November 16, 1893

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CONGREGATIONALIST

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"...it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath... the Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday." The Ten Commandments, p. 127-129, Dr. R. W. Dale

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"...the Christian sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath." Theology: Explained and Defended, 1823, Ser. 107, Vol. 3, p. 258, Timothy Dwight

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"The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament." Dr. Layman Abbot, in the Christian Union, June 26, 1890.

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DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

"‘But,’ say some, ‘it was changed from the seventh to the first day.’ Where? When? And by whom? No man can tell. No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed! It is all old wives’ fables to talk of the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that August personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio - I think his name is Doctor Antichrist." The Christian Baptist, Feb. 2, 1824, Vol. 1, No. 7, p. 164, Alexander Campbell, Founder, Disciples of Christ

* * *

"The first day of the week is commonly called the sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change." First Day Observance, pp. 17, 19

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LUTHERAN

"We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian Church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christians of the first three centuries never confused one with the other..." The Sunday Problem, 1923, p. 3

* * *

"But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel... These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect." Sabbath or Sunday, pp. 15-16, John Theodore Mueller

* * *

“There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament – absolutely not...” Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, New York ministers’ conference, Nov. 13, 1893

* * *

"The observance of the Lord's Day (Sunday) is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the Church." Augsburg Confession of Faith.

* * *

"They [the Catholics] allege the Sabbath changed into Sunday, the Lord's day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it appears, neither is there any example more boasted of than the changing of the Sabbath day. Great, say they, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments." -Augsburg Confession of Faith, Art. 28, par. 9.

* * *

"For up to this day mankind has absolutely trifled with the original and most special revelation of the Holy God, the ten words written upon the tables of the Law from Sinai."-"Crown Theological Library," page I78.

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"The Christians in the ancient church very soon distinguished the first day of the week, Sunday; however, not as a Sabbath, but as an assembly day of the church, to study the Word of God together, and to celebrate the ordinances one with another: without a shadow of doubt, this took place as early as the first part of the second century."-Bishop GRIMELUND, "History of the Sabbath," page 60.

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"The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance."- AUGUSTUS NEANDER, "History of the Christian Religion and Church," Vol. 1, page 186.

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"I wonder exceedingly how it came to be imputed to me that I should reject the law of Ten Commandments...Whosoever abrogates the law must of necessity abrogate sin also."-MARTIN LUTHER, Spiritual Antichrist," pages 71, 72.

* * *

"We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christian of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both." The Sunday Problem, a study book by the Lutheran Church (1923) p.36

* * *

"But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel .... These churches err in their teaching, for scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect" John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday, pp.15, 16

LUTHERAN FREE CHURCH

“For when there could not be produced one solitary place in the Holy Scriptures which testified that either the Lord Himself or the apostles had ordered such a transfer of the Sabbath to Sunday, then it was not easy to answer the question: Who has transferred the Sabbath, and who has the right to do it?” George Sverdrup, ‘A New Day.’

* * *

METHODIST

"The reason we observe the first day instead of the seventh is based on no positive command. One will search the Scriptures in vain for authority for changing from the seventh day to the first." Ten Rules For Living, Methodist, Clovis G. Chappell

* * *

"It is true there is no positive command for infant baptism... Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week." Methodist Episcopal Theological Compend, Amos Binney, pp. 180, 181

PRESBYTERIAN

"The Sabbath is a part of the decalogue - the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution... Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand... The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath." Theology Condensed, pp. 474, 475, T. C. Blake, D.D.

CHURCH OF CHRIST

"But we do not find any direct command from God, or instruction from the risen Christ, or admonition from the early apostles, that the first day is to be substituted for the seventh day Sabbath." "Let us be clear on this point. Though to the Christian 'that day, the first day of the week' is the most memorable of all days ... there is no command or warrant in the New Testament for observing it as a holy day." "The Roman Church selected the first day of the week in honour of the resurrection of Christ. ..." Bible Standard, May, 1916, Auckland, New Zealand.

* * *

"... If the fourth command is binding upon us Gentiles by all means keep it. But let those who demand a strict observance of the Sabbath remember that the seventh day is the ONLY sabbath day commanded, and God never repealed that command. If you would keep the Sabbath, keep it; but Sunday is not the Sabbath. The argument of the 'Seventh-day Adventists' is on one point unassailable. It is the Seventh day not the first day that the command refers to." G. Alridge, Editor, The Bible Standard, April, 1916.

"There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day the Lord's day."-DR. D. H. LUCAS, Christian Oracle, Jan. 23, 1890.

* * *

"The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath. There never was any change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change."-"First-Day Observance," pages 17, 19.

* * *

"It has reversed the fourth commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday." DR. N. SUMMERBELL, "History of the Christian Church," Third Edition, page 4I5.

* * *

"To command...men...to observe...the Lord's day...is contrary to the gospel." - "Memoirs of Alexander Campbell," Vol. 1, page 528.

* * *

"It is clearly proved that the pastors of the churches have struck out one of God's ten words, which, not only in the Old Testament, but in all revelation, are the most emphatically regarded as the synopsis of all religion and morality."-ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, "Debate With Purcell," page 214.

* * *

"I do not believe that the Lord's day came in the room of the Jewish Sabbath, or that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day, for this plain reason, where there is no testimony, there can be no faith. Now there is no testimony in all the oracles of heaven that the Sabbath was changed, or that the Lord's day came in the room of it."-ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Washington Reporter, Oct. 8, 1821.

Part 6: Protestants Honor "The Mother Church"

"Which church does the whole civilized world obey? Protestants call us every horrible name they can think of , anti-Christ, the scarlet colored beast, Babylon, etc. and at the same time profess great reverence for the Bible, and yet by their solemn act of keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the power of the Catholic Church." (Father T. Enright, Roman Catholic Priest, Kansas City, MO)

* * *

"The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ But the Catholic church says, ‘No, keep the first day of the week,’ and the whole world bows in obedience." Father T. Enright, Roman Catholic Priest, Kansas City, MO

* * *

"... Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man." Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975, Chicago, Illinois, Peter R. Kraemer

* * *

"It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible." Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975, Chicago, Illinois, Peter R. Kraemer

* * *

"The observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church." Plain Talk About The Protestantism of Today, p. 213

* * *

"Incidently, there is no proof in scripture that God willed the Sabbath to be changed from Saturday to Sunday, so that those non-Catholics who do not accept the value of tradition as a source of faith should logically still observe Saturday as the Sabbath." This is the Faith; Catholic Theology for Laymen, Francis J. Ripley, p. 176

* * *

Part 7: Sunday Worship Originated in the Pagan World

"According to the Assyrian-Babylonian conception, the particular stress lay necessarily on the number seven...The whole week pointed prominently towards the seventh day, the feast day, the rest day, in this day it collected, in this day it also consummated. ‘Sabbath’ is derived from both ‘rest’ and ‘seven’. With the Egyptians it was the reverse...for them on the contrary, the sun-god was the beginning and origin of all things. The day of the sun, Sunday, became necessarily for them the feast day... The holiday was transferred from the last to the first day of the week." Daglige Liv i Norden, Vol. XIII, pp. 54, 55

* * *

"The seven planetary names of the days were at the close of the second century A.D. prevailing everywhere in the Roman Empire... This astrology originated in Egypt, where Alexandria now so loudly proclaimed it to all... ‘The day of the sun’ was the Lord’s day, the chiefest and first of the week. The evil and fatal Saturn’s day was the last of the week on which none could celebrate a feast..." Daglige Liv i Norden, Vol. XIII, pp. 91, 92

* * *

"This Sunday law constituted no real favoritism to Christianity... It is evident from all his statutory provisions that the Emperor during the time 313-323 with full consciousness has sought the realization of his religious aim: the amalgamation of heathenism and Christianity." Kirken og Romerstaten (The Church and the Roman State), p. 256

* * *

"They despise our sun-god. Did not Zoroaster, the sainted founder of our divine beliefs, institute Sunday one thousand years ago in honor of the sun and supplant the Sabbath of the Old Testament? Yet these Christians had divine services on Saturday." The Syriac Church and Fathers, pp. 83, 84, O’Leary

* * *

"Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days." A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies,1936, John Laux

* * *

Question: "Which is the Sabbath day?"

Answer:"Saturday is the Sabbath day."

Question: "Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?"

Answer:"We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."

The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, Third Edition, Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R.

Part 8: Sabbath Worship Down Through the Centuries

"We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws." Catholic Church Extension Society, 1975, Chicago, Illinois, Peter R. Kraemer

First Century

"It is certain that the ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed (together with the celebration of the Lord's day) by the Christians of the East Church, above three hundred years after our Savior’s death." A Learned Treatise of the Sabbath, p. 77

~~~

Early Christians

"The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted but they derived this practice from the Apostles themselves, as appears by several scriptures to the purpose." Dialogues on the Lord's Day, p. 189. London: 1701, By Dr. T.H. Morer (A Church of England divine).

~~~

"...The Sabbath was a strong tie which united them with the life of the whole people, and in keeping the Sabbath holy they followed not only the example but also the command of Jesus." Geschichte des Sonntags, pp.13, 14

2nd Century

"The Gentile Christians observed also the Sabbath," Gieseler's Church History, Vol.1, ch. 2, par. 30, 93.

~~~

"The primitive Christians did keep the Sabbath of the Jews;...therefore the Christians, for a long time together, did keep their conventions upon the Sabbath, in which some portions of the law were read: and this continued till the time of the Laodicean council." The Whole Works of Jeremy Taylor, Vol. IX, p. 416 (R. Heber's Edition, Vol XII, p. 416).

~~~

"It is certain that the ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed (together with the celebration of the Lord's day) by the Christians of the East Church, above three hundred years after our Savior’s death." A Learned Treatise of the Sabbath, p. 77

Note: By the "Lord's day" here the writer means Sunday and not the true Sabbath," which the Bible says is the Sabbath. This quotation shows Sunday coming into use in the early centuries soon after the death of the Apostles. Paul the Apostle foretold a great "falling away" from the Truth that would take place soon after his death.

2nd, 3rd, 4th Centuries

"From the apostles' time until the council of Laodicea, which was about the year 364, the holy observance of the Jews' Sabbath continued, as may be proved out of many authors: yea, notwithstanding the decree of the council against it." Sunday a Sabbath. John Ley, p.163. London: 1640.

3rd Century

"The seventh-day Sabbath was...solemnised by Christ, the Apostles, and primitive Christians, till the Laodicean Council did in manner quite abolish the observations of it." Dissertation on the Lord's Day, pp. 33, 34

~~~

Egypt (Oxyrhynchus Papyrus) (200-250 AD)

"Except ye make the Sabbath a real Sabbath (sabbatize the Sabbath," Greek), ye shall not see the Father." The oxyrhynchus Papyri, pt, 1, p.3, Logion 2, verso 4-11 (London Offices of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898)./p>

~~~

"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." The Anti-Nicene Fathers, Vol 7,p. 413. From Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, a document of the 3rd and 4th Centuries.

~~~

Africa (Alexandria) Origen

"After the festival of the unceasing sacrifice (the crucifixion) is put the second festival of the Sabbath, and it is fitting for whoever is righteous among the saints to keep also the festival of the Sabbath. There remaineth therefore a sabbatismus, that is, a keeping of the Sabbath, to the people of God (Hebrews 4:9)." Homily on Numbers 23, par.4, in Migne, Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 12,cols. 749, 750.

~~~

Palestine to India (Church of the East) As early as A.D. 225 there existed lallrge bishoprics or conferences of the Church of the East (Sabbath-keeping) stretching from Palestine to India. Mingana, Early Spread of Christianity. Vol.10, p. 460.

~~~

India (Buddhist Controversy, 220 A.D.)

The Kushan Dynasty of North India called a famous council of Buddhist priests at Vaisalia to bring uniformity among the Buddhist monks on the observance of their weekly Sabbath. Some had been so impressed by the writings of the Old Testament that they had begun to keep holy the Sabbath. Lloyd, The Creed of Half Japan, p. 23.

~~~

"The seventh-day Sabbath was...solemnised by Christ, the Apostles, and primitive Christians, till the Laodicean Council did in manner quite abolish the observations of it." Dissertation on the Lord's Day, pp. 33, 34

4th Century

"It was the practice generally of the Eastern Churches; and some churches of the west...For in the Church of Millaine (Milan)...it seems the Saturday was held in a farre esteeme... Not that the Easterne Churches, or any of the rest which observed that day, were inclined to Iudaisme (Judaism); but that they came together on the Sabbath day, to worship Iesus (Jesus) Christ the Lord of the Sabbath." History of the Sabbath (original spelling retained), Part 2, par. 5, pp.73, 74. London: 1636. Dr. Heylyn

~~~

"Ambrose, the celebrated bishop of Milan (c 340-397), said that when he was in Milan he observed Saturday, but when in Rome observed Sunday. This gave rise to the proverb, 'When you are in Rome, do as Rome does.'" Heylyn, The History of the Sabbath (1612)

~~~

"The ancient Christians were very careful in the observance of Saturday, or the seventh day...It is plain that all the Oriental churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as a festival...Athanasius likewise tells us that they held religious assembles on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, Epiphanius says the same." Antiquities of the Christian Church, vol. Book XX, chap. 3, sec.1, 66. 1137,1138

~~~

Abyssinia - Remnants of Philip's Evangelism

"In the last half of that century St. Ambrose of Milan stated officially that the Abyssinian bishop, Museus, had 'traveled almost everywhere in the country of the Seres' (China). For more than seventeen centuries the Abyssinian Church continued to sanctify Saturday as the holy day of the fourth commandment." Ambrose, DeMoribus, Brachmanorium Opera Ominia, 1132, found in Migne, Patrologia Latima, Vol.17, pp.1131, 1132

~~~

Arabia, Persia, India, China

"Mingana proves that in 370 AD Abyssinian Christianity (a Sabbath keeping church) was so popular that its famous director, Musacus, travelled extensively in the East promoting the church in Arabia, Persia, India and China." Truth Triumphant, p.308 (Footnote 27)

~~~

Spain - Council Elvira (A.D.305)

Canon 26 of the Council of Elvira reveals that the Church of Spain at that time kept Saturday, the seventh day. "As to fasting every Sabbath: Resolved, that the error be corrected of fasting every Sabbath." This resolution of the council is in direct opposition to the policy the church at Rome had inaugurated, that of commanding Sabbath as a fast day in order to humiliate it and make it repugnant to the people.

NOTE: In northeastern Spainnear the city of Barcelona is a city called Sabadell, in a district originally inhabited. By a people called both "Valldenses" and Sabbatati."

~~~

Persia-A.D. 335-375 (40 Years Persecution Under Shapur II)

The popular complaint against the Christians-"They despise our sungod, they have divine services on Saturday, they desecrate the sacred the earth by burying their dead in it." Truth Triumphant, (Online Version p. 261)

~~~

Persia-A.D.335-375

They despise our sun-god. Did not Zorcaster, the sainted founder of our divine beliefs, institute Sunday one thousand years ago in honour of the sun and supplant the Sabbath of the Old Testament. Yet these Christians have divine services on Saturday." O'Leary, The Syriac Church and Fathers, pp.83, 84

~~~

Council Laodicea - A.D.365

"Canon 16-On Saturday the Gospels and other portions of the Scripture shall be read aloud." "Canon 29-Christians 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. (See an online version of this council on the Roman Catholic New Advent website - see Canon 29)

5th Century

Augustine shows here that the Sabbath was observed in his day "in the greater part of the Christian world," and his testimony in this respect is all the more valuable because he himself was an earnest and consistent Sunday-keeper. See Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 1st Series, Vol.1, pp. 353, 354.

~~~

Pope Innocent (402-417)

Pope Sylvester (314-335) was the first to order the churches to fast on Saturday, and Pope Innocent (402-417) made it a binding law in the churches that obeyed him, (In order to bring the Sabbath into disfavour.) "Innocentius did ordain the Saturday or Sabbath to be always fasted." Dr. Peter Heylyn, History of the Sabbath, Part 2, p. 44.

~~~

5th Century Christians

Down even to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church. Ancient Christianity Exemplified, Lyman Coleman, ch. 26, sec. 2, p. 527

~~~

In Jerome's day (420 AD) the devoutest Christians did ordinary work on Sunday. Treatise of the Sabbath Day, by Dr. White, Lord Bishop of Ely, p. 219.

~~~

France

"Wherefore, except Vespers and Nocturns, there are no public services among them in the day except on Saturday (Sabbath) and Sunday." John Cassian, A French monk, Institutes, Book 3, ch. 2.

~~~

Africa

"Augustine deplored the fact that in two neighbouring churches in Africa one observes the seventh-day Sabbath, another fasted on it." Dr. Peter Heylyn, The History of the Sabbath." p. 416

~~~

Spain (400 AD)

"Ambrose sanctified the seventh day as the Sabbath (as he himself says). Ambrose had great influence in Spain, which was also observing the Saturday Sabbath." Truth Triumphant, p. 68

~~~

Sidonius (Speaking Of King Theodoric Of The Goths, AD 454-526)

"It is a fact that it was formerly the custom in the East to keep the Sabbath in the same manner as the Lord's day and to hold sacred assemblies: while on the other hand, the people of the West, contending for the Lord's day have neglected the celebration of the Sabbath." Apollinaries Sidonli Epistolae, lib.1, 2; Migne, 57.

~~~

Church Of The East

"Mingana proves that in 410 Isaac, supreme director of the Church of the East, held a world council, -stimulated, some think, by the trip of Musacus,-attended by eastern delegates from forty grand metrop olitan divisions. In 411 he appointed a metropolitan director for China. These churches were sanctifying the seventh day."

~~~

Egypt

"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." Sozomen. Ecclesiastical History Book 7, ch. 119

6th Century

Scottish Church

"In this latter instance they seemed to have followed a custom of which we find traces in the early monastic church of Ireland by which they held Saturday to be the Sabbath on which they rested from all their labours." W.T. Skene, Adamnan Llife of St. Columbs 1874, p.96.

~~~

Scotland, Ireland

"We seem to see here an allusion to the custom, observed in the early monastic Church of Ireland, of keeping the day of rest on Saturday, or the Sabbath." History of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Vol.1, p. 86, by Catholic historian Bellesheim.

~~~

Scotland - Columba

"Having continued his labours in Scotland thirty-four years, he clearly and openly foretold his death, and on Saturday, the month of June, said to his disciple Diermit: "This day is called the Sabbath, that is the rest day, and such will it truly be to me; for it will put an end to my labours.'" Butler's Lives of the Saints, Vol.1, A.D. 597, art. "St. Columba" p. 762

~~~

Columba (Re Dr. Butler's Description Of His Death)

The editor of the best biography of Columbia says in a footnote: "Our Saturday. The custom to call the Lord's day Sabbath did not commence until a thousand years later." Adamnan's Life of Columba (Dublin, 1857), p. 230.

7th Century

Scotland and Ireland

Professor James C. Moffatt, D.D., Professor of Church History at Princeton, says: It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labour. They obeyed the fourth commandment literally upon the seventh day of week." The Church in Scotland, p.140.

~~~

Scotland and Ireland

"The Celts used a Latin Bible unlike the Vulgate (R.C.) and kept Saturday as a day of rest, with special religious services on Sunday." Flick, The Rise of Mediaeval Church, p. 237

~~~

Rome

Gregory I (A.D. 590-640) wrote against "Roman citizens (who) forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day." Nicene and Post- Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol, XIII, p.13, epist. 1

~~~

Rome (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

~~~

Rome (Pope Gregory I)

Declared that when anti-Christ should come he would keep Saturday as the Sabbath. "Epistles of Gregory I, "b 13, epist.1. found in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.

"Moreover, this same Pope Gregory had issued an official pronouncement against a section of the city of Rome itself because the Christian believers there rested and worshipped on the Sabbath." Same reference.

8th Century

Council Of Friaul, Italy-A.D. 791 (Canon 13)

"We command all Christians to observe the Lord's day to be held not in honour of the past Sabbath, but on account of that holy night of the first of the week called the Lord's day. When speaking of that Sabbath which the Jews observe, the last day of the week, and which also our peasants observe.." Mansi, 13, 851

~~~

Persia and Mesopotamia

"The hills of Persia and the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates reechoed their songs of praise. They reaped their harvests and paid their tithes. They repaired to their churches on the Sabbath day for the worship of God." "Realencyclopaedie fur Protestatische and Krche," art. "Nestorianer"; also Yule, The Book of ser Marco Polo, Vol.2, p.409.

~~~

India, China, Persia, ETC

"Widespread and enduring was the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath among the believers of the Church of the East and the St. Thomas Christians of India, who never were connected with Rome. It also was maintained among those bodies which broke off from Rome after the Council of Chalcedon namely, the Abyssinians, the Jacobites, the Maronites, and the Armenians," Schaff-Herzog, The New Enclopadia of Religious Knowledge, art. Nestorians; also Realencyclopaedie fur Protestantische Theologie und Kirche, art. Nestorianer

~~~

Council Of Liftinae, Belgium - A.D.745 (Attended By Boniface)

"The third allocution of this council warns against the observance of the Sabbath, referring to the decree of the council of Laodicea." Dr. Hefele, Counciliengfesch, 3, 512, sec. 362

~~~

China - A.D.781

In A.D. 781 the famous China Monument was inscribed in marble to tell of the growth of Christianity in Chinaat that time. The inscription, consisting of 763 words, was unearthed in 1625 near the city of Changan and now stands in the "Forest of Tablets," Changan. The following extract from the stone shows that the Sabbath was observed:

"On the seventh day we offer sacrifices, after having purified our hearts, and received absolution for our sins. This religion, so perfect and so excellent, is difficult to name, but it enlightens darkness by its brilliant precepts." Christianity in China, M. I'Abbe Huc, Vol. I, ch.2, pp. 48, 49

9th Century

Bulgaria

"Bulgariain the early season of its evangelization had been taught that no work should be performed on the Sabbath." Responsa Nicolai Papae I and Con-Consulta Bulllllgarorum, Responsum 10, found in Mansi, Sacrorum Concilorum Nova et Amplissima Colectio, Vol.15; p. 406; also Hefele, Conciliengeschicte, Vol.4, sec. 478

~~~

Bulgaria

(Pope Nicholas I, in answer to letter from Bogaris, ruling prince of Bulgaria.) "Ques. 6-Bathing is allowed on Sunday. Ques. 10-One is to cease from work on Sunday, but not also on the Sabbath." Hefele, 4,346- 352, sec. 478

The Bulgarians had been accustomed to rest on the Sabbath. Pope Nicholas writes against this practice.

~~~

Constantinople

(Photuus, Patriarch of Constantinople {in counter-synod that deposed Nicolas}, thus accused Papacy). Against the canons, they induced the Bulgarians to fast on the Sabbath." Photius, vonKard, Hergenrother, 1, 643

Note:The Papacy tried to bring the seventh day Sabbath into disrepute by insisting that all should fast on that day. In this manner (she sought to turn people towards Sunday, the first day, the day that Rome had adopted.

~~~

Athingians

Cardinal Hergenrother says that they stood in intimate relation with Emperor Michael II (821-829) and testifies that they observed the Sabbath. Kirchengeschichte, 1, 527

~~~

India, Abyssinia

"Widespread and enduring was the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath among the believers of the Church of the East and the St. Thomas Christians of India. It was also maintained by the Abyssinians.

~~~

Bulgaria

"Pope Nicholas I, in the ninth century, sent the ruling prince of Bulgaria a long document saying in it that one is to cease from work on Sunday, but not on the Sabbath. The head of the Greek Church, offended at the interference of the Papacy, declared the Pope ex-communicated." Truth Triumphant, p. 232

10th Century

Scotland

"They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical manner." A history of Scotland from the Roman Occupation, Vol. I, p.96. Andrew Lang

~~~

Church Of The East - Kurdistan

"The Nestorians eat no pork and keep the Sabbath. They believe in neither auricular confession nor purgatory." Schaff-Herzog, The New Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, art. Nestorians.

~~~

Waldenses

"And because they observed no other day of rest but the Sabbath days, they called them Insabathas, as much as to say, as they observed no Sabbath." Luther's Fore-Runners (original spelling), PP. 7, 8

~~~

Waldenses

Roman Catholic writers try to evade the apostolic origin of the Waldenses, so as to make it appear that the Roman is the only apostolic church, and that all others are later novelties. And for this reason they try to make out that the Waldenses originated with Peter Waldo of the twelfth century. Dr. Peter Allix says:

"Some Protestants, on this occasion, have fallen into the snare that was set for them...It is absolutely false, that these churches were ever found by Peter Waldo...it is a pure forgery." Ancient Church of Piedmont, pp.192, Oxford: 1821

~~~

Waldenses

"It is not true, that Waldo gave this name to the inhabitants of the valleys: they were called Waldenses, or Vaudes, before his time, from the valleys in which they dwelt." "Id., p. 182

~~~

Waldenses

On the other hand, he "was called Valdus, or Waldo, because he received his religious notions from the inhabitants of the valleys." History of the Christian Church, William Jones, Vol II, p.2

11th Century

Scotland

They held that Saturday was properly the Sabbath on which they abstained from work. Celtic Scotland, Vol. 2, p. 350

~~~

Scotland

"They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner...These things Margaret abolished." A History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation, Vol.1, p. 96.

~~~

Scotland

"It was another custom of theirs to neglect the reverence due to the Lord's day, by devoting themselves to every kind of worldly business upon it, just as they did upon other days. That this was contrary to the law, she (Queen Margaret) proved to them as well by reason as by authority. 'Let us venerate the Lord's day,' said she, 'because of the resurrection of our Lord, which happened upon that day, and let us no longer do servile works upon it; bearing in mind that upon this day we were redeemed from the slavery of the devil. The blessed Pope Gregory affirms the same.'" Life of Saint Margaret, Turgot, p. 49 (British Museum Library)

~~~

Scotland

(Historian Skene commenting upon the work of Queen Margaret) "Her next point was that they did not duly reverence the Lord's day, but in this latter instance they seemed to have followed a custom of which we find traces in the early Church of Ireland, by which they held Saturday to be the Sabbath on which they rested from all their labours." Skene, Celtic Scotland, Vol.2, p. 349

~~~

Scotland And Ireland

"T. Ratcliffe Barnett, in his book on the fervent Catholic queen of Scotland who in 1060 was first to attempt the ruin of Columba's brethren, writes: 'In this matter the Scots had perhaps kept up the traditional usage of the ancient Irish Church which observed Saturday instead of Sunday as the day of rest.'" Barnett, Margaret of Scotland: Queen and Saint, p.97

~~~

Council Of Clermont

"During the first crusade, Pope Urban II decreed at the council of Clermont (A.D.1095) that the Sabbath be set aside in honour of the Virgin Mary." History of the Sabbath, p.672

~~~

Constantinople

"Because you observe the Sabbath with the Jews and the Lord's Day with us, you seem to imitate with such observance the sect of Nazarenes." Migne, "Patrologia Latina," Vol. 145, p.506; also Hergenroether, Photius, Vol. 3, p.746. (The Nazarenes were a Christian denomination.)

~~~

Greek Church

"The observance of Saturday is, as everyone knows, the subject of a bitter dispute between the Greeks and the Latins." Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church, Vol 1, p. 731. (Referring to the separation of the Greek Church from the Latin in 1054)

12th Century

Robinson gives an account of some of the Waldenses of the Alps, who were called Sabbati, Sabbatati, Insabbatati, but more frequently Inzabbatati. "One says they were so named from the Hebrew word Sabbath, because they kept the Saturday for the Lord's day.'" General History of the Baptist Denomination, Vol.II, P. 413

~~~

Lombardy

"Traces of Sabbath-keepers are found in the times of Gregory I, Gregory VII, and in the twelfth century in Lombardy." Strong's Cyclopaedia, 1, 660

~~~

Spain (Alphonse of Aragon)

"Alphonse, king of Aragon, etc., to all archbishops, bishops and to all others...'We command you that heretics, to wit, Waldenses and Insabbathi, should be expelled away from the face of God and from all Catholics and ordered to depart from our kingdom.'" Marianse, Praefatio in Lucam Tudensem, found in Macima Gibliotheca Veterum Patrum, Vol.25, p.190

~~~

Hungary France, England, Italy, Germany. (Referring to the Sabbath- keeping Pasagini) "The spread of heresy at this time is almost incredible. From Gulgaria to the Ebro, from nothern France to the Tiber, everywhere we meet them. Whole countries are infested, like Hungary and southern France; they abound in many other countries, in Germany, in Italy, in the Netherlands and even in England they put forth their efforts." Dr. Hahn, Gesch. der Ketzer. 1, 13, 14

~~~

Waldenses

"Among the documents, we have by the same peoples, an explanation of the Ten Commandments dated by Boyer 1120. Observance of the Sabbath by ceasing from worldly labours, is enjoined." Blair, History of the Waldenses, Vol.1, p. 220

~~~

"Robinson gives an account of some of the Waldenses of the Alps, who were called Sabbati, Sabbatati, Insabbatati, but more frequently Inzabbatati. "One says they were so named from the Hebrew word Sabbath, because they kept the Saturday for the Lord's day.'" General History of the Baptist Denomination, Vol.II, P. 413

~~~

Wales

"There is much evidence that the Sabbath prevailed in Wales university until A.D.1115, when the first Roman bishop was seated at St. David's. The old Welsh Sabbath-keeping churches did not even then altogether bow the knee to Rome, but fled to their hiding places." Lewis, Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, Vol.1, p.29

~~~

France

"For twenty years Peter de Bruys stirred southern France. He especialy emphasised a day of worship that was recognized at that time among the Celtic churches of the British Isles, among the Paulicians, and in the great Church of the East namely, the the seventh day of the fourth commandment."

~~~

Pasagini

The papal author, Bonacursus, wrote the following against the "Pasagaini": "Not a few, but many know what are the errors of those who are called Pasaagini...First, they teach that we should obey the Sabbath. Furthermore, to increase their error, they condemn and reject all the church Fathers, and the whole Roman Church." D'Achery, Spicilegium I, f.211-214; Muratory, Antiq. med. aevi.5, f.152, Hahn, 3, 209

13th Century

"The inquisitors...[declare] that the sign of a Vaudois (Waldenses of France), deemed worthy of death, was that he followed Christ and sought to obey the commandments of God." History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages," H.C.Les, vol.1

~~~

Waldenses

"They say that the blessed Pope Sylvester was the Antichrist of whom mention is made in the Epistles of St. Paul as having been the son of perdition.[They also say] that the keeping of the Sabbath ought to take place." Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont," p.169 (by prominent Roman Catholic author writing about Waldenses)

~~~

France (Waldenses)

To destroy completely these heretics Pope Innocent III sent Dominican inquisitors into France, and also crusaders, promising "a plenary remission of all sins, to those who took on them the crusade...against the Albigenses." Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol.XII, art."Raymond VI," p. 670

~~~

France

Thousands of God's people were tortured to death by the Inquisition, buried alive, burned to death, or hacked to pieces by the crusaders. While devastating the city of Biterre the soldiers asked the Catholic leaders how they should know who were heretics; "Slay them all, for the Lord knows who is His." History of the Inquisition, pp.96

~~~

France-King Louis IX,1229

Published the statute "Cupientes" in which he charges himself to clear southern France from heretics as the Sabbath-keepers were called.

~~~

Waldenses Of France

"The heresy of the Vaudois, or poor people of Lyons, is of great antiquity, for some say that it has been continued down ever since the time of Pope Sylvester; and others, ever since that of the apostles." The Roman Inquisitor, Reinerus Sacho, writing about 1230

~~~

FRANCE-Council Toulouse, 1229

Canons against Sabbath-keepers: "Canon 3.-The lords of the different districts shall have the villas, houses and woods diligently searched, and the hiding-places of the heretics destroyed. "Canon 14-Lay members are not allowed to possess the books of either the Old or the New Testaments." Hefele, 5, 931, 962

~~~

Europe

"The Paulicians, Petrobusinas, Passaginians, Waldenses, Insabbatati were great Sabbath-keeping bodies of Europe down to 1250 A.D."

~~~

Pasaginians

Dr. Hahn says that if the Pasaginians referred to the 4th Commandment to support the Sabbath, the Roman priests answered, "The Sabbath symbolized the eternal rest of the saints."

~~~

Mongolia

"The Mongolian conquest did not injure the Church of the East. (Sabbath-keeping.) On the contrary, a number of the Mongolian princes and a larger number of Mongolian queens were members of this church."

14th Century

"Also the priests have caused the people to keep Saturdays as Sundays." Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norway (See below), Vol.1, p.184 Oslo

~~~

Waldenses

"That we are to worship one only God, who is able to help us, and not the Saints departed; that we ought to keep holy the Sabbath day." Luther's Fore-runners, p. 38

~~~

Insabbati

"For centuries evangelical bodies, especially the Waldenses, were called Insabbati because of Sabbath-keeping." Gui, Manueld' Inquisiteur

~~~

Bohemia, 1310 (Modern Czechoslovakia)

"In 1310, two hundred years before Luther's theses, the Bohemian brethern constituted one fourth of the population of Bohemia, and that they were in touch with the Waldenseswho abounded in Austria, Lombardy,. Bohemia, north Germany, Thuringia, Brandenburg, and Moravia. Erasmus pointed out how strictly Bohemian Waldenseskept the seventh day Sabbath." Armitage, A History of the Baptists, p.313; Cox, The Literature of the Sabbath Question, vol. 2, pp. 201-202

~~~

Norway

Then, too, in the "Catechism" that was used during the fourteenth century, the Sabbath commandment read thus; "Thou shalt not forget to keep the seventh day." This is quoted from Documents and Studies Concerning the History of the Lutheran Catechism in the Nordish Churches, p.89. Christiania 1893

~~~

Norway

"Also the priests have caused the people to keep Saturdays as Sundays." Theological Periodicals for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norway, Vol.1, p.184 Oslo

~~~

England, Holland, Bohemia

"We wrote of the Sabbatarians in Bohemia, Transylvania, England and Holland between 1250 and 1600 A.D." Truth Triumphant, Wilkinson, p.3

15th Century

"The accused [Sabbath-keepers] were summoned; they openly acknowledged the new faith, and defended the same. The most eminent of them, the secretary of state, Kuritzyn, Ivan Maximow, Kassian, archimandrite of the Fury Monastery of Novgorod, were condemned to death, and burned publicly in cages, at Moscow; Dec. 17,1503. Geschichte der Juden (Leipsig, 1873), pp.117-122

~~~

Bohemia

"Erasmus testifies that even as late as about 1500 these Bohemians not only kept the seventh day scrupulously, but also were called Sabbatarians." Cox, The Literature of the Sabbath Question, Vol.2, pp.201, 202 Truth Triumphant, p.264

~~~

Norway

(Church Council held at Bergin, August 22,1435) "The first matter concerned a keeping holy of Saturday. It had come to the earth of the archbishop that people in different places of the kingdom had ventured the keeping holy of Saturday. It is strictly forbidden-it is stated-in the Church Law, for any one to keep or to adopt holy-days, outside of those which the pope, archbishop, or bishops appoint." The History of the Norwegian Church under Catholicism, R. Keyser, Vol.II, p. 488.Oslo: 1858

~~~

Norway, 1435 (Catholic Provincial Council at Bergin)

"We are informed that some people in different districts of the kingdom, have adopted and observed Saturday-keeping. It is severely forbidden-in holy church canon-one and all to observe days excepting those which the holy Pope archbishop, or the bishops command. Saturday-keeping must under no circumstances be permitted hereafter further than the church canon commands. Therefore we counsel all the friends of God throughout all Norway who want to be obedient towards the holy church to let this evil of Saturday- keeping alone; and the rest we forbid under penalty of sever church punishment to keep Saturday holy." Dip. Norveg., 7, 397

~~~

Norway, 1436

(Church Conference at Oslo) "It is forbidden under the same penalty to keep Saturday holy by refraining from labour." History of the Norwegian Church, p.401

~~~

Russia (Council, Moscow, 1490)

"The accused [Sabbath-keepers] were summoned; they openly acknowledged the new faith, and defended the same. The most eminent of them, the secretary of state, Kuritzyn, Ivan Maximow, Kassian, archimandrite of the Fury Monastery of Novgorod, were condemned to death, and burned publicly in cages, at Moscow; Dec. 17,1503." H.Sternberfi, Geschichte der Juden (Leipsig, 1873), pp.117-122

~~~

France – Waldenses

"Louis XII, King of France (1498-1515), being informed by the enemies of the Waldense inhabiting a part of the province, that several heinous crimes were laid to their account, sent the Master of Requests, and a certain doctor of the Sorbonne, to make inquiry into this matter. On their return they reported that they had visited all the parishes, but could not discover any traces of those crimes with which they were charged. On the contrary, they kept the Sabbath day, observed the ordinance of baptism, according to the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith, and the commandments of God. The King having heard the report of his commissioners, said with an oath that they were better men than himself or his people." History of the Christian Church, Vol.II, pp. 71, 72, third edition. London: 1818

~~~

India

"Separated from the Western world for a thousand years, they were naturally ignorant of many novelties introduced by the councils and decrees of the Lateran. 'We are Christians, and not idolaters,' was their expressive reply when required to do homage to the image of the Virgin Mary.'"

16th Century

"The famous Jesuit, Francis Xavier, called for the Inquisition, which was set up in Goa, India, in 1560, to check the 'Jewish wickedness' (Sabbath-keeping)." Adeney, The Greek and Eastern Churches, p.527, 528

~~~

England

"In the reign of Elizabeth, it occurred to many conscientious and independent thinkers (as it previously had done to some Protestants in Bohemia) that the fourth commandment required of them the observance, not of the first, but of the specified 'seventh' day of the week." Chambers' Cyclopaedia, article "Sabbath," Vol. 8, p. 462, 1537

~~~

Sweden

"This zeal for Saturday-keeping continued for a long time: even little things which might strengthen the practice of keeping Saturday were punished." Bishop Anjou, Svenska Kirkans Historia after Motetthiers, Upsala

~~~

Lichenstein Family

(estates in Austria, Bohemia, Morovia, Hungary. Lichenstein in the Rhine Valley wasn't their country until the end of the 7th century). "The Sabbatarians teach that the outward Sabbath, i.e. Saturday, still must be observed, They say that Sunday is the Pope's invention." Refutation of Sabbath, by Wolfgang Capito, published 1599

~~~

Bohemia (the Bohemian Brethren)

Dr. R. Cox says: "I find from a passage in Erasmus that at the early period of the Reformantion when he wrote, there were Sabbatarians in Bohemia, who not only kept the seventh day, but were said to be...scrupulous in resting on it." Literature of the Sabbath Question, Cox, Vol. II, pp. 201, 202

~~~

Historian's List Of Churches (16th Century)

"Sabbatarians, so called because they reject the observance of the Lord's day as not commanded in Scripture, they consider the Sabbath alone to be holy, as God rested on that day and commanded to keep it holy and to rest on it." A. Ross

Gremany

-Dr. Esk (while refuting the Reformers) "However, the church has transferred the observance from Saturday to Sunday by virtue of her own power, without Scripture." Dr. Esk's Enchiridion, 1533, pp.78,79

~~~

Princes of Lichtenstein (Europe)

About the year 1520 many of these Sabbath-keepers found shelter on the estate of Lord Leonhardt of Lichtensein held to the observance of the true Sabbath." J.N.Andrews, History of the Sabbath, p. 649, ed.

~~~

India

"The famous Jesuit, Francis Xavier, called for the Inquisition, which was set up in Goa, India, in 1560, to check the 'Jewish wickedness' (Sabbath-keeping)." Adeney, The Greek and Eastern Churches, p.527, 528

~~~

Norway - 1544

"Some of you, contrary to the warning, keep Saturday. You ought to be severely punished. Whoever shall be found keeping Saturday, must pay a fine of ten marks." History of King Christian the Third, Niels Krag and S. Stephanius

~~~

Austria

"Sabatarians now exist in Austria." Luther, Lectures on Genesis," A.D.1523-27

~~~

Abyssinia - A.D. 1534

(Abyssinian legate at court of Lisbon) "It is not therefore, in imitation of the Jews, but in obedience to Christ and His holy apostles, that we observe the day." Gedde's Church History of Ethiopia, pp. 87,8

~~~

Dr. Martin Luther

"God blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it to Himself. God willed that this command concerning the Sabbath should remain. He willed that on the seventh day the word should be preached. Commentary on Genesis, Vol.1, pp.138-140

~~~

Baptists

"Some have suffered torture because they would not rest when others kept Sunday, for they declared it to be the holiday and law of Antichrist." Sebastian Frank (A.D. 1536)

~~~

Finland - Dec. 6,1554

(King Gustavus Vasa I, of Sweden's letter to the people of Finland) "Some time ago we heard that some people in Finland had fallen into a great error and observed the seventh day, called Saturday." State Library at Helsingfors, Reichsregister, Vom J., 1554, Teil B.B. leaf 1120, pp.175-180a

~~~

Switzerland

"The observance of the Sabbath is a part of the moral law. It has been kept holy since the beginning of the world." Ref. Noted Swiss writer, R Hospinian, 1592

~~~

Holland and Germany

Barbara of Thiers, who was executed in 1529, declared: "God has commanded us to rest on the seventh day." Another martyr, Christina Tolingerin, is mentioned thus: "Concerning holy days and Sundays, she said: 'In six days the Lord made the world, on the seventh day he rested. The other holy days have been instituted by popes, cardinals, and archbishops.'" Martyrology of the Churches of Christ, commonly called Baptists, during the era of the Reformation, from the Dutch of T.J. Van Bright, London, 1850,1, pp.113-4.

~~~

"A Christian keeping the commandment of God and the faith of Jesus, being baptised about the year 1648, and keeping the seventh day for the Sabbath above thirty-two years." Monument over the grave of Dr. Peter Chamberlain

~~~

Hungary, Romania

"But as they rejected Sunday and rested on the Sabbath," Prince Sigmond Bathory ordered their persecution. Pechi advanced to position of chancellor of state and next in line to throne of Transylvania. He studied his Bible, and composed a number of hymns, mostly in honour of the Sabbath. Pechi was arrested and died in 1640.

~~~

Sweden And Finland

"We can trace these opinions over almost the whole extent of Sweden of that day-from Finland and northern Sweden. "In the district of Upsala the farmers kept Saturday in place of Sunday. "About the year 1625 this religious tendency became so pronounced in these countries that not only large numbers of the common people began to keep Saturday as the rest day, but even many priests did the same." History of the Swedish Church, Vol.I, p.256

~~~

Muscovit Russian Church

"They solemnize Saturday (the old Sabbath). Samuel Purchase- His Pilgrims Vol. I, p. 350

~~~

India - 1625 (Jacobites)

"They kept Saturday holy. They have solemn service on Saturdays." Pilgrimmes, Part 2, p.1269

~~~

America - 1664

"Stephen Mumford, the first Sabbath-keeper in America come from London in 1664." History of the Seventh-day Baptist Gen. Conf. by Jas. Bailey, pp. 237, 238

~~~

America - 1671 (Seventh-day Baptists)

"Broke from Baptist Church in order to keep Sabbath." See Bailey's History, pp. 9,10

~~~

America 1603-1683

“The pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, ... speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition.” Roger Williams, First Baptist pastor in America (1603-1683) -- The Bloody Tenet of Persecution, quoted in L. E. Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3, p. 52. Emphasis supplied.

~~~

England

Charles I, 1647 (when querying the Parliament Commissioners) "For it will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is no longer to be kept, or turned into the Sunday wherefore it must be the Church's authority that changed the one and instituted the other." Cox, Sabbath Laws, p.333

~~~

England - John Milton

"It will surely be far safer to observe the seventh day, according to express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human conjecture to adopt the first." Sab. Lit. 2, 46-54

~~~

England

"Upon the publication of the 'Book of Sports' in 1618 a violent controversy arose among English divines on two points: first, whether the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was in force; and, secondly, on what ground the first day of the week was entitled to be observed as 'the Sabbath.'" Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, art. Sabbatarians p.602

~~~

England - 1618

"At last for teaching only five days in the week, and resting upon Saturday she was carried to the new prison in Maiden Lane, a place then appointed for the restraint of several other persons of different opinions from the Church of England. Mrs. Traske lay fifteen or sixteen years a prisoner for her opinion about the Saturday Sabbath." Pagitt's Heresiography p.196

~~~

England - 1668

"Here in England are about nine or ten churches that keep the Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have eminently preserved." Stennet's letters, 1668 and 1670. Cox, Sab.,1, 268

~~~

Ethiopia - 1604

Jesuits tried to induce the Abyssinian church to accept Roman Catholicism. They influenced King Zadenghel to propose to submit to the Papacy (A.D.1604). "Prohibiting all his subjects, upon severe penalties, to observe Saturday any longer." Gedde's Church History of Ethiopia, p.311, also Gibbon's Decline and Fall, ch. 47

~~~

Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland, Germany

"one of the counsellors and lords of the court was John Gerendi, head of the Sabbatarians, a people who did not keep Sunday, but Saturday." Lamy, The History of Socinianism, p. 60

~~~

Telegraph Print, Napier

The inscription on the monument over the grave of Dr. Peter Chamberlain, physician to King James and Queen Anne, King Charles I and Queen Katherine says that Dr. Chamberlain was "a Christian keeping the commandment of God and the faith of Jesus, being baptised about the year 1648, and keeping the seventh day for the Sabbath above thirty-two years."

18th Century

"It cannot be shown that Sunday has taken the place of the Sabbath (P.366). the Lord God has sanctified the last day of the week. Antichrist, on the other hand, has appointed the first day of the week." Ki Auszug aus Tennhardt's Schriften, P.49 (printed 1712)

~~~

Abyssinia

"The Jacobites assembled on the Sabbath day, before the Domical day, in the temple, and kept that day, as do also the Abyssinians as we have seen from the confession of their faith by the Ethiopian king Claudius." Abundacnus, Historia Jacobatarum, p.118-9 (18th Century)

~~~

Romania, 1760 (and what is today) Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia

"Joseph II's edict of tolerance did not apply to the Sabbatarians, some of whom again lost all of their possessions." Jahrgang 2, 254

"Catholic priests aided by soldiers forcing them to accept Romanism nominally, and compelling the remainder to labour on the Sabbath and to attend church on Sunday, These were the methods employed for two hundred fifty years to turn the Sabbatarians.

~~~

Germany-Tennhardt of Nuremberg

"He holds strictly to the doctrine of the Sabbath, because it is one of the ten commandments." Bengel's Leban und Wirken, Burk, p.579

~~~

He himself says: "It cannot be shown that Sunday has taken the place of the Sabbath (P.366). the Lord God has sanctified the last day of the week. Antichrist, on the other hand, has appointed the first day of the week." Ki Auszug aus Tennhardt's Schriften, P.49 (printed 1712)

~~~

Bohemia and Moravia (Today Czechoslovakia).

Their history from 1635 to 1867 is thus described by Adolf Dux: "The condition of the Sabbatarians was dreadful. Their books and writings had to be delivered to the Karlsburg Consistory to become the spoils of flames." Aus Ungarn, pp. 289-291. Leipzig, 1850

~~~

Holland and Germany

"Dr. Cornelius stated of East Friesland, that when Baptists were numerous, "Sunday and holidays were not observed," (they were Sabbath-keepers)." Der Anteil Ostfrieslands and Ref. Muenster, 1852, pp l29, 34

~~~

Moravia-Count Zinzendorf

In 1738 Zinzendorf wrote of his keeping the Sabbath thus: "That I have employed the Sabbath for rest many years already, and our Sunday for the proclamation of the gospel." Budingsche Sammlung, Sec. 8, p. 224. Leipzig, 1742

~~~

America – 1741

-Moravian Brethren (after Zinzendorf arrived from Europe). "As a special instance it deserves to be noticed that he is resolved with the church at Bethlehem to observe the seventh day as rest day. Id., pp. 5, 1421, 1422

~~~

America

But before Zinzendorf and the Moravians at Bethlehem thus began the observance of the Sabbath and prospered, there was a small body of German Sabbath-keepers in Pennsylvania. See Rupp's History of Religious Denominations in the United States, pp.109- 123

19th Century

"But the majority moved to the Crimea and the Caucasus, where they remain true to their doctrine in spite of persecution until this present time. The people call them Subotniki, or Sabbatarians," Sternberg, Geschichte der Juden in Polen, p.124

~~~

China

"At this time Hung prohibited the use of opium, and even tobacco, and all intoxicating drinks, and the Sabbath was religiously observed." The Ti-Ping Revolution, by Llin-Le, and officer among them, Vol. 1, pp.36-48, 84

~~~

"The seventh day is most religiously and strictly observed. The Taiping Sabbath is kept upon our Saturday." P. 319

~~~

China

"The Taipings when asked why they observed the seventh day Sabbath, replied that it was, first, because the Bible taught it, and, second, because their ancestors observed it as a day of worship." A Critical History of the Sabbath and the Sunday.

~~~

India and Persia

"Besides, they maintain the solemn observance of Christian worship throughout our Empire, on the seventh day." Christian Researches in Asia, p.143

~~~

Denmark

"This agitation was not without its effect. Pastor M.A. Sommer began observing the seventh day, and wrote in his church paper. Indovet Kristendom No.5, 1875 an impressive article about the true Sabbath. In a letter to Elder John G.Matteson, he says:

"Among the Baptists here in Denmark there is a great agitation regarding the Sabbath commandment..However, I am probably the only preacher in Denmark who stands so near to the Adventists and who for many years has proclaimed Christ's second coming." Advent Tidente," May, 1875

~~~

Russia

"But the majority moved to the Crimea and the Caucasus, where they remain true to their doctrine in spite of persecution until this present time. The people call them Subotniki, or Sabbatarians," Sternberg, Geschichte der Juden in Polen, p.124

~~~

Sweden (Baptists)

"We will now endeavour to show that the sanctification of the Sabbath has its foundation and its origin in a law which God at creation itself established for the whole world, and as a consequence thereof is binding on all men in all ages." Evangelisten (The Evangelist). Stockholm, May 30 to August 15,1863 (Swedish Baptist Church)

~~~

America - 1845

"Thus we see Dan. 7, 25, fulfilled, the little horn changing 'times and laws. 'Therefore it appears to me that all who keep the first day for the Sabbath are Pope's Sunday-keepers and God's Sabbath- breakers." Elder T.M. Preble, Feb.13, 1845

~~~

America (Seventh-day Adventists)

In 1844 Seventh-day Adventists arose and had spread to nearly all the world by the close of the 19th Century. Their name is derived from their teaching of the seventh-day Sabbath and the Advent of Jesus. In 1874 their work was established in Europe, 1885 -Australasia, 1887-South Africa, 1888-Asia, 1888-South America. Seventh-day Adventists uphold the same Sabbath that Jesus and His followers kept. The sacred Torch of Truth was not extinguished through the long centuries. Adventists are working today in nearly 1000 languages of earth and have over 27,000 churches. Over ten million members around the globe welcome the sacred Sabbath hours

20th Century

Baptist Convention

"The first four commandments set forth man's obligations directly toward God.... But when we keep the first four commandments, we are likely to keep the other six. . . . The fourth commandment sets forth God's claim on man's time and thought.... The six days of labour and the rest on the Sabbath are to be maintained as a witness to God's toil and rest in the creation. . . . No one of the ten words is of merely racial significance.... The Sabbath was established originally (long before Moses) in no special connection with the Hebrews, but as an institution for all mankind, in commemoration of God's rest after the six days of creation. It was designed for all the descendants of Adam."- Adult Quarterly, Southern Baptist Convention series, Aug. 15, 1937.

~~~

Roman Catholic

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, NJ ‘News’ on March 18, 1903.

~~~

Roman Catholic

"The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day. The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians." The Catholic Encyclopedia, Commandments of God, Volume IV, © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company - Online Edition © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat - Remy Lafort, Censor Imprimatur - +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York, page 153.

~~~

Roman Catholic

'Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third - Protestant Fourth - Commandment of God... The Church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.'' Catholic Record, September 1, 1923.

~~~

Roman Catholic

“If Protestants would follow the Bible, they would worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church.” Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal, in a letter dated February 10, 1920.

~~~

Episcopal

"The Bible commandment says on the seventh-day thou shalt rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday." Phillip Carrington, quoted in Toronto Daily Star, Oct 26, 1949 [Carrington (1892-), Anglican archbishop of Quebec, spoke the above in a message on this subject delivered to a packed assembly of clergymen. It was widely reported at the time in the news media].

~~~

Lutheran

"We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possesion of the church. We have seen that the Christian of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both." The Sunday Problem, a study book by the Lutheran Church (1923) p.36

~~~

Church of Christ

"But we do not find any direct command from God, or instruction from the risen Christ, or admonition from the early apostles, that the first day is to be substituted for the seventh day Sabbath." "Let us be clear on this point. Though to the Christian 'that day, the first day of the week' is the most memorable of all days ... there is no command or warrant in the New Testament for observing it as a holy day." "The Roman Church selected the first day of the week in honour of the resurrection of Christ. ..." Bible Standard, May, 1916, Auckland, New Zealand.

~~~

Church of England

"Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. ...! That is Saturday." P. Carrington, Archbishop of Quebec, Oct. 27, 1949.

~~~

Smithsonian Institute

"The evaluation of Sunday, the traditionally accepted day of the resurrection of Christ, has varied greatly throughout the centuries of the Christian Era. From time to time it has been confused with the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. English ­speaking peoples have been the most consistent in perpetuating the erroneous assumption that the obligation of the fourth commandment has passed over to Sunday. In popular speech, Sunday is frequently, but erroneously, spoken of as the Sabbath."-F. M. SETZLER, Head Curator, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institute, from a letter dated Sept. 1, 1949.

Part 9: Interesting Sabbath Questions

Did the Creator rest on, bless and hallow the Sabbath? Yes; Genesis 2:3, Exodus 20:11. Did He rest on, bless, or, at any time hallow Sunday? No!

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Does God command the keeping of Sabbath? Yes; Exodus 20:8-11. Does He command the keeping of Sunday? No!

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Did God call the Sabbath His Holy Day and offer great reward to those who keep holy the Sabbath? Yes; Isaiah 58:13-14. Did He call Sunday His Holy Day and offer reward to those who keep holy Sunday? No!

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Is keeping the Sabbath holy a sign that we worship the one and only living God? Yes; Ezekiel 20:20; 31:13-17. Is keeping Sunday holy a sign that we worship the true God? No!

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Should the saints pray about the Sabbath? Yes; Matthew 24:20. Should the saints pray about Sunday? No!

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Did holy women keep the Sabbath according to the commandments? Yes; Luke 23:56. Did holy women keep Sunday according to any commandment? No!

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Was it Jesus Christ’s custom to keep the Sabbath? Yes; Luke 4:16. Was it the Savior's custom to keep Sunday? No!

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Was it Paul's "manner" to worship on Sabbath? Yes; Acts 17:2. Was it Paul's "manner" to worship on Sunday? No!

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Were people punished by God for Sabbath breaking? Yes; Jeremiah 17:27, Nehemiah 13:17-18. Were people punished by God for Sunday breaking? No!

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Are those who keep the commandments of the Almighty blessed? Yes; Revelation 22:14. Are those who keep the traditions of men blessed? No; Matthew 15:3.

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Do scriptures say that the Law would NOT be abolished by the Messiah? Yes; Matthew 5:17. Will God ever change His way? No; Malachi 3:6.

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Are there six working days? Yes; Ezekiel 46:1. Did Paul make tents on the six working days? Yes; Acts 18:3. Is the Sabbath one of these working days? No; Exodus 20:8-11. Did Paul make tents on the Sabbath? No; Acts 18:4.

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Is the Sabbath a sign of our sanctification? Yes; Ezekiel 20:12. Is Sunday a sign of our sanctification? No!

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Does scripture say that the Savior is the Ruler, Master, Owner of the Sabbath? Yes; Mark 2:28. Do they say that the Savior is the Ruler or Master of Sunday? No!

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Is teaching for doctrines the commandments of men vain worship? Yes; Matthew 15:9. Is teaching for doctrines the commandments of the Almighty vain worship? No; Matthew 19:17.

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No Christian of the New Testament, either before or after the resurrection, ever did ordinary work upon the seventh day. Why should modern Christians do differently from Bible Christians?

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Are we not under the Law, but under Grace? Yes; Romans 6:14. Does Grace allow us to transgress the Law? No; Romans 6:15, 3:20.

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Does Faith establish the Law? Yes; Romans 3:31. Does Faith annul the Law? No!

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Did Jesus say that we should not only observe, but teach others to observe the Law? Yes; Matthew 5:19. Did He say that we should teach others to break the Law? No!

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Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, called it the "Sabbath day" about A.D. 45 (Acts 13:27). Did Paul not know? Or shall we believe modern teachers who affirm that it ceased to be the Sabbath at the resurrection of Christ?

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In all their accusations against Paul, they never charged him with disregarding the Sabbath day. Why did they not, if he did not keep it? Paul himself expressly declared that he had kept the law. "Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended anything at all" (Acts 25:8). How could this be true if he had not kept the Sabbath?

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Is Saturday still called 'Sabbath' (Sabato) in the Greek language as well as in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and others? Yes!

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Part 10: Interesting Sabbath Facts

After working the first six days of the week in re-creating this earth, the great God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3). This stamped that day as God's rest day. Therefore the seventh day must always be God's Sabbath day. Can you change your birthday from the day on which you were born to one on which you were not born? No. Neither can you change God's rest day to a day on which He did not rest. Hence the seventh day continues to be God's Sabbath day.

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God sanctified the seventh day (Exodus 20:11) from the beginning of man, (Genesis 2:1-3) before man had sinned. Thus it was never a type or symbol introduced after the fact.

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Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27) that is, for mankind, hence for the Gentile as well as the Jew.

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The Sabbath is also a memorial of creation (Exodus 20:11, 31:17). Every time we rest upon the seventh day, as God did at creation, we commemorate that grand event.

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The Sabbath is not Jewish because it was made 2,300 years before there was ever a Jew.

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The Bible never calls it the Jewish Sabbath, but always "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Men should be cautious how they stigmatize God's holy rest day.

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Evident reference is made to all Sabbaths and the seven-day week throughout the patriarchal age (Genesis 26:5). It was kept by all the men and women of God down through the ages. All those things are examples for us (1 Corinthians 10:11).

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It was a part of God's law before delivering the Ten Commandments at Sinai (Exodus 16:4, 27-29).

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The Sabbath was placed within God’s Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). Why did He put it there if it was not like the other nine precepts, which all agree to be immutable?

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The seventh-day Sabbath was commanded by the voice of the living God (Deuteronomy 4:12, 13), and then He wrote the commandment with His own finger (Exodus 31:18).

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The Sabbath was engraved in the enduring stone (Deuteronomy 5:22), which was sacredly preserved in the Ark of the Covenant, within the holy of holies (Deuteronomy 10:1-5), thus signifying its imperishable nature.

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God forbade work on the Sabbath even in the busiest of times (Exodus 34:21).

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God destroyed the Israelites in the wilderness because they walked not in His Statutes, despised His judgments and greatly polluted His Sabbaths (Ezekiel 20:12, 13).

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The Sabbath is the sign of the true God, by which we are to know him from false gods (Exodus 31:13-17, Ezekiel 20:20).

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God promised that Jerusalem should stand forever if they would keep the Sabbath, but alas they did not so He destroyed Jerusalem for its violation (Jeremiah 17:24-27).

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God has pronounced a special blessing on all the Gentiles who will keep it (Isaiah 56:6-7).

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The Sabbath is part of the prophecy which refers wholly to the New Covenant period and God has promised to bless all who keep it (Isaiah 56).

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The Lord instructs us to take delight in the Sabbath and to call it honorable (Isaiah 58:13). Beware ye who take delight in calling it a yoke of bondage and the like.

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All of the great men and women of faith, the holy prophets, the apostles, Jesus Christ and the New Testament Church kept the seventh day.

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The seventh day is the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10, Isaiah 58:13, Exodus 20:10). Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28) that is, to love and protect it, as the husband is the lord of the wife, to love and cherish her (I Peter 3:6).

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The Sabbath is a merciful institution designed for man's good (Mark 2:23-28).

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Instead of abolishing the Sabbath, Jesus carefully taught how it should be observed (Matthew 12:1-13).

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Jesus taught His disciples that they should do nothing upon the Sabbath day but what was "lawful" (Matthew 12:12) and that they it should be prayerfully regarded (Matthew 24:20).

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The pious women who had been with Jesus carefully kept the seventh day Sabbath when He was in the grave (Luke 23:56).

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Thirty years after Christ's resurrection, the apostles continued to observe and call it "the Sabbath day" (Acts 13:14).

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Luke, the inspired Christian historian, writing as late as A.D. 62 calls it the “Sabbath day.” In addition the Gentile converts kept the Sabbath (Acts 13:42-44).

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In the great Christian council, A.D. 49, in the presence of the apostles and thousands of disciples, James explained that Gentiles were expected to keep the Sabbath day (Acts 15:21).

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It was customary to hold prayer meetings upon that day (Acts 16:13).

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Paul read the Scriptures in public meetings as was his custom to preach on the Sabbath day (Acts 17:2-3, 13:14, 44).

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The Sabbath is mentioned in the New Testament nearly sixty times, and always with respect, bearing the same title it had in the Old Testament "the Sabbath day."

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Not a word is said anywhere in the New Testament about the Sabbath's being abolished, done away, changed, or anything of the kind.

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The seventh day Sabbath was an important part of the law of God, as it came from His own mouth, and was written by His own finger upon stone at Sinai, Exodus 20. When Jesus began His work, He expressly declared that He had not come to destroy any part of the law (Matthew 5:17).

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Jesus severely condemned the Pharisees as hypocrites for pretending to love God and making void one of the Ten Commandments by their tradition. The keeping of Sunday is only a tradition of men does likewise.

Part 11: Concerning the First Day of the Week

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The very first thing recorded in the Bible is work done on Sunday, the first day of the week (Genesis 1:1-5). This was done by the Creator Himself. If God worked on Sunday, can it be wrong for us to work on Sunday?

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God tells us to work on the first day of the week (Exodus 20:8-11). God Himself calls it a "working" day (Ezekiel 46:1). Is it wrong to obey God?

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God did not rest upon Sunday, He never blessed it. Christ did not rest upon it and never blessed it. The apostles never rested on it. It has never been sanctified nor blessed by any divine authority.

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No law was ever given to enforce the keeping of Sunday. Hence, it is no transgression to work upon it (Romans 4:15, I John 3:4).

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No regulation is given as to how Sunday ought to be observed. Would this be so if the Lord wished us to keep it?

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It is never called, or even insinuated that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, a rest day, or the Sabbath day at all in the Scriptures. No sacred title whatever is applied to it. Neither God, nor inspired men ever said one word in favor of Sunday as a holy day. It is simply called "first day of the week."

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The first day of the week is mentioned only eight times in all the New Testament (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:2). None of these utterances refer to it as a holy day.

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Paul directed the saints to look over their secular affairs on the first day (I Corinthians 16:2).

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The Bible nowhere says that the first day of the week commemorates the resurrection of Christ. This is a tradition of men, which contradicts the law of God (Matthew 15:1-9). It is baptism commemorates the burial and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-5).

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The entire Bible is totally silent with regard to any change of the Sabbath day or any sacredness for the first day of the week.

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Part 12: Can You Find One Scripture?

• Telling man to keep the first day of the week holy or to worship or rest on the first day of the week
• That shows any of the apostles keeping the first day of the week as the Sabbath?
• Declaring that the seventh day is no longer the Eternal's Sabbath day?
• That calls the seventh day the “Jewish” Sabbath or one calling the first day the “Christian” Sabbath?
• Calling the first day a holy day?
• That says the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first day of the week?
• That says the Sabbath has been done away?
• That tells us to keep the first day in honor of the resurrection of the Savior?
• Authorizing anyone to set aside the Fourth Commandment and observe any other day of the week?
• Where an apostle taught the keeping of the first day of the week as the Sabbath?
• Where Sunday is now appointed to be kept as the New Testament Sabbath or holy day?

Part 13: The Sabbath Has Never Been Lost

4004 B.C. Genesis 2:1-3

1950 B.C. Genesis 26:5

1491 B.C. Exodus 16:25-28

1491 B.C. Exodus 20:8-11

1491 B.C. Exodus 31:13-17

1451 B.C. Deuteronomy 5:12-15

1042 B.C. Psalm 92 (title)

1004 B.C. II Chronicles 8:13, 14

712 B.C. Isaiah 56:1-8

594 B.C. Ezekiel 20:11-13, 19, 20

445 B.C. Nehemiah 13:15-20

A.D. 26 Luke 23:56

A.D. 53 Acts 17:2

A.D. 64 Hebrews 4:9-10

A.D. 90 I John 2:3-5

A.D. 96 Revelation 14:12

Future: Isaiah 66:22-23