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Doctrinal Studies > Hebrew Roots &
Sabbath Issues
Sunday & the Early Church
Copyright
© Tim Warner
It is claimed by the Roman
Catholic Church that she alone switched
Sabbath worship to Sunday worship by her own authority. Seventh Day
Adventists often quote Roman Catholic documents, and echo her claims,
in order to justify their rejection of Sunday worship as a genuine
Christian custom, established by the Apostles themselves. Many
Christians today claim that Sunday was a pagan holiday, and brought
into Christianity by Constantine in the 4th century. Furthermore, it is
claimed by Seventh Day Adventists that the Roman Church is the "Beast"
of Revelation, and Sunday worship is the "mark of the beast."
The purpose of this
article is to
show that both the Roman Catholic claims, and the Seventh Day Adventist
claims are false, and not based on the historical record. The intent of
the Roman Catholic claim, is to rub the noses of Protestants in the
[alleged] fact that Protestants are unknowingly bowing to the Roman
Catholic Church's [alleged] authority to change what the Bible teaches.
This is a lie, propagated by a distorted and false history. And,
unfortunately, Seventh Day Adventists have swallowed the lie, hook
line, and sinker.
The earliest documents
from Church history record that Christians were worshipping on Sunday
in the first century,
more than 200 years before Constantine or the Roman Catholic Church
made any decrees of any kind. Before Constantine, all of the Christian
Churches were local independent autonomous churches.
Below are quotes from the
Ante
Nicene Fathers. These are documents written by the early Christians. I
have included only those from the earliest period, that is, authors who
personally were acquainted with the Apostles, or lived contiguous to
the time of the Apostles. Since our intent is to discover the earliest
recorded tradition, later quotes are simply redundant, and of little
value to our study. These earliest quotes establish the fact that it
was the Christian custom, even while John was still alive, to worship
on Sunday, not Saturday.
Ignatius:
Ignatius
was one of the "Apostolic Fathers." This term is applied by Church
historians to those men who were personally acquainted with the
Apostles, and/or lived during the lifetime of the Apostles. Hence they
were well acquainted with Apostolic tradition. Ignatius' seven epistles
are probably the most valuable source of early Christian thinking
because he lived during the earliest years of the Christian Church. He
was born around AD30, the year Christ began to preach. And he became a
martyr of Jesus - thrown to the wild beasts - on December 20, AD107.
Ignatius' acquaintance with Apostolic tradition was without question
having been under the personal instruction of John, along with Polycarp
and Papius. He was Bishop of the church in Antioch (Paul's home-church)
during John's imprisonment on Patmos, and therefore was well versed in
the history of this local church, where the disciples were first called
"Christians."
It is also clear that the
church of
Antioch carried more influence than the Roman church, since Ignatius'
epistles carry a tone of authority, not unlike Paul's. After all, the
Antioch church was the mother church to all of the churches of Asia
Minor, having originally sent Paul and Barnabas out to evangelize the
Gentiles. But, the only Roman epistle from the first century, that of
Clement to the Corinthians, carries a much milder tone of brotherly
encouragement, without direct commands or exercise of authority. It
seems that the "Presbyters" (a term Irenaeus used for the "disciples of
the Apostles") carried a kind of authority as faithful witnesses to the
Apostolic teachings (2 Tim. 2:2). Hence, these men wrote several
epistles to other smaller churches. Ignatius wrote seven which have
survived; Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, wrote one (to the Philippians);
and the epistles of Papius are lost - the only real documentation
coming from later writers who quoted him.
It was also believed in
the early
Church that Ignatius was the little child that Jesus placed in the
midst of the disciples (Matt. 18:2). But there is no way to confirm
this.
One point of great
importance is Ignatius' use of the term "the Lord's day."
This was a common term in his epistles (as well as other first century
writers), always in reference to Sunday. And being a disciple of John,
we can conclude that John's use of the term "the Lord's day" in Rev.
1:10 is the same. This fact weighs heavily in favor of Apostolic
connections to Sunday observance.
The following quotations
are from
Ignatius' epistle to the Magnesians, regarding Christians and the Law,
and in particular, the Sabbath.
CHAPTER VIII - CAUTION
AGAINST FALSE DOCTRINES
"Be
not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are
unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we
acknowledge that we have not received grace. For the divinest prophets
lived according to Christ Jesus. On this account also they were
persecuted, being inspired by His grace to fully convince the
unbelieving that there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus
Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word, not proceeding forth from
silence, and who in all things pleased Him that sent Him. Be not
deceived with strange doctrines, "nor give heed to fables and endless
genealogies," and things in which the Jews make their boast. "Old
things are passed away: behold, all things have become new." For if
we still live according to the Jewish law, and the circumcision of the
flesh, we deny that we have received grace.
For the divinest prophets lived according to Jesus Christ. On this
account also they were persecuted, being inspired by grace to fully
convince the unbelieving that there is one God, the Almighty, who has
manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His Word, not
spoken, but essential. For He is not the voice of an articulate
utterance, but a substance begotten by divine power, who has in all
things pleased Him that sent Him.
CHAPTER IX - LET US
LIVE WITH CHRIST
"If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order
of
things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing
the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on
which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death — whom
some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore
endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only
Master — how shall we be able to live apart from Him, whose disciples
the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him as their
Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come,
raised them from the dead. If, then, those who were conversant with the
ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of
Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Moses,
ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me;" and again, "Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before
Abraham was, I am; " how shall we be able to live without Him? The
prophets were His servants, and foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited
for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Savior,
saying, "He will come and save us." Let us therefore no longer keep
the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness;
for "he that does not work, let him not eat." For say the [holy]
oracles, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread." But
let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner,
rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body,
admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day
before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed
space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense
in them. And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend
of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the
resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week].
Looking forward to this, the prophet declared, "To the end, for the
eighth day," on which our life both sprang up again, and the victory
over death was obtained in Christ, whom the children of perdition, the
enemies of the Savior, deny, "whose God is their belly, who mind
earthly things," who are "lovers of pleasure, and not lovers of God,
having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." These make
merchandise of Christ, corrupting His word, and giving up Jesus to
sale: they are corrupters of women, and covetous of other men's
possessions, swallowing up wealth insatiably; from whom may ye be
delivered by the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
CHAPTER X - BEWARE OF
JUDAIZING
"Let
us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward
us according to our works, we should cease to be. Therefore, having
become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles
of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides
this, is not of God. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the sour
leaven, and be ye changed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ.
Be ye salted in Him, lest any one among you should be corrupted, since
by your savour ye shall be convicted. It is absurd to profess Christ
Jesus, and to Judaize. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but
Judaism Christianity, that so every tongue which believeth might be
gathered together to God. Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His
kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should
cease to be. For "if Thou, Lord, shalt mark iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand?" Let us therefore prove ourselves worthy of that name
which we have received. For whosoever is called by any other name
besides this, he is not of God; for he has not received the prophecy
which speaks thus concerning us: "The people shall be called by a new
name, which the Lord shall name them, and shall be a holy people." This
was first fulfilled in Syria; for "the disciples were called Christians
at Antioch," when Paul and Peter were laying the foundations of the
Church. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the corrupt leaven,
and be ye changed into the new leaven of grace. Abide in Christ, that
the stranger may not have dominion over you. It is absurd to speak of
Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism
which has now come to an end. For where there is Christianity there
cannot be Judaism. For Christ is one, in whom every nation that
believes, and every tongue that confesses, is gathered unto God. And
those that were of a stony heart have become the children of Abraham,
the friend of God; and in his seed all those have been blessed who were
ordained to eternal life in Christ." [Ignatius, Epistle to the
Magnesians, VIII-X]
The ninth chapter opens
with these words: "If,
therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things
have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the
Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day..."
Ignatius was referring to the Apostles as the ones "brought up in the
ancient order of things" (meaning under the Old Covenant). He was
arguing that since the Apostles, who were brought up in Judaism no
longer kept the Sabbath but rather "the Lord's day," there is no reason
for his readers to do differently. This indicates personal knowledge by
Ignatius that the Apostles did NOT continue to observe the Sabbath, but
rather Sunday. No doubt this comes from John, as does the term "the
Lord's day."
Some have interpreted
Ignatius'
words to imply that Christians were keeping the Sabbath, and Ignatius
was encouraging them to stop. Therefore, they gain support for their
claim that Gentile Christians originally kept the Sabbath. Note
however, that Ignatius was NOT arguing for a change in Christian
practice, but that Christians should not succumb to the Judaizers. In
other words, the very same problem that Paul continuously encountered
from the Judaizers, who insisted that Gentiles be circumcised and keep
the Law, was still an ongoing concern. Ignatius was arguing that the
Churches CONTINUE the tradition of the Apostles and RESIST the efforts
of the Judiazers. He indicated that this Apostolic tradition was Sunday
observance, in honor of the resurrection.
In Ignatius' "Epistle
to the Trallians" he also repeatedly referred to Sunday
as the "Lord's Day."
Since Ignatius was trained by John, there is little question that He
got this from John's use of the term "Lord's Day," as recorded in Rev.
1:10.
CHAPTER IX - THE
REALITY OF CHRIST'S PASSION
"On
the day of the preparation, then, at the third hour, He received the
sentence from Pilate, the Father permitting that to happen; at the
sixth hour He was crucified; at the ninth hour He gave up the ghost;
and before sunset He was buried. During the Sabbath He continued under
the earth in the tomb in which Joseph of Arimathaea had laid Him. At
the dawning of the Lord's day He arose from the dead,
according to what was spoken by Himself, "As Jonah was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man also be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The day of the
preparation, then, comprises the passion; the Sabbath embraces the
burial; the Lord's Day contains the resurrection."
[Ignatius, "Epistle to the Trallians," IX]
Barnabas:
Not much is know of the authorship of the Epistle of Barnabas. Some
have supposed that he was Paul's companion, but there is no way of
knowing for sure. This epistle is usually dated by scholars around the
latter part of the first century, around the time John wrote
Revelation.
CHAPTER II - THE JEWISH
SACRIFICES ARE ABOLISHED
"For
He hath revealed to us by all the prophets that He needs neither
sacrifices, nor burnt-offerings, nor oblations, saying thus, “What is
the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me, saith the Lord? I am full of
burnt-offerings, and desire not the fat of lambs, and the blood of
bulls and goats, not when ye come to appear before Me: for who hath
required these things at your hands? Tread no more My courts, not
though ye bring with you fine flour. Incense is a vain abomination unto
Me, and your new moons and sabbaths I cannot
endure.” He has therefore abolished these things, that the new law
of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which is without the yoke of necessity, might have a
human oblation." [Epistle of Barnabas, II]
CHAPTER XV - THE FALSE
AND TRUE SABBATH
"The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: And
God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the
seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.” Attend, my children,
to the meaning of this expression, He finished in six days.” This
implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years,
for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth,
saying, Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years.” Therefore, my
children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will
be finished. And He rested on the seventh day.” This meaneth: when His
Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and
judge the ungodly, and change the-sun, and the moon, and the stars,
then shall He truly rest on the seventh day.... Further, He says to
them, Your new moons and your Sabbath I cannot endure.” Ye perceive how
He speaks: Your present Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is
which I have made, [namely this,] when, giving rest to all things, I
shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of
another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with
joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead.
And when He had manifested Himself, He ascended into the heavens."
[Epistle of Barnabas, XV]
Justin:
Justin Martyr was born at the end of the first century and wrote a
considerable amount of Christian apologetic literature during the first
half of the second century. He was first a philosopher, but after
failing to find true peace in philosophy, he became a Christian. Justin
was the first "apologist" for Christianity, explaining and defending
the Christian Faith to the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews. His works
are very valuable to the Sunday/Sabbath question, because they were
intended to characterize Christian beliefs and practice of the Church
at large, rather than being indicative of one locality. Justin was
later beheaded for his testimony to the Lord. Here is one quote from
his "First Apology."
CHAPTER LXVII - WEEKLY
WORSHIP OF THE CHRISTIANS
"And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And
the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and
for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all
through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on
the day called Sunday,
all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place,
and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are
read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the
president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these
good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before
said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought,
and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings,
according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there
is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which
thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent
by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what
each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president,
who succors the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or
any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the
strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are
in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common
assembly,
because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in
the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on
the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before
that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which
is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples,
He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for
your consideration." [Justin Martyr, "First Apology," LXVII]
Here are several quotes
from Justin's "Dialogue with Trypho." This is a record of a
debate between Justin, a Gentile Christian, and an orthodox Jew named,
Trypho.
CHAPTER 18 - CHRISTIANS
WOULD OBSERVE THE LAW, IF THEY DID
NOT KNOW WHY IT WAS INSTITUTED
"For we too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the
Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what
reason
they were enjoined you, — namely, on account of your transgressions and
the hardness of your hearts. For if we patiently endure all things
contrived
against us by wicked men and demons, so that even amid cruelties
unutterable, death and torments, we pray for mercy to those who inflict
such things upon us, and do not wish to give the least retort to any
one,
even as the new Lawgiver commanded us: how is it, Trypho, that we
would not observe those rites which do not harm us, — I speak of
fleshly
circumcision, and Sabbaths, and feasts?" [Justin, Dialogue
with Trypho, XVIII]
CHAPTER XXVI - NO
SALVATION TO THE JEWS EXCEPT THROUGH CHRIST
"And I replied, "I do not say so; but those who have persecuted and do
persecute Christ, if they do not repent, shall not inherit anything on
the holy mountain. But the Gentiles,
who have believed on Him, and have repented of the sins which they have
committed, they shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs
and the prophets, and the just men who are descended from Jacob, even although
they neither keep the Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the
feasts Assuredly they shall receive the holy inheritance of God."
[Justin Martyr, "Dialogue with Trypho," XXVI]
CHAPTER XXXIII - THE
OPINION OF THE JEWS REGARDING THE LAW...
"But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish
opinion, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of
Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh, nor
observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined
such observances... For if there was no need of circumcision before
Abraham, or of the observance of Sabbaths, of feasts
and sacrifices, before Moses; no more need is there of them now,
after that, according to the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God
has been born without sin, of a virgin sprung from the stock of Abraham".
[Dialogue With Trypho, XXXIII]
CHAPTER XLIII - HE
CONCLUDES THAT THE LAW HAD AN END IN CHRIST,
WHO WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN
“As, then, circumcision began with Abraham, and the Sabbath and
sacrifices and offerings and feasts with Moses, and it has been
proved they
were enjoined on account of the hardness of your people’s heart, so
it was
necessary, in accordance with the Father’s will, that they should
have an
end in Him who was born of a virgin, of the family of Abraham
and tribe
of Judah, and of David; in Christ the Son of God, who was proclaimed as
about to come to all the world, to be the everlasting law and the
everlasting
covenant, even as the forementioned prophecies show." [Justin,
Dialogue with Trypho, XLIII]
CHAPTER XLVII - JUSTIN
COMMUNICATES WITH CHRISTIANS WHO OBSERVE THE LAW. NOT A FEW CATHOLICS
DO OTHERWISE
"And Trypho again inquired, “But if some one, knowing that this is so,
after he recognizes that this man is Christ, and has believed in and
obeys
Him, wishes, however, to observe these [institutions], will he be
saved?”
I said, “In my opinion, Trypho, such an one will be saved, if he does
not
strive in every way to persuade other men, — I mean those Gentiles who
have been circumcised from error by Christ, to observe the same things
as
himself, telling them that they will not be saved unless they do so.
This
you did yourself at the commencement of the discourse, when you
declared that I would not be saved unless I observe these institutions.”
Then he replied, “Why then have you said, ‘In my opinion, such an one
will be saved,’ unless there are some who affirm that such will not be
saved?”
“There are such people, Trypho,” I answered; “and these do not venture
to have any intercourse with or to extend hospitality to such persons;
but
I do not agree with them. But if some, through weak-mindedness,
wish to
observe such institutions as were given by Moses, from which they
expect
some virtue, but which we believe were appointed by reason of the
hardness of the people’s hearts, along with their hope in this Christ,
and
[wish to perform] the eternal and natural acts of righteousness and
piety,
yet choose to live with the Christians and the faithful, as I said
before, not
inducing them either to be circumcised like themselves, or to keep
the
Sabbath,
or to observe any other such ceremonies, then I hold that we
ought to join ourselves to such, and associate with them in all things
as
kinsmen and brethren. But if, Trypho,” I continued, “some of your race,
who say they believe in this Christ, compel those Gentiles who believe
in this Christ to live in all respects according to the law given by
Moses, or
choose not to associate so intimately with them, I in like manner do
not
approve of them. But I believe that even those, who have been persuaded
by them to observe the legal dispensation along with their confession
of
God in Christ, shall probably be saved. And I hold, further, that such
as
have confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back
from some cause to the legal dispensation, and have denied that this
man is
Christ, and have repented not before death, shall by no means be saved.
Further, I hold that those of the seed of Abraham who live according to
the
law, and do not believe in this Christ before death, shall likewise not
be
saved, and especially those who have anathematized and do anathematize
this very Christ in the synagogues, and everything by which they might
obtain salvation and escape the vengeance of fire." [Justin,
Dialogue with Trypho, XLVII]
These ancient Christian
witnesses
lived contemporary or contiguous to the Apostle John. And all say
Christians worshiped on Sunday. Granted, this does not prove Christians
worshiped on Sunday because the Apostles taught them to do so. But, it
does prove that even in the first century, while the Apostle John
was still alive,
Christians customarily worshiped on Sunday. And this seems to be
something practiced universally by the early Christians. Since it is
apparent that the term "the Lord's Day" referred to Sunday in first
century Christian literature, it is obvious then that John meant
Sunday, when he wrote "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day..."
[Rev. 1:10], and most likely meant that he was worshipping privately on
Sunday while in prison.
These witnesses were more
than 200
years before Constantine or the Roman Church exercised any authority
outside of the local church in Rome. If Sunday worship is the "mark of
the beast," as is claimed by many Seventh Day Adventists, then it seems
Christians [even the martyrs of Jesus] were already taking it while the
ink on John's Revelation was still wet!
Christians from the
earliest times
worshiped on Sunday as a memorial to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This practice originated with the resurrection of Jesus, and was
continued from the disciples' meeting together on two consecutive
Sundays (John 20:19,26). It seems to also have been a continuation of
Pentecost Sunday (which the early Christians called "Whitsunday"). On
this Sunday, Peter preached and 3,000 souls were saved, baptized, and
added to the Church. And, in Acts 20:7, we have another record of a
local church meeting on Sunday for their "love feast" (see: 1 Cor.
11:20 & Jude 1:12) and to hear Paul's preaching. Nowhere in
Scripture is there a record of a New Testament local church meeting on
the Sabbath.
Our Seventh Day Adventist
friends
seem to have based their main doctrine on a mirage that was constructed
by the Roman Catholic Church. The RCC has revised history in order to
bolster their claim to authority above the Scriptures. They claim that
there is no basis for Sunday worship in Scripture (not true), and that
the Roman Catholic Church changed worship from the Sabbath to Sunday by
their own authority. Yet, even though the earliest witnesses prove them
wrong, Seventh Day Adventists continue to quote Roman Catholic sources
as though they were "inspired" and make false and misleading statements
about the practice of the early Church. Likewise, the implied claims,
that Christians who worship on the day of the resurrection are
participating in some form of pagan rites, are equally false. If the
resurrection, the Day of Pentecost, and the church in Acts 20 were not
pagan, then neither is worshipping on any Sunday pagan.
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