Vineyard Labourer Bible College

Study 21

THE CHANGE OF THE SABBATH

The spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further disregard of Heaven's authority. Satan, working through unconsecrated leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also, and essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2:2, 3), and in its stead to exalt the festival observed by the heathen as "the venerable day of the sun." This change was not at first attempted openly. In the first centuries the true Sabbath had been kept by all Christians. They were jealous for the honour of God, and, believing that His law is immutable, they zealously guarded the sacredness of its precepts. But with great subtlety Satan worked through his agents to bring about his object. That the attention of the people might be called to the Sunday, it was made a festival in honour of the resurrection of Christ. Religious services were held upon it; yet it was regarded as a day of recreation, the Sabbath being still sacredly observed.

To prepare the way for the work which he designed to accomplish, Satan had led the Jews, before the advent of Christ, to load down the Sabbath with the most rigorous exactions, making its observance a burden. Now, taking advantage of the false light in which he had thus caused it to be regarded, he cast contempt upon it as a Jewish institution. While Christians generally continued to observe the Sunday as a joyous festival, he led them, in order to show their hatred of Judaism, to make the Sabbath a fast, a day of sadness and gloom.

In the early part of the fourth century the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman Empire. The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects and was honoured by Christians; it was the emperor's policy to unite the conflicting interests of heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do this by the bishops of the church, who, inspired by ambition and thirst for power, perceived that if the same day was observed by both Christians and heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by pagans and thus advance the power and glory of the church. But while many God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a degree of sacredness, they still held the true Sabbath as the holy of the Lord and observed it in obedience to the fourth commandment.

WHAT SAITH THE LORD

1. Which day, according to the Bible, is the Sabbath? Exodus 20:8-11. (Also see Genesis 31:15; 35:2; Deuteronomy 5:14.)

"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:" Exodus 20:10.

Also see:-

"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." Exodus 31:15.

"Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death." Exodus 35:2.

"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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou." Deuteronomy 5:14.

2. What, according to prophecy, was to be Christ's attitude toward the law? Isaiah 42:21.

"The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable." Isaiah 42:21.

3. What did Christ say of the law? Matthew 5:17.

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matthew 5:17.

4. How enduring did He say the law is? Matthew 5:18.

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matthew 5:18.

5. What did He say of those who should break one of the least of God's Commandments, and teach men to do so? Matthew 5:19.

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19.

Note: This text does not say this person will be least in the God's kingdom, but that he will be spoken of as least.

6. What did God, through the prophet Daniel, say the power represented by the "little horn" would think to do? Daniel 7:25.

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:25.

7. What did Paul say the "man of sin" would do? 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

Note: There is only one way by which any power could exalt itself above God, and this is by assuming to change the law of God, and to require obedience to its own law instead of God's law. As we have already found in our study on the "Three Angels' Message", this was done by the Roman Catholic Church, making the Pope, as head of this organisation, the man of sin.

The Papacy claims the change of the Sabbath to the first day of the week was her act and is the mark of her authority in religious things.

"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", by the Rev. Stephen Kennan, p.174.

"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 (A.D. 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
"The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine," page 50, third edition, 1913, a work which received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X, January 25, 1910.

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act . . . and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things."
"If Protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church."
Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal in a letter of February 10, 1920.

Look up any encyclopaedia on Saturday or Sabbath and it will tell you that it is the seventh day of the week, and that all Christians observed it up until the fourth century. At this point "Constantine the Great made a law for the whole empire (A.D. 321) that Sunday should be kept as a day of rest in all cities and towns; but he allowed the country people to follow their work" Encyclopedia America, article "Sabbath."

Lots of Christians today say that they worship on Sunday in commemoration of Christ's resurrection. But there is no command in the Bible for this. There is, however, a service that all Christians are required to participate in that does commemorate Christ's resurrection.

8. By what service do all Christians commemorate Christ's resurrection? Romans 6:3-5.

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:" Romans 6:3-5.

9. Jesus at Creation gave the seventh day Sabbath as a day of rest, did He afterwards give another? Hebrews 4:3-11.

"For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." Hebrews 4:3-11.

10. What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to God's Commandments? Matthew 15:9.

"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9.

11. What is the sign that shows the Lord to be your God? Ezekiel 20:20.

"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." Ezekiel 20:20.

If the true Sabbath had always been kept, there would never have been an infidel or an atheist. The observance of the Sabbath would have preserved the world from idolatry. The fourth commandment has been trampled upon; therefore we are called upon to repair the breach in the law, and plead for the downtrodden Sabbath. The man of sin, who exalted himself above God, and thought to change times and laws, brought about the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. In doing this, he made a breach in the law of God. Just prior to the great day of God, a message is sent forth to warn the people to come back to their allegiance to the law of God which antichrist has broken down. By precept and example, attention must be called to the breach in the law. The third angel, proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, represents the people who receive this message and raise the voice of warning to the world, to keep the commandments of God as the apple of the eye, and that in response to this warning many would embrace the Sabbath of the Lord.

Commitment:- From the studies I have completed I can clearly see that Sunday is not the Sabbath of God.

Commitment:- I would like more information about the subject before I make up my mind.

Commitment:- I believe it is a necessary requirement of God to keep His Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, along with all His Commandments.