SABBATH IN THE TEXT

Sabbath occurs 135 times in 113 verses in the NKJV.

Exo 16:23 NKJV -

"Then he said to them, "This [is what] the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow [is] a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake [today], and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.' ""

Exo 16:25 NKJV -

"Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today [is] a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field."

Exo 16:26 NKJV -

""Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.""

Exo 16:29 NKJV -

""See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.""

Exo 20:8 NKJV - ""Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Exo 20:10 NKJV -

"but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the LORD your God. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates." 

Exo 20:11 NKJV -

"For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

Exo 31:14 NKJV -

"'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for [it is] holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does [any] work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people." 

Exo 31:15 NKJV -

"'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh [is] the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does [any] work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."

Exo 31:16 NKJV -

"'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations [as] a perpetual covenant."

Exo 35:2 NKJV -

""Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death."

Exo 35:3 NKJV -

""You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.""

Lev 16:31 NKJV -

""It [is] a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. [It is] a statute forever."

Lev 23:3 NKJV -

"'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day [is] a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work [on it]; it [is] the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings." 

Lev 23:11 NKJV -

"'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it."

Lev 23:15 NKJV -

"'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed."

Lev 23:16 NKJV -

"'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD."

Lev 23:24 NKJV -

""Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first [day] of the month, you shall have a sabbath-[rest], a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation."

Lev 23:32 NKJV -

""It [shall be] to you a sabbath of [solemn] rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth [day] of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.""

Lev 23:39 NKJV -

"'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD [for] seven days; on the first day [there shall be] a sabbath-[rest], and on the eighth day a sabbath-[rest]."

Lev 24:8 NKJV -

""Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, [being taken] from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant."

Lev 25:2 NKJV -

""Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD."

Lev 25:4 NKJV -

"'but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard."

Lev 25:6 NKJV -

"'And the sabbath [produce] of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you,"

Num 15:32 NKJV -

"Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day."

Num 28:9 NKJV -

"'And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first year, without blemish, and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offering--"

Num 28:10 NKJV -

"'[this is] the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering."

Deut 5:12 NKJV -

"'Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you."

Deut 5:14 NKJV -

"but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the LORD your God. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you."

Deut 5:15 NKJV -

"And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."

2 Ki 4:23 NKJV -

"So he said, "Why are you going to him today? [It is] neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath." And she said, "[It is] well.""

2 Ki 11:5 NKJV -

"Then he commanded them, saying, "This [is] what you shall do: One-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king's house,"

2 Ki 11:7 NKJV -

""The two contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king."

2 Ki 11:9 NKJV -

"So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest."

2 Ki 16:18 NKJV -

"Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king's outer entrance from the house of the LORD, on account of the king of Assyria."

1 Ch 9:32 NKJV -

"And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites [were] in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath."

TAKE NOTE THAT THE KOHATHITES WERE A SUB TRIBE OF LEVI WHO HAD VERY SPECIAL DUTIES.

2Ch 23:4 NKJV -

""This [is] what you shall do: One-third of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, [shall be] keeping watch over the doors;"

2 Ch 23:8 NKJV -

"So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going [off duty] on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed the divisions."

2 Ch 36:21 NKJV -

"to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years."

Neh 9:14 NKJV -

"You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant."

Neh 10:31 NKJV -

"[if] the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the seventh year's [produce] and the exacting of every debt."

Neh 13:15 NKJV -

"In those days I saw [people] in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all [kinds of] burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned [them] about the day on which they were selling provisions."

Neh 13:16 NKJV -

"Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold [them] on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem."

Neh 13:17 NKJV -

"Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, "What evil thing [is] this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?"

Neh 13:18 NKJV -

""Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.""

Neh 13:19 NKJV -

"So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted [some] of my servants at the gates, [so that] no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day."

Neh 13:21 NKJV -

"Then I warned them, and said to them, "Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do [so] again, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on they came no [more] on the Sabbath."

Neh 13:22 NKJV -

"And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, [concerning] this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!"

Psa 92:1 NKJV -

"A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day. [It is] good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;"

Isa 56:2 NKJV -

"Blessed [is] the man [who] does this, And the son of man [who] lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.""

Isa 56:6 NKJV - 

""Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants--Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant--"

Isa 58:13 NKJV - 

""If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, [From] doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy [day] of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking [your own] words,"

Isa 66:23 NKJV - 

"And it shall come to pass [That] from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD."

Jer 17:21 NKJV - 

"'Thus says the LORD: "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem;"

Jer 17:22 NKJV - 

""nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers."

Jer 17:24 NKJV - 

""And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully," says the LORD, "to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,"

Jer 17:27 NKJV - 

""But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." ' ""

Eze 46:1 NKJV - 

"'Thus says the Lord GOD: "The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened."

Eze 46:4 NKJV - 

""The burnt offering that the prince offers to the LORD on the Sabbath day [shall be] six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish;"

Eze 46:12 NKJV - 

""Now when the prince makes a voluntary burnt offering or voluntary peace offering to the LORD, the gate that faces toward the east shall then be opened for him; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut."

Amo 8:5 NKJV - 

"Saying: "When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit,"

Mat 12:1 NKJV - 

"At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat."

Mat 12:2 NKJV - 

"And when the Pharisees saw [it], they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!""

Mat 12:5 NKJV - 

""Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"

Mat 12:8 NKJV - 

""For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.""

Mat 12:10 NKJV - 

"And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--that they might accuse Him."

Mat 12:11 NKJV - 

"Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift [it] out?"

Mat 12:12 NKJV - 

""Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.""

Mat 24:20 NKJV - 

""And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath."

Mat 28:1 NKJV - 

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first [day] of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb."

Mar 1:21 NKJV - 

"Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught."

Mar 2:23 NKJV - 

"Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain."

Mar 2:24 NKJV - 

"And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?""

Mar 2:27 NKJV - 

"And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

Mar 2:28 NKJV - 

""Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.""

Mar 3:2 NKJV - 

"So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him."

Mar 3:4 NKJV - 

"Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent."

Mar 6:2 NKJV - 

"And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing [Him] were astonished, saying, "Where [did] this Man [get] these things? And what wisdom [is] this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!"

Mar 15:42 NKJV - 

"Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,"

Mar 16:1 NKJV - 

"Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary [the mother] of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him."

Luk 4:16 NKJV - 

"So 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 to read."

Luk 6:1 NKJV - 

"Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate [them], rubbing [them] in [their] hands."

Luk 6:2 NKJV - 

"And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?""

Luk 6:5 NKJV - 

"And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.""

Luk 6:6 NKJV - 

"Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered."

Luk 6:7 NKJV - 

"So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him."

Luk 6:9 NKJV - 

"Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?""

Luk 13:10 NKJV - 

"Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath."

Luk 13:14 NKJV - 

"But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.""

Luk 13:15 NKJV - 

"The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead [it] away to water it?"

Luk 13:16 NKJV - 

""So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound--think of it--for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?""

Luk 14:1 NKJV - 

"Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely."

Luk 14:3 NKJV - 

"And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?""

Luk 14:5 NKJV - 

"Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?""

Luk 23:54 NKJV - 

"That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near."

Luk 23:56 NKJV - 

"Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment."

Jhn 5:9 NKJV - 

"And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath."

Jhn 5:10 NKJV - 

"The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.""

Jhn 5:16 NKJV - 

"For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath."

Jhn 5:18 NKJV - 

"Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."

Jhn 7:22 NKJV - 

""Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath."

Jhn 7:23 NKJV - 

""If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?"

Jhn 9:14 NKJV - 

"Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes."

Jhn 9:16 NKJV - 

"Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them."

Jhn 19:31 NKJV - 

"Therefore, because it was the Preparation [Day], that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away."

Act 1:12 NKJV - 

"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey."

Act 13:14 NKJV - 

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

Act 13:27 NKJV - 

""For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled [them] in condemning [Him]."

Act 13:42 NKJV - 

"So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath."

Act 13:44 NKJV - 

"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God."

Act 15:21 NKJV - 

""For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.""

Act 16:13 NKJV - 

"And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met [there]."

Act 18:4 NKJV - 

"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks."

SABBATH (PART III)

 

In the Book of Genesis. 

Long before there were any Jews; Muslims; Christians; or, any other tribes; the Creator (whose Name these three faith's disagree upon) essentially terraformed this planet to make it able to sustain life that he desired to create. 

The book of Genesis details the "work" which he had done breaking it into the seven days of creation. We call this the creation week; and, it contains within it a pattern (the creation week pattern) which we desperately need to remember; to consider. It matters more than we can imagine.

Genesis 2:2 

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested (ויּשׁבּת) H7673 on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  

This phrase here we see rendered "and he rested" is the Hebrew word SABAT. A verb.

Yet the phrase "the seventh day" is in the Hebrew (השּׁביעי) Ha Sheb-ee-ee...

In Hebrew the word "YOM" ( יוֹם ) means "DAY" or "period." Hebrew reads from right to left. So below you will see the word "YOM" (יוֹם) followed by the Hebrew name for the days of the week.  

DAY ONE:
YOM (DAY) -- RISHON (ONE) 

יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן

DAY TWO:
YOM (DAY) -- SHINI (TWO)

יוֹם שֵׁנִי

DAY THREE:  
YOM (DAY) -- SHILISHI (THREE)

יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי

DAY FOUR:  
YOM (DAY) -- REVI'I (FOUR)

יוֹם רְבִיעִי

DAY FIVE:  

YOM (DAY) -- CHAMISHI (FIVE)

יוֹם חֲמִישִׁי

DAY SIX:  
YOM (DAY) -- SHIHI (SIX)

יוֹם שִׁישִׁי

DAY SEVEN:  
YOM (day) SHABBAT (REST)

יוֹם שַׁבָּת

As a Christian I was introduced to the "Sabbath" as being honored on Sunday; rather than Saturday. That was until I studied it out for myself. Below are a few documents showing how the word "Sabbath" occurs in many languages; and, how it is attached to the day we call Saturday. 

 

The Sabbath & The Seven Day Cycle

Showing the unchanged order of the days and true position of the Sabbath,
as proved by the combined testimony of Ancient and Modern Languages –
By Rev William Mead Jones D.D

WHY SABBATH (PART II)

What does the Bible have to say about Sabbath?

One of the Favorite Tools I have to study the Bible in my arsenal is BlueLetterBible.com a Web Based application you can download upon your cellular phone; or, accessible via Desktop.

I also use E-Sword which is likewise both accessible via Cellular Application or Desktop.

Both of these programs have strengths; and, weaknesses.
Both allow me to search via English; Hebrew; and, Greek.

Below I'm going to give you an example of how each program renders search results so you can see the differences. First I will show you How E-Sword Renders these search results. THEN I will show you Blueletterbible's.

E-Sword offers me many bibles to choose from. In the Very first image at the top if you click on it; the image will open in another screen where you can count just how many versions I have on my laptop.

Notice that both programs offer me the 137 Matches
and 116 Occurrences in the KJV.

This particular feature sets the two programs apart.

Notice how BlueLetterBible.com software offers us a snapshot view of EACH VERSION.

A  good student will do their best to intentionally locate all passages regarding subject material in their studies.  Below here is a screenshot of the Results by Book. This tells us what books this material shows up in; and, how frequently. 

Now. We also need to take into consideration where this word "Sabbath" in English also shows up in its plural form "Sabbaths." Let's use Blueletterbible.com and see how/where this plural form shows up, shall we? Friend this is the very first stage of studying out what the Bible has to say about "Sabbath(s)." 

Notice here that BLB (Blueletterbible.com) declares that "Sabbaths" (plural) shows up a total of 35 times.

Notice here ABOVE how the NKJV (New King James Version); which is what I use as my daily text, only lists 35 passages; however, the YLT (Young's Literal Translation) shows there are 50. Because of this I'm inclined to read; and, identify all the passages from the YLT text as well as the NKJV. 

We don't want to miss out on any of these passages. I want to most complete understanding of what the Bible's text is declaring to us about Sabbath / Sabbaths. 

Friend. We are engaging in what is called a "Topical Study."

However we are only utilizing right now the 66 books of the Bible's text and ignoring anything the Apocryphal books have to say about Sabbath / Sabbaths. 

We are also ignoring anything "Jewish Writings" (Mishnah, Gemara, Talmud) have to say about Sabbath / Sabbaths. 

So what IS the Sabbath? 

In Biblical Judaism there is a Sabbath (seventh day of rest) each week. 

Many Christian's will assert this is a "Jewish" thing. However Sabbath wasn't instituted by Jews. In fact there weren't even any "Jews" around when the Creator instituted the Sabbath. We can find it's mention in the Book of Genesis at the End of the Creation Week when the Creator himself rested.

There are 52 Weeks in a year. Meaning there are 52 Weekly Sabbaths.

However, the Weekly Sabbath's aren't the only "Sabbaths" in Biblical Judaism. 

There are also "High Sabbaths" which are connected to the Feasts themselves. 

Biblical Judaism (What Jesus practiced) contains a total of seven (7) commanded "feasts." These are detailed within Leviticus 23. The symbolism of the Menorah (A Seven Branched Golden Lampstand) that sat within the Temple itself (in the Holy of Holies) in Israel before the Destruction in 70AD allude to these seven (7) feasts called Moed'im in Hebrew. 

Art by Sefira Lightstone

Moed (singular)

Moed'im (plural)

The "im" at the end makes the term plural.

These Biblical feasts (MOED'IM) are (in order)

• Festival of Lots (Purim)
• Passover (Pesach aka "Unleavened Bread"). First and Last days are "Sabbaths."
• Pentecost (Shavu'ot)
  This particular "Feast" give us the timing of the year when the Written Torah was actually given at Mt. Sinai by YHVH. By the Messenger. By the one who was SEEN. We cannot see the Father. Nor can we see the Holy Spirit. But we CAN see the Image of the Invisible God. The Image that would become flesh; and, die for His people. This also happens to be the time of year when the Holy Spirit Descended upon the Apostles in the New Testament; and, they spoke in Tongues.
  
• Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) aka Rosh Ha Shannah (Head of the New Year)
• The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) 
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
• Chanukah (Not a Commanded Feast) 

I grew up in a "Christian" (Episcopalian/Methodist/Protestant) home long before I had ever studied Judaism vs. Biblical Judaism. When I began to study Judaism; I didn't really understand the significance of these feasts. Nor was I able (at the time); to initially see how they are all about Messiah. They are all about Him; and, His sacrifice. 

Even Chanukah (a National Holiday -Not a commanded Feast) itself is prophesied to connect to Blessings upon the Nation of Israel. From the first day of Chanukah the LORD shall Bless. 

"And now, carefully consider from this day forward: From before stone was laid upon stone in the Temple of the LORD -- Consider now from this day forward; from the twenty fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid --consider it: Is the seed still in the barn ? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate; and, the olive tree have not yielded from this day I will bless."

HAGGAI 2:15-20

*** HINT *** 

If you use the 24th day of the 9th month
(CHISLEV)
As the conception day for Yeshua. 
It gives you a BIRTHDATE
in the 7th month TISHRI. 
The Holiest Month of the Hebrew Calendar.
Falling in between the 1st and the 10th.
 

*** *** ***

When I say "Israel" I mean those whom YHVH calls Israel; not necessarily what the WORLD calls Israel. They are not the same. Being ethnically Jewish benefits one nothing if they reject the Messiah. Being ethnically Jewish offers us no leg up over the gentile in having a relationship with Messiah if we reject His instructions. He is the Messenger of YHVH. If we reject His Messenger. We reject Him. 

Here is an Example I think you can grasp. 

Jeffrey Epstein (a pedophile who has blood on his hands) is technically "Jewish." His allegiance isn't to America. His Allegiance is to BAAL. A bloodthirsty deity who demands the blood of the most innocent and defenseless. The blood of Children. Epstein's lifestyle; and, actions reveal that he isn't Messiah's.

His lifestyle; and, actions deny the True and Living God. He has committed abominations deserving of death. Not just once either. He deserves for his very consciousness, his light, and his spirit, to be permanently extinguished for eternity. 

Those who commit abomination; and, teach others to do so WILL NOT, WILL NOT, WILL NOT be counted within those who are WITHIN MESSIAH'S KINGDOM. 

*** *** ***

I tell you the truth Haggai 2 teaches us that the first day of Chanukah is attached to the laying of the foundation of the Lord's Temple. (ADONAI'S TEMPLE). Neither the first; nor, the second temple had their foundation stones laid in Chislev; the month of Chanukah. Both were laid in ZIV (the second month). So this prophecy, this riddle MUST be about another temple. It is not referring to Solomon's Temple; nor, to Herod's Temple.

Friend's there is a riddle in Haggai 2 that has great attachment to the laying of the very foundation of Messiah's body. The double Helix knitted together in Miriam's womb. The "temple" of the Lord (ADONAI). I tell you the truth. Yeshua is Adonai. The Living God. The one whose voice was heard from Sinai. The one who delivered the stones to Moses. Written by His own fingers. This is just a small clue to help you see Him as He is.   

"But he was speaking of of the Temple of His Body." John 2:21

Your body is the temple.

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"

1 Corinthians 6:19

*** *** *** 

So. Friends. What I ask that you do. Is to utilize bible study software to identify; and, read all passages that have anything to do with the Sabbath; and, the term "Sabbaths." Please keep a notebook; and, look at all evidence. A good detective; just like a good scientists examines all evidence. ALL of it. 

In part III we will begin to look at these together. 

In the mean time. Shalom!

What does it mean to be "Jewish?"

WHY SABBATH (PART I)

Originally Posted by Overcomer on Jan 24, 2012

Ever since I can remember I went to Church on Sundays with my family.

My earliest memories are of attending “mother’s day out” at a local church; although I can’t recall the denomination. I think; if I remember correctly, that we attended a Baptist Church back home where I grew up. Then; my parents tried out a Church of Christ Church. Later; we visited a few others; and, as most do when they are looking for a home church really consider the programs offered to family’s.

We finally wound up at All Soul's Episcopal Church where “Father Shaw” had a booming voice that didn’t need a microphone. He could deliver these messages like a fiery Baptist if needed and could modulate his voice like a well trained orator from Greece speaking at an amphitheater. My grandparents were Methodist and I would often visit their church when I got the chance. At the Episcopal Church I sung in the choir and went every Wednesday evening to practice so on Sunday we would be prepared to deliver a beautiful melody along with the choir directors choice of music.

After leaving the Calvary Chapel Movement, I really began to dig into the Bible and ask questions like “why do we…” about many things. Things like Christmas; Easter; Sunday Worship; Believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and many other questions. When I was still attending Calvary Chapel in Murrieta California they offered a Saturday evening service. 

I had learned that the Biblical Sabbath was on Saturdays so I choose to start attending on Saturday evening. Initially I liked it because the worship band was more the style I liked and I didn’t have to rush to get up and dressed and get myself out the door on Sunday morning.

Later when I began to study 1st Century Christianity I began to find out when the Church had made their move from the Biblical Sabbath to worshipping on Sunday. After really looking at the evidence it became painfully apparent to me that this “adjustment” really didn’t have any backing, and shouldn’t have been done in the first place. My aim is to provide you with the same evidence I looked at so that you too can make an educated decision about whether you should be a Sabbath Keeper or not yourself.

For starters let’s look at see what Historians and Church authorities have to say about it why don’t we? You might want to grab some paper to take notes and pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea. Ready? Then let’s get started.

Why is Sunday kept as a sacred day of worship, when there is absolutely nothing about Sunday sacredness in the Bible?

About 300 years after the last book of the Bible was written, the changeover was made. Historians and leaders in the churches know the facts; you should too.

Here they are—from the mouths of many religious and historical experts:

*** ROMAN CATHOLIC LEADERS SPEAK ***

“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claim to observance 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.” Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August, 1900.

“Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the [Roman Catholic] Church, has no good reason for its Sunday theory, and ought logically to keep Saturday as the Sabbath.” John Gilmary Shea, in the American Catholic Quarterly Review, January 1883.

“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 Elizabeth, N.J. News of March 18, 1903.

 

“Question.—Have you any other way of proving that the [Catholic] Church has power to institute festivals of precept [to command holy days]?

“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.”

Stephen Keenan, Doctrinal Catechism, p. 176.

 

“Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these two alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible.” The Catholic Mirror, December 23, 1893.

 

“God simply gave His [Catholic] 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.” Vincent J. Kelly, Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations, p. 2.

 

“Protestants accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change. But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that in accepting the Bible, in observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.” Our Sunday Visitor, February 5, 1950.

 

“We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” 
Pope Leo XIII, in an Encyclical Letter, dated June 20, 1894.

 

“Not the Creator of Universe, in Genesis 2:1-3,—but the Catholic Church can claim the honor of having granted man a pause to his work every seven days.”  S. C. Mosna, Storia della Domenica, 1969, pp. 366-367.

“The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, hidden under veil of flesh.” The Catholic National, July 1895.

“If Protestants would follow the Bible, they should 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.

 

“We define that the Holy Apostolic See (the Vatican) and the Roman Pontiff hold the primacy over the whole world.” A Decree of the Council of Trent, quoted in Philippe Labbe and Gabriel Cossart,            “The Most Holy Councils,” col. 1167.

“It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest [from the Bible Sabbath] to the Sunday. Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church.” Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p. 213.

“We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Peter Geiermann, CSSR, A Doctrinal Catechism, 1957 edition, p. 50.

“We Catholics, then, have precisely the same authority for keeping Sunday holy instead of Saturday as we have for every other article of our creed, namely, the authority of the Church . . whereas you who are Protestants have really no authority for it whatever; for there is no authority for it [Sunday sacredness] in the Bible, and you will not allow that there can be authority for it anywhere else.” The Brotherhood of St. Paul, “The Clifton tracts,” Volume 4, tract 4, p. 15.

“The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant, claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.”  The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4.

The Bible is your only safe guide. Jesus can help you obey it. 
Trust God’s Word more than man’s traditions.

PROTESTANT LEADERS SPEAK

BAPTIST:

“There was and is a command to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will however be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask, where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament—absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.”  Dr. E. T. Hiscox, author of the Baptist Manual.

Congregationalist:

“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 observance of Sunday…There is not a single line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday.”  Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments, pp. 106-107.

Protestant Episcopal:

“The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day . . but as we meet with no Scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church.” The Protestant Episcopal Explanation of the Catechism.

Baptist:

“The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath . .There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor of course, any Scriptural obligation.” The Watchman.

Presbyterian:

“There is no word, no hint in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday. The observance of Ash Wednesday, or Lent, stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday. Into the rest of Sunday no Divine Law enters.” Canon Eyton, Ten Commandments.


Anglican:

“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.” Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, pp. 334, 336.

Methodist:

“It is true that there is no positive command for infant baptism. Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week. Many believe that Christ changed the Sabbath. But, from His own words, we see that He came for no such purpose. Those who believe that Jesus changed the Sabbath base it only on a supposition.”  Amos Binney, Theological Compendium, pp. 180-181.

Episcopalian:

“We have made the change from the seventh to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy, catholic, apostolic church of Christ.”  Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday.

Southern Baptist:

“The sacred name of the seventh day is Sabbath. This fact is too clear to require argument Exodus 20:10, quoted] . . On this point the plain teaching of the Word has been admitted in all ages . . Not once did the disciples apply the Sabbath law to the first day of the week,—that folly was left for a later age, nor did they pretend that the first day supplanted the seventh.” Joseph Judson Taylor, The Sabbatic Question, pp. 14-17, 41.

American Congregationalist:

“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. Lyman Abbot, Christian Union, June 26, 1890.

Christian Church:

“Now there is no testimony in all the oracles of heaven that the Sabbath is changed, or that the Lord’s Day came in the room of it.” Alexander Campbell, Reporter, October 8, 1921.

Disciples of Christ:

”There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day ‘the Lord’s Day.’ “ Dr. D. H. Lucas, Christian Oracle, January 23, 1890.

Baptist:

“To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ discussion with His disciples, often conversing upon the Sabbath question, discussing it in some of its various aspects, freeing it from its false [Jewish traditional] glosses, never alluded to any transference of the day; also, no such thing was intimated. Nor, so far as we know, did the Spirit, which was given to bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever that He had said unto them, deal with this question. Nor yet did the inspired apostles, in preaching the gospel, founding churches, counseling and instructing those founded, discuss or approach the subject. 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, New York Examiner, November 16, 1893.

HISTORIANS SPEAK:

HOW THE SABBATH WAS CHANGED TO SUNDAY

“There is scarcely anything which strikes the mind of the careful student of ancient ecclesiastical history with greater surprise than the comparatively early period at which many of the corruptions of Christianity, which are embodied in the Roman system, took their rise; yet it is not to be supposed that when the first originators of many of these unscriptural notions and practices planted those germs of corruption, they anticipated or even imagined they would ever grow into such a vast and hideous system of superstition and error as is that of popery.” 
John Dowling, History of Romanism, 13th Edition, p. 65.

“It would be an error to attribute [‘the sanctification of Sunday’] to a definite decision of the Apostles. There is no such decision mentioned the Apostolic documents [that is, the New Testament].” 
Antoine Villien, A History of the Commandments of the Church, 1915, p. 23.

“It must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day.” McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 9, p. 196.

“Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions. [Church] officers for whom the primitive disciples could have found no place, and titles which to them would have been altogether unintelligible, began to challenge attention, and to be named apostolic.”  
William D. Killen, The Ancient Church, p. xvi.

“Until well into the second century [a hundred years after Christ] we do not find the slightest indication in our sources that Christians marked Sunday by any kind of abstention from work.” 
W. Rordorf, Sunday, p. 157.

“The ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed . . by the Christians of the Eastern Church [in the area near Palestine] above three hundred years after our Savior's death.” 
A Learned Treatise of the Sabbath, p. 77.

“Modern Christians who talk of keeping Sunday as a ‘holy’ day, as in the still extant ‘Blue Laws,’ of colonial America, should know that as a ‘holy’ day of rest and cessation from labor and amusements Sunday was unknown to Jesus . . It formed no tenant [teaching] of the primitive Church and became ‘sacred’ only in the course of time. Outside the church its observance was legalized for the Roman Empire through a series of decrees starting with the famous one of Constantine in 321, an edict due to his political and social ideas.”  
W. W. Hyde, Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire, 1946, p. 257.

“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.” 

Augustus Neander, The History of the Christian Religion and Church, 1843, p. 186.

“The [Catholic] Church took the pagan buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the pagan Roman Pantheon [the Roman], temple to all the gods, and made it sacred to all the martyrs; so it stands to this day. She took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday . . The Sun was a foremost god with heathendom. Balder the beautiful: the White God, the old Scandinavians called him. The sun has worshipers at this very hour in Persia and other lands . . Hence the Church would seem to have said, ‘Keep that old pagan name. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.’ And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus. The sun is a fitting emblem of Jesus. The Fathers often compared Jesus to the sun; as they compared Mary to the moon.” 

William L. Gildea, “Paschale Gaudium,” in The Catholic World, p.58, March 1894.

“The Church made a sacred day of Sunday…largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun;—for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to the people by tradition, and give them a Christian significance.” 
Authur Weigall, The Paganism in Our Christianity, 1928, p. 145.

“Remains of the struggle [between the religion of Christianity and the religion of Mithraism] are found in two institutions adopted from its rival by Christianity in the fourth century, the two Mithraic sacred days: December 25, ‘dies natalis solis’ [birthday of the sun], as the birthday of Jesus,—and Sunday, ‘the venerable day of the Sun,’ as Constantine called it in his edict of 321.”  
Walter Woodburn Hyde, Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire, p. 60.

“It is not strange that Sunday is almost universally observed when the Sacred Writings do not endorse it? Satan, the great counterfeiter, worked through the ‘mystery of iniquity’ to introduce a counterfeit Sabbath to take the place of the true Sabbath. Sunday stands side by side with Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy (or Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Whitsunday, Corpus Christi, Assumption Day, All Soul’s Day, Christmas Day, and a host of other ecclesiastical feast days too numerous to mention. This array of Roman Catholic feasts and fast days are all man made. None of them bears the divine credentials of the Author of the Inspired Word.” 

M. E. Walsh.

“Sun worship was the earliest idolatry.”
Fausset Bible Dictionary, p. 666.

“Sun worship was one of the oldest components of the Roman religion.”
Gaston H. Halsberge, The Cult of Sol Invictus, 1972, p. 26.

” ‘Babylon, the mother of harlots,’ derived much of her teaching from pagan Rome and thence from Babylon. Sun worship—that led her to Sunday keeping,— was one of those choice bits of paganism that sprang originally from the heathen lore of ancient Babylon: The solar theology of the ‘Chaldeans’ had a decisive effect upon the final development of Semitic paganism . . [It led to their] seeing the sun the directing power of the cosmic system. All the Baals were thence forward turned into suns; the sun itself being the mover of the other stars—like it eternal and ‘unconquerable’ . . Such was the final form reached by the religion of the pagan Semites, and following them, by that of the Romans . . when they raised ‘Sol Invictus’ [the Invincible Sun] to the rank of supreme divinity in the empire.” 
Franz F. V. M. Cummont, Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans, p. 55.

“When Christianity conquered Rome, the ecclesiastical structure of the pagan church, the title and the vestments of the ‘pontifex maximus,’ the worship to the ‘Great Mother’ goddess and a multitude of comforting divinities…the joy or solemnity of old festivals, and the pageantry of immemorial ceremony, passed like material blood into the new religion,—and captive Rome conquered her conqueror. The reins and skills of government were handed down by a dying empire to a virile papacy.” 
Will Durant, Caesar and Christ, p. 672.

“The power of the Caesar's lived again in the universal dominion of the popes.”
H. G. Guiness, Romanism and the Reformation.

“Like two sacred rivers flowing from paradise, the Bible and divine Tradition contain the Word of God, the precious gems of revealed truth. Though these two divine streams are in themselves, on account of their divine origin, of equal sacredness, and are both full of revealed truths, still, of the two, Tradition [the sayings of popes and councils] is to us more clear and safe.” 
Di Bruno, Catholic Belief, p. 33.

“Unquestionably the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by which the Sabbatical observance of that day is known to have been ordained, is the edict of Constantine, A.D. 321.” 
Chamber’s Encyclopedia, article, “Sabbath.”

Here is the first Sunday law in history, a legal enactment by Constantine I (reigned 306-337):


“On the Venerable Day of the Sun ["Venerable die Solis"—the sacred day of the Sun] let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost—given the 7th day of March [A.D. 321], Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time.” 

The First Sunday Law of Constantine I, in “Codex Justianianus,” lib. 3, tit. 12,3; trans. in Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 380.

“This [Constantine’s Sunday decree of March 321] is the ‘parent’ Sunday law making it a day of rest and release from labor. For from that time to the present there have been decrees about the observance of Sunday which have profoundly influenced European and American society. When the Church became a part of State under the Christian emperors, Sunday observance was enforced by civil statutes, and later when the Empire was past, the Church in the hands of the papacy enforced it by ecclesiastical and also by civil enactments.” 
Walter W. Hyde, Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire, 1946, p. 261.

“Constantine’s decree marked the beginning of a long, though intermittent series of imperial decrees in support of Sunday rest.” 
Vincent J. Kelly, Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations, 1943, p. 29.

“Constantine labored at this time untiringly to unite the worshipers of the old and the new into one religion. All his laws and contrivances are aimed at promoting this amalgamation of means melt together a purified heathenism and a moderated Christianity…Of all his blending and melting together of Christianity and heathenism, none is more easy to see through than this making of his Sunday law: The Christians worshiped their Christ, the heathen their sun-god [so they should now be combined].” 
H. G. Heggtveit, Illustreret Kirkehistorie, 1895, p. 202.

“If every Sunday is to be observed by Christians on account of the resurrection, then every Sabbath on account of the burial is to be regarded in execration [cursing] of the Jews.” 
Pope Sylvester, quoted by S. R. E. Humbert, “Adversus Graecorum Calumnias,” in J. P. Migne, Patrologie, p. 143 [Sylvester (A.D. 314- 337) was the pope at the time Constantine I was Emperor].

“All things whatsoever that were prescribed for the [Bible] Sabbath, we have transferred them to the Lord’s day, as being more authoritative and more highly regarded and first in rank, and more honorable than the Jewish Sabbath.” 
Bishop Eusebius, quoted in J. P. Migne, “Patrologie,” p. 23, 1169-1172 [Eusebius of Caesarea was a high-ranking Catholic leader during Constantine’s lifetime].

“As we have already noted, excepting for the Roman and Alexandrian Christians, the majority of Christians were observing the seventh-day Sabbath at least as late as the middle of the fifth century [A.D. 450]. The Roman and Alexandrian Christians were among those converted from heathenism. They began observing Sunday as a merry religious festival in honor of the Lord’s resurrection, about the latter half of the second century A.D. However, they did not try to teach that the Lord or His apostles commanded it. In fact, no ecclesiastical writer before Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century even suggested that either Christ or His apostles instituted the observance of the first day of the week. These Gentile Christians of Rome and Alexandria began calling the first day of the week ‘the Lord’s day.’ This was not difficult for the pagans of the Roman Empire who were steeped in sun worship to accept, because they [the pagans] referred to their sun-god as their ‘Lord.’ “ 
E. M. Chalmers, How Sunday Came into the Christian Church, p. 3.

The following statement was made 100 years after Constantine’s Sunday Law was passed:


“Although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this.” 
Socrates Scholasticus, quoted in Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, chap. 22 [written shortly after A.D. 439].

“The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria.” 

Hermias Sozomen, quoted in Ecclesiastical History, vii, 19, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series, Vol. 2, p. 390 [written soon after A.D. 415].

“Down even to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church, but with a rigor and solemnity gradually diminishing until it was wholly discontinued.”
Lyman Coleman, Ancient Christianity Exemplified, chap. 26, sec. 2, p. 527.

“Constantine's [five Sunday Law] decrees marked the beginning of a long though intermittent series of imperial decrees in support of Sunday rest.” 

A History of the Councils of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 316.

“What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth, centuries, enjoined with increasing stringency abstinence from labor on Sunday.” 

Hutton Webster, Rest Days, pp. 122-123, 270.

Here is the first Sunday Law decree of a Christian council, given about 16 years after Constantine’s first Sunday Law of A.D. 321:


“Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [in the original: ‘sabbato’—shall not be idle on the Sabbath], but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour, and as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall by shut out [‘anathema,’ excommunicated] from Christ.” 

Council of Laodicea, c. A.D. 337, Canon 29, quoted in C. J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church, Vol. 2, p. 316.

“The keeping of the Sunday rest arose from the custom of the people and the constitution of the [Catholic] Church…Tertullian was probably the first to refer to a cessation of affairs on the Sun day; the Council of Laodicea issued the first counciliar legislation for that day; Constantine I issued the first civil legislation.” 

Priest Vincent J. Kelly, Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations, p. 203 [a thesis presented to the Catholic University of America].

“About 590, Pope Gregory, in a letter to the Roman people, denounced as the prophets of Antichrist those who maintained that work ought not to be done on the seventh day.” 

James T. Ringgold, The Law of Sunday, p. 267.

In the later centuries, persecution against believers in the Bible Sabbath intensified until very few were left alive. When the Reformation began, the true Sabbath was almost unknown.

“Now the [Catholic] Church…instituted, by God’s authority, Sunday as the day of worship. The same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory…We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday.” 

Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked about, 1927, p. 236.

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [of the Sabbath to Sunday] was her act…AND THE ACT IS A MARK of her ecclesiastical power.” 

From the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H. F. Thomas, November 11, 1895