Sabbath: Changed in History

Today, most churches keep worship on Sunday, calling it “Sunday service”. Sabbath is lesser known, and even for people who have heard about it, the exact origin and significance of it are usually unclear. This is because, during the long history of Christianity, this law of God was suppressed, changed, and eventually, forgotten by us.

The Sabbath Day Was Banned

In A.D. 135, the Roman Empire issued a ban against the Sabbath. Why did the Romans ban the worship day of one of its colonies, namely Israel, at that time?

1) Temporary Ban against the Sabbath

As the Roman Empire conquered many nations in the Mediterranean region, many religions of different races went under their rule and, subsequently, changed to adapt to their new central government. However, the Jews constantly triggered concerns from the Romans as they refused to worship the Roman Emperor or give offerings to the empire. This was one of the reasons for conflicts.

Around A.D. 40, the Romans set up a statue of the emperor in the church in Egypt. However, the Jews were against this act and started a riot. This resulted in the temporary ban of the keeping of Sabbath.

2) Continued Strifes

The disputes between the Roman government and the Jews continued. In A.D. 66-73, the First Jewish-Roman War occurred. Also known as the Great Revolt, it was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire¹⁾. In A.D. 115-117, the second rebellion known as Kitos War happened²⁾, and the third was Bar Kokhba’s Revolt during A.D. 132-136³⁾.

Afterwards, the Romans drove the Jews out of Jerusalem and started building many pagan shrines there. Around that period, the name of Jerusalem was changed to “Aelia Capitolina” and Judea, “Philistine”; and the Temple of Jerusalem was turned into a site that worshipped Jupiter⁴⁾.

3) Ban against the Sabbath

The continuous rebellions deepened the hatred between the Roman Empire and the Jews. To break up their unity, the Romans issued a ban on the Sabbath day in A.D. 135 to prevent the Jews from gathering together⁵⁾.

Meanwhile, this action against the Jews had a greater impact on the Christians instead. Even though Christianity and Judaism were different religions, the Romans didn’t make much distinction between the two as both kept the Sabbath and both worshipped the same, one God. Christianity was taken as a denomination of Judaism, especially since many Christians were Jews at that time. Hence, the Christians were also prohibited from gathering on the Sabbath. Under such circumstances, the Jews started having secret gatherings among the family. The Christians, on the other hand, could not do so as they had to gather around a leader who could teach them the Bible. Finally, they were driven into holding secret meetings.

The Sabbath Day Was Persecuted

1) Rumours

According to the Law of the Twelve Tables issued by the Roman empire, “no person shall hold meetings in the City at night”⁶⁾. This made Christians look impure for gathering on the Sabbath. Consequently, all kinds of rumours were laid on them.

After some of and Christians’ pagan slaves falsely accuse the Christians of “thyestean feasts and Oedipodean intercourse, and other things which it is not right for us either to speak of or to think of or even to believe that such things could ever happen among men”, the persecution begin to intensify.

Figure 1. Rumours pertaining to the early day Christians, recorded in the book “The Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 in Jewish and Christian Sources”⁷⁾, Eusebius, “The Ecclesiastical History”, p242

2) Being Driven Out

As such, they were rejected and shunned by their friends, and could not even do daily work.

None can tell to you in speech or fully set forth to you in writing the weight of out misery, the madness and rage of the Gentiles against the saints, and all that hath been suffered by the blessed martyrs.

Figure 2. Sufferings of the saints recorded in A letter from Gaul, from the book “The Great Events by Famous Historians”⁸⁾

They were cast into the darkest and most unendurable place in their prison; their feet were dragged out and compressed to the utmost tension of the muscles; the jailers, as if instigated by a demon, tried every sort of torture, insomuch that several of suffocation in prison.

Figure 2. Sufferings of the saints recorded in A letter from Gaul, from the book “The Great Events by Famous Historians”⁸⁾

Sabbath was the only comfort in their hard lives and the steps towards the kingdom of heaven. In the early days, keeping the Sabbath required great endurance to the point of death.

The Christians started gathering in catacombs, which were public underground burial places, and they kept worship there. However, even in such a situation, they could not even feel relieved there. That was because they had to be ready to flee from Roman soldiers anytime.

As time passed by, the Christians started growing more and more weary. When forced to worship Roman gods in shrines, most of them worshiped to survive. Some fled to mountains and lived ascetic lives. Many who were bounded to their physical lives were weighted between faith and reality.

The Sabbath Day Was Changed

1) Dialecticians: Mentioned “Sunday” to Win the Favour of the Emperor

In around A.D. 150, there was a group of people who actively defended Christianity in Rome. They were the Dialecticians (Christians, former philosophers, who spoke on behalf of Christianity).

One prominent figure was Justin Martyr (A.D. 110-165). He mentioned that the Sabbath of the Jews and that of the Christians are different, and that it was unfair for the Christians to be persecuted due to the Sabbath day.

In his apology to the Roman Emperor Pius on behalf of the Christians, he mentioned a few times “Sunday,” the day of the Sun which the Emperor was fond of. What was the reason for mentioning “Sunday”? Justin expected to win the favour of the Roman emperor and citizens by emphasizing “Sunday”, the worship day of the Sun. Justin drew the line between Sunday observance and Christianity based on the fact that the creation of the world began on the first day of the week, and then, also, that Jesus rose on that day. However, such ways of justification are non-biblical. Moreover, the roots of Sunday worship are clearly from paganism, and not from the Bible.

Pagan Sunday worship, By their own admission, was also introduced from paganism, and this is confirmed by standard dictionary definitions.

The church took the pagan philosophy, and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the pagan Sunday, and made it the Christian Sunday. There is in truth something royal, something kingly about the sun, making in a fit emblem of Jesus, the son of justice. Hence the church in these countries would seem to have said, “keep the old pagan name. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.’ And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus.

Sunday – so called because this day was anciently dedicated to the sun, or to its worship. The first day of the week.

Figure 3. Record of the origin of the Sunday worship in the book “Truth Matters”⁹⁾.

2) Gnostics: Depreciation of Sabbath to Justify Their Own View

At that time, there was a mixed religion: Gnosticism.

The gnostics separated the god of the Old Testament and that of the New Testament; they considered the god of the Old Testament as an evil god who created the heavens and the earth, the materialistic world, and Jesus as a good saviour.

They insisted that the way to be saved is not by practising the law of the Old Testament, but by faith.

The system was eclectic and its materials were drawn from many quarters such as the mythologies of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and India, and from the philosophies and theosophies of these lands.

Figure 4. Christianity went through a lot of influence from other cultures and philosophies during the history, “Religion in Social Conflict” ¹⁰⁾

One famous Gnostic was Marcion of Sinope (A.D. 85-160). He regarded the Sabbath day as an abolished law and cursed it.

Presumably, Marcion wanted in this way to discredit the Sabbath, which was an image of the completion of creation. For him, creation was the work of the God of the OT who was evil.

Figure 5. Marcion had a very different belief on the Old Testament and the Sabbath, as seen in the book “Ecclesiasticus II: Orthodox Icons, Saints, Feasts and Prayer” ¹¹⁾.

Marcion actively insisted that they should celebrate a festival on “Sunday,” instead of the “Sabbath day,” since Jesus, the good Savior, was resurrected on Sunday.

3) Sunday Accepted as an Exit Out of Misery

The church which accepted Sunday was the church in Rome. They encouraged people to keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath.

The transformation of the Sabbath from a day of feasting, joy, and religious celebrations to a day of fasting, mourning, and no religious assembly represents concrete measures taken by the Church of Rome to force Christians away form the veneration of the Sabbath. On the other hand, this practice enhanced Sunday, a day of rejoicing and feasting when the Sabbath fast was over.

Figure 6. Record of how Sabbath was forcefully changed to Sunday worship in the book “The Sabbath in Scripture and History”¹²⁾.

The Christians were sad and hungry on the Sabbath day, but Sunday was like a day of festivals. Sunday seemed like an exit for the Christians who had been suffering from long persecutions. They began to think that it was not necessary to insist only on keeping the Sabbath and to believe God in such a difficult way.

4) Blurring of Barriers Between Christians and Sun-god Worshipers

As more and more kept Sunday, both Christians and sun-god worshipers inclusive; the barrier between the two gradually broke down. Some worshipers of the sun converted to Christianity but still visited shrines for the sun-god and some Christians prayed towards the sun.

…Tertullian says that many pagans imagined the Christions worshipped the sun because they met on Sundays and prayed towards the East.

Figure 7. Evidence of inclusion between Christianity and sun-god worship from the book “The Early Church”¹³⁾.

The Christians forgot their identity, whether they believed in God or worshipped the sun god. This was the result of losing the Sabbath.

Many converts to Christianity thought Jesus was just one of the many gods of the Roman empire, and some regarded Jesus as the sun god. Thus, we started seeing circles being drawn around Jesus and the apostles.

The Sabbath Day Disappeared

In A.D. 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan to establish religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire. He even proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of Rome. What was the reason?

During the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (A.D. 312), Constantine and Maxentius were vying for the position of the emperor of Rome. Despite the military strength of Constantine being very weak, he won a great victory. The secret was “Christianity”.

According to legend, while Constantine was asleep, God appeared in his dream and told him to draw a sign, PX [Chi Rho], on the shields of his soldiers, promising him not to kill any soldier with the sign and to kill soldiers without the sign. At that time, many soldiers amongst his troops were Christians. It was likely that they won due to a raise in their morale due to the legend¹⁴⁾.

After Constantine became emperor, he issued the Edict of Milan the following year, built churches, and exempted priests from taxes. Despite these pro-Christianity measures, it was hard to say that he had complete faith.

It was only as a superstitious soldier that he has embraced Christianity. At that moment he was ready to welcome the assistance of any tutelar divinity in his struggles for universal emprire.

Figure 8. Evidence suggesting the intention of Constantine embracing Christianity, from the “Miller’s Church History”¹⁵⁾.

He witnessed the power of Christians in the battle and saw the possibility of uniting Rome through Christianity. Though he wanted to rule over Rome by taking advantage of Christianity, he could not ignore the pagans. He needed a policy which could embrace both religions, and he found his answer in “Sunday”.

First, he proclaimed it as the day to worship the sun so sun-worshippers could not reject to that. The Christians were just happy for the fact that they could gather together to worship.

Constantine had great ambitions since he was young. To achieve power, he even stooped to various cruel means. For example, he accused his son Crispus and had him seized and put to death, let his wife die in an overheated bath, had his sister’s son flogged to death and her husband choked to death¹⁷⁾. That was why most historians say he did not authorize Christianity with a pure heart.

Constantine also continued attending sacrifices of the sun god and carrying out duties as priest of sun god until he died. One title he had was “Pontifex Maximus”.

Afterwards, the church became secularized and controlled by the Roman emperor according to his will.

Some people say that it is meaningless to nitpick the difference between Sunday and Sabbath, but the difference between the two is not just simply a day. Sunday is made by men and has nothing to do with salvation. Sabbath, on the other hand, contains God’s bountiful blessings.

[Conference]

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