Growing up in a Sabbathkeeping church, naturally I heard many sermons about why the Sabbath is to be observed by Christians.
To me, one of the arguments that boosted my confidence in the rightness of our practice was that the apostles observed the Sabbath.
Luke, who penned the book of Acts, records several occasions when the apostles frequented the synagogues on the Sabbath day — after Jesus ascended into heaven.
If the Old Covenant people of God, Israel, kept the Sabbath; and if Jesus, our perfect example, kept the Sabbath; and if the New Covenant people of God, the Church, kept the Sabbath, then who are we to say the Sabbath is not a Christian obligation?
Facts from Acts
It's true that the Acts of the Apostles records instances of Sabbath observance.
In fact, the Bibles in my childhood home were well marked, notably in the book of Acts, where every mention of the Sabbath was meticulously underlined and colored in red pencil. One could flip through the pages and say, “Of course the apostolic Church kept the Sabbath! Look at all the red!”
All references to the Sabbath in this Bible are marked in red — like a stop sign, to signify the Sabbath rest. If people would just read the red, then wouldn't they have to believe that the early New Testament Church kept the Sabbath — and admit it should be observed today?
I thought it was an air-tight argument. If anyone disagreed with the Christian obligation of Saturday Sabbath observance, then they just didn't believe the Bible. They weren't yet “called” to understand this truth, which we associated with “the Truth.”
My understanding of Sabbath observance, however, changed after a more careful, open-minded reading of the Bible.
Yes, the Acts of the Apostles gives authoritative witness to Saturday Sabbath observance at the very beginning of the Church, but let's notice what many overlook.
For your convenience, the passages under discussion are listed below.
The “Sabbath verses”
🛑 Acts 13:13-14:
Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
🛑 Acts 13:42,44:
As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ...The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
🛑 Acts 15:21:
For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.
🛑 Acts 16:13:
And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
🛑 Acts 17:1-3:
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
🛑 Acts 18:4:
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
Leading questions
A well-versed Sabbathkeeping Christian trying to persuade an average Sundaykeeping churchgoer can dominate him with these passages, accompanied by leading questions that are commonly asked:
- On which day did Paul and his companions come to the synagogue?
- On which day did the people want them to return? And who was it that came back the next Sabbath — only the Jews? Or was it “the whole city,” including Gentiles? Why didn't Paul say, “Hey, Gentiles, no need to wait a whole week. Just come back tomorrow — on Sunday, the Lord's Day”?
- In every city, on which day each week was the Law read?
- On which day did Paul go to the riverside looking for a place of prayer?
- On which day was it Paul's custom to reason from the Scriptures?
The obviously true answer to these question is: the Sabbath, or Saturday.
But that doesn't prove what our interlocutor thinks it proves.
Nevertheless, such an encounter can frustrate a person of simple faith, leaving him short of a good explanation. Most are not prepared to counter such non-traditional views.
This is not unlike the average Christian who might feel overwhelmed or tongue-tied by an articulate Jehovah's Witness citing Bible verses in a well-rehearsed presentation “proving” Jesus is not God.
The response
When faced with the claim that New Testament examples of Sabbathkeeping mean we, too, should be keeping Sabbath, remember these two hot-knife facts that cut through the soft butter of that argument:
🔪 #1: There is not one example in all the Bible of any established Christian church meeting together in observance of the Sabbath.
🔪 #2: Without exception, every time Sabbath meetings are mentioned in the book of Acts, it is in the context of evangelization — preaching the gospel of Jesus to the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles who associated with them.
I can't emphasize Fact 1 enough. It's a shocker to Christian Sabbathkeepers. They usually can't get beyond it, because they refuse to believe it. “What about all those red verses in Acts?” they might ask.
Fact 2 answers their question. While it's easy to understand intellectually, it's very hard to accept psychologically for the one who has defended Sabbathkeeping for years.
Go back and review the scriptures cited above. I trust you to dig deeper and see the truth for yourself in context:
Paul and his companions went on missionary journeys to preach the gospel, going first to the Jews. Where better to start spreading the gospel at that time than the synagogues — to explain how Jesus was Israel's Messiah, how he was the fulfillment of their entire religion?
And what better day than the Sabbath, when the synagogues were full of people (Jews and God-fearing Gentiles) who wanted to hear the Scriptures — those who deserved to understand them in light of the resurrected Christ?
They were following the precedent Jesus set in his instructions to the apostles when he first commissioned them to preach:
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 10:5-7)
In his epistles, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of reaching the Jews with the gospel. Naturally they would be first, and then the gospel would advance to the rest of the world. It's how the early Church began.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
This is consistent with how even Jesus chose to reveal himself:
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.... (John 1:11-12)
“Another day”
When I came to understand these simple facts that I had overlooked for years — namely, that the Jews were evangelized by the first Christians at the synagogues on the Sabbath day, and that there is no biblical example of established Christian churches meeting together for the Sabbath — I was surprised.
But soon I was surprised again. I was surprised by Sunday.
Here, I share What I Didn't Know About Sunday.
The COG Catholic currently blogs at www.cogcatholic.org.
88 comments:
People Reasoning Around
Some people seem to think that it is very displeasing to God whenever anyone tries to obey His commandments, but that it is very pleasing to God whenever anyone deliberately does the exact opposite of whatever He commanded.
Strange thinking.
"It's true that the Acts of the Apostles records instances of SABBATH OBSERVANCE. ........There is not one example in all the Bible of any established Christian church meeting together in OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Wow. Are you a lawyer?
Add to these passages the ones that say the church met on the FIRST day of the week, which might have been Saturday evening where they could enjoy a pot luck supper together. Then you have the passages from Paul to not fuss over which day you meet or be judged by those who say the Sabbath and holy days are still in effect. The NT church met on the first day of the week, but that, I believe is a description, not a prescription. Some people could meet on Tuesday or Thursday, if they needed to.
Well yeah, if you want to go talk to a bunch of Jews, where do you go? To temple on a Saturday.
Interesting, but really doesn't say very much at all.
Of course you can argue that they were only going to the synagogues to hunt out a few Jews, but that in itself is no proof they were keeping a different day, you need far more than that.
So I read your linked article 'What I didn't know about Sunday', and what do we find there? Eight times 'the first day of the week' is mentioned - sounds promising, until you look at the details!
Six of the eight are from the four gospels describing what happened at the resurrection of Jesus.
Well of course that is going to be on the first day of the week - why? Because Jesus is setting up a new day to worship? Of course not - its because Jesus was fulfilling the real meaning of the wave sheaf offering, which occurred on the first day of the week following the weekly Sabbath in Unleavened Bread.
In the Old Testament the physical wave sheaf offering every year was on the Sunday morning. Christ was the fulfilment, the real wave sheaf offering. He was the first of the first fruits, being presented to God the Father, as in the Old Testament shadow, on the Sunday morning.
The other two verses show very little. In Acts 20 Paul planned to be in Troas for seven days, and is leaving on the second day of the week, so quite understandably the people met up with him on the first day of the week, seeing he was departing the next day. The meeting went on into the evening right into the night (so this was now the second day of the week, seeing sunset had long past!).
Breaking the bread is pretty clearly a meal - they had been there for hours, and it goes on to say they talked a long while after the meal, until the break of day. So they talked through to daylight Monday morning, and Paul departed.
The whole thing shows this was a rather special time, having Paul there, and they kept him talking right through till he was leaving. So yes, a Sunday, but this was 'special circumstances', they would probably never see Paul again.
The final verse, the collection at Corinth is another pointer to the seventh day. They were planning to collect for the members in Jerusalem. Paul is saying to accumulate the individual collections on a weekly basis until he comes, and not just do a big collection when he arrives. The implication is they put money aside every week individually, until he arrives. It would seem he is saying to do this on the first day of the week to avoid having to deal with money on the seventh day Sabbath
The International Standard Version puts it:-
'After the Sabbath ends, each of you should set aside and save something from your surplus in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I arrive.'
In effect Paul is saying to do this on a regular basis until he can get there, but do it after the Sabbath has ended.
Good post! We must also recognize that Christ's disciples were originally ALL Jewish - observant Jews, and that the very earliest Christians continued to go to the Temple and local synagogues. In other words, the "mother" Church of Christianity (Jerusalem) was very Jewish in background and practice. We should also note, however, that within fifteen years of the Church's founding, the Gentile portion of the Church began to overtake that original small homogeneous group in Judea. Moreover, once again, I don't believe that it was chance/happenstance that the Romans destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD (Jesus had predicted it) - this effectively marked the end of Sabbath and festival observance among Christians (and many other Jewish folks in the area).
The church (ekklesia) at Antioch, called Christians, assembling a whole year with Saul and Barnabas, met on the sabbath - Acts 11:26; 13:14.
Re: Response #1 - Outside of Pentecost in Acts 2 and Acts 20 noted by Questerek, there's also no firm example "in all the Bible of any established Christian church meeting together" to observe Sunday. So it's essentially an argument from Scriptural silence.
First there's "Is the mystery of the ages to obey the law of Moses" by Miller Jones and now we have this next article by COG Catholic attacking Sabbath keeping. Am I surprised? Well, Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles are 3 to 4 weeks away, so I thought these would be closer to the holy day dates. Envious non-successful Christians are always stirred up as the holy days approach.
Ah yes, that tired and worn-out nonsense that Satan is angry that the church is keeping the holy days and is stirred up to persecute us. Baloney.
It's kind of funny that you say that, Anon 11:00:48. It's literally on COG schedules>/i> to produce TV shows, podcasts, and articles in the spring and winter months to attack Easter and Christmas (the celebration of the Resurrection and the Incarnation -- without which there is no Christianity). That's what sounds satanic to me.
Why attack Saturday Sabbath keepers? Why does it matter to you so much? Is this all to do with Catholicism?
Just more Catholic twisting and sleight of hand. Is there a passage anywhere in the bible that says the Church met on Sunday for worship services?
Questeruk debunked your assertions.
I can remember growing up the pastor would occasionally say "early christians began meeting on the first day of the week" in his sermon. Actually, once they abandoned God's instructions they ceased to be christians and went off on their own way.
"“It should be clear that sending migrants away, denying migrants the capacity to work, to not welcome migrants, it is a sin. It is grave,” Francis said, according to CBS."
Says the man with a massive wall around his country.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/09/pope-francis-weighs-trump-harris-race-damning-words/
The RCC is evil. It misleads people, sits on enormous wealth while people they claim to care about are starving, and twists and perverts the gospel.
Excellent comment Questeruk 438:07.
It is also evident to me that Acts 20:6-11 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 are one time events centered around the travels and itinerary of the Apostle Paul. They are NOT examples of Christian practices carried forward in perpetuity!
Anon 3:28:02:
I don't consider sharing my experiences as "attacking" Sabbathkeepers.
I trust that many (though certainly not all) COG orgs and individuals are not "attacking" Sundaykeepers, but are simply trying to show what they believe Scriptures are saying. The COGWA preacher I mentioned said you can't be a Christian and not keep the Sabbath -- I take him to be sincere about his belief. I, too, am sincere about mine. This is called dialogue.
Earlier this year I was accused of attacking and "disrespecting" COGers. Since that time, I've been collecting notes of COG sermons and articles that explicitly attack and disrespect Catholics (in particular -- along with mainstream Protestants). That double standard doesn't seem to bother COGers; they just don't like when their own views are challenged. A one-way street. Those kinds of COGers sound like political liberals who accuse everyone who disagrees with them as being "haters."
I'm trying to be fair and share my experiences without animosity, just like Christians should share their faith with Jews or Muslims or atheists without "attacking" them.
Difinitive Scriptures: Collossians 14: 16-17 :'16 16 Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. ALSO Romans 14:5
Romans 14:5 5 One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
Good stuff, Darren. I've known you and your family my whole life. Can personally vouch for your backstory. Glad you're free from that.
Usually just one or two scriptures answer these type of discussions. e.g the Sabbath was made FOR man - and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). And Christ is Lord of the Sabbath and we should 'Call the Sabbath a delight'' (Isaiah 58:13). If it was given to the human race as a 'delight' and a rest day in the past - do we not today need even more of a rest from this crazy world? Tell me if you think my reasoning is wrong.
Let me echo Miller Jones. He contributed a very perceptive comment but it does not seem to have created even a small speed bump – a pause for consideration - in the ongoing discussion.
What if the New Testament was packed with examples of the early Christian church meeting and worshipping on the Sabbath? What if there 387 such clear occurrences? And what if there were no occurrences of the early Christian church observing any other day? Would that make the Armstrongist view of the Sabbath correct? No, it would not.
There is nothing wrong with observing Sabbath. The early Christian Jews in Jerusalem no doubt observed the Sabbath. They probably even went to the Temple for Sabbath services. Culturally, they were accustomed to resting on the Sabbath, like the people of Espana have a siesta in the afternoon.
Simple Sabbath observance is not what Armstrongism asserts. It asserts that you must keep the entire Law of Moses (according to Hoeh and Meredith, including the statutes and judgments) because it is written on your heart under the New Testament and is a requirement for salvation and it just happens to include the seventh day Sabbath. If your teenaged daughter has acne, when she approaches other people, she must shout “Unclean!” This is one of the Laws of Moses and it is at parity with the Sabbath. Transgression of it means the loss of salvation.
Do you begin to get a clue?
The Christian understanding is that you can keep the Sabbath as much as you want, like the Jerusalem church, you just cannot make it a requirement for salvation. Jesus in your life is the only requirement for salvation. Those of you who are justified (an essential pre-condition for salvation)by the works of the Law of Moses, whether it is circumcision or the Sabbath or whatever, are severed from Christ (not a member of the Ekklesia) and have fallen from grace (do not have salvation) according to Paul in Galatians .
Scout
It probably is a delight if it is not adminstrated and enforced by cruel authoritarian assholes. The problem is, most of us will never know, because our minds have already been poisoned by them. It's difficult to recover from that type of damage.
I know Jewish people from the Chabad movement for whom Shabbos is the high point of the entire week. There have been times when I have wished that I could have their attitudes.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Questeruk --
You wrote:
...Jesus was fulfilling the real meaning of the wave sheaf
offering, which occurred on the first day of the week following the
weekly Sabbath in Unleavened Bread.
Yes! A beautiful example of Jesus fulfilling the Law!
You wrote:
In Acts 20 Paul planned to be in Troas for seven days, and is leaving on the second day of the week, so quite understandably the people met up with him on the first day of the week, seeing he was departing the next day. The meeting went on into the evening right into the night (so this was now the second day of the week, seeing sunset had long past!).
So you're saying it was not a coincidence, but that it was planned to be on the "first day of the week." Agreed.
You wrote:
Breaking the bread is pretty clearly a meal - they had been there for hours, and it goes on to say they talked a long while after the meal, until the break of day.
Yes, they talked a long time. But what makes "breaking the bread" pretty clearly a common meal?
Did they really get that hungry at night and need to eat right after a resurrection miracle? Is it a coincidence that this resurrection (of Eutychus) is also tied to the "first day of the week," and also involves the breaking of bread -- like Jesus did on the "first day of the week" when he made himself known to the men on the road to Emmaus in the "breaking of the bread"?
Where else does Luke use that term to mean a regular ol' meal?
You wrote:
The final verse, the collection at Corinth is another pointer to the seventh day. They were planning to collect for the members in Jerusalem. Paul is saying to accumulate the individual collections on a weekly basis until he comes, and not just do a big collection when he arrives. The implication is they put money aside
every week individually, until he arrives. It would seem he is saying to do this on the first day of the week to avoid having to deal with money on the seventh day Sabbath.
If that's the case, then why would Paul tell them when to collect. Why would it matter whether it's the "first day of the week" or a Tuesday or a Thursday -- as long as it wasn't on the Sabbath?
Besides -- now think about this -- why would anyone discourage taking up a charitable collection of money on the Sabbath? Is that worse to do than pulling a sheep out of the ditch? "So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath," said Jesus (Matthew 12:12). Collections for needy brethren are good. (It's nothing at all like the business of greedy money changers in the Temple!)
And isn't taking offerings to fund COG budgets the common practice on annual Sabbath days? It would be hypocritical for a COG organization to make your argument.
Yes indeed. Christ fulfilled the law to the letter and was the wave sheaf offering on Sunday 5th of April 33 AD. Many try to dismiss the Sabbath as the day of rest but their arguments are weak. God created a specific day to rest and commanded mankind to followsuit but you will always find people who attempt to explain away what God established as law.
You have 'other writings' written over the years openly calling Saturday Sabbath keepers as Satanist's.
Have you forgotten about that one?
So Scout, what you are saying is, if you had a communicable disease and people came around you, you wouldn't warn them to stay away? The context you put some things in is ridiculous.
As far as transgression and sin relate to salvation, I'm assuming even Darren would attest that "sola fide" is not the complete answer, but obeying Jesus is also an important part, because there are things that can keep you out of the Kingdom, that salvation can be lost if one continues in mortal sin and refuses to repent.
Does Darren believe the sacraments are a requirement for salvation? It would be interesting to get an answer.
Sabbath keeping is more than a rest day and a delight. It's a means of staying close to God and His way. For many baby animals, not being physically close to their parents is a death sentence. Likewise without the benefits of Sabbath keeping, Christians eventually go from obeying God rather than man to obeying man rather than God. Which is the mark of the beast.
No Sabbath keeping equals no eternal life.
The article claims that New Testament Christians did not observe the Sabbath and that Sunday worship became the norm. However, this overlooks key biblical evidence. Jesus Himself observed the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), and His followers continued this practice (Acts 17:2). The shift to Sunday worship only emerged centuries later due to Roman influence. The Sabbath, instituted at creation (Genesis 2:2-3), is a command for all of humanity, not just Israel, and reflects God’s ongoing desire for His people to rest and worship.
1. **Sabbath Observance in the New Testament**: While the article claims that early Christian churches did not observe the Sabbath, this is a misinterpretation. Jesus clearly upheld the Sabbath by teaching in synagogues on that day, and the apostles continued this practice (e.g., Acts 17:2). The notion that the Sabbath was abolished or replaced by Sunday worship lacks direct New Testament evidence.
2. **Theological Importance**: The Sabbath is a fundamental part of God's design for creation. In Genesis 2:2-3, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This rest was not just a Jewish custom but a universal command for all humanity. Jesus' statement that "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) indicates its broader, enduring relevance.
3. **Historical Changes**: The shift to Sunday worship reflects a later historical development. Roman influence, especially under Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, led to the institutionalization of Sunday worship as a compromise with pagan practices. However, this was a departure from the original practice of Sabbath-keeping seen in the New Testament and early Christian communities.
4. **Spiritual Reflection**: Observing the Sabbath remains a vital spiritual practice for Christians today. It is an opportunity to align with God's rhythm of work and rest, honoring His creation and reflecting on His deliverance. By keeping the Sabbath, believers participate in God's sanctification process, experiencing a foretaste of eternal rest in His kingdom.
In conclusion, the Sabbath is a biblically mandated practice that goes beyond any single covenant, standing as a testament to God’s desire for rest and relationship with His people. It should not be dismissed as obsolete or replaced by traditions that arose later in Christian history. Instead, it serves as a profound and necessary rhythm for worship and spiritual growth.
The law of Moses, which includes the sabbath, is a ministry that brings death, not life. Read II Cor. 3:5-18. The letter, (the law of Moses) brings death, not life. It's the new covenant that gives eternal life, not the old.
The big fat lie: "the Acts of the Apostles gives authoritative witness to Saturday Sabbath observance at the very beginning of the Church". Nowhere in scripture are the named days mentioned, only numbered. Sabbath being intermission, to cease, to rest. No one is even working 6 days and resting one, everyone working 5 and resting two on the weak end. Scripturally, there is only one weekend in a month at the end 29/1 (1/8/15/22/29/1). As David said, Tomorrow is the Sabbath 29, Let me go and hide till the third day, That was two days of rest 29/1 on the third he was free to do as pleased. 29/1/2 =3 d
How exactly is Saturday a sign between us and him?
Is saturn visible above you? Does it give you phases to teach you to count your days?
BP8 wrote, "So Scout, what you are saying is, if you had a communicable disease and people came around you, you wouldn't warn them to stay away? "
This is not what the Law of Moses said. You are interpreting it and giving it different meaning. The answer is Yes, I would warn someone of a communicable disease.
What the Law of Moses says is that if you have any blemish on your skin (It is unknown what is being referred to. It is not leprosy.) then you need to yell "Unclean!" on the approach to other people. This is what is written on stone, paper and on your heart. If you claim to keep the Law of Moses, then you will do exactly as it says. Your interpretation changed this law to make it something different from what the Law of Moses says.
We might ask, "If you believe in keeping the Law of Moses, do you respect the Law of Moses enough not to alter it? Armstrongists fail this test.
Scout
Ex 23 lists 3 festivals (Hebrew chag); Lev 23 lists fixed times (Hebrew moed):
Nisan 14-20, a festival, 14 and 20 convocations, feasts commanded 14,15,20
Pentecost, a festival, a Sunday, 50th day inclusive from Sunday after Nisan 14
Tishri 15-21, a festival, 15 a sabbathon
(All times are God's times, not only Jewish times)
Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, 7th day sabbath
Tishri 1, a sabbathon, a memorial of noise with or without trumpets (not specified)
Tishri 10, a sabbath, no work
Tishri 22, a sabbathon, no servile work
Not all 'armstrongisim' as you call sabbath keeping Christians is the same.
Scout at 1159 says,
"If you claim to keep the law of Moses, then you will do exactly what it says, without altering it".
So according to this reasoning, when Paul was appealing to the Corinthians (ch.9) for assistance, quoting from the law of Moses and using it as his authority, and altering the meaning to suit his own need, he was wrong for doing so?
I think we all know the answer!
Is becoming a practicing Catholic the answer to any hurt or suffering that's occurred from being in WCG?
I am the only non Catholic member of one side of my family. I've been in more Catholic churches over the years for family Weddings, funerals and communions than I can remember. I've lit candles and sat on the pews since a small child. Are Catholics happy with their lot? Do real Catholics even like the current Pope and the previous Pope? How about the rest of the secret of Fatima being released? Have you been to that area?
Is turning from Saturday Sabbath keeping to Catholic Sunday keeping the answer? Is it?
Anonymous at Sunday, September 15, 2024 at 10:40:23 AM PDT
To be precise, COG Catholic has correctly pointed out that early Christians used the Sabbath to witness to others about Jesus. You are also incorrect in your assertion that Sunday observance began centuries later. This is a false historical narrative put forward by Sabbath-keeping Christians, and it is NOT consistent with the best historical evidence available to us. You are, however, correct in your assertion that the Sabbath harkens back to the creation narrative in Genesis, and that the concept of a Sabbath-rest for all of humankind was part of the original design - just NOT in the way that you have imagined it.
The book of Exodus makes very clear that the Israelites did NOT have any knowledge of the weekly Sabbath prior to the events recorded in that book. The sixteenth chapter of that book makes plain that God used the collection of manna (the bread from heaven) to introduce the Sabbath to them. Later, it was incorporated into the terms of God's covenant with THEM (Exodus 20, 31:13-17, Deuteronomy 5).
In the New Testament, we learn that the Sabbath (like all of the provisions of Torah) pointed to Jesus of Nazareth - that he was the Sabbath-rest made for all of humankind. Jesus taught that the Israelites had abused the Sabbath and failed to comprehend its true significance. He taught that it was within God's will to do "his" work on that day (loving, serving, and healing others). Jesus said: "Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, DBY) Finally, in the epistle to the HEBREWS, we read: "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his." (Hebrews 4:8-10)
Historically, Sabbath observance among Christians ended in the First Century and did NOT reemerge until much later (during the Protestant Reformation). The first organized effort to observe the Seventh Day by Christians occurred over 1,500 years later among a group of Baptists in England during the late 16th Century and early 17th Century (Now known as Seventh Day Baptists). What happened in the Fourth Century was a recognition of the then current situation within the Roman Empire. Constantine merely formalized what had become the practice of most of his subjects (both Christian and pagan) - that is worship on Sunday. For Christians, their attachment to this particular day of the calendar arose from their celebration of Christ's resurrection, and their desire to distinguish themselves from their Jewish brethren. As I already mentioned, we know that Sabbath and Festival observance had completely disappeared among Christians by the close of the First Century (as the writings of Ignatius and Justin Martyr make clear).
Read Romans 7. And, a covenant is an agreement about law, not the law itself.
BP8 2:24 wrote, “So according to this reasoning, when Paul was appealing to the Corinthians (ch.9) for assistance, quoting from the law of Moses and using it as his authority, and altering the meaning to suit his own need, he was wrong for doing so?”
What you have cited about Paul supports the New Testament view of the Law of Moses – it has ethical value but the letter is obsolete. (Paul famously states that "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.") So, Paul took the liberty to use the spiritual meaning of this law about muzzling the ox. But this is what Herman Hoeh says about changing the Law:
“God will not alter his spiritual laws. The spiritual laws describe the very character of God … “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today, and for ever” … the spiritual laws could not change.” (This includes the Decalogue, statutes, judgements and ordinances – defined within this same article.)
Rod Meredith wrote:
“Remember, (Mat. 5:17-20) that even the least commandment is still very much in force!”
So, the liberty Paul took as a Christian does not exist in your world as an Armstrongist. (A suggestion. If you see a principle in the Bible and it does not match your Armstrongist theology, then you have a problem to resolve.)
Scout
Note: On the other hand, I believe the Armstrongist ministry reserves the right to loosen and bind any divine mandate. This principle renders the entire Law of Moses as moot. GTA advanced the doctrine that loosing and binding only applied in those areas where the Bible had not spoken. I believe HWA denounced his sons view on this. As I recall it had to do with the fact that GTA did not specifically say that loosing and binding decisions had to pass though HWA. I don't know where the doctrine stands now within the divergent Armstrongist denominations.
Some excellent and informative comments made on the topic in hand.
As someone who observes the 7th day as the Sabbath I would like to acknowledge also the many outstanding Christians down through the ages who have made remarkable contributions for the betterment of society, be it in medicine and health, the arts, science, politics , welfare etc etc who kept Sunday as their day of worship and were motivated by their faith in Jesus to improve the lot of their fellow mankind. Who never heard of HWA or the cog movement. We always need to tread lightly with these subjects, as to which day is the day. For there are weightier matters to always consider.
After rereading my last comment, I realized that my language at the end was a bit intemperate. It is inaccurate to state that Sabbath and festival observance had COMPLETELY disappeared among Christians by the close of the First Century. It is more precise to say that it had almost disappeared by the close of the First Century.
Loosing and binding can only apply to details such as holy day dates. You can't have members and groups rolling up at different dates. Contrary to what "date dissidents" claim, the topic is complex and debatable. So a church body, after exercising its duty of care, can set firm dates which God will bind in heaven.
Mark 2:27: The Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath by plucking heads of grain. When Jesus concluded his reply with, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath." This means we were not made for Sabbathkeeping, but the Sabbath was for our benefit. So simply plucking some heads of grain when hungry was nothing over which to freak out. Also, Jesus' authority is greater than that of the Sabbath anyway -- he is its Lord -- he is not in subjection to a day he himself created.
Isaiah 58:13: The prophet exhorted Israel to be righteous and the observe the Sabbath as God commanded them. It's a leap to say he gave the Saturday Sabbath "to the human race." Through the apostles and the Body of Christ, Christians still have a day for rest, one in which we delight. It's the "first day of the week."
Anon 10:40:23:
I addressed most of these points in the post. But about your point #3: Are you saying Sunday was not observed by Christians before Constantine in the fourth century? If so, why do you believe that?
See, for example, what Ignatius -- the martyred bishop of Antioch -- wrote in A.D. 110:
"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?" (Chapter 8 of his epistle to the Magnesians).
BP8,
You are correct that, as a Catholic, I do not believe in "sola fide," and I believe we must obey Jesus. Sins can be mortal, and if we don't repent of them, they cause us to lose salvation.
Are sacraments required for salvation? The short answer is yes, beginning with baptism. This does not mean God cannot save us apart from the sacraments, but they are the ordinary means of salvation that we can bank on.
So while the thief on the cross presumably never received water baptism, that doesn't mean Jesus was unable to save him; but neither does it make water baptism optional for us. If Jesus offers us salvation through baptism, and we reject baptism, then we reject salvation.
From MYSTERY OF THE AGES by Herbert W. Armstrong (copyright 1985), pages 284-285:
In about A.D. 365 the Catholic Council of Laodicea wrote in one of its most famous canons: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather, honouring the Lord's Day. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.” This was a virtual sentence to torture and/or death. The false church did not herself put true believers to death, but caused them to be put to death (Rev. 13:15). This decree of A.D. 365 definitely shows that there were true Christians observing the Sabbath.
RSK said “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”
Then stop doing it, RSK.
The Wrong Sabbath Day in the Americas
Unless the earth is flat, 2-dimensional, observance of a seventh-day Sabbath requires that somewhere on the globe there be an International Dateline, which indicates the time when a new day starts. Presently, the dateline is in the Pacific Ocean. But, where would it have been on the first day of Creation?
Here’s a plain fact. To observe a Seventh Day Sabbath, on the dates and in the required manner of Sabbatarian Churches in the Americas, the earth must be flat, not a sphere.
After the Sabbath was created, has anyone or any culture or any religion had the authority to change it? Or, since its creation has the Seventh-Day Sabbath remained in force across the entire world in continual, uninterrupted weekly (exact seven-day) sequences?
Clearly, if the Sabbath Day continued without change or interruption, unchanged by any humans, from its creation, then in 1491 and the years before, the Sabbath would have originated and continued with humans when they first came from Asia into the New World, the Americas.
But, in 1492 Columbus and his men brought to the New World the weekly sequence of days being ancestrally observed in the Old World, since the Creation and the Garden of Eden.
Likewise, Sabbath keepers from Europe have always brought with them and observed the weekly Sabbaths in uninterrupted sequence from Europe. Hence, there is a major Sabbath-keeping conflict. The world isn’t flat. The Sabbath was in the Americas before Europeans were.
If the Sabbath, since its origin with humans in the Garden of Eden, continued with humans as they dispersed across the entire World without change or interruption, clearly, Biblically, the International Dateline must then be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; not the Pacific Ocean.
Before 1492, humans living in the Americas, for thousands of years, for Biblical accuracy would have been obligated to keep or observe each week the Sabbath in continuous, exact seven-day intervals their ancestors would have carried with them when they migrated from Asia to the Americas.
So, historically and scripturally, the Biblical International Dateline must be in the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific. Consequently, each week’s Sabbath in the New World begins authentically at sundown on each present week’s Thursday evening; not at sundown on Friday evening.
Since 1492, Europeans trying to keep the Sabbath in the New World have utterly disregarded the Biblical International Dateline, which clearly must be in the Atlantic. For all of these centuries American Sabbath-keepers have utterly failed; have not actually kept the geographically-true Sabbath in the Americas. They’ve been off by a day; a day late — as though the world were flat and had no International Dateline.
If Sabbath-keeping is a prerequisite and condition for salvation, thousands of American Sabbath-keepers have gone to their graves without salvation. In the New World, a day late each week. The world isn’t flat. It requires an International Dateline, which, historically and scripturally must be in the Atlantic, not the Pacific. Authentically, today in the Americas, each weekly Sabbath begins at sundown each Thursday. It’s been that way since the first humans came from the Old World to the New World, long before 1492. Merely for convenience, no one can change that historical fact or obligation.
Satan has deceived much of mankind, so there are sincere Christians who believe that Sunday is the Sabbath day. God in His mercy will not hold this against them. However if such a person is made aware that the Sabbath is on Saturday, they have to choose the right day. Otherwise they are obeying man rather than God, which is the mark of the beast.
What were the Catholics to do? The sabbaths had already been done-away (Colossians 2:16-17), so why not choose the common day of rest in the Roman empire which also fulfills the one day of seven principal. This worked fine 1700 years until the 7th day Baptists and egg-white objected.
I grew up with the WCG weekly disparaging far better Christians (e.g. those in my extended family) who didn't attend on Saturday while those that did were regularly drinking like fish later that evening.
Informing Versus Attacking
The Worldwide Church of God taught the Plain Truth about Sunday, X-mass, Easter, Halloween, etc. It would often do this at appropriate times. This was not “attacking” but rather merely informing people.
The Roman Catholic church, in contrast, taught lies about the Sabbath, Annual Holy Days, etc. It would cause the Roman Empire to actually physically attack, torture, and kill people for observing the Sabbath and not observing Sunday. This seems to be satanic.
There is a BIG difference between informing people of biblical truth and physically attacking and killing people for not going along with unbiblical, man-made, pagan-based, demon-inspired customs like Sunday-keeping.
Which shows that the True Church was still around, holding fast to the truth once delivered by the Apostles.
Why would the Sabbath be done away with if everyone was then going to want/need another weekly day to meet on anyway?
Why switch over from the biblical Sabbath to the pagan Sunday?
Anonymous 6:01
HWA's citation of the Council of Laodicea is hardly evidence of anything. All we know is that it is directed towards Christians who rested on the Sabbath. Further, they were Judaizers.
This could be a description of any number of different heretical sects. For instance, the Gnostics attempted to keep the Law of Moses. One cannot just leap from the Council of Laodicea to the concl/ausion that true Christians keep the Sabbath. Much research has to be done to establish this.
Scout
God might have implemented the Sabbath with the creation of the angels. God resting on the seventh day of creation and making it holy might have been a reaffirmation of the date.
Was it the common day of rest throughout the Roman Empire?
Now see, that actually makes a degree of sense - HWA's "The Resurrection was not on Sunday" fury always struck me as odd in one quarter... having such a massive event as the resurrection on the Sabbath just seemed off to me somehow. It doesn't seem like the most restful activity.
Now granted, depending on how you frame it, maybe someone has an aphorism that makes it make sense to them, I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much into the notion. It just didn't seem to fit the story.
So if I delve into total speculation here... is it possible that as the religion spread through the Gentiles, the uniquely Jewish meaning of the wavesheaf offering was lost on them entirely?
Sure 6:10 - one of these days you'll say something useful, but I'm not holding my breath.
" It would cause the Roman Empire to actually physically attack, torture, and kill people for observing the Sabbath and not observing Sunday."
Not being a major student of Roman history, when exactly did this happen and to who?
So to summarize...... There are no Christians among jews....? Nck
Perhaps the 7th day Adventists in my family who were sent to Theresienstadt in 1942 because they were jews.... Perhaps not...
Well, Anon 1030, you are wrong. You have accepted the false teachings of Herbert Armstrong.
@12:42 "Why switch over from the biblical Sabbath to the pagan Sunday?"
Why not? The apostle to the gentiles had already abolished the Jewish Sabbath (Col 2:16)
RSK - As I understand it HWA said that Jesus was indeed resurrected just before sunset on the Sabbath ( that is three days after a Wednesday crucifixion), but at that point he had not left the earth to be presented to His father in heaven.
In fact he makes that point in John 20, speaking to Mary Magdalene, that he had 'not yet ascended to my Father'. So He had been resurrected, but had not yet performed the wave sheaf fulfilment, which happened at the correct time on that Sunday morning.
The timing would be based on three days and three nights after his being placed in the tomb.
“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.
“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
(Isaiah 66:23-24, NKJV)
It looks like the Roman Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Evilutionists, and everyone else will have to get with the program and observe God's Sabbaths at some point, or else be put out of their misery.
"...Ignatius -- the martyred bishop of Antioch -- wrote in A.D. 110:..."
If he is actively preaching against God's instructions he is not a bishop of God's Church. Anicetus of Rome was guilty of the same thing, abandoning the observance of the Passover in favor of Easter. Virtually everyone held up by the RCC as a "church father" taught against God. They ignore the teachings of the Apostles in favor of the doctrines of men.
"So while the thief on the cross presumably never received water baptism, that doesn't mean Jesus was unable to save him;..."
The thief on the cross was not saved. He will be resurrected following the millennium along with countless others. Catholicism twists and perverts everything.
You are, in fact, lying 1032; and I suspect you generally only think in binary terms. Do you know that the Lord's commandments are not simply what you consider to be "The Law"?
Also, the exact opposite of saturday observance is not Sunday observance. For Christians to observe the Law of Christ is not the exact opposite of the Children of Israel observing the Law (of course, Israel failed at keeping the Law...just like you).
It seems so disingenuous for anyone associated with Armstrongism to talk about being attacked as sabbath keepers when the very hook that Armstrong used was to claim Sunday keepers are deceived and/or rebellious and are not really Christian.
It's sad to see those who do not want anybody including God to tell them what to do on certain days of the week and year to make statements like "specific commandment to honor one's father and mother.......is no longer necessary" and "The letter has been vacated......", twisting the scriptures to their own destruction, particularly Col 2:16-17 where Paul says only those in the church should do the judging, not that the sabbath has been abolished.
Since once again we are on the topic of the law, I have a question for any professing Evangelicals and Politicians who might be tuned in to our discussion: Do the ninth commandment and the Golden Rule apply to the Haitians within our gates???
"It's sad to see those who do not want anybody including God to tell them what to do on certain days of the week and year"
You are bearing false witness. Christians continually check their behavior in order to please God. But, yet you continue to say this.
Armstrong and his ministers also continued to say that. Ironic, as God does not want you to bear false witness ANY day of the week.
Anonymous 12:39
Far more important, do the ninth commandment and the Golden Rule apply to Donald Trump. If so, someone neeeds to tell him. I have seen no evidence of either commandment in his behavior.
Scout
Anonymous 9:23
I am struck by the unalloyed irony of your sound bite. You condemn the scripture twisters and in the same sentence assert yourself a twisted version of Colossians 2:16-17.
Scout
Anonymous 10:40 wrote, "The Sabbath, instituted at creation (Genesis 2:2-3), is a command for all of humanity, not just Israel, and reflects God’s ongoing desire for His people to rest and worship."
If you had not included the phrase "a command" I would agree with your statement. You neglected to mention that the word Sabbath does not occcur in the Genesis neither is there a command given to anyone to observe the seventh day in Genesis.
The Creation statement about the seventh day did set the stage for Israel to receive the Sabbath just as ancient Israel's Sabbath, a shadow of Jesus, set the stage for Christians to rest from sin in Christ - Christ who is our Sabbath.
Scout
Week by week, month by month- Isaiah is just referring to the passage of time.
Rev 21:
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
Kinda hard to figure out the month or day of the week there.
Those are great things to talk about, but I was just showing that Sunday was observed early on by Christians -- long, long before Constantine.
Ignatius was far from "under Roman influence," for he was martyred by the Roman authorities for his Christian witness.
Most folks here are probably aware of this, but for those that might not have heard of it:
https://romeschallenge.com/
All of you Sunday keepers had better follow Darren's lead.
You probably remember Lloyd's article some 25+ years ago on the Roman Catholic Church. I think it was titled "America's Greatest Sin" or something like that. I'd love to find a copy of it.
Found it!
https://www.cgi.org/americas-greatest-sin
I believe I see a path emerging in which the persecution HWA forecast for his church members for sabbath keeping is a distinct possibility. It's just not going to come from the source (Catholic Church) which HWA had cited.
Many have wondered how such a ridiculous figure with such absurd ideas as J. D. Vance could exist. He is part of the Christian Nationalist movement, a growing subset of the US population, which wants the United States to declare itself as a Christian nation, and to begin modifying the law of the land and the Constitution to reflect this in every way. The people who drafted Project 2025 are part of this group. It is difficult to see these folks as embracing people who deny the Trinity, and keep a Saturday sabbath. Obviously all of us who would be challenging these people should they enforce their wish list would be in trouble. However, those who challenge them on a religious basis would most likely be amongst the first to attract their attention.
It is very important to pay attention to what our politicians actually say what they intend to do. We are not living in times when normal American paradigms or traditions can be expected to continue.
Just to briefly answer The COG Catholic
Jesus fulfilling the wave sheaf offering. Nice that you agree, but I do understand the implication you put to it, which I may not!
Acts 20 - we agree again! But for very different reasons. Yes it clearly was planned for the first day of the week. but the reason it was planned for that day was that Paul was leaving the next day.
Verse 7 shows they were coming together for a meal ( No doubt in honour of Paul, prior to him leaving the next morning), and to hear him speak. Had he been leaving on the fifth day of the week, you wouldn't be surprised if they had a meal and heard him speak on the fourth day afternoon/evening would you?
Did they really get hungry at night you ask. They were there from the Sunday afternoon, through to at least dawn Monday morning - so yes, I know I would get hungry. Most of the activity, including the resurrection of the person that fell out of the window, was after dark, so actually on the second day of the week, not the first day of the week, which you were suggesting!
The collection at Corinth. Paul's main point is not to leave the collecting until he gets there, better to do it on a regular basis before he gets there, and build things up for him to collect.
He is suggesting doing it after the Sabbath, but that is different to pulling a sheep out of a ditch on the Sabbath - the sheep would be an emergency that has just happened, a regular collection is something planned in advance, with the suggestion that individuals calculate how much they can afford to donate each week. In such a planned event, why not avoid the Sabbath, and wait till after sunset?
Anon 5:13:32:
Most folks here are probably aware of this, but for those that might not have heard of it:
https://romeschallenge.com/
All of you Sunday keepers had better follow Darren's lead.
Ah, yes. “Rome’s Challenge” is good, but the Protestant denomination calling itself Seventh-Day Adventism — along its Protestant progeny, which includes the Protestant COG denominations — misunderstands Cardinal Gibbons.
I will be happy to address this as time permits. I look forward to it — because it’s good. He writes similar things in his excellent book which I’m still reading, Faith of Our Fathers.
I meant to do this earlier after I saw it discussed by HWA’s great-grandson Michael a year or two back. It's on my blog to-do list now. Thanks.
I had not read 'Rome's Challenge' before.
He did a better job than I did to destroy your arguments for switching to Sunday by using the scriptures, and showing that using the Bible as your source you should be keeping a Saturday Sabbath.
But obviously he was keeping a Sunday Sabbath himself, and the reason is fairly apparent even in these articles. However his Biblical logic is generally on track!
You are a silly pearl clutcher, anon740.
All of these disagreements were predicted in scripture…
Arguing over days of worship, food, meanings of words and the proper application of Jewish law.
All of this proves the Bible is true. The writings of false prophets are deluded lies of varying degrees.
For the record anon 12:27:52 above was actually me. I never post anonymously, but was using a different terminal and did so accidently. So just identifying myself
The people responsible for canonizing the New testament were not sabbath keepers. Given their understanding of the issues of the early church, they did not believe the New Testament contradicted their beliefs. But, I suppose Armstrong knew better 1600-1700 years later.
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