In the Old Testament, under the old covenant, the nation of Israel was expected to observe the Sabbath (Saturday) and to keep it holy (set apart). The way that Romans reckoned a day, according to their calendar, was from 12:00pm (midnight) to 12:00pm. We reckon days according to the Roman reckoning. However, for those of you who are unaware, the way that Hebrews reckoned a day, according to their calendar,
was from 6:00pm to 6:00pm. In other words, 6:00pm on our Friday began their Sabbath, and it lasted until 6:00pm on our Saturday. Their first day of the week began at 6:00pm on our Saturday and lasted until 6:00pm on our Sunday, which began their Monday. This is important to know.
The early church was, at first, mostly Jewish. This point needs to be remembered. After the resurrection and ascension, Christians met every Saturday evening (Motzei Shabbat) immediately after sundown as a congregation. According to the Hebrew calendar, what day of the week was this? It was the first day of the week. It was Sunday!
The Catholic church, thinking that they can trace their lineage of faith all the way back to the Apostles, claim that they changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. The Catholic Record from 1923 reads, "Sunday is our mark of authority... The church is above the Bible, and this transference of sabbath observance is proof of that fact." But this is a false claim. Saying something does not make it true. This is something that the Seventh-Day Adventists need to learn. The day of worship was changed from the Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday by Christ's church—by the Apostles!
By way of correction, the church—the true church—is not above the Bible; it is built upon the foundation of the Bible.
Emperor Constantine had an influential role in the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, which decreed tolerance for Christianity in the empire. "Christianity" was not declared the state religion until A.D. 380, well after the reign of Constantine. During the fourth century, the beginnings of what would later become the heretical doctrines and traditions of the Catholic faith began to emerge, especially through individuals such as the heretic Jerome. The Papacy began its rule with Vigilius in A.D. 538, becoming a sovereign state under the rule of Emperor Justinian and the military protection of Belisarius. Note these dates, for these are the beginnings of the Catholic church.
If we look at the first three centuries of the church, prior to the invention of Catholicism, what do we find? The Apostle John wrote his epistles well after A.D. 70. If there was error with regard to keeping the Sabbath, he would have wrote to correct it. However, he did no such thing. Less than 10 years after John’s death, in A.D. 100, the Epistle of Barnabas recorded, “Wherefore, also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead.” According to Scripture, on which day did Jesus rise from the dead? On the first day of the week. On Sunday! In A.D. 107, the Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians recorded, “Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish Law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. ... 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.” Ignatius was a disciple of the Apostle John. The writings of Justin Martyr between A.D. 145 and 150 recorded, “And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read....But Sunday is the day on which we all hold a common assembly, because it is the first day of the week on which God...made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.” Irenaeus, who was the disciple of Polycarp, who was the direct disciple of the Apostle John, wrote between A.D. 155 and 202, “The Mystery of the Lord's Resurrection may not be celebrated on any other day than the Lord's Day, and on this alone should we observe the breaking off of the Paschal Feast.” There are plenty more early church fathers whom we can consult to verify the fact that Christians gathered together on Sunday in order to worship. It may have been our Saturday evening, at first, but this does not change the fact that it was Sunday.
Emperor Constantine did not institute Sunday worship; he merely legalized it. Constantine knew that non-religious people throughout his disintegrating empire worshiped the sun on the first day of the week. He also discovered that many professing Christians also kept Sunday because they believed that Christ rose from the dead on that day. So, Constantine, being a shrewd politician, came up with a plan to unite the two groups on the common ground of Sunday-keeping. On March 7, A.D. 321, he passed his famous national Sunday law. His edict reads as follows: “On the venerable 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.”
Sabbatarians need to grow up and stop trying to argue that Christians who worship on "SUN-day" are worshiping the sun god. Are disobedient Sabbatarians who ignore and deny what Scripture and early church history teach, worshiping on "SATUR-day," guilty of worshiping the god Saturn, seeing as how Saturday is named after him? Throwing mud does not accomplish anything. The facts and evidence speak for themselves. Contrary to what Sabbatarians claim and argue, the early church gathered and worshiped on Sunday. Scripture teaches this, as does early church history. Acts 20:7 says, "On the first day of the week...," which is Sunday, they were gathered together to break bread (communion) and have Paul speak to them (preaching). First Corinthians 16:2 says, "On the first day of every week...," which is every Sunday, you should put aside some money (tithing). Revelation 1:10 says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Which day would that be? The Lord is Christ Jesus. He rose from the grave on the first day of the week. Therefore, the Lord's day is obviously Sunday.
Emperor Constantine did not institute Sunday worship; he merely legalized it. Constantine knew that non-religious people throughout his disintegrating empire worshiped the sun on the first day of the week. He also discovered that many professing Christians also kept Sunday because they believed that Christ rose from the dead on that day. So, Constantine, being a shrewd politician, came up with a plan to unite the two groups on the common ground of Sunday-keeping. On March 7, A.D. 321, he passed his famous national Sunday law. His edict reads as follows: “On the venerable 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.”
Sabbatarians need to grow up and stop trying to argue that Christians who worship on "SUN-day" are worshiping the sun god. Are disobedient Sabbatarians who ignore and deny what Scripture and early church history teach, worshiping on "SATUR-day," guilty of worshiping the god Saturn, seeing as how Saturday is named after him? Throwing mud does not accomplish anything. The facts and evidence speak for themselves. Contrary to what Sabbatarians claim and argue, the early church gathered and worshiped on Sunday. Scripture teaches this, as does early church history. Acts 20:7 says, "On the first day of the week...," which is Sunday, they were gathered together to break bread (communion) and have Paul speak to them (preaching). First Corinthians 16:2 says, "On the first day of every week...," which is every Sunday, you should put aside some money (tithing). Revelation 1:10 says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Which day would that be? The Lord is Christ Jesus. He rose from the grave on the first day of the week. Therefore, the Lord's day is obviously Sunday.
Why did the early church—the Apostles—change the day of worship? In order to commemorate and celebrate Christ's resurrection from the dead! Those who used the Hebrew calendar met immediately after sundown on our Saturday (their Sunday) to hold their congregational services. The purpose was to say farewell to the just-finished week and to "christen" the new week (Acts 20:7). Those who use the Roman calendar meet on Sunday morning to hold their congregational services. Those who hold services on the Sabbath (Saturday) do so in both ignorance and disobedience to the Scriptures and spit upon the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
The Sabbath began at 6:00pm on our Friday and lasted until 6:00pm on our Saturday. Those who attempt to keep the Sabbath in this way had best be keeping all other days this way, too, or else they are being hypocrites. You cannot use one calendar for one day and use another calendar for all other days. Be consistent! If Sabbatarians bothered to pay attention to the Bible (and church history), they would see that the day of worship was changed during the beginnings of the church. According to Exodus 31, the Sabbath was "a sign forever between [God] and the [nation] of Israel." Paul states unequivocally in Colossians 2:16, "Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of... or with regard to a festival [the Feast days] or a new moon or a Sabbath," and continues in verse 17, "They are a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." Any church group that teaches observance to the Feast days and the Sabbath have placed themselves under the Law and have fallen from grace (Gal. 5:4). If they do not repent, may they be Anathema!