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Sat Apr 21, 2012 9:13 am (PDT)
Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The First Century A.D.
INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATH
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And
God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he
had rested from all his work which God created and made." (Genesis
2:1-3 )
JESUS
"And 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." (Luke 4:16)
JESUS
"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good
thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him,
if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew
19:16,17)
JESUS
"But pray ye that your flight be not in winter, neither on the
Sabbath day." (Matthew 24, 20).
NOTE: Jesus asked his disciples to pray that in the flight from the
doomed city of Jerusalem they would not have to flee on the Sabbath
day. This flight took place in 70 A.D. 40 years after the Jesus'
crucfixion and we see here that Jesus fully expected His church to be
observing His true seventh day Sabbath that He Himself proclaimed to
be the Lord of.
JESUS' FOLLOWERS
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments and rested
the Sabbath day according to the commandment." (Luke 23:56.) Did
these women make a mistake and keep the wrong sabbath or was it that
Christ NEVER EVER hinted that there would be a change forthcoming???
PAUL
"And Paul, as his manner was went in unto them, and three Sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures" (Acts 17:2) Did Christ
fail to inform Paul on the road to Damascus that there's now a new
sabbath? Or rather does the silence of Christ speak volumes against
the papal sabbath???
PAUL AND THE GENTILES
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
And the next Sabbath came almost the whole city together to hear the
Word of God." Acts 13:42, 44.
Here we find Gentiles in a Gentile city gathering on the Sabbath.
It was not a synagogue meeting in verse 44, for it says almost the
whole city came together, verse 42 says they asked to hear the
message the "next Sabbath."
And get this: The Bible does not say it is the "old Jewish Sabbath
that was passed away," but the Spirit of God, writing the Book of
Acts some 30 years after the crucifixion, calls it "the next Sabbath."
JOHN
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev.1:10 (Mark 2:28,
Isa.58:13, Ex.20:10, Clearly show the Sabbath to be the Lord's day).
The term "Lord's day" in reference to sunday came later. The
Biblical meaning for Lord's day is the day that God calls "My holy
day" and the day that Jesus said He is Lord of.
JOSEPHUS
"There is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the Barbarians,
nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on the
seventh day hath not come!" M'Clatchie, "Notes and Queries on China
and Japan" (edited by Dennys), Vol 4, Nos 7, 8, p.100.
PHILO
Declares the seventh day to be a festival, not of this or of that
city, but of the universe. M'Clatchie, "Notes and Queries," Vol. 4, 99
So we have incontrovertible proof that the observance of sunday was
NOT practiced by the apostolic church of the first century. Although
the poison of apostasy had already begun, it did not reach the
ascendancy until the passage of a few more centuries.
The next installment will show the historical record of the early
christians observing the true seventh day Sabbath in the second
century A.D.
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Second Century A.D.
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EARLY CHRISTIANS - 2nd Century
"The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath,
and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be
doubted but they derived this practice from the Apostles themselves,
as appears by several scriptures to the purpose." "Dialogues on the
Lord's Day," p. 189. London: 1701, By Dr. T.H. Morer (A Church of
England divine).
EARLY CHRISTIANS - 2nd Century
"...The Sabbath was a strong tie which united them with the life of
the whole people, and in keeping the Sabbath holy they followed not
only the example but also the command of Jesus." "Geschichte des
Sonntags," pp.13, 14
EARLY CHRISTIANS - 2nd Century
"The Gentile Christians observed also the Sabbath,"
Gieseler's "Church History," Vol.1, ch. 2, par. 30, 93.
EARLY CHRISTIANS - 2nd Century
"The primitive Christians did keep the Sabbath of the
Jews;...therefore the Christians, for a long time together, did keep
their conventions upon the Sabbath, in which some portions of the law
were read: and this continued till the time of the Laodicean
council." "The Whole Works" of Jeremy Taylor, Vol. IX,p. 416 (R.
Heber's Edition, Vol XII, p. 416).
EARLY CHRISTIANS - 2nd Century
"It is certain that the ancient Sabbath did remain and was observed
(together with the celebration of the Lord's day) by the Christians
of the East Church, above three hundred years after our Saviour's
death." "A Learned Treatise of the Sabbath," p. 77
Note: By the "Lord's day" here the writer means Sunday and not the
true Sabbath," which the Bible says is the Sabbath. This quotation
shows Sunday coming into use in the early centuries soon after the
death of the Apostles. It illustrates the apostasy that Paul the
Apostle foretold of when he spoke about a great "falling away" from
the Truth that would take place soon after his death.
"From the apostles' time until the council of Laodicea, which was
about the year 364, the holy observance of the Jews' Sabbath
continued, as may be proved out of many authors: yea, notwithstanding
the decree of the council against it." "Sunday a Sabbath." John Ley,
p.163. London: 1640.
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Third Century A.D.
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EGYPT (OXYRHYNCHUS PAPYRUS) (200-250 A.D.)
"Except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath (sabbatize the Sabbath,"
Greek), ye shall not see the Father." "The oxyrhynchus Papyri," pt,1,
p.3, Logion 2, verso 4-11 (London Offices of the Egypt Exploration
Fund, 1898).
EARLY CHRISTIANS-C 3rd
"Thou shalt observe the Sabbath, on account of Him who ceased from
His work of creation, but ceased not from His work of providence: it
is a rest for meditation of the law, not for idleness of the
hands." "The Anti-Nicene Fathers," Vol 7,p. 413. From "Constitutions
of the Holy Apostles," a document of the 3rd and 4th Centuries.
AFRICA (ALEXANDRIA) ORIGEN
"After the festival of the unceasing sacrifice (the crucifixion) is
put the second festival of the Sabbath, and it is fitting for whoever
is righteous among the saints to keep also the festival of the
Sabbath. There remaineth therefore a sabbatismus, that is, a keeping
of the Sabbath, to the people of God (Hebrews 4:9)." "Homily on
Numbers 23," par.4, in Migne, "Patrologia Graeca," Vol. 12,cols. 749,
750.
PALESTINE TO INDIA (CHURCH OF THE EAST)
As early as A.D. 225 there existed lallrge bishoprics or
conferences of the Church of the East (Sabbath-keeping) stretching
from Palestine to India. Mingana, "Early Spread of Christianity."
Vol.10, p. 460.
INDIA (BUDDHIST CONTROVERSY), 220 A.D.)
The Kushan Dynasty of North India called a famous council of
Buddhist priests at Vaisalia to bring uniformity among the Buddhist
monks on the observance of their weekly Sabbath. Some had been so
impressed by the writings of the Old Testament that they had begun to
keep holy the Sabbath. Lloyd, "The Creed of Half Japan," p. 23.
EARLY CHRISTIANS
"The seventh-day Sabbath was...solemnised by Christ, the Apostles,
and primitive Christians, till the Laodicean Council did in manner
quite abolish the observations of it." "Dissertation on the Lord's
Day," pp. 33, 34
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Fourth Century A.D.
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ITALY AND EAST-C 4th
"It was the practice generally of the Easterne Churches; and some
churches of the west...For in the Church of Millaine (Milan);...it
seems the Saturday was held in a farre esteeme... Not that the
Easterne Churches, or any of the rest which observed that day, were
inclined to Iudaisme (Judaism); but that they came together on the
Sabbath day, to worship Iesus (Jesus) Christ the Lord of the
Sabbath." "History of the Sabbath" (original spelling retained), Part
2, par. 5, pp.73, 74. London: 1636. Dr. Heylyn.
ORIENT AND MOST OF WORLD
"The ancient Christians were very careful in the observance of
Saturday, or the seventh day...It is plain that all the Oriental
churches, and the greatest part of the world, observed the Sabbath as
a festival...Athanasius likewise tells us that they held religious
assembles on the Sabbath, not because they were infected with
Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, Epiphanius
says the same." "Antiquities of the Christian Church," Vol.II Book
XX, chap. 3, sec.1, 66. 1137,1138.
ABYSSINIA
"In the last half of that century St. Ambrose of Milan stated
officially that the Abyssinian bishop, Museus, had 'traveled almost
everywhere in the country of the Seres' (China). For more than
seventeen centuries the Abyssinian Church continued to sanctify
Saturday as the holy day of the fourth commandment." Ambrose,
DeMoribus, Brachmanorium Opera Ominia, 1132, found in Migne,
Patrologia Latima, Vol.17, pp.1131,1132.
ARABIA, PERSIA, INDIA, CHINA
"Mingana proves that in 370 A.D. Abyssinian Christianity (a Sabbath
keeping church) was so popular that its famous director, Musacus,
travelled extensively in the East promoting the church in Arabia,
Persia, India and China." "Truth Triumphanat,"p.308 (Footnote 27).
ITALY-MILAN
"Ambrose, the celebrated bishop of Milan, said that when he was in
Milan he observed Saturday, but when in Rome observed Sunday. This
gave rise to the proverb, 'When you are in Rome, do as Rome does.'"
Heylyn, "The History of the Sabbath" (1612)
SPAIN-COUNCIL ELVIRA (A.D.305)
Canon 26 of the Council of Elvira reveals that the Church of Spain
at that time kept Saturday, the seventh day. "As to fasting every
Sabbath: Resolved, that the error be corrected of fasting every
Sabbath." This resolution of the council is in direct opposition to
the policy the church at Rome had inaugurated, that of commanding
Sabbath as a fast day in order to humiliate it and make it repugnant
to the people.
SPAIN
It is a point of further interest to note that in north-eastern
Spain near the city of Barcelona is a city called Sabadell, in a
district originaly inhabited. By a people called both "Valldenses"
and Sabbatati."
PERSIA-A.D. 335-375 (40 YEARS PERSECUTION UNDER SHAPUR II)
The popular complaint against the Christians-"They despise our
sungod, they have divine services on Saturday, they desecrate the
sacred the earth by burying their dead in it." Truth Triumphant,"
p.170.
PERSIA-A.D.335-375
"They despise our sun-god. Did not Zorcaster, the sainted founder
of our divine beliefs, institute Sunday one thousand years ago in
honour of the sun and supplant the Sabbath of the Old Testament. Yet
these Christians have divine services on Saturday." O'Leary, "The
Syriac Church and Fathers," pp.83, 84.
COUNCIL LAODICEA-A.D.365
"Canon 16-On Saturday the Gospels and other portions of the
Scripture shall be read aloud." "Canon 29-Christians shall not
Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day; but the
Lord's day they shall especially honor, and as being Christians,
shall, if possible, do no work on that day." Hefele's "Councils,"
Vol. 2, b. 6.
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Fifth Century A.D.
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THE WORLD
"For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrated
the sacred mysteries (the Lord's Supper) on the Sabbath of every
week, yet the Christians of Allexandria and at Rome, on account of
some ancient tradition, refuse to do this." The footnote which
accompanies the foregoing quotation explains the use of the
word "Sabbath." It says: "That is, upon the Saturday. It should be
observed, that Sunday is never called "the Sabbath' by the ancient
Fathers and historians." Sacrates, "Ecclestical History," Book 5,
chap. 22, p. 289.
CONSTANTINOPLE
"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."
Socrates, "Ecclesiastical History," Book 7, chap.19.
THE WORLD-AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO (NORTH AFRICA)
Augustine shows here that the Sabbath was observed in his day "in
the greater part of the Christian world," and his testimony in this
respect is all the more valuable because he himself was an earnest
and consistent Sunday-keeper. See "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,"
1st Series, Vol.1, pp. 353, 354.
POPE INNOCENT (402-417)
Pope Sylvester (314-335) was the first to order the churches to
fast on Saturday, and Pope Innocent (402-417) made it a binding law
in the churches that obeyed him, (In order to bring the Sabbath into
disfavour.) "Innocentius did ordain the Saturday or Sabbath to be
always fasted." Dr. Peter Heylyn, "History of the Sabbath, Part 2, p.
44.
THROUGH THE FIFTH CENTURY A.D.
Down even to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath
was continued in the Christian church. "Ancient Christianity
Exemplified," Lyman Coleman, ch. 26, sec. 2, p. 527.
In Jerome's day (420 A.D.) the devoutest Christians did ordinary
work on Sunday. "Treatise of the Sabbath Day," by Dr. White, Lord
Bishop of Ely, p. 219.
FRANCE
"Wherefore, except Vespers and Nocturns, there are no public
services among them in the day except on Saturday (Sabbath) and
Sunday." John Cassian, A French monk, "Institutes," Book 3, ch. 2.
AFRICA
"Augustine deplored the fact that in two neighbouring churches in
Africa one observes the seventh-day Sabbath, another fasted on it."
Dr. Peter Heylyn, "The History of the Sabbath." p. 416.
SPAIN (400 A.D.)
"Ambrose sanctified the seventh day as the Sabbath (as he himself
says). Ambrose had great influence in Spain, which was also observing
the Saturday Sabbath." Truth Triumphant, p. 68.
SIDONIUS (SPEAKING OF KING THEODORIC OF THE GOTHS, A.D. 454-526)
"It is a fact that it was formerly the custom in the East to keep
the Sabbath in the same manner as the Lord's day and to hold sacred
assemblies: while on the other hand, the people of the West,
contending for the Lord's day have neglected the celebration of the
Sabbath." "Apollinaries Sidonli Epistolae," lib.1, 2; Migne, 57.
CHURCH OF THE EAST
"Mingana proves that in 410 Isaac, supreme director of the Church
of the East, held a world council,-stimulated, some think, by the
trip of Musacus,-attended by eastern delegates from forty grand
metrop olitan divisions. In 411 he appointed a metropolitan director
for China. These churches were sanctifying the seventh day."
EGYPT
"There are several cities and villages in Egypt where, contrary to
the usage established elsewhere, the people meet together on Sabbath
evenings, and, although they have dined previously, partake of the
mysteries." Sozomen. "Ecclesiastical History Book 7, ch. 119
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Sixth Century A.D.
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SCOTTISH CHURCH
"In this latter instance they seemed to have followed a custom of
which we find traces in the early monastic church of Ireland by which
they held Saturday to be the Sabbath on which they rested from all
their labours." W.T. Skene, "Adamnan Llife of St. Columbs" 1874, p.96.
SCOTLAND, IRELAND
"We seem to see here an allusion to the custom, observed in the
early monastic Church of Ireland, of keeping the day of rest on
Saturday, or the Sabbath." "History of the Catholic Church in
Scotland," Vol.1, p. 86, by Catholic histsorian Bellesheim.
SCOTLAND-COLULMBA
"Having continued his labours in Scotland thirty-four years, he
clearly and openly foretold his death, and on Saturday, the month of
June, said to his disciple Diermit: "This day is calleld the Sabbath,
that is the rest day, and such will it truly be to me; for it will
put an end to my labours.'" "Butler's Lives of the Saints," Vol.1,
A.D. 597, art. "St. Columba" p. 762
COLUMBA (RE DR. BUTLER'S DESCRIPTION OF HIS DEATH)
The editor of the best biography of Colulmba says in a
footnote: "Our Saturday. The custom to call the Lord's day Sabbath
did not commence until a thousand years later." Adamnan's "Life of
Columba" (Dublin, 1857), p. 230.
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Seventh Century A.D.
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SCOTLAND AND IRELAND
Professor James C. Moffatt, D.D., Professor of Church History at
Princeton, says: It seems to have been customary in the Celtic
churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labour. They
obeyed the fourth commandment literally upon the seventh day of
week." "The Church in Scotland," p.140.
SCOTLAND AND IRELAND
"The Celts used a Latin Bible unlike the Vulgate (R.C.) and kept
Saturday as a day of rest, with special religious services on
Sunday." Flick, "The Rise of Mediaeval Church," p. 237
ROME
Gregory I (A.D. 590-640) wrote against "Roman citizens (who) forbid
any work being done on the Sabbath day." "Nicene and Post- Nicene
Fathers," Second Series, Vol, XIII, p.13, epist. 1
ROME (POPE GREGORY I,A.D.590 TO 604)
"Gregory, bishop by the grace of God to his well-beloved sons, the
Roman citizens: It has come to me that certain men of perverse spirit
have disseminated among you things depraved and opposed to the holy
faith, so that they forbid anything to be done on the day of the
Sabbath. What shall I call them except preachers of anti-Christ?"
Epistles, b.13:1
ROME (POPE GREGORY I)
Declared that when anti-Christ should come he would keep Saturday
as the Sabbath. "Epistles of Gregory I, "b 13, epist.1. found
in "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers."
"Moreover, this same Pope Gregory had issued an official
pronouncement against a section of the city of Rome itself because
the Christian believers there rested and worshipped on the
Sabbath." "Epistles of Gregory I, "b 13, epist.1. found in "Nicene
and Post-Nicene Fathers."
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Eighth Century A.D.
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COUNCIL OF FRIAUL, ITALY-A.D. 791 (CANON 13)
"We command all Christians to observe the Lord's day to be held not
in honour of the past Sabbath, but on account of that holy night of
the first of the week called the Lord's day. When speaking of that
Sabbath which the Jews observe, the last day of the week, and which
also our peasants observe.." Mansi, 13, 851
PERSIA AND MESOPOTAMIA
"The hills of Persia and the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates
reechoed their songs of praise. They reaped their harvests and paid
their tithes. They repaired to their churches on the Sabbath day for
the worship of God." "Realencyclopaedie fur Protestatische and
Krche," art. "Nestorianer"; also Yule, "The Book of ser Marco Polo,"
Vol.2, p.409.
INDIA, CHINA, PERSIA, ETC
"Widespread and enduring was the observance of the seventh-day
Sabbath among the believers of the Church of the East and the St.
Thomas Christians of India, who never were connected with Rome. It
also was maintained among those bodies which broke off from Rome
after the Council of Chalcedon namely, the Abyssinians, the
Jacobites, the Maronites, and the Armenians," Schaff-Herzog, The New
Enclopadia of Religious Knowledge," art. "Nestorians"; also
Realencyclopaedie fur Protestantische Theologie und Kirche,"
art. "Nestorianer."
COUNCIL OF LIFTINAE, BELGIUM-A.D.745 (ATTENDED BY BONIFACE)
"The third allocution of this council warns against the observance
of the Sabbath, referring to the decree of the council of Laodicea."
Dr. Hefele, Counciliengfesch, 3, 512, sec. 362
CHINA-A.D.781
In A.D. 781 the famous China Monument was inscribed in marble to
tell of the growth of Christianity in China at that time. The
inscription, consisting of 763 words, was unearthed in 1625 near the
city of Changan and now stands in the "Forest of Tablets," Changan.
The following extract from the stone shows that the Sabbath was
observed:
"On the seventh day we offer sacrifices, after having purified our
hearts, and received absolution for our sins. This religion, so
perfect and so excellent, is difficult to name, but it enlightens
darkness by its brilliant precepts." Christianity in China, M. I'Abbe
Huc, Vol. I, ch.2, pp. 48, 49
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Ninth Century A.D.
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BULGARIA
"Bulgaria in the early season of its evangelization had been taught
that no work should be performed on the Sabbath." Responsa Nicolai
Papae I and Con-Consulta Bulllllgarorum, Responsum 10, found in
Mansi, Sacrorum Concilorum Nova et Amplissima Colectio, Vol.15; p.
406; also Hefele, Conciliengeschicte, Vol.4, sec. 478
BULGARIA
(Pope Nicholas I, in answer to letter from Bogaris, ruling prince
of Bulgaria.) "Ques. 6-Bathing is allowed on Sunday. Ques. 10-One is
to cease from work on Sunday, but not also on the Sabbath." Hefele,
4,346- 352, sec. 478
The Bulgarians had been accustomed to rest on the Sabbath. Pope
Nicholas writes against this practice.
CONSTANTINOPLE
(Photuus, Patriarch of Constantinople {in counter- synod that
deposed Nicolas}, thus accused Papacy). Against the canons, they
induced the Bulgarians to fast on the Sabbath." Photius, vonKard,
Hergenrother, 1, 643
Note: The Papacy had always tried to bring the seventh-day Sabbath
into disrepute by insisting that all should fast on that day. In this
manner (she sought to turn people towards Sunday, the first day, the
day that Rome had adopted.
ATHINGIANS
Cardinal Hergenrother says that they stood in intimate relation
with Emperor Michael II (821-829) and testifies that they observed
the Sabbath. Kirchengeschichte, 1, 527
INDIA, ABYSSINIA
"Widespread and enduring was the observance of the seventh-day
Sabbath among the believers of the Church of the East and the St.
Thomas Christians of India. It was also maintained by the Abyssinians.
BULGARIA
"Pope Nicholas I, in the ninth century, sent the ruling prince of
Bulgaria a long document saying in it that one is to cease from work
on Sunday, but not on the Sabbath. The head of the Greek Church,
offended at the interference of the Papacy, declared the Pope ex-
communicated." Truth Triumphant, p. 232
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Tenth Century A.D.
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SCOTLAND
"They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical manner."
A history of Scotland from the Roman Occupation, Vol. I, p.96. Andrew
Lang
CHURCH OF THE EAST-Kurdistan
"The Nestorians eat no pork and keep the Sabbath. They believe in
neither auricular confession nor purgatory." Schaff-Herzog, "The New
Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge," art. "Nestorians."
WALDENSES
"And because they observed no other day of rest but the Sabbath
days, they called them Insabathas, as much as to say, as they
observed no Sabbath." Luther's "Fore-Runners" (original spelling),
PP. 7, 8
WALDENSES
Roman Catholic writers try to evade the apostolic origin of the
Waldenses, so as to make it appear that the Roman is the only
apostolic church, and that all others are later novelties. And for
this reason they try to make out that the Waldenses originated with
Peter Waldo of the twelfth century. Dr. Peter Allix says:
"Some Protestants, on this occasion, have fallen into the snare
that was set for them...It is absolutely false, that these churches
were ever found by Peter Waldo...it is a pure forgery." Ancient
Church of Piedmont, pp.192, Oxford: 1821
WALDENSES
"It is not true, that Waldo gave this name to the inhabitants of
the valleys: they wewre called Waldenses, or Vaudes, before his time,
from the valleys in which they dwelt." "Id., p. 182
WALDENSES
On the other hand, he "was called Valdus, or Waldo, because he
received his religious notions from the inhabitants of the valleys."
History of the Christian Church, William Jones, Vol II, p.2
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Eleventh Century A.D.
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SCOTLAND
They held that Saturday was properly the Sabbath on which they
abstained from work. "Celtic Scotland," Vol. 2, p. 350
SCOTLAND
"They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical
manner...These things Margaret abolished." A History of Scotland from
the Roman Occupation," Vol.1, p. 96.
SCOTLAND
"It was another custom of theirs to neglect the reverence due to
the Lord's day, by devoting themselves to every kind of worldly
business upon it, just as they did upon other days. That this was
contrary to the law, she (Queen Margaret) proved to them as well by
reason as by authority. 'Let us venerate the Lord's day,' said
she, 'because of the resurrection of our Lord, which happened upon
that day, and let us no longer do servile works upon it; bearing in
mind that upon this day we were redeemed from the slavery of the
devil. The blessed Pope Gregory affirms the same.'" Life of Saint
Margaret, Turgot, p. 49 (British Museum Library)
SCOTLAND
(Historian Skene commenting upon the work of Queen Margaret) "Her
next point was that they did not duly reverence the Lord's day, but
in this latter instance they seemed to have followed a custom of
which we find traces in the early Church of Ireland, by which they
held Saturday to be the Sabbath on which they rested from all their
labours." Skene, "Celtic Scotland," Vol.2, p. 349
SCOTLAND AND IRELAND
"T. Ratcliffe Barnett, in his book on the fervent Catholic queen of
Scotland who in 1060 was first to attempt the ruin of Columba's
brethren, writes: 'In this matter the Scots had perhaps kept up the
traditional usage of the ancient Irish Church which observed Saturday
instead of Sunday as the day of rest.'" Barnett, "Margaret of
Scotland: Queen and Saint," p.97
COUNCIL OF CLERMONT
"During the first crusade, Pope Urban II decreed at the council of
Clermont (A.D.1095) that the Sabbath be set aside in honour of the
Virgin Mary." History of the Sabbath, p.672
CONSTANTINOPLE
"Because you observe the Sabbath with the Jews and the Lord's Day
with us, you seem to imitate with such observance the sect of
Nazarenes." Migne, "Patrologia Latina," Vol. 145, p.506; also
Hergenroether, "Photius," Vol. 3, p.746. (The Nazarenes were a
Christian denomination.)
GREEK CHURCH
"The observance of Saturday is, as everyone knows, the subject of a
bitter dispute between the Greeks and the Latins." Neale, "A History
of the Holy Eastern Church," Vol 1, p. 731. (Referring to the
separation of the Greek Church from the Latin in 1054)
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Twelveth Century A.D.
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LOMBARDY
"Traces of Sabbath-keepers are found in the times of Gregory I,
Gregory VII, and in the twelfth century in Lombardy." Strong's
Cyclopaedia, 1, 660
WALDENSES
"Robinson gives an account of some of the Waldenses of the Alps,
who were called Sabbati, Sabbatati, Insabbatati, but more frequently
Inzabbatati. "One says they were so named from the Hebrew word
Sabbath, because they kept the Saturday for the Lord's day.'" General
History of the Baptist Denomination, Vol.II, P. 413
SPAIN (Alphonse of Aragon)
"Alphonse, king of Aragon, etc., to all archbishopss, bishops and
to all others...'We command y;ou that heretics, to wit, Waldenses and
Insabbathi, should be expelled away from the face of God and from all
Catholics and ordered to depart from our kingdom.'" Marianse,
Praefatio in Lucam Tudensem, found in "Macima Gibliotheca Veterum
Patrum," Vol.25, p.190
HUNGARY FRANCE, ENGLAND, ITALY, GERMANY. (Referring to the Sabbath-
keeping Pasagini) "The spread of heresy at this time is almost
incredible. From Gulgaria to the Ebro, from nothern France to the
Tiber, everywhere we meet them. Whole countries are infested, like
Hungary and southern France; they abound in many other countries, in
Germany, in Italy, in the Netherlands and even in England they put
forth their efforts." Dr. Hahn, "Gesch. der Ketzer." 1, 13, 14
WALDENSES
"Among the documents. we have by the same peoples, an explanation
of the Ten Commandments dated by Boyer 1120. Observance of the
Sabbath by ceasing from worldly labours, is enjoined." Blair, History
of the Waldenses, Vol.1, p. 220
WALES
"There is much evidence that the Sabbath prevailed in Wales
university until A.D.1115, when the first Roman bishop was seated at
St. David's. The old Welslh Sabbath-keeping churches did not even
then altogether bow the knee to Rome, but fled to their hiding
places." Lewis, "Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America," Vol.1,
p.29
FRANCE
"For twenty years Peter de Bruys stirred southern France. He
especialy emphasised a day of worship that was recognized at that
time amaong the Celtic churches of the British Isles, among the
Paulicians, and in the great Church of the East namely, the the
seventh day of the fourth commandment."
PASAGINI
The papal author, Bonacursus, wrote the following against
the "Pasagaini": "Not a few, but many know what are the errors of
those who are called Pasaagini...First, they teach that we should
obey the Sabbath. Furthermore, to increase their error, they condemn
and reject all the church Fathers, and the whole Roman Church."
D'Achery, Spicilegium I,f.211-214; Muratory, Antiq. med. aevi.5,
f.152, Hahn, 3, 209
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Thirteenth Century A.D.
-------------------------------------------------
WALDENSES
"They say that the blessed Pope Sylvester was the Antichrist of
whom mention is made in the Epistles of SSt. Paul as having been the
son of perdition.[They also say] that the keeping of the Sabbath
ought to take place." Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches
ofPiedmont," p.169 (by prominent Roman Cathholic author writing about
Waldenses)
FRANCE (Waldenses)
To destroy completely these heretics Pope Innocent III sent
Dominican inquistors into France, and also crusaders, promising "a
plenary remission of all sins, to those who took on them the
crusade...against the albigenses." Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol.XII,
art."Raymond VI," p. 670
WALDENSES OF FRANCE
"The inquisitors...[declare] that the sign of a Vaudois, deemed
worthy of death, was that he followed Christ and sought to obey the
commandments fo God." History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages,"
H.C.Les, vol.1
FRANCE
Thousands of God's people were tortured to death by the
Inquisition, buried alive, burned to death, or hacked to pieces by
the crusaders. While devastating the city of Biterre the soldiers
asked the Catholic leaders how they should know who were
heretics; "Slay them all, for the Lord knows who is His." History of
the Inquisition, pp.96
FRANCE-KING LOUIS IX,1229
Published the statute "Cupientes" in which he charges himself to
clear southern France from heretics as the Sabbath-keepers were
called.
WALDENSES OF FRANCE
"The heresy of the Vaudois, or poor people of Lyons, is of great
antiquity, for some say that it has been continued down ever since
the time of Pope Sylvester; and others, ever since that of the
apostles." The Roman Inquisitor, Reinerus Sacho, writing about 1230
FRANCE-Council Toulouse, 1229
Canons against Sabbath-keepers: "Canon 3.-The lords of the
different districts shall have the villas, houses and woods
diligently searched, and the hiding-places of the heretics destroyed.
"Canon 14-Lay members are not allowed to possess the books of
either the Old or the New Testaments." Hefele, 5, 931, 962
EUROPE
"The Paulicians, Petrobusinas, Passaginians, Waldenses, Insabbatati
were great Sabbath-keeping bodies of Europe down to 1250 A.D."
PASAGINIANS
Dr. Hahn says that if the Pasaginians referred to the 4th
Commandment to support the Sabbath, the Roman priests answered, "The
Sabbath symbolised the eternal rest of the saints."
MONGOLIA
"The Mongolian conquest did not injure the Church of the East.
(Sabbath-keeping.) On the contrary, a number of the Mongolian princes
and a larger number of Mongolian queens were members of this church."
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Fourteenth Century A.D.
-------------------------------------------------
WALDENSES
"That we are to worship one only God, who is able to help us, and
not the Saints departed; that we ought to keep holy the Sabbath day."
Luther's Fore-runners," p. 38
INSABBATI
"For centuries evangelical bodies, especially the Waldenses, were
called Insabbati because of Sabbath-keeping." Gui, Manueld'
Inquisiteur
BOHEMIA, 1310 (Modern Czechoslovakia)
"In 1310, two hundred years before Luther's theses, the Bohemian
brethern constituted onefourth of the population of Bohemia, and that
they were in touch with the Waldenses who abounded in Austria,
Lombardy,. Bohemia, north Germany, Thuringia, Brandenburg, and
Moravia. Erasmus pointed out how strictly Bohemian Waldenses kept the
seventh day Sabbath." Armitage, "A History of the Baptists," p.313;
Cox, "The Literature of the Sabbath Question," vol. 2, pp. 201-202
NORWAY
Then, too, in the "Catechism" that was used during the fourteenth
century, the Sabbath commandment read thus; "Thou shalt not forget to
keep the seventh day." This is quoted from "Documents and Studies
Concerning the History of the Lutheran Catechism in the Nordish
Churches," p.89. Christiania 1893
NORWAY
"Also the priests have caused the people to keep Saturdays as
Sundays." Theological Periodicals for the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Norway, Vol.1, p.184 Oslo
ENGLAND, HOLLAND, BOHEMIA
"We wrote of the Sabbatarians in Bohemia, Transylvania, England and
Holland between 1250 and 1600 A.D." Truth Triumphant, Wilkinson, p.309
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Fifteenth Century A.D.
---------------------------------------------
BOHEMIA
"Erasmus testifies that even as late as about 1500 these Bohemians
not only kept the seventh day scrupulously, but also were called
Sabbatarians." Cox, "The Literature of the Sabbath Question," Vol.2,
pp.201, 202 "Truth Triumphant," p.264
NORWAY
(Church Council held at Bergin, August 22,1435) "The first matter
concerned a keeping holy of Saturday. It had come to the earth of the
archbishop that people in different places of the kingdom had
ventured the keeping holy of Saturday. It is strictly forbidden-it is
stated-in the Church Law, for any one to keep or to adopt holy-days,
outside of those which the pope, archbishop, or bishops appoint." The
History of the Norwegian Church under Catholicism, R. Keyser, Vol.II,
p. 488.Oslo: 1858
NORWAY, 1435 (Catholic Provincial Council at Bergin) "We are
informed that some people in different districts of the kingdom, have
adopted and observed Saturday-keeping. It is severely forbidden-in
holy church canon-one and all to observe days excepting those which
the holy Pope archbishop, or the bishops command. Saturday-keeping
must under no circumstances be permitted hereafter further than the
church canon commands. Therfore, we counsil all the friends of God
throughout all Norway who want to be obedient towards the holy church
to let this evil of Saturday- keeping alone; and the rest we forbid
under penalty of sever church punishment to keep Saturday holy." Dip.
Norveg., 7, 397
NORWAY, 1436
(Church Conference at Oslo) "It is forbidden under the same penalty
to keep Saturday holy by refraining from labour." History of the
Norwegian Church, p.401
FRANCE - Waldenses
"Louis XII, King of France (1498-1515), being informed by the
enemies of the Waldense inhabiting a part of the province of
Province, that several heinous crimes were laid to their account,
sent the Master of Requests, and a certain doctor of the Sorbonne, to
make inquiry into this matter. On their return they reported that
they had visited all the parishes, but could not discover any traces
of those crimes with which they were charged. On the contrary, they
kept the Sabbath day, observed the ordinance of baptism, according to
the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of
the Christian faith, and the commandmnets of God. The King having
heard the report of his commisioners, said with an oath that they
were better men than himself or his people." History of the Christian
Church, Vol.II, pp. 71, 72, third edition. London: 1818
INDIA
"Separated from the Western world for a thousand years, they were
naturally ignorant of many novelties introduced by the councils and
decrees of the Lateran. 'We are Christians, and not idolaters,' was
their expressive reply when required to do homage to the image of the
Virgin Mary.'"
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Sixteenth Century A.D.
---------------------------------------------
ENGLAND
"In the reign of Elizabeth, it occurred to many conscientious and
independent thinkers (as it previously had done to some Protestants
in Bohemia) that the fourth commandment required of them the
observance, not of the first, but of the specified 'seventh' day of
the week." Chambers' Cyclopaedia, article "Sabbath," Vol. 8, p. 462,
1537
RUSSIA (Council, Noscow, 1593)
"The accused [Sabbath-keepers] were summoned; they openly
acknowledged the new faith, and defended the same. The most eminent
of them, the secretary of state, Kuritzyn, Ivan Maximow, Kassian,
archimandrite of the Fury Monastery of Novgorod, were condemned to
death, and burned publicly in cages, at Moscow; Dec. 17,1503."
H.Sternberfi, "Geschichte der Juden" (Leipsig, 1873), pp.117-122
SWEDEN
"This zeal for Saturday-keeping continued for a long time: even
little things which might strengthen the practice of keeping Saturday
were punished." Bishop Anjou, "Svenska Kirkans Historia after
Motetthiers, Upsala
LICHENSTEIN FAMILY
(estates in Austria, Bohemia, Morovia, Hungary. Lichenstein in the
Rhine Valley wasn't their country until the end of the 7th
century). "The Sabbatarians teach that the outward Sabbath, i.e.
Saturday, still must be observed, They say that Sunday is the Pope's
invention." Refutation of Sabbath, by Wolfgang Capito, published 1599
BOHEMIA (the Bohemian Brethren)
Dr. R. Cox says: "I find from a passage in Erasmus that at the
early period of the Reformantion when he wrote, there were
Sabbatarians in Bohemia, who not only kept the seventh day, but were
said to be...scrupulous in resting on it." Literature of the Sabbath
Question, Cox, Vol. II, pp. 201, 202
HISTORIAN'S LIST OF CHURCHES (16th Century)
"Sabbatarians, so called because they reject the observance of the
Lord's day as not commanded in Scripture, they consider the Sabbath
alone to be holy, as God rested on that day and commanded to keep it
holy and to rest on it." A. Ross
GERMANY
-Dr. Esk (while refuting the Reformers) "However, the church has
transferred the observance from Saturday to Sunday by virtue of her
own power, without Scripture." Dr. Esk's "Enchiridion," 1533, pp.78,79
PRINCES OF LICHTENSTEIN (Europe)
About the hear 1520 many of these Sabbath-keepers found shelter on
the estate of Lord Leonhardt of Lichtensein held to the observance of
the true Sabbath." J.N.Andrews, History of the Sabbath, p. 649, ed.
INDIA
"The famous Jesuit, Francis Xavier, called for the Inquisition,
which was set up in Goa, India, in 1560, to check the 'Jewish
wickedness' (Sabbath-keeping)." Adeney, "The Greek and Eastern
Churches," p.527, 528
NORWAY-1544
"Some of you, contrary to the warning, keep Saturday. You ought to
be severely punished. Whoever shall be found keeping Saturday, must
pay a fine of ten marks." History of King Christian the Third," Niels
Krag and S. Stephanius
AUSTRIA
"Sabatarians now exist in Austria." Luther, "Lectures on Genesis,"
A.D.1523-27
ABYSSINIA--A.D. 1534
(Abyssinian legate at court of Lisbon) "It is not therefore, in
imitation of the Jews, but in obedience to Christ and His holy
apostles, that we observe the day." Gedde's "Church History of
Ethiopia," pp. 87,8
DR. MARTIN LUTHER
"God blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it to Himself. God willedl
that this command concerning the Sabbath should remain. He willed
that on the seventh day the word should be preached." Commentary on
Genesis, Vol.1, pp.138-140
BAPTISTS
"Some have suffered torture because they would not rest when others
kept Sunday, for they declared it to be the holiday and law of
Antichrist." Sebastian Frank (A.D. 1536)
FINLAND-Dec. 6,1554
(King Gustavus Vasa I, of Sweden's letter to the people of
Finland) "Some time ago we heard that some people in Finland had
fallen into a great error and observed the seventh day, called
Saturday." State Library at Helsingfors, Reichsregister, Vom J.,
1554, Teil B.B. leaf 1120, pp.175-180a
SWITZERLAND
"The observance of the Sabbath is a part of the moral law. It has
been kept hholy since the beginning of the world." Ref. Noted Swiss
writer, R Hospinian, 1592
HOLLAND AND GERMANY
Barbara of Thiers, who was executed in 1529, declared: "God has
commanded us to rest on the seventh day." Another martyr, Christina
Tolingerin, is mentioned thus: "Concerning holy days and Sundays, she
said: 'In six days the Lord made the world, on the seventh day he
rested. The other holy days have been instituted by popes, cardinals,
and archbishops.'" Martyrology of the Churches of Christ, commonly
called Baptists, during the era of the Reformation, from the Dutch of
T.J. Van Bright, London, 1850,1, pp.113-4.
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Seventeenth Century
A.D.
-----------------------------------------------
ENGLAND-1618
"At last for teaching only five days in the week, and resting upon
Saturday she was carried to the new prison in Maiden Lane, a place
then appointed for the restraint of several other persons of
different opinions from the Church of England. Mrs. Traske lay
fifteen or sixteen years a prisoner for her opinion about the
Saturday Sabbath." Pagitt's "Heresiography." p.196
ENGLAND-1668
"Here in England are about nine or ten churches that keep the
Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have eminently
preserved." Stennet's letters, 1668 and 1670. Cox, Sab.,1, 268
HUNGARY, RUMANIA
"But as they rejected Sunday and rested on the Sabbath, Prince
Sigmond Bathory ordered their persecution. Pechi advanced to position
of chancellor of state and next in line to throne of Transylvania. He
studied his Bible, and composed a number of hymns, mostly in honour
of the Sabbath. Pechi was arrested and died in 1640.
SWEDEN AND FINLAND
"We can trace these opinions over almost the whole extent of Sweden
of that day-from Finland and northern Sweden. "In the district of
Upsala the farmers kept Saturday in place of Sunday. "About the year
1625 this religious tendency became so pronounced in these countries
that not only large numbers of the common people began to keep
Saturday as the rest day, but even many priests did the same."
History of the Swedish Church, Vol.I, p.256
MUSCOVIT RUSSIAN CHURCH
"They solemnize Saturday (the old Sabbath). Samuel Purchase- "His
Pilgrims." Vol. I, p. 350
INDIA (Jacobites)-1625
"They kept Saturday holy. They have solemn service on Saturdays."
Pilgrimmes, Part 2, p.1269
AMERICA-1664
"Stephen Mumford, the first Sabbath-keeper in America come from
London in 1664." History of the Seventh-day Baptist Gen. Conf. by
Jas. Bailey, pp. 237, 238
AMERICA-1671 (Seventh-day Baptists)
"Broke from Baptist Church in order to keep Sabbath." See Bailey's
History, pp. 9,10
ENGLAND
Charles I,1647 (when querying the Parliament Commissioners) "For it
will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is no longer to be
kept, or turned into the Sunday wherefore it must be the Church's
authority that changed the one and instituted the other."
Cox, "Sabbath Laws," p.333
ENGLAND-John Milton
"It will surely be far safer to observe the seventh day, according
to express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human
conjecture to adopt the first." Sab. Lit. 2, 46-54
ENGLAND
"Upon the publication of the 'Book of Sports' in 1618 a violent
controversy arose among English divines on two points: first, whether
the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was in force; and, secondly, on
what ground the first day of the week was entitled to be observed
as 'the Sabbath.'" Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, art. "Sabbatarians."
p.602
ETHIOPIA-1604
Jesuits tried to induce the Abyssinian church to accept Roman
Catholicism. They influenced King Zadenghel to propose to submit to
the Papacy (A.D.1604). "Prohibiting all his subjects, upon severe
penalties, to observe Saturday any longer." Gedde's "Church History
of Ethiopia." p.311, also Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," ch. 47
BOHEMIA, MORAVIA, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY
"one of the counsellors and lords of the court was John Gerendi,
head of the Sabbatarians, a people who did not keep Sunday, but
Saturday." Lamy, "The History of Socinianism." p. 60
TELEGRAPH PRINT, NAPIER
The inscription on the monument over the grave of Dr. Peter
Chamberlain, physician to King James and Queen Anne, King Charles I
and Queen Katherine says that Dr. Chamberlain was "a Christian
keeping the commandment of God and the faith of Jesus, being baptised
about the year 1648, and keeping the seventh day for the Sabbath
above thirty-two years."
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Eighteenth Century A.D.
-----------------------------------------------
ABYSSINIA
"The Jacobites assembled on the Sabbath day, before the Domical
day, in the temple, and kept that day, as do also the Abyssinians as
we have seen from the confession of their faith by the Ethiopian king
Claudius." Abundacnus, 'Historia Jacobatarum,"p.118-9 (18th Century)
RUMANIA, 1760 (and what is today) YUGOSLAVIA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA
"Joseph II's edict of tolerance did not apply to the Sabbatarians,
some of whom again lost all of their possessions." Jahrgang 2, 254
"Catholic priests aided by soldiers forcing them to accept Romanism
nominally, and compelling the remainder to labour on the Sabbath and
to attend church on Sunday,-these were the methods employed for two
hundred fifty years to turn the Sabbatarians.
GERMANY-Tennhardt of Nuremberg
"He holds strictly to the doctrine of the Sabbath, because it is
one of the ten commandments." Bengel's "Leban und Wirken," Burk, p.579
He himself says: "It cannot be shown that Sunday has taken the
place of the Sabbath (P.366). the Lord God has sanctified the last
day of the week. Antichrist, on the other hand, has appointed the
first day of the week." Ki Auszug aus Tennhardt's "Schriften," P.49
(printed 1712)
BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA (Today Czechoslovakia).
Their history from 1635 to 1867 is thus described by Adolf
Dux: "The condition of the Sabbatarians was dreadful. Their books and
writings had to be delivered to the Karlsburg Consistory to becomes
the spoils of flames." Aus Ungarn, pp. 289-291. Leipzig, 1850
HOLLAND AND GERMANY
"Dr. Cornelius stated of East Friesland, that when Baptists were
numerous, "Sunday and holidays were not observed," (they were Sabbath-
keepers). Der Anteil Ostfrieslands and Ref. Muenster," 1852, pp l29,
34
MORAVIA-Count Zinzendorf
In 1738 Zinzendorf wrote of his keeping the Sabbath thus: "That I
have employed the Sabbath for rest many years already, and our Sunday
for the proclamation of the gospel." Budingsche Sammlung, Sec. 8, p.
224. Leipzig, 1742
AMERICA, 1741
-Moravian Brethren (after Zinzendorf arrived from Europe). "As a
special instance it deserves to be noticed that he is resolved with
the church at Bethlehem to observe the seventh day as rest day. Id.,
pp. 5, 1421, 1422
AMERICA
But before Zinzendorf and the Moravians at Bethlehem thus began the
observance of the Sabbath and prospered, there was a small body of
German Sabbath-keepers in Pennsylvania. See Rupp's "History of
Religious Denominations in the United States," pp.109- 123
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Nineteenth Century A.D.
-----------------------------------------------
RUSSIA
"But the majority moved to the Crimea and the Caucasus, where they
remain true to their doctrine in spite of persecution until this
present time. The people call them Subotniki, or Sabbatarians,"
Sternberg, "Geschichte der Juden in Polen," p.124
CHINA
"At this time Hung prohibited the use of opium, and even tobacco,
and all intoxicating drinks, and the Sabbath was religiously
observed." The Ti-Ping Revolution," by Llin-Le, and officer among
them, Vol. 1, pp.36-48, 84
"The seventh day is most religiously and strictly observed. The
Taiping Sabbath is kept upon our Saturday." P. 319
CHINA
"The Taipings when asked why they observed the seventh day Sabbath,
replied that it was, first, because the Bible taught it, and, second,
because their ancestors observed it as a day of worship." A Critical
History of the Sabbath and the Sunday.
INDIA AND PERSIA
"Besides, they maintain the solemn observance of Christian worship
throughout our Empire, on the seventh day." Christian Researches in
Asia," p.143
DENMARK
"This agitation was not without its effect. Pastor M.A. Sommer
began observing the seventh day, and wrote in his church
paper. "Indovet Kristendom" No.5,1875 an impressive article about the
true Sabbath. In a letter to Elder John G.Matteson, he says:
"Among the Baptists here in Denmark there is a great agitation
regarding the Sabbath commandment..However, I am probably the only
preacher in Denmark who stands so near to the Adventists and who for
many years has proclaimed Christ's second coming." Advent Tidente,"
May, 1875
SWEDEN (Baptists)
"We will now endeavour to show that the sanctification of the
Sabbath has its foundation and its origin in a law which God at
creation itself established for the whole world, and as a consequence
thereof is binding on all men in all ages." Evangelisten (The
Evangelist). Stockholm, May 30 to August 15,1863 (organ of the
Swedish Baptist Church)
AMERICA, 1845
"Thus we see Dan. 7, 25, fulfilled, the little horn changing 'times
and laws. 'Therefore it appears to me that all who keep the first day
for the Sabbath are Pope's Sunday-keepers and God's Sabbath-
breakers." Elder T.M. Preble, Feb.13, 1845
AMERICA (Seventh-day Adventists)
In 1844 Seventh-day Adventists arose and had spread to nearly all
the world by the close of the 19th Century. Their name is derived
from their teaching of the seventh-day Sabbath and the Advent of
Jesus. In 1874 their work was established in Europe, 1885 -
Australasia, 1887-South Africa, 1888-Asia, 1888-South America.
Seventh-day Adventists uphold the same Sabbath that Jesus and His
followers kept. The sacred Torch of Truth was not extinguished
through the long centuries. Adventists are working today in nearly
1000 languages of earth and have over 27,000 churches. Over ten
million members around the globe welcome the sacred Sabbath hours.
============================================
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Sabbath Observance Through The Centuries - The Twentieth Century A.D.
------------------------------------------------
American Congregationalists: No authority in the New Testament for
substitution of the first day for the seventh
"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 Abbott, in the Christian
Union, June 26, 1890
Anglican: Nowhere commanded to keep the first day
"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. The reason why we keep the
first of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason
that we observe many other things, - not because the Bible, but
because the church, has enjoined [commanded] it." Isaac Williams,
Plain Sermons on the Catechism, Vol. 1, pp 334, 336.
Anglican/Episcopal: The Catholics changed it
"We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day,
from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy, Catholic,
Apostolic Church of Christ." Episcopalian Bishop Symour, Why we keep
Sunday.
Baptist: Sunday Sabbath not in the scriptures
"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but
that Sabbath day was not on Sunday. It will be said, however, and
with some show of truimph, 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...
"I wish to say that this Sabbath question, in this aspect of it, is
the gravest and most perlexing question connected with Christian
institutions which at present claims attention from Christian people;
and the only reason that it is not a more disturbing element in
Christian thought and in religious discussion is because the
Christian world has settled down content on the conviction that some
how a transference has taken place at the beginning of Christian
history.
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years'
discussion with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the
Sabbath question, discussing it in some of its various aspects,
freeing it from its false glosses [of Jewish traditions], never
alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days
of His resurrection life, 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 instruction 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 a
sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and
bequeathed as a sacred legacy to protestantism!" Dr. Edward Hiscox,
author of The Baptist Manual. From a photostatic copy of a notarized
statement by Dr. Hiscox.
"There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish
seventh day Sabbath to the Christian first day observance" William
Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in One Day p.49
Church of England: No warrant from scripture for the change of the
Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday
"Neither did he(Jesus), or his disciples, ordain another Sabbath in
the place of this, as if they had intended only to shift the day; and
to transfer this honor to some other time. Their doctrine and their
practise are directly contrary, to so new a fancy. It is true, that
in some tract of time, the Church in honor of his resurrection, did
set apart that day on the which he rose, to holy exercises: but this
upon their own authority, and without warrant from above, that we can
hear of; more then the generall warrant which God gave his Church,
that all things in it be done decently, and in comely order." Dr.
Peter Heylyn of the Church of England, quoted in History of the
Sabbath, Pt 2, Ch.2, p7
Congregationalist: The Christian Sabbath' [Sunday] is not in the
Scripture
"The Christian Sabbath' [Sunday] is not in the Scripture, and was
not by the primitive [early Christian] church called the Sabbath."
Timothy Dwight, Theology, sermon 107, 1818 ed., Vol. IV, p49 [Dwight
(1752-1817) was president of Yale University from 1795-1817].
Disciples of Christ: It is all old wives' fables to talk of
the 'change of the sabbath'
"If it [the Ten Commandments] yet exist, let us observe it... And
if it does not exist, let us abandon a mock observance of another day
for it. 'But,' say some, 'it was changed from the seventh to the
first day.' Where? when? and by whom? - No, it never was changed, nor
could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the
reason assigned [in Genesis 2:1-3] must be changed before the
observance or respect to the reason, can be changed. It is all old
wives' fables to talk of the 'change of the sabbath' from the seventh
to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage
changed it who changes times and laws ex officio, - I think his name
is "Doctor Antichrist.'" Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist,
February 2, 1824, vol 1, no. 7
Episcopal: Bible commandment says the seventh day
"The Bible commandment says on the seventh-day thou shalt rest.
That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship
should be done on Sunday." Phillip Carrington, quoted in Toronto
Daily Star, Oct 26, 1949 [Carrington (1892-), Anglican archbishop of
Quebec, spoke the avove in a message on this subject delivered to a
packed assembly of clergymen. It was widely reported at the time in
the news media].
Lutheran: They err in teaching Sunday Sabbath
But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old
Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had
to be kept by the children of Israel.....These churches err in their
teaching, for scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the
week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New
Testament to that effect" John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday,
pp.15, 16
"We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath
faded from the mind of the Christian church, and how completely the
newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took
possesion of the church. We have seen that the Christian of the first
three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time
celebrated both." The Sunday Problem, a study book by the Lutheran
Church (1923) p.36
"They [Roman Catholics] allege the change of the Sabbath into the
Lord's day, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue [the ten commandments];
and they have no example more in their mouths than they change of the
Sabbath. They will needs have the Church's power to be very great,
because it hath dispensed with the precept of the Decalogue." The
Augsburg Confession, 1530 A.D. (Lutheran), part 2, art 7, in Philip
Schaff, the Creeds of Christiandom, 4th Edition, vol 3, p64 [this
important statement was made by the Lutherans and written by
Melanchthon, only thirteen years after Luther nailed his theses to
the door and began the Reformation].
"They [Roman Catholics] refer to the Sabbath Day, as having been
changed into the Lord's Day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it seems.
Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning
the changing of the Sabbath Day. Great, say they, is the power of the
Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten commandments!"
Augsburg Confession of Faith,art. 28; written by Melanchthon and
approved by Martin Luther, 1530; as published in The Book of Concord
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Henry Jacobs, editor (1911), p.63
Methodist: Jesus did not abolish the moral law - no command to keep
holy the first day
The moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by
the prophets, He Jesus did not take away. It was not the design of
His coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which can never
be broken...Every part of this law must remain in force upon all
mankind and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or
any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of man,
and their unchangeable relation to each other." John Wesley, Sermons
on Several Occasions, Vol.1, No. 25
"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, 1902 edition, pp 180-181, 171 [Binney (1802-
1878), Methodist minister and presiding elder, whose Compendium was
published for forty years in many languages, also wrote a Methodist
New Testament Commentary].
"Take the matter of sunday. There are indications in the new
testament as to how the church came to keep the first day of the week
as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling Christians to
keep that day or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day." Harris
Franklin Rall, Christian Advocate July 2, 1942 pg. 26
Moody Bible Institute: "Sabbath was before Sinai"
"I honestly believe that this commandment [the Sabbath commandment]
is just as binding today as it ever was. I have talked with men who
have said that it has been abrogated [abolilshed], but they have
never been able to point to any place in the Bible where God repealed
it. When Christ was on earth, He did nothing to set it aside; He
freed it from the traces under which the scribes and Pharisees had
put it, and gave it its true place. 'The Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath' [mark 2:27]. It is just as practicable and
as necessary for men today as it ever was - in fact, more than ever,
because we live in such an intense age.
"The [Seventh-day] Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in
force ever since. This Fourth Commandment [Exodus 20:8-11] begins
with the word 'remember,' showing that the Sabbath had already
existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How
can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when
they admit that the other nine are still binding? Dwight.L. Moody,
Weighed and Wanting, 1898, pp.46-47 [D.L. Moody, (1837-1899) was the
most famous evangelist of his time, and founder of the Moody Bible
Institute].
"This Fourth is not a commandment for one place, or one time, but
for all places and times." D.L. Moody, at San Francisco, Jan. 1st,
1881.
Presbyterian: Sunday kept the Gentiles happy
"Sunday being the first day of which the Gentiles solemnly adored
that planet and called it Sunday, partly from its influence on that
day especially, and partly in respect to its divine body (as they
conceived it) the Christians thought fit to keep the same day and the
same name of it, that they might not appear carelessly peevish, and
by that means hinder the conversion of the Gentiles, and bring a
greater prejudice that might be otherwise taken against the gospel"
T.M. Morer, Dialogues on the Lord's Day
Roman Catholic: No such law in the Bible
"Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered
that the Sabbath be changed from Satuday to Sunday. We have the
commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that
is, the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, most Christians
keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman] church
outside the bible." Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947
"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will
not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The
Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which
we never sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our
Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"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 of Feb. 10, 1920.
Question: "Have you not any other way of proving that the Church
has power to institute festivals of precept?"
Answer: "Had she not such power, she could not have done that in
which all modern religionists agree with her - she could not have
substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for
the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there
is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd
ed. p. 174
"Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command
feasts and holydays?
Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which
Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict
themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other
feasts commanded by the same Church." Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment
of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p.58 (Same statement in
Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris [1916 ed.], p.67)
"The Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed
the day from Saturday to Sunday." The Catholic Mirror, official organ
of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"1. Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the 10
Commandments?
"I answer yes.
"2. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change
the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, the 1st day?
"I answer yes.
"3. Did Christ change the day?
"I answer no! Faithfully yours,
"J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined
the Sunday as the day of worship in the NEW LAW, that he himself has
explicitly substituted sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is
entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His
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." John
Laux A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies
1936, vol.1 p.51
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic
Church transferred the solemity from Saturday to Sunday." Peter
Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1946 ed.),
p.50. Geiermann received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X on
his labors, January 25, 1910.
"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, Aug. 14, 1942, p.4
"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
(1868), p. 213