Does Colossians 2:16-17 really teach that the 7th day Sabbath was merely a shadow and should no longer be observed?

Colossians 2:16-17 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”

Does this passage teach that no one is to judge another regarding what day they choose to observe, or not observe, the Sabbath? Does this passage give us liberty to omit the 7^th day Sabbath exchanging it for Sunday? Does it give us permission to omit a Sabbath all together? Does it really say that the Sabbath was only a shadow of Christ and therefore obsolete now that He has come? I plan on answering all of these questions in this post.

Before we dive in to who the Colossians were I want to point out a few things that might not be apparent in our English translations of the Greek text in this passage. First, sometimes the translators add words that are not in the original Greek text. This is done in order to clarify what is being said. Sometimes this is good and sometimes it is bad. Translators are human and tend to use their human bias when translating the text. To account for this some translations put these added words in italics to let you know of the addition. In the case of this passage the word ‘mere’ is not in the text. This would be a case where the translator is entering his bias into the text. The translator believes that the feasts are simply a shadow of things to come and therefore obsolete. It makes the reader think that because the feasts are prophetic they are no longer important. Yes, the feasts are and were a shadow of future events. Yet, we have not come to the end yet. Some of what the feasts prophecy have not come to pass yet. Take the feast of trumpets; this is prophetic of the second coming of Yeshua. So to say that they are merely shadows of what is to come is misleading. Another note is the translation of the phrase ‘de soma Christos’. Here it is translated as ‘but the substance belongs to Christ’. Yet the literal translation is ‘but the body of Christ’. So a literal translation of the Greek would read as follows:

“Then do not let anyone judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in part of a feast, or the new moon, or of Sabbaths, which is a shadow of things coming, but the body of Messiah.”

Notice that it states in present tense that the feasts are shadows of what is coming, not what already came. Also notice that you could read this as stating that no one except those belonging to the body of Christ should judge you regarding your keeping of the feasts etc… It is the responsibility of believers to hold each other accountable to God’s laws. Can you now see how the bias of the translators has seeped into our thinking? This is one small example of why we need to be so careful to study diligently to know if what is being presented to us is Truth! Okay now let’s move on to the Colossians.

Let’s begin by digging a bit into whom the Colossians were, what was going on around them and the context of this passage. Colossae was a town in Asia Minor which had at one time been a major trade center; it seems the activity in the town was dying down in Paul’s day. The Colossian Christians were mainly Gentile converts (2:13) who were progressing in their new faith. They had been led to Yeshua through Epaphras (1:7). As we will see the Colossian church was being exposed to a heresy that threatened to deprive them of their spiritual blessings.

Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

Colossians 2:18 “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen,  inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,”

So what was this heresy that was being taught to the Colossian’s? Well, Paul expounds in a detailed description of this deception later on in the chapter.

Colossians 2:20-23 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (Which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

When I read this passage as a mainstream Christian I never gave it much thought. I assumed that it was referring to Jewish traditions of Sabbath, new moon, kosher eating etc… I assumed “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” referred to the Jewish laws. But as I began to learn about what the Jewish people really taught a different picture came clear. The Sabbath and festivals are not a time to deprive yourself. They are a time to indulge, to eat, to touch and to celebrate. They are not restrictive; there is no self-abasement or mistreatment of the body. Yes, they eat Kosher, but does avoiding pig really equate to depriving yourself? Especially when you are scarfing down fried potato latkes and doughnuts? This idea didn’t make sense to me at all. So who were the false teachers among the Colossians? This is important to answer as it will tell us who is responsible for the judging of the Colossian believers. They are being judged regarding Sabbath, new moon, festivals etc… So what those doing the judging thought of these things is very relevant to what the passage teaches us about Sabbath observance. Does it make sense to say that the Jews were judging the Colossians for not keeping these observances? Well, not really considering the Jews were not involved in severe treatment of the body or self-abasement. Were the believers Jewish converts or Gentile converts? We already established them as Gentile converts primarily, so when the text states that they are going back to the elemental principles of the world. How do you go back to something that you never submitted to before conversion? So, if it wasn't the Jews judging them who were involved in the judging in Colossae?

I believe they were the Ascetics; a false sect that we know from history was circulating at that time. There are several references to the apparently wise teachings of men that involve self-abasement, severe treatment of the body, and not handling/tasting/touching, etc. Here is the definition of the doctrine.

Asceticism – the self-righteous mentality of severe fasting and punishing the body, abstaining from food, wine, sex, festivals, etc.

I think a more logical assumption from the context of this verse is that these self-righteous Ascetics, who were outside the assembly of believers and engrossed in the elementary principles of the outside world, were judging the Colossians for KEEPING the Sabbath, after all the Sabbath is known as a “festival” in the Scriptures of eating, drinking, and rest. I think the message Paul was conveying to the Colossians was something like this, 

“There are some who profess to be extra-holy because they have taken it upon themselves to abstain from food and drink and celebration of the festivals like the Sabbath. They do this thinking it is a way to "crucifying the flesh." Do not let these people judge you by their doctrines or discourage you from keeping the Sabbath, eating, drinking and being merry. Only those within the body of believers who are acting in love and from knowledge of God’s instructions should be holding you accountable in regards to these things.”

I know this is exactly opposite of what most Christians have been taught. But, we have to remember to look at scripture in context and not read into scripture our current culture. Just because the church today teaches that the festivals and Sabbath are a burden does not mean the leaders back then taught that. And in fact, the church today has no place stating that these things are a burden as most have never experienced and participated in them. If they had they would see what a blessing and indulgence these activities are. God has given us the Sabbath and all of His feasts in order to bless us, He has given them to us for pleasure, and they are fun, not a burden!

Shalom!

Were the Galatians returning to the weak and elemental Sabbath of the Jews?

Galatians 4:9-10 “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years.”

Before explaining why this passage is not referring to the Sabbath, new moons or feasts I have a couple questions. Who exactly were the Galatians? After all, Paul is writing to the Galatians when he writes this letter. Were the Galatians Jewish converts? No, they were not. They were Gentile converts. They were living in Galatia, a pagan nation. They were participating in pagan worship. They were observing pagan days, months and years. The Galatians had never been involved in anything Jewish prior to converting.  So let me ask you another question. What exactly are the weak and elemental things that the Gentile, pagan Galatians were turning back to? What were they practicing before knowing God? We can be positive it was not the 7^th day Sabbath, a Jewish observance. That would not even make any sense. I propose that the Galatians were returning to their pagan ways.

Another interesting point regarding this passage is the choice of words. When read in the Greek it is clear that the terms used for days, months and years are generic terms. For example, the word used for day here is hēmera, this word is a general term for day which could mean any day. In contrast, Colossians 2:16 uses the word sabbaton, which is directly related to the 7^th day Sabbath.

In conclusion, this passage does not teach that the believers were returning to the Jewish observance of Sabbath, which would be impossible as they never observed the Jewish Sabbath as Gentile pagans. Instead the Gentile converts were returning to their pagan traditions and participating in the pagan days, months and years of which they had been enslaved before coming to know God.

Shalom!

Acts 20:7-12 See! The believers met on Sunday to take communion! Or did they?

“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.”

What do you see in this passage? When I first read this passage as a Protestant I immediately associated the first day of the week with Sunday worship and the breaking of bread with communion. But, is that what was really going on? Did Sunday worship even exist then? Did communion exist? Upon further study of Judaism and the traditions at the time of Paul a different picture unfolds.

First of all, it is apparent in the passage that this is taking place at night, not morning, as there are many lamps around and Paul talks until midnight. It is also obviously night as the boy falls asleep out of exhaustion. So right away we can rule out Sunday morning. It is also important to note that the Jewish day begins at sundown. So the first day of the week actually begins at sundown on Saturday immediately following the 7^th day of the week, or the Sabbath.  At the end of every Sabbath Jews come together for what they call Havdalah. This is a ceremony where candles are lit and blessings are given in order to separate the Sabbath from the rest of the week. This custom was already in place in the time of Paul. The tradition is to participate in the ceremony and then share an evening meal together. “Breaking bread” is another way to say eating a meal, it does not refer to communion.

This passage in no way advocates a change of the Sabbath to the first day of the week. It is simply Jews doing what they always have done, saying goodbye to the Holy Sabbath by congregating for Havdalah and sharing a meal. Paul happened to be leaving the next morning so he took the opportunity to speak to his fellow believers. He was not giving a Sunday sermon; he was more likely midrashing after the Shabbat before having to leave on his journey in the morning.

Shalom!

History Of The Sabbath - How It Was Changed From Saturday To Sunday

In my last post I shared the scripture references throughout the Bible teaching on the Sabbath. We saw that it was an eternal Law that was first instituted on the 7^th day of creation. I showed that it was in effect before the 10 commandments were given at Mt. Sinai. At Mt.Sinai the commandment was instituted as a perpetual statute for all of Israel and those that align themselves with Israel. We learned that Yeshua (Jesus) observed the Sabbath and never indicated that there would be or was a change in the day the Sabbath was to be observed. We saw that Paul and the Apostles throughout Acts continued to meet on the Sabbath in the synagogue. That they preached not only to the Jews on the Sabbath but the Gentiles as well.  I also showed that the prophets teach of the Sabbath being observed after the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus). So why do we worship on Sunday? I would like to give a rundown on the history of the Sabbath and how it has evolved into what the church views it as today.

We have already seen that there is no where in scripture that states that the Sabbath has been changed to Sunday.  There is no controversy over the day of worship in the New Testament at all. Isn’t this peculiar? The 7^th day Sabbath was a completely ingrained doctrine in the Jewish believers in the early church, yet there is not one passage showing a discussion on the matter. They discussed the conversion ceremony, legalism, food sacrificed to idols, returning to paganism etc… but no where is the Sabbath touched on. Don’t you think that if there was a change of the sacred Sabbath day being made the Jews would have had something to say about it? I propose that they didn’t say anything because it was not an issue, the day was never changed. The switch to Sunday was probably as much a push from Judaism as it was from the emerging church of the 1^st century.

We know that the original followers of Yeshua (Jesus) were considered a Jewish sect; they were called the followers of “The Way” or the “Nazareans”. As a sect of Judaism, they received certain legal priveleges.  The Roman government had granted the Jews an exemption from Roman law. In the Roman Empire atheism was considered a capital crime. The Emperor was considered to be a god and he along with the pantheon of gods were required to be worshipped by all citizens of Rome. However, Jews were exempt and free to worship their God. As long as the people of “The Way” remained a sect within Judaism they were granted the same exemption that all of Judaism received.  This changed after the destruction of the temple.

After the destruction of the Temple the Pharisaic sect of Judaism seized control of the faith and established their headquarters at Yavneh. In 66CE the Jewish Zealots led a revolt against Rome which resulted in the destruction of the Temple in 70CE, dispersion of the Jewish people, and the imprisonment of many Jewish leaders (such as Paul).  The turmoil that resulted from the destruction of the temple and dispersion of the Jews allowed the Pharisees to take control and make changes to Judaism that resulted in the sect of The Way being pushed out. 

At Yavneh, the Pharisees changed the Shemoneh Esrieh, a traditional Jewish prayer said daily by many Jews that originally contained 18 blessings.  A 19^th blessing was added to the prayer, which is now recited in the prayer after the 11^th blessing.  This added blessing (more a curse, really) reads as follows:

“And for slanderers (sectarians) let there be no hope, and may all the evil in an instant be destroyed and all Thy enemies be cut down swiftly; and the evil ones uproot and break and destroy and humble soon in out days. Blessed art you, LORD, who breaks down enemies and humbles sinners” (http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/Shemoneh_Esrei/Birkat_HaMinim/Printer_Version/printer_version.html)

The word translated slanderers is lamalshinim, but the Talmud tells us that the original word was laminim which means “for the sectarians”. This blessing was in direct response to the Messianic believers (and other sects that the Pharisees didn’t like such as the Essenes) of the 1^st century.  If someone left this curse out while reciting the Shemoneh Esrieh prayer, the Rabbis would suspect them to be heretics and would then accuse them of slander and put them up for excommunication.

Why is this important to our discussion? Because it shows us that at least up until the 1^st century the Messianic believers were still attending Synagogue along with their non-believing Jewish brothers. They were still considered a sect of Judaism, which meant that they were adhering to Jewish traditions including the observance of the Sabbath. They appeared Jewish in every way. So much so that the Rabbis had to come up with a way to weed them out. This addition was made sometime around 80-90AD. Up until this point the early believers were simply a sect of Judaism and shared the Temple as well as the local Synagogue.

The Way was initially composed of primarily Jewish converts.  Remember that Jesus and his disciples were Jewish, and many of the early converts were Jews.  For example, Acts records that many pharisees were converting to The Way.  As the gospel spread, Hellenistic Jews and eventually large numbers of Gentiles began to convert to The Way.  Soon, The Way was made up of a large portion of Gentile converts.  We see in Acts that this caused tension even among the Jews, Hellenistic Jews, and Gentile members of The Way.

After the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, Rome placed the Fiscus Judaicus tax on all that were Jewish. This tax was 2 days wages for every member of the household from 3 to 60 years.  How did they define who was Jewish? By the fact that they led a Jewish lifestyle. There was now a big incentive for converted Gentiles who were members of The Way to give up their customs to avoid this tax.  The Jews also began to experience persecution as a result of the revolt that was put down.  More and more believers began to distance themselves from Judaism in order to avoid persecution and taxation. Domitian (81-96CE) and later his successor Nerva refined the Roman law that defined who was a Jew for the purpose of taxation.  Nerva ruled that a Jew should be defined as “those who followed their ancestral traditions." This included, observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, abstaining from unclean foods, and the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The result of the continuing persecution and taxation of Jews was creating a growing division in the early Messianic believers. Gentile believers did not have the same cultural, ethnic, and historical influences and didn’t feel as compelled as Jewish believers who felt compelled to follow the culutural, historical, and ethnic traditions that they and their ancestors were raised with.  Gentile believers began to distance themselves from the Jewish community. After all if they did not participate in “Jewish” practices they could avoid that hefty tax!

In 130 CE the Jews once again revolted against the Roman oppression under the leadership of Bar Kochba.  Many of the Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Akiva proclaimed Bar Kochba to be the Messiah. You can see how this would have been a huge dilemma for the followers of The Way as they already had their Messiah in Yeshua (Jesus). Therefore the believers were moving farther and farther from being accepted as a Jewish sect. And the Jewish believers resented the followers of “The Way” more and more due to the fact that they refused to follow Bar Kochba in the revolt against Rome.  Following the Bar Kochba revolt the final break between the emerging church and the Synagogue took place.

So, there were several compelling reasons for The Way to distance themselves from the Jews.  The Jewish leaders were rejecting the members of The Way.  The Romans were taxing and persecuting the Jews. The Gentiles were no longer accepted as part of the Jewish community.  They did not have the history and culture that would compel them to remain part of the Jewish community. 

The emerging non-Jewish Christian church began to down play the Sabbath and other Jewish customs.  Eventually this led to a complete rejection of everything “Jewish”. Along with this came a replacement of ceremonies and rituals, including replacing the Sabbath with Sunday. Many of these things were the church’s attempt to assimilate with the pagan nation around them in an effort to attract more pagans to the church. But these changes were also born out of the growing hate they had for the Jewish people, who to be fair, had been pushing the believers out of their circle for some time.

Despite the persecution and taxation, we do know that there were sects of believers still keeping the Sabbath as well as the other Biblical festivals and ways up to the 3^rd and 4^th centuries. Here are a few quotes that mention that the Sabbath and other Jewish practices were still being practiced: (quotes accessed at http://www.babylonforsaken.com/sabbathearlychurch.html)

Ignatius [107 AD] – ”Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness;  But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them." Ignatius - To the Magnesians chapter 9 (about 107 AD) 

Clement of Alexandra [153 AD]–  " Thus the Lord did not hinder from doing good while keeping the Sabbath; but allowed us to communicate of those divine mysteries, and of that holy light, to those who are able to receive them." Clement of Alexandria - Stromata, Bk 1, Chap. 1 

Oxyrhynchus Papyri [225 AD] – "Except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath 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). 

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles [250AD] –  "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. 

Archaleus [277AD] – “Again, as to the assertion that the Sabbath has been abolished, we deny that He has abolished it plainly; for He was Himself also Lord of the Sabbath.” Archaleus Acts of Disputation 

"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. 

Athanasius [circa 290AD] – "On the Sabbath day we gathered together, not being infected with Judaism, for we do not lay hold of false sabbaths, but we come on the Sabbath to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath," Athanasius, Homilia de Semente, Sec. 1, in MPG, Vol. 28 Col. 144, Greek. 

Socrates [439 AD] --: "For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebais, hold their religious assemblies on the Sabbath, but do not participate of the mysteries in the manner usual among Christians in general: for after having eaten and satisfied themselves with food of all kinds, in the evening making their offerings they partake of the mysteries." (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, Vol. 2, p. 132.) 

Sozomen [460 A.D.] – "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. 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." (Ecc. History, Book 7, chap. 19. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, Vol. 2, p. 390.) 

To me it’s clear that many were keeping the 7^th day Sabbath up through the 4^th century. So why the change to Sunday?

At the beginning of the 3^rd century Constantine became the Roman Empire. Constantine as many of you know professed to be a convert to Christianity, although his actions showed he still had a love for his pagan roots. At any rate he was responsible for legalizing Christianity in Rome. After that, the Alexandrian Christians began to hold councils and set doctrine into place. Anti-Semitism rose and matters relating to the Torah (Sabbath, festivals etc.) were outlawed. Here are a few quotes from that time period that shed some light on what happened.

“We wish to make it known to the Jews and their elders and their patriarchs that if, after the enactment of this law, any one of them dares to attack with stones or some other manifestation of anger, another who has fled their dangerous sect and attached himself to the worship of God, he must speedily be given to the flames and burnt together with all his accomplices. Moreover, if any one of the population should join their abominable sect and attend their meetings, he will bear with them the deserved penalties.” (Constantine, 315CE)

“We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews.” (Letter to bishops from Constantine, 325 CE [PG 20:1074-1080])

“It is not lawful to receive unleavened bread from Jews, nor to be partakers of their impiety.” (Most likely in reference to the observance of Passover; Council of Laodicea, Canon xxxviii)

“Slayers of the Lord, murderers of the prophets, adversaries of God, haters of God, men who show contempt for the law, foes of grace, enemies of their father’ faith, advocated of the devil, brood of vipers, slanderers, scoffers, men whose minds are in darkness, leaven of the Pharisees, assembly of demons, sinners, wicked men, stoners, and haters of righteousness. (St. George, 335-394 CE, Homilies on the Resurrection)

The above are just a few examples of the rampant hate for the Jews that ran within the Christians at Alexandria in Rome. As a result of this Anti-Semitism came the edict from Constantine in 321 CE that officially changed the day of worship to the day of the sun – Sunday. It reads:

“On the venerable Day of the Sun let magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operation the bounty of heaven should be lost.”(Letter of Constantine, 321CE)

After this there was no turning back, the new Sabbath was Sunday and the church ran with that. Notice that Constantine calls Sunday “the venerable Day of the Sun”. This is because he was still upholding his pagan worship and was attempting to assimilate it into the Christian church. Yet even after this you can see historical evidence that some were still attending Synagogue (which met on the Sabbath) and considered themselves a sect of the Jews, yet accepted Jesus as Messiah.

“In our own day there exists a sect among the Jews throughout all the synagogues of the East... The adherents to this sect are known commonly as Nazarenes; they believe in Christ the Son of God, ‘born of, the Virgin Mary; and they say that He who suffered under Pontius Pilate and rose again, [and] is the same as the one in whom we believe.” AD 404 Letter 75 of Jerome’s answer to Letters XXVIII., XL, and LXXI.

After Constantine came out with his law on the Sabbath change to Sunday it did not take the emerging catholic church long to pass their own law regarding the abolishment of the 7^th day Sabbath. At the council of Laodicea in 364CE we see the following Canon law:

“Canon XXIX: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.”

So there you have it. From this point forward the Sabbath was officially Sunday as mandated by the Catholic Church. And there are numerous quotes from the Catholic Church that claim they had the authority to change the Sabbath. I will show a few in a minute. However you should ask yourself, how does any man have the authority to change God’s unchangeable laws? And if God’s laws can change once, why not again? And for that matter why don’t we accept the Mormon churches claims that they have the authority? If anything goes in the name of God given authority, then who do we believe, what is our measuring stick for truth? How can a church claim authority and then preach the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches? If you are a Protestant who holds the Bible alone as your authority on matters you should take notice. The Bible does not teach Sunday worship. And furthermore if we are going to claim a change in God’s laws we should not and cannot claim that God doesn’t change.

Here are some quotes from the Catholic leaders throughout history regarding the Sabbath:

“Protestants...accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change...But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that...In observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.” Our Sunday Visitor, February 15, 1950.

“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, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.

“Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But 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 sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 edition), p. 72-73 (16th Edition, p 111; 88th Edition, p. 89).

“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, article “To Tell You the Truth.”

“Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh day - Saturday - for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day’? I answer no!”
“Faithfully yours, J. Card. Gibbons.” James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, Md. (1877-1921), in a signed 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 the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now 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 (Roman Catholic) 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 edition, vol. 1, p. 51.

“St John speaks of the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) but he does not tell us what day of the week that was, much less does he tell us what day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandments. St.Luke speaks of the disciples meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7. And St. Paul (1 Cor.16:2) orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians should lay in store what they designated to bestow in charity on the faithful in Judea: but neither the one or the other tells us that this first day of the week was to be henceforth a day of worship, and the Christian Sabbath; so that truly the best authority we have for this ancient custom is the testimony of the church. And therefore those who pretend to be such religious observers of Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act more by humor, than by religion; since Sundays and holidays all stand upon the same foundation, namely the ordinance of the (Roman Catholic) church.” Catholic Christian Instructed, 17th edition, p. 272-273.

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

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” Priest Brady, in an address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.

“Sunday is our mark or authority...the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” Catholic Record of London, Ontario, September 1, 1923.

“The (Roman Catholic) 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.” The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4.

“Sunday is founded, not of scripture, but on tradition, and is distinctly a Catholic institution. As there is no scripture for the transfer of the day of rest from the last to the first day of the week, Protestants ought to keep their Sabbath on Saturday and thus leave Catholics in full possession of Sunday.” Catholic Record, September 17, 1893.

In Conclusion:

We saw in scripture that the Sabbath was not changed by the early church. We have seen that it is a perpetual statute for Israel as well as all of those Gentiles who have been grafted into Israel. And now I have shown you where the change to Sunday originated.  So again I ask you to consider the following questions.

Why do you worship on Sunday?

Why have Christians abandoned the 4^th commandment?

I would suggest that all Christians take some time in prayer and then really examine Scripture and church history on this subject.  Protestants, consider the message you send to our Catholic brothers and sisters when you do not follow Scripture and instead bow to the authority of the Catholic church for your traditions.  Catholics, ask yourself who gives authority to change the laws of God that He Himself deems eternal? If God really gave the authority to change His laws doesn’t that make Him a liar?

In my next post I will begin to tackle the few verses in scripture that Sunday Sabbath advocates point to in order to back up the change from the 7^th day to the first day.

Shalom until next time!

The Sabbath as Described in the Bible

Before beginning to answer questions regarding the Sabbath that immediately come up in conversation after conversation with Christians today I wanted to lay a foundation of how the Sabbath is described throughout the scriptures beginning in Genesis and going through Revelation.

The first time we see the Sabbath being brought up in scripture is during the creation in Genesis. This account is directly following the six days of creation ending with the creation of man. Here is what the text says:

Genesis 2:2-3 “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

So not only did God rest on this day, but He blessed it and sanctified it. The word used for sanctified is the Hebrew ‘qadosh’, it means ‘holy’ or ‘set-apart’. So before the Mosaic Law was even given, God set this special day aside.

Most would stop and say, "But the Sabbath wasn’t really instituted until Moses was given the Law on Mt. Sinai." Is this the case? Let’s explore the next occurrence of the Sabbath. Interestingly it occurs before the Law was given at Mt. Sinai. You will find this account in Exodus 16. I suggest a full reading of this chapter, but I will highlight a few verses below:

Exodus 16:22-30 “Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, "This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none." It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? "See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.”

The first thing I want to point out is the fact that this occurred before the Law was given at Mt.Sinai. So to say that the Sabbath wasn’t given as a law until Sinai is just not true. After being told what to do, the Israelites do not follow the command. What is the response of God?  He says to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?” God clearly expects that they already knew the commandment.  Moses doesn't question that the Sabbath was to be observed.  Clearly God's expectation was that they would keep the Sabbath and not gather on it.  How were the people to know not to gather on the Sabbath? I would suggest that it was because the Sabbath was instituted back at creation - it was already established. The people may have forgotten while in exile, but God reminded them once they came out of Egypt and they were then expected to abide by the law that was instituted at creation.

Of course the next instance of the Sabbath in scripture is at Mt Sinai as the 4^th of the Ten Commandments that most of us as Christians are familiar with. If you are Catholic it is the 3^rd Commandment. (They omit the commandment about having graven images and separate out coveting your neighbor’s wife and your neighbor’s goods. This is an interesting subject; maybe I will address it in its own post sometime!) Let’s take a look at the full version of this commandment as it is written in scripture:

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Is there any way to read this command as anything other than the 7^th day of the week? So why do some move it to Sunday? I will address this question in depth in a later post. Did you know this is the longest commandment? It is also the only commandment that tells us to remember it. So why have we forgotten it? I think these are valid questions to discuss! I want to also note that the 10 commandments were given to Israel after the Exodus from Egypt. Israel consisted of a mixed multitude. It was not only the descendents of the 12 tribes, it was a mixture of those descendants and others that decided to follow with them. All were considered Israel at this point and all were expected to keep the commandments. This is why it is so clear in the passage above that the commandment was not only for the descendents but for the sojourner among them. The sojourners of today are Gentiles that have decided to follow the God of Abraham.

Now let’s move on to some verses throughout the Tanakh (OT) regarding the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:14-16 “Therefore you are to observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death. So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.”

Leviticus 23:3 “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.”

Deuteronomy 5:12 “Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.”

Lamentations 2:6 “And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The LORD has caused to be forgotten the appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion, And He has despised king and priest in the indignation of His anger.”

So these verses and many more indicate that the Sabbath was to be a perpetual covenant for all Israel as well as those Gentiles that choose to align themselves with Israel. The penalty for breaking the Sabbath was quite high. In fact it was death. That’s pretty steep! It must have been gravely important to God for His people to keep this commandment!

Now that we have seen how the Sabbath was viewed in the Tanakh (OT) let’s take a look at some of the future prophecies regarding the Sabbath that can be found in the Prophets writings:

Isaiah 56:2 "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."

Isaiah 56:6 “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the Sabbath And holds fast My covenant;”

Isaiah 58:13-14 “If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 66:23 “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from Sabbath to Sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.”

Ezekiel 46:1 “Thus says the Lord GOD, "The gate of the inner court facing east shall be shut the six working days; but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the new moon.”

Ezekiel 46:4 “The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish;”

It took awhile for the above to sink in for me. Let me reiterate, these verses are taking place in the future. They are taking place in the Millennial Kingdom after the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus) when He establishes His Kingdom on earth. According to this all believers will be expected to observe the 7^th day Sabbath during this time! So the Sabbath was a perpetual covenant in the Tanakh (OT). Perpetual means forever! And not only that, it will also be observed during the Millennial Kingdom. So it was in the past, and will be in the future. The question is why aren’t Christians observing it now?

When we move into the gospel’s we read many accounts of Yeshua regarding the Sabbath. There are way too many to list all of the references. There are basically two different kinds of accounts. The first is Yeshua being accused of breaking the Sabbath, either for healing or picking grain to eat. Yet both of these things are permitted according to the Torah. Jewish oral tradition and law stated that these actions were breaking the law. Yeshua, called them on this time and time again. He did not except the traditions of men. He adhered to the laws as they were written in Torah. The second type of reference is to Yeshua observing the Sabbath by entering the synagogue and speaking in the traditional manner. There is one other occurrence worth mentioning in Matthew. It is when Yeshua is describing the future tribulation and end time events:

Matthew 254:20 “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.”

Isn’t it interesting that Yeshua would suggest that they pray not to have to flee on the Sabbath? Why would He state this if the believers would not be observing the Sabbath during the end times?

So now let’s move into Acts to see how the Sabbath was referred to after Yeshua’s resurrection. You would expect to see the early followers shifting to a Sunday observance at this point if Sunday worship is based on the resurrection. Let’s take a look:

Acts 13:14 “But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.”

Acts 13:44 “The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.”

Acts 15:21 “For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Acts 16:13 “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.”

Acts 18:4 “And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”

Acts 17:2 “And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,”

So it seems that the early followers were indeed meeting together regularly on the Sabbath. They were speaking not only to Jews in the synagogues but also to the Greeks. They considered it their custom to meet on the Sabbath. There is no indication that the early followers were starting to meet on Sunday following the Resurrection. In Acts 15 it is suggested that the place to go to learn scripture is the synagogue on the Sabbath! And in fact the 2 verses in scripture that point to that idea are completely taken out of cultural context. I will cover these verses in a later post.

And furthermore we are told in Hebrews that:

Hebrews 4:9 “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”

In Conclusion

We have seen that the Sabbath was instituted at creation, upheld before the giving of the Torah, reiterated in the 10 commandments, kept by Yeshua and His followers and continued to be observed by the early believers after the resurrection of Yeshua. We also have observed that the Sabbath will be a part of the millennial reign of the Messiah in the future. So I ask again - why aren’t believers observing it today?

I already know that there are immediate questions coming into your mind. Haven’t we already entered God’s rest? What about Romans 14, Acts 20:7-12, Colossians 2:16, Galatians 4:9 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-3? Or maybe you have heard that it refers to Sunday in Revelation as “The LORD’s day”. I will get to these in my next few posts. After all I can’t cover every question in one post, so please follow along for those answers. In my next post I would like to give a little history on how the church today came to meet on Sunday rather than the 7^th day as commanded in scripture. So keep an eye out for my posts to come.

Shalom for now in the name of Yeshua HaMashiach