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I wrote these remarks for a facebook thread I was involved with so I will share it here.
Basically, this is my view of the pertinent facts regarding the Sabbath issue and history.
Some Sabbathkeepers often present their version of church history in a manner that makes it sound like the Roman Catholic church or the Roman emperors changed the day of observance of Christians from Saturday to Sunday. Quite often their materials come from really bad sources, such as Andrew Dugger, who wrote a book called A History of the True Church. If you read the entire book, you will find out that he proclaims Arius a "great defender of the true faith". Arius was the source of the henotheistic views of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which deny the full deity of Jesus Christ..so why would one quote such a book as an authoritative source?
The following chain of events is the nearest I've been able to determine regarding this. I am a former Sabbathkeeper so this is why I engage this topic in the forums.
Here's what I wrote:
My understanding of church history regarding the Sabbath is much different than the one that is typically considered by these Sabbathkeepers.
From what I've pieced together, Christians would listen to the Scriptures read in the synagogues with the Jews on Saturday, then meet on Sunday for communion and discussion of the Scriptures from a Christian standpoint. They went to synagogue on Saturday because Scriptures were not available to them.
in AD70, the destruction of the Temple and persecutions by Romans caused Christians to flee Jerusalem. After this, the Jews hated Christians due to their failure to stay around and fight.
About AD90, Jews enacted the Eighteen Benedictions, which were required recitations in the Synagogues. Some of the Benedictions were blatantly anti-Christ and Chrisiians could not recite them in good conscience. This action ultimately caused them to be expelled from the Synagogue. They likely simply abandoned attendance in the Synagogue and continued their Sunday meetings.
In about AD130's prominent Jewish rabbis (Rabbi Akiva was one of them) proclaimed Simeon ben Kosiba (aka bar Kokhba) to be the Messiah, which further deteriorated relations between Christians and Jews. Obviously no real Christian would accept another Messiah.
By AD150, the vast majority of Christians were not meeting on Saturday. SDA historian Samuele Bacchiocchi agrees that this was the state of affairs and that the Sabbathkeeper assertions that Constantine caused this is in error.
In the AD325 Constantine issued a decree that required Sunday as a rest day, in order to allow soldiers and slaves a day of rest. However, his decree did not prohibit Sabbathkeepers from keeping the Sabbath...they could rest both days for all he cared. Some individual churches may have had different rules, but Constantine's edict did not prohibit Sabbath observance.
In AD363, the church met at the Council of Laodicea and issued a pronouncement that declared Judaizers observing the Sabbath to be anathema. I am guessing the reason behind this is because Judaizers were trying to cause division in the church, much like those of Galatia. Perhaps they were stating that those who didn't follow their doctrines were not saved and were not Christians. I don't know the details, but that is my guess. Perhaps they were trying to form their own associations as well, and the pronouncement was meant to curb this.
It must be noted that the Roman Catholic church did not exist as we know it until about AD600 and was basically one bishopric of five or more until then. Some would say that the RC church didn't even really exist until the Great Schizm in the 1000's.
They certainly did not have the power to unilaterally make decisions like Sabbathkeepers claim at that early date.
I realize that some within the Roman Catholic church claim they changed the day of observance from Saturday to Sunday, but they also claim that Peter was the first pope, so I am not sure why a reasonable person would give them much credibility. Some may criticize me for this remark as they think I am being pro-Roman Catholic church. I don't give the Roman Catholic Church and its claims much credibility, period.
I place the views of these Sabbathkeepers in the category of conspiracy theories myself..in fact that's the conclusion I've come to..that much of the Sabbathkeeper argument is one big conspiracy theory. I also find it interesting that some Sabbathkeepers I've talked with tend to get involved in other conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati, etcetera. I am not a big fan of conspiracy theories and those who hold them, in case you haven't figured it out. I don't doubt that evil organizations exist, but ultimately God is in control and I think a large number of these evil organizations and plots are figments of peoples' imaginations. I also think that it's a reflection of the immature thinking of some Christians to fixate on such things. God is in control.
By the way Constantine tends to be the "boogey man" of both the Sabbatarians and the anti-Trinitarians. Funny thing is that Constantine didn't even believe in the Trinity until his deathbed, contrary to the claims of anti-Trinitarians. He deferred to the church council even though he was an Arian.
An additional remark is that it is a common assertion amongst Hebrew Roots Movement people that Gentile Christians have a strong anti-Semitic element to their beliefs and this is why the Church rejected the Saturday Sabbath.
There are doctrinal issues related to Sabbath-keeping, namely that the Old Covenant is no longer in effect, and these elements are ceremonial or ritualistic aspects of the Old Covenant. But, in addition to this, given the timeline of events above, could anyone blame Gentile Christians for having issues with Jews? The Jews were proclaiming false Messiahs and requiring recitations in the Synagogue that would cause them to deny Christianity and Jesus Christ. Unconverted Jews were not sympathetic toward Christianity, especially after the Temple destruction. There was an antagonism between Jews and Christians which is a theme throughout the epistles of Paul. Read the allegory in Galatians 4:22-31 as an example, particularly verse 29 that says the Jews and those under the Old Covenant persecute Christians.
Basically, this is my view of the pertinent facts regarding the Sabbath issue and history.
Some Sabbathkeepers often present their version of church history in a manner that makes it sound like the Roman Catholic church or the Roman emperors changed the day of observance of Christians from Saturday to Sunday. Quite often their materials come from really bad sources, such as Andrew Dugger, who wrote a book called A History of the True Church. If you read the entire book, you will find out that he proclaims Arius a "great defender of the true faith". Arius was the source of the henotheistic views of the Jehovah's Witnesses, which deny the full deity of Jesus Christ..so why would one quote such a book as an authoritative source?
The following chain of events is the nearest I've been able to determine regarding this. I am a former Sabbathkeeper so this is why I engage this topic in the forums.
Here's what I wrote:
My understanding of church history regarding the Sabbath is much different than the one that is typically considered by these Sabbathkeepers.
From what I've pieced together, Christians would listen to the Scriptures read in the synagogues with the Jews on Saturday, then meet on Sunday for communion and discussion of the Scriptures from a Christian standpoint. They went to synagogue on Saturday because Scriptures were not available to them.
in AD70, the destruction of the Temple and persecutions by Romans caused Christians to flee Jerusalem. After this, the Jews hated Christians due to their failure to stay around and fight.
About AD90, Jews enacted the Eighteen Benedictions, which were required recitations in the Synagogues. Some of the Benedictions were blatantly anti-Christ and Chrisiians could not recite them in good conscience. This action ultimately caused them to be expelled from the Synagogue. They likely simply abandoned attendance in the Synagogue and continued their Sunday meetings.
In about AD130's prominent Jewish rabbis (Rabbi Akiva was one of them) proclaimed Simeon ben Kosiba (aka bar Kokhba) to be the Messiah, which further deteriorated relations between Christians and Jews. Obviously no real Christian would accept another Messiah.
By AD150, the vast majority of Christians were not meeting on Saturday. SDA historian Samuele Bacchiocchi agrees that this was the state of affairs and that the Sabbathkeeper assertions that Constantine caused this is in error.
In the AD325 Constantine issued a decree that required Sunday as a rest day, in order to allow soldiers and slaves a day of rest. However, his decree did not prohibit Sabbathkeepers from keeping the Sabbath...they could rest both days for all he cared. Some individual churches may have had different rules, but Constantine's edict did not prohibit Sabbath observance.
In AD363, the church met at the Council of Laodicea and issued a pronouncement that declared Judaizers observing the Sabbath to be anathema. I am guessing the reason behind this is because Judaizers were trying to cause division in the church, much like those of Galatia. Perhaps they were stating that those who didn't follow their doctrines were not saved and were not Christians. I don't know the details, but that is my guess. Perhaps they were trying to form their own associations as well, and the pronouncement was meant to curb this.
It must be noted that the Roman Catholic church did not exist as we know it until about AD600 and was basically one bishopric of five or more until then. Some would say that the RC church didn't even really exist until the Great Schizm in the 1000's.
They certainly did not have the power to unilaterally make decisions like Sabbathkeepers claim at that early date.
I realize that some within the Roman Catholic church claim they changed the day of observance from Saturday to Sunday, but they also claim that Peter was the first pope, so I am not sure why a reasonable person would give them much credibility. Some may criticize me for this remark as they think I am being pro-Roman Catholic church. I don't give the Roman Catholic Church and its claims much credibility, period.
I place the views of these Sabbathkeepers in the category of conspiracy theories myself..in fact that's the conclusion I've come to..that much of the Sabbathkeeper argument is one big conspiracy theory. I also find it interesting that some Sabbathkeepers I've talked with tend to get involved in other conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati, etcetera. I am not a big fan of conspiracy theories and those who hold them, in case you haven't figured it out. I don't doubt that evil organizations exist, but ultimately God is in control and I think a large number of these evil organizations and plots are figments of peoples' imaginations. I also think that it's a reflection of the immature thinking of some Christians to fixate on such things. God is in control.
By the way Constantine tends to be the "boogey man" of both the Sabbatarians and the anti-Trinitarians. Funny thing is that Constantine didn't even believe in the Trinity until his deathbed, contrary to the claims of anti-Trinitarians. He deferred to the church council even though he was an Arian.
An additional remark is that it is a common assertion amongst Hebrew Roots Movement people that Gentile Christians have a strong anti-Semitic element to their beliefs and this is why the Church rejected the Saturday Sabbath.
There are doctrinal issues related to Sabbath-keeping, namely that the Old Covenant is no longer in effect, and these elements are ceremonial or ritualistic aspects of the Old Covenant. But, in addition to this, given the timeline of events above, could anyone blame Gentile Christians for having issues with Jews? The Jews were proclaiming false Messiahs and requiring recitations in the Synagogue that would cause them to deny Christianity and Jesus Christ. Unconverted Jews were not sympathetic toward Christianity, especially after the Temple destruction. There was an antagonism between Jews and Christians which is a theme throughout the epistles of Paul. Read the allegory in Galatians 4:22-31 as an example, particularly verse 29 that says the Jews and those under the Old Covenant persecute Christians.
