Changes

==Bible==

==Bible==

The Israelites are reminded to keep the Sabbath before the giving of the [[Ten Commandments]] when God promised to send [[manna]], a miraculous substance to nourish and sustain them, but He would provide it only for six days out of every seven. On the sixth day there would be twice as much as usual, but none on the seventh day. Moses explained that "Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the '''sabbath''', in it there shall be none." (Exodus 16:26)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:26;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref>: <blockquote>"And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, this is that which YHVH [the LORD] hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto YHVH [the LORD]" ([[Exodus]] 16:22-23)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2016:22-23&version=KJV]</ref></blockquote>  

The Israelites are reminded to keep the Sabbath before the giving of the [[Ten Commandments]] when God promised to send [[manna]], a miraculous substance to nourish and sustain them, but He would provide it only for six days out of every seven. On the sixth day there would be twice as much as usual, but none on the seventh day. Moses explained that "Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the '''sabbath''', in it there shall be none." (Exodus 16:26):<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:26;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> <blockquote>"And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, this is that which YHVH [the LORD] hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto YHVH [the LORD]" ([[Exodus]] 16:22-23)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2016:22-23&version=KJV]</ref></blockquote>  

God considered that the Sabbath observance was ''already'' His law: some of the Israelites disobeyed Moses and went out looking for manna on the seventh day "but they found none" (Exodus 16:27)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:27;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> God's Word regarding this disobedience, and that seventh-day Sabbath observance was ''already'' a commandment was unequivocal:{{Bible quote|And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.|book=Exodus|chap=16|verses=28-29|version=KJV}}

God considered that the Sabbath observance was ''already'' His law: some of the Israelites disobeyed Moses and went out looking for manna on the seventh day "but they found none" (Exodus 16:27)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2016:27;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref> God's Word regarding this disobedience, and that seventh-day Sabbath observance was ''already'' a commandment was unequivocal:{{Bible quote|And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.|book=Exodus|chap=16|verses=28-29|version=KJV}}

Through the prophet [[Ezekiel]], God said:<blockquote>''Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.''(Ezekiel 20:12, 13, 16)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2020:12,%2013,%2016;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref></blockquote>

Through the prophet [[Ezekiel]], God said:<blockquote>''Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.''(Ezekiel 20:12, 13, 16)<ref>[[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2020:12,%2013,%2016;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref></blockquote>

[[Matthew]], in his [[Olivet Prophecy]], reaffirms that Christians at the [[Second Coming]] should still observe God's commanded seventh-day Sabbath<ref>''"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day"'' Matthew 24:14-20 [[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:14-20;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref>.

[[Matthew]], in his [[Olivet Prophecy]], reaffirms that Christians at the [[Second Coming]] should still observe God's commanded seventh-day Sabbath.<ref>''"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day"'' Matthew 24:14-20 [[King James Version]] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:14-20;&version=9; BibleGateway]</ref>

==The purpose of the Sabbath==

==The purpose of the Sabbath==

The Christian tradition of practicing the spirit of the Sabbath on Sunday may have begun as a means by the third-century Christians of separating themselves as a community from the Jews who were under Roman persecution after the Zealot Revolt. But, it is likely that the motive of first-century Christians for chosing Sunday as the day of rest and celebration was largely because of their interpretation of particular New Testament passages regarding on what day of the week Christ died and on what day of the week he rose from death. Since the Roman religion of [[Mithra]]ism observed Sunday as their day of religious observance, converts to Christianity before the fourth century AD from that religion may have also contributed to the popularity of a Sunday observance. In 321 AD, while still a pagan sun-worshipper, the Emperor [[Constantine]] declared that Sunday was to be the day of rest throughout the Roman Empire:<blockquote>''On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for gain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.''<ref>''Why and When the Weekly Sabbath was Moved'' "The weekly Sabbath: is it to be Saturday or Sunday?" [http://www.religioustolerance.org/sabbath.htm#move ReligiousTolerance,org]. Accessed 15 February 2008</ref></blockquote>

The Christian tradition of practicing the spirit of the Sabbath on Sunday may have begun as a means by the third-century Christians of separating themselves as a community from the Jews who were under Roman persecution after the Zealot Revolt. But, it is likely that the motive of first-century Christians for chosing Sunday as the day of rest and celebration was largely because of their interpretation of particular New Testament passages regarding on what day of the week Christ died and on what day of the week he rose from death. Since the Roman religion of [[Mithra]]ism observed Sunday as their day of religious observance, converts to Christianity before the fourth century AD from that religion may have also contributed to the popularity of a Sunday observance. In 321 AD, while still a pagan sun-worshipper, the Emperor [[Constantine]] declared that Sunday was to be the day of rest throughout the Roman Empire:<blockquote>''On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for gain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.''<ref>''Why and When the Weekly Sabbath was Moved'' "The weekly Sabbath: is it to be Saturday or Sunday?" [http://www.religioustolerance.org/sabbath.htm#move ReligiousTolerance,org]. Accessed 15 February 2008</ref></blockquote>

[[James Cardinal Gibbons]], [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] educator and archbishop of [[Baltimore]] 1877-1921, was blunt about the change: "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. The Catholic Church correctly teaches that our Lord and His Apostles inculcated certain important duties of religion which are not recorded by the inspired writers... We must, therefore, conclude that the Scriptures alone cannot be a sufficient guide and rule of faith."<ref> ''The Faith of Our Fathers'', (1917), p. 89) quoted in ''Which Day Is the Sabbath?'' [http://www.ucg.org.uk/UCG_BI_Literature/booklets/SS/daysabbath.htm UCG]. Accessed 15 February 2008</ref>

[[James Cardinal Gibbons]], [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] educator and archbishop of [[Baltimore]] 1877-1921, was blunt about the change: "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. The Catholic Church correctly teaches that our Lord and His Apostles inculcated certain important duties of religion which are not recorded by the inspired writers... We must, therefore, conclude that the Scriptures alone cannot be a sufficient guide and rule of faith."<ref>''The Faith of Our Fathers'', (1917), p. 89) quoted in ''Which Day Is the Sabbath?'' [http://www.ucg.org.uk/UCG_BI_Literature/booklets/SS/daysabbath.htm UCG]. Accessed 15 February 2008</ref>

==The Seventh Day Adventists==

==The Seventh Day Adventists==

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a Protestant denomination, founded in America in the 1860s during the [[Second Great Awakening]], which interprets those passages differently, and which believes that God always intended for the day of the week on which rest and celebration was taken to be the seventh, or final, day of the week ("[[Saturday]]"). So, the Seventh Day Adventist Church opposes laws that make Sunday the Sabbath.  

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a Protestant denomination, founded in America in the 1860s during the [[Second Great Awakening]], which interprets those passages differently, and which believes that God always intended for the day of the week on which rest and celebration was taken to be the seventh, or final, day of the week ("[[Saturday]]"). So, the Seventh Day Adventist Church opposes laws that make Sunday the Sabbath.  

"Seventh-day" means that the observance of the original Sabbath, on "Saturday", still is a sacred obligation. Adventists argue that just as the other nine of the original [[Ten Commandments]] had not been revised, so also the injunction to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" remained in full force. This theological point in the late 19th century turned the young group into a powerful force for religious liberty. Growing into its full stature in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these Adventists opposed Sunday laws on every side. Many were arrested for working on Sunday. In fighting against the real threat of a legally established National Day of worship, these Sabbatarians had to fight for their liberty on a daily basis. Soon, they were fighting for religious liberty on a broader, less parochial basis. The fear that other Protestants would establish a Christian Sunday expanded into opposition to the establishment of a "Christian" identity for the otherwise pluralistic secular nation, and, thus, opposition to state-sanctioned school prayer. This led, naturally, to certain alliances with secularists in the American political spectrum who opposed state enforcement of any form of theistic religion.<ref> Douglas Morgan, ''Adventism and the American Republic: The Public Involvement of a Major Apocalyptic Movement.'' (2001)</ref>

"Seventh-day" means that the observance of the original Sabbath, on "Saturday", still is a sacred obligation. Adventists argue that just as the other nine of the original [[Ten Commandments]] had not been revised, so also the injunction to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" remained in full force. This theological point in the late 19th century turned the young group into a powerful force for religious liberty. Growing into its full stature in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these Adventists opposed Sunday laws on every side. Many were arrested for working on Sunday. In fighting against the real threat of a legally established National Day of worship, these Sabbatarians had to fight for their liberty on a daily basis. Soon, they were fighting for religious liberty on a broader, less parochial basis. The fear that other Protestants would establish a Christian Sunday expanded into opposition to the establishment of a "Christian" identity for the otherwise pluralistic secular nation, and, thus, opposition to state-sanctioned school prayer. This led, naturally, to certain alliances with secularists in the American political spectrum who opposed state enforcement of any form of theistic religion.<ref>Douglas Morgan, ''Adventism and the American Republic: The Public Involvement of a Major Apocalyptic Movement.'' (2001)</ref>

In holding to a perpetuation of the literal seventh day for rest and celebration, Seventh Day Adventists, as such, do not equate its observance with [[legalism]]. They argue, rather, that, though legalism is possible in regard to any law, God was not being a legalist for having given, commanded, and enforced the seventh-day rest upon His own nation any more than for having given, commanded, and enforced the primary law (to have no other Gods but God). They further argue that the seventh day, in being the first thing which God called sacred in the human realm, is comparable to Adam’s own first words toward woman; such that the focus of the human creature’s life is not toward law at all, but toward what human life was made to be at its most joyous times; and, that, only by such extended and deep violations of the truths of these joys is even God Himself (like his wisely initiatived, humble representatives) finally induced to impose commands and enforcements concerning keeping them <ref>’’Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Daniel 3:16’’ [http://www.blueletterbible.org/commentaries/comm_view.cfm?AuthorID=4&contentID=1506&commInfo=5&topic=Daniel&ar=Dan_3_16]</ref>, lest the whole Earth be destroyed by the natural consequences of their violation <ref>''Revelation 11:18'' [http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=11&v=18&t=KJV#18]</ref>

In holding to a perpetuation of the literal seventh day for rest and celebration, Seventh Day Adventists, as such, do not equate its observance with [[legalism]]. They argue, rather, that, though legalism is possible in regard to any law, God was not being a legalist for having given, commanded, and enforced the seventh-day rest upon His own nation any more than for having given, commanded, and enforced the primary law (to have no other Gods but God). They further argue that the seventh day, in being the first thing which God called sacred in the human realm, is comparable to Adam’s own first words toward woman; such that the focus of the human creature’s life is not toward law at all, but toward what human life was made to be at its most joyous times; and, that, only by such extended and deep violations of the truths of these joys is even God Himself (like his wisely initiatived, humble representatives) finally induced to impose commands and enforcements concerning keeping them,<ref>[http://www.blueletterbible.org/commentaries/comm_view.cfm?AuthorID=4&contentID=1506&commInfo=5&topic=Daniel&ar=Dan_3_16 ’’Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Daniel 3:16’’]</ref> lest the whole Earth be destroyed by the natural consequences of their violation <ref>[http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=11&v=18&t=KJV#18 ''Revelation 11:18'']</ref>

==See Also==

==See also==

*[[Essay: Christians and the Law of Moses]]

*[[Essay: Christians and the Law of Moses]]