Why People Believe The Sabbath Was Changed To Sunday – by Aubrey Duncan

Today we are facing a great controversy because there are so much confusion and debate particularly in the Christian world regarding God’s Sabbath. Some question which day is the Sabbath, others claim that it has been done away with, yet others assert that the Sabbath was given to them therefore are for the Jews only and then there are those who proclaim that the Sabbath was nailed to the cross. So there is a great controversy that we are involved in. But I wanna take us down to the Roman Empire and here in the early first and second and third centuries, the gospel of Jesus Christ was spreading at a phenomenal rate. It was going throughout the Roman Empire and as such it post a threat or at least a perceived threat you see to the Roman Emperors like Diocletians and Nero and what they did was they began to persecute and to kill the Christians then we see in the fourth century came long an emperor by the name of Constantine.

Now Constantine viewed the situation a little differently. Constantine recognized that the prosecution of the Christians rather than doing away with Christianity, it was the fuel you see that was driving the engine of Christianity. Now Constantine was a sun worshiper being part of the religion of Matriaism worshiping the sun god of Matria and Constantine made a very strong political move. What he decided to do, “if we can’t beat them, let’s join them”. And so Constantine decided to amalgamate the Christian Religion with the sun worshiping religion of his time. My brothers and sisters, what Constantine did was the beginning of what we today have come to realize, have come to experience of just about worldwide Sunday sacredness amongst Christians.

There were two issues that were taking place,
#1 – Christianity was spreading as a matter of fact in the Book of Philippians chapter four and verse 22, Paul write into the Philippians Church and he says, “all the saints salute you chiefly they’re that of Caesars’ household.” So here the Gospel was being spread even to the household of the Caesars, and so that was part of the problem.
#2 – The other part of the problem was that the early church, we must remember that the early church were primarily Jews and then the Gentiles began to come in. So now the Gentile converts began t want to separate themselves from the Jews claiming that Jesus Christ was in fact crucified by the Jews so they wanted to kind of separated themselves from the Jews so when Constantine with this amalgamation and instituting his first Sunday law, to them it was very appealing because it gave them the opportunity to in fact separate themselves from those terrible Jews who of course were keeping Sabbath. And here it is we see the introduction of Sunday sacredness into the Christian Church. My brothers and sisters, when Constantine, what Constantine did was to amalgamate the pure religion of Christ with the pagan religion of sun worship.

I wanna give you a couple of quotes from a few historians, this one is a gentlemen by the name of Ian Chalmers and he writes, “These gentile Christians of Rome and Alexandra began calling the first day of the week the Lord’s Day. This was not difficult for the pagans of the Roman Empire who were steeped in sun worship to accept because they are the pagans referred to their sun god as their god, as their lord.” And that comes from a publication called “How Sunday came into the Christian Church.” My brothers and sisters, the historical events are very very very clear. You see God did not institute Sunday sacredness. This power that began with the amalgamation of sun worship and the pure religion of Christianity is the one in fact and indeed introduced beginning with Constantine introduced Sunday sacredness into the church.

It is not a biblical teaching, it is not given by God, it was not taught by Jesus, my brothers it was not practice by the apostles, it was something that came into the church through the amalgamation of the pure Christian religion and paganism. Another historian writes, this gentleman William D. Kaleen he writes, “Rights and ceremonies of which Paul nor Peter never heard put silently into use and then claimed the rank of divine institutions, church officers to whom the primitive disciples could have found no place and titles which to them would have been altogether on intelligible began to challenge the attention and to be named apostolic.” In other words, what this writer is saying is the thing that crept into the Christian Church as a result of Constantine’s amalgamation of the pagan religion with Christianity were things that would not have been recognizable to the early church.

So we see that as this amalgamation began, it grew and became what is known today as the Roman Catholic Church or institution. Let me read for you Constantine’s Sunday decree. It says, “On the venerable day of the sun that sacred day, 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;” He was an earthly wise man because he wasn’t about to allow you know the sacredness of even Sunday interfere with his income. “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 operations the bounty of heaven should be lost” given, written in the 7th day of March the year 321. If you notice my brothers and sisters, this decree had nothing to do with worship, it had nothing to do with the worship of God but had to do of the worship of the sun.

Another historian writes, he says “the church”, talking about this institution that grew and became what it is known today as the worldwide known Roman Catholic church, it says “The church made the sacred day of Sunday largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals and dare to the people by tradition and give them Christian significance.” This is verifiable historical facts brothers and sisters, how Sunday came into the church. Of course there were several other decrees later on that strengthen Sunday sacredness in the Roman Church and as the bible says she has daughters and they also now are doing very same thing. Another historian writes, “Remains of the struggle between the religion of Christianity and the religion of matriaism are found in two institutions adapted from its rival Christianity in the 4th century, the two matriac sacred days, December 25th “dies natales soles” or birthday of the sun as the birthday of Jesus and Sunday, the venerable day of the Sun as Constantine called it in his law 321”

SO what he is saying is this practices came into the church not based from the bible but based from the practices that came into the church as a result of the amalgamation of matriaism and the pure religion of Christ. The Sabbath brothers and sisters is the seventh day of the week not the first. The pagan custom of sun worship that have been amalgamated into the Christian Religion you see it provide brothers and sisters, it provided the basis, the formation if you will of that universal institution Sunday sacredness. It’s very important as a matter of fact, it is more than important, it is the very foundation of the papal system because it was the beginning of commonality you see of the worshiping of the sun of the pagans and those alter gentile converts that formed the basis of this institution which has grown into what we call today, the Roman Catholic church.

I want to share a few statements that comes directly from that institution, it says, “Sunday is a Catholic Institution and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. From beginning, there is a structure that warns the transfer of the weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.” My brothers and sisters, this is what the prophet Isiah was talking about that the anti-Christ power, the ultimate anti-Christ power which is certain you see is bold about his desire to take the position of God. And so we find this very spirit, it’s in this power, this is nothing that is being done in a sneaky way, this is something that is proclaimed boldly and she boldly and presumptuously tell Christians “If you’re keeping Sunday, you’re not worshiping the God of creation, you’re worshiping us and all institution and the head of our institution, the pope of Rome.”

It continues, Protestantism and that is supposed to be those who are protesting the errors of the Roman Church, in discarding the authority of the Catholic Church has no good reason for its Sunday theory and logically to keep Saturday as the Sabbath. Could you imagine that brothers and sisters? She is telling people that if you really believe in the bible then you should be keeping Saturday, God’s Holy Sabbath Day, but we’re talking tonight about the change from Sabbath to Sunday or the attempted change rather because no one could claim that it is the right thing to do because the prophet Daniel says that they cannot change God’s law. Here is another quotation, it is important to remind Presbyterians and Baptists, and 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 Roman Catholic Church. I mean how much more could you, you want? As a matter of fact you go to their catechism and you’ll find this, a teaching in there “a question is asked”, the catechism teaching instrument, the primary teaching instrument for Roman Catholics and lot of it is in a question and answer form and on the issue of the Sabbath this is what we find,

“Question: Have you knew any other way of proving that the Catholic Church has power to institute festivals or precepts to command holy days? Answer: Hath she not such power, she could not have done that which all modern religions agreeing with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for which there is no scripture of authority.” My brothers and sisters, we need to know for ourselves what to believe and why we believe in. We see that God teaches that His Sabbath given to all humanity at creation.

I continue with these quotes, “The protestants would follow the bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day in keeping Sunday they are following the law of the Catholic Church” They continue, “the church change the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by the right of divine and powerful authority given to her from the Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ has nothing to do with the formation of this church but what’s they are claiming.

The Protestants are claiming the bible to be their only guide of faith has no warrant to observing Sunday so we see brothers and sisters, who attempted to change God’s law from the 7th day to the first? It was not the God of creation who gave it certainly it was not the prophets nor apostles who preached and taught and certainly not our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who lived as an example and give it to us to follow.

The fact is clear, the evidence is very overwhelming and clear and ambiguous if you will. It’s the Roman Catholic Church that attempts to change God’s law and by her own admission and boast have showed I share with you tonight. You see my brothers and sisters, God is calling us in these times of Earth’s history. Calling men and women to honor Him you see by keeping His Sabbath Day Holy but there is another power, there is a worldwide movement that is calling for Sunday sacredness and I want us to remember that the God of creation is a loving God even though men turn away from Him, He is still saying to men and with women today “My children, I love you.

Even though you may in ignorance you see have followed erroneous teachings, My heart of love you see is open for you, My heart of love is welcoming you back. I am sending out a message, heed the message and to come and to honor Me, the God of creation.” The information I have been sharing with you brothers and sisters comes from a book that I , the Lord has blessed me to write, it’s called God’s Sabbath Truth and you could go on my website, it’s adventruth A-D-V-E-N-T–R-U-T-H, adventruth.org and you could get a much more information on the book, on the Sabbath, my ministry, and if you so desire to support the ministry by getting a copy of the book, you could do that.

So I thank you very much for listening and I pray that as we shared tonight that some heart was touched and someone will be growing into a closer relationship with their Lord and Savior as a result of this message that has been shared tonight, I thank you very much.