In the old testment there's no doubt that Saturday was the Sabbath day, and all the Jews who accepted the message of Jesus continued to keep the Sabbath, as commanded.
The pagan Romans hated the Jews because of Jewish Rebellions throughout the empire. In 115 A.D. Jews revolted in Cyrene, Egypt and Cyprus. More than 220,000 Greeks and Romans perished in Cyrene alone. After ruthlessly supressing each revolt, the Romans would tighten their yoke around the Jews.
The emperor Hadrian said he would rebuild the temple of the Jews, but it
would be dedicated to a roman deity. A Jew named bar Kochba declared
himself to be the long-awaited Messiah and began a revolt in Palestine in
132-135 A.D.
In the first year, the Romans were driven out of more than 50 cities and
villages. Bar Kochba proclaimed himself king and even struck his own coinage.
Hadrian brought his top general, Julius Severus, the governor of Britian,
to lead the troops -- after 3 years, the revolt was crushed and Bar Kochba
killed.
These rebellions inflamed Roman Anti-Jusaism. Riots exploded against the
Jews. After the Bar Kochba revolt, Jews were forbidden to enter Jerusalem.
Hadrian outlawed Judaism, the study of the torah, and Sabbath-keeping!
"Christianity" was caught between Roman imperialism and Jewish nationalism.
Christianity originated in the land of the Jews, its Holy writings were
Jewish. Christians were mistaken for Jews. Some Christians, to appear
different from the Jews, eased away from the seventh-day Sabbath.
But until 200 A.D. no one observed Sunday. Saturday was observed as the
only weekly Sabbath. Then around 200 A.D. a dispute arose over observing one
day annually in honor of the resurrection. The Church of Rome suggested a
Sunday, but all the other churches prefered Nisan 16, regardless of which day
it fell on. Rome insisted on a Sunday, so all accepted that day as a yearly
celebration. Later an agitation arose over introducing Lent into the church,
and it was decided to keep every Sunday during those 40 days in rememberance
of the resurrection. Time went one, and in the 4th century a decision was
made to keep every sunday in the year.
Up to 300 A.D. both Saturday and Sunday were kept! Christians honored
both the Sabbath AND the resurrection.
Now, remember, there was a decided shift from being identified with
anything "Jewish." The Roman Church began to show their prejudice by
making Saturday a day of mourning and fasting, while exalting Sunday as a
time for feasting and joy. The Bishop Vistorinus extended the fast to
include both Friday and Saturday, to make sure the populace really liked
Sunday.
Other factors also exalted Sunday after 300 A.D. Though the influence of
eastern sun cults, Sun Worship (rather than Son Worship) had become dominant
in Rome by the early second century. Obelisks and altars to the sun
proliferated throughout the city, and Roman Christians started favoring
Sunday, the day of the resurrection, over the Sabbath.
For Justin Martyr, Sunday commemorated the first day of creation,
particularly the creation of light. For the early church fathers, the
resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week served only a secondary
reason for Sunday observance. As sun worship started to fade in the empire,
the resurrection became the primary motive, and still is today.
In the early fourth century, Constantine the Great issued the first known
secular Sunday blue law, ordering Sunday rest instead of Sabbath rest. And
in later church councils the Catholic Church enforced Sunday keeping on
pain of death.
Note that the Bible tells us we are not to celebrate things which have
happened, but things that are yet to come. Why? The act of celebration
serves as a way of perserving our hopes while waiting for something to
happen. It symbolizes the event to give us better understanding of it.
After something has happened, we can give thanks it did, but our eyes should
be looking towards the future, not locked on the past. Even as sacrifices
were finished at the cross, because the event came, some continued to do so
because that's what they had been doing for so long, others stopped doing
so. This naturally has serious repercussions on many Christian holidays
such as Easter and Christmas. Those who 'move on' thankfully acknowledge
the sending and sacrifice of the Savior, but it now almost seems as if too
much attention is focused on the 'day' rather than a reflection of the
past event.
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Related Topics: THE ROMAN CHURCH'S ADMISSION OF CHANGING THE SABBATH
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