Who Really Changed the Sabbath?

and come to a logical conclusion at the  end. After we eliminate all other factors,   the one which remains must be the  truth. The game is afoot, so let's begin. Where do we begin? Isn't it obvious?  We begin at the beginning. As   we open the Bible, we find that  the Sabbath is woven into creation. "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host  of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God   ended 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. - Genesis 2:1-3 God sanctified the Sabbath as a foundational  act in creation. So, I did an exhaustive study   of the Sabbath in the Bible. I was looking  for anything that might explain the change in   the Sabbath from the 7th day to the 1st day of  the week. I found lots of data. There are over   a hundred verses in the Bible that speak about the  Sabbath, and I examined every single one of them. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh  day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none...   See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath..." - Exodus 16:26-29 "And He said to them, "The  Sabbath was made for man,   and not man for the Sabbath." - Mark 2:27 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.   Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but  the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your   God. In it you shall do no work..." - Exodus 20:8-10 "And they rested on the Sabbath according to the   commandment." - Luke 23:56 "It is a sign between Me and the children of   Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the  heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He   rested and was refreshed.'" - Exodus 31:17 "So ought not this woman, being a  daughter of Abraham... be loosed from   this bond on the Sabbath?" - Luke 13:16 "Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the  Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their   generations as a PERPETUAL covenant." - Exodus 31:16 "So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, THE  GENTILES begged that these words might be preached   to them the next Sabbath." - Acts 13:42 "...And from one Sabbath to another, All  flesh shall come to worship before Me,"   says the Lord." - Isaiah 66:23 "And he reasoned in the synagogue  every Sabbath, and persuaded both   Jews and Greeks." - Acts 16:13 "...it is the Sabbath of the Lord   in all your dwellings." - Leviticus 23:3 "For the Son of Man is LORD OF THE SABBATH." - Matthew 12:8 There is nothing more deceptive than an  obvious fact. And the obvious fact is...   There is no record of the Sabbath ever being  changed in the Bible. Yeshua kept the Sabbath,   His disciples kept the Sabbath, and even  the Gentile converts kept the Sabbath.   Yeshua even calls Himself "Lord of the  Sabbath", indicating that He owns it. While it's true that the early  church met in homes daily,   that doesn't negate the fact that they  continued to keep the Sabbath. There   is also a mention of Paul preaching on the First  Day of the week, but the text explains that it's   because he has to leave on a trip the next day,  indicating it was for special circumstances. Also,   this event seems to occur on Saturday night  leading up to midnight, not Sunday morning. "Now on the first day of the week, when  the disciples came together to break bread,   Paul, ready to depart the next day,  spoke to them and continued his message   until midnight." - Acts 20:7 We also have a record of Paul  teaching Gentiles in Corinth   for a year and a half. There  are 52 Sabbaths in a year,   plus half a year, which is 26 more Sabbaths,  which equals 78 Sabbaths just in Corinth alone. The world is full of obvious things which nobody  by any chance ever observes. And the second fact   I learned is that the Sabbath is always on the  7th day of the week. This may seem obvious,   but there are people who seem to think the Sabbath  can be any day they choose. This is a terrible   mistake on their part because they're making  exceptions. Never make exceptions. An exception   disproves the rule. And the rule is, the Sabbath  is always and only on the 7th day of the week. The third fact I ascertained in  my study is that the Sabbath is   an everlasting sign between God and His people. Never trust to general impressions,  my boy, but concentrate yourself upon   the details. What is out of the common is  usually a guide rather than a hindrance. Another fact I discovered is that the Bible spoke  about apostasy that would come in the Church. "The Spirit clearly says that in later times  some will ABANDON THE FAITH and follow deceiving   spirits and things taught by demons." - 1 Timothy 4:1 "...and they will TURN THEIR EARS  AWAY FROM THE TRUTH, and be turned   aside to fables." -2 Timothy 4:3-4 "But there were also false  prophets among the people,   even as there will be FALSE TEACHERS  AMONG YOU, who will secretly bring in   destructive heresies..." - 2 Peter 2:1 "You therefore, beloved, since  you know this beforehand,   beware lest you also fall from your own  steadfastness, being led away with the   ERROR OF THE WICKED" - 2 Peter 3:17 "...He who says, "I know Him," and DOES  NOT KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, IS A LIAR,   and the truth is not in him." - 1 John 2:3-4 As I stated, "What is out of the common is usually  a guide rather than a hindrance." And I believe   this warning about false teachers and apostasy  is a guide to unveiling the truth in this matter. I had to get to the bottom of this mystery. I  searched the Bible from cover to cover and found   nothing about any change in the Sabbath. So, my  search took me outside the Bible. I began looking   into Church history, and it didn't take me long to  find what I was looking for. And I have something   very interesting to show you. Come at once if  convenient... If inconvenient, come all the same. Every story needs a good old-fashioned villain.   And Constantine is ours. Constantine  was the Roman Emperor from 306-337   A.D. Constantine ended Christian persecution with  the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. But on 7 March 321,   Constantine decreed that Sunday would be  observed as the Roman day of rest saying, "On the venerable day of the Sun let the  magistrates and people residing in cities rest,   and let all workshops be closed" (Codex Justinianus lib. 3, tit. 12,   3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the  Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 380, note 1) So, the 5th fact to consider is that Constantine  ordered Sunday observance in the Roman Empire. Now, the next fact I found is  actually an admission of guilt   in this matter. You see, the Catholic Church  claims they changed the Sabbath to Sunday   by their own authority at the Council  of Laodicea in the fourth century. I   found it in the Convert's Catechism  of Catholic Doctrine, which says, “Which is the Sabbath day? Saturday is the Sabbath day. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because   the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea,  transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. By what authority did the Church  substitute Sunday for Saturday?  The Church substituted Sunday for  Saturday by the plenitude of that   divine power which Jesus  Christ bestowed upon her.” So, what was actually said  in the Council of Laodicea? “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.” - Council of Laodicea, canon 29, AD 363 There's an obvious clue here that many people  overlook. Christians were still keeping the   Sabbath in the 4th century. Otherwise, why  would the Catholic Church need to forbid it? The Catholic Catechism explains  why Catholics keep Sunday. But   why do Christians keep Sunday? Ultimately, it  comes down to tradition. The Catholic Church   kept Sunday for so long that when the Protestant  Reformers finally broke away from the Catholic   Church, they retained many of the deeply  embedded traditions, such as Sunday worship. Now, the obvious question we need ask   is... "Who has the authority to  change one of God's commandments?" You have a grand gift for silence. It  makes you quite invaluable as a companion. Let me put it to you bluntly. No one has the  authority to change any of God's commandments. "You shall not add to the  word which I command you,   nor take from it, that you may keep  the commandments of the Lord your God   which I command you." - Deuteronomy 4:2 Having gathered these facts, I  analyzed the data to separate   those which were crucial from others  which were merely incidental. And   I've come to the only logical conclusion  possible. But first, let's review the facts. FACT #1 - the Sabbath was  never changed in the Bible  FACT #2 - the Sabbath is always on the 7th day FACT #3 - the Sabbath is an eternal sign  FACT #4 - the Bible spoke  of apostasy that would come  FACT #5 - Constantine ordered Sunday observance  FACT #6 - the Catholic Church  claims they changed the Sabbath  FACT #7 - no one has the authority  to change God's commandments  So... what's the conclusion? Why...  it's Elementary my dear.   Just think about it. When you have eliminated the  impossible, whatever remains, however improbable,   must be the truth. And the truth is... no one  changed the Sabbath. The Sabbath will always   be the 7th day of the week, and it will always  remain as a sign between God and His people. The Sabbath didn't change, it's the people who  changed. Certain men decided they didn't want to   keep God's commandments anymore, so they stopped,  and they convinced others to join them in their   apostasy. The Bible warned us about these false  teachers who would creep in and corrupt the faith. But today, most Christians keep Sunday in  ignorance. Unaware of these crucial facts   that we have uncovered. But it's better to  learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all. There's nothing more to be said or done tonight,  so hand me my violin and let's try to forget for   half an hour the miserable weather and the  still more miserable ways of our fellowmen.