4) The Change to Sunday
How and why the day of worship was changed - History, prophecy, and authority
If the Sabbath was instituted at creation, confirmed in the Ten Commandments, and kept by Jesus and His disciples, how did most Christians come to keep Sunday? In this lesson, we will examine the historical and prophetic evidence for this change.
The Great Question
Is there any biblical command to keep Sunday?
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Answer: There is no biblical command to keep Sunday
Matthew 15:9: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
This is a surprising reality for many: there is not a single verse in the Bible that transfers the holiness of the Sabbath to Sunday or commands the keeping of Sunday. The change came from another source.
Did Jesus ever indicate that another day would replace the Sabbath?
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Answer: No, He said not one dot will pass from the law
Matthew 5:18: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
The Prophecy of Daniel
What did Daniel prophesy that a power would attempt to do?
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Answer: Change the times and the law of God
Daniel 7:25: "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."
Centuries before Christ, Daniel prophesied that an arrogant power would attempt to “change the times and the law.” The only commandment that involves “time” is the fourth — the commandment of the Sabbath!
Who has authority to change the law of God?
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Answer: Only God, who is the sole Lawgiver
Isaiah 33:22: "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us."
Only God has authority to change His own law. Any human attempt to alter the Ten Commandments is a usurpation of divine authority.
“The sign, or seal, of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord’s memorial of creation. […] The mark of the beast is the opposite of this — the observance of the first day of the week.” — Ellen G. White, Last Day Events, p. 224, par. 3.
The Historical Change
How did the New Testament warn that deviations would arise among God's people?
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Answer: Through men who would teach distorted things to draw away followers
Acts 20:29-30: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."
The change was gradual. Initially, some Christians began to honor Sunday along with the Sabbath, not necessarily in place of it. After the legalization and favoring of Christianity in the fourth century, Sunday gained prominence. In A.D. 321, Constantine decreed civil rest on the “venerable day of the sun” for judges, city dwellers, and craftsmen; this was a civil law, not a biblical command.
What the Catholic Church Admits
Does the Catholic Church acknowledge that it changed the day of worship?
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Answer: Yes, it openly affirms that it made the change by its authority
Daniel 7:25: "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."
A Catholic catechism for converts summarizes the point directly: Catholics observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. — Peter Geiermann, The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50.
For what reason does the Church affirm it made the change?
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Answer: By its own ecclesiastical authority, not by the Bible
Matthew 28:18: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
Catholic honesty is notable: they do not claim biblical basis for Sunday. They argue that their ecclesiastical authority is sufficient to make changes.
What About the Resurrection of Jesus?
Does the Bible command keeping Sunday in honor of the resurrection?
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Answer: No, the memorial of the resurrection is baptism, not Sunday
Romans 6:3-4: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
The Bible already establishes a memorial for the resurrection: baptism! We are “buried with Christ” and “risen with Him” in the baptismal waters. There is no command for another memorial.
Does the fact that Jesus rose on the first day of the week authorize its weekly observance?
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Answer: No, a specific command would be necessary to change God's law
Exodus 20:8-11: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
The Gospels record the resurrection on the first day of the week, but they do not record a command transferring the holiness of the Sabbath to that day. The authority to sanctify a day belongs to God, not to human inferences.
The Question of Authority
What is the central issue in the Sabbath vs. Sunday debate?
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Answer: Tradition vs. Scripture; human authority vs. divine authority
Acts 5:29: "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
At its core, the issue is: will we follow God’s Word or human traditions? The authority of God or the authority of ecclesiastical institutions?
And Now?
The facts are clear:
- There is no biblical command for Sunday: The change has no basis in Scripture
- Prophecy announced the attempt to change: Daniel 7:25 predicted this
- History confirms: The change was gradual, culminating in imperial and ecclesiastical laws
- The Church that made the change admits it: It does not claim biblical authority, but ecclesiastical
- The issue is one of authority: God or human tradition?
Each Christian must decide: will we follow God’s Word or human traditions?
My Decision
I recognize that there is no biblical command for keeping Sunday and that the change was made by human authority, not divine. I desire to follow God’s Word as my only rule of faith and practice, even when it differs from human traditions.