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11. Which Day is the Day of Rest and Worship?

Updated: Nov 7, 2023

Exodus 20:8 KJV Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Many will recognize this commandment as one of the ten given to the people after they came out of Egypt. Most notably known as the Ten Commandments. This particular commandment is closely related to Genesis 2, when God had finished the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, saying,


"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."


Why then do we recognize Sunday as the day of rest and worship? The answer is one that is shrouded in many layers of darkness, uncertainty, and a willingness to compromise God's word in the hope of bringing in a large gathering of pagan worshippers into the church by Rome.


In 321, Constantine, a Roman Emperor introduced civil legislation declaring all work should cease on Sunday, replacing Saturday as the Sabbath. This was done in an attempt to appease those worshipping the Sun, Mirthras, which was celebrated on December 25th, the Sun's birthday. Rome understood that to try and change pagan rituals would have fallen short of bringing them into the church, so the church adopted the pagan day of worship in the hopes of gaining new converts. This then led the church to change the third commandment, refocusing worshippers to begin going to church on Sunday, as that day, The Lord's day, was to be kept holy. Thus, Sunday, Lord's Day, replaced Saturday as the Sabbath despite what God had established.


Consider the following excerpts from, the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine by Reverend Peter Giermann.

Question: Which is the Sabbath day? Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.

Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”


The Council of Laodicea states in Canon 29, "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour, and, as being Christians, shall if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."


Scripture its self, does not support changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the Lord's Day. While this brief study is not intended to sway believers in one direction over another, it should cause us to dive deeper into the subject to discover the Truth concerning the Sabbath and to become a student of the Word of God and the Truth.


I will leave you with one final thought, before ending this brief study, from what the LORD himself said in Ezekiel 20:20 KJV "I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God."


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