About sixty years later, another Jewish revolt resulted in Jews being uprooted from Judea entirely.  As a result of their constant struggle to be free of Roman control and influence, the Jews were hated bitterly by Roman society at large.  The emperor Hadrian prohibited, under the threat of death, any Jew from entering the area of Jerusalem.  Moreover, he outlawed the Jewish faith and particularly the observance of Sabbath.  It was in this environment that Christianity was born.

When Constantine decreed in the fourth century that Christianity was to be the state religion of Rome, a blow was struck to Christian heritage.  The historical record proves that Constantine's motive was purely political and not spiritual.  Due to its extensive influence throughout the empire, Christianity was chosen by Constantine as the method by which he could unite the empire and solidify his power.  Furthermore, Christian standards and doctrines were relaxed to accommodate those pagans in the empire unwilling to abandon certain heathen practices.

As a result, paganism and Christianity embraced and the Hebraic, Torah-based heritage of the Church went into hibernation.  Many Christians distanced themselves from anything that seemed Jewish.  Furthermore, the Church now sponsored by Rome, became the instrument of Roman retaliation against the Jews.  It was the Roman Church that continued the religious war on Jews and Jewish practices.  One of the main battlefields in this war was the Sabbath issue.

Who Changed It And Why?
It is generally known and accepted that the early Christians observed the seventh day Sabbath, that is Saturday. It is also a matter of record that the Roman Catholic Church made the decision to change the Christian day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. A passage in The Cathechismus Romanus, printed in 1566 by order of Pope Pius V reads, "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's Day.'" The reader should know that there are multiple sources, which verify this fact. In short, the Catholic Church freely admits that, based on the same authority by which the doctrine of Purgatory was conceived, and "by virtue of her divine mission, substituted the observance of Sunday…… for the observance of Saturday, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" (A Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174).

It seems that at the root of this decision was the desire to distance the predominately gentile church from anything resembling Judaism. In 365 A.D., the Council of Laodicea convened to settle, among other things, the Sabbath question. The Council stated that, "Christians must not Judaize on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather, honoring 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 [accursed] from Christ (Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Vol. XIV, p. 184). In short, they forbade any Christian from resting on the day they readily agreed was the Sabbath, and established Sunday as the day of worship. At first glance, the logic behind this seems to be born out of the will to acknowledge "the Lord's Day." Yet, once again history brings this belief into question.

In March 321 (over forty years before the Council of Laodicea), Constantine issued an edict which effectively legislated the seventh day Sabbath out of existence as a day of worship for most of the Christian world. The edict begins by saying, "On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed."

Constantine's choice of words sheds some light on why Sunday was chosen over Saturday as the Christian day of worship. We must keep in mind that, at this time, the Church was Roman. Furthermore, before there were Popes to make doctrinal decisions, the Roman emperors were making them. These are the same people who hated the Jews for their beliefs and the same people who had allowed pagan practices to infiltrate the Church.

Couple this with the fact that Sunday (dies solis - day of the sun) was the primary day of pagan worship in most of the gentile world, and most certainly in the Roman pantheon. It all comes down to this. In the third and fourth centuries, citing the fact that Jews had been the enemy of Christianity since the beginning, elements of the Church made decisions to substitute anything resembling biblical Judaism with gentile practices. This included substituting biblical holy days with pagan holidays and days of worship already familiar to those whose lives would be affected.

After considering all of the evidence, and there is plenty of it, I have come to this conclusion. The Sabbath is still the seventh day. There is no biblical reason to believe otherwise. However, I also believe that to adjust centuries of custom at this point is unlikely. Our entire society centers around the primary day of worship being on Sunday. To change now would be almost impossible and certainly viewed as undesirable by a majority of Christians. So, what do we do? Do we demand that churches all of a sudden switch back?

The only answer I see is this. If people want to worship on Sunday, then by all means, they should. Those who worship on Saturday must realize that they can not force-feed this issue. There are many Christians who will never be able to give up Sunday worship. Each person must be given the opportunity to grow as he can digest and process what he has learned (see Acts 15:21). At the same time, we need to realize that Sunday is not the Sabbath and what we do on Sunday does not replace the primacy of the Sabbath. Sure, God wants our worship everyday and there are many ways to worship, but the biblical sanctity of the seventh day Sabbath stands forever (Ex. 31:16).

The other side needs to realize that people who observe Saturday as Sabbath and the primary day of worship are not cultic or heretics. To the contrary, they are obeying the Scripture in the most literal way, as well as following their conscience. Perry worships on Sunday. I choose to observe Saturday as the Sabbath. Are we enemies? No. Is it a source of contention between us? No. Will there be those who vehemently disagree with both of us? Absolutely!

That is why each person, being duly informed should "work out his own salvation with fear and trembling." Each of us should follow our conscience, as we feel led of God. Both sides should refrain from castigating the other because they don't agree. Above all remember this. Our salvation is dependent upon one thing alone; heart-conceived belief in the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah Y'shua of Nazareth, the Son of God.

Here is one last note. History reveals that the Christians of the first three centuries never confused the seventh day Sabbath with the Christian observation of the Lord's Day. Until the Sabbath was outlawed in the fourth century by a politically induced decree, they celebrated both. An answer to the dilemma? God bless you all.