The Sabbath
Seventh Day
Sabbath or Sunday
Written by : Kenneth
M.Hoeck
International Sunday Law? Did you know
that most of the states in America have, on their books,
a law demanding that no work be done on Sunday, the first day
of the week? Most of these laws are currently not enforced
but this makes them no less valid. Did you also know that 11
of the 15 states in the European Union have Sunday laws? Why
are these laws in place? Why should this concern a true
Christian? What role does the papacy play in all this? Have
sabbath-keepers been persecuted in the past for keeping all of
God's Commandments? Let us begin to uncover some truth in the
matter-
Introduction
Satan has been attacking, twisting, and
maligning the Sabbath, and everything else having to do with
God, since the beginning of human history. The fourth
commandment is under special attack because it is the only
commandment which specifies who the true God really is! Genesis
2:1 -Thus
the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them. 2 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. 3 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. & Exodus 20:11 -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.
Satan would like to have the people
FORGET who the true God is so they will be able to worship him
in place of God! This is why the commandment, given again at
Sinai, begins with the word "REMEMBER"! Exodus 20:8
Remember the sabbath day, to
keep it holy. (God has not left His people uninformed
of the wiles of the Devil.) This is reiterated in the word
"KEEP" in Deuteronomy 5:12-
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God
hath commanded thee. "Keep"
or "Do Not Let Go Of" or "Do Not Lose" the Sabbath day which is
identified in the rest of the passage as the seventh day. It is
true that one could worship any other "god" and still keep the
other nine commandments but the fourth one is a special
indicator of who God and His living saints really are.
Satan hates the Sabbath commandment over
the others because it is a sign of God's true followers.
Exodus 31:13- Speak thou also
unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye
shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you
throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the
LORD that doth sanctify you. This verse also
shows once again that the Sabbath points to "who the LORD is",
that "He is the one who sanctifies" (separates or makes holy)
His people who obey His commandments. It also tells us that the Seventhday Sabbath IS A SIGN of who His true followers really
are! Anybody who keeps the Sabbath and walks uprightly before
God is sanctified by the LORD Read here in Isaiah 56:2
-Blessed is the man that
doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that
keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand
from doing any evil. 3 Neither let the son of the
stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak,
saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people:
neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4
For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my
sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take
hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give
in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than
of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name,
that shall not be cut off. 6 Also the sons of
the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him,
and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants,
every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and
taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring
to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer:
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted
upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of
prayer for all people. 8 The Lord GOD which gathereth
the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to
him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
So now we see why Satan has such wrath
toward the fourth commandment...against God's holy Sabbath.
There are those who want to do away with the seventhday Sabbath
today, just as in the past. The Devil has made a counterfeit "sabbathday"
(Sunday) which is not the seventh but the first day of the week.
He may well demand that "his day", the Day of the Sun" or sungod, be
kept IN PLACE OF the true seventhday Sabbath sanctified by God
Almighty. Lets us "pull back the veil" on this subject today.
Attack on the Sabbath
The Roman Emporer, Hadrian, in 135 A.D.
outlawed sabbath-keeping and Judaism altogether. This seems to
be the first successful attack on doing away with the true
seventh-day Sabbath. Before this could fully happen the sabbath-keepers
had to be ridiculed, persecuted and dehumanized. The
dehumanizing of a people, the turning of a people into mere
property or objects, must occur before martyrdom can take
place. This is exactly what happened to the disciples of Christ
in the first century, to the Jews in Pre-World War II Germany,
to the black people in the early United States, and soon to the
true of Christians who keep the commandments of God.
The Sabbath-keeping "Jews" in the early
Roman Empire were treated poorly, as fools and superstitious
second class citizens. They were unfairly taxed by their Roman
'masters' (Vespasian 69-79 AD, Domitian 81-96 AD, and Hadrian
prior to his outlawing of Judaism in 135 AD). The Sabbath became
to the Romans a disgraceful symbol of Judaism and they regarded
it as superstitious folly. The Sabbath is ridiculed by all of
the oppressors of God's people this is revealed to be true in
Israel's history by Jeremiah in Lamentations 1:7 -Jerusalem
remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all
her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her
people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her:
the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths.
First let us look at the laws from
yesterday and today. Try to envision the possibilities of the
abuse and enforcement of such laws in the future....quite
possibly by those who call themselves "Christians" but are
not and do lie. Secondly, we will look at some of the
punishments, penalties and attitudes imposed upon
Sabbath-keepers who will not forsake God's commandment for the
precepts and legislation of men. We will employ quotations from
various sources and we ask that you please read each carefully.
In reading this you may or may not be :excited, or annoyed, or
enlightened, or saddened : but you will most assuredly be
educated with the facts on the subject by the time we
conclude our study.
The Law of Men
The first "Christian" Sunday Law states
"Let all judges and all city people and
all tradesmen rest upon the venerable day of the sun. But
let those dwelling in the country freely and with full liberty
attend to the culture of their fields; since it frequently
happens that no other day is so fit for the sowing of grain, or
the planting of vines; hence, the favorable time should not be
allowed to pass, lest the provisions of heaven be lost."
-- Edict of March 7, 321 A.D. Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3,
tit. 12, Lex. 3. Constantine (and Crispus) being consul
(each for the second time). 321 A.D.
"For several
centuries, Christians observed Sunday simply as a day of
worship, without being able to give it the specific meaning of
Sabbath rest. Only in the fourth century did the civil law
of the Roman Empire recognize the weekly recurrence,
determining that on "the day of the sun" the judges, the
people of the cities and the various trade corporations would
not work" - Pope John Paul II-DIES DOMINI-Dies Hominis
v.64, May 31, 1998
'The Pope has
power to change times, to abrogate (change) laws, and to
dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ."
Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. This , my friends, is blasphemy.
The pope believes that he can forever change the laws of the
very Creator without retribution. Notice this very similar
wording in the book of Daniel:
The Holy Bible -KJV, Daniel 7:21
"I beheld, and the same horn made war
with the saints, and prevailed against them;" 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.
'The Pope has
authority and has often exercised it, to dispense with the
command of Christ." Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop.
Cap.( This is very true as he did away with God's seventhday
Sabbath and replaced it with his own first day or Lord's
day....the day of the Sungod.~kh)
The pope would like to make keeping
Sunday "a Must" - ``Sunday is something
much different: It is the weekly day in which the church
celebrates the resurrection of Christ,'' he said. ``In obedience to the Third Commandment
(really the fourth commandment -but
one does not expect those who worship graven images to
acknowledge a commandment against them~kh),
Sunday must be sanctified, above all by participation in
holy Mass.'' Pope John Paul II-DIES DOMINI-Dies Hominis,
May 31, 1998
"In respecting
religious liberty and the common good of all, Christians should
seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy days as legal
holidays." Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994, 585.
Church and State Cooperation
In the following quotes you will notice
the urging of the Pope and others to encourage governmental
powers of the world to enforce an international Sunday Law. The
strong wording is only a hint of what is to come. What will
happen if the Pope and his team of Jesuits ever get the power to
enforce such a law?........ Remember the Inquisition?
"Therefore, also in
the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will
naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects
their duty to keep Sunday holy. In any case, they are
obliged in conscience to arrange their Sunday rest in a way
which allows them to take part in the Eucharist, refraining from
work and activities which are incompatible with the
sanctification of the Lord's Day, with its characteristic joy
and necessary rest for spirit and body." (112)Pope John
Paul II-DIES DOMINI-Dies Hominis, May 31, 1998
"The Code of
Canon Law of 1917 for the first time gathered this tradition
into a universal law.(81) The present Code reiterates
this, saying that "on Sundays and other holy days of
obligation the faithful are bound to attend Mass".(82) This
legislation has normally been understood as entailing a
grave obligation: this is the teaching of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church,(83) and it is easy to understand why if
we keep in mind how vital Sunday is for the Christian life." -
Dies Domini, Pope John Paul II 1998
"In
this matter, my predecessor Pope Leo XIII in his
Encyclical Rerum Novarum spoke of Sunday rest as a worker's
right which the State must guarantee."
(110)Pope John Paul II-DIES DOMINI-Dies Hominis, May 31, 1998
'There will be
no relief from mounting economic disaster until Sunday is
strictly enforced by government decrees and action."
LIBERTY CONFIDENTIAL NEWSLETTER Vol 5, 1982.."
"All Americans
would do well to petition the President and the Congress to
make a Federal law - an amendment to the Constitution if
need be - to re-establish the Sabbath [meaning Sunday
here] as a national Day of Rest."
CATHOLIC TWIN CIRCLE, August 25, 1985, Article "Sacking
Sunday."
PERSECUTION
Even the most innocent of governmental
legislations, in the wrong hands, can be used to enact evil upon
those who oppose it. The papacy will continue to regain its
power with nations and there well may come a time when they will
not only enforce the "no work on Sunday laws" but also require
Sunday observance in Catholic mass AS LAW. It will also NOT
ALLOW the keeping of any other days than that which the Pope
sanctifies. The Sabbath-keepers, those who keep the commandments
of God, will be persecuted. The ability of the Roman Catholic
Church to, once again, force its ways on the world shall become
evident as in the days of its bloody Inquisitions. Who could
withstand this political-religious entity? Revelation 13:4
"And they worshipped the dragon which
gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast,
saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war
with him?"
The first known Sunday law penalties
in America : "Every man and woman
shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons
preached upon the Sabbath (not the true Sabbath but
Sunday is meant here), and in the afternoon to divine service,
and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their
provision and the allowance for the whole week following; for
the second, to lose the said allowance and also be whipped; and
for the third to suffer death." III Laws and
Orders, Divine, Politique, and Martial, for the Colony in
Virginia: first established by Sir Thomas Gates, knight,
Lieutenant - General, the 24th of May, 1610.
In 1885, Arkansas
passed a statute forbidding labor on the "Sabbath"(Sunday).
Section 1886 of the law exempted Sabbatarians so the
seventh day Sabbath-keepers did not voice much concern. On March
3. 1885, the Sabbatarian exemption was repealed and the
forcing of Sunday, the false sabbath, upon all people was
strictly adhered to under penalty of fines.
"Some of you,
contrary to the warning, keep Saturday. You ought to be
severely punished. Whoever is found keeping Saturday, must
pay a fine of ten marks." - History of King Christian
the Third (of Norway 1544AD), Niels Krag and S. Stephanius.
"Aiphonse, king of
Aragon, etc., to all archbishops, bishops, and to all
others...We command you that heretics, to wit, the Waldeneses
and Insabbathi (those who keep the
Sabbath), should be expelled
away from the face of God and from all Catholics and ordered to
depart from our kingdom." - Marianae Praefatio in
Lucam Tudensem and quoted in Macima Bibliotheca Veterum
Patrum Vol 25 p 190
Justin Martyr, a popular "mainstream
Christian "of the second century (around 150 AD) believed that
the Sabbath was an outdated mosaic law which God placed on the
Jews as " a mark to single them
out for punishment they so well deserve for their infidelities."-
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho.
Canons against
Sabbath-keepers from the French Council Toulouse in 1229:
"Canon 3.- The lords of the different
districts shall have the villas, houses, and woods diligently
searched, and the hiding-places of the heretics
destroyed. Canon 14.- Lay
members are not allowed to possess the books of either the Old
or the New Testaments." - Hefele. 5, 981, 962
Council, Moscow, 1503 : "The accused
(Sabbath-keepers)
were summoned; they openly acknowledged
the new faith, and defended the same. The most prominent of
them,...were condemned to death, and burned publicly
in cages, at Moscow, Dec 17.1503- H. Sternberfi,
Geschichte der Juden
"This zeal for Saturday-keeping continued for a long time:
even little things which might strengthen the practice of
keeping Saturday were punished." - Bishop Anjou,
Svenska Kirkans Historia after Motet i Upsala.
"The famous Jesuit, Francais Xavier, called for the
Inquisition, which was set up in Goa, India, in 560, to
check the 'Jewish wickedness'
(Sabbath-keeping)." -
Adney, The Greek and Eastern Churches p 527,528.
Pope Gregory I, 590-604
AD, Epistles b. 13:1- "Gregory,
bishop by the grace of God to his well-beloved sons, the Roman
citizens: It has come to me that certain men of perverse spirit
have disseminated among you things depraved and opposed to the
holy faith, so that they forbid anything to be done on the day
of the Sabbath. What shall I call them except preachers of
anti-Christ." This pope believed in his perverse mind
that keeping the Sabbath commanded by God was heresy and the
doctrine of antichrist! He ordered that it not be kept.
"Moreover, this same Pope Gregory had issued an official
pronouncement against a section of the city of Rome itself
because the Christian believers there rested and worshipped on
the Sabbath."- Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers
"Some have suffered torture because they would not rest when
others kept Sunday, for they declared it to be the holiday and
law of Antichrist." - Sebastian Frank, AD 1536. By this
time in history the Seventhday Sabbath was severely under
attack.
In
Eithiopia, 1604 AD, the Jesuits influenced King Zadenghel to
propose to submit to the Papacy " Prohibiting all his
subjects, upon severe penalties, to observe, Saturday any
longer."- Gedde's Church History of Eithiopia
p 311 and also in Gibbon's Decline and Fall chapter 47.
Catholic Provincial
Council at Bergen -" We are informed that
some people in different districts of the kingdom, have adopted
and observed Saturday-keeping. It is severely forbidden-
in holy church canon- one and all to observe days excepting
those which the holy Pope, archbishop, or the bishops command.
Saturday-keeping must under no circumstances be permitted
hereafter further than the church canon commands.
Therefore, we counsel all the friends of God throughout all of
Norway who want to be obedient towards the holy church to
let this evil of Saturday-keeping alone; and the rest we forbid
under penalty of severe church punishment to keep Saturday holy."
- Dip, Norveg, 7, 397.
"The inquisitors...(declare)
that the sign of a Vaudois
(Waldeneses of France,
Sabbathkeepers) deemed worthy
of death, was that he followed Christ and sought to obey the
commandments of God" - History of the
Inquisition of the Middle Ages, H.C. Lea, Vol 1. This was a
fulfillment in type of the end time persecution shown in
Revelation:
The Holy Bible -KJV, Revelation
12:17 "And the dragon was wroth with
the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ."
What do you think of what you just read?
History repeats itself , maybe you have heard such. The
Inquisition couldn't happen again.....or could it? Your bible
says that such martyrdom WILL occur! The Catholic church is
quickly destroying the evidence against them concerning the
Inquisitions but I challenge you to research the subject yet. A
repeat of such persecution will occur! Your bible also specifies
the subject or objects of this persecution will be "the saints
which keep the commandments of God". Some of the saints will be
overcome by the Beast Power. Revelation 13:7 "And it was
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations." Which commandment will most people
refuse to follow? Thats right, the fourth, which some call "the
test commandment, The Sabbath Commandment!
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 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: 11 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. We trust
that this short study has been educational and spiritually
edifying. God bless those who have ears to hear...and obey.
The Sabbath stands as a
memorial of the creation itself:
Genesis 2:3 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.
Reference: