Who Changed the Sabbath to Sunday?

The original Christian followers of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, believed in keeping the Fourth Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day.” Jesus Himself observed the seventh-day Sabbath in Nazareth where He grew up. As an adult, He preached in the synagogues on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). In the first century AD, after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the Apostle Paul preached on the Sabbath to Gentile congregations. Now, two thousand years later, most professing Christians keep the first day of the week, Sunday, as the Lord’s Day. What happened to the Fourth Commandment, which states that God’s people should keep the seventh day holy? How did that major change take place? Which day should Christians keep holy? And WHO changed the Sabbath to Sunday? Your Bible and history give the answer! Most professing Christians observe Sunday as a day of worship. And yet the Ten Commandments include instructions to observe the seventh day, Saturday. Perhaps you grew up as a young child learning the Ten Commandments. The Fourth Commandment gives us this very plain instruction: “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....” (Exodus 20:8-10) Yet most professing Christians observe Sunday, even though first-century Christians observed the same seventh-day Sabbath that Jesus observed! So, WHO changed the Sabbath to Sunday? On today’s program, we’ll answer that question. And we’ll be offering you an inspiring free booklet that gives you the biblical answers you need. It’s titled: WHICH DAY IS THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH? This is a vital question for all professing Christians. This booklet is free of charge, and gives you the historic and biblical facts to answer the question. Just call the number on your screen, or order it online at TOMORROWSWORLD.ORG. Just ask for the Christian Sabbath booklet. Various religions set aside holidays or holy days. Muslims gather to worship on Friday. Jews around the world have worshipped for thousands of years on the Sabbath, the day that begins at sunset every Friday evening, and continues through to sunset on Saturday. Professing Christians meet for Sunday church services, proclaiming theirs is the true day for worship. My friends, which day should Christians keep holy? The first day of the week? Or the seventh? Throughout world history, various civilizations have recorded their days in weeks of four days or ten days. Yet the seven-day week is ancient. Records going back to ancient Babylon show observance of a seven-day cycle. The Jewish people have preserved a calendar with a seven-day week. History faithfully documents that the day we now call Saturday is the seventh day of the week, and Sunday is the first day of the week. Even when Pope Gregory XIII revised the calendar in 1582, he did not change the seven-day cycle. The seventh-day Sabbath today is the same seventh day observed by Jesus and the first-century Christian Church. If you have your Bible, turn to Acts 13:42. In the first century AD, the Apostle Paul preached on the Sabbath in the Antioch synagogue. Notice that his audience included BOTH Jews and Gentiles. After the Jews left, the Gentiles made a request. Now, this was YEARS after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Surely, if Christians were to keep Sunday, these Gentiles would have met with Paul the very next day, Sunday. But did they? Acts 13:42, “So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them…” WHEN? The next day, Sunday? No! Verse 42: “...the Gentiles not the Jews begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” Read that again in your own Bible. “...the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” NOT SUNDAY! Sure enough, Acts 13:44: “On the NEXT SABBATH almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” Paul met with Gentiles, not on Sunday, but on the Sabbath. New Testament Christians observed the seventh-day Sabbath.