THE SABBATH AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.
By John G. Matteson
The first Christian church was that in Jerusalem, hence its members were the first Christians. The apostles had gathered in what the Saviour had sown and planted, and this church was the first-fruits of their labor. The Holy Spirit came down upon them with a power and fullness hitherto unknown, and, as a result, three thousand souls were added to the church in one day. And they labored together in such unity and power, that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. The majority of these many thousand believing souls were gained out of the Jews. And this church was in such a position that the Lord could bless them abundantly, and they could labor in power to his honor. No church has been more blessed, or had more life and power; and from it the light of Christianity has gone out to the world. It existed as a church for about forty years. All the events spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles transpired during the existence of this church. About seven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, Paul was sent as a prisoner to Rome. All his letters were written before this time, and he was beheaded by the emperor Nero about A. D. 66, consequently four years before the church in Jerusalem was scattered. Now it is evident from the words of our Saviour in Matt. 24:20: “Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day,” that they continued to observe the same Sabbath that Jesus kept and honored, and commanded them to honor, by praying that their flight from Jerusalem might not be upon that day. And according to Josephus, their flight did not happen in the winter, nor upon the Sabbath day. They would be obliged to fly so hastily that they could not enter their houses for anything, nor return from the fields for their clothes. Had this happened during the winter, it would have caused them much suffering; and if it had happened on the Sabbath, their devotions and rest would have been disturbed. But the Lord heard their prayers, and saved them from the hands of their enemies. And we have never yet heard it proved from history that the church in Jerusalem did not observe the old Sabbath—the seventh day, which God sanctified and blessed. They rested on the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Luke 23:56. And if the early Christians observed the seventh day as the Sabbath during the period when the New Testament was being written, it is also the duty of Christians living near the close of time to keep the Sabbath of the Lord, till the Saviour comes.