The Sabbath in History by N. J. Bowers

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 26, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 25.

The Sabbath in History.

By N. J. Bowers

THERE are those who suppose that seventh-day Sabbath-keeping is a matter lately come up, a modern novelty. We wish in this article to present some historical testimony to show that an unbroken line of Sabbath-keepers exists from the earliest ages of the Christian church to the present. Some, at least, of these no doubt held errors in faith and practice, as is evinced by their keeping Sunday also. We shall present the testimony in three parts, viz.: 1. From the apostles' days down beyond the time of Constantine, who died A. D. 337. 2. From this period to the Reformation in the sixteenth century. 3. From that time to the present.

I. "The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted but they derived this practice from the apostles themselves, as appears from several scriptures to that purpose." [Morer, a minister of the English Established Church, in a volume, "Dialogues on the Lord's Day," p. 189, London, A. D. 1701. See "History of the Sabbath," by J. N. Andrews, p. 333. For sale at the SIGNS OF THE TIMES Office, Oakland, Cal.] Among these "primitive Christians" were the "Nazarenes" and the "Hypsistarians." [Id., 338-340.]

The "Sabbath was religiously observed in the Eastern church three hundred years and more after our Saviour's passion. That church, being the greater part of Christendom, and having the apostles' doctrine and example to instruct them, would have restrained it if it had been deadly." [Brerewood, Gresham College, London, in "Learned Treatise of the Sabbath," p. 77, Oxford 1631; Id., 341.]

Notice he says that the Eastern church comprised the "greater part of Christendom;" and "having the apostles' doctrine and example," that is, having the least of false doctrine and apostasy among them, did not forbid the Sabbath being kept, but would, for the same reason, have done so had it been wrong. This is strong testimony from a man who did not keep the Sabbath, that it is according to apostolic doctrine and example to keep it; and Morer says the practice of spending the Sabbath in devotion and sermons, as was the practice of the early church, was no doubt derived from the apostles themselves, as the Bible teaches. Then why did not this man and his people spend the day in the same manner? Because "the church" commanded not to do so! Apostolic practice and Bible teaching must not stand in the way of the "holy Catholic Church."

It may be said that by "the Sabbath" these writers meant the first day of the week—Sunday. They did not so mean. In the larger extracts from which these presented are taken, it will be seen that this last day is separately mentioned. In this connection we wish to state that the phrase "the Sabbath" among the early Christians did not mean the first day of the week, but the day before, or Saturday. Says Coleman: "During the early ages of the church it [Sunday] was never entitled the Sabbath, this word being confined to the seventh day of the week, the Jewish Sabbath, which, as we have already said, continued to be observed for several centuries by the converts to Christianity." ["Ancient Christianity Exemplified," chap. 26, sec. 2; Id., 335, 336. See also Brerewood, Heylyn, and White; Id., 370, 371.]

It will be noticed that Coleman says the Sabbath was kept for several hundred years by the Christian converts. [See also the statements of Prynne and Ley, "Hist. Sab.," pp. 360, 361.]

II. Professor Stuart, in speaking of the time from Constantine to the Council of Laodicea, A. D. 364, says the practice of keeping the Sabbath was kept up by Christians who wished to respect the Mosaic law, "and finally became, as we have seen, predominant throughout Christendom." It was believed, at length, that the fourth commandment required the keeping holy of the seventh-day Sabbath, and not merely a seventh part of time, and reasoning that the requirements of the decalogue were of an unchanging and perpetual character, "the churches in general came gradually to regard the seventh-day Sabbath as altogether sacred." [Id., 360.]

In our day, Sabbath-keepers are said to have gone back to the law of Moses when they endeavor to honor the law of the great Jehovah, so Professor Stuart speaks of the early Christians. It is a very common thing with anti-Sabbath writers to stigmatize Sabbath-keeping and Sabbath-keepers by such prejudicial epithets as "Mosaic," and "Jewish," when at the same time the Sabbath is kept in obedience to the law of perpetual moral obligation and not out of any desire or intent to honor the law of sacrificial observances. He says Sabbath-keeping became at last "predominant throughout Christendom." It was then a general practice. Who would have supposed that Judaism had so infected the Christian church as to become predominant? He says again that the churches in general regarded the Sabbath as sacred. Then this "Jewish observance" became common, so much so indeed that the Council of Laodicea, not long after the middle of the fourth century, condemned it in these words: "Wherefore, if they shall be found to Judaize, let them be accursed from Christ." [Prynne, A. D. 1633, Id., 360, 361.] This author says: "The Council of Laodicea first settled the observation of the Lord's day and prohibited . . . the keeping of the Jewish Sabbath under a curse." ["Dissertation on the Lord's Day Sabbath," p. 34; Id., 361.]

Says John Ley: "From the apostles' time until the council of Laodicea, which was about the year 364, the holy observation of the Jews' Sabbath continued, as may be proved out of many authors; yea, notwithstanding the decree of that council against it." ["Sunday a Sabbath," p. 163, A. D. 1640; Ib.; Id.] He says the decision of the Laodicean council did not discontinue Sabbath-keeping, and it certainly did not.

Says the historian Socrates, about the middle of the fifth century: "For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do this." By "the sacred mysteries," Socrates probably means the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, as Sozoman, who was contemporary, meant by the word "mysteries." [Id., 367.]

We see that Socrates says "almost all churches throughout the world" met together on the Sabbath to partake of the sacramental emblems, with the exceptions of the churches at Alexandria and Rome. Alexandria, with the corrupting mystical philosophy, and Rome, first in apostasy, refused "on account of some ancient tradition" to do so. "Ancient tradition" has played a large part in getting the Sabbath out of the church and the Sunday in.

The historian continues: "The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebaia, hold their religious meetings on the Sabbath, but do not partake of the mysteries in the manner usual among Christians in general; for, having eaten and satisfied themselves with food of all kinds, in the evening, making their oblations, they partake of the mysteries." [Socrates, book 5, chap. 22; Id., 367.]

These people held "their religious meetings on the Sabbath" about A. D. 440, and though they did not partake of the communion "in the manner usual among Christians in general," it seems they followed the apostle in the matter that distinguished their practice from that of others. See 1 Cor. 11 : 20-22.

Sozoman, who lived at the same time, speaks in the same manner. [Book 7, chap. 19; Lardner, Vol. 4, chap. 85, p. 217; Ib.; Id.]

At this time the "practice of Sabbatizing on Saturday" and "the Judaizing practice of observing Saturday, were by the leading churches expressly condemned, and all the doctrines connected with them steadfastly resisted." [Cox, "Sabbath Laws," p. 280; Id., 368.]

We see by this that the Sabbath was a day of religious worship in the Christian church more than 400 years from the time of the death and resurrection of Christ, when it is said to have lost its sacred character; according to Cox, it was also a day of rest, of cessation from ordinary labor, as in the statements "it was their practice to sabbatize on Saturday," and "the Judaizing practice of observing Saturday," etc. "The leading churches," that is those churches infected with heresy, which led off more and more in the direction of complete apostasy, condemned these Sabbath-keepers. The Sabbath was soon after shut out of the church, and its observance deemed a deadly heresy.

Sabbath-keepers at Rome, about A. D. 600, were condemned by Pope Gregory. [Fleury, Eccl. History, Heylyn, Twisse; Id., 374.]

Some of the Waldenses, the "Sabbatati," observed the Sabbath. [Benedict; Goldastus; Abp. Usher; Id., 409, 410.]

The Waldenses date back to the time of Constantine, and beyond. [Benedict; Waddington; Jones; Jortin; Edwards; Id., 305-305.] They were extensively spread over the countries of Europe in the thirteenth century. [Id., 405.]

Sabbath-keepers at Constantinople in A. D. 1054. Sabbath-keepers about A. D. 1074, condemned by Pope Gregory VII. [Id., 420, 421.]

The "Cuthari" or "Puritans" in the twelfth century observed the Sabbath. [Allix; Id., 415.] Egbert says this people "were increased to great multitudes throughout all countries." [Jones; Ib.; Id.]

The "Passaginians," twelfth century. [Mosheim, Benedict; Id., 417, 418.]

This people were "that portion of the Waldenses who lived in the passes of the mountains." [Robinson, "Eccl. Researches," chap. 10, pp. 305, 306; Id., 417.]

The "Petrobrusians," in the twelfth century. [White; Id., 419.] The "Anabaptists," sixteenth century. Some among this people observed the Sabbath. [White; Id., 423. The "Abyssinians," sixteenth century. Id., 424-427.] The "Armenians," sixteenth century. [Teates, Buchanan; Id., 429-431.]

Carlstadt, Reformer, of the time of Luther. Labored with him in the Reformation. [White; Sears; Luther; Id., 456, 457.]

III. We have now reached the time of Luther and have found Sabbath-keepers all along the way. There were others who kept the Sabbath in Germany in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. [Maxon; Utter; Id., 467.] There are Sabbath-keepers there at the present time.

John Frith, an English reformer and martyr, who was converted by Tyndale about 1525, and who helped him translate the Bible, said that the word of God did not command that the first day of the week be kept holy, but the seventh, and that that word was "rather against us" in keeping Sunday and not the Sabbath. He was burnt at Smithfield July 4, 1533. [Id., 460.]

Davidis, a Unitarian Baptist minister, "a man of learning, address, and piety," in Transylvania, now a portion of eastern Austria, in the sixteenth century, who had charge of the churches in this country, and who was looked upon as an apostle, kept the Sabbath. [Robinson, Id., 462.] He was arrested and condemned to death. Died in prison. [Id.] Many others in Transylvania held with Davidis. There were Sabbath-keepers in Bohemia at the time of the

Reformation. [Erasmus; Cox; Hessey; Id., 463, 464.] These were likely a portion, at least, of the Waldenses, who were to be found in Bohemia in the thirteenth century. [Id., 405.]

There were Sabbath-keepers in Russia as far back as the fifteenth century. They are to be found there at the present time. [Pinkerton; Murdock; Id., 465, 466.] They were found in France in the sixteenth century. [Id., 468.] Sabbath-keepers have been in England for the last 300 years or more. [Maxon; Id., 469; Chambers; Id., 479, 480.] There have been churches of Sabbath-keepers there for nearly 300 years [Benedict; Id., 470], and there have been among them some very eminent men [Id.], such as Trask, Brabourne, the Steinmetts, Bampfield, and James. [See Hist. Sab., pp. 489-491.]

The first Sabbath-keeper in the United States was Stephen Mumford, who came over from London in 1664. Not long after this—Dec. 23, 1671—the first Seventh-day Baptist Church was organized at Newport, R. I. [Id., 493, 494.] The Seventh-day Baptists in this country number probably 10,000.

The Seventh-day Adventists arose at Washington, N. H., near the close of 1844. They number about 18,000 in church relationship. This people are very energetic in spreading their views among all classes. They publish a dozen periodicals, and millions of pages of books, pamphlets, and tracts are scattered everywhere. There are probably about 25,000 believers, in all, among them.

There are those who observe the Seventh-day Sabbath, in about every country on the globe. We have now followed down the line of history from the apostles' time to the present, and have found Sabbath-keepers all along. We do not claim that this proves the Sabbath of binding obligation—the Bible alone does this—but that it shows that Sabbath-keeping is not merely a modern practice.

N. J. BOWERS.

Concordia, Kansas.