The Sabbath Since the Reformation

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In summary, the Saturday Sabbath has continued from the days of Jesus through the days of the Reformation, even though Sunday has replaced it in the majority of churches. Today we're going to move on to the history of the Saturday Sabbath after the Reformation.

The first known Saturday Sabbath keeper in America was Stephen Mumford who came over from England in 1664. He organized the first Saturday Sabbath church in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1671 (The Sabbath in America, Chapter 27, www.giveshare.org.).

The German Seventh Day Baptists began in 1728 in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. They are in existence today (www.germanseventhdaybaptist.com).

In 1844 the Seventh Day Adventist Church began in Washington, New Hampshire and now comprises a world wide organization.

"The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament" (Abbott, Dr. Lyman, in the "Christian Union", June 26, 1890).

"If it [the Ten Commandments] yet exist, let us observe it...And if it does not exist, let us abandon a mock observance of another day for it. 'But,' say some, 'it was changed from the seventh to the first day.' Where? when? and by whom? - No, it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned [in Genesis 2:1-3] must be changed before the observance or respect to the reason, can be changed. It is all old wives' fables to talk of the 'change of the sabbath' from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio. - I think his name is "Doctor Antichrist" (Campbell, Alexander, "The christian Baptist", February  2, 1824, vol. 1, no. 7).

"We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christian of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both" (The Sunday Problem, a study book by the Lutheran Church, 1923, p. 36

"The [Seventh-day] Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This Fourth Commandment [Exodus 20:8-11] begins with the word 'remember,' showing that the Sabbath had already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they admit that the other nine are still binding? Moody, Dwight L., Weighed and Wanting, 1898, pp. 46-47.).

"Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman] church outside the bible" ("Catholic Virginian", Oct 3, 1947).

"The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Prostestant, claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh Day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant" ("The Catholic Universe Bulletin", Aug. 14, 1942, p. 4).

Besides the Seventh Day Adventists, the Seventh Day Baptists, and  the German Seventh Day Baptists,  the Church of God, the Seventh Day Pentecostals, and many other smaller groups world-wide observe Saturday Sabbaths.

Perhaps the newest group to enter this field are the Messianic Jewish congregations. This movement began in the mid-nineteenth century in Kishinev, Ukraine, in 1884. The International Hebrew Christian Alliance began in 1925. But it was during the 1960's that many Jews came to believe in Jesus and the Jews for Jesus organization was founded. Today, there are many Messianic Jewish congregations where both Jewish and Gentile believers observe not only the Saturday Sabbath, but continue to observe the Mosaic Law, as well. Even many mainline denominations are beginning to see the value in learning about the Hebrew Roots of Christianity and are studying the Jewish character of the first century when Jesus was alive on the earth (www.wildolive.co.uk).

From these five posts it is clearly seen that contrary to the opinion of many, Saturday Sabbath is not only a choice that many have believed in, but that it is the right choice based on Biblical and historical evidence.