Sabbath in seventh-day churches

The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. These churches emphasize biblical references such as the ancient Hebrew practice of beginning a day at sundown, and the Genesis creation narrative wherein an "evening and morning" established a day, predating the giving of the Ten Commandments (thus the command to "remember" the sabbath). They hold that the Old and New Testament show no variation in the doctrine of the Sabbath on the seventh day. Saturday, or the seventh day in the weekly cycle, is the only day in all of scripture designated using the term Sabbath. The seventh day of the week is recognized as Sabbath in many languages, calendars, and doctrines, including those of Catholic,^[1] Lutheran,^[2] and Orthodox churches.^[a]

It is still observed in modern Judaism in relation to Mosaic Law. In addition, the Orthodox Tewahedo Churches uphold Sabbatarianism, observing the Sabbath on Saturday, in addition to the Lord's Day on Sunday.^[3]

Catholic, Orthodox, and some Protestant denominations observe the Lord's Day on Sunday and hold that the Saturday Sabbath is no longer binding for Christians. On the other hand, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, as well as many Episcopalians, have historically espoused the view of first-day Sabbatarianism,^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] describing the Sabbath as being transferred to the Lord's Day (Sunday), the first day of the week, merged with the day of Christ's resurrection, forming the Christian Sabbath.^[8]

"Seventh-day Sabbatarians" are Christians who seek to reestablish the practice of some early Christians who kept the Sabbath according to normal Jewish practice. They usually believe that all humanity is obliged to keep the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath, and that keeping all the commandments is a moral responsibility that honors, and shows love towards God as creator, sustainer, and redeemer. Christian seventh-day Sabbatarians hold beliefs similar to that tradition that the change of the sabbath was part of a Great Apostasy in the Christian faith. Some of these, most notably the Seventh-day Adventist Church, have traditionally held that the apostate church formed when the Bishop of Rome began to dominate the west and brought heathen corruption and allowed pagan idol worship and beliefs to come in, and formed the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches traditions over Scripture, and to rest from their work on Sunday, instead of Sabbath, which is not in keeping with Scripture.

The sabbath is one of the defining characteristics of seventh-day denominations, including Seventh Day Baptists, Sabbatarian Adventists (Seventh-day Adventists, Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, Church of God (Seventh Day) conferences, etc.), Sabbatarian Pentecostalists (Soldiers of the Cross Church, and others), Armstrongism (Church of God International (United States), House of Yahweh, Intercontinental Church of God, United Church of God, etc.), modern day Hebrew Roots movement, the Seventh-Day Evangelist Church, the True Jesus Church, among many others.

^ "Catholic Encyclopedia". New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
^ Fakes, Dennis R. (1994). Exploring Our Lutheran Liturgy. CSS Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 9781556735967.
^ Binns, John (November 28, 2016). The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History. I.B.Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 9781786720375. The king presided, overruled the bishops who were committed to the more usual position that Sunday only was a holy day, and decreed that the Sabbatarian teaching of the northern monks became the position of the church.
^ Roth, Randolph A. (April 25, 2002). The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780521317733. Except for the strong support of Episcopalians in Windsor and Woodstock, the Sabbatarians found their appeal limited almost exclusively to Congregationalists and Presbyterians, some of whom did not fear state action on religious matters of interdenominational concern.
^ Heyck, Thomas (September 27, 2013). A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: From 1688 to 1914. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 9781134415205. Yet the degree of overlap between the middle class and nonconformity-Baptists, Congregregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Unitarians-was substantial. ... Most nonconformist denominations ...frowned on drink, dancing, and the theater, and they promoted Sabbatarianism (the policy of prohibiting trade and public recreation on Sundays).
^ Vugt, William E. Van (2006). British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900. Kent State University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780873388436. As predominantly Methodists and other nonconformists, British immigrants were pietists, committed to conversion and the reform of society. They did not separate religion from civil government, bur rather integrated right belief with right behavior. Therefore they embraced reform movements, most notably temperance and abolitionism, as well as Sabbatarian laws.
^ O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (March 3, 2016). Methodism in Australia: A History. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 9781317097099. Sabbatarianism: For the non-Anglican Protestants of colonial Queensland (Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists), desecration of the Sabbath was one of the great sins of the late nineteenth century.
^ Williamson, G. I. (1978). The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes. Presbyterian and Reformed. pp. 170, 173.

[1] "Catholic Encyclopedia". New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. Retrieved June 28, 2015.

[Fakes1994-2] Fakes, Dennis R. (1994). Exploring Our Lutheran Liturgy. CSS Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 9781556735967.

[Binns2016-3] Binns, John (November 28, 2016). The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History. I.B.Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 9781786720375. The king presided, overruled the bishops who were committed to the more usual position that Sunday only was a holy day, and decreed that the Sabbatarian teaching of the northern monks became the position of the church.

[Roth2002-4] Roth, Randolph A. (April 25, 2002). The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780521317733. Except for the strong support of Episcopalians in Windsor and Woodstock, the Sabbatarians found their appeal limited almost exclusively to Congregationalists and Presbyterians, some of whom did not fear state action on religious matters of interdenominational concern.

[Heyck2013-5] Heyck, Thomas (September 27, 2013). A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: From 1688 to 1914. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 9781134415205. Yet the degree of overlap between the middle class and nonconformity-Baptists, Congregregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Unitarians-was substantial. ... Most nonconformist denominations ...frowned on drink, dancing, and the theater, and they promoted Sabbatarianism (the policy of prohibiting trade and public recreation on Sundays).

[Vugt2006-6] Vugt, William E. Van (2006). British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900. Kent State University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780873388436. As predominantly Methodists and other nonconformists, British immigrants were pietists, committed to conversion and the reform of society. They did not separate religion from civil government, bur rather integrated right belief with right behavior. Therefore they embraced reform movements, most notably temperance and abolitionism, as well as Sabbatarian laws.

[O'BrienCarey2016-7] O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (March 3, 2016). Methodism in Australia: A History. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 9781317097099. Sabbatarianism: For the non-Anglican Protestants of colonial Queensland (Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists), desecration of the Sabbath was one of the great sins of the late nineteenth century.

[gi-8] Williamson, G. I. (1978). The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes. Presbyterian and Reformed. pp. 170, 173.

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