January/February 2020
ACTS magazine
Seven Factors that Influenced the Sabbath in the Early Church
(Part 1 of 4)
By Kelly McDonald, Jr.
In this edition of the magazine, we will begin a four-part series on the history of the Sabbath. This series will help you understand the different factors that affected the Sabbath in the first few centuries of Christianity.
We know that Christ and His disciples honored the Sabbath (see Luke 4:16 and Acts 13:13-46 for some examples). Did the second generation of disciples continue to honor the Sabbath?
History will help us understand the factors that influenced the Sabbath in early Christianity. There are at least seven of them that I have identified. While these items are certainly interrelated, they can also be viewed individually. They are listed below:
Persecution of Christians
Destruction of Jerusalem (twice)
Quartodeciman Controversy
Anti-Semitism
Syncretism
Allegorizing Scripture
The Roman Church's Relationship to Roman Emperors
The first factor was persecution.
A series of persecutions affected the Sabbath in the early Church. From 64 AD to 324 AD, there were persecutions of Christians initiated by Roman Emperors or their magistrates. These persecutions hunted down the faithful. Believers had their property confiscated; they were tortured and even killed. Many leaders were targeted in these attacks.
The first Roman persecution was directed by the Emperor Nero in 64 AD. He desired to build a new city called Neronia (obviously named after himself). Part of the old city of Rome stood in the way of this project. Perhaps not coincidentally, a massive fire destroyed some of that section of the city. Some sources say that he purposefully set fire to the city to make room for his new city. One way or the other, the Roman people demanded that the implementer of this crime be revealed. In their minds, someone had to pay the price.
To divert the people's suspicion from himself, Nero blamed Christians. Believers were tortured in awful ways to appease the blood lust of the Roman people. Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived near this event, tells us about their awful treatment:
...Consequently, to get rid of the report (that he started the fire), Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate... Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted... Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed by the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.... Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed.... (Tacitus, The Annals, 15:44)
This account by Tacitus is among the first historical documents outside of the Bible that reference Christ and Christianity. Great harm was done to believers, but they pressed on to the high calling of the faith.
As these persecutions continued, two classes of people began to emerge in Christianity. The first class was composed of loyal and faithful believers who held firmly to the faith no matter the threat presented to them. The second class would publicly profess Christ, but they denied Him when threatened with punishment. This second class even sacrificed to the pagan gods of Rome.
One eyewitness of this development was Pliny the Younger. He was a magistrate during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, who ruled from 98-117 AD. This is one of the Emperors that allowed Christians to be persecuted. A quote from him is found below:
"...An anonymous information was laid before me containing a charge against several persons, who upon examination denied they were Christians, or had ever been so. They repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and offered religious rites with wine and incense before your statue (which for that purpose I had ordered to be brought, together with those of the gods), and even reviled [cursing] the name of Christ: whereas there is no forcing, it is said, those who are really Christians into any of these compliances: I thought it proper, therefore, to discharge them... Some among those who were accused by a witness in person at first confessed themselves Christians, but immediately after denied it; the rest owned indeed that they had been of that number formerly, but had now (some above three, others more, and a few above twenty years ago) renounced that error. They all worshipped your statue and the images of the gods, uttering imprecations at the same time against the name of Christ... They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they met on a stated (fixed) day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ... I forbade the meeting of any assemblies.... For it appears to be a matter highly deserving your consideration, more especially as great numbers must be involved in the danger of these prosecutions... In fact, this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infection among the neighbouring villages and country. Nevertheless, it still seems possible to restrain its progress. The temples, at least, which were once almost deserted, begin now to be frequented; and the sacred rites, after a long intermission, are again revived... From all this it is easy to conjecture what numbers might be reclaimed if a general pardon were granted to those who shall repent of their error..." (Letter 97).
This primary source demonstrates the long-term effect of persecution. Some people denounced their profession of faith in Christ when confronted. Pliny also noted that the pagan temples were almost empty, but the persecutions caused them to be full again. In other words, many who had attended Christian fellowship later turned back to pagan worship. This behavior was repeated in subsequent persecutions, such as Decius in 250 AD and Diocletian in 303 AD.
In this quote, we also learn that Christians were observed to meet on a stated or fixed day; this would have been the Sabbath. Christian assemblies were forbidden by Pliny. Many of the strongest leaders and believers were martyred in these persecutions.
[A MORE DETAILED HISTORIC ACCOUNT IS PRESENTED BY DR. SAMUELE BACCHIOCCHI IN HIS BOOKS ON THE SABBATH ISSUE - Keith Hunt]
A second influence on the Sabbath in early Church history was the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred twice.
In the book of Acts, we learn that Jerusalem was the primary center of Christianity. The book of Acts mentions this city third-most of all books in the Bible. Within the city of Jerusalem, important matters were addressed. Councils were held, ministers reported to the Apostles, and ministers were sent out to help others. For some examples of this, see: Acts 1:4-8, 11:1-2, 11:19-22, 11:26-27, 12:24-25, 13:13, 15:2, 16:4, and Galatians. 2:1-2.
In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. The city was ransacked, and the Second Temple was destroyed. This was a tragedy for the Jewish people and it scattered some Christians. About forty years before, Jesus warned the early believers to flee to the mountains when the city was surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20-21).
[THE PROPHECY IN LUKE (ALSO MATTHEW AND MARK) HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 70 A.D. BUT THE VERY RETURN OF CHRIST TO EARTH; SEE THE CONTEXT IN ALL THREE GOSPELS - Keith Hunt]
Historical accounts tell us that the early believers fled to Pella and were protected.
[IT IS ONLY NATURAL FOR CHRISTIANS TO FLEE FROM PERSECUTION; THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE OVER THE LAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS - Keith Hunt]
Epiphanaus and Jerome are two ancient writers that describe this. Of them Epiphanaus wrote that these early Christians still honored the Sabbath (Panarion, Sec. 29).
While many may be familiar with this destruction of Jerusalem, they are usually not familiar with the destruction that occurred less than 70 years later.
A controversy arose during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (sometimes called Adrian), who ruled from 117-138 AD. According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio, Hadrian tried to build a temple dedicated to Jupiter on top of the ruins of the Second Temple (Book 69, sections 12-14). The Temple was and still is the holiest site to Judaism. This action by Hadrian caused a major war with the Jewish people. As many as 585,000 Jewish people died in the fighting alone.
Amid this conflict, Hadrian banned the celebration of the Sabbath and any other practice that appeared to be Jewish. After the Romans won, all the Jewish people were banned from Jerusalem. This included Jewish people who also believed in Jesus.
Eusebius [early 300s AD] wrote: "...until the siege of the Jews, which took place under Adrian, there were fifteen bishops in succession there, all of whom are said to have been of Hebrew descent, and to have received the knowledge of Christ in purity, so that they were approved by those who were able to judge of such matters..." (Eus, History, bk 4, 5:2, [NPNF: 176]).
The events during Hadrian's reign caused another long-term problem. When Jerusalem was destroyed the second time, the headquarters of Christianity was now in question. As Eusebius testified, the city no longer had bishops who held the knowledge of Christ in purity.
Over the next few centuries, other cities competed to be the successor of apostolic authority and doctrine. These cities included, but are not limited to: Rome, Alexandria, Carthage, and later Constantinople. This resulted in fragmentation in practice and doctrine.
During this time, heresies began to infiltrate Christianity. Hegessipus, who wrote about 150 AD, stated that the church was a virgin until the reign of Trajan [Fragments, ANF: 764). Clement of Alexandria, who wrote about 180 AD, asserted that heresies arose in the time of Hadrian (Stromata, bk 7, chp 17). Sulpicius Severus (400 AD) said that until the reign of Hadrian most Christians still obeyed the Law of God [Sacred History, bk 2, ch. 31).
What we can deduce is that during this general time period, the reigns of Trajan through Hadrian -Christianity began to change, but not for the better.
We will continue this series next time.
Kelly McDonald, Jr.
President, Bible Sabbath Association (BSA) -
(This article was first published in the July/August 2018 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel magazine. It was reprinted with permission of the BSA)
Seven Factors that Influenced the Sabbath in the Early Church
(Part 2 of 4)
The immediate consequence of the second destruction of Jerusalem was confusion as to when Passover should be celebrated. This is the third factor that had an influence on the Sabbath in the Early Church. It is also called the Quartodeciman Controversy.
In the 360s AD, Epiphanius wrote that the quarrel about Passover started during the reign of Hadrian (Panarion, 70). Up to his reign, there was no confusion about it.
Many Christians celebrated Passover on the fourteenth of Nissan, as Jesus himself celebrated it in this manner.
In approximately 155 AD, a controversy about Passover caused a stir within the Christian world. Polycarp, who was taught and trained by the first Apostles, was still alive. He celebrated Passover on the fourteenth of Nissan. Anicetus, who was the Bishop of Rome, refused to follow the same practice. Polycarp visited Rome to discuss this situation with him. The early church historian Eusebius wrote about this visit.
"At this time, while Anicetus was at the head of the church of Rome, Irenaeus relates that Polycarp, who was still alive, was at Rome, and that he had a conference with Anicetus on a question concerning the day of the paschal feast..." (Eusebius, Church History, bk 4,14:1- 7).
"For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe what he had always observed with John the disciple of our Lord, and the other apostles with whom he had associated; neither could Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe it..." (ibid, bk 5, 24:16-17).
The meeting between the two leaders came to a standstill. Polycarp held to the practice of Passover as he received it from the early Apostles. Anicetus decided not to celebrate Passover. Instead, he chose to celebrate it on the Sunday after the 14th of Nissan. They claimed that this practice was necessary because they believed the resurrection of Jesus occurred on Sunday. This is the first time such a controversy arose; the issue would persist for hundreds of years.
How did the Quartodeciman controversy affect the Sabbath?
From the position of an annual Sunday celebration to honor the resurrection, the Roman Church drifted towards the view that every Sunday should be celebrated by Christians in the place of the seventh-day Sabbath. The resurrection became their justification for this practice - even though such a justification is not found in the New Testament.
Sunday replacing Passover or the Sabbath cannot be an apostolic teaching because the earliest Apostles met on the Sabbath and taught about the resurrection. Their message of the resurrection never influenced when the Sabbath was honored.
The fourth factor that influenced the Sabbath in the early Church was anti-Semitism.
It was tightly bound up with the previous factors we reviewed.
By the reign of Hadrian, anti-Semitism was rooted in Roman culture. Some Roman writers called the Jewish people a cursed race. They were accused of following mere superstitions; sometimes attacks were made against them that specifically targeted the seventh-day Sabbath (For a few examples, see Jewish Encyclopedia 1905 article: Seneca, Lucius Annaeus; Tacitus, Histories, book 5:4-5; Quintilian Institutio Oratia, bk 3, sec 7:21).
Unfortunately, anti-Semitism infiltrated Christianity. During Hadrian's reign, a man named Aristides made a defense of the Christian faith to the Emperor. His goal was to somehow curtail the regional persecutions of Christians still taking place. In his speech called The Apology, he claimed that there were four classes of men: barbarians, Greeks, Jews, and Christians. Moreover, he claimed that Christians were the highest of the four classes and had the most truth. He claimed that the Jewish people worshiped angels and derived their practices from them. Among the practices he derided was the Sabbath. We have a quote from his work below:
"Nevertheless they too erred from true knowledge. And in their imagination they conceive that it is God they serve; whereas by their mode of observance it is to the angels and not to God that their service is rendered:— as when they celebrate Sabbaths..." (The Apology, Section 14).
To my knowledge, this is the first historical reference of a Christian attempting to separate himself from the practices held in common with Jewish people. But it was the beginning of others who would follow with similar arguments.
Just after the reign of Hadrian, several anti-Semitic teachers spread heresy in the Christian world. Marcion is considered the most influential of them; he began teaching around 144 AD. He taught that the God of the Old Testament was a separate God from that of the New Testament. According to Irenaeus, a contemporary of the time, this heretical teacher flourished under the Roman Bishop Anicetus; this is the same Anicetus from the Quartodeciman controversy (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, Book III, Chapter 4, Verse 3).
Marcion convinced many people to believe in his heresy (Justin, First Apology, Chapter 26). He had a special hatred for the seventh-day Sabbath. He taught that "Since that day is the rest of the God of the Jews, who made the world and rested the seventh day, we therefore fast on that day, that we may not do anything in compliance with the God of the Jews" (Epiphinaus, Panarion, Sec. 42). He advocated fasting on the Sabbath to dishonor the "God of the Jews."
Marcion was declared a heretic by the Roman Church, but in later centuries they adopted some of his teachings in one way or another. For instance, fasting on the Sabbath became a normal practice for the Roman Church by the 400s AD (Augustine -Letters 36, 82).
Justin the Martyr was another anti-Semitic writer of this period (150s-160s AD). Justin claimed that the Sabbath was given to the Jewish people due to their transgressions and hardness of hearts (Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 18).
However, Christ said that the Sabbath was given for all mankind, not just the Jewish people (Mark 2:27-28). It was also first given in Genesis, which was long before the Israelites became a nation, Justin claimed that Christians who observed things such as the Sabbath would "probably be saved" (ibid, 47).
The anti-Semitism that penetrated Christianity during the second century increased over time; it specifically targeted the Sabbath. Roman Church writers thought they could denigrate the Sabbath by labeling it a Jewish institution. In the late 300s AD, Augustine called people who honored the Sabbath "sons of the bondwoman" (letter 36, chapter 2). Around 600 AD, Pope Gregory called Sabbath keepers preachers of the anti-Christ (Registrum Epistolarum, Book 13, Letter 1).
This demeaning attitude towards the Sabbath observance was designed to divert people from it.
We will continue this series in the next edition.
Kelly McDonald, Jr.
President, Bible Sabbath Association (BSA) -
(This article was first published in the Sept/Oct 2018
edition of the Sabbath Sentinel magazine. It was
reprinted with permission of the BSA) …………………………
I HAVE SHOWN ON MY WEBSITE, FROM HISTORY, THAT TRUE CHRISTIANITY CAME TO BRITAIN SHORTLY AFTER JESUS HAD RETURNED TO HEAVEN.
WHEN THE ROMAN CHURCH CAME TO BRITAIN AROUND 500 A.D. LETTERS WERE SENT BACK TO THE POPE TELLING HIM THE BRITISH CHRISTIANITY WAS HERESY, AS THEY OBSERVED THE 7TH DAY SABBATH AND KEPT THE PASSOVER— LORD’S DEATH, WHEN THE JEWS WERE OBSERVING THEIR PASSOVER.
SO IT WAS FROM THEN THAT THE ROMAN CHURCH DID GIVE ALL DILIGENCE TO STAMP OUT THIS BRITISH HERESY CHRISTIANITY.
Keith Hunt
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