Sign In Sign-Up

Sabbath vs. Sunday

An Internet Debate
Installment #14

This is the fourteenth installment of the ongoing

Internet Sabbath discussion and debate.

In this installment Dr. Sam Bacchiocchi writes a

partial report about the rediscovery of the Sabbath
by scholars, church leaders, and religious groups.
This report will serve to show that the interest for
the Sabbath is far from disappearing.

Today there is a swelling of interest in the Sabbath

by Christians of all persuasions. There have been
books and articles written by Sundaykeepers who
are rediscovering the Sabbath as well as by various
church groups and individuals who are accepting
this Biblical truth. You will find this installment worth
your time.

Links to significant points in this installment

Discussion 1:
Two Types of Sabbatarians: 1) "Sunday-Sabbatarians" who believe
in observing Sunday as their Biblical Sabbath and who recognize the
underlying unity and continuity that exists between the Old and the
New Testaments. 2) "Saturday-Sabbatarians" who reject the
compromise position of Sunday-Sabbatarians and want to
rediscover the Sabbath as the Biblical seventh-day.

Discussion 2:
Rediscovery of the Sabbath as a model for Sundaykeeping.

Discussion 3:
The Rediscovery of the Seventh-Day Sabbath. Sampling of recent
publications rediscovering the seventh-day Sabbath.

Discussion 4:
Increasing number of Christians today who wish to rediscover the
Sabbath as the Biblical seventh-day (e.g. former Worldwide Church
of God members, Sabbatarian Methodists, Messianic Jewish
Congregations, etc.).
 Master Index to major arguments in all installments.

Rediscovering the Sabbath

A paradox of our times is that while, on the one hand, some

Christians, including some former Sabbatarians, are making
renewed attempts to negate the continuity, validity and value
of the Sabbath for the Christian life today, on the other hand,
an increasing number of Christians are rediscovering the
Sabbath as a divine remedy for our tension-filled,
cacophonous, restless generation.

In a previous installment entitled "The Sabbath Under

Crossfire," I dealt with the origin and development of the
anti-Sabbath theology, manifested today especially in the
"New Covenant theology," which reduces the Sabbath to an
Old Covenant, Mosaic institution terminated at the Cross.
Such a theology, we noted, breaks the unity and continuity of
the Plan of Salvation, besides ignoring the cosmic sweep of
the Sabbath which embraces creation, redemption, and final
restoration. In this essay we focus on the rediscovery of the
Sabbath on the part of scholars, religious organizations, and
people of different persuasions.

Two Types of Sabbatarians

The rediscovery of the Sabbath today assumes two different

forms. On the one hand, there are Christians who are
reexamining the Biblical meaning and function of the Sabbath
in order to develop a "Biblical" model for Sunday observance.
We may call these people " Sunday-Sabbatarians" because
they believe in observing Sunday as their Biblical Sabbath.
They follow the Reformed Calvinistic tradition which gives
prominence to the moral aspect of the Sabbath
commandment by viewing the observance of a day of rest
and worship as a creation ordinance for mankind.
Consequently, they promote Sundaykeeping as the legitimate
substitution and continuation of the Old Testament Sabbath.

Contrary to Dispensationalists and "New Covenant"

Christians who emphasize the radical discontinuity between
the Sabbath (seen as the sign of the Old Covenant) and
Sunday (seen as the sign of the New Covenant), Sunday-
Sabbatarians recognize the underlying unity and continuity
that exists between the Old and the New Testaments,
Sabbath and Sunday. Consequently, they are eager to
rediscover the Biblical view of the Sabbath in order to better
understand how Sunday should be observed.

On the other hand, there is an increasing number of

Christians who reject the compromise position of Sunday-
Sabbatarians and want to rediscover the Sabbath as the
Biblical seventh-day, both in terms of its meaning and
experience. These Seventh-day Sabbatarian sense the need
to recover the Biblical and Jewish roots of Christianity which
have been largely lost as a result of the Christian theology of
contempt for the Jews and their religion-a theology that has
plagued Christianity through much of its history, causing the
loss of the precious Jewish heritage of the Christian faith.

The rediscovery of the Sabbath by both Sunday-Sabbatarian

and Seventh-day Sabbatarians is motivated also by the
realization that the values of the Sabbath as a day for
spiritual, physical, moral, and social renewal, are essential to
revitalize today the religious experience of million of
Christians around the world. This installment looks at some
examples of the rediscovery of the Sabbath first by Sunday-
Sabbatarians and then by Seventh-day Sabbatarians.

The Rediscovery of the Sabbath by Sunday Sabbatarians

Keeping the Sabbath Wholly

A good example of the rediscovery of the Sabbath as a model

for Sundaykeeping is the book Keeping the Sabbath Wholly:
Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting by Marva J. Dawn, a
Lutheran theologian. She captures with refreshing insights
the meaning and experience of the Sabbath in Scripture and
in the religious life of the Jewish people. For example, Dawn
writes:

"All the great motifs of our Christian faith are

underscored in our Sabbathkeeping. Its Ceasing
deepens our repentance for the many ways that
we fail to trust God and try to create our own
future. Its Resting strengthens our faith in the
totality of His grace. Its Embracing invites us to
take the truths of our faith and apply them
 practically in our values and life-styles. Its
Feasting heightens our sense of eschatological
hope-the Joy of our present experience of God's
love and its foretaste of the Joy to come"(p. 203).

When I heard Marva Dawn presents the highlights of her

book at the International Sabbath Symposium, sponsored by
the University of Denver, I was tempted to spring forward to
extend to her the right hand of fellowship into my own
Seventh-day Adventist Church. I felt that she did a
marvellous job in capturing some of the fundamental
meanings and experiences of the Sabbath. However, my thrill
was dampened when I read the Appendix of her book where
she explains how to observe the Christian Sabbath from
sunset Saturday to sunset Sunday. Dawn's attempt to invest
Sunday with the meaning and experience of the Sabbath
ignores the fundamental fact that Sunday is not the
Sabbath. The two days, as I have shown elsewhere, are
different in their origin, meaning and experience.

"Call the Sabbath Delightful"

Another example of the rediscovery of the Sabbath as a

model for Sundaykeeping is the article "Call the Sabbath
Delightful," published in The Lutheran on March 16, 1983.
The author is Judith Fiedler Finn, an attorney, who discovered
the Sabbath by turning to the Jews in her community. She
discovered that "the Sabbath is a sanctuary in time. In fact, it
is a time in which we can begin to experience eternity and its
peace" (p. 4). She decided, however, that for her family "the
most practical choice" was to make Sunday their Sabbath.
Despite her husband initial protest, she writes, "we plunged
in 'cold turkey.' No work from sunset Saturday to sunset
Sunday" (p. 5). She continues explaining how her family
celebrates Sunday as the Biblical Sabbath.

Finn's attempt to celebrate Sunday from sunset to sunset as

it were the Sabbath, ignores the historical reality that the
essence of Sundaykeeping has never been the consecration of
time, but the attendance at the Mass or at a church service.
The recognition of this historical reality has led the Catholic
church, as well as over 4000 Protestant churches in the USA
(see "Saturday Night Live at Church," Sunday, Nov. 1992, p.
11) to anticipate Sunday church services to Saturday night
for those who are unable or unwilling to go to church on
Sunday morning.

"Rediscovering the Sabbath"

Dorothy Bass' article "Rediscovering the Sabbath," which

appeared in Christianity Today on September 1, 1997, offers
another example of Sunday-Sabbatarianism. Bass speaks of
the Sabbath as:

"the most challenging and spiritual discipline for

contemporary Christians" (p. 39).

She eloquently writes that

"as the new century dawns, the practice of

Sabbath keeping may be a gift waiting to be
unwrapped, a confirmation that we are not
without help in shaping the renewing ways of life
for which we long" (p. 40).

The problem with the article is that Bass wants to unwrap the
gift of the Sabbath by trying to fit Sunday into what may be
called the Sabbath gift box. This does not work. In fact she
has a problem explaining, for example, "What, besides
churchgoing, is Christian Sabbath [Sunday] keeping?" (p.
42). She suggests that it may be a good idea to refrain from
buying, selling, "paying bills, preparing tax return, and
making lists of things to do in the coming week" (p. 43). But
she can hardly provide a compelling Biblical reason for
refraining from these secular activities. Why? Simply because
historically the essence of Sunday keeping has been going to
church on Sunday, and not consecrating the 24 hours of the
day unto the Lord. This can still be seen today even in the
Bible belt where many businesses will open on Sunday as
soon as the church services are over.

The scholarly community has also shown an interest for

rediscovering the Sabbath as a model for Sunday keeping.
This is indicated by International Sabbath Conferences
sponsored by secular universities. Let me mention two of
them where I was privileged to participate.
University of Denver's Sabbath Symposium

An International Sabbath Symposium was sponsored by the

University of Denver in 1989, from May 24-26. The
mastermind behind that symposium was Dr. Stanley M.
Wagner, Director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the
University of Denver. One of his students gave him a tape of a
Sabbath-lecture I gave at the First Denver Seventh-day
Adventist church. While listening to that tape, Dr. Wagner
recounts,

"I was absolutely overwhelmed by Dr.

Bacchiocchi's address, in which he spoke of the
Sabbath in the warmest, most loving terms I had
ever heard from the mouth of a Christian. It was
then that I felt the time had come for Jewish and
Christian scholars to meet to explore our
respective traditions relative to the Sabbath" (The
Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions, p. IX).

I vividly recall the evening when Dr. Wagner called me to tell

me how impressed he was by my lecture on the Sabbath and
by my book Divine Rest for Human Restlessness. He said: "You
have inspired me to explore the possibility of convening here
at the University of Denver an international Sabbath
symposium that will bring together Catholic, Protestant,
Jewish and Sabbatarian scholars for the purpose of
reexamining the relevance of the Sabbath for today." Then he
asked me: "Would you be willing to come to deliver one of the
major addresses?" I replied: "Dr. Wagner you do not need to
repeat it twice. If necessary, I will be glad to come at my own
expenses."

This Sabbath Symposium was truly a ground breaking event

that brought together leading scholars from prestigious
institutions as far away as England and Israel. While some of
the papers presented made an attempt to apply the values of
the Sabbath to Sundaykeeping, most of them examined the
history, theology, and relevance of the Sabbath for today.
Eventually the papers were published by Crossroad in the
book The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions (272
pages).

What surprised me most at the conference was to hear some

Sundaykeeping scholars waxing eloquent about the
Sabbath-a day they had never observed. For example, instead
of critiquing my paper, Catholic Professor Dennis Kennedy
from St. Thomas Seminary, chose to add his own meditation
on the relevance of the Sabbath for both the human and sub-
human creation. He said:

"We human need to experience God's sanctifying

presence. So we keep the Sabbath to (1) follow
divine example, (2) acknowledge God as Creator,
and (3) participate in God's rest and blessings. It
is a sign of covenant between God and us-we look
back to the past perfect creation and forward to
the ultimate salvation" (The Sabbath in Jewish and
Christian Traditions, p.132).

Prof. Kennedy went on saying:

"I would like to suggest that this Sabbath

symposium is not some kind of dusty, scholarly
tediousness for a few learned doctors only; rather,
it is an attempt to revise the relationship of
Creator to creation and to define what our part in
that creation is to be. Sabbath is meant to refer to
rest for all involved in the process of creation: rest
for the earth as well as for human" (p. 132).

He called for the recovery of a sabbatical ecological

conscience, which consists in becoming the curators rather
than the predators of God's creation. By teaching us to
admire God's creation, the Sabbath teaches us to respect the
natural world.

The willingness of Sundaykeeping scholars to reexamine the

values of the Sabbath for the social, ecological, psychological
problems of our society, represents in my view a positive
trend that needs to be supported. In time this trend could
well encourage Christians to adopt seventh-day
Sabbathkeeping, not only as a philosophical value, but also
as an existential practice governing their lives.

University of South Africa's Sabbath Conference

The C. B. Powell Bible Center of the University of South Africa

sponsored a two days Sabbath Conference on June 16-17,
1994. The conference was called partly to deal with the
question debated on the public press on how the Lord's Day
should be observed. The question was stirred up by the
refusal of some rugby players to play on Sunday during an
international game in Australia. These players belonged to
the Dutch Reformed Church that observes Sunday as the
Christian Sabbath.

The conference was attended by about 100 scholars and

church leaders of the major denominations in South Africa. It
was evident that the prevailing concern was to reaffirm the
Reformed view of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath. For
example, in his presentation on "The meaning of Sunday as a
Day Dedicated to God," Dr. Francois Möller said:

"Sunday must be observed as a day dedicated to

God. To make this possible, there must be
purposeful rules and behavior on the part of the
church and every Christian individual. Things
which need to be done, must be done during the
week. This is not the day to catch up on the
washing, mend clothes, clean the house, service
the car, help children with school work, prepare
large meals, go shopping, make appointments,
etcetera" (The Biblical Day of Rest, p. 11).

I was invited to present two papers; one dealing with the

historical change from Sabbath to Sunday in early
Christianity, and the other on the relevance of the Sabbath
for modern society. The response was very positive. The
papers presented at the Sabbath Conference were published
in a book The Biblical Day of Rest. I could sense that though
there was disagreement on which day is the Christian
Sabbath, there was agreement on its meaning, nature, and
relevance for today.

Three Dutch Reformed pastors attending the conference told

me that they wanted to reexamine the validity and value of
the seventh-day Sabbath for themselves and for their
congregations. In fact, one of them came to visit me at the
home of the Adventist pastor where I was staying and kept
me up on a Friday night until past midnight. Another
attended the Sabbath morning service at the City Hall
auditorium where I spoke.

For me it was a gratifying experience to witness a gathering

of church leaders and scholars eager to deepen their
understanding of the Biblical Sabbath in order to find ways to
revitalize Sundaykeeping. Such an endeavor, however, holds
little hope of success because, as noted earlier, Sunday is not
the Sabbath. Historically Sundaykeeping has been
understood and experienced not as the "Holy Day of Rest"
unto the Lord but as church attendance at the Sunday
service. The attempt of church leaders to make Sunday into a
Holy Day today is a nearly impossible task, because
historically Christians have not understood and experience
Sunday as a Holy Day. Moreover, people today are interested
in holidays and not in the observance of a Holy Day.

The Lord's Day Alliance

A final example of rediscovery of the Sabbath as a model for

Sunday keeping is provided by the goals and work of the
Lord's Day Alliance of the United States (LDA). I became
personally acquainted with the work of the LDA several years
ago, when its Executive Director, Dr. James Wesberry, came to
spend a Sabbath with us here at Andrews University. After
reading my book From Sabbath to Sunday, he wrote to me a
most gracious letter inquiring about the possibility of
meeting me. He wrote:

"It will be a great joy to meet and talk with you

any time such a meeting may be arranged. .. .
.Such a conversation might add to my knowledge
and give me additional ideas about how the Lord's
Day should be observed. . . . . If you propose a
time and a place for such a get-together, it will be
an honor to meet and talk with you. I should hope
you might visit me here in our office" (Letter dated
2-2-78).

Dr. Wesbery came to spent a Sabbath with us on December 2,

1978. The visit was a memorable occasion not only for my
family but also for him. In fact, in his farewell address to the
Board Members of the LDA, published in Sunday, the official
magazine of the LDA, Dr. Wesberry mentions his visit to
Andrews University as one of the highlights of his tenure as
Executive Director of the LDA. He was greatly impressed by
the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity that he felt was so
pervasive in our homes, campus, and our lives on the
Sabbath.

When my wife and I took Dr. Wesberry to the South Bend

airport that Saturday night, he said: "This was the most
delightful Sabbath I have ever experienced in my life." Then
he asked me: "Would you be willing to come to Atlanta,
Georgia, next February 14, and be our keynote speaker at
our annual LDA board meeting that brings together about
150 church leaders representing 21 denominations? I would
like you to share with them some of the things you have
shared with me today." It goes without saying that I was
delighted to accept the invitation. What a marvellous
experience it was for me to speak to such a distinguished
group of Church leaders. I discussed not only how the
change came about from Sabbath to Sunday in early
Christianity, but also on how the values of the Sabbath can
revitalize today the religious experience of million of
Christians.

Dr. Wesberry was especially impressed by my book Divine

Rest for Human Restlessness because it offered him new
insights into the meaning and experience of the Sabbath,
which he felt were applicable to Sunday observance. In his
Foreword to the book he wrote:

"The author has dealt well with his subject. He has

built a gold mine of Sabbath material and made an
invaluable contribution to the strengthening of the
Sabbath throughout the world! No one, no matter
of what faith or denomination he or she may be,
can read this book without finding Divine rest for
his or her restlessness" (p. 9).

Prior to his death Dr. Wesberry wrote to me a most gracious

letter where he asked me to do him "a big favor," namely, to
explore the possibility of establishing an endowed chair for
Sabbath Studies in his name. When I informed him by phone
that an endowed chair for Sabbath Studies at Andrews
University would require an investment of half a million
dollars, he told me that was way beyond his means. We
discussed the possibility of raising together the needed funds
for this worthy project, but he passed away before anything
could be done about it.

What stands out most in my memory about Dr. Wesberry is

his dedication to help Christians experience the physical and
spiritual renewal that comes from the celebration of the
Sabbath. Though I could not support his endeavors to apply
the values of the Biblical Sabbath to Sunday, I fully share his
conviction that a recovery of the meaning and experience of
Sabbathkeeping is indispensable to revitalize the spiritual life
of Christians today. Christians who give priority to the Lord in
their thinking and living during the Sabbath day, ultimately
give priority to the Lord everyday of their lives.

The Rediscovery of the Seventh-Day Sabbath

While Sunday-Sabbatarians are satisfied to rediscover the

Sabbath as a model for Sundaykeeping, there is an
increasing number of Christians today who wish to rediscover
the Sabbath as the Biblical seventh-day. A comprehensive
report on the rediscovery of the seventh-day Sabbath by
individuals and various religious groups, is beyond the
limited scope of this installment. Interested readers will find
The Directory of Sabbath-Observing Groups, published by the
Bible Sabbath Association, a valuable source of information
about approximately 300 churches and groups who have
accepted the Sabbath in recent times. For most of the
churches a brief historical sketch is provided, indicating when
they became Sabbatarian.

For the purpose of this installment I will submit first a

sampling of recent publications rediscovering the seventh-
day Sabbath and then a brief report on few Sabbatarian
churches with whom I have become personally acquainted. A
comprehensive history of the many Sabbatarians churches
and groups that have come into existence during the past
30/40 years would require considerable research and the
writing of a sizeable volume. Thus the few examples cited
below of publications and churches are only representative of
a vast Sabbatarian movement that is manifesting itself today
in different forms even within some mainline churches.
Catch Your Breath. God's Invitation to Sabbath Rest.

A most practical and creative study of the meaning of the

Sabbath for today, is the newly released book Catch Your
Breath. God's Invitation to Sabbath Rest, authored by Don
Postema, who serves as pastor of the Campus Chapel at the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The book is published by
CRC (Christian Reformed church), in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In his spiritual search for inner peace and rest, Postema tried
various resources including Eastern mediation, until he was
struck by the fact that

"Jews and Christians have a practice as near as

our Bible, as close as our tradition, as available as
the next ten minutes or weekend: the Sabbath"(p.
15).

Postema explains that

"The Sabbath is a gift from God given to humanity

right from the beginning, an attitude waiting to be
lived ever since Moses received the Ten
Commandments and Jesus declared the Sabbath
was made for us! A promise that unfolds the more
we participate in it. A vacation with God planned
from the beginning to be enjoyed into eternity" (p.
15).

The aim of the book is to invite people not only to think about
the Sabbath, but also to practice it. Postema writes:

"The benefit of the Sabbath is not simply in the

study of it but most assuredly in the practice of it-
in living Sabbath. Reading and thinking about
Sabbath is like reading travel brochures and
dreaming about great vacation spots but never
going there for a vacation. It is interesting. You
can learn a lot. But you can't have the experience
unless you make the journey.

This book is something like a travel guide to an

intriguing vacation spot. But I hope you don't
simply read about it quickly and put it down
thinking, 'I might like to go there some time.'
 Rather, I hope that together we can experience a
vacation with God" (p. 5).

Contrary to other authors who study the Sabbath as a role

model for Sundaykeeping, Postema focuses exclusively on
the Biblical seventh-day Sabbath. I found no attempts in the
book to apply the values of the Sabbath to Sunday.

Restore

An unusual journal, called Restore was recently started by Dr.

John D. Garr, founder of the Restoration Foundation. The aim
of the journal is to promote the recovery of the Biblical
Hebrew heritage to the Christian believer. The contributors
are mostly scholars who are write within their field of
expertise. I have been invited to contribute articles to
Restore and to participate in their Dallas based radio
program, The Roots of Yeshua. The Sabbath has been the
major topic we have discussed in the last three radio talk
shows. Several articles on the Sabbath have been published
in Restore. One of them, "How to Have a Family Shabbat,"
(Spring 1996, p. 9), suggests an order of service for opening
the Sabbath in a Christian home.

What I find surprising about this organization is that it is

transdenominational and multi-ethnic. It claims no religious
affiliation. It simply exists to help Christians of all faiths to
recover vital aspects of their Hebrew heritage, like the
Sabbath, that have been lost as a result of centuries of anti-
Judaism and anti-semitism. Anyone interested to receive
their journal and/or their publications, can contact them by
phone (423)472-7321 or by email
RestorationFoundation@compuserve.com.

Hemisphere

One of the most unlikely places to find an article discussing

the rediscovery of the Sabbath is the Hemisphere magazine
of United Airlines. Thus it came as a surprise to me on a flight
to the West Coast to read in the July 1997 issue of
Hemisphere a delightful article entitled "Ancient Wisdom,"
written by Nan Chase, a frequent contributor to The
Washington Post. Chase tells the story of how she discovered
the Sabbath by reading about it in a Jewish book about Holy
Days. She came across the book at the very time when she
and her husband went to a marriage counselor because they
were deadlocked "over crises of time management, of growth
and change" (p. 118).

Chase was "electrified" when she read that:

"The Sabbath marks the difference between man

and all other creatures that live in the universe"
(p. 118).

She noted that:

"this day of rest was to be observed in order for

humans to cease the everyday struggle for
existence and enjoy life's material and spiritual
gifts" (p. 118).

She decided to begin observing the Sabbath from "sundown

Friday until sundown Saturday" by resting:

"no cooking, no shopping or paying of bills, no

pulling of weeds or pruning shrubs, no cleaning or
repairing the house, nor even talking about or
thinking about work and the office. The Sabbath is
a day without labor, a time to savor the sweetness
of life . . . My personal life, my professional life,
and my family life have all improved, and I plan to
go on celebrating the Sabbath" (p.118).

What an inspiring testimony to be found, of all places, in an

airline magazine! This is another example of how different
people today are rediscovering the blessings of
Sabbathkeeping for their families, marriage, and personal
lives.

Du Sabbat au Dimanche

The next example of rediscovering the Sabbath sounds

almost too nice to be true. A Belgian Benedectine monk,
Ferdinand Poswick, Director of the Center for Biblical
Information at the Abbey of Maredsous in Belgium, ordered
from me a copy of the first edition of my dissertation From
Sabbath to Sunday. Being impressed by the continuity,
validity, and value of the Sabbath for the Christian life today,
Poswick decided to contact me during his trip to America in
1982. He never anticipated to meet me in Dallas at the
Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. It was at
that meeting that he shared with me how impressed he was
with the contribution that my dissertation makes toward
recovering the Biblical values of the Sabbath for today. He
told me of his great desire to translate and publish the book
in French, if I would give him permission. I was delighted to
grant him permission, forfeiting royalties in view of the cost
of translation.

Poswick supervised the translation done by another

Benedectine monk, Dominique Sebire, who worked for almost
two years on this project producing a superb French
translation. The French title of the book is Du Sabbat au
Dimanche. They did all of this as a labor of love, without
receiving a cent of compensation from anyone. They were
inspired by the desire to help Christians rediscover the
blessings of the Biblical Sabbath for today. They verbalize
this desire in the Foreword which I will do my best to
translate from French into English. The Foreword begins with
a series of rhetorical questions which have profound
implications. This is my translation of the Foreword:

"Did Jesus of Nazareth abolish the Sabbath? Paul,

who was often accused by his own Jewish
brethren of many trangressions, was he ever
accused of Sabbathbreaking? Why then did
Christians stop observing the Sabbath beginning
from the fourth century? Was it perhaps to
distinguish themselves from the Jews and to
facilitate their integration in the rhythms and
customs of the Constantinian empire?

Doesn't Sabbathkeeping remain a very visible sign

of the break that occurred between carnal Israel
and those who claim to be spiritual Israel? At any
rate, should we not prefer the sincere and truthful
celebration of the Sabbath unto God to the
pharisaism of a paganized Sunday?" [Isn't this a
daring statement to make by Benedectine
monks?]
Continuing the Forewood from Du Sabbat au Dimanche:

"Some Christians, the Seventh-day Adventists,

often considered as marginal among the great
Communions, do observe the Sabbath. One of
their theologians wished to verify the historical
sources dealing with the change from the
observance of the Sabbath to the observance of
the Lord's Day (Sunday). . .[what follows are
biographical information about me]. For the
reflection of Christian we present this research
that the author has adapted for the American
edition of his dissertation.

May this thorough study stimulate Biblical,

patristic and liturgical research, challenging
everyone to return to the sources, improve the
methodology of research, and reexamine a fresh a
truth [that is, the Sabbath truth] which the author
presents with the conviction of someone who has
found in the celebration of the Sabbath a spiritual
enrichment which gives a special quality to his
faith in the Resurrection and Return of Christ."

Words fail to express my heartfelt appreciation to these

dedicated Benedictine monks, not only for giving
unhesitatingly their time and skills to this project, but also for
daring to challenge Christians to "reexamine afresh" the
values of the Sabbath which can bring spiritual enrichment to
our Christian life today. I would have never imagined that
they would succeed in having the French edition published
and distributed through Catholic bookstores. I can only thank
God for making it happen.

The sampling of publications cited above reflect the growing

interest for rediscovering the Sabbath on the part of
Christians of different persuasions. At this juncture I would
like to mention a few churches and groups who have
rediscovered the Sabbath within the last 30 years or so. No
special mention will be made of the rediscovery of the
Sabbath by older Sabbatarian churches, like the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, the the Seventh-day Baptist Church, the
Church of God Seventh-day, and the Worldwide Church of
God (WCG), since all of these churches have been in
existence for a longer time.

Worldwide Church of God and Splinter Churches

For the sake of accuracy, brief mention should be made of

the doctrinal changes recently introduced by the leadership
of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). Early in 1995 the
Pastor General of the WCG, supported by few close advisers,
adopted the "New Covenant theology," thus declaring the
Sabbath, tithing, clean and unclean meats to be part of the
Old Covenant and no longer binding upon Christians today.
The result was a massive exodus of approximately 70,000
members who chose to leave the WCG, rather than giving up
doctrines such as the Sabbath, which had been vital to their
spiritual life.

About half of the members who left the WCG have joined
newly formed "Churches of God" such as United Church of
God, Global Church of God, Church of God International, and
Philadelphia Church of God. Sometime ago The Journal, a
paper that publishes "News of the Churches of God," listed
about seventy different "Churches of God" that trace their
roots to the WCG [NOTE: As of 11/99, there are more than
250 groups which trace their history back to the WCG (the
vast majority still keeping a Seventh Day Sabbath).]. It is
estimated that an almost equal number of former WCG
members have not yet joined any church at this time. They
often refer to themselves as "Living Room Sabbatarians,"
since on the Sabbath they meet with friends for worship in
their living room. At a "Friends of the Sabbath" Conference
held over a year ago at the Sheraton Convention Center in
Tacoma, WA, about half of the 400 plus participants
identified themselves as "Living Room Sabbatarians."

During the past three years it has been my privilege to share

my ministry with many former and current members of the
WCG at Sabbath conferences held across the US and
overseas. It has been an inspiring experience to listen to
moving accounts of the pain and suffering some have
endured to remain loyal to principle and practice of
Sabbathkeeping.

I vividly recall the gentleman who flew from Phoenix, Arizona

to San Antonio, Texas to attend a Sabbath conference held at
the Mansion del Rio Hotel from December 24-26, 1995. He
told me: "After having been a Sabbathkeeper for the past
thirty years, I would have never imagined that the day would
come when I would fly across the country to listen to a
lecture on the Sabbath. But my family has been split over the
Sabbath question. My wife and a son have chosen to stay on
with the Worldwide and reject the Sabbath. Out of
desperation I decided to come to this conference in order to
get all the help that I can receive." My heart goes out to
these Sabbatarian friends who are facing opposition and
even rejection from family members and former church
members because of their decision to honor their Savior on
His Sabbath day.

Sabbatarian Methodists

A Reformed Methodist movement known as Wesley Synod,

rediscovered the Sabbath in 1996 . Bishop Steven Sanchez,
S. T. D., told me in a telephone conversation that he presides
over 68 congregations scattered throughout North America.
The concern of the Wesley Synod is to return to the Hebraic
roots of Christianity. They believe in the observance of God's
law in general and the Sabbath in particular.

Bishop Sanchez explained to me that though their

denomination was organized only recently, they stand fully in
the Wesleyan tradition because at one time John Wesley was
a seventh-day Sabbath keeper and believed in keeping the
dietary laws. This information is not found in later
biographies of Wesley's life, but can be found in earlier
books. He promised to mail me a book with this
documentation. Thus, according to Sanchez, the Wesley
Synod views itself as the resurrection of true Methodism.
Obviously this has created some problems with the Methodist
Church to which they are still committed.

The Wesley Synod observes the Sabbath from sunset Friday

till sunset Saturday, not only by going to church on Saturday
morning, but also by abstaining from ordinary work in order
to give priority to the Lord in their thinking and living. It is
encouraging to see how the Holy Spirit is moving upon the
hearts of Christians in mainline denominations to recover
their historic Hebraic roots, especially by returning to the
principle and practice of Sabbathkeeping.

The Church of Israel

At the "Friends of the Sabbath Conference" held in Sydney,

Australia on June 1996, the participants were delighted to
hear Pastor Dan Gayman relate in a most gripping way how
the Lord led his Open Bible Church, near Schell City, Missouri,
to rediscover and accept the Sabbath. As a result of the
rediscovery of new Biblical truths, the name of the church
was changed to "The Church of Israel." Gayman's
presentation was so inspiring that he was invited to repeat it
in several Adventist churches in Sydney after the Conference.

Pastor Gayman has graciously faxed me a nutshell summary

of the providential way the Lord led his congregation to
rediscover the Sabbath. He explains that his congregation,
being an Open Bible Church, was interested in following
Biblical truths wherever they might led them.

"Beginning in the year 1985 the Church of Israel

[of approximately 200 members] made a
conscious effort to study the question of the
Sabbath. . . . The congregation studied the issue
of the Sabbath for a period of two years and
carefully researched every word to be found in
Scripture on the subject, along with voluminous
books on the subject. [They ordered my Sabbath
books on numerous occasions]. The goal was to
bring the church into the truth of the Sabbath
without loss of a single family."

After two years of Bible study,

"in the late Fall of 1987 the ministers and the

congregation made their decision to transfer their
church services from Sunday to the Biblical
Sabbath." The official change occurred on
December 17, 1987 "without the loss of a single
family." Since that time "the church has never
failed to observe a full scale worship service on
the Biblical Sabbath."
Pastor Gayman concludes his summary report, saying:

"The transfer from Sunday to the Biblical Sabbath

has been one of the most important spiritual
events in the life of the church. It has wrought
powerful transformation in the lives of all the
church members. The church has doubled in size
and increased its evangelistic outreach to every
state in the United States. The church has shared
its testimony on the Sabbath with untold number
of people and upwards of one thousand people
have joined the church in the celebration of the
Holy Sabbath around the United States."

The experience of Pastor Gayman and his congregation,

stands in stark contrast to that of Pastor Ratzlaff and his
congregation. Ratzlaff, a Sabbathkeeper, claims in his book
Sabbath in Crisis that seven months of a weekly study of the
Sabbath with his congregation, led him and some of his
members to reject the Sabbath as an Old Covenant
institution, fulfilled by Christ and no longer needed by
Christians today. By contrast, Gayman, a Sundaykeeper,
affirms that two years of study of the Sabbath with his
congregation, convinced every single family of his 200
members congregation to accept the Biblical validity and
value of the Sabbath. These two contrasting experiences
illustrate the point that one can study the Bible to find the
way into the truth or out of the truth. In my view, the
difference lies in what one seeks to find in the Bible.

Messianic Jewish Congregations

The rediscovery of the Sabbath has played a significant role

in the religious life of the Messianic Jewish Movement which
has gained prominence during the past the past thirty years.
During this time hundreds of Messianic Jewish Congregations
have been established across the United States and
overseas. These congregations belong to one of two major
organizations, the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations,
or the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America. Messianic
Judaism is a fast growing movement that is bringing the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ to many Jews around the
world.
During the past two years I have invited a dozen Messianic
Jewish Rabbis to speak at Sabbath Conferences held in
different parts of the country. Their presentations on the
Sabbath have always been most enlightening. At some
conferences the Rabbis demonstrated how their families
open and close the Sabbath with a special ceremony sitting
around the family table, which on these special occasions
becomes the family altar. Their ritual is largely adopted from
the Jewish tradition with new Christian elements.

For Sabbatarians it can be an educational experience to see

how the Sabbath is conceptualized and experienced within
the Messianic Jewish community. Their Sabbath liturgy may
provide a model that some Sabbatarians may wish to adopt
with modifications and innovations. In my view more needs to
be done by Sabbatarian churches to help their members
develop a meaningful family tradition of Sabbathkeeping that
can help to maintain alive the significance and experience of
the Sabbath.

The rediscovery of the Sabbath among Messianic Jewish has

been a gradual process. In the early seventies when the
Messianic Jewish Movement gained momentum, possibly
influenced also by the events that transpired during the six
days war of 1967, most of their members were
Sundaykeepers. Rabbi Harvey Koelner of the Temple Aron
Kodesh, a Messianic Jewish congregation in Lauderdale Lake,
in Florida, explained to me in a telephone conversation that
initially his 500 members congregation had "a split
personality." Some members attended Friday night services,
as most Jews do today, while the rest attended Sunday
services. Gradually, however, his whole congregation became
Sabbathkeeper. I am told that the same has been true in over
95% of the Messianic Jewish congregations that have come
to observe exclusively the Sabbath.

The reason some Messianic Jews were originally

Sundaykeepers is largely due to the fact that their movement
was originally sponsored by Sundaykeeping Protestant
churches. Surprisingly, Sabbatarian churches have done very
little to reach the Jews with the Gospel. I remember meeting
many years ago with some Messianic Jewish congregations in
Chicago in the facilities offered to them by evangelical
churches. Since the mission to the Jews was launched by
Sundaykeeping Protestant churches, it is not surprising that
initially Messianic Jews adopted Sundaykeeping. This has
been also the case with the Jews for Jesus movement, whose
members are still today mostly Sundaykeepers.

What has led the Messianic Jewish congregations to

rediscover the Sabbath in recent times is their commitment
to recover the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Some
Messianic Jewish Rabbis have explained to me that in their
search for their roots they discovered that Jesus and the
apostles were Jews who observed the law in general and
the Sabbath in particular. They found that Christianity began
as the continuation of Judaism and not as a radical break
away from it. Consequently, they came to realize that the
acceptance of Jesus as their expected Messiah, did not
necessitate for them to reject such an important aspect of
their Jewish heritage as Sabbathkeeping.

An important lesson to be learned from the Messianic Jews is

the need for Christians to reexamine the relationship
between the Old and New Testaments, Judaism and
Christianity, law and grace, Sabbath and Sunday. For too long
Christians have been taught to view the Cross as the line of
demarcation between these two set of contrasts. In recent
years, however, numerous scholars have exposed the
fallacies of this artificial theological construct. They have
come to recognize that the earliest Christians were believing
Jews who were "zealous for the law" (Acts 21:20).

For believing Jews in New Testament times, it would have

been unthinkable to abandon one of the chief precepts of the
law, the Sabbath commandment. If Paul had dared to do so,
they would have fiercely condemned his temerity, as they did
in the case of circumcision. The absence of any echo of
controversy regarding the Sabbath is a compelling indication
of the continuity of its observance. We can only hope that
gradually Dispensationalists and "New Covenant" Christians
will come to recognize this historical reality and abandon the
artificial distinction they have fabricated between the Old and
New Covenant, Judaism and Christianity, Law and grace,
Sabbath and Sunday.
Sabbatarian Mennonites

The interest of some Mennonites for a rediscovery of the

Sabbath can be traced back to some of their Anabaptist
founding fathers who were Sabbatarians. The Anabaptists
represent the radical wing of the Reformation. Their concern
was to complete the reformation initiated by Luther and
Calvin, by returning to the beliefs and practices of the
Apostolic Church. Because of this overriding concern they
became know as restitutionists.

Two active Anabaptist leaders, Andrews Fisher and Oswald

Glait, became the pioneer and promoters of the Sabbath.
Both of them suffered a martyr death, largely due to their
Sabbatarian views. Sabbatarians owe a debt of gratitude to
these Sabbath pioneers whose work later influenced the
origin of the Seventh-day Baptist church. The latter has been
instrumental in helping the early Adventists and other
Christians to rediscover the Sabbath.

A Mennonite scholar, Prof. Daniel Liechy, has produced a

comprehensive biography of Andreas Fisher through a
painstaking examination of all the primary and secondary
sources he searched out in various European countries. His
research was published by Herald Press under the title
Andreas Fisher and the Sabbatarian Anabaptists. It was my
privilege to write the Foreword to this important research.
Liechty carefully reconstructs the Sabbatarian theology of
one wing of the Anabaptist movement. In doing so he raises
important questions regarding the theological consistency of
the major Anabaptist streams which wanted to rediscover
and restore apostolic Biblical teachings and practices, and
yet they refused to accept the apostolic practice of
Sabbathkeeping. In a private letter Liechty informed me that
this research had such an impact upon him that he became a
Sabbatarian.

Liechty's research is of immense value to Sabbatarian

churches, because it proves that the principle and practice
of seventh-day Sabbathkeeping was rediscovered and
accepted in the earliest years of the Reformation itself.
Moreover it provides with vital information to trace the
historical roots of their theological beliefs.
I was made aware of the interest of the Mennonites for the
Sabbath few years ago when I was invited by the President of
the student association of the Associate Mennonite Seminary,
in Elkhart, Indiana, to speak at their chapel exercise on the
historical change from Sabbath to Sunday in early
Christianity. The lecture was followed by a pleasant
discussion. At the end of the discussion an Old Testament
professor, who looked very much like an Old Testament
patriarch, stood up and made a daring speech. He said
something like this: "I have listened attentively to the
presentation of Dr. Bacchiocchi and to the discussion. It
appears to me that there is a keen interest on the part of
some Mennonites to return to the Biblical principle and
practice of Sabbathkeeping. Rather than arguing about this
matter, why not open up our church doors on Saturday
morning so that those who have this conviction can worship
God on the Sabbath without interference."

Few months later a colleague of mine was told during a visit

to the Associated Mennonite Seminary that there was a
group on campus that met for worship on Sabbath morning.
This episode provides another example of the providential
way the Lord is leading sincere people to rediscover the
Sabbath.

Numerous other examples could be given for the rediscovery

of the Sabbath by church leaders and local congregations.
Some of the information I have in my possession consists of
private correspondence. Before divulging this information I
need to obtain permission from the sources.

Rediscovery of the Sabbath Overseas

The rediscovery of the Sabbath is occurring not only among

Christians in the United States but also overseas. I will
mention a few examples familiar to me. I have heard of the
Sabbath being rediscovered by different church groups in
various foreign countries, but I need to track down the
sources of this information. For example, last night in a
telephone conversation with Richard Nickels, President of the
Bible Sabbath Association, I was made aware of the existence
of the "True Jesus Church," which is a Sabbatarian church of
Chinese origin that is popular especially in the South Pacific.
They have a nice web page but I have not had the time to
download their information and to contact some of their
leaders. Apparently the "True Jesus Church" traces its origin
to the Sabbatarian movement that was quite strong in China
prior to the revolution. At a Sabbath Conference somebody
presented an informative lecture about the Sabbatarian
movement in China prior to the revolution.

On August 1992, I received a letter from Robert Kisiel,

President of the Polish Brethren Unity, inviting me to speak at
a meeting of 1500 leaders of congregations in Western
Ukraine on November 1, 1992. In his letter dated August 3,
1992, Kiesel writes:

"During this meeting our brethren are going to

discuss the basic topic of the relationship
between Judaism and Christianity in order to
establish a new Sabbathkeeping Church of God. . .
. I hope you can find time to come to this meeting
as one of the best Western Sabbath theologian
and help us in the process of the creation of the
new Church."

Kiesel's letter and invitation was sent to me by Przemyslaw

Waliszewski, M. D, a scientist in the Department of Cancer
Biology of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an internationally
known cancer research center. In his accompanying letter,
Prof. Waliszewski (a non-SDA) urged me to accept the
invitation and asked permission to translate my Sabbath
books in Polish and Russian. On such a short notice and with
limited information about the actual location of the meeting,
it was impossible for me to attend. My absence from the
meeting did not detract from the fact that 1500 leaders of
Polish Unity Brethren congregations in Poland and Western
Ukraine coming together to establish a new Sabbatkeeping
Church of God.

More recently I received a letter (dated 10-3-97) from Pastor

Glen Howard, of the International Church of Budapest in
Hungary. Most likely, Pastor Howard is an American
missionary sponsored by a Sundaykeeping denomination, as
indicated by his fluent English and ability to pay for my books
with American Express credit card. He informs me that he has
read and shared with his congregations my two Sabbath
books From Sabbath to Sunday and The Sabbath in the New
Testament.

According to Pastor Howard the result was that "several

people in our congregation have become quite interested in
the subject of the Sabbath and would like to get a copy of
these books. . . .Do you have a special price for churches of
mission organizations?" Rest assured that I was delighted to
ship to them a case of my Sabbath books at a subsidized
price. It is heart warming for me to receive letters practically
every week from individuals and church leaders informing me
that the Lord has used this research to bring conviction to
their minds as to the Biblical validity and value of
Sabbathkeeping for their Christian life.

Conclusion

The foregoing fragmentary report on the rediscovery of the

Sabbath by a selected few churches and people known to me,
hardly does justice to the swelling interest for the Sabbath on
the part of many other religious groups that have not been
mentioned. I intend to submit a fuller report when I expand
this essay into a chapter for my new book The Sabbath under
Crossfire. [Note: Dr. Sam has already written and published
this book. See his Web site at
http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/ for more information.]

This partial report on the rediscovery of the Sabbath was

designed to counteract any negative impression caused by
the previous installments dealing with the attacks against the
Sabbath by the Pope, the Lord's Day Alliance, former
Sabbatarians and Sundaykeeping scholars. Reading only
about such attacks against the Sabbath could easily lead a
person to conclude that the Sabbath and Sabbathkeepers are
becoming an endangered species.

This rediscovery of the Sabbath today by scholars, church

leaders, and religious groups shows that the interest for the
Sabbath is far from disappearing. The truth of the matter is
that we are experiencing today a swelling interest for
Sabbath. Christians of all persuasion are rediscovering that
the Sabbath is indeed "a gift waiting to be unwrapped." Many
today are unwrapping this gift by accepting God's invitation
 to stop their work on the Sabbath day in order to allow Him
to enrich their lives with a larger measure of His divine
presence, peace, and rest. Many more can receive the gift of
the Sabbath if those of us who have experienced the
blessings of this divine gift, will use ever opportunity to share
them with others.

[Installment #13] | [Installment #15]

This article taken from the Bible Study Web Site at http://www.biblestudy.org/