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 focus on biblical teachings, such as the ancient Hebrew idea that a day begins at sundown, and the Genesis creation narrative, which describes a day as “an evening and morning.” They believe that the Ten Commandments clearly call for resting on the seventh day, and that this teaching stays the same throughout the Old and New Testaments. In many languages and calendars, the seventh day of the week is recognized as the Sabbath, a day of rest.

Today, the Sabbath is still observed in Judaism based on ancient laws. Some Christian groups, like the Oriental Orthodox and Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, also keep the Sabbath on Saturday while honoring Sunday as the Lord's Day, a tradition that started in early Christianity from the Apostolic Constitutions.

Many Christian denominations, such as Catholic, Lutheran, and some Protestants, observe Sunday as the day to rest and worship, believing that the Sabbath was moved to Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. However, “seventh-day Sabbatarians” aim to follow the Sabbath practice of early Christians. They believe that following all the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath, is a way to show love and respect to God as creator. Some groups, like the Seventh-day Adventist Church, feel that changing the Sabbath to Sunday was part of a big change in Christian belief over time.

Seventh-day churches include groups such as Seventh Day Baptists, Sabbatarian Adventists, and various Pentecostalists, among others. For these communities, the Sabbath is a key part of their faith and identity, shaping their worship and daily life.

Biblical Sabbath

Main articles: Biblical Sabbath and Shabbat

See also: Paul the Apostle and Judaism

The Sabbath, or day of rest, is first talked about in the Bible during the seventh day of creation. Remembering and resting on this day is one of the Ten Commandments, important for many different Christian groups. People who keep the Sabbath, whether on the first day or the seventh day, believe it is a special promise between God and His people that lasts forever. This rule also includes everyone, showing respect for the day God rested after finishing the world in six days.

History

See also: Judaizers

Early church

See also: Sabbath in Christianity

Seventh-day churches believe that many Christian groups changed from keeping Saturday as their day of rest to Sunday much later. They think this change happened slowly, influenced by people who followed older traditions and social pressures.

Some leaders, like Samuele Bacchiocchi, say this change began because new followers had different customs, and leaders in Rome helped make Sunday important. They note that the Roman emperor Constantine made a law in 321 that people should rest on Sunday, except for farmers who needed to work.

Other writers mention that early Christians sometimes met on both Saturday and Sunday. Even in the years after Jesus, some Christian groups still rested on Saturday, showing that this practice was strong for many years.

Middle Ages

See also: Sabbath in Christianity § Africa

In Africa, some groups kept Saturday as their day of rest for a very long time. In Europe, small groups like the Waldenses also followed Saturday as their rest day. Even in Russia, there were communities called Subbotniks who kept this tradition.

Reformation

During the time when many Christians were changing their beliefs, some groups, like the Anabaptists, argued that Saturday should remain the day of rest. They believed keeping Sunday was a new idea started by leaders they did not agree with.

In the 1600s, people in England began to support keeping Saturday again. One man, James Ockford, wrote a book defending this idea, but it caused a lot of trouble. Most of these followers became part of the Seventh Day Baptist church and faced hard times from other Christian leaders. The first Seventh Day Baptist church in the United States started in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1671.

Modern churches

See also: List of Sabbath-keeping churches

Seventh Day Baptists

Seventh Day Baptists are Christian Baptists who observe the seventh-day Sabbath as a holy day to God. They see this observance as a sign of their obedience to God and not as a condition for salvation. They follow a covenant Baptist theology that includes believers being consciously baptized by immersion, congregational government, and using scriptural basis for their opinions and practices.

The first known Seventh Day Baptist Church was the Mill Yard Church in London, with its first service in 1651, led by Peter Chamberlen. The first records were lost in a fire, but the church continues today. Seventh Day Baptists spread to the British colonies in North America, with the first church there established in Newport in 1672. Today, there are over 520 churches worldwide with about 45,000 members.

Sabbatarian Adventists

Seventh-day Adventists

See also: Biblical law in Seventh-day Adventism

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest modern church that observes the seventh-day Sabbath, with over 21 million members as of 2018. The church holds the Sabbath as one of its key beliefs. It began from the Millerite movement in the 1840s. Seventh-day Adventists observe the Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening. In places where the sun doesn't rise or set for months, like northern Scandinavia, they often use an set time like 6 p.m. to mark sunset.

During the Sabbath, Adventists avoid work and business. They usually gather for church services on Saturday morning. Some also meet on Friday evening to welcome the Sabbath and on Saturday evening to conclude it.

Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists believe the Ten Commandments are part of God's moral law and still apply to Christians. They separate moral law from ceremonial law, which they believe was fulfilled by Jesus' death.

History

Main article: History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

The idea of the seventh-day Sabbath began among Adventists between 1845 and 1849. Frederick Wheeler started keeping the Sabbath after studying it in 1844. He was the first minister to preach about it. Others joined, forming the first Sabbatarian Adventist church in Washington, New Hampshire. In 1845, T. M. Preble wrote about the Sabbath in a publication called the Hope of Israel.

In 1846, Joseph Bates helped spread the idea of the Sabbath through meetings and writings. By 1851, Adventists decided the Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday, not at 6 p.m. or midnight. This was confirmed by a vision that Ellen White had.

J. N. Andrews wrote books defending the Sabbath, with his first published in 1861.

Eschatology

See also: Seventh-day Adventist eschatology

The early leaders of the church believed the Sabbath would be important during difficult times. They taught that a law requiring worship on Sunday might appear, leading to persecution for those who kept the Sabbath. This belief came from their interpretation of Bible passages.

Seventh Day Adventist Reformers

Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement started during World War I in Europe. It formed because some leaders required church members to participate in the war, which conflicted with their belief about keeping the Sabbath.

Davidian Seventh-day Adventists

The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists (Davidians) is a group that split from the main Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was founded in 1929 by Victor Houteff in Waco, Texas.

Church of God (Seventh-Day)

The Churches of God (Seventh-Day) movement includes several churches that keep the Sabbath but do not follow the teachings of Ellen G. White. The General Conference of the Church of God (7th Day) is the best-known group, based in Salem, West Virginia.

Armstrongism

Main article: Armstrongism

Seventh-day Sabbatarianism was important to the Worldwide Church of God, started by Herbert W. Armstrong. Armstrong began the Radio Church of God after being ordained by a group called the Church of God (Seventh Day).

Sabbatarian Pentecostals

Some Pentecostal churches also observe the Sabbath on Saturdays.

The True Jesus Church, started in Beijing, China, in 1917, observes the seventh-day Sabbath. It has about two million members worldwide. Early leaders studied Seventh-day Adventist theology.

The Soldiers of the Cross Church began in the early 1920s in Havana, Cuba, started by an American businessman.

The Seventh day Apostolic Church, also known as Seventh day Pentecostals, keeps the old testament laws. It started in Valea Florilor, Romania.

Other groups

Other minor Sabbatarian churches and movements include:

• Adventist Church of Promise
• Assembly of Yahweh 7th Day, formed in Holt, Michigan
• Assemblies of Yahweh, headquartered in Bethel, Pennsylvania
• Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church
• Hebrew Roots
• House of Yahweh 7th Day, headquartered in Clyde, Texas
• La Iglesia de Dios, Incorporada, a Pentecostal church established in Puerto Rico in 1939
• Jemaat Allah Global Indonesia (JAGI), internationally known as Unitarian Christian Church of Indonesia (UCCI), headquartered in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
• Logos Apostolic Church of God, in the UK, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Sudan
• Messianic Judaism, some Messianic Jews observe Shabbat on Saturdays
• Remnant Fellowship, headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee and founded in 1999 by Gwen Shamblin Lara
• Sabbath Rest Advent Church
• The Seventh-day Remnant Church
• Subbotniks, branches of Spiritual Christians in and from Russia
• Yehowists, a Russian Spiritual Christian movement founded in the 1840s
• Founded in Truth Fellowship, a non-denominational church located in Rock Hill, SC meets on Saturday and recognizes it as the Biblical Sabbath day.