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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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Lutheran, and Orthodox churches. It is still observed in modern
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
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. 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 Anglicanism is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Euro ...
, have historically espoused the view of first-day Sabbatarianism, 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. "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 Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
( True Jesus Church, 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, among many others.


Biblical Sabbath

The sabbath was first described in the biblical account of the seventh day of
creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...
. Observation and remembrance of the sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the Eastern Orthodox and most
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
traditions, the third in
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
and Lutheran traditions). Most people who observe the first-day or seventh-day sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a perpetual covenant: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." () (see also , ) This rule also applies to strangers within their gates, a sign of respect for the day during which God rested after having completed creation in six days (, ).


History


Early church

In contrast to the majority of Christian denominations, Seventh Day churches see the adoption of Sunday as the Sabbath as a late development that would not have been recognised by the Early Church. Seventh Day Adventist theologian
Samuele Bacchiocchi Samuele is the Italian spelling of Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays ...
argued for a gradual transition from the Jewish observation of the Sabbath on Saturday to observation on a Sunday. His contention was that the change was due to pagan influence from the pagan converts, to social pressure against Judaism, and also to the decline of standards for the day. ''From Sabbath to Sunday'' (1977), He claims that the first day became called the "Lord's Day" as that was the name known as the sun-god Baal to the pagans so they were familiar with it and put forth by the leaders in Rome to gain converts and got picked up by the Christians in Rome to differentiate themselves from the Jews, who had rebelled, and the Sabbath. According to Justin Martyr (lived 100 to 165), Christians also worshiped on Sunday because it "possessed a certain mysterious import". Seventh-day Adventists point out the role played by either the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, or by Roman Emperor Constantine I in the transition from Sabbath to Sunday, with Constantine's law declaring that Sunday was a day of rest for those not involved in farming work. In Rich Robinson's 2014 book
Christ in the Sabbath
he writes that: According to R. J. Bauckham, the post-apostolic church had diverse practices regarding the sabbath. Emperor Aurelian began a new Sun cult in 274 A.D and pagan ordinances were instituted in order to transform the old Roman idolatry and the accession of Sun-worship. Emperor Constantine then enacted the first
Sunday Laws Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday i ...
, for "the venerable Day of the Sun" in 321 A.D. On March 7, 321, the Roman emperor Constantine I issued a decree making Sunday a day of rest from labor, stating: Hutton Webster's book ''Rest Days'' states: Early Christian observance of both the spiritual seventh-day sabbath and a Lord's Day assembly is evidenced in a letter from Ignatius of Antioch to the Magnesians 110. The Pseudo-Ignatian additions amplified this point by combining weekly observance of a spiritual seventh-day sabbath with the Lord's assembly. If Pseudo-Ignatius dates as early as 140, its admonition must be considered important evidence on 2nd-century sabbath and Lord's Day observance. According to classical sources, widespread seventh-day sabbath rest by gentile Christians was also the prevailing mode in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
(lived 1827-1915) states that ecumenical councils generally each pressed the sabbath down slightly lower and exalted Sunday correspondingly, and that the bishops eventually urged Constantine to syncretize the worship day in order to promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by pagans. But "while many God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a degree of sacredness, they still held the eventh-daySabbath". Bauckham also states some church authorities continued to oppose this as a
judaizing Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...
tendency. In the 4th century, Socrates Scholasticus (''Church History, Book V'') stated: In the 5th century, Sozomen (''Ecclesiastical History, Book VII''), referencing Socrates Scholasticus, added to his description:


Middle Ages

The "Sabbath in Africa Study Group" (SIA), founded by Charles E. Bradford in 1991, holds that the sabbath has existed in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
since the beginning of
recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...
. Taddesse Tamrat has argued that this practice predates Saint
Ewostatewos Ewostatewos ( gez, ኤዎስጣቴዎስ, or Yostatewos (Ge'ez: ዮስታንቲዎስ), a version of grc, Εὐστάθιος ''Eustathios''; 22 July 1273 – 23 September 1352) was an Ethiopian religious leader of the Orthodox Tewahedo during t ...
's advocacy of observing both Saturday and Sunday as days of sabbath, which led to his eventual exile from
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
around 1337. Emperor
Zara Yaqob Zara Yaqob ( Ge'ez: ዘርዐ ያዕቆብ; 1399 – 26 August 1468) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty who ruled under the regnal name Kwestantinos I (Ge'ez: ቈስታንቲኖስ, "Constantine"). He is known for t ...
convened a synod at Tegulet in 1450 to discuss the sabbath question. Sects, such as the Waldenses, retained sabbath observance in Europe during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. In Bohemia, as much as one quarter of the population kept seventh-day the sabbath in 1310. This practice continued until at least the 16th century, when Erasmus wrote about the practice. The Unitarian Church condemned Sabbatarianism as innovation (forbidden by the Transylvanian law on religious toleration) in 1618. The last Sabbatarian congregation in Transylvania disappeared in the 19th century and the remaining Sabbatarians, who were known as "Somrei Sabat" (the Hungarian transliteration of the Hebrew words for "Sabbath observers") joined the existing Jewish communities, into which they were eventually absorbed. Sabbatarianism also expanded into
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, where its adherents were called Subbotniks, and, from there, the movement expanded into other countries. Some of the Russian Subbotniks maintained a Christian identity doctrinally, while others formally converted to Judaism and assimilated within the Jewish communities of Russia. Some of the latter, however, who had become Jewish, although they and their descendants practiced Judaism and had not practiced Christianity for nearly two centuries, still retained a distinct identity as ethnic Russian converts to Judaism until later. A small number of the anti-Trinitarian Socinian churches of Eastern Europe and the Netherlands adopted the seventh day as the day of worship and rest.


Reformation

At the time of the Protestant Reformation some Anabaptists, such as Oswald Glaidt, argued that the seventh day should be observed as the sabbath and that Sunday sabbath was an invention of the Pope. Andreas Karlstadt defended the observance of the seventh day of the week. Martin Luther differed from him as he believed that Christians were free to observe any day of the week, provided it was uniform. His defense of the Sabbath, and others among the Anabaptists, caused him to be censured as a Jew and a heretic. Seventh-day Sabbatarianism was revived in 17th-century England. Early advocates included the Elizabethan Seventh-Day Men, the Traskites (after
John Traske English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief an ...
, 1586–1636), Dorothy Traske, Hamlet Jackson, and Thomas Brabourne. In 1650, James Ockford published in London the book The Doctrine of the Fourth Commandment, Deformed by Popery, Reformed & Restored to its Primitive Purity, which was the first writings of a Baptist defending Sabbath observance. The book generated such a nuisance that the mayor of Salisbury, the city where Ockford lived, asked the president of Parliament for guidance on how to handle the work; a parliamentary committee determined that all copies should be burned without giving the opportunity for James Ockford to defend them. Only one copy has escaped, kept today in a library in Oxford. The majority of seventh-day Sabbatarians were part of the Seventh Day Baptist church and experienced harsh opposition from Anglican authorities and Puritans. The first Seventh Day Baptist church in the United States was established in Newport,
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
in 1671.


Modern churches


Seventh Day Baptists

Seventh Day Baptists are Christian Baptists who observe
seventh-day Sabbath 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 ...
, as a holy day to God. They understand that observance is as a sign of obedience in a covenant relationship with God and not as a condition of salvation. They adopt a covenant Baptist theology, based on the concept of regenerated society, conscious
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
of believers by immersion, congregational government and the
scriptural Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
basis of opinion and practice. The first known Seventh Day Baptist Church was the Mill Yard Church established in London, where the first service took place in 1651, led by Peter Chamberlen. M.D. "the Third". The first records of church activities were destroyed in a fire; the second record book is in possession of the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Library and Archives, the local church continues its activities to this day. Immigration to the British colonies in North America also included Seventh Day Baptists, the couple Stephen and Anne Mumford were the first Seventh Day Baptists in the Americas and with five other Baptists who kept the Sabbath, establishing in 1672 the first Seventh Day Baptist Church in the Americas, located in Newport, expanding into other territories. It is the oldest modern Sabbatarian denomination, they are made up of churches all over the world, with over 520 churches and approximately 45,000 members, having constant interaction among themselves through conferences in each country and through the Seventh Day Baptist World Federation.


Sabbatarian Adventists


Seventh-day Adventists

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest modern seventh-day Sabbatarian denomination, with 21,414,779 members as of December 31, 2018 and holds the sabbath as one of the Pillars of Adventism. Seventh-day Adventism grew out of the Millerite movement in the 1840s, and a few of its founders (Cyrus Farnsworth, Frederick Wheeler, a Methodist minister and Joseph Bates, a sea captain) were convinced in 1844-1845 of the importance of Sabbatarianism under the influence of
Rachel Oakes Preston Rachel (Harris) Oakes Preston (March 2, 1809 – February 1, 1868) was a Seventh Day Baptist who persuaded a group of Adventist Millerites to accept Saturday, instead of Sunday, as Sabbath. This Sabbatarian group organised as the Seventh-day A ...
, a young Seventh Day Baptist laywoman living in
Washington, New Hampshire Washington is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,192 at the 2020 census. Situated in a hilly, rocky, forested area, and with 26 lakes and ponds, Washington is a picturesque resort area. It is home to Pill ...
and a published article in early 1845 on the topic (Hope of Israel) by Thomas M. Preble, pastor of the Free Will Baptist congregation in Nashua, New Hampshire. Seventh-day Adventists observe the sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening. In places where the sun does not appear or does not set for several months, such as northern Scandinavia, the tendency is to regard an arbitrary time such as 6 p.m. as "sunset". During the sabbath, Adventists avoid secular work and business, although medical relief and humanitarian work is accepted. Though there are cultural variations, most Adventists also avoid activities such as shopping, sport, and certain forms of entertainment. Adventists typically gather for church services on Saturday morning. Some also gather on Friday evening to welcome in the sabbath hours (sometimes called " vespers" or "opening Sabbath"), and some similarly gather at "closing Sabbath". Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists hold that the Ten Commandments (including the fourth commandment concerning the sabbath) are part of the moral law of God, not abrogated by the teachings of Jesus Christ, which apply equally to Christians. This was a common Christian understanding before the Sabbatarian controversy led Sunday-keepers to adopt a more radical antinomian position. Adventists have traditionally distinguished between "moral law" and "ceremonial law", arguing that moral law continues to bind Christians, while events predicted by the ceremonial law were fulfilled by Christ's death on the cross.


=History

= "Sabbatarian Adventists" emerged between 1845 and 1849 from within the
Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher W ...
movement of William Miller, later to become the Seventh-day Adventists. Frederick Wheeler began keeping the seventh day as the sabbath after personally studying the issue in March 1844 following a conversation with Rachel Preston, according to his later report. He is reputed to be the first ordained Adventist minister to preach in support of the sabbath. Several members of the church in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, New Hampshire, to whom he occasionally ministered, also followed his decision, forming the first Sabbatarian Adventist church. These included William Farnsworth and his brother Cyrus.
T. M. Preble Thomas Motherwell Preble (1810–1907) was a Free Will Baptist minister in New Hampshire and a Millerite preacher. After accepting the teachings of William Miller, Preble was excommunicated from his church. Preble appears to have accepted the ...
soon accepted it from either Wheeler, Oakes, or someone else at the church. These events preceded the Great Disappointment, which followed shortly after, when Jesus did not return as Millerites expected on October 22, 1844. Preble was the first Millerite to promote the sabbath in print form, through the February 28, 1845, issue of the Adventist ''Hope of Israel'' in Portland, Maine. In March he published his sabbath views in tract form as ''A Tract, Showing that the Seventh Day Should be Observed as the Sabbath, Instead of the First Day; "According to the Commandment"''. This tract led to the conversion of John Nevins Andrews and other Adventist families in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, Maine, as well as the 1845 conversion of Joseph Bates, who became the foremost proponent of the sabbath among this group. These men in turn convinced James Springer White, Ellen Harmon (later White), and
Hiram Edson Hiram Edson (1806–1882) was a pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, known for introducing the sanctuary doctrine (investigative judgment) to the church. Hiram Edson was a Millerite adventist, and became a Sabbath-keeping Adventist. L ...
of New York. Preble is known to have kept seventh-day sabbath until mid-1847. He later repudiated the sabbath and opposed the Seventh-day Adventists, authoring ''The First-Day Sabbath''. Bates proposed an 1846 meeting among the believers in New Hampshire and New York, which took place at Edson's farm in Port Gibson, where Edson and other Port Gibson believers readily accepted the sabbath message and forged an alliance with Bates, White, and Harmon. Between April 1848 and December 1850, 22 sabbath conferences in New York and New England allowed White, Bates, Edson, and Stephen Pierce to reach conclusions about doctrinal issues. Also in 1846, a pamphlet written by Bates created widespread interest in the sabbath. Bates, White, Harmon, Edson, Wheeler, and S. W. Rhodes led the promotion of the sabbath, partly through regular publications. ''Present Truth'' magazine was largely devoted to the sabbath at first. In 1851, Adventists taught that the sabbath begins at 6PM Friday, and not at sunset, nor midnight, nor sunrise: The Adventists held a conference at Battle Creek, Mich., Nov. 16, 1855. At this conference, they voted to accept J.N. Andrews's decision that the Sabbath begins at sunset: Ever since that conference, the Adventists have been teaching that the Sabbath is from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Adventists have forever settled the matter of when the Sabbath begins, by voting at the 1855 conference to change the Sabbath from starting at 6PM Friday to starting at sunset Friday. The "sunset Friday to sunset Saturday" sabbath was confirmed by Ellen White having a vision in which an angel told her, "From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath." J. N. Andrews was the first Adventist to write a book-length defense of the sabbath, first published in 1861. Two of Andrews' books include ''Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries Concerning the Sabbath and the First Day'' and ''History of the Sabbath''.


=Eschatology

= The pioneers of the church have traditionally taught that the seventh-day sabbath will be a test, leading to the sealing of God's people during the end times, though there is little consensus about how this will play out. The church has clearly taught that there will be an international
Sunday law Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reaso ...
enforced by a coalition of religious and secular authorities, and that all who do not observe it will be persecuted, imprisoned or martyred. This is taken from the church's interpretation, following Ellen G. White, of , , , , and . Where the subject of persecution appeared in prophecy, it was thought to be about the sabbath. Some early Adventists were jailed for working on Sunday, in violation of various local blue laws that legislated Sunday as a day of rest.


Seventh Day Adventist Reformers

Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement is a Protestant Christian denomination in the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that formed from a schism in the European Seventh-day Adventist Church during World War I over the position its European church ...
, formed as the result of a schism within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Europe during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
over the position its European church leaders took on Sabbath observance and in committing Seventh-day Adventist Church members to the bearing of arms in military service for Germany in the war.


Davidian Seventh-day Adventists

The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists (Davidians) or the Shepherd's Rod is an American offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, headquartered at the
Mount Carmel Center The Mount Carmel Center was a large compound building used by the Branch Davidians religious group located near Axtell, Texas, 20 miles north-east of Waco. The Branch Davidians were a breakaway sect from Davidian Seventh Adventists, established by ...
near Waco, Texas. It was founded in 1929 by
Victor Houteff Victor Tasho Houteff ( Bulgarian; Виктор Ташо Хутев ; March 2, 1885 – February 5, 1955) was the founder of the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist organization, known as The Shepherd's Rod. Early life Houteff was born in Raicovo, Eas ...
, its President and Prophet.


Church of God (Seventh-Day)

The Churches of God (Seventh-Day) movement is composed of a number of sabbath-keeping churches and represents a line of Sabbatarian Adventists that rejected the visions and teachings of Ellen G. White before the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863. Among which the General Conference of the Church of God (7th Day), or simply CoG7, headquartered in Salem, West Virginia, is the best-known organization.


Armstrongism

Seventh-day Sabbatarianism was a key feature of the former Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, and its various descendant movements. Armstrong, who began the Radio Church of God, was in 1931 ordained by the Oregon Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day), an Adventist group, and began serving a congregation in Eugene, Oregon. The broadcast was essentially a condensed church service on the air, with hymn singing featured along with Armstrong's message, and was the launching point for what would become the Worldwide Church of God.


Sabbatarian Pentecostalists

Some
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementTrue Jesus Church, established in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
, China, in 1917, supports the seventh-day sabbath, and it has approximately two million members worldwide. Early church worker Ling-Sheng Zhang adopted the seventh-day sabbath after studying Seventh-day Adventist theology, and co-worker
Paul Wei Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
was originally a Seventh-day Adventist. An American missionary named Berntsen, who was from a sabbath-keeping Church of God, was also influential among the church workers. The Soldiers of the Cross Church (officially — Evangelical International Church of the Soldiers of the Cross of Christ) is organized in the early 1920s by an American businessman named Ernest William Sellers in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
.


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 The Creation Seventh Day (and) Adventist Church began as a small group that broke off from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1988, and organized its own church in 1991. It has been involved in court cases with the General Conference of Seventh ...
*
Hebrew Roots The Hebrew Roots movement is a religious movement that advocates adherence to the Torah and believes in Yeshua as the Messiah. History Since the early 20th century, different religious organizations have been teaching a belief in Jesus (calle ...
* House of Yahweh 7th Day, headquartered in Clyde, Texas * La Iglesia de Dios, Incorporada, a Pentecostal church established in Puerto Rico in 1939, they hold to the observance of the biblical sabbath day, they also have a distinct doctrine that sets them apart from mainstream pentecostalism, the women in this church use a vail during religious services, for prayer or prophesying. * Jemaat Allah Global Indonesia (JAGI), internationally known as Unitarian Christian Church of Indonesia (UCCI), headquartered in Semarang, Central Java,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
, is Unitarian church with observing some Law of Moses practices, such as dietary laws and seventh-day Sabbath * Logos Apostolic Church of God, in the UK, Kenya, Uganda,
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
, 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 Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 – May 29, 2021) was an American author, founder of the Christian diet program ''The Weigh Down Workshop'' and founder of the Remnant Fellowship. She is the subject of the 2021 HBO Max docuseries, '' The ...
* Sabbath Rest Advent Church * The Seventh-day Remnant Church * Subbotniks, branches of Spiritual Christians in and from Russia, the majority belonged to Rabbinic and Karaite Judaism, the minority to Christianity * Yehowists, a Russian Spiritual Christian millenarian 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.


See also

* International Date Line as affecting calculations of series of days for travelers and resident Sabbath-keepers * Christian views on the Old Covenant * Messianic Judaism * Restorationism * Sabbath in Christianity * Sabbath Rest Advent Church *
Sherbert v. Verner ''Sherbert v. Verner'', 374 U.S. 398 (1963), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment required the government to demonstrate both a compelling interest and that the law in ...


Notes

:1. Canon of Holy Saturday, Kontakion: "Exceeding blessed is this Sabbath, on which Christ has slumbered, to rise on the third day." :2. The seventh of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England states, "Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any commonwealth; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral."


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Sabbath articles from the Biblical Research Institute

Sabbath and the New Covenant
by Roy Gane *

' by Jon Paulien
Guidelines for Sabbath Observance
document voted by the
General Conference Session The General Conference Session is the official world meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, held every five years. At the session, delegates from around the world elect the Church's World Leaders, discuss and vote on changes ...
of 1990
Sabbath articles
as cataloged in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI; see als

in the ASDAL guide) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabbath in seventh-day churches Seventh-day Adventist theology Mosaic law in Christian theology Sabbath in Christianity Saturday observances