Sunday Laws in the Roman Empire (Part 2 of 2)

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

Last week, we reviewed the first five Sunday laws proclaimed in the Roman Empire (CLICK HERE to read part 1 of this series). They were issued from 321 to as late as 373. Two in 321, one at an unknown date, and two more between 368-373. The last two were regional. There would not be another one (that we know of) until 386 AD.

From 386 to 425, eleven laws were enacted that governed some sort of Sunday observance (including the annual observance of Pascha on Sunday). The sudden increase in Sunday laws during this time reflects the continued unification of the Roman Empire and Roman Church. Before we can review these laws, there is some necessary background information for us to review.

Theodosius became Emperor in 379. He heard the religious perspectives of various Christian groups and sided with the Roman Church. He was determined to make the Empire uniform in its view of God. The next year, he issued a decree to force subjects of the Empire to become Roman Catholic. We have an excerpt of this law below:

“To the residents of Constantinople: It is our will that all the peoples whom the government of our clemency rules shall follow that religion which a pious belief from Peter to the present declares the holy Peter delivered to the Romans, and which it is evident the Pontiff Damascus and Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic sanctity, follow; that is, that according to the apostolic discipline and evangelical doctrine we believe in the deity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of equal majesty in a holy trinity. Those who follow this law we command shall be comprised under the name of Catholic Christians; but others, indeed, we require, as insane and raving, to bear the infamy of heretical teaching…” (CT: 16.1.2 [quoted from Ayers, pp 367-368]).

Notice that the issue of Sabbath and Sunday was never addressed in this law. As reviewed in the January-February 2020 issue of The Sabbath Sentinel, most Christians still kept the Sabbath at that time. The biggest issue which separated Roman Catholic Christians from others was the Trinity; this involved an ongoing argument at that time concerning the nature of God.

Keep in mind that people did not instantly comply with this decree. Laws in the ancient world took time to implement; it does not necessarily follow that people obeyed. Non-Trinitarian groups continued for many centuries inside and outside of the Roman Empire. Decrees such as these reflect Imperial views.

The laws of Theodosius’ reign, such as the one above, appear draconian. However, they were not always enforced. Sozomen, a fourth century Christian historian, said that Theodosius did not enforce the terrible punishments prescribed in his laws (Church history, 7.12). Instead, he wanted to intimidate people into changing their religious views so that there would be greater uniformity. Later in this same work, Sozomen mentioned that most Christians in his time kept the Sabbath (ibid, 7.19). As discussed in the May-June edition of The Sabbath Sentinel, Roman law protected Sabbath observance.

Theodosius completed the merger of the Roman Church and State which began years before under Constantine. This facilitated a series of Sunday laws with Christian meaning to be enacted during his reign; the first one dates to the year 386.

“The same Augustuses (Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius Augustuses) to Principius, Praetorian Prefect. On the Day of the Sun (Sunday), which our ancestors rightly called the Lord’s Day*, the prosecution of all litigation and actions shall entirely cease. No person shall demand payment of either a public or private debt. There shall be no cognizance of any contention, even before arbitrators, whether these arbitrators be demanded in court of voluntarily chosen. If any person should turn aside from the inspiration and ritual of holy religion, he shall be adjudged not only infamous but also sacrilegious” (CT: 11.7.13; Nov. 3, 386) (Pharr, p 300).

*The underlying Latin translated as “our ancestors rightly called the Lord’s Day” is quem dominicam rite dixere maiores (Haenel, 1071). By that time, dominicam had come to be known as ‘Lord’s Day’. Rite means a duty according to religious observance. Dixere means called or said and maiores means ancestors or forefathers. The use of the term maiores does not indicate length of time.

Notice that these Emperors attributed the usage of the term ‘Lord’s Day’ to their forefathers, not God or the Bible. It was common for Roman Catholic writers to do the same (see Eusebius, Exposition on Psalm 93 in Odom, p 292). This is the first Roman law where Sunday is called ‘The Lord’s Day’, and the first one to ascribe direct Christian meaning to Sunday. It reiterated some of the details from Constantine’s law on July 3, 321 (CT: 2.8.1 – CLICK HERE to read last week’s article).

This law was repeated as CT: 2.8.18 and 8.8.3 in the same month and year (Nov. 386); it was later repeated in the Code of Justinian (CJ: 3.12.6). Just three years later, another law will better demonstrate the one result of the Roman State/Church union.

“Emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius Augustuses to Albinus, Prefect of the City. We order all days to be court days. It shall be lawful for only those days to remain as holidays which throughout two months a very indulgent year has recognized as a respite from toil for the mitigation of summer heat and for the harvesting of the autumn crops. 1. We also set aside the kalends of January (January 1) as a customary rest day. 2. To the aforementioned days We add the natal days of the greatest cities, Rome (April 21) and Constantinople (May 11),* to which the law ought to defer, since it also was born of them.** 3. We count the same category the holy Paschal days (Latin: sacros quoque paschae dies), of which seven follow Easter; likewise the Days of the Sun*** which revolve upon themselves at regular intervals. 4. It is necessary for Our anniversaries also to be held in equal reverence, that is, both the day which brought forth the auspicious beginning of Our life and the day which produced the beginning of Our imperial power.  – August 7, 389 (CT: 2.8.19; Pharr, p 44; Latin: Haenel, p 210).

*This law provides us with an overview of the holidays allowed by the merger of Roman Church and Roman State. In it, we can see a mix of the older pagan holidays, such as the summer/autumn rest days, January 1, the founding of Rome and Constantinople, Sun-day, and the Imperial birthdays/anniversaries with newer Roman Catholic days, such as the Paschal days.

**The term ‘Easter’ or an equivalent term was not used at this time. The Latin word used in the sentence is Paschae, which means Passover. The Roman Catholic Church celebrated it on a Sunday. Sunday was not called the Lord’s Day, but dies solis.

A controversy that arose during this time was whether contests in the Circuses should be allowed on the birthdays of the Emperors, even if their birthdays occurred on Sunday. The Circus Maximus was dedicated to the sun; horse races often occurred there (See Tertullian, De Spectaculis, 7-8).

“The same Augustuses to Proculus, Perfect of the City. Contests in the circuses shall be prohibited on the festal Days of the Sun [Latin: Festis solis diebus], except on the birthdays of Our Clemency, in order that no concourse of people to the spectacles may divert men from the reverend mysteries of the Christian law*” – April 17, 392 (CT: 2.8.20; English: Pharr, p 44; Latin: Haenel, p 211).

*This decree contains a clear reference to Christian law (Latin: Christianae legis). During the reign of Theodosius, the term ‘Christian’ was defined as Roman Catholic (see CT: 16.1.2 above). The law allows us to see that the birthdays of the Imperial reign were considered more important than Sunday rest. Just seven years later, another law affirmed this ruling (CT: 2.8.23). However, just ten years later, the Imperial attitude towards this subject changed.

“Emperors Honorius and Theodosius (II) Augustuses to Jovius, Praetorian Prefect. On the Lord’s Day, which is commonly called the Day of the Sun, We permit absolutely no amusements to be produced, even if by chance as the ends of the years return upon themselves the day should be the anniversary of the day when the beginning of Our reign shone forth, or if it should be the day to which are assigned the solemn rites that are due to the birthday” – April 1, 409 (CT: 2.8.25; Pharr, p 45).

In this law, no amusements or spectacles were allowed to be produced on Sunday even if the anniversaries of the Emperors’ reigns fall on Sunday or their birthdays. This shows us that the concept of Sunday rest had even greater weight than it did years before.

Other Sunday laws were adopted which governed human behavior. In 425, the first Roman law was promulgated that labeled Sunday the first day of the week. It also commanded people to worship on certain days each year, including Sunday, the birthday of Christ, Epiphany, Roman Passover, and Pentecost (CT: 15.5.5). More rules governing Sunday observance were enacted in 469 (CJ: 3.12.9); this last Roman law imposed harsher penalties for violations of Sunday rest.

Conclusion about Sabbath and Sunday Laws
Sabbath laws in the Roman Empire protected the existing practice of Sabbath observance for the Jewish people (and by extension Christians). It was not imposed on other people. Furthermore, there was no need for a body of laws to define what keeping the Sabbath really meant – the Bible already provided this instruction.

Conversely, Sunday laws in the Roman Empire were imposed on everyone else. If anything, these laws refute the notion that Sunday observance/rest was an entrenched, established, and developed practice in the fourth century. If the greatest portion of Christians in the Roman world were already keeping ‘Sunday’, then why were rules for its observance constantly adjusted over a hundred-year period and subsequently imposed on others? Because it was not universally observed by Christians.

The whole concept of Sunday as a rest day for Christian gathering is not found in the New Testament. These Roman Sunday laws are proof that it took time to develop the idea of what it really meant to keep Sunday – was it a day of leisure, rest, celebration, or all the above? The Roman church developed this concept partly using Roman law (Catholic Encyclopedia: Canon Law). The Sabbath continued to be observed by most Christians in the East for centuries in the future.

To read more about this subject, download our free booklet Sabbath and Sunday Laws in the Roman Empire by clicking HERE. 

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org

Sources Cited:

Catholic Encyclopedia. Article: Canon Law.

Codex Justinian. English. Blume, Fred. Ed. Bruce W. Frier. The Codex Justinian. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. 2016. pp 645-647.

Codex Theodosianus. English. Translated by Joseph Cullen Ayers. A Source Book For Ancient Church History. New York. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1913.  pp 367-368.

Codex Theodosianus. English. Translated by Clyde Pharr. The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions. Princeton University, 1952. pp 44, 45, 209, 229-230, 300, 432, 433.

Codex Theodosianus. Latin. Edited by Gustavus Haenel. Novellae Constitutiones Imperatorum Theodosii II., Valentinianii III., Maximi, Severi, Anthemii. Ad XLII Librorum Manuscriptorum Et Priorum Editionum Fidem Recognovit Et Annotatione Critica Instuxit. Lipsiensis, 1841-1842. Vol 2: pp 210, 211. Vol 3: p 1071.

Odom, Robert L. Sabbath and Sunday in Early Christianity. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. 1977. p 292.

Sozomen. Church History, 7.12, 18-19. Translated by Chester D. Hartranft. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Second series, Vol. 2. Buffalo, NY: The Christian Literature Co., 1890. p 383.

Sunday Laws in the Roman Empire (Part 1 of 2)

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

As reviewed last month, the Roman Empire protected Sabbath observance for hundreds of years. This facilitated the spread of Christians who observed the Sabbath within the Imperial domains (CLICK HERE to read about Sabbath laws in the Roman Empire).  In the fourth century, laws pertaining to Sunday were enacted by Roman Emperors. Unlike Sabbath protections, these were a nuanced ideal.

The first Sunday laws, perhaps in history, were enacted in 321 by Constantine. Before we delve into these two laws, it is important to recognize that he held the title pontifex maximus. This was an ancient pagan Roman title that allowed him to control the religious calendar of the Empire. As we will see, his Sunday laws are consistent with the idea of the pontifex maximus. We have a copy of his first two Sunday laws below:

Law 1: “All Judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable Day of the Sun*. Country people, however, may freely attend to the cultivation of the fields, because it frequently happens that no other days are better adapted for planting the grain in the furrows or the vines in trenches. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish” – March 7, 321 (CJ 3.12.2 [some list as 3.12.3], English: Ayers, 284-285; Latin: Krueger, p 127).

*In the Latin manuscript of this law, the phrase translated as “venerable day of the sun” is venerabili die solis. Constantine’s decree was based upon honoring and esteeming the celestial body we call the sun.

Law 2: “Just as it appears to Us most unseemly that the Day of the Sun (Sunday), which is celebrated on account of its own veneration, should be occupied with legal altercations and with noxious controversies of the litigation of contending parties, so it is pleasant and fitting that those acts which are especially desired shall be accomplished on that day. 1. Therefore all men shall have the right to emancipate and to manumit on this festive day [Latin: festo], and the legal formalities thereof are not forbidden” – July 3, 321 (CT: 2.8.1; English: Pharr, p 44; Latin: Haenel, p 207).

Many have assumed that these laws were issued to honor God or promote the agenda of the Roman Catholic Church. This would be a stretch to say the least. These decrees did not mention Jesus or the God of the Bible. No penalty was issued for those who did not comply. Additionally, this law was not designed to mirror the Biblical Sabbath. Notice that farmers were not allowed to take off work on the day. The God of the Holy Bible gave us the Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) as the weekly day of rest for all people, regardless of their occupation.

As the pontifex maximus, Constantine had responsibilities to uphold certain Roman ideals regarding celebrations for the Roman people. The ancient writer Cicero, who lived from about 106 to 43 BC, wrote about this subject. His writings will help clarify the 321 Sun-day laws. In his work On Law, he described special characteristics of the ancient Roman celebrations.

“Next, our provision for holidays and festivals [Latin: feriarum festorumque dierum] ordains rest from lawsuits and controversies for free men, and from labour and toil for slaves. Whoever plans the official year ought to arrange that these festivals shall come at the completion of the various labours of the farm…” (idem, 2.12[29]).

The principles described by Cicero continued to be applied to Roman festivals during the Imperial period. This included the Saturnalia (Dec 17-24) and the Kalends of January (Jan 1-3), which were still celebrated even in Constantine’s time (see Seneca, Epistulae, 18.1-4; Lucian, Saturnalia, sec 2 and Chronosolon, sec 13-14; Dio Cassius, Roman History, 60.19.3; Macrobius, Saturnalia; and Libianus, Oration, 9).

Constantine’s 321 Sunday laws matched the anticipated patterns for Roman festivals described by Cicero and other ancient authors. The issues of work and agricultural toils were addressed in the first law. While farmers were not granted rest on the day, their appropriate behavior was discussed to be consistent with other festivals. Many annual festivals related in some way to the harvest cycle. It was not logical to allow farmers off on Sunday since there is not a weekly crop. In the second law, most legal proceedings were suspended and freedom for slaves were addressed. The Latin word festo was employed in this law.

The day after his first Sunday law, he received a law allowing the pagan soothsayers to enter buildings where lightning had struck (CT: 16.10.1). This decree upheld the ancient Roman custom where a ceremony was used to determine which god or goddess was angry and how to pacify him/her. Tacitus, writing a couple of centuries earlier, mentioned that pontiffs were involved with overseeing the haruspices (Annals, 11.15).

Balkans Inscription

A third Sunday law from Constantine’s reign is recorded on an inscription found in a Slavonian bath house. To understand this inscription, one must grasp that the Romans had two ways that they calculated weeks. There was the market week, which was composed of eight days. Every eighth day was nundinae or market day. The inscription informs us that Constantine adjusted the ancient Roman nundinae or market day so that it would occur every dies solis instead of every eighth day (Orellius, p 140). Despite this ruling, the dual system of eight-day and seven-day weeks continued into at least the mid-fourth century AD.

While Constantine did show favor to Christians, he also continued to honor paganism in obvious ways. He honored the sun god Sol Invictus on monuments and coins; his Sunday laws are congruent with this sentiment. In the case of these Sunday laws, he utilized the title pontifex maximus to promote dies solis as a weekly feast day (in the Roman sense). One can be hardly surprised. His Sunday laws lack the necessary evidence to have firm Roman Catholic influence. First, he did not recognize it as the first day of the week or the Lord’s Day (pagans considered Sunday to be the second day of the week; we will likely cover this subject in a future BSA article). Secondly, the Roman Church did not have a developed theology about Sunday rest in 321 AD. The first Roman Church Council to discuss Sunday rest does not occur until about 364 (Laodicea).

A last, but not least, development which occurred during his reign is the gradual joining of the Roman Church and Roman State. Constantine paid the expenses of some Church Councils (Eusebius, Church History, 10.6). He ruled that clergy and their families did not have to pay taxes (CT: 16.2.10). By law, people could leave property to the Roman Church at death (CT: 16.2.4 [321]). In 326, he passed a law that granted the Roman Church special privileges. All other Christian groups were not allowed these privileges and were bound to public service (CT: 16.5.1).

In addition to these measures, he regulated the number of clergy in Christianity (CT: 16.2.6 [326 AD]). The wealthy were prevented from serving in these positions; only the poor could serve in them ([10.2.6 [326 or 329 AD]). He prevented clerics from being summoned to municipal councils for public service (10.2.6, 10.2.7 [330 AD]). Secular judges were even forced to enforce the decisions of Catholic Bishops; when such a bishop testified, his witness was considered supreme and voided all others (CS: 1 [333 AD]).

During the reign of Theodosius, this union between Church and State was made complete. We will review this occurrence in the second part of this series. The next Sunday law was enacted about 45-50 years later by the Roman Emperors Valentinian and Valens.

“Emperors Valentinian and Valens Augustuses to Florianus, Governor of Venetia. It is our will that no Christian shall be sued by tax collectors on the Day of the Sun (Sunday), which has long* been considered holy**, and by this interdict of our statute we sanction peril against any person who should dare to commit this offense” – April 21, 368, 370, 371 (CT: 8.8.1; English: Pharr, 209; Latin: Haenel, p 754).

*The Latin phrase translated as “long” is qui dudum. It more refers to the present and the immediate past rather than a long period of time (Lewis, A Latin Dictionary). This is different than the Sabbath – which the Roman Emperors viewed as being sacred since ‘ancient times’ (Latin: vetus).

**Notice the word ‘holy’ in the law. This is not a good translation. The underlying Latin word is faustus; it means lucky, fortunate, or a good omen. The word can have religious meaning, but it does not have to. In other words, Sunday was considered a lucky day.

This law was written to the governor of Venetia, which was a province in northeastern Italy. This means that it was likely not applied in other areas. This is the first Roman law that mentions Christianity in relationship to Sunday. Notice that nearly fifty years after the first Sunday laws, Roman Emperors still did not use the term Lord’s day; this continues to show a lack of Roman Church influence.

One thing that we can learn from this law is that there must have been a significant number of Christians in Venetia who kept Sunday. Tax collections still took place on Sunday up until this law was issued. This law was repeated as CT:11.7.10.

We will continue this subject next week!

To read more about this subject, download our free booklet Sabbath and Sunday Laws in the Roman Empire by clicking HERE. 

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org

Sources Cited

Ayers, Joseph Cullen. A Source Book For Ancient Church History. New York. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1913. pp 284-285.

Cicero, On Law, 2.12(29). Translated by Clinton Walker Keyes. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1928. pp 406-407.

Codex Justinian, 3.12.2. Latin. Corpus Iuris Civilis. Krueger, Paulus, ed. Vol 2. Codex Iustinianus. Berlin, 1892. p 127.

Codex Theodosianus. English. Translated by Clyde Pharr. The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions. Princeton University, 1952. pp 44, 209.

Codex Theodosianus. Latin. Edited by Gustavus Haenel. Novellae Constitutiones Imperatorum Theodosii II., Valentinianii III., Maximi, Severi, Anthemii. Ad XLII Librorum Manuscriptorum Et Priorum Editionum Fidem Recognovit Et Annotatione Critica Instuxit. Lipsiensis, 1841-1842. Vol 2: pp 207, 754. Vol 3: pp 1070-71.

Encyclopedia Britannica. 11^th edition. Article: Mithras.

Lewis, Charlton T. A Latin Dictionary. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 1879. Entry: dudum.

Orellius, Johann Caspar. Inscriptionum Latinarum Selectarum Amplissima Collecto. Romanae Antiquitatis. Vol 1. 1828. p 140, no 508.

The First Holy Thing

By Kenneth Westby

“In the Holy Bible, what is the very first holy “thing” mentioned? Is it holy ground; holy altar; holy vessel; holy water; holy oil; holy people; holy temple; holy mountain; holy apple. No, the first holy thing mentioned is a day.

In the history of the world the first thing labeled “holy” is a day. Not any day, but one specific day in seven—the seventh. Isn’t it surprising that a specific segment of time is the first holy object? Why would a day be the first thing to receive the quality of divine holiness? Is there not some mystery in this?

Holiness is derivative. Biblically, there is only one source of holiness—God. Nothing in creation is inherently holy, but any part of it can, by God’s dictate, be made holy. He can set apart or sanctify a thing, a place, a people, a time as holy. The very first mention of holy in the entire Bible is at the presentation of the crowning capstone to the creation week.

 The climax to creation isn’t some final thing God “made”…it is what God himself did with his own life. The crowning glory of creation is what the Creator personally did…in full view of his creation…”

(this article is an excerpt from the Nov-Dec 1999 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 16, click this link: https://biblesabbath.org/tss/480/tss_480.pdf

Sabbath Meditation #31 – God With Us
By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God”…the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev. 21:1a, 3, 22:3b-4).

“22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 66:22-23).

“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).

The New Heavens and the New Earth are the final phase of God’s plan for humanity. That is where we will spend eternity with God and Christ. It is called the home of righteousness in 2 Peter 3:13. In Isaiah 66:22-23, we also learn that the Sabbath will still be observed – not by a remnant or a small group, but by everyone! Many wonderful promises await us there, such as those described in Rev. 21:4-6:

“4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 – I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”

In this present age, we rest from the weary world around us on the Sabbath. We must persevere through trials, heartaches, and sorrows, yet still learn how to rest in the Lord God Almighty. In the home of righteousness, the sorrow and pain that started in the Garden of Eden will no longer exist.

In the home of righteousness, our tears will be wiped away! We won’t need rest from weariness of work, healing from rejection, and defensiveness from satan’s wiles. We will not have to ponder the instabilities of the age that we live in now. We will not have concern about our family members not living the right way. Everyone in the New Heavens and New Earth will be our permanent family. At that time, people will no longer make poor decisions or operate selfishly.

There are benefits of the Sabbath that we will understand then which we could not understand now because we are presently limited in our knowledge of spiritual and physical things. “9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (I Cor. 13:9-10). There are also aspects of the Sabbath we will experience then that are available only for glorified beings.

In the New Heavens and the New Earth, God and Christ will be permanently dwelling with us. This means that we will not have to reach out to God and Christ merely in the Spirit by prayer or worship. We will no longer wonder where God is when we need Him; we will see His face. This means that our Sabbath observance will be much more intimate and fulfilling than it has ever been in our present age. They will be with us in the most personable, intimate way possible. In that future age, the physical and spiritual will be merged for the whole universe. We will have a peace and assurance that transcends anything we have ever experienced in this age.

I pray that these thoughts will spur you on to honor the Sabbath in this age as we look forward to its observance in the home of righteousness when God is with us!

Selah.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org

Just What Is a Woman’s Role in the Church?

by Royce Mitchell, Jr.

“Over the years, I have been consistently troubled by the seeming disparity in the way that women are “dealt with” as compared to how men are treated in “the Church.” This discrepancy seems to have come from a myopic interpretation of certain scriptures within the confining context of societal predispositions. I have admittedly been complacent on the issue—due to a lack of being directly affected—yet, when challenged on this, it became clear that the time was overdue to find out exactly what God has to say.

In order to gain a clearer view of God’s perspective as it relates to women in His Church, one must first look deeply into what God has placed within the authority of women. That is best done by first checking the Old Testament scriptures which relate to women. We should find the answers to the following questions as we search: “What can a woman do and not do?”, “What have women done under the approval of God?”, “Is a man the head of a woman, or is the husband head of the wife?”, “Why is the distinction of man and husband important?”, “When does a man become the head of a woman?”, “What does it mean to be the head?”, and “Does a woman ever have authority?”. Let’s begin at our beginning….”

(this article is an excerpt from the September—October 2000 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 16, click this link: https://biblesabbath.org/tss/485/tss_485.pdf

Sabbath Laws in the Roman Empire

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

Rome’s first significant contact with Jewish people came in the mid-second century BC after the victory of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes. During this time, the Romans formally ratified a treaty with the Jewish people and recognized their state, which was ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty.  After a civil war within this dynasty in the 60s BC, Rome took control of the Judean state and forced them to pay tribute. Jewish slaves were brought to Rome.

Biblical practices, such as keeping the Sabbath, also came with these slaves. Eventually a Jewish quarter was founded in the city. This led to a series of laws issued over hundreds of years to protect the right of the Jewish people to practice their faith.

In this article, we will examine laws that protected Sabbath observance in the Roman Empire. The earliest of these laws are recorded by Josephus. However, these protections are also referenced in later Roman laws.

 The time of Julius Caesar (approx. 46 BC) – Josephus, in his work Antiquities of the Jews, says that Julius Caesar was favorable towards Jewish people (idem, 14.10). He then gives a series of decrees issued by various cities that confirmed their rights to worship their God and keep the Sabbath. Among them are: Laodicea, Milesians, Halicarnassus, Sardians, and Ephesus (ibid, 14.10.20-25). Apparently, these cities were once hostile to Jewish practices.

Julius’ Caesar’s nephew, Octavian Augustus, became Roman Emperor about 31 BC. About 30 years into his reign, he issued a decree protecting Sabbath observance for Jewish people.

Edict of Augustus on Jewish Rights, approx. 1 BC – “2. “Cesar Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, and Tribune of the people ordains thus. Since the nation of the Jews has been found friendly to the Roman people, not only at this time, but in time past also, and especially Hyrcanus, the High Priest, under my father Cesar the Emperor, it has seemed good to me and my council, according to the wish and oath of the people of Rome, that the Jews should have liberty to follow their own customs, according to the law of their forefathers…and that they be not obliged to appear in court either on the Sabbath-day, or on the day of the preparation before it, after the ninth hour.…”  (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 16.6.2).

This law gave more formal protection to Jewish practices, specifically the Sabbath. By this time, the Jewish people labeled Friday “Preparation Day” to signify that they prepared for the Sabbath on that day. The Jewish people were free from legalities starting about 3 pm on Friday so that they could prepare to honor the Sabbath. Just over forty years later, the Emperor Claudius, issued a similar decree regarding Jewish religious practices.

“Tiberius Claudius Cesar, Augustus, Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, tribune of the people, chosen consul the second time, ordains as follows. Upon the petition of King Agrippa, and King Herod, who are persons very dear to me, that I would grant the same rights and privileges should be preserved to the Jews throughout all the Roman Empire, as I have granted to the Jews of Alexandria, I very willingly comply therewith, not only to gratify my petitioners, but also judging those Jews for whom I have been petitioned worthy of such a favour, on account of their fidelity and friendship to the Romans. I think it also very just that no Greek city should be deprived of such rights and privileges: since they were preserved to them under the great Augustus. It is therefore right to permit the Jews throughout all our Empire to keep their ancient customs without let or hindrance…” (ibid, 19.5.3).

The importance of these initial laws cannot be overlooked. Other primary sources from this time confirm that such protections for Jewish people existed. Seneca, who lived between 4 BC and 65 AD, said that the “…customs of that most accursed nation have gained such strength that they have been now received in all lands, the conquered have given laws to the conquerors….” (preserved by Augustine, The City of God, 6.11).

Tacitus, writing about 110 AD wrote: “…They are said to have devoted the seventh day to rest, because that day brought an end to their troubles. Later, finding idleness alluring, they gave up the seventh year as well to sloth. Others maintain that they do this in honour of Saturn…Whatever their origin, these rites are sanctioned by their antiquity…” (The Histories, 5.4-5).

Dio Cassius, a Roman historian who lived between 155-235 AD confirmed that Jewish religious practices were protected; he also mentioned the great numbers of Jewish people at that time. “…the country has been named Judea, and the people themselves Jews. I do not know how this title came to be given to them, but it applies also to all the rest of mankind, although of alien race, who affect their customs. This class exists even among the Romans, and though often repressed has increased to a very great extent and has won its way to the right of freedom in its observances” (Roman History, 37.16-17).

Constantine (313-337)
The next Emperor to protect Sabbath observance was Constantine (contrary to popular opinion). He continued the tradition began by other Emperors. In the correct translation of The Life of Constantine book 4, chapter 18, section 2, we learn that Constantine “…He therefore decreed that all those under Roman government should rest on the days named after the Saviour, and similarly that they should honour the days of the Sabbath…” (Cameron and Hall, p 159). To read more about We reviewed Constantine’s Sabbath protections click HERE.

Codex Theodosianus (438/439)
The Codex Theodosianus was a code of laws issued during the reign of Theodosius II about 438/439 AD. It was a compilation of Roman laws from 311 to 438 AD. In it, we find three laws pertaining to the Sabbath that were issued between 409 and 412. I have listed two of them below (one is repeated in two places).

CT: 2.8.26 – “…On the Sabbath Day called on all other days at the time when Jews observe the reverence of their own cult, We command that no one of them shall be compelled to do anything or be sued in any way, since it appears that the other days can suffice for fiscal advantages and for private litigation. (Etc.) – July 26, 409; 412.  (Pharr, p 45). This law is repeated in CT: 8.8.8 (Pharr, p 210).

CT: 16.8.20.1 – “…Moreover, since indeed ancient custom and practice have preserved for the aforesaid Jewish people the consecrated day of the Sabbath, We also decree that it shall be forbidden that any man of the aforesaid faith should be constrained by any summons on that day, under the pre-text of public or private business, since all the remaining time appears sufficient to satisfy the public laws, and since it is most worthy of the moderation of Our time that the privileges granted should not be violated although sufficient provision appears to have been made with reference to the aforesaid matter by general constitutions of earlier Emperors”** – July 26, 412 (Pharr, p 469; emphasis mine).

**This law referenced earlier “constitutions” (plural) made by other emperors (plural). This law and the statement which concludes it is further proof that previous emperors provided protections for Sabbath observance. At the very least this law refers to the decrees of Augustus, Claudius, and Constantine. There may have been other Emperors who protected the Sabbath.

Codex Justinius (520s/530s AD)
The Codex Justinius was composed by the command of the Emperor Justinian. In it, we find CT:  16.8.20 repeated as CJ: 1.9.13, which means that he continued the same protections as earlier Emperors.

Conclusion
The Sabbath was protected by Roman rulers as early as Julius Caesar. This custom was retained by other Emperors until at least the time of Justinian. While these laws specifically granted privileges to Jewish people, they were also extended to Christians as well. There are two ways to know this was the case.

First, since the late second century AD, many leaders in the Roman Church labeled the Sabbath a Jewish institution. They attempted to lump Sabbath keeping Christians and Jews together. For some examples of this practice, see the following sources: Tertullian, Against the Nations, 1.13, John Chrysostom, Eight Homilies Against the Jews and Comm. on Galatians 1:7; Epiphanius, Against All Heresies, 29.1-7, 69.63; Athanasius, Against Arianism, 3.29.55; Council of Laodicea canons 29, 37, 38; Augustine, Letter 36. Dio Cassius wrote that people from other nations were considered Jewish if they practiced things considered Jewish (Roman History, 37:16-17 – quoted above).

Secondly, Christian sources also confirm this finding. During the first four centuries after the time of Christ, most Christians still honored the Sabbath. CLICK HERE to read an article on this subject. Eusebius’ comment above about Constantine bolsters this point.

Next month, we will start a multi-part series on Sunday laws in the Roman Empire (CLICK HERE to read about Sunday laws). At the end of that two-part series, we will compare and contrast Sabbath and Sunday laws in the Roman Empire.  To read more about this subject, download our free booklet Sabbath and Sunday Laws in the Roman Empire by clicking HERE. 

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org

Sources Cited

Augustine. The City of God, 6:11. Schaff, Philip. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Vol 1. Buffalo: The Christian Literature Company, 1886. pp 120-121.

Codex Justinian, 3.12.2. Latin. Corpus Iuris Civilis. Krueger, Paulus, ed. Codex Iustinianus. Vol 1, pt 2. Berlin, 1892. p 91.

Codex Theodosianus. English. The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions. Translated by Clyde Pharr. Princeton University, 1952. pp 45, 210, 469.

Dio Cassius. Roman History. 37:16-17. Translated by Dr. Earnest Cary. Vol 3. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1914. p 127

Eusebius, The Life of Constantine, 4.18.2. Trans. By Averil Cameron and Stuart. G Hall. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999. p 159.

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.10, 16.6.2, 19.5.3. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by William Whitson. Revised by Rev. A. R. Shilleto. London: George Bell and Sons, York Street, Covent Garden, 1889. Vol. 2, pp 31-42, Vol. 3. pp 170-171, 365.

Tacitus. The Histories. Book 5, sections 4 and 5. Fyfe, W. Hamilton, trans. Tacitus: The Histories. vol 2. Oxford: 1912. pp 205-208.

Our True Roots

by Pastor Brian D. Jones, Ph.D.

“Have you ever looked up into the night sky and thought, Who am I? How did I get here? What are my roots and the purpose of my existence?

Noted American writer Alex Haley undertook the quest of tracking his ancestral roots, and traced them back as far as the mid-eighteenth century to the Ivory Coast of Africa. He brilliantly narrated this fascinating historical adventure in his classic work, Roots. But Haley could only find the outer branches of his ancestral tree. Who was his primal ancestor? Who is yours and mine?

Evolutionists since the days of Charles Darwin would have us believe that we are lucky descendants from the ape, which in turn evolved from more primitive forms of life that unexplainably modulated over generations from the first organic cell to creatures of increasing complexity and intelligence. However, science has never been able to rationally defend this theory. The chain of evolution consists of a series of missing links; the chain simply isn t there….”

(this article is an excerpt from the March—April 2001 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 6, click this link: https://biblesabbath.org/tss/488/tss_488.pdf

Finding Your 24/6 Rhythm in a 24/7 World

By Matthew Sleeth

In Sabbath-keeping we become more ourselves, not less. — Eugene Peterson

A decade ago, I was chief of staff at a hospital and director of emergency services. Taking care of sick people is good work, and I loved my job. Like many physicians, I was often called a workaholic. The label didn’t surprise me. For many years, I worked 24-hour shifts in the emergency room. Throughout the early years of my career, work identified both what I did and who I was.

This all-consuming passion for my work persisted until my early forties, when I read the Bible for the first time. That’s when I discovered God’s answer to our always-on, 24/7 culture of work, work, work.

The answer first appears in the opening pages of Genesis. God’s rhythm since the beginning of time has been 24/6 — six days on and one day off. When I began adopting that rhythm, my entire life changed for the better — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Weekly pause

What does the word Sabbath mean? It simply means “stop.” That’s all. The Hebrew people didn’t have names for the days of the week. There was one-day, two-day, three-day, four-day, fiveday, six-day, Stop Day. The fourth commandment says that we don’t work on Stop Day. We don’t make our sons work; we don’t make our daughters work; we don’t make anybody in our household work. We don’t make strangers work; we don’t make illegal aliens work; we don’t make minimum wage employees work. We don’t make anything work, including the cattle and the chicken and the sheep. We stop. We cool our jets. We just idle our engines on that day.

When my wife, Nancy, started teaching, she had a student named Clinton. His essay on the first day of class was three pages long. It didn’t have a comma; it didn’t have a period; it didn’t have a paragraph in it. It was a three-page, run-on sentence.

I don’t think God intended our lives to be like that paper — just one long, run-on sentence. The work of our life is meant to be punctuated by rest. Musicians talk about this. They say that it’s not the notes that make the song but the pauses in between the notes. This rhythm is equally true for our lives.

Grounded in Sabbath

The word holy first occurs in the second chapter of Genesis. The seventh day is blessed as holy because the Lord stopped and rested. Stopping and resting are the working definitions of holy. We are introduced to the creative aspects of God through the making of the heavens and the earth, but we learn about other qualities of God through the concepts of rest and stopping. These two concepts are not the same. Rest is done by stopping. By coming to a stop, we give rest a place to happen. We make rest possible.

But instead of resting, we move and move and don’t stop to know what we are walking on. We are ungrounded. No place means much of anything to us. When no place is our home, then the whole earth is reduced to a commodity. The most we can be is consumers.

The Sabbath commandments contained in the Old Testament set the worth of all things. The ground is allowed to rest every seventh year. The newborn calf cannot be taken immediately from its mother. The fruit tree has a right to exist in a time of war.

I do not advocate the throwing over of civil law in favor of Old Testament law, but I do believe in the inherent worth that God places in His creation. Often we see no worth in what the Lord created beyond its mere utilitarian value. We talk about forests as timber and flowers as bouquets. Yet when God placed the trees on the earth, He said that they are pleasing to the eye (Genesis 2:9). He dresses the lilies of the field more lavishly than a king (Matthew 6:28, 29). God’s soliloquy to Job is about the mystery and beauty that creation has beyond its usefulness to humanity

When we take Paul’s words to the Colossians to heart — “Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:16, 17) — we realize that the very ground we walk on and the air we breathe are the constant outpouring of God’s creativity and love.

Resting in rest

I have a memory from when my kids were younger that defines Sabbath rest for me. We lived in a house that had a big attic with a window on either side. The only thing in the attic was a hammock and a pull rope. The kids and I went in there one evening when it was too cold outdoors but was perfectly warm inside. As I lay on the hammock, my son, Clark, was on one shoulder, pulling on the rope, and my daughter Emma on the other. I read a book to them, and, at the end I put the book on the floor. In that quiet, while the swaying of our hammock slowed down, they both fell asleep.

I think that heaven is going to be a whole lot more like that moment than the typical Monday at work. When practiced regularly, Sabbath becomes a piece of heaven that can be taken with us into the other six days of the week.

What’s missing matters

Why in the last few decades has the church decided to throw out the fourth commandment? Why have we dismissed our day of rest? Which commandment are we going to throw out next?

Now Jesus isn’t a legalist. Instead, He’s about the intent behind the laws. So if the Ten Commandments say, “Don’t kill somebody,” Jesus says, “Don’t even call them a jerk.” If the Ten Commandments say, “Don’t commit adultery,” Jesus says, “Don’t even cruise the Internet looking for racy pictures.”

So what does Jesus have to say about the longest of the Ten Commandments — to keep a day of rest once a week? He clarifies that this is a day dedicated to God, so it’s OK to feed the hungry. It’s OK to take care of the sick. It’s OK to go and rescue an animal. But we’re still supposed to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”

The Bible is about people trying to have a relationship with God while existing in a fallen world. Yet in our twenty-first century culture, we’re not content to just live in a fallen world: We’re putting rocket boosters on our backs to accelerate our descent.

A day of rest counteracts this trajectory. It’s about restraint. And that restraint is needed now more than ever.

Be still. Know God.

For me, one of the most profound lines in the Bible comes from Psalms. God says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

As you prepare for your next Sabbath, try meditating on this scripture. Then take one word from the end of the line, each time you say it.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am.

Be still and know.

Be still.

Be.

Stop Day is when you’re no longer just a human doing; you’re a human being. Just be.

Sabbath for us

Sabbath doesn’t just happen. You have to prepare for it. The day before the Sabbath, my wife and I always clean the house. We pay bills, answer e-mails, go grocery shopping, and prepare food so that on the Sabbath we can truly rest.

Sabbath morning we almost always take a long walk. Nancy reads the Bible. I take a nap. We rest in rest. If there’s an important deadline approaching and it seems like we just have to get it done, we stop. We trust in God’s promise that six days of work each week is enough.

If you can’t imagine twenty-four hours of rest, start with four or six hours of holy rest. Stopping is about restraint. It’s not about doing everything that we can do. It’s about finding the peace of God that passes all understanding.

The Sabbath was not meant to be saved by humanity; rather, humanity was meant to be saved by the Sabbath. I know from firsthand experience. After practicing the Sabbath for almost a decade, I have seen how it has saved me from the disease of workaholism. It has saved countless numbers of my patients from the physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences of unremitting stress. If practiced regularly, the Sabbath can save you too.

can save you too. I pray that you remember to open this gift of stopping one day a week. I pray that you find peace in this weekly oasis of time. I pray that you will be still and that, through rest, you will come to know God. And it will be good.

Matthew Sleeth, MD, a former ER physician, is the executive director of Blessed Earth and author of 24/6: Prescription for a Happier, Healthier Life (Tyndale, November 2012). He lives in Lexington, KY, with his wife, Nancy, and two children. Scripture quotations were taken from the New Living Translation This article was originally printed in the January-February 2013 edition of the Bible Advocate (to read more, click the following link: BA-2013-1_January-February-Eng.pdf (baonline.org)

Sabbath Meditation #30 – The Great Reunion
By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

“Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings” (Lev 23:3).

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

One important detail we garner from Leviticus 23:3 is that the Sabbath is a holy convocation. The Hebrew word translated as convocation is miqra; it means a gathering or rehearsal. When we gather together on the Sabbath, we are also rehearsing for events that have yet to happen. One of those is the great reunion with each other that will happen at the first resurrection.

“16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:16-17).

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom. 8:17).

When Christ returns, the dead in Christ will rise first. Then, those who are still alive will be caught up. As Paul said in Romans, we will be glorified together. This is another reason why gathering together with other believers on Sabbath and learning to get along is so important. One day we will all be glorified together. This gathering together and glorification of all saints past and present is a future event that we rehearse on the Sabbath. It is a rehearsal for the great union!

As we keep the sabbath in an assembly now but there are those who have passed on the Lord. On the Sabbath, sometimes we remember their memories. We miss seeing them. When that great union occurs, we won’t miss them any longer! We will all be together then, which means our Sabbath experience will be even more fulfilling then than it is now. Imagine meeting not just those brothers and sisters from our past, but all the saints from the centuries! Imagine Jesus! Imagine meeting Paul, Peter, John, the other disciples, Timothy, Polycarp, Ulfilas, and the list goes on and on. The stories and history we will come to understand at the great reunion! – and at that time we will all be in our glorified bodies! Who will you look forward to seeing?

When that day comes, all the saints will be permanently together. We won’t have to miss someone whether it is for one Sabbath or for the rest of our lives.

This is why we should want to gather together even more as we see the return of Christ drawing closer. It means that we are even closer to that great reunion of all the saints to be together forever!

Selah.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org

Things You May not Know about Evolution

by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

“Because (God) hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world … by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

Recently I had the privilege of addressing a gathering of state legislators and other influential political individuals. These gifted men and women are typically highly educated, most having been taught evolution and an evolutionary worldview extensively and exclusively. Now, they have the power to establish educational guidelines and societal norms. Sponsors of the banquet requested a talk both informative and evangelistic. What can one say in 45 minutes to a gathering of influential leaders that will make a difference? I don’t pretend to know what would be best, but perhaps you would be interested in what I did say. My talk was entitled, “Three Things You May Not Know about the Theory of Evolution.” I was speaking only from notes, but a summary of the talk, with a few alterations, appears below.

Introduction

I started with definitions for clarity. There is much misunderstanding of important words today, and some purposefully misuse words to confuse students and hide their true intentions….”

(this article is an excerpt from the May–June 2002 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 6, click this link: https://biblesabbath.org/tss/495/tss_495.pdf