The Sabbath

Sunday, holy Sunday?

A. Jan Marcussen, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in Illinois, is starting with $50,000 of his own money if someone can produce "a verse from the Holy Bible showing that God commands us to keep holy the first day of the week" – Sunday – "instead of the seventh day" – Saturday – "as is commanded in the Bible."

He says the reward will increase in $25,000 increments each week for 40 consecutive weeks if no one sends him such a verse, with a final cap at $1 million.

"The $50,000 offer is to wake people up out of a stupor," Marcussen tells WorldNetDaily. "People wake up when there's money involved."

He has no chance of losing his money. The change from the 7th day Sabbath to the 1st day (Sunday) observance is not in the bible.

"Millions of people believe and have confidence in their clergy that what they're being taught is true," says Marcussen. "They'll find out that the clergy is not teaching from the Bible."

"The church always met on Sunday throughout the New Testament," says Rev. Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University in Virginia. " That's completely untrue! Saturday is clearly the Sabbath as is recorded many times in the Old Testament. And new! In Christian Church tradition, Sunday became 'the Lord's Day' when Jesus rose from the grave."

Falwell is among those who believe which day is chosen is not of great significance. "I don't think Saturday or Sunday are more sacred than other days," he says.

God begs to differ with Mr. Falwell:

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God created to make. Genesis 2:1-2

"It may be that Sunday was originally one of the [pagan] Roman festival days," explains Professor Efird at Duke, "but so were several others that the church adopted in its evolution, [for example:] Christmas."

So, logically, If Christmas and Easter are of pagan origin, that makes it OK for a pagan day to be observed in place of the Sabbath. Again, God says otherwise:

take heed to yourself that you do not become snared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not ask about their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods, that I too may do likewise?

You shall not do so to Jehovah your God. For every abomination to Jehovah, which He hates, they have done to their gods; even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods.

All the things I command you, be careful to do it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it. Deuteronomy 12:30-32

Why Keep Saturday For Sunday?