|
``Where the
Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be; |
|
|
If you are of
the opinion that the Catholic Church ruthlessly, without
warrant, and in violation of God's law, played with the Decalogue and
instituted Sunday as the day of worship, you are, in fact, admitting
that the VERY earliest Christians were, indeed, Catholic. St. Ignatius, friend of the Apostle Peter and apppointed by him as the Bishop of Antioch, wrote in his first century Epistle to the Magnesians:
From the first century Didache, Chapter 14, "Christian Assembly on the Lord's Day":
Letter of Barnabas 15:6-8, written in A.D. 74, at the end of a few paragraphs on the old Jewish Shabat vs. the Christian Lord's Day, wrote: "We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead." And what about
Justin Martyr, a Palestinian (born around the year A.D. 100) who
converted to Christianity in about A.D.130 and was martyred in A.D. 165
.? He wrote: "On the day called the Feast of the Sun, all who live in
towns or in the country assemble in one place, and the memoirs of the
Apostles or the writings of the Prophets are read as time permits.
Then, when the reader has ended, the President instructs and encourages
the people to practice the truths contained in the Scripture lections.
Thereafter, we all stand up and offer prayers together ... Our prayers
being ended, we salute one another with a kiss. Then bread, and a cup
of wine mixed with water, are brought to him who presides over the
brethren. He, taking them, offers praise and glory to the Father of all
through the Name of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and giving thanks at
great length for that we have been counted worthy to receive these
gifts from God; and when he finishes the prayers and thanksgivings all
the people present cry aloud, Amen ... After the President [the
presiding priest] has given thanks and all the people have said Amen,
those among us who are called deacons give to all present ... the bread
and wine mixed with water over which thanks has been given, and carry
it also to those who are absent. And this food is called Eucharist by
us, of which it is not right for any one to partake save only he who
believes that the things taught by us are true, and is washed with the
washing that is for the forgiveness of sins and regeneration, and so
lives as Christ commanded us."
We celebrate the
Lord's Day, the day when Jesus Christ walked out of His tomb and the
fruits of fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies were made clear.
Relevant Scripture Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. [and when was it fulfilled? John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.]Mark 2:24-28 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. 1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days Revelation
1:10
Further ReadingSunday, the Sabbath, and the Mark of the Beast
|