Who in history changed the first day of the week from Saturday to Sunday?

Question

Today all the world considers Sunday to be the first day of the week, but before the third century AD it was the second day of the week. Who made it so and why? Was it the Romans who made Sunday the first day of the week to honor the sun-god Sol? If so, when and by whom? I need a real answer, not just some stupid comment or guess.

Answer 1

Interesting question. I have heard plenty of people wonder how and why the sacredness of the 7th day was changed to the 1st day of the week. However, I have never run across anybody who thought the 1st day of the week used to be called Saturday and that now it is called Sunday! It would be VERY interesting to me if you had elaborated a bit more as to where you got that idea! I would truly like to know…but you didn’t, unfortunately.



Hogie’s answer about there being an eight day week in Roman days was ALSO news to me! I try to be a digger for truth, so that lead me on a search where I found that, according to Wikipedia anyhow, there apparently WAS, at one time, in the Roman Empire…a “market week” of eight days, where the market day was called a nundia…hence a ‘nundian cycle‘ of eight days. I wouldn’t bet my last dollar that Wickipedia is 110% accurate on everything it posts…but since I’m NOT a historian by profession, let’s just say that they’re PROBABLY correct if we were to dig hard enough and deep enough. So that’s maybe where you got the idea of some kind of CHANGE that took place in the 3rd Century…since the Roman Empire was still alive and well in the 3rd Century.



Okay! So what??? Apparently you’ve read the Bible or you wouldn’t even be worrying about this. You sound sincere! You say you want a real answer…not just a stupid comment or guess. How about considering this: the SEVEN day week is part of the creation story in Genesis. We all know how God worked for six days creating the Earth and then how He rested on the seventh. BINGO! That would pre-date the Roman Empire of the 3rd Century…don’t you think? The seven day weekly cycle was in place long before anything the Romans did and it’s OUTLIVED THEM to this day! Hogie hit the nail on the head when he said “In the seven day week, there was never a change or shift in days. "Sun"day has always been associated with the first day of the week.



So I would respectfully point out that I think your original premise is flawed if you think the issue is that Sabbath used to be the 1st day of the week. What happened is: God called the 7th day Sabbath and He also declared it to be HOLY, and then somewhere, somehow people decided that the holy day of rest should be changed to Sunday or the 1st day. THAT’S what you need to investigate, my friend!

Since you say you’d like a REAL answer, you might want to check this site out:



http://www.sabbathtruth.com/



May God bless you as you search for truth!

Answer 2

One very obvious proof for some of which day is the Sabbath is that in more than one hundred languages, Saturday is still called the Sabbath in that particular language even to this very day. This dates back to Babel where God confused the languages (Genesis 11) where Saturday was known as the Sabbath day and was incorporated into the very name of the day. See who changed the Sabbath for a more detailed language table. The names of the days in English are pagan names but the majority of languages around the world identifies the Sabbath as Saturday.



Language............................. 7th Day Name.... Language................ 7th Day Name

Babylonian (3800 B.C.)........... Sa-ba-tu............. Italian (Italy)............. Sabbato

Hebrew (Ancient and Modern).. Shabbath........... French (France)........ Samedi

Greek................................... Sabbaton............ German (Germany).... Samstag

Latin (Italy)............................. Sabbatum........... Russian (Russia)...... Subbota

Spanish (Spain)...................... Sábado............... Polish...................... Sobota

Portuguese (Portugal)............. Sabbado............ English (Pagan names) Saturday



So from the language table above we know that the Sabbath is Saturday. But there are many that are unaware of this information and most importantly, say that the Bible does not identify which day is the Seventh day Sabbath but this is incorrect.



The Jews have also been counting of every seven days since before Christ and there is also no mention from Jesus that they had the wrong day. So the day the Jews still observe today also confirms Saturday is the Sabbath. The only way they could have lost the Seventh day is if the millions of Jews around the world slept through an entire day and no one ever told any of them. So the day Christ kept could never have been lost even if the Calendar was changed.



But then there are some argue that the Apostles changed the Sabbath to Sunday but only God can change His Ten Commandment law and no such instruction exists in scripture to say God told them to change the day, and if God had told them to, the Bible would be SCREAMING the change at us. Something as important as God's law does not change on assumptions such as, “That looks like a Sunday meeting so the Sabbath must have changed.” That is foolishness. Neither is there any scripture that says the Sabbath is Sunday in honour of the resurrection. If scripture does not say so, then it is not so!



Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2 and John 20:19 are the three verses used to argue the Sabbath being Sunday that can be revealed to be nothing more than dishonest attempts to prove a lie. None of these scriptures are even taking place in the Church where in fact every single scripture showing anyone in the Church are all on the Sabbath day only (more than a dozen) unlike these three abused scriptures that are not. If the Sabbath really was changed to Sunday, then there would be no shortage of scriptures showing someone in the Church on Sunday but there is not one single scripture. Why? Because it never was changed. And not forgetting that we are also told there would be no change to the law and the fourth Commandment is the biggest of all Commandments. (Matthew 5:18, Luke 16:17) And why did God write so much on this one Commandment that is a required physical day of rest that Christ alone cannot give and special one on one time with our Creator? See also is Jesus our Sabbath rest?



Acts 20:7 is in fact a Saturday meeting that ran late and through the night because Paul was departing the next day. 1 Corinthians 16:2 is an instruction to lay goods aside at home, which you would not do on the Sabbath, so would no doubt be done the day after being the first day of the week which is Sunday. And John 20:19 is the disciples hiding in fear of the Jews and they did not even believe that Christ had risen and hence this is the most obvious abuse of scripture that should make the wise realize these scriptures are deliberate attempts at hiding the truth.

Answer 3

There is solid historical evidence that there was indeed a 7 day week, in which Saturday was the first day.

I have been able to follow this back to the time of the greeks,.



the earliest solid evidence comes from the Canopic Calendar. While the decree is dated to 238bc, this relates to the year in which an extra day was inserted, the origins of the leap year of the roman calendar.



however, if you take the calendar back 3 years, to what would be the start of the leap year cycle,

you will find that the first day of the first month of the first year, would fall on a Saturday



and this start point in 41bc, is also the start point of a 28 year cycle of the canopic calendar



there is evidence of a similar application of the greek 7 day week and leap year cycle at the introduction of the Alexandrian calendar in 30bc, or at least a later revision of this calendar



and this Alexandrian calendar is the first implementation of the 7 day week by the romans



this 7 day week, in which the first day of the week is Saturday, is commonly called the planetary week



there are existing calendar fragments from the time of augustus ceasar, that shows that during the reign of augustus, the new 7 day planetary week, was operated side by side with the old traditional 8 day roman market week



the change made by Constantine in 321ad, was to actually pass a law which changed the time cycle of the roman market, from being every 8th day, to being every 7th day

instead of being on the first day of the 8 day cycle, it was changed to be on the first day of the 7 day planetary week



but Constantine also made changes to the 7 day planetary week

so that the first day of this cycle of time, was to be sunday, instead of Saturday

Answer 4

I would just like to say "Does it truly matter"? Christ changed old covenants and changed some laws like divorce and things about what a man eats and sacrifice.. So I think the most important thing is that you worship everyday and gather with other believers to worship and give praise.. Why does it really matter which day. Is anyone going to be condemned for this? So why make a big deal about it.. I truly don't feel that any religion does it all correct. Like eating meat, you must take the entire Bible not just pick a verse and run with it..

Thank You I am now going to worship God on this Thursday and I will be doing it during bowling.. Yes you can worship anytime anywhere.....

Answer 5

Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.2 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.3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.



Sunday was changed by the catholic church, this is the mark of the beast. For -

1 John 2:7 KJV

Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.









Matthew 5:18 KJV

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.







Saturday was never the first day of the week. Look here - Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.



That word is remember, saturday has never changed from being the seventh day- the sabbath.

Answer 6

1) Today all the world considers Sunday to be the first day of the week, but before the third century AD it was the second day of the week.



In the Bible - that is, for Jewish people - Sunday has always been the first day, and it is recorded so in the New Testament of the Bible as well. I'm not sure where it was (before the 3rd century) that Saturday was considered the first day of the week (you didn't bother telling us) - but certainly before the 3rd century Saturday was not considered the first day of the week throughout the World!!! Certainly the Jewish people even before the 3rd century considered Sunday to be the first day of the week (more precisely: sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday).



So: in what **specific culture** was Saturday considered the first day of the week? Tell us that and we might be able to answer this question.



- Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

Answer 7

The change went in stages. See answer from Christian. The Catholic Church did the final deed.



Does the Bible support the change to Sunday?

“Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” — James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 edition), p. 72-73 (16th Edition, p 111; 88th Edition, p. 89).



“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” — Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, article “To Tell You the Truth.”



Who Made Sunday Holy?

“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The day of the Lord' was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the (Catholic) Church's sense of its own power…People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy.” — St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.



“Question - Which is the Sabbath day?

“Answer - Saturday is the Sabbath day.

“Question - Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?

“Answer - We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” — Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.



Whose Day of Worship is Sunday?

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” — Priest Brady, in an address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.



“They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason…The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the divine law of Sabbath observance…The author of the Sunday law…is the Catholic Church.” — Ecclesiastical Review, February 1914.



Who Do We Reverence by Keeping Sunday Holy?

“It was the Catholic church which…has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the (Catholic) church.” — Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p. 213.

Answer 8

Technically, the months are ordered {and would still be ordered in such a manner} for the day to fall on any day as the beginning. For peoples are born on these days...



Many who are last will be called 'first', and the Greatest in The Kingdom is the 'least'. For instance, when did Abraham appear among History by Human dating methods?



1335 + 450 BC + 40 ?



18 25 ?



Thus, the 'Judean' peoples among nations begin when?



And also, 1825 + 175 Abraham = 2000.



14 Jacob.



So then, 175 + 175 + 100 = 450 Paul.



490 - 450 = 40 Moses.

Answer 9

God worked for six days then rested on the seventh, the Sabbath. The Sabbath is Saturday. Ergo, Sunday is the first day of the week.

Answer 10

The traditional Jewish calendars were around way before the birth of a single Roman, lol.

Answer 11

God rested on the seventh day from all his work we think it is Saturday Christians meet on Sunday the first day of the week to worship ans have communion Acts 20;7 Genesis 2;1 the Romans had nothing to do with it God call saturday the sabbath day of rest for the Jews only it is the old law Exodus 20;10,11 Exodus 16;23-26 a day of rest for israel because it was a day of rest for God

Answer 12

if you type "days of the week" in your search bar sites come up. pick the wykipedia site. it tells the history of how the days were named and changed from an 8 to a 7 day week. it's a little extensive. better you read it for yourself than trying to explain it to you here.

Answer 13

Constantine

Answer 14

Saturday is Saturn's Day , it belongs to the God ' Saturn ' Sunday was put aside to worship the Sun. For some reason , I have always felt that Sunday was the last day of the week. Monday ' The Moon's day ' was the first day of the week starting back to work and all.Let's all get together , and make that the law of the land

Answer 15

The issue during the time frame you cite is that there were two systems in the Roman world; an 8 day week and a seven day week. About that time, they abandoned the 8 day week, which contained their day dedicated to the sun.



In the seven day week, there was never a change or shift in days. "Sun"day has always been associated with the first day of the week.



.

Answer 16

Ultimately, it was Satan.



There can be no doubt Satan would and did attack the law of God.



He used persecution for Judaism and Constantine and the Catholic Church and more. http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/did_constantine_change_sabbath.html

Answer 17

No. That is the day that Christ rose from the grave. On the third day. He died and was buried on Friday and rose on Sunday. That is why.Dont be concerned with the worldly view, be more concerned that because of Christ we no longer have to be concerned with times and days for we are to celebrate Christ everyday of the week

Answer 18

"Today all the world considers Sunday to be the first day of the week,"

Get out of Texas, Johnnyboy.

Answer 19

Many calendars begin the week on Monday, so I refute your initial statement.

Answer 20

You mean 7th day.



http://www.coghomeschool.org/site/cog_archives/booklets/HAS%20TIME%20BEEN%20LOST.htm

Answer 21

I did.



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