It should also be noted that in the "Official Statements" the Adventists have overlooked the fact that all the sources of information they cite openly support Sunday as the Day of the Lord and declare the abolition of the Sabbath on the cross of Calvary (Col 2:16-17). Adventists also turn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day (Mormons) and to Fulton Ousler, a little-known Catholic author, in a selection of various quotes in their support. Mormons are a non-Christian cult, a fact recognized by Adventists themselves, and Oursler, as a layman, can hardly express the position of "official Rome."

On page 13 of their work, Adventists inaccurately use one of the quotations and thereby mislead readers. The following is a direct quote from the "Authoritative Statements": "Sunday (dies-solis, in the Roman calendar is the day of the sun, since it is dedicated to the sun) was adopted by the first Christians as a day of worship. They interpreted the sun of Latin worship as the "sun of righteousness"... The New Testament does not describe the establishment of such a rule." (Schaff-Herzog, "Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge," 1891, vol. 4, article on Sunday)

Now let's see how the same passage is set out in the original source: "Sunday (dies-solis, in the Roman calendar is the day of the sun, since it is dedicated to the sun) was adopted by the first Christians as a day of worship. They interpreted the sun of Latin worship as the "sun of righteousness." SUNDAY IS THE PROPHETIC DAY OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION, JUST AS THE JEWISH SABBATH IS THE DAY OF THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. THIS DAY IS CALLED "THE DAY OF THE LORD" AND THE FIRST CHRISTIANS ON THIS DAY GATHERED TO BREAK BREAD IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE SAVIOR. (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). In the New Testament there is no description of the establishment of such a rule: ALTHOUGH THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW LEADS TO THE UNIVERSAL VENERATION OF THIS DAY. IN THE SECOND CENTURY, THIS VENERATION WAS ACTUALLY UNIVERSAL. (Sentences in capital letters have been omitted by the Adventist writers (p. 22). This distortion of the sources used is first found in The Present Truth, Volumes 1-9, published in 1880.

This use of primary sources is not unusual for Adventist writers dealing with such topics as the Sabbath, the Day of the Lord, etc., and we regret that these writers have resorted to such measures to prove "their rightness."

This work quotes from Martin Luther, despite the well-known fact that Luther was an ardent opponent of the Sabbath. His refutation of the position of his colleague "Subbotnik" Dr. Carlstadt is a monument to the "apologetic genius" of Luther. The use of quotations from Luther to support their position on the Sabbath shows that Adventists have little understanding of Martin Luther's theological teaching.

We recognize the theological boldness of our Adventist brethren in their views of the Sabbath, but this boldness is misused and can lead to a perverted understanding of the fourth commandment, and when a person believes and teaches that "the fourth commandment is the most important and fundamental," it is evident that this person does not fully understand the spirit of the law. The fourth volume of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia gives the reasons why the Christian church honors Sunday rather than the Sabbath and also clearly explains the Seventh-day Adventist position on the issue (pp. 2629-34).33

On page 2633, Adventists state, "According to historical records, the Sabbath is the seventh day honored in the early stages of the Christian church, and no other day was considered for the worship of God during the first two or three centuries of Christianity."

This statement summarizes the Adventist position in reading the Sabbath as the "Day of the Lord," which is refuted by all the major sources of Christian doctrine, as we will see later.

II. Basic Texts Against the Old Testament Sabbath Concept

Repeatedly in the pages of the New Testament words are quoted that are accusatory to those who wish to establish a particular day for the worship of God. In fact, since the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel and the early Christian church have regarded the first day of the week as (the Day of the Lord) (Rev. 1:10), as we have tried to show earlier. In addition to those passages of Holy Scripture that show the difference between the Day of the Lord and the Sabbath, the Apostle Paul (a Jew of the Jews and a Pharisee of the Pharisees), who is an authoritative New Testament author, declared that the Sabbath "as a law" was completed on the cross of Golgotha and no longer binds Christians (Col. 2:16-17). As this is a rather broad topic that it cannot be fully covered by this work, we may recommend that readers refer to numerous works on the subject, especially Dr. Louis Sperry Chafer's Grace and Norman C. Deck's The Lord's Day or the Sabbath, Which?. These publications contain invaluable material that refutes the Sabbath. Dudley M. Canwright in "Seventh-day Adventism Renounced" also reflects on this topic in detail and professionally.

In order to conduct a brief and illustrative study of this subject, let us turn to the main New Testament texts, which, in the light of their contextual and syntactic analysis, will refute the erroneous position of the Adventists and show us the true historical position of the Christian Church from the time of the Apostles and the time of the Holy Fathers.