AI Bot Understands the Sabbath Better than Many Christians…

He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention will be to change times established by law.
The holy ones will be delivered into his hand
for a time, times, and half a time.

Daniel 7:25 (NET 2nd ed.)

I decided to enter the world of artificial intelligence and recently created a ChatGPT account. I thought that I would ask it why Christianity switched its special day to Sunday from the Biblical Sabbath day that Jesus and his followers observed according to the Creator’s instructions.

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 (NET 2nd ed.): ¹² “Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³ You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. ¹⁵ Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

As it turns out, ChatGPT has a good understanding of why Christians no longer set aside one day each week to rest from their work as the Father intended.

When and Why Did Christians Stop Celebrating the Sabbath?

ChatGPT: The shift from Sabbath (Saturday) worship to Sunday worship in Christianity was a gradual process influenced by biblical interpretations, early church traditions, Roman politics, and pagan sun worship. While some Jewish Christians initially observed both Sabbath and Sunday, by the 4th century, Sunday had become the official day of Christian worship, largely due to the influence of Emperor Constantine and the assimilation of Roman sun worship practices.

It then continued with some interesting observations that I mostly agree with.

ChatGPT:

1. The Earliest Christians: Sabbath and Sunday Worship (1st–2nd Century AD)

A. Jewish Christians Kept the Sabbath

• The first followers of Jesus were Jewish, and they continued to observe the Sabbath (Saturday) as required by the Law of Moses (Exodus 20:8-11).
• However, after Jesus’ resurrection, Sunday (the first day of the week) gained importance because:
  • Jesus rose on Sunday (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1).
  • Early Christians gathered on Sundays to break bread and worship (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2).
• Many Jewish Christians observed both Sabbath and Sunday until they were gradually separated from mainstream Judaism.

B. Gentile Converts Did Not Emphasize the Sabbath

• As Christianity spread beyond Jewish communities, Gentile (non-Jewish) converts did not see Sabbath observance as necessary.
• The Apostle Paul taught that keeping the Sabbath was not required for salvation:
  • “Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come.” (Colossians 2:16-17)
  • “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5)
• This freedom from the Jewish law allowed Sunday worship to gradually take precedence over Sabbath observance.

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2. The Decline of Sabbath Observance (2nd–4th Century AD)

A. Church Fathers Promoted Sunday Worship

By the 2nd century, some Christian leaders began discouraging Sabbath observance:

• Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110 AD) wrote:”Those who lived according to the old order have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but living in observance of the Lord’s Day.”
• Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD) argued that Sunday was superior to the Sabbath because Jesus fulfilled the Law:”We too would observe the fleshly circumcision and the Sabbath if we did not know why they were instituted… but we do not because we have received a new law.”

B. Anti-Jewish Sentiment and the Roman Persecution of Jews

• After the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 AD), the Roman Empire heavily persecuted Jews.
• Many Christians distanced themselves from Jewish customs, including Sabbath-keeping, to avoid persecution.

C. Sunday Becomes the Primary Christian Day of Worship

• By the late 2nd and 3rd centuries, Sunday was widely regarded as the “Lord’s Day”, commemorating Jesus’ resurrection.
• Tertullian (c. 200 AD) wrote that Christians should avoid fasting or kneeling on Sundays because it was a day of celebration.
• Some Christians still observed the Sabbath alongside Sunday worship, but this practice faded over time.

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It’s interesting how AI follows the Church’s interpretation of Paul when he is actually talking about pagan holy days in his letter to the Colossians. If one reads the historical background of that letter, Gentile Christians were being persuaded by the government to go back to observing the feast days of the other gods.

ChatGTP also recognizes the connection between Christianity, sun worship and Sol Invictus.

ChatGPT continues:

3. Constantine’s Role in Replacing the Sabbath with Sunday (4th Century AD)

A. Constantine’s Sunday Law (321 AD)

The decisive shift came in 321 AD when Emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday the official day of rest:

“On the venerable day of the Sun, let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.”

• This law legally recognized Sunday as a day of rest, reinforcing its role as the primary day of worship.
• Although Constantine converted to Christianity, he still used language that honored the sun god (Sol Invictus)—showing a blending of Christian and pagan traditions.

B. Influence of Roman Sun Worship (Sol Invictus and Mithraism)

• Sol Invictus (“The Unconquered Sun”) was the chief deity of the Roman Empire before Christianity became dominant.
• Sunday (“dies solis”) was already considered sacred in Roman Mithraism, a mystery religion popular among soldiers.
• Constantine, before fully embracing Christianity, continued to honor the sun god on his coins and monuments.
• By merging Sunday worship with the existing veneration of the sun, Constantine made Christianity more acceptable to pagans, easing their transition into the new state religion.

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4. The Church’s Official Rejection of the Sabbath (4th–5th Century AD)

A. The Council of Laodicea (363–364 AD)

The Church officially condemned Sabbath observance and commanded Christians to honor Sunday instead:

“Christians must not ‘Judaize’ by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day and honor rather the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, rest then as Christians.”

B. Augustine and the Theological Justification for Sunday Worship

• Augustine (354–430 AD) argued that the Sabbath was a symbolic law fulfilled by Christ, making Sunday worship a spiritual replacement.
• The idea spread that Sunday was the “Christian Sabbath”, though it did not have the same legalistic restrictions as the Jewish Sabbath.

C. By the Middle Ages, Sabbath-keeping was Nearly Eradicated

• By the 6th century, almost all of Christendom observed Sunday exclusively.
• Only a few groups, such as the Ethiopian Christians and later the Seventh-Day Sabbatarians, retained Saturday observance.

Sabbath keeping had to be systematically “eradicated”, and it took 500 years to get Christians to stop observing the Sabbath as Jesus and his followers observed it. Rome had to make laws against keeping the Sabbath, and the Church developed various theological arguments to move to the “day of the sun” to better align with the sun worshippers. This information is all coming from an AI bot. Interesting!

Luke 4:16 (NET 2nd ed.): ¹⁶ Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read…

Be like Jesus and make it your custom to do the will of his Father, that is following His instructions by resting on the Sabbath! It will make your life much better.

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash