In the Old Testament, one can find not just two, but at least a dozen different laws, if not more:

1. The moral law;
2. The ceremonial law;
3. The judicial law;
4. The duties of the priesthood;
5. The family law;
6. The civil law;
7. The law concerning feasts;
8. The land law;
9. The law concerning women;
10. The law concerning diseases, and so on.

For studying the Bible, such classifications may be useful, but for actual observance, they are useless. No matter how many categories one divides the law into, all of them are stated to be unconditionally binding. They are declared eternal: not only the Ten Commandments but also circumcision (Genesis 17:7), the Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, and other holidays (Leviticus 16:31; 23:21, 31, 41). Sacrifices and the entirety of the Law are also declared binding under a curse for anyone who does not observe them (Deuteronomy 27:26).

On the one hand, we see this, but on the other, the Apostle Paul considers the entire Mosaic Law to be abolished—or rather, replaced by the New Testament and faith in Christ. He makes no exception for the Ten Commandments or for what you call the “moral law.” He declares that the Law has died for us, and we are freed from it just as a wife is freed from her marital obligations upon the death of her husband and is free to marry another. Likewise, with the death of the Old Law, we have accepted the New—the faith in Christ, the grace of God, the New Testament. And this replaces the Law for us (Romans 7:1–6).

The Adventist objected: “But the Ten Commandments are not subject to either abolition or modification. Therefore, the Apostle Paul could not have been referring to the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment when he called it a shadow.”

I asked, “And if someone were to modify any of these commandments, even to improve them, what would be the consequence?”

“He would not partake of the tree of life,” the Adventist replied.

I continued: “Yet Christ Himself modified the Sixth and Seventh Commandments, refining them—even though they seemed to require no refinement. He said:

‘Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time (on the tablets): “Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.” But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, “Raca” (empty-headed), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, “Thou fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire…

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart’ (Matthew 5:21–28).”

“So according to you,” I replied, “Christ Himself will not partake of the tree of life, will not inherit eternal life or the Kingdom of Heaven? Because He modified some of the Ten Commandments.

But that is not all. He placed the Ten Commandments on the same level as judicial laws, or, in your words, as part of the ceremonial law. After revising these commandments, He immediately proceeded to revise the laws on marriage, oaths, and retribution—‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ (Matthew 5:31–40). And as for the commandment about the Sabbath, He explicitly commanded its violation, instructing the man healed at the pool to perform ordinary weekday labor on the Sabbath, as well as in other cases, as we have already discussed.

For this reason, the Apostle Paul had every justification to treat the Sabbath in the same way as all the other Jewish festivals, calling them all a shadow—things that no longer exist and are unnecessary.”

The Adventist said, “You keep interpreting that the entire Old Law has been abolished, including the Ten Commandments. But Christ, on the contrary, confirms the Law of the Prophets and the commandments. He explicitly said:

‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 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. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:17–19).

Therefore, the commandment regarding the Sabbath must also be observed. What do you say to this?”

I replied, “Christ indeed came not to violate or transgress anything in the Old Law, and He did not transgress it. He received circumcision, He ate unleavened bread, He went to Jerusalem for the festivals. And as for the Ten Commandments, there is no question—He fulfilled everything that the Old Testament Law required. But that does not mean that we Christians are likewise obligated to literally observe the entire Old Testament.

Neither should we take literally that ’not one jot or one tittle’ of the Law should remain unfulfilled, and that anyone who breaks even a minor commandment of the Old Law is guilty. Otherwise, taken literally, even the Savior Himself would be guilty, since He altered some commandments. We would also have to condemn the Apostle Paul, who repeatedly stated that the Old Law is not binding for Christians.

If we were to follow this literal interpretation, then circumcision would still be required, only unleavened bread would be permitted for Passover, all Jewish festivals—including the Sabbath—would have to be observed, blood sacrifices would have to be offered, and so on.

But Christ’s words must not be understood literally. Rather, they mean that the entire Old Testament, with all its statutes and commandments, was merely a shadow or a foreshadowing of the coming New Testament, in which we now live. In it, they are fulfilled in their true form.

For example, in the Old Testament, there was a Temple divided into three parts; and in our churches in the New Testament, we also have three parts—corresponding to the Holy of Holies, we have the altar, while the remaining two sections are for the people.

In the Old Testament, the priesthood was according to the order of Aaron, structured in three hierarchical ranks: high priest, priests, and Levites. In the New Testament, the priesthood follows the order of Melchizedek and also consists of three ranks: bishop, priests, and deacons.

Then, lambs, calves, and other animals were sacrificed to God; now, an unbloody sacrifice is offered in the form of bread and wine—the Body and Blood of Christ. Then, bloody sacrifices could only be offered in Jerusalem; now, the unbloody sacrifice is offered all over the world.

In the Old Testament, there were cherubim before whom people prayed; in the New Testament, we have images of Christ God and His saints. In the Old Testament, there was circumcision; in the New Testament, there is baptism. In the Old Testament, anointing with oil was performed only for priests and kings; in the New Testament, all Christians are anointed, for the Savior has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.

In the Old Testament, there was the Sabbath; in the New Testament, there is the Resurrection. In the Old Testament, it was said: ‘Thou shalt not kill’; in the New Testament, even anger is forbidden. In the Old Testament, it was said: ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’; in the New Testament, even looking at a woman with lust is condemned—and so on and so forth.

These comparisons could go on endlessly. To put it briefly: by fulfilling the entire New Testament, by observing all the Church’s ordinances, we fulfill the entire Old Testament, which was a foreshadowing of the New.

Most importantly, we must fulfill it through love for God and neighbor. For in these two commandments, the entire Law and the Prophets are contained, as the Savior Himself said. And the Apostle John confirms, ‘He that loveth God and his neighbor hath fulfilled the whole law.’

The relationship between the Old and New Testaments can be illustrated with a simple analogy. Imagine a tree—an apple tree. The root and trunk represent the Old Testament, while the leaves and fruit represent the New. It is the apples that are to be eaten.

But if someone were to eat the roots instead of the apples, he would only harm his health. Likewise, one who clings to the Old Testament law harms his own soul.

On the other hand, if someone were to claim that the roots of the apple tree are unnecessary and that we only need the pure and tasty apples, and he were to start exposing and destroying the roots, he would be committing a great offense—he would destroy the entire tree and its fruits along with it.

The New Testament is nourished by the Old, just as fruit is nourished by the roots. But this does not mean that we should live by the Old Testament—should feed on the roots. The entire meaning of the apple tree is found in its fruit. The entire meaning of the Old Testament is found in the New. By fulfilling the latter, we also fulfill the former.”

This is how one must understand the saying of the Savior—that not one jot of the Law will remain unfulfilled and that not even the smallest commandment should be broken. Not in the literal way that you interpret it, claiming that everything said in the Old Law about the Sabbath must be observed literally, regardless of circumstances. Your interpretation is all the more incorrect and unconvincing because even you do not observe all the commandments of God regarding the Sabbath."

“What do you mean we do not observe them?” the Adventist protested. “Whoever does not keep everything that is written in the Law concerning the Sabbath will perish forever. That is why Adventists observe literally everything that God commanded about the Sabbath.”

I pointed out, “God commanded that anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death. And Adventists do not observe this—they do not kill those who work on the Sabbath. If they refrain from doing so out of fear of government authorities, then it means they fear men more than they fear God.

Yet they constantly repeat to others about the inconvenience of keeping the Sabbath, saying, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ In reality, they prove to be more men-pleasers than God-pleasers. In other words, they are hypocrites—keeping the Law of the Sabbath only halfway, or perhaps even less, while violating it just as much or more.

That God truly commanded that anyone who performs any kind of work on the Sabbath should be put to death is written in the book of Exodus:

‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying… Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant…’ (Exodus 31:1–16).

The Israelites strictly observed this. Was it really such a great labor to gather sticks (or rather, fuel) in the wilderness? He was not cutting, sawing, or splitting wood—only gathering it. But when a man was found doing this on the Sabbath,

‘The Lord said unto Moses, The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him outside the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the Lord commanded Moses’ (Numbers 15:32–36).

Yet Adventists do not do this; they do not kill people for working on the Sabbath, contrary to God’s command and in violation of the eternal covenant.

Perhaps, however, they would kill, but power is not yet in their hands. When they do gain power, then they might well start executing all Sabbath violators. Therefore, anyone who values his own life and the safety of his loved ones must take care not to allow Adventists to gain power—not to elect them to parliament or any other public office.

Anything can be expected from these fanatical Sabbatarians, sworn enemies of the Resurrection, who fiercely hate everyone who celebrates this holy day and consider them followers of the Antichrist, bearing his mark and worshiping his image.”

To all this, the Adventist replied, “None of your words or arguments have any convincing power for me. The Sabbath must be observed in the New Testament just as it was in the Old. According to God’s promise, the saints will celebrate the Lord’s Sabbath—the day of eternal remembrance of the creation of the world—and on that day, they will especially worship God on the new earth. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we read:

‘And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord’ (Isaiah 66:23).

What do you say to this?”

I answered, “But even you do not fulfill this prophecy. In the Old Testament, not only the weekly Sabbath was celebrated, but also the monthly festival, which was called the new moon (новомесячие). In the very passage you cited, both festivals are mentioned equally: ‘from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another.’

If, on this basis, you observe the weekly Sabbath, then you must also observe the monthly new moon festival. And if you do not observe the monthly festival, then you have no right to observe the weekly one. That is the logical outcome if one were to interpret your cited prophecy literally.

But to understand it literally is impossible, for it would result in complete absurdity. Can one take literally the preceding verse in this prophecy, which says:

‘And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord’ (Isaiah 66:20).

Has this ever happened or will it ever happen? Of course not. If it were to be taken literally, then Isaiah would either be speaking falsely or must be understood not literally but figuratively—as a symbolic expression. That is, the passage does not mean that people will be brought in chariots, on mules, or other animals to present offerings in present-day earthly Jerusalem, but rather that a countless multitude of Gentiles will convert to Christianity.

Likewise, the phrase ‘from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another’ must be understood to mean that all believers will continually turn to God in prayer—not that they will observe the Old Testament Jewish new moons and Sabbaths, which the Apostle Paul called a shadow, and which Jesus Christ Himself simply abolished by commanding the man healed at the pool to perform ordinary weekday labor on the Sabbath.”

11. #

It is now necessary to explain why the Sabbath does not need to be observed in the New Testament and why Sunday should be celebrated instead.

First of all, one must ask: why was the Sabbath observed in the Old Testament?

It was observed because God, after six days of creation, rested on the seventh day from all His works. This is stated in the book of Genesis (2:7) and in Exodus (20:11). That is why the seventh day of the week was called the “Sabbath,” which in Russian means “rest” or “repose.”

If God had not rested on the seventh day from His works but had continued creating, then there would have been no reason to observe it as a holy day. And in fact, it later came to pass that the Lord God did work on the seventh day of the week, on the Sabbath. Because of this, the Sabbath lost its significance as a day of rest or a festival for us and became an ordinary working day like all the other days of the week."

“When, then, and what kind of work did God do on the Sabbath?” asked the Adventist.

I replied, “Due to the well-known transgression of our forefather, all his descendants, after death, descended into Hades—both the sinful and the righteous. Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham, David, Isaiah, and all others, upon dying, were confined in the prisons of Hades. They were, as it were, captives of the devil.

Then the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save the human race from the power of the devil, was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, lived among men as a man, taught righteousness, worked miracles, and finally was crucified on the Cross and died on Friday before evening. With His soul, or spirit, He descended into the underworld, into the prison of Hades. And there, throughout the entire Sabbath day, He worked—freeing from the captivity of Hades the souls of all the dead who had awaited His coming with faith and received His proclamation that He was the Savior of the world and had come to save them.”

The Adventist asked, “How can you prove that Christ, after His death, descended into Hades?”

I answered, “The holy Apostle Peter writes:

‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing…’ (1 Peter 3:18–20).”

“In what prison were the spirits of those who had once been disobedient to God’s longsuffering in the days of the righteous Noah?” my interlocutor asked.

“Obviously, not in a material, earthly prison, but in the immaterial prison of Hades. And if Christ descended to preach to them, then certainly He also descended to all the other souls or spirits of the dead.”

“But why, then, did the Apostle Peter not say that Christ descended to all spirits, but only mentioned those from the time of Noah?” my interlocutor asked.

“From the context of the passage I quoted,” I replied, “it is evident that the Apostle Peter mentioned the spirits in prison from the time of Noah only in passing, which shows that Christians at that time had no doubt that Christ had descended into Hades to all the spirits of the dead.

As is apparent, some people doubted, and perhaps even argued, about whether Christ had descended to the spirits of the disobedient from Noah’s time. The Apostle resolves this doubt by saying that He did indeed descend to preach to them as well.

If even ordinary people do nothing without reason or purpose, then how much more so does God act with purpose. What, then, is the significance of the fact that Christ did not die on Sunday, or on Thursday, or on any other day, but precisely on Friday evening, and remained dead throughout the Sabbath—not on Wednesday or Monday? This all happened even against the wishes of His enemies, who wanted to kill Him, but not during the feast of Passover, which fell on the Sabbath, but after it.

The reason is that the Jews then sacrificed the Passover lamb on Friday, which was a foreshadowing of Christ. Thus, the Sabbath itself remained the only day in which God did not work but rested from all His works.”

But mankind, through their sins, caused God to do His work on this day for their salvation. On this day, He descended into Hades and led out the souls or spirits of the departed, bringing them into paradise. Having completed this work, He rose from the dead. After this, the Sabbath ceased to be a day of rest for God, and consequently, for us as well—it became an ordinary working day, just like all the other days of the week.

12. #

What happened on earth during this truly great Sabbath?

Something extraordinary and astounding took place among the people who had any connection to Jesus Christ. Annas and Caiaphas, along with all their Sadducees, the Pharisees, the scribes, and in general all the enemies of Christ, were celebrating a complete victory. At last, their one and only dangerous adversary—Jesus of Nazareth—was destroyed. He, who had continually pricked their eyes and conscience, who had drawn the people to Himself through His miraculous healings, who had preached some kind of heavenly kingdom, thereby hindering their plans to incite a national revolution to overthrow the hated yoke of Roman rule—He was now gone. He had stood in their way of restoring the Jewish kingdom in all its glory, greater than it had been under Solomon and David, where all nations would be subject to the Jews, and all people would serve them.

And how was this adversary, Jesus of Nazareth, eliminated? He was destroyed forever, and in the most shameful manner imaginable. And how quickly, unexpectedly, and easily it had all come about! In just half a day, Jesus’ entire mission was undone: within half a day, He was arrested, condemned, and crucified. Every circumstance had aligned in their favor and against Christ. Even one of His own disciples, Judas Iscariot, had become His betrayer, rendering them an invaluable service. His other disciples had scattered. How could they not celebrate and rejoice? They were beside themselves with happiness, congratulating one another on such a well-executed affair. They rubbed their hands in satisfaction, leaped for joy, made jokes, laughed, and roared with laughter. Never before had they celebrated a Sabbath as they did this one. Words cannot describe the triumph and merriment of Christ’s enemies on that day.

Meanwhile, the mood among Christ’s followers on this Sabbath was the complete opposite of that of His enemies. The eleven disciples were seized by unbearable sorrow; their souls were weighed down by terrible anguish, despair, and grief. Their throats tightened, and tears flowed uncontrollably. These courageous men wept and lamented bitterly (Mark 16:10), just as the Savior Himself had foretold (John 16:20). They were in utter desolation. This Man, whom they had acknowledged as the Christ, whom they had believed to be God, who was supposed to establish both a heavenly and an earthly kingdom—this One on whom they had placed all their hopes and built so many expectations—had so unexpectedly and undeservedly failed them, disgracing them before the whole world. Not only had He perished Himself in the shameful death of the cross, but He had also led them to ruin.

And yet, He had not been a deceiver. He had been mighty in word and deed before God and all the people (Luke 24:19). With just a word, He had worked extraordinary miracles, healed the sick, and even raised the dead. They could not recall a single wrongful act or even an unworthy word from Him. If one could not rely on such a Man, then on whom could they rely?

All was lost. Everything had crumbled to the ground. Now, He lay in a tomb, lifeless, decaying. They had not even had time to properly anoint and embalm Him, for the sun was setting and the Sabbath was beginning. They saw no light ahead, no reason for hope.

Not once did it even cross the minds of the eleven disciples that Christ would rise again. Even on the following day, when Mary Magdalene announced to them that He had risen and that she had seen Him herself, they did not believe her (Mark 16:11). When all the myrrh-bearing women later came and told them about Christ’s resurrection, they were even more hardened in their disbelief. To them, this news seemed like idle talk, sheer nonsense, unworthy of attention (Luke 24:11). When, at last, two of their own fellow disciples came and testified that they had seen the risen Christ, they still did not believe (Mark 16:13). So foreign was the thought to them that Christ would rise.

No matter how much they thought about it, they could see no way out of their unbearable predicament. There was no relief, no comfort in sight.

Every hope had been crushed, every faith lost. They could barely eat or drink, and perhaps they did not eat or drink at all. They could not sleep. An indescribable restlessness overtook them, and they could find no peace. They feared for their own lives and trembled at the thought of being captured by the Jews, tortured, and crucified, just as Christ had been—though, as is evident, His enemies had no intention of touching them. Had the Jews wished to arrest them, no locks or doors would have saved them. But they were so distraught that they had lost all sense of reason. It is impossible to imagine or describe the torments and suffering they endured on that truly dreadful and sorrowful Sabbath.

Thus, for Christ’s apostles, the Sabbath became not a day of rest, but a day of extreme distress; not a day of celebration, but a day of weeping and lamentation; not a day of joy and gladness, but a day of unbearable grief and sorrow. The Sabbath became a day of darkness and despair, a day of horror and hopelessness, a day when faith, hope, and love perished—a day when evil triumphed over good, when Christ’s enemies mocked and blasphemed against God.

Naturally, after all this, the disciples could no longer remember the Sabbath without shuddering in shame, let alone celebrate it. They trembled at the thought of their own cowardice, at how quickly they had lost faith in their Teacher, Christ, and at how blindly they had failed to understand His plan for the salvation of mankind, even though He had explained everything to them clearly and plainly. They were ashamed that they had lost all hope in Christ and faith in Him, that they had fallen into the depths of indescribable despair, thinking that He was gone forever—and that they, too, were lost."

13. #

But at last, the dreadful Old Testament Sabbath had passed. The first day of the week had arrived—the radiant day of Christ’s Resurrection—and everything changed for the better, so much so that no one had expected or even imagined it.

At the beginning of this day, the disciples were still tormented by the agonizing experiences of the Sabbath. They continued to weep and lament in hopeless sorrow (Mark 16:10). But one after another, messengers came to them, proclaiming that Christ had risen and that they themselves had seen Him alive. The apostles, though they did not believe at first, began to feel their unbelief soften; a glimmer of hope appeared in their hearts, and the heaviness upon their souls lessened. And finally, the Risen Christ Himself appeared to them.

While they were sitting behind locked doors, He suddenly stood in their midst without opening the doors and said, “Peace be unto you!”

This so astonished them, so completely caught them off guard, that they could not believe their own eyes and ears. “They were startled and frightened, and thought that they saw a spirit” (Luke 24:37).

Christ, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.” To further convince them, He invited them to touch Him, saying, “A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But from the overwhelming joy they still could not believe, and they marveled (Luke 24:38–41).

It was truly beneficial for the disciples that they did not immediately believe in Christ’s Resurrection. The transition from the bottomless sorrow and despair of the Sabbath to the inexpressible joy of Christ’s Resurrection, from the cold, deathly despair of the Sabbath to the warmth of renewed hope, faith, and love, was too abrupt. Under such circumstances, it often happens that people suffer health disorders, mental instability, or even die from the shock. So it seems that even nature itself made it so that they would not immediately believe in Christ’s Resurrection when He appeared to them—so that the joy would come gradually, allowing them to bear it.

To finally convince the disciples that it was truly He, Christ asked if they had anything to eat. They gave Him a piece of broiled fish and honeycomb, and He took it and ate before them. Then He spoke to them from the Scriptures, explaining that it was necessary for Him to suffer and to enter into His glory. Then He “opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

The Evangelist John adds further that Christ said to them, “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” And when He had said this, “He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:21–23).

When the disciples were thus completely convinced of the reality of Christ’s Resurrection and had received the Holy Spirit, their joy knew no bounds. They did not know how to express the indescribable bliss that filled their souls. They congratulated one another, embraced, kissed, and wept—but now not from sorrow, but from joy and exultation. It became clearer than the sun to them that Jesus truly was the Messiah, the Christ, that they had not been deceived in Him, and that He would save not only Israel but all mankind.

On the first day of the week, Christ not only rose Himself, but He also resurrected His disciples—He raised up His followers, their souls, their faith, their hope, and their love. Now, nothing could shake their faith in Christ, and no one could take away from them the joy of Christ’s Resurrection, which He had so plainly and definitively foretold before His Passion:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (on Friday and Saturday), but the world (My enemies and yours) shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy (on the first day of the week)… And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again (when I rise), and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day (on the day of the Resurrection) ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:20, 22–24).

Do you see? Christ said that on the day of His Resurrection, the disciples would be filled with unspeakable joy, and on that day their prayers would be especially heard by God—therefore, they were to dedicate it to prayer.

The apostles undoubtedly did this. On that day, they offered prayers, delivered sermons from the prophecies, which they now understood—in other words, they conducted divine services.

But Christ also said that they must continue to do this on the Sunday to come. He again emphasized this day to them: “In that day, ye shall ask in My name” (John 16:26).

He did not say, “on those days,” but rather, “on that day”—meaning that on the specific day when He rose and appeared to them, they would continue to pray to God, and He would hear their prayers and fulfill their requests. First, He said, “On that day, ye shall ask the Father,” and then He reaffirmed, “On that day, ye shall ask”—clearly indicating that the day on which He rose and appeared to them was to be repeated, and that their prayer to God on that day must also be repeated.

The Lord repeatedly set apart this day, the day of Resurrection, and later, as we shall see, the apostles followed this as well.

Now let us see what happened on this day among the enemies of Christ.

At the first light of dawn on this first day of the week, terrified and trembling soldiers rushed to Annas and Caiaphas, telling them what they had seen and heard: that an angel had descended from heaven, rolled away the stone from the tomb of Jesus, and announced to the myrrh-bearing women that Christ had risen. This news had a staggering effect on the Jewish high priests—they were utterly dumbfounded and did not know what to do. Their Sabbath triumph and joy were suddenly replaced by an unspeakable, soul-crushing anguish and sorrow.

All their faith—or rather, their unbelief—collapsed in an instant. Annas and Caiaphas, as devout Sadducees, did not believe in the existence of angels or human souls, nor in the resurrection of the dead. And now it turned out that all of it was real. Angels did exist; the resurrection had truly occurred. And the witnesses were none other than the soldiers themselves. It would have been better for them if they had never stationed those guards at Christ’s tomb—then there would have been no witnesses to the appearance of angels and the resurrection.

Not knowing how to get out of this predicament, Annas and Caiaphas hastily convened a council. But they did not invite the Pharisees, who believed in the existence of souls, angels, and the resurrection—they called only the elders, fellow Sadducees who shared their unbelief. After deliberating, they decided to bribe the soldiers so that they would say: “While we slept at night, the disciples of Christ came and stole His body.”

They did not even consider how self-contradictory this false testimony was. For if the soldiers had truly been asleep, how could they have seen that Christ’s disciples came and stole His body? And if they had indeed seen the theft and even identified those who had done it, then they had clearly not been asleep. In that case, how could they have allowed such a thing to happen?

But the enemies of Christ were so shaken by the news of His Resurrection that they had lost all reason. Their grief, their despair, their realization that all their efforts had crumbled, that Christ was truly the Messiah, and that He had indeed risen—this tormented them without end. Their boundless anguish was made worse by the fact that there was no way to undo what had happened. They could not convince the disciples that Christ had not risen, and they knew that this news would spread, and that many Jews—especially among the Pharisees—would come to believe in Christ. This robbed them of peace and tormented them unbearably.

The roles were now reversed: the Jewish enemies of Christ were in sorrow and despair, while the disciples rejoiced and celebrated.

The day of Christ’s Resurrection became the day of triumph for His disciples over their adversaries, the day of victory of light over darkness, of truth over falsehood, of good over evil, of paradise over Hades, of life over death, of God over the devil and all His enemies.

The day of Resurrection became an object of hatred for Christ’s enemies and an object of reverence and love for His followers.

The apostles of Christ continued to rejoice and exult, proclaiming to everyone that Christ had risen and that they had seen Him with their own eyes. But the Apostle Thomas remained skeptical, showing himself to be a man of a practical and rational mind, demanding tangible proof.

He told the apostles who had seen Christ that it was not enough for them to have seen and heard Him. He needed to touch Him to be absolutely sure that it was indeed Christ, risen from the dead. Naturally, Thomas’s doubt sowed a seed of uncertainty even in the hearts of the apostles who had seen the risen Christ. “Could it be that we were mistaken?” they may have thought.

With each passing day, this doubt grew. Monday passed—Christ did not appear. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday went by, and still, He did not appear. Saturday came—still no Christ. “Perhaps it was not really Christ,” they wondered. “Perhaps it was a spirit or a vision?”

And so, the memories of the previous dreadful Sabbath, with all its unbearable suffering, involuntarily resurfaced.

Disappointment and sorrow again filled their souls, though not with the same intensity as on the previous Sabbath.

Then came the first day of the week. Christ’s disciples gathered together, undoubtedly recalling the events of the past Sunday—how the risen Christ had appeared to them, what each of them had thought and felt at that moment. The memories were vivid and sweet. Without a doubt, they began to hope that Christ would appear to them again on this day. And their hope was fulfilled.

As on the previous Sunday, Christ suddenly stood in their midst and said, “Peace be unto you.” Then, turning to Thomas, He invited him to touch His wounds.

In joy, Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!”

It is reasonable to assume that the other disciples also touched Him, so that there would remain no shadow of doubt that it was truly the risen Jesus Christ standing before them. The Apostle John the Theologian, in his first epistle, speaks on behalf of all the apostles:

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).

When Christ’s disciples became irrevocably convinced of the reality of His Resurrection, the joy of the previous Sunday was repeated for them with even greater strength. They had now experienced a second resurrection of the soul. Now, nothing and no one could dissuade them from what they had tangibly confirmed with their own senses. Neither angels nor men, neither principalities nor powers, neither depth nor height, neither the present nor the future, neither suffering nor death, nor anything else could shake their faith in the Risen Christ or separate them from the love of the Risen God, who had raised them up along with all humanity.

This great and joyous day, as beautiful as paradise itself, as radiant as heaven, the day of Christ’s Resurrection, could never be forgotten by the disciples. Even more so, since the Lord continued to mark it by His all-good providence over His Church and all of Christianity. Thus, it was on the Sunday of the Lord that He gave a revelation to His disciple John the Theologian concerning the future destiny of the Church. At the beginning of the Apocalypse, this apostle writes:

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10),

and he received a revelation from God concerning everything that would take place until the end of the world.

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Naturally, the apostles always remembered this day—the first day of the week, the day of salvation for them, so clearly and mercifully distinguished by God Himself. They remembered Sunday in order to sanctify it. For six days they worked and carried out their daily tasks. But the Sunday, they dedicated to serving the Lord their God.

They did not spend this day in idleness, laziness, or doing nothing, but devoted it to good works, acts of mercy and charity, prayer, and divine worship. Thus, the Apostle Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 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” (1 Corinthians 16:1–2).

The Adventist objected: “The Apostle Paul does not write that Sunday should be celebrated. And even if he mentions a collection, he speaks of doing it in homes, not in churches.”

To this, I responded: “Nevertheless, he clearly indicates that this is a day that should be dedicated to charity and, of course, to the performance of other good deeds. And this is precisely what a holy day is—a day of rest, of which Christ Himself said, ‘It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath’” (Luke 6:9).

And why did the apostle instruct that charitable donations should be set aside at home rather than in the church? This is quite understandable. After all, these collections were not for local needs but for the poor living in Jerusalem.

Why, then, one must ask, did the Apostle Paul establish that they should set aside their charitable offerings not on Monday, nor on Thursday, nor on the Sabbath, but on the first day of the week?

In support of observing the Sabbath and against the observance of Sunday, you stated that from the time of the apostles until Constantine the Great, all Christians observed the Sabbath. However, you were unable to prove this. You claimed that Emperor Constantine issued a decree commanding the observance of Sunday and that only then did Christians begin to observe this day.

On our part, we have demonstrated that Christians had been celebrating Sunday long before that, and that the decree itself was issued precisely because Christians were already observing this day. It was enacted as a governmental act, intended for state institutions, in order to incorporate the Christian weekly feast into the list of official state holidays.

You also asserted that the Pope of Rome abolished the observance of the Sabbath and established the observance of Sunday. Yet you were unable to prove even which pope allegedly did this, or when.

You then turned to the Old Testament, which commands the observance of the Sabbath. However, we showed that this is unconvincing for us as Christians, since similar statutes were made regarding other Jewish laws, such as circumcision, sacrifices, and other rites.

From the New Testament, you cited four pieces of evidence in favor of Sabbath observance:

The first was the statement that “there remaineth therefore a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). We demonstrated that the “people of God” in this passage refers to the Jewish people, for whom even after entering the Promised Land, a Sabbath-rest remained—namely, Christ Himself, the true rest, or Sabbath, into whom they were to enter, just as we, who believe in Christ, now enter into Him.

The second was Christ’s statement that His disciples should pray that their flight would not take place in winter or on the Sabbath (Matthew 24:20). We proved that this was not a prohibition against fleeing from mortal danger but was said because the gates of Jerusalem were shut on the Sabbath, and no one was allowed to leave the city. If their time to flee occurred on the Sabbath, then all those inside—Christ’s followers—would be unable to escape and would inevitably perish.

The other two arguments you presented in favor of the Sabbath are so weak and insignificant that they are hardly worth mentioning. These were that the myrrh-bearing women rested on the Sabbath before Christ’s Resurrection, and that the Law of Moses was read in Jewish synagogues every Sabbath.

Additionally, you cited the prophecy from Isaiah stating that on the new earth, from month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath, worship would be offered to the Lord. However, we demonstrated that this cannot be taken literally and that you yourselves do not fulfill it, since you do not observe the new moons. Instead, this passage signifies that people will continually turn to God in prayer.

Furthermore, we proved that while you demand that all observe the Sabbath and threaten apocalyptic punishments upon those who do not, you yourselves do not fulfill all of God’s commandments concerning the Sabbath. You do not put to death those who work on the Sabbath, thereby violating God’s own commandment that requires execution for Sabbath-breakers. This means that you yourselves do not believe in what you preach, nor do you practice what you teach.

Thus, these are all the arguments you have put forth in favor of Sabbath observance and against the observance of Sunday. These same arguments are also presented in Adventist writings on this subject.

On our part, we have presented the following arguments against the observance of the Sabbath by Christians.

1. Even in the Old Testament, the Lord God could not bear the observance of the Sabbath when evil deeds were committed on that day. From this, it is evident that the Sabbath is not the sacred and salvific institution you claim it to be, insisting that all of Christianity will perish if it does not observe this day—a day that, in certain cases known to God, was unbearable even to Him.

2. The disciples of the Savior violated the Sabbath by plucking ears of grain and rubbing them with their hands; Christ justified them.

3. He said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, thereby clearly permitting each person to disregard it at their own discretion.

4. Concerning Himself, He explicitly declared that “the Son of Man (Christ) is Lord even of the Sabbath,” and therefore He may treat it as He pleases, just as we treat that over which we are masters.

5. As the rightful Lord and Master over the Sabbath, Jesus Christ indeed abolished it, commanding the paralytic whom He had healed to carry his bed through the city, something that was strictly forbidden by God Himself in the Old Testament.

6. The holy Apostle Paul regarded the Sabbath as a shadow, meaning an empty thing, an object of no significance, useless and unprofitable.

7. The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, the day of God’s rest, ceased to be such after He, on that day, descended in spirit into hell and released from its prisons the souls of the dead, then established them in paradise.

8. For Christ’s followers, while He lay in the tomb, the Sabbath was a day of sorrow and mourning, a day of terror and despair, a day of weeping and lamentation, not a day of rest, but one of extreme distress and unbearable spiritual anguish.

9. For Christ’s enemies, however, that Sabbath was a day of unspeakable delight, a day of frenzied joy, of wild exultation and triumph that they had killed Christ, subjected Him to the most disgraceful death, crucified Him between two of the most notorious and wicked men, as if He were their leader.

10. After all this, the Sabbath became a symbol of the triumph of falsehood over truth, of evil over good, a symbol of the victory of death over life, of hell over paradise, a symbol of the mockery of God by His enemies.

That is why we Christians must not and do not observe the Sabbath or the seventh day of the week.

And we do observe and must observe the first day of the week, or Sunday, for the following reasons:

1. On this day, our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and by His Resurrection, He granted life to the world and saved the human race. For this reason, the day is called the Lord’s Day, or Resurrection.

2. On this Sunday, Christ appeared to the myrrh-bearing women, to the eleven disciples, and to His other followers, and they became convinced of the reality of His Resurrection from the dead.

3. On Sunday, Christ commissioned His disciples to preach the Gospel to the whole world, saying: “As the Father hath sent Me, so send I you.”

4. On Sunday, the Lord bestowed upon His disciples the Holy Spirit and the authority to bind and loose sins, as it is written: “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.’” (John 20:23).

5. Having been assured of the reality of Christ’s Resurrection, having received the Holy Spirit, the authority to bind and loose sins, and the commission to preach the Gospel, the disciples on that day—Sunday—were filled with indescribable joy and gladness. And this joy no one could take from them, as the Savior had foretold. The weeping of the Sabbath was transformed into the rejoicing of Sunday.

6. Christ also foretold that on that day, the Lord’s Day, His disciples would ask God in His name, and whatever they asked, God would hear and fulfill their request, making it clear that Sunday should be dedicated to prayer, since on this day, prayer is especially acceptable to God.

7. For Christ’s enemies, however, that Sunday was a day of extraordinary anxiety and distress, a day of inexpressible grief and anguish when they learned from the soldiers that Christ had risen. Their Sabbath joy turned to lamentation, their celebration to weeping, their triumph to shame.

8. The Resurrection thus became a day of the triumph of truth over falsehood, of good over evil, a day of victory of light over darkness, of life over death, of God over the devil and all His enemies. This day truly became the day of God’s rest from all His works accomplished for the salvation of mankind—the New Testament Sabbath, which replaced the Old Testament one, in which the Lord had labored, delivering souls from the prisons of hell.

9. This is why the Lord continued to mark the Lord’s Day with special manifestations of His providence. On the following Sunday, He again appeared to His disciples and tangibly assured Thomas and all the others that He had indeed risen from the dead. On this day, Thomas and the other disciples wholeheartedly acknowledged Him as their Lord and God.

10. On the Lord’s Day, God gave revelation to His beloved disciple, John the Theologian, concerning the future destiny of the Church and the entire world.

11. The disciples of Christ, therefore, remembered the Lord’s Day and dedicated it to the service of God, works of mercy, and acts of charity, setting aside from their own means according to their ability for the poor, even for those living far away from them.

12. Naturally, they also dedicated Sunday to prayer, gathering in communal assemblies for the breaking of bread, that is, for divine worship.

13. The apostles preached nothing as persistently as the Resurrection of Christ. Paul even states that without faith in Christ’s Resurrection, the Christian faith cannot exist, and therefore, believers in Christ must remember and celebrate this greatest and most salvific event.

14. For this reason, all Christians, from the time of the apostles until our own day, have observed Sunday, rather than any other day.

15. The Resurrection—the first day of the week—became the day on which God truly rested from all His works that He had accomplished. For six days, He created the visible world; on the seventh day, the Sabbath, He labored for the salvation of the human race by leading the souls of the dead out of hell. And only on the eighth day (which is also the first), God rested from all His works, rising from the dead. On this day, He granted peace to both the living and the dead. The Resurrection—the first and also the eighth day—became the true day of rest for God and mankind, the New Testament Sabbath.

16. The Resurrection of Christ is the pledge of the future resurrection of all the dead: if Christ has risen, then all who have died shall also rise. By celebrating Christ’s Resurrection, we strengthen our faith in the future universal resurrection, after which the eternal day of the Lord shall come, an everlasting joy, an eternal feast, an eternal rest, an everlasting Sabbath, prefigured by the present New Testament Sabbath—Sunday—established by the very Resurrection of Jesus Christ in place of the Old Testament Sabbath, which He abolished.

This is why we, as Christians, celebrate the Resurrection not only every week but also with special solemnity each year on the very day of Christ’s Resurrection—Holy Pascha—greeting one another with a kiss and proclaiming: Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and let the enemies of the radiant Resurrection of Christ, the adherents of the gloomy Old Testament Sabbath, who caused such dreadful suffering to His disciples, flee before Him.

From everything stated above, it is clear that on our side—the side of those who celebrate not the Sabbath but the Resurrection—stands the entire Christian world, all Christians who have lived from apostolic times to our own day; on our side are all the saints of God: the martyrs, the hieromartyrs, the holy hierarchs, the venerable fathers, and others. On our side are the holy apostles, led by the Apostle Paul, who declared the Sabbath to be a shadow, a thing that no longer exists for Christians. On our side is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who violated the Sabbath, commanded others to violate it, and thereby abolished it as its rightful Lord and Master.

And who stands on the side of our opponents, the Adventists, who celebrate not the Resurrection but the Sabbath?

Here they are: the entire modern Jewish world—both the Karaites and the Talmudists; all the Jews who have lived from the time of Christ until the present day; and a small, insignificant faction of heretics. On their side are all the enemies of Christ, those who persecuted Him for breaking the Sabbath, and at their head stands the devil himself, who incited them to this evil deed and ultimately achieved his goal—bringing about Christ’s crucifixion.

Dear reader! Dear listeners! With whom do you wish to stand after death, after the dread judgment, in the life of the age to come, in the life eternal and unending?

Consider this carefully and answer, in all honesty, both to yourself and to others.

January 31, 1930

- Old Believer Bishop Innokenty