The Seventh Day of Creation and Sabbath Rest

Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas Direct teaching

Further, also, it is written concerning the Sabbath in the Decalogue which [the Lord] spoke, face to face, to Moses on Mount Sinai, “And sanctify ye the Sabbath of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.” And He says in another place, “If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I cause my mercy to rest upon them.” The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: “And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.” Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, “He finished in six days.” This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

After God had finished the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them on the sixth day, He rested on the seventh day from all His works that He had made. Then Holy Scripture gives a summary in these words: "This is the book of the generation of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and every green thing of the field before it was made, and every herb of the field before it grew. For God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground." Genesis 2:4-5. By this, He shows us that at that time the whole earth was watered by a divine fountain, and did not need man to till it. Instead, the earth produced everything on its own by the command of God, so that man would not be worn out by working the ground. But to make the creation of man clear, so that there would not seem to be an unsolved problem among men, since God had said, "Let Us make man," and since the account of his creation had not yet been plainly given, Scripture teaches us, saying: "And a fountain went up out of the earth, and watered the face of the whole earth; and God made man of the dust of the earth, and brea

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

...ere finished, and all their host. And on the sixth day God finished His works that He had made, and rested on the seventh day from all His works that He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His works, which God began to create.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works.” This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Direct teaching

God completed the world and this admirable work of nature in the space of six days, as is contained in the secrets of Holy Scripture, and consecrated the seventh day, on which He had rested from His works.

Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching

And on the sixth day God finished His works which He made, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He made.

Tertullian, Against Hermogenes Direct teaching

His glory is greater if He laboured. At length on the seventh day He rested from His works.

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

Again, not understanding the meaning of the words, And God ended on the sixth day His works which He had made, and ceased on the seventh day from all His works which He had made: and God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because on it He had ceased from all His works which He had begun to make;

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

...t bounds around them, as within a holy circle, for the sake of instruction and for rejoicing on the seventh period. For this reason, one week was appointed, and seven weeks, and the seventh month, and the seventh year, and the cycle of these, the Jubilee, which is the fiftieth year for remission, so that people might have no excuse to claim ignorance. For this reason, He permitted people to rest every Sabbath, so that no one should even be willing to send out one word from his mouth in anger on the day of the Sabbath. For the Sabbath is the cessation of creation, the completion of the world, the inquiry after laws, and the thankful praise of God for the blessings He has given to men. But the Lord's day surpasses all these and shows the Mediator Himself, the Provider, the Lawgiver, the Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of the whole creation, God the Word, and man, who was born of Mary alone, without a man; who lived in holiness; who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again from the dead. So the Lord's day commands us to offer You, O Lord, thanksgiving for all things. For this is the grace given by You, which, because of its greatness, has overshadowed

Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews Direct teaching

For the Jews say that from the beginning God made the seventh day holy by resting on it from all His works that He made. They also say that this is why Moses said to the people, “Remember the day of the Sabbaths, to keep it holy: you shall do no servile work in it, except what pertains to life.” From this, we Christians understand that we ought even more to keep a sabbath from all servile work at all times, and not only every seventh day, but throughout all time. And because of this, the question arises for us: what sabbath did God will us to keep? For the Scriptures point to an eternal sabbath and a temporal sabbath. For Isaiah the prophet says, “My soul hates your Sabbaths,” Isaiah 1:13, and in another place he says, “You have profaned My Sabbaths.” From this we see that the temporal sabbath is human, and the eternal sabbath is counted as divine. About this He predicts through Isaiah: “And it shall be,” He says, “month after month, and day after day, and sabbath after sabbath; and all flesh shall come to worship in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. We understand this to have been fulfilled in the times of Christ, when all flesh—that is, every nation—came to worship God the Father in Jer

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

For the Sabbath is the ceasing of the creation, the completion of the world, the inquiry after laws, and the grateful praise to God for the blessings He has bestowed upon men.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

You shall observe the Sabbath, on account of Him who ceased from His work of creation, but ceased not from His work of providence: it is a rest for meditation of the law, not for idleness of the hands.

Tertullian, Against Marcion Supporting witness

but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

...nth and the eighth. For the eighth may possibly prove to be properly the seventh, and the seventh clearly the sixth. And the latter is properly the Sabbath, while the seventh is a day of work. For the creation of the world was finished in six days. For the movement of the sun from solstice to solstice is completed in six months. During that time, at one point leaves fall, and at another plants bud and seeds ripen. They also say that the embryo is fully formed exactly in the sixth month, that is, in one hundred and eighty days, in addition to the two and a half, as Polybus the physician reports in his book On the Eighth Month, and Aristotle the philosopher in his book On Nature. Therefore the Pythagoreans, as I think, count six as the perfect number, from the creation of the world, according to the prophet. And they call it Meseuthys and Marriage, because it is the middle of the even numbers, that is, of ten and two. For it is clearly at an equal distance from both.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

...nd the fourth word is the one that shows that the world was created by God, and that He gave us the seventh day as a rest because of the trouble in life. For God cannot grow weary, suffer, or be in need. But we, who bear flesh, need rest. Therefore, the seventh day is proclaimed as a rest—an escape from troubles—preparing for the Primal Day, our true rest. This, in truth, is the first creation of light, in which all things are seen and possessed. From this day, the first wisdom and knowledge shine on us. For the light of truth—a true light, casting no shadow—is the Spirit of God, indivisibly divided to all who are sanctified by faith, serving as a light for the knowledge of real things that exist. Therefore, by following Him through our whole life, we become impassible; and this is what it means to rest.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

Not that the Sabbath day is a day of fasting, being the rest from the creation, but because we ought to fast on this one Sabbath only, while on this day the Creator was under the earth.

Tertullian, Against Marcion Background

...s first, and not keep bringing them up at every turn to answer each argument of our adversary which rests on some new institution of Christ, let this stand as a settled point. Discussion about the new character of each institution arose for this reason: since Christ had as yet said nothing about any new deity, discussion on that point was not allowable. Nor could it be answered back that the very newness of each separate institution clearly proved another deity through Christ. For it was plain that newness was not, in itself, a thing to be wondered at in Christ, because the Creator had foretold it. And of course it would only have been right for a new god to be explained first, and for his discipline to be introduced afterward. For it would be the god that gives authority to the discipline, and not the discipline to the god. Unless, of course, it has happened that Marcion got his very perverse opinions not from a master, but his master from his opinion! On all other points about the Sabbath, I rule in this way. If Christ interfered with the Sabbath, He simply acted after the Creator's example. For in the siege of the city of Jericho, carrying the Ark of the Covenant around the w

Dionysius of Alexandria, Miscellaneous Fragments Supporting witness

...tomb." Only, according to this, she had come earlier, while it was still dark. And Luke says: "They rested on the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared; and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb." This phrase, "very early in the morning," probably means the early dawn of the first day of the week. So, after the Sabbath itself was completely past, and after the whole night that followed it, and when another day had begun, they came bringing spices and myrrh. Then it became clear that He had risen long before. Mark agrees with this and says: "They had bought sweet spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the week they came to the tomb at the rising of the sun." For this Evangelist also uses the term "very early," which is the same as the "very early in the morning" used by the former, and he adds, "at the rising of the sun." So they set out and began their journey first when it was very early in the morning, or, as Mark says, when it was very early. But on the road, and during their stay at the tomb, time p

Methodius, From the Discourse on the Resurrection Background

... choose the worse course? But God did not work in vain or do what was worst. Therefore, God ordered creation with a view to its existence and continuance, as the Book of Wisdom also confirms, saying, "For God created all things that they might have their being; and the generations of the world were healthful, and there is no poison of destruction in them." Wisdom 1:14 And Paul clearly testifies to this, saying, "For the eager expectation of the creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." Romans 8:19-21 For the creation was made subject to vanity, he says, and he expects that it will be set free from such slavery, since he means this world when he uses the name creation. For it is not what is unseen, but what is seen, that is subject to corruption. Therefore, after creation has been restored to a better and more fitting condition, it remains, rejoicing and exulting over the children of God at the resurrection. For their sake it now groa

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Background

... to the Sabbath, "You shall sit each one in your dwellings: let no one go out from his place on the seventh day," will judge it impossible to be literally observed. For no living being is able to sit throughout a whole day and remain without moving from a sitting position. Therefore those who belong to the circumcision, and all who desire that no meaning should be shown except the literal one, do not investigate at all such subjects as the goat-stag, the griffin, and the vulture. Instead, they indulge in foolish talk on certain points, multiplying words and bringing forward tasteless traditions. For example, with regard to the Sabbath, they say that two thousand cubits is each one's limit. Others again, among whom is Dositheus the Samaritan, condemning such an interpretation, think that in the position in which a man is found on the Sabbath day, he is to remain until evening. Moreover, the not carrying of a burden on the Sabbath day is an impossibility. Therefore the Jewish teachers have fallen into countless absurdities, saying that a shoe of one kind was a burden, but not one of another kind; and that a sandal that had nails was a burden, but not one that was without them; and

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

These are [to take place] in the times of the kingdom, that is, upon the seventh day, which has been sanctified, in which God rested from all the works which He created, which is the true Sabbath of the righteous, which they shall not be engaged in any earthly occupation;

Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas Supporting witness

“And He rested on the seventh day.” This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

And again, since God, having finished His works, rested the seventh day and blessed it, at the end of the six thousandth year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years;

Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews Supporting witness

Whence we (Christians) understand that we still more ought to observe a sabbath from all servile work always, and not only every seventh day, but through all time.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

But we who bear flesh need rest. The seventh day, therefore, is proclaimed a rest — abstraction from ills — preparing for the Primal Day, our true rest;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day;

Novatian, Connection to Exodus 20:8 Supporting witness

The Sabbath was given to Israel as a sign; but for us, the spiritual Sabbath is fulfilled in Christ, who is our rest.

Novatian, Connection to Hebrews 4:9 Supporting witness

The Sabbath was the type of our rest in Christ; the spiritual Sabbath is not one day but the entire life of the believer who rests in Christ from sin.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

“Now, sirs,” I said, “it is possible for us to show how the eighth day possessed a certain mysterious import, which the seventh day did not possess, and which was promulgated by God through these rites.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Background

Moreover, the Sabbath of God (requietio Dei), that is, the kingdom, was, as it were, indicated by created things;

Hebrews 4:9 Supporting witness

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,