Origin of the Sabbath and of the festival of the sun contrasted—Entrance of that festival into the church—The Moderns with the Ancients—The Sabbath observed by the early Christians—Testimony of Morer—Of Twisse—Of Giesler—Of Mosheim—Of Coleman—Of Bishop Taylor—The Sabbath loses ground before the Sunday festival—Several bodies of decided Sabbatarians—Testimony of Brerewood—Constantine’s Sunday law—Sunday a day of labor with the primitive church—Constantine’s edict a heathen law, and himself at that time a heathen—The bishop of Rome authoritatively confers the name of Lord’s day upon Sunday—Heylyn narrates the steps by which Sunday arose to power—A marked change in the history of that institution—Paganism brought into the church—The Sabbath weakened by Constantine’s influence—Remarkable facts concerning Eusebius—The Sabbath recovers strength again—The council of Laodicea pronounces a curse upon the Sabbath-keepers—The progress of apostasy marked—Authority of church councils considered—Chrysostom—Jerome—Augustine—Sunday edicts—Testimony of Socrates relative to the Sabbath about the middle of the fifth century—Of Sozomen—Effectual suppression of the Sabbath at the close of the fifth century. The origin of the Sabbath and of the festival of Sunday is now distinctly understood. When God made the world, he gave to man the Sabbath that he might not forget the Creator of all things. When men apostatized from God, Satan turned them to the worship of the sun, and, as a standing memorial of their veneration for that luminary, caused them to dedicate to his honor the first day of the week. When the elements of apostasy had sufficiently matured in the Christian church, this ancient festival stood forth as a rival to the Sabbath of the Lord. The manner in which it obtained a foothold in the Christian church has been already shown; and many facts which have an important bearing upon the struggle between these rival institutions have also been given. We have, in the preceding chapters, given the statements of the most ancient Christian writers respecting the Sabbath and first-day in the early church. As we now trace the history of these two days during the first five centuries of the Christian era, we shall give the statements of modern church historians, covering the same ground with the early fathers, and shall also quote in continuation of the ancient writers the testimonies of the earliest church historians. The reader can thus discover how nearly the ancients and moderns agree. Of the observance of the Sabbath in the early church, Morer speaks thus:—