The Vegan Sabbath: Compassion Beyond the Calendar. By Dr Chapman Chen

Wyatt Allen (2026), Public speaker at Amazing Facts International, a Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic ministry, argues that enforced Sunday observance could become the “mark of the beast” as in Revelation 13:15-17, and that it was Constantine, not God, that set up Sunday to be special. I deeply respect Mr. Allen’s desire to honour what God called holy. Nonetheless, Christians were already gathering on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection well before Constantine’s time. Interpretations of Revelation’s “mark of the beast” vary widely, and many Christians understand it symbolically as allegiance to powers opposed to God’s justice and mercy rather than the observance of a particular weekday; in our free online course, Vegan Theology, our focus remains on how Sabbath as God’s rhythm of rest for all sentient creatures forms a life of compassion, freedom, and trust in Him.

1. The Seventh Day as the Final Day of a Repeating Cycle

We approach Sabbath a little differently from some traditional interpretations. We understand it primarily as a sacred rhythm rather than a named weekday: six units of living and one unit of resting. From this perspective, the pattern itself is the obedience. “The seventh day” is the final day of a repeating cycle, and what matters most is the rhythm of trust and rest before God.

2. The Significance of Sabbath

The purpose of Sabbath, as we see it, is to remind us of our human limitation, our dependence on God’s provision, and our freedom from being enslaved by endless productivity. In that sense, Sabbath is like music — the beat matters more than which calendar square the note falls on. The principle of Sabbath remains even if the calendar label shifts.

3. A Cosmic Perspective

We also recognise that from a cosmic perspective, no one today can scientifically verify the exact day creation began, whether Genesis describes literal 24-hour days, or how cosmic time aligns with our modern week. So in terms of astronomical time, the identity of “Saturday” is part of a historical human convention. What remains constant is the divinely given pattern: six periods of activity and one of rest.

4. A Day of Rest for Animals, too!

At the same time, we notice that in Scripture this rhythm of rest was never only for humans. The Sabbath command includes working animals, who are also to rest, and the sabbatical year extends rest even to the land. This shows that Sabbath is a creation-wide sign that life is not meant to be driven by endless production or exploitation. It interrupts systems that treat sentient beings as tools and reminds us that the earth and all its creatures belong to God. In this sense, the Sabbath rhythm expresses divine compassion and points toward the peaceful, restored creation envisioned by the prophets — a world where harm and domination give way to rest, mercy, and shared flourishing.

6. Sunday Observance = The “Mark of the Beast”?

Regarding the historical question, it is true that Emperor Constantine issued a civil law in the fourth century making Sunday a day of rest in the Roman Empire. However, Christians had already been gathering on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection long before that. Constantine’s decree helped standardise a practice that was already developing; it did not create Christian worship from nothing. As for identifying Sunday observance with the “mark of the beast,” interpretations of Revelation 13 differ widely among Christians. Many churches understand the “mark” symbolically as allegiance to powers opposed to God’s justice and mercy, rather than as the observance of a particular weekday.

Others, of course, hold that the specific historic day is part of the covenant sign, and we respect that view too. In our course, however, we do not frame the question in apocalyptic or accusatory terms, but focus instead on how Sabbath — understood as God’s rhythm of rest — shapes a life of compassion, freedom, and trust in Him.

7. A Vegan Sabbath

As an expression of this creation-wide compassion, we also introduce the idea of a “vegan Sabbath.” While a fully vegan life most clearly reflects God’s mercy toward animals, we recognise that people grow at different speeds. We therefore invite those who still consume animal products or use animals for purposes such as labour, entertainment, or experimentation to consider setting aside one day each week as a vegan Sabbath — a day to refrain from contributing to animal suffering. Whether that day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or another day of the week is less important than the spirit of mercy it expresses. What matters is the rhythm of compassion, not the calendar label.

In this way, whatever day believers honour, the heart of Sabbath — trust in God and compassion toward all creation — can grow among us.

Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/the-vegan-sabbath-compassion-beyond-the-calendar-by-dr-chapman-chen