Sabbath

God Said, Remember

by

How do we know that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is really the Sabbath? I was asked this question one Sabbath by a woman who was visiting my church. She had visited almost all, if not all, of the Sunday-keeping churches in our town in search of the truth and had finally decided to see what this Saturday-keeping church was all about.

After a couple of weeks of attending church with us, she point-blank asked me, “How do we know?” I asked her a question in return, “When Jesus was here on earth, on what day does the Bible say He went to church?” She thought a minute and replied, “The seventh day.” Then I asked her, “Do we all agree that God established the seventh day as His Sabbath at creation, that He reaffirmed that day in the ten commandments on Mt. Sinai, and that Jesus Himself worshiped on the seventh day of the week?” She replied, “Yes.”

“Since God was the One who established the Sabbath in the beginning, would it not make sense that if He intended to change the day from the seventh to the first day of the week, He would have Himself done so in the person of His Son Jesus during His life here on earth? Wouldn’t Jesus have established and attended a church that worshiped on the first day of the week, and instructed His disciples and those who followed Him to do so?” She said, “Yes, that does make sense.”

That all may sound very logical, but we need to go to the Bible and fully confirm with absolute certainty that the seventh day, Saturday, was, is, and will forever be, God’s Sabbath.

A couple of ground rules before we get started. First rule, the Bible will always explain itself and does not contradict itself. So the study of any scriptural topic must be based on the preponderance of Biblical evidence. That means gathering all the texts on a given subject and comparing them together, not taking a text that might alone seem contradictory to try to prove false all the other texts, or to take one or two texts out of context and manipulate them to support a cherished belief.

The second rule is that all scriptures must be read and taken in their intended context. Context includes the time, place, and circumstances in which a scripture is found. An example is Peter’s vision found in Acts 10:11, the representation of the sheet filled with all kinds of beasts and birds descending out of heaven. This text is most often taken to mean that there are certain foods that we should not eat (Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14). Peter himself, at first, thought that was the meaning of the vision. But when read within its proper context, it is understood that God was giving Peter a mission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, specifically, in Acts 10, Cornelius in Caesarea, but it was necessary for Peter to first understand and give up his own prejudices against the Gentiles.

The Beginning

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. For six days, God, through His Son Jesus, created the world and everything in it. We know this to be true because John 1:1–3 also tells us, “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” So Jesus is the Creator.

After the six days of creation, Genesis 2:1–3 tells us, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work, which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” In Genesis, we find, then, that God blessed and sanctified (set apart, made holy) the seventh day.

Just briefly, let’s look at sanctification. When God sanctifies something, it is set apart in holiness. It is something made pure and sacred. We see the word sanctification used in the Bible many times in reference to the process through which sinful man passes to achieve a perfected character, thus making him ready to spend eternity with God. Being made holy is a two-part process: justification and sanctification. First John 1:9 tells us how justification occurs: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then having been justified by faith, we are made heirs with Christ (Titus 3:7). Justification then leads to sanctification, which is a life-long journey.

“Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. … It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict … .

“[It is] a living, active principle, entering into the everyday life.” The Faith I Live By, 116

God says, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:33

God has sanctified and made holy the seventh-day Sabbath. It is also His purpose to keep man holy. The man who chooses to allow God to write His law in his heart, and thereby transform his life, God will sanctify and make holy as long as that man keeps the law in his heart. But man was given free will and can decide to go back to sinful living. God can make a man holy, but the man must choose to be kept holy and show that choice in his daily life.

“The institution of the Sabbath was made when the foundation of the earth was laid … . Like the other nine precepts of the law, it is of imperishable obligation. It is the memorial of God’s creative power, the reminder of His exalted work. The fourth commandment occupies a sacred position in the law, and bears the same hallowed nature as do the other great moral precepts of God.” The Signs of the Times, January 8, 1894

The Flood, Egypt, Mt. Sinai, and the Wilderness

Once sin entered the world, the wickedness of man became so great that he began to worship the created rather than the Creator. Early forms of paganism were developed and only God’s faithful few obeyed His commands. The flood was the result of man’s wickedness (Genesis 6:5–8), and only eight people followed God’s commandments and were saved when the flood came.

After the flood, Genesis follows the genealogy of man through time to Abraham, Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jacob, and Joseph. Joseph’s obedience to God while in slavery in Egypt, ultimately resulted in his being given a high position in Pharaoh’s government, making it possible for him to preserve the family of Jacob in the land of Goshen when the seven years of drought fell upon the land (Exodus 1).

But after the deaths of Jacob and Joseph, the Egyptians became afraid as the children of Israel multiplied. Thus they were made slaves and cruelly treated; their lives were hard and severe. It is here we find that the children of Israel were still keeping the seventh-day Sabbath as instituted by God at creation. “At the time of the Exodus from Egypt, the Sabbath institution was brought prominently before the people of God. While they were still in bondage, their taskmasters had attempted to force them to labor on the Sabbath by increasing the amount of work required each week. Again and again the conditions of labor had been made harder and more exacting. …” Prophets and Kings, 180, 181

But God raised up Moses to deliver the Israelites (Exodus 2–4). He became God’s spokesman, delivering His message to Pharaoh to release the children of Israel from their bondage (Exodus 5–12).

We find in Exodus 16, having been freed from their Egyptian slavery and beginning their trek across the desert to the promised land, God gave the children of Israel manna for food. His instructions regarding the collection of the manna was that it would fall every day for six days, but on the seventh day, Sabbath, it would not fall. Each day for the first five days of the week, they were to gather only enough manna for that day because any more than that would spoil, but on the sixth day, they were to gather a double portion so that they would have enough for the sixth and seventh days, and God preserved the excess to be eaten on the Sabbath. Verses 22–26 tell us, “And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread [manna], two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Tomorrow is the Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.” ’ So they laid it up till morning as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.’ Then Moses said, ‘Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.’ ”

But we see in verse 27 that some of the children of Israel still went out on the seventh day looking to collect manna, only to find that there was none, just as God had said. In response, God says in verses 28 and 29, “ ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.’ ” And finally, in verse 30, we read, “So the people rested on the seventh day.”

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8–11

Leviticus 23:3 is very similar in wording to what we read in Exodus 16: “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.”

God wrote this and the other nine commandments on stone with His own finger. How much more permanent could they be? “God has declared that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. When ‘the heavens and the earth were finished,’ He exalted this day as a memorial of His creative work.” Prophets and Kings, 180

The New Testament

We are told that “He [Christ] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.” Luke 4:16. Notice, it was Jesus’ custom to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. To this point in Scripture, we find nothing that indicates that God changed His Sabbath from the day He set apart at creation to any other day than the seventh day. So Jesus, as was His custom, went each seventh day of the week to worship in the synagogue. If it was divine intention to change the seventh-day Sabbath to the first day of the week, why not sometime during the years of Jesus’ life?

Or perhaps, during the 40 days Jesus was on earth after the ascension, He could have instructed the disciples to keep the first day of the week because He rose from the grave on that day. But we are not told to keep the first day of the week as Sabbath because of His resurrection. Instead we are to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because it gives us hope of our own “resurrection,” by the death of the old man and the birth of the new man as symbolized in baptism.

“And I saw that if God had changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day, He would have changed the writing of the Sabbath commandment, written on the tables of stone, which are now in the ark in the most holy place of the temple in heaven; and it would read thus: The first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. But I saw that it read the same as when written on the tables of stone by the finger of God, and delivered to Moses on Sinai, ‘But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.’ I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of God’s dear, waiting saints.” Early Writings, 33

I would like to suggest that the reason God has not changed His Sabbath is found in Malachi 3:6 where God says, “ ‘For I am the Lord, I do not change.’ ” We must also remember that “God’s law is the transcript of His character. It embodies the principles of His kingdom.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 305

To change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day would be changing who God is. As a consequence of sin, we were changed, and if we wish to be with God in His kingdom, then we must be changed back to be as we were meant to be before sin. But there is nothing in the Bible that says God changes. To the contrary, the following texts affirm that God does not change.

“I AM who I AM.” Exodus 3:14

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89

“But You are the same, and Your years will have no end.” Psalm 102:27

I don’t believe that we can in any way doubt that God says what He means and means what He says. He instituted the seventh-day Sabbath at creation, He reiterated it by inscribing it with His own finger as the fourth commandment on tables of stone at Mt. Sinai, and the life of Christ reflected obedience in keeping the law of God, including the seventh-day Sabbath.

There is a popular religious belief that the ten commandments were nailed to the cross and are no longer binding, but the cross did not do away with the ten commandments or any part of them. What it did do was make the earthly sanctuary and all the animal sacrifices, rituals, ceremonies, and feast days connected with these animal sacrifices no longer a part of the worship of God’s children (Colossians 2:14–23). Why? Because all of those things pointed forward to His coming—both His first advent and His second—as Messiah and Saviour of man. In their place, Jesus established the communion service and the ordinance of humility.

“In this ordinance, Christ discharged His disciples from the cares and burdens of the ancient Jewish obligations in rites and ceremonies. These no longer possessed any virtue; for type was meeting antitype in Himself, the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordinances that pointed to Him as the great and only efficacious offering for the sins of the world. …

“It was Christ’s desire to leave to His disciples an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,—that would serve to disentangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah.” The Review and Herald, June 14, 1898

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.’ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.’ ” Hebrews 10:1–7

Another popular belief is that the ten commandments were replaced by the two found in Mark 12:30 and 31. Jesus said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.’ ”

When we look at the ten commandments, it is clear that they are divided into two sections. Commandments 1–4 regard our direct, personal relationship with God, and commandments 5–10 regard our relationship with our neighbor, as well as with God. Jesus wasn’t saying to do away with the ten and then just love God and love your neighbor. These two principles found in Mark are a summary of the ten commandments, and in loving our neighbor, we are showing that we love God.

We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and spirit, and this love for God is displayed by our obedience to His commandments. This is clearly stated in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Our love for God is also displayed in how we treat and love the people with whom we share this world. Jesus died for all of mankind regardless of the color of their skin, the culture or country they came from, or their particular religious beliefs; if we truly love Him, then we will love all those for whom He died.

Another important consideration in keeping the ten commandments is found in James 2:10, 11: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” This same principle would apply if one did not keep the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment, even though they might faithfully keep the other nine.

Someone might say, “But the seventh-day Sabbath is kept by the Jews. It is a Jewish Sabbath.” Let’s see, does Mark 2:27 say, “The Sabbath was made for the Jews, and not the Jews for the Sabbath?” No, it says, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” To be clear, the Greek word used here for man is anthrópos, meaning, generically, to include all human individuals. So, the seventh-day Sabbath was not created and given strictly as a Jewish Sabbath. It was meant for, and given to all of mankind.

“The Sabbath is not Jewish in its origin. It was instituted in Eden before there were such a people known as the Jews. The Sabbath was made for all mankind, and was instituted in Eden before the fall of man. The Creator called it ‘My holy day.’ Christ announced Himself as ‘the Lord of the Sabbath.’ Beginning with creation, it is as old as the human race, and having been made for man it will exist as long as man shall exist.” The Signs of the Times, November 12, 1894

The Change

There are Christian denominations that teach that the sacredness of the seventh day as given by God at creation has been transferred to Sunday because Christ rose from the grave on the first day of the week following the crucifixion. Some denominations teach that the Sabbath day was changed because of the activities recorded in Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2. But there is not a single text in the Bible to support the supposed transfer because of the resurrection, nor are there any activities recorded in the Bible and performed on any first day of the week that included the sacredness, the act of setting apart, as described in Genesis 2. However, Daniel 7:25 tells us, “He [meaning the beast identified in Daniel 7] shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. …” There is only one commandment in all the ten that deals with time—the fourth.

The book of Daniel identifies this beast power as Rome, which ultimately became the Holy Roman Empire or the Roman Catholic Church. This is the power that has sought to change times and laws.

Cardinal James Gibbons is quoted in The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.) 72, 73, “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we [the Catholic church] never sanctify.”

And again Cardinal Gibbons states:

“Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the ten commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church [the Catholic church] change the seventh-day Saturday for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day? I answer no!”

Chancellor Albert Smith’s letter dated February 10, 1920, reads, “If Protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath day. In keeping Sunday, they are following a law of the Catholic Church.”

From Our Sunday Visitor, February 5, 1950: “Practically everything Protestants regard as essential or important they have received from the Catholic Church … . The Protestant mind does not seem to realize that in … observing Sunday, in keeping Christmas and Easter, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.”

Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk about the Protestantism of Today, 213, “Observance of Sunday by the Protestants is a homage they pay in spite of themselves to the authority of the Catholic Church.”

During a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, Catholic Priest T. Enright CSSR said, “I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. … The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ But the Catholic Church says, ‘No, by my divine power, I abolish the Sabbath day … keep the 1st day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience.”

“Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:

“1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.

“2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages and a thousand other laws.

“It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in the pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible.” Peter R. Kramer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975), Chicago, Illinois.

By its own admission, the Catholic Church accepts responsibility for changing God’s appointed day of worship to their own, and Protestant churches around the world have accepted this change, although the Bible proves over and over that the seventh-day Sabbath is the only day sanctified by God.

It seems very clear that by man’s own words he knows, or should know, that Sunday worship was a change made by man, insinuated into the religions of man by the devil himself, to deceive good, honest Christ-seeking people into believing that they are doing what the Lord wants them to do, when in fact, they are breaking His law. Remember what we read above in James 2, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

People of all faiths endeavor to do what is right. They go to church, they pay their tithe, they help their neighbor, they work to keep their minds and hearts pure from the wickedness of the world, but in this one point, not following the Bible’s direction to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they choose to observe a day instituted by man, not God.

Friend, God has clearly defined that the way to the city of God is by obedience. We find this stated repeatedly in the Scriptures. But the devil has changed the signpost, pointing it in the wrong direction. He has established a false Sabbath and has deceived and confused men and women for millennia to think that by resting on his day, they are obeying the command of God our Creator. Many Protestant ministers today will preach that God requires obedience, but in teaching their congregations to worship on Sunday, they are teaching them disobedience to His law.

Soon the time will come in this earth’s history when the great controversy between God and evil will reach its climax—the point at which all alive on this earth will have to make a choice. There are only two choices: to obey God or not. Obedience to God means keeping all of His law, including the seventh-day Sabbath. The fourth commandment specifically states who God is—the Creator—and what is His. Therefore, the devil has done everything in his power for six thousand years to destroy the Sabbath.

“Those who dishonor God by transgressing His law may talk sanctification; but it is of the same value, and just as acceptable, as was the offering of Cain. Obedience to the commandments of God is the only true sign of sanctification. … Obedience is the sign of true love.” The Review and Herald, October 26, 1897

Things are so bad in the world that we cannot imagine they can be worse. But they can be worse, and they will be according to the Bible. Those who obey God will be called troublemakers. Christian will turn against Christian. Family and friend will turn against each other. One day very soon a man-made law will be passed, a Sunday law, that will dictate that we must keep Sunday as the day of worship. We can already see many not-so-subtle attempts to accomplish this today. And most of the world will follow this law believing that they are serving God.

The time is coming when the people of the world will have to choose. Those who choose to be obedient to God’s law and keep the seventh-day Sabbath will then be unable to buy or sell or work, they will lose everything they have, they will be persecuted, imprisoned, and some may even lose their lives. We cannot wait to make that choice. We must be choosing now, every moment of the day, to obey God.

Those who choose not to obey God’s law by disregarding one or all of His commandments and who follow the Sunday law, will be filled with the spirit of the one they serve. The world must be warned now so that they can choose to obey God while they still have the opportunity. One day soon Jesus will stand up and pronounce, “It is finished!” and probation will be over, destinies decided. We must decide now to do what is right, because there will be no second chance.

“So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator’s power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun.” The Desire of Ages, 283

“This law [of God] will maintain its exalted character as long as the throne of Jehovah endures.” The Review and Herald, October 10, 1899

“God’s law is unchangeable; and though by human beings it has been slighted, scorned, and rejected, it will ever stand as firm as the throne of Jehovah.” Ibid., September 24, 1901

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8

Judy Rebarchek is the managing editor of the LandMarks magazine. She may be contacted by email at: judyrebarchek@stepstolife.org

Bible Study – God’s Day of Rest

by

May 22 – 28, 2022

Key Text

“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:3

Study Help: Education, 250–252

Introduction

“In the time of the end every divine institution is to be restored. The breach made in the law at the time the Sabbath was changed by man, is to be repaired.” Prophets and Kings, 678

Sunday

1 A DAY OF DELIGHT

  1. Which day of the week is set aside for rest and holy convocation, and how can we treasure it? Leviticus 23:3; Isaiah 58:13, 14

 Note: “Far more sacredness is attached to the Sabbath than is given it by many professed Sabbathkeepers. The Lord has been greatly dishonored by those who have not kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, either in the letter or in the spirit. He calls for a reform in the observance of the Sabbath.” Testimonies, Vol. 6, 353

“We can sit with them [our children] in the groves and in the bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them upon the works of God, and can inspire them with love and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in nature.

“The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy.” Ibid., Vol. 2, 584, 585

“The Sabbath is not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. The law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the Lord; the toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon that day; but as God ceased His labor of creating, and rested upon the Sabbath and blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life, and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds.” The Desire of Ages, 207

Monday

2 THE SABBATH WAS KEPT IN ANCIENT TIMES

2.a. What is written about the Sabbath before Israel reached Sinai? Exodus 16:23–28. Who are mentioned as Sabbathkeepers in the patriarchal era?

 Note: “There was something to be done in preparing even the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. This was a test for them. God desired to see whether or not they would keep the Sabbath holy. The Lord told the children of Israel that this work must be done on the preparation day, Friday. On that day they were to bake that which they would bake, and seethe that which they would seethe.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13, 292

“The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept.” The Desire of Ages, 283

“Hallowed by the Creator’s rest and blessing, the Sabbath was kept by Adam in his innocence in holy Eden; by Adam, fallen yet repentant, when he was driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs, from Abel to righteous Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob.” The Great Controversy, 453

2.b. When did the Sabbath originate, and what does God require from us regarding the seventh day? Genesis 2:1–3; Exodus 20:8–11

Note: “The Sabbath is not Jewish in its origin. It was instituted in Eden before there were such a people known as the Jews. The Sabbath was made for all mankind, and was instituted in Eden before the fall of man. The Creator called it ‘My holy day.’ Christ announced Himself as ‘the Lord of the Sabbath.’ Beginning with creation, it is as old as the human race, and having been made for man it will exist as long as man shall exist.” The Signs of the Times, November 12, 1894

“The institution of the Sabbath was made when the foundation of the earth was laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Like the other nine precepts of the law, it is of imperishable obligation. It is the memorial of God’s creative power, the reminder of His exalted work. The fourth commandment occupies a sacred position in the law and bears the same hallowed nature as do the other great moral precepts of God.” Ibid., January 8, 1894

Tuesday

3 AN ATTEMPTED CHANGE

3.a. In Bible prophecy, what is written about the attempt to change God’s law? Daniel 7:25. Which commandment was Satan’s target to destroy?

 Note: “The laws of God are the only laws which men are prohibited from changing, for secular powers may change as they see fit the laws of secular governments. In the prophecy it is plainly shown that [the] papal power would with deliberate intention change the law of God.” The Signs of the Times, November 19, 1894

“The papal power has thought to change the law of God by instituting a sabbath for the world and the Christian church; and this spurious sabbath is exalted and revered, while the Sabbath of Jehovah is trampled beneath unholy feet. But will the Lord degrade His law to meet the standard of men? Will He accept a man-made institution in place of the Sabbath which He has sanctified and blessed? No; the convenience or profit of men is not to supersede the claims of God; for He is a jealous God.” The Review and Herald, March 18, 1884

“The Creator of the heavens and the earth commanded, ‘The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work’ (Exodus 20:10). This command was enforced by the example of its Author, proclaimed with His own voice, and placed in the very bosom of the decalogue. But the papal power has removed this divine ordinance, and substituted a day which God has not sanctified, and upon which He did not rest, the festival so long adored by heathens as the ‘venerable day of the sun.’ ” The Signs of the Times, September 14, 1882

3.b. What prophecy will be fulfilled in the last days of this world’s history? Isaiah 56:2–7; 58:12–14

 Note: “All who love God will show that they bear His sign by keeping His commandments. They are the restorers of paths to dwell in.” Testimonies, Vol. 6, 265

“In the time of the end every divine institution is to be restored. The breach made in the law at the time the Sabbath was changed by man is to be repaired. God’s remnant people, standing before the world as reformers, are to show that the law of God is the foundation of all enduring reform and that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is to stand as a memorial of creation.” Prophets and Kings, 678

Wednesday

4 THE SABBATH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

4.a. What was Jesus’ custom to do on Sabbath days, and what did He say about the Sabbath? Luke 4:16, 31; Mark 2:27, 28

 Note: “The Sabbath commandment is placed in the very bosom of the decalogue, amid the unchangeable precepts of Jehovah. And yet from many pulpits of our land a contemptuous cry is raised against the Sabbath instituted by the Lord God of heaven, and it is stigmatized as ‘the old Jewish Sabbath.’ Let all who are seeking for truth remember that the Sabbath was instituted in Eden before there was a Jew in existence, and that the Saviour said, ‘The Sabbath was made for man’ (Mark 2:27). The fourth commandment was spoken with the other nine of God’s moral precepts, amid the thunders and grandeur of Mount Sinai, and in the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary above is the ark of God. It is called the ‘ark of the testament,’ and under its cover—the mercy seat—are the ten commandments that were written with the finger of God.” The Signs of the Times, January 8, 1894

“Jesus had come to ‘magnify the law, and make it honorable’ (Isaiah 42:21). He was not to lessen its dignity, but to exalt it. … He had come to free the Sabbath from those burdensome requirements that had made it a curse instead of a blessing.” The Desire of Ages, 206

“By sweeping away the senseless restrictions of the Jews, Christ honored the Sabbath, while those who complained of Him were dishonoring God’s holy day.” Ibid., 287

4.b. What was the attitude of the disciples, the apostles, and the early Christians regarding the seventh-day Sabbath? Luke 23:54–56; Acts 13:42, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4

Note: “The New Testament has not changed the law of God. The sacredness of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is as firmly established as the throne of Jehovah. John writes: ‘Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth (transgresseth the law) hath not seen Him, neither known Him’ (1 John 3:4–6).” The Sanctified Life, 68

“Christ gave the law to His chosen people, and in seeking to make void the law of God on the ground that Christ abolished it, they [men and women] do insult to both the Father and the Son.” The Signs of the Times, October 2, 1893

Thursday

5 THE SABBATH IN THE NEW EARTH

5.a. What assurance does the Lord give through the prophet Isaiah about the Sabbath on the earth made new? Isaiah 66:22, 23

 Note: “In the ark of God in heaven are the tables of stone upon which are written the precepts that are the foundation of His government. And the Sabbath, which God declares to be the sign of the loyalty of His people, is placed in the bosom of the decalogue. Its sanctity reaches into eternity; for God declares that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, His subjects shall come up to worship before Him in the earth made new.” The Signs of the Times, April 7, 1898

“So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator’s power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun.” The Desire of Ages, 283

5.b. What will be the theme of the redeemed as they come to worship the Lord? Revelation 5:11–13; 15:2–4

 Note: “The theme of redemption is one that the angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the ransomed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now? Should we not praise God with heart and soul and voice ‘for His wonderful works to the children of men’ (Psalm 107:8)?” Testimonies, Vol. 5, 318

“The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity.” The Great Controversy, 651

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1    How can we make the Sabbath a delight?

2    Of what is the Sabbath a memorial, and why is this not “Jewish”?

3    Why is the Sabbath to be brought to a focus at the end of earth’s history?

4    What examples of Sabbathkeeping are there in the New Testament?

5    When will the Sabbath be restored among all true children of God?

Copyright 2000, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

Inspiration – The Sabbath Issue

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Religious powers, allied to heaven by profession, and claiming to have the characteristics of a lamb, will show by their acts that they have the heart of a dragon and that they are instigated and controlled by Satan. The time is coming when God’s people will feel the hand of persecution because they keep holy the seventh day. Satan has caused the change of the Sabbath in the hope of carrying out his purpose for the defeat of God’s plans. He seeks to make the commands of God of less force in the world than human laws. The man of sin, who thought to change times and laws, and who has always oppressed the people of God, will cause laws to be made enforcing the observance of the first day of the week. But God’s people are to stand firm for Him. And the Lord will work in their behalf, showing plainly that He is the God of gods.

The Lord has said: “Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations.” Exodus 31:13. None should disobey His command in order to escape persecution. But let all consider the words of Christ: “When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another.” Matthew 10:23. If it can be avoided, do not put yourselves into the power of men who are worked by the spirit of antichrist. Everything that we can do should be done that those who are willing to suffer for the truth’s sake may be saved from oppression and cruelty.

Christ is our example. The determination of antichrist to carry out the rebellion he began in heaven will continue to work in the children of disobedience. Their envy and hatred against those who obey the fourth commandment will wax more and more bitter. But the people of God are not to hide their banner. They are not to ignore the commandments of God and, in order to have an easy time, go with the multitude to do evil.

The Lord encourages all who seek Him with the whole heart. He gives them His Holy Spirit, the manifestation of His presence and favor. But those who forsake God in order to save their lives will be forsaken by Him. In seeking to save their lives by yielding the truth, they will lose eternal life.

The night of trial is nearly spent. Satan is bringing in his masterly power because he knoweth that his time is short. The chastisement of God is upon the world to call all who know the truth to hide in the cleft of the Rock and view the glory of God. The truth must not be muffled now. Plain statements must be made. Unvarnished truth must be spoken, in leaflets and pamphlets, and these must be scattered like the leaves of autumn. Testimonies, vol. 9, 229, 230

Watch the Signs

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The “abomination of desolation” is first described in the book of Daniel (Daniel 11:31). A few days before His crucifixion, Jesus spoke to His disciples about this entity saying, “whoever reads, let him understand” (Matthew 24:15).

The meaning of the Hebrew word abomination in the book of Daniel is translated abomination or a detestable thing. Throughout the Old Testament the word is quite common and is almost always used in regard to detestable idols or something to do with idolatry.

In the New Testament the words eramus or eromosis are used for desolation or devastation.

Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come [notice the context]. ‘Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand), ‘then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.’ ” (Matthew 24:14–18). (See also Mark 13:14–16).

The expression “abomination of desolation” is not used in the gospel of Luke, but it talks about the same thing. It says, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her (don’t return). For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:20–22).

This was the clear instruction given by Jesus just a few days before He was crucified. When they saw the abomination stand where it should not, they were to flee out of Jerusalem. If they were in the country, they were not to return to the city.

What exactly is the abomination of desolation?

There have been many different explanations, but here we will stick with inspired statements that tell us what we need to know.

“Jesus declared to the listening disciples the judgments that were to fall upon apostate Israel, and especially the retributive vengeance that would come upon them for their rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. Unmistakable signs would precede the awful climax. The dreaded hour would come suddenly and swiftly. And the Saviour warned His followers: ‘When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth let him understand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains’ (Matthew 24:15, 16). When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight. When the warning sign should be seen, judgment was to follow so quickly that those who would escape must make no delay. He who chanced to be upon the housetop must not go down through his house into the street; but he must speed his way from roof to roof until he reach the city wall, and be saved ‘so as by fire’ (1 Corinthians 3:15). Those who were working in the fields or vineyards must not take time to return for the outer garment laid aside while they should be toiling in the heat of the day. They must not hesitate a moment, lest they be involved in the general destruction.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 26, 27.

The signal to flee, according to this passage, was when the idolatrous standards of the Romans were set up outside the city walls. It was so important that they escape that there was no time for delay, not even to go to their house to get a coat.

Unmistakable signs were given by Jesus. “All the predictions given by Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled to the letter. The Jews experienced the truth of His words of warning, ‘With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again’ (Matthew 7:2).

“Signs and wonders appeared, foreboding disaster and doom.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 31.

What were some of these signs and wonders?

“A comet, resembling a flaming sword, for a year hung over the city. An unnatural light was seen hovering over the temple. Upon the clouds were pictured chariots mustering for battle. Mysterious voices in the temple court uttered the warning words, ‘Let us depart hence.’ The eastern gate of the inner court, which was of brass, and so heavy that it was with difficulty shut by a score of men, and having bolts fastened deep into the firm pavement, was seen at midnight to be opened of its own accord.

“For seven years a man continued to go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, declaring the woes that were to come upon the city.” Ibid.

How many Christians perished in the destruction of Jerusalem?

“Not one Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. Christ had given His disciples warning, and all who believed His words watched for the promised sign. After the Romans had surrounded the city, they unexpectedly withdrew their forces, at a time when everything seemed favorable for an immediate attack. In the providence of God the promised signal was thus given to the waiting Christians, and without a moment’s delay they fled [in the fall of A.D. 66] to a place of safety—the refuge city Pella, in the land of Perea, beyond Jordan.” Ibid., 32.

The greatest sign was when the abomination of desolation stood, but before that there were many other signs that told it was time to get ready to go. When the abomination of desolation appeared, it was the last call for Christ’s followers who had listened to His warning to find safety in flight, and thus save their lives, so that not one Christian perished.

The first siege of Jerusalem, under the Roman army, happened under General Cestius. He surrounded Jerusalem with the Roman armies but, when it seemed favorable to attack, he unexpectedly withdrew his forces. When Cestius began to retreat, he planted the abomination of desolation, the banner of Rome, on the holy ground. When the Roman standards were planted there, right outside the city of Jerusalem, it was the sign for the followers of Christ to flee. All the predictions that Christ gave concerning the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled to the letter.

Ellen White wrote in Christ’s Object Lessons, 296, that when Jerusalem was destroyed, the whole area where the temple had been was plowed like a field.

In the spring of A.D. 70, when there were over a million Jews inside the city of Jerusalem for the Passover, the Roman army, with Titus at its head, returned and surrounded the city again. This second and final siege lasted from the time of the Passover in March/April until the city fell about August 30 of that same year.

Ellen White describes it this way: “Terrible were the calamities which fell upon Jerusalem in the siege of the city by Titus. The last desperate assault was made at the time of the passover, when millions of Jews had assembled within its walls to celebrate the national festival. Their stores of provision, which if carefully preserved would have been sufficient to supply the inhabitants for years, had previously been destroyed through the jealousy and revenge of the contending factions, and now all the horrors of starvation were experienced.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 32.

Horrible things happened. “The Roman leaders endeavored to strike terror to the Jews, and thus cause them to surrender. Those prisoners who resisted when taken, were scourged, tortured, and crucified before the wall of the city. Hundreds were daily put to death in this manner, and the dreadful work continued until, along the valley of Jehoshaphat and at Calvary, crosses were erected in so great numbers that there was scarcely room to move among them.” Ibid., 33.

The destruction of Jerusalem is a type of what is going to happen at the end of the world. “The Saviour’s prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible scene was but a faint shadow.” Ibid., 37.

This is a scary thought! History records that over a million Jews were slaughtered during the destruction of Jerusalem. We have no idea just how many were led away captive and taken to Rome. Some of them were killed by gladiators for their entertainment in the coliseum. Others were made slaves and sent all over the world. What happened then was to have another fulfillment.

Ellen White says that that terrible scene was “a faint shadow” of a future event. The word faint means small, almost insignificant.

She says, “The second advent of the Son of God is foretold by lips which make no mistake: ‘Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). …

“Let men beware lest they neglect the lesson conveyed to them in the words of Christ. He has declared that He will come the second time, to gather His faithful ones to himself, and to take vengeance on them that reject his mercy. As He [Jesus] warned His disciples of Jerusalem’s destruction, giving them a sign of the approaching ruin that they might make their escape, so He has warned His people of the day of final destruction, and given them signs of its approach, that all who will may flee from the wrath to come. Those who behold the promised signs are to ‘know that it is near, even at the door’ (verse 33, last part).” Ibid., 38.

What is the abomination of desolation today?

Remember, this is a two-fold prophecy. We know what the abomination of desolation was to the Christians in Jerusalem, but what does it represent today? Christians must identify the banner or flag of Rome, today. It is Sunday worship. The abomination of desolation today is Sunday worship, the symbol, sign, and mark of Rome’s self-assumed authority.

Look back again at Matthew 24:14–18. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. ‘Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ [remember, Jerusalem was called the holy city] (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.’ ”

Notice, the gospel goes to all the world and then the abomination of desolation is planted.

Let’s look at the first fulfillment. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul said that the gospel had been preached throughout the world. He said, “If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister” (Colossians 1:23). This letter was written before A.D. 66.

“After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations, at a time when every conceivable power of evil is set in operation, when minds are confused by the many voices crying, ‘Lo, here is Christ,’ ‘Lo, He is there,’ ‘This is truth,’ ‘I have a message from God,’ ‘He has sent me with great light,’ and there is a removing of the landmarks, and an attempt to tear down the pillars of our faith—then a more decided effort is made to exalt the false sabbath, and to cast contempt upon God Himself by supplanting the day He has blessed and sanctified.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 406.

One of the signs that precedes the setting up of the abomination of desolation is a removing of the landmarks of the Seventh-day Adventist faith—a removing of the landmarks.

There is a good reason that the magazine we publish here at Steps to Life is called LandMarks of Historic Adventism. There are many baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist church who do not know the historic fundamentals of Adventism. That is why we hold that name—because a removing of the landmarks and the pillars of the Adventist church has been going on for a long time.

Let’s review the history of ancient Jerusalem and pay particular attention to the events surrounding the planting of the abomination of desolation. In The Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4, page 31, it says, “Signs and wonders appeared, foreboding disaster and doom.”

She says, “A comet, resembling a flaming sword, for a year hung over the city.” Ibid. Because the Chinese began documenting signs in heaven over 200 years before Christ, we have accurate records of the history of Halley’s comet from that time clear up to the present day. And we know then, that Halley’s Comet was seen by those in Jerusalem around February, of A.D. 66. Cestius began his siege a few months later. Halley’s comet was one of the major signs warning of impending destruction in Jerusalem.

“At the time of the siege, the Jews were assembled at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of the Tabernacles, and thus the Christians throughout the land were able to make their escape unmolested. Without delay they fled to a place of safety.” The Great Controversy, 31. This was in the fall and Halley’s Comet was in the spring.

The siege was not resumed by Titus until Passover time, A.D. 70, which was a little over three years later. Why is it that Jesus said in both Matthew and Luke that when that happens, flee? Don’t even come back down into your house. Don’t even come back from the field. Flee, right then. I don’t know if I know the complete answer to that question yet. I have been thinking about this and studying it for a long time. But, part of the answer had to do with the internal corruption that occurred in Jerusalem during that time.

The people were instructed by false teachers that no matter what happened, you should stay in the city to be protected, but that was an error. What the people were taught was exactly opposite of what Jesus had predicted. So if you believed what Jesus said, you fled and got out. If you listened to what the church said, you stayed in and perished.

“In their blind and blasphemous presumption the instigators of this hellish work publicly declared that they had no fear that Jerusalem would be destroyed, for it was God’s own city. To establish their power more firmly, they bribed false prophets to proclaim, even when Roman legions were besieging the temple, that the people were to wait for deliverance from God.” Ibid., 29.

The leaders instructed not to flee. Stay right there, and God will save you. Everybody who listened to their lie got slaughtered. It says, “To the last, multitudes held fast to the belief that the Most High would interpose for the defeat of their adversaries.” Ibid.

The greatest danger of coming back to the city of Jerusalem was the risk of being deceived by the false teachers saying that safety and security was in staying there and waiting for deliverance that would never come. Sadly, the majority of the people obeyed man instead of God. They showed that they loved man and their church more than God whom they professed to follow and obey.

Who represents Jerusalem today?

Now we come to a critical question. As the abomination of desolation is a two-fold prophecy, meaning that it is going to have another occurrence in the last days, then who represents Jerusalem today? Who is God’s chosen church, as was Jerusalem, that has been given the oracles of God?

Referring to the Seventh-day Adventist church, Ellen White said, “Jerusalem is a representation of what the church will be if it refuses to walk in the light that God has given. Jerusalem was favored of God as the depositary of sacred trusts.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 67.

Has the Seventh-day Adventist Church been favored of God as the depositary of sacred trusts? Who is it that has all the publishing rights to the prophetic works of Ellen White? The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the depositary of sacred trusts.

“But her people perverted the truth, and despised all entreaties and warnings. They would not respect His counsels. The temple courts were polluted with merchandise and robbery.” Ibid.

“There was danger that Battle Creek would become as Jerusalem of old—a powerful center. If we do not heed these warnings, the evils that ruined Jerusalem will come upon us.” Ibid., 133.

“The same danger exists today among the people who profess to be the depositaries of God’s law. They are too apt to flatter themselves that the regard in which they hold the commandments will preserve them from the power of divine justice. They refuse to be reproved for evil, and charge God’s servants with being too zealous in putting sin out of the camp. A sin-hating God calls upon those who profess to keep His law to depart from all iniquity. Neglect to repent and obey His word will bring as serious consequences upon God’s people today as did the same sin upon ancient Israel. There is a limit beyond which He will no longer delay His judgments. The desolation of Jerusalem stands as a solemn warning before the eyes of modern Israel, that the corrections given through His chosen instruments cannot be disregarded with impunity.” Ibid., vol. 4, 166, 167.

If we don’t listen to the warnings God has given to us, the ruin that came upon Israel will come upon us. Ellen White said in a letter in The Early Elmshaven Years, 45, 46: “For a week before I fully consented to go to Battle Creek [church headquarters], I did not sleep past one o’clock. Some nights I was up at eleven o’clock, and many nights at twelve. I have not moved from impulse, but from the conviction that at this time that I must begin at Jerusalem.”

This is a very interesting statement. Jerusalem represents the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Will the abomination of desolation, that is, the banner of Rome, Sunday worship, be planted in the headquarters of the professed Seventh-day Adventist Church?

In Ezekiel 8, the prophet in vision is told about abominations in the temple in Jerusalem. Then in chapter 9, it tells about the destruction that is going to occur because of these abominations and about the people of God who are sighing and crying for these abominations that are occurring within the church.

Years ago, while I was attending Walla Walla college and studying these prophesies, my teacher tried to explain to me that this was all about something that was going on in Ezekiel’s time. But that is not the case.

In Selected Messages, vol. 3, 338, it says, “Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us.” They spoke more for our time.

“All the great events and solemn transactions of Old Testament history have been, and are, repeating themselves in the church in these last days.” Ibid., 339.

“The last books of the Old Testament show us workers taken from the laborers in the field. Others were men of high ability and extensive learning, but the Lord gave them visions and messages. These men of the Old Testament spoke of things transpiring in their day, and Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel not only spoke of things that concerned them as present truth, but their sights reached down to the future, and to what should occur in these last days.” Ibid., 419, 420.

Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel are specifically mentioned that they had “their sights” clearly down on our time. When we read from Ezekiel, we are not just reading about something that happened several hundred years before Christ. We are reading about something that’s going to happen in the last days.

Ellen White said that the prophecy in Ezekiel 9 will be fulfilled to the very letter. (See The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1303.)

When Ezekiel mentions Jerusalem, he is talking about the Seventh-day Adventist church. When He talks about the temple, He is talking about the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist church. These abominations in Ezekiel 8 will be seen occurring within the Seventh-day Adventist church and we need to be aware of these things.

Ezekiel 8 verse 16 states: “So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.”

This is what the faithful were sighing and crying about in chapter 9. Did you notice how many people there were? “About twenty-five men.”

In the 1901 General Conference Bulletin, on page 378, it says, “The general conference constitution.” Under article 1 it says, “This organization shall be known as the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.” [April 22, 1901-Extra # 17]

Under article 2, “Object. The object of this Conference shall be to unify and to extend to all parts of the world, the work of promulgating the everlasting gospel.”

Article 4, on the executive committee, section 1, on page 379, says: “The Executive Committee of this Conference shall be twenty-five in number.” Interesting!

This article is not intended to point a finger at anybody. God’s people interpret prophecy that has been fulfilled in the past and we try to understand prophecy that will be fulfilled in the future. However, if you look at history you will find that we have a very poor track record at recognizing when a prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of us.

Remember, Jesus came to His people and said, “This day” this prophecy is “fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). And what happened? They tried to kill him.

We have a very poor track record.

My dear friends, prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes, and the question is, Will we not recognize it until it is too late?

We had better pay attention and recognize the signs. They are like the handwriting on the wall and we would not want to miss them.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – If You Are Loyal and True

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When King Nebuchadnezzar had the three Hebrews cast into the fiery furnace (see Daniel 3), “his triumph suddenly came to an end. He saw something that he thought must be an illusion. … With a voice trembling with excitement, he cried, ‘Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’ (Daniel 3:25). [Emphasis author’s.] …

“History will be repeated. False religion will be exalted. The first day of the week, a common working day, possessing no sanctity whatever, will be set up as was the image at Babylon. …

“Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the word of God, refuse to worship this false sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace were ready to consume them. So it will be now. The Papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so. …

“ ‘If ye love Me,’ said Christ, ‘keep My commandments.’ ‘He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him’ (John 14:15, 21). And has not Christ manifested Himself to His faithful children? Did He not walk in the furnace with the captives who refused to yield to the golden image one tittle of the reverence which belonged to God? Did He not manifest Himself to John, banished to the Isle of Patmos for his faithfulness? …

“Truth is to be obeyed at any cost, even tho gaping prisons, chain-gangs, and banishment stare us in the face. If you are loyal and true, that God who walked with the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, who protected Daniel in the lions’ den, who manifested Himself to John on the lonely island, will go with you wherever you go. His abiding presence will comfort and sustain you; and you will realize the fulfilment of the promise, ‘If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him’ (verse 23).” The Signs of the Times, May 6, 1897.

Bible Study Guides – For in Six Days the Lord Made Heaven and Earth

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September 12, 1999 – September 19, 1999

MEMORY VERSE: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2–3.

STUDY HELP: Desire of Ages, 281–289.

Introduction

“The Sabbath is a golden clasp that unites God and His people. But the Sabbath command has been broken. God’s holy day has been desecrated. The Sabbath has been torn from its place by the man of sin, and a common working day has been exalted in its stead. A breach has been made in the law, and this breach is to be repaired. The true Sabbath is to be exalted to its rightful position as God’s rest day. In the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah is outlined the work which God’s people are to do. They are to magnify the law and make it honourable, to build up the old waste places, and to raise up the foundations of many generations. To those who do this work God says: ‘Thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’” Testimonies, vol. 6, 352.

“Call the Sabbath a Delight”

  •  When was the Sabbath instituted? Genesis 2:2, 3.

NOTE: “The object of the Sabbath was that all mankind might be benefited. Man was not made to fit the Sabbath; for the Sabbath was made after the creation of man, to meet his necessities. After God had made the world in six days, He rested and sanctified and blessed the day upon which He rested from all His work which He had created and made. He set apart that special day for man to rest from his labour, that, as he should look upon the earth beneath and the heavens above, he might reflect that God made all these in six days and rested upon the seventh; and that, as he should behold the tangible proofs of God’s infinite wisdom, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 583.

  • What indication are we given that Noah was aware of the days of the week? Genesis 7:4, 10, 8:10, 12. (Compare Genesis 31:23, 50:10, Exodus 7:25, 12:15, 19, 13:6, 7.)

NOTE: Unlike the day, month and year, the week has no astronomical origin. The day, month and year are fixed by astronomical cycles. The day is the period in which the earth rotates upon its axis. The Month was designed to reflect the period during which the moon circles the earth while the year is the period during which the earth revolves about the sun. The week alone has no natural origin and comes only from the word of God.

“The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when ‘the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’ Job 38:7. Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. ‘God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;’ and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Gen. 1:31. Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,’—set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God’s power and His love. The Scripture says, ‘He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered.’ ‘The things that are made,’ declare ‘the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world,’ ‘even His everlasting power and divinity.’ Gen. 2:3; Ps. 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.” Desire of Ages, page 281.

  • For whom was the Sabbath made? Mark 2:27.

NOTE: Though there are still some who claim that Sabbath-keeping was confined to the Jews, the testimony of history does not support this opinion.

“It is a well-attested historical fact that the weekly cycle was observed and the seventh day was kept sacred by nearly all the most ancient nations of the earth beside the Jews. There are decisive evidences to show that the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Arabians, Greeks and Romans and even the Chinese knew of the Sabbath and at an early period regarded at as a sacred day . . . John G. Butler, a Free-Will Baptist author, in his Natural and Revealed Theology, page 396 says: ‘We learn also, from the testimony of Philo, Hesiod, Josephus, Porphyry and others, that the division of time into weeks and the observance of the seventh day were common to the nations of antiquity. They would not have adopted such a custom from the Jews. Whence, then, could it have been derived but through tradition, from its original institution in the Garden of Eden?’ The Asiatic Journal says: ‘The prime minister of the empire affirms that the Sabbath was anciently observed by the Chinese, in conformity to the directions of the king.’ The Congregationalist (Boston) November 15, 1882, referring to the Creation Tablets found by Mr Smith on the banks of the Tigris near Nineveh, gives the following: ‘Mr George Smith says in his Assyrian Discoveries (1875): ‘In the year 1869 I discovered, among other things, a curious religious calendar of the Assyrians, in which every month is divided into four weeks and the seventh days, or Sabbaths, are marked out as days on which no work should be undertaken…The calendar contains lists of work forbidden to be done on these days, which evidently correspond to the Sabbaths of the Jews.’” George I. Butler, The Change of the Sabbath, 20, 21.

“That I May Prove Them”

  •  What example of Sabbath-keeping is recorded before the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai? Exodus 16:11–26.

NOTE: “Every week during their long sojourn in the wilderness the Israelites witnessed a threefold miracle, designed to impress their minds with the sacredness of the Sabbath: a double quantity of manna fell on the sixth day, none on the seventh, and the portion needed for the Sabbath was preserved sweet and pure, when if any were kept over at any other time it became unfit for use.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 296.

  • What purpose did God have for the giving of the manna? Exodus 16:4, 28.

NOTE: “In the circumstances connected with the giving of the manna, we have conclusive evidence that the Sabbath was not instituted, as many claim, when the law was given at Sinai. Before the Israelites came to Sinai they understood the Sabbath to be obligatory upon them. In being obliged to gather every Friday a double portion of manna in preparation for the Sabbath, when none would fall, the sacred nature of the day of rest was continually impressed upon them. And when some of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, the Lord asked, ‘How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?’” Patriarchs and Prophets, 296, 297.

“The Seventh Day is the Sabbath of Rest”

  • For what purpose was the Sabbath made? Exodus 20:10. (Compare Nehemiah 13:13–19)

NOTE: “Those who are not fully converted to the truth frequently let their minds run freely upon worldly business, and, although they may rest from physical toil upon the Sabbath, their tongues speak out what is in their minds; hence these words concerning cattle, crops, losses, and gains. All this is Sabbath breaking. If the mind is running upon worldly matters, the tongue will reveal it, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 703.

  • What other purpose does the Sabbath afford? Leviticus 23:3. (Compare Isaiah 66:23.)

NOTE: Among the advocates of Sunday observance, the claim is made that the Sabbath was for rest only and not for God’s people to meet for worship. It is Sunday, they claim that is, in contrast, a day for worship. The Hebrew word ‘miqra’ ranslated as “convocation” has the meaning of a public meeting or assembly.

“Those who receive the light of truth are to have lesson upon lesson to educate them not to keep silent, but to speak often one to another. They are to keep in mind the Sabbath meeting, when those who love and fear God, and who think upon his name, can have opportunity to express their thoughts in speaking one to another. Let not the little companies think that they can have no meeting when they have no minister. Let them not think that one of their members must stand in the pulpit and preach to them. The time and season are very precious. The assembled believers are in the audience chamber of the universe of Heaven. They are to witness for God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his life for the world. The little company are to do service to God by offering to him spiritual worship. When there is no delegated minister to speak to the little companies, let each one witness to the truth, and be faithful to speak often one to another of the love of God, and thus train and educate the soul. Let each one seek to become an intelligent Christian, bearing his responsibility, and acting his personal part to make the meeting interesting and profitable.” Review and Sabbath, September 10, 1895.

“Lawful to Do Well on the Sabbath Day”

  •  What other activity did Jesus describe as lawful for the Sabbath day? Matthew 12:10–13.

NOTE: “He had chosen the Sabbath upon which to perform the act of healing at Bethesda. He could have healed the sick man as well on any other day of the week; or He might simply have cured him, without bidding him bear away his bed. But this would not have given Him the opportunity He desired. A wise purpose underlay every act of Christ’s life on earth. Everything He did was important in itself and in its teaching. Among the afflicted ones at the pool He selected the worst case upon whom to exercise His healing power, and bade the man carry his bed through the city in order to publish the great work that had been wrought upon him. This would raise the question of what it was lawful to do on the Sabbath, and would open the way for Him to denounce the restrictions of the Jews in regard to the Lord’s day, and to declare their traditions void. Jesus stated to them that the work of relieving the afflicted was in harmony with the Sabbath law. It was in harmony with the work of God’s angels, who are ever descending and ascending between heaven and earth to minister to suffering humanity.” Desire of Ages, 206.

  • How was this teaching of Jesus regarded by the Pharisees? Matthew 12:14.

NOTE: “The Jews had so perverted the law that they made it a yoke of bondage. Their meaningless requirements had become a byword among other nations. Especially was the Sabbath hedged in by all manner of senseless restrictions. It was not to them a delight, the holy of the Lord, and honourable. The scribes and Pharisees had made its observance an intolerable burden. A Jew was not allowed to kindle a fire nor even to light a candle on the Sabbath. As a consequence the people were dependent upon the Gentiles for many services which their rules forbade them to do for themselves. They did not reflect that if these acts were sinful, those who employed others to perform them were as guilty as if they had done the work themselves. They thought that salvation was restricted to the Jews, and that the condition of all others, being already hopeless, could be made no worse. But God has given no commandments which cannot be obeyed by all. His laws sanction no unreasonable or selfish restrictions.” Desire of Ages, 204.

“Hallow My Sabbaths”

  •  What special significance did the Lord attach to the Sabbath? Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:12.

NOTE: “The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience. To us as to Israel the Sabbath is given ‘for a perpetual covenant.’ To those who reverence His holy day the Sabbath is a sign that God recognises them as His chosen people. It is a pledge that He will fulfil to them His covenant. Every soul who accepts the sign of God’s government places himself under the divine, everlasting covenant. He fastens himself to the golden chain of obedience, every link of which is a promise.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 350.

  • What further significance has God revealed in Sabbath observance? Ezekiel 20:20.

NOTE: “The Sabbath is the Lord’s test, and no man, be he king, priest, or ruler, is authorized to come between God and man. Those who seek to be conscience for their fellow men, place themselves above God. Those who are under the influence of a false religion, who observe a spurious rest day, will set aside the most positive evidence in regard to the true Sabbath. They will try to compel men to obey the laws of their own creation, laws that are directly opposed to the law of God. Upon those who continue in this course, the wrath of God will fall. Unless they change, they cannot escape the penalty.’ Testimonies, vol. 9, 234, 235.

“When the claims of the Sabbath are presented, there are many who ask, What difference does it make what day we keep as the Sabbath, so long as we observe one day in seven? We answer, It makes all possible difference whether we obey or disregard the word of God. God has given us the Sabbath as a memorial of the great work of creation . . . He declares through Moses, ‘It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.’ And the children of Israel include all who believe in Christ. For ‘if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed.’ Again, by the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord says, ‘Hallow my Sabbaths; for they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ The Sabbath is a sign of God’s creative power; it shows him to be supreme, the Maker and Upholder of the universe, the One from whom we receive ‘life and breath and all things,’ and hence the One to whom our allegiance is due.” Signs of the Times, June 12, 1893.

“Turn Away thy Foot From the Sabbath”

  •  What attitude towards the Sabbath will bring the blessings that God placed upon the Sabbath? Isaiah 58:13.

NOTE: “To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’ Matt 11:28.” Desire of Ages, 289.

  • What special promises are for those who remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy? Isaiah 58:14.

NOTE: “Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced ‘very good.’ Genesis 1:31. Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. ‘The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’ Job 38:7. Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. Our heavenly Father desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him we may have life and peace.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 349.

The Rise of Sabbatarian Adventism

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“We now turn to the second distinguishing doctrine of the Sabbatarian Adventists—their acceptance and observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Prophetic interpretation, as we have seen from the sources, has persisted through the vicissitudes of the passing centuries, despite certain stormy upheavals and periodic setbacks. In a similar way, though not so commonly known, the Christian observance of the seventh-day Sabbath has likewise persisted throughout the Christian era. At times it has been driven underground, into silence and obscurity. But it has inevitably reappeared to bear its witness and urge its message upon mankind. The Sabbath, and its change and restoration, are tied inseparably into the very structure of Bible prophecy, the Sabbatarian Adventists firmly believed.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 906.

Following the death of the apostles, Sabbath observance continued in various parts of the Roman Empire. There were some in the Celtic Church of Scotland that kept the seventh-day Sabbath. The same was true in Ethiopia and Abyssinia as well as in pre-Reformation Norway. During and after the Reformation period, Sabbath-keeping reappeared in Sweden, Finland, Bohemia, England, Poland, France and Germany. These groups developed into the Seventh-Day Baptist communion. Samuel Mumford took this movement from England to America in 1664. The years following saw the establishment of the Seventh-Day Baptists in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“The seventeenth-century revival of the seventh-day Sabbath centered chiefly in England, touched Continental Europe slightly, and was projected into the New World. And we have seen how, in North America, agitation over the seventh-day Sabbath appeared first in the Colonial Era, and then in the early National period, and this among men of British as well as German background. And now, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, simultaneously in Argentina and Scotland, new Sabbatarian voices break forth early in the great revival of prophetic exposition, which appeared at the same time in the different countries of Christendom. Thus the Sabbath message was brought out in connection with the Old World Advent Awakening, and in the New World Second Advent Movement.

“These two doctrines combined—the second-advent and the Sabbath—were proclaimed. . . by two widely separated pioneer advent heralds—Francisco Ramos Mexia, prominent Argentine patriot (with a Scottish Protestant background on his mothers side), and Presbyterian James A. Begg, substantial bookseller, printer, and author of Glasgow, Scotland. Within a few years of each other they began to combine emphasis on the binding obligation of an unchanged seventh-day Sabbath with the heralding of the imminent second advent, planting both doctrines squarely on the foundation of Bible prophecy.” Ibid., 941.

The Sabbath Message Presented to the Adventists

During the years 1843 and 1844, the Seventh-Day Baptists, through fasting and prayer, supplicated God to raise up others that were Sabbathkeepers. In the meantime Rachel Oakes began the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath and proclaimed this truth in Washington, New Hampshire, where two ministers accepted it. One was a Methodist circuit rider named Frederick Wheeler. The other was Thomas M. Preble, the first Adventist to advocate the Sabbath in print. An article that he wrote and published in The Hope of Israel in 1845, introduced the Sabbath to J. N. Andrews and Joseph Bates. (Unfortunately, later Preble turned against the Sabbath truth and wrote against it.) It was by means of a tract, Bates wrote, that the Sabbath was brought to James and Ellen White.

For almost two hundred years the Seventh-Day Baptists were practically the only ones that upheld the seventh day as the Sabbath. The Sunday-keeping churches all rejected the appeals of the Seventh-Day Baptists. This was also the response of the Millerites in general. The leaders and editors of the Adventist journals were highly critical of the agitation among the Adventists about the seventh-day Sabbath.

In August, of 1844, an article appeared that stated: “We feel borne irresistibly to the conclusion that there is no particular portion of time which Christians are required by Law to set apart, as holy time. If the Scriptures, and the considerations presented, do not convince our readers of this, then we think there is another conclusion to which they must come, viz. The particular portion of time which God requires us to observe as holy, is the seventh day of the week, that is, Saturday.

“We regret to leave the argument at this point, but space fails and we must beg our readers to search the Scriptures to see if these things are so. They have learned to bow to no authority but God’s, and having that, to treat the decisions of men as utterly worthless.

“We love the seventh-day brethren and sisters, but we think they are trying to mend the old broken Jewish yoke, and put it on their necks, instead of standing fast in the liberty wherewith Christ makes free.” Ibid., 944.

After Bates heard about the Sabbath through Preble’s article, he met Frederick Wheeler. Bates was so interested in what he had to say that they conversed all night about the Law of God and the neglected Sabbath. Together they went to confer with Cyrus Farnsworth, an early lay pioneer of the Adventists. These three men sealed a pact among them about the Law of God and in particular the most neglected part of it, the seventh-day Sabbath. Thus by the efforts of these three men, New Hampshire became the cradle of the Seventh-day Adventists.

In 1846, Joseph Bates published a forty-eight page tract entitled The Seventh Day Sabbath, A Perpetual Sign. He based his premise upon the fact that the Sabbath was instituted at Creation and was reinforced at Sinai. And since the Ten Commandments are the moral guide for everyone, the Sabbath commandment should be obeyed just like the others.

This tract was followed by another, entitled A Seal of the Living God, January 1849, where he set forth the Sabbath as being the seal of God. Bates concluded that the remnant “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ would number 144,000.”

Prominent Adventist Leaders Accept the Sabbath

At first, Ellen Harmon and James White did not accept the Sabbath truth as presented by Bates. Ellen was brought up a Methodist and believed in “free grace and dying love.” James claimed that Christians are not “under the Law.” They both regarded the Sabbath as Jewish and felt that Bates had placed too much emphasis upon keeping it. However, after their marriage they studied Bates’ tract more closely and, comparing the clear Biblical and historical evidence, shortly began to keep the Sabbath.

John Nevins Andrews was another young man that accepted the Sabbath when Marian Stowell, a fellow Advent believer, who was staying in the Andrew’s home, gave him a copy of Preble’s Hope of Israel. The parents of both these young people, after reading the tract, accepted the seventh-day Sabbath. The Cyprian Stevens family was the next to believe in the seventh-day Sabbath. One of their daughters later became Mrs. J. N. Andrews and the other one Mrs. Uriah Smith.

“Although the seventh-day Sabbath came to the attention of a group of Adventists through the Seventh-Day Baptists, it was the light on the sanctuary and the prophecy of Daniel 7:25 coupled with that of Revelation 14:9–12 that invested it with a significance and an importance that the Sabbath had never had under the Seventh-Day Baptists. They had long held that all the Ten Commandments are moral, not ceremonial; that they are unchangeable, being a revelation of the character of God; and that the change of the Sabbath was made by the papal church without authorization from God. Their position in this was impregnable. But Mrs. Preston (Rachel Oakes), in Washington, New Hampshire, simply urging the claim of the unchanged seventh-day Sabbath, did not have much initial success. Only in the sanctuary setting did it begin to grip hearts. The belief that men were living in the judgment hour, and were to be judged by the great unchanged standard of the judgment, with the coming of Christ drawing near, drove home the conviction that the Lord was calling men to obey all of His commandments.” Ibid., 960.

In 1849, Joseph Bates went to Michigan where he raised up a company of Sabbath-keepers in Jackson. He went to Battle Creek in 1852 and when he arrived he asked the postmaster for the name of the most honest man in that town. He was given the name of David Hewitt. Bates spent all day at the Hewitt home presenting a thorough and systematic study of the Advent Movement, including the Three Angels’ Messages of Revelation 14. The family accepted the entire presentation and soon a group was meeting in their home until a building could be erected for meetings.

And this was Bates’ typical method. When he went where there were no churches, he rented a hall, schoolhouse or a home, hung up his 1843 chart and preached on the new found light. Many churches were established. The success of these churches was always based on the prophecies. In 1860, when the Sabbatarian Adventists decided to organize, Joseph Bates was made the chairman and directed the conference to a successful conclusion.

“So, to the concept of Christ entering the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, on October 22, 1844, for the final work of judgment and the receiving of His kingdom, was added the Sabbath . . . . This concept of the ‘seal’ was likewise built into the message of the Sabbath, as an added prophetic element. And this thought was similarly attested by Ellen White, who wrote, ‘This seal is the Sabbath,’ and described the most holy place in which was the ark (Revelation 11:9), containing the Ten Commandments, with a halo of light surrounding the fourth. Thus the Sabbath and the sanctuary became inseparably tied together.” Ibid., 958.

The Sabbath – A Delight

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“There is need of a Sabbath reform among us, who profess to observe God’s holy rest day.” Evangelism, 245.

Preparation for the Sabbath–What preparations in our homes should be done before the Sabbath?

“On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness, and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked, and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule, you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. . . . Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment.” Child Guidance, 528.

“All preparation should be made, every stitch taken, on the six working days; all cooking for the Sabbath should be done on the preparation day. . . . The commandment is, `Bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe, for to-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath.’ That day is not to be given to the cooking of food.” Lake Union Herald, April 14, 1909.

When should all ordinary work be completed?

“Before the setting of the sun let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight.” The Faith I Live By, 34.

“We should jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath. Remember that every moment is consecrated, holy time.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 356.

What are employers responsible to do for their employees on the preparation day?

“Whenever it is possible, employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord’s day with quietness of mind. By such a course you will suffer no loss even in temporal things.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 356.

What other type of preparation is needed before the Sabbath?

“There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away. Let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul. In a humble spirit, `confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another.’ ” The Faith I Live By, 34.

How should families spend the opening of the Sabbath hours?

“Before the setting of the sun let the members of the family assemble to read God’s word, to sing and pray. There is need of reform here, for many have been remiss. We need to confess to God and to one another. We should begin anew to make special arrangements that every member of the family may be prepared to honor the day which God has blessed and sanctified.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 356, 357.

Behavior Upon the Sabbath–What should our attitude and behavior be when we are in the house of God?

“Humility and reverence should characterize the deportment of all who come into the presence of God. In the name of Jesus we may come before Him with confidence, but we must not approach Him with the boldness of presumption, as though He were on a level with ourselves. There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would address an equal, or even an inferior. There are those who conduct themselves in His house as they would not presume to do in the audience chamber of an earthly ruler. These should remember that they are in His sight whom seraphim adore, before whom angels veil their faces. God is greatly to be reverenced; all who truly realize His presence will bow in humility before Him, and, like Jacob beholding the vision of God, they will cry out, `How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'” Patriarchs and Prophets, 252.

“When the worshipers enter the place of meeting, they should do so with decorum, passing quietly to their seats. . . .Common talking, whispering, and laughing should not be permitted in the house of worship, either before or after the service. Ardent, active piety should characterize the worshipers.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 492.

“When the word is spoken, you should remember, brethren, that you are listening to the voice of God through His delegated servant. Listen attentively. Sleep not for one instant, because by this slumber you may lose the very words that you need most-the very words which, if heeded, would save your feet from straying into wrong paths. Satan and his angels are busy creating a paralyzed condition of the senses so that cautions, warnings, and reproofs shall not be heard; or if heard, that they shall not take effect upon the heart and reform the life. Sometimes a little child may so attract the attention of the hearers that the precious seed does not fall into good ground and bring forth fruit.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 493.

Can God be dishonored by our children’s behavior in the house of God?

“The house of God is desecrated and the Sabbath violated by Sabbath believers’ children. They run about the house, play, talk, and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where the saints have met together to glorify God and to worship Him in the beauty of holiness. The place that should be holy, where a holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order, neatness, and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon and a place where confusion, disorder, and untidiness reign. This is enough to shut out God from our assemblies and cause His wrath to be kindled, that He will not be pleased to go out with the armies of Israel to battle against our enemies.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 257.

Does all of the Sabbath need to be spent in meetings?

“In order to keep the Sabbath holy, it is not necessary that we enclose ourselves in walls, shut away from the beautiful scenes of nature and from the free, invigorating air of heaven. We should in no case allow burdens and business transactions to divert our minds upon the Sabbath of the Lord, which He has sanctified. We should not allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character even. But the mind cannot be refreshed, enlivened, and elevated by being confined nearly all the Sabbath hours within walls, listening to long sermons and tedious, formal prayers. The Sabbath of the Lord is put to a wrong use if thus celebrated. The object for which it was instituted is not attained. The Sabbath was made for man, to be a blessing to him by calling his mind from secular labor to contemplate the goodness and glory of God. It is necessary that the people of God assemble to talk of Him, to interchange thoughts and ideas in regard to the truths contained in His word, and to devote a portion of time to appropriate prayer. But these seasons, even upon the Sabbath, should not be made tedious by their length and lack of interest.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 583.

“The Sabbath was made to be a blessing to man, by calling his mind from secular labor to contemplate the goodness and glory of God. It is necessary that the people of God assemble statedly for His worship, to interchange thoughts in regard to the truths of His word, and to devote a portion of time to prayer. But these seasons, even upon the Sabbath, should not be made tedious by their length and lack of interest. During a portion of the day, all should have an opportunity to be out-of-doors.” The Signs of the Times, May 20, 1886.

Upon whom should our thoughts and speech be focused on the Sabbath?

“When you are speaking of your hope in God, of Jesus and of His soon coming, and of the beauties of the New Earth, you are not speaking your own words. Of these things you may freely speak on the Sabbath. On six days you may talk of business matters, and lay plans that are necessary; but the Sabbath is holy time, and all worldly thoughts must, on that day, be dismissed from the mind. The blessing of God will then rest upon you, and you will have the sweet consolations of His Spirit, and you will also have confidence when you approach the throne of grace.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 1, 1853.

Where should our thoughts be on the Sabbath?

“Those who discuss business matters or lay plans on the Sabbath are regarded by God as though engaged in the actual transaction of business. To keep the Sabbath holy, we should not even allow our minds to dwell upon things of a worldly character. And the commandment includes all within our gates. The inmates of the house are to lay aside their worldly business during the sacred hours. All should unite to honor God by willing service upon His holy day.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 307, 308.

“The human agent cannot afford to lose these blessings by dishonoring God in their loose habits and practices. This is a day of meditation and of closely examining our own spiritual condition before God. `Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.’ On that day have no loose, cheap, common talk.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 295.

“God requires not only that we refrain from physical labor upon the Sabbath, but that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes. By conversing upon worldly things, or by engaging in light and trifling conversation, we virtually transgress the fourth commandment. Talking upon anything or everything which may come into the mind, is speaking our own words. Every deviation from right brings us into bondage and condemnation.” Gospel Workers, 207, 208.

Are we to leave our worldly occupations on the Sabbath?

“The Sabbath is not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. The law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the Lord; the toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no labor for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon that day; but as God ceased His labor of creating, and rested upon the Sabbath and blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life, and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds.” Desire of Ages, 207.

“God has given men six days wherein to labor, and He requires that their own work be done in the six working days. Acts of necessity and mercy are permitted on the Sabbath, the sick and suffering are at all times to be cared for; but unnecessary labor is to be strictly avoided.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 307.

When is it necessary that some labor be done upon the Sabbath?

“There are cases in which Christ has given permission to labor even on the Sabbath in saving the life of men or of animals. But if we violate the letter of the fourth commandment for our own advantage from a pecuniary point of view we become Sabbathbreakers and are guilty of transgressing all the commandments, for if we offend in one point we are guilty of all.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 531.

“Your neglect to attend the public worship of God is a serious error. The privileges of divine service will be as beneficial to you as to others and are fully as essential. You may be unable to avail yourself of these privileges as often as do many others. You will frequently be called, upon the Sabbath, to visit the sick, and may be obliged to make it a day of exhausting labor. Such labor to relieve the suffering was pronounced by our Saviour a work of mercy and no violation of the Sabbath. But when you regularly devote your Sabbaths to writing or labor, making no special change, you harm your own soul, give to others an example that is not worthy of imitation, and do not honor God.” Counsels on Health, 368.

Is the Sabbath to be spent sleeping?

“None should feel at liberty to spend sanctified time in an unprofitable manner. It is displeasing to God for Sabbath-keepers to sleep during much of the Sabbath. They dishonor their Creator in so doing, and, by their example, say that the six days are too precious for them to spend in resting. They must make money, although it be by robbing themselves of needed sleep, which they make up by sleeping away holy time. They then excuse themselves by saying, `The Sabbath was given for a day of rest. I will not deprive myself of rest to attend meeting; for I need rest.’ Such make a wrong use of the sanctified day.” Gospel Workers, 208.

How should we be dressed when we come to worship God upon the Sabbath?

“All should be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their dress, but not to indulge in that external adorning which is wholly inappropriate for the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel; for this encourages irreverence. The attention of the people is often called to this or that fine article of dress, and thus thoughts are intruded that should have no place in the hearts of the worshipers. God is to be the subject of thought, the object of worship; and anything that attracts the mind from the solemn, sacred service is an offense to Him. The parading of bows and ribbons, ruffles and feathers, and gold and silver ornaments is a species of idolatry and is wholly inappropriate for the sacred service of God, where the eye of every worshiper should be single to His glory.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 499

“The ten commandments spoken by Jehovah from Sinai cannot live in the hearts of persons of disorderly, filthy habits. If ancient Israel could not so much as listen to the proclamation of that holy law, unless they had obeyed the injunction of Jehovah, and had cleansed their clothing, how can that sacred law be written upon the hearts of persons who are not cleanly in person, in clothing, or in their houses? It is impossible. Their profession may be as high as Heaven, yet it is not worth a straw. Their influence disgusts unbelievers. Better if they had ever remained outside the ranks of God’s loyal people. The house of God is dishonored by such professors. All who meet upon the Sabbath to worship God should, if possible, have a neat, well-fitting, comely suit to wear in the house of worship. It is a dishonor to the Sabbath, and to God and his house, for those who profess that the Sabbath is the holy of the Lord, and honorable, to wear the same clothing upon the Sabbath that they have worn through the week while laboring upon their farms, when they can obtain other. If there are worthy persons who, with their whole heart would honor the lord of the Sabbath, and the worship of God, and who cannot obtain a change of clothing, let those who are able, donate to such a Sabbath suit, that they may appear in the house of God with cleanly, fitting apparel. A greater uniformity in dress would be pleasing to God. Those who expend means on costly apparel and extra fixings, can by a little self-denial exemplify pure religion, by simplicity of clothing, and then use the means they have usually expended needlessly in aiding some poor brother or sister, whom God loves, to obtain neat and modest apparel.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 474, 475.

Should travel be avoided when possible?

“If we desire the blessing promised to the obedient, we must observe the Sabbath more strictly. I fear that we often travel on this day when it might be avoided. In harmony with the light which the Lord has given in regard to the observance of the Sabbath, we should be more careful about traveling on the boats or cars on this day. In these matters we should set a right example before our children and youth. In order to reach the churches that need our help, and to give them the message that God desires them to hear, it may be necessary for us to travel on the Sabbath; but so far as possible we should secure our tickets and make all necessary arrangements on some other day. When starting on a journey we should make every possible effort to plan so as to avoid reaching our destination on the Sabbath.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 359.

What should Sabbath meals be like?

“We should not provide for the Sabbath a more liberal supply or a greater variety of food than for other days. Instead of this the food should be more simple, and less should be eaten, in order that the mind may be clear and vigorous to comprehend spiritual things. Overeating befogs the brain. The most precious words may be heard and not appreciated, because the mind is confused by an improper diet. By overeating on the Sabbath, many have done more than they think to dishonor God.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 357.

“Cooking on the Sabbath should be avoided; but it is not therefore necessary to eat cold food. In cold weather the food prepared the day before should be heated. And let the meals, however simple, be palatable and attractive. Especially in families where there are children, it is well, on the Sabbath, to provide something that will be regarded as a treat, something the family do not have every day.” The Ministry of Healing, 307, 308.

Children and the Sabbath–How should children be taught to think about the Sabbath?

“All who love God should do what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable. They cannot do this by seeking their own pleasure in sinful, forbidden amusements. They can do much to exalt the Sabbath in their families, and make it the most interesting day of the week. We should devote time to interest our children. We can walk out with them in the open air. A change will have a happy influence upon them. We can sit with them in the groves, and in the bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them upon the works of God, and inspire them with love and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in nature. The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy. In no better way can parents exalt and honor the Sabbath than to devise means to impart proper instruction to their families, and to interest them in spiritual things, giving them correct views of the character of God, and what he requires of us, in order to perfect Christian characters and to attain to eternal life. Parents, make the Sabbath a delight, that your children shall look forward to it, and have a welcome in their hearts for it.” Review and Herald, May 30, 1871.

How should parents keep the Sabbath with their children?

“The parents may take their children outdoors to view God in nature. They can be pointed to the blooming flowers and the opening buds, the lofty trees and beautiful spires of grass, and taught that God made all these in six days and rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. Thus the parents may bind up their lessons of instruction to their children, so that when these children look upon the things of nature, they will call to mind the great Creator of them all. Their thoughts will be carried up to nature’s God-back to the creation of our world, when the foundation of the Sabbath was laid, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Such are the lessons to be impressed on the minds of our children.” Child Guidance, 533.

“Parents should not allow their children to be out with others in play or amusement. I have found that on the Sabbath-day many are indifferent, and do not know where their children are or what they are doing. Parents can and should give attention to their children, reading to them the most attractive portions of Bible history, educating them to reverence the Sabbath-day, keeping it according to the commandment. This cannot be done if the parents feel no burden to interest their children. But they can make the Sabbath a delight if they will take the proper course. The children can be interested in good reading or in conversation about the salvation of their souls. But they will have to be educated and trained. The natural heart does not love to think of God, of heaven, or of heavenly things. There must be a continual pressing back of the current of worldliness and inclination to evil, and a letting in of heavenly light. It takes line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.

What activities are Sabbath-breaking?

“Parents, above everything take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not suffer them to violate God’s holy day by playing in the house or out-of-doors. You may just as well break the Sabbath yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you suffer your children to wander about and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as Sabbathbreakers.” Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.

Blessings for Sabbath-keepers–What is the promise for those who keep the Sabbath holy?

“All heaven was represented to me as beholding and watching upon the Sabbath those who acknowledge the claims of the fourth commandment and are observing the Sabbath. Angels were marking their interest in, and high regard for, this divine institution. Those who sanctified the Lord God in their hearts by a strictly devotional frame of mind, and who sought to improve the sacred hours in keeping the Sabbath to the best of their ability, and to honor God by calling the Sabbath a delight-these the angels were specially blessing with light and health, and special strength was given them.” The Faith I Live By, 35.

“The Sabbath was God’s sign between Him and His people, and evidence of His kindness, mercy, and love, a token by which His people are distinguished from all false religionists of the world. And God has pledged Himself that He will bless them in their obedience, showing Himself that He is their God, and has taken them into covenant relation with Himself, and that He will fulfill His promise to all that are obedient.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 84.

“Those who will honor the Lord in keeping His Sabbath holy will be blessed of the Lord. There is not more than one in one hundred who do honor to God in keeping His Sabbath from polluting it. The Word of God is not practiced by thousands who profess to be Christians. The looseness of the habits and practices in observing the Sabbath has become a customary thing. God help us to see that great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 25, 295.

Can God bless those who do not honor His Sabbath?

“God is merciful. His requirements are reasonable, in accordance with the goodness and benevolence of His character. He claims the Sabbath as His own, and will not let His blessing rest upon those who disregard His holy day; yet the Sabbath institution was designed as a blessing to mankind. Man was not made to fit the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made after his creation, to meet the necessities of his nature. The Sabbath should stand before the people in its moral power, answering its original design-to keep in remembrance the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. But the Sabbath has been treated with great disrespect. Men have dared to detract from its dignity; they have ventured to remove the sanctity placed upon it by the Creator Himself.” The Signs of the Times, May 13, 1886.

“He will not pass by unnoticed those who crowd upon His Sabbath, and employ time for their own use which belongs to Him. Some professed Sabbath-keepers will intrude upon the Sabbath in doing those things which should have been done previous to the Sabbath. Such may think they gain a little time; but instead of being advantaged by robbing God of holy time, which He has reserved to Himself, they will lose. The Lord will afflict them for their transgression of the fourth commandment; and that time they thought to gain by intruding upon the Sabbath, will prove a curse to them. God’s prospering hand withdrawn, will cause a decrease in all their possessions, instead of an increase. God will surely punish the transgressor.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 259.

Bible Study Guides – “Not Everyone That Saith unto Me, Lord, Lord”

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April 16-22, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “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.

STUDY HELP: Desire of Ages, 281–289.

INTRODUCTION: “So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator’s power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. ‘From one Sabbath to another’ the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up ‘to worship before Me, saith the Lord.’” Sons and Daughters of God, 59.

“The Lord Blessed the Seventh Day and Sanctified It”

When was the Sabbath instituted? Genesis 2:1–3.

NOTE: “The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when ‘the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’” Job 38:7. Desire of Ages, 281.

For whose benefit was the Sabbath made? Mark 2:27.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 288.

“It Shall be a Sign Between Me and Thee”

What further significance did the Lord give to the Sabbath? Deuteronomy 5:15.

NOTE: “The Hebrews were held in bondage by the Egyptians, but the Lord delivered them from their bondage with a strong arm. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, Christ, their invisible Leader, guided them through the wilderness. Through Moses, their visible leader, He educated and instructed them, that they might love and serve the only true and living God. For their food the Lord gave them manna from heaven. Day by day this food was given, and on the sixth day enough fell for the Sabbath. This miracle testified constantly to the Sabbath commandment, which was given in Eden.” Signs of the Times, March 31, 1898.

Of what did the Lord ordain that the Sabbath should be a sign? Ezekiel 20:20.

NOTE: “The Sabbath is ever the sign that distinguishes the obedient from the disobedient. With masterly power Satan has worked to make null and void the fourth commandment, that the sign of God may be lost sight of. The Christian world have trodden underfoot the Sabbath of the Lord and observe a sabbath instituted by the enemy. But God has a people who are loyal to Him. His work is to be carried forward in right lines.” Counsels on Health, 235.

“Men could not place themselves more decidedly in opposition to God’s work and to His law than by upholding a day that is without one evidence of sanctity, and professing to worship Him on that day. Those who have corrupted the law by substituting a false sabbath for the holy Sabbath of God, and who compel the observance of this false sabbath, exalt themselves above God, and honor the spurious above the genuine.” Signs of the Times, March 31, 1898.

Of what divine work in the life did God intend the Sabbath to be a sign? Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 31:13.

NOTE: “The Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.” Desire of Ages, 288.

“To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption..” The Faith I Live By, 33.

“There Remaineth Therefore a Rest to the Children of God”

What will prevent us from experiencing fully the Sabbath blessings? Hebrews 4:4–6.

NOTE: “The Sunday-sabbath is hoary with age, but this does not give it one tittle of sanctity, for God has not made it sacred. Sunday is not the Lord’s day; although it is called so by ministers throughout Christendom. This assertion of men has not removed the sanctity from the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, nor made the Sunday a day to be reverenced. God has not placed one particle of sanctity upon the first day of the week.” Review and Herald, September 13, 1898.

How does Paul show that the Sabbath rest was not finished in the earthly ministry of Christ? Hebrews 4:8–9.

NOTE: In verse 9, the word translated ‘rest’ literally means ‘a keeping of a Sabbath’, as will be found in the margin of the King James Bible.

“Here are the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God’s commandments will prove your right to an inheritance with the saints in light. God has elected a certain excellence of character; and every one who, through the grace of Christ, shall reach the standard of His requirement, will have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of glory.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 118.

“Not Everyone that Saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord’”

To whom will be given the right to eternal life in the City of God? Revelation 22:14.

NOTE: “God has elected a character in harmony with His law, and anyone who shall reach the standard of His requirement will have an entrance into the kingdom of glory.” God’s Amazing Grace, 350.

How are the saints of God identified? Revelation 14:12.

NOTE: “What preparation have you made for the judgment? Have you made your peace with God? Are you seeking to help those around you, those in your home, those in your neighborhood, those with whom you come in contact that are not keeping the commandments of God? Remember that profession is worthless without a practice that enters into the daily life. God knows whether we are keeping His law in truth. He knows just what we are doing, just what we are thinking and saying. Are we getting ready to meet the King? When He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, will you be able to say, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us’ (Isaiah 25:9)? To those who can say this Christ will say, ‘Come up higher. Upon this earth you have loved Me. You have loved to do My will. You can now enter the Holy City and receive the crown of everlasting life.’” In Heavenly Places, 356.

What will Christ’s response be to those who profess to call Him Lord, but refuse to obey the commandments? Matthew 7:21–27.

NOTE: See Christ’s Object Lessons, 272.

“Delight Thyself in the Lord”

What promise is made to those who honor the Sabbath? Isaiah 58:13–14.

NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 288.

In these days, when evolution has become the religion of science and the world, what message is to be given by God’s people to the whole world before Christ returns? Revelation 14:6–7.

NOTE: “In Revelation 14, men are called upon to worship the Creator; and the prophecy brings to view a class that, as the result of the threefold message, are keeping the commandments of God. One of these commandments points directly to God as the Creator. The fourth precept declares: ‘The Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ Exodus 20:10,11. Concerning the Sabbath, the Lord says, further, that it is ‘a sign, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.’ Ezekiel 20:20. And the reason given is: ‘For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.’ Exodus 31:17. ‘The importance of the Sabbath as the memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to God’ because He is the Creator, and we are His creatures. ‘The Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine worship, for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this. The true ground of divine worship, not of that on the seventh day merely, but of all worship, is found in the distinction between the Creator and His creatures. This great fact can never become obsolete, and must never be forgotten.’ J. N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath, Chapter 27. It was to keep this truth ever before the minds of men, that God instituted the Sabbath in Eden; and so long as the fact that He is our Creator continues to be a reason why we should worship Him, so long the Sabbath will continue as its sign and memorial. Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man’s thoughts and affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of reverence and worship, and there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel. The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true God. ‘Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ It follows that the message which commands men to worship God and keep His commandments will especially call upon them to keep the fourth commandment.” The Great Controversy, 437.

When and How Was the Sabbath Changed from Saturday to Sunday?

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This is a question which is in the minds of a great many people today. Everyone knows, of course, that the original Sabbath of the commandment, which Christ wrote with His own finger on the tables of stone, was the seventh day of the week, the day we call Saturday. Astronomers tell us that they have absolute knowledge that the weekly cycle has not been changed, so our Saturday is still the seventh day of the week.

But today most Christians worship on Sunday, the first day of the week. Why? How did this come about? Who made the change and for what reasons? These are the questions everyone is asking, and we will try to give you an answer.

A Beautiful Prophecy

First of all, let us look at Revelation 12 where we find a beautiful picture in prophecy. The apostle John was given a vision, and he tells us about it in Revelation 12:1–5.

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.”

Here in this vision we have three prophetic symbols presented to our wondering eyes: a woman, a child and a dragon. Each of these has a specific meaning in the prophecy. What are they, and what do they represent? First, whom does the dragon represent? We will find the answer to that in Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

So that is easy, is it not? The dragon represents the devil. But who is the woman? Fortunately, this is easy to understand too; so easy, that you find practically all students of the Bible agreeing on it. Just about any Protestant commentary that you pick up will tell you that the woman represents the true church of Christ, and if you have a Catholic Bible you will find that same information in the footnote under this chapter. We will show you some of the scriptures which make this point clear.

Revelation 19:7, 8: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

You see—in these Scriptures the true church is pictured as the bride of Christ. Is that not a beautiful thought? The same thought was in the mind of the apostle Paul when he wrote to the church in Corinth: “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2.

The word espouse means to give in marriage, so Paul writes to the church, “I have given you in marriage to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” He carries this charming comparison still further in Ephesians 5:22–32: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Notice his concluding words—”I speak concerning Christ and the church.” So, we all will agree with the Bible scholars of many faiths that this beautiful woman of Revelation 12 is a fitting picture of the true church of Christ, His bride, which He will take to Himself on that glorious day when He comes again.

The Coming King

But one more question—if the woman is the true church, and the dragon is the devil, who is the child? What have we been told about this child in Revelation 12:1–5? First, that it was a man-child; second, that the devil tried to destroy Him as soon as He was born; third, that He was caught up to God and to His throne; and fourth, that He is going to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Who could this be?

Of course, who could it be but Jesus? Remember the Christmas story? Remember how Herod, the king, had all the little boy babies in Bethlehem killed, in an attempt to destroy the baby Jesus soon after He was born? And what child does the Bible tell us about being caught up to God and His throne? Only Jesus. Read about it in Ephesians 1:20, 21: “Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.”

And what child, born upon this earth, is going to rule all nations with a rod of iron? Only Jesus. This was a familiar picture of the Messiah that everyone understood, for David had made this prophecy, “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalms 2:7–9.

Now compare this ancient prophecy with the similar one which John saw in his vision of future events and wrote down in Revelation 19:11–16: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This could only be Jesus. One of His many names in the Scriptures is The Word of God, as we read in John 1:1, 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God:… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.”

The Bible Interprets Itself

So now we understand what the prophecy is all about. Remember now, we have made no interpretation of these things ourselves; we have let the Bible make its own interpretation to us. We do not try to interpret the Scriptures; we accept the Bible’s own interpretation. So now we know that the beautiful woman is the true church, the child is Christ, and the dragon is the devil.

Now, what happened to the woman in John’s prophecy? “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Revelation 12:6.

Persecution

The true church of God had to go into hiding, out in the wild places of the earth, the wilderness, for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, it says. (Threescore equals sixty.) Why? Because the dragon, the devil, was angry with her. He had failed to kill Christ, so now he turns his fury upon the church of Christ, in terrible persecution. How long was the persecution? It says one thousand two hundred and sixty days, but we have a rule in these symbolic prophecies of the Bible that one day in the prophecy stands for one year in actual time. So, the actual time of the persecution of the true church would be one thousand two hundred and sixty years. You will find this rule applied in the Bible in Numbers 14:34 and in Ezekiel 4:6, “I have appointed thee each day for a year.”

Not My Idea

Now let me make one thing clear. This is not a rule that I have invented, nor is it my interpretation. It is the Bible’s own rule of interpretation, and it was recognized and followed by students of Bible prophecy hundreds, yes, thousands of years before I was born. As a matter of fact, the Jews themselves understood and used it in that way, so do not get the idea that I am telling you something that I invented. This is a Bible interpretation that has been recognized and followed by Bible scholars for ages. One day in symbolic prophecy means one year in actual time, as the prophecy is being fulfilled.

So we see the sad picture that the beautiful woman, the true church of Christ, was to undergo terrible persecution for more than a thousand years. It sounds like the Dark Ages that we read about in our history books, does it not? The thought is repeated in verses 13 and 14 of Revelation 12: “And when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”

Now let us read the conclusion of this marvelous prophecy about the true church—a verse that comes right down to the present time, where you and I are alive, and shows us that the true church was definitely going to survive the persecution and would not be entirely destroyed. It is the last verse of the chapter. “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.

Let us bring this out of the symbols of the prophecy into modern language. It will be easy because we have learned from the Bible what each of these symbols mean. Who is the dragon? The devil. And who is the woman? The true church. Now it talks about the remnant of her seed, or children. What is a remnant? Have you ever heard of a remnant sale? What does the word remnant mean? It means the remainder—the part that is left, the last part. Is a remnant large or small? Small, of course.

In Modern Language

Therefore, putting this prophecy into our language, we would correctly read it like this: “And the devil was angry with the true church, and went to make war with the last part of her children, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.”

That tells us two wonderful facts, First, the true church would not be entirely destroyed by the persecution of the 1260 years, but there would be a small part, a remnant, which would survive; second, you will be able to recognize that small remnant, because they keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.

Well, you may say, “That is wonderful, that is thrilling, but what does that have to do with the change of the Sabbath?” Everything, dear friend, everything! May I remind you again that this remnant of the true church will be recognized by their keeping the commandments of God? As far as the Sabbath is concerned, that can mean one, and only one thing—that they keep the Sabbath of the commandment. That is obvious, is it not?

Can you keep the commandments of God without keeping the Sabbath of the commandment? No, you cannot.

One more question—what day is the Sabbath of the commandment? What did the commandment say? “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord Thy God.” Exodus 20:8–10. This is the day we call Saturday, as you can see by your calendar. Astronomers tell us they can tell by the stars that it is still the same Sabbath day that used to be observed.

Just one more question: Is a remnant of cloth the same as the original cloth or different? What do you say? Can you get a black remnant from a white bolt? No, it must be the same; it cannot be different. So now, speaking of churches, can you get a commandment–keeping remnant from a church that does not keep the commandments? No, certainly not. The remnant must be the same. Can you get a Sabbath keeping remnant of a church that does not keep the Sabbath? No! Therefore, this Sabbath remnant will have to be the last part of an earlier Sabbath–keeping church—the church that kept the Sabbath through the ages.

History Fulfills Prophecy

John’s beautiful prophecy tells us that the commandment–keeping, Sabbath–keeping church of Christ would be persecuted terribly through the Dark Ages, and would have to hide in the mountains and in the wilderness, but that there would be a remnant left in the last days—still a commandment–keeping, Sabbath–keeping people.

We will show you how history tells the amazing story of how that prophecy was fulfilled to the very last detail. Jesus told John just how it would happen, and history proves that Jesus was right. It happened just the way He said it would.

Light of the World

We turn now to the story that we find in the pages of history. Envision a map of the world or, if you have an atlas, turn to a picture of the world, and envision it lying in darkness. John tells us how Jesus, the Light of the world, came to bring light into that darkness. (See John 1:9.) Locate the tiny land where Jesus lived, and envision that small land suddenly lightened with His presence. It may look very small in the dark world, but it is not. It is remarkable what that one little Light has done. Jesus never traveled over a hundred miles from the place of His birth during His ministry; He never wrote a book, never held an office, and never attended a university. He never did any of the things we so often think of when we think of a great man and what he should do, but Jesus did bring a light to this dark world, and how that light spread is a thrilling story.

Just before He left this earth, He told His disciples what He wanted them to do with the light—take it over all the earth. (See Acts 1:8.) It must have staggered them, when they heard Him say that. What an assignment for 12 men who were not rich or learned! In simple faith they went forth to do what Jesus said. Let us trace how the lights came on in the dark earth.

From the land where Jesus lived, they took the light to all the world. Thomas, the former doubter, became so full of faith that he spread the light through the east. We can follow his path through Antioch, across Arabia, Syria, Persia, to the far away Malibar coast of India, before his work was done. Some historians even believe that he reached China—and everywhere he went, churches sprang up.

The light went to Africa. We are not sure which disciple went that way, but evidence points to Andrew, and churches sprang up and lights came on in that darkened land.

Paul

To the north and west went the apostle Paul. We know more about his travels than about any of the others. Following his trail across Asia Minor, we can envision lights along the way for the churches that he started. Across the sea into Greece, over into Italy, Rome and beyond. Romans 15:24 and 28 tells us how he planned to journey into Spain. Some scholars even think Paul made it to the British Isles—others think it was one of his converts. But we do know that the light went there, for Tertullian, who wrote about the year 200, includes the British Isles in his list of places where the gospel had gone.

The light in Ireland, Scotland and England grew to the point where it became bright enough to reflect back upon the continent of Europe again. Under the leadership of great men of God like Patrick, Columba, Columbanus, Aidan and others, schools were started in these lands for training gospel workers. Rulers of the northern nations of Europe sent their sons to these schools to be educated. The Scriptures were copied by hand at these centers, and their graduates went back into Europe with the light.

So far the picture looks very bright. Lights were coming on all over that part of the world. But remember, the prophecy said persecution would come, and it did!

Sabbath Keeping Churches

There is one great fact that you should know about these churches that were started by the apostles themselves and their early followers. They were commandment-keeping churches who observed the seventh day, or Saturday, as their Sabbath, in harmony with the commandment Christ wrote into the tables of stone. So you do not think that I speak for myself, I will share the actual statements of the historians on this matter.

First, what about the churches in far off India where Thomas went? Let the historians speak:

Samuel Purchas, noted geographer and compiler says: “They kept Saturday holy.” Pilgrimmes, Part 2, Book 8, chapter 6, 1260, London, 1625.

Claudius Buchanan says: “They have preserved the Bible in its purity; and their doctrines are, as far as the author knows, the doctrines of the Bible. Besides, they maintained the solemn observance of Christian worship throughout the empire on the seventh day; and they have as many spires pointing to heaven among the Hindus as we ourselves.” Christian Researches in Asia, 143, Philadelphia, 1813.

Throughout the World—an Eye Witness:

Now hear the testimony of an eye witness who had traveled over the greater part of Christendom, Socrates, the Greek historian, who wrote in the year 391ad:

“For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the mysteries (The Lord’s Supper) on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria and the inhabitants of Thebais, hold their religious meetings on the Sabbath.” Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, chapter 22, 289, London, 1892. The footnote, which accompanies the foregoing quotation explains the use of the word “Sabbath.” It says: “That is, upon the Saturday. It should be observed, that Sunday is never called ‘the Sabbath’ (to sabbaton) by the ancient Fathers and historians.”

Two facts are apparent in this statement:

  1. Sunday observance began in Rome and Alexandria while the rest of the world observed Sabbath in harmony with the commandment of God.
  2. Sunday observance was based on tradition, not a commandment of God.

Italy

As late as the year 791, Christians still kept the true Sabbath in Italy. Canon 13 of the council of Friaul, states: “Further, when speaking of that Sabbath which the Jews observe—the last day of the week—and which also our peasants observe, He said only Sabbath…” Mansi 13, 851. Quoted in History of the Sabbath, Andrews, 539.

Northern Italy

“First therefore they called them Waldenses and because they observed no other day of rest but the Sabbath days, they called them insabbathas, as much as to say, as they observed no Sabbath.” John P. Perris, Luther’s Forerunners, 7–8, London, 1624.

“Robinson gives an account of some of the Waldenses of the Alps, who were called…Insabbatati. ‘One says they were so named from the Hebrew word Sabbath, because they kept the Saturday for the Lord’s day. Another says they were so called because they rejected all the festivals.’” General History of the Baptist Denomination, vol. 2, 413.

France

Louis XII, King of France, ordered an investigation of the lives of those Waldenses living in his country. It was reported to him that they “kept the Sabbath day, observed the ordinance of baptism; according to the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith and the commandments of God.” William Jones, History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, 71–72.

How and When was the Sabbath Changed?

Spain

From a decree of King Alphonso (published about 1194): “I command you that …heretics, to wit, Waldenses, Insabbathi (sabbathkeepers) and those who call themselves the poor of Lyons and all other heretics should be expelled away from the face of God…and ordered to depart from our kingdom.” Marianae, Praefatio in Lucan Tudensem, vol. 25, 190.

England

In the 17th Century, several ministers were persecuted for defending the Bible Sabbath. John Trask was put in prison; his wife remained in prison 15 years. John James was hanged for defending the Sabbath, and his head placed on a pole near the meeting house as a warning to others. Dr. Thomas Banfield, a former speaker in one of Cromwell’s parliaments, wrote two books advocating the Sabbath truth, and likewise went to prison. Edward Stennet, a minister, wrote a book entitled, “The Seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord.” And from prison he wrote a long and pathetic letter to Sabbathkeepers in the Rhode Island colony (1688). See Christian Edwardson’s Facts of Faith, 144.

Scotland

“They held that Saturday was properly the Sabbath on which they abstained from work.” Skene, Celtic Scotland, vol. 2, 349.

“They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner…These things Margaret abolished.” A History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation, vol. 1, 96.

Ireland

“The Celts used a Latin Bible unlike the Vulgate, and kept Saturday as a day of rest, with special religious services on Sunday.” Flick, The Rise of the Medieval Church, 237.

“It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labor. They obeyed the fourth commandment literally upon the seventh day of the week.” Moffat, The Church in Scotland, 140.

Moravia-Bohemia

“I find from a passage in Erasmus that at the early period of the Reformation of which he wrote, there were Sabbatarians in Bohemia, who not only kept the seventh day, but were said to be …scrupulous in resting on it.” Cox Literature on the Sabbath Question, 201–202.

The great missionary leader, Count Zinzendorf, wrote in 1738: “I have employed the Sabbath for rest for many years already, and our Sunday for the proclamation of the gospel—that I have done without design and in simplicity of heart.” Dugingsche Sammlung, 224.

And we might add the testimony of more historians but surely this is enough to show you that wherever the apostles went—east, west, north, or south—commandment keeping churches sprang up, churches who observed the true Bible Sabbath.

How did a change come about? This is a sad story.

You will remember that the historian Socrates has already testified that as he traveled throughout the Christian world, he found that in the year 391 the churches of Christendom were observing the seventh–day Sabbath except in two places, Rome and Alexandria.

The change actually began in Rome. Rome was the center of a vast system of pagan religion in those days, which was worship of the sun. The sun worshippers had large temples, priests, and ceremonies and a vast system of religious rites and practices. They went to their temples to worship on the first day of each week, which was dedicated to the sun god and therefore called Sunday. You can get this information by looking up the word “Sunday” in any large dictionary.

A New Idea

It was here that the change began. A new system of thought had arisen in the Christian Church of Rome, based on a plan for combining the two religions into one. This plan was carried out, forming a new religion, half pagan and half Christian. It was formed by bringing into the Christian church the rites and ceremonies, the holy day, yes, even the philosophy of the pagans. But do not take my word for it. Hear the testimony of no less an authority than Cardinal Newman. Speaking of the Roman Church, he says, “Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship to an evangelical use…the rulers of the Church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of the educated class.

“The same reason, the need of holy days for the multitude, is assigned by Origen, St. Gregory’s master, to explain the establishment of the Lord’s day…

“We are told in various ways of Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own…incense, lamps and candles, holy water, asylums, holy days and seasons…the ring in marriage, turning to the east, images…are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church.” Development of Christian Doctrine, 371-373, London, 1878.

A similar statement appeared in the Catholic World, March, 1894, 809, “The Church took the pagan philosophy and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen…She took the pagan Sunday, and made it the Christian Sunday.”

Constantine

So now you can see where the change started and how it started. It was greatly helped by the attitude of the Emperor Constantine, who favored the combining of the two religions, and after professing Christianity himself, offered twenty pieces of gold and a white garment to all who would join the new church. Naturally, the pagans responded well to this most attractive offer, and joined the new religion by thousands. Constantine further helped the idea along by making the first Sunday law to appear in the pages of history in the year 321.

Spread by Force

Naturally, the other churches of the world were reluctant to accept this pagan custom into the Christian faith, but ways were found to force them to accept it. We won’t dwell at length on this sad story of the great religious persecutions of the Dark Ages but only state that some historians believe that 50 million Christian people were put to death because they would not accept these customs, and other historians put the estimate as high as 150 million.

The light of Sabbath-keeping Christianity was extinguished in Scotland in 1069; in Ireland in 1172; that of the ancient Albigenses in 1229; in India in 1560, and in the mountains of central Europe in 1686.

The lights on our map of the world were slowly going out. Would any be left?

Yes, prophecy said there would be a remnant. In 1668, Edward Stennet, a Sabbath-keeping minister of England wrote to some Sabbath-keeping Christians in Rhode Island as follows, “Here we are in England, about nine or ten churches that keep the Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have been eminently preserved in this tottering day when many, once eminent churches, have been shattered in pieces.” Facts of Faith, Edward Stennet, 146.

Truly, just a remnant, but by the grace of God, this remnant was able to find refuge in the land of freedom (United States of America), and from here the light of the true Sabbath is spreading again all over the world.

Another Evidence

Now let me show you another striking evidence that this is true. Thoughtful and scholarly men of many faiths admit it. Their statements below show clearly that whatever reasons they had for Sunday observance, they were not a Scriptural command.

Toronto Clergymen

A story in the Toronto Daily Star, Wednesday, October 26, 1949, bears the following heading:

“Clergy say Tradition, not Bible ordinance, Declared Sunday Holy.” The first paragraph of the story says, ‘Sunday is kept holy by Christians, not because there is any Scriptural injunction but because there are religious traditions associated with that day among Christians,’ Protestant and Catholic spokesmen said today. They were commenting on a statement of the most Reverend Phillip Carrington, Anglican Archbishop of Quebec, that there is no commandment which states Sunday must be kept holy. ‘Tradition,’ he said, ‘had made it a day of worship.’”

Jewish Rabbi

The second paragraph of the above story says, “A Rabbi recalled that the first Christians were Jews and celebrated the Sabbath on the last day of the week and it was not until the reign of the Emperor Constantine that the day was changed by Christians.”

Church Historian

Wilhelm August Johann Neander, the great German theologian and historian of Heidelberg, whose History of the Christian Religion and Church is of such value and merit as to have gained for him the title, ‘Prince of church historians’ says, “The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday.” (Rose’s translation from the first German edition, 186.)

Phillip Schaff, another learned church historian, admits that there is no command in the New Testament for Sunday observance.

Presbyterian

“The observance of the seventh day Sabbath did not cease till it was abolished after the empire became Christian.” Tract No. 188, Presbyterian Board of Publication.

Episcopal

Canon Eyton of the Church of England, author of the book The Ten Commandments, says: “There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday. The observance of Ash Wednesday or of Lent stands on the same footing as the observance of Sunday. Into the rest of Sunday, no divine law enters.”

Morer Eyton, in his Dialogues on the Lord’s Day, 189, writes, “The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted but they derived this practice from the apostles themselves.”

Professor Edward Brerewood of Gresham College, London, in A Learned Treatise on the Sabbath, 77, says, “If the New Testament silence on any subject proves that the matter is unimportant, then the Christian emphasis on the observance of Sunday is really a mistake. Nowhere does the Book tell us to observe Sunday. Nowhere does it say that Saturday Sabbath-keeping is wrong.”

Baptist

At a New York Minister’s Conference, held November 13, 1893, Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, author of the Baptist Manual, read a paper on the transference of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. Mention of this paper was made in the November 16, 1893, issue of the New York Examiner, a Baptist paper, which describes the intense interest manifested by the ministers present and the discussion which followed. From a copy of this address, furnished by Dr. Hiscox himself, we call attention to these striking and earnest statements:

“There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges and sanctions.

“Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask: ‘Where can the record of this transaction be found? Not in the New Testament—absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.

“I wish to say that this Sabbath question, in this aspect of it, is the gravest and most perplexing question connected with Christian institutions which at present claims attention from Christian people; and the only reason that it is not a more disturbing element in Christian thought and in religious discussions is because the Christian world has settled down content on the conviction that somehow a transference has taken place at the beginning of Christian history.

“To some it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question, discussing it in some of its various aspects, freeing it from its false glosses, never alluded to a transference of the day. Also, that during 40 days of his resurrection life, no such thing was intimated. Nor, so far as we know, did the Spirit, which was given to bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever that He has said unto them, deal with this question. Nor yet did the inspired apostles, in preaching the gospel, founding churches, counseling and instructing those founded, discuss or approach this subject.

“Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use early in Christian history as a religious day; as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!”

Catholic

In his widely known book, Faith of Our Fathers, 89, Cardinal Gibbon writes:

“You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.”

“Sunday is founded, not on Scripture, but on tradition, and is distinctly a Catholic institution. As there is no Scripture for the transfer of the day of rest from the last to the first day of the week, Protestants ought to keep their Sabbath on Saturday and thus leave Catholics in full possession of Sunday.”—Catholic Record, September 17, 1891.

“Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or another of these alternatives. Either Protestantism and the keeping of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping of Sunday. Compromise is impossible.” Catholic Mirror, December 23, 1893.

“Peter R. Tracer, in charge of the Question Box feature in Extension magazine, wrote in a letter of April 1, 1929: “Dear Sir: Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts: That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath.… We also say, that of all Protestants, the Seventh-day Adventists are the only group that reason correctly and are consistent with their teachings.”

Dr. R. W. Dale, in his Ten Commandments, 127-129, says: “It is quite clear that however rigidly or devoutly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath.…The Sabbath was founded on a specific; divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday.…There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday.”

Many more might be added, friends, but surely this is enough. Surely now it is clear to all that the observance of Sunday is not based on Scripture but on human tradition, the commandments of men.

What’s the Difference?

You say—”That is very interesting—I am glad to know that—but after all, what difference does it make? Does it really make any difference?”

I will let the Lord Jesus Christ answer that question for you. Did you notice, friend, the frequent reference to tradition, or human tradition, as we have examined this evidence? You did? Very well, please hold that in mind as we read the words of Jesus: “…Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” Matthew 15:3. “…Thus have ye made the commandments of God of none effect by your tradition.” Matthew 15:6. “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:9.

A Sobering Thought

Friend of mine, does the awful significance of that statement reach your heart? Think of these words: “They do worship me.”

Not pagans, not unbelievers, but people who worship—yes—who worship Jesus Christ! Yet He says it is in vain—useless—wasted—worthless—they might as well not do it. Why? Because they teach for doctrines the commandments of men.

It is hard to grasp the idea that a man could worship Jesus Christ in vain, is it not? When I see a man praying in the name of Christ, my heart goes out to him—I just cannot help it. But notice what Jesus said:

Even Miracle Workers

“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them; I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22, 23.

Why does He say He never knew them? Return to Matthew 15:9: “…In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

A Brighter Picture

But let us not close with such an unpleasant thought. Let us remember that the prophecy said there would be a remnant left—the true worshippers of God would not be fully destroyed from the earth—there would be a small remnant left. And how shall we recognize this remnant? The Bible tells us how we can recognize them. They are those who “…keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17.

What a thrill it is to be able to report to you that there is a commandment-keeping, Sabbath-keeping people left on the earth! They are a people with whom the devil is furiously angry, as the prophecy says, but they are marching forward just the same!

From America, the land of freedom, the light is spreading again all over the world, and people all over the world are recognizing and joining the commandment-keeping remnant church.

How much better to be among this divinely foretold people, who reject all traditions of men and obey the commandments of God, than to be among those who tremble at the words of Jesus; “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:9. Contrast them with the triumphant picture found in Revelation 22:14: “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Dear Friend, with which group do you stand?

Article taken from His Mighty Love by Ralph Larson