[Illustration.]
In The Corn-Field On The Sabbath Day. "The Sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27.
Institution Of The Sabbath
[Illustration.]
The Garden Of Eden. "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." Gen.
2:3.
1. When and by whom was the Sabbath made?
“Thus the heavens and the earth, were finished, and all the host of them.
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.” Gen. 2:1,
2.
2. After resting on the seventh day, what did God do?
“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.” Verse 3.
3. By what three distinct acts, then, was the Sabbath made?
God _rested_ on it; He _blessed_ it; He _sanctified_ it.
_Sanctify_: “To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or
religious use.”—_Webster._
4. Did Christ have anything to do with creation and the making of the
Sabbath?
“All things were made _by Him_; and _without Him was not anything made
that was made_.” John 1:3. See also Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2.
NOTE.—Christ, being the active agent in creation, must have rested
on the seventh day with the Father. It is therefore His rest day
as well as the Father’s.
5. For whom does Christ say the Sabbath was made?
“And He said unto them, _The Sabbath was made for man_, and not man for
the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27.
NOTE.—It was not made for the Jews alone. The Jews derive their
name from Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom they
are descended. The Sabbath was made more than two thousand years
before there was a Jew. When Paul says, “Neither was the man
created for the woman; but the woman for the man” (1 Cor. 11:9),
we understand him to mean that marriage was ordained of God for
all men. So likewise with the Sabbath. It was made for the race.
6. What does the Sabbath commandment require?
“_Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy._ Six days shalt thou labor,
and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
God: _in it thou shalt not do any work_, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that is within thy gates.” Ex. 20:8-10.
7. What reason is given in the commandment for keeping the Sabbath day
holy?
“_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.” Verse 11.
NOTE.—The Sabbath is the memorial of creation, and the sign of
God’s creative power. Through the keeping of it God designed that
man should forever remember Him as the true and living God, the
Creator of all things.
8. Did God bless and sanctify the seventh day while He was resting upon
it, or when His rest on that day was past?
“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.” Gen.
2:3.
NOTES.—God blessed and sanctified the seventh day then future,
answering to the day on which He had just rested. The acts of
blessing and sanctifying involve the idea of a future use of those
things which are blessed and sanctified. Past time cannot be used.
It is gone forever. The blessing and sanctification of the day,
therefore, must have related to the future—to all the future
seventh days.
In Joel 1:14 we read: “Sanctify [i.e., appoint] ye a fast, call a
solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the
land into the house of the Lord.” Wherever used in the Bible, the
word sanctify means to appoint, to proclaim, or to set apart, as
in the margin of Joshua 20:7; 2 Kings 10:20, 21; Zeph. 1:7. So
when the Sabbath was sanctified, as the last act by which it was
made for man, an appointment, or proclamation, of the Sabbath was
given. See Ex. 19:23.
“If we had no other passage than this of Gen. 2:3, there would be
no difficulty in deducing from it a precept for the universal
observance of a Sabbath, or seventh day, to be devoted to God as
holy time, by all of that race for whom the earth and its nature
were specially prepared. The first men must have known it. The
words _He hallowed it_ can have no meaning otherwise. They would
be a blank unless in reference to some who were required to keep
it holy.”—_Lange’s Commentary, Vol. I, page 197._
9. How did God prove Israel in the wilderness?
“Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, _I will rain bread from heaven for
you_; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day,
_that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no_.” Ex.
16:4.
10. On which day was a double portion of manna gathered?
“And it came to pass, that _on the sixth day they gathered twice as much
bread_, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came
and told Moses.” Verse 22.
11. What reply did Moses make to the rulers?
“And he said unto them, _This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow
is the rest of the holy Sabbath_ unto the Lord.” Verse 23.
NOTE.—This was a full month and more before they came to Sinai.
12. _When_ had God _said_ this?
In the beginning, when He sanctified the Sabbath. Gen. 2:3.
NOTE.—In the wilderness of Sin, before Israel came to Sinai, Moses
said to Jethro, his father-in-law, “I do make them know the
_statutes_ of God, and His _laws_” (Ex. 18:16), which shows that
these statutes and laws existed before they were proclaimed on
Sinai.
13. What did some of the people do on the seventh day?
“It came to pass, that _there went out some of the people on the seventh
day for to gather_, and they found none.” Ex. 16:27.
14. How did God reprove their disobedience?
“And the Lord said unto Moses, _How long refuse ye to keep My commandments
and My laws?_” Verse 28.
15. Why was double manna given on the sixth day?
“See, _for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore He giveth
you on the sixth day the bread of two days_; abide ye every man in his
place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” Verse 29.
16. How, then, did the Lord prove the people (verse 4) whether they would
keep His law, or not?
Over the keeping of the Sabbath.
NOTE.—Thus we see that the Sabbath commandment was a part of God’s
law before this law was spoken from Sinai; for this incident
occurred in the wilderness of Sin, before the children of Israel
came to Sinai, where the law was given. Both the Sabbath and the
law existed from creation.
God’s Memorial
[Illustration.]
Christ The Word. "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." Ps.
111:4.
1. What is to endure throughout all generations?
“Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever; and _Thy memorial, O Lord; throughout
all generations_.” Ps. 135:13.
_Memorial_: “Anything intended to preserve the memory of a person
or event; something which serves to keep some person or thing in
remembrance, as a monument or a practise.”—_Webster._
2. What illustration of this is given in the Bible?
“And _these stones shall be for a memorial_ unto the children of Israel
forever.” Joshua 4:7.
3. What were these stones to commemorate?
“And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children
shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
then _ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this
Jordan on dry land_.” Verses 21, 22.
NOTE.—These stones were to be a standing memorial, or reminder, of
Israel’s coming dry-shod over the Jordan.
4. What was another memorial instituted to commemorate another signal
providence in behalf of the Israelites?
“And _this day shall be unto you for a memorial_; and ye shall keep it a
feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by
an ordinance forever.” Ex. 12:14.
NOTE.—This, the Passover, was a _periodical_ memorial, to be
observed on the fourteenth day of the first month of each year,
the day on which the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian
bondage, and its celebration was to be, with the seven days’ feast
of unleavened bread following and connected with it, in
commemoration of that event. See Ex. 13:3-9.
5. Does God design that His great work of creating the heavens and the
earth shall be remembered?
“The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have
pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious: and His
righteousness endureth forever. _He hath made His wonderful works to be
remembered._” Ps. 111:2-4.
6. What has He commanded men to observe in memory of this great work?
“_Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy_; ... 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.”
Ex. 20:8-11.
7. Of what was this memorial to be a sign?
“And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be _a sign_ between Me and you,
_that ye may know that I am the Lord your God_.” Eze. 20:20.
8. How long was the Sabbath to be a sign of the true God?
“_It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever_: for in six
days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and
was refreshed.” Ex. 31:17.
NOTE.—It is manifest that if the object of the Sabbath was to keep
God as the Creator in mind, and it had been faithfully kept from
the first, there would not now be a heathen or an idolater on the
face of the earth.
9. What besides creation were Israel to remember when they kept the
Sabbath?
“_And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the
Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a
stretched-out arm_: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the
Sabbath day.” Deut. 5:15.
NOTE.—There is a deep significance to this scripture not apparent
to those unacquainted with the facts. In Egypt, through oppression
and idolatrous surroundings, the keeping of the Sabbath had become
not only almost obsolete, but well-nigh impossible. See reading on
“Reasons for Sabbath-Keeping,” under questions 9 and 10, page 423.
Their deliverance from bondage was in order that they might keep
God’s law (Ps. 105:43-45), and particularly the Sabbath, the great
seal, sign, and memorial-institution of the law. The recollection
of their bondage and oppressed condition in Egypt was to be an
additional incentive for keeping the Sabbath in the land of
freedom. The Sabbath, therefore, besides being a memorial of
creation, was to be to them a memorial of their deliverance from
bondage, and of the great power of God as manifested in this
deliverance. And as Egypt stands as a symbol of the condition of
every one in the world under the slavery of sin, so the Sabbath is
to be kept by every saved soul as a memorial of the deliverance
from this slavery by the mighty power of God through Christ.
10. Of what else does God say He gave the Sabbath to His people to be a
sign, or reminder?
“Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be _a sign_ between Me and
them, _that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them_.” Eze.
20:12.
NOTE.—Sanctification is a work of redemption,—of making holy
sinful or unholy beings. Like the work of creation itself, this
requires creative power. See Ps. 51:10; John 3:3, 6; Eph. 2:10.
And as the Sabbath is the appropriate sign or memorial of the
creative power of God wherever displayed, whether in creation,
deliverance from human bondage, or deliverance from the slavery of
sin, it is to be kept as a sign of the work of sanctification.
This will be one great reason for the saints’ keeping it
throughout eternity. It will remind them not only of their own
creation and the creation of the universe, but also of their
redemption.
11. Through whom do we have sanctification?
“But of Him are ye in _Christ Jesus_, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and _sanctification_, and redemption.” 1 Cor. 1:30.
NOTE.—Then, as the Sabbath is a sign or memorial of
sanctification, and as Christ is the one through whom the work of
sanctification is accomplished, the Sabbath is a sign or memorial
of what Christ is to the believer. Through the Sabbath, therefore,
God designed that the believer and Christ should be very closely
linked together.
12. What statement of the redeemed shows that they will remember God’s
creative power?
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: _for Thou
hast created all things_, and for Thy pleasure they are and were
_created_.” Rev. 4:11.
13. How often will they congregate to worship the Lord?
“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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.” Isa. 66:22, 23.
NOTE.—The Sabbath, which is the memorial of God’s creative power,
will never cease to exist. When this sinful state of things shall
give way to the sinless new earth, the fact upon which the Sabbath
institution is based will still remain; and those who shall be
permitted to live in the new earth will still commemorate the
creative power of God, while singing the song of Moses and the
Lamb. Rev. 15:3. See Rev. 22:1, 2.
Reasons For Sabbath-Keeping
[Illustration.]
Mt. Sinai--Where The Law Was Given. "That ye may know that I am the Lord
your God." Eze. 20:20.
1. What is the one great feature by which the true God is distinguished
from all false gods?
“The Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting
king.... _The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth_, even
they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. _He hath
made the earth by his power_, He hath established the world by His wisdom,
and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion.” Jer. 10:10-12.
2. When Paul wished to preach the true God to the idolatrous Athenians,
how did he describe Him?
“Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you. _God that
made the world and all things therein._” Acts 17:23, 24.
3. What did the apostles say to the idolaters at Lystra?
“We ... preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto _the
living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that
are therein_.” Acts 14:15. See also Rev. 10:6; 14:6, 7.
4. What reason is given in the fourth commandment for keeping the Sabbath
day holy?
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in
them is, and rested the seventh day.” Ex. 20:11.
NOTES.—The Sabbath is the great memorial of creation and of God’s
creative power, a constant reminder of the true and living God.
God’s design in making the Sabbath, and in commanding that it be
kept holy, was that man might never forget Him, the Creator of all
things.
“The original Sabbath being a perpetual memorial of God, the
Creator calling man to imitate God in the observance of the same,
man could not keep the original Sabbath and forget God.”—_Prof. E.
W. Thomas, M. A., in Herald of Gospel Liberty, June 19, 1890._
When we remember that two thirds of the world’s inhabitants today
are idolaters, and that since the fall, idolatry, with its train
of associated and resultant evils, has ever been a prevailing sin,
and then think that the observance of the Sabbath, as God ordained
it, would have prevented all this, we can better appreciate the
value of the Sabbath institution, and the importance of
Sabbath-keeping.
5. What does God say the Sabbath will be to those who hallow it, or keep
it holy?
“And hallow My Sabbaths; and _they shall be a sign between Me and you,
that ye may know that I am the Lord your God_.” Eze. 20:20.
6. How important is it that we know God?
“And _this is life eternal_, that they might know Thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3.
7. Is there any danger of God’s chosen people forgetting Him?
“_Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God_, in not keeping His
commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes.” Deut. 8:11.
8. What other reason is given for keeping the Sabbath?
“Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: _for it is a sign between Me and you_
throughout your generations; _that ye may know that I am the Lord that
doth __SANCTIFY__ you_.” Ex. 31:13.
NOTE.—To sanctify is to make holy, or to set apart for a holy use.
The sanctification, or making holy, of sinful beings can be
wrought only by the creative power of God through Christ by the
Holy Spirit. In 1 Cor. 1:30 we are told that Christ is made unto
us “sanctification;” and in Eph. 2:10 it is said that “we are His
workmanship, _created_ in Christ Jesus unto good works.” The
Sabbath, therefore, is a sign of sanctification, and thus of what
Christ is to the believer, because it is a reminder of the
creative power of God as manifested in the work of regeneration.
It is the sign of the power of God, therefore, in both creation
and redemption. To the believer, it is the evidence, or sign, that
he knows the true God, who, through Christ, created all things,
and who, through Christ, redeems the sinner and makes him whole.
9. What special reason did the Israelites have for keeping the Sabbath?
“_And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the
Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a
stretched-out arm_: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the
Sabbath day.” Deut. 5:15.
NOTE.—In their bondage the Israelites had to some extent lost the
knowledge of God, and departed from His precepts. The Sabbath came
to be greatly disregarded by them; and in consequence of the
oppression of the Pharaohs, especially the Pharaoh of the exodus,
as witnessed by the rigorous exactions made upon them by this
latter king through their taskmasters, its observance was made
apparently impossible. See Ex. 5:1-19. The special point, both of
reform and of conflict, just preceding their deliverance from
bondage, was over the matter of Sabbath observance. Moses and
Aaron had shown them that obedience to God was the first condition
of deliverance. Their efforts to restore the observance of the
Sabbath among the Israelites had come to the notice of Pharaoh;
hence his accusation against them, “Wherefore do ye, Moses and
Aaron, _let_ [hinder] the people from their works? get you unto
your burdens.... Behold, the people of the land are many, and ye
make them _rest_ [Heb., _Shabbath_] from their burdens.” Ex. 5:4,
5. Deliverance from this oppression was indeed, therefore, an
additional and special reason for their keeping the Sabbath. But
Egypt and Egyptian bondage simply represent sin and the bondage of
sin. See Rev. 11:8; Hosea 11:1; Matt. 2:15; Zech. 10:10. Every
one, therefore, who has been delivered from sin has the same
reason for keeping the Sabbath as had the Israelites who were
released from Egyptian bondage.
10. What does the psalmist say was the reason why God brought His people
out of Egypt, and placed them in Canaan?
“And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness:
and gave them the lands of the heathen: ... _that they might observe His
statutes, and keep His laws_.” Ps. 105:43-45.
NOTE.—Their deliverance from Egyptian bondage was a reason for the
keeping not only of the fourth commandment, but of every precept
of God’s law. This is indicated by the preface or preamble to the
law as given on Sinai: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought
thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou
shalt have no other gods before Me,” etc. Ex. 20:2, 3. See also
Lev. 19:35-37; Deut. 10:19; 15:12-15; 24:17, 18. Likewise, every
one who, through Christ, has been delivered from the bondage of
sin, God calls to obedience, not only in the matter of
Sabbath-keeping, but to every precept of His holy law. “Blessed is
the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on
it; that _keepeth the Sabbath_ from polluting it, and keepeth his
hand from doing _any_ evil.” Isa. 56:2.
11. What is the meaning of the word sabbath?
Rest.
NOTE.—Previous to the fall, God designed that man’s time should be
occupied with pleasant, invigorating, but not wearisome labor.
Gen. 2:15. Laborious, wearisome toil came in consequence of sin.
Gen. 3:17-19. While under the fall the Sabbath, therefore, may
bring physical rest to both man and the beasts of burden (Ex.
23:12) in a way not originally intended, physical rest was not its
original and primary design or purpose. Cessation from the
ordinary labors and occupations of the week was ordained, not
because these are wrong or sinful in themselves, but that man
might have an appointed time and a frequently recurring period for
the contemplation of the Creator and His works. Under the gospel,
the Sabbath is a sign of spiritual rest and freedom from sin. So
we read, “For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath
ceased from his own works, as God did from His.” Heb. 4:10.
12. Who gives this rest from sin?
“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and _I will give you
rest_. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt. 11:28, 29.
NOTE.—The Sabbath, then, is the sign of the soul-rest which Christ
gives to the weary and ladened with sin.
13. Was the Sabbath intended as a day for public worship?
“Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest,
_an holy convocation_.” Lev. 23:3.
NOTE.—A convocation is an assembly of people.
14. Does the New Testament teach the same duty?
“Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: _not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together_, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching.” Heb. 10:24, 25.
15. What does Malachi say of those that fear the Lord?
“Then they that feared the Lord _spake often one to another_: and the Lord
harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him
for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they
shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My
jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth
him.” Mal. 3:16, 17.
16. Will the Sabbath be observed as a day of worship in the new earth?
“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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_.” Isa. 66:22, 23.
NOTE.—“Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless
till it find its rest in Thee.”—_St. Augustine._
Manner Of Observing The Sabbath
[Illustration.]
Sabbath Morning. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Ex. 20:8.
1. What is first commanded in the Sabbath commandment?
“_Remember_ the Sabbath _day_.” Ex. 20:8.
2. Which day is the Sabbath?
“_The seventh day_ is the Sabbath.” Verse 10.
3. For what purpose are we to remember the Sabbath day?
“Remember the Sabbath day, _to keep it holy_.” Verse 8.
NOTE.—All through the week the keeping holy of the Sabbath day is
to be remembered, or borne in mind. No business contracts or
arrangements are to be made, no manner of living indulged in,
which will prevent or interfere with the proper or holy observance
of the day when it comes. The keeping of this commandment,
therefore, is in the interests of, and with a view to, holy living
_all the time_. The _commandment itself_ enjoins a duty, and is to
be kept, all through the week; the _Sabbath_ is to be kept when it
comes. The Sabbath commandment, therefore, like every other
precept of the decalogue, but contrary to the conception of many,
is to be kept _all the time_, and not simply one day in the week.
In this matter we should distinguish between the _Sabbath_ and the
Sabbath _commandment_.
4. Who made the Sabbath day holy?
“Wherefore the _Lord_ blessed the Sabbath day, and _hallowed it_.” Verse
11.
NOTE.—God _made_ the Sabbath day holy; we are to _keep_ it holy.
5. What is it that makes a thing holy?
God’s _presence_ in it. See Ex. 3:5; 29:43-46; Joshua 5:13-15.
6. Then in order to keep the Sabbath day holy, what must be recognized?
God’s _presence_ in the day; His _blessing_ upon it; and His
_sanctification_ of it.
7. When, according to the Bible, does the Sabbath begin?
“And the _evening_ and the morning were the first day.” “And the _evening_
and the morning were the second day,” etc. See Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23,
31.
NOTE.—The evening begins “at the going down of the sun.” See Deut.
16:6; Mark 1:32; Deut. 23:11; 1 Kings 22:35,36; 2 Chron. 18:34.
8. Does the Bible recognize this as the proper time for beginning and
ending the Sabbath?
“_From even unto even_, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” Lev. 23:32.
NOTE.—One great advantage of keeping the Sabbath according to the
Bible method of reckoning the day, that is, from sunset to sunset,
over keeping it according to the Roman reckoning, or from midnight
to midnight, is that by the former one is awake to welcome and to
bid adieu to the day when it comes and goes, while by the latter
he is asleep when the day begins and ends. God’s ways are always
best. The setting of the sun is a great natural sign for marking
the division of time into days.
9. What kind of labor is to be done through the week?
“Six days shalt thou labor, and do all _thy work_.” Ex. 20:9.
10. Is any of this kind of work to be done on the Sabbath?
“In it thou shalt not do _any work_.” Verse 10.
NOTE.—If the Sabbath is to be kept “holy,” mere physical rest one
day in seven cannot be the great object of the Sabbath
institution.
11. How does the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, indicate what is true
Sabbath-keeping?
“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,
honorable_; and shalt _honor 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.” Isa. 58:13, 14.
NOTE.—“Whether the Sabbath becomes a delight or a burden depends
upon the spirit with which a man meets it. Indeed, the spirit of
the man settles the question as to the benefits to come from any
duty he may perform. One man cannot understand why his neighbor
should prefer the park or the ball ground to the church, simply
because his spirit is different. He has cultivated the higher
nature until he loves spiritual things above all others, and to
him the Sabbath is indeed a delight. It comes to his weary soul as
a reminder of God, and brings him nearer to heaven in heart and
mind than does any other day.”—_Sabbath Recorder, Dec. 12, 1910._
12. What is the character of God, and how only can He be truly worshiped?
“_God is a Spirit_: and they that worship Him must worship Him _in spirit
and in truth_.” John 4:24.
NOTE.—This is one reason why the attempt to produce
Sabbath-keeping by human Sabbath laws is altogether out of place.
Such laws can never produce true Sabbath-keeping, for that is
_spiritual_, and must be of the _mind_ and from the _heart_, and
not _perfunctory_, _mechanical_, nor of _force_.
13. What is one thing for which God has given the Sabbath to be a sign?
That He _sanctifies_ His people, or makes them _holy_. See Ex. 31:13; Eze.
20:12; and page 420.
14. What does the “psalm for the Sabbath day” suggest as proper acts and
themes for thought and meditation on the Sabbath?
“It is a good thing to _give thanks unto the Lord_, and to _sing praises
unto Thy name, O Most High_: to show forth _Thy loving-kindness_ in the
morning, and _Thy faithfulness_ every night, _upon an instrument of ten
strings_, and upon the _psaltery_; upon the _harp_ with a solemn sound.
For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad _through Thy work_: I will triumph in
_the works of Thy hands_. O Lord, _how great are Thy works_! and _Thy
thoughts are very deep_.” Ps. 92:1-5.
15. What do the works of God declare?
“The heavens declare _the glory of God_; and the firmament showeth _His
handiwork_. Day unto day uttereth _speech_, and night unto night _showeth
knowledge_. There is no speech nor language, where _their voice_ is not
heard.” Ps. 19:1-3. See margin.
NOTE.—God designed that the Sabbath should direct the minds of men
to His created works, and through these to Him, the Creator.
Nature itself speaks to our senses, telling us that there is a
God, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the universe. The Sabbath,
ever pointing to God through nature, was designed to keep the
Creator constantly in mind. The proper keeping of it, therefore,
must naturally tend to prevent idolatry, atheism, agnosticism,
infidelity, irreligion, and irreverence; and, being promotive of
the knowledge and fear of God, must of necessity be a deterrent to
sin. In this may its value and importance be seen.
16. Was the Sabbath designed to be a day for public worship?
“Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest,
_an holy convocation_.” Lev. 23:3.
NOTE.—The word convocation means “a calling together,” and is
always used in the Bible with reference to meetings of a religious
character.
[Illustration.]
Gathering The Manna. "On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread."
"But on the seventh day ... there shall be none." Ex. 16:22, 26.
17. What example did Christ set in Sabbath observance?
“And as His custom was, _He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and stood up for to read_.” Luke 4:16.
18. What else did Jesus do on the Sabbath?
“And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus _made the clay, and opened his
eyes_.” John 9:14.
NOTE.—A large share of Christ’s ministry consisted of miracles and
acts of mercy performed for the relief of suffering humanity; and
not a few of these were done on the Sabbath. On this day, as on
other days, He “went about doing good.” See next reading.
19. With what words did He justify acts of mercy on the Sabbath day?
“Wherefore it is _lawful_ to do well on the Sabbath days.” Matt. 12:12.
NOTE.—Not a little of Christ’s earthly ministry was devoted to
up-lifting the Sabbath, and showing the beneficent character of
the Sabbath institution. It was not meant to be a day of sorrow,
austerity, or gloom. Disinterested works of love and mercy toward
man or beast are always in place on the Sabbath. _Lawful_ means
“according to law.”
20. What day is especially indicated as the day to prepare for the
Sabbath?
“And that day [the sixth day] was _the preparation_, and the Sabbath drew
on.” Luke 23:54. See also Ex. 16:22, 23.
NOTE.—In order to keep the Sabbath day holy, it must be remembered
all through the week; and on the sixth day, or the day just before
the Sabbath, special preparation should be made _to be ready_ to
welcome and observe the day when it comes.
21. How did the Israelites in the wilderness on the sixth day prepare for
the Sabbath?
“And it came to pass, that _on the sixth day they gathered twice as much
bread_, two omers for one man.” Ex. 16:22.
NOTES.—The Sabbath should not be a day of either ordinary labor,
idleness, or amusement, but one of rest, reflection, holy joy,
worship, and helpfulness. It should be the happiest, the
brightest, and the best of all the week. Such it should be made
for young and old. Very early the children can be taught the
stories of creation and redemption, and taken out amid the
handiworks of God and taught to see Him and to commune with Him
through nature. Preparation for the Sabbath, therefore, is an
essential to its proper observance. God’s blessing is upon the
first moments of the Sabbath as well as upon the last; and, as far
as possible, everything should be got in readiness so that the
entire day may be devoted to God and humanity in the manner
indicated.
In making the Sabbath, God rested upon, blessed, and sanctified
the day. Ex. 20:11. Whoever, then, keeps the Sabbath aright, may
expect that there will be brought into his life God’s _rest_,
_blessing_, and _sanctification_.
Christ And The Sabbath
[Illustration.]
Healing On The Sabbath Day. "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the
Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12.
1. Of what did Christ say the Son of man is Lord?
“The Son of man is Lord even _of the Sabbath day_.” Matt. 12:8. See also
Mark 2:28.
2. Who made the Sabbath?
“All things were made _by Him_ [_Christ, the Word_]; and without Him was
not anything made that was made.” John 1:3.
3. Did Christ, while on earth, keep the Sabbath?
“As His custom was, _He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and
stood up for to read_.” Luke 4:16.
4. Although Lord, Maker, and an observer of the Sabbath, how was He
watched and spied upon by the scribes and Pharisees on this day?
“And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, _whether He would heal on the
Sabbath day_; that they might find an accusation against Him.” Luke 6:7.
5. With what question did Christ meet their false ideas and reasonings
regarding Sabbath-keeping?
“Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; _Is it lawful on the
Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?_”
Verse 9.
6. How did they manifest their displeasure at His healing the man with the
withered hand on the Sabbath?
“And they were _filled with madness_; and _communed one with another what
they might do to Jesus_.” Verse 11. “And the Pharisees went forth, and
straightway _took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might
destroy Him_.” Mark 3:6.
NOTE.—They were angry because, notwithstanding the fact that by
the miracle performed Christ had given evidence that He was from
God, He had shown no respect for _their views of Sabbath-keeping_,
but, on the contrary, had shown these to be _wrong_. Wounded
pride, obstinacy, and malice, therefore, combined to fill them
with _madness_; and they went out immediately and held council
with the Herodians,—their political enemies with whom they
disagreed in the matter of paying tribute to a foreign power,—for
the purpose of accomplishing His death.
7. Because Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day, and told him to take up
his bed and walk, what did the Jews do?
“Therefore did the Jews _persecute Jesus_, and _sought to slay Him_,
because He had done these things on the Sabbath day.” John 5:16.
NOTE.—It is a fact worthy of note that over the question of proper
Sabbath observance the Jews not only _persecuted_ Jesus, but
_first took counsel to kill Him_. Not the least of the malice
which finally culminated in His crucifixion, was engendered over
this very question of Sabbath observance. Christ did not keep the
Sabbath according to their ideas of Sabbath-keeping, and so they
sought to kill Him. And they are not alone. Many today are
cherishing this same spirit. Because some do not agree with their
ideas regarding the Sabbath, or Sabbath observance, they seek to
persecute and oppress them,—seek laws, and alliances with
political powers, to compel respect for their views.
8. How did Jesus answer them?
“But Jesus answered them, _My Father worketh hitherto, and I work_.” Verse
17.
NOTE.—The ordinary operations of nature, as manifested in God’s
almighty, upholding, beneficent, and healing power, go on on the
Sabbath the same as on other days; and to cooperate with God and
nature in the work of healing, relieving, and restoring on the
Sabbath, cannot, therefore, be out of harmony with God’s will, nor
a violation of His Sabbath law.
9. What effect did this answer have upon the Jews?
“Therefore the Jews _sought the more to kill Him_, because He not only had
broken the Sabbath [i.e., in their estimation], but said also that God was
His Father, making Himself equal with God.” Verse 18.
10. Because the disciples plucked a few ears of corn on the Sabbath day to
satisfy hunger, what accusation did the Pharisee make against them to
Christ?
“And the Pharisees said unto Him, _Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day
that which is not lawful?_” Mark 2:24.
11. What was Christ’s reply?
“And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had
need, and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? how he went
into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat
the showbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave
also to them which were with him? And He said unto them, _The Sabbath was
made for man, and not man for the Sabbath_.” Verses 25-27.
12. Because of Christ’s healing a woman of an infirmity on the Sabbath,
what did the ruler of a certain synagogue say?
“And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that
Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, _There are
six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed,
and not on the Sabbath day_.” Luke 13:14.
13. How did Christ answer him?
“The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one
of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him
away to watering? and ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond
on the Sabbath day?” Verses 15, 16.
14. What effect did Christ’s answers have upon the people?
“And when He had said these things, _all His adversaries were ashamed: and
all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by
Him_.” Verse 17.
15. By what method of reasoning did Christ justify acts of mercy on the
Sabbath day?
“Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not
straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day? And they could not answer Him
again to these things.” Luke 14:5, 6. “What man shall there be among you,
that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day,
will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better
than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.”
Matt. 12:11, 12.
[Illustration.]
Healing Impotent Man On The Sabbath. "Therefore did the Jews persecute
Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the
Sabbath day." John 5:16.
16. Into what perplexity did Christ’s working of miracles on the Sabbath
throw the Pharisees?
“Therefore said some of the Pharisees, _This man is not of God, because He
keepeth not the Sabbath day_. Others said, _How can a man that is a sinner
do such miracles?_ And _there was a division among them_.” John 9:16.
NOTE.—The working of these wonderful, beneficent, and gracious
miracles on the Sabbath was an evidence that Christ was from God,
and that His views of Sabbath-keeping were right. By these
miracles God was setting the seal of His approval to Christ’s
views and teachings respecting the Sabbath, and to His manner of
observing it, and thus condemning the narrow and false views of
the Pharisees. Hence the division.
17. According to Isaiah, what was Christ to do with the law?
“He will _magnify_ the law, and _make it honorable_.” Isa. 42:21.
NOTES.—In nothing, perhaps, was this more strikingly fulfilled
than in the matter of Sabbath observance. By their traditions,
numerous regulations, and senseless restrictions the Jews had made
the Sabbath a burden, and anything but a delight. Christ removed
all these, and by His life and teachings put the Sabbath back in
its proper place and setting, as a day of worship and beneficence,
a day for doing acts of charity and mercy, as well as engaging in
contemplation of God and in acts of devotion. Thus He magnified it
and made it honorable. One of the most prominent features of
Christ’s whole ministry was this great work of _Sabbath reform_.
Christ did not _abolish_ the Sabbath, nor _change_ the Sabbath;
but He did rescue it from the rubbish of tradition, the false
ideas, and the superstitions with which it had been buried, and by
which it had been degraded and turned aside from the channel of
blessing and practical service to man designed by its Maker. The
Pharisees had placed the institution _above_ man, and _against_
man. Christ reversed the order, and said, “The Sabbath was made
_for man_, and not man _for the Sabbath_.” He showed that it was
to minister to the happiness, the comfort, and the well-being of
both man and beast.
Because of the false ideas which the Jews held concerning the
Sabbath and its observance, and the conflict which Christ had with
them in consequence, many of the professed followers of Christ a
little later were led into the error of rejecting the Sabbath
itself as Jewish, and, without any divine command or Scripture
warrant, to substitute another day in its place.
18. Knowing that the unbelieving Jews would still cling to their false
ideas respecting the Sabbath, and that flight from Jerusalem and Judea on
that day would be attended with difficulty, for what, in view of the
coming destruction and desolation of the city and people, did Christ tell
His disciples to pray?
“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, _neither on the
Sabbath day_.” Matt. 24:20.
NOTE.—Christ’s experience with the Jews, the chosen and professed
people of God at that time, respecting the Sabbath is but a type
of what, according to prophecy, is to occur in the last days.
Already it is beginning to find its parallel in the movement to
enforce Sunday observance by law. See readings on pages 271, 484,
488.
The Sabbath In The New Testament
[Illustration.]
Paul On The Way To Assos. "And they ... rested the Sabbath day according
to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
1. According to the New Testament, what day immediately precedes the first
day of the week?
“In the end of _the Sabbath_, as it began to dawn toward the first day of
the week.” Matt. 28:1.
NOTE.—According to the New Testament, therefore, the Sabbath had
passed when the first day of the week began.
2. After the crucifixion, what day was kept by the women who followed
Jesus?
“And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and _rested the
Sabbath day according to the commandment_.” Luke 23:56.
3. What day is the Sabbath, “according to the commandment”?
“But _the seventh day is the Sabbath_ of the Lord thy God.” Ex. 20:10.
4. What was Christ’s custom respecting the Sabbath?
“And He 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 for to
read_.” Luke 4:16.
5. In what instruction to His disciples did Christ recognize the existence
of the Sabbath long after His ascension?
“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, _neither on the
Sabbath day_.” Matt. 24:20.
NOTE.—The destruction of Jerusalem under Titus occurred in the
spring and summer of 70 A.D. The flight of the Christians took
place three and one-half years earlier, or late in October, 66
A.D., following the arrival and sudden withdrawal of Cestius and
his army. See pages 313, 314.
6. On what day did the Jews meet for worship?
“Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in
the synagogues every _Sabbath day_.” Acts 15:21.
7. On what day did Paul and Barnabas preach at Antioch?
“They came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on _the
Sabbath day_.” Acts 13:14.
8. When did the Gentiles request that Paul should repeat the sermon he had
preached at Antioch on the Sabbath?
“And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought
that these words might be preached to them _the next Sabbath_.” Verse 42.
9. On what day did Paul and his companions preach to the devout women at
Philippi?
“And _on the Sabbath_ we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer
was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which
resorted thither.” Acts 16:13.
10. What was Paul’s manner respecting the Sabbath?
“They came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul,
_as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned
with them out of the Scriptures_.” Acts 17:1, 2.
NOTE.—It was Paul’s manner, as it was Christ’s custom (Luke 4:16),
to attend religious services on the Sabbath.
11. How did the apostle spend the working days of the week when at
Corinth?
“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and
found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy,
with his wife Priscilla; ... and because he was of the same craft, he
abode with them, and _wrought_: for by their occupation they were
_tent-makers_.” Acts 18:1-3. See Eze. 46:1.
12. What did he do on the Sabbath days?
“And _he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath_, and persuaded the Jews
and the Greeks.” Acts 18:4.
13. How long did he continue this work there?
“And he continued there _a year and six months_, teaching the word of God
among them.” Verse 11.
NOTE.—Here, then, were seventy-eight Sabbaths on which Paul
preached in one city. The record further says that he worked at
his trade, and we may justly infer that Paul worked at tent-making
just as many Sundays as he preached Sabbaths. If to these
seventy-eight Sabbaths we add the three he spent at Thessalonica,
the one at Philippi, and the two at Antioch, we have a record of
eighty-four Sabbaths on which the apostle held religious services,
while, so far as the record shows, he held only one meeting on the
first day of the week, and that a night meeting, immediately
following the Sabbath. See Acts 20. Evidently Sunday was not the
Sabbath in Paul’s day.
14. On what day was John in the Spirit?
“I was in the Spirit _on the Lord’s day_.” Rev. 1:10.
15. Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
“_The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath._” Mark 2:28.
16. What, through the prophet Isaiah, does the Lord call the Sabbath?
“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
_My holy day_.” Isa. 58:13.
17. Why does the Lord call the Sabbath His day?
“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.” Ex. 20:11.
18. Through whom did God create the world?
“God ... hath in these last days spoken unto us by _His Son, ... by whom
also He made the worlds_.” Heb. 1:1, 2.
NOTES.—From beginning to end, the Bible recognizes but one weekly
Sabbath,—the day upon which God rested in the beginning; which was
made known to Israel at Sinai (Neh. 9:13, 14); was observed by
Christ and His apostles; and is to be kept by the redeemed in the
world to come. Isa. 66:22, 23.
The terms Sabbath, Sabbaths, and Sabbath days occur sixty times in
the New Testament, and in every case but one refer to the seventh
day. In Col. 2:16, 17, reference is made to the annual sabbaths
connected with the three annual feasts observed by Israel before
the first advent of Christ.
The first day of the week is mentioned but eight times in the New
Testament, six of which are found in the four Gospels, and refer
to the day on which Christ arose from the dead. See Matt. 28:1;
Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19. The other two (Acts 20:7;
1 Cor. 16:2) refer to the only religious meeting held on the first
day of the week after the ascension, in apostolic times, recorded
in the New Testament, and to a systematic accounting and laying by
in store at home on that day for the poor saints in Judea and
Jerusalem.
It is evident, therefore, that the Sabbath of the New Testament is
the same as the Sabbath of the Old Testament, and that there is
nothing in the New Testament setting aside the seventh-day
Sabbath, and putting the first day of the week in its place.
The Law of God
As Given By Jehovah As Changed By Man
I I
Thou shalt have no other gods I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt
before me. not have strange gods before Me.
II
Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the
earth: thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them:
for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate Me;
and showing mercy unto thousands
of them that love Me, and keep My
commandments.
III II
Thou shalt not take the name of Thou shalt not take the name of
the Lord thy God in vain; for the the Lord thy God in vain.
Lord will not hold him guiltless
that taketh His name in vain.
IV III
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep Remember that thou keep holy the
it holy. Six days shalt thou Sabbath day.
labor, and do all thy work: but
the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy
son, nor thy daughter, thy man
servant, nor thy maid servant, nor
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that
is within thy gates: 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.
V IV
Honor thy father and thy mother: Honor thy father and thy mother.
that thy days may be long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee.
VI V
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill.
VII VI
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII VII
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not steal.
IX VIII
Thou shalt not bear false witness Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor. against thy neighbor.
X IX
Thou shalt not covet thy Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor’s house, thou shalt not neighbor’s wife.
covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his
man servant, nor his maid servant,
nor his ox, nor his ass, nor
anything that is thy neighbor’s.
X
Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor’s goods.
Ex. 20:3-17. Butler’s Catechism, page 28.
The Change Of The Sabbath
[Illustration.]
Changing The Law. "He shall think to change the times and the law." Dan.
7:25, R. V.
1. Of what is the Sabbath commandment a part?
The law of God. See Ex. 20:8-11.
2. What, according to prophecy, was to be Christ’s attitude toward the
law?
“The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; _He will magnify
the law, and make it honorable_.” Isa. 42:21.
3. In His first recorded discourse, what did Christ say of the law?
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matt. 5:17.
4. How enduring did He say the law is?
“For verily I say unto you. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Verse
18.
5. What did He say of those who should break one of the least of God’s
commandments, and teach men so to do?
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, _he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
heaven_.” Verse 19.
NOTE.—From this it is evident that the entire code of ten
commandments is binding in the Christian dispensation, and that
Christ had no thought of changing any of them. One of these
commands the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. But the
practise of most Christians is different; they keep the first day
of the week instead, many of them believing that Christ changed
the Sabbath. But, from His own words, we see that He came for no
such purpose. The responsibility for this change must therefore be
looked for elsewhere.
6. What did God, through the prophet Daniel, say the power represented by
the “little horn” would think to do?
“And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the Most High: and _he shall think to change the times and the
law_.” Dan. 7:25, R. V.
NOTE.—For a full explanation of this symbol, see readings on “The
Kingdom and Work of Antichrist” and “The Vicar of Christ,” pages
218, 224.
7. What did the apostle Paul say the “man of sin” would do?
“For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; _who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped_.” 2
Thess. 2:3, 4.
NOTE.—There is only one way by which any power could exalt itself
above God, and that is by assuming to change the law of God, and
to require obedience to its own law instead of God’s law.
8. What power has claimed authority to change the law of God?
The Papacy.
9. What part of the law of God especially has the Papacy thought to
change?
The fourth commandment.
NOTES.—“They [the Catholics] allege the Sabbath changed into
Sunday, the Lord’s day, contrary to the decalogue, as it appears;
neither is there any example more boasted of than the changing of
the Sabbath day. Great, say they, is the power and authority of
the church, since it dispensed with one of the ten
commandments.”—_Augsburg Confession, Art. XXVIII._
“It [the Roman Catholic Church] has _reversed_ the fourth
commandment, doing away with the Sabbath of God’s Word, and
instituting Sunday as a holy day.”—_N. Summerbell, in __“__History
of the Christians,__”__ page 418._
10. Why did God command Israel to hallow the Sabbath?
“And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you,
_that ye may know that I am the Lord your God_.” Eze. 20:20.
NOTE.—As the Sabbath was given that man might keep God in mind as
Creator, it can be readily seen that a power endeavoring to exalt
itself above God would first try to cover up or remove that which
calls man’s special attention to his Creator. This could be done
in no other way so effectually as by setting aside God’s
memorial—the seventh-day Sabbath. To this work of the Papacy
Daniel had reference when he said, “And he shall ... think to
change _times_ and _laws_.” Dan. 7:25.
11. Does the Papacy acknowledge that it has changed the Sabbath?
It does.
NOTE.—“_Question._—How prove you that the church hath power to
command feasts and holy days?
“_Answer._—By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday,
which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict
themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other
feast days commanded by the same church.”—_“__Abridgment of
Christian Doctrine,__”__ by Rev. Henry Tuberville, D. D., of Douay
College, France (1649), page 58._
“_Ques._—Have you any other way of proving that the church has
power to institute festivals of precept?
“_Ans._—Had she not such power, she could not have done that in
which all modern religionists agree with her,—she could not have
substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week,
for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for
which there is no Scriptural authority.”—_“__A Doctrinal
Catechism,__”__ by Rev. Stephen Keenan, page 174._
“The Catholic Church of its own infallible authority created
Sunday a holy day to take the place of the Sabbath of the old
law.”—_Kansas City Catholic, Feb. 9, 1893._
“The Catholic Church, ... by virtue of her divine mission, changed
the day from Saturday to Sunday.”—_Catholic Mirror, official organ
of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893._
“_Ques._—Which is the Sabbath day?
“_Ans._—Saturday is the Sabbath day.
“_Ques._—Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“_Ans._—We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic
Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 336), transferred the
solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”—_“__The Convert’s Catechism of
Catholic Doctrine,__”__ by Rev. Peter Geiermann, C. SS. R., page
50, third edition, 1913, a work which received the __“__apostolic
blessing__”__ of Pope Pius X, Jan. 25, 1910._
What was done at the Council of Laodicea was but one of the steps
by which the change of the Sabbath was effected. See under
questions 17-21. The date usually given for this council is 364
A.D.
12. Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the
Bible for the sanctification of Sunday?
They do.
NOTE.—“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.”—_Cardinal Gibbons, in
__“__The Faith of Our Fathers,__”__ edition 1892, page 111._
“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance
can be defended only on Catholic principles.... From beginning to
end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the
transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to
the first.”—_Catholic Press (Sydney, Australia), Aug. 25, 1900._
13. Do Protestant writers acknowledge the same?
They do.
NOTE.—“Is there no express commandment for observing the first day
of the week as Sabbath, instead of the seventh day?—None whatever.
Neither Christ, nor His apostles, nor the first Christians
celebrated the first day of the week instead of the seventh as the
Sabbath.”—_New York Weekly Tribune, May 24, 1900._
“The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the
Sabbath.... There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor of
course any Scriptural obligation.”—_The Watchman (Baptist)._
“The observance of the first instead of the seventh day rests on
the testimony of the church, and the church _alone_.”—_Hobart
Church News (Episcopalian), July 2, 1894._
For additional testimonies, see reading on page 454.
14. How did this change in observance of days come about, suddenly or
gradually?
Gradually.
NOTES.—“The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and
almost unconscious transference of the one day to the
other.”—_“__The Voice From Sinai,__”__ by Archdeacon F. W. Farrar,
page 167._
This of itself is evidence that there was no divine command for
the change of the Sabbath.
15. For how long a time was the seventh-day Sabbath observed in the
Christian church?
For many centuries. In fact, its observance has never wholly ceased in the
Christian church.
NOTES.—Mr. Morer, a learned clergyman of the Church of England,
says: “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 that they derived this practise from the apostles
themselves.”—_“__Dialogues on the Lord’s Day,__”__ page 189._
Prof. E. Brerwood, of Gresham College, London (Episcopal), says:
“The Sabbath was religiously observed in the Eastern church three
hundred years and more after our Saviour’s passion.”—_“__Learned
Treatise of the Sabbath,__”__ page 77._
Lyman Coleman, a careful and candid historian, says: “Down even to
the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was
continued in the Christian church, but with a rigor and solemnity
gradually diminishing until it was wholly
discontinued.”—_“__Ancient Christianity Exemplified,__”__ chap.
26, sec. 2._
The historian Socrates, who wrote about the middle of the fifth
century, says: “Almost all the churches throughout the world
celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet
the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some
ancient tradition, refuse to do this.”—_“__Ecclesiastical
History,__”__ book 5, chap. 22._
Sozomen, another historian of the same period, writes: “The people
of Constantinople, and of several other cities, assemble together
on the Sabbath as well as on the next day; which custom is never
observed at Rome.”—_“__Ecclesiastical History,__”__ book 7, chap.
19._
All this would have been inconceivable and impossible had there
been a divine command given for the change of the Sabbath. The
last two quotations also show that Rome led in the apostasy and in
the change of the Sabbath.
16. What striking testimony is borne by Neander, the noted church
historian, regarding the origin of the Sunday sabbath?
“Opposition to Judaism introduced the particular festival of Sunday very
early, indeed, into the place of the Sabbath.... 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. Perhaps at the end of the
second century a false application of this kind had begun to take place;
for men appear by that time to have considered laboring on Sunday as a
sin.”—_Neander’s __“__Church History__”__ Rose’s translation, page 186._
17. Who first enjoined Sunday-keeping by law?
Constantine the Great.
NOTES.—“The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a
legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting
that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops
were to be at rest on Sunday (_venerabili die Solis_), with an
exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural
labor.”—_Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, article
__“__Sunday.__”_
“Constantine the Great made a law for the whole empire (321 A.D.)
that Sunday should be kept as a day of rest in all cities and
towns; but he allowed the country people to follow their
work.”—_Encyclopedia Americana, article __“__Sabbath.__”_
“Unquestionably the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by
which the Sabbatical observance of that day is known to have been
ordained, is the edict of Constantine, 321 A.D.”—_Chambers’s
Encyclopedia, article __“__Sabbath.__”_
18. What did Constantine’s law require?
“Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest
on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the
country, freely and at full liberty, attend to the business of
agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for
sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip,
men should lose the commodities granted by heaven.”—_Edict of March 7, 321
__A.D.__, Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3, tit. 12, 3._
NOTE.—This edict, issued by Constantine, under whom the Christian
church and the Roman state were first united, in a manner supplied
the lack of a divine command for Sunday observance, and may be
considered the original Sunday law, and the model after which all
Sunday laws since then have been patterned. It was one of the
important steps in bringing about and establishing the change of
the Sabbath.
19. What testimony does Eusebius (270-338), a noted bishop of the church,
a flatterer of Constantine, and the reputed father of ecclesiastical
history, bear upon this subject?
“All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these _we_
have transferred to the Lord’s day.”—_“__Commentary on the Psalms,__”__
Cox’s __“__Sabbath Literature__”__ Vol. I, page 361._
NOTE.—The change of the Sabbath was the result of the combined
efforts of church and state, and it was centuries before it was
fully accomplished.
20. When and by what church council was the observance of the seventh day
forbidden, and Sunday observance enjoined?
“The seventh-day Sabbath was ... solemnized by Christ, the apostles, and
primitive Christians, till _the Laodicean Council_ did, in a manner, quite
abolish the observation of it. ... The Council of Laodicea [A.D. 364] ...
first settled the observation of the Lord’s day.”—_Prynne’s
__“__Dissertation on the Lord’s Day Sabbath,__”__ page 163._
21. What did this council, in its twenty-ninth canon, decree concerning
the Sabbath and Christians who continued to observe it?
“Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath], but shall
work on that day.... If, however, they are found Judaizing, _they shall be
shut out from Christ_.”—_Hefele’s __“__History of the Councils of the
Church,__”__ Vol. II, page 316._
NOTES.—Some of the further steps taken by church and state
authorities in bringing about this change may be noted as
follows:—
“In 386, under Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, it was
decreed that all litigation and business should cease [on
Sunday]....
“Among the doctrines laid down in a letter of Pope Innocent I,
written in the last year of his papacy (416), is that Saturday
should be observed as a fast-day....
“In 425, under Theodosius the Younger, abstinence from theatricals
and the circus [on Sunday] was enjoined....
“In 538, at a council at Orleans, ... it was ordained that
everything previously permitted on Sunday should still be lawful;
but that work at the plow, or in the vineyard, and cutting,
reaping, threshing, tilling, and hedging should be abstained from,
that people might more conveniently attend church....
“About 590 Pope Gregory, in a letter to the Roman people,
denounced as the prophets of Antichrist those who maintained that
work ought not to be done on the seventh day.”—_“__Law of
Sunday__”__ by James T. Ringgold, pages 265-267._
The last paragraph of the foregoing quotation indicates that even
as late as 590 A.D. there were those in the church who observed
and who taught the observance of the Bible Sabbath, the seventh
day.
22. What determines whose servants we are?
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, _his
servants ye are to whom ye obey_?” Rom. 6:16.
23. When tempted to bow down and worship Satan, what reply did Christ
make?
“_Get thee hence, Satan_: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord
thy God, and _Him only shalt thou serve_.” Matt. 4:10, 11.
24. What do Catholics say of the observance of Sunday by Protestants?
“It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has
transferred this rest to the Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of
our Lord. Thus _the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage
they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic]
church_.”—_“__Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today,__”__ by Mgr.
Segur, page 213._
25. What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according
to God’s commandments?
“But _in vain they do worship Me_, teaching for doctrines _the
commandments of men_.” Matt. 15:9.
26. When Israel had apostatized, and were almost universally worshiping
Baal, what appeal did Elijah make to them?
“How long halt ye between two opinions? _if the Lord be God, follow Him:
but if Baal, then follow him._” 1 Kings 18:21.
NOTE.—In times of ignorance God winks at that which otherwise
would be sin; but when light comes He commands men everywhere to
repent. Acts 17:30. The period during which the saints, times, and
the law of God were to be in the hands of the Papacy has expired
(Dan. 7:25); the true light on the Sabbath question is now
shining; and God is sending a message to the world, calling upon
men to fear and worship Him, and to return to the observance of
His holy rest day, the seventh-day Sabbath. Rev. 14:6-12; Isa.
56:1; 58:1, 12-14. See pages 259, 446, 463, 547.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Who is on the Lord’s side
Always true?
There’s a right and wrong side,
Where stand you?
Thousands on the wrong side
Choose to stand,
Still ’tis not the strong side,
True and grand.
Come and join the Lord’s side:
Ask you why?—
’Tis the only safe side
By and by.
F. E. BELDEN.
The Seal Of God And The Mark Of Apostasy
[Illustration.]
The Angel With The Seal. "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My
disciples." Isa. 8:16.
1. What does the Bible present as the object of a sign, or seal?
“Now, O king, _establish_ the decree, and _sign the writing, that it be
not changed_.” Dan. 6:8.
NOTE.—That is, affix the signature of royalty, that it may have
the proper authority, and thus be of force. Anciently it was
customary for kings to use a ring, containing their name,
initials, or monogram, for this purpose. Jezebel, the wife of
Ahab, “wrote letters in Ahab’s _name_, and sealed them with his
_seal_.” 1 Kings 21:8. Of the decree issued under Ahasuerus for
the slaying of all the Jews throughout the Persian Empire, it is
said that “in the _name_ of King Ahasuerus was it written, and
sealed with the king’s _ring_.” Esther 3:12.
2. What are the three essentials to an official seal?
To be complete, an official seal must show three things: (1) The name of
the lawgiver; (2) his official position, title, or authority, and so his
right to rule; and (3) his kingdom, or the extent of his dominion and
jurisdiction. Thus: “Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States,”
“George IV, King of Great Britain,” “Nicholas II, Czar of Russia.”
3. With what is God’s seal connected?
“Bind up the testimony, _seal_ THE LAW _among My disciples_.” Isa. 8:16.
4. Does the first commandment show who the author of the law is?
“Thou shalt have no other gods before _Me_.” Ex. 20:3.
NOTE.—Who the “me” here spoken of is, the commandment itself does
not state. Such a prohibition might come from any source. Any
heathen could claim it as a command from his god, and, so far as
the commandment itself goes, no one could disprove his claim.
5. Does the second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth
commandment indicate the author of the decalogue?
No; none of them.
NOTE.—The second commandment forbids the making of and bowing down
to images, but does not in itself reveal who the true God is. The
third commandment says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord
thy God in vain,” but it likewise fails to reveal the true God and
giver of the law. A worshiper of the sun might say he kept this
commandment so far as it itself reveals what god is meant. So of
the other commandments here referred to. In the last five
commandments the name of God is not even mentioned.
6. Which commandment alone of the decalogue reveals the true God and
Author of the law?
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and
do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that
is within thy gates: 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.” Verses 8-11.
NOTE.—The fourth commandment alone reveals the _name_,
_authority_, and _dominion_ of the Author of this law. In six
days, (1) the _Lord_ (name); (2) _made_ (office, Creator); (3)
_heaven and earth_ (dominion). This commandment alone, therefore,
contains “the _seal_ of the living God.” By what is revealed in
this commandment is shown what God is referred to in the other
commandments. By the great truth revealed here all other gods are
shown to be false gods. The Sabbath commandment, therefore,
contains the seal of God; and the Sabbath itself, the observance
of which is enjoined by the commandment, is inseparably connected
with this seal; it is to be kept in memory of the fact that God is
the Creator of all things; and it is itself called a “sign” of the
knowledge of this great truth. Ex. 31:17; Eze. 20:20.
7. What reason does God give for the Sabbath being an everlasting sign
between Him and His people?
“It is _a sign_ between Me and the children of Israel forever: _for in six
days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and
was refreshed_.” Ex. 31:17.
NOTE.—The Sabbath is the sign, or mark, or seal, of the true God,
the Creator.
8. Of what does God say the keeping or hallowing of the Sabbath is a sign?
“And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be _a sign_ between Me and you,
_that ye may know that I am the Lord your God_.” Eze. 20:20.
9. Of what besides a knowledge of God as Creator, is the Sabbath a sign?
“Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is _a sign_ between Me and you
throughout your generations; _that ye may know that I am the Lord that
doth_ SANCTIFY _you_.” Ex. 31:13.
NOTE.—The Sabbath is the great sign of God’s creative power
wherever and however manifested, whether in creation or
redemption; for redemption is creation—_re_-creation. It requires
the same power to _redeem_ that it does to _create_. “_Create_ in
me a clean heart.” Ps. 51:10. “For we are His workmanship,
_created_ in Christ Jesus unto good works.” Eph. 2:10. At each
recurrence of the Sabbath, God designs that it shall call Him to
mind as the One who created us, and whose grace and sanctifying
power are working in us to fit us for His eternal kingdom.
10. What scripture shows that a special sealing work is to take place just
before the letting loose of the winds of destruction upon the earth?
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of
the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not
blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another
angel ascending from the east, _having the seal of the living God_: and he
cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt
the earth and the sea, saying, _Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor
the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads_. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there
were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of
the children of Israel.” Rev. 7:1-4. See Eze. 9:1-6.
11. Where did the apostle see this same company a little later, and what
did they have in their foreheads?
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood _on the mount Sion_, and with Him an
hundred forty and four thousand, _having His Father’s name written in
their foreheads_.” Rev. 14:1.
NOTE.—The _seal of God_ and the Father’s _name_ must refer to the
same thing. The seal is the sign or stamp of perfection, and God’s
name stands for His character, which is perfection. And the
Sabbath of God, kept as God ordained it to be kept, holy, and in
holiness, is _a sign_ of this same thing—perfection of character.
When this seal is finally placed upon God’s people, it will be an
evidence that His grace and His sanctifying power have done their
work, and fitted them for heaven. In the world to come, all will
keep the Sabbath, and will therefore have this seal or mark of
sanctification, holiness, and perfection of character. Isa. 66:22,
23.
12. What is said of the character of these sealed ones?
“And in their mouth was found no guile: for _they are without fault before
the throne of God_.” Verse 5.
13. How is the remnant church described?
“Here is the _patience_ of the saints: here are they that _keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus_.” Verse 12.
14. Against what three things does the third angel of Revelation 14 warn
men?
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man
_worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or
in his hand_, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.”
Verses 9, 10.
NOTE.—The beast represents the Papacy; the image to the beast
represents another ecclesiastical body dominating civil power. See
readings on pages 268, 271. And over against the seal of God
stands the mark of the beast, the mark of apostasy. Against this
false and idolatrous worship and the reception of this mark, God
sends this solemn warning.
15. What power mentioned in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation is to
enforce this mark?
“And _he_ [the two-horned beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond, to receive _a mark_ in their right hand, or in
their foreheads.” Rev. 13:16.
NOTE.—The two-horned beast is understood to represent the United
States of America. See reading on page 271. As this nation
repudiates her principles of civil and religious liberty, and
becomes a persecuting power, other nations will follow her example
in oppressing those who refuse to yield their allegiance to God.
16. What does the Papacy set forth as the mark, or sign, of its power and
authority?
“_Question._—How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts
and holy days?
“_Answer.—By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday_, which
Protestants allow of.”—_“__Abridgment of Christian Doctrine,__”__ by Rev.
Henry Tuberville, D. D., page 58._
NOTES.—In a letter written in November, 1895, Mr. H. F. Thomas,
chancellor to Cardinal Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to
whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the Sabbath,
said: “Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was
her act, ... and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority
in religious things.” For other statements concerning this, see
pages 441, 444, 464.
The true Sabbath being a sign of loyalty to the true God, it is
but natural that the false sabbath should be regarded as a sign of
allegiance to apostasy. And such we find to be the case.
17. What do papal authorities say of the observance of Sunday by
Protestants?
“The observance of _Sunday_ by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in
spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church.”—_“__Plain
Talk About the Protestantism of Today,__”__ by Monsignor Segur, page 213._
NOTE.—The statement here made is true, and a full realization of
the fact will lead those who honestly, but ignorantly, have
heretofore been observing Sunday as the Sabbath, to refuse longer
to pay homage to apostasy, and return to the observance of that
which is the sign of loyalty to heaven,—the only weekly day of
rest which God, in His Word, has commanded men to keep holy, the
seventh day.
18. What will be the dragon’s attitude toward the remnant people who keep
the commandments of God?
“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.” Rev. 12:17.
19. How strongly will this false worship and the enforcement of this mark
be urged?
“That the image of the beast should both speak, and cause [decree] that as
many as would not worship the image of the beast _should be killed_. And
he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive _a mark_ in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and _that no
man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark_.” Rev. 13:15-17. See
note under question 19, on page 227.
20. Over what do the people of God finally gain the victory?
“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had
gotten the victory _over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name_, stand on the sea of glass, having the
harps of God.” Rev. 15:2.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
The God that made the earth,
And all the worlds on high,
Who gave all creatures birth,
In earth, and sea, and sky,
After six days in work employed,
Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed.
The Sabbath day was blessed,
Hallowed, and sanctified;
It was Jehovah’s rest,
And so it must abide;
’Twas set apart before the fall,
’Twas made for man, ’twas made for all.
R. F. COTTRELL.
The Lord’s Day
[Illustration.]
John’s Vision On Patmos. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day." Rev.
1:10.
1. From what time was Christ, the Word, associated with God, the Father?
“_In the beginning_ was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1, 2.
2. By whom were all things created?
“Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, _who created
all things by Jesus Christ_.” Eph. 3:9.
3. By whom were the worlds made?
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by
_His Son, ... by whom also He made the worlds_.” Heb. 1:1, 2.
4. How does Paul again express this same truth?
“For _by Him were all things created_, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, ... _all things were created by Him_, and
for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Col.
1:16, 17.
5. Was there anything made without Christ?
“All things were made by Him; and _without Him was not anything made that
was made_.” John 1:3.
6. Was the Sabbath “made”?
“And He said unto them, _The Sabbath was __MADE__ for man_.” Mark 2:27.
7. Then by whom was the Sabbath made?
By Christ.
NOTE.—This conclusion is inevitable. If all things were made by
Christ, and without Him was not anything made that was made, and
the Sabbath was one of the things that was made, then it follows
that the Sabbath must have been made by Christ. This being so, the
Sabbath must be the Lord’s day.
8. What did God do in the beginning on the seventh day?
“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.” Gen. 2:2.
NOTE.—If all things were made by Jesus Christ, then He, with the
Father, rested on the first seventh day from all His labor in the
work of creation.
9. After resting on the seventh day, what did God do?
“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.” Verse 3.
NOTE.—And inasmuch as this blessing and this sanctification of the
day were a part of the _making_ of the Sabbath, as well as the
_resting_ upon the day, these also must have been done by Christ;
for the Sabbath was _made_ by Him.
10. How much honor is due to Christ?
“That all men should honor the Son, _even as they honor the Father_.” John
5:23. “I and My Father are _one_.” John 10:30.
NOTE.—In keeping the Sabbath, then, we honor Christ equally with
the Father.
11. Did Christ keep the Sabbath?
“And He 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
for to read_.” Luke 4:16. “_I have kept My Father’s commandments._” John
15:10.
12. Did Christ’s followers keep the Sabbath after His death?
“And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; _and rested the
Sabbath day according to the commandment_.” Luke 23:56.
13. Did they observe it after His resurrection?
“And Paul, _as his manner was_, went in unto them, _and three Sabbath days
reasoned with them out of the Scriptures_.” Acts 17:2. See also Acts
13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 18:1-4, 11.
14. On what day does John say he was in the Spirit?
“I was in the Spirit on _the Lord’s day_.” Rev. 1:10.
15. What day does the commandment say is the Lord’s?
“_The seventh day_ is the Sabbath of the Lord.” Ex. 20:10.
16. By whose Spirit did the prophets write?
“_The Spirit of Christ_ which was in them.” 1 Peter 1:11.
17. What does the prophet Isaiah, speaking for God through this Spirit of
Christ, call the seventh-day Sabbath?
“My holy day.” Isa. 58:13.
18. Does Christ anywhere in the Scriptures ever claim any other day of the
week than the seventh as His?
He does not.
NOTE.—We do not need to speculate as to what day is the Lord’s, if
we will but take the Word of God for our guide, for loyalty to
which John was banished to the isle of Patmos. See Rev. 1:9.
19. If John, therefore, referred to a day of the week, on what day must he
have been in the Spirit?
The seventh day.
NOTE.—No other day of the week in all the Bible is claimed by God
as His day. During the second, third, and fourth centuries of the
Christian era, when apostasy came in like a flood, men, without
any warrant or command of Scripture, thinking to do honor to
Christ and despite to the Jews who crucified Christ, began to
neglect the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and to honor the
day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead, the first day,
as “the Lord’s day,” until finally the Sabbath was almost wholly
lost sight of, and the Sunday quite generally took its place. But
there was no more warrant for this change in the divine and
unchangeable law of God than there was for other errors and
changes which crept into the professed Christian church during
this same time, such as abstaining from meat on Friday in honor of
the crucifixion; Mariolatry, or the worship of the Virgin Mary;
the mass; purgatory; indulgences; prayers for the dead;
saint-worship; and the human vicarship of Christ. There was no
more divine authority for one than for the others. All came in
through apostasy. The Bible knows but one true and living God, one
Lawgiver, one Mediator between God and man, one Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one
baptism, and _one Sabbath_. See Jer. 10:10-12; Rev. 14:6, 7; 1
Tim. 2:5; Eph. 4:4-6; Ex. 20:8-11.
Walking As He Walked
[Illustration.]
Jesus In The Synagogue On The Sabbath. "Leaving us an example, that ye
should follow His steps." 1 Peter 2:21.
1. The way of the Christian life was set for us by Jesus Himself.
“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to _walk, even as
He walked_.” 1 John 2:6. “Leaving us an example, that ye should _follow
His steps_.” 1 Peter 2:21.
2. The footprints that Jesus set for us to follow, lead unvaryingly along
the way of God’s commandments.
“_I have kept My Father’s commandments_, and abide in His love.” John
15:10. “For this is the love of God, _that we keep His commandments_.” 1
John 5:3.
3. The pathway is the same today as when Jesus walked in Judea.
“Jesus Christ _the same yesterday, and today, and forever_.” Heb. 13:8.
4. When it is shown that Jesus kept the seventh day holy as our example,
many ask, “Why have not scholar and churchmen found out that there is no
Bible authority for first-day sacredness?”
The answer is, They have found it so, and have freely declared the fact.
Testimony Of Eminent Men
5. The extracts that follow are from noted clergymen, scholars, and
eminent writers, all of whom doubtless kept the Sunday as a matter of
church custom. But they nevertheless bear witness that there is no Bible
command for it.
Church Of England Writers
Archdeacon Farrar: “The Sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of
the week.” “The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and
almost unconscious transference of the one day to the
other.”—_“__The Voice From Sinai,__”__ pages 163, 167._
Canon Eyton (of Westminster): “There is no word, no hint, in the
New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday.” “The
observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same
footing as the observance of Sunday.” “Constantine’s decree was
the first public step in establishing the first day of the week as
a day on which there should be secular rest as well as religious
worship.... Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters.”—_“__The
Ten Commandments,__”__ Trubners & Co._
Canon Knox-Little, replying to those who quote the example of
Christ against the High-church ritualism, says:—
“It is certain that our Lord when on earth _did_ observe Saturday,
and did _not_ observe Sunday.” “If they are consistent, as I have
said, they must keep Saturday, not Sunday, as the day of
rest.”—_“__Sacerdotalism,__”__ Longman Company._
Sir William Domville: “Centuries of the Christian era passed away
before the Sunday was observed by the Christian church as a
Sabbath.”—_“__Examination of Six Texts,__”__ chap. 8, page 291._
Writers Of Other Churches
Bishop Grimelund, of Norway (Lutheran): “The Christians in the
ancient church very soon distinguished the first day of the week,
Sunday; however, not as a sabbath, but as an assembly day of the
church, to study the Word of God together.”—_“__Geschichte des
Sonntags,__”__ page 60._
Dr. R. W. Dale (British Congregationalist): “It is quite clear
that however rigidly or devotedly 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 observance of
Sunday.... There is not a single line in the New Testament to
suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed
sanctity of Sunday.”—_“__The Ten Commandments,__”__ Hodder and
Stoughton, pages 106, 107._
Dr. Lyman Abbott (American Congregationalist): “The current notion
that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first
day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the
New Testament.”—_Christian Union, June 26, 1890._
Dr. Edward T. Hiscock (Baptist): “There was and is a commandment
to ‘keep holy the Sabbath day,’ but that Sabbath was not Sunday.
It will, however, be readily said, and with some show of triumph,
that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day
of the week.... Where can the record of such a transaction be
found? Not in the New Testament—absolutely not.”—_The New York
Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893._
Dr. D. H. Lucas (Disciple): “There is no direct Scriptural
authority for designating the first day the Lord’s
day.”—_Christian Oracle, Jan. 23, 1890._
Cardinal Gibbons (Roman Catholic): “You may read the Bible from
Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line
authorizing the sanctification of Sunday.”—_“__Faith of Our
Fathers,__”__ edition 1892, page 111._
Prize Essay of American Sunday-school Union: “Up to the time of
Christ’s death, no change had been made in the day.... So far as
the record shows, they [the apostles] did not give any explicit
command enjoining the abandonment of the seventh-day Sabbath, and
its observance on the first day of the week.”—_“__Lord’s Day,__”__
pages 185, 186._
Encyclopedias And Church Manuals
“Dictionary of Christian Antiquities:” “The notion of a formal
substitution by apostolic authority of the Lord’s day [meaning
Sunday] for the Jewish Sabbath, and the transference to it,
perhaps in a spiritualized form, of the Sabbatical obligation
established by the promulgation of the fourth commandment, has no
basis whatever, either in the Holy Scriptures or in Christian
antiquity.”—_Article __“__Sabbath,__”__ Smith and Cheetham._
“Cyclopedia of Biblical Theology:” “It must be confessed that
there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first
day.”—_Article __“__Sabbath,__”__ McClintock and Strong._
Methodist Episcopal “Theological Compend,” by Amos Binney: “It is
true, there is no positive command for infant baptism.... Nor is
there any for keeping holy the first day of the week.”—_Pages 180,
181._
Protestant Episcopal “Manual of Christian Doctrine:” “Is there any
command in the New Testament to change the day of weekly rest from
Saturday?—None.”—_Page 127._
Protestant Episcopal “Explanation of Catechism:” “The day is now
changed from the seventh to the first day; ... but as we meet with
_no Scriptural direction for the change_, we may conclude it was
done by the authority of the church.”
6. What influence do the Bible and history show working in the church
immediately after apostolic days?
“Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to
draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:30.
NOTE.—“In the interval between the days of the apostles and the
conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its
aspect.... Rites and ceremonies of which neither Paul nor Peter
ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of
divine institutions.”—_Dr. W. D. Killen’s (Presbyterian) __“__The
Ancient Church,__”__ Preface._
7. What did Christ say of worship based upon the commandments of men?
“_In vain they do worship Me_, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men.” Matt. 15:9.
8. What did He say should be done with every plant not planted by God?
“Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, _shall be rooted
up_.” Verse 13.
The Sabbath In History
[Illustration.]
Israel In Captivity. "To fulfil the word of the Lord, ... until the land
had enjoyed her sabbaths." 2 Chron. 36:21.
1. When and by what acts was the Sabbath made?
“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.” Gen. 2:2, 3.
2. What division of time is marked off by the Sabbath?
The week.
NOTES.—“One of the most striking collateral confirmations of the
Mosaic history of the creation is the general adoption of the
division of time into _weeks_, which extends from the Christian
states of Europe to the remote shores of Hindustan, and has
equally prevailed among the Hebrews, the Egyptians, Chinese,
Greeks, Romans, and northern barbarians,—nations some of whom had
little or no intercourse with others, and were not even known by
name to the Hebrews.”—_Horne’s __“__Introduction to the Critical
Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures,__”__ Vol. I, page 69,
edition 1841._
“Seven has been the ancient and honored number among the nations
of the earth. They have measured their time by weeks from the
beginning. The original of this was the Sabbath of God, as Moses
has given the reasons for it in his writings.”—_“__Brief
Dissertation on the First Three Chapters of Genesis,__”__ by Dr.
Lyman Coleman, page 26._
Gen. 7:4, 10; 8:10, 12, show that the week was known at the time
of the flood.
3. How widely recognized is the seventh-day Sabbath in the different
languages of the world today?
It is very generally so recognized.
NOTE.—Some years ago the late Dr. William Mead Jones, of London,
published a “Chart of the Week,” showing the style of the weekly
cycle and the designations of the different days of the week in
one hundred and sixty different languages. This chart shows very
vividly that the seven-day period, or week, was known from the
most ancient times, and that in no fewer than one hundred and
eight of these languages the seventh day is designated as the
Sabbath, or holy day. The following is from this chart:—
English The seventh day The Sabbath
Hebrew Shabbath Sabbath
Greek Sabbaton Sabbath
Latin Sabbatum Sabbath
Arabic Assabt The Sabbath
Persian Shambin Sabbath
Armenian Shapat Sabbath
Turkish Yomessabt Day the Sabbath
Abyssinian Sanbat Sabbath
Russian Subbota Sabbath
Polish Sobota Sabbath
Hindustani Shamba Sabbath
Malay Ari-Sabtu Day Sabbath
Afghan Shamba Sabbath
German Samstag Sabbath
Prussian Sabatico Sabbath
French Samedi Sabbath day
Italian Sabbato Sabbath
Spanish Sabado Sabbath
Portuguese Sabbado Sabbath
4. What reason did God assign at Sinai for having blessed and set apart
the seventh day as a day of holy rest?
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in
them is, and rested the seventh day.” Ex. 20:11.
5. What promise did God make to Israel, through Jeremiah, if they would
keep the Sabbath?
“And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently harken unto Me, saith the
Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath
day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; _then shall there
enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the
throne of David_, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their
princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and _this
city shall remain forever_.” Jer. 17:24, 25.
6. What did He say would happen if they did not hallow the Sabbath day?
“But _if ye will not harken unto Me to hallow the Sabbath day_, and not to
bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath
day; _then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour
the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched_.” Verse 27.
7. What befell the city of Jerusalem when it was captured by
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 588 B.C.?
“And all the vessels of the house of God ... he brought to Babylon. And
_they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and
burnt all the palaces thereof with fire_.” 2 Chron. 36:18, 19.
8. Why was this done?
“To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land
had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept
sabbath.” Verse 21.
NOTE.—Israel’s Babylonish captivity, under Nebuchadnezzar and his
sons, was seventy years long because that for 420 years, or for
six times seventy years,—from the days of Solomon to
Nebuchadnezzar’s time,—they had largely neglected to keep the
Sabbath. See Eze. 22:8, 26; Jer. 25:8-11; 17:24, 27; 2 Chron.
36:15-21. The seventy years’ desolation made up for the 420 years
of Sabbath desecration. So during the millennium, or the one
thousand years after Christ’s second advent, the whole earth will
lie desolate, or keep sabbath, for one thousand years, because
that for six thousand years the world’s inhabitants have
disregarded the Sabbath. See this period and condition pointed out
in Rev. 20:1-4; Isa. 24:1-6; Jer. 4:23-27. The periods of rest and
desolation of the land are divinely appointed sabbatical
compensations for man’s irreligion, as manifested in Sabbath
desecration. They are impressive lessons on the importance of
keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and the results of breaking and
disregarding it.
9. After Israel’s restoration from the Babylonian captivity, what did
Nehemiah say was the reason for their punishment?
“Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil
thing is this that ye do, and _profane the Sabbath day? Did not your
fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon
this city?_ yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel _by profaning the
Sabbath_.” Neh. 13:17, 18.
10. How does he speak of God’s giving the Sabbath to Israel?
“Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from
heaven, and _gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and
commandments: and madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath_.” Neh. 9:13,
14.
NOTE.—Let it be noted that this text does not say that God _made_
the Sabbath then, but simply that He made it _known_ to Israel
then. They had largely forgotten it while in Egypt. See pages 419,
423.
11. How did Christ, while on earth, regard the Sabbath?
“And He 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
for to read.” Luke 4:16.
12. By what did Christ recognize the Sabbath law?
“And He said unto them, ... It is _lawful_ to do well on the Sabbath
days.” Matt. 12:11, 12.
NOTES.—William Prynne says: “It is certain that Christ Himself,
His apostles, and the primitive Christians for some good space of
time, did constantly observe the seventh-day
Sabbath.”—_“__Dissertation on the Lord’s Day Sabbath,__”__ page
33._
Morer, a learned clergyman of the Church of England, says: “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
that they derived this practise from the apostles themselves, as
appears by several scriptures to that purpose.”—_Morer’s
__“__Dialogues on the Lord’s Day,__”__ page 189._
The historian Neander says: “Opposition to Judaism introduced the
particular festival of Sunday very early, indeed, into the place
of the Sabbath.... 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. Perhaps at the end
of the second century a false application of this kind had begun
to take place; for men appear by that time to have considered
laboring on Sunday as a sin.”—_Neander’s __“__Church History,__”__
Rose’s translation, page 186._
Dr. Lyman Abbott says: “The current notion that Christ and His
apostles authoritatively substituted the first day of the week for
the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New
Testament.”—_Christian Union, June 26, 1890._
Archdeacon Farrar says: “The Christian church made no formal, but
a gradual and almost unconscious transference of the one day to
the other.”—_“__The Voice From Sinai,__”__ page 167._
13. What was the first effort of the Roman Church in behalf of the
recognition of Sunday?
In 196 A.D., Victor, bishop of Rome, attempted to impose on all the
churches the Roman custom of having the Passover, or Easter, as it is
commonly called, celebrated every year on Sunday. See Bower’s “History of
the Popes,” Vol. I, pages 18, 19.
NOTE.—This, Dr. Bower, in his “History of the Popes,” Vol. I, page
18, styles “the first essay of papal usurpation.”
14. What was one of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of
Nice?
“_The question relating to the observance of Easter_, which was agitated
in the time of Anicetus and Polycarp, and afterward in that of Victor, was
still undecided. It was one of the principal reasons for convoking the
Council of Nice, being the most important subject to be considered after
the Arian controversy.”—_Boyle’s __“__Historical View of the Council of
Nice,__”__ page 23, edition 1836._
15. How was the matter finally decided?
“Easter day was fixed on the Sunday immediately following the full moon
which was nearest after the vernal equinox.”—_Id., page 24._
16. In urging the observance of this decree on the churches, what reason
did Constantine assign for it?
“Let us have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the
Jews.”—_Id., page 52._
17. What had Constantine already done, in 321 A.D., to help forward Sunday
to a place of prominence?
He issued an edict requiring “the judges and town people, and the
occupation of all trades” to rest on “the venerable day of the sun.” See
Encyclopedia Britannica, article “Sunday;” and this work, page 443.
18. Who did Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea, and one of Constantine’s most
ardent supporters, say had transferred the obligations of the Sabbath to
Sunday?
“All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, _these
__WE__ have transferred to the Lord’s day_.”—_Eusebius’s __“__Commentary
on the Psalms,__”__ quoted in Cox’s __“__Sabbath Literature,__”__ Vol. I,
page 361._
19. What did Sylvester, bishop of Rome, 314 A.D. to 337 A.D., do for the
Sunday institution by his “apostolic authority”?
He officially changed the title of the first day, calling it the LORD’S
DAY. See “Historia Ecclesiastica,” by M. Ludovicum Lucium, cent. 4, cap.
10, pages 739, 740, edition Basilea, 1624.
20. What did the Council of Laodicea decree in 364 A.D.?
Canon 29. “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath],
but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially
honor.”—_“__A History of the Councils of the Church,__”__ Charles Joseph
Hefele, Vol. II, page 316._
21. How late did Christians keep the Sabbath?
“Down even to the fifth century, the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was
continued in the Christian church.”—_Lyman Coleman’s __“__Ancient
Christianity Exemplified,__”__ chap. 26, sec. 2._
22. How generally does the historian Socrates, who wrote about the middle
of the fifth century, say the Sabbath was observed by the Christian
churches of his time?
“Although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred
mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria
and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do
this.”—_Socrates’s __“__Ecclesiastical History,__”__ book 5, chap. 22._
23. What day was observed in the dark ages by some of the Waldenses?
“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.”—_Jones’s __“__Church
History,__”__ Vol. II, chap. 5, sec. 4._
24. Who among the early Reformers raised this question of Sabbath
observance?
“Carlstadt held to the divine authority of the Sabbath from the Old
Testament.”—_“__Life of Luther,__”__ by Dr. Barnes Sears, page 402._
25. What did Luther say of Carlstadt’s Sabbath views?
“Indeed, if Carlstadt were to write further about the Sabbath, Sunday
would have to give way, and the Sabbath—that is to say, Saturday—must be
kept holy.”—_Luther, Against the Celestial Prophets, quoted in __“__Life
of Martin Luther in Pictures,__”__ page 147._
26. What claim is now made by the Roman Church concerning the change of
the Sabbath to Sunday?
“_Question._—Have you any other way of proving that the church has power
to institute festivals of precept?
“_Answer._—Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which
all modern religionists agree with her,—she could not have substituted the
observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of
Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
authority.”—_“__Doctrinal Catechism,__”__ by Rev. Stephen Keenan, page
174._
NOTE.—Through want of sufficient light and investigation, and
because of the efforts of some who opposed the Sabbath during the
Reformation, Sunday was brought from Catholicism into the
Protestant church, and is now cherished as an institution of the
Lord. It is clear, however, that it is none of His planting, but
rather the work and result of apostasy. But a message is now going
forth to revive the truth on this point, and calling for a genuine
reformation upon it. See pages 251-263, and next reading.
Sabbath Reform
[Illustration.]
The House Of Prayer. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from
doing thy pleasure on My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
1. What kind of worship does Christ say results from doctrines based on
the commandments of men?
“_But in vain they do worship Me_, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men.” Matt. 15:9.
2. What commandment did Christ say the Pharisees had made void by their
teaching?
“For _God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother_.... But ye say,
Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by
whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or
his mother, he shall be free.” Verses 4-6.
3. What was the result of their course?
“Thus have ye _made the commandment of God of none effect_ by your
tradition.” Verse 6.
NOTE.—By a gift or dedication of property to the temple service,
they taught that a man might be freed from the duties enjoined by
the fifth commandment.
4. What question did the disciples soon afterward ask Christ?
“_Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended_, after they heard this
saying?” Verse 12.
5. What answer did the Saviour make?
“But He answered and said, _Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not
planted, shall be rooted up_.” Verse 13.
NOTE.—What is true of the fifth commandment is true of every other
commandment. If through tradition men set aside any other of God’s
commandments, the words of Christ to the Pharisees are equally
applicable to them. They are guilty of making void the commandment
of God, and of instituting vain worship.
6. When, and by whom, was the Sabbath “planted”?
“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_.” Ex. 20:11.
7. Who claims to have planted the Sunday institution?
“_Question._—Has _the [Catholic] church_ power to make any alterations in
the commandments of God?
“_Answer._—... Instead of the seventh day, and other festivals appointed
by the old law, the church has prescribed the Sundays and holy days to be
set apart for God’s worship; and these we are now obliged to keep in
consequence of God’s commandment, instead of the ancient
Sabbath.”—_“__Catholic Christian Instructed,__”__ by the Rt. Rev. Dr.
Challoner, page 211._
NOTE.—“We Catholics, then, have precisely the same authority for
keeping Sunday holy, instead of Saturday, as we have for every
other article of our creed; namely, the authority of ‘_the church_
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth’ (1 Tim.
3:15); whereas, you who are Protestants have really no authority
for it whatever; for _there is no authority for it in the Bible_,
and you will not allow that there _can be_ authority for it
anywhere else. Both you and we do, in fact, follow _tradition_ in
this matter; but _we_ follow it, believing it to be a part of
God’s word, and the church to be its divinely appointed guardian
and interpreter; _you_ follow it, denouncing it all the time as a
fallible and treacherous guide, which often ‘makes the commandment
of God of none effect.’ ”—_“__Clifton Tracts,__”__ Vol. IV,
article __“__A Question for All Bible Christians,__”__ page 15._
For further quotations on this, see pages 441, 444, 455, 456.
8. When is final salvation to be brought to God’s people?
“Who are kept by the power of God through faith _unto salvation ready to
be revealed in the last time_.” 1 Peter 1:5.
9. When God’s salvation is _near to come_, upon whom does He pronounce a
blessing?
“Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation
is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. _Blessed is the man
that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth
the Sabbath from polluting it_, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.”
Isa. 56:1, 2.
10. Is this promised blessing confined to any one class?
“_Also the sons of the_ STRANGER that join themselves to the Lord, to
serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, _every
one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it_, and taketh hold of My
covenant; _even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them
joyful in My house of prayer_.” Verses 6, 7.
NOTE.—It is evident from these scriptures that in the last day,
when men are waiting for the Saviour to appear, there will be a
call for those who really love the Lord to separate themselves
from the world, to observe the Lord’s true Sabbath, and to depart
from all evil.
11. What does God tell His ministers to do at this time?
“_Cry aloud, spare not_, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and _show My
people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins_.” Isa.
58:1.
12. What message of Sabbath reform does He send?
“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,
honorable; and shalt honor 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.” Verses 13, 14.
NOTE.—The Sabbath of Jehovah is not now, by the majority even of
professed Christians, called holy and honorable. By many it is
stigmatized as “Jewish.” The Lord foresaw how this would be in
this age, and inspired the prophet to write as he did. “_If thou
turn away thy foot from the Sabbath._” This is a strong
expression, indicating that many would be trampling upon God’s
day, and doing their own pleasure upon it, instead of seeking God,
and honoring Him by keeping the Sabbath holy.
13. What will those be called who engage in this reformation?
“And thou shalt be called, _The repairer of the breach, The restorer of
paths to dwell in_.” Verse 12.
14. What does another prophet say professed teachers among God’s people
have done?
“Her priests have _violated My law_, and have _profaned Mine holy things_:
they have _put no difference between the holy and profane_; neither have
they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, _and have hid
their eyes from My Sabbaths_, and I am profaned among them.” Eze. 22:26.
15. What have they done to maintain their theories?
“And her prophets have _daubed them with untempered mortar_, seeing
vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, _Thus saith the Lord God,
when the Lord hath not spoken_.” Verse 28.
NOTES.—Untempered mortar is that which is improperly worked, and
will not therefore hold together or stand the test. Thus it is
with the reasons advanced for keeping Sunday instead of the Bible
Sabbath, the seventh day. They are not only unsound and untenable
in themselves, but are utterly inconsistent, contradictory, and
destructive one of the other, among themselves. They are like the
witnesses employed by the Jewish leaders to condemn Christ. Of
these the record says: “The chief priests and all the council
sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death; and found
none. For many bare _false witness_ against Him, but _their
witness agreed not together_.” Mark 14:55, 56. The lack of
_agreement_ among them was evidence in itself of the _falsity_ of
their testimony. In nothing, perhaps, is a lack of agreement
better illustrated than in the reasons assigned for
Sunday-keeping. Note the following:—
One says the Sabbath has been _changed_ from the seventh to the
first day of the week.
Another says that the Sabbath commandment requires only one day of
rest after six of labor, and hence _there has been no change_.
Some reason that all ought to keep Sunday, because although, as
they affirm, God did not appoint a _particular_ day, yet
_agreement_ is necessary; and to have any or every day a sabbath
would be equal to no sabbath at all.
Others, to avoid the claims of God’s law, assert that the Sabbath
precept is one of those ordinances which was _against us, contrary
to us, blotted out, and nailed to the cross_. Still, they admit
that a day of rest and convocation is necessary, and therefore the
day of Christ’s resurrection, they say, has been chosen.
Another class say they believe it is impossible to know which is
the _seventh day_, although they have no difficulty in
ascertaining which is the _first_.
Some are so bold even as to declare that _Sunday is the original
seventh day_.
Others, with equal certainty, say that those who keep the seventh
day are endeavoring to be _justified by the law_, and are _fallen
from grace_.
Another class, with more liberal views, say they believe that
every one should be fully persuaded in his own mind, whether he
keep this day, or that, or none at all.
Still again, as if having found the great desideratum or missing
link in the argument, men credited with even more than ordinary
intelligence, will sometimes declare that it is _impossible to
keep the seventh day on a round and rolling earth_; and yet,
strange to say, they find no difficulty in keeping _Sunday
anywhere_, and believe that this day should be observed _the world
over_!
Lastly, and more terrible and presumptuous than all the rest,
some, like Herod of old in slaying all the children of Bethlehem
in order to make sure of killing Christ, have gone so far as to
teach that _all ten commandments have been abolished_, in order to
avoid the duty enjoined in the _fourth_. But as in the case of
Herod, God’s Anointed escaped the murderous blow of this wicked
king, so in the judgment such will have to meet God over His
broken law, and will find that the Sabbath precept stands there
unchanged with the rest.
Said Christ, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least
in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt.
5:19.
16. What does the Lord say will become of this wall thus daubed with
untempered mortar?
“Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that _it shall fall_:
there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, _O great hailstones, shall
fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it_.” Eze. 13:11.
17. When are these hailstones to fall?
“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen _the
treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war_?” Job 38:22, 23.
18. Under which of the seven last plagues will this hail fall?
“And _the seventh angel_ poured out his vial into the air; ... and the
cities of the nations fell: ... and every island fled away, and the
mountains were not found. And there fell upon men _a great hail_ out of
heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent.” Rev. 16:17-21.
19. In order to prepare His people for that terrible time, what does God
expect His ministers to do?
“Ye have not _gone up into the gaps_, neither _made up the hedge_ for the
house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.” Eze. 13:5.
20. Instead of trying to close up this breach made in God’s law [the loss
of the Sabbath], and so make up the hedge, what have they done?
“They have seen vanity and lying divination, _saying, The Lord saith: and
the Lord hath not sent them_: and they have made others to hope that they
would confirm the word.” Verse 6.
21. During these closing scenes, what message is God sending to the world
to turn men from false worship to the worship of the true and living God?
“Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come:
and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.... Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,
because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication.... If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive
his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of
His indignation.” Rev. 14:7-10.
NOTE.—This is the last gospel message to be sent to the world
before the Lord comes. Under it will be developed two classes of
people, one having the mark of the beast (the Papacy), and the
other keeping the commandments of God, and having His seal, the
Sabbath of the fourth commandment. See readings on pages 259, 446.
22. What, besides attending and taking part in religious services (Luke
4:16), did Christ do on the Sabbath day?
“Who _went about doing good_.” Acts 10:38. See Matt. 8:14-17; 12:1-15;
Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11; 13:11-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-18; 9:1-41.
NOTE.—When we come to study the life of Christ, we find that He
did not make the Sabbath a day of idleness, nor even a day
confined wholly to public and private worship, but one of active
service in blessing others. On this day especially He went about
doing good, ministering to the sick, and bringing relief to those
long bound by Satan. Luke 13:15, 16; John 5:5, 6. And as He is our
pattern in all things, we, too, like Him, should seek to make the
Sabbath a day for helping and blessing others. To loose the bands
of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, deal bread to the hungry,
clothe the naked, and let the oppressed go free, is the fast which
God has chosen, and the Sabbath-keeping most acceptable to Him.
Isa. 58:1-12. In this kind of work and ministry there is room for
a world-wide Sabbath reform.
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Brother! up to the breach
For God’s freedom and truth;
Let us act as we teach,
With the wisdom of age, and the vigor of youth.
Heed not their cannon-balls;
Ask not who stands or falls;
Grasp the sword of the Lord,
And—Forward!