The Sabbath Lesson 1 1 1
In a previously unpublished record of an early vision, Ellen White saw how holy we must be, the holiness of the Sabbath, bloody men, or angels, with weapons, the pestilence wasting at noonday, Jesus girding his sword on his thigh and riding forth to deliver the captives, and at the end she said, Drop the curtain; I cannot see it. I cannot behold it, save, save save, O God have pity, have mercy... 2 2
When the law is sealed up and closed with His disciples then He will let go. Drop the curtain, I cannot see it. I cannot behold it, save, save, save, O God have pity, have mercy, save O save. (Ms5 1849.15) 3 3
In infinite wisdom He hath established the Sabbath in Eden. Behold ye, be careful how ye treat the Sabbath of the Lord your God. It is holy, it is holy to the Lord. (Ms5 1849.1) 4 4
The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath, which has been accepted by the world in the place of the day of God s appointment. But no one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation of the fourth commandment. (Ms51 1899.17) 5 5
But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit sabbath, and the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast. (Ms51 1899.18) 6 6
With rapid steps we are approaching this period. When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and state. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin. (Ms51 1899.19; see also ST July 4, 1899, par. 11) 7 7
The Lord God of heaven will not supply the deficiencies that result from mental and spiritual indolence. When the human agents shall exercise their faculties to acquire knowledge, to become deepthinking men; when they, as the greatest witnesses for God and the truth, shall have won in the field of investigation of vital doctrines concerning the salvation of the soul, that glory may be given to the God of heaven as supreme... 8 8
... then even judges and kings will be brought to acknowledge, in the courts of justice, in parliaments and councils, that the God who made the heavens and the earth is the only true and living God, the author of Christianity, the author of all truth, who instituted the seventh-day Sabbath when the foundations of the world were laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted together for joy. (FE 374.1) 9 9
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11 Khmer Rouge Tribunal (ECCC)_flickr 11
Michigan Municipal League_flickr 12 12
Andrews and the Sabbath 13 13
The Sabbath dates from the beginning of our world s history The seventh day is the Lord s Sabbath for three reasons: 1) God created it and was the first to rest on it, 2) God placed a blessing upon it, and 3) God set it apart for a holy use it is to be hallowed in memory of the Creator The highest of all possible honors pertains to the Sabbath day God himself rested on the first seventh day and thus honored it 14 14
This divine appointment of the seventh day for a holy use to be hallowed in memory of the Creator was given to Adam and Eve, for they were the only beings to have the days of the week to use. Time is the duration measured by the Bible. Before this time on our old earth is a duration without beginning and after it will be an unending duration open to the people of God. Eternity, then, he says, embraces duration without beginning and duration without end, and this world s history is in the middle and is measured by time. 15 15
The only being who spans all durations is the Father, who only hath immortality. Andrews also lists the works of creation and notes each of the six days was distinguished uniquely by the Creator s work, but the seventh day was different, for God rested. He rested and he was refreshed (Ex. 31:17). 16 16
Exodus 31:17 Refreshed naphash, which means to take breath or to be refreshed. The root word is nephesh, which has twenty-seven varieties of meaning in the KJV, such as soul, being, life, person. Deut 6:5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Gen 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 17 17
However, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary (Is. 40:28), so why did God rest? He was laying the foundation of a divine institution, the memorial of his great work of creation. He rested on the seventh day and because he rested on that day, he blessed the day and sanctified it. It was, and is, a highly honored day. All that he had created was very good, but only the seventh day was so highly honored. 18 18
Rested shabath, means to cease, desist, or rest in the sense of repose and is used in places other than those referring to the Sabbath wars cease, seedtime and harvest shall not cease, the three friends ceased to answer Job. Blessed bârak. The root word means to kneel, and a few of the 415 times this root and its derivatives are used it means to kneel in adoration and praise before God (Ps 95:6), but usually it means to endue with power for success, prosperity, fecundity, longevity, etc. (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). Jacob blessed Joseph (Gen 48:15). This kind of blessing is transmitted from the greater to the lesser. 19 19
Sanctified qadash, to set apart, to consecrate, and has the sense of being holy, removed from common use, subject to special treatment( the seventh day, cities of refuge, days of fasting, Mt. Sinai) 20 20
We are to observe the Sabbath because... Genesis 2:2, 3 God rested, blessed, and sanctified the seventh day. Exodus 20:11 it is a memorial of creation. Deuteronomy 5:15 it is a day to remember being brought out by a mighty hand and stretched out arm from the land of Egypt. Exodus 23:12 the work animals are to find rest and the stranger and son of the handmaid are to be refreshed. Exodus 31:13 it is a sign that the Lord sanctifies us. Mark 2:27 it was made for us. Our observance demonstrates our loyalty to God. The Sabbath question will be the issue in the great conflict in which all the world will act a part (19MR 182.4). 21 21
Christ died to save sinners, not in their sins, but from their sins. The warning given in Revelation [13] shows us the terrible consequence of transgression. By lips that will not lie, God s law is declared to be holy, just, and good. Our duty to obey this law is to be the burden of the last message of mercy to the world. God s law is not a new thing. It is not holiness created, but holiness made known. It is a code of principles expressing mercy, goodness, and love.... 22 22
These principles are made known by the third angel s message, which declares that the Creator had always required and always will require obedience to His royal law. But this law has been disregarded and transgressed, and is now being ignored by the churches. Human enactments are placed where God s law should be. 23 23
Sunday, a child of the Papacy, has taken the place where God s law should be. Sunday, a child of the papacy, has taken the place of God s holy Sabbath. As Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image, and set it up to be worshiped by all, so Sunday is placed before the people to be regarded as sacred. This day bears not a vestige of sanctity, yet it is held up to be honored by all. (Ms88 1897.19) 24 24
... But notwithstanding this, God s law still stands firm. The man of sin has thought to change this law; he has thought to do it; but not while God holds the throne will he be able to change one jot or tittle of His law. (Ms88-1897.20) 25 25
... A common working day has been presented to the churches by the Catholic authority, and has been accepted. God gave the Sabbath to man as a memorial of the work of creation; and the Lord of heaven will not hold him guiltless who sets aside His commands, and teaches others in their place. He will reward every one according to his works. (Ms88 1897) 26 26
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) Are we worshipers of Jehovah, or of Baal? of the living God, or of idols? No outward shrines may be visible; there may be no image for the eye to rest upon; yet we may be practising idolatry. It is as easy to make an idol of cherished ideas or objects as to fashion gods of wood or stone. Thousands have a false conception of God and His attributes. They are as verily serving a false God as were the servants of Baal (RH, December 3, 1908). (1BC 1105.8) Jeremiah 10:11 27 27
The Father and the Son engaged in the mighty, wondrous work they had contemplated of creating the world. (SR 20) 28 28
After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in their own image. They had wrought together in the creation of the earth and every living thing upon it. And now God said to His Son, Let us make man in our image. (Ibid.) 29 29
The hour for joyful, happy songs of praise to God and His dear Son had come. Satan had led the heavenly choir. He had raised the first note; then all the angelic host had united with him, and glorious strains of music had resounded through heaven in honor of God and His dear Son. (Ibid., p. 25) 30 30
The Lord s command to His servants is, Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1. A message that will arouse the churches is to be proclaimed. Every effort is to be made to give the light, not only to our people, but to the world. I have been instructed that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation should be printed in small books, with the necessary explanations, and should be sent all over the world. Our own people need to have the light placed before them in clearer lines. (CH 520.3) 31 31
Andrews also states God established the week, and the week has remained unto this day. Every seventh day is to be set apart, for God has blessed it. The reckoning of time by weeks is derived by nothing in nature, but owes its existence to the divine appointment of the seventh day to a holy use in memory of the Lord s rest from the six days work of creation (Andrews, p. 30). He also addresses the false belief that it was at Mt. Sinai or it was when the manna was given that God established the Sabbath and addresses the false belief that Sabbath-keeping was not practiced during the timespan of Genesis (a 2370-year period). 32 32
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A Word on Eternity 34 34
Andrews: Eternity is that word which embraces duration without beginning and without end (p. 9). Isaiah 57:15 ad, eternity; continually, perpetuity, continuing future Isaiah 45:17 olam, perpetual or ceaseless; ASV says world without end ; RSV says to all eternity. 35 35
Though ʿôlām is used more than three hundred times to indicate indefinite continuance into the very distant future, the meaning of the word is not confined to the future. There are at least twenty instances where it clearly refers to the past. Such usages generally point to something that seems long ago, but rarely if ever refer to a limitless past. (Theological Wordbook of the OT) Can refer to the time of one s elders, to the time just before the exile, to the events of the Exodus, to the time before the flood, etc. It does not carry the idea of endlessness or limitlessness, but points to a time long before the immediate knowledge of those living. 36 36
God has given man a lifetime to form his character. If he makes a failure through negligence, or for any other cause, this neglect is felt through all eternity. (Lt1 1871.18) 37 37
The Doctor [Kellogg] has succeeded because he would not be defeated. He has faced stubborn difficulties, and has seen them give way before him, because his courage would not be daunted nor his energy wearied. But this is just what his associates in the work have failed to do. Such an experience would be more valuable to them than gold; it would be a benefit through all time and through all eternity. (Lt1 1885.18) 38 38
The plan of salvation had its place in the counsels of the Infinite from all eternity. (CE 83.3; 1894) 39 39
We know that Christ proceeded forth and came from God (John 8:42), but it was so far back in the ages of eternity as to be far beyond the grasp of the mind of man. (1890 EJW, CHR 9.1) 40 40
The covenant of mercy was made before the foundation of the world. It has existed from all eternity, and is called the everlasting covenant. So surely as there never was a time when God was not, so surely there never was a moment when it was not the delight of the eternal mind to manifest His grace to humanity (ST, June 12, 1901) 41 41
From all eternity Christ was united with the Father, and when He took upon Himself human nature, He was still one with God. He is the link that unites God with humanity. (ST, August 2, 1905). 42 42
When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity. (AA 38; 1911) 43 43
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity. (Micah 5:2, margin) 44 44