Chapter XX: Part IX: The Sabbath (2)

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

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

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

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

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?