p. 627 | The Alarm Sounded by L. C. Rogers

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 21, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 40.

The Alarm Sounded.

By L. C. Rogers

In its issue of July 22, The Voice announces its intentions and future policy, as follows:—

“We propose to fight to the death that other institution closely linked to the saloon, a sabbathless Sunday.” “It is pretty nearly time to sound an alarm. The Sabbath has been an American institution ever since there has been an America. It is slowly dwindling away,” etc.

As lovers of God's holy Sabbath, and as enemies of that other institution, the saloon, we deeply regret that The Voice now proposes to fight to the death to make a sabbath of Sunday.

As every one knows, Sunday is the first day of the week; the Sabbath of the Bible is the seventh day, as every careful reader must know.

“Take, for illustration, Matthew's gospel, 28:1. “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.” So, then the first day of the week begins as the Sabbath ends, and hence the first day of the week is not the Bible Sabbath; and yet The Voice proposes to fight to the death to make it the Sabbath.

“Take again Mark's gospel, 16:1. “And when the Sabbath was past, very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher.” So here the first day of the week occurs after the Sabbath is past, and hence the first day of the week is not the Sabbath; and yet The Voice proposes to fight to the death to make it the Sabbath.

“Take another passage of Scripture, from Luke's gospel, 23:56 and 24:1, two consecutive verses. “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath-day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher.” So here again, the first day of the week occurs after the Sabbath-day; and hence the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, is not the Sabbath-day; and yet The Voice announces its intention to fight to the death to make it the Sabbath. What is this but fighting against God?

If the Sunday was indeed God's Sabbath, which it never was; if it was not a festival day of man's appointing, but the Bible Sabbath, the service which The Voice proposes to render it, is more than the gospel requires, or than good men could approve.

We are glad that The Voice is able to see and is willing to admit that the Sunday, as a sabbath, is “dwindling away;” it is becoming a “sabbathless Sunday.” Cannot The Voice see that the Sunday as a sabbath has no foothold in the word of God? Churches and ministers are trying to make a sabbath of the Sunday, but can they? The failure is palpable. Let the saloons bear their full share in making the Sunday sabbathless; but let those persons also who are trying to make a sabbath out of one of God's “working days” (Eze. 46:1), and to make it take the place of God's blessed and sanctified day (Gen. 2, 1–3), bear their share of the responsibility in this matter.

The Voice is shaping the policy of the Prohibition party, of which it is the leading organ. But there are good men in that party that do not propose to fight to the death to make Sunday a sabbath, and who will take the “alarm” which is here sounded.—L. C. Rogers, in Sabbath Recorder.