Untitled article by W. C. G.

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · September 3, 1867

FromAdvent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. XXX, No. 12

"THE SEVENTH-DAY SABBATH—IS ITS OBSERVANCE BINDING?"

By W. C. G.

(Continued.)

The next point in Mr. B.'s argument which we deem worthy of notice is his attempt to disprove our position on the perpetuity of the Sabbath, based on Isa. lxvi, 23. On this point he says:

“The Sabbath being among the things that are seen, is temporal, as Paul says in 2 Cor. iv, 18. Is the Sabbath in the new earth? It is said to be, and Isa. lxvi, 23, is claimed in proof of that point, and that the events brought to view take place in the new earth, spoken of in the previous verse. But if we will read carefully we shall see that it is a promise to God's people of perpetuity of their seed and name, like as the new earth shall abide forever. That is all.

The first sentence of the above is a mere quibble, and hardly worthy of notice. “The Sabbath being among the things that are seen, is temporal.” Seen by whom? Does he see it, and is he trying to throw dust in his own eyes, that they may behold it no longer? So it would seem. But let us ask Mr. B. how a thing can be seen if it was abolished at the cross? Paul says, “the things that are seen,” referring evidently to this temporal state of things, with its surroundings, and contrasting them with the glories of eternity. Would that the Sabbath might be among the things that are seen by the spiritual vision of those who now have “hid their eyes” from it. See Eze. xxii, 26.

But Mr. B. asserts that Isa. lxvi, 23, is a promise of the perpetuity of the seed and name of God's people, and “that is all.” Let us see if we cannot find something more. The 22nd verse contains the promise. As the new earth shall remain, so shall your seed and name remain. How can they remain as the new earth remains? By remaining on the new earth and as long as it exists, and in no other way. Now what takes place after this new earth state is ushered in? “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.” Verse 23. Now as Mr. B. does not believe in a temporal millennium, of course he can locate this nowhere else but in the new earth.

To evade the force of this argument, he endeavors to prove that there will be no succession of days and nights, nor of months, and consequently no Sabbaths nor new moons. In proof of this he quotes Isa. lx, 19, 20. “The sun shall be no more thy light by day? neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee as everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down: neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.”

He then adds:

“It does not say there shall be no moon, but it shall not withdraw itself. The withdrawal of the moon once a month is the cause of the new moon. Question—If there is no withdrawal then, will there be any new moons there?”

If his reasoning is correct, we must come to the inevitable conclusion that the earth is to be rolled out flat into one vast plain, with the sun and moon perpetually shining overhead. In short, that the laws which govern the solar system are all to be dispensed with, the earth to cease its revolution on its axis, and be suspended motionless, with the sun and moon standing still, and, of course, both shining together. Those who choose can accept such reasoning, but in the light of reason and scripture, we respectfully decline to endorse it.

But what then shall be done with the text? We think it must be taken in a figurative sense. Those terms are frequently used in scripture to denote prosperity and glory, while the figure of the sun going down denotes adversity and calamity, as in Amos viii, 9, “I will cause the sun to go down at noon;” Jer. xv, 9, “Her sun is gone down while it was yet day;” and Mic. iii, 6, “The sun shall go down over the prophets,” &c. In paradise restored there will be no more calamity, nor desolation, nor adversity; hence, “thy sun shall no more go down.” &c.

But in case this argument fails him, he has another, which at first sight may seem conclusive. We give his argument on this point entire:

“We read of the world to come that there is no night there. But we are told that is in the city only: and there may be night outside. But hold: What is the reason there is no night there in the city? John tells us in Revelation xxii, 5—‘And there shall be no night there [in the city]; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign forever and ever.’ Again, in Revelation xxi, 23—‘And the city had no need of the sun, neither the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.’ That will be endless day, will it not? We are further told that ‘the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it:’ will they walk in endless day? The reason given why there was no night, was, that God's glory did lighten it. Will the glory of God dispel the night wherever it is? In Numbers xiv, 21 it reads: ‘But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.’ Will there be any night in ‘all the earth’ then?”

We understand that the term “glory of God” is used in two different senses. Thus in Rom. iii, 23, we read that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” that is, have failed to glorify him by righteousness in their lives. Again, in 1 Cor. x, 31, we are commanded, “Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” We sometimes speak of precious seasons of enjoyment when all present were filled with “the glory of God.” Now in none of these cases do we understand that physical darkness is dispelled, or that being filled with the glory of God does away with the necessity of using means of illumination in the absence of God's appointed luminaries.

In this sense also, do we understand the text in Num. xiv, 21: “The earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” That is, all will be righteous, and will glorify God in all they do.

The other sense in which the term is used denotes the glory proceeding from His immediate personal presence, with the shining, dazzling beauty of his surroundings. When the Lord reigns in Mount Zion in glory and majesty, even the darkness of night will be dispelled, and the city, the metropolis of the kingdom, will be illuminated by his divine presence.

That the earth made new will continue to revolve on its axis, and retain its proper relation to the solar system, we are compelled to believe, and if this be the case there will be measurements of time as now, and as there was in Eden before the fall; but this does not necessitate the conclusion that the nights will be gloomy or unpleasant as in the existing, sin-cursed state of the earth.

W. C. G.

(To be continued.)