TEN POPULAR OBJECTIONS TO THE SABBATH ANSWERED by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 14, 1868

TEN POPULAR OBJECTIONS TO THE SABBATH ANSWERED.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.

(Concluded.)

9. The time has been lost, so that we cannot now tell what the true seventh day is. This is considered the stronghold, the last ditch, when all other arguments fall. Sabbath-breakers can take shelter in this argument and imagine themselves secure. They think they are now beyond reach of all positive proof. But these same men have no difficulty in finding the first day of the week. They can all tell readily enough when that comes, but when you come to search after the seventh day, lo, and behold, all is confusion and uncertainty! Is any body ever troubled to find the first day of the week before the Sabbath question is agitated in community? Not in the least. Ministers, deacons, church members, and all, have unanimously agreed that Sunday was the first day of the week, and that they were keeping it in honor of Christ's resurrection on that day; but when they find that there is no Bible to sustain that position, and that they cannot meet the argument in favor of the seventh-day Sabbath, then, all at once, they learn that we can tell nothing about the days of the week. But is it not a fact that time has been lost so that we cannot now tell when the true seventh day does come? No; there is not a word of truth in it. I will risk my reputation that we can prove, so far as evidence can prove anything, that Saturday is the true seventh day from the creation of the world. I now invite your attention to the proof.

In the first chapter of Genesis we have the fact stated that God created all things in six days. In Gen. ii, 1–3, it says that God rested on the seventh day. “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.” Here we have a definite starting point. The first seventh day from creation was God's Sabbath day. From this time on we find all nations reckoning time by periods of seven days each, or by weeks. Where did they get this from? Manifestly from the division of time into periods of seven days each, marked by each successive Sabbath. Thus we read of Noah while in the ark, Gen. viii, 10, 12: “And he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove,” &c. In the time of Jacob, Laban said thus to him, Gen. xxix, 27, 28: “Fulfill her week, and I will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet other seven years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week.” From this it appears that they reckoned time by weeks and sevens of days.

But, says one, the Sabbath was lost during the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, if it had not been before. Very well; for argument's sake, though I do not suppose that it was so, we will grant that at the time when God delivered his people out of Egypt all traces of the Sabbath had been entirely lost, so that no one could tell when the true seventh day did come. Soon after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, God gave them bread from heaven in the following manner, as may be seen by Ex. xvi, 4, 5, 16–30, 35: “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. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, and some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating; and when the sun waxed hot it melted. 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. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that which ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade; and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a Sabbath unto the Lord; to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 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. So the people rested on the seventh day. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.”

By the above, we see that three miracles were performed by God each week for the space of forty years. First, manna fell from heaven the first six days of the week. Second, on the seventh day there was none. Third, that which was gathered on the sixth day would keep till the seventh, while that which was gathered on the other days of the week would not keep overnight. Now, from these facts, can we suppose that there was a child of ten years in all the hosts of Israel that could not tell without a doubt when the seventh day came? Here, then, the Sabbath day was so plainly pointed out that all could readily tell when it came. Soon after this, the ten commandments were given by God from mount Sinai, and in them the Israelites were strongly enjoined to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, which had thus been pointed out to them, and this is declared to be the day on which God himself had rested at the close of the creation week. Ex. xx, 8–11. From this time on, very strict regulations were given to the Israelites with regard to keeping the Sabbath. That they did not lose the Sabbath from that day till the coming of Christ, probably none will deny. They had prophets, inspired men, all the way along to remind them of their duty to keep the Sabbath; and it is often mentioned in a manner which shows that it was not lost. Thus in 2 Kings iv, 23, we read: “And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon, nor Sabbath.” This shows that the Sabbath was known and kept by them at that time, and that it was customary for them to go to the prophets upon the Sabbath day for instruction. This was 895 years before Christ.

But did they not lose the Sabbath during the Babylonish captivity? They did not, as we may learn from their promises to God immediately after their return. Neh. x, 31: “And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day.” This shows that they had not lost the day at that time. This was 445 B. C. Many other testimonies might be quoted, but we wish to come directly to the New Testament.

When Christ came, he declared himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. He knew all things; hence, if the Jews had lost the true Sabbath day, he would have known it and would have corrected their error. But he did no such thing; he kept the same day that they kept, and acknowledged it to be the Sabbath day. The testimony in Luke xxiii, 54; xxiv, 1, seems to be very decisive on this point. “And that day was the preparation and the Sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with them from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 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 sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.” Here we have three days mentioned. First, the preparation day, which was the sixth day of the week; see Ex. xvi, 5; second, the Sabbath day, and third, the first day of the week; and these are so called by divine inspiration; hence, the days of the week were known and correctly kept by the Jews until the resurrection of Christ. It says that the women rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. What day does the commandment enjoin? Answer, the seventh day, on which God had rested in the beginning. If they had ever kept any other day for the Sabbath, it would not have been the Sabbath according to the commandment. And as late as A. D. 96, when John was on the isle of Patmos, they still knew when the Lord's day came. Rev. i, 10. This closes the Bible record.

Now the next question to be determined is, Has the Sabbath been lost this side of Christ's time. I think that it has not, and will offer the following reasons why I think so.

(1.) History conclusively shows that the days of the week have been correctly kept by all nations. The Jews were, at that time, and have been ever since, a literary people. They have kept records and written histories from that day until this. The Greeks were a very literary people, and have produced numerous learned men, historians, philosophers, &c. They also have kept records and written histories from the days of Christ till the present time. The same is true of the Romans, the Persians, and to a great extent also of the Arabians, French, English, and numerous other nations who have existed cotemporaneously. Soon after Christ, arose the Popes of Rome, who have had a continued succession until the present time. They have kept records of time and events very carefully. Now all these records and histories agree, with regard to the time, when notable events have occurred during the last 1800 years. For instance, we have the Council of Nice in the fourth century; the preaching of Peter the Hermit, and the Crusades in the tenth century, the Reformation in the sixteenth century, and the French Revolution in the eighteenth century. Now many nations were interested in these events, and have made a record of them, of the year, the month, the day of the month, and the day of the week on which many of these important events have occurred. If time had been lost the records of different nations would disagree. One nation would say that it was on such a day of the week; another that it was on some other day of the week, and the third, on another day of the week. But there is no such disagreement among the nations of the earth. The records and histories of all nations running parallel with each other, agree in the dates which they have given all the way along for these different events.

(2.) The Jews uniformly declare that Saturday is the Sabbath day. The Jews were a numerous nation in the time of Christ. Forty years afterward, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. From that time until the present, the Jews have been scattered among all nations of the earth. In Asia, in Africa, in Europe, in America, and in the islands of the seas, we find Jews; especially in the large cities they may be found. They still retain their peculiar faith and doctrines, and have kept themselves a distinct people. Now it is a notorious fact that they all kept Saturday for the Sabbath. They say that it is the true seventh day which has been handed down from father to son throughout all their generations. Now, if the day had been lost, there would have been a disagreement among the Jews with regard to what day of the week was the true seventh day; and part of them would have kept Saturday, and called that the true seventh day, while others would have kept Monday and called that the true seventh day; and yet a third party might have been keeping Thursday, calling that the true seventh day. But there is no such disagreement among them. In any part of the world where you find a Jew, he will tell you that Saturday is the Sabbath day. This universal agreement among them shows that they have all kept a correct reckoning of the days of the week; for we cannot suppose that the millions of Jews, scattered as they are and separate from each other, would thus agree, if the day had been lost by them. It would be a miracle to suppose that they all made the same mistake at the same time, by losing the same number of days. I think that God has sent the Jews among all nations as witnesses that his Sabbath day has not been lost, and that it can be kept anywhere on the globe. We consider this fact alone sufficient to show that God's Sabbath has not been lost.

(3.) All Christians, in all parts of the world, agree that Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday the seventh. Christians of all denominations, whether Protestant or Catholic, have all been unanimous in teaching that Sunday is the first day of the week; and there has never been any disagreement among them with regard to it. They claim to be keeping the first day of the week in honor of the resurrection of Christ. They have never expressed any doubts upon this subject. Ministers and people, learned and unlearned, have all taught that Sunday was the first day of the week. How can this be accounted for if it has been lost, and no one can tell when the first day occurs?

(4.) A few hundred years after Christ's time, arose the Mahometans. They chose the sixth day of the week for their Sabbath. They are exceedingly numerous in the East. They all agree in keeping Friday, and say that that is the sixth day. There is no disagreement among them.

(5.) All our laws assume and claim that Sunday is the first day of the week. The different Christian nations have made laws enjoining the observance of Sunday as the Sabbath, and they call it the first day of the week. Thus read the compiled laws of the State of Michigan: “No person who conscientiously believes that the seventh day of the week ought to be observed as the Sabbath, and actually refrains from secular business and labor on that day, shall be liable to the penalties provided in this chapter, for performing secular business or labor on the said first day of the week, provided he disturb no other person.” Chap. 44, Section 7. This assumes that Sunday is the first day of the week.

(6.) The time table in the old family Bible states the fact very plainly. Thus:

DAYS OF THE WEEK. 1st day of the week, ........................Sunday. 2nd “ “ “ “ ........................Monday. 3d “ “ “ “ ........................Tuesday. 4th “ “ “ “ ........................Wednesday. 5th “ “ “ “ ........................Thursday. 6th “ “ “ “ ........................Friday. 7th “ “ “ “ ........................Sabbath or Saturday.

I know not how any testimony could be any more explicit than this.

(7.) The astronomical calculation of eclipses shows that no time has been lost. The time between different eclipses can be so accurately reckoned either forward or backward, as to show even the minute for hundreds or thousands of years in the past when an eclipse should have occurred. These eclipses have been noted and their dates given all along through the past, by those astronomers who have reckoned and found that they have occurred at the right time, showing that no time has been lost. Tell an astronomer that time has been lost during the last 2000 years and he will laugh at the idea.

(8.) All dictionaries define Saturday to be the seventh day, and Sunday the first. Thus Webster says: “Sunday, noon, the first day of the week; Monday, noon, second day of the week; Saturday, noon, last day of the week.” So we might quote Worcester, Sawyer, and others.

(9.) Nevins, in his Biblical Antiquities, p. 174, states some facts: “The Jews had not particular names for the first six days of the week, but distinguished them merely by their order; thus what we now call Sunday was termed the first day of the week; Monday was the second, Tuesday the third, and so on of the rest. The seventh day, which we term Saturday, was styled among them the Sabbath, that is, the day of rest.”

(10.) Even the old family almanac tells us that Sunday is the first day of the week and that Saturday is the seventh.

It seems to me from these facts, it is utterly impossible to lose the days of the week, even though we had no history nor records written. I will illustrate this: Here is a whole community and even the whole State keeping Sunday. Now suppose that on a certain Sunday one family should become so worldly minded as to forget that Sunday had come. Hence they begin their work Sunday morning the same as on other days. How long would they work before they would discover their mistake? Pretty soon they hear the bell tolling for meeting, or they see people going to church, or a neighbor calls in on his way to worship. Any one of these circumstances would arouse the inquiries of this worldly-minded family, and they would soon find that they had made a mistake—that they were one day behind the time. With shame and confusion they would lay aside their work and keep Sunday with the rest of their neighbors. In short, if one family in the community should make such a mistake the rest of the community would soon correct them. Nor would they have to apply to history or records to do it. But we will now suppose, and it is a supposition which never can be true, that a whole village in a certain section, all make this same mistake on the same week. They all commence their work on first-day morning, forgetting that it is Sunday. It would be a miracle indeed if such a thing should occur, but if it did what would be the consequences? Before noon, many of the people from the country around would be coming in to meeting. What would be their astonishment to find the villagers all at work. This would call for an explanation, which would soon convince them that they were at work on Sunday; or if they were not so readily convinced, the other villages and cities around them would very soon correct them. A little reflection will show any candid person that it is an utter impossibility to lose the correct reckoning of the days of the week.

The fact that there is no disagreement among all the nations of the earth, whether pagan, Christian, or infidel, with regard to what day is the first day and what the seventh, shows that it never has been lost. Now in the face of all these facts, who will have the presumption to say that the day of the week has been lost, so that we cannot tell when the true seventh day does come? How do they prove that time has been lost? Merely by their assertion, and that is no proof at all. But, asks one, Were there not several days lost when the change was made from old to new style? A few words of explanation found under the time table in the common arithmetic ought to make this plain to any school-boy. It reads thus: “In process of time, as mathematical and astronomical science advanced, it was found that the length of the solar year was only 365 da. 5 hrs. 48 min. 48 sec., or 11 min. 12 sec. less than 365¼ days, which in 400 years amounted to about 3 days; consequently the Julian calendar was behind the solar time. This error at the time of Pope Gregory XIII, amounted to 10 days, which he corrected in 1582, by suppressing 10 days in the month of October, the day after the fourth being called the 15th. This correction was not adopted in England till 1752, when the error amounted to 11 days.”—Arithmetic. Here it will be seen that in order to correct the old mode of reckoning time in 1582 the 5th day of October was called the 15th. Now suppose that the 5th day of October had come on Sunday; when they called it the 15th, was it not Sunday still? Certainly it was. Hence this did not affect the days of the week in the least.

But if any still insist that time has been lost, we ask them to bring the proof. What will they bring? Nothing but their own bare assertions. Against this, we have the united and unanimous testimony of: 1. All history. 2. The Jewish nation. 3. All the Christian world. 4. The millions of Mahometans. 5. The laws of our own nation, and all others. 6. The old family Bible. 7. Webster and all other dictionaries. 8. The testimony of astronomers. 9. Our family almanacs. And so we might continue the list. In short, the whole world offers one united testimony to the fact that Saturday is the seventh day of the week and Sunday the first. We think that this testimony ought to satisfy every candid mind that wishes to know the truth more than they wish to sustain theory.

10. But Sunday is the true seventh day, still continues the objector. After taking all of the above positions and failing to satisfactorily sustain any of them, they unblushingly take the position that Sunday is the true seventh day. If this be true, then all their other arguments must be false. But we have a very short answer for this. Where is the proof of it? Nowhere, only in their own assertions. They cannot bring a single fact to prove it. All the above arguments show that it is not so. So we leave this objection as unworthy of further notice.

Now, dear reader, having seen the weakness and contradiction of so many arguments which are usually relied upon to sustain the first-day Sabbath, and to do away with God's holy Sabbath, is it not best to abandon them all and take a more consistent and safe position by obeying God's commandments just as he has told you to do? May God bless all who have a heart to do it. Amen.