p. 20 | The Night Cometh When No Man Can Work by K. C. R.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 24, 1907

The Night Cometh When No Man Can Work

By K. C. R.

“I MUST work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4. These were the words which Christ addressed to his disciples as he realized that his opportunities for personal service before his crucifixion were drawing to a close.

The words “day” and “night” are used in this text figuratively, the word “day” signifying opportunity, and the word “night” the cessation of opportunity. If the Saviour of men felt keenly the necessity of improving the time as he saw the approaching crisis which was to culminate in the sacrifice of his life for the salvation of sinful men, how much more should God’s people feel the necessity of improving the few remaining opportunities they have in warning men before the eternal night shall come when God’s work in saving the lost will be forever ended!

A Striking Similarity

There is a very great similarity between Christ’s work and the experiences he had prior to his crucifixion, and the work and experiences of those to whom the proclamation of the third angel’s message has been committed, a few features of which I will attempt to mention in this connection.

To Jesus there was committed the finishing of the work for his time, for he says, in John 4:34: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” So likewise God’s remnant people are given the finishing of this work before the end of all things.

The character of the Saviour’s mission was almost an exact counterpart of our work on the question of Sabbath reform, for a prominent feature of his work was that of exposing a traditional sabbath, and practically demonstrating what true Sabbath-keeping is. The traditional feature of the sabbath of his time consisted in the manner of its observance. In these times it is a traditional day, and the matter of its observance is also becoming traditional.

Unmistakable Evidences of the Nearness of the End

Another marked feature of similarity between Christ’s experiences and work and ours was the intolerance manifested toward him, and the persecution he suffered because of his loyalty to that Sabbath which he himself had made at the close of creation week.

The popular religious elements of the times united and conspired against him, and finally their bitter hatred resulted in his cruel death on Calvary. We are told by the apostle Peter that “even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21.

Since his suffering was largely due to his loyalty to the Sabbath, shall we shrink from the suffering and hardship it brings when we know that we have been called to this very thing, and the Lord has also given us an example to follow him in this respect?

Our most earnest efforts, therefore, should be exerted in seeking a preparation of heart that we may follow our Master in this particular, and warn others of these things, that they, too, may accept of the gospel, and thus be able to endure to the end.

The strongest evidence to Christ that the night was coming when his opportunities to labor would be cut short, was the spirit of intolerance that was being manifested toward him on almost every occasion, because of his strict adherence to the true idea of Sabbath-keeping.

Most important of all the movements that are taking place to-day, indicating that our opportunities will soon be closed for carrying the gospel to those in darkness, are those which are multiplying against the rights of conscience.

We have been declaring for over sixty years, upon the authority of the Word of God, that the time would surely come when the whole world would wonder after the beast; that this country would make an image to the beast, and enforce its mark (Sunday observance), by the aid of the civil law, upon its inhabitants. The evidence of the speedy fulfilment of these things during the past year have been unparalleled.

The present Congress has been more prolific than any of the preceding ones in the introduction of measures involving proposed religious legislation, principally for Sunday laws. At the present writing only one of these measures has become a law, and that one is a bill to close the Jamestown (Va.) Exposition on Sunday.

We would scarcely have expected the result to have been otherwise in view of the precedents which have been established in this country in the closing of great expositions on Sundays during the past twenty years.

Good Results of Faithful Work

The success which has so far attended the united efforts of our people in retarding the enactment of these evil measures into law by Congress is indeed gratifying, and should prompt us to greater activity in our future efforts.

The writer recently had an interview with a congressman who had introduced a Sunday bill which failed to become a law. He said that he thought he would not introduce any more Sunday bills, because it took so much of his time to

attend to the correspondence which it involved in responding to letters written to him by our people. This statement impressed me with the importance of each one of our people’s writing the congressmen from their respective districts in reference to the evils of religious legislation. If you have not already done so, do not delay longer; for the Wadsworth Sunday bill for the District of Columbia, H. R. 16483, is still pending in the hands of the Senate Committee for the District of Columbia.

There has been great activity in some of the States to secure more rigid legislation than they already have. Many cities have been carrying on crusades against Sunday labor, open shops, and places of amusement. Our department has done some effective work in opposing the work of these crusades by giving public lectures and distributing our literature, consisting principally of our journal Liberty and religious liberty tracts.

Our religious liberty workers in Oklahoma have done excellent work in showing the delegates of the convention the danger of framing into the new constitution anything that will be a hook in subsequent times upon which to hang religious legislation.

There is a strong effort being put forth by our workers in California in opposing the proposed change in the constitution of that State, whereby the promoters of Sunday legislation can secure a Sunday law for California. Let us pray that this State, which since the Sunday campaign in 1882 has not had its statute-books stained and polluted with the corrupting virus of religious legislation, may be kept clean and white.

The citizens of California should be reminded of the statement of Mr. Crafts, the so-called Christian lobbyist, concerning the States which have persecuted those who refused to obey the Sunday laws. He denominated them as “backward States.”

It is inevitable that any State which has a Sunday law will inflict persecution upon those who refuse to obey; so the truth of the matter is that the States which have Sunday laws are the backward States, rather than those which do not have them.

The Spartanburg Trial

The following editorial regarding the prosecution of our brethren in South Carolina appeared in the Spartanburg (S. C.) Journal of Jan. 12, 1907:—

“It seems a pity, in view of all the wickedness and law-breaking that is going on and all the bad people who are at large, to take up the time and energy of the courts in prosecuting people who work a little on Sunday because their religious belief tells them that Saturday is the real Sabbath and should be observed as such. Yet it is pretty hard to say that any other verdict than a conviction could be arrived at under the statute, and a somewhat difficult position to say that we may have one day for the sabbath of part of the people and another day for another part.

“It was proved that Rev. R. T. Nash, of the Seventh-day Adventist sect, spaded up his garden, threw up the terraces, set grape-vine posts, sawed lumber, and did various other odd jobs on Sunday. He was found guilty, and separated from one dollar. Both the facts and the law were against him, and no ecclesiastical argument could save him. It must be confessed that these people point to some Scriptural authority for their Saturday idea that is hard for the orthodox Sunday believer to get around. However, we are no theologian or Bible scholar, and possess limited information on this point. To our notion it does not cut any particular moral figure what day is observed, just so one shall be.

“But think of how many hundreds of people right here in Spartanburg do more work every Sunday than Mr. Nash ever does, and do not defend it on religious grounds. They are not prosecuted, and nobody wants them prosecuted. The street-cars run, the railroad trains run, both freight and passenger, the ice men, the liverymen, the refreshment men, the newsdealers, and many others work more or less every Sunday, and nobody objects to it, and properly so. Why then jump on Mr. Nash and his people for doing the same thing or less? The reason is that Mr. Nash and the Seventh-day Adventists defend their acts on religious grounds, and the others do not. It is a curious situation, one of the strange inconsistencies of life.”

The report of the trial as published in the same journal reads as follows:—

“Charged with violating Sunday law by performing labor, Rev. R. T. Nash, a Seventh-day Adventist, who lives in the upper part of the county, appeared in the court of general sessions Thursday morning. He pleaded his own case before the jury, and was given a respectful hearing by the court and the jurors, though several times he branched off on an ecclesiastical discussion, and Judge Aldrich was forced to instruct him to confine himself to the statutes, stating that the court had nothing to do with the religious belief of the Seventh-day Adventists. The minister explained that he was unused to court proceedings, and thanked the court for his instructions, and begged that when he strayed from court-house etiquette for the court to correct him.

“Rev. R. T. Nash, along with Revs. Allie Johnson and J. J. Soper, were indicted on the charge of violating the Sunday law. They were indicted separately, and the case against Mr. Nash was the first to be tried.”

“The trial of the case created considerable interest, the court room being crowded with spectators, including several ladies, members of the families of the ministers under indictment, and those who are followers of the creed of the Seventh-day Church.”

“Solicitor Sease introduced several witnesses who testified that Rev. Mr. Nash and members of his family violated the Sunday law by following worldly vocations on that day, such as working the garden, hoeing cotton and corn, etc.

“After the state rested its case, Mr. Nash took the stand in his own behalf. He stated that he believed Sunday was the first day of the week, and he had no compunctions of conscience for working on that day, and that he and the members of his family did do light work on Sunday, though no work was engaged in that would disturb his neighbors. He said Saturday was his Sabbath, and he and the members of his household remembered it as the Lord’s day and kept it holy.

“When he had concluded his testimony, mony, he made his argument to the jury. He opened by addressing the court and jury in a dignified and respectful manner, and quoted the commandment to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. He also read the statute under which he was indicted, and then entered into a discussion of why Saturday is observed by Seventh-day Adventists as the Sabbath day, not the day commonly called Sunday.

“Several times during the course of his remarks he was interrupted by the court, who stated that he must refrain from making a religious argument, but stick to the law of the State. The judge said he had nothing to do with the belief of the Seventh-day Adventists. After parleying several times, Mr. Nash continued his address to the jury, and from his standpoint handled his case well.

“After Mr. Nash had finished his argument, Solicitor Sease addressed the jury, and then Judge Aldrich delivered his charge.”

A letter has just been received from Elder R. T. Nash, of Campobello, S. C., in which he briefly reports the trial of two brethren and himself. The following is a part of the letter: “The trial is over, and all three were fined the same (one dollar each). The costs were thrown on to the county by some means, I do not know how, but the Lord wonderfully helped us. As there were three of us to be tried on the same charge, the solicitor suggested that we make my case a test case, and all abide by the decision of the one. This the other brethren seemed glad to do, believing that the Lord could use me to more advantage at such a place. The Lord gave me freedom and favor with the entire court. Even the old judge, after opposing my plea from the standpoint that I was making an ecclesiastical plea, gave me as light a sentence as he could possibly do and sustain the law. The court-house was well filled, and many seemed favorably impressed, and some were deeply touched, and paid our fines to the sheriff without counseling with us about it. We do not know yet who paid them. After the trial was over, many heartily shook my hand, assenting to my plea on the unconstitutionality of the law. I will write out a report of it for the Review soon, so you will get more particulars.”

Our Nation’s Influence Abroad

The influence which this nation has had upon other countries in favor of religious freedom is now being turned backward by her example in seeking to bring about an alliance between the church and the state through the almost universal demand for Sunday legislation in this country. In Peking, China, an order has been issued against the admitting of visitors into their government offices on Sundays. France has recently passed a law making rest compulsory one day in seven. In Havana, Cuba, the municipal authorities have taken up the matter of Sunday observance, and with a few exceptions have ordered all places of business closed on Sundays. The champion of Sunday laws in the Dominion of Canada claims to have scored a remarkable victory in securing a Sunday law in that country that has no exemption clause for those who observe another day of the week. This movement was carried on by the Lord’s Day Alliance, an association

which is similar to the American Sabbath Union.

Confederating Against the Truth

It almost causes one to tremble when he stops to consider what an enormous influence can be brought to bear against those who are standing in defense of true reform. We see how the federated churches are becoming united with the Roman Catholic Church and with the Federation of Labor organization. According to a statement made recently by the secretary of the New England Sabbath Protective League, Martin D. Kneeland, of Boston, Mass., it is evident that the leaders of federated labor are ready to unite with religious forces in obtaining Sunday laws. He claims to have had interviews with Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor; John Mitchell, chairman of American Federation of Miners; and other labor leaders, and reports that they are looking with favor upon the proposition of Sunday-law enforcement.

The New York Independent, of October, 1902, says: “No one can watch the recent development of trade-unionism, with all its unquestioned value and importance, and not be impressed by the rapidity with which it is tending to become a dogmatic religion, surcharged with bigotry, fanaticism, and superstition. The trade-unions embrace possibly two and a half million members. If they are all to become dogmatic religionists, the days of persecution ‘for the faithful’ are not over.”

If this movement is looked upon with such apprehension by those who are not viewing it from the standpoint of the sure word of prophecy, should not those who are enlightened concerning the outcome be alive to the meaning of these movements? The Lord says “that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image 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, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

This tremendous tide which has now become world-wide ought to arouse every soul who understands the outcome of it to exert every possible effort to rescue men and women from this blighting deception before the crisis comes.

A Word of Caution to Our Own People

Some of our people have come to feel that there is no use of opposing the efforts of the enemies of the Sabbath as they seek to obtain legislation which will deprive us of our liberties. Those who have thus been deceived should consider the following words from the spirit of prophecy:—

“We as a people have not accomplished the work which God has committed to us. We are not ready for the issue to which the enforcement of the Sunday law will bring us. It is our duty, as we see the signs of the approaching peril, to arouse to action. Let none sit in calm expectation of the evil, comforting themselves with the belief that this work must go on because prophecy has foretold it, and the Lord will shelter his people. We are not doing the will of God if we sit in quietude, doing nothing to preserve liberty of conscience. . . . If our people continue in the listless attitude in which they have been, God can not pour upon them his Spirit. They are unprepared to co-operate with him. They are not awake to the situation, and do not realize the threatened danger. They should feel now, as never before, their need of vigilance and concerted action.”—“Testimony,” No. 33, pages 241, 242.

The Lord told us years ago that a lull, or respite, would be given us before the final tide of persecution would set in which would not cease until Jesus comes and delivers those whose names are written in the book of life.

For nearly ten years we have enjoyed a remarkable degree of liberty in this country with scarcely an arrest of our people for Sunday labor.

It is to be regretted, however, in this time of respite, that so little has been done by us to disarm prejudice and warn the people of these things. In this time our denomination has doubled numerically. This means that half of our own people know but little regarding the principles underlying this phase of the third angel’s message.

Shall we to-day by our prayers and by our means do what we can to stay this rapidly approaching crisis? It will require funds to aid our department in its various lines of work. It should be remembered by all that only one general collection is taken for this branch of the cause, and this is the time for that collection for 1907. We trust that each one will do what he can to help in this noble work.

Questions

1. What is meant by the words “day” and “night” in John 9:4?

2. How should our zeal compare with Christ’s in these points?

3. What are the parallels mentioned between Christ’s work and ours?

4. To what have God’s people been called?

5. In view of this calling, in what should we now exert ourselves?

6. What was the strongest evidence to Christ that his earthly mission would soon close?

7. What is one of the most striking evidences indicating to us that our work will soon close?

8. How long have we already been warning people against the beast, its image, and mark?

9. What is the record of the Fifty-ninth Congress in the introduction of measures for religious legislation?

10. What is an effective way to oppose religious legislation in Congress?

11. What is being done throughout the States for and against Sunday laws?

12. What countries can you name that are following America’s example on the down-grade of Sunday legislation?

13. What mighty forces will evidently unite in enforcing the Sunday institution?

14. What lesson should we learn from the fact that those who know not the truth see danger ahead?

15. What false idea exists in the minds of some regarding the work of opposing religious legislation?

16. What does the spirit of prophecy say?

Religious Liberty Notes

THE Central New England Conference is planning for some special meetings in Boston, Mass., to oppose the Sunday-closing crusade, which is being carried on so vigorously in that city. They are hopeful of securing Faneuil Hall, the old “cradle of liberty” in which to hold the meetings.

The Sunday-closing crusade in Willimantic, Conn., is affording an excellent opportunity to educate the citizens of that city and its vicinity on the true principles of religious liberty. The theater of that city was given to us free of charge Sunday evening, January 13, in which to defend the principles of religious liberty. A large and attentive audience was in attendance to hear Elder W. A. Westworth, Elder W. R. Andrews, and the writer discuss the question. A report of the effort will doubtless appear in the next issue of the REVIEW.

A voice from London, England, bears no uncertain tone on the question of Sunday legislation: “The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of Westminster, and the Rev. John Scott Lidgett, representing respectively the English and the Catholic Churches and the non-conformists, have issued a joint ‘message to the nation,’ calling for a stricter observance of the Sabbath, declaring it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this matter to the well-being of the nation, and setting forth their conviction that on an adequate and reasonable observance of Sunday depends the possibility of promoting the deeper, more sacred, and more enduring interests of the common life.”

K. C. R.