THE BIBLICAL INSTITUTE by Uriah Smith

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Aug 2, 1877

THE BIBLICAL INSTITUTE.

By Uriah Smith

HELD IN OAKLAND, CAL., APRIL 1–17, 1877.

[In this form we give a synopsis of the lectures presented at this Institute, the aim being to give principal facts, dates and references, with as few words as will serve to connect them. The lessons are not intended to measure the recitations. A lesson embraces an entire subject; but some of these occupied a number of recitations in the class.]

CLASS QUESTIONS ON LESSON XI., WITH ANSWERS.

1. Was the true church observing the seventh day at the time it passed into the wilderness?

ANS. Yes. The church went into the wilderness by being overborne by the apostasies and corruptions of the times. When the great apostate church had arisen and overshadowed Christendom, the true church, the real people of God, were crowded into obscurity. It was a gradual work. So the coming out from that wilderness state is a gradual work; but before the Lord comes, the church will be fully out, and keeping the Sabbath, as it was before it went into the wilderness. This is the secret of the great Sabbath reform now going forth under the last message.

2. Is it true that Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of the week?

ANS. We think it is. But even if we thought it was not, we should never raise any controversy over the point; for more would be lost than gained by it. The idea is firmly planted in the public mind that the resurrection of Christ did occur on the first day of the week. And if we contest that point, they will inevitably interpret it as a concession on our part to the idea that if the resurrection did occur on that day, it proves that day to be the Christian Sabbath; if not, they will say, why labor so hard to disprove it? And it will take ten times more effort to make people believe that the resurrection did not occur on the first day of the week, than it will to convince them that even if it did occur then, it has no bearing whatever on the Sabbath question. Spend no time discussing doubtful or unessential points. Take issue on vital questions, and then make your positions very clear and strong.

3. Isa. 56:12. Is “this day” the day of the Sabbath, so frequently referred to all through the chapter, and the “to-morrow,” the day following, or Sunday?

ANS. We think the passage can have no application of this kind. And while nothing would be gained by applying it so, it would be considered fanciful, and hence would be objectionable. The same may be said of the question whether Hos. 6:7 does not prove that Adam had the law of God in his day.

4. Please state how the “round world theory” is used as an objection to the Sabbath, and give the answer.

ANS. The objection proceeds on the assumption that those who keep the Sabbath, must keep the same absolute, not relative, time; and, as time differs at different points east and west, this cannot be done. Therefore the Sabbath cannot be kept around the world. And this objection, strange to say, almost invariably comes from those who are great sticklers for Sunday, and who believe it should be kept in every essential particular just as we claim for the Sabbath. If they can find the first day of the week around the world, why cannot we find the seventh, which is just the day before? It is a fact which few are so unreasonable as to deny, that the day, by means of those operations of nature which God has ordained to govern the lapse of time, travels around the earth from east to west. On every spot of the earth, therefore, the days in their proper order commence and end. We are to keep the days as they come to us. At whatever places we can ascertain the beginning and the close of the day, we can keep it.

From this idea that days travel around the world, it follows that somewhere on the earth there must be a starting point for all days, or a day line, in crossing which we must change our reckoning according to the direction in which we are traveling. Where is this day line? Experience shows that if we start from the western coast of America, and travel eastward to the eastern coast of Asia, we have no change to make; or, if we reverse it, and travel from the east coast of Asia to the west coast of America, it is the same; our reckoning agrees with that of every country through which we pass. The day line is not, therefore, anywhere on that part of the earth’s surface. But when we cross the Pacific ocean from San Francisco to Pekin, taking California time with us, we find ourselves one day behind the people of China; or, if we come from Pekin to San Francisco, bringing Pekin time with us, we find ourselves one day in advance of the people of California. Thus is it demonstrated that the day line runs through the Pacific ocean. And it seems to be a providential fact that a line can be run from the north pole to the south, through Behring’s straits, and touch no appreciable body of land. Hence the confusion is avoided that must exist if this line passed through a thickly populated land. All a person has to do, therefore, is, in sailing east across the Pacific to drop back a day in his reckoning, and in sailing west, to go forward a day in his calendar, in crossing this day line; and no other change is required the earth around. Navigators understand this and act accordingly.

But it is thought that even this arrangement might sometimes interfere with Sabbath observance. The following supposable case was suggested in the class:—

“A, who was sailing in the Pacific ocean, found by observation on Friday that he was five miles east of the day line; and being desirous that his crew should observe the Sabbath as soon as the sun went down, he made everything ready. But just as the sun went down he was drifted west of the line, and found that it was already Sunday there, and therefore kept no Sabbath. Was he right in so doing?”

We answer, No. He should have kept his old reckoning till he had observed the Sabbath. For a person on shipboard is not obliged to change on just such a degree of longitude. While some definite line must be fixed so that permanent locations on either side of the line may have a uniform reckoning, all that a person on the water need to do is to adjust his reckoning before he touches land, or meets passing ships, so that his reckoning will agree with those he meets. It will thus be seen that a person need never interfere with the Sabbath in adding or dropping his day in crossing the day line. This is a very simple matter and no difficulty at all is involved in it respecting the Sabbath.

Another difficulty is urged from the great length of days and nights in high northern latitudes. How, it is asked, can the Sabbath be kept in countries where in summer the days are several months in length, and in winter the nights are of equal duration? We reply, There is no difficulty whatever; for the revolution of the earth is marked, in summer by the sun, in winter by the stars, just as accurately as it is in any other quarter of the earth; and the point corresponding to sunset in lower latitudes, can be just as definitely determined even at the north pole, if men could reach it, as sunset itself in other places. And this is all that is necessary to know, to be able to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment. All the difficulties that are raised in the way of Sabbath-keeping, are purely imaginary; and the more the subject is examined, the more clearly it is seen that that God who in infinite wisdom gave a Sabbath for all men to keep in all places of the earth, has not by any wayward providence, or any fatal necessity in the operation of his laws, made it impossible for them to do so. For a full exposition of the subject of the Sabbath on a round world, the Day Line, etc., the reader is referred to a tract by Elder J. N. Andrews, entitled, “The Definite Seventh Day.”

A word as to the revelations of the Bible on this point. These are sufficient to show that no objection really exists. For instance, in the land of Palestine itself, there is a little difference of time between its eastern and western boundaries; and if the Sabbath could be kept on its eastern border, and at the same time on its western, distant a little over two degrees of longitude, and involving a difference in time of about ten minutes, it could be kept as much further west, and so on. Consequently in the extensive travels of Paul we read of his keeping the Sabbath far distant from Jerusalem. He kept at least seventy-eight of them in Corinth, Acts 18; and Corinth was thirteen degrees from Jerusalem, involving a difference in time of fifty-two minutes; that is, the Sabbath commenced in Corinth, nearly an hour later than in Jerusalem, yet Paul had no difficulty in keeping it there. He pushed on to Rome, and found many Jews there. Acts 28:17. Do you suppose those Jews were living in violation of the Sabbath? By no means. Did Paul keep the Sabbath there? There is not a shadow of reason to suppose that he did not. But what is the difference in time from Jerusalem? Two hours and sixteen minutes. And Paul in writing to the Romans dwelt much on the perpetuity of the law, and assured them that they did not make it void by faith in Christ; Rom. 3:31; but he ought to have added, according to our opponents, “Nevertheless you poor Romans will have to make void the Sabbath commandment, you are so far west. There is a difference in time, between your place and Jerusalem, of two hours and sixteen minutes; and, with that difference you can’t keep the Sabbath, so you needn’t try.” Paul would laugh at the manufactured perplexities of modern anti-sabbatarians; or, rather, he would wither them with some of his righteous invectives. U. S.