The Sabbath by E. L. Cardey

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Apr 15, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 15.

The Sabbath

By E. L. Cardey

The Restoration of the Sabbath in Prophecy and in Fact

Previous to our Lord’s second advent, a gospel message is to go to every land, tribe, and family of the earth. Note carefully the language of Matt. 24:14 and Rev. 14:6, 7. The special burden of that message is a call to the worship of the true God: “And worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The prophecies also teach that the seventh-day Sabbath shall occupy a prominent place in the last message. Let us examine some of these:

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, . . . and from the islands of the sea.” Isa. 11:11.

There is evidence of inspiration in this verse. When Isaiah wrote this prophecy, he knew nothing of the “islands of the sea.” It was left for a much later generation to discover the island world, and it was left for this generation to carry to the “islands of the sea” the gospel message. Two other points are of vital importance in the verse. First, “The Lord shall set His hand again the second time;” and second, “to recover the remnant of His people.” Here is outlined the work to be done—the second gathering of Israel; and the time when it will be accomplished—during the remnant of His people. Revelation uses the word “remnant” when referring to the last “seed” of the church to be found upon earth. Rev. 12:17. The second gathering of Israel, then, is to take place just before the Lord comes.

“And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” “And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, . . . like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” Isa. 11:12, 16.

Meaning of This Second Gathering

This second gathering of Israel is to be a deliverance from spiritual Egypt. The Lord will set up an “ensign” for all nations, and under its shadow the Israel of God will march this time to the heavenly Canaan. The message that is to prepare a people to be delivered from this world of sin when Jesus comes, is a parallel message with one that came to Israel in Egypt and delivered them. Israel of old was led out by a “highway,” and the promise is that the “remnant” shall be led by a highway.

For four hundred years, the descendants of Jacob had dwelt in the land of idolatrous Egypt. The worship of the true God among them was well-nigh forgotten. Then, when the time arrived, the Lord called Moses to go to His people, and proclaim to them the name of the “I AM,” and by His power deliver them from their bondage.

“And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor harken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers . . . hath appeared unto thee.” Ex. 4:1-5.

That rod in the hand of Moses became his gospel of deliverance. By it the Lord worked to confound the wisdom of the magicians, and through the miracles thus wrought the children of Israel believed in God, and followed His servant Moses. Then came the great deliverance at the Red Sea.

When every avenue of escape was cut off, and the Egyptian hosts pressed hard upon their slaves—when Israel’s doom seemed certain—then the Lord worked by the hand of Moses, and opened the waters of the sea so that Israel passed over dry-shod, delivered from their oppressors, while the armies of Pharaoh perished in the returning waters. Surely the Lord made a “highway” for Israel when they came up out of Egypt. By the hand of Moses they received unmistakable evidence that God was leading them; then at the Red Sea the “highway” was made so plain that none could fail to know the way of escape.

Need of the Highway of Truth

In this day of “vain philosophy” and human speculation regarding God and “the life beyond the grave,” the world surely needs a “highway” of truth so plain, so clear, so definite, that when once found there is no longer any doubt regarding the “truth” and the life to come. We thank God that He has promised such a message to this last generation.

Undoubtedly Inspiration uses the figure of the “highway” in Isaiah 11 to describe a message of truth that would be easy to find, and when found, easy to follow, having all the gaps and byways of error closed. Through the prophet Ezekiel the Lord brought the following charge against His professed teachers:

“O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.” Eze. 13:4, 5.

The “battle in the day of the Lord” will take place just before, and at the time of, the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Joel 3:9-14; Rev. 16:14-16. It is during this “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” that the Israel of God is to be prepared to stand. But because of the failure of His professed leaders to make up the “gaps” and “hedges,” the people will be unprepared for the crisis that awaits the world. The important work, then, for the people of God to-day is to take that stand whereby they can go up “into the gaps,” and make up “the hedge for the house of Israel to stand” in the day of the Lord’s coming.

How can we make up the gap, or breach, and restore the hedge, that the path of truth may become indeed a highway?

“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.” Isa. 58:12, 13.

To Be in the Days of His Coming

Taken together, these scriptures prove, first, that a highway of truth will be prepared for the church in the days of His coming; second, in that day, many of His professed leaders will not assist in making up the gaps that have evidently been made in the hedge along the highway; and third, it demands a return to the seventh-day Sabbath in order to make up the gaps to protect the highway of truth. That the reader may see that the Lord has given abundant proof that the remnant church is to return to the ancient Sabbath, we call attention to one other prophecy that says positively that the Sabbath is to be a part of the saving message in the last generation:

“Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it.” Isa. 56:1, 2.

Like all prophecies of the Bible, this one gives the time when it is to apply—the time when His salvation is near to come. This will be at the second appearing of Jesus. Heb. 9:28.

The Need of the Message

When, as now, did the civilized world ever see so much teaching that does discredit to the personality of God, and relegates Him from the universe as a Creator? Evolution, and all philosophical thought, together with the many forms of occultism, leave men without the God of creation. If the world has ever needed the Sabbath institution to teach the true God, surely it needs it now. The Lord anticipated just this condition of things in the world in the time of the end, and designed to carry to all nations a message that would make prominent the seventh-day Sabbath as a memorial of His creative work.

The Message Arrives on Schedule

When the hour arrived, and the last generation came upon the stage of action (see Matt. 24:29-34), the Lord raised up men in different parts of the world who began calling attention to the claims of the law of God, and especially to the fourth commandment, which says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath.” Foremost among these in America were Captain Joseph Bates and Elder James White. Joseph Bates, in earlier life a rough sea-captain, became in later years an earnest follower of the Lord, and a firm believer in the soon personal appearing of Jesus. In 1846 the claims of the seventh-day Sabbath were called to his attention. This led to his preaching and writing upon the subject. Elder James White soon saw and accepted the same truth, and began publishing the message to the world.

Only sixty-five years ago, this unpopular Sabbath message began in weakness in the New England States; but now, behold what God hath wrought! That message is no longer confined to a few places in America. It is no longer published in one language only. Nearly every nation on the earth to-day is hearing to some extent the message of Sabbath reform. Published in seventy-one languages, the books and papers containing that message are scattered everywhere. Nearly two million dollars worth were sold last year. Many thousands of men and women are giving their all to carry to the ends of the earth that message of “the commandments of God” and “the testimony of Jesus.” Rev. 12:17.

On every side, dear reader, we behold the very work being done that the prophets foresaw in vision so many centuries ago. Thrice blessed are the eyes that see and the ears that hear the sound of that message to-day. It is the gathering call to Israel, preparatory to entering the heavenly Canaan. Hearts in every land and every clime are responding to that call, and are placing themselves under this standard. Choose this day to stand on the side of God, the Creator, and uphold the memorial of His creative power—the Sabbath of the commandments.