p. 3 | IS IT IMPOSSIBLE? by C. Castberg

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 18, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 25.

IS IT IMPOSSIBLE?

By C. Castberg

If the Saturday-sabbath people think that they can observe the same time as Sabbath the world over; they are very much mistaken. The rotundity of the earth makes it impossible for people dwelling in different parts of the earth to keep the same time.

This is a sample of the arguments presented in opposition to the plain teaching of the Bible that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and that it is the duty of every Christian, no matter where he lives, to “keep it holy.” Is this impossible? Dear reader, lay aside all prejudice and preconceived ideas, and, looking the issue fairly and squarely in the face, let us make an investigation of the subject to ascertain the facts in the case.

When our Saviour was on the point of leaving this world to go to His Father, He said to His disciples, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. And having declared that the words which they heard of Him were not His, but the Father’s which sent Him (verse 24), He said, “I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me.” John 17:8.

Among the words which Jesus gave to His

disciples, and which the Spirit of God brought to the remembrance of Mark when he wrote his Gospel, we find this significant statement,

“The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. These words, then, are a part of that Gospel which should be preached “in all the world,” “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8. But Jesus knew that His twelve apostles would not live long enough to take the words He had delivered unto them to the “uttermost part of the earth.” That was reserved for later generations. And so we find Christ saying, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.” John 17:20.

We know that the work which Jesus commissioned His disciples to carry forward is not yet finished; therefore, in obedience to the divine command of Christ, we must still proclaim the message that “the Sabbath was made for man.” But in using the term “Sabbath” Christ meant, and the Jews understood Him to mean, the seventh day of the week, a day commencing at even Friday and ending at even Saturday. Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32. And of that law of which the Sabbath commandment is a part, we hear Him say, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. Hence the Decalogue, as given by the Lord on Mount Sinai, is still in vogue, and its holy precepts are to be preached to “all nations” “unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28:18-20.

But did Christ know anything about the rotundity of the earth, to the “uttermost part” of which He sent His messengers? Did He know that the people in America, for example, who heard His words, “The Sabbath was made for man,” could not keep this day at the same time as their brethren, say in Europe, who heard, and wished to obey, His words?—Certainly He did; for the worlds were made by Him. Read Col. 1:16, 17; Eph. 3:9; Heb. 1:2, 3. It is only by reason of the earth’s rotundity and its revolution once in every twenty-four hours, that it is possible for all the inhabitants of this world to enjoy the blessing of the Sabbath day. As the earth turns on its axis, day and night changes incessantly; but its inhabitants can no more keep the seventh day simultaneously than they can have Monday or Wednesday or any other day in the week at the same time all the world over. God, who “in the beginning” made everything, and declared His works “very good,” ordained that when the Sabbath, in its passage round the earth, came to any certain place, then the people of such place should “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Ex. 20:8-11.

Whatever difficulty may exist is due, not to the rotundity of the earth, but to the “carnal mind;” for “it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7.

C. CASTBERG.