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A DIALOGUE

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 27, 1879

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 53, No. 13.

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A DIALOGUE.

By Joseph Clarke

A.—How do you prove that you are now observing the true seventh day in succession from the seventh day of creation week, as recorded in Gen. 2:2, 3?
B.—The first step in the argument to prove that we are now keeping the true seventh day is based on the fall of the manna, a double quantity falling on the sixth day and keeping over the seventh, when none fell. This was 2,500 years after the origin of the Sabbath. See Ex. 16; Gen. 2:2, 3. This wonderful threefold identification and recognition of the order of the days of the week occurred weekly for forty years; and 40x52=2,080; 2,080x3=6,240,—6,240 miracles in proof of the proper count of the days of the week, as it was then generally acknowledged.
A.—Do you say this is proof that no day was lost or gained up to this time?
B.—If we believe the word of God, we must acknowledge that it would be impeaching the wisdom of God, and offering him a gross insult, to assert that he did not give the double portion of manna on the sixth, and withhold it wholly on the seventh day of the week, in true succession from the count as given in Gen. 2:2, 3.
A.—Give your second proof.
B.—You will find it in Ex. 20:8-11. When from Mt. Sinai the ten commandments were given, distinct reference was made to the six days of labor and the seventh day of rest. In this wonderful document the Sabbath is mentioned three times, the seventh day is mentioned three times, and the six days are mentioned three times, as though God foresaw that a large amount of dust would be thrown in the eyes of the people on this very point. Thus the Sabbath law is hedged about by a threefold barrier. We see in Matt. 6:7 that the Lord is opposed to much repetition, hence this threefold repetition is quite significant, occurring, as it does, three times in a law so brief as this.
A.—But if God foresaw that there would be a disagreement on this point, why did he not forewarn the people?
B.—Certainly he did, by introducing the Sabbath law with the word “remember.” As though the whole dispute on this subject arose before his mind, he tersely says, Remember; do not forget. The time will come when men will forget, and will strive to make all forget; but do not forget the Sabbath, remember it always.
A.—What is your third proof that we now have the correct count of the days of the week, as at first given in Gen. 2:2, 3?
B.—In Matt. 24:20, Christ, in giving directions to his disciples as to their escape from Jerusalem, tells them to pray that their flight might not be on the Sabbath. He well knew that this event would occur about forty years after his death, yet he spoke of the Sabbath then known and observed as the true seventh day of Gen. 2:2, 3 and Ex. 20:8-11.
A.—Have you further proof on this point?
B.—In Mark 2:28, Christ calls himself Lord of the Sabbath day. Certainly he would not speak of the day in terms so honorable, claiming it as his day, and then wipe it out from the minds of men by chance, or accident, or plan; but he would refresh their minds on the subject.
A.—But if it is a subject of such great importance, why do not the Scriptures place the sin of desecrating the seventh-day Sabbath on a par with other sins?
B.—The breaking of the Sabbath is mentioned in the Bible as a very great sin. See Jer. 17:21-27; Neh. 13:15-22; Isa. 56:2; 58:13, 14.
A.—Have you any more evidence to prove that we have the correct dates as to the days of the week?
B.—Luke speaks in Acts 13:14, 44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4, as though he regarded the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week; but in Luke 23:56 he places this point beyond a reasonable doubt, when he says that the women who came to the sepulcher returned and kept the Sabbath according to the commandment. This could only be done by complying with the whole spirit and letter of the commandment, and the very identical day God set apart for this purpose must be kept in order to do this.
A.—But how do you dispose of the reasoning of those who hold that we do not know certainly that we are keeping the very Sabbath day in which God rested?
B.—Christ kept the Sabbath, the true seventh day from creation, and he of course knew which day was the right one. Now the week as reckoned by Christians to-day, is identical with the week mentioned in the New Testament, the seventh day of which was the Sabbath, according to the practice of Christ himself. Therefore, we know that we have the true seventh day. JOSEPH CLARKE.