CHRIST AND THE SABBATH by W. W. Prescott

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 3, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 34.

CHRIST AND THE SABBATH.

By W. W. Prescott

(Concluded.)

THE WORK OF SATAN.

THERE is one being who has made it his purpose for these many years to oppose the work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the human race. Created an angel of light, made an anointed cherub, standing in the immediate presence of God, one on whom the light of the glory of God shone in a most remarkable and special manner, Lucifer, filled with envy that he was not made equal to Christ, and that the honor which belonged to Christ was not given to him, rebelled against God. His heart was lifted up with pride and envy, and he turned against the government of God. In spite of every offer of mercy, he persisted in rebellion until his own course cast him out of heaven. Even so is our course now determining whether we shall inherit heaven, or be cast out of heaven, because no one, man or angel, can be permitted to dwell in heaven in rebellion against God. Since Satan was cast out of heaven, his purpose has been to defeat the plan of God for the salvation of men. Having lured man into sin that he might have him suffer the penalty with himself, he has sought to keep man away from God's plan to save him. He has sought to induce the human family to put their trust in him and his power, instead of in Christ and his power.

WHY SUNDAY THE RIVAL SABBATH?

There is but one sign of the power of God, whether manifested in creating the world, in delivering the children of Israel, or in redemption. That sign is the Sabbath, God's rest day. It is perfectly natural that, when Satan designed to lead men away from Christ's power and to trust in his power, he should set up a sign also. But someone will ask, Why should the choice of another day fall on Sunday? Why should the opposition day, the rival day, be Sunday? There is a reason for it which we can understand. In Isa. 14:12 we have another name given to Satan: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Lucifer, light bearer, "daystar," says the margin. We read in 2 Cor. 11:14, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." The Revised Version says, "Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light." That was the way he appeared to Christ in the wilderness, to tempt him.

Upon the first day light was created. God dwelleth in light that no man can approach unto. The nearest thing to counterfeit the glory of God is light. When Christ came down on Mount Sinai to speak the law, the record says, in Ex. 24:17, "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." Brightness, glory, light. Satan fashioneth himself as an angel of light. On the first day of the week light was created. Satan is spoken of as Lucifer, the light bearer. The sun was made the light bearer to the world. It is the one object in creation which, above every other, attracts universal attention. Do you not see a connection between these things? In turning the minds of men away from Christ, and leading them to worship light, the sun, to human wisdom, the nearest thing and the next thing to God himself, yet the difference would be just the difference between God and Satan. Now the Sunday, the first day of the week, is just the next day to the seventh day. On it light was created—Sunday, the sun's day, the light day. And so, from the very earliest ages, we have had sun worship in all its varied forms.

SATAN'S AGENCIES.

Now, coming down the history of the world, we find that Satan's power and his working are manifested through earthly agencies. With the Christian it is God that worketh in him, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. With the one who does not surrender himself to God, it is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. That is, we are divided simply into two classes, those in whom Christ dwells and through whom God works, and those who yield themselves to the powers of evil, and through whom Satan works. He works through individuals. He works through nations. He works in any way and in every way to defeat the purpose of God in the salvation of men. The one power through which Satan has worked in this world in a more marked manner, and for a longer period of time, than any other power in the history of the world, is known as the Papacy. The underlying principle of the Papacy is the exaltation of man in place of God. It is the exaltation of the power of man in place of the power of God. It is self-exaltation. It is the principle which worked in Satan when he envied the position of Christ and sought to exalt himself to the same position. This power is spoken of in 2 Thess. 2:3, 4: "Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." This is a description of the workings of the Papacy. It exalts itself in the place of God. I only need to remind you of certain facts in history. Those who are acquainted at all with the history of the Papacy, know that the record plainly shows to us that man has been put in place of God in the workings of the Papacy.

When Christ was on the earth and the man sick of the palsy came to him, he said to him, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee," and those that stood about said, "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?" The point is this: To forgive sins requires creative power, the power of God. But you will know that the Papal principle brings the church in between God and the sinner, and while the sinner is told in a theoretical way that he is forgiven of God, yet the priest, representing the church, controls that power of forgiveness, and if the priest refuses to anyone the forgiveness of God, he cannot obtain it. If the church forbids it, that man is lost. The church steps in to control the power of God in the forgiveness of sins. When Christ said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee," the scribes, who looked upon him as a man, said he blasphemed. And when any man, or any set of men, or any church steps in between the sinner and God to control the forgiving power of God's grace, he blasphemes God. But that is the principle of the Papacy, in exalting itself above God, and controlling God and his power toward the sinner. Here is a rival power. It is the working of Satan through any agency that he can control. He has used this agency so that that power has been used to wear out the saints of the Most High, to blaspheme God.

Now it is but natural that when another power comes in and claims to do what the power of God has been promised to do, that rival power should seize upon a sign, and so it did. So that rival power, in its self-exaltation, laid aside the day that Christ instituted, the day that he blessed and sanctified, and took up the day that the rival of Christ had instituted, that he had used as a means of turning the minds of nations away from God to idols. And so

Sunday comes in, adopted by the Papacy as a sign of its power.

Consider now that we have before us two days; one is the sign of the power of God in creation and salvation; the other has been instituted by Christ's rival, and has been taken up as a Sabbath, or a pretended Sabbath, by that power (the Papacy) through which Satan has wrought for a longer time, and in a more marked manner, than in any other power in the earth's history. One is a sign, or a mark, of the power of God; the other is a sign, or a mark, of the rival power. The question then comes, In whom shall we trust for salvation? in the power of God in Christ, or in any rival power? In whom shall we place our confidence for forgiveness of sins? in God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, or in that rival power that would exalt itself against God? Who can save, the one of whom the true Sabbath is the sign, or mark, of his power for the creation anew in Christ Jesus, or the one of whom the false Sabbath is the sign of his pretended power?

WHY THIS AGITATION?

But what has that to do with the present agitation of this controversy on the Sabbath question? and why has that come up during this last half century? The Sabbath is a sign of God's completed work in the creation of the world. After he had created the world in six days, he rested on the seventh day, and he took delight in his completed work. But in the largest and fullest sense creation will not be completed, and the purpose of God will not be carried out in creation, until we have the new heavens and the new earth, in which will dwell righteousness. Then the Sabbath, as we have already seen, will be the sign of God's work in creation fully carried out.

When, therefore, the time is near that that grand work is to be consummated, attention must be called to the sign of the power of God to do that work. When the time is near that the creation of God shall be fully completed, and that the Sabbath, as of old, shall stand as the sign of the power of God, the true Sabbath, that which teaches men as nothing else teaches them of the power of God, must be brought to their attention.

Furthermore, the people who are to be prepared for the coming of Christ, who are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, who are to be translated without seeing death, are to have the character of Christ perfectly wrought in them, so that it shall be said of them, "And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God." What did Pilate say of Christ?—"I find no fault in him." What is said of the people who are ready and are translated at the second coming of Christ?—"They are without fault." That is to say, they are just like Christ; the character of Christ is wrought completely in them. But in order that that should be so, their lives must be in perfect harmony with the character of God, because Christ was a representation to the world of the character of God. He interpreted God to the world. But the law of God is a transcript of the character of God. It is a statement of what God is, and when the life of man is made in harmony with the law of God, it is then that he is without fault; it is then that he is like Christ. It is therefore necessary that the attention of the people who are to be translated should be called to the fact that in disregarding the Sabbath of the Lord they are, in that point, out of harmony with the character of God, and out of harmony with the life of Christ; and if they are to be translated without seeing death, and if it is to be said of them that they are without fault before the throne of God, that point in character must be remedied.

And so just before the second coming of Christ the Sabbath truth must be preached; just before the second coming of Christ the people must be told what the meaning of Sabbath keeping really is, and what day is the Lord's day, and that, in choosing that day, they thereby take upon themselves the mark indicating that they belong to God; that they are trusting in the power of God in Christ for salvation, as against any rival power. So arises the Sabbath controversy, the calling the attention of the nations to the fact that the seventh day is the Lord's day, the seventh day is Christ's day, the seventh day is the day that Christ blessed and sanctified, that it has been given as a sign of the power of God in Christ.

A PART OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.

So we find in Rev. 14:6, 7: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

The highest form of worship is in obedience. To worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters, is to yield our obedience to him. And this message, given world wide, calls attention to the worship of the true God, the Creator, and really contains in it the essence of Sabbath reform, in that it calls upon us to worship the true God, the Creator, by obedience to him, and that we observe the day which is a sign or a mark of his creative power. So when this message began to be proclaimed, out of that grew the Sabbath reform, because the message of the Sabbath was in it. That is the sign or the mark of the true God, as opposed to any rivals of any kind, whether it be angels, whether it be Satan himself, or whether it be his power manifested through any agency, anything that is set up as a rival against God. The observance of the true Sabbath is the sign or mark of allegiance to the true God, the Creator of the heaven and earth. When Satan brought his temptation to bear upon Christ, the record of which we have in the fourth chapter of Matthew, he asked him directly to fall down and worship him: "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" Now the test comes in the rival days.

WHO ARE CULPABLE?

Those who knowingly, mark it, those who knowingly choose the sign of the other power, and who by their life testify that they accept the mark of the rival power, thereby show that Christ is not dwelling in them, with his sanctifying power, but they are depending upon some other power for their salvation. It is therefore necessary that the truth in regard to the Sabbath should be proclaimed world wide, that everywhere there might be an understanding choice in this matter; that everywhere men might know what is the sign of the power of God in Christ to save, and might hasten to yield themselves and put their trust and their confidence in him for salvation; that everywhere it might be proclaimed that a rival power has sought to turn men away from the true God, that a rival power has come in, with the effort to steal away the confidence of men in Jesus Christ as the only Saviour; that they might be shown who the true God is, and what his service really includes.

But you ask at once, of course, Are there no Christians except those who keep the seventh day? Have there not been Christians in all ages who never kept the seventh day? Are there not Christians now of every name and denomination who do not keep the seventh day, and I say, Most certainly. Well, then, you ask, what difference does it make? and why do you care to call attention to this matter now? Notice this; it is the root of the whole matter. He is a true Christian who yields himself to God; he is a true Christian who follows all the light that God causes to shine upon his pathway. We are responsible for the use we make of the light given to us of God. Now when one is a true Christian, he has the desire, he has the disposition, to be conformed to the life of Jesus Christ, and every point revealed to him concerning the life, the power, the work of Jesus Christ is what he wants to know. But just as soon as the true Christian receives light which he has not known before and refuses to obey it, that instant he ceases to be a true Christian. Just as soon as one who is a true Christian, a child of God, receives light, he welcomes that light. The disposition of heart is that he may be conformed to the image of God perfectly. But when light comes and he refuses the light, he turns against God, and is no longer

a true Christian, and, although up to that moment he may have stood a justified child of God, yet when God reveals to him more light, and says to him, "This is the way, walk ye in it," and he says, "No," just then he loses his standing as a justified child of God; just then his Christian experience stops, and it does not make any difference whether the invitation of God to him is to observe the true Sabbath in the true meaning, or whether it is any other duty presented.

CONCLUSION.

We have not finished by any means the study of the Sabbath question and its meaning to us. The fact is we could carry on this study indefinitely, because the whole truth now centers in the Sabbath. The whole controversy now is over the Sabbath. I do not need to tell you that; I do not need to tell you that Satan is stirring up every power to compel allegiance to him. God's way is to win by the power of love; the Sabbath draws Christians to God; the true Sabbath reveals Jesus Christ as the Saviour, and there is power in it to draw people to him. It is a characteristic of Satan to compel, and every effort in any way to compel the consciences of men is Satanic. Every effort to compel the consciences of men in any matter, whether it be the Sabbath or any other matter, is Satanic. God wins by the power of love; God leaves everyone free to choose; Satan would compel. And every law of any kind or nature tending to control, to bind men's consciences in their relation to God, is purely Satanic. And every effort to put laws upon the statute books of this country, compelling any religious observance whatsoever, is an effort gotten up by, controlled by, and in the interest of Satan. Everyone who by vote or by voice helps on this work of compelling the consciences of men by law, is being used as an agent of Satan. It is purely Satanic from first to last, and the results will be Satanic. That is, these efforts will end in utter ruin and destruction; they will end in the utter ruin of any church that takes hold of them; they will end in the utter ruin of any State that is controlled by them; they will end in the utter ruin of every individual who yields obedience to them.

In every State Sunday laws are coming to the front. At this present time the agitation is world wide; everywhere the enforcement of Sunday keeping by law is being agitated. It is the manifestation of a rival power against Jesus Christ, and the question is for everyone, To whom shall I yield my allegiance? and the mark of whose power shall I receive?

While every effort to compel the conscience is Satanic, and the results will be Satanic, while there is this power now being manifested in the earth attempting to control the consciences of men, I am thankful that there is an increasing power in the love of Jesus Christ, and it is drawing souls to him. It is drawing true Christians of every name and denomination to rally around the standard of Prince Immanuel. It is drawing everywhere those who hear the truth; they gladly turn to Jesus Christ and his power in salvation. "There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Our hope can be well founded only when it is founded in Jesus Christ. And the Sabbath of the Lord, the day instituted by Jesus Christ himself, blessed by him, sanctified by him, hallowed by him, is the sign to every Christian of his power to save. It is the measure of his Christian experience, his growth in grace and his knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Receive Jesus Christ, the only Saviour, and receive his Sabbath, the sign of what he is to every believer in him.