THE SABBATH WILL BE A TEST IN THE LAST GREAT REFORMATION.
By Matthew Larsen
BY ELDER MATTHEW LARSEN.
IN my last article attention was called to the fact that there would be a warning message given to the world, a work of reformation wrought, and a remnant people called out, who should keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Isa. 62: 10, 11; Joel 2: 1, 30-32; Rev. 12: 17; 14: 12), before the second advent of Christ is to take place. In this article I purpose to show that the Sabbath will be a test in that reformation,—a test of our loyalty and obedience to God,—that there will be a reformation in respect to its observance, and that the remnant people of God will keep it, just as God commanded it.
In entering upon the discussion of this question we will first call attention to a few illustrations, or considerations, from the history of God's people and work in the past, of a similar character, as illustrative of this point. In nearly every great or important reformation of the past, of which the Lord has furnished us any record, the Sabbath truth has been made prominent, and the Sabbath has been set before the people as a test of their loyalty to God. In proof of this assertion appeal is first made to the history of the Israelites at the time of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. While down in Egypt, in bondage and servitude, they had, to a greater or less extent, been led away from the knowledge of the true God into heathenism and Egyptian idolatry. They had strayed away from God, and by cruel taskmasters been compelled to break the Sabbath and disobey him. In this condition God took pity upon them, and purposed to make them his peculiar people, and deliver them, that they might serve and obey him. "And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness; . . . that they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws." Ps. 105: 43-45.
But, as has already been noticed, they had been blinded and defiled by the heathen idolatry with which they were surrounded; and consequently a work of reformation must be wrought for them. They had nearly lost the knowledge of the true God and of his law. So the Lord led them out, and made himself manifest to them by "signs and wonders" (Eze. 20: 5; Jer. 32: 21); he gave them his laws, and purposed to test them whether they would obey him or not. But before they could enter the land of Canaan, they must first be proved. The record says:—
"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no." Ex. 16: 4.
But how, or by what means, does he prove or test them?—By the fourth commandment,—the Sabbath obligation. Six days he caused the manna to fall; but on the seventh day, which was the Sabbath, he gave them none:—
"And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating; . . . and it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much; . . . and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning."
And they did so; and on the next day—the Sabbath—Moses told them that there should be none in the field on that day: "Six days shall ye gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none." But some of the people disobeyed, and went out to gather on that day; but they found none. "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" The expression "how long" implies a previous continual neglect, and, hence, a previous knowledge of the institution. "See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." Ex. 16: 21-29.
Thus the Lord not only showed them which day to keep, and how to keep it, but he also made it the test of their obedience and loyalty to him. "I will prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no," said the Lord. And he chose, or used, the Sabbath, or the fourth commandment, for that purpose. It thus became the test in that reformation.
Again, in the days of Nehemiah, when the Lord brought again his people from Babylonish captivity, we discover that this same fact is again made quite prominent. They had again gone into idolatry and sin, and a reformation had thus become a necessity. Neh. 9: 26, 38. Again, the Sabbath comes in as a testing truth, by which they are to be proved. Neh. 13: 15-22. In fact, its violation was one of the chief causes which had led them into the captivity to begin with. See Jer. 17: 20-27; 2 Chron. 36: 16-19; Neh. 13: 18.
When we come down to the time of Christ's first advent, we again notice the same thing. A message is to be given, a work of reformation must be wrought; the way of the Lord must be prepared, and the standard of righteousness be exalted. But this time the Jews had gone to the other extreme. They had virtually made void the commandments of God by their burdensome traditions (see Matt. 15: 1-9; Mark 7: 1-12); especially was this true of the Sabbath. They had gone so far as to prescribe that it was wrong upon the Sabbath day to walk on the grass, to lift a pail of water, wear nailed shoes, carry a blanket, or heal the sick, and the like. Says one writer:—
The restful and refreshing Sabbath of Eden and Sinai had been buried by the Pharisees under the rubbish of petty rules. Strangely enough, some readers have mistaken Christ's work in removing this rubbish, that the people might once more enjoy their Sabbaths, for an effort to destroy the Divine Fountain itself.—The Sabbath for Man, Crafts, pp. 367, 368.
When Christ came, he undertook to remove this rubbish, he condemned their foolish traditions, and sought, both by precept and example, to set them right, by teaching them how to properly observe it, so that it might be to them, as God had intended, a day of delight and holy joy in the Lord. Time and again did the Jews utter complaint against him for his manner of observing the day, and they even accused him of violating the Sabbath, because of the deeds of mercy and goodness which he did upon that day. John 5: 8-18; 7: 18-24; 9: 13-16. But Christ, who spoke the law from Mount Sinai, gave them to understand that what he did, in healing the sick, etc., was according to the law, was in keeping with its true letter and spirit. He says, "Wherefore it is lawful [i. e., according to the law, see Webster] to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12: 12.
Thus the Sabbath—the proper keeping of the Sabbath—became the chief point of contention or complaint between Christ and his disciples, and the Jews and Pharisees (Matt. 12: 1-12; Mark 2: 23-28; 3: 1-5; Luke 6: 1-11; 13: 10-17; 14: 1-6); and, consequently, it was made the test of a proper, or lawful, obedience to the commandments of God. Hence, we find Christ, when telling his disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem, placing the most marked stress upon the importance and the proper observance or keeping of the Sabbath, by instructing them to even make its proper observance a matter of prayer. "Pray," said he, "that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24: 20. Why not flee in the winter?—Because they would have perished from the cold. But why not flee on the Sabbath day? If the day was no longer binding, if it had been done away, they might as well flee on that day as on any other. The obligation must, therefore, still be in force, and its observance recognized. To flee to the mountains on that day would have involved them in a violation of the sacredness of the Sabbath, which forbade all unnecessary labor, or labor which might possibly be avoided, and fleeing on that day to the mountains would have been a hard, laborious day's journey, and, hence, a violation of the sacredness of the Sabbath obligation. The opposite of fleeing would be resting. Hence, Christ virtually taught his disciples to pray that they might rest on the Sabbath day. Thus important was the observance of the Sabbath in the days of Christ and the early Christians, and certainly it can have lost none of its importance or sacredness since.
From these illustrations we may justly conclude, or expect, that this question,—the Sabbath question,—will become quite an important factor in connection with the reformation of the last days, and its observance a test of our sincerity and loyalty to the service of God. We have observed that such has been the case in each of the reformations of the past, to which our attention has been called. Whenever God would "prove" them, whether they would walk in his law or no, he used the Sabbath for that purpose, and to this rule, we may be sure, the last great reformation will be no exception. God deals with his people and his work alike in all ages. "I change not," he says. Mal. 3: 6.
The "remnant people" keep the commandments of God. Rev. 12: 17. But whosoever offends in "one point, he is guilty of all." James 2: 10. And since the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, the observance of the seventh day, is a part of that law, it follows, as an inevitable conclusion, that they will be Sabbath keepers. From this there can be no escape.487
I will now introduce some more direct proofs in support of this proposition that the remnant church will be observers of the Sabbath, that it is to be a test of their obedience:—
"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed." Isa. 56: 1.
But this is to take place at his second advent, for so says Paul:—
"And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Heb. 9: 28.
Salvation, then, is a thing to be revealed at his second coming.
"Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time," i. e., the last day. 1 Peter 1: 5.
Then, since the prophet Isaiah is speaking of a time when salvation is "near to come," "near to be revealed," and that is not until in the "last time,"—not until our Saviour shall come the "second time,"—it follows that this prophecy must apply to that time. From this conclusion there can be no escape. And now let us see what follows:—
"Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it [That "doeth" what? that "layeth hold" on what?]; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. . . . Also the sons of the stranger [i. e., the Gentiles], that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, everyone that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even then will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; . . . for mine house [i. e., church] shall be called a house of prayer for all people." Isa. 56: 2-7.
The obligations of God's house, or church, must of necessity be just as universal as the house itself; hence, the universality of the Sabbath. From the above prophecy it is evident that the remnant people of God, both Jews and Gentiles—that is, "the sons of the stranger"—are to keep the Sabbath. One more text and we think it will be sufficient on this point:—
"And they that shall be of thee [i. e., the "remnant"] 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." Isa. 58: 12.
Something has been trodden down for generations; a "breach" has been made; and this remnant people are going to raise it up again, and thus become the repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. Now, what is it? We venture it is the Sabbath. Let us see:—
"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; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isa. 58: 13, 14.
This puts the question beyond a doubt. There will be a reformation in respect to the Sabbath in the last days. The remnant church will observe it. It will be a test of their fidelity to his cause and truth. They are, in the proper observance of the Sabbath, to raise up the foundations of many generations, and thus to be called the repairers of the "breach," etc. The Sabbath is the testing truth of that work. And who does not feel the necessity of such a work being wrought. But then it becomes a matter of importance to us to know not only how to observe the Sabbath, but which day is the Sabbath. May the Lord, then, help us to investigate this question, heed it, accept God's word, and obey it.