p. 16 | SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Sep 23, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 37.

"SUBSTANTIALLY CORRECT."

THE Milwaukee Christian Endeavor, May, 1897, in reply to the statement, "The first day is not called the Sabbath in the New Testament," says:—

"Probably not, tho the Greek for first day is always literally 'one of the sabbaths,' and first-day sabbath is nearer the literal than the first day of the week. But as 'sabbath' sometimes means 'week,' perhaps our translation is substantially correct. If one uses a word in a new, unknown meaning, he will be misunderstood unless he constantly explains it. So our seventh-day friends in a new community must call their Sabbath 'Seventh day or Seventh-day Sabbath.' So the early Christians called their worship day 'one of the sabbaths' or 'the Lord's day.' But that does not prove that it was not their special day for Christian worship."

Now if the translation "the first day of the week" is "substantially correct," it is certain that "one of the sabbaths," or "first-day sabbath," is not correct; and that it is not correct is shown by all the eminent translators of the New Testament and the Greek lexicons. The early Christians never spoke of the first day of the week as Sabbath, as a sacred or worship day. Six of the eight times of its mention refer to one particular day, that on which Jesus rose from the dead; the seventh time to another particular day, on which a notable miracle was wrought; and the eighth instance refers to a secular duty to be done on the first day of the week. The Lord's day is the day he has set apart. Ex. 20:10; Mark 2:28. The first day of the week was never called the Lord's day till A.D. 200, when the apostasy was well on. Surely, all Bible Christians should allow the Lord the right of saying what day was his day.