The Change and Restoration of the Sabbath by Dudley Marvin Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 31, 1865

The Change and Restoration of the Sabbath.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

"HERE is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. xiv, 12. What are emphatically the commandments of God? Answer. "And he (God) declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut. iv, 13. Here we learn that those ten precepts are "the commandments of God." These constitute his law. Proof. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." Ex. xxiv, 12.

In Rev. xiv, it says, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God," thus specifying a particular time. If, while riding in the cars through different cities, a person should say of a certain place, "Here is where they coin money," we would readily understand that that place was noted for that business, and that it differed from the surrounding cities in this respect. So it is in our text: "Here are they," &c., locating it at a particular time. To learn when this is, we will read a few verses before and after this one: "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." Verses 6, 7. Here is a proclamation of the judgment hour come. This precedes our text: the verses following it read: "And I looked, and

behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle." Verse 14. We perceive at a glance, that this is the coming of Jesus. Then the "here" has its application between the proclamation of the judgment come, and the coming of Jesus. Then when that time does come, whether it be now or in the future, it will develop a class of people peculiar for keeping all the commandments of God. I think that I can see at least, quite a plain hint in this at the restoration of the Sabbath in the last days.

That the Sabbath has been changed at some time, by some authority, all are ready to admit. We will now show that this change is prophesied of in the Bible, as well as by whom it would be done. In Daniel vii, we have symbols of the four monarchies, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and of Rome till the time it was divided into ten kingdoms, A. D. 483. Then, under the symbol of a blasphemous horn (verse 8), is introduced the Papacy. It is said of it that "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hands until a time, and times, and the dividing of time," Verse 25.

All Protestants agree that the pope has fulfilled this prophecy. He speaks against the Most High by calling himself the vicar of Christ, Lord God, the Pope, &c. He has worn out the saints of God by persecution. Paul speaks of the same power in 2 Thess. ii, 2, 3. "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." Here are the same blasphemous actions mentioned, of which Daniel speaks. He exalts himself above God. How does he do this? To illustrate, suppose that Mr. A. is teaching school: to preserve order he has rules to govern his pupils. Finding it necessary to be absent a short time, he writes out these rules in number, say ten; and placing them in a conspicuous place tells his pupils to strictly obey them till he returns. Soon in comes Mr. B. who professes to be a friend of Mr. A. and claims to know all about teaching school. He looks over the rules and finally takes his pencil and changes one or more of them. Then he says to the pupils, "You obey these rules as I have changed them; it will suit your teacher just as well, and be much better for you." Has he not by this act virtually said to those pupils, "I know more than your teacher does?" or "I have a better right to govern you than he has?" Has he not thus exalted himself above that teacher? All will readily say that he has. Just so has the Pope exalted himself above God, and so the prophecy said that he would do. "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change times and laws."

We ask, What laws will he think to change? Not national laws; for they are changing all the time, any way. Moreover, he would have a perfect right to change them if he had the power. He speaks against God, wears out the saints of God, and evidently thinks to change the laws of God. It must also be some part of that law which has time in it, as he is to change

times as well as laws. Is there any time in the first commandment? None. Is there time in any other one of the ten commandments except the fourth? There is not. Then what must the Pope do to fulfill this prophecy? He must change the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Has he done this? Hear the Catholics themselves:

"Q. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days? "A. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church." Catholic Catechism Abridged.

It is not only a historical fact that the Roman church did change the Sabbath, but they boast of it as a sign of their power. Thus was fulfilled Dan. vii, 25, which predicts the change of the Sabbath so plainly that it cannot be mistaken.

In Mal. ii, reference is made to the change of the Sabbath. It opens with this declaration: "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you." Verse 1. "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they [the people] should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law, ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law." Verses 7-9. We readily understand what it is to be partial in a family of children; namely, to think less of one child than another, and to pay less attention to his requirements than those of the others. The same principle must be carried out to be partial in the law.

Now go with the law of God to the priests of the present time, and, commencing with the first commandment, ask them if it is good. They will invariably say, Yes. Ask the same question concerning the second, third, fifth, sixth, and so forth to the tenth, and you will receive the same answer. Then go back and ask them if the fourth is good, and they will all answer, No; that one has been changed. Now we must not honor the old Jewish Sabbath; if you do, you will fall from grace. There is not another commandment to which they will thus object. Thus they become partial in the law, and consequently the violation of the Sabbath is here referred to. They have caused many to stumble at the law, by teaching them to break it.

While the change of the Sabbath is thus plainly spoken of in the prophets, its restoration by the people of God in the last days, is still more clearly pointed out. Says Isaiah, chap. lviii, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Although it is the duty of God's servants to warn the careless sinner of his danger, yet this warning is directed to "my people" and the "house of Jacob," that is, to those who are, or profess to be, the children of God.

It appears that they are in some way transgressing the law of God, for the command is to show them their sins. "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John iii, 4. It also seems to be a very hard matter to convince them of their error; for the Lord says, "Cry

aloud, spare not."

In verses 2-12, their conduct is described, and gracious promises are made to them if they will reform. Verse 12 says, "And they that shall be of thee," &c. Of whom? Evidently of those who "cry aloud, and spare not, . . . and show my people their transgression." Well, what will these reformers do? "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations: thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach; the restorer of the paths to dwell in." Here are four illustrations used to make this point more forcible. 1. "Old waste places" are to be built again. 2. Foundations which have been long broken down, are to be raised up again. 3. A "breach," or gap has been made which must now be "repaired." 4. Old paths which have long been forsaken are to be found, and walked in once more.

Now the important question comes, To what does all this apply? What is the reformation here predicted? Says the Baptist, "It is baptism:" the temperance lecturer says that it is temperance; and even the dress reform claims its aid. But, how do we know that it is either the one or the other? If we stop here, we have no clue to what is meant. Let us read on. "Thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in, if"—ah! here is a condition on which they are called the repairers of the breach, &c. What is it? Mark the proviso. "Thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in, if thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day." Here it is as clear as the moonday sun! The Sabbath is to be restored. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath." Notice the figure used. On each side of the path leading from the house to the gate, are beautiful flowers. A careless child gets out of the path and treads on them. The mother calls out to him, "John, stop treading on those flowers; take your feet off from them, and get into the path." So it is with the Sabbath. Men are treading on it, and desecrating the holy of the Lord. The command is to stop this, "and call the Sabbath a delight; the holy of the Lord, honorable; and honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words."

This prophecy could not be explicit concerning the restoration of the Sabbath, without positively asserting that fact in so many words. Can the reader satisfy his conscience that this is not the case? Beware how you reject so plain a testimony of the word of God.

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places." The Sabbath has been laid waste for almost fifteen hundred years. "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations." If the Sabbath, instituted in the garden of Eden, cannot claim to have "the foundations of many generations," what institution can? "Thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach." A fence composed of ten panels protects the garden from cattle which run in the road. One panel is broken down; a breach has thus been made in the fence, and the cattle go in and destroy the garden. So it is with the law of ten commandments. One panel (the fourth commandment) has been broken down, and thus a breach has been made in the law of God. The way to repair this breach is to stop breaking the Sabbath and keep it.

Ezekiel, speaking of this breach, or gap, says, O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the desert. Ye have not gone up into the gaps (margin, breaches), neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Chap. xiii, 4, 5. Ezekiel addresses the same class that Isaiah does, i. e., the house of Israel. This is at a time when they need a preparation "to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." In chap. xxii, 26, 30, he says, "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and the profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean." God sanctified the seventh day; the first day he made simply a working day. He has never made them any different. Now go and ask some of the popular priests which is the holy, and which the profane, which the clean, and which the unclean, and they will tell you that there is no difference; one day is just as good as another if you only think so. Thus they "put no difference between the holy and the profane."

How do you know that this refers to the Sabbath? Because it mentions it in particular. "Neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am polluted among them. . . . I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none." Here again, in connection with violated laws and despised Sabbaths, we have the hedge and the gap to be made up. This is when the land is about to be destroyed.

Says Isaiah, chap. viii, 16, "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." This is when the church is looking for the Lord. See verse 11. "Bind up the testimony, seal the law." We do not bind up what is whole; but if I should break my arm, then it would need to be bound up. There is no necessity for it till it is broken. So with the law and testimony. It has been broken. Just before the coming of the Lord, a message goes forth to bind up the broken law, seal the severed parts, and repair the breach. What does all this mean, if it does not refer to the Sabbath, as we have endeavored to show?

In Isaiah lvi we read: "Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed." When is this? Paul says, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them who look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Heb. ix, 28. Then it is when the Lord is near to come. Verse 8 locates it when the Lord is about to gather the outcasts of Israel; that is, God's people. Verse 9 says, "All ye beasts of the field, come to devour; yea, all ye beasts of the forest." Zephaniah tells us when this call to the beasts is made; i. e., at the day of the Lord. Chap. i, 7. In Rev. xix, the coming of the Lord is described. Verse 17 contains the same call to devour; and this is at the supper of the great God.

Thus this chapter is located beyond a doubt just before the coming of the Lord, and consequently has its application now. "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." Verse 2. When this scripture has its application, that is, in the last days, a blessing is pronounced on those who lay hold on the Sabbath and keep it. We cannot lay hold of that which we already have in our hands; but if you throw away this paper, then you can go and lay hold on it. So it is with the Sabbath. If men were keeping it, they could not be exhorted to lay hold on it. But now men have cast away the holy Sabbath, and God pronounces a blessing on those who lay hold on it, and keep the Sabbath from polluting it.

"But," says one, "this refers to the Jews; the Gentiles have nothing to do with the Sabbath." In answer, we will read the sixth verse. "Also the sons of the stranger." The "stranger" is the Gentile. Thus Paul says, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise. . . . Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners," &c. Eph. ii, 11-19. Thus we see that the stranger is the Gentile. "Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; these will I bring to my holy mountain," &c. "That taketh hold of my covenant." What is his "covenant"? "And he [God] declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform; even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut. iv, 13.

Then to "take hold of my covenant" would be to keep the ten commandments of which the Sabbath is one. In all this we see the Sabbath reform in the last days clearly pointed out. That there will be a people in the last days peculiar for keeping all the commandments of God, we prove by Rev. xii, 17.

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." The last advice of Jesus to his church, was, "Blessed are they that do his (the Father's) commandments that they may have right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. xxii, 14.

Those who do not keep the Sabbath here will have to, if they ever live in the new earth; for we read: "As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." Isa. lxvi, 22, 23.

From this we learn that the Sabbath will be observed by the people of God in the new earth.

Thus we have seen 1. That prophecy has pointed out the change of the Sabbath by the Papacy. 2. That it has still more clearly and abundantly spoken of its restoration by the people of God in the last days when the power of the Pope should be broken.

D. M. CANRIGHT.