31:14Exodus 31:14

The Sabbath is holy and must be kept, and to defile it by doing ordinary work in it brings certain death and cutting off from among the people.9T 212.2+4 The immediate infliction of that death penalty is now deferred because Christ died to give opportunity to return to obedience, so God bears long and draws by love, yet those who refuse to repent will ultimately bear the penalty themselves.Ms 146, 1906, par. 16–28+2 The Sabbath of the command is the seventh day, Saturday, God's memorial of creation when He made heaven and earth in six days and rested and blessed and sanctified the seventh day.PK 179.3–4+4 It is a perpetual sign between God and His people showing that He sanctifies them, the test of loyalty and obedience that distinguishes His servants from the world and the condition for receiving His seal in contrast to the mark of the beast.9T 212.2+4 In the last days this keeping becomes the decisive final test against human authority and Sunday enforcement, requiring obedience on God's authority alone even at loss of livelihood, by resting from business and unnecessary work and devoting the sacred hours to worship, prayer, and spiritual service.CH 522.1–2+4

The Sabbath is holy and must be kept, and to work on it is to violate what God set apart.9T 212.2+4 It remains a perpetual sign by which the Lord sanctifies His people and binds them in covenant, rooted in His six-day creation and seventh-day rest.9T 212.2+4 That instruction belongs to God's own law written on stone by His finger, and keeping it is obedience to God while resting on a false sabbath turns aside from that obedience.PK 179.3–4+4

To defile the Sabbath is to do work in it, including ordinary work and the exalting of the first day in its place.Ms 12, 1904, par. 30–32+4 Such defiling dishonors God, opposes the laws of His kingdom, and under Satan's direction repeats the defiance of the image worship set up on the plain of Dura.Ms 12, 1904, par. 30–32+2 The seventh day is the Lord's test for all the world, not a man-made test, and those who knowingly transgress after receiving light are separated and cut off from among His people.Ms 27, 1900, par. 32–34+4

Whoever does any work therein shall surely be put to death, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.9T 212.2+4 Profaning the day by working brought death and exclusion under Israel's covenant, recalling creation in six days and rest on the seventh as the path toward life with God.PK 179.3–4+4

That death penalty is not now required to be inflicted, but is deferred because Christ died for sinners to give opportunity to return to obedience.Ms 146, 1906, par. 16–28+2 God does not immediately follow every act of disobedience with death, but bears long with the transgressor and draws by love to willing obedience, even though setting aside His command brings consequences because the day is not common.Lt 80, 1900, par. 5–8+3 Every disregard of the law will ultimately be answered for, and those who persist in disobedience will ultimately bear its penalty, while those under coercion who may be forced to work or suffer even death are still called to keep it while free to do so.Ms 146, 1906, par. 16–28+2

To labor on the Sabbath in defiance of the law God came from heaven to speak at Mount Sinai despises the Word of the Lord and merits the severest punishment, even death.Ms 131, 1907, par. 15–20+2 Guilt is increased when the violation is done in the face of full light and all the light given as lesson and evidence to believers now.Ms 131, 1907, par. 15–20+2 So it was with Nadab and Abihu, devoured by fire from the Lord for offering strange common fire in place of the sacred when wine had left them unable to distinguish between the sacred and the common.Ms 78, 1897, par. 67–69+1 Exalting Sunday, a spurious Sabbath and common working day, in place of the seventh day which the Lord sanctified and blessed disregards this statute, and when His law is set aside as of no consequence and made a dead letter the transgressor must surely bear the consequence of his sin.Ms 78, 1897, par. 67–69+2

God spoke the command to Moses on Mount Sinai for Israel while Moses was receiving directions for building the sanctuary where God would dwell among His people.Lt 19c, 1874, par. 4–6+2 It was enjoined for the third time, coming just after those directions for the immediate erection of the tabernacle and just before Moses received the stone tables, during forty days and nights in the cloud.Lt 12a, 1910, par. 3–6+2 It belongs to the testimony written on stone by God's own finger and given to Moses on two tables.FE 507.2–3+2 Christ spoke it through Moses to Israel.Ms 83, 1903, par. 17–19

Israel needed the command because they had been forced to work on the Sabbath in Egypt and had largely lost knowledge of it.Lt 19c, 1874, par. 4–6 The workmen building the tabernacle under God's own direction would in zeal be tempted to say God's work could be done without observing the Sabbath.Lt 19c, 1874, par. 4–6+1 God therefore guarded the Sabbath in particular and enforced its observance, so the people would not conclude that the glory of God and their great need of a place of worship justified working on the building on the Sabbath.Lt 19c, 1874, par. 4–6+1 Even the sacredness and urgency of that special work for God must not lead to infringing God's holy rest day.PP 313.3

The Sabbath instruction stands in the center of the moral law as the fourth commandment, an explanation of it and the reason for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath.RH Mar 26, 1908+2 It is part of God's enduring law, written by His own finger, binding on all men till the close of time.FE 507.2–3+2 It is not a ceremonial, social, or political law for Israel only, nor is the Sabbath the first day.RH Mar 26, 1908+1 Its holiness is grounded in God's creation of heaven and earth in six days and rest on the seventh, and it remains a sign between God and His people retaining its meaning in every age.Lt 12a, 1910, par. 3–6+2

The requirement is positive, definite, plain, weighty, and binding, a plain specification of God's law not to be regarded lightly and leaving not a shade of doubt and no excuse.Ms 2, 1904, par. 36–37+3 God gave Israel special directions to keep the Sabbath because it is holy, so they might make no mistake about obeying the truth just as it stands, from the Bible alone apart from the teachings of the fathers or any human agency, in the plain words spoken by the Creator of heaven and earth.Ms 117, 1909, par. 7–10+1 Its timing comes as marked by the sun, clear rather than uncertain, and the Sabbath is to be kept from its beginning to its close.3MR 253.3–256.1+1 It was proclaimed openly to the whole encampment by trumpet until all heard, and it is to be read plainly before congregations and before those determined to enact Sunday laws, with no controversy, and read with Isaiah 58.Lt 408, 1907, par. 3–8+1 It tests whether worship is true obedience or mere outward show, whether men will keep God's Sabbath holy instead of following their own way and loving error more than truth because truth opposes personal inclinations.Lt 193, 1901, par. 19–20

The Sabbath commanded here is the seventh day, Saturday, not the first day or Sunday, for six days work may be done but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest holy to the Lord.Ms 116, 1902, par. 28+4 God did not bless and make holy the first day, and strong evidence identifies the seventh day, not the day commonly kept by the world, as the day He requires His people to observe.Ms 35, 1900, par. 7–12+2 In the last days His commandment-keeping people keep the seventh day to exalt the Lord God of heaven, even amid oppressive persecution and opposing influences against it.18MR 30.3–31.2

It is God's memorial of creation, grounded in His making heaven and earth in six days and resting and being refreshed on the seventh.PK 179.3–4+4 He blessed and sanctified the seventh day in Eden, instituted it when the foundations of the earth were laid, gave it to man, testified to it by the double manna on the sixth day, and set it apart for religious meditation, worship and spiritual service.FE 507.2–3+4 Keeping it is obedience to God, while resting on a false sabbath misdirects people from that obedience.PK 179.3–4 Its observance again causes joy among the angels of heaven.18MR 30.3–31.2

Its holiness comes from God, not from human custom, numbers, claims or inventions.Lt 83, 1900, par. 8–10+2 What God made holy does not become unholy through transgression or human claims, human authority cannot make a common working day holy or cancel what God established, and God's law never changes and cannot fail.Lt 83, 1900, par. 8–10+4 Observing a rival sabbath made sacred by human authority exalts the man of sin and opposes God's law, and those who knowingly reject the true Sabbath and exalt another day will answer to the Creator, for the law is the standard by which every work is judged.Ms 147, 1897, par. 43–44+1

The Sabbath was instituted by Jesus Christ, who made the world and made man and gave the Sabbath to man to keep holy.Ms 76, 1897, par. 17–18 Christ is Lord of the Sabbath, proclaimed this law at Sinai by His voice, cleared away the mass of human tradition and rubbish piled upon it that made it a yoke of bondage, and revealed its spiritual meaning.Ms 76, 1897, par. 17–18+1 The seventh day, not the first day, is the Christian Sabbath, set apart by God as a memorial of creation and a sign between God and His people.Ms 198, 1899, par. 34–36 It is the Lord's day on which Christ revealed Himself to John.Ms 92, 1891, par. 9–11

The Sabbath is holy and must be kept without doing work in it, and in its surrounding command it is a sign between God and Israel through their generations showing that the Lord sanctifies them.9T 212.2+2 It is a perpetual covenant rooted in God's six-day creation and seventh-day rest, a memorial of His making heaven and earth and resting on the seventh day.PK 179.3–4+2 Under Israel's covenant defiling it by work brought death and being cut off from among the people, and in application it remains a perpetual sign distinguishing God's people and marking their covenant commitment to serve Him alone.CH 237.1+2 It is part of God's law written on stone by His own finger, identifying His sanctifying work and His creation rest.9T 212.2+2

Keeping the Sabbath holy is the Lord's test for all the world, not a man-made test, making Sabbath keeping a test given by God of loyalty, obedience and reverence.Lt 29, 1901, par. 8–9+2 It is the great test distinguishing those who keep the commandments of God from those who transgress His law, the definite requirement respecting His day of rest that whoever defiles it by work shall surely be put to death and be cut off.Lt 29, 1901, par. 8–9+2 It forms part of the testing truth to be clearly brought forward and part of the scriptural command for keeping the seventh day, so that rejecting that plain command brings condemnation.Lt 161, 1910, par. 1–3+1 Observing this sign means keeping all God's commandments, joining people to God and to their duties toward one another, and the seventh-day Sabbath as God's sign distinguishes His covenant people from false religionists and in the last days will set them apart amid persecution.5MR 88.2–89.1+2

Keeping the seventh day holy as God's memorial is genuine sanctification, the sign by which the people know that the Lord sanctifies them.Lt 19c, 1874, par. 4–6+2 True sanctification is willing obedience to God's commandments shown by Sabbath keeping, not merely a claim to be sanctified, and proper observance is a continuing pledge of His covenant teaching what true sanctification is.Ms 186, 1899, par. 1–3+2 The command guarded the Sabbath in particular because Israel had been forced to work on the Sabbath in Egypt and had largely lost knowledge of it, and because even workmen building the tabernacle under God's own direction would be tempted in zeal to say God's work could be done without observing it.Lt 19c, 1874, par. 4–6+1 The Sabbath is God's memorial of creation and a public sign distinguishing the true and living Creator from other gods, preserving right knowledge of the Creator and making men and women holy, and honoring it means carrying its influence into daily business and home life and honoring God rather than reputation or life itself.Lt 66, 1900, par. 6–9+2

Keeping God's Sabbath in obedience is the condition for receiving God's seal, which is God's pledge of perfect security to His chosen ones showing they are appropriated to Himself as Christ's purchased possession whom none shall pluck out of His hands.Ms 88, 1897, par. 13–14+2 The seal given in the forehead writes upon them God and New Jerusalem, the name of God and the name of the city of God.Ms 59, 1895, par. 40–44+1 The Sabbath is God's holy mark and sign in direct contrast to the mark of the beast, a divine everlasting covenant given as a sign and mark of God's government, so that understanding it is necessary to understand the mark of the beast and escape the wrath proclaimed by the third angel.Ms 88, 1897, par. 13–14+2 Those in families who refuse obedience in keeping His Sabbath cannot have the seal placed upon them, and those who knowingly transgress after receiving light or refuse to repent will realize the result of disobedience and be cut off.15MR 32.1–3+2 Fastening to the Sabbath fastens to a chain of obedience where every link is a promise, putting God's word above the word of man and God's love above the love of man, marking true subjects ready to do His will, and true observance in the spirit of obedience shows all God's commandments are to be practiced and it is the Lord who sanctifies.15MR 32.1–3

A breach has been made in the law of God by the papacy and man of sin in making the Sabbath a nonentity, an unessential requirement human authority can set aside, tearing down God's memorial and changing the holy day to a common working day.Ms 35, 1900, par. 7–12+2 He did not bless and make holy the first day, yet a false first-day rest has been placed in its stead with no sanction from the high and holy One, exalting an institution of the papacy and opposing God's law.Ms 35, 1900, par. 7–12+2 Replacing the seventh-day memorial of creation, in which in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh rested and was refreshed, with a common workday or humanly appointed day defies the living Creator and Lawgiver and brings accountability to Him.Ms 35, 1900, par. 7–12+2 God's messengers must give warning calling people to repair the breach, must not sanction any plan whereby the Sabbath is trodden under foot, and the trampled foundation of many generations is to be raised up, exalted and called honorable as part of keeping all God's commandments and restoring the moral image of God.Ms 35, 1900, par. 7–12+2 Voting or resolving to rest on the first day to avoid arrest dishonors God, confuses minds, lifts the spurious Sunday Sabbath to take the place of the true, and joins Satan's work from the first rebellion to exalt his own power against God's law, so faithfulness means holding the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus from conviction of duty as the banner.Lt 231, 1899, par. 10–14+1

In the last days keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and not the first day, becomes the testing question of loyalty between obedience to God and obedience to human authority.Ms 107, 1906, par. 10–13+2 Oppressive laws will enforce a rival, false and spurious Sabbath that has no sanctity, forcing men to regard the first day as sacred, and God's people must obey God when human requirements conflict with His command.Ms 107, 1906, par. 10–13+2 Keeping the creation Sabbath as God's perpetual covenant sign will set His commandment-keeping people apart as His covenant people, distinguishing them from all false religionists and evidencing His kindness, mercy and love, while exalting the Lord God of heaven.18MR 30.3–31.2+2 For this obedience the church militant meets opposing influences and oppressive persecution, with scattering, imprisonment and death decreed against the obedient, yet God's tested people find strength and security in this sign and in standing on the written word, with His pledge to bless the obedient, to show Himself their God in covenant relation with them and to fulfill His promise to them, while those who break covenant with Him are left without God and without hope.18MR 30.3–31.2+2

The Sabbath command belongs to God's divine requirements and perfect, holy law that reveals His will and character and serves as the only unerring standard of righteousness.Ms 27, 1900, par. 32–34+2 By that law every soul, work and thought is judged from what is written in the books, deciding fitness of character for heaven and whether every case is justified or condemned according to obedience or disrespect and disregard of His requirements, with obedience as prerequisite of salvation determining a sentence of life and justification and disobedience determining death and condemnation.Ms 27, 1900, par. 32–34+2 The requirement is positive, definite and plain as ABC, that six days are for work but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest holy to the Lord for a perpetual covenant, because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh rested and was refreshed, and it must be obeyed and not set aside for the overwhelming tide of evil and scorn against God's law nor for exalting the first day of the week or an institution of the Papacy in its place, which defiles the Sabbath under Satan's direction like the worship of the image Nebuchadnezzar set up on the plains of Dura and puts souls in danger as sheep without a shepherd.Ms 27, 1900, par. 32–34+2 Keeping it honors God's everlasting covenant which does not change and keeps men from coming up to the judgment transgressing the law of God, for the law cannot be trampled with impunity and transgression hardens disobedient characters while the law becomes more precious to the obedient.Ms 191, 1905, par. 46–47+2 Those who hear this command and obey it now will not meet it with self-condemnation in the day of judgment, for the answer means life to the receiver and death to the rejecter and must be urged with terrible earnestness now, since there is no second probation.Ms 27, 1900, par. 32–34+1

Receiving the Sabbath truth brings life that measures with the life of God, a treasure in heaven that fails not, and its observance again causes joy among the angels of heaven.18MR 30.3–31.2+1 Those who obey and gather in little companies on the day He blessed and made holy have a right to claim His rich blessings, for the hours are sacred and sanctified and holy as a special memorial of creation when the Lord is in the midst of the assembly to enlighten, bless and sanctify His people in their acts of obedience, opening wide the windows of the soul heavenward so the Sun of Righteousness comes in and makes believers light in the Lord, bringing a peace the world cannot give or take away and strength to take God at His word.Lt 8, 1898, par. 6–9+2 Observance is a sign of loyalty and a pledge of His power and willingness to sanctify those who obey, His covenant of peace and His pledge to do as He has promised, joined to God's sanctifying work and the blessings given to obedient worshipers and to preserving a right knowledge of the Creator which makes men and women holy.21MR 293.3–295.2+1 Rejecting the truth after hearing brings self-condemnation and death, forfeits blessing and heaven's reward, and leaves covenant-breakers without God and without hope.Ms 27, 1900, par. 32–34+2

God's commands outweigh man's supposed necessities, and obedience is required on God's authority alone even when keeping the day causes great inconvenience to those who have no respect for it.CH 522.1–2+2 The plain Thus saith the Lord must not be turned away from for the contrary sayings of men, even when jobs and livelihood are at stake, and those hanging in the balance are to settle duty with God and obey.Lt 8, 1898, par. 6–9+2 Human laws cannot override the command, so God must be obeyed when human requirements conflict with it, and His people remain faithful to His law even when human laws require them to disregard it.Ms 107, 1906, par. 10–13+1 Such obedience involves self-denial and self-sacrifice, which is why many refuse it, yet those who obey and gather in little companies on the day He blessed and made holy have a right to claim His rich blessings.Lt 8, 1898, par. 6–9+1 The hours are sacred and sanctified and holy as a special memorial of creation, when the Lord is in the midst of the assembly to enlighten, bless, and sanctify His people in their acts of obedience, and obedience is central to the final conflict over God's authority.Lt 8, 1898, par. 6–9+1

Keeping the day holy means resting from regular work and business and doing no unnecessary work, giving every moment reverent attention rather than allowing secular distractions or harsh, discordant words to intrude.21MR 293.3–295.2+2 Sabbath food is to be prepared on the sixth day, restaurants are to be closed and workers given the day free, and there is to be no conforming to the wishes of the world when they conflict with God's law.Ms 30, 1903, par. 16–17+2 The sacred time is to be devoted to worship, hearing Scripture, prayer, spiritual conversation, and meditation, resting in peace with God and honoring Him in conversation.21MR 293.3–295.2+1 This respect allows its sanctifying power, peace, and rest to be received, and joins observance to God's sanctifying work and the blessings given to obedient worshipers.21MR 293.3–295.2+1 The day was sanctified at creation as the seventh day of rest, set apart from other days as a memorial of creation and for spiritual service to God, and obedience shows that He is the Lord who sanctifies them.Ms 108, 1902, par. 3–7+1

God's hygienic restaurants must not remain open on the Sabbath, for the command governs the question of opening restaurants and requires obedience over supposed necessities and inconvenience.Ms 114, 1902, par. 17+1 Their closing on Saturday keeps the line of demarcation between God's people and the world unmistakably plain and leads thinking men to inquire into the principles behind it, giving opportunity to acquaint them with the truth about the difference between God's people and the so-called Christian world.Ms 108, 1902, par. 3–7 Sanitariums likewise must conduct work so the witness is not hidden or disguised, for the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people throughout their generations forever and is to be made known through the way work is conducted.11MR 73.3+2 Proper observance by everyone connected with Adventist sanitariums is to be practiced openly and bear witness before the world, where it can exert a strong influence for good.Ms 154, 1902, par. 17+1 Feeding patients and helpers as a family with as little labor as possible is permitted, and ministering to relieve real suffering does not desecrate the day, but ordinary treatments, operations, and serving patrons are to be deferred, with closed doors stamping the institution as God's memorial.11MR 73.3+2

Sabbath truth must be kept, proclaimed, and taught openly without compromise or shame, with its solemn binding claims made plain whether hearers are many or few.Ms 146, 1906, par. 16–28+2 Parents are to teach their children to obey the Sabbath commandment so they may be numbered among God's people, and educators, physicians, and institutions are to magnify the law and give plain reasons of faith.Ms 152, 1901, par. 29–31+2 The verse is to be read plainly before congregations and before those determined to enact Sunday laws, with no controversy, as proof God set this day apart; those who reject it carry the responsibility, and their controversy is with God.Lt 408, 1907, par. 3–8 Keeping the Sabbath means conscientiously honoring God and diligently using every means to keep in covenant relation with Him in order to receive His blessings, blessings essential for a people who are to be severely tried.Lt 110, 1902, par. 20–21 God's people are to stand now and always as a distinct and peculiar people, separate from the world, free from all worldly policy and unembarrassed by confederacy with those who do not discern God's claims, with missionary and medical missionary work going forward united under the seal of God.Ms 83, 1903, par. 17–19+2

Honoring the Sabbath means carrying its influence into daily business and home life, and honoring God rather than reputation or life itself.Lt 66, 1900, par. 6–9 Obeying God's law with truth and righteousness exemplified in life and character marks His chosen people in all parts of the world, and keeping God's Sabbaths is what makes them denominational, separate and distinct from the world.Ms 162, 1905, par. 14–17+1 They are a chosen, holy, special people above all people on the earth, loved and redeemed from the house of bondage for the express purpose of worshiping Him, with the promise that if they keep His commandments He will bless them above all other people, free them from sickness, and establish them forever.19MR 38.2–39.2 Proper observance teaches what true sanctification is, willing obedience to God, and publicly distinguishes the true and living Creator from other gods.Lt 66, 1900, par. 6–9 Upon those who keep the day rests the responsibility to do a work of mercy and benevolence, binding medical missionary work together with gospel ministry as the message is given to the world, sealed with the seal of God and borne earnestly and untiringly lest time pass and people be left unwarned.Lt 22, 1897, par. 11–13+2