Study: What admonition does the apostle Paul give us regarding the last days of human history?
Apply: Paul says not “to sleep” as others do. What does that mean, and how can we know if we are, indeed, sleeping and, if we are, what will it take to wake us?
Share: Your friend asks you where you see things in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 being fulfilled? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Revelation 18:1-4. Discuss the main idea of this passage.
Study: What three things does John tell us about this angel? (See also Hab. 2:14).
Apply: Ultimately, how do the issues in the last days (as they really do every day) come down to authority? Whose authority do we follow: God’s, our own, the beast power’s, or someone else’s? Whose authority are you following now?
Share: Your friend asks, if God’s people are being called out of the churches they are in where are they supposed to go? Does the Bible tell us? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What words are associated with the glory of God that fills the earth as described in Revelation 18:1?
Apply: How does God’s church bring glory to God? What are some practical ways we give light to this dark world?
Share: Your friend complains that it seems like his Adventist father-in-law is always bashing other churches. Your friend asks if its really necessary to bash other churches in order to share truth? What do you tell your friend?
As Adventists we understand from the book of Revelation that the anti-Christ is the papacy putting itself in the place of God. Of course any system putting itself in the place of God is an anti-Christ. In 1 John 2:18, John writes, “even now are there many anti-Christs; whereby we know that it is the last time.” So was John implying their were more anti-Christs besides just the papacy? If so could you or I have anti-Christ characteristics?
To answer this question, let’s back up a little. In studying the Three Angels Message, we see that a so-called religious system, Babylon, falls. Again we know from studying Revelation that this is a specific system. However, we also see that this system has an attitude. That attitude is legalism. Man-made laws and a man-made day of worship combine to make a man-made way of salvation, outside of trusting in the merits of Jesus. While Revelation pinpoints this system, it is clear that this attitude can be found in other systems as well, and history has demonstrated it. Were not the Sadducees and Pharisees making their own laws and trusting their own works for salvation? Yet they were not Babylon. So could it be that if I am not careful to crucify self and die daily, that this same attitude of Babylon could be found in my heart too?
So, if it is possible for me to have the attitude of Babylon, would it also be possible for me to have the same attitude as the anti-Christ, thus making me one of many anti-Christs? An anti-Christ is someone who sets himself up as Christ, just as the man of sin mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 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 worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Here we see that the man of sin, or anti-Christ sits in the place of God. So how could I possibly be an anti-Christ, sitting in the place of God? Isaiah 33:22 tells us; “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver.” Our Lord God is our lawgiver and judge. So, when I set myself up as judge of other people’s motives, or think that I can interpret the law for everybody, I am usurping the seat of God and setting myself up as God, and thus becoming an anti-Christ!
Like Babylon, Anti-Christ is more than a system. It is an attitude. Ellen White explains, that while the pilgrims came to the new world, to escape the anti-Christ, that they carried the attitude of anti-Christ with them to the New World:
“It was the desire for liberty of conscience that inspired the Pilgrims to brave the perils of the long journey across the sea, to endure the hardships and dangers of the wilderness, and with God’s blessing to lay, on the shores of America, the foundation of a mighty nation. Yet honest and God-fearing as they were, the Pilgrims did not yet comprehend the great principle of religious liberty. The freedom which they sacrificed so much to secure for themselves, they were not equally ready to grant to others. “Very few, even of the foremost thinkers and moralists of the seventeenth century, had any just conception of that grand principle, the outgrowth of the New Testament, which acknowledges God as the sole judge of human faith.” (W. Carlos Martyn, The Life and Times of Luther, Vol. 5, p. 297.) The doctrine that God has committed to the church the right to control the conscience and to define and punish heresy, is one of the most deeply rooted of papal errors.-Ellen White, The Great Controversy, pp. 292-3
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Scriptures are profitable for doctrine and correction. I can only define God’s law by what is in the Scriptures , but not by my personal opinions or traditions, like the Pharisees in Christ’s time and religious leaders in the Dark Ages did. I am not the interpreter of the Law for the whole world, nor, can I think to change times and laws to meet with my own opinions or inclinations. Since I am not the Lawgiver, I cannot judge people by my own standards.
While open sin must be dealt with by the community of believers, according to 1 Corinthians 6, I as an individual cannot judge inward motives. In judging outward actions we must still be careful. Joseph almost put poor Mary away thinking he had all the evidence of an affair. Even with his overwhelming evidence, he was wrong! Even with all his evidence, he tried to put her away privately, without any public embarrassment. What a great example for us to imitate. Even with his incontrovertible evidence, Joseph was not going to judge Mary’s heart.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul teaches that churches, not individuals, to judge open and outward actions very carefully. He teaches no one to judge the heart and inward motives. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us God and the Scriptures alone tell us what is right and wrong. I am not the Lawgiver or the interpreter of the law for the rest of the world.
Only the Lord our God is our Lawgiver and Judge, and when we judge people according to our own standards, opinions and understanding, we usurp the throne of God and become an anti-Christ.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Study: How long was this power to rule through previous centuries? (Note: 42 months; a time, times, and half a time; and 1,260 days is the same 1,260 years from 538AD with Justinian’s Code to 1798AD with Berthier marching into Rome and putting the pope in prison.)
Apply: Think about how amazing biblical prophecy is and how it reveals to us God’s knowledge of future events. What should this fact teach us about why we can trust the Lord’s promises, even the ones we don’t yet see fulfilled?
Share: Your friend says the 1260 days are still in the future and do not have anything to do with the papacy. What do you tell your friend?
Study: What does Paul predict about the last days? What identifying marks does he give for the beast, the antichrist power?
Apply: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12, NKJV). How must we apply this principle in dealing with the theme of the beast powers in Revelation 13 and 14?
Study: How does John describe these final scenes of earth’s history? What powerful contrast is seen here?
Apply: How do make sure we are not unwittingly at war with the Lamb?
Share: Your friend asks, “Why does the Lamb have to conquer all the other powers? Why can’t we just all peacefully coexist? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Revelation 14:9-12. Define the main idead of this passage.
Study: Where is the mark of the beast placed? (See Deut. 6:8, Deut. 11:18). What two characteristics contrast God’s people from those who receive the mark of the beast?
Apply: In what ways has humanity always been divided along the lines of being on either God’s side or on Satan’s? Why can there be no middle ground? How can we know, for sure, just whose side we really are on?
Share: You friend says that she heard someone say that the third angel’s message in Revelation 14:9-12 is all about righteousness by faith. How so? What do you tell your friend?
Main Theme: God’s people will be loyal to Jesus because they love Him because He first loved them.
Read in Class: Revelation 14:12. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What two characteristics do we discover in this passage about God’s last-day people? Why are both important?
Apply: How faithful are you in the little things? What might that tell you about how you will be when the real trial comes? (See Luke 16:10).
Share: Your friend tells you the church focuses too much on commandment keeping instead of faith. How would Revelation 14:12 help you answer your friend?
Study: Where does the beast come from, and who gives the beast his authority? What contrast do you see in these verses?
Apply: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved“ (Matt. 10:22, NKJV). How ready are you to endure to the end?
Share: Your friend asks you what the Biblical meaning of “blasphemy” is? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What identifying marks of the beast power do we discover in these verses? What will God’s end-time people face in the final crisis?
Apply: Read Galatians 6:7-9. Though this is not written in the context of last-day events, why is the principle there so relevant to issues over the mark of the beast, and how we can stand faithful?
Share: Your friend asks if the mark on the hand or forehead is literal or symbolic? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Matthew 27:45-50. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does this teach us about what Christ had experienced on the cross? What did Jesus mean by asking God why He had forsaken Him, and how does this scene help us understand what it means to have “the faith of Jesus”?
Apply and share: Your friend asks how you have shown the faith of Jesus in your own life? How has the faith of Jesus helped you get by even in the worst of times? What do you tell your friend? See When the Faithfulness of Jesus carried me Through.
Think about a time when life seemed to crumble around you and all that you had was your faith. How did you get by? What lessons did you learn? What did you experience that could help others who might be going through something similar?
When I saw this question I thought of a story I just shared with some friends yesterday. 25 years ago I was engaged to be married. While I was engaged I was working as a full time Bible Worker in a three church district in the Fort Worth, Texas area. However I was a local hire with no benefits. Wanting to provide health insurance for my bride to be I went to UPS, where I got a part time job working from 3 AM to 7:30Am, which provided me and my family to be with health insurance. This was still in addition to my full time job as a Bible Worker.
While being a Bible Worker sitting around in people’s living rooms talking about the Gospel all the time, I was not used to strenuous physical labor. I found it very hard to get up at 2am every morning, and even harder to do strenuous labor while I should have been sleeping in the middle of the night. It made my whole daily routine very difficult especially at first. There was no time for me to waste. Every moment of my day had to be carefully planned in order to make things work out. One of the hardest parts was having to go to bed around the time all my friends were getting off work. And of course being a Bible Worker and giving Bible studies in the evenings, sometimes I had to get by on 3 hours sleep. I remember being at work when the sun rose and when it sat, and thinking to myself, I am constantly working, I will never be able to just sit and watch a sunset ever again.
After a few weeks my fiancée broke up with me. Why is another story, but I had a lot of growing up to do still. Anyway I was devastated. I was stressed with a crazy work schedule between two jobs, and my motivation was gone. The night after she broke up with me my alarm sounded as usual at 2AM. I rolled over in bed to turn off the alarm feeling totally emotionally and physically drained. I realized I was not getting married. I got this middle of the night job to provide insurance for my bride to be, which was now not to be. I told myself I did not need my UPS job anymore and to just roll over and go back to sleep, and forget about UPS. It was a hard thankless job in the middle of the night which I no longer needed. While all of that made perfect sense I found myself going in to work. Friends, I want this to sink in because this is where God’s grace totally took over. This is not about my faith, it is about the faithfulness of Jesus. I told myself to go back to bed and forget about UPS. I decided to quit UPS, but I still found myself going in to work regardless. I had no clue what I was doing. My heart and mind were in a blind fog, while I kept a job I did not think I needed nor wanted. I kept going to a job that I had decided to quit and had no idea why I was still going to work at 3am but I was.
While I was totally mystified and confused by my actions, just a few weeks later it all made sense. The three church district I served as a Bible Worker for several years decided to let me go. They wanted to start a church school and could not afford that and a Bible Worker. Suddenly UPS, the job I thought I did not need became my only source of income. I look back now and realize why I got up and went to work that night, even though I actually decided to quit. I had no idea I would soon be losing my Bible Worker job. That night when I told myself to roll over and go back to sleep and forget about UPS, God’s grace and faithfulness yanked me up and said, “Nope! You are going to work. You don’t know why but God knows why.”
I kept my job at UPS and even became a part time supervisor before it was all over. I found another day job as well, and kept giving Bible studies when I could as well as preaching every Sabbath as a lay person. I learned to organize every moment of my day, even my Bible study and prayer time. A few times over the years I would wake up after I was already supposed to be at work, but would still pray and study my Bible before going to work. I told myself, if life gets too busy for me to spend time with God then life has just defeated its purpose. I was not going to defeat the purpose of life just for the sake of mere “survival.” I learned to keep my Bible with me and to listen to Bible tapes in the car. While both jobs combined kept me away from home for 16 hours a day I hired a housekeeper. Little by little even while working 16 hours a day my life became normal, purposeful and enjoyable. I was no longer stressed. I was happy and my heart and mind where no longer in a blind fog.
By the way, you know how I said I felt like I would never get to watch another sunset for the rest of my life? Well as insignificant as that may sound, God was even working on that small aspect of my life. Years later God totally uprooted me from my life in Texas and gave me a ministry in Florida, where I have watched countless beautifully magnificent sunsets on the Gulf. God is so graceful and faithful in every aspect of our lives. Even the little things we think don’t matter in the grand scheme of the Great Controversy are still important to a graceful and faithful God. He cares so much about us!
Still, I look back to that night when I woke up with my heart and mind in a fog and decided to quit my UPS job. God’s grace and faithfulness took me to work that night. God knew something I didn’t. That night God picked me up and carried me through the fog and into beautiful sunny days.
Seems like I have been in Florida forever now. I will find myself walking along the beach with one or a few of my Floridian friends, and as we pause to watch another beautiful sunset for the umpteenth time I will sometimes laugh to myself and think, “Back in Texas I could not see through the fog and thought I would never watch another sunset. Fool! You watch them all the time now. Great is His faithfulness!”
Shortly after my mother died, I went to a restaurant alone, to write in my journal about my thoughts about my recent loss. My mother’s name was “Sara,” so I thought it interesting when the waitress came to my table and told me her name was “Sara.” I ordered my usual favorite beverage, but the waitress brought my mother’s favorite beverage instead, by mistake. Even in my grief I could not help but see the humor. I told a friend who I used to go to church with, about the irony of the waitress having my mother’s name and bringing me my mother’s soda. I was surprised when my friend assured me it was my mother who caused all those ironies, to let me know she was still with me. I had to remind my friend what we learned in the Bible about what happens when a person dies.
For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 NKJV.
By things my Adventist friends are telling me, and things they share on their Facebook pages, like wishing their dead loved ones a “happy heavenly birthday” and so on, is showing me that even many Adventists are falling for the deception of spiritualism. It gives them a false sense of comfort to think that their dead loved one is still watching over them. Does God not do a good job of watching over us? Can we not trust God so we trust our dead loved ones to care for us instead? They want to believe in signs letting them know their dead loved one still loves them. This would not be a temptation if they realized how much God loves them. When my mother died there were so many miracles letting me know that God cared. A friend sent me a substantial amount of money, totally unsolicited, which was greatly needed. When I pleaded with God He woke my mother up from unconsciousness one last time so I could tell her I loved her before she fell asleep in Jesus. Shortly after my mother died I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and cried out to God that I was all alone in the world. At that same moment when I cried out to God, I received a text message from a friend from out of state, with whom I had not spoken in ages. He texted me to remind me that God loves me, and so do my friends. These were not miracles from my mother letting me know she cared. These were greater and more wonderful miracles from God showing me God cares.
When people are more comforted by a supposed miracle from a dead loved one than from God Himself, it shows that they love their dead loved one more than God. That is making an idol of their dead loved one. Why should it mean more to get a “heavenly message” from a dead loved one than from God Himself? God is constantly showering us with love and miracles. When we credit those miracles to our dead loved ones we are now putting our dead loved ones in the place of God. A gentle breeze brushing my face means a lot more to me, coming from God, than it would even if it could come from a dead loved one. Why should a dead loved one, or even a living being, mean more to me than God?
I knew an elderly Adventist woman who lived in a small Adventist community. Her husband died and was buried in a cemetery just a block or so from her house. About every day, she would visit his grave and “talk” to him. One day she looked out her front window and perceived him walking up the sidewalk. He stopped at the window and stared at her through the glass. Being an Adventist and knowing the state of the dead, she knew it was not her husband, but a demon. This scared her into realizing she had been putting herself on the devil’s playground by her excessive visits, talking to her dead husband at his grave. After this experience she never returned to his grave. After all, she did not need to talk to her dead husband. She needed to be talking to Jesus, who could hear what she was saying, just like Saul did not need to be talking to dead Samuel. He should have been talking to God. I don’t know if a demon really personified itself as this woman’s husband, or if it was just her imagination. She claimed it was real and not just her imagination. Either way, it was a direct result of her acting like she was talking to the dead – which spiritualism teaches to be a real possibility, but the Bible teaches is an impossibility.
Years ago, a friend came back from vacation with a terrible story. While he was visiting his in-laws, his wife’s sister’s toddler drowned in the pool. On the way to the hospital, the wife’s sister was pleading with the virgin Mary to save her son. Mary is dead. There was nothing Mary could do anyway. The elderly Adventist woman, and my friend’s sister-in-law should not have been talking to dead people. That is a waste of time. They know nothing. We need to be talking to Jesus who can hear us, and does love us and constantly provides miracles, showering us with love.
I attended a wedding where the groom had lost his father a couple of years before the wedding. All through the wedding and reception it was repeated over and over that the groom’s father was dead and could not be at the wedding. So much emphasis was placed on the father not being there that it was almost like all the living people there did not matter. I am not one to tell people how to grieve, and forgive me, I am not trying to sound cold, but this seems like another form of idol worship. What was to be a joyous and sacred service turned out to be all about the groom’s dead loved one. What about his new bride? What about all the family and friends who were there? Did they mean nothing? Did our heavenly Father’s presence mean nothing? When we spend all our time grieving those who are gone, we fail to appreciate our loved ones who are still with us. We fail to appreciate God’s love.
Of course we all grieve, and that is healthy and natural. But excessive grief, which does not allow us to be in the moment and appreciate God and those still living, could be a form of idolatry. Feeling the need to credit dead loved ones for miracles and answered prayers is idolatry. Even thinking that we need a dead family member’s love more than we need God’s love is idolatry. As much as my family loves me, God loves me more. As much as I need my family, I need God more. As much as I love my family, I love God more. I can’t allow any loved one, living or dead, to take God’s place in my life. Spiritualism teaches us to put dead loved ones in the place of God. By giving dead loved ones excessive attention and adoration it becomes worship and idolatry. Only God Himself deserves that much attention and adoration. By wishing to pray or communicate with dead loved ones supposedly in heaven is to put them in God’s place. God is in heaven and I can pray and communicate with Him. We don’t need to talk to our dead loved ones when we can talk to God Himself. We don’t need spiritualism or idolatry which puts dead loved ones in God’s place in heaven. We have a God in heaven who loves and cares for us more than any loved one can. We have a God in heaven who can take care of us better than any family member. Let’s give our sleeping loved ones the rest they deserve and worship God who is Worthy of our trust and worship.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Study:What clear instruction did God give His people about life after death, and where do we find our hope?
Apply: What examples of modern spiritualism exist in your culture today? Why is firm adherence to the Word of God our only protection?
Share: Your friend tells you he believes when you die you go straight to heaven, because years ago when he was on the operating table he temporarily died and saw a bright light which he believes was heaven. It was very real and he personally experienced it. What do you tell your friend?
Study: What did the prophets write about the influence of sun worship in Israel and Judah? (See also Rom. 1:25).
Apply: Look around at how prevalent Sunday worship is in Christian churches. What should this fact teach us about how pervasive Satan’s deceptions are? Again, as with the state of the dead, what is our only safeguard?
Share: Your friend says his pastor says we don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath because in the New Testament we have grace. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Ezekiel 20:1-20. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What is the gist of Ezekiel’s message here, and how does the Sabbath fit in with this call to faithfulness?
Share: Your friend says that Sunday worship and the immortality of the soul could not possibly be wrong since so many Christians around the world adhere to these doctrines. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Revelation 18:4-5. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What is God’s appeal to multitudes still in fallen religious organizations?
Apply: See Matthew 15:3, 8-9. How do we keep ourselves safe from false theology and practices?
Share: Can you think of someone who would be encouraged by something in this week’s study? How can you plan to share it with them this week?
As Adventists, we believe that in the last days there will be a showdown between spiritual Babylon and those who have the seal of God, who reflect the character of Jesus. While Daniel had his haters, it amazes me how he seemed to thrive and even find favor among the leaders of Babylon and Persia. Daniel was not one to compromise his standards. The life of Daniel shows us that it is possible to live a life of uncompromising integrity and still get along with those of different beliefs and lifestyles. Years later, Paul wrote,
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, Titus 2:11-12 NLT
We can’t wait for heaven to live a righteous life. God’s grace empowers us to reflect Christ’s character in this evil world. Daniel is an example of how we can be like Jesus in the midst of corruption. Let’s take a look.
Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.” Daniel 2:24 NLT
When Daniel received the vision the king had dreamed, his first thought was to save the lives of the wicked wise men. Jesus always put the salvation of others first, and did Daniel too. The wise men in Daniel’s day were preserved by the integrity of Daniel. In Genesis 12:3, God said all the families of the earth (not just believers) would be blessed by the Messiah. Likewise, even the unbelievers of Daniel’s day were blessed by Daniel’s integrity. In the last days, I believe men and women of God will be a blessing to the evil world around them.
I marvel at Daniel’s humility. In Daniel 1:20, Daniel and his friends were found to be ten times wiser than the other wise men, but look at what Daniel says when he tells the king his dream.
And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart. Daniel 2:30 NLT
Daniel did not claim to have any special wisdom, and neither did Jesus. Jesus always pointed people to the Scriptures, instead of spouting off like a know-it-all. Daniel did not claim to have any special abilities, and neither did Jesus. Look at what Jesus says about Himself,
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. John 5:19 NLT
Look at what Jesus says about others who believe.
I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. John 14:12 NLT
Daniel lived a life of uncompromising integrity in the midst of Babylon and Persia. Amidst his haters, he more than survived; he thrived and found favor, even among wicked rulers. Some blame corruption in the workplace for why they were passed over for promotions, but God promoted Daniel right in the heart of all the corruption. God can promote you too, anytime, anywhere.
Jesus lived a life of uncompromising integrity, in the heart of the Roman Empire and a corrupt religious system. He too had His haters, but He too found favor “with both God and man” and was able to tell His Father,
I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. John 17:4
Daniel lived a life of uncompromising integrity, and thrived among all the corruption of Babylon. Jesus lived a life of uncompromising integrity, and thrived amid pagan Rome and a religious system that left a lot to be desired. So today, in the midst of spiritual Babylon, by God’s grace, we can live a life of uncompromising integrity, and make friends along the way, if we will depend fully on our Father God, just as Daniel and Jesus did.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Study: What solemn announcement does the angel make, and what did Babylon do to warrant such an announcement?
Apply: Both leaders and the common people alike have been negatively influenced by this power. What’s our only protection? (Read Eph. 6:10-18).
Share: Your friend points out that Isaiah 21:9 mentions that Babylon has fallen, and asks what are the parallels of ancient and modern spiritual Babylon? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Revelation 18:1-4. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: How extensive is Babylon’s influence?
Apply: What role do those who proclaim the three angels’ messages have in being used by God to call “my people,” His people, out of Babylon?
Share: You friend asks, when people come out of Babylon where do they go? What do you tell your friend?
Study: What do these verses teach us about the nature of this evil system?
Apply: How can we protect ourselves from the subtle influences of Babylon, such as the tendency, easy as it is, to depend upon ourselves and not wholly upon God?
Share: Your friend asks, If God is calling His people out of Babylon who do we warn them about the system of Babylon without condemning God’s people who are still in Babylon? What do you tell your friend?
A while back, I had a conversation with a former Sabbath keeping friend who had first turned away from the Sabbath, and then gradually started turning away from other Bible teachings as well. Sadly, this confirmed for me that the same logic some Christians use to do away with the Spirit of Prophecy and the Sabbath, is the same logic atheists use to do away with the entire Bible.
My friend told me that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday in the Bible, without giving me any Scripture to back up his claim. In another breath, he told me the Sabbath was done away with altogether. I asked him why Constantine changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday in the third century, if it had already been done away with or changed, centuries earlier? He gave me no reply.
He told me the Sabbath was only given to the Jews, yet here is what I found in my Bible.
So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. Genesis 2:1-3 NLT
My friend told me that God kept the Sabbath at creation but Adam and Eve didn’t. He told me the Sabbath was never kept by man until Exodus 20:8-11. I answered with the question: Did God Tell Adam and Eve to Keep the Sabbath, by pointing out that the Sabbath was made, when it was made at creation for all mankind, according to Jesus in Mark 2:27? Also, the Sabbath was already an institution in Exodus 16, before the law was given. As a matter of fact, while some argue that the law was done away with, which it was not, you still have the Sabbath at creation, before there was ever a Jew or the law was given to Moses. So, even if you could argue that the ten commandments were done away with, you still have the Sabbath long before the ten commandments were given.
The argument came up, that the Sabbath was only given to the Jews, because it was a sign to them that they were God’s people, to which I replied, “I want to be a part of God’s people too!” Does that mean that I also need to keep the Sabbath? Was the Sabbath given to Jews only?
“I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord, who serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who hold fast to my covenant.” Isaiah 56:6 NLT
Clearly, the Sabbath was not only given to the Jews, but is for everyone who wants in on the everlasting covenant. The Sabbath was not given as a sign that anyone was a Jew. It was a sign given to anyone who was a part of God’s people.
The claim was presented that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday as a memorial to the resurrection. While such a claim is found nowhere in Scripture, the book of Romans gives us a memorial to the resurrection. Baptism is the memorial to the resurrection, and not Sunday observance.
Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. Romans 6:3-7 NLT
It was then said, that Jesus is our rest. If Jesus is our Rest, do we Still Need a Weekly Sabbath? The fact is that Jesus has always been our rest. We have never been saved by works or by the law. Just like we do not throw our country’s flag away because we have the country it represents, likewise we do not do away with the weekly Sabbath, which is a weekly reminder that Jesus is our rest.
Exodus 20:8-11 tells us the Sabbath is a weekly reminder of our Creator.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8-11 NLT
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 tells us the Sabbath is a weekly reminder of our deliverance from bondage.
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 NLT
God has given us the weekly Sabbath as a constant reminder that we are twice His. First, at creation he made us, and then, at the cross He bought us. While atheism is gaining ground in much of the world, we need the weekly Sabbath now more than ever as a constant reminder of our Creator. As we battle legalism in the world, and even in the church, we need the weekly Sabbath now more than ever as a constant reminder that only God’s grace can save us from the bondage of sin. We need that weekly reminder that Jesus is our Sabbath rest.
We also need the Sabbath for physical as well as spiritual rest. People talk about how much longer health-conscious Seventh-day Adventists live because of our diet, but I believe our longevity is also due to the fact that we have a weekly Sabbath rest. We need a break from worldly cares and stress, as we rest on the Sabbath and devote time to God and His family. It is interesting to me that many people who want to say that we are not “bound” to keeping the Sabbath, say so as if that is good news. I am wondering why it would be good news to someone who loves Jesus to say that we don’t “have” to spend an entire day with Him? If we can’t be happy dedicating an entire day to God, how could we possibly be happy spending all eternity with Him? Why would someone who loves God consider the Sabbath a burden? Do people tell their spouse that going on a date with them is a burden?
They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you… Exodus 16:29 NLT
God has given the Sabbath as a sign that we are His people. The Sabbath was never a sign given to the Jews that they were Jews. It was a sign given to the Jews and everyone else choosing to be in on the everlasting covenant that we are all His people. Satan would love to have us forget the Sabbath, so that we will forget God. If Satan can make us forget God, then he can set up his own counterfeit Sabbath. We need the weekly Sabbath today, more than ever, as a weekly constant reminder that we have a Creator who loves us. We need the weekly Sabbath now, more than ever, to remind us that we are not saved by our works or by legalism. The Sabbath is a constant reminder of salvation by grace and the rest we have in Jesus. We need the weekly Sabbath now, more than ever, to give us a weekly rest from all the stress and cares of this life.
In Light of The Cross 
