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The Sabbath

Is The Seal of God


Chapter 91.
Institution of the Sabbath
1. WHEN and by whom was the Sabbath made?
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And
_____________________________ which He had made; ____________________
from all His work which He had made." Gen. 2:1,2.
2. After resting on the seventh day, what did God do?
"And God __________________________________: because that in it He had rested
from all His work which God created and made." Verse 3.
3. By what three distinct acts, then, was the Sabbath made?
God ______________on it; He ____________ it; He _______________ it.
Sanctify: "To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or religious use."-Webster.
4. Did Christ have anything to do with creation and the making of the Sabbath?
"All things were made ____________________________________." John 1:3. See
also Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2.
NOTE.-Christ, being the active agent in creation, must have rested on the seventh day with the
Father. It is therefore His rest day as well as the Father's.
5. For whom does Christ say the Sabbath was made?
"And He said unto them, ____________________________, and not man for the
Sabbath." Mark 2:27.
NOTE.-It was not made for the Jews alone. The Jews derive their name from Judah, one of the
twelve sons of Jacob, from whom they are descended. The Sabbath was made more than two
thousand years before there was a Jew. When Paul says, "Neither was the man created for the
woman; but the woman for the man" (1 Cor. 11:9), we understand him to mean that marriage was
ordained of God for all men. So likewise with the Sabbath. It was made for the race.
6. What does the Sabbath commandment require?
"_______________________. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: _________________________, thou,
nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle,
nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." Ex. 20:8-10.
7. What reason is given in the commandment for keeping the Sabbath day holy?
"_____________________________________________: wherefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Verse 11.
NOTE.-The Sabbath is the memorial of creation, and the sign of God's creative power. Through
the keeping of it God designed that man should forever remember Him as the true and living
God, the Creator of all things.
8. Did God bless and sanctify the seventh day while He was resting upon it, or
when His rest on that day was past?
"And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: ______________________which
God created and made." Gen. 2:3.
NOTES.-God blessed and sanctified the seventh day then future, answering to the day on which
He had just rested. The acts of blessing and sanctifying involve the idea of a future use of those
things which are blessed and sanctified. Past time cannot be used. It is gone forever. The blessing
and sanctification of the day, therefore, must have related to the future- to all the future seventh
days.
In Joel 1:14 we read: "Sanctify [i. e., appoint] ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord." Wherever used in the Bible, the
word sanctify means to appoint, to proclaim, or to set apart, as in the margin of Joshua 20:7; , 2
Kings 10:20,21; Zeph. 1:7. So when the Sabbath was sanctified, as the last act by which it was
made for man, an appointment, or proclamation, of the Sabbath was given. See Ex. 19:23.
"If we had no other passage than this of Gen. 2:3, there would be no difficulty in deducing from
it a precept for the universal observance of a Sabbath, or seventh day, to be devoted to God as
holy time, by all of that race for whom the earth and its nature were specially prepared. The first
men must have known it. The words He hallowed it can have no meaning otherwise. They would
be a blank unless in reference to some who were required to keep it holy."- Lange's Commentary,
Vol. I, page 197.
9. How did God prove Israel in the wilderness?
"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, ___________________________; and the
people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day; ____________________." Ex.
16:4.
10. On which day was a double portion of manna gathered?
"And it came to pass, that ___________________________________, two omers for
one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses." Verse 22.
11. What reply did Moses make to the rulers?
"And he said unto them, ____________________________________ unto the Lord."
Verse 23.
NOTE.-This was a full month and more before they came to Sinai.
12. When had God said this?
In the beginning, when He sanctified the Sabbath. Gen. 2:3.
NOTE.-In the wilderness of Sin, before Israel came to Sinai, Moses said to Jethro, his father-in-
law, "I do make them know the statutes of God, and His laws" (Ex. 18:16), which shows that
these statutes and laws existed before they were proclaimed on Sinai.
13. What did some of the people do on the seventh day?
"It came to pass, that ____________________________________, and they found
none." Ex. 16:27.
14. How did God reprove their disobedience?
"And the Lord said unto Moses, _________________________________?" Verse
28.
15. Why was double manna given on the sixth day?
"See, __________________________________________; abide ye every man in his
place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." Verse 29.
16. How, then, did the Lord prove the people (verse 4) whether they would keep
His law, or not?
Over the keeping of the Sabbath.
NOTE.-Thus we see that the Sabbath commandment was a part of God's law before this law was
spoken from Sinai; for this incident occurred in the wilderness of Sin, before the children of
Israel came to Sinai, where the law was given. Both the Sabbath and the law existed from
creation.
Chapter 92.
God's Memorial
1. WHAT is to endure throughout all generations?
"Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever; and ____________________________." Ps.
135:13.
Memorial: "Anything intended to preserve the memory of a person or event; something which
serves to keep some person or thing in remembrance, as a monument or a practise."-Webster.
2. What illustration of this is given in the Bible?
"And ________________________ unto the children of Israel forever." Joshua 4:7.
3. What are these stones to commemorate?
"And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their
fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? then _________________
__________________." Verses 21,22.
NOTE.-These stones were to be a standing memorial, or reminder, of Israel's coming dry-shod
over the Jordan.
4. What was another memorial instituted to commemorate another signal
providence in behalf of the Israelites?
"And _________________________; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord
throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." Ex.
12:14.
NOTE.-This, the Passover, was a periodical memorial, to be observed on the fourteenth day of
the first month of each year, the day on which the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian
bondage, and its celebration was to be, with the seven days' feast of unleavened bread following
and connected with it, in commemoration of that event. See Ex. 13:3-9.
5. Does God design that His great work of creating the heavens and the earth
shall be remembered?
"The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
His work is honorable and glorious: and His righteousness endureth forever.
__________________________________________________." Ps. 111:2-4.
6. What has He commanded men to observe in memory of this great work?
_________________________________________ holy; . . . for in six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11.
7. Of what was this memorial to be a sign?
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you,
____________________________________." Eze. 20:20.
8. How long was the Sabbath to be a sign of the true God?
"_______________________________: for in six days the Lord made heaven and
earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31:17.
NOTE.-It is manifest that if the object of the Sabbath was to keep God as the Creator in mind,
and it had been faithfully kept from the first, there would not now be a heathen or an idolater on
the face of the earth.
9. What besides creation were Israel to remember when they kept the Sabbath?
"_________________________________________: therefore the Lord thy God
commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." Deut. 5:15.
NOTE.-There is a deep significance to this scripture not apparent to those unacquainted with the
facts. In Egypt, through oppression and idolatrous surroundings, the keeping of the Sabbath had
become not only almost obsolete, but well-nigh impossible. See reading on "Reasons for
Sabbath-Keeping," under questions 9 and 10, on Chapter 93 of this book. Their deliverance from
bondage was in order that they might keep God's law (Ps. 105:43-45), and particularly the
Sabbath, the great seal, sign, and memorial-institution of the law. The recollection of their
bondage and oppressed condition in Egypt was to be an additional incentive for keeping the
Sabbath in the land of freedom. The Sabbath, therefore, besides being a memorial of creation,
was to be to them a memorial of their deliverance from bondage, and of the great power of God
as manifested in this deliverance. And as Egypt stands as a symbol of the condition of everyone
in the world under the slavery of sin, so the Sabbath is to be kept by every saved soul as a
memorial of the deliverance from this slavery by the mighty power of God through Christ.
10. Of what else does God say He gave the Sabbath to His people to be a sign, or
reminder?
"Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them,
_____________________________________________." Eze. 20:12.
NOTE.-Sanctification is a work of redemption,- of making holy sinful or unholy beings. Like the
work of creation itself, this requires creative power. See Ps. 51:10; John 3:3,6; Eph. 2:10. And as
the Sabbath is the appropriate sign or memorial of the creative power of God wherever
displayed, whether in creation, deliverance from human bondage, or deliverance from the slavery
of sin, it is to be kept as a sign of the work of sanctification. This will be one great reason for the
saints' keeping it throughout eternity. It will remind them not only of their own creation and the
creation of the universe, but also of their redemption.
11. Through whom do we have sanctification?
"But of Him are ye in _____________, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and _______________, and redemption." 1 Cor. 1:30.
NOTE.-Then, as the Sabbath is a sign or memorial of sanctification, and as Christ is the one
through whom the work of sanctification is accomplished, the Sabbath is a sign or memorial of
what Christ is to the believer. Through the Sabbath, therefore, God designed that the believer and
Christ should be very closely linked together.
12. What statement of the redeemed shows that they will remember God's
creative power?
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:
________________________, and for Thy pleasure they are and were ______." Rev.
4:11.
13. How often will they congregate to worship the Lord?
"For 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 _________________________________, shall all flesh come to worship
before Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:22,23.
NOTE.-The Sabbath, which is the memorial of God's creative power, will never cease to exist.
When this sinful state of things shall give way to the sinless new earth, the fact upon which the
Sabbath institution is based will still remain; and those who shall be permitted to live in the new
earth will still commemorate the creative power of God, while singing the song of Moses and the
Lamb. Rev. 15:3. See Rev. 22:1,2.
Chapter 93.
Reasons for Sabbath-Keeping
1. WHAT is the one great feature by which the true God is distinguished from all
false gods?
"The Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king. . . . The
__________________________________, even they shall perish from the earth, and
from under these heavens. _____________________, He hath established the world
by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion." Jer. 10:10-12.
2. When Paul wished to preach the true God to the idolatrous Athenians, how did
he describe Him?
"Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you.
________________________________." Acts 17:23,24.
3. What did the apostles say to the idolaters at Lystran?
"We. . . preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto ____________,
________________________________." Acts 14:15. See also Rev. 10:6; 14:6,7.
4. What reason is given in the fourth commandment for keeping the Sabbath day
holy?
"_______________________________________________________." Ex. 20:11.
NOTES.-The Sabbath is the great memorial or creation and or God's creative power, a constant
reminder or the true and living God. God's design in making the Sabbath, and in commanding
that it be kept holy, was that man might never forget Him, the Creator of all things.
"The original Sabbath being a perpetual memorial of God, the Creator calling man to imitate
God in the observance of the same, man could not keep the original Sabbath and forget God."-
Prof. E. W. Thomas, M. A., in Herald of Gospel Liberty, June 19,1890.
When we remember that two thirds of the world's inhabitants today are idolaters, and that since
the fall, idolatry, with its train of associated and resultant evils, has ever been a prevailing sin,
and then think that the observance of the Sabbath, as God ordained it, would have prevented all
this, we can better appreciate the value of the Sabbath institution, and the importance of Sabbath-
keeping.
5. What does God say the Sabbath will be to those who hallow it, or keep it holy?
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and ______________________________." Eze. 20:20.
6. How important is it that we know God?
"And ______________________, that they might know Thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." John 17:3.
7. Is there any danger of God's chosen people forgetting Him?
"_______________________________, in not keeping His commandments, and His
judgments, and His statutes." Deut. 8:11.
8. What other reason is given for keeping the Sabbath?
"Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: ___________________________ SANCTIFY
_________________." Ex. 31:13.
NOTE.-To sanctify is to make holy, or to set apart for a holy use. The sanctification, or making
holy, of sinful beings can be wrought only by the creative power of God through Christ by the
Holy Spirit. In I Cor. 1:30 we are told that Christ is made unto us "sanctification;" and in Eph.
2:10 it is said that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." The
Sabbath, therefore, is a sign of sanctification, and thus of what Christ is to the believer, because it
is a reminder of the creative power of God as manifested in the work of regeneration. It is the
sign of the power of God, therefore, in both creation and redemption. To the believer, it is the
evidence, or sign, that he knows the true God, who, through Christ, created all things, and who,
through Christ, redeems the sinner and makes him whole.
9. What special reason did the Israelites have for keeping the Sabbath?
"_________________________________________________: therefore the Lord thy
God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." Deut. 5:15.
NOTE.-In their bondage the Israelites had to some extent lost the knowledge of God, and
departed from His precepts. The Sabbath came to be greatly disregarded by them; and in
consequence of the oppression of the Pharaohs, especially the Pharaoh of the exodus, as
witnessed by the rigorous exactions made upon them by this latter king through their
taskmasters, its observance was made apparently impossible. See Ex. 5:1-19. The special point,
both of reform and of conflict, just preceding their deliverance from bondage, was over the
matter of Sabbath observance. Moses and Aaron had shown them that obedience to God was the
first condition of deliverance. Their efforts to restore the observance of the Sabbath among the
Israelites had come to the notice of Pharaoh; hence his accusation against them, "Wherefore do
ye, Moses and Aaron, let [hinder] the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. . . .
Behold, the people of the land are many, and ye make them rest [Heb., Shabbath] from their
burdens." Ex. 5:4,5. Deliverance from this oppression was indeed, therefore, an additional and
special reason for their keeping the Sabbath. But Egypt and Egyptian bondage simply represent
sin and the bondage of sin. See Rev. 11:8; Hosea 11:1; Matt. 2:15; Zech. 10:10. Every one,
therefore who has been delivered from sin has the same reason for keeping the Sabbath as had
the Israelites who were released from Egyptian bondage.
10. What does the psalmist say was the reason why God brought His people out
of Egypt, and placed them in Canaan?
"And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness: and gave
them the lands of the heathen: . . . that they
_________________________________." Ps, 105:43-45.
NOTE.-Their deliverance from Egyptian bondage was a reason for the keeping not only of the
fourth commandment, but of every precept of God's law. This is indicated by the preface or
preamble to the law as given on Sinai: "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," etc.
Ex. 20:2,3. See also Lev. 19:35-37; Deut. 10:19; 15:2-15; 24:17,18. Likewise, every one who,
through Christ, has been delivered from the bondage of sin, God calls to obedience, not only in
the matter of Sabbath-keeping, but to every precept of His holy law. 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." Isa. 56:2.
11. What is the meaning of the word sabbath?
Rest.
NOTE.-Previous to the fall, God designed that man's time should be occupied with pleasant,
invigorating, but not wearisome labor. Gen. 2:15. Laborious, wearisome toil came in
consequence of sin. Gen. 3:17-19. While under the fall the Sabbath, therefore, may bring
physical rest to both man and the beasts of burden (Ex. 23:12) in a way not originally intended,
physical rest was not its original and primary design or purpose. Cessation from the ordinary
labors and occupations of the week was ordained, not because these are wrong or sinful in
themselves, but that man might have an appointed time and a frequently recurring period for the
contemplation of the Creator and His works. Under the gospel, the Sabbath is a sign of spiritual
rest and freedom from sin. So we read, "For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased
from his own works, as God did from His." Heb. 4:10.
12. Who gives this rest from sin?
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and ___________________.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls." Matt. 11:28,29.
NOTE.-The Sabbath, then, is the sign of the soul-rest which Christ gives to the weary and
ladened with sin.
13. Was the Sabbath intended as a day for public worship?
"_______________________________________________________." Lev. 23:3.
NOTE.-A convocation is an assembly of people.
14. Does the New Testament teach the same duty?
"Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
________________________________, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Heb. 10:24,25.
15. What does Malachi say of those that fear the Lord?
"Then they that feared the Lord ________________________: and the Lord
harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them
that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be Mine, saith
the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a
man spareth his own son that serveth him." Mal. 3:16,17.
16. Will the Sabbath be observed as a day of worship in the new earth?
"For 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
____________________________________." Isa. 66:22,23.
NOTE.-"Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless till it find its rest in Thee."-St.
Augustine.
Chapter 94.
Manner of Observing
the Sabbath
1. WHAT is first commanded in the Sabbath commandment?
"_______________ the Sabbath day." Ex. 20:8.
2. Which day is the Sabbath?
"________________ is the Sabbath." Verse 10.
3. For what purpose are we to remember the Sabbath day?
"Remember the Sabbath day, ________________." Verse 8.
NOTE.-All through the week the keeping holy of the Sabbath day is to be remembered, or borne
in mind. No business contracts or arrangements are to be made, no manner of living indulged in,
which will prevent or interfere with the proper or holy observance of the day when it comes. The
keeping of this commandment, therefore, is in the interests of, and with a view to, holy living all
the time. The commandment itself enjoins a duty, and is to be kept, all through the week; the
Sabbath is to be kept when it comes. The Sabbath commandment, therefore, like every other
precept of the decalogue, but contrary to the conception of many, is to be kept all the time, and
not simply one day in the week. In this matter we should distinguish between the Sabbath and
the Sabbath commandment.
4. Who made the Sabbath day holy?
"Wherefore the ________ blessed the Sabbath day, and ______________." Verse 11.
NOTE.-God made the Sabbath day holy; we are to keep it holy.
5. What is it that makes a thing holy?
God's ___________in it. See Ex. 3:5; 29:43-46; Joshua. 5:13-15.
6. Then in order to keep the Sabbath day holy, what must be recognized?
God's ___________ in the day; His _________ upon it; and His ___________ of it.
7. When, according to the Bible, does the Sabbath begin?
"And the _____________and the morning were the first day."
"And the ___________ and the morning were the second day," etc. See Gen. 1:5, 8,
13, 19, 23, 31.
NOTE.-The evening begins "at the going down of the sun." See Deut.16:6; Mark 1:32; Deut.
23:11; 1 Kings 22:35,36; 2 Chron.18:34.
8. Does the Bible recognize this as the proper time for beginning and ending the
Sabbath?
"_______________, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." Lev. 23:32.
NOTE.-One great advantage of keeping the Sabbath according to the Bible method of reckoning
the day, that is, from sunset to sunset, over keeping it according to the Roman reckoning, or from
midnight to midnight, is that by the former one is awake to welcome and to bid adieu to the day
when it comes and goes, while by the latter he is asleep when the day begins and ends. God's
ways are always best. The setting of the sun is a great natural sign for marking the division of
time into days.
9. What kind of labor is to be done through the week?
"Six days shalt thou labor, and do all _________." Ex. 20:9.
10. Is any of this kind of work to be done on the Sabbath?
"In it thou shalt not do _________." Verse 10.
NOTE.-If the Sabbath is to be kept "holy," mere physical rest one day in seven cannot be the
great object of the Sabbath institution.
11. How does the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, indicate what is true
Sabbath-keeping?
"If thou ______________________, from doing _______________ on My holy day;
and ____________________________; and shalt _________________________:
then shalt thou _____________________; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high
places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it." Isa. 58:13,14.
NOTE.-"Whether the Sabbath becomes a delight or a burden depends upon the spirit with which
a man meets it. Indeed, the spirit of the man settles the question as to the benefits to come from
any duty he may perform. One man cannot understand why his neighbor should prefer the park
or the ball ground to the church, simply because his spirit is different. He has cultivated the
higher nature until he loves spiritual things above all others, and to him the Sabbath is indeed a
delight. It comes to his weary soul as a reminder of God, and brings him nearer to heaven in
heart and mind than does any other day."-Sabbath Recorder, Dec. 12,1910.
12. What is the character of God, and how only can He be truly worshiped?
"___________________: and they that. worship Him must worship Him
___________________________." John 4:24.
NOTE.-This is one reason why the attempt to produce Sabbath-keeping by human Sabbath laws
is altogether out of place. Such laws can never produce true Sabbath-keeping, for that is
spiritual, and must be of the mind and from the heart, and not perfunctory, mechanical, nor of
force.
13. What is one thing for which God has given the Sabbath to be a sign?
That He ________________ His people, or makes them holy. See Ex. 31:13; Eze.
20:12; and Chapter 92.
14. What does the "psalm for the Sabbath day" suggest as proper acts and
themes for thought and meditation on the Sabbath?
"It is a good thing to ________________, and to _______________________: to
show forth ________________ in the morning, and ___________________ every
night, ______________________, and upon the _____________; upon the _______
with a solemn sound. For Thou, Lord, hast made me glad ________________: I will
triumph in _______________. O Lord, _____________________! and
____________________________." Ps. 92:1-5.
15. What do the works of God declare?
"The heavens declare _______________; and the firmament showeth ____________.
Day unto day uttereth ____________, and night unto night _________________.
There is no speech nor language, where ______________ is not heard." Ps. 19:1-3.
See margin.
NOTE.-God designed that the Sabbath should direct the minds of men to His created works, and
through these to Him, the Creator. Nature itself speaks to our senses, telling us that there is a
God, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the universe. The Sabbath, ever pointing to God through
nature, was designed to keep the Creator constantly in mind. The proper keeping of it, therefore,
must naturally tend to prevent idolatry, atheism, agnosticism, infidelity, irreligion, and
irreverence; and, being promotive of the knowledge and fear of God, must of necessity be a
deterrent to sin. In this may its value and importance be seen.
16. Was the Sabbath designed to be a day for public worship?
"Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest,
_____________________." Lev. 23:3.
NOTE.-The word convocation means "a calling together," and is always used in the Bible with
reference to meetings of a religious character.
17. What example did Christ set in Sabbath observance?
"And as His custom was, _______________________________________." Luke
4:16.
18. What else did Jesus do on the Sabbath?
"And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus ________________________." John 9:14.
NOTE.-A large share of Christ's ministry consisted of miracles and acts of mercy performed for
the relief of suffering humanity; and not a few of these were done on the Sabbath. On this day, as
on other days, He "went about doing good." See next reading.
19. With what words did He justify acts of mercy on the the Sabbath day?
"Wherefore it is _________________ to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12.
NOTE.-Not a little of Christ's earthly ministry was devoted to uplifting the Sabbath, and showing
the beneficent character of the Sabbath institution. It was not meant to be a day of sorrow,
austerity, or gloom. Disinterested works of love and mercy toward man or beast are always in
place on the Sabbath. Lawful means "according to law."
20. What day is especially indicated as the day to prepare for the Sabbath?
"And that day [the sixth day] was ______________________, and the Sabbath drew
on." Luke 23:54. See also Ex. 16:22,23.
NOTE.-In order to keep the Sabbath day holy, it must be remembered all through the week; and
on the sixth day, or the day just before the Sabbath, special preparation should be made to be
ready to welcome and observe the day when it comes.
21. How did the Israelites in the wilderness on the sixth day prepare for the
Sabbath?
"And it came to pass, that _____________________________, two omers for one
man." Ex. 16:22.
NOTES.-The Sabbath should not be a day of either ordinary labor, idleness, or amusement, but
one of rest, reflection, holy joy, worship, and helpfulness. It should be the happiest, the brightest,
and the best of all the week. Such it should be made for young and old. Very early the children
can be taught the stories of creation and redemption, and taken out amid the handiworks of God
and taught to see Him and to commune with Him through nature. Preparation for the Sabbath,
therefore, is an essential to its proper observance. God's blessing is upon the first moments of the
Sabbath as well as upon the last; and, as far as possible, everything should be got in readiness so
that the entire day may be devoted to God and humanity in the manner indicated.
In making the Sabbath, God rested upon, blessed, and sanctified the day. Ex. 20:11. Whoever,
then, keeps the Sabbath aright, may expect that there will be brought into his life God's rest,
blessing, and sanctification.

Chapter 95.
Christ and the Sabbath
1. OF what did Christ say the Son of man is Lord?
"The Son of man is Lord even __________________." Matt. 12:8. See also Mark
2:28.
2. Who made the Sabbath?
"All things were made _____________, [Christ, the Word]; and without Him was not
anything made that was made." John 1:3.
3. Did Christ, while on earth, keep the Sabbath?
"As His custom was, ___________________________________." Luke 4:16.
4. Although Lord, Maker, and an observer of the Sabbath, how was He watched
and spied upon by the scribes and Pharisees on this day?
"And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, _______________________________;
that they might find an accusation against Him." Luke 6:7.
5. With what question did Christ meet their false ideas and reasoning's regarding
Sabbath-keeping?
"Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; _______________________?"
Verse 9.
6. How did they manifest their displeasure at His healing the man with the
withered hand on the Sabbath?
"And they were ____________________________________." Verse 11. "And the
Pharisees went forth, and straightway _______________________________." Mark
3:6.
NOTE.-They were angry because, notwithstanding the fact that by the miracle performed Christ
had given evidence that He was from God, He had shown no respect for their views of Sabbath-
keeping, but, on the contrary, had shown these to be wrong. Wounded pride, obstinacy, and
malice, therefore, combined to fill them with madness; and they went out immediately and held
council with the Herodians,- their political enemies with whom they disagreed in the matter of
paying tribute to a foreign power,- for the purpose of accomplishing His death.
7. Because Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day, and bold him to take up his
bed and walk, what did the Jews do?
"Therefore did the Jews __________________, and ___________________, because
He had done these things on the Sabbath day." John 5:16.
NOTE.-It is a fact worthy of note that over the question of proper Sabbath observance the Jews
not only persecuted Jesus, but first took counsel to kill Him. Not the least of the malice which
finally culminated in His crucifixion, was engendered over this very question of Sabbath
observance. Christ did not keep the Sabbath according to their ideas of Sabbath-keeping, and so
they sought to kill Him. And they are not alone. Many today are cherishing this same spirit.
Because some do not agree with their ideas regarding the Sabbath, or Sabbath observance, they
seek to persecute and oppress them,-seek laws, and alliances with political powers, to compel
respect for their views.
8. How did Jesus answer them?
"But Jesus answered them, _______________________________." Verse 17.
NOTE.-The ordinary operations of nature, as manifested in God's almighty, upholding,
beneficent, and healing power, go on on the Sabbath the same as on other days; and to cooperate
with God and nature in the work of healing, relieving, and restoring on the Sabbath, cannot,
therefore, be out of harmony with God's will, nor a violation of His Sabbath law.
9. What effect did this answer have upon the Jews?
"Therefore the Jews _______________________, because He not only had broken the
Sabbath [i. e., in their estimation], but said also that God was His Father, making
Himself equal with God." Verse 18.
10. Because the disciples plucked a few ears of corn on the Sabbath day to satisfy
hunger, what accusation did the Pharisee make against them to Christ?
"And the Pharisees said unto Him, _______________________________?" Mark
2:24.
11. What was Christ's reply?
"And He said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had, need, and
was an hungered, he, and they that were with him? how he went into the house of God
in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not lawful
to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And He said
unto them, _____________________________________________." Verses 25-27.
12. Because of Christ's healing a woman of an infirmity on the Sabbath, what did
the ruler of a certain synagogue say?
"And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had
healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, _______________________
_________________________." Luke 13:14.
13. How did Christ answer him?
"The Lord then answered him, and said, _______________________________
________________________________________?" Verses 15,16.
14. What effect did Christ's answers have upon the people?
"And when He had said these things, ___________________________________."
Verse 17.
15. By what method of reasoning did Christ justify acts of mercy on the Sabbath
day?
"Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway
pull him out on the Sabbath day? And they could not answer Him again to these
things." Luke 14:5,6. "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep,
and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
How much then is a man better than a sheep? ______________________________."
Matt. 12:11,12.
16. Into what perplexity did Christ's working of miracles on the Sabbath throw
the Pharisees?
"Therefore said some of the Pharisees, _______________________________. Others
said, __________________________________________________." John 9:16.
NOTE.-The working of these wonderful, beneficent, and gracious miracles on the Sabbath was
an evidence that Christ was from God, and that His views of Sabbath-keeping were right. By
these miracles God was setting the seal of His approval to Christ's views and teachings
respecting the Sabbath, and to His manner of of observing it, and thus condemning the narrow
and false views of the Pharisees. Hence the division.
17. According to Isaiah, what was Christ to do with the law?
"He will _____________ the law, and ______________________." Isa. 42:21.
NOTES.-In nothing, perhaps, was this more strikingly fulfilled than in the matter of Sabbath
observance. By their traditions, numerous regulations, and senseless restrictions the Jews had
made the Sabbath a burden, and anything but a delight. Christ removed all these, and by His life
and teachings put the Sabbath back in its proper place and setting, as a day of worship and
beneficence, a day for doing acts of charity and mercy, as well as engaging in contemplation of
God and in acts of devotion. Thus He magnified it and made it honorable. One of the most
prominent features of Christ's whole ministry was this great work of Sabbath reform. Christ did
not abolish the Sabbath, nor change the Sabbath; but He did rescue it from the rubbish of
tradition, the false ideas, and the superstitions with which it had been buried, and by which it had
been degraded and turned aside from the channel of blessing and practical service to man
designed by its Maker. The Pharisees had placed the institution above man, and against man.
Christ reversed the order, and said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath." He showed that it was to minister to the happiness, the comfort, and the well-being of
both man and beast.
Because of the false ideas which the Jews held concerning the Sabbath and its observance, and
the conflict which Christ had with them in consequence, many of the professed followers of
Christ a little later were led into the error of rejecting the Sabbath itself as Jewish, and, without
any divine command or Scripture warrant, to substitute another day in its place.
18. Knowing that the unbelieving Jews would still cling to their false ideas
respecting the Sabbath, and that flight from Jerusalem and Judea on that day
would be attended with difficulty, for what, in view of the coming destruction
and desolation of the city and people, did Christ tell His disciples to pray?
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, ____________________." Matt.
24:20.
NOTE.-Christ's experience with the Jews, the chosen and professed people of God at that time,
respecting the Sabbath is but a type of what, according to prophecy, is to occur in the last days.
Already it is beginning to find its parallel in the movement to enforce Sunday observance by law.
See readings in Chapters 61., 106. and 107. in this book.
Chapter 96.
The Sabbath in the
New Testament
1. ACCORDING to the New Testament, what day immediately precedes the first
day of the week?
"In the end of ______________, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week."
Matt. 28:1.
NOTE.-According to the New Testament, therefore, the Sabbath had passed when the first day of
the week began.
2. After the crucifixion, what day was kept by the women who followed Jesus?
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and
__________________________________________." Luke 23:56.
3. What day is the Sabbath, "according to the commandment"?
"But ___________________________ of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10.
4. What was Christ's custom respecting the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was,
__________________________________________." Luke 4:16.
5. In what instruction to His disciples did Christ recognize the existence of the
Sabbath long after His ascension?
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, ______________________." Matt.
24:20.
NOTE.-The destruction of Jerusalem under Titus occurred in the spring and summer of 70 A.D.
The flight of the Christians took place three and one-half years earlier, or late in October, 66 A.
D., following the arrival and sudden withdrawal of Cestius and his army. See readings in Chapter
68. of this book.
6. On what day did the Jews meet for worship?
"Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the
synagogues every ___________________________." Acts 15:21.
7. On what day did Paul and Barnabas preach at Antioch?
"They came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the ___________."
Acts 13:14.
8. When did the Gentiles request that Paul should repeat the sermon he had
preached at Antioch on the Sabbath?
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these
words might be preached to them __________________________." Verse 42.
9. On what day did Paul and his companions preach to the devout women at
Philippi?
"And ______________________ we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer
was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted
thither." Acts 16:13.
10. What was Paul's manner respecting the Sabbath?
"They came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul,
_______________________________________________." Acts 17:1,2.
NOTE.-It was Paul's manner, as it was Christ's custom (Luke 4:16), to attend religious services
on the Sabbath.
11. How did the apostle spend the working days of the week when at Corinth?
"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a
certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife
Priscilla; . . . and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and
___________: for by their occupation they were ___________." Acts 18:1-3. See Eze.
46:1.
12. What did he do on the Sabbath days?
"And _______________________, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Acts
18:4.
13. How long did he continue this work there?
"And he continued there ___________________, teaching the word of God among
them." Verse 11.
NOTE.-Here, then, were seventy-eight Sabbaths on which Paul preached in one city. The record
further says that he worked at his trade, and we may justly infer that Paul worked at tent-making
just as many Sundays as he preached Sabbaths. If to these seventy-eight Sabbaths we add the
three he spent at Thessalonica, the one at Philippi, and the two at Antioch, we have a record of
eighty-four Sabbaths on which the apostle held religious services, while, so far as the record
shows, he held only one meeting on the first day of the week, and that a night meeting,
immediately following the Sabbath. See Acts 20. Evidently Sunday was not the Sabbath in Paul's
day.
14. On what day was John in the Spirit?
"I was in the Spirit ________________." Rev. 1:10.
15. Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
"_____________________." Mark 2:28.
16. What, through the prophet Isaiah, does the Lord call the Sabbath?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
________________________." Isa. 58:13.
17. Why does the Lord call the Sabbath His day?
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and
_________________: wherefore the Lord ______________ the Sabbath day, and
________________--it." Ex.20:11.
18. Through whom did God create the world?
"God. . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by ____________, . . . by
________________________________." Heb. 1:1,2.
NOTES.-From beginning to end, the Bible recognizes but one weekly Sabbath,- the day upon
which God rested in the beginning; which was made known to Israel at Sinai (Neh. 9:13,14); was
observed by Christ and His apostles; and is to be kept by the redeemed in the world to come. Isa.
66:22,23.
The terms Sabbath, Sabbaths, and Sabbath days occur sixty times in the New Testament, and in
every case but one refer to the seventh day. In Col. 2:16,17, reference is made to the annual
sabbaths connected with the three annual feasts observed by Israel before the first advent of
Christ.
The first day of the week is mentioned but eight times in the New Testament, six of which are
found in the four Gospels, and refer to the day on which Christ arose from the dead. See Matt.
28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19. The other two (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) refer to the
only religious meeting held on the first day of the week after the ascension, in apostolic times,
recorded in the New Testament and to a systematic accounting and laying by in store at home on
that day for the poor saints in Judea and Jerusalem.
It is evident, therefore, that the Sabbath of the New Testament is the same as the Sabbath of the
Old Testament, and that there is nothing in the New Testament setting aside the seventh-day
Sabbath, and putting the first day of the week in its place.
The Law of God
As Given By Jehovah As Changed By Man

I I
Thou shalt have no other gods I am the Lord thy God: thou shalt not
before Me. have strange gods before Me.

II
Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven Image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or
that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth: thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them: for I the Lord thy
God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate Me;
and showing mercy unto thousands
of them that love Me and keep My
commandments.

III
Thou shalt not take the name of the II
Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord Thou shalt not take the name of the
will not hold him guiltless that Lord thy God In vain.
taketh His name in vain.

IV III
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep Remember that thou keep holy the
it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, Sabbath day.
and do all thy work; but the seventh
day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
God: in it thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy man servant, nor thy
maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that is within thy gates: for
in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in
them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

V
Honor thy father and thy mother: IV
that thy days may be long upon the
Honor thy father and thy mother.
land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee.

VI V
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill.

VII VI
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII VII
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not steal.

IX VIII
Thou shalt not bear false witness Thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor. against thy neighbor.

X IX
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house, thou shalt. not covet thy wife.
neighbor's wife, nor his man
X
servant, nor his maid servant, nor
his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
is thy neighbor's. goods.
(Ex. 20:3-17.) (Butler's Catechism. pg. 28.)

Chapter 97.
The Change of the Sabbath
1. OF what is the Sabbath commandment apart?
The _________ God. See Ex. 20:8-11.
2. What, according to prophecy, was to be Christ's attitude toward the law?
"The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness sake; ___________________." Isa.
42:21.
3. In His first recorded discourse, what did Christ say of the law?
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to ___________." Matt. 5:17.
4. How enduring did He say the law is?
"For verily I say unto you, _________________, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Verse 18.
5. What did He say of those who should break one of the least of God's
commandments, and teach men so to do?
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach
men so____________________________________________." Verse 19.
NOTE.-From this it is evident that the entire code of ten commandments is binding in the
Christian dispensation, and that Christ had no thought of changing any of them. One of these
commands the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. But the practice of most Christians
is different; they keep the first day of the week instead, many of them believing that Christ
changed the Sabbath. But, from His own words, we see that He came for no such purpose. The
responsibility for this change must therefore be looked for elsewhere.
6. What did God, through the prophet Daniel, say the power represented by the
"little horn" would think to do?
"And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the
Most High: and __________________________________." Dan. 7:25, R. V.
NOTE.-For a full explanation of this symbol, see readings on "The Kingdom and Work of
Antichrist" and "The Vicar of Christ," in previous chapters.
7. What did the apostle Paul say the "man of sin" would do?
"For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ______________________________." 2 Thess.
2:3,4.
NOTE.-There is only one way by which any power could exalt itself above God, and that is by
assuming to change the law of God, and to require obedience to its own law instead of God's law.
8. What power has claimed authority to change the law of God?
The Papacy.
9. What part of the law of God especially has the Papacy thought to change?
The fourth commandment.
NOTES.-"They [the Catholics] allege the Sabbath changed into Sunday, the Lord's day, contrary
to the decalogue, as it appears; neither is there any example more boasted of than the changing of
the Sabbath day. Great, say they, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with
one of the ten commandments."- Augsburg Confession, Art. XXVIII.
"It (the Roman Catholic Church] has reversed the fourth commandment, doing away with the
Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holy day."- N. Summerbell, in "History of the
Christians," page 418.
10. Why did God command Israel to hallow the Sabbath?
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you,
_______________________________________." Eze. 20:20.
NOTE.-As the Sabbath was given that man might keep God in mind as Creator, it can be readily
seen that a power endeavoring to exalt itself above God would first try to cover up or remove
that which calls man's special attention to his Creator. This could be done in no other way so
effectually as by setting aside God's memorial-the seventh-day Sabbath. To this work of the
Papacy Daniel had reference when he said, "And he shall . . . think to change times and laws."
Dan. 7:25.
11. Does the Papacy acknowledge that it has changed the Sabbath?
It does.
NOTE.-"Question.- How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy
days?
"Answer.- 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
feast days commanded by the same church."- "Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," by Rev. Henry
Tuberville, D. D., of Douay College, France (1649), page 58.
"Ques.- Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of
precept?
"Ans.- Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists
agree with her,- she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the
week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
authority."- "A Doctrinal Catechism," by Rev. Stephen Keenan, page 174.
"The Catholic Church of its own infallible authority created Sunday a holy day to take the place
of the Sabbath of the old law."- Kansas City Catholic, Feb. 9, 1893.
"The Catholic Church, . . . by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to
Sunday."- Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Ques.- Which is the Sabbath day?
"Ans.- Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Ques.- Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
"Ans.- We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of
Laodicea (A. D. 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday ."- "The Convert's
Catechism of Catholic Doctrine," by Rev. Peter Geiermann, C. SS. R.., page 50, third edition,
1913, a work which received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X, Jan. 25, 1910.
What was done at the Council of Laodicea was but one of the steps by which the change or the
Sabbath was effected. See under questions 17-21. The date usually given for this council is 364
A. D.
12. Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the Bible
for the sanctification of Sunday?
They do.
NOTE.-"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line
authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of
Saturday, a day which we never sanctify."- Cardinal Gibbons, in "The Faith of Our Fathers,"
edition1892, page 111.
"Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic
principles. . . . From beginning to end of Scripture. there is not a single passage that warrants the
transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first."- Catholic Press
(Sydney, Australia), Aug. 25, 1900.
13. Do Protestant writers acknowledge the same?
They do.
NOTE.-"Is there no express commandment for observing the first day of the week as Sabbath,
instead of the seventh day?- None whatever. Neither Christ, nor His apostles, nor the first
Christians celebrated the first day of the week instead of the seventh as the Sabbath."- New York
Weekly Tribune, May 24, 1900.
"The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath. . . . There is no Scriptural
authority for so doing, nor of course any Scriptural obligation."- The Watchman (Baptist).
"The observance of the first instead of the seventh day rests on the testimony of the church, and
the church alone."- Hobart Church News (Episcopalian), July 2, 1894.
14. How did this change in observance of days come about, suddenly or
gradually?
Gradually.
NOTE.-"The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and almost unconscious
transference of the one day to the other."- "The Voice From Sinai," by Archdeacon F. W. Farrar,
page 167.
This of itself is evidence that there was no divine command for the change of the Sabbath.
15. For how long a time was the seventh-day Sabbath observed in the Christian
church?
For many centuries. In fact, its observance has never
wholly ceased in the Christian church.
NOTES.-Mr. Morer, a learned clergyman of the Church of England, says: "The primitive
Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the day in devotion and sermons.
And it is not to be doubted that they derived this practice, from the apostles themselves."-
"Dialogues on the Lord's Day," page 189.
Prof. E. Brerwood, of Gresham College, London (Episcopal), says: "The Sabbath was religiously
observed in the Eastern church three hundred years and more after our Saviour's passion."-
"Learned Treatise of the Sabbath," page 77.
Lyman Coleman, a careful and candid historian, says: "Down even, to the fifth century the
observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church, but with a rigor and
solemnity gradually diminishing until it was wholly discontinued."- "Ancient Christianity
Exemplified," chap. 26, sec. 2.
The historian Socrates, who wrote about the middle of the fifth century, says: "Almost all the
churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet
the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do
this."- "Ecclesiastical History," book 5, chap. 22.
Sozomen, another historian of the same period, writes: "The people of Constantinople, and of
several other cities, assemble together on the Sabbath as well as on the next day; which custom is
never observed at Rome."- "Ecclesiastical History." book 7, chap. 19.
All this would have been inconceivable and impossible had there been a divine command given
for the change of the Sabbath. The last two quotations also show that Rome led in the apostasy
and in the change of the Sabbath.
16. What striking testimony is borne by Neander, the noted church historian,
regarding the origin of the Sunday sabbath?
"Opposition to Judaism introduced the particular festival of Sunday very early, indeed,
into the place of the Sabbath. . . . The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was
always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to
establish a divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early
apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of
the second century a false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men
appear by that time to have considered laboring on Sunday as a sin."- Neander's
"Church History," Rose's translation, page 186.
17. Who first enjoined Sunday-keeping by law? Constantine the Great.
NOTES.-"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution
of Constantine in 321 A. D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and
workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die Solis), with an exception ill favor of
those engaged in agricultural labor."- Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, article "Sunday."
"Constantine the Great made a law for the whole empire (321 A. D.) that Sunday should be kept
as a day of rest in all cities and towns ; but he allowed the country people to follow their work."-
Encyclopedia Americana, article "Sabbath."
"Unquestionably the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by which the Sabbatical observance
of that day is known to have been ordained, is the edict of Constantine, 321 A.D.,- Chambers's
Encyclopedia, article "Sabbath."
18. What did Constantine's law require?
"Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the
venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at
full liberty, attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other
day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip,
men should lose the commodities granted by heaven."- Edict of March 7, 321 A. D.,
Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3, tit. 12, 3.
NOTE.-This edict, issued by Constantine, under whom the Christian church and the Roman state
were first united, in a manner supplied the lack of a divine command for Sunday observance, and
may be considered the original Sunday law, and the model after which all Sunday laws since
then have been patterned. It was one of the important steps in bringing about and establishing the
change of the Sabbath.
19. What testimony does Eusebius (270-338), a noted bishop of the church, a
flatterer of Constantine, and the reputed father of ecclesiastical history, bear
upon this subject?
"All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have
transferred to the Lord's day."-"Commentary on the Psalms," Cox's "Sabbath
Literature," Vol. 1, page 361.
NOTE.-The change of the Sabbath was the result of the combined efforts of church and state,
and it was centuries before it was fully accomplished.
20. When and by what church council was the observance of the seventh day
forbidden, and Sunday observance enjoined?
"The seventh-day Sabbath was . . . solemnized by Christ, the apostles, and primitive
Christians, till the Laodicean Council did, in a manner, quite abolish the observation
of it. . . The Council of Laodicea [A. D. 364] . . . first settled the observation of the
Lord's day."- Prynne's " Dissertation on the Lord's Day Sabbath," page 163.
21. What did this council, in its twenty-ninth canon, decree concerning the
Sabbath and Christians who continued to observe it?
"Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath], but shall work on that
day. . . . If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."-
Hefele's "History of the Councils of the Church," Vol. II, page 316.
NOTES.-Some of the further steps taken by church and state authorities in bringing about this
change may be noted as follows:-
"In 386, under Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, it was decreed that all litigation and
business should cease [on Sunday]. . . .
"Among the doctrines laid down in a letter of Pope Innocent I, written in the last year of his
papacy (416), is that Saturday should be observed as a fast-day. . . .
"In 425, under Theodosius the Younger, abstinence from theatricals and the circus [on Sunday]
was enjoined. . . .
"In 538, at a council at Orleans, . . . it was ordained that everything previously permitted on
Sunday should still be lawful; but that work at the plow, or in the vineyard, and cutting, reaping,
threshing, tilling, and hedging should be abstained from, that people might more conveniently
attend church. . . .
"About 590 Pope Gregory, in a letter to the Roman people denounced as the prophets of
Antichrist those who maintained that work ought not to be done on the seventh day."- "Law of
Sunday," by James T. Ringgold, pages 265-267.
The last paragraph of the foregoing quotation indicates that even as late as 590 A. D. there were
those in the church who observed and who taught the observance of the Bible Sabbath, the
seventh day.
22. What determines whose servants we are?
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey,
_____________________________________________?" Rom. 6:16.
23. When tempted to bow down and worship Satan, what reply did Christ make?

"______________________: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and _____________________." Matt. 4:10,11.
24. What do Catholics say of the observance of Sunday by Protestants?
"It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred
this rest to the Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Thus the
observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of
themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church."- "Plain Talk About the
Protestantism of Today," by Mgr. Segur, page 213.
25. What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to
God's commandments?
"_______________________, teaching for doctrines _______________________."
Matt. 15:9.
26. When Israel had apostatized, and were almost universally worshiping Baal,
what appeal did Elijah make to them?
"How long halt ye between two opinions? __________________________." 1 Kings
18:21.
NOTE.-In times of ignorance God winks at that which otherwise would be sin; but when light
comes He commands men everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30. The period during which the saints,
times, and the law of God were to be in the hands of the Papacy has expired (Dan. 7:25); the true
light on the Sabbath question is now shining; and God is sending a message to the world, calling
upon men to fear and worship Him, and to return to the observance of His holy rest day, the
seventh-day Sabbath. Rev. 14:6-12; Isa. 56:1; 58:1,12-14. See readings in Chapters 58., 98., 102.,
and 120. of this book.

WHO is on the Lord's side


Always true?
There's a right and wrong side,
Where stand you?
Thousands on the wrong side
Choose to stand,
Still 'tis not the strong side,
True and grand.
Come and join the Lord's side:
Ask you why?-
'Tis the only safe side
By and by.
F. E. Belden.

Chapter 98.
The Seal of God and
the Mark of Apostasy
1. WHAT does the Bible present as the object of a sign, or seal?
"Now, O king, _______________the decree, and ___________________." Dan. 6:8.
NOTE.-That is, affix the signature of royalty, that it may have the proper authority, and thus be
of force. Anciently it was customary for kings to use a ring, containing their name, initials, or
monogram, for this purpose. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, "wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed
them with his seal." 1 Kings 21:8. Of the decree issued under Ahasuerus for the slaying of all the
Jews throughout the Persian Empire it is said that "in the name of King Ahasuerus was it written,
and sealed with the king's ring." Esther 3:12.
2. What are the three essentials to an official seal?
To be complete, an official seal must show three things: (1) The name of the lawgiver;
(2) his official position, title, or authority, and so his right to rule; and (3) his
kingdom, or the extent of his dominion and jurisdiction. Thus: "Woodrow Wilson,
President of the United States," "George IV, King of Great Britain," "Nicholas II, Czar
of Russia."
3. With what is God's seal connected?
"Bind up the testimony, ___________THE LAW _____________." Isa. 8:16.
4. Does the first commandment show who the author of the law is?
"Thou shalt have no other gods before _______." Ex. 20:3.
NOTE.-Who the "me" here spoken of is, the commandment itself does not state. Such a
prohibition might come from any source. Any heathen could claim it as a command from his
god, and, so far as the commandment itself goes, no one could disprove his claim.
5. Does the second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth
commandment indicate the author of the decalogue?
No; none of them.
NOTE.-The second commandment forbids the making of and bowing down to images, but does
not in itself reveal who the true God is. The third commandment says, "Thou shalt not take the
name of the Lord thy God in vain," but it likewise fails to reveal the true God and giver of the
law. A worshiper of the sun might say he kept this commandment so far as it itself reveals what
god is meant. So of the other commandments here referred to. In the last five commandments the
name of God is not even mentioned.
6. Which commandment alone of the decalogue reveals the true God and Author
of the law?
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy
work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days
_________________________________________________, and rested the seventh
day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Verses 8-11.
NOTE.-The fourth commandment alone reveals the name, authority, and dominion of the Author
of this law. In six days, (1) the Lord (name); (2) made (office, Creator); (3) heaven and earth
(dominion). This commandment alone, therefore, contains "the seal of the living God." By what
is revealed in this commandment is shown what God is referred to in the other commandments.
By the great truth revealed here all other gods are shown to be false gods. The Sabbath
commandment, therefore, contains the seal of God; and the Sabbath itself, the observance of
which is enjoined by the commandment, is inseparably connected with this seal; it is to be kept
in in memory of the fact that God is the Creator of all things; and it is itself called a "sign" of the
knowledge of this great truth. Ex. 31:17; Eze. 20:20.
7. What reason does God give for the Sabbath being an everlasting sign between
Him and His people?
"It is ____________ between Me and the children of Israel forever:
_______________________________________." Ex. 31:17.
NOTE.-The Sabbath is the sign, or mark, or seal, of the true God, the Creator.
8. Of what does God say the keeping or hallowing of the Sabbath is a sign?
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be __________ between Me and you,
________________________________." Eze. 20:20.
9. Of what besides a knowledge of God as Creator, is the Sabbath a sign?
"Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a _________ between Me and you
throughout your generations; __________________________ SANCTIFY _____." Ex.
31:13.
NOTE.-The Sabbath is the great sign of God's creative power wherever and however manifested,
whether in creation or redemption; for redemption is creation- re-creation. It requires the same
power to redeem that it does to create. "Create in me a clean heart." Ps. 51:10. "For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph, 2:10. At each recurrence of the
Sabbath, God designs that it shall call Him to mind as the One who created us, and whose grace
and sanctifying power are working in us to fit us for His eternal kingdom.
10. What scripture shows that a special sealing work is to take place just before
the letting loose of the winds of destruction upon the earth?
"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on
the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
________________________________: and he cried with a loud voice to the four
angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, ____________
______________________. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and
there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the
children of Israel." Rev. 7:1-4. See Eze. 9:1-6.
11. Where did the apostle see this same company a little later, and what did they
have in their foreheads?
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood ___________________, and with Him an
hundred forty and four thousand, ____________________________________." Rev.
14:1.
NOTE.-The seal of God and the Father's name must refer to the same thing. The seal is the sign
or stamp of perfection and God's name stands for His character, which is perfection. And the
Sabbath of God, kept as God ordained it to be kept, holy, and in holiness, is a sign of this same
thing- perfection of character. When this seal is finally placed upon God's people, it will be an
evidence that His grace and His sanctifying power have done their work, and fitted them for
heaven. In the world to come, all will keep the Sabbath, and will therefore have this seal or mark
of sanctification, holiness, and perfection of character. Isa. 66:22,23.
12. What is said of the character of these sealed ones?
"And in their mouth was found no guile: for _____________________________."
Verse 5.
13. How is the remnant church described?
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that _____________________."
Verse 12.
14. Against what three things does the third angel of Revelation 14 warn men?
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man
_____________________________________________, the same shall drink of the
wine of the wrath of God." Verses 9,10.
NOTE.-The beast represents the Papacy; the image to the beast represents another ecclesiastical
body dominating civil power. See readings in Chapters 60. and 61. of this book. And over against
the seal of God stands the mark of the beast, the mark of apostasy. Against this false and
idolatrous worship and the reception of this mark, God sends this solemn warning.
15. What power mentioned in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation is to enforce
this mark?
"And __________ [the two-horned beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads." Rev.
13:16.
NOTE.-The two-horned beast is understood to represent the United States of America. See
reading in Chapter 61. of this book. As this nation repudiates her principles of civil and religious
liberty, and becomes a persecuting power, other nations will follow her example in oppressing
those who refuse to yield their allegiance to God.
16. What does the Papacy set forth as the mark, or sign, of its power and
authority?
"Question.-How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy
days?
"Answer.-By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants
allow of."- "Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," by Rev. Henry Tuberville, D. D., page
58.
NOTES.-In a letter written in November, 1895, Mr. H. F. Thomas, chancellor to Cardinal
Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the
Sabbath, said: "Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act, . . . and the act
is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things." See readings in Chapters 97. and
102. of this book.
The true Sabbath being a sign of loyalty to the true God, it is but natural that the false sabbath
should be regarded as a sign of allegiance to apostasy. And such we find to be the case.
17. What do papal authorities say of the observance of Sunday by Protestants?
"The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of
themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church."- "Plain Talk About the
Protestantism of Today," by Monsignor Segur, page 213.
NOTE.-The statement here made is true, and a full realization of the fact will lead those who
honestly, but ignorantly, have heretofore been observing Sunday as the Sabbath, to refuse longer
to pay homage to apostasy and return to the observance of that which is the sign of loyalty to
heaven,- the only weekly day of rest which God, in His Word, has commanded men to keep holy,
the seventh day.
18. What will be the dragon's attitude toward the remnant people who keep the
commandments of God?
"And the dragon _____________________________________, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:17.
19. How strongly will this false worship and the enforcement of this mark be
urged?
"That the image of the beast should both speak, and cause [decree] that as many as
would not worship the image of the beast _________________. And he causeth all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads: and ___________________________________." Rev.
13:15-17. See note under question 19 in Chapter 52. of this book.
20. Over what do the people of God finally gain the victory?
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the
victory __________________________________________, stand on the sea of glass,
having the harps of God." Rev. 15:2.

THE God that made the earth,


And all the worlds on high,
Who gave all creatures birth,
In earth, and sea, and sky,
After six days in work employed,
Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed.
The Sabbath day was blessed,
Hallowed, and sanctified;
It was Jehovah's rest,
And so it must abide;
'Twas set apart before the fall,
'Twas made for man, 'twas made for all.
R. F. COTTRELL.

Chapter 99.
The Lord's Day
1. FROM what time was Christ, the Word, associated with God, the Father?
"_________________was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:1,2.
2. By whom were all things created?
"Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, _________________."
Eph. 3:9.
3. By whom were the worlds made?
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by _________, . . . by him
_______________________________." Heb. 1:1,2.
4. How does Paul again express this same truth?
"For ________________________, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, . . . all ________________, and for Him: and He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist." Col. 1:16,17.
5. Was there anything made without Christ?
"All things were made by Him; and _____________________________." John 1:3.
6. Was the Sabbath "made"?
"And He said unto them, _____________ MADE __________." Mark 2:27.
7. Then by whom was the Sabbath made?
By Christ.
NOTE.-This conclusion is inevitable. If all things were made by Christ, and without Him was not
anything made that was made, and the Sabbath was one of the things that was made, then it
follows that the Sabbath must have been made by Christ. This being so, the Sabbath must be the
Lord's day.
8. What did God do in the beginning on the seventh day?
"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and
______________________________ from all His work which He had made." Gen.
2:2.
NOTE.-If all things were made by Jesus Christ, then He, with the Father, rested on the first
seventh day from all His labor in the work of creation.
9. After resting on the seventh day, what did God do?
"And God _____________________________ from all His work which God created
and made." Verse 3.
NOTE.-And inasmuch as this blessing and this sanctification of the day were a part of the
making of the Sabbath as well as the resting upon the day, these also must have been done by
Christ; for the Sabbath was made by Him.
10. How much honor is due to Christ?
"That all men should honor the Son, _______________________." John 5:23. "I and
My Father are _________." John 10:30.
NOTE.-In keeping the Sabbath, then, we honor Christ equally with the Father.
11. Did Christ keep the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and,
________________________________________." Luke 4:16.
"_________________________________________________." John 15:10.
12. Did Christ's followers keep the Sabbath after His death?
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; ____________________."
Luke 23:56.
13. Did they observe it after His resurrection?
"And Paul, ________________, went in unto them, ________________________."
Acts 17:2. See also Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 18:1-4, 11.
14. On what day does John say he was in the Spirit?
"I was in the Spirit on _____________." Rev. 1:10.
15. What day does the commandment say is the Lord's?
"___________________ is the Sabbath of the Lord." Ex. 20:10.
16. By whose Spirit did the prophets write?
"_____________________ which was in them." I Peter 1:11.
17. What does the prophet Isaiah, speaking for God through this Spirit of Christ,
call the seventh-day Sabbath?
"My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
18. Does Christ anywhere in the Scriptures ever claim any other day of the week
than the seventh as His?
He does not.
NOTE.-We do not need to speculate as to what day is the Lord's, if we will but take the Word of
God for our guide, for loyalty to which John was banished to the isle of Patmos. See Rev. 1:9.
19. If John, therefore, referred to a day of the week, on what day must he have
been in the Spirit?
The seventh day.
NOTE.-No other day of the week in all the Bible is claimed by God as His day. During the
second, third, and fourth centuries of the Christian era, when apostasy came in like a flood, men,
without any warrant or command of Scripture, thinking to do honor to Christ and despite to the
Jews who crucified Christ, began to neglect the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and to
honor the day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead, the first day, as "the Lord's day"
until finally the Sabbath was almost wholly lost sight of, and the Sunday quite generally took its
place. But there was no more warrant for this change in the divine and unchangeable law of God
than there was for other errors and changes which crept into the professed Christian church
during this same time, such as abstaining from meat on Friday in honor of the crucifixion;
Mariolatry, or the worship of the Virgin Mary; the mass; purgatory; indulgences; prayers for the
dead; saint-worship; and the human vicarship of Christ. There was no more divine authority for
one than for the others. All came in through apostasy. The Bible knows but one true and living
God, one Lawgiver, one Mediator between God and man, one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, one
body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, and one Sabbath. See Jer. 10:10-12; Rev.
14:6, 7; 1 Tim. 2:5; Eph. 4:4-6; Ex. 20:8-11.
Chapter 100.
Walk as He Walked
1. THE way of the Christian life was set for us by Jesus Himself.
"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to ________________." 1 John
2:6. "Leaving us an example, that ye should _____________________." 1 Peter 2:21.
2. The footprints that Jesus set for us to follow, lead unvaryingly along the way of
God's commandments.
"________________________, and abide in His love." John 15:10. "For this is the
love of God, _____________________." 1 John 5:3.
3. The pathway is the same today as when Jesus walked in Judea.
"Jesus Christ ______________________________." Heb. 13:8.
4. When it is shown that Jesus kept the seventh day holy as our example, many
ask, "Why have not scholars and church-men found out that there is no Bible
authority for first-day sacredness?
The answer is, They have found it so, and have freely declared the fact.
Testimony of Eminent Men
5. The extracts that follow are from noted clergymen, scholars, and eminent
writers, all of whom doubtless kept the Sunday as a matter of church custom.
But they nevertheless bear witness that there is no Bible command for it.
Church of England Writers
Archdeacon Farrar: "The Sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of the week." "The Christian
church made no formal, but a gradual and almost unconscious transference of the one day to the
other."- "The Voice From Sinai," pages 163,167.
Canon Eyton (of Westminster): "There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about
abstaining from work on Sunday." "The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on
the same footing as the observance of Sunday." "Constantine's decree was the first public step in
establishing the first day of the week as a day on which there should be secular rest as well as
religious worship. . . . Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters."- "The Ten Commandments,"
Trubners & Co.
Canon Knox-Little, replying to those who quote the example of Christ against the High-church
ritualism, says:-
"It is certain that our Lord when on earth did observe Saturday, and did not observe Sunday." "If
they are consistent, as I have said, they must keep Saturday, not Sunday, as the day of rest."-
"Sacerdotalism," Longman Company.
Sir William Domville: "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before the Sunday was
observed by the Christian church as a Sabbath."- "Examination of Six Texts," chap. 8, page 291.
Writers of Other Churches
Bishop Grimelund, of Norway (Lutheran) : "The Christians in the ancient church very soon
distinguished the first day of the week, Sunday; however, not as a sabbath, but as an assembly
day of the church, to study the Word of God together."- "Geschichte des Sonntags," page 60.
Dr. R. W. Dale (British Congregationalist): "It is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we
may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath. . . . The Sabbath was founded on a specific,
divine command. We can plead no such command for the observance of Sunday. . . . There is not
a simple line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the
supposed sanctity of Sunday."- "The Ten Commandments," Hodder and Stoughton, pages 106,
107.
Dr. Lyman Abbott (American Congregationalist): "The current notion that Christ and His
apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any
authority in the New Testament."- Christian Union, June 26, 1890.
Dr. Edward T. Hiscock (Baptist): "There was and is a commandment to 'keep holy the Sabbath
day,' but that Sabbath was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily said, and with some show of
triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week. . . .
Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament- absolutely
not."- The New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893.
Dr. D. H. Lucas (Disciple): "There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day
the Lord's day."- Christian Oracle, Jan. 23, 1890.
Cardinal Gibbons (Roman Catholic): "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and
you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday."- "Faith of Our Fathers,"
edition 1892, page 111.
Prize Essay of American Sunday-school Union: "Up to the time of Christ's death, no change had
been made in the day. . . . So far as the record shows, they [the apostles] did not give any explicit
command enjoining the abandonment of the seventh-day Sabbath, and its observance on the first
day of the week."- "Lord's Day, ' pages 185, 186.
Encyclopedias and Church Manuals
"Dictionary of Christian Antiquities:" "The notion of a formal substitution by apostolic authority
of the Lord's day [meaning Sunday] for the Jewish Sabbath, and the transference to it, perhaps in
a spiritualized form, of the Sabbatical obligation established by the promulgation of the fourth
commandment, has no basis whatever, either in the Holy Scriptures or in Christian antiquity."-
Article "Sabbath," Smith and Cheetham.
"Cyclopedia of Biblical Theology:" "It must be confessed that there is no law in the New
Testament concerning the first day."- Article "Sabbath," McClintock and Strong.
Methodist Episcopal "Theological Compend," by Amos Binney: "It is true, there is no positive
command for infant baptism. . . . Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week."-
Pages 180, 181.
Protestant Episcopal "Manual of Christian Doctrine:" "Is there any command in the New
Testament to change the day of weekly rest from Saturday?- None."- Page 127.
Protestant Episcopal "Explanation of Catechism:" "The day is now changed from the seventh to
the first day; . . . but as we meet with no Scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it
was done by the authority of the church."
6. What influence do the Bible and history show working in the church
immediately after apostolic days?
"Also of your own selves ___________________________________." Acts 20:30.
NOTE.-"In the interval between the days of the apostles and the conversion of Constantine, the
Christian commonwealth changed its aspect. . . . Rites and ceremonies of which neither Paul nor
Peter ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions."- Dr. W.
D. Killen's (Presbyterian) "The Ancient Church," Preface.
7. What did Christ say of worship based upon the commandments of men?
"_________________________, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Matt. 15:9.
8. What did He say should be done with every plant not planted by God?
"Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, ___________________."
Verse 13.

Chapter 101.
The Sabbath in History
1. WHEN and by what acts was the Sabbath made?
"And on the _______________ God ended His work which He had made; and He
_______on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God ______
the seventh day, and _____________ it: because that in it He had rested from all His
work which God created and made." Gen. 2:2,3.
2. What division of time is marked off by the Sabbath?
The week.
NOTES.-"One of the most striking collateral confirmations of the Mosaic history of the creation
is the general adoption of the division of time into weeks, which extends from the Christian states
of Europe to the remote shores of Hindustan, and has equally prevailed among the Hebrews. the
Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and northern barbarians,- nations some of whom had little
or no intercourse with others, and were not even known by name to the Hebrews."- Home's
"Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures," Vol. I, page 69,
edition 1841.
"Seven has been the ancient and honored number among the nations of the earth. They have
measured their time by weeks from the beginning. The original of this was the Sabbath of God,
as Moses has given the reasons for it in his writings."- "Brief Dissertation on the First Three
Chapters of Genesis," by Dr. Lyman Coleman, page 26.
Gen. 7:4,10; 8:10,12, show that the week was known at the time of the flood.
3. How widely recognized is the seventh-day Sabbath
in the different languages of the world today?
It is very generally so recognized.
NOTE.-Some years ago the late Dr. William Mead Jones, of London, published a "Chart of the
Week," showing the style of the weekly cycle and the designations of the different days of the
week in one hundred and sixty different languages. This chart shows very vividly that the seven-
day period, or week, was known from the most ancient times, and that in no fewer than one
hundred and eight of these languages the seventh day is designated as the Sabbath, or holy day.
The following is from this chart:-
English The seventh day The Sabbath
Hebrew Shabbath Sabbath
Greek Sabbaton Sabbath
Latin Sabbatum Sabbath
Arabic Assabt The Sabbath
Persian Shambin Sabbath
Armenian Shapat Sabbath
Turkish Yomessabt Day the Sabbath
Abyssinian Sanbat Sabbath
Russian Subbota Sabbath
Polish Sobota Sabbath
Hindustani Shamba Sabbath
Malay Ari-Sabtu Day Sabbath
Afghan Shamba Sabbath
German Samstag Sabbath
Prussian Sabatico Sabbath
French Samedi Sabbath day
Italian Sabbato Sabbath
Spanish Sabado Sabbath
Portuguese Sabbado Sabbath
4. What reason did God assign at Sinai for having blessed and set apart the
seventh day as a day of holy rest?
"_____________________________________________." Ex. 20:11.
5. What promise did God make to Israel, through Jeremiah, if they would keep
the Sabbath?
"And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently harken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in
no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath
day, to do no work therein; ________________________________, riding in chariots
and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem: and ___________________________." Jer. 17:24,25.
6. What did He say would happen if they did not hallow the, Sabbath day?
"But __________________________________, and not to bear a burden, even
entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; ___________________."
Verse 27.
7. What befell the city of Jerusalem when it was captured by Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, in 588 B.C.?
"And all the vessels of the house of God. . . he brought to Babylon. And
______________________________________________." 2 Chron. 36:18,19.
8. Why was this done?
"______________________________________________________." Verse 21.
NOTE.-Sabbath Israel's Babylonish captivity, under Nebuchadnezzar and his sons, was seventy
years long because that for 420 years, or for six times seventy years,- from the days of Solomon
to Nebuchadnezzar's time,- they had largely neglected to keep the Sabbath. See Eze. 22:8,26; Jer.
25:8-11; 17:24, 27; 2 Chron. 36:15-21. The seventy years' desolation made up for the 420 years
of Sabbath desecration. So during the millennium, or the one thousand years after Christ's second
advent, the whole earth will lie desolate, or keep sabbath, for one thousand years, because that
for six thousand years the world's inhabitants have disregarded the Sabbath. See this period and
condition pointed out in Rev. 20:1-4; Isa. 24:1-6; Jer. 4:23-27. The periods of rest and desolation
of the land are divinely appointed sabbatical compensations for man's irreligion, as manifested in
Sabbath desecration. They are impressive lessons on the importance of keeping the seventh-day
Sabbath, and the results of breaking and disregarding it.
9. After Israel's restoration from the Babylonian captivity, what did Nehemiah
say was the reason for their punishment?
"Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is
this that ye do, and _________________________________________? yet ye bring
more wrath upon Israel by _______________________________." Neh. 13:17,18.
10. How does he speak of God's giving the Sabbath to Israel?
"Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and
_________________________________________________." Neh. 9:13,14.
NOTE.-Let it be noted that this text does not say that God made the Sabbath then, but simply that
He made it known to Israel then. They had largely forgotten it while in Egypt. See readings in
Chapters 92. and 93. of this book.
11. How did Christ, while on earth, regard the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and,
________________________________________, and stood up for to read." Luke
4:16.
12. By what did Christ recognize the Sabbath law?
"And He said unto them, . . . It is _________________ to do well on the Sabbath
days." Matt. 12:11,12.
NOTES.-William Prynne says: "It is certain that Christ Himself, His apostles, and the primitive
Christians for some good space of time, did constantly observe the seventh-day Sabbath."-
"Dissertation on the Lord's Day Sabbath," page 33.
Morer, a learned clergyman of the Church of England, says: "The primitive Christians had a
great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be
doubted that they derived this practice from the apostles themselves, as appears by several
scriptures to that purpose."- Morer's "Dialogues on the Lord's Day," page 189.
The historian Neander says: "Opposition to Judaism introduced the particular festival of Sunday
very early, indeed, into the place of the Sabbath. . . . The festival of Sunday, like all other
festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles
to establish a divine command in this respect,- far from them, and from the early apostolic
church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the second century a
false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men appear by that time to have
considered laboring on Sunday as a sin."- Neander's "Church History," Rose's translation, page
186.
Dr. Lyman Abbott says: "The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively
substituted the first day of the week for the seventh, is absolutely without. any authority in the
New Testament."- Christian Union, June 26,1890.
Archdeacon Farrar says: "The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and almost
unconscious transference of the one day to the other."- "The Voice From Sinai," page 167.
13. What was the first effort of the Roman Church in behalf of the recognition of
Sunday?
In 196 A. D., Victor, bishop of Rome, attempted to impose on all the churches the
Roman custom of having the Passover, or Easter, as it is commonly called, celebrated
every year on Sunday. See Bower's "History of the Popes," Vol. I, pages 18,19.
NOTE.-This, Dr. Bower, in his "History of the Popes," Vol. I, page 18, styles "the first essay of
papal usurpation."
14. What was one of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of Nice?
"The question relating to the observance of Easter, which was agitated in the time of
Anicetus and Polycarp, and afterward in that of Victor, was still undecided. It was one
of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of Nice, being the most important
subject to be considered after the Arian controversy."- Boyle's "Historical View of the
Council of Nice," page 23, edition 1836.
15. How was the matter finally decided?
"Easter day was fixed on the Sunday immediately following the full moon which was
nearest after the vernal equinox."- Id., page 24.
16. In urging the observance of this decree on the churches, what reason did
Constantine assign for it?
"Let us have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews."- Id., page
52.
17. What had Constantine already done, in 321 A.D., to help forward Sunday to a
place of prominence?
He issued an edict requiring "the judges and town people, and the occupation of all
trades" to rest on "the venerable day of the sun." See Encyclopedia Britannica, article
"Sunday;" and this work, page 443.
18. Who did Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, and one of Constantine's most ardent
supporters, say had transferred the obligations of the Sabbath to Sunday?
"All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these WE have
transferred to the Lord's day."- Eusebius's "Commentary on the Psalms," quoted in
Cox's "Sabbath Literature," Vol. I, page 361.
19. What did Sylvester, bishop of Rome, 314 A.D. to 337 A.D., do for the Sunday
institution by his "apostolic authority"?
He officially changed the title of the first day, calling it the LORD's DAY. See
"Historia Ecclesiastica," by M. Ludovicum Lucium, cent. 4, cap. 10, pages 739,740,
edition Basilea, 1624.
20. What did the Council of Laodicea decree in 364 A.D.?
Canon 29. "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath], but shall
work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honor."- "A History of the
Councils of the Church," Charles Joseph Hefele, Vol. II, page 316.
21. How late did Christians keep the Sabbath?
"Down even to the fifth century, the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued
in the Christian church."- Lyman Coleman's "Ancient Christianity Exemplified," chap.
26, sec. 2.
22. How generally does the historian Socrates, who wrote about the middle of the
fifth century, say the Sabbath was observed by the Christian churches of his
time?
"Although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on
the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account
of some ancient tradition, refuse to do this."- Socrates's "Ecclesiastical History," book
5, chap. 22.
23. What day was observed in the dark ages by some of the Waldenses?
"They kept the Sabbath day, observed the ordinance of baptism according to the
primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith and the
commandments of God."- Jones's "Church History," Vol. II, chap. 5, sec.4.
24. Who among the early Reformers raised this question of Sabbath observance?

"Carlstadt held to the divine authority of the Sabbath from the Old Testament."- "Life
of Luther," by Dr. Barnes Sears, page 402.
25. What did Luther say of Carlstadt's Sabbath views?
"Indeed, if Carlstadt were to write further about the Sabbath, Sunday would have to
give way, and the Sabbath- that is to say, Saturday- must be kept holy."- Luther,
Against the Celestial Prophets, quoted in "Life of Martin Luther in Pictures," page
147.
26. What claim is now made by the Roman Church concerning the change of the
Sabbath to Sunday?
"Question.- Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute
festivals of precept?
"Answer.- Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modem
religionists agree with her,- she could i not have substituted the observance of Sunday,
the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for
which there is no Scriptural authority."- "Doctrinal Catechism," by Rev. Stephen
Keenan, page 174.
NOTE.-Through want of sufficient light and investigation, and because of the efforts of some
who opposed the Sabbath during the Reformation, Sunday was brought from Catholicism into
the Protestant church, and is now cherished as an institution of the Lord. It is clear, however, that
it is none of His planting, but rather the work and result of apostasy. But a message is now going
forth to revive the truth on this point, and calling for a genuine reformation upon it. See reading
in Chapters 56. thru 58. in this book and the next reading.
Chapter 102.
Sabbath Reform
1. WHAT kind of worship does Christ say results from doctrines based on the
commandments of men?
"___________________________, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men." Matt. 15:9.
2. What commandment did Christ say the Pharisees had made void by their
teaching?
"For _______________________________. . . . But ye say, Whosoever shall say to
his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free." Verses 4-6.
3. What was the result of their course?
"Thus have ________________________________t by your tradition." Verse 6.
NOTE.-By a gift or dedication of property to the temple service, they taught that a man might be
freed from the duties enjoined by the fifth commandment.
4. What question did the disciples soon afterward ask Christ?
"______________________________________, after they heard this saying?" Verse
12.
5. What answer did the Saviour make?
"But He answered and said, ___________________________________." Verse 13.
NOTE.-What is true of the fifth commandment is true of every other commandment. If through
tradition men set aside any other of God's commandments, the words of Christ to the Pharisees
are equally applicable to them. They are guilty of making void the commandment of God, and of
instituting vain worship.
6. When, and by whom, was the Sabbath "planted "?
"For in six days _______________ made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in
them is, and _____________________________________________." Ex. 20:11.
7. Who claims to have planted the Sunday institution?
"Question.- Has the [Catholic] church power to make any alterations in the
commandments of God?
"Answer.- . . . Instead of the seventh day, and other
festivals appointed by the old law, the church has prescribed the Sundays and holy
days to be set apart for God's worship; and these we are now obliged to keep in
consequence of God's commandment, instead of the ancient Sabbath."- "Catholic
Christian Instructed," by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Challoner, page 211.
NOTE.-"We Catholics, then, have precisely the same authority for "keeping Sunday holy, instead
of Saturday, as we have for every other article of our creed; namely, the authority of 'the church
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth' (I Tim. 3:15); whereas, you who are
Protestants have really no authority for it whatever; for there is no authority for it in the Bible,
and you will not allow that there can be authority for it anywhere else. Both you and we do, in
fact, follow tradition in this matter; but we follow it, believing it to be a part of God's word, and
the church to be its divinely appointed guardian and interpreter; you follow it, denouncing it all
the time as a fallible and treacherous guide, which often 'makes the commandment of God of
none effect.'"- "Clifton Tracts," Vol. IV, article "A Question for All Bible Christians," page 15.
8. When is final salvation to be brought to God's people?
"Who are kept by the power of God through faith ________________________." 1
Peter 1:5.
9. When God's salvation is near to come, upon whom does He pronounce a
blessing?
"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to
come, and My righteousness to be revealed. ___________________________, and
keepeth his hand from doing any evil." Isa. 56:1,2.
10. Is this promised blessing confined to anyone class?
"_____________________ STRANGER that join themselves to the Lord, to serve
Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, ____________________,
and taketh hold of My covenant; _________________________________." Verses 6,
7.
NOTE.-It is evident from these scriptures that in the last day, when men are waiting for the
Saviour to appear, there will be a call for those who really love the Lord to separate themselves
from the world, to observe the Lord's true Sabbath, and to depart from all evil.
11. What does God tell His ministers to do at this time?
"______________________, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and _______________."
Isa. 58:1.
12. What message of Sabbath reform does He send?
"If thou ___________________________________; 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; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and
feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it." Verses 13,14.
NOTE.-The Sabbath of Jehovah is not now, by the majority even of professed Christians, called
holy and honorable. By many it is stigmatized as "Jewish." The Lord foresaw how this would be
in this age, and inspired the prophet to write as he did. "If thou turn away thy foot from the
Sabbath." This is a strong expression, indicating that many would be trampling upon God's day,
and doing their own pleasure upon it, instead of seeking God, and honoring Him by keeping the
Sabbath holy.
13. What will those be called who engage in this reformation?
"And thou shalt be called, _________________________________." Verse 12.
14. What does another prophet say professed teachers among God's people have
done?
"Her priests have _______________, and have ___________________: they have put
______________________; neither have they shown difference between the unclean
and the clean, ____________________________, and I am profaned among them."
Eze. 22:26.
15. What have they done to maintain their theories?
"And her prophets have ________________________, seeing vanity, and divining lies
unto them, saying, _________________________________." Verse 28.
NOTES.-Untempered mortar is that which is improperly worked, and will not therefore hold
together or stand the test. Thus it is with the reasons advanced for keeping Sunday instead of the
Bible Sabbath, the seventh day. They are not only unsound and untenable in themselves, but are
utterly inconsistent, contradictory, and destructive one of the other, among themselves. They are
like the witnesses employed by the Jewish leaders to condemn Christ. Of these the record says:
"The chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death; and
found none. For many bare false witness against Him, but their witness agreed not together."
Mark 14:55,56. The lack of agreement among them was evidence in itself of the falsity of their
testimony. In nothing, perhaps, is a lack of agreement better illustrated than in the reasons
assigned for Sunday-keeping. Note the following:-
One says the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh to the first day of the week.
Another says that the Sabbath commandment requires only one day of rest after six of labor, and
hence there has been no change.
Some reason that all ought to keep Sunday, because although, as they affirm, God did not appoint
a particular day, yet agreement is necessary; and to have any or every day a sabbath would be
equal to no sabbath at all.
Others, to avoid the claims of God's law, assert that the Sabbath precept is one of those
ordinances which was against us, contrary to us blotted out, and nailed to the cross. Still, they
admit that a day of rest and convocation is necessary, and therefore the day of Christ's
resurrection, they say, has been chosen.
Another class say they believe it is impossible to know which is the seventh day, although they
have no difficulty in ascertaining which is the first.
Some are so bold even as to declare that Sunday is the original seventh day.
Others, with equal certainty say that those who keep the seventh day are endeavoring to be
justified by the law, and are fallen from grace.
Another class, with more liberal views, say they believe that every one should be fully persuaded
in his own mind, whether he keep this day, or that, or none at all.
Still again, as if having found the great desideratum or missing link in the argument, men
credited with even more than ordinary intelligence, will sometimes declare that it is impossible
to keep the seventh day on a round and rolling earth; and yet, strange to say, they find no
difficulty in keeping Sunday anywhere, and believe that this day should be observed the world
over!
Lastly, and more terrible and presumptuous than all the rest, some, like Herod of old in slaying
all the children of Bethlehem in order to make sure of killing Christ, have gone so far as to teach
that all ten commandments have been abolished, in order to avoid the duty enjoined in the
fourth. But as in the case of Herod, God's Anointed escaped the murderous blow of this wicked
king, so in the judgment such will have to meet God over His broken law, and will find that the
Sabbath precept stands there unchanged with the rest.
Said Christ, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach
men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" Matt. 5:19.
16. What does the Lord say will become of this wall thus daubed with
untempered mortar?
"Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that ___________: there shall
be an overflowing shower; and ye, _____________________________________."
Eze. 13:11.
17. When are these hailstones to fall?
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen
___________________________________________?" Job 28:22,23.
18. Under which of the seven last plagues will this hail fall?
"And ____________________ poured out his vial into the air; . . . and the cities of the
nations fell: . . . and every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And
there fell upon men _____________ out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a
talent." Rev. 16:17-21.
19. In order to prepare His people for that terrible time, what does God expect
His ministers to do?
"Ye have not _________________, neither ___________________ for the house of
Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." Eze. 13:5.
20. Instead of trying to close up this breach made in God's law [the loss of the
Sabbath], and so make up the hedge, what have they done?
"They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, ___________________: and
they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word." Verse 6.
21. During these closing scenes, what message is God sending to the world to turn
men from false worship to the worship of the true and living God?
"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come:
_______________________________________of waters. . . . Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city, because she _____________________________fornication. . . .
If ______________________________________________________." Rev. 14:7-10.
NOTE.-This is the last gospel message to be sent to the world before the Lord comes. Under it
will be developed two classes of people, one having the mark of the beast (the Papacy) , and the
other keeping the commandments of God, and having His seal, the Sabbath of the fourth
commandment.
22. What, besides attending and taking part in religious services (Luke 4:16), did
Christ do on the Sabbath day?
"Who _______________________." Acts 10:38. See Matt. 8:14-17; 12:1-15; Mark
2:23-28; 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11; 13:11-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-18; 9:1-41.
NOTE.-When we come to study the life of Christ, we find that He did not make the Sabbath a
day of idleness, nor even a day confined wholly to public and private worship, but one of active
service in blessing others. On this day especially He went about doing good, ministering to the
sick, and bringing relief to those long bound by Satan. Luke 13:15,16; John 5:5,6. And as He is
our pattern in all things, we, too, like Him, should seek to make the Sabbath a day for helping
and blessing others. To loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, deal bread to the
hungry, clothe the naked, and let the oppressed go free, is the fast which God has chosen, and the
Sabbath-keeping most acceptable to Him. Isa. 58:1-12. In this kind of work and ministry there is
room for a world-wide Sabbath reform.

BROTHER! up to the breach


For God's freedom and truth;
Let us act as we teach,
With the wisdom of age,
and the vigor of youth.
Heed not their cannon-balls;
Ask not who stands or falls;
Grasp the sword of the Lord,
And-Forward!

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