The first thing you need to know about SDA's....(throughout the rest of the blog I will refer to Seventh-day Adventists as SDA's for short) we're not a cult. Yes, we don't eat pork, yes, we don't believe in ghosts, and yes, we worship on the original Biblical Seventh-day Sabbath. No Ellen G. White is not our "Pope" but she is a confirmed and accurate Prophet and co-founder of our church. We are a 100% Bible believing doctrine and there is not one thing that we believe or practice that isn't Biblical.
This blog isn't necessarily supposed to be a "what do you weirdo's believe" but more of a current events update and how they apply to End Times. So, if you do have more questions about SDA's please feel free to leave your questions under the comments section, email me, or just click on the link above and do your own heartfelt and spiritually lead research.
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The SDA world is in a buzz lately due to the events unfolding around the Catholic Church's new Pope. I wanted to just reflect on those and give my thoughts for those who are unaware of the relevance of these actions and to serve as a reminder to my SDA brothers and sisters that the time is drawing near for Christ's return.
So, to start just a bit of history. SDA's and the Catholic Church are on just about thee most opposite spectrum of doctrine as you can get. SDA's have always and still believe that the Sabbath will be the final battle between Satan and God and that the choice of whether to serve God or serve Satan will be the ultimate taking of the Mark of the Beast (666). There have been Sunday Blue Laws on the books in the country for thousands of years but SDA's are probably the only doctrine that has payed any attention to them because of our belief on worshiping on the true Biblical Sabbath.
If you are SDA then Revelation Seminars are nothing new and in fact are ingrained into your mind. Daniel and Revelation are played out in front of you at least once a year showing the unfolding of End Time events and how our church and the United States will play it's particular part. What does the Bible say about the Sabbath day and when it is? The fourth Commandment: "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you many be refreshed". Exodus 23:12
Let's just get to the bare bones of the matter...The Roman Catholic Church changed the Biblical Sabbath of Saturday to the "Lord's Day" of Sunday. Their Catholic Catechism clearly says this and any Priest you talk to will most likely have knowledge of this change. The reason for this change from the Sabbath of our Lord to Sunday, the day of the sun worshipers occurred due to two reasons, one was a desire to avoid being identified with the Jews, whose bigotry and downfall had make them unpopular and two, an equally strong desire to win the pagan sun worshipers and gain their adherence to the church. Our belief is that this departure from faith will be the great falling away or apostasy that will ultimately disclose the sin of man who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. This action of enforcing Sunday worship will come from the Antichrist and cause the world to take the Mark of The Beast by choosing either with their mind or with their hand to worship on Sunday instead of God's created Sabbath, Saturday.
You are at this point probably saying, "what, the Catholic Church changed the Sabbath? How? When?". Well let me prove it to you...
The earliest Sunday law known to history was that of Constantine promulgated in A.D. 321. It reads: "On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities res, and let all workshops be closed" (Haynes, 1928). I could go on and on about Constantine and the many Pope's of his day and the days that follow but let's get to the actual black and white proof from the current Catholic Church.
Haynes (1928) stated, ""Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles...From beginning to end 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" - August 25, 1900"" (p. 46).
In 1893 the Catholic Mirror of Baltimore, MA, was the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons and in its September 23rd paper said, "The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday". "The Christian Sabbath is therefore to this day the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church as spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant World" - Catholic Mirror as pamphlet, The Christian Sabbath (pp. 29, 31).
There is also a paragraph in the Catechism that states under the heading "Cooperation by the Civil Authories Regarding This Commandment..."The civil authorities should be urged to cooperate with the church in maintaining and strengthening this public worship of God, and to support with their own authority the regulations set down by the church's pastors. For it is only in this way that the faithful will understand why it is Sunday and not the Sabbath day that we now keep holy" - The Roman Catechism (1985).
Believe it or not, they have even went so far as to remove the 2nd Commandment regarding idolatry and moving the fourth Commandment in the rest of our Bibles, "Remember the Sabbath Day" Commandment to the 3rd Commandment. Yes, believe it or not, the Catholic Church has a different Bible than the rest of us Protestants. If you don't believe me, go to any Catholic book store and look at their Bibles.
Take a look for yourself...
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work.90The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.91
2168 The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."92
The day of the Resurrection: the new creation
2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week."104 Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath,105 it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
- We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day
Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.106
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:107
- Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.
2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."110
"Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints."111
2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age.112 The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another."113
- Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation: Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in prayer. . . . Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. . . . We have often said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."114
2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop."115 It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love:
- You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.116
2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."117 "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."118
And a very important note...
2189 "Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Deut 5:12). "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord" (Ex 31:15).
2190 The sabbath, which represented the completion of the first creation, has been replaced by Sunday which recalls the new creation inaugurated by the Resurrection of Christ.
2191 The Church celebrates the day of Christ's Resurrection on the "eighth day," Sunday, which is rightly called the Lord's Day (cf. SC 106).
In doing so Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe in God and his Word. There is a battle between the laws of men and the laws of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible, and the religion of fable and tradition.
Thousands of people have come to deny the very doctrines that are the pillars of the Christian faith. Many ministers and priests are teaching their followers, their faithful sheep, that the law of God has changed the law that he came to fulfill. God did not send Jesus Christ to die on a cross to change the law, but to fulfill it. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished". Matthew 5:17-18.
It is the claim from many "Christian" leaders that the enforcement of Sunday observance would greatly improve the morals of society. The claim is especially urged in America, where the doctrine of the true Sabbath has been preached. It's the goal of these ministers and church leaders to convince you that they are laboring to promote the highest interest of society and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform.
So why do I go on and on and show you all of this proof? Who cares what day we worship? Well there are two articles that I found posted today from my own church website and also from national news....
Towards Global Law Sunday and Pope: No Work Sundays good: Not just for faithful. This has HUGE significance to the SDA because we have been predicting for thousands of years that from the change instituted by the Roman Catholic Church that eventually Sunday would be something that is required, not just observed. This small (or not small to us) move or statement made by the Pope is just a glimpse of what is coming. All that it would take would be one significant world disaster and the Pope along with the United States Government could call for "peace, peace" and ask that the world stop and worship God (which is great except) on one specific day. That day will end up being on Sunday because the greatest of all things that Satan the Father of Lies wants is for God's people to forget the day they were created and made to rest and worship on a day that was never meant for them.
"Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath". Mark 2.27-28.
White (1950) stated, "We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with falsehood just enough to give plausibility" (p. 587).
My point in telling you non SDA's all of this and in showing you all of this proof is in hopes that you will question your faith, that you will question the doctrine that you've been taught your whole life, that the "traditions" of this world of worshiping on Sunday will be questioned and that you will question why you've been doing this your whole life. My desire is not necessarily that you will convert to SDA tomorrow, although that would be great, but that you just start to look at your Bible and what it says in a different way and that you will question it, question God, question your Minister, question your church and your church leaders. Delve into it yourself and ask yourself and talk to God about the truth He has been showing you for thousands of years. Keep a close eye on events that unfold about this Pope and what he has to say about the Sabbath day. Keep an eye on our Presidential administration and how the start to work with the Catholic Church, and just be observant with an open mind. I can promise you that you will see things that you never thought of before and never thought possible.
My point in doing this for those of us who are SDA is to once again bring this topic to your attention and the importance of following what we know to be truth and showing it to the world. There is an old joke that I love, just because you have a car in your garage, doesn't mean you are a mechanic. And another, just because you set every Sabbath in a pew, doesn't mean you are a Christian.We have to stop setting in our pews each Sabbath preaching to each other. We have to stop thinking just because we were born and raised this way, or for some converted to this way, that everyone just knows the truth and we can just set complacent and just preach to ourselves. SDA's, the world is looking for something right now. They are looking for a leader. Things are BAD. People are asking questions. They are looking for someone to step up and show them what to do, how to live, what they can place their hope in. We are it. We need to stop preaching at people and start preaching to people.
Christ is coming. The Second Coming is near and He is going to be looking for those of us who will stand for His truth even during persecution and tribulation. This world is a disgusting vial mess and there will be a time very soon that our beliefs are going to be questioned and we have to stand up with good reasons why we are doing what we're doing. We are going to be persecuted and thrown in jail for our Sabbath worship. Mark my words. We are called to be set apart from this world. Our lives are in constant question. We have to not just say it but show it.
We can't convince everyone, but we may be able to convince a few.
References:
White, E. G. (1950). The Great Controversy (5th ed.). Battle Creek, MI: Pacific Press.
Haynes, C. B. (1928). From Sabbath to Sunday. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Harold.
Reid, G. E. (1996). Sunday's Coming. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Harold.
All other references are linked.
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