The 7th Day Sabbath –
“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I Am God, and there is none else.”
This is the message written in nature, which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory . . . . No other institution which was committed to the Jews (Israel – the children of Abraham, ref: Galatians 3:6-7) tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath.
God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers . . . “in Spirit and in Truth !” ref: John 4:24
When the Lord bade Israel hallow His Sabbaths, He said, “They shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I Am Jehovah (Yehuwah) your God (Elohim – Mighty One) !” Isaiah 40:18-29; 41:10; 45:22; Ezekiel 20:20 and Exodus 31:12-17
The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, “How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?” Exodus 16:28.
The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.” Matthew 5:17-20.
So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator’s power! And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. “From one Sabbath to another” the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up “to worship before Me, saith the LORD.”
Matthew 5:18 and Isaiah 66:23.
No other institution which was committed to the Jews (Israel – the children of Abraham, ref: Galatians 3:6-7) tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers . . . “in Spirit and in Truth !” ref: John 4:24
It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection (union) with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ.
When the command was given to Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” the Lord said also to them, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me.” Exodus 20:8 & 22:31.
Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel (those who overcome – Genesis 32:27-30, Revelation 2-3) as the worshipers of God.
note: And the same God Who said, “Let there be Light . . .” has also spoken and said, “Be ye holy, for I Am holy,” Genesis 1:3 and I Peter 1:16 “For by the Word of the LORD were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the Breath (Spirit) of His mouth . . . for He spake and it was done; He commanded, and it stands fast !” Psalm 33:6-9
Quote – “The creative energy that called the worlds into existence is in the Word of God. This Word imparts power; It begets Life. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, It brings with it the Life of the Infinite One (II Peter 1:4 and I Thessalonians 2:13). It transforms the nature and re-creates the soul in the image of God. The Life thus imparted is in like manner sustained. “By every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God . . . !”
– Education, p.126
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying . . . Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I Am the LORD (Jehovah, Yehuwah) that doth sanctify you . . . !”
Exodus 31:12-17 & Luke 16:31
“And the heathen shall know that I the LORD (Exodus 3:5-14 and 6:1-8) do sanctify* Israel . . . when My sanctuary (tabernacle, dwelling) shall be in the midst of them for ever more . . . !” Ezekiel 37:28 & II Corinthians 6:16-7:1
“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens . . . Yea, God Himself that formed the earth and made it . . . I have not spoken in secret, in some dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain . . . For I the LORD (Jehovah, Yehuwah) speak righteousness, I declare things that are right !”
Isaiah 45:11-19 & 45:22-25
“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? He that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength? . . . I that speak in righteousness (faithfulness, rightness) Am mighty to save . . . !”
Isaiah 63:1 and Isaiah 9:6-7
As the Jews departed from God (John 15:1-5), and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith (Romans 3:30-31), the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ.
“God, Who hath sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto our fathers by the prophets, hath in the last days spoken unto us by His Son . . . Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, and by Whom also He made the worlds . . .”
Hebrews 1:1-2
“For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with* (ekh-awd – united as one) God, and the Word was God (Theos – Deity, Divinity, verily, exceeding Divine) . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made . . . !” John 1:1-3
“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth . . . visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers . . . all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before (superior, prior to) all things, and by Him all things consist (are held together) . . .” Colossians 1:16-17
“Who being the brightness (off-flashing) of His glory, and the express Image of His person . . . and upholding all things by the Word of His power . . . when He had by (through) Himself purged our sins (all of them), sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high . . .” Hebrews 1:3 and I Peter 3:22
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness (blindness, obscurity), and hath translated us into the Kingdom (Sovereign Reign) of His dear Son . . . In Whom we have redemption (ransom, deliverance, salvation, and atonement) through His blood . . . for the Life is in the blood . . . even the forgiveness of sins !” Colossians 1:13-14
The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God’s rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of our loving Heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey.
They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements (rabbinical law), but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God !”
“Think not that I Am come to destroy the law, or the prophets . . . I Am not come to destroy, but to fill full (to satisfy, to complete). For verily I say unto you . . . Till heaven and earth shall pass (II Peter 3:8-13), one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled . . . !” Matthew 5:17-20
“The LORD is well pleased for His Righteousness’ sake (Jeremiah 23:5-6 & John 8:29); for He will magnify (make it clear) the law, and make it honourable . . . !”
Isaiah 42:21
– Desire of Ages, p.282-283