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Review and Herald, Vol. 90, No. 42.

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Review and Herald

Oct 16, 1913

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 16, 1913

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Shall America Become Rome's “Land of Promise”?

In This Number Read, in Her Own Words, Rome's Program “TO MAKE AMERICA DOMINANTLY CATHOLIC.” Also the Warning Against “Vaticanism,” Issued by the Union Republican Congressional Executive Committee, Washington, D. C., in 1876.
The famous Thomas Nast cartoons we are reproducing from the old files of “Harper's Weekly,” on the Papacy, are well worth the price of a year's subscription.

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Double Frontispiece: Nast Cartoon, “The Promised Land, as Seen From the Dome of St. Peter's, Rome”—Photo of Pope Pius X Under American Flag. Front Cover: Catholic America the Promised Land. The Land of Promise (Catholic Utterances). Archbishop Ireland's Deceptive Speech. Protestants Should be Accurate. Vaticanism in Germany and the United States—Warning of Union Republican Congressional Executive Committee. Growth of Catholic Church in America. The Papacy Foretold in Prophecy—Prof. L. Gaussen on Daniel 7. The Bible and the Believer. St. Louis “Post-Dispatch” Defends the Word “Protestant.” The Gentle Art of Deceiving Protestants. Some Startling Figures. Twenty Other Striking Items.
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Convincing Facts on Important Topics

Proof of Papal Fallacies

“Valuable Extracts” contains quotations from government reports, court records, and the writings of men of national and international reputation, on religious liberty, the rights of conscience, religious legislation, and the separation of church and state. It also gives excerpts from standard Catholic literature, acknowledging papal persecution, and attempting to justify the use of the Inquisition.
The portion of the pamphlet devoted to the doctrines and aims of the Papacy, includes extracts from Catholic authorities describing some of the unscriptural tenets of the papal church, the ambitions of Catholicism regarding America, and the attitude of this country toward the church. In every instance exact quotations are made, and references given. 32 pages. Price, 10 cents.

Revival of the Work

This impressive and convincing testimony in favor of more energetic endeavor for souls is intended to create a determination on the part of every worker to put forth his best effort in the cause of God. It emphasizes the call to active service, the needs of the hour, and the necessity for consecration, faithfulness, courage, perseverance, faith, and tact. 6 pages. Price, 40 cents per one hundred copies.

Gospel Order

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“Just What I Have Been Looking For”

While attending the recent General Conference many persons received a copy of the tract “The Darkness of Millennial Dawn,” and frequently was it said, “Just what I have been looking for.” In this tract many teachings on the subject are shown to be vagaries, and the truth concerning the millennial reign of Christ is clearly presented. 16 pages. Price, 2 cents per copy.
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The Hour of Darkness

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE
At the gate of Jezreel, Elijah and Ahab separated. Choosing to remain outside the walls, the prophet wrapped himself in his mantle, and lay down upon the bare earth to sleep. The king, passing within, soon reached the shelter of his palace, and there related to his wife the wonderful events of the day, and the marvelous revelation of divine power that had proved to Israel that Jehovah was the true God and Elijah his chosen messenger. As Ahab told the queen of the slaying of the idolatrous prophets, Jezebel, hardened and impenitent, became infuriated. She refused to recognize in the events on Mt. Carmel the overruling providence of God, and, still defiant, she boldly declared that Elijah should die.
That night a messenger aroused the weary prophet, and delivered to him the word of Jezebel: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”
It would seem that after showing on Carmel courage so undaunted, after triumphing over king and priests and people, Elijah could never afterward give way to despondency, nor be awed into timidity. But he who had been blessed with so many evidences of God’s loving care, was not above the frailties of mankind, and in this dark hour his faith and courage forsook him. Bewildered, he started from his slumber. The rain was pouring from the heavens, and darkness was on every side. Forgetting that three years before, God had directed his course to a place of refuge from the hatred of Jezebel and the search of Ahab, the prophet now lost sight of God’s protecting care, and fled for his life. Leaving his servant at Beersheba, he “went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper-tree.”
Elijah should not have fled from his post of duty. He should have met the threat of Jezebel with an appeal for protection to the One who had commissioned him to do the work he had done. He should have told the messenger that the God in whom he trusted would protect him against the hatred of the queen. Only a short time had passed since he had witnessed a wonderful manifestation of God’s power, and this should have given him assurance that he would not now be forsaken. Had he remained where he was, had he made God his refuge and strength, standing steadfast for the truth, the Lord would have shielded him from harm. He would have given him another signal victory by sending his judgments on Jezebel; and the impression made on the king and the people would have wrought a great reformation.
However courageous and successful a man may be in the performance of a special work, unless he looks constantly to God when circumstances arise to test his faith he will lose his courage. Even after God has given him marked tokens of his power, after he has been strengthened to do God’s work, he will fail unless he trusts implicitly in Omnipotence.
Elijah had expected much from the miracle wrought on Carmel, and his disappointment was keen. He had hoped that after this signal display of God’s power, Jezebel would no longer have influence over the mind of Ahab, and that there would be a speedy reform throughout Israel. All day on Carmel’s height he had toiled without food. When he had guided the chariot of Ahab to the gate of Jezreel, his courage was strong.
But the reaction which frequently follows high faith and glorious success was pressing upon Elijah. He feared that the reformation begun on Carmel might not be lasting. Depression seized him. He had been exalted to Pisgah’s top; now he was in the valley. While under the inspiration of the Almighty, he had stood the severest trial of faith; but in this time of discouragement, with Jezebel’s threatening message sounding in his ears, and Satan still apparently prevailing through the plotting of this wicked woman, he lost his hold on God. He had been exalted above measure, and the reaction was tremendous. Forgetting God, he fled, going on and on until he found himself in a dreary waste, alone.
Utterly wearied, he sat down to rest under a juniper-tree. And sitting there, he requested for himself that he might die. “It is enough; now, O Lord,” he said, “take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” A fugitive, far from the homes of men, his spirits crushed by bitter disappointment, he desired never to look upon the faces of men again. At last, utterly exhausted, he fell asleep.
Into the experience of all there come times of disappointment and discouragement, days when sorrow is the portion, and it is hard to believe that God is still the kind benefactor of his earth-born children,—days when troubles harass the soul till death seems preferable to life. It is at such times that many lose their hold on God, and are brought into the slavery of doubt, the bondage of unbelief. Could we at such times discern with spiritual sight the meaning of God’s providences, we should see angels of God seeking to save us from ourselves, striving to plant our feet upon a foundation more firm than the everlasting hills; and new faith, new life, would spring into being.
The faithful Job, in the day of his affliction and darkness, declared:—
“Let the day perish wherein I was born.”
“Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, And my calamity laid in the balances together!”
“Oh that I might have my request; And that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort.”
“I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. . . .My soul chooseth . . . death rather upon my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: Let me alone; For my days are vanity.”
But though weary of life, Job was not allowed to die. To him were pointed out the possibilities of the future, and there was given to him the message of hope:—
“Thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, And remember it as waters that pass away: Thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, Because there is hope; . . . Thou shalt lie down, And none shall make thee afraid.”
From the depths of discouragement and despondency Job rose to the heights of implicit trust in the mercy and the saving power of God. Triumphantly he declared:—
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: . . . He also shall be my salvation.”
“I know that my Redeemer liveth, And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, And mine eyes shall behold, and not another.”
“The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,” and revealed to his servant the might of his power. When Job caught a glimpse of his Creator, he abhorred himself, and repented in dust and ashes. Then the Lord was able to bless him abundantly, and to make his last years the best of his life.
Hope and courage are essential to perfect service in the work of God. These are the fruit of faith. Despondency is sinful and unreasonable. God is able and willing more abundantly to bestow upon his servants the strength they need for test and trial. The plans of the enemies of his work may seem to be well laid and firmly established; but God can overthrow the strongest of these. And this he does in his own time and way, when he sees that the faith has been sufficiently tested.
For the disheartened there is one remedy—faith, prayer, work. Faith and activity will impart assurance and satisfaction that will increase day by day. In the darkest days, when appearances seem most forbidding, fear not. Have faith in God. He knows your every need. He has all power. His infinite love and compassion never weary. Fear not that he will not fulfil his promise. He is eternal truth. Never will he change the covenant he has made with those who love him. And he will bestow upon his faithful servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands. Said the tried apostle Paul: “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. . . . Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Did God forsake Elijah? O, no! he loved him no less when he felt forsaken of God and man than when, in answer to his prayer, fire flashed from heaven and illuminated the mountaintop. As Elijah slept, a soft touch and a pleasant voice awoke him. He started up in terror, as if to flee, fearing that the enemy had discovered him. But the pitying face bending over him was not the face of an enemy, but of a friend. God had sent an angel from heaven with food for his servant. “Arise and eat,” the angel said. “And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head.”
After Elijah had partaken of the refreshment prepared for him, he slept again. A second time the angel came. Touching the exhausted man, he said, with pitying tenderness: “Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink;” and in the strength of that food he was able to journey “forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God,” where he found refuge in a cave.

Support of the Ministry

By E. K. Slade

Gospel Finance—No. 12

Support of the Ministry

E. K. SLADE
OWING to the principle involved in the tithing system, it is required of the minister that he pay tithes just as much as it is required of others, even though his support comes from that fund. Those who have reasoned that they should be excused, come short of comprehending the true nature of the requirement. A minister needs the benefit of the heaven-born plan as much as any one else, and his position requires even greater faithfulness on his part.
“The laborer is worthy of his hire.” Luke 10:7. “Do you not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple, and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel shall live of the gospel.” 1 Cor. 9:13, 14.
The minister of the gospel is not to be embarrassed and subjected to temptation in resorting to various plans and questionable methods, consuming much of his time, in trying to raise his salary. He is to be freed from the temptation to court popular favor by preaching to please the ear, that his salary may not be jeopardized. He is not to be bound by financial support to a single congregation or to a fixed diocese. Neither is the preacher to be a pauper, nor a subject of charity. He is not to be embarrassed by lack of proper support.
The support of the ministry in the popular churches is most unsatisfactory to the churches as well as to the ministers, as they are constantly subjected to perplexity and embarrassment. The Lord’s plan provides ample support, and at the same time avoids the defeating features.
“God’s servants keep no record of hours. We must be ready in season and out of season to speak to this young man and to that young woman, to write letters to those in peril, and to hold interviews requiring the most earnest, anxious labor, praying for and with the erring and tempted.
“Those who write as well as tell the truth, have double labor. The eight-hour system has no place in the program of the minister of God. He must watch his chance to minister, he must be ready to entertain visitors, he must keep up life and energy of character, for he cannot exert a pleasing, saving influence if he is languid.”
“I wish my brethren to take this as a representation of the truth, and not fiction. Those who have a due appreciation of service, are God’s minutemen. He cannot say, I am my own; I will do what I please with my time. No one who has given his life to God to work as his minister, lives unto himself.
“Will my brethren consider these things which the Lord has brought before my mind in a most impressive manner? Will those who have never carried the burden of such a work, and who suppose the chosen and faithful ministers of God have an easy time, bear in mind that the sentinels of God are on duty constantly? Their labor is not measured by hours.
“If he occupies responsible positions, he must be prepared to attend board and council meetings, spending hours of wearisome brain and nerve-taxing labor, while others are asleep, in devising and planning with his colaborers. Who among God’s workers counts his hours of labor as does the mechanic? Yet this kind of labor taxes the mind and draws out every fiber of the being in such a way as the common laborer cannot appreciate.
“The light which the Lord has given me on this subject is that the means in the treasury for the support of the ministers in the different fields are not to be used for any other purpose. If an honest tithe were paid, and the money coming into the treasury were carefully guarded, the ministers would receive a just wage.”
“Every minister must have a salvage to work upon, that he may have something to lead out in good enterprises, pushing the work with zeal.”
“The Lord’s messengers should not be handicapped in their work of holding forth the word of life. As they teach the truth, they should have means which they can invest for the advancement of the work which must be done at the right time in order to have the best and most saving influence.”—“Special Testimonies to Ministers.”

The Social Relationship

By F. M. W.

Christian Recreation—No. 1

In the creation of the myriad forms of life which people this earth, only man was made in the image of God. Upon him alone was bestowed the power of speech. He alone was made capable of understanding and appreciating the handiwork of his Maker. He was created a social being, and one suited to his companionship was made to stand by his side. With this holy pair the angels of God held holy converse, and gave to them a knowledge of the plans and purposes of the Most High. Their lives were not to be of unceasing toil on one hand, nor a purposeless existence on the other. Definite labor was assigned them. They were given dominion over the material creation. They were to multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it; and as a model of the transformation which they were to effect in the material earth, there was given them by their Creator the garden of Eden as a home. Seasons were afforded for rest and recreation. “A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation.” In this provision they found cultivation for their physical, mental, and spiritual powers.

“Come Ye Yourselves Apart . . . and Rest Awhile”

In this plan of God for our first parents is seen his design for the human family. Time and opportunity must be afforded for the development of the physical powers of the body, the qualities of the mind, the attributes of the soul. Our Saviour recognized this divine provision as manifested in his care for his disciples. His public ministry was one of earnest toil, but from time to time he withdrew from the exacting scenes of labor, and with his disciples sought in quietness and seclusion that spiritual refreshing, that rest of body and mind, which were essential to their welfare. An example of this is recorded in the gospel according to Mark. The disciples had been engaged in earnest labor, scattered two and two throughout the cities of Galilee. They returned to the Lord, worn and weary. Into his sympathetic ear they poured a recital of their trials and difficulties. He recognized their need of rest; “and he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.”
Such seasons of refreshing the disciples of the Lord need today. In peace and quietness, alone with nature and with nature’s God, they need to seek the rest and refreshing, the time for meditation and prayer, that Christ and his disciples sought on this and similar occasions.

The Social Relationship

Christ recognized also the rest and recreation afforded in variety of labor, in visiting the people in their homes, in mingling with them at the social gathering. He did not confine his effort to the public presentation of the word of truth. He sought to reach men not only in public discourse, but through personal effort. In the busy marketplace, in the palace of the rich, by the bedside of the sick and suffering, among the poor and lowly, by the festal board, in every place and under every circumstance, Christ magnified his high and exalted position as the Saviour of men. In this he set an example for his followers in every age of the church.
Christ extended and accepted hospitality. To the two disciples who inquired, “Rabbi, . . . where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day.” He not only ministered to the spiritual needs of the people, but by his own divine power provided the food for their physical necessities. With his own hands he broke the bread for the hungry multitude. The generous nature of Christ is further manifested in his appreciation of the hospitality of others. He accepted the invitation to the marriage in Cana of Galilee. John 2:1-11. He was the guest of honor at the dinner provided by Simon, whom he had healed of leprosy. Luke 7:36-50.
In these pleasant social gatherings, in the friendly converse, in the free commingling with his fellows, the Saviour took pleasure. It afforded him relief and relaxation from his strenuous life of public labor and service.

The Object of Christ in Attending Social Gatherings

What object had the Lord in attending these gatherings, and in what manner did he relate himself to them in the accomplishment of his mission as the Saviour of men?
The special object of Jesus in attending this marriage feast [at Cana] was to commence the work of breaking down the exclusiveness which existed with the Jewish people, and to open the way for their freer mingling with the people. He had come not only as the Messiah of the Jews, but the Redeemer of the world.—“Spirit of Prophecy,” Vol. II, page 107.
Christ accepted the hospitality of Simon for the same reason. He saw there an opportunity to present to the people gathered on that occasion the saving truth of God. The gathering itself was a notable demonstration of the work of the Master. “The Saviour sat at the table with Simon, whom he had cured of a loathsome disease, on one side, and Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, on the other.”—Id., page 375. Mary, who on this occasion anointed the head and feet of the Master with the precious ointment, was another living example of his mighty power to set individuals free from the bondage of Satan.

An Example to the Church

In his association with the people, not only at social gatherings, but in laboring for them in their homes, Christ gave an example to his followers in every age:— Here is a lesson for the disciples of Christ through all time, not to exclude themselves from society, renouncing allsocial communion and seeking a strict seclusion from their fellow beings. In order to reach all classes, we must meet them where they are; for they will seldom seek us of their own accord. Not alone from the pulpit are the hearts of men and women touched by divine truth. Christ awakened their interest by going among them as one who desired their good. He sought them at their daily avocations, and manifested an unfeigned interest in their temporal affairs. He carried his instruction into the households of the people, bringing whole families in their own homes under the influence of his divine presence. His strong personal sympathies helped to win hearts to his cause.
This example of the great Master should be closely followed by his servants. However instructive and profitable may be their public discourses, they should remember there is another field of action, humbler it may be, but full as promising of abundant harvests. It is found in the lowly walks of life, as well as the more pretentious mansions of the great, at the board of hospitality and gatherings for innocent social enjoyment.—Id., page 106.

Christ’s Personal Relationship

When we recognize the purpose for which Christ took part in this association with the people, it is hardly necessary to consider the spirit with which he related himself to them and to the occasion. His influence was ennobling and uplifting. Equally on these occasions as when presenting the word of truth to the eager multitude, he stood as the Saviour of men, and by no word or act did he lower the dignity and standard of his high and holy calling.
Unlike the Pharisees and other dignitaries who preserved an austere seclusion, he had joined the mixed assembly of a festal gathering, and, while no shadow of worldly levity marred his conduct, he had sanctioned the social gathering with his presence.—Id.
Jesus rebuked intemperance, self-indulgence, and folly; yet he was social in his nature. He accepted invitations to dine with the learned and noble, as well as the poor and afflicted. On these occasions, his conversation was elevating and instructive, holding his hearers entranced. He gave no license to scenes of dissipation and revelry, yet innocent happiness was pleasing to him. A Jewish marriage was a solemn and impressive occasion, the pleasure and joy of which were not displeasing to the Son of man.—Id., page 109.

The Church in the World

Christ has set his church in the world as a savor of life. In the fulfilment of their high and holy calling, his disciples cannot become recluses. In order to reach souls they must mingle with their fellows. The purpose of this association is not that the disciple may find selfish pleasure, but in order that he may reach men where they are, and improve every opportunity to represent his blessed Master.
As disciples of Christ we shall not mingle with the world from a mere love of pleasure, to unite with them in folly. Such associations can result only in harm. We should never give sanction to sin by our words or our deeds, our silence or our presence. Wherever we go, we are to carry Jesus with us, and to reveal to others the preciousness of our Saviour. But those who try to preserve their religion by hiding it within stone walls, lose precious opportunities of doing good. Through the social relations, Christianity comes in contact with the world. Every one who has received the divine illumination, is to brighten the pathway of those who know not the Light of life.—“Desire of Ages,” page 152.

The Spirit of Discrimination

In attending gatherings, the disciple should consider whether they are of such a character that he will be afforded opportunity to let his light shine for the Master. It is evident that Christ differentiated in social gatherings. There is no record that he was ever present at a gathering whose primary object was that of sport and pleasure. In harmony with his divine character and with the work which he came to this world to do, we must believe that he attended only gatherings which afforded him opportunity for carrying forward his earthly mission. When this same spirit possesses the hearts of his disciples, they will show the same discrimination with respect to the gatherings which they attend.
F. M. W.

Amid Signs of the End

By W. A. S.

Editorial

Amid Signs of the End

The prophecies picture the closing witness of the “everlasting gospel” as being carried to the nations in times when “wars and rumors of wars” were to abound, with “distress of nations,” perplexity and unrest, famines, and “earthquakes, in divers places.”
This year our workers in various lands have met war and revolution, strikes and tumults, famine conditions, and earthquakes. Only the other day Brother J. G. Pettey, of the Guatemala English School, Central America, wrote:—
There is some unrest here in the city at present, as there has been for some time, over the many earthquakes. About two weeks ago they reported thirty shocks in one night. It seemed to me there were more. It was a sleepless night with us. Our school attendance has been somewhat reduced by the shocks, but we hope all will get quiet again soon, and that the children will come back.
Thus in all the four quarters of the earth the work is being pushed forward amid just such conditions as the prophecies describe as abounding in the last days. Of a truth,—
“The signs that show his coming near Are fast fulfilling year by year.” W. A. S.

Is It God’s Sabbath, or Man’s?

By W. A. S.

In notes on the Sunday-school lessons, in the Christian Herald (Sept. 3, 1913), Dr. W. F. Crafts gives his readers the following paragraph:—
“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.” It is putting into Scripture what is not there when Saturdarians quote “seventh day” in the commandment as if it read “seventh day of the week.” It is the seventh day after the six days of work that were previously specified. Sunday rest is a literal obedience to the commandment. This is constitutional law, requiring a whole community to work six days and then rest one. The Jews’ Sabbath was on Saturday, but the word Sabbath is no more tied up to one day of the week than Christmas. Nor can any one tell which day of our modern week is the lineal successor of the original Sabbath of Eden. There is no proof that the week has come down in unbroken succession through all the idolatrous days between Adam and Abraham. God does not make anything uncertain a condition of salvation. We keep the fourth commandment both in the letter and in the spirit when we work faithfully six days at our regular task from Monday morning to Saturday night and devote Sunday, which may be called the seventh day of the Christian week, to worship and rest and altruistic service.
It is plain that this argument sets the Creator aside and makes man the creator of the rest day. It is not God’s six days of work and his day of rest that is taken as the standard, but man’s six days and man’s rest. The Lord rested on the seventh day, and made that day holy. It is the day of God’s rest, “the Sabbath of the Lord,” that all are commanded to keep who take him as their God.
For man to say that he will work six days of his own appointing, and rest the seventh day thereafter, basing the count on his own work, is to set himself forth in the place of God, making a sabbath of his own in place of “the Sabbath of the Lord.” His day of rest would commemorate his own work, a memorial of—himself! The very essence of the original rebellion against God and of the lawless self-exaltation of the Papacy—man exalting himself in the place of God—is in this theory that man’s work and man’s rest can make a holy Sabbath. Man can make only a human substitute for the divine and holy.
“There is no proof,” says Dr. Crafts, “that the week has come down in unbroken succession through all the idolatrous days between Adam and Abraham.” But even if those idolaters were heedless of God’s appointments, this is no reason why we also should repudiate the divinely ordained order of the week. The Lord knows which is the seventh day that he made holy. And long after Abraham’s day he spoke his law with his own voice from heaven, commanding men to keep the day on which he rested, and which he made holy at creation. Which one of the seven this was he himself had already pointed out by the miracle of the manna. At that time the Lord put on record forever the true seventh day. And no one can suggest that there has been any confusion of the order of the weekly cycle from that day to this.
“The Jews’ Sabbath was on Saturday,” says the doctor, insisting upon calling it the sabbath of the Jews, though in the lesson text before his eyes, God calls it “the Sabbath of the Lord.” “But the word Sabbath,” he says, “is no more tied up to one day of the week than Christmas.” Surely the Sunday-school teachers who read these “helps” to lesson study ought not to be misled by such an argument. The humanly appointed festival of Christmas comes on different days of the week, it is true, for it is an annual holiday; but it is “tied up” to the twenty-fifth day of a given month, December. It does not slip about over the days of the month indiscriminately. The Sabbath is a weekly institution, and by no mathematical possibility can it come every seventh day and not fall on the same day of the week through all time.
This theory that we are reviewing desires definiteness, too, just as soon as the Lord’s Sabbath is set aside and the Sunday substituted. Dr. Crafts says that Sunday “may be called the seventh dayof the Christian week;” and thereafter this seventh day of his own counting would recur with beautiful regularity on Sunday. But while Dr. Crafts says that Sunday “may be called the seventh day of the Christian week,” the Holy Spirit, who speaks for Christians, actually calls it “the first day of the week.” And the Spirit also bears witness that the day before Sunday is “the Sabbath,” or day of rest. Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1, 2. All who listen to the Spirit’s voice in the New Testament, then, will keep that day, the seventh day of the week, as the day of rest. This is the language of the New Testament throughout, teaching Christian doctrine—“not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.”
Whenever men attempt to justify the substitution of the humanly selected day of rest for the divinely appointed and holy day, they are involved at once in flat contradiction of the words of Jehovah.
W. A. S.
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