The Great Nations of To-day
CHAPTER XIX. THE GREAT NECESSITY FOR THE THIRD ANGEL’S MESSAGE
THE Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, which He Himself has named and appointed; which He declared with His own voice from heaven; which is His own, upon which He placed His blessing, which He made holy, and which He sanctified;—this, the Sabbath of the Lord, is the sign of what Jesus Christ is to those who believe in Him. The observance of it by faith—the true observance of it—brings into the life of the believer in Jesus, as nothing else can, the living presence and power of Jesus Christ. This is true, and every man may know it by faith in Jesus. GNT 205.1
Let us candidly study this important thought. It is written: “Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may KNOW that I am the Lord YOUR God.” There is, therefore, that about the Sabbath by which he who hallows it may know not only that the Lord is God, but that the Lord is his God. But to know God is to know not only that He is, but also what He is; for His name is not simply “I AM,” but “I AM THAT I AM,”—I am what I am, I am that which I am,—so that “he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,”—must believe not only that He is, but also what He is. Therefore as the Sabbath is a sign which God has set, by which those who hallow it may know that He is the Lord their God; it follows with perfect certainty that there is in the Sabbath, that by which those who hallow it may find the knowledge of God. There is in it that by which he who hallows it may know that God is to the person who believes in Him. In other words, the Sabbath is a means of the revelation of God. GNT 205.2
This is yet more fully seen in the truth that “no man knoweth ... the Father, save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” Matthew 11:27. Thus God is known only as He is revealed in Jesus Christ. What God is, is revealed only through Christ, and can be known only in Christ. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” Christ is therefore and forever, “God with us.” 2 Corinthians 5:19 Matthew 1:23. GNT 206.1
Now as the Sabbath is God’s sign by which men may know that He is the Lord, and as He is known only as He is revealed in Christ, it is the very certainty of truth that the Sabbath is God’s sign by which those who hallow it may know God as He is revealed in Jesus Christ,—the sign by which men may know what God is to the believer in Jesus. GNT 206.2
Again: the Sabbath is God’s sign by which those who hallow it may know that the Lord sanctifies them. Ezekiel 20:12. But no man can be sanctified except by faith that is in Jesus Christ. Acts 26:18. Therefore as the Sabbath is the Lord’s sign that He sanctifies men, and as men can be sanctified only by faith in Jesus, it is the plain truth that the Sabbath is God’s sign by which men may know the sanctifying power and purity of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. GNT 206.3
This is why it is that only the believer can enter into God’s rest in the Sabbath, as it is written, “We which have believed do enter into rest.” And this is why it was that Israel, who did not believe, could not enter into God’s rest; as it is written, “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.” But “to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Thus faith in Jesus Christ is and always was the object of the Sabbath; and the whole life of Sabbath-keeping. GNT 207.1
The Sabbath, then, being the sign of what God in Christ is to the believer, it follows that there must be found in the Sabbath that which is also found in Christ. In other words, the Sabbath being the sign by which men may know that God is the Lord; and as God is known only in Jesus Christ: it follows that in the Sabbath there is the very reflection of Jesus in what He is to the believer otherwise it could not be such a sign. GNT 207.2
Let us, therefore, look at the Sabbath as God made it: and at what the Lord did in the making of it by which it became the Sabbath of the Lord. First, He created all things; then He ceased from his works and rested the seventh day; He then blessed the seventh day; He made it holy, and sanctified it. The Sabbath, therefore, is— GNT 207.3
1. The reminder of God as Creator: it is the reminder of His creative power manifested; for it is a sign between Him and His people forever, because that “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:17. GNT 208.1
2. In the Sabbath is God’s rest; “for He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again [he spoke of the seventh day on this wise], They shall not enter into my rest.” Hebrews 4:4, 5. GNT 208.2
3. In the Sabbath is God’s blessing; for He “blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:3. GNT 208.3
4. In the Sabbath is God’s holiness; for “He hallowed [made holy] the Sabbath day.” But it is only the presence of God which makes anything holy. When Moses, attracted by the curious sight of the bush burning with fire yet not consumed, turned aside and approached to behold, “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Exodus 3:4, 5. That place was made holy ground solely by the presence of “Him who dwelt in the bush.” Again, when Joshua, near Jericho, beheld “a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand,” and Joshua asked him, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” “he said, Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.... And the Captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” Joshua 5:13-15. That which made holy the place whereon Joshua stood, was the presence of the “Captain of the Lord’s host,” who was there. And as it is the presence of the Lord which makes holy; that which made holy the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord, was the presence of Him who rested the seventh day from all His works. GNT 208.4
5. The Sabbath has in it God’s sanctification; because He not only blessed the seventh day, but sanctified it,—set it apart unto the holy use and service of the Lord,—that His presence might dwell therein; for it is not merely the transient presence, but the abiding presence, the special dwelling of God in a place, which sanctifies; for it is written: “Israel shall be sanctified by my glory;” for “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.” Exodus 29:43 (margin), 45. GNT 209.1
Thus connected with the Sabbath there is the creative power of God; the rest of God; the blessing of God; the presence of God which makes holy; and the continuing, dwelling, presence of God which sanctifies. GNT 210.1
And all this is precisely, and in order, what is found in Christ by the believer in Jesus; for— GNT 210.2
1. First of all, the believer finds in Jesus the creative power of God manifested in making him a new creature; for, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10. GNT 210.3
2. The believer finds in Jesus, God’s rest; for, having found in Christ creative power to make him new, he ceases from his own works, as God did from His, and enters into God’s rest in Christ. Hebrews 4:10. Therefore it is written: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.” Matthew 11:29. GNT 210.4
3. The believer finds in Christ, God’s blessing; for “God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts 3:26. And “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ... hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ.” GNT 210.5
4. The believer finds in Christ, the presence of God to make him holy; for it is written: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.... At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.... If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him.” John 14:18-23. And “God would make known [“to his saints”] what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27. GNT 211.1
5. The believer finds in Christ, God’s abiding, dwelling presence to sanctify him; for it is written: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23); and, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15); “For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16. GNT 211.2
Thus it is plainly seen that in the Sabbath is the very reflection of all that the believer finds in Jesus; and thus it is that the Sabbath is a sign to everyone who hallows it, by which he knows that the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is his God. And as no one can know God except as He is revealed in Jesus Christ; and as the Sabbath has connected with it the suggestion, the reflection, of all that the believer finds in Jesus; it is plainly God’s sign, by which he who hallows it may find the knowledge of God as He is revealed in Christ. GNT 211.3
In all this it also be borne in mind that it was in Christ and by Him that God created all things; for, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1-3. “By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 Thus it was Christ who created all things; it was Christ who rested on the seventh day from all His work; it was Christ who blessed the seventh day because that in it He had rested; it was Christ whose presence made the day holy; and it is the continuing, dwelling presence of Christ which sanctified, and sanctifies, the seventh day. It was Christ himself, therefore, who connected with the Sabbath of the seventh day that which is the reflection of Himself, that which is the expression of what He is to the believer in Him, so that whosoever would hallow the Sabbath might know that the Lord, who is known only in Christ, is his God. GNT 212.1
God’s rest is in the seventh day; and God’s rest is in Christ. It is impossible for God’s rest to be in antagonistic places; for as with God “there is no variableness neither shadow of turning,” God’s rest is the same wherever it may be. Therefore, God’s rest being ever the same, God’s rest in the seventh day, and God’s rest in Christ, is precisely the same rest. And this, being impossible to be in antagonism, is in perfect unity, and therefore demonstrates that the Sabbath is in Christ and CHRIST IS IN THE SABBATH. GNT 212.2
A beautiful lesson that shows Christ in the Sabbath and the Sabbath in Christ, is found in the ancient sanctuary. There was the table of showbread, upon which were placed, at the beginning of every Sabbath, twelve fresh-baked cakes. Those cakes remained there until the beginning of the next Sabbath, when they were replaced by the fresh bread. Thus at the beginning of every Sabbath the bread was renewed. GNT 213.1
The term “showbread” is literally “bread of the presence;” and signifies Christ the “true bread which came down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” This bread of the presence therefore signified the presence of Christ with the whole people—the twelve tribes—of Israel. The bread’s being always there, signified the presence of Christ always with His people. But this bread of the presence was always there only by being renewed, and it was renewed every Sabbath. And thus God would teach the people then, and now, and forevermore, that his presence in Christ is renewed to the believer every Sabbath. When the Sabbath is past, however, his presence still abides through all the days of the week until the next Sabbath, when it is renewed; and thus is fulfilled the scripture, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Exodus 33:14. GNT 213.2
Thus the true believer in Jesus, the true observer of the true Sabbath, is ever growing in the knowledge of God as He is revealed in Christ; and thus the Sabbath is a sign by which he knows that the Lord is his God, and that by His abiding presence He sanctifies him. GNT 214.1
It is so also with the blessing of God in the Sabbath. When on the sixth day God made the man, “God blessed them.” Genesis 1:28. Then came the seventh day, in which God rested, and “God blessed the seventh day.” Genesis 2:3. Thus both the man and the seventh day were blessed. The man was blessed before the day was blessed. Then when that blessed man came to that blessed day, he found additional blessing; and each succeeding Sabbath he found yet additional blessing. And had he remained faithful, it would ever have been the blessed man coming each Sabbath to the blessed day; and so he would ever have grown in the knowledge of God. And so it is to-day with every soul whom God has blessed in turning him away from his iniquities, and who hallows God’s blessed Sabbath day: every time this blessed man comes to that blessed day, he receives additional blessing, and so is ever growing in the knowledge of God. GNT 214.2
And thus, whether before man sinned, or since he sinned, the Sabbath has ever been, and is still, and will ever be, God’s sign, by which he who hallows it may know that the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is his God; and may know what God is, as He is revealed in Jesus Christ whether in creation or in redemption. GNT 215.1
And what shall we more say? The Sabbath, truly understood, means all of Christ; and Christ, truly understood, means all of the Sabbath. And neither can be truly understood without the other. The Sabbath is God’s sign, and Christ is God’s sign. Christ is God’s sign spoken against, and the Sabbath is God’s sign spoken against: and all, “that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34, 35. Yet ever He is indeed “the glorious Lord” (Isaiah 33:21)” and ever “His rest,” His Sabbath, is indeed “glorious.” Isaiah 11:10. GNT 215.2
“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.... For we which have believed do enter into rest.” “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD THY GOD.” GNT 215.3
“Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 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.” Isaiah 56:1, 2. GNT 215.4
“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; 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 they father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13, 14. GNT 216.1
“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 from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 66:22, 23. GNT 216.2
Since, then, the Sabbath of the Lord—the seventh day—is the key to the fullness of the knowledge of God as He is revealed in Christ, these evidences demonstrate that the Sabbath is the key to the true knowledge of the whole law of God—the Ten Commandments. And even this thought, in just this way, is revealed in the Scriptures: When God had brought out of Egypt His people of old time, to bring them into His own promised land, He said He would prove them whether they would walk in His law or no. And it was distinctly and alone by the Sabbath that He proved them as to whether they would in His law or no. Exodus 16:4, 5, 22-30. And now, when He has set His hand the second time to bring His people into His own promised land, again, to-day, He will prove all the people whether they will walk in His law or no. And the test by which to-day He will prove the people whether they will walk in His law or no, is the same as ever—the Sabbath—the Sabbath as it is in Christ; for there is no other law, there is no other key, and He, whose is the law and its key, is “the same yesterday and to-day and forever.” With Him “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” GNT 216.3
Accordingly in all these years of the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet,—ever since the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; ever since 1844,—preachers and people have been told in the words of God that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.” But instead of believing it, or allowing the people to believe it, the religious leaders and teachers have disregarded it and declared that it is not so. They have taught the people that it is not so. They have put no difference between the holy and the profane (Ezekiel 23:36), by telling the people that it makes no difference what day they keep. Thus they disregard the law of the living God, and teach the people to disregard it. Then after teaching the people to disregard the plain word of the law of God as to the observance of the day which He has commanded; and also telling them that there is no command of God for the observance of Sunday—which indeed is the truth; they join heart and hand with the Mystery of Lawlessness, to force upon all, the Sunday which the Papacy has established instead of the Sabbath of the Lord. They set the sign of the Mystery of Lawlessness above the sign of the living God, and would compel all to receive it. GNT 217.1
And since the Sabbath of the Lord is the key to the knowledge of the whole of God, and of the fullness of Christ, just now when the Beast and his Image unite all their power and influence, through the crushing out of the Sabbath of the Lord, to deprive mankind of this key of divine knowledge—just now God sets against all the work of the Beast and his Image, His unquenchable protest in the Third Angel’s Message to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, “saying with a loud voice: If any man worship the Beast and his Image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.... Here is the patience of the saints: here are they THAT KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD and THE FAITH OF JESUS. “ GNT 218.1