The Signs of the Times, vol. 29

November 16, 1904

“Christ Revealed in the Sabbath” The Signs of the Times 30, 46, p. 6.

BY ALONZO TREVIER JONE

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.1

What There Is in the Sabbath.

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— SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.2

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.3

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 spake of the seventh day on this wise], They shall not enter into My rest.” Hebrews 4:4, 5. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.4

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.5

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 thither; 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.” SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.6

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.7

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.8

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.9

And all this is precisely, and in order, what is found in Christ by the believer in Jesus. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.10

Christ in the Sabbath.

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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.11

God’s Promises to the Believer.

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 ay 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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.12

“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 hallor 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 your GOD.” SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.13

“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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.14

“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 thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13, 14. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.15

“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. SITI November 16, 1904, page 6.16