The Signs of the Times, vol. 16

May 26, 1890

“Things We Should Know” The Signs of the Times, 16, 20.

E. J. Waggoner

As finite beings, our knowledge is necessarily limited. There are many things that it is impossible for us to know. In fact, that which we know is a very small amount in comparison with that which we do not know; and much of that which we think we know is only conjecture. People sometimes think they know a great deal about nature, but such ones only think so because of their ignorance of the vastness of God’s works. So Isaac Newton, after a lifetime of contemplation of the works of nature, and investigation of physical phenomena, said that he was like a child playing with pebbles on the shore of the ocean, while the vast expanse was still before him unexplored. And when we come to things supernatural, our knowledge is still more limited. We can know nothing of them, except they are revealed in God’s word. It is idle for us to conjecture concerning the size of the throne of God, the height of the tree of life, the width of the streets of the New Jerusalem, or of the river of water of life. These things have not been revealed to us, and hence it is not necessary that we should know them. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.80

But there are some things which are very plainly made known, and these things it is our duty to know. If we remain ignorant of them, it is a sin. Let us consider some of the things that we may and should know without any mixture of doubt. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.81

In Deuteronomy 4:30 Moses says: “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.” SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.82

This may be called the first element of knowledge, because whoever says, “There is no God,” is a fool. Psalm 14:1. A man may be ignorant of a great many things and yet not be a fool; but one who is ignorant of things existing around him, who is unconscious of the existence of the sun, the air, the works of creation, and who looks upon all with indifferent eye,-such an one we say is a fool. But that is virtually the condition one must be in if he denies the existence of God, for God is known by his works. Says the psalmist, “For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.” Psalm 96:5. Again, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.83

A knowledge of God is inseparably connected with a knowledge of his creative power. The psalmist says again: “Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3. This is shown still farther by the fact that the heathen lost their knowledge of God through failure to recognize his creative power. Thus Paul says that the heathen who know nothing of God are without excuse, because ever since the creation of the world the eternal power and godhead of God may be seen from the things that are made. And then he says that darkness came upon them “because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful.” What would it be to glorify him as God? Evidently to properly recognize him as Creator, for it is that which distinguishes him as the one true God. Thus the psalmist, after declaring the power of God above all gods, says, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.” Psalm 96:8. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.84

But if we acknowledge God as Creator, and consider it in our heart, to what will that lead? It will lead to the perfect doing of his will. Obedience is due only to superiors by inferiors. It is a principle of law that one who is dependent on another is in duty bound to obey the will of that other just to the extent that he is dependent on him. Man is dependent upon God for everything,-“In him we live, and move, and have our being,”-and therefore he is in duty bound to yield obedience to the will of God in every particular. And if a man recognize this supremacy of God, and his own dependence, he will do the will of God. That obedience to God is a necessary consequence of a recognition of his supremacy, or, rather, is the only way in which his supremacy can be recognized, is shown by the following verses, one of which has already been quoted:- SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.85

“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments.” Deuteronomy 4:39, 40. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.86

The same thing is still further seen by the fact that ignorance of divine truth springs directly from disobedience. Paul says that strong delusion shall come upon men to that they shall believe a lie, for the reason that they receive not the love of the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. And again he warns the people to watch lest they be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.87

It will not be denied that a knowledge of God is of the utmost importance, and that it is a primary duty; and since we can retain our knowledge of God only by doing his will, how important it is that we keep his commandments. In obeying any precept of God we recognize his authority, and increase our knowledge of him; but there is one duty the performance of which leads especially to the knowledge of God. In Exodus 31:13, 17, we read these words of the Lord:- SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.88

“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 that doth sanctify you.” “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.89

Here the reason is given why the keeping of the Sabbath leads to a more perfect knowledge of God. The Sabbath commemorates the completed creation. The Sabbath is given for this very purpose. It can be properly kept only when we consider the wonderful power and goodness of God. In the ninety-second psalm, which is for the Sabbath-day, the psalmist speaks of the necessity of praise to God, and says: “For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work; I will triumph in the works of thy hands.” Verse 4. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.90

The same thing that is stated in Exodus is repeated by the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel: “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” “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.” Ezekiel 20:12, 20. In these words the Lord expressly declares that the Sabbath is the only means that he has given whereby men may preserve a knowledge of him. And as when we read the command, “Know ye that the Lord he is God,” it is equivalent to a command to keep the Sabbath. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.91

“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” This is the day which commemorates creation. No other day calls attention to the power of God. Changing the day of rest is the first step toward complete loss of knowledge of God. When we read that the heathen became what they are because “when they knew God they glorified him not as God,” and remember that the glory of God is his creative power, and that keeping the Sabbath is the means by which we recognize that power, we do not see how the conclusion can be avoided that the first step toward the degradation revealed in Romans 1:23-31 was the refusal to keep the Sabbath which God had sanctified. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.92

The “man of sin” became such by thinking to change the times and the laws of God. The attempted change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week is the boast of the Catholic Church. To this she points as the badge of her authority. And this fact marks the Papacy as essentially heathen. Thus: By the act of changing the Sabbath it claimed the place and authority of God. Paul says of the Papacy: “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4. One power can usurp the place of another only by changing, or attempting to change, its laws. But if the Papacy puts itself in the place of God, showing itself to be God, it must necessarily ignore the existence of the only true God; and thus it is that by changing the Sabbath the Papacy becomes essentially heathen. It matters not that the Papacy makes great pretensions to godliness. Profession counts for nothing unless the action corresponds. Paul says of certain ones. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him.” Titus 1:16. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.93

It is the rejection of the truth that is going to land the mass of the people of the last days in the worst kind of infidelity. See 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. The Sabbath of Jehovah was, so far as we have any record, the first truth revealed to man (see Genesis 2:1-3), and it is the primary and most essential truth, since it pre-eminently teaches the existence and power of God. It is this truth which the Papacy has sought to overthrow, thus putting itself in the place of God; it is against this truth that Satan, the arch-enemy of God, exerts all his hellish arts, that he may lure men from allegiance to God; and it is the rejection of this truth which will make men an easy prey to Satan’s strong delusion, and bring them under the wrath of God. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.94

Let us then keep the Sabbath of the Lord in spirit and in truth. Let us not substitute a way of our own choosing, thus exalting ourselves to the place of God. If by the faith of Christ we earnestly strive to keep the commandments of God, we shall “follow on to know the Lord;” and in the earth made new, where all shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest, we shall be permitted every Sabbath (Isaiah 66:23) to see God and to worship before his throne, acknowledging his goodness and power, in that he hath made all things new. SITI May 26, 1890, page 155.95