Ok, I did a bunch of research, and hope your sitting down, ‘cause this is some heavy stuff. Please remember, I am not judging anyone’s beliefs, nor am I pointing fingers. I am not suggesting that you will go straight to hell if you don’t agree. Some of this may fly in the face of all you have been taught over the years, and I would not be surprised if some would find this upsetting. I am merely stating the facts as I have come to know them and trying feebly to answer the very tough questions posed about why keeping the Sabbath is so very important to those of us in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is based on several scriptures in the Bible, and other sources that have been shown to me. Please feel free to disagree, but I also ask that you would read the bible for yourself, and see if it makes some sense.
Saturday is the seventh and last day of the week. It was on the last (seventh) day of creation that God rested. In Ezekiel 20:12-20 it states that the Lord gave us the Sabbath as a sign to his people that he is the creator and that we should worship him. (It is also good reading to understand how He feels when we don’t keep the Sabbath). He goes on to clearly state in Exodus that we are to keep the Sabbath holy (see previous post and below). This is the 4th commandment.
Matthew 12:10 talks about how it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath, and Mark 3:4 as well as Luke 14:3 talk about how it is lawful to do good works on the Sabbath.
Sunday was a holy day to the Pagans/Heathens, who worshiped the sun on the first day of the week. They worshiped other gods on other days. Thursday for example was to worship Thor the god of thunder.
For those of you who believe “it is just a day”, I say this: The Lord has given us this day to represent his commitment to us and for us to worship Him. Much like pieces of red, white and blue cloth are “just pieces of cloth” and are meaningless as such, when they are assembled correctly they become the American Flag, which represents freedom. Millions of men and women have willingly given their lives to defend what the flag represents (over 1600 since 2003). So too does the Sabbath represent our willingness to follow the commandments and do that which God has asked us to do. It is not “just a day” but rather the day that God has set aside for us to worship, rest and reflect on our relationship with Him. In Mark 2:27,28 the Bible states that the Sabbath was made for man.
So, why is this so important? Why do we make such a big deal about it? Here is the very difficult section, and I warn you that you may not like what I have to say here.
In the 4th century, the Roman Church changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday as a way to try and bring all the different religions into it’s fold, and create one day of worship. Sunday was chosen as a way to include some of the tenets of these other churches, and to demonstrate its power to bring these religions together. They also included icons and idols, but that’s a whole different discussion. (Referenced from Catechism notes from 1948) The Roman Church readily admits “worship on Sunday is our mark of authority”.
It comes down to this… Satan was thrown out of heaven because he wanted to be worshiped and be “as powerful” as God. He is trying to lead as many people as possible away from God, in order to get the worship he desires. There are some who will worship him for who he is, but he knows that he would not be able to get Christians to worship him if he did not deceive them. So, in order to do this, he appears to be Christ-like so that people will follow him not knowing the difference. He is a counterfeit and like all counterfeits he is “almost” identical to the original, exceptionally difficult to discern, but slightly different. One of the ways he deceives Christians is that he has convinced people that Sunday is the accepted day of worship. This is close, but not exactly what God has said. God clearly states in Exodus 20:8-11, 31:14-16, 35:2-3, Leviticus 16:31, and Deuteronomy 5:12-15 among others that the day of worship that HE has established is the Sabbath.
This is where the mark of the beast comes in. Those who keep the commandments will not receive the mark of the beast. The true mark of the beast is rejecting the word of God for the word of Satan or man. Revelations 14:9-10 shows a clear warning to us about accepting the mark of the beast. Revelations 13:3,4,8 shows how all the world will follow and worship the beast. To receive the mark on the head means to have the belief in the teachings of Satan (deceit), or to choose to follow mans authority over Gods. (God says do this…Man says yes, but I will do that). To have the mark on the hand means that you know it is wrong, but by your works (or lack of works), you follow the teachings of Satan or man instead of Gods plan. The mark will not become evident until law is passed (around the world) that makes it “illegal” to follow the commandments as they are written, and forces people to follow the word of man.
The scary part is that we are much closer than you would think to doing this. In 1998, Pope John Paul II wrote a 140 page letter to all the churches called the Dies Domini, which discusses the importance of keeping the official day of worship as Sunday (among many other subjects). In 2001, G.W. Bush (U.S. President) made public comments that we as American’s should follow the Pope’s teachings. While this is not “law”, it shows that we have started down the path, and that one day this will come to pass as it is prophesied in the Bible.
So, why is it so important? Well in a word: Salvation. Why do we make such a big deal about it? We want you to be saved as well.
Now for my disclaimer, because I know this is complicated and heavy. This is a synopsis of some of the teachings I have been exposed to, and some of the ideas that led me to this church. My hope is that it will spur you to read your Bible and learn Gods truth. There are variations on people’s understanding of what I have written, and many disagree. I do not by any means profess to be an expert on this, nor do I write/speak for all Adventists (or anyone else for that matter). This does not make me any better or worse than anyone else, and I am not holier than thou. As long as your good folk, I’d be happy to go wheelin’ with all of you.
