THE ADVENT REVIEW,
AND SABBATH HERALD
“Here is the Patience of the Saints; Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.”
VOL. III. - ROCHESTER, N.Y. THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1853. - NO. 25.
JOSEPH BATES, J. N. ANDREWS, and JOSEPH BAKER Publishing Committee.
PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY,
at South St. Paul St., Stone’s Block, No. 21, Third Floor
Terms - GRATIS. It is expected that all the friends of the cause will aid in its publication, as the Lord hath prospered them.
All communications, orders, and remittances, should be addressed to JAMES WHITE, Editor of the Review and Herald, Rochester, N.Y. (post-paid.) ARSH April 28, 1853, page 193.1
JWe
BY URIAH SMITH.
[Continued.]
Now clearer still, the effects of Satan’s plans,
Themselves develop, and the symptoms sure,
Of ultimate success, accumulate.
Now Popularity herself arrays
In open opposition, and draws forth
Her votaries all against; now turns adverse,
The sweeping tide of public sentiment:
A world all unprepared to welcome Christ,
Unwilling, all its pleasures to resign,
Its fabled dreams too readily resume,
And side away with Satan’s mustering host;
Whom to arrange, he, crafty, now begins,
With art consummate, and well-practiced skill. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 193.2
Many there are who hear the notes of truth,
“Start up alarmed,” and fain would well regard;
But when their fellow-men they see oppose -
Whom more they fear, than fear to incense Heaven -
Their moral courage fails, and back they fall,
An easy prey to Satan’s wily schemes.
Others there are, for whom earth’s treasures shine
With attributes of deity; who gold,
That glittering dust, and lands, more value, than,
They value truth with all its promised joys;
All such with golden chains, Satan binds down,
To his infernal purpose. But behold
Yet others, who of themselves no root possess,
Nor yet belief, on principle well based;
Fickle; who, ere they for themselves reflect,
In matters new, trust to the word of man;
So, when some high-ranked one, respectable,
Upon the truth “delusion” brands, they straight,
With insolence unutterable, give vent
To jeering mockeries; o’er all such dupes,
And many such there are, foolish and proud,
Satan hangs fond, and with triumphant leer,
Leads them away among his company.
Another class there is, the very dregs
Of all humanity - unfit for Heaven,
A gross disgrace to earth, who of the low,
Are lowest; of the vile, the vilest; these -
As most congenial to their nature is -
Of their own will the hosts of Satan join. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 193.3
Thus, some in one way, in another some,
Innumerable and various as mankind -
Unto the subject suiting well the means -
The Arch-Deceiver lures along his prey.
With this promiscuous host, where, well defined,
Reigned every trait of human character,
Where sins, the grossest and most glaring sins,
That ever planted in the heart of man
Their putrid nests, brooded and multiplied -
Where black corruption, ‘neath exteriors fair,
Rosied and rankled - even as sepulchres,
Whitened without, contain but dead men’s bones. -
With such a mass the Church, at last, chimed in,
T’ oppose the message of her coming King.
A mass of men against the truth of God.
Thus with the Church, thus, but too fearfully,
Had Satan his designs accomplished now -
Too fearfully fulfilled his fiendish threats;
And in a fatal moment had he cast,
Too strong a snare, around her careless step.
Wandered from God! Deep, ay, too deep had struck,
And rank, the growth of pride and worldliness;
Even as some gnarled oak, its massy roots,
Far in the bosom of the solid earth
Strikes down, deriving strength invincible. -
Wandered from God! Their gaudy dress this proved,
And this, their love of show, and rich display,
And this, the gilded ornaments that hung,
Costly, but useless, in her synagogues.
And all the loves, ambitions, and desires,
And fears, and passions, base-born, of the earth,
With stealthy pace, into her midst had crept,
And sown their poisonous seeds, which wide around
Had shot pernicious root, innumerable,
Innumerable in size, and form, and strength,
And in the course they took, innumerable;
Each crossing each, and crossing others still,
Wove out their web, most complicate and thick,
Most strong, and most entangling, o’er the Church,
And thus was she close matted down to earth.
But long continue thus, the Church of God
Cannot; for Truth slacks not her onward pace -
Truth is not bound by earthly fetters down,
And he who follows Truth, must break them too;
So came the crisis - so the message came;
A cleaver by the Angel brought, direct
From God, her fettering bands to cut apart,
And her set free again; a medicine,
From Heaven sent down, which, if received, would
Free from her veins, the stagnate influence
Of Satan’s opiates, and give new life,
New strength and vigor to her system give;
An incense, which, if offered in her midst,
The dead, corrupted air would purify,
Which now she breathed to suffocation near.
Such was the message, and its office such,
Would they the proffered gift but humbly take;
But ah! with one consent, they all began
Excuse to make, and pass the subject by;
The overwhelming flood of worldly cares,
No time or place for weightier subjects left;
Thus, soon they, as a body, closed their ears,
And shut their doors, and barred the message out.
At this denial of their faith, at this
Unchristian act, Truth turned away and wept -
A long, low, chuckle did the Devil give,
Of satisfied success; this was the act,
The trait’rous act, that sealed her destiny;
This rose to Heaven, and incensed Heaven, full soon,
With speediest messenger pronounced her doom;
He, following the first, wide through mid heaven,
This second message to the world proclaimed;
“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!” 1Revelation 14:8. dread words,
With solemn import full, and terrible
In meaning; message fearful, to proclaim
A fearful end; a sad description of
A sadder state: but forth the accents rolled,
Swelling in tone, and farther echoing,
They penetrated all her temples fair,
And from the gilded galleries where rose,
In worldly pomp, the measured anthem, deep,
Now beating back in mournful notes, and slow -
To which the vaulted ceiling, high, returned,
In corresponding tones, the notes again -
These startling words fell heavy on the ear:
Babylon is fallen, is fallen! At once,
With simultaneous impulse, thousands rose,
And broke, with her, their bonds of intercourse;
Left the dull place where they no food received,
No spiritual benefit, no life, no light,
Left and unshackled, free, themselves declared;
Free from her sects, unfettered by her creeds;
And they were free; for Truth had made them so;
She led them forth into the liberty,
To life, and light, on higher, holier ground;
And then they saw the moral wastes from which,
Their timely ‘scape, they happily had made.
There stood her fanes of formal worship grand,
Her towers of wealth, her monuments of pride,
‘Gainst which as fell the deep, portentous sounds,
The message of her fall, they trembling rocked -
As though some slumbering earthquake, far beneath,
Had sudden waked, to fierce convulsions given -
Would it had shook more mighty, till each soul
Was shaken from the lethargy that bound,
To see its true condition; but not so,
In Satan steps, with artifice most sly,
Advantage takes, and rocks them all asleep.
Lo! now on all her shrines there settled down
The speedy gath’ring death-mould, thick and fast;
A death-damp issued forth in all her aisles,
And all her lamps of piety and love,
Of godliness and truth, for ever quenched.
Behold, through all her courts, now reigned alone,
The blackest, moral darkness, deep and dead;
By one most fit described, as thus he sung,
“Silence how dead! and darkness how profound!” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 193.4
As erst the Jewish Church, when they refused
The true Messiah to own, on earth had come,
At his first Advent, were rejected all -
So for denying that plain message now,
That he the second time would soon return,
God from the Gentile Churches turned away;
Withdrew his Spirit and forsook their midst.
Him they refused to own, he, therefore, them.
A moral change came o’er them, which, the most
Perceptive of their numbers soon perceived,
And in desponding accents thus deplored: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 193.5
“On every breeze are borne the dolorous sounds,
As chilling as the northern iceburg’s blast,
And like an incubus fast settling on
The timid, and the weak depriving of
Their energy, that lukewarmness wide-spread,
Division, desolation, anarchy,
The borders now distress of Zion’s hill.
Nor long ago, and all the whole extent
Of our broad land, rang with triumphant peals
Of joy and victory, from christian hearts.
And is the scene so wholly changed become?
It is a fact, lamentable, from which,
Our eyes we cannot shut, that moral dearth,
And spiritual barrenness, alarming broods
O’er all the Church; such coldness as prevails,
Was never known, such lack of piety;
As worldly prospects, bright’ning, fast arise, ARSH April 28, 1853, page 193.6
And manufactures grow, and commerce spreads,
So worldly-mindedness makes even strides,
Through all denominations equally.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.1
Such is the testimony of themselves
They give; such the impression that was made
On some of her own members; thus were some,
At her sad destitution, well alarmed;
But conquered soon their fears, and, with the rest,
Fell in perpetual sleep - so Satan aimed.
Ah! when their state they saw, and thus bewailed,
Why fled they not themselves to join the band,
Of God’s true worshippers, with whom was life,
And Christ’s true Church? for such, indeed, he had -
To whom we now delight to turn again. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.2
Thus, separate from the world, with all its charms,
And false allurements, spread but to deceive -
Thus having sundered all the cords that bound,
Within the precincts of a fallen Church,
The Advent Band still held its onward course,
Straight in the path of Truth: a glorious band,
Humble, devoted, true, their God, alone,
Striving to please, and trusting in his word,
That what he promises he will fulfill. -
That zealous band, to whom the Saviour speaks:
“Ye of the world are not, but from the world
I’ve chosen, ye therefore will they hate. -“
And who from those who have of godliness
The form alone, while they the power thereof
Deny, obeying the divine behest,
Had turned away; of this full well assured,
That all who in Christ Jesus godly live,
Shall persecution suffer, willing, then,
If aught they might endure for him their King.
But not from worldly malice, wrath and hate,
And open persecution, fiercely waged,
Are they, alone, sharp trials to receive;
Others there are, of sorts more fiery still,
Experience must prove; which e’en will make
Of their belief the firmest pillars shake,
And to their faith a test more searching prove,
Than simply to withstand the world’s vain scorn.
Nor long for such will their experience wait,
Whose shadows now begin to dim the way. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.3
Based on prophetic times, interpreted
As best they then perceived, firm trust had they,
That ere Time registered that year entire -
Then swiftly passing, they their fondest hopes
Should see fulfilled, and heaven would then reveal,
Throned on a golden cloud, the King of kings. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.4
But Time paused not, to realize to them
Their expectations, which unanswered stood;
Hence, Doubt, fell canker-worm of Truth, crept in,
And striking boldly at the inmost roots
Of their belief, there gnawed assiduous.
Now in their path, with thorns already set,
This other thorn, blank disappointment, sprung.
And many who the world’s assaults had borne
With strength heroic, this could ill sustain,
And, well nigh falling, staggered on the way.
And many, gazing vacant, wavering stood,
As some ship’s canvass, idly fluttering, hangs,
When two opposing winds strive opposite.
Nor were there wanting some, who, quite aside,
Turned from the path, to join the world again.
And darkly lowering, o’er them settled now,
A chilling mist, uncertainty, which left
Them all at loss, unsettled, undefined;
Checked their bold zeal, and damped their ardor quite,
And dimm’d their vision, dubious with gloom:
While, multiplied an hundred fold, and strong,
The bland allurements, artful heaped around,
Betokened, sure, the ceaseless vigilance
Of their grand Foe, to turn them from their course. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.5
Such, now, was their position; and while, thus,
Time swept along, a heaviness crept on
And weighed their spirits, till they all began
To droop and slumber - such as oft is wont
Upon the phys’cal frame to hold its sway.
Weary with watching, when the midnight hours
Stilly approach; - but destined now not long
T’ assert dominion; for the hour draws on,
Which shall dispel all doubt, all heaviness,
Uncertainty and fear. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.6
The hour came on, And with it came, as on the whirlwind borne, ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.7
“Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out 1Matthew 25:6.
To meet him!” Then, swift as the lightning shoots
From cloud to cloud, quick as the thunder bursts,
Deaf’ning through all the air - so quickly ran
The spirit of that cry throughout the land,
So quickly utterance found in one great shout,
That, rising, shook, throughout, heaven’s lofty dome,
“Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out
To meet him;” nor could a shock, electric,
Sooner have roused to life a faltering band,
Who now immediate from slumber sprung,
And with full many a cheer, rallied again,
With ten-fold vigor ‘round their standard bright,
Now brighter, far, than ever, gleaming forth,
The Lord is coming, while all doubts and fears,
And ghostly shadows gath’ring fast around,
Scattered precipitate, with headlong route.
And Prophecy raised high her gilded page,
From which blazed forth, at once, redoubled light,
Clear as the sun, and unmistakable;
But most conspicuous, this, ‘bove all the rest;
“Unto two thousand and three hundred days;
And cleansed shall then the Sanctuary be.”
Then, waving her bright wand, time definite,
She pointed to, and said, “On the tenth day,
The seventh month, of eighteen forty-four,
This period shall end.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.8
Now once again
List to the voice of Time, while he confirms
This statement, and her words establishes:
“The vision ye have heard, wherein was given
The time determined, and th’ appointed days -
Two thousand and three hundred, at whose end
Cleansed should the Sanctuary be - unto
The Hebrew Prophet, Daniel, well-beloved:
To whom, while yet he understood it not, ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.9
Gabriel came swiftly flying, and thus said: 2Daniel 9:23-27. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.10
‘Thee understanding have I come to give,
And skill, O Daniel, that thou may’st perceive
The vision, and the matter understand.
Lo! seventy weeks upon thy people, and
Upon thy holy city, are cut off;
To finish full transgression, and to make
Of sin an end, and for iniquity
A reconciliation bring, and seal
The vision and the prophecy make sure.
This, therefore, know, that from the time wherein
The going forth commandment dates its birth,
Jerusalem to build, and to restore,
From that time shall there be unto the Prince
Messiah, seven weeks, and three-score weeks,
And two; and one week he, with many, shall
The covenant confirm; but soon shall cause,
In midst of this, the sacrifice to cease.’ ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.11
Thus on the track are we directly set -
The track of Prophecy - with no false guide.
Thus to our hand is given, a giant-hold
Of the great chain, prophetic, whence we know
Where it begins, where, therefore, it must end. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.12
While Artaxerxes, reigning, now had passed
Six times the measured space that spans, entire,
The four revolving seasons, and was yet
Within the seventh, then the decree went forth,
Jerusalem to build, and to restore.
Here, then, the point is, well defined and clear;
Here is the starting-post, deep-set and firm,
Whence to pursue our reckoning. Following down,
Along my course, the chain of Prophecy,
Through seven weeks, and threescore weeks, and two,
(Which my all demonstrating march has proved
Clearly to be prophetic weeks, of years;
Hence argues how the whole to understand,)
Behold, concurrent with the Angel’s words,
The Prince Messiah, who the covenant,
Now to confirm, begins accordingly: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.13
But farther on, three circling years and half,
(Of this last week the midst,) the sacrifice,
Behold, he makes to cease, himself for sin
Offering a sacrifice upon the cross.
Henceforth, an equal space, the week to end,
As from beginning to the middle reached,
Th’ apostles still the covenant confirm;
‘Till by the Jews rejected formally,
Lo! to the Gentiles, then the gospel turned,
And ended now the seventy weeks their course.
Here pause, and of our journey back, thus far,
Taking a retrospect, mark how we stand.
Lo! at th’ appointed time, from the decree,
In order as foretold, see all fulfilled;
The Prince revealed, the sacrifice annulled,
The covenant its given time confirmed,
The Jews rejected, and the gospel turned
Unto the Gentiles; and of Prophecy,
At th’ appointed time, ne’er can occur
A false fulfillment. Thus, then, may we know;
Rightly, at first, is fixed the starting point;
Since this, alone, will the conditions serve,
And satisfy the terms revealed therein.
This, then, the vision seals, and makes it sure;
This is the scale Eternal Wisdom gives -
That we fail not to understand the times
That God designs his purpose to fulfill -
By this fixed rule, to this established point,
What now remains, adding, conclusive gives,
When the appointed days shall terminate,
And cleansed shall then the Sanctuary be.
What further learned would be, from this now learn.
From the atonement type, where shadowed forth,
The cleansing of the Sanctuary stands,
The tenth day of the seventh month, heed well;
For this, that day, its antitype shall meet,
As at their times, others have done before.
True, then, we’ve found the voice of Prophecy,
When waving her bright wand, time definite,
As definite she spoke; this much is given,
For every honest heart enough to know;
For if men this reject, despise, and scorn,
And say that none can understand, then know,
Though from the dead one rose, they would not hear.”
[TO BE CONTINUED.] ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.14
JWe
[Continued.] THE SABBATH FROM THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE TO THE REFORMATION. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.15
We have seen how the matter stood until the commencement of Constantine’s career. The Sabbath was generally observed, while the Lord’s day was regarded as a festival of no greater importance or authority than Good Friday or Holy Thursday. No text of Scripture, or edict of emperor, or decree of council, could be produced in its favor. But from this time forth may be found emperors and councils combining to give importance to the Lord’s day and to oppose the Sabbath. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.16
An important change in the regard paid to the first day, was produced soon after the accession of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, in the early part of the fourth century. When he became master of Rome, he soon gave himself up to the guidance of the Christian clergy. According to Jones’ Church History, “He built places of public worship. He encouraged the meeting of synods and bishops - honored them with his presence, and employed himself continually in aggrandizing the church. He was scrupulously attentive to the religious rites and ceremonies which were prescribed to him by the clergy. He fasted, observed the feasts in commemoration of the martyrs, and devoutly watched the whole night on the vigils of the saints,” and showed great anxiety for uniformity in the doctrines and observances of religion in the church. He was, therefore, exactly suited to the wishes of the Roman bishop and clergy, in establishing, by his imperial authority, what they had no Scripture to support, and what their influence had hitherto been unable to effect, viz. a uniformity in the celebration of Easter and the first day. In 321, Constantine first published his edicts enjoining upon his subjects these superstitious celebrations. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 194.17
Eusebius in his life of Constantine, says, “He appointed as a suitable time for prayers the Dominical day, which was then an especial day, and now is undoubtedly the very first. His body guard observed the day, and offered on it prayers written by the emperor. The happy prince endeavored to persuade all to do this, and by degrees to lead all to the worship of God; wherefore he determined that those obeying Roman power should abstain from every work upon the days named after the Saviour, that they should venerate also the day before the Sabbath, in memory, as seems to me, of the events occurring in those days to our common Saviour.” He says again, “An edict also, by the will and pleasure of the emperor, was transmitted to the Prefects of the provinces, that they thenceforth should venerate the Dominical day; that they should honor the days consecrated to the martyrs, and should celebrate the solemnities of the festivals in the churches, all which was done according to the will of the emperor.” And as quoted by Lucius, he says, that he admonished his subjects likewise that those days which were Sabbaths should be honored, or worshipped. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.1
Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History, b. 1, c. 8, says. “He (Constantine) also made a law that on the Dominical day, which the Hebrews call the first day of the week, the Greeks the day of the Sun, and also on the day of Venus, (i. e. Friday,) judgments should not be given, or other business transacted, but that all should worship God with prayer and supplications, and venerate the Dominical day, as on it Christ rose from the dead; and the day of Venus, as the day on which he was fixed to the cross.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.2
Dr. Chambers says, “It was Constantine the Great who first made a law for the observance of Sunday, and who, according to Eusebius, appointed that it should be regularly celebrated throughout the Roman Empire. Before him, and even in his time, they observed the Jewish Sabbath as well as Sunday; both to satisfy the law of Moses, and to imitate the apostles, who used to meet together on the first day.” He adds, “Indeed, some are of opinion that the Lord’s day mentioned in the Apocalypse, is our Sunday; which they will have to have been so early instituted.” “By Constantine’s laws, made in 321, it was decreed that for the future the Sunday should be kept a day of rest in all cities and towns; but he allowed the country people to follow their work. In 538, the Council of Orleans prohibited this country labor. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.3
To give the more solemnity to the first day of the week, (as we learn from Lucius’ Ecclesiastical History,) Sylvester, who was bishop of Rome while Constantine was Emperor, changed the name of Sunday, giving it the more imposing title of Lord’s day. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.4
It cannot be doubted, that the laws of Constantine did much to make the first day conspicuous throughout the empire, as all public business was forbidden upon it. They changed its character from a special day, in which, as a weekly festival, all kinds of business and labor were performed in city and country, to be, as Eusebius says, the very first. This imperial favor for the first day operated against all who conscientiously regarded the Sabbath from respect to the fourth commandment, in obedience to which the seventh day had always been observed; and if it had produced a general abandonment of its observance, it would not have been very surprising, considering the influence of court example, and the general ignorance and darkness of the age. This, however, does not appear to have been the case. The Sabbath was still extensively observed; and to counteract it the Council of Laodicea, about A. D. 350, passed a decree, saying, “It is not proper for Christians to Judaize, and to cease from labor on the Sabbath, but they ought to work on that day, and put especial honor upon the Lord’s day, as Christians. If any be found Judaizing, let him be anathematized.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.5
But this did not produce any material change, for Socrates, a writer of the fifth century, who resided at Constantinople, makes the following remarks upon the celebration of the Sabbath at the time he wrote, A. D. 440. He says, “There are various customs concerning assembling; for though all the churches throughout the whole world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath day, yet the Alexandrians and the Romans, from an ancient tradition, refuse to do this; but the Egyptians who are in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and those inhabiting Thebais, indeed have assemblies on the Sabbath, but do not participate in the mysteries, as is the custom of the Christians. At Caesarea, Cappadocia, and in Cyprus, on the Sabbath and Dominical day, at twilight, with lighted lamps, the presbyters and bishops interpret the Scriptures. At Rome they fast every Sabbath.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.6
This account of the manner of celebrating the Sabbath in the fifth century, is corroborated by Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History, b. 7. c. 9. He says, “At Constantinople, and almost among all, the Christians assembled upon the Sabbath, and also upon the first day of the week, except at Rome and Alexandria; the ecclesiastical assemblies at Rome were not upon the Sabbath, as in almost all other churches of the rest of the world; and in many cities and villages in Egypt, they used to commune in the evening of the Sabbath, on which day there were public assemblies.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.7
In regard to fasting on the Sabbath at Rome, referred to by Socrates, it ought to be said, that from the earliest times to the fourth century, the practice had been to observe the Sabbath as a holiday. But the Church of Rome, in its opposition to the Jews, made it a fast day, that the separation might be marked and strong. In the eastern churches they never fasted upon the Sabbath, excepting one Sabbath in the year, which was the day before the Passover. But in the western churches they celebrated a fast every week. It was in reference to this that Ambrose said, “When I come to Rome, I fast upon the Sabbath; when I am here, I do not fast.” Augustine also said concerning this, “If they say it is sinful to fast on the Sabbath, then they would condemn the Roman Church, and many places near to and far from it. And if they should think it a sin not to fast on the Sabbath, then they would blame many eastern churches, and the far greater part of the world.” This Sabbath fasting was opposed by the eastern church; and in the sixth general council, held at Constantinople, it was commanded that the Sabbath and Dominical days be kept as festivals, and that no one fast or mourn upon them. The practice of fasting, therefore, was chiefly in the western churches, about Rome. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.8
It is perhaps difficult to determine exactly the relative importance attached to the seventh and first days of the week at this time. Sufficient may be found, however, to assure us, that the Sabbath was observed, and that no one regarded Sunday as having taken its place. This is shown by the provision of the Council of Laodicea, A. D. 365, that the Gospels should be read on that day. It is shown by the action of a Council in 517, (mentioned in Robinson’s History of Baptism,) which regulated and enforced the observance of the Sabbath. It is shown by the expostulation of Gregory of Nyssa, “How can you look upon the Lord’s day, if you neglect the Sabbath? Do you not know that they are sisters, and that in despising the one you affront the other?” And as sisters we find them hand in hand in the ecclesiastical canons. Penalties were inflicted by the councils both of Laodicea and Trullo, on clergymen who did not observe both days as festivals. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.9
How the first day of the week, or Lord’s day, was observed in the early part of the fifth century, we may learn from the words of St. Jerome. In a funeral oration for the Lady Paula, he says: “She, with all her virgins and widows who lived at Bethlehem in a cloister with her, upon the Lord’s day, repaired duly to the church, or house of God, which was near to her cell; and after her return from thence to her own lodgings, she herself and all her company fell to work, and they all performed their task, which was the making of clothes and garments for themselves and for others, as they were appointed.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.10
St. Chrysostom, patriarch of Constantinople, “recommended to his audience, after impressing upon themselves and their families what they had heard on the Lord’s day, to return to their daily employments and trades.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.11
Dr. Francis White, Lord Bishop of Ely, speaking of this matter, says, “The Catholic Church, for more than six hundred years after Christ, permitted labor, and gave license to many Christian people to work upon the Lord’s day, at such hours as they were not commanded to be present at the public service by the precepts of the church.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.12
In the sixth century efforts were made to prevent this labor. The following promulgation of a synod held by command of King Junthran, of Burgundy, will show the condition of things, and the means used to improve it: “We see the Christian people, in an unadvised manner, deliver to contempt the Dominical day, and, as in other days, indulge in continual labor.” Therefore they determined to teach the people subject to them to keep the Dominical day, which, if not observed by the lawyer, he should irreparably lose his cause, and if a countryman or servant did not keep it, he should be beaten with heavier blows of cudgels. The council of Orleans, held 538, prohibited the country labor on Sunday which Constantine by his laws permitted. According to Chambers, this council also declared, “that to hold it unlawful to travel with horses, cattle, and carriages, to prepare food, or to do any thing necessary to the cleanliness and decency of houses or persons, savors more of Judaism than Christianity.” According to Lucius, in another council held in Narbonne, in France, in the seventh century, they also forbid this country work. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.13
Early in the seventh century, in the time of Pope Gregory I., the subject of the Sabbath attracted considerable attention. There was one class of persons who declared, “that it was not lawful to do any manner of work upon the Saturday, or the old Sabbath; another, that no man ought to bathe himself on the Lord’s day, or their new Sabbath.” Against both of these doctrines Pope Gregory wrote a letter to the Roman citizens. Baronius, in his Councils, says, “This year [603] at Rome, St. Gregory, the Pope, corrected that error which some preached, by Jewish superstition, or the Grecian custom, that it was a duty to worship on the Sabbath, as likewise upon the Dominical day;” and he calls such preachers the preachers of Antichrist. Nearly the same doctrine was preached again in the time of Gregory VII., A. D. 1074, about five hundred years after what we are now speaking of. This is sufficient to show that the Sabbath was kept until those times of decline which introduced so many errors in faith and practice. Indeed, it is sufficient to show, that wherever the subject has been under discussion, the Sabbath has found its advocates, both in theory and in practice. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.14
According to Lucius, “Pope Urban II., in the eleventh century, dedicated the Sabbath to the Virgin Mary, with a mass. Binius says, “Pope Innocent I. constituted a fast on the Sabbath day, which seems to be the first constitution of that fast; but dedicating the Sabbath to the Virgin Mary was by Urban II., in the latter part of the eleventh century.” About this time we find Esychius teaching the doctrine that the precept for the observance of the Sabbath is not one of the commandments, because it is not at all times to be observed according to the letter; and Thomas Aquinas, another Romish Ecclesiastic, saying, “that it seems to be inconvenient that the precept for observing the Sabbath should be put among the precepts of the Decalogue, if it do not at all belong to it; that the precept, ‘Thou shalt not make a graven image,’ and the precept for observing the Sabbath, are ceremonial.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 195.15
First day observance in this country being derived from England, mainly, we are interested in learning the origin of the observance in that country. As the great body of the professed church drink from this stream, a knowledge of its fountain head is of much value. The “History of the Sabbath” testifies to the point: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.1
The observance of the first day was not so early in England and in Scotland as in most other parts of the Roman Empire. According to Heylyn, there were Christian societies established in Scotland as early as A. D. 435; and it is supposed that the gospel was preached in England in the first century by St. Paul. For many ages after Christianity was received in those kingdoms, they paid no respect to the first day. Binius, a Catholic writer, in the second volume of his works, gives some account of the bringing into use of the Dominical day [Sunday] in Scotland, as late as A. D. 1203. “This year,” he says, “a council was held in Scotland concerning the introduction of the Lord’s day, which council was held in 1203, in the time of Pope Innocent III.,” and he quotes as his authority Roger Hoveden, Matth. Paris, and Lucius’ Eccl. Hist. He says, “By this council it was enacted that it should be holy time from the twelfth hour on Saturday noon until Monday.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.2
Boethus (de Scottis, page 344,) says, “In 1203, William, king of Scotland, called a council of the principal of his kingdom, by which it was decreed, that Saturday, from the twelfth hour at noon, should be holy, that they should do no profane work, and this they should observe until Monday.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.3
Binius says that in 1201, Eustachius, Abbot of Flay, came to England, and therein preached from city to city, and from place to place. He prohibited using markets on Dominical days; and for this he professed to have a special command from heaven. The history of this singular document, entitled, A holy Command of the Dominical Day, the pious Abbot stated to be this: “It came from Heaven to Jerusalem, and was found on St. Simeon’s tomb in Golgotha. And the Lord commanded this epistle, which for three days and three nights men looked upon, and falling to the earth, prayed for God’s mercy. And after the third hour, the patriarch stood up; and Akarias the archbishop stretched out his mitre, and they took the holy epistle of God and found it thus written.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.4
“I, the Lord, who commanded you that ye should observe the Dominical day, and ye have not kept it, and ye have not repented of your sins, as I said by my gospel, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away; I have caused repentance unto life to be preached unto you, and ye have not believed; I sent pagans against you, who shed your blood, yet ye believed not; and because ye kept not the Dominical day, for a few days ye had famine; but I soon gave you plenty, and afterwards ye did worse; I will again, that none from the ninth hour of the Sabbath until the rising of the sun on Monday, do any thing unless what is good, which if any do, let him amend by repentance; and if ye be not obedient to this command, amen, I say unto you, and I swear unto you by my seat, and throne, and cherubim, who keep my holy seat, because I will not change any thing by another epistle; but I will open the heavens, and for rain I will rain upon you stones, and logs of wood, and hot water by night, and none may be able to prevent, but that I may destroy all wicked men. This I say unto you, ye shall die the death, because of the Dominical holy day and other festivals of my saints which ye have not kept. I will send unto you beasts having the heads of lions, the hair of women, and tails of camels; and they shall be so hunger-starved that they shall devour your flesh, and ye shall desire to flee to the sepulchres of the dead, and hide you for fear of the beasts; and I will take away the light of the sun from your eyes; and I will send upon you darkness, that without seeing ye may kill one another; and I will take away my face from you, and will not show you mercy; for I will burn the bodies and hearts of all who keep not the Dominical holy day. Hear my voice, lest ye perish in the land because of the Dominical holy day. Now know ye, that ye are safe by the prayers of my most holy mother Mary, and of my holy angels who daily pray for you. I gave you the law from Mount Sinai, which ye have not kept. For you I was born into the world, and my festivals ye have not known; the Dominical day of my resurrection ye have not kept; I swear to you by my right hand, unless ye keep the Dominical day and the festivals of my saints, I will send pagans to kill you.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.5
Provided with this new command from heaven, “Eustachius preached in various parts of England against the desecration of the Dominical day, and other festivals; and gave the people absolution upon condition that they hereafter reverence the Dominical day, and the festivals of the saints.” And the people vowed to God, that thereafter they would neither buy nor sell any thing but food on Sunday. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.6
“Then,” says Binius, “the enemy of man, envying the admonitions of this holy man, put it into the heart of the king and nobility of England, to command that all who should keep the aforesaid traditions, and chiefly all who had cast down the markets for things vendible upon the Dominical day, should be brought to the king’s court to make satisfaction about observing the Dominical day.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.7
Binius relates many miraculous things that occurred on the Sabbath to those that labored after the ninth hour (i. e. after three o’clock in the afternoon) of the seventh day, or Saturday. He says, that upon a certain Sabbath, after the ninth hour, a carpenter, for making a wooden pin, was struck with the palsy; and a woman, for knitting on the Sabbath, after the ninth hour, was also struck with the palsy. A man baked bread, and when he broke it to eat, blood came out. Another, grinding corn, blood came in a great stream instead of meal, while the wheel of his mill stood still against a vehement impulse of water. Heated ovens refused to bake bread, if heated after the ninth hour of the Sabbath; and dough, left unbaked, out of respect to Eustachius’ new doctrine, was found on Monday morning well baked without the aid of fire. These fables were industriously propagated throughout the kingdom; “yet the people,” says Binius, “fearing kingly and human power more than divine, returned as a dog to his own vomit, to keep markets of saleable things upon the Dominical day.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.8
Mr. Bampfield, in his Enquiry, page 3, says, “The king and princes of England, in 1203, would not agree to change the Sabbath, and keep the first day, by this authority. This was in the time of King John, against whom the popish clergy had a great pique for not honoring their prelacy and the monks, by one of whom he was finally poisoned.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.9
Binius (Councils, cent. 13,) states that King John of England, in 1208, in the tenth year of his reign, for not submitting to popish impositions upon his prerogatives, was excommunicated by the Pope, and his kingdom interdicted, which occasioned so much trouble at home and abroad, that it forced him at last to lay down his crown at the feet of Mandulphus, the Pope’s agent. After he was thus humbled by that excommunication and interdiction, the king, in the fifteenth year of his reign, by writ, removed the market of the city of Exon from Sunday, on which it was held, to Monday. The market of Lanceston was removed from the first to the fifth day of the week. In the second and third years of Henry III. many other markets were removed from the first to other days of the week, which the King at first would not permit. He also issued a writ which permitted the removal of markets from the first day to other days without special license. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.10
The Parliament of England met on Sundays until the time of Richard II., who adjourned it from that to the following day. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.11
In 1203, according to Boethus, “a council was held in Scotland to inaugurate the king, and concerning the feast of the Sabbath; and there came also a legate from the Pope, with a sword and purple hat, and indulgences and privileges to the young king. It was also there decreed, that Saturday, from the twelfth hour at noon, should be holy.” - The Magdeburgenses say that this Council was about the observance of the Dominical day newly brought in, and that they ordained that it should be holy from the twelfth hour of Saturday even till Monday.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.12
Binius says, “A synod was held in Oxford, A. D. 1223, by Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, where they determined that the Dominical day be kept with all veneration, and a fast upon the Sabbath.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.13
[Concluded in our next.] ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.14
*WE have several excellent articles on hand that we shall not be able to publish at present for want of room. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.15
Also, excellent epistles from the brethren are left out for the same reason. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.16
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“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
ROCHESTER, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1853.
Reverence for the First day. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.17
IT is often the case, that after we have shown, that there is no divine authority for the observance of the first day of the week, and have presented the claims of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, that the reply is, “I am not ready to give up the first-day Sabbath in which I have so long been blest.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.18
To such we would say, “Come now, and let us reason together.” Have you not been blest on other days besides the first day of the week? You certainly have on all seven days of the week, and you will not urge this as a reason why you should observe them all as Sabbaths. Perhaps it was on the second, third, or seventh day of the week that you first found the Saviour precious, and tasted of his pardoning love; and you have never thought of keeping either of these days as a Sabbath on this account. In times of revivals, during protracted meetings of days and weeks, you have enjoyed uninterrupted blessing each day, and no more on the first day, than on other days of the week. You have been blest in the Conference room on the seventh day, or the Class room on other days of the week, quite as abundantly as on the first day of the week. God has blest you on any day of the week when you have come before him in humble worship. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.19
There are sufficient reasons why you have been blest on the first day of the week, without supposing it to be a divinely appointed Sabbath. Those who have conscientiously observed the first day, have, on that day, thrown off worldly cares, which pressed upon them the other six days, and have sought for a devotional frame of mind. Rest from toil, freed from worldly cares, the mind turned to the Bible, to God and heaven, attending worship, and having the gospel preached on the first day of the week, are abundant reasons why you have been blest on that day, without supposing that God had blessed the day and made it a Sabbath. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.20
Has God blessed one of the seven days of the week? He has. Which one of them? The seventh. [Genesis 2:2, 3; Exodus 20:11; Isaiah 58:13.] Has he thus blessed the first day of the week? Never. Ah! had our fathers observed the sanctified Rest-day of the Lord, they would have shared all the blessing they have enjoyed on the first day of the week, and, also, they would have shared in addition, the hallowed influence of that Holy Day that Jehovah sanctified at the close of the first week of time. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.21
“And God 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. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.22
We inquire: Is there the least divine authority for observing the first day of the week as the Sabbath? If not, then we ask: Is mere human authority sufficient to set aside Jehovah’s hallowed Rest-day, and reverence as a holy day of rest, that day in which he commenced the work of creation, and which he never blest? Should not those who would reverence God, reverence his Word, and obey his commandments, rather than the traditions of men? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.23
Western Tour. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.24
PROVIDENCE permitting, we will hold Conferences as follows: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.25
Mill Grove, N. Y., May 21st and 22nd. Tyrone, Mich., the 27th, 28th and 29th. Jackson, Mich., June 3rd, 4th and 5th. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.26
We now design spending 6 or 8 Sabbaths in Michigan and Wisconsin. Other appointments can be given hereafter. - ED. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 196.27
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IN our remarks, last week, upon the discourse of the Rev. Dr. Potts, we forgot to say that, among the objections which he advanced against such views as Seventh-day Baptists hold, the impossibility of observing the same absolute time every where on the surface of the globe was one. The cavalier manner in which he stated this objection, carried the idea that he considered it unanswerable; and if the impression left upon his hearers was that the observers of the seventh day are so far behind the age, that they do not even know that the world is round, it was probable just such an impression as he would not care about removing. But we would ask the Doctor a few questions on this point. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.1
1. Do you not teach that it is the duty of Christians, every where on the surface of the globe, to observe the first day of the week as holy time? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.2
2. Do you not teach that there is, in the New Testament, what is equivalent to an express law, requiring the observance of the first day of the week, to the exclusion of any and every other day of the septenary cycle, because that, and that only, fitly commemorates the resurrection of Jesus? If this is not your teaching, we greatly misunderstand you. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.3
3. When you insist upon this duty of sanctifying the first day of the week, do you mean that Christians should every where observe the same absolute time? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.4
4. If you can pertinaciously contend for the universal observance of Sunday, (as you evidently do,) without meaning to insist upon the same absolute time, why may not Seventh-day Baptists contend for the universal observance of Saturday, without having it flung at them that they contend for what is impracticable? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.5
5. When you insist upon the first day of the week as the proper time for sabbatizing, do you not mean the weekly return of that very day on which Christ is supposed to have risen from the dead? Does it ever enter your mind, that this is quite as impracticable as to observe the weekly returns of the day on which God ceased from the work of creation? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.6
6. Between New York and Jerusalem interpose more than a hundred degrees of longitude, making about seven hours difference in time. Do you not as actually and truly keep the first day of the week as the Christians of Jerusalem do, although you begin and end your observance seven hours later? On the supposition that the day ends at six o’clock in the evening, the Christians of Jerusalem are through with their Sunday observance, about the time you are ready to commence preaching in the morning. Yet you go on with your observance, afternoon and evening, all the time alluding to the day as the day of the Saviour’s resurrection; and we take for granted, that you mean what you say. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.7
Certainly, the Doctor’s fling at Seventh-day Baptists, (though he did not mention them by name,) was a virtual destruction of his own argument. Those who are so earnest for the observance of a particular day themselves, and plead for it on a particular ground, namely, that it commemorates an important fact, which cannot be so fitly commemorated on any other day, should not attribute folly to others for carrying out the same principle. Whatever force there is in the objection alluded to, it is, nevertheless, an objection which the advocates of Sunday observance have no business to avail themselves of. For whether they can observe the same absolute time, or not, they know that they can, and do, observe the first day of the week. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.8
Suppose a person should set out from Jerusalem to make the circuit of the globe; suppose it to be required of the inhabitants of each country, through which he travels, to do him homage as he passes along; and suppose him to possess such extraordinary power of locomotion, that he can make the whole circuit in twenty-four hours. In seven hours he arrives in New York, and receives the homage of the citizens. But suppose some person should suggest, that the New Yorkers were not honoring the same identical person that the people of Jerusalem did, because they did not do it at the same absolute time; who would not see the folly of the suggestion? The obvious reply would be, that they were simply required to honor him when he came to them, and while he continued with them. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.9
We presume, therefore, that should it be suggested to Dr. Potts, that he did not observe the first day of the week, because he did not observe the same absolute moments which were observed by Christians in Jerusalem, he would reply, that he was not required to observe them; that he was not required to observe the first day of the week, till it had arrived where he was. He would say, “The day starts from Jerusalem, at such an hour; when it arrives here, I will begin to do it honor, and will continue to do so, as long as it stays; and in doing so, I honor the same day which started from Jerusalem seven hours before. He never dreams of honoring a different day, because its arrival in New York is seven hours after it has left Jerusalem; he knows it is the same day, and he observes it as such. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.10
Now, if the Doctor, and his associates, will be magnanimous enough to give us the benefit of the same mode of reasoning which they would, unquestionably, employ themselves, were they disputing with anti-sabbatarians, it is all we will ask of them. - Sabbath Recorder. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.11
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BY P. MILLER, JR
IT is said by some, and published to the world through the Advent Watchman, that after having searched the scriptures for years, relative to the Sabbath, that the only reason they have ever found why the Sabbath was given at all is, that the children of Israel might remember their bondage in Egypt, and their mighty deliverance therefrom. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.12
Well, “come and let us reason together” according to the scriptures; and if we find this position is according to the “law and the testimony,” then let us gladly receive it. But if we find it does not harmonize with these, it is like a house built on the sand, without foundation, and should therefore be rejected. If the Sabbath was given as a sign, or token of remembrance by which the children of Israel, should commemorate their bondage in Egypt, and their deliverance therefrom, then reason seems to say, they needed not another sign, or memorial of the same event. But Exodus 12:3-11, records the institution of the Lord’s Passover, not only to commemorate the passing over of the children of Israel, when the Lord smote the first-born of the Egyptians, but to commemorate their deliverance from bondage. Verse 14. “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.” Exodus 13:9, 10: “And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes; that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for [because] with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt, therefore, keep this ordinance in its seasons, from year to year.” Verse 14. “And it shall be, when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What meaneth this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand, the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.” - Verse 16: “And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand, the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.13
Thus we see, the children of Israel were to commemorate their bondage and deliverance therefrom, by keeping the Passover. And unless reason or scripture can be brought to show that the deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage, was an event of such vast importance, that it needed two memorials, lest it should be forgotten, then we may reasonably conclude that the Sabbath may have been given for some other purpose, than the “only reason,” referred to. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.14
Well, let us see. And let us inquire first, for whom the Sabbath was made. Shall we listen to Him who spake as never man spake? “And he [the Master] said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. The primitive meaning of the term man, as it is used here, in its general sense is, the human family, which embraces every soul of man, from Adam, until probation closes, at the end of this age, or world. It being established then, that the Sabbath was made for the human family, and not the Jew only, let us inquire secondly, when it was made. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.15
Reason says, (the Sabbath being made for man,) that it must have been instituted, or made, as early as in the days of Adam, unless it can be shown that he does not belong to the human family. And with this conclusion agree the scriptures. “Genesis 2:2: - “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.16
“Exodus 20:11: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.17
These texts of scripture, with their corresponding ones, give the only account of the instituting, or making of the Sabbath, found between the lids of the Bible, Therefore, the position, or platform on which many stand, that the Sabbath was made for the old Jews only, at Mount Sinai, or in the wilderness of Sin, even, is without foundation; and when the storm, the great “time of trouble” comes, spoken of by the prophets, (those holy men of old who spake as they were moved by the HOLY GHOST) and recorded, [Deuteronomy 18:19; Psalm 1:5; 37:9, 10, 20, 38; Proverbs 2:21, 22; 13:13; 29:1; Isaiah 26:20, 21; Daniel 12:1; Malachi 4:1; Matthew 3:12; 13:40, 42, 49, 50; Acts 3:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 9; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 6:14-17,] the structure must certainly fall, and many doubtless will perish beneath its ruins. - “Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” While “broad is the way that leads to destruction,” and many walk therein. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.18
Let us view the subject from another point of observation. It is said by some, that the Sabbath is a yoke of bondage - designed only for that stiff-necked and rebellious race of people, the old Jews. What! Does it reflect much wisdom and goodness on the character of God, to say that, by a mighty hand, and a strong arm, - he delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian (a limited) bondage - and in order that his chosen people might commemorate and remember this momentous event, God gives them the Sabbath a yoke of perpetual bondage to which having it placed on their necks, they and their children must tamely submit, without a respite even forever and ever? Well might the Jews remember their bondage in Egypt, having such a keepsake. Precious memorial indeed!! ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.19
But, having shown when, and for whom the Sabbath was made, let us enquire, thirdly, for what purpose the Sabbath was made? Genesis 2:2. “And on the seventh day, God [having] ended his work which he had made, he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” Exodus 20:11. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore [for which reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” After having rested on the Sabbath day, Genesis 2:3, says, “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.20
Let us consider for a moment the terms “hallowed,” and “sanctified.” Hallowed is defined, “Appropriated to sacred uses; dedicated inviolably to some particular purpose.” Sanctified, “set apart to a holy or religious use.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.21
Well, says the opposer of the Sabbath, “we admit that God rested on the seventh day, but he did not require man to keep it holy.” Was it for his own use that God sanctified the Sabbath? or, was it for the use of man, for whom the Sabbath was made? Are you not looking at the subject through a wrong medium - as though it were a “yoke of bondage,” about to be fastened on man? Whereas the Sabbath was made for, and given to man as a blessing, a day of rest in which he, after having wearied himself by six days of labor, might rest from his toil, and engage in the service and worship of his Maker. Therefore “It came to pass at the end of days,” [Genesis 4:3, margin,] the six days of labor, that Cain and Abel brought their offerings unto the Lord; and thus observed the seventh day, which was set apart for a holy and religious use. Thus we see the Sabbath was observed before the days of Moses. Another evidence that the law of God existed before the days of Moses, may be found in Genesis 9:6. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” Thus the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” existed. The form of words is different, but the spirit of the law is the same. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 197.22
With regard to the Sabbath being given as a day of rest, a blessing instead of a yoke of bondage, let us refer again to “the law and the testimony.” Exodus 23:12. “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thy beasts may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger may be refreshed.” Deuteronomy 5:12-14. “Keep the Sabbath day, to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates, that thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 198.1
Luke 23:56. “And they [the disciples] returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment.” “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 198.2
We learn from these scriptures, that the Sabbath was designed, not only as a day of rest, but as a day of worship. And from closer examination, we find these are not the “only reasons why the Sabbath was given at all.” Another important reason why the Sabbath was made for, and given to man, is, that he might keep it as a memorial of friendship, an evidence of remembrance - a sign, by which man might know and remember the Lord his Maker, the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and all things that are therein. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 198.3
Exodus 31:12-14. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, 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. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you.” Verse 17. “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 198.4
Ezekiel 20:12. “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.” This sign given by our only Law-giver, has been counterfeited by that power spoken of by the prophet Daniel, symbolized by the little horn, the Papacy, which should think to change times and laws. And this great counterfeiter has succeeded so well in circulating his base coin, that the true, has well nigh been lost among the traditions of men. He has attempted to destroy this sign or mark of our only Law-giver, and to put in its place a sign or mark of his own invention; thus sitting (or claiming to sit) in the temple of God, and showing that he is God, (or above God,) having assumed the power to abolish God’s law, and seal, (the keeping of the Sabbath,) and to put in its place his own seal or mark, the keeping of Sunday, which constitutes the mark of the beast; which fact is clearly brought to light by an examination of the Roman Catholic Catechism on the ten commandments, especially the disposal made of the fourth. This is one of Satan’s deepest laid schemes to overthrow the government of the Most High God the Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the universe. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 198.5
As the decree of a king has no validity without his signature, seal or sign, so the law of God without his signature, seal or sign (which is the fourth commandment) is made void. And thus by the device of Satan, man is led to believe that he is free from the law of God, as expressed in the Decalogue. But what saith the Scriptures? Psalm 111. “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast [are established, margin,] forever and ever.” Matthew 5:17, 19. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; [or prophecies;] I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Please to remember that the prophecies are spoken of in connection with the law, and that heaven and earth have not yet passed, neither are the prophecies all fulfilled. “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be of no esteem in the reign of heaven.” [Campbell’s Trans.] “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, [or precept,] he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. The law spoken of by James, is the ten commandments, as is clearly shown by the following verse which quotes from the Decalogue establishing this truth, that “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one precept, he is guilty of all.” He has set at nought the King’s commandment, and unless he obtains a pardon from the King, he must suffer the penalty of the broken law. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.1
Let us notice a few of the many groundless objections which are made against keeping the Sabbath of the Lord. It is said “that the hand-writing of ordinances was taken away, being nailed to the cross, and that Moses wrote the Decalogue on the second tables of stone with his own hand,” therefore the law of God is placed among, and on a level with the hand-writing of ordinances. But let us see. Exodus 34:1. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakest.” Deuteronomy 10:1-4. “At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew the two tables of stone like unto the first, ... and I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakest.... And he [the Lord] wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.2
Again, it is argued that the Sabbath could not have been binding before the giving of the manna, because, it is said, that seven days before, the Israelites were traveling, and were doing so by the command of the Lord. Well, if this argument is well founded we need not come down to the Christian Era, to find the abolition of the Sabbath. For if this proves the non-existence of the Sabbath, before the giving of the manna, then we may prove from the book of Joshua, the abolition of the Sabbath in less than forty years after writing, and presenting the law (the Decalogue) on tables of stone. Joshua 6:2-4, 15. “And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho.... And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days; ... and the seventh day, ye shall compass the city seven times. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early; about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city in the same manner, seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.” Thus we find the children of Israel (by the command of the Lord,) traveling about the city of Jericho on the seventh day. Therefore, according to the argument, the Sabbath must have been abolished at, or before this time. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.3
Again, it is said, (but not truly as is clearly shown by the quotations already presented,) that neither the Master, whom we are to hear in all things, nor the apostles ever enforced, required or taught us to keep the Sabbath; therefore the Sabbath is not binding on us, still regarding it as a yoke of bondage. But it is true that the prophets, Malachi, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Nahum, Micah, Jonah, Obadiah, Amos, Joel, Daniel and others, do not even mention the Sabbath in all their prophecies. Therefore, according to the logic of all arguments against the Sabbath, it must have been forgotten or abolished before their days, and of course it is vain to think that the old Jewish Sabbath is binding on us. Old Jewish Sabbath did you say? By what authority do you call the Sabbath of the Lord, a yoke of bondage, or the old Jewish Sabbath? It is not even once thus named in the whole Book of inspiration. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.4
But the sabbaths and holy days of which Paul speaks, may all be found enumerated and classified in one chapter. Leviticus 23:4. These are the feasts of the Lord even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. Lest I weary the patience of the reader too much, I will omit quoting the Scriptures recorded in this chapter, only asking you to read the whole of it carefully, and you will find that there are no less than eight anniversary days, called holy convocations (or holy days) four of which are called sabbaths, a sabbath, your sabbath etc., besides the Sabbaths of the Lord. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.5
These are the holy days, and the sabbaths or sabbath days connected with meat-offerings, drink-offerings etc., of which Paul speaks. Colossians 2:16. May we remember, here are no less than eight annual festivals, or holy days, four of which are called sabbath days, and occur on the 1st, 10th, 15th and 22nd days of the seventh month. Thus we see that Paul may well say to his Colossian brethren, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days,” without either despising or treading under foot the Sabbath of the Lord. But if you must have a Jewish sabbath, perhaps it may not be inadmissible to call these annual sabbaths referred to - Jewish sabbaths. But do not forget that one of these sabbaths occurs on the first day of the seventh month, another on the tenth day, and another on the fifteenth day of the same month. And that there are eight days between the first and tenth-day sabbaths; and only four between the tenth and fifteenth-day sabbaths, which facts show plainly enough to any mind that will see, that Colossians 2:16, does not refer to the Sabbath of the Lord. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.6
Think you that the law of God, embracing his Holy Day, the fourth commandment, may be trifled with, with impunity? Beware!! ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.7
What became of the men of Beth-shemeth, even for idly looking into the Ark of the Lord, which contained his Holy Law - the ten commandments, even the despised one which says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” “And he smote the men of Beth-shemeth, (what for?) because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people, fifty thousand and three score and ten men.” 1 Samuel 6:19. Suppose ye that these men were sinners above those who fain would commit sacrilege by robbing the Ark of the Testament of God in Heaven, of its sacred trust, and destroy the seal of the holy law contained therein? “I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.8
I might notice other objections, but forbear, only saying, that every position taken against the Sabbath, which I have seen or heard, (like those noticed,) is founded on error; and therefore cannot stand before “the sword of the Spirit.” For “the law of the Lord is perfect:” “the statutes of the Lord are right;” “All his commandments are sure: they stand fast [are established] forever and ever.” Then “let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Therefore it is written, “A good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” And “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Let us remember, that this last quotation is one of the sayings of the Master, whom we are to hear in all things. - Acts 3:22, 23. “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren like unto me: him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.9
“Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you!!” Then how important that we hear, and try to understand what that Prophet says unto us. For upon hearing and doing these sayings, depends the perpetuity of our future life. Did the Redeemer, when on his mission to a fallen world, say that he had come to take from man the memorial of friendship, the token of remembrance, which God had given him? No. Did he say to man that he had come to inform him that he no longer needed the Rest-day, which God made and sanctified for him? No. Did he say that he came to abolish God’s law, and that man would no longer be subject to that yoke of bondage, and if man thought he might need a Rest-day any longer, he might choose one for himself - or leave it to Mahomet or him who should think to change times and laws, to choose one for him? Not at all. Well what does he say? Why, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be of no esteem in the reign of Heaven.” “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.” Here let us introduce one of the sayings of the Psalmist: “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God. He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” But again: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” “He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings.” And “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.10
Here it is plainly stated by the Son of God, that he kept his Father’s commandments. Therefore let us not be found (as some are) taking sides with the scribes and Pharisees, in accusing the Redeemer, Zion’s King, of transgressing his Father’s commandments, - his holy law, and thus justify these wicked men in “denying the Holy One, and killing the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.11
Should this meet the eye of any who have thus accused him, let me say, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Suffer me also to offer a word of admonition to those, who, to carry out their opposition to the law of God, resort to the low calling of speaking evil of those who are trying to manifest their love to their Maker by keeping all his commandments. - (For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments.) And not only so, but attributing the success of their labors of love, to their skill in the art of Mesmerism and every evil work. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.12
But, having digressed somewhat, let us return and consider the admonition, [Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28, 30,] “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies.... But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him; neither in this world, nor in the world to come.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.13
What called forth this admonition, from the Master, that Prophet whom we are to hear in all things. “Because they said he hath an unclean spirit.” What do the opposers of the holy Sabbath say of those who keep it, “and teach men so” to do? “Why, they are led by the spirit of Mesmerism,” [or Electro Psychology,] or “he hath an unclean spirit.” What is the difference, if any? We are able to see no difference. Therefore we say, Beware, lest you should be “weighed in the balance and be found wanting.” For it is written, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, .. this man’s religion is vain.” James 1:26. It is also written, “Howbeit, when he the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come.” John 16:13. Now therefore, may we have grace, wisdom, and the Spirit of truth, to direct us in trying the spirits by the rule which our only Law-giver has given us, which says, “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because their is no light (which is the Spirit of truth) in them.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.14
Revelation 14:12. See also Revelation 12:17. “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus“: hoping, by adorning their profession which they have made, with a well ordered life, and by patient continuance in well doing, to have ministered unto them an abundant entrance into his everlasting kingdom. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.15
Laona, N. Y., Feb. 24th, 1853.
“THE carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.16
JWe
DEAR BRO. WHITE: - A few days since, as I was glancing at the Watchman of March 30th, and while perusing the Epistle called, “Spiritual Hints,” by J. T., my mind was suddenly arrested by a passage therein contained, which was evidently arranged by the writer as explanatory of the 15th verse of the third chapter of Matthew. It was as follows: “Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill (the law) all righteousness. Then John suffered him, having understood the necessity of Christ fulfilling all the law.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.17
What peculiarly struck my mind, was, the parenthesis in the above passage. Whenever I see a parenthesis placed in the midst of a scripture text by an expositor, I generally pause to consider. While thus considering upon this new idea, and as Albert Barnes’ Notes were before me, curiosity led me to see what he said on that text, and whether he could explain upon it without using a parenthesis. I immediately took up the first volume of the Gospels, turned to the text and read as follows: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.18
“All righteousness.” The phrase, “all righteousness,” here is the same as a righteous institution or appointment. Jesus had no sin. But he was about to enter on his great work. It was proper that he should be set apart by his forerunner, and show his connection with him, and give his approbation to what John had done.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.19
Thus I saw that Mr. Barnes seemed to have no difficulty in coming to a conclusion as to the meaning of the text, without first wresting it by a parenthesis. - But I suppose that he had not then learned that “all righteousness” meant all law. Perhaps he was not hard pressed on a theory. However, I read the remainder of the aforesaid epistle, and should probably have passed it in silence, considering it trifling in comparison with many other absurdities which have of late appeared in that paper, by the same author and his partisans, had it not been for the abominable incongruity of the same J. T., which appeared in another of his epistles in the same paper, called, “The shortening of the Days.” There is a passage in that work which reads as follows: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.20
“Let us not try to support a position by a forced construction of any portion of the word; It is distressing to see the Bible made to limp along to the support of an unsound position.” Amen thought I. And especially by a man who has in times past taken two or three different “positions” on a vital subject which he spit at in his first epistle of the 30th, and now does not come forth in argument on any position. If J. T.’s heaven-daring work on Matthew 3:15, is not a “forced construction,” and even wresting the word of God, then I know not what can be. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.21
I stood a living witness to the voice of the first and second angels’ messages. Revelation 14. I heard both cries, and saw the fulfillment of each in all its minutia. But I must confess, that until within a few weeks, I did not understand the true import of that of the third angel. But I now plainly see that in order to exercise faith, consistent with former faith, I must allow the third angel’s message to have as literal a fulfillment as those of the former. Now in order to be a consistent believer, showing my faith by my works, I plainly see that I am required to turn my foot from the Sabbath, which I have ignorantly trampled on, according to the dictation of the Pope, for half a century. This will I do God helping me. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.22
And now seriously, I should like to know what J. T. and his partisans would teach concerning the Sabbath, providing they should attempt to teach anything; for certainly, there is no two that I have read as yet that are agreed, except in ridicule. And, that is the principal of what I have seen written by them of late. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.23
Their writings, touching the Sabbath Question, reminds me of Dowling, Stewart, Bush Smith, Campbell and others fighting against Millerism, each one upsetting the others theory, or argument. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.24
Do these anti seventh-day Sabbath teachers regard us as being in error, relative to observing the seventh day as the Sabbath? If so, why do they not unite in taking some position and then vindicate it by the law and the testimony? Are we to be convinced of being in error by the various opinions and blasphemous scoffings of our opponents. Is the truth on this point divided? no verily; it is a unit still. But A. says, the seventh-day Sabbath is abolished. B. says it is not abolished; but changed from the seventh to the first day of the week. C. says the two foregoing positions are not good. He doubts whether either can be sustained. He thinks the truth on this point is couched in this; that mankind are morally bound to observe, and keep sacred one day out of seven, and optional with each individual to observe which day he pleases. (Babylon.) Now all these views (with an abundance of scoffing) have been advanced by Sunday-keepers, and have come under my observation within five weeks. And now I would ask again, is a truth divisible? No, the truth is a unit, and always easy to be sustained. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.25
I will now close by saying of these contenders against the seventh-day Sabbath, as Bro. Miller once said in his closing remarks, in a review of Smith and Campbell, on the little horn, and return of the Jews. It was as follows: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.26
“So let Messrs Smith and Campbell take which horn of the dilemma they please. As it is the main object of these writers to try to support a Millennium before Christ’s second coming. I challenge them all, or either, to PROVE it by the Bible: let them keep to the point.” Instead of “Millennium before Christ’s second coming,” as Bro. Miller said, I would say Pope’s Sunday until “Christ’s second coming.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.27
I purpose to write you in a few days, touching more fully my experience, since receiving the great and instructive truth contained in the third and last angel’s message to man. Why so glaring a truth should be hid from my understanding for more than eight years, after having and understanding distinctly the first and second angels’ messages, I cannot tell. But so it has been. I have seen, also, within five weeks the same corroborative testimony to this truth, that I saw in forty-three when the same spirit was out against “Millerism,” viz: The tumultuous discordant views among the faction. Ah, brother, truly, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.28
Yours waiting for Redemption at the appearing of Jesus,
RANSOM HICKS.
Providence, R. I., Apr. 4th, 1853.
DEAR BRO. WHITE: - Although we are strangers in the flesh, I trust we are brethren and fellow citizens in the household of God. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.29
My name has been registered with the people called Christians forty-four years, and I have taken a great deal of comfort with them, especially in times of reformation, when we were raised up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.30
But, O, since that time, how has the most fine gold become dim, and what a time of trial in the dark and cloudy day. How I have sighed, and cried before God, at home and abroad, on the road, in my field and in the meeting in prayer to Almighty God to know what I should or could do. And my heavenly Father has blessed me in so doing, and kept me from falling. Glory to his holy name. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.31
My great trial has been to get the church to travel with me. I tell them that there is greater light before us; that we have not got all the light, and if they keep company with me they must travel. I believe that the time has come for the books of Daniel and John to be understood as well as other scriptures; for they were sealed for a definite time. And I believe that our glorious High Priest will soon come, and raise the righteous dead, and change the living saints, and, then glory to God, there will be a shout that will make heaven and earth ring. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.32
I believe, also, that the seventh-day Sabbath is still the only Sabbath of the Bible, and a blessing instead of a curse, and have been trying to keep it for six years past. But I stand alone in these things. My brethren do not see, nor travel with me. But I have been greatly encouraged of late; for God has sent our dear Bro. Chapin out into this region, and we have enjoyed several glorious meetings with him. And I do and will rejoice; for God through his instrumentality has started out six of my children to keep the Bible Sabbath and believe in the near coming of Jesus. Glory to God, and my dear companion also. O, what blessed meetings we have had at my house since then. We bless God for the privilege of worshiping with a people that believe that all the scriptures are a revelation, and that we may learn more and more, for the path of the just shines more and more until the perfect day. I enjoy a great blessing also in reading the Review. RUSSELL WEAVER. Mt. Cambria, N. Y., Apr. 4th, 1853. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 199.33
JWe
ROCHESTER, THURSDAY, APRIL, 28, 1853.
Bro. Miller’s Article on the Sabbath. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.1
WE publish this excellent article for the truth’s sake. It will be read with interest. He says: - ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.2
“The communication I send with this, was written for, and sent for publication, to the Second Advent Watchman, a paper which professes to be “devoted to the free and full investigation of all questions of bible theology, and its columns are open to the honest views of all, upon the various questions of interest to the church, arising from the word of God.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.3
But, with those reasons assigned, the article is returned without publication; - “because it cannot possibly subserve the interests of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” and “as the question of the Sabbath has been fully discussed in days past, the committee have decided not to make the Watchman a bearer of argument in favor of keeping a law which, if the gospel is true, was abolished more than 1800 years ago.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.4
JWe
1. I want to know how you reconcile the 70 years captivity, prophesied of by Jeremiah, [chap 25:12,] which Daniel [chap 9:2] understood to be 70 years of desolation of Jerusalem, when the beginning was in B. C. 606, [2 Kings 24:1,] and the end was in B. C. 536, [Ezra 1:1,] in the first year of Cyrus. Jeremiah 25:12, margin. Now we are told that the commandment did not go forth until the seventh year of Artaxerxes, B. C. 457. This was 79 years longer, which in all, made 149 years desolation, or captivity, instead of 70. This does not appear to agree with Daniel 9:23, “at the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth,” etc. This appears to have been the first year of Darius B. C. 538. Daniel 9:1, margin. And this vision appears to reach from the building of the city, until its destruction by the Romans. Daniel 9:26, 27. I do not know but it is all straight enough, when it is explained. But I have never seen any thing about this 79 years extra, and this vision reaching to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. I do not throw this out as a puzzle, but as a real difficulty in my own mind. I do not know but I am alone in this. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.5
2. How do you know that the Sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 is the one in heaven to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.6
3. As you believe in type and antitype, how do you account for Jesus’ stay in the most holy place (if he went in there in 1844) more than one year, answering to the day in the type? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.7
J. B. FRISBIE.
Chelsea, Mich., March 29, 1853.
Answers. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.8
1. The following extract from Litch’s Prophetic Expositions, will meet the leading points in the first question: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.9
“It is obvious, from the last verse of the eighth chapter, that Daniel felt the most intense anxiety in respect to the vision, and yet had no light. But, according to the ninth chapter, he learned, immediately after the death of Belshazzar, [see Daniel 5:25, and onward,] in the first year of Darius the Mede, that Jeremiah had foretold 70 years captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and the same period of desolation of the land by the hand of the king of Babylon. From the beginning of Daniel’s captivity, in the third year of Jehoiakim, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, there had been seventy years accomplished. Daniel, knowing this fact, and also misunderstanding the real import of Jeremiah’s prophecy, as well as his own vision, supposed the time for cleansing or justifying the sanctuary had arrived. But the prediction of Jeremiah [chap 25:9-11] was, that God would bring Nebuchadnezzar against that land and nation, and ‘utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and PERPETUAL DESOLATION.’ ‘This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. The Babylonian captivity was to be 70 years, but the land was to be ‘perpetual desolations.’ ‘And it shall come to pass when 70 years are accomplished,’ - not that the desolation of the holy land and oppression and bondage of the church cease, but - ‘I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.’ The 70 years ended, and God sent the hand-writing on the palace wall of Babylon, ‘Mene,’ ‘GOD HATH NUMBERED THY KINGDOM AND FINISHED IT.’ That night Belshazzar was slain, and Darius took the kingdom. - But the desolations, both of Judea and Chaldea, yet continue.” Vol. 1, pages 128,129. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.10
We think that these remarks present the subject in the true light. It is not predicted that the desolation of Judea should terminate with the 70 years, but that the Babylonian servitude should continue that number of years. Jeremiah 25:9-11. The event which marks the termination of the 70 years is the punishment of the king of Babylon. Compare verse 12 with chap 27:7; Daniel 5:25-31. About two years after the punishment of the king of Babylon, God visited his people in that city, by stirring up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, to cause them to return to their own land. Jeremiah 29:10; Ezra 1:1-3. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.11
The commandment, which Gabriel says came forth at the beginning of Daniel’s supplication, was, doubtless, the divine mandate to Gabriel requiring him to visit and explain to Daniel those things which he had omitted to explain in chapter 8. For he says, “At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee” etc. Daniel 9:23. It was in obedience to that commandment, that Gabriel had then come. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.12
It is certain that the decree from which the 70 weeks are dated [Daniel 9:25] could not have gone forth at the end of the 70 years of Babylonish servitude, which was more than 530 years before Christ. For in that case the entire period of 70 weeks or 490 prophetic days, would not reach even to the birth of Christ, by a space of more than 40 years! Whereas 69 of the 70 weeks were to extend to the Messiah the Prince. But the decree of the seventh year of Artaxerxes answers all the conditions of the prophecy; and, reckoning from that decree, the 70 weeks were exactly fulfilled in all particulars. The seventh of Artaxerxes was B. C. 457. At the end of 69 weeks or 483 prophetic days from that point the Messiah began to preach in A. D. 27, saying “The time is fulfilled. Mark 1:14, 15. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.13
It is true that Gabriel in this interview with Daniel predicted the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; but he does not state that the 70 weeks extend to that event. He testifies that 69 of them extend only to Messiah the Prince. It is certain, therefore, that the remaining week, or period of 7 years, could not be extended to the destruction of Jerusalem, as that event did not occur for almost 40 years. And if the 70 weeks began with the termination of the Babylonish captivity they could not extend to the destruction of Jerusalem by a period of almost 120 years. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.14
2. The evidence is perfectly conclusive that the Sanctuary of the Bible is the tabernacle of God, and not the earth, the land of Palestine, or the church. Exodus 25:8; Hebrews 9:1-5. The fact is clearly stated in the Scriptures that the earthly Sanctuary, or tabernacle, was made as a pattern or a representation of the true Sanctuary or tabernacle in heaven. Exodus 25:9, 40; Hebrews 8:1-5. It is plainly stated, in Hebrews 9 that the earthly Sanctuary was a figure of the true tabernacle, designed for the time then present, that is, for the dispensation, and that since the Lord Jesus became an High Priest, the greater and more perfect tabernacle has taken the place of that “figure,” “example” or “pattern.” The ninth chapter of Daniel, which is the inspired commentary on the vision of the Sanctuary and 2300 days in the eighth chapter, shows how large a portion of the 2300 days belongs to the earthly Sanctuary. “Seventy weeks [490 days] are determined [literally cut off] upon thy people and upon thy holy city.” Verse 24. This shows that the whole period of 2300 days does not belong to Jerusalem and the Jews. It is an important fact, that this period of 70 weeks terminates at the time where the New Testament places the transfer from the earthly Sanctuary to the real one in heaven. And it is to be noticed that Gabriel introduces the heavenly Sanctuary to the view of Daniel. For the last event in the 70 weeks, as given by him, is the anointing of the “most holy,” literally, as rendered by Clark and other eminent scholars, the “Holy of holies.” This can refer to nothing else than the true tabernacle in which our High Priest was to minister for us. The act of anointing the earthly tabernacle, preceded the ministration of the Levitical priests; and the anointing of the heavenly Sanctuary precedes our Lord’s ministration therein. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.15
These facts, we think, are conclusive proof that the heavenly Sanctuary is the subject of that part of Daniel’s vision that relates to the gospel dispensation. The cleansing of the earthly Sanctuary is distinctly stated in Leviticus 16. This was a part of the shadow of good things to come; of which good things, Christ is a minister in the greater and more perfect tabernacle. And the fact that the heavenly Sanctuary is to be cleansed for the same reason that the earthly was cleansed, is plainly stated in Hebrews 9:22-24. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.16
3. The fulfillment of the prophetic periods in the symbolic prophecy, has ever been a day for a year. But the fulfillment of the types has never been thus marked. We understand that the Saviour ministered in the first apartment until the end of the 2300 days, and that the termination of that period marked the commencement of his ministration in the holiest of all. If the ministration of the Saviour in the first apartment had been on the principle of a day in the type answering to a year in the antitype, then it would have occupied only 364 years instead of more than 1800. We know of no means of marking the precise length of Christ’s ministration in the most holy place; but regard it as the brief period which will terminate human probation, and end in the pouring out of God’s wrath in the seven last plagues. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.17
Questions by Bro. Stone. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.18
1. The Angel said to Daniel, “Unto 2300 days; then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed.” If this period closed on the tenth day of the seventh month, 1844, how is it that the Sanctuary and host are trodden under foot up to the present time, when it is now 2308 days and a few months over? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.19
2. Will the phraseology or meaning of the text, allow more than one prophetic day from the close of the 2300 days, to accomplish the cleansing of the Sanctuary? ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.20
I subscribe myself yours, wishing to know the whole truth, ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.21
ALBERT STONE.
Eden, Vt.
Answers. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.22
1. The event to transpire at the end of the 2300 days is the cleansing of the Sanctuary. That the tabernacle of God is the Sanctuary of the Bible, a multitude of texts directly testify. Exodus 36:1-6; Leviticus 4:6; 16:33; Numbers 4:15; Psalm 78:54, 69; Hebrews 8:1, 2. That the cleansing of the Sanctuary is the work of a high priest, performed by blood, and not with fire is also a matter of certainty. Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9. The work of cleansing the Sanctuary is not that of a king taking vengeance on his adversaries, but that of a priest concluding his work in the tabernacle of God. Hence, this work must precede the second Advent, and be accomplished ere the priestly work of our Lord is closed in the Sanctuary of God. Until that point of time, the wrath of God is stayed by the intercession of our great High Priest. When that point is reached the sins of the host or church, having been transferred from the Sanctuary to the antitypical scape-goat, and the saints of God being all sealed, the wrath of God without mixture of mercy is poured out, and the adversaries of the Lord are destroyed with an utter destruction. The period of time in which the Sanctuary is being cleansed, we understand to be what the angel denominates “the last end of the indignation.” Daniel 8:19. That it occupies a space of time is evident from the form of expression used by Gabriel: “I will make thee know what shall be IN the last end of the indignation.” ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.23
2. We think there is nothing in Daniel 8, which limits the cleansing of the Sanctuary to one prophetic day. If the ministry in the holiest of all were proportioned to the length of time occupied by our Lord in ministering in the first apartment, several prophetic days must be required. And if the mighty events connected with that ministration be taken into the account, this will appear in the highest degree reasonable and just. J. N. A. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.24
| THE amount received to publish Tracts is, | $298,42 |
| The expense of publishing Tracts noticed in No. 23, | 290,00 |
| For 4000 copies of a Work of 40 pages on the first day of the week, and history of the Sabbath, | 100,00 |
| Whole expense for Tracts published, | 390,00 |
| Expense above what has been received, | 91,58 |
We have stated that if 1500 of our readers would forward to us $1 each, it would pay the expenses of the publication of the REVIEW for one year, or a volume of 26 numbers. Of this sum, $1411,21 has been received, leaving $88,79 to be paid on the present volume, which closes with one number more. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.25
The amount still to be paid on this volume of the REVIEW and for tracts, is $180,37. This sum we shall need by the tenth of May, to purchase paper, and to meet other necessary expenses before going West. We freely state the condition of the Office as to means, knowing that the friends of the cause will cheerfully aid us. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.26
WE have 400 copies of the Pamphlet, entitled Advent Review, containing thrilling testimonies relative to the Advent Movement. As many of the testimonies in this work were given, more to show what had been the faith of the Advent body than to present a system of truth, and lest our real views be misunderstood by this work, we have added a few remarks by way of explanation, and shall now be happy to circulate it. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.27
Appointments. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.28
PROVIDENCE permitting, I will hold meetings with the brethren, on my way west, as follows: ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.29
Fredonia, N. Y., April 30th and May 1st. Milan, Ohio, May 7th and 8th. Tyrone, Mich., May 14th and 15th. Jackson, Mich., the 17th, at 5 o’clock P. M. Battle Creek, the 19th at 5 o’clock P. M. Bedford, Mich., May 21st and 22nd. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.30
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Letters. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.31
R. S. Johnson, U. Colby, E. J. Paine, J. Fuller, A. Fuller, F. Wheeler 2, S. R. C. Denison, L. Paine, R. Weaver, S. W. Rhodes 2, J. H. Waggoner, E. Everts, J. N. Luther, M. G. Kellogg, S. Harriman, Wm. Bryant, H. W. Lawrence, M. S. Avery, S. J. Voorus, O. Nichols, H. Edson, J. Bates, B. Madill, E. Farnsworth, R. Hicks, P. Miller, Jr., A. P. H. Kelsey, M. Slayton, R. A. Sperry, G. M. Burnett, A. H. Robinson, H. Flower, H. S. Gurney, U. Smith, C. M. Brown, S. Peckham, J. Kellogg. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.32
Receipts. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.33
A. Hoxie, J. Davis, R. Hicks, Sr. Everts, J. Claxton, S. D. Haskell, B. Darling, A. Mason, R. A. Sperry, C. Parmalee, R. Cummings, A. Pike, L. H. DuBois, H. Barr, each $1. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.34
E. Davis, L. M. Freeto, R. Reed, S. Burdick, H. M. Ayres, B. B. Brigham, H. Gardner, each $2; A. T. Wilkinson, a Friend in Maine, E. Lothrop, each $3; L. Carpenter $2,75. A. Hazeltine $1,50; S. Dunten $1,25; D. R. Palmer $1,65. - V. R. Stowell, a Friend, each 70 cents; S. Pratt, A. Kingsbury, A. Cudworth, I. Ring, each 50 cents; C. Bourn, J. Wilder, each 25 cents; L. Bean 60 cents; R. F. Cottrell 40 cents. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.35
For Tracts. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.36
O. Nichols, E. Temple each $1; E. Goodwin $2; S. T. Gove $3; Bro. and Sr. Below $5; R. Loveland, E. Lothrop each $1,75. ARSH April 28, 1853, page 200.37