Sabbath Afternoon - May 13, 2023

Reading for the Week

James 2:8-13; Deut. 5:12-15; Ps. 33:6, 9; Revelation 14; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1. 

Prayer Thought

"The time of trouble is about to come upon the people of God. Then it is that the decree will go forth forbidding those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord to buy or sell, and threatening them with punishment, and even death, if they do not observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath. {HS 156.1}

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” By this we see the importance of having our names written in the book of life. All whose names are registered there will be delivered from Satan's power, and Christ will command that their filthy garments be removed, and that they be clothed with his righteousness. “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” {HS 156.2} Historical Sketches


Memory Text

And to make all [men] see what [is] the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:  {Eph. 3:9}


This week's SS Lesson will fasten our attention on the pertinent correlation of Creation and the Sabbath in connection with the Judgment message of our SDA Church. This includes our participation in the process that becomes our lifestyle and character which be brought into account on the judgment hour.


Study Outline

Sunday - May 14, 2023

Sabbath and Moral Freedom - The Creation, Judgment, and Accountability

Rev. 14:7; Rom. 14:10; James 2:8-13 

Monday - May 15, 2023

The Creation and the Sabbath

Gen. 2:1-3; Exo. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15; Rev. 14:6, 7; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 21:1; Isa 65:17

Tuesday - May 16, 2023

Sabbath and Evolution - A Not-So-Subtle Deception

Ps. 33:6, 9; Heb/ 11:3 

Wednesday - May 17, 2023

Creation, the Sabbath and the End Time

Rev. 14:7, 9, 11, 12; Gen. 2:1-3; 2Thess. 2:4; 2Johm 5:3; Exo. 20:8-11

Thursday - May 18, 2023

The Sabbath and Eternal Rest

Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1, 5


Friday - May 19, 2023

Further Study and Meditation

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Sunday -  May 14, 2023

Sabbath and Moral Freedom - The Creation, Judgment, and Accountability

Rev. 14:7; Rom. 14:10; James 2:8-13 

“For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” (Romans 14:10)

 

The Knowledge of True Sabbath

The Protestant churches have accepted the spurious Sabbath, the child of the Papacy, and have exalted it above God's holy, sanctified day. It is our work to make plain to our children that the first day of the week is not the true Sabbath, and that its observance, after light has come to us as to what is the true Sabbath, is a plain contradiction of the law of God.  {CG 312.4}  


We're Commanded to Keep and Honor God as Creator

The word came to them, “Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep.” Though the work on the tabernacle must be carried forward with expedition, the Sabbath must not be employed as a working day. Even the work on the Lord’s house must give way to the sacred observance of the Lord’s rest day. Thus God is jealous for the honor of His memorial of creation. {CTr 110.5} 

The Sabbath is a token between God and His people. It is a holy day, given by the Creator to us as a day upon which to rest, and reflect upon sacred things. God designed it to be observed through every age as a perpetual covenant. . . . {CTr 110.6} 


A Sacred Trust for God's People 

There are those who hold that the Sabbath was given only for the Jews; but God has never said this. He committed the Sabbath to His people Israel as a sacred trust, but the very fact that the desert of Sinai, and not Palestine, was the place selected by Him in which to proclaim His law reveals that He intended it for all humankind. The law of Ten Commandments is as old as creation. Therefore the Sabbath institution has no special relation to the Jews, any more than to all other created beings. God has made the observance of the Sabbath obligatory upon all people. “The Sabbath,” it is plainly stated, “was made for man.” Let everyone, therefore, who is in danger of being deceived on this point give heed to the Word of God rather than the assertions of humans. . . . {CTr 355.4} 


Consider the Following

God will judge everyone. Therefore, He considers every person morally responsible for their own actions. We are accountable before God for everything we do and think.

Why does God have the right to hold us accountable for how we use our moral freedom?

God is our Creator, and He made a moral Law (the 10 Commandments) that determines which moral decisions are right (James 2:8-12).

The fourth commandment (the Sabbath) reminds us of the reason we should keep the Law: God created us (Exodus 20:8-11).


For a deeper understanding of how the True Sabbath is to be Observed, please visit the links below:


Monday - May 15, 2023

The Creation and the Sabbath

Gen. 2:1-3; Exo. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15; Rev. 14:6, 7; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 21:1; Isa 65:17 

“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Genesis 2:3)


The True Sabbath as God's Rest Day

As we refrain from labor on the seventh day, we testify to the world that we are on God’s side and are striving to live in perfect conformity to His commandments. Thus we recognize as our Sovereign the God who made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. . . . The true Sabbath is to be restored to its rightful position as God’s rest day.—Manuscript 77, 1900 (Review and Herald, Oct. 28, 1902). {CTr 110.7} 


The Seventh Day Sabbath - Sign of God's People Forever

Human philosophy declares that an indefinite period of time was taken in the creation of the world. Does God state the matter thus? No; He says, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days [not six indefinite periods of time, for then there would be no possible way for us to observe the day specified in the fourth commandment] the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Please read carefully the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. God says again, “Remember [do not forget] the sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . 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.” {CTr 18.2} 


Commemoration of the Creation for All

The Sabbath was given to all humankind to commemorate the work of creation. The great Jehovah, when He had laid the foundations of the earth, when He had dressed the whole world in its garb of beauty, and created all the wonders of the land and the sea, instituted the Sabbath day and made it holy. . . . God sanctified and blessed the day in which He had rested from all His wondrous work. And this Sabbath, sanctified of God, was to be kept for a perpetual covenant. It was a memorial that was to stand from age to age, till the close of earth’s history. . . . {CTr 355.2} 


Consider the Following

After finishing the creation of Earth and all living beings on it, God created a day: the Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3).

Sabbath was created for a sinless world. It was a moment of special relationship with God. After sin, Sabbath became special for several reasons.

It’s a token of loyalty to the Creator, it reminds us that we’re children of God, it encourages us to rest in God and rejoice in Him, it’s a reminder of our redemption, it allows us to rejoice in God’s kindness, it’s a special moment to worship our Creator and Redeemer, it’s the link between Eden and the New Earth.


Tuesday - May 16, 2023

Sabbath and Evolution - A Not-So-Subtle Deception

Ps. 33:6, 9; Heb. 11:3 

“For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:9)


The Science of Salvation will Sound as Trumpet

The science of salvation is to be the burden of every sermon, the theme of every song. Let it be poured forth in every supplication. Let nothing be brought into the preaching of the Word to supplement Christ, the Word and power of God. Let His name, the only name given under heaven whereby we may be saved, be exalted in every discourse, and from Sabbath to Sabbath let the trumpet of the watchmen give a certain sound. Christ is the science and eloquence of the gospel, and His ministers are to hold forth the Word of life, presenting hope to the penitent, peace to the troubled and desponding, and grace and completeness and strength to the believing.--VSS 337. {PaM 190.3} 


A More Subtle Deception in Its Present Form

 Even in its present form, so far from being more worthy of toleration than formerly, it is really a more dangerous, because a more subtle deception. While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible, it now professes to accept both. But the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. Love is dwelt upon as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded to a weak sentimentalism making little distinction between good and evil. God's justice, his denunciations of sin, the requirements of his holy law, are all kept out of sight. The people are taught to regard the decalogue as a dead letter. Pleasing, bewitching fables captivate the senses, and lead men to reject the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Christ is as verily denied as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned.  {GC88 558.2} 


Consider the Following

The Bible explains how God created the world. The Hebrew word for day (“yom”) with a number (e.g. “first”), p. e. “primero”) is always used for a 24-hour period. There are no exceptions.

The Genesis account of Creation cannot support the idea that it took extended periods of time. On the contrary, Sabbath is emphasized because God created our world in six days and rested in the seventh (Exodus 20:11).

The founders of the Adventist Church were especially interested in the Sabbath in the mid nineteenth century (1845). The Theory of Evolution arose in that same moment, attacking the foundation of the Sabbath (1859). Satan has tried to destroy this memorial of Creation.


Wednesday - May 17, 2023

Creation, the Sabbath and the End Time

Rev. 14:7, 9, 11, 12; Gen. 2:1-3; 2Thess. 2:4; 2Johm 5:3; Exo. 20:8-11

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12)


A Warfare against Unbelievers - the Sunday Law

Tests will come to every one of us. We know not how many will be placed in peculiar positions where we shall have opportunity of showing forth the glory of God. We are to keep in view the honor of our heavenly Father. . . . {CTr 178.4} 

History will repeat itself. In this age the great test will be upon the point of Sabbath observance. . . . A rival sabbath is exalted, as was the great golden image in the plain of Dura. Leaders claiming to be Christians will call upon the world to observe the spurious sabbath that they have made. All who refuse will be put under oppressive laws. This is the mystery of iniquity, the devising of satanic agencies, carried into effect by the man of sin. . . .

We are to warn men and women against the worship of the beast and his image—against the worship of the idol Sunday. But in doing this work, we need not begin a warfare against unbelievers. We are simply to present the Word of the Lord, in its true dignity and purity, before the minds of those who are ignorant or indifferent regarding its teachings. . . . We need not tell them that they will go to hell unless they keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The truth itself, accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, will convict and convert hearts.—Manuscript 110, 1904. {CTr 178.6} 


The Sunday Law - Sunday Observance - A Test in the End Time

The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns shall cause "the earth and them which dwell therein" to worship the papacy—there symbolized by the beast "like unto a leopard." The beast with two horns is also to say "to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;" and, furthermore, it is to command all, "both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. "I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." Verse 3. The infliction of the deadly wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, "his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." Paul states plainly that the "man of sin" will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life." Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church. {DD 27.1} 


For deeper understanding of the Sunday Law issue, please click and visit the following links:


Consider the Following

The final message is a call to worship the Creator and not the enemy. This call is closely related to observing the Ten Commandments (Revelation 14:12).

The conflict itself is not related to loving our neighbor (the first six commandments), but to loving God (the first four commandments).

— Do not have other gods. Exodus 20:3; Revelation 13:4.

— Do not make carved images. Exodus 20:4-6; Revelation 13:14-15.

— Honor the name of God. Exodus 20:7; Revelation 13:17.

— Worship the Creator. Exodus 20:8-11; Revelation 13:16.

The mark we will receive in the End Time will show who we worship: God (Sabbath) or the beast (Sunday).


Thursday - May 18, 2023

The Sabbath and Eternal Rest

Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1, 5

“‘And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord.” (Isaiah 66:23)


Eternal Observance of the Sabbath 

Where eternal interests are involved, it becomes every soul to require ministers of the gospel to give Scriptural evidence for everything they say. The traditions of the Fathers, the customs and sayings of professedly good men, the opinions of the most learned divines or of the highest critics,--all are worthless unless they harmonize with the word of God. We must go back from the so called "Fathers" to the great Heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe. The Sabbath of the Lord must rest on its own basis--the word of the living God.  {RH, July 6, 1897 par. 7}  

Everyone is tested and tried in probationary time in regard to his obedience to the word of God. But what is the matter with the professed Christian world?--That which was the matter with Adam and Eve in Eden,--they are listening to another voice than that of God. God's voice, which is speaking plainly and distinctly to them through the fourth commandment, is disregarded; and a false voice, which advocates a false Sabbath, is listened to. They turn from a plain, "Thus saith the Lord," to a Sabbath based upon inference and supposition, without a particle of Scriptural evidence to support it. Satan has succeeded in throwing the Christian world off the track, as he threw Adam and Eve off. People are walking in by and forbidden paths. O, why are men, when tempted, so easily overcome? Why are they so deceived in regard to the Sabbath? Why, without any foundation for their faith, do they accept and exalt a spurious Sabbath?  {RH, July 6, 1897 par. 8}  

 

Consider the Following

Each week we set our worldly worries aside and enter God’s rest: the Sabbath.

Why will Sabbath still exist in the New Earth if there will be no more worries and we’ll be living close to God’s throne (Revelation 22:3)?

Remember that Sabbath as the day of rest and communion with God was introduced in a sinless world (Genesis 2:1-3).

Once the Earth is recreated, Sabbath will still be a day of rest and communion with God (Isaiah 66:23).

Each of our Sabbaths anticipates our eternity with Jesus in the New Earth.


Friday - May 19, 2023

Further Study and Meditation

In keeping the Sabbath, which God declares shall be kept holy, they give the sign of their order, showing plainly that they are on the Lord's side.  {7T 106.3}  

Now and ever we are to stand as a distinct and peculiar people, free from all worldly policy, unembarrassed by confederating with those who have not wisdom to discern God's claims so plainly set forth in His law. All our medical institutions are established as Seventh-day Adventist institutions to represent the various features of gospel medical missionary work and thus to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. We are to show that we are seeking to work in harmony with heaven. We are to bear witness to all nations, kindreds, and tongues that we are a people who love and fear God, a people who keep holy His memorial of creation, the sign between Him and His obedient children that He sanctifies them. And we are plainly to show our faith in the soon coming of our Lord in the clouds of heaven.  {7T 106.4}  


Questions to Ponder


From the Pen of Inspiration

“Pointing to God as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, it distinguishes the true God from all false gods. All who keep the seventh day signify by this act that they are worshipers of Jehovah. Thus the Sabbath is the sign of man's allegiance to God as long as there are any upon the earth to serve Him.” E. G. W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 27, p. 307)


https://3angelscry.org/pdf-ss-q2-l8-the-sabbath-and-the-end/

SSL-Q2-L8-The-Sabbath-and-the-End-May-13-19 (fliphtml5.com) 

SSL-Q2-L8-The-Sabbath-and-the-End-May-13-19.pdf