The Sabbath Through History - 1st Century
Hallowed by the Creator's rest and blessing, the Sabbath was
kept by Adam in his innocence in holy Eden; by Adam, fallen
yet repentant, when he was driven from his happy estate. It
was kept by all the patriarchs, from Abel to righteous Noah,
to Abraham, to Jacob. When the chosen people were in bondage
in Egypt, many, in the midst of prevailing idolatry, lost their
knowledge of God's law; but when the Lord delivered Israel,
he proclaimed his law in awful grandeur to the assembled multitude,
that they might know his will, and fear and obey him forever.
From that day to the present, the knowledge of God's law has
been preserved in the earth, and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment
has been kept. Though the "man of sin" succeeded in
trampling under foot God's holy day, yet even in the period
of his supremacy there were, hidden in secret places, faithful
souls who paid it honor. Since the Reformation, there have been
some in every generation to maintain its observance. Though
often in the midst of reproach and persecution, a constant testimony
has been borne to the perpetuity of the law of God, and the
sacred obligation of the creation Sabbath.
This section, The Sabbath Through History, provides a glimpse into
this controversy.
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"But pray ye that your
flight be not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Jesus,
Matthew 24:20
Institution Of The Sabbath
"Thus the heavens and
the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh
day God ended his work which he made; and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work which he had made. 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 2:1-3
Jesus
"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and,
as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16
Jesus
"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what
good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And he said
unto him, if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
Matthew 19:16-17
Jesus
"But pray ye that your flight be not in winter, neither on
the Sabbath day." Matthew 24:20.
Jesus asked his disciples to pray that in the flight from the doomed
city of Jerusalem they would not have to flee on the Sabbath day.
This flight took place in 70 A.D. (40 years after the Cross).
His Followers
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments and rested
the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56
Paul
"And Paul, as his manner was went in unto them, and three Sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures" Acts 17:2
Paul And Gentiles
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
And the next Sabbath came almost the whole city together to hear
the Word of God." Acts 13:42, 44.
Here we find Gentiles in a Gentile city gathering on the Sabbath.
It was not a synagogue meeting in verse 44, for it says almost the
whole city came together, verse 42 says they asked to hear the message
the "next Sabbath."
John
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10 (Mark
2:28, Isa.58:13, Ex.20:10, Clearly show the Sabbath to be the Lord's
day).
Josephus
"There is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the Barbarians,
nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on the
seventh day hath not come!" M'Clatchie, "Notes and Queries
on China and Japan" (edited by Dennys), Vol 4, Nos 7, 8, p.100.
Philo
Declares the seventh day to be a festival, not of this or of that
city, but of the universe. M'Clatchie, "Notes and Queries,"
Vol. 4, 99
Note Large portions of this history section are
from the following resources.
(These books are in the
.pdf format and will require considerable download time.)
-The Great Controversy
-Truth Triumphant
-The History of the Sabbath
-What I Saw in Rome .pdf provided
by Maranatha Media
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