1. God’s two great institutions
Ellen White (1827-1915): “In the beginning when the Sabbath was given the marriage law was also given. It was then that God bestowed on man His two great gifts, – the Sabbath as a day of rest and woman as a help-meet” (Bible Echo, August 28, 1899).
Ellen White: “There were two institutions founded in Eden that were not lost in the Fall – the Sabbath and the marriage relation. These were carried by humanity beyond the gates of paradise” (ST, February 28, 1884).
Rev. Justin Edwards (1787-1853): Said in 1843 that, “God established, at creation, two great fundamental institutions. The first was that of marriage, or the union for life of one man and one woman….The next was the Sabbath, or the day of weekly rest from worldly business and cares, and of special devotion to the worship of god and the promotion of the spiritual good of man. Both were established in paradise, before the fall…” (Rev. William A. Hallock, A Sketch of the Life and Labours of the Rev. Justin Edwards, p. 457).
Rev. Justin Edwards (1787-1853): “The first great institution established in Paradise, for the human race, was that of marriage. This lays the foundation for families, and social relations among men. The second great institution established also in Paradise for the race, was that of the Sabbath” (The Sabbath Manual, p. 8, 1845).
2. Proper time for beginning the Sabbath
Unfortunately, the prophetess of the Adventists did not know about the true Sabbath until 1846. Besides, the truth about the Sabbath was not revealed by the Holy Spirit but was shared by Joseph Bates. Interesting part was – she and her fellow Adventists commenced the Sabbath at wrong times – six o’ clock to six o’ clock, up until 1855, instead of “sunset to sunset”.
Ellen White (1827-1915): “November 20, 1855, while in prayer, the Spirit of the Lord came suddenly and powerfully upon me, and I was taken off in vision… I saw that it is even so: “From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” Said the angel: “Take the word of God, read it, understand, and ye cannot err. Read carefully, and ye shall there find what even is, and when it is.” I asked the angel if the frown of God had been upon His people for commencing the Sabbath as they had. I was directed back to the first rise of the Sabbath, and followed the people of God up to this time, but did not see that the Lord was displeased, or frowned upon them. I inquired why it had been thus, that at this late day we must change the time of commencing the Sabbath. Said the angel: “Ye shall understand, but not yet, not yet.” Said the angel: “If light come, and that light is set aside or rejected, then comes condemnation and the frown of God; but before the light comes, there is no sin, for there is no light for them to reject.” I saw that it was in the minds of some that the Lord had shown that the Sabbath commenced at six o’clock, when I had only seen that it commenced at “even,” and it was inferred that even was at six. I saw that the servants of God must draw together, press together” (1T, p. 116, 1868).
Arthur White: “Ellen White reasoned that the six o’clock time had been a matter of practice for nearly a decade. The Sabbath so kept had been a great blessing to her, and the angel had said nothing about its being in error. Must a change be made now? Thus matters stood through the rest of the Sabbath and through Sunday as the members met in conference, but this was a rather touchy point of division that was bound to widen as time went on” (Biography, Vol. 1, pp. 322- 324).
“Scriptural Testimony Accepted.—The sunset time was now accepted by nearly all present at the 1855 conference. Joseph Bates and Ellen White were exceptions, both holding to the six o’clock position” (Ellen G. White: messenger to the Remnant, p. 35).
Non- Adventist theologians knew their bibles better! See the following quotations:
J. W. Nevin (1803-1886): “… On the next evening, (unless when it was particularly holy, as the eve that began the Sabbath)” (A Summary of biblical Antiquities: Compiled for the use of Sunday school Teachers, Vol. 2, p. 181, 1830).
J. W. Nevin (1803-1886): “It was usual to make some preparation for the Sabbath towards the close of the sixth day (Mark 15: 42). According to the Jews, it was customary to cease from labour on that day, at the time of the Evening Sacrifice; and from that hour till the sun went down, all busied themselves to get completely ready for the holy season that was at hand… A little before sunset, the Sabbath candle was lighted in each house, in token of gladness at the approach of god’s day… Thus began the seventh day” (A Summary of biblical Antiquities: Compiled for the use of Sunday school Teachers, Vol. 2, p. 162, 1830).
3. Sabbath the antidote for idolatry
Ellen White (1827-1915): “Had Sabbath always been sacredly observed, there could never have been an atheist or an idolater” (PP, 336).
Rev. Justin Edwards (1787-1853): [Said in 1843] “And had all people continued from the beginning to observe it, they had in all ages been worshippers of Jehovah, and idolatry never have been practiced upon the earth” (Rev. William A. Hallock, A Sketch of the Life and Labours of the Rev. Justin Edwards, p. 455).
Rev. Justin Edwards (1787-1853): “Had all men properly kept the Sabbath, all would have known Jehovah, and worshipped him, from the creation of the world to the present time, and idolatry never would have been practiced on the earth… The Sabbath breaker violated a fundamental law. He proclaimed by his actions, the most impressive of all language – “No God!” and thus produced the effect of practical atheism on himself and others” (The Sabbath Manual, pp. 12, 14, 1845).
4. The fourth commandment placed in the center of the law
Ellen White (1827-1915): “I was amazed as I saw the fourth commandment in the very center of the ten precepts, with a soft halo of light encircling it” (Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White, p. 237, 1888).
Rev. Justin Edwards (1787-1853): “He placed this [the 4th commandment] in the midst of them; and obedience to it was essential, in order to obedience to the other commands” (The Sabbath Manual, p. 13, 1845).
5. Pope changed the Sabbath to Sunday
Ellen White (1827-1915): “I saw that the number (666) of the Image Beast was made up; [Revelation 13:18.] and that it was the Beast that changed the Sabbath, and the Image Beast had followed on after, and kept the Pope’s, and not God’s Sabbath. And all we were required to do, was to give up God’s Sabbath, and keep the Pope’s, and then we should have the mark of the Beast, and of his image” (Word to the Little Flock, p. 19, 1847).
Ellen White: “I saw that God had never changed the Sabbath, for He never changes. But the pope had changed it from the seventh day to the first day of the week; for he was to change times and laws” (Early Writings, p. 32, 1882).
William Jones (1762-1846): “In a word, the man, who participates the descriptive name and number of the beast, is the Roman pontiff” (Lectures on the Apocalypse, p. 437, 1830).
Eleazar Lord (1778-1871): “Suffice it to say, that the Sabbath is and ever has been wholly abrogated, or grossly perverted and profaned” (The Mediatorial work of our Lord and Jesus Christ, p. 121, 1845).
James White (1821-1881): James White writing about Preble’s Sabbath promotion says “About that time [1844] Elder T. M. Preble [1810-1907] embraced the Sabbath, and began to teach it. He called the attention of Adventists to the question, by a pamphlet on the subject, dated February 13, 1845. After showing the claims of the Bible Sabbath, and the fact that it was changed to Sunday by the papacy, he said; “Thus we see Daniel 7: 25, fulfilled, the little horn changing times and laws. Therefore it appears to me that all who keep the first day for the Sabbath, are the Pope’s Sunday keepers, and God’s Sabbath – breakers”” (Life Incidents, Vol., p. 268, 1868).
Note: Preble sadly though, renounces the Bible Sabbath: “But Elder Preble, not seeing the Sabbath reform under the message of the third angel, and in the ripening of the harvest of the earth, the Sabbath was to be a test…He soon lost interest in the subject, and has since become one of its bitterest opposers” (Ibid., p. 268, 269).
Isaac C. Wellcome (1818-1895): According to Wellcome, the reason for Preble’s rejection of the Sabbath was: “At that time [1841-1844] spirit of fanaticism made an onset upon the believers in the Advent near, leading some astray into strange notions and partly concluded it duty to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, instituted under Moses, Bro. P. [Preble] accepted that message for a while, but on careful examination he found it a false message for the gospel age, and gave it up, confessing the error, and keeping others out of this “yoke of bondage”. He has since written a book to refute it” (History of the Second Advent Message, p. 223, 1874).
6. Sabbath is kept in Heaven
Ellen White (1827-1915): “God has given us the whole of six days in which to do our work, and has reserved only one to Himself. This should be a day of blessing to us—a day when we should lay aside all our secular matters and center our thoughts upon God and heaven. All heaven is keeping the Sabbath, but not in a listless, do-nothing way” (The Faith I Live By, p. 35,
The Book of Jubilees (2nd century B.C): “And He gave us a great sign, the Sabbath day, that we should work six days, but keep Sabbath on the seventh day from all work. And all the angels of the presence, and all the angels of sanctification, these two great classes -He hath bidden us to keep the Sabbath with Him in heaven and on earth” (Translated by R.H. Charles, 1913).
Note: Jesus said, ‘Sabbath was made for man’, not for angels. It is groundless to assume that heaven keeps the Sabbath.