Gereja Masihi Kedatangan Yesus Hari KeTujuh: 03/03 Sabbath: The 7 Pillars of Our Faith [P2]

Part 2: Pillars 5 to 7
by Robert Lee Bian Tian
link back to Part 1 (http://sdajb.blogspot.com/2007/03/0303-sabbath-7-pillars-of-our-faith-p1.html)

The 5th pillar of our faith is the Sabbath. The Sabbath has been God’s day of rest since the foundation of this world. The Sabbath has been set apart as God’s day of rest even before sin came into the world. Genesis 2: 1-3: “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 had 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.” Notice the 3 things God did for the Sabbath day, which God did not do for any other day of the week. 1st God rested, 2nd God blessed, and 3rd God sanctified the 7th day of the week.

After sin came into the world, the 7th day of the week has remained as God’s day of rest, and it is enshrined as the 4th Commandment of God’s 10 Commandments. Today the Sabbath is still the sign that the Lord is our God, and that it is the Lord God who sanctifies His people. Exodus 31: 12-17: “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; every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”

God’s words says that the Sabbath is God’s test, whether His people will obey God’s law or no. God said this during Israel’s 40 years wandering in the wilderness when God performed 3 miracles every week while providing manna for his people. Exodus 16: 4-5: “Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”

When sin and death are destroyed, and God creates a new heaven and a new earth, the Sabbath will continue to be observed by God’s people throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Isaiah 66: 22-23: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”

On a day soon, at the end of time, the Sabbath will become the test of loyalty to God for the whole world, whether man will obey God’s law, or no. At that time, the Sabbath will continue to be the seal of God, to seal His people for eternity. At that time, Satan’s counterfeit, Sunday, will become the mark of the beast. If we do not learn now to keep the Sabbath day holy, we run the risk of receiving the mark of the beast when Sunday Law is passed on earth. God’s word says, To-day is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Tomorrow may be too late.

The 6th Pillar of our faith is the Spirit of Prophecy. God’s word identifies God’s end time church as having 2 characteristics, namely, keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy, or the gift of prophecy. Rev.12: 17: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” According to Rev.19: 10, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.

I believe that the remnant church, or God’s end time church, is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and that Ellen G. White is God’s prophet for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In the Bible, God sends a prophet to prepare people for a crisis. Before the flood, God sent Noah as His prophet to warn the antediluvian world of God’s judgment, and the coming flood. Before the exodus, God sent Moses as his prophet to deliver God’s people from Egyptian slavery. When Jesus came to earth, John the Baptist was God’s forerunner, to prepare the way for the Messiah’s 1st advent. Before Jesus comes the 2nd time, He promised to send Elijah the prophet, and God anointed Ellen G White as His messenger to the remnant church, to prepare a people for the end of this world and the 2nd coming of Jesus.

Praise God for the Spirit of Prophecy!

The 7th Pillar of our faith is the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to earth, as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. The signs of our time declare in no uncertain terms that Christ’s 2nd coming is very near, even at the doors. There was a delay because God’s people were not ready. But one day soon, believe it or not, and ready or not, Jesus will come again. 2 Peter 3:9-14 is surely positive about it: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night….Seeing then all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

To be found of God in peace, without spot, and blameless, is to living a life of sanctification when Christ comes the 2nd time. As surely as Christ came the 1st time, as our Example, and as our Sacrifice, and Substitute and Surety, Christ surely will come the 2nd time to complete His work of salvation for mankind, and to bring the great controversy to an end once and for all. The 2nd coming of Christ will forever signify the crowning victory of Christ in the great controversy with Satan.

How is it with you friends? Are you sanctified in Christ, and preparing for His 2nd coming? I pray that when Christ returns, all of us here will be ready to meet Him in peace, and go home with Him to the better land.