I have been asked to write a blog on the Sabbath. I'm assuming that most of the girls who visit this site are Christian themselves and so the question on the Sabbath is not so much should we observe it, as how should we observe it. What is the right day to rest on? What should be our attitude towards this day? What should we be doing on the Sabbath? Is it essential to our obedience to God's law? These are all good questions that deserve an answer. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability, but i am only a human and so I get things wrong sometimes. I will try to include as much inspired word as possible so that it is God speaking, and not me.

So our first and probably the most debated question is; What is the right day to observe the Sabbath on? There is two main ideas in the Christian world, Sunday is the day to rest on (by far the most accepted view), or Saturday is the ordained rest day. Here is the vision that God gave Ellen White:

'The Lord gave me the following view in 1847, while the brethren were assembled on the Sabbath, at Topsham, Maine.

We felt an unusual spirit of prayer. And as we prayed the Holy Ghost fell upon us. We were very happy. Soon I was lost to earthly things and was wrapped in a vision of God's glory. I saw an angel flying swiftly to me. He quickly carried me from the earth to the Holy City. In the city I saw a temple, which I entered. I passed through a door before I came to the first veil. This veil was raised, and I passed into the holy place. Here I saw the altar of incense, the candlestick with seven lamps, and the table on which was the shew bread. After viewing the glory of the holy, Jesus raised the second veil and I passed into the holy of holies.

In the holiest I saw an ark; on the top and sides of it was purest gold. On each end of the ark was a lovely cherub, with its wings spread out over it. Their faces were turned toward each other, and they looked downward. Between the angels was a golden censer. Above the ark, where the angels stood, was an exceeding bright glory, that appeared like a throne where God dwelt. Jesus stood by the ark, and as the saints’ prayers came up to Him, the incense in the censer would smoke, and He would offer up their prayers with the smoke of the incense to His Father. In the ark was the golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of stone which folded together like a book. Jesus opened them, and I saw the ten commandments written on them with the finger of God. On one table were four, and on the other six. The four on the first table shone brighter than the other six. But the fourth, the Sabbath commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was set apart to be kept in honor of God's holy name. The holy Sabbath looked glorious—a halo of glory was all around it. I saw that the Sabbath commandment was not nailed to the cross. If it was, the other nine commandments were; and we are at liberty to break them all, as well as to break the fourth. I saw that God had not changed the Sabbath, for He never changes. But the pope had changed it from the seventh to the first day of the week; for he was to change times and laws.

And I saw that if God had changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day, He would have changed the writing of the Sabbath commandment, written on the tables of stone, which are now in the ark in the most holy place of the temple in heaven; and it would read thus: The first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. But I saw that it read the same as when written on the tables of stone by the finger of God, and delivered to Moses on Sinai. “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of God's dear, waiting saints.

I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God's chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us.'

This is a very long blog as it is so i won't put in any more of my own words... I'll continue answering the questions at the beginning in later blogs. If anyone wants to put up their own blog on the subject feel free! Just use the 'Write a Blog' button on the menu at the top of the page. Thanks!

-Hannah

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath...

Mark 2:27

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