The Sabbath in Genesis
The Sabbath is not mentioned by name in the book of Genesis, nor till the time of
Moses. Gen. 2:1-3 states that God finished creation in six days and rested on the seventh
day; and that he blessed and sanctified the seventh day "because that in it he had
rested." On this we remark: 1.) The day was not holy in itself. 2.) God's rest upon
that day did not make it holy. 3.) God sanctified or made holy the seventh day because
that in it he HAD rested. His rest was over and passed before he blessed the day. 4.) As
to just WHEN God blessed the day the record does not clearly state. Some contend that he
sanctified the day then and there in Eden. Others argue that this was not done till the
exodus. Plausible arguments are used on both sides; but the simple fact that the most
godly and learned men have always disagreed about the institution of the Sabbath in Eden
should teach us caution how we build a theory upon a disputed text so meager in statement
and so far away in time. In all fairness it must be owned that the definite time when the
Sabbath was sanctified can not certainly be determined from this text.
Smith's Dictionary of the Bible truthfully says: "It is in Ex. 16:23-29 that we
find the first incontrovertible institution of the day." Art. Sabbath. Of the
argument on Gen. 2:1-3 for the institution of the Sabbath in Eden it says: "The whole
argument is very precarious." There is no command in Gen. 2 to keep the Sabbath. We
must look elsewhere for that. The sanctification of the seventh day there mentioned is
claimed by some to have been by anticipation. As Moses wrote his books after he came to
Sinai, after the Sabbath had been given in the wilderness, he here mentions one reason why
God thus gave them the seventh day, viz.: because God himself had set the example at
creation; had worked six days and rested the seventh. Such use of language is common. We
say Gen. Grant was born at such a time. We do not mean that he was a general then, but we
mention it by anticipation, using a title which he afterwards bore. So in Gen. 3:20,
"Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living."
Here is a future fact stated as though it had already occurred. So 1Sam. 4:1, the Jews
"pitched beside Eben-ezer." But the place was not named Eben-ezer till years
after. 1Sam. 7:12. "Judas Iscariot, which was also the traitor." Luke 6:16. Here
a future fact with regard to Judas is mentioned when he is first spoken of, though the act
of betrayal did not take place till years later. Just so when the seventh day is first
mentioned its sanctification is referred to, though it did not occur till afterwards. We
must admit that this may have been so.
Ex. 20:8 says: "Remember the Sabbath day," etc. Sabbatarians claim that this
shows that the Sabbath existed from creation. It does not prove it, because the Sabbath
had been given some weeks before the decalogue was given. So this may refer back only to
Ex. 16, when the Sabbath is first named. Or, which is evidently the real truth about it,
it may refer to keeping the Sabbath as it comes week by week. "Remember," don't
forget, to keep the Sabbath day.
Then it is now generally held by able Christian scholars that the days of creation were
indefinite periods of time. There is much to sustain this idea. Sabbatarians themselves
admit this. Thus Rev. A.H. Lewis, D.D., Seventh-day Baptist, editor and author of several
critical works on the Sabbath, says: "We apprehend that the creation week was
infinitely longer than our week of seven days of twenty-four hours." Sabbath and
Sunday, page 8. But this fact is fatal to his definite seventh-day theory; for if God's
days were not twenty- four hour days like ours, then we do not and can not rest on the
same definite day He did. Hence, we can only use God's week as a model - six days work,
the seventh rest.
Sabbatarians think that the fourth commandment designates the identical day on which
God himself rested. But this is not as clear as they claim. "The seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10. That is, the rest day of the Lord; hence it
must be the day on which he himself rested, they say. But this does not necessarily
follow. The language simply claims that day as belonging to God. Take the day of the
passover: "The fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the Lord."
Num. 28:16. Did the Lord keep the passover that day? Hardly. Again: "These are the
feasts of the Lord." Lev. 23:4. Did the Lord feast on those days? Surely not. The
language simply claims those days as sacred to God and that is all that Ex. 20:10 claims
for the seventh day. The revised version gives the idea clearly: "The seventh day is
a Sabbath UNTO THE LORD thy God."
Away back there in the dim past, where the events of an age are covered by one line in
the Bible, it is impossible now to determine exactly how it all was. Those ages before
Christ are compared to shadows, Col. 2:17, and to the light of the moon, Rev. 12:1, while
the gospel is compared to the sun. Rev. 12:1. Is it not the safest for us to walk in the
light of the sun instead of groping our way in the moonlight and shadows of the past? But
the main reliance of Sabbatarians is upon arguments drawn from those remote times of
darkness, while in the New Testament they find little to support their theories, but much
to explain away.
There is no statement that any of they patriarchs kept the Sabbath or knew anything
about it. Sabbatarians say the record is so brief that it was omitted. Their proof then is
WHAT WAS LEFT OUT!
Though the record from Adam to Moses covers a period of 2500 years; though we appear to
have a full account of the religious customs and worship of the patriarchs, such as Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc.; though we are told about circumcision, the altar, the
sacrifices, the priests, the tithe, the oath, marriage, feast days, etc.; yet never a word
is said about any one keeping the Sabbath. This does not prove positively that they did
not keep it, but it does show a strong probability against it. This is the sum of what can
be fairly said about the Sabbath in Genesis. When men go back in Genesis to find their
principal argument for the Sabbath, is it not going a long ways and finding little upon
which to establish a Christian duty? Would it not be wiser and safer to build our faith
upon the plain requirements of the New Testament?
Testimony of Eminent Men
Justin Martyr, who wrote only 44 years after the death of St. John, and who was well
acquainted with the doctrine of the apostles, denied that the Sabbath originated at
creation. Thus after name Adam, Abel, Enoch, Lot and Melchizedek, he says: "Moreover,
all those righteous men already mentioned, though they kept no Sabbaths, were pleasing to
God." Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 19.
Irenaeus says: "Abraham believed God without circumcision and the Sabbath."
Adv. Hoeres, lib 4, c. 30.
Tertullian, A.D. 200, said: "Let them show me that Adam Sabbatized, or that Abel
in presenting his holy offering to God pleased him by Sabbath observance, or that Enoch
who was translated was an observer of the Sabbath." Against the Jews, section 4.
Eusebius, A.D. 324, the father of church history, says: "They (the patriarchs) did
not, therefore, regard circumcision, nor observe the Sabbath, nor do we." Eccl.
Hist., book 1, chapter 4.
From this it will be seen that the early church did not believe that the Sabbath
originated at creation. The same doctrine has been maintained by such eminent men as
Paley, Hessey, Bishop Bramhall, etc. Paley says: "Now, in my opinion, the
transactions in the wilderness above recited were the first actual institution of the
Sabbath." Quoted in Watson's Institutes, Vol. II, page 515. The great John Milton
says: "Whether its institution was ever made known to Adam, or whether any
commandment relative to its observance was given previous to the delivery of the law on
Mt. Sinai, much less whether any such was given before the fall of man, can not be
ascertained." A Treatise on Christian Doctrine, Vol. I, page 299.
John Bunyan says: "Now as to the imposing of the seventh day Sabbath upon men from
Adam to Moses, of that we find nothing in holy writ, either from precept or example."
Complete Works, page 892. So many of the best minds have not been able to find clear proof
that the Sabbath was kept before Moses. Others, as Clarke, Barnes, Scott, Lange, etc.,
think it was. We best leave it as an unsettled question.
Granting that the Sabbath was given to Adam in Eden, it does not follow that all men
now must keep it. Look at what Adam was to do: 1st. Adam was only allowed to eat the fruit
of trees and plants. Gen 1:29. The first permission to eat flesh was given to Noah. Gen
9:3. 2nd. Adam was to tend garden. Gen. 2:15. 3rd. He was forbidden the tree of knowledge.
Gen 2:17. 4th. He was given access to the tree of life. Gen 2:16. 5th. Adam was naked.
Gen. 2:25. All this was in Eden before the fall. Must all men now eat and work and dress
and do just as Adam did in Eden? No one believes that. Then it would not follow that we
must keep the seventh day even if Adam did. This simple fact demolishes the most confident
argument of Sabbatarians.
The Sabbath at the Exodus
The first mention of Sabbath observance is in Ex. 16. Many eminent scholars hold that
God here changed the day of rest from the original seventh day to the sixth day of the
creation week. Others hold that the Jews, during their long slavery in Egypt, had lost the
Sabbath and that it was here renewed; while others hold that it was here given for the
first time. Whichever position is correct, it is clear that the keeping of the Sabbath was
a new thing to the Jews. A few facts are plain. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt
marked a new era in the history of the church and of Israel. This is kept prominent all
through the Bible. Here God gave them a new year and a new beginning of months. "This
month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year
to you." Ex. 12:2. Hence it is very probable that he might have given them a new
Sabbath day or one for the first time. The account of their first keeping the Sabbath
shows plainly that they were not accustomed to it before.
Dr. H.C. Benson, the eminent M.E. editor, scholar and author, says of Ex. 16: "It
is so explicit that we are not left in doubt as to the fact that the Sabbath, as observed
in the wilderness of sin, had not been a day hallowed by the Lord previous to that
time." Quoted and approved by Dr. Potts and Bishop Harris in The Lord's Day Our
Sabbath, page 15.
John Milton over 200 years ago said: "That the Israelites had not so much as heard
of the Sabbath before this time, seems to be confirmed by several passages of the
prophets." Treatise on Christian Doctrine, Vol. I, book 2, chapter 7.
John Bunyan also said: "The seventh day Sabbath, therefore, was not from paradise,
nor from nature, nor from the fathers, but from the wilderness and from Sinai."
Complete Works, page 895.
It was new to them. Read it: Moses said on Friday, "Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a
holy Sabbath unto the Lord." (R.V.) The last verse gives the conclusion of the whole
matter. "So the people rested on the seventh day." That is, thus and for this
reason the people here began resting on the seventh day. There is no sense in the language
if this is not the meaning. Several scriptures harmonize well with this idea. Thus, Neh.
9:13-14. "Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai... and MADEST KNOWN unto them the
holy Sabbath." This implies that it was not known before. In harmony with this, Ezek.
20:10- 12 says: "Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and
brought them into the wilderness." "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be
a sign between me and them." When did God give them the Sabbath? When he brought them
out of Egypt. Where did he give it to them? In the wilderness. What for? For a sign
between himself and them.
It does not say that God RESTORED the Sabbath, but that he gave them the Sabbath.
"I gave them my Sabbaths" implies the act of committing it to them, showing that
they did not have it before. Surely all these facts are plainly stated. They show that the
keeping of this day was a new thing to them and only for them. Deut. 5:15, states that the
Sabbath is to be kept as a memorial of Egypt. "Remember that thou wast a servant in
the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence; ...therefore, the
Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." This indicates that the Sabbath
was a Jewish institution. One reason given why they should keep it was because they had
been delivered out of Egypt. Of course they would not keep it till the reason existed for
keeping it. The laws regulating how it should be kept show that it was a local institution
adapted only to the Jewish worship and to that warm climate. 1.) No fires must be built on
the Sabbath. Ex. 35:3. 2.) They must neither bake nor boil that day. Ex. 16:23. 3.) They
must not go out of the house. Ex. 16:29. 4.) Their priests must offer two lambs that day.
Num. 28:9. 5.) They must compel all among them, living in their land, to keep it. Ex.
20:10. 6.) They must stone all who break it. Ex. 31:14. 7.) It must be kept from sunset to
sunset. Lev. 23:32. 8.) Their cattle must rest. Ex. 20:10. No meetings were appointed for
that day. It was to be wholly a day of rest.
Seventh-day Adventists observe none of these things. Indeed, it would be impossible for
them to do most of them. They would freeze without fires and suffer without warm food.
They go many miles on the Sabbath and drive their teams; they offer no lambs; they can
compel no one to keep it; nor do they stone those who break it. In the extreme north and
in traveling around the earth they do not go by sunset time, for they cannot. Their
Sabbathkeeping is no more like that of the Old Testament, such as the law required, than
darkness is like light. It shows the folly of their effort to keep an obsolete Jewish day.
Nowhere are Gentiles required to keep the Sabbath except such as dwell among the Jews.
They were also required to keep the other feast days. Lev. 16:29. All through the Old
Testament the Gentiles are denounced over and over for all other sins, but not once for
breaking the Sabbath, though none of them kept it. The reason for this must be that it was
not binding upon them. John Bunyan says: "We read not that God gave it to any but to
the seed of Jacob." Complete Works, page 895.
"The Jewish Sabbath" - A Proper Term for the Seventh Day
Sabbatarians strongly object to our calling the seventh day the "Jewish
Sabbath." They ask, "Where does the Bible call it the Jewish Sabbath? It is 'the
sabbath of the Lord they God.'" This simple argument has great force with many. But I
am satisfied it is perfectly proper to designate the seventh day as the Jewish Sabbath.
Seventh-day brethren are constantly talking and writing about "the ceremonial
law" and the "moral law," nor could they properly express their ideas of
the "two laws" without using these terms. But neither of them is once used in
all the Bible. How is this? Will they admit that their idea is unscriptural because these
exact words are not used in the Bible? No. They freely use the terms "Jewish
festivals," "Jewish sabbaths," "annual sabbaths," "sabbaths
of the Hebrews," etc. See "History of the Sabbath," pages 82, 83, 84, etc.
Yet not one of these terms is found in the Bible, though they cannot get along without
them. It would be amusing to confine a Sabbatarian strictly to the Bible language and then
hear him attempt to preach on the two laws and the different sabbaths. "Those who
live in glass houses should not throw stones."
1. "Sabbath" is purely a Hebrew word never found till the time of Moses. Ex.
16:23 2. The Word Sabbath is never used in the Bible except in connection with some Jewish
holy time. 3. There is no record that the Sabbath was ever kept till the Jews kept it. Ex.
16. 4. The Sabbath was given to the Jews. "I gave them my Sabbaths." Ez. 20:12
If God gave it to the Jews, was it not their Sabbath; was it not the Jewish Sabbath? I
give Fred a knife. Is it not Fred's knife? 5. Notice how plain the record is that God gave
the Sabbath to the Jews, but to no others. "The Lord hath given YOU the
Sabbath." Ex. 16:29. "Speak unto the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, saying Verily, my
Sabbaths ye shall keep." Ex. 31:13. Who was told to keep the Sabbath? The children of
Israel, the Jews. "It is a sign between me and the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL," the
Jews. Verse 17. 6. God himself calls the Sabbath "her Sabbaths." Hosea 2:11.
"I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her
Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts." Isn't it the Jewish Sabbath, then? 7. The
Sabbath was never given to any other nation. 8. "The children of Israel shall keep
the Sabbath throughout their generation." Ex. 31:16. To whom was it confined? To the
generation of the Jews. 9. "It is a sign between me and the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL."
Ex. 31:17. It was theirs exclusively, Jewish. 10. The Sabbath is classed right in with the
other Jewish holy days and sacrifices. See Lev. 23:1-44; Num. 28:2, 16; 1Chron. 23:29-31;
2Chron. 2:4; 8:13, etc. 11. It was abolished with them. Colossians 2:14-17 12. The Jews
comprise nearly all those who keep the seventh day; hence "Jewish Sabbath" is a
natural and intelligent designation for that day. 13. Christians almost unanimously keep
the first day in distinction from the Jews who comprise nearly all those who keep the
seventh day. Hence the Jewish Sabbath is intelligent and proper again. 14. The few
Christians who keep a different day from the great body of the church keep the Sabbath
which the Jews keep. Hence, again, it is significant and proper to designate them as those
who keep the Jewish Sabbath. 15. But Sabbatarians say that the seventh day is called
"the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10, and "my holy day," Isa.
58:10, therefore it is not proper to call it "the Jewish Sabbath." Answer: Every
holy season, place, person, or article was called the Lord's as "the Lord's
passover." Ex. 12:11. Yet we read, "The passover, a feast of the Jews."
John 6:4. So it is "the Sabbath of the Lord" in one place and "her
Sabbaths" in another. Hosea 2:11. Hence it is correct and scriptural to call the
seventh day "the Jewish Sabbath."
Exodus 31:16-17, The Sabbath Perpetual
Here Sabbatarians find three expressions from which they argue that the Sabbath can
never end. 1.) "Throughout their generations." 2.) "Perpetual." 3.)
"Forever." Thus: "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 forever." They ask, when will PERPETUAL
and FOREVER end? They show that the generation of the Jews still continues; hence the
Sabbath is still to be kept.
But this argument would also perpetuate all the Levitical law, circumcision, incense,
passover, priesthood, etc. Thus the passover: "ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord
throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." Ex.
12:14. It must be kept "THROUGHOUT THEIR GENERATIONS" and "FOREVER"
just like the Sabbath. So of the offering of incense. "A PERPETUAL incense before the
Lord THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS." Ex. 30:8. Now if the Adventist argument for the
Sabbath based on the terms "perpetual," "forever," and
"throughout your generations," is good, then they ought to keep the passover and
offer incense! This is a fair sample of the weakness of Sabbatarian arguments. The same
argument will prove the perpetuity of burnt offerings, Ex. 29:42; atonement, Ex. 30:10;
washing of hands and feet, Ex. 30:21; first fruits, Lev. 23:13; meat offering, Lev. 6:18;
oil for lamps, Lev. 24:3; fringes, Num. 15:38; pentecost, Lev. 23:21; feast of
tabernacles, Lev. 23:41. See also Ex. 40:15; Lev. 3:17; 7:36; Num. 10:8.
The application of these terms to the keeping of the Sabbath is proof that it was to
cease. Why? Because in every case where these terms are applied to the observance of any
ordinance that ordinance has ceased. Adventists themselves will agree to this in
everything except the Sabbath. None of these terms are ever applied to moral laws or
duties. Where do you read, "you shall not kill throughout your generations?"
"It shall be a perpetual statute that you shall not steal?" "It shall be a
statute forever that you shall have no other gods?" This text, then, proves that the
Sabbath was to cease with the other Jewish ceremonies.
"Gentile Christians must become Jews, Israelites, and so come under obligation to
keep the Sabbath, for the Sabbath was given to Israel forever throughout their
generations." This is a favorite Adventists argument for the law and Sabbath. But see
its utter fallacy: Burnt offerings, incense, washing of hands and feet, fringes,
priesthood, circumcision, passover, and all the Jewish law were also given to ISRAEL to
keep forever throughout their generations. See above. Hence the argument proves that we
must keep all these as well as the Sabbath! Do Adventists keep any of these? No.
It is argued that the Sabbath must be of perpetual obligation because it is associated
in the decalogue with commandments of that nature. But it is also associated time and
again with the ceremonial rites, types and shadows which were peculiarly Jewish. Thus:
"Keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary." Lev. 19:30. "The Seventh day
is the Sabbath." Lev. 23:3. "At even is the Lord's passover." Verse 5.
"The feast of unleavened bread." Verse 6. In verse 38 the Sabbath is named with
"gifts," "vows" and "offerings." In Lev. 24:1-8 the Sabbath
is named with the offerings of oil, bread, frankincense. In Num. 28:9-10 it is classed
with the offerings of lambs, meat and drink offerings, burnt offerings, etc. In 1Chron.
23:29-31, the Sabbath is classed with meat offering, sacrifices, new moons, feasts, etc.
This fact offsets all the argument drawn from its place in the decalogue.
The Sabbath in the Historical Books
From Joshua to Job not a word is said indicating that the Sabbath was for any one but
Jews; hence no argument can be drawn from this source to bind it upon Gentile Christians.
The Sabbath in the Prophets
The Sabbath is not mentioned in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, and most
of the minor prophets. Nothing is said about it by any of the prophets which can fairly be
made to apply to Christians. Several texts are applied by Adventists to our times, but it
is all assumption without proof. For instance, Isa. 56 is used to prove that the Gentile
Christians should keep the Sabbath. It says: The stranger, Gentile, "that keepth the
Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my
holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar." Verses 6, 7. If this proves that
Gentiles must keep the Sabbath, it also proves that they must offer burnt offerings and
sacrifices upon God's altar in the temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, for all those are
mentioned as plainly as the Sabbath. Either, then, this applies to the Jewish age and to
those Gentile proselytes who embraced Judaism and were circumcised, Ex. 12:48, and
observed all Jewish rites; or if it applies to the Christian age, then these terms
"Sabbath," "altar," "sacrifice," "my house,"
"my holy mountain," must be taken figuratively, for Christians do not offer
sacrifices, nor have a literal altar, nor go to Jerusalem to worship in that house nor on
that mountain.
So Isa. 58:12-13 is boldly applied to our days and to the work of the Adventists in
urging all to keep the Jewish Sabbath. But there is not a word in all the chapter even
hinting such a thing. All this they assume without any proof and then apply the words to
suit their purpose. I did that a hundred times while with them, just as the rest did. I
know just how they do it. As last I lost all confidence in such a reckless way of handling
the word of God. Then I had to quit using the most of their proof texts on the Sabbath,
this with others. Look at it. The whole chapter is addressed to the Jews, "the house
of Jacob," verse 1, the "nation," verse 2, and so on. Often in the Jewish
age God called them to reform their lax ways in keeping the Sabbath as well as in other
things. This is one of those cases. Isa. 66:22- 23. In the new earth "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." This shows that the Sabbath will be
kept in the next world, hence it is perpetual and so should be kept now. But it says just
the same of the new moons and places them first before the Sabbath. So if this text proves
that we should keep the Sabbath it proves we should keep the new moons also. Do Adventists
keep the new moons?
Ez. 22:26. "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things;
they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed
difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths,
and I am profaned among them." This text they also apply to their work now and to the
ministers who oppose the Jewish Sabbath. But there is not a word in the whole chapter that
even intimates that this applies away down here in the gospel and to Gentiles. But God
himself applies it to the Jewish nation when they were overthrown by Babylon several
hundred years before Christ. Read the whole chapter and compare it with Neh. 13:17- 18.
See verses 2, 6, 18, 19, etc. "Wilt thou judge the bloody city," etc.
"Behold, the princes of Israel." "The house of Israel is to me become
dross." "Therefore will I gather you into the midst of Jerusalem." The
evidence is clear that it applies there, while no proof whatever can be given to show that
it belongs away down here where Adventists apply it. I became fully convinced that it was
by such groundless assumptions as these, by roundabout and far- fetched arguments, that
the seventh-day theory is sustained. When you look for one plain, direct statement in all
the Bible requiring Gentile Christians to keep the Sabbath, it cannot be found. It has to
be INFERRED from this; QUESSED from that, and CONCLUDED from the other; all inference,
nothing direct. So the Old Testament furnishes no evidence that Christians are to keep the
Jewish Sabbath. If such proof is to be found, it must be in the New Testament itself. ----------------------------------------------------------- Subota u Postanku
Subota se ne spominje po imenu u knjizi Postanka, niti do vremena Mojsija. Post
2,1-3 kaže da je Bog završio stvaranje u šest dana i počinuo sedmog
dana, i da je on blagoslovio i posvetio sedmi dan ", jer se u njemu odmorio." Na ovo mi zameramo: 1.) Dan nije svet sam po sebi. 2.) Božje počivanje tog dana nije taj dan učinilo svetim. 3.) Bog je posvetio i blagoslovio sedmi dan jer se u njemu odmorio. Njegov odmor je bio i prošao pre nego što je blagoslovio dan. 4.) Što se tiče toga kada je Bog blagoslovio taj dan izveštaj nije jasan. Neki tvrde da je on posvetio dan onda i tamo u Edenu. Drugi tvrde da to nije bilo učinjeno do egzodusa. Uverljivi
argumenti se koriste na obe strane, ali jednostavna činjenica je da su se
većina pobožnih i učenih ljudi uvek slagali o instituciji subote u
Edenu te bi nas naučavali upozoravajući kako smo izgraditi teoriju na jednom spornom tekstu koji je tako oskudan u priopštavanju i dalek u prošlosti. Po svemu sudeći mora se priznati da definitivno vreme kada je
subota bila posvećena ne može biti određeno na osnovu ovog teksta.
Smithov Rečnik Biblije iskreno kaže: "To je u Ex 16:23-29 tu smo pronašli prvu neosporivu instituciju dana.." Art. Subota. Za argument na Postanak 2,1-3 za instituciju subote u Edenu on kaže: "Celi argument je vrlo neizvesan." Nema naredbe u Pos. 2 da se drži subota. Moramo zato potražiti negde drugde. Posvećenje sedmoga dana tamo spomenuto je tvrdnja sa iščekivanjem. Kako je
Mojsije napisao svoje knjige nakon što je došao na Sinaj, nakon subote je bio u pustinji, on ovde spominje jedan razlog zašto im je Bog dao sedmi dan, naime: jer Bog je postavio primer kod stvaranja;
raditi šest dana i odmoriti sedmog. Takva upotreba jezika je uobičajena. Kažemo general Grant je rođen u nekom trenutku. Mi ne označavamo da je on bio general tada, ali smo ga spomenuli po očekivanju, koristeći naslov koji je potom napisan. Tako u Postanaku 3:20, "Adam zove ženu imenom Eva, jer je majka svima živima." Ovde je budućnost činjenica koju je naveo kao da je već došla. Tako 1 Sam. 4:1, Jevreji "utaboriše se pored Eben-Ezera." Ali mesto nije imenovano Eben-Ezer sve do godinama posle. 1 Sam. 7:12. "Juda Iskariotski, koji je takođe bio izdajica." Luka 6:16. Ovde je
budućnost činjenica s obzirom da se Juda spominje kad je prvi put govorio, iako se čin izdaje nije odigrao sve do godinama kasnije. Upravo tako, kada je sedmi dan prvi put spomenut odnosilo se to na njegovo posvećenje, iako nije došlo do toga. Moramo priznati da je ovo možda bilo tako.
Ex. 20:8 kaže: "Seti se subote," itd. Sabatarijani tvrde da to pokazuje da je subota postojale od stvaranja. To ne dokazuje, jer subota je dana nekoliko nedelja pre nego što su dobijene Deset zapovesti. Dakle, ovo se može odnositi samo na Ex. 16, kada je subota najpre imenovana. Ili, što je očito prava istina o tome, to se može odnositi na čuvanje subote jer dolazi iz nedelje u nedelju. "Seti se", ne zaboravite, da čuvate subotnji dan.
Zatim sada uglavnom ugledni hrišćanski naučnici drže da su dani stvaranja bili neodređena vremenska razdoblja. Ima mnogo njih koji podržavaju takvu ideju. Sabatarijani sami to priznaju. Tako Rev. AH Lewis, DD, Baptista sedmoga dana, urednik i autor nekoliko
kritičkih radova o suboti, kaže: "Mi smo zapazili da je nedelja stvaranja bila
beskrajno više od naše nedelje od sedam dana od dvadeset četiri sata." Subota i nedelja, stranica 8. No,
ta činjenica je kobna za njegovu definitivnu teoriju sedmog dana, jer ako
Božji dani nisu bili dvadeset četiri sata dana kao što je naš, onda mi
ne i ne možemo počivati na isti određeni dan koji je On načinio. Dakle, možemo samo koristiti Božju nedelju kao model - šest dana rada, sedmi odmor.
Sabatariani misle da četvrta zapovest označava identičan dan na koji se sam Bog odmorio. Ali to nije tako jasna kao što tvrde. "Sedmi dan je subota Gospoda Boga tvoga." Ex. 20:10. To je, Dan odmora Gospodnjega, stoga ona mora biti dan na koji se on sam odmorio, kažu oni. No, to ne mora nužno slediti. Jezik jednostavno tvrdi da je to dan koji pripada Bogu. Uzmimo dan Pashe: "četrnaesti dan prvog meseca je Pasha Gospodnja." Broj. 28:16. Da li Gospod slavi Pashu taj dan? Teško. Opet: "To su praznici Gospodnji." Lev. 23:4. Da li Gospod svetkuje te dane? Zasigurno ne. Jezik jednostavno tvrdi da ti dana su kao sveti Bogu i da je to sve što Ex. 20:10 tvrdi za sedmi dan. Revidirana verzija daje ideju jasno: "Sedmi dan je subota Jahvi, tvome Bogu."
Daleko
tamo u mračnoj prošlosti, gde su događaji davnine obuhvaćeni jednim stihom u Bibliji, to je nemoguće sada utvrditi tačno kako je
sve to bilo. Ono
doba pre Hrista su u poređenju sene, Col. 2:17, i svetlo
meseca, Rev. 12:1, dok je evanđelje upoređeno prema suncu. Rev 12:1. Zar nije to najsigurnije za nas da hodamo u svetlu sunca umesto da pipamo naš put na mesečini i senama prošlosti? No,
glavno oslanjanje Sabatariana je na argumentima izvučenih iz tih davnih
vremena tame, dok u Novom zavetu oni nalaze malo da bi podržali svoje
teorije, ali mnogo bi objasnili.
Nema podataka da je bilo koji od onih patrijarha držao subotu ili znao ništa o tome. Sabatarijani kažu period je toliko kratak da je to bilo izostavljeno. Njihov dokaz onda je ono što je ostalo izvan!
Iako period od Adama do Mojsija pokriva razdoblje od 2500 godina, iako nam se
čini da smo vodili puno računa o verskim običajima i obožavanju patrijarha,
kao što su Noa, Abraham, Isak, Jakov, Josip, itd., iako smo pričali
o obrezivanju, oltaru, odricanju, i sveštenicima, desetku, zakletvi, braku, praznicima, itd., a ipak nikada nije neka reč govorila o bilo kojem
držanju subote. To ne dokazuje pozitivno da je oni nisu držali, ali to pokazuje veliku verovatnost protiv nje. To je zbroj onoga što može biti prilično rečeno o suboti u Postanku. Kad ljudi idu nazad u Postank da pronaću svoj glavni argument za subotu,
zar ne bi trebalo da idu dugim načinom i malo pronađu na šta se zasniva hrišćanska dužnost? Ne bi li bilo mudrije i sigurnije graditi našu veru na običnim zahtevima Novoga zaveta?
To je bilo novo za njih. Pročitajte: Mojsije je izjavio u petak, "Sutra je svečani odmor, sveta subota Gospodu." (RV) Zadnji stih daje zaključak cele stvari. "Dakle, ljudi počinuše sedmog dana." To je, dakle i iz tog razloga su ljudi ovde počeli odmarati na sedmi dan. Nema smisla u jeziku, ako to nije značenje. Nekoliko spisa su dobro usklađeni s tom idejom. Dakle, Neh. 9:13-14. "Sišao si na goru Sinajsku ... i OBZNANIO si im svetu subotu." To podrazumeva da nije bila poznata ranije. U skladu s tim, Ez. 20:10 - 12 kaže: "Zato sam ja prouzrokovao da iziđu iz Egipta, i doveo ih u pustinju." "Dadoh im i svoje subote, kao znak između sebe i njih." Kada im je Bog dao subotu? Kad ih je izveo iz Egipta. Gde im je dao? U pustinji. Zašto? Za znak između sebe i njih.Preveo: Milos Popadic |