The Great Controversy
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 26: A Work of Reform
The work of Sabbath reform to be accomplished in the last
days is foretold in the prophecy of Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye
judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My
righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son
of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and
keepeth his hand from doing any evil." "The sons of the stranger,
that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the
Lord, to be His servants, everyone that keepeth 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." Isaiah 56:1, 2, 6, 7. {GC 451.1}
These words apply in the Christian age, as shown by the
context: "The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet
will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him."
Verse 8. Here is foreshadowed the gathering in of the Gentiles by the gospel.
And upon those who then honor the Sabbath, a blessing is pronounced. Thus the
obligation of the fourth commandment extends past the crucifixion,
resurrection, and ascension of Christ, to the time when His servants should
preach to all nations the message of glad tidings. [452] {GC 451.2}
The Lord commands by the same prophet: "Bind up the
testimony, seal the law among My disciples." Isaiah 8:16. The seal of
God's law is found in the fourth commandment. This only, of all the ten, brings
to view both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It declares Him to be the
Creator of the heavens and the earth, and thus shows His claim to reverence and
worship above all others. Aside from this precept, there is nothing in the
Decalogue to show by whose authority the law is given. When the Sabbath was
changed by the papal power, the seal was taken from the law. The disciples of
Jesus are called upon to restore it by exalting the Sabbath of the fourth
commandment to its rightful position as the Creator's memorial and the sign of
His authority. {GC 452.1}
"To the law and to the testimony." While
conflicting doctrines and theories abound, the law of God is the one unerring
rule by which all opinions, doctrines, and theories are to be tested. Says the
prophet: "If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is
no light in them." Verse 20. {GC 452.2}
Again, the command is given: "Cry aloud, spare not,
lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and
the house of Jacob their sins." It is not the wicked world, but those whom
the Lord designates as "my people," that are to be reproved for their
transgressions. He declares further: "Yet they seek Me daily, and delight
to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance
of their God." Isaiah 58:1, 2. Here is brought to view a class who think
themselves righteous and appear to manifest great interest in the service of
God; but the stern and solemn rebuke of the Searcher of hearts proves them to
be trampling upon the divine precepts. {GC 452.3}
The prophet thus points out the ordinance which has been
forsaken: "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and
thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to
dwell in. If thou turn away [453] thy foot from the Sabbath, from
doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of
the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight
thyself in the Lord." Verses 12-14. This prophecy also applies in our
time. The breach was made in the law of God when the Sabbath was changed by the
Roman power. But the time has come for that divine institution to be restored.
The breach is to be repaired and the foundation of many generations to be
raised up. {GC 452.4}
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. {GC 453.1}
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 underfoot 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.
{GC 453.2}
These truths, as presented in Revelation 14 in connection
with "the everlasting gospel," will distinguish the church of Christ
at the time of His appearing. For as the result of the [454]
threefold message it is announced: "Here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." And this message is the last
to be given before the coming of the Lord. Immediately following its
proclamation the Son of man is seen by the prophet, coming in glory to reap the
harvest of the earth. {GC
453.3}
Those who received the light concerning the sanctuary and
the immutability of the law of God were filled with joy and wonder as they saw
the beauty and harmony of the system of truth that opened to their
understanding. They desired that the light which appeared to them so precious
might be imparted to all Christians; and they could not but believe that it
would be joyfully accepted. But truths that would place them at variance with
the world were not welcome to many who claimed to be followers of Christ.
Obedience to the fourth commandment required a sacrifice from which the
majority drew back. {GC
454.1}
As the claims of the Sabbath were presented, many reasoned
from the worldling's standpoint. Said they: "We have always kept Sunday,
our fathers kept it, and many good and pious men have died happy while keeping
it. If they were right, so are we. The keeping of this new Sabbath would throw
us out of harmony with the world, and we would have no influence over them.
What can a little company keeping the seventh day hope to accomplish against
all the world who are keeping Sunday?" It was by similar arguments that
the Jews endeavored to justify their rejection of Christ. Their fathers had
been accepted of God in presenting the sacrificial offerings, and why could not
the children find salvation in pursuing the same course? So, in the time of
Luther, papists reasoned that true Christians had died in the Catholic faith,
and therefore that religion was sufficient for salvation. Such reasoning would
prove an effectual barrier to all advancement in religious faith or practice. {GC 454.2}
Many urged that Sundaykeeping had been an established
doctrine and a widespread custom of the church for many [455]
centuries. Against this argument it was shown that the Sabbath and its
observance were more ancient and widespread, even as old as the world itself,
and bearing the sanction both of angels and of God. When the foundations of the
earth were laid, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy, then was laid the foundation of the Sabbath. Job 38:6, 7;
Genesis 2:1-3. Well may this institution demand our reverence; it was ordained
by no human authority and rests upon no human traditions; it was established by
the Ancient of Days and commanded by His eternal word. {GC 454.3}
As the attention of the people was called to the subject of
Sabbath reform, popular ministers perverted the word of God, placing such
interpretations upon its testimony as would best quiet inquiring minds. And
those who did not search the Scriptures for themselves were content to accept
conclusions that were in accordance with their desires. By argument, sophistry,
the traditions of the Fathers, and the authority of the church, many endeavored
to overthrow the truth. Its advocates were driven to their Bibles to defend the
validity of the fourth commandment. Humble men, armed with the word of truth
alone, withstood the attacks of men of learning, who, with surprise and anger,
found their eloquent sophistry powerless against the simple, straightforward
reasoning of men who were versed in the Scriptures rather than in the
subtleties of the schools. {GC
455.1}
In the absence of Bible testimony in their favor, many with
unwearying persistence urged—forgetting how the same reasoning had
been employed against Christ and His apostles: "Why do not our great men
understand this Sabbath question? But few believe as you do. It cannot be that
you are right and that all the men of learning in the world are wrong." {GC 455.2}
To refute such arguments it was needful only to cite the
teachings of the Scriptures and the history of the Lord's dealings with His
people in all ages. God works through [456] those
who hear and obey His voice, those who will, if need be, speak unpalatable
truths, those who do not fear to reprove popular sins. The reason why He does
not oftener choose men of learning and high position to lead out in reform
movements is that they trust to their creeds, theories, and theological
systems, and feel no need to be taught of God. Only those who have a personal
connection with the Source of wisdom are able to understand or explain the
Scriptures. Men who have little of the learning of the schools are sometimes
called to declare the truth, not because they are unlearned, but because they
are not too self-sufficient to be taught of God. They learn in the school of
Christ, and their humility and obedience make them great. In committing to them
a knowledge of His truth, God confers upon them an honor, in comparison with
which earthly honor and human greatness sink into insignificance. {GC 455.3}
The majority of Adventists rejected the truths concerning
the sanctuary and the law of God, and many also renounced their faith in the
advent movement and adopted unsound and conflicting views of the prophecies
which applied to that work. Some were led into the error of repeatedly fixing
upon a definite time for the coming of Christ. The light which was now shining
on the subject of the sanctuary should have shown them that no prophetic period
extends to the second advent; that the exact time of this advent is not
foretold. But, turning from the light, they continued to set time after time
for the Lord to come, and as often they were disappointed. {GC 456.1}
When the Thessalonian church received erroneous views
concerning the coming of Christ, the apostle Paul counseled them to test their
hopes and anticipations carefully by the word of God. He cited them to
prophecies revealing the events to take place before Christ should come, and
showed that they had no ground to expect Him in their day. "Let no man
deceive you by any means" (2 Thessalonians 2:3), are his words of warning.
Should they indulge expectations that were not sanctioned by the Scriptures,
they would be led to [457] a mistaken course of action;
disappointment would expose them to the derision of unbelievers, and they would
be in danger of yielding to discouragement and would be tempted to doubt the
truths essential for their salvation. The apostle's admonition to the
Thessalonians contains an important lesson for those who live in the last days.
Many Adventists have felt that unless they could fix their faith upon a
definite time for the Lord's coming, they could not be zealous and diligent in
the work of preparation. But as their hopes are again and again excited, only
to be destroyed, their faith receives such a shock that it becomes well-nigh
impossible for them to be impressed by the great truths of prophecy. {GC 456.2}
The preaching of a definite time for the judgment, in the
giving of the first message, was ordered by God. The computation of the
prophetic periods on which that message was based, placing the close of the
2300 days in the autumn of 1844, stands without impeachment. The repeated
efforts to find new dates for the beginning and close of the prophetic periods,
and the unsound reasoning necessary to sustain these positions, not only lead
minds away from the present truth, but throw contempt upon all efforts to
explain the prophecies. The more frequently a definite time is set for the
second advent, and the more widely it is taught, the better it suits the
purposes of Satan. After the time has passed, he excites ridicule and contempt
of its advocates, and thus casts reproach upon the great advent movement of
1843 and 1844. Those who persist in this error will at last fix upon a date too
far in the future for the coming of Christ. Thus they will be led to rest in a
false security, and many will not be undeceived until it is too late. {GC 457.1}
The history of ancient Israel is a striking illustration of
the past experience of the Adventist body. God led His people in the advent
movement, even as He led the children of Israel from Egypt. In the great
disappointment their faith was tested as was that of the Hebrews at the Red
Sea. Had they still trusted to the guiding hand that had been with them in [458]
their past experience, they would have seen the salvation of God. If all who
had labored unitedly in the work in 1844, had received the third angel's
message and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have
wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon
the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the
closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His
people. {GC 457.2}
It was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty
years in the wilderness; He desired to lead them directly to the land of Canaan
and establish them there, a holy, happy people. But "they could not enter
in because of unbelief." Hebrews 3:19. Because of their backsliding and
apostasy they perished in the desert, and others were raised up to enter the
Promised Land. In like manner, it was not the will of God that the coming of
Christ should be so long delayed and His people should remain so many years in
this world of sin and sorrow. But unbelief separated them from God. As they
refused to do the work which He had appointed them, others were raised up to
proclaim the message. In mercy to the world, Jesus delays His coming, that
sinners may have an opportunity to hear the warning and find in Him a shelter
before the wrath of God shall be poured out. {GC 458.1}
Now as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that
reproves the sins and errors of the times will excite opposition.
"Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20. As men see that they cannot
maintain their position by the Scriptures, many determine to maintain it at all
hazards, and with a malicious spirit they assail the character and motives of
those who stand in defense of unpopular truth. It is the same policy which has
been pursued in all ages. Elijah was declared to be a troubler in Israel,
Jeremiah a traitor, Paul a polluter of the temple. From that day to this, those
who would be loyal to truth have been denounced as seditious, [459]
heretical, or schismatic. Multitudes who are too unbelieving to accept the sure
word of prophecy will receive with unquestioning credulity an accusation
against those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This spirit will increase
more and more. And the Bible plainly teaches that a time is approaching when
the laws of the state will so conflict with the law of God that whosoever would
obey all the divine precepts must brave reproach and punishment as an evildoer.
{GC 458.2}
In view of this, what is the duty of the messenger of truth?
Shall he conclude that the truth ought not to be presented, since often its
only effect is to arouse men to evade or resist its claims? No; he has no more
reason for withholding the testimony of God's word, because it excites
opposition, than had earlier Reformers. The confession of faith made by saints
and martyrs was recorded for the benefit of succeeding generations. Those
living examples of holiness and steadfast integrity have come down to inspire
courage in those who are now called to stand as witnesses for God. They
received grace and truth, not for themselves alone, but that, through them, the
knowledge of God might enlighten the earth. Has God given light to His servants
in this generation? Then they should let it shine forth to the world. {GC 459.1}
Anciently the Lord declared to one who spoke in His name:
"The house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken
unto Me." Nevertheless He said: "Thou shalt speak My words unto them,
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." Ezekiel 3:7; 2:7.
To the servant of God at this time is the command addressed: "Lift up thy
voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of
Jacob their sins." {GC
459.2}
So far as his opportunities extend, everyone who has
received the light of truth is under the same solemn and fearful responsibility
as was the prophet of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying:
"Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear [460] the word at My mouth, and warn
them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;
if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall
die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless,
if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his
way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."
Ezekiel 33:7-9. {GC 459.3}
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The great obstacle both to the acceptance and to the
promulgation of truth is the fact that it involves inconvenience and reproach.
This is the only argument against the truth which its advocates have never been
able to refute. But this does not deter the true followers of Christ. These do
not wait for truth to become popular. Being convinced of their duty, they
deliberately accept the cross, with the apostle Paul counting that "our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory;" with one of old, "esteeming
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." 2
Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 11:26. {GC 460.1}
Whatever may be their profession, it is only those who are
world servers at heart that act from policy rather than principle in religious
things. We should choose the right because it is right, and leave consequences
with God. To men of principle, faith, and daring, the world is indebted for its
great reforms. By such men the work of reform for this time must be carried
forward. {GC 460.2}
Thus saith the Lord: "Hearken unto Me, ye that know
righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law; fear ye not the reproach of
men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up
like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but My righteousness
shall be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation." Isaiah
51:7, 8. {GC 460.3}
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