I read somewhere that Pastor John N. Andrews once said "It is right to worship God in any day, but it is imperative duty that the seventh day should be observed as a memorial of the creation of the heavens and the earth." It may seem immaterial as to when a person worships, as long as they worship, but I would argue otherwise.
These days, when celebrating their birthdays, people will often say that it's their birthday month, and therefore they will celebrate their birthday for that entire month. Be that as it may, if on their actual birth day there was no celebration of any sort, it would, in their minds, nullify all the other days in which they celebrated. They may try to console themselves that at least they celebrated on the other days, but because it wasn't on their particular special day, it's just not the same.
Perhaps you're called for an interview on a specified day and time, but you feel you will perform better the next day, so you don't show up to your interview until a day later. It doesn't matter what your qualifications are, how good your CV looks or how well spoken you are; if you miss your interview appointment, that's it... you've missed it, and it's rare to be given another opportunity for an interview unless your circumstances are extremely peculiar.
Consider a memorial day. Here in South Africa we have many: Youth Day, Freedom Day, Heritage Day, Women's Day, etc. Would it not be appropriate to hold a memorial on the exact date of the event being memorialized? We can certainly discuss these events on any given day but would the memorial have the same effect or make any impact if it were kept on any other day but the particularly significant one? I think not.
In like manner, God has given us a memorial day to keep each week in remembrance of creation, the work that He had made. This day is to constantly bring our minds to God who in six literal days created the heaven and the earth and all that in them is and then rested on the seventh day from all the work that He had made. When He rested on the seventh day He blessed the day and made it holy. Genesis 2:1-4. Having set this day aside for a holy purpose, He calls us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Exodus 20: 8. The remeberance of the Sabbath day is the fourth of God's ten commandments. Just like any monarch would have a seal, this commandment is the seal of God as it has His name, His title, and His dominion, and it is on this day that all humanity is called to show their allegiance to their Creator. There is only one Sabbath day, not many. While it is good to worship God everyday, any day, it is essential to worship Him on the seventh day Sabbath as that is His requirement of us. While we may choose to worship on other days, that worship cannot stand in place of the Sabbath because no other day was blessed and sanctified, except the seventh day Sabbath.
Myriads of people claim that the Sabbath is for the Jews alone but before there ever was a Jew, there was the Sabbath. The Sabbath was instituted at creation and God gave it as a blessing to the entire human race. This is a special day where we can set aside our work, our trials and troubles and dedicate an entire day to worshipping God and being in service for Him. We can have our burdens lifted and our beings renewed just by keeping the Sabbath. We can have perfect rest. "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27. This special day was made for us and given that we may rest from toiling during the week. Imagine what a huge difference it would make in our lives and and in the world around us if we all kept the Sabbath.
Some argue that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday because Jesus resurrected on Sunday and so they want to memorialize the resurrection. While this may seem noble and while we are to rejoice for the resurrection of Jesus, He Himself made no such call to change His immutable law in order to remember His resurrection. This was a decision made by humans, not God. In fact, God's law still stands to this day that we are to keep the seventh day Sabbath. Jesus Himself, even in death, kept the Sabbath. He died on preparation day (Friday) Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54 and it clearly says that the Sabbath was drawing on and so the women went and saw where Christ's body was laid and they "returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. They rested, and Jesus, even in His death, rested and kept the commandment. He resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week. Luke 24:1-4. Even after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the disciples kept the Sabbath and called for all to keep the Sabbath. Why then do people insist on keeping Sunday as the sabbath when they are not called to do so? If God's law is so important that Jesus had to die on the cross in our stead because we broke it, why would an exception be made for this one law when all the other laws remain in tact? I argue that the law regarding the Sabbath still stands and is still binding on all humanity.
Soon, very soon, there will come a call from world leaders to keep a sabbath universally. This is a spurious sabbath and is not the Biblical Sabbath ordained by God. This sabbath is in fact the first day of the week. Given what the world experienced during the covid-19 lockdowns, we were shown numerous images of how the environment thrived when we were under lockdown. It was clean, and it was quiet. A rare sight to behold. I believe that in light of "not letting a pandemic to to waste", initially a call will be made to keep one day every week as a lockdown in order to reduce our carbon footprint, thereby helping the ecosystem to have one day a week to recover as we saw the results of what happened when we were on hard lockdowns around the world. The day chosen will be Sunday, and all will adhere to this lockdown in a bid to crack down on climate change. However, as natural disasters rapidly increase on planet earth, it will be pronounced that all these things are happening because we have all forsaken God. There will be a call to return to worshipping God, and again a day will be chosen to do so. Since Sunday was already being used as a weekly lockdown, it will now be used as a day of universal worship, a sabbath, and those who refuse to worship on that day will be severely punished. With the term "ecocide" already being coined, those who refuse to worship on Sunday will be blamed for all the natural disasters taking place all around the world, and they will be accused of perpetuating global warming because they refuse to join in the fight against climate change and are therefore causing God's fury to fall on us by way of natural disasters.
But how will all people of all religions worship under one banner and on one day? The ecumenical movement has paved the way for this as all religions set aside doctrinal beliefs that pull us apart and rather come together on common points of doctrine. And since its conception will be irreligious at first (i.e. climate change/saving the planet), by the time it becomes religious people will either be too invested or too deceived or too afraid to do otherwise.
What about Biblical Sabbath keepers who keep the seventh day Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday Sabbath)? These will, because of their inability to buy or sell unless they worship on the spurious sabbath, and because of fear of severe punishment if they do not worship, abandon the true Sabbath and leave the ranks of those who choose to worship on the true Sabbath. There will, however, be a small remnant which will remain faithful to God and His sanctified day of worship. Whether hardship, scorn or even death befalls them, they will not be shaken. They will stay true to God and keep His commandments, including the fourth commandment.
"The Sabbath will be the greatest test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God's law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator." The Great Controversy pg 605 paragraph 2.
Ezekiel 20:12 says "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them." And Ezekiel 20:20 says "And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God." We may all have forgotten the Sabbath commandment but God calls us to remember. "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11.
"It is right to worship God in any day, but it is imperative duty that the seventh day should be observed as a memorial of the creation of the heavens and the earth." Pastor John N. Andrews. In the end we will all be left with a decision to make: will we keep the commandments of God and worship Him on His alloted day, or will we keep the commandments of men and worship on the false sabbath? The choice is ours, and our eternal destinies rest on the choice we make. I pray we may all make the right choice.
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