What Ellen G. White Says About Sabbath Observance

MMXX said:

"Satan is the sharpest critic that the world has ever known, and he works to hinder and pervert truth. He has induced men to strive to change the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Under his dictation the first day of the week has been adopted by the Christian world as the Sabbath. He has used his masterly mind to influence other men to adopt the same views that he himself entertains. But if we turn aside from the fourth commandment, so positively given by God, to adopt the inventions of Satan, voiced and acted by men under his control, we cannot be saved. We cannot with safety receive his traditions and subtleties as truth." - Ellen G. White {RH, July 6, 1897 par. 4}

So, what is your opinion about that?

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E. G. White is one of the 19th century false prophets! Let her be accursed as Paul wrote.

Jer 31:31 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah"

1Cor 9:21 "To those outside the law I became as one outside the law—not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ—that I might win those outside the law."

Matt 28:19-20 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

Deut 18:15-19 15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren—him you shall heed— 16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the LORD said to me, ‘They have rightly said all that they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him."

Acts 3:22 [Applied to Jesus] "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, 'A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.'"

Why would God put Old Covenant laws into the heart of New Covenant believers?

Acts 15:10-11 10 "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they."

Paul by Holy Spirit inspiration wrote about the Judaizers:
Gal 1:8-9 8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

MMXX said:

Every single doctrine is formed around scripture and uses scripture to defend its doctrinal view. Any church with a doctrine can and does say what you said above. I heard a Calvinist boast that there's about 105 scriptures that support Calvinism. But Calvinistic doctrine is still based on John Calvin's interpretation of scripture. Now you know perfectly well that scriptures used to support SDA doctrine, are interpreted differently by most Christians, than the way you were taught to interpret them. What results from that is a lot of arguing over who has the correct interpretation. Which I have engaged in with SDA members, but I found it to be as futile as arguing over who has the better interpretation of scripture or counter scripture, with most any other doctrine. Especially when it comes to unorthodox doctrines such as the SDA doctrine. So these days I argue on those grounds at my discretion. I know that you already know most every scriptural interpretation that opposes SDA interpretation, and most every counter scripture to scripture that Ellen White's SDA doctrine is based on. I don't see much point in constant reruns.



As I already demonstrated most of what you write is your opinion with scripture link tags added to it. I could play that game too, toss in some links to verses, to make the claim that what I'm saying in my own words are the Word of God, but I prefer not to. Quite often the scripture links you (and the others who use the same formula) use, don't even really match what you are saying.

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I'm glad you talk about the idea of interpretation. When we read the scriptures our minds automatically begin the process of interpretation. We are influenced by our prejudices and desires.

That's why I think it's good to have discussions like this. We can be exposed to other Christians who read the same scriptures and came away with a different impression.

And hopefully the verbal pushing and shoving can be kept to a minimum.

BobRyan said:

There is no command in Genesis saying "do Not take God's name in vain". That means nothing in terms of approving someone to take God's name in vain. I think we all know that.

There is the Sabbath "sanctified set apart made a holy day" in Genesis 2:1-3 which is directly referenced in Ex 20:11 as the source of the Sabbath and the authority for it.

Christ mentions both the making of "mankind" and the making of the Sabbath" in Mark 2:27 just as Genesis 1- Gen 2:3 does.

Paul says the Commandments applicable to all mankind include the TEN having "' honor your father and mother' as the first commandment with a promise" Eph 6:2

Jeremiah defines the NEW Covenant in Jer 31:31-34 telling us that it writes the Law of God known to Jeremiah and his readers on the heart and mind -- that most certainly would include "the TEN"

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Genesis does not contain this command:
Exod 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Yet we know it was sinful from the need to put away the strange gods.
Gen 35:2 "Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:"

Genesis does not contain this command:
Exod 20:14 "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

But we know it was considered sinful as shown in Genesis.
Gen 12:17-18 17 "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?"

Genesis does not contain this command:
Exod 20:15 "Thou shalt not steal."

But theft was considered sinful in Genesis:
Gen 44:8-9 8 "Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? 9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen."

If the sabbath existed through the book of Genesis it is not mentioned and no report of it being dishonored by any.

Eph 6:1-2 "1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise"

To say this shows all Ten Commandments are obligatory today is to read into this what is not said. As a New Covenant believer, I look for the command to honor the 7th day Sabbath coming from Jesus through the Apostles and it is not there. I'll follow the basic law, after 6 days of work, 1 day of rest; and it is the Lord's Day, comparable to the phrase the Lord's Supper; and it is NOT a Christian sabbath. The Old Covenant sabbath was abolished, annulled at the cross.

Noah_W said:

Genesis does not contain this command:
Exod 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

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And does not contain this one "do not take God's name in vain". (I notice you avoid this detail so far)

but that is not a funny kind of "proof" that it is ok to commit those sins.

Between Gen 3 and Gen 4 there is no command "do not commit murder" - yet God informs Cain "Sin is crouching at your door - you must master it" in Gen 4 - regarding Cain's anger at his brother and his later sin of murder.

The "TEN" were known in Eden.

This is the view of Bible scholars on BOTH sides of the Sabbath topic.

So for example D.L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and "the Baptist Confession of Faith" section 19 all affirm it as fully valid in Eden - including the Sabbath.

Almost all Bible scholars (on both sides of the Sabbath topic) almost all denominations - (including the RCC) affirm the TEN as being included in the moral law of God known to Jeremiah and his readers and written on the heart under the NEW Covenant in Jer 31:31-34.

The TEN being included because they are the ones where "'honor your father and mother' is the first commandment with a promise' Eph 6:2 - as already noted

Noah_W said:

Why would God put Old Covenant laws into the heart of New Covenant believers?

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Because it was always a sin to take God's name in vain and does not matter which covenant you are talking about - it is the same sin.

Hence even in the NT "SIN IS transgression of the LAW" 1 John 3:4 where that LAW includes the TEN (as almost all Bible scholars agree) having "'honor your father and mother' as the first commandment with a promise" Eph 6:2

Jesus said in Matt 19 "KEEP the Commandments" and is asked "which ones?" - at which point Jesus quotes from the nation covenant with Israel, the LAW of Moses - some of the TEN and also "Love your neighbor as yourself" Lev 19:18. That was "the very thing Jesus should NOT have done" according to some popular Christian teachers today.

Noah_W said:

Acts 15:10-11 10 "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they."

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Acts 15 is a great chapter to find that the New Testament Christians were "hearing Moses preached every Sabbath"



Gal 1:8-9 8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

proves there is only ONE Gospel

and

Gal 3:8 "the GOSPEL was preached to Abraham" -- proves it was O.T.

Noah_W said:

Genesis does not contain this command:
Exod 20:14 "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

But we know it was considered sinful as shown in Genesis.
Gen 12:17-18 17 "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?"

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you appear to shoot your own argument in the foot each time you show that God considered something to be a sin even without having an explicit command declaring that to be sin - in Genesis.

You need to review that logic if you think it is making the case that nothing is a sin until God says "this is a sin" in the form of a command in Genesis.

In the mean time we have this in Genesis

Gen 2:1-3


And in Exodus 20:11
10...the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD (YHWH) .
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Sanctified it)

Noah_W said:

Eph 6:1-2 "1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise"

To say this shows all Ten Commandments are obligatory today is to read into this what is not said.

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Paul quotes directly from the commandment that is in what the Bible itself calls "the TEN Commandments". He then refers to its unique status IN THE TEN - because Exodus 20:12 is NOT the first command in the books of Moses "with a promise" and it is not the first command in the book of Exodus "with a promise".

What is more Paul quotes from "the Law of Moses" in Rom 13 exactly as Christ does in Matt 19 before the cross - affirming that this applies to Christians

Noah_W said:

As a New Covenant believer, I look for the command to honor the 7th day Sabbath coming from Jesus

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As a Bible believing New Covenant Christian who tests all doctrine "sola scriptura" -- I "notice" that the New Covenant is in Jer 31:31-34 and is quoted again VERBATIM in the NT unchanged in Heb 8:6-12 where we are also informed that Christ is the one speaking His Commandments at Sinai.

Noah_W said:

I'll follow the basic law, after 6 days of work, 1 day of rest; and it is the Lord's Day,

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That is not a quote of Paul and is not a quote of any NT writer or OT writer. Anyone can believe or follow whatever they wish since all have free will - but that does not mean that whatever they wish can be pinned on Paul.

I think we can both agree that your case would be significantly improved if you had such a text as the above or even one of the following;
1. Week-day-1 is the Lord's day.
2. We now keep week-day-1 as a day of rest and worship
3. We pick whatever we wish as our 1 day in seven "Sabbath"

But as it is in reality -- all references to "Sabbath" in the book of Acts continue to reference - the seventh day of the week

"No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion." . {Ev 234.2}

GC 382-383
"And in what religious bodies are the GREATER part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. "

"Imagine how instructive" those quotes would have been in the OP on this thread.

Sundaykeeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this (substitute) sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet. The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:977 (1899). {LDE 224.6}

Hammster said:

Here’s the whole thing. I’ve read it, and nothing about it changes her meaning.

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I have read even more of her statements on this topic than you and I agree her meaning is not changed. It is consistent when given full context.


In this world the controversy between the Prince of Life and the prince of darkness is being carried on. Ever since Satan fell, the conflict between right and wrong has been waging.... God has made positive declarations in regard to the sacredness of the Sabbath instituted at Eden and proclaimed from Mount Sinai, and a penalty is attached to the disregard and dishonor of the seventh day of the week. RH July 6, 1897, par. 5

It becomes every one blessed with reasoning power to beware from what source he receives light and knowledge. We should not be dazzled by men who boast of their education and talent, but who use their power to bewilder souls. Thoughts flash from their minds which charm, but are soon forgotten. When these supposed grand thoughts, which perplex and mystify while they please, are presented, let those who have souls to save or to lose, inquire, Is there Scripture to prove the truth of these utterances? RH July 6, 1897, par. 6

Where eternal interests are involved, it becomes every soul to require ministers of the gospel to give Scriptural evidence for everything they say. The traditions of the Fathers, the customs and sayings of professedly good men, the opinions of the most learned divines or of the highest critics,—all are worthless unless they harmonize with the word of God. We must go back from the so called “Fathers” to the great Heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe. The Sabbath of the Lord must rest on its own basis—the word of the living God. RH July 6, 1897, par. 7

Every one is tested and tried in probationary time in regard to his obedience to the word of God.

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The vast majority of Bible scholars on both sides of the Sabbath topic affirm all TEN of the Ten commandments as included in the moral law of God written on the heart under the New Covenant.

Most Christians accept 1 John 3:4 as fact "sin is transgression of the Law"

The idea that only Ellen White could have known that detail about the law and sin - is hard to believe.

...No one who disregards one of the ten commandments , after becoming enlightened in regard to their inclusion in the moral law of God - and binding on all mankind, can be held guiltless in the sight of God if it is accepted that 1 John 3:4 is true that "sin is transgression of the Law".

The gospel provides forgiveness of sin - it does not delete the Word of God.

MMXX said:

"Satan is the sharpest critic that the world has ever known, and he works to hinder and pervert truth. He has induced men to strive to change the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Under his dictation the first day of the week has been adopted by the Christian world as the Sabbath. He has used his masterly mind to influence other men to adopt the same views that he himself entertains. But if we turn aside from the fourth commandment, so positively given by God, to adopt the inventions of Satan, voiced and acted by men under his control, we cannot be saved. We cannot with safety receive his traditions and subtleties as truth." - Ellen G. White {RH, July 6, 1897 par. 4}

So, what is your opinion about that?

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Ellen White was a false prophetess. She crafted her prophecies to support the new religion she was constructing.

Hammster said:

At first I couldn’t figure out why you insist on changing the topic and blurring the lines.

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Is that your euphemism for "insists on context and accuracy"??

I did not "invent" exegesis or the rules for it. I merely admit to them and follow them.

BobRyan said:

"No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion." . {Ev 234.2}

GC 382-383
"And in what religious bodies are the GREATER part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. "

"Imagine how instructive" those quotes would have been in the OP on this thread.

Sundaykeeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this (substitute) sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet. The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:977 (1899). {LDE 224.6}

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Oscarr said:

Ellen White was a false prophetess. She crafted her prophecies to support the new religion she was constructing.

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No doubt you found a lot of things to object to in those quotes - but for the sake of clarity - is the title of this thread "Why aren't non-SDAs promoting Ellen White's writings"???

Hammster said:

No, it’s my way of saying that you will never actually say if you agree with her or not (the topic of the OP) so there’s no point in continuing.

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Until you read my post where I stated that I do not agree with any quote taken out of context (no matter who is being quoted) including the OP quote.

you say that these quotes do not change your understanding of Ellen White's position -- on this topic

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"No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion." . {Ev 234.2}

GC 382-383
"And in what religious bodies are the GREATER part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. "

"Imagine how instructive" those quotes would have been in the OP on this thread.

Sundaykeeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this (substitute) sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet. The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:977 (1899). {LDE 224.6}

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I say I am "informed" by them as to the more complete meaning in her statement on this topic.

Hammster said:

There’s no way she meant the opposite of what she clearly said.

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You are reluctant to deal with these quotes -- but I "assume" from your post just then - that you view this as "the opposite" of the way you choose to read the OP

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"No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion." . {Ev 234.2}

GC 382-383
"And in what religious bodies are the GREATER part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. "

"Imagine how instructive" those quotes would have been in the OP on this thread.

Sundaykeeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this (substitute) sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet. The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:977 (1899). {LDE 224.6}

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I say I am "informed" by them as to the more complete meaning in her statement on this topic.

Hammster said:

Like I said earlier

“At first I couldn’t figure out why you insist on changing the topic and blurring the lines. But I get it now.”

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You said the "context does not change anything" --- then I am glad these statements from Ellen White in this post -- Today at 5:46 PM #117 do not "change anything" in your POV. No need to avoid them in that case.