The Constitutional Amendment: or, The Sunday, the Sabbath, the Change, and Restitution: A discussion between W. H. Littlejohn, Seventh-day Adventist, and the editor of the Christian StatesmanLittlejohn, Wolcott H.
Religion
The Constitutional Amendment: or, The Sunday, the Sabbath, the Change, and Restitution: A discussion between W. H. Littlejohn, Seventh-day Adventist, and the editor of the Christian Statesman
Littlejohn, Wolcott H.
Sabbath; Seventh-Day Adventists -- Doctrinal and controversial works; Sunday; Sunday legislation -- United States
2. By the Lord’s day, it is maintained again, is meant the seventh-day
Sabbath. In support of this view it is said that the phrase employed by
John corresponds with such Old-Testament expressions as “a Sabbath to
the Lord,” and with the Saviour’s language: “The Son of man is Lord even
of the Sabbath.” But the very fact that the seventh day had a well-known
and distinctive name by which it was always designated, is strong
presumptive proof that this new and unusual phrase used by John cannot
apply to it. It would be most natural to suppose that some other day is
meant, and this is clearly proved to be the fact.
3. The phrase, the Lord’s day, was the common expression for designating
the first-day Sabbath from John’s time onward. As the meal which the
Lord hallowed as his own was called the Lord’s supper, so the day
hallowed by the Lord’s resurrection, by his repeated meeting with his
disciples after rising from the dead, by the descent of his Spirit, by
the weekly religious assemblies of his people with their communions,
preaching and hearing the word, prayers and almsgiving, was properly
termed the Lord’s day. It has been argued on the other side of the
question that the Lord had a day, and but one in the week, called
specially his own. But as has been shown, Jesus himself, after his
resurrection, paid no regard to the seventh day. His disciples did not
observe it. It could not, therefore, have been the Lord’s day. On the
other hand, Jesus did honor the first day, and the Christian churches
everywhere did the same; and thus this honored day is the only one of
which John could speak when he said he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s
day.” By this name, as will be seen in our next article, the first day
of the week was known in the early church.
A REJOINDER.
“TESTIMONY OF PAUL AND JOHN TO THE FIRST-DAY SABBATH.”
With no small degree of interest we have perused the article entitled,
“Testimony of Paul and John to the First-day Sabbath,” The two texts
which it brings forward in defense of the theory of a changed Sabbath,
are regarded by the friends of that theory, generally, as among the
strongest of its supports. The first of them (1 Cor. 16:1, 2), we had
assailed, and adduced a criticism, from the pen of Mr. J. W. Morton,
which was of great importance. In it, the very stronghold of the Sunday
argument had been fearlessly attacked, and, to our mind, carried beyond
all question. The writer whom we quoted presented twelve versions and
translations, all of which clearly sustained the position that the
expression, “by him,” was equivalent to the term, “at home” If this were
true, then beyond all dispute the Sunday argument had been denuded of
all its strength, provided it ever had any; for the support of its logic
was the assumption that the transaction brought to view in this text was
to take place in the respective assemblies of the saints.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account