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
testimony for the sanctity of the first day of the week. On the
contrary, we think that every candid person will concede that the
bearing which they have upon the subject is rather against, than
favorable to, the case which our friends are so anxious to make out. To
illustrate: In Matt. 28:1, we read that “in the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene,
and the other Mary, to see the sepulcher.” Again, in Mark 16:1, 2, the
same general fact is stated, with the simple variation that, instead of
the expression, “in the end of the Sabbath,” are substituted the words,
“when the Sabbath was passed,” while in Luke 23:56, and 24:1, it is
declared that these things transpired on the first day of the week, the
context carefully setting forth the fact that the women had “rested upon
the Sabbath, according to the commandment,” and that it being past, they
came to the sepulcher, bringing with them the spices which they had
prepared.
Now, putting all these things together, what have we learned?
Manifestly, the following facts: First; when the events transpired which
are set forth in these scriptures, there was a Sabbath; since it is
stated, by way of locating them in point of time, that the Sabbath had
ended before the affairs spoken of were transacted. Secondly; that the
Sabbath, to which reference was made, was the seventh day of the week,
since it preceded the first, and was that of the commandment. Thirdly;
that, if the first day of the week was a Sabbath, as is now claimed, the
women were ignorant of it, since it is clear that they did not go to the
tomb on the seventh day to embalm the body, because of its being holy
time; whereas, upon the first day of the week their scruples were gone,
and they came to the sepulcher, bearing their spices with them, to
accomplish a work which they would not have regarded as legitimate on
the Sabbath. Fourthly; that the seventh day was not only the Sabbath at
the time mentioned, but also that, according to the convictions of the
historians, it was the Sabbath at the time of their writing—since they
apply to it the definite article “_the_;” whereas, if there had been a
change of Sabbaths, it would have been natural to distinguish between
them in the use of explanatory words and phrases, such as are now
applied, as, for instance, “the Jewish Sabbath,” “the Christian
Sabbath,” &c., &c. Fifthly; that, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke do, in
every instance cited above, honor the seventh day of the week in the
most scrupulous manner, by applying to it the Bible title of the
Sabbath, they do, nevertheless, make mention of the day of the
resurrection in each case, in the same connection, in the use of its
secular name, “the first day of the week.” A slight which is utterly
inexplicable, provided the latter had really put on a sacred character;
since, that being true, it was much more important that its new claims
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account