The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast
Last Day Events
Page 222
In the Sealing Time Now: I saw that the present
test on the Sabbath could not come until the mediation of Jesus in the
holy place was finished and He had passed within the second veil; therefore
Christians who fell asleep before the door was opened into the most holy,
when the midnight cry was finished, at the seventh month, 1844, and who
had not kept the true Sabbath, now rest in hope, for they had not the light
and the test on the Sabbath which we now have since that door was opened.
I saw that Satan was tempting some of God's people on this point. Because
so many good Christians have fallen asleep in the triumphs of faith and
have not kept the true Sabbath, they were doubting about its being a test
for us now. . .
God's Test of Loyalty
In Heavenly Places
Page 150
God has a test for us, and if we come up to the standard
we shall be a peculiar people. The Sabbath draws a separating line between
us and the world, not faintly but in plain, distinct colors. To those
who have received the light of this truth the Sabbath is a test; it is
not a human requirement, but God's test. It is what will distinguish
between those who serve God and those who serve Him not, and upon this
point will come the last great conflict between truth and error. All
who profess to keep God's law should stand united in the sacred observance
of His holy Sabbath. . . .
The Third Angel's Message
The Spirit of Prophecy Volume Four
Page 281
That institution which points to God as the Creator is
a sign of his rightful authority over the beings he has made. The change
of the Sabbath is the sign, or mark, of the authority of the Romish Church.
Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose
to observe the false in place of the true Sabbath, are thereby paying homage
to that power by which alone it is commanded. The change in the fourth
commandment is the change pointed out in the prophecy, and the keeping
of the counterfeit Sabbath is the reception of the mark. But Christians
of past generations observed the first day, supposing that they were keeping
the Bible Sabbath, and there are in the churches of to-day many who honestly
believe that Sunday is the Sabbath of divine appointment. None of these
have received the mark of the beast. There are true Christians in every
church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. The test upon this
question does not come until Sunday observance is enforced by law, and
the world is enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath.
Not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they
are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments
of men, will those who continue in transgression receive the mark of the
beast.
God's Special Sign
Our High Calling
Page 343
As the tree of knowledge was placed in the midst of the
Garden of Eden, so the Sabbath command is placed in the midst of the Decalogue.
In regard to the fruit of the tree of knowledge, the restriction was made,
"Ye shall not eat of it, . . . lest ye die." Gen.
3:3. Of the Sabbath God said, Ye shall not defile it, but keep it holy.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." Ex.
20:8. As the tree of knowledge was the test of Adam's obedience,
so the fourth command is the test that God has given to prove the loyalty
of all His people.
The Last Great Struggle
Selected Messages Book 3
Page 423
The Sabbath Is the Issue in the Final Conflict:
The Sabbath is the great test question. It is the line of demarkation between
the loyal and true and the disloyal and transgressor. This Sabbath God
has enjoined, and those who claim to be commandment keepers, who believe
that they are now under the proclamation of the third angel's message,
will see the important part the Sabbath of the fourth commandment holds
in that message. It is the seal of the living God. They will not lessen
the claims of the Sabbath to suit their business of convenience.--Manuscript
34, 1897.
The Final Warning
The Great Controversy [1888 edition]
Page 605
The Sabbath will be the great 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.
While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers,
receive the mark of the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance
to divine authority, receive the seal of God
Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy
Lake Union Herald
03-31-09
Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy. By Mrs. E. G. White.
Letters have come to me from several persons with the
request that I should write in regard to the manner in which we should
observe the Sabbath. We have the Bible plain and clear upon this subject.
We should not leave the work of the six working days to be done on the
Sabbath. Through Moses the Lord said to the children of Israel, "To-morrow
is the rest day of the holy Sabbath of the Lord; bake that which you will
bake to-day, and seethe that which ye will seethe, and that which is left
lay up to keep until the morning." "The manna was like coriander seed,
and the color like bdellium. And the people went about and gathered it,
and ground it in the mills or beat with a mortar and baked it in pans and
made cakes of it." Thus there was something to be done in the preparing
even of the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. This was a test
for them. God desired to see whether or not they would keep the Sabbath
holy. The Lord told the children of Israel that this work must be done
on the preparation day--Friday. On that day they were to bake that
which they would bake and seethe that which they would seethe.
Words of Warning
The Signs of the Times
12-19-00
The Sabbath, sanctified and blessed by God, was designed
as His great memorial of creation. It is ever to stand unmoved, a rock
of offense, as Christ was to the Jewish nation. The Sabbath is the test
to-day, as Christ was a test to the Jews.
God's Claims are First
God's Amazing Grace
Page 59
The Sabbath is the Lord's test, and no man, be
he king, priest, or ruler, is authorized to come between God and man. Those
who seek to be conscience for their fellow men, place themselves above
God. Those who
are under the influence of a false religion, who observe
a spurious rest day, will set aside the most positive evidence in regard
to the true Sabbath. They will try to compel men to obey the laws of their
own creation, laws that are directly opposed to the law of God. . . . The
law for the observance of the first day of the week is the production of
an apostate Christendom. . . . In no case are God's people to pay it homage.
Satan Personates Christ
Maranatha
Page 205
He will declare that the Sabbath has been changed from
the seventh to the first day of the week; and as lord of the first day
of the week he will present this spurious sabbath as a test of loyalty
to him.
Revelation 14
S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 7
Page 976
This is the test that the people of God must have before
they are sealed. All who proved their loyalty to God by observing His
law, and refusing to accept a spurious sabbath, will rank under the banner
of the Lord God Jehovah, and will receive the seal of the living God. Those
who yield the truth of heavenly origin and accept the Sunday sabbath, will
receive the mark of the beast (Letter 11, 1890).
Israel and the Law
The Signs of the Times
05-13-86
The Sabbath was placed in the decalogue as the seal of the living God, pointing out the Law-giver, and making known his right to rule. It was a sign between God and his people, a test of their loyalty to him. Moses was commanded to say to them from the Lord: "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." And when some of the people went out on the Sabbath to gather manna, the Lord asked, "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" -
