Ellen
White on Lunar Sabbaths
Ellen
White makes a number of inspired statements
that relate to the issue at hand. While the
Bible truths discussed in this short article
are sufficient to show the murky nature of
the lunar-Sabbath teaching, it would be a
mistake to think that Ellen White’s writings
should not have a bearing.
How did
God intend to protect the members of His
church from cunning and crafty falsehoods?
He does so by the spiritual gifts given to
the church.
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers; … 14 That
we henceforth be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind
of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait
to deceive;
So the
gift of prophecy was given, among other
reasons, to preserve the church from being
carried about with various false ideas.
God, in
several statements of the Testimonies, uses
the word “Friday” when telling us to prepare
for the “Sabbath.” Ellen White writes,
“Friday is the day of preparation.” (CG
528-529). “Friday is to be the special
preparation day.” (CCh 263). And, in fact,
“employers should give their workers the
hours from Friday noon until the beginning
of the Sabbath.”
And so far
is this from being a modern innovation that
“The Lord told [the Israelites that were
cooking manna] that this work must be done
on Friday, the preparation day.” (CCh 263).
They were “obliged to gather every Friday a
double portion of manna in preparation for
the Sabbath.” (PP 297). On a lunar calendar
Friday would only rarely be the day to
prepare for the Sabbath.
And in
like manner, Ellen White identifies the day
of Christ’s burial as “Friday.” (Ctr 295.)
This makes the Sabbath of Christ’s day in
the grave a Saturday and mutes the testimony
of that Sabbath also being the 15th
of the lunar month.
The
Great Controversy also testifies that in
every age there were keepers of the true
Sabbath. (GC 61). Even those that were early
regarding Sunday as a day of “recreation”
were at the same time “still sacredly”
observing “the Sabbath.” (GC 52). And “amid
the gloom of the dark ages” Sabbath keepers
“for many centuries” enjoyed freedom to keep
their faith in Abysinnia. (GC 577).
And
inspiration clearly identifies the origin of
the “week.” “Like the Sabbath, the week
originated at creation, and it has been
preserved and brought down to us through
Bible history. God himself measured off the
first week as a sample for successive weeks
to the close of time. Like every other, it
consisted of seven literal days. Six days
were employed in the work of creation; upon
the seventh, God rested, and he then blessed
this day, and set it apart as a day of rest
for man.” (CE 190)
These
statements by Ellen White are found in their
full paragraphs of context in
Appendix B.
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