Someone Cares Series
Information brochure No. 12

The Sign of Allegiance
to God

Introduction

In our last lesson we saw that we will be judged according to God's law. Keeping the law does not save us, but it shows whether we have been born again. In Revelation the keeping of God's law is also what distinguishes God's people from those who follow the Beast. In this lesson we will learn why.

1. How is the "man of sin" (sometimes called the "Beast" power in Scripture) described by Paul?

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ... For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7-10).

The great lesson embodied in the sacrifice of every bleeding victim was that through the blood of Christ alone is forgiveness of sins. Jesus is our Advocate, our High priest, our Intercessor. The great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that will be of any value. The incense that is now offered by men, the masses that are said for the deliverance of souls from purgatory are not of the least avail with God.

He will save to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith. Priest and rulers have no right to interpose between Christ and the souls for whom He has died. They are only human. None need be deceived. The Law of God is as sacred as His throne, and by it every man who comes into the world is to be judged.

Satan will work his miracles to deceive. He will set up his power as supreme. It is the miracle working power of the great deceiver. He is a transgressor of the moral law and employs every device that he can master to blind men to his true character. We are warned that in the last days he will work with signs and lying wonders.

2. We will study about the Beast in our next lesson. There we will learn that most of the world will receive his mark of authority. These people who receive the mark of the Beast (unknowingly, of course) will actually think they are saved through faith in Jesus and will be astounded to find, too late, that they are lost! How did Jesus describe these professed Christians in the last days who follow the "lawless" Beast power?

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:21-23).

These may profess to be followers of Christ, but they have lost sight of their leader. They may say Lord, Lord; they may point to the sick who have been healed through them and to other marvelous works and claim they have more of the Spirit and power of God than is manifested by those who keep His Law. But their works are done under the supervision of the enemy of righteousness whose aim it is to deceive souls and lead away from obedience, truth and duty.

3. How many commandments may we disregard without being considered "lawless" by God?

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty" (James 2:10-12).

The Law demands perfect obedience. Not one of these ten precepts can be broken without disloyalty to the God of heaven. The least deviation from its requirements by neglect or willful transgression is sin, and every sin exposes the sinner to the wrath of God. Obedience to the law is essential, not only to our salvation but to our own happiness and the happiness of all with whom we are connected. Man's destiny will be determined by his obedience to the whole law. Supreme love to God and impartial love to man are the principles to be wrought out in the life.

4. What commandment in God's law do most Christians disregard?

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8-11).

"Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him" (Isaiah 56:1-8).

Every man has been placed on trial as were Adam and Eve. 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. 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 experience of Adam is to be a warning to us so long as time shall last. The obligation of the fourth commandment extends beyond the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ to the time when His servants should preach to all nations the message of glad tidings (Isaiah 56:8). The seal of God is found in the forth Commandment. This only, of all the ten, brings to view both the name and title of the Lawgiver. It declares Him to be Creator of heaven and earth and thus shows His claim to reverence and worship above all others.

5. When does the Biblical Sabbath begin and end?

"It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath" (Leviticus 23:32).

The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset Saturday. We should jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath, remembering that every moment is consecrated holy time. Before the setting of the sun let the members of the family gather to read God's Word, to sing and pray.

6. What day does Jesus claim as His day, the Lord's day?

"And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:27, 28).

The Bible points to the Seventh day and not to the first as the Lord's day. Christ said, "The son of man is Lord of the Sabbath," and the fourth commandment declares, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." By the prophet Isaiah the Lord designates it "My holy day" (Isaiah 58:13).

7. What right does Jesus have to claim a day as His?

"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:" (Colossians 1:16)

If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The hand that sustains the worlds in space, the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for us. God is constantly employed in upholding and using as His servants the things that He has made.

In the creation of the earth, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter. "He spake and it was—He commanded and it stood fast" (Psalms 33:9). All things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice and were created for His own purpose. Jesus created all things including the Sabbath, making it His day.

8. When did Jesus make the Sabbath?

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Genesis 2:1-3).

The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when "the morning starts sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7). God saw everything that He had made and behold, it was very good; and He rested in the joy of His completed work. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation and thus a sign of God's power and His love. All things were created by the Son of God.

9. How did Jesus relate to the Sabbath when He was on earth?

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read" (Luke 4:16).

Here were the familiar forms and faces of those whom He had known from infancy. Here were His mother, His brothers and sisters and all eyes were turned upon Him as He entered the synagogue upon the Sabbath day and took His place among the worshippers. Upon this Sabbath Jesus was requested to take part in the service.

10. On what day did Paul, long after the crucifixion, worship with both the Jews and the Gentiles?

"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God" (Acts 13:42-44).

"When the Jews were gone out of the Synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath." The congregation having finally broken up, "many of the Jews and religious proselytes" who had accepted the glad tidings borne to them that day, "followed Paul and Barnabas; who speaking to them persuaded them to continue in the grace of God." The interest aroused in Antioch of Pisidia by Paul's discourse brought together on the next Sabbath day "almost the whole city to hear the word of God."

11. Was this Paul's custom?

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures," (Acts 17:2).

Paul was a believer in the second coming of Christ; so clearly and forcibly did He present the truths concerning this event, that upon the minds of many who heard there was made an impression which never wore away. For three successive Sabbaths Paul preached to the Thessalonians, reasoning with them from the Scriptures regarding the life, death, resurrection, office work and future glory of Christ. He exalted Christ, the proper understanding of whose ministry is the key that unlocks the Old Testament.

12 On what day did John, the last apostle, have a vision while in exile?

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet," (Revelation 1:10).

The Lord's day is the seventh day, the Sabbath of creation. On the day that God sanctified and blessed, Christ signified "by His angel unto His servant John things which must shortly come to pass" before the close of this world's history and He means we should become intelligent with regard to them.

13. The Bible describes a people who will repair a broken-down law of God that has been trampled on for many generations. What commandment is it?

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it" (Isaiah 58:12-14).

This prophecy also applies in our time. A breach was made in the law of God when the Sabbath was changed by the Roman power. But the time has come for that divine institution to be restored. The breach is to be repaired and the foundation of many generations to be raised up.

Where are the people who have had light from heaven to see that a breach has been made in the law of God? This is the people that are repairing the breach in the Law of God. They see that the Sabbath of the fourth Commandment has been supplanted by a spurious sabbath, a day that has no sanction in the Word of God.

14. On what day will the redeemed worship God in the new earth?

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 66:22, 23).

The Law of God will stand fast forever and exist in the new earth to all eternity. At the creation, when the foundations of the earth were laid, the sons of God looked with admiration upon the work of the Creator and all the heavenly host shouted for joy. It was then that the foundation of the Sabbath was laid. At the close of the six days of creation God rested on the sabbath day from all His work which He had made; and He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it He had rested from all His work. The Sabbath was instituted in Eden before the fall, and was observed by Adam and Eve and all the heavenly host. God rested on the seventh day and blessed and hallowed it. The Sabbath never will be done away with; but the redeemed saints and all the angelic host will observe it in honor of the Creator through all eternity.

15. While all the commandments show our allegiance, which one is a special sign of allegiance, that we may know that we are truly following God as His people, and that He is our God?

" I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God" (Ezekiel 20:19, 20).

The Lord designed that by a faithful observance of the Sabbath command Israel should continually be reminded of their accountability to Him as their Creator and their Redeemer. While they kept the Sabbath in the proper spirit idolatry could not exist; but should the claims of this precept of the Decalogue be set aside as no longer binding the Creator would be forgotten and men would worship other gods.

COMMITMENT

The Sabbath is the one commandment we must accept solely by faith in Jesus' authority. Keeping it does not save us, but it demonstrates our true allegiance. Today, during the judgment, God is again bringing His people back to full obedience. Though we are not held accountable until we have an opportunity to know the truth (James 4:17), out of love for us God is again teaching us these forgotten principles, that we may not inadvertently become followers of the "lawless" Beast. Is it your desire to follow Jesus all the way? Will you show your allegiance and love to Jesus by keeping His day of worship?