BV 110 .P3 1902 Parker, Johns Dempster, 183, -1909. The Sabbath transferred THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED The Sabbath Transferred Rev. JOHNS D. PARKER, Ph.D. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY Rev. F. N. PELOUBET, D.D. Author of "Notes on International Lessons." SECOND EDITION. REVISED AND ENLARGED East Orange, New Jersey Johns D. Parker & Company 1902 Copyright, 1900 and 1902, by Johns D. Parker. ROBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER, NBW YORK. MvycrdrjTL tyji/ rjfxepav tcjp aa^^droiv ayia^etz/ ai/nji/. — Fourth Commandment in the Septuagint. 'Oi//e Se cra^^droiVj rfj iirK^xjiCTKovcrrj €15 /Litai' cra/3^dTa)v, rj\6e MapCa rj MaySakrjvrjf Kol rj dXXr) Mapia OeajprjcraL rov rd^ov. — Mat. 28: I. To ad^/BaTOP Sua tov dvOpoiirov iyiverOy ov\ 6 dv6poiTTo<; Sta to a-d/B^arov, — Mark 2 127. Eyevojxrjv iv Hveup.aTL iv rfj KvptaKy rjyiipcL. — Rev. i : 10. Ejus observationem mos Christianus ad diem dominicant convenienter transtulit. — Alcuin. DEDICATION TO ALL STUDENTS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES WHO REJOICE IN THE LIGHT OF THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH, THAT IN FULLNESS OF TIME WILL SHINE OVER THE WHOLE WORLD TO ENLIGHTEN EVERY HOME AND GLADDEN EVERY HEART, THIS MONOGRAPH IS PRAYERFULLY DEDICATED. CONTENTS PAGE Authorities in the Original Greek and Latin, 5 Dedication, . c .„.,«- 7 Introduction, . . . , ^ = .. , IE Preface, , , . 17 Chapter I. : The Sabbath a Movable Institution, 21 Chapter II.: Evidence from the New Testament of the Transfer of the Sabbath, • • • » « 37 Chapter III. : Prophecies Foreshadowing the Transfer of the Sabbath, 60 Chapter IV. : Practice of Early Christians, . . , 76 Chapter V. : The Transferred or Christian Sabbath, . loi Chapter VI.: Sabbatarianism Founded on a False Translation, . . . . . , . .146 Addenda : Personal Reminiscences, . , . 208 Index and Analysis, 233 INTRODUCTION TJTAVING listened with no small interest to the reading of this little book by Chaplain Parker, I heartily concur in the main conclusions, and regard them as a valuable contribution toward the final set- tlement of the Sabbath question. Many roads converge upon the end he is seeking. By many arguments he up- holds his conclusions. Some of these argu- ments ' I have not had time to examine thoroughly, and some of the ways I have not traveled before ; so that I can neither commend nor reject them. But there are arguments enough to establish his position, and ways enough that are good highways to the Sabbath City he wishes to build. For two reasons the question is of no II INTRODUCTION little importance. For some consciences are troubled lest keeping Sunday should not be obedience to the Fourth Command- ment ; while others by separating the Christian Sabbath from the one estab- lished by Law from Sinai, feel a lessened obligation, and a diminished force of duty and privilege, as to keeping any Sabbath. The true settlement of the question is that established in this volume. The command in the Decalogue is to keep the Sabbath, the seventh day. But there is no established starting point from which to count. It would not be possible to have the same starting point for all the world, nor to be sure that we are now counting our seventh day from the same day that the earliest men employed. Our Sunday is as really a seventh day, as is the Jewish Saturday. And whosoever hallows the Sunday, hallows the seventh 12 INTRODUCTION day and keeps the commandment. The only difference is the day from which we count. For the Sabbath, the seventh day is an Institution ; something as Easter is an institution. We keep Easter, whether the day on which it falls be in April, or in March, be on the first or the twentieth day of the month. The main thing is to guard the institu- tion of the Sabbath. Let us keep one day in seven holy. We cannot do this unless the great majority keep the same day. A learned man who was naturally left-handed, and who had made a study of that subject, said to me that while some people were born left-handed, and some right-handed, the great majority could be either with equal ease. But as there were more right- handed people born than left-handed, every- thing was made to suit them, so that even left-handed people must use their right 13 INTRODUCTION hands most of the time, or suffer great inconvenience. So it is with the Sabbath, each one cannot select his own seventh day, for his own personal convenience, but the whole community must join in keeping the Sabbath on the same seventh day, to gain its best effects. But the point from which we count is not laid down in the commandment. There is need of emphasizing the vital importance of the Sabbath to man, and impressing its permanent obligation. It does not seem possible that God could abrogate the Fourth Commandment while he was still writing it on the very nature of man. The Sabbath law is like a wall around a garden: not for its own sake, but to preserve the flowers and fruits within the enclosure. Whosoever says that we need the fruits, but care nothing for the wall, will find that the fruits cannot be pro- 14 INTRODUCTION tected and enjoyed without the wall, till all that would ruin them are changed into friends. But the Christian emphasis lies on the fruits and flowers, while the old Jewish tradition emphasized the wall. A set of hard, definite rules binding the con- duct, instead of great principles planted in the heart, always tends to evil, to incon- sistency and hypocrisy, and smothers the true life under a load of mere outward forms, as King Henry, angry with his courtiers, locked them into the dining- room and smothered them with roses and flowers, so that ** E'en Sunday shines no Sabbath day to me." But if the value of the Sabbath is clearly felt, and its blessing to the individual and to the Nation is recognized as the means of training and inspiring the soul, cultiva- ting the moral nature, and uplifting the 15 INTRODUCTION whole being to a higher atmosphere of living, then the outward rules can be main- tained so far as to preserve the Sabbath blessings. "' Tis more our soul's sweet zeal than body's rest, That makes this day *of all the week the best.' " F. N. PELOUBET. i6 PREFACE nr^HE MONOGRAPH now presented to the Christian world came into be- ing as the result of my studies in New Testament interpretation. In training Nor- mal Teachers' Classes for Sunday-school work, I discovered some years ago, that the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian vSab- bath are identical in substance, the Sabbath, as an Institution, having been transferred from Saturday to Sunday on the morning of the Resurrection. This surprising dis- covery gave me a thrill of pleasure, as I could never understand before it was made why the Fourth Commandment, as inter- preted by the Jews, is not binding upon Christians. I felt that so important a fact, involving a new rendering of some pas- 2 17 PREFACE sages of Scripture, required thoughtful study and careful verification before any public announcement should be made to the Christian world. Repeatedly examin- ing all the passages of Scripture touching this matter, and consulting all accessible authorities on this subject, I entered into a correspondence with many who make New Testament interpretation a life-work. The subject has thus grown upon my hands and filled my heart for about ten years, until I believe the following monograph, com- pressed into the briefest space possible consistent with perspicuity, will be accept- able to students of the Sacred Scriptures, especially to Sunday-school teachers. To the Christian who receives this im- portant fact of the transfer of the Sabbath with its full significance, the Holy Day breaks over the world with a new light, as the sacred season for rest and worship set i8 PREFACE apart by Jehovah, when the heavens and earth were finished, and **the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," and also the joyful time when the Lord of life triumphed over death, and came forth from the sepulcher as a Mighty Conqueror. In the increased radiance of the Sabbath transferred^ we can utter the words of the Great Prophet when he said: "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven- fold, as the light of seven days." With the prayer that true Christians may soon **see eye to eye" in the observance of the Sabbath day, this monograph is cast upon the troubled waters. J. D. P. East Orange, New Jersey. 19 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED CHAPTER I THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION /^^OD, who inhabits eternity, and fills all space with his presence, may be wor- shiped at all times, and in every place. But finite man, under the limitations of his earthly life, needs times of rest to recuper- ate his powers, and sacred seasons for worship and spiritual refreshment. The Sacred Scriptures recognize these limita- tions and spiritual needs of human nature, and discriminate between holy time used for religious purposes and secular time, 21 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED making them separate and distinct things. One-seventh of the time composed of re- curring segments called days, measured naturally by the revolution of the earth on its axis, was set apart for rest and worship. In seven consecutive revolutions of the earth on its axis, the last revolution, or day, coincided analogically with this time of rest and worship because God rested on the seventh period of creation from all the work which he had made. It may en- able the mind to distinguish between holy and secular time by remembering that the seventh day, following the first hexahem- eron, existed as secular time for ages, even from the time the earth began to revolve on its axis until the end of creation, before the Sabbath was instituted. This seventh segment of time for rest and worship was placed on a secular day, or revolution of the earth, to commemorate the creation of 22 THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION" the world. If man should be removed from the earth the Sabbath would cease to be, as it was made for man, but the seventh day would continue to exist as long as the earth revolved on its axis as a member of the solar system. If the Sabbath can be placed on and taken off from a. secular day without disturbing it as an element of time, the same authority could transfer it from one secular day to another to commemo- rate another and greater event, the New Creation. The Sabbath, one-seventh of the time, is a Divine Institution, and forms a part of the Moral Law, which was written on tables of stone to indicate its perpetuity. But the secular day, on which the Sabbath was observed, is not a part of the Moral Law, for it existed for ages before the Moral Law was promulgated, and it does not differ in character from any other sec- 23 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED ular day. The Sabbath, and the seventh day on which it was observed, differ from each other in their origin, nature and rela- tion to created things. The Sabbath, although anticipated and foreshadowed in the very constitution of things, came form- ally as an Institution by divine appoint- ment, for purposes of rest, and commemo- ration. It possesses moral characteristics, and commemorates important events. It differs essentially from the seventh day which like all other secular days is simply a natural division of time measured by the revolution of the earth on its axis. Secu- lar days have been in existence from the time the earth began to revolve on its axis, the month has existed from the time the moon began to revolve around the earth in its orbit, and the week suggested prob- ably by- the phases of the moon, has been employed from time immemorial. A week 24 THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION may be divided, as it would naturally have been before the creation was finished, into seven equal segments each one purely secular measured by a revolution of the earth on its axis. A week may also be divided in thought, so that one-seventh of it may be considered holy time. These two weeks may be superimposed, so that the holy time corresponds with the seventh day, as it was under the Jewish economy. This segment of holy time may also be transferred, or slipped forward a day, as it was at the Resurrection, so that the Sab- bath coincides with the first day of the week, as it is under the Christian dispensa- tion. By the application of heat, oxygen and hydrogen in chemical combination may be made to assume the forms of a solid, liquid, or gas, but the substances still re- main in existence under all the modifica- tions. One-seventh of the time called 25 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Sabbath, set apart for rest and worship, as a Divine Institution, and an integral part of the Moral Law, may be transferred from one revolution of the earth to another, and may receive modifications, as to the manner of its observance under the different covenants, but it cannot be abol- ished except by divine authority any more than oxygen and hydrogen combined in water can be annihilated by the action of heat. If the Sabbath should cease to exist for one moment of time, the Fourth Commandment would lose its authority and need to be reenacted by its Author, as at Mount Sinai, and the whole Deca- logue on similar grounds might be abol- ished, but both tables of the law were gathered up by Christ in two command- ments and reinforced. In the Decalogue, God says he rested on the seventh day, wherefore he blessed the Sabbath day and 26 'CARTOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH AT THE RESURRECTION A WEKK, BEFORE THE SABBATH WAS INSTITUTED Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday A WEEK, BETWEEN THE INSTITUTION OF THE SABBATH AND THE RESURRECTION Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sabbatb or Saturday / THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED AT THE RESURRECTION Saturday. Sabbath or Sunday A WEEK, UNDER THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION Sabbatb or Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION' hallowed it, leaving the secular day on which it was observed free to be displaced by another secular day in the unfolding economies of grace. The cartographical illustrations on the opposite page may aid the mind in form- ing a conception of the transfer of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday at the Resurrection. It must be obvious that the secular days, as names for the revolutions of the earth, are fixed ; but the Sabbath, as a civil and religious Institution, came by appointment, and is therefore movable, and can be transferred from one secular day to another. Time is measured by the movements of the members of the solar system most apparent to the observer. To an observer on the earth, the mean day may be con- sidered the unit of time as measured by 27 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the revolution of the earth on its axis. The revolution of the moon around the earth measures the month, and the waxing and waning of the moon, in its four quarters, divides the month into weeks. The revolution of the earth around the sun measures the year, and the movement of the sun in the ecliptic determines the four seasons. The week, as related to the unit of time, is made up of seven segments or natural days. The Sabbath (crd/B^aTOT/) is an In- stitution, and does not form an integral part of the secular week. God blessed the seventh day (Gen. 2:3), and sanctified it, but, as far as we have any record, he never blessed Saturday, or any other portion of secular time above another portion. Bless- ing the seventh day was equivalent fo blessing one day in seven, or in other words, blessing the Sabbath, and the Sabbath, 28 THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION under the Christian dispensation, is still observed one day in seven. In the Deca- logue (Ex. 20: 1 1), God also formally blessed the Sabbath and hallowed it. The seven secular days, each measured by the revolution of the earth on its axis, origi- nally filled up the whole week, one quad- rant of the moon's monthly orbit, and the Sabbath was not needed to make the week complete, as the stream of secular time flowed on uninterruptedly without the Sabbath, and week after week of secular time filled up the year, as measured by the revolution of the earth about the sun. The names of the days, and of all the divisions of time, are only names for the movements of members of the solar sys- tem. The measurement of time is as old as the movements of the solar system, whose origin reaches back to an antiquity beyond human computation. Originally 29 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the Sabbath was not the name of any measurement of time, as indicated by the movements in the solar system. To meet the necessities of man, when he came into being, the Sabbath was instituted at the end of creation for rest and religious pur- poses, and this Institution was placed on Saturday, to commemorate the creation, which displays the attributes of its Maker. The Sabbath never became identical with Saturday, for Saturday had existed for ages, and two things differing in their very character cannot become one and the same thing. A sacred day, however, dedicated to holy purposes, can be substituted for a secular day. Sabbath is the true name for the Institution, and whenever it takes the place of a secular day, the name of the secular day displaced should become ob-* solescent. The Sabbath came for rest, and to direct the thoughts of men to the 30 THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION Creator in gratitude and reverence for the display of his attributes in Creation. The Sabbath has naturally two limita- tions in regard (i) to its length, and (2) the frequency of its occurrence. Reason- ably the Sabbath would be equal to a unit of time, or a natural day, not a fractional day. The sacred day is a full unit of time, and as the hours move on to complete its cycle, man has time for rest and for holy activity, he receives light and heat from the sun, the constellations set in the deep heavens remind him of the power and wisdom of the Creator, and all the marvels and beauties of nature are revealed to him to subserve the highest purposes of his being. During this rounded period, which was chosen and dedicated to holy pur- poses, everything that nature possesses is brought before man, and grouped in one complex whole, to elevate and refine his 31 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED thoughts, and thus all things in nature con- spire to develop his moral and spiritual life. We cannot conceive of divine wis- dom setting apart for religious purposes anything less than a unit of time to pro- duce the highest welfare of a religious being. The Book of Nature was opened and placed before man, and as Nature turned the pages slowly night and day, during the vicissitudes of the seasons, the original Sabbath as a complete unit of time, gave man every evidence of God's attributes, as written in the earth and in the heavens. And when fuller Revelation came to man, he had ample opportunity, during this unit of time, repeated every seven days, to learn the will of God, and to worship in his temples. The psalmist says : '' Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge," and 32 THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION man listens more attentively on holy than on secular days. The septenary order of the Sabbath is founded in the very nature of man, for abundant facts prove that one day in seven for rest and worship is better than any other order. It may help the mind to form a concep- tion of the Sabbath, as an Institution, separate and differing from the day on which it is observed, by reminding the reader that there are other time Institu- tions, like Thanksgiving and Easter. Thanksgiving is clearly an Institution, but it does not occur on any calendar day until the President by proclamation places it on some Thursday in November. Easter is also an Institution, but the calendar day on which it is observed is not determined until the moon fulls on or about the twenty- first of March. Easter may occur as early 3 33 ^ THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED as the twenty-second of March, or as late as the twenty-fifth of April. Still both of these Institutions exist de facto all the year round as really as they do after it is deter- mined to observe them on some calendar day. In a similar way the Sabbath is an Institution, which can be placed by divine authority on a secular day, or be trans- ferredy under divine Providence, from one secular day to another. Christ says, '' Think not that I am come to destroy the [moral] law." If the Sab- bath, of the Fourth Commandment, were abolished, would not that destroy an es- sential part of the moral law? But in transferring the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, from Saturday to Sunday, Christ would preserve the Institution in its integrity and septenary order, and thus fulfill the law, enlarging the Sabbath and 34 THE SABBATH A MOVABLE INSTITUTION" giving it the liberty which is characteristic of the Christian dispensation. Was it not the divine purpose that Judaism should develop into Christianity, as the bud and blossom develop into fruit ? for Paul says the **law was our school- master to bring us unto Christ.'* Is it not reasonable to suppose that the Jewish Sabbath, as a part of the system, would develop under divine Providence, into the Christian Sabbath, as each part partakes of the nature and modifications of the whole ? It is claimed that some people in heathen lands are so ignorant of the laws of as- tronomy, that when they see the sun go down in the west, they think it has been destroyed, and when they see the sun rising in the east, they think it is another sun. So some Christians are so limited in their views of the Sabbath, that when 35 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the Jewish Sabbath disappears from his- tory, and they behold the Christian Sab- bath coming into the new dispensation, they do not dream that these two apparent Sabbaths are identicaly the same Institu- tion, that the Sabbath has simply been transferred from one secular day to another in the Providence of God. As we now know that the sun that sets in the west is the same sun that rises in the east, may the time soon come when all Christians will also know that the Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath are the same, the Sab- bath of the Fourth Commandment, and of both dispensations, which like the sun will diffuse its blessed light around the whole world. 36 CHAPTER II EVIDENCE FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT OP \h\^^ THE TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH ^ I ^HE transfer of the Sabbath from one secular day to another, it is believed, is in harmony with the unfolding of the economies of grace, and is sustained by a correct interpretation of the Sacred Script- ures. In Mat. 28:1 two Sabbaths are mentioned, one occurring on Saturday, and one on Sunday. The words of the apostle are **in the end of the [Jewish] Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week," or as it reads literally, to- wards one of the Sabbaths, (ets y^iojv cra^- ^aTwv), that is the Christian Sabbath. The apostle here speaks of two Sabbaths, and says that the (Jewish) Sabbath had come 37 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED to an end, and as the Christian Sabbath began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the sepulcher. Dean Alford (in loco) says: ''The words cra^- pdroiv and iiiav (xa^^drcov are opposed both being days'' The phrase ''first day of the week," used in the English version in this place and in parallel passages, was evidently derived by the translators from the Modern Greek Testament, which has T17S TTpcjTrjS rj^€pa<; ttJs eySSo/iaSo?. The opinion of the Modern Greeks is valuable, but their version carries only the weight of human opinions on disputed points. It is more reasonable to suppose that the word (Ta^^dT(x)Vy as used by the apostle here and in all parallel passages, is a plural genitive limiting some form of 7)fjLepa un- derstood, and is to be taken in its primitive signification, as in Col. 2:16, meaning Sabbaths, and not sabbatical week. The 38 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH Greek phrase for the *' first day of the week," would be Trpayrr) crafi/BaTov, as used in Mark 16:9. To translate the words €19 fjLLav o-a^^aTCDv ''towards the first day of the week" is to read into these words a meaning which the apostle evidently did not intend to express, and to lose their deep significance which affords us substan- tial proof of the transfer of the Sabbath at the Resurrection. The use of eh {fXLa) for 7rpairo9 is not classical, and the words CCS /xtai^ cra^^drcov are not an equivalent for €19 TTpcjTTjv crafi/3dT0)v, and ought not to be translated ** towards the first day of the week." It is true that the Resurrection took place on the first day of the week, but it was more than this, for the apostle de- clares that the Resurrection was on one of the Sabbaths. Christ, according to the tradition, was crucified on Friday, lay in the tomb during Saturday, the day of 39 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the (Jewish) Sabbath, and rose early on Sunday morning, and Matthew calls this time of the Resurrection one of the Sab- baths, {fjbCav o-afi^aTcov). Evidently the Sabbath, as an Institution, the time for rest and worship, was transferred at the Resurrection from one secular day to an- other, from Saturday to Sunday. As there can be but one Sabbath, one-seventh of the time, the Sabbath was hereafter to be observed on Sunday, as the day of rest and worship, and the (Jewish) Sabbath was spoken of subsequently his- torically. In the transfer of the Sabbath from the old economy, it would naturally lose its Jewish characteristics, and the day and the breaking of the day would be taken in the natural meaning of those terms un- der the Christian dispensation. The Sab- bath, under the Jewish economy, began at evening, for it is said "from even unto 40 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath" (Lev. 23 :32). As the Sabbath was insti- tuted at the end of creation, and was typical of rest, it seemed natural that it should begin when the activities of the day were over, or at even. But the Christian Sabbath, Luke says, began very early in the morning {opOpov fiaOeos), or at the moment of the Resurrection. In the trans- fer of the Sabbath from the Jewish econ- omy to the Christian dispensation, this Institution would naturally lose its local characteristics and limitations, and become cosmopolitan in character, a sacred day for the whole world. The Christian Sabbath signifies holy activity more than rest, and implies that with the risen Lord his people should arise with Him with great rejoicing, and go forth in His strength to save the world. In Mark 16 : 1-2, the evangelist is even 41 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED more definite. He says : " And when the [Jewish] Sabbath was past, Mary Magda- lene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week," or as it reads literally, of one of the Sabbaths {ttj^ /xtas o-a^fiaToiv), "they came unto the sepulcher, at the rising of the sun.'* In these words the evangelist says the (Jewish) Sabbath **was past," and he uses the verb 8taytVo/xai in the Second Aorist, signifying that the action was com- plete. The preposition 8ia in composition gives intensity to the verb to show that the transition of time was entirely finished through to the very end, that the (Jewish) Sabbath had transpired before the Sabbath commenced which is mentioned in the sec- ond verse. In Mark 16:9 the evangelist tells us Jesus rose very early on the first 42 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH day of the week (ai/ao-ras 8e trpok Trparrri o-a^^aTov) which gives us divine authority for observing the Sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week. In Luke 23:55 seg^., the evangelist gives a vivid picture of the Resurrection. He says in substance : The holy women fol- lowed and beheld the sepulcher, and re- turned and prepared spices and ointments, and rested on the (Jewish) Sabbath day, according to the commandment. Now, upon the first day of the week (Luke 24 : i), or as it reads literally, on one of the Sabbaths in the deep twilight, (rfj 8e /ita tcop a-a^^droiv, opOpov ^adeos), they come unto the sepulcher. The holy women rested on the (Jewish) Sabbath according to the com- mandment, and came to the sepulcher in the morning twilight, of the first day of the week, which the evangelist calls a Sab- bath. 43 2^ . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED In John 20 : I, the apostle uses similar language. He says: **The first day of the week," or as it reads literally, on one of the Sabbaths {rfj 8e /xta twv o-afifiaTCJv), cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark unto the sepulcher." Here the beloved disciple calls Sunday, the first day of the week, a Sabbath, and in the nineteenth verse he again calls the first day of the week a Sabbath {rrj fiia Ta>v Philip Schaff, with many of the best Christian scholars, believed that Pentecost, the conclusion of the Jewish harvest, and the beginning of the Christian harvest oc- curred on the Lord's Day, when the Holy Spirit was poured out in its fullness, and cloven tongues like as of fire sat upon each of the disciples. When Paul and Barnabas were at Anti- och in Pisidia, on their first missionary 44 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH tour, we have the most Indisputable evi- dence of the transfer of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Paul first preached to the Jews In their synagogue on the (Jewish) Sabbath, and ''when the Jews were gone out of their synagogue [Acts 13 142], the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath" (et? to fjuera^v ad^^arov in the Sabbath between), that Is, the Sabbath be- tween the (Jewish) Sabbaths. And the narrative continues (Acts 1 3 : 44), and the next Sabbath day (rco 8e e^o/xeVw cra^^drco crxeSo^ on the following Sabbath just at hand), came almost the whole city together to hear the Word of God. When the participle i-^ofxevo^ is used In reference to place It designates a place that is near or next, as In Mark i : 2,^ where Christ said **let us go Into the next towns" [dyojfiei/ €t9 ra? e^^o/xeVa? /cw/xoTrdXei?). When the 45 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED participle is used in reference to time it designates the next day, as in Acts 21 .-26, where "Paul took the men, and the next day [r>5 ixofievrj rjfxepa] purifying himself with them entered into the temple." The evangelist here says the following Sabbath, (on which the Gentiles would naturally hold religious service), was between the (Jewish) Sabbaths, and near at hand, that is, on Sunday. Can language be framed that would prove the transfer of the Sab- bath from Saturday to Sunday more clearly and indisputably than this language of the inspired evangelist? Surely this indubitable proof of the transfer of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday must satisfy every intelligent, can- did mind that receives the New Testament as the inspired Word of God, and is will- ing to base his theories on the facts. When the Lord speaks through his chosen 46 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH apostles by his inspired word, or by exam- ple under the guidance of inspiration, let the earth keep silence. In Acts 20 : 7, the evangelist says : "Upon the first day of the week," or as it reads literally, on one of the Sabbaths (Iv 8e T^ /Ata TQiv o-a^^aTcov), ** when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preach- ed to them," se^. Here the disciples came together as a religious assembly, on Sun- day the first day of the week, called by the evangelist a Sabbath, and partook of the Lord's supper, and Paul preached to them. The Syriac translates the words ''to break bread" to break the eucharist ; for the early Christians celebrated the Lord's sup-. per every Lord's Day, which they consid- ered the Christian Sabbath. In I Cor. 16:2, Paul says : **on the first day of the week" which reads literally, upon one of the Sabbaths {Kara fiCav crayS- 47 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED ^6.T0iv\ **let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." This refers to the rehgious offerings which Christians made on Sunday in their relig- ious assemblies. This Christian assembly for worship and religious offerings, on the first day of the week, Paul says took place on the Sabbath, that is, the Christian Sab- bath. In Col. 2:16 the apostle says : " Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days (o-a^ySaro)!^)." Christians had been freed from the ritualism of the Jewish econ- omy, and in their Christian freedom they should not let any one sit in judgment on them in respect to these things. Even if they preferred the Christian to the (Jewish) Sabbath, they were to maintain 4$ PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH their Christian Hberty. The apostle in- cludes the (Jewish) Sabbath among the shadows of those things to come, for the body is of Christ. In Rev. I : lo John says : "I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day " (eV rrj KvpLaKrj 'qfjLepa). This was the day, on which Christ rose from the dead, the Christian Sabbath, which from this time was generally called the Lord's Day. . God has left many truths to be discov- ered by men, and revealed truths some- times dawn on the world slowly. When Harvey discovered the circulation of the blood in 1 6 1 6, it is claimed that not a physi- cian in Great Britain over forty years of age ever received the new theory. For many centuries men believed the earth is flat, and that the sun revolves, as it appears, around the earth. Even the dis- ciples were very slow to believe in the 4 49 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Resurrection. It is not strange that men have been slow to believe in the transfer of the Sabbath. Still, this view has been held by many advanced thinkers, like Alcuin, the confidant, teacher and adviser of Char- lemagne, Dr. Philip Schaff and Dr. F. N. Peloubet, and the time is evidently not far distant when the transfer of the Sabbath will become the generally accepted view of the Christian Church. Prof. James R. Boise, the eminent Greek scholar, who once lived at Athens, and could speak Modern Greek like a native, affirmed that when King James' Translation was published, no better translation had ever been made from the Greek language. Since that time, however, critical scholars, such as Tischendorf, Tregelles, De Wette, Lachmann and others have been collating the MSS., and the Textus Receptus has been greatly improved. The New Version 50 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH gives a more faithful rendering of the orig- inal. New Versions will undoubtedly be demanded by Christian people from age to age, for English words undergo a change of meaning in the lapse of time, and men see more in Revelation, as the increasing light of the Universal Kingdom shines upon it. The Bible may be compared to the ocean, and men have only ** picked up a few pebbles " along the shore. The Bible is a great deep, but the Universe is larger, deeper and more profound, and the Infinite God, who strives to reveal himself to men, is greater than all the works of his hands. Revelation may be compared to a lighthouse on a stormy coast. All the depths and shoals of time and space are not revealed, but the sacred light is clear and steady, and whoever guides his barque of life by the light that shines from above will enter the haven of rest ^ 51 -THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED When there is so much darkness in this world, it is not strange that the Transferred Sabbath has not been fully understood. How many things such as mountains, forests and lakes are dimly seen in the twilight, that are clearly revealed when the sun mounts into the heavens. The Sab- bath, although imperfectly understood, is a great factor in the true development of mankind. Some claim that the Sabbath, as an Institution, is religious, some moral, some hygienic, and some civil. It has all these aspects and relations to men com- bined. Next to the Incarnation, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Bible and the Sabbath are the most precious gifts of God. There is a depth of mean- ing in the Sabbath, to every man, to every church, to every community, and to every nation, desiring to make true progress in all that pertains to the higher life. PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH Men have been slow in comprehending great truths. The power of seeing is subjective. The Master recognized this when he said : '* He that hath ears to hear let him hear." An uncultivated man will rush over a landscape and see almost nothing, while a botanist, a geologist, or a biologist, will pass along slowly over the same path, each one examining those things in his particular line of studies. Christians are just beginning to under- stand the Transferred Sabbath, although some Sabbatarians have claimed that **the last word has been said on the Sabbath." Two Sabbaths seem to appear in history, and men have been confused. Some claim that the (Jewish) Sabbath is still in force with all its limitations and restrictions. How intelligent men can hold such a view is not apparent. Moses (Numb. 15 : 36) caused a manTlbund picking up sticks to be stoned 53 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED to death ; but the disciples went through the corn-fields (Mat. 12 : i) on the Sabbath, and plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And the Master referred the complaining Pharisees to the act of David eating the showbread, and said ** the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Some claim that the (Jew- ish) Sabbath has been abolished, but they do not tell us when or how it was abol- ished. Some affirm that the Christian Sabbath is founded on usage. How can usage nullify the Fourth Commandment ? Some say the Christian Sabbath is founded on the Resurrection, but they do not tell what became of the (Jewish) Sabbath. If the Fourth Commandment is still in force, what relation is there between this com- mandment and the Christian Sabbath, and how was this relation established ? Some claim that the sacred day was ** changed/' 54 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH- but they fail to tell us to what extent. Some say there was a ** substitution," but do not explain how it was accomplished. Some affirm that the (Jewish) Sabbath ** was absorbed " by the Christian Sabbath. If this absorption was as perfect as when the juices of the lemon were sucked out and the peeling of the lemon swallowed, it might be close to the truth. Some affirm that the (Jewish) Sabbath was nailed to the cross of Christ, and refer as proof to Col. 2:14, where Paul speaks of the "hand- writing of ordinances," which was against and contrary to Christians, as being blotted out and nailed to the cross. But the Sab- bath was never against, or contrary to Christians, and could not be counted as a part of Jewish ordinances mentioned by the apostle, that after the Resurrection were arrayed against Christians. Christ only fulfilled the ceremonial law, but reaf- 55 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED firmed the Moral Law, of which the Sab- bath is an essential part. Some people go so far as to say they will keep both Sabbaths, the (Jewish) Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath. Now there is but one Sabbath {(jd^^aTov)y one-seventh of the time, which under the Mosaic economy was called the Jewish Sabbath, and under the New Covenant is called the Christian Sab- bath. In the Fourth Commandment, the week is divided into two parts, secular and sacred. The Commandment says we must work during the secular part: **Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." The obligation to work during the six days of the week is just as binding as to rest on the Sabbath. If a man can earn more than he needs, there are a thousand ways in which he can give the surplus for the benefit of mankind. It is necessary to 56 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH work with mind or hands, or both, to enjoy the Sabbath, and be profited by it. Men who hold some of these theories have entered the vestibule of the Temple of Truth. If they will explore the Temple ^ they will find more truth. ^qMy true theory undoubtedly is that, the Sabbath (cra/3/3aToi/), as an Institution, was transferred from Saturday to Sunday at the Resurrection. This view is simple, nat- ural and reasonable, and, it is believed, it is fully sustained by the true rendering of the double (ja^^aroiv used by the evangel- ist in connection with the Resurrection. Greek scholars are rather conservative in expressing opinions, but there is a consen- sus of opinion that the rendering adopted in this monograph does not violate any principles of the Greek language. If be- lievers in the transfer have the courage r 57 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED they can walk in this path, but they must face the traditions of the past. One who walks in this way will probably stumble over the dictionaries, still his way is not really hedged up by philology. The path is open, but he must walk as a philosopher, and not as a philologist. And he must \ have **the courage of his convictions." V^ Conservatism is good when it preserves the truth, and eliminates error, but there is no merit in perpetuating venerable errors. How reasonable to modify the Sabbath in regard to time, so that it should com- memorate the Resurrection as well as the creation of the world. In the Civil War statesmen declared that the Constitu- tion was flexible enough to save the nation. Is not the Sabbath flexible enough to meet the necessities of the Divine Kingdom ? Some Christians say they lose sight of 58 PROOFS OF TRANSFER OF THE SABBATH the Sabbath at the Resurrection, and do not feel certain that the (Jewish) Sabbath and Christian Sabbath are identical. If one should be in a park and see a deer of a certain size, shape and color run into a thicket, and a few moments afterwards should see a deer of the same size, shape and color rush out of the opposite side of the thicket, would he not conclude that it was the same deer, especially if he knew there was only one deer in the park ? 59 CHAPTER III PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING THE TRANS- FER OF THE SABBATH npHE transfer of the Sabbath from Sat- urday to Sunday was in direct fulfill- ment of prophecy. Isaiah prophesied that such a transfer should take place. In speaking of the New Creation (Is. 65:17- 19) he says : " For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth : and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." The (Jewish) Sabbath was the memorial day set apart for the commemor- ation of the work of creation. The proph- et says that this Sabbath day shall cease to be kept, for the old creation ** shall not be remembered nor come into mind." The new heavens and the new earth, spoken 60 PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER of by the prophet, is a spiritual creation, for he says: ** Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." The old creation should fade away in the brighter light of the new creation, as the stars fade out in the light of the rising sun, and the transfer of the Sabbath, the me- morial of the work of creation, from Sat- urday to Sunday, would indicate that this prophecy has been fulfilled. That important movements would nat- urally take place at the time of the P.esur- rection was indicated by the apostle when he speaks of the power (SuVa/xt?) of Christ's Resurrection. This was a crisis when the power of death was broken. In nature there have been profound movements. Geology teaches that transi- tions have occurred in the earth's crust from the earliest geological times. The larger part probably were operative over r 6i THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED long periods and effected slow changes in the ocean level, but produced more or less exterminations among living species. Thus in passing from layer to layer in the rocks one or more species became extinct, with a corresponding introduction, under the laws of evolution, of new species. At the beginning of an epoch many new species would appear, and at the commencement of a period, a whole fauna. At longer intervals, greater convulsions have occurred in nature. The course of nature seems, at times, to have completed a cycle, terminating in a profound move- ment. These more violent transitions, or unfolding by internal forces, do not imply a retrogression, but a new birth, an exter- mination of life, perhaps an extinction of former races, but an introduction of higher and better forms of life. Such transitions have always resulted in an improved con- 62 PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER dition of things on the earth, higher and more perfect organizations having sprung into being. Geological history has thus been a periodical unfolding from the lower, more elementary and imperfect towards the higher forms of life. In a similar manner, the transition from Jewish to Christian economy was dynamic, and marked by great changes in the spirit- ual world. There was a great earthquake, when the angel of the Lord descended from heaven. In the divine economy there was a movement that introduced a new order of things. The Passover ceased to be observed, and the Lord's Supper was instituted. Circumcision passed away, and baptism became the seal of the new cove- nant. The veil of the temple was rent in twain, and the Shekinah, the visible symbol of the divine presence, was withdrawn. The middle wall of partition was broken 63 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED down, and those who had been trained as spiritual guides went out to become the teachers of the whole world. The temple itself was to be destroyed with the holy city, Antioch was to become the mother city to the Gentiles, and Judaism was to pass away. The loosening and displace- ment of the Sabbath, this segment of time for rest and worship, in such a great up- heaval of things terrestrial and spiritual, as took place at the Resurrection, and its transfer to another place, or secular day, to put it in harmony with the new order of things, free it from the asperities of Juda- ism, and mellow it with the spirit of the Gospel, would be most reasonable. Under the Jewish economy the Sabbath was ob- served with strictness, a requirement neces- sary for a people in the earlier stages of national development. On the Sabbath there was a special burnt offering, the 64 PROPHECIES POPESHAD OWING TRANSFER show-bread was renewed, deliberate prof- anation of the Sabbath was punished with death, the Jews cooked their food for the Sabbath on the previous day, they could not leave the camp in the wilderness on the Sabbath and never go beyond a Sab- bath day's journey, and marketing and public trade were prohibited. But the Lord of the Sabbath, when all power was given him in heaven and in earth, trans- ferred the Sabbath at the Resurrection from Saturday to Sunday, in the unfolding economies of grace, and put it in harmony with the new order of things. Dr. Philip Schaff, in his ''History of the Christian Church" (v. i, p. 478), says: "The day ^ [Sabbath] was transferred from the sev- enth to the first day of the week, not on the ground of a particular command, but by the free spirit of the Gospel, and by the power of certain great facts which lie 5 65 \ THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED at the foundation of the Christian Church." This transfer was in direct fulfillment of prophecy, when God declared, " Behold, I create all things new." In Ps. 1 18 : 19-29, there is a remarkable prophecy in regard to the transfer of the Sabbath. The psalmist is in an ecstatic, spiritual mood, and opens the psalm with repeated expressions of thanksgiving to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for- ever. The Lord had set the psalmist in a large place, where there was room to give him an abundant answer. The hostile nations had compassed him like bees, but they had been quenched like the fire of thorns. Holy light seems to break upon the psalmist, and he feels that he must worship the Lord. He turns his face to- wards the sanctuary to pour out his heart in thanksgiving. ** Open to me,'* he says, '* the gates of righteousness : I will go into PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER them, and I will praise the Lord." As he looks about, the place evidently seems a little strange to him, but he realizes that it is the ''gate of the Lord," for the Lord hears him, and has become his salvation. Suddenly the light of the Resurrection morn breaks over him, and with prophetic vision he exclaims : *' The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner." As a Jew he is filled with wonder to find himself worshiping on a new holy day, but he says, **this is the Lord's doing ; this is the day the Lord hath made ; it is marvelous in our eyes." The Lord made all days, but this was a special day which he had consecrated and made holy. It was the day on which the people would enter the gates of righteousness and praise the Lord. It was the day on which the Lord would send prosperity, and he says, " we will rejoice and be glad in it," 67 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED as Christ bids the women ^*all hail," or to rejoice on the Resurrection morn. The psalmist speaks as we would suppose an Israelite would express himself, under the Christian dispensation, and says : ** Mighty is Jehovah, and hath given light to us. Bind the sacrifice with cords as far as the horns of the altar." In prophetic vision Jehovah had turned the night of Israel into day, and the psalmist sees the pillar of fire in the wilderness. This was the Resur- rection day, the Christian Sabbath, which the psalmist saw in vision, and he closes the psalm as he began it, with thanksgiving to the Lord for his mercy endureth forever. 1 1 On the day of the Resurrection, Christ / appeared five times to his disciples and to ithe holy women. On the next Saturday, ! the Jemsh day for the observance of the Sabbath under the law, he did not appear to any one, but ''after eight days," on the 6S PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER Lord's Day, he appeared to his disciples in the upper room, Thomas being with them. Why did the risen Savior cease to observe the Sabbath on Saturday, to meet with his disciples, and give them an opportunity to come into his immediate and sensible pres- ence to worship him, and meet them on the Lord's Day, if the Sabbath had not been transferred at the Resurrection from Satur- day to Sunday ? Marvelous is the fact that any Christian should now observe the Sabbath on Satur- day, as the Jews did under the law. The Sabbath has always been a Christian festi- val, and the psalmist says that we should "rejoice and be glad in it." Traditionally Christ was crucified on Friday, and His body lay in the grave on Saturday, the day for the observance of the Sabbath under the Jewish economy. On Saturday His enemies triumphed over Him, and this 69 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED season must demand humiliation and mourning rather than rejoicing. But when He rose from the dead, and met the holy women, He told them to rejoice. The character of this Christian festival would be preserved by the transfer of the Sab- bath from Saturday to Sunday, which was clearly foreshadowed, when Christ said : '*Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." The transfer of the Sabbath from Satur- day to Sunday preserves the Institution in all its integrity, and carries with it the authority of Jehovah, who ordained and hallowed it. The Sabbath under all dis- pensations is identical, one and the same, one-seventh of the time set apart for rest and worship, ordained at the creation of 70 PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER the world and redolent with the aroma of Paradise, promulgated formally in the Moral Law on Mount Sinai, transferred at the Resurrection, and made holy and glori- ous under both covenants. This holy season for rest and worship, hoary with age, in being observed one day in seven, brings to remembrance the time when the heavens and earth were finished, and "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Abraham, the friend of God, as he sat in his tent-door, saw the light of this sacred day break over the eastern hills, and all the patriarchs in their generations remembered to keep it holy. The Fourth Commandment was written twice by the finger of God, and given to Moses, the servant of God, when " Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the 71 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." In the wilderness the children of Israel on the day previous to the Sabbath gathered twice as much manna as on other days, which kept over the Sab- bath, and a golden pot of manna was laid up before the Lord to be kept for their gen- erations. As the centuries unfolded in Jew- ish history, how often has the light of this blessed day broken over the holy city, and revealed the smoke of the special sacrifice typical of the **Lamb slain from the foun- dation of the world." As the morning light of this sacred day trembled along the crags of Mount Carmel, Elijah has doubtless stood in the entrance of his cave, with his mantle wrapped about his face, and wor- shiped times without number, until he went up to heaven in a chariot of fire. All earthly scenes pale in the supernal light which broke over the earth when the angel, 72 PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER whose "countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow," descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from the door of the sepulcher, and the Lord of life laid aside the habiliments of death, and on this holy day came forth as a Mighty Conqueror. On this day cloven tongues like as of fire sat upon the heads of the disciples, and the Gospel was mirac- ulously preached in all languages, and to all people out of every nation under heaven. If the sun every seventh day yielded some sweet influence not manifested in its ordinary rays, but after some conjunction of the celestial orbs, poured forth the same influence on another day of the week, would not men receive the blessed influ- ence without regard to the previous day of the week on which it had been shed forth, and would they not be thankful ? If nature 73 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED should distill a more copious dew on some particular night of the week, but, after some secular change in nature, transferred this heavy dew-fall to another night of the week, would not men in arid countries be glad to have suffering vegetation refreshed without regard to the night of the week on which the dew had previously fallen ? Do not men need the spiritual influence of the Sabbath, the dew of Hermon, even the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion, so much over vast regions of this world, parched and withered under the baleful influences of sin, that they might disregard the particular day of the week on which the heavenly influences descended under some former economy, and pray that, **the windows of heaven might be opened" in God's own time, and a blessing be poured out that there should not be room enough to receive it ? The Sabbath 74 PROPHECIES FORESHADOWING TRANSFER may be compared to a mighty, continu- ously flowing river, whose unobstructed waters pour through all dispensations, and bear on their bosom the most precious gifts of God. And this is the "river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God," and this river of God shall flow on forevermore increasing in volume and power until the holy light of the Sabbath shall shine into every home on earth, and gladden every heart, and be merged at last into the light of heaven. 75 CHAPTER IV PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS npHE transfer of the Sabbath at the Resurrection gives the world, in the Sabbath, a perpetual memorial of the crowninof miracle of Christ's work as the Redeemer of men. Standing at the grave of one whom He had loved, Christ declared that He was the Resurrection and the life, and at His command ''he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with graveclothes." The Resurrection, the divine seal that Christ was the Messiah and the pledge of the general Resurrec- tion at the last day, is a vital truth in Christianity that overshadows other truths. Paul says ''if Christ be not risen, then is 76 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." Without the Resurrection death would be an extinction of hopes, and no disembodied spirit could be rehabilitated and be made perfect. The Christian Church rests on this pivotal fact of the Resurrection, which is as well established as any fact in Jewish history. A man could just as reasonably deny the exodus or the captivity of the Jews, or the existence of Herod the Great, as to deny the Cruci- fixion and Resurrection of Christ. How natural that Christians should be given a perpetual memorial, that Christ in His Resurrection should enable man to say, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory ? " Should not every follower of Christ, who rejoices in His Resurrection, delight also in observing the Lord's Day as a memorial of His power over death, the last enemy of man ? 77 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED The New Testament affords us abund- ant evidence of the transfer of the Sab- bath at the Resurrection, and this evidence is confirmed and strengthened by the observance of the Sabbath on the first day of the week by the risen Savior, and by inspired apostles and early Christians. In the divine economy the transfer of the Sabbath on the Resurrection morning doubtless came at the moment that Christ rose from the dead, but the knowledge of this fact dawned gradually on the Chris- tian world like the light of a new day. The sun does not rise with a single bound, but the first glimmer of light in the east deep- ens almost imperceptibly until the heavens are on fire, and the full-orbed sun lifts itself slowly above the horizon to flood the world with light. Sabbath evolution, as known to man, was very gradual, not pro- voking opposition on the part of the Jews, 78 / PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS who were intensely prejudiced in favor of Judaism. As the transfer of the Sabbath did not take place until the moment of the Resur- rection, naturally no express command!^ would be given in regard to it by the\ Savior, but it was probably included in the ''many things" that Christ desired to say unto his disciples, which he affirmed they could not bear at that time. The observ- ance of the Christian Sabbath by the risen Lord, and the example of inspired men in keeping this holy day, is as conclusive of the transfer of the Sabbath as if a direct command had been given. The example of inspired men in obeying the moral law, or in observing the ceremonial law, is as conclusive in regard to what they believe, as the precepts which they may utter. The example of a Christian minister in living a strictly upright and honest life is 79 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED more powerful with men than any precepts which may be given in his public teaching. Inspired men naturally pursued a peaceful method in bringing about a general observ- ance of the Christian Sabbath that would not provoke opposition. Jewish Christians continued to observe the (Jewish) Sabbath until Jerusalem was destroyed, and many of the Jews continued to meet with them and worship on the Lord's Day. The Jews continued to be circumcised, but many were willing to be baptized. The Jews still kept the Passover, but many were willing to celebrate the Lord's Sup- per. Christians still prayed in the temple and in the synagogues, and many Jews would mingle with them in Christian assem- blies, in their homes and in the fields. In this manner the Christian Sabbath came into observance without serious opposi- tion, until it became generally established So PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS wherever Christ was worshiped as the risen Lord. Dr. Philip Schafif, that most eminent Christian scholar (" History of the Chris- tian Church," pp. 478-9), says : "The universal and uncontradicted Sun- day observance in the second century can be explained only by the fact that it had its roots in apostolic practice. Such ob- servance is the more to be appreciated as it had no support in civil legislation before the age of Constantine, and must have been connected with many inconveniences, considering the lowly social condition of the majority of Christians and their de- pendence upon their heathen masters and employers. Sunday thus became, by an easy and natural transformation, the Chris- tian Sabbath or weekly day of rest, at once answering the typical import of the Jewish Sabbath, and itself forming in turn 6 3i THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED a type of the eternal rest of the people of God in the heavenly Canaan. In the gos- pel dispensation the Sabbath is not a deg- radation, but an elevation, of the week- days to a higher plane, looking to the consecration of all time and all work. It is not a legal ceremonial bondage, but rather a precious gift of grace, a privilege, a holy rest in God in the midst of the unrest of the world, a day of spiritual refreshing in communion with God and in fellowship of the saints, a foretaste and pledge of the never-ending Sabbath in heaven. '' The due observance of it, in which the churches of England, Scotland and Amer- ica, to their incalculable advantage, excel the churches of the European continent, is a wholesome school of discipline, a means of grace for the people, a safeguard of public morality and religion, a bulwark 82 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS against infidelity, and a source of immeas- urable blessing to the church, the state, and the family. Next to the Church and the Bible, the Lord's Day is the chief pillar of Christian society." It has been seen that the risen Lord observed the Christian Sabbath, meeting with his disciples, and with the holy women five times on the day of the Resurrection. On the next (Jewish) Sabbath, he did not appear to anyone, a fact which can be explained only on the ground that Satur- day, in the divine economy, had ceased to / be the day of the week on which the Sab-' bath was to be observed, after the Resur- rection. ** After eight days," John says, ** again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them : then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you." Christ thus gave '^ 83 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED divine authority for the observance of the Christian Sabbath on the first day of the week. We have already seen that about twelve years after the Resurrection, there was a Christian Sabbath (Acts 13) observed at Antioch, Pisidia, by Gentile converts, and that this following Sabbath was between the (Jewish) Sabbaths and near at hand. On that day called a Sabbath, we read that almost the whole city of Antioch came together to hear the word of God, and Paul and Barnabas preached to them. And when the Gentiles heard the words of the apostles, ''they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord : and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." About twenty-six years after the Resur- rection, Luke says (Acts 20:7), ''Upon the first day of the week [on one of the Sabbaths], when the disciples came to- 84 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS gether [at Troas] to break bread, Paul preached to them, ready to depart on the morrow." About sixty-three years after the Resur- rection, John the Beloved says (Rev. i : lo), *'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet." The Holy Spirit thus came upon the beloved disciple, on the Christian Sabbath, when a wonderful reve- lation of things about to come to pass was given to him, — a revelation that imparts to the world nearly all that is known of those mighty events that shall take place towards the close of the Christian dispensation, and when time shall be no more. Justin Martyr, who lived at the close of the first and the beginning of the second century, says : ''And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities, or in the country, gather together to one place, and 85 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits ; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs and exhorts jto the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, las we before said, when our prayer is / ended, bread and wine and water are j brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, accord- I ing to his ability, and the people assent, ' saying, Amen ; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit ; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows, and those who, through sickness, or any other cause, are in want, and those PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us, and, in a word, takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world ; and Jesus Christ, our Savior, on the same day rose from the dead. For he was cru- cified on the day before that of Saturn [Saturday] ; and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the sun, having appeared to his apostles and disciples, he taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your considera- tion.'' (The First Apology of Justin Mar- tyr, chapter LXVII.) It is true that Justin Martyr does not call Sunday the Sabbath, or the Lord's Day, but he was writing to a heathen emperor who was ignorant of the meaning of these terms. 37 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Barnabas says: ''We keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead." (Chapter XVII.) *'The Teaching of the Apostles," which was probably written not more than forty years after the death of the apostle John, says : "But every Lord's Day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread and give thanksgiving," etc. ("Teaching of the Apostles," chapter XIV.) TertuUian, who was born at Carthage, about A. D. 1 50 or 1 60, was the first great writer of Latin Christianity. Very little is known of his personal life, but he is con- sidered one of the most original and exalted characters of the ancient church. In his works he speaks of the Lord's Day as a Christian solemnity. Dionysius, who became Bishop of Cor- inth, A. D. 170, says: "We passed this PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS holy Lord's Day, in which we read your letter, from the constant reading of which we shall be able to draw admonition." (Eusebius, Eccl. History, book 4, chapter XXIII.) The testimony of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, who lived in the second century, has great weight on this subject. He probably passed his youth in the neighbor- hood of Smyrna, Asia Minor, and was the child of Christian parents. His testimony is extremely valuable, because he was the disciple of Polycarp, who was the disciple of John the Beloved. In his letter to Flo- rinus, Irenaeus says : "I saw you when I was yet, as a boy, in Lower Asia with Polycarp. ... I could even now point out the place where the blessed Polycarp sat and spoke, and describe his going out and coming in, his manner of life, his personal appearance, 89 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the addresses he delivered to the multitude, how he spoke of his intercourse with John, and with the others who had seen the Lord, and how he recalled their words. And everything that he had heard from them about the Lord, about His miracles and His teaching, Polycarp told us, as one who had received it from those who had seen the Word of Life with their own eyes, and all this in complete harmony with the Scrip- tures. To this I then listened, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to me, with all eagerness, and wrote it not on paper, but in my heart, and still by the grace of God, I ever bring it into fresh remembrance." (Ap. Euseb., H. E., v. 20.) These are golden words, establishing a chain of tradition without a parallel in eccle- siastical history — Jesus, John, Polycarp, Irenaeus. Here is a traditional stream which flows from Christ, the fountain of 90 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS all truth. What testimony has Irenaeus, the eminent and learned Bishop of Lyons, France, who, after Polycarp, is considered the most faithful representative of the Johannean school, who uses the terms *' Logos" and ''Son of God" interchange- ably, and keeps more within the limits of the simple Bible statements than any of his contemporaries ? Irenaeus says : "■ On the Lord's Day every one of us. Christians, keep the Sabbath, meditating in the law," or Scriptures, ''and rejoicing in the works of God." Clement, of Alexandria, who was born about the middle of the second century, was one of the most celebrated of the Christian fathers. Living at the very cen- ter of the learning of his age, and residing a portion of his life at Jerusalem, when driven away from Alexandria by persecu- tion, he had every opportunity to know all 91 s^ THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the facts in regard to the sacred days of the Jews. He says : '* He, in fulfillment of the precept, keeps the Lord's Day when he abandons an evil disposition, and assumes that of the Gnostic, glorifying the Lord's resurrection in himself" (Book 7, chapter XII.) Origen, a man of great erudition, who was born A. D. 185 or 186, says : *' If it be objected to us on this subject that we our- selves are accustomed to observe certain days, as, for example, the Lord's Day, the preparation, the passover, or pentecost." (Origen against Celsus, book 8, chapter XXII.) This clearly shows that Origen observed the Lord's Day. Anatolius, Bishop of Laodicea, who was born about A. D. 230, says : **The obliga- tion of the Lord's Resurrection binds us to keep the paschal festival on the Lord's Day.*' "The solemn festival of the Res- 92 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS urrection of the Lord can be celebrated only on the Lord's Day." '* Our regard for the Lord's Resurrection which took place on the Lord's Day will lead us to celebrate it on the same principle." Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, who was born in the latter part of the third century, was a man thoroughly qualified to know all the facts about the sacred days of the Jews. He was born in Palestine, where Christ and the Apostles labored, studied at Antioch, where Paul labored for years, traveled in Egypt and Asia Minor, and bears the title of '* Father of Church His- tory," having written the first history of the Christian Church. He says on the ninety-second Psalm : *' The Word by the new covenant translated and transferred the feast of the Sabbath to the morning light and gave us the true rest, viz., the saving Lord's Day." '' On this day, which 93 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED is the first of light and of the true sun, we assemble, after an interval of six days, and celebrate holy and spiritual Sabbaths, even all nations redeemed by him throughout the world, and do those things according to the spiritual law which were decreed for the priests to do on the Sabbath." **And all things whatsoever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have trans- ferred to the Lord's Day as more honor- able than the Jewish Sabbath." This tes- timony of the "Father of Church History," who had every opportunity to know all the facts, is conclusive that Christians in his time kept the Lord's Day, and not the (Jewish) Sabbath. Petavius, who was born at Orleans, in 1583, was the most celebrated writer of the past Tridentine age. He says that *'but one Lord's Day was observed in the earliest times of the Church." 94 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS The testimony of the early Christians is expHcit and convincing that after the Resurrection the Sabbath was observed on Sunday, and this proof is strengthened by the testimony of the writings of the most celebrated men for centuries in the ancient church. We have seen that the risen Lord met with his disciples on this day, the apostles continued to observe it, and the early Christians became almost unanimous in keeping the Sabbath for rest and worship on Sunday. Sunday observ- ance has become like a mighty river pour- ing its waters through all Christian lands. To go back and observe the Sabbath on Saturday would seem like going back to Judaism ; not receiving the New Testa- ment as the Word of God ; giving up the New Testament seal of the covenant, and returning to circumcision, the ancient seal of the covenant of the righteousness by 95 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED faith ; or like offering burnt sacrifices for sins, when the crucified Christ is ''the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The Sabbath is so necessary to the wel- fare of a nation as a time for rest and worship, and the observance of the Lord's Day became so prevalent in the fourth century that laws were enacted by Con- stantine, the first Christian Emperor (321 A. D.), recognizing the observance of Sun- day as a legal duty, and enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops, were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die Solis\ with the exception of those who were engaged in agricultural pursuits. Pleasure was forbidden on the Lord's Day (die dominico), as well as busi- ness, and no spectacle was to be exhibited in a theater or circus. Should the birthday of the Emperor fall on Sunday, the cele- bration of it was to be postponed. 96 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS In the history of the Christian Church, God has manifested his presence on the Lord's Day, since the days of Pentecost, in a wonderful manner. The apostle says (Heb. 4 : 9), "There remaineth therefore a rest [cra^^aricr/xd?] to the people of God." This word translated **rest" is significant, and evidently means that in the Christian Church there is a Sabbath founded on the fact that Christ rested from his work of redemption, as the (Jewish) Sabbath was established on the fact that God rested on the seventh day from the work of creation. It must be evident, to every careful student of the Sacred Word, that this "rest" spoken of is the Christian Sabbath, which the apostle uses as a type of the eternal rest in heaven. Since the day of Pentecost, God has been witnessing by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the Lord's Day is the 7 97 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, and that worship on this holy day is well pleas- ing in his sight. He who changeth **the times and the seasons," and blotteth out sins ''when the times of refreshing shall come from the Lord," has graciously chosen this day which commemorates the Resur- rection of his Son, as the time to send out his Spirit "from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind," to cause cloven tongues like as of fire to sit upon his disciples, to fill them with the Holy Spirit, to cause them to speak with other tongues in proclaiming the Gospel to all nations under heaven, as the Spirit gave them utterance, and to blot out the sins of his people. He who ordained the Sabbath at the creation of the world, and formally pro- mulgated the law of the Sabbath on Mount Sinai amidst thunders and lightnings which made the mountain tremble, could not be 98 PRACTICE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS pleased by the substitution of another day, on which the Sabbath is observed, without his approval. He who declares that he is a jealous God, and will not give his honor to another, who has commanded that strange fire shall not be offered on his altars, and when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord caused the fire to go out to devour them, who smote Uzza so that he died, because he put forth his hand to hold the ark, such a God would not be pleased to have the Institu- tion of the Sabbath abrogated by man, and another institution set up by human authority. He who declares that *'if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book," and, "if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy 99 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED city, and from the things which are written in this book," he who instituted the Sab- bath and hallowed it, would not pour out his Spirit as a divine witness, if his chosen people, on the day of his appointment, did not seek his face, and draw nigh to the mercy seat. But for twenty centuries the heavenly dew has fallen upon worshiping assemblies on the Lord's Day, and they have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, signifying that this is the sacred day, the holy Sabbath, under all covenants, ''when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord/' at 00 CHAPTER V THE TRANSFERRED OR CHRISTIAN SABBATH ^T^HE transfer of the Sabbath from one day to another to commemorate more important historical events, and the modi- fication of the character of this Institution to suit the nature of the covenant under which it is observed, is in harmony with the general law of development found everywhere. It may reasonably be con- ceded, as indicated by science, that the Creator has evolved the material universe from fire mists, under the operation of law, as the modal expression of the divine will. In nature, this law of development has been well established. Evolution is defined as continuous progressive change, accord- lOI THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED ing to certain laws, by means of resident forces. Theistic evolution clothes the First Cause with personal characteristics as the self-conscious, intelligent Maker of all worlds, who orders all things according to the good pleasure of his will. The most plausible philosophical view of the origin of the solar system, and prob- ably of all stellar systems, is in accordance with the Nebular Hypothesis, which claims that the present solar system is the result of a process of gradual condensation and evolution from primordial chaotic gaseous materials. La Place conceived that the sun was originally surrounded by an atmos- phere, or rather that the matter of the solar system consisted originally of a nebula of very tenuous matter, that extended beyond the limits of the solar system. Condensa- tion would take place by the loss of heat through radiation, and under the cooling I02 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH and contraction of the general mass, rings would be separated and thrown off by the centrifugal force from the nebula. The matter comprising these rings would sub- sequently be aggregated around certain points, and break up into planets and sat- ellites. This hypothesis strives to lay a rational cosmogony of the solar system, and is made very plausible by many exist- ing facts, such as the elliptical orbits of all the planets and satellites, approaching very nearly to the circular form, the revo- lution of all the orbs (excepting the satel- lites of Uranus) being in the same direction around the sun, the rotation of all the orbs on their axes being in the same direction from west to east, the confinement of all the orbs in their orbits within a small dis- tance of the plane of the solar equator, and the period of the orbital and axial rev- olution of some of the satellites being the 103 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED same. Professor Joseph Le Conte affirms that there are three hundred and ninety coincidences in the solar system which are conformable to the Nebular Hypothesis. The type of evolution, as a law among living forms, is embryonic development. In the development of the ^gg the changes are continuously progressive, according to well-known laws, produced by vital forces. From the microscopic spherule of proto- plasm, living but unorganized, cell is added to cell, tissue to tissue, organism to organ- ism, and function to function, in the ascend- ing series, which becomes more complex through every stage of development. In passing up the animal scale there is also a progress, the animal body becoming more complex in structure through all the series until we reach the last form. The fossil- iferous rocks also show progress, from the dawn of life in the lowest sedimentary 104 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH rocks, where we find, as a general rule, animal and vegetable organisms in the most simple and rudimentary forms, through all the immense eras of geological history, each form as a general rule becom- ing more complex in structure, until we rise to the rocks of the present age. This law of progress is also apparent in Revelation, ''All Scripture given by inspi- ration of God " {0e67rv€vorTo<;, God-inspired) must have been composed under divine influence which flowed forth under the direction of divine wisdom, and in harmony with the divine method of working mani- fested everywhere. God revealed his Will, and disclosed his purposes to man in his Word, as his children were able to compre- hend and profit by it. There was neces- sarily a gradual unfoldment of the divine purposes adapted to the power of appre- hension of human nature under its finite 105 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED limitations. Paul fed the Corinthian Chris- tians with milk, and not with meat, for they were not able to bear it. Were the sun to come to the zenith with a single bound, the light poured forth suddenly would be overpowering and blinding. The Logos was incarnated and veiled to human view, but when this veil was partially removed in his metamorphosis, ''his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." The revelation of divine truth was gradual in type and shadows through long ages, before the Son of God brought life and immortality to light in the Gospel. The law of evolution has many phases in nature, in history, and in the communi- cation of the Divine Will. In human his- tory, evolution has had three stages, the era of physical force, the era of intellectual supremacy, and the era of spiritual power. In Revelation there has been a gradual io6 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH unfolding of divine truth, adapted to man*s capacities, and suitable to his necessities. Many persons living amidst varying cir- cumstances, at different periods, reaching over about sixteen centuries, were inspired to write the Sacred Scriptures, and the revelation was given in such elementary forms, under such varied environments, and clothed in so many garbs, that it is adapted to the whole human family under every condition of human experience. The sacred record embraces history, biography, chronicles of events, reigns of kings, accounts of battles, sojournings of patri- archs, decisions of judges, lives of proph- ets, records of marches, divine judgments and mercies, proverbs, parables and epis- tles, all teaching the same doctrine, and infused by the same spirit, but as diversi- fied as the landscape of the countries where the revelation was given. The pro- 107 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED gressive revelation of the divine will delin- eates the struggles of God's people in the earth, reveals the character of God, shows his attributes and perfections, gives a description of the appearance of angels, recounts celestial visions, the sinfulness of human conduct, rules of life, prophecies of future events, and judgments of the Lord, and contains hymns and sublime odes, sometimes entering into minute details of human life, and at other times leaping over whole generations of men, only touching those points that are signifi- cant in the onward progress of the divine kingdom. The Bible has been likened to a stream that dwindles at times to a tiny rivulet, and again broadens out into an expanse of waters like a shoreless ocean. The stream of Revelation issuing from the silence of the past eternity, courses along the shores of time, and is lost in the depths io8 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH of an eternity which may be likened to an ocean that is shoreless and fathomless. In giving a progressive revelation, God made himself known in words that were some- times spoken by inspired men as they were spiritualized and lifted to higher planes to see and utter divine things, and also by his works, in his providential dealings with his children. The economies of divine grace were also progressive from Paradise to Pentecost. In the Old Testament we have a natural time-unfoldment involving the Creation of the World, the Garden of Eden, the Fall, the Flood, the Dispersignj)f. Nations, the Call of Abraham, the Deliverance Out of Egypt, the Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the'Conquest of Palestine, the Estab- lishment of David's Kingdom, the Disper- sion of the Jews, the Captivity of Juda, 109 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED and the Return from the Babylonish Cap- tivity. ^ i In the New Testament, we have a pro- gressive time-unfolding of events, the Announcement of the Angels, the Birth \ of Christ, the wonderful Events of his I Life, his Crucifixion, Death, Burial, Resur- \ rection and Ascension, Pentecost and the Preaching of the Gospel to all nations under heaven. We have the unfolding of the Adamic Covenant, the Mosaic Dispen- sation and the New Covenant. Circum- cision, the Seal of the Covenant of Right- eousness by faith comes and goes, and Baptism becomes the Seal of the New Covenant. In olden times men saw visions, and dreamed dreams ; there was a revelation by Urim and Thummim, until the Son of God revealed more clearly the Will of God. In passing from Mosaic to Christian no THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH economy, the Sabbath would naturally be affected by the general law of evolution, and partake of the nature of the covenant under which it is observed. There is a flexibility about divine ordinances that adjusts them to the necessities of the case for the promotion of the greatest good to men. Human machinery wears itself out by friction among its parts, but the move- ments of Providence are frictionless, and as silent as the wheels of time. A machine sometimes fails to meet the necessities that arise in manufacturing and must be thrown aside, or supplemented by some other machine to carry forward the work to a higher plane, to produce greater excellence in the manufactured product. The Sab- bath, however, has a flexibility that adapts it to all exigencies that may arise in human history. The Sabbath has a vitality that endures the lapse of time, that produces m , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED an inflorescence in all climes, and bears fruit that grows more mellow as the cycles of time run their rounds. There is a flex- ibility about the Institution, and divine providence molds it to meet the necessities of man in his progressive development. The transfer of the Sabbath from one day to another enlarges its scope as a com- memorative ordinance, and the relaxation of Judaistic rigor puts it in harmony with the spirit of the Gospel. When first given, the Sabbath commem- orated the creation of the world, and it was subsequently hedged about by restric- tions adapted to a primitive people, who were in the first stages of human develop- ment. There was a strictness about the observance of the Institution under the Mosaic dispensation that disappeared under the New Covenant. The Jews could not understand how Christ should heal on 112 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH the Sabbath day, or how his disciples could walk through the fields on the Sabbath, and rub out the wheat or barley in their hands to satisfy their hunger. This strict- ness degenerated among the Jews into a micrological casuistry that made it unlaw- ful to catch a flea on the Sabbath, unless it were biting its assailant. No one could walk upon the grass, because it would be bruised — a kind of threshing ; one rabbi decided that a Jew could not move between sunrise and sunset on the Sabbath, because the Jews were forbidden to go out and gather manna on the Sabbath in the wilder- ness. Thousands of Jews suffered death rather than resist their enemies on the Sab- bath. A traveler at Safed was approached by a quarrelsome and profane Jew with the request to wind his watch on Friday even- ing, because the sun had gone down. If a man plucked a bunch of grapes after the 8 113 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED sun set on Friday, the grapes must be dropped less he carry a burden ; Jewish women could not wear jewelry, because that would be carrying a burden ; if a hen laid an ^gg on the Sabbath in the regular way, it could not be eaten ; but if the hen was being fattened for the table, the ^gg could be eaten ; Gamaliel suffered his beast of burden, that had fallen into the mire, to die because he would not remove the bur- den from his back on the Sabbath ; a radish might be dipped in salt, but it could not be left in it over the Sabbath, because that would be making a pickle ; it was unlawful to pick a fig, or even a blade of grass on the Sabbath ; it was lawful to clear away enough rubbish to ascertain if the man was dead, if a wall had fallen upon him on the Sabbath, but if life was extinct, the body must be left under the rubbish until the next day. Such casuistry reminds one of 114 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH the hair-splitting questions that were in vogue in the middle ages, when the learned doctors discussed profoundly whether the angels were happier in the forenoon, or in the afternoon. Christ declared that "the Sabbath was) made for man, and not man for the Sab-j bath" ; and Paul says, **the letter killethJ but the spirit giveth life." Under Judaistic| rigor and casuistry, the Sabbath became a part of that ''yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which," Peter said, '* neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." In freeing the Sabbath from restrictions and human perversion, Christ did not aboHsh the Institution any more than benevolence was done away when alms-givers were admonished ** not to let the left hand know what the right hand doeth" ; or prayer was forbidden when Christ rebuked the "5 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Pharisees for praying on the corners of the streets. In opposition to the Pharisaic Sabbath, we may place the Sabbath of Paris and of continental Europe, where the holy day becomes a holiday. It is estimated that sixty-two and one-half per cent, of the population of any country, on the average, can attend church. In New York City, it is estimated that twenty-five per cent, of this number attend church ; in Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, only two per cent, of this number attend church. Thousands of people never go inside of a Protestant or Catholic church except to attend a wed- ding or a funeral. In 1884, Dr. Stocker, in the German Parliament, stated that ''the large towns of Germany have a smaller number of churches in proportion to the population 116 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH than those of any other country in Chris- tendom/* In 1883, when there was a movement to open public museums in England on the Sabbath, Earl Cairns, in his speech on May 8, 1883, in the House of Lords, read the following extract from a letter written by a distinguished gentleman of Germany, which contrasts the Sabbath of Germany with that of Great Britain : '* We Ger- mans are, to a great extent, far removed from such a celebration of Sunday. The Day of Rest and of most elevated joy is too often robbed of its honor. The fore- noon of Sunday is given up to work, and the afternoon to pleasure. That which can elevate man is often despised, but that which degrades him is sought after. On Sunday the policemen reap their most abundant harvest; on Sunday children occa- sion the greatest anxiety ; on Sunday even- 117 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED ing, above all other times, does the wife anticipate the return of her husband with a foreboding heart. Drunkenness and rioting celebrate their greatest triumph on Sunday ; and most of the misdemeanors are committed on that day, or are inti- mately connected with the misuse of it. We turn, therefore, to our countrymen with the urgent request that they would, in their various spheres, endeavor to pro- cure for the Sunday a more honorable observance in our land. If the Sunday acquires a different character, the national life will rest on a surer basis." Dr. Reuen Thomas says : ** More than any other country, Germany seems to me an illustration of St. Paul's words, 'The letter killeth! Since Luther's time she seems to have been singularly destitute of what in Scripture is called * vision ' — vision as distinct from that intelligence that comes ii8 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH of mental culture. Where there is no vision the people perish. In the religious realm of things, Germany is much more of a warning than an example." Rev. E. W. Hitchcock, D.D., ex-pastor of the American Chapel in Paris, writes to Rev. William F. Crafts, author of an excel- lent work on the Sabbath, entitled **The Sabbath for Man," as follows : ** Concern- ing the present observance, or non-observ- ance, of the Sabbath in France, it may be said in general that Sunday is the French- man's hoHday, not his holy day. The fetes, 'spectacles,' concerts, operas, and theaters are made doubly attractive on that day. It is the day for the public fetes, the popular elections [when Christians must electioneer and vote, or lose their political rights], the military reviews, the races, the illumina- tions, the exhibitions, the popular gather- ings, political, socialistic, humanitarian, 119 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED artistic. The Catholic Church allows great liberty to its members. Provided they attend early mass, they may do what they please and go where they please the rest of the day. The Protestants, as a general thing, keep the day better, but they are far from being Puritanic in their ideas. They believe in * making the Sabbath a delight ' — according to their own idea of delight — and would not hesitate to walk in the pub- lic parks, visit the picture-galleries, attend concerts, receive their friends, etc. They realize, however, that Sunday is the Lord's Day as well as man's day, and that upon its observance is conditioned the moral and religious welfare of the nation." Robert McCheyne, lamenting over the Sabbath of Paris, says : **Alas ! poor Paris knows no Sabbath. All the shops are open, and all the inhabitants are on the wing in search of pleasures — pleasures I20 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH that perish in the using. I thought of Babylon and Sodom as I passed through the crowd. I cannot tell how I longed for the peace of the Scottish Sabbath." Pierre Joseph Proudhon says : *' Sunday in the towns is a day of rest without motive or end ; an occasion of display for the women and children ; of consumption in the restaurants and wine-shops ; of degrad- ing idleness ; of surfeit and debauchery. The workmen make merr}^ the grisettes dance, the soldier tipples, the tradesman alone is busy." The Abbe Gaume, a Catholic authority, deplores the laxity of the French Sunday : ''Where now do these men, women and children, free now as to their time, resort? Ask the theaters, the taverns, the places of debauchery. The tables of surfeit and excess have with them displaced the holy table ; licentious songs are their sacred 121 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED hymns ; the theater is their church ; dances and shows engage them, instead of instruc- tion and prayer. Thus by a disorder which cries for vengeance to Heaven, the Holy Day is the day of the week most profaned." In 1884, Robert Collyer, the well-known Unitarian clergyman, wrote the New York Tribune as follows : '* I remember when in Paris in 1865, counting /or fy different kinds of workingmen busy at their tasks as I walked on Sunday morning from my hotel to a church not far away. I wondered where that would end, and saw the end in 1 87 1 in the fires that had been kindled by the Commune." Somewhere between these extremes, between the rigor of the Sabbath of Juda- ism and the laxity of the Paris Sabbath, lies the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord's Day. It is the (Jewish) Sabbath trans- ferred to the first day of the week, liberated 122 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH from the severities of the Old Covenant, mellowed under the Covenant of Grace, and vitalized to subserve the necessities of the children of the King, who breathe for immortality. The Moral Law, of which the Sabbath is an integral part, touches every point of human nature. The first commandment is God's statute in regard to monotheism ; the second in regard to idolatry, for there can be no counterfeits in the Divine King- dom ; the third in regard to profanity ; the fourth in regard to time ; the fifth in regard to the family ; the sixth in regard to life ; the seventh in regard to moral purity ; the eighth in regard to property ; the ninth in regard to truth ; and the tenth in regard to covetousness. The New Commandment given by the Lord is supplemental, and may be termed the Fountain of Brotherly Love, that burst forth among the disciples 123 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED after his Resurrection. If these principles are incorporated in our Hves, all of our relations towards God and man are fulfilled and we find the Law of the Lord is per- fect. As a part of the Decalogue, the Fourth Commandment, which treats of human duty in relation to time, is as neces- sary and binding and sacred as any other commandment, and no man can be perfect without remembering the Sabbath to keep it holy, under all covenants, as long as the cycles of time shall run their rounds. To do this intelligently, to understand the Moral Law, every commandment of which is binding upon Christians in all times and places, it is vital for the followers of Christ to know that the Sabbath has been trans- ferred from Saturday to Sunday, and also to learn what modifications the Sabbath has undergone in passing from one econ- omy to another. 124 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH The Transferred Sabbath is a day of rest, but not a day of idleness and sleep. The Fourth Commandment has an outer and an inner aspect, a twofold relation to man. The outer law of the Sabbath is to abstain from ordinary daily labor ; the inner law of the Sabbath is to keep the day holy. On the Sabbath the soul should be actively engaged in pursuit of those things that pertain to the spiritual life. Holiness in the Bible is absolute freedom \ from evil, and all defects of character, j absolute perfection of life in its higher relation to God and man. Under the Old Testament, holiness seems to start at the surface and penetrate inwards towards the heart, which gives ceremonial observance a more prominent place in the salvation of man. In the New Testament, under the quickening influences of the Holy Spirit, holiness in man is represented as 125 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Starting at the center of man's being, and working outward towards his acts and words. The Christian graces find a lodg- ment in the heart, and flow out in a stream of reverence towards God and benevolence towards man. To keep the Sabbath holy is not merely a negative condition of abstaining from ordinary labor, and from moral evil, but also an active condition of soul which flows out in acts of reverence and benevolence. Holiness, moral per- fection of character, implies moral activity or worship, and charitable deeds. To keep the Sabbath holy implies an active condition of the spiritual powers of man, in performing those religious observances which put a man in touch with divine things, and in an overflow of soul towards God the Giver of all good. We might as appropriately speak of a perfect fountain, out of which flowed no water, as of a per- 126 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH feet heart that did not flow out in love and reverence towards God. The first covenant contained promises that pertained mainly to the present life, such as possessing the Promised Land, the increase of numbers, of seed time and harvest, of national privileges, of extraor- dinary prosperity, including germinally the promise of eternal life. In the New Covenant, spiritual blessings are promised as the principal thing. The soul is directed to heaven, the heart is cheered with the hope of immortal life and the favor of God, and the gate of heaven is plainly opened for all believers. As the New Covenant in its requirements is more spiritual than the Old Covenant, the observance of the Transferred Sabbath should be more spiritual. The Sabbath is not a day for travel in the ordinary accep- tation of the term. It should not be given 127 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED up to amusements and pleasure-seeking. Hunting, fishing, pleasure excursions, social parties, light reading and worldly conversation should be discarded. A per- son can take a walk on Sunday afternoon, if he will take a Sabbath walk. Christ and his disciples walked through the cornfields on the Sabbath, and two disciples walked to Emmaus on the Sabtath, and Jesus drew near and went with them, and expounded the Scriptures to them, and opened their understanding of sacred things. Nature is the Universal Temple erected and dedicated for worship in all lands, and wherever two or three worshipers, under the blue vault of heaven, bow their heads in true reverence to the Father of All, the Incarnated One has promised to be in the midst of them. Every cloister of this Temple, wherever devout souls retire for 128 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH meditation and prayer, is filled with the Omnipresent One, and his ear is ever attentive to all that lisp his praise. In these sacred courts are visible manifesta- tions of his power and wisdom, his good- ness and beauty, that are fitted to awaken reverence in all thoughtful souls. How the contemplative mind is awed into silence by the majesty and power of Him who hath heaved the mountains and poured the ocean. How the spirits of the sons of toil, weary of the battle of life, are soothed by the cadence of waterfalls, the sighing of the winds among the forests, the moan- ing of the ocean, the murmur of insects and the songs of birds. In the round of the seasons there are manifest and varied tokens of the presence of Him who goes forth at the appointed season to clothe the forest with leaves, to spread the green car- pets of the fields, to ornament them with 9 129 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED flowers, to cause the earth to bring forth abundantly the golden harvests, to load the orchards with fruits, and to spread in its season the white mantle of snow over hill and dale, as if to cover up and hide from view all the imperfections of the year. Every expanding leaf bespeaks his wisdom and power, and every wave-washed pebble at our feet shows his providential care. Undevout must be the soul that cannot worship in the Universal Temple, so full of the divine presence, on the Transferred Sabbath which brings to us all the sweet- ness and beauty and gladness of earth, since the morning stars sang together, and the Lord of Life burst the bars of death and came forth from the sepul^laer, the pledge of immortality. All the various offices of religion should be performed on the Christian Sabbath. This day is specially sei apart for men to 130 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH enter the house of God, and to engage in pubHc worship. In the olden time, good men whose hearts were stirred with relig- ious fervor, entered the sanctuary to pay their vows and worship God. On this sacred day they read from the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, in the Syna- gogue. In the assembly of his saints they praised Him for his mighty acts and uttered abundantly the memory of his goodness. The psalmist esteemed a day in his courts better than a thousand, and they went on from strength to strength, every one appearing before God. The tabernacles of God were amiable to them, and the Lord gave them grace and glory. The psalmist said he would rather be a door- keeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. So delightful was the sanctuary that even the swallow was envied that found a nesting near the 131 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED sacred place, where she might lay her young. The psalmist declared that his "soul longed, yea, even fainted for the courts of the Lord ; his heart and his flesh cried out for the living God." The Lord was a sun to shine upon them, and a shield to give them protection. In passing through the vale of tears they made it a spring, even their tears were converted into a blessed fountain. The Sabbath was a delight to them, the holy and honorable of the Lord. Under the New Covenant, the disciples continued in fellowship, in prayer and in breaking bread every Sabbath Day. "When ye come together," the apostle says, " every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revela- tion, hath an interpretation." And thus in the sanctuary, on the Sabbath Day, the word of God dwelt in them in all wisdom, 132 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATIT and they taught and admonished one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with grace in their hearts. They prophesied, spoke with other tongues, taught the Scriptures, collected alms for the needy saints, took hold on God's covenant, and kept the Sabbath from polluting it. The education of children involves their government and instruction, and their instruction in divine things finds its appro- priate time largely on the Sabbath Day. The apostle says: ''Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath : but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." These are the olive plants around our hearthstones that need the most tender care. Under spiritual guidance, '' our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth ; and our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace." In the family is the fountain of life that THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED pours forth waters sweet or bitter. As the prophet cast a branch into the bitter waters of Marah to sweeten them, so the grace of God can sweeten this fountain of Hfe. The sacred and appropriate time for the instruction of children in divine things is the Sabbath Day, when everything con- spires to foster and make this work effect- ive. Youth is the precious time when the seeds of divine truth germinate quickly in tender hearts, and grow luxuriously with April showers. The lambs of the fold should be taken to the Great Shepherd, who will fold them in his arms and carry them in his bosom. We should never for- get the blessed words : ** Suffer little chil- dren to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The wise man has said with more than earthly wisdom : ''Train up a child in the way he should go ; and when he is old he 134 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH will not depart from it." This saying will be found strictly true when Christian par- ents form moral character in their children under wise training with parental love and care. Sooner will the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots, than will a child lose his moral character when once it is properly formed within him. A child may lose his Hfe ; but he seldom loses Christian character. Character perpetuates itself, and is the most enduring thing with- in the realm of time and space. The worlds shall be dissolved, but character shall endure forevermore. Some one has said : " Better turn a wolf loose into the street, than to send out a child into the world that is not a subject of divine grace." What a fountain of blessings to send out a son who becomes a Paul, a Wesley, or a Moody. When the Sabbath comes, there is a sol- , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED emn pause in the ordinary vocations of life, and a holy light breaks over the house- hold that seems in a Christian family to be very sweet and refreshing. When the family gather for morning prayers, it seems as if some of the heavenly dew had dis- tilled upon the earth. The word of God instructs and refreshes the weary soul, and the children are taught to hymn his praise. Gracious influences steal into tender hearts as children study the words and works of God. The family altar is a sacred place where holy fire burns with a flame that consumes unholy thoughts and sinful desires. Personified wisdom has said : ** I love them that love me ; and those that seek me early shall find me." The young have received public religious instruction, more or less, from very early times. In patriarchal days, this instruction was given in the family, and the father was 136 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH the teacher and priest. From Samuel to Elijah, there were schools of the prophets. Jehoshaphat sent out a royal commissioner to reestablish religious instruction, and there was a similar movement in the days of Josiah. Ezra gathered together the people with the children during the feast of tabernacles, and read the laws of Moses to them, and the people wept while he instructed them in righteousness. The Mishna says: '*At five years of age let children begin the Scripture, at ten the Mishna, and at thirteen let them be sub- jects of the law." When we are told that " Paul was brought up at the feet of Gam- aliel," it implies the posture assumed by Jewish youth while they received instruc- tion. The catechetical classes were in- tended to prepare new converts to become members of synagogues. Robert Raikes may justly be considered 137 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED as the founder of modern Sabbath-schools. As millions of children study the Bible in Sabbath-schools, what a wave of light like the light of the sun encircles the earth on the Transferred Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day that is appropriate for performing works of necessity, and works of mercy. The law of necessity should not receive too liberal an interpre- tation, but the demands of intelligent free moral agents widen with their progressive development. Under the old economy the restriction of a Sabbath Day's journey did not subtract from the religious freedom or usefulness of a Jew. But in these days of quick transit such a restriction would ser- iously cripple active and faithful workers in many a missionary field. Missionaries at home and abroad are sometimes com- pelled to serve on the same Sabbath sev- eral churches widely separated to carry the 138 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH Gospel to hungry souls. Time and space under the liberty of the New Covenant are not fetters to hinder one from serving the Master. The apostle says: "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." The Transferred Sabbath is a day of Christian liberty on which Christians should worship and serve the risen Lord. Works of mercy however should receive a liberal interpretation, for Christ delighted in heal- ing and showing mercy to his children on the Sabbath Day, and they should imitate their Lord and Master. No limits have ever been established under any covenant to the works of love and mercy on the Sabbath Day. The visitation of the sick and needy is appropriate for the Sabbath Day, if we carry to them something that makes them better in body and in soul. Thrice precious are those gifts that also enrich the soul. 139 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED From the earliest times, under all cove- nants, the Sabbath has been the time di- vinely appointed for the children of God to receive spiritual blessings. It is the day designated by Jehovah for holy convoca- tions. On this day the cloud of the divine presence rests upon the sanctuary. It is the day when God has promised to be gra- cious, to send forth His holy spirit, and forgive the sins of His people. It is the divinely appointed day of salvation. On this day from the sacred oracles, from the ordinances and sacraments, from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and from the presence of the Redeemer, believers have derived more spiritual life than from all the other days of the week. This day was specially blessed during the tabernacle and temple service. Nehemiah saw some treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, bringing sheaves, and engaged in other 140 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH usual vocations, and he testified against them. Men of Tyre also brought fish and ware and sold them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, and Nehemiah contended with the nobles of Judah in regard to it. On the day of Pentecost, the Transferred Sabbath, the Holy Spirit was poured out without measure, and three thousand were converted and added to the church. On the Sabbath Day we have the promise of the continued outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Christ taught on the Sabbath in the synagogue and in the temple, and the inspired apostles imitated the example of their Lord and Master. God has promised special rewards to those who keep the Sabbath. The Great Prophet has said: ''Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it ; that keepeth the Sab- bath from polluting it, and keepeth his 141 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED hand from doing any evil." ''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 keepth the Sabbath from pollut- ing it, and taketh hold of my covenant. Even them will I bring to my holy mount- ain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer : their burnt-offerings and their sac- rifices shall be accepted upon mine altar ; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." "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, honorable ; and shalt honor 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 142 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'* The blessing of God has been too evident, long-continued and uniform to doubt that the Sabbath is the favorable time for receiving the richest blessings of divine grace that descend on holy convo- cations. On this day millions have been born into the kingdom of God, and made joyful in his house. If this holy day should be neglected, the temples of God would be deserted in the world, the good news of salvation would not be proclaimed to men, religion would decay, and morals fade away, the progress of civilization would be stayed, mankind would degenerate into ignorance and crime, and moral darkness would brood over the world. If man's relation to time for his higher development should cease, his relation to space as a 143 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED self-conscious, free moral agent would be worthless, and he would soon cease to be the crown and glory of this lower world. In a most important sense the Trans- ferred Sabbath is the River of God that is full of water, for the waters of other rivers fail. This mighty, ever-flowing river finds its springs near the sources of time, and flows continuously through the wilderness of this world washing all lands. It flows from beneath the divine throne, and bears on its bosom into this lower world the most precious gifts of God. Its mighty increasing current sweeps on towards those golden days seen in visions by the prophets of old, of the New Heavens and New Earth, when *' the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.'* **In those days shall the right- eous flourish" and "the mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills 144 THE TRANSFERRED SABBATH by righteousness." The Great Prophet, in speaking of those days, says: ''Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." The Transferred Sabbath is the Evangel of Peace to all people, for the time will come when all nations shall remember it to keep it holy, and their men " shall learn war no more " but " they shall beat their swords into plow- shares, and their spears into pruning- hooks/' xo J4S CHAPTER VI SABBATARIANISM FOUNDED ON A FALSE TRANSLATION pRIOR to the publication of the first edition of the Monograph, entitled The Sabbath Transferred, the author entered into a long correspondence with leading professors of Greek in this country, in reference to the correct interpretation of Matt. 28 : 1, and parallel passages of Scrip- ture. He found, among the best Greek scholars, a consensus of opinion that the rendering adopted in this Monograph does not violate any principles of the Greek language, and the translation of the Greek words is without doubt the natural one. Distrusting his own opinion, he visited and consulted professors of Greek, and 146 SABBA TARIANISM considered the question a long time before he adopted the rendering which is just what might be expected by the Transfer of the Sabbath. The Transfer of the Sabbath may be considered firmly established, even with- out the philological argument, for it rests on many supports, and has been accepted and adopted by a multitude of distin- guished men, such as Eusebius, Alcuin, Martin Luther, Philip Schaff, and in the present day by well-known men, such as Dr. F. N. Peloubet, Dr. Richard Cordley, the "Nugget Preacher," Dr. Henry Hop- kins, Dr. A. D. Madeira, Rev. D. D. Munro, Dr. J. T. Dickinson, Dr. V. Le Roy Lockwood, Dr. Henry Spellmeyer, Dr. F. E. Sturges, Dr. George W. Clark, the Commentator, Bishop C. C. McCabe, Bishop W. X. Ninde, Dr. John F. Patter- son, and a multitude of others, 147 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED If the Sabbath as an Institution was transferred under Divine Providence at the Resurrection, we should naturally ex- pect to find some mention of the fact in the New Testament at the time of the Transfer. Accepting this rendering, the New Testament recognizes the Transfer of the Sabbath at the Resurrection in all the Gospels, and twice in the Gospel of John, twice in the Acts, in i Corinthi- ans, and in Colossians. The Transfer is also plainly recognized in Revelation by r\ KvpiaKTf Tfpiepa (Rev. I : lo), where an additional name is given to the Sabbath derived from the fact of the Transfer. Matthew gives a vivid historical picture of the Transfer at the moment of the Resur- rection, speaking of the Sabbath before the Resurrection as being observed on Saturday, and after the Resurrection as being observed on Sunday. 148 SABBA TARIANISM Secular days are simply segments of the week, time-measures, or time-names, for the revolution of the earth on its axis. Time is represented by a flowing stream, for we speak of the ''stream of time." Time is naturally articulated and related to the movements of the heavenly bodies, for they all move in time and space. As the members of the solar system in moving in their orbits cut off space, so their move- ments cut off time, or take place accord- ing to time-measures. Secular days and weeks and months and years are natural divisions of time articulated and measured by the movements of members of the solar system. When the Creator, on the fourth period of creation, said, " Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven," and let them be for seasons and for days and years, geologists tell us the created worlds in motion became visible, and 149 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED articulated time in secular days and weeks and months and years ; but the Sabbath had not been instituted. The Sabbath, a complete day, idealized as an element of time, was set apart as an Institution for men for rest, and hallowed for worship. It came in at the end of creation by ap- pointment differing in character from an astronomical day, the ideal or holy day to be substituted for the astronomical day in a septenary order. Christ says: "The Sabbath was made for man." It is not the time-name or time-measure of the movement of any member of the solar system, although for obvious reasons it is equal in length to a secular day. The Sabbath came by divine appointment for rest and worship for man at the end of creation, as an appointment is made for some church service, only the Sabbath was a divine appointment, or Institution, 150 SABBA TARIANISM after the secular days had run for ages. This fact is recognized in the Fourth Commandment, where we are told "to remember the day of the Sabbath," making grammatically the word limiting and the word limited different in meaning. If the Sabbath and the day on which the Sab- bath is observed are the same, the Fourth Commandment would mean, remember the day of the day, which would be tautol- ogy. When God blessed the seventh day (Gen. 2:3) He blessed 07ie day in seven, and did not bless Saturday, a fact which any Hebrew scholar can ascertain by ex- amining the passage in the original. When astronomers observe a planet at different times, and find it at different points of the heavens, they say the planet has moved in its 07- bit. When we find the Sabbath under different dispensations observed by Christ and his Apostles on 151 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED different secular days, we infer that the Institution must have been transferred from one secular day to another. The Transfer of the Sabbath derives its proofs from many sources, such as philosophy, theology, evolution, prophecy, the exam- ple of Christ, the example of the inspired Apostles, the practice of early Christians who lived near the time of Christ and the Apostles, and from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Christian Sabbath for nineteen centuries. Aside from the philo- logical argument, there is superabundant evidence of the Transfer of the Sabbath at the Resurrection ; still, if the rendering of Matt. 28:1, and parallel passages, adopted in this Monograph, is correct, it is decisive, and settles the question for multitudes who do not have the opportu- nity or requisite training to investigate widely and deeply from original sources. 152 SABBA TARIANISM Since the first edition of the Mono- graph was published the author has made a special study of this subject, with par- ticular reference to the underlying philo- logical and historical arguments, availing himself of all sources of information within his power. At different times he has pur- posely lived near the great libraries of Boston, Washington, and New York, and has held full and free conversation with learned men who are familiar with many languages, both ancient and modern, and with Greek and Hebrew professors who make interpretation the work of their lives. He has endeavored to read every book ever published on the Sabbath. As a result of such careful, long-continued, and critical study, he finds that the rendering adopted in The Sabbath Transferred is not only permissible, but it seems to him to be the only rendering possible con- ^53 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED sistent with the principles of language, the laws of thought, and the facts of his- tory. It is the purpose of this chapter to show the bottom facts of this subject, and to make the matter so plain that no one who has eyes to see can fail to perceive it. In order that no injustice may be done to the claims of the Sabbatarians, their position will be given in the very words of one of their leaders, who, in reviewing The Sabbath Transferred^ used the following language : " It is not necessary to go over the whole field of Dr. Parker's claims, since they all center in the translation he makes of this one phrase (ez? }j.iav cra/SfiocTGDv). In the discussion of the phrase he indicates great lack of scholarship in that he makes no effort to show how the phrase originated or what idea it attempts to carry in reproducing a certain Hebrew idiom. A little investigation would have shown him that the Greek phrase which is translated " first day of the week " in the New Testament is a reproduction of a Hebrew phrase coined to express the conception which the 154 SABBA TARIANISM Hebrews had of the Sabbath and its relation to the week. That conception made the days of the week lying between the Sabbaths to be possessed by the Sabbath. Starting at the beginning of the week they numbered each day as belonging to the Sabbaths. For example, Echad ba Shabbaih is day one of the Sabbaths ; Sheni ba Shabbath day two of the Sabbaths, etc. This conception shows the week as created by the Sabbath, and since each week lies between two Sabbaths, we have the phrase coined to express a beautiful and important idea. When the Greek sought to reproduce this idea it used the genitive plural as the best method of expressing the idea of possession, out of which the Hebrew idiom was coined. We have there- fore a phrase, whether in the Hebrew or in "the Greek, deep as to meaning, logical and beautiful as to rhetorical structure. The translators of the New Testament caught this thought and gave the correct translation, " first day of the week." No effort to translate the phrase is worthy the claim of original investigation which does not go back to the Hebrew idiom and to the thought it embodies. Dr. Parker either did not know this, or he carefully avoided all reference to it, lest it should overthrow the superficial interpretation on which his book is based." [Dr. A. H. Lewis, in The Sabbath Re- corder, April i6, 1900.] 155 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED If the statement in this paragraph were true, it would not disprove the Transfer of the Sabbath at the Resurrection, for the evidences of the Transfer are drawn from many sources, but it would take away the proof furnished by Matt. 28 : i, and par- allel passages. But unfortunately for the Seventh Day theory, as will be seen in the unfolding of the argument of this chapter, this paragraph from TJie Sabbath Recorder has only a glimmer of truth in it, except the statement that the phrase ezV }xiav (japparoDv, if translated correctly in the Monograph, is decisive. It is apparent that the phrase eiz jxiav (TafSparoDVy found in Matt. 28 : i, was ren- dered '* toward the first day of the week," because King James' translators thought they saw an analogy in the name of the first day of the week, as given in the first chapter of Genesis, in the Hebrew Bible. 156 SABBA TARIANISM The statement of Dr. A. H. Lewis, in The Sabbath Recorder, as quoted above, that this peculiar construction of language was extended to the other days of the week is without the slightest foundation in fact. The adjectives limiting all the days of the week in the first chapter of Gen- esis except the first are accepted ordinals, differing in form from the correspond- ing cardinals, and no real Hebrew scholar ever disputed it. No analogy for trans- lating Matt. 28 : I as ''the first day of the week " can be founded on these other days of the week, for the question touches only the first day, for the word in Matt. 28 : i is one of the forms of eL' i^^ia). If Doc- tor Lewis knows anything of the Hebrew language, and possesses a Hebrew Bible, let him take a look at it. Now, if it can be shown beyond a shadov/ of doubt that the alleged analogy rests on a false render- 157 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED ing, it must be evident that the reason for translating the phrase, "the first day of the week," disappears, and the natural ren- dering of the words '* toward one of the Sabbaths " must be adopted. It is claimed that the analogy is based upon the translation of "ini^ ni^ (Gen. i : 5). King James' translators rendered this cor- rectly "the first day," and Luther in his Bible renders it " erste Tag!' as an ordinal adjective, but many philologists seem to have thought that the word "ini5< is a car- dinal numeral adjective, and, therefore, have rendered it " day one." In this case the cardinal adjective and ordinal adjective in Hebrew have the same form, in^, so it was easy to mistake one for the other. As all the other numeral adjectives desig- nating the periods of creation are ordinals, and as numbering a series would require this usage, it is natural to suppose that 158 SABBA TARIANISM this is also an ordinal adjective, as King James' translators rendered it. The author of Genesis was giving the orderly sequence of the periods of creation, and tells us what transpired in each period. Now, to tell us that certain events occurred on " day one " is indefinite, and contrary to his purpose of giving an orderly sequence of the periods of creation. All events that occur within the limited time, whether it be the first or sixth day, transpire on '' one day." " One day " might be any day of the week, but the *' first day " of the week indicates and determines the order of sequence. It seems to lower the plane of inspiration to accept the sugges- tion of a certain Hebraist that the author of Genesis, being gratified that a full day was completed, called it '' one day," or of another writer that there was no succes- sion of days till after the second day 159 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED began, and he did not venture to use the ordinal adjective until the second day began. In describing the events that transpired during each of the other five periods the author uses the ordinal adjec- tive for each period, as seen at a glance in the Hebrew Bible. As the author of Genesis was describing creative acts, wit- nessed by no man on earth, and as he gives a cosmogony that agrees in sub- stance with geology whose facts became known at a much later period, he must have been on the highest plane of inspira- tion, and would not employ a wrong adjective, on the principle that the greater includes the less. It is more natural to suppose that the Seventy uninspired trans- lators of the Septuagint mistook the two adjectives, which are identical in form, the same form being used as a cardinal and an ordinal, employing one for the other. 1 60 SABBA TARIANISM When the same form in^ is used both as a cardinal and an ordinal numeral adjective, how easy it would be to mistake one for the other ! Hebrew scholars seem to differ in opinion in regard to "ini?;? grammatically. Some regard it as originally a cardinal nu- meral adjective, but say it came to be used as an ordinal. Professor Gottheil, the accomplished professor of Oriental lan- guages in Columbia University, who has studied at three German universities, and is familiar with Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages, says that "in^ was primarily an ordinal numeral ad- jective, although it was often used as a cardinal adjective. All Hebrew scholars agree that the same form was used both as an ordinal and a cardinal. Philologists tell us that in early ages words were not used with as much precision as in modern i6i THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED times, and quite frequently words grew to have other meanings, and passed over the class limits to become another part of speech. Originally there was but one lan- guage, for " the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech " (Gen. 1 1 : i), and growth must account for the more than one thousand languages spoken on the globe. Growth has also caused thousands of dialects that differ to some extent, still have some resemblances. In Hebrew there is another word, ]1ti^^"l, meaning first. If the creation had not been an evolution, commencing with the lowest forms in the vegetable king- dom, like the /j^^^^'^i-, and developed into higher forms of life, under the laws of Evo- lution, until man, the crown of creation, came into being, this word would naturally have been used. But l^tr^xn not only sig- nifies the first in time (the word needed to 162 SABBA TARIANISM indicate the order of sequence of the pe- riods of creation), but the first in impor- tance, being derived from tr^x'l, meaning head, and, therefore, would not be appro- priate as limiting the first period of crea- tion. As the word sometimes means head, highest, chief, it could not properly be used as limiting the first period of creation, and therefore the author of Genesis evidently used in^. One peculiarity is noticeable in the He- brew numeral adjectives. The ordinals from two to ten are derived from the car- dinals and resemble them very much in form, as if they were closely related. The cardinal int;?, however, has no derivable ordinal, but the form of the cardinal and ordinal is identical. To say that "in^? is a cardinal, but is used as an ordinal, vio- lates a rule in grammar, for a word is always classified grammatically according to its 163 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED use. To translate "ini;^ as a cardinal when analogy and the laws of thought require it to be an ordinal is a blunder pure and simple. While the second edition of The Sab- bath Transferred was in course of prep- aration, the author wrote to Dr. G. W. Clark, the learned author of The People s Commentary y in regard to the use of this word, and he replied, saying that ''intj is in Hebrew a cardinal, but is used as an ordinal in designating the first day of the month. The fact is the cardinal number * one ' is used in commencing a series, or in naming a day, or a year, as though it were an ordinal yfr^/. In many places it is really equivalent to the first day, and I think can be so translated." In designating the pe- riods of creation, in the first chapter of Genesis, the Seventy called them i^^Aspa /Aia {Ttpwt)^?), t}).iepa devrepa^ yixipa rpirrj, 164 SABBA TARIANISM Tfjjiipa Teraftrrjy rff-iepa 7tB}X7irr], r/piipa eKtrj. Putting these Greek words into their equivalents in Latin, as found in the Vul- gate (as the Latin words are more familiar to the ordinary reader), we have dies umis (^pri7nus .^), dies secunduSy dies lertius, dies qtiartus, dies qtdntus, dies sextus. Any one who can read Caesar's Commentaries can see that the Seventy committed an error in translating irit>* by ///«, whose equiv- alent is tinus. What man in his right senses would say one, second, third, etc., what Latin scholar would say unus, secun- dus, tertius, etc., or what Greek scholar would say jxia, devrapa, rpirrjy etc. ? The Seventy were good and learned men, but they made some mistakes. The Bible Dic- tionary says: ''The version [of the Sep- tuagint] is faithful in substance as a whole, but contains many errors." On this false rendering. King James' translators of 165 ,THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the Bible thought that they discovered an analogy which authorized them to trans- late ez's ^iav aafSftaraDv (Matt. 28 : l), *' toward the first day of the week." This blunder in translation seems to be com- paratively harmless in Genesis, but when it comes over as a supposed analogy into the New Testament, it does violence to the Lord of the Sabbath, and tends to rob him of one of his most precious jewels. Some linguists claim that crapparGoy, occurring in Matt. 28 : i, is the plural form used for the singular. In that case they tell us we could not translate the phrase "one of the Sabbaths." Should this be granted, we could still translate it one day of the Sabbath, and find a parallel usage in the Septuagint, in Exodus 20 : 8, fjivtia^rfti rrfv rfjAspav r^v (Ta/S^arGov ayia- ^eiv avrrfv. One eminent linguist seems to be un- 166 SABBA TARIANISM necessarily timid. In the ultimate settle- ment of philological questions, he fears the new rendering of Matt. 28 : i, " toward one of the Sabbaths," will not be accord- ing to the final verdict of philologists, and there will be a reaction in public opinion against the Christian Sabbath. How can a "reaction" follow the correction of a false translation ? This reminds one of an incident in pioneer life in the far West. It is reported that a hunter who lived on game exclusively at last bought a rifle and discarded his traps, but he was so fear- ful that the gun would kick that he never dare discharge it. All kinds of game lost their timidity and came close to his little cabin, and sometimes a deer would stop and look into the open door, but the hunter dare not shoot, and actually starved to death for fear of the reaction of the gun should he discharge it. It is by discussion, 16/ THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED action and reaction, that most human questions are settled and the truth ulti- mately advanced. Nothing is gained by- perpetuating venerable errors. This false translation in the Septuagint leads Dr. A. H. Lewis to call the word, which evidently is falsely translated, a " Hebrew idiom," and says it was " coined to express a beautiful and important idea," and immediately adds that "• when the Greek sought to reproduce this idea it used the genitive plural! " How a man wear- ing a sacred title after his name could utter almost in the same breath two such false statements, one false in philology and the other false in history (as will be shown in the further development of this argument), passes comprehension. One might suppose that in his meditations he would sometimes think of the fate of Ananias. i68 SA BDA TA RIA mSM Thus it is clearly seen that the render- ing of the phrase ezs ^iav aafSparoov (Matt. 28 : i) as the first day of the week is incorrect, because it is based on a sup- posed analogy in the Hebrew that rests on a false translation in the Septuagint. The following testimonials from distin- guished Hebrew scholars are appended to this argument for the benefit of many per- sons who are not familiar with the original languages of the Bible, and who rely more on the testimony of eminent linguists than upon philological proofs to arrive at the truth. From Prof. Richard Gottheil, LL.D., of Columbia University, New York : " The word used in Genesis i : 5 for the first is very often used as a cardinal, though it is, primarily, an ordinal number. This is especially true when it is used to 169 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED designate the days of the month. There, therefore, can be no doubt that it is used as an ordinal in the passage in question." From Dr. Edward E. Braithwaite, Profes- sor of Hebrew in Oberlin Theological Seminary : ''Replying to yours of March 4th, I would say that I have been accustomed to accept the explanation of Gesenius as to the use of nnh? in Gen. i 15. This is, that the meaning ^r^^ is derived from the con- text." From Prof. Robert M. Rogers, Ph.D., D.D., of Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, N. J.: « "iHiJ is originally a cardinal, but it is used in certain places as an ordinal, numbering the days of the month ; but it is not so used for numbering the months, 170 SABBA TARIANISM Jity'XI taking its place. I regard it as an ordinal in Gen. i 15, 2 : ii, etc., but the meaning of first is derived solely from the context." From Prof. C. M. Shepard, of the Gen- eral Theological Seminary, New York City: *' I think that T\% in Gen. 1:5, is used as an ordinal without doubt, though the only proof of it is in the context." . . . From Prof. F. B. Denio, D.D., of Bangor Theological Seminary : " Yours of a recent date relative to the use of "int$ has reached me. As you say, the remaining adjectives in that chap- ter (Gen. i,) are ordinals where the context is the same. Further, Brown's Hebrew Lexicon, now publishing by the Oxford University Press, shows that there 171 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED are several other places where "in^?. is used in the ordinal sense. I see no reason why in Gen. i : 5 we should not treat it as an ordinal." It must be evident that if the received translation of Matt. 28 : i rests on a sup- posed analogy based on a false translation, the alleged analogy has no foundation in fact, and must be given up, for the ac- cepted rendering is incorrect. The trans- lation of the phrase eh }xiav aa/S^araov (Matt. 28 : i), '' toward the first day of the week," must, therefore, be rejected and the natural meaning of the words, toward one of the Sabbaths, must be received. It must be evident to all unprejudiced persons familiar with Greek and Hebrew, that this philological argument is conclusive, and nothing need be added to it to strengthen it. The argument stands as an impreg- nable rock in the ocean, and the tumultu- 172 SABBA TARIANISM ous waves of Sabbatarianism beat upon it in vain. There are other reasons, however, why the statements in The Sabbath Recorder already quoted are utterly groundless. As further proof of this it may be added that the Greeks did not derive their septenary division of time from the Hebrews, but from Egypt. The ancient Greeks divided the month into three periods of ten days each. The following statement from Dr. W. S. B. Woolhouse, author of Meas- tires and Weights for All Natio7is, ought to be sufficient proof of this fact. He says : " The [ancient] Greeks divided the month into decades, or periods, of ten days each, which was imitated by the French in their unsuccessful attempt to introduce a new calendar in the Revolu- tion." — Encyclopcsdia Brztannzca, vol. 4, page 590. 173 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED It is also a well-known fact that the modern Greeks derived their septenary division of time from Egypt, and not from the Hebrews. This fact is stated by *' Dion Cassius, who wrote in the second century, and speaks of it [week] as both universal and recent in his time. He rep- resents it as coming from Egypt." — Mc- Clintock and Strongs Cyclopcedia^ vol. 12, page 897. Again, the very names of the days of the week, given at the close of this chap- ter, are sufficient proof to show that the Greeks did not derive the name of the days of the week from the Hebrews. If a man can discover any analogy between "inij cv and tf KvpiaKrj rj^spa, OX between ^'^^n c1^ and v TtapaaKvrf^ he must have an unusual power for discovering verbal rela- tionships. We have also abundant evidence in the 174 SABBA TARIANISM Greek language that the Greeks used the ordinal numeral adjectives in designating the first day of the week, as seen in the following examples : Avacrxocz dh npooi Ttpoorri aafiftatov, Mark i6: 9. Tij de Ttpaotfj rcov aQvpiGov. Matt. 26:17. Kai rrj Ttpaorrj VM^P^ '^^'^ a^vpiGJV. Mark 14: 12. Atto TtpGotrjS 1^/AepaS a(p 7/5" enijSrjy ezS" rrjv ^Aaiav. Acts 20 : 18. Atto TrpGorrjZ rjjxepaz o^XP^ '^oi5 vvv. Phil, i : 5. Thus we have four substantial reasons, each of which would be sufficient, to prove that the analogy which some have tried to find in this case does not exist, or would not have been applied. The rea- sons stated briefly are as follows : 1. The supposed analogy is evidently based on a false translation. 2. The Greeks did not derive their sep- tenary division of time from the Hebrews. 17s THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED 3. The words employed to designate the days of the week in the Hebrew and the Greek languages do not show sufficient resemblance to prove derivation. 4. The Greeks in designating the first day of the week employed the word npwroz. In reading such a paragraph as is taken from The Sabbath Recorder, one is re- minded of an incident in French lex- icography. It is said that the French lexicographers, who probably had not made a special study of Natural History, framed the definition of a crab as follows : " Crab — A small red fish that walks backward." When they had completed the definition they submitted it for correction to Cuvier, who happened to pass through the room. The great naturalist stopped a moment to hear it, and then, while a smile passed over his countenance, said in substance : 176 SABBA TARIANirAf ** Gentlemen, your definition is excellent, but allow me to make a few suggestions : " I. A crab is not a fish. " 2. It is not red. " 3. It does not walk backward. '' With these few corrections in the way of Natural History your definition would be perfect ! " When the great naturalist had made his few corrections, a curious expression was visible on the countenances of the French lexicographers, and they concluded, after a brief conference, to throw the definition into the waste-basket. Would that Sab- batarians, when they see the absolute ground- lessness of their claims as to the Sabbath, might be as wise, and give up what the Apostle Peter would probably call (2 Peter 2 : i) a ''damnable heresy." Sabbatarians cannot be held guiltless in desecrating the Lord's Day, for they will 177 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED undoubtedly tremble at the Judgment day when they see the Judge, and call to mind that when God descended on Mount Sinai he said, '* Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," and who has given superabundant proof in his Sacred Word that the Institution was transferred at the Resurrection ; but they are not the only ones to be blamed. The origin of the heresy lies deeper, in a false translation in- corporated into lexicons and grammars and cyclopaedias for more than a thousand years, and even reflected on the Sacred Page by revisionists of the New Testa- ment. The lexicographers and grammari- ans who thought that they had discovered an idiom, or an exception, entitling them to say *' one of the Sabbaths," as mean- ing the first day of the week, evidently only found a blunder in the Septuagint. In two thousand years this blunder 178 SABBA TARIANISM has grown hoar with age, and now it is so deeply rooted in philology that it defies the world. In the fable, the vine craved the privilege of sleeping a single night in the arms of the oak, just to rest itself, but in the morning its tendrils were so entwined about the branches of the oak that it never could be shaken off. This false rendering, like the poison-ivy, has twined about the Bible, and sent out its tendrils among the leaves of dictionaries, grammars, and cyclopaedias so long that nothing less than an archangel or a thun- derbolt can detach it. When linguists talk about it they look wise, and one is reminded of the tradition that it was im- pious to ask what the tortoise stood on. Multitudes of deluded people point a fin- ger at it, shake their heads, and then pass on, apparently with wicked glee, to dese- crate the Lord's Day. A lady, who spent 179 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED some time in the Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Mich., says on Saturday, in the Sanitarium, one can hear a pin drop, the day is observed so rigorously, but on Sun- day " one would think that everything had broken loose." This blunder in the Septuagint is the Upas tree of Sabbath interpretation, and its secretions and exu- dations are very poisonous. This tree of false interpretation shoots down its roots into the lexicons and grammars, and pushes out its branches into every nation where the Bible is known, and poisons the very air breathed by the Christian Church. Large sums of money are in- vested in colleges and institutions whose foundations were laid by reason of this false translation. Multitudes of deluded people, basing their faith on teachings drawn from this false rendering, go out into the fields and into their places of 1 80 SABBA TARTANISM business every week to desecrate the Lord's Day, and it may be fairly asked, What other foundation than the English version of the Bible can an American laboring man build on ? Lexicographers and grammarians pour the oil of this mis- translation into the lamp of Sabbatarians, and then every-day Christians, who lack the training to study the Bible in the original languages, wonder why this de- lusive lamp continues to burn so long ! In some parts of this country, loud- voiced Sabbatarians, who have just enough knowledge of the Bible to repeat the par- rot-like expressions and shibboleths of Sabbatarianism, with the chapter and verse at the end of the tongue, will go about the country with tents and challenge the resident clergy of some town to discuss the Sabbath question. Thousands of faithful pastors feel assured that the iSi THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Seventh-day views are false, but unfor- tunately many are not familiar enough with the Transfer theory of the Sabbath to prove it, and, therefore, naturally decline to discuss the question. These itinerant Sabbatarians, some of whom seem to be pachydermatous, consider this non-accept- ance of the challenge as a victory, and with wonderful self-assurance gather in crowds of people and indoctrinate them with these false views. The Lord's Day thus loses its authority and sanctity in the minds of the people, who seem to take special delight in polluting it. The cause of genuine religion loses ground, and young men make the Lord's Day a time of recreation and sport. While this is going on, grave theological professors and Doctors of Divinity hold fast the philo- logical traditions, and Satan is without doubt delighted. When shall this poison- SABBA TARIANISM ous tree of interpretation be plucked up by the roots, and all this foolishness and wickedness cease ? Would not lexicog- raphers, grammarians, encyclopaedists, and revisionists do a praiseworthy act by mak- ing this correction, and not mislead the world any longer ? As this incorrect rendering of Matt. 28 : I, based on a supposed analogy which rests on a false translation in the Septua- gint, and finds no support in history, has for a long time been the chief support of Sabbatarianism, it is natural to suppose that after the error has been detected and pointed out this delusion will collapse. But after men have embarked in delu- sions, and secured places and power and influence, and a following, and after capi- tal has been invested in buildings and endowments for colleges, churches, and societies, etc., delusions die slowly. When THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED men are publicly committed to heresy they are slow to change, dreading to lose their consistency and their following. Paul, however, did not belong to this class, and he secured a crown of life. Paul was very strict in the observance of the Jewish Sabbath, but after the Resurrection he kept the Transferred Sabbath (Acts 20 : 7), following the example of the Master (John 20:19). It is far more important to be true to the Master than to maintain one's consistency at the expense of reason. Men are responsible for their belief as far as they have power and opportunity to know the truth. Delusion resembles a rank, noxious weed which remains green for a long time after it is pulled up by the roots, and only disappears after it is burned up in a hot fire, and sometimes even then it leaves a bad odor in the air. Error seems possessed of a malignant 184 SABBA TARIANISM Spirit, and after the error dies there re- mains an evil influence. Bigots are apt to retain a scoffing spirit after their argu- ments have been answered. Like Beech- er's dog, Noble, that barked for months at a hole in the wall after the squirrel had passed through it, some men who never read between the lines, and never go down to the bottom facts, or test their work by philosophical principles, will follow some delusion all their lives, and die at last as the fool dieth. Solomon mentions several kinds of fools, but none exhibit more folly than the '* delusion fool." Some men re- semble the clergyman who remained stead- fast until death in the belief ''that the sun do move." It is a fair question to ask. How long can a Sabbatarian stand when he has nothing to stand on ? Some heresies, which Peter with right- eous indignation would probably call 185 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED "damnable," resemble an iceberg that glistens in the sun and floats for a time as if it had some substantial being, and is actually dangerous to voyagers. Six- sevenths of an iceberg lie beneath the sur- face, so often the largest and most danger- ous part of a heresy lies beneath the sur- face disguised. But fortunately icebergs as a rule tend towards the equator from both poles, and in time all icebergs will melt, and it is hoped that all heresies, even Sabbatarianism, will dissolve and disap- pear like the iceberg under the sunlight of the twentieth century. While some Sabbatarians are zealots, and when opposed are apt to fly into a passion, and are called "pestiferous," it must be admitted that many Seventh-day people are sincere in their views, and are truly devout, and would gladly observe the Lord's Day if they knew that the i36 SABBA TARIANISM Sabbath had been transferred at the Resur- rection ; but they are kept in ignorance of this fact. Seventh-day people are greatly impressed with the Fourth Commandment, and emphasize it, but never having been taught that the Sabbath is an Institution, a Divine Appointment, which can be placed on or taken off from a secular day, or transferred from one secular day to another, they feel that it is a religious duty to worship God on Saturday according to the old Mosaic economy. They are not culpable for worshiping God on Satur- day, but for working on the Transferred Sabbath. Worship of God at any time, or in any place, must be acceptable to him, but a reaper or mower buzzing in the field on the Lord's Day cannot be acceptable to God, and the noise sadly disturbs the meditations of a Christian assembly. The attitude of believers in 187 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the Transferred Sabbath towards those who hold Seventh-day views should be one of kindness. Paul had the true atti- tude when he said : " I have great heavi- ness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were ac- cursed from Christ [a rhetorical expression showing the depth of his sorrow] for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." When we believe in the truth, the truth will make us free. Christian liberty implies freedom from sin, and from big- otry, delusion, and superstition. Sabbata- rians are better than their theology, for theology ought to be a help to spiritual life rather than a hindrance. Reviewers of The Sabbath Transferred^ in its first edition, have frequently spoken of its excellent spirit. A distinguished scholar in a recent letter to the author says : ** It breathes the true spirit on every i88 SABBA TARIANISM page." But sometimes a wise and kind physician changes his treatment of the patient, and puts on a bhster, when he thinks the case demands it. A blister has been known to save a Hfe. Sabbatarianism evidently needs a blister, for sometimes nothing but a ** whip of scorpions" will bring men to their senses. Farmers tell us that there is only one way to exterminate Canada thistles. Plow- ing them up will not do it, for the frag- ments of roots left in the ground will grow and produce another crop. But if the thistles are cut down often enough to pre- vent them from seeding, the old stock will in time die out and disappear, to the great satisfaction of the farmer. If a malignant heresy whose life seems to pervade every root and branch is prevented by the light of truth, through the pulpit and the press, from propagating itself by making new 189 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED converts, when the original heretics, who are insensible to argument y pass away from the earth, the heresy will die out and the world will be free from the evil. It is re- ported that a man once said " his mind was open to conviction, but he would like to see the man who could convince him." Students versed in the Greek language have often thought it strange when craftfta- roDv occurs in the plainest prose, twice in the same verse, in Matt. 28 : i, the words being close enough together to be twin brothers, one should be translated '' Sab- bath " and the other "week." Brothers generally have the same name. When a Greek student reads Matt. 28 : i, in King James' version, he feels that there is some malign influence in the air deflecting the words from the true meaning, but he may not suspect that the reason originated two thou- sand years ago in a mistranslation. Then 190 SABBA TARIANISM the commonly received translation, " first day of the week," does violence to " jiiav,'' twists it all out of shape. When the Trans- fer is accepted all of these difficulties dis- appear, the words take on their natural meaning, the twin brothers become frater- nal, the twist comes out of '' ^iav,'' and the whole linguistic atmosphere seems clarified. As a Divine Institution the Transferred Sabbath becomes historic. It still retains the aroma of Paradise, reminds one of Mount Sinai, when the touch of God made the mountain smoke and tremble, and is also made more sacred by the precious drops of blood of Him who died for man, and came out of the sepulcher as a Mighty Conqueror. It seems like a " touch divine " when Mat- thew, the Apostle, speaks [Matt. 28 : i] of the Sabbath as it ceased to be Jewish, and in the same verse speaks of the Sab- 191 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED bath as it began to be Christian. Thus we see the last Sabbath as it terminated the series of holy days under the Jewish economy, and the first Sabbath after the Transfer under the Christian dispensation. As a flash of lightning sometimes illu- minates the whole landscape, so the passage of Matt. 28 : I, a holy flash of God's truth, shows us the ending and the begin- ning of the unfolding economies of grace, and in both cases the same Institution under both economies was kept holy. In the Gospel of Peter occurs a passage which speaks of the convulsions of Nature on the morning of the Resurrection. Matt. 28:2 says there was a great earthquake (o-eicr/id? /xeyas). The Gospel of Peter calls it a great noise in the heaven {pieyaXr; (paovrj iv tS ovpavw). Men who have experienced the shock of violent 192 SABBA TARIANISM earthquakes say it is very difficult to deter- mine the exact cause of the noise, or whence it proceeds. A traveler speaking of a violent seismic disturbance says the noise was stunning, as if the top of the mountain was torn off. The passage from the Gospel of Peter is also very significant in using the same word, eTtKfxixTKGo, em- ployed by Matthew in connection with the Transfer of the Sabbath. The passage says (and the attention of Sabbatarians is called specially to the statement) that it was the Lord's Day (7 KvpiaKij) that dawned at the Resurrection, and not merely the " first day of the week," as Sabbatarians contend. When the great noise was heard by the soldiers they were keeping guard two by two according to the custom of the Roman army. Persons familiar with the Greek, after reading this passage, will see abundant evidence that 193 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED the morning of the Resurrection intro- duced the Christian Sabbath as an Institu- tion. The passage reads as follows : Trjde vvkti rj eTtecfyoDCTKev ?) KVpiaKYjy (pvXaa- (TovTGOV TC0V (TTpaTiGorwr ava 6vo dvo Kara (ppovpav jJieyaXrf cpoDvl] eyevero ev T(3 ov- pavcS. — {^Gospel of Peter ^ by Adolf Harnack, page II, paragraph 35.) It does not seem possible that any intel- ligent Christian, even a Sabbatarian, can read this passage in the Gospel of Peter, and doubt that the Lord's Day was ushered in on the morning of the Resurrection. It is not claimed that the Gospel of Peter is inspired, but who doubts its truthful- ness ? Cannot a man tell the truth unless he is inspired? Some have wondered why the early Christians did not speak of the Transfer. The Jews had a bitter prejudice against Christ and his followers, whom they per- 194 SADBA TARIANISM secuted to the death, as in the case of Stephen, and there was a reaction in feel- ing among Christians, who disliked any- thing that savored of Judaism, and they naturally kept the two apparent Sabbaths as far apart in thought as possible. In history we have illustrations of similar prejudices. The Jews and Samaritans disliked each other, and had no dealings in common. The Puritans who were per- secuted by the Episcopalians in England instituted Thanksgiving and made much of its observance, minimizing Christmas, so highly regarded and carefully observed by the Episcopalians. The Protestants in England hated the Cross, as a symbol so much used by the Catholics, and even broke into Catholic churches to destroy it. These prejudices have happily passed away, and the descendants of the Puritans celebrate Christmas, and make it a joyful 195 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED time, and the Cross, that beautiful symbol of Christianity, does not look hateful any longer to Protestants. The ancient preju- dice between Jews and Christians has largely passed away, and no reason now remains why the Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath may not be regarded, in accordance with the teaching of the New Testament, as the same Institution. At first thought it seems remarkable that the leading lexicographers and gram- marians of the world should have fallen into such an error as to translate an ordi- nal adjective as a cardinal. Still there is a Latin motto, '^ Errare hurnanum est" and even men of the Bible have made mis- takes. Moses '' because they provoked his spirit spoke unadvisedly with his lips." Paul in his early life ''made havoc of the church," and Paul, at Antioch, in Syria, "withstood Peter to the face, because he 196 SABBA TARIANISM was to be blamed." Sir Isaac Newton, intellectually perhaps equal to any man that ever lived, once declared that an achromatic object-glass to the telescope could never be constructed, but Dollond made one soon afterward. Sir Isaac Newton believed in the emission theory of light, but the wave theory Is now gen- erally accepted. Comte declared that we never can know the substances in the stars, but the spectrum analysis has re- vealed them. Dr. Alexander Winchell, the contour of whose head resembled Plato's, once said that a vibrating pendu- lum could not be constructed that would show the revolution of the earth on its axis, but he afterward confessed his mis- take. Language is a very complicated organ- ism, built on letters that have originated among many nations. It seems a marvel 197 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED that a man can stand on his feet and bal- ance himself, and even walk unconsciously, but a child learns to do so after consider- able practice. It is a greater marvel that a man can convey thoughts and feelings by the sound of his voice and by written characters. When we consider the modes, tenses, voices, inflections, and idioms of many languages originating in past ages, some languages being built on each other, it is a surprise that linguists have done so well. There is a constant growth of lan- guage, new manuscripts are discovered, the divine dispensations are unfolding, and the Universal Kingdom as knowledge in- creases casts more light on the sacred page. The Bible will, therefore, be better understood and yield more truth to men from age to age. The Bible is a great deep, like an ocean that is shoreless and fathomless, and men 198 SABBA TARIANISM in this world have only begun to learn the alphabet of divine things. How time and space bring to man by modern research the antiquity, vastness, labyrinths, and complexity of the material universe ! As- tronomers claim that there are a hundred million suns in our galaxy, perhaps a thou- sand million worlds, and the modern telescope has revealed thousands of other stellar systems. It takes a lifetime for an expert to master one science or language. Science teaches that only the morning shadows have fallen on the earth. As- tronomers compute that the sun can sup- ply the solar system with light and heat for about ten million years, and Professor Ball, the eminent mathematician, tells us that the matter of the moon and earth, united in the original nebula, has not been separated within a period of fifty million years. According to science the earth 199 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED was individualized from the original nebula prior to this, during the second period of Creation, as recorded in Gen. i : 7. Sir William Hamilton represents the uni- verse by a polygon, of an infinite number of sides, and man in this world is repre- sented as working on one of these sides. Man in this world is the creature of a moment, very limited in his knowledge of the universe, and should, therefore, be humble and teachable. Two facts are so closely related to the Transfer of the Sabbath that they may properly be considered in this connection. Some have doubted that Christ was cru- cified on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday morning. Still the proof of these two events is explicit and conclusive. The crucifixion of Christ on Friday is evi- dent on several grounds : 200 SABBA TARIANISM 1. This has been the general belief of mankind in all subsequent ages. 2. This was the belief of the Christian Fathers who lived near those events. Justin Martyr, who lived at the close of the first and the beginning of the second century, says: **For he was crucified on the day before that of Saturn " [Saturday]. \^The First Apology of Justin Martyr ^ chap. Ixvii.] 3. Mark (15 : 42) says it was the prepa- ration (napacFKevrf). Friday in modern Greek is called 77 nafoao-Kevrf, the day of preparation. 4. Mark (15 142) says explicitly it was the day before the Jewish Sabbath (;rpo- (Ta^^arov). That settles it to all persons who believe in the New Testament. The proof that the Resurrection took place on the first day of the week is conclu- sive, and may be summed up as follows : 201 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED 1. This has been the general view of Christian nations. 2. The Christian Fathers who lived near this marvelous event, and had the best op- portunity to gather up the facts, accepted this view. Justin, who suffered martyr- dom at Rome, and was called Justin Mar- tyr, was born a native of Samaria about A.D. loo. He says : " But Sunday is the day on which we all hold common as- sembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the dark- ness and matter, made the world ; and Je- sus Christ, our Saviour, on the same day rose from the dead." [ The First Apology of Justin Martyr, chap. Ixvii.] 3. Mark (16 19) says explicitly : " Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week " {oivaGtoLi dh npoot 7rpa)rr\ crap^a- Tov). That settles it. In the Roman Law a part of the day 202 SABBA TARIANISM was considered and called a day, so the prophecy that the Son of man should be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth was legally fulfilled. Christ lay in Joseph's tomb parts of three days. There is nothing magical in the exact num- ber of full days. Jesus lay in Joseph's tomb long enough to prove to all the world that he was actually dead and buried — that he died for men. The Creator fin- ished the Old Creation before he rested on the seventh period, and Christ did not fin- ish his work of redemption until he rose from the dead on the first day. This is evidently the significance of the word (TaftftaricrfAos (Heb. 4 : 9). At the Conference of American Rabbis which met in New Orleans in May, 1902, there was an intense interest manifested relative to transferring the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the first day of the 203 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED week. It was claimed that the Jewish Sab- bath is now observed mainly by women and children. A commission of rabbis was appointed who will communicate with Jewish congregations throughout the coun- try to ascertain their sentiments on the subject, and to report to the Conference that will meet again in 1903. This is not a movement in favor of Christianity, but a kind of drifting by the current of events towards the observance of the Sabbath on the first day of the week, on the plea of necessity. Should this movement be car- ried out it will weaken Sabbatarianism, and any religious observance that is not founded on an atom of divine authority, and is contrary to the current of human events, must in time be swept into the gulf of oblivion. May the time hasten when the Transferred Sabbath shall dawn over the whole world and its blessed light 204 SABBA TARIANISM shine into every home. Then will the Christian world obey the command of the Risen Saviour, who, as he came forth from the tomb, said: ^'All hail." As the Sabbath divides time into weeks, the word naturally grew and came to mean week, and the Hebrew days were consid- ered segments of the week, and were simply numbered from one to six, by the ordinal adjective. The names of the days of the week among the Jews, as found in the Hebrew Bible, are as follows : "ini^? ci-' Day first (of the week). ^^^ Cl^ Day second (of the week). •'ii^^<^ c^^ Day third (of the week). ^y-'D-i c^-* Day fourth (of the week). ''tr^^pn cv Day fifth (of the week). ^ts^ti^'n ci^ Day sixth (of the week). nswn ci^ Day of the Sabbath. 205 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Modern Greek Names for the Days of the Week Sunday is 77 KvpiaKrj (Lord's Day). Monday is rj devrepa, Tuesday is rf rpirtj, Wednesday is -ff reraprrf, Thursday is 7/ ne^nrrj, Friday iSrfTtapaaKevrj (day of preparation). Saturday is rh aaftftarov- Days of the Week among the Romans. Dies Solis (Sunday). Dies Lunse (Monday). Dies Martis (Tuesday). Dies Mercurii (Wednesday). Dies Jovis (Thursday). Dies Veneris (Friday). Dies Saturni (Saturday). 206 SABBA TARIANISM Numeral Adjectives, Cardinal Adjectives. Ordinal Adjectives. ■ini< one. c::!?^' two. mf^'^t^' three. nv-i-]X four. ntf^pq five. nw six. in^ first (pti^'N")). ^W second. ^^^^.V third. ^r?1 fourth. '•i^^-'pq fifth. ^ti^'ii^ sixth. 207 ADDENDA PERSONAL REMINISCENCES TN publishing the Second Edition of The Sab- -*■ bath Transferred, it may not be inappropriate to speak of some personal experiences connected with the First Edition. It is more than ten years since the author's attention was called by a visiting clergyman to the double aa^^arGOv in Matt. 28 : I. For several reasons it seemed natural to ask the author to explain why one aa^^arGov in the verse is translated in the English Bible " Sab- bath," and the other (TajS^dtGDV is rendered "week." The author had enjoyed exceptional advantages for studying Greek under that eminent philologist, Prof. James R. Boise. He had also lived in the professor's family where the atmosphere seemed to have a linguistic flavor. Professor Boise spoke German like a native, and conversed with his family in German. While traveling in Germany he was often taken for a German professor. The author had also taught Greek, and had spent several years in training Normal Teachers' Classes for 2o3 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES Sabbath-school work. It was a fair question in philology, and the author, who distrusts his own knowledge of Greek but loves to read his Greek Testament daily, determined to solve it. On examining the passage he soon discovered that a similar construction of words touching the Sabbath occurred all through the New Testament, in more than half a dozen places, in connection with the Resurrection. What struck him forcibly was the apparent fact that this peculiar form of words was always connected with the Resurrection. The Holy Spirit was evidently trying to convey some important truth not reflected in the English translation. All of this was new to him, and he was greatly surprised and perplexed. He seemed to have entered on an opening vista where the lexicons, grammars, and cyclopaedias gave a forced meaning, and a light that was dim and uncertain. It was a theological terra incognita. The words were susceptible of a plain and simple rendering, but the linguistic authorities would not allow him to give them their natural meaning. He studied these things carefully by day, and meditated on them by night. Neighboring clergymen, to whom he applied for information, could not render him any assistance. Few clergymen keep up their Greek Testament, and fewer their Hebrew Bible. Once the author went into a clergyman's ample library, and took down his Hebrew Bible to look 209 , THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED at a passage, but he found that some wasps (proba- bly thinking they would never be disturbed) had made a nest in the beveled edges of the leaves of the Hebrew Bible, which probably had not been opened for years. Clergymen did not seem to take much interest in the subject. One clergyman said : " We have the Christian Sabbath, and it does not matter much how we got it." He took more interest in the fact than in the philosophy of the fact. Another clergyman was offered by one of his friends the loan of the Monograph, after it was published, but he replied languidly that he "had read one or two books on the Sabbath, and would r:ot have time to read another." A copy of the book was offered to another clergyman, but he declined it on the ground that he did not have time to read it; still he had plenty of time to write books of fiction. If Christianity did not possess supernatural vitality it might die in the hands of its unintelligent friends. The author likes to know the facts, but he is not satisfied until he knows, if possible, the philosophy of the facts. As in former cases of perplexity, the author finally wrote for information to his former professor and friend. Prof. James R. Boise, LL.D., who could speak modern Greek like a native, but a reply came from his daughter that Doctor Boise, who had attained the mature age of four score years, was too feeble to undertake the investiga- 210 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES tion. He sent a message of love to his former pupil, and within a short time he was called to his great reward. Prof. James R. Boise was the best Greek scholar the author ever knew, and his opinion would have been invaluable. One day as the author was turning the matter over in his mind, there came a flash of light, and he saw that the double aa/S^aroov was simply the divine recognition of the Transfer of the Sab- bath, as an Institution, at the Resurrection. This theory satisfies all the conditions of exegesis, and restores the passage to the natural meaning of the words. He called to mind the incident related of Archimedes who, when he discovered a method of determining the amount of alloy in King Hiero's crown, cried " Eureka ! " Still the author was in trouble of mind, for all lexicons and grammars and cyclopaedias were op- posed to this supposition, and he has much rever- cn:e for learned men and standard books. In great perturbation of mind he determined to probe this difficulty to the bottom, and, if it were within the range of possibility, he would ascertain the absolute truth. What did the inspired apostles mean in giving the world so many times, with slight variations in grammatical case, this same form of words at the Resurrection — a form that violates the usus loquendi of the Greek language, or teaches the Transfer of the Sabbath ? There is 2H THE SABBA7H TRANSFERRED a confusion of names : Jewish Sabbath, Christian Sabbath, Sunday and the Lord's Day, but there is only one Holy Day in the Fourth Commandment. A few worship on Saturday, but a great many on Sunday. Some think the Sabbath commences on Saturday evening ; some do not. Some say " Sun- day Schools," others say " Sabbath Schools." Some say the Jewish Sabbath has been abolished, and the Lord's Day has been instituted. Clergy- men look wise when they preach on the subject, but they cannot impart their wisdom to others. The author listened to a course of six sermons on the Fourth Commandment, prepared from tra- ditional authorities on this question. The preacher seemed to be thoroughly muddled on the subject, and not understanding the Transfer he jumped to the conclusion that the Christian Sabbath was founded simply on " custom." One of the leading members of that church declared that those ser- mons were neither " law nor Gospel, not even the Statutes of Kansas." After that unfortunate series of sermons the Sabbath in that town lost much of its authority and sanctity, infidels offered to sub- scribe to the church, and young men went fishing on Sunday, because the preacher had said there was no Sabbath of divine origin. When a stone is thrown into a lake the wavelets reach the farthest shore, so life and death eternal hang on the words of the preacher. Another distinguished divine 212 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES claimed that the Christian Sabbath is founded on the Resurrection ! Still this divine would preach on the Fourth Commandment as if it were of equal authority with the other Commandments. The author heard a clergyman preach on the Fourth Commandment who treated the Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath as separate institutions. During the sermon the Jewish Sabbath suddenly disappeared, and the Christian Sabbath came on the scene, but the preacher did not discover any relationship between them ! The author seemed to be in a theological quag- mire with many others who did not even know it. No one was able to extricate him from his diffi- culty. He felt like Jacob, who said : " All these things are against me." How the soul some- times hungers after truth, and can only find husks to eat. These difficulties only spurred the author on to more thorough study. With God there are no difficulties, and an increase of light always makes things plainer to men. The author believed in the Transfer, but all the authorities were op- posed to it. He began to interview his linguistic friends. One professor of Greek, after examining the passages, seemed to be very much interested in the matter, which was entirely new to him. Like a true scholar, however, he declined to give a pro- fessional opinion on a brief examination, but finally said frankly, '' The doctors had better put on their 213 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED spectacles again" — a good suggestion. Another former professor of Greek considered the second (Tafi^atoov in Matt. 28 : i as 2i partitive genitive y and he said that would disprove the Transfer. This alleged difficulty delayed the author nearly a year, for he would not advocate any theory that is not in harmony with the facts of philology and history. This point has since been submitted to several distinguished professors of Greek, and as they all agree that as r)fxepa is understood, as indicated in the Greek Testament, the second (Ta(3fiarGDV is not a. partitive genitive. Finally the author ventured to prepare an article on the subject, but no Review would publish it, for it was contrary to the philological traditions. The author then selected some of the best-known Greek and Hebrew scholars in the Eastern States, and the manuscript was sent to each of them, one after another. In this way, in the course of two years, as the author lived at San Diego, California, the manuscript traveled probably a dozen times across the continent, until the writing became almost illegible from attrition in the mail. These corre- spondents gave the author a large amount of infor- mation connected with the Sabbath, for which he was thankful, but little of it seemed pertinent to the subject. One letter from a theological pro- fessor spoke of the supposed Hebrew analogy in Genesis. One professor of Greek said that in the 214 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES classics ezS" {iJ.i(\) and np^ro'^ are not inter- changeable. One distinguished scholar thought the author put too much stress on the double aajS^aroDV^ and one Hebraist thought that the author's translation of Matt. 28:1 is unlawful. Some distinguished professors of Greek seemed to have a very modest estimate of their attainments. One professor, who teaches classical Greek, dis- trusted his own knowledge of New Testament Greek, and felt that he ought not to give any opinion on the subject. But all the professors of Greek seemed to concede that the new rendering does not violate any principles of the Greek lan- guage. The lexicons and grammars, however, do not sanction the new rendering. All the linguists seemed to be in mortal terror of some supposed analogy in the Hebrew Bible, as much afraid as if it were a live tarantula ready to jump and bite them. To accept a fact is easier than to comprehend the philosophy of it. Thousands worship on the Christian Sabbath without having any rational theory in regard to its origin. The author likes the sentiment expressed by the Latin poet: Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas. It is generally conceded that when the Sabbath question is discussed, on the traditional theories, Seventh-day men have the best of the argument ; but the Transfer theory cuts up Sabbatarianism 215 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED root and branch. But many clergymen do not understand the Transfer theory, although multi- tudes of ministers begin to have a dawning convic- tion that it is the true theory. The author has never learned that the Transfer theory is taught in any Theological Seminary. The author never saw the matter mentioned in his theological course. He never heard any clergyman in preaching on the Sabbath speak of the Transfer theory. As a notable example of the struggles of men to solve the Sabbath question, Rev. D. M. Canright may be mentioned. He is a man of unusual ability and excellence, and is very much esteemed by thou- sands. For years he was a Seventh-day man, but was convinced at last of his error. He has suffered for conscience sake enough persecution to break the back of an elephant. He might almost be classed as a martyr, although he is still living and doing excellent service for the Master. He has debated the question more than a dozen times, and has published a valuable book on the subject. He was thoroughly convinced that the Seventh-day theory is wrong, but he had difficulty in seeing his way clear to hold to the Lord's Day as the Sab- bath transferred. He believes that the Jewish Sab- bath was nailed to the Cross of Christ (Col. 2 : 14), and regards the Lord's Day as a new Institution. He considers the Jewish Sabbath as destroyed by the Cross of Christ ; the author believes the Sab- 216 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES bath was deflected by the Cross of Christ, and trans- ferred from Saturday to Sunday at the Resurrec- tion. When Matt. 28 : i and parallel passages are translated in the New Testament correctly the au- thor believes the true renderings will establish the Transfer theory beyond controversy. According to this view the Christian Sabbath is founded on the Fourth Commandment, and the Lord's Day, the very name of which is a proof of the Transfer, is only another name for the Sabbath. When a man passes through a clover field in full bloom some of the fragrance clings to him — his garments smell of the sweetness of the clover. The Sab- bath in passing the Resurrection bore away some of the sweetness, and was transferred to become the Holy Day for the whole world. To give up the Fourth Commandment, and say it belonged to Judaism, seems like beginning to tear down the Decalogue — the very mount of God. Christ gath- ered up the Ten Commandments and reinforced them in Two Commandments (Mark 12 : 28-31). At this time the author left California, under the advice of his physician, and moved to the Atlantic States, for the purpose of gaining his health. Here he was brought into personal contact with many distinguished Greek and Hebrew scholars. The atmosphere in the East is very stimulating to the student, for tl^^^^-e is plenty of intellectual ozone in 217 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED it. The freedom of a personal interview yields more real information than the brief and often- times guarded words of a correspondence conducted over considerable distances. It must also be con- ceded that much thought, with shades of thought, is conveyed by tones of voice, by looks and ges- tures and postures of the body, in addition to the words that are spoken. It is said that no one really understands all that a book contains until he knows the author personally. In the East the author re- gained his health and entered into a new intellec- tual life. He had an opportunity to visit learned men and consult them freely. He cannot express the satisfaction that he felt in coming into the pres- ence of men who speak modern Greek and Hebrew. Sometimes in interviewing linguists he could not remain seated, but would rise up with expectancy and stand near the professor who opened his He- brew Bible, or Greek Testament, to hear every word he said. Frequent interviews with learned men threw new light on the subject. Finally the mists in his mind began to clear up so much that he prepared the manuscript for The Sabbath Trans- ferrgd, but no publisher would publish it, for it was not in harmony with the lexicons and gram- mars on the subject. The manuscript was sent out again and again to publishers, but after a long time it would come back with a letter of "thanks." One publisher said it was too *'new" and radical, 9i^ PERSONAL REMimSCENCES and another publisher declared that it was too " old," for the subject had already been covered by a "previous work." The author has tried to find this "previous work" in vain, and he indulges the belief that the " previous work " is a little mythical. Publishers as a rule have only one interest in a book to be published, and that is measured by its commercial value. Publishers do not carry the moral and religious burdens of the world on their shoulders. If they see money in it, they will pub- lish a work. But they have an ingenious way of letting an author down softly and politely. They take the manuscript and submit it to alleged " outside readers." Some think these " outside readers " may be outside the office, but perhaps inside the publishing-house. Authors sometimes wonder how the manuscript can come back to them with the pages arranged in the same order as the author sent them out (circumstantial evidence that the package was never opened), but publishing books is a deft business. An author does not know the readers of his manuscript, and has no opportunity to discuss the subject, which may be entirely new to the reader and the world. A young author who is without reputation or influ- ential friends deserves pity, both human and divine. Disappointed authors are sometimes comforted when they remember that Paradise Lost was hawked about the streets of London and sold for 219 . THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED a mere pittance, and the publication of Uncle Tom* 5 Cabin it was declared would be the financial ruin of any publisher. When a meritorious author sees his manuscript rejected by an unwise publisher, and some light, fictitious, ephemeral book that con- tains three bushels of chaff and three grains of wheat, a literary May-fly that scarcely opens its eyes on the world, and only lives a brief time, his feelings are more easily imagined than described. Still it may be of value for an author to wait a long time and " chew his cud " while others step into the publication pool before him. Time brings clearer and larger views, greater assurance, and more philosophical conclusions. As a foggy morn- ing and a misty forenoon sometimes pass into a clear sunny afternoon, so the author began to see gradu- ally the sunlight of truth break through the clouds. He was slowly, but surely, obtaining the " courage of his convictions." While living near Boston the author had the great pleasure of making the acquaintance of Dr. F. N. Peloubet, who writes such valuable Notes on the International Sabbath-school Lessons. Dr. Peloubet very kindly listened to the reading of the manuscript, and wrote an Introduction to the Monograph, declining to receive any compensation for it. He did not agree with the author in his in- terpretation of one prophecy, but he held the theory of the Transfer of the Sabbath firmly, and 220 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES said the Monograph contained enough proof to show plainly that the Transfer is the correct theory. Dr. Peloubet was inclined to consider favorably the author's translation of ezS" p.iay (Ta^fiaroDv^ but, as he had not given the mat- ter special attention, he did not desire, as he says in his Introduction, to commit himself to it. There is a delightful religious and scholarly atmosphere about Dr. Peloubet's ample library where he studies, but his Notes may be called practical and useful rather than critical. After using his Notes several years in Sabbath-school work, the author prefers them to any other notes published. They are just what Sabbath-school teachers need. As the Introduction was written for the first edition, Dr. Peloubet cannot be held responsible for the sixth chapter in the second edition of The Sabbath Transferred, The author had made considerable progress in his undertaking, still the manuscript was declined by the publishers. One publisher treated the author rudely. The establishment was entered very meekly, and while the author waited a long time outside of the railing, there seemed to be a flutter among the young ladies in the office, as if a hornet's nest had been discovered. Still the author was not looking for a tornado. At last the pub- lisher came out of his inner office like a surly bear, and passing by the author, gave him a savage look. 221 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Probably he was sizing him up to see if it were prudent to assault him. Then the publisher turned back, and coming near the author to the inside of the railing, where he would te protected by the railing, and bristling up like a hedgehog, com- menced a tirade at him, shouting in a loud, harsh, angry voice : " Who are you ? What is your name ? Where did you come from ? What is your busi- ness ? What do you want to see me for ? I am very busy." Yet this brutal man publishes relig- ious books for Sabbath-schools. The author in- voluntarily asked himself how many such men it would take to convert the world. All the other publishers treated the author kindly, although some of them did not show much knowledge or in- terest in the Sabbath. When at last the Monograph was published it was received with great favor by leading divines as an original and valuable contribution to the Sab- bath question. The author, it was admitted, had cut a new path through the tangled theological forest and given the world the true theory of a Holy Day that would bless mankind until the Sabbath of Creation and Sinai melts into the eter- nal Sabbath. Some books are milestones along the pathway of theological thought, which indicate the progress of mankind in the knowledge of divine things. Some wondered why the Transfer had been held by a few learned and distinguished men 222 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES for ages; still, the subject had never been put into popular garb for the masses. Some said " the book reads like a psalm," and others affirmed that it ** clarified " the whole subject. So many troubled Christians all over the country read the book, and wrote to the author that it had helped them in clearing up the Sabbath difficulties, that it touched his heart. Sabbatarians naturally pounced upon the Monograph, and a gentleman from Battle Creek wrote that no book-store in that place dare handle the book for fear of a " boycott." Battle Creek is a nice town, but there are other towns in the world. Mahomet spread his religion with fire and sword, but God says : " Come now, and let us reason together" (Is. i : i8). Any theology that will not bear the light of free and full investigation must lack the essential elements of truth. Religion should not be based on human authority, but on divine truth. One journal spoke of "miscalling the Sabbath," implying that the institution should be called the Lord's Day, and regarded it "lost labor to maintain propositions about the origin and transfer of the Sabbath, which cannot stand a moment in the light of evolutionary and philologi- cal facts." In reply it may be said that if the Sab- bath were transferred it would naturally retain its Old-Testament name as given in the Fourth Com- mandment. Does a man change his name when he goes from one country to another ? Why should an 223 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED institution change its name when it is transferred, unless the name is changed by divine authority ? In this consists the force of the argument of the Monograph : that the Old-Testament Sabbath is passed over, with some modifications of its charac- ter, into the Christian Dispensation. The term Lord's Day is only another name for the Institu- tion, but it proves the Transfer. This fact is clearly stated in the Monograph (page 49). The name Sabbath is still given to the Institution in the New Testament after the Resurrection {^The Sab- bath Jransferredj pages 44, 45, 46). The Ten Com- mandments were given for all time and all dispen- sations, for Christ gathers them all up in two commandments — love to God and love to man ; and the Fourth Commandment does not form an excep- tion. As The Sabbath Transferred is the only book ever published that considers the Sabbath under the laws of Evolution, the criticism in regard to '' evolutionary facts " is amusing. Some editors prate about Evolution who never collected a geo- logical specimen in their lives. Such shallow criti- cisms remind one of an incident : A man walking along saw a dog beside the road rolling over, and told his companion that was an evolutionary dog. When asked to explain he said : " Evolution means V3 roll over, and as the dog rolled over he must be an evolutionary dog " The philological criticism is fully answered in Chapter VI, and it is hoped 224 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES the above-mentioned editor will enjoy reading it. The author found that the real difficulty was some alleged analogy in the Hebrew Bible, some philological tarantula that they feared would jump and bite them. The author has had some experi- ence with tarantulas in Texas and Arizona. If a tarantula is touched with a stick it will jump like a fiend at the one who touches it, but if it falls short it drops on the ground, and something like some Sabbatarians who become angry when they are beaten in an argument, the tarantula becomes so mad that it is perfectly helpless. In jumping its legs whip the air, and then the tarantula lies as if it were dead, with its legs all twisted up. It illustrates the saying : "Dying with rage." The author tried to engage some expert linguist to find this tarantula so he could kill it, but the philologists all begged off. Some were tired, some were in poor health, some rushed with work, and some going to Europe. Some were so modest that they did not feel like expressing an opinion opposed to distinguished men who had gone before them. What should we think of a general who declined to storm a fort falling back on his limitations of military knowl- edge, or on the fact that some other distinguished general had failed to take it ? At last the author spent a summer in the great libraries of New York in doing this critical work, but only found a mis- 225 ' THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED translation in the Septuagint — a ghost of a taran- tula that can neither jump nor bite. // is perfectly harmless. Still Sabbatarians, when all their other arguments have failed, have walked around it with a mysterious air, and talked as if there was enough dynamite in that false translation to blow the Christian Sabbath into smithereens. This subject is treated at length in the sixth chapter, and the author hopes linguists will take note of it. There is a parallel to this case in geographical exploration in South America. Many people have believed that a race of cannibals live on the Beni River, so that for more than three centuries no one had ventured down the river. The author has a courageous friend who determined to explore the river and ascertain the real facts in the case. For a long time he could find no one who dared to accompany him. At last one Indian who did not value his life was persuaded to go with him in a canoe. Many came to the river-bank to bid them farewell, never expecting to see them again. Some shed tears of anguish at the thought of their being eaten up. The explorer and his companion Indian, however, made a safe trip, and found no cannibals. Even the animals that roam the forest, never before having seen a man, were so tame and came so near the men that they could almost touch them with their outstretched hands. The author cannot refrain from expressing great 226 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES satisfaction at the labors of the American Revision Committee, and hopes that after the excellent re- sults which they have already obtained in prepar- ing the Standard Revision of the Bible, they will work along the line of passages in the New Testa- ment speaking of the Sabbath in connection with the Resurrection, and give the world the fruits of their studies. In the twentieth century the Chris- tian world is waiting impatiently to know the abso- lute truth in connection with the Revelation of the Divine Will. It is evident that the belief in the Transfer of the Sabbath, in spite of false transla- tions, theological conservatism, and bigotry, is growing in the Christian Church. This is the only logical theory for those who accept the Lord's Day. The Transfer is philosophical and scrip- tural, and meets all the demands of the case. As scientists say, " it answers the full description." The author can say that the mists are all gone from his mind, and his soul is full of joy. After many years of doubts, and fears, and struggles, with some uncertainty, the author can now perceive the Transfer of the Sabbath, at the Resurrection, as plainly as he can see the sun shining in a clear sky. Since his first discovery of the Transfer, he has always believed that this was the truth, but for many years he could not demonstrate it, for he had not reached the bottom facts. The belief in the Transfer will undoubtedly become universal in the 227 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED Christian Church. The time will undoubtedly come when students of history will recall Sabba- tarianism as one of those dead theories that hin- dered for a time the progress of Christian truth. It will help fill the scrap-box of dead theologies. Candor compels the author to admit that when the First Edition of The Sabbath Transferred was published he had not fully investigated the under- lying question of philology. Still he has probably read the First Edition through, since it was pub- lished a hundred times, and does not find a word to be changed. When we remember that the lead- ing lexicographers and grammarians of the world have perpetuated the mistranslation in the Septua- gint, and treated it as an exception, for more than a thousand years, is it any surprise that the author, who only claims to be a student in philology un- fettered by the traditions of the past, should fail to find it ? Still he wants to know the absolute truth of God, and searches for it diligently without fear or favor, for the truth never hurts anybody. Some- times we see indications of the truth before we actually come into possession of it. Long before the traveler reaches the sea, the roar of the break- ers is in his ears, and he perceives moisture in the air. As a practical miner, who believes from the formation of the rocks that there is a gold-bearing stratum at a certain locality before he has dug down to it, so the author thoroughly believed in 22^ PERSONAL REMfNISCENCES the Transfer, for what other position can a logical man take who accepts the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath, under their respective economies, as the Sabbath of the Fourth Com- mandment ? Still he was feeling his way along through the tangles of lexicons, grammars, and cyclopaedias, and candidly says {^The Sabbath Transferred^ pp. 57, 58, 59,) that he walked as a philosopher and not as a philologist. Now he has dug down through the overlying errors of the past, and laid bare the gold — the absolute truth in regard to the Holy Sabbath — and can walk both as a philosopher and as a philologist. Logically Sabbatarianism is dead, but few Sab- batarians have discovered the fact. Sometimes lightning will strike a tree, and shiver it to the very roots. So the flash of God's truth has at last shivered the heresy of Sabbatarianism, and knocked the very roots out of the ground; still the roots may sprout. It is said of a certain kind of snake, that after the head is cut off, the tail will wriggle until sundown; so ii is with some heresies. Heresies sometimes seem to be vitalized by an evil spirit, but God's truth will ultimately prevail, cor- rect and vitalize all belief. Sometimes when one stands on a high mountain after a shower, as the sun breaks out from behind the clouds, he can see the ends of the rainbow unite to form a complete circle, and so, if a man 229 THE SABBATH TRANSFERRED] climbs up high enough on the mountains of God's truth, and stands on Mount Calvary, and sweeps his eye over the divine economies, he can discern the two apparent Sabbaths — the arch under the Old Covenant and the arch under the New Covenant — become arcs of the same circle, and if he have enlightened, spiritual vision, he will see them unite in one circle on the morn of the Resurrection to form one and the same Institution, and this is the bow of promise of God's covenant, when God's word shall not return unto him void, and " the mountains and hills shall break forth before you with singing," and " all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." A few days before Bishop W. X. Ninde, D.D. LL.D., of blessed memory, was called home from his earthly labors, he sent the author the following testimonial : "I have just read your valuable Monograph on The Sabbath Transferred with keen interest and profit. I am greatly impressed with your line of thought. The treatment is novel, and your con- nected argument grows upon the reader in its con- vincing effect. I trust the book may be widely circulated." Recently the author received the following testi- monial from Prof. Milton S. Terry, D.D., LL.D.: " Your treatise is very readable, and it breathes 230 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES the true spirit in every page. . . . Your remark on page 41, that the Sabbath of creation began at even, but the Christian Sabbath very early in the morning, is richly suggestive." 231 INDEX AND ANALYSIS Chapter I The Sabbath a Movable Institution God may be worshiped at all times and in all places, 21. Finite man needs special times for rest and worship, 21. Difference between secular and holy time, 22. The Sabbath can be placed on and taken off from a secular day, 23. The Sabbath, a Divine Institution, part of the Moral Law, 23. The Sabbath, as an Institution, may be transferred from one secular day to another, 23. The Sabbath not identical with Saturday, 24. Division of the week, in reference to holy and secular time, 25. The Sabbath cannot be abolished except by divine authority, 26. Transfer of the Sabbath preserves the integrity of the Institu- tion, 26. Cartographical illustration of the transfer of the Sabbath, y^r- ing 27. Secular days fixed as names of time for astronomical move- ments, 27. The day considered as a unit of time, 27. The week as related to the unit of time, 28. Blessing the seventh day equivalent to blessing the Sabbath, 28. The Sabbath not needed to make the secular week complete, 29. The Sabbath instituted at the end of creation to meet the neces- sities of man, 30. 233 INDEX AND ANALYSIS The Sabbath has two hmitations, 31. The original Sabbath gave man every evidence of the divine attributes, 32. The septenary order of the Sabbath founded in the constitution of man, n. Other time Institutions, 33. The Moral Law has never been abolished, 34. Relation of Judaism to Christianity, 35. Only one sun in the solar system, 35. Only one Sabbath in the Moral Law, 35. The transfer of the Sabbath makes the Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath identical^ 36. Chapter II Evidence from the New Testament of the Transfer of the Sabbath Examination of passages of Scripture : Mat. 28: I, 37. Mark 16 : I-2, 41. Luke 23:55 seq.y 43. John 20 : I ; 20 : 19, 44. Acts 13 : 42 seq.y 45. Acts 20 : 7, 47. I Cor. 16:2, 47. Col. 2:16, 48. Rev. I : 10, 49. Human opinions change slowly, 49. Excellency of King James* Translation, 50. New Versions will be needed, 5 1 . Revelation yields men more truth from age to age, 51. 234 INDEX AND ANALYSIS Qiristians beginning to accept the Transfer, 53. Different views held in regard to the Sabbath, 54. Significance of the double