Sunday Law Coming Closer

For many years we have been speaking about the Sunday law, which will begin in the United States and then spread out to the whole world. Sister White wrote about it already in the early days of the Advent Movement.

The churches are putting pressure on the governments to enact laws that would prohibit work on Sundays. They are claiming that if everyone would observe the Sunday sacredness, then there would be peace and less crime and God would bless the nation.

For many years there has been religious freedom. Everyone has been allowed to serve their God according to their conscience. Civil governments and religious organizations have been separate. But now the churches realize that they need the governments’ help to force people to observe their religion.

The Ten Commandment Day on May 7th has a purpose to draw the attention to the law of God, which according to their understanding means Sunday sacredness. Hundreds of churches are joining in this celebration, including the S.D.A. Church.

“As men depart further and further from God, Satan is permitted to have power over the children of disobedience. He hurls destruction among men. There is calamity by land and sea. Property and life are destroyed by fire and flood. Satan resolves to charge this upon those who refuse to bow to the idol which he has set up. His agents point to Seventh-Day Adventists as the cause of the trouble. ‘These people stand in defiance of law,’ they say. They desecrate Sunday. Were they compelled to obey the law for Sunday observance, there would be a cessation of these terrible judgments.” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 16, 1901.

All the terrible disasters in the world will be accounted to the Sabbath-keepers. If they could be forced to keep Sunday, then these terrible judgments of God would be averted.

God permits this persecution against the Sabbath-keeper to take place in order to purify them and to cause shaking to take place. Only the faithful ones who would rather die than commit sin will remain.

“We see the world working to the point of establishing by law a false sabbath, and making it a test for all… In Sunday law there is possibility for great suffering to those who observe the seventh day. The working out of Satan’s plans will bring persecution to the people of God.” 2 Selected Messages, p. 375

“Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world.” Test. Vol. 6, p. 395.

The goal of the Ten Commandment Day celebration is to have one million churches and religious organizations to join in it. And this is not the end of it, but the beginning of further united efforts on such a large scale that governments will have to make note of it and listen to the demands of the people.

“The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the undercurrent is tending… They are working in blindness. They do not see that a Protestant government sacrifices the principles that have made a free, independent nation, and through legislation brings into the Constitution principles that will propagate papal falsehood and papal delusion, they are plunging into the Roman horrors of the Dark Ages.” R.H. Extra, Dec. 11, 1888

In many countries Sunday laws already exist. People are not permitted to do visible or noisy work on that day. But soon the laws will be made more strict and punishments will be meted out upon those who dare to ignore these laws. Eventually people will be punished if they refuse to work on Sabbath.

When we see the headlines in the newspapers that a strict Sunday law has been enacted in the United States and that everyone must obey it, then we know that the end is upon us. Then everyone in the church of God will awake up like the wise and foolish virgins woke up as they heard the cry, “Behold the bridegroom cometh.” That time it was too late for the foolish virgins to get oil. Their judgment had taken place before this cry.

Our judgment will take place during the time of peace. Jesus said, “Therefore be ?ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.” Matt. 24:44.

When there is war and trouble, people think that now the end is upon us. But Jesus said, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

While people are doing their everyday jobs in the time of peace, that time their judgment will take place. After this the Sunday Law will bring shaking upon the church and wise and foolish virgins will be separated.

After this separation the small faithful remnant that is left in the church will receive the latter rain and with mighty power they start proclaiming the Sabbath more fully. Thousands will be converted to the truth, and this will cause anger in the churches which have been losing their members. They will force governments to give greater punishments to the Sabbath-keepers, that they cannot buynor sell, and finally a death sentence will be pronounced uponthem.

The most importantpart in this sequence of events is our judgment,which will take place in a day when we think not that it would happen at that time.

In view of all this the most important thing for us is our character development; that is our sanctification.

Every sin must be repented, confessed, and put away, in order to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Because the standard that we must reach is so high, then we have no time to waste or to delay our preparation for the end.

Sadly, many will be found wanting.Something they had neglected or put off until later. They have been members in the church, but have neglected to fill their vessels with oil. Therefore their lamps will go out. The Holy Spirit had left them alone because they had refused to be hewed and shaped to fit the spiritual temple of God.

May the Lord help every one of us to wake up to the seriousness of the time and be ready even if our judgment would be today, is my wish and prayer.
AMEN.

Timo Martin, Canada