In the 1880s, Seventh-day Adventists faced an imminent and apparently unstoppable initiative for a national Sunday law. Today, we are presented with a perfect prophetic storm with a call to Sunday worship at its core. But how quickly can we rise to this Sunday-law challenge of our time?

ASI 2021: Into All the World

<p>In the 1880s, Seventh-day Adventists faced an imminent and apparently unstoppable initiative for a national Sunday law. Today, we are presented with a perfect prophetic storm with a call to Sunday worship at its core. But how quickly can we rise to this Sunday-law challenge of our time?</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Relating to Law & Government While Spreading the 3 Angels' Messages

Mark Finley

Jesus, the Coming Crisis, and our Relationship to Civil Authorities

The title of our seminar is Jesus, Adventist, End Time and our Relationship to the Government.

Now when I attend a seminar, I always like to know a little bit what the seminar is about.

I'll tell you a little bit about what it's about before we actually have prayer and then we'll talk about how to get the most out of this seminar.

I like to think about the purposes of this class in the area of 3D dimension.

The first purpose of the class is to deepen our own spiritual experience.

You can have a knowledge of what's going to take place in the future.

But if you do not have an intimate relationship with Jesus, and if the dynamic Living Christ is not living in your heart.

All of the knowledge about end time events is going to avail very, very little.

You can think in your mind, you have it all figured out.

But unless Christ breaks your heart, unless you have come to the cross of Calvary and seen Jesus and have been charmed by his love and won by his grace, the knowledge of coming events will mean very little.

So the first purpose of our class, particularly in the first section, we're going to be talking about spiritual experience in the light of the final crisis.

The purpose of the class is to deepen our spirit.

In the area of discernment, it is to discern clearly what is coming in the future.

And have a fairly good comprehensive view of what's coming.

And in the discovery area, I'll spend time discussing the legitimate role of government in a society based on biblical and spirit of prophecy principles and the illegitimate role of government.

And I'll give you examples both from the Bible, the writings of Ellen White on the legitimate and illegitimate.

Discern clearly the Bible texts and the role of the future.

Now there must always be a fourth D and that's a disclaimer.

If you have a lapel mic, it's going to be better, because I use my hands and I use the text of scripture, and I'm going to be so...

It's going to be difficult for me to hold a mic.

If you have a lapel mic and you want to bring it, that's fine.

If you have come to class thinking that Mark Finley is the final authority on mask mandates or vaccines, It is probably, you are going to be very, very disappointed.

Because the content of the class is neither vaccines or mask mandates.

So aren't you glad we got that out of the way right away?

And if somebody brings me a lapel mic halfway through, that's fine.

Father in heaven, how we thank you for biblical principles that help us make critical decisions in our lives in the time that we're living.

We sense that we are living in the climactic closing hours of Earth's history.

We sense that we're living on the knife edge of eternity.

And we sense that the decisions we make personally, as individuals, and corporately as a church can make all the difference in the salvation of our souls and other souls.

Grant us during this time together wisdom, we pray in Christ's name.

Now, if you have your Bible, and I really hope you do, because I think many times in seminars, we come and we share human wisdom.

And I've come to share biblical principles.

If you have a Bible, it's going to be much more helpful for you.

So to get the most out of the class, you need a Bible.

Now, you may have ancient scrolls like I do.

You may have the electronic version on your iPhone.

I know if you look at your iPhone, you're going to be looking at texts and not texting.

There's a difference, if you didn't know that, between the biblical text and texting.

So I trust that you will not allow the devil to capture away your mind by looking at texts or Facebook during our class, but you will be focused on the Word of God.

If you have a notepad, there are a number of statements from the writings of Ellen White that I think are going to be really helpful for you, some of which I had not examined closely until we started this class.

And so it's nice to have people that know what they're doing quickly, isn't it?

We've had our prayer, so let's launch right into our topic.

Now, as time races to a close, God's people are going to need to make very significant decisions when it comes to government authorities.

And the question that we need to raise is what biblical principles guide us in those decisions?

Not what secular humanism says, not what culture says, but what biblical principles guide us in making decisions when it comes to government authorities.

Now the days ahead are not going to be easy.

We have a crisis that will burst upon our world and the days ahead certainly are going to be climactic days and extremely challenging days.

And the choices we make personally are going to have eternal consequences.

The response to the issues that we're facing will catapult us into these final events.

Now we've not been left in the dark when it comes to what's going to take place.

If you have your Bible, I invite you to take it in turn.

But trusting that many of you have brought the scriptures, I want to turn to 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 5.

We are not left in the dark when it comes to last day events.

Seventh-day Adventists have divine guidance.

We have divine guidance both from the principles of Scripture, and although Scripture may not address a specific issue that we'll face in the last days, Scripture gives us principles that enable us as individuals to know how to relate to the authorities.

And in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and we're looking there at verses 4 through 6, Paul writing to the church at Thessalonica says, but you, brethren or sisters, are not in darkness.

So this day, that is the coming of Jesus, should overtake you as a thief.

You're all sons of the light and sons of the day.

Therefore, let us not sleep as others, but let us watch and be sober." So Paul says that while the world may be in darkness, while the world may have a very foggy view of the future, where the future may be very cloudy for people in this world, as children of God, we have clear light on the road ahead.

God has given us that light in the prophetic word of Daniel and the prophecies of the book of Revelation.

They spell out in broad strokes where we're headed.

Ellen White, who's Seventh-day Adventist, I believe, spoke with a prophetic voice, takes those basic principles in the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation and makes them much, much more specific.

She writes in eighth volume of the testimonies, page 28, we who know the truth, who's that, we who know the truth, who is that?

We who know the truth should be preparing for what's to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

So we have inside information, we have divine insight, and the prophetic word tells us that we are to prepare for what's to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

You do not prepare for the marathon the day of the marathon.

My wife ran her first marathon when she was 70 years old.

And I remember after 1 of the marathons, I don't recall whether it was the first or the second, she was running by people that were half her age and some who were not as trim as her and some who were not as slender as her, but who were part of the 69% in America who are classified as overweight or obese, when she ran by about 3 of those, she heard 1 lady said to the other, you know, next year I think we maybe should prepare for this event.

You do not prepare for the long haul marathon the day of the marathon, right?

And you do not prepare for the crisis that's coming when an economic boycott is passed and a national Sunday law is afflicted upon God's people in a time where we cannot buy or sell.

You don't prepare for that when it happens.

And this is why Ellen White makes this remarkable statement that should not be passed over lightly in 8th volume of the Testimonies, page 28.

Preparing for what is to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

Lincoln Steed

How to Respond to the Sunday Law

Some of that sentiment we buy into a Seventh-day Adventist.

Some of it I don't think we're willing to go where it's taken a number of people as recently as January 6.

The WCTU, Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Delawite was very much involved with preaching against alcohol and giving talks all over the country.

WCTU was 1 of the largest civic organizations.

They were absolutely set for a national Sunday law.

Most of the major religions then, as now, if you scratch a little deeply beneath the surface, would love to have, would have loved then and would love now to have the Sunday worship, Sunday sacredness, as well as other aspects of religion enshrined in law.

Through Liberty Magazine, we're always pointing out that the Constitution effectively sets up a separation of church and state.

But you will hunt far and wide today, as back in 1888, to find evangelical-type Christians who buy that.

I've been in meetings where they spit it out.

They say, in fact, the most extreme way I can tell you what their view today is, and it was much the same then.

I remember Bill Bright, who died a decade or 2 ago now, he was the founder of Campus Crusade.

I remember him in his final days on oxygen, on camera, and he says, the separation of church and state is a satanic concept.

So don't think that while you're in Liberty or in Adventist meetings, you hear about how wonderful the Constitution is.

The Catholic Church have reiterated their support for the separation of church and state as the religious underdog for many years in the US.

But if you scratch their view, it's even more troubling because they have the concept of subsidiarity, they call it.

The church and state are separate, but the state is subsidiary to the church.

That's the medieval model without its teeth exercised, but it's not a good relationship.

So this bill, going back to 1888, stood a good chance to pass.

Jones was correct in seeing this as a direct threat to freedom of religion and a fulfillment of prophecy.

But I want to share with you just a few paragraphs.

You've heard about it, I'm sure, but have you ever read it?

This is the first few paragraphs, what it said.

This was in the 50th Congress, introduced by Senator Blair, and it says, a bill to secure to the people the enjoyment of the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord's Day, as a day of rest and to promote its observance as a day of religious worship.

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America and Congress assembled that no person, no corporation or the agent, servant or employee of any person or corporation shall perform or authorize to be performed any secular work, labor, or business to the disturbance of others' works of necessity, mercy, and humanity accepted.

Nor shall any person engage in any play, game, or amusement, or recreation to the disturbance of others on the first day of the week.

Kite flying would have been out on this, right?

Commonly known as the Lord's Day, or during any part thereof in any territory, district, vessel, or place subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, nor shall it be lawful for any person or corporation to receive pay for labor or service performed or rendered in violation of this section.

And it goes on, no mails, the prosecution of commerce between the states and with the Indian tribes, the same not being work of necessity, mercy or humanity, the usual prejudice against the Indians.

That all military and naval drills, musters and parades, not in time of active service or immediate preparation thereof, of soldiers, sailors, Marines or cadets of the United States on the first day of the week accept assemblies for the due and orderly observance of religious worship are hereby prohibited, nor shall Unnecessary labor be performed or permitted in the military service of the United States on the Lord's Day.

I Guess Mexico would have invaded on Sunday If they were smart, but you know that that's the bill and it was defeated very Providentially, I believe but yet not logically because most of the groups were behind it.

I've spent a lot of time on Liberty going back on the old issues, and I pulled 1, not quite at random, 1918, because to me, 1918 in the middle of a COVID emergency is a nice bracketing point.

That's the last time we had something like COVID when 600, 000 Americans died, same number as at the moment, but with a population about a third or a quarter of what it is now.

And I wanted to look, what's Liberty Magazine on about at that point?

And I guess I didn't put the right tag in here.

Then they were talking about Sunday ordinances declared invalid.

They were fighting against the Sunday closing laws.

And In 1 paragraph here it says, majority rule should be confined to issues upon which the government has a right to decide, and religion is not a good 1 of them.

A short time ago in the city of Los Angeles, a Sunday closing ordinance was before the city council.

Retail grocers, in advocating its passage, claimed that 95% of the grocers favoured it.

And the other 5% was too small to be worthy of any consideration.

Representatives of religious bodies in favour of the ordinance said that it was chiefly opposed by those who kept another day and that there were but a few thousand of them, and in comparison with the advocates of Sunday, there were so few that they were not worthy of attention or hearing.

Remember what Ellen White says, she said, they'll say you're just a small people.

Why are you objecting you're holding back the progress of the nation, you know come come good So for Adventist this has been a consistent concern and of course the blue laws are around But blue laws are not directly Sunday laws.

If you've read Liberty Magazine, you know that I like history and I have regularly referred back to the experience in England and in particular the Civil War, 100 years before the War of Independence here.

And very few people seem to remember or be interested in the fact that it was a religious civil war, fought against the king and his Catholic allies.

There were a number of groups that fought on the parliamentarian side, but in the end it was the Puritans that rose to prominence and their general, After leading them to victory in the Civil War and putting the king on trial, cutting his head off, he ruled as a religious strongman, for want of a better word.

But during that period, and I know most of you know pilgrim's progress, it was common for people to be fined for, as I've got a book at home about the different penalties for Sabbath breaking or Sunday breaking as we understand it, and 1, the county clerk was fined for keeping to his bed on Sunday.

And another person was even fined for, I forget the wording, but it says, in other words, singing like a pig in church.

The civil magistrates were into all your religious activity so that transferred just neatly to the United States and as recently as as the Year before last because last year was sort of a nit to regnum on every front.

I remember going to North Dakota to Bismarck and I was flying out late in the morning so I thought I'll go to Walmart so I drove down the main street and there was the Walmart.

They're always pretty busy but nobody was around and on the front door was a big sign that says the blue law has been exercised, we are not open on Sunday here.

And in our era the echoes are not quite silent.

I remember a few days ago listening to, on 1 of the television stations, a dialogue between a right-wing congresswoman and 1 of the TV personalities and they were having her explain why in certain parts of the country they're trying to restrict voting hours and just inhibiting certain groups from from getting to the voting stations and they said to her because she was against having voting open on Sunday.

And they said, aren't you aware that a lot of the black churches have a get out the vote effort on Sunday and will bus the parishioners to the voting station.

And she said, they shouldn't be voting on Sunday anyway.

We don't want people to be doing anything except worshiping on Sunday.

In her case, I think she was being a little cute because they do want to disadvantage a certain group as far as the vote but this sentiment is there there's no question I want to keep to my own agenda.

As talking about these topics, I've been careful over the years to always reference the book, Last Day Events.

And I'm sure many of you are familiar with that.

But it might not have occurred to you when the church put this together.

Clearly, our church got a bit of a shock that here events were moving forward.

And I found that it's about as good a collection of statements on this topic that's been put before the members in recent years.

I'll just read you a few of the leading quotes on where things are heading on Sunday and on legislation and so on.

On page 126, there are a few comments that relate to how we should respond to these things.

Like I've talked to Adventists saying, it's coming, you know, big deal, let it happen.

And Ellen White says this in Testimonies Volume 5, she says, there are many, even of those engaged in this movement for Sunday enforcement, who are blinded by the results that will follow this action.

They do not see that they are striking directly against religious liberty.

There are many who have never understood the claims of the Bible study, of the Bible Sabbath, and the false foundation upon which the Sunday institution rests.

She says it is our duty to do all in our power to avert the threatened danger.

A vast responsibility is devolving upon men and women of prayer throughout the land to petition that God may sweep back this cloud of evil.

She wrote this in 1888, and to give a few more years of grace to work for the Master.

And then she went further in Testimonies 5, which is my favorite volume of the Testimonies.

We are not doing the will of God if we sit in quietitude doing nothing to preserve liberty of conscience.

And elsewhere she wrote, and I couldn't find it for this meeting, but it's a common quote, she says, Satan is ordering things so that we will have neither mercy nor justice.

I remember a few years ago, long story, but I was a guest of a right wing political planning group, nothing to do with Adventism.

And as part of the weekend's events, we had a banquet at Focus on the Family.

Interesting guy, I read his books in Australia and serialized them even in our division paper when I was putting it together.

I introduced myself and without really any further discussion he said, Seventh-day Adventist, he said, you think I'm bringing the Sunday law, don't you?

And he says, I've written a letter to the general conference saying that.

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Series

Relating to Law & Government While Spreading the 3 Angels' Messages

How to Respond to the Sunday Law

Transcript

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Recorded

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