The Doctrinal Point—Time to
Begin the Sabbath
On Friday evening, the day
the conference in Battle Creek opened, those assembled commenced the Sabbath at
six o’clock, although the sun had been set for an hour. The next day they
closed the Sabbath at sunset. During that Sabbath a change in practice based on
Bible study had been made. It was an interesting and instructive experience in
doctrinal development.
As noted in earlier
chapters, Joseph Bates was considered the father of the Sabbath truth. As
captain of his own vessels, he had sailed far and wide and was acquainted with
the matter of time-keeping in different parts of the world. It was his conclusion
that time as kept at the equator, with sunset uniformly at 6:00 P.M., was the
proper guide to Sabbathkeeping, regardless of season of the year or location.
The Scriptures called for evening marking the beginning of the new day, and the
words “from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath” (Leviticus 23:32)
were cited in support of this point. The April 21, 1851, issue of the Review
carried a three-column article by Joseph Bates in support of the six o’clock
time.
In the State of Maine in 1847-1848,
some took the position that the Sabbath commenced at sunrise, quoting as
support, Matthew 28:1: “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward
the first day of the week” (see The Review and Herald, February 25, 1868). A
vision given to Ellen White checked this error in principle, for the angel
repeated the words of the scripture “From even unto even, shall ye celebrate
your sabbath.”
There were a few who
observed the Sabbath from sundown to sundown (JW to “My Dear Brother,” July 2,
1848; see also Ibid., February 25, 1868), but the majority stood with Bates, as
did James and Ellen White. The charismatic experience in Connecticut in late
June, 1848, recounted in chapter 13, seemed to confirm the six o’clock time.
Still the matter was not settled conclusively, and in June, 1854, James White
requested D. P. Hall in Wisconsin to give study to the matter and come up with
an answer (Ibid., December 4, 1855).
When this request failed to
yield fruit, he turned to John Andrews with the earnest request that he take
his Bible and bring evidence to settle the question. Andrews prepared a paper
on the matter. As he passed through Battle Creek with his parents in November
on his way to Iowa, he left this in the hands of James White. The reading of
this paper became the Sabbath morning Bible study at the conference in Battle
Creek. From nine texts in the Old Testament and two from the New, Andrews
demonstrated that “even” and “evening” of the Sabbath were identical with
sunset (Ibid.).
As the paper was read that
Sabbath morning, it could be seen that while the six o’clock time advocated by
Bates was in principle not incorrect—for it called for beginning the Sabbath in
the evening—in detail there was an error. Now with the position of sunset time
so amply supported by Scripture evidence, all the congregation, which included
the church’s leaders, readily accepted the light and were prepared to shift
their practice. All, that is, but two—Joseph Bates and Ellen White.
Bates’s position had been
generally accepted and defended. He was the venerable apostle of the Sabbath
truth. He was unready to accept what had been presented by the youthful John
Andrews, and he would stand in defense of his position. The vision given to
Ellen White in 1848, correcting the sunrise time and confirming “evening time,”
had nothing to say about the six o’clock time being in error.
Ellen White reasoned that
the six o’clock time had been a matter of practice for nearly a decade. The
Sabbath so kept had been a great blessing to her, and the angel had said
nothing about its being in error. Must a change be made now? Thus matters stood
through the rest of the Sabbath and through Sunday as the members met in
conference, but this was a rather touchy point of division that was bound to
widen as time went on. Then the God of heaven stepped in.
Of what took place, Ellen
White wrote:
November 20, 1855, while in
prayer, the Spirit of the Lord came suddenly and powerfully upon me, and I was
taken off in vision.—Testimonies for the Church, 1:113.
Her attention was called to
many points, among them the time to commence the Sabbath. She discussed the
matter with the angel. This conversation is very enlightening:
I saw that it is even so: “From
even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” Said the angel: “Take the
Word of God, read it, understand, and ye cannot err. Read carefully, and ye
shall there find what even is and when it is.”
I asked the angel if the
frown of God had been upon His people for commencing the Sabbath as they had. I
was directed back to the first rise of the Sabbath, and followed the people of
God up to this time, but did not see that the Lord was displeased, or frowned
upon them.
I inquired why it had been
thus, that at this late day we must change the time of commencing the Sabbath.
Said the angel: “Ye shall understand, but not yet, not yet.” Said the angel:
“If light come, and that light is set aside or rejected, then comes
condemnation and the frown of God; but before the light comes, there is no sin,
for there is no light for them to reject.”
I saw that it was in the
minds of some that the Lord had shown that the Sabbath commenced at six
o’clock, when I had only seen that it commenced at “even,” and it was inferred
that even was at six.
I saw that the servants of
God must draw together, press together.—Ibid., 1:116.
And they did. The vision
set Ellen White and Joseph Bates straight, and they accepted the vision
wholeheartedly. The matter of the time to commence the Sabbath was forever
settled—settled on the basis of Bible study, confirmed by vision. It was indeed
a significant experience in God’s leadings, one that Uriah Smith was later to
comment on:
Lest any should say that
Sister White, having changed her sentiments, had a vision accordingly, we will
state that which was shown her in vision concerning the commencement of the
Sabbath was contrary to her own sentiment at the time the vision was given.—The
Review and Herald, August 30, 1864.
1BIO 324 (Ellen
G. White: Volume 1—The Early Years: 1827-1862, By Arthur L. White)
Guiding Toward Organization
the Vital Need for Church Organization
As the number of believers
increased, it became clear that there was a pressing need for some guidance and
controls. Except for the messages that came from God through the visions given
to Ellen White, there was no authoritative voice, no voice of an organization,
to endorse doctrinal holdings or to certify to the integrity and the qualifications
of those who chose to represent themselves as ministers to the Sabbathkeeping
remnant. Some who felt called gave no real evidence of such a call. Some
organization was needed.
One matter that required
agreement was the time to begin the Sabbath. Joseph Bates was considered the
father of the Sabbath truth. As captain of his own vessels, he had sailed far
and wide and was acquainted with the matter of time-keeping in various parts of
the world. It was his conclusion that time as kept at the equator, with sunset
uniformly at 6:00 p.m., was the proper guide to Sabbathkeeping, regardless of
season of the year or location. The Scriptures called for evening to mark the
beginning of the new day, and the words “from even unto even, shall ye
celebrate your Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:32) were cited in support of this view.
The April 21, 1851, issue of the Review carried a three-column article
by Joseph Bates in support of the 6:00 time.
In the state of Maine in
1847-1848 some took the position that the Sabbath commenced at sunrise, quoting
as support, Matthew 28:1: “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week” (see The Review and Herald, February 25, 1868).
A vision given to Ellen White checked this error in principle, for the angel
repeated the words of the scripture “From even unto even, shall ye celebrate
your Sabbath.”
There were a few who
observed the Sabbath from sundown to sundown (JW to “My Dear Brother,” July 2,
1848; see also Ibid., February 25, 1868), but the majority stood with Bates, as
did James and Ellen White. In June 1854 James White requested D. P. Hall in
Wisconsin to study the matter and come up with an answer (Ibid., December 4,
1855).
When this request failed to
yield fruit, he asked John Andrews to take his Bible and bring evidence to
settle the question. Andrews prepared a paper on the matter. As he passed
through Battle Creek with his parents in November on his way to Iowa, he left
this in the hands of James White. The reading of this paper became the Sabbath
morning Bible study at the conference in Battle Creek. From nine texts in the
Old Testament and two from the New, Andrews demonstrated that “even” and
“evening” of the Sabbath were identical with sunset (Ibid.).
As the paper was read that
Sabbath morning, it could be seen that while the 6:00 time advocated by Bates
was in principle not incorrect—for it called for beginning the Sabbath in the
evening—in detail there was an error. Now with the position of sunset time so
amply supported by Scripture evidence, all the congregations, which included
the church’s leaders, readily accepted the light and were prepared to shift
their practice. All, that is, but two—Joseph Bates and Ellen White.
Bates’s position had been
generally accepted and defended. He was the venerable apostle of the Sabbath
truth. He was unready to accept what had been presented by the youthful John
Andrews, and he would stand in defense of his position. The vision given to
Ellen White in 1848, correcting the sunrise time and confirming “evening time,”
had nothing to say about the 6:00 time being in error.
Ellen White reasoned that
the 6:00 time had been a matter of practice for nearly a decade. The Sabbath so
kept had been a great blessing to her, and the angel had said nothing about its
being in error. Must a change be made now? Thus matters stood through the rest
of the Sabbath and through Sunday as the members met in conference, but this
was a rather touchy point of division that was bound to widen as time went on.
Then the God of heaven stepped in.
Of what took place Ellen
White wrote:
November 20, 1855, while in
prayer, the Spirit of the Lord came suddenly and powerfully upon me, and I was
taken off in vision (Testimonies for the Church, 1:113).
Her attention was called to
many points, among them the time to commence the Sabbath. She discussed the
matter with the angel. This conversation was very enlightening:
I saw that it is even so: “From
even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” Said the angel: “Take the
Word of God, read it, understand, and ye cannot err. Read carefully, and ye
shall find what even is and when it is.”
I asked the angel if the
frown of God had been upon His people for commencing the Sabbath as they had. I
was directed back to the first rise of the Sabbath, and followed the people of
God up to this time, but did not see that the Lord was displeased, or frowned
upon them.
I inquired why it had been
thus, that at this late day we must change the time of commencing the Sabbath.
Said the angel: “Ye shall understand, but not yet, not yet.” Said the angel:
“If light come, and that light is set aside or rejected, then comes
condemnation and the frown of God; but before the light comes, there is no sin,
for there is no light for them to reject.”
I saw that it was in the
minds of some that the Lord had shown that the Sabbath commenced at six
o’clock, when I had only seen that it commenced at “even,” and it was inferred
that even was at six.
I saw that the servants of
God must draw together, press together (Ibid., 1:116).
And they did. The vision
set Ellen White and Joseph Bates straight, and they accepted the vision
wholeheartedly. The matter of the time to begin the Sabbath was settled—settled
on the basis of Bible study, confirmed by vision.
WV 73 (Ellen White: Woman
of Vision)
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