Tag: Sabbath Studies

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The God of Creation and the Advent Faith

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The Creator's Protection

The Second Advent Movement has a two fold reason to emphasize the importance of the creative power of God.  The first of these points is the Sabbath.  The fourth commandment tells us to remember the Sabbath day for it was on that day that God created the heaven and the earth.  (Exodus 20:11).

In addition, Revelation 14 :7 tells us of a last day revival of this important work as the first angel yells “Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters!”  For these reasons, the creative power of God is an important message for these last days.  In this audio, Pastor Cox emphasizes these points as well as the “gospel connection” for an emphasis on creation.

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The Sabbath Means God Can Make a Way

Trail in Snow
God's Trail Through

In the last days, Revelation 13 paints the picture of a beast that rises out of the sea and a beast that rises out of the Land. These beasts seek to overtake the people of God by forcing all the world to obey their dictates. The beast that comes out of the Land even causes fire to come down from heaven as it seeks to add divine authority to its dictates. This symbolizes a “false” revival that seems to attempt to replay the test given on the Mount by Elijah that the God who is really God should cause fire to come down from heaven.

Revelation 14 and the Sabbath

But in the midst of all of this error a message comes forth. The message is written of in Revelation 14:6-12. The people of the Second Advent Movement have referred to these messages as the three angels message. There are other messages in that chapter, but these three were seen as specifically for this time to tell the world.

The first of these messages is from an angel that has the everlasting gospel to preach unto those who live on the earth. The angel says to worship the creator in light of the judgment. Worship the creator. There is something about the two beast deception that requires a remembering of the Creation. It is here that the Sabbath comes in. For the Sabbath was created to remind us of the creator and the creation. It is here that we remember that God creates things out of nothing. It is here that we gain strength in the realization that no beast whether from land or sea, or dragon from heaven can mess up the desires of God.

Sabbath’s Unique Reminder

The Sabbath has been uniquely designed to be a reminder of the Creative power of God. And if we are going to make it through the evil days ahead, we must take ahold of that Sabbath-Creator truth.

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Sabbath Pulpit's Reflection on the Life of Samuel Bacchiocchi

It is with sadness that I report what many of you already know that Dr. Samuel Bachiocchi has died. Dr. Bacchiocchi was an interesting scholar, his writings were not confined to the libraries of the academically gifted, but was taken to common people. Certainly his writings were not “dumbed-down,” but they were accessible to many.

I have the four volumes on the Sabbath in my library and refer to them often. Reading his book Divine Rest for Human Restlessness was the beginning of my thinking of the Sabbath along these theological lines. His book Advent hope for Human Restlessness and the book on Hal Lindsey’s prophecies helped me to think about the end times in terms of more than just end time speculation and waiting for doomsday. I can’t say that I always agreed with him, but I can say that I was always challenged by him to think Biblically and more deeply about the subject. My MP3 player right now has all of his available MP3s. I love to listen to his energy and enthusiasm.

But more than theologically, Dr. Bacchoicchi has challenged me in that while he was a professor at Andrews University, he still had his independent publishing ministry that was not beholden to anyone. I appreciate his willingness to step outside of the “regular lines” and thus provide a model for some of us younger ministers to follow.

My life has been enriched by my tangential acquaintance with him largely through his materials. I give my condolences to the family and I pray that God will protect the ashes of this man until the return of the Lifegiver.