As the years have passed and final events—such as the death decree and the enforcement of the mark of the beast—have not yet happened, some have expressed doubt, even skepticism, about our interpretation of final events, including how Sabbath and Sunday could be central to the final conflict.

The book of Revelation is clear: we either worship the Creator or the beast and its image. And because the seventh-day Sabbath is the foundational sign—going back to Eden itself (see Gen. 2:1–3)—of God as Creator, it should not be surprising that, in an issue about worshiping the Creator, the Sabbath would be central. Also, it is no coincidence that the beast power is the same power that claims to have changed the Sabbath commandment from the biblical day to Sunday, which has no sanction in the Bible. With this background in mind, the idea of Sabbath and Sunday being involved in the issue of worship—again, either the Creator (see Rev. 14:6, 7) or the beast—makes good sense. And we have in the New Testament a precursor to the issue of the seventh-day Sabbath versus human law.

Read Matthew 12:9–14 and John 5:1–16. What issue caused the religious leaders to want to kill Jesus?

In Matthew 12, after Jesus healed on the Sabbath the man with a withered hand (Matt. 12:9–13), how did the religious leaders respond? “But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus” (Matt. 12:14, NIV). Death because of the seventh-day Sabbath? In John 5:1–16, after another miraculous healing on the seventh day, the leaders “persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath” (John 5:16, NKJV).

Death because of human tradition (nothing in the Bible forbade healing on Sabbath, just as nothing in the Bible has put Sunday in place of Sabbath) versus the seventh-day Sabbath? Though the specific issue here with Jesus isn’t the same as in final events, it’s close enough: human law versus God’s, and, in both, the contested law centers on the biblical Sabbath.

Dying over one of the commandments of God? How could one easily seek to rationalize one’s way out of that?

In this episode, we talk about other episodes.

The What:
The Adventist History Podcast is a monthly podcast telling a story of the Seventh-day Adventist Church hosted by Matthew J. Lucio. It is a part of the Adventist History Project, whose mission is to provide people with a working knowledge of Adventist history.

Links:
Web: http://adventisthistorypodcast.org/
Support: https://www.patreon.com/AdventistHistoryPodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adventisthistorypodcast/

Watch: http://youtube.com/c/adventisthistory

Check Out Our Other Podcasts::

• Adventist Pilgrimage (with Dr. Greg Howell and Dr. Jim Wibberding)
• Adventist History Extra (Available to our Patrons)
• The Ellen White Podcast (with Dr. Michael Campbell)

Nancy Dodson shares her transformative journey from a legalistic faith upbringing to discovering God's true nature through devastating grief after her son's suicide. She vulnerably explores how trauma reshaped her understanding of God and why churches often fail those experiencing profound loss.

• Growing up in a performance-based religious environment where salvation depended on a five-step process
• Experiencing abuse, divorce, and church trauma while maintaining a facade of spiritual stability
• Losing her 17-year-old son Tyler to suicide in 2019, creating a clear "before and after" line in her life
• Finding the freedom to question, rage, and wrestle with God without fear of disappointing Him
• Discovering that many Christians are uncomfortable with raw grief and unanswerable questions
• Realizing she wasn't wrestling with God but with what she'd been taught God was
• Embracing the mystery of faith instead of needing formulas and explanations for everything
• Learning that churches often lack the capacity to properly support those experiencing traumatic grief
• Finding comfort in knowing she'll be reunited with Tyler and all pain will be healed

If you're wrestling with faith questions or experiencing grief, remember that God can handle your raw emotions and authentic doubts. As Nancy says, "Don't let go," because even when you can't feel God's presence, He's walking alongside you.

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