12. Isaiah, Revelation, and the Eternal Sabbath

JERRY RECTOR | Physician

A last Sabbath argument comes from the last chapter of Isaiah. In fact, the last few chapters are devoted to the promise of heavenly redemption, the New Jerusalem, Zion, and the New Earth. These are wonderfully encouraging passages where God is communicating to Israel, and to us, that this earth is temporary. Isa 65:17,

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad….” 

Isaiah describes the New Earth using Jewish imagery, as would be expected by a Jewish writer/prophet. Here is the text in question, Isa 66: 19-24,

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans, and Lydians, to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. [Are these literal end time descriptions, or figurative representations?] They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels, says the Lord. They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. [Again, literal events or figurative?] And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites, says the Lord. [Will there be priests in heaven? The Sacrificial system has been fulfilled…] As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me, declares the Lord, so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me, says the Lord. And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” 

Does this demonstrate that we will keep Sabbath in heaven? Does it also then show that we will keep the New Moon celebrations as well? Is the heavenly worship cycle based on the earthly lunar rotation?? I doubt it. This appears to be entirely a figurative representation to me. Most Adventists would not want to take the last verse literally, as it impacts hell fire doctrine. So why would we take verse 23 literally? Even if we did take it literally as evidence of heavenly Sabbath worship, and then use that to affirm that Sabbath worship is still God’s will for all mankind, we would also have to affirm the New Moon celebrations as currently important and relevant too. They are mentioned in the same breath and cannot be separated. I couldn’t base Sabbath doctrine on this text, either.

Sabbath in Revelation

I would like to touch on a couple of key Adventist passages in Revelation that are used to both defend Sabbath worship, and also establish their position as the remnant church in the last days. Rev 12:17:

“Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” 

Adventists interpret “God’s commandments” as meaning the Ten Commandments, and figure that seventh day worship and Sabbath keeping must be a characteristic of the woman’s offspring. They then reference Rev 19:10, seven chapters away in an apocalyptic book, where an angel says to John,

“I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

They choose to define the term “spirit of prophecy” as a label for the writings of Ellen White and therefore state that the Adventist church alone has the ingredients to be the “offspring of the woman” or in today’s terms, the remnant church. Let’s examine the first ingredient: obeying God’s commandments. The Greek word translated “commandments” is “entole.” This word is used frequently throughout the New Testament and can be used to describe the Ten, but is also applied to other of God’s commands, as well as commandments/injunctions of men to one another. Here are some examples of its varied usage: 

1. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment (entole) in the law. Jesus replies with the statements to love God and love our neighbors, then says, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (entole).”
2. Mark 10:5 is Jesus’ response to a question about divorce. He says, “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law (entole).” He then introduces a higher standard of lifelong commitment between husband and wife to be our goal.
3. Luke 15:29 occurs at the end of the story of the prodigal son. The “good” son is talking to his father and says, “Look, all these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders (entole.)”
4. In John 10 Jesus is describing himself as the Good Shepherd and prophecies about his death. In verse 18 He shows whose directions he is following, “No one takes it (life) from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command (entole) I received from my Father.”
5. John 13 and 14 contains Jesus discourse on the overriding purpose for His follower’s future years—to love one another. This has been discussed extensively early in this paper. He states, “If you love me, keep my commandments (entole). This is my commandment (entole)—that ye love one another.”
6. In Acts 17:15, the word “entole” is used to describe a human command, “The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions (entole) for Silas and Timothy.” 1 Cor 14:37 contains a similar usage.
7. Hebrews 7:5 discusses a portion of Old Covenant Law describing tithing, “Now the law (entole) requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people…”
8. 1 John 2: Now a very important verse, used in conjunction with the remnant verses in Revelation, found in 1 John chapter 2,
   
   “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands (entole). The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands (entole) is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:1-6.
   
   It is a very narrow interpretation to consider the term “commands” to be synonymous with the Ten Commandments. I would be willing to consider the moral principles behind the Ten as included in this statement, but much more is in play as well. Note the reference to love as the fulfillment of the Spirit’s work on our hearts. In fact, John may not be referring to specifics here. Instead he urges us to walk as Jesus did. As he goes on to develop his points for the readers of this letter, he goes to the same place Jesus does:
   
   “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands (entole) and do what pleases him. And this is his command (entole): to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded (entole) us. Those who obey his commands (entole) live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” 1 John 3:21-24.
   
   Just like John 13 and 14, written by the same author, the theme of love is developed as the New Covenant commandment. Thoughts and actions are all affected by this overriding principle. In this way, the Law is written on our hearts—not the Ten, but the principles behind them and every other loving unselfish thought and action.

These texts in Revelation sound convincing when one is looking for support for a particular belief system. The wording seems the same. But further investigation shows there is no conclusive link between those statements and the Ten Commandments extracted from the Old Covenant. 

What is the Spirit of Prophecy?

Furthermore, the idea that the term “spirit of prophecy” must refer to an end-time prophet is also completely without basis. I have no problem in saying that the phrases “testimony of Jesus” and “spirit of prophecy” are synonymous. However, both of these phrases are much more likely to refer to a faithful rendering of the Gospel of Jesus described by both Bible writers and faithful Christians down through the ages. Here is an example of John’s use of the phrase right at the beginning of Revelation,

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw – that is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev 1:1,2.

One could not make Ellen White or her writings synonymous with “the testimony of Jesus” in this passage.

“I, John…was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Rev 1:9.

Again, prophetic writings (by Ellen White or any other prophet) could not be seen as responsible for imprisoning John on this island. He was placed there because he proclaimed the gospel about Jesus Christ—the testimony. Paul mentions several times the gift of prophecy in the early churches, and this certainly doesn’t have to imply someone who is having visions. I am not prepared to say what the exact definition of a prophet is to Paul, but feel it is likely to be more commonplace than one might first think. To apply the term “spirit of prophecy” to any present-day author is startlingly presumptuous. I believe it is yet another example of fitting the Bible into one’s belief system.

It is my prayer that these thoughts, organized for the purpose of dialogue between believers, can be helpful in directing further study on the issues of salvation (justification) and Christian living (sanctification.)

Know what you believe, and why you believe it. †