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March - April 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel
The Strength of Common Ground
by Darl Arbogast
The Anglo Saxon descendents of Israel seem to have been
born with a lust for freedom. It has been a hallmark in
our history, regardless of what land our ancestors
occupied. On the other hand, just as strong as the lust
for freedom, has been our legacy of disdain and contempt
for tyranny and oppression.
Such, who are privileged to have been called and given
an understanding of God's true Sabbath, can look back
over the bloodstained pages of history to the first
century, and trace a trail of tears. Those tears were
poured out by the persecuted saints as they fled, bled
and died, trying to escape the crushing hand of
religious tyranny. After the government of Rome
sanctioned the apostate church (which had fallen away
from God's true Sabbath and the 14th Passover, and had
adopted Sunday and Easter, among other pagan beliefs),
that church became the Roman "Universal" Church, known
to us as the Roman Catholic Church!
The imperial government of Rome ruled nearly all of the
civilized world in the 4th Century, so their state
religion was quickly dispersed into every province they
controlled. They sent their priests in to assume control
of all religious teaching to the uttermost parts of the
world.
Jerome, a Hebrew and Greek scholar, was contracted by
the apostate Roman Church to translate a Bible. This is
where the Latin Vulgate originated. It is a Bible made
to order for the Roman Catholic Church, to protect and
give credence to their version of the truth!
There was also a Hebrew and Greek scholar in Damascus by
the name of Lucian who operated a school for teaching
and writing Hebrew. Lucian was not under pressure to
bend the writings any certain way to satisfy those who
paid his salary, as Jerome was. He was able to bring the
Hebrew into Greek as accurately as possible. The Bible
he produced became known as the "Greek Text" and as the
"Recognized Text".
Recognizing this, we see the danger of Christians'
looking to the "early church fathers" for instructions
or guidance. By the time Jerome was contracted to
translate a Bible, those apostate church leaders had
fallen from the truth. They had inculcated so many pagan
beliefs into their religion that they outnumbered the
truths which remained.
Those Christians who remained faithful to God's Sabbath
and the 14th Passover continued with the Greek text
which was purer in its translation. The apostates clung
to the Vulgate, which had been polluted and slanted in
its translation to give credence to the false doctrines
being taught by the apostate "church fathers," who were
framing and establishing the Roman Catholic Church!
The faithful Sabbath keepers who observed the 14th
Passover became known by their Greek nickname, which was
Sabbatarian "Quarto-decimens." These Sabbath keeping
Christians ranged from the middle east through Asia
Minor to Europe, on up through Scandinavia, and over
into Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England.
For over 1,000 years they suffered heavily at the hands
of the Church of Rome. They were driven from their homes
and massacred by the millions. It was Satan's attempt to
bury the true Spirit Body of Jesus Christ, which He had
proclaimed could not be done in Matthew 16:18!
A man of whom every Sabbath keeping Christian in America
should take note, and for whom they should give a silent
prayer of thanks to God, is Stephen
Mumford.... Persecution against Sabbath keepers in
Europe grew severe in 1664. At the time Stephen Mumford
and his wife came to America from England, scarcely a
dozen known small congregations remained. They were in
hiding for the most part, meeting in the homes of
members, rather than meeting openly in public.
By 1671, Stephen Mumford and his wife had established
the first Sabbath keeping congregation on American
soil. From that one congregation, today we have the
Seventh Day Baptists, the Seventh Day Adventists, the
Church of God Seventh Day, and literally hundreds of
other branch-off groups. Many, if not most, of these
groups are independent and unincorporated.... Filling
one's lungs with the breath of freedom should be as much
a right in one's congregation as it is in one's country.
Had the early American Sabbath keeping congregations
pulled together and shared their common ground, instead
of pulling apart and dividing up into various and
competing camps, think of the witness to the world that
they would have been all these years! America has had
its chance to become a Sabbath keeping nation! God sent
a teacher of this truth here, early on, while the nation
was in its infancy.
Unfortunately, the politicians of America, as in
virtually every nation on earth, resist the true Sabbath
rather than embrace it. It did not help the situation
that the Sabbath keeping congregations became
divided. This diminished their influence on the law
makers, and caused a great deal of struggle for those
who took up the challenge to protect the fundamental
rights of Sabbath keepers in this country.
Many Sabbath keepers have fought a valiant fight with
the lawmakers to maintain and defend the rights of
Sabbath keepers in this nation. Our forefathers
established it as a nation founded upon the principle of
religious freedom. Today, it seems evident that the
overwhelming majority of Sabbath keeping Christians live
in nations occupied by the descendents of ancient
Israel: those who do bear a double responsibility!
Not only are they very likely to be a biological
Israelite - but also, possibly a spiritual Israelite, as
stated in Galatians 6:16. A physical seed of Abraham and
Isaac and and spiritual seed of Christ, also! What an
awesome thought!
I visualize that our efforts ought to be one of "healing
of a breach." If all the Sabbath keeping brethren in
America had stuck together and pulled together,
regardless of what their corporate name may have been,
from 1671 until now, America might be a much better
place than it is today! Year after year, our political
system, and those who are involved in it, have both
continually seemed to degrade resulting in what appears
now to be a culture with little respect for law or
morality.
The people who serve our country are no longer expected
to uphold the same high standards our leaders were in
years gone by. Could it have been different? Could it
yet be saved? Could this ugly shameful situation be
turned around?
As for we Sabbath keepers, our Savior, Christ Jesus, did
not create denominations or organizations, or
corporations! He created a single plan of salvation,
with one weekly Sabbath common to us all; He made the
Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. He is Lord of
that Sabbath, and the only way to eternal life is
through Him. This is why Sabbath observance is so
important.
Let us review verse three of the book of Jude:
"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you
concerning our common salvation,
I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you
to contend earnestly for the faith which was
once for all delivered to the
saints."
Today some Sabbath keeping volunteers are standing in
the gap caused by the division that has continued among
Sabbath keeping churches of America for well over one
hundred and fifty years. Can the breach be healed? We
simply do not know! We do know that the public at large
is prejudiced against Sabbath keeping churches. A stigma
such as this is a definite hindrance to our being an
effective witness.
The Bible Sabbath Association poses no threat insofar as
recruiting pressures, etc. are concerned. It is on
neutral ground, with volunteers from every group wanting
to be involved. Can the Bible Sabbath Association fill
this gap and be an effective witness to do the work
which remains - a work that these churches have not been
able to accomplish?
In Titus 1:4 we also see our common faith mentioned!
All who are true followers of Christ are partakers of
the common faith! . . . Philipians 1:27 reads,
"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of
Christ, so that whether I come and see you, or am
absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast
in one spirit, with one mind,
striving together for the faith of the gospel...."
How will this generation of Sabbath keepers be judged
for striving together for the faith of the gospel? I
sincerely hope that we will make a better showing in the
areas of commonality, of cooperation, and diligence than
our previous generations have done.
What on earth is to be gained by Sabbath keepers
alienating themselves and distancing themselves from one
another? The answer to that is "nothing!" On the other
hand, there is everything to gain by love, respect, and
acceptance of one another, individually and by group.
When we consider just how great the sacrifice of Christ
has been for each of us, and how little most of us have
done for one another, then we ought to wonder just where
the love of God is in our lives. What have we really
done for our Saviour to help get the gospel out? Any
such positive effort is also a service to the masses in
society who have yet to experience His Way.
Keepers of the Sabbath, possessing the Holy Spirit of
God, are called the "house of God." We are admonished
that "today judgement is upon the house of God!" This is
a very sobering thought, but we can be glad and rejoice
if we know that we are doing our best.
As we step forward into the new century, let us make the
most of what common ground we find. Let us lock our arms
together singing praises to our Heavenly Father for the
privilege to know Him and to serve Him, and let us know
each other, serving side by side with each other as we
take the gospel to the world!
We are experiencing the true freedom - freedom from the
entrapment of sin and Satan, and freedom to share the
joy of such with as many as the Lord our God will call!
"From every mountain side let freedom ring."
Darl E. Arbogast, a long time member of the Church
of God, and a Sabbatarian, can receive comments at his
mailing address: 4080 Due West Rd., Kennesaw, Ga. 30152
Phone: 770-428-5719. Or, comments may be sent to The
Sabbath Sentinel at our mailing address on the inside
cover. Email comments can be sent to the editor at
rmitchel@flash.net
TSS
March - April 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel
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