Is Coffee Good Conditional Prophecy Isaiah 58:13 Isn’t About for Adventists? and Free Will Swimming on Sabbath FALL 2017 • WWW.ATODAY.ORG AdventistToday the sabbath INSIDEVOL. 25 NO. 3 AdventistToday Executive Editor Loren Seibold Copy Editor Debra J. Hicks Contributing Editors James Walters, John McLarty, Jeff Boyd, J. David Newman Art Director Chris Komisar Digital Media Senior Editor, Jiggs Gallagher; News Editor, Bjorn Karlman; Correspondent, Alethia Nkosi; Commentary, Mark Gutman; Reviews, Edwin A. Schwisow; Monthly Edition Editor, Heather Gutman; Facebook Editor, Carmen Seibold Executive Director Monte Sahlin Chief Operating Officer Paul Richardson Executive Secretary of Development Edwin A. Schwisow Chief Technology Strategist Warren Nelson FOUNDATION BOARD DEPARTMENTS Nate Schilt (chair), Jim Walters, (vice chair) Monte Sahlin (secretary), Andrew Clark, Keith Colburn, Chris Daley, Larry Downing, Bill Garber, John Hoehn, 18 Heritage Edmond Jones, Mailen Kootsey, Keisha McKenzie, A Brief History of the Great Controversy Motif Chuck Mitchell, Jim Nelson, Warren Nelson, Chris features Oberg, Gene Platt, E. Gary Raines, Paul Richardson, By Aage Rendalen Sasha Ross, Dan Savino, Loren Seibold, J. Gordon 3 What the Sabbath Meant to Short, James Stirling, Eldon Stratton, Ervin Taylor, First-Century Christians David Van Putten, John Vogt 22 The Exegete SENIOR LIFETIME ADVISORS By Herold Weiss Isaiah 58:13-14 ($25,000+) Elwin Dunn, Patricia & Douglas Ewing, Kathi & Richard 6 Samoa’s Sabbath Wars By Olive J. Hemmings Guth, John Hoehn, Judy & John Jacobson, Al Koppel, Joan Ogden, Dr. & Mrs. Thaine Price, Judy & Gordon By Bjorn Karlman Rick, Mike Scofield, Lovina & J. Gordon Short, Marilynn 24 Mythos & Ervin Taylor, Nancy & John Vogt, Priscilla & James Walters 11 Seventh-day Adventists, Ahmose LIFETIME ADVISORS ($10,000+) Conditional Prophecy, By Maylan Schurch Jane Bainum, Susan & Hernan Barros, Diana & Ken Bauer, Kelli & Robert Black, Ginny & Todd Burley, and Free Will Tierrasanta Church, Pat & Ron Cople, Kathryn & By Richard W. Coffen 26 Alden Thompson James Dexter, Rosemary & Merlyn Duerksen, Dan Engeberg, Sandra & Sam Geli, Patricia Hare, Jackie & The Sabbath and Your Neighbor Jim Henneberg, Mariellyn & Edwin Hill, Carmen & Clive 14 Big Issues over a Small Cup Holland, Erika & Brian Johnson, Carmen & Yung Lau, David T. Person II, Patricia Phillips, R. Marina & E. Gary By Jack Hoehn 30 Contributors Raines, Judith Rausch, Dee Dee & Nate Schilt, Stewart Shankel, James Stirling, Tierrasanta SDA Church, Kit Watts 31 BarelyAdventist UNDERWRITING ADVISORS News Briefs ($2,500+ DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS) Patricia & Ronald Cople, L. Humberto Covarrubias, Lawrence G. Downing, William Garber, Lyndon Marter, Paul A. Richardson, Alden Thompson, Amabel & Eric Tsao Adventist Today brings contemporary issues of importance to interested readers. Adventist Today is a member of The Associated Church Press. Following GENERAL ADVISORS basic principles of ethics and canons of journalism, this publication strives for fairness, candor, and good taste. Unsolicited submissions are encouraged. Payment is competitive. Send an email to [email protected] or mail to Adventist Today, PO Box 683, Milton Freewater OR 97862. Call 800.236.3641. ($500+/YEAR PLAN) Website: www.atoday.org Cherry Ashlock, Almon Balkins, Charlotte & Robert Brody, Beverly & Sidney Christiansen, Ruth As an independent press, Adventist Today relies on memberships and donations to meet its operating expenses. To support Adventist Today and continue Christensen & Glenn Henriksen, Joshua W. Dee, Debra receiving this magazine, go to www.atoday.org, and click on Membership or Donate at the top. Mail payments to the address above. All donations are & Anders Engdahl, Ed Fry, Karita & DeWitt Goulbourne, tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Dolores & Robert Hasse, Melva Hicks, John G. Adventist Today (ISSN 1079-5499) is published quarterly by Adventist Today Foundation. Periodical postage paid at St Joseph MI 49085-9998. POSTMAS- Jacobson, Catherine Lang-Titus, Lillian McNeily, TER: Send address changes to Adventist Today at the address in paragraph one. Copyright (c) 2017 by Adventist Today Foundation, a nonprofit organiza- Vincent Melashenko, Dale Morrison, Corinne & Michael tion dedicated to fostering open dialogue in the Adventist community and beyond. Pestes, Claudia Peterson, Tracy & Craig Reynolds, Ruth & Beryl Rivers, Gretchen & Monte Sahlin, Beverly & David Sandquist, Carolyn & Robert Tandy, 2 ADVENTIST TODAY Jackie & Hal Williams FEATURE One version exhorts us to “remember” the healings had an immediate role to play Sabbath and bases its import upon God’s in the oral traditions that preserved What the rest on the seventh day of creation week them. The stories explicitly addressed (Exodus 20), while the other asks that that permissible Sabbath activities, which Sabbath Meant we “observe” the Sabbath and bases its was a lively issue among early Christians. significance on the Israelites’ deliverance Believers were concerned with the proper from the slavery of Egypt (Deuteronomy 5).1 observance of the Sabbath, the seventh to First-Century Naturally, this occasioned debates about day of the week, and did not think whether the Sabbath was the repetition of that the commandment required total a divine act or the celebration of freedom inactivity. Establishing what can be done, Christians from slavery. Some said that since God or what kind of work is allowed, was of has been at rest since the completion of paramount importance. Early Christians BY HEROLD WEISS creation, the Sabbath is a foretaste of the preserved these stories as a guide for joys of the Age to Come and, therefore, their Sabbath conduct. the Sabbath might not apply to the Present The Gospel of Matthew makes two Evil Age at all. significant additions to the Sabbath A common misunderstanding of the At the same time, according to the healing miracles. One is Jesus’ advice Judaism of Jesus’ time is that it was an Jewish understanding of the cosmos, to pray that they would not need to integrated, unified religion where rabbis God could not be completely inactive escape the forthcoming fall of Jerusalem commanded the respect of all Jews. In on the Sabbath, for if he ceased keeping on a Sabbath (Matt. 24:20). Of course, reality, the Jews of that time were diverse the heavenly bodies in their orbits on the this was written after it was known in their religious views. There were several seventh day, the whole creation would that it had not happened on a Sabbath, rabbinic traditions with distinctive views revert to chaos. So God does work on the thus making the saying even more of a just within Pharisaism. Other groups also Sabbath! The question is: what kind of testimony to the Sabbath concerns of had differing views, such as Sadducees, work does he do? this Christian community. Essenes, Nazarenes, Covenanters, Since the commandment asks humans The other addendum is in the story of Therapeutai, disciples of John the Baptist, to “sanctify” it, some felt that the directive the crucifixion and entombment of Jesus Zealots, Samaritans, and so on. seeks an impossibility: humans cannot (Matt. 27:62-66). On the Sabbath, “the These groups had many distinguishing sanctify anything; only God can. chief priests and the Pharisees” went to characteristics, and antagonisms about Another view was that because the Pontius Pilate (verse 62) and asked that the Sabbath and its observance were Sabbath was a special gift to Israel, God’s the tomb be guarded. Having secured prominent among their differences. bride on this Earth, only Jews could observe approval from the Roman governor, Some held that one was to be completely it. Gentiles who pretended to observe it were “they went and made the sepulchre inactive on the Sabbath, sitting quietly interlopers in the bridal chamber, which secure by sealing the stone and setting at home. Others disagreed and were God shares only with Israel. a guard” (verse 66). Meanwhile, pious eager to establish which activities the women who followed Christ waited until commandment allowed. Still others Permissible Sabbath Activities Sunday to anoint the Lord’s body. The understood the Sabbath as a symbol of Participants in the Jesus movement point is that the followers of Jesus (later God’s activity and were unconcerned emerged from this multifaceted Judaism, called “Christians”) were better Sabbath about human activities. and thus they brought with them many observers than the leaders of the Jews, different understandings of the Sabbath. who acted in overt violation of its sanctity. The Two Sabbath Commandments The New Testament and other early The Pentateuch contains two versions of the Christian literature show evidence of An Eschatologized Sabbath Sabbath commandment, which gave rise to debates about it among Christians. In the Gospel of John, the healing miracles differences of opinion about its substance. The stories about Jesus’ Sabbath do not become controversies about what WWW.ATODAY.ORG 3 FEATURE is allowed on the Sabbath, but they raise Every Day a Sabbath Spirit. As such, Christians no longer live questions about Jesus’ identity. In chapter Paul also refers to an eschatological “under” the law (Rom. 6:14; 1 Cor. 9:20; 5 Jesus claims a divine prerogative, based understanding of the Sabbath as Gal. 3:23; 4:5, 21; 5:18). For Paul, sin is not on the fact that God is always at work, encompassing all the days of the week, in defined by the law, but by the guidance of even on the Sabbath. In chapter 9 this reference to a dispute among the Christians the Spirit: “for whatever does not proceed line of argument is expanded to point in Rome. He reports that while some judge from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Faith, of out that cessation from labor happens at “one day as better than another,” others course, requires that “every one be fully night, that day is when work is to be done, judge “all days alike” (Rom. 14:5). He says convinced in his own mind” (verse 5) that and that wherever Jesus is, it is day.