SDAs place a lot of emphasis on obeying the Ten Commandments, particularly the Fourth Commandment. Their whole end-time eschatology is built upon a great, cosmic conflict that is being played out before the entire universe, and the battle lines have been drawn over the Sabbath Commandment. The conflict over the Sabbath is the final conflict between good and evil, and it is the separating wall that divides "loyal" Christians from "disloyal" Christians. With all this emphasis being placed upon the law,
it is no wonder that SDAs have a tendency to get bogged down in legalism.
Mrs. White adds to the problem with some of her legalistic statements such as these:
...The terms of salvation for every son and daughter of Adam are here outlined. It is plainly stated that the condition of gaining eternal life is obedience to the commandments of God.
To obey the commandments of God is the only way to obtain His favor.
He [man] must be reconciled to God through obedience to His law.9
Scripture teaches that our "diligent efforts" have no part in earning God's favor or His reconciliation:
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. ...for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Gal. 2:16,21)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8,9)
There is a danger in any religious philosophy that depends on the diligent efforts of the believer to obtain or earn their salvation.
Bible Truth Versus SDA Doctrine - Dangers of Seventh-day Adventism (nonsda.org)
SDAs seem to spend a lot of time harping on the sin of Sabbath-breaking, but it does not appear to have caught the attention of the authors of the New Testament. SDAs want people to believe that Sunday-keeping is the one heinous sin above all others that identifies someone who is disloyal to God. What about Genocide? Murder? Rape? Child abuse? Greed? Persecution? Blasphemy? Witchcraft? Those sins are lower on the SDA list. According to SDAs, the Mark of the Beast is only Sunday-keeping:
"Sunday-keeping must be the mark of the beast." ... "The reception of his mark must be something that involves the greatest offense that can be committed against God."14
"The Sunday Sabbath is purely a child of the Papacy. It is the mark of the beast."15
"The change of the Sabbath is the sign or mark of the authority of the Romish church." ... "The keeping of the counterfeit Sabbath is the reception of the mark."16
"The sign, or seal, of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord's memorial of creation. . . . The mark of the beast is the opposite of this—the observance of the first day of the week."17
"The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath."18
"What Is the Mark of the Beast?—John was called to behold a people distinct from those who worship the beast and his image by keeping the first day of the week. The observance of this day is the mark of the beast."19
"When the test comes, it will be clearly shown what the mark of the beast is. It is the keeping of Sunday."20
5.
What are the "Commandments of God"? The whole teaching of SDAs regarding the Mark of the Beast centers on Revelation 14:12 which says that those who have the "commandments of God" do not receive the mark. SDAs claim that this passage is referring to the Ten Commandments, and Sunday-keepers cannot be keeping the Ten Commandments because the Fourth Commandment instructs worship on Saturday.
The best way to interpret the meaning of John's writings is to compare them with the other writings of John. The Greek word for "commandments" in Rev. 14:12 is
entole which means "an order, command, charge, precept, injunction."21 The same word is used repeatedly in the writings of John to refer to the instructions of Christ. John uses an entirely different Greek word in his writings when he refers to the Ten Commandments:
nomas. For example:
Did not Moses give you the law {nomos}, and [yet] none of you keepeth the law {nomos}? Why go ye about to kill me? (John 7:19; Jesus is referring to the 6th commandment "Thou shalt not kill"—Ex. 20:13)
According to John, the number one commandment {
entolae} of Jesus to the Apostles was not Sabbath-worship, but for them to love one another:
A new commandment {entolae} I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13:34).
This is my commandment {entolae}, That ye love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12).
Notice how John refers to the "commandments" of God in his letter:
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments {entolas}. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments {entolas}; and His commandments {entolae} are not burdensome (1 John 5:2-3).
Earlier in the same letter John tells us exactly what the "commandments" of God are:
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His [God's] commandments {entolas} and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His [God's] commandment {entolae}, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He [God] commanded {entolaen} us. The one who keeps His [God's] commandments {entolas} abides in Him,... (1 John 3:21-24).
From this we can see that in John's writings the "commandments" of God are:
- To believe in Jesus Christ
- To love one another
Bible Truth Versus SDA Doctrine - Mark of the Beast (nonsda.org)
