Sabbath Defined in Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual

Pa'u Fereti Puni

This week I was referred to the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, a voted document of the Church; this is one document that the General Conference in Session votes on and amends every five years. It is the official document of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which clearly states which day is the Sabbath.

Church Manual Revised 2010 (18th Edition), p. 138. “The Sabbath holds a special place in our lives. The seventh day of the week, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday (Lev. 23:32), is a gift from God, a sign of His grace in time.”

In addition to the Church Manual is Seventh-day Adventists Believe (An exposition of the fundamental beliefs of the SDA Church), 2005 Edition, pp. 296, 297 state: “The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends at sunset Saturday evening (see Gen 3:15; cf. Mark 1:32). Scripture calls the day before the Sabbath (Friday) the preparation day (Mark 15:42) – a day to prepare for the Sabbath so that nothing will spoil its sacredness. Similarly, they should mark its close by uniting in worship towards the close of the Sabbath on Saturday evening, requesting God’s presence and guidance through the ensuring week.”

These are powerful statements of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and our view and support for Samoa (or any country in the world) to worship on the seventh day of the week, Saturday, is supported by the official position of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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Comments

Sabbath Defined in Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual — 10 Comments

webster dhlamini on May 7, 2012 at 5:06 am said:

very clear we like the sabbath

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King Brown on October 17, 2012 at 12:55 pm said:

Dear Brother Fereti Puni,
The Church Manual was revised in the year 2005. This issue about the sabbath and the changing of the IDL happened in 2011-2012 in Samoa. The word of God (Bible) is not infallible and doesn’t need to be revised. Therefore, if the word Saturday or Sunday was in the Bible I would follow what you are saying, but it only mentioned first, second, third, and so on. We have to understand the history to actually understand why our people in Samoa keep the Seventh Day Sabbath. I encourage everyone on this site to read the article by Pastor David Hay on adventist.org.au……. It will help you, even myself to understand why Samoans keep the Seventh Day Sabbath on Sunday….

Your Brother In Christ,
King Brown.

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Lisi Salesa on April 29, 2013 at 3:35 am said:

Why read the article by Pastor David Hay on adventist.org.au when we can just open up the Bible to Exodus 20:8 where it says the seventh day is the sabbath day of the Lord your God.

Dictionary meaning of Saturday – The Seventh day of the week.

#Done

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phillip kai morre on February 18, 2014 at 4:13 am said:

Saturday or Sunday does not really matter. As long as we remember God. we should not be preoccupied with Sabbath or Sunday as the true day of workshop. there could be valid reasons why many Christians want to workshop on Sunday so SDA should not judge and condemn Sunday worshipers and vice versa.

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Ulicia Unruh on February 16, 2015 at 6:44 pm said:

Can we as Adventists say it doesn’t matter which day God wants us to call His Sabbath?

How about in the United States or Canada, should we also say it doesn’t matter when the Seventh-day Adventist Church keep their Sabbath — Saturday or Sunday? As long as Adventists remember God, the day doesn’t matter?

The question that arises as we look at the Samoa issue is —
If one can come up with a theory that casts vagueness as to which day is really the Sabbath, will the majority of Adventists accept the papal instituted Sunday as “Sabbath”?

Every Sabbath keeper will one day soon have to deal with a situation similar to what the (Saturday) Sabbath keepers are dealing with on the islands.

It may not be a “dateline” theory, but it will be some theory that casts vagueness as to which day is really the Sabbath, and urging everyone to come into unity in “serving God” and defeating evil and worship together on Sunday.

Will the majority of Adventists, as they have in Samoa, accept Sunday?

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michael.bb on February 23, 2015 at 7:40 am said:

It matters to God which day is the Sabbath. The bible says in. 1 John.2v6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk as, even as he walked., so if someone says he or she abide in Christ Jesus ought to do like wise. This is Christ Jesus. Luke.4v16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.. what about his disciples which day they keep

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- michael.bb on February 23, 2015 at 8:09 am said:
  
  Which day did the disciples of Jesus Christ keept. Acts.17v2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. And what about in the new Jerusalem are we going to keep the sabbath. Isaiah.66to23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another,shall all flesh come and worship before me, saith the LORD. Read more Holy Scriptures about the Holy Sabbath of the LORD. Isaiah.58v13.14 .Acts.13v14.17.
  
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Frazer Murray on December 18, 2015 at 5:06 pm said:

I am a non-Samoan but visited the country (Samoa) couple of times this year and worshiped on Sabbath on Saturday. To my surprise other SDA friends I met worshiped on Sunday as the Sabbath due to the change on dateline, they gained a day ahead. So Saturday became Friday and Sunday became Saturday. I learnt there is another SDA followers who do not want to join either of them. I think the General Conference should step in to help to solve this confusion… This is what Bible predicted. In the last days there will be confusion.

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- John Wallace on December 24, 2016 at 4:26 pm said:
  
  Thanks Frazer for relating your first-hand experience. This is why the Church error must be corrected. However, the Sunday-keeping Adventists don’t need permission from the leadership to change to Saturday, do they? They could simply make the change! That would be momentous. Unfortunately, many people simply follow the leaders. I don’t think this will get them through the time of trouble
  
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Patience on January 9, 2016 at 9:30 am said:

God is always specific. He was specific to Abraham as to which mountain to sacrifice his son. He was specific as to Jonah as to which town to go and preach to. Specific to Noah as to how to build the ark. We may ague all we want but God specifically blessed the seventh day of the week and set it apart for humanity to reconnect with Him and worship Him.
Our choice today will determine our fate. God will not force us. It is not in his nature.
be wise brothers and sisters. Christ is coming soon.

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