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Which Law Do We Need to Keep to Prepare for the End Time?

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Please help me think about how helpful the study of the “‘Change’ of the Law,”  which focuses on the Sabbath issue, is in preparing for the End Time. 1

Christ ministering as priest in the sanctuary

Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com

It seems to me that the lesson focuses on the Ten Commandments as “the Law.” So I’d like us to think whether we will we prepared for the end time if we do the following:

1. Worship no other gods. 
2. Make no idols or other likenesses of God.
3. Don’t swear.
4. Keep the seventh day, rather than the first day.
5. Don’t murder anyone.
6. Treat parents well.
7. Don’t cheat on our spouses.
8. Don’t shoplift or otherwise steal.
9. Don’t lie about our neighbors.
10. Don’t covet.

Now here’s another question to consider: Did most of the Pharisees keep those 10 rules, as far as they understood them? How did they treat Christ, the Majesty of Heaven? And why were they upset enough with Him to treat Him that way?

Let’s consider some of the things Christ taught:

  • Mark 12:29  “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
  • John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
  • By way of illustration, Jesus also told a parable involving sheep and goats.
  • John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Did Christ ever say that people will recognize that we are His disciples by our keeping of the seventh day instead of the Sabbath? Why or why not? If not, what is the significance of the Sabbath? (IOW, how does it relate to what Christ actually taught.) 2

I’m also wondering how much our thinking and practice might be like that of the Pharisees. What does it mean, for instance, to love others as Jesus loved us? What does it mean in the family, including pets? In our work environment? In our church? What does it mean when a young mother is left alone with a child and no means of support when her husband leaves her in protest over her attending an Adventist church? What does it mean when a young man, a church member with his own business, is injured so he cannot run his business, has no insurance, and he was the sole support for the family? 3

Should the church, as an organization led by the church board, also demonstrate love as Jesus loved? If so, what would that mean when a young mother is left alone with a child and no means of support when her husband leaves her in protest over her attending an Adventist church? What does it mean when a young man with his own business is injured so he cannot run his business, and he was the sole support for the family? (Yes, I know the last questions are the same as the ones in the previous paragraph. The difference is that, in the first instance, I’m asking how we should behave as individuals. In the second, I’m asking how should the church behave as a local congregation. )

Is “preparation for the end time” any different from preparation to meet Jesus when we die? Is the proper preparation different now than it was 200 years ago? Why or why not?

How is the issue of loving as Jesus loved related to Christ ministering in the heavenly sanctuary?

Just like Peter, I’d like “to stir up your pure minds” (2 Peter 3:1) and am looking forward to your input.

  1. In Preparation for the End Time, the sixth lesson focuses on “the Law” – specifically the “‘Change’ of the Law.” Perhaps how “helpful” this is will depend on how we relate to it and what our experience in life is. ↩
  2. This is not an invitation to post a Bible study proving that Saturday is the Sabbath. Please consider how the Sabbath teaching relates to the love commandment. ↩
  3. By the way, these examples are real situations I have observed and been involved with. ↩
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Which Law Do We Need to Keep to Prepare for the End Time? — 26 Comments

  1. Dear Inge,
    what a challenge you have given us.
    My husband read to me a bible chapter every night until he died, before we went to sleep and I remember a big amazing discussion where he read Jesus said he had not come to change the law (Matthew 5:17). This we acknowledged meant the Levitical laws, Sabbath Worship, as well as the Ten Commandments; despite our solemn Sunday worshiping friends who said these had been done away with in the New Testament. After he died, I changed to join my Sabbath-keeping aunt at church where I now reside. And when I look back on the politics of my family and friends I think the change or lack of change has also been in the minds of men (and women) who have not interpreted or put into action what they read in the Bible even in this age in which we live. I know the keeping of these laws is not going to get me into heaven; it is my belief in Jesus Christ as my savour. However I keep the law (all that I can and remember), as part of my ‘loyalty to the true God’ as Mrs White said. E.G.W. (The Great Controversy, ch. 25, p. 437 in Fustero No 6, q2 https://www.fustero.es/index_en.php )
    Godbless today , Mrs A Stolz
    .

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  2. Which law? Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Because Revelation clearly shows us that who we "worship" will be the issue in the end times.
    Please note that I believe that keeping any law in my own power does not save me. In fact concentrating on "laws" in this age confuses the issues. I believe that God has always had Principles by which the Father, Son & Holy Spirit have always lived. God has revealed these Principles to people through the ages in different ways depending on their understanding and spiritual maturity. That is why in Genesis we don't find 'laws'. Yes, when Israel came out of slavery he gave them as "laws" however by the time Jesus came he could again reveal them as Principles but explained that all the previous "laws" were derived from His Principles. Matt 22:36-40.

    So all the Ten Commandments can be summed up as love the LORD and others. The LORD's Principles are reflected in His character, the biggest problem is that people think they can change their character by their own power while Jesus clearly said we need Him to change our hearts i.e. to be born again. John 3:7 Sin is not having a character like Jesus Rom 3:21, righteousness is allowing Him to change our character so we will live by the same Principles. I don't think in our mature and spiritually enlighten state Heb 5:12-6:3 we should talk about "obeying laws" which is slave language John 15:12-15, we should concentrate on the Lord's Principles of Love as per Ingrid's article.

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    • Thanks, Shirley. As you can probably tell by my other comments, I believe that keeping the right day listed in the Ten Commandments may not be what God is looking for. After all, the Pharisees kept the Sabbath and crucified Christ. And I truly wonder if some Sabbath keepers today might not do the very same thing again. 🙁

      I believe that God is looking for a people who demonstrate His character of love to the world. Keeping the Sabbath is just a sign of a love relationship with God that allows us to be loving as He is. Without the love, I believe the Sabbath is meaningless.

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      • Inge, it would seem that you are not alone with respect to your views on the link between true Sabbath keeping and the development and demonstration of a Christlike character by those who live in a love relationship with God at the end of time.

        Referring to the time when the issue of Sabbath versus Sabbath observance takes an increasingly prominent place within society, Ellen White proposed that (in addition to and conjunction with) proclaiming the truth of God's Sabbath day, "at this time a very decided work in character building should be going forward among our people. We are to develop before the world the characteristics of the Saviour." (RH Sep 30, 1909, pgph 14).

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      • I 'disagree'[😊]with the statement that the Pharisees 'kept' the Sabbath. They should have been sharing love and instead they were jostling for the highest position among themselves above the people they should be leading to YEHOVAH. 'As they knew it' does NOT excuse them. We are told NOT to desire a 'high' position in God's company as it requires greater 'Compliance' ... I am currently 'aware' of a situation of 'phariseeism' in a SDA church that involves 'shepherds and sheep'. Please lift them up in prayer.

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  3. Hi Inge, I love your input. I have been following this lesson and the question I ask myself is; what did Jesus meen when he said "Today if you hear my voice" was it the seventh day sabbath he was speaking about?

    Since the fall of man God have been calling us back to his rest but there is a difference between Listening and Hearing, that is why God said Faith comes by hearing. When we hear our beheavior changes; therefore, we believe and it activates our faith (like Abraham) and we becomes obedient everyday like Christ. That is our partial rest (in Christ) on earth until we enter into that heavenly (complete) resting place with the Father.

    My thoughts, please let me know if I am going right.

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    • Yes, Andrew, in Hebrews, I believe Christ was talking about rest in Him. The Sabbath is a sign of this rest and is meaningless without resting in Him. But when we do rest in Him, we delight to spend time on His day. (Isa 58:13) And I'd like to take that a little further:
      It seems to me that faithful obedience to all that of God's revealed will is a sign of our faith/rest in Him. The opposite of this "resting in Jesus" is following our own way of doing things - which inevitably involves going contrary to His will in some way.

      Christ said, "If anyone would be my disciple, let Him take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) In that way, he made clear that being a follower of Jesus involves a path of self-denial (death to self) and service to humanity, as He served. By contrast (i.e. refusing to enter His rest), the way of the world/Satan is to advance self and to please self - to "do it my way."

      Does that make sense?

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  4. Jesus said I did not come to destroy the Sabbath I came to fullfill it, I own the sabbath (Lord of the Sabbath) I am the Sabbath so come onto me and I will give you rest. Inge, the more I study this lesson I see the sabbath in a different light.

    Please help my understanding.

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  5. In God's site there are no day or night or season, time is constant. Therefore, rest in Christ is not physical but Spiritual and constant.

    Is anyone seeing this?

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    • Yes, indeed, rest in Christ is a constant experience, and He has given us the Sabbath day as a token and sign of this rest. To me, it is a weekly celebration of our rest in Him. When He first created the seventh day, He "blessed" it, and there is still a special blessing in delighting ourselves in the Lord on that day.

      When we truly rest in Him, we want to do all that we possibly can to align ourselves with His will, and, of course, that includes spending the Sabbbath with Him in a very special way - without the distractions of work and other responsibilities that are a necessary part of our life on this plant.

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  6. I have always struggled with the idea that only those who guard the Sabbath will be saved because I didn’t grow up Adventist and yet I was a Christ follower. Now I am convinced that keeping the Sabbath is one more way to honor God and His divine character because He asks us to do so and by it we remember He created us. However it doesn’t save me. The Pharisees kept the Sabbath and crucified Jesus. They kept the Sabbath to earn their salvation. True Sabbath worship must be born from a love for the One who saved me and a love for those around me. That is why we must help those who are suffering on the Sabbath just like Jesus did.

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  7. You ask a very significant question to which I believe you have provided the best answer that I have not heard in a while as it was not said in this week's lesson study. The law that should be kept in the End Time is the law of love; "the spirit" or implications of the ten commandments and other biblical laws. Emphasizing refraining from "physical work" instead of actively trusting the God of love and loving God's creation as the essence of the Sabbath is what the Pharisees did when Christ walked amongst them in Galilee.

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    • Thanks for your input. Yes, what kind of emphasis we put on the Sabbath makes all the difference - whether we delight ourselves in the Lord or whether we would crucify Christ afresh if we had the opportunity.

      Only when we put our full trust in Christ are we able to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment. The physical rest is not contrary to spiritual rest but is a weekly reminder of our relationship with the Lord, and it fosters that relationship just like a special date with a loved one fosters that relationship. God invited us to spend that time with Him, and all who understand that invitation will gladly accept it and keep the Sabbath just as He designed it to be kept.

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    • And, yes, you understand my main point correctly. God's eternal law is the law of self-renouncing love. When we allow the Holy Spirit to work out His will in us, we will be in harmony with God's eternal law. As I understand it, when God's professed people will live according to the Law of Love, they will be seen in stark contrast to those who are aligned with the self-centered (sinful) focus of the world, symbolized by the confusion that is Babylon. Only then (when there is a clear alternative to Babylon) will the message, "Come out of her, my people!" be meaningful. God's people still caught up in Babylon will see the contrast and will come out. This will result in two distinct groups of people in the world - those who worship their Creator/Redeemer and those who worship the service of self/sin, symbolized an fostered by Babylon.

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  8. The whole controversy is not about a day, it is an attack on the Lawgiver and Creator, Jesus Christ, the anointed Son of God and our loyalty to Him. When the rich young ruler asked what should he do to be saved Luke 18: 18-26, Jesus told him to keep the commandments but pointed out one that he had struggles with, in the last days, the world will be forced to struggle with one commandment that demands loyalty to our Creator. Yes, we can "keep" the commandments and yet lack love, but if we are loyal to the Lawgiver, we will have love for Him and our fellowman, see Matthew 22:34-40.

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  9. To me, the question personally,is I/we need to pray more and as church members consider financial knowledge a spiritual duty.
    I am thinking that for the church to do more, tithers need to increase which will lead to an increase in offerings!
    Those are my initial thoughts. Thank you for posing the question.

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    • Thanks for taking up my challenge to think about how the church as a body can do more to reflect the character of God.

      During last quarter's lessons on stewardship, I was convicted that, as a church, we need to recognize that the funds God entrusts to us are not our own and are to be used as He would use them. Thus, when there's a family in need - particularly within the church - part of the command to "bear one another's burdens" would mean that we relieve that need. As in the example I gave - if a young man who is the sole support of his family is injured so that he cannot support his family, it is up to the church to see that the family is adequately housed and fed and their material needs supplied. As a church family, we should *offer* help and give it - not expect members who have fallen on bad times to come begging the church for help.

      In our church, the account from which such needs can be met is called the "Good Samaritan fund." It does not come from tithe, which is sent to the conference. The church board should be willing to spend the necessary funds and let the membership know if the "Good Samaritan" fund needs replenishing. When there is a need, that is not the time to judge that the family did not manage their money well and thus do not deserve help. (Did Jesus ask whether or not people were "deserving' before He healed them?)

      By the way, I hope all churches have a fund for such needs.

      But if a church has such a fund, members need to put money into it. And if we put money into such a fund, it does not mean we should not help directly, when we see there is a need.

      I believe God intended the local church body to function as a family, supporting each other in whatever ways are needed.

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  10. An excellent post! Of course, the title is intentionally misleading, designed to catch legalists in their own game of rule-hunting. Only love is the fulfilling of the law. God is Love, says the NT, not God is Law.

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    • Thanks, Jordan. But to be honest, I wasn't trying to "catch" anyone. 😉

      My purpose was to get us to think a little deeper. God's Law is so much more than those Ten Precepts declared on Sinai. As I already mentioned in another comment (and I won't even apologize for repeating it, because it bears repeating):

      God's Law - based on His character of self-renouncing love - has existed from eternity. It is as eternal as He is, which is beyond our understanding.

      However, the Ten Commandments are but one expression of that Law, adapted to human need at that time. Jesus expressed this same Law another way, in just two precepts: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Matt 22:37-39)

      I believe that too many have misunderstood God and His Law because they identified it only with these (misunderstood) ten precepts. These 10 precepts lend themselves to be used as a club by those who do not discern their true character, thus maligning God's character in the name of obedience.

      If the Law of God is, indeed, a transcript of God's character, we can simplify it even further and say that the "Law" is the principle of loving like Jesus loved. After all, John told us that "God is love." (1 John 4:8) And, indeed, Christ did simplify the Law by giving a "new commandment" which could not have been given before His living demonstration. He gave it as only one precept, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34)

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      • God is Love. Jesus said if you Love me keep my commandments. We express our Love to God and Our neighbor by keeping his God's commandments.

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  12. The commandment regarding love in Matt 22 often prompts a question of how. What example do we have of this kind of love? Today I wanted to look at a Bible that I have a number of, but haven't seen this particular bible for several years. In looking through this Bible again I found a book mark that was left in Mathew 26:47 - Matthew 28:1-20. The story of Jesus death and burial. I have read this many times but the tears were substantial this time. I can say for certain God is Love, and Jesus is the greatest example of that Love. One cannot read the pages of all that transpired without thanking Jesus for a sacrifice and gift beyond our comprehension.

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  13. God's love for us in providing the way for us to be saved through the death of His son begets love in us. His overwhelming sacrifice compels me to love Him. His love for me creates a desire in me to be in fellowship (sup) with Him. As I choose fellowship with Him and spend time with Him, I am transformed. I become more and more like Him! I want to please Him. When I discover in me things that are not like Him or that He disapproves of, I surrender them to His love. The 10 Commandments (10 summary statements) describe a life transformed by communion with Jesus. If read as "You will" instead of "Thou Shalt Not", such harmony will be discovered between being declared righteous and the works of righteousness. As I continue fellowshipping with Jesus, here is how I will behave.

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  14. Thanks Ange for your teachings.

    I was looking at the Sabbath from a spiritual eye. God said I am a spirit and they that worship me must worship me in spirit and truth. If we are preparing to spend eternity with God in that New Jerusalem; Rev 21 In it there are no day or night for God and the Lamb is the temple and the light Rev 21:22-27. We must walk in that light continually (his presence in us) and in doing so we will be the true image of God. Should we confind that Glorious love and worship to a day or does God require our Sabbath everyday as we would be doing in that New Jerusalem?

    Prior to man's fall he did not need the Sabbath day because he was the image of God on earth, man was not in self. When man fell (Sin) from Grace he lost God's image and went from being spiritually minded to carnally minded, requiring Law as his school master (micro manage) to point the way. God knew that it was not enough and sent Jesus who said "I am the way" I came to fulfil all that was said of me, so, abide now in me. Adam lived the law before he fell he was not dictated by it.

    Ange I enjoy your teachings as it causes me to go deeper.

    Your thoughts please.

    Blessings

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