Four Bible verses that make Seventh-Day Adventists wrong on Sabbath Day
Seventh-day Adventists are known for their legalistic adherence to Old Testament laws, especially the Sabbath Day. It was founded by Ellen G. White, who is considered a false teacher because of numerous failed divine revelations allegedly from God. [Tim Challis]
1. Sunday is “Sabbath in the New Testament”
Sabbath is rest after six days of work
Sabbath (Saturday) is Biblical. After six days of work, God the Almighty rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3), the Sabbath Day (Saturday) or day of rest for the Jews.
In the New Testament, righteousness comes through Christ, who redeemed us from the law of sin and death. Hence, the rule, such as the Sabbath, no longer applies, though a rest day is still observed.
The point is that worshipping God is no longer about rituals and tradition but abiding in Christ through faith.
For people with no choice but to work until Sunday, Monday becomes their rest day.
Acts 20:7
“On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.”
2. The Sabbath Day is for Jews only
The Sabbath, originally an Old Testament tradition, was observed from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The New Testament doesn’t designate Sunday as the “new Sabbath.”
This has led to Christians adopting Sunday as a day of worship because Jesus was resurrected on this day.
In contrast, Jewish tradition maintains Saturday as the Sabbath, as they don’t acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah based on New Testament teachings.
Understandably, it was a command that “Israel must keep the Sabbath as an eternal covenant, a perpetual sign of God’s creation in six days and His rest on the seventh” (Exodus 31:16-17).
Sabbath legalism
The Mosaic law was needed to satisfy God’s wrath over the sins of His people—but it was never enough. This is why God sent His Son as the “final sacrifice” to save those who believe in the Messiah—once and for all time. [Lamb of God]
Through the centuries, the Sabbath tradition has become ridiculous that Jews wouldn’t push an elevator button because it is considered “work.”
In other words, perfecting the Mosaic laws (rituals and doing works) is essential in finding favor for God. Something that the apostles warned Jewish converts not to let go of.
Exodus 31:16-17
“Israel must keep the Sabbath as an eternal covenant, a perpetual sign of God’s creation in six days and His rest on the seventh.”
3. Jesus fulfilled Old Testament laws
In Christ, believers are free from the Law of Moses because Jesus fulfilled its requirements, acknowledging the human inability to comply fully.
However, Christians are still under the “moral laws,” such as honesty, faithfulness, and spiritual disciplines.
“Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law” meant He met all Old Testament Law demands, including Sabbath traditions. While not abolishing the law, His death was the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath for our sins (propitiation).
Galatians 3:24-25
“The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.”
4. Seventh-day Adventists was influenced by false teachers
False teachers
Seventh-day Adventists hold unique prophetic views, including investigative judgment, and regard Ellen G. White as a prophetic authority, though none of her prophecies came true.
White was sure Jesus would return in 1856, which added appeal to the rest of her teachings, such as the Leviticus diet.
Just like the Mormon founder Joseph Smith, who claims to have direct messages from God, we can be deceived by the devil into believing the things we hear or visions we see come from God—when it comes from the devil, the father of lies.
The Millerite movement
William Miller was a 19th-century American Baptist preacher (Millerite namesake) who predicted the Second Coming of Jesus in 1844, an event known as the “Great Disappointment.” But it did not happen. Miller heavily influenced White.
The Millerite movement preceded the Seventh-day Adventist tradition. White and others from the Millerites influenced the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Obsession with end times prophecy
After the “1844 disappointment,” there were further end-times prophecies in 1851 and 1854 during the two world wars. Some Adventists sold their properties to donate to the church.
Today, Adventist preachers frequently discuss end-times prophecy and adherence to the Ten Commandments. While Biblically rooted, this emphasis dangerously sidelines the teachings of the apostles.
1 John 4:1
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
