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This page contains part of the text for Sabbath Challenge, Sabbath Delight! by Dr. David Bird. This book is available on the web from www.xulonpress.com. Material presented here can be copied and transmitted on the condition that the following sentence is clearly mentioned: "From Sabbath Challenge, Sabbath Delight!, Copyright, David Bird, 2003, available from www.xulonpress.com. Please include this sentence if quoting."

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[apologies, but we have not yet included the footnotes]   

It’s a still, quiet morning as you wake up. Birds are singing. All seems normal as another busy day begins. The usual musical crescendo choruses from the radio as seven-o-clock news time arrives. A familiar newsreader’s voice begins. But the news is not good. The bottom has dropped out of the world economy and hyperinflation is occurring on a global scale. Calling at a store on the way home from work that day you get a shock when the evening newspaper costs nearly twice as much as normal. The headline on the paper reads, "WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC EMERGENCY."

Prices of goods and services continue to rise alarmingly and a few days later a special news broadcast explains that the nation is converting to cashless transactions, using electronic fund transfers, to manage the crisis. Everyone must buy and sell using plastic cards.

The next morning there is a further shock. The worst earthquake on record has occurred at Tokyo, Japan. Huge Tsunamis have raked the surrounding coasts. The USA has pledged massive aid, but that afternoon everyone is stunned to hear that a similar disaster has hit California -- the big one. Three days later a hurricane devastates much of Western Europe. To make things worse the economic crisis has sparked a number of serious wars and there is a threat of nuclear weapons being used. Your mind is in a whirl. You feel desperate and despairing, what is going on?

Then it happens. You see it on the TV screen. In earthquake torn Los Angeles a supernatural event occurs. From the sky comes a huge sparkling object resembling a classical UFO. It hovers above the rescue HQ that has been organizing disaster relief operations. A beautiful being appears, glowing with an unearthly glory more splendid than anything the onlookers have ever beheld. In a melodious voice this being addresses the astonished crowds: "I have come again. I have come to help you and give you hope and relief. I have come to give you lasting peace and prosperity. Tomorrow I will help at Tokyo and also in Europe. On this day next week I will appear at Jerusalem to announce that my kingdom has come." After the glorious being departs a shout goes up that the telephone systems are working again. Soon it is realized that water supplies are operating normally and that food parcels have been found all over the city. During the week it is reported that similar things happened at Tokyo and in Europe.

Then the spectacular event happens at Jerusalem. It is seen on millions of TV screens. The glory that surrounds him is beyond anything mortal eyes have yet seen. The cry of exultation rings out upon the air: "Christ has come! He has returned!" Everywhere people are prostrating themselves in adoration before him. He raises his hands and proclaims a blessing upon them. With melodious voice and compassionate tones he shares some of the same merciful, heavenly truths that Christ gave while on Earth. He heals the sick and then, claiming all authority in Heaven and Earth, he claims to have authorized the change in the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday. He commands all to reverence the day that he has sanctified. He pronounces a curse upon all those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day. He declares that the disasters have been due, in a large degree, to the desecration of Sunday and that they will continue until the observance of this day is strictly guarded and enforced. Those who are keeping the seventh-day Sabbath are dishonoring his name, he says, and must be convinced of their error.

A law is passed. Every person who does not carry an identification card certifying that they have promised, on oath, to reverence Sunday and to treat the seventh day as a common working day is strictly prohibited from all financial transactions. But despite these measures more natural disasters follow. It is therefore deemed essential to enforce anti-Sabbath laws more strictly, so…

Is this story a joke? Or does it have a serious, relevant message for us? Actually it is a hypothetical scenario (apologies to Tokyo and LA) based on two indisputable facts of Bible prophecy, firstly, that in the time just before Christ’s return there will be a huge satanic deception and, secondly, that the Sabbath will be a critical issue at this time. The story is not meant to describe details of what will actually happen, but to show how events of huge significance can take us by surprise. And the idea of the Sabbath being a big issue in the final crisis of Earth’s history is probably a surprise to many.

Sabbath Challenge, Sabbath Delight! is written with the deep conviction that a tremendous crisis is stealthily approaching in which our eternal destiny will depend upon whether we worship the Owner of the Seventh-day Sabbath or the owner of a counterfeit Sabbath. Our conviction about this "Sabbath-crisis" is founded solidly on scripture. Chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Revelation outline Earth’s final showdown between good and evil with the battle centering upon whom the inhabitants of this world will worship as God. In these chapters false worship is described many times, but only once is the word "worship" used in reference to the true God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Where is this once found? In Revelation 14:7, a verse that points to the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. Revelation 14:7 challenges us to wake up to the great significance of the Sabbath, to comprehend its meaning and to embrace its observance.

A worldwide crisis associated with supernatural events is not the best environment for making informed decisions. So we hope that this book will help readers to carefully examine the Sabbath issue before the crisis develops. In this book we will discuss Revelation chapters 13 and 14. We will also investigate many other Bible passages dealing with the Sabbath, satanic deceptions and "end-time" issues.

This book is also written with an earnest longing for the masses of people who do not experience the rest, identity, security, peace, family health and closeness to Christ that are found in true Sabbath observance. The Sabbath is meant to be a weekly feast of good things. That this book may help many weary souls discover and enjoy the fantastic benefits of this delightful day is our sincere hope and heartfelt prayer.

In a user-friendly question-and-answer format this book outlines the Sabbath’s involvement in the end-time crisis, endeavors to unveil its relation to the marvelous achievements of our Savior and seeks to provide solid answers to questions that are commonly asked when discussing Sabbath and Sunday. We cannot hope to have covered everything, but we believe, by God’s grace, we have provided enough information for every sincere seeker after truth to prayerfully make the right choice in the final crisis. In addition, those who are seeking to delight in the Sabbath will find in this book plenty about the Sabbath’s promotion of family happiness and its connections with the vast blessings achieved by Christ.

Throughout the book are scattered descriptions of 37 different wonderful accomplishments of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ made possible by His death and resurrection. Readers will enjoy finding them and noting their association with the Sabbath. When one of these achievements is mentioned a number in square brackets, e.g. [2], will accompany it. This number correlates with the listing of the achievement in Appendix Six where all 37 are found and discussed in order.

There are four main ways that this book can be used:

1). It can be simply read from the beginning to the end without paying much attention to all the references and endnotes. This will provide a good overview.

2). In addition to the above, all the endnotes and Bible references can be examined. This should give an in-depth knowledge of the subject.

3). Readers can look through the list of questions and go to the answers that most interest them.

4). The Scripture Index can be used to find comments on Bible verses related to the Sabbath.

To help make things more understandable, we now mention a few matters of "book-keeping". Bible quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise specified. All emphasis in Bible passages is supplied. The capitalized word "Sabbath" is used for the seventh-day Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment and the non-capitalized "sabbath" for other uses of the term. Some questions may seem a little strange. This is because several of them are modified from unusual allegations printed on some non-referenced, photocopied sheets given to the author several years ago. Finally, we must admit that though much effort has gone into checking the hundreds of Bible references found in this book, humanly speaking it is quite likely that one or two have been mistyped. For this we humbly ask forgiveness and suggest that if a little extra time is spent the correct text will surely be found.

Please consider the author of this book to be a fellow pilgrim in need of God’s grace just as much as anyone else. Let us help one another as we travel the narrow path to the Heavenly Jerusalem.

May God’s grace and peace be yours forever.