Sunday Rest is Promoted by the 23-Million-Strong European Evangelical Alliance, and Adventists Raise No Objections, Claiming this does not Conflict with the Seventh-day Sabbath

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of Evangelical Christians, with over 600 million members. The WEA owns regional associations in Europe, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America, Asia and every corner of the world. [1] The General Secretary of the WEA is Thomas Schirrmacher, and he calls himself the “Pope’s dearest Protestant” friend in a book he wrote called “Coffee Breaks with the Pope,” which chronicles his “frequent encounters” with Pope Francis at the Vatican. [2] Undoubtedly, this is a Vatican-affiliated institution.

Thomas Schirrmacher’s World Evangelical Alliance is also the parent organization of many regional branches, such as the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA). The EEA is a 23-million-strong association of Protestant Christians that oversees the work of Evangelicals in 36 countries throughout Europe. And the European Evangelical Alliance has just announced that it will be promoting Sunday rest through a special Week of Prayer dedicated to the “Sabbath” for all of its national member alliances in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, North Macedonia, Latvia, Poland and Serbia.

The Sunday rest celebration will mark the 176th International Alliance Week of Prayer Week and will run from January 9–16, 2022. This year’s theme for the 2022 Week of Prayer is called “The Sabbath – Living According to God’s Rhythm.” [3] During the week-long celebration, there will be a so-called “biblical devotion” that will focus on “restoring” the Sabbath (Sunday). The following itinerary will focus on the different aspects of the Sabbath (Sunday).

Day 1 – The Sabbath and Identity
Day 2 – The Sabbath and God’s Provision
Day 3 – The Sabbath and Rest
Day 4 – The Sabbath and Compassion
Day 5 – The Sabbath and Remembrance
Day 6 – The Sabbath and Joy
Day 7 – The Sabbath and Generosity
Day 8 – The Sabbath and Hope [4]

Let’s be clear. When the World Evangelical Alliance, the European Evangelical Alliance, or any of its national member alliances talk about the “Sabbath,” they are referring to Sunday. Notice what the General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance says about Sunday and the 2022 Week of Prayer scheduled for January 9–16, 2022. The following comes from the official program schedule:

• “One important statement was that the Sabbath had a different quality in comparison to the rest of the week. Did you know that the word “holy” is introduced for the first time during the story of creation in relation to the Sabbath?”
• “That’s what God invites us to with his offer of Sabbath, spending time with him and his people. So, should we be surprised that the day of rest is under attack these days?”
• “And yet by making more and more people work during the day of rest, the relational fabric which holds society together is more and more torn apart. It is a vicious circle we are experiencing. The thought of getting more by not keeping the day of rest is not adding up. Rather it is producing more loss than ever.”
• “The Sabbath is an ingenious gift from God which follows a different logic. As you go through this week of prayer you will be introduced to various aspects of this. My prayer is that as you pray you will be reintroduced to this day of rest, the Sabbath, which we Christians in Europe have celebrated for just over 1700 years on Sundays, introduced by Constantine, emperor of Rome in 321 AD. I am convinced that having a good day of rest will bring the peace, Shalom, into our lives which we all long for so much. In this regard I wish you Shabbat Shalom.” (2022 Week of Prayer Program Schedule, p. 2). [5]

The General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance said in his own words that Constantine, as a civil power, had to “introduce” Sunday rest. This is a reference to the first Sunday law that was imposed in 321. Are they preparing their churches for the coming Sunday law? Then he refers to Sunday as “Shabbat Shalom,” a reference that clearly applies to the Seventh-day Sabbath. They are indoctrinating people that Sunday is “Shabbat Shalom” while “reintroducing” the need for a day of rest for “society.”

On an international, regional, and national member association level, Seventh-day Adventists have enjoyed interfaith partnerships with the World Evangelical Alliance for many years. What has been the reaction of Seventh-day Adventists to all the planning and discussion about “reintroducing” the Sabbath (Sunday) during the 2022 Week of Prayer? Was the Seventh-day Adventist Church able to respond? Indeed, they did. When I found out that Seventh-day Adventists had submitted an official response to this exaltation of Sunday, I thought to myself, “It’s about time.” Now is the opportunity to show that 60 years of ecumenism was not a complete waste of time.

We’ve heard for decades from leaders like Ted Wilson, Ganoune Diop, Bert Beverly Beach, and others that during these interfaith gatherings, Seventh-day Adventists are present to be witnesses, share the Three Angels’ Messages, and speak up for the truth wherever necessary. This was an excellent opportunity for Adventist leaders to demonstrate what they are capable of and what they are paid to do. After reading the official response from the Seventh-day Adventist Church to this Week of Prayer to glorify Sunday, not only was our response disappointing, but it would have been better if no response had been offered.

The Evangelical Alliance in Germany (EAD), a German division of the European Evangelical Association, received an official response from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Seventh-day Adventist response was not only accepted, but it was also included in the resource materials for the European Evangelical Alliance’s Week of Prayer in 2022. The Adventist response is listed as number 13 on the list of materials for the Alliance Week of Prayer on the Evangelical Alliance in Germany’s (EAD) official website for members to download. [6]

The Adventist document is called “Sabbath, God’s Despised Gift – The Sabbath from an Adventist Perspective” by Dr. Rafael Schäffer. Dr. Rafael Schäffer has a PhD in geosciences, works as a research assistant at the Technical University of Darmstadt and leads the Bensheim Adventist Church in Germany. In his response to the Sunday/Sabbath question, Dr. Schäffer surrendered to Rome in his opening two paragraphs. Dr. Schäffer wrote:

“As an Adventist, I am part of a small Christian minority for whom Friday evenings and Saturday are holy because we celebrate the Sabbath during this time. Isn’t the rest of Christendom doing the same thing on Sunday? A question that you may be able to clarify in more detail after reading this article.” [7]

“In my opinion, the Sabbath is an undiscovered treasure for many Christians – an unknown gift from God. This motivates me to show how I celebrate the Sabbath as an Adventist, what significance it has for me and how I perceive this time anew as God’s blessing. The keeping of the Sabbath – on Saturday – and the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord – on Sunday – are not a contradiction for me. One can do one without leaving the other. For Christians who hold their services on Sunday, the Sabbath is free for encounters with themselves, with God, with family and friends.” [7]

Dr. Schäffer goes on to explain why Seventh-day Adventists keep Saturday holy in another 24 paragraphs, but he never mentions Sunday again. But it makes no difference what he says after this horrific introduction. Anything he says after this introduction means absolutely nothing. In these first two paragraphs, he destroyed our Sabbath message in the eyes of the Evangelical world. The truth was already dead on arrival.

Do you recall listening to an Adventist evangelist offer a study on the Seventh-day Sabbath vs. Sunday-keeping during an evangelistic meeting? When was the last time you heard an Adventist evangelist begin his study by saying: “If you want to keep Sunday, that doesn’t contradict the truth of the Seventh-day Sabbath. If you want to keep both days, that’s fine too. You don’t have to give up one for the other.”

This kind of message is NOT Adventism. It’s called Romanism, Jesuitism, or anything else you want to call it. Here is how our pioneers explained the Saturday – Sunday Controversy. They didn’t speak in such a dishonest manner meant to leave people deceived about this important issue:

“The facts upon which the Sabbath institution is based, confine it to the seventh day, as they are not true of any other day; and that the terms, Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath, as applied to the weekly rest-day, are names of human invention, unscriptural in fact, and false in meaning.” (Fundamental Principles #12, 1872). [8]

“That as the man of sin, the papacy, has thought to change times and laws (the laws of God), Dan 7:25, and has misled almost all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment, we find a prophecy of a reform in this respect to be wrought among believers just before the coming of Christ. Isa. 56:1, 2, 1 Pet. 1:5, Rev. 14:12″ (Fundamental Principles #13, 1872). [8]

What did our pioneers say about Sunday? Did they say, “Oh, if you want to keep Sunday holy to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, that’s okay, because it doesn’t contradict the true biblical seventh-day Sabbath?” Is that what the founders of our movement taught? Not at all. They clearly said that those who hold worship services on Sunday, calling it the Sabbath, were engaged in human inventions, unscriptural facts, and falsehoods. They also said that the papacy had misled all of Christendom with regard to the Sabbath and that God wanted to restore the true biblical Sabbath before Jesus comes again. How hard is it to say that in just one simple paragraph? We don’t need 28 paragraphs to speak these truths. Or how hard is it to say what God has said about this important subject:

“Many professing Christians of today are closing their hearts and minds … In place of the rest day given them by Jehovah, they accept a counterfeit sabbath; they worship an idol, and transgress God’s holy law in trampling upon the Sabbath which He has instituted and blessed” (Bible Echo, October 12, 1896).

“If the light of truth has been presented to you, revealing the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and showing that there is no foundation in the word of God for Sunday observance, and yet you still cling to the false Sabbath, refusing to keep holy the Sabbath which God calls “My holy day,” you receive the mark of the beast” (Review and Herald, July 13, 1897).

“Whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome, and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshiping the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of his authority, and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome—“the mark of the beast.” (Great Controversy, p. 449).

When Seventh-day Adventist leaders declare that paying homage to Rome and homage to God is not a contradiction, they are not speaking on the authority of God’s word. Dr. Schäffer should either resign or retract his treasonous errors. He, along with anyone else who shares this non-Adventist viewpoint, should be removed from the church. Extracting these delusions at the root is the only way to end this deep-seated ecumenical preaching that embraces both Sunday and Saturday worship. If not, these deadly heresies will only get worse and more brazen.

They are actually preparing Seventh-day Adventists to keep Sunday during the mark of the beast crisis because there is no contradiction between Sunday and Saturday worship. You don’t have to choose between the two. This was given as the “Seventh-day Adventist” viewpoint on the Sabbath vs. Sunday debate. As our official response to Sunday worship, we delivered this message to all Evangelical churches. This is a major departure from what we previously taught. It represents a shift from the clear teaching that Sunday is the sign of apostasy that, when imposed by law, will become the mark of the beast.

Today we stand 178 years removed from the prophetic period of 1844, and still the preaching of the present truth, the Three Angels’ Messages, an exceedingly simple request by God, is not being done by the church at large. They are not going to do it, and it doesn’t matter how much they tell us that they are. God is having to raise up faithful laypeople to carry on with His work. The church’s approach to evangelism seems to deliberately omit any reference to the present truth about the Third Angel, the mark, and the image of the beast. 2022 will be a tragic and historic year for Seventh-day Adventists worldwide. This is historic because events are coming into line with Bible prophecy as the evangelical churches in Europe are exalting Sunday. It is also tragic, because we are missing the mark yet again in standing up for the truth and warning others about error.

“God has promised that where the shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock Himself. God has never made the flock wholly dependent upon human instrumentalities…Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them.” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 80).

Sources

[1] https://worldea.org/our-family/regional-national-alliances/

[2] https://www.amazon.de/Kaffeepausen-mit-dem-Papst-Begegnungen-ebook/dp/B01LZ5HEQC

[3] https://www.europeanea.org/week-of-prayer-material-for-2022-is-now-available-on-youversion/

[4] https://www.europeanea.org/week-of-prayer/week-of-prayer-2022/

[5] https://www.europeanea.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EEA-WOP-2022_Sabbath_EN_final-1.pdf

[6] https://www.allianzgebetswoche.de/material/

[7] https://www.allianzgebetswoche.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dr.Schaeffer_Sabbat__AUFATMEN_3-2021.pdf

[8] http://adventmessenger.org/wp-content/uploads/1872-SDAs.pdf