You know our world is in trouble when Bible-hating leftists start campaigning for Sunday laws because the religious right will not oppose them; but this is Laudato Si’ in action, and Pope Francis couldn’t be happier. On December 1, 2021, leftist members of Chile’s Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Legislature of Chile, presented a bill that says “trade workers can enjoy Sunday and holidays as a day of rest.” [1] This law if passed would establish a precedent by enshrining Sunday as a day of rest in Chilean federal legislation. Even while this regulation would only apply to malls and larger retailers, once the precedent is set, more restrictive Sunday provisions, such as the shutdown of all commercial transactions on Sunday, can be easily imposed in the future.
The five deputies who introduced this bill were Cristina Girardi, the author of the bill and member of Chile’s Party for Democracy ( PPD ), a left-leaning socialist and liberal party [2]; Camila Vallejo and Karol Cariola, members of the Communist Party of Chile (PC) [3]; Pamela Jiles, a member of the Humanist Party of Chile (PH) [4]; and Felix Gonzales, from Chile’s Green Ecologist Party (PEV). [5]
Here we see liberals, humanists, communists and radical environmentalists all advocating for Sunday rest. They are not campaigning for workers to rest on Sunday as a “religious” requirement; rather, they are pushing for Sunday rest as a matter of social justice. Tragically, the churches will not oppose these Sunday laws because they stand to benefit the most from them. The origin of Sunday laws comes from the change of God’s law in the 4th Commandment, and they only work to serve the interests of Rome.
Felix Gonzales, from the Green Ecologist Party of Chile, said the following about the Sunday rest law:
“This project not only goes in the direction of favoring workers, and mostly commercial workers, but also their sons and daughters, so that they have the possibility to have a family life. I thank Deputy Girardi for inviting us to be part of this project, and we are going to seek the necessary votes for its approval.” [6]
Este miércoles junto a un grupo de parlamentarios presentamos una iniciativa de ley que establece que las personas que trabajan en malls tengan el derecho al descanso de domingo y festivos. pic.twitter.com/nuQeQallDT
— Cristina Girardi (@diputadagirardi) December 1, 2021
Cristina Girardi, the author of the bill, published the tweet above on December 1, 2021, which says:
“This Wednesday, together with a group of parliamentarians, we presented a bill that establishes that people who work in malls have the right to rest on Sundays and holidays.” (Twitter Post).
In Chile, politicians want to protect workers’ rights with a Sunday rest law. This is a fulfillment of Laudato Si’ because not only has Pope Francis expressed that workers have the “right” to rest from work, [7] but the Pope has already stated in paragraph #237 of Laudato Si’ that “Sunday” is a day of rest for healing relationships with one another. Pope Francis also called Sunday a “precious” day to “make peace with life” in the video below.
For years leading up to COP26, Pope Francis has been urging states to enact labor and environmental laws for a new economy. What is going on in Chile is just another example of how Sunday laws will become a test in these last days. Pope Francis has been pressuring political, religious, and economic leaders to embrace Laudato Si’, which is his version of a Sunday law designed to give people and the environment much needed rest.
Slowly but surely, the dangers of Sunday laws are being felt on every hand. Sunday laws will once again be at the forefront. We know from both prophecy and history that these laws are a threat to our religious and civil liberties, even though they are being promoted as a “health” benefit for workers.
The problem is that Sunday laws are also in direct contradiction to the Word of God, which commands us to keep the seventh-day Sabbath holy, which is Saturday. The Three Angels’ Message places a strong emphasis on the Sabbath of the Decalogue and reveals the close relationship between obedience to God and faith in Jesus Christ. This close relationship between obedience and faith is the central theme of the everlasting Gospel of Revelation 14:6-12 and the basis for the final crisis during the mark of the beast.
The current chaos we see being created in society will bring us to a Sunday law. Inspiration warns God’s people that all the strife that is being perpetuated throughout the world today will be used as the reason to usher in a National Sunday Law. Notice what the prophet says:
“It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday-sabbath, that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced, and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity” (Great Controversy, p. 590).
Do you understand why forces are working to bring chaos and disaster into our world? Do you see why certain men are plotting to bring in anarchy and division? Rome will use this crisis to her advantage. This distress of nations is being created to aid in the implementation of a National Sunday Law. We should be doing much more to voice the warnings of the Third Angel’s Message and warn the world against the formation of the image of the beast, the union of church and state, and the notorious Sunday laws that are coming. Time is very short and we must give the trumpet a certain sound and warn the people of the dangers that are about to take the world by storm.
“The Lord gives a special truth for the people in an emergency. Who dare refuse to publish it? He commands his servants to present the last invitation of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at the peril of their souls. Christ’s ambassadors have nothing to do with consequences. They must perform their duty, and leave results with God” (Great Controversy, 609).
Sources
[2] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_por_la_Democracia#Actuales_diputados
[3] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Comunista_de_Chile#Parlamentarios
[4] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Humanista_de_Chile#Diputados
[5] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_Ecologista_Verde_de_Chile#Diputados
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As SDA’s we can forget that keeping the Sabbath involves much more than just the time period from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. We are to rest in Jesus every moment of every day, waiting for Him to direct our every thought, word and deed, just as He rested in His Father’s love, care and direction while on this earth. We believe that this is what it means to keep “the faith of Jesus” – an integral part of the 3rd angel’s message that we are to share with the world.
The Sabbath is a special celebration of having lived in this way all throughout the week. It is also a reminder of the Great Day of Atonement in which we are living (the Israelites were to do no work, fast and afflict their souls on the typical day). Keeping the Sabbath is about giving honour to our Creator and Redeemer and as caring for our body is part of worshiping our Creator it also includes the challenges that we have been facing over the last almost 2 years.
We will, and do, see nations under the guidance of Rome, making steps towards the honour of Sunday rather than the seventh-day Sabbath of God, and this should wake us up to where we are in the great controversy. But it is no use mechanically “keeping” the right day as the Sabbath if we do not have the Lord of the Sabbath abiding in our hearts always, leading us “in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake”.