God's Sabbath

414

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scrip ture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is wa ter. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he com manded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eu nuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” Acts 8:35–38 (NKJV). This man then carried the glad tidings of a risen Saviour back to his home country where the message was received with joy. The Sabbath became the national day of worship and remained so for centuries. J. N. Andrews commented on this as follows: “In consequence of their location in the interior of Africa, the Abyssinians ceased to be known to the rest of Christendom about the fifth century. At this time, the Sabbath and the Sun day in the Catholic church were counted sisters. One thousand years later, these African churches were visited, and though sur rounded by the thick darkness of pagan and Mohammedan su perstition, and somewhat affected thereby, they were to be found, at the end of this period, holding the Sabbath and first day substantially as they were held by the Catholic church when it lost sight of them. The Catholics of Europe, on the contrary, had in the meantime trampled the ancient Sabbath in the dust. Why was this great contrast?—Simply because the pope ruled in Europe; while central Africa, whatever else it may have suf fered, was not cursed with his presence nor his influence. But so soon as the pope learned of the existence of the Abyssinian churches, he sought to gain control of them, and when he had gained it, one of his first acts was to suppress the Sabbath! In the end, the Abyssinians regained their independence, and thenceforward till the present time have held fast the Sabbath of the Lord.” History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week , 428, 429, by J. N. Andrews. Published in 1887. We can only rate the outcome of Philip’s missionary contact as being outstandingly successful. The first and immediate reward was the conversion and baptism of the Ethiopian, but this was on ly the beginning. He, in turn, carried the light to his queen and to the people, and the nation became a bastion of truth for centuries.