From the SS discussion yesterday, the question came up regarding the Sabbath's pre-existence. Some think that it has always been kept, even before the creation of the world, others think it started at creation.

I would appreciate any light you are able to shed on this.

Since the Law of God is a transcript of the character of God then it would have been there

A. What do you mean by saying that the law is a transcript of God's character? In what sense and what way? Also, please provide a Scripture reference to support that statement.

B. If the law is a transcript of God's character, and therefore always existed, even before creation, why would God make laws that don't apply to anyone. What I mean by that is why would angels need the commandments that say "Honor your father and mother" and "Do not commit adultery" since they do not marry/reproduce, and have no parents?

Psalms 19:7
(7) The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Matthew 5:48
(48) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Psalms 119:86
(86) All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.
Deuteronomy 7:9
(9) Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Proverbs 6:23
(23) For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
1 John 1:5
(5) This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Since the Law is a transcript of the character of God then we need to ask the question, what does this teach me about the character of God?

Keeping the Law is about being like Christ.

JAK's question regarding the laws of adultery and of honoring parents seems to have been left unanswered.

God does not change. We know that. But that does not mean that the law never changes. Yes, the law is a transcript of God's character. But it is never God's FULL character.

To compare to something that is always occurring in our own bodies, let's look at DNA. Our DNA is, genetically, who we are. The nucleus of the cell is the largest organelle or part of the cell, and it contains the DNA. The nucleus is setup as a sort of copy room in which portions of the DNA are copied by messenger RNA and transported outside of the nucleus to the ribosomes or endoplasmic reticulum to make such proteins and enzymes as the cell requires.

If we were to liken the DNA to God's character, the mRNA would represent His laws. However, the RNA never contains the full transcript of the DNA. It only contains a portion of it. Furthermore, not all portions of the DNA are ever copied by the cell. The only portions copied are the only portions which are needed. Unneeded genes on the DNA are left in the archives, untouched.

That is how I think we might look at God's law with respect to His character. His character has far more depth to it than all of the laws we could collect would indicate. And those laws, just as with the DNA, will not be exposed unless they are needed.

On other planets, God has beings that love and serve Him. It is my understanding that they do not have the ability to procreate which God has given humans. Therefore, it would be my belief that the law prohibiting adultery would have only become known in our world, after our creation. The law would not have been needed before that, and would have been bound up in the "archives," so-to-speak, where none of God's creatures had exposure to it.

Does that mean the law did not exist? Perhaps. But it depends on how one looks at it. There's no need for a law to exist which has no application. Beings that cannot procreate as we do would have had no need to be told not to commit adultery. It would be like God giving us a law of speed limits for our wings. What wings? It would have been useless. And God is not in the habit of creating useless things--or laws.

As for the Sabbath, Mrs. White speaks to that.



So it appears the Sabbath was a law that came at our Creation, just as the law of marriage did. It did not previously "exist," just as a gene which was not previously expressed but can be later "turned on."

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

As the scripture says Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath, so it was not there and then man created so he could rest and worship. It was made after and given to man....

That the law of God existed before the creation of man is clear, since angels sinned, and "where there is no law there is no transgression" (Rom. 4:15). The law of God existed in the two great principles of supreme love to God and love to one's neighbor.
After the inception of sin the law had to be adapted to fallen intellects, and "supreme love to God" and "love to one's neighbor" had to be unfolded into more specific commandments.
As to the Bible/EGW quotes which imply that the Sabbath comes from creation, the reference seems to be to our planet, so they cannot be taken to mean conclusively that the Sabbath didn't exist before that.

Deuteronomy 7:7-9. The faithful God
Isaiah 42:1-5, 8 Behold my servant, my glory will I not give to another
Isaiah 49:6-7 The Lord is faithful
Ephesians 5:25-33 Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church
Romans 5:8. While we were sinners, Christ died for us.

And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.
The Sabbath was made for man, amd not man for the Sabbath.
Two scriptures that should clear that up.