Ellen White Contradicts Jesus   Ellen White claimed that observance of the Sabbath is the "greatest" of all the Ten Commandments: "The pope has changed the day of rest from the seventh to the first day.  He has thought to change the very commandment that was given to cause man to remember his Creator.  He has thought to change the greatest commandment in the decalogue and thus make himself equal with God..."  (Early Writings, p. 65). In this statement Ellen White directly contradicts Jesus.  When He was asked to identify the greatest commandment, Jesus said: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment"  (Matthew 22:37-38).  Commenting on this, researcher David Reagan states: Ellen White believed so strongly in the necessity of Sabbath-keeping that she asserted that only Sabbath-keepers would be able to resist taking the Mark of the Beast in the end times.  She truly believed and taught that Sabbath-keeping is a condition of salvation: "I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers." (Early Writings, pp. 32-33). The fact of the matter is that Sabbath-keeping was prescribed by God to the Jewish people.  This law was never given to the Gentiles, nor was it given to the Church.  The Law of Moses was nailed to the Cross (Colossians 2:14).  The death of Jesus inaugurated a New Covenant - a covenant written on the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 9:15).  In His teaching, Jesus emphasized nine of the Ten Commandments and expanded them in scope to apply to our thoughts as well as our actions (Matthew 5-7).  He never commanded the Church to observe the Sabbath.   Source:  The Lamplighter, July-August 2006, page 6 (issue can be viewed on our site).