| |
The temple of
God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark
of His testament." Revelation 11:19. The ark of God's testament is
in the holy of holies, the second apartment of the sanctuary. In the
ministration of the earthly tabernacle, which served "unto the
example and shadow of heavenly things," this apartment was opened
only upon the great Day of Atonement for the cleansing of the
sanctuary. Therefore the announcement that the temple of God was
opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was seen points to the
opening of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 as
Christ entered there to perform the closing work of the atonement.
Those who by faith followed their great High Priest as He entered
upon His ministry in the most holy place, beheld the ark of His
testament. As they had studied the subject of the sanctuary they had
come to understand the Saviour's change of ministration, and they
saw that He was now officiating before the ark of God, pleading His
blood in behalf of sinners.
The ark in the tabernacle on earth
contained the two tables of stone, upon which were inscribed the
precepts of the law of God. The ark was merely a receptacle for the
tables of the law, and the presence of these divine precepts gave to it
its value and sacredness. When the temple of God was opened in heaven,
the ark of His testament was seen.
Page 434
Within the holy of holies, in the
sanctuary in heaven, the divine law is sacredly enshrined--the law that
was spoken by God Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with
His own finger on the tables of stone.
The law of God in the sanctuary in
heaven is the great original, of which the precepts inscribed upon the
tables of stone and recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch were an unerring
transcript. Those who arrived at an understanding of this important
point were thus led to see the sacred, unchanging character of the
divine law. They saw, as never before, the force of the Saviour's words:
"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass
from the law." Matthew 5:18. The law of God, being a revelation of His
will, a transcript of His character, must forever endure, "as a faithful
witness in heaven." Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or
tittle has been changed. Says the psalmist: "Forever, O Lord, Thy word
is settled in heaven." "All His commandments are sure. They stand fast
for ever and ever." Psalms 119:89; 111:7, 8.
In the very bosom of the Decalogue is
the fourth commandment, as it was first proclaimed: "Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy
work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou
shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that
is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the
Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11.
The Spirit of God impressed the hearts
of those students of His word. The conviction was urged upon them that
they had ignorantly transgressed this precept by disregarding the
Creator's rest day. They began to examine the reasons for observing the
first day of the week instead of the day which God had sanctified. They
could find no evidence in the
Page 435
Scriptures that the fourth commandment
had been abolished, or that the Sabbath had been changed; the blessing
which first hallowed the seventh day had never been removed. They had
been honestly seeking to know and to do God's will; now, as they saw
themselves transgressors of His law, sorrow filled their hearts, and
they manifested their loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath holy.
Many and earnest were the efforts made
to overthrow their faith. None could fail to see that if the earthly
sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in
the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in
heaven; and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly
sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God's law and the
obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret
of the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of
the Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly
sanctuary. Men sought to close the door which God had opened, and to
open the door which He had closed. But "He that openeth, and no man
shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth," had declared: "Behold, I
have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." Revelation
3:7, 8. Christ had opened the door, or ministration, of the most holy
place, light was shining from that open door of the sanctuary in heaven,
and the fourth commandment was shown to be included in the law which is
there enshrined; what God had established, no man could overthrow.
Those who had accepted the light
concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God
found that these were the truths presented in Revelation 14. The
messages of this chapter constitute a threefold warning (see
Appendix)
which is to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for the Lord's second
coming. The announcement, "The hour of His judgment is come," points to
the closing work of Christ's ministration for the salvation of men. It
heralds a
Page 436
truth which must be proclaimed until the
Saviour's intercession shall cease and He shall return to the earth to
take His people to Himself. The work of judgment which began in 1844
must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of the living and
the dead; hence it will extend to the close of human probation. That men
may be prepared to stand in the judgment, the message commands them to
"fear God, and give glory to Him," "and worship Him that made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." The result of an
acceptance of these messages is given in the word: "Here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." In order to be
prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law
of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgment. The
apostle Paul declares: "As many as have sinned in the law shall be
judged by the law, . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ." And he says that "the doers of the law shall be
justified." Romans 2:12-16. Faith is essential in order to the keeping
of the law of God; for "without faith it is impossible to please Him."
And "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.
By the first angel, men are called
upon to "fear God, and give glory to Him" and to worship Him as the
Creator of the heavens and the earth. In order to do this, they must
obey His law. Says the wise man: "Fear God, and keep His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13. Without
obedience to His commandments no worship can be pleasing to God. "This
is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." "He that turneth
away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
abomination." 1 John 5:3; Proverbs 28:9.
The duty to worship God is based upon
the fact that He is the Creator and that to Him all other beings owe
their existence. And wherever, in the Bible, His claim to reverence and
worship, above the gods of the heathen, is presented,
Page 437
there is cited the evidence of His
creative power. "All the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord
made the heavens." Psalm 96:5. "To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall
I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold
who hath created these things." "Thus saith the Lord that created the
heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it: . . . I am the
Lord; and there is none else." Isaiah 40:25, 26; 45:18. Says the
psalmist: "Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us,
and not we ourselves." "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us
kneel before the Lord our Maker." Psalms 100:3; 95:6. And the holy
beings who worship God in heaven state, as the reason why their homage
is due to Him: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power: for Thou hast created all things." Revelation 4:11.
In Revelation 14, men are called upon
to worship the Creator; and the prophecy brings to view a class that, as
the result of the threefold message, are keeping the commandments of
God. One of these commandments points directly to God as the Creator.
The fourth precept declares: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God: . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:10, 11. Concerning
the Sabbath, the Lord says, further, that it is "a sign, . . . that ye
may know that I am the Lord your God." Ezekiel 20:20. And the reason
given is: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the
seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." Exodus 31:17.
"The importance of the Sabbath as the
memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why
worship is due to God"--because He is the Creator, and we are His
creatures. "The Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine
worship, for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner,
and no other institution does this. The true ground of divine worship,
not of that on the seventh day
Page 438
merely, but of all worship, is found in
the distinction between the Creator and His creatures. This great fact
can never become obsolete, and must never be forgotten."--J. N. Andrews,
History of the Sabbath,
chapter 27. It was to keep this truth
ever before the minds of men, that God instituted the Sabbath in Eden;
and so long as the fact that He is our Creator continues to be a reason
why we should worship Him, so long the Sabbath will continue as its sign
and memorial. Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man's thoughts and
affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of reverence
and worship, and there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or
an infidel. The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true
God, "Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters." It follows that the message which commands men to worship God
and keep His commandments will especially call upon them to keep the
fourth commandment.
In contrast to those who keep the
commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, the third angel points
to another class, against whose errors a solemn and fearful warning is
uttered: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his
mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine
of the wrath of God." Revelation 14:9, 10. A correct interpretation of
the symbols employed is necessary to an understanding of this message.
What is represented by the beast, the image, the mark?
The line of prophecy in which these
symbols are found begins with Revelation 12, with the dragon that sought
to destroy Christ at His birth. The dragon is said to be Satan
(Revelation 12:9); he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to
death. But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His
people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman
Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the
dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a
symbol of pagan Rome.
Page 439
In chapter 13 (verses 1-10) is
described another beast, "like unto a leopard," to which the dragon gave
"his power, and his seat, and great authority." This symbol, as most
Protestants have believed, represents the papacy, which succeeded to the
power and seat and authority once held by the ancient Roman empire. Of
the leopardlike beast it is declared: "There was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies. . . . And he opened his mouth in
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and
them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with
the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all
kindreds, and tongues, and nations." This prophecy, which is nearly
identical with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7,
unquestionably points to the papacy.
"Power was given unto him to continue
forty and two months." And, says the prophet, "I saw one of his heads as
it were wounded to death." And again: "He that leadeth into captivity
shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed
with the sword." The forty and two months are the same as the "time and
times and the dividing of time," three years and a half, or 1260 days,
of Daniel 7-- the time during which the papal power was to oppress God's
people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the
supremacy of the papacy, A.D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time
the pope was made captive by the French army, the papal power received
its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled, "He that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity."
At this point another symbol is
introduced. Says the prophet: "I beheld another beast coming up out of
the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb." Verse II. Both the
appearance of this beast and the manner of its rise indicate that the
nation which it represents is unlike those presented under the preceding
symbols. The great kingdoms that have ruled the world were presented to
the prophet Daniel as
Page 440
beasts of prey, rising when "the four
winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." Daniel 7:2. In
Revelation 17 an angel explained that waters represent "peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Revelation 17:15. Winds are a
symbol of strife. The four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea
represent the terrible scenes of conquest and revolution by which
kingdoms have attained to power.
But the beast with lamblike horns was
seen "coming up out of the earth." Instead of overthrowing other powers
to establish itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory
preciously unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully. It could
not, then, arise among the crowded and struggling nationalities of the
Old World--that turbulent sea of "peoples, and multitudes, and nations,
and tongues." It must be sought in the Western Continent.
What nation of the New World was in
1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and
attracting the attention of the world? The application of the symbol
admits of no question. One nation, and only one, meets the
specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United
States of America. Again and again the thought, almost the exact words,
of the sacred writer has been unconsciously employed by the orator and
the historian in describing the rise and growth of this nation. The
beast was seen "coming up out of the earth;" and, according to the
translators, the word here rendered "coming up" literally signifies "to
grow or spring up as a plant." And, as we have seen, the nation must
arise in territory previously unoccupied. A prominent writer, describing
the rise of the United States, speaks of
"the mystery of her coming forth from
vacancy," and says: "Like a
silent seed
we grew into empire."--G. A. Townsend,
The New World Compared With the
Old, page 462. A European
journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as a wonderful empire, which
was "emerging," and " amid the
silence of the earth daily
adding to its power and pride." --The
Dublin Nation
. Edward Everett, in an oration on
Page 441
the Pilgrim founders of this nation,
said: "Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive for its obscurity,
and safe in its remoteness, where the little church of Leyden might
enjoy the freedom of conscience? Behold the
mighty regions
over which, in
peaceful conquest,
. . . they have borne the banners of the
cross!"--Speech delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, Dec. 22, 1824,
page 11.
"And he had two horns like a lamb."
The lamblike horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness, fitly
representing the character of the United States when presented to the
prophet as "coming up" in 1798. Among the Christian exiles who first
fled to America and sought an asylum from royal oppression and priestly
intolerance were many who determined to establish a government upon the
broad foundation of civil and religious liberty. Their views found place
in the Declaration of Independence, which sets forth the great truth
that "all men are created equal" and endowed with the inalienable right
to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." And the Constitution
guarantees to the people the right of self-government, providing that
representatives elected by the popular vote shall enact and administer
the laws. Freedom of religious faith was also granted, every man being
permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience.
Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the
nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. The
oppressed and downtrodden throughout Christendom have turned to this
land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its shores, and the
United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of
the earth.
But the beast with lamblike horns
"spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast
before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to
worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed; . . . saying to
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make
Page 442
an image to the beast, which had the
wound by a sword, and did live." Revelation 13:11-14.
The lamblike horns and dragon voice of
the symbol point to a striking contradiction between the professions and
the practice of the nation thus represented. The "speaking" of the
nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities. By
such action it will give the lie to those liberal and peaceful
principles which it has put forth as the foundation of its policy. The
prediction that it will speak "as a dragon" and exercise "all the power
of the first beast" plainly foretells a development of the spirit of
intolerance and persecution that was manifested by the nations
represented by the dragon and the leopardlike beast. And the statement
that the beast with two horns "causeth the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast" indicates that the authority of this
nation is to be exercised in enforcing some observance which shall be an
act of homage to the papacy.
Such action would be directly contrary
to the principles of this government, to the genius of its free
institutions, to the direct and solemn avowals of the Declaration of
Independence, and to the Constitution. The founders of the nation wisely
sought to guard against the employment of secular power on the part of
the church, with its inevitable result-- intolerance and persecution.
The Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,"
and that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to
any office of public trust under the United States." Only in flagrant
violation of these safeguards to the nation's liberty, can any religious
observance be enforced by civil authority. But the inconsistency of such
action is no greater than is represented in the symbol. It is the beast
with lamblike horns--in profession pure, gentle, and harmless--that
speaks as a dragon.
"Saying to them that dwell on the
earth, that they
should
Page 443
make an image to the beast." Here is
clearly presented a form of government in which the legislative power
rests with the people, a most striking evidence that the United States
is the nation denoted in the prophecy.
But what is the "image to the beast"?
and how is it to be formed? The image is made by the two-horned beast,
and is an image to
the beast. It is also called an image
of
the beast. Then to learn what the image
is like and how it is to be formed we must study the characteristics of
the beast itself--the papacy.
When the early church became corrupted
by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen
rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to
control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the
secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the
power of the state and employed it to further her own ends, especially
for the punishment of "heresy." In order for the United States to form
an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil
government that the authority of the state will also be employed by the
church to accomplish her own ends.
Whenever the church has obtained
secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines.
Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming
alliance with worldly powers have manifested a similar desire to
restrict liberty of conscience. An example of this is given in the
long-continued persecution of dissenters by the Church of England.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, thousands of
nonconformist ministers were forced to flee from their churches, and
many, both of pastors and people, were subjected to fine, imprisonment,
torture, and martyrdom.
It was apostasy that led the early
church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the
way for the development of the papacy--the beast. Said Paul: "There"
shall "come a falling away, . . . and that man of sin be
Page 444
revealed." 2 Thessalonians 2:3. So
apostasy in the church will prepare the way for the image to the beast.
The Bible declares that before the
coming of the Lord there will exist a state of religious declension
similar to that in the first centuries. "In the last days perilous times
shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good,
traitors, heady, high-minded,
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God; having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof." 2 Timothy
3:1-5. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. Satan will work "with all power and
signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness." And all that "received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved," will be left to accept "strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie." 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. When this state of
ungodliness shall be reached, the same results will follow as in the
first centuries.
The wide diversity of belief in the
Protestant churches is regarded by many as decisive proof that no effort
to secure a forced uniformity can ever be made. But there has been for
years, in churches of the Protestant faith, a strong and growing
sentiment in favor of a union based upon common points of doctrine. To
secure such a union, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not
agreed--however important they might be from a Bible standpoint--must
necessarily be waived.
Charles Beecher, in a sermon in the
year 1846, declared that the ministry of "the evangelical Protestant
denominations" is "not only formed all the way up under a tremendous
pressure of merely human fear, but they live, and move, and breathe in a
state of things radically corrupt, and appealing every hour to every
baser element of their nature to hush up
Page 445
the truth, and bow the knee to the power
of apostasy. Was not this the way things went with Rome? Are we not
living her life over again? And what do we see just ahead? Another
general council! A world's convention! Evangelical alliance, and
universal creed!"--Sermon on "The Bible a Sufficient Creed," delivered
at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Feb. 22, 1846. When this shall be gained, then,
in the effort to secure complete uniformity, it will be only a step to
the resort to force.
When the leading churches of the
United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them
in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to
sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an
image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon
dissenters will inevitably result.
The beast with two horns "causeth
[commands] all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no
man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the
beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16, 17. The third
angel's warning is: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and
receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink
of the wine of the wrath of God." "The beast" mentioned in this message,
whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or
leopardlike beast of Revelation 13--the papacy. The "image to the beast"
represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed
when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for
the enforcement of their dogmas. The "mark of the beast" still remains
to be defined.
After the warning against the worship
of the beast and his image the prophecy declares: "Here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Since those who
keep God's commandments are thus placed in contrast with those that
worship the beast and his image and receive his mark, it follows that
the keeping of God's law, on the
Page 446
one hand, and its violation, on the
other, will make the distinction between the worshipers of God and the
worshipers of the beast.
The special characteristic of the
beast, and therefore of his image, is the breaking of God's
commandments. Says Daniel, of the little horn, the papacy: "He shall
think to change times and the law." Daniel 7:25, R.V. And Paul styled
the same power the "man of sin," who was to exalt himself above God. One
prophecy is a complement of the other. Only by changing God's law could
the papacy exalt itself above God; whoever should understandingly keep
the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by
which the change was made. Such an act of obedience to papal laws would
be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of God.
The papacy has attempted to change the
law of God. The second commandment, forbidding image worship, has been
dropped from the law, and the fourth commandment has been so changed as
to authorize the observance of the first instead of the seventh day as
the Sabbath. But papists urge, as a reason for omitting the second
commandment, that it is unnecessary, being included in the first, and
that they are giving the law exactly as God designed it to be
understood. This cannot be the change foretold by the prophet. An
intentional, deliberate change is presented: "He shall
think
to change the times and the law." The
change in the fourth commandment exactly fulfills the prophecy. For this
the only authority claimed is that of the church. Here the papal power
openly sets itself above God.
While the worshipers of God will be
especially distinguished by their regard for the fourth
commandments,--since this is the sign of His creative power and the
witness to His claim upon man's reverence and homage,--the worshipers of
the beast will be distinguished by their efforts to tear down the
Creator's memorial, to exalt the institution of Rome. It was in behalf
of the Sunday that popery first asserted its
Page 447
arrogant claims (see
Appendix
); and its first resort to the power of
the state was to compel the observance of Sunday as "the Lord's day."
But the Bible points to the seventh day, and not to the first, as the
Lord's day. Said Christ: "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."
The fourth commandment declares: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the
Lord." And by the prophet Isaiah the Lord designates it: "My holy day."
Mark 2:28; Isaiah 58:13.
The claim so often put forth that
Christ changed the Sabbath is disproved by His own words. In His Sermon
on the Mount He said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say
unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall
break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and
teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven,"
Matthew 5:17-19.
It is a fact generally admitted by
Protestants that the Scriptures give no authority for the change of the
Sabbath. This is plainly stated in publications issued by the American
Tract Society and the American Sunday School Union. One of these works
acknowledges "the complete silence of the New Testament so far as any
explicit command for the Sabbath [Sunday, the first day of the week] or
definite rules for its observance are concerned."--George Elliott,
The Abiding Sabbath,
page 184.
Another says: "Up to the time of
Christ's death, no change had been made in the day;" and, "so far as the
record shows, they [the apostles] did not . . . give any explicit
command enjoining the abandonment of the seventh-day Sabbath, and its
observance on the first day of the week."--A. E. Waffle,
The Lord's Day,
pages 186-188.
Roman Catholics acknowledge that the
change of the Sabbath was made by their church, and declare that
Protestants
Page 448
by observing the Sunday are recognizing
her power. In the Catholic
Catechism of Christian Religion,
in answer to a question as to the day to
be observed in obedience to the fourth commandment, this statement is
made: "During the old law, Saturday was the day sanctified; but
the church,
instructed by Jesus Christ, and directed
by the Spirit of God, has substituted Sunday for Saturday; so now we
sanctify the first, not the seventh day. Sunday means, and now is, the
day of the Lord."
As the sign of the authority of the
Catholic Church, papist writers cite "the very act of changing the
Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; . . . because by
keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the church's power to ordain feasts,
and to command them under sin."--Henry Tuberville,
An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine,
page 58. What then is the
change of the Sabbath, but the sign, or mark, of the authority of the
Roman Church--"the mark of the beast"?
The Roman Church has not relinquished
her claim to supremacy; and when the world and the Protestant churches
accept a sabbath of her creating, while they reject the Bible Sabbath,
they virtually admit this assumption. They may claim the authority of
tradition and of the Fathers for the change; but in so doing they ignore
the very principle which separates them from Rome--that "the Bible, and
the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants." The papist can see that
they are deceiving themselves, willingly closing their eyes to the facts
in the case. As the movement for Sunday enforcement gains favor, he
rejoices, feeling assured that it will eventually bring the whole
Protestant world under the banner of Rome.
Romanists declare that "the observance
of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of
themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church."--Mgr. Segur,
Plain Talk About the
Protestantism of Today, page
213. The enforcement of Sundaykeeping on the part of Protestant churches
is an enforcement of the worship of the papacy--of the beast. Those who,
understanding the claims of the fourth
Page 449
commandment, choose to observe the false
instead of the true Sabbath are thereby paying homage to that power by
which alone it is commanded. But in the very act of enforcing a
religious duty by secular power, the churches would themselves form an
image to the beast; hence the enforcement of Sundaykeeping in the United
States would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his
image.
But Christians of past generations
observed the Sunday, supposing that in so doing they were keeping the
Bible Sabbath; and there are now true Christians in every church, not
excepting the Roman Catholic communion, who honestly believe that Sunday
is the Sabbath of divine appointment. God accepts their sincerity of
purpose and their integrity before Him. But when Sunday observance shall
be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the
obligation of the true Sabbath, then 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 worshipping 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." And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set
before the people, and they are brought to choose between the
commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue
in transgression will receive "the mark of the beast."
The most fearful threatening ever
addressed to mortals is contained in the third angel's message. That
must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with
mercy. Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important
matter; the warning against this sin is to be given to the world before
the visitation of God's judgments, that all may know why they are to be
inflicted, and have
Page 450
opportunity to escape them. Prophecy
declares that the first angel would make his announcement to "every
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." The warning of the third
angel, which forms a part of the same threefold message, is to be no
less widespread. It is represented in the prophecy as being proclaimed
with a loud voice, by an angel flying in the midst of heaven; and it
will command the attention of the world.
In the issue of the contest all
Christendom will be divided into two great classes--those who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the
beast and his image and receive his mark. Although church and state will
unite their power to compel "all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond" (Revelation 13:16), to receive "the mark of the beast,"
yet the people of God will not receive it. The prophet of Patmos beholds
"them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image,
and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of
glass, having the harps of God" and singing the song of Moses and the
Lamb. Revelation 15:2, 3.
|
|
Survival guide for the end of time!
About us
