Chapter 25—God’s Law Immutable
“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 Savior’s change of ministration, and they saw that he was now
officiating before the ark of God, pleading his blood in behalf of sinners. {GC88 433.1}
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. 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. {GC88 433.2}
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 Savior’s words, “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in
nowise 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 title has been changed. Says the psalmist: “Forever, O Lord, thy word is
settled in Heaven.” “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and
ever.” [Psalm 119:89; 111:7, 8.] {GC88 434.1}
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 shall
thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God; in it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, 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.] {GC88 434.2}
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 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. {GC88 434.3}
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 opened, and no man shut; and shutteth,
and no man opened,” 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. {GC88 435.1}
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, Note 8.] 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 truth which must be
proclaimed until the Saviors’ 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 words, “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.] {GC88 435.2}
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 turn away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
abomination.” [1 John 5:3; Proverbs 28:9.] {GC88 436.1}
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, 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 Jehovah; and there is none else.” [Isaiah 40:25, 26; 45:18.] Says the psalmist, “Know ye that Jehovah, 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.” [Psalm 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.] {GC88 436.2}
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, is 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.] {GC88 437.1}
“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 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 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.” 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. {GC88 437.2}
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? {GC88 438.1}
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. {GC88 438.2}
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 possessed by
the ancient Roman Empire. Of the leopard-like 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 kindred, 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. {GC88 439.1}
“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 leaded into captivity shall go into captivity; he that killed
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 establishment of the papacy, A. D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that
time, when the papacy was abolished and the pope made captive by the French
army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was
fulfilled, “He that leaded into captivity shall go into captivity.” {GC88 439.2}
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.” [Revelation 13:11.] 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 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. {GC88 439.3}
But the beast with lamb-like 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 previously 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. {GC88 440.1}
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 have 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.” [Townsend, in “The New World Compared with the Old,” p. 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 the Pilgrim
founders of this nation, said: “Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive
from its obscurity, safe in its remoteness from the haunts of despots, where
the little church of Leyden might enjoy freedom of conscience? Behold the mighty
regions over which, in peaceful conquest, they have borne
the banners of the cross.” {GC88 440.2}
“And he had two horns like a lamb.” The lamb-like horns indicate youth,
innocence, and gentleness, fitly representing the character of the United
States when presented to the prophet as “coming up” in 1798. The Christian
exiles who first fled to America, sought an asylum from royal oppression and
priestly intolerance, and they determined to establish a government upon the
broad foundation of civil and religious liberty. The Declaration of
Independence 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 down-trodden 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. {GC88 441.1}
But the beast with lamb-like horns “spoke as a dragon. And he
exercise all the power of the first beast before him, and cause 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
an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” [Revelation 13:11-14.] {GC88 441.2}
The lamb-like 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 leopard-like beast. And the statement that the beast with two horns
“cause 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. {GC88 442.1}
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 lamb-like
horns—in profession pure, gentle, and harmless—that speaks as a dragon. {GC88 442.2}
“Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should
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. {GC88 443.1}
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
first 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. {GC88 443.2}
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 non-conformist
ministers were forced to leave their churches, and many, both of pastors and
people, were subjected to fine, imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom. {GC88 443.3}
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 revealed.” [2
Thessalonians 2:3] So apostasy in the
church will prepare the way for the image to the beast. And 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 speaks 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. {GC88 443.4}
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. {GC88 444.1}
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 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!” When this shall be
gained, then, in the effort to secure complete uniformity, it will be only a
step to the resort to
force. {GC88 444.2}
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. {GC88
445.1}
The beast with two horns will force 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.” ‘worship him’ [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 leopard-like 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 shown. {GC88 445.2}
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 one hand, and its
violation, on the other, will make the distinction between the worshipers of
God and the worshipers of the beast. {GC88 445.3}
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 the times and the law.” [Daniel 7:25, Revised Version.] 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. {GC88 446.1}
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. {GC88 446.2}
While the worshipers of God will be especially distinguished by
their regard for the fourth commandment,—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 arrogant claims; [See Appendix, note 9.] 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.] {GC88 446.3}
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.] {GC88 447.1}
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.” [“The Abiding Sabbath,” p. 184, a $500 prize
essay.] {GC88 447.2}
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. [“The Lord’s Day” pp. 185, 186, a $1,000 prize
essay.] {GC88 447.3}
Roman Catholics acknowledge that the change of the Sabbath was
made by their church, and declare that Protestants, 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.”{GC88 448.1}
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 strictly they acknowledge
the church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin.” [“Abridgment of Christian Doctrine.”] What then is the change of the Sabbath, but
the sign or mark of the authority of the Romish Church—“the mark of the
beast”? {GC88 448.2}
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. {GC88 448.3}
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.” [“Plain talk about
Protestantism,” p. 213.] The
enforcement of Sunday-keeping 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 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 Sunday-keeping in the United States would be an enforcement of the worship
of the beast and his image. {GC88 448.4}
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 worshiping 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.” {GC88 449.1}
The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortal 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 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 proclaimed with a loud voice, by an angel flying
in the midst of heaven; and it will command the attention of the world. {GC88 449.2}
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,” to receive “the mark of the beast,” [Revelation 13:16.] 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.] {GC88 450.1}
