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The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4
“It is written.” To every suggestion of the adversary he opposed the
wisdom and power of the word. In order for Satan to maintain his
sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he
must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would
exalt God, and place finite men in their true position; therefore its
sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was
adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation
of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it,
or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates
interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope
came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of
God on earth, endowed with supreme authority over Church and
State.
The detector of error having been removed, Satan worked ac-
cording to his will. Prophecy had declared that the papacy was to
“think to change times and laws.” [Daniel 7:25.] This work it was not slow to attempt. To afford converts from heathenism a substitute for
the worship of idols, and thus to promote their nominal acceptance
of Christianity, the adoration of images and relics was gradually in-
troduced into the Christian worship. The decree of a general council
finally established this system of popish idolatry. To complete the
sacrilegious work, Rome presumed to expunge from the law of God
the second commandment, forbidding image worship, and to divide
the tenth commandment, in order to preserve the number.
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The spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still
further disregard of Heaven’s authority. Satan tampered with the
fourth commandment also, and essayed to set aside the ancient
Sabbath, the day which God had blessed and sanctified, and in its
stead to exalt the festival observed by the heathen as “the venerable
day of the sun.” This change was not at first attempted openly. In
the first centuries the true Sabbath had been kept by all Christians.
They were jealous for the honor of God, and, believing that his law
is immutable, they zealously guarded the sacredness of its precepts.
But with great subtlety, Satan worked through his agents to bring
about his object. That the attention of the people might be called
to the Sunday, it was made a festival in honor of the resurrection of
Christ. Religious services were held upon it; yet it was regarded as
a day of recreation, the Sabbath being still sacredly observed.
Roman Church
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Constantine, while still a heathen, issued a decree enjoining
the general observance of Sunday as a public festival throughout
the Roman empire. After his conversion, he remained a staunch
advocate of Sunday, and his pagan edict was then enforced by him
in the interests of his new faith. But the honor shown this day was
not as yet sufficient to prevent Christians from regarding the true
Sabbath as the holy of the Lord. Another step must be taken; the
false Sabbath must be exalted to an equality with the true. A few
years after the issue of Constantine’s decree, the bishop of Rome
conferred on the Sunday the title of Lord’s day. Thus the people
were gradually led to regard it as possessing a degree of sacredness.
Still the original Sabbath was kept.
The arch-deceiver had not completed his work. He was resolved
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to gather the Christian world under his ba
power through his vicegerent, the proud pontiff who claimed to
be the representative of Christ. Through half-converted pagans,
ambitious prelates, and world-loving churchmen, he accomplished
his purpose. Vast councils were held, from time to time, in which
the dignitaries of the church were convened from all the world.
In nearly every council the Sabbath which God had instituted was
pressed down a little lower, while the Sunday was correspondingly
exalted. Thus the pagan festival came finally to be honored as a
divine institution, while the Bible Sabbath was pronounced a relic
of Judaism, and its observers were declared to be accursed.
The great apostate had succeeded in exalting himself “above
all that is called God, or that is worshiped.” [2 Thessalonians 2:4.]
He had dared to change the only precept of the divine law that
unmistakably points all mankind to the true and living God. In the
fourth commandment, God is revealed as the Creator of the heavens
and the earth, and is thereby distinguished from all false gods. It
was as a memorial of the work of creation that the seventh day was
sanctified as a rest-day for man. It was designed to keep the living
God ever before the minds of men as the source of being and the
object of reverence and worship. Satan strives to turn men from
their allegiance to God, and from rendering obedience to his law;
therefore he directs his efforts especially against that commandment
which points to God as the Creator.
Protestants now urge that the resurrection of Christ on Sunday,
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The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4
made it the Christian Sabbath. But Scripture evidence is lacking.
No such honor was given to the day by Christ or his apostles. The
observance of Sunday as a Christian institution has its origin in that
“mystery of lawlessness” which, even in Paul’s day, had begun its
work. Where and when did the Lord adopt this child of the papacy?
What valid reason can be given for a change concerning which the
Scriptures are silent?
In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established.
Its seat of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of
Rome was declared to be the head over the entire church. Paganism
had given place to the papacy. The dragon had given to the beast
“his power, and his seat, and great authority.” [Revelation 13:2.]
And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the
prophecies of Daniel and John. [Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7.]
Christians were forced to choose, either to yield their integrity and
accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their
lives in dungeon cells, or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the
headsman’s ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus, “Ye shall be
betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends;
and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be
hated of all men for my name’s sake.” [Luke 21:16, 17.] Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the
world became a vast battle-field. For hundreds of years the church
of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the
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prophet: “The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a
place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand