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represents another religious body clothed with similar power. The
formation of this image is the work of that beast whose peaceful rise
and mild professions render it so striking a symbol of the United
States. Here is to be found an image of the papacy. When the
churches of our land, uniting upon such points of faith as are held by
them in common, shall influence the State to enforce their decrees
and sustain their institutions, then will Protestant America have
formed an image of the Roman hierarchy. Then the true church will
be assailed by persecution, as were God’s ancient people. Almost
every century furnishes examples of what bigotry and malice can do
under a plea of serving God by protecting the rights of Church and
State. 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. In the seventeenth century
thousands of non-conformist ministers suffered under the rule of the
Church of England. Persecution always follows religious favoritism
on the part of secular governments.
The beast with lamb-like horns commands “all, both small and
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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
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he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name.” [Revelation 13:16, 17.] This is the mark concerning which the third angel utters his warning. It is the mark of the first beast, or
the papacy, and is therefore to be sought among the distinguishing
characteristics of that power. The prophet Daniel declared that
the Roman Church, symbolized by the little horn, was to think to
change times and laws, [Daniel 7:25.] while Paul styled it the man of sin, [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.] who was to exalt himself above God.
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 u
and that they are giving the law exactly as God designed it to be
understood. This ca
intentional, deliberate change is brought to view: “He shall think to
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change times and laws.” The change in the fourth commandment
exactly fulfills the prophecy. For this change the only authority
claimed is that of the church. Here the papal power openly sets itself
above God.
The claim so often put forth, that Christ changed the Sabbath, is
disproved by his own words. In his sermon on the mount he declared:
“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.]
Roman Catholics acknowledge that the change of the Sabbath
was made by their church; and they cite this change as evidence of
Third Angel’s Message
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the authority of the church to legislate in divine things, and declare
that Protestants, by observing the Sabbath as thus changed, are
recognizing her power. 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 apostles and 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 Sunday institution gains favor,
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he rejoices, feeling assured that it will eventually bring the whole
Protestant world under the ba
The fourth commandment, which Rome has endeavored to set
aside, is the only precept of the decalogue that points to God as
the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and thus distinguishes
the true God from all false gods. The Sabbath was instituted to
commemorate the work of creation, and thus to direct the minds
of men to the true and living God. The fact of his creative power
is cited throughout the Scriptures as proof that the God of Israel
is superior to heathen deities. Had the Sabbath always been kept,
man’s thoughts and affections would have been led to his Maker as
the object of reverence and worship, and there would never have
been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel.
That institution which points to God as the Creator is a sign of
his rightful authority over the beings he has made. The change of the
Sabbath is the sign, or mark, of the authority of the Romish Church.
Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment,
choose to observe the false in place of the true Sabbath, are thereby
paying homage to that power by which alone it is commanded. The
change in the fourth commandment is the change pointed out in the
prophecy, and the keeping of the counterfeit Sabbath is the reception
of the mark. But Christians of past generations observed the first
day, supposing that they were keeping the Bible Sabbath, and there
are in the churches of today many who honestly believe that Sunday
is the Sabbath of divine appointment. None of these have received
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the mark of the beast. There are true Christians in every church,
not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. The test upon this
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question does not come until Sunday observance is enforced by law,
and the world is enlightened concerning the obligation of the true
Sabbath. 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, will those who continue in transgression