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Books Index 
 Sunday Laws and the Papacy By Harold E. Metcalf the writings of Ellen G. White PDF download Station E. P. 0. Box 5388 Atlanta 7. GA, 154 Hurt St., NE Phone 000–0000 All who have read histories of the Papacy and learned how she has instituted a false Sabbath will welcome this small volume. Among the many compilations of the writings of Mrs. Ellen G. White, this book occupies a field peculiarly its own. If begins with the preparation that is indispensible to every man, woman, or child during the soon coming conflict. It shows the manner in which God’s people will be persecuted by this Satanic power and their ultimate victory and deliverance. Mrs. Ellen G. White has received especial help from the Spirit of God, and is therefore able to throw light upon the teachings of the Papacy and the methods it will use to gain supremacy in all the world. She has not suffered herself to be drawn aside to discuss theories, or to indulge in speculation. No extraneous matter has been introduced. Of course this topic could not be exhausted in a book this size. However, enough has been included to cause the reader to make a thorough preparation for the coming world catastrophe. And, if the perusal of this volume shall enable the reader to stand firm and unflinchingly for the truth even in the face of death when the Papacy, combined with the spurious Sabbath of its own making will be forced upon the whole world, then the object of the compiler will be accomplished.
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1. SPECIAL PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR LAST CONFLICT 11Each Must Stand Alone 11 Whole-Heartedness Necessary Now 12 Children to be Trained Now 14 Clothed in Christ’s Righteousness 15 Present Condition A Crime 17 Must Have Religion of Paul 17 Put Forth Effort to Preserve Our Liberty 18 2. MOVEMENT FOR RELIGIOUS LEGISLATION 22 Inspired by Satan 22 Coupled with Legitimate Reformatory Measures 24 Spiritualism, Protestantism, and Catholicism join Hands 24 3. A MODERN REVIVAL OF ANCIENT PERSECUTION 26 Opposition to Present Truth 26 Movement for Sunday Enforcement 26 Many Deceived 30 4. NATIONAL APOSTASY 32 Protestants Follow Papists Example 32 Popery Gains Supremacy 33 Sign of National Ruin 35 Leave Large Cities 36 5. THE TWO-HORNED BEAST AND THE IMAGE Secret of Our Prosperity and Power 38 Persecution Revived 38 Image Formed 40 6. THE PAPACY—ITS PRINCIPLES AND PROGRAM 43 Meets with Approval of Whole World 43 Similar to the Jewish Church 43 Some Are Immune to this Deception 44 Adoption of Liberal Christianity Unites Protestantism and Romanism 45 Spirit of Papacy Enters the Churches 46 Papacy Will Repeat Former Persecutions 47 History of Esther Repeated 49 7. GOD’S PEOPLE DELIVERED 51 Christ’s Work Finished in Sanctuary 51 Seven Last Plagues 51 Sins Placed on Scape Goat 51 Saints Victorious over the Beast and His Image 52 BIBLIOGRAPHY -9- “The Sabbath is God’s memorial of creation, and had it always been observed, there would never have been an infidel or an atheist in our world.” —Ellen G. While, Review and Herald, June 4, 1901. 9 “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 “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: 11 “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.” [Fourth Commandment added.] THE tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury, by having repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent; confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. 1 The judgments of God are about to fall upon the world, and we need to be preparing for —that great day. 2 The people of God are not at this time all in one place. They are in different companies, and in all parts of the earth and they will be tried singly and not in groups. Everyone must stand the test for himself. 3 It does not seem possible to us now that any should have to stand alone; but if God has ever spoken by me, the time will come when we shall be brought before councils and before thousands for His name’s sake, and each one will have to give the reason of his faith. Then will come the severest criticism upon every position that has been taken for the truth. We need, then, to study the word of God, that we may know why we believe the doctrines we advocate. We must critically search the living oracles of Jehovah. 4 ———————— 1. Signs of the Times, April 21, 1890. 2. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, p. 407. 3. Missionary Sketches, p. 158. 4. Review and Herald, December 18, 1888. -11- 12 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY The members of the church will individually be tested and proved. They will be placed in circumstances where they will be forced to bear witness for the truth. Many will be called to speak before councils and in courts of justice, perhaps separately and alone. The experience which would have helped them in this emergency they have neglected to obtain, and their souls are burdened with remorse for wasted opportunities and neglected privileges. 5 The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands, and conformed to worldly customs, will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment and death. 6 As a people we are to prepare the way of the Lord. Every iota of ability God has given us must be put to use in preparing the people after God’s fashion, after His spiritual mold, to stand in the great day of God’s preparation. 7 Those who would not receive the mark of the beast and his image when the decree goes forth, must have decision now to say, Nay, we will not regard the institution of the beast. 8 When the law of God is made void, the church will be sifted by fiery trial, and a larger proportion than we now anticipate, will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Instead of being strengthened when brought into straight places, many prove that they are not living branches,,. of the true vine; they bore no fruit, and the husbandman taketh them away. 9 6. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 81. 7. Special Testimonies, No. 1, p. 2, February, 1894. 8. Early Writings, p. 67. 9. General Conference Bulletin, 1891, p. 257. SPECIAL PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR, LAST CONFLICT 13 Have you that intensity of zeal, that piety and devotion, which will enable you to stand when opposition is brought upon you? If God has ever spoken by me, the time will come when we shall be brought before councils, and every position of truth which we bold will be severely criticized. The time that we are now allowing to go to waste should be devoted to the charge God has given us, of preparing for the approaching crisis. Much time should be spent in prayer, that our garments of character may be washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. 10 The work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity, she will have to do in a terrible crisis, under a most discouraging, forbidding circumstances. The warnings that worldly conformity has silenced or withheld, must be given under the fiercest opposition from enemies of the faith. And at that time the superficial, conservative class, whose influence has steadily retarded the progress of the work, will renounce the faith and take their stand with its avowed enemies, toward whom their sympathies have long been tending. These apostates will then manifest the most bitter enmity, doing all in their power to oppress and malign their former brethren, and to excite indignation against them.” 11 And because iniquity abounds, the love of many shall wax cold. The very atmosphere is polluted with sin. Soon God’s people will be tested by fiery trials, and the great proportion of those who now appear to be genuine and true will prove to be base metal. Instead of being strengthened and confirmed by opposition, threats, and abuse, they will cowardly take the side of the opposers. 12 In that coming emergency, rulers and magistrates will not interpose in behalf of God’s people. There will be 11. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 463. 12. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 136. 14 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY a corrupt harmony with all who have not been obedient to the law of God. In that day, all time servers, all who have not the genuine work of grace in the heart, will be found wanting. It will require the firmest trust, the most heroic purpose, to hold fast the faith once delivered to the saints. 13 All who will gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their defections, and loyalty from their treason, will triumph with the Third Angel’s Message. 14 Believing parents, your children will have to fight decisive battles for the Lord in the day of conflict; and while they win victories for the Prince of Peace, they may be gaining triumphs for themselves. But if they have not been brought up in the fear of the Lord; if they have no knowledge of Christ, no connection with heaven, they will have no moral power, and they will yield to earthly potentates who have assumed to exalt themselves above the God of heaven in establishing a spurious Sabbath to take the place of the Sabbath of Jehovah. . . . Fathers, mothers, I appeal to you to make most earnest efforts now for your children. Give them daily religious instruction. Teach them to love God, and to be true to the principles of right. With lofty, earnest faith, directed by the divine influence of the Holy Spirit, work, work now. Do not put it off one day, one hour, Teach your children that the heart must be trained to self-control and self-denial. The motives of the life must be in harmony with the law of God. Never be satisfied to have your children grow up apart from Christ. Never feel at ease while they are cold and indifferent. Cry to God day and night. Pray and work for the salvation of the souls of your children. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” [Psa 111:10] It is the mainspring, the balance wheel of character. Without the fear of the Lord, they will fail of accomplishing the great object of their creation. . . . Are we preparing our children for the great crisis? Are we preparing 14. Review and Herald, June 8,1897. SPECIAL PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR LAST CONFLICT 15 ourselves and our households to understand the position of our adversaries, and their modes of warfare? Are our children forming habits of decision, that they may be firm and unyielding in every matter of principle and duty? I pray that we may all understand the signs of the times, and that we may so prepare ourselves and our children that in the time of conflict God may be our refuge and defense. 15 The principles necessary for our youth to cultivate, must be kept before them in their daily education, that when the decree shall go forth requiring all to worship the beast and his image, they may make the right decisions, and have the strength to declare, without wavering, their confidence in the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, even at the very time when the law of God is made void by the religious world. Those who waver now, and are tempted to follow in the wake of apostates who have departed from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, will surely be found on the side of those who make void the law of God, unless they repent, and plant their feet firmly upon the faith once delivered to the saints. 16 I pray that we all may understand the signs of the times, and that we may so prepare ourselves and our children that in the time of conflict God may be our refuge and defense. 17 There is a work to be done for this time in fitting a people to stand in the day of trouble and all must act their part in this work. They must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and be so fortified by the truth, that the delusions of Satan shall not be accepted by them as genuine manifestations of the power of God. Years have been lost, but will you now awaken? 18 The characters we form here will decide our eternal 16. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 525. 17. Review and Herald, April 23, 1889. 18. Review and Herald, December 24, 1889. 16 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY destiny. . . . We must guard well every point, seeking to gain that purity which will make our lives harmonize with the saving truth we profess to believe. Our part is to put away sin, to seek with determination for perfection of character. As we thus work, God co-operates with us, fitting us for a place in His kingdom. 19 Ministers and people need the converting power of grace before they will be able to stand in the day of the Lord. The world is fast approaching that point in iniquity and human depravity when God’s interference will become necessary. And at that time his professed followers should be more marked for their fidelity to his holy law. . . . The very contempt that is shown to the law of God is sufficient reason why his commandment keeping people should come to the front and show their esteem and reverence for his down trodden law. 20 All who have put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness will stand before Him as chosen, and faithful, and true. Satan has no power to pluck them out of the hand of the Saviour. Not one soul who in penitence and faith has claimed His protection, will Christ permit to pass under the enemy’s power. 21 In this time of peril we can stand only as we have the truth and the power of God. Men can know the truth only by being themselves partakers of the divine nature. We have need now for more than human wisdom in reading and searching the scriptures; and if we come to God’s word with humble hearts He will raise up a standard for us against the lawless element. 22 Those who reject the gift of Christ’s righteousness are rejecting the attributes of character which would constitute them the sons and daughters of God. They are rejecting that which alone could give them a fitness for a place at the marriage feast. 23 20. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, pp. 136, 137. 21. Prophets and Kings, p. 587. 22. General Conference Bulletin, 1897, p. 257. 23. Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 316, 317. SPECIAL PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR LAST CONFLICT 17 All is harmony, peace, and love in Heaven. No discord, no strife, no censuring, no unloving words, no clouded brows, no jars there; and no one will be introduced there who possesses any of these elements so destructive to peace and happiness. 24 It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments. 25 No one can keep God’s commandments except in Christ’s power. He bore in His body the sins of all mankind, and He imputes His righteousness to every believing child. 26 The crisis is now upon us. The battle is to be waged between the Christianity of the Bible and the Christianity of human tradition. Is there not a criminal neglect in our present sleepy condition? There must be a decided advance movement among us. We must show to the world that we recognize, in the events that are now taking place in connection with the national reform movement, the fulfillment of prophecy. 27 In the great crisis through which they are soon to pass, they will become better acquainted with the experience of Paul. Among the professed followers of Christ there is the same pride, formalism, vain glory, selfishness, and oppression that existed in the Jewish nation. Before the warfare shall be ended and the victory won, we as a people are to experience trials similar to those of Paul. We shall encounter the same hardness of heart, the same cruel determination, the same unyielding hatred. . . . Persecution will again be kindled against those who are true to God; their 25. Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 319. 26. Review and Herald, May 7, 1901. 27. Review and Herald, January 1,1889. 18 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY motives will be impugned, their best efforts misinterpreted, their names cast out as evil. Then Satan will work with all his fascinating power to influence the heart and becloud the understanding, to make evil appear good and good evil. Then it is that he is, through his agents, to show great signs and wonders insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. God would have His people prepare for the soon coming crisis. Prepared or unprepared, we must all meet it. 28 Some think that because it has been revealed in prophecy that our nation shall restrict the consciences of men, it must surely come; and that if we make an effort to preserve our liberty, we shall be acting the part of unfaithful servants, and thus come under the condemnation of God. This peril now threatens the people of God and, what are we going to do? Can we not assist in lifting the standard, and in calling to the front those who, have a regard for their religious rights and privileges? God calls upon us to awake. 29 While the Protestant world is, by her attitude, making concessions to Rome, we should arouse to comprehend the situation, and view the contest before us in its true bearings. While men slept, Satan has been stealthily sowing tares. Let the watchmen now lift up their voice like a trumpet, and give the message which is present truth for this time. Let them know where we are in prophetic history, that the spirit of true Protestantism may awaken all the world to a sense of the value of the privileges of religious liberty so long enjoyed. 30 The prophet saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree” Another angel ascending from the East, cried 29. Review and Herald, December 18, 1888. 30. Review and Herald, January 1, 1889. SPECIAL PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR LAST CONFLICT 19 to them saying, ‘hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.’ This points out the work we now have to do, which is to cry to God for the angels to hold the four winds until missionaries shall be sent to all parts of the world, and shall have proclaimed the warning against disobeying the law of Jehovah. 31 The people of our land need to be aroused to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty. 32 Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in peril by land and by sea. The. great I AM is speaking to those who make void His law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show themselves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few, —this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason. The nation will be on the side of the great rebel leader. 33 When God’s people are fully awake to the danger of the hour, and work fully on Christ’s side, there will be seen a sharp contrast between their course and that of those who are saying “Good Lord, and good devil” and we shall see much firmer and more decided work done to counter work the schemes of satanic agencies. 34 Let not the commandment keeping people of God be silent at this time, as though we gracefully accepted the 32. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 382. 33. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 136. 34. Series B, No. 2, p. 11. 20 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY situation. There is the prospect before us of waging a continuous war, at the risk of imprisonment, of losing property, and even life itself, to defend the law of God, which is being made void by the laws of men. This Bible text will be quoted to us, “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. The powers that be are ordained of God.” [Rom 13:1] 35 It is essential that we be much in prayer to God, that His voice and His power may be manifested in behalf of His people, and that the angels may hold the four winds until the truth is more fully proclaimed and the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. God is not pleased with the attitude of His people. 36 If they do nothing to disabuse the minds of the people, and through ignorance of the truth our legislature, should abjure the principles of Protestantism, and give countenance and support to the Roman fallacy, the spurious Sabbath, God will hold His people who have had great light, responsible for their lack of diligence and faithfulness. But if the subject of religious legislation is judiciously and intelligently laid before the people, and they see that through Sunday enforcement the Roman apostasy would be reenacted by the Christian world, and that the tyranny of past ages would be repeated, then whatever comes, we shall have done our duty. 37 Everything that we can do should be done that those who are willing to suffer for the truth’s sake may be saved from oppression and cruelty. 38 Shall we sit with folded hands, and do nothing in this crisis? God help us to arouse from the stupor that has hung over us for years. There are more souls to be saved, and a far greater work to be done in warning our world, than has yet been accomplished. It seems that the breaking loose of the four winds is about to take place.” 39 36. Review and Herald, January 1, 1889. 37. Review and Herald, December 24, 1889. 38. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 230. 39. Review and Herald, December 18, 1888. SPECIAL PREPARATION NECESSARY FOR LAST CONFLICT 21 We are not doing the will of God if we sit in quietude doing nothing to preserve liberty of conscience. Fervent, effectual prayers should be ascending to heaven that this calamity may be deferred until we can accomplish the work which has so long been neglected. 40 The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue,. and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the under current is tending. Its professions are mild, and apparently Christian; but when it shall speak, it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. It is our duty to do all in our power to avert the threatened danger. 41 Let there be most earnest prayer; and then let us —work in harmony with our prayers. It may appear that Satan is triumphant, and that truth is overborne with falsehood and error. . . . But God would have us recall His dealings with His people in the past, to save them from their enemies. He has always chosen extremities, when there seemed no possible chance for deliverance from Satan’s workings, for the manifestation of His power. Man’s necessity is God’s opportunity. 42 41. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 452. 42. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 714. SATAN’S skill is exercised in devising plans and methods without number to accomplish his purpose. . . . He works to restrict religious liberty, and to bring into the religious world a species of slavery. 1 Satan’s skill is exercised in devising plans and methods without number to accomplish his purposes. . . . He works to restrict religious liberty, and to bring into the religious world a species of slavery. 2 From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven, it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator; and though he was cast out of heaven, he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued.” 3 Not a move has been made in exalting the idol Sabbath, in bringing around Sunday observance through legislation, but Satan has been behind it, and has been the chief worker. 4 No law has ever been made to exalt the idol Sabbath but that Satan has taken a leading part in its enactment and its enforcement. Every law for the elevation of Sunday has a direct reference to the fourth commandment. Every move that has been made to enforce its observance, is for the purpose of exalting the man of sin above God and above all that is worshipped. Satan would have us exalt the idol sabbath, but we cannot do it, for it would be disloyalty to God. 5 2. Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 366. 3. Great Controversy, p. 582. 4. Review and Herald, April 15, 1890. 5. Review and Herald, April 29, 1890. -22- MOVEMENT FOR RELIGIOUS LEGISLATION 23 In this country, Satan has in a most striking manner enthroned himself to control the leading men in the government of the nation. 6 So we see that between Christ and Satan there is unceasing conflict. This conflict will be waged until the work of salvation is accomplished. And it will grow fiercer as the end approaches. 7 Religious powers, allied to heaven by profession, and claiming to have the characteristics of a lamb, will show by their acts that they have the heart of a dragon, and that they are instigated and controlled by Satan. The time is coming when God’s people will feel the hand of persecution because they keep holy the seventh day. Satan has caused the change of the Sabbath in the hope of carrying out his purpose for the defeat of God’s plans. 8 God keeps a reckoning with the nations. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice. Those who work evil toward their fellowmen, saying, How doth God know? will one day be called upon to meet the long-deferred vengeance. In this age a more than common contempt is shown to God. Men have reached a point in indolence and disobedience which shows that their cup of iniquity is almost full. Many have well-nigh passed the boundary of mercy. Soon God will show that He is indeed the living God. He will say to the angels, “No longer combat Satan in his efforts to destroy. Let him work out his malignity upon the children of disobedience; for the cup of their iniquity is full. They have advanced from one degree of wickedness to another, adding daily to their lawlessness. I will no longer interfere to prevent the destroyer from doing his work.” This time is right upon us. The Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth. When the angel of mercy folds her wings and departs, Satan will do the evil deeds he has 7. Series B, No. 2, p. 8. 8. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 229. 24 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY long wished to do. Storm and tempest, war and bloodshed, —in these things he delights, and thus he gathers in his harvest. 9 Here the temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. . . . It is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. 10 Combining the temperance reform with the Sunday movement, they represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interests of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. . . . it is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility.” 11 The world is nearing the time of its destruction. . . . Professed Christians are joining hands with the man of sin, to make void the law of God. 12 Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. Protestantism will yet stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; she will reach over the abyss to clasp bands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, our country will follow the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” 13 10. Great Controversy, p. 587. 11. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 404. 12. Review and Herald, April 16,1901. 13. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 405. MOVEMENT FOR RELIGIOUS LEGISLATION 25 Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. 14 By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its constitution as a Protestant and Republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near. 15 15. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 451. LET there be a revival of the faith and power of the early church, and the spirit of persecution will be revived, and the fires of persecution will be, rekindled. 1 Those who present the truth for this time should not expect to be received with greater favor than were the earlier reformers. The great controversy between truth and error, between Christ and Satan is to increase in intensity to the close of this world’s history. 2 The whole world is to be stirred with enmity against Seventh-day Adventists, because they will not yield homage to the papacy, by honoring Sunday, the institution of this anti-Christian power. It is the purpose of Satan to cause them to be blotted from the earth, in order that his supremacy of the world may not be disputed. 3 With Protestant teachers there is the same claim of divine authority for Sunday-keeping, and the same lack of scriptural evidence, as with the papal leaders who fabricated miracles to supply the place of a command from God. The assertion that God’s judgments are visited upon men for their violation of the Sunday-sabbath, will be repeated already it is beginning to be urged. And a movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground. 4 Men will exalt and rigidly enforce laws that are in direct opposition to the law of God. Though zealous in enforcing their own commandments, they will turn away from a plain 2. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 118. 3. Review and Herald, August 22, 1893. 4. Great Controversy, pp. 579, 580. -26- A MODERN REVIVAL OF ANCIENT PERSECUTION 27 “Thus saith the Lord.” Exalting a spurious rest day, they will seek to force men to dishonor the law of Jehovah, the transcript of His character. 5 [“Thus saith the Lord,” is used 413 times in the Bible; Amos 2:4; this note added.] Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth, and in order to secure public favor, legislators will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. 6 We see that efforts are being made to restrict our religious liberties. The Sunday question is now assuming large proportions. An amendment to our Constitution is being urged in Congress, and when it is obtained, oppression must follow. 7 If the people can be led to favor a Sunday law, then the clergy intend to exert their united influence to obtain a religious amendment to the Constitution, and compel the nation to keep Sunday. 8 A great crisis awaits the people of God. Very soon our nation will attempt to enforce upon all, the observance of the first day of the week as a sacred day. In doing this, they will not scruple to compel men against the voice of their own conscience to observe the day the nation declares to be the Sabbath. In view of this, there must be among God’s commandment keeping people, more spirituality and a deeper consecration to God, and a zeal in His work that has never yet been reached, to hold aloft the banner of God’s truth. 9 The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, 6. Spirit at Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 410. 7. Review and Herald, December 18, 1888. 8. Review and Herald, December 24, 1889. 9. Review and Herald, December 11, 1888. 28 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY will no longer be respected. In the soon coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words, “The dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” [Rev 12:17] 10 The test will surely come. Thirty-six years ago I was shown that what is now transpiring would take place, that the observance of an institution of the Papacy would be enforced upon the people by a Sunday law, while the sanctified rest day of Jehovah would be trampled underfoot.” 11 There will be an effort made to unsettle the faith of every believer in present truth. . . . When the legislature frames laws which exalt the first day of the week, and put it in the place of the seventh day, the device of Satan will be perfected. 12 The present hour, involving our dearest interests, is an hour of momentous importance. Our rights as individuals and churches are brought into question in the agitation on the enforcement of Sunday observance. Conflicting opinions are disturbing the minds of the religious world, and the people are at variance in regard to what should be done in the matter. 13 The remnant church will be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will feel the ire of the dragon and his host. Satan numbers the world as his subjects, he has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little company that are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As be influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future be will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God. All will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who will be true to God and to duty will be menaced, denounced, and 11. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 137. 12. Review and Herald, April 15, 1890. 13. Review and Herald, April 23, 1889. A MODERN REVIVAL OF ANCIENT PERSECUTION 29 proscribed. They will be betrayed “both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends.” [Luke 21:16] 14 The remnant church will be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his subjects, he has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little company that are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As he influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God. All will be required to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who will be true to God and to duty will be menaced, denounced, and proscribed. They will “be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends.” [Luke 21:16] 15 The man of sin, who thought to change times and laws, and who has always oppressed the people of God, will cause laws to be made enforcing the observance of the first day of the week. 16 To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for a Sunday law. Those who fear God cannot accept an institution that violates a precept of the Decalogue. On this Battle field comes the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Now, as in the days of Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth and His people. 17 To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for Sunday laws. But those who fear God, cannot accept an institution that violates a precept of the Decalogue. On this Battle field will be fought the last great conflict in the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Today, as in the 15. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, pp. 472, 473. 16. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 230. 17. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 451. 30 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY days of Esther and Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth and His people. 18 The line of distinction between professing Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. The Church members love what the world loves, and are ready to join with them; and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of Spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain mark of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants and worldings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world, and the ushering in of the long expected millennium. 19 Through fraud and falsehood Satan is now using those who claim to be Christians to divorce the world from God’s mercy. They are working in blindness. They do not see that if a Protestant government sacrifices the principles that have made them a free, independent nation, and through legislation brings into the Constitution, principles that will propagate papal falsehood and papal delusion, they are plunging into the Roman horrors of the Dark Ages. 20 There are many, even of those engaged in this movement for Sunday enforcement, who are blinded to the results which will follow this action. They do not see that they are striking directly against religious liberty. There are many who have never understood the claims of the Bible Sabbath and the false foundation upon which the Sunday institution rests. 21 Satan wages an untiring warfare against the law of God. And so completely has he deceived men that his insinuations against this law are repeated from professedly Christian 19. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 406. 20. Review and Herald, December 11 1888. 21. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 711. A MODERN REVIVAL OF ANCIENT PERSECUTION 31 pulpits. . . . Men say, It does not matter what God’s law says; the laws of the nations must be obeyed. Despotic power shows itself strong. Man-made laws are climbing higher and still higher, to displace and make void the law of God, to take the consciences of men under their control, and defy God to His face. Satan is gathering the powers of evil, to give them back to a lawless world, under the solemn names of law and religion. 22 ANY movement in favor of religious legislation is really an act of concession to the papacy, which for so many ages has steadily warred against liberty of conscience. Sunday observance owes its existence as a so-called Christian institution to the ‘Mystery of iniquity,’ and its enforcement will be a virtual recognition of the principles which are the very corner stone of Romanism. When our nation shall so abjure the principles of its government as to enact a Sunday law, Protestantism will in this act join hands with popery; it will be nothing else than giving life to the tyranny which has long been eagerly watching its opportunity to spring again into active despotism. 1 But the question of Sabbath and Sunday observance is to be agitated everywhere, and the deceptions of Satan will flood the world. The man of sin has instituted a spurious Sabbath, and the Protestant world has taken this child of the papacy and cradled and nurtured it. . . . The first day of the week is to be exalted and presented to all for observance. 2 When the nation for which God has worked in such a marvelous manner, and over which He has spread the shield of Omnipotence, abandons Protestant principles, and through its legislatures gives countenance and support to Romanism in limiting religious liberty, then God will work in His own power for His people that are true. The tyranny of Rome will be exercised but Christ is our refuge. 3 Our land is in jeopardy. The time is drawing on when its legislators shall abjure the principles of Protestantism as to give countenance to the Romanish apostasy. The people 2. Review and Herald, April 15, 1890. 3. Special Testimonies, April p. 109. -32- NATIONAL APOSTASY 33 for whom God has so marvelously wrought, strengthening them to throw off the galling yoke of popery, will by a national act give vigor to the corrupt faith of Rome, and thus arouse the tyranny which only waits for a touch to start again into cruelty and despotism. With rapid steps are we already approaching this period. When Protestant churches shall seek the support of the secular power, thus following the example of that apostate church for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will there be a national —apostasy which will end only in national ruin. 4 The same spirit which actuated papists in ages past, will lead Protestants to pursue a similar course toward those who will maintain their loyalty to God. 5 By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the band of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its constitution as a Protestant and Republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come, for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near. 6 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” [Rev 12:17] In the near future we shall see these words fulfilled, as the Protestant churches unite with the world and with the papal power against commandment-keepers. 7 5. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 449. 6. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 451. 7. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 449. 34 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY The world has converted the church. Both are in harmony, and are acting on a short-sighted policy. Protestants will work upon the rulers of the land to make laws to restore the lost ascendancy of the man of sin, who sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Roman Catholic principles will be taken under the care and protection of the State. 8 Let the principle once be established in the United States, that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured. 9 The word of God plainly declares that His law is to be scorned, trampled upon, by the world; there will be an extraordinary prevalence of iniquity. The professed protestant world will form a confederacy with the man of sin, and the church and the world will be in corrupt harmony. Here the great crisis is coming upon the world. The scriptures teach that popery is to regain its lost supremacy, and that the fires of persecution will be rekindled through the so-called protestant world. 10 Many will plead that there is no prospect that popery will ever be revived. If it shall regain its lost ascendancy, it will by Protestantism’s giving it the right band of fellowship. if it shall be legislated into power by the concessions of time-serving men, the fires of persecution will be rekindled against those who will not sacrifice conscience and the truth for the errors of the papacy. Once let the minds of the Christian world be turned away from God; let his law be dishonored and his holy day trampled upon, and they will be ready to take any step where Satan may lead the way. 11 As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may 9. The Great Controversy, p. 581. 10. General Conference Bulletin, 1891, p. 257. 11. Review and Herald, January 1, 1889. NATIONAL APOSTASY 35 this apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation’s iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return. The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress which prophets have described as the time of Jacob’s trouble. 12 The national apostasy will speedily be followed by national ruin. . . . The Protestant governments will reach a strange pass. They will be converted to the world. They will also, in their separation from God, work to make falsehood and apostasy from God the law of the nation. 13 There is one pointed out in prophecy as the man of sin. He is the representative of Satan. . . . Here is Satan’s right-hand man ready to carry on the work that Satan commenced in Heaven, that of trying to amend the law of God. And the Christian World has sanctioned his efforts by adopting this child of the papacy —the Sunday institution. They have nourished it and will continue to nourish it, until Protestantism shall give the hand of fellowship to the Roman power. Then there will be a law against the Sabbath of God’s creation, and then it is that God ‘will do a strange work in the earth.’ God keeps a record with the nations; the figures are swelling against them in the books of heaven; and when it shall have become a law that the transgression of the first day of the week shall be met with punishment, then their cup will be full. 14 It is the time of the national apostasy when acting on the policy of Satan, the rulers of the land will rank themselves on the side of the man of sin, —it is then the measure of guilt full; the national apostasy is the signal for national ruin. 15 13. Review and Herald, June 15, 1897. 14. Review and Herald, March 9,1886. 15. General Conference Bulletin, 1891, p. 259. 36 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY If, in our land of boasted freedom, a Protestant government should sacrifice every principle which entered into its Constitution, and propagate papal falsehood and delusion, well may we plead, “it is time for Thee, Lord to work, for they have made void, Thy law.[Psa 119:126]”16 The people of the United States have been a favored people; but when they restrict religious liberty, surrender Protestantism, and give countenance to popery, the measure of their guilt will be full, and “national apostasy” will be registered in the books of Heaven. The result of this apostasy will be national ruin. 17 The papal power, the man of sin, decides that the Roman Catholic Church has changed the law of God. In the place of the seventh day, they have baptized and presented to the world a child of the papacy, the first day of the week, to be observed as a holy day of rest. The Protestant world has received this child of the papacy, has cradled it, and, given to it the honor that God has placed on the seventh day. 18 The time is not far distant, when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation, in the decree enforcing the papal Sabbath, will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller one for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains. 19 I saw the saints leaving the cities and villages, and associating together in companies, and living in the most solitary places. Angels provided them food and water, while the 17. Review and Herald, May 2, 1893. 18. Testimonies to Misters and Gospel Workers, pp. 139, 140. 19. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, pp. 464, 465. NATIONAL APOSTASY 37 wicked were suffering from hunger and thirst. Then I saw the leading men of the earth consulting together, and Satan and his angels busy around them. I saw a writing, copies of which were scattered in different parts of the land, giving orders that unless the saints should yield their peculiar faith, give up the Sabbath, and observe the first day of the week, the people were at liberty after a certain time, to put them to death. 20 THE lamb-like horns, emblems of innocence and gentleness, well represent the character of our government as expressed in its two fundamental principles of Republicanism and Protestantism. 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. These principles are the secret of our power and prosperity as a nation. Millions from other lands have sought our shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth. 1 But the stern tracings of the prophetic pencil reveal a. change in this peaceful scene. The beast with lamb-like horns speaks with the voice of a dragon and exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him. The spirit of persecution manifested by paganism and the papacy is again to be revealed. Prophecy declares that this power will say ‘to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast. The image is made to the first or leopard-like beast, which is the one brought to view in the third angel’s message. 2 Satan will arouse indignation against the minority who refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members 2. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, pp. 277, 278. -38- THE TWO-HORNED BEAST AND THE IMAGE 39 will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, men will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a “Thus saith the Scriptures” to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. 3 When the nation for which God has worked in such a marvelous manner, and over which He has spread the shield of Omnipotence, abandons Protestant principles, and through its legislature gives countenance and support to Romanism in limiting religious liberty, then God will work in His own power for His people that are true. The tyranny of Rome will be exercised, but Christ is our refuge. 4 Though innocent of wrong-doing, the servants of God will be given over to suffer humiliation and abuse at the hands of those who, inspired by Satan, are filled with envy and religious bigotry. 5 The time is right upon us when persecution will come to those who proclaim the truth. 6 The same spirit that in ages past led men to persecute the true church, will in the future lead to the pursuance of a similar course toward those who maintain their loyalty to God. Even now preparations are being made for this last great conflict. 7 God is going to bring around a condition of things where the good men and the men in authority will have an opportunity to know what is truth indeed, and because the people will not bow the knee to the image, and receive the mark of the beast in the hand or in the forehead, but will stand to the truth because it is truth, there will be oppression and an attempt to compel the conscience. 8 3. Prophets and Kings, pp, 605, 606. 4. Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 206. 5. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 229. 6. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 227. 7. Prophets and Kings, p. 605. 8. Review and Herald, April 15, 1890. 40 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY I saw that the two horned beast had a dragon’s mouth, and that his power was in his head, and that the decree would go out of his mouth. Then I saw the mother of harlots, that the mother was not the daughters, but separate and distinct from them. She has had her day and it is past, and her daughters, the Protestant sects, were next to come on the stage and act out the same mind that the mother had when she persecuted the saints. 9 The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamb-like horns shall cause “the earth and them which dwell therein” [Rev 13:12] to worship the papacy —there symbolized by the beast “like unto a leopard.” [Rev 13:2] The beast with two horns is also to say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;” [Rev 13:14] and, furthermore, it is to command all, “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive “the mark of the beast.” [Rev 13:16; 16:2; 19:20] 10 Prophecy represents Protestantism as having lamb-like horns, but speaking like a dragon. Already we are beginning to hear the voice of the dragon. There is a Satanic force propelling the Sunday movement, but it is concealed. Even the men who are engaged in the work, are themselves blinded to the results which will follow their movement. Let not the commandment keeping people of God be silent at this time, as though we gracefully accepted the situation. There is the prospect before us, of waging a continuous war, at the risk of imprisonment, of losing property and even life itself, to defend the law of God, which is being made void by the laws of men. This Bible text will be quoted to us, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. . . . The powers that be are ordained of God.” [Rom 13:1] 11 By this first beast is represented the Roman Church, an ecclesiastical body clothed with civil power, having 10. The Great Controversy, pp. 578, 579. 11. Review and Herald, January 1, 1889. THE TWO-HORNED BEAST AND THE IMAGE 41 authority to punish all dissenters. The image to the beast 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. 12 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. . . . Persecution always follows religious favoritism on the part of secular governments. 13 It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamb-like horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion, is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. 14 Already preparations are advancing, and movements are in progress, which will result in making an image to the beast. Events will be brought about in the earth’s history that will fulfill the predictions of prophecy for these last days. 15 I saw that as the mother has been declining in power, the daughters had been growing, and soon they will exercise the power, once exercised by the mother. I saw the nominal church, and nominal Adventists; like Judas, would betray us to the Catholics to obtain influence to come against the saints. The saints will then be an obscure people but little known 13. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 278. 14. Great Controversy, p. 579. 15. Review and Herald, April 23, 1889. 42 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY to Catholics; but the churches, and nominal Adventists, who know of our faith and customs, for they hated us on account of the Sabbath, for they could not refute it, will betray the saints, and report them to the Catholics, those who disregard the institutions of the pope, that is that they keep the Sabbath and disregard Sunday. Then the Catholics bid the Protestants to go forward and issue a decree that all who will not observe the first day of the week instead of the seventh, shall be slain; and the Catholics whose numbers are large, will stand by the Protestants. The Catholics will give their power to “the image of the beast” [Rev 13 all; 16:2; 19:20] and the Protestants will work as their mother worked before them, to destroy the saints. But before their decree bring forth, or bear fruit, the saints will be delivered by the voice of God. 16 POINT you to the aggressive movements now being made for the restriction of religious liberty. God’s sanctified memorial has been torn down, and in its place a false Sabbath, bearing no sanctity, stands before the world. . . . Now, just now, is our time to work in foreign countries. As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false Sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example. 1 Now, just now, is our time to work in foreign countries. As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the consciences of men to honor the false Sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example. 2 In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church. 3 It (the papacy) is prepared for two classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world, those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins. Here is the secret of its power. 4 Those who shall seek to compel men to observe an institution of the papacy, and trample upon God’s authority, are doing a work similar to that of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees in the days of the Apostles. When the laws of earthly rulers are brought into opposition to the laws of 2. General Conference Bulletin, 1895, p. 16. 3. Great Controversy, p. 579. 4. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 389. -43- 44 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY the Supreme Ruler of the universe, then those who are God’s loyal subjects will be true to Him. 5 Those who seek to compel men to observe an institution of the papacy, and trample upon God’s authority, are doing a work similar to that of the Jewish leaders in the days of the Apostles. When the laws of earthly rulers are brought into opposition to the laws of the Supreme Ruler, of the universe, then those who are God’s loyal subjects will be true to Him. 6 The decree that will finally go forth against the remnant people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews. Today the enemies of the true church see in the little company keeping the Sabbath commandment, a Mordecai at the gate. The reverence of God’s people for His law, is a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord, and are trampling on His Sabbath. 7 There is a striking similarity between the church of Rome and the Jewish Church at the time of Christ’s first advent. While the Jews secretly trampled upon every principle of the law of God, they were outwardly rigorous in the observance of its precepts, loading it down with exactions and traditions that made obedience painful and burdensome. As the Jews professed to revere the law, so do Romanists claim to reverence the cross. They exalt the symbol of Christ’s sufferings, while in their lives they deny Him whom it represents. 8 The watchmen have been asleep, but may God grant that they may not sleep the sleep of death. Let all who are standing upon the walls of Zion give the trumpet a, certain sound. It is a solemn time for God’s people, but if they stand close by the bleeding side of Jesus, He will 6. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 213. 7. Prophets and Kings, p. 605. 8. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 384. THE PAPACY—ITS PRINCIPLES AND PROGRAM 45 be their defense. He will open ways that the message of light may come to great men, to authors, and lawmakers. They will have opportunities of which you do not dream, and some of them will boldly advocate the claims of God’s down-trodden law. 9 None are proof against her influence but those who have planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth and whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God. Thousands who have not an experimental knowledge of Christ will be swept into this deception. 10 Let the education and training of the members of our churches be such that the children and youth among us shall understand there are to be no concessions to this power, the man of sin. 11 Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. There is an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal hierarchy, the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points, as has been supposed, and that a little concession on our part will bring us into a better understanding with Rome. . . . They excuse her horrible cruelty as the result of the barbarism of the times, and plead that civilization has changed her sentiments. 12 There is the religion which Protestants are beginning to look upon with so much favor, and which will eventually be united with Protestantism. This union will not, however, be affected by a change in Catholicism; for Rome never changes. She claims infallibility, it is Protestantism that will change. The adoption of liberal ideas on its part will bring it where it can clasp the Protestants of Luther’s time while the Catholics cried ‘The Fathers, custom, tradition.’ 13 10. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 383. 11. Review and Herald, Jun,11, 1896. 12. Review and Herald, Jun,11, 1896. 13. Review and Herald, Jun,11, 1896. 46 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY Now many Protestants find it difficult to prove their doctrines from the Bible, and yet they have not the moral courage to accept the truth which involves a cross; therefore they are fast coming to the ground of Catholics, and, using the best arguments they have to evade the truth, cite the testimony of the Fathers, and the customs and precepts of men. Yes, the Protestants of the nineteenth century are fast approaching the Catholics in their infidelity concerning the Scriptures. But there is just as wide a gulf today between Rome and the Protestantism of Luther, Cranmer, Ridley, Hooper and the noble army of martyrs, as there was when these men made the protest which gave them the name of Protestants. 14 The spirit of the papacy, —the spirit of conformity to worldly customs, the veneration for human traditions above the commands of God,— is permeating the Protestant churches, and leading them on to do the same work of Sunday exaltation which the papacy has done before them. 15 In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the state, Protestants are following in the steps of papists. Nay, more, they are opening the door for the papacy to regain in Protestant America the supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which gives greater significance to this movement is the fact that the principal object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday observance, —a custom which originated with Rome, and which she claims as the sign of her authority. It is the spirit of the papacy, —the spirit of conformity to worldly customs, the veneration for human traditions above the commandments of God, —that is permeating the Protestant churches, and leading them on to do the same work of 15. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, pp. 390, 391. THE PAPACY—ITS PRINCIPLES AND PROGRAM 47 Sunday exaltation which the papacy has done before them. 16 In the movements now in progress in this country to secure for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the State, Protestants are following in the steps of papists. Nay, more, they are opening the door for popery to regain in Protestant America the supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which gives greater significance to this movement is the fact that the principal object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday observance, —a custom which originated with Rome, and which she claims as the sign of her authority. 17 If popery or its principles shall again be legislated into power, the fires of persecution will be rekindled against those who will not sacrifice conscience and the truth in deference to popular errors. This evil is on the point of realization. 18 These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday. 19 The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God and obey His law. Satan will excite indignation against the humble minority who conscientiously refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members 17. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 390. 18. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 712. 19. Great Controversy, p. 578. 48 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, they will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a “Thus saith the Scriptures” to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. 20 God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further tier own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage-ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God, will thereby incur reproach and persecution. 21 These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday. 22 Church and State are now making preparations for the future conflict. Protestants are working in disguise to bring Sunday to the front, as did the Romanists. Throughout the land the papacy is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions are to be repeated. And the way is preparing 21. Great Controversy, p. 581. 22. Great Controversy, p. 578. THE PAPACY—ITS PRINCIPLES AND PROGRAM 49 for the manifestation, on a grand scale, of these lying wonders by which, if it were possible, Satan would deceive even the elect. 23 Has the Protestant world stopped to look back at the suffering caused by popery in attempting to bind men’s reason, so they should not worship God as seemed right to them? Can they not see how the Roman Church has exercised her revengeful and cruel power? Those who would not bow to her mandates had to endure the prison and the stake, torture and death. And when those were swept away who would not bow their conscience to but the God of heaven, others would spring up to fill the ranks, and lift the standard of religious liberty and right. And now this nation, the greatest nation of earth, under whose government we are blessed with every religious and temporal advantage; which has been the recipient of unrivaled mercies; which Providence has watched over and shielded; by which the standard of liberty and religious freedom has been lifted, —will it follow the course of the papacy, and make void God’s law? 24 The Christian world will learn what Romanism really is, when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. Throughout the land she is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. 25 The decree which is to go forth against the people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against 24. Review and Herald, December 18, 1868. 25. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 397. 50 SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY the Jews in the time of Esther. . . . The Protestant world today see in the little company keeping the Sabbath a Mordecai in the gate. His character and conduct, expressing reverence for the law of God, are a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord, and are trampling upon His Sabbath; the unwelcome intruder must by some means be put out of the way. 26 Then the plagues come upon the wicked, and they do not come until Jesus puts on that garment and takes His place upon the great white cloud. 2 The great white cloud, I saw was not the holy place, but entirely separate from the holy and most holy place, entirely from the sanctuary. Then the angel repeated these words, and said, “This is the time spoken of by Isaiah, he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor.” [Isa 59:16] 3 We had no mediator between God and man, and these plagues could be withheld no longer, for Jesus had ceased to plead for Israel and they were covered with the covering of Almighty God, and then they could live in the sight of the holy God; and those who were not covered, the plagues fell Upon them, for they had nothing to protect them from the wrath of God. 4 Then while the plagues are falling the scape-goat is being led away. He makes a mighty struggle to escape, but he is held fast by the hand that leads him. If he should effect his escape, Israel would lose their lives. I saw that 2. Extract from Vision at Dorchester, Massachusetts. October 23, 1850. 3. Extract from Vision at Dorchester, Massachusetts. October 23, 1850. 4. Extract from Vision at Dorchester, Massachusetts. October 23, 1850. -51- SUNDAY LAWS AND THE PAPACY GOD’S PEOPLE DELIVERED 52 it would take time to lead away the scape-goat into the land of forgetfulness, after the sins were put upon his head. 5 It was at midnight that God chose to deliver His people. As the wicked were mocking around them, suddenly the sun appeared, shining in his strength, and the moon stood still. The wicked looked upon the scene with amazement, while the saints beheld with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Signs and wonders followed in quick succession. Everything seemed turned out of its natural course. The streams ceased to flow. Dark, heavy clouds came up, and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law. The sky opened and shut, and was in commotion. The mountains shook like a reed in the wind, and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot, and cast out stones upon the land. And as God spoke the day and the hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivered the everlasting covenant to His people, He spoke one sentence, and then paused, while the words were rolling through the earth. The Israel of God stood with their eyes fixed upward, listening to the words as they came from the mouth of Jehovah and rolled through the earth like peals of loudest thunder. It was awfully solemn. At the end of every sentence the saints GOD’S PEOPLE DELIVERED 53 shouted, “Glory! Hallelujah!” Their countenances were lighted up with the glory of God, and they shone with glory as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked could not look upon them for the glory. And when the never-ending blessing was pronounced on those who had honored God in keeping His Sabbath holy, there was a mighty shout of victory over the beast and over his image. 6 Great Controversy. Testimonies for the Church, Vols. 1, 5, 6, 9. Missionary Sketches. Special Testimonies, No. 1, (1894), No. 5, (1896). Early Writings. General Conference Bulletin, 1891, 1893. Sketches from the Life of Paul. Prophets and Kings. Christ’s Object Lessons. Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4. Series B, No. 2. Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers. Signs of the Times, April 21, 1890. Extract from Vision at Dorchester, Massachusetts, October 23, 1850. Review and Herald, December 11, 18881 June 8, 1897, April 23, 1889; December 24, 1889; June 11, 1901; May 7, 1901; January 1, 1889; December 18, 1888; April 15, 1890; April 29, 1890; September 17, 1901; April 16, 1901; August 22, 1893; June 15, 1897; March 9, 1886; May 2, 1893; June 11, 1886; June 1, 1886; and December 18, 1868. -54- Books Index |