Why
Sunday-Law Advocates
Are Worse Than
The
Pharisees and Sadducees
by
Robert
Sterbenc
WHY SUNDAY LAW ADVOCATES ARE WORSE THAN THE
PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES
In the days of Jesus, there were two notable
sects. These sects were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Bible sheds some
light on the Pharisees' characteristics. The Pharisees taught man-made
commandments, they taught false doctrines, and were hypocrites according to
words of Jesus Himself in Matt 15:9, 16:11, 12 and Matt. 23. The Sadducees,
however, were in a different camp. They did not believe in the
resurrection as the Pharisees did (Acts 23:6-9) and were materialistic in
their world views, much like the atheists today.
The Pharisees, though outwardly religious, did not believe in Jesus as the
Son of God but charged him with blasphemy (Matt 26:64-66). The Sadducees,
materialists, basically did not stand out as hypocritical or outwardly
religious but were non-believers. In spite of their unbelief, they did not
appear to play as large a role in the condemnation and final crucifixion of
our Saviour as did the Jewish religious leaders of the day, notably the
Pharisees.
In our day we have a similar scenario. At the same time as the majority of
Protestant leaders claim that the ten commandments were nailed to the cross,
many of them want to encourage Christians to reclaim the Sabbath - the Lord's
day - as a day of spiritual and personal renewal. Those who strive to meet
this goal make up a large movement known as the Lord's Day Alliance (LDA). Of course, this is not the seventh-day
Sabbath, but Sunday!
This is definitely a not-so-subtle way of
teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men (Matt 15:9, Mark 7:7). Thus, although they profess to
love and serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they deny Him by their
teachings. See Matthew 5:17-20 and 1 John 2:4. These Protestant leaders
definitely fulfill the counterpart to the Old Testament false prophets that Ezekiel
unsparingly condemned through the Spirit:
There is a
conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening
the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious
things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
Her priests have violated my law, ahd have profaned
mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and the
profane, neither have they showed difference between the the unclean and the
clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among
them.
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves
ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest
gain.
And her prophets have daubed them with untempered
mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the
LORD GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. -Ezekiel 22:25-28
More aggressive Sunday law advocates claim to be Christian but they want to
legislate with penalties the false sabbath (Dan 7:25, Matt 7:21-23, Matt
15:9, 1 John 1:6, 1 John 2:4,Isa 8:20, Matt 24:4-5, 2 Cor 11:13-15, John
16:2, Rev 13:15-18). This group will be enforcing the MARK OF THE BEAST, or
the National Sunday Law. Thus, THIS MAKES THEM FAR WORSE THAN THE PHARISEES
AND SADDUCEES OF JESUS' TIME, because they claim to know Jesus Christ, and
believe in Him, but they manifest the same INTOLERANT spirit as the Pharisees
did in the days of Christ.
One such advocate is John Lanaro, a
contributor to the Catholic Twin Circle.
In the August 25, 1985 edition, he wrote:
''ALL AMERICANS would do
well TO PETITION the President and the Congress to make a FEDERAL LAW - an
amendment to the Constitution if need be – to re-establish the Sabbath
(Sunday) as a NATIONAL DAY OF REST so that religious and non-religious Americans
can rest in peace.''
My question to Mr. Lanaro would be this:
What about those who think this legislation would be a gross violation of
freedom of conscience?
The Lord's Day Alliance (LDA) vehemently
denies that it would support a National Sunday Law. It basically states that
they would not support one under any circumstances. Not under ANY
circumstances? Do they have ANY idea what circumstances are about to transpire?
They have no idea what the future will bring and what forces will shape their
course. That does not mean that all of them will support the mark of
the beast when the sunday law does come, however. It simply means that at
this point as a corporate body they strenuously deny their possible support
for a national sunday law.
What circumstances are expected to finally
bring in a national Sunday law?
You can get thousands of similar denials
from prominent religious leaders among the protestant churches of the world,
but that does not mean that they will all be free from yielding to the tremendous
forces that will influence their course in the future! MANY WILL ASSIST IN
ENFORCING THE MARK OF THE BEAST, when circumstances are most favorable.
We would do well to read again the following
excerpts from The Great Controversy, 1911 hardcover edition, by Ellen G.
White:
Great Controversy page 588:
“As
spiritualism (immortality of the soul, communications with the dead, and
related doctrines) more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day,
it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted after
the modern order of things. He will appear in character as an angel of light.
Through
the agency of spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be
healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits
will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of
the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.
The
line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now
hardly distinguishable. 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...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.”
Note: This grand movement may be more
familiarly known as the ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT.
Ibid, p. 589-590:
“While
appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies,
he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin
and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea
and by land, in great conflagrations (fires), in fierce tornadoes and
terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and
earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his
power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress
follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the
pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and
disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. "The earth
mourneth and fadeth away", "the haughty people do languish. The
earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed
the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
Isaiah
24: 4,5
And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those
who serve God are causing these evils...As the wrath of the people shall be
excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God's ambassadors
very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah.”
Ibid, p. 591:
“The miracle working power of
spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God
rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has
sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that
the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the
great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers
that the degraded state of morals is caused
by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against
all who refuse to accept their testimony...
And finally, ibid page 592:
“Those who honor the
Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down
the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down
the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be
pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be
accused of disaffection toward the government...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, 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 the testimony of Jesus Christ." -Revelation 12:17.
Is the Lords Day Alliance aware of the Jesuit
influence in government? Is the LDA aware of the veiled yet palpable
threat posed by the papacy today in pushing sunday legislation, eventually with
imprisonment and even death? Have they read Pope Benedict XVI's threats
in the encyclicals
titled Dies Domini and Caritas in Veritate? Obviously the Catholic
members of the LDA have kept silent or are in ignorance about the true
intentions of the papacy.
The papacy is pushing for Sunday laws as
indicated below:
Dies Domini, an encyclical written for Pope John Paul II by then Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, paragraph 36, states that attendance of Sunday mass is
''obligatory''.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2188 states
that ''Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church's holy
days as LEGAL holidays!
LEGAL: established by law; esp. statutory
(Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1977, p. 636, definition 2c.)
Please do not forget that the same Joseph
Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, addressed the United Nations in New York
not long ago!
And this is just the very tip of the
enormous iceberg that this world faces when the beast power, Rome, gets its
power back, according to Revelation 13!
The pope knows how close many protestant
leaders are clasping hands with Rome, and it has the whole Protestant world
in its sights.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html
Pay attention to paragraph 67! Please read Psalm 55:21 and you can see
the connection.
Croatia and now Germany have passed a national law banning Sunday shopping.
It will not be long before the entire EU goes with continent-wide ban on
Sunday shopping and the USA will follow.
Michael Pearce, a blogger for the Obama
campaign, wrote the article Energy Conservation and Globalized America. In
the following link Pearce states that we should enact Sunday laws under the
pretext of saving energy and giving the worker the right to spend time with
family.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/Tritium/gG5ngR
It just goes to show, that under the right
conditions, under the right pretext, when push comes to shove, a national
sunday law will be supported and enacted. And this will happen in spite of
the most vehement and absolute denials by the parties that may or may not be
involved!
The word of God has much to say in
response to these damnable individuals:
Ezekiel 13:6-15 They have seen vanity
and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent
them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have
ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas
ye say, the LORD saith it, albeit I have not spoken?
Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and
seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that
see vanity and divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people,
neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither
shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the
Lord GOD.
Because, even because they seduced my people, saying,
Peace; and there
was no peace; and one built up a wall, and
lo, others have daubed it
with untempered morter:
Say unto them that daub it with untempered morter, that it
shall fall:
there shall be an overflowing shower: and ye, O great hailstones, shall
fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
Lo, when the wall has fallen, shall
it not be said unto you, Where is
the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD,
I will even rend it with a stormy
wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger,
and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
So will I break down the wall that
ye have daubed with untempered morter,
and bring it down to the ground, so that the
foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be
consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Thus will I accomplish my wrath
upon the wall, and upon them that have
daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more,
neither they that have daubed it;...
Matt 5:17-21 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, 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.
For I say unto you, That except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 10:15 Verily I say unto you, It
shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than
for that city (today this city is Babylon the Great: see Revelation 16:19-21)
Rev 16:8,9 And the fourth angel
poured his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with
fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God,
which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Psalm 55:21 The words of his mouth
were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer
than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
Indeed the pope has enchanted millions with
his smooth words and soft speeches but war against the saints is in the heart
of the papacy!
Rev 13:6 And he
opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his
tabernacle (Heb 8:2; 9:11; Rev 11:19), and them that dwell in heaven.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to
change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and
times, and the dividing
of time.
Isa 5:20-23 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet
for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their
own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Woe
unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to drink strong drink:
Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the
righteous from them!
A
great deal more can be said about our modern day Pharisees - and don't forget
those Adventist pastors saying we should keep Sunday!! They are in the
worst camp of all!
Thank you Lord for your great
mercy and wisdom - RS
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