The Great Controvery
CHAPTER 35
Liberty of
Conscience Threatened
Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor
than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the
ascendancy, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order to
gain influence, 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. The time was
when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which
had been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery
and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But
how widely different are the sentiments now expressed!
The defenders of the papacy declare that the church has
been maligned, and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the
statement. Many urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by
the abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the
centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as
the result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the influence of
modern civilization has changed her sentiments.
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Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility
put forth for eight hundred years by this haughty power? So far from
being relinquished, this claim was affirmed in the nineteenth century
with greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that the
"church never erred; nor will it, according to the Scriptures, ever
err" (John L. von Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History,
book 3, century II, part 2, chapter 2, section 9, note 17), how can she
renounce the principles which governed her course in past ages?
The papal church will never relinquish her claim to
infallibility. All that she has done in her persecution of those who
reject her dogmas she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the
same acts, should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now
imposed by secular governments be removed and Rome be reinstated in her
former power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and
persecution.
A well-known writer speaks thus of the attitude of the
papal hierarchy as regards freedom of conscience, and of the perils which
especially threaten the United States from the success of her policy:
"There are many who are disposed to attribute any
fear of Roman Catholicism in the United States to bigotry or
childishness. Such see nothing in the character and attitude of Romanism
that is hostile to our free institutions, or find nothing portentous in
its growth. Let us, then, first compare some of the fundamental
principles of our government with those of the Catholic Church.
"The Constitution of the United States guarantees
liberty of conscience. Nothing is dearer or more fundamental. Pope Pius
IX, in his Encyclical Letter of August 15, 1854, said: `The absurd and
erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a
most pestilential error--a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a
state.' The same pope, in his Encyclical Letter of December 8, 1864,
anathematized `those who assert the liberty of conscience and of
religious
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worship,' also 'all such as maintain that the church may not
employ force.'
"The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does
not imply a change of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says
Bishop O'Connor: 'Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite
can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.'. . . The
archbishop of St. Louis once said: 'Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and
in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all
the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential
part of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes.'. . .
"Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in the
Catholic Church takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which occur
the following words: 'Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord
(the pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute
and oppose.'"--Josiah Strong, Our Country, ch. 5, pars. 2-4. [SEE
APPENDIX FOR CORRECTED REFERENCES.]
It is true that there are real Christians in the Roman
Catholic communion. Thousands in that church are serving God according to
the best light they have. They are not allowed access to His word, and
therefore they do not discern the truth. [PUBLISHED IN 1888 AND 1911. SEE
APPENDIX.] They have never seen the contrast between a living heart
service and a round of mere forms and ceremonies. God looks with pitying
tenderness upon these souls, educated as they are in a faith that is
delusive and unsatisfying. He will cause rays of light to penetrate the
dense darkness that surrounds them. He will reveal to them the truth as
it is in Jesus, and many will yet take their position with His people.
But Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the
gospel of Christ now than at any former period in her history. The
Protestant churches are in great darkness, or they would discern the
signs of the times. The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and
modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence
and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined
566
conflict to regain control of the world, to re-establish
persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done. Catholicism is
gaining ground upon every side. See the increasing number of her churches
and chapels in Protestant countries. Look at the popularity of her
colleges and seminaries in America, so widely patronized by Protestants.
Look at the growth of ritualism in England and the frequent defections to
the ranks of the Catholics. These things should awaken the anxiety of all
who prize the pure principles of the gospel.
Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery; they
have made compromises and concessions which papists themselves are
surprised to see and fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to
the real character of Romanism and the dangers to be apprehended from her
supremacy. The people need to be aroused to resist the advances of this
most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.
Many Protestants suppose that the Catholic religion is
unattractive and that its worship is a dull, meaningless round of
ceremony. Here they mistake. While Romanism is based upon deception, it
is not a coarse and clumsy imposture. The religious service of the Roman
Church is a most impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display and solemn
rites fascinate the senses of the people and silence the voice of reason
and of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent churches, imposing
processions, golden altars, jeweled shrines, choice paintings, and
exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty. The ear also is
captivated. The music is unsurpassed. The rich notes of the deep-toned
organ, blending with the melody of many voices as it swells through the
lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand cathedrals, cannot fail to
impress the mind with awe and reverence.
This outward splendor, pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks
the longings of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward corruption.
The religion of Christ needs not such attractions to recommend it. In the
light shining from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure and
lovely that no
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external decorations can enhance its true worth. It is the
beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of value with God.
Brilliancy of style is not necessarily an index of pure,
elevated thought. High conceptions of art, delicate refinement of taste,
often exist in minds that are earthly and sensual. They are often
employed by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of the soul, to
lose sight of the future, immortal life, to turn away from their infinite
Helper, and to live for this world alone.
A religion of externals is attractive to the unrenewed
heart. The pomp and ceremony of the Catholic worship has a seductive, bewitching
power, by which many are deceived; and they come to look upon the Roman
Church as the very gate of heaven. None but those who have planted their
feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and whose hearts are renewed by
the Spirit of God, are proof against her influence. Thousands who have
not an experimental knowledge of Christ will be led to accept the forms
of godliness without the power. Such a religion is just what the
multitudes desire.
The church's claim to the right to pardon leads the Romanist
to feel at liberty to sin; and the ordinance of confession, without which
her pardon is not granted, tends also to give license to evil. He who
kneels before fallen man, and opens in confession the secret thoughts and
imaginations of his heart, is debasing his manhood and degrading every
noble instinct of his soul. In unfolding the sins of his life to a
priest,--an erring, sinful mortal, and too often corrupted with wine and
licentiousness,--his standard of character is lowered, and he is defiled
in consequence. His thought of God is degraded to the likeness of fallen
humanity, for the priest stands as a representative of God. This
degrading confession of man to man is the secret spring from which has
flowed much of the evil that is defiling the world and fitting it for the
final destruction. Yet to him who loves self-indulgence,
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it is more pleasing to confess to a fellow mortal than to
open the soul to God. It is more palatable to human nature to do penance
than to renounce sin; it is easier to mortify the flesh by sackcloth and
nettles and galling chains than to crucify fleshly lusts. Heavy is the
yoke which the carnal heart is willing to bear rather than bow to the
yoke of Christ.
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.
Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their
altars, and upon their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the
cross. Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted. But the teachings
of Christ are buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false
interpretations, and rigorous exactions. The Saviour's words concerning
the bigoted Jews, apply with still greater force to the leaders of the
Roman Catholic Church: "They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers." Matthew 23:4. Conscientious souls
are kept in constant terror fearing the wrath of an offended God, while
many of the dignitaries of the church are living in luxury and sensual
pleasure.
The worship of images and relics, the invocation of
saints, and the exaltation of the pope are devices of Satan to attract
the minds of the people from God and from His Son. To accomplish their
ruin, he endeavors to turn their attention from Him through whom alone
they can find salvation. He will direct them to any object that can be
substituted for the One who has said: "Come unto Me, all ye that
labor and
569
are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew
11:28.
It is Satan's constant effort to misrepresent the
character of God, the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the
great controversy. His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law
and gives men license to sin. At the same time he causes them to cherish
false conceptions of God so that they regard Him with fear and hate
rather than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own character is
attributed to the Creator; it is embodied in systems of religion and
expressed in modes of worship. Thus the minds of men are blinded, and
Satan secures them as his agents to war against God. By perverted
conceptions of the divine attributes, heathen nations were led to believe
human sacrifices necessary to secure the favor of Deity; and horrible
cruelties have been perpetrated under the various forms of idolatry.
The Roman Catholic Church, uniting the forms of paganism
and Christianity, and, like paganism, misrepresenting the character of
God, has resorted to practices no less cruel and revolting. In the days
of Rome's supremacy there were instruments of torture to compel assent to
her doctrines. There was the stake for those who would not concede to her
claims. There were massacres on a scale that will never be known until
revealed in the judgment. Dignitaries of the church studied, under Satan
their master, to invent means to cause the greatest possible torture and
not end the life of the victim. In many cases the infernal process was
repeated to the utmost limit of human endurance, until nature gave up the
struggle, and the sufferer hailed death as a sweet release.
Such was the fate of Rome's opponents. For her adherents
she had the discipline of the scourge, of famishing hunger, of bodily
austerities in every conceivable, heart-sickening form. To secure the
favor of Heaven, penitents violated the laws of God by violating the laws
of nature. They were taught to sunder the ties which He has formed to
bless and gladden man's earthly sojourn. The churchyard contains millions
of
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victims who spent their lives in vain endeavors to subdue their
natural affections, to repress, as offensive to God, every thought and
feeling of sympathy with their fellow creatures.
If we desire to understand the determined cruelty of
Satan, manifested for hundreds of years, not among those who never heard
of God, but in the very heart and throughout the extent of Christendom,
we have only to look at the history of Romanism. Through this mammoth
system of deception the prince of evil achieves his purpose of bringing
dishonor to God and wretchedness to man. And as we see how he succeeds in
disguising himself and accomplishing his work through the leaders of the
church, we may better understand why he has so great antipathy to the
Bible. If that Book is read, the mercy and love of God will be revealed;
it will be seen that He lays upon men none of these heavy burdens. All
that He asks is a broken and contrite heart, a humble, obedient spirit.
Christ gives no example in His life for men and women to
shut themselves in monasteries in order to become fitted for heaven. He
has never taught that love and sympathy must be repressed. The Saviour's
heart overflowed with love. The nearer man approaches to moral
perfection, the keener are his sensibilities, the more acute is his
perception of sin, and the deeper his sympathy for the afflicted. The
pope claims to be the vicar of Christ; but how does his character bear
comparison with that of our Saviour? Was Christ ever known to consign men
to the prison or the rack because they did not pay Him homage as the King
of heaven? Was His voice heard condemning to death those who did not
accept Him? When He was slighted by the people of a Samaritan village,
the apostle John was filled with indignation, and inquired: "Lord,
wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume
them, even as Elias did?" Jesus looked with pity upon His disciple,
and rebuked his harsh spirit, saying: "The Son of man is not come to
destroy men's lives, but to save them." Luke 9:54, 56. How different
from
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the spirit manifested by Christ is that of His professed
vicar.
The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world,
covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed
herself in Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of
the papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised
in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The
papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled
the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood up, at
the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She possesses the same
pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over kings and princes, and
claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic
now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the
Most High.
The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would
be, the apostasy of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a
part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her
purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she
conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. "Faith ought not to be
kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy" (Lenfant,
volume 1, page 516), she declares. Shall this power, whose record for a
thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now acknowledged
as a part of the church of Christ?
It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth
in Protestant countries that Catholicism differs less widely from Protestantism
than in former times. There has been a change; but the change is not in
the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism that
now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since the
days of the Reformers.
As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of
the world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that
it is right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result
they will finally believe evil of all good.
572
Instead of standing in defense of the faith once delivered
to the saints, they are now, as it were, apologizing to Rome for their
uncharitable opinion of her, begging pardon for their bigotry.
A large class, even of those who look upon Romanism with
no favor, apprehend little danger from her power and influence. Many urge
that the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during the Middle
Ages favored the spread of her dogmas, superstitions, and oppression, and
that the greater intelligence of modern times, the general diffusion of
knowledge, and the increasing liberality in matters of religion forbid a
revival of intolerance and tyranny. The very thought that such a state of
things will exist in this enlightened age is ridiculed. It is true that
great light, intellectual, moral, and religious, is shining upon this
generation. In the open pages of God's Holy Word, light from heaven has
been shed upon the world. But it should be remembered that the greater
the light bestowed, the greater the darkness of those who pervert and
reject it.
A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the
real character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun
it; but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of
humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although priding
themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of the
Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of quieting
their consciences, and they seek that which is least spiritual and
humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting God which shall
pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is well adapted to meet
the wants of all these. It 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.
A day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be
favorable to the success of the papacy. It will yet be
573
demonstrated that a day of great intellectual light is
equally favorable for its success. In past ages, when men were without
God's word and without the knowledge of the truth, their eyes were
blindfolded, and thousands were ensnared, not seeing the net spread for
their feet. In this generation there are many whose eyes become dazzled
by the glare of human speculations, "science falsely so
called;" they discern not the net, and walk into it as readily as if
blindfolded. God designed that man's intellectual powers should be held
as a gift from his Maker and should be employed in the service of truth
and righteousness; but when pride and ambition are cherished, and men
exalt their own theories above the word of God, then intelligence can
accomplish greater harm than ignorance. Thus the false science of the
present day, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as
successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy, with
its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in opening the way
for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages.
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 Sunday exaltation which the papacy
has done before them.
If the reader would understand the agencies to be employed
in the soon-coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means which
Rome employed for the same
574
object in ages past. If he would know how papists and
Protestants united will deal with those who reject their dogmas, let him
see the spirit which Rome manifested toward the Sabbath and its
defenders.
Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances
sustained by secular power were the steps by which the pagan festival
attained its position of honor in the Christian world. The first public
measure enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine. (A.D.
321; see Appendix note for page 53.) This edict required townspeople to
rest on "the venerable day of the sun," but permitted
countrymen to continue their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a
heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal
acceptance of Christianity.
The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for
divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and
who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the
claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single
testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine.
Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and points to the
real authors of the change. "All things," he says, "whatever
that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the
Lord's Day."--Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, page 538.
But the Sunday argument, groundless as it was, served to embolden men in
trampling upon the Sabbath of the Lord. All who desired to be honored by
the world accepted the popular festival.
As the papacy became firmly established, the work of
Sunday exaltation was continued. For a time the people engaged in
agricultural labor when not attending church, and the seventh day was
still regarded as the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected. Those
in holy office were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil controversy
on the Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever rank, were commanded
to refrain from common labor on pain of a fine for freemen and
575
stripes in the case of servants. Later it was decreed that
rich men should be punished with the loss of half of their estates; and
finally, that if still obstinate they should be made slaves. The lower
classes were to suffer perpetual banishment.
Miracles also were called into requisition. Among other
wonders it was reported that as a husbandman who was about to plow his
field on Sunday cleaned his plow with an iron, the iron stuck fast in his
hand, and for two years he carried it about with him, "to his
exceeding great pain and shame."--Francis West, Historical and
Practical Discourse on the Lord's Day, page 174.
Later the pope gave directions that the parish priest
should admonish the violators of Sunday and wish them to go to church and
say their prayers, lest they bring some great calamity on themselves and
neighbors. An ecclesiastical council brought forward the argument, since
so widely employed, even by Protestants, that because persons had been
struck by lightning while laboring on Sunday, it must be the Sabbath.
"It is apparent," said the prelates, "how high the
displeasure of God was upon their neglect of this day." An appeal
was then made that priests and ministers, kings and princes, and all
faithful people "use their utmost endeavors and care that the day be
restored to its honor, and, for the credit of Christianity, more devoutly
observed for the time to come."--Thomas Morer, Discourse in Six
Dialogues on the Name, Notion, and Observation of the Lord's Day, page
271.
The decrees of councils proving insufficient, the secular
authorities were besought to issue an edict that would strike terror to
the hearts of the people and force them to refrain from labor on the
Sunday. At a synod held in Rome, all previous decisions were reaffirmed
with greater force and solemnity. They were also incorporated into the
ecclesiastical law and enforced by the civil authorities throughout
nearly all Christendom. (See Heylyn, History of the Sabbath, pt. 2, ch.
5, sec. 7.)
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Still the absence of Scriptural authority for
Sundaykeeping occasioned no little embarrassment. The people questioned
the right of their teachers to set aside the positive declaration of
Jehovah, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,"
in order to honor the day of the sun. To supply the lack of Bible
testimony, other expedients were necessary. A zealous advocate of Sunday,
who about the close of the twelfth century visited the churches of
England, was resisted by faithful witnesses for the truth; and so
fruitless were his efforts that he departed from the country for a season
and cast about him for some means to enforce his teachings. When he
returned, the lack was supplied, and in his after labors he met with
greater success. He brought with him a roll purporting to be from God
Himself, which contained the needed command for Sunday observance, with
awful threats to terrify the disobedient. This precious document-- as
base a counterfeit as the institution it supported--was said to have
fallen from heaven and to have been found in Jerusalem, upon the altar of
St. Simeon, in Golgotha. But, in fact, the pontifical palace at Rome was
the source whence it proceeded. Frauds and forgeries to advance the power
and prosperity of the church have in all ages been esteemed lawful by the
papal hierarchy.
The roll forbade labor from the ninth hour, three o'clock,
on Saturday afternoon, till sunrise on Monday; and its authority was
declared to be confirmed by many miracles. It was reported that persons
laboring beyond the appointed hour were stricken with paralysis. A miller
who attempted to grind his corn, saw, instead of flour, a torrent of
blood come forth, and the mill wheel stood still, notwithstanding the
strong rush of water. A woman who placed dough in the oven found it raw
when taken out, though the oven was very hot. Another who had dough
prepared for baking at the ninth hour, but determined to set it aside
till Monday, found, the next day, that it had been made into loaves and
baked by divine power. A man who baked bread after the ninth hour
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on Saturday found, when he broke it the next morning, that
blood started therefrom. By such absurd and superstitious fabrications
did the advocates of Sunday endeavor to establish its sacredness. (See
Roger de Hoveden, Annals, vol. 2, pp. 526-530.)
In Scotland, as in England, a greater regard for Sunday
was secured by uniting with it a portion of the ancient Sabbath. But the
time required to be kept holy varied. An edict from the king of Scotland
declared that "Saturday from twelve at noon ought to be accounted
holy," and that no man, from that time till Monday morning, should
engage in worldly business.--Morer, pages 290, 291.
But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday
sacredness, papists themselves publicly confessed the divine authority of
the Sabbath and the human origin of the institution by which it had been
supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly declared:
"Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was consecrated by
God, and hath been received and observed, not only by the Jews, but by
all others who pretend to worship God; though we Christians have changed
their Sabbath into the Lord's Day."-- Ibid., pages 281, 282. Those
who were tampering with the divine law were not ignorant of the character
of their work. They were deliberately setting themselves above God.
A striking illustration of Rome's policy toward those who
disagree with her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the
Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others suffered in
a similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment. The
history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia is especially
significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the Christians of Central
Africa were lost sight of and forgotten by the world, and for many
centuries they enjoyed freedom in the exercise of their faith. But at
last Rome learned of their existence, and the emperor of Abyssinia was
soon beguiled into an acknowledgment of the pope as the vicar of Christ.
Other concessions followed.
578
An edict was issued forbidding the observance of the
Sabbath under the severest penalties. (See Michael Geddes, Church History
of Ethiopia, pages 311, 312.) But papal tyranny soon became a yoke so
galling that the Abyssinians determined to break it from their necks.
After a terrible struggle the Romanists were banished from their
dominions, and the ancient faith was restored. The churches rejoiced in
their freedom, and they never forgot the lesson they had learned
concerning the deception, the fanaticism, and the despotic power of Rome.
Within their solitary realm they were content to remain, unknown to the
rest of Christendom.
The churches of Africa held the Sabbath as it was held by
the papal church before her complete apostasy. While they kept the
seventh day in obedience to the commandment of God, they abstained from
labor on the Sunday in conformity to the custom of the church. Upon
obtaining supreme power, Rome had trampled upon the Sabbath of God to exalt
her own; but the churches of Africa, hidden for nearly a thousand years,
did not share in this apostasy. When brought under the sway of Rome, they
were forced to set aside the true and exalt the false sabbath; but no
sooner had they regained their independence than they returned to
obedience to the fourth commandment. (See Appendix.)
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.
The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power
represented by the beast with lamblike horns shall cause "the earth
and them which dwell therein" to worship the papacy --there
symbolized by the beast "like unto a leopard." 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;" and,
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furthermore, it is to command all, "both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive the mark of the
beast. Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United States is
the power represented by the beast with lamblike 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. "I saw one of his heads as it were wounded
to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered
after the beast." Verse 3. The infliction of the deadly wound points
to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet,
"his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the
beast." Paul states plainly that the "man of sin" will
continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. To the very
close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the
revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: "All that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book
of life." Revelation 13:8. 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.
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, students of
prophecy in the United States have presented this testimony to the world.
In the events now taking place is seen a rapid advance toward the
fulfillment of the prediction. With Protestant teachers there is the same
claim of divine authority for Sundaykeeping, 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
580
Sunday-sabbath, will be repeated; already it is beginning
to be urged. And a movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining
ground.
Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman
Church. She can read what is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the
Protestant churches are paying her homage in their acceptance of the
false sabbath and that they are preparing to enforce it by the very means
which she herself employed in bygone days. Those who reject the light of
truth will yet seek the aid of this self-styled infallible power to exalt
an institution that originated with her. How readily she will come to the
help of Protestants in this work it is not difficult to conjecture. Who
understands better than the papal leaders how to deal with those who are
disobedient to the church?
The Roman Catholic Church, with all its ramifications
throughout the world, forms one vast organization under the control, and
designed to serve the interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants,
in every country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as bound
in allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their
government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above all
other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to the state,
yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome, absolving them from
every pledge inimical to her interests.
History testifies of her artful and persistent efforts to
insinuate herself into the affairs of nations; and having gained a
foothold, to further her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and
people. In the year 1204, Pope Innocent III extracted from Peter II, king
of Arragon, the following extraordinary oath: "I, Peter, king of
Arragonians, profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my
lord, Pope Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman Church,
and faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the
Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity." --John Dowling,
The History of Romanism, b. 5, ch. 6, sec.
581
55. This is in harmony with the claims regarding the power
of the Roman pontiff "that it is lawful for him to depose
emperors" and "that he can absolve subjects from their
allegiance to unrighteous rulers."--Mosheim, b. 3, cent. 11, pt. 2,
ch. 2, sec. 9, note 17. (See also Appendix note for page 447.)
And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she
never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still
the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power,
she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past
centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose
to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they
are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to
re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. 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.
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 her 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.
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