Rev. 13-- 16 And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or
in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Daniel and
Revelation- Revelation Chapter 13- (by
Uriah Smith 1897-1911?) Excerpt-
*******
(1911…)
Another most
significant and alarming step toward the accomplishment of these evil designs,
is the position taken by the great "Christian Endeavor" movement,
which has arisen to a membership of millions within a few years, and is a
common channel through which all denominations can work. The political
functions of this great body are centered in a "Christian Citizenship
League," which boasts that it will have branches in every state, county,
city, village, and hamlet in the United States, and see to it that only
Christian men are put into office. What remarkable "conversions" will
then take place! How politicians will become "Christians," and the
"millennium" hasten on! At the great Christian Endeavor convention,
held in Boston, Mass., July 10-15, 1895, W. H. McMillan, as given in the
published Proceedings, p. 19, said: -
"Here is a
power that is going to wrest the control of affairs from the hands of political
demagogues, and place it in the hands of Him who is King over all, and rules
the world in righteousness. Our political leaders have been counting the
p 617 -- saloon
vote, the illiterate vote, and the stay-at-home vote, and all other elements
that have hitherto entered into their canvassing's of probabilities; but they
have not yet learned to count the Christian Endeavor vote. I want to serve
notice on them now that the time is drawing near when they will discover that a
political revolution has occurred, and they will be found coming home from
Washington and our state capitals without a job."
These sentiments
were cheered to the echo in the convention; and it is not difficult to foresee
the effect they will have; for they were intended for that class of men among
whom they "will do the most good;" that is, the body of average
politicians, who, when threatened with a boycott, become the most abject
sycophants on the face of the earth.
All this, however,
would be of no avail, if those who are really patriots at heart would awake to
this danger before they find themselves committed to movements, the effects of
which they did not foresee, and if the two houses of Congress would stand true
to the Constitution which they are sworn to maintain; for this movement means
nothing less than a subversion of that noble instrument.
But alas! Congress
has already turned its back on its sacred trust to fawn upon the church
influence so rapidly rising. When the managers of the World's Fair of 1893, in
Chicago, asked Congress for an appropriation in their behalf, churchmen brought
their influence to bear upon the national legislators, and induced them to make
it a condition of the gift that the gates of the Fair be closed on Sunday. In
carrying this point a most remarkable scene occurred. A senator called for a
Bible, and caused the clerk to read the fourth commandment of the decalogue;
whereupon grave statesmen argued, and at length by vote decided, that the day
enjoined by that commandment as the Sabbath, is Sunday!
This was legislating
upon a religious question, which the Constitution expressly forbids. (See
Amendment I.) It broke down the barriers against the union of church and state,
and opened the flood-gates for all the evils that invariably accompany such a union.
The religious-amendment clergy hailed the
p 618 -- event as a
great triumph, and openly boasted that they had Congress in their hands, and
could compel it to do their bidding.
What the practical
working of these changes will be is already made apparent. On the statute-books
of most of the states of the American Union, are found Sunday laws; and as the
agitation in behalf of the seventh day increases, religious zealots are not slow
to use these laws to put the machinery of persecution in operation. Observers
of the seventh day manifest no defiance of these laws in laboring on Sunday, as
the higher law of God gives them an unalienable right to do; and they
studiously refrain from disturbing others, or in any way infringing upon their
rights, by boisterous or offensive labor. Yet it is construed to be
"disturbance," if they are even seen anywhere at work, or even if it
is known that they are at work anywhere, though unseen or unheard. If no other
way appears for detection, they are searched out by ministers or
church-members, or the police acting under their direction. Then follow arrest,
conviction, and penalty by fine, imprisonment, or the chain-gang. Up to Jan. 1,
1896, over one hundred arrests of this kind had been made, some of them under
circumstances of great oppression and cruelty, fines and costs had been imposed
to the amount of $2,269, and prisoners had served an aggregate of nearly
fifteen hundred days in jail and chain-gangs.
But public sentiment
would not endorse such proceedings, and the leaders in the movement, noting
this fact, decided to call a halt until such time as they would have public
opinion molded in their favor. Hence there have been fewer cases of prosecation
for non-observance of Sunday in recent years; but meanwhile a vigorous campaign
has been carried on by the National Reform party, the "International
Reform Bureau" or lobby at Washington, D. C., the "Lord's Day
Alliance," the "Sunday League of America," the "New England
Sabbath Protective League," and other religious bodies, having in view the
creation of Sunday-law sentiment among the people, and in the state
legislatures, and especially in the national legislature at Washington. Within
recent years, the contest between the
p 619 -- friends and
foes of American liberty, has been concentrated upon an effort to commit
Congress to religious legislation by the enactment of a Sunday law for the
District of Columbia. Bills for this purpose have been repeatedly introduced,
and one introduced by Senator Johnston, of Alabama, in 1908, has been urged
upon Congress continually up to this date (1911), being promptly reintroduced
at the first opportunity after each faillure of enactment; and the intention
seems to be to keep pressing it upon Congress until that body yields to the
demand, and the decisive step is taken which will give to the cause of
religious legislation the endorsement of the national government. That will
greatly strengthen the Sunday movement throughout the nation, and the work of
securing and enforcing Sunday legislation in the state governments will be much
more easily accomplished.
At this point it may
be profitable to take a glance at the progress of the Sunday-law movement in
this country during the recent past. The following are some of the more
prominent of the events which mark its advancement.
1890. -
Breckenridge Sunday bill for the District of Columbia introduced in Congress.
(January 6.)
1892. -
Congress orders the gates of the Chicago World's Fair closed on Sunday, and
decides that Sunday is the Sabbath of the decalogue. (July 19.)
1900. -
Congress makes the appropriation of $5,000,000 for the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition at St. Louis, conditional upon Sunday closing of the gates
"during the whole duration of the fair." (March 1.)
1904. - A
Sunday bill for the District of Columbia passed the House of Representatives.
(April 6.)
1906. -
Congress makes the appropriation of $250,000 for the Jamestown Exposition,
conditional upon Sunday closing. (June 29.)
1906. -
Wadsworth District Sunday bill passes House of Representatives. (June 11.)
1908. -
Samuel Gompers officially announces that the Arnerican Federation of Labor not
only is in favor of Sunday rest, but that it has "done as much, if not
more, than any other
p 620 -- organized
body of men and women, to enforce the observance of the Sunday rest-day."
(September 14.)
1907-8. - Ten
bills for Sunday observance introduced during the first session of the sixtieth
Congress. (December 5 to May 1.)
1908. -
Johnston District Sunday bill, passed by the Senate. (May 15.)
1909. -
Johnston District Sunday bill reintroduced in the Senate. (March 22.)
1910. -
Johnston District Sunday bill reintroduced in Senate. (January 17.)
- Johnston District Sunday bill passes Senate. (January
27.)
- Johnston District Sunday bill introduced in the House.
(January 28.)
1911. -
Johnston District Sunday bill introduced in special session of Congress. (April
6.)
- Favorably reported by the Senate District Committee.
(May 22.)
- Mann bill, "For the Observance of Sunday in
Post-Offices," introduced in House of Representatives. (May 16.)
All this is
exclusive of Sunday legislation in the states of the union, and in other
countries. During the year 1910 there was such legislation or agitation over
the same, in California, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky,
Maine, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and the countries of Canada, England, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and
Switzerland.
Most of the state
governments have in their constitutions, or in their adopted "Bill of
Rights," provisions guaranteeing the fullest religious liberty; and the
inconsistency of legislating on religious questions, under these circumstances,
is at once seen; while the treachery of oppressing people for opinion's sake,
in such states, is keenly felt. Every conceivable invention is therefore
resorted to, to make it appear that it is not religious persecution at all, but
only the question of obedience to civil law. One of these inventions is that
Sunday is only a civil institution, and its enforcement only a police
regulation, a civil requirement necessary for the public good. But this is
p 621 -- impossible;
for every one knows that Sunday in its origin, history, and very nature, is a
religious institution. No claims in its behalf would ever have been heard of,
but for its religious basis. Hence any enactment to enforce it by pains and penalties
is religious legislation and religious oppression.
But if there is a
law for it, should not that law be obeyed until repealed? Every law that does
not trench upon the domain of conscience, if it becomes unacceptable to the
people, should nevertheless be obeyed till it can be changed or repealed. But
Sunday laws interfere with the conscience of the observer of another day, and
for that reason cannot "bear upon all alike." And no true Christian
can make his obedience to God depend upon the permission of his fellow men. It
may be said again, In a country like the United States, do not majorities rule?
and must not their decisions be obeyed? And the answer again is, Yes, in
everything but questions of conscience, but never there. "Render ... unto
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are
God's." Men may legislate to guard the mutual rights of all members of
society, but no further; and in this they will never infringe upon the rights
of any one's conscience; for a "good" conscience (I Peter 3:21) will
never invade the rights of others, like the polygamy of the Mormons, or the
human sacrifices of the heathen.
The founders of the
American republic never intended that any trouble should arise, through the
laws of the land, over any question of conscience; but they permitted the evil
principle of religious laws to remain in their political structure, a principle
sure to spring to life at the first opportunity. In the further development of
religious truth, it is now found that these laws forbid men to render obedience
to what the Bible requires of them, and thus conflict with their unalienable
rights. Such laws, therefore, the Christian cannot regard, and the government,
to be true to its professed principles, should wipe them off the statute-books
wherever found. But this the religio-political clergy will not permit; and the
nation is doomed; for it will thus put itself in line with the religious
despotisms of the past; and the cry will go up from God's suffering children,
p 622 -- "It is
time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law." Ps.
119:126.
While, according to
the prophecy, the "image" can be looked for only in the United
States, the worship of the beast will prevail in other countries also; for all
the world is to wonder after the beast.
Some one may now
say, As you expect this movement to carry, you must look for a period of
religious persecution in the United States; nay, more, you must take the
position that all the saints of God are to be put to death; for the image is to
cause that all who will not worship it shall be killed.
A period of
persecution has been for about fifty years expected and predicted. It has now
begun, and is thus demonstrating the correctness of the application of the
prophecy as set forth in this work; but it does not by any means follow that
all, and we do not think that even many, will be put to death, though a decree
to that effect will be promulgated; for, as the prophet elsewhere declares, God
does not abandon his people to defeat in this dire conflict, but grants them a
complete victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his
name. Rev. 15:2. We further read respecting this earthly power, that he causeth
all to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads; yet chapter
20:4 speaks of the people of God as those who do not receive the mark, nor
worship the image. If, then, he could "cause" all to receive the
mark, and yet all not actually receive it, in like manner his causing all to be
put to death who will not worship the image does not necessarily signify that
their lives are actually to be taken.
But how can this be?
Answer: It evidently cornes under that rule of interpretation in
accordance with which verbs of action sometimes signify merely the will and
endeavor to do the action in question, and not the actual performance of the
thing specified. The late George Bush, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental
Literature in New York City University, makes this matter plain. In his notes
on Ex. 7:11 he says: -
"It is a canon
of interpretation of frequent use in the exposition of the sacred writings that
verbs of action sometimes
p 623 -- signify
merely the will and endeavor to do the action in question. Thus in Eze. 24:13:
'I have purified thee, and thou wast not purged;' i.e., I have endeavored, used
means, been at pains, to purify thee. John 5:44: 'How can ye believe which receive
honor one of another?' i. e., endeavor to receive. Rom. 2:4: 'The goodness of
God leadeth thee to repentance;' i. e., endeavors, or tends, to lead thee.
Arnos 9:3: 'Though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea;' i. e.,
though they aim to be hid. I Cor. 10:33: 'I please all men;' i. e., endeavor to
please. Gal. 5:4: 'Whosoever of you are justified by the law;' i. e., seek or
endeavor to be justified. Ps. 69:4: 'They that destroy me are mighty;' i. e.,
that endeavor to destroy me; English, 'That would destroy me.' Acts 7:26: 'And
set them at one again;' i. e., wished and endeavored; English, 'Would have set
them.'"
So in the passage
before us. He causes all to receive a mark, and all who will not worship the
image to be killed; that is, he wills, purposes, and endeavors to do this. He
makes such an enactment; passes such a law, but is not able to execute it; for
God interposes in behalf of his people; and then those who have kept the word
of Christ's patience are kept from falling in this hour of temptation,
according to Rev. 3:10; then those who have made God their refuge are kept from
all evil, and no plague comes nigh their dwelling, according to Ps. 91:9, 10;
then all who are found written in the book are delivered, according to Dan.
12:1; and, being victors over the beast and his image, they are redeemed from
among men, and raise a song of triumph before the throne of God, according to
Rev. 14:2-4.
The objector may
further say, You are altogether too credulous in supposing that the masses of
our people, many of whom are either indifferent or wholly opposed to the claims
of religion, can be so far brought to favor the religious observance of Sunday that
a general law can be promulgated in its behalf.
We answer, The
prophecy must be fulfilled, and if the prophecy requires such a revolution, it
will be accomplished.
To receive the mark
of the beast in the forehead is, we understand, to give the assent of the mind
and judgment to his
p 624 -- authority
in the adoption of that institution which constitutes the mark. By parity of
reasoning, to receive it in the hand would be to signify allegiance by some
outward act.
VERSE 18. Here is
wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it
is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
The Number of His
Name. - The number of the beast, says the prophecy, "is the number of a
man;" and if it is to be derived from a name or title, the natural
conclusion would be that it must be the name or title of some particular man.
The most plausible expression we have seen suggested as containing the number
of the beast, is the title which the pope takes to himself, and allows others
to apply to him. That title is this: Vicarius FiIii Dei, "Vicegerent of
the Son of God." Taking the letters out of this title which the Latins
used as numerals, and giving them their numerical value, we have just 666. Thus
we have V, 5; I, 1; C, 100 (a and r not used as numerals); I, 1; U (formerly
the same as V), 5 (s and f not used as numerals); I, 1; L, 50; I, 1; I, 1; D,
500 (e not used as a numeral); I, 1. Adding these numbers together, we have
just 666.
This title, there is
reason to believe, was formerly inscribed upon the pope's crown. The following
testimony on this point is given by the late Elder D. E. Scoles, of Washburn,
Mo.: -
"I have met two
men who declare that they have seen this specific crown; and their testimony is
so perfectly in agreement that I am convinced that what they saw is true. The
first man was M. De Latti, a Sabbath-keeper who had previously been a Catholic
priest, and had spent four years in Rome. He visited me when I was pastor in
St. Paul, Minn., several years ago. I showed him my tract, 'The Seal of God and
the Mark of the Beast.' He at once told me that the inscription was not
correctly placed in my illustration. He stated that he had often seen it in the
museum at the Vatican, and
p 625 -- gave a
detailed and accurate description of the whole crown. When my tract was
published, I was ignorant of the arrangement of the words of the Latin
inscription, hence, in the illustration of the crown, placed them in one line.
Brother De Latti at once pointed out the mistake, and said the first word of
the sentence was on the first crown of the triple arrangement, the second word
on the second part of the crown, while the word Dei was on the lower division
of the triple crown. He also explained that the first two words were in
dark-colored jewels, while the Dei was composed entirely of diamonds.
"During a
tent-meeting which I held in Webb City, Mo., I presented the subject, 'The Seal
of God and the Mark of the Beast.' I used charts to illustrate it, one being a
reproduction of the crown as Brother De Latti had described it. A Presbyterian
minister was present, Rev. B. Hoffman, and when I described the crown, he spoke
out publicly and made a statement to the congregation, saying that while in
Rome studying for the priesthood, he had seen this very crown, and noted its
inscription, and that the word Dei was composed of one hundred diamonds. I met
him and learned his name, and visited him at his home, and was convinced from
his description that this was the identical crown that Brother De Latti had
seen, but which has been denied by many. I then asked him for a written
statement, and he gave me the following: -
"'To Whom It
May Concern: This is to certify that I was born in Bavaria in
1828, was educated in Munich, and was reared a Roman Catholic. In 1844 and 1845
I was a student for the priesthood in the Jesuit College in Rome. During the
Easter service of 1845, Pope Gregory XVI wore a triple crown upon which was the
inscription, in jewels, Vicarius Filii Dei. We were told that there were one
hundred diamonds in the word Dei; the other words were of some other kind of
precious stones of a darker color. There was one word upon each crown, and not
all on the same line. I was present at the service, and saw the crown
distinctly, and noted it carefully.
"'In 1850 I was
converted to God and to Protestantism. Two years later I entered the
Evangelical Church ministry, but later in life I united with the Presbyterian
Church, of
p 626 -- which I am
now a retired pastor, having been in the ministry for fifty years.
"'I have made
the above statement at the request of Elder D. E. Scoles, as he states that
some deny that the pope ever wore this tiara. But I know that he did, for I saw
it upon his head.
"'Sincerely
yours in Christian service,
(Signed)
"' B. HOFFMAN,
"' Webb City,
Mo., Oct. 29, 1906.'"
The following
extract is from a work entitled The Refomation, bearing the date of 1832:
-
"'Mrs. A.,'
said Miss Emmons, 'I saw a very curious fact the other day; I have dwelt upon
it much, and will mention it. A person, lately, was witnessing a ceremony of
the Romish Church. As the pope passed him in procession, splendidly dressed in
his pontifical robes, the gentleman's eye rested on these full, blazing letters
in front of his miter: "VICARIUS FILII DEI," the Vicar of the Son of
God. His thoughts, with the rapidity of lightning, reverted to Rev. 13:18.'
'Will you turn to it?' said Mrs. A. Alice opened the New Testament
and read: 'Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for
it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.'
She paused, and Miss Emmons said, 'He took out his pencil, and marking the
numerical letters of the inscription on his tablet, it stood 666.'"
Here we have indeed
the number of a man, even the "man of sin;" and it is a little
singular, perhaps providential, that he should select a title which shows the
blasphemous character of the beast, and then cause it to be inscribed upon his
miter, as if to brand himself with the number 666. The foregoing extract
doubtless refers to a particular pope on a particular occasion. Other popes
might not wear the title emblazoned on the miter, as there stated. But this
does not affect the application at all; for the popes all assume to be the
"Vicar of Christ" (see Standard Dictionary under "vicar"),
and the Latin words given above are the words which express that
p 627 -- title, in
the form "vicar of the Son of God;" and their numerical value is 666.
Thus closes chapter
13, leaving the people of God with the powers of earth in deadly array against
them, and the decrees of death and banishment from society upon them for their
adherence to the truth. Spiritualism will be, at the time specified, performing
its most imposing wonders, deceiving all the world except the elect. Matt.
24:24; 2 Thess. 2:8-12.
This will be the "hour of
temptation," or trial, which is to come, as the closing test, upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth, as mentioned in Rev. 3:10. What
is the issue of this conflict? This important inquiry is not left unanswered.
The first five verses of the following chapter, which should have been numbered
as a part of this, complete the chain of this prophecy, and reveal the glorious
triumph of the champions of the truth.
*******
Read the last few
paragraphs again--
'Thus closes chapter
13, leaving the people of God with the powers of earth in deadly array against
them, and the decrees of death and banishment from society upon them for their
adherence to the truth. Spiritualism will be, at the time specified, performing
its most imposing wonders, deceiving all the world except the elect. Matt.
24:24; 2 Thess. 2:8-12.
This will be the
"hour of temptation," or trial, which is to come, as the closing
test, upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth, as mentioned
in Rev. 3:10. What is the issue of this conflict? This important inquiry is not
left unanswered. The first five verses of the following chapter, which should
have been numbered as a part of this, complete the chain of this prophecy, and
reveal the glorious triumph of the champions of the truth.'
This is truth. Yes,
perhaps so much time has passed it barely seems relevant that all that happened
because it didn't seem to result in the 'mark of the beast', it didn't seem to
result in our imminent salvation. The Sunday law came and passed away and today
there is barely anyone who holds the false sabbath sacred let alone having it
close to becoming a law.
Do I believe it
still must come to pass? I believe God's word. I believe God's prophecy. I
believe that for this nation to come to a place where enforcing any religious
laws upon anyone that there will have to be some major changes first. I've
spoken of that before and I still believe it.
More tomorrow by the
GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR- through HIS WILL ALONE!
Amen.
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