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
1897-1907) Excerpt-
Why should any one
labor to prove that Christ changed the Sabbath?
Whoever does this is
performing a thankless task. The pope will not thank him; for if it is proved
that Christ wrought this change, then the pope is robbed of his badge of
authority and power. And no truly enlightened Protestant will thank him; for if
he succeeds, he only shows that the papacy has not done the work which it was
predicted that it should do, and so that the prophecy has failed, and the
Scriptures are unreliable.
The matter would
better stand as the prophecy has it, and the claim which the pope unwittingly
puts forth would better be granted. When a person is charged with any work, and
that person steps forth and confesses that he has done the work, that is usually
considered sufficient to settle the matter. So, when the prophecy affirms that
a certain power shall change the law of God, and in due time that very power
arises, does the work foretold, and then openly claims that he has done it,
what need have we of further evidence?
The world should not
forget that the great apostasy foretold by Paul has taken place; that the man
of sin for long ages held almost a monopoly of Christian teaching in the world;
that the mystery of iniquity has cast the darkness of its shadow and the errors
of its doctrines over almost all Christendom; and that out of this era of error
and darkness and corruption, the theology of our day has come. Would it, then,
be anything strange if there were yet some relics of popory to be discarded ere
the reformation will be
p 605 -- complete?
A. Campbell (Baptism, p. 15), speaking of the different Protestant sects, says:
-
"All of them
retain in their bosom, - in their ecclesiastical organizations, worship,
doctrines, and observances, - various relics of popery. They are at best a
reformation of popery, and only reformations in part. The doctrines and
traditions of men yet impair the power and progress of the gospel in their
hands."
The nature of the
change which the little horn has attempted to effect in the law of God is
worthy of notice. True to his purpose to exalt himself above God, he undertakes
to change that commandment which, of all others, is the fundamental commandment
of the law, the one which makes known who the lawgiver is, and contains his
signature of royalty. The fourth commandment does this; no other one does.
Four others, it is true, contain the word God,
and three of them the word Lord, also. But who is this Lord God of whom they
speak? Without the fourth commandment, it is impossible to tell; for idolaters
of every grade apply these terms to the multitudinous objects of their
adoration.
With the fourth
commandment to point out the Author of the decalogue, the claims of every false
god are annulled at one stroke; for the God who here demands our worship is not
any created being, but the One who created all things. The maker of the earth and
sea, the sun and moon, and all the starry host, the upholder and governor of
the universe, is the One who claims, and who, from his position, has a right to
claim, our supreme regard in preference to every other object. The commandment
which makes known these facts is therefore the very one we might suppose that
power which designed to exalt itself above God would undertake to change.
God gave the Sabbath
as a memorial of himself, a weekly reminder to the sons of men of his work in
creating the heavens and the earth, a great barrier against heathenism and
idolatry. It is the signature and seal against atheism and idolatry. It is the
signature and seal of the law. This the papacy has torn from its place, and
erected in its stead, on its own authority, another institution, designed to
serve another purpose.
p 606 -- This change
of the fourth commandment must therefore be the change to which the prophecy
points, and the Sunday sabbath must be the mark of the beast! Some who have
long been taught to regard this institution with reverence will perhaps start
back with little less than feelings of horror at this conclusion. We have not
space, nor is this, perhaps, the place, to enter into an extended argument on
the Sabbath question, and an exposition of the origin and nature of the
observance of the first day of the week. Let us submit this one proposition:
If the seventh day is still the Sabbath enjoined in the fourth
commandment; if the observance of the first day of the week has no foundation
whatever in the Scriptures; if this observance has been brought in as a
Christian institution, and designedly put in place of the Sabbath of the
decalogue by that power which is symbolized by the beast, and placed there as a
badge and token of its power to legislate for the church, - is it not
inevitably the mark of the beast? The answer must be in the affirmative. But
these hypotheses are all certainties. 1
It will be said
again, Then all Sunday-keepers have the mark of the beast; then all the good of
past ages who kept this day had the mark of the beast; then Luther, Whitefield,
the Wesleys, and all who have done a good and noble work of reformation, had the
mark of the beast; then all the blessings that have been poured upon the
reformed churches have been poured upon those who had the mark of the beast;
and all Christians of the present day who are keeping Sunday as the Sabbath,
have the mark of the beast. We answer, Not so! And we are sorry to say that
some professedly religious teachers, though many times corrected, persist in
misrepresenting us on this point. We have never so held; we have never so
taught. Our premises lead to no such conclusions. Give ear: The
mark and worship of the beast are enforced by the two-horned beast. The
receiving of the mark of the beast is a specific act which the two-horned beast
is to cause to be done. The third message of Revelation 14 is a warning mercifully
sent out in advance to prepare the people for the coming
1 -- See
"History of the Sabbath," and other works on the subject. To these we
can only refer the reader, in passing.
p 607 -- danger.
There can therefore be no worship of the beast, nor reception of his mark such
as the prophecy contemplates, till it is enforced by the two-horned beast. We
have seen that intention was essential to the change which the papacy has made
in the law of God, to constitute it the mark of that power; so intention is
necessary in the adoption of that change to make it, on the part of any
individual, the reception of that mark. In other words, a person must adopt the
change knowing it to be the work of the beast, and receive it on the authority
of that power, in opposition to the requirement of God.
But how is it with
those mentioned above, who have kept Sunday in the past, and the majority of
those who are keeping it to-day? Do they keep it as an institution of the
papacy? - No. Have they decided between this and the Sabbath of our Lord,
understanding the claims of each? - No. On what ground have they kept it, and
on what do they still keep it? - They suppose they are keeping a commandment of
God. Have such the mark of the beast? - By no means. Their course is
attributable to an error unwittingly received from the Church of Rome, not to
an act of worship rendered to it.
But how is it to be
in the future? The church which is to be prepared for the second coming of
Christ must be entirely free from papal errors and corruptions. A reform must
hence be made on the Sabbath question.
The third angel proclaims the commandments of
God, leading men to the true in the place of the counterfeit. The dragon is
stirred, and so controls the wicked governments of the earth that all the
authority of human power shall be exerted to enforce the claims of the man of
sin. Then the issue is fairly before the people. They are required to keep, on
the one hand, the true Sabbath; on the other, a counterfeit. For refusing to
keep the true, the message threatens the unmingled wrath of God; for refusing
the false, earthly governments threaten them with persecution and death. With
this issue before the people, what does he do who yields to the human
requirement? - He virtually says to God, I know your claims, but I will not
heed them. I know that the power I am required to worship is antichristian, but
I yield to it to save my life. I renounce your allegiance, and
p 608 -- bow to the
usurper. The beast is henceforth the object of my adoration; under his banner,
in opposition to your authority, I henceforth array myself; to him, in defiance
of your claims, I henceforth yield the obedience of my heart and life.
Such is the spirit
which will actuate the hearts of the beast-worshipers, - a spirit which insults
the God of the universe to his face, and is prevented only by lack of power
from overthrowing his government and annihilating his throne. Is it any wonder that
Jehovah denounces against so Heaven-daring a course the most terrible
threatening that his Word contains?
*******
Truth.
Are we receiving the
mark now? Will we know definitively when it is given? We know that there is NO
cheating ourselves into God's good graces.
We know there is no way we can live in sin willfully, wantonly, unrepentantly
and jump into forgiveness when we think time is running out on us. What happens
is all too often we do not KNOW when time will run out for any of us and by the
time we decide to give up our cherished sins, it's too late. So to look for a point in time when you know
beyond a doubt you have to accept Christ fully as your Savior and follow His
revealed truth is to look to Christ falsely. NOW is the day!
2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time
accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
We cannot put off
salvation, ever!
Please, Father,
please bless us and keep us in YOU! Help
us to yield to You in ALL things to be totally YOURS, by YOUR power, YOUR love!
In the name of our
Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord!
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