Conferring
with Flesh and Blood
"Immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood."
Gal_1:16
To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood:
This
statement is made for the purpose of showing that the apostle did not receive
the Gospel from any human being. He saw Christ, and accepted Him, then he went
to Arabia, and came back to Damascus, and not till three years after his
conversion did he go up to Jerusalem, where he stayed only fifteen days, and saw
only two of the apostles. Moreover, the brethren were afraid of him, and would
not at first believe that he was a disciple; so it is evident that he did not
receive the Gospel from any man. But
there is much to learn from Paul's not conferring with flesh and blood. To be
sure, he had no need to, since he had the Lord's own word; but such a course as
his is by no means common. For instance, a man reads a thing in the Bible, and
then must ask some other man's opinion before he dare believe it. If none of
his friends believe it, he is fearful of accepting it. If his pastor, or some
commentary, explains the text away, then away it goes; flesh 45 and blood gain
the day against the Spirit and the Word.
Or, it may be that the commandment is so plain that there is no
reasonable excuse for asking anybody what it means. Then the question is, Can I
afford to do it? Will it not cost too much sacrifice?
The most dangerous flesh and blood that one
can confer with is one's own. It
is not enough to be independent of others; in matters of truth one needs to be
independent of one's self. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding." Prov.3:5. "He that trusteth
in his own heart is a fool." Prov.28:26.
A pope is
one who presumes to occupy the place in counsel which rightfully belongs to God
alone. The man who makes himself pope, by following his own counsel, is just as
bad as the man who dictates to another, and is more likely to be led astray
than is the man who follows some pope other than himself. If one is to follow a
pope at all, it would be more consistent to accept the pope of Rome, because he
has had more experience in popery than any other. But none is necessary, since
we have the Word of God. When God speaks, the part of wisdom is to obey at
once, without taking counsel even of one's own heart. The Lord's name is
"Counselor" (Is.9:6), and He is "wonderful in counsel."
Hear Him! "He will be our Guide
forevermore."
"Immediately."
Note that
word. Paul did not stop to parley. He lost no time. He thought he was serving
God when he was persecuting the church, and the minute 46 he found out his
mistake he turned about. When he saw Jesus of Nazareth, he recognized Him as
his Lord, and immediately cried out, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to
do?" He was ready to be set to work in the right way, and that
immediately. It is an example well worth consideration. Would that everybody
might truthfully say, "I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy
commandments." Ps.119:60. "I will run the way of Thy commandments,
when Thou shalt enlarge my heart." Verse 32.
Gentiles--Heathen
Paul tells
us that Christ was revealed in him, that he might preach Him among the heathen.
In the Revision we have the word "Gentiles" used instead of
"heathen." There is no difference. The two words are used
interchangeably in the English Bible, for wherever they occur, they are
translated from only one Greek word, or, if it be in the Old Testament, the
corresponding Hebrew word. Let us note a few instances. In 1Cor.12:2 we read, "Ye know that ye
were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led."
This is from the ordinary word for "heathen," and the text itself
shows that Gentiles are idol-worshipers--heathen. Take notice that the
Corinthians "were Gentiles;" they ceased to be such on becoming
Christians. Eph.2:11,12:
Eph
2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision
in the flesh made by hands;
Eph
2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world
"Wherefore remember, that ye being in
time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is
called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth 47 of Israel, and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the
world." Surely, to be a Gentile is to be in a most unenviable
condition. We are told that "God at
the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His
name." Acts 15:14. And James referred to the believers in Antioch and
elsewhere as those who "from among the Gentiles are turned to God."
God's people are taken out from among the Gentiles, but on being taken out,
they cease to be Gentiles. Abraham, the father of Israel, was taken from among
the heathen (Josh.24:2),
Jos
24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even
Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other
gods.
so that
all Israel are taken from among the Gentiles. Thus it is that "all Israel
shall be saved" by the coming in of the fullness of the Gentiles.
Rom.11:25,26.
Rom
11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is
happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom
11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall
come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
In
Ps.2:1-3 we might lawfully read, "Why do the Gentiles rage, and the people
imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed [that is,
against Christ, for Christ means "anointed"], saying, Let us break
their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." How often we see
this fulfilled in the cases of individuals, who, with a triumphant air, exclaim:
"Show me a place where the Gentiles are commanded to keep the ten
commandments!" meaning that they are Gentiles, and thinking thus to cast
away from themselves the laws of God. It is no honorable class in which they
place themselves. It is true that the Gentiles are not commanded to keep the
commandments, as Gentiles, for that would be impossible; as soon as 48 they
accept Christ, and the law of the Spirit of life in Him, they cease to be
Gentiles. How solicitous God is to save people from their Gentile state, is
shown by His sending the apostle Paul (to say nothing of Christ) to bring them
to Himself.
A Prophet
to the Gentiles
In this
connection it is worth while to note that God was as anxious for the conversion
of the Gentiles three thousand years ago as He is to-day. The Gospel was
preached to them before the first advent of Christ, as well as it was
afterwards. Paul was not the first one who preached to the Gentiles after
Christ, although he was sent specially to them. He was known as the apostle to
the Gentiles, yet everywhere he went he preached to the Jews first, and as long
as they would hear him. So it was before Christ. By many agencies God made
Himself known among all nations, yet Jeremiah was specially chosen as the
prophet to the Gentiles, or heathen. In Jer. 1:5, "Before thou camest
forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the
nations," the Hebrew word from which the word "nations" is
translated is the very same that is regularly translated "heathen."
"Why do the heathen rage?" Ps.2:1. "Proclaim ye this among the
Gentiles: Prepare war," etc. "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye
heathen." Joel 3:9-11. The words "heathen" and
"Gentile" in these texts are the same as the word
"nations," in Jer.1:5. This can be seen by comparing the old with the
Revised Version. So the Lord said to Jeremiah, "I sanctified thee, and I
ordained thee, a prophet unto the Gentiles." Let no 49 one say that God
ever at any time confined His truth to any one people, whether Jew or Gentile. "There is no difference between the Jew
and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon
Him." Rom.10:12
*******
The Glad
Tidings
By E. J.
WAGGONER
(Excerpt- To be continued)
*******
1978 June -- THE TRUTH OF DANIEL 7 -- [In the Bible, the
earthly power which is presented as the Anti-Christ is described by Paul as
"the man of sin ... the mystery of iniquity." See II Thess. 2:3-10.
2Th
2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition;
2Th
2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
2Th
2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things?
2Th
2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his
time.
2Th
2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th
2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming:
2Th
2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders,
2Th
2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved.
He is pictured in the Revelation of Jesus Christ as
"the beast" with the mystery number - 666. See Rev. 13.
Rev
13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of
the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and
upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev
13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were
as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon
gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev
13:3 And 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.
Rev
13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and
they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him?
Rev
13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and
blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two
months.
Rev
13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his
name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev
13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to
overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.
Rev
13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are
not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.
Rev
13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev
13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that
killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and
the faith of the saints.
Rev
13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had
two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev
13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and
causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev
13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev
13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them
that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had
the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev
13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the
image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not
worship the image of the beast should be killed.
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:
Rev
13:17 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.
Rev
13:18 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.
But in the book of Daniel, this power is called
"the little horn" and is placed in a prophetic setting so that its
identification can be historically determined. This is the purpose and
importance of the truth of Daniel 7.]
In
the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream concerning
four great beasts which came up from the sea. He was told that these beasts
represented four kings "which shall arise out of the earth." (7:17)
From the fact that "the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom"
(7:23), it is evident that "king" and "kingdom" are used
interchangeably in this prophetic vision.
The
first beast - a lion with eagle's wings (7:4) - is not hard to identify, and
gives the basis in history for the identification of the subsequent world
powers represented by the three beasts which follow. Jeremiah, a contemporary
of Daniel, pictures in two different references, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
as a lion coming swiftly as on eagle's wings. (Jer. 4:7, 13; 49:19, 22, 28) The
very imagery - a lion with the wings of an eagle - was the national symbol of
Babylon, and was seen every day by Daniel as he carried out his governmental
duties. (1) The
"lion" was to be followed by a "bear" (7:5), which in turn
would be overcome by a "leopard," having four wings of a fowl (7:6).
The succession of empires which followed Babylon is a matter of historical
record - Medo-Persia, then Grecia, which in turn gave way to the Empire of
Rome.
It was the fourth beast or kingdom that concerned Daniel the
most. He said - I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse
from all others, exceeding dreadful ... and of the ten horns that were in his
head, and the other [horn] which came up." (7:19-20) This fourth beast in
Daniel's dream could not be associated in his mind with any known creature as
the other three had been, so he only describes the details of its appearance
and the drama of its evolution. To students of prophecy it is called the
"nondescript" beast. Here are Daniel's words as he saw the fourth
beast arise out of the sea: After this I saw in the night
visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong
exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and
stamped the residue with
p 2 -- the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts
that were before it; and it had ten horns. (7:7)
I
considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little
horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots:
and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth
speaking great things. (7:8)
Beast with 10 horns and little horn comes out of
the beast.
The
focus of the prophecy of Daniel 7 is on the "little horn" which comes
up out of the fourth beast or fourth kingdom upon the earth from Daniel's day.
The "little horn" has its roots, its source of life in the fourth
beast, and derives its nourishment from it. Since the fourth kingdom from
Babylon was the Empire of Rome, the identity of the "little horn" can
be set in historical perspective. The prophecy relates the "little
horn" to the ten horns which preceded it in four different ways. They are:
1 ) The "little horn" came up
"among" the ten horns. (7: 8)
2) The "little horn" came up
"after" the ten horns. (7:24)
3) The "little horn" would
overthrow "three of the first horns." (7:8, 24)
4) The "little horn" would be
"diverse" (different) from the ten horns. (7:24)
THERE
IS ONLY ONE POWER IN ALL HISTORY WHICH MEETS THESE PROPHETIC SPECIFICATIONS. IT
IS THE ONE MAN GOVERNMENT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - THE BISHOP OF ROME IN THE
SEAT OF THE CAESARS.
We
shall now note carefully these and the other identifying marks of the
"little horn" as given in Daniel 7.
Since
the vision closely associated the "ten horns" and the "little
horn", we need to note briefly the interpretation given concerning the
"ten horns." The "ten horns" were defined as "ten
kings that shall arise" out of the fourth kingdom. (7:24)
p 3 -- "The Roman Empire was split up
into just ten smaller kingdoms between the years 351 and 476 A. D. The
following are their ancient and modern names:
|
1.
|
Alemanni
-
|
Germany
|
6.
|
Suevi
|
Portugal
|
|
2.
|
Franks
|
France
|
7.
|
Lombards
|
Italy.
|
|
3.
|
Anglo
-Saxons
|
England
|
8.
|
Heruli
|
***
|
|
4.
|
Burgundians
|
Switzerland
|
9.
|
Vandals
|
***
|
|
5.
|
Visigoths
|
Spain
|
10.
|
Ostrogoths
|
***
|
(Facts of Faith, pp.
34-35) (2)
It is obvious from looking at this list, there are three of
the ten kingdoms which arose in the Roman Empire that have no modern
counterpart. These were Arian kingdoms - anathema to the Bishop of Rome - and
constitute the three horns displaced by Papal Rome in its rise to political as
well as religious dominance. Elliott in
his book on Revelation wrote: I might
cite three
that were eradicated from
before the Pope out of the list first given; viz, the Heruli under Odoacer, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths. (Horoe Apocalypticae, Vol. III, p. 168,
Note 1 [36])
In
ancient times, it was traditional for the crowns of the conquered kings to be
placed upon the head of the conqueror. (See II Sam. 12:30) Bishop Thomas
Newton, speaking of the power that was instrumental in the destruction of the
three horns, states - "And the Pope hath in a manner pointed himself out
for the person by wearing the triple
crown." (Dissertation on
Prophecy, p. 220 [36])
The
kingdom of the Ostrogoths was the last of the three "horns" to be
rooted up. In this history we find much of the story of the fulfillment of the
prophetic identification of the "little horn." Witigis [Vitiges] the
last of the Ostrogoth kings of Italy had received a solemn oath of fealty from
Silverius upon his assumption of the Papal throne. However, in 533 A. D., an
exchange of letters had passed between Justinian, Emperor of the Eastern Roman
Empire, and John II, then Bishop of Rome. In this exchange, Justinian had
declared the Bishop of Rome to be "the head of all Holy
Churches." (3)
Acknowledging this, John II had written - "This See is indeed the head of
all Churches, as the rules of the Fathers and the decrees of the Emperors
assert, and the words of your most reverent piety testify." (The Civil Law of Justinian, Book 12,
pp. 10-15 [55]) In the same year, Justinian dispatched his general, Belisarius,
to Africa to destroy the Vandals. Carthage, the Vandal capital, was entered on
September 15, 533. "In the next year, Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica were
restored to the Roman Empire. As a nation, the Vandals soon ceased to
exist." (Nelson's Encyclopedia,
Vol. XII, p. 381 1907 ed. [43]) In 535 A. D., Belisarius moved into Italy
itself. Pope Silverius sent messengers to Belisarius offering him the peaceful
surrender of Rome. Witigis reacted, and laid siege to the city from March, 537
till March, 538, when after loosing the flower of his army he returned to his
capitol in Ravenna. Belisarius followed the retreating armies of Witigis to
their last stronghold of power. Ravenna was soon entered by the troops of the
Empire, and with it fell the great kingdom of the Ostrogoths." J. G.
Sheppard, Fall of Rome, p.
306 [48-49])
This
is a transitional point in human history. One writer has
stated: With the conquest of Rome by
Belisarius, the history of the ancient city may be considered as terminating;
and with his defense against Witigis, commences the history of the Middle
Ages. (Findlay,Greece Under the Romans pp. 240 [52-53])
p 4 -- Silverius died in 538, to be
succeeded by Vigillius as Bishop of Rome. Dr. Philip Schaff tells us that
"Vigillius ... ascended the papal chair under the military protection of
Belisarius." (History of the
Christian Church, III, p. 327 [53]) Prior to Vigillius, all popes were
declared saints in the martyrologies, but with Vigillius begins "a series
of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth sparingly
conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more enveloped in worldly
events, no longer belong solely to the church; they are men of the state, and
then rulers of the state." (Belmont and Monod,.Medieval Europe, p. 120 [53])
We
can now summarize the four identifying marks required by the prophecy
concerning the "little horn" in relationship to the ten horns. It was
to come up among the
ten divisions of the Roman Empire. Francis Cardinal Hays stated the case well,
when he wrote: When the Roman Empire
became Christian, and the peace of the church was guaranteed, the Emperor left
Rome to the Pope, to be the seat of the authority of the Vicar of Christ, who
should reign there independent of all human authority, to the consummation of
the ages to the end of time. (Papal Rights and Privileges, pp. 13-14)
Thus
in the very center - the capitol of the ancient Roman Empire - arose the
"little horn." It was to come up after them. The divisions of the Roman Empire had come
about by 476 A. D. The Papal power received its political as well as its
complete religious domination from Justinian during the years from 533 to 538
A. D. In its rise to power, three of the original ten divisions of the empire
had been overthrown and passed into history. It was diverse, in that it began as a
religious entity - a church - and then became a political entity dominating the
kings of the earth.
In giving to Daniel an enlarged explanation of the
"little horn", the angel noted other identifying marks which find
their fulfillment in the words and actions of the Papacy. He told Daniel: 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 a dividing of time. (7:25)
We
shall note each of these marks in reverse order, and see how the Papacy has
fulfilled each. It was to continue for "a time and times and a dividing of
time." Gesinius in his Hebrew lexicon tells us that the word
translated time stands
"in prophetic language for a
year," and translates the whole phrase - "for a year, also two
years, and half a year." (p. 754) Using the prophetic measurement that one
day in prophecy equals one literal year (Eze. 4:6), we have 360 days, plus 720
days, plus 180 days, or 1260 years of Medieval Papal supremacy. (See also
Revelation 12: 14, 6)
We
noted above 538 A. D. as the date when the army of Justinian under Belisarius
established the power of the Bishop of Rome as supreme in harmony with the
edicts Justinian had issued. Adding to this date, the 1260 years, we arrive at
1798.
p 5 -- The events which occurred in this
year are remarkable, showing beyond a shadow of a doubt the fulfillment of this
specification of Daniel 7 in the history of the Papacy. In 1797 Pope Pius VI
became grievously ill. Napoleon of France gave orders that should he die,
"no successor should be elected to his office, and that the Papacy should
be discontinued." If this had happened, the period of time allotted in the
prophecy would have fallen short by one year. But what did occur? Read carefully
what the Jesuit, Joseph Rickaby, has to say
further: But the Pope recovered.
The peace was soon broken; Berthier entered Rome on the 10th of February, 1798,
and proclaimed a republic. The aged Pontiff refused to violate his oath by
recognizing it, and was hurried off from prison to prison in France ... No
wonder that half Europe thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with
the Pope the Papacy was dead. (The Modern Papacy, p. 1 [59])
George Trevor, Canon of York, in his book - Rome:
From the Fall of the Western Empire -writes: The
Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the
Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defence. The Eternal City
had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign
lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed
in his place. (p.
440 [59])
The
resurrection of the Papacy from the "dead" is covered in another
prophecy of the Bible. (See Rev. 13:3 margin)
Rev 13:3 And 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.
The prophecy of Daniel 7 states that the "little
horn" would "think to change times and laws." The Hebrew for
"law" (dath) is singular in Daniel 7:25, and refers
to the Law of God contained in the Ten Commandments. (4) The Papacy changed the
Law in two areas. From the fourth to the sixth centuries the worship of images
crept into the church. It was necessary, therefore, to alter the commandment
which forbids image worship. It was simply deleted, and the tenth was divided
into two commandments, even though the Apostle Paul speaks of the Tenth as only
one. (See Rom. 7:7-13)
Rom
7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not
known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said,
Thou shalt not covet.
Rom
7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner
of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
Rom
7:9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came,
sin revived, and I died.
Rom
7:10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto
death.
Rom
7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it
slew me.
Rom
7:12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good.
Rom
7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin,
that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin
by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
The
second change in the Law was in regard to the Fourth Commandment. Having
deleted the Second Commandment, the Fourth became the Third. (5) Concerning this
change the question is asked:
Q. Have you any other way of
proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she
could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; - she
could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week,
for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no
Scriptural authority. (Stephen Keenan, A
Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174)
And
as to the origin of this change, the Catholic Church boldly states:
p 6 -- The church took the pagan
philosophy and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the
pagan, Roman Pantheon, temple of all the gods, and made it sacred to all the
martyrs; so it stands to this day. She took the pagan Sunday and made it the
Christian Sunday. She took the pagan Easter and made it the feast we celebrate
during this season ...
The sun
was the foremost god with heathendom ... Hence the church in these countries
would seem to have said, "Keep that old pagan name. It shall remain
consecrated, sanctified." And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder,
became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus. (Wm.
L. Gildea, "Paschale Gaudium", The Catholic World, March, 1894, p. 809. The Catholic World was "A monthly magazine of General
Literature and Science.")
In
both the catechism and magazine, the change of the Sabbath is clearly declared
to be by the "Church" of Rome:- "The Church ... substituted the
observance of Sunday ... for the observance of Saturday." "The church
... took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday." All of these
apologies, and dissertations which seek to establish the change from Sabbath to
Sunday as a reaction to Judaism is simply an attempt to "white wash"
the Catholic church, and soften the identification that prophecy places upon
its head as the antichrist. Prophecy indicated that the "little horn"
would attempt it, and the Catholic Church states that she did do it, "by
virtue of her Divine mission." (Catholic
Mirror, September 23, 1893, p. 29 [69])
Not
only would the Papacy seek to alter the Law of God, but she would seek to
destroy those who differed with her - the saints of the most High. Alfred
Cardinal Baudrillart, a Roman Catholic scholar in France has openly
stated: The Catholic Church is a respector of
conscience and of liberty ... She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, a
"horror of blood." Nevertheless when confronted by heresy she does
not content herself with persuasion; arguments of an intellectual and moral
order appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal
punishment, to torture. She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition,
she calls the law of the State to her aid, if necessary she encourages a crusade,
or a religious war and all her "horror of blood" practically
culminates into urging the secular power to shed it, which proceeding is almost
more odious - for it is less frank - than shedding it herself. Especially did
she act thus in the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants. Not content
to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert people by eloquent and holy
missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low Countries, and above all in Spain
the funeral piles of the Inquisition. In France under Francis I and Henry II,
in England under Mary Tudor, she tortured the heretics, whilst both in France
and Germany during the second half of the sixteenth and first half of the
seventeenth century if she did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged
and actively aided, the religious wars. No one will deny that we have here a
great scandal to our contemporaries ...
p 7 -- Indeed, even among our friends and
our brothers we find those who dare not look this problem in the face. They ask
permission from the Church to ignore or even deny all those acts and
institutions in the past which have made orthodoxy compulsory. (The Catholic Church, the Renaissance, and
Protestantism, pp. 182-184 [64])
One
author has written that "careful and credible historians" have
estimated "that more than fifty million of the human family, have been
slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors, an average of more
than forty thousand religious murders for every year of the existence of
Popery." (J. Dowling, History
of Romanism, pp. 541, 542 [66]) The most concise death decree ever
framed prior to the outrages of this Century was handed down by the Holy Office
(the Inquisition) of the Catholic Church on February 16, 1568 which condemned
all the inhabitants of the Netherlands to death as heretics. "Three
millions of people, men, women, and children were sentenced to the scaffold in
three lines." (The Rise of the
Dutch Republic, John Lothrop Motley, Vol. I, p. 626 [67])
[It
is most difficult to understand with the truth of the prophecy of Daniel 7
concerning the "little horn" and its fulfillment in the history of
the Papacy before us, and with the question asked by the servant of the Lord -
"Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the
blood of saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?" (Great Controversy, p. 571) - why an
official representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church presented to the
Pope a gold medallion in a special audience, May 18, 1977. See Special Report
prepared by the Adventist Laymen's Foundation. It is equally as difficult to
understand why the large portion of the laity continues to support this
betrayal of sacred truth with their tithes and offerings. Is it because they do
not know the truth of Daniel 7, or is it because they no longer believe it?]
This "little horn" was also to speak "great
words against the Most High." Pope Leo XIII declared - "We hold upon
this earth the place of God Almighty." (Great Encyclical Letters, p. 304 [61]) In the same letters, the
same Pope stated: "But the supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman
Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires, together with a perfect accord in
the one faith, complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to
the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself." (p. 193 [62]) The sainted doctor of
the Catholic church, Alphonsus de Liguori, wrote concerning the power of the
priests: The priest has the power of the keys, or the power of delivering
sinners from hell, of making them worthy of paradise, and of changing them from
the slaves of Satan into children of God. And God himself is obliged to abide
by the judgment of his priests, ... (p. 27)
Innocent
III has written: "Indeed, it is not too much to say that in view of
the sumlimity of their offices the priests are so many gods." (p. 36) Dignity and Duty of the Priests.
The
truth of Daniel 7 can be simply stated - "the little horn" - a symbol
of the Anti-Christ - finds its fulfillment in the hierarchy of the Catholic
Church headed by the Pope.
p 8 --
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(1)
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While
serving as pastor of the First Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, our family
went to the Museum at Bloor and University one Sunday afternoon. As we were
looking at the exhibits, we came to a section that contained a special
display from the ruins of ancient Babylon. There in the center of the exhibit
was a large mosaic picturing a lion with the wings of an eagle.
|
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(2)
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Christian Edwardson, Facts of Faith, 320 pp. The "Preface"
by the publishers reads in
part: During forty years of
caring for districts of churches and isolated believers, besides raising up
new churches by evangelistic effort, the author of this book became greatly
impressed with the need of educating people in the fundamental doctrines of
the Holy Scriptures. He has found very few who could give from the word of
God an intelligent reason for even its most prominent and important truths
...
When we add to
this condition the fact that during the past twenty years new errors have
been stealthily introduced among Christians generally - errors that undermine
the very foundations of Bible truth and Christianity - it becomes evident
that even professing Christians are unprepared for the crises they will be
obliged to meet in the near future. [How prophetic!]
The paging of all historical references taken from
this book which appear in this article are noted in brackets after the
reference source itself.
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(3)
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The
following Law appears in the Constitutions
of Justinian: Concerning the
Precedence of Patriarchs: Hence, in accordance with the provisions of those
Councils, we order that the Most Holy Pope of Ancient Rome shall hold the
first rank of all the Pontiffs, but the Most Blessed Archbishop of
Constantinople, or New Rome, shall occupy the second place after the Holy
Apostolic See of Ancient Rome, which shall take precedence over all other
sees. (Vol. XVII, 9th Collection, Title
14, chapter 2 [56])
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(4)
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The same
word used for "law" in Daniel 7:25 is also used for "law"
in Deut 33:2 - "The Lord came from Sinai ... from His right hand went a
fiery law for them."
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(5)
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The Convert's Catechism of Catholic
Doctrine, Peter Geiermann C. SS. R., reads as follows:
3. The Third Commandment What is
the Third Commandment? A. The Third Commandment is: Remember that thou keep
holy the Sabbath day.
Q. Which is the Sabbath
day? A.
Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday
instead of Saturday? A. We
observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in Council of
Laodicea (A D 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. (pp.
49-50)
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p 9 -- MORE ON THE MEDALLION
(Given to the Pope) -- In the "Friendship Issue" of the Adventist
Review (undated),
p. 22, a photograph of the type of medallion given to the Pope by Dr. B. B.
Beach appears. The caption under the picture does not tell you this, however.
It is interesting as to what is said about this medallion and what it is
suppose to stand for. It reads: The obverse of the church's medallion
illustrates the term "Adventist" in the church's name, signifying the
belief that Christ will come back to earth to set things right. The reverse
illustrates the term "Seventh-day" in the name. Trusting wholly for
salvation in Christ, who died to save men, church members consider it an honor
to observe the day Christ, who was also Creator, set apart as a memorial of His
mighty creative acts. The Sabbath is also a symbol of Christ's desire to be
with His people. The Bible is Christ's message to the church.
First
let us consider the reverse side. Supposedly it speaks to the fact of the first
part of the church name - "Seventh-day." Where is the "seventh
day" mentioned on the medallion's reverse side, or obverse side for that
matter? The quotes from the fourth commandment are barely different from the
way the commandment is quoted in the Convert's
Catechism of Catholic Doctrine. (See p. 8, Footnote #5)
Now
look closely at the obverse side which is supposed to represent our belief as
an "Adventist." Honestly, as I have studied the medallion, I have
wondered if the representation of the cloud only covered the fact that Christ's
feet are touching the earth as indicated by the circular line. Now this gnawing
question is further heightened by the fact the explanation indicates when
Christ returns, He "will come back to earth to set things right." Now
the Bible teaches when Jesus returns the second time, "He shall send His
angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:31),
"to meet the Lord in the air" (I Thess. 4:17). The angels, thus to
fulfill the words of Jesus Himself, do not stand with folded wings and hands in
adoration as is pictured on the medallion. They have a part to play. Revelation
pictures these angels as taking part in the warfare which accompanies the
return of Jesus as King of kings, and Lord of lords to tread "the
winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God." (Rev. 19:
11-16)
You
ask - why do we raise this question? In another publication - also for
missionary purposes -Man the World
Needs Most - there is a chapter on the return of Jesus the second
time entitled, "What Will He Do?" It is a detailed enlargement of the
sentence - "Christ will soon come back to earth to set things right."
After telling about his visits to a convalescent hospital, the author, the late
Arthur S. Maxwell, tells of his reaction - "As I walked past the doors,
there used to come over me a great longing to do something for these poor
people." Then he writes:
p 10 -- Well, Somebody is going to do something about
it. Indeed it will be one of the first tasks of the new world Leader.
Looking
forward to that wonderful day the prophet Isaiah
wrote: "Then shall the eyes of the
blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the
lame man leap as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Isaiah 35:5,
6.
It will
be like old times to Him. For that is exactly what He did in Palestine long
ago. Matthew tells us that "He went round the whole of Galilee, teaching
in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and curing whatever
illness or infirmity there was among the people. His fame reached the whole of
Syria; and sufferers from every kind of illness, racked with pain, possessed by
devils, epileptic, or paralyzed, were brought to Him, and He cured them."
Matthew 4:23, 24 NEB.
As He
passed from village to village not a single sick person was left behind. All
who sought healing found it in Him.
Now He
is about to do it again, on a global scale. His coming invasion of the world
will have a similar miraculous result. Hospitals and convalescent homes will be
emptied, their one-time occupants bursting with new life and vigor, radiant
with joy and gratitude at their sudden restoration to health.
Even the
worst patients in mental homes will be brought back to sanity. Curing the mind
is His specialty. Just as the master watchmaker knows best how to repair a
damaged timepiece, so He, having devised the marvelous mechanism of the human
mind in the beginning, knows better than anyone else how to restore it.
Thousands upon thousands will rejoice at His touch upon their poor, confused
brains. (pp. 77-78)
How
can we square this teaching with the Scripture as to what will take place when
Jesus returns the second time "in righteousness" to "judge and
make war." (Rev. 19:11) How can we relate this picture of what Christ will
do when He returns with the song of Asaph - "Our God shall come, and shall
not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be tempestuous
around about Him." (Ps. 50:3) How can we harmonize, -how can we reconcile
this picture with Paul's representation of the Advent to the Thessalonians -
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thess. 1:7-8) BUT the Maxwell view
can be harmonized with the explanation given in the Adventist Review concerning the
obverse side of the gold medallion - "Christ will soon come back to earth
to set things right." And Maxwell closed his chapter with the sentences:
"The Man the world needs most will soon be here. He may even now be on His
way." (p. 86)
On
the next page of the "Friendship Issue" (p. 23) is listed what we
believe. In this list of 14 points is found this in regard to the return of
Jesus: When God intervenes in human
history to eradicate evil and those who persist in it, He will re-create the
earth and introduce the perfect society,
p 11 --in which only those who voluntarily have
accepted God's plan and live by the principles of His kingdom will share (Rev.
21:1-4). His intervention involves, first, Christ's personal return to this
earth (often spoken of as the second coming of Christ) to take His people to
heaven, then, 1,000 years later, returning them to live on a re-created earth,
from which all traces of evil and all perpetrators of evil will have been
eliminated.
Now
then let us be honest with ourselves. Is this medallion picturing the
"third" coming of Christ when His feet will touch the Mt. of Olives,
and it will become a great plain upon which the Holy City will descend? (See
Zech. 14:4-5) If so, since when did the name "Adventist" represent an
emphasis of His "third" coming? Why are we trying to mitigate the
historical teaching of the church regarding the return of Jesus the second
time? Are we subconsciously preparing ourselves for the final deception of
Satan when he will come clothed as an angel of light and repeat the acts of
Jesus, which He did when He walked among men 2,000 years ago?
SIGNS OF THE TRENDS -- Only "Incidental" - The Publishing
Fellowship, published by the
Publishing Department of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists featured an article - "New Fringe Benefits" It reads as
follows: "New fringe benefits have been
added to the literature evangelist's remuneration for 1978. Any literature
evangelist who delivers more than $100,000 worth of books during 1978 will be
given the use of a new car in addition to his other benefits.
p 12 -- Beginning January 1, 1979, each
literature evangelist who delivers more than $60,000 in 1978 will be furnished
a new Ford Fairmont, together with insurance, maintenance and repairs. He can
continue to use it as long as he meets specified sales requirements.
"After
being furnished the car for one year, if he again delivers more than $60,000
during the second year he will have the choice of receiving a clear title to
the car or being furnished another new car. A third year of delivering in
excess of $60,000 will entitle him to a clear title to the first car if he
chooses, and being furnished another new car for his use.
"The
above benefits are in addition to other benefits which are given to those who
meet the qualifications. These include a paid year vacation, rent and auto
subsidy, automobile insurance, scholarship grants, medical allowance, and
sustentation benefits." (p. 2, Feb.
1978)
"Replenished from the East" (Isa.
2:6) -- "Interest in mysticism is increasing and may become a
worldwide force to 're-spiritualize religion' according to the author of a new
book on Jewish mysticism. Perle Epstein, author of Kabbalah, said she has observed a new
surge of interest in Western mysticism largely developing from the interest in
Eastern religions of the past few decades." Ms. Epstein has a Ph. D in
English and comparative literature and has taught mysticism at New York
University and Briarcliff College.
She
has a personal link to Jewish mysticism inasmuch as one of her paternal
ancestors was the great Kabbalist and founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov
("master of the Holy Name.") The interest in mysticism is especially
noticeable in Israel where mystics of the Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim,
Sufi, and other faiths are establishing centers; and frequently interacting
with each other. "Many Jews and Christians are coming into Jewish
mysticism and Christian mysticism via Eastern religions," observed Ms.
Epstein, including herself in this category. A central concept in the Kabbalah
is that in order to reach the "highest Throne, God" one must first
contact the spark of divinity, which abides in his own heart. Then the up
reaching of the love from the heart of the disciple to God, opens the way for
the mystic union. (RNS, Feb. 16,
1978 pp. 4-5)
Compare
the "central concept" of the Kabbalah with this statement from
the Spiritualist Manual, by
J. F. Newton: "Man wandered over the earth for ages, searching in all
places, high and low, far and near, before he thought to look within himself
for the divinity he sought. At last slowly, dimly, he began to realize that
what he thought was afar off, hidden in the 'pathos of distance' is nearer that
the breath he breathes, even in his own heart." (Quoted in the Review & Herald, Sept. 20, 1962,
p. 4) ---(1978 June) --- END ---
"Watchman,
What of the Night? " Thought Paper.
Adventist Laymen's Foundation.
(Excerpt) JUNE 1978
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