| "It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest [from the Bible Sabbath] to Sunday . . . . Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church," Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About Protestantism of Today, 1868, p. 213. "Question -- By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday? Answer -- The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plentitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her," Peter F. Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1923 edition, p. 59. "If Protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church," Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore replying for the Cardinal in a letter dated February 10, 1920. "All of us believe many things in regard to religion that we do not find in the Bible. For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles changed [the day of worship] from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the Church outside the Bible," Article, "To Tell You The Truth," The Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9. "We Catholics, then, have precisely the same authority for keeping Sunday holy instead of Saturday as we have for every other article of our creed; namely, the authority of the [Catholic] Church . . . whereas you who are Protestants have really no authority for it whatever; for there is no authority for it in the Bible, and you will not allow that there can be authority for it anywhere else. Both you and we do, in fact, follow tradition in this matter; but we follow it, believing it to be a part of God's word, and the [Catholic] Church to be its divinely appointed guardian and interpreter; you follow it [the Catholic Church] denouncing it all the time as a fallible and treacherous guide, which often 'makes the commandments of God of none effect' [Matthew 15:6]," The Brotherhood of St. Paul, The Clifton Tracts, Vol. 4, tract 4, p. 15. "For ages all Christian nations looked to the Catholic Church, and, as we have seen, the various states enforced by law her ordinances as to worship and cessation of labor on Sunday. Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the Church, has no good reason for its Sunday theory, and ought logically, to keep Saturday as the Sabbath. The State in passing laws for the due Sanctification of Sunday, is unwittingly acknowledging the authority of the Catholic Church, and carrying out more or less faithfully its prescriptions. The Sunday as a day of the week set apart for the obligatory public worship of Almighty God is purely a creation of the Catholic Church," John Gilmary Shea, American Catholic Quarterly, January 1883, p. 139. "Question -- What Bible authority is there for changing the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week? Who gave the Pope the authority to change a command of God? Answer -- If the Bible is the only guide for the Christian, the Seventh-day Adventist is right, in observing the Saturday with the Jew . . . . Is it not strange that those who make the Bible their only teacher, should inconsistently follow in this matter the tradition of the Catholic Church?" Bertrand Conway, The Question Box, 1903 edition, pp. 254-255, 1915 edition, p. 179. "Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible," Catholic Mirror, September 2 and December 23, 1893. "Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says, No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church," Priest Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Missouri, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884. "From this same Catholic Church you [Protestants] have accepted your Sunday, and that Sunday, as the Lord's day, she has handed down as a tradition; and the entire Protestant world has accepted it as a tradition, for you have not an iota of Scripture to establish it. Therefore that which you have accepted as your rule of faith, inadequate as it of course is, as well as your Sunday you have accepted on the authority of the Roman Catholic Church," D.B. Ray, The Papal Controversy, p. 179. Protestants Admit Sabbath is Biblical, Not Sunday Anglican / Episcopal: "The Bible commandment says on the seventh-day thou shalt rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday," Philip Carrington, Anglican Archbishop of Quebec, quoted in Toronto Daily Star, October 26, 1949. "We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy, catholic, apostolic church of Christ," Episcopal Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday. "And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day . . . . The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church, has enjoined it," Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, vol. 1, pp. 334, 336. "There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday . . . . Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters . . . . The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday," Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments, pp. 52, 63, 65. Baptist: "There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday . . . the Sabbath was transferred from the Seventh to the First day of the week . . . . Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament -- absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the Seventh to the First day of the week . . . . Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the sun-god, then adopted and sanctified by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism," Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, paper read August 20, 1893, at a Baptist ministers' meeting at Saratoga, New York. "The Lord's Day [sic. 'Sunday'] is not sanctified by any specific command or by any inevitable inference. In all the New Testament there is no hint or suggestion of a legal obligation binding any man, whether saint or sinner, to observe the Day. Its sanctity arises only out of what it means to the true believer," J.J. Taylor, The Sabbatic Question, p. 72. "I honestly believe that this commandment [the Sabbath commandment] is just as binding today as it ever was. I have talked with men who have said that it has been abrogated [abolished], but they have never been able to point to any place in the Bible where God repealed it. When Christ was on earth, He did nothing to set it aside; He freed it from the traces under which the scribes and Pharisees had put it, and gave it its true place. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). It is just as practicable and as necessary for men today as it ever was -- in fact, more than ever, because we live in such an intense age. "The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word 'remember' showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote this law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine (adultery, murder, lying, theft, etc.) are still binding?" Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting, 1898, pp. 46-47. "There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance," William Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in Our Day, p. 49. Congregationalist: "It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath . . . . The Sabbath was founded on a specific, Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday . . . . There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday," Dr. R.W. Dale, The Ten Commandments, (New York: Eaton & Mains) pp. 127-129. "The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scripture, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath," Timothy Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended, Sermon 107 (1823 edition), Vol. III, p. 258. "The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament," Dr. Lyman Abbott, Christian Union, June 26, 1890. Christian: "It is all old wives' fables to talk of the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws 'ex officio' -- I think his name is Doctor Antichrist," Alexander Campbell (founder of Disciples of Christ), The Christian Baptist, February 2, 1824, vol. 1, no. 7, p. 164. "The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change," First Day Observance, pp. 17, 19. Lutheran: "The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect; far from them, and from the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday," Dr. Augustus Neander, The History of the Christian Religion and Church,Henry John Rose, tr. (1843), p. 186. "They [the Catholics] allege the change of the Sabbath into the Lord's Day [Sunday], as it seemeth, to the Decalogue [the ten commandments]; and they have no example more in their mouths than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have the Church's power to be very great, because it hath dispensed with a precept of the Decalogue," Melanchthon, The Augsburg Confession, 1530 A.D., part 2, article 7. "We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian Church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christians of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both," The Sunday Problem, a study book of the United Lutheran Church (1923), p. 36. "But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel . . . . These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect," John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday, pp. 15, 156. Methodist: "It is true there is no positive command for infant baptism . . . . Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week. Many believe that Christ changed the Sabbath. But, from His own words, we see that He came for no such purpose. Those who believe that Jesus changed the Sabbath based it only on a supposition," Amos Binney, Theological Compendium(1902 edition), pp. 171, 180-181. Presbyterian: "It being expedient to overthrow superstition, the Jewish holiday was abolished and as a thing necessary to retain decency, order, and peace in the church . . . the early Christians substituted what we call the Lord's Day for the Sabbath," John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, I, p. 343. "The Sabbath is a part of the decalogue -- the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution . . . . Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand . . . . The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath," T.C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pp. 474, 475. Sunday is A Mark of the Beast "Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [from Sabbath to Sunday] was her act . . . . And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical power," from the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H.F. Thomas, November 11, 1895. " . . . Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the sun-god, then adopted and sanctified by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism," Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, paper read August 20, 1893 at a Baptist ministers' meeting at Saratoga, New York. Sunday observance, along with Christmas, New Year's, Easter, etc., is a mark of the beast. The following scriptures explain the beast and the mark of the beast, with our comments in brackets: Roman Empire is the Beast Revelation 13:1-8: "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea [Roman Empire, beginning 31 B.C.], having seven heads [seventh head of prophetic Babylon] and ten horns [ten resurrections, or stages, see also Daniel 7:7], and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard [Greco-Macedonian Empire, 333-31 B.C., which was divided into four parts], and his feet were as the feet of a bear [Medo-Persian Empire, 558-333 B.C.], and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: [Chaldean Empire of Babylon, 625-538 B.C. The Roman Empire swallowed up and absorbed all the preceding world ruling empires, Babylon, Persia, and Greece, and embodied the strongest physical and military characteristics of its predecessors] and the dragon [Satan] gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death [first fall of Roman Empire, 476 A.D.]; and his deadly wound was healed ["Imperial Restoration" of Justinian, 554 A.D., when he recognized the supremacy of the Pope and submitted to him]: and all the world wondered after the beast. 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? 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 [1260 prophetic days, or 1260 years, 554-1814 when Holy Roman Empire was dissolved].
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them [great martyrdom of dark ages, 50 million tortured and killed because they resisted the Catholic church]: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 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." Catholic Church, Two-Horned Beast, Enforces Mark of Beast Revelation 13:11-17: "And I beheld another beast [besides the first beast] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon [great false universal Catholic church]. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him [Catholic church patterned itself after Roman civil government and is today an ecclesiastical world Empire], and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed [554 A.D.]. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men [future miracles by end time false prophet], 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 [Roman Catholic church government, patterned after Roman civil government], which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
"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 [martyrdom of saints when the Church turned over "heretics" to the Roman Empire civil government for torture and execution]. And he causeth all [the Roman Catholic Church forces others to receive the mark of the Roman beast], both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 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. " "Buy or sell" means being able to buy. By refusing the "mark" one would not be able to earn a living, to earn a wage or salary, or to engage himself in business. Roman Emperor Constantine's Edit of 321 A.D. said, "On the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed," Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12:3; translated in History of the Christian Church by Schaff Vol III, p. 380. The reason for Constantine's decree was to harmonize the discordant religions of the Empire under one common institution. Those who resisted resting on SUNday and stuck with the Bible Sabbath were threatened with death: "To speak of your criminality as it deserves demands more time and leisure than I can give . . . . Why not at once strike, as it were, at the root of so great a mischief by a public manifestation of displeasure? Forasmuch, then, as it is no longer possible to bear with your pernicious errors [of obeying God's Commandment by Sabbath-keeping], we give warning by this present statute that none of you henceforth presume to assemble yourselves together. We have directed, accordingly, that you be deprived of all the houses in which you are accustomed to hold your assemblies: and forbid the holding of your superstitious and senseless meetings [on the Sabbath day], not in public merely, but in any private house or place whatsoever . . . . We have commanded . . . that you be positively deprived of every gathering point for your superstitious meetings, I mean all the houses of prayer . . . that any other places be confiscated to the public service, and no facility whatever be left for any future gathering [on God's Sabbath] in order that from this day forward none of your unlawful assemblies may presume to appear in any public or private place," (from Eusebius' Life of Constantine, book III). Once Sunday was established as a day of worship by Constantine, the false church took over the furtherance of Sunday. The Catholic Church became responsible for causing the civil government of the Empire to put people to death if they refused to keep Sunday. The Council of Laodicea, 365 A.D., stated, "Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But if any be found Judaizing, let them be declared anathema from Christ," Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Vol. XIX, p. 148. As a result of these laws, no Sabbath-keeper could hold a job. True Sabbath-keepers were forced to flee! Clearly, enforced Sunday keeping is a mark of the beast! The "mark of the beast" is the mark of the Roman Empire, NOT the Catholic Church. Remember, Roman Emperor Constantine was not a priest but was a civil ruler. The civil Roman government, not ecclesiastical, imposed Sunday as the accepted day of rest and worship in the Empire. But the Catholic Churches forced others to take this mark, using the power of the Roman civil government to enforce the mark. The Roman Catholic Church even patterned its church government after the old Roman civil government. Myer's Ancient History, p. 582, states: "During the reign of [Pope] Leo I, the Church set up, within the Roman Empire, an ecclesiastical state which, in its constitution and its administrative system, was shaping itself upon the imperial model. This spiritual empire, like the secular empire, possessed a hierarchy of officers." The Encyclopaedia Britannica refers to it as an "Ecclesiastical World Empire." About 400 A.D., Augustine declared: "The holy doctors of the church have decreed that all glory of the Jewish [sic.] Sabbath is transferred to it [Sunday]. Let us therefore keep the Lord's Day as the ancients were commanded by God to do the Sabbath" Sabbath Laws, p. 284. Pope Gregory of Rome, anathematized "Those who taught that is was not lawful to do work on the day of the Sabbath" (History of the Popes, Vol. II, p. 378). Sabbath-keeping was completely obliterated from Rome by the sixth century (Andrews, History of the Sabbath, p. 375). It took another four hundred years to accomplish the same evil deed in the Eastern churches. Those Who Have Mark of Beast Receive Seven Last Plagues Revelation 14:9-10 "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead,or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God . . . . " Revelation 15:1-6 "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest. And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. " Revelation 16:1-2 "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." Catholic Church Martyrs Saints Daniel 7:21-22, 25 "I beheld, and the same horn [the little horn, the Catholic Church] made war with the saints, and prevailed against them [during the Great Tribulation]; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom . . . . And he shall speak great words against the most High and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws [change Sabbath to Sunday, do away with Passover and other Biblical Holy Days and Biblical laws]: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. " Matthew 24:9-24 "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake [coming Great Tribulation]. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation [the Great Tribulation is NOT the wrath of God, it is the wrath of Satan against the saints], such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake [the persecuted saints] those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. " Revelation 6:9-11 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held [martyrdom of the Middle Ages]: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled [coming future martyrdom precedes return of Jesus Christ]. " Revelation 12:9, 12-17 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him . . . . Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath [Satan's wrath, manifested in a great martyrdom of the saints], because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 17:1-18 "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters [false church that rules over many nations]: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH [Roman Catholic religion is a continuation of the Babylonian Mystery Religion, and her harlot Protestant daughters continue in her spiritual harlotry].
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth [Rome has seven hills]. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city [what other great city with seven hills besides Rome has a church government which rules over other nations?], which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Revelation 18:1-5, 8-10, 20, 24 "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities . . . .
" Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come . . . . Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her . . . . And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." Mark of Beast Involves Commandment-Breaking Revelation 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands [why were the millions martyred? because they refused to join in this worship of Church and Empire, they refused to take the mark of the beast!]; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Revelation 14:9-12 "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God [seven last plagues will be poured out on those who have the mark of the beast], which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. [But on the other hand, those who do not take the mark] -- Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." The saints keep the commandments of God; those who have the mark of the beast disobey the commandments of God. Therefore the mark of the beast has to do with commandment-keeping! What commandment more than any other has to do with a man's job or his business? the Sabbath! Ephesians 5:5-6 "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience [again, the wrath of God, the seven last plagues, come on those who break the commandments of God]. " Romans 1:18-20 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Colossians 3:5-6 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." Zephaniah 1:14-17 "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. " Daniel 7:25 "And he [little horn, the Catholic Church] 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: [what law has been altered by the Roman Empire and Roman Church? The Sabbath has been changed! It is the changing of times and laws that wears out the saints because they refuse to accept these changed times and laws, and are persecuted and martyred.] and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time [3 1/2 prophetic years]." True Sabbath is the Mark of God's People Just as Sunday worship is the mark of the beast, so true Sabbath-keeping is the mark of God upon His saints. Notice the parallels between the Sabbath being a mark on the hand (what you do, your work) and the forehead (what you think, your intellect or mind) and the mark of the Beast on the hand and forehead: Exodus 31:12-17 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." Exodus 13:9 "And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. " Deuteronomy 6:1-8 "Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." Deuteronomy 11:18 "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. " Revelation 7:3 "Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." Revelation 14:1 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. " The world acknowledges all the other nine Commandments. The only one the world totally rejects is the fourth. The Sabbath Commandment sets one apart from the world, and identifies one as belonging to God. The Sabbath is a sign of God on His people. This sign you must have. The mark of the beast, Sunday-keeping, will be forced upon the whole world by the revived Roman Empire, at the behest of the Catholic Church, in the last days. Computerized control may play an integral part of this enforcement. Don't take the mark of the beast! If you do, you will suffer the seven last plagues! Revelation 18:4 "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Luke 21:36 "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." We have shown that Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Church of Christ all admit that the Bible Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday! Historical Factors Against the Sabbath Which Led to Adoption
of Sunday Worship By Professing Christians - Roman-Jewish Hatred and Constant Wars
- Roman Sun Worship, Anti-Sabbath Bias
- Jewish Persecution of Christians
- Judaizing Christians Who Insisted on Sacrifices and Circumcision of Gentile Converts
Sunday or Sabbath? Which Day Will YOU Choose? Sunday - Religious observance originated in pagan sun worship, enforced by Roman government
- Not authorized by Bible
- Not the day of Messiah's resurrection
- Not a substitute for the Passover
Sabbath - Created by God, commemorates the Creation
- Bible commands Sabbath observance
- Generally not a fast day
- A day of festive joy
Sources: Many sources were used for this article. Credit is especially given to the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course, and the booklet The Mark of the Beast. ; Also the booklets The Christian Sabbath, Which Day is It? Saturday or Sunday? published by the Biblical Church of God; and the book, From Sabbath to Sunday by Samuele Bacchiocchi. |
