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Tract 23c - part 1
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The great apostasy that is soon to reach its climax had already begun to develop in the days of the apostles--an apostasy that was to result in erasing important Bible truths from men's minds for long ages. Paul wrote: "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thess 2:7. Elsewhere he declared: "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:29-30.
Paul told us that this departure from the faith was to widen and grow to great proportions. A great "falling away," or apostasy, would ultimately result in "that man of sin," "the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thess 2:3-4. And the apostle John tells us more: "This is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4:3.
The centuries that followed brought an exact fulfillment of these Scriptures. By the determined efforts of half--converted pagans, truth was turned into error, and apostasy gained control of the leadership positions of Christianity. But just now, let us go back to an even earlier Biblical prophecy of these startling events--the prophecy of Daniel Seven.
In a vision of prophetic history, Daniel the prophet-statesman of Babylon was shown the rise and fall of four vast empires--Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. This is recorded in the Second and Seventh Chapters of the book of Daniel, in two parallel prophecies. About a thousand years before the events occurred, he foresaw the dismemberment of Western Rome, the rise of the Papacy, and the establishment of the "ten kingdoms" which have developed into the great nations of Southern and Western Europe. Regarding the correctness of this fulfillment, nearly all conservative Protestant students of prophecy are in accord.
The Seventh Chapter of Daniel especially goes into detail on the prediction of the antichrist power that for long ages was to seek to crush God's people and do away with His Moral Law.
Daniel Seven gives a careful description of the rise of this power. Daniel calls it the "Little Horn." After seeing in vision a series of four symbolic animals arise out of the sea, an angel explained: "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it to pieces." Dan 7:23. This fourth beast is further described as having ten horns arising out of its head, and we are told what they represent: "The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." Dan 7:24. Then in the dream, Daniel as he slept, was to watch as a little horn grew in the midst of the ten horns. As it arose, it uprooted three of those horns. The angel explained this to Daniel: "Another [king] shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." Dan 7:24. And then, continuing, he gives us the most important verse in Daniel Seven--Daniel 7:25--the verse that explains the three basic things the man of sin, or little horn power, would do, and how long he would have this power: "And he shall [1] speak great words against the Most High, and [2] shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and [3] think to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:25.
Elsewhere in this chapter we are told more about this little horn power: "And behold, in this [little] horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Dan 7:8. "That [little] horn . . . had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows." Dan 7:20. "I beheld, and the same [little] horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them." Dan 7:21. This vision of Daniel Seven which is described in verses 2-14, mentions the little horn power in only one verse. But its work of trying to destroy God's Law and His people was so terrible to Daniel, that in the explanation that followed (verses 17-28), most of it is about the fourth beast and its little horn. Clearly, this little horn was to be a deadly power reigning among the kings of the earth that would assume the right to control the faith and consciences of men.
Just what is this fourth beast--with its ten horns--out of which this little horn power was to arise? Students of history recognize that the fourth world kingdom after Daniel's time was the kingdom of Rome. The Roman Empire controlled civilization in the days of Jesus Christ, and it indeed was a power to "devour the whole earth, and . . . tread it down, and break it in pieces." Dan 7:23 (compare verse 7).
But prophecy foretold that this fourth beast, pagan Rome, was to be divided. Ten horns grew out of its head, representing ten kings, or kingdoms, that would arise out of the Roman Empire. Students of history will again recognize that Rome was indeed divided--and into ten divisions: the Franks, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Heruli, Burgundians, Suevi, Anglo-Saxons, Lombards, Alamanni, and Vandals.
The prophecy said that still another horn was to arise after Rome had been divided into its ten parts. Let us now consider this Little Horn:
(1) This little horn is to be a kingdom as the other horns are kingdoms. "The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall rise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." Dan 7:24.
(2) This little horn power is to come from the same source that the other ten horns, or kingdoms, came from. "I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn." Dan 7:8. Therefore, it was to come out of Rome.
(3) We can get the approximate date when this little-horn was to arise. It would gain its regal powers after the other horns had arisen. "And another shall rise after them." Dan 7:24. This could not take place until the last of the ten divisions of Rome were formed.
(4) It was to uproot three horns, or three of Rome's divisions. Seven of these divisions have existed down to our time: Anglo-Saxons--modern England, Franks--France, Lombards--Italy, Alamanni--modern Germany, Burgundians--modern Switzerland, Suevi--modern Portugal, Visigoths--modern Spain, But the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths have no modern counterpart. They were uprooted by the little horn power at the time it was arising.
(5) "He shall be diverse from the first." Dan 7:24. Although a kingdom, it would be a radically different kind of kingdom. The others were civil--this one would be religious.
(6) This religion, exercising the power and force of a worldly kingdom, was to have a leader at its head, for it speaks through the "mouth of a man." "And behold in this [little] horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Dan 7:8. A man was to be at the head of this power, a man with human eyes and a human mouth.
(7) This mouth would speak great things. Revelation 13 is a parallel prophecy of this apostate power and its blasphemies. And elsewhere we are told: "He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." (Rev 16:6), which agrees with the statement of Daniel 7:25: "He shall speak great words against the most High." 'This man is to be guilty of blasphemy. He is to speak great words against the God of Heaven.
(8) This power will try to destroy God's people for not submitting to its teachings. "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" It was predicted that he would "wear out the saints of the most High" (Dan 7:21, 25).
(9) We are told the length of time that this power would have supremacy. "And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan 7:25). In Revelation 13, speaking of the same power, we are told, "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue [margin: make war] forty and two months" (Compare Rev 11:2). And, again, in Revelation 12:6, the length of time (of the parallel time span of 12:4) is spoken of as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days." Read each of the above passages carefully. A "day" in prophecy stands for a year (Num 14:34, Ezek 4:6). A "time" in prophecy is the same as a year (Dan 11:13, margin and R. V.). Three and a half times would be three and a half years. This is the same as 42 months. And both are equal to 1260 days or years. (A prophetic year was composed of 360 days or 12 months of 30 days each.) This is the symbolic time of Bible prophecy. And so as it was predicted, for over a thousand years the Little Horn power ruled men's lives.
The decree of the emperor Justinian, issued in A.D. 533, recognized the pope as the "head of all the holy churches." (Code of Justinian, book 1, title 1, section 4). The overwhelming defeat of the Ostrogoths in the siege of Rome, five years later (A.D. 538), was a death blow to the third of the three horns that were uprooted. With the year 538, then, begins the 1260 years of this prophecy of papal control, which would extend to the year 1798. In that year the Reign of Terror occurred in the French Revolution and the Roman Catholic religion was set aside in France, and the French army, under Berthier, entered Rome and took the pope prisoner. He died in exile at Valence, France, the following year. The long prophetic time span of papal rule was ended. The "deadly wound" of Revelation 13:3 was inflicted--a wound which prophecy says is to be healed.
Only Papal Rome answers to the description of Daniel Seven. This chapter unveils before us the Great Babylon of Revelation 12-17, and reveals the work it was to do in tearing out part of God's holy Law and in hunting to the death His people.
"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. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:25.
Consider the following:
(1) The papal power occupies a unique place in the world--for it not only is a religion but a kingdom as well. At the present time representatives and ambassadors from more than forty major nations of the world come to counsel with its head of state, the pope. Among these are representatives from the United States.
(2) The papacy came out of the Roman Empire, just as the little horn came out of the fourth beast (Dan 7:7-8, 19-20, 23-25). It still has its headquarters in the same capital city of the ancient Roman Empire--Rome by the banks of the Tiber, in what is today called Italy.
"Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus, . . . commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages."--American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911.
"Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the 'giant form' of the Roman Church."--A.C. Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church, 1909, p. 150.
"Under the Roman Empire the popes had no temporal powers. But when the Roman Empire had disintegrated and its place had been taken by a number of rude, barbarous kingdoms, the Roman Catholic church not only became independent of the states in religious affairs, but dominated secular affairs as well. At times, under such rulers as Charlemagne (768-814), Otto the Great (936-973), and Henry III (1039-1056), the civil power controlled the church to some extent; but in general, under the weak political system of feudalism, the well-organized, unified, and centralized church, with the pope at its head, was not only independent in ecclesiastical affairs but also controlled civil affairs"--Carl Conrad Eckhardt, The Papacy and World-Affairs, The University of Chicago Press, 1937, P. 1.
(3) It was given its religious power over the nations at exactly the time predicted. The last of the ten divisions was formed in A.D. 476, and three of them, the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538, were destroyed at the instigation of the papacy because they held divergent religious views. The last of these was wiped out just five years after the emperor Justinian, by decree, proclaimed the pope to be the visible head over all churches everywhere.
"The recognition of the Roman see as the highest ecclesiastical authority remained the cornerstone of his [Justinian's] policy in relation to the west."--G. Kruger, "Justinian I, Emperor of the East," in The New Shaft Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol 6, p, 286.
"Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the martyrologies. Vigilius (537--555) is the first of a series of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth sparingly conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more involved in worldly affairs, no longer belong solely to the Church;--they are men of the state, and then rulers of the state."--Charles Bemont and G. Monod, Medieval Europe from 395 to 1270, pp. 120-121 [It is widely recognized that Vigilius' reign began in 538, the year that so much power was given to the papacy by Justinian. His predecessor, pope Silverius, did not die until June, 538].
The Constitution of Justinian (chapters 1 and 2 in his Civil Law) decreed that the pope of Rome was henceforth to be legally recognized as the first pontiff of all world churches.
(4) The 1260 year rule of the papacy continued exactly in accordance with the time prophecy. From A.D. 538, when the sword of Belisarius elevated Pope Vigilius as universal pontiff, to the time when the sword of Berthier thrust Pope Pius VI from office, in 1798, was exactly 1260 years.
"When in 1797, Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave orders that in the event of his death no successor should be elected to his office, and the Papacy should be discontinued. But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken: Berthier entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed [Rome to be] a republic. The aged Pontiff refused to violate his oath by recognizing it, and was hurried from prison to prison in France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the seventeenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence, aged 82 years. No wonder half of Europe thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope, the Papacy was dead."--Joseph Rickaby, The Modern Papacy, p. 1.
(5) The papacy is a religious power, and the man at its head that is both the center and the key to the whole organization--is the pope. Without him there would be no papacy. It is the religion of a "man."
(6) "And upon his heads the name of blasphemy" (Rev 13:1). He will speak "great things" (Dan 7:8), "very great things" (Dan 7:20), "great words against the most High" (Dan 7:25), and "great things and words of blasphemies" (Rev 13:5). "And He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name" (Rev 13:6). "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess 2:4).
"All the names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope."--Robert Bellarmine, On the Authority of the Councils, chap. 17, 1628 ed, vol. 1, p. 266.
"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty"--Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter of June 20, 1894,
"For not man, but God separates those whom the Roman Pontiff (who exercises the functions, not of mere man, but of the true God), having weighed the necessity or benefit of the churches, dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority."--The Decretals of Gregory IX, book 1, title 7, chap. 3, in Corpus Juris Canonici, 1555 ed., vol 2, col. 203.
"The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land . . . He is the vicegerent of Christ, and is not only a priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords"--La Civilta Cattolica, March 18, 1871.
"Christ entrusted His office to the chief pontiff; . . . but all power in heaven and in earth has been given to Christ; . . . therefore the chief pontiff, who is His vicar, will have this power."--Corpus Juris Canonici, 1555 ed. , vol. 3, Extravagantes Communes, book 1, chap. 1, col. 29.
"Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions [infernorum--fiery place].--Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, "Papa" (the Pope), art. 2, 1772-1777 edition, vol, 6, p.29.
"All the faithful must believe that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff [the Pope] possesses the primacy over the whole world, and the Roman Pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and is true vicar of Christ, and heed of the whole church, and father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in blessed Peter to rule, feed, and govern the universal Church by Jesus Christ our Lord."--First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ, "Eternal Pastor," published in the fourth session of the Vatican Council, 1870, chap. 3, in Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom. vol. 2, p. 262.
(7) He "shall wear out the saints of the most High" (Dan 7:25). He shall trod down the host, or the people of God (Dan 8:13--a parallel prophecy to Daniel 7): "And . . . the dragon [Satan, through the apostate church] . . . persecuted the woman [the true church] which brought forth the man-child [Christ]. 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 [1260 years], 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" (Rev 12:13-15). "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 13:7).
"That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history . . . It is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings."--W. E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, vol. 2, p. 32, 1910 edition.
(An excellent though lengthy article describing in detail the right of the Roman Catholic Church to do this, will be found in The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 12, p. 266.)
"For professing faith contrary to the teachings of the Church of Rome, history records the martyrdom of more then one hundred million people. A million Waldenses and Albigenses [Swiss and French Protestants] perished during a crusade proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1208. Beginning from the establishment of the Jesuits in 1540 to 1580, nine hundred thousand were destroyed. One hundred and fifty thousand perished by the Inquisition in thirty years. Within the space of thirty-eight years after the edict of Charles V against the Protestants, fifty thousand persons were hanged, beheaded, or burned alive for heresy. Eighteen thousand more perished during the administration of the Duke of Alva in five and a half years."--Brief Bible Readings, p. 16.
[On August 24, 1572, Roman Catholics in France, by pre-arranged plan, under Jesuit influence, murdered 70,000 Protestants within the space of two months. The pope rejoiced when he heard the news of the successful outcome. (Read Great Controversy, chapter 15 for the details.) [If you don't have a copy, write and we'll send you one.] "Catholics say only 30,000 were slain. Protestants put the number at 70,000. We prefer the latter figure. If there were 70,000 Huguenots [French Protestants] in Paris the night of the massacre, so much the more justification for the slaughter . . . We have heard ring out many times the very bells that called the Catholics together on that fatal night. They always sounded sweetly in our ears"--Western Watchman, Nov. 21, 1912 [Roman Catholic].
"The Catholic has some reason on his side when he calls for the temporal punishment of heretics, for he claims the true title of Christian for himself exclusively, and professes to be taught by the never-failing presence of the Spirit of God . . . It is not more 'morally' wrong to put a man to death for heresy than for murder, . . . [and] in many cases persecution for religious opinions is not only permissible, but highly advisable and necessary."--"The Lawfulness of Persecution," in The Rambler, 4, June, 1849, pp. 119, 126 [Roman Catholic].
"You ask if he (the Roman Catholic) were lord in the land, and you were in a minority, if not in numbers yet in power, what would he do to you? That, we say, would entirely depend upon circumstances. If it would benefit the cause of Catholicism, he would tolerate you: If expedient, he would imprison you, banish you, fine you; possibly, he might even hang you. But be assured of one thing: He would never tolerate you for the sake of 'the glorious principles of civil and religious liberty' . . . Catholicism is the most intolerant of creeds. It is intolerance itself, for it is truth itself."--"Civil and Religious Liberty," in The Rambler, 8, Sept, 1851, pp. 174, 178. ["The Rambler" was an English Roman Catholic journal published from 1848 to 1862].
(8) The Bible predicted that Rome would try to change the law of God, and in its place substitute laws of its own making. "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" (Dan 7:25). "And it cast down the truth to the ground, and it practiced and prospered" (Dan. 8:12). "And the dragon was wroth with the woman [the true church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ"(Rev 12:17).
Seals and Marks have been used for thousands of years to mark and separate people--and God predicts in the book of Revelation that in the time just ahead a massive marking and sealing of men's minds will be carried out. There are few subjects in Scripture more solemn than this one.
The prophecy of the crisis begins in Revelation 12. "There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."Rev. 12:1.
A corrupt woman symbolizes in Scripture a corrupt church (Ezek 23:2-4, Rev 17:3-6,15-16). A pure woman symbolizes the true church (2 Cor 11:2, Jer 6:2, Hos 2:19, Isa 62:5). This woman of Rev 12:1 clearly represents the true church. Around her is the sun--the glory of the New Testament church, the moon--the types and shadows of the Old Testament, and the twelve stars--the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles.
"She brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron." Rev 12:5.
The man child born to the woman was Christ. He it is who is destined to one day rule the world in the radiant strength of His divinity. Rev 12:5 is quoted from the prophecy of Psalm 2:7-9. Jesus, after His victory over sin and death, was caught up or ascended to the throne of God (Rev 12:5, Eph 1:20-21, Heb 8:1).
"There appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." Rev 12:3-4.
A dragon is a large snake. This dragon is primarily a symbol of Satan (Rev 12:9). Secondarily, it is a symbol of the power he worked through to destroy Christ--pagan Rome--the Roman Empire. This was the legally constituted power through which Satan tried to devour the man child. In Dan 8:25 we read of pagan Rome: "He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes." The nations of earth are mentioned in Scripture when they have something to do with the people or work of God. The "third part of the stars" are the angels that were "cast to the earth" when Lucifer was thrust out of heaven (Rev 12:7). The dragon had ten horns, as did the fourth beast of Daniel Seven. This represents the ten divisions of pagan Rome. It was Rome that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to enroll for taxation, and there Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-5,11), Rome, through Herod tried to destroy Jesus while He was an infant (Matt 2:3-8). And Rome, under Pilate, put Christ to death, sealed His tomb with a Roman seal, and guarded it with a Roman guard.
"The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" Rev 12:6. "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." Rev 12:14-16.
Jesus and Satan had met in conflict before--in heaven when Lucifer was first cast out, And now, in Revelation 12, we are shown a view of this massive warfare that first cast Satan out of heaven.
"There was war in heaven. Michael and His angels fought against the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not. Neither was their place found any more in heaven. 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. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven. Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Rev 12:7-10.
Satan is here called the "great dragon" and "that old serpent." Michael is another name for Christ. At His second advent His voice will awake the dead (Jude 9, 1 Thess 4:16, John 5:28). Christ is the Archangel--or leader of the angels. "Archangel," in the Greek, means the "creator of the angels." The work that Satan tried to do in heaven--to destroy God and His people,--this work he has carried on in our world.
Earlier in this study, we clearly saw that a day stands for a year in Bible prophecy (Num 14:34, Ezek 4:6). As we have seen, "a time, times, and half a time" is the same as 1260 days, or years (Rev 12:14 and 6). During the Dark Ages, Satan for 1260 years tried to destroy the people of God. The woman of Revelation 12 is the "saints" of Daniel 7:25--the true church. Both periods of time are the same--the 1260 years (A.D. 538 to 1798) of papal Rome's supremacy, during which papal Rome persecuted the saints. It was Satan that led out in this evil work.
"From the birth of popery to the present time, it is estimated by careful and credible historians, that more than fifty millions of the human family, have been slaughtered for the crime of heresy by popish persecutors,--an average of more than 40,000 religious murders for every year of the existence of popery to the present day. Of course the average number of victims yearly, was vastly greater, during those gloomy ages when popery was in her glory and reigned despot of the world; and it has been much less since the power of the popes has diminished to tyrannize over the nations, and to compel the princes of the earth, by the terrors of excommunication, interdiction, and deposition, to butcher their heretical subjects."--John Dowling, The History of Romanism, pp. 541-542.
" 'The church,' says [Martin] Luther, 'has never burned a heretic.' . . I reply that this argument proves not the opinion, but the ignorance or impudence of Luther. Since almost infinite numbers were either burned or otherwise killed, Luther either did not know it, and was therefore ignorant, or if he was not ignorant, he is convicted of impudence and falsehood,--for that heretics were often burned by the [Catholic Church may be proved from many examples."--Robert Bellarmine, Disputationes de Controversiis, Tom. II, Lib. III, cap. XXII, 1628 edition [Bellarmine is one of the most respected Jesuit teachers in the history of the Gregorian University in Rome, the largest Jesuit training school in the world].
"There are many unquestionable cases of Protestants punished as heretics in nearly all the lands where Roman Catholics have had power, right down to the French Revolution [right down to 1798]."--G. G. Coulton, The Death-Penalty for Heresy, Medieval Studies, No. 18, 1924 edition, pp. 62 [The author was a well-known member of the French Academy and an enthusiastic champion of Catholicism].
[Here are nine of the 27 "Dictates [Commands] of Hildebrand," who under the name of Gregory VII, was Pope from 1073-1087]:
And at the same time, he tried through the Roman apostasy to take away the truths of Scripture from men's minds--and in their place introduce during these centuries a multitude of errors, invented or received from heathenism. Consider the following:
Such errors took the place of God-given truths such as baptism of believers by immersion, salvation by faith in Christ alone, the Seventh-day Sabbath, Bible study directly by the people, and other truths.
These errors of the Dark Ages came directly from paganism. The Church of the Apostasy searched for them throughout the East and the West,--and adopted them as they were discovered:
"Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions. Officers for whom the primitive disciples could have found no place, and titles which to them would have been altogether unintelligible, began to challenge attention, and to be named 'apostolic' "--William D. Killen, The Ancient Church, p. xvi.
"Remember,' said [Pope] Gregory the Great, when issuing his instructions to a missionary to the Saxon heathens, 'that you must not interfere with any traditional belief or religious observance that can be harmonized with Christianity.' "--Gordon J. Laing, Survivals of Roman Religion, 1931, pp, 129-130.
"Nor did Christianity stop there. It took from its opponents their own weapons, and used them; the elements of paganism were transferred to the new religion"--Grant Showerman, Introduction, in Franz Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, p. xi.
"The belief in miracle-working objects, talismans, amulets, and formulas was dear to Christianity, and they were received from pagan antiquity . . . The vestments of the clergy and the papal title of 'pontifex maximus' were legacies from pagan Rome. The [Catholic] Church found that rural converts still revered certain springs, wells, trees, and stones; she thought it wiser to bless these to Christian use then to break too sharply the customs of sentiment . . . Pagan festivals dear to the people, reappeared as Christian feasts, and pagan rites were transformed into Christian liturgy . . . The Christian calendar of saints replaced the Roman 'fasti' [gods]; ancient divinities dear to the people were allowed to revive under the names of 'Christian saints' . . . Gradually the tenderest features of Astarte, Cybele, Artemis, Diana, and Isis were gathered together in the worship of Mary"--Wil Durant, The Age of Faith, 1950, pp. 745-746.
Langdon tells us that Mary worship came from ancient Babylon where the virgin mother-goddess was worshiped under the name "Ishtar." Elsewhere in the Near East, the mother-goddess was called "Astarte, Ashtoreth, Persephone, Artemis, [Diana] of Ephesus, Venus, and Isis." This goddess, considered to be greater than any god, was called by these heathen the "virgin mother, merciful mother, Queen of Heaven, and my lady" [which is what "Madonna" means in Italian]. Langdon says she was often sculptured in mother-and-infant images, or as a "mater dolorom" [sorrowful mother] interceding for men with a wrathful god. And thus ancient paganism was brought into the churches and lives of Christians.--see S.H. Langdon, Semitic Mythology, 1931 edition, pp. 12-34, 108-111, 341-344. Laing mentions several other corruptions by which the mother-goddess was worshiped by heathens, that Rome adopted into Christianity: holy water, votive offerings, elevation of sacred objects [lifting of the host], the priest's bells, the decking of images, processions, festivals, prayers for the dead, the worship of relics and the statues of saints.--see Gordon J. Laing, Survivals of Roman Religion, 1931 edition, pp. 92-95, 123-131,238-241.
"Worldly-minded bishops, instead of caring for the salvation of their flocks, were often but too much inclined to travel about, and entangle themselves in worldly concerns. In the time of Constantine, . . . the bishops voluntarily made themselves dependent on him in their disputes, and by their determination to misuse of the power of the state for the furtherance of their aims . . . [a list of Sunday laws enacted in the fourth and fifth centuries is given.] In this way the church received help from the state for the furtherance of her ends . . . But had it not been for that confusion of spiritual and secular interests, had it not been for the vast number of mere outward conversions thus brought about, she would have needed no such help."--August Neander, General History of the Christian Religion and Church, vol, 2, pp. 16, 132, 300-301.
Millions of martyrs suffered and died during those long centuries of papal power. But "the earth helped the woman." The people of God that were not immediately slain fled into the wilderness regions of Europe and into retired places--as far from Rome as they could flee. Men and women of God were willing to go to the ends of the earth if thereby they might worship their Creator according to the Bible and train their children in Bible religion. We need more such men and women today.
"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." Rev 12:17.
Satan's effort to destroy the people of God and to remove Bible principles from their lives continues even to the present time. First, he persecuted Christ through pagan Rome. Next he persecuted the church in the first centuries through pagan Rome. Then he brought the work into the church and persecuted the faithful followers of God through papal Rome for 1260 years. Finally, according to Bible prophecy, he will seek to destroy those at the end of time who by faith are obeying God. Revelation 12:17 tells us that he ultimately makes war "with the remnant of her seed." The "remnant" church is the "last" church in these last days. Revelation 14:12 is a parallel verse. Two verses before the second coming of Christ we are told, "Here is the patience of the saints: Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." God is calling out from the world a people that will by faith in the overwhelming power of Christ obey all of His commandments. The time has come to throw off the last vestiges of papal corruption and return to a pure Bible religion. For that is the only religion that God ever intended that we have.
[Two dominant elements brought into Christianity from paganism by Rome were Sun worship symbols and the religious practices of ancient Babylon] "The solar theology of the Chaldaeans [Babylonians], had decisive effect . . . [upon the] final form reached by the religion of the pagan Semites, and following them, by that of the Romans when [the Roman emperor] Aurelian, the conqueror of Palmyra, had raised 'Sol Invictus' [the invincible sun-god] to the rank of supreme divinity in the Empire"--The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 11, pp. 643, 646-647. From Palmyra he transferred to the new sanctuary the images of Helios [the sun-god] and Bel, the malaise patron god of Babylon--see Cumont, The Oriental Religions In Roman Paganism, 1911 edition, pp. 114-115, 124.
"They have assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, which belongs only to God, They profess to open and shut heaven, which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God. And they go beyond God in pretending to loose whole nations from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when such kings do not please them. And they go against God, when they give indulgences for sin. This is the worst of all blasphemies."--Adam Clarke, Commentary, on Daniel 7:25.
"The [Catholic] 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 a foremost god with heathendom . . . The sun has worshipers at this hour in Persia and other lands . . . Hence the Church would seem to say, 'Keep that old pagan name [Sunday]. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.' And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus"--William L. Gildea, "Paschale Gaudium," in The Catholic World, 58, March, 1894, p. 809 [A Roman Catholic weekly].
Over the centuries since Martin Luther began the Great Reformation in the sixteenth century, many truths have been gradually rediscovered. Luther found only a few of them. Many have been recovered since his day. And in our time the work has not yet ended.
The special truth for our day is a call to return to the Bible Sabbath--the Seventh-day Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue (Ex 20:8-11). Just as the papal apostasy that would seek to destroy this truth was prophesied in Scripture (Dan 7:25), so also is the work of God's people in the last days to restore it:
"Some non-Catholics object to Purgatory because there is no specific mention of it in Scripture. There is no specific mention of the word Sunday in Scripture [either]. The Sabbath is mentioned, but Sabbath means [a keeping of] Saturday. Yet the Christians of almost all denominations worship on Sunday not on Saturday. The Jews observe Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday."--Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics are Asked About, 1927, p.236 [Roman Catholic].
"Ques.--How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy-days? Ans.--By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of [by observing it], and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church."--Priest Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine, p. 58 [Roman Catholic].
"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 observance of Sunday . . . There is not a single line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."--Dr. R. Dale, The Ten Commandments, p. 106-107 [British Congregationalist].
"The Roman [Catholic] Church reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday"--Nicholas Summerbell, History of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, 1873, p. 415 [Christian Church (Christian Connection)].
"There is no word, no hint in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday. The observance of Ash Wednesday, or Lent, stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday. Into the rest of Sunday no divine law entered"--Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments [Presbyterian].
"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 [commanded] it."--Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, vol 1, pp. 334, 336 [Anglican].
"God says without distinction, 'Remember that you observe the seventh day' . . . Concerning Sunday it is known that men have instituted it . . . It is clear however, that you should celebrate the seventh day."--Andres Karlstadt, Concerning the Sabbath and Commanded Holidays, 1524, chap. 4, pp. 23-24 [Karlstadt was a co-worker with Martin Luther at Wittenberg].
"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My Holy Day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isaiah 58:12-14.
God is calling upon His people to restore the ancient foundation and rebuild the old waste places in His Moral Law. The Bible Sabbath must yet be restored in the lives of the followers of Christ in these last days. And those who would stand in loyalty to God and His Word will take hold of this work. And they are told that they will meet misunderstanding and opposition for doing it,--but that it must be done anyway. "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." Rev 12:17. A remnant is the tail-end of a bolt of cloth. Down at the end of time Satan will seek to destroy those who would stand faithful to the standards God gave His people to guide their lives--the Ten Commandments. Where will you and I stand in this matter?
"The moral law, contained in Ten Commandments, and enforced by the Prophets, he [God] did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this . . . Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other."--John Wesley, "Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount," Discourse, 5, in Works, vol. 5, 1829 edition, pp. 311-312.
This rule [of Ten Commandments] is unchangeable because it is in harmony with the unchangeable nature of God . . . This rule of God among men is an expression of His holiness. It must be eternally what it has ever been."--O. C. S. Wallace, What Baptists Believe, p. 81, 1934.
"Unlike the ceremonial [sacrificial] and civil codes which were given to Israel as the chosen people and holy nation, the Moral Law [the Ten Commandments] is intended for all mankind, and it has never been abrogated nor repealed.'--William C. Procter, Moody Bible Institute Monthly, Dec. 1933, p. 160.
"God threatens to punish all who transgress these [Ten] Commandments . . . But He promises grace and every blessing to all who would keep them. We should, therefore, love and trust in Him, and gladly obey His Commandments."--Martin Luther, Small Catechism, in Philip Schaft The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3, p. 77.
"Christ's teaching goes beyond the Ten Commandments, but does not thereby make the Commandments of non-effect. Quite the contrary! Christianity strengthens the authority of the Commandments."--The Episcopal Church Sunday School Magazine, June-July, 1942, vol. 105, no 6, pp. 183-184.
The major creeds of Christendom accept the unchangeable nature of the Ten Commandments and our duty to keep them:
But the explanation of all this is not yet ended. Revelation Twelve leads directly into Revelation Thirteen--and here we are told more. The God of Heaven is giving special counsel to our time in these chapters--warning us of a crisis--the final crisis before Christ returns.
"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. And the beast 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." Revelation 13:1.
The leopard beast of Revelation Thirteen is the same as the little horn power of Daniel Seven--papal Rome. The little horn came up among the ten kingdoms of Europe. The leopard beast came up "out of the sea"--which means that it arose among many peoples (waters in Bible prophecy symbolize people--Rev 17:15). Both the great red dragon of chapter 12 and the leopard beast of chapter 13 have seven heads and ten horns, --identifying them both as Roman. The one is Satan working through pagan Rome, and the other is his activity through its successor--papal Rome. The terrible beast of Daniel Seven (pagan Rome) had ten horns,--and then the little horn arose. And in the book of Revelation, the leopard beast, or papal Rome, follows the dragon beast, or pagan Rome.
"The beasts of Daniel and John are empires. The ten-horned beast is the Roman power . . . The head is the governing power in the body. The heads of this beast represent successive governments."--H. Grattan Guinness, Romanism end the Reformation, pp. 144-145.
The leopard beast had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion, thus combining the symbols of Daniel Seven in which a lion stood for Babylon, a bear for Medo-Persia, and the leopard for Grecia. And the leopard beast had seven heads and ten horns as Rome did. Thus as history confirms, the beliefs and practices of papal Rome are a hybrid or composite of the heathen religions of these ancient nations--Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Many books have been written in the last one hundred years proving this. Roman Catholic writers admit it--the teachings and church organization of Catholicism is derived from ancient paganism. The papacy is the direct heir of the mystery religions of the east--and especially of ancient Babylon. And so Bible prophecy described it as "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots" (Rev 17:5).
"The mighty Catholic Church was little more then the Roman Empire baptized."-- A. C, Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church, 1909 edition, p. 148. From ancient Babylon came the cult of the virgin mother-goddess, who was worshiped as the highest of gods--see S. H. Langdon, Semitic Mythology, 1931 edition. This worship was taken over as Mary-worship by Rome. Heathen sun-worship on Sunday was likewise adopted by the Roman apostasy.
Cardinal Newman lists many examples of things of "pagan origin" which the papacy brought into the church "in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen:" "The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees; incense, lamps, and candles; holy water; asylums [hermitages, monasteries and convents]; [pagan] holy-days, processions, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning to the East, images, . . . and the Kyrie Eleison."--J. H. Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, 1920 edition, p.373 [Roman Catholic].
Just after emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire decreed Sunday-keeping in the fourth century, he moved east and built Constantinople as his new capitol. The western half of the empire was left more to the control of the pope.
Then in 538, the emperor Justinian gave the pope still more civil and religious authority over the nations,--and the 1260 years of papal supremacy began. The dragon (pagan Rome) gave the leopard beast (papal Rome) its religious power, seat of government (the city of Rome, the largest and most important city in the world in the early centuries), and its civil or governmental authority. The word see used in the "Holy See" means "seat." And there the pope sits today, in the city of Rome, the seat of the ancient pagan empire. Pagan Rome gave papal Rome its seat or see.
"The removal of the capital of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330, left the Western Church, practically free from imperial power, to develop its own form of organization. The Bishop of Rome, in the seat of the Caesars, was now the greatest man in the West, and was soon [when the barbarians over-ran the empire] forced to become the political as well as the spiritual head."--A.C. Flick, The Rise of the Mediaval Church p. 168.
"Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Aryans left . . . [came] under the protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was the chief person there after the Emperor's disappearance . . . The Roman Church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation; the empire has not perished, but has only undergone a transformation . . . It [the Catholic Church] is a political creation, and as imposing as a World-Empire, because [it is a continuation of] the Roman Empire. The Pope, who calls himself 'King' and 'Pontifex Maximus' [the title of the Roman Emperor in the time of Christ], is Caesar's successor."--Adolf Harnack, What is Christianity? 1963, pp. 269-270.
[Speaking of the time, about 500 A.D., when the Roman Empire was crumbling to pieces:] "No, the [Catholic] Church will not descend into the tomb. It will survive the Empire . . . At length a second empire will arise, and of this empire the Pope will be the master--more then this, he will be the master of Europe. He will dictate his orders to kings who will obey them"--Andrea Lagarde, The Latin Church in the Middle Ages, 1915, p. vi.
"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." Revelation 13:3,
The wound took place the very year the 1260 years ended--1798. Berthier, the French general under Napoleon entered Rome and took the pope (Pius VI) captive. He was hurried from prison to prison and died eighteen months later in the French fortress of Valence. In 1870 another blow came to the papacy when Italy seized the city of Rome as its capitol. The pope became a voluntary "prisoner of the Vatican." But the deadly wound was to be healed. In 1929 Cardinal Gasparri met Premier Mussolini in the palace of St. John Lateran and the Treaty of the Vatican was signed, returning temporal power to the papacy, as it was again made into a kingdom with its own territory.
Even the world recognized the historic significance of this act. Its result was to "heal a wound of 59 years:" according to The Catholic Advocate of Australia, April 18, 1929, p. 16.
The front page of the San Francisco Chronicle of February 12, 1929 carried pictures of Gasparri and Mussolini, signers of the concordat, with the headline, "Heal Wound of Many Years." The Associated Press dispatch said of the event, "In affixing the autographs to the memorable document, healing the wound which has festered since 1870, extreme cordiality was displayed on both sides." Again, just before its final destruction, the papacy could say, "I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." Rev 18:7 (Isa 47:7-15, Rev 17:18).
In 1929 the Italian government recognized the Vatican City as an independent state. The pope was again a king. On March 9, 1929, the pope said, "The peoples of the entire world are with us." Gradually the papacy is regaining power. "Yet since then [since 1798] the Papacy has been lifted to a pinnacle of spiritual power unreached, it may be, since earliest Christian history."--The Modern Papacy, page 1 [Roman Catholic].
This is the little horn power of Daniel Seven, that was to rule for "forty and two months" (Rev 13:5), which equals 1260 days or prophetic years. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Rev 13:6). "There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" (Rev 13:5, compare Dan 7:8, 20, 25), By claiming to be vicar of Christ on earth, he "sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess 2:4). The terrible power represented by the little horn of Daniel, is described repeatedly in Revelation 12 through 18.
And he was to "make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations" (Rev 13:7). Here is another view of the persecution of the true church in the wilderness through long ages of papal darkness (Rev 12:13-16), by that power that prophecy said would "wear out the saints of the most High" (Dan 7:25).
"During the 2,000 years the [Roman Catholic] Church has been on this earth, she has warred with nearly every government in this world. The world is full of their ruins. Their thrones have toppled over and fallen, their dynasties have come to dust. And the governments of the world today will meet the same fate if they challenge the hostility of the church of God. She remains; she is today what she was 2,000 years ago; . . she is today what she was during the Middle Ages; she is today what she was during the times of Protestant persecution during and since the sixteenth century; she is the invincible church of God. God help the state that attacks her; God help the king that provokes her hostility."--from a sermon by the Catholic priest D.S. Phelan on Sunday, Dec. 12, 1909, published in the Roman Catholic (St. Louis) periodical, The Western Watchman, Dec. 16, 1909.
"Under these bloody maxims [Roman Catholic decrees to kill Protestants] those persecutions were carried on . . After the signal of open martyrdom had been given in the canons of Orleans, there followed the extirpation of the [French] Albigenses, under the form of a crusade, the establishment of the inquisition, the cruel attempts to extinguish the [Swiss] Waldenses, the martyrdoms of the [English] Lollards, the cruel wars to exterminate the Bohemians, the burning of Huss and Jerome, and multitudes of other confessors, before the Reformation; and afterwards the ferocious cruelties practiced in the Netherlands, the martyrdoms of Queen Mary's reign, the extinction by fire and sword of the reformation in Spain and Italy, by freed and open persecution In Poland, the massacre of Bartholomew, the perjuries of the [French] Huguenots by the [Catholic] League, . . . and all the cruelties and perjuries connected with the revocation of the edict of Nantes [in France]. These are the more open and conspicuous facts which explain the prophecy [of Daniel Seven], besides the slow and secret murders of the holy tribunal of the Inquisition."--T. R. Birks, The Four Prophetic Empires, 1845 ed., pp. 248-249.
This Apostasy of the Dark Ages is to have a marvelous revival of power in the near future. "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. If any man hear, let him hear." Rev 13:8-9. But of this, we shall learn more later in this study.
"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." Revelation 13:11.
The previous beast came up out of the "sea," indicating it would arise in an area of many "peoples and nations and tongues," for this is what water symbolizes (Rev 17:15). But this second beast was to come up out of the "earth," in an area comparatively low in population. In 1798, when the papal power received its deadly wound, the United States, located in the western continent, was the only great world power then coming into prominence in such a relatively uninhabited territory. Only nine years previously (in 1789), the United States had adopted its national constitution. It is within the territory of the United States that we are to look for a fulfillment of this prophecy.
John Wesley in his note on Revelation 13:11, written in 1754, says of the two-horned or second beast of Revelation 13: "He is not yet come, though he cannot be far off. For he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months of the first beast."--John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1791 edition, vol. 3, p. 299.
"A prominent writer, describing the rise of the United States, speaks of 'the mystery of her coming forth from vacancy,' and says, 'like a silent seed we grew into empire." (G.A. Townsend, The New World Compared with the Old, 1869, p. 462.) A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as a wonderful empire, which was 'emerging' and 'amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its power and pride.' (The Dublin Nation.)"--Great Controversy, p. 440.
"He had two horns like a lamb" Rev 13:11 The nations of the past were pictured in the Bible as beasts of prey, filled with intolerance, persecution and oppression. In contrast, the United States was founded upon the principles of civil and religious liberty, equality and tolerance. These principles were written into the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. For many years those who sought relief from persecution and strife, sought its shores.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of Speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."--The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, in United States Code, 1958 edition, p. 46.
"The 'establishment of religion' clause of the First Amendment means at least this:
Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or profaning religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect 'a wall of separation between Church and State.' "--U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (Feb. 10, 1947), in U.S. Reports, pp. 15-16.
"And he spake as a dragon." Rev 13:11. The voice of the dragon is the voice of intolerance and persecution. We would rather that such might never happen in this free land. But farseeing statesmen have long recognized that the tendency to enforce religious dogmas by civil law is all too common with mankind, and is liable to break out in active persecution in unexpected places unless specifically guarded against.
"And 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. And he doeth great wonders . . . 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. 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." Revelation 13:12-15.
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to a Jewish rabbi: "Your sect by its sufferings has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal spirit of religious intolerance, inherent in every sect . . . Our laws have applied the antidote to the vice . . . But more remains to be done; for although we are free by the law, we are not so in practice. Public opinion erects itself into an Inquisition, and exercises its office with as much fanaticism as fans the flames of an auto da fe [a burning of heretics]." --Letter to Mordecai M. Noah, May 28, 1818, Thomas Jefferson Papers, vol. 213, p. 37988, in Library of Congress.
The "first beast before him"--Papal Rome--was foremost in persecuting all who differed with it in religious matters. This second beast will be empowered by Satan to work apparent miracles to win the multitudes to follow its dictates. And it will cause an image of the first beast to be made. The first beast--the Papacy--was a combining of church and state, that then used its civil powers to crush all opposition to its religious decrees.
An image, or duplicate, of this beast is to be made--for the purpose of opposing the principles and laws of God, an image that will seek to destroy all who stand in His way. Those who refuse to accept the dictates of this image-beast will be ordered slain. We are here viewing the basics of an immense crisis that is to occur in our time.
"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. 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. "--Revelation 13:16-17.
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