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Chapter 92 The "Sign" of Loyalty Against what does
the third angel warn men? How many will
worship the beast? What will those
be doing who are not worshipers of the beast? Where are the
faithful ones finally found? What do they have
on their foreheads? How many were
sealed? With what were
they sealed? Where were they
sealed? What does the
Bible present as the object of a sign, or seal? With what is
God's seal connected? Does the first
commandment show who is its author? Does the third
commandment show who is the author of the law? Which commandment
does point out unmistakably the Author of the law, and show His right to
command? For what purpose
is the Sabbath a sign? How is this
remnant church distinguished, while waiting for the Lord to appear on the white
cloud? What will be the
feeling toward them? After enduring
the struggle, how will they appear before God? What will be the
nature of the song they sing? Over what had
these gotten the victory? THE LAW OF GOD I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X Exodus 20:3-17. THE
LAW OF GOD I [The Second Commandment has been left out] II [actually
III] III [actually
IV] IV [actually
V] V [actually
VI] VI [actually
VII] VII
[actually VIII] VIII [actually
IX] IX [actually
X - First Part] X
[actually X - Second Part] The General Catholic Catechism. THE
LAW OF GOD I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X CATHOLICISM SPEAKS "Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles... From beginning to end of scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August, 1900. "Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the [Roman Catholic] Church, has no good reasons for its Sunday theory, and ought logically to keep Saturday as the Sabbath." John Gilmary Shea, in the American Catholic Quarterly Review," January 1883. "It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church." Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, N.J. "News" of March 18, 1903. "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." "The Catholic Mirror," December 23, 1893. "God simply gave His [Catholic] Church the power to set aside whatever day or days, she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days, as holy days." Vincent J. Kelly, "Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations," p. 2. "Protestants... accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change... But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that In accepting the Bible, in observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope." "Our Sunday Visitor," February 5, 1950. "Question. -
Have you any other way of proving that the [Catholic] Church has power to
institute festivals of precept? PROTESTANTISM SPEAKS Baptist: "There was and is a command to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will however be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask, 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." Dr. E. T. Hiscox, author of the "Baptist Manual." 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 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.W. Dale, "The Ten Commandments," p. 706-707. Lutheran Free Church: "For when there could not be produced one solitary place in the Holy Scriptures which testified that either the Lord Himself or the apostles had ordered such a transfer of the Sabbath to Sunday, then it was not easy to answer the question: Who has transferred the Sabbath, and who has had the right to do it?" George Sverdrup, "New Day." Protestant Episcopal: "The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day... but as we meet with no Scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church." "Explanation of Catechism." Baptist: "The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath... There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor of course, any Scriptural obligation." "The Watchman." Presbyterian: "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 enters." Canon Eyton, in "The Ten Commandments." Anglican: "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." Isaac Williams, "Plain Sermons on the Catechism," pp. 334, 336. Methodist: "It is true that 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 base it only on a supposition." Amos Binney, "Theological Compendium," pp. 180-181. Episcopalian: "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." Bishop Seymour, "Why We Keep Sunday. " Southern Baptist: "The sacred name of the Seventh day is Sabbath. This fact is too clear to require argument [Exodus 20:10 quoted]... On this point the plain teaching of the Word has been admitted in all ages... Not once did the disciples apply the Sabbath law to the first day of the week, that folly was left for a later age, nor did they pretend that the first day supplanted the seventh." Joseph Judson Taylor, 'The Sabbatic Question," pp. 14-17, 41. American Congregationalist: "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 Abbot, in the "Christian Union," June 26, 1890. Christian Church: "Now there is no testimony in all the oracles of heaven that the Sabbath is changed, or that the Lord's Day came in the room of it." Alexander Campbell, in "The Reporter," October 8, 1921. Disciples of Christ: "There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day 'the Lord's Day." Dr. D. H. Lucas, in the "Christian Oracle," January 23, 1890. Baptist:
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' discussion
with His disciples, often conversing with upon the Sabbath question, discussing
it in some of its various aspects, freeing it from its false [Jewish
traditional] glosses, never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that
during the forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.
Nor, so far as we know, did the Spirit, which was given to bring to their
remembrance all things whatsoever that He had said unto them, deal with this
question. Nor yet did the inspired apostles, in preaching the gospel, founding
churches, counseling and instructing those founded, discuss or approach the
subject." Sunday
sacredness is not commanded |