Our Day: In the Light of ProphecySpicer, William Ambrose
Religion
Our Day: In the Light of Prophecy
Spicer, William Ambrose
Bible -- Prophecies
It was to this change in the Sabbath by tradition, contrary to the plain
command of God to keep holy the seventh day, that the famous Council of
Trent appealed when it gave Rome's answer to the Reformation cry of "The
Bible and the Bible only." The council had long debated the ground of
its answer. The historian says:
"Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January,
1562, their last scruple was set aside; the archbishop of
Rheggio made a speech in which he openly declared that
tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the church
could therefore not be bound to the authority of the
Scriptures, because the church had changed Sabbath into Sunday,
not by the command of Christ, but by its own authority. With
this, to be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was
declared that tradition does not signify antiquity, but
continual inspiration."--_Dr. J.H. Holtzman, "Canon and
Tradition," p. 263._
Ever since this memorable council, the Sunday institution has been held
forth as the mark of the power of the church to command religious
observances. Thus, again, Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism" says:
"_Question._--Have you any other way of proving that the church
has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"_Answer._--Had she not such power, she could not have done
that in which all modern religionists agree with her,--she
could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first
day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh
day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
authority."--_Page 174._
The prophecy of Daniel declared that this power would "think" to change
the times and laws of the Most High; and the change of the Sabbath
commandment is set forth as the mark of the church's authority above the
written law of the Most High.
Most remarkable of all, Protestant organizations are defending the
unscriptural observance of the humanly established first-day sabbath in
contradiction to the law of God, which declares that "the seventh day is
the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." And these organizations, in denial of
the Protestant principle of religious liberty, are seeking power to
enforce Sunday observance by civil law. But this is to make a very image
to the Roman Papacy--a church using the power of the state to enforce
religious observance.
It was all foretold in the prophetic word. The prophet was shown (Rev.
13:11-17) this likeness or image to the Papacy--ecclesiastical
organizations not of the Papacy itself, but following papal principles
in this matter--seeking to compel men to receive the mark of the papal
apostasy.
Against the workings of both the Papacy and this image to the Papacy,
the last message of the "everlasting gospel" lifts its warning cry:
"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."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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