The United States in the Light of Prophecy: Or, an Exposition of Rev. 13:11-17Smith, Uriah
Religion
The United States in the Light of Prophecy: Or, an Exposition of Rev. 13:11-17
Smith, Uriah
Bible. Revelation XIII, 11-17 -- Prophecies
"_A._ The Scripture commands us to hear the church (Matt. 18:17;
Luke 10:16), and to hold fast the traditions of the apostles. 2
Thess. 2:15. But the Scriptures do not in particular mention this
change of the Sabbath."
In the "Doctrinal Catechism," we find further
testimony to the same point:--
"_Ques._ Have you any other way of proving that the church has
power to institute festivals of precept?
"_Ans._ 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."
And finally, W. Lockhart, late B.A. of Oxford, in the Toronto (Cath.)
_Mirror,_ offered the following "challenge" to all the Protestants of
Ireland; a challenge as well calculated for this latitude as that. He
says:--
"I do, therefore, solemnly challenge the Protestants of Ireland to
prove, by plain texts of Scripture, the questions concerning the
obligation of the Christian Sabbath. 1. That Christians may work on
Saturday, the old seventh day. 2. That they are bound to keep holy
the first day, namely, Sunday. 3. That they are not bound to keep
holy the seventh day also."
This is what the papal power claims to have done respecting the fourth
commandment. Catholics plainly acknowledge that there is no scriptural
authority for the change they have made, but that it rests wholly upon
the authority of the church; and they claim it has a token or mark of
the authority of that church; the "_very act of changing the Sabbath
into Sunday_" being set forth as proof of its power in this respect. For
further testimony on this point, the reader is referred to a tract
published at the _Review_ Office, Battle Creek, Mich., entitled, "Who
Changed the Sabbath?" in which are also extracts from Catholic writers,
refuting the arguments usually relied upon to prove the Sunday Sabbath,
and showing that its only authority is the Catholic church.
"But," says one, "I supposed that Christ changed the Sabbath." A great
many suppose so; and it is natural that they should; for they have been
so taught. And while we have no words of denunciation to utter against
any such for so believing, we would have them at once understand that it
is, in reality, one of the most enormous of all errors. We would
therefore remind such persons that, according to the prophecy, the only
change ever to be made in the law of God, was to be made by the little
horn of Dan. 7, and the man of sin of 2 Thess. 2; and the only change
that has been made in it, is the change of the Sabbath. Now, if Christ
made this change, he filled the office of the blasphemous power spoken
of by both Daniel and Paul--a conclusion sufficiently hideous to drive
any Christian from the view which leads thereto.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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