OF THIS LAW, SO HIGH AN AUTHORITY AS THE "ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANNICA"
PLAINLY SAYS: "IT WAS CONSTANTINE THE GREAT WHO FIRST MADE A LAW FOR THE
PROPER OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY; AND WHO, ACCORDING TO EUSEBIUS, APPOINTED THAT
IT SHOULD BE REGULARLY CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE. BEFORE HIM,
AND EVEN IN HIS TIME, THEY OBSERVED THE JEWISH SABBATH, AS WELL AS SUNDAY."
AS TO THE DEGREE OF REVERENCE WITH WHICH SUNDAY WAS REGARDED, AND THE MANNER
OF ITS OBSERVANCE, MOSHEIM SAYS THAT IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE LAW ENACTED BY
CONSTANTINE, THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK WAS "OBSERVED WITH GREATER SOLEMNITY
THAN IT HAD FORMERLY BEEN." [ECCL. HIST. CENT. 4, PART 2, CHAP. 4, SEC. 5.]
YET CONSTANTINE PERMITTED ALL KINDS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOR TO BE PERFORMED ON
SUNDAY! BISHOP TAYLOR DECLARES THAT "THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS DID ALL MANNER
OF WORKS UPON THE LORD'S DAY." [DUCT. DUBITANT., PART 1, BOOK 2, CHAP. 2,
RULE 6, SEC. 59.] THE SAME STATEMENT IS MADE BY MORER: "THE DAY [SUNDAY] WAS
NOT WHOLLY KEPT IN ABSTAINING FORM COMMON BUSINESS; NOR DID THEY
[CHRISTIANS] ANY LONGER REST FROM THEIR ORDINARY AFFAIRS (SUCH WAS THE
NECESSITY OF THOSE TIMES) THAN DURING THE DIVINE SERVICE." [DIALOGUES ON THE
LORD'S DAY, P. 233.] SAYS COX: "THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT EITHER AT THIS
[THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE], OR AT A PERIOD MUCH LATER, THE OBSERVANCE WAS
VIEWED AS DERIVING ANY OBLIGATION FROM THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT; IT SEEMS TO
HAVE BEEN REGARDED AS AN INSTITUTION CORRESPONDING IN NATURE WITH CHRISTMAS,
GOOD FRIDAY, AND OTHER FESTIVALS OF THE CHURCH." [COX'S SABBATH LAWS, P.
281.] {GC88 679.3}
NOTE 2. PAGE 54.--IN THE TWELFTH CHAPTER OF REVELATION WE HAVE AS A
SYMBOL A GREAT RED DRAGON. IN THE NINTH VERSE OF THAT CHAPTER THIS SYMBOL IS
EXPLAINED AS FOLLOWS: "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." UNDOUBTEDLY THE
DRAGON PRIMARILY REPRESENTS SATAN. BUT SATAN DOES NOT APPEAR UPON THE
680
EARTH IN PERSON; HE WORKS THROUGH AGENTS. IT WAS IN THE PERSON OF WICKED MEN
THAT HE SOUGHT TO DESTROY JESUS AS SOON AS HE WAS BORN. WHEREVER SATAN HAS
BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL A GOVERNMENT SO FULLY THAT IT WOULD CARRY OUT HIS
DESIGNS, THAT NATION BECAME, FOR THE TIME, SATAN'S REPRESENTATIVE. THIS WAS
THE CASE WITH ALL THE GREAT HEATHEN NATIONS. FOR INSTANCE, SEE EZEKIEL 28,
WHERE SATAN IS REPRESENTED AS ACTUAL KING OF TYRE. THIS WAS BECAUSE HE FULLY
CONTROLLED THAT GOVERNMENT. IN THE FIRST CENTURIES OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA,
ROME, OF ALL THE PAGAN NATIONS, WAS SATAN'S CHIEF AGENT IN OPPOSING THE
GOSPEL, AND WAS THEREFORE REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON. {GC88 679.4}
BUT THERE CAME A TIME WHEN PAGANISM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE FELL BEFORE THE
ADVANCING FORM OF CHRISTIANITY. THEN, AS IS STATED ON PAGE 54, "PAGANISM HAD
GIVEN PLACE TO THE PAPACY. THE DRAGON HAD GIVEN TO THE BEAST 'HIS POWER, AND
HIS SEAT, AND GREAT AUTHORITY.'" THAT IS, SATAN THEN BEGAN TO WORK THROUGH
THE PAPACY, JUST AS HE HAD FORMERLY WORKED THROUGH PAGANISM. BUT THE PAPACY
IS NOT REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON, BECAUSE IT IS NECESSARY TO INTRODUCE
ANOTHER SYMBOL IN ORDER TO SHOW THE CHANGE IN THE FORM OF THE OPPOSITION TO
GOD. PREVIOUS TO THE RISE OF THE PAPACY, ALL OPPOSITION TO THE LAW OF GOD
HAD BEEN IN THE FORM OF PAGANISM,--GOD HAD BEEN OPENLY DEFIED; BUT FROM THAT
TIME THE OPPOSITION WAS CARRIED ON UNDER THE GUISE OF PROFESSED ALLEGIANCE
TO HIM. THE PAPACY, HOWEVER, WAS NO LESS THE INSTRUMENT OF SATAN THAN WAS
PAGAN ROME; FOR ALL THE POWER, THE SEAT, AND THE GREAT AUTHORITY OF THE
PAPACY, WERE GIVEN IT BY THE DRAGON. AND SO, ALTHOUGH THE POPE PROFESSES TO
BE THE VICEGERENT OF CHRIST, HE IS, IN REALITY, THE VICEGERENT OF SATAN--HE
IS ANTICHRIST. {GC88 680.1}
THE BEAST WHICH IS A SYMBOL OF THE PAPACY IS INTRODUCED IN REVELATION
13; AND FOLLOWING IT, IN THE SAME LINE OF PROPHECY, "ANOTHER BEAST" IS SEEN
"COMING UP," [REV. 13:11-14.] WHICH EXERCISES "ALL THE POWER OF THE FIRST
BEAST BEFORE HIM," THAT IS, IN HIS SIGHT. THIS OTHER BEAST MUST THEREFORE BE
A PERSECUTING POWER ALSO; AND THIS IS SHOWN IN THAT "IT SPAKE AS A DRAGON."
THE PAPACY RECEIVED ALL ITS POWER FROM SATAN, AND THE TWO-HORNED BEAST
EXERCISES THE SAME POWER; IT ALSO BECOMES THE DIRECT AGENT OF SATAN. AND ITS
SATANIC CHARACTER IS FURTHER SHOWN IN THAT IT ENFORCES THE WORSHIP OF THE
IMAGE OF THE BEAST, BY MEANS OF FALSE MIRACLES. "HE DOETH GREAT WONDERS, SO
THAT HE MAKETH FIRE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN ON THE EARTH IN THE SIGHT OF MEN,
AND DECEIVETH THEM THAT DWELL ON THE EARTH BY THE MEANS OF THOSE MIRACLES
WHICH HE HAD POWER TO DO." {GC88 680.2}
THE FIRST PERSECUTING POWER IS REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON ITSELF; IN
HEATHENISM THERE WAS OPEN ALLIANCE WITH SATAN, AND OPEN DEFIANCE OF GOD. IN
THE SECOND PERSECUTING POWER, THE DRAGON IS MASKED; BUT THE SPIRIT OF SATAN
ACTUATES IT,--THE DRAGON SUPPLIES THE MOTIVE POWER. IN THE THIRD PERSECUTING
POWER, ALL TRACES OF THE DRAGON ARE ABSENT, AND A LAMB-LIKE BEAST APPEARS;
BUT WHEN IT SPEAKS, ITS DRAGON VOICE BETRAYS THE SATANIC POWER CONCEALED
UNDER A FAIR EXTERIOR, AND SHOWS IT TO BE OF THE SAME FAMILY AS THE TWO
PRECEDING POWERS. IN ALL THE OPPOSITION TO CHRIST AND HIS PURE RELIGION,
"THAT OLD SERPENT, CALLED THE DEVIL, AND SATAN,"--"THE GOD OF THIS
WORLD,"--IS THE MOVING POWER; EARTHLY PERSECUTING POWERS ARE SIMPLY
INSTRUMENTS IN HIS HANDS.
681
{GC88 680.3}
NOTE 3. PAGE 328.--THAT THE READER MAY SEE THE REASONABLENESS OF MR.
MILLER'S POSITION ON THE PROPHETIC PERIODS, WE COPY THE FOLLOWING, WHICH WAS
PUBLISHED IN THE ADVENT HERALD, BOSTON, IN MARCH, 1850, IN ANSWER TO A
CORRESPONDENT:-- {GC88 681.1}
"IT IS BY THE CANON OF PTOLEMY THAT THE GREAT PROPHETICAL PERIOD OF THE
SEVENTY WEEKS IS FIXED. THIS CANON PLACES THE SEVENTH YEAR OF ARTAXERXES IN
THE YEAR B.C. 457; AND THE ACCURACY OF THE CANON IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE
CONCURRENT AGREEMENT OF MORE THAN TWENTY ECLIPSES. THE SEVENTY WEEKS DATE
FROM THE GOING FORTH OF A DECREE RESPECTING THE RESTORATION OF JERUSALEM.
THERE WERE NO DECREES BETWEEN THE SEVENTH AND TWENTIETH YEARS OF ARTAXERXES.
FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY YEARS, BEGINNING WITH THE SEVENTH, MUST COMMENCE IN
B.C. 457, AND END IN A.D. 34. COMMENCING IN THE TWENTIETH, THEY MUST
COMMENCE IN B.C. 444, AND END IN A.D. 47. AS NO EVENT OCCURRED IN A.D. 47 TO
MARK THEIR TERMINATION, WE CANNOT RECKON FROM THE TWENTIETH; WE MUST
THEREFORE LOOK TO THE SEVENTH OF ARTAXERXES. THIS DATE WE CANNOT CHANGE FROM
B.C. 457 WITHOUT FIRST DEMONSTRATING THE INACCURACY OF PTOLEMY'S CANON. TO
DO THIS, IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO SHOW THAT THE LARGE NUMBER OF ECLIPSES BY
WHICH ITS ACCURACY HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY DEMONSTRATED, HAVE NOT BEEN CORRECTLY
COMPUTED; AND SUCH A RESULT WOULD UNSETTLE EVERY CHRONOLOGICAL DATE, AND
LEAVE THE SETTLEMENT OF EPOCHS AND THE ADJUSTMENT OF ERAS ENTIRELY AT THE
MERCY OF EVERY DREAMER, SO THAT CHRONOLOGY WOULD BE OF NO MORE VALUE THAN
MERE GUESS-WORK. AS THE SEVENTY WEEKS MUST TERMINATE IN A.D. 34, UNLESS THE
SEVENTH OF ARTAXERXES IS WRONGLY FIXED, AND AS THAT CANNOT BE CHANGED
WITHOUT SOME EVIDENCE TO THAT EFFECT, WE INQUIRE, WHAT EVIDENCE MARKED THAT
TERMINATION? THE TIME WHEN THE APOSTLES TURNED TO THE GENTILES HARMONIZES
WITH THAT DATE BETTER THAN ANY OTHER WHICH HAS BEEN NAMED. AND THE
CRUCIFIXION, IN A.D. 31, IN THE MIDST OF THE LAST WEEK, IS SUSTAINED BY A
MASS OF TESTIMONY WHICH CANNOT BE EASILY INVALIDATED." {GC88 681.2}
AS THE 70 WEEKS AND THE 2300 DAYS HAVE A COMMON STARTING-POINT, THE
CALCULATION OF MR. MILLER IS VERIFIED AT A GLANCE BY SUBTRACTING THE 457
YEARS B.C. FROM THE 2300. THUS,
2300
457
-----
1843 A.D. {GC88 681.3}
THE YEAR 1843 WAS, HOWEVER, REGARDED AS EXTENDING TO THE SPRING OF
1844. THE REASON FOR THIS, BRIEFLY STATED, IS AS FOLLOWS: ANCIENTLY THE YEAR
DID NOT COMMENCE IN MIDWINTER, AS NOW, BUT AT THE FIRST NEW MOON AFTER THE
VERNAL EQUINOX. THEREFORE, AS THE PERIOD OF 2300 DAYS WAS BEGUN IN A YEAR
RECKONED BY THE ANCIENT METHOD, IT WAS CONSIDERED NECESSARY TO CONFORM TO
THAT METHOD TO ITS CLOSE. HENCE, 1843 WAS COUNTED AS ENDING IN THE SPRING,
AND NOT IN THE WINTER. {GC88 681.4}
BUT THE 2300 DAYS CANNOT BE RECKONED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 457
B.C.; FOR THE DECREE OF ARTAXERXES--WHICH IS THE STARTING-POINT--DID NOT GO
INTO EFFECT UNTIL THE AUTUMN OF THAT YEAR. CONSEQUENTLY THE 2300 DAYS,
BEGINNING IN THE AUTUMN OF 457 B.C., MUST EXTEND TO THE AUTUMN OF 1844 A.D.
(SEE SMALL DIAGRAM ON PLATE OPPOSITE PAGE 328.)
682
{GC88 681.5}
THIS FACT NOT BEING AT FIRST PERCEIVED BY MR. MILLER AND HIS
ASSOCIATES, THEY LOOKED FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST IN 1843, OR IN THE SPRING
OF 1844; HENCE THE FIRST DISAPPOINTMENT AND THE SEEMING DELAY. IT WAS THE
DISCOVERY OF THE CORRECT TIME, IN CONNECTION WITH OTHER SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY,
THAT LED TO THE MOVEMENT KNOWN AS THE "MIDNIGHT CRY" OF 1844. AND TO THIS
DAY THE COMPUTATION OF THE PROPHETIC PERIODS PLACING THE CLOSE OF THE 2300
DAYS IN THE AUTUMN OF 1844, STANDS WITHOUT IMPEACHMENT. {GC88 682.1}
NOTE 4. PAGE 373.--THE STORY THAT THE ADVENTISTS MADE ROBES WITH WHICH
TO ASCEND "TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR," WAS INVENTED BY THOSE WHO WISHED TO
REPROACH THE CAUSE. IT WAS CIRCULATED SO INDUSTRIOUSLY THAT MANY BELIEVED
IT; BUT CAREFUL INQUIRY PROVED ITS FALSITY. FOR MANY YEARS A LARGE REWARD
HAS BEEN OFFERED FOR PROOF THAT ONE SUCH INSTANCE EVER OCCURRED; BUT THE
PROOF HAS NOT BEEN PRODUCED. NONE WHO LOVED THE APPEARING OF THE SAVIOUR
WERE SO IGNORANT OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE SCRIPTURES AS TO SUPPOSE THAT ROBES
WHICH THEY COULD MAKE WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR THAT OCCASION. THE ONLY ROBE
WHICH THE SAINTS WILL NEED TO MEET THE LORD WILL BE THAT OF THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. SEE REV. 19:8. {GC88 682.2}
NOTE 5. PAGE 374.--DR. GEO. BUSH, PROFESSOR OF HEBREW AND ORIENTAL
LITERATURE IN THE NEW YORK CITY UNIVERSITY, IN A LETTER ADDRESSED TO MR.
MILLER, AND PUBLISHED IN THE ADVENT HERALD FOR MARCH, 1844, MADE SOME VERY
IMPORTANT ADMISSIONS RELATIVE TO HIS CALCULATIONS OF THE PROPHETIC TIMES.
MR. BUSH SAYS:-- {GC88 682.3}
"NEITHER IS IT TO BE OBJECTED, AS I CONCEIVE, TO YOURSELF OR YOUR
FRIENDS, THAT YOU HAVE DEVOTED MUCH TIME AND ATTENTION TO THE STUDY OF THE
CHRONOLOGY OF PROPHECY, AND HAVE LABORED MUCH TO DETERMINE THE COMMENCING
AND CLOSING DATES OF ITS GREAT PERIODS. IF THESE PERIODS ARE ACTUALLY GIVEN
BY THE HOLY GHOST IN THE PROPHETIC BOOKS, IT WAS DOUBTLESS WITH THE DESIGN
THAT THEY SHOULD BE STUDIED, AND PROBABLY, IN THE END, FULLY UNDERSTOOD; AND
NO MAN IS TO BE CHARGED WITH PRESUMPTUOUS FOLLY WHO REVERENTLY MAKES THE
ATTEMPT TO DO THIS. . . . IN TAKING A DAY AS THE PROPHETICAL TERM FOR A
YEAR, I BELIEVE YOU ARE SUSTAINED BY THE SOUNDEST EXEGESIS, AS WELL AS
FORTIFIED BY THE HIGH NAMES OF MEDE, SIR ISAAC NEWTON, BISHOP NEWTON, KIRBY,
SCOTT, KEITH, AND A HOST OF OTHERS, WHO HAVE LONG SINCE COME TO
SUBSTANTIALLY YOUR CONCLUSIONS ON THIS HEAD. THEY ALL AGREE THAT THE LEADING
PERIODS MENTIONED BY DANIEL AND JOHN DO ACTUALLY EXPIRE ABOUT THIS AGE OF
THE WORLD, AND IT WOULD BE A STRANGE LOGIC THAT WOULD CONVICT YOU OF HERESY
FOR HOLDING IN EFFECT THE SAME VIEWS WHICH STAND FORTH SO PROMINENTLY IN THE
NOTICES OF THESE EMINENT DIVINES." "YOUR RESULTS IN THIS FIELD OF INQUIRY DO
NOT STRIKE ME AS SO FAR OUT OF THE WAY AS TO AFFECT ANY OF THE GREAT
INTERESTS OF TRUTH AND DUTY." "YOUR ERROR, AS I APPREHEND, LIES IN ANOTHER
DIRECTION THAN YOUR CHRONOLOGY." "YOU HAVE ENTIRELY MISTAKEN THE NATURE OF
THE EVENTS WHICH ARE TO OCCUR WHEN THOSE PERIODS HAVE EXPIRED. THIS IS THE
HEAD AND FRONT OF YOUR EXPOSITORY OFFENDING. . . . THE GREAT EVENT BEFORE
THE WORLD IS NOT ITS PHYSICAL CONFLAGRATION, BUT ITS MORAL REGENERATION.
ALTHOUGH THERE IS DOUBTLESS A SENSE IN WHICH CHRIST MAY BE SAID TO COME IN
CONNECTION WITH THE PASSING
683
AWAY OF THE FOURTH EMPIRE AND OF THE OTTOMAN POWER, AND HIS KINGDOM TO BE
ILLUSTRIOUSLY ESTABLISHED, YET THAT WILL BE FOUND TO BE A SPIRITUAL COMING
IN THE POWER OF HIS GOSPEL, IN THE AMPLE OUTPOURING OF HIS SPIRIT, AND THE
GLORIOUS ADMINISTRATION OF HIS PROVIDENCE." EVIDENTLY, MR. BUSH LOOKED FOR
THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD AS THE EVENT TO MARK THE TERMINATION OF THE 2300
DAYS. BOTH MR. MILLER AND MR. BUSH WERE RIGHT ON THE TIME QUESTION, AND BOTH
WERE MISTAKEN IN THE EVENT TO OCCUR AT THE CLOSE OF THE GREAT PERIODS. {GC88
682.4}
THE DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY MR. MILLER DID NOT ORIGINATE WITH HIM; EVERY
POINT ADVANCED IN HIS EXPOSITIONS OF PROPHECY, TAKEN SEPARATELY, WAS
ADMITTED BY SOME AMONG HIS OPPONENTS. HENCE THERE WERE NONE WHO CONDEMNED
ALL HIS VIEWS, AND THOSE WHO ATTEMPTED TO REFUTE HIM FOUND THAT THERE WAS AS
GREAT DIVERSITY AMONG THEMSELVES AS BETWEEN HIM AND THEM. THEY HAD NOT ONLY
TO OVERTHROW MR. MILLER'S THEORY, BUT EACH HAD TO CORRECT THOSE OF THE
OTHERS. THIS BEING THE CASE, THEIR ARGUMENTS COULD, OF COURSE, HAVE LITTLE
WEIGHT WITH THOSE WHO HAD RECEIVED HIS VIEWS. {GC88 683.1}
TO OPPOSE MILLER, MEN WHO HAD BEEN REGARDED AS LEADERS OF RELIGIOUS
THOUGHT WERE READY TO ABANDON LONG-ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES OF PROTESTANT
INTERPRETATION. THE BOSTON RECORDER (ORTHODOX CONG.) SAID: "IT MUST NEEDS BE
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT OUR FAITH IS GREATLY SHAKEN IN THE INTERPRETATIONS ON
WHICH, IN COMMON WITH MOST OF OUR OWN BRETHREN, WE HAVE HERETOFORE RELIED,
AND WHICH FORM THE FOUNDATION OF THE BASELESS THEORIES OF MILLER"! {GC88
683.2}
IN THEIR DETERMINATION TO DISPROVE MR. MILLER'S POSITIONS, SOME WERE
READY EVEN TO JOIN WITH UNIVERSALISTS, ADOPTING INDEFINITE AND
SPIRITUALIZING METHODS OF EXPOSITION, IN PLACE OF THOSE PRINCIPLES OF
LITERAL INTERPRETATION WHICH ARE AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF THE PROTESTANT
FAITH. OF THE ARGUMENTS BROUGHT FORWARD BY PROFESSORS STUART AND BUSH THE
NEW YORK EVANGELIST SPOKE AS FOLLOWS: "THE TENDENCY OF THESE VIEWS IS TO
DESTROY THE SCRIPTURE EVIDENCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF ANY REAL END OF THE WORLD,
ANY DAY OF FINAL JUDGMENT, OR GENERAL RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. THE STYLE OF
INTERPRETATION, WE ASSERT, TENDS FEARFULLY TO UNIVERSALISM. THIS TENDENCY WE
ARE PREPARED TO PROVE." SO ALSO THE HARTFORD UNIVERSALIST SAID OF PROFESSOR
STUART: "HE PUTS AN UNCOMPROMISING VETO UPON THE POPULAR INTERPRETATIONS OF
DANIEL AND REVELATION, AND UNITES WITH UNIVERSALISTS IN CONTENDING THAT MOST
OF THEIR CONTENTS HAD SPECIAL REFERENCE TO, AND THEIR FULFILLMENT IN, SCENES
AND EVENTS WHICH TRANSPIRED BUT A FEW YEARS AFTER THOSE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN."
IT WAS THUS THAT POPULAR MINISTERS PREPARED THE MINDS OF THOUSANDS TO
LIGHTLY REGARD THE TESTIMONY OF THE SCRIPTURES. {GC88 683.3}
NOTE 6. PAGE 411.--THAT THE EARTH IS THE SANCTUARY WAS INFERRED FROM
THOSE SCRIPTURES WHICH TEACH THAT THE EARTH WILL BE PURIFIED AND FITTED UP
FOR THE ETERNAL DWELLING-PLACE OF THE SAINTS, ACCORDING TO THE ORIGINAL
DESIGN OF THE CREATOR. ADVENTISTS UNDERSTOOD THIS JUST AS IT WAS TAUGHT BY
WESLEY AND OTHERS. AND THEIR MINDS DID NOT REST ON ANY OTHER DWELLING-PLACE
OR ANY OTHER THING WHICH NEEDED CLEANSING. THE ONLY SCRIPTURES WHICH WE EVER
KNEW TO BE OFFERED IN FAVOR OF THE EARTH OR ANY DWELLING-PLACE OF MAN BEING
CALLED THE SANCTUARY, FAIRLY DISPROVE THE POSITION. THEY ARE ONLY THREE IN
NUMBER, AS FOLLOWS:--
684
{GC88 683.4}
EX. 15:17: "THOU SHALT BRING THEM [THE PEOPLE] IN, AND PLANT THEM IN
THE MOUNTAIN OF THINE INHERITANCE, IN THE PLACE, O LORD, WHICH THOU HAST
MADE FOR THEE TO DWELL IN; IN THE SANCTUARY, O LORD, WHICH THY HANDS HAVE
ESTABLISHED." WITHOUT TAKING TIME OR SPACE TO GIVE AN EXPOSITION OF THE
TEXT, IT IS SUFFICIENT FOR THE PRESENT PURPOSE TO REMARK THAT IT DISPROVES
THE IDEA OF THE EARTH BEING THE SANCTUARY. WHATEVER CONSTRUCTION MAY BE
PLACED UPON THE TEXT, IT TEACHES THAT THE PEOPLE WERE NOT THEN IN THE
SANCTUARY; BUT THEY WERE IN THE EARTH. THEN IT IS CLAIMED THAT IT REFERRED
TO THAT PART OF THE EARTH INTO WHICH THEY WERE TO BE BROUGHT, NAMELY,
PALESTINE. THIS IS DISPROVED BY THE SECOND TEXT. {GC88 684.1}
JOSH. 24:26: "AND JOSHUA WROTE THESE WORDS IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW OF
GOD, AND TOOK A GREAT STONE, AND SET IT UP THERE UNDER AN OAK, THAT WAS BY
THE SANCTUARY OF THE LORD." THE STONE AND THE OAK WERE IN PALESTINE, BUT
THEY WERE BY THE SANCTUARY OF THE LORD--NOT IN IT. AND THE OTHER TEXT IS
MORE RESTRICTIVE STILL, AND EQUALLY CONCLUSIVE AGAINST THE INFERENCE TO
WHICH REFERENCE IS HEREIN MADE. {GC88 684.2}
PS. 78:54: "AND HE BROUGHT THEM [HIS PEOPLE] TO THE BORDER OF HIS
SANCTUARY, EVEN TO THIS MOUNTAIN, WHICH HIS RIGHT HAND HAD PURCHASED." THE
MOUNTAIN WAS MOUNT MORIAH, ON WHICH THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON WAS BUILT; YET
BEING BROUGHT UNTO IT IS CALLED BEING BROUGHT "TO THE BORDER OF HIS
SANCTUARY." THUS THESE TEXTS DO NOT PROVE THAT THE EARTH IS THE SANCTUARY,
BUT RATHER THE REVERSE. {GC88 684.3}
JEHOSHAPHAT'S PRAYER GIVES THE TRUE IDEA OF THE RELATION OF THAT LAND
TO THE SANCTUARY: "ART NOT THOU OUR GOD, WHO DIDST DRIVE OUT THE INHABITANTS
OF THIS LAND BEFORE THY PEOPLE ISRAEL, AND GAVEST IT TO THE SEED OF ABRAHAM
THY FRIEND FOREVER? AND THEY DWELT THEREIN, AND HAVE BUILT THEE A SANCTUARY
THEREIN FOR THY NAME." 2 CHRON. 20:7, 8. THIS CORRESPONDS TO THE COMMAND IN
EX. 25:8: "AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY; THAT I MAY DWELL AMONG THEM."
IN THIS SAME BOOK IS GIVEN A MINUTE DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCTUARY, ITS
ERECTION, AND APPROVAL BY THE LORD. THE PROCESS OF CLEANSING THE SANCTUARY
IS DESCRIBED IN LEVITICUS 16. WHILE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL POSSESSED CANAAN,
SOLOMON BUILT A TEMPLE, IN WHICH WAS A HOLY AND A MOST HOLY PLACE; AND THE
VESSELS OF THE MOVABLE SANCTUARY, WHICH WAS MADE IN THE DESERT OF SINAI,
WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE TEMPLE. THIS WAS THEN THE SANCTUARY,--THE
DWELLING-PLACE OF GOD'S GLORY UPON THE EARTH. {GC88 684.4}
SOME HAVE INFERRED THAT THE EARTHLY SANCTUARY WAS A SYMBOL OF THE
CHURCH, REASONING FROM THOSE SCRIPTURES IN WHICH THE CHURCH IS CALLED THE
TEMPLE OF GOD. BUT IT IS NOT INFREQUENTLY THE CASE IN SCRIPTURE THAT IN
DIFFERENT CONNECTIONS THE SAME FIGURE IS EMPLOYED TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT
OBJECTS. THE BIBLE PLAINLY TEACHES THAT THE HOLY PLACES OF THE EARTHLY
SANCTUARY WERE "PATTERNS OF THINGS IN THE HEAVENS." HEB. 9:23. THE
EXPRESSION, "TEMPLE OF GOD," IS SOMETIMES EMPLOYED TO DESIGNATE THE
SANCTUARY IN HEAVEN, AND SOMETIMES THE CHURCH. ITS SIGNIFICANCE, IN EACH
CASE, MUST BE DETERMINED BY THE CONTEXT. {GC88 684.5}
NOTE 7. PAGE 429.--ALMOST ALL ADVENTISTS, INCLUDING MR. MILLER, DID,
FOR A SHORT TIME AFTER THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT IN 1844, BELIEVE THAT THE WORLD
HAD RECEIVED ITS LAST WARNING. THEY COULD HARDLY THINK OTHERWISE, WITH THEIR
685
FAITH IN THE MESSAGE WHICH THEY HAD GIVEN,--"THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS
COME." REV. 14:6, 7. THEY NATURALLY THOUGHT THAT THIS PROCLAMATION MUST
CLOSE THE DISPENSATION. {GC88 684.6}
BUT THE IDEA THAT THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL WAS FINISHED WAS SOON
RENOUNCED, EXCEPT BY SOME FANATICAL ONES WHO WOULD NEITHER BE COUNSELED NOR
RECEIVE INSTRUCTION. ONE CLASS WHO RELINQUISHED THE VIEW THAT "THE DOOR OF
MERCY WAS SHUT," WERE LED TO DO THIS BECAUSE THEY DISCOVERED THAT OTHER
MESSAGES WERE TO BE PROCLAIMED AFTER THAT DECLARING, THE HOUR OF JUDGMENT IS
COME; AND THAT THAT OF THE THIRD ANGEL, THE LAST ONE, WAS TO GO TO "MANY
PEOPLES, AND NATIONS, AND TONGUES, AND KINGS." THEY LEARNED THAT THE
JUDGMENT SITS IN HEAVEN BEFORE THE COMING OF THE LORD; THAT THE JUDGMENT OF
THE RIGHTEOUS IS FULLY ACCOMPLISHED WHILE JESUS IS YET THEIR ADVOCATE BEFORE
THE FATHER'S THRONE; THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS INSTANTLY GIVEN TO THE SAINTS WHEN
THEIR SAVIOUR COMES, WHICH IS PROOF THAT THEY HAVE BEEN JUDGED AND
ACQUITTED. {GC88 685.1}
WITH THE LIGHT ON THE THIRD MESSAGE THEY ALSO RECEIVED LIGHT ON THE
SANCTUARY AND ITS CLEANSING, BY WHICH THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT THE ANTITYPICAL
WORK OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, WHICH WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE MOST HOLY PLACE,
WAS THAT WHICH WAS POINTED OUT BY THE MESSAGE WHICH THEY HAD GIVEN. THEY SAW
THAT THERE WERE TWO VEILS OR DOORS IN THE TEMPLE OF GOD (HEB. 9:3), AND THAT
AT THAT TIME ONE WAS SHUT AND THE OTHER WAS OPENED. WITH EARNEST ZEAL AND
NEW HOPE THEY PREACHED THESE TRUTHS, AND URGED THEIR FELLOW-MEN TO SEEK AN
ENTRANCE BY FAITH INTO THE MOST HOLY PLACE WITHIN THE SECOND VEIL, WHERE OUR
GREAT HIGH PRIEST IS GONE TO BLOT OUT THE SINS OF ALL HIS FAITHFUL ONES,
FROM ABEL TO THE PRESENT TIME. {GC88 685.2}
NOTE 8. PAGE 435.--REV. 14:6, 7, FORETELLS THE PROCLAMATION OF THE
FIRST ANGEL'S MESSAGE. THEN THE PROPHET CONTINUES: "THERE FOLLOWED ANOTHER
ANGEL, SAYING, BABYLON IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN, . . . AND THE THIRD ANGEL
FOLLOWED THEM." THE WORD HERE RENDERED "FOLLOWED," MEANS, IN CONSTRUCTIONS
LIKE THAT IN THIS TEXT, "TO GO WITH." LIDDELL AND SCOTT RENDER THE WORD
THUS: "TO FOLLOW ONE, GO AFTER OR WITH HIM." ROBINSON SAYS: "TO FOLLOW, TO
GO WITH, TO ACCOMPANY ANYONE." IT IS THE SAME WORD THAT IS USED IN MARK
5:24: "AND JESUS WENT WITH HIM; AND MUCH PEOPLE FOLLOWED HIM, AND THRONGED
HIM." IT IS ALSO USED OF THE REDEEMED ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND,
WHERE IT IS SAID: "THESE ARE THEY WHICH FOLLOW THE LAMB WHITHERSOEVER HE
GOETH." REV. 14:4. IN BOTH THESE PLACES IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE IDEA INTENDED
TO BE CONVEYED IS THAT OF GOING TOGETHER, IN COMPANY WITH. SO IN 1 COR.
10:4, WHERE WE READ OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL THAT "THEY DRANK OF THAT
SPIRITUAL ROCK THAT FOLLOWED THEM," THE WORD "FOLLOWED" IS TRANSLATED FROM
THE SAME GREEK WORD, AND THE MARGIN HAS IT, "WENT WITH THEM." FROM THIS WE
LEARN THAT THE IDEA IN REV. 14:8, 9, IS NOT SIMPLY THAT THE SECOND AND THIRD
ANGELS FOLLOWED THE FIRST IN POINT OF TIME, BUT THAT THEY WENT WITH IT. THE
THREE MESSAGES ARE BUT ONE THREEFOLD MESSAGE. THEY ARE THREE ONLY IN THE
ORDER OF THEIR RISE. BUT HAVING RISEN, THEY GO ON TOGETHER, AND ARE
INSEPARABLE. {GC88 685.3}
NOTE 9. PAGE 447.--THE BISHOPS OF ROME BEGAN, VERY EARLY, TO DEMAND
OBEDIENCE FROM ALL THE CHURCHES. OF THIS THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE EASTERN AND
THE WESTERN CHURCHES RESPECTING EASTER IS A STRIKING ILLUSTRATION.
686
THIS DISPUTE AROSE IN THE SECOND CENTURY. SAYS MOSHEIM: "THE CHRISTIANS OF
THIS CENTURY CELEBRATED ANNIVERSARY FESTIVALS IN COMMEMORATION OF THE DEATH
AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. . . . THE DAY WHICH WAS OBSERVED AS THE
ANNIVERSARY OF CHRIST'S DEATH WAS CALLED THE PASCHAL DAY, OR PASSOVER." LIKE
THE JEWS, CHRISTIANS CELEBRATED "A SACRED FEAST, AT WHICH THEY DISTRIBUTED A
PASCHAL LAMB IN MEMORY OF THE HOLY SUPPER." THE CHRISTIANS OF ASIA MINOR
KEPT THIS FEAST ON THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE FIRST JEWISH MONTH, WHEN THE
JEWS CELEBRATED THEIR PASSOVER, AND WHEN CHRIST IS SAID TO HAVE EATEN THE
PASCHAL LAMB WITH HIS DISCIPLES. THREE DAYS THEREAFTER, A FESTIVAL WAS
OBSERVED IN HONOR OF THE RESURRECTION. THE WESTERN CHURCHES, ON THE OTHER
HAND, CELEBRATED THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST ON THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THE
JEWISH PASSOVER, AND OBSERVED THE PASCHAL FEAST ON THE NIGHT PRECEDING
SUNDAY, THUS CONNECTING THE COMMEMORATION OF CHRIST'S DEATH WITH THAT OF HIS
RESURRECTION. {GC88 685.4}
"TOWARD THE CONCLUSION OF THIS [THE SECOND] CENTURY, VICTOR, BISHOP OF
ROME, ENDEAVORED TO FORCE THE ASIATIC CHRISTIANS, BY THE PRETENDED AUTHORITY
OF HIS LAWS AND DECREES, TO FOLLOW THE RULE WHICH WAS OBSERVED BY THE
WESTERN CHURCHES IN THIS POINT. ACCORDINGLY . . . HE WROTE AN IMPERIOUS
LETTER TO THE ASIATIC PRELATES, COMMANDING THEM TO IMITATE THE EXAMPLE OF
THE WESTERN CHRISTIANS WITH RESPECT TO THE TIME OF CELEBRATING THE FESTIVAL
OF EASTER. THE ASIATICS ANSWERED THIS LORDLY REQUISITION . . . WITH GREAT
SPIRIT AND RESOLUTION, THAT THEY WOULD BY NO MEANS DEPART, IN THIS MANNER,
FROM THE CUSTOM HANDED DOWN TO THEM BY THEIR ANCESTORS. UPON THIS THE
THUNDER OF EXCOMMUNICATION BEGAN TO ROAR. VICTOR, EXASPERATED BY THIS
RESOLUTE ANSWER OF THE ASIATIC BISHOPS, BROKE COMMUNION WITH THEM,
PRONOUNCED THEM UNWORTHY OF THE NAME OF HIS BRETHREN, AND EXCLUDED THEM FROM
ALL FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH OF ROME." [MOSHEIM, ECCL. HIST., CENT. 2,
PART 2, CHAP. 4., PARA. 9, 11.] THIS, SAYS BOWER, WAS "THE FIRST ESSAY OF
PAPAL USURPATION." {GC88 686.1}
FOR A TIME, HOWEVER, VICTOR'S EFFORTS AVAILED LITTLE. NO REGARD WAS
PAID TO HIS LETTERS, AND THE ASIATICS CONTINUED TO FOLLOW THEIR ANCIENT
PRACTICE. BUT BY ENLISTING THE SUPPORT OF THE IMPERIAL POWER, WHICH THE
CHURCH FOR SO MANY CENTURIES CONTROLLED TO SERVE HER PURPOSES, ROME FINALLY
CONQUERED. THE COUNCIL OF NICE, "OUT OF COMPLAISANCE TO CONSTANTINE THE
GREAT, ORDERED THE SOLEMNITY OF EASTER TO BE KEPT EVERYWHERE ON THE SAME
DAY, AFTER THE CUSTOM OF ROME." [BOWER'S HISTORY OF THE POPES, VOL. 1, PP.
18, 19.] THIS DECREE, "BACKED BY THE AUTHORITY OF SO GREAT AN EMPEROR," WAS
DECISIVE; "NONE BUT SOME SCATTERED SCHISMATICS, NOW AND THEN APPEARING, THAT
DURST OPPOSE THE RESOLUTION OF THAT FAMOUS SYNOD." [HEVLYN, HISTORY OF THE
SABBATH, PART 2, CHAP. 2, SECS. 4, 5.] {GC88 686.2}
NOTE 10. PAGE 565.--THERE IS NO MORE REMARKABLE MOVEMENT OF THE PRESENT
DAY, AND NO ONE FRAUGHT WITH MORE VITAL CONSEQUENCES TO MEN AND NATIONS,
THAN THE RAPIDLY REVIVING INFLUENCE OF THE PAPACY IN NATIONAL AFFAIRS. THE
PAPACY IS FAST MOVING INTO THE PLACE OF THE GREATEST INFLUENCE OF ANY
EARTHLY ORGANIZATION. IN EUROPE, TO SAY NOTHING OF CATHOLIC COUNTRIES,
WHICH, AS A MATTER OF COURSE, ARE SUBJECT TO THE POPE, CHANCELLOR BISMARCK
HAS MADE GERMANY VIRTUALLY SUBJECT TO THE DICTATION OF THE PAPACY; ENGLAND
HAS INVITED THE INTERFERENCE OF THE POPE IN HER POLITICAL AFFAIRS IN THE
CONTEST
687
WITH IRELAND; AND EVEN THE CZAR OF RUSSIA HAS SHOWN HIMSELF WILLING TO MAKE
OVERTURES TO THE PAPACY. ON THE OCCASION OF THE GOLDEN JUBILEE OF THE
PRIESTHOOD OF LEO XIII., IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT, EXCEPT THE KINGDOM OF ITALY
AND THE UNITED KINGDOMS OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY, EVERY NATION, PROTESTANT AS
WELL AS CATHOLIC, PAID GRATEFUL RESPECT TO ROME. {GC88 686.3}
IF ANY NATION MIGHT JUSTLY BE EXPECTED TO KEEP CLEAR OF ROMISH
INFLUENCES, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SHOULD BE THE ONE ABOVE ALL OTHERS,
AS IT IS CONSTITUTIONALLY PLEDGED TO HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO DO TOWARD "AN
ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF." YET
THIS NATION IS IN NOWISE BEHIND THE OTHERS IN PAYING ASSIDUOUS COURT TO
ROME. WHEN THE PAPAL DELEGATES CAME TO AMERICA BEARING TO CARDINAL GIBBONS
THE TRAPPINGS OF HIS ROMISH DIGNITY, A GOVERNMENT VESSEL WAS DISPATCHED DOWN
NEW YORK HARBOR TO MEET THEM, WITH THE PAPAL FLAG, INSTEAD OF THE STARS AND
STRIPES, FLYING FROM THE PLACE OF HONOR. AND AT THE INVESTITURE OF CARDINAL
GIBBONS WITH THE PURPLE OF A PAPAL PRINCE, PRESIDENT CLEVELAND SENT HIM A
LETTER OF CONGRATULATION. THE CONVERTED CATHOLIC SAYS THAT A LARGER NUMBER
OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES SEND THEIR SONS TO THE JESUIT COLLEGE AT
GEORGETOWN--ONE OF THE SUBURBS OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL--THAN TO ALL THE
OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING AT WASHINGTON, WHICH PROVES EITHER THAT THE
LARGER NUMBER OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES ARE CATHOLICS, OR THAT ROME
HAS MORE INFLUENCE WITH SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES THAN HAVE ALL THE
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN WASHINGTON PUT TOGETHER. IN VIEW OF THIS FACT,
IT IS NOT TO BE WONDERED AT THAT ROME DECIDED TO BUILD HER NATIONAL
UNIVERSITY AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. {GC88 687.1}
HON. L. Q. C. LAMAR, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR UNDER PRESIDENT
CLEVELAND, WAS CHARGED WITH GIVING TO CATHOLICS MORE POSITIONS IN HIS
DEPARTMENT THAN TO OTHER DENOMINATIONS. HIS REPLY WAS THAT "IF ROMAN
CATHOLICS HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED TO A GREATER EXTENT THAN OTHER DENOMINATIONS,
IT IS ONLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE ASKED MORE LARGELY;" AND EXPLAINED THIS BY
SAYING THAT THE ROMISH CHURCH HAS AT WASHINGTON "AN ENERGETIC AND TIRELESS
DIRECTOR, WHO IS ACTIVE TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXTENDING MISSIONARY AND
EDUCATIONAL WORK AMONG THE INDIANS." THE CHRISTIAN UNION SAYS THAT
FOUR-FIFTHS OF THE GOVERNMENT INDIAN SCHOOLS, UNDER RELIGIOUS CONTROL, HAVE
BEEN GIVEN TO ROMAN CATHOLICS. THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL, OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UNDER PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRATION,--MR.
ZACH. MONTGOMERY,-- IS A ROMAN CATHOLIC, WITH ALL THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ENMITY
TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND HESITATES NOT TO USE HIS OFFICIAL POSITION AND
INFLUENCE TO SHOW IT. DURING HIS TERM OF OFFICE, IN AN ADDRESS AT CARROLL
INSTITUTE, HE OPENLY DENOUNCED THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEM AS GODLESS, ANTI
PARENTAL, AND DESTRUCTIVE OF HAPPINESS. AND THE UNITED STATES SENATE FULLY
KNEW HIS ENMITY TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHEN IT CONFIRMED HIS APPOINTMENT AS
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY-GENERAL. THE NEW YORK OBSERVER SAYS THAT THE ONLY PUBLIC
HOSPITAL THAT RECEIVES ANY GOVERNMENT AID IS A ROMAN CATHOLIC ONE. {GC88
687.2}
IN A PUBLISHED LETTER TO HON. WARNER MILLER, ONE OF THE DELEGATES AT
LARGE FROM NEW YORK TO THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION, 1888, HON. JOHN
JAY, LATE MINISTER TO AUSTRIA, SAYS THAT THE ROMAN CATHOLICS EVEN NOW
"COOLLY DISCUSS THE DISPOSITION THEY WILL MAKE OF THE UNITED STATES, AS A
PEOPLE ALREADY SUBJECT TO THE VATICAN BY THE IRISH VOTES. ARCHBISHOP LYNCH,
688
OF CANADA, WROTE TO LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL (THE CHURCHMAN, NEW YORK, APRIL
2, 1887): 'THE IRISH VOTE IS A GREAT FACTOR IN AMERICA.' 'THE POWER OF THEIR
ORGANIZATIONS IS INCREASING EVERY DAY.' 'THEY HOLD ALREADY THE BALANCE OF
POWER IN THE PRESIDENTIAL AND OTHER ELECTIONS.'" FURTHER MR. JAY SAYS: "THE
ANNOUNCEMENT OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S APPOINTMENT AS FISHERY COMMISSIONER WAS
PROMPTLY FOLLOWED BY A REMINDER THAT NO TREATY HE MIGHT MAKE WOULD STAND A
CHANCE OF RATIFICATION. THE SUGGESTION THAT MR. PHELPS, OUR MINISTER TO
ENGLAND, MIGHT BE NOMINATED AS CHIEF JUSTICE, BROUGHT A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT
THAT THE NOMINATION WOULD BE DEFEATED. . . . IT WAS RECENTLY STATED IN THE
UNITED STATES SENATE (FEBRUARY 16, 1888), IN A DEBATE ON THE BILL FOR
'NATIONAL AID IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND TEMPORARY SUPPORT OF COMMON SCHOOLS,'
. . . THAT A SENATOR HAD SHOWED TO THE SPEAKER, WHO HAD READ IT WITH HIS OWN
EYES, THE ORIGINAL LETTER OF A JESUIT PRIEST. IN THIS LETTER HE BEGGED A
MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO OPPOSE THE BILL AND KILL IT, SAYING THAT THEY HAD
ORGANIZED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY FOR ITS DESTRUCTION, THAT THEY HAD SUCCEEDED
IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE, AND THAT THEY WOULD DESTROY THE BILL
INEVITABLY; AND IT IS A FACT THAT THE BILL, HAVING THREE TIMES PASSED THE
SENATE IN THREE DIFFERENT CONGRESSES, EACH TIME WITH A LARGER VOTE IN ITS
FAVOR, HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY SMOTHERED IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE, BY THOSE
WHO KNEW THAT THERE WAS A MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE IN FAVOR OF THE BILL; AND
FOR SIX YEARS THE LEGISLATION OF CONGRESS HAS BEEN [THUS] ARRESTED." {GC88
687.3}
THE ROMAN CHURCH LARGELY CONTROLS THE SECULAR PRESS OF THE COUNTRY; AND
THE LEADING "PROTESTANT" RELIGIOUS PAPERS, SUCH AS THE NEW YORK EVANGELIST,
THE CHRISTIAN AT WORK, THE CHRISTIAN UNION, AND THE INDEPENDENT, ALL PAY
FLATTERING TRIBUTE TO THE PAPACY. THE EVANGELIST, OF MARCH 29, 1888,
ACKNOWLEDGES CARDINAL GIBBONS AS ITS "ONLY CARDINAL;" THE INDEPENDENT WISHES
POPE LEO XIII. "A LONG REIGN AND GODSPEED IN HIS LIBERALIZING POLICY;"
CHRISTIAN AT WORK SALUTES HIM AS "HOLY FATHER," AND IN THE NAME OF "THE
WHOLE CHRISTIAN WORLD" GLORIFIES HIM AS "THIS VENERABLE MAN WHOSE LOYALTY TO
GOD AND ZEAL FOR THE WELFARE OF HUMANITY ARE AS CONSPICUOUS AS HIS FREEDOM
FROM MANY ERRORS AND BIGOTRIES OF HIS PREDECESSORS IS REMARKABLE;" AND THE
CHRISTIAN UNION, JANUARY 26, 1888, ACKNOWLEDGES HIM AS "A TEMPORAL PRINCE"
AND "SUPREME PONTIFF." {GC88 688.1}
NOTE 11. PAGE 573.--THESE MOVEMENTS ARE APPARENT UNDER DIVERSE FORMS
AND IN DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT THE ORGANIZATION WHICH EMBODIES ALMOST EVERY
FORM, AND WORKS IN EVERY WAY TO GAIN ITS END, IS THE NATIONAL REFORM
ASSOCIATION. IT ORIGINATED IN A CONFERENCE REPRESENTING "ELEVEN DIFFERENT
DENOMINATIONS OF CHRISTIANS FROM SEVEN OF THE STATES OF THE UNION." IT NOW
HAS THE SUPPORT OF PROMINENT MEN FROM "ALL BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH," OF THE
NATIONAL WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION, AND THE PROHIBITION PARTY. IT
PROPOSES TO HAVE OUR NATIONAL CONSTITUTION AMENDED, "IN ORDER TO CONSTITUTE
A CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENT," "ACKNOWLEDGING ALMIGHTY GOD AS THE SOURCE OF ALL
AUTHORITY AND POWER IN CIVIL GOVERNMENT, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS THE RULER
AMONG THE NATIONS, HIS REVEALED WILL AS THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND;" AND SO
PLACING "ALL CHRISTIAN LAWS, INSTITUTIONS, AND USAGES OF OUR GOVERNMENT ON
AN UNDENIABLE LEGAL BASIS IN THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF THE LAND." ONE OF ITS
PROPOSITIONS, ANNOUNCED BY DAVID GREGG, D. D., PASTOR PARK STREET CHURCH,
689
BOSTON, IS THAT THE STATE HAS "THE RIGHT TO COMMAND THE CONSCIENCES OF MEN."
ANOTHER, ANNOUNCED BY THE CHRISTIAN STATESMAN, IS THAT GOVERNMENT MUST
"ENFORCE UPON ALL THAT COME AMONG US THE LAWS OF CHRISTIAN MORALITY."
ANOTHER, ANNOUNCED BY THE REV. E. B. GRAHAM, IS THAT "IF THE OPPONENTS OF
THE BIBLE DO NOT LIKE OUR GOVERNMENT AND ITS CHRISTIAN FEATURES, LET THEM GO
TO SOME WILD, DESOLATE LAND; AND, IN THE NAME OF THE DEVIL, AND FOR THE SAKE
OF THE DEVIL, SUBDUE IT, AND SET UP A GOVERNMENT OF THEIR OWN ON INFIDEL AND
ATHEISTIC IDEAS, AND THEN, IF THEY CAN STAND IT, STAY THERE TILL THEY DIE."
ANOTHER, ANNOUNCED BY JONATHAN EDWARDS, D. D., IS THAT JEWS, AND ALL
CHRISTIANS WHO KEEP THE SEVENTH DAY, ARE TO BE CLASSED AS ATHEISTS, AND
"MUST BE TREATED, AS FOR THIS [NATIONAL REFORM] QUESTION, ONE PARTY" WITH
ATHEISTS, WHO "CANNOT DWELL TOGETHER ON THE SAME CONTINENT" WITH THE
NATIONAL REFORM CHRISTIANITY. {GC88 688.2}
ANYBODY CAN SEE AT A GLANCE THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL
REFORM THEORY OF GOVERNMENT WOULD BE BUT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A THEOCRACY.
AND THIS IS, IN FACT, WHAT THEY PROPOSE TO ESTABLISH. THEY SAY THAT "A
REPUBLIC THUS GOVERNED IS OF HIM, THROUGH THE PEOPLE, AND IS AS REALLY AND
TRULY A THEOCRACY AS THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL." A MONTHLY READING OF THE
NATIONAL W. C. T. U., WRITTEN BY MISS WILLARD, ON GOD IN GOVERNMENT, SAYS:
"A TRUE THEOCRACY IS YET TO COME, [AND] THE ENTHRONEMENT OF CHRIST IN LAW
AND LAW-MAKERS, HENCE I PRAY DEVOUTLY, AS A CHRISTIAN PATRIOT, FOR THE
BALLOT IN THE HANDS OF WOMEN." AND IN HER ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL W.
C. T. U. CONVENTION, OF 1887, MISS WILLARD SAID: "THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST
'MUST ENTER THE REALM OF LAW THROUGH THE GATEWAY OF POLITICS. . . . THERE
ARE ENOUGH TEMPERANCE MEN IN BOTH [THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN PARTIES] TO
TAKE POSSESSION OF THE GOVERNMENT AND GIVE US NATIONAL PROHIBITION IN THE
PARTY OF THE NEAR FUTURE, WHICH IS TO BE THE PARTY OF GOD. . . . WE PRAY
HEAVEN TO GIVE THEM NO REST . . . UNTIL THEY SHALL . . . SWEAR AN OATH OF
ALLEGIANCE TO CHRIST IN POLITICS, AND MARCH IN ONE GREAT ARMY 'UP TO THE
POLLS TO WORSHIP GOD.' . . . I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THE PATIENT, STEADFAST
WORK OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN WILL SO REACT ON POLITICS WITHIN THE NEXT GENERATION
THAT THE PARTY OF GOD WILL BE AT THE FRONT." NOW A MAN MADE THEOCRACY IS
ONLY A SCHEME OF GOVERNMENT WHICH PUTS MAN IN THE PLACE OF GOD. THAT IS
PRECISELY THE THEORY UPON WHICH THE PAPACY WAS BUILT, AND THAT IS JUST WHAT
THE PAPACY IS. THE NATIONAL REFORM THEORY IS IDENTICAL WITH THAT OF THE
PAPACY; THEREFORE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL REFORM THEORY IN THIS
GOVERNMENT WILL BE BUT THE SETTING UP OF A LIVING IMAGE OF THE PAPACY.
ADVOCATING, AS THESE PARTIES ARE, THE PAPAL THEORY, IT IS NOT TO BE WONDERED
AT THAT THEY ARE ANXIOUS TO SECURE THE CO-OPERATION OF THE PAPACY IN
CARRYING THEIR SCHEME TO SUCCESS. THE CHRISTIAN STATESMAN IS THE OFFICIAL
ORGAN OF THE NATIONAL REFORM ASSOCIATION, AND IN AN EDITORIAL, DECEMBER 11,
1884, THAT PAPER SAID: "WE CORDIALLY, GLADLY, RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT IN THE
SOUTH AMERICAN REPUBLICS, AND IN FRANCE AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, THE
ROMAN CATHOLICS ARE THE RECOGNIZED ADVOCATES OF NATIONAL CHRISTIANITY, AND
STAND OPPOSED TO ALL THE PROPOSALS OF SECULARISM. . . . WHENEVER THEY ARE
WILLING TO CO-OPERATE IN RESISTING THE PROGRESS OF POLITICAL ATHEISM, WE
WILL GLADLY JOIN HANDS WITH THEM. IN A WORLD'S CONFERENCE FOR THE PROMOTION
OF NATIONAL
690
CHRISTIANITY--WHICH OUGHT TO BE HELD AT NO DISTANT DAY--MANY COUNTRIES COULD
BE REPRESENTED ONLY BY ROMAN CATHOLICS." AND IN THAT SAME PAPER, AUGUST 31,
1881, REV. SYLVESTER SCOVIL SAID: "THIS COMMON INTEREST ["OF ALL RELIGIOUS
PEOPLE IN THE SABBATH"--SUNDAY] OUGHT BOTH TO STRENGTHEN OUR DETERMINATION
TO WORK, AND OUR READINESS TO CO-OPERATE IN EVERY WAY WITH OUR ROMAN
CATHOLIC FELLOW-CITIZENS. WE MAY BE SUBJECTED TO SOME REBUFFS IN OUR FIRST
PROFFERS, AND THE TIME IS NOT YET COME WHEN THE ROMAN CHURCH WILL CONSENT TO
STRIKE HANDS WITH OTHER CHURCHES--AS SUCH; BUT THE TIME HAS COME TO MAKE
REPEATED ADVANCES, AND GLADLY TO ACCEPT CO-OPERATION IN ANY FORM IN WHICH
THEY MAY BE WILLING TO EXHIBIT IT. IT IS ONE OF THE NECESSITIES OF THE
SITUATION. THE NEXUS BETWEEN THE TWO GREAT DIVISIONS OF CHRISTIANITY ON
QUESTIONS OF MORAL LEGISLATION IS A THING WORTHY THE CONSIDERATION OF OUR
BEST MINDS AND OUR MEN OF LARGEST EXPERIENCE IN SUCH AFFAIRS." IN PERFECT
ACCORD WITH THIS IS THE ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII., 1885, WHICH DIRECTS
THAT "ALL CATHOLICS SHOULD DO ALL IN THEIR POWER TO CAUSE THE CONSTITUTIONS
OF STATES, AND LEGISLATION, TO BE MODELED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THE TRUE
CHURCH, AND ALL CATHOLIC WRITERS AND JOURNALISTS SHOULD NEVER LOSE SIGHT,
FOR AN INSTANT, FROM THE VIEW OF THE ABOVE PRESCRIPTIONS." THEREFORE AS THE
PURPOSE OF THE NATIONAL REFORM ASSOCIATION IS IDENTICAL WITH THAT OF ROME,
IT IS ONLY TO BE EXPECTED THAT THEY SHOULD SHOW A READINESS TO "GLADLY JOIN
HANDS." AND WHENEVER PROTESTANTISM GAINS CONTROL OF THE CIVIL POWER, WHETHER
WITH OR WITHOUT THE AID OF ROME, THAT WILL BE BUT TO ERECT AN IMAGE OF THE
PAPACY. {GC88 689.1}
NOTE 12. PAGE 578.--THERE ARE STILL OBSERVERS OF THE BIBLE SABBATH IN
ABYSSINIA. JOSEPH WOLFF, IN HIS JOURNAL FOR 1838, GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS
VISIT TO THAT COUNTRY, SAYS THAT "THE SABBATH OF THE JEWS, I. E., SATURDAY,
IS KEPT STRICTLY AMONG THE ABYSSINIANS IN THE PROVINCE OF HAMAZIEN." {GC88
690.1}
NOTE 13. PAGES 605, 613.--THE WORD "SEAL" IS USED IN THE SCRIPTURES IN
VARIOUS SENSES, EVEN AS IN COMMON LIFE. THE DEFINITION GIVEN BY WEBSTER, THE
MOST COMPREHENSIVE, IS AS FOLLOWS: "THAT WHICH CONFIRMS, RATIFIES, OR MAKES
STABLE; ASSURANCE; THAT WHICH AUTHENTICATES; THAT WHICH SECURES, MAKES
RELIABLE, OR STABLE." THE TERMS "MARK" AND "SIGN," ALSO GIVEN BY HIM, ARE
USED IN THE SCRIPTURES AS SYNONYMOUS WITH SEAL, AS IN ROM. 4:11. {GC88
690.2}
IN THE COVENANT WITH NOAH IT IS USED IN THE SENSE OF ASSURANCE, OR
EVIDENCE OF STABILITY. THE BOW IN THE CLOUD WAS GIVEN AS A SIGN OR TOKEN
THAT GOD WOULD NOT AGAIN DESTROY THE EARTH BY A FLOOD. GEN. 9:13. IN THE
COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM, CIRCUMCISION WAS THE TOKEN OR SIGN. THIS RATIFIED, OR
MADE SURE; FOR THEY WHO HAD NOT THIS TOKEN WERE CUT OFF. GEN. 17:11, 14.
THIS SIGN OR TOKEN WAS AN INSTITUTION, A RITE. GESENIUS GIVES "A MEMORIAL"
AS ONE DEFINITION OF THE WORD FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL OF THESE TEXTS. BUT A
MEMORIAL, IN THE SENSE OF A REMINDER, OR A REMEMBRANCER, IS A TOKEN OR SIGN.
{GC88 690.3}
IN EX. 31:17 AND EZE. 20:12, 20, THE SABBATH OF THE LORD IS CALLED A
SIGN. IT IS A MEMORIAL OF THE CREATOR'S WORK, AND SO A SIGN OF HIS POWER AND
GODHEAD. ROM. 1:20. THIS IS ALSO AN INSTITUTION, AS WAS CIRCUMCISION; BUT
THERE IS THIS DISTINCTION: CIRCUMCISION WAS A SIGN IN THE FLESH, WHILE THE
SABBATH IS A SIGN IN THE MIND. "HALLOW MY SABBATHS; AND THEY SHALL BE A SIGN
BETWEEN ME AND YOU, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD." EZE.
20:20.
691
{GC88 690.4}
IN EZE. 9:4 THE WORD USED IN THE ORIGINAL IS TRANSLATED MARK. GESENIUS
SAYS, "A MARK, SIGN." THE SEPTUAGINT GIVES THE SAME WORD IN THIS TEXT THAT
IS GIVEN IN THE GREEK OF ROM. 4:11, RENDERED "SIGN." THUS THE WORDS SIGN,
MARK, AND SEAL ARE APPLIED TO THE SAME THINGS, OR USED AS OF LIKE
SIGNIFICATION, IN THE SCRIPTURES. {GC88 691.1}
IN EZE. 9:4 AND REV. 7:2, 3, THE MARK OR SIGN IS SAID TO BE PLACED IN
THE FOREHEADS OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. BOTH THESE SCRIPTURES REFER TO A TIME
WHEN UTTER DESTRUCTION IS COMING ON THE UNGODLY. THE SEAL IS PLACED UPON
GOD'S PEOPLE AS A SAFEGUARD TO PRESERVE THEM FROM THE EVIL IMPENDING. BUT
"THE FOREHEAD" IS EVIDENTLY USED AS A FIGURE, TO DENOTE THE INTELLECT OR
MIND, AS "THE HEART" IS USED TO DENOTE THE DISPOSITION OR AFFECTIONS. TO
MARK OR SEAL IN THE FOREHEAD IS THE SAME AS TO "WRITE IN THE MIND." HEB.
10:16. {GC88 691.2}
THE SABBATH IS THE SIGN OF GOD; IT IS THE SEAL OF HIS LAW. ISA. 8:16.
IT IS THE TOKEN OF HIS AUTHORITY AND POWER. IT IS A SIGN WHEREBY WE MAY KNOW
THAT HE IS GOD, AND THEREFORE IT IS APPROPRIATELY SAID TO BE PLACED IN THE
FOREHEAD. THE WORSHIPERS OF THE BEAST (REVELATION 13) ARE SAID TO RECEIVE
HIS MARK IN THEIR FOREHEADS OR IN THEIR HANDS. AS THE FOREHEAD REPRESENTS
THE INTELLECT, THE HAND REPRESENTS POWER, AS PS. 89:48, "SHALL HE DELIVER
HIS SOUL FROM THE HAND OF THE GRAVE?" COMPULSORY WORSHIP IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
TO GOD; HIS SERVANTS ARE SEALED ONLY IN THEIR FOREHEADS. BUT IT IS
ACCEPTABLE TO WICKED POWERS; IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN CRAVED BY THE ROMISH
HIERARCHY. SEE CHAPTER 25 FOR PROOF ON THE NATURE OF THIS MARK. THE SIGN OR
SEAL OF GOD IS HIS SABBATH, AND THE SEAL OR MARK OF THE BEAST IS IN DIRECT
OPPOSITION TO IT; IT IS A COUNTERFEIT SABBATH ON THE "DAY OF THE SUN."
ACCORDING TO REV. 14: 9-12, THEY WHO DO NOT RECEIVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD; AND THE SABBATH IS IN THE FOURTH PRECEPT; THEY
KEEP THE SABBATH OF THE LORD; THEY HAVE HIS SIGN OR SEAL. THE IMPORTANCE OF
THIS SIGN IS SHOWN IN THIS, THAT THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT IS THE ONLY ONE IN
THE LAW WHICH DISTINGUISHES THE CREATOR FROM FALSE GODS. COMPARE JER. 10:10
12 ACTS 17:23, 24; REV. 14:6, 7, ETC. AND IT IS THAT PART OF HIS LAW FOR
KEEPING WHICH HIS PEOPLE WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION. BUT WHEN THE WRATH OF GOD
COMES UPON THE PERSECUTORS WHO ARE FOUND ENFORCING THE SIGN OR MARK OF THE
BEAST, THEN THEY WILL REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SABBATH,--THE SEAL OF
THE LIVING GOD. THEY WHO TURN AWAY FROM THAT WHICH THE LORD SPOKE WHEN HIS
VOICE SHOOK THE EARTH, WILL CONFESS THEIR FATAL ERROR WHEN HIS VOICE SHALL
SHAKE THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. HEB. 12:25, 26; JOEL 3:9-16, AND OTHERS.
SEE ALSO PAGES 639, 640 OF THIS BOOK. {GC88 691.3}