THE PROPHETS FORETOLD AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE SABBATH.
By T.
IN the prophecy of Daniel a power is described of which it is said, “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.” Dan. 7:25. Observe that this power shall “speak great words against the Most High.” He shall also “wear out the saints.” This latter expression shows that he will be a persecuting power; for he could not “wear out the saints” without being a persecutor. And then it is added of him that he shall “think to change times and laws.” When a rebellious power arrays itself against the properly-constituted authority, there is no way in which it can show its contempt more fully than by changing or overthrowing the laws in the realm it invades. The prophet foretells that the power which speaks “great words against the Most High” will also attempt to change His “times and laws.” The great majority of men to-day are not observing some of the times and laws as they were originally given by the Lord. This shows that a change has been attempted, but it does not prove that God recognizes it as anything else than an act of rebellion. It is not true that the spirit of rebellion is in the heart of every one who has been led off into these changes; but it is a fact that bitter rebellion is in the breast of the great arch-rebel who is back of it all. And the only thing we should inquire after is the real truth of God, so that we may be sure to stand with Him. Any candid mind that will take the Bible, the Word of the living God, as a guide, can arrive at no other conclusion than that the seventh day, commonly called Saturday, is the Sabbath. It is simply a matter of fact that no other weekly Sabbath is anywhere presented in the Word of the Lord. But notwithstanding this simple, plain fact, we see that the majority of men keep Sunday, a thing that the Lord has nowhere enjoined. Then is it not unmistakably true that the prophecy quoted at the head of this article from the book of Daniel has been most literally fulfilled? Has not some power succeeded most wonderfully in leading millions of minds into his thoughts of changing, or trampling under foot, the sacred time of the Most High? Which side am I on to-day? This is the all-important question for each and every one of us. Not only has this power sought to change the day of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first, but he has also sought to change the time at which the Sabbath begins. The world at large begins the day at midnight and closes it at midnight, with nothing but the clock that human hands have made to mark the arrival of the hour. Some of the humanly constructed timepieces are marvels of accuracy. They make only a slight variation from perfect time; yet they vary. But the timepiece that God has set to indicate the beginning and the close of the day is infinitely perfect. It is appointed by the Lord to rule the day. Then the time set by the Lord for the beginning and the close of His Sabbath is that which we should accept, because it is designated by His infinitely perfect orb that measures the day.(327) If you are not aware of the Lord’s direction as to when the day begins, read His Word on the subject: “From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” Lev. 23:32. “Even” is the time of the setting of the sun; for we read, “At even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.” Mark 1:32. A person needs only to read this scripture to see that “even” is the time of sun “set.” Then the time when the Sabbath begins is at the setting of the sun, and not at midnight. Further evidence upon this point might be given, but when anything is stated so plainly in the Bible, what is the use of multiplying words? The Lord’s prophet makes the statement very plain that a power would arise that would “think to change [the] times and [the] laws” of the Most High God. And all must admit that the Sabbath of the commandment, and of the entire Bible, has been set aside, so far as the vast majority are concerned, and another rest-day put in its place. The time when the day begins has also been changed from sunset, where the unvarying sun marks the close of one day and the beginning of the next, to midnight, where there is nothing in nature to show the hour. These changes have been made, so far as the thoughts and acts of men are concerned. The prophecy said it would be done, and we see that the prophecy has been most literally fulfilled. But what is the power that has done all this? When Christ was crucified, and when the last of His apostles had passed from the stage of action, the Sabbath as given by Jehovah in the beginning, was still held in its rightful place by those who were the followers of the Lord. But apostasies soon began, and the distinction that our heavenly Father designed should ever be a wall of separation and enlightenment between His followers and the heathen world, was broken down and ignored. And the more influential bishops, as well as the preachers of lesser note, in order to make a great showing for the church, permitted innovations that involved the very foundations of Christianity. Among these innovations was the Sunday festival of the heathen world—the day dedicated by the great idolatrous hosts to the worship of the sun. The heathen had every day in the week dedicated to the worship of some of their deities; but the Sunday took the precedence of all others, because to them the sun was the most luminous of all the heavenly bodies. The sun was the greatest object of their adoration, and for that reason they attached greater importance to the Sunday that they had dedicated to his worship. For a time in the earlier centuries the Sunday, and also the Sabbath, in so far as the people still retained the sacred rest-day of Jehovah, were permitted to be observed together. Or to be more exact, the professing Christians began to respect the heathen sun-festival, in order, as they said, not to appear too obnoxious, and at the same time they put the Sabbath more or less in the background. Finally the conditions were ripened for it, and Constantine, emperor of Rome, issued the first general Sunday law. This law, as at first issued by him, however, was not very strict. It was by the stealthy decay of apostasy, and after the Papacy was fully developed, that the true Sabbath was set aside, and Sunday, without one word of authority from the Lord, was put in its place. Thus Sunday observance grew up with the development of the Papacy. And when the time came that the world had popes and papal councils, then, and not till then, do we find the Sunday-Sabbath promulgated as a Christian institution. This is not a theory. It is a simple, brief statement of the solid facts of undisputed history, and history, too, that fulfils the unfailing prophecy of the Scriptures. The literature of the Papacy is full of the claim that the Sabbath has been set aside, and Sunday put in its place, by the Papal hierarchy. We will take the space here for only one quotation on this subject from Catholic authorities. The reader can have abundant opportunity to pursue the subject further if he so desires. The quotation is from the work of Monsignor Segur, entitled, “Plain Talk about the Protestantism of To-day.” This book was first written in French, but was considered of sufficient importance to be translated into the English, and extensively circulated in this country. The quotation from Mgr. Segur reads thus:— “It is worth its while to remember that this observance of the Sabbath,—in which, after all, the only Protestant worship consists,—not only has no foundation in the Bible, but it is in flagrant contradiction with its letter, which commands rest on the Sabbath, which is Saturday. It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday, in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Church.”—Plain Talk, etc., p. 225. Jesus Christ did not give the Catholic Church the authority to substitute Sunday for the Sabbath. Their claim that He did is based upon their other claim, that the Church of Rome is God’s delegated authority and power upon earth. And claiming this power, they also claim the power to change the Sabbath, which, in the language of the prophecy, they had “thought” to do. Thus do we have the prophecy foretelling the rise of a power that would think to change God’s “times and laws.” And the power prophesied of boldly steps forward to boastfully say, “I have done it.” This makes the evidence complete, and it has in it the real truth about the attempted change of the Sabbath. Thru this apostasy, and the elevation of Sunday, the true Sabbath was largely obliterated from the minds of men. But the original Sabbath of Jehovah is to be restored to its rightful place, and properly observed by every true follower of the Lord. There are prophecies in the Bible which make this matter clear. They will be the subject for consideration in an article next week. T.