p. 5 | The Prophecy by H. C. Giles

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 1, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 31.

The Prophecy

By H. C. Giles

THE ANCIENT APOSTASY, A TYPE OF THE FALLING AWAY IN THE CHURCH.

[This is article eighteen, and the last of the series.]

BUT the question will doubtless arise in the mind of the reader, Can it be that as soon after the establishment of the church in all the splendor and power of the Gospel, by Christ Himself, only a few short years after the apostles had ceased their labors apostasy had become so deeply seated in the church as to effect a change in the Sabbath? Let us briefly consider what was necessary for this apostasy to do its work. It was to speak things "perverse," or "turned to evil." The heart of man naturally is "prone to evil." "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." All that would be necessary, then, for the church to speak things "perverse," or "turned to evil," would be for her to lose her first love. And just in proportion as she declined in spirituality would the "falling away" be brought about and the "man of sin" be developed. That the tide of retrogression had already set in before the close of the Scripture canon, can be abundantly proved. Already in the time of the apostle were those in the church who would "pervert" the Gospel of Christ; "and no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness." 2 Cor. 11: 14, 15. Said the inspired penman: "There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them."

Let this point here be carefully noted: The experience of ancient Israel, "the church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38), is typical of the experience of modern Israel, the Christian church. In relating God's dealings with His ancient people, the apostle declares: "Now all these things happened unto them for types; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Cor. 10:11. Therefore the church founded by Moses in the wilderness was but a type of the experience of the church of Christ. To appreciate the full significance of this, let the following comparison between the two churches, the type and antitype, be carefully studied:—

The Prophecy.

The Type.

Moses, the apostle of ancient Israel, warns against apostasy in the wilderness church:—

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons [the church], and thy sons' sons; lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them." "But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish." Deut. 4:9, 19 (R.V.); 20:17, 18.

The wilderness church was to "take heed" lest it be "drawn away" to worship "other gods." Sun, moon, and host of heaven were to "draw away" the church after them. Sun-worship outside the church is Paganism.

The Antitype.

Paul, an apostle of modern Israel, warns against apostasy in the Christian church:—

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:28-30. "For it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God." 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, R.V.

The Christian church was to "take heed" lest it be "drawn away" to worship a power setting itself forth as God. Grievous wolves and men were to "draw away" the church "after them." Sun-worship in the church is the Papacy.

The Fulfilment of Prophecy.

Type.

"And the people [the wilderness church] served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that out-lived Joshua; and Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth [the sun and moon]." Judges 2:7-13.

Antitype.

And the church served the Lord all the days of Paul, and all the days of the apostles that out-lived Paul. And Paul, the servant of the Lord, died; and also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, which kept not God's Sabbath, by which alone the knowledge of God and His works can be maintained. Eze. 20:12-24. And the church did evil because of the "perverse things" spoken (Acts 20:30), and kept the sun's day; and they forsook the Sabbath of the Lord, the sign of their allegiance to the true God, and substituted the "pagan habits and ceremonies" of the people round about them, and provoked the Lord to anger; and they forsook the Lord, and worshiped the sun on the sun's day.—Ecclesiastical and Profane History.

The foregoing is no fancy picture, but the plain statement of the prophecy, and its fulfilment in both the typical church and the antitype. Between the two there is perfect accord. Otherwise the wilderness church could be neither "type" nor "admonition" to the Christian church. "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me." Acts 3:22; Deut. 18:18. As Moses was "like unto" Christ, so was the church founded by Moses a "type" of the church founded by Christ. As in the wilderness church, no sooner had its founder been removed, than the generation following relapsed into idolatry, uniting with the surrounding nations in the worship of the sun, so in the Christian church, no sooner was its Founder taken away, and His co-laborers, the apostles, passed off the stage of action, than the "mystery of iniquity" began to work and "perverse things" began to be spoken, resulting in the "falling away" of the church into adopting "habits and ceremonies" borrowed from sun-worship, chief among which was the observance of the first day of the week (the sun's day, hence Sunday) instead of the seventh, "the Sabbath day according to the commandment" of Jehovah.

The Third Angel's Message.

Thus we have the issue brought plainly before us. In order that the exceeding sinfulness of sin might appear and that iniquity might be unveiled in all its enormity, God permitted the "man of sin," the very embodiment of iniquity, to be revealed in its fulness here upon the earth, in full view of all the beholding universe, for "we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men." 1 Cor. 4:9. For twelve long centuries the truth and people of God were trodden underfoot, but through it all God reserved witnesses of His truth and a remnant of His people. As in the beginning God "commanded light to shine out of darkness," so at this time, when darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people, God said, "Let there be light; and there was light." God had a message that all the world must hear. Christ was soon to come. God's downtrodden truth must rise, and the earth, as at the first, be enlightened with its glory. To prepare the way for this, the power of the Papacy was broken, and its desolations ceased A.D. 1798, as has been shown. Here, according to the prophecy, "the time of the end" (Dan. 11:33, 35) was to begin. At this time the prophetic book was opened, and many ran "to and fro," searching through its sacred pages for light and truth. Dan. 12:4. Studying these prophecies, it was seen that the longest prophetic period, reaching to God's appointed time for the judgment of the world (Acts 17:31) and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary (Dan. 8:14), closed in 1844. At that time a heaven-sent message began to be proclaimed with a loud voice throughout the world, the burden of which was, "Fear God [not the apostate "man of sin"], and give glory to Him [by honoring His Sabbath instead of the institution of the apostasy]; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. 14:7. That reference is here made to God's down-trodden Sabbath, is evident; for in the Sabbath precept alone God appears as Creator, and the Sabbath alone is the sign of His creatorship. Hence this message is a heaven-sent call to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," to recognize their allegiance to their Creator by observing His rest-day. But this is not all. Another message, the third and last, follows, saying:—

"If any man worship the beast [the papal system] and his image [something embodying like principles], and receive his mark [the observance of Sunday, the sign of papal authority, against God's warnings] in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation." Rev. 14:9, 10.

This is Mercy's last warning to a world in rebellion against the government of heaven. That the Sabbath is the point at issue in the message, appears again from the fact that those who receive it are designated as "they that keep [not simply nine, but all ten, of] the commandments of God." Rev. 14:12. God's true saints, or "holy ones," in the last days will keep all His holy commandments, as they have ever sought to do. The institution through which the knowledge of God is communicated to man, is the Sabbath; therefore the saints keep the true Sabbath. It is for this reason that the Papacy formerly sought to corrupt and destroy all in her power. Dan. 7:21; 8:24. And when in the providence of God other saints are raised up to communicate the knowledge of God to a world in darkness, "the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God." Rev. 12:17. Thus the Sabbath is the testing truth in the "remnant" church. Fear God and keep all His commandments and enter into life, or worship the beast of apostasy by observing a false institution instead of Jehovah's rest-day, and perish at last, is the alternative brought before us in Mercy's last warning from heaven. Reader, which will you choose?