The state is also ordained of God to preserve order, and to protect men from violence. It exists because of sin; and were there no sin, there would be no reason for its existence. Its mission is solely the prevention of evil by evil-minded persons, through fear of penalties. Acting in its own sphere it is always useful, and will be as long as sin exists. In meeting its highest purpose it could have no union with religion or the church. Religion would find no place in its statute books, and the church no recognizance.
These are the divine purposes, fully set forth in the Word, as respects both church and state. The divine church grows by the life of God, and is moulded and led by the Word of God. The state is ordained in general, according to the demands of the period and place of its existence, exercising proper jurisdiction when it attends to its own affairs in civil capacity, having naught to do with religion.
It has been Satan’s studied object to unite church and state from the beginning. Separate, they are useful and helpful to the world’s life. United, they become a deadly poison to both the body politic and the body ecclesiastic. From such a union springs the great apocalyptic beasts, which cruelly tear and ruthlessly crush out the lives of all who oppose them. See Daniel 7 and Revelation 12, 13, and 17.
The “beast” of Rev. 13:1–10 is a symbol of this power through the ages, existing under various forms, symbolized by the seven heads. Under the dominant head of the period presented in Rev. 13:1–10, the beast is representative of the Papacy. It exercised persecuting power for 1260 years, at the close of which it is represented as going into captivity. That which made it a persecuting power was the union of church and state. The Dark Ages is a witness of its baleful effects in both church and state.
Just at the time when this power as a persecutor goes into captivity (verse 10), the prophet sees another power arising in the form of “another beast” “coming up out of the earth,” having “two horns like a lamb, and it spake as a dragon.” There are, among other specifications worthy of note which clearly signify to what power this symbol applies, the four following: 1. The time of its rise; 2. The territory of its operation; 3. Its professed character as indicated by its horns; 4. Its real character and work, as shown by its voice.
1. The time of the rise of this power was when the previous beast under the papal head was going into captivity as a persecuting power. This power was lost in 1798 when Pope Pius VI. was taken into captivity, since which time the Papacy has not been recognized by civil power as the sponsor of the faith of the nations, and the judge of heretics. At this time—the close of the eighteenth century—there was but one new power of note rising above the world’s horizon, namely, the United States of America.
2. The beasts representing the nations of the Old World, are represented as rising out of the sea (Dan. 7:2, 3, 17; Rev. 13:1), the sea, or water, being symbolical of the great moving, changing, fluctuating tides of national ebb and flow (Rev. 17:15; Isa. 8:7). But the two-horned beast arises to power, not among the known nations of the world, but in a hitherto unknown part. This specification is met in this nation and government; for it arose, as it were, “amid the solitudes of earth,”
3. It had two horns like a lamb, a feature marked in no other symbol of divine prophecy. The “lamb” is a symbol of Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the lamb “having seven horns.” Rev. 5:6. A horn is the symbol of power, exaltation, or that which brings prominence or exaltation. There were two principles in the doctrines of Christ, which, adopted by any government, would give prominence to that government, and serve to elevate it. These two principles in the Christian religion, have, apart from its inherent divine power, helped to win it favor wherever they are known, and men who do not embrace it admire it. These two principles in this government have also won the admiration of those who love justice in all nations, and have brought to these shores multitudes of the oppressed and liberty-loving of the Old World. These principles are the absolute equality or brotherhood of mankind, and perfect freedom of choice as regards religious belief or non-belief. The first is expressed in passages like these: “God . . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17: 26), and “One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren” (Matt. 23: 8). The second by these words: “If any man hear My words and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12: 47. “God is no respecter of persons.” See also John 18: 36; Matt. 20: 25–28; Luke 9: 51–56; 2 Cor. 1: 24; 5: 11, 20. The work of Christ’s ministers is not to compel, but to win; not to command, but to persuade and beseech. Only one religion on the face of the whole earth knows the principles of the equality of men and the absolute freedom of the will, without compulsion. Only one nation on the face of the earth of any note ever embodied in the charter of its existence and the principles of its government, these two characteristics, and that is the United States of America.
The equality of man is set forth in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The freedom of religion is set forth in the first amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” These Christlike principles confine the symbol of the two-horned beast to this country and no other.
4. “It spake as a dragon.” The “dragon” is Satanic, the symbol of a persecuting power. Rev. 12: 9, 13. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The speaking is the revelation of the real nature, and an after-development in this nation. A government speaks through its laws and decrees. The symbol indicates, therefore, that the United States will yet become a persecuting power. Are there indications that such will be the case?—Fifty years ago it could not be said that such indications existed. Now they are legion.
It will be seen by the prophecy that the two-horned beast makes an image to the beast, and enforces the mark of the beast upon those within its jurisdiction. That which composed the beast was a union of church and state, the state enforcing the dogmas of the church. An image to the beast would be the establishment of the same thing in this government. The limited space of this Appendix will not permit the quotation of proof that this is already done in principle. We note, however, a few facts: 1. In 1864 the National Reform Association was formed, the avowed object of which is “to secure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will declare the nation’s allegiance to Jesus Christ, and its acceptance of the moral laws of the Christian religion, and so indicate that this is a Christian nation, and place all the Christian laws, institutions, and usages of our government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” Of course the intelligent and discerning reader will at once see that this purpose crystallized into law would be but man’s interpretation of “the moral laws of the Christian religion.” Such the Dark Ages possessed in abundance.
2. While the above association has never been numerically great, it has disseminated its erroneous views into every religious denomination, into our institutions of learning, and among the members of every prominent organization in reform work. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the Prohibition Party, the great denominations of the land have, in some form or other, favored these views, and brought839pressure, through political influence, to bear upon public officials in national and state governments.
3. February 29, 1892, the Supreme Court of this government declared, in the Trinity Church decision, that “this is a Christian nation,” and the following summer both houses of Congress with the president yielded to the pressure, and declared the Sabbath of the fourth commandment to be Sunday, the first day of the week, thus as civil officers rendering a decision upon a religious question, and thus committing the government to that course of procedure.
4. Later developments, notably the official recognition and reception of a representative of the Vatican by the government, just previous to our war with Spain, reveals the fact that the preliminary steps of a union of church and state—an image to the beast—have been taken.
The mark of a power is that which is specifically set forth as the sign of its authority. God’s authority and jurisdiction are vested in His all-creative power. The sign, or mark, of that authority is the Sabbath. See Ex. 20: 8–11; Eze. 20: 12, 20. The mark of the beast is that which the Papacy holds forth as the sign of her authority. As a persecuting power, it must be an opposing power to true Christianity. Its mark must show opposition or change in God’s law. In the difference between God’s law as given in His Word and practised by Jesus Christ, and that same law as interpreted, taught, practised, and enforced by the Papacy, must be found the mark of that power.
As noted above, God’s sign of power is His holy Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The Papal interpretation of that law does not vary from the Word, save only in respect to this command. The law of the Lord declares that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” The Roman Catholic Church declares that to keep holy that command is “to spend Sunday [the first day] in prayer and other religious duties.”—Butler’s Catechism. In proving that that “church has power to institute festivals of precept,” the “Doctrinal Catechism” says: “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.” Another Catholic work (“Abridgment of Christian Doctrine”) proves the same authority of the church “by the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday. . . . By keeping Sunday they [Protestants] acknowledge the church’s power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin.” Much other testimony to the same fact could be adduced from both Catholics and Protestants. The mark of the beast, therefore, is Sunday enforced by law.
Are there evidences that this government will do this, and will cause all her subjects to receive this mark in the right hand, by abstaining from all labor, or in the forehead, freely and professedly?—There is abundance of evidence. Already several individual states have prosecuted those who have performed common labor on Sunday. Already the national government has committed itself to the Sunday-sabbath in its decision that the World’s Fair should be closed that day. Already by the multiplying of judicial decisions, contrary to the Constitution and true Americanism, and by the enormous pressure of enthusiastic religionists upon public men, is the nation being urged forward to the logical end of the steps already taken, a complete union of church and state, and the elevation of the Sunday in statute law.
What then?—There will be those who, in conscience to God and His Word, cannot observe it. They cannot give their allegiance to the banner of another power. Therefore laws will grow more stringent; but these will be disregarded for conscientious reasons. The blinded government, launched on its fatal course, will find it necessary to maintain its false dignity. It will impose severer fines and penalties, till confiscation of goods, deprivation of citizenship, will follow. The “heretics” must neither buy nor sell. They will be boycotted. Still further, if they persist in what a blinded government will call “obstinacy,” they will be deemed traitors, and the punishment due treason is death.
The prophecy declares that this government will yet say that such shall be killed. The above shows that the course upon which this nation has entered will logically lead to this end. Not only so, but her influence in this respect will lead the world840back to the Dark Ages, to the utter ruin of both church and state. Those who do not know these things may treat them as incredible, but if they will investigate, they may understand. But God will care for the faithful; they need not fear. Those in danger are the persecutors, not the persecuted.
NOTE 2. PAGE 233.—The wisdom of God was shown in His choice of the time for Christ’s advent to the world. By His coming at so late a period, ample opportunity was given for the witness of prophecy to His mission. A line of inspired predictions, spanning many centuries, pointed to the events connected with His appearance in the form of humanity. God designed that the fulfilment of these prophecies should strengthen the faith of the believers in Christ. Had the Saviour come much earlier than He did, this advantage would not have been so great.
And it was in God’s providence that Christ should come when the Roman power held sway. The Jews, because of their apostasy from God, had come under the dominion of a heathen nation. Though they still had a measure of authority, yet even the Sanhedrim could not pass judgment in a case involving capital punishment. Controlled by bigotry and tradition, the Jews were most cruel and unrelenting. Their hatred of Christ was intense. Had they possessed supreme power, the jealous priests and rulers would quickly have made way with such a rival. The Saviour’s work among men would have been cut short, and we should have had no record of His life and ministry. And there would have been no cross of Christ upon Calvary. Crucifixion was a Roman method of punishment. Had the Jews possessed independent power, they would have put Christ to death by stoning, on the false charge of breaking the law of God. This would not have fulfilled the prophecy that as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up.
Again, had Christ’s coming been longer deferred, the Jews could not have brought about His death by crucifixion. Their power was steadily declining, and they would not have had sufficient influence with the Roman authorities to secure His condemnation.
The Roman power was the instrument in God’s hand to prevent the light of the world from going out in darkness. According to the plan of God, the cross was uplifted in the sight of all nations, tongues, and peoples, calling their attention to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
Soon after the crucifixion of Christ, the use of the cross in Judea was discontinued. The scenes that took place at the Saviour’s death, the intense malignity of the priests, and the rage of the people, the convulsions of nature and the supernatural darkness, struck such terror to the Romans that the cross as an instrument of death soon fell into disuse. At the destruction of Jerusalem, crucifixion was revived for a time; but it was now the Jews themselves who were the victims. The same doom which they had pronounced upon Christ, now came upon them. Multitudes perished in this manner. Crosses were planted upon Calvary as thickly as forest trees.
Christ’s coming at the time and in the manner He did, was a direct and complete fulfilment of prophecy. The evidence of this, given to the world through the witness of the apostles and their associates, is one of the strongest proofs of the Christian faith. We were not eye-witnesses of the life of Jesus, but we have the testimony of His disciples; and by faith we see through their eyes, and hear through their ears, and our faith with theirs grasps the evidence given.
The apostles accepted Christ upon the witness of prophecy, which was confirmed to them as they themselves saw and handled the Word of life. We also have the testimony of the prophets of the Old Testament, and we have also the witness of apostles and believers in the New. The prophets pointed to a Saviour to come; the apostles tell of a Saviour who has come in exact fulfilment of prophecy. Thus the chain of evidence is full and complete. It is sufficient to convince all who are willing to believe. God has given men ample testimony to establish their faith in His power, in the divine mission of His Son, and in the authority and work of the Holy Spirit.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
The days here mentioned are the 1260 prophetic days, or years, of tribulation of God’s people, covering the Dark Ages, and foretold in Dan. 7:25; 11:33–35; and Rev. 12:6, 13–16. These days began in A. D. 538 when the bishop of Rome was made, by decree of Justinian and by the overthrow of opposing Arian powers, “Head over All the Holy Churches” and “True and Effective Corrector of Heretics.” They continued to 1798, when Pius VI. was taken prisoner by General Berthier, and the power of the Papacy over the governments of Europe was broken. The tribulation, the active persecution, did not continue the whole period. The Lord shortened the tribulation for “the elect’s sake.” Two important things occurred to break the power of this persecution: (1) The increasing influence of the Reformation over Europe, enlightening rulers in regard to true Christianity; and (2) the opening of the New World to the oppressed of all nations. The rulers of Europe saw their best and most conscientious subjects leaving them for America, and saw that toleration was necessary if they retained them. The first ruler of influence to move in this respect was Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, who in 1776 abolished torture in the hereditary states, followed by the decree of toleration by her son, the Emperor Joseph II., June 22, 1781. In 1776 the United Colonies of America were declared to be free and independent states; and thus was opened a refuge for the oppressed of all nations. “The earth helped the woman.” Rev. 12:16. The darkening of the sun was to occur “in those days, after that tribulation” (Mark 13:24), “immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29). As the tribulation ceased about 1776, and the days ended in 1798, we are shut up to the brief period of twenty-two years for the first of these signs to occur. Therefore, however many darkenings of the sun may have occurred in the past, or may occur in the future, this prophecy is not affected thereby. The prophecy points to a darkening of the sun that must have taken place between 1776 and 1798, nearer to the former date than the latter.
In fulfilment of our Lord’s prediction, May 19, 1780, occurred a most remarkable darkening of the sun, extending over the eastern portion of North America, and noted by many scholars and writers. It is referred to in Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, which, after giving the date of the event, says, “The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is unknown.” Cattle returned home, fowls went to roost, and men and women wailed and wept, believing the day of Judgment had come.
The following night, although the moon was at the full, it was so dark that, in the words of one writer, “a sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eye, was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.” At times, when the moon did appear, it was red as blood. See Rev. 6:12.
The last of this series was that of the falling of the stars, or meteors, more graphically described in Rev. 6:13. This was fulfilled in the great meteoric shower of November 13, 1833, which was visible to the eye on the greater part of the earth’s surface. The following diagram will assist to an understanding of the prophecy:—
A. D.
Beginning
of Days
538
1,260 DAYS OR YEARS OF PERSECUTION
Shortening
of Tribulation
1776
End
of Days
1798
1780
Darkening of Sun
and Moon
1833
Falling of
Stars
These are specific signs to the last generation of men living upon the earth before Christ comes. They do not reveal the day and hour of His coming, but they testify with threefold assurance that “when ye see all these things, know ye that He is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation [to which these842things come as signs] shall not pass away till all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” Matt. 24:32-36, R. V. Christ’s coming is at the door.
NOTE 4.PAGE 751.—It is well known that the punctuation of the Bible is not the work of the inspired writers. Indeed, punctuation is but a modern art, the comma in its present form having been invented in 1490 by a printer of Venice. We are therefore at liberty to change the punctuation of Scripture as the sense may require. In Luke 23:43, place the comma after “to-day,” and give the direct instead of the inverted form of the verb, and the text reads, “Verily I say unto thee to-day, Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.” There is now no lack of harmony between this text and Christ’s later statement, that He had not yet ascended to His Father.
NOTE 5. PAGE 788.—It is worthy of note that six of the eight times that “the first day of the week” is mentioned in the New Testament refer to the same day, the day on which our Lord rose from the dead. The passages which mention it are as follows: Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19. Strange it is that these passages referring to the day of our Lord’s resurrection, are cited as proof of a Sunday-sabbath, or Lord’s day. The following considerations will clearly show that they furnish no evidence of first-day sacredness:—
1. It is not said in these passages, nor in the context of any of them, nor, in fact, anywhere in the Word, that Sunday is the Sabbath, the Lord’s day, a sacred day, or that it would ever take the place of the Sabbath of the Lord. Surely of him who would observe the Sunday as a holy day, or in honor of the resurrection, the Lord could well inquire as of old, “Who hath required this at your hand?”
2. It is said by Biblical scholars that Matthew wrote his Gospel from seven to thirty years after the resurrection; Mark, his Gospel, thirty years; Luke his, thirty-two years; and John about sixty years afterward. But not one of them designates the day by any other term than “first day of the week,” while the day before is uniformly called by the sacred name “the Sabbath.” Surely Inspiration knew no change of the Sabbath.
3. That the day was not celebrated in honor of a risen Christ is evident from the fact that the disciples “believed not” that He was risen, even when told by Mary. Mark 16:11. Neither did the disciples believe the story of the two who saw Jesus at Emmaus, Verses 12, 13. And when our Lord appeared to the eleven, “they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit” (Luke 24:37), and our Lord “upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen” (Mark 16:14). Certainly the disciples were not met together to celebrate the resurrection of One whom they did not believe to have arisen.
4. It will be noticed that this day was not regarded by the disciples as a holy day. Two of them journeyed to Emmaus, a village about eight miles from Jerusalem, spending thus a considerable portion of the day. Returning to Jerusalem at the very close of that day, they found the disciples gathered together, not for the purpose of a religious meeting, but at their own common abode in Jerusalem, with the doors shut for “fear of the Jews.” Compare John 20:19; Acts 1:13.
5. Jesus did not use a serial day of a week in rising from the dead, as He did in resting from creation, nor did He use the whole of a day. Why should a whole day of a week be set apart as its memorial? God has given to the world a more fitting and everlasting memorial of His resurrection, namely, the power of a new life in His believing children. Rom. 6:6. Neither the life nor teaching of Christ or His apostles furnishes any ground for Sunday sacredness.
In two other places is the first day of the week mentioned in the New Testament; namely, Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 16:2. The former refers to the only religious meeting specifically held on that day, evidently because of the noted miracle then wrought. That meeting was held on the evening preceding the day, and lasted till daylight; and that Sunday was spent in physical labor by both Paul and his companions. The second text refers to a business transaction, at home. “Let every one of you lay by him in store,” not in a public collection, not in a general contribution box, but “lay aside and preserve at home” (Syriac). The conclusion is inevitable to a Bible student that Sunday “sacredness” is wholly of tradition and not of the Word.
