Chapter 35 : Character and Aims of the Papacy


Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor
than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in
the ascendency, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in
order to gain influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning
the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal
hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground, that, after all, we do not
differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a
little concession on our part will bring us into a better understanding
with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high value
upon the liberty of conscience which has been so dearly purchased.
They taught their children to abhor popery, and held that to seek
harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely
different are the sentiments now expressed.
The defenders of popery declare that the church has been maligned;
and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the statement.
Many urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by the abominations
and absurdities that marked her reign during the centuries
of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as the
result of the barbarism of the times, and plead that the influence of
modern civilization has changed her sentiments.
Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility put forth
for eight hundred years by this haughty power? So far from being
relinquished, this claim has been affirmed in the nineteenth century
with greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that
she “never erred, and never can err,“ how can she renounce the [564]
principles which governed her course in past ages?
The papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility.
All that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her
dogmas, she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same
acts, should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now
imposed by secular governments be removed, and Rome be re-

instated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival
of her tyranny and persecution.
A recent writer [Josiah Strong, D.D., In “Our Country,” pp. 46-
48.] speaks thus of the attitude of the papal hierarchy as regards
freedom of conscience, and of the perils which especially threaten
the United States from the success of her policy:—
“There are many who are disposed to attribute any fear of Roman
Catholicism in the United States to bigotry or childishness. Such
see nothing in the character and attitude of Romanism that is hostile
to our free institutions, or find nothing portentous in its growth. Let
us, then, first compare some of the fundamental principles of our
government with those of the Catholic Church.
“The Constitution of the United States guarantees liberty of
conscience. Nothing is dearer or more fundamental. Pope Pius IX.,
in his Encyclical Letter of August 15, 1854, said: ‘The absurd and
erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience,
are a most pestilential error—a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded
in a State.’ The same pope, in his Encyclical Letter of December 8,
1864, anathematized ‘those who assert the liberty of conscience and
of religious worship,’ also ‘all such as maintain that the church may
not employ force.’
“The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a
change of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop
O’Connor: ‘Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite
[565] can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.’” “The
archbishop of St. Louis once said: ‘Heresy and unbelief are crimes;
and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where
all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an
essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other
crimes.’”
“Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in the Catholic Church
takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which occur the following
words: ‘Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord the pope, or
his aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute and oppose.’”
It is true that there are real Christians in the Roman Catholic
communion. Thousands in that church are serving God according to
the best light they have. They are not allowed access to his Word,
and therefore they do not discern the truth. They have never seen the

contrast between a living heart-service and a round of mere forms
and ceremonies. God looks with pitying tenderness upon these souls,
educated as they are in a faith that is delusive and unsatisfying. He
will cause rays of light to penetrate the dense darkness that surrounds
them. He will reveal to them the truth, as it is in Jesus, and many
will yet take their position with his people.
But Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the
gospel of Christ now than at any former period in her history. The
Protestant churches are in great darkness, or they would discern
the signs of the times. The Roman Church is far-reaching in her
plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to
extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a
fierce and determined conflict to regain control of the world, to reestablish
persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done.
Catholicism is gaining ground upon every side. [See Appendix,
Note 10.] See the increasing number of her churches and chapels
in Protestant countries. Look at the popularity of her colleges and
seminaries in America, so widely patronized by Protestants Look at [566]
the growth of ritualism in England, and the frequent defections to
the ranks of the Catholics. These things should awaken the anxiety
of all who prize the pure principles of the gospel.
Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery; they have
made compromises and concessions which papists themselves are
surprised to see, and fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to
the real character of Romanism, and the dangers to be apprehended
from her supremacy. The people need to be aroused to resist the
advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.
Many Protestants suppose that the Catholic religion is unattractive,
and that its worship is a dull, meaningless round of ceremony.
Here they mistake. While Romanism is based upon deception, it
is not a coarse and clumsy imposture. The religious service of the
Romish Church is a most impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display
and solemn rites fascinate the senses of the people, and silence
the voice of reason and of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent
churches, imposing processions, golden altars, jeweled shrines,
choice paintings, and exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty.
The ear also is captivated. The music is unsurpassed. The rich notes
of the deep-toned organ, blending with the melody of many voices

as it swells through the lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand
cathedrals, cannot fail to impress the mind with awe and reverence.
This outward splendor, pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks
the longings of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward corruption.
The religion of Christ needs not such attractions to recommend it.
In the light shining from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure
and lovely that no external decorations can enhance its true worth. It
is the beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of value
with God.
[567] Brilliancy of style is not necessarily an index of pure, elevated
thought. High conceptions of art, delicate refinement of taste, often
exist in minds that are earthly and sensual. They are often employed
by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of the soul, to lose
sight of the future, immortal life, to turn away from their infinite
Helper, and to live for this world alone.
A religion of externals is attractive to the unrenewed heart. The
pomp and ceremony of the Catholic worship have a seductive, bewitching
power, by which many are deceived; and they come to look
upon the Roman Church as the very gate of Heaven. None but those
who have planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and
whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God, are proof against her
influence. Thousands who have not an experimental knowledge of
Christ will be led to accept the forms of godliness without the power.
Such a religion is just what the multitudes desire.
The church’s claim to the right to pardon, causes the Romanist
to feel at liberty to sin; and the ordinance of confession, without
which her pardon is not granted, tends also to give license to evil.
He who kneels before fallen man, and opens in confession the secret
thoughts and imaginations of his heart, is debasing his manhood,
and degrading every noble instinct of his soul. In unfolding the
sins of his life to a priest,—an erring, sinful mortal, and too often
corrupted with wine and licentiousness,—his standard of character
is lowered, and he is defiled in consequence. His thought of God
is degraded to the likeness of fallen humanity; for the priest stands
as a representative of God. This degrading confession of man to
man is the secret spring from which has flowed much of the evil
that is defiling the world, and fitting it for the final destruction. Yet
to him who loves self-indulgence, it is more pleasing to confess to

a fellow-mortal than to open the soul to God. It is more palatable
to human nature to do penance than to renounce sin; it is easier to
mortify the flesh by sackcloth and nettles and galling chains than [568]
to crucify fleshly lusts. Heavy is the yoke which the carnal heart is
willing to bear rather than bow to the yoke of Christ.
There is a striking similarity between the Church of Rome and
the Jewish Church at the time of Christ’s first advent. While the
Jews secretly trampled upon every principle of the law of God, they
were outwardly rigorous in the observance of its precepts, loading
it down with exactions and traditions that made obedience painful
and burdensome. As the Jews professed to revere the law, so do
Romanists claim to reverence the cross. They exalt the symbol
of Christ’s sufferings, while in their lives they deny him whom it
represents.
Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and
upon their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross.
Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted. But the teachings
of Christ are buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false
interpretations, and rigorous exactions. The Saviour’s words concerning
the bigoted Jews, apply with still greater force to the Romish
leaders: “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and
lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers.” [Matthew 23:4.] Conscientious souls
are kept in constant terror, fearing the wrath of an offended God,
while the dignitaries of the church are living in luxury and sensual
pleasure.
The worship of images and relics, the invocation of saints, and
the exaltation of the pope, are devices of Satan to attract the minds
of the people from God and from his Son. To accomplish their ruin,
he endeavors to turn their attention from Him through whom alone
they can find salvation. He will direct them to any object that can
be substituted for the One who has said, “Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew
11:28.]
It is Satan’s constant effort to misrepresent the character of God, [569]
the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great controversy.
His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law, and gives
men license to sin. At the same time he causes them to cherish

false conceptions of God, so that they regard him with fear and hate,
rather than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own character
is attributed to the Creator; it is embodied in systems of religion,
and expressed in modes of worship. Thus the minds of men are
blinded, and Satan secures them as his agents to war against God.
By perverted conceptions of the divine attributes, heathen nations
were led to believe human sacrifices necessary to secure the favor
of Deity; and horrible cruelties have been perpetrated under the
various forms of idolatry. The Romish Church, uniting the forms
of paganism and Christianity, and, like paganism, misrepresenting
the character of God, has resorted to practices no less cruel and
revolting. In the days of Rome’s supremacy, there were instruments
of torture to compel assent to her doctrines. There was the stake for
those who would not concede to her claims. There were massacres
on a scale that will never be known until revealed in the Judgment.
Dignitaries of the church studied, under Satan their master, to invent
means to cause the greatest possible torture, and not end the life of
their victim. The infernal process was repeated to the utmost limit of
human endurance, until nature gave up the struggle, and the sufferer
hailed death as a sweet release.
Such was the fate of Rome’s opponents. For her adherents she
had the discipline of the scourge, of famishing hunger, of bodily
austerities in every conceivable, heartsickening form. To secure the
favor of Heaven, penitents violated the laws of God by violating the
laws of nature. They were taught to sunder every tie which he has
formed to bless and gladden man’s earthly sojourn. The churchyard
contains millions of victims, who spent their lives in vain endeavors
to subdue their natural affections, to repress, as offensive to God,
every thought and feeling of sympathy with their fellow-creatures.
[570] If we desire to understand the determined cruelty of Satan, manifested
for hundreds of years, not among those who never heard of
God, but in the very heart and throughout the extent of Christendom,
we have only to look at the history of Romanism. Through this mammoth
system of deception the prince of evil achieves his purpose of
bringing dishonor to God and wretchedness to man. And as we see
how he succeeds in disguising himself, and accomplishing his work
through the leaders of the church, we may better understand why he
has so great antipathy to the Bible. If that book is read, the mercy
Character and Aims of the Papacy 483
and love of God will be revealed; it will be seen that he lays upon
men none of these heavy burdens. All that he asks is a broken and
contrite heart, a humble, obedient spirit.
Christ gives no example in his life for men and women to shut
themselves in monasteries in order to become fitted for Heaven. He
has never taught that love and sympathy must be repressed. The
Saviour’s heart overflowed with love. The nearer man approaches to
moral perfection, the keener are his sensibilities, the more acute is
his perception of sin, and the deeper his sympathy for the afflicted.
The pope claims to be the vicar of Christ; but how does his character
bear comparison with that of our Saviour? Was Christ ever known to
consign men to the prison or the rack because they did not pay him
homage as the King of Heaven? Was his voice heard condemning
to death those who did not accept him? When he was slighted by
the people of a Samaritan village, the apostle John was filled with
indignation, and inquired, “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire
to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?”
Jesus looked with pity upon his disciple, and rebuked his harsh
spirit, saying, “The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives,
but to save them.” [Luke 9:54, 56.] How different from the spirit
manifested by Christ is that of his professed vicar.
The Romish Church now presents a fair front to the world,
covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has [571]
clothed herself in Christ-like garments; but she is unchanged. Every
principle of popery that existed in past ages exists today. The
doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive
themselves. The popery that Protestants are now so ready to honor is
the same that ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when
men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity.
She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it
over kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her
spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out
human liberty, and slew the saints of the Most High.
Popery is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the
apostasy of the latter times. [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.] It is a part of
her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her
purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon, she
conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. “We are not bound to

keep faith and promises to heretics,” she declares. Shall this power,
whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the
saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?
It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth in Protestant
countries, that Catholicism differs less widely from Protestantism
than in former times. There has been a change; but the
change is not in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much
of the Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so
greatly degenerated since the days of the reformers.
As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the
world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that
it is right to believe good of all evil; and as the inevitable result, they
will finally believe evil of all good. Instead of standing in defense
of the faith once delivered to the saints, they are now, as it were,
[572] apologizing to Rome for their uncharitable opinion of her, begging
pardon for their bigotry.
A large class, even of those who look upon Romanism with
no favor, apprehend little danger from her power and influence.
Many urge that the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during
the Middle Ages favored the spread of her dogmas, superstitions,
and oppression, and that the greater intelligence of modern times,
the general diffusion of knowledge, and the increasing liberality in
matters of religion, forbid a revival of intolerance and tyranny. The
very thought that such a state of things will exist in this enlightened
age is ridiculed. It is true that great light, intellectual, moral, and
religious, is shining upon this generation. In the open pages of God’s
holy Word, light from Heaven has been shed upon the world. But
it should be remembered that the greater the light bestowed, the
greater the darkness of those who pervert or reject it.
A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real
character of the papacy, and would cause them to abhor and to shun
it; but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need
of humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although
priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both
of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some
means of quieting their consciences; and they seek that which is least
spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting
God which shall pass as a method of remembering him. The papacy

is well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two
classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world,—those who
would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in
their sins. Here is the secret of its power.
A day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be favorable
to the success of popery. It will yet be demonstrated that
a day of great intellectual light is equally favorable for its success.
In past ages, when men were without God’s Word, and without the [573]
knowledge of the truth, their eyes were blindfolded, and thousands
were ensnared, not seeing the net spread for their feet. In this generation
there are many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of
human speculations, “science falsely so-called;” they discern not the
net, and walk into it as readily as if blindfolded. God designed that
man’s intellectual powers should be held as a gift from his Maker,
and should be employed in the service of truth and righteousness;
but when pride and ambition are cherished, and men exalt their own
theories above the Word of God, then intelligence can accomplish
greater harm than ignorance. Thus the false science of the nineteenth
century, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as successful
in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy, with its
pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in opening the
way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages.
In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure
for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the State,
Protestants are following in the steps of papists. [See Appendix,
Note 11.] Nay, more, they are opening the door for popery to regain
in Protestant America the supremacy which she has lost in the Old
World. And that which gives greater significance to this movement
is the fact that the principal object contemplated is the enforcement
of Sunday observance,—a custom which originated with Rome, and
which she claims as the sign of her authority. It is the spirit of the
papacy,—the spirit of conformity to worldly customs, the veneration
for human traditions above the commandments of God,—that is
permeating the Protestant churches, and leading them on to do the
same work of Sunday exaltation which the papacy has done before
them.
If the reader would understand the agencies to be employed in
the soon-coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means

which Rome employed for the same object in ages past. If he would
[574] know how papists and Protestants united will deal with those who
reject their dogmas, let him see the spirit which Rome manifested
toward the Sabbath and its defenders.
Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances sustained
by secular power, were the steps by which the pagan festival attained
its position of honor in the Christian world. The first public
measure enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine.
[A. D. 321.] This edict required townspeople to rest on
“the venerable day of the sun,” but permitted countrymen to continue
their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen statute, it was
enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of Christianity.
The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine
authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and
who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced
the claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not
a single testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the
new doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity,
and points to the real authors of the change. “All things,” he says,
“whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have
transferred to the Lord’s day.” But the Sunday argument, groundless
as it was, served to embolden men in trampling upon the Sabbath of
the Lord. All who desired to be honored by the world accepted the
popular festival.
As the papacy became firmly established, the work of Sunday
exaltation was continued. For a time the people engaged in agricultural
labor when not attending church, and the seventh day was
still regarded as the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected.
Those in holy office were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil
controversy on the Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever
rank, were commanded to refrain from common labor, on pain of
a fine for freemen, and stripes in the case of servants. Later it was
[575] decreed, that rich men should be punished with the loss of half of
their estates; and finally, that if still obstinate they should be made
slaves. The lower classes were to suffer perpetual banishment.
Miracles also were called into requisition. Among other wonders
it was reported that as a husbandman who was about to plow his
field on Sunday, cleaned his plow with an iron, the iron stuck fast
in his hand, and for two years he carried it about with him, “to his
exceeding great pain and shame.”
Later, the pope gave directions that the parish priest should admonish
the violators of Sunday, and wish them to go to church and
say their prayers, lest they bring some great calamity on themselves
and neighbors. An ecclesiastical council brought forward the argument,
since so widely employed, even by Protestants, that because
persons had been struck by lightning while laboring on Sunday, it
must be the Sabbath. “It is apparent,” said the prelates, “how high
the displeasure of God was upon their neglect of this day.” An appeal
was then made that priests and ministers, kings and princes, and all
faithful people, “use their utmost endeavors and care that the day
be restored to its honor, and, for the credit of Christianity, more
devoutly observed for time to come.”
The decrees of councils proving insufficient, the secular authorities
were besought to issue an edict that would strike terror
to the hearts of the people, and force them to refrain from labor
on the Sunday. At a synod held in Rome, all previous decisions
were reaffirmed with greater force and solemnity. They were also
incorporated into the ecclesiastical law, and enforced by the civil
authorities throughout nearly all Christendom.
Still the absence of scriptural authority for Sunday-keeping occasioned
no little embarrassment. The people questioned the right of
their teachers to set aside the positive declaration of Jehovah, “The
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” in order to honor
the day of the sun. To supply the lack of Bible testimony, other ex- [576]
pedients were necessary. A zealous advocate of Sunday, who about
the close of the twelfth century visited the churches of England, was
resisted by faithful witnesses for the truth; and so fruitless were his
efforts that he departed from the country for a season, and cast about
him for some means to enforce his teachings. When he returned, the
lack was supplied, and in his after-labors he met with greater success.
He brought with him a roll purporting to be from God himself,
which contained the needed command for Sunday observance, with
awful threats to terrify the disobedient. This precious document—as
base a counterfeit as the institution it supported—was said to have
fallen from Heaven, and to have been found in Jerusalem, upon the
altar of St. Simeon, in Golgotha. But in fact, the pontifical palace

at Rome was the source whence it proceeded. Frauds and forgeries
to advance the power and prosperity of the church have in all ages
been esteemed lawful by the papal hierarchy.
The roll forbade labor from the ninth hour, three o’clock, on
Saturday afternoon, till sunrise on Monday; and its authority was
declared to be confirmed by many miracles. It was reported that
persons laboring beyond the appointed hour were stricken with
paralysis. A Miller who attempted to grind his corn, saw, instead of
flour, a torrent of blood come forth, and the mill-wheel stood still,
notwithstanding the strong rush of the water. A woman who placed
dough in the oven, found it raw when taken out, though the oven
was very hot. Another who had dough prepared for baking at the
ninth hour, but determined to set it aside till Monday, found, the next
day, that it had been made into loaves and baked by divine power. A
man who baked bread after the ninth hour on Saturday, found, when
he broke it the next morning, that blood started therefrom. By such
absurd and superstitious fabrications did the advocates of Sunday
endeavor to establish its sacredness.
[577] In Scotland, as in England, a greater regard for Sunday was
secured by uniting with it a portion of the ancient Sabbath. But
the time required to be kept holy varied. An edict from the king
of Scotland declared that Saturday from twelve at noon ought to
be accounted holy, and that no man, from that time till Monday
morning, should engage in worldly business.
But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday sacredness,
papists themselves publicly confessed the divine authority of
the Sabbath, and the human origin of the institution by which it had
been supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly
declared: “Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was consecrated
by God, and hath been received and observed, not only by
the Jews, but by all others who pretend to worship God; though we
Christians have changed their Sabbath into the Lord’s day.” Those
who were tampering with the divine law were not ignorant of the
character of their work. They were deliberately setting themselves
above God.
A striking illustration of Rome’s policy toward those who disagree
with her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the
Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others
Character and Aims of the Papacy 489
suffered in a similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment.
The history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia
is especially significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the
Christians of Central Africa were lost sight of and forgotten by the
world, and for many centuries they enjoyed freedom in the exercise
of their faith. But at last Rome learned of their existence, and the
emperor of Abyssinia was soon beguiled into an acknowledgment
of the pope as the vicar of Christ. Other concessions followed. An
edict was issued forbidding the observance of the Sabbath under
the severest penalties. But papal tyranny soon became a yoke so
galling that the Abyssinians determined to break it from their necks.
After a terrible struggle, the Romanists were banished from their
dominions, and the ancient faith was restored. The churches rejoiced [578]
in their freedom, and they never forgot the lesson they had learned
concerning the deception, the fanaticism, and the despotic power
of Rome. Within their solitary realm they were content to remain,
unknown to the rest of Christendom.
The churches of Africa held the Sabbath as it was held by the
papal church before her complete apostasy. While they kept the
seventh day in obedience to the commandment of God, they abstained
from labor on the Sunday in conformity to the custom of the
church. Upon obtaining supreme power, Rome had trampled upon
the Sabbath of God to exalt her own; but the churches of Africa,
hidden for nearly a thousand years, did not share in this apostasy.
When brought under the sway of Rome, they were forced to set aside
the true and exalt the false Sabbath; but no sooner had they regained
their independence than they returned to obedience to the fourth
commandment. [See Appendix, Note 12.]
These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome
toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she
employs to honor the institution of her creating. The Word of God
teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as papists and Protestants
shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday.
The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented
by the beast with lamb-like horns shall cause “the earth and
them which dwell therein” to worship the papacy—there symbolized
by the beast “like unto a leopard.” The beast with two horns is also to
say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image

to the beast;” and, furthermore, it is to command all, “both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive “the mark of
the beast.” [Revelation 13:11-16.] It has been shown that the United
States is the power represented by the beast with lamb-like horns,
[579] and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall
enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment
of her supremacy. But in this homage to papacy the
United States will not be alone. The influence of Rome in the countries
that once acknowledged her dominion, is still far from being
destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. “I saw
one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound
was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.” [Revelation
13:3.] The infliction of the deadly wound points to the abolition of
the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, “His deadly wound
was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.” Paul states
plainly that the man of sin will continue until the second advent. [2
Thessalonians 2:8.] To the very close of time he will carry forward
his work of deception. And the Revelator declares, also referring to
the papacy, “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose
names are not written in the book of life.” [Revelation 13:8.] In both
the Old and the NewWorld, papacy will receive homage in the honor
paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of
the Romish Church.
For about forty years, students of prophecy in the United States
have presented this testimony to the world. In the events now taking
place is seen a rapid advance toward the fulfillment of the prediction.
With Protestant teachers there is the same claim of divine authority
for Sunday-keeping, and the same lack of scriptural evidence, as
with the papist leaders who fabricated miracles to supply the place
of a command from God. The assertion that God’s judgments are
visited upon men for their violation of the Sunday-sabbath, will be
repeated; already it is beginning to be urged. And a movement to
enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground.
Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Romish Church.
[580] She can read what is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the
Protestant churches are paying her homage in their acceptance of
the false Sabbath, and that they are preparing to enforce it by the
very means which she herself employed in by-gone days. Those

who reject the light of truth will yet seek the aid of this self-styled
infallible power to exalt an institution that originated with her. How
readily she will come to the help of Protestants in this work, it is
not difficult to conjecture. Who understands better than the papal
leaders how to deal with those who are disobedient to the church?
The Roman Church, with all its ramifications throughout the
world, forms one vast organization, under the control, and designed
to serve the interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants,
in every country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as
bound in allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their
government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above
all other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to the
State, yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome, absolving
them from every pledge inimical to her interests.
Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose
to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While
they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is
aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let
history testify of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate herself
into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to further
her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people. Romanism
openly puts forth the claim that the pope “can pronounce sentences
and judgments in contradiction to the right of nations, to the law of
God and man.” [The “Decretalia.”]
And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never
changes. The principles of Gregory VII. and Innocent III. are still
the principles of the Romish Church. And had she but the power, [581]
she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past
centuries. Let the principle once be established in the United States,
that the church may employ or control the power of the State; that
religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that
the authority of church and State is to dominate the conscience, and
the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.

God’s Word has given warning of the impending danger; let this
be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes
of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare.
She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their
influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of

men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures, in the secret
recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily
and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own
ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires
is vantage-ground, and this is already being given her. We shall
soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is.
Whoever shall believe and obey the Word of God will thereby incur
reproach and persecution.




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