National Sunday Law

By the year 476 A.D. the Roman Empire had been broken up into exactly ten kingdoms.

"The historian Machiavelli, without the slightest reference to this prophecy, gives the following list of the nations which occupied the territory of the Western Empire at the time of the fall of Romulus Augustus (476 A.D.), the last emperor of Rome: the Lombards, the Franks, the Burgundians, the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Vandals, the Heruli, the Suevi, the Huns, and the Saxons: ten in all.

"They have never since the breaking up of old Rome been united into one single empire; they have never formed one whole even like the United States. No scheme of proud ambition seeking to reunite the broken fragments has ever succeeded; when such have arisen, they have been invariably dashed to pieces."

"And the division is as apparent now as ever. Plainly and palpably inscribed on the map of Europe this day, it confronts the skeptic with its silent but conclusive testimony to the fulfillment of this great prophecy."

"The Divine Program of the World's History," by H. Grattan Guenness, pgs. 318-321. (As quoted in "Bible Readings For the Home," Review and Herald Publ. Assoc., London, MCMXLII, pgs 216,217).

The 1260 Year Reign of the Beast

The seven verses mentioning the 1260 year time period are all speaking of the same power which persecutes God's people. These texts are as follows: Revelation 13:5, Revelation 11:2, Daniel 7:25, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 11:3, Revelation 12:6 and Daniel 12:7.

The key that unlocks the time prophecies is the principle given in Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34. These verses reveal to us that one day in prophecy equals one literal year. For this reason all time prophecies must be first broken down into days. Using this Bible "key," time prophecies work out perfectly and become easy to understand.

A month in Bible reckoning contains 30 days. A year contains 360 days. This is the formula for understanding all prophetic time.

In Revelation 11:2 and 12:14, the time given is "time," "times," and "half a time." This equals 3 1/2 times. From Daniel 4 we learn that a "time" equals one literal year. In that chapter you'll find that King Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind as Daniel predicted, and crawled around in the field for "seven times." He was in that condition for 7 literal years. So 3 1/2 times equals 3 1/2 years (3 1/2 years contain 1260 days).

Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 plainly give the time as 1260 days (that the beast would persecute God's people).

Using the day for a year principle found in Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34, we see that this power would rule for 1260 years before receiving its "deadly wound." When we take a look at the beast power, we see that this is exactly what has happened. For God to repeat this time period seven times like this shows the importance which He places on it.

Here are the verses in sequence:

Revelation 11:2 and 13:5 describe this power as reigning for 42 months. (42 months with 30 days to a month contain 1260 days.)

Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, and Revelation 12:14 describe the beast as reigning 3 1/2 "times," or years. (3 1/2 prophetic years also contain 1260 days.)

Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 describe this persecuting power as reigning 1260 days.

All seven texts describe this power as reigning 1260 prophetic days which is 1260 literal years.

The following extracts are from authoritative works by Catholic dignitaries concerning the title and position of their leader.

"All the names which are attributed to Christ in Scripture, implying His supremacy over the church, are also attributed to the Pope." Bellamin, "On the Authority of Councils," book 2, Chapter 17.

"For thou art the shepherd, thou are the physician, thou art the director, thou art the husbandman, finally thou art another God on earth." Labbe and Cossart's "History of the Councils," Vol. XIV, col. 109.

For the title "Lord God the Pope," see a gloss on the Extravagantes of Pope John XXII, title 14, chapter 4, Declaramus.

In an Antwerp edition of the Extravagantes, the words, "Dominum Deum Nostrum Papam" (Our Lord God the Pope") occur in column 153. In a Paris edition, they occur in column 140.

"Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, and earth, and purgatory." Prompta Bibliotheca," Feraris, Vol. VI, pg. 26, article "Papa."

In a passage which is included in the Roman Catholic Canon Law, Pope Innocent III declares that the Roman pontiff is "the vicegerent upon earth, not of a mere man, but of very God;" and in a gloss on the passage it is explained that this is because he is the vicegerent of Christ, Who is "very God and very man." See Decretales Domini Gregorii Papae IX (Decretales of the Lord Pope Gregory IX), liberi, de translatione Episcoporum, (on the transference of Bishops), title 7, chapter 3; Corpus Juris Canonice (2nd Leipzig ed., 1881), col. 99; (Paris, 1612), tom. 2, Decretales, col. 205.

INFALLIBILITY

Among the twenty-seven propositions known as the "Dictates of Hildebrand" (under the name of Pope Gregory VII) occur the following:

" 2. That the Roman pontiff alone is justly styled universal.
" 6. That no person . . . may live under the same roof with one excommunicated by the Pope.
" 9. That all princes should kiss his feet only.
"19. That he can be judged by no one.
"22. That the Roman Church never erred, nor will it, according to the scripture, ever err.
"27. That he can absolve subjects from their allegiance to unrighteous rulers.

In Clark's Commentary on Daniel 7:25, it says:

"They have assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sin, which belongs only to God."

In the Council of Toulouse, the church leaders ruled: "We prohibit laymen possessing copies of the Old and New Testament . . . We forbid them most severely to have the above books in the popular vernacular." "The lords of the districts shall carefully seek out the heretics in dwellings, hovels, and forests, and even their underground retreats shall be entirely wiped out." Concil Tolosanum, Pope Gregory IX, Anno. Chr. 1229.

The church Council of Tarragona ruled that: "No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after the promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned." D. Lortsch, Histoire de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14.

After the Bible societies were formed they were classed with Communism in an amazing decree. On December 8, l866, Pope Pius IX, in his encyclical Quanta Cura issued the following statement: "Socialism, Communism, clandestine societies, Bible societies . . . pests of this sort must be destroyed by all means."

"Under these bloody maxims, those persecutions were carried on, from the eleventh and twelfth centuries almost to the present day, (written in 1845), which stand out on the page of history. After the signal of open martyrdom had been given in the canons of Orleans, these followed the extirpation of the Albigenses under the form of a crusade, the establishment of the Inquisition, the cruel attempts to extinguish the Waldenses, the martyrdoms of the Lollards, the cruel wars to exterminate the Bohemians, the burning of Huss and Jerome, and multitudes of other confessors . . . the extinction by fire and sword of the Reformation in Spain and Italy, by fraud and open persecution in Poland, and the massacre of Bartholomew, . . . besides the slow and secret murders of the holy tribunal of the Inquisition." T.R. Birks, M.A. The First Two Visions of Daniel, (London: 1845) pg. 258, 259.

"The number of the victims of the Inquisition in Spain, is given in 'The History of the Inquisition in Spain,' by Llorente, (formerly secretary of the Inquisition), pgs. 206-208. This authority acknowledged that more than 300,000 suffered persecution in Spain alone, of whom 31,912 died in the flames. Millions more were slain for their faith throughout Europe." Printed in Bible Readings For the Home, (Washington: Review & Herald Pub. Assoc., 1942) p. 221.

"The church has persecuted. Only a tyro in church history will deny that . . . one hundred and fifty years after Constantine, the Donatists were persecuted and sometimes put to death . . . . Protestants were persecuted in France and Spain with the full approval of the church authorities . . . . When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will use it." The Western Watchmen (Roman Catholic), of St. Louis.

"A considerable portion of the text of the papal bull issued by Innocent VII in 1487 against the Waldenses (the original of which is in the library of the University of Cambridge) is given, in an English translation, in John Dowling's History of Romanism (1871 ed.), book 6, chapter 5; sec. 62." (Taken from Cosmic Conflict (Washington: Review & Herald Pub. Assoc. 1982) p. 602.

The second Council of Nicea...D. 787, was called to establish image worship in the church. This council is recorded in Ecclesiastical Annals. by Baronius, Vol. 9, pp. 391-407. (Antwerp, 1612); and Charles J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church From the Original Documents, book 18, chapter 1, secs. 332, 333; chapter 2, secs. 345-352 (T. and T. Clark ed., 1896), Vol. 5, pp. 260-304, and 342-372.

J. Mendham, in The Seventh General Council, the Second of Nicea. Introduction, Pgs, iii-vi, says - "The worship of images . . . was one of those corruptions of Christianity which crept into the church stealthily and almost without notice or observation. This corruption did not, like other heresies, develop itself at once, for in that case it would have met with decided censure and rebuke.

"Images were first introduced into churches, not to be worshiped, but either in place of books to give instruction to those who could not read, or to excite devotion in the minds of others . . . but it was found that images brought into churches darkened rather than enlightened the minds of the ignorant - degraded rather than exalted the devotion of the worshiper."

"Although the ten commandments, are found in the Roman Catholic Versions of the Scriptures, yet the faithful are instructed from the catechisms of the church, and not from the Bible. As it appears in these, (catechisms) the law of God has been changed and virtually re-enacted by the Papacy.

"The second commandment, which forbids the making of, and bowing down to images, is omitted in Catholic catechisms, and the tenth, which forbids coveting, is divided into two." "Bible Readings For the Home," (Washington: Review & Herald Pub. Assoc., 1942), p. 221.

On the opposite page is God's law as given by Himself and as changed by man.

                  *****The Law of God*****



AS GIVEN BY JEHOVAH                   AS CHANGED BY MAN



          I                                    I

Thou shalt have no other gods        I am the Lord thy God: thou

before Me.                           shalt not have strange gods

                                     before Me.



          II

Thou shalt not make unto thee

any graven image, or any like-

ness of anything that is in

heaven above, or that is in the

water under the earth:  thou

shalt not bow down thyself to

them, nor serve them:  for I the

Lord thy God am a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity of the fa-

thers upon the children unto the

third and fourth generation of

them that hate Me: and showing

mercy unto thousands of them

that love Me, and keep My com-

mandments.



          III                                  II

Thou shalt not take the name         Thou shalt not take the name

of the Lord thy God in vain; for     of the Lord thy God in vain.

the Lord will not hold him guilt-

less that taketh His name in vain.



          IV                                   III

Remember the Sabbath day, to         Remember that thou keep holy

keep it holy, Six days shalt thou    the Sabbath day.

labor, and do all thy work: but

the seventh day is the Sabbath of

the Lord thy God:  in it thou

shalt not do any work, thou, nor

thy son, nor thy daughter, thy

man servant, nor thy maid ser-

vant, nor thy cattle, nor thy

stranger that is within thy gates:

for in six days the Lord made

heaven and earth, the sea, and

all that is them is, and rested

the seventh day:  Therefore the

Lord blessed the Sabbath day,

and hallowed it.



          V                                    IV

Honor thy father and thy             Honor thy father and thy mother.

mother: that thy days may be

long upon the land which the

Lord thy God giveth thee.



          VI                                   V

Thou shalt not kill.                 Thou shalt not kill.



          VII                                  VI

Thou shalt not commit adultery.      Thou shalt not commit adultery.



          IX                                   VIII

Thou shalt not bear false wit-       Thou shalt not bear false wit-

ness against thy neighbor.           ness against thy neighbor.



          X                                    IX

Thou shalt not covet thy neigh-      Thou shalt not covet thy neigh-

bor's house, thou shalt not covet    bor's wife.

thy neighbor's wife, nor his man

servant, nor his maid servant,                 X

nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any-    Thou shalt not covet thy neigh-

thing that is thy neighbor's         bor's goods.

      (Ex. 20:3-17)                   (Butler's Catechism, page 28.)

"The earliest recognition of the observation of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D. enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die Solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, article "Sunday."

The Latin original is in the Codes Justiniani (Codes of Justinian), lib. 3, title 12, lex. 3.

The law is given in Latin and in English in Philip Schaff's History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, 3d period, chapter 7, sec. 75, pg. 380, footnote 1.

And in Albert Henry Newman's A Manual of Church History, (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1933),rev.ed., Vol. 1,pp. 305-307.

And in Leroy E. Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers (Washington, D.C.: Review & Herald Publishing Asoc., 1950), Vol. 1, pp. 376-381.

Millions of conscientious Christians attend church every Sunday, the first day of the week. They do so believing that somewhere, somehow, someone changed the day of worship. Either that, or they aren't aware that God set aside the seventh day, not the first day of the week as His holy day.

It is true, a change has been made.

But by whom? We've discovered that God made the Sabbath during the first week of earth's history. He set it aside as a weekly appointment between man and Himself - as a blessing, a refreshment, a date between two lovers so to speak (God and man.)

If God changed His mind about His special appointment day with us, wouldn't He have recorded so momentous an adjustment in the Bible?

We've already seen that the beast power claims to have made the change, but what does the Bible say about it?

There're eight texts in the New Testament that mention the first day of the week. Look at them carefully.

Matthew 28:1 Mark 16:1,2 Mark 16:9 Luke 24:1 John 20: 1 John 20: 19 Acts 20: 7,8 I Corinthians 16:1,2

The first five texts simply state that the women came to the sepulchre early on the resurrection morning, and that Jesus rose from the dead.

Now look up John 20:19 in your Bible. It tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples later on the resurrection day. It says that the reason they were assembled was "for fear of the Jews. ''

They were scared. No telling when the Jews might grab them and treat them to the same fate as their Master. They were hiding.

They had seen their beloved Master die on Friday. They "returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. And now they're hiding with the doors shut "for fear of the Jews." John, 20:19.

There's no mention of a change.

The seventh text is Acts 20:7,8. It says "and upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together."

This was a night meeting - the dark part of the first day of the week. In Bible reckoning, the dark part of the day comes before the light part. Genesis 1:5 - "and God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." The dark part comes first.

The Bible reckons a day from sunset to sunset.

The seventh day begins on sunset Friday evening. The first day of the week begins sunset Saturday evening. Paul is together with his friends on the dark part of the first day of the week - Saturday night. This is a farewell get-together. He preached until mid-night, when poor Eutychus falls out the window. (Acts 20:9).

You can imagine how relieved they were when it was found that God spared his life. Verse eleven says that they talked till the break of day and then Paul departed. Verse thirteen shows that Paul spent that Sunday morning traveling to Assos.

There's nothing here either concerning a change of the Sabbath.

The New English Bible translates this text like this:

"On the Saturday night, in our assembly for the breaking of bread, Paul, who was to leave the next day, addressed them, and went on speaking until midnight." Acts 20: 7.

The last text mentions the first day of the week in I Corinthians 16:1,2.

It says - "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Calatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." Verse three tells that he will bring the offering to Jerusalem.

As he had done in Galatia, so Paul also requests of those in Corinth to have a collection all ready when he would come to take it to the poor saints in Jerusalem. There's nothing in the text about a church service, but each person is to "lay by him in store." the first of the week was the best time for the people to set some money aside because later in the week it would be spent. That's true today as well! Paul requested this so that "there be no gatherings when I come." I Corinthians 16:2.

At this time the Christians are suffering hardship in Jerusalem and Paul is making his rounds to the churches taking up a collection for them. (We should be that thoughtful today.)

There's nothing in this text either about a change of God's Sabbath to Sunday.

Concerning worship, what was Paul's custom?

Here it is.

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." Acts 17:2.

Jesus, as our example also had the custom of attending church on Saturday, the seventh day. (Luke 4:.16).

The distinction between the Moral law of God (the ten commandments), and the ceremonial law is plain.

Look carefully at the difference in the two. The one with animal sacrifices was nailed to the cross, the other will stand forever.

    10 Commandments              Ceremonial Law





1)  Is called the "royal         Is called the law

    law" lames 2:8.              contained in or-

                                 dinances." Ephesians

                                 2:15.



2)  Was spoken by God.           Was spoken by

    Deuteronomy 4:12,13.         Moses. Leviticus 1:1-3.



3)  Was written with             Was written by

    the finger of God.           Moses in a book.

    Exodus 31:18.                II Chronicles 35:12.



4)  Was placed in the            Was placed in the

    ark. Exodus 40:20,           side of the ark.

    Hebrews 9:4.                 Deuteronomy 31:24-26.



5)  ls to "stand forever         Was nailed to the

    and ever." Psalms            Cross. Colossians 2:14.

    111:7,8.



6)  Was not destroyed by         Was abolished by

    Christ. Matthew 5:17         Christ. Ephesians

    & 18.                        2:15.

The two great commandments are "Love the Lord with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind." The second great commandment is "Love your neighbor as yourself." God's ten commandments are hanging on these two. The first four, on the first table, tell us how to love God with all our heart. (Have no other Gods, not worship images, not take God's name in vain, and remember His Sabbath day to keep it holy.) The last six, on the second table deal with loving our neighbor as ourselves. (To honor our parents, not kill, not commit adultery, not steal, not lie, not covet.)

THE OLD AND NEW COVENANTS

The old covenant was ratified by the blood of animals (Exodus 24:5-8 and Hebrews 9:19,20) and based upon the promises of the people that they would keep God's law.

The new covenant is based on God's promise to write His law in our hearts and it was ratified with the blood of Christ. (Hebrews 8:10 and Jeremiah 31:33,34.)

Hebrews 8:10 - "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."

It takes the earth exactly 365 day, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 47.8 seconds to go around the sun.

But there's no way to put that into any calendar so our calendar in constantly being updated. That's why we have a "leap year." In 1582 they discovered that the year was a little longer than 365 days, and the astronomers added 10 days to bring: the month up to date, but the weekly cycle was not altered. Thursday the 4th was followed by Friday the 15th. The calendar was updated without altering the weekly cycle in any way.

Of course, even though we've had leap years down through the centuries, the days of the week have never been changed and not even a minute of time has been lost track of!

There have been many ancient calendars. The first modern calendar as we have today was put into use in 45 B.C. by Julius Caesar. The names of the days as we have them now were also used then.

Since the Babylonians worshipped the planets, many anciently began to call the days of the week by the names of the planets. The Hebrews and the Bible writers never did this. This is why, even though the names of the days as we have them today, i.e. Sunday, Monday, etc. existed around the time of Christ, the Bible writers never referred to the days by these names, since they were of Pagan origin. The old Mithra religion from the time of Babylon and Persia led to the naming of the days of the week after the planets. Zoroaster popularized the god, Mithra, in Persia about 630 B.C.

Since Mithra was supposedly a god of great courage, the Roman soldiers became worshippers of it. In their travels they carried the idea of naming the days of the week after the planets among the Teutonic tribes of what is today known as Germany. The Teutons substituted a few of their own gods instead of planets for the names of days. (This was before the time of Christ.) The names stuck, and we've had them ever since. Below is a list of the Teutonic gods and the days of our week.

The name of the Teutonic gods were:

Sun

- Sunday

Moon

- Monday

Tiu

- Tuesday

Woden

- Wednesday

Thor

- Thursday

Frigg

- Friday

Seturn

- Saturday

Though the calendar is constantly being updated to compensate for the 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 47.8 seconds in the year, yet, the week of seven days has never been altered.

Historians writing around and even before the time of Christ, have referred to "the day of the sun" and "the day of Saturn."

Dr. W.W. Campbell, director of the Lick Observatory in Mount Hamilton, California assures us:

"The week of seven days has been in use ever since the days of Moses, and we have no reason for supposing that any irregularities have existed in the succession of the weeks and their days from that time to the present." D.W. Cross Your Amazing Calendar (Taunton: 1972) pp. 6,7.

Time can be traced to the very second by the positions of the stars! I wrote to the Pentagon in Washington D.C., the Department of Astronomy. And I received a courteous reply. They informed me that from the positions of the stars every moment of time has been kept track of since before 500 B.C.

Dr. J.B. Dimbleby, premier chronologist to the British Chronological and Astronomical Association, after years of careful calculations asserts: "If men refused to observe weeks, and the line of time was forgotten the day of the week could be recovered by observing when the transits of the planets, or eclipses of the Sun and Moon, occurred. These great sentinels of the sky keep seven days with scientific accuracy, thundering out the seven days inscribed on the inspired page." - All Past Time, p. 10.

It's interesting to note how Dr. G.E. Hale, noted astronomer for whom the great "Palomar telescope" has been named, expressed the same truth in five forceful words: "No time has been lost."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chapter 1