The Beast power would "think to change times and laws." Daniel 7:25.
Since the heathen were used to worshipping images, the church ripped out the second commandment which forbids image worship. They placed images in the churches! But instead of images of heathen gods, they simply used images of dead saints!
The Bible says that he would "think to change times and laws. Look at this shocking statement from an official decretal:
"The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate (change) laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop.
Instead of leaving only nine commandments, they cut the tenth one in two, so there would still be ten. Satan had caused the second commandment to be ripped out. But he wasn't finished. The leaders changed the fourth one also! The change of the fourth commandment was attempted gradually over a period of time so as not to arouse anyone.
The following mind-boggling statements were made by church authorities and are documented.
"Question : Have you any other way of proving that the church (Roman Catholic) has power to institute festivals of precept?
"Answer : 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." A Doctrinal Catechism, by Stephen Keenan, page 174.
"The Catholic church," declared Cardinal Gibbons, "by virtue of her divine mission changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."
Again the question is asked of them:
"Question : Which is the Sabbath day?
"Answer : Saturday is the Sabbath day
.
"Question : Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
"Answer : We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday." The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, page 50, third edition.
Do church authorities acknowledge that there is no commandment in the Bible for the sanctification of Sunday? They do! Look at this.
The Catholic Cardinal Gibbons, in Faith of Our Fathers page 111. said, "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify."
You see, in the Council of Trent (1545 A.D.), the church leaders ruled that "tradition" is of as great authority as the Bible! They believed that God had given them the authority to change the Bible any way they pleased. By "tradition" they meant human teachings.
Jesus said, "But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9.
Just as they had brought images into the church to make it easier for the pagans to come in, they changed the Sabbath of the bible for the same reason. How did it all start?
The sun was the main god of the heathen even back as far as ancient Babylon. Since they worshipped the sun on Sunday, the compromising church leaders could see that if they changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, it would accomplish several things. Number one ... it would separate them from the Jews who were hated by many of the Romans and who, along with Jesus, (Luke 4:16), had been worshipping on Saturday from the beginning (and still do today). Number two ... it would make it much easier for the pagans to come into the church if the Christians met on the same day that the pagan world did.
It worked well. Pagans flocked in by the thousands. Satan's plan of compromise was doing its baleful work. The change was attempted gradually but many of the true hearted, loyal Christians were alarmed. They came to the leaders and wanted to know why they dared tamper with the law of Almighty God! The church leaders knew this would happen ... and they had an answer ready. Its a masterpiece. If a person doesn't know the Bible well it sounds good. The people were told that they were worshipping on Sunday now because Jesus rose from the dead on that day.
There's not even one verse in the Bible that tells us to do this, but that's what they were told.
When Emperor Constantine became a Christian, Christianity became the state religion. As thousands of sun-worshipers flocked into the church, it wasn't long before they had a dominating influence. Most of his top officials had been sun-worshipers. Because the Roman government was getting shaky, Constantine consulted with his aides and with the church officials in Rome.
"What shall we do? How can we unite and stabilize the government?"
The counsel of the church leaders was timely.
"Pass a Sunday law. Force everyone to cease work and honor Sunday."
That was it! It would satisfy the sun-worshipping pagans, and unite pagans, Christians, and the Roman empire as never before.
The year is 321 A.D. Constantine, yielding to the suggestion of church leaders passes the first Sunday law! Here it is, straight out of the record:
"Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun." Edict of March 7, 321 A.D. Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3, [wash my mouth][wash my mouth][wash my mouth], 12, Lex 3.
The Christians who would not compromise and dishonor God found themselves in a dilemma. Satan had worked things around so that you were forced to honor the pagan "day of the sun" or pay the penalty. Even after the Emperor's Sunday law, many Christians continued to honor and keep holy the seventh-day Sabbath that their Saviour had kept. God knew what was going on and had predicted that the man of sin would "think to change times and laws." Satan was about to pull off a world-wide hoax.
Bibles were forbidden by the priests. As the years went by, the new generations (without Bibles) would forget all about the Sabbath of the Lord.
Not only that ... from time to time, great church councils were held. In nearly every one, the Sabbath which god had given as a memorial of His creation of the world was pressed down and Sunday was exalted. The pagan festival finally came to be regarded as the "Lords day" (by Pope Sylvester, 314-337 A.D.) and the church leaders pronounced the Bible Sabbath a relic of the Jews, and those who honored it, in obedience to the fourth commandment of God, were pronounced to be "accursed."
To rip out the commandment right in the center, put in Sunday worship as a counterfeit, take the Bibles away, and command the whole world to accept it ... this was the king of all swindles!
You see, Satan hates the fourth commandment more than all others because it is the only one that tells who God really is : the Creator of "Heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." Exodus 20:11. You could worship any god and keep the other nine (not kill, steal, etc.) but to keep the fourth commandment you must worship the Creator of the Universe Who Himself rested on the seventh day and commanded His people to do the same in a love relationship with Himself.
As the centuries went by, the people, with no Bibles forgot about God's Sabbath, and Sunday worship became firmly established. Many even today are ignorant on the subject.
The Waldenses, and some other groups through the dark ages did keep the Bible Sabbath on Saturday like Jesus did ... all down through history. But they were treated like outlaws. Whenever they were caught they were tortured to death. Their mangled corpses show the world the tactics that the beast has always used, force.
Of God's faithful in the last days it says, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.
In modern times, leaders who know what they are talking about will admit that men changed the Sabbath and not God. Look at these startling statements from Protestant leaders:
Methodist : "The reason we observe the first day instead of the seventh is based on no positive command. One will search the Scriptures in vain for authority for changing from the seventh day to the first." Clovis G. Chappell, Ten Rules For Living, page 61.
Baptist : Harold Lindsell, former editor of Christianity Today, said, "There is nothing in Scripture that requires us to keep Sunday rather than Saturday as a holy day." Christianity Today November 5, 1976.
Episcopal : "The Bible commandment says on the seventh day thou shalt rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday." Philip Carrington, Toronto Daily Star, October 26, 1949.
Our Catholic friends know how the change came about. They say, "We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday." The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, Third edition, page 50.
The Catholic Press said, "Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observation can be defended only on Catholic principles . . . From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first."
God speaks of the seventh day 126 times in the Old Testament and 62 times in the New. The first day of the week is mentioned only eight times in the New Testament. A Catholic priest offered $1000 to anyone who could find one Bible verse to indicate that Sunday is now holy and should be observed instead of the seventh day. No one responded. Others have done the same, but received no response.
The Bible says that the beast (little horn power) would "think to change times and laws.) Daniel 7:25. The second commandment was ripped out and images were brought in. the fourth commandment is the only one that deals with time. Look at this shocking announcement:
"The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." "The Pope has authority and has often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ." Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap.
Satan laid this plot so deep that even many ministers are not aware of it. Many religious leaders are putting forth desperate efforts to keep the facts on this subject away from the people. Shocking but true, many ministers have not learned at school anything different than their teachers have learned before them. Then they teach their congregations what they learned from their teachers. It is perpetuated for generations. This is why even your own parents or grandparents may not have understood what God's word teaches about His seventh-day Sabbath. But when people honestly study the Bible for themselves... their eyes are opened. Many people take the preachers word and just don't study God's word for themselves.