by

Stanley Harris

Much has been said regarding the anti-christ of Bible prophecy. Scores of theories have been propounded on this subject. Men like Benito Mussolini, Stalin and Adolph Hitler have been called anti-christ, but they are dead and gone. The Bible has not left us in the dark regarding this subject. Before this message is ended, you will know for a certainty who the anti-christ is.

I read these words in I John 2:18: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that anti-christ shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." Now there are some who tell us that the anti-christ is still in the future, but according to this, the spirit of anti-christ was already in the world when John the Revelator wrote this book.

Again we read from I John 4:3: "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." The anti-christ power has been in existence for centuries; his power has grown until today he is a mighty one in the earth.

According to Bible prophecy, the anti-christ is to counterfeit some of the greatest truths in the Bible. He is to oppose Jesus Christ, while at the same time, claiming to be Jesus Christ in the flesh. In order for him to deceive the whole world, as the Bible reveals that he will, he will have to be a good counterfeit of the true.

He is to have a Christian name and Christian forms; he is also to have a convincing scheme of salvation. While pretending to lead men to glory, he will lead us to ruin. All the important truths and institutions that God has ordained and established, the anti-christ is to counterfeit.

Tonight we want to find out who this deceptive power is. We read in Dan. 7:1: "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters." One of the ways that God reveals future events to us is through the dreams or visions of His prophets.

Dan. 7:2 continues: "Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea." A very graphic scene of a stormy sea was shown to Daniel in this vision. He was quite impressed that this was a matter of great importance.

Reading on in the 3rd verse: "And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another." In this vision Daniel saw four beasts coming up from out of the sea, and the wind churned the sea into a fury. As Daniel saw these four great beasts come up from out of the turbulent sea, his interest in the meaning of these symbols increased.

According to Bible prophecy, what do the waters represent? Let us read in Rev. 17:15: ". . . The waters which thou sawest . . . are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." The four beasts represent four earthly kingdoms. So these kingdoms come up from among peoples, nations, and multitudes and tongues.

Let us see what the wind represents. In Zech. 7:14 it says: "But I scattered them with a WHIRLWIND among all the nations whom they knew not . . ." So we find that the wind blowing upon the sea represents warfare and strife. Therefore these four earthly kingdoms came up in the midst of warfare and strife from among the nations.

The first beast that Daniel saw is described in Dan. 7:4: "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings . . ." The lion represented Babylon, the first world empire; the two wings represented the speed of conquest. The Babylonians used a lion as a symbol of their power. Among the ruins of Babylon today there are winged lions found on the crumbling walls, showing that at that time the lion was a symbol of Babylon.

So Daniel watched the vision unfold: "And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear . . ." Daniel goes on to say that the bear had three ribs in its mouth, and one side higher than the other. This represents the second world empire which was Medo-Persia, compared to a bear because of its thirst for blood. One part of the kingdom was stronger than the other, and the three ribs represents its conquests of Babylon, Egypt, and Libra.

Continuing in Dan. 7: 6: "After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard . . ." This leopard had four wings, and also four heads. The leopard beast is a symbol of the third empire, or Grecian Empire. The wings represent the great speed of conquest. Here is a power that conquered the world very swiftly. With the stealth of a leopard, and with the speed of a flying bird, the third world empire gained supremacy over the entire world.

Under Alexander the Great, the Grecians conquered the world in a comparatively short time. But Alexander died in the height of his glory and his kingdom was divided among his four leading generals. Therefore the four heads on the leopard represent the division of the Grecian Empire into four separate kingdoms under the four generals.

The fourth beast that Daniel saw in vision, is sometimes referred to as a nondescript beast: ". . . And behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly . . ." Dan. 7:7. This huge monster, a fearsome looking creature, had great iron teeth, and it "devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it." The fourth beast represents the iron rule of Pagan Rome.

Cardinal Manning, Roman Catholic, agrees with the interpretation that we have just given that this beast represents the Pagan Roman Empire. He says: "The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace . . . by the universal presence of this mighty heathen empire. It was 'EXCEEDING TERRIBLE,'.. . as it were iron, beating down and subduing the nations." The Temporal Power, p. 122.

C. H. Hayes says: The Romans believed firmly in the eternity of Rome and the empire; they could foresee no ultimate danger to the commonwealth." Sources of the Germanic Invasions, p. 86. But the prophecy said: "The kingdom shall be divided." The ten horns represent the ten divisions into which Rome was divided by the barbarian invasions. It is proof that the prophecy is inspired of God that the Roman Empire was divided exactly ten ways by the barbarian invasions. God stakes His reputation on the fulfillment of these prophecies to the exact letter.

The next thing Daniel saw was of an unusual nature. He says in Dan. 7: 8: "I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." Dan. 7:8. The little horn that Daniel saw was so powerful that it uprooted three of the other horns, and it grew and waxed great.

Regarding "ANOTHER LITTLE HORN," in Dan. 7:8, Dr. Adam Clarke says: "Among Protestant writers this is considered to be the POPEDOM." Let us study carefully and see if it really does find its fulfilment in the rise of the Papacy. Daniel says: ". . . Behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things." The eyes like a man represent shrewdness and cleverness. And it had a "mouth speaking great things," or in other words, it made great claims. This little horn is the symbol that represents the anti-christ in Bible prophecy.

Daniel says in verse 19: "Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet.

In verse 20 Daniel continues: "And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that speaks very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows." Daniel was greatly interested in this little horn power that became so mighty.

History tells us that three of the ten divisions of the old Roman Empire were destroyed. Who are these three, and who destroyed them? The three tribes, or nations, that were destroyed were called: 1. Heruli. 2. Vandals. 3. Ostrogoths. These three powers were opposed to the Church of Rome. Therefore, the church enlisted the services of other nations and completely destroyed all opposition to power. The Heruli were destroyed in the year 493 A.D., the Vandals by the year 534 A.D., and finally the Ostrogoths by the year 538 A.D.

In the year 538 A.D., the Papal Church of Rome had destroyed all opposition and became a world power, a church-state organization that ruled supreme. In Dan. 7:24 we read: "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." And notice that it says he would arise AFTER the ten kingdoms of Western Europe were established. These ten kingdoms were all established by the year 476 A.D. The three kingdoms were plucked up by A.D. 538. This date in history is given as the rise of the Papacy.

Philip Van Ness Myers says: "Another consequence of the fall of the Roman power in the West was THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PAPACY. . . The popes rapidly gained influence and power, and soon built up an ecclesiastical empire." General History, p. 316. Although the papacy was not a strong military power, who can say that it exercised less authority than the strongest military power that ever existed? The greatest rulers on earth bowed to its mandates.

The prophecy says that he shall be DIVERSE, or different, from the others. In other words, he is not a political power. Therefore, he must be a RELIGIOUS POWER. A. G. Flick says: "Out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the GREAT MORAL EMPIRE in the giant form of the Roman Church." The Rise of the Medieval Church, p. 150. After the four great empires had passed away, and the last, which was the Pagan Roman Empire, was divided into ten divisions, there did arise a church-state organization in the City of Rome; and it did uproot three nations when it rose to power; it did prove to be shrewd and clever; it did have a mouth speaking great things or blasphemy.

Just one more thing in verse 20: "Whose look was more stout than his fellows." Let us take a look at what history has to say. The historians Robinson and Breasted say: "There grew up in Europe a line of rulers more powerful than any of these, namely, the popes of Rome . . . Moreover, the majesty of Rome helped to raise its bishops above his fellows." History of Europe, p. 292.

In verse 25 of Daniel 7 we have some other characteristics of the anti-christ that definitely reveal who he is. It says: "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." One thing that identifies the anti-christ is that he was to have power "for a time, times, and the dividing of time."

According to other texts, a time represents a year of prophetic time. Therefore the anti-christ was to rule for three and one-half years, prophetic time. A time is a year, times two years, dividing of time, half a year. Three and one-half years, according to Jewish reckoning, of thirty days to a month, would total twelve hundred and sixty days. In these prophecies we have already learned that a day is equivalent to a year, as God revealed to the prophet Ezekiel. "I have appointed thee each day for a year." Eze. 4:6. Therefore the anti-christ was to rule for 1260 years.

In our recent discussion on the Beast and his Mark, a prophecy found in Rev. 13 we discovered that the beast power would rule for 42 months. This is also 1260 days. Therefore the anti-christ and the beast are one and the same power. John the Revelator calls him the Beast; and Daniel, the prophet, calls him the Little Horn. They both give the same description of this power; they both reveal the same things that he would do. Did the anti-christ rule supreme for 1260 years? Well, we have already discovered that he became an undisputed power in the year 538 A.D., when he had put away the last opposition to his rule. For 1260 years, from 538 to 1798 A.D., the Papal Church ruled the world. This period is sometimes referred to as the "Dark Ages."

In exactly 1798, just at the end of the 1260 years, after the Papacy became a world power, Napoleon sent his leading general, Berthier, to Rome to take the Pontiff a prisoner. Canon Trevor says "The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained: . . . The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff: its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands: and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place." Rome and Its Papal Rulers, p. 440. This brought to an end 1260 years of persecution under the Papal Church.

When a messenger boy brings you a sad message you are not interested in the boy or what he looks like; but you are interested in the message that he brings. Please remember that I am just a messenger for God. It is my responsibility to bring you this message. Let me say right here that I hold no ill feeling toward the Papal Church or anyone who is a member of it. There are many good, sincere people who belong to this organization. God loves them all, but the organization itself is branded in the Bible as the anti-christ because of the things that it has done. I hope that you will receive it as a message from God and not as from me.

We have found that John the Revelator describes the Beast as one who would blaspheme God. Of this power of anti-christ Daniel says: "AND HE SHALL SPEAK GREAT WORDS AGAINST THE MOST HIGH . . ." Dan. 7:25. This is one of the most outstanding characteristics of the anti-christ--that he will "speak great words against the Most High" God. This is the same as blaspheming God. It is further proof that the beast and the anti-christ are one and the same.

Has the anti-christ spoken "great words," or blasphemed God? Well, let us read his own statements: "The Pope is as it were God on earth . . . Whatever the Lord God himself, and the Redeemer, is said to do, that his vicar does." Extracts from Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary, article on the Pope. The Bible clearly teaches that it is blasphemy for a human being to call himself God, no matter how exalted his position may be.

Notice the claim that the Pope is not a mere man but as it were GOD ON EARTH. Is this not "speaking great words against the Most High?" Again from the same Catholic source: "Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions." The Pontiff is not satisfied to claim jurisdiction over the earth alone, but also claims power over heaven and the so-called lower regions. This is the making of great claims against the Most High God.

A Roman Catholic, Rev. Jeremiah Pendergast, "The Pope is the vicar of Christ . . . The claims of the Pope are the same as the claims of Christ . . . Christ can forgive all sins. So CAN THE POPE." Syracuse Post- Standard, Mar. 14, 1912. Now the Bible tells us that only Jesus can forgive our sins," but the anti-christ claims that he can forgive sins.

From The Catholic Priest, by Michael Mueller, we read: "The priest not only declares that the sinner is forgiven, but he really forgives him . . . So great is the power of the priest that the judgments of Heaven itself are subject to his decision." Notice the claim, "EVEN THE JUDGMENTS OF HEAVEN" are subject to the priest.

Here is another blasphemous claim. Augustus de Ancona says: "No one can appeal from the Pope to God, as no one can enter into the consistory of God WITHOUT THE MEDIATION OF THE POPE."-- In the British Museum. There are two things that the Bible tells us are blasphemy.

1) The claim on the part of a man to be God.

2) The claim by a man to be able to forgive sins. There is only one power on earth that makes these claims; there is only one power on earth that is the true anti-christ.

Another blasphemous statement is made by the Archbishop of Mainz: "The Lord our God no longer reigns, he has resigned all power and authority to the Pope." Do you believe that God has resigned all His power and authority to the Pope?" Of course you don't, and neither do I; but making such claims is certainly "SPEAKING GREAT WORDS" against the Most High God.

Of the popes Adam Clarke says: "They have assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive sins, which belongs only to God, They profess to be higher than all the kings of the earth, which belongs only to God." Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 596.

Again Adam Clarke says: "They go beyond God in pretending to loose whole nations from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when such kings do not please them. And they go against God, when they give INDULGENCES FOR SIN. This is the WORST OF ALL BLASPHEMIES." Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 596. The claim on the part of a man to be able to forgive sins is called blasphemy in the Bible. It is even worse to make the forgiveness of sins dependent upon the purchase of indulgences. It makes salvation something that can be bought with money.

There are many more GREAT WORDS and claims spoken by the anti-christ. Here is one of the most boastful of all: "WE HOLD UPON THIS EARTH THE PLACE OF GOD ALMIGHTY." The Great Encyclical Lett.ers of Leo XIII, p. 304. These claims--TO BE GOD, and TO FORGIVE SINS, reminds us of the prophecy of Paul. Paul clearly saw the work of anti-christ in vision. God revealed it to him, and he wrote the following warning against this deception.

In 2 Thess. 2:3, 4 we read: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." The MAN OF SIN, the SON OF PERDITION, the ANTI-CHRIST, is none other than the succession of pontiffs who sit on a throne in a temple in Rome, claiming the prerogatives of God.

"AND HE SHALL WEAR OUT THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH." Dan. 7:25. We have already found that John the Revelator describes the BEAST POWER as one that would make war with the saints. This has the same meaning as the statement made by Daniel that the anti-christ would wear out the saints. In other words, he would persecute God's saints.

Protestants still shudder, as they recall the terrible slaughter of St. Bartholomew's Day in Paris, when the bells rang out, and the Catholics were called to destroy, in one major stroke, the Huguenots. It is estimated that between 30,000 and 70,000 Protestants or Huguenots were killed in this massacre.

During the twelve hundred sixty years of Papal supremacy, millions of Christians were slain because of their persistence in holding to the Bible, and to the Bible only. Horrible atrocities and tortures were perpetrated upon the poor Christian victims. Men, women, and children were dealt with alike; some died on the rack. Others were burned at the stake. The Inquisition will go down in history as its darkest blot.

The Waldensians and the Huguenots and others were driven out into the wild places like beasts. Those who were apprehended were severely tortured. They were asked to recant their faith in the Bible, but, thank God, they refused to violate their consciences, and were true to their convictions. Religion was not as cheap then as it is now. Millions paid with their lives because of their FAITH IN GOD.

Rev. John Dowling, a Baptist historian, says that there has been "an average of more than 40,000 RELIGIOUS MURDERS for EVERY YEAR OF THE EXISTENCE OF POPERY." The History of Romanism, 1845, p. 541.

Does the Church of Rome admit to these atrocities? Let us read from their own publication: "THE CHURCH HAS PERSECUTED. Only a tyro in church history will deny that . . ." The Western Watchman, Dec. 24, 1909. Not only does the anti-christ admit this, but even boasts about it.

Continuing from the same Catholic source: "We have always DEFENDED the persecution of the Huguenots and the Spanish Inquisition." Think of the thousands of God-fearing men and women who died rather than give up their faith!

Just to give you a little idea of the atrocities that they "ALWAYS DEFEND," listen to this: "In this space of scarce thirty years the Inquisition destroyed, by various kinds of torture, a hundred and fifty thousand." Clarke's Commentary, 1840, Vol. 4, p. 1019. And do you think she might persecute again?

From the Catholic magazine, The Western Watchman, Dec. 24, 1909, we read: "WHEN SHE (The Catholic Church) THINKS IT GOOD TO USE PHYSICAL FORCE, SHE WILL USE IT." So, as Daniel says: "He shall wear out the saints of the most High."

In Dan. 7:25 we read further: "AND HE SHALL THINK TO CHANGE TIMES AND LAWS." Now there is only one conclusion we can draw from this text, that the TIMES and the LAW here referred to are the times and the law of the Most High God. The greatest crime committed by the anti-christ is found in the change of God's law. Jesus said that not one dot of an "i" or cross of a "t" would pass from the law; but the papacy has made a complete change of the fourth commandment.

The American Revised Version translates this text as follows: "He shall think to change THE TIMES AND THE LAW." Dan. 7:25. Has the papacy sought to tamper with God's law? Let us check in an authoritative source and see what Catholics say about this. We find that the Church of Rome really admits to the crime of changing God's law. In fact, it boasts of its power to do so, and claims that this is the MARK of its authority.

The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The Church after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, MADE THE THIRD COMMANDMENT refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day." Vol. 4, p. 153. Now here is a candid statement admitting that the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day was made by the Catholic Church. God's law says that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. The papacy says, "No, by my infallible authority I have changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week."

Has the papacy changed the Ten Commandment Law? All you need to do is refer to the Catechism. You will find that the second commandment has been dropped from the Ten Commandments altogether; it is the one that says: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." It would not be convenient for them to retain this commandment since they BELIEVE IN IMAGES. They have made the fourth or Sabbath commandment the third, and have left out all reference to the SEVENTH day being the Sabbath. All they say is: "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." In order to make up the commandment they dropped, they have divided the tenth commandment into two parts. They have surely TAMPERED with and VIOLATED the Law of God.

Does the pope claim to have this power? Martin Luther's opponent, Dr. Eck, says: "The church has had power to change the Sabbath of the Bible into Sunday... If you.. . turn from the church to the Scriptures alone, then you must keep the Sabbath which has been kept from the beginning of the world." Enchiridion, 1533 pp. 78, 79.

Let us read from Decretals of Gregory, Book 1, Title 7, Chapter 3: "For he (the pope) can dispense with the law, he can turn injustice to justice by correcting and CHANGING THE LAW, and he has the fulness of power." Notice that the anti-christ does claim to have the power to change the law. He claims the power to change time, to abrogate laws and even to dispense with the precepts of Christ. No man CAN change the laws of God, yet the anti-christ has THOUGHT TO CHANGE God's law.

In changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, the anti-christ has deceived NEARLY the whole world. But the Historian Mosheim says: "'The church,' we say, 'has ordained Sunday. We are bound to submit ourselves to her authority.' How weak is this prop! Jesus has freed us from the ordinances of men; the church has no right to make laws." Sittenlehre, 5, 486. Many people have been duped into believing that the anti-christ will appear sometime in the future, and do some unusual, terrible things. Little do they realize that the deception has already been pawned off upon the world, and that the majority are already following the errors of the anti-christ.

Tennhardt says: "The Sabbath is a great blessing from the Lord; and men have shamefully rejected and changed it . . . and thus have permitted the devil to lead them astray. And as the Lord God has sanctified the last day of the week . . . Anti-christ, on the other hand, has appointed the first day of the week." Kl Auszug aus Tennhard's Schriften, p. 49, printed 1712. Isn't it a pity that practically the whole world has accepted the authority of a man WHO CLAIMS TO BE GOD! Jesus is the ONE who created the world. Jesus is the one who made the Sabbath. Jesus had EVERYTHING to do with Redemption, but He also had EVERYTHING to do with Creation.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus was the Creator. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." John 1: 1-3.

In the tenth verse of this same chapter it says: "He was in the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." Notice that the world was made by Christ. Many people think that Christ only had to do with the redemption of this world, but the Bible makes it clear that He also created it.

We read in Heb. 1:1, 2 that: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, BY WHOM ALSO HE MADE THE WORLDS." It was Jesus who made the world. It was Jesus, who at the end of creation week, established the Holy Sabbath Day as a day of remembrance of the mighty works of God.

Two everlasting institutions were established in the Garden of Eden. One was marriage, and the other was the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the sign of God's mighty creative works. Satan has been intent upon destroying God's great sign of authority and power. HE HAS SUCCEEDED ONLY TOO WELL! The Sabbath is the fourth commandment of the ten, of which God tells us that if we break one of the least of these commandments, we SHALL BE FOUND GUILTY in the judgment. (James 2:10-12.)

The fourth commandment reads: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, 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 manservant, nor thy maidservant, 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 in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20: 8-11.

Some people think that the Sabbath is an institution that is placed upon a day. This is not true. THE SABBATH IS THE DAY. In practically every language in the world today, Saturday is called SABBATH. In French, Latin, Greek, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and many other languages their word for Saturday is Sabbath. There is one thing that Jesus COULD NOT DO when He created this world. He could not create the world on the first day and also rest on that day. Therefore Sunday, the first day of the week, COULD NOT BE the Sabbath.

Now, our Lord could have created the world in five days and rested on the sixth. He could have created the world in four days and rested on the fifth. He could have created the world in three days and rested on the fourth. He could have created the world in two days and rested on the third. He could have created the world in one day and rested on the second. But it was ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE for our Lord to create the world on the first day and also to rest on the first day. Of all the days in the week that could not be the Sabbath, the first day, or Sunday, is the only one.

In the early Apostolic Creed it says: "Oh Lord Almighty, thou hast created the world by Jesus Christ and hath appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof." The Sabbath, or Saturday, is the memorial of God's creative works. Not only is the Sabbath a memorial of the creation in the beginning but it is also a sign of recreation, or the new birth.

In Ezekiel 20-12 we read: "Moreover also I gave them my SABBATHS, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." The Sabbath is a SIGN OF SANCTIFICATION, or the new birth. The same Lord who created us in the beginning, is able to recreate a new heart within us today. He tells us that the Sabbath is a sign of this new birth.

Here is a striking statement from the works of Philo: "Now when the whole world had been brought to completion in accordance with the properties of six, a perfect number, the Father invested with dignity the seventh day which comes next, extolling it and pronouncing it holy." The Sabbath is the memorial of God's creative works. If all the world were keeping the Sabbath, there couldn't be an evolutionist. No one would believe that we descended from monkeys and apes, if we all believed in the creation and honored God's great memorial.

Continuing from the works of Philo: "For it (the seventh day) is the festival, not of a single city or country, but of the universe, and it alone strictly deserves to be called 'public' as belonging to all people and the BIRTHDAY OF THE WORLD." Vol. 1, Sec. 30. The Sabbath is the birthday of the world, just as the fourth of July is the memorial of our independence.

Notice in the commandment that it says: "For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Saturday, the seventh day, or the Sabbath day, is the ONLY day that God has ever blessed. The Sabbath is different from any other day in the week, just as the Bible Is different from any other book in print.

We read in Num. 23:19, 20: "God is not a man, that he should lie . . . He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it." How embarrassed people will feel in the judgment, who have called the Sabbath a "yoke of bondage," or "that old Jewish day," when Jesus says to them: "The Sabbath is My own blessed child."

In I Chron. 17:27 it says: ". . . for thou blessest, 0 Lord, and it shall be blessed forever." When God blesses something it is blessed forever. And far be it from me to try to take away the blessed Sabbath day. Only the anti-christ has tried to do this, but we must not obey his commands above God's. Only those who keep God's Sabbath know the true blessing of Sabbath-keeping.

Not only did God bless the Sabbath, but He rested upon that day; not because God needed to rest but to leave us an example. The Lord also sanctified the Sabbath, or SET IT APART for holy use. Nowhere is the Sabbath called Jewish; it is always referred to in the Bible as "God's Holy Day."

We can say "AMEN" to the following statement by Professor E. E. Thomas: "MAN COULD NOT KEEP THE ORIGINAL SABBATH AND FORGET GOD." "Heralds of Gospel Liberty," June 19, 1890. The reason why so many of us have forgotten God is that we have forgotten His Holy Day. Let us pray that God will help us to "REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY."