Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
Finding it, and passing it on to you.

EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

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A REFUTATION OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST
TEACHINGS IN REGARD TO THE SABBATH

Refuting the Vision of Ellen G. White
regarding seventh day law keeping

A.  Does a church have to meet on the Jewish sabbath instead of on Sunday?

And is Sunday church attendance "Roman Catholic"? To the contrary, a local church may meet whenever the local church chooses! A church is not bound by ANY day or days. We meet on Wednesday as well as Sunday; and sometimes on Saturday! Sunday is the main day when most attend because this is convenient, due to jobs, etc. The word "sabbath" simply means "rest". It does not mean "seventh". The "sabbath day" means "the rest day". To the O.T. Jews, this was indeed on the seventh day, but "sabbath" was used of any Jewish holiday, regardless of what day it fell on.

B. What then of the verse in Matthew 24?

Matthew 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Most assume this "rest day" is Saturday. Compared with Luke 21 we see that at this time Jerusalem will be attacked. Jewish believers must escape quickly. Yet, the gates will most likely be shut and everything will be down due to the sabbath keeping Jews! Israel is in blindness and still tries to obey the Mosaic Law. It will be hard to try to escape on the sabbath day. It would also be hard to escape in winter and to escape with children! Yet, no one makes "having children" a set law for all Christians. This is not a list of commands, but a list of problems that escaping believers may be hindered by in Jerusalem.

Matthew 24:20 cannot be read as a commandment for NT Christians to obey the sabbath commandment. It is written to people who will be in JERUSALEM at that time. Jerusalem will be obeying the sabbath command.

C. Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

It is hard to believe that the Holy Spirit would have left Christians without some type of "NT" teaching in regard to the sabbath. The point is that if a person desires to not work on Saturday unto God, that is fine; God accepts it. Yet, if they try and put this on other believers they are seen as "weak in the faith" at best, or a "Judaizer" at the worst:

Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

It would be truly hard to believe that Col.2 and Rom.14 are not addressing this most important question of the sabbath command! It would surely have been a contention at the time, especially among Jewish believers. It would have been much like circumcision, abstaining from meats, and other Jewish laws. Therefore, it seems most logical to believe that the Holy Ghost is giving His will on this most important matter in Col.2: We choose to have church on Sunday because that is the day most can be there due to jobs. Yet we make no law saying all churches must meet on Sunday and Wednesday. But what of this objection (first put forth by the so-called "inspired" prophetess Ellen White) that "sabbath days" refers to special days other than the weekly sabbath?

1. It would be hard to believe that a Christian would be punished on such a debatable, subjective, unclear idea such as this. Just on the surface it could easily apply to the weekly sabbath.

2. Yet, it is not left unclear, because we have the KJV to open it up for us. We can compare Scripture usage with Scripture usage:

Ex 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Notice "sabbaths" plural, but "it" singular.

Mt 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the **sabbath**, and are blameless?
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the *sabbath days*? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the *sabbath day*, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Here the Jews as well as Christ Himself refer to the weekly sabbath in plural and singular. Notice some more examples of the Holy Spirit interpreting Col.2:16:

Luke 4:31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.

Luke 6:2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the *sabbath days?
5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the *sabbath.
9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the *sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

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

Therefore Col.2 is a command to "let no man judge" in regard to the sabbath day. In 59 usages of the word or phrase it means the weekly sabbath. Yet, Adventists insist without nay evidence that it means something different in Col.2! The sabbath day was only a "shadow" of the future Millennial Rest (Heb.4), just like the Old Testament sacrificial lambs were a shadow of Christ. They should not be exalted by New Testament Christians into doctrines.

D. It is true that no jot or tittle of the Law will pass away until God ordains it so.
Yet, that does not mean it will not be fulfiled and changed by the Great Law Giver:

Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

The "Law" has been fulfilled and changed by the NT. Animal sacrifices, feats days, sabbath days, dietray laws, etc. are not spiritually binding. There may be good "common sense" in abstaining from pork, oysters, etc. Yet, this is all. We are not to judge.

E. Lev. 23:27-32 shows a holy "sabbath" day.

The day of atonement was so holy that one was put to death for working on it. Yet all sabbatarians believe this has "passed away". Thus, a day being set aside as "holy" by God may pass away as a requirement! The "holiness" of a day therefore has no inner worth that means it must endure for all ages. Furthermore, holy vessels, holy ark, holy water, holy ointment, etc. have all passed away in the NT age. So has the "holy sabbath".

F. The weekly sabbath is given as the chief of ceremonial convocations:

Lev.23:1-44. It is thus joined with the other "ceremonies" that have likewise passed away. We have "sabbaths" in the 7th day, the 7th month, the 7th year (Lev.25) and the year of jubilee. It is unreasonable to make the 7th "day" binding, while ignoring the remainder of the whole scale!

G. If the sabbath is binding, then it must be obeyed properly.

Where is the evidence that we are free to change these specifics if it is indeed binding?:

Numbers 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

Ex 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

H. Sabbatarians assume that our calendar is correct and that our Saturday is indeed the "7th day".

For legal purposed, the calendar was changed by Pope Gregory in 1582, When the SDAs observe Saturday by the Gregorian Calendar, they do not have a clue if they are on the seventh day according to Moses' calendar. This makes their claims to be right with God a mockery of their own intellect. They lack historians wise enough, or with testosterone enough, to bell the cat with the SDA denomination on this one. It is to laugh.

I. In going around the earth one way to witness in obedience to Christ, we lose a day.....
and we gain another going the other way. Where then is the 7th day?:

"Let two Adventists start from Chicago, one going east, the other west around the earth. Each keeps carefully the seventh day as teh sun sets. When they meet again at Chicago they will be two days apart! One will be keeping Sunday and the other Friday...What endless and needless difficulties people get themselves into trying to keep a law which was only designed for Jews in a limited locality." (Canright, 1889)

J. Historic quotes on the sabbath question:

"They (Jewish Christians) also observe the Sabbath, and other discipline of the Jews, just like them; but on the other hand, they also celebrate the Lord's Days very much like us in commemoration of his resurrection." (Eusebius, A.D.324)

"We solemnize the day after Saturday in contradiction to those who call this day their sabbath". (Tertullian, A.D. 200)

"On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together." (Bardesanes, A.D. 180)

"But Sunday is the day on which we hold our common assembly, because Jesus Christ, our Savoir, on the same day rose from the dead." (Justin Martyr, A.D. 140)

"We keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again..." (Barnabas, A.D. 120)

Ac 20:7 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. (A.D. 60)

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

I list these quotes, not to make a binding case for Sunday worship, but simply to show, contrary to SDA claims, that "Sunday" is not a Roman Catholic idea. That the RC uses this day is no different that the fact that they also hold to the Trinity and think abortion to be murder. The RCC is deceived and devilish, but it is not wrong in everything.

K. Notice that Scripture also gives the same set that Paul uses in Col.2 elsewhere:

1Ch 23:30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even; 31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:

Col 2:16 ¶ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

The sabbaths in 1Chr.23 are the weekly sabbaths as agreed by all. We have weekly, monthly and yearly all given. (See als 2Chron.2:4, 8:13, 31:3, Neh.10:13, Ezek.45:17, Hos.2:11)

"The old seventh-day Sabbath is abolished and done away." (Bunyan)

THE SABBATH AND THE LORD'S DAY (By D.M. Panton)

"The Sabbath was a Jewish ordinance founded on 1. God's after-creation rest, and on 2. the deliverance of Israel from Egypt...(Ex.20:8-11) No such command is recorded in the Bible as given to a Gentile nation: the Gentile was liable to its observance only when inside Israelitish gates (Ex.20:10)...(...that God's sabbath was not enjoined on Adam, or ever kept by him, seems certain since God's seventh day was Adam's first)... ...

We now turn to the Lord's Day. The word 'sabbath' is never used in Scripture for the first day of the week; nor is there any hint of a change of days - one newly hallowed, and one now made unhallowed. God is nowhere stated to have done this: no church has the power...But the Lord's day is honoured for reasons totally distinct from the sabbatic...Thus the honouring of the Lord's Day - its observance is nowhere commanded in the Scripture - is a practice (not a precept) sanctioned by the Holy Ghost...(Acts 20:7) Although all days are now fundamentally alike to the robust believer (Rom.14:2,5), the First Day, as peculiarly attached to our Lord and His resurrection, it is permissive for us to honour, in a strictly non-legal sense...The Sermon on the Mount is our Decalogue, the Gospels and Epistles our Law, and the Apocalypse our Prophets..."

Recently The Netherlands has taken up the issue of Sunday Laws. This is terrorizing to SDAs, for it points to an Antichrist system coming soon. We do need to wonder why these Hollanders, who kill babies and the elderly for any whim or fancy, would now want to observe Sunday. Every old church in downtown Amsterdam is locked up solid and has been for over 30 years. I checked it our myself one afternoon. Why do such gross pagans want to keep Sunday?

So we better be cautious as we trash the SDAs, for they have fears of their own. It is sad though that they have this obsession with Sabbath Keeping, for it has set them up for real terror in these last days. And, if they keep the Sabbath as a law based salvation, they are damned to hell for rejecting the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

_____________________________

EDITOR: Steve Van Nattan

The following Seventh Day Adventist writer makes it very clear that anyone who meets on Sunday for Christian fellowship HAS the mark of the beats. This was what Ellen G. White taught. Many SDAs will try to tell you that they are the same kind of Christians you are, but if they really believe the rest of us have the mark of the beast, they are damned hypocrites. This is because the teaching in the Bible on the mark of the beast makes it very clear that those with the mark are damned to hell and the enemies of God. This is why there can be NO fellowship between Bible believers and SDAs.

Do NOT be intimidated with the claims that the Pope invented Sunday worship. Jesus himself appeared to his followers after his resurrection on the first day of the week, and for that reason the disciples met on "the Lord's day" from then on. To meet on Saturday is not evil, but to make Sunday the mark of the beast is white (White) hot hate, and I hate those who hate the works of Jesus, especially his resurrection.

SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST APOLOGETIC

WATCH OUT FOR THE SUNDAY LAWS

AND THE THE MARK OF THE BEAST!

Jacques and Elaine Coetzee

Today there is a Sunday-movement in progress all over the world. Bishops and priests long for a renewal of Sunday celebration. Some people want a public movement in order to protect the peace of Sunday, while others want to fine those disturbing this peace. 22 The idea of fining people who are not willing to observe Sunday as a holy day, is not in accordance with the Spirit of Christ. To keep holy the day of rest must be a personal decision, and should be done out of joy and love for Christ - not by force. Besides, did you know that the day the church leaders all over the world are seeking to enforce, is a false day of rest?

As Christians we must follow Christ, do you not agree? Which day did He keep as the day of rest? The Bible reveals that Jesus kept the Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, Saturday.1&33 It is a sad fact, that church leaders have kept the truth about the correct day of rest hidden from the people. An example of this is found in the texts of the church year. On the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, they have included the Bible-texts of all the commandments, but they have left out the verses that tell us to keep the 7th day as the day of rest. It is a sad fact and rather sensational that bishops, priests, church leaders and teachers thus have been false shepherds, and neglected to inform us that a change in the testament concerning the ten command-ments took place a few hundred years after the death of Christ.

Did you know that it is the Papacy, with the pope himself in the lead, that has tried to destroy God's ten commandments? It is this power that is behind the commandments found in the catechism. These commandments are quite different from Gods ten commandments as you find them in the Bible. Please investigate it for yourself. Compare the commandments found in the catechism with God's ten commandments as you find them in the Bible, in Exodus chapter 20, verses 3-17. The complete "day of rest" commandment in the Bible (the 4th) 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."

In this commandment we read that the seventh day, the sabbath, is the day of rest. In addition, you also find who is the lawmaker. It is the Lord. He is the Creator, and His dominion is the heaven, the earth, the sea, the waters and all that in them is. The Catholic Church removed this vital point in the false commandment of the Catholic catechism. If not, it could remind the people who the lawmaker is and to whom we should render obedience. In the Catholic Catechism, the commandment regarding the day of rest simply reads: "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." In the Lutheran Catechism we read: "You shall keep the day of rest holy".

Here we are not told which particular day the day of rest is, neither who the lawgiver is. Let us now take a look at the Biblical version of the commandments, comparing them with the commandments found in the catechism:

THE LAW OF GOD Exo. 20, 3-17

THE LAW OF GOD as changed by man in THE CATECHISM

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
1. I am the Lord thy God, Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 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 fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
3. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

4. 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 dauther, 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.
4. Honour thy father and thy mother.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
5. Thou shalt not kill.

6. Thou shalt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.

8. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods.

The Catholic Church admits openly and bluntly that she is responsible for changing the day of rest from Sabbath to Sunday. From a Roman Catholic book of creed we read the following: "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.336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church (Roman Catholic) has power to institute festivals of precept? Answer: Had she no 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." 3

It is sad, but a matter of fact, that Church authority has decided something different than what the Bible teaches. They instituted a false day of rest as early in history as more than a 1000 years before the time of Luther. That is why most people today are ignorant of this fact. Has the priest, the sunday school teachers or the teachers of religion, in your district, informed you about this change? Martin Luther - who was raised a Catholic, but later discovered what this false system is all about, said: "It is plain that the marks of the Antichrist coincide with those of the pope's kingdom and his followers." 34

This statement you will find in the book of Concord; The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Luther was right in this, because all the signs of the Bible regarding the great Antichristian power - "the beast" - fit the Papacy. One of the signs of this "beast" is that it has a mark. Since all the Biblical signs fit the Papacy, this sign also must fit. The Catholic Church confirms through many statements that she has a mark.

We read: "Sunday is our mark of authority. The church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance (to Sunday) is proof of that fact." 2 Let us look at another: "Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act... And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things." 5

The Catholic Church (the beast) says that Sunday is her MARK = "the mark of the beast." It is startling and at the same time sad that the Lutheran Church with all the sister churches has united with the Catholics in breaking this special commandment, and thereby taking part in the falsification of the Testament of Jesus. Let us look at what a few Protestants have to say about this change in the day of rest: 1. "And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh day, but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day." 6 2."On the other hand there is no command in the New Testament that establishes or provides for the celebration of Sunday. And of course there does not exist any command that says that Sunday is going to assume the role of the Sabbath (Saturday) for the Christian." 7

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Now, I am very much aware of the fact that many Christians hold to the observance of the first day of the week as the day of rest in memory of the resurrection of Jesus. But even if someone began celebrating the day of resurrection, it is wrong to jump to the conclusion that we thereby have a new day of rest. The scriptures state that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. 8 He created this world and He also instituted the day of rest. It is even written that "All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made." 9

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, so, if the day of rest was to be changed, Jesus would be the one to make that change, but this He has not done. It is the Papacy (the beast) that is responsible for this change. The Bible says that God blessed and hallowed the seventh day. Are you able to find that Jesus has asked us to stop keeping the seventh day holy, and instead commanded us to keep the first day? Are you able to find that He has changed the ten commandments, including the command to keep the 7th day Sabbath holy, the commandment which God wrote with His own finger? Are you able to find that God or Jesus has made holy and blessed the first day of the week? Be honest with yourself and answer these questions. It is quite clear that the Bible tells us that God set aside the seventh day for a holy purpose and blessed it. We need to make a choice: Will I keep the Sabbath under God's authority or keep Sunday, which is instituted by man?

FALSE SHEPHERDS

Perhaps you wonder why the priests have been silent about the change concerning the Ten Commandments? It is possible that some have not discovered this change, but the simple answer is that too many have been false representatives of God and kept the truth about the "mark of the beast" hidden from the people. They calm the people down with a pleasant message of peace and safety. They say that "the Sabbath was made for the Jews", and "We live under the new covenant", so, "Sunday is the day of rest." But think for yourself!

The Sabbath was instituted long before the first Jew - Abraham - even existed. The Sabbath was instituted in the beginning, at Creation, and Jesus says that it "was made for man." 8 It was made for you and me. In addition, Jesus says that as long as we see the heaven above us and the earth below us, God's Commandments are valid.11 God's Ten Commandments are just as valid today in the new covenant. But the change in the new covenant from the old is that we may come directly to Jesus and have forgiveness for our sins. The system of sacrificial offerings are done away with. Jesus has come as the true sacrificial Lamb, and He has been sacrificed once and for all.12

THE SUNDAY MOVEMENT

Presently a Sunday movement is in progress all over the world. Strong religious groups exist in the USA, such as "The Lord's Day Alliance", "The Christian Coalition", and others, working hard in order to establish Sunday as a universel day of rest. Because of moral decay, threatening economic collapse and reduced interest in Christianity, they firmly believe the people and the nation must get back to the Ten Commandments in order to receive the blessing of God.It is in this connection they want to restore the false day of rest. Today we see how bishops and priests are uniting with Christian alliances, the mercantile class, trade unions and other organisations to give life to Sunday as a day of rest.

They try to give life to the mark of the beast. In the European Unity (EU), they lobby to make Sunday the common day of rest. Jaques Delors, former president of the EU, calls for "one spirit, one opinion and one spirituality in the European institutions". In the EU they continue to build on this model, and Sunday as the day of rest will, they think, bind them together in one spirituality. This is a smart move by the Catholics. They try to find common points they can agree to in the Union, and Sunday as a common day of rest, is something that Catholics and most Protestants can agree upon.

OBLIGATORY SUNDAY OBSERVANCE

Today both Catholic and Protestant nations have dormant Sunday laws incorporated in their law system. When these laws are put into effect, it will be obligatory to keep Sunday as a day of rest. At that time the prophecy of "the mark of the beast" will be fulfilled. The Bible says that in the end the whole world will be drawn into this last great conflict.

We will either choose to worship God and honor Him as the Creator of heaven and earth - by keeping holy God's and Jesus' day of rest, which is the Sabbath - or we will be loyal to "the beast" (the Papacy) and take its mark, which is Sunday. Even though this conflict is just ahead of us, decisions have to be made today. Since we know the facts conserning the violation of the law of God and the forgery of the testament that have taken place concerning the day of rest, it is important that we at the present time take a stand against the false Sabbath. We should choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus now, and He kept the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week - Saturday, from sunset Friday till sunset Saturday. 1 & 33

EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL UNITY

The Bible reveals that the rulers of this world will unite just before the return of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. 15 We see the prelude of this unity today. The rulers of this world - in secret societies - prepare the directions that will pave the way and unite Europe and the rest of the world under the power elite and their system of international laws . We see this unity through the EEC, EU, GATT, NATO, the West European Union, UN and now also through the New World Order. Europe and the rest of the world are indeed about to unite both on the economic, political and religious areas,.. and the Bible reveals that it is "the harlot" (the Roman Catholic Church) that is in charge.

It is written in God's word, that the kings of the earth commit adultery with the harlot. The merchants and all the great men of the earth are doing business with the harlot and obtain wealth by her commercial connections. They have become intoxicated with her wine, and fooled by the sorcery of the Papacy. 16 Today we see how spiritualism, (through New Age), Catholicism and Protestantism unite. As far as the relation-ship between Catholicism and Protestantism is concerned, it is Protestantism that unfortunately draws near to Catholi-cism. This we see in the Porvoo Declaration, the Joint Declaration, the big church alliances, in the rituals and traditions of the church, in the plans to educate our children and youth and elsewhere. The government contributes in pushing through these liberal attitudes that break with Protestantism.

THEY HAVE ONE THOUGHT

We are at the brink of a great and decisive struggle on this our planet. The Bible says: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take councel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed." 17 The Bible further states that the rulers of the world "have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast" 18, a description of how strong and uniform this movement is. "There will be a universal bond of union, one great harmony, a confederacy of Satan's forces." "In the warfare to be waged in the last days all the corrupt powers that do not show obedience to the law of God will unite in opposition to Christ and those who are standing on His side" 19 - "they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 20

The church will receive help from the government. They will councel together and unite to enforce and exalt the Papacy's false day of rest - Sunday - contrary to the Biblical day of rest. The fourth commandment of the Bible - the Sabbath commandment - will thus be the great point of issue, because in it the great Law-maker identifies Himself as the Creator of heaven and earth."19 Are you in doubt as to what the end result will be? Jesus says: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." 21 It is God and Christ that are in control. Satan, who rebelled against God in heaven and was thrown down to this earth, has been given opportunity to prove what his system of government is all about.

God is love. He does not force anyone, neither Satan nor us, but He lets us choose life and the good or death and the evil. Soon the struggle will be over, and the Bible tells us the outcome of this struggle: "These (all the corrupt powers of the world) shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them". 18 So it is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, the Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who choose to stand on His side that will be victorious in this struggle between good and evil, between Christ and Satan. On which side will you stand?

PREPARATION

In all this struggle we must remember that the gift of salvation and eternal life is available to everyone. Jesus says: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." 23 So it is all up to you and me if we will accept the gift of salvation. There is no other way to be saved, because Jesus declares: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." 23 Let us do as the prodigal son did, who had wandered a long way from home. First he thought that he would go home to his father. But that was not enough.

It was only when he acted upon his thoughts, when he stood up and went, that he came home. Just as the father noticed him far away and ran towards him with his arms opened wide, so Jesus longs to accept everyone who comes to Him in faith.24 Jesus says: "and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." 25 Now a rather personal guestion that presents itself is this: Would you like to accept the gift of salvation and say yes to Jesus? The signs of the times show that the return of Jesus Christ is near at hand. It is therefore of great importance that we now decide to place ourselves on His side. When Jesus returns, He does not come to save us in our sins or to cleanse our minds from all impurities. No, this cleansing has to take place before Jesus comes again. Only then we will be accepted by Him when He comes to gather His people.26 Perhaps you are asking: "What does it really mean to say "yes to Jesus", and to place myself on His side? Well, the Bible says that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." " Sin is the transgression of the law." and "the wages of sin is death." 27 So you see that except we receive the grace and salvation of Jesus, we are in a lost condition.

We need to humble ourselves, acknowledge our sins and pray for power and strength to turn away from the sins in our lives. When we humble ourselves in this way before God, He recognizes our sincere wish to be set free from sin. Then we shall know that Jesus has promised that He will forgive our sins by the power of the blood of Jesus. We will then stand before God in purity, clothed in the robe of the righteousness of Jesus, undeserved by grace through faith. 28 When Jesus intervenes in the life of the believer, a change of character will take place. It will be a delight and a joy to take up the cross and follow Christ. You will, by God's help, give up the pleasures of the world. You will, still by God's help, take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. You will, by God's grace and help, follow and obey the Spirit and not the flesh. You will, by God's help, cleanse your soul in obedience to the truth, and when you discover that the seventh day is Jesus's day of rest, and that God has sanctified and blessed it, then you will with joy and love for Christ, follow in His footsteps also on this point. 29 The world really needs a message of warning and a message of salvation, as we find it in Revelation chapter 14, verses 1-12, and Revelation chapter 18. verses 1-4.30 The world is waiting to see the life of the believer, the faith and disposition of Jesus.

The world is waiting to hear salvation from sin preached clearly. Jesus came to this world in order to save people from their sins, not in their sins. Jesus is the Son of God, but he came to this earth as a human being. He had to receive power and strength from God in order to live a life without sin. Thus we also can receive power and strength in every temptation to live a life without sinning. Just as the branch must be in constant connection with the trunk in order to live and bear fruit, so we must be in constant connection with Jesus in order not to sin. If we sin, then we have failed, not Jesus. 31 Let us all the time seek to do the will of God, and keep our minds turned towards heaven. Then we will go from victory to victory in our Christian life, and in the end, by Gods grace, be ready when Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, returns to receive His people. My prayer is that you and I may be among them!

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References 1. Luke. 4.16; Luke. 23.54-56 2. "Catholic Record", London/Ontario, 1. Sept. 1923 3. "Doctrinal Catechism", p. 147 and "The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine" (1977 edition), p. 50 5. H. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons. 6. Isaac Williams: "Plain Sermons on the Catechism", p. 334,336 7. Catechism note (22) "Sabbaten og søndagen" by Odd Sverre Hove. The Norwegian newspaper: "Dagen" 7/10-95. 8. Mark. 2. 27+28 9. John. 1.1-3; Gen. 1. 26. 10. Gen. 2. 1-3; Ex. 20. 11 11. Matt. 5. 17+18 12. Heb. 9. 24-28 13. "Dagen" 9/29-9 14. 1. John. 2.1-2; Phi. 2. 5-7; John. 14. 4-6 15. Rev. 17. 12+13; Rev. 16. 13+14 16. Rev. chapter 17. and 18. 17. Ps. 2.2 18. Rev. 17. 12-14 19. Ellen G. White: ®Review and Herald, 13. Oct. 1904; Rev. 14.12 20. Rev. 14.12 21. Matt. 28. 18-20 22. The Norwegian newspaper: "Vårt Land", 12. Sept. 1990; "Dagen" 6. April 1995 and 25. June 1994 23. John. 3.16; John. 14.6 24. Luke. 15. 17-20 25. John. 6.37 26. Matt. 1.21; Rev. 21.27 27. Rom. 3.23; 1. John. 3.4; Rom. 6.23 28. Acts. 2.38; Eph. 2. 8-10 29. 1. Cor. 10.13; Rom. 8.10; 1. John. 2.1-6 and 3.1-6; 1. John. 5. 2+3; 1. Pet. 1.22 30. Rev. 14. 1-12 and 18. 1-4. 31. John. 5.30; 14.3+4; 17.21-23; 1. John. 3. 3-10. 32. 1.Thes. 4. 15-17; Rev. 22.12. 33. Lev. 23.32, Neh.13.16-21. 34. The book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, p. 327.

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