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1. Is the Catholic Church the "bad guy" in Bible prophecy? Much of Seventh-day Adventist end-time prophecy revolves around making Catholicism out to be the great and evil persecuting power of Bible prophecy described in Daniel 7. While Catholicism has certainly failed in many ways to represent Christ, the facts are that it simply does not fit the vision of Daniel 7 for several reasons.
First, the terrible beast of Daniel 7 has "10 horns", which Adventists say represents ten tribes that conquered the Roman Empire. There are several problems with this theory. To begin with, horns on top of a beast's head always indicate the leaders or kings of the same empire, never a new empire or new power. For example, in Daniel 8, a large horn grows upon the goat's head, and that horn is understood by all to be Alexandar the Great, ruler of the Greek (goat) empire. The Bible clearly says the ten are "kings" and not "kingdoms". These "kings" could not possibly refer to the ten tribes, because the ten tribes were bitter enemies of the Roman beast. They fought it and destroyed it, so it would seem strange indeed to picture the ten tribes as growing upon the head of an empire they destroyed! The tribes were, in fact, an outside invading force and they did not grow up inside the Roman Empire. In addition, there were at least twenty tribes involved in the overthrow of the Roman Empire, so the idea of the ten horns being ten tribes does not even come close to matching the historical reality of the situation.
Second, Adventists claim three tribes were uprooted, or destroyed, by the papacy (the little horn). The truth is, the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Heruli were never destroyed or subdued by the pope. The Heruli were defeated by the Lombards, and the Vandals and Ostrogoths fell to the Byzantines. There is no evidence the Roman bishop had anything to do with the subjugation of these tribes. In fact, the Lombards, who overthrew the Heruli, were enemies of the Catholic Church!
Third, Adventists say the uprooting of the three tribes was complete by 538 AD with the demise of the Ostrogoths, but that is simply false. The Ostrogoths were pushed out of Rome temporarily, but they recaptured it in 541 AD and ruled Rome for nearly a decade afterward. The Ostrogoths were not completely wiped out until 561 AD.
So the Roman Church fits neither the time, the place, nor the visual representation of the vision of Daniel 7. (For further study, see Dirk Anderson's book, National Sunday Law: Fact of Fiction)
2. Did Papacy Change Sabbath? - Much of Adventist prophetic teaching is built upon the idea that the Catholic Church is the "little horn" that appeared upon the fourth beast of Daniel 7 and changed "times" and "laws". According to Adventists, the "times" that the "little horn" changed is the time of the Sabbath. They claim that the papacy transfered Sabbath observance to Sunday during the dark ages. Prophet Ellen White saw in vision that the Pope changed the day of worship to Sunday:
"I saw that God had not changed the Sabbath, for He never changes. But the pope had changed it from the seventh to the first day of the week; for he was to change times and laws."5
The "official" teaching of the Catholic Church is that the abolition of the Sabbath was confirmed by the early Church Fathers:
The early Church Fathers compared the observance of the Sabbath to the observance of the rite of circumcision, and from that they demonstrated that if the apostles abolished circumcision (Gal. 5:1-6), so also the observance of the Sabbath must have been abolished.6
The above quote has the NIHIL OBSTAT and the IMPRIMATUR which essentially means the quote is considered authentic, accurate, and official by the Catholic Church. So, the "official" Catholic Church teaching is that Sunday-keeping can be traced back to the generation following the Apostles. Adventists point to a series of articles that appeared in September of 1893 in the Catholic Mirror as proof that the Catholic Church changed the day of worship. Those articles do indeed brag that the Catholic Church made the change, but they do not carry either the NIHIL OBSTAT or the IMPRIMATUR. This means the articles are not an official church teaching and represent merely the opinion of the author.7
Seventh-day Adventist theologian Samuele Bacchiocchi had access to the Vatican vaults and researched the oldest material on Sabbath-keeping. His research led him to conclude Sunday-keeping was largely practiced long before the first pope came on the scene:
"I differ from Ellen White, for example, on the origin of Sunday. She teaches that in the first centuries all Christians observed the Sabbath and it was largely through the efforts of Constantine that Sundaykeeping was adopted by many Christians in the fourth century. My research shows otherwise. If you read my essay HOW DID SUNDAYKEEPING BEGIN? which summarizes my dissertation, you will notice that I place the origin of Sundaykeeping by the time of the Emperor Hadrian, in A. D. 135."8
In the book of Acts, the Apostles frequently worshipped on Sabbath, and there is no evidence that Sunday observance was practiced in the first century. Polycarp, leader of the church in Smyrna, and disciple of the Apostle John, observed the Sabbath and taught his followers to keep the Commandments of God10
Sunday-keeping arose in the second century, primarily in Rome and Alexandria. According to Wikipedia, Mithraism reached the height of it popularity in the Roman Empire during the second and third centuries. Mithraism is based upon the worship of the sun-god Mithras, and followers observed Sunday as a day of worship in honor of the sun-god.
Sunday-keeping also arose in the second century in Alexandria, Egypt among the gnostics. The gnostics abhored the physical creation, and since the seventh day Sabbath was in honor of the physical creation, gnostics chose to worship on Sunday, which they called the "eighth day."
During the second century, the Jews were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire, and it is believed the persecutions helped to hasten the adoption of Sunday by Christians who sought to differentiate themselves from the Jews in order to avoid being labeled as Jews. During the period of 100 AD to 400 AD, some Christians observed Sabbath, some observed Sunday, and others observed both days. Gradually Sunday-keeping became dominant in the areas controlled by the Church of Rome. Below are a couple of early quotes showing the introduction of Sunday worship in the Christian Church:
110 A.D. Ignatius - "[T]hose who were brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e. Jews] have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him and by his death".11
130 A.D. Barnabas - "Moreover God says to the Jews, 'Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.' You see how he says, 'The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested [heaven: Heb 4] from all things, I will make the beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world.' Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven."12
While the Roman Church did promote Sunday observance, the practice actually started hundreds of years before the Roman bishop's rise to pre-eminence.
3. Is Sabbath versus Sunday the end-time deciding issue? - The New Testament never describes the Sabbath as the one great issue that will divide the true believers from the false believers. If the Sabbath was indeed such a profound issue, such a "life-or-death" matter of eternal consequence, then why did Jesus and the Apostles say nothing of its importance?
Paul told Christians not to judge eachother regarding the keeping of the Sabbath (Col. 2:16) or any other day they decide to keep holy:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Rom. 14:5 NIV)
In the book of Romans, Paul encouraged Christians to uphold the law (Rom. 3:31), but he did not over-emphasize the importance of the Sabbath. Why not? Was it because God wanted us to figure out the most profound issue in Christianity on our own, without any help or guidance from His Word? Or was it because the writers of the Bible were uninspired and had no idea this would become an issue at the end of time? Of course not!
It is absurd to think that such a critical decision--a decision upon which hinges the eternal destination of the Christian believer--would be met with silence by Paul and other New Testament authors. Every student knows that when a teacher has an important point to make to his students, he reiterates that point over and over again. Jesus and the Apostles were the greatest teachers this world has ever seen. The points they repeatedly emphasized were:
- Love
- Grace
- Forgiveness
- Mercy
- Doing good to others
- Faith
- Salvation
- Return of Christ
- Dangers of legalism
These subjects are repeated over and over again in the New Testament. What about the necessity of keeping Sabbath as a holy day? Oddly enough, it is never mentioned in the New Testament, not even once. And yet are we to believe this is the single-most important issue that is supposed to decide the fate of humanity?
4. Adventist end-time theology all boils down to this: Those who keep Sabbath go to heaven, and the rest get burned in hell fire. This is a species of legalism. It makes the Sabbath, instead of grace or salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the most important end-time issue. It takes the focus off of Jesus and puts the focus on works of the flesh. Any Christian can tell you that what day you go to church on does not make you a Christian in any way, shape, or form. A man may go to church on Saturday, but his heart may be filled with hatred, adultery, and every kind of evil. Another man may go to church on Sunday but his heart may be filled with love, kindness, faith, and the grace of God. The external act of keeping a day holy is not a "sign" or "mark" of true Christianity. The "sign" of true Christianity is having Jesus in your heart and loving others:
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Gal. 5:14)
5. According to Adventist end-time teachings, God returns back to the earth to punish the evil-doers, whose great crime is in forcing people to worship God on Sunday. The battle between Sabbath-keepers and Sunday-keepers is supposedly the final battle in the Great Controversy. Is Sunday-keeping such a great and horrendous sin? Let us examine the major sins pointed out in the New Testament and see how they are impacting us today:
| Sin
| New Testament passages
| Problems caused by the Sin
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Murder, Genocide, Terrorism
| Matt. 15:19, Rom. 1:29, Gal. 5:21, Rev. 9:21
| Tens of millions killed in the last 75 years--Germany (Hitler), Soviet Union (Stalin), Uganda, Serbia, Bosnia
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Witchcraft, Occult/Satanic Activities
| Gal. 5:20, Rev. 9:21
| Harry Potter generation; Wicca (Witchcraft) is fastest growing religion in the world; New Age deceptions
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Drunkeness, orgies
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Luke 21:34, Rom. 13:13, Gal. 5:21, 1 Pet. 4:3
| Alcohol sales booming around the world; drugs are destroying the youth; pornography destroying marriages
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Persecuting and killing Christians
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Matt. 23:34, Luke 21:12, Rev. 17:6
| More Christians being persectued and killed today than at any time in human history
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Greed
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Luke 18:22, 1 Ti. 6:10, James 5:1-6
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Thousands of children die every day from malnutrition and diseases while the rich get richer
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Homosexuality
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Rom. 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 6:9
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Perversion is destroying the marriage covenant and the family unit
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Pollution
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Rev. 11:18
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Smog is filling the air, chemicals are poisoning our food and water supplies
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Not worshipping on Saturday
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Adventists seem to spend a lot of time harping on the sin of Sabbath-breaking, but it does not appear to have caught the attention of the authors of the New Testament. Adventists want us to believe that Sunday-keeping is the one heinous sin above all others that identifies someone who is disloyal to God. What about Genocide? Murder? Rape? Child abuse? Greed? Persecution? Blasphemy? Witchcraft? Those sins do not even make it onto the Adventist list. According to Adventists, the Mark of the Beast is Sunday-keeping:
"Sunday-keeping must be the mark of the beast." ... "The reception of his mark must be something that involves the greatest offense that can be committed against God."13
"The Sunday Sabbath is purely a child of the Papacy. It is the mark of the beast."14
"The change of the Sabbath is the sign or mark of the authority of the Romish church." ... "The keeping of the counterfeit Sabbath is the reception of the mark."15
"The sign, or seal, of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord's memorial of creation. . . . The mark of the beast is the opposite of this--the observance of the first day of the week."16
"The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath."17
"What Is the Mark of the Beast?--John was called to behold a people distinct from those who worship the beast and his image by keeping the first day of the week. The observance of this day is the mark of the beast."18
"When the test comes, it will be clearly shown what the mark of the beast is. It is the keeping of Sunday."19
5. What are the "Commandments of God"? The whole teaching of Adventists regarding the Mark of the Beast centers on Revelation 14:12 which says that those who have the "commandments of God" do not receive the mark. Adventists claim that this passage is referring to the Ten Commandments, and Sunday-keepers cannot be keeping the Ten Commandments because the fourth commandment instructs worship on Saturday.
The best way to intepret the meaning of John's writings is to compare them with the other writings of John. The Greek word for "commandments" in Rev. 14:12 is entole which means "an order, command, charge, precept, injunction."20 The same word is used repeatedly in the writings of John to refer to the instructions of Christ. John uses an entirely different Greek word in his writings when he refers to the Ten Commandments: nomas. For example:
Did not Moses give you the law {nomos}, and [yet] none of you keepeth the law {nomos}? Why go ye about to kill me? (John 7:19; Jesus is referring to the 6th commandment "Thou shalt not kill"--Ex. 20:13)
According to John, the number one commandment {entolae} of Jesus to the Apostles was not Sabbath-worship, but for them to love one another:
A new commandment {entolae} I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34)
This is my commandment {entolae}, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12)
Notice how John refers to the "commandments" of God in his letter:
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments {entolas}. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments {entolas}; and His commandments {entolae} are not burdensome. (1 John 5:2-3)
Earlier in the same letter John tells us exactly what the "commandments" of God are:
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God.
And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His [God's] commandments {entolas} and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His [God's] commandment {entolae}, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He [God] commanded {entolaen} us. The one who keeps His [God's] commandments {entolas} abides in Him,... (1 John 3:21-24)
From this we can see that in John's writings the "commandments" of God are:
- To believe in Jesus Christ
- To love one another
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QUESTION: The Greek word entole is used by some authors of the New Testament to refer to the Ten Commandments. An example is Matthew 5:19: "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments [entol], and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Doesn't this prove that John could have been talking about the Ten Commandments in Revelation 12:17 and 14:12?