July 31: WORLDLY RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY (part 4)
“He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time, times, and half a time.” Daniel 7:25
Let us consider the intent to change God’s law. In the fourth and fifth centuries unconverted pagans flocked into the church, mainly for political reasons. As the empire was disintegrating into “crumble mode” Roman government positions were made readily available to these nominal Christians. With them came their pagan traditions and carved images. Statues of pagan gods were brought into the church and renamed after Christian saints; for example, the venerated bronze statue of Jupiter, the chief deity of the Roman pantheon, became the centerpiece of Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Worshippers are told that this is Peter. The feet of this statue have been kissed down to nubs. To this day, Peter is worshipped and adored as the “first pope”. By the way, Peter was never consulted about this!
As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” Acts 10:25-26
The example of statue worship is duplicated in every corner of the world as Catholic churches feature statues. Children are taught to venerate, pray to, and kiss them. This brings us to one of the attempted changes in the law of God: the second commandment, regarding idolatry (see Exodus 20:4-6) is deleted in the Catholic catechism and on Ten Commandment posters for Catholic schools. To keep the number of commandments at ten, the tenth commandment, regarding coveting, is divided into two.
Deleting the second commandment moved the fourth one into third position. The original fourth commandment, regarding the Lord’s Sabbath, is the longest commandment (see Exodus 20:8-11), but in its new third position it is shortened to only eight words: “Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” But this is not a reference to God’s seventh-day Sabbath. It is referring to Sunday. Catholic leaders proudly admit that there is no Scriptural authority for this change.* They maintain that Sunday—as a holy day—is a mark of Catholicism’s power and authority, highlighting that the Protestants’ acceptance of it shows that they are in agreement. But God warns religious leaders against causing [people] to stumble at the law (Malachi 2:7-9). He also warns the people against preferring preachers who preach smooth things over His law (Isaiah 30:9-10). He warns all leaders and all people against hardening their hearts against the truth of His law (Zechariah 7:5-12). The Lord wants to bless, yet this prevalent hardness of heart prevents it…
The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left [standing]. Isaiah 24:4-6
Go deeper: Isaiah 58:1,13-14; Ezekiel 20:12,20; 22:26,28; Compare Revelation 14:7 to Exodus 20:11
*“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.” James Cardinal Gibbons