October 9, 2004 – October 15, 2004
Memory Verse
“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.” Daniel 7:25.
Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, 51–54, 446; The Story of Redemption, 328–331.
Introduction
“To the very close of time he [little horn of the fourth beast] will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: ‘All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.’ Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church.” The Great Controversy, 579.
1 What was to arise after the ten horns on the fourth beast of Daniel 7? Daniel 7:24, first part.
note: “Judgment came to Rome when these [Germanic] barbarians overran the empire with fire and sword, and the kingdom was divided into ten parts.
“But Roman history did not end with the division. . . . A new power, a power outside the empire is here represented by the little horn.” Stephen N. Haskell, Story of Daniel the Prophet (1904), TEACH Services, Inc., Brushton, New York, 1995, 94.
2 What was this little horn first to subdue? Daniel 7:24, last part.
note: “The three divisions which were plucked up were the Heruli in 493, the Vandals in 534, and the Ostrogoths in 538 a.d. . . . The reason for their overthrow was their adherence to Arianism in opposition to the orthodox Catholic faith.” Haskell, 94, 95.
3 What attitude was this power to assume toward the Most High? Daniel 7:25. What New Testament description do we have of this same power? 11 Thessalonians 2:4.
note: “The papacy has indeed spoken great words against the Most High, by assuming titles and prerogatives which belong only to God. The following are samples of many quotations that might be given:
“ ‘The most holy and most happy, who is the arbiter of heaven and the Lord of the earth, the successor of St. Peter, the anointed of the Lord, the master of the universe, the father of kings, the light of the world.’—Titles assumed by Pope Martin V, in dispatches to his ambassador to Constantinople.
“ ‘The pope is all in all, and above all, so that God Himself and the pope, the vicar of God, are but one consistory.’—Hostiensis Cap., etc.
“ ‘Given in Rome from our palace, the 10th of February, 1817, the xiv jurisdiction of the most holy pontiff and father in Christ, and Lord our God the pope, Leo xii,’ etc.—Conclusion of Dr. Giustianni’s ordination letter.” International Sabbath School Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, January 1, 1904, 10.
4 How were the saints of the Most High to be treated by this power? Daniel 7:25.
note “In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. . . . Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman’s ax. . . . Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the world became a vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity.” The Great Controversy, 54, 55.
5 What blasphemous attempt was to be made by this power against the Law of God? Daniel 7:25.
note: “Q. What is the Third Commandment? [The Douay Version of the Bible has reordered the Ten Commandments, deleting the second and dividing the tenth.]
“A. The Third Commandment is: Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day.
“Q. Which is the Sabbath Day?
“A. Saturday is the Sabbath Day.
“Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.
“Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
“A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.
“Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
“A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.
“Q. What does the Third Commandment command?
“A. The Third Commandment commands us to sanctify Sunday as the Lord’s Day. . . .
“Q. What is the Fourth Commandment?
“A. The Fourth Commandment is: Honor thy father and thy mother.” Rev. Peter Geiermann, C. SS. R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Missouri, 1946, 50, 51.
“The pope has changed the day of rest from the seventh to the first day. He has thought to change the very commandment that was given to cause man to remember his Creator. He has thought to change the greatest commandment in the decalogue and thus make himself equal with God, or even exalt himself above God. The Lord is unchangeable, therefore His law is immutable; but the pope has exalted himself above God, in seeking to change His immutable precepts of holiness, justice, and goodness. He has trampled underfoot God’s sanctified day, and, on his own authority, put in its place one of the six laboring days. The whole nation has followed after the beast, and every week they rob God of His holy time.” Early Writings, 65.
6 How many of the Christian world acknowledge the apparent change in the Law of God? Revelation 13:3.
note: “Protestants now urge that the resurrection of Christ on Sunday made it the Christian Sabbath. But Scripture evidence is lacking. No such honor was given to the day by Christ or His apostles. The observance of Sunday as a Christian institution has its origin in that ‘mystery of lawlessness’ which, even in Paul’s day, had begun its work. Where and when did the Lord adopt this child of the Papacy? What valid reason can be given for a change concerning which the Scriptures are silent?” The Story of Redemption, 330.
“The Lord has clearly defined the road to the city of God; but the great apostate has changed the signpost, setting up a false one—a spurious sabbath. . . . ‘I will exalt myself. The first day shall be extolled, and the Protestant world shall receive this spurious sabbath as genuine. Through the non-observance of the Sabbath God instituted, I will bring His law into contempt. The words, “A sign between me and you throughout your generations,” I will make to serve on the side of my sabbath. Thus the world will become mine. I will be ruler of the earth, prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God’s Sabbath shall be an object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws shall be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God’s law; and the earth will be wholly under my dominion.’
“The man of sin has instituted a false sabbath, and the professed Christian world has adopted this child of the papacy, refusing to obey God. Thus Satan leads men and women in a direction opposite to the city of refuge; and by the multitudes who follow him, it is demonstrated that Adam and Eve are not the only ones who have accepted the words of the wily foe.
“The enemy of all good has turned the signpost round, so that it points to the path of disobedience as the path of happiness. He has insulted Jehovah by refusing to obey a ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ He has thought to change times and laws.” Review and Herald, April 17, 1900.
7 For what time would the little horn power have dominion over the saints, times, and laws of the Most High? Daniel 7:25, last part.
note: “The periods . . . ‘forty and two months,’ and ‘a thousand two hundred and threescore days’—are the same, alike representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began in a.d. 538, and would therefore terminate in 1798. At that time a French army entered Rome and made the pope a prisoner, and he died in exile. Though a new pope was soon afterward elected, the papal hierarchy has never since been able to wield the power which it before possessed.” The Great Controversy, 266.
8 How long will it be before this power will be consumed? Daniel 7:26. Compare 11 Thessalonians 2:8.
note: “Babylon fell because she imputed her power unto the gods. Of the fourth beast Daniel says, ‘I beheld till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.’ [Daniel 7:11.] Thus at the end, instead of being conquered by some other power arising on earth, this one goes into the lake of fire. [Revelation 19:20.]” Haskell, 102.
9 How will the fate of this fourth beast differ from that of the three that preceded it? Daniel 7:11, 12.
note: “The other beasts which represent kingdoms, had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a time and a season; that is, they were merged into the succeeding kingdom. But not so with the fourth kingdom; its destruction is complete.” Haskell, 102.
10 Who will then appear upon the scene as the rightful ruler of the kingdom that for a time had been usurped by Satan? Daniel 7:27.
note: “My brother, my sister, I urge you to prepare for the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. Day by day cast the love of the world out of your hearts. Understand by experience what it means to have fellowship with Christ. Prepare for the judgment, that when Christ shall come, to be admired in all them that believe, you may be among those who will meet him in peace. In that day the redeemed will shine forth in the glory of the Father and the Son. The angels, touching their golden harps, will welcome the King and his trophies of victory—those who have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. A song of triumph will peal forth, filling all heaven. Christ has conquered. He enters the heavenly courts, accompanied by his redeemed ones, the witnesses that his mission of suffering and sacrifice has not been in vain.” Review and Herald, November 23, 1905.
These lessons are adapted from International Sabbath School Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, January 1, 1904.