Participants:
Series Code: MAT
Program Code: MAT000007S
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00:22 As we study part 2 of, The Abomination of Desolation:
00:26 The End time Fulfillment, let's ask the Lord's presence. 00:31 Father in heaven, as we study this very important subject, 00:35 we ask for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 00:38 please remove from hearts any obstacle that would keep 00:42 them from hearing Your voice and obeying Your word. 00:47 We crave Your presence. 00:50 And we ask that the Holy Spirit will teach us. 00:52 We ask it in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 00:57 In our last study together we noticed that there was a 01:00 connection between the Roman eagle standard, 01:04 sun standard, and the great seal of the United States 01:09 which contains an eagle and a sunburst. 01:13 We noticed that as the eagle sun standards of the Romans 01:18 were the sign that God's faithful followers 01:22 were to flee from Jerusalem, 01:24 in the same way when the United States, 01:26 the country represented by the eagle, 01:29 imposes a national Sunday law, or the day of the sun, 01:34 it will be a sign that we are nearing the end 01:37 and for God's people to flee. 01:40 Now some people might wonder, is it the same 01:43 to worship the sun as it is to worship on the day of the sun? 01:49 Because the legions worshiped the sun god 01:52 through their standards. 01:53 Is it the same to worship on Sunday? 01:56 You say these are two different things. 01:59 But when we look at it closely in principle, 02:01 it's the same thing. 02:03 Let me ask you, who created the sun? 02:06 Obviously God. 02:08 Did He created it as an object of worship? 02:11 No. 02:12 It's a secular object to give us light. 02:14 So what happens if you make the sun an object of worship? 02:19 That's what we call idolatry. 02:22 So who created the first day of the week? 02:25 God. 02:26 Did He create the first day of the week for worship? 02:29 No. 02:31 It's a secular day of work. 02:32 He created a day for worship, which is the Sabbath, 02:35 the seventh day Sabbath. 02:37 So what happens if you make the first day of the week 02:41 a day of worship? 02:43 It's idolatry. 02:44 Because anything that man makes for worship 02:47 that God did not make for worship is idolatry. 02:51 It doesn't matter if it's an object or if it's a day. 02:54 If man makes it for worship when God didn't, 02:57 it involves idolatry. 03:00 Now I can only provide an outline of the historical 03:04 process of the transmission of Sunday as the day of worship 03:09 from ancient Babylon to apostate Protestantism 03:14 in the world today. 03:15 I'm going to go through this very quickly. 03:18 Ancient Babylon... 03:20 And by the way, I have a fuller presentation of this. 03:23 If you want, you can contact Secrets Unsealed 03:25 and they'll tell you where to get the fuller presentation. 03:29 Ancient Babylon transferred its worship of the sun 03:34 to Pergamum, which was a city in Asia Minor. 03:39 And then Pompey, the general of the Roman legions, 03:44 in the year 63 had a crusade that went into Asia Minor 03:50 and he adopted the sun god, Mithra, as the protector 03:55 of the Roman legions. 03:57 Thus, Mithra became the special god of the Roman legions, 04:03 of the Roman Empire. 04:05 Then in spite of the fact that the New Testament 04:08 teaches that Jesus and the apostles kept the seventh day 04:12 Sabbath, the early church fathers began to celebrate 04:17 the resurrection of Christ on Sunday. 04:20 And this happened early in the second century. 04:24 Then we find Constantine, who was a pagan and worshiped 04:28 the sun-god under the name, Deus Sol Invictus. 04:33 That is, the invincible sun. 04:35 Constantine merged paganism with Christianity, 04:39 and in this way the observance of Sunday 04:42 as the day to celebrate Christ's resurrection 04:45 infiltrated the Christian church. 04:49 You see, Constantine was a shrewd politician. 04:53 He knew that in order to govern the Roman Empire, 04:56 he had to gain the support of Christians. 04:58 Because Christians had grown phenomenally. 05:01 So he said, "I know what I'll do. 05:03 Pagans worship the sun. 05:05 What I can do is convince Christians to keep Sunday 05:10 in honor of the resurrection of Christ. 05:12 And in this way, I can merge paganism with Christianity." 05:18 And thus, in the year 321 AD, Constantine proclaimed 05:22 the first Sunday law. 05:24 It was a civil Sunday law. 05:26 This is how it reads. 05:28 "On the venerable day of the sun..." 05:31 Notice how he refers to Sunday; the venerable day of the sun. 06:07 And this was given on March 7th of the year 321. 06:13 It didn't take long for Constantine's civil law 06:16 to become a religious law by the church. 06:18 In the Council of Laodicea in the year 336, 06:22 we find these words... 06:29 So the church now is saying, "We should not keep the Sabbath 06:33 because that's of the Jews." 06:53 In other words, anybody keeping the Sabbath. 06:58 The word, "anathema," means, accursed from Christ. 07:02 So now in just a few years after Constantine gives the civil law, 07:06 now it becomes a religious church law. 07:11 Papal Rome then embraced Sunday as the day of worship 07:16 from the pagan Roman Empire. 07:19 You look at the Roman Catholic Church, 07:21 you find all sorts of churches, statues, works of art, chalices, 07:26 vestments filled with images of the sun, with sunbursts. 07:34 So the papacy introduced Sunday into the observance 07:39 of the church. 07:40 You know, this was actually predicted in Daniel 7:25 07:45 where it speaks of a little horn which is a symbol of the papacy 07:49 that thought it could change God's times and law. 07:55 Does the papacy claim to have changed God's law? 07:58 Absolutely. 07:59 You look in the catechisms. 08:01 The second commandment doesn't appear. 08:04 What does the second commandment say? 08:06 "You shall have no other gods before Me." 08:08 Don't worship images, don't bow before images. 08:11 The Roman Catholic churches are filled with images. 08:14 They couldn't leave that commandment in the catechisms 08:16 because people would ask questions, 08:18 "Well, why do you have images in your churches then? 08:22 In your cathedrals then?" 08:24 And so we find in Roman Catholicism that they actually 08:28 eliminate in the catechisms the second commandment. 08:31 And of course, you end up with nine commandments. 08:34 So what they do is divide the tenth commandment into two. 08:38 However, it's more serious than this. 08:40 The papacy claims that they changed the day of worship 08:44 from Sabbath to Sunday. 08:46 Actually, they inherited it from the pagan Roman Empire. 08:50 And the pagan Roman Empire, through Pompey, 08:53 inherited it from ancient Babylon. 08:57 Then Sunday as the day of rest was transferred 09:01 to the new world, to the United States of America 09:04 by the Puritans. 09:08 In fact, the Puritans had civil penalties for those 09:11 who did not keep the first day of the week 09:14 in honor of the resurrection of Christ. 09:16 And in at least three of the colonies there was a 09:20 death sentence for those who did not keep what they 09:23 called, the Lord's day. 09:25 So that's the way that Sunday came into Protestantism. 09:30 Protestantism did not complete the reformation. 09:34 Protestantism went a long ways from the Roman Catholic Church, 09:38 but they conserved some of the information, 09:42 some of the practices that they were not able to discard. 09:48 Prophecy tells us, as we noticed in our last study, 09:51 that the United States will repudiate its constitution 09:56 by council of apostate Protestantism 09:59 and once again enforce a national Sunday law, 10:05 as happened with blue laws during the colonial period. 10:09 You're probably saying, "Pastor Bohr, you're crazy. 10:13 This could never happen in the land of the free 10:16 and the home of the brave." 10:18 If you don't believe that it can happen, 10:20 don't miss lecture number ten. 10:22 Because I'm going to show you that this happened once before 10:25 in the United States. 10:26 There was a push for a national Sunday law; 10:29 the ministers trying to influence the state 10:33 to establish a national Sunday law. 10:36 You say, "Well, you've given us a lot of history. 10:39 What evidence do we have in the Bible of this transfer 10:43 from pagan Rome to papal Rome to apostate Protestantism?" 10:48 Let's go to Revelation 13:1-2. 10:52 Before I read those versus, let me just mention 10:55 that in chapter 12 we have been introduced to the dragon. 11:00 Now the dragon primarily represents Satan. 11:03 But the dragon that stands next to the male child 11:06 who is about to be born represents Satan working 11:09 through the civil power of the Roman Empire. 11:12 In other words, the dragon yes is Satan, but Satan operates 11:16 through civil powers in the world. 11:18 So this dragon that tried to slay the male child, 11:21 in chapter 12 of Revelation, the child escapes from the 11:27 dragon's hands and finally is taken up to God into His throne. 11:31 And then the dragon, which represents the Roman Empire 11:35 as an instrument of Satan, now transfers its seat and its power 11:40 to the beast. 11:42 Let's read Revelation 13:1-2. 12:05 And now notice what the dragon is going to do. 12:07 "The dragon gave him..." 12:09 That is, the dragon that tried to slay the male child, 12:12 pagan Rome gave the beast, papal Rome, it's what? 12:18 "...his power, his throne, and great authority." 12:23 So the beast receives its power, its throne, its authority 12:28 from pagan Rome, from the dragon beast of Revelation chapter 12. 12:34 By the way, this beast that rules for 42 months, 12:38 according to Revelation 13:5-6, rules for 42 months, is the same 12:46 as the little horn of Daniel 7 that rules 12:49 for time, times, and the dividing of time. 12:52 And if you compare Daniel chapter 7, we find that it says 12:56 that the little horn, which is the same as the beast 12:59 that received the power from the dragon, 13:01 the little horn thought that he could change times and law. 13:07 You can read that in Daniel 7:25. 13:11 So you'll notice that the dragon transfers its seat and its power 13:16 to the beast, the papacy. 13:19 Then the papacy, the beast or the little horn, 13:22 thinks it can change God's law. 13:24 And the Catholic church says, "We did it. 13:26 We were the ones that implemented Sunday 13:28 as the day of rest." 13:30 And then we find that another stage in Revelation chapter 13 13:36 is that this beast then gives his power and his authority 13:41 to a second beast that rises in Revelation 13:11-18. 13:47 And that beast that rises from the earth represents 13:51 the United States of America. 13:53 It says it has two horns like a lamb, but it ends up speaking 13:57 like the dragon. 14:00 So you have the dragon which represents the pagan 14:03 Roman Empire, it gives its seat, its power, and authority 14:07 to the beast, the papacy, that rules for 1260 years 14:12 and thinks that it can change God's law 14:14 by changing the day of worship. 14:16 And then you have this beast giving its authority 14:20 and its power to the beast that rises from the earth, 14:23 the United States of America. 14:24 There's been a transfer of authority from pagan Rome 14:28 to papal Rome to apostate Protestantism 14:31 in the United States. 14:34 In Revelation 13:11, we find these words 14:38 regarding the second beast of Revelation chapter 13. 14:49 So you'll notice that the dragon is involved in all these stages. 14:52 In pagan Rome, it says the dragon 14:55 tried to slay the male child. 14:57 Then the dragon gives its seat, its power, and authority 15:00 to the beast. 15:01 And the beast rules for 1260 years. 15:04 Incidentally, if you'll notice in Revelation chapter 12, 15:09 after the dragon, after the child escapes the power of 15:12 the dragon, it says that the woman, the church, 15:15 had to flee to the wilderness where she was for 1260 years 15:20 and the dragon tried to slay the woman. 15:22 So it's the dragon by using the beast, by using papal Rome. 15:27 And then the beast that rises from the earth 15:29 speaks like a dragon. 15:30 So the dragon is in all stages. 15:32 The dragon beast gives his seat to the beast from the sea. 15:37 That beast is also called the dragon in Revelation chapter 12. 15:41 And then that dragon beast gives its power and its authority 15:45 to the beast that rises from the earth. 15:48 You say, "Well, how do you know that the beast that rises 15:50 from the earth rules by the power of the first beast?" 15:54 In other words, how do we know that the beast 15:56 that speaks like a dragon, all it does is to 15:59 continue the work of the beast that existed before? 16:03 Well, in Revelation chapter 13 you have the evidence. 16:07 Speaking about this beast that rises from the earth, 16:10 it says it "exercises all the authority of the 16:14 first beast in its presence." 16:16 So in other words, everything it does is for the first beast. 16:19 So it says it "exercises all the authority of the first beast 16:22 in its presence." 16:23 That's verse 12. 16:24 Verse 12 also says that this beast from the earth 16:27 "causes the earth and those who dwell in it 16:30 to worship the first beast." 16:32 So everything this beast from the earth does, 16:35 represented by the United States, apostate Protestantism 16:38 in the United States, it does to honor the first beast, 16:41 the beast that thought it could change God's law. 16:44 Everything that this beast does 16:46 is in the sight of the first beast. 16:50 The NIV translates, "on behalf of the first beast." 16:54 This beast from the earth makes an image of the first beast, 16:58 according to verse 15. 17:01 It's mentioned three times. 17:02 It makes an image to the first beast. 17:05 The NIV translates, "in honor of the first beast." 17:09 And it imposes the mark of the first beast. 17:13 So this beast from the earth is continuing 17:15 the work of the previous beast, and the previous beast 17:19 is continuing the work of pagan Rome. 17:22 This is how Sunday was transferred from pagan Rome 17:27 to papal Rome to the United States of America, 17:30 to the Protestant denominations in the United States of America. 17:34 Let me read you an interesting statement 17:36 by an individual who was a prolific writer. 17:40 He actually wrote 45 books. 17:42 For many years he was a teacher at the University of Notre Dame. 17:47 And he was very renowned within Roman Catholic circles. 17:53 In his book, The Faith of Millions, pages 400-401, 17:58 he explains how Sunday came into Protestantism. 18:03 It reads like this... 18:22 You say that's surprising. He continues... 18:40 Then he speaks about Protestants. 18:53 And then comes the key portion. 19:18 You see, Protestants ran away from the mother; 19:21 from the mother church. 19:22 From Roman Catholicism. 19:23 But they kept in their pocket, so to speak, as it says here, 19:28 "a lock of her hair or a picture of the mother." 19:34 Because Protestantism never discarded everything 19:37 that was anti-biblical in Roman Catholicism. 19:41 Two great doctrines that Protestants continued 19:46 from Roman Catholicism: one is the idea of the 19:48 immortality of the soul. 19:50 And the other is the idea that Sunday is the day that 19:53 you're supposed to keep. 19:54 You see, Sunday had become so entrenched 19:57 that Protestants said, "It's useless for us to try 20:01 and re-establish the Sabbath. 20:02 Let's just continue observing Sunday as the day of rest 20:05 even though it is based on no biblical authority." 20:10 Now Ellen White has a vivid description of how 20:15 the observance of Sunday came into Protestantism. 20:18 There are several statements. I'm going to read them now. 20:21 The first is from, The Review and Herald, April 15, 1890. 20:37 "The man of sin..." 20:39 Which is the same as the beast, 20:40 it's the same as the little horn, 20:42 it's the same as the harlot, 20:44 it's the same as the abomination of desolation, 20:47 it's the same as the antichrist. 20:49 In other words, these are different names. 20:50 The king of the north. 20:52 Different names for the same Roman Catholic system. 20:55 She continues... 21:11 What have Protestants done with the child of the papacy? 21:14 They've adopted it. 21:15 They cradle it and they nurture it. 21:19 She continues... 21:28 In another statement in, Signs of the Times, June 12, 1893, 21:33 we find this particular sad statement. 21:36 You know, I'm proud to be an American. 21:38 This is the greatest country that has ever existed 21:41 in the history of the world. 21:43 Not because it has more beautiful scenery, 21:46 not because it has more money, 21:48 or because it has a more powerful military. 21:50 It's because of the principles upon which this nation 21:53 originally was built. 21:55 And Ellen White wrote, this is sad... 21:58 This is the United States. 22:25 By the way, this will be stamped with the great seal 22:29 of the United States as law. 23:00 What is a national act? 23:01 It's an act of Congress. 23:24 So in the fulfillment of the abomination of desolation, 23:28 the sign for God's people to flee will be a national 23:32 Sunday law imposing the day of the sun by the nation that 23:37 has an eagle as its sign. 23:40 And this law will be stamped with the great seal 23:45 of the United States. 23:47 The nation whose emblem is the eagle 23:50 and a sunburst above its head will impose the day of worship 23:54 that it received from the papacy, and the papacy received 23:58 from pagan Rome. 24:00 This decree will bear the great seal 24:03 of the United States of America. 24:05 When God's true people see this sign, 24:08 not only Seventh-day Adventists, but those in all the churches, 24:11 when they see this sign and it is explained to them, 24:14 they will flee from the cities, and the whole world 24:18 will choose to be in one of two groups, just like in Jerusalem. 24:23 There were two groups. 24:24 When one group saw the sign, they fled. 24:27 When the other group saw the sign, they ignored it. 24:31 So there's going to be two groups. 24:33 Sadly, most of the people are going to go along 24:38 with ignoring the sign of God. 24:42 Ellen White referred to Sunday as the idol sabbath. 24:46 Now I touched on this at the beginning of our study 24:49 this afternoon. 24:51 How can you call Sunday the idol sabbath? 24:55 Well, let me read you one statement from Ellen White. 24:59 It's found in volume 19 of Manuscript Releases, page 244. 25:06 This is what she wrote... 25:15 You say, "Among Christians, idolaters?" 25:17 Let's continue. 25:55 So there are idolaters. 25:58 Now let me say, there are many Christians 26:00 that don't understand these issues. 26:02 If they don't understand these issues, they did not have 26:04 opportunity of knowing, well they might be practicing 26:08 idolatry without knowing it. 26:10 God only holds us accountable for what we could have known 26:13 and chose to reject. 26:16 So I'm not saying that all Christians in all the different 26:19 denominations are apostate. 26:21 No, there are many faithful Christians 26:23 in all of the churches. 26:25 And when they heard this, they will come out. 26:28 You see, God is particular about His day of worship. 26:31 Man cannot treat with impunity what is holy 26:35 as if it were common, and cannot take the common 26:39 and treat it as if it were holy. 26:41 When God says that the seventh day is the Sabbath 26:44 and that we must keep it holy, He means the seventh, 26:48 not the first. 26:50 Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day, 26:53 "In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine 26:57 the commandments of men." 26:58 And some Christians say, "Well, God isn't so particular. 27:01 You know, as long as I give Him one day, 27:03 that's good enough." 27:04 You have several stories in the Bible that show that 27:07 God is particular about these things. 27:09 You have the story of Nadab and Abihu. 27:12 The Bible tells us that these sons of Aaron, 27:14 instead of taking the holy fire from the altar to mix it 27:18 with the incense to take into the presence of the Lord, 27:20 they took common ordinary fire. 27:23 What did God say? 27:25 "Oh, who cares? Fire is fire, you know. 27:27 One fire will burn your finger, and the other fire will. 27:30 The chemical composition does the same thing. 27:32 They look alike." 27:33 No! When God said fire from the altar, He meant that fire. 27:37 That fire was holy, even though all other fires 27:39 looked similar or looked alike. 27:42 What happened to those young men? 27:44 Fire came from the presence of the Lord 27:46 and devoured them. 27:48 You have the story of Uzza. 27:49 God had told Israel, the priests of Israel, 27:53 not to touch the ark. 27:55 He had told the Levites, "Don't touch the ark." 27:58 But David was bringing the ark back to Jerusalem. 28:01 It looked kind of shaky, it looked like it was going to fall 28:04 off the cart where it was coming. 28:05 And so Uzza reached out and touched the ark. 28:09 You say, "Well, he had good intentions." 28:12 Yes, many people who keep Sunday have good intentions. 28:15 But what did the Bible say? 28:16 The Bible says that Uzza, on the spot, dropped dead. 28:21 You have Ananias and Sapphira that promised money to the Lord. 28:25 That was holy money. 28:27 But they kept part of it for themselves. 28:29 The Bible says that both of them died. 28:32 You have Korah who wanted to be a priest. 28:36 He was a Levite. 28:37 He wanted to be a priest. He wanted a different function. 28:40 You see, God had established that the holy priesthood 28:43 had to be composed of Levites. 28:46 What happened to Korah because he aspired to a 28:49 holy office that did not belong to Him? 28:51 The Bible tells us the earth opened and swallowed him up. 28:55 Jeroboam tried to sanctify a priesthood 28:57 and a place of worship other than Jerusalem. 29:00 He suffered dearly for not doing things the way God 29:03 said he was supposed to do. 29:05 And then you have Belshazzar 29:07 on the last fateful night of Babylon. 29:10 You find Belshazzar taking holy vessels and treating them 29:14 as if they were common, putting wine in them 29:18 for the princes of Babylon to drink. 29:21 Did God ignore that and say, "Oh, who cares? 29:23 The vessels were holy; who cares whether he treats them 29:26 in a common way or not?" 29:27 No! God, according to the Bible, is particular. 29:31 And some people think that God has had a conversion experience 29:34 and that God, now, He's not particular. 29:36 He doesn't really care how you worship, 29:38 He doesn't care the kind of music that you use in worship, 29:41 He doesn't care how you come clothed in worship, 29:43 as long as your heart is sincere, 29:45 as long as you give the Lord 29:46 what you think you should give Him. 29:48 God is particular. 29:49 When God says that the seventh day is the Sabbath, 29:52 He means the seventh day. 29:54 He doesn't mean any day. 29:56 Now I want to take the rest of my presentation 30:00 to read some interesting articles and paragraphs 30:06 that appeared recently during the period of this pandemic 30:11 of the coronavirus. 30:13 And you say, "Why are you going to read all these statements?" 30:15 Well, we've already noticed the biblical and historical 30:18 foundation for this idea of the transfer of Sunday 30:21 from Babylon to pagan Rome to papal Rome 30:25 to apostate Protestantism. 30:27 We also noticed in Scripture how this took place. 30:31 The dragon gave his seat and authority to the beast. 30:35 Then the beast ruled 1260 years. 30:37 Then it gave its power to the second beast 30:40 that rises in Revelation chapter 13. 30:43 And that beast imposes the mark of the beast, 30:46 which is the first day of the week. 30:49 But now we want to notice what is being said today. 30:52 You know, this pandemic has been terrible. 30:55 Hundreds of thousands of people have died. 30:59 Businesses have shut down. 31:01 We are 26 trillion dollars in debt in the United States 31:06 because of the stimulus that was given to all of the people 31:09 who had businesses who had to close their businesses. 31:12 It's been a terrible experience. 31:14 So some people, some Christians, Protestants, 31:18 have actually said that this pandemic should teach us 31:23 that we need to take one day a week off to rest 31:27 and to let the environment rest. 31:29 And of course, they say that day is Sunday. 31:33 You know, Pope Francis I, in his famous encyclical, Laudato si', 31:40 he says there that the earth needs a rest, 31:43 families need a rest, workers need a rest, 31:46 we need Sunday as a day of rest. 31:50 That is being said these days in the midst of the coronavirus. 31:54 Now what's going to happen when things get really bad? 31:58 You say, "Well, the coronavirus, that's pretty bad." 32:00 Yeah, but you remember that Matthew 24 speaks about 32:03 wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, 32:07 kingdom against kingdom, 32:08 and there's going to be pestilences, 32:10 and there's going to be hunger, 32:11 and there's going to be earthquakes. 32:13 And of course, we read a statement from Ellen White 32:15 where there's going to be tsunamis, 32:16 there's going to be tornadoes, there's going to be typhoons, 32:19 there's going to be floods, and there's going to be fires. 32:22 In other words, things are going to get a lot worse. 32:25 If people are saying, you know, the pandemic is a sign that 32:28 we need to make Sunday the day of worship, 32:30 what's going to happen when things get even worse? 32:34 Let me read you a few statements here. 32:37 This appeared in a publication. 32:40 "Years ago, Sunday was a different day 32:44 than the other six days of the week. 32:47 Church parking lots were full. 32:50 Store parking lots were empty and stores were closed. 32:54 Occasionally a gasoline station, 32:57 we called them filling stations, was open, 33:00 but it was the exception instead of the rule. 33:03 Even people who didn't go to church used Sunday 33:08 for a day of rest and relaxation. 33:11 Today, Sunday is not much different than the work week 33:15 except many stores don't open until noon." 33:18 And then we have this. 33:19 "Maybe this time of enforced isolation..." 33:23 He's talking about the isolation, you know, 33:26 the stay at home orders during the pandemic. 33:29 "Maybe this time of enforced isolation 33:32 will teach us something." 33:35 And of course, the idea it will teach us that we need to take 33:38 Sunday as the day of rest. 33:41 Here's another one. 33:43 This is a Roman Catholic, Brother Michael Valenzuela. 33:46 This is what he wrote. 34:26 So now comes his counsel. 35:14 So once again, the plant has a desperate need for a Sabbath. 35:20 And as a Roman Catholic, he's not saying that it's 35:23 the seventh day Sabbath, he's saying it's Sunday. 35:25 Because Christians today say that Sunday is the Sabbath. 35:30 Now try and explain that to me. 35:32 How can you say that Sunday is the Sabbath? 35:34 No, no, no. 35:36 The Sabbath is the seventh day. 35:37 Sunday is the first day of the week. 35:40 Here's another statement. 35:42 This was by Leah D. Schade, assistant professor of 35:45 Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary 35:49 in Kentucky. 35:51 And I went to the website. 35:53 It says that this seminary is a deeply ecumenical seminary. 35:57 She wrote an article titled, When Earth Demands Sabbath; 36:02 Learning From the Coronavirus Pandemic. 36:04 It's in, Eco Preacher, April 1, 2020. 36:08 This is what she wrote. 36:11 And I'm only quoting in part. 37:11 But she's not talking about the seventh day Sabbath. 37:14 She's talking about Sunday, the first day of the week 37:17 as a solution to the global problems that we have today 37:21 with the environment and with the pandemic. 37:24 Mayor Cam Guthrie of Guelph, Ontario wrote the following. 38:11 Once again, it's not the seventh day Sabbath. 38:14 It is Sunday. 38:16 Ellen White wrote that eventually those who observe 38:21 Sunday and push for a national Sunday law will persecute those 38:26 who observe the Sabbath. 38:28 And you say, "Pastor Bohr, that just doesn't 38:30 make any sense at all. 38:31 We have a first amendment in our constitution that says that 38:35 'Congress shall make no law respecting an 38:37 establishment of religion, 38:38 or forbidding the free exercise thereof.' 38:41 So that's never going to happen in the United States." 38:43 Believe me, it is going to happen sooner than you think. 38:47 And when that happens, you're going to remember 38:51 this particular presentation today. 38:53 She wrote the following in, Great Controversy, page 590. 39:29 "...the fourth commandment..." 39:30 That is, of the seventh day Sabbath. 39:44 You say, "That would never happen, Pastor Bohr, would it?" 39:48 We're seeing things in society in the United States 39:50 today which are amazing. 39:53 I thought I would never see them. 39:54 Such as groups taking over the downtown of a city 39:58 in this country and declaring that it's not part of the 40:00 United States of America. 40:02 Such as pleas for there to be no police 40:06 in the United States. 40:08 Such as the idea that, you know, we need to simply discard 40:14 the allowance for freedom of speech, 40:19 and there are certain kinds of freedom of speech 40:22 that need to be censored, and people cannot listen 40:25 to what a person has to say. 40:26 We're seeing that happen right before us. 40:29 Now let me read you an article that was actually... 40:34 Actually it wasn't an article, it was a sermon 40:36 by Pastor Robert Field who was pastor or maybe is pastor still 40:41 of Bethel Baptist Church in Montreal. 40:43 The title is, Why God Took Sunday Away. 40:47 I'm going to read the entire article because it's powerful. 40:51 Powerful in the sense that what he's saying is that 40:55 God took away Sunday because people were not keeping 40:59 Sunday the way it was suppose to be, 41:01 and that the pandemic was sent by God because people were not 41:05 respecting Sunday as the day of worship. 41:07 Here's what he wrote, or spoke. 42:13 He's talking about people not being able to meet in church. 42:15 Why did God take Sunday away for people to meet in church? 42:20 He continues... 43:20 Interesting. 43:22 So this calamity God sends because people 43:25 are not keeping Sunday. 43:26 You can't meet in church because people have not 43:29 treated Sunday the way God wants Sunday to be treated. 43:32 Could it be possible that the reason why is because 43:34 people have not treated the Sabbath 43:36 the way the Sabbath should be? 43:38 He continues... 43:45 Nowhere does the Bible say we're supposed to keep 43:47 Sunday holy or we're suppose to honor the Lord's Day. 43:50 This is an invention. 44:02 Now please, he's applying the fourth commandment 44:05 to Sunday. 44:07 The Bible says that the seventh day is the Sabbath 44:10 in the fourth commandment. 44:11 He continues... 44:16 No, the fourth commandment doesn't deal with Sunday, folks. 44:20 He continues... 44:24 But he's saying that God commands Sunday, not Sabbath. 44:28 This doesn't make any sense. 44:30 "Israel did this to their Sabbath." 44:33 Wait a minute. It's not their Sabbath. 44:35 Nowhere does the Bible say that. 44:37 The Bible says it's God's Sabbath. 44:39 So once again... 45:02 I take issue with the idea that it's He day. 45:34 Nowhere does the Bible say you have to abstain 45:36 from work and play on Sunday. 45:37 But this is what he says. 46:18 Once again I take issue with the idea that it's His day. 46:22 He continues... 47:12 Now there he gets it right. 47:14 It's his sabbath. 47:19 Once again, the idea that the fourth commandment 47:21 is Sunday. 47:40 He's talking about the coronavirus. 48:32 All kinds of inaccuracies here. 48:34 But the point that I want you to see is that he's arguing 48:37 that this pandemic has taught us that we need to observe Sunday 48:41 as the day of rest. 48:42 And when things get really bad, there's going to be a clamor 48:46 by the clergy saying we need to return to observing Sunday 48:51 as the day of rest so that God will bless us once more. 48:55 I want to read one last statement. 48:58 This is from Mary Healy. 49:00 She wrote, "Is the coronavirus pandemic a judgment from God?" 49:04 It's in, The National Catholic Register, April 8, 2020. 49:55 Now I have more that I could read, but our time is flying by. 49:59 So let's bring this to a conclusion. 50:02 Like Israel, God chose the United States of America 50:07 to fulfill a plan in protecting the truth of God 50:12 and spreading it, giving freedom of speech to spread the truth. 50:17 It's a nation with worldwide influence, capable of taking the 50:21 truth to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. 50:25 It has a constitution that guarantees civil and religious 50:28 liberty and freedom of speech 50:30 to facilitate the preaching of the gospel with full freedom. 50:35 However, when this nation repudiates its constitution 50:39 and commits the greatest abomination, 50:42 the enforcement of Sunday by law as a national day of rest, 50:46 God will write national apostasy in the heavenly books. 50:51 And national ruin will follow, 50:53 just as happened after the abomination of desolation 50:57 outside Jerusalem in the year 70. 50:59 Ellen White wrote several statements about 51:03 national apostasy leading to national ruin. 51:06 She wrote, this is, Review and Herald, May 2, 1893... 51:30 What a solemn thought. 51:31 In the book, Last Day Events, page 133-134, 51:34 we find these words... 52:09 Review and Herald, June 15, 1897... 52:22 In other words, the religious leaders of the United States 52:24 are going to pressure the state, they're going to pressure the 52:27 government, the legislators for a national Sunday law. 52:31 Counsels for the Church, page 335... 52:52 In other words, what Protestants are saying 52:54 appears to be mild and apparently Christian. 53:02 And as I've mentioned before, the sin that was committed 53:05 by the Jewish nation, the abomination that led 53:08 to the desolation, was that they rejected Jesus Christ. 53:11 The sin of the religious world at the end of time 53:14 will be discarding God's holy law, particularly 53:19 the commandment that speaks about keeping the Sabbath. 53:22 Ellen White wrote in, Great Controversy, page 22... 53:38 You say, "Pastor..." 53:39 And I've mentioned this before. 53:41 "...how can you say that this is the same sin, 53:43 rejecting Christ or rejecting the law?" 53:47 It is the same sin. 53:49 You say, "How is that?" 53:50 Well, the law is a reflection of God's character. 53:54 In other words, the law is a reflection of who Jesus is. 53:57 It's a mirror reflection, if you please. 54:00 Selected Messages, volume 1, page 240, Ellen White wrote... 54:14 So how can you say, "Oh, I love Jesus Christ so much, 54:18 but I don't love His law," 54:20 when the law is a transcript of His character? 54:23 That's why David said, "Oh, how I love Thy law. 54:26 It is my meditation day and night." 54:28 Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." 54:32 Not nine, but ten. 54:34 Not a changed commandment, but the commandment as God 54:37 gave it originally. 54:39 I want to end by reading a statement in, Great Controversy, 54:43 page 614, where Ellen White links what happened 54:47 with Jerusalem with what is going to happen with the world 54:50 at the end of time. 54:52 After the close of probation, this is. 54:54 "When He leaves the sanctuary..." 54:56 When Jesus leaves the sanctuary. 55:09 And what's going to happen in the world? 55:11 Because God has withdrawn His Spirit. 55:13 God's people are still going to be on earth. 55:15 They're going to have to live without an intercessor 55:17 because Jesus is no longer a priest that intercedes. 55:21 Jesus now has changed His garments 55:23 to the garments of a king. 55:25 There's no intercessor. 55:26 And then she speaks about what's going to happen with the world 55:29 at this time. 55:40 Can you imagine what the world is going to be like 55:43 when Satan is in full control of unbelievers? 55:47 You know, you think that what's going on presently 55:50 in the United States with this turmoil in the cities, 55:53 and burning businesses, and you know, knocking down 55:57 statues and things like that, 55:58 you say, "That's pretty terrible." 56:01 But what's going to happen when the entire country 56:04 is under the control of Satan except for the righteous 56:07 who have been sealed with the seal of God? 56:09 She continues... 56:29 Just like when the Christians left the city, 56:32 those in the city, their probation closed. 57:06 And then she compares it with what happened in Jerusalem. 57:10 She wrote, "The whole world..." No longer Jerusalem. 57:14 This will be a global event. 57:24 If you want to read a description of what happened 57:27 in Jerusalem of old, just go to the first chapter of the book, 57:30 Great Controversy. 57:32 You say, "How could things be worse than what 57:35 this chapter describes?" 57:36 And yet, Ellen White here says that, "The whole world 57:40 will be involved in ruin more terrible than that 57:43 which came upon Jerusalem of old." 57:45 God calls us to be obedient to His holy law. 57:49 He wants us to keep His Sabbath, not as an obligation, 57:52 but because we love to spend the entire day with Jesus Christ. 57:56 How dare we say, "No, I'm going to meet with 57:59 Jesus on a different day." 58:01 So be with us for our next presentation. |
Revised 2021-07-12