Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: VOPS
Program Code: VOPS000010
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00:31 There was a time in world history
00:34 when most people believed that the earth was flat. 00:40 When Christopher Columbus boarded his ships 00:42 and sailed west from Spain for several weeks, 00:45 you know the story that his sailors were 00:47 absolutely terrified because they were certain 00:49 they would fall right off the edge of the world. 00:53 But you know had people back then taken the Bible seriously 00:58 and if they'd looked into it, they would have seen 01:00 that God said way back here that the world was round. 01:04 Back to Prophet Isaiah, writing about God, says 01:08 "It is He who sits upon the circle of the earth." 01:15 Now that's written 2,000 years 01:17 before Columbus sailed west in search of India. 01:21 You see, ladies and gentlemen just because most people 01:23 believed that the earth was flat, 01:26 didn't make it so. 01:29 Now tonight I want to especially 01:30 talk to my Protestant friends in the audience 01:33 all across North America in this planet. 01:36 Because we're going to look into the Bible and history 01:39 and discover how millions of us have been fooled by a myth. 01:45 But believing a myth doesn't make it true, does it? 01:48 Are you ready? Yes. 01:50 Give me 30 minutes before anybody moves. 01:53 The speed with which the early Christian church 01:56 tobogganed downhill into apostasy, 01:59 takes one's breath away. 02:01 In fact, even before Peter, and Paul, 02:02 and the other apostles died, 02:04 things in the early church were going terribly wrong. 02:08 And that's because immediately after 02:10 Jesus went back to heaven, Satan launched 02:12 a cunning campaign against the infant church, 02:15 determined to lead people into error. 02:18 He wanted to ruin Christianity. 02:20 In fact, Paul cried out in 2 Thessalonians 2:7. 02:25 "the mystery of lawlessness is already at work" 02:30 "Beware of these dogs, beware of evil workers" 02:33 he said in Philippians 3:2. 02:35 Beware of compromises because Christianity was 02:38 tumbling, tumbling, tumbling downhill into apostasy. 02:42 In fact when you look in your church history books, 02:44 I don't care where you go to any library. 02:46 In the very 1st century, 02:47 already some were beginning to teach heresies. 02:50 Like, for example, they denied that Jesus had a real body. 02:53 You find that in 1 John 4. 02:56 And we find that Paul was bitterly harassed 02:58 by an off-shoot group 03:00 who followed him preaching of all things. 03:02 "Another gospel" of works. Philippians 3, Galatians 1. 03:07 You see, immediately after the days of Jesus, 03:10 Satan stirred up this great controversy again. 03:13 This great play and counter-play between 03:15 the forces of good and evil in the universe. 03:18 And you what? You and I are the prize. 03:20 We're the game. 03:23 Every time God's divine 03:24 inspiration reveals truth to us, 03:26 Satan comes and counters by attempting to confuse 03:29 and twist and distort the truth 03:32 to wrench away our allegiance to Christ. 03:36 And Satan's greatest deceptive efforts to produce apostasy, 03:40 zeroed in to fool millions by myths. 03:44 In fact, the doctrine for example 03:46 of what happens when a person dies? 03:48 Satan widely distorted that in the second century A.D. 03:52 In the 3rd century one of the early church fathers 03:55 by the name of Origen he taught that, 03:58 "Hey, you have a second chance after death." 04:03 And we find also that the doctrine of "Righteousness 04:05 by faith faded completely from the picture very, very early. 04:09 Because Satan saw to it, that it gave way to forgiveness 04:14 through penance or through priests and bishops. 04:19 Well, another strange doctrine that arose early 04:22 in the second century was when Christians of all people 04:26 began to popularize through novels. 04:30 "Celibacy, chastity, virginity." 04:35 Why they said, that's much more pleasing to God 04:38 than even marriage. 04:40 In fact, some synods even went to say that adultery, 04:43 you know, adultery can never be forgiven. 04:46 So you're best not to marry at all. 04:48 And so convents and monasteries popped up everywhere. 04:53 You see, Satan was very early setting the stage 04:56 for the exaltation of tradition above scripture. 05:00 The doctrine of apostolic succession and the supremacy 05:05 of the Church of Rome, all way back before 300 A.D. 05:10 And we might very well expect that the Sabbath 05:14 was among the earliest doctrines to be abandoned 05:16 in those first centuries by the early Christians. 05:19 Why? Well, why not? 05:21 In view the importance that we saw last weekend, 05:24 the very, very special place 05:25 God intended for the Sabbath to fill. 05:27 You know, what would be strange 05:28 had Satan not attacked the Sabbath early. 05:32 But this same prophetic voice 05:35 that predicted the rise and fall of world empires 05:38 also predicted many, many centuries before, 05:42 the rise and progress of great religions upon this earth. 05:46 And it predicted a great historical apostasy. 05:50 And tonight this Voice of Prophecy speaks again. 05:57 "Johnny," said the teacher. 05:59 "Johnny, how many legs does a puppy have 06:03 if you call its tail a leg?" 06:05 "Five," said Johnny. "Wrong" said the teacher. 06:09 "For Johnny to call his leg-- 06:12 his tail a leg doesn't make it one." 06:18 You got the point? 06:19 You see millions of sincere people today, 06:23 they believe that the day that God wants them 06:26 to worship is Sunday, the first day of the week, 06:29 but to call Sunday "Sabbath" doesn't make it so. 06:34 The Bible from beginning to end testifies 06:37 as we found the other night. 06:39 That God established the Sabbath 06:42 as the seventh day of the week. 06:44 And no place in all of Scripture does God 06:46 ever indicate that He has changed that day, 06:48 that He made in creation as our day of rest. 06:52 Now before I unfold "Evil's Masterstroke Revealed," 06:57 Let me first carefully review for a moment 06:59 what we found out by a study of His prophetic Word 07:02 from the last three nights that are built up toward tonight. 07:04 I want you to follow me closely by way of review 07:06 for those of you who maybe listening in the first time. 07:08 We discovered that when God first created Planet Earth, 07:12 He created the seventh-day Sabbath 07:14 as a memorial of creation. 07:17 And when God then wrote His Ten Commandment Law at Mt. Sinai, 07:21 the Sabbath was put right in the very heart 07:22 of those Ten Commandments. 07:24 In Exodus 20:8, 9, He says 07:26 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy. 07:28 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 07:30 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." 07:34 Oh, and don't forget, God also reminds us in Deuteronomy 4:2 07:39 "Don't add to what I command you and don't subtract from it, 07:42 but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you." 07:46 In Psalm 89:34 God says, "My covenant I will not break, 07:52 nor alter the word that's gone out of My lips." 07:56 That's why Jesus, when he came here. 07:58 In His Sermon on the Mount, said in Matthew 5:17-19 08:01 "Don't even think about it, 08:03 that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. 08:06 I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." 08:09 And we found out what that word means to give fuller meaning. 08:13 For Jesus said assuredly, I say to you, 08:15 till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle 08:18 will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 08:23 In fact, Jesus goes on to say "Whoever therefore breaks 08:25 one of the least of these commandments, 08:28 and teaches men to do so, 08:30 he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven" 08:32 which was a gentle way of saying 08:33 he is not gonna get there. 08:36 And that's why the Bible tells us 08:38 Jesus modeled for us keeping holy the Sabbath. 08:41 He gave us an example. 08:43 And when those high muckety-muck religious leaders 08:45 accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath and breaking it, 08:48 Jesus said, "You don't tell Me how to keep the Sabbath. 08:51 I'm Lord of that day. I made it." 08:54 Mark 2:27, 28 "The Sabbath was made for man, 08:58 and not man for the Sabbath. 09:00 Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." 09:04 Something else interesting in Matthew 24, 09:07 when Jesus was talking of the disciples looking far 09:09 into the future way down to the days of terrorists and jihad, 09:14 and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. 09:18 Jesus said in Matthew 24:20. 09:20 He said, "You folks pray that you don't have to be 09:23 fully pregnant and fleeing on the when that comes. 09:26 You are also pray that your flight 09:28 won't have to be in winter or on the Sabbath day." 09:33 Jesus evidently thought the Sabbath 09:35 would be kept 70 years in the future. 09:38 Now of course, everyone would admit that our friends 09:40 the Orthodox Jews have worshiped on the seventh day 09:44 ever since the Exodus more than 3,500 years ago. 09:49 In fact throughout the rest of the New Testament, 09:51 we find that Jesus' followers continued to honor the Sabbath. 09:55 You see, friend, even if the Bible 09:57 were our only source of information, 09:59 we would still be able to determine 10:00 which day is the seventh day, Sabbath. 10:04 Take for example something that just happened three weeks ago. 10:07 Easter. Easter weekend. 10:10 All four of the Gospels give the exact same account. 10:13 Explicitly telling us that the day between Good Friday 10:17 and Resurrection morning is the Sabbath 10:20 according to the commandment is what it says. 10:22 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, they all wrote 10:25 that Sunday is the first day of the week 10:28 and they called the seventh day the Sabbath. 10:31 So the biblical record is crystal clear, 10:33 showing us Christ and His disciples 10:35 they never changed the day of worship. 10:37 In fact, you know if they had changed, 10:39 if they had changed God's Ten Commandments, 10:42 that would have been the lead article 10:44 in every single New Testament Book of the Bible. 10:46 It would have been a momentous change 10:48 because no one has the right to alter God's Law. 10:53 In fact, do you know that scholars 10:54 from Sunday-keeping churches agree 10:56 with what I have just told you? 10:58 Let me take a quotation, you can look at it on the screen 11:00 from Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, I'm quoting. 11:04 He wrote, "You may read the Bible 11:07 from Genesis to Revelation, you will not find a single line 11:10 authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. 11:13 The Scriptures enforce 11:14 the religious observance of Saturday." 11:18 Well, let's take a Methodist, 11:20 here is Clovis G. Chappell, a Methodist. 11:23 He concedes the same point that he says and I quote, 11:26 "The reason we observe as Methodist the first day 11:29 instead of the seventh is based on no positive command. 11:33 One will search the Scriptures in vain for authority 11:36 for changing from the seventh day to the first day." 11:40 Let's go to another popular denomination 11:42 at least in United Sates, R.W. Dale, 11:44 who speaks for the Congregationalists, 11:45 and he says, "It is quite clear that, 11:48 however rigidly or devotedly we might spend Sunday, 11:52 we are not keeping the Sabbath. 11:54 There is not a single sentence in the New Testament 11:56 to suggest that we incur any penalty 11:58 by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday." 12:03 Well, now I could choose all kinds of other quotations 12:05 from practically every denomination in any community. 12:08 We could take the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church," 12:11 the Church of England, our Baptist friends, 12:13 our Lutheran friends, the Christian Church. 12:15 In fact, it's interesting that Father T. Enright, 12:18 who is a Catholic priest, said this. 12:21 Notice what it says on the screen. 12:23 He said, "I have repeatedly offered $1,000 12:26 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone 12:29 that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. 12:31 There is no such law in the Bible he said. 12:33 It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. 12:37 The Bible says, 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' 12:40 The Catholic Church says, 'No. 12:42 By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day 12:46 and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' 12:48 And, lo! 12:49 The entire civilized world bows down 12:51 in a reverent obedience to the command 12:53 of the holy Catholic Church." 12:57 Well, the real question is this though. 13:01 If there's no biblical record, that Christ or His disciples 13:05 kept any other day and any minister today will agree, 13:10 then the question you will ask is, 13:12 how did Sunday-keeping get started? 13:15 Well, ladies and gentlemen, since there's no hint 13:17 of a change in the Bible, we have to turn to history. 13:21 How? When? Why was this change made? 13:27 Well, it came about through a very involved 13:30 combination of circumstances in history. 13:32 Let me share just a few highlights. 13:34 But first, I want to share something from my heart here 13:37 very important so we don't think 13:38 that we're pointing fingers or criticism at anyone 13:41 or any particular denomination tonight, is that fair? 13:45 Listen, when we go back into early Christianity, 13:49 folks there were no denominations. 13:51 There were no Presbyterians, there were no any. 13:54 So we're talking about our church here. 13:58 Is that good? My church, your church. 14:03 Sure, there was persecution. 14:05 There were some heresies there. There were compromises. 14:08 But to simply point the finger at any one denomination 14:11 is misleading, because for a thousand years 14:13 there weren't any other denominations. 14:15 So tonight whether you're a Catholic 14:17 or you're Jew or Protestant or whatever. 14:19 This is our heritage in the Christian church. 14:24 That's our church. Did they make mistakes? 14:27 Yes, just like they do today. 14:30 But it's our Christian church that committed 14:32 these mistakes and adopted these myths. 14:35 But you see in an honest love for the Lord 14:37 and a desire to rediscover end-time prophetic truths 14:41 demands that we today pray real hard, 14:44 hold hands here together tonight, 14:46 we humble our hearts to prove and study all things. 14:50 So let's proceed. 14:52 But the evidence seems to point to the Church of Rome. 14:57 For instance we learn from Socrates Scholasticus. 15:00 Now he was a fifth-century historian, 15:02 he says this, quoting. 15:05 "Almost all churches throughout the world celebrate 15:08 the sacred mysteries, that would be the Lord's Supper 15:11 on the Sabbath of every week, 15:14 yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, 15:18 on account of some ancient tradition, 15:20 have ceased to do this." 15:23 See a gradual change of days in some areas 15:26 began somewhere between A.D. 70 and A.D. 135, 15:30 the dates when two very bitter and bloody insurrections 15:34 by the Jews were just crushed by the Romans. 15:37 Now you remember, the Jews hated Rome. 15:41 Well, Rome finally got fed up with the Jewish revolts. 15:45 A doctoral, doctoral thesis on this change of the Sabbath 15:49 was written at the Pontifical University in Rome, 15:51 and it states this, I'm quoting notice on the screen 15:54 "Beginning with the first Jewish Revolt 15:57 that was against Rome in about 66-70 AD, 16:01 various repressive measures military, political and fiscal 16:05 were imposed by the Romans on the Jews." 16:09 Wow, that only added fuel to the fire. 16:12 So again in A.D. 135 there was another major Jewish revolt 16:16 led by fellow by the name of Bar-Kokkba. 16:19 And that was crushed by the armies of Emperor Hadrian. 16:22 Listen to what history says happened, and I'm quoting, 16:25 "Outraged, Roman Emperor Hadrian at this time prohibited 16:30 the practice of the Jewish religion throughout the empire, 16:33 condemning especially Sabbath observance." 16:36 I want you to notice what's happening here. 16:39 Christians were keeping the Sabbath too. 16:42 But they weren't Jews. 16:45 And the mounting hostility of the Romans against the Jews 16:48 coupled with the conflict between 16:50 the Jews and the Christians, 16:52 encouraged a rash of anti-Jewish literature, 16:55 which, in turn created all kinds of strong 16:57 anti-Jewish sentiment throughout the Roman Empire. 17:00 And Christians became increasingly sensitive 17:03 about any identification with the Jews. 17:06 And since Sabbath-keeping tended 17:08 to identify them with the Jews, 17:10 many of the Christians began to minimize its obligations, 17:13 quoting history again, Impressive indications suggest 17:17 that Sunday observance was introduced 17:20 at this time in conjunction with Easter-Sunday, 17:24 as an attempt to clarify to the Roman authorities 17:27 the Christian distinction from Judaism." 17:31 Now this is a historical fact. 17:34 Maybe you didn't know this, but at first, 17:35 Sunday was only kept once a year at Easter, 17:39 when Christians celebrated Christ's resurrection. 17:42 It's known in history as the "Easter Controversy." 17:46 That's an other subject, but with this background in mind, 17:49 you know, it's easy to see how Christians who were living 17:51 in Rome, the capital city of the Roman Empire, 17:54 where they hated Jews, well, those Christians 17:56 kind of led the way in disassociating themselves 17:59 from Sabbath-keeping. 18:01 Rome held the Jewish Sabbath-keeping. 18:04 That was something in contempt. 18:07 And so the Roman Christians protested too. 18:10 You know, "Hey, we're not Jews. 18:12 You know, we'll go so far to prove it, 18:14 that we're going to even shy away from Sabbath-keeping" 18:18 Now no Jew would ever say that. 18:21 But you know, the Bible does tell us that the church 18:23 in Rome was composed predominantly of Gentiles. 18:27 Remember Paul, addressing the church in Rome in Romans 11:13. 18:31 He says, "I am talking to you Gentiles" 18:34 converts who were former pagans. 18:38 Now the Gentile pagans weren't nearly as familiar 18:42 and established in Sabbath-keeping 18:43 as were the Jewish Christians, 18:45 who'd always practice Sabbath-keeping. 18:48 But the question is, why was Sunday finally chosen 18:52 rather than some other day of the week? 18:55 Well, that's a good question. 18:58 But the pagans 19:00 guess what day they just happened to worship on? 19:04 They'd been sun worshipers for millennia, 19:08 celebrating Sun-day as the sun God's day. 19:13 So some of the Christians in Rome, 19:15 they saw an advantage in maybe compromising with paganism. 19:19 You know, we'll worship on the pagan "sun-day" 19:24 but we will call it the Lord's day instead. 19:27 By just adopting a few pagan customs, 19:31 while all of these pagans here they'll convert to Christianity 19:34 even more quickly and they'll feel more at home. 19:36 Besides, we'll benefit the Roman Empire, 19:39 uniting its subjects into one great religion. 19:43 How right they were. But oh, how wrong. 19:47 You go back in a church history, 19:49 you will find out that from then on Christianity 19:51 tobogganed into apostasy as all kinds of pagan rites 19:55 and ceremonies and practices crept into the church. 19:59 If you want to go to a book store 20:00 or look for an old used book store, you get this book. 20:04 It's written by Alexander Hislop. 20:07 It's called The Two Babylons. 20:10 I promise you, it will blow your minds 20:12 about things that have crept into Christianity, Christmas 20:15 and Easter and bunny rabbits and all that stuff. 20:17 But history tells us, that at first, 20:21 at first Sunday was celebrated not as a holy day at all, 20:24 but just kind of like a holiday. 20:27 And for years Christians kept both days, Sabbath and Sunday. 20:32 In fact, the Apostolic Constitutions, Book 7 says, 20:35 "The erosion of the purity of the apostolic church 20:38 stood firm and pure, but when the second 20:42 and third generation Christians came along, 20:45 we see evidence of compromise and apostasy." 20:49 Another history book, historian Dr. W. D. Killen writes, 20:54 "Between the days of the apostles 20:56 and the conversion of Constantine... 20:58 rites and ceremonies of which neither Paul nor Peter 21:01 ever heard, crept silently into use, 21:03 and then claimed the ranks of Divine institutions." 21:07 See they were saying thing like, you know, 21:09 we'll just adopt a few pagan customs like sprinkling 21:14 or images, prayers to the saints, purgatory, 21:19 infant baptism, Halloween, rings Jewelry, the sun-god day. 21:26 But suddenly the church was becoming 21:28 more pagan than it was Christian. 21:30 In fact, this is a historical fact, 21:33 Constantine was so amazed at how popular Christianity 21:37 was becoming now throughout the Roman Empire. 21:39 One day he decided well, I should be baptized too. 21:44 And history tells us that one day he marched down 21:46 with his entire army, down into the river 21:49 and he said, now we are all baptized. 21:52 Well they got wet, all right. 21:55 But it didn't change their hearts, did it? 21:58 Now Christianity was more pagan than it was Christian, 22:02 tumbling into apostasy and ruin. 22:07 Then came the very first civil Sunday law passed by 22:11 the Roman Emperor Constantine on March 7, A.D. 321. 22:14 You can look it up on in your history books. 22:16 Now mind you Constantine was still pagan, 22:19 still worshiped the sun. 22:21 But he legislated, "On the venerable day of the sun 22:24 let the magistrates and people residing in the cities rest, 22:28 and let all workshops be closed. 22:31 In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture 22:34 may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits." 22:39 Then, the church jumped on the bandwagon. 22:44 Because the next step in making Sunday-keeping 22:46 an integral part of Christianity was taken 22:49 by the church there at Rome in the Council of Laodicea, 22:54 the first religious law 22:55 concerning the keeping of Sunday. 22:57 I want you to notice on the screen. 22:59 "In the year 325, Sylvester, Bishop of Rome, 23:04 changed the title of the first day, 23:06 calling it the Lord's day." 23:09 And then again at the Council of Laodicea, in A.D. 364, 23:13 the Roman Church issued this law, 23:16 and I'm quoting "Christians shall not Judaize." 23:19 That means, we don't want them to keep Sabbath any more 23:23 and be idle on Saturday... but shall work on that day, 23:27 but the Lord's day they shall especially honor, 23:30 and, as being Christians, shall if possible, 23:32 do no work on that day. 23:34 If however, they are found Judaizing, 23:37 they shall be shut out from Christ." 23:41 Well, now folks, they didn't have faxes back there. 23:44 They didn't have email, they didn't have newspapers, 23:47 so very, very few people around the planet knew 23:50 about these dictums there from Rome and these changes 23:52 and history confirms in fact that 23:54 many, many, many Christians 23:56 still continue to observed Sabbath 23:58 as late as the sixth century. 24:01 In France, in Italy, in Germany, 24:04 historians record that clear into the Middle Ages, 24:07 the Waldenses, the Albigenses, 24:09 they observed the seventh-day Sabbath 24:11 over in Africa, the islands of the sea. 24:14 They hadn't gotten word that the Sabbath was changed. 24:17 In fact, I'm gonna kind of blow your minds 24:18 a little bit tonight. 24:19 You ladies here are wearing green. 24:22 We celebrate St. Patrick's Day with wearing the green, right? 24:25 Did you know ladies and gentlemen 24:26 that St. Patrick of Ireland kept the Sabbath day holy? 24:31 Because the news of the change in Rome 24:33 hadn't reached Ireland by the time he died, 24:35 so he was a Sabbath-keeper. 24:37 In fact, the Celtic church in England 24:40 and Ireland they kept the Sabbath. 24:43 Meanwhile, back at Rome, Pope Gregory, 24:46 when he heard about some of these people 24:47 that weren't changing, he denounced 24:49 "As the prophets of Antichrist those who maintained 24:52 that work ought not to be done on the seventh day." 24:56 And keep in mind of course too that the Bible 24:59 was not available back then. 25:00 Printing hadn't been invented, as it is now. 25:03 So for centuries, no one had a Bible. 25:07 Doctrines were passed along from the clergy 25:10 by word of mouth until the laymen scarcely 25:13 could distinguish between what was Scripture 25:15 and what was just tradition. 25:17 Very few people really knew the truth 25:20 as taught by Jesus or the disciples. 25:23 In fact by the sixth century the Sabbath truth lay 25:27 almost dormant, hidden under centuries of tradition. 25:31 I mean, no one can examine the Scriptures 25:33 and find out what they taught. 25:35 So people simply accepted what was passed along 25:38 by the religious hierarchy for generations, 25:40 never questioning whether it was fact or fiction. 25:44 And centuries passed, hundreds and hundreds 25:46 and hundreds of years, until in 1517 25:49 the Protestant Reformation came along. 25:52 Suddenly there was a Bible available, 25:54 suddenly Martin Luther and the reformers 25:57 got a copy of the Scripture and they began questioning 25:59 countless rites and doctrines and ceremonies and traditions 26:02 that had completely supplanted 26:04 the plain teaching of God's Word. 26:07 In fact, the cry of Luther and the reformation was, 26:10 we got to get back to the Bible, the Bible 26:12 and the Bible only as our rule of faith and practice. 26:15 Amen. 26:16 And many of those reformers like Huss and Jerome, 26:19 they paid for their fidelity to the Bible 26:21 by being burned at the stake. 26:25 Now back to our question. 26:27 How was the Sabbath finally changed? 26:32 I want you to listen to the following amazing statements 26:35 by Roman Catholic authors, whose church led the way 26:39 in the change from Sabbath to Sunday. 26:42 "The Catholic Church for over one thousand years 26:46 before the existence of a Protestant 26:48 by virtue of her Divine mission, 26:50 changed the day from Saturday to Sunday." 26:55 Folks, if you ever decide you're gonna become a Catholic, 26:57 and you to Catechism class, 27:01 here is what you will read from there Convert's Catechism. 27:05 It's in a question and answer form, it goes like this. 27:07 Question. Which is the Sabbath day? 27:10 Answer. Saturday is the Sabbath day. 27:13 Question. 27:14 Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? 27:17 Answer. 27:19 The Catholic Church transferred the solemnity 27:21 from Saturday to Sunday. 27:25 Someone is saying, "Lonnie, wait a minute. 27:27 Does the Catholic Church openly admit this change?" 27:31 Yes. You say, well, why? 27:35 Listen to me very carefully because the answer lies 27:37 in a major difference between our dedicated Catholic friends 27:42 and those of us who are Protestants, 27:44 on one simple item. 27:48 This book, the Bible. 27:52 You see, when it comes to authority our Catholics friends 27:55 place greater confidence in tradition above Scripture. 28:00 And here's what our Catholic friends believe, 28:02 from official Catholic Belief. 28:04 We're not gonna talk about them 28:05 we're gonna quote from them, okay? 28:07 They say this, "Like two sacred rivers flowing from paradise, 28:12 the Bible and divine Tradition contain the Word of God. 28:17 Though these two divine streams are of equal sacredness, 28:20 still, of the two, TRADITION is to us more safe and clear. 28:28 Do you see the difference here? 28:30 The main point of difference between 28:31 our Protestants and our Catholics 28:33 is the authority of tradition in the church 28:36 and when that priest Martin Luther 28:39 said to the church of his day, 28:42 we've got to follow the Bible, the Bible only. 28:45 He was challenging many of the institutions 28:47 of the Catholic church that were based totally on tradition 28:50 like indulgences, penance, purgatory, prayers to Mary, 28:54 mass, the rosary and Luther's challenge got so serious 28:59 that the council of Trent was convened to decide exactly 29:02 what position the Catholic Church should take 29:05 on tradition and its relationship to the Bible. 29:08 I want you to listen again the Catholic Dogma 29:10 on how the question was finally settled. 29:12 Watch very closely, people may have 29:14 never seen this quotation before quoting, 29:17 "Finally, at the last opening 29:19 on the eighteenth of January, 1562, 29:22 all hesitation was set aside. 29:24 The Archbishop of Reggio made a speech in which 29:26 he openly declared 29:27 that tradition stood above Scripture. 29:31 The authority of the church could therefore 29:33 not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, 29:35 because the Church had changed the Sabbath into Sunday, 29:39 not by command of Christ, but by its own authority." 29:44 But did you notice here, 29:46 what's swung the pendulum to put tradition above Scripture. 29:50 I mean, whatever they're saying 29:51 to the standstill there at the Council of Trent. 29:53 It was the fact that the church had changed 29:57 one of God's commandments on the authority of tradition. 30:02 Now my Protestant friends tonight, 30:03 you may be more surprised than Catholics over this revelation. 30:07 You see, I have to laude 30:09 my Catholic friends for their consistency. 30:11 They have long taken pride in their traditions, 30:14 they believe the authority 30:15 for their churches tradition, not scripture. 30:18 And they are consistent. 30:21 The Bible though doesn't support tradition 30:23 as the bases for Christian doctrine. 30:26 So Jesus even asked the religious leaders of his day 30:29 and he asked them of our day in Matthew 15:3, 30:32 "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God 30:37 by your tradition?" 30:39 And He adds in Matthew 15:9, 30:42 "But in vain they do worship me, 30:45 teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 30:51 Are you with me? Yes. 30:53 Do you see the issue? Yes. 30:55 Folks it is not a question of days. 30:58 The real question is, 31:00 will you follow our Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible? 31:03 Amen. Or human traditions? 31:05 It's not a matter of days and numbers, 31:07 it's a matter of masters. 31:10 That's the real issue. 31:11 Is Jesus word master 31:14 or the traditions of some organization? 31:19 Scrap up your seat belt one more notch 31:22 before we close tonight, I've got, 31:23 I've saved two very recent modern 31:26 20th century statements that are gonna shock you, 31:29 from Catholic scholars on the change of the Sabbath. 31:32 I want you to notice this one from 1988. 31:36 "It was the Catholic Church that decided Sunday should be 31:39 the day of worship for Christians 31:41 in honor of the resurrection." 31:44 Now this one was just given it me today. 31:46 Someone gave me this from the internet. 31:48 It was May 21, 1995. It's up on the screen. 31:52 From the Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel, 31:56 "Perhaps the boldest thing," but let's read it together, 32:00 it says "Perhaps the boldest thing, 32:02 the most revolutionary change that the church ever did, 32:06 happened in the first century. 32:07 The holy day, the Sabbath, 32:09 was changed from Saturday to Sunday, 32:12 not from any directions noted in the scriptures, 32:14 but from the Church's sense of its own power." 32:17 Now notice this next part. 32:20 People who think that the scriptures should be 32:22 the sole authority should logically become 32:24 Seventh-day Adventist, and keep Saturday holy." 32:27 Praise the Lord. Amen. 32:32 Now friends, what these two statements do 32:34 is they take us back to the Bible for a warning. 32:38 In just a few nights now we're gonna study again 32:40 the prophecy of Daniel 7 where God revealed to Daniel 32:43 that the "little horn" of Daniel 7:25, 32:47 would think to change God's times and laws. 32:53 This power thought to do this. But is God changed? 33:00 We say Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, 33:02 today and what forever. 33:04 He is still the same, He hasn't changed. 33:06 That's why, the Book of Revelation, the apocalypse, 33:10 John prophesied a last-day back to the Bible 33:14 message of revival and reformation, 33:17 just like you're hearing tonight. 33:19 Revelation 14:6, 7 says, "Then I saw another angel 33:23 flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel 33:26 to preach to those who dwell on the earth, 33:27 to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, saying 33:30 with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, 33:33 for the hour of His judgment has come, 33:35 and now notice this and worship Him 33:39 who made the heaven the earth, the sea and springs of water.'" 33:42 That's quoting right out of the Sabbath Commandment. 33:46 It's saying, don't worship tradition. 33:49 Worship the Creator. The One who made the Sabbath. 33:53 Because He is coming to judge mankind and so John says: 33:56 "People, people, people get ready 33:58 to meet Him to meet Jesus. 34:01 How? Worship Him on His day, His Sabbath. 34:06 Revelation 14:12 says very, very clearly, 34:08 "Here is the patience of the saints, 34:12 here they are they're keeping the commandments of God 34:16 and the faith of Jesus." 34:18 Amen. 34:20 In these closing hours of this world's history, 34:22 if you and I want to have the faith of Jesus evidently 34:26 we've got to keep His commandments. 34:29 But do you see, millions today have been fooled by a myth. 34:37 Jesus asked us to remember only 34:39 one of the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath. 34:44 And all the world completely forgot. 34:47 Remember Him as Creator by keeping His Holy Day. 34:50 And he says Lonnie, "If you love me, keep my commandments." 34:54 John 14:15, When we do what Jesus says, 35:00 you see, we show loyalty to Him. 35:03 You know, that there's no greater honor 35:06 than to do something for someone else 35:08 just because they asked you to do it. 35:12 If we keep a man made Sabbath, we obey man's traditions. 35:17 We have loyalty to him and a myth. 35:21 But when we discover God's will, 35:22 it's our joy and privilege to turn and start following it. 35:28 By the way, Jesus did have something to say 35:29 about man's traditions in Matthew 15:8, 9, 35:32 "These people they honor me with their what? 35:36 Their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 35:40 They worship me in vain, 35:42 their teachings are but rules taught by men." 35:48 Mark 7:9 Jesus said, "You know, 35:51 you have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God 35:54 in order to observe your own traditions." 35:58 Friends, I want to be as loving as I know how tonight, 36:00 do you see the issue? 36:03 Jesus says, "Their hearts are far from Me." 36:07 And friend, it is really a matter of the heart. 36:10 It's a matter of love. 36:12 The Bible says in 1 John 5:3, 36:14 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. 36:17 And His commandments are not burdensome." 36:21 One day as Jesus was teaching, 36:22 He made a very surprising statement. 36:24 He said "Not everybody is going to get to go to heaven. 36:28 Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 36:31 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, 36:34 but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." 36:37 Now that is very, very plain. 36:42 But the choice is up to you. 36:45 Over on one side we have truth, God's word. 36:50 On the other side, we have tradition. 36:52 On one side we have the Bible, 36:54 on the other side, human teachings. 36:56 On one side we have God's command, 36:59 on the other, doctrines of men. 37:01 On the one side we have God's Sabbath, 37:04 on the other day, the day of the sun. 37:08 But remember, it's not a matter of days. 37:11 It's a matter of masters. Amen. 37:14 It's a matter of following Jesus. 37:17 He says it's not just those who say they belong to God, 37:21 but those who do what He has told them to do. 37:24 Those, Jesus says, 37:25 will be welcomed into the kingdom of God. 37:29 Will you love Him 37:31 by letting Him write His Law on your heart? 37:34 We let Jesus be the One who runs your life 37:37 so that you can do His will? 37:42 Tonight I would like to invite every one of you to make 37:44 one of the most important decisions of your life, 37:48 to follow God's truth. 37:51 Not man-made tradition. 37:53 Tonight, why not tell Jesus you'll follow Him 37:57 all the way as Joey sings. 38:04 I'll follow you, Lord 38:11 Wherever you will lead 38:17 I'll follow you, Lord 38:22 No matter how far 38:29 And today that I serve you 38:35 You feel my every need 38:41 I'll follow you, Lord 38:46 Wherever you will lead 38:52 In a land far away, Lord 38:58 I'll go there for you 39:04 If only a foot step, Lord 39:10 I'll go there too 39:18 I love your name 39:23 There is lot since you came 39:28 I'll follow you, Lord 39:34 Wherever you will lead 39:42 Let's bow our heads and pray. 39:46 Father dear, I want to thank you 39:47 for the unfolding of truth tonight 39:49 perhaps in a new and disturbing way. 39:54 Lord, all of us confess 39:56 we haven't always understood the cross. 39:59 So today, we simply want to give ourselves 40:01 a new to you in loving obedience. 40:06 But perhaps some are still wondering that, 40:08 they're little bit confused, 40:11 uncertain about your Holy Sabbath. 40:15 They don't quite understand. 40:18 Lord would you help us, prompt us, 40:21 motivate us, speak to us by faith to follow you. 40:28 We know we'll not be disappointed. 40:31 Wonder how many tonight as we are in prayer here, 40:33 our heads are bowed and every eye is closed. 40:37 During this prayer we'd like to say, 40:38 Lord, I do, I want to choose Jesus 40:42 and I want to choose the commandments of God. 40:45 And by your grace Lord I will from this day 40:48 forward try with my conscience 40:51 to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 40:54 So just like to raise your hand wherever you are 40:57 be included in this prayer. 40:58 God bless you. 41:00 Angels will see your response in the locations 41:03 wherever you're watching, downlink sites. 41:07 I want the row captains 41:08 to send those decision response cards down. 41:11 I want to go through these 41:12 with you right now before Joey Sings again. 41:16 Thank you row captains and wherever you're located 41:19 please distribute these right now and take a pencil, 41:22 look at these with me 41:23 we're still in an attitude of prayer. 41:24 But I want you to make a response. 41:26 I hope everyone can check this first response. 41:31 I love Jesus and I desire to obey Him. 41:35 Can I hear big amen from the church? 41:37 Amen. Amen. 41:39 I love Jesus want to obey Him, put a check there. 41:43 And then number two this is getting 41:44 a little bit more explicit and specific. 41:47 We want to pray for you with your decision. 41:49 Number two says, "It is clear to me now 41:52 that the true Bible Sabbath is Saturday 41:54 and I choose to keep His holy day. 41:58 Would you put a big check beside number two. 42:03 Number of folks here in auditorium in Columbia 42:06 has come up to me the other night and said, 42:07 Lon, are we gonna have a baptism here some time. 42:12 Well, this one's for you. 42:14 Some of you maybe thinking about baptism 42:16 and if you'd like to make a check here, 42:17 I love Jesus and I desire to be baptized soon. 42:20 We haven't even talked about 42:21 that subject yet but you go ahead 42:22 and put a check there, all right. 42:25 And there maybe others here who would you say you know 42:28 I just need some more time, 42:29 I got to have some reading materials on this, 42:31 we gave out a little track the other night here 42:33 on our downlink site in Columbia. 42:35 You'll be given another one tonight. 42:37 Be sure you get that or ask one of our hostesses for it. 42:39 But put a check there, 42:40 we will make certain that you're provided this 42:42 wherever you are watching tonight 42:43 on your downlink location. 42:45 Just make your commitment right now and pray about it, 42:48 maybe write your prayer request on the back as Joey sings. 42:56 I'll follow you Lord 43:02 Wherever you lead 43:07 I'll follow you Lord 43:13 No matter how far 43:20 Each day that I serve you 43:26 You fill my every need 43:32 I'll follow you Lord 43:38 Wherever you lead 43:47 And heavenly father as we conclude this prayer, 43:49 Lord, would you seal our decisions tonight, 43:54 impresses Jesus for those who-- 43:57 well, they're a little undecided 43:58 because this is so new. 43:59 Would you just send Your promised Holy Spirit 44:02 to guide us to Your Holy Word. 44:05 Prompt us to search out truth 44:07 and then be willing to follow you in Jesus' name. 44:16 Amen. 44:19 I hope that you'll take advantage 44:21 of our discover Bible school 44:22 located at all the downlink sites 44:25 here on both sides of this auditorium. 44:27 We have a special lesson tonight 44:30 that compliments the topic 44:31 that I've shared in the last three nights. 44:33 By the way, ladies and gentleman 44:35 I want you to know that 44:38 when I say that what's next the Voice of Prophecy speaks 44:42 there's a lot of other subjects 44:43 that we're gonna deal with in the coming nights. 44:45 We gonna move from this topic, 44:46 I told you it was a three part series, 44:48 we've wrapped it up tonight. 44:50 There are some exciting things, 44:52 hold on tight, you can't believe what's coming yet 44:55 from the Voice of Prophecy speak. 44:56 So be with us tomorrow, 44:58 out of the scrap heap right here at 11 o'clock 45:02 and for many of you I hope you will try to come little early 45:04 and join us for a study session at 9:30. 45:07 There will be music and inspiring talks. 45:10 Doctor will be speaking to us again 45:12 but 11:00 o'clock we go live by satellite till 12:10 45:15 and then the stage opens up 45:16 and I've got to be finished by that time. 45:18 We hope you join us and then in the evening 45:21 an entirely separate subject. 45:24 Making a new start, the day I died, 45:27 I live to tell about it. I hope you be with us. 45:30 Tomorrow a big day, double header 45:32 don't forget join us there. 45:33 Won't you? 45:34 We're ending a little early tonight, 45:35 so you can get back home, 45:36 get a good night's rest and join us tomorrow. 45:39 Goodnight every one. 45:40 Remember, God really does love you. |
Revised 2014-12-17