Baptized Paganism

This booklet is a reprint from a writing whose author is presently unknown to us; but we feel the information is of vital interest to those who want to find and share God's truth. We are deeply indebted to the originator for his research and efforts herein contained. There is a great difference between the works of God and the works of man. One shows forth the defects and imperfections of the one and brings out the beauties of the other ... There are spots and blemishes in the most admired productions of human genius. On the other hand, the more the Scriptures are searched, the more minutely they are studied, the more their perfection appears; new beauties are brought into light every day..." (Alexander Hislop in The Two Babylons). This booklet is paid for by freewill offerings and is not to be sold. It is printed by the Churchlight Publishing Association for the purpose of educating and evangelizing. It may be used by locally independent churches or individuals who wish to distribute the good news of God's Word to their neighbors. Our prayer and hope is that those who receive it will be inspired to study their Bibles with greater zeal and to walk as Jesus walked.

Distributed by Churchlight Publishing Association

This booklet is written to show the frailties of man. He is struggling by himself to work out his own salvation. But it is not the way that God wants him to be saved. "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun " (Ecclesiastes 2: 11). This verse shows to us the contradictions that man has devised and all his forms of godliness is vanity. These words were written by a preacher. His mood is the way many people feel today that do not know what the Word of God says; as they practice a paganized form of religion. This creates the mood of pessimism along with frustration. It can be summarized with a short statement: The religion of man is the futility of all effort. As Solomon wrote, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1: 1, 2).

Our purpose is to point out that the religions of the majority, who call themselves Christians, are practicing paganism with all its rites and ceremonies. This has brought about a world that is getting more sinful instead of better. If Christianity of today were following the Word of God surely the world would become a better place in which to live. But the opposite is becoming the reality, for there is more hopelessness, frustration, futility, despair, and lack, of meaning than at any other time in the history of man.

As a group of young people put it, "Everything seems useless." Others spoke of Fruitless efforts," and still others said, "Sometimes it feels futile to strive so hard. "But despite all these expressions of futility and vanities of man, the Book of Ecclesiastes sums up the duty of every man. It is the culmination of God's will for mankind: "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Baptized Paganism

The purpose of this writing is to bring you a very definite message from God for this crucial hour of this earth's history. For the present we want to unfold to you God's last message of mercy to men as John, in the book of Revelation recorded it for us. In the fourteenth chapter of Revelation is the message we want to dwell on.

"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication " (Revelation 14:8).

This message is reemphasized in the eighteenth chapter of Revelation.

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance o her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

"To understand what Babylon means and what we are called out from, let us go back to the days after the flood when men refused to obey the instruction of the Lord to scatter over the earth. Settling on the plains of Shinar they said, in Genesis: " Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth " (Genesis 11:4). They called the tower "Babel," the gate to heaven, but God called it what it was, "Babel, confusion," for there the language of the people was confused and they were forced to scatter. This heaven-defying plan of men was to have one city, the capital of the world, one government to rule the world, and one religion to sway the hearts of mankind. It was Satan's attempt to defy God and His authority. The ringleader in this scheme was one named Nimrod.

The Origin Of Pagan Sun Worship

We read in the Bible about Nimrod, the man who had something to do with the beginning of Pagan sun worship. We read about him in Genesis 10:8-10, "And Cush begat kimrod: he began to be a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel [Babylon]. "In another translation of the Bible called the Targum, we read this: "Nimrod became a mighty man of sin, a murderer of innocent men, and a rebel before the Lord. "Nimrod, one of the great-grandsons of Noah, is accredited with being the originator of sun worship. Nimrod was a great leader, and he was the first empire builder. He was the founder of Babylon. According to history, his wife, Semiramis, was a very great and wicked queen, and through Semiramis we find the devil trying to counterfeit God's great wonderful plan of salvation. She was the first deified queen of Babylon, and Nimrod was the first deified king. When Nimrod died the people mourned. They claimed he was a god. Semiramis, in order to elevate her own position, told the people Nimrod was indeed the sun god, and that his spirit was still living in the sun. They were still worshipping Nimrod, whose spirit was supposed to be dwelling in the sun. She was already the queen of Babylon in which there had been built a tower to reach unto heaven. Then to elevate her own position, she said to the people that she was the queen of heaven, and that her spirit was that of the moon, and when she died she would dwell in the moon, even as Nimrod was already in the sun.

Satan was laying the foundation for every system of falsehood and error the world has ever known. They took the truth of God and perverted it, changed it into a lie, and "worshipped and served a creature [Satan] more than Creator" (Romans 1:25).

Here is a truth that should be deeply impressed upon our minds. Paganism is devil worship. Hear the word of God. Let us never forget that this system of religion while professing to be the true religion is actually devil worship. It professes and claims to be the truth of God. In reality it is Satan's masterpiece, the mystery of iniquity.

A Pagan Holiday

Every year when the cold season began, the people believed their sun god was leaving them. They came to learn that his lowest dip on the horizon, about December 2 1, was followed by his gradual return, until in midsummer he was nearly overhead at noonday. It was on the 25th of December that they began to notice this gradual return of the sun god. This day they called the birthday of the sun. Thus the winter solstice came to be regarded as a time of great importance. At the festival inaugurated there was feasting and merriment in honor of the return of the all powerful sun god. It was this belief in the annual journey of their god that Elijah alluded to in his conflict with the priests of Baal, the Syro-Phoenician sun god. If "he is a god ... he is on a journey, or peradventure sieepeth, and must be awaked" (I Kings 18:27).

After the death of Nimrod, Semiramis never married again. Being the "queen of heaven" how could she marry an ordinary man? But some years later, she gave birth to a son. His name was Tammuz. He was born on the 25th of December.

There was wild rejoicing in the nation over which Semiramis was queen. She told the people that the spirit of the sun, her husband, Nimrod, was the father of Tammuz. Thus through the sin of this queen, Satan was laying another stone in the foundation of the false system which would counterfeit the miraculous birth of Jesus. Tammuz was regarded as a miracle child of Semiramis.

Tammuz was hailed as the son of the sun. He was idolized and worshipped. The first letter of his name became, in time, the symbol of sun-worship. Human sacrifices to the sun god were offered on this initial letter, made of wood, known as the cross, "T". His birthday, December 25, was honored more and more. One historian writing of the time of Rome says:

"The 25th of December, the day that was observed at Rome as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth, was held at the 'Natalie invicti solis', 'The birthday of the unconquered sun.' The yule log is the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as the sun god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas tree is Nimrod 'redivivus'-the slain god come to life again " (The Two Babylons, by Hislop, p. 98).

To further honor this sun god, the first day of the week was dedicated to the sun. It became known as Sun's day, and later called Sunday.

To honor Semiramis, the goddess of the moon, they set aside the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Remembering that Tammuz was born on December 25, at once is manifested the relation between the two days. Between the 25th of March and 25th December there are exactly nine months. Thus March 25 came to be honored as the day when this false messiah, the son of the sun god, was conceived. Now, with that in mind, let's consider this statement from a book giving the different festival days recognized by the papal church. "The Virgin (March 25) commemorates the coming of the angel Gabriel to Mary to announce that she is to be the mother of God. "Think of it, dear friends, Satan worked many years before the conception and birth of the true Messiah (Jesus) to counterfeit through sun worship His miraculous conception and birth. While yet a young man, Tammuz, a hunter like his supposed father, was killed by a wild boar. There was a great weeping and mourning through the entire kingdom, and the fourth day, before the first full moon following the vernal equinox, was set apart as a time of "weeping for Tammuz.' We read about this very thing in the Bible. Perhaps some of you never knew that the Bible mentions this.

"Then He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, 'The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land. And He said to me, 'Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing.' Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. And He said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man * 2 Yet you will see still greater abominations than these.' Then He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. And He said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man ? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose. 'Therefore, I indeed shall deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor shall I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I shall not listen to them.' Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, 'Draw near, 0 executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand"' (Ezekiel 8:12-18).

God's people were constantly coming in contact with paganism, which was nothing more nor less than sun worship. They were constantly being tempted to follow the religion of the pagans instead of the Bible. Satan succeeded many times in leading God's people into sin and pagan sun worship. The prophet was shown greater and still greater abominations. He was shown the people turning their backs on the temple of God and worshipping the sun toward the east. They also worshipped the moon goddess, Semiramis, the queen of heaven. Let's read Jeremiah 7:1-18,

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me, for I will not hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire and the women kneaded their dough, to make cakes for the Queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. " These cakes were round and on them was cut a cross in honor of the sun god, and they were offered to the queen of heaven.

Easter

Bryant, in his mythology says, "One species of sacred bread which was used to be offered to the gods of great antiquity was called boun (buns)." Vol. 1, p. 373. The famous hot cross buns, which are made and eaten on Good Friday, are relics of Paganism. At least 1500 years before Christ "buns" were offered in the worship of the queen of heaven. Another name for this queen of heaven was Ishtar from which we get the word "Easter." In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, some of God's people went into connection with sun worship. If it was so decidedly displeasing to God then, I wonder how He feels today? But listen to this. Down through the centuries the distinguishing mark that separated the pagans from God's people was Sunday or Sun's day. The pagans worshipped the sun on Sunday. They took the first day of the week and gave it the highest honor by naming it in honor of the sun god and worshipping the sun on that day. God's people kept the Sabbath or seventh day of the week-the day that God had blessed and made holy at creation.

Thus the distinguishing mark of the heathen was their Sunday; and the mark of God's people was the Sabbath (Read Ezekiel 20:12, 20).

Imagine, if you can, what a spectacle for the Universe to behold! Through the centuries God's people kept the commandments of God, including the Sabbath. They offered their sacrifices which typified or represented the death of Christ-when he would come and die for sinners. On the other hand, there were the heathen who worshipped the sun and kept Sunday. They offered their own sons and daughters in the fire or crucified human victims on crosses to appease the sun god.

I say again, what a terrible thing for heaven to behold! How the devil tried to insult Christ's sacrifice! Satan tried constantly to get God's people away from the true God and the true Sabbath. God, however, continued to send messages to His people through the prophets that they should obey Him.

As I have mentioned already, the pagans set a time in honor of the female goddess, or queen of heaven. She was considered the goddess of reproduction. She was worshipped in different countries under different names. The. Anglo-Saxon name was Eostre (Ishtar) from which we get Easter. In connection with the worship of this goddess of reproduction the pagans chose an "egg" as a symbol of fertility. They knew that a fertile egg would reproduce a chick. They also had the rabbit as a symbol of germination in connection with the worship of this goddess of reproduction.

The rabbit is one of the faster reproducing animals in the world. Now keep in mind that Sunday, the first day of the week, was the day on which this celebration or worship was held. The first day of the week was dedicated to the sun god. They went out early in the morning to some high mountain and there, as the sun was seen coming up in the east, they held this worship of the goddess, Eostre. As I have already said, sun worshipping was nothing more nor less than the idolizing or worshipping of the reproductive powers in men and women and in nature. Therefore, this, as well as many other of the ancient ceremonies centered around immortality.

Christ, The True Messiah Comes

Finally, Christ, the Son of God, was born. The exact day of His birth, no one knows. Jesus was not accepted by the majority. Even after helping Israel He was crucified, in the spring, at the beginning of the year, the time of Passover. It is almost too terrible for words. You remember Tammuz was exalted by Satan to be the false Messiah or rival of Jesus. The symbol on which Jesus died was the "T" of Tammuz. Satan had caused Israel to fall into sin and pagan sun worship. It seemed that the sun god was victorious over the true God. Jesus, the Creator of the world, came into a world that had forgotten Him. He suffered every insult at men's hands, and finally died upon the symbol of sun worship, the cross, as Paul says; "even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:8).

What rejoicing there must have been by the demons!

The Son of God was delivered by His own people and crucified by the sun-worshipping Romans on their symbol of worship! Think of the great Son of God dying in such awful humiliation while the people looked on, wagging their heads in mockery. What condescension! Satan saw that his disguise was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. The last link of sympathy between himself and the heavenly world was broken. "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12: 10). Yet Satan was not then destroyed. For the sake of man, his existence must be continued. Man, as well as angels, must see the contrast between the Prince of Light and the Prince of Darkness. He must choose whom he will serve.

God raised His Son from the grave, a conqueror over sin and death. The devil was the conquered foe. In Revelation 12:12, 1 read, "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. " Satan was not through in his great warfare against God. He centered all his forces against the Children of God who believed on Jesus to persecute and also to lead them into deception, if possible.

As the disciples and early Christians went forth to preach the gospel, they came face to face with the pagan world. The pagan's religion was sun worship and had reached its very highest point in the days of Rome. The Children of God told of the one whom they worshiped, not the sun. They told how he had been born in this world; how he had lived and died; and how he had come to life again. The devil succeeded in getting hundreds of pagans to accept Christianity nominally, merely for gain or influence. In heart they were still pagans and used their influence to lower the standard of the church. As the Children of God multiplied and were scattered throughout the world, the temptation and influence became stronger and stronger to be more like the heathen in their form of worship, in order to gain favor with them. The Apostle Paul mentioned about the "Mystery of Iniquity" working already in his day. (11 Thessalonians 2:7, 8). He also warned the churches of wolves coming in sheep's clothing.

The church historian, Mosheim, tells how certain rites and ceremonies crept silently into use and then "claimed the rank of divine institution. " He says, "The pagans had been accustomed to numerous and splendid ceremonies from their infancy. When they saw the new religion was destitute of such ceremonies they thought it was too simple. The Children of God were pronounced atheists because they were destitute of temples, altars, victims, priests and all pomp which the pagans supposed to be the essence of religion by what meets their eyes. To silence this accusation, Christian leaders thought they must introduce some of the rites and ceremonies which would strike the senses of the people. " Under new names and forms, many ceremonies and institutions of pagan sun worship were gradually sanctioned and adopted into the church. "Before the second century was half gone, before the last of the apostles had been dead forty years, this apostasy was the working of the 'Mystery of Iniquity'. It had so largely spread over the east and the west, that it is literally true that a large part of the Christian observances and institutions, even in this century, had the aspect of the pagan mysteries. " (Ecclesiastical History, century 2, part 2, chapter 4, paragraph i.)

Let us notice now a few striking and outstanding things that took place. Keep in mind that the devil who is really the author of pagan sun worship, had been working for centuries to get this false worship so implanted in the world that God's true plan of salvation through Jesus Christ would be insulted, and if possible, be made a failure.

First, the exact date of Christ's birthday was not known. So it was suggested, Why not call it the same date as the birth of Tammuz, which was December 25? That, too, was the time when the sun had reached its lowest point on the horizon and started back up in the heavens. The sun god had come to life, so to speak. Thus gradually, but surely, December 25 came to be known as the birthday of Christ. The pagan church finally instituted a special "mass" on that day. This then was known as "Christ's mass" and so December 25 became "Christmas". The yule log, burning in the fire followed by the green tree lighted with candles, all came in from the pagans' worship, representing Nimrod being dead, while his spirit still lived in the sun; and was alive again in Tammuz, his son.

Again, Christ was crucified and resurrected in the spring of the year near the time of the moon festival. The devil was on hand again to bring in the idea of having a celebration the same time as the heathen, and even doing as they did, but call it "in honor of the resurrection." The cakes to the "queen of heaven" became the "hot cross buns." (Read Jeremiah 7:1-18). The forty days of "weeping f6r Tammuz" became "Lent" and at the close of Lent came "Easter Sunday." (Read Ezekiel 8:12-18). As I have already mentioned this goddess Ishtar (Eostre) came to be known as the goddess of springtime"new life", or as history records it, the goddess of reproduction. The pagans went out to some mountain side early Sunday morning and worshipped this goddess as the sun was rising in the east. They gave themselves to immorality and indecency of every description. The eggs and rabbits were used as symbols of fertility.

The pagans worshipped the sun on Sunday (Sun's day). It was the heathen festival day in honor of the sun god. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary says of Sunday," The North British Review, Vol. 18, p. 409, calls Sunday "the wild solar holiday of all pagan times. " And Gibbon, in a note to paragraph 2, chapter 20, says that "Constantine styles the Lord's day 'Dies Solis' (day of the sun), a name which could not offend the ears of his pagan subjects. " The Schaff-Hertzog Encyclopedia has the following to say on the subject of Sunday: "Sunday (Dies Solis of the Roman calendar, day of the sun; because dedicated to the sun), the first day of the week, was adopted by the early Christians as a day of worship. The 'Sun' of Latin adoration, they interpreted as the 'Sun of Righteousness'.... No regulations for its observance are laid down in the New Testament, nor, indeed is its observance ever enjoined. "Think of it, the Sabbath (seventh day), which God had blessed and made holy for man to worship the true God upon, was gradually set aside and the festival day of pagan sun worship was taken into the church. Professor Hutton Webster, PH.D., in his book, "Rest Days, " p. 270, has this to say: "What began however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian regulation, and a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries enjoined with the increasing stringent abstinence from labor on Sunday. "Paganism with all of its pomp, ceremonies, and holidays, crept silently into the Christian Church until it developed into what is known today as the Roman Catholic Church. Notice this statement from "Schaff's Church History", page 375: "Not a few pagan habits crept into the church concealed by new names. This is conceded by the most earnest of the Fathers. Leo the Great speaks of Christians in Rome who worshipped the sun, before repairing to the Church of Peter. In the celebration of Sunday as it was introduced by Constantine and still continues on the whole continent of Europe, the cultus of the old sun god Apollo mingles with the remembrance of the resurrection of Christ. "Notice this statement of Mosheim from Church History, "When Gregory perceived that the multitude persisted in their idolatry on account of the sensual gratification, he granted them permission to indulge themselves in like manner at the festivals of the martyrs. By this permission Gregory allowed the Christians to dance, sport, and jeast at the tombs of the martyrs, and to do everything which the pagans were accustomed to do in their temples. "Notice this statement from the New Standard Dictionary of the English Language, article "Sunday" "The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine, 321 A.D. enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday. "Notice this statement from Dr. W.D. Killen, in Ancient Church, (Preface, pages 15 & 16): " In the interval between the days of the apostles and the (so-called) conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its aspect ... Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rapt of divine institutions. "The great historian, Wharey, in Church History, page 54, says: "Christianity had now become popular, and a large majority of those who embraced it, only assumed the name and received the rite of baptism, while at heart they were as much heathen as before. Error and corruption now came into the church like a flood. "In Hyslop's Church History, we find this statement: "This tendency on the part of Christians to meet paganism halfway was very early developed. Upright men tried to stem the tide; but despite all their efforts, the apostasy went on, till the church, except a small remnant, was submerged under pagan superstition. "Notice this statement taken from the Roman Catholic Church as found in the Catholic World, March, 1894: "The Catholic Church took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday. The sun was the foremost god with the heathen, -Balder, the beautiful white god. Thus the pagan Sunday dedicated to Balder became the Christian Sunday. "Notice this statement from Stanley's History, page 40, "The pope filled the place of the vacant emperors at Rome, inheriting their power, prestige, and the titles from paganism. Constantine left all to the Bishop of Rome. The papacy is but the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon its grave. "Notice this statement of Father J.P. Conroy in American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911, "Meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the Vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many centuries. " This statement is insulting to the God of heaven. Think how the Lord must feel about this power who claims to have stepped to the throne of the pagan sun worshippers as the Vicar of Christ. This to my mind is blasphemy. The only Vicar of Christ is the Holy Spirit, not some man as they would have us believe.

Notice this statement from the Catholic Church, Development of Christian Doctrine, John Henry Cardinal Newman, p. 373, London: Loungmans, Green, and Co., 1906. "It is not necessary to go into a subject which the diligence of Protestant writers has made familiar to most of us. The use of temples, and these days and seasons, use of calendars, processions ... are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the church. "Friends, would any true Child of God want to follow paganism, but yet expect the Lord Jesus to save them in the kingdom of God? Of course our answer is no.

Notice this statement from, Wharey's Church History, page 24: "Indeed we shall find, that when Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire and took the place of paganism that it assumed in great degree the forms and titles of paganism and participated in no small measure of its spirit. Christianity as it existed in the Dark Ages, might be termed, without much impropriety of language, 'Baptized Paganism'. "The Lord says, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Romans 1:25).

Now notice how the Roman Catholic Church fulfilled this prophetic question. "The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday. The Christian Sabbath (Sunday) is therefore to this day the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church. " Editorial in Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893.

Notice this statement found in the Catholic Record, Sept. 17,189 1. "Sunday is founded, not on Scripture, but on tradition, and is distinctly a Catholic institution. As there is no scripture for the transfer of the day of the week of rest from the last to the first day of the week, Protestants ought to keep their Sabbath on Saturday, and thus leave Catholics in full possession of Sunday. "Now notice this statement from a well known Catholic authority, Priest T. Enright, C.S.S.R., (President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo.), "The Bible says: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. The Catholic Church says, no! By divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And, lo, the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church. " This is taken from the American Sentinel, June issue.

Next notice the following statements of how the Protestants admit that Sunday-keeping came from Paganism. Baptist Minister Speaks "There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges, and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask, where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament, absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week.

"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism. "This minister was Dr. Edward Hiscox, author of the Baptist Manual, in a paper read before a New York minister's conference held in 1893.

Notice carefully what this Baptist author says: "What a pity that it comes branded with the mark of paganism and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism. "

Other Protestant Churches

Christian Union (Congregational): "When, why and by whom was the day of rest changed from the seventh to the first?" Answer: "The Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week, not by any positive authority, but by a gradual process. "-"Question Corner," June 11, 1879. "The Christian [Sunday] Sabbath is not in Scripture, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath "-Dwight's Theology, Vol. 4, page 401. "No precept for it [Sunday] is found in the New Testament. " -Dr. Albert Barnes. Christian at Work (Presbyterian): "So some have tried to build the observance of Sunday upon apostolic command, whereas the apostles gave no command on the manner at all ... The truth is, as soon as we appear to the 'litera scripta' (the literal writing) of the Bible, the Sabbatarians have the best of the argument. "Editorial, April 19, 1883. Dr. Binney: "It is true, there is no positive command for infant baptism ... nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week ", M. E. Theological Compendium, p. 103.

" It must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day. "-Buck's Theological Dictionary Watchman (Baptist): "The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath. There is no scriptural authority for so doing, nor, of course, any scriptural obligation. "

Sunday School Advocate Speaks

"In the days of the very long ago the people of the world began to give names to everything and they turned sounds of the lips into words, so that the lips could speak a thought. In those days the people worshipped the sun because it was kind and gave them heat and light. By and by, after many words were made to tell of many thoughts about many things the people became Christians and were ruled by an emperor whose name was Constantine. This emperor made Sunday the Christian Sabbath, because of the blessings of light and heat which came from the sun. So our Sunday is a sun -day, is it not? "Sunday School Advocate, December 31,192 1.

Now in conclusion notice what the Roman Catholic Church has to say: "Our Church took the pagan philosophy and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the pagan Rome Pantheon, temple of all gods, and made it sacred to all martyrs; and so it stands to this day. She took the pagan sun day and made it the Christian Sunday. She took the pagan Easter and made it the feast we now celebrate. "Catholic World, March, 1894.

Soon the opening heavens will reveal the coming of Jesus Christ. The messengers of God, His angels, will sweep through the land and the Seven Last Plagues of God's wrath will fall upon those who have received the mark of the beast and have worshipped the beast and its image.

Before God sends the final judgments upon this sinful world, He, in His mercy, sends a message to save His people as surely as He sent a message to save Lot's family from impending doom. His message is "Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). Now is the time to heed God's message before the day of God's judgment and wrath is visited upon a willfully sinful and rebellious world.

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