Bible Readings for the Home Circle Part 124

"All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these _we_ have transferred to the Lord's day."-_"__Commentary on the Psalms,__"__ c.o.x's __"__Sabbath Literature__"__ Vol. I, page 361._

NOTE.-The change of the Sabbath was the result of the combined efforts of church and state, and it was centuries before it was fully accomplished.

20. When and by what church council was the observance of the seventh day forbidden, and Sunday observance enjoined?

"The seventh-day Sabbath was ... solemnized by Christ, the apostles, and primitive Christians, till _the Laodicean Council_ did, in a manner, quite abolish the observation of it. ... The Council of Laodicea [A.D. 364] ...

first settled the observation of the Lord's day."-_Prynne's __"__Dissertation on the Lord's Day Sabbath,__"__ page 163._

21. What did this council, in its twenty-ninth canon, decree concerning the Sabbath and Christians who continued to observe it?

"Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Sat.u.r.day [Sabbath], but shall work on that day.... If, however, they are found Judaizing, _they shall be shut out from Christ_."-_Hefele's __"__History of the Councils of the Church,__"__ Vol. II, page 316._

NOTES.-Some of the further steps taken by church and state authorities in bringing about this change may be noted as follows:-

"In 386, under Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, it was decreed that all litigation and business should cease [on Sunday]....

"Among the doctrines laid down in a letter of Pope Innocent I, written in the last year of his papacy (416), is that Sat.u.r.day should be observed as a fast-day....

"In 425, under Theodosius the Younger, abstinence from theatricals and the circus [on Sunday] was enjoined....

"In 538, at a council at Orleans, ... it was ordained that everything previously permitted on Sunday should still be lawful; but that work at the plow, or in the vineyard, and cutting, reaping, threshing, tilling, and hedging should be abstained from, that people might more conveniently attend church....

"About 590 Pope Gregory, in a letter to the Roman people, denounced as the prophets of Antichrist those who maintained that work ought not to be done on the seventh day."-_"__Law of Sunday__"__ by James T. Ringgold, pages 265-267._

The last paragraph of the foregoing quotation indicates that even as late as 590 A.D. there were those in the church who observed and who taught the observance of the Bible Sabbath, the seventh day.

22. What determines whose servants we are?

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, _his servants ye are to whom ye obey_?" Rom. 6:16.

23. When tempted to bow down and worship Satan, what reply did Christ make?

"_Get thee hence, Satan_: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy G.o.d, and _Him only shalt thou serve_." Matt. 4:10, 11.

24. What do Catholics say of the observance of Sunday by Protestants?

"It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Thus _the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic]

church_."-_"__Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today,__"__ by Mgr.

Segur, page 213._

25. What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to G.o.d's commandments?

"But _in vain they do worship Me_, teaching for doctrines _the commandments of men_." Matt. 15:9.

26. When Israel had apostatized, and were almost universally worshiping Baal, what appeal did Elijah make to them?

"How long halt ye between two opinions? _if the Lord be G.o.d, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him._" 1 Kings 18:21.

NOTE.-In times of ignorance G.o.d winks at that which otherwise would be sin; but when light comes He commands men everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30. The period during which the saints, times, and the law of G.o.d were to be in the hands of the Papacy has expired (Dan. 7:25); the true light on the Sabbath question is now shining; and G.o.d is sending a message to the world, calling upon men to fear and worship Him, and to return to the observance of His holy rest day, the seventh-day Sabbath. Rev. 14:6-12; Isa.

56:1; 58:1, 12-14. See pages 259, 446, 463, 547.

Who is on the Lord's side Always true?

There's a right and wrong side, Where stand you?

Thousands on the wrong side Choose to stand, Still 'tis not the strong side, True and grand.

Come and join the Lord's side: Ask you why?- 'Tis the only safe side By and by.

F. E. BELDEN.

The Seal Of G.o.d And The Mark Of Apostasy

[Ill.u.s.tration.]

The Angel With The Seal. "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples." Isa. 8:16.

1. What does the Bible present as the object of a sign, or seal?

"Now, O king, _establish_ the decree, and _sign the writing, that it be not changed_." Dan. 6:8.

NOTE.-That is, affix the signature of royalty, that it may have the proper authority, and thus be of force. Anciently it was customary for kings to use a ring, containing their name, initials, or monogram, for this purpose. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, "wrote letters in Ahab's _name_, and sealed them with his _seal_." 1 Kings 21:8. Of the decree issued under Ahasuerus for the slaying of all the Jews throughout the Persian Empire, it is said that "in the _name_ of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's _ring_." Esther 3:12.

2. What are the three essentials to an official seal?

To be complete, an official seal must show three things: (1) The name of the lawgiver; (2) his official position, t.i.tle, or authority, and so his right to rule; and (3) his kingdom, or the extent of his dominion and jurisdiction. Thus: "Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States,"

"George IV, King of Great Britain," "Nicholas II, Czar of Russia."

3. With what is G.o.d's seal connected?

"Bind up the testimony, _seal_ THE LAW _among My disciples_." Isa. 8:16.

4. Does the first commandment show who the author of the law is?