February 21, 1895
IN further consideration of the complaints made by the Monitor against the AMERICAN SENTINEL, and commented upon in these columns last week, we notice first that it says:—
The prophecies though are the most alarming characteristic of the sect [to which the SENTINEL belongs]. Ordinary people and politicians are compelled to wait for the morrow to see what it will bring, but the AMERICAN SENTINEL can pierce the future, and by chapter and verse construct the horoscope of the next century.
Why should the prophecies be an alarming characteristic of any sect, or of anybody, or of anything? Is not the greater part of the Bible made up of prophecies? To respect the prophecies is only to respect the Bible. To believe the prophecies is to believe the Bible. To despise the prophecies is to despise the Bible. To make light of the prophecies is to make light of the Word of God. Is it then that the prophecies are an alarming thing to the Monitor, because the Bible is an alarming thing to Catholicism and the papacy altogether?
As for our not being compelled to wait for the morrow to see what it will bring forth, like ordinary people and politicians, but by chapter and verse being able to know the future, why should that be counted a reproach to us or anybody else? It is written: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Then when God has revealed things, why should it be considered an alarming or a reproachful thing that somebody should know them? And if “ordinary people and politicians” do not know the things that are revealed by the Lord, and therefore do not know what the morrow will bring, is it not because ordinary things and politics, rather than the wisdom of the Lord, occupy their minds and attention? When God has revealed the things that the morrow will bring, then ought not ordinary people and politicians to know as well as anybody else what the morrow will bring, and ought not all to know, who have any respect for God and his Word?
The Lord has been revealing the things of the morrow ever since the day in which he told Noah of the coming flood—yes, even from the day when Enoch, “the seventh from Adam,” prophesied, saying: “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14.
In the book of Daniel the world-powers are described, and the history of the world is outlined, from the days of Babylon of old until the last day and the end of the world itself. There is clearly pointed out the then coming succession of the empire of Medo-Persia to that of Babylon; the succession of the empire of Grecia to that of Persia; of Rome to Grecia; the division of Rome into the ten parts, caused by the barbarians; the rise of the papacy as a world-power among these, and its uprooting of three of them; and the continuance of the papacy until it shall be destroyed and given to the burning flame at the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Now it would have been perfectly easy for any man who lived at any time in these periods, who had these prophecies and believed them, to know and to tell what would be in succeeding centuries; and this, not from any wisdom or knowledge of his own, but simply by believing the Word of God.
In the book of Revelation the field of prophecy is opened with Rome at the time of Christ’s sojourn upon the earth; and, with many particulars added, the time is again covered till the end of the world and the destruction of the papacy in flaming fire at the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. And to anyone who will read these prophecies and believe them, it will not be at all difficulty to know what the morrow will bring. We confess that we do carefully study these prophecies; and we do implicitly believe them; and we are happy to be able to say that by them we do know what the morrow will bring. But with him to whom some of these things were first revealed, we freely say, “But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living” (Daniel 2:30); it is open and free to all equally with us, and, equally with us, all can know who will read the prophecies and believe them. The Monitor would do far better to study and believe these prophecies than to be publishing that “the prophecies are the most alarming characteristic” of any sect, or sneering at the ability of anybody to pierce the future and know what the morrow will bring.
Quoting from the SENTINEL, and commenting as he goes, the editor of the Monitor continues as follows:—
The SENTINEL was established in 1886 to combat the organized attempt, first represented in the National Reform Association alone, and later, in the solid combination of the popular Protestantism of the whole country, to fasten upon the National Government the recognition and maintenance of the forms of religion—to accomplish the union of religion and the national power.
The establishment of the paper was a most peculiar move, as we are told on the next page that the editor knew that the movement—whatever it was, we haven’t the faintest idea—would succeed, and what is more, would be followed by the triumph of the church of Rome.
Yes, we did know from the beginning that that movement would succeed, and that its success would be followed by the triumph of the church of Rome in this country, and through this triumph it would triumph in Europe and all the world; and this we announced long before Leo XIII. had publicly announced his scheme to accomplish this very thing in this very way.
How it can be that the editor of the Monitor “has not the faintest idea” of what this movement was, immediately after having quoted our statement of just what the movement was, is a question worth asking; but that he may be fully informed on this point, we will say that there is a book now on the press which gives the full history of the movement and its success, and the first steps of the papacy toward her coming triumph upon the success of that movement, and as soon as this book is ready we shall send a copy to the Monitor for the editor’s special information and use.
Concerning the establishment of the SENTINEL being “a most peculiar move,” in view of the fact that “the editor knew that the movement would succeed,” it must be remarked that this is another queer notion of the editor of the Monitor. What would be the use of starting a paper to oppose a movement that had in it no element of success? The SENTINEL was started to oppose the movement, [58] not with the expectation of preventing its success, but to save men from the ruin involved in the movement. Noah knew that the wicked movement of his day would succeed in ruining the world; but he opposed that movement, not with the expectation of preventing it, but to save men from that ruin. Jesus Christ knew that the wicked movement of his day would result in his death and the awful destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, and yet he opposed that wicked movement that he might save men from its terrible consequences. Paul knew that the “falling away” form the truth of the gospel, begun in his day, would result in the establishment of the “man of sin,” the “mystery of iniquity”—the papacy; yet he devoted his life to opposing that movement, not because he expected to prevent its success, for he knew it would continue until destroyed “with the brightness of His coming,” but with the hope of saving men from the soul-destroying deceptions of that movement. So now, the AMERICAN SENTINEL is opposing the same movement with the same knowledge that it will succeed, and with the same object, the salvation of men—including the editor of the Monitor—from the ruin involved in a connection with the movement.
Yes, we knew the movement would succeed, and it has succeeded; and the papacy is now making vast use of the advantage which this success has given her. Upon this the Monitor further remarks:—
This startling information is all derived from the Bible. “It was by the scripture of Revelation 13:11-17, saying that they would make ‘an image to the beast,’ that we knew that the National Reform movement would certainly succeed, and we always said so.” He does not enlighten us on the name of the “beast” whose image was made, but there is no doubt in our minds but he refers to the Columbian postage stamp.
Yes, this information, startling or otherwise, was derived from the Scripture at the place referred to—Revelation 13:11-17. No, the beast referred to, to which the image was made, is not the Columbian postage stamp. It may be that in the article referred to by the Monitor, we were not sufficiently explicit in naming “the beast” to make it perfectly clear to the mind of the editor of that paper. And as we want never to leave anyone in doubt or uncertainty, especially upon this most important point, we shall occupy a little space in the endeavor to make it so plain that even the Monitor may not mistake. And lest the editor should again “have no time to look up the references,” we shall do all we can to aid him, by printing here in full and from the Roman Catholic Bible, the scripture in which “the beast” is described. Here it is:—
And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his heads as it were slain to death; and his death’s wound was healed. And all the earth was in admiration after the beast. And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: Who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him? And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies; and power was given to him to do two and forty months. And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwelt upon the earth, adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.
There is the Lord’s own description of “the beast;” and anybody who knows the A B C of the history from the writing of this passage till now, knows full well that the description exactly fits the papacy, and will not apply to any other thing that was ever on the earth.
For from the time when that was written, what power but that of the papacy has there been on the earth that was of such standing that it could be truly said that “all the earth was in admiration” [Greek ethaumasem—wonderment] after it?
What world-power except the papacy has there ever been from that time till now, of which it was said to could be said in wonder, “Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”
What power ever existed that spoke such great things and blasphemies as the papacy has spoken over and over?
What power was there in the world that blasphemed God, and his name, and his tabernacle—that is “His church and His saints,” [254]—and them that dwell in heaven, as has the papacy, and as the papacy still does? Look at that word that Leo XIII. lately set forth to “the princes and peoples of the universe,” claiming to “hold the regency of God on earth;” is not that blasphemous enough, of itself, to fulfill the prophecy and meet this description of the beast? Look also at the claim of infallibility on the part of the Pope of Rome—the assumption of the essential prerogative of the Creator himself;—is not this also enough to meet the description of the beast?
What power ever made such war, and so long continued, and so implacable, against the saints, as has the papacy?
Revelation 12:9 says that “the dragon” is “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan;” and in this description of “the beast” it is said that “the dragon”—“the Devil and Satan”—gave him his own strength and great power. Now to what system or organization that was ever on the earth has the devil ever given so much of his own strength and great power as he has given to the papacy? Why to the papacy has he given so much of “his own strength” and great power, that one historian was driven to say of the bishops of Rome that they “have deluged Europe and Asia with blood;” another declares that “among the contrivances that have been devised for deceiving and oppressing mankind, it occupies the highest place;” and these statements are exactly true—they are simply the response of history testifying that the prophecy relating to “the beast,” is fulfilled to the letter in the evil working of the papacy in the sight of all the world. So that any person who will study this prophecy and believe it, can say truly and without hesitation that “the name of the beast who image was made” is the papacy.
It will not do to say that this prophecy concerning “the beast” refers to pagan Rome; for pagan Rome and its instrumentality in the hands of Satan against Christ and his Church is noticed in chapter 12:4, 5. For it was through Herod, a Roman appointee, and the representative of Roman power, that Satan sought to “devour” the “man child” “as soon as it was born.” And it was by the orders of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, that Christ was put to death, from which death he “was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” There is pagan Rome and her place in the account.
But after pagan Rome had passed, there came another power which Satan used against the Church, against the saints, and against God and his Christ. To this other power the dragon “gave his own strength and great power.” This is the power described in Revelation 13:1-8. It was after pagan Rome had been used by Satan. It came as the successor of pagan Rome. And this was and is the papacy—papal Rome. And by every consideration it is demonstrated that this is “the name of the beast whose image was made.” [58]