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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 4
it down with exactions and traditions that made obedience painful
and burdensome. As the Jews professed to revere the law, so do
Romanists claim to reverence the cross. They exalt the symbol
of Christ’s sufferings, while in their lives they deny him whom it
represents.
Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and
upon their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross.
Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted. But the teachings
of Christ are buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false
interpretations, and rigorous exactions. The Saviour’s words con-
cerning the bigoted Jews apply with still greater force to the Romish
leaders: “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and
lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers.” [
Matthew 23:4
.] Conscientious souls
[385]
are kept in constant terror, fearing the wrath of an offended God,
while the dignitaries of the church are living in luxury and sensual
pleasure.
Satan instigates the worship of images, the invocation of saints,
and the exaltation of the pope, to attract the minds of the people
from God and from his Son. To accomplish their ruin, he endeavors
to turn their attention from Him through whom alone they can find
salvation. He will direct them to any one that can be substituted
for the One who has said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” [
Matthew 11:28
.]
It is Satan’s constant effort to misrepresent the character of God,
the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great controversy.
By his sophistry he blinds the minds of men, and secures them as his
agents to war against God. By perverted conceptions of the divine
attributes, heathen nations were led to believe human sacrifices
necessary to secure the favor of Deity; and the most horrible cruelties
have been perpetrated under the various forms of idolatry. The
Romish Church, uniting the forms of paganism and Christianity,
and in a similar manner misrepresenting the character of God, has
resorted to practices no less cruel and revolting. In the days of
Rome’s supremacy there were instruments of torture to compel
assent to her doctrines. There was the stake for those who would not
concede to her claims. There were massacres on a scale that will
never be known to mortals. Dignitaries of the church studied, under