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The Great Controversy 1888
and must never be forgotten.” It was to keep this truth ever before
the minds of men, that God instituted the Sabbath in Eden; and so
long as the fact that he is our Creator continues to be a reason why
we should worship him, so long the Sabbath will continue as its sign
and memorial. Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man’s thoughts
and affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of
reverence and worship, and there would never have been an idolater,
an atheist, or an infidel. The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty
to the true God, “him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and
the fountains of waters.” It follows that the message which commands
men to worship God and keep his commandments, will especially call
upon them to keep the fourth commandment.
In contrast to those who keep the commandments of God and have
the faith of Jesus, the third angel points to another class, against whose
errors a solemn and fearful warning is uttered: “If any man worship
the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his
hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” [
Reve-
lation 14:9, 10
.] A correct interpretation of the symbols employed is
necessary to an understanding of this message. What is represented by
the beast, the image, the mark?
The line of prophecy in which these symbols are found, begins with
Revelation 12
, with the dragon that sought to destroy Christ at his birth.
The dragon is said to be Satan; [
Revelation 12:9
.] he it was that moved
upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief agent of Satan
in making war upon Christ and his people during the first centuries
of the Christian era, was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was
the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents
Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.
[439]
In chapter 13 [
Verses 1-10
.] is described another beast, “like unto a
leopard,” to which the dragon gave “his power, and his seat, and great
authority.” This symbol, as most Protestants have believed, represents
the papacy, which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once
possessed by the ancient Roman Empire. Of the leopard-like beast it
is declared: “There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies.... And he opened his mouth in blasphemy 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 all kindreds, and