1. Under the symbol of the little horn the prophet Daniel foretold the rise of an apostate power who should "think to change the times and the law." Dan. 7:8, 24, 25.
2. Using the title "the man of sin," or "the man of lawlessness," the apostle Paul describes the work of the same apostate power. 2 Thess. 2:1-4. "After studying the picture of antichrist in St. Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians, one easily recognizes the 'man of sin' in Daniel 7:8, 11, 20, 21, where the prophet describes the 'little horn.' "—"The Catholic Encyclopedia," Vol. I, art. "Antichrist," p. 560.
3. The authoritative teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that its own interpretation of the Scriptures, together with what is designated as divine tradition, takes the place of, and may entirely reverse, the word of God, is found in the following extract from the Creed of Pope Pius IV, composed at the conclusion of the Council of Trent (1545-63) :
"I most steadfastly admit and embrace the apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions* and all other observances and constitutions of the same church.
"I also admit the Holy Scriptures, according to that sense which our holy Mother the church has held, and does hold, to which it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures; neither will I ever take and interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers."
4. In harmony with this view of the authority of the church is the following teaching concerning sin: "Sin is nothing else than a morally bad act, an act not in accordance with reason informed by the divine law. . . . Actual sin primarily consists in a voluntary act repugnant to the order of right reason. . . . Mortal sin cuts us off entirely from our true last end; venial sin only impedes us in its attainment. . . . An involuntary transgression of the law even in a grave matter is not a formal but a material sin. The gravity of the matter is judged from the teaching of Scripture, the definitions of councils and popes, and also from reason. . . . Venial sins are multiplied in man, the spiritual edifice remaining, and for these he suffers either the fire of temporal tribulations in this life, or of purgatory after this life, and nevertheless obtains eternal salvation. . . . That there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins is of faith (references to the Council of Trent). This distinction is commonly rejected by all heretics, ancient and modern."—"The Catholic Encyclopedia," Vol. XIV, pp. 4-10.
5. Having assumed the right to set up its own definition of sin, even though in so doing it may go contrary to the plain teaching of the Scriptures, the Roman Catholic Church next provides its own offering for the propitiation of sin, and repeats this offering contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures. This propitiatory offering is the sacrifice of the mass. The following quotations present the Roman Catholic teaching concerning the mass:
"If any one saith that the sacrifice of the mass is only a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; or that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice, . . . let him be anathema."—Canon Three of the canons on the mass adopted by the Council of Trent, "Dogmatic Canons and Decrees," p. 143 (Roman Catholic translation).
"What is the sacrifice of the mass? . . .
"We therefore confess that the sacrifice of the mass is and ought to be considered one and the same as that of the cross, as the victim is one and the same, namely, Christ our Lord, who immolated himself once only, after a bloody manner, on the altar of the cross."—"Catechism of the Council of Trent," translated by Rev. J. Donovan (Roman Catholic), p. 226. Cf. "Source Book," pp. 313, 314, 318.
6. A doctor of the church teaches that creative power and a creative work are involved In providing the so-called propitiatory sacrifice for sin by virtue of which there is forgiveness of sins, just as the true forgiveness of sins is a creative work:
" 'The power of the priest,' says St. Berner-dine of Sienna, 'is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world.' And St. Augustine has written: '0 the venerable sanctity of the hands! 0 happy function of the priest! He that created (if I may say so) gave me the power to create Him; and He that created me without me is Himself created by me.' ""Dignity and Duties of the Priest," St. Alphonsus Liguori (Roman Catholic), P. 34. A longer quotation will be found in the "Source Book," pp. 418, 419.
7. In the true gospel "the sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster."—"Gospel Workers," p. 315. It is a very significant fact that in the cdunterfeit gospel the counterfeit sacrifice for sin is declared to be "the central feature of the Catholic religion," according to the following quotation:
"That the mass, around which such complicated rules have grown, is the central feature of the Catholic religion hardly needs to be said. During the Reformation and always the mass has been the test. The word of the Reformers, 'It is the mass that matters,' was true."—"The Catholic Encyclopedia," Vol. IX, p. 800.
8. Having defined sin and the penalty for it, and having provided its own so-called propitiatory sacrifice for sin thus defined, the Roman Catholic Church, as is quite consistent, discarded the true Sabbath, the sign of the re-creative work of Christ, and substituted for it a counterfeit Sabbath, the first day of the week, as a sign of its own authority and power. This is clearly set forth in the action of the Council of Laodicea, held about 364 A. D.:
"Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath, original], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they shall be found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."—"A History of the Church Councils," Charles Joseph Hefele, D. D. (Roman Catholic), Vol. II, p. 316.
Conclusion—The inference is very clear that in this threefold message the atoning work of Christ and the Sabbath should be given the leading place.
* "That is, I admit as points of revealed truth what the church declares the apostles taught as such, whether clearly or not clearly expressed, or not even mentioned in the word of God ; as, for instance, that baptism is to be conferred on infants, that Sunday instead of Saturday (called the Sabbath) is to be kept holv."--"Catholic Belief," Rev. Joseph Fa Di Bruno (Roman Catholic), p. 551.
Washington, D. C.
