BEYOND PITCAIRN 

Vance Ferrell

19: End of Time

 The Bible Sabbath hit the headlines in New York City not too long ago. The following article appeared in the "New York Times" on March 14, 1966. The title in bold type said this: "AN APPEAL TO THE POPE OF ROME TO LEAD CHRISTIANS BACK TO THE BIBLE."

"Dr. Ernest R. Palen, pastor of New York's Marble Collegiate Church for more than thirty years, created a stir that hit the headlines, when on March 13, 1966, he delivered a sermon in which he called for Protestants and Roman Catholics to join in returning to the Bible Sabbath that Jesus kept, on Saturday. This Reformed Church in America theologian and pastor startled hearers by quoting from Exodus 20:8, and then saying, 'It should not be too great a break for us. .to observe the same Sabbath day that Jesus Himself observed.' In this sermon, he pled for all the churches to return to the keeping of the Seventh-day Sabbath, and noting that mankind can only truly keep holy that day which the God of heaven has commanded to be kept holy, he said that this 'one day of the week really kept holy by Catholics, Protestants, and Jews would give an uplift to the moral tone of our day that nothing else could do.' Dr. Palen, recognizing the well-known leadership of the pope in Sunday sanctification, asked that Pope Paul VI take the initiative in this matter. Dr. Palen predicted that if the pontiff would designate 'the Seventh day-the historical and Biblical Sabbath, as the day to keep holy,' that most of the major Protestant bodies of our time would 'go along. " Article by George Dugan, "Christians Urged to Join Jews in Observing Saturday Sabbath," New York Times, March 14, 1966.

And Palen is right. The Ten Commandments given by God to Moses is to be the great pattern for our lives. Through the grace of Jesus Christ we can be empowered to keep that law holy unto God. The purpose of Christianity is to bring people back to God and enable them to obey Him.

"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law." Matthew 5:18. The law of God is a revelation of His will, and so it is a transcript of His character. Both God and His Moral Law will endure forever. Never has one command been annulled; not a jot or a tittle has been changed. The Bible says: "Forever, o Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven." Psalm 119:89. "All His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever." Psalm 111:7-8.

And in the very heart of the Ten Commandments is the fourth, as it was first proclaimed by God on Mount Sinai:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the Seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11.

You and I may in the past have ignorantly broken this commandment. But now He wants us to return to it. We want to do what God says. We want this with all our heart. And now as we learn that the God of heaven who loves us so much that He let His Son go to Calvary so that sin could be taken out of our lives; well, we can do nothing better than to show Him our loyalty from henceforth. Whatever He says in His Word, we want to do.

Throughout this book we have been looking at the past.  Now we shall view the present and the future.

In the Sixth Century B.C., the prophet Daniel was shown in vision that a terrible organization was later to arise that would seek to destroy God's people and God's law.

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws." Daniel 7:25.

But a parallel warning is to be found in Revelation 14. In this chapter we find a threefold warning to be given to all the world in the last days (Revelation 14:6-12). And it comes just before the Second Coming of Christ (Revelation 14:14). Indeed, that message will prepare men and women to meet their Creator in peace when He returns.

Under the figure of three angels flying in mid-heaven, this important message is revealed. By the first angel of Revelation 14:6-7, men are called upon to "Fear God and give glory to Him," and to worship Him as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In order to do this, they must obey His law. This is a Bible truth that needs to be understood by everyone today. "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13. Without obedience to His commandments, no worship can be pleasing to God. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Proverbs 28:9.

The duty to worship God is based upon the fact that He is the Creator. We owe our existence to Him. Therefore He deserves our worship and our obedience. It is right to worship our Creator; to worship anything else is to make it an idol. "All the gods of the nations are idols; but the lord made the heavens." Psalm 96:5. "Know ye that Jehovah, He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves." Isaiah 40:25-26. "0 come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Isaiah 45:18. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things." Revelation 4:11. There is no fact more obvious than that we worship God because He is our Creator. And because He is our Creator, we must obey Him.

In Revelation 14, men are called upon to worship the Creator, and this prophecy reveals that those who genuinely do, will be those who keep His commandments. "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 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 wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture..  "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:9-10,12.

In contrast to those who will receive the mark, are those who choose to obey God's commandments. One of these commandments -the fourth or Sabbath commandment -points directly to God as the Creator (Exodus 20:8-11). For the Bible Sabbath is a sign between us and our God. It is "a sign.. that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Ezekiel 20:20. "It is a sign.. for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the Seventh day He rested and was refreshed." Exodus 31:17.

"The importance of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to God ..The Sabbath, therefore, lies at the very foundation of divine worship; for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this.

The true ground of divine worship, not of that on the Seventh day merely, but of all worship, is found in the distinction between the Creator and His creatures. This great fact must never become obsolete, and must never be forgotten." John Ho Andrews, History of the Sabbath, chapter 27.

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. The keeping of the Sabbath will ever be a sign of loyalty to the true God.

So the message of the first angel of Revelation 14 is a call to return to the worship of the Creator. And without a full obedience, we cannot genuinely worship Him as He desires. (Rev 14:6-7) But in contrast with those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, shown in Revelation 14:12, 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." Revelation 14:9-10. What do these symbols mean? What is the "beast," the "image," and 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 (Rev 12:9), for he it was that urged men 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.

In Revelation 13:1-10 is described another beast, "like unto a leopard," to which the dragon gave "his power, and his seat, and great authority" (Rev 13:11). Down through history, most Protestants have recognized this power to be the papacy; an organization which succeeded to the power and seat and authority once held by the ancient Roman empire. Of this 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 tongues, and nations." Revelation 13:5-7.

This prophecy, which is nearly identical with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7, unquestionably points to the papacy.

"Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (Rev 13:5). And, says the prophet, "I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death (Rev 13:3). And again, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the Sword must be killed with the Sword" (Rev 13:10). The forty and two months are the same as the "time and times and the dividing of time," three years and a half, or 1260 days, of Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 12:6. This was the time during which the papal power would so greatly oppress the people of God. This time-span began with the supremacy of the papacy in A.D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time, the pope was made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity."

At this point in the chapter, another symbol is introduced. Says the prophet, "I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb" (Rev 13:11). Both the appearance of this beast and the manner of its rise indicate that the nation which it represents is unlike those presented under the preceding symbols. The great kingdoms that have ruled the world were presented to the prophet Daniel as beasts of prey, rising when the "four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea" (Dan 7:2). In Revelation 17: 15, an angel explained that waters represent "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." Winds are a symbol of strife. The four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea, represent the terrible scenes of conquest and revolution by which the kingdoms have attained to power.

But the beast with lamb-Iike horns was seen "coming up out of the earth" (Rev 13:11). Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory previously unoccupied, and grow up gradually and peacefully. It could not arise among the crowded and struggling nationalities of the Old World. It had to come up in the west.

What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the attention of the world? One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy: the United States of America.

But the beast with lamb-Iike horns "spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed; and. .. saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live" (Rev 13:11-14).

The lamb-Iike horns and the later dragon voice are in strong contrast. This plainly foretells a development of the spirit of intolerance and persecution that was manifested by the nations represented by the dragon and the leopard-like beast. And the statement that the beast with two horns "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast," indicates that the authority of this nation is to be exercised in enforcing some observance which shall be an act of homage to the papacy.

Yet such action would be directly contrary to the principles of this government, to the genius of its free institutions, to the direct and solemn avowals of the Declaration of Independence, and to the Constitution. The founders of the nation wisely sought to guard against the employment of secular power on the part of the church, with its inevitable result- intolerance and persecution. The Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust under the United States." Only in flagrant violation of these safeguards to the nation's liberty, can any religious observance be enforced by civil power.

And an image of the first beast is to be made by this power: "Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast" (Rev 13:14). "They." The legislative power rests with the people in this lamb-like beast. But what is the "image to the beast"? and how is it to be formed? This image, made by the two-horned beast, is an image to the first beast. It is also called an image of that beast.

To understand what the image is like, we must study the characteristics of the first beastthe papacy.

When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God. And then, in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of secular governments. The result was the papacy. The papacy: a church that for over a thousand years controlled the power of the state, and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of "heresy," and brought darkness and misery to people everywhere.

In order for the image to be formed, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the state will also be used by the church to enforce specific religious observances.

In centuries past, whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines. Rome did it for hundreds of years. Protestant churches in Europe and England did it for long periods of time also. For example, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, thousands of non-conformist ministers were forced to leave their churches, and many, both of pastors and people, were subjected to fine, imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom.

It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the way for the development of the papacy. Paul predicted it in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. And 2 Timothy 3:1-5 foretells that this union of church and state will occur again in the last days.

The wide diversity of belief in the Protestant churches is regarded by many as decisive proof that no effort to secure a forced uniformity can ever be made. But for years, there has been a growing sentiment to unite on common points of belief. Yet when this shall be done, the next step will be a movement to require compliance to the new faith by everyone. And this will lead to the use of force to gain it.

Thus, according to Bible prophecy, when the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.

The two-horned beast will cause men to receive the Mark.

"And he caused [commandeth] all, both sell and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Revelation 13:16-17.

In the next chapter, the third angel has a warning that goes together with the warning you have just read.

"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." Revelation 14:9-10.

The "beast" mentioned in this message, whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or leopard-like beast of Revelation 13, the papacy. The "image to the beast" is the religion that shall be developed when the churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their doctrines.

But what is "the mark of the beast"?

After the warning against the worship of the beast and his image, and his mark, the prophecy declares: Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev 14:12). Those who keep God's commandments are thus placed in contrast with those that worship the beast and his image and receive his mark. So the point of distinction between the two classes will be the keeping of God's law, on one hand, and a required refusal to keep it, on the other.

The special characteristic of the beast, and therefore of his image, is the breaking of God's commandments. Says Daniel, of the little horn, the papacy: "He shall think to change times and the law" (Dan 7:25, R. V.). Paul called this same apostate power the man of sin" who was to try and exalt himself above God. These prophecies go together, for only by changing God's law could the papacy exalt itself above God. And whoever should understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by which the change was made. Such an act of obedience to papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of God.

In the coming crisis, the worshipers of God will be especially distinguished by their regard for the fourth commandment, for this is the sign of His creative power, and the witness to His claim upon man's reverence and homage.

But at the same time, the worshipers of the beast will be distinguished by their efforts to tear down the Creator's memorial, to exalt the institution of Rome. It was in behalf of the Sunday that popery first asserted its arrogant claims, and its first resort to the power of the state was to compel the observance of Sunday.

The claim so often put forth, that Christ changed the Sabbath, is disproved by His own words (Matthew 5:17,19). Indeed, it is a fact generally admitted by Protestants, that the Scriptures give no authority for the change of the Sabbath. We have already seen this. And we have observed that Roman Catholics acknowledge that the change of the Sabbath was made by their church, and declare that Protestants, by observing the Sunday, are recognizing her power.

As the sign of the authority of the Catholic Church, papist writers cite "the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of ..because by keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the church's power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin." Henry Tuberville, "An Abridgement of the Christian Doctrine," p. 58.

What then is the change of the Sabbath but the sign, or mark, of the authority of the Roman Church-"the mark of the beast"?

The Roman Church has not relinquished her claim to supremacy; and when the world and the Protestant churches accept a sabbath of her creating, while they reject the Bible Sabbath, they virtually admit this assumption. Romanists declare that "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 Protestantism," p. 213. The enforcement of Sunday-keeping on the part of Protestant churches is an enforcement of the worship of the papacy-of the beast. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false instead of the true Sabbath, are thereby paying homage to that power by which, alone it is commanded. But in the very act of enforcing a religious duty by secular power, the churches would themselves form an image to the beast; hence a national enforcement of Sunday-keeping in the United States would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image.

But Christians of past generations observed the Sunday, supposing that in so doing they were keeping the Bible Sabbath; and there are now true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion, who honestly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath given by God. Heaven accepts their sincerity of purpose. But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome, and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshiping the beast and his image.

As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority, and on or in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome "the mark of the beast." Thus it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will receive "the mark of the beast."

The most fearful threat ever addressed to mortals is contained in the third angel's message of Revelation 14: 9.12. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important matter. The warning against this sin is to be given to the world before the final visitation of God's judgments. Prophecy declares that the first angel will make his announcement to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Rev 14:6). The warning of the third angel, which forms a part of the same threefold message, is to be no less wide-spread. It is represented in the prophecy as being proclaimed with a loud voice, by an angel flying in the midst of heaven; and it will command the attention of the world.

In the issue of the contest, all Christendom will be divided into two great classes, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark. Although church and state will unite their power to compel "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive "the mark of the beast" (Rev 13:16), yet the people of God will not receive it. The prophet John in vision beheld "them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God," and singing the song of Moses and the lamb" (Rev 15:2-3).

[Note: pages 140:2-150:1 of this book were condensed from "The Great Controversy, " pages 434-450.]

But we are not yet on the sea of glass. Before us is the battle; later the crown. We have seen that the issues are clear in the Bible. And they are clear in history as well. The Seventh day is the Sabbath -for God never changed it.

A number of years ago, a farmer sent a letter to the pope, inquiring about the Bible Sabbath. The letter was sent on to Chicago for reply. Here are both letters:

Thomaston, Georgia

May 22, 1934

Pope Pius XI

 Rome, Italy

Dear Sir:

Is the accusation true, that Protestants accuse you of?  They say you changed the Seventh Day Sabbath to the, so-called, Christian Sunday: identical with the First-Day of the Week. . If so when did you make the change, and by what authority.

Yours very truly,

(Signed)

J. L. Day

Extension Magazine

Published by

The Catholic Church Extension Society

of the United States of America

180 North Wabash Avenue

Chicago

Dear Sir:

Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts :

 (1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.

(2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church instituted by Christ, to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the Ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept the change of the Sabbath to the Sunday. We frankly say, "Yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday Abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages, and a thousand other laws."

(3) We also say that of all Protestants, the Seventh-day Adventists are the only group that reason correctly and are consistent with their teachings. It is always somewhat laughable to see the Protestant Churches, in pulpit and legislature, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in the Bible.

With best wishes,

Peter R. Tramer, Editor

By Rome's own statement, very few people are keeping the right day holyfor only a few are keeping God's Bible Sabbath. What we are told about this is important:

"The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her .by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant: The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4 [This is the official weekly newspaper of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese].

"Ques. (a) The Bible says, 'The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord: and we read in your literature that it is the only Bible Sabbath there is. Will you please explain how the Sunday observance originated? (b) Do you think the Seventh- day Adventists keep the right day?

"Ans. . .If you follow the Bible alone there can be no question that you are obliged to keep Saturday holy, since that is the day especially prescribed by Almighty God to be kept holy to the Lord. In keeping Sunday, non-Catholics are simply following the practise of the Catholic Church for 1800 years, a tradition, and not a Bible ordinance. What we would like to know is: Since they deny the authority of the Church, on what grounds can they base their faith of keeping Sunday. Those who keep Saturday, like the Seventh-day Adventists, unquestionably have them by the hip in this practise. And they cannot give them any sufficient answer which would satisfy an unprejudiced mind. With the Catholic there is no difficulty about the matter. For, since we deny that the Bible is the sole rule of faith, we can fall back upon the constant practise and tradition of the Church." Francis George Lentz:, The Question Box, 1900, p. 98-99 [Lentz, who died in 1917, was an Illinois Catholic priest] .

"Ques. What Bible authority is there for changing the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week? Who gave the Pope the authority to change a command of God?

..Ans. If the Bible is the only guide for the Christian, then the Seventh-day Adventist is right, in observing the Saturday with the Jew. .Is it not strange that those who make the Bible their only teacher, should inconsistently follow in this matter the tradition of the Catholic Church?" Bertrond Conway, The Question Box, 1903 ed., pp. 254-255; 1915 ed., p. 179 [Conway (1872-1959} was a Paulist father in the Catholic Church].

"The Adventists are the only body of Christians with the Bible as their teacher, who can find no warrant in its pages for the change of day from the seventh to the first. .Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible." Catholic Mirror, September 2, and 23, 1893. [The Catholic Mirror, a Baltimore journal that was then the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons.]

So now we can see it clearly: The attempt of the Roman Catholic Church to change the Sabbath of the Creator to another day is the MARK of her authority. It is the MARK of the beast. For it decides whom you will worship:

"Sunday is our MARK of authority! ..The Church is above the Bible, and this transference of sabbath observance is proof of that fact." The Catholic Record, London, Ontario, Canada, September 1, 1923.

"Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says, No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And Lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church." Priest Thomas En- right, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, and printed in the Hartford Kansas Weekly Call, February 22, 1884, and the American Sentinel, a New York Roman Catholic journal in June 1893, page 173.

Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. .AND THE ACT IS A MARK of her ecclesiastical power." from the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H.F. Thomas, November 11, 1895.

Today the Bible Sabbath is the great test of loyalty. But soon Jesus will return for His own, and the trials of life will be a thing of the past.

And so we have now come full circle. We started at Pitcairn Island and learned of a people who found that the Bible was the only solution to their lives. And then, gradually over the years, they studied into it more and more deeply, until they came to the Sabbath truth.

The people of Pitcairn were only humble farmers in the middle of the ocean, but they held the Bible above all else. And it gave them a happy way of life as they studied it and made its truths their own. The traditions of Europe were far distant from their home and they were ready to accept the Bible just as it was written. And the high level of peace and morality that it brought them is a marvel to the world.

The Pitcairners carefully studied the Sabbath truth from their Bibles. But in this book we have traveled over large sections of the world in order to verify what they there learned. We have gone back and back, farther and farther into history, and into the most distant past. And that which we have found has verified to us that the humble folk of Pitcairn were indeed on the right track. All that they had were their Bibles to prove the truth of the Sabbath. We have had that and more -history and astronomy, ancient and modern records, the testimony of church leaders and scientists.

And now we have solved the mystery of Pitcairn. For we know for ourselves that their discovery was correct.

Shortly after Thursday October Christian II (Thursday's son), the leader of the island at the time, and Simon Young, the beloved leader of the church, accepted this truth in October of 1886, the entire island accepted it also.

And so it was that within a few days the church bell was no longer tolling on Sunday, but on Saturday-the Bible Sabbath-calling the people to worship.

Would you like to live with the Pitcairn Islanders? You may not be able to live with them on their little island, but you can worship with them from week to week. Come and worship your Creator on His day, the day He gave us at the Creation of this world, the day He confirmed repeatedly throughout the Bible. Come and worship with your friends, the people with the faith of the Pitcairners, the Seventh-day Adventists. For back in 1886, all on the island of Pitcairn united with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They wanted to be one with other believers in the true Sabbath all over the world. And now you too may unite in the faith of the Pitcairners. The simple Bible religion of the Word of God is what you have been looking for. How thankful we can be that it is spread out before us in the Holy Scriptures, as we turn from page to page.

Today the Bible Sabbath is the great test of loyalty. We have seen that from our study of Daniel and Revelation. But soon Jesus will return for His own, and the trials of life will be a thing of the past. Oh, how we long for that day!

And how can we identify the remnant people of God in these last days? Bible prophecy explains it. Revelation 12 tells us about the persecutions of the true church from Christ's time on down to the end. And the final verse in this chapter describes our own time, just before Jesus returns:

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12: 17.

The remnant, the last end of the true church before time ends, will be keeping the commandments of God by the grace of Christ! Thank God for Scripture! It tells us the way to go as we seek to pattern our lives in harmony with God's will. But we are told more. In Revelation 14, at the conclusion of the three angels' messages, we are again told what the faithful people of God will be like in the last days, just before the return of Christ in the clouds of heaven for His own:

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12.

It is by faith in Christ that we are enabled to obey His written Word. It is through His strengthening grace that we can obey all ten of His Commandments. Revelation 14:12 describes God's little ones down at the end of time. Two verses later, we are shown the Second Advent of Christ Himself:

"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle." Revelation 14:14.

And then Jesus will call His faithful ones to meet with Him in the clouds.

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Then Jesus will take His little ones to heaven and as they stand on the sea of glass, He will open to them the gates of the city. His children who on earth have obeyed His Word will enter into the glorious City of God.

"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.

Thus through all eternity to come, the meek and lowly, who so carefully followed the example of their Master on earth, will witness to the glory of His salvation to millions of worlds throughout the universe.

But amid the splendor and the happiness, from Sabbath to Sabbath they will gather to worship their Creator on His memorial day:

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.

"And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isaiah 66:22-23.

The sealed ones will bow before their Maker and worship and praise Him. The trials of earth are past, and now they sing to their God.

"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

"And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." Revelation 15:2-3.

Come, let us prepare for this great event now. Having gone back-beyond Pitcairn, into the past, we now have time to prepare to go, beyond Pitcairn, into the future.

And the future will be bright for God's faithful ones who on earth learned to walk with Him by faith, and obey Him at the cost of all things. Here they suffered, obedient to His Word. But there they shall inherit all the promises.

God bless you. I want to meet you there. Vance Ferrell

For more, much more, information on the identity of the Beast of Revelation 13 and the Beast-mark, read "THE MARK OF THE BEAST." It is filled with important historical facts that you will want. Pilgrims' Books. Altamont TN 37305