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Sermon Two
Daniel’s Daily: The Pioneer View of the "Daily"
William Miller:
"I read on, and could find no other case in which it [the
daily] was found but in Daniel. I then [by the aid of an concordance] took those
word which stood in connection with it, ‘take away;’ he shall take away the
daily; ‘from the time that the daily shall be taken away’ I read on and thought
I would find no light on the text. Finally I came to 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, ‘For
the mystery of iniquity does already work; only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed.’ And
when I had come to that text, O how clear and glorious the truth appeared. There
it is! That is the daily! Well, now, what does Paul mean by ‘he who now letteth’
or hindereth? By ‘the man of sin,’ and ‘the wicked,’ Popery is meant. Well what
is it that hinders Popery from being revealed? Why it is Paganism. Well, then,
‘the daily’ must mean paganism." Review and Herald, January, 1858.
Josiah Litch:
"The daily sacrifice is the present reading of the text; but
no such thing as sacrifice is found in the original. This is acknowledged on all
hands. It is a gloss or construction put upon it by the translators. The true
reading is, ‘the daily and the transgression of desolation;’ daily and
transgression being connected together by ‘and;’ the daily and the transgression
of desolation. They are two desolating powers which were to desolate the
Sancuary and the host." Review and Herald, January, 1858.
Apollos Hale (historian):
"What can be meant by the ‘sanctuary’ of Paganism? Paganism,
and error of every kind, have their sanctuaries, as well as truth. There are
temples or asylums consecrated to their service. Some particular and renowned
temple of Paganism may, then, be supposed to be here spoken of. Which of the
numerous distinguished temples may it be? One of the most magnificent specimens
of classic architecture is called the Pantheon. Its name signifies the ‘temple
or asylum of the gods.’ The place of its location is Rome. The idols of the
nations conquered by the Romans were sacredly deposited in some niche or
department of this temple, and in many cases became objects of worship by the
Romans themselves. Could we find a temple of Paganism that more srkenly ‘his
sanctuary?’" Review and Herald, January, 1858.
God’s Helping Hand
"The grand instruction contained in Daniel and Revelation
has been eagerly perused by many in Australia. This book has been the means of
bringing many precious souls to a knowledge of the truth. Everything that can be
done should be done to circulate Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation. I
know of no other book that can take the place of this one. It is God’s helping
hand." Publishing Ministry, 356.
The Daily Taken Away in 508
"As we approach the year A. D. 508, we behold a mighty crisis
ripening between Catholicism and the pagan influences still existing in the
empire. Up to the time of the conversion of Clovis, king of France. in A. D.
496, the French and other nations of Western Rome were pagan; but following that
event, the efforts to convert idolaters to Romanism were crowned with great
success. . . .
"From the time when those successes were fully accomplished,
in A. D. 508, the papacy was triumphant so far as paganism was concerned; for
though the latter doubtless retarded the progress of the Catholic faith, yet it
had not the power, if it had the disposition, to suppress the faith, and hinder
the encroachment of the Roman pontiff. When the prominent powers of Europe gave
up their attachment to paganism, it was only to perpetuate its abominations in
another form; for Christianity as exhibited in the Roman Catholic Church was,
and is, only paganism baptized. . . .
"We think it clear that the daily was taken away by A. D.
508. This was preparatory to the setting up, which was a separate and subsequent
event. Of this prophetic narrative now leads us to speak.
"Papacy Sets Up an Abomination—‘They shall place the
abomination that maketh desolate.’ Having shown quite fully what we think
constitutes the taking away of the daily, or paganism, we inquire, When was the
abomination that maketh desolate, or the papacy, placed, or set up? The little
horn that had eyes like the eyes of man was not slow to see when the way was
open for his advancement and elevation. From the year 508 his progress toward
universal supremacy was without parallel." Thoughts on Daniel and
Revelation, Uriah Smith, page 271–273.
Matthew 24
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let
him understand:). Matthew 24:15.
Daniel 9:26
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26.
The Curse of Moses
Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing,
that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and
the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because
we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake
against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great
evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon
Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come
upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn
from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Daniel 9:11–13.
Deuteronomy 28
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the
voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his
statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon
thee, and overtake thee: . . .
Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall
pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst
not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his
statutes which he commanded thee: And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for
a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God
with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee,
in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things:
and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed
thee.
The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far,
from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a
nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce
countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour
to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy
land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either
corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep,
until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy
gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst,
throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout
all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. Deuteronomy 28:15,
45–52.
Rome—Daniel 8:23–25
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and
understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty,
but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall
prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he
shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many:
he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken
without hand. Daniel 8:23–25
Daniel 9:26
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26.
Two Desolating Powers
The Daily Desolation and the Transgression of Desolation
Yea, he magnified himself even to the host of heaven; and by
him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast
down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and
prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that
certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and
the host to be trodden under foot? Daniel 8:11–13.
The Daily Desolation and the Abomination that Maketh Desolate
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the
sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they
shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Daniel 11:31
The Daily Desolation and the Abomination that Maketh Desolate
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be
taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a
thousand two hundred and ninety days. Daniel 12:11.
Daniel 9:26—Desolations are Determined
Destroy the City and a Flood
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26.
Revelation 12—Two Desolations
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to
his throne.
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a
place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred
and threescore days.
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that
she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a
time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood
after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And
the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the
flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Revelation 12:5, 6, 14–16.
Daniel 9:26—Determined
Unto the end of the war
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26.
Poured Upon the Desolate—at the Consummation
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and
in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even
until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon
the desolate. Daniel 9:27.
That That is Determined—The Indignation Accomplished
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall
exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous
things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be
accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Daniel 11:36.
The end of the Indignation—the time Appointed
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in
the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed
the end shall be. Daniel 8:19.
Time Appointed
330
And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief,
and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the
end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his
land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant;
and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time
appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as
the former, or as the latter. Daniel 11:27–29.
1798
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try
them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of
the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Different Hebrew Words
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was
revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was
true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the
thing, and had understanding of the vision. Daniel 11:1.
Strong’s 6635: tsaba: military campaign.
Strong’s 4150: mowed: an appointment
The Last? end of the Indignation—1844
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in
the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
Daniel 8:19.
Daniel 8
Pagan Rome:
Yea, he magnified himself even to the host of heaven;
and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his
sanctuary was cast down. Daniel 8:11.
Papal Rome:
And an host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the
ground; and it practiced, and prospered. Daniel 8:12.
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto
that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision
concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation,
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? Daniel 8:13.
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Daniel 8:14.
Daniel 11—Paganism Removed
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the
sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they
shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. Daniel 11:31.
Daniel 12—Paganism Removed
And from the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there
shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Daniel 12:11.
508
1290 DAYS. [A day is year in Bible prophecy]
1798
And from the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there
shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Daniel 12:11.
508
1335 DAYS. [A day is year in Bible prophecy]
1843
The Blessed Year
"All the messages given from 1840–1844 are to be made
forcible now, for there are many people who have lost their bearings. The
messages are to go to all the churches.
"Christ said, ‘Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your
ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and
to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them’ [Matthew 13:16,
17]. Blessed are the eyes which saw the things that were seen in 1843 and 1844.
"The message was given. And there should be no delay in
repeating the message, for the signs of the times are fulfilling; the closing
work must be done. A great work will be done in a short time. A message will
soon be given by God’s appointment that will swell into a loud cry. Then Daniel
will stand in his lot, to give his testimony." Manuscript Releases,
volume 21, 437.
"We have, as had John, a message to bear of the things which
we have seen and heard. God is not giving us a new message. We are to proclaim
the message that in 1843 and 1844 brought us out of the other churches. We need
the Holy Spirit to kindle in our hearts the zeal and earnestness that were then
seen among God’s people. I thank the Lord that there are still living a few who
can remember those days, and who know whereof they speak." Review and Herald,
January 19, 1905.
Appendix to Sermon Two
n 1858, the editors of the Review and Herald compiled
an article on the "daily" which they published in the January 28, edition. In
the article they incorporated some of the written testimony of those who gave
"the judgment hour cry" in order to set forth their understanding of the
"daily". The following is that article.
Another important prophetic period upon which the Advent
doctrine is based, is the 1335 days of Daniel 12, with which the 1290 days are
so intimately connected. These two periods are introduced to us as follows:
"And from the time that the daily (sacrifice) shall be taken
away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand
two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the
thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the
end be; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." Daniel
12:11–13.
The questions at once arise, Can we tell what the events are,
from which these periods are to be dated; and if so, can we tell when they took
place? We first enquire. What is the—"daily" (sacrifice) and the "abomination
that maketh desolate?" It will be noticed that the word, sacrifice, is in
italics: denoting that it is a supplied word. The same will be noticed in the
other instances of its occurrence in the book of Daniel, viz., chapter 11:31 and
8:11–13. Let us briefly refer to this latter chapter. In verse 13 it will be
observed that two desolations are brought to view; the daily (desolation,) and
the transgression of desolation. This fact is made so plain by Josiah Litch that
we cannot do better than quote his language:*
"The daily sacrifice is the present reading of the text; but
no such thing as sacrifice is found in the original. This is acknowledged on all
hands. It is a gloss or construction put upon it by the translators. The true
reading is, ‘the daily and the transgression of desolation;’ daily and
transgression being connected together by ‘and’ the daily desolation and the
transgression of desolation. They are two desolating powers which were to
desolate the Sanctuary and the host."
From this it is evident that the "daily," can have no
reference to the Jewish worship to which it has been applied by the older and
more prevalent opinion; and this is further evident from the consideration that
if these periods, taken either literally or figuratively, be dated from any
taking away of this worship, they do not bring us to any event whatever worthy
of note.
The daily and the abomination then, are two desolating powers
which were to oppress the church: can we ascertain what these powers are? We
have only to adopt William Miller’s method of reasoning on this point to arrive
at the same conclusion with him. He says:
"I read on, and could find no other case in which if [the
daily] was found but in Daniel. I then [by the aid of a concordance] took those
words which stood in connection with it, ‘take away;’ ‘he shall take away the
daily’; ‘from the time that the daily shall be taken away’; &c. I read on and
thought I should find no light on the text. Finally I came to 2 Thessalonians
2:7, 8, ‘For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be
revealed.’ &c. And when I had come to that text, O, how clear and glorious the
truth appeared! There it is! That is ‘the daily!’ Well, now, what does Paul mean
by ‘he who now letteth’ or hindereth? By ‘the Man of Sin,’ and the ‘wicked,’
Popery is meant. Well what is it which hinders Popery from being revealed? Why
it is Paganism. Well, then, ‘the daily’ must mean Paganism."+
We see from Daniel 8, that it is the little horn, which
succeeded the goat, or Grecian empire, that takes away the "daily;" and it is
the only power brought to view after the division of Alexander’s kingdom down to
the time when the Sanctuary should be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days. This
little horn we have in its proper place showed to be Rome taken as a unit,
corresponding with the fourth kingdom of Daniel’s other visions. Now it is a
fact that a change did take place in the Roman power from Paganism to Papacy.
Paganism from the days of the Assyrian kings down to the time of its
modification into Popery, had been the daily, or as Professor Whiting renders
it, "the continual" desolation, by which Satan had stood up against the cause of
Jehovah. In its priests, its altars and its sacrifices, it bore resemblance to
the Levitical form of Jehovah’s worship; but when the Levitical gave place to
the Christian form of worship, Satan, in order to successfully oppose the work,
must change also his form of opposition; hence the temples, altars and statues
of Paganism are baptized into the blasphemies of Popery.
But the daily, Paganism, is said in the prophecy, to have a
sanctuary, and the place of its sanctuary was to be cast down. That a sanctuary
is frequently connected with idolatry and heathenism, as the place of its
devotion and worship, is evident from the following scriptures: Isaiah 16:12;
Amos 7:9, 13, margin. Ezekiel 28:18. Concerning the sanctuary of the daily of
Daniel 8, we offer the following from Apollos Hale:*
"What can be meant by the ‘sanctuary’ of Paganism? Paganism,
and error of every kind, have their sanctuaries, as well as truth. These are the
temples or asylums consecrated to their service. Some particular and renowned
temple of Paganism may, then, be supposed to be here spoken of. Which of its
numerous distinguished temples may it be? One of the most magnificent specimens
of classic architecture is called the Pantheon. Its name signifies the ‘temple
or asylum of all the gods.’ The place of its location is Rome.+ The idols
of the nations conquered by the Romans were sacredly deposited in some niche or
department of this temple, and in many cases became objects of worship by the
Romans themselves. Could we find a temple of Paganism that was more strikingly
‘his sanctuary.’"
Having now ascertained that the daily is Paganism, and the
transgression of desolation, or "the abomination that maketh desolate," is the
Papacy, and that the especial sanctuary of Paganism was the Pantheon, and that
the "place" of its location was Rome, we inquire further.
1. Was Paganism "taken away" by the Roman civil power? The
following statement of an important and well-known fact in the history of the
church and world, we think answers to the prophecy. It refers to Constantine the
first Christian emperor, and says:
"His first act of government was the dispatch of an edict
throughout the empire, exhorting his subjects to embrace Christianity."++
2. Was Rome the city or place of his sanctuary, (the
Pantheon,) cast down by the authority of the State? The following extract
answers:
"The death of the last rival of Constantine had sealed the
peace of the empire. Rome was once more the undisputed queen of nations. But, in
that hour of elevation and splendor, she had been raised to the edge of a
precipice. Her next step was to be downward and irrecoverable. The change of the
government to Constantinople still perplexes the historian. It was an act in
direct repugnance to the whole course of the ancient and honorable prejudices of
the Roman mind. It was the work of no luxurious Asiatic, devoted to the
indulgences of eastern customs and climates, but an iron conqueror, born in the
west, and contemptuous, like all Romans, of the habits of the Orientals; it was
the work of a keen politician, yet it was impolitic in the most palpable degree.
Yet Constantine abandoned Rome, the great citadel and throne of the Caesars, for
an obscure corner of Thrace, and expended the remainder of his vigorous and
ambitious life in the double toil of raising a colony into the capital of his
empire, and degrading the capital into the feeble honors and humiliated strength
of a colony."*
This record from the pen of the historian is too plain to
need comment. The place of his sanctuary was cast down, says the prophecy; and
after a statement of facts like the above, the most fastidious in prophetic
interpretation must be satisfied of its application.
From the time that the daily shall be taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up there shall be a thousand two hundred
and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three
hundred five and thirty days. With the facts before us that the daily is
Paganism, that the abomination that maketh desolate is the Papacy, that there
was a change from the former to the latter in the Roman power, and by the
authority of State we have but to inquire further when this took place in a
manner to fulfill the prophecy; for if we can ascertain this, we have the
starting point from which the prophetic periods in the text before us are to be
dated. Therefore,
3. When did the event referred to in the prophecy take place?
Let it be observed, the question is not, when were the saints given into the
hands of the Papacy, but when had the change of religion from Paganism to Papacy
been so far effected as to make the latter the national religion, and place it
in a condition to start upon its career. This, like all other great revolutions,
was not the work of a moment. Its incipient workings were manifest long before.
Paul said that even in his day the mystery of iniquity, the Man of Sin, the
"abomination that maketh desolate," was already at work. And it is in the light
of this scripture that we must understand our Lord’s words in Mathew 24:15,
concerning the abomination of desolation, where he makes evident reference to
Daniel 9:27.
For although Paganism had not given place to the Papacy in
the year 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans we do understand that the
power which then appeared modified somewhat in name and form, was the very power
that should, as the abomination of desolation, wear out the saints and desolate
the church of the Most High.
Up to the time of the conversion of Clovis, king of France,
which took place in 496, the French and other nations of western Rome were
Pagan; but subsequent to that event the efforts to convert idolaters to Christ
were crowned with great success. It is said that the conversion of Clovis gave
rise to the custom of addressing the French monarch with the titles of Most
Christian Majesty and Eldest Son of the Church.+ "Between that time and
A.D. 508 by ‘alliances,’ ‘capitulations’ and conquests, ‘the Avborici,’ the
‘Roman garrisons in the west,’ Brittany, the Burgundians and the Visigoths, were
brought into subjection."++
Paganism in the western Roman Empire, though it doubtless
retarded the progress of the Christian faith, especially in those nations which
were molested, as in the case of England, by the inroads of the barbarous clans,
who continued idolaters, henceforth had not the power, if it had the disposition
to suppress the Catholic faith, or to hinder the encroachments of the Roman
Pontiff.
From that time, the Papal abomination was triumphant, so far
as Paganism was concerned. Its future contests were with the other Christian
sects, who were always treated as heretics; and with princes who were always
treated as rebels or dividers of the body of Christ. The prominent powers of
Europe gave up their attachment to Paganism only to perpetuate its abominations
in another form; for Paganism needed only to be baptized to become Christian in
the Catholic sense; and when the interests or vengeance of its presiding
minister made the demand, their possessions and thrones,—perhaps their
lives,—must be laid on the altar. SS
* Prophetic Exposition, Volume 1, 127.
+ Advent Manual, 66.
* Advent Manual, 68.
+ Goodrich’s Universal History and Gutherie’s Geography
++ Croley, 55.
* Croley, 207, 208.
+ Mosheim Christian History, Volume 1, 132, 133.
++ Advent Manual, 73.
SS Ibid,.75, 76.
In England, Arthur, the first Christian king, founded the
Christian worship on the ruins of the Pagan.* Rapin, who claims to be
more exact in the chronology of events in his history, states that he was
elected monarch of Britain in 508. Book 2, 129.
What was the condition of the See of Rome at this time?
Symmachus was Pope from 498 or 9 to 514. His pontificate was distinguished by
these remarkable circumstances and events:
1. He "left Paganism" when he entered the "church of Rome."
2. He found his way to the Papal chair by striving with his
competitor even unto blood. Du Pin.
3. By the adulation paid to him as the successor of St.
Peter.
4. By the excommunication of the Emperor Anastasius.+
"How much," says Mosheim, "the opinions of some were
favorable to the lordly demands of the Roman Pontiffs, may be easily imagined
from an expression of Ennodius, that infamous and extravagant flatterer of
Symmachus, who was a prelate of ambiguous fame. This parasitical panegyrist,
among other impertinent assertions maintained that the Pontiff was constituted
judge in the place of God, which he filled as the Vicegerent of the Most High."++
By the strength secured to the Catholic cause in the west, by
these successes, and the agency of the vicars, and other agents of the See of
Rome, the Papal party in Constantinople were "placed" in a position to justify
open hostilities in behalf of their master at Rome. "In 508 the whirlwind of
fanaticism and civil war swept in fire and blood through the streets of the
eastern capital."
Gibbon, under the years 508–514, speaking of the commotions
in Constantinople, says "The statues of the emperor were broken, and his person
was concealed in a suburb, till, at the end of three days, he dared to implore
the mercy of his subjects. [Popery is triumphant.] Without his diadem, and in
the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared on the throne of the circus. The
Catholics, before his face, rehearsed the genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the
offer which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald, of abdicating the purple;
they listened to the admonition, that, since all could not reign, they should
previously agree in the choice of a sovereign; and they accepted the blood of
two unpopular ministers, whom their master, without hesitation, condemned to the
lions. These furious but transient seditions were encouraged by the success of
Vitalian, who with his army of Huns and Bulgarians, for the most part idolaters,
declared himself the champion of the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he
depopulated Thrace, besieged Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five thousand of
his fellow Christians, till he obtained the recall of the bishops, the
satisfaction of the Pope, and the establishment of the council of Chalcedon, an
orthodox treaty, reluctantly signed by the dying Anastasius, and more faithfully
performed by the uncle of Justinian. And such was the event of the first of the
religious wars which have been waged in the name, and by the disciples, of the
God of Peace." SS
With the following extract from Appollos Hale, we close the
testimony on this point: "We now invite our modern Gamaliels to take a position
with us in the place of the sanctuary of Paganism (since claimed as the
‘patrimony of St. Peter’) in 508. We look a few years into the past, and the
rude Paganism of the northern barbarians is pouring down upon the nominally
Christian empire of Western Rome—triumphing everywhere—and its triumphs
everywhere distinguished by the most savage cruelty. . . . The empire falls and
is broken into fragments. One by one the lords and rulers of these fragments,
abandon their Paganism and profess the Christian faith. In religion the
conquerors are yielding to the conquered. But still Paganism is triumphant.
Among its supporters there is one stern and successful conqueror. (Clovis.) But
soon he also bows before the power of the new faith and becomes its champion. He
is still triumphant, but, as a hero and conqueror, reaches the zenith at the
point we occupy, A.D. 508.
"In or near the same year, the last important subdivision of
the fallen empire is publicly, and by the coronation of its triumphant ‘monarch’
Christianized.
"The pontiff for the period on which we stand is a recently
converted Pagan. The bloody contest which placed him in the chair was decided by
the interposition of an Arian king. He is bowed to and saluted as filling ‘the
place of God on earth.’ The senate is so far under his power, that, on suspicion
that the interests of the See of Rome demand it, they excommunicate the emperor.
. . . In 508 the mine is sprung beneath the throne of the Eastern Empire. The
result of the confusion and strife it occasions is the humiliation of its
rightful lord. Now the question is, at what time was Paganism so far suppressed,
as to make room for its substitute and successor, the Papal abomination? When
was this abomination placed in a position to start on its career of blasphemy
and blood? Is there any other date for its being ‘placed,’ or ‘set up’ in the
room of Paganism, but 508? If the mysterious enchantress has not now brought all
her victims within her power, she has taken her position, and some have yielded
to the fascination.
"The others are at length subdued, ‘and kings, and peoples
and multitudes, and nations, and tongues,’ are brought under the spell which
prepares them, even while ‘drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,’ to
‘think they are doing God service,’ and to fancy themselves the exclusive
favorites of heaven, while becoming an easier and richer prey for the damnation
of hell."*
We have the date. The "daily" was taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up in 508. Dating from this point the 1290
days or years terminate in 1798 where, as has already been shown, the civil
power was stricken from the Pope by the arm of Buonaparte. The 1335 days bring
us 45 full years this side of that event.
But some may say, How is it that you make the periods
terminate in the past? Does it not read that Daniel should rest and stand in his
lot at the end of the days? Certainly; and we believe it. But what is it for
Daniel to stand in his lot? This point will come under consideration when we
come to an explanation of the passing of the time, and an examination of the
events that did take place at the end of the days. Meanwhile we here cast anchor
till another week. Review and Herald, January 28, 1858.
CONTINUE
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