“The temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple” (Revelation 11:19). The ark of God's covenant is in the Holy of Holies, the second apartment of the sanctuary. In the services of the earthly tabernacle, which served as “the copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” this section was opened only on the great Day of Atonement for the cleansing of the sanctuary. So the announcement that the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was seen points to the opening of the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 as Christ entered there to perform the closing work of the atonement. Those who followed their great High Priest by faith as He began His ministry in the Most Holy Place took notice of the ark of His covenant. As they had studied the subject of the sanctuary, they had come to understand the Savior's change of ministry, and they saw that He was now officiating before the ark of God.5TC 253.2

The ark in the tabernacle on earth contained the two tablets of stone on which God had inscribed His law. When the temple of God was opened in heaven, the ark of His covenant was seen. Within the Holy of Holies in heaven, the divine law is enshrined—the law that God Himself spoke and also wrote with His finger on the tablets of stone.5TC 254.1

Those who came to understand this point saw, as never before, the importance of the Savior's words, “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law” (Matthew 5:18). As a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, the law of God must endure forever.5TC 254.2

In the heart of the Ten Commandments is the Sabbath commandment. The Spirit of God impressed those students of His Word that they had ignorantly broken this law by disregarding the Creator's rest day. They began to examine the reasons for keeping the first day of the week. They could find no evidence that God had abolished the fourth commandment or changed the Sabbath. They had been honestly seeking to know and to do God's will. Now they showed their loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath holy.5TC 254.3

Many people tried to overthrow the faith of the believers. None could fail to see that accepting the truth about the heavenly sanctuary involved the claims of God's law and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret behind the determined opposition to the harmonious explanation of Scriptures that revealed Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. People tried to close the door that God had opened and to open the door that He had closed. But Christ had opened the door to the ministry of the Most Holy Place. The fourth commandment was included in the law enshrined there.5TC 254.4

Those who accepted the light about Christ's mediation and the law of God found that these were the truths of Revelation 14, a three-part warning to prepare the earth's inhabitants for the Lord's second coming. (See Appendix.) The announcement “The hour of His judgment has come” highlights a truth that must be proclaimed until the Savior's intercession ends and He returns to take His people to Himself. The judgment that began in 1844 must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of the living and the dead; so it will extend to the close of human probation.^{*That is, the end of the opportunity God extends to people to be saved.}5TC 254.5

So that we may be ready to stand in the judgment, the message commands us to “fear God and give glory to Him, ... and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” The Bible tells us the result of accepting these messages: “Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Revelation 14:7, 12.)5TC 255.1

To be prepared for the judgment, we should keep the law of God, the standard of character in the judgment. Paul declares: “As many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ... in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” “The doers of the law will be justified.” Faith is essential in order to keep the law of God, for “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” “Whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 2:12, 16, 13; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.)5TC 255.2

The first angel calls us to “fear God and give glory to Him” and to worship Him as the Creator of heaven and earth. To do this, we must obey His law. Without obedience no worship can be pleasing to God. “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3; see Proverbs 28:9).5TC 255.3

A Call to Worship the Creator

The duty to worship God is based on the fact that He is the Creator. “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker” (Psalm 95:6; see Psalm 96:5; Psalm 100:3; Isaiah 40:25, 26; 45:18).5TC 255.4

Revelation 14 calls people to worship the Creator and keep the commandments of God. One of these commandments points to God as the Creator: “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.... For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:10, 11). The Sabbath, the Lord says, is a “sign ... that you may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel 20:20). If everyone had kept the Sabbath, it would have led them to the Creator as the object of their worship. There would never have been an idol worshiper, atheist, or unbeliever. Keeping the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to “Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” The message that commands people to worship God and keep His commandments will especially call them to keep the fourth commandment.5TC 255.5

In contrast to those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, the third angel points to another group: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God” (Revelation 14:9, 10). What do the beast, the image, and the mark represent?5TC 256.1

The Identity of the Dragon

The prophecy where these symbols are found begins with Revelation 12. The dragon who tried to destroy Christ at His birth is Satan (Revelation 12:9), who stirred up Herod to put the Savior to death. But the Roman Empire was the agent Satan used to make war on Christ and His people during the first centuries, and paganism was its prevailing religion. So in a secondary sense, the dragon is a symbol of pagan Rome.5TC 256.2

Revelation 13 presents another beast, “like a leopard,” to which the dragon gave “his power, his throne, and great authority.” This symbol, as historically most Protestants have believed, represents the papacy, which took over the power and seat and authority that the Roman Empire once held. The Bible says about this leopardlike beast: “He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.... Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation” (Revelation 13:2, 5-7). This prophecy, nearly identical with the description of the little horn of Daniel 7, unquestionably points to the papacy.5TC 256.3

“He was given authority to continue for forty-two months”—the three years and a half, or 1,260 days, of Daniel 7—during which the papal power was to oppress God's people. This period, as stated in earlier chapters, began with the supremacy of the papacy, A.D. 538, and ended in 1798. At that time the papal power received its “deadly wound,” and the prediction was fulfilled, “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity.”5TC 257.1

The Rise of a New Power

At this point the prophecy introduces another symbol: “I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb” (Revelation 13:11). This nation is unlike those presented by 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 heaven were stirring up the Great Sea” (Daniel 7:2).5TC 257.2

But John saw the beast with lamblike horns “coming up out of the earth.” Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the nation represented this way must arise in territory previously unoccupied and grow up peacefully. So it could not appear among the crowded and struggling nations of the Old World. We must look for it in the Western Continent.5TC 257.3

What nation of the New World was rising into power in 1798, giving promise of strength, and attracting the attention of the world? One nation, and only one, meets this prophecy—the United States of America. In describing the rise of this nation, the historian unconsciously used almost the exact words of the Bible. A prominent writer speaks of “the mystery of her coming forth from vacancy,” and says, “Like a silent seed we grew into empire.”^{1G. A. Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old, page 462.} A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as “emerging” and “amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its power and pride.”^{2Dublin Nation.}5TC 257.4

“And he had two horns like a lamb.” The lamblike horns indicate youth, innocence, and gentleness. Among the Christian exiles who first fled to America from royal oppression and religious intolerance were many who determined to establish civil and religious liberty. The Declaration of Independence proclaims the truth that “all men are created equal” and are endowed with the inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Constitution guarantees the people the right of self-government, requiring that representatives elected by popular vote shall enact and administer the laws. It also granted freedom of religion. Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the nation, the secret of its power and prosperity. Millions have flocked to its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth.5TC 258.1

A Striking Contradiction

But the beast with lamblike horns “spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.... Telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived” (Revelation 13:11, 12, 14).5TC 258.2

The lamblike horns and dragon voice point to a contradiction. The prediction that it will speak “like a dragon” and exercise “all the authority of the first beast” foretells that it will develop a spirit of intolerance and persecution like those of the dragon and the leopardlike beast. And the statement that the beast with two horns “causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast” indicates that the authority of this nation will enforce giving allegiance to the papacy.5TC 258.3

Such action would be against the basic principles of its free institutions, against the solemn statements of the Declaration of Independence, and against the Constitution. 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 or public trust under the United States.” Yet the symbol points to flagrant violation of these safeguards to liberty. The beast with lamblike horns—professing to be pure, gentle, and harmless—speaks like a dragon.5TC 258.4

“Telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast.” Here the prophecy presents a form of government in which the legislative power rests with the people, a most striking evidence that the United States is the nation indicated here.5TC 259.1

But what is the “image to the beast”? How is it to be formed?5TC 259.2

When the early church became corrupted, she set out to get the support of secular power. The result: the papacy, a church that controlled the state, especially for the punishment of “heresy.” In order for the United States to form an “image to the beast,” the religious power must so control the civil government that the church will use the state to accomplish her own ends.5TC 259.3

Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome have shown a similar desire to restrict freedom of conscience. An example is the Church of England's long-running persecution of dissenters. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, nonconformist pastors and people faced fines, imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom.5TC 259.4

Apostasy led the early church to seek the help of civil government, and this prepared the way for the papacy—the beast. Said Paul: “The falling away comes ..., and the man of sin is revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:3).5TC 259.5

The Bible declares: “In the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).5TC 259.6

All who do “not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” will accept “strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11). When this happens, the same results will follow as in the first centuries.5TC 259.7

Many think that the wide diversity of belief among Protestant churches is proof that no forced uniformity can ever happen. But for years in Protestant churches there has been a growing desire to unite. To bring about such union, they must avoid discussing subjects on which they do not all agree. In the effort to have complete uniformity, it will be only a step to resort to force.5TC 260.1

When the leading churches of the United States unite on the points of doctrine that they hold in common and influence the state to enforce their decrees and to support their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and civil penalties on dissenters will inevitably follow.5TC 260.2

The Beast and His Image

The beast with two horns “causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16, 17). The third angel warns, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.”5TC 260.3

“The beast” whose worship is enforced is the first, or leopardlike, beast of Revelation 13—the papacy. The “image to the beast” represents the form of apostate Protestantism that will develop when the Protestant churches seek the help of civil power to enforce their beliefs. The “mark of the beast” still remains to be defined.5TC 260.4

Those who keep God's commandments are contrasted with those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark. The keeping of God's law, on the one hand, and its violation, on the other, will be what distinguishes between the worshipers of God and the worshipers of the beast.5TC 260.5

The special characteristic of the beast and of his image is the breaking of God's commandments. Daniel says that the little horn, the papacy, “shall intend to change times and law” (Daniel 7:25). Paul called the same power the “man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), who would exalt himself above God. Only by changing God's law could the papacy exalt itself above God. Whoever would knowingly keep the law in its changed form would be giving supreme honor to papal laws, a mark of allegiance to the pope in place of God.5TC 260.6

The papacy has attempted to change the law of God. It has changed the fourth commandment in an attempt to authorize observing the first day instead of the seventh day as the Sabbath. The Bible presents this as an intentional, deliberate change: he “shall intend to change times and law.” The change in the fourth commandment exactly fulfills the prophecy. Here the papal power openly sets itself above God.5TC 261.1

The worshipers of God will be especially known for keeping the fourth commandment, the sign of His creative power. The worshipers of the beast will be noted for their efforts to tear down the Creator's memorial, to exalt the sabbath of Rome. It was in behalf of Sunday as “the Lord's day” that the Church of Rome first asserted its arrogant claims. (See Appendix.) But the Bible points to the seventh day as the Lord's day. Christ said, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28; see also Isaiah 58:13, 14; Matthew 5:17-19). His own words disprove the frequent claim that Christ changed the Sabbath.5TC 261.2

Complete Silence of New Testament

Protestants admit that “the New Testament is completely silent about any explicit command for the Sabbath [referring here to Sunday, the first day of the week] or definite rules for its observance.”^{3George Elliott, The Abiding Sabbath, page 184.}5TC 261.3

“Up to the time of Christ's death, there had been no change in the day”; and, “so far as the record shows, they [the apostles] did not ... give any explicit command to abandon the seventh day Sabbath, and observe it on the first day of the week.”^{4A. E. Waffle, The Lord’s Day, pages 186-188.}5TC 261.4

Roman Catholics acknowledge that their church made the change of the Sabbath, and they declare that Protestants recognize her power by observing Sunday. They claim, “During the old law, Saturday was the day sanctified; but the Church, instructed by Jesus Christ and directed by the Spirit of God, has substituted Sunday for Saturday; so now we sanctify the first day, not the seventh day. Sunday means, and now is, the day of the Lord.”^{5Catholic Catechism of Christian Religion.}5TC 261.5

As the sign of the Roman Church's authority, Catholic writers cite “the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants accept; ... because by keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the church's power to authorize feasts, and to command them as something that it is sinful to ignore.”^{6Henry Tuberville, An Abridgement of the Christian Doctrine, page 58.}5TC 262.1

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”?5TC 262.2

The Roman Church has not given up her claim to supremacy. When the world and the Protestant churches accept a sabbath that she created while they reject the Bible Sabbath, they virtually admit her claim. In doing so they ignore the principle that separates them from Rome—that “the Bible, and the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants.” As the movement to enforce Sunday gains favor, it will eventually bring the whole Protestant world under the banner of Rome.5TC 262.3

Catholic spokesmen declare that “the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is a tribute they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church.”^{7Monsignor Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, page 213.} If a church enforced a religious duty by secular power, this would form an image to the beast; so the enforcement of Sunday keeping in the United States would be enforcing the worship of the beast and his image.5TC 262.4

Christians of past generations observed Sunday while thinking they were keeping the Bible Sabbath, and there are now true Christians in every church who honestly believe that God established Sunday as the day for worship. God accepts their sincerity and integrity. But when Sunday observance is enforced by law and the world is enlightened about the true Sabbath, then whoever transgresses the command of God in order to obey a teaching of Rome will, in doing so, honor the papacy above God. Such people are paying tribute to Rome. They are worshiping the beast and his image. In doing this, people will accept the sign of allegiance to Rome—“the mark of the beast.” Not until the issue is plainly explained to the people and they have to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, will those who continue to violate God's law receive “the mark of the beast.”5TC 262.5

The Warning of the Third Angel

The third angel's message contains the most fearful warning ever addressed to mortals. People will not be left in darkness about this important matter. The warning will be given to the world before God's judgments come, so that all may have opportunity to escape them. The first angel makes his announcement to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” The warning of the third angel will not be less extensive than that. It will be proclaimed with a loud voice and will command the attention of the world.5TC 263.1

The message will divide the world's population 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. Church and state will unite to compel “all” to receive “the mark of the beast,” yet the people of God will not receive it. The prophet saw “those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God” (Revelation 15:2).5TC 263.2

Chapter 24—What Is Christ Doing Now?

Chapter 26—Champions for Truth