Given the heightened political divisions in Western society today, on top of the many events that portend the soon return of our Savior, Jesus Christ, there is a growing need to get the Three Angels’ Message out to the world. The concept of Religious Liberty is absolutely crucial to the Three Angels’ Messages. We see this clearly in Inspiration. Scripture tells us in Revelation 14:9, 10:
“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 wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.“
Most Seventh-day Adventists understand the meaning of the Mark of the Beast, the Mark of Rome’s alleged ecclesiastical authority to change a vital commandment of God, changing the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. But still many do not understand what the image to the Beast is.
In a survey at the AdVindicate booth at GYC in Louisville, AdVindicate Editor Lemuel Sapian asked passerby’s if they knew what the “image to the Beast” was. If the 28 who were queried, only 2 answered correctly on the first try. For reference, The Great Controversy page 443 gives us the answer:
“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 in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of ‘heresy.’ In order for the United States to form an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the state will also be employed by the church to accomplish her own ends.
Whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines. Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming alliance with worldly powers have manifested a similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience. An example of this is given in the long-continued persecution of dissenters by the Church of England. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, thousands of nonconformist ministers were forced to flee from 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—the beast.”
It is clear that the image of the beast if formed when the “religious power” controls the civil government. She does not say an “irreligious power” or a “secular power”, so this rules out a Socialist or Communist system overrunning the United States. She is also clear that this image is accomplished by a union of Apostate Protestants with Rome, so this rules out a hostile Islamic takeover of the United States as well. Such theories run contrary to the Inspired prophetic testimony given to the Remnant, and belong rather, in the thinking of non-Adventist Dispensationalist and Futurist Evangelicals.
To this end, Editor Lemuel Sapian has launched a YouTube channel entitled, “The Free Conscience Project”. The first video has been uploaded, entitled, “The Building Blocks of Freedom”. In the series you will learn the history of religious freedom, and why it is important for us today never to forget the bitter lessons of the past.
Support this project by subscribing, then sharing with family and friends. It was intended for a general audience, and even non-Adventists and non-Christians can benefit. Let us all work, for the night is coming, the darkest of nights before the most glorious morn.
