Expert: Bruce Gourley - 12/22/2007

Question
Why is it that Christians these days (including myself) worship God on Sunday rather than Saturday? Wasn't God worshipped on Saturday originially? Dosen't it have something to do with Jesus freeing us from the Law or something? My primary reason for asking this is because I do not want to receive the mark of the beast. I know, that just came out of no where. I was reading this interesting article about how these people claim that out of the Catholic Church, the anti-christ will arise. I was a bit skeptical at first; but as I continued to read, I became more convinced. The site also claims that somehow by going to Church on Sunday, one is receiving the mark of the beast. Weird, but it kind of worries me because Church is less than 2 days away. Could you just take a look at it for me and show me that it's wrong (if it is wrong that is)?    Here is the site name: http://worldslastchance.com/full_article.php
When you go to the page; could you look at (9) and 15 (the fifteen should be in red, this part is below the picture of Billy Graham.) Also, you may have to read stuff in between (9) and 15 in order to know what this person/people (I'm not sure who or how many wrote this) are talking about. Thank you!


Answer
Dear Joe,

The website to which you refer has no biblical basis; it is simply speculation, and prejudice against the Roman Catholic Church, although based on historical times in which some Popes persecuted non-Roman Catholic Christians.

The original, 1st and 2nd century readers of the Book of Revelation understood the "beast" to be the Roman Empire and the "mark of the beast" to be the seal of the Roman Empire.     The Roman Empire severely persecuted Christians in the late 1st century and following, and the actual seal (in wax) of the Empire was required in order for official transactions to take place.

The concept of two returns of Jesus (the Rapture, and later a final return) and "premillennial dispensationalism" was created in the 1820s by a Irish priest named John Nelson Darby. He, and his theory, were dismissed as heresy by Christians everywhere. But somehow, by the early 20th century, many Christians had come to the point of embracing Darby's heresy, to the point where in the 20th century that heresy became orthodoxy for many Christians in the Western world. For more information about Darby's heresy and its impact on Christianity, go to http://www.brucegourley.com/writings/inresponseto/timlahayerapture.htm

As to the Roman Catholic Church, long after the New Testament church days (the RCC was not formed until the mid fifth century), some Christians by around 1000 AD and later came to view the RCC as the epitome of evil ... because some of the Popes severely persecuted Christians who refused to obey the Church. To some of those Christians, the beast of Revelation no longer came to refer to the Roman Empire, but instead to the Roman Catholic Church. And today, some Protestants still hold to this view of the Roman Catholic Church.

In short, there are many creative interpretations of the Book of Revelation in existence today. The view of the Roman Catholic Church as the "beast" has some historical (although not biblical) basis. But the popular view of two returns of Christ framed within "premillennial dispensationalist" views of the end time, is a modern heresy that is now accepted by many as truth. And it has made Tim LaHaye rich.

May God grand you wisdom and guidance in your search for truth,

Bruce Gourley
www.baptistlife.com
www.baptiststoday.org
www.brucegourley.com