2 Thessalonians 2:7
The apostle Paul warned the believers of Thessalonica saying, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). This “man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) or power is characterized by lawlessness. And was predicted to come by the prophet Daniel, who wrote, “He … shall intend to change times and law” (ch. 7:25).
In Paul’s day, the apostasy had begun (2 Thessalonians 2:3). And as time passed, that apostasy took the form of papal pretensions, so that, from a modern historical point of view, “the mystery of iniquity” can be identified with the papal power and its popes.
But how has the papacy power attempted to change God’s law (Exodus 20:3-17)? The boldest change was in the matter of the weekly day of worship. The Catholic Church publicly admits it is responsible for the instituting the sacredness of Sunday worship, claiming that it has the right to make such changes. An authoritative catechism for priests says: “But the Church of God [that is, the apostate church] has in her wisdom ordained that the celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to ‘the Lord’s day’” (Catechism of the Council of Trent, Donovan translation, 1829 ed., p. 358). This catechism was written by order of this great council, and published under the auspices of Pope Pius V.
About 300 years after Jesus’ resurrection, partially because of hatred against the Jews, the religious leaders of the Roman Church suggested that God’s holy day of worship be changed from Saturday to Sunday. Thus, Sunday-keeping is a tradition of men not God. From the beginning of time, God sanctified and blessed the seventh day Sabbath and made it holy (Genesis 2:2,3; Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus said to those that upheld their traditions above His Word, “You have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. … And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6, 9).
For more on the change of Sabbath, check out Who changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
Disclaimer:
The contents of this article and website are not intended to be against any individual. There are many priests and faithful believers in Roman Catholicism who serve God to the best of their knowledge and are seen by God as His children. The information contained herein is directed only towards the Roman Catholic religio-political system which has reigned in varying degrees of power for nearly two millennia. This system has established an increasing number of doctrines and statements that directly go against the Bible.
It is our purpose to lay the clear Word of God before you, the truth-seeking reader, to decide for yourself what is truth and what is error. If you find anything here contrary to the Bible, do not accept it. But if you desire to seek for Truth as for hidden treasure, and find herein something of that quality and feel that the Holy Spirit is revealing Truth to you, please make all haste to accept it.
