Many Sabbath keepers are unaware that there are Eastern Orthodox (Greek) and Roman Catholic prophecies warning against Sabbath keepers in the end times.
The Roman Catholic pope often called “Gregory the Great” (died 604) wrote the following:
Gregory, servant of the servants of God, to his most beloved sons the Roman citizens.
It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of Antichrist (Gregory I. Registrum Epistolarum, Book XIII, Letter 1).
Notice the following Roman Catholic prophecies:
Dionysus of Luxembourg (died 1682) Antichrist…will teach that…Saturday is to be observed instead of Sunday (Connor, p.85).
St. Hildegard (died 1179): Antichrist … His doctrine of faith will be taken from the Jewish religion and seemingly will not differ much from the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, for he will teach that there is one God who created the world, who rewards the obeyers of his commands and trespassers he chastises, who will raise all from the dead in due time. This God has spoken through Moses, therefore the precepts of the Mosaic law are to be kept, especially circumcision and the keeping of the Sabbath (Culleton R. Gerald. The Reign of Antichrist, Reprint TAN Books, Rockford, IL, 1974, p. 127).
Notice the following Roman Catholic prophecy:
Catholic writer and priest P. Huchedé (19th century): “After having weakened the faith of Christ in the minds and hearts of many, he will proceed to show that the law of Moses still prevails; he will re-establish the Sabbath and all the legal observances; and he will invite the Jews to re-establish their nationality, after which he will declare himself the true messiah; he will endeavor to prove the truth of his assertion from Scripture—he will declare his design of rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple and of bringing the whole world under his dominion…According to St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Cath. 15), he will win the esteem and attachment of mankind by his urbane and unbounded kindness…he will work all kinds of miracles…He will therefore appear as performing miracles similar to all those wrought by Jesus Christ…Antichrist being a Jew, will be circumcised; he will observe the Mosaic law…Then by order of the tyrant the continual sacrifice shall be abolished (Dan. 9:27). The holy sacrifice of the Mass shall no longer be offered up publicly on the altars. The Church shall be devastated; the sacred vessels desecrated; the priests shall be scattered…It appears certain, then, that the Roman empire will be completely demolished by Antichrist and that he will substitute another in its place (Huchedé, P. Translated by JBD. History of Antichrist. Imprimatur Edward Charles Fabre, Bishop of Montreal. English edition 1884, Reprint 1976. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), pp. 17,18,26,54).
But Jesus observed Saturday instead of Sunday.
The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus kept the Sabbath that the Jews did:
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read (Luke 4:14-16, NKJV throughout unless otherwise indicated).
Perhaps it should be mentioned that the Bible (The Rheims New Testament is the Roman Catholic accepted translation of the Latin Vulgate into the English language) does show that the seventh-day Sabbath remains for the people of God:
For he said in a certain place of the seventh day, thus: And God rested the seventh day from all his works…Therefore there is left a sabbatisme for the people of God (Hebrews 4:4,9, Rheims New Testament).
The term “sabbatisme” means “Sabbath-keeping” or or observance of the Sabbath. Its French definition is “Observance du sabbat” per Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales (http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/sabbatisme viewed 03/02/11).
Thus, it would seem that Jesus would have to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. And since the second resurrection does not occur until after the millennium (cf. Revelation 20:5), Jesus Himself will teach God “will raise all from the dead in due time.” Thus, there seems to be some confusion among some Greco-Roman Catholic seers.
It also should be noted that just before Jesus returns, the Eastern Orthodox have a prophecy that various Sabbath-keepers will be publicly executed and the time period is supposed to be when the “Great Monarch” rises up:
Blessed Hieronymus Agathaghelos (1279): And lo, an evil assembly of the crafty leader, dressed in black mourning apparel…those who were taking in a most hypocritical manner the most holy name of Christ … those were the most filthy citizens of Pentapolis … these are semi-godless men … they will have to pay the price before the public executioner of the Sabbatians. (Tzima Otto, H. The Great Monarch and WWIII in Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Scriptural Prophecies. Verenika Press, Rock City (SC), 2000, pp. 134,135,240).
Because of intended killing of Sabbath keepers, much of the world will think that Sabbath keeping is wrong and will not recognize Jesus.
Why would those who think they are in the true Church do so? Well, because Jesus foretold it:
18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:18-21)
Those Jesus was speaking to thought that they were faithful, yet they would not accept what the scriptures said about Him, just like most today will not accept what the Bible and church history says Christians should be doing today (see also Continuing History of the Church of God). More in persecution can be found in the article Persecutions by Church and State.
More on Greco-Roman prophecies can be found in the following:
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
Christ or Antichrist? 1961 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? 1964 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future? Here are links to a two-part sermon series: What are Some of the Parts of Satan’s Plan? and Satan’s Plan is More Dramatic than Many Realize.
Do Certain Catholic Prophecies About Antichrist Warn Against Jesus? Will the final “Anti-Christ” be Jewish, insist on Saturday, be opposed to the trinity, and bring in the millennium? Certain Catholic writings indicate this, while others take a different view, but what does the Bible show? A related sermon is Will Jesus Christ be called the Antichrist?
Catholic Prophecies: Do They Mirror, Highlight, or Contradict Biblical Prophecies? People of all faiths may be surprised to see what various Roman and Orthodox Catholic prophets have been predicting as many of their predictions will be looked to in the 21st century.