of Christ. While one class study the Saviour’s life, and earnestly seek to
correct their defects and conform to the Pattern, the other class shun the
plain, practical truths which expose their errors. Even in her best
estate, the church was not composed wholly of the true, pure, and sincere.
Our Saviour taught that those who wilfully indulge in sin are not to be
received into the church; yet He connected with Himself men who were
faulty in character, and granted them the benefits of His teachings and
example, that they might have an opportunity to see their errors and
correct them. Among the twelve apostles was a traitor.
Judas was accepted, not because of his defects of character, but
notwithstanding them. He was connected with the disciples, that, through
the instruction and example of Christ, he might learn what constitutes
Christian character, and thus be led to see his errors, to repent, and by
the aid of divine grace, to purify his soul “in obeying the truth.” But
Judas did not walk in the light so graciously permitted to shine upon him.
By indulgence in sin, he invited the temptations of Satan. His evil traits
of character became predominant. He yielded his mind to the control of the
powers of darkness, he became angry when his faults were reproved, and
thus he was led to commit the fearful crime of betraying his Master. So do
all who cherish evil under a profession of godliness hate those who
disturb their peace by condemning their course of sin. When a favorable
opportunity is presented, they will, like Judas, betray those who for
their good have sought to reprove them.
The apostles encountered those in the church who professed godliness while
they were secretly cherishing iniquity. Ananias and Sapphira acted the
part of deceivers, pretending to make an entire sacrifice for God, when
they were covetously withholding a portion for themselves. The Spirit of
truth revealed to the apostles the real character of these pretenders, and
the judgments of God rid the church of this foul blot upon its purity.
This signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ in the church was
a terror to hypocrites and evil-doers. They could not long remain in
connection with those who were, in habit and disposition, constant
representatives of Christ; and as trials and persecution came upon His
followers, those only who were willing to forsake all for the truth’s sake
desired to become His disciples. Thus, as long as persecution continued,
the church remained comparatively pure. But as it ceased, converts were
added who were less sincere and devoted, and the way was opened for Satan
to obtain a foothold.
But there is no union between the Prince of light and the prince of
darkness, and there can be no union between their followers. When
Christians consented to unite with those who were but half converted from
paganism, they entered upon a path which led farther and farther from the
truth. Satan exulted that he had succeeded in deceiving so large a number
of the followers of Christ. He then brought his power to bear more fully
upon these, and inspired them to persecute those who remained true to God.
None understood so well how to oppose the true Christian faith as did
those who had once been its defenders; and these apostate Christians,
uniting with their half-pagan companions, directed their warfare against
the most essential features of the doctrines of Christ.
It required a desperate struggle for those who would be faithful to stand
firm against the deceptions and abominations which were disguised in
sacerdotal garments and introduced into the church. The Bible was not
accepted as the standard of faith. The doctrine of religious freedom was
termed heresy, and its upholders were hated and proscribed.
After a long and severe conflict, the faithful few decided to dissolve all
union with the apostate church if she still refused to free herself from
falsehood and idolatry. They saw that separation was an absolute necessity
if they would obey the word of God. They dared not tolerate errors fatal
to their own souls, and set an example which would imperil the faith of
their children and children’s children. To secure peace and unity they
were ready to make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but
they felt that even peace would be too dearly purchased at the sacrifice
of principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth
and righteousness, then let there be difference, and even war.
Well would it be for the church and the world if the principles that
actuated those steadfast souls were revived in the hearts of God’s
professed people. There is an alarming indifference in regard to the
doctrines which are the pillars of the Christian faith. The opinion is
gaining ground, that, after all, these are not of vital importance. This
degeneracy is strengthening the hands of the agents of Satan, so that
false theories and fatal delusions which the faithful in ages past
imperiled their lives to resist and expose, are now regarded with favor by
thousands who claim to be followers of Christ.
The early Christians were indeed a peculiar people. Their blameless
deportment and unswerving faith were a continual reproof that disturbed
the sinner’s peace. Though few in numbers, without wealth, position, or
honorary titles, they were a terror to evil-doers wherever their character
and doctrines were known. Therefore they were hated by the wicked, even as
Abel was hated by the ungodly Cain. For the same reason that Cain slew
Abel, did those who sought to throw off the restraint of the Holy Spirit,
put to death God’s people. It was for the same reason that the Jews
rejected and crucified the Saviour,—because the purity and holiness of His
character was a constant rebuke to their selfishness and corruption. From
the days of Christ until now, His faithful disciples have excited the
hatred and opposition of those who love and follow the ways of sin.
How, then, can the gospel be called a message of peace? When Isaiah
foretold the birth of the Messiah, he ascribed to Him the title, “Prince
of Peace.” When angels announced to the shepherds that Christ was born,
they sung above the plains of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men.”(64) There is a seeming
contradiction between these prophetic declarations and the words of
Christ, “I came not to send peace, but a sword.”(65) But rightly
understood, the two are in perfect harmony. The gospel is a message of
peace. Christianity is a system, which, received and obeyed, would spread
peace, harmony, and happiness throughout the earth. The religion of Christ
will unite in close brotherhood all who accept its teachings. It was the
mission of Jesus to reconcile men to God, and thus to one another. But the
world at large are under the control of Satan, Christ’s bitterest foe. The
gospel presents to them principles of life which are wholly at variance
with their habits and desires, and they rise in rebellion against it. They
hate the purity which reveals and condemns their sins, and they persecute
and destroy those who would urge upon them its just and holy claims. It is
in this sense—because the exalted truths it brings, occasion hatred and
strife—that the gospel is called a sword.
The mysterious providence which permits the righteous to suffer
persecution at the hand of the wicked, has been a cause of great
perplexity to many who are weak in faith. Some are even ready to cast away
their confidence in God, because He suffers the basest of men to prosper,
while the best and purest are afflicted and tormented by their cruel
power. How, it is asked, can One who is just and merciful, and who is also
infinite in power, tolerate such injustice and oppression? This is a
question with which we have nothing to do. God has given us sufficient
evidence of His love, and we are not to doubt His goodness because we
cannot understand the workings of His providence. Said the Saviour to His
disciples, foreseeing the doubts that would press upon their souls in days
of trial and darkness: “Remember the word that I said unto you, The
servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they
will also persecute you.”(66) Jesus suffered for us more than any of His
followers can be made to suffer through the cruelty of wicked men. Those
who are called to endure torture and martyrdom, are but following in the
steps of God’s dear Son.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.”(67) He does not forget or
neglect His children; but He permits the wicked to reveal their true
character, that none who desire to do His will may be deceived concerning
them. Again, the righteous are placed in the furnace of affliction, that
they themselves may be purified; that their example may convince others of
the reality of faith and godliness; and also that their consistent course
may condemn the ungodly and unbelieving.
God permits the wicked to prosper, and to reveal their enmity against Him,
that when they shall have filled up the measure of their iniquity, all may
see His justice and mercy in their utter destruction. The day of His
vengeance hastens, when all who have transgressed His law and oppressed
His people will meet the just recompense of their deeds; when every act of
cruelty or injustice toward God’s faithful ones will be punished as though
done to Christ Himself.
There is another and more important question that should engage the
attention of the churches of to-day. The apostle Paul declares that “all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”(68) Why is
it, then, that persecution seems in a great degree to slumber? The only
reason is, that the church has conformed to the world’s standard, and
therefore awakens no opposition. The religion which is current in our day
is not of the pure and holy character that marked the Christian faith in
the days of Christ and His apostles. It is only because of the spirit of
compromise with sin, because the great truths of the word of God are so
indifferently regarded, because there is so little vital godliness in the
church, that Christianity is apparently so popular with the world. Let
there be a revival of the faith and power of the early church, and the
spirit of persecution will be revived, and the fires of persecution will
be rekindled.
[Illustration: St. Peter’s And The Vatican]
St. Peter’s And The Vatican
3. THE APOSTASY.
[Illustration: Chapter header.]
The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold the
great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal power.
He declared that the day of Christ should not come, “except there come a
falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself
that he is God.”(69) And furthermore, the apostle warns his brethren that
“the mystery of iniquity doth already work.”(70) Even at that early date
he saw, creeping into the church, errors that would prepare the way for
the development of the papacy.
Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as
it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, the
mystery of iniquity carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work.
Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the
Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained
for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under
paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts
and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and
His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in
place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and
traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of
the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a
form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now, the work of corruption
rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the
conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies,
and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the
professed followers of Christ.
This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the
development of the “man of sin” foretold in prophecy as opposing and
exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a
masterpiece of Satan’s power,—a monument of his efforts to seat himself
upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will.
Satan once endeavoured to form a compromise with Christ. He came to the
Son of God in the wilderness of temptation, and showing Him all the
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, offered to give all into His
hands if He would but acknowledge the supremacy of the prince of darkness.
Christ rebuked the presumptuous tempter, and forced him to depart. But
Satan meets with greater success in presenting the same temptations to
man. To secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the
favor and support of the great men of earth; and having thus rejected
Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the representative of
Satan,—the bishop of Rome.
It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the
visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme
authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than
this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled
“Lord God the Pope,”(71) and has been declared infallible. He demands the
homage of all men. The same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of
temptation, is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast
numbers are ready to yield him homage.
But those who fear and reverence God meet this Heaven-daring assumption as
Christ met the solicitations of the wily foe: “Thou shalt worship the Lord
thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”(72) God has never given a hint in
His word that He has appointed any man to be the head of the church. The
doctrine of papal supremacy is directly opposed to the teachings of the
Scriptures. The pope can have no power over Christ’s church except by
usurpation.
Romanists have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of
heresy, and wilful separation from the true church. But these accusations
apply rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the banner of
Christ, and departed from “the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints.”(73)
Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his
deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the Word that even the
Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ
presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, “It is written.” To every
suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the Word.
In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the
authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the
Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God, and place finite men in their true
position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed.
This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the
circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read
it or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates
interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came
to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth,
endowed with authority over church and state.
The detector of error having been removed, Satan worked according to his
will. Prophecy had declared that the papacy was to “think to change times
and laws.”(74) This work it was not slow to attempt. To afford converts
from heathenism a substitute for the worship of idols, and thus to promote
their nominal acceptance of Christianity, the adoration of images and
relics was gradually introduced into the Christian worship. The decree of
a general council(75) finally established this system of idolatry. To
complete the sacrilegious work, Rome presumed to expunge from the law of
God the second commandment, forbidding image worship, and to divide the
tenth commandment, in order to preserve the number.
The spirit of concession to paganism opened the way for a still further
disregard of Heaven’s authority. Satan, working through unconsecrated
leaders of the church, tampered with the fourth commandment also, and
essayed to set aside the ancient Sabbath, the day which God had blessed
and sanctified,(76) and in its stead to exalt the festival observed by the
heathen as “the venerable day of the sun.” This change was not at first
attempted openly. In the first centuries the true Sabbath had been kept by
all Christians. They were jealous for the honor of God, and believing that
His law is immutable, they zealously guarded the sacredness of its
precepts. But with great subtlety, Satan worked through his agents to
bring about his object. That the attention of the people might be called
to the Sunday, it was made a festival in honor of the resurrection of
Christ. Religious services were held upon it; yet it was regarded as a day
of recreation, the Sabbath being still sacredly observed.
To prepare the way for the work which he designed to accomplish, Satan had
led the Jews, before the advent of Christ, to load down the Sabbath with
the most rigorous exactions, making its observance a burden. Now, taking
advantage of the false light in which he had thus caused it to be
regarded, he cast contempt upon it as a Jewish institution. While
Christians generally continued to observe the Sunday as a joyous festival,
he led them, in order to show their hatred of Judaism, to make the Sabbath
a fast, a day of sadness and gloom.
In the early part of the fourth century, the emperor Constantine issued a
decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman empire.(77)
The day of the sun was reverenced by his pagan subjects, and was honored
by Christians; it was the emperor’s policy to unite the conflicting
interests of heathenism and Christianity. He was urged to do this by the
bishops of the church, who, inspired by ambition and thirst for power,
perceived that if the same day was observed by both Christians and
heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by
pagans, and thus advance the power and glory of the church. But while many
God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a
degree of sacredness, they still held the true Sabbath as the holy of the
Lord, and observed it in obedience to the fourth commandment.
The arch-deceiver had not completed his work. He was resolved to gather
the Christian world under his banner, and to exercise his power through
his vicegerent, the proud pontiff who claimed to be the representative of
Christ. Through half-converted pagans, ambitious prelates, and
world-loving churchmen, he accomplished his purpose. Vast councils were
held from time to time, in which the dignitaries of the church were
convened from all the world. In nearly every council the Sabbath which God
had instituted was pressed down a little lower, while the Sunday was
correspondingly exalted. Thus the pagan festival came finally to be
honored as a divine institution, while the Bible Sabbath was pronounced a
relic of Judaism, and its observers were declared to be accursed.
The great apostate had succeeded in exalting himself “above all that is
called God, or that is worshiped.”(78) He had dared to change the only
precept of the divine law that unmistakably points all mankind to the true
and living God. In the fourth commandment, God is revealed as the Creator
of the heavens and the earth, and is thereby distinguished from all false
gods. It was as a memorial of the work of creation that the seventh day
was sanctified as a rest-day for man. It was designed to keep the living
God ever before the minds of men as the source of being and the object of
reverence and worship. Satan strives to turn men from their allegiance to
God, and from rendering obedience to His law; therefore he directs his
efforts especially against that commandment which points to God as the
Creator.
Protestants now urge that the resurrection of Christ on Sunday made it the
Christian Sabbath. But Scripture evidence is lacking. No such honor was
given to the day by Christ or His apostles. The observance of Sunday as a
Christian institution had its origin in that “mystery of lawlessness”(79)
which, even in Paul’s day, had begun its work. Where and when did the Lord
adopt this child of the papacy? What valid reason can be given for a
change which the Scriptures do not sanction?
In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. Its seat of
power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared
to be the head over the entire church. Paganism had given place to the
papacy. The dragon had given to the beast “his power, and his seat, and
great authority.”(80) And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression
foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation.(81) Christians
were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal
ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer
death by the rack, the fagot, or the heads-man’s axe. Now were fulfilled
the words of Jesus: “Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren,
and kins-folks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to
death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.”(82)
Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before,
and the world became a vast battle-field. For hundreds of years the church
of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet:
“The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore
days.”(83)
The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the
Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was
transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead
of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal
salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates
to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their
earthly mediator, and that none could approach God except through him; and
further, that he stood in the place of God to them, and was therefore to
be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient
cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls
of the offenders. Thus the minds of the people were turned away from God
to fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay, more, to the prince of darkness
himself, who exercised his power through them. Sin was disguised in a garb
of sanctity. When the Scriptures are suppressed, and man comes to regard
himself as supreme, we need look only for fraud, deception, and debasing
iniquity. With the elevation of human laws and traditions, was manifest
the corruption that ever results from setting aside the law of God.
Those were days of peril for the church of Christ. The faithful
standard-bearers were few indeed. Though the truth was not left without
witnesses, yet at times it seemed that error and superstition would wholly
prevail, and true religion would be banished from the earth. The gospel
was lost sight of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the
people were burdened with rigorous exactions.
They were taught not only to look to the pope as their mediator, but to
trust to works of their own to atone for sin. Long pilgrimages, acts of
penance, the worship of relics, the erection of churches, shrines, and
altars, the payment of large sums to the church,—these and many similar
acts were enjoined to appease the wrath of God or to secure His favor; as
if God were like men, to be angered at trifles, or pacified by gifts or
acts of penance!