Apostasy from the Primitive Church--When it Commenced--The Apostles
Predicted it--The Apostasy Universal--The Woman Clothed With the
Sun, and the Scarlet-Clothed Harlot--What They Represent--The
Reformation--Spread of Truth but Lack of Authority--Multiplication of
Sects--No Voice From Heaven.
Comparison of the various sects of modern Christendom with the Church
of Christ as established by Jesus and His apostles, which was briefly
described in the preceding chapter, will show that there has been a
wide and remarkable departure from "the faith once delivered to the
saints." It is contrary both to scripture and sound reason to think
that Christ would set up two or more discordant religious systems
to distract mankind and cause strife and contention. "God is not
the author of confusion." There is but one straight and narrow path
that leadeth unto life. The mind of God is one; the minds of men are
various. The fact then that there are various opposing religions in
the world is conclusive evidenced that men have been engaged in their
invention. It is also clear that they have established very imperfect
imitations of the true Church of Christ.
The departure from the order, doctrine, ordinances and spirit of
primitive Christianity commenced at a very early period. Contentions
began to creep in among the early saints, and they soon commenced to
array themselves in factions, some being of Paul, others of Apollos,
others of Cephas, etc. And the inspired leaders of the Church foresaw
the great apostasy which would take place, as may be seen from their
epistles.
Paul declared that the day of the Lord's second advent would not
dawn until a "falling away" should occur. He described the condition
of apostate Christendom, when the people "would not endure sound
doctrine," but would "heap to themselves teachers, having itching
ears;" when "doctrines of devils" should be taught instead of the pure
gospel; when they would have "a form of godliness, but deny the power
thereof;" and Peter declared that false teachers would arise in the
place of the duly authorized servants of God, and bring in damnable
heresies; who "through covetousness would make merchandise" of the
souls of men; and by whom "the way of truth would be evil spoken of."
This "mystery of iniquity" had already begun to work even in their day,
and rapidly increased after their departure.
The combined powers of the world, the flesh and the devil, made such
inroads upon the Church of Christ, that, by the time when John, the
beloved disciple, was banished to the isle of Patmos, where he received
the great vision known as the Book of Revelation, only seven branches
of the Church were worthy of divine mention, and some of them had
become so corrupt that terrible denunciations were hurled against them,
and they were threatened with complete rejection.
In that same vision the inspired apostle beheld the utter and universal
apostasy of the Church and the spread of spurious Christianity until
_all nations_ were "made drunk with the wine of the wrath of the
fornication" of Babylon, "the mother of harlots and abominations."
Instead of the chaste Church of Christ, clothed with the sun, the
moon under her feet and the crown of twelve stars upon her head, the
scarlet-clothed impostor, sitting upon the beast, grasping a golden cup
full of filthiness for the whole world to drink. Regal pomp and state
power, instead of the solar glory of the Melchisedec and the lunar
rays of the Aaronic Priesthoods, with the stellar crown of apostleship
shining at the head! Mystery instead of light! Painted gaudiness
instead of modest purity! Names of blasphemy instead of that one sacred
name at which every knee should bow!
When the lights that Christ kindled on earth to lead mankind in the
only true way were put out by the hands of murderous men, darkness
overspread the world, and "gross darkness covered the people." Errors
multiplied. Heresies sprang up like rank weeds. The Spirit of Christ
gradually withdrew. And when what was left of the form of Christianity
became allied to the softened paganism of the Romish empire, the angels
looked down from afar upon another triumph of the arch adversary, who
rules as prince of this world, and reigns in the hearts of the children
of disobedience.
The Papal church, seated upon the Romish State, was fitly prefigured by
the woman upon the beast. The Church of Christ was gone, without even
a shadow of its presence to be seen upon the earth. All nations were
blinded and intoxicated by the mystery and abominations, the heresies
and perversions, the pomps and vanities of this spurious ecclesiastical
system, with its popes and cardinals in the place of apostles and
prophets, its priestcraft in the place of the Priesthood, and its
force, bloodshed, cruelty and lust in the place of the love, liberty,
peace and charity of the departed Church of the Redeemer.
After a time came the reformation. Protestants against the tyranny,
falsehood and gross villainies of this blasphemous hierarchy sounded
aloud the story of her abominations and shook all Christendom with
the force of their eloquence. Anathematized and excommunicated from
the mother church, they established new churches, discarding many
errors but retaining as many more. Still further "reformations" were
inaugurated, originating more churches, and thus sects produced sects,
and as religious liberty increased so religious systems multiplied,
until the term Christianity covered an incongruous mass of discordant
elements, representing all shades of human opinion, without a single
authoritative voice deputed of heaven to harmonize and bring them into
order.
For, though immense good accrued to the world through the exposure of
error and the unfolding of truth, which were the consequence of the
reformation and its successive developments, and though many excellent
mea spent their lives and suffered cruel deaths for principles of
righteousness, yet there was no direct communication established
between them and the heavens, and that authority by which the apostles
administered for and in behalf of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost was still unrestored to man. There was no inspired prophet,
no gifted seer, no appointed revelator through whom the will of God
could be made known. Therefore, the ordinances of the gospel could not
be administered acceptably to God, and all such ceremonies as were
established among the various sects were of necessity void and without
virtue in heaven.
So the world rolled on, and men framed religions, all containing some
truth as well as some errors, and many persons who would have done
well in advocating what they believed to be right, in their own names,
undertook to assume the name of the Trinity, and to officiate as though
authorized by Jesus Christ, while they openly admitted that there had
been no communication from on high for centuries, and maintained that
the days of revelation were gone forever.
And thus the effects of Mystery, Babylon, the Mother of abominations,
were felt directly or indirectly throughout all the nations professing
to be Christian, and millions upon millions of mistaken souls passed
behind the vail without receiving the principles and ordinances of
salvation, and the living and the dead were left in the spiritual
darkness of centuries of apostasy to wait until the dawning of the
great and last dispensation, the times of restitution, when the
crowning act of God's mercy to man should be performed, and the
ushering in of the millennial day should bring again to the world, with
increasing glory, the gospel, the Priesthood, the blessings and the
powers of all former ages, for the salvation of the human race and the
permanent establishment of the Church and kingdom of God, no more to be
thrown down forever.