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3. An Era of Spiritual Darkness 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." And
furthermore, the apostle warns his brethren that "the mystery of
iniquity doth already work." 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7. 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, 50 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 endeavored 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", 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."
Luke 4:8. 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 willful 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." Jude 3.
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." Daniel 7:25. 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 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 (Genesis 2:2, 3), 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. 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 archdeceiver 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." 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
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" (2 Thessalonians 2:7, R.V.) 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." Revelation 13:2. And now began
the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel
and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7.
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 headsman's
ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus: "Ye shall be betrayed
both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, 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." Luke 21:16, 17. Persecution opened upon
the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the world became a
vast battlefield. 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 three-score
days." Revelation 12:6.
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!
Notwithstanding that vice prevailed, even among the leaders of
the Roman Church, her influence seemed steadily to increase. About the
close of the eighth century, papists put forth the claim that in the
first ages of the church the bishops of Rome had possessed the same
spiritual power which they now assumed. To establish this claim, some
means must be employed to give it a show of authority; and this was
readily suggested by the father of lies. Ancient writings were forged by
monks. Decrees of councils before unheard of were discovered,
establishing the universal supremacy of the pope from the earliest
times. And a church that had rejected the truth greedily accepted these
deceptions.
The few faithful builders upon the true foundation. (1
Corinthians 3:10, 11) were perplexed and hindered as the rubbish of
false doctrine obstructed the work. Like the builders upon the wall of
Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day, some were ready to say: "The strength
of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that
we are not able to build." Nehemiah 4:10. Wearied with the constant
struggle against persecution, fraud, iniquity, and every other obstacle
that Satan could devise to hinder their progress, some who had been
faithful builders became disheartened; and for the sake of peace and
security for their property and their lives, they turned away from the
true foundation. Others, undaunted by the opposition of their enemies,
fearlessly declared: "Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord,
which is great and terrible" (verse 14); and they proceeded with
the work, everyone with his sword girded by his side. Ephesians 6:17.
The same spirit of hatred and opposition to the truth has
inspired the enemies of God in every age, and the same vigilance and
fidelity have been required in His servants. The words of Christ to the
first disciples are applicable to His followers to the close of time:
"What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Mark 13:37.
The darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more
general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered to
them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The minds of
men were so completely controlled by superstition that reason itself
seemed to have lost its sway. While priests and bishops were themselves
pleasure-loving, sensual, and corrupt, it could only be expected that
the people who looked to them for guidance would be sunken in ignorance
and vice.
Another step in papal assumption was taken, when, in the eleventh
century, Pope Gregory VII proclaimed the perfection of the Roman Church.
Among the propositions which he put forth was one declaring that the
church had never erred, nor would it ever err, according to the
Scriptures. But the Scripture proofs did not accompany the assertion.
The proud pontiff also claimed the power to depose emperors, and
declared that no sentence which he pronounced could be reversed by
anyone, but that it was his prerogative to reverse the decisions of all
others.
A striking illustration of the tyrannical character of this
advocate of infallibility was given in his treatment of the German
emperor, Henry IV. For presuming to disregard the pope's authority, this
monarch was declared to be excommunicated and dethroned. Terrified by
the desertion and threats of his own princes, who were encouraged in
rebellion against him by the papal mandate, Henry felt the necessity of
making his peace with Rome. In company with his wife and a faithful
servant he crossed the Alps in midwinter, that he might humble himself
before the pope. Upon reaching the castle whither Gregory had withdrawn,
he was conducted, without his guards, into an outer court, and there, in
the severe cold of winter, with uncovered head and naked feet, and in a
miserable dress, he awaited the pope's permission to come into his
presence. Not until he had continued three days fasting and making
confession, did the pontiff condescend to grant him pardon. Even then it
was only upon condition that the emperor should await the sanction of
the pope before resuming the insignia or exercising the power of
royalty. And Gregory, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his
duty to pull down the pride of kings.
How striking the contrast between the overbearing pride of this
haughty pontiff and the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who
represents Himself as pleading at the door of the heart for admittance,
that He may come in to bring pardon and peace, and who taught His
disciples: "Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your
servant." Matthew 20:27.
The advancing centuries witnessed a constant increase of error in
the doctrines put forth from Rome. Even before the establishment of the
papacy the teachings of heathen philosophers had received attention and
exerted an influence in the church. Many who professed conversion still
clung to the tenets of their pagan philosophy, and not only continued
its study themselves, but urged it upon others as a means of extending
their influence among the heathen. Serious errors were thus introduced
into the Christian faith. Prominent among these was the belief in man's
natural immortality and his consciousness in death. This doctrine laid
the foundation upon which Rome established the invocation of saints and
the adoration of the Virgin Mary. From this sprang also the heresy of
eternal torment for the finally impenitent, which was early incorporated
into the papal faith.
Then the way was prepared for the introduction of still another
invention of paganism, which Rome named purgatory, and employed to
terrify the credulous and superstitious multitudes. By this heresy is
affirmed the existence of a place of torment, in which the souls of such
as have not merited eternal damnation are to suffer punishment for their
sins, and from which, when freed from impurity, they are admitted to
heaven.
Still another fabrication was needed to enable Rome to profit by
the fears and the vices of her adherents. This was supplied by the
doctrine of indulgences. Full remission of sins, past, present, and
future, and release from all the pains and penalties incurred, were
promised to all who would enlist in the pontiff's wars to extend his
temporal dominion, to punish his enemies, or to exterminate those who
dared deny his spiritual supremacy. The people were also taught that by
the payment of money to the church they might free themselves from sin,
and also release the souls of their deceased friends who were confined
in the tormenting flames. By such means did Rome fill her coffers and
sustain the magnificence, luxury, and vice of the pretended
representatives of Him who had not where to lay His head.
The Scriptural ordinance of the Lord's Supper had been
supplanted by the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Papal priests
pretended, by their senseless mummery, to convert the simple bread and
wine into the actual "body and blood of Christ."--Cardinal
Wiseman, The Real Presence
of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist,
Proved From Scripture, lecture
8, sec. 3, par. 26. With blasphemous presumption, they openly claimed
the power of creating God, the Creator of all things. Christians were
required, on pain of death, to avow their faith in this horrible,
Heaven-insulting heresy. Multitudes who refused were given to the
flames.
In the thirteenth century was established that most terrible of
all the engines of the papacy--the Inquisition. The prince of darkness
wrought with the leaders of the papal hierarchy. In their secret
councils Satan and his angels controlled the minds of evil men, while
unseen in the midst stood an angel of God, taking the fearful record of
their iniquitous decrees and writing the history of deeds too horrible
to appear to human eyes. "Babylon the great" was "drunken
with the blood of the saints." The mangled forms of millions of
martyrs cried to God for vengeance upon that apostate power.
Popery had become the world's despot. Kings and emperors bowed to
the decrees of the Roman pontiff. The destinies of men, both for time
and for eternity, seemed under his control. For hundreds of years the
doctrines of Rome had been extensively and implicitly received, its
rites reverently performed, its festivals generally observed. Its clergy
were honored and liberally sustained. Never since has the Roman Church
attained to greater dignity, magnificence, or power.
But "the noon of the papacy was the midnight of the
world."--J. A. Wylie, The
History of Protestantism, b.
1, ch. 4. The Holy Scriptures were almost unknown, not only to the
people, but to the priests. Like the Pharisees of old, the papal leaders
hated the light which would reveal their sins. God's law, the standard
of righteousness, having been removed, they exercised power without
limit, and practiced vice without restraint. Fraud, avarice, and
profligacy prevailed. Men shrank from no crime by which they could gain
wealth or position. The palaces of popes and prelates were scenes of the
vilest debauchery. Some of the reigning pontiffs were guilty of crimes
so revolting that secular rulers endeavored to depose these dignitaries
of the church as monsters too vile to be tolerated. For centuries Europe
had made no progress in learning, arts, or civilization. A moral and
intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom.
The condition of the world under the Romish power presented a
fearful and striking fulfillment of the words of the prophet Hosea:
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee: . . . seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
"There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By
swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery,
they break out, and blood toucheth blood." Hosea 4:6, 1, 2. Such
were the results of banishing the word of God. |
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