The Perfect Storm Is Coming – Part II

Early Christians

“A Hated Sect, Worthy only of Destruction”

 

When Jesus revealed to His disciples the fate of Jerusalem and the scenes of the Second Advent, He also foretold the experience of His people from the time when He should be taken from them, to His return in power and glory for their deliverance.

From Olivet the Savior beheld the storms about to fall upon His infant church. His eye discerned the fierce, wasting tempests that were to beat upon His followers in the coming ages of darkness and persecution. In a few brief utterances of awful significance, He foretold the portion that the rulers of this world would mete out to His church. Matthew 24: 9, 21,22.  The followers of Christ would tread the same path of humiliation, reproach, and suffering which their Master trod.

The history of the early church testified to the fulfillment of the Savior’s words. The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves against Christ in the person of His followers. Paganism foresaw that should the gospel of Christ triumph, her temples and altars would be swept away; therefore, she summoned her forces to destroy Christianity. As the fires of persecution were kindled, Christians were stripped of their possessions, and driven from their homes. Great numbers sealed their testimony with their blood. Noble and slave, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, were alike slain without mercy.

These persecutions, beginning under Nero about the time of the martyrdom of Paul, continued with greater or less fury for centuries. Christians were falsely accused of the most dreadful crimes, and declared to be the cause of great calamities – famine, pestilence, and earthquake. As they became the objects of popular hatred and suspicion, informers stood ready, for the sake of gain, to betray the innocent. Christians were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes of religion, and pests to society. “Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned alive in Roman amphitheaters.” Some were crucified; others were covered with the skins of wild animals, and thrust into the arena to be torn by dogs. Their punishment was often made the chief entertainment of public events. Multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight, and greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause.

The followers of Christ were forced to seek concealment in desolate and solitary places. Beneath the hills outside the city of Rome, the catacombs afforded shelter for thousands. Long galleries had been tunneled through earth and rock; the dark and intricate network of passages extended for miles beyond the city walls. In these underground retreats, the followers of Christ buried their dead; and when proscribed, they found a home. When the Lifegiver shall return, many a martyr for Christ’s sake will come forth from those gloomy caverns.

Many Christians rejoiced that they were accounted worthy to suffer for Christ. One said, “You may torment, afflict, and vex us. Your wickedness puts our weakness to the test, but your cruelty is of no avail. It is but a stronger invitation to bring others to our persuasion. The more we are mowed down, the more we spring up again. The blood of the Christians is seed.” – Tertullian, Apology, paragraph 50.

The great adversary now endeavored to gain by deception what he had failed to secure by force. 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 that the church endured under paganism. However, as persecutions ceased, Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, where she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers. In the place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions.

The nominal conversion of the Roman Emperor, Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, marched into the church. Now the work of corruption progressed rapidly. Paganism became the conqueror. Her spirit, her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were being incorporated into the faith and worship of Christians.

Idolaters received a part of the Christian faith, while they rejected other essential truths. They professed to accept Jesus as the Son of God, and to believe in His death and resurrection, but they had no conviction of sin, and felt no need of repentance or a change of heart.

A union was formed between Christianity and paganism. False doctrines, superstitious rites, and idolatrous ceremonies were soon incorporated into Christian faith and worship.

With some concessions on their part, idolaters proposed that Christians should also make concessions, that all might unite on the platform of belief in Christ. Thus, Christianity became corrupted and the church lost her purity and power. This submission to paganism soon opened the way for a deliberate disregard of God’s law.

In 321 A.D., the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public festival throughout the Roman Empire. The day of the sun was already reverenced by his pagan subjects, and was soon 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 perceived that if the same day were observed by both Christians and the heathen, it would promote the nominal acceptance of Christianity by pagans, and thus advance the power and the glory of the church.

The Biblical Sabbath which God blessed and sanctified (Genesis 2: 2,3) was set aside. In its stead the festival observed by the heathen as “the venerable day of the sun” was exalted.  That the attention of the people might be called to the “Sun” day, it was made a festival in honor of the resurrection of Christ.

Now the church was in fearful peril. Prison, torture, fire and sword were blessings in comparison with compromise. Some Christians stood firm, declaring that they could make no concession. Others were in favor of yielding or modifying some features of their faith, and uniting with those who had accepted a part of Christianity, urging that this might be the means of their full conversion.

That was a time of deep anguish for the faithful followers of Christ. Wearing the cloak of pretended Christianity, Satan artfully insinuated himself into the church, corrupting faith. In time, most Christians consented to lower their standard.

Even in her best estate, the church was not composed entirely of the true, pure, and sincere. It required a desperate struggle for those who would remain faithful to stand firm against the deceptions and abominations being introduced into the church.

To secure worldly gain and honor, the church sought the favor and support of powerful men. The early church was induced to yield allegiance to the bishop of Rome. Roman emperors, claiming to be gods, now exchanged roles with Roman prelates.

Christianity – The first two thousand years

“In 312 A.D. the unstable power structure of the divided empire collapses; Constantine, a former soldier, is named Caesar of the West. With his legions, he marches south across the European continent, intent on overthrowing the emperor. Eight miles outside Rome, at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine pauses….

“It is precisely at this point that the would-be emperor has a vision. It is an apparition that will change Constantine’s life and the life of all Europe for the next 1,700 years. Looking up in the sky, Constantine sees the sign of the cross on the face of the sun.

“Up until this time, Constantine has been a traditional pagan, worshiping the gods of Rome. Now he is confronted with the miraculous symbol of the forbidden Christian religion. At the same time, he hears an awesome voice announce his destiny. And then he hears a voice say to him; ‘You are to conquer in this sign’…The battle is completely successful.

“…The conversion of Constantine is one of the most important turning points in Christian history. Constantine immediately rewards his newly embraced religion by issuing the Edict of Milan, declaring official tolerance for Christianity throughout the empire.

“…In 323 A.D. Constantine marches against the Eastern Augustus, the pagan Licinius, and defeats him after two years of war. Constantine is now the sole ruler of both East and West. The ceremonies to celebrate the reunification of the empire are Christian. Yet, the nature and the extent of Constantine’s conversion are still matters of debate.

“Some Scholars claim that the god Constantine accepted that day at the Milvian Bridge was not Jesus, but the sun god Apollo. He believed in the god ‘Sol Envictus,’ the invincible sun. He had some connection with Apollo and the idea of sun worship.

“Despite his ostensible conversion, Constantine retains many pagan practices when he becomes emperor. His sympathy with Christianity is undeniable, but so is his tolerance for paganism. His coins carry the image of the sun god

“Constantine demands that Christians change their day of worship from the Hebrew Sabbath to the Roman day of the sun.


Moreover, it is a matter of record that Constantine will not be baptized a Christian until he is on his deathbed. The question remains to this day; was Constantine truly a convert to Christianity or was he simply a shrewd pagan politician who embraced a powerful minority?”

By the sixth century, the papacy had become firmly established, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head over the entire church. Pagan Rome had given place to Papal Rome

To provide converts from heathenism a substitute for their worship of idols, and promote their nominal acceptance of Christianity, the adoration of images and relics was gradually introduced into Christian worship. The decree of a general council (Second Council of Nice, A.D. 787) finally established this system of idolatry. To complete the sacrilegious work –

The early Roman Church presumed to erase the second commandment from the law of God, forbidding image worship, and to divide the tenth commandment, in order to preserve the number.

A leading doctrine of Romanism was adopted, declaring that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ and is invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. To establish this claim, monks forged ancient writings. Decrees of unknown councils were discovered, establishing the universal supremacy of the pope, and millions accepted these deceptions.

This early compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in a gigantic system of false religion foreshadowing Satan’s final efforts to seat himself upon the throne and rule the earth according to his will.

The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, darkness deepened.

The very titles of Deity were claimed for the pope. He styled himself “Lord God the Pope,” assumed infallibility, and demanded that all men pay him homage

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 were instructed to look to the pope, and to 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. Further, they came to believe that he stood in the place of God to them, and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed.

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