January 26, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Hello, friends! As we continue our journey through The Great Controversy, we remember reading in Chapter 2 about the terrible persecution early Christians suffered at the hands of the secular Roman empire. However, persecution only fanned the flames of truth and Christians continued increasing in number. Seeing his purpose was thwarted, Satan changed his tactics. Persecution ceased and compromise crept into the early church, uplifting pagan practices and downplaying the clear teachings of Christ.
Today we will see how the rise of a great apostasy, and its leader, was foretold by the apostle Paul approximately five centuries earlier when he wrote to believers in Thessalonica, stating Christ’s Second Coming would not take place “unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he that sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:3,4).
Who is this “man of sin,” that opposes God and seeks to take God’s place on Earth through blasphemous teachings and practices? Reading in Chapter 3 of The Great Controversy, we see this was not immediately revealed:
“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 Great Controversy, p. 49).
As the medieval church sought to gain wealth and power, it was led to make a compromise between paganism and Christianity, supplanting the word of Christ with allegiance to a human being—the powerful bishop of Rome.
In the year 533 A.D., the Roman Emperor Justinian declared the bishop of Rome, that is the Pope, “head of all the holy churches.” Following the expulsion of the Ostrogoth Arians from Rome in 538 A.D., the papacy gained full political and religious power. The Pope was later given the very title of Deity—”Lord God the Pope,” and was considered infallible, viewed as truly God and man.
We read that because the Bible “would exalt God and place finite men in their true position, 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” (The Great Controversy, p. 51).
Without the Bible as a safeguard, people had no standard to distinguish between right and wrong and were at the mercy of a corrupt Church and clergy.
One way paganism entered into the Church was through the worship of images. Idols, previously venerated as pagan gods, were simply transformed into so-called Christian saints, and worshipped. In this way, large groups of people became nominal Christians.
Perhaps one of the most significant ways paganism entered the Church was through the worship of the so-called “venerable day of the Sun,”—that is, Sunday.
This did not happen suddenly. “In the first centuries the true Sabbath,” that is, the seventh-day 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” (The Great Controversy, p. 52). But, we are told, Satan worked with great subtlety “through his agents to bring about his object” (The Great Controversy, p. 53). Sunday was made a festival in honor of the resurrection of Christ.
Over the years, Sunday continued to be celebrated as a high festival, while the Sabbath was made a day of fasting and drudgery. Finally, the pagan festival came “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 Controversy, p. 53).
By the sixth century, the papacy was firmly established, and the 1,260 years of papal oppression prophesied in the books of Daniel and Revelation had begun.
Pope and priests were seen as the only mediators between God and human beings. Salvation by works was taught, encouraging long pilgrimages, acts of penance, erection of churches and shrines, and payment of large sums to the church in order to obtain a way to heaven. The doctrine of indulgences was introduced, providing a way for people to “pay” for sins they were planning to commit in the future.
The false teaching of the immortality of the soul was brought to the forefront, leading to the worship of the Virgin Mary and the adoration of heavenly saints. This opened the door to the heresy of eternal torment in an everlasting hell, along with the idea of purgatory, a kind of half-way house where after one suffers for a time is then ready to be admitted into heaven.
Perhaps one of the boldest heresies was the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass, where, it was claimed, the officiating priest had the power to create “the actual body and blood of Christ” (The Great Controversy, p. 59).
For those who would not accept these idolatrous and heretical teachings and practices, torture and death awaited. In the thirteenth century the most terrible instrument of the papacy was established—the Inquisition. For nearly four centuries, countless men and women experienced horrific torture and death for not bowing their knees to this false religious power.
During the 1,260 years of darkness foretold by prophecy, the word of God was nearly banished from the face of the Earth. Evil had full sway, with unthinkable crimes being committed and celebrated.
And yet, God’s light of truth is never fully extinguished. Throughout history, He has always preserved a remnant who are true to His Word.
Next week, as we continue our study of The Great Controversy, we will learn about a special group of people who fearlessly carried the torch of truth throughout this very dark time.
If you have not yet obtained a copy of this incredible book, I encourage you to visit thegreatcontroversyproject.org [Insert: thegreatcontroversyproject.org] where you can download your free copy today.
As we close our time together, I invite you to pray with me just now.
Father in heaven. We recognize that literally millions of people have suffered because they believed in your written holy word and they wanted to follow the instructions from heaven. Thank you for giving us the Bible. Thank you for giving us the opportunity today of having access to the Holy Word. Help us to read it, to live it, to promote it, to share it. And Lord please guide as we move into the future and any challenges we may face, may we always like those of old lean completely on you and your word for you will carry us through. Thank you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.