 Preface of The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims the restoration of the Gospel and the re-establishment of the Church as of old in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. Such restoration and re-establishment with the modern bestowal of the Holy Priesthood would be unnecessary and indeed impossible had the Church of Christ continued among men with unbroken succession of priesthood and power since the meridian of time. The restored Church affirms that a general apostasy developed during and after the apostolic period and that the primitive Church lost its power, authority, and graces as a divine institution and degenerated into an earthly organization only. The significance and importance of the great apostasy as a conditioned precedent to the re-establishment of the Church in modern times is obvious. If the alleged apostasy of the primitive Church was not a reality, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the divine institution its name proclaims. The evidence of the decline and final extinction of the primitive Church among men is found in scriptural record and in secular history. In the following pages, the author has undertaken to present a summary of the most important of these evidences. In so doing, he has drawn liberally from many sources of information, with due acknowledgment of all citations. The little work has been written in the hope that it may prove of service to our missionary elders in the field, to classes and quorum organizations engaged in the study of theological subjects at home, and to earnest investigators of the teachings and claims of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. James E. Talmage, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 1, 1909. End of Preface. Chapter 1 of The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Matthias Whitney. The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage. Chapter 1 Introduction, The Establishment of the Church of Christ A belief common to all sects and churches professing Christianity is that Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race, established His Church upon the earth by personal administration in the meridian of time. Ecclesiastical history, as distinguished from secular history, deals with the experiences of the Church from the time of its establishment, the conditions under which the Church was founded first claim our attention. At the beginning of the Christian era, the Jews, in common with most other nations, were subjects of the Roman Empire. They were allowed a considerable degree of liberty in maintaining their religious observances and national customs generally, but their status was far from that of a free and independent people. The period was one of comparative peace, a time marked by fewer wars and less dissension than the Empire had known for many years. These conditions were favorable for the mission of the Christ and for the founding of His Church on earth. The religious system's extent at the time of Christ's earthly ministry may be classified in a general way as Jewish and pagan with a minor system, the Samaritan, which was essentially a mixture of the other two. The children of Israel alone proclaimed the existence of the true and living God. They alone looked forward to the advent of the Messiah whom mistakenly they awaited as a prospective conqueror coming to crush the enemies of their nation. All other nations, tongues, and peoples bowed to pagan deities, and their worship comprised not but the central rites of heathen idolatry. Paganism was a religion of form and ceremony based on polytheism, a belief in the existence of a multitude of gods, which deities were subject to all the vices and passions of humanity, while distinguished by immunity from death. Morality and virtue were unknown as elements of heathen service, and the dominant idea in pagan worship was that of propitiating the gods in the hope of averting their anger and purchasing their favor. The Israelites, or Jews as they were collectively known, thus distinguished the part among the nations as proud possessors of superior knowledge with the lineage and literature, with a priestly organization and a system of laws that separated and distinguished them as a people at once peculiar and exclusive. While the Jews regarded their idolatrous neighbors with abhorrence and contempt, they in turn were treated with derision as fanatics and inferiors. But the Jews, while thus distinguished as a people from the rest of the world, were by no means a united people. On the contrary, they were divided among themselves on matters of religious profession and practice. In the first place, there was a deadly enmity between the Jews proper and the Samaritans. These latter were a mixed people inhabiting a distinct province mostly between Judea and Galilee, largely made up of Assyrian colonists who had intermarried with the Jews. While affirming their belief in the Jehovah of the Old Testament, they practiced many rites belonging to the paganism they claimed to have forsaken, as proper as unorthodox and reprobate. Then the Jews themselves were divided into many contending sects and parties, among which the principal were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and beside these we read of Essenes, Galileans, Herodians, etc. The Jews were living under the law of Moses, the outward observance of which was enforced by priestly rule, while the spirit of the law was very generally ignored by a priest and people alike. That the Mosaic law was given as a preparation for something greater was afterward affirmed by Paul in his Epistle to the Saints at Galatia. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, and the fact that a higher law was to supersede the lower is abundantly shown in the Saviour's own teachings. He have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment, but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother, without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment. He have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery, but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths, but I say unto you, swear not at all. He have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thine neighbor, and hate thine enemy, but I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. These teachings, based on love, so different from the spirit of retaliation to which they had been accustomed under the law, caused great surprise among the people, yet an affirmation of the fact that the Lord hath committed adultery with her already in her heart. Yet an affirmation of the fact that the law was not to be ignored, and could only be superseded by its fulfillment, the Master said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till it all be fulfilled. It is very evident that the Master had come with a greater doctrine than was then known, and that the teachings of the day were sufficient. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus himself was strict in complying with all rightful requirements under the law, but he refused to recognize an observance of the letter alone, however rigidly required, as a substitute for compliance with the spirit of the mosaic injunction. The excellent teachings and precepts of true morality and collocated by the Christ prepared the minds of those who believed his words for the introduction of the gospel in its purity, and for the establishment of the Church of Christ as an earthly organization. From among the disciples who followed him, some of whom had been honored by preliminary calls, he chose twelve men whom he ordained to the apostleship, and he ordained twelve that they should be with him and that he might send them forth to breach, again, and when it was day he called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. The twelve special witnesses of him and his work were sent out to preach in the several cities of the Jews. On this, their first mission, they were instructed to confine their ministrations to the house of Israel, and the burden of their message was, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were told to use the power with which they had been invested by ordination in preaching, in healing the sick, in raising the dead even, and in subduing evil spirits. The master's admonition was, freely ye have received, freely give. They were to travel without money or provisions, relying upon a higher power to supply their needs through the agency of those to whom they would offer the message of truth, and they were warned of the possible hardships awaiting them, and of the persecution which sooner or later would surely befall them. At a later date, Christ called others to the work of the ministry, and sent the mountain pairs to proceed him and prepare the people for his coming. Thus we read of the seventy, who were instructed in terms almost identical with those of the Apostolic commission, that their investiture was one of authority and power, and no mere form is shown by the success attending their administrations, for when they returned, they reported triumphantly, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. The specific commission given unto the apostles at the time of their ordination was afterward emphasized. They were the subjects of the particularly solemn ordinance spoken of as the washing of feet, so necessary that in reply to Peter's objection, the Lord said, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. And unto the eleven, who had remained faithful, the risen Lord delivered his parting instructions immediately before the ascension. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. After our Lord's departure, the apostles entered upon the ministry with vigor, and they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the words with signs following. These scriptures indicate the authority of the apostles to administer the affairs of the church after the ascension of the resurrected Messiah, that Peter, the senior member of the Apostolic Council, was given a position of presidency, appears from the Saviour's special admonition and charge on the shores of the Tiberian Sea, that the apostles realized that though the master had gone, he had left with them authority and command to build up the church as an established organization is abundantly proved by scripture. They first proceeded to fill the vacancy in the presiding council, or quorum of twelve, a vacancy occasioned by the apostasy and death of Judas Iscariot, and the motive procedure in this official act is instructive. The installation of a new apostle was not determined by the eleven alone. We read that the disciples, or members of the church, were gathered together, about a hundred and twenty in number. To them Peter presented the matter requiring action, and emphasized the fact that the man to be chosen must be one who had personal knowledge and testimony of the Lord's ministry, and who was therefore qualified to speak as a special witness of the Christ, which qualification is the distinguishing feature of the apostleship. Wherefore, said Peter, of these men which have accompanied with us, all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, being from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. We are further informed that two men were nominated, and that the divine power was invoked to show whether either, and if so which, was the Lord's choice. Then the votes were cast, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. It is evident that the apostles considered their council or quorum as definitely organized with a membership limit of twelve, and that the work of the church required that the organization be made complete. Nevertheless, we read of none others subsequently chosen to fill vacancies in the council of twelve. Paul, who previous to his conversion was known as Saul of Tarsus, received a special manifestation in which he heard the voice of the risen Lord, declaring, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And thereby he became a special witness of the Lord Jesus, and as such was in truth an apostle, though we have no definite scriptural record that he was ever made a member of the council of twelve. As showing the importance of ordination to office under the hands of duly constituted authorities, we have the instance of Paul's ordination, though he had conversed with the resurrected Jesus, though he had been the subject of a special manifestation of divine power in the restoration of his sight, he had nevertheless to be baptized, and later he was commissioned for the work of the ministry by the authoritative imposition of hands. Another instance of official action in choosing and setting apart men to special office in the church arose soon after the ordination of Matthias. It appears that one feature of the church organization in early apostolic days was a common ownership of material things, distribution being made according to need. As the members increased it was found impracticable for the apostles to devote the necessary attention and time to these temporal matters, so they called upon the members to select seven men of honest report whom the apostles would appoint to take special charge of these affairs. These men were set apart by prayer and by the laying on of hands. The instance is instructive, as showing that the apostles realized their possession of authority to direct in the affairs of the church, and that they observed with strict fidelity the principle of common consent in the administration of their high office. They exercised their priestly powers in the spirit of love and with due regard to the rites of the people over whom they were placed to preside. Under the administration of the apostles and others who labored by their direction in positions of lesser authority the church grew in numbers and influence. For ten or twelve years after the ascension of Christ, Jerusalem remained the headquarters of the church, but branches, or as designated in the scriptural record, separate churches, were established in the outlying provinces. As such branches were organized, bishops, deacons, and other officers were chosen and doubtless ordained by authority to minister in local affairs. That the commission of the Lord Jesus to the apostles instructed them to preach the gospel widely was executed with promptness and zeal is evident from the rapid growth of the church in the early apostolic times. Paul writing about AD 64, approximately 30 years after the ascension, declares that the gospel had already been carried to every nation, preached to every creature under heaven, by which expression the apostle doubtless means that the gospel message had been so generally proclaimed that all who would might learn of it. Details as to the organization of the church in apostolic days are not given with great fullness. As already shown, the presiding authority was vested in the twelve apostles. And furthermore, the special calling of the seventies has received attention, but beside these there are evangelists, pastors, and teachers, and in addition, high priests, elders, bishops, etc. The purpose of these several offices is explained by Paul to be, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. The church with its graded offices and its spiritual gifts had been aptly compared to a perfect body, with its separate organs and its individual members, each necessary to the welfare of the whole, yet none independent of the rest. As in the human organism, so in the church of Christ, no one with propriety can say to another, I have no need of thee. The Church of Christ on the Western Hemisphere We have seen, on the evidence of Jewish scriptures, how the church was established and made strong in Asia and Europe, and immediately following the Meridian of Time. The scriptures cited are such as appeal to all earnest Christians. The authority is that of the New Testament. We have now to consider the establishment of the church amongst those who constituted another division of the House of Israel, at people inhabiting what is now known as the American continent. For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the Nephite scriptures, published to the world as the Book of Mormon, a brief historical summary is here presented. In the year 590 BC, in the reign of King Zedekiah, a small colony was led from Jerusalem by an inspired prophet named Lehi. These people were brought by divine assistance to the shores of the Arabian sea, where they constructed a vessel in which they crossed the great waters to the western coast of South America. They landed 590 BC. The people were soon divided into two parties, led respectively by Nephi and Laman, sons of Lehi, and actions grew into opposing nations known in history as Nephites and Lamanites. The former developed while the latter retrograded in the arts of civilization. Nephite prophets predicted the earthly advent of the Messiah and foretold his ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. The record states that the Messiah appeared in person among the Nephites on the western continent. This was subsequent to his ascension from the Mount of Olives. A foreshadowing of this great event was given by Christ in a declaration made while yet he lived on earth. Comparing himself to the good shepherd who giveth his life for the sheep, he said, And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. According to the Nephite record, certain predicted signs of the Savior's death had come to pass, destructive earthquakes, and other dread convulsions of nature had taken place in the west, while the supreme tragedy was being enacted on Calvary. The people of the land bountiful, comprising the northern portion of South America, were still marveling over the great convulsions that had so terrified them a few weeks earlier, and, on a certain occasion, were gathered together discussing the matter, when they heard a voice as from the heavens saying, Behold, my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name, hear ye him. Looking up they beheld a man, descending. He was clothed in a white robe, and as he reached the earth he said, Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. Arise and come forth unto me, that he may thrust your hands into my side, and also that he may feel the prince of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that he may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. Having thus declared himself, Christ proceeded to instruct the people in the plan of the gospel as he had preached it, and in the Constitution of the Church as he had established it in the East. He visited the Nephite people on subsequent occasions, taught them many of the precepts previously given to the Jews, emphasized the doctrine of baptism and other ordinances essential to salvation, instituted the sacrament in commemoration of his atoning death, chose and commissioned twelve apostles on whom he conferred authority in the Church, explained the importance of designating the organization by its proper name, the Church of Christ, and announced the fulfillment of the law of Moses, and the fact that it was thenceforth superseded by the gospel embodied within the Church as established by himself. In plan of organization, in doctrine and precept and in prescribed ordinances, the Church of Christ in the West was the counterpart of the Church of Palestine. Thus, in the meridian of time, the Church of God was founded on both sides of the earth. In its pristine simplicity and beauty it exhibited the majesty of a divine institution. It is now our saddening duty to consider the decline of spiritual power within the Church and the eventual apostasy of the Church itself. In proceeding with our present inquiry, we accept as demonstrated facts the establishment of the Church of Christ under the Saviour's personal administration and the rapid growth of the Church in the early period of the apostolic ministry. A question of the utmost importance is, has the Church of Christ, thus the Church of Christ, the Church of Christ, the Church of Christ, the Church of Christ, the Church of Christ, the question of the utmost importance is, has the Church of Christ, thus authoritatively established, maintained an organized existence upon the earth from the apostolic age to the present? Other questions are suggested by the first. If the Church has continued as an earthly organization, where lies the proof or evidence of legitimate succession in priestly authority, and which among the multitude of contending sex or churches of the present day is the actual possessor of the Holy Church, originally committed to the Church by the Christ, its founder? Again, have the spiritual gifts and graces by which the early Church was characterized and distinguished been manifest on earth through the centuries that have passed since the meridian of time, and if so, in which of the numerous churches of these modern times do we find such signs following the professed believers? We affirm that with the passing of the so-called apostolic age, the Church gradually drifted into a condition of apostasy, whereby succession in the priesthood was broken and that the Church as an earthly organization operating under divine direction and having authority to officiate in spiritual ordinances, ceased to exist. If therefore the Church of Christ is to be found upon the earth today, it must have been re-established by divine authority, and the Holy Priesthood must have been restored to the world from which it was lost by the apostasy of the primitive Church. We affirm that the great apostasy was foretold by the Saviour himself while he lived as a man among men and by his inspired prophets both before and after the period of his earthly probation, and further we affirm that a rational interpretation of history demonstrates the fact of this great and general apostasy. Before we take up in detail the specific predictions referred to and the evidence of their dreadful fulfillment, we may profitably devote brief attention to certain general considerations. Respecting the foreknowledge of God, let it not be said that divine omniscience is of itself a determining cause whereby events are inevitably brought to pass. A mortal father who knows the weaknesses and frailties of his son may by reason of that knowledge sorrowfully predict the calamities and sufferings awaiting his wayward boy. He may foresee in that son's future a forfeiture of blessings that could have been won, loss of position, self-respect, reputation and honor, even the dark shadows of a felon's cell, and the night of a drunkard's grave may appear in the saddening visions of that fond father's soul. Yet, convinced by experience of the impossibility of bringing about that son's reform, he foresees the dread developments of the future, and he finds but sorrow and anguish in his knowledge. Can it be said that the father's knowledge is a cause of the son's sinful life? The son, perchance, has reached his maturity. He is the master of his own destiny, a free agent unto himself, that father is powerless to control by force or to direct by arbitrary command, and while he would gladly make any effort or sacrifice to save his son from the fate and pending, he fears for what seems to be an awful certainty. But surely that thoughtful prayer for a loving parent does not contribute to the son's waywardness because of his knowledge. To reason otherwise would be to say that a neglectful father, who takes not the trouble to study the nature and character of his son, who shuts his eyes to sinful tendencies and rests in difference as to the probable future, will by his very heartlessness be benefiting his child because his lack of forethought cannot operate as a contributory cause to dereliction. Our heavenly father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of his children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past eternity of our primeval childhood, a knowledge compared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal experience with their children is tessimally small. By reason of that surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of a child and children of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations. He knows what each will do under given conditions and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be, not as one which must be because he has arbitrarily willed that it shall be. It may be argued that in the illustrative instance given above, that of the earthly parent and the wayward son, the father had not the power to change the sad course of sin whereby his son is hastening to ignominy and destruction. While the omnipotent father can save if he will, in reply this is to be said, the father of souls has endowed his children with the divine birthright of free agency. He does not and will not control them by arbitrary force. He impels no man toward sin. He compels none to righteousness. Unto man has been given freedom to act for himself, and associated with this independence is the fact of strict responsibility and the assurance of individual accountability. In the judgment with which we shall be judged, all the conditions and circumstances of our lives shall be considered. The inborn tendencies due to heredity, the effect of environment whether conducive to good or evil, the wholesome teachings of youth or the instruction, these and all other contributory elements must be taken into account in the rendering of a just verdict as to the soul's guilt or innocence. Nevertheless, the divine wisdom makes plain what will be the result with given conditions operating on known natures and dispositions of men, while every individual is free to choose good or evil within the limits of the many conditions existing and operative. Another matter worthy of thought in the present connection is this. Is the fact of the great apostasy, the virtual overthrow and destruction of the church established by Jesus Christ to be regarded as an instance of failure in the Lord's plans? Is it a case of defeat in which Satan was victor over Christ? Consider the following. What mortal has yet measured the standard by which the omniscient gauges success or failure? Who dares affirm that what man hails as triumph or deplores as defeat will be so accounted when tested by the principles of eternal reckoning? The history of the world abounds with instances of temporary triumph of evil, of justice seemingly miscarried, of divine plans for the time being frustrated, of God's purposes opposed, and their consummation delayed. We read of the Lord's covenant with Israel. Unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he declared that their descendants should be a people chosen for his special service among the nations. Through that lineage, the savior of mankind was to be born. In the entirety of Abraham, all nations of the earth were to be blessed. Blessings beyond the heart of man to conceive, beyond the mind of man to comprehend were promised on condition of loyal allegiance to him who proclaimed himself their God and their King. Moreover, the Lord predicted calamity and suffering, individual affliction, and national disgrace if Israel departed from the service of Jehovah and yielded to the enticements of their heathen neighbors who knew not God. Thank you that the Lord was ignorant in the course his people would choose. Did he fail to foresee that Israel would follow the evil way forfeiting the blessings and reaping the harvest of sorrow? Jehovah's plans failed not, though the realization of the blessing so abundantly promised has been long delayed. Equally forceful with the prediction of calamity in case of sin was the promise of eventual restoration to favor. The dispersion of Israel already accomplished was to be followed by the gathering of Israel now in progress. What would have been the most verdict as to the success or failure of the mission of the Christ had a vote been taken at the time of the crucifixion. Seemingly his enemies had triumphed who had proclaimed himself the Messiah, the Son of God, the resurrection and the life over whom death could not prevail, had suffered the fate of the malefactors, and his body was in the tomb. But the verdict of the centuries, which is the verdict of the eternities to come, acclaims that failure as the greatest triumph of the ages, the victory of victories. Even so with the church. For a season the powers of evil triumphed, and the spirit of apostasy ruled, but beyond the darkness of the spiritual night the glorious dawn of the restoration was seen in prophetic vision and both the night with its horrors, and the awakening day with its splendor was foreseen and foretold. In our study of the predictions of the apostasy, as embodied in Scripture and of the realization as attested by later history, we shall recognize two distinct phases or stages of the progress of falling away as follows. One, apostasy from the church, and two, the apostasy of the church. In the first stage we have to deal with the forsaking of the truth and severance from the church by individuals at times few, at other times many. Such conditions can scarcely be considered otherwise than as natural and inevitable. History fails to present any example of great undertakings upon which multitudes enter with enthusiasm, and from which many do not desert. Unless such cases of individual abandonment are so numerous as to show the operative of some vital cause of disaffection, we would not need the authority of divine prediction and inspired prophecy to explain the occurrence. We find, however, that apostasy from the primitive church was widespread and general, and that the causes leading to such a condition were of vital significance. In the second of the two stages already specified, we are confronted with conditions of far greater import than those attending individual secession from the church. For here we find the church sinking to the degraded level of a human institution, with plan of organization and mode of operation foreign to the Constitution of the original, without priesthood or authority to officiate in spiritual ordinances and devoid of the gifts and the graces with which the Saviour endowed his church at the time of its establishment. In short, we find the church itself apostate, boasting of temporal power, making its own laws, teaching its own dogmas, preserving only a form of godliness while denying the power thereof. Specific predictions of the apostasy. The Lord foresaw the great and general departure from the principles of righteousness, and from the beginning knew that men would set up their own forms of worship, wrongfully claiming divine authority for the same. Through the mouths of his chosen prophets, he repeatedly predicted the inevitable event. Among the prophecies annotating the birth of Christ, the following may be noted, Isaiah beheld envision the condition of the earth in the era of spiritual darkness, a period in which all classes would be involved in a general condition of unrighteousness, a time when the world of mankind would be in a helpless and practically hopeless condition. He pictures the earth as morning and languishing in desolation, and assigns the reason for the sad condition as follows. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the law, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. It may be thought that this prophecy was referenced to a violation of the law of Moses under which ancient Israel lived. Let it be remembered, however, that the Mosaic law is nowhere called an everlasting covenant. The covenant between the Lord and Abraham antedated the giving of the law by 430 years, and as pointed out by Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians, whom he designates as foolish because of their confusing the law of Moses and the gospel of Christ. The law could not nullify the earlier covenant, the fulfillment of which could come only through Christ. The law, by which the inspired apostle plainly means the Mosaic statutes, was but a preparation for the faith, by which later expression, the gospel as revealed by Christ is clearly intended. But before faith came, says Paul, we were kept under the law, shut up into faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are the children of God, by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you, as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female. For ye are all one in Jesus Christ. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. It is evident from the tenor of the entire chapter, that while the gospel was preached unto Abraham and covenant made with him, relating to the coming of the Messiah through his posterity, the gospel did not abide with Israel, and this because of transgression. But in lieu thereof, the Mosaic law was instituted as a disciplinary measure, temporary in character, destined to be superseded by the gospel of Christ, and assuredly not an everlasting covenant. On the other hand, the blood of Christ through the shedding of which the atoning sacrifice was wrought, is distinctively called the blood of the everlasting covenant. It is evident then, that Isaiah's fateful prophecy relating to the breaking of the everlasting covenant could have no reference to a departure from the Mosaic requirements, but must refer to a then future condition of apostasy following the establishment of the everlasting covenant. Moreover, part of the great prediction referring to the burnings and widespread calamities yet awaits its complete fulfillment. Another prediction applicable to the period when there should be no church of Christ to be found, and when in consequence there should be lamentation and suffering is that of Amos. Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord, and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. Christ instructed his followers in terms at once direct and conclusive, as to the apostasy then impending. In reply to certain inquiries concerning the signs by which his second advent would be heralded, he said, take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many. Then he told of approaching wars and political disturbances, and added, and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another, and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold, but he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved. Further specifying the conditions of the incident to the growing apostasy, Christ declared to his disciples, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And again then if any man shall say unto you, lo hears Christ, or there believe it not, for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, in so much that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. But I have told you before, wherefore if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the desert, go not forth, behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. After the departure of Christ from earth, his apostles continued to warn the people of the darkness to come. In that memorable address to the elders at Ephesus, when, as he told them, they were looking upon his face for the last time, Paul reminded his hearers of the instructions he had previously given them, and then charged them with this solemn warning. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Not only would outsiders ingratiate themselves with the same, for purposes of selfish gain, wolves entering in, and not sparing the flock. But schisms and divisions were imminent, and these dissensions were to come through some then present, men who would aspire to leadership, and would set up their own doctrines, thus drawing disciples away from the church and unto themselves. The same apostle warns Timothy of the approaching apostasy, and refers to some of the erroneous teachings that would be impressed upon misguided people, teachings which he calls doctrines of devils. He admonishes Timothy to put the brethren in remembrance of these things, as is becoming in a good minister of Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine. Note the inspired prediction. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them, which believe and know the truth. In a second epistle to his beloved Timothy, while laboring under the premonition that his martyrdom was near at hand, Paul urges zeal and energy in the preaching of the gospel, for the shadows of the apostasy were gathering about the church. His admonition is pathetic in its earnestness. I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be instant in season out of season, and reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. In addressing the Thessalonian saints Paul warns them against the error strongly advocated by some that the day of Christ's second advent was then near at hand. It appears that deception was being practiced and that even forgery was suspected, for the apostle instructs the people that they be not deceived by word nor by letter as from us. The admonition is forceful. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall 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 siteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. We shall see how painfully literal has been the fulfillment of this prophecy in the pessimist assumptions of the apostate church centuries later. The apostle Peter prophesied in language, so plain that none may fail to comprehend concerning the heresies that would be preached as doctrine in the period of the apostasy, but he reminds the people that there were false teachers in olden times, even as there would be in times than future. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring indemnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring unto themselves swift destruction, and many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of, and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you, whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. Jude the brother of James, in his generally pistol to the saints, reminds them of earlier warnings. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. John, who is called the revelator, saw and envisioned the state of the world in the days then future, describing the spirit of unrighteousness as a hideous beast, and its author Satan, as the dragon he says. And they worshiped the dragon, who gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war with him? And he opened his mouth and blaspheme against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life, of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. Note another prophecy based on the vision of John the Revelator, again referring to latter-day conditions he declares, While it is true that the Scripture last quoted does not specifically predict the apostasy, the breaking up of the Church is treated as an event actually accomplished. The Revelator looked beyond the period of disruption, and saw the brighter day of the restoration of the Gospel, a re-establishment of the Church through the ministry of an angel. It is illogical to assume that the Gospel was to be brought to the earth by a heavenly messenger, if the Gospel was to be brought to the earth by a heavenly messenger, if the Gospel was to be brought to the earth by a heavenly messenger, if that Gospel was still extant upon the earth. Equally unreasonable is it to say that a restoration or re-establishment of the Church, of Christ would be necessary or possible had the Church continued with rightful succession of priesthood and power. If the Gospel had to be brought again from the heavens, the Gospel must have been taken from the earth. Thus the prophecy of a restoration is proof of an apostasy general and complete. Apostasy on the Western Hemisphere predicted. In the preceding chapter it was shown that the Church of Christ was established by the risen Lord among the Nephites of the Western World. It was foreseen that the powers of evil would be permitted to prevail in the West, as in the East. Consider the fateful words of the Prophet Alma addressed to his son, Helaman. Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the Spirit of Revelation which is in me, in 400 years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them shall dwindle in unbelief. Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences. Yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct. Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into works of darkness and the civillessness and all manner of iniquities. Yea, I say unto you that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge. Yea, I say unto you that from that day even the fourth generation shall not all pass away before this great iniquity shall come. An earlier prophecy relating to the degradation of the surviving remnant of Lehi's descendants was uttered by Nephi. As a result of a revelation communicated to him through angelic visitation, he thus describes his vision of the future. I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the angel, and because of the pride of my seed and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed, and it came to pass that I beheld and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed, and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land, and I saw them gathered together in multitudes, and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them, and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away, and the angel said unto me behold, these shall dwindle in unbelief, and it came to pass that I beheld that after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark and a loathsome and a filthy people full of idleness and all manner of abominations. The degraded state of the North American Indians descendants of a prophet father is a striking realization of this prophetic declaration. The scriptures cited are sufficient to show that widespread apostasy from the church was foreseen, that the corruption of the church itself was likewise foreknown, and that on both hemispheres a general apostasy was foretold. Chapter 3 of The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Mathias Whitney. The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage. Chapter 3 Early Stages of the Apostasy As shown in the preceding chapter, a general apostasy from the primitive church was both foreseen and foretold. Prophets who lived centuries before the time of Christ predicted the great event, as did also the Savior himself, and the apostles who continued the work of the ministry after his resurrection and ascension. We are now to inquire as to the fulfillment of these predictions. Evidence that the apostasy occurred, as had been predicted, is found in the sacred scriptures and in the records of history other than scriptural. From certain utterances of the early day apostles, it is made plain to us that the great falling away had begun even while those apostles were living. The preaching of false doctrines and the rise of unauthorized teachers were referred to as conditions then actually existing in the church, and not as remote developments of the distant future. Scarcely had the gospel seed been committed to the soil before the enemy came, and by night sowed tears amongst the wheat, and so intimate was the growth of the two, that any attempt to forcibly uproot the weeds would have threatened the life of the grain. Paul recognized the fact that the people amongst whom he labored were losing the faith they had professed, and were becoming victims of the deception practiced by false teachers. In his letter to the churches of Galatia he wrote, I marvel that he are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. And then to emphasize the sin of those who thus sought to pervert the gospel of Christ he continued, But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you, than that ye have received, let him be accursed. The context of the passages just quoted shows the nature of the error into which the churches of Galatia were in danger of falling. They were embroiled in a discussion as to whether they were bound by certain requirements of the law of Moses, notably that respecting circumcision. The apostle instructs them to the effect that the gospel of Christ was superior to the law, and that moreover, they were inconsistent in contending for one item of the law and neglecting the rest. We have here indication of the effort so persisted in even by those who had joined the church to modify and change the simple requirements of the gospel by introducing the elements of Judaism. It must be remembered that even among the apostles some difference of opinion had existed as to the necessity of circumcision, but this had been settled by their prayerful effort to learn the Lord's will in the matter. And those who sought to foment dissension on this, or any other matter of authoritative doctrine, were declared to be enemies to the church seeking to pervert the gospel of Christ. In his second epistle to the church of the Thessalonians, Paul declares that the spirit of iniquity was then already operative. After predicting the rise of the apostate church with its blasphemous assumptions of power as a condition antecedent to the second coming of Christ, the apostle continued as follows. The passage therefore may be understood as a declaration that the spirit of iniquity was already active, though restrained or hindered for a time, and that later even this restraint would be removed and the evil one would be in power. In the new revised version of the New Testament this passage is rendered thus. Just who or what is referred to as exercising a restraint on the powers of iniquity at that time has given rise to discussion. Some writers hold that the presence of the apostles operated in this way, while others believe that the restraining power of the Roman government is referred to. It is known that the Roman policy was to discounten its religious contention, and to allow a large measure of liberty in forms of worship as long as the gods of Rome were not maligned, nor their shrines dishonored. As Roman supremacy declined, the mystery of iniquity embodied in the apostate church operated practically without restraint. The expression mystery of iniquity, as used by Paul, is significant. Prominent among the early perverters of the Christian faith were those who assailed its simplicity and lack of exclusiveness. This simplicity was so different from the mysteries of Judaism and the mysterious rites of heathen idolatry as to be disappointing to many, and the earliest changes in the Christian form of worship were marked by the introduction of mystic ceremonies. Paul's zeal as a missionary and a proselyter is abundantly shown in Scripture. He was equally zealous in seeking to maintain the faith of those who had accepted the truth. The Pauline epistles abound in admonitions and pleadings against the increasing influence of false doctrine, and in expressions of sorrow over the growth of apostasy in the church. His words addressed to Timothy are both emphatic and empathetic. Hold fast to the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us, this thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. An excellent summary of important utterances by the Apostle Paul relating to the beginning of the apostasy as a fact in the early apostolic age has been made by one of the Latter-day Apostles Orson Pratt. He writes as follows, The great apostasy of the Christian church commenced in the first century, while there was yet inspired apostles and prophets in their midst. Hence Paul, just previous to his martyrdom, enumerates a great number who had made shipwreck of their faith, and turned aside unto vain jangling, teaching that the resurrection was already past, giving heed to fables and endless genealogies, doubting about questions and strives of words, whereof came envies, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men, of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. This apostasy had become so general that Paul declares to Timothy that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. And again he says, At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. He further says that there are many unruly and vain talkers, deceivers, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lookers' sake. These apostates, no doubt, pretended to be very righteous, for, says the apostle, they profess that they know God, but in words they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate. Jude admonished the saints to be on their side against men who were in the service of Satan, seeking to corrupt the church, addressing himself to them that are sanctified by God the faithful and preserved in Jesus Christ, he said, It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly content for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints, for there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is plain that Jude considered the faith which was once delivered unto the saints, as in danger, and he urges the faithful to content for it and openly defend it. He reminds the saints that they had been told there should be mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts and adds, These be they who separate themselves, Clearly, he is referring to the apostates of the time who, because of sensual appetites and lustful desires, had separated themselves from the church. During the banishment of John the Revelator on the Isle of Potmos, when nearly all the apostles had been taken from the earth, many of them having suffered martyrdom, the apostasy was so widespread that only seven churches, i.e. branches of the church, remained in such condition as to be considered deserving of the special communication John was instructed to give. In a marvelous vision he beheld the seven churches typified by seven golden candlesticks, with seven stars representing the presiding officers of the several churches, and in the midst of the golden candlesticks, with the stars in his hand stood one like unto the Son of Man. The church at Ephesus was approved for its good works, specifically for its rejection of the Nicolation heresies. Nevertheless, reproof was administered for disaffection and neglect. Thus thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. To the church at Pergamos John was commanded to write, denouncing the false doctrines and certain sects of teachers, and I hate, said the Lord. The church of Laodicians was denounced as lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, and as priding itself as rich and not in need, whereas it was in reality wretched and miserable, and poor and blind and naked. The four growing scriptures are ample as proof that even before the ancient apostles had finished their earthly ministry, apostasy was growing apace. The testimony of the early Christian fathers who wrote in the period immediately following the passing of the apostles is to the same effect. According to the generally accepted chronology, the prophetic message of John the Revelator to the churches of Asia was given in the last years of the first century. Among the historians of that period whose writings are not regarded as canonical or scriptural, but which are nevertheless accepted as genuine and reliable, was Haggisipus, who flourished nearest the days of the apostles, writing of the conditions marking the close of the first century and the beginning of the second. Asubius cites the testimony of the earlier writer as follows. The same author, Haggisipus, relating the events of the times, also says that the church continued until then as a pure and uncorrupt virgin, whilst if there were any at all that attempted to pervert the sound of the saving gospel. They were yet skulking in dark retreats, but when the sacred choir of apostles became extinct and the generation of those that had been privileged to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then also the combinations of impious error arose by the fraud and delusions of false teachers. These also, as there were none of the apostles left, henceforth attempted without shame to preach their false doctrine against the gospel of truth, such as the statement of Haggisipus. There can be little doubt that the false teachers referred to in the testimony last cited were professed adherents of the church and not outside opponents in as much as they were restrained by the influence and authority of the apostles and waited the passing of the authorized leaders as an opportunity to corrupt the church by evil teachings. A later writer commenting on the schisms and dissensions that the church was rent in the later part of the first century, the period immediately following that of the apostolic ministry, says it will easily be imagined that unity and peace could not reign long in the church, since it was composed of Jews and Gentiles who regarded each other with the bitterest aversion. Besides, as the converts to Christianity could not extirpate radically the prejudices which had been formed in their minds by education and confirmed by time, they brought with them into the bosom of the church more or less of the heirs of their former religions. Thus the seed of discord and controversy were easily sown and could not fail to spring up soon into animosities and dissensions, which accordingly broke out and divided the church. Another recognized authority on ecclesiastical history, and one whose avowed purpose was to present the truth respecting the church in its most favorable light, is Joseph Milner, author of a comprehensive History of the Church of Christ. He comments on the state of the church at the close of the first century in this wise. Let us keep in view what that, the spirit of the Gospel, really is the simple faith of Christ as the only saviour of lost sinners, and the effectual influences of the Holy Ghost in recovering souls altogether depraved by sin. These are in the leading ideas. When the effusion of the Holy Ghost first took place these things were taught with power and no sentiments which militated against them could be supported for a moment. As through the prevalence of human corruption and the crafts of Satan the love of truth was lessened heresies in various abuses of the Gospel appeared, and in estimating them we may form some idea of the declination of true religion toward the end of the first century. The same writer continues Yet a gloomy cloud hung over the conclusion of the first century the first impressions made by the effusion of the spirit are generally the strongest and the most decisively distinct from the spirit of the world but human depravity overborn for a time arises afresh particularly in the next generation hence the disorders of schism and heresy. Their tendency is to destroy the pure work of God. The purpose of this chapter has been to demonstrate the early beginning of the apostasy so soon to become general and later universal. The specific causes directly contributing to the degradation of the church are reserved for future consideration. The growth of apostasy on the western hemisphere. Now let us see what was the condition of the church established by the resurrected Lord among the descendants of Lehi on the American continent. In this undertaking we shall not predict ourselves to the beginning of the disruption alone. In as much as the course of apostasy among the Nephites was so rapid and the period intervening between the establishment of the church and the destruction of the nation was so brief we shall consider the history of the church to its close and thus obviate the necessity of recurring to the subject in later chapters. We read that the church had prospered until about 200 AD. Then apostasy became general in which note the following. And now in this 201st year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride and they began to be divided into classes and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain and began to deny the true Church of Christ and it came to pass that when 210 years had passed away there were many churches in the land. Yay! There were many churches which profess to know the Christ and yet they did deny this gospel in so much that they did receive all manner of wickedness and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness and this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity and because of the power of Satan who did get hold upon their hearts and again there was another church which denied the Christ and they had persecute the true Church of Christ because of their humility and their belief in Christ and they did despise them because of the many miracles which were wrought among them. The Book of Mormon record is definite in its specifications of the immediate reasons for or causes of the great apostasy on the western hemisphere while the members of the church remained faithful to their covenants and obligations they as individuals and the church as an organization prospered and their enemies were unable to prevail against them with prosperity however came pride and class distinctions the rich the poor and earthly gain became the object of life. Secret organizations of evil purpose flourished the people were divided into two opposing factions those who still professed a belief in Christ being known as Nephites and their enemies as Lamanites without regard to actual descent or family relationship with the growth of pride and its attendant sins the Nephites became as wicked as the non professing Lamanites and in their wickedness these people sought each other's destruction consider the pathos and dire tragedy expressed in the words of Moroni the solitary survivor of a once blessed and mighty nation. Behold 400 years have passed away since the coming of our Lord and Savior and behold the Lamanites have hunted my people the Nephites down from city to city and from place to place even until they are no more and great has been their fall. Yay marvelous is the destruction of my people the Nephites and behold it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it and behold also the Lamanites are at war one with another and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed and no one know at the end of the war and now behold I say no more concerning them for there are none save it be the Lamanites and robbers that do exist upon the face of the land and there are none that do know the true God save it be the disciples of Jesus who did tarry in the land until the wickedness of the people was so great that the Lord would not suffer them to remain with the people and whether they be upon the face of the land no man knoweth. End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Read by Matthias Whitney The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage Chapter 4 Causes of the Apostasy External Causes Considered We are now to consider some of the principal causes contributing to the apostasy from the primitive church and leading later to the apostasy of the church as an earthly institution We are to study the matter in which those causes have operated In the scriptures before cited as proof of the early beginning of the apostasy many of the contributing causes are indicated such as the rise of false teachers the spread of heretical doctrines and the growth of the power of Satan in general These may be classed as internal causes originating within the church itself In contrast with these there were other conditions operating upon the church from without and such may be classed as external causes For convenience and study we shall consider the subject in the following order of treatment 1. External Causes External Causes of the Great Apostasy External conditions operating against the church tending to restrict its development and contributing to its decline may be designated by the general term persecution It is a matter of history undisputed and indisputable that from the time of its inception to that of its actual cessation the church established by Jesus Christ was the object of bitter persecution and the victim of violence The question as to whether persecution is to be regarded as an element tending to produce apostasy is worthy of present consideration opposition is not always destructive on the contrary it may contribute to growth persecution may impel to greater zeal and thus prove itself a potent factor of advancement a proverb still in favor declares that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church but proverbs and adages aphorisms and parables while true as generalities are not always applicable to special conditions Undoubtedly the persistent persecution to which the early church was subjected caused many of its adherence to renounce the faith they had professed and to return to their former allegiances whether judaistic or pagan church membership was thus diminished but such instances of apostasy from the church may be regarded as individual desertions and of comparatively little importance in its effect upon the church as a body the dangers that affrighted some would arouse the determination of others the ranks deserted by disaffected weaklings would be replenished by zealous converts let it be repeated that apostasy from the church is insignificant as compared with the apostasy of the church as an institution persecution as a cause of apostasy has operated indirectly but nonetheless effectively upon the church of Christ we have considered briefly the testimony of early church historians showing that schism, contention and perversion of doctrine invaded the church immediately after the passing of the apostles we have seen how wolves had awaited the departure of the shepherds that they might the more effectively worry the flock it cannot be denied that the early persecutions were directed most particularly against the leaders of the people the sharpest shafts were aimed against the officers of the church in the fierce battle between Christianity and its allied foes Judaism and heathen dumb the strong men who stood for Christ were the first to fall and with their fall the traitors within the church the ungodly and the rebellious those who had crept in unawares and whose sinister purpose it was to pervert the gospel of Christ were relieved of restraint and found themselves free to propagate their heresies and to undermine the foundations of the church persecution operating from without and therefore essentially an external cause served to set in motion the ingenery of disruption within the church and therefore must be treated as an effective element contributing to the great apostasy a further purpose in introducing here a brief summary of the persecutions of which the early church was the victim is that of affording a basis of ready comparison between such and the persecutions waged by the apostate church itself in later centuries we shall find that the sufferings of the church in the days of its integrity are surpassed by the cruel inflections perpetrated in the name of Christ moreover a study of the early persecutions will enable us to contrast the conditions of opposition and poverty with those of ease and affluence as affecting the integrity of the church and the devotion of its adherence the persecution to which the primitive church was subjected was twofold namely Judaistic and pagan it must be remembered that the Jews were distinguished from all other nations of antiquity by their belief in the existence of living God the rest of the world before and at the time of Christ was idolatrous and pagan professively believing in a host of deities yet with no recognition of a supreme being and a living personage the Jews were bitter in their opposition to Christianity which they regarded as a rival religion to their own and moreover they recognized the fact that if Christianity ever came to be generally accepted as the truth their nation would stand convicted of having put to death the Messiah Judaistic persecution opposition to Christianity on the part of those who belong to the house of Israel was rather Judaistic than Jewish the conflict was between systems not between peoples or nations Christ was a Jew his apostles were Jews and the disciples who constituted the body at its establishment and throughout the early years of its existence were largely Jews our Lord's instructions to the 12 on their first missionary tour restricted their ministry to the house of Israel and when the time was propitious for extending the privileges of the gospel to the Gentiles a miraculous manifestation was necessary to convince the apostles that such extension was proper the church was at first exclusively and for a long time preeminently Jewish in membership Judaism the religious system founded on the law of Moses was the great enemy of Christianity when therefore we read of the Jews opposing the church we understand that Judaistic Jews are meant defenders of Judaism as a system upholders of the law and enemies of the gospel with this explanation of the distinction between the Jews as a people and Judaism as a system we may employ the terms Jews and Jewish according to common usage keeping in mind however the true signification of the terms Judaistic opposition to the church was predicted while Jesus ministered in the flesh he specifically and repeatedly warned the apostles of the persecution they would have to meet in answering certain inquiries Christ said to Peter and others but take heed to yourselves for they shall deliver you up to councils and in the synagogues he shall be beaten and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for a testimony against them shortly before his betrayal the Lord repeated the warnings with solemn impressiveness citing the persecutions to which he had been subject and declaring that his disciples could not escape if the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you if ye were of the world the world would love his own but because ye are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateeth you therefore the world that I said unto you the servant is not greater than his Lord if they have persecuted me they will also persecute you the extreme depravity to which the bigoted persecutors would sink is set forth in these further words of the Saviour they shall put you out of the synagogues ye the time cometh that whosoever kills you will think that he doeth God service and these things will they do unto you because they have not known the Father these predictions had speedy and literal fulfillment from the time of the crucifixion Jewish malignity and hatred were directed against all who professed a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ in the early stages of their ministry several of the apostles were imprisoned and the priestly leaders sought to take their lives Stephen was stoned to death because of his testimony and the persecution against the church became general James the son of Zebedee was slain by order of Herod and Peter was saved from a similar fate only by a miraculous intervention the scriptural record informs us as to the ultimate fate of but few of the apostles and secular history is likewise incomplete that Peter would be numbered with the martyrs was made known by the resurrected Lord Paul sets forth the fact that the apostles lived in the very shadow of death and that persecution was their heritage not only did the Jews wage relentless persecution against those of their number who professed Christ but they sought to stir up opposition on the part of the Romans and to accomplish this end charged that the Christians were plotting treason against the Roman government even during the personal ministry of the early apostles persecution of the saints had spread from Jerusalem throughout Palestine and into adjacent provinces in this evil work the Jews sought to incite their own people living in the outlying parts and also to arouse the opposition of the officers and rulers of the Roman dominions as evidence of this phase of the persecution partly Jewish and partly pagan instigated by Jews and participated in by others the following quotation from Mosheem may suffice the Jews who lived out of Palestine in the Roman provinces did not yield to those of Jerusalem in point of cruelty to the innocent disciples of Christ we learn from the history of the acts of the apostles and other records of unquestionable authority that they spared no labor but zealously seized every occasion of animating the magistrates against the Christians and setting on the multitude to demand their destruction the high priest of the nation and the Jews who dwelt in Palestine were instrumental in inciting the rage of these foreign Jews against the infant church by sending messengers to exhort them not only to avoid all intercourse with the Christians but also to persecute them in the most vehement manner for this inhuman order they endeavored to find out the most plausible pretexts and therefore they gave out that the Christians were enemies to the Roman emperor since they acknowledged the authority of a certain person whose name was Jesus whom Pilate had punished capital as a mal-factor by a most righteous sentence and on whom nevertheless they conferred the royal dignity in the latter half of the first century the scene of the Judaistic persecution of the church had shifted from Jerusalem to the outlying provinces and the cause of this was the general exodus of Christians from the city whose destruction had been decreed Our lord's predictions as to the fate of Jerusalem and his warnings to the people had been very generally heeded Eusebius informs us that the body of the church had moved from Jerusalem into the provinces beyond the Jordan and thus largely escaped the calamities of the Jews who remained End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 of The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmadge This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Read by Matthias Whitney The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmadge Chapter 5 Causes of the Apostasy External Causes Continued As already pointed out it is convenient to study the causes leading to the Great Apostasy as belonging to two classes external and internal or one causes due to conditions operating against the church from without and two causes arising from dissension and heresy within the church itself We have summarized external causes under the general term persecution and we have drawn a distinction between Judaistic and pagan persecution waged against the church having dealt with the opposition suffered by the early Christians at the hands of the Jews or through Jewish instigation we have now to consider the persecution brought upon the believers in Christ by pagan nations pagan persecution The term pagan as used here may be taken as a synonym of heathen and is to be understood as referring to persons or peoples who did not believe the existence of the living God and whose worship was essentially idolatrous The motives impelling non-believing Jews to oppose the establishment and spread of Christianity may readily be understood in view of the fact that the religion taught by Christ appeared as a rival to Judaism and that the growth and spread of the one meant the decline if not the extinction of the other The immediate motive leading to bitter and widespread persecution of the Christians by heathen peoples is not so easy to perceive since there is no uniform system of idolatrous worship in any single nation but a vast diversity of deities and cults of idolatry to know one of which was Christianity opposed more than to all yet we find the worshipers of idols forgetting their own differences and uniting in opposition to the gospel of peace in persecution waged with incredible ferocity and indescribable cruelty Unfortunately historians differ widely in their records about the persecution of Christians according to the point of view from which each writer wrote Thus in a general way Christian authors have given extreme accounts of the sufferings to which the church and its adherents individually were subjected while non-Christian historians have sought to lessen and minimize the extent and severity of the cruelty's practice against the Christians There are facts however which neither party denies and to which both give place to the reputation of these facts drawing just and true inferences therefrom should be our purpose Among pagan persecutors of the church the Roman Empire is the principal aggressor This may appear strange in view of the general tolerance exercised by Rome toward her tributary peoples Indeed, the real cause of Roman opposition to Christianity has given rise to many conjectures It is probable that intolerant zeal on the part of the Christians themselves had much to do with their unpopularity than nations The subject is conservatively summed up by Mosheem as follows A very natural curiosity calls us to inquire how it happened that the Romans who were troublesome to no nation on account of their religion and who suffered even the Jews to live under their own laws and follow their own methods of worship treated the Christians alone with such severity This important question seems still more difficult to be solved Consider that the excellent nature of the Christian religion and its admirable tendency to promote both the public welfare of the state and the private felicity of the individual entitled it in a singular manner to the favour and protection of the reigning powers One of the principal reasons of the severity with which the Romans persecuted the Christians not withstanding these considerations seems to have been the abhorrence and contempt with which the latter regarded the religion of the Empire which was so intimately connected with the form and indeed with the very essence of its political constitution for though the Romans gave an unlimited toleration to all religions which had nothing in their tenants dangerous to the commonwealth yet they would not permit that of their ancestors which was established by the laws of the state to be turned into derision nor the people to be drawn away from their attachment to it These however were the two things they were attached with and that justly though to their honour They dared to ridicule the absurdities of the pagan superstition and they were ardent and assiduous in gaining proselytes to the truth nor did they only attack the religion of Rome but also all the different shapes and forms under which superstition appeared in the various countries where they exercised their ministry From this the Romans concluded that the Christian sect was not only insupportably daring and arrogant an enemy to the public tranquility and every way proper to excite civil wars and commotions in the empire It is probably on this account that Tacitus reproaches them with the odious character of haters of mankind and styles the religion of Jesus as destructive superstition and that Suetonius speaks of the Christians and their doctrine in terms of the same kind Another circumstance that irritated the Romans against the Christians was the simplicity of their worship which resembled in nothing the sacred rites of any other people The Christians had neither sacrifices nor temples nor images nor oracles nor sacerdotal orders and this was sufficient to bring upon them the approaches of an ignorant multitude who imagined that there could be no religion without these Persecution of the church by Roman authority may be said to have begun in the reign of Nero, AD 64 and to have continued to the close of Diocletian's reign AD 305 Within this range of time there were many periods of diminished severity, if not of comparative tranquility Nevertheless, the church was the object of heathen oppression for about two and a half centuries Attempts have been made by Christian writers to segregate the persecution into 10 distinct and separate onslaughts and some profess to find a mystic relation between the 10 persecutions classified and the 10 plagues of Egypt as also an analogy with the 10 horns mentioned by John the Revelator. As a matter of fact detested by history the number of persecutions of unusual severity was less than 10, while the total of all including local and restricted assaults would be much greater Persecution under Nero The first extended and notable persecution of Christians under the official edict of a Roman emperor was that instigated by Nero AD 64 As students of history know this monarch is remembered mostly for his crimes. During the latter part of his infamous reign a large section of the city of Rome was destroyed by fire. He was suspected by some of being responsible for the disaster and fearing the resentment of the infuriated people he sought to implicate the unpopular and much maligned Christians as the incendiaries and by torture tried to force a confession from them As to what followed the foul accusation let us consider the words of a non-Christian writer, Tacitus whose integrity as a historian is held in esteem With this view he, Nero inflicted the most exquisite tortures on those men who under the vulgar appellation of Christians were already branded with deserved infamy They derived their name and origin from Christ who, in the reign of Tiberius, had suffered death by the sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate For a while this dire superstition was checked but it again burst forth and not only spread itself over Judea the first seat of this mischievous sect but was even introduced into Rome the common asylum which receives and protects whatever is impure whatever is atrocious The confessions of those that were seized discovered a great multitude of their accomplices and they were all convicted not so much for the crime of setting fire to the city as for their hatred of humankind They died in torments and their torments were embittered by insults and origin Some were nailed on crosses, others sewn up in the skins of wild beasts and exposed to the fury of dogs Others again smeared over with combustible materials and were used as torches to illuminate the darkness of the night The gardens of Nero were destined for the melancholy spectacle which was accompanied with a horse race and honored with the presence of the emperor who mingled with the populace in the dress and attitude of a charioteer The guilt of the Christians deserved indeed the most exemplary punishments but the public abhorrence was changed into commiseration from the opinion that those unhappy wretches were sacrificed not so much to the public welfare as to the cruelty of a jealous tyrant There is some disagreement among historians as to whether the neuronian persecution is to be regarded as a local infliction practically confined to the city of Rome or as general throughout the provinces The consensus of opinion favors the belief that the provinces followed the example of the metropolis and that the persecution was common throughout the church This, the first persecution by Roman edict, practically ended with the death of the tyrant Nero AD 68 According to tradition handed down from the early Christian writers Basil Paul and Peter suffered martyrdom at Rome The former by beheading the latter by crucifixion during this persecution and it is further stated that Peter's wife was put to death shortly before her husband but the tradition is neither confirmed nor disproved by authentic record persecution under Domitian The second officially appointed persecution under Roman authority began 93 or 94 AD in the reign of Domitian Christians and Jews came under this Prince's displeasure because they refused to reverence the statues he had erected as objects of adoration A further cause for his special animosity against the Christians as affirmed by early writers is as follows The emperor was persuaded that he was in danger of losing his throne in view of a reputed prediction that from the family to which Jesus belonged there would arise one who would weaken if not overthrow the power of Rome with this as his ostensible excuse this wicked ruler waged terrible destruction on an innocent people happily the persecution thus started was of but few years duration Mosheem and others averred that the end of the persecution was caused by the emperor's untimely death though Eusebius who wrote in the fourth century quotes an earlier writer as declaring that Domitian had the living descendants of the Saviour's family brought before him and that after questioning them he became convinced that he was in no danger from them and thereupon dismissed them with contempt and ordered the persecution to cease it is believed that while the edict of Domitian was in force the Apostle John suffered banishment to the Isle of Patmos persecution under Trajan what is known in ecclesiastical history as the third persecution of the Christian church took place in the reign of Trajan who occupied the imperial throne from 98 to 117 AD he was and is regarded as one of the best of the Roman emperors yet he sanctioned violent persecution of the Christians owing to their inflexible obstinacy in refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods history has preserved to us a very important letter asking instructions from the emperor by the younger Pliny who was governor of Pontus and the emperors replied there too this correspondence is instructive as showing the extent to which Christianity had spread at that time and the way in which believers were treated by the officers of the state Pliny inquired of the emperor as to the policy to be pursued in dealing with the Christians within his jurisdiction were young and old tender and robust to be treated alike or should punishment be graded should opportunity be given the accused to recant the fact that they had once professed Christianity to be considered as an unpardonable offense were those convicted as Christians to be punished for their religion alone or only for specific offenses resulting from their membership in the Christian church after propounding such queries the governor proceeded to report to the emperor what he had done in the absence of definite instructions in reply the emperor directed that the Christians were not to be hunted nor sought after vindictively but if accused and brought before the judgment seat and if then they refused to renounce their faith they were to be put to death persecution under Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius reigned from 161 to 180 AD he was noted as one who sought the greatest good of his people yet under his government the Christians suffered added cruelties persecution was most severe in Gaul now France among those who met the martyrs fate at that time were Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna and Justin Martyr known in history as the philosopher with reference to the seeming anomaly that even the best of rulers permitted and even prosecuted vigorous opposition to Christian devotees as exemplified by the acts of this emperor a modern writer has said it should be noted that the persecution of the Christians under the pagan emperors sprung from political rather than religious motives and that is why we find the names of the best emperors as well as those of the worst in the list of persecutors it was believed that the welfare of the state was bound up with the careful performance of the rights of the national worship and hence while the Roman rulers were usually very tolerant allowing all forms of worship among their subjects still they required that men of every faith should at least recognize the Roman gods and burn incense before their statues this the Christians steadily refused to do their neglect of the service of the temple it was believed angered the gods and endangered the safety of the state bringing upon it drought, pestilence and every disaster this was the main reason of their persecution by pagan emperors later persecutions with occasional periods of partial secession the Christian believers continued to suffer at the hands of heathen opponents throughout the second and third centuries a violent persecution marked the reign of Severus 193 to 211 AD in the first decade of the third century another characterized the reign of Maximon 235 to 238 AD a period of unusual severity and persecution and suffering befell the Christians during the short reign of Dessius known also as Dessius Trajan 249 to 251 AD the persecution under Dessius is designated in ecclesiastical history as the seventh persecution of the Christian church others followed in rapid succession some of these periods of specific oppression we pass over and come to the consideration of the diochlesion persecution which is spoken of as the 10th and happily the last diochlesion reigned from 284 to 305 AD at first he was very tolerant toward Christian belief and practice indeed it is of record that his wife and daughter were Christians though in some sense secretly later however he turned against the church and undertook to bring about a total suppression of the Christian religion to this end he ordered a general destruction of Christian books and accrued the penalty of death against all who kept such works in their possession fire broke out twice in the royal palace at Nicomedia and on each occasion the incediary act was charged against the Christians with terrible results four separate edicts each surpassing in vehemence the earlier decrees were issued against the believers and for a period of 10 years they were the victims of unrestrained rapine, spoliation and torture at the end of the decade of terror the church was in a scattered and seemingly in a hopeless condition sacred records had been burnt places of worship had been raised to the ground thousands of Christians had been put to death and every possible effort had been made to destroy the church and abolish Christianity from the earth descriptions of the horrible extremes to which brutality was carried are sickening to the soul a single example must suffice Eusebius referring to the persecutions in Egypt says and such too was the severity of the struggle which was endured by the Egyptians who wrestled gloriously for the faith at Tyre thousands both men and women and children devising the present life for the sake of our saviour's doctrine submitted to death in various shapes some after being tortured with scrappings in the rack and the most dreadful scourgings and other innumerable agonies which one might shudder to hear were finally committed to the flames and some plunged and drowned in the sea others voluntarily offering their own heads to their executioners others dying in the midst of their torments some wasted away by famine and others again fixed to the cross some indeed were executed as malfactors usually were others more cruelly were nailed with the head downwards and kept alive until they were destroyed by starving on the cross itself a modern writer whose tendency ever was to minimize the extent of Christian persecution is Edward Gibbon his account of the conditions prevailing during this period of Dioclation Outrage is as follows the magistrates were commanded to employ every method of severity which might reclaim them from their odious superstition and oblige them to return to the established worship of the gods this rigorous order was extended by a subsequent edict to the whole body of Christians who were exposed to a violent and general persecution instead of those salutary restraints which had required the direct and solemn testimony of an accuser it became the duty as well as the interest of the Imperial Officer to discover, to pursue and to torment the most obnoxious among the faithful heavy penalties were denounced against all who should presume to save a proscribed sectary from the just indignation of the gods and of the emperors so general was the Dioclation persecution and so destructive its effect that as its cessation the Christian church was thought to be forever extinct monuments were raised to commemorate a persecutor, notably two pillars erected in Spain on one of them is an inscription extolling the mighty Dioclation for having extinguished the name of Christians who brought the Republic to ruin a second pillar commemorates the reign of Dioclation and honors the Imperator for having everywhere abolished the superstition of Christ for having extended the worship of the gods a medal struck in honor of Dioclation bears the inscription the name of Christian being extinguished to the fallacy of these assumptions subsequent events testify the Dioclation oppression was the last of the great persecutions brought by pagan Rome against Christianity as a whole the stupendous change amounting to a revolution now appears in the affairs of the church Constantine, known in history as Constantine the Great became Emperor of Rome AD 306 and reigned AD 31 years early in his reign he espoused the hitherto unpopular cause of the Christians and took the church under official protection a legend gained currency that the emperor's conversion was due to a supernatural manifestation whereby he saw a luminous cross appear in the heavens with the inscription by this sign Conquer the genuineness of this alleged manifestation is doubtful and the evidence of history is against it the incident is here mentioned to show the means devised to make Christianity popular at the time it is held by many judicious historians that Constantine's so-called conversion was rather a matter of policy than a sincere acceptance of the truth of Christianity the emperor himself remained a catechumen that is an unbaptized believer until shortly before his death when he became a member by baptism but whatever his motives may have been he made Christianity the religion of state issuing an official decree in this effect in 313 he made the cross the royal standard and the Roman legions now for the first time marched beneath the emblem of Christianity Myers immediately following the change there was great competition for church preferment the office of a bishop came to be more highly esteemed than the rank of a general he himself was the real head of the church it became unpopular and decidedly disadvantageous in a material sense to be known as a non-christian pagan temples were transformed into churches and heathen idols were demolished we read that 12,000 men and a proportionate number of women and children were baptized into the church of Rome alone within a single year Constantine removed the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium which city he renamed after himself Constantinople this the present capital of Turkey became headquarters of the state church how empty in vain appears the Diocletian boast that Christianity was forever extinguished yet how different was the church under the patronage of Constantine from the church as established by Christ and as built up by his apostles the church had already become apostate as judged by the standard of its original constitution End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 of The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmadge this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org read by Matthias Whitney The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmadge Chapter 6 Causes of the Apostasy internal causes and the church as an organized body were subjected during the first three centuries of our era have been treated as external causes contributing at least indirectly to the general apostasy details of Judaistic and heathen opposition have been given with sufficient fullness to show that the unpopular church had a troubled existence and that such of its members has remained faithful to the tenets and principles of the gospel were martyrs in spirit if not in fact would naturally be expected the immediate effect of persistent persecution on those who professed a belief in the divinity of the Lord Jesus was diverse and varied indeed it ranged from unrestrained enthusiasm expressed in frenzied clamoring for martyrdom to ready and object apostasy with ostentatious display of devotion in idolatrous service many of the Christian devotees developed a zeal amounting to mania and disregarding all prudence and discretion the glory in the prospect of winning the martyr's crown some who had been left unassailed felt themselves aggrieved and became their own accusers while others openly committed acts of aggression with intent to bring resentment upon themselves these extravagances were doubtless encouraged by the excessive veneration accorded to the memories and the bodily remains of those who had fallen as victims in the cause the reverential respect so rendered developed later into the impious practice of martyr worship commenting on the imprudent enthusiasm of early Christians Gibbon says the Christians sometimes supplied by their voluntary declaration the want of an accuser rudely disturbed the public service of paganism and rushing in crowds around the tribunal of the magistrates called upon them to pronounce and to inflict the sentence of the law the behavior of the Christians was too remarkable to escape the notice of the ancient philosophers but they seemed to have received it with much less admiration than astonishment incapable of conceiving the motives which sometimes transported the fortitude of believers beyond the bound of prudence and reason they treated such an eagerness to die as the strange result of obstinate despair of stupid insensibility or of superstitious frenzy but there is another side to the picture while imprudent zealots invited dangers from which they might have remained exempt others affrighted at the possibility of being included among the victims voluntarily deserted the church and returned to heathen allegiances Milner speaking of conditions existing in the third century and incorporating the words of Cyprian Bishop of Carthage who lived at the time of the incident described says fast numbers lapsed into idolatry immediately even before men were accused as Christians many ran to the forum and sacrificed to the gods as they were ordered and the crowds of apostates were so great that the magistrates wished to delay numbers of them till the next day but they were importuned by the wretched suppliance to be allowed to prove themselves heathens that very night in connection with the individual apostasy of church members under the pressure of persecution there arose among the provincial governors a practice of selling certificates or libels as these documents were called which attested that the persons therein mentioned had complied with the laws and sacrificed to the Roman deities by producing these false declarations the opulent and timid Christians were enabled to silence the malice of an informer and to reconcile in some measure their safety with their religion a modification to this practice of quasi-apostasy consisted in procuring testimonials from persons of standing certifying that the holders had abjured the gospel these documents were presented to the heathen magistrates and they, on receipt of a specified fee granted exemption from the requirement of sacrificing to the pagan gods as a result of these practices whereby under favorable circumstances the wealthy could purchase immunity from persecution and at the same time maintain a semblance of standing in the church much dissension arose the question being as to whether those who had thus shown their weakness could ever be received again into communion with the church persecution at most was but an indirect cause of the decline of Christianity and the perversion of the saving principles of the gospel of Christ the greater and more immediate dangers threatening the church must be sought within the body itself indeed the pressure of opposition from without served to restrain the bubbling springs of internal dissension and actually delayed the more destructive eruptions of the church a general review of the history of the church down to the end of the third century shows that the periods of comparative peace were periods of weakness and decline in spiritual earnestness and that with the return of persecution came an awakening and a renewal in Christian devotion devout leaders of the people were not backward in declaring that each recurring period of persecution was a time of natural and necessary chastisement for the sin and corruption gained headway within the church as to the condition of the church in the middle of the third century Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage thus speaks if the cause of our miseries be investigated the cure of the wound may be found the Lord would have his family to be tried and because long peace had corrupted the discipline divinely revealed to us the heavenly chastisement hath raised up our faith which had lain almost dormant by our sins we had deserved to suffer still more the merciful Lord so moderated all things that the whole scene rather deserves the name of a trial than a persecution each had been bent on improving his patrimony and had forgotten what believers had done under the apostles and what they ought always to do they were brooding over the arts of amassing wealth the pastors and the deacons each forgot their duty works of mercy were neglected and discipline was at the lowest ebb luxury and effeminacy prevailed meretricious arts and dress were cultivated frauds and deceit were practiced among brethren Christians could unite themselves in matrimony with unbelievers could swear not only without reverence but even without veracity with haughty asperity they despise their ecclesiastical leaders they railed against one another without outrageous acrimony and conducted quarrels with determined malice even many bishops who ought to be guides and patterns to the rest neglecting the peculiar duties of their station gave themselves up to secular pursuits they deserted their places of residence and their flocks they traveled through distant provinces in quest of pleasure and gain gave no assistance to the needy brethren but were insatiable in their thirst of money they possessed estates by fraud and multiplied usury what have we not deserve to suffer for such a conduct even the divine word hath foretold us what we might expect if his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments I will visit their offenses with the rod and their sin with scourges these things had been denounced and foretold but in vain our sins had brought our affairs to that pass that because we had despised the Lord's directions we were obliged to undergo a correction of our multiplied evils and a trial of our faith by severe remedies Milner who quotes approvingly the severe arraignment of the church in the third century as given above cannot be charged with bias against Christian institutions in as much as his declared purpose in presenting to the world an additional history of the church of Christ was to give due attention to certain phases of the subject slided or neglected by earlier authors and notably to emphasize the piety not the wickedness of the professed followers of Christ this author avowedly friendly to the church and her votaries admits the growing depravity of the Christian sect and declares that toward the end of the third century the effect of the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit had become exhausted and that there remained little proof of any close relationship between Christ and the church Note his summary of conditions The era of its actual declension must be dated in the pacific part of Diocletian's reign In its whole century the work of God in purity and power had been tending to decay the connection with philosophers was one of the principal causes outward peace and secular advantages completed the corruption ecclesiastical discipline which had been too strict was now relaxed exceedingly bishops and people were in a state of malice endless quarrels were fomented among contending parties and ambition and covetousness had in general the ascendancy in the Christian church the faith of Christ itself appeared now an ordinary business and here terminated or nearly so as far as appears that first great effusion of the spirit of God which began at the day of Pentecost human depravity affected throughout a general decay of godliness and one generation of men elapsed with very slender proofs of the spiritual presence of Christ with his church if further evidence be wanted as to the fires of disaffection smoldering within the church and so easily fanned into destructive flame let the testimony of Eusebius be considered with respect to conditions characterizing the second half of the third century and in weighing his words let it be remembered that he had expressly recorded his purpose of writing in defense of the church and in support of her institutions he bewails the tranquility preceding the Diocletian outbreak because of its injurious effect upon both officers and members of the church these are his words but when by excessive liberty we sunk into indolence and sloth one envying and reviling another in different ways and when we were almost as it were on the point of taking up arms against each other and were assailing each other with words as with darts and spears prelates envying against prelates and people rising up against people and hypocrisy and assimilation had arisen to the greater heights of malignity then the divine judgment which usually proceeds with a lenient hand whilst the multitudes were yet crowding into the church with gentle and mild visitations began to afflict its episcopacy the persecution having begun with those brethren that were in the army but with some but some that appeared to be our pastors deserting the law of piety slamed against each other with mutual strives only accumulating quarrels and threats rivalry, hostility and hatred to each other only anxious to assert the government as a kind of sovereignty for themselves as further illustrative of the decline of the Christian spirit towards the end of the third century Milner quotes the following observations of Eusebius an eyewitness of the conditions described the heavy hand of God's judgments began softly by little and little to visit us after his wanted manner but we were not at all moved with his hand nor took any pains to return to God we heaped sin upon sin judging like careless epicurians that God cared not for our sins nor would ever visit us on account of them and our pretended shepherds laying aside the rule of godliness practiced among themselves contention and division he adds that the dreadful persecution of Diocletian was then inflicted on the church as a just punishment and as the most proper chastisement for their iniquities it will be remembered that the great change whereby the church was raised to a place of honor in the state occurred in the early part of the fourth century it is a popular error to assume that the decay of the church as a spiritual institution dates from that time the picture of the church declining as to spiritual power an exact proportion to increase of temporal influence and wealth has appealed to rhetoricians and writers of sensational literature but such a picture does not present the truth the church was saturated with the spirit of apostasy long before Constantine took it under his powerful protection by according it official standing in the state in support of this statement I quote again from Milner the avowed friend of the church I know it is common for authors to represent the great declension of Christianity to have taken place only after its external establishment under Constantine but the evidence of history has compelled me to dissent from this view of things in fact we have seen that for a whole generation previous to the Diocletian persecution few marks of superior piety appeared scarce a luminary of godliness existed and it is not common in any age for a great work of the spirit of God to be exhibited but under the conduct of some remarkable saints pastors and reformers this whole period as well as the whole scene of the persecution is very barren in such characters moral and philosophical and monastical instructions will not affect for men what is to be expected from evangelical doctrine and if the faith of Christ was so much declined and its decayed state ought to be dated from about the year 270 we need not wonder that such scenes as Eusebius hints at without any circumstantial details took place in the Christian world he speaks also of the ambitious spirit of many in inspiring to the offices of the church the ill judged and unlawful ordinations the quarrels among confessors themselves and the contentions excited by young demagogues in the very relics of the persecuted church and the multiplied evils which their vices excited among Christians how sadly must the Christian world have declined which could thus conduct itself under the very rod of divine vengeance yet let not the infidel or the profane world triumph it was not Christianity but the departure from it which brought on these evils the foregoing embodies but a few of the many evidences that could be cited in demonstration of the fact that during the period immediately following the apostolic ministry the period covered the persecutions of the Christians by the heathen nations the church was undergoing internal deterioration and was in a state of increasing perversion among the more detailed or more specific causes of the ever widening departure from the spirit of the gospel of Christ this rapidly growing apostasy the following may be considered as important examples one the corrupting of the simple principles of the gospel by the great mixture of the so-called philosophic systems of the times two unauthorized additions to the ceremonies of the church and the introduction of vital changes in essential ordinances three unauthorized changes in church organization and government we shall consider in due order each of the three causes here enumerated it may appear that the conditions set forth in these specifications are more properly as effects or results than as causes incident to the general apostasy that they are in the nature of evidences or proofs of a departure from the original constitution of the church rather than specific causes by which the fact of the apostasy is to be explained or accounted for cause and effect however are sometimes very intimately associated and resulting conditions may furnish the best demonstration of causes in operation each of the conditions given above as a specific cause of the progressive apostasy was at its inception an evidence of existing unsoundness and an active cause of the graver results that followed each succeeding manifestation of the spirit of apostasy was at once the result of earlier disaffection and the cause of later and more pronounced developments End of Chapter 6