IT seems that from any and every point of observation that we may choose, the papacy appears to the worst advantage of any power on the earth. In studying the list of popes, I was struck with the shortness of the reign of a large number of them, and was thus led to draw a comparison between the average length of the reigns of the popes, and that of other rulers of the world. The following table shows the result:—ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.1

Thus it may be readily seen that the average length of the reigns of the popes is within forty-six days of a whole year shorter than that of any other succession of rulers from Babylon to this day. And it is a significant fact, that the next shortest is in the Western Empire, and still the next shortest is in the Roman Empire before it was divided; which all goes to show that the state of affairs was much worse under the popes, than during the Empire either before or after its division.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.2

But an objection might be raised against this count of the line of the popes, to the effect that it is not exactly fair, because it embraces the era of martyrdom, during which time many of the bishops of Rome were put to death in the persecutions suffered by the Christians. It is true that many of the early bishops suffered martyrdom. Therefore we will admit the justice of the claim, and will begin at the close of the era of martyrdom, when Constantine gave peace (?) to the church, and count to the Reformation. From Sylvester to the death of Leo X., or from A.D. 314- to 1522, a period of 1195 ^{613 yrs. interregnum.} years, there were 202 popes, whose average reign was 5 yrs., 10 mo. 29 da. This reveals the fact that the state of affairs was actually worse than appears in the preceding calculation; enough worse, indeed, to reduce the average a period of eight months and seventeen days.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.3

Without going into particulars, which would extend this article to an undue length, we will simply add a few leading facts:—ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.4

Two of the popes reigned less than a day.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.5

Six of them reigned less than a month.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.6

Twenty-five of them reigned less than a year.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.7

Eight of them were murdered.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.8

Four of them died in prison.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.9

Six of them were deposed. ^{7All of this list is between A.D. 315 and 1522.}ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.10

This by no means completes the list, but is enough to show somewhat of the character of these popes and their times. With a slight change, the words which Shakespeare puts into the mouth of King Richard II., would be literally true of these:—ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.11

“And tell sad stories of the death of popes:—
How some have been deposed,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
Some poisoned, some sleeping killed;
For within the hollow crown,
That rounds the mortal temples of a pope,
Keeps death his court; and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp;
Allowing him a breath, a little scene
To monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks;
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,—
As if this flesh, which walls about our life,
Were brass impregnable, and, humored thus,
Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and—farewell pope.”ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.12

As in Christ is embodied and manifested the “mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16), so on the other hand, in antichrist is embodied and manifested the “mystery of iniquity.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7. As in Christ, from whatever point we view him, we behold only godliness; so in the papal system, from whatever point we view it, we behold only iniquity, more than in any other system the world has seen. Whether it be viewed in its representative popes, such as Innocent III., crushing out heresy with fire and sword, deposing kings, trampling upon nations, filling Europe with bloodshed and woe; or Gregory VII., infamous Hildebrand, asserting absolute control over emperors, princes, priests, and people; or whether it be viewed as a system, infusing mankind with its baleful influence till it is reduced to the condition revealed by its place in the foregoing table, it presents itself as the worst of all things earthly. Worse than the “unspeakable Turk,” worse than the Eastern Empire of Rome when for five hundred years “the sepulcher was ever beside the throne,” worse than old Rome itself when the purple was never clear of blood. It fully justifies every title bestowed upon it in the Scriptures; and by the view here given, is especially illustrated and justified the comparison given in Daniel 11:31 and 12:11, between Pagan and Papal Rome, where Pagan Rome is designated as the “daily desolation,” while the Papacy is the “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION.”ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.13

The authorities I have consulted in compiling the foregoing table, are as follows:—ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.14

Rollin’s Ancient History, Prideaux’s Connection, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, Lyman’s Historical Chart, Harper’s Hayden’s Dictionary of Dates, Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, Lawrence’s Historical Studies.ARSH February 13, 1883, page 102.15

August 7, 1883