The strength of paganism had been tested. Truth, eternal truth, had dwelt in the person of the Man of Nazareth. With the death of Christ, Satan lost hope. Looking forward to his crucifixion, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” Satan, after his fall, had met from time to time with the representatives of other worlds. Some in that assembly, not comprehending the hideous nature of sin, had felt to question God’s wisdom in expelling Satan from the heavenly courts, but when Christ’s life was over, and they had seen the taunting of the enemy and his final act of murder, “the accuser of the brethren” was forever cast from the council of worlds. “And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth,” he knew that his time was short, and with renewed energy he sought to overthrow the truth of God, and crush those who adhered to it. The remaining portion of the eleventh chapter of Daniel clearly reveals the truth of these statements.SDP 218.1

After the ascension of Christ, his disciples spread the gospel throughout Judea and all Palestine, and many who heard the word spoken with power on the day of pentecost went into their own countries to proclaim the truth as it was in Christ. In less than thirty years the world was warned. But the Jews were exclusive, ^{MarginI am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14:6.

That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Hebrews 2:14.

1 John 3:5.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

Job 1:6.

I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.... And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.

1 Kings 22:19-23.

The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Revelation 12:10.

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

Revelation 12:13.

Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Revelation 12:12.

And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

Acts 2:8-11.} and the disciples had not yet lost the idea that Christ was the Saviour of the Hebrew race, not the healer of all mankind. Persecution in Jerusalem scattered the believers, and then they went everywhere preaching the salvation of God. Quietly, yet steadily, the life-giving current of the stream of Christianity penetrated to the remotest corners of the vast Roman Empire. All nationalities were for the first time in all history united in Him, for with him and his followers there was neither “Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ was all, and in all.”SDP 218.2

As the truth spread, it was the growth of an empire; a spiritual kingdom within the confines of earth’s strongest monarchy. It was with the whole church as with each individual within the church, a spiritual life, a new man, circled about by a human form. Well would it have been for the progress of truth if all oppression of the spiritual by the temporal had been only when the state opposed the church! Instead, the greatest, the only effectual drawback to the spread of the truth has been caused in individual experience when the physical man has limited the development of the spiritual, the abiding spirit, the Christ in you, the hope of glory.SDP 219.1

The early church was zealous; their first love was strong, and the greatest difficulties were met and surmounted. Sometimes it meant an entire household, but oftener only one or two members of the home circle who stepped out of the darkness of paganism to stand against all attacks, for the truth of God. Mothers watched their children with the greatest care, for every custom and practice of the people from their ^{MarginThe hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.

Colossians 1:6, 23.

Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.

Acts 8:4.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Romans 1:8.

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Colossians 3:11.

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Luke 17:20, 21.

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27.

Galatians 2:20.

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Romans 7:18-25.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Romans 8:7.

Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

Hebrews 12:1.

Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 15:26.

2 Corinthians 11:25-28.

I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

Jeremiah 3:14.

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

Colossians 1:13.

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from} waking moment to the time when they committed themselves to sleep, from birth to death, was associated with the worship of some god.SDP 219.2

One peculiar thing about the new sect, as they were viewed by the pagan worshipers, was the absence of images and forms which the senses could comprehend. When Christians gathered for worship, there was no altar, no god, no incense. When the Christians prayed, there was no priesthood, no vain repetition of words, no offering, but a simple petition in the name of Christ. An invisible power seemed to have taken control of the new converts, a power which never quailed, and which no pagan votary could gainsay. The life which God had so long searched for among the Jews was found among the early Christians.SDP 220.1

The enemy of truth had sought by every means to blind the eyes of the Jews to the love of God; he had worked through every government for their destruction, and when their nation was at its lowest point, when spiritual vitality was almost exhausted, Christ came in person to revive their fainting hope. Then Satan used every device to deceive the Son of man. He tempted him in all points where human nature can be tempted; he sought to ensnare him with petty trials; he sought to induce him to accept high worldly honors; but he failed in all, and when he thought he had gained the victory by his crucifixion, he found it was only the physical form which could be thus bound, and that only for a time. An eternal spirit dwelt in mortal clay, and the bands of death were broken by his resurrection. Now from the midst of that down trodden people, that despised race, from the ^{Marginmeats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well.

Fare ye well.

Acts 15:28, 29

Galatians 4:9, 10.

Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.

Deuteronomy 4:15-19.

Exodus 20:3, 5.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do.

Matthew 6:7.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled: and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13.

Acts 28:2-6.

Acts 5:17-26.

John 1:11.

But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.... How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?

John 5:42-44.

The whole world lieth in wickedness.

1 John 5:19.

For we have not a high priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 4:15.

And the devil taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

Luke 4:5, 6.

When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

John 6:15.

Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

John 14:30.} very foot of the ignominious cross, God chose a people and sent them forth to conquer the world. “Such knowledge is too wonderful; it is high, I can not attain unto it.” What wonder that the world awoke with a start, and that Satan sought new devices for the overthrow of truth.SDP 220.2

Outward pressure, though tried again and again, had proved unavailing in stamping out the truth. In the fiery furnace was seen the form of a fourth; from the lions’ den came forth a prime minister; from Joseph’s new sepulcher arose a conqueror. Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome had attempted the overthrow of truth, but there had been a constantly increasing grandeur in place of defeat. A new plan was devised by Satan. If paganism could be placed in the heart, while Christian principles were acknowledged outwardly, the overthrow would be certain; for destruction worketh from within, outward. It was a repetition of Balaam’s plan.SDP 221.1

Paul, the great teacher of righteousness, as he visited from place to place among the saints, wrote thus to the Thessalonians: “The mystery of iniquity doth already work.” “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 sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” This is Paul’s description of the mystery of iniquity, the fourth beast of the vision of Daniel seven.SDP 221.2

Then it was that into that church, noted for its purity, crept the life of paganism Sheltered ^{MarginGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Matthew 28:19, 20.

And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

Revelation 12:15.

Daniel 3:25.

Daniel 6:22.

Luke 24:5, 6.

There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 Peter 2:1.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: eat and drink, saith he to thee: but his heart is not with thee.

Proverbs 23:7.

But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Revelation 2:14.

I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words; and not content therewith neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

3 John 9, 10.

And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

Hosea 5:5.

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.

2 Peter 2:2, 3.} in the folds of the Christian garb lay the serpent, the old dragon. As the birth of Christ, the incarnation of God, was a mystery, and is to-day a mystery which none can fathom, it was met by another mystery, a mystery of iniquity whose machinations are too strong for the human mind to understand. It will deceive if possible the very elect. Only he whose eye is lightened by truth, whose heart is the abiding place of the Son of God; in other words, only he who has within his own being the mystery of godliness, will stand against the mystery of iniquity.SDP 221.3

In Paul’s day, that is, in the first century A. D., that power was at work. Hitherto the history as recorded in the book of Daniel dealt with earthly kingdoms, but from this time on history handles this “mystery of iniquity” which worked through the various governments. The distinction between the kingdoms of the north and the south remains as it was in the past, but we pass from governments as governments to a power which is swaying these governments. On one side in this controversy is the church of God; on the other side is the mystery of iniquity, which often lays hold of earthly governments for the purpose of destroying the church.SDP 222.1

The expression “Church of God” does not refer to denominational names or lines. From the days of Christ, until the present, there has been a true church. Its members have often been scattered as far as human eye could discern, but on the record books of heaven they have been recognized as a single company.SDP 222.2

The characteristic which marks the true church is adherence to the commandments of the God of heaven. Wherever a people has been true ^{MarginThe kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.

Lamentations 4:12.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 Timothy 3:16.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders: insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Matthew 24:24.

That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:19.

And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 17:18.

I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.... And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

Revelation 17:3, 6.

God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Acts 10:34, 35.

In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot.

Isaiah 18:7.

Ezekiel 34:6.

Psalm 119:165.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

1 John 3:4.} to these, God has honored them with his presence. Moreover, to each denomination which has arisen, there have been offered the same opportunities which were offered to the four succeeding nations as they arose; that is, the privilege of walking in all the light, and by that very act becoming an everlasting company. As truth was rejected by the nations and they fell, so truth has been rejected by one denomination after another, and they have fallen, another people taking the vacant place. This succession will be kept up until a remnant people who will keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will be made up. They will enter the eternal city to reign with Christ. It is this struggle which was revealed to Daniel in the latter part of his last vision. The history of Rome becomes the history of religious controversy, and the struggle between truth and error is greater than ever before.SDP 222.3

The history of the church, as given to John, contains more details than the words of Gabriel to Daniel. To his followers of the first century, God says, “Thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works.” Of the church in the second and third centuries, he says, “I know thy works, and tribulations, and poverty (but thou art rich).... Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulations.” Christianity and paganism were in open conflict for three centuries following the birth of Christ, and at times the serpent reared his head to smite the truth to the ground. Some of the followers ^{MarginPsalm 1:1-3.

Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation 14:12.

O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.

Isaiah 48:18.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

James 4:17.

Jeremiah 17:24, 25.

Jeremiah 51:9.

Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Ezekiel 22:26.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Revelation 22:14.

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Matthew 24:21.

I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Revelation 2:4.

O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

Hosea 14:1, 2.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:7.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:15.} of Christ were persecuted, and others grew cold and indifferent. But there was a power in the gospel which the pagans could not withstand. As its followers increased, their influence was felt even in political circles.SDP 223.1

The close of the third century of the Christian era found the government of Rome greatly weakened. The evils of the empire, its oppression and cruelty, made it almost impossible for the emperors to control affairs. Authority was in the hands of the army, which seated and unseated rulers at will. Barbarian hordes pressed the empire on all sides, and the downfall of Rome was imminent. Some radical change was necessary to prevent complete disruption, and Diocletian, the reigning emperor, conceived the idea of partitioning the territory. Consequently he associated with himself a man by the name of Maximian, giving him the title of Augustus. Each of the two emperors then chose an assistant, called a Cæsar, whose duty it was to guard the frontiers. According to the plan of Diocletian, the Cæsars should become emperors on the death of the Augusti, and then other Cæsars would be appointed. For a while the four who stood at the head of the Roman empire worked together in harmony, but through a variety of complications war broke out.SDP 224.1

Constantine was a Cæsar in the western division of the empire, and marching toward the East, he subdued, one by one, all rivals in the government. It was about the year 312, when, confronted by bitter foes, whose strength he recognized, this rising light assumed a policy never before followed.SDP 224.2

There were many Christians scattered ^{MarginAnd because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold

Matthew 24:12

Revelation 6:2.

So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all Cæsar’s court, and in all other places.

Philippians 1:13 [margin].

Philippians 4:22.

For the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.... My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him.

Hosea 9:15, 17.

Wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

Job 24:20.

Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

Job 4:8, 9.

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 11:14.

They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

Hosea 9:9.

For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.

Amos 3:10.

They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and 1 knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

Hosea 8:4.} throughout the empire who refused to fight under the banner of paganism. With these Constantine made a league. The story of his conversion is variously told, and perhaps the details are unimportant. The fact remains that he acknowledged the God of the Christians, proclaimed himself a follower of Christ, and immediately Christians from all over the empire flocked into his army, devout followers of the general who now fought in the name of Christianity.SDP 224.3

Speaking of the use of the cross, Gibbon says: “This same symbol sanctified the arms of the soldiers of Constantine; the cross glittered in their helmets, was engraved on their shields, was interwoven into their banners; and the consecrated emblems which adorned the person of the emperor himself were distinguished only by the richer materials and more exquisite workmanship.” The standard which was borne before this (Christian) army “supported a crown of gold, which inclosed the mysterious monogram, at once expressive of the figure of the cross, and the initial letter of the name of Christ.”SDP 225.1

The humble followers of Christ, who immediately after his ascension had gone forth “conquering and to conquer,” carrying with them his words, the sword of the Spirit, had been replaced by an army with helmet and sword, led by a commander who bound together the emblems of the cross and his own name.SDP 225.2

The clothing of paganism in Christian garments was never more complete than in the days of Constantine. The mystery of iniquity was hard at work. Constantine conquered the Roman world; he sat as sole monarch of the empire ^{Margin23. And after the league made with him, he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

24. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

Daniel 11:23, 24.

Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

Ezekiel 22:27.

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Acts 20:29.

And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

Revelation 18:16.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 7:21.

When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.

Hosea 13:1.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17.

I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isaiah 42:8.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:15.} which was tottering in the hands of his predecessors. The Prætorian guard, which had been the terror as well as the protection of other emperors, was forever suppressed by Constantine. The dignity of the senate and people of Rome received a fatal blow, and they were thereafter subject alike to the insults or neglect of their master who resided in the new capital, Constantinople.SDP 225.3

The character of Constantine, that first Christian emperor, is aptly described by Gibbon. In discussing the reason why he delayed baptism until he was on his deathbed, he says: “The sublime theory of the gospel had made a much fainter impression on the heart than on the understanding of Constantine himself. He pursued the great object of his ambition through the dark and bloody paths of war and policy; and after the victory, he abandoned himself without moderation to the abuse of his fortune. Instead of asserting his just superiority above the imperfect heroism and profane philosophy of Trajan and the Antonines, the mature age of Constantine forfeited the reputation which he had acquired in his youth. As he gradually advanced in the knowledge of truth, he proportionately declined in the practice of virtue; and the same year of his reign in which he convened the Council of Nice, was polluted by the execution, or rather murder, of his eldest son.... The gratitude of the church has exalted the virtues and excused the failings of a generous patron, who seated Christianity on the throne of the Roman world; and the Greeks, who celebrate the festival of the imperial saint, seldom mention the name of Constantine without adding the title of ^{MarginAnd they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about.

Hosea 7:2.

Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, ...for I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Amos 5:7, 12, 13.

How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.

1 Kings 18:21.

I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

Hosea 8:12.

But they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

Hosea 9:10.

Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

Hosea 10:2.

No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:24.

And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.

Isaiah 47:6-9.

So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

Zechariah 1:14, 15.} Equal to the Apostles.” These words alone offer a sad commentary on the decline of Christian virtue since the days of Christ. He who claimed the power of Christianity was less virtuous than the heroic pagan Trajan, and such pagan philosophers as the Antonines.SDP 226.1

The first religious laws ever passed by Christians were edicts of Constantine. In 312 the edict of Milan granted universal toleration; in 321 the first law for the worship of Sunday was published; in 325 was convened at Nice the first ecumenical council which formulated a creed for the world. Then began the conflicts which tore the church asunder and exposed it to open shame. About the reign of Constantine cluster events of the greatest interest, not to Rome only, but to the church of God and to the world. It was the first and perhaps greatest object lesson illustrating the effects of the elevation of Christianity in name to the throne of the world. In the wake of this reign follow the years of darkness for all Europe, when the antichrist reigned supreme.SDP 227.1

He indeed performed that which neither his father nor his father’s fathers had performed. He left to his heirs “a new capital, a new policy, and a new religion.” No one had before dared to think that Rome could be quitted. Constantine selected the site of Constantinople with more than human wisdom. It is formed by nature to be the center and capital of a great monarchy. It has been the contested point among the nations of Europe since the continent has had nations to contend, and according to the prophecy of Daniel, it will be the bone of contention to the end of time. It is a fact worth noting that the city was founded in the year 330 B. C. [A. D.], exactly ^{MarginWoe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity

Matthew 23:27, 28.

Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Matthew 7:8, 9.

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Mark 15:9.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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 all be fulfilled.

Matthew 5:18, 19.

Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

Hosea 8:3.

I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.... And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 17:3, 18.

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Proverbs 4:19.

Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

Hosea 13:15.

The dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Revelation 13:2.

O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles.... The borders are in the midst of the seas.

Ezekiel 27:2, 4.

And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him.

Daniel 11:45.

Yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds even for a time.

Daniel 11:24.} three hundred and sixty years, “a time,” after the victory of Octavius over Antony at Actium, which placed him as sole ruler on the Roman throne.SDP 227.2

The new policy was the outworking of a union of church and state. The kingdoms of the past had followed a policy somewhat similar to one another. Government was with them the central object. This was seen in its strongest light in pagan Rome, but with Constantine the policy changed. Paganism as paganism was laid low, and the “mystery of iniquity” was enthroned. The world was given Christianity, not as it came from the life of Him whose name it bore, but as it was corrupted and polluted by human and satanic minds. Gibbon says that hereafter the historian will describe “political institutions” before relating wars, and that “he will adopt the division unknown to the ancients of civil and ecclesiastical affairs.” That is, future history must deal with church and state, not with kingdoms such as Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece.SDP 228.1

History has changed. The devil is going about seeking whom he may devour, and the calm, determined plans for conquering the world which marked the nations before the days of Christ, have been replaced by a desperation which means the utter destruction, if possible, of all who serve the God of heaven. Any means is lawful in the hands of the prince of this world, and the greater the number who fall, the lighter the burden which he, the archenemy, must bear in the days of the final reckoning. The acts of Constantine started a series of movements which developed rapidly into the antichrist of the Dark Ages. ^{MarginBecause, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar: say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

Ezekiel 13:10-12.

I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Revelation 18:7.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

James 4:4.

My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

Hosea 4:12.

Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God.

Hosea 9:1.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Revelation 12:12.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:17.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7.} The council held at Nice was an important gathering alike to the church and the nation, for since the two have joined hands, whatever affects one affects the other.SDP 228.2

The Christian world was torn asunder by theological factions. Alexandria, the center of all philosophical study, was also the center of theological activity. Here is where the Greek influence was most forcibly felt. Athanasius, the leader of one faction, was archdeacon, and afterward bishop of Alexandria, and his opponent, Arius, was presbyter in the same city.SDP 229.1

Paganism and Christianity met on the battlefield when Constantine contended for the throne of Rome; paganism and Christianity met in more deadly conflict in Alexandria, where Christian and pagan schools stood side by side. Here it was that such men as Origen and Clement, recognized Fathers of the church, adopted the philosophy of the Greeks, and applied to the study of the Bible the same methods which were common in the study of Homer and other Greek writers. Higher criticism had its birth in Alexandria. It was the result of a mingling of the truths taught by Christ and the false philosophy of the Greeks. It was an attempt to interpret divine writings by the human intellect, a revival of the philosophy of Plato. These teachers, by introducing Greek philosophy into the schools which were nominally Christian, opened the avenue for the theological controversies which shook the Roman world, and finally established the mystery of iniquity.SDP 229.2

So from this false teaching of the Word in Alexandria came two leaders-Athanasius and Arius. Each had his following, and yet no man could clearly define the disputed point over which ^{MarginCan two walk together, except they be agreed?

Amos 3:3.

Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

Zephaniah 3:4.

For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts,

Malachi 2:7, 8.

Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up.

Jeremiah 18:15.

The shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock.

Ezekiel 34:8.

In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed.

Ezekiel 43:8.

Jeremiah 23:28-32.

Romans 11:33-36.

Isaiah 40:28-31.

Psalm 147:5.

Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; and ye are my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.

Ezekiel 34:18-21, 31.

There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls.

Ezekiel 22:25.} they wrangled. So great was the controversy that the Council of Nice was called to settle the dispute, and deliver to the church an orthodox creed. The emperor Constantine called the council, and was present in person. At this council the creed of Athanasius was recognized as orthodox, and Arius and his followers were pronounced heretics.SDP 229.3

But announcing a creed is one thing, and having it adopted is another. The orthodox creed was published to the world, and then began the fight. In this strife armies fought and much blood was shed. But in spite of the fact that Arianism was heresy, the doctrine spread. It was popular among the barbarian tribes who invaded the western division of the Roman empire. The Vandals, who settled in Africa, were among the followers of Arius, and so also were the Heruli and Ostrogoths who settled in Italy. But while Arianism spread through Africa, Sardinia, and Spain, and was present at times in Italy, the recognized religion of the Roman emperor and the empire itself, the northern kingdom, which now had its seat at Constantinople, was the Catholic faith, as proclaimed at Nice. As Constantinople was the representative of this northern division in his day, so later, between 527 and 565, Justinian became champion of the Catholic cause.SDP 230.1

According to the vision of Daniel 7, the Roman kingdom would be divided into ten parts, represented by the ten horns of the fourth beast, and three of these kingdoms should be plucked up by another power. It is this part of the history of the fourth kingdom which is related in Daniel 11, beginning with verse twenty-five. ^{MarginHer princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

Ezekiel 22:27.

The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.

Micah 3:10, 11.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked.

Amos 2:4.

Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

Malachi 2:11.

Daniel 7:7.

26. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.

26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy} Justinian’s reign was the most brilliant period of Byzantine history after the death of Constantine, and historians agree that among his greatest military achievements must be classed his exploits against the south. The success of Justinian was due to the services, throughout the greater part of his reign, of the celebrated general Belisarius. He was the tool in the hands of the emperor for crushing out heresy.SDP 230.2

The Vandals were Arians, but Hilderis, the grandson of their chief warrior, the noted Genseric, favored the Catholic faith. The disaffection of his subjects made it possible for Hilderis to be dethroned by Gelimer, who had some title to the Vandal throne. Under pretense of protecting the dethroned Hilderis, the emperor Justinian prepared for a war in Africa. While still undecided as to the advisability of making the attack because of the weakness of the Roman army, and the cost of the undertaking, his purpose was confirmed by the words of a Catholic bishop. Said he in prophetic tones, “It is the will of Heaven, O emperor, that you should not abandon your holy enterprise for the deliverance of the African church. The God of battles will march before your standard, and disperse your enemies, who are the enemies of his Son.” This was sufficient, and the holy war for the extermination of Arianism was undertaken.SDP 231.1

A force of Romans, the largest Belisarius could command from the weakened empire, aided by recruits from the east, landed in Africa. The Vandal army numbered 160,000 fighting men. Belisarius was hastened in his march toward Carthage by enemies of Gelimer and friends of the Catholic creed. The armies met near the ^{Marginhim, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

27. And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

Daniel 11:25-27.

For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

Obadiah 10.

But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.

Acts 24:14.

An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor.

Proverbs 11:9.

O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses: from their children have ye taken away my glory forever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

Micah 2:7-11.

How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

Jeremiah 2:23-25.

Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom.

Amos 9:8.} city, and victory came to the Romans through the folly and rashness of the brother of the Vandal king. Gelimer fled, and Carthage opened her gates, and admitted Belisarius and his army. “The Arians, conscious that their reign had expired, resigned the temple to the Catholics, who rescued their saint from profane hands, performed the holy rites, and loudly proclaimed the creed of Athanasius and Justinian.” The Catholic faith had triumphed. Arianism fell, and Sardinia and Corsica surrendered, and other islands of the Mediterranean yielded to the arms and creed of Justinian.SDP 231.2

In the autumn of 534 Justinian granted a triumph to Belisarius. Gibbon thus described the scene: “From the palace of Belisarius the procession was conducted through the streets to the hippodrome.... The wealth of nations was displayed, the trophies of martial or effeminate luxury; rich armor; golden thrones, and the chariots of state which had been used by the Vandal queen; the massive furniture of the royal banquet, the splendor of precious stones, the elegant forms of statues and vases, the more substantial treasures of gold, and the holy vessels of the Jewish temple, which, after their long peregrination, were respectfully deposited in the Christian church of Jerusalem. A long train of the noblest Vandals reluctantly exposed their lofty stature and manly countenance.”SDP 232.1

“The Arians deplored the ruin of their church triumphant above a century in Africa; and they were justly provoked by the laws of the conqueror, which interdicted the baptism of their children, and the exercise of all religious worship.” It is not much to be wondered at that those ^{MarginRejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people; for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

Hosea 9:1.

Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

Hosea 4:17.

28. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.

29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.

Daniel 11:28, 29.

The ark was not among these holy vessels, for at the time of the Babylonian captivity, “the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God. And when Jeremy came thither, he found a hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door. And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy. Then shall the Lord show them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was showed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honorably sanctified.”

2 Maccabees 2:4-8.} who remained plotted against the government and the general who represented Justinian. The loss of life was terrible in those wars for the supremacy of one creed above another, and the path to the papal crown was bloodstained. It is stated that five million Africans were consumed by the wars and government of the emperor JustinianSDP 232.2

For the sake of brevity, the wars between the Catholic empire and the Vandals may be taken as an illustration of the extermination of the other two kingdoms-that of the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. Justinian was the reigning emperor, and most of the work was done by Belisarius, this same general, between the years 533 and 538.SDP 233.1

The last contest with paganism was in 508 when the Britons accepted Christianity; the “daily” spoken of in Daniel had been taken away. By 538 the way was clear for the papacy to sit enthroned in Rome. The new capital established by Constantine left Rome that it might be occupied by the head of the church. The new religion-Christianity-we have seen mingled with paganism, which it crushed, and gave birth to the papacy. The new policy, a union of church and state, gave civil aid to that paganized Christianity called the papacy. The harvest of the seed sown in the days of Constantine was reaped in the reign of Justinian, whose military and civil power supported “the abomination that maketh desolate.”SDP 233.2

A striking feature of this history is the fact that the very code of law which Rome has bequeathed as a legacy to later times, is the work of this same Justinian. Is it to be wondered at that the laws of this emperor, who reigned at the ^{Margin30. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

Daniel 11:30.

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

Obadiah 3, 4.

31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Daniel 11:31.

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

Hosea 7:8.

Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and} time when the papacy was formed, and who was the one who supported it by arms, should contain some principles of the papacy? Fisher says, “Humane principles are incorporated into the civil law, but likewise the despotic system of imperialism.” The laws of Justinian form the basis of national laws to-day; likewise the religion of Justinian is the recognized religion of most countries to-day.SDP 233.3

Constantine and Justinian were the two men instrumental above all others in forming the papacy, and giving it civil power. The contest between Arianism and the orthodox Catholicism was the means of enthroning the papacy. A power soon to be recognized as the personification of all tyranny swayed the scepter of Rome, and the followers of the One who proclaimed a covenant of peace to Israel, would for the period of 1260 years struggle for existence. Every principle of truth was crushed, and with 538 was ushered in the Dark Ages. ^{Marginhewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:11-13.

Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry. Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

Micah 3:5-7.}SDP 234.1

CHAPTER XV THE FOURTH KINGDOM (Chapter 11:14-22)

CHAPTER XVII THE WORK OF THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY (Chapter 11:32-45)