ALONE WITH GOD     

  Some of the Thessalonian brethren, it seems, had an idea that the second advent of Christ would take place in their day; but the apostle disabused their minds of that idea by assuring them that before that day there would come a falling away. What can this mean but an apostasy, a retrogration from the pure apostolic plane? The apostles saw this thing only a little way ahead of them. This falling away is the same as that predicted in 1 Tim. 4:1-3, where it is said, "Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. " " The faith once delivered to the saints" was the pure faith of the gospel. This faith taught but one God, but one Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 4: 5, 6). At a very early time heresies were introduced, teaching a plurality of gods in heaven above and that Christ and Jesus were two separate persons. This theory was taught by many, and thousands were led away into this mythology anti were never reclaimed. An account of these heresies will be found in the writings of Irenaeus. He wrote his notable work between A. D. 182 and 189.

Through the faith of the gospel people received full salvation from sin and found grace to live free from sin. They entered tile holiest and were made perfect through sanctification. Through faith in the name of Jesus the sick were headed of all their diseases, the dame were made to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak; devils were cast out; and great power and grace rested upon the entire church.

  The reader can readily judge what the result was when men fell away from that faith; they lost all the foregoing blessings from God. So it can easily be seen how such a departure and falling away brought darkness and superstition and all conceivable doctrines of devils into the world. The ordinances were corrupter! soon after the apostles' death. Feet washing Noms lowered from a church ordinance to a practice in the home, to a mere act of hospitality. Baptism also was corrupted. In case of sickness, sprinkling and rubbing were substituted for immersion. Oil was sometimes used instead of water. At times the candidates were divested of all clothing. About Tertullian's time triune immersion took the place of single immersion.

  The faith of the gospel teaches that there is one fold, one body— the body of Christ, which is the church; that salvation constitutes us living members of the same; that these members have one mind, one doctrine, are all of one heart and of one soul: but when men fell away from that blessed state of unity, it became necessary for them to be identified with some other body, to enter some other fold and adhere to contrary doctrines. Thus it was that an apostate church was organized in the earth.

  We have already seen the humble equality of the apostolic ministry. As the saints began to fall away and drift from the primitive faith, they lost sight of this humble equality and exalted man, as seen in Second Thessalonians. Paul said that the mystery of iniquity was already working. The spirit of it was then seen in some. In John's time it was in public manifestation. In the third epistle of John it is evident that three elders of the church are spoken of; namely, Gaius, Demetrius, and Diotrephes. The first two he commended. They were straight, humble men. But Diotrephes loved to have the preeminence among them. He no doubt wanted to be a bishop, to be higher than the common presbytery. He did not want to receive the apostle John (verse 9). He knew that John was against any such exaltation. But John comforted Gaius by saying, " When I come, I will remember his deeds." Verse 10. Here is the first mention in Scripture of one man seeking preeminence above the other elders in the local assembly, seeking a position over the others. This was A. D. 90. Just as soon, however, as we pass l beyond the sacred writings, in the second century, we find a man exalted to a higher office—a bishop over the common presbyters or elders. This was apostasy already at work.

  I will here quote from the Church Fathers to show that in their early day, one man had been already exalted above the rest. Instead of elders and deacons, as the New Testament reads, it was one bishop, elders, and deacons; three classes of officers instead of two; one over the rest.

  "Wherefore it is fitting that ye should run together in accordance with the will of your bishop, which thing also ye do. For your justly renowned presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as exactly to the bishop as the strings are to the harp. "—Ignatius to the Ephesians, Chap. IV. "Since, then, I have had the privilege of seeing you, through Damas your most t worthy bishop, and through y our worthy presbyters Bassus aIid A pollonius, and through my fellow servant the deacon Sotio."—Ignatius to the Magnesians, Chap. II. "There is but one altar for the whole church, and one bishop with the presbytery and deacons." Ignatius to the Philadelphians, Chap. IV. "Give heed to the bishop, and to the presbytery, and deacons." —Chap. VII. "'I he bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons."—Ignatius to Polycarp, Chap. VI.

  The above quotations from Ignatius, who wrote in the first part of the second century, show that at that early date the humble equality of the apostolic order was already inverted and a third office created, by exalting in each local congregation one man as bishop over the common elders, or presbyters. How differently the above quotations read from the sacred Scriptures! At Philippi, Paul addressed the bishops and deacons, but Ignatius taught that at the time of his writing there was "one bishop, with the presbyters and deacons." When Paul sent to Ephesus and called together the local preachers, he called the "elders of the church"; but when Ignatius wrote, he would have had to call the bishop and the elders. When Paul left Titus in Crete, he was to ordain elders in every city; but when Ignatius wrote, he would have had to ordain "a bishop and elders." Ah, beloved reader, this is the " mystery of iniquity. " It Noms the first big step toward the man of sin. tits soon as this third office was created and in each assembly one bishop set up over the elders and the deacons, the next step was to confer great honors upon him; to exalt him high above all others. Ignatius, in the latter part of his ministry, was drunk on this spirit.

  I will again quote: "As therefore the Lord does nothing without the Father, . . . so do ye, neither presbyter, nor deacon, nor lawman, do anything without the bishop."—Ignatius to the Magnesians, Chap VII. " In like manner, let all reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as Jesus Christ who is the Son of the Father, and the presbyters as the sanhedrin of God, and assembly of the apostles. Apart from these there is no church. " —Ignatius to the Trallians, Chap. III. "And do ye also reverence your bishop as Christ himself. . . . For what is the bishop but one who beyond all others possesses all power and authority, so far as it is possible for man to possess it, who according to his ability has been made an imitator of the Christ of God? And what is the presbytery but a sacred assembly, the counselors and assessors of the bishop?"—Chap. VII.

  " Reverence your bishop as Jesus Christ" and "do nothing without the bishop"—that is getting him pretty high. But such was the spirit then at work. In the early church, the presbytery was an assembly of ministers. It a number of local preachers assembled, they constituted a presbytery; or a gathering of both traveling and local elders, as at Jerusalem (Acts 15), was properly termed a presbytery: but when Ignatius wrote, they were common elders who served as counselors and assessors of the bishop. Oh, how changed! Humble equality was lost sight of.

  " Let governors be obedient to Caesar; soldiers, to those that command them; deacons, to the presbyters, as to high priests; the presbyters, and deacons, and the rest of the clergy, together with all the people, and the soldiers, and the governors, and Caesar himself, to the bishop. "—Ignatius to the Philadelphians, Chap. IV. If this was not making great strides toward popery, I can not understand language. The bishop was exalted above all "the clergy," even above Caesar himself, and this in the second century. Such was the teaching of Ignatius. Surely the great apostasy came early. The people of God's holiness possessed it but "a little while." Of course the bishop had not, in reality, yet reached such a high place, but the people were working hard to get him there, and Ignatius' writings show that he believed such was his place.

  Again we quote: " See that ye follow the bishop, even as Jesus does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist which is administered either by the bishop or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude of the people also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a lovefeast, but whatever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God."—Ignatius to the Smyrnians, Chap. VIII. " He who honors the bishop has been honored by God; he who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop, does in reality serve the devil." "Nor is there any one in the church greater than the bishop." "He who honors the bishop shall be honored by God." "Let the laity be subject to the deacons; the deacons to the presbyters; the presbyters to the bishops. "—Chap. I X. " If he reckon himself greater than the bishop, he is ruined. But it becomes both men and women who marry, to form their union with the approval of the bishop."—Ignatius to Polycarp, Chap. V.

  Thus we have given a few quotations from the early writings to show how soon the humble equality of the apostolic government was overthrown and man exalted. This kept working more and more. The bishop was lifted up higher and higher, until about the third century; then a higher office was created. After that date we have a class of officers called archbishops—bishops over other bishops. Sometimes one bishop would rule over the bishops of a score of churches. This was forming the man of sin. In the church of God there is but one chief shepherd, one chief bishop—Christ— but at this date there was an exalting of man to this lofty position. This kept on working and fomenting, man being exalted higher and higher until finally the pope was elected head of the church—so-called. Instead of Christ's working all in all, in all the members, man power-ruled the church.

  2 Thess. 2: 3 is rendered in the Emphatic Diaglott as follows: "Let no one delude you by any means, because the apostasy must come first, and there must be revealed that man of sin, that son of destruction." "Falling away" is from apostasia. Another form of this word— the neuter gender, apostasion—is found in Matt. 19: 7; Mark 10: 4; and Matt. 5: 31. Here it is translated " divorcement. " This form of the word—apostasion—signifies the bill of divorcement, the giving of writing, which effects complete separation. But apostasia, the word in 2 Thess. 2: 3, is a feminine use of the word, and signifies the real separation or departure rather than the giving of a bill. Therefore 2 Thess.2:3, properly rendered, would read, "The departure or separation must first come."

  The apostate condition of the church is, in Scripture, viewed from different standpoints in order to bring out its different phases. That part of the divine ecclesia which departed from the Lord, fell away from the plain of eternal truth, was separated from him. This thought I will take up briefly. The church of God is represented in Scripture as a bride. The blessed union between the Lord and his people is expressed by the term "marriage." In Isa. 62: 1-5 the prophet speaks of the new testament church under the metaphors of " Zion " and " Jerusalem," and says that is she to be termed Beulah—married. " Thy land shall be married." It was seen that "as a bridegroom rejoiceth over his bride," so God would rejoice over his people—a clear prediction of the new testament church. The Gentiles were to help compose this bride, and, as a result of this new happy union, she was to be called by a "new name." How clear! As soon as the marriage takes place, the maiden drops her name and is called by a new name, the name of her husband. So with the church. After this blessed union, whatever we do in word, thought, or deed, we do "all in the name of the Lord" (1 (Cor. 3:17). The wife, in order to honor her husband, must bear his name. To take upon her another man's name is to dishonor her husband and to make herself an adulteress. Just so with the church. In order to honor her husband, she must bear his name; to take upon her another name is to make herself a spiritual adulteress.

  Millennialists generally contend that a state of marriage does not now exist. If that is true, then we are bastards and not legitimate children. Thus it has been discovered by these preachers that the apostle John was mistaken when he said, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." The reader will remember that in a former chapter I have treated the different figures of marriage used in the Bible, and that in one of them God is now a husband and father to his people. It will be remembered that the church was seen in Rev. 12: 1 as a woman clothed with the sun, and having upon her head a crown adorned with twelve stars. How beautifully was that bride robed in holiness, in the garments of salvation. She sat a queen. A crown upon her head denoted her royalty. Her husband was the King of heaven and earth, King of kings, and Lord of lords. He was crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2: 9). But he also crowned her with his glory. " The glory which thou hast given me I have given them." John 17: 22. Thus the church sat and reigned a queen. The time came, however, when thousands upon thousands among the Christians departed from the Lord.

  The church at Rome was once a congregation of saints. Paul was one of the leading ministers who were instrumental in establishing and planting that assembly. After the death of Paul, Linus, who is mentioned in 2 Tim. 4: 21, became bishop, or overseer, of that assembly. But in afteryears when they began to exalt bishops over the elders, and finally one bishop over another bishop, the bishop of Rome, being located in the imperial city, thought he ought to have authority over the other bishops. Erelong the bishops of the Western churches submitted to that order, and thus the papacy was established. You see, these assemblies were originally pure churches of God, but they departed from the simple government of Christ and the apostles, and thus became apostate.

  Viewing the condition of affairs during the Dark Ages from this standpoint, we behold the church at Rome an apostate church. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isa. 1:21: "How is the faithful city become an harlot? It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it, but now murders." The very congregations that were once pure churches of God departed, fell away from, the faith of the gospel, and out of them grew the apostate church—the church of Rome. The prophets, viewing this particular phase of the apostasy, saw the church turning degenerate. The faithful city, once full of righteousness, represents the primitive church, in the morning glory of this dispensation. She became a harlot by departing from the Lord; that is, that part of the church which apostatized became a harlot, forsook Christ, and thus the pope became her husband. She played the harlot and committed fornication. This was the great separation expressed by apostasy. She departed from Christ her living head, and that apostate woman he never acknowledged as his wife.

  "For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy hands; and thou saidst I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?" Jer. 2: 20, 21. While this had its partial fulfillment in Israel's departing from God, yet it has an application to the church of God, for one is a type of the other. "I planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed. " Such was the pure church of God planted by Christ, her divine founder and head; but by falling away she departed from him, played the harlot, became degenerate, a strange vine. "Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me. " Jer. 3: 20. " Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers." Jer. 3:1. "Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not my wife, neither am I thy husband: let her, therefore, put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; . . . For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink." Hos. 2: 2, 5. While these scriptures were fulfilled in Judah's and Israel's apostasy, and had direct reference to that time, they indirectly reached a fulfillment in the apostasy of the church, for Israel was a type of the church. Israel was planted "a noble vine"; but she treacherously departed from the Lord, went into open idolatry, committed adultery with stones and stocks. She played the harlot with many lovers, and the land was greatly polluted. For this cause the Lord put her away and gave her a bill of divorcement. " Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. " Isa. 50: 1.

  In the legal dispensation, when a man put away his wife, he gave her a bill of divorcement. So the Lord uses this language to express the condition of Israel when she forsook him. He no longer recognized her as his wife, or people. This is expressed by divorcement. IN this dispensation, however, divorcing is not recognized. The divorce law was abolished. Nevertheless, for one certain cause —fornication—a man may put away his wife— separate. Now, just as Israel departed fromGod, the faithful city, Zion, "departed from her husband and became a harlot. " She committed fornication, became " a great whore. " The Lord could not acknowledge her in this condition as his wife; this is expressed by apostasia —separation. Thus we learn what Paul meant when he said the falling away—departure, apostasia, separation—shall first come before the end. It came, and Israel's apostasy was a type of it.

  The apostate church is brought to view in Revelation 17 under the symbol of a corrupt woman having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornications. She is called "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots. " This corrupt woman is not the bride of Christ. There is no communication with the living head. She apostatized— separated from the truth, played the harlot— and at last she will have her portion in the lake of fire and brimstone. This is the great apostasy.