Early Church Captured by Satan's Followers

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Early Church Captured by Satan's Followers Today's Text: I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Revelation 2:20 The Message:      Their [the martyrs'] living example and dying testimony were a constant witness for the truth; and, where least expected, the subjects of Satan were leaving his service and enlisting under the banner of Christ.      Satan therefore laid his plans to war more successfully against the government of God, by planting his banner in the Christian church. If the followers of Christ could be deceived, and led to displease God, then their strength, fortitude, and firmness would fail, and they would fall an easy prey.      The great adversary now endeavored to gain by artifice what he had failed to secure by force. Persecution ceased, and in its stead were substituted the dangerous allurements of temporal prosperity and worldly honor. Idolaters were led to receive a part of the Christian faith, while they rejected other essential truths. They professed to accept Jesus as the Son of God, and to believe in His death and resurrection; but they had no conviction of sin, and felt no need of repentance or of a change of heart. With some concessions on their part, they proposed that Christians should make concessions, that all might unite on the platform of belief in Christ.      Now was the church in fearful peril. Prison, torture, fire, and sword were blessings in comparison with this. Some of the Christians stood firm, declaring that they could make no compromise. Others reasoned that if they should yield or modify some features of their faith, and unite with those who had accepted a part of Christianity it might be the means of their full conversion. That was a time of deep anguish to the faithful followers of Christ. Under a cloak of pretended Christianity Satan was insinuating himself into the church, to corrupt their faith and turn their minds from the word of truth.      At last the larger portion of the Christian company lowered their standard, and a union was formed between Christianity and paganism. Although the worshipers of idols professed to be converted, and united with the church, they still clung to their idolatry, only changing the objects of their worship to images of Jesus, and even of Mary and the saints. The foul leaven of idolatry, thus introduced into the church, continued its baleful work. Unsound doctrines, superstitious rites, and idolatrous ceremonies were incorporated into her faith and worship. As the followers of Christ united with idolaters, the Christian religion became corrupted, and the church lost her purity and power. There were some, however, who were not misled by these delusions.-The Spirit of Prophecy 4:42, 43. Commentary: My friend, the corruption of the church in the fourth century was accomplished when persecution ended and the church began to compromise with half converted believers in order to keep the peace.  Little by little agents of Stan infiltrated the church and began corrupting it by their pagan rites and rituals.  What Satan could not accomplish by force, he accomplished by his corrupting influence. In the same way the work that Satan accomplished by the corruption of the early church, he has done within the remnant church today.  The Seventh-day Adventist church was the only church to fully separate herself from the corrupting influence of Rome.  God had led the Protestant movement step by step away from the corrupt church of Babylon.  Each of the reformers led the church farther and farther away from Rome until the church was fully separated from the corrupting doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.  This was the time of the Church of Philadelphia, a church with no fault from God.  He said "... thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." (Revelation 3:8). God had a church that was free of the corrupting influence of Babylon, and it was Satan's decided aim to bring his corrupting influence upon the remnant church of God.  But while the church was protected through His prophet, the church remained pure.  Only when the prophet of God and the church pioneers were laid to rest, was Satan able to bring his corrupting influence upon the church.  Though the Spirit of Prophecy lived within the writings of Ellen White, agents of Satan continued to infiltrate the church and they began to plant seeds of the trinity within the church.  Little by little the false doctrine of the trinity was insinuated into the church until it matured and was accepted as one of the fundamental beliefs of the church in 1980. Once the trinity had been accepted, its corrupting influence has been felt within the church.  From it has come many heresies within the church.  Contemplative prayer, spiritual formation, women's ordination, praying to the Holy Spirit, the belief that we need not overcome sin on this earth, the disbelief in the sanctuary, the corrupting of the three angels message, Sunday services, and more.  The once pure Church of Philadelphia has become the corrupt Church of Laodicea.  It is corrupt because the church no longer worships the One true God of the Bible, but worships the false god of the trinity and as such, is led by the spirit Satan. The trinity is the foundational teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, and from it flows all of the doctrines of the church, to include Sunday sacredness.  The SDA church contends that the Catholic trinity is not the same as the trinity that they worship, but hile they differ in certain points, the fundamental principals are true.  They believe in one God made up of three individual beings that are God unto themselves, and are collectively One God.  When you compare them side by side, they are essentially the same.  See the illustration below. The corruption that came into the church in the fourth century was a result of compromising with the truth in a time of relative peace and prosperity.  The same is true in the remnant church today.  By seeking the acceptance of the fallen churches of Protestantism, the church has compromised with its faith and has accepted the trinity as one of its foundational teachings, and is no longer being led by the Spirit of God.  This is evident by the heresies that have been allowed to come in and remain within the church.  Christ is no longer leading the church because He is show on the outside seeking to gain entrance into the hearts of His people.  He says "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20). My friend, will you not turn away from the false god of the trinity and come back and worship the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ today? God bless, Video of the Week 3 of 6 - Sinful Flesh with Dustin Butler - SIN-posium Pioneer Health and Missions presented a series of six videos on the subject of sin and salvation to help inform and encourage others to study this very import topic.