{Chapter 2: Persecution in the First Centuries}
Please be advised to read the whole book of the Great Controversy to get Context.
#1
From Olivet the Saviour beheld the storms about to fall upon the apostolic church;
and penetrating deeper into the future His eye discerned the fierce, wasting tempests
that were to beat upon His followers in the coming ages of darkness and persecution.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 39
#2
The followers of Christ must tread the same
path of humiliation, reproach, and suffering
which their Master trod.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 39
#3
The enmity that burst forth against the world's
Redeemer would be manifested against all who
should believe on His name.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 39
*** #4 ***
Paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph,
her temples and altars would be swept away;
therefore she summoned her forces to destroy Christianity.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 39-40
#5
Christians were stripped of their possessions
and driven from their homes.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 39-40
#6
Great numbers sealed their testimony with their
blood. Noble and slave, rich and poor, learned
and ignorant, were alike slain without mercy.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40
#7
Christians were falsely accused of the most dreadful
crimes and declared to be the cause of great
calamities-famine, pestilence, and earthquake.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40
#8
They were condemned as rebels against the empire, as foes
of religion, and pests to society.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40
#9
Great numbers were thrown to wild beasts or burned
alive in the amphitheaters. Some were crucified;
others were covered with the skins of wild animals
and thrust into the arena to be torn by dogs.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40
#10
Vast multitudes assembled to enjoy the sight and
greeted their dying agonies with laughter and applause.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40
#11
They were forced to seek concealment in desolate
and solitary places.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40
#12
In these underground retreats the followers of
Christ buried their dead; and here also, when
suspected and proscribed, they found a home.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40-41
#13
When the Life-giver shall awaken those who
have fought the good fight, many a martyr
for Christ's sake will come forth from those
gloomy caverns.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 40-41
#14
Though deprived of every comfort, shut away
from the light of the sun, making their home
in the dark but friendly bosom of the earth,
they uttered no complaint.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
#15
With words of faith, patience, and hope they
encouraged one another to endure privation
and distress.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
#16
The loss of every earthly blessing could not
force them to renounce their belief in Christ.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
#17
Trials and persecution were but steps bringing
them nearer their rest and their reward.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
#18
They rejoiced that they were accounted worthy to
suffer for the truth, and songs of triumph
ascended from the midst of crackling flames.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
*** #19 ***
Looking upward by faith, they saw Christ and
angels leaning over the battlements of heaven,
gazing upon them with the deepest interest and
regarding their steadfastness with approval.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
*** #20 ***
A voice came down to them from the throne of God:
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give
thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41
#21
In vain were Satan's efforts to destroy the
church of Christ by violence.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41-42
*** #22 ***
The great controversy in which the disciples of
Jesus yielded up their lives did not cease when
these faithful standard-bearers fell at their post.
By defeat they conquered.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41-42
#23
The gospel continued to spread and the number
of its adherents to increase. It penetrated into
regions that were inaccessible even to the eagles
of Rome.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41-42
#24
Said a Christian, expostulating with the heathen rulers
who were urging forward the persecution: You may "
kill us, torture us, condemn us.... Your
injustice is the proof that we are innocent ....
Nor does your cruelty ... avail you." It
was but a stronger invitation to bring others to
their persuasion. "The oftener we are mown
down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood
of Christians is seed."-Tertullian,
Apology, paragraph 50.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 41-42
*** #25 ***
Thousands were imprisoned and slain, but others
sprang up to fill their places.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42
#26
The sufferings which they endured brought
Christians nearer to one another and to
their Redeemer.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42
#27
Their 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.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42
*** #28 ***
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.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42
*** #29 ***
Idolaters were led to receive a part of the
Christian faith, while they rejected other
essential truths.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42-43
*** #30 ***
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.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42-43
*** #31 ***
With some concessions on their part they proposed
that Christians should make concessions, that all
might unite on the platform of belief in Christ.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42-43
*** #32 ***
Some of the Christians stood firm, declaring
that they could make no compromise.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42-43
*** #33 ***
Others were in favor of yielding or modifying some
features of their faith and uniting with those who
had accepted a part of Christianity, urging that
this might be the means of their full conversion.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 42-43
**** #34 ****
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.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43
*** #35 ***
Most of the Christians at last consented to lower
their standard, and a union was formed between
Christianity and paganism.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43
**** #36 ****
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 Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43
*** #37 ***
As the followers of Christ united with idolaters,
the Christian religion became corrupted, and the
church lost her purity and power.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43
*** #38 ***
There were some, however, who were not misled by
these delusions. They still maintained their
fidelity to the Author of truth and worshiped God alone.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43-44
*** #39 ***
There have ever been two classes among those
who profess to be followers of Christ. While
one class study the Saviour's life and
earnestly seek to correct their defects and
conform to the Pattern, the other class shun
the plain, practical truths which expose their
errors.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43-44
*** #40 ***
Our Saviour taught that those who willfully indulge in sin are not to be received into
the church; yet He connected with Himself men who were faulty in character, and granted them
the benefits of His teachings and example, that they might have an opportunity to see their
errors and correct them.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 43-44
**** #41 ****
Judas was accepted, not because of his defects of character, but notwithstanding them. He was
connected with the disciples, that, through the instruction and example of Christ, he might
learn what constitutes Christian character, and thus be led to see his errors, to repent,
and, by the aid of divine grace, to purify his soul "in obeying the truth."
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44
*** #42 ***
So do all who cherish evil under a profession
of godliness hate those who disturb their peace
by condemning their course of sin. When a
favorable opportunity is presented, they will,
like Judas, betray those who for their good
have sought to reprove them.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44
#43
The Spirit of truth revealed to the apostles
the real character of these pretenders, and
the judgments of God rid the church of this
foul blot upon its purity.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44
*** #44 ***
Thus, as long as persecution continued, the church
remained comparatively pure.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44
**** #45 ****
But as it ceased, converts were added who
were less sincere and devoted, and the way
was open for Satan to obtain a foothold.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44-45
**** #46 ****
But there is no union between the Prince of
light and the prince of darkness, and there
can be no union between their followers.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44-45
**** #47 ****
When Christians consented to unite with
those who were but half converted from
paganism, they entered upon a path which
led further and further from the truth.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 44-45
***** #48 *****
None understood so Persecution in the First Centuries well how to oppose the true
Christian faith as did those who had once been its defenders; and these
apostate Christians, uniting with their half-pagan companions, directed
their warfare against the most essential features of the doctrines of Christ.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 45
#49
It required a desperate struggle for those
who would be faithful to stand firm against
the deceptions and abominations which were
disguised in sacerdotal garments and
introduced into the church.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 45
#50
The Bible was not accepted as the standard
of faith. The doctrine of religious freedom
was termed heresy, and its upholders were hated
and proscribed.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 45
#51
After a long and severe conflict, the faithful few decided to dissolve all union with the
apostate church if she still refused to free herself from falsehood and idolatry. They saw
that separation was an absolute necessity if they would obey the word of God. They dared
not tolerate errors fatal to their own souls, and set an example which would imperil the
faith of their children and children’s children.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 45
#52
If unity could be secured only by the
compromise of truth and righteousness, then
let there be difference, and even war.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 45-46
#53
This degeneracy is strengthening the hands
of the agents of Satan, so that false theories
and fatal delusions which the faithful in ages
past imperiled their lives to resist and expose,
are now regarded with favor by thousands who
claim to be followers of Christ.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 45-46
*** #54 ***
Though few in numbers, without wealth, position,
or honorary titles, they were a terror to evildoers
wherever their character and doctrines were known.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 46
*** #55 ***
From the days of Christ until now His faithful
disciples have excited the hatred and opposition
of those who love and follow the ways of sin.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 46
***** #56 *****
Christianity is a system which, received and
obeyed, would spread peace, harmony, and
happiness throughout the earth.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 46-47
***** #57 *****
The religion of Christ will unite in close
brotherhood all who accept its teachings.
It was the mission of Jesus to reconcile
men to God, and thus to one another.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 47
*** #58 ***
The gospel presents to them principles of
life which are wholly at variance with their
habits and desires, and they rise in rebellion against it.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 47
*** #59 ***
It is in this sense-because the exalted
truths it brings occasion hatred and
strife-that the gospel is called a sword.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 47
#60
The mysterious providence which permits the
righteous to suffer persecution at the hand
of the wicked has been a cause of great
perplexity to many who are weak in faith.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 47
*** #61 ***
Some are even ready to cast away their
confidence in God because He suffers the
basest of men to prosper, while the best
and purest are afflicted and tormented
by their cruel power.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 47-48
*** #62 ***
"Remember the word that I said unto you,
The servant is not greater than his lord.
If they have persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you." John 15:20.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 47-48
#63
Again, the righteous are placed in the
furnace of affliction, that they themselves
may be purified; that their example may
convince others of the reality of faith
and godliness; and also that their consistent
course may condemn the ungodly and unbelieving.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 48
***** #64 *****
God permits the wicked to prosper and to reveal
their enmity against Him, that when they shall
have filled up the measure of their iniquity
all may see His justice and mercy in their
utter destruction.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 48
***** #65 *****
The day of His vengeance hastens, when all
who have transgressed His law and oppressed
His people will meet the just recompense
of their deeds; when every act of cruelty
or injustice toward God's faithful ones will
be punished as though done to Christ Himself.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 48
***** #66 *****
Why is it, then, that persecution seems in a
great degree to slumber? The only reason is
that the church has conformed to the world's
standard and therefore awakens no opposition.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 48
***** #67 *****
The religion which is current in our day is not of the pure and holy character that marked the
Christian faith in the days of Christ and His apostles. It is only because of the spirit
of compromise with sin, because the great truths of the word of God are so indifferently
regarded, because there is so little vital godliness in the church, that Christianity is
apparently so popular with the world.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 48
******* #68 *******
Let there be a revival of the faith and power of the early church, and the spirit of
persecution will be revived, and the fires of persecution will be rekindled.
The Great Controversy 1911 Edition, Page 48