Facts of Faith - AntiChrist and More
FACTS OF FAITH
by Christian Edwardson
Chapter 23
A Message For Our Times
(216) God knows the future, and He has a set "time there for every purpose and for every work." (Acts 15:18; Ecclesiastes 3:1, 17.)
Act 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven
Ecc 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
He has also pledged Himself to "do nothing" that vitally concerns this world "but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets" beforehand (John 15:14, 15; Psalm 25:14; Amos 3:7),
Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Psa 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
and then He holds His servants responsible for warning the world (Ezekiel 33:1-8).
Eze 33:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
Eze 33:3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Eze 33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Eze 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
Eze 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
Eze 33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
Eze 33:8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
They are watchmen on the walls of Zion, who should be able to read the signs on God's prophetic clock, so they can tell the time and give the warning at the hour of crisis (Isaiah 21:11, 12; 2 Peter 1:19; Romans 13:11; Matthew 16:2, 3);
Isa 21:11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
Isa 21:12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts
Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Mat 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
and when God's hour strikes, He has His agencies in readiness to carry His message to the world.
Before the world was destroyed by the Flood, Noah warned the people for one hundred twenty years (Genesis 6:3-13, 22; 2 Peter 2:5);
Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Gen 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Gen 6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Gen 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Gen 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Gen 6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly
before the destruction of Sodom, Lot gave the warning message to that wicked city (Genesis 19:12-14);
Gen 19:12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
Gen 19:13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
Gen 19:14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law
and before Christ's first coming, John the Baptist heralded the coming of the Messiah (Luke 1:13-17).
Luk 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
Luk 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Then why should not so important an event as Christ's second coming be given proper notice, and a warning message be sent to prepare the world for its final destruction?
It is true that the world in general has never received favorably any of God's warning messages in former ages, and Christ declares that His final warning will not be heeded any more than His warnings sent through Noah and Lot. (Luke 17:26-30.)
Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
Luk 17:27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Yet the message must be given though there are but few who receive it. Here is Christ's message for our days:
"I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." Rev. 22:16.
"Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." V. 7.
Here we see that the message to be given just before Christ's second coming is found in the "book" of Revelation. This is specifically given in chapter 14, verses 6-14.
Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Here is presented "the everlasting gospel," connected with the warning that "the hour of His judgment is come," and an appeal for a return to the loyal worship of the Creator, combined with a warning against the worship of the "beast and his image," and against taking "his mark." Those who receive this message are characterized by the fact that they "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:6-13. The very next scene is the Son of man coming on the cloud to reap the harvest of the earth, and "the harvest is the end of the world." Verses 14-16 and Matt. 13:39.
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
(217) The people who give this message to the world must therefore know what is meant by "the beast," "his image," and "his mark." This we find clearly presented in Revelation 13. Let us study this chapter.
THE BEAST WITH TEN HORNS
John "saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns." Rev. 13:1.
The fact that it had "ten horns," the same as the fourth beast of Daniel 7:7, 23, 24,
Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
identifies it as a Roman power (see pages 34, 35),
(40) The Heruli disappeared from history. Thus the first of the three horns of Daniel 7:8 was "plucked up by the roots," and history leaves no room for doubt but that the Papacy through its allies engineered this act because of its opposition to Arianism.
*
(44) "The Arian heresy was proscribed, and the race of these remarkable conquerors was in a short time exterminated....There are few instances in history of a nation disappearing so rapidly and so completely as the Vandals of Africa." - "A History of Greece Under the Romans," George Finlay, p. 234. London and New York: J. M. Dent, ed., 1856.
*
A deathblow was thus given to the Ostrogoths in 538 A.D., and their attempts to re-establish themselves after this were but the last flicker of a lamp being extinguished. Belisarius followed them this same year to their "last stronghold of power. Ravenna was soon entered by the troops of the empire, and with it fell the great kingdom of the Ostrogoths." - "Fall of Rome," J. G. Sheppard, p. 306. London: 1892.
*
But let all remember, that "the success of Justinian's invasion was due to the clergy; in the ruin they brought upon their country, and the relentless tyranny they drew upon themselves, they had their reward." - "History of the Intellectual Development of Europe," J. W. Draper, M. D., LL. D., Vol. I, p. 355. New York: Harper Brothers., 1889.
The last of the three Arian "horns" of Daniel 7:8 had passed away, and with it passed also the liberty of the common people. Dr. N. Summerbell truthfully says:
"The Dark Ages, introduced by the persecution of an enlightened Church in the sanguinary wars of Justinian to exalt the Catholics, continued up to the fourteenth century. It was a long, dark night, when ignorance, bigotry, and cruelty reigned, and truth, purity, and justice were crushed out." - "History of the Christian Church," p. 342.
*
The next question to settle will be whether this is Rome in its pagan or its papal state.
The ten horns represent the ten European kingdoms into which the Roman Empire was divided between A.D. 351 and 476.
On this beast the horns are crowned (Rev. 13:1),
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
showing that the empire had been divided. The beast of Rev. 13:1-10 therefore represents papal Rome.
The dragon with ten horns (Rev. 12:3),
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
which represents pagan Rome, gave to the beast "his power, and his seat, and great authority." Rev. 13:2.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
The "seat" of the Roman Empire was the city of Rome. How was this given to the Papacy? Francis P. C. Hays (Roman Catholic) says:
(218) "When the Roman Empire became Christian, and the peace of the Church was guaranteed, the Emperor left Rome to the Pope, to be the seat of the authority of the Vicar of Christ, who should reign there independent of all human authority, to the consummation of ages, to the end of time." - "Papal Rights and Privileges," pp. 13, 14. London: R. Washbourne, 1889.
Alexander C. Flick, Ph. D., Litt. D., says:
"The removal of the capital of the empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330, left the Western Church practically free from imperial power, to develop its own form of organization. the Bishop of Rome, in the seat of the Caesars, was now the greatest man in the West, and was soon forced to become the political as well as the spiritual head." - "The Rise of the Mediaeval Church," p. 168.
"And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages." - Rev. James P. Conroy, in "American Catholic Quarterly Review," April, 1911.
But let us consider the other marks used by the Holy Spirit to point out this power.
It cannot be a local government, confined to a certain country, for "all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him." Rev. 13:8.
and it must be a religious, rather than a civil, power; for it concerns itself with the "worship" of the people. V. 4, 8.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
"There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things," and he was "to make war with the saints, and to overcome them" (Rev. 13:5, 7), just as the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8, 21, 25. (See pp. 34-48.)* All this could apply to no other power than the Papacy.
THE NUMBER 666
The Scripture gives us still another earmark of this power. We read: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." "The number of his name." Rev. 13:17, 18. The note below the eighteenth verse in the Douay, or Catholic, Bible says: "Six hundred sixty-six. The numeral letters of his name shall make up this number."
CATHOLIC AUTHORITIES
(219) In our examination of this subject we shall first consult Roman Catholic authorities to ascertain what sacred title they apply to the pope to denote his official position and authority. Any one at all familiar with authentic Catholic authors knows that their paramount and constant claim for the pope is that Christ appointed St. Peter to be His vicar, or representative on earth, and that each succeeding pope is the lawful successor of St. Peter, and is therefore the "Vicar of the Son of God" on earth. This official title in Latin (the official language of the Catholic Church) is "Vicarius Filii Dei." We find this title used officially in Roman Catholic canon law, from medieval times down to the present. In the earliest collection of canon law we read:
"Beatus Petrus in terris Vicarius filii Dei videtur esse constitutus." - "Decretum Gratiani," prima pars, dist. xcvi. Translated into the English this would read: "Blessed Peter is seen to have been constituted vicar of the Son of God on the earth." - "Decretum of Gratian," part 1, div. 96, column 472, first published at Bologna about 1148, and reprinted in 1555. Translation by Christopher B. Coleman, Ph. D., in "The Treatise of Lorenzo Vallo on the Donation of Constantine," p. 13. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1922.
The Catholic Encyclopedia says of Gratian: "He is the true founder of the science of canon law." - Vol. VI, art. "Gratian," p. 730.
The same Catholic authority says: "The 'Decretum' of Gratian was considered in the middle of the twelfth century as a corpus juris canonici, i.e. a code of the ecclesiastical law then in force." - Id., Vol. IV, art. "Decretals," p. 671.
(220) It further states: "It must be admitted that the work of Gratian was as near perfection as was then possible. For that reason it was adopted at Bologna, and soon elsewhere, as the textbook for the study of canon law....While lecturing on Gratian's work, the canonists labored to complete and elaborate the master's teaching." - Id., Vol. IX, art. "Law, Canon," pars. "D" and "E," p. 62.
Different popes added their own decrees to the collection of Gratian, as the following quotation will show:
"Thus by degrees the Corpus Juris Canonici took shape. This became the official code of canon law for Western Europe during the Middle Ages, and was composed of six books, namely, the Decretum of Gratian (about 1150), the Decretals of Gregory IX (1234), the Sextus Of Boniface VIII (1298), the Clementines of Clement V (1313), the Extravagantes of John XXII (about 1316), and the Extrabagantes Communes, which contained laws made by succeeding popes." - 'The Papacy," Rev. C. Lattey, S. J., page 143. Cambridge, England: 1924.
After the Council of Trent, Pope Pius V had this "Canon Law" revised.
"Pius V appointed (1566) a commission to prepare a new edition of the 'Corpus Juris Canonici.' This commission devoted itself especially to the correction of the text of the 'Decree' of Gratian and of its gloss. Gregory XIII ('Cum pro munere,' 1 July, 1580; 'Emendationem,' 2 June, 1582) decreed that no change was to be made in the revised text. This edition of the 'Corpus' appeared at Rome in 1582, in aedibus populi Romani, and serves as examplar for all subsequent editions." - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, art. "Corpus Juris Canonicci," pp. 392, 393. It was reprinted verbatim in 1613 and 1622.
This is the standard text of canon law for the whole Roman Catholic Church. Pope Gregory XIII wrote July 1, 1580, in his preface to this corrected edition:
"We have demanded care in rejecting, correcting, and expurgating....The Decree itself, without the glossae, exists now entirely freed from faults and corrected,...as much the one without the glossae as the entire one with the glossae...all recognized and approved...this body of canonical law firmly grounded and incorrupted according to this model printed at Rome by Catholic typographers....We wishing to proceed opportunely, so that this canonical law thus expurgated, may come restored to all the faithful...kept perpetually integrid and incorruptible, motu proprio, and from our certain knowledge, and from the plenitude of the apostolic power to all and singly in the dominion of our sacred Roman Church." - Preface to Corpus Juris Canonici, Gregorii XIII, Pontif. Max. Auctoritate; in editions of 1582, 1613, 1622, and 1879.
(221) Of this corrected "Corpus," or canon law, "published in 1582...by order of Gregory XIII," and established by his authority, we read:
"The text of this edition, revised by the Correctores Romani, a pontifical commission established for the revision of the text of the 'Corpus Juris,' has the force of law." - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, art. "Decretals, Papal," p. 672, par. 3.
Notice that this revised edition of canon law "has the force of law." In this canon law, which Pope Gregory XIII had corrected by "the plenitude of the apostolic power," so that it is "entirely freed from faults," we find the same statement: "Beatus Petrus in terris vicarius Filii Dei esse videtur constitutus." - "Corpus Juris Canonici, Gregorii XIII, Pontif. Max. Auctoritate," Distinctio 96, Column 286, Canon Constantinus 14, Magdeburg, 1747.
"Moreover, custom has even given to several apocryphal canons of the 'Decree' of Gratian the force of law." - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, art. "Corpus Juris Canonici," p. 393.
In "Corpus Juris Canonici Emendatum et Notis Illustratum Gregorii XIII. Pont. Max.," "Lvgdvn, MDCXXII," or "the Canon Law of Pope Gregory XIII, of 1622," with the Pope's own "Preface," in which he assures us of its being without flaw, we find the same: "Beatus Petrus in terris Vicarius filii Dei esse videtur constitutus." Column 295.
We cannot see how any consistent Catholic can deny the authenticity of this title without denying the infallibility of the pope. What more authority can they desire?
(222) Before going further let us apply the rule laid down in the Catholic Bible for counting the number of his name. It says: "The numeral letters of his name shall make up this number." - Note under Revelation 13:18. In Bible times they did not use figures. we can still see on dials of old clocks, in numbers given above chapters in the Bible, and in dates inscribed on cornerstones, certain numerical values given to some of the letters. In Latin, I stands for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500, and M for 1,000. Originally we had no U, but V was used for U, and V is often used for U today on public buildings, such as "Pvblic Library," and our W is still written as a double V, not as a double U.
V……………………………………………………………………………………5
i……………………………………………………………………………………..1
c…........……....………………………………………………………………….100
a…………………………………………………………………………………….0
r……………………………………………………………………………………..0
i……………………………………………………………………………………..1
u…………………………………………………………………………………….5
s…………………………………………………………………………………….0
F…………………………………………………………………………………….0
i……………………………………………………………………………………..1
l………...…….........………………………………………………………………50
i……………………………………………………………………………………..1
i……………………………………………………………………………………..1
D………........……………………………………………………………………500
e…………………………………………………………………………………….0
i……………………………………………………………………………………..1
[This totals] ……………………………………………………………………...666
The next Catholic authority we shall quote is F. Luccii Ferraris, who wrote "a veritable encyclopedia" in Latin, of which several editions have been printed by the papal church at Rome. The American Catholic Encyclopedia says of Ferraris's great work that it "will ever remain a precious mine of information." - Vol. VI, p. 48. From this unquestionable Catholic authority we shall first quote its Latin statement, and then give the English translation:
"Ut sicut Beatus Petrus in terris vicarius Filii Dei fuit constitutus, ita et Pontifices eius successores in terris principatus potestatem amplius, quam terrenae imperialis nostrae seremitatis mansuetudo habere fidetur." ("As the blessed Peter was constituted Vicar of the Son of God on earth, so it is seen that the Pontiffs, his successors, hold from us and our empire the power of a supremacy on the earth greater than the clemency of our earthly imperial serenity.") - "Prompta Bibliotheca canonica juridica moralis theologica" etc., Vol. VI, art. "Papa," p. 43. Printed by the Press of the Propaganda, Rome: 1890.
(223) Henry Edward Cardinal Manning of England, an extensive Roman Catholic writer, of high esteem in his church, applies the same title to the pope, only using it in its English translation. He says of the popes:
"The temporal power in the hands of St. Gregory I was a fatherly and patriarchal rule over nations not as yet reduced to civil order. In the hands of St. Leo III it became a power of creating empires. In the hands of St. Gregory VII it was a scourge to chasten them. In the hands of Alexander III it was a dynasty, ruling supremely, in the name of God, over the powers of the world....So that I may say there never was a time when the temporal power of the Vicar of the Son of God, though assailed as we see it, was more firmly rooted throughout the whole unity of the Catholic Church.
"It was a dignified obedience to bow to the Vicar of the Son of God, and to remit the arbitration of their griefs to one whom all wills consented to obey." - "The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Jesus Christ," pp. 231, 232, second edition. London. Burns and Lambert, 1862.
The same year, this book was translated and published in Italian, with the sanction of the church attached to it. The title "Vicar of the Son of God" appears on pages 234, and 235 of that edition.
Philippe Labbe, "a distinguished Jesuit writer on historical, geographical, and philological questions" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, pp. 718, 719), in his historical work "Sacrosancta concilia ad regitionem exacta," Vol. I, page 1534 (Paris: 1671), uses "Vicarius Filii Dei" as the official title of the pope.
Coming down to our own times, we shall call to the witness stand a modern advocate of the Roman Catholic cause. Our Sunday Visitor, of Huntington, Ind., in its issue of April 18, 1915, gives clear testimony in this case. We quote it in full:
"What are the letters supposed to be in the Pope's crown, and what do they signify, if anything?
"The letters inscribed in the Pope's mitre are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God. Catholics hold that the Church which is a visible society must have a visible head. Christ, before His ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative. Upon the death of Peter the man who succeeded to the office of Peter as Bishop of Rome, was recognized as the head of the Church. Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, was given the title 'Vicar of Christ.'
(224) "Enemies of the Papacy denounce this title as a malicious assumption. But the Bible informs us that Christ did not only give His Church authority to teach, but also to rule. Laying claim to the authority to rule in Christ's spiritual kingdom, in Christ's stead, is not a whit more malicious than laying claim to the authority to teach in Christ's name. And this every Christian minister does." - "Our Sunday Visitor," April 18, 1915, thirteenth question under "Bureau of Information," p. 3.
Later, when Roman Catholic authorities discovered that Protestants were making use of the foregoing statements to identify the Papacy with the antichristian power of Rev. 12:18, they attempted to repudiate the contents of their former article. But that article was not written by some contributor to their paper; it appeared in the "Bureau of Information," for which the editorial staff was responsible. And on page two of that paper appeared sanctions for the editor from Pope Pius X, dated May 17, 1914; from the Apostolic Delegate, John Bonzano, dated April 27, 1913; and from J. H. Alerding, Bishop of Fort Wayne, Ind., dated March 29, 1912. If statements made under such high authorities are not trustworthy, we would respectfully ask if their present denials are any more so?
To one versed in Catholic teaching and practice, there is nothing uncommon in such denials, where the interest of the Church is at stake. Cardinal Baudrillart's quotation on pages 64 and 245 of this book shows that some Catholic authors "ask permission from the Church to ignore or even deny" some historical facts, which they "dare not" face; and we read in "History of the Jesuits," by Andrew Steinmetz, Vol. I, p. 13, that their accredited histories in common use, 'with permission of authority,' [are] veiling the subject with painful dexterity." - London. 1848.
(225) We shall here refer to one other similar denial. In the Roman Catholic paper, Shepherd of the Valley, there appeared an article by the editor, in which he stated: "If Catholics ever attain, which they surely will, though at a distant day, the immense numerical majority in the United States, religious liberty, as at present understood, will be at an end." A Protestant lecturer, who made use of this quotation, was bitterly arraigned in a double-column front-page article in the Catholic Standard and times for his false statements regarding Catholics; for, it pointed out, if he had finished the quotation with the words which followed, "so say our enemies," it would have reversed its meaning. The incident would have passed off at the expense of the Protestant lecturer, had not the Western Watchman of July 24, 1913, continued the quotation still further, declaring:
"The whole quotation should read: 'If Catholics ever attain, which they surely will, though at a distant day, the immense numerical majority in the United States, religious liberty, as at present understood, will be at an end. so say our enemies; so say we.'" - Quoted in "Protestant Magazine," October, 1913, p. 474.
Why those who tried to deny their former statements should leave out the words, "so say we," is very evident. But what can we think of those who publicly deny facts to screen their church from unfavorable public opinions, unless they act from the motive that "the end justifies the means," and that "heretics" have no moral right to facts which they would misuse. (See also pages 64 and 65 of this book.)**
We shall therefore continue to believe that the editors of Our Sunday Visitor, in its issue of April 18, 1915, page three, were perfectly honest and well informed on the subject, and that the later denials are of the same class as those mentioned above.
(226) Our Sunday Visitor in the aforementioned quotation makes use of Vicarius Filii Dei and "Vicar of Christ" as synonymous terms, and Cardinal Manning does the same in his book, "Temporal Power of the Pope." It cannot, therefore, be maintained, as some do, that Vicarius Christi is the only mode of spelling used as the title of the pope, although the shorter rendering is used more often for brevity's sake. In fact Vicarius Christi is composite in its origin, Vicarius being Latin, while Christi is Latinized from the Greek. It would hardly seem probable that learned Romanists would adopt such a composite title to the exclusion of the pure, dignified, Latin title, Vicarius Filii Dei, which has been in use among them for centuries.
Of late, Catholic apologists have argued that the "name of the beast in Rev. 13:17, 18 is a person name of a single individual, such as Nero, and not the official title of a series of men as that of the popes would be. But this would be entirely out of harmony with the context, for how could one man make war with God's people, and overcome them in every country, so that he would have power "over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations"? Rev. 13:7. Then, too, that power was to continue forty and two months (v. 5), which those apologists claim to be literal. But how could one man accomplish such a world task in forty-two literal months?
These forty-two months are twelve hundred and sixty prophetic days (Rev. 11:2, 3),
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
and in prophecy a day stands for a year (Ezekiel 4:6).
Eze 4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
(Even Catholics acknowledge that a day in prophecy stands for a year. See note under Daniel 9;24-27 in the Douay Bible. Father Reaves says: "The prophet's weeks are, by all interpreters of the Holy Scriptures, understood to include years for days." - "Bible History," p. 345.)
The forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, of Revelation 13:5 are therefore twelve hundred and sixty years, during which this power was to continue. But would not that period be quite a long time for one man to live? This attempt made by Roman apologists to screen the Papacy from being detected as the antichristian power of Revelation 13 appears too shallow to be seriously asserted by men who have made a thorough study of Bible prophecy.
TESTIMONY OF EYE-WITNESSES
(227) That the title, Vicarius Filii Dei, has been employed elsewhere than in Roman Catholic canon law is also asserted by Rev. B. Hoffman:
"To Whom It May Concern:
"This is to certify that I was born in Bavaria in 1828, was educated in Munich, and was reared a Roman Catholic. In 1844 and 1845 I was a student for the priesthood in the Jesuit College in Rome.
"During the Easter service of 1845, Pope Gregory XVI wore a triple crown upon which was the inscription, in jewels, Vicarius Filii Dei. We were told that there were one hundred diamonds in the word Dei; the other words were of some other kind of precious stones of a darker color. There was one word upon each crown, and not all on the same line. I was present at the service, and saw the crown distinctly, and noted it carefully.
"In 1850 I was converted to God and to Protestantism. Two years later I entered the Evangelical Church ministry, but later in life I united with the Presbyterian Church, of which I am now a retired pastor, having been in the ministry for fifty years.
"I have made the above statement at the request of Elder D. E. Scoles, as he states that some deny that the pope ever wore this tiara. But I know that he did, for I saw it upon his head."
"Sincerely yours in Christian service, (Signed) "B. Hoffman. "Webb City, Mo., Oct. 29, 1906." - "Review and Herald," Dec. 20, 1906.
The author of this book has photostats of the papal passport held by Rev. B. Hoffman, and of a signed letter from him stating the same facts as are given in the above statement. His testimony is confirmed by that of M. De Latti and others.
(228) Statement of M. De Latti to D. E. Scoles. - "M. De Latti...had previously been a Catholic priest, and spent four years in Rome. He visited me when I was pastor in St. Paul, Minn....He stated that he had often seen it [the crown with this inscription] in the museum of the Vatican, and gave a detailed and accurate description of the whole crown....
"De Latti...said the first word of the sentence was on the first crown of the triple arrangement, the second word on the second part of the crown, while the word Dei was on the lower division of the triple crown. He also explained that the first two words were in dark-colored jewels, while the Dei was composed of diamonds entirely." - D. E. Scoles, in "Review and Herald," Dec. 20, 1906.
Statement of Thomas Whitmore. - "'Some time ago, an English officer happening to be at Rome, observed on the front of the mitre which the pope wore at one of the solemnities, this inscription: "Vicarius Filii Dei." It instantly struck him - perhaps this is "the number of the beast." He set to work: and when he had selected all the numerals, and added them up, he found, to his great astonishment, that the whole amounted to precisely six hundred and sixty-six. What stress is to be laid on this I cannot say.
"'Vicarivs Filii Dei
V………...5 I……......1 D…...…500
I……….…1 L…...…50 I…..…...…1
C…........100 I...…....…1 [totals] 501
I……….…1 I.……......1
V…………5 [totals] 53
[totals] 112
[This totals] 112 + 53 + 501 = 666
"Thus it will be seen, that by taking from the title 'Vicarivs Filii Dei' [Vicar of the Son of God], the letters which are commonly used as numerals, they make up the number of the beast." - "A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine," p. 231. Boston. 1856.
(229) Testimony of Dr. H. Grattan Guinness. - "An English officer of high rank, who in the year 1799, by a special favor, was given the opportunity, while in Rome, to get a close view of the Pope's jewels and precious things, discovered thereby, that the papal tiara bore this inscription: 'Vicarivs Filii Dei.'
"When you take out the Latin letters, which have numeral value, and which still are used to represent numbers, and which are: V, I, C, L, and D, these letters form the number given below. In these Latin words there are two V's, which letter denotes 5, six I's denoting 1, one C, which denotes 100, one L, which denotes 50, and one D, which denotes 500, thus: V, V = 10; I, I, I, I, I, I, = 6; C = 100; L = 500, the sum 666." - "Babylon and the Beast," p. 141; quoted in "Kyrkans Strid och Slutliga Seger," Professor S. F. Svensson, pp. 126, 128. Stockholm. 1908.
OTHER PROTESTANT WITNESSES
Robert Fleming, V. D. M., wrote a book entitled "Apocalyptical Key. An Extraordinary Discourse on the Rise and Fall of the Papacy." It was published in London, 1701, 1703, and 1929. In the 1929 edition, p. 48, we read that an "explication may be found in the title which the Roman pontiff has assumed, and which is inscribed over the door of the Vatican, 'Vicarius Filii Dei' (Vicar of the Son of God). In Roman computation this contains the number 666, as will be seen below.
V…………5 F..……0 D……500
I………….1 I...……1 E… ……0
C……...100 L…....50 I…..…….1
A……....…0 I……...1
R…………0 I…...…1
I………….1
V…………5
S…………0 In all 666."
TESTIMONY OF R. C. SHIMEALL
(230) "It is to be observed as a singular circumstance, that the title, vicarivs filii dei (Vicar of the Son of God), which the Popes of Rome have assumed to themselves, and caused to be inscribed over the door of the Vatican, exactly makes the number of 666, when deciphered according to the numeral signification of its constituent letters, thus:
Vicar of the Son of God
V I C A R I V S F I L I I D E I
5-1-100 1-5 1-50-1-1 500 -- 1
Added together thus:
V…………5
I……….…1
C...........100
A……........0
R……........0
I…….........1
V.……........5
S…........….0
F…….........0
I……...........1
L…….......50
I…………...1
I…………...1
D……....500
E………….0
I…………...1
[totals] 666" -"Our Bible Chronology, Historic and Prophetic, Critically Examined and Demonstrated," R. C. Shimeall, p. 180. New York: a. S. Barnes and Co., 1867.
Appended to the above is a footnote, giving the author's reply to a correspondent:
"Answer to a Querist....
(231) "Sir, - In answer to your observation and queries, permit me to say - the things I have asserted are stubborn, clear facts, not mere suppositions or fancies.
"The inscription in question, was actually written over the door of the Vatican at Rome, in express Latin words and characters, as inserted in this publication, viz., VICARIVS FILII DEI; and those Latin words and characters contain Latin numerals to the amount of 666, exactly corresponding with the number of the beast.
"With respect to the supposition you have conjured up, that the Pope might be called Vicarius Christus, or Vicarius Christus Filii Dei (a sort of gibberish that is neither Latin, German nor English), it is a matter I have nothing to do with. Mr. D. may adopt these or any other fancies to amuse himself, and to screen the head of his holiness, but when he has done all, this question will still remain to be answered: Have those inscriptions ever appeared over the door of the Vatican at Rome?
"As to Mr. D's attempting to obscure the number of the beast 666, contained in the numerals of the words VICARIVS FILII DEI, by objecting to a V; however the Pope or his emissaries may be obliged to him for his kind exertions on their behalf, yet I presume neither of them will condescend to appear his humble fool in Latin, for the sake of sheltering themselves under his ignorance of the Latin alphabet and the ancient inscriptions." - Id., p. 180.
Dr. S. T. Bloomfield gives us the following rule for finding the number:
"It means the number which is made up by reducing the numeral power of each of the letters of which the name is composed, and bringing it to a sum total." - "Greek Testament with English Notes," Note on Rev. 13:17, Vol. II, p. 175.
Samuel Hanson Cox, D.D. - "Can they [Protestants] accord to the present dominant Gregory, the pompous titles which he claims - VICARIUS FILII DEI, Vestra Sanctitas, Servus Servorus Domini, with other profane and blasphemous appellations without end?" - Introduction to Bower's "History of the Popes," Vol. I, p. x. Philadelphia: 1847.
(232) The fact that some may have seen a crown at the Vatican which did not have the above inscription does not disprove the statements of the men who saw the crown that has the inscription; for according to a copyrighted news report from Milan, Italy, dated December 11, 1922, and published in the Des Moines (Iowa) Register, December 12, 1922, the pope has five crowns, the last one made being decked with two thousand precious stones. The important part is not that the inscription Vicarius Filii Dei is on the pope's tiara, but that it is the official title of the popes, that it designates their official position, and is given to them at their coronation, just as the head of the United States government is called "President," without it therefore being necessary for him to wear that title on his hat.
Mr. H. S. Weaver, of Baltimore, Md., wrote to James Cardinal Gibbons, of the same city, under date of January 18, 1904, inquiring:
"Does the inscription, 'Vicarius filii Dei,' appear on the crown or mitre of the pope, or has it at any time in the past appeared on the crowns or mitres of any of the popes?"
"Yours sincerely, (Signed) "H. S. Weaver."
To this the Cardinal answered through his secretary:
"Baltimore, Md., Jan. 26, 1904.
"Mr. H. S. Weaver., Dear Sir:
"In reply to yours of 18th inst., I beg to say that I can not say with certainty that the words, 'Vicarius filii Dei,' are on the pope's tiara. But the words are used by the cardinal who imposes the tiara at the coronation of a pope.
"Yours truly, (Signed) "Wm. T. Russut, Secretary."
-"Bible Footlights," pp. 210, 211, edition of 1907.
The New Catholic Dictionary says:
(233) "Tiara, papal crown....It is placed on his head at his Coronation by the second cardinal-deacon, with the words: 'Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art Father of princes and kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar of our Saviour Jesus Christ.'" - The New Catholic Dictionary, art. "Tiara," p. 955.
We have already seen that Catholics have several free translations into English of the Latin title, "Vicarius Filii Dei." Some try to find in the Greek word Lateinos, or the Latin Empire of the Papacy, a fulfillment of Revelation 13:18 (see "Bishop Newton on the Prophecies," pp. 548-550), but there is no need of going to the Greek. For while it is true that the apostles used mostly the Aramaic and the Greek, Latin was the official language of Rome, the world empire at that time. The Romans everywhere used Latin, all their laws were written in that language, and Latin has remained the official language of the Papacy to this day. The apostle was prophesying of a strictly Latin power, whose language was in use in his day, and it is quite common for Bible writers to borrow foreign words and phrases belonging to the subjects of which they are speaking. (John 19:20; Revelation 9;11; 16:16.)
Joh 19:20 This title therefore many of the Jews did read: because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city. And it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.
Rev 9:11 A king, the angel of the bottomless pit (whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon, in Latin Exterminans).
Rev 16:16 And he shall gather them together into a place which in Hebrew is called Armagedon.
Then, too, the power represented by Revelation 13:1-10, 17, 18, must not only have the name indicated, but must also fulfill all the other specifications in this prophecy, and the Papacy does this. M. James Durham, Professor of Divinity in Glasgow (1658), says:
"He that hath all the characters of Antichrist's doctrine, and hath a name which, in the numeral letters, makes up 666, he is Antichrist. But to the Pope both these do agree." - "A Commentary Upon the Book of Revelation," Rev. 13:18, p. 491. Glasgow. 1680.
*******
* Facts of Faith (p 34-48)
Chapter 4
The Prophetic History of the World
(34) The prophecies of the Bible are not difficult to understand, if we follow the rules laid down in Scripture for interpreting prophecy. These rules are few in number, and they are not complicated. When used in connection with prophetic symbols, "sea," or "waters," stand for "multitudes" of people (Revelation 17:15; Isaiah 8:7; 17:12; Jeremiah 6:23); "wind" stands for "war" (Jeremiah 4:12, 13; 25:31, 32); "beasts" stand for "kingdoms" (Daniel 7:23); and "days" for "years" (Ezekiel 4:6).
The prophet Daniel saw in vision four winds of war, which strove upon the great sea of people, and four great beasts, or kingdoms, came up one after the other. "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings." Daniel 7:2-4. In Jeremiah 49:19, 22, 28, a lion is used to symbolize the kingdom of Babylon (606-538 B.C.). The second beast was like a bear (Daniel 7:5), and denoted Medo-Persia, the next world empire (538-331 B.C.). The "three ribs in the mouth of it" were the three chief countries which it conquered, Lydia, Babylon, and Egypt.
He next saw a leopard having four heads and four wings (v. 6), symbolizing the Grecian Empire (331-168 B.C.). A leopard is very alert, and adding to this symbol four wings would indicate that Grecia would make rapid conquest, which was true. Alexander the Great marched his army 51,000 miles in eight years and conquered the then known civilized world. The four heads on the leopard denote the four divisions into which that empire was split up after the death of Alexander.
"The fourth beast," the angel explained, "shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth." V. 23. The fourth empire from Babylon was Rome (168 B.C. to 476 A.D.). The angel also informs us that "the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." V. 24. The Roman Empire was split up into just ten smaller kingdoms between the years 351 and 476 A.D. The following are their ancient and modern names:
(35) 1. Alemanni - Germany. 2. Franks - France. 3. Anglo-Saxons - England. 4. Burgundians - Switzerland. 5. Visigoths - Spain. 6. Suevi - Portugal. 7. Lombards - Italy. 8. Heruli. 9. Vandals. 10. Ostrogoths.
This prophecy is so plain, and the explanation so natural and easy to understand, that all commentators, both Protestant and Catholic, fully agree on it. (See Sir Isaac Newton's "Observations upon the Prophecies," pp. 157-159; Bishop Thomas Newton, "Dissertations on the Prophecies," pp. 201-221; Joseph Tanner on "Daniel and the Revelation," pp. 1650174; Martin Luther's "Introduction," pp. 32, 33, Frederidshald, 1853.)
The Douay, or Catholic, version of the Bible has the following notes on Daniel 7:3, 7, 8. "Four great beasts. Viz., the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires." "Ten horns. That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. 17.12,) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled." "Another little horn. This is commonly understood of Antichrist."
In regard to these ten kingdoms, Sir Isaac Newton says: "Whatever was their number afterwards, they are still called the Ten Kings from their first number." - "Daniel and the Apocalypse," p. 187; first printed, 1733, reprinted, London: 1922.
THE LITTLE HORN
"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn." Daniel 7:8. Let us now consider all the characteristics this prophecy gives to the little horn, and we shall be forced by weight of evidence to settle on just one power as the fulfillment of these predictions.
(1) It was to come up "among" the ten European kingdoms into which the Roman Empire was split. (V. 8.) (2) It "shall rise" to power "after them." (V. 24.) (3) "And he shall be diverse from the first" ten kingdoms; that is, different from ordinary, secular kingdoms. (V. 24.) Any one acquainted with history knows that the Papacy is the only power that answers to all these specifications. It rose "among" the kingdoms of Western Rome, "after" they were established in A.D. 476, and it differed from a purely civil power. But the angel gives still another mark of identity to the little horn. (4) Before it "there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots." (V. 8.) That is, in coming up it pushed out before it three of the former horns by the roots. Thus three kingdoms were to be plucked up to give place for the Papacy. This prediction found its exact fulfillment in the destruction of the three Arian kingdoms: the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths, as we now shall see. Rev. E. B. Elliott, M.A., says:
(36) "I might cite three that were eradicated from before the Pope out of the list first viz., the Herulie under Odoacer, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths." - "Horoe Apocaypticoe," Vol. III, p. 168, Note 1. London: 1862.
In former days crowns of conquered kings were placed on the head of the conqueror. (2 Samuel 12:30.) It is symbolically fitting, therefore, that the pope wears a triple crown. Bishop Thomas Newton, speaking of the power that destroyed the three horns, says: "And the pope hath in a manner pointed himself out for the person by wearing the triple crown." - Dissertations on the Prophecies," p. 220. London.
A brief statement of the political and religious conditions in the Roman world is necessary here in order that the reader may better grasp the real situation in which these three Arian kingdoms found themselves. After Constantine had removed the seat of the empire from Rome to Constantinople, the Roman people were (at intervals) ruled from that Eastern capital, until the pope had grown to power in Rome. While the Papacy was gradually gaining control over the people of the West, the Eastern emperors were courting the good will of the popes in order to hold their Western subjects.
From the time of Constantine to that of Justinian there was a deadly struggle between the two largest factions of the Church, the Catholics and the Arians. Often there was terrible strife, and even bloodshed. "The streets of Alexandra and of Constantinople were deluged with blood by the partisans of rival bishops." - "History of Christianity," H. H. Milman, Book III, chap. 5, par. 2, p. 410. New York: 2-vol. Ed., 1881. Most of the barbarian nations into which the Roman Empire was now split had accepted the Catholic faith. But the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths were Arians.
(37) While the emperors courted the help of the popes for political reasons, the popes sought the assistance of the emperors to destroy the Arians. Theodosius, the Emperor of the East, had already (380-395 A.D.) given "fifteen stern edicts against heresy, one of the average for every year of his reign....So began the campaign which ended in the virtual extinction of Arianism in the Roman world. - "Italy and her Invaders," Thomas Hodgkin, Vol. I, pp. 368, 369. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 8-vol. ed. Of 1899.
In A.D. 380, the Emperor Theodosius issued an edict which said: "We order those who follow this law to assume the name of Catholic Christians: we pronounce all others to be mad and foolish, and we order that they bear the ignominious name of heretics....These are to be visited...by the stroke of our own authority." - "Italy and her Invaders," T. Hodgkin, Vol. I, p. 183. Two-vol. ed. Of 1880.
"Thus did the reign and legislation of Theodosius mark out the lines of future relationship between Pope and Emperor." - Id., p. 187.
Embassies passed continually between the pope of Rome and the emperor of Constantinople, and in 381 A.D. Theodosius arranged for a general council of the clergy at Constantinople, which finally established the Catholic doctrine. "To him also, at least as much as to Constantine, must be attributed the permanent alliance between the Church and the State." - Id., pp. 182, 183.
THE HERULI
The Heruli under Odoacer had established themselves in Italy, 476 A.D.: and while this Arian king ruled all his subjects impartially, he endeavored to shield his people from the persecution inaugurated by the combined efforts of the pope and the emperor. Pasquale Villari, writing of the period between 468 and 483 A.D., says:
(38) "At that time the Pope was morally, and even more than morally speaking, the most powerful personage in Italy. If Odovacar [Odoacer], as an Arian, had openly opposed him, Simplicius [the Pope] could have easily roused the whole country against him, and made it impossible for him to maintain his position in Italy." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," Vol. I, pp. 145, 146. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1902.
And just such an opportunity soon presented itself:
"Pope Simplicius died on the 2nd of March, 483, whereupon Odovacar made a false move, of which he felt the consequences before long. Undoubtedly it was very important for him to control the choice of a new Pontiff. He sought not only to prevent the riots which had often caused bloodshed in the streets of Rome on similar occasions, but also desired a Pope well disposed to himself. Thus when the preliminary assembly failed to agree in the choice of a candidate, the Pretorian Prefect, Cecina Basilius, suddenly intervened in Odovacar's name, and declared that no election would be valid without the King's voice....A decree was likewise issued prohibiting the alienation of Church property and threatening anathema on all who failed to respect it. After this the Assembly was summoned to sanction the decree and decide the election, which resulted in favor of Felix II (483-493), the candidate recommended by Odovacar." - Id., p. 146.
Rome could never forgive such an affront, and through its faithful ally, the emperor, another barbarian nation, the Ostrogroths, were called in to destroy the hated Heruli. Niccolo Machiavelli relates how the popes used such a method. He says:
"Nearly all the wars which the northern barbarians carried on in Italy, it may be remarked, were occasioned by the pontiffs; and the hordes, with which the country was inundated, were generally called in by them. The same mode of proceeding still continued, and kept Italy weak and unsettled." - "History of Florence," p. 13. Washington and London: Universal Classics Library, 1901.
(39) Villari says that Theodoric at the head of the Ostrogothic hordes entered Italy in the autumn of 488, backed by the authority of the emperor and the Church. Because the discord that had now broken out between Odovacar and the pope had weakened the former and consequently made him less formidable, after two disastrous battles he retreated toward the city of Rome for safety from the Ostrogoths, but "the gates of Rome were shut in his face, and the inhabitants of Italy began to show him marked hostility; partly for the increased deeds of spoliation....The Church had taken advantage of all these causes of discontent in order to excite the populace against him; and before long it was openly said that the clergy had organized a general conspiracy against him somewhat it would seem, in the style of the Sicilian Vespers." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," 2-vol. ed. Of 1880. Vol. I, pp. 153-156.
John Henry Cardinal Newman, D. D., says:
"Odoacer was sinking before Theodoric, and the Pope was changing one Arian master for another." - "An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine," Part II, p. 320. London: 1878.
Villari continues: "On the 5th of March, 493, Theodoric entered Ravenna in triumph, all the clergy coming forth to meet him, chanting Psalms, and with the Archbishop at the head of the procession." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," Vol. I, p. 158. Ten days later Odoacer was murdered in cold blood.
Hodgkin points out that this coming of the archbishop to meet the Ostrogoths was staged so as to "impress vividly on the minds both of Italians and Ostrogoths that Theodoric came as the friend of the Catholic Church." - "Italy and Her Invaders," 8-vol. ed., Vol. III, book 4, pp. 234, 235. Hodgkin further states that the Roman clergy were privy to a terrible secret plot of murdering the followers of Odovacar all over Italy. (Id., pp. 225, 226.)
(40) The Heruli disappeared from history. Thus the first of the three horns of Daniel 7:8 was "plucked up by the roots," and history leaves no room for doubt but that the Papacy through its allies engineered this act because of its opposition to Arianism.
THE EMPEROR JUSTINIAN
Before passing to the next power destroyed by the Papacy we shall briefly state the condition of the Roman Empire at this time. Justinian had finally ascended the throne of Constantinople as the Emperor of the East, 527 A.D. He was a shrewd politician, and in his effort to extend his rule over the whole of the Roman Empire he realized his need of securing the co-operation of the highly organized Catholic Church, for it was directed by a single head (the pope), and worked as a unit all over the empire, while the Arian nations stood separately, without any central organization, and hence they were weak. Then too, the Arians were very wealthy, and if Justinian could conquer them in the name of "the true Church," he could confiscate their property and thus secure means to carry on his many wars. We read:
"Justinian (527)...already meditated...the conquest of Italy and Africa." - "Decline and Fall," Edward Gibbon, chap. 39, par. 17.
"Justinian felt that the support of the Pope was necessary in his reconquering of the West." - "History of Medieval Europe," L. Thorndike, Ph. D., p. 133. Cambridge, Mass.: 1918.
"Justinian spared nothing in his efforts to conciliate the Roman Church, and we find inserted with evident satisfaction in Justinian's Code pontifical letters, which praised his efforts to maintain 'the peace of the church and the unity of religion.'" - "Cambridge Medieval History," Bury, Gwatkin, and Whitney, Vol. II, p. 44. New York: 1913.
(41) Procopius, the historian who followed Justinian's armies, says:
"In his zeal to gather all men into one Christian doctrine, he recklessly killed all who dissented, and this too he did in the name of piety. For he did not call it homicide, when those who perished happened to be of a belief that was different from his own.""- "Secret History of the Court of Justinian," pp. 138, 139. Chicago: P. Covici, 1927.
"Now the churches of these so-called heretics, especially those belonging to the Arian dissenters, were almost incredibly wealthy." - Id., p. 121.
"Agents were sent everywhere to force whomever they chanced upon to renounce the faith of their fathers....Thus many perished at the hands of the persecuting faction;...but most of them by far quitted the land of their fathers, and fled the country...and thenceforth the whole Roman Empire was a scene of massacre and flight." - Id., p. 122.
Dom John Chapman (Roman Catholic) says of Justinian:
"He felt himself to be the Vicegerent of the Almighty to rule the world and bring it all to the service of Christ. His wars were holy wars. In later centuries a Byzantine battle began like a church ceremony. Even in the sixth century every enterprise was consecrated by religion.
"He was well aware that judicious persecution is a great help towards conversion!...He strengthened the existing laws against pagans, Jews, and heretics....Many were burnt at Constantinople after the Emperor had made vain attempts to convert them. John of Ephesus...was employed in this apostolate. He boasts that in 546 he gained 70,000 pagans in Asia Minor, including nobles and rhetoricians and physicians, and many in Constantinople. Tortures discovered these men, and scourgings and imprisonment induced them to accept instruction and baptism. A Patricius, named Phocus, hearing that he had been denounced, took poison. The Emperor ordered that he should be buried as an ass is buried. The pious Emperor paid all the expenses of this Christian mission, and gave to each of the 70,000 Asiatics the white garments for their baptism and a piece of money."
(42) "Other heretics were given three months grace. All magistrates and soldiers had to swear that they were Catholics." - "Studies in the Early Papacy," Dom John Chapman, p. 222. London: Sheed and Ward, 1928. New York: Benziger Brothers.
THE VANDALS
"Justinian's cherished aim was the reconquest of Italy by the Empire; but in order to succeed in this it was necessary to secure his rear by overthrowing the Vandals and resuming possession of Africa." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," P. Villari, Vol. I, p. 197.
A pretext for breaking his oath of peace with the Arian Vandals soon presented itself. The Vandal government had oppressed the Roman Catholics just as the emperor, under the influence of the Papacy, had oppressed the Arians. But when Hilderic came to the Vandal throne he, through the influence of his Catholic wife, had restored the Roman clergy to their ancient privileges, and this had so displeased the Vandal leaders that Gelimer, a zealous Arian, had dethroned and imprisoned him, and reigned in his place. "A strong appeal was thus made to the piety [?] of the Emperor to deliver the true Catholic Church of the West out of the hands of the barbarian heretics." - "Medieval and Modern History," P. V. N. Myers, p. 62. Boston: 1897.
Justinian wavered for a time, fearing to attack these warlike Vandals, but a Catholic bishop assured him of victory, claiming "he had seen a vision, in which God commanded that the war should be immediately undertaken. 'It is the will of Heaven, O Emperor!' exclaimed the bishop." - Id., p. 63.
Treachery, which with Rome and her allies has always been a justifiable weapon, was here used in the service of the church by her dutiful son. Justinian sent an army of 200,000 trained men under the leadership of Belisarius to conquer the Vandals, without declaring war, and unbeknown to Gelimer, their king. Villari says:
(43) "Belisarius landed on the African coast at nine days' march from Carthage [the Vandal capital]. He did not assume the attitude of a conqueror, but came, he said, as the deliverer of the Catholics and Romans, the clergy and lay proprietors, who were all equally oppressed by those foreign barbarians, the heretic Vandals." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," Vol. I, p. 198.
Thus Belisarius won the enthusiastic support of a large part of the population. To undermine the zeal of the Vandal leaders for their king he sent the "leading men of the Vandals" a letter from Justinian, stating that he intended only to dethrone the usurping king, who was tyrannizing over them, and to give them back their liberty. The letter reads:
"It is not our purpose to go to war with the Vandals, nor are we breaking our treaty with Gaiseric. We are only attempting to overthrow your tyrant, who making light of Gaiseric's testament keeps your king a prisoner....Therefore join us in freeing yourselves from a tyranny so wicked, that you may enjoy peace and liberty. We give you pledge in the name of God that we will give you these blessings.'...The overseer of the public post deserted and delivered all the horses to Belisarius." - "History of the Later Roman Empire," J. B. Bury, Vol. II, p. 130. London: The Macmillan Co., 1925.
But Justinian never intended to keep his solemn oath to grant them liberty, and the people soon found Rome the severest of tyrants.
"In 533 the Byzantine general, Belisarius (q.v.) landed in Africa. The Vandals were several times defeated, and Carthage was entered on Sept. 15, 533....In the next year Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica were restored to the Roman Empire. As a nation, the Vandals soon ceased to exist." - Nelson's Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, art. "Vandals," pp. 380, 381. New York. 1907.
"Religious intolerance accompanied the imperial restoration in the West. In Africa, as in Italy, Arians were spoiled for the benefit of Catholics, their churches were destroyed or ruined, and their lands confiscated." - "Cambridge Medieval History," Bury, Gwatkin, and Whitney, Vol. II, p. 44. New York: 1913.
(44) "The Arian heresy was proscribed, and the race of these remarkable conquerors was in a short time exterminated....There are few instances in history of a nation disappearing so rapidly and so completely as the Vandals of Africa." - "A History of Greece Under the Romans," George Finlay, p. 234. London and New York: J. M. Dent, ed., 1856.
"Africa, subdued by the arms of Belisarius, returned at once under the dominion of the empire and of Catholicism....One imperial edict was sufficient (A.D. 533) to restore all the churches to the Catholic worship." - "Latin Christianity," H. H. Milman, Book 3, chap. 4, p. 455. New York: Crowell & Co. 1881. Thus the second horn of Daniel 7:8 was plucked up by the roots."
Here we have one sample out of many in history as to what kind of religious liberty Rome grants wherever she obtains the power.
THE OSTROGOTHS
Theodoric, king of the Ostrogothic nation of Italy, maintained complete religious liberty for all classes and creeds. He wrote to Justin, Emperor of the East, who was persecuting the Arians:
"To pretend to a domination over the conscience, is to usurp the prerogative of God; by the nature of things the power of sovereigns is confined to political government; they have no right of punishment but over those who disturb the public peace; the most dangerous heresy is that of a sovereign who separates himself from part of his subjects, because they believe not according to his belief." - "History of Latin Christianity," H. H. Milman, Vol. I, Book III, chap. 3, p. 439. New York: 1860.
The wars of the migrating barbarians on the one side, and the persecutions of heathen, Jews, and Arians by the Catholic Church on the other, had kept Italy in constant turmoil. Agricultural pursuits were neglected, people crowded into the cities, and want and starvation faced the population. But Theodoric's wise and firm rule, and the strict religious liberty he established in Italy, brought peace, prosperity, and happiness to all classes. J. G. Sheppard, D. D., says:
(45) "'Theodoric deserves the highest praise; for, during the thirty-eight years he reigned in Italy, he brought the country to such a state of greatness, that her previous sufferings were no longer recognizable.'...What then prevented this man, with so great a genius for government, and so splendid an opportunity for its exercise, from organizing a Germanic empire, equal in extent and power to that which obeyed the sceptre of the old Roman Caesars? Or why did he fail, when Charlemagne, with a greater complication of interests to deal with, for a time at least, succeeded?
"The causes were mainly these; causes...very similar, at all times, in their operation. In the first place, Theodoric was an Arian, and there was a power antagonistic to Arianism growing up already on the banks of the Tiber, stronger than the statesmen's policy or the soldier's sword - the spiritual power of the church of Rome....Such a power was necessarily altogether incompatible with the existence of an Arian empire. And it proved mightier than its rival." - "Fall of Rome," John G. Sheppard, D. D., pp. 301, 302. London: 1861.
In order to give the reader a better understanding of the means used by the Papacy to destroy these Arian kingdoms, we shall quote from Thomas Hodgkin a few brief statements. He states that Theodoric, the Ostrogothic king, endeavored to have "a close league for mutual defence formed between the four great Arian and Teutonic monarchies, the Visigothic, the Burgundian, the Ostrogothic, and the Vandal." But "diplomatists were wanting [who could act] as their skillful and eloquent representatives, traveling like Epiphanius from court to court, and bringing the barbarian sovereigns to understand each other, to sink their petty grievances, and to work together harmoniously for one common end. Precisely these men were the Catholic prelates of the Mediterranean lands to whom it was all-important that no such Arian league should be formed....All over the Roman world there was a serried array of Catholic bishops and presbyters, taking their orders from a single centre, Rome, feeling the interest of each one to be the interests of all, in lively and constant intercourse with one another, quick to discover, quick to disclose the slightest weak place in the organization of the new heretical kingdoms. Of all this there was not the slightest trace on the other side. The Arian bishops...stood apart from one another in stupid and ignorant isolation." - "Italy and Her Invaders," Thomas Hodgkin, (8-vol. ed.) Vol. III, Book 4, pp. 381-383. Oxford: 1899.
(46) This same principle was clearly stated by the Catholic bishop Avitus, when the Arian king Gundobad appealed to him not to allow the Catholic king Clovis to overrun his country. Avitus answered: "If Gundobad would reconcile himself to the Church, the Church would guarantee his safety from the attacks of Clovis." - Id., p. 384.
The religious liberty, with its attendant blessings to the country, which Theodoric had inaugurated, did not satisfy the Catholic bishops; for Rome does not want religious liberty for other churches, but sole domination for herself.
"The religious toleration which Theodoric had the glory of introducing into the Christian world, was painful and offensive to the orthodox zeal of the Italian." - "Decline and Fall," Edward Gibbon, chap. 39, par. 17.
"Theodoric,...being an Arian, could not long remain on harmonious terms with a Pope and [an] Emperor of the Orthodox creed, [who were] necessarily bound to combine against him sooner or later." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," P. Villari, Vol. I, p. 178. London: 1913; New York: Scribner, 1902.
This was only natural. The fundamental principles of the church of Rome are such that she can never concede to any other denomination the equal right to exist and to carry on its worship. Urged on by the pope and his bishops, Emperor Justin had enacted severe laws against Arians (524 A.D.), and Justinian began his reign in 527 by making laws still more severe.
"Theodoric, the King of Italy, at first maintained something of his usual calm moderation; he declined all retaliation, to which he had been incessantly urged, on the orthodox of the West." - "Latin Christianity," H. H. Milman, D. D., Vol. I, Book III, chap. 3, p. 440.
(47) But the concerted efforts of pope and emperor, by fire, sword, and exile, to exterminate "Arianism" at last "awakened the just resentment of Theodoric, who claimed for his distressed brethren of the East the same indulgence which he had so long granted to the Catholics of his dominions....And a mandate was prepared in Italy, to prohibit, after a stated day, the exercise of the Catholic worship. By the bigotry of his subjects and enemies, the most tolerant of princes was driven to the brink of persecution." - "Decline and Fall," chap. 39, par. 17.
"In Italy, Theodoric's prolonged toleration had reconciled no one to him, and his ultimate severity exasperated his Roman subjects. A dumb agitation held sway in the West, and the coming of the Emperor's soldiers was eagerly awaited and desired." - "Cambridge Medieval History," Bury, Gwatkin, and Whitney, Vol. II, p. 10. Chicago: The Macmillan Company, 1913.
"And truly the chief men of Rome were suspected, at this very time, of carrying on a treasonable correspondence with the Court of Constantinople, and machinating the ruin of the Gothic empire in Italy." - "History of the Popes," A. Bower, Vol. II, p. 421. Dublin: 1749.
In the summer of 535 Belisarius started with 7,500 men besides his own guards to conquer Italy and destroy the Arian heretics. This he could do only by the assistance of the Roman Catholics.
"But with great shrewdness he had quickly won their good will, by announcing that he came to deliver them from the barbarian yoke, and from the Arian persecution, and also for the purpose of restoring Rome to her ancient grandeur." - "The Barbarian Invasion of Italy," P. Villari, Vol. I, p. 201.
Witigis [Vitiges] was now the king of the Ostrogoths, and Rome was continuing its usual policy. Professor J. B. Bury says:
"In the meantime Belisarius had left Naples and was marching northward. The Romans, warned by the experiences of Naples, and urged by the Pope, who had no scruples in breaking his oath with Witigis, sent a messenger inviting him to come. He...entered Rome on December 9, A.D. 536." - "History of the Later Roman Empire," Vol. II, pp. 179, 180.
(48) "Such, then, was the Pope Silverius...who, having sworn a solemn oath of fealty to Witigis, now, near the end of 536, sent messengers to Belisarius to offer the peaceful surrender of the city of Rome." - "Italy and Her Invaders," T. Hodgkin (8-vol. Ed.), Vol. IV, Book 5, p. 93. 1885.
"Rome betrayed. The Catholics, on the first approach of the emperor's army, boldly raised the cry that the apostolic throne (!) should no longer be profaned by the triumph or toleration of Arianism, nor the tombs of the Caesars trampled by the savages of the North; and deputies of the pope and clergy, and of what is called the senate and people, waited upon the approaching army to whom they threw open the gates of the city; and the Catholics were rewarded for their treason by the apparent respect of Belisarius for the pope." - "History of the Christian Church," N. Summerbell, page 340, third edition. Cincinnati: 1873.
Witigis then besieged the city of Rome from March, 537, to March, 538, when he raised the siege, after losing the flower of his army, and retired to Ravenna, his capital. T. Hodgkin says:
"With heavy hearts the barbarians must have thought, as they turned them northwards, upon the many gallant men which they were leaving on that fatal plain. Some of them must have suspected the melancholy truth that they had dug one grave, deeper and wider than all, the grave of the Gothic monarchy in Italy." - Italy and Her Invaders," (8-vol. Ed.), Vol. IV, p. 285.
A deathblow was thus given to the Ostrogoths in 538 A.D., and their attempts to re-establish themselves after this were but the last flicker of a lamp being extinguished. Belisarius followed them this same year to their "last stronghold of power. Ravenna was soon entered by the troops of the empire, and with it fell the great kingdom of the Ostrogoths." - "Fall of Rome," J. G. Sheppard, p. 306. London: 1892.
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(64) "The Catholic Church is a respecter of conscience and of liberty....She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, a 'horror of blood.' Nevertheless when confronted by heresy she does not content herself with persuasion; arguments of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture. She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, she calls the laws of the State to her aid, if necessary she encourages a crusade, or a religious war and all her 'horror of blood' practically culminates into urging the secular power to shed it, which proceeding is almost more odious - for it is less frank - than shedding it herself. Especially did she act thus in the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants. Not content to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert people by eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low Countries, and above all in Spain the funerals piles of the Inquisition. In France under Francis I and Henry II, in England under Mary Tudor, she tortured the heretics, whilst both in France and Germany during the second half of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century if she did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and actively aided, the religious wars. No one will deny that we have here a great scandal to our contemporaries....
"Indeed, even among our friends and our brothers we find those who dare not look this problem in the face. They ask permission from the Church to ignore or even deny all those acts and institutions in the past which have made orthodoxy compulsory." (This explains why some Catholic authors deny that their church ever persecuted.) - "The Catholic Church, the Renaissance, and Protestantism," pp. 182-184. London: 1908. This book bears the sanction of the Roman Catholic authorities, and of their "censor."
Andrew Steinmetz says:
"Catholics easily account for their devotion to the Holy See, in spite of its historical abominations, which, however, very few of them are aware of - their accredited histories in common use, 'with permission of authority,' veiling the subject with painful dexterity." - "History of the Jesuits," Vol. I, p. 13. London: 1848.
(65) Dr. C. H. Lea says:
"In view of the unvarying policy of the Church during the three centuries under consideration, and for a century and a half later, there is a typical instance of the manner in which history is written to order, in the quiet assertion of the latest Catholic historian of the Inquisition that 'the Church took no part in the corporal punishment of heretics.'" - "History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages," Vol. I, p. 540. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1888.
Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) made the following decree for the destruction of all heretics, which is binding on civil rulers:
"Temporal princes shall be reminded and exhorted, and if needs be, compelled by spiritual censures, to discharge every one of their functions: and that, as they desire to be reckoned and held faithful, so, for the defence of the faith, let them publicly make oath that they will endeavor, bona fide with all their might, to extirpate from their territories all heretics marked by the Church; so that when anyone is about to assume any authority, whether spiritual or temporal, he shall be held bound to confirm his title by this oath. And if a temporal prince, being required and admonished by the Church, shall neglect to purge his kingdom from this heretical pravity, the metropolitan and other provincial bishops shall bind him in fetters of excommunication; and if he obstinately refuse to make satisfaction this shall be notified within a year to the Supreme Pontiff, that then he may declare his subjects absolved from their allegiance, and leave their lands to be occupied by Catholics, who, the heretics being exterminated, may possess them unchallenged, and preserve them in the purity of the faith." - "Decretalium Gregorii Papae Noni Compilatio," Liber V, Titulus VII, Capitulum XIII, (A Collection of the Decretals of Gregory IX, Book 5, Title 7, Chapter 13), dated April 20, 1619.
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