Write.—Arius' writings were destroyed by Constantine.
These things saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges.—How the sharp sword, God's Word, wielded by Arius before the Emperor and his brother elders at the Nicean Council, must have cut some of them to the heart when they saw the gentle and aged man (Arius was old at the time the controversy arose) banished into the Balkan mountains, one of the most inhospitable places in the world!—Isa. 11:4, 49:2; Hos. 6:5; Eph. 6:17; 2 Thes. 2:8.
2:13. I know [thy works, and] where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is.—“During this period, the true Christians were tested and proved by the introduction and development of Pagan and Papal ideas. The Pagan priests, unwilling to lose their positions of honor and influence amongst the people, while nominally professing Christianity, brought their former ideas with them into the Christian Church.” (Z. '16-346.) The word seat is rendered throne in Lu. 1:32, and refers to Satan's “hellish parody of the Heavenly Kingdom.”—Cook.
And thou holdest fast My name, and hast not denied My faith, [even] in those days wherein Antipas was My faithful martyr.—Throughout all the western part of Europe the Bishop of Rome finally came to be called the papa, or pope, or Father of the church. “Whoever denounced this attempt to disobey the direct command of Jesus (Matt. 23:9), received the promised persecution. (2 Tim. 3:12.) This class in Pergamos is commended by our Lord under the symbol of ‘Anti-pas, My faithful martyr.’ In Greek, anti- means against, and papas signifies father.”—Z. '16-347.
Who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.—We can give but a partial list of the popes who served from the condemnation of Arius to the end of the Pergamos epoch; but it will be instructive to those who trust in human ordination and are in sympathy with the efforts of [pg 033] present-day clergy to get some of the special spirit that is supposed to be imparted by the laying on of hands of these “successors of St. Peter,” or those to whom they imparted their “authority.” “Saint” Gregory I, pope 590-604 A. D., was the great-great-grandchild of Pope Felix II. When Phocas murdered Emperor Maurice and ascended the throne, Gregory wrote, “The Almighty has chosen you and put you on the throne. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth leap for joy.” Phocas was not ungrateful and in return established the supremacy of the see of Rome over all the other sees. Gregory was the discoverer of Purgatory, it having been revealed to him by means of “apparitions” and visions. See middle of page [127].
Honorius I, 625-638, has been condemned as having taught a heresy ex cathedra (officially). The interest in this lies in the fact that in 1870 the Vatican Council declared the infallibility of all the popes in their ex cathedra utterances. But the pope who declared Honorius a heretic did it ex cathedra also. Hundreds of “learned” volumes have been written in the effort to make this pretty snarl clear to the Roman clergy. It is clear enough to others. “Saint” Agathon, 678-682, claimed to be a miracle worker. He was the infallible pope who denounced the doctrines taught by infallible Honorius I. “Saint” Nicholas I, 858-867, “tamed kings and tyrants, and ruled the world like a sovereign; to the wicked and unconverted he was a terror.” So says a Catholic historian. John VIII, 872-882, must have seriously offended one of the “brethren” at the Vatican; for that dignitary first tried to poison him, and as the poison did not work quickly enough, he finished the job by breaking John's head with a hammer. Stephen VII, 897-898, was offended because his predecessor had at one time gotten the papal throne away from him. Accordingly, his first act was to cause the body of Pope Formosus to be exhumed, mutilated and thrown into the Tiber. Subsequently one of the “brethren” strangled him.
Christopher, 900-903, boldly deposed his predecessor, Leo V, declaring him unfit to reign, which was doubtless true. Leo died “of grief” in prison less than forty days after he had ascended the throne. He probably had something given him to help his grief along. Christopher himself was murdered by his successor. Sergius III, 904-911, having murdered Christopher, ascended the throne and emulated the kings of earlier days. His concubine Marosia bore him several children. John X, 915-928, and Leo VI, 928-929, were both killed by Marosia, to make room for others in whom she was interested. John XI, 931-936, was the son of Marosia by Pope Sergius III. One of the “brethren” [pg 034] poisoned him. John XII, 956-964, was murdered while in the act of committing adultery. He was of licentious habits, associating with women of every station, and filling the Lateran with the noisy profanity of a brothel. Among his mistresses was Joan, popularly known in history as Pope Joan. She was a brilliant woman and actually exercised the chief influence at Rome during John's pontificate. Benedict VI, 972-973, was strangled or poisoned by one of the “saints.” Boniface VII, 984-985, was elected just after the tumult caused by the death of Benedict VI, but had to leave town to escape a similar fate, on account of licentiousness and cruelty. He remained away eleven years, returned, put Pope John XIV in prison, starved him to death and ascended the throne in his place.
Gregory V, 996-999, was poisoned by one of the “regularly ordained” clergy. Benedict IX, 1033-1045, the boy pope whose parents bought the popedom for him when he was twelve years old, was the worst monster that ever held the papal throne. Some, however, claim that honor for Alexander VI, 1492-1503, who had seven acknowledged bastards and many mistresses. Alexander tried to poison nine cardinals at one sitting so that he could sell their offices for the benefit of his brood; but a stupid servant gave him the wrong glass and he departed this life ahead of time. Benedict's vile conduct caused the Romans to expel him from the city. Silvester III was regularly elected to take his place; but after three months Benedict came back and resumed control. Shortly afterward he sold the popedom to Gregory VI, so that he might be free to marry an Italian princess. At one time there were three popes living in Rome contemporaneously, and the city was filled with brawls and murders. A fourth, Clement II, was elected, but after he had served nine months, a friend of Gregory put something into his food besides the regular seasoning; and he never awoke again. Thereupon Benedict came back and reigned three years longer.
2:14. But I have a few things [against thee].—Against the nominal church of the Pergamos epoch.
Because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam.—Balaam was a mouthpiece of the Lord, but unworthy. He desired to curse God's true people, because of the money there was in it, and finally seduced them by fornication (symbolical of union of church and state). The name Balaam means the same as “Nicolaitanes” (conquerors of the people), and refers to the money-loving, power-loving clergy. We have already noted the efforts to obtain worldly power (spiritual fornication) which characterized the Pergamos epoch. Its history also shows that the [pg 035] clergy of that time were quite as fond of money as ever Balaam was. John XX, 1024-1033, tried to sell the Roman primacy over the Eastern church for a pecuniary consideration, but failed to make the sale. “Benedict IX, when a boy of twelve years (A. D. 1033), was elected pope ‘intercedente thesaurorum pecuniae’ ”; i. e., his relatives provided the collateral necessary to secure the office for him. Gregory VI, who had had great repute for sanctity as a priest, obtained the papal chair (A. D. 1044) by purchase from Benedict IX, “who abdicated to marry a girl of noble family.” “At a council at Lyons, the archbishop and forty-five bishops confessed themselves simoniacal” (guilty of buying and selling church offices). In the reign of Lucien II, 1144-1145, the people, hoping for some relief from an intolerable condition, paraded the streets of Rome with a banner, “Caesar should have the things that are Caesar's and the priest the things that are the priest's.” Lucien thought this was a reflection upon himself, and went out in person to put down the “revolution.” The people stoned him to death.