It is often objected that, in our expositions of the fall of Babylon, we unchristianize the Churches, and, of course, manifest a wonderful lack of charity; but there are many reasons why we consider ourselves warranted in our conclusions. A few of these reasons I propose to notice.
1. The Scriptures teach that in the last days, the mass of professed Christians will be in a fallen condition. See 2 Tim. iii, 1–5. “In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” The class here spoken of, who present in their lives such a catalogue of crimes, are neither Heathen, Atheists, nor Infidels, but are professors of religion—“having a form of godliness.” Jesus says, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. vii, 22, 23. These were workers of iniquity, although they had prophesied in the name of Jesus, and in his name done many wonderful works. How can these things be? Look back to verse 21, and you will find an explanation. “Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Genuine gospel faith is that which works by love—that connects the commandments of God with the faith of Jesus. Rev. xiv, 12. These workers of iniquity had truly professed faith in Christ, acknowledged him as Lord, but had not done the will of his Father. This is exactly the position of the various religious denominations of the day: while they make great profession of faith in Jesus, they make the commandments of God of none effect by their traditions: they declare that the law of God is changed, relaxed, abolished, &c. These are the “many” professors of godliness; but the class who are approved “in that day,” who will possess the kingdom, are the “little flock.” Luke xii, 32. The Jews were tenacious of the commandments of God, but rejected Christ, and therefore fell. The churches of this age profess faith in Christ, but make void by their traditions the commandments of God. They have been unmindful of the admonitions of the Word, and have boasted against the branches that were broken off, not admitting the possibility that they would be cut off also if they continued not in the goodness of God. Rom. xi, 18, 22.
2. Babylon is said to be fallen, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Rev. xiv, 8. This I understand to be at the period when the fall of the whole family has taken place; and is it not a fact that the daughters are allied to the nations as well as the mother? Look at the voting, office-seeking and office-holding church members; at the chartered churches, by which they have become political incorporations. The Lord directed Israel not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which he would bring them. Ex. xxiii, 32. “Take heed to thyself lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee.” Chap. xxxiv, 12. Has there not been a covenant or agreement made between the churches of this age and “the inhabitants of the land”—the wicked powers of this earth? Are they not yoked together with unbelievers? Have they not fellowship, concord, agreement with unrighteousness? 2 Cor. vi, 14–16. But God says, Come out from among them, and be separate, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you. Verse 17. As their intercourse with the powers of the earth is prohibited, it is of course illicit, as is expressed in the text. Rev. xiv, 8.
3. We judge that they are fallen, from their own statements and admissions. Here I might exhaust the patience of the reader by referring to the admissions of ministers and members, the reports of conference committees and associations, and the statements of religious periodicals. As much matter of this kind has been collected and published, I will only add a few recent testimonies. First, I will offer a declaration made by Henry Ward Beecher, and published in the N. Y. Tribune in the latter part of 1853. He said that soon after the passage of the “Fugitive Slave Law,” three-fourths of all the pulpits of the land were passed over to the service of the devil! (I quote from memory.) Although Mr. Beecher is often strong and severe in his expressions, he is orthodox; and his testimony is so far good. Comment on the statement is quite unnecessary, as it more than equals any thing that has been said by the advocates of the third angel’s message, without making any allowance for the doubtful standing of any before that time, or the falling away of any since.
Another comprehensive testimony is given in the following extract from the report of the Committee on Reforms, of the “Michigan yearly Conference,” published in the True Wesleyan of Nov. 15, 1851:—“The Committee on Reforms ask leave to report: That the popular sentiment, ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God,’ has, in general, been false since man fell from holiness. Popular opinion is commonly wrong—it is the broad way that leadeth to destruction. The church is not only called out of the world proper, but out of nominal christianity, and is to be a peculiar people—‘the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.’ Without her influence the world is lost: reason, philosophy, science, and all the imposing influence of eloquence and wealth in a carnal church cannot save it. The world, commercial, political, and ecclesiastical, are alike, and are together going in the broad way that leads to death. Politics, commerce, and nominal religion all connive at sin, reciprocally aid each other, and unite to crush the poor. Falsehood is unblushingly uttered in the forum and in the pulpit, and sins, that would shock the moral sensibilities of the heathen, go unrebuked in all the great denominations of our land. These churches are like the Jewish church when the Saviour exclaimed, ‘Wo unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites.’”30
Arrogant claims of infallibility are as certain evidences of a fallen condition, as the most pointed confession of the fact, while the condition of the claimants is still more hopeless. The following extract from the correspondence of the Christian Guardian, (Wesleyan) Toronto, Canada, March 29, 1854, is about equal to any thing that can be found in the writings of the “mother church.”—“Methodists may backslide, apostatize, and unite themselves with false systems, but no false system has ever grown out of Methodism. This, to my mind, is a strong proof that she has the truth without any mixture of error. There is not a seed of error which legitimately belongs to her.”
4. A proof of their fallen condition is found in their habitual violation of the plainest principles of morality, even though they endorse them in their creeds. I would cite as an instance (I might cite many) the action of the recent Sabbath convention held in Chicago, Ill., May 17, 1854, as compared with the practice of the churches of which it was the exponent. The first resolution of that convention is as follows:—
“Resolved. That this Convention regard the holy rest of the Sabbath as a divine and perpetual obligation binding on us, and on all men as truly as any other commandment in the decalogue.”
The expression, “as truly as any other commandment in the decalogue,” shows that they refer to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment: no other commandment in the decalogue enjoins the keeping of the Sabbath; but the fourth commandment enjoins the observance of no other day as a Sabbath than the seventh day; therefore they acknowledge the obligation to keep the seventh day; but all know full well that they do not observe the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, but keep the first day of the week in its stead; and one of the speakers urged for a “remonstrance against Sunday trains and Sunday labor.” Now read the following extract from the address of that convention, and witness how severely, but justly, they condemn themselves:—
“As each of God’s commandments rests upon all his authority, those who dispense with the Sabbath, set aside all the authority of God on which the whole decalogue rests. Henceforth such men do not obey God at all. The rules of their churches may bind them to religious observances; education, habit, and a sense of their interests, may keep them to conventional decencies; but like children who always act from policy, and never from obedience to parents, their hearts are stripped of all those influences which bind and bow their wills to their Father who is in heaven. Their religion thenceforth becomes a mere expedient to get to heaven by—mercenary in its motives, various in its morality, and the very fear of God is with them taught by the precepts of men!”
In the light of the address of this convention, what an alarming state of things do we behold in the land. What an awful scene is presented by a multitude of churches of high professions, who have “set aside all the authority of God on which the whole decalogue rests,” by trampling down the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and the almost innumerable train of other denominations, all stand condemned as unchristian bodies by the above just application of a plain rule of judgment. Servant of God! can you longer remain where so much irreligion and impiety bears the name of christianity?
5. They have left the word of the Lord which is sufficient “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” and have substituted denominational standards, articles, creeds, or confessions of faith, and disciplines, for doctrine, reproof, and correction, and adopted almost every thing but the Bible for instruction. See what learning is required of theological students in every thing but plain Bible truth. Thus they deal treacherously with the Lord, and make “men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things that have no ruler over them. They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.” Hab. i, 15–16.
It is a fact that cannot be denied, that these churches have adopted these articles, or creeds, as their idea of just standards of Christian character; but are they such in fact? Let us examine the point. Amongst these churches which acknowledge each other as Christian, there is a great difference in their creeds, some discarding facts which others deem essential; and if the disputed points are essential, we have to compromise some essential truths in order to recognize them all as Christian bodies. But truth has nothing to gain by compromises; and we, as the guardians of the truth committed to us, have no right to make them: error has nothing to lose; and therefore the advocates of error can afford to compromise. Now if all these bodies are Christian, then one can be so without conforming to the peculiarities or tenets of another; if so, then these tenets and peculiarities are not essential to the formation of Christian character. Thus we see that their faith and practice is not necessarily indicative of a Christian. But if, on the other hand, the faith and practice of any one of them is a correct standard of Christian character, then why acknowledge those as Christians who do not conform to such faith and practice? Has the way ceased to be straight and narrow? or are there a multitude of ways leading to life? An Apostle speaking of false teachers, says: “And many shall follow their pernicious ways, [plural,] by reason of whom the way [singular,] of truth shall be evil spoken of.” 2 Pet. ii, 2. Truth is a unit: it points out one way. Error is legion: its ways are many; and so are the creeds and standards of these churches.
But it is said we are uncharitable toward them inasmuch as they are sincere and conscientious in their systems and manners of worship. But is this the rule by which we are to be governed? Are we to regard all as right who appear to be sincere? The Jew is, for aught I know, or any one can prove to the contrary, as truly sincere as the Christian; is he therefore as acceptable to God? If he is, then the preaching of the cross of Christ is vain. The Catholic is as conscientious as the Protestant, even though he may labor under a stronger deception, and the Pagan is as devoted and self-sacrificing as either. Are they all, therefore, equally right? It is the duty of all to answer a “good conscience” toward God; and a good conscience is one which is enlightened by the word of God, and has a sensibility in regard to its teachings. I can acknowledge no standard of judgment but the word of God: I know of no other. For any to set up a claim for conscientiousness or sincerity, they must convince us that they are doing the very best they can, under the circumstances; not only according to the light of the truth they acknowledge or possess, but to what they have the opportunity of obtaining. He who neglects or refuses to hear the gospel is reprehensible as well as he who hears and disregards it. That the churches neither believe nor do right, is evident, or they would believe and do alike; as there can be but one right way. Then we inquire, Can they do better? I think they can, as they have the Bible, which plainly teaches the right way; therefore if they do the best they can, then the Bible is proved to be insufficient as a rule of faith and practice; but that cannot be so; for Paul says it will make the man of God perfect, and thoroughly furnish him unto all good works. Thus the fault rests upon the churches because they do not give heed to its teachings.
6. They require the practice of sin as a condition of membership. Sin is the transgression of the law, and nearly all of the denominations of the day will not admit those to their fellowship who keep the law of God. Can they be Christian bodies? Many of their associations, conventions, sermons and disciplines, affirm positively that the law of God is of universal and perpetual obligation; yet they not only transgress it themselves, “but have pleasure in them that do” so. Truly they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him.” Titus i, 16.
If such bodies are not considered as having filled up the cup of their iniquity, it is only because of the great forbearance and long suffering of God, who is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. A little space is left them to repent, but Satan is working powerfully to keep their minds enshrouded in error; and as they do not believe the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness, it is only to be expected that they will soon, as a body, give “heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.” Yes, already these spirits are working their way into the churches. Almost every day brings tidings of conquests that they have made of ministers and members, sometimes a whole church, pastor and people together. Many ministers of note are favorable, some already have become prominent mediums. It only remains for them to endorse them in their associations and conferences, in the capacity of organizations, and then Babylon appears in her last phase, ripe for destruction. Then she will have “become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Happy will they be who have faith in God’s word, and hear the warning to come out of her that they be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues.