June 15: STRONG IN THE LORD

Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. Daniel 11:32

Even though the true church was forced to flee into the wilderness during the Dark Ages, they were not cowering and shivering in their hiding places. Not at all! The apostle John tells us that they were fed and nourished (see Revelation 12:6,14) throughout the entire period.

There is a marvelous history* of what these Christ followers did with their time and energy while living quiet lives in remote places. God’s love for the human race and unbroken faithfulness were silently on display as His true church took refuge in Him (see Psalm 91:2,4). In their love for Jesus, they lived prayerfully, copying Scripture to share with individuals in the cities whenever they sensed an openness to truth. With total dependence on God’s grace, ordinary men, women, and children were His instruments for keeping the everlasting gospel alive in the world—even as the established church, in its waywardness, sought to obliterate it.

And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. (v.33)

During the rise and dominance of papal Rome (Rome’s middle phase – not the former or the latter, per v.29), the pope had “eyes and ears” in all of the European countries that comprised divided Rome after its fall in 476. While the wilderness church kept the message of salvation alive, their witness was also the means by which Satan’s emissaries discovered the whereabouts of hidden communities of believers. Some were sympathetic and aided these ragged speakers of truth, providing food and/or lodging; but such actions were forbidden by the Roman church! Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue (v.34).

The insincere ones who joined became guides** for the armed soldiers who came back, by order of the pope, to kill or capture the true Christians. When the captured ones refused to convert to Catholicism, they were tortured (“for their own good”), and then, if still refusing, publicly burned on street corners. Such intimidation tactics frightened the masses into complying with orders from Rome. Though many were successfully instructed (v.33) regarding the offer of God’s forgiveness and cleansing, others entered the fellowship by intrigue – that is, with insincerity; some, for the specific purpose of exposing the wilderness church, called “heretics”, to the authorities of the established church. There were also some among them who were almost persuaded, like Felix (Acts 24:25) and Agrippa (26:28). It is likely that some of these eventually responded to the Holy Spirit’s gentle, persistent invitation. But many took their stance with the established church for self-preservation (not loyalty to the pope).

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:35 (see also Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24; 17:33)

*Many details of this history are recorded in THE GREAT CONTROVERSY by E.G.White and FOXE’S BOOK OF MARTYRS by John Foxe. It is estimated that fifty to a hundred million Christians lost their lives under the auspices of papal Rome between 538 and 1798.

**Think of Judas, along with the religious leaders and Roman soldiers who worked together to identify and arrest Jesus (Acts 1:16).