“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 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. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (Revelation 12:1-6).

In our study of this vision, consideration will first be given to the symbol of the woman invested with the robe of sunlight, seen by St. John in the heavens. The woman is very generally understood to represent the Christian Church, although expositors differ in their explanation of the meaning of some of the details. An explanation that meets the requirements is thus expressed: “A combination of these symbols [the sun, moon, and stars] is found in Revelation (12:1) where the ‘woman’ symbolizing the early Church is represented as clothed with the sun, that is, resplendent in the full, clear light of the unclouded Gospel. The moon under her feet represents that the law which supports her is nevertheless not the source of her light. The twelve stars about her head as a crown represent her divinely appointed and inspired teachers — the twelve Apostles” (C. T. Russell).

Another has explained the symbol much the same: “The woman is the representative of the true people of God, obviously, from the persecution she endures from the dragon, and her flight into the desert and subsistence there through the period during which the witnesses prophesy. Her sunbeam robe, her station above the moon, and her crown of stars, bespeak her greatness, conspicuous- ness, and majesty” (D. N. Lord).

“And being pregnant, she cried out, travailing and being pained to bring forth” (verse 2). This symbol is frequently employed in the Scriptures:

“Travailing (with child) is a symbol of great endeavors to bring something to pass, not without much difficulty, pain, and danger. And the compassing of the end, which the persons represented in the symbol aimed at, is a deliverance from the pain and danger they labor under.

“Hence the symbol of travailing with child is often used in the Prophets to denote a state of anguish and misery — Isaiah 26:17,18, 66:7, Jeremiah 4:31, 30:6,7.

“And also in the New Testament, the pains of childbearing are used to signify the sorrow of tribulation and persecution, as in Mark 13:8, John 16:21,22, 1 Thessalonians 5:3. In Romans 8:22, Paul compares the earnest desire of the creation for the Kingdom of Christ to the pains of a woman in travail” (Thomas Wemyss, Symbol Dictionary).

Taking up next the consideration of the dragon symbol, we discover that a dragon in the Scriptures seems sometimes to signify a large fish, or marine serpent, as in Isaiah 27:1, where the Leviathan is also mentioned (see also Psalms 74:13). Sometimes it appears to signify a venomous land serpent: “The dragon shalt thou trample under foot” (Psalms 91:13). It is sometimes used for the devil, who is called “that old serpent” (Revelation 20:1). From the fact that the dragon in the verses under consideration is represented as having seven heads, ten horns, a tail, and an appetite for flesh, it seems clear that an animal is employed here as a symbol. However, like the beast of Revelation 13, it is a fictitious animal. Applying the law regulating the interpretation of symbols, we should look for the fulfillment in another phase of life from the one from which the symbol is taken. An animal, when used in the Scriptures as a symbol, represents a government. In this instance the imperial Pagan Roman government seems to us to be the one pointed out.

In this vision we have portrayed both secular and religious history. The secular or civil history begins to have its fulfillment in the symbolism of the “great red dragon,” and is continued in that of the symbolic “beast” of chapter 13. The connecting link in the history contained in the two chapters is found in the statement in chapter 13:2: “and the dragon gave him [the beast] his power, and his throne, and great authority,” indicating plainly that the political power exercised by the symbolic beast of chapter 13 is derived from that of the political power of the symbolic dragon of chapter 12. The events of history covered by the two chapters, no matter where they begin, reach to the vision of the Lamb standing on Mount Zion (Revelation 14:1), which evidently refers to Christ’s assumption of kingly authority at the period beginning with the deliverance of the true Church. In the close of the same chapter we have the vision describing the destruction of the “vine of the earth,” the false Church. The religious or church history contained in the vision is found in the symbolism of the woman, who is seen first as clothed with the robe of sunlight, etc., then as becoming pregnant, and later on as taking flight into the wilderness, etc.

The Vision Located in History

Having given a brief analysis of some of the requirements of the symbolic vision, we now inquire, Where in history are we to look for the beginning of the fulfillment of this vision? Studying the vision closely we notice a symbolical “time” feature referred to in verse 8, and certain other matters stated in the vision itself that enable us to clearly find its location. This “time” feature is associated with the symbolical woman’s flight and sojourn in the wilderness. It is stated that the sojourn of the woman (the true Church) in the wilderness was for a period of a thousand two hundred and sixty days. We immediately associate this period with that of the prophesying of the two witnesses in sackcloth for twelve hundred and sixty days, and as we have found that these days represent years (1260 years), likewise we find that those in this vision do the same. Of necessity, therefore, we are carried back in history at least twelve hundred and sixty years. Furthermore, as the flight of the woman into the wilderness represents, as we shall endeavor to show, the gradual depression and recession from view of the true Church, we must discover the time in history in which the visible Church, that is the Church as seen and recognized by the world as the Church, first becomes worldly and therefore corrupt in God’s sight; when true believers are, as it were, lost sight of in the great mass of worldly profession, or are seen to separate from it. As we have already seen, this was that period in history represented by the Pergamos lampstand (Revelation 2:12-16) — the period beginning with Constantine the Great’s accession to the throne of the Roman Empire. It was in the early years of the Fourth Century, when Constantine became ruler of the Western Roman Empire, and the Pagan Roman government became professedly Christian, that the depression and recession from view of the true Church began to take place. The events to be looked for would of course be in the consecutive order as set forth in the vision — the great red dragon sweeping the sky with his tail and casting down one-third of the stars; the birth of the man child and his exaltation to heaven, followed by the departure of the woman into the wilderness.

It seems hardly necessary to say that it is very generally understood by expositors that the great red dragon is a symbol of the Pagan imperial government of the Roman Empire, the one that held sway for over two centuries from the beginning of the Christian era. A further confirmation of the conclusion that the vision under consideration begins to meet its fulfillment in the days of the Pagan Roman government is found in the fact that the name dragon is at this time first given to it. It is recorded in history that a dragon was employed by the Pagan Roman government itself as a symbol of its sovereignty; and not only so, but we learn from history the exact time when it first began to be so employed. Note the following from Mr. Barnes:

“The general interpretation which refers this vision to Rome may receive confirmation from the fact that the dragon was at one time the Roman standard. … Ammianus Marcellinus (16,10) thus describes this standard: ‘The dragon was covered with purple cloth, and fastened to the end of a pike gilt and adorned with precious stones. It opened its wide throat, and the wind blew through it; and it hissed as if in a rage, with its tail floating in several folds through the air.’ …

“The dragon was first used as an ensign near the close of the Second Century of the Christian era, and it was not until the Third Century that its use had become common, and the reference here, according to this fact, would be to that period of the Roman power when this had become a common standard, and when the applicability of this image would be readily understood. It is simply Rome that is referred to — Rome the great agent of accomplishing the purposes of Satan towards the Church. The eagle was the common Roman ensign in the time of the Republic and in the earlier periods of the empire, but in later periods the dragon became also a standard as common and as well known as the eagle.”

On this point Mr. Elliott says that “in the Third Century it [the dragon] had become almost as notorious among Roman ensigns as the eagle itself; and is in the Fourth Century noted by Prudentius, Vegetius, Chrysostom, as well as Ammianus Marcellinus; also in the fifth, by Claudian, and others.”

Another strong indication as to the particular period in history when the vision began to have its fulfillment is found in the fact that the “diadems” were on the “heads” of the “dragon,” instead of on the horns as in the case of the beast of chapter 13:1, which fact of itself suggests that the period of the vision is that prior to the cessation of the imperial rule in Western Rome in 476 AD, and before the ten kingdoms and Papacy begin their exercise of power.

Thus do the symbols themselves establish the time for the beginning of the fulfillment of this vision of chapter 12 as that of Pagan Rome, particularly the reign of Diocletian. He, according to all historians, is the one who ruled the Roman Empire during the last great persecution of the Church by Pagan Rome. This persecution began in 303 AD and continued until 313 AD.

The Woman in Travail

In view of the foregoing it seems clear that the woman’s cry, and labor to bear, represent the importunate desires, prayers, and endeavors of the Lord’s true people in the days of Pagan Roman persecution, particularly the time of the ten years’ persecution under Diocletian, to have a government that would use its authority and power to cause persecution to cease. Such a state of affairs as is thus described, existed in the true Church just prior to the reign of the so-called Christian emperors. That such importunate desires and prayers were proper, and in harmony with true Christianity, is seen in the instructions given by St. Paul to Timothy, in the language: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1,2).

It is said of the dragon that “his tail drew [dragged, hauled] the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.” There are two interpretations of this symbol, one of which is that it refers to Christian teachers falling in the sense of apostatizing, and adopting the Paganized counterfeit Christianity that gradually came in after Constantine’s accession to the throne, about 312 AD. A seemingly insurmountable difficulty with this interpretation is that this action of the dragon occurs prior to Constantine’s accession to the throne, and during the period of the Pagan government’s persecution of the true Church. It was not until the ending of these terrible years of persecution that desires for worldly favor and dominion began to become rife in the Church. The “ten days” of persecution (Revelation 2:10) extended from 303 to 313 AD.

The other interpretation, which seems the more reasonable one, and which is in harmony with the facts of history, is that it represents the attempt of the Pagan government to exterminate the Church by removing the Christian teachers from their stations, by imprisoning them; by forcing them to work in the mines; by frequently depriving them of their sight; and by subjecting them to all manner of inhuman violence. The historian, without being aware of it, has thus recorded events that seem clearly to meet the fulfillment of this part of the vision:

“In the year 303, when this emperor (Diocletian) was at Nicomedia, an order was obtained from him to pull down the churches of the Christians, to burn all their books and writings, and to take from them all their civil rights and privileges, and render them incapable of any honors or civil promotion. This first edict, though rigorous and severe, extended not to the lives of the Christians … it was, however, destructive to many of them, particularly to those who refused to deliver the sacred books into the hands of the magistrates.

“Not long after the publication of this first edict against the Christians … Diocletian, by a new edict, ordered all the bishops and ministers of the Christian Church to be thrown into prison. Nor did his inhuman violence end here; for a third edict was soon issued, by which it was ordered, that all sorts of torments should be employed, and the most insupportable punishments invented, to force these venerable captives to renounce their profession, by sacrificing to the heathen gods; for it was hoped, that, if the bishops and doctors of the Church could be brought to yield, their respective flocks would be easily induced to follow their example. An immense number of persons, illustriously distinguished by their piety and learning, became the victims of this cruel stratagem throughout the whole Roman Empire, Gaul excepted, which was under the mild and equitable dominion of Constantius Chlorus [father of Constantine the Great]. …

“In the second year of this horrible persecution the 304th of the Christian era, a fourth edict was published by Diocletian. By it the magistrates were ordered and commissioned to force all Christians, without distinction of rank or sex, to sacrifice to the gods, and were authorized to employ all sorts of torments, in order to drive them to this act of apostasy. The diligence and zeal of the Roman magistrates, in the execution of this inhuman edict, nearly proved fatal to the Christian cause” (Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History).

Persecutions by Pagan Rome

We thus have depicted in this brief extract from the pages of the historian, the most terrible persecution, the most severe trial, testing, that the Church had ever experienced up to that time. It was indeed an attempt on the part of the Pagan Roman government to utterly exterminate Christianity.

At the time of this last persecution of the Church by Pagan Rome, there were four emperors ruling over the Roman Empire — Diocletian and his three subordinate associates, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius Chlorus; the last ruling at Britain and Gaul. It is a matter to be specially noted that during this last persecution those Christians who lived in Britain and Gaul, under Constantius Chlorus, enjoyed freedom from persecution. In fact, this emperor seemed very favorably disposed toward his Christian subjects. Constantine, his son, was even more so. The Christians throughout the Roman Empire, seeing this favorable inclination of the young Constantine, were led to hope that he, an heir to the throne, might be their deliverer. On account of the fierceness of this last persecution, this hope grew into fervent prayer that he might be elevated to the throne. This is what we understand to be the fulfillment of the woman in travail.

Mr. Lord, as bearing on this point, quotes from Eusebius, commonly called the father of ecclesiastical history, who, at the time he wrote, was a zealous supporter of Constantine the Great: “ ‘The Emperor Constantius Chlorus was distinguished through his whole life for mildness and clemency towards those under his rule, and friendliness to Christianity And he alone after a peaceful and glorious reign, left his empire at death to a legitimate, a modest, and a reli- gious son. On his demise, Constantine, who had long before been assigned to that office by the Almighty, was immediately saluted Augustus by the army, and became a zealous emulator of his father’s veneration for the Christian religion.’ ”

That prayers were offered up in his behalf that he might be elevated to the throne, is thus recorded by another professed Christian author, Lactantius:

“ ‘The Lord has heard the prayers which were offered continually by you and the other brethren. and tranquillity being restored through the empire, the Church lately prostrate [under Diocletian] has again risen, and the temples of God which the emperor [Diocletian] had overturned, are by His mercy, re-erected in greater beauty than before. For He has raised up princes, who have put an end to the cruel sway of the tyrants, and given protection to the people, so that already, as though the late clouds were dispersed, all are gladdened with peace and serenity. Those tempests have passed away God in His pity has relieved His afflicted servants and wiped away the tears of the mourners.’ ”

We next read that the “dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” This feature of the vision seems to refer to the fact that the Pagan rulers and priests were aware that the Lord’s people were about to favor the elevation of the young prince Constantine, because of the expectation on their part that he would restrain their Pagan persecutors and give them deliverance. A brief summary of the history that meets the fulfillment of this symbol is as follows:

The Pagan party (ruler and priests), seeing the attitude of the young Constantine toward the Christians, sought all ways to prevent his accession to the throne. Therefore, just before the death of his father, the young Constantine was taken and held a prisoner at the court of Galerius at Nicomedia. He managed, however, to escape, making a swift journey to Boulogne, France, thence to Britain, where at the death of his father, 306 AD, he was proclaimed emperor. The other associate emperors were obliged on account of his extreme popularity in Britain to acquiesce in his accession to the throne. It was only a very short time, however, before efforts were made, particularly by Galerius, to cause his overthrow. This increased a feeling that already existed on the part of Constantine to aspire and strive to be the sole ruler; and some twenty years before his death, which occurred in 337 AD, he succeeded in overthrowing all his rivals. It was during the civil wars (which ended in the overthrow of his rivals), that he professed to become not only a friend, but a convert to Christianity; and history informs us that he attributed his success in attaining sole rulership to this fact.

Her Child Caught up to God

We thus see the fulfillment of that part of the vision described in the words that follow: “And her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.” The following comment on these words seems fitting and appropriate: “That her son was suddenly caught up to God and His throne, denotes both that he was rescued in an extraordinary manner from the attempts of the Pagan emperors to destroy him, and exalted to supreme power in the empire; and that he became in that station a usurper of the rights of God, and an object of idolatrous homage to his subjects.”

Some, who do not seem to be familiar with the Scripture teaching concerning God’s relationship to human governments of the world, make objection to this application of the words. It is, nevertheless, in perfect harmony with God’s overruling providence in the setting up and putting down of rulers. The Prophet Daniel gives expression to this truth in the words: “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men” (Daniel 4:17). The same thought is brought out by St. Paul when he said: “The powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1). God saw that it was best, in view of His purpose in the election and character development of His Son’s joint-heirs, to permit one who afterwards proved to be a base man to occupy the highest seat of authority on earth, and thus bring His true Church into new experiences for their testing and trial. The state of affairs that soon came in after Constantine’s accession to the throne placed Christians under a most severe temptation — the temptation to grasp for honor, power, and glory, in the time appointed for their humiliation. One eminent writer has thus defined God’s relationship to the rulers and governments:

“In the case of Pharaoh, the perverse king of Egypt, God declared, ‘For this very purpose I raised thee up, that I might show forth My power in thee.’ God did not approve of Pharaoh, but used him to show forth His own glory. God also used king Cyrus of Persia as a servant to perform His bidding. All of these recorded instances show a vital interest on God’s part as to who shall come forward, and who should be retarded when these matters would affect His own Plan. We are not to understand that these different kings represented God’s choice as respects their loyalty to Him, but that these were the ones through whom the Divine Plan in operation could be signally manifested and outworked.

… We understand that God does exercise a supervisory oversight in respect to them — not that He has authorized them to represent Him, or that He is responsible for their deeds and acts, but that He is so controlling matters as to cause them to outwork His own arrangements” (C. T. Russell).

It is in this sense that Constantine’s throne was God’s throne. “For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1). “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:25). Constantine and his successors on the throne represent the “man child.”

Desiring doubtless to promote what he understood was the cause of Christianity, shortly after his accession to the throne Constantine issued a decree declaring the Christian religion the religion of the empire. By his orders the pagan temples were either destroyed or converted into houses of worship for the Christians. Thus Christianity became popular, and large numbers joined the nationalized churches. Constantine himself assumed authority in the temporal matters of the Church. Concerning this we quote Mr. Lord:

“He [Constantine] became in that station a usurper of the rights of God, by assuming an absolute authority over the religion of his Christian subjects. In prescribing their faith and worship, he treated their religious obligations as under his jurisdiction, and thence the rights and legislation of the Most High as subordinate to his, and dependent on his for their efficiency. …

“He summoned the council of Arles in 314 to re-judge the cause of the Donatists. The following is a part of a letter addressed by him on that occasion to the bishop of Syracuse: ‘We have ordered a great body of bishops from different and almost numberless places to assemble at the city of Arles, by the first of August, and write to direct you to take public vehicle, with two of the second order whom you may choose, and three youths, who may serve you on the way, and present yourself at the aforementioned place on that day, that by your gravity, and the judgment of others who are to assemble, this disgraceful contest, which has so long continued, may be terminated in harmony.’ ” Eusebius further wrote: “ ‘The decrees which the bishops had enacted in the councils, he [Constantine] ratified, so that it was not lawful for the prefects of the provinces to rescind their canons.’ ”

Constantine sought by force to impose the creed of this council on all his subjects, to prohibit all assemblies of dissentients from the Catholic (universal) Church, to confiscate their property and suppress their books. Eusebius cites a letter of Constantine addressed to these dissenters which we quote in part:

“ ‘Know by this law, ye Novatians, Valentinians, Marcionites, Paulists, Cataphrygians, and all who form sects by private assemblies, your folly is involved in so many falsehoods and your doctrine imbued with such poisonous drugs, that the healthy are led by you to disease, and the living to eternal death. Wherefore as the plague of your errors can no longer be borne, we make known by this law that no one of you may hereafter dare to convene a congregation; and accordingly command that all the edifices in which you hold such assemblies be taken away; it being our design not only not to allow your superstitions and senseless assemblies in public, but not even to permit them in private houses, or in any separate places; but what is far better that as many of you as are desirous of the true and pure religion, should come to the Catholic Church, and partake of its sanctity, through which you may be able to attain the truth. And that the magistrate may have the requisite power for this remedy, we have commanded as has already been mentioned, that all the houses of your superstitions, that is, the oratories of all sects be without contradiction taken away and immediately delivered to the Catholic Church; but other places adjudged to the public, that no opportunity be hereafter left you of assembling. Accordingly, let not your forbidden congregations from this day venture to meet in any place, whatever, whether public or private. Let this be published.’ ”¹

Lack of space forbids us to further enlarge on the usurpations of the rights of Christians by Constantine. Suffice it to say that he claimed and exercised the right to punish those who disobeyed these decrees. “He deposed and appointed bishops at his pleasure. He banished Arius, ordered that all books written by him and his partisans should be burned, and threatened death to any who should attempt to conceal them.”

Is it anything to be wondered at that we read next: “And the woman fled into the wilderness [or desert], where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three-score days”? Liter- ally a desert or wilderness in the Scriptures means a place where there are few inhabitants; a place remote from the habitations of men, where one might be concealed and unknown. Mr. Russell has given the meaning as follows: “A wilderness condition is one of separation from the blessings of civilization; it is a cut-off condition, a separation from the world an outcast from the privileges and advantages of the world’s society.” Another has observed: “This would well represent the fact that the true Church became for a time obscure and unknown, as if it had fled away from the habitations of men, and had retired to the solitude and loneliness of a desert.”

The flight of the woman into the wilderness, while beginning at a particular date in history, seems to have covered a long period of time. This, which is in harmony with the facts of history, seems to be the most reasonable way to apply this part of the vision. The flight, then, would cover an era — beginning about the time of Constantine’s accession to the throne of the West, 312 AD, and reaching to the time when the Papal Antichrist was fully developed, which was about 539 AD. The length of the period from Constantine’s accession, when the last great persecution of the Church by Pagan Rome ceased, to the time when Protestantism was fully established, was 1260 years — 312 to 1572. This reaches to the time when the great slaughter of the Huguenots in France on

(1) Let the reader bear in mind that all this occurred over two centuries before what is termed today, the Roman Catholic system, came into existence.

St. Bartholomew’s day occurred. The length of the period from Papacy’s begin- ning to exercise authority in the city of Rome to the time when the saints were delivered out of the hands of Papacy was likewise 1260 years — 539 to 1799.

The Church of the Waldenses

It is a fact of note, in this connection, that the body of true Christians known as the Waldenses, trace their beginning (not by that name, however) back to the beginning of the Fourth Century, when Constantine ascended the throne. Mr. Lord agrees with this, and in his exposition has pointed out that:

“A body of true people of God, thus disappointed in their expectation of a rule from princes professing Christianity more favorable to their purity and peace, retired into seclusion, continued withdrawn from notoriety for many ages, and still subsist in total separation from the apostate Church. The Church of the Waldenses has existed through every period of its history, in entire separation from the nationalized church of the kingdoms, to which the territory they inhabit has at different periods belonged. It has had a ministry of its own, consisting only of presbyters [bishops, pastors, or elders] and deacons, and perpetuated by its own ordination. It has held, professed, and vindicated the great doctrines of the Gospel, that God has the sole right to legislate in respect to His worship; that the Scriptures are the only authoritative rule of faith; that Christ is the only Redeemer; that his salvation is to be obtained only by a specific acceptance of him as a sacrifice and justifier … and that it is by the renewing agency of the Spirit alone that men are led to repentance, faith, and love; that neither rulers nor ecclesiastics have any right to oppress and persecute, but that all are required to live meekly, purely, and justly toward one another, and with fear, humility, faith, and love toward God. It has disowned the authority alike of civil magistrate and the nationalized church, to dictate its faith and worship. ‘They obstinately maintain that nothing that is not expressly commanded by Christ, or taught by the Apostles, can ever be constituted a law by those of a later age, though decreed even by general synods, inasmuch as the later Church has no legislative authority.’

“It has publicly disowned the Romish Church as apostate, proclaimed the predictions of its overthrow, and relied on the promise of the redemption of the world and an everlasting kingdom of righteousness. … There is adequate evidence that it has subsisted in the valleys of the Cottian Alps through the whole period from the commencement of the 1260 years. It is admitted by their enemies that they have existed there more than seven hundred years, that they were among the earliest dissentients from the Catholic Church, and that they claimed to have occupied the valleys in which they still reside from the Fourth Century.”

A Roman Catholic writer, Reiner de Haerit, is thus quoted by Mr. Faber: “ ‘Of all the sects of the present or former times, no one is more mischievous to the [Roman] Church, than that of the Waldenses, and for three reasons — it is of longer continuance, some referring it to the fourth, others to the First Century; it is more widely diffused, being found in almost every country; and it is distinguished for its piety toward God and virtue toward men.’ ”

This seems to establish as a fact that the true Church began its wilderness experience early in the Fourth Century, in the days of Constantine. This symbolic flight of the woman continued for over two centuries, until the full establishment of Papal ascendancy over the saints, about 539 AD.

Referring to the period when the visible Church became apostate the following is to the point: “Here, then, under Constantine’s reign, the opposition of the empire to Christianity gave way to favor, and the Imperial Pontifex Maximus became the patron of the professed but really apostate Church of Christ; and, taking her by the hand, he assisted her to a place of popularity and splendor from which she was able afterward, as the imperial power grew weak, to put her own representatives [the Roman bishops] upon the religious throne of the world as Chief Religious Ruler — Pontifex Maximus” (C. T. Russell). “She grasped for her glory in the time appointed for her humiliation, and vainly thought to reign in the earth while her King is absent in the heaven. which dominion and sovereignty are, however, caught away from the true Church, whose portion is for the present the wilderness and rejection” (A. J. Gordon, Ecce Venit).