Bible Study Guides – “The Woman Fled into the Wilderness”

June 9, 2001 – June 15, 2001

MEMORY VERSE

“He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isaiah 33:16.

STUDY HELP: The The Great Controversy, 61–78.

Introduction

“Among the leading causes that had led to the separation of the true church from Rome was the hatred of the latter toward the Bible Sabbath. As foretold by prophecy, the papal power cast down the truth to the ground. The law of God was trampled in the dust, while the traditions and customs of men were exalted. The churches that were under the rule of the papacy were early compelled to honor the Sunday as a holy day. Amid the prevailing error and superstition, many, even of the true people of God, became so bewildered that while they observed the Sabbath, they refrained from labor also on the Sunday. But this did not satisfy the papal leaders. They demanded not only that Sunday be hallowed, but that the Sabbath be profaned; and they denounced in the strongest language those who dared to show it honor. It was only by fleeing from the power of Rome that any could obey God’s law in peace.” The The Great Controversy, 65.

“Thou Dwellest Even Where Satan’s Seat Is”

1 How is the persecution of the church by the Roman emperors depicted in prophecy? Revelation 2:8–11.

NOTE: “Thousands of the followers of Christ—men, women, and children—were put to death in the most cruel manner. Some were crucified, some covered with the skins of wild beasts, and torn in pieces by dogs, others were clothed in garments of inflammable material, and set on fire at night to illuminate the circus of the Vatican and the pleasure gardens of Nero. Thus this monster in human form amused the public by exhibiting his victims in their dying agonies, while he himself stood by, taking the keenest delight in their misery. Degraded and hardened as were the Romans, and bitter as was their prejudice against the Christians, the constant repetition of these horrible, heart– sickening scenes excited even their compassion.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, 303, 304.

2 What deterioration in the church’s spiritual state took place in the period following the persecutions? Revelation 2:14–16.

NOTE: “Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, ‘the mystery of iniquity’ carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.” The Great Controversy, 49, 50.

“I Will Put upon you None Other Burden”

3 How did Paul prophesy the emergence of apostate Christianity? II Thessalonians 2:3, 4.

NOTE: “This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of ‘the man of sin’ foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan’s power—a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will. Satan once endeavored to form a compromise with Christ. He came to the Son of God in the wilderness of temptation, and showing Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, offered to give all into His hands if He would but acknowledge the supremacy of the prince of darkness. Christ rebuked the presumptuous tempter and forced him to depart. But Satan meets with greater success in presenting the same temptations to man. To secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the favor and support of the great men of earth; and having thus rejected Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the representative of Satan—the bishop of Rome. It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than this, the pope has been given the very titles of Deity. He has been styled ‘Lord God the Pope’, and has been declared infallible. He demands the homage of all men. The same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready to yield him homage.” The Great Controversy, 50.

4 As persecution began again, what was the church obliged to do? Revelation 12:6, 14.

NOTE: “Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman’s ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus: ‘Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.’ Luke 21:16, 17. Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the world became a vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet: ‘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 three–score days.’ Revelation 12:6.” The Great Controversy, 54, 55.

“Hold Fast Till I Come”

5 What words of encouragement did the Lord address to the church of this time of persecution? Revelation 2:24–25.

NOTE: “Amid the gloom that settled upon the earth during the long period of papal supremacy, the light of truth could not be wholly extinguished. In every age there were witnesses for God—men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and man, who held the Bible as the only rule of life, and who hallowed the true Sabbath. How much the world owes to these men, posterity will never know. They were branded as heretics, their motives impugned, their characters maligned, their writings suppressed, misrepresented, or mutilated. Yet they stood firm, and from age to age maintained their faith in its purity, as a sacred heritage for the generations to come. The history of God’s people during the ages of darkness that followed upon Rome’s supremacy is written in heaven, but they have little place in human records. Few traces of their existence can be found, except in the accusations of their persecutors. It was the policy of Rome to obliterate every trace of dissent from her doctrines or decrees.” The Great Controversy, 61.

6 How are those who laid down their lives for the truth pictured in prophecy? Revelation 6:9–11.

NOTE: “The cries of the faithful, persecuted ones ascend to heaven. And as the blood of Abel cried from the ground, there are voices also crying to God from martyrs’ graves, from the sepulchers of the sea, from mountain caverns, from convent vaults: ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? When the fifth seal was opened, John the Revelator in vision saw beneath the altar the company that were slain for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Maranatha, 199.

“A Thousand Two Hundred and Three-score Days”

7 How long was this period of persecution to last? Revelation 12:6, 14. Compare Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7; Revelation 11:2, 3; Revelation 13:5.

NOTE: This period of persecution is mentioned seven times, far more frequently than any other Bible time prophecy.

“The periods here mentioned—‘forty and two months,’ and ‘a thousand two hundred and threescore days—are the same, alike representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began in A.D. 538, and would therefore terminate in 1798. At that time a French army entered Rome and made the pope a prisoner, and he died in exile. Though a new pope was soon afterward elected, the papal hierarchy has never since been able to wield the power which it before possessed.” The Great Controversy, 266.

8 What events were to usher in this period of papal power? Daniel 7:8, 24.

NOTE: “When he dispatched his letter to Rome, in 533, Justinian commissioned his general Belisarius to exterminate the remnants of the surviving Arian Christians in north Africa and Italy. He wished to eradicate his rivals and support the bishop of Rome politically. This would make it possible for him to act without restraint in establishing his brand of Christianity. . . . The Ostrogoths made a series of blunders and were annihilated by 538 A.D. By these tactics the three Arian Christian Barbarian ‘horn’ kingdoms—Heruli, Vandals and Ostrogoths—were ‘plucked up by their roots.’ The ‘diverse . . . little horn’ then stepped into the religious and political vacuum in the West, and the ‘universal’ pope was created. . . . For the first time in history, the bishop of Rome exercised authority over all Christian churches with power to destroy all heretics.” Hardinge, Jesus is my Judge, 149.

“Those Days Shall be Shortened”

9 How did Jesus speak of this period of persecution? Matthew 24:21.

NOTE: “From the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ passed on rapidly to the greater event, the last link in the chain of this earth’s history,—the coming of the Son of God in majesty and glory. Between these two events, there lay open to Christ’s view long centuries of darkness, centuries for His church marked with blood and tears and agony. Upon these scenes His disciples could not then endure to look, and Jesus passed them by with a brief mention. ‘Then shall be great tribulation,’ He said, ‘such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.’” The Desire of Ages, 630, 631.

10 Why did God bring this persecution to a premature end? Matthew 24:22.

NOTE: “‘And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.’ For more than a thousand years such persecution as the world had never before known was to come upon Christ’s followers. Millions upon millions of His faithful witnesses were to be slain. Had not God’s hand been stretched out to preserve His people, all would have perished. ‘But for the elect’s sake,’ He said, ‘those days shall be shortened.’” The Desire of Ages, 631.

“In the Saviour’s conversation with His disciples upon Olivet, after describing the long period of trial for the church—the 1260 years of papal persecution, concerning which He had promised that the tribulation should be shortened—He thus mentioned certain events to precede His coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed: ‘In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.’ The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased.” Maranatha, 150.

“The Earth Helped the Woman”

11 What factor contributed to the survival of the church? Revelation 12:15, 16.

NOTE: There is little agreement as to the precise interpretation of “the earth” in this passage. Ellen White makes no comment about it. It has been agreed that waters symbolize nations and peoples. (See Revelation 17:15.) Commenting on Revelation 13:11, we read: “The beast with lamblike horns was seen ‘coming up out of the earth.’ Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory previously unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully. It could not, then, arise among the crowded and struggling nationalities of the Old World—that turbulent sea of ‘peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.’ It must be sought in the Western Continent.” The Great Controversy, 440.

It seems reasonable, therefore, to interpret “the earth” in Revelation 12:16 in the same way as in Revelation 13:11. It is a fact of history that only in the United States was religious liberty established as a constitutional right. It is also a fact that it was to America that many of the church in the wilderness fled for refuge. Nowhere in Europe, with its established churches, was safe from religious persecution.

12 What are the identifying features of the true church? Revelation 12:17.

NOTE: “A striking contrast is seen between those who practice the truth and those who have joined the ranks of the apostate. Meek and lowly will those be who follow the Lamb of God. Boastful, denunciatory, and lawless in word and deed will those be who war against the commandments of God. They are thus because they have the spirit and attributes of the dragon, who was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.” Review and Herald, May 3, 1898.

“We can see from this scripture that it is not the true church of God that makes war with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is the people who make void the law, who place themselves on the side of the dragon, and persecute those who vindicate God’s precepts.” Signs of the Times, April 22, 1889.