Antioch in Syria is said to
have had thousands of Christians within its borders.
"What a glorious church that early church was, Bro. Davis, you have
already seen in your Scripture investigation. With the breaking forth
of the glorious light of the gospel there arose the true church of
God, spotless in her purity, glorious in her power, and adorned with
the rich graces and gifts of the Spirit. And in three hundred years
this church broke down paganism and Constantine had made Christianity
the religion of the Roman Empire.
"But this glorious church was not to remain glorious. Sad but true,
there came an apostasy foretold by the apostles. Peter foretold it (2
Pet. 2:1, 2). Paul foretold it (2 Thess. 2:3, 4). And notice how far
short some of the seven churches of Asia were before John's death
(Rev. 2 and 3). Marsh's Church History says: 'Almost proportionate
with the extension of Christianity was the decrease in the church
of vital piety. A philosophizing spirit among the higher, and a wild
monkish superstition among the lower orders, fast took the place in
the third century of the faith and humility of the first Christians.
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