Some Initial Discussion

In this part of our lesson, we are going to continue to look at the history of the church from the 2^nd into the early part of the 4^th Century, and we’re going to see that while the church was being attacked from without—while the church was being persecuted by Rome—during this same period of time, simultaneous with that, there were also attacks from within the church. From these internal attacks, we’re going to see, then, the rise of various unauthorized changes, developments which are going to take place—developments in the organization of the church—how the church was organized; how the church was led. We’re going to see the changes, the challenges, which also came from doctrinal matters, and we’re going to consider that.

But, as to the matter of, “When did the church stop being the church? When did the church stop being the church of Christ, the church that belongs to Christ, and become a man-made institution, a man-made organization?”—it’s hard to say. I think I’m correct in saying that there just isn’t a date, a month, a year, or even a period of time when you could point to it and say, “Okay, prior to this point what we see here is the church—when we talk about those who were part of that church, they were, in fact, 1^st Century Christians, as we often refer to them an ourselves today. But, from this point onward, the church was in complete apostasy, and those who would even make the claim to be Christians probably were not.”

Well, in this regard, we know that apostasy had already begun even before the end of the 1^st Century. For example, we think about Paul’s warning that he gave to the Ephesian elders recorded for us in Acts 20 and verse 28, where he warned them that from among them—from elders—would arise those who would lead the sheep astray. And in fact, that’s exactly what we’re going to see will take place.

Speaking about apostasy within the church, we look in the book of Revelation for example and there the seven churches of Asia are addressed. We see that the church in Ephesus, according to the Lord Himself, speaking through the inspired apostle John, had already left their first love—they had already fallen, Revelation 2:4. Some in Pergamos and Thyatira, we read there, were practicing false doctrines, Revelation 2:14-15, 20. The church in Sardis was dead, Revelation 3:1, and the Laodiceans were lukewarm, Revelation 3:15. So, we see that apostasy is already underway, is already begun, even in this early period of church history.

BUT, here’s something for us to consider, something for us to think about. And that is, that because of the organizational structure, the doctrinal organizational structure of the church, congregations were autonomous, were independent, one from another. And so, because one congregation—for example, the congregation in Ephesus who had left their first love—had fallen, there would be another who has not fallen—for example, there was still the church at Philadelphia that the Lord had high praise for. So, there was not a mass apostasy at the end of the 1^st Century; it was not necessarily a mass apostasy that we see down through this period of history that we’re looking at here. We are looking at, and we are hearing about, the problems, the issues, the things that are recorded for us in history. Eventually, we know (and we are going to track this) we are going to see the rise of the Catholic church. That is where the apostasy, the general apostasy, so to speak, is going to lead, and we’re going to follow that; we’re going to track that; we’re going to see that. And that, of course, is clearly NOT the church of the New Testament; that is clearly not the church that Jesus built, that He purchased with His blood.

Here’s kind of a “thought question” for you, one that, perhaps, you have thought about before. I know it’s one that I have thought about, but it kind of fits here. You know, we’re going to be going through the period of the Middle Ages; we’re going to be looking at the period of the Reform eventually, into the 18^th and 19^th Centuries and the Restoration Movement, and the like. We’re going to be following the history of the church through this period. Of course, there is a very lengthy period of time, a period of about 1500 years or so, where what we’re going to be talking about, and what we’re going to be examining, is going to have to do initially with the Catholic church and the things that were going on there, and then the Reformation—the rise of denominational groups and the like.

But, here’ a question for you to think about: During all of these periods of time—during this lengthy period of time when we really don’t have any history to speak of about the one true church—did it exist? Did the Lord’s church continue to exist from the time of the Day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem right up through this very day? Or, is there a period of time—during this period of the Middle Ages, for example—when the Lord’s church just was not in existence, that every congregation had “bowed the knee to Baal”, had given in to apostasy?

While you think about that question, think about the promise that Jesus made in Matthew 16:18 when He promised to build His church. He said that “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” And so, was there a period of time in history when the gates of Hades did, perhaps, prevail for a time, but it was only a temporary period? OR, has there NOT been a time when there was not, when there has not been, the body of Christ and the people of the Lord—has the church always existed? Something interesting to think about. (Someone suggested Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will by no means pass away.”)

Let me say that there have been and continue to be discoveries of historical information about various groups that, when the records are examined, they can see that even during these periods of the “Dark Ages” there were various enclaves in places like Russia and other places in Europe—evidence that there were small groups of Christians who were, indeed, following the New Testament in their organization, in their manner of worship, the manner of their lives, and so on.