Before we read the Word of the Lord, I would like to inform you that it is possible we may prolong our meeting a little longer. I will try my best to shorten it, but the possibility is there.
If you are really fatigued, you can stand up and walk around. Feel free. If you want to walk out, it is up to you. I am used to it.
Let us turn to Revelation 1. We will read from the first line. We will read English afterwards.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank You that we can gather together in Your name tonight. We praise You and thank You because You promised that, wherever two or three are gathered together in Your name, You are in the midst of them.
We pray that we may know that You are in our midst, because You are the living God. So we look to You to speak to us tonight and to enlighten our inner hearts.
We know that the church is God’s wisdom in a hidden mystery before the foundation of the world. We also see the church appearing in time.
Tonight, I would like to share with you the history of the church on earth. We want to see the history of the church on earth—not merely the outward appearance, but the inner reality.
Most church histories are official church histories. They are written with emphasis on the outward and visible history, rather than on the inner reality of the church.
When you read official church history, you see the history of decline, the Dark Ages, and revival. But if you see the true reality of church history, you will find that the Church of God has been built in the midst of opposition.
We remember that our Lord said:
I will build My church;
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
When we see official church history, it may seem as though the gates of hell have prevailed. But that was not the church built by the Lord Himself. If the church is built by the Lord Himself, the power of hell will not prevail against it.
The Lord is continuing to build His church. In every generation, the Lord is performing His work on earth. There has never been a time when the Lord was not building His church. He will continue until that glorious church is manifested.
Strictly speaking, we may speak of two histories: one is the history of Christendom, and the other is the history of the church. Many times, we are confused when we read church history today.
It is my hope that, before we begin, we will have this realization in our hearts.
Our Lord spent thirty-three years on earth. He died, was buried, and was resurrected. For forty days, He appeared to His disciples, and then He ascended into heaven.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended, and the church was born. The history of the church on earth began at Pentecost.
The Book of Acts records the early years of the church. But the Book of Revelation, written by John near the end of the first century, helps us to understand church history.
The seven churches described in Revelation were actual churches at that time. Yet the Book of Revelation is also a prophetic book. From a historical and prophetic point of view, these seven churches represent stages in the history of the church.
Tonight, we want to consider church history according to those seven churches. Therefore, we need some time to cover these two thousand years.
The church at Ephesus represents the last stage of the apostles’ ministry.
The Apostle Paul was in prison in Rome, though he had a certain degree of freedom. Even though soldiers watched over him, he could receive those who came to him and preach the gospel to them.
He was there waiting for the final decision of the emperor. According to what we understand today, he was released for a time and went to Asia Minor to visit the churches.
During the reign of Nero, Rome was burned. Nero desired to build a more magnificent city, and the Christians became the object of persecution.
At that time, to be a Christian was a dangerous thing. Paul was imprisoned again, and this time it was different from his earlier imprisonment. Approximately in A.D. 67 or 68, Paul was martyred; Peter also was killed.
According to what we understand, the center of the Holy Spirit’s movement moved from Jerusalem to Ephesus in Asia Minor. Paul had already been there.
John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. Afterward, John was released and returned to Ephesus.
John wrote the three epistles bearing his name, as well as the Gospel according to John. Before the apostles left the world, they warned the churches that persecution would come and that false teachers would arise.
The apostles were not chiefly concerned about persecution from the world, because it is normal for Christians to be persecuted. What concerned them was the inward corruption of the church.
Paul warned the elders in Ephesus that grievous wolves would come in among them and that men would arise from among themselves, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Peter also knew that the time of his departure was near. He warned that many false Christs and false teachers would arise.
The Epistle to the Hebrews warns us that, because circumstances became difficult, many Jewish believers were tempted to return to Judaism.
By the latter part of the first century, the second and third generations had arisen. The first generation had received revelation and had paid a great price to follow the Lord. But the next generation received traditions from the first generation without receiving the revelation directly.
What they cared for was tradition. Even though the tradition may have been good, they did not possess the same inward reality.
Persecution came on one hand, and prosperity came on the other. Gradually, they lost their first love.
The Lord said to the church at Ephesus, “I know the many good things you have done. But I have this against you: you have left your first love. If you do not repent, I will remove the lampstand.”
This is the first section of church history.
Now we see the second section, represented by the church at Smyrna. This covers approximately the second and third centuries.
The Smyrna church is a suffering church. Because of His love for the church, the Lord allowed persecution to come upon it. The church had already fallen into formality and had lost its first love.
The Lord allowed persecution in order to revive the church. Throughout church history, whenever the church became relaxed and settled into the world, the Lord allowed persecution to awaken His people.
The persecution from the Roman Empire began with Nero and continued through the second and third centuries. The Lord’s word to Smyrna was that those who were faithful unto death would receive the crown of life.
Bible students commonly speak of ten major persecutions under the Roman Empire: Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Maximinus, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and Diocletian.
The persecution was severe, yet the church received revival at that time.
In A.D. 112, Christians were brought before Pliny the Younger, the Roman governor. He could find no real fault in them, and he did not know what to do.
In his letter, Pliny described the character and conduct of the Christians. They met together and sang hymns to Christ. They bound themselves not to commit wickedness, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, and not to refuse to return what had been entrusted to them.
Persecution was widespread throughout the cities and countryside. Numerous Christians were martyred.
Among the more well-known martyrs was Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. He was condemned to death, carried to Rome, and fed to wild beasts for the entertainment of the people.
He wrote concerning his coming death, “I would rather be given to the wild beasts. I will provoke them, even if they do not wish to attack me.”
Another was Polycarp. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the governor wanted to spare his life because Polycarp was old and highly respected.
The governor said, “You only have to renounce Christ and swear by the emperor. I will let you go.”
Polycarp answered, “Eighty-six years I have served the Lord, and He never did me anything wrong. He has always done me good. How can I deny Him?”
So he was burned to death.
Perpetua and Felicitas were also martyrs. Perpetua was from a noble family, well educated, and honorable. She was a young mother, approximately twenty-two years old, and had not yet been baptized when she was arrested.
She was baptized in prison. Her father hurried to the jail and begged his daughter, saying, “Look upon thy child.”
Before she was brought into the amphitheater to be killed by wild beasts, she comforted and encouraged others. Later she was killed by the gladiator’s sword.
Many such stories have been recorded from the second century.
We know very little about the corporate life of Christians in the second and third centuries. I would like to spend a little more time considering what kind of life they lived.
A writer said that Christians manifested a strange way of living:
They live in their own countries, but as sojourners.
Every foreign land is to them a homeland,
yet every homeland is a foreign land.
They pass their days upon earth,
but they are citizens of heaven.
They obeyed the laws of the land, and yet by their lives they went beyond the law. They loved all, and were reviled by all.
The blood of the martyrs watered the seed. It was not the Roman Empire that conquered the church; in a sense, the church overcame the Roman Empire.
However, at this very time the church began to deviate from the truth of Christ. Particularly in church government, there was an abnormal development.
Church history mentions fathers such as Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Clement, Barnabas, and others. Gradually, the beauty and simplicity of the church order were forgotten.
In order to avoid division and to fight heresy, they brought in a clerical system. They elevated the position of the bishop.
In the Bible, an elder refers to the person, while a bishop refers to the work or oversight. But the position of bishop was elevated, and it was said that every church needed one bishop whose authority was absolute.
This caused the rise of clergy and laity. Baptism also began to be connected with regeneration, and baptismal regeneration developed in the third century.
The teaching of apostolic succession also developed—the idea that the church possessed a succession from Peter, one after another. It was taught that outside this church there was no salvation.
Thus, we see the corruption of the church from within.
There were many heresies, such as Marcionism, which separated the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament.
There was also Montanism. Its followers claimed special inspiration of the Holy Spirit and advocated a universal prophetic movement.
Yet, in the midst of persecution and heresy, the Lord was still building His church.
Origen was born around A.D. 185. His father loved the Lord very much and was martyred. Origen, while still a teenager, visited his father in prison and encouraged him to be faithful unto death.
Origen later became a famous scholar. He taught that the church was spiritual and could not be equated merely with an outward organization.
There were others, such as the Novatians, who desired to preserve a pure fellowship within the church. There were also those who advocated a high standard of church life and emphasized the place of the Holy Spirit among the people of God.
We praise the Lord that, even in this period, He was still building His own church and leaving a witness for Himself.
The next period is represented by the church at Pergamum. It extends approximately from A.D. 313 to the sixth century.
Constantine the Great was among the Roman generals striving for supremacy. He claimed that he saw a vision of something like a cross, with words meaning, “By this conquer.”
We do not know whether this was truly a vision or whether it was political. There were many Christians among his soldiers, and he needed their support in the final battle at the Milvian Bridge.
He said that he had a dream and commanded his soldiers to place the sign of Christ upon their shields. The first two Greek letters of Christ’s name were superimposed as a symbol.
He won the battle. In A.D. 313, religious freedom was granted, and church property was returned to the church.
By A.D. 314, Constantine had become the sole head of the Roman Empire. He extended favor and tolerance to Christians, and the church began to be combined with the state.
Constantine was not only the head of the empire; he also exercised authority over the church. From that time on, entering the church became a fashionable thing.
The emperor encouraged his soldiers to be baptized and gave them gifts of money, silver, garments, and other benefits. Many came to be baptized, and Christianity became a way to prosperity.
From that time on, the name “Catholic” began to be used in official documents for the church.
Intellectual and philosophical emphasis replaced truth. Ritual replaced love and heavenly-mindedness. This prepared the way for the papacy.
Leo the Great, in the fifth century, laid the foundation for the supremacy of the bishop of Rome through his interpretation of Matthew 16. He claimed that the rock was Peter.
As a result, the Roman bishop was elevated above others. From the fourth century onward, spiritual movements increasingly separated from organized religion.
When religious organizations developed, there were still many who were not polluted and who held to the simplicity of the gospel. They were not restricted by religious organization.
Because there were many heresies, many church councils were held. Creeds were formulated to expel heresy, but belief became increasingly centralized and intellectualized, and power was centralized in the church.
Two prominent controversies arose: the Arian controversy and the Pelagian controversy.
Arius held a different view concerning the Godhead and denied the full deity of the Lord Jesus. Pelagius taught that humanity retained the ability to keep itself from sin.
Arianism misunderstood Christ, and Pelagianism misunderstood the nature of man. One misunderstood Christ; the other misunderstood sinners.
Two famous figures stand out in church history. Athanasius fought against Arianism, and Augustine opposed Pelagianism.
We thank God that, even though the church had fallen into the world and changed from its original condition, God still left a testimony for Himself. He was still building His church.
There were particular movements that desired to return completely to the Word of God. They emphasized purity of Christian living and communion with Christ.
They did not accept the distinction between laity and clergy. They believed that all believers could know God’s Word through the teaching of the Holy Spirit and could share God’s Word publicly according to spiritual measure.
Thus, even in this third period, the Lord was still building His church.
The church at Thyatira represents the period beginning around A.D. 590, when Gregory the Great became pope. This period continued until the sixteenth century.
At that time, the church was combined with the state. It could no longer depend solely upon God’s Word or do things according to the Bible.
There was a struggle for power between church and state, and eventually the church overcame the state. The papal states developed, and Christendom entered the Dark Ages.
For the sake of outward unity, many Christians were persecuted. Many believers who had escaped persecution from the Roman Empire were later martyred by the Roman Catholic Church.
Superstition replaced faith, and ritual replaced spiritual life. Relic worship, purgatory, priestly confession, and indulgences became common practices.
The Crusades also belong to this history. Christians sought to regain control of Jerusalem.
But thank God, this is only the official history. The Lord was still building His church.
What I mention now cannot usually be found in official church history. Official history is largely concerned with the papacy and its institutions. But there were many faithful to the Word of the Lord who maintained the simplicity that is in Christ.
From the middle of the seventh century, there were groups that emphasized two things above all: the reading of the Bible and prayer.
They emphasized holy living according to the Word of God. They did not accept a centralized power to govern all local churches scattered abroad.
They believed that each local church had Christ as its Head. Traveling brothers helped them spread the Word of God, and their fellowship was based upon their spiritual life in the Lord.
There were groups known as the Bogomils. The name Bogomil means “friend of God.” From approximately the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, they were found in the Balkan Peninsula.
They maintained a high standard of living according to the law and grace of the gospel. They acknowledged the universal priesthood of believers.
There were also people known as the Waldensians. They became prominent in the twelfth century, especially in the valleys of the Alps.
They paid special respect to the Word of God. The Bible was their only authority for church life and order. They believed that Christ is present through the Holy Spirit and that salvation is by grace.
They taught that the proof of salvation is a pure life. Breaking bread was understood as a remembrance of the sacrifice of our Lord.
Among them was Peter Waldo, a very wealthy businessman. He had little appetite for spiritual things at first.
But one day, an event reminded him of the brevity of life. He sold what he had, gave to the poor, and gathered a group of people who preached everywhere.
They became known as the Poor Men of Lyons.
In the fourteenth century, there were those who emphasized communion with the Lord. They called themselves the Friends of God.
Among them were notable believers such as Meister Eckhart and John Tauler. John Wycliffe was also raised up in England by the Lord.