Let us turn to Revelation 1.
I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.—Revelation 1:9-11
To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, He that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
—Revelation 2:1
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
—Revelation 2:7
And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and lived again.
—Revelation 2:8
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
—Revelation 2:11
Let us bow our heads for a further word of prayer.
Lord, we thank You for preparing this special time for us today. Like Mary, we can be gathered at Your feet. We thank You for speaking to Your church throughout these past days, and we ask that You will continue to speak tonight.
May we hear the words that You want us to hear. We pray that the Holy Spirit would do the translating work, that whether those who are newly saved or those who have been saved for many years, they may understand Your word.
Not only do we hear Your word; give us grace to be able to stand up and follow You, especially before Your return. We pray that You would find a people who are near to Your heart, so that they can come and receive Your testimony.
You have been gracious. You did not leave us alone. You have given this glory unto Your church. So we pray that You would speak a word into the depths of our hearts tonight. We give You all the glory. In Jesus’ victorious name, amen.
We know that the theme of the conference this week is the recovery of the testimony of Christ. My responsibility tonight and tomorrow afternoon is to speak concerning the receiving and passing on of the testimony in church history.
Our brothers have already shown us the passing on of the testimony in the Old Testament. We have also seen the receiving and passing on of the testimony in the New Testament. Now we want to see the receiving and passing on of the testimony in church history.
When we speak of church history, we are speaking of two thousand years. We only have two times to speak about it, so we are going to limit ourselves to the first three hundred years—the early church.
History involves places, names, geography, and time. Especially for the younger ones among us, these things can be difficult to remember. Therefore, we have prepared a handout with names of people, places, and time periods. We are not taking a lesson today; this is simply for your reference. You can use it, or you can throw it away.
The handout is intended to give you an impression of what we are covering tonight and tomorrow afternoon. On the front page there is a table entitled “Early Church History.” It may look a little unclear or dirty, but do not try to erase it. There is a background there, and tomorrow afternoon we will explain what that background is. Just be patient. There is some very important information on that page.
When we speak of the early church, we are speaking of the period from the apostolic age to the end of the third century. After the Lord’s ascension and the birth of the church, until A.D. 313, we have what historians generally call early church history.
This period is divided into two sections:
Historians classify the years from A.D. 30 to 120 as the apostolic age. John was taken to be with the Lord around A.D. 100, but this broader period is still known as the apostolic age.
From A.D. 120 to 313, the church went through seven great persecutions. It was a time of suffering. If we add the three persecutions under the Roman Empire during the apostolic age, there were ten great persecutions in total.
The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the church. Not only did the church grow; it broadened. We want to see how the church grew and how it spread.
The church is the Body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church. The Holy Spirit is the life of the church. Through three hundred years, we see that the church grew as the Lord gathered those whom He redeemed with His precious blood.
We are all sinners, but we have received His grace. Many times we have fallen, and many times we have gained victory. The history of the church should be a history of growth.
Yet because we are in the flesh and in Adam, none of us is wholly perfect. Every day we experience the preciousness of His blood. When we fail, fellowship with Him is interrupted; but when we recognize our sin, fellowship is restored. Again we come before Him, again we obey Him, and again we grow a little.
But do not forget that we are still sinners, and again we fall. The church consists of those who are called out and saved, gathered together. Sometimes we fall, sometimes we become lax, and sometimes we are defeated.
Therefore, in the history of growth, we also see the story of defeat. But failure in history does not mean that we give up. When we fall, we rise up again. We fall, and we rise up.
Through the lessons of failure, we can learn something. It is the same today. The Lord wants a glorious church; that is unquestionable. We are sinners saved by grace, and we need daily to take up the cross and follow the Lord.
If someone were to write our history today, on one hand it would be a history of growth, and on the other hand it would be a history of recovery. Because there is the Lord’s blood, there is recovery.
The history of the church is like the Book of Ruth. There are two important figures in Ruth: Naomi and Ruth.
The line of Naomi is one of failure and then recovery. The line of Ruth is one of growth. This is the history of the church. On one hand, the church has failed and recovered, failed and recovered. On the other hand, the church is always growing, because the life of Christ in us is always toward growth.
For this reason, we have the assurance that before the Lord’s return, He will gain a glorious church. Yet He must call the overcomers. These people are not better than others. But when the entire church falls below the standard of our Lord, there are those who are willing to stand for the Lord. Those are the overcomers.
The Lord has entrusted the testimony to these people. Do not think that the Lord must use us. If the Lord is gracious to us and we are willing to be faithful, we may bear His testimony. But it is not that He cannot do without us. When we fail, the Lord will raise up another people.
May the Lord be gracious to us, that we may hear His voice. This is what happened in the first three hundred years.
When we read the three hundred years of church history, first we find historical data. That data tells us what happened in history. But when we study history, we are not merely studying data. Behind the data, there is an explanation.
We are not here studying world history; we are here to study church history. Who is qualified to explain the historical data? No one—not even a professional church historian—can fully explain it.
Thank the Lord, the Holy Spirit not only explains the Bible; the Holy Spirit is also the only One who can explain church history. Even if we had a complete set of historical records, we would still not understand church history apart from Him.
Why does a Christian need to understand church history? Because the Lord tells us to follow in the footsteps of the flock. We see how the flock has moved forward throughout history, and then we know how we should walk.
We only have a limited number of years in our lives—perhaps seventy or eighty, perhaps eighty or ninety. If, by His grace, we walk in His way, then we walk the right way. But if we walk the wrong way, it is impossible to repeat our lives.
Especially for the younger brothers and sisters, if the Lord tarries, many of you may have many years ahead. How do you know whether the way you are walking is the right way? Many people give their entire lives to the Lord, but in old age they discover that they walked the wrong way. Their hearts were right, and they gave their best years to the Lord, but the way they walked was not the way of the Bible.
For this reason, when we study church history, there is one purpose: may the Lord show us how He has entrusted His testimony to us, so that we may be faithful to it and walk in the way that is in His heart.
Church history is a lesson to us. When we see the maturing of the church and the church’s victories, we must ask: What is the secret of victory? What is the secret of maturing? When the church fails and becomes weak, what lesson are we to learn?
We do not merely collect historical data. We ask, “What is the meaning of all this?” May the Holy Spirit show us the meaning, because only the Holy Spirit can give us the correct answer.
How do we know the explanation of the Holy Spirit? Thank the Lord, He gave us the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, through the Lord’s word, we can understand God’s will and what God desires to do in the church.
The Bible contains prophecy concerning the church. Since it is prophecy, it must be fulfilled. God’s word has to be fulfilled.
We are already in the twenty-first century. We know that events took place during those three hundred years, and God’s word had already told us what would happen. If we take the historical data and compare it with the prophecies in the Bible, we find the explanation of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, we need to return to the word.
We read in Revelation that John was on the island of Patmos. He said, “I John, your brother.” Daniel said, “I Daniel,” and Revelation says, “I John.”
When John wrote Revelation, the church was going through the second great persecution. At that time the emperor was Domitian. To confess Christ was treated as treason, because the believers would not acknowledge the emperor as lord.
Even in the household of Domitian, there were believers. Some of those closest to him became martyrs. At that time, John was sent into exile on Patmos, while the church was being persecuted.
John was on Patmos, and he was in the Spirit. He wrote seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor. These letters were written to churches that were suffering.
When John said, “I John, your brother,” he was expressing brotherly love. John was already an old man. The other apostles were already in glory: Paul was in glory, and Peter was in glory. John was walking a lonely way.
He was the elder statesman in the church; nobody had followed the Lord longer than he had. Yet, no matter how abundant his life and how advanced he was spiritually, he said:
I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus.
—Revelation 1:9
Not only was John in tribulation; many others were also in tribulation. All the children of God were brothers with John. They were fellow partakers in suffering.
This tribulation has to do with the kingdom, the reward, and the patience of Jesus. For the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, the church bore witness from Jerusalem to Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
This is our main theme: the responsibility of the testimony rests upon the shoulders of the church.
The seven churches represented the churches of that time, and the Lord had something to say to them. Paul wrote seven epistles to churches when the church was in its normal state. But these seven letters in Revelation were addressed to saints who had gone through suffering.
In these seven letters, the One who speaks is the Lord Himself. Each letter contains the Lord’s direct speaking. When the church in Ephesus received its letter, the Lord was speaking to it directly.
In Revelation 2 and 3, we see the condition of the seven churches in Asia Minor. Five of them needed to repent. One was neither rebuked nor commended, and one was commended.
There was one church that satisfied the Lord’s heart. He said, “I have loved thee,” and, “Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.” There was one church that had received the crown.
The Holy Spirit chose seven churches to represent the condition of the church in the apostolic age. Why was there failure? Why was there a need for repentance? Because we are sinners, because we follow the flesh, because we disobey, and because we fall.
The Lord shows us a true picture. On one hand, the church is growing; on the other hand, it has weakness. Through these seven letters, the Holy Spirit shows us the condition of the church.
But do not forget that Revelation is a prophetic book. From Revelation 1:1, we understand this. Yes, the seven churches represent churches in the first century, but they also speak prophetically of the church throughout the last two thousand years.
The last four churches—Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea—all speak of the Lord’s return. The churches of the first century are gone, yet the promises concerning the Lord’s return remain. Therefore, the seven churches are not speaking only of the first century.
The church in Ephesus represents the church in the apostolic age. The church in Smyrna represents the second and third centuries. Smyrna means myrrh; it speaks of suffering. Smyrna is the suffering church.
Pergamum means marriage. From the fourth through the sixth centuries, the church was married to the world. The Roman Empire opened its arms to welcome the church.
For three hundred years, Satan had been like a roaring lion, but the more he roared, the more the church grew. Then he changed his strategy. From the time of Constantine, he became an angel of light. The church became lax, failed, and fell.
Then the church entered the Dark Ages, represented by Thyatira. How do we know that Thyatira speaks of the church in the Dark Ages? The reward for the overcomers is the morning star.
The morning star appears when the sky is darkest, just before the sunrise. When you cannot see your hand before your face, that is the darkest time. But if you see the morning star, you know that the sky will become bright.
There were overcomers who gained the morning star, and through them the sky became bright. In the sixteenth century, the sky began to brighten. God raised up Martin Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. God gave them the morning star.
The Reformation is what we see in Sardis. What is the feature of Sardis? “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead.” The Reformation became famous, and Martin Luther became known throughout the world.
The Reformation was a work of the Holy Spirit, because God gave them the morning star. But God was not satisfied. The Lord said:
I have found no works of thine perfected before My God.
—Revelation 3:2
Everything was started, but nothing was completed. The Puritans, the Anabaptists, and others recognized that the church had not gone far enough. They felt that the church could not marry the world and that too many things of Babylon remained in it.
When people looked only at outward buildings and rituals, some brothers and sisters said, “We need to follow the Spirit. We need to hear the voice within.” They were like those clothed in white garments, walking with the Lord. These were the ones who accepted responsibility.
Sardis continues until the Lord returns. Laodicea, the lukewarm church, also remains until the Lord returns. Likewise, Philadelphia remains. There is one church that satisfies the heart of God and has the crown.
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea continue until the Lord returns. This is the prophetic history of the church.
Because we are speaking only of the first three hundred years, we will limit ourselves to the church in Ephesus and the church in Smyrna.
On the table, we see two lines: Antioch on the left and Jerusalem on the right. Jerusalem is the main line, while Antioch is the overcoming line.
We could also say that Jerusalem is the line of Naomi, while Antioch is the line of Ruth. We will separate these lines so that it may be clear what happened.
In the time of Ephesus, there were three important people, often called the apostolic fathers because they followed the apostles:
During the period of Smyrna, important figures include Irenaeus of Lyons, Cyprian, and Tertullian. Remember these six names: Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Cyprian, and Tertullian. I am not going to test you; this is not a classroom. But I hope that you will have some impression when we tell the story.
Ephesus means “to loosen.” The church in the apostolic age began to loosen or become lax. The church is like a clock. During the time of the apostles, it was wound very tightly. But when the apostles went away, the winding began to loosen.
We want to see how Ephesus became lax and how Smyrna became victorious. Smyrna is a suffering church, but it is also a victorious and growing church.
Ephesus and Smyrna both tell the true story of the church. If you only tell me that the church was victorious and never failed, then you have not given me the complete story. Ephesus tells us that the church became lax; Smyrna tells us that the church became victorious. Within laxity, there is victory; within victory, we also see weakness.
Some people have too idealistic a view of the church. Yes, the Lord will gain a glorious church, and the church should grow day by day. But because we are men, we must recognize our weakness.
Ignatius and Cyprian were martyrs for the Lord. If you read their biographies, you will have tears in your eyes. Ignatius said, “Only when I am torn to pieces by a lion will I be a true disciple of the Lord.”
Why does the word disciple appear frequently in the Gospels and Acts but not in the Epistles in the same way? In the early church, those who followed the Lord wanted to be true disciples. They knew that a disciple bears much fruit and satisfies the Lord’s heart.
Whenever I can satisfy the Lord’s heart, then I am His disciple.
Irenaeus was bishop in Lyons, in the southern part of France, toward the end of the second century. He was a very educated and knowledgeable man. He wrote extensively against heresies, especially the heresies that troubled the church.
Cyprian was also highly educated, but the Lord gained him. For the love of the Lord, he said that he would not marry. He had read every kind of book, but afterward he devoted himself to the Bible and to works related to the Bible.
These men were martyred for the Lord. As to their ability and their lives, they were great spiritual men. Yet God did not use them to write the Bible. God used Paul and John to write the Bible.
Their words were important, but their words did not equal the word of God. Do not forget this. They influenced the church, and if they erred even a little, the church could follow them.
When they were wrong, they were not wrong deliberately. They had pure hearts, and they desired to act according to God’s will. They felt responsibility upon their shoulders.
This is the story of the first three hundred years. On one hand, the church was persecuted, and because of persecution many who loved the Lord were drawn out. Among those who loved the Lord were these important men.
But when we speak of how the church became lax, we see that it had something to do with some of these men. Man will err. Man will fail. No matter how great you are, how mature you are, or how well you know the Bible, you may still err.
The apostles were gone. Slowly, the believers had the Bible in their hands, and they could share according to the Bible. They had thoughts according to the Bible. Yet slowly, while the church was growing and broadening, it was also becoming lax.
How did the church become lax? We must go back to the beginning of Revelation, but first we must see what happened.
Let us look at John 12.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit.
—John 12:24
Our Lord is that grain of wheat. On the cross, He died for us, and in resurrection He bore much fruit. The work of the cross had a purpose: He had to bring in the harvest.
Then we see John 12:32:
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself.
—John 12:32
When our Lord was lifted up from the earth and nailed to the cross, He drew many people to Himself. This is the salvation accomplished on the cross.
Once the work of salvation was completed, He called His disciples and appointed a time to meet with them on a mountain in Galilee. The Lord told them what to do.
Let us turn to Matthew 28.
But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
—Matthew 28:16
And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth.
—Matthew 28:18
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
—Matthew 28:19
The Lord said, “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Myself.” His work is done, but now comes the work that the disciples need to do.
All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to our Lord. He says, “Go.” They must go so that all nations may become His disciples. The gospel must spread to all nations.
How is that possible? Because the Lord promised His presence. No matter where they went, He would be with them. This gospel would be spread to the end of the earth, and the Lord would be present with them.
This was spoken to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee.
Now let us turn to Acts 1.