Let us have some prayer.
Father, we thank You for calling us before Your presence here today. We have testified to how You have spoken to Your children during this conference this week. For what You have already spoken, we want to thank You.
We commit the remaining time, even up until tomorrow morning, into Your hands, because You are Alpha and Omega. Since You have begun the good work, You will finish it.
We commit this time into Your hands. When man speaks outwardly, may You speak inwardly to each one. May Your presence, the Holy Spirit, be completely in our midst.
On the one hand, we experience Your presence; and in our depths, we see Your glory. We want to give You all the glory and all the love.
Not only may Your glory conquer us, but may Your love conquer us, that we can answer Your call and be true witnesses for You. Listen to our prayer. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.
We all know by now that the theme of the conference is the recovery of the testimony of Christ. My responsibility is to consider, in church history, the receiving and passing on of that testimony.
Really, I should say that this is a history of two thousand years. We only have two sessions, so each session should cover one thousand years. But the conference management was very nice to us and said that we could have a forty-percent discount on the second session. So we only need to speak up until the Reformation.
But through the experience from last night, even though we wanted to cover only the first three hundred years of church history, time passes very quickly. I do not know how much we will be able to cover today. Perhaps I will have to give a further discount.
When we speak of these three hundred years of history, we use the explanation of prophecy in the Bible because the historical data is simply too extensive. There are too many stories. Only the Holy Spirit can tell us what the emphasis is.
When we speak about the church in Ephesus, it means the church that had become lax. The period of the church in Ephesus is from the ascension of our Lord to approximately A.D. 120. From this, we see that the church became loose.
Then, following that, is Smyrna, from A.D. 120 to 313. Smyrna means myrrh. Through this, we see that the following two hundred years were the years of a suffering church.
Simply speaking, the first three hundred years of church history present, on the one hand, a story of becoming loose; on the other hand, a story of victory. It speaks both of weakness and of triumph.
No matter from what angle we look at it, we can learn a lesson. So we want to ask: How did the church in the apostolic age become lax?
If Ephesus represents the church condition in the apostolic age, then the most accurate historical record is what John gives us. These seven churches were the churches of that time—the churches of the apostolic age.
In our handout, we refer to the seven churches in Asia Minor. Yet these seven churches are representative. Of course, there was also the church in Jerusalem, the church in Rome, the church in Antioch, and other churches.
The Holy Spirit used these seven churches to represent the condition of the church during that time. Indeed, the church had become lax. How do we know?
Because of the seven churches, the Lord told five of them to repent. It was as though they had left the will of God. When we ask people to repent, we normally ask sinners to repent. But these people had already been saved. Does the church need to repent? Yes, the church needs to repent.
Of the seven churches, five had to repent. Then, out of each church, God called for overcomers. When the church at large failed, God called those who would maintain His testimony and return to the purpose of God.
The overcomers in Ephesus represent those who desired to return to their first love. Even though the church had failed, during that time these overcomers kept God’s testimony.
There are too many stories concerning repentance and the ways in which the churches became lax. Ephesus lost its first love; Laodicea became neither hot nor cold. There were many things that needed repentance.
But we must understand the Lord’s word. When we speak of being lax, the loss of first love is certainly in the Lord’s heart. To be neither cold nor hot indeed saddens our Lord. Yet during these times of weakness, if we can understand His purpose, we will see that He speaks, and speaks, and speaks again.
A father and mother may ask their working daughter, “What did you do today? How was your day? How is your boss?” But eventually they return to one topic: “Did you meet your prince today?” When they mention the prince five times, you know what they are really thinking. The daughter may be wonderful, but she has not yet married.
When you read the seven churches, it is quite amazing. Sometimes the Lord mentions one thing twice. In the church in Ephesus, the Lord mentions the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
In the letter to Ephesus, the Lord speaks of the deeds of the Nicolaitans. At that point, it is only their deeds, not their teachings. But when we come to Pergamum, we find the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Thus, the Nicolaitans are mentioned twice.
Brothers and sisters, when we speak of the church becoming lax, there is one matter that weighs heavily upon God’s heart. It is something that He keeps repeating and cannot forget. When He thinks of the deeds of the Nicolaitans, He also thinks of their teachings.
The Jews are also mentioned twice. In Smyrna, the Lord speaks of:
the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Then in Philadelphia, He says:
Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie;
behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet,
and to know that I have loved thee.
Perhaps one mention of the Jews would have been enough. Why does the Lord mention them again? In the apostolic age, the church indeed became lax, but here we see a special feature.
If we want to see how the church became lax overall, we must consider the teachings and deeds of the Nicolaitans together with the slander and lies of the Jews. These things explain how the church became lax in the apostolic age, because they concern the testimony of Christ.
God had a purpose. Because of Christ’s work on the cross, He not only resurrected, but He also ascended. Then the Holy Spirit was poured down, and in the Spirit we were baptized into one body. The body of Christ began.
New wine can only be put into new wineskins. The body of Christ is that new wineskin. Judaism is the old wineskin. It is impossible to put the new wine into an old wineskin.
But the Christians of that time, especially those in Jerusalem, began as a group of Jews. They were influenced by tradition, and they could not turn around.
Consider James. He was a great servant of the Lord, and the Lord truly used him. When we come to Acts 15, James spoke the final word. James represented what the Holy Spirit wanted to say. Unquestionably, the life of God was in him.
But do not forget: when he met Paul, he said, “Brother, there are thousands and myriads of those in Jerusalem who have believed.” Yes, they were saved. They believed in Jesus Christ. Yet he added that every one of them was zealous for the law.
Then he said to Paul, “So that there will be no misunderstanding, why do you not go and sacrifice with me? You also go and fulfill your vows.”
As they were waiting for the priest, the God in heaven could not wait. The Holy Spirit could not wait. The Holy Spirit bound Paul’s hands. The Spirit knew that if Paul continued in that direction, it would mean putting the new wine into the old wineskin. You cannot do that.
For that reason, Paul was imprisoned. Paul lost his freedom, but it was in prison that the Lord opened his eyes. When his eyes were opened, he saw that the church was the body of Christ.
[The church] is the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
When Paul was in the Roman prison, he saw again what he had seen twenty years earlier on the Damascus road. At that time there was life, but not many words. Twenty years later, he had not only light but also words. He not only saw; through God’s word, he wanted others to see.
Many brothers and sisters need to have their eyes opened. James needed to have his eyes opened. Paul’s own eyes needed to be opened. Not only did Paul see, but through God’s word he could manifest what he saw.
The books of Ephesians and Colossians show us that Christ is the Head of the church. Ephesians tells us that the church is the body of Christ.
This vessel is a universal vessel. This is the new wineskin. All other wineskins are too small. Judaism’s thought was limited, but what the Lord wants is something universal.
The Head of the body of Christ is in heaven; the body is on earth. From the first century until now, through all places and all generations, God has been building this new vessel.
The gospel could be spread throughout all the corners of the earth. At one point, the Roman Empire conquered the world. Three hundred years later, the church of God conquered the Roman Empire. Where did this power come from? How was that possible?
The Lord promised that from Jerusalem to the remotest parts of the earth, His people would receive power from heaven and become His witnesses. Was this merely one by one? No.
On the day of Pentecost, they not only received power from heaven, but the body of Christ was born. There was neither Jew nor Greek. That oneness was in the body. Through that corporate power, the gospel could be preached.
Last evening we saw that, throughout the Roman Empire, perhaps one out of every two persons was a Christian. That is quite amazing. No matter from what angle you look at it, this was the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit.
At the time when John wrote to the seven churches, in the first century and the apostolic age, the church had become lax. How did it become lax? It is quite amazing.
What does Nicolaitan mean? Those who study Greek tell us that the first part of the word means “to conquer,” and the latter part means “the common people.”
So, when we speak of the church becoming lax, it means that a group of people conquered the common people. Before, everyone was among the common people. But because the church became lax, a group appeared that seemed to climb above another group.
How can there be someone in the church at a higher level than another? The Lord said:
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.
John said, “I John, your brother.” If we are all brethren, how can someone climb a little above the others? That means the church has become loose.
The Bible tells us that we are all priests. Because of Christ, we can come before God. By His precious blood, there is no separation and no division. We can come boldly before Him. Not only can we stand before Him; we can serve Him.
All those who serve Him are priests. You are a priest; I am a priest; everybody is a priest. How can there be another class between God and the priests? In the New Testament, that does not exist.
But in the Old Testament, there were not only priests; there was also a high priest. Our High Priest is Christ. He is our Lord. When this Old Testament pattern is brought into the church, the church becomes lax.
The church is the body of Christ, and we are all members one of another. Some are ears; some are hands. All the members have their functions. You have something I do not have, and I have something you do not have. We supply one another, and the whole body begins to function.
If everyone is a member, how can there be something else between the Head and the members? Consider a sister playing the piano. Her head directs her hands. The head equips the hands and tells them what to do. How can there be something else between the members and the Head?
These things did not happen overnight. Rome was not built overnight, and neither was this system. Over three hundred years, it slowly developed. At the beginning, it was only a deed; eventually, it became a teaching.
This was not merely an isolated matter. It had to do with the Jews mentioned in Revelation. Specifically, it concerned those who wanted to Judaize the church.
In Paul’s time, there was such a group of people. The church is the body of Christ, but some wanted to turn it into a religion.
All religions are counterfeits; only the Jewish religion was originally established by God. How do you know something is a religion? There is a temple, a priesthood, and law. That is Judaism.
Why was Paul imprisoned? If the Lord had not restrained him, under the influence of that great tradition, the church would naturally have gone back to Judaism.
Slowly but surely, the church became Judaized, especially toward the end of the third century. How do you explain the Dark Ages? It was because, in the first three hundred years, the church became deformed. Something that had life began to lose life.
Religion is like a robot. It is like a machine. You press a button, and the whole machine begins to work. But it has no life. It is dead. This was the experience of the church in the first three hundred years.
How did this happen? How was it born, and how was it accomplished?
We mentioned last night that, in the first three hundred years, the Lord had several who truly loved Him. They were important men in church history. We mentioned Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp. In the second and third centuries, we mentioned Irenaeus, Cyprian, and Tertullian.
When we speak of the deeds of the Nicolaitans, we must first see that the Bible shows us that we are all priests. But slowly that condition became lax.
For the younger ones, I would like to quote a historian named Philip Schaff. The history he wrote concerning Christianity is a very objective and authoritative account. Through his background, we can see how he viewed the church history of that time.
Schaff writes:
In the apostolic church, preaching and teaching were not confined to a particular class.
But every convert could proclaim the gospel to unbelievers, and every Christian who had the gift could pray and teach and exhort in the congregation.
The New Testament knows no spiritual aristocracy or nobility, because all believers are saints, though many fell far short of their vocation. Nor does it recognize a special priesthood distinct from the people as mediating between God and the laity.
It knows only one High Priest, Jesus Christ, and clearly teaches the universal priesthood as well as universal kingship of believers. It does this in a far deeper and larger sense than the Old Testament, in a sense, too, which even to this day is not yet fully realized.
Remember, when Schaff says, “which even to this day is not yet fully realized,” he wrote that in the nineteenth century.
The entire body of Christians are called clergy, a peculiar people, the heritage of God.
1 Peter 5:3
From this, we see clearly that there was no clericalism in the church. But something called the clergy began to arise. How did it begin?
It began with a person named Clement—the Clement of Rome. In history there are two famous Clements, so we call him Clement of Rome.
When he read the Bible, he considered the Levitical priesthood. He saw the high priest, the priests, and the Levites. If this were converted into New Testament terms, the Levites would be deacons, there would be elders, and then there would have to be one more position above them.
But the Bible mentions only deacons and elders. Sometimes it speaks of bishops and deacons. Yet an overseer is an elder, and an elder is an overseer. The words overseer and elder are interchangeable. In other words, the overseer is not greater than an elder.
Nevertheless, according to the Old Testament pattern, people began to think that above the elders there should be an elder of elders. They saw that the high priest was the highest person, leading all Israel. Thus, they felt that there needed to be an elder of elders.
They separated the overseers and elders in the Bible. For example, in Rome there were forty-seven elders. One of the forty-seven became the elder of the elders. What did that mean? The elder of elders became a bishop.
Thus, in every locality there was one bishop. As Christ is the Head of the universal church, so, according to their understanding, the bishop in each locality became the most important person.
Before, all the responsible brothers in the Bible were elders. They bore the church’s matters together before the Lord. But who is the true Elder of elders? That Elder of elders is Christ. No matter where we are, Christ is always the Head of the church. This is God’s original thought.
No matter how spiritual you are, even though responsibility is upon you, you need other brothers. You are a sinner saved by grace. The Lord may have given you grace and a position of leadership. Yes, you may walk ahead and others may follow you, but you need to be careful. Are you going to lead people astray?
Everyone must remain under the headship of Christ. When elders gather, it is not what one person says that counts; it is what Christ says that counts. In every council meeting, there should be an empty seat. They cannot see Him, but that empty seat belongs to Christ.
Yet some said, “We do not have an Elder of elders.” Slowly but surely, another elder was placed above the elders. Before, there was collective leadership; now bishops controlled the church.
Before, it was collective leadership. Then it became an episcopate. This episcopacy became prominent, especially through Ignatius.
Ignatius was very fervent in speaking about episcopacy. Why did he say this? There were some reasons. At the beginning, episcopacy was local: above the elders was an elder of elders, and this person was called a bishop.
When we read the first three hundred years and consider those important men, many of them were called bishops. At first, this was simply an honorary title, because they were indeed ahead in service.
But slowly that episcopacy rose up. It began to substitute for the fact that the Lord Himself is the Head of the church. Many people followed these men, and if they made even one small mistake, the entire church would be affected.
At first, one locality had one bishop. But around a major city such as Ephesus were many villages, and in those villages there were churches. According to the Bible, each church should have elders responsible before the Lord.
Yet slowly, each place had its own bishop. If the church in Ephesus and all the surrounding churches had a meeting, who would have the final word? Very naturally, the bishop in the church at Ephesus had the final word.
Then a structure began to be built. What had been one local church developed into a larger area, and eventually a metropolitan bishop emerged. In a province, the bishop of that province became the greatest.
In the Roman Empire, there were three great cities: Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria. The bishops of these cities held councils, and naturally their authority became the highest.
Then Jerusalem and Constantinople were added. In the whole world, there were five most important bishops. They became known as the patriarchal bishops. The Greek Orthodox tradition stops at this point, with the patriarchal bishops as the highest office.
But the Roman Catholic Church went further. Eventually, the bishop in Rome became the greatest bishop in the whole world. Then the papacy developed.
Once the papacy developed, the church slowly entered the Dark Ages. This was becoming loose step by step.
But do not forget: when we speak of bishops, the important question is not merely their title. The important question is: What position do you give them?
In the Old Testament there was a class between God and man. If we return to that position, it is not merely a matter of who is first. Before, all were priests; now there is a high priest. The question is: What position do you put the bishop in?
Slowly people said that those who served God held the position of priests. You see, this is extremely important.
Especially through Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Cyprian, this system began to grow.
How did the bishop become a priest? Since bishops were regarded as the greatest, every time the believers broke bread, who stood up to bless the bread? Of course, it was the bishop.
If the bishop was sick, he appointed someone else to bless the bread. Thus, at the Lord’s table, there was always a person blessing the bread—usually the same person.
When he blessed the bread, raised the cup, and gave thanks, a thought developed: Does not the bread represent the body? Does not the cup represent the blood? Is this not a sacrifice?
If someone holds what is regarded as a sacrifice in his hands, who is that person? This person is a priest. Because he is a priest, his table is no longer an ordinary table. It becomes an altar.
What surrounds this table becomes a sanctuary, and the entire place becomes a temple. This is something from Judaism. You see the holy place, the altar, and other Old Testament features.
Slowly but surely, these people became priests. By the third century, those who served were called priests, and elders were called priests. Simply speaking, a priestly class had developed.
Whether they were elders or deacons, they still had ordinary responsibilities. But slowly people said, “Because they touch spiritual things, they cannot touch the things of this world.” Thus, some of the clergy began to separate themselves from ordinary life and to touch only spiritual matters.
By the fourth century, this idea developed further. Before, everyone was simply a brother or sister in the body. But now a class existed in the church, and they were the ones overseeing the church.
Then, since the clergy were regarded as pure, people asked whether these persons could be married. If they were married, then perhaps they were no longer regarded as pure. Slowly, they became people set apart from the world. The more one did not marry, the more spiritual one was considered to be.
At the beginning, they did not insist that one must not marry. Tertullian was married, and everyone was to be led according to the Spirit. But eventually it became different: the clergy could not marry.
Slowly this condition developed. When it did, we must ask: Is this the church of God, or is this Judaism?
By the third century, historians tell us that those who served began to wear priestly garments. Where did priestly garments come from? They came from the Old Testament. The high priest and his garments belonged to the Old Testament pattern.
At this time persecution became severe, and there were many heresies in the church. The most dangerous heresy was the Gnostic heresy.
In dealing with these heresies, the church fathers faced a question. The heretics claimed, “In secret, we have received God’s commandment.” How could the church deal with that?
A thought began to develop: these bishops were connected with the apostles. There was a line of succession. They were considered successors in the same line as the apostles.
They said that heresy could not be in the church because the bishops stood in apostolic succession. Thus, they believed they could deal with heresy. The truth of the church was maintained through these people. As long as one was in the church, one was safe; heresies were outside the church.
What was the result? Not only was there a bishop in one locality; a district or metropolis had another bishop. When there was difficulty, they could deal with heresy. The entire world was increasingly viewed as one church, and eventually one bishop had to be the greatest. Slowly the Roman bishop became the greatest.
Toward the end of the third century, what was the condition? Outwardly, the entire church had become like Judaism.
According to man’s wisdom, it had become a religion. How do you know? Judaism had the synagogue; the church had its buildings. Judaism had a high priest; here was a bishop. Judaism had Levites; here were deacons. Judaism had sacrifices; here religious sacrifices were understood.
It fulfilled all the conditions of being a religion. We see not only the teachings and deeds of the Nicolaitans, but also the slander and lies of those who wanted to Judaize the church. This is how the church slowly became lax.
But brothers and sisters, thank the Lord: the Lord calls for overcomers. What did He say?
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Let us remember this. The Lord says concerning the teachings and deeds of the Nicolaitans, “This is what I hate.” Why does the Lord hate this?
Before, the new wine was to be put into new wineskins. But when this system was created, the church was turned into a religion in this world. Where is the body of Christ? There may be an organization, but where is life?
There may be some members moving, but where are the rest of the members? The Lord says, “Which I also hate.”
There was one reason for the deeds of the Nicolaitans: people wanted to maintain unity, feed the children, and gather everyone together. There were certain good intentions. But then heresies arose.
Why should brothers and sisters follow the system? Because people said, “In the church there is salvation. When you leave the church, there is no salvation.”
When Cyprian said this, he was speaking of an ideal church—an ideal church. But he forgot that the church is those who are saved by grace and gathered together.
Shortly afterward, Cyprian’s words became, “Outside the Roman church there is no salvation.” Then the church moved further into darkness.
Nevertheless, at the end of the third century, this was the condition. If the church of our Lord is turned into a religion, even though Paul was restrained so that the church might be delivered from Judaism, the danger remains.
The church is the body of Christ; therefore, it can contain the new wine. Do you understand?
To the overcomer, the Lord says He will give the tree of life in the paradise of God. What does that mean?
These thoughts came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The greatest accomplishment of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is religion. All religions begin from that tree.
But to those who overcome, the Lord gives the fruit of the tree of life. These things may appear very similar, but the question is whether we are trying to achieve unity by man’s way.
Man wants to preserve unity, endure persecution, and protect the children of God from heresy. Yet God must accomplish His purpose by life.
We thank the Lord that, in church history, God raised another people to deal with this issue. In the twelfth century, when the Inquisition considered the various heresies, it made a report.
They said that from the first century until that time there had been seventy major heresies. But the heresy most difficult for them to deal with was the Waldensians.
They had three special features:
These words are true. The Lord had already raised overcomers during that time. They all read their Bibles, and they all preached the gospel.
The authorities commanded that ordinary people could not read the Bible. Yet some memorized the New Testament, and they broke bread in their kitchens.
The truth they saw was not mistaken. They saw what Martin Luther would see four hundred years later. The Roman Catholic Church dealt with them severely. They were chased by crusaders.
They hid in caves in the Alps on the Italian side. During snowy days, they climbed the mountains and crossed into France. Three thousand people hid in a cave, and Roman soldiers found them and burned them to death.
Within thirty years, nine hundred thousand people were martyred. Do not forget: in the first three hundred years, millions were martyred for the Lord. But within thirty years, nine hundred thousand saints shed their blood.
For three or four hundred years, from one place to another, they continued. If you know their story, you have to ask: Did they have no difficulties? Did they have no problems? Of course, they had human weaknesses, as all people do.
But even Catholic historians today say that the Waldensians had no problem concerning the essential truth. They had no organization to preserve the truth, but Christ was there. Christ protected them.
What was their only sin? Their only sin was that they were against clericalism. In other words, they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
The Lord said, “Which I also hate.” The Lord gave them of the tree of life, and they received knowledge of the word.
When people receive from the tree of knowledge, they may have many methods. But what happens? It is no longer the new wineskin; the old wineskin has returned.
Thank the Lord: the Lord loves His people. The Lord calls for overcomers. This is what the Lord has done in the church.
As we explained yesterday, through three hundred years the church passed through much persecution. What does it mean that the church went through persecution?
The Lord in whom they believed was hung on the cross. They suffered the cross and were conformed to the image of His Son. As the Lord was crucified, the church saw the repetition and prolongation of the cross.
After three hundred years came a glorious resurrection. Before, the Roman Empire conquered the world. Rome had soldiers everywhere, but the people of God had nothing in their hands. They had only the mark of the cross.
They were those who took up the cross. Whether they became martyrs or not, they were this kind of people. For three hundred years, the cross was repeated and prolonged, finally bringing in revival.
Why could persecution not destroy the church? Here is a picture. It should be a color picture.
You can see this picture in Italy today. Near Naples, there is a palace that belonged to Nero—his summer palace. It was there that he caused the death of his mother.
He put his mother on a boat, and the boat sank. Yet she could still swim, and she reached the shore. This was also near the place where Paul, when he was a prisoner, came ashore.
The amphitheater was like a lake, and nearby was Nero’s palace. Many Christians were clothed with wild beasts’ skins and burned. Nero would go around at night proclaiming his victory.
For three hundred years the children of God suffered. But thank the Lord, resurrection was glorious.
Today, in the ruins of Nero’s palace, you can see a fig tree. It is an upside-down fig tree. It grows from the top downward. What does that mean?
This is the testimony of the church in the first three hundred years. Every time you cut the branches and leaves, the root remains in heaven.
Even two thousand years later, in Italy near Naples, you can see this picture with your own eyes. Brothers and sisters, this is the testimony of Christ.
Thank the Lord. In the first three hundred years, there was failure, but there was also victory. Did the Lord fail? No. There were still seven thousand who did not bow the knee.
This is His testimony.
Let us pray.
Lord, we want to thank You. For these words, we cannot help but give You praise. May You use these words, and remember our young ones before You.
The testimony has been entrusted to them. If You tarry, may they be able to receive the torch, to receive and hasten Your return. Listen to our prayer.
In Jesus’ victorious name. Amen.