I have written in the past how I came to understand that most of what we see exhibited as the “Church” in the world is not the Church the Holy Spirit has revealed through the pages of the New Testament. Any honest perusal of those pages will show plainly that there is no similarity between the early Church of the Apostles and what followed as the visible church after about three hundred years; and especially obvious is the contrast with all the showiness of the church, Protestant and Catholic, of the twenty-first century. Some will argue for the natural changes in culture and the individual personality traits of its future professors, as the cause. “The evolution of change is unavoidable,” they will say. My contention is that the change in “Church” definition and its appearance is a direct product of evil and disobedience, and I think the Bible will agree. Even many who will agree with me that the Church has prostituted itself, and reject a lot of what the Church has become, continue to hold on to a false hierarchal structure, and attendance based meetings, at religious buildings they call the “Church.” Some of these men, who I greatly admire for their work, just cannot get past this part of the lie, and continue to promote the pride of position, stature, and the adoration of buildings and programs, as characteristic of the Body of Christ. These things, along with many others, are only part of the attire by which the prostitute has made herself acceptable to men who are attracted to such things. A prostitute always makes her appeal to the appetites of the flesh. Isn’t that really what a prostitute does? For a prostitute to succeed she must excite our lust and desire, and offer satisfaction. I also contend that the unpretentious Church of the Apostle’s still exist , and that it is small, hidden from the world, as to its outward display, and persecuted whenever it becomes vocal or discovered.An Unbroken Thread
From the very beginning the prominent signature of Christians was their ability to draw or attract troubles individually and to be persecuted as a community. Jesus bears witness to this characteristic as a means of identification of His true followers. “If the world hates you, remember, it is because they hated Me first,” John 15:18. He also tells us that His message of truth is intolerable to those who live in darkness. It is very little known or acknowledged, by Christians, that it was the “church” of Jesus’ day, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who persecuted and killed the very Messiah who they said they were waiting for. History documents the fact that it was also the religious establishment of the day, predominantly the Catholics, that mercilessly persecuted the living and true Body of Christ, i.e. the true Church, and still does at present. In Paul’s letter to Timothy he expressly states that, "All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," 2 Timothy 3:12. This is a recurring theme in the New Testament and history. Exploring this thought, and the suffering tone in which they delivered their message or prophesy, it is easy to differentiate between the true and the un-true when considering the nature of the Church. If the “Church” is not being hated or persecuted then it is not being the Church at all. Either Jesus and Paul were exaggerating with their statements, mistaken, lying, or they were speaking an essential truth which is mysteriously missing in the character makeup of the visible church today.Could it be that we have looked in the wrong place to find the Church and the truth of its makeup and appearance? Could it be that the real Church is not on Main Street, but invisible and hidden, and not promoting itself, not marketing itself, and not a part of the vast religious complex of spires, stained glass, robes and gowns, liturgies and creeds, indulgences, icons and veneration, crucifixes and dead men’s bones, false visions and Mariolatry; nor the man adoration of pastors, reverends, cardinals, bishops, or popes? Could it be that the real Church is not emerging, as some modern liberals are misinformed, but has never ceased to exist since its conception and birth, but lives in smallness, isolated and separated, as the Bible instructs?
The Truth of History
In the far reaches of history past, lost for the most part to the average person, God has worked through small companies of the faithful, whose memories and testimonies have been obliterated through the prejudice of a flesh driven organized Christianity, which saw in its life and testimony, an indictment of its own spiritual paralysis, and a threat to its existence. The Scriptures are irrefutable as to the fact that the visible church is deluded, and is enjoying a status in the world that
is the fabrication of evil, through the relentless disobedience of egotistic and proud men led on by the forces of Lucifer. You will search in vain to find the Protestant or Catholic Church, in the pages of God’s inspired Word; it simply doesn’t exist. What you will find is the very condemnation of that same manmade fabrication, beginning with Babel (Genesis 11:5-8) and ending with Rome (Revelation 17).The history of Christianity shows the ebb and flow of once separated and devoted Christians getting hung up on the rocks of selfishness and compromise, leading to the promotion of the grand edifice of modern Christendom. With each successive generation of Christianity, church history shows more and more the warped minds of men, determined to build something for God on earth, whereas the early Christians had no continuing city, but looked for the one to come, Heb. 13:14. Small communities of the faithful, holding onto the example of Scripture, rejected the organized church and became vocal for the sake of truth, risking everything to follow Christ. These small groups of persecuted Christians, that are virtually unknown today and usually only mentioned in passing, are really the main focus of the Almighty; but even amongst these faithful lay the latent seeds of sin and rebellion.
History, carefully examined, will reveal that the Church has had those souls who through revelations of the Spirit found strength to continue in the narrow way of Jesus. When the waves of change began coming ashore and the pounding surf of heresy and rebellion unleashed, these separated ones opted for the simple life of the carpenter. This recognition of the false overtaking the true, and the desire to return to the pattern laid down in Holy Scripture, is a recurring theme throughout history, and is being experienced, even in this late hour.
Conceit and Vainglory
Conceit is a favored weapon of the Adversary. Wherever conceit has been allowed to take root and grow it has had a weakening effect on Church life and order.
Conceit, or “vainglory,” as John Bunyan calls it, being the opposite of humility, is characterized by an excess of pride, displayed in showiness, and focused on one’s “self” or group. We can all recognize this trait in ourselves, and after many years of being in the company of those who are mutually conceited it has become an accepted trait, tolerated and maybe even liked in ourselves, but despised in others. Now take this template of general evolving conceit and overlay it on the visible organized Church and it becomes apparent that this inherited human evil is very much at the core of all religious life in the world. What has happened to the world in general has happened to the Church, but the faithful elect, recognizing the scaly backside of the serpent separates itself, in a repeated cycle, for now two thousand years in an effort to return to a more pure, Christ-like, holiness.
This general attitude of conceit, finding fertile soil in certain sections of the Church in early years, allowed for the advance of debilitating changes which gradually established themselves as foundational element of Church order.
After the initiation of the Church by Christ and the Apostles, there is only sketchy information for the next 200 years. What we know for sure is that Christianity spread rapidly throughout the world, and it was causing problems worthy of the attention of the Roman Emperor Trajan about the year A.D. 112. We know also that the winds of change were blowing. What had started out as simple dependence upon the ever present Lord, fellowshipping with followers, caring for each other, sharing meals, education, being a family, everyone contributing their gift, talent, or resources, began to show signs of internal manipulation to organize and expedite, placing trust in programs, rather than the Lord. Coming out of this initial period of Church growth emerges a distinct tendency to rely on the authoritarian leadership of conceited men who have promoted themselves as leaders to be respected and honored, along with Christ of course. The “Church” is now to be found divided: those who would follow Christ only, remaining small and humble, and those who would opt for a more human adaptation, characterized by plans, organization, and programs, to expedite and shortcut God’s own way of faith and dependence. The focus of history is primarily on this outward organization, controlled by men who have marketed their creation as the true Church.
By the time we reach the third century the visible organized Church has totally displaced the tiny organism birthed by the Spirit of Christ as recorded in the Book of Acts. The transition from an elder guided body to authoritarian leadership, where a single man is positioned as the head (either self-appointed or by consent), is now completely formed and in place. Whenever humble dependence on the Lord is slack, a man will step in and take up the slack, and eldership degenerates into a committee with a strong willed man at the lead. Of course the real tragedy of this is that its success, or failure, is of man and not God; it is a purely human expedient to receive spiritual benefits through the flesh. Fleshly means can only produce fleshly results, both eternal, and temporal. It is now, at this third century, that the monarchal bishop firmly arises, although we do find it mentioned in the early second century in Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, where he places great stress on the importance of the office, and its absolute authority. The vehemence with which he defended the position is evidence that his views were greatly disputed by those who see the office as an infringement on God’s sovereignty. It would appear that the motivating force behind this conceit is to help God, by expediting the Churches reaction to the growing evil of heresy. Rather than have the elders guide and instruct the flock in the Scriptural handling of internal issues, Ignatius commanded affairs with the absoluteness of one supposedly sanctioned by God Himself. By the middle of the second century Ignatius’ views were generally accepted. During this time Rome was still under the guidance of elders, and not a “single rule Bishop.” Even Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who along with Ignatius personally knew the Apostles, writing to the Church at Philippi addressed the letter to the “elders” and not to a bishop. The one man rule of the bishopric was a human phenomenon, and not spiritual at all. Even before our Lord’s crucifixion He put His Disciples on alert to beware of the tendency of the flesh to exult itself by wanting to lord it over the flock, just like the gentile world does. John writes of such a person in his third epistle, Diotrephes. Diotrephes seemed to know more, and better, than the Apostles, and “loved the preeminence” of leadership and authority.
This was the infancy of a wretched scourge that had seriously infected the young Church, and that was to become a malignant cancer that would not be content to destroy itself, but would infect all that it touched. She who was once dressed in the white of virgin purity, void of human design, is now adorned as a harlot in purple and scarlet, riding on the back of a scarlet colored beast, drunk on the blood of the true saints of God, committing fornication with the kings of the earth, drinking from the goblet of her own filthiness. Babylon the Great is her name, The Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth.
This is the portrait of Anti-Christ. The Anti-Christ is not one who opposes Christ; that is the popular belief. The Anti-Christ is one who is in the place of Christ; now who would that be? There is no mystery here for those who chose to believe the Bible; it is plain before our eyes. Christians look in vain for the Anti-Christ to appear. They look for some mysterious figure to show up on the stage of time proclaiming to be Christ, when he is already here. Jesus said, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” Matt. 24:5. The truth is they don’t want to see the fact because her tentacles reach far and wide, and her influence prostrates kings and presidents. Her sword has touched the mighty and the weak, and her morals make even the depraved blush. In the name of justice she slaughters the innocent, and in the name of her own righteousness she lets the guilty go free. She makes all pretentions of virtue while lifting her skirt to the vilest of the vile. Who is this mysterious harlot who stands in the place of Christ, proclaiming to be Christ? It is none other than the Pope, the “Vicar of Christ,” i.e. in the place of Christ. The Pope pretends his words are infallible and condemns with his mouth sixty million innocent believers over a six hundred year period, to not only death, but torture and mutilation, during the Inquisition/Crusade. The Pope, with his infallible tongue, declared them heretics because they chose to believe the Scriptures instead of him. With that same tongue he lifts a crust of bread and glass of wine and proclaims it to be the living Christ, he declares one to be saved or lost according to his preference, or magically creates a holding pin called purgatory, they put their own filthy tradition on the same scale as Scripture, they excommunicate their own priest if they marry but blink at their activity with young children and prostitutes, he proclaims Mary to be forever virgin and sinless although she had other children calling God her savior, and claims that the fullness of salvation is not through Jesus but through the Catholic Church, and says that confession to Christ for sins is not enough that confession to a priest is absolutely necessary, and the Pope approves of the worship of idols by claiming they are not idols but icons and that they don’t worship them but venerate them, and the list could go on and on.Today the Vatican cannot commit wholesale murder for the sin rejecting her filth, but must work through other means, like Hitler, who was a Catholic, and claimed to finish what the Catholic Church started, by killing six million Jews in the Holocaust. The Catholic Church has not changed her ways, only her methods. What she cannot do overtly she does covertly. While putting on airs of high morality she is the epitome of all that is gross and immoral, as all of history proves. She is evil come as an angel of light, a wolf in sheep’s clothing devouring and making merchandise of men’s souls. The Vatican’s goal is to have dominion over the whole world, using any means possible, as is sworn to in the Jesuit’s oath, aka the Gestapo of the Vatican, and the engineers from Hell.
The Inquisition has never ended, and as the Bible clearly states, the previous methods of extermination of heretics i.e., those who do not bow to the Pope, will be reinstituted with a vengeance. The one-world government and religion that is to come, is even now forming under the banner of ecumenism. The Protestant Churches in America are coming on board with Rome, as the Bible also states would happen in the great falling away or apostasy. But, it must be made clear that God will always preserve a remnant that will follow Jesus as His bold witnesses to the truth of Scripture.
As history has shown there will always be those who hear and see what the majority of believers and dwellers on earth will not comprehend, although it is right before their eyes, hidden in plain sight.
The nature of the true Church is not what you think; she is making herself ready, filling her lamps with oil, separating, and purifying, and watching the eastern sky; she is careful of what she sees and where she walks, taking every thought captive. She has laid all her worldly possessions and her life also, on the altar of God, and is ready with the testimony of Jesus her Bride Groom, the spirit of prophecy. This is the true Church.
The warning has been preached all through the Bible, “So God will cause them (rebels) to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.”"After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!'" (Revelation 18:1,2).
"And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities'" (Revelation 18:4,5).
7 replies on “An Urgent Inquiry into the Nature of the Church”
Steve,
Some of your revelations have been astonishing, particularly those about the Reichskonkordat (never knew the depth of Roman duplicity in setting up the Enabling Act, either), and contemporary Christianity's pro-war stance. Though this is perhaps not the forum to put to you this question, I will anyway in the hopes that you receive it. Does Scripture condemn the social action by Martin Luther King, Jr., was Christian, and that he was right in opposing centuries of mistreatment of blacks in America? Naturally the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not relieve racial minorities of their plight. They still suffer. But it did ease their burden. Is it wrong for Christians to lend support to these movements, to stand for the poor and the oppressed, and to use nonviolence as a means of social reform? You wrote that politics will not save us, to avoid placing our hopes in them, and to suffer as Christ suffered … but where does one draw the line with avoiding protesting, such as joining Occupy? I've read Hershberger and Hauerwas and Yoder, but if you simply took their writings and put them on a placard and marched around Washington with it you would be violating their scruples, just as if I printed your blog and handed it out to people at activist rallies I would violate it, too. Though you have no obligation to prove to me if my position is wrong, I will state it in the hope that the Spirit will give both of us guidance: it is right to stand for the poor and the oppressed and the downtrodden. It is just to help them and to condemn political and ecclesiastical institutions for failing in this regard (Jesus did this). However, we are not to make that our primary aim, which is to live simply, to share with others out of all we have, to cook together, to read the Bible and worship God together, etc. Our mission overall is not to reform secular society and its politics, but to preserve the remnant and to "be the change we wish to see in the world". Where do you, and where does Scripture stand?
Barney,
Thanks for the letter; I will try and answer your questions.
There are very many people who are in the dark concerning Church history, and there is still much I do not know. Most of what I have discovered has been in the last six years, and it was a revelation to me also. My discovery came on the heels of the constant torment I was having with my conscience. The quote, “Ignorance is bliss” never applied to me; I could not read the New Testament without being troubled with what I read. Even after Bible School I remained in the dark, never being presented the true history of the Catholic Church or the real value of studying the primitive Church. I believe the goal of teaching Christian religion today, and has been for many years, is not to build faith, but is to make compliant believers into perpetuators of a system, rather than to stir the hearts of non-conformist to resist the influx of innovation.
An excellent book to read if you are interested in the Catholic position during WW II is “Hitler’s Pope” by John Cornwell. John is a Catholic, so there needn’t be a concern about a Protestant bias; it is very well documented and his conclusions are sound.
Your question about Martin Luther King Jr. may be better directed toward someone else. I remember the time well, and I remember his assassination in 1968 during my first tour in Vietnam, but honestly I know very little about him personally or his method. What he did was bold, and I think he was a peaceful person, and I’ve never heard that he promoted violence to achieve his end. He did awaken a vengeful spirit in those who were primed and ready for anyone to spark an uprising; but Jesus can be accused of doing the same with the Zealots, and Luther in the Peasant uprising.
I stand against the social justice advocates like Jim Wallis, Occupy, and the great host of Christian pacifist, and their agenda of Dominionism. They are not fulfilling Jesus’ command to “overcome evil with good,” but are waging a war of a different nature, using weapons (swords) designed by men, with every intention of winning that war and bringing Government into submission. I do not believe that this is doing justice to the poor and downtrodden; it may do more to ignite another vengeful spirit, which the true peace, of “turning the other cheek” or speaking out as an individual against such things, stands against. Jesus never worked in concert with groups to accomplish His goals, but rather confronted evil wherever it was found in His path, albeit His path went many places.
There is a lot more that can be said on this subject, but hopefully this will suffice to answer your question.
We should do good wherever we go, but when we hook-up with a crowd, we may go where Jesus is not leading; we must know our own spirit.
Steve B.
Steve,
Thank you for your words of encouragement. They were sorely needed. And yes, you will be in my prayers. Thank you too for keeping me in prayer. It is lonely as you've stated but I prefer to be alone, as you say, without the gate with our Lord, than to compromise my walk with Him. When you say 'be strong in the Lord' that is sometimes not as easy as supposed but with Him all things are possible and He does comfort me. For that I am profoundly greatful.
May the Good Lord Jesus Christ bless you for replying to me. It put out the anxiety and my troubled mind is now more at rest. Thank you so much.
Steve,
Trying to live as Jesus would have us, I've tried two small house churches believing at first they too were trying to live for Christ and Him only. One house church believed that God Himself could be a woman much to my dismay and the other mixed Catholic teachings into the Baptist teachings and also were into icons, statues, pictures, candles et-cetera and wanted to 'feel' everything. This isn't counting all the 'outings' that were secular in nature and even evil at their root. Surely it's disappointing trying to find even just one person who would like to have Bible studies together or pray together. Something that is Christian. So far, no such person exists, even those who claim to be Christian. Infact, one Christian lady told me that "It's not good to discuss religion or politics." I was floored by this "Christian."
This is the very short version of my attempt to find at least one or more proclaimed Christians to study together and worship the Lord together. It's seemingly a fruitless endeavor to say the least. I could use anybody to pray in my behalf in this matter.
The spirit of this age has engulfed most everyone I know in one way or another. Not that I'm some miss perfect. Obviously I'm not nor conceited by any means. It's this sinful nature that plagues me so to fight that a Christian friend/s would be most helpful and edifying if we could study, pray and learn together. Encourage each other et-cetera. Living for the Lord is my hearts desire and desires for things of this world are not my cup of tea, so to speak. Moreover they vex me or bore me stiff.
Well, I've said too much and am not sure it was necessarily on topic either.
Thank you for this article, it was a good read and I learned a few things as well.
May the Lord Bless you.
Nikki,
You are not alone, either in the number of those who are without a body of believers to be comforted by, or in the fact that Jesus Himself is with you in your aloneness. Many, today, are experiencing isolation because of their stand for the truth. Paul’s message to Timothy is that all who will live Godly will suffer persecution and consequently experience what Christ Himself experienced, even in the midst of so called companionship, loneliness. Nearly all “churches” try and attract attendees with touchy feely kinds of promotions appealing to our ever present, superficial emotions. I, likewise, have withdrawn from commercial christianity, and would rather suffer outside the camp with Christ than to be a part of what is only market driven or purpose driven.
I do not believe you are miss perfect, but I do believe you have had a revelation of the true heart of Jesus, as so many others are receiving. Our whole life is a test of faith, preparing us for even greater things and test.
I will pray for you, and likewise pray for me.
Be strong in Christ,
Steve
Do you then think that the current dominionist movement is somehow being run, directed, sponsored, or whatever by Rome? And would that then mean that all those self-appointed self -annointed apostles and prophets running around these days are also actually sponsored/promoted by Rome? If so, do you think they know it??! Or are they part of something else, along with Rome, that is still somewhat hidden? Just trying to make sense of some of what's going on.
Rosa,
Since I am not into theories about what is going on in the world today as it touches the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) I will stick with what I know for sure. The Vatican has always been the enemy of the Gospel and truth, as their own writings bear witness, and the self proclaimed institution to bring forth the Kingdom of God on earth. All that they do is toward this end, whether overtly or covertly.
The Jesuits are famous for their underhandedness and craft to subvert kings and rulers to achieve their goals. It is their pledge to infiltrate all fabrics of society to establish the Pope’s wishes. Protestantism protest nothing today and have openly joined hands with Rome to bring about and ecumenical one world government. Why would we not expect the NAR to join with Rome since their goals are the same. As a matter of fact those goals are the goals of most of the free world and many others. Simple discernment should convince even the nominal believer that there is some collusion to accomplish their ends. But, all of this is as we should expect if we are students of the Bible, because it is spelled out there for those who have eyes to see. If we have failed to see the obvious then it is because we are ignorant of history. Although much of history has been re-written for the sake of tolerance, true witnesses of Christ have produced many firsthand testimonies to the fact that Rome means to dominate the world at any cost. After the Reformation had delivered, what seemed to be a fatal blow to Catholicism, she has been resurrected for the end times game of liars poker where she will win the ranch away from the unsuspecting.
Do I think that the dominionist movement is being conducted by Rome? It would not surprise me to find that out. The Catholic church is Satan’s primary force in the world, with untold resources at its service. Satan has not changed, he is still a liar and a murder, and he is a dominionist. Personally I do not believe that all who are on board with the NAR know of all the demonic deception that underlies their efforts, but I do think that the NAR has been infiltrated by the Vatican at some level. That is the nature of deceit; people don’t know what they have gotten into, and will not know until it is too late.
The religious organization I came out of, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, had a pastor that would go on sabbaticals to different monasteries to learn their ways; he obviously did not know his history, and was probably only wanting a mystical experience, like so much of what is going on inside the church now.
Keep your eyes on Heaven, your mind on the Word, and your ears to the ground, because many secrets are being revealed in these last days for those who desire truth.
Steve Blackwell