God’s church stretches from Eden to Eden
•
The word
‘church’ comes from the Greek word ‘Ekklesia’ which means ‘the
called out ones’ (1 Peter 2:9)
•
The
church has been called by various names:
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Sons of
Abraham (Galatians 3:7)
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Children
of Israel (Judges 1:1)
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Children
of God (John 1:12)
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Christians (Acts 11:26)
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People
of God (1 Peter 2:10)
The Church of the
Old Testament
Fundamental
beliefs of the Old Testament church include:
•
Accepting
the law of God as its rule of life
•
Showing
their faith in the plan of salvation by offering a sacrifice
•
Members
instructed through prophets, judges and kings
The Church of the New Testament
•
The NT church received its fundamental beliefs from the OT church
•
The NT church was privileged to have the
Lord of glory come to them in human form.
•
The Apostolic church was organized after the
Jesus’ ascension and James became the first leader with Jerusalem being the
headquarters.
•
Epistles were sent by the apostles
(especially Paul and Peter) to counsel and unite the churches throughout
Christendom
Persecution and the falling away of
the church
•
As the gospel reached
Rome, the NT church suffered relentless persecution (A.D. 100-300) but the
flames of the Gospel could not be put out
•
When persecution did not end the Christian
church, Satan tried another method of attack – he made the church popular with
the state and brought pagan rites and ceremonies into the church
•
Little by little false teachings filtered
into the church
The establishment of the Roman
Catholic church
•
In 538 the bishop of Roman became the head
of the church throughout Christendom and this power lasted 1260 years (in 1798
with the capture of the pope)
•
The Bible was not placed in the hands of
members because the Catholic church leaders were afraid members would know
about the corruption in the church (i.e. indulgence) and false doctrines (i.e.
immortality of the soul, worship of Mary & the saints)
•
The church of Rome changed the day of worship
from Saturday to Sunday
The Church of the Dark Ages
•
By means of secular authority, the church
forced the faithful to either accept the false doctrines of Catholicism or to
suffer imprisonment or death
•
This long period of history has been called
the ‘Dark Ages’
The Faithful Remnant During The
Dark Ages
•
Despite the compromise and apostasy in the
church, God preserved a faithful remnant.
•
In lands beyond the jurisdiction of Rome,
there existed for many centuries Christian groups who remained almost wholly
free from papal corruption.
•
Among these faithful were the Christians in
Central Africa and the Armenians in Asia.
The
Waldenses worshipping in the mountains
•
Of those who resisted the papal power, the
Waldenses stood foremost.
•
Despite persecution, they escaped to the
mountains and kept the light of truth burning for a thousand years.
They were among the first Europeans to obtain
a translation of the Holy Scriptures
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