Excerpts
Excerpt 1: The importance of other writings, in addition to the Bible, to understand early Christian Doctrine
Excerpt 2: "Open Visions" or Revelation a Consistent Principle during Times of Righteousness
Excerpt 3: Early Dissension and Schism--The Passing of the Primitive Church
Excerpt 1
The importance of other writings, in addition to the Bible, to understand early Christian Doctrine
The standard canon used by most Christians today was not officially compiled until late in the fourth century when Christianity had undergone numerous revisions in theology.21 Various versions of the canon included books not in the present Bible and excluded some that are. For example, the Codex Sinaiticus (early fourth century) included the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.22 The Codex Alexandrinus (early fifth century) included 1 and 2 Clement. The Codex Claromontanus (early sixth century) omitted Hebrews but included the Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Acts of Paul, and the Apocalypse of Peter. Moreover, various Church Fathers rejected the canonicity of such books as Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 2-3 John, Jude, and Revelation.23 In fact, the most current scholarship asserts that "there are no known catalogues of the Christian canon until the fourth century, when there is a sudden and widespread appearance of fifteen undisputed lists and four complete codices."24
The most popular book of the early Church was arguably the Shepherd of Hermas, from which I quote extensively in this book. The Shepherd's translator, the Rev. F. Crombie, writes, "The Pastor of Hermas was one of the most popular books, if not the most popular book, in the Christian Church during the second, third, and fourth centuries." Its author was most widely believed to be the Hermas mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:14), this opinion being shared by Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome. Irenaeus quotes it as scripture, Clement of Alexandria said its statements were "divinely" made, and Origen referred to it as "divinely inspired." A second opinion, obtained from a spurious fragment (published by Muratori) of unknown authorship and containing disputed language, said "The Pastor was written very lately in our times, in the city of Rome, by Hermas, while Bishop Pius, his brother, sat in the chair of the Church in the city of Rome" (A.D. 142-154).25 More recent scholarship provides convincing evidence that while perhaps neither of these views is accurate, the dating of the document must be the "turn of the first century." According to Geoffrey Hahneman,
Internal evidence for dating the Shepherd all suggests a date around the turn of the first century, 40-50 years before the beginning of Pius' episcopacy. . . . For instance, there is no mention or influence of the later prominent teachers at Rome [neither orthodox nor heretical]. . . . Nor does there appear mention of any of the early documents to or from Rome. . . . A date at the turn of the first century agrees with the Shepherd's mention of Clement of Rome, the death of the Apostles, and a persecution under Domitian or Trajan, as well as the lack of a monarchial episcopacy. . . .26
Moreover, Hahneman, citing Bruce Metzger, documents that paleographers have dated a surviving fragment of the Shepherd to the early second century.27 Inasmuch as the "oldest extant testimony"--one with significant impact--comes from Irenaeus in about A.D. 180, "Well said the Scripture,"28 there can be little doubt concerning the Shepherd's complete acceptance and influence among the earliest Church leaders. All of this evidence, in concert with both its message and unique theology suggest a dating of ca. A.D. 100.
Another influential volume of scripture in the primitive Church not admitted to the canon was the "lost" books of Enoch. Early Christian writers, including writers of books now in the New Testament and apocrypha, were well acquainted with this ancient work, including St. Jude, who quotes the Enoch text, and the author of the Epistle of Barnabas, who also cites the book of Enoch as scripture. Charlesworth states that it was used by the authors of the Jubilees, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, and 4 Ezra (highly regarded pseudepigraphal writings); and its themes are found in various New Testament Books, including the Gospels, Jude, and Revelations. Charlesworth also insists that the book of Enoch played a "significant role" in the early Church, being used by the authors of the Epistle of Barnabas, the Apocalypse of Peter, and a number of apologetic works. Church Fathers Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria either knew 1 Enoch or were inspired by it. Tertullian wrote, "The true worth of Enoch and other books like it should be measured by their proclamation of Christ. . . . And we read: 'all scripture is inspired by God which is useful for teaching' " (2 Tim. 3:16).29 Charlesworth concludes, "I have no doubt that the Enoch groups deemed the Books of Enoch as fully inspired as any 'biblical' book."30
The importance of my argument that the Bible is not the only standard of truth for Christians seeking to understand God's plan cannot be overstated. The late first century bishop, Ignatius, once testified to the members of the Church in Philadelphia:
For when I was among you, I cried, I spoke with a great voice, . . . God's [voice]. . . . But if ye suspect that I spake thus, as having learned beforehand the division caused by some among you, He is my witness, . . . that I learned nothing of it from the mouth of any man. But the Spirit made an announcement to me.41
The Church has always enjoyed the benefit of revelation--continuing revelation. There should never have been any such thing as a closed canon of scripture. Lee McDonald has written recently that there are "in fact many examples of noncanonical authors who either claimed, or were acknowledged by others, to have been filled or inspired by the Spirit in their speaking or writing."42 Unfortunately, "Inspiration," he concludes, "played no discernible role in the later discussion of the formation of the biblical canon."43 McDonald affirms that Everett Kalan's exhaustive study "could find no evidence that the early church confined inspiration to an already past apostolic age, or even a collection of writings."44
The Shepherd of Hermas, Book of Enoch and many other non-canonical writings contain significant theology that was considered genuine and revered by those closest to the ministry of Jesus. Some of these books will be cited in this volume, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, to fill important historical and theological gaps. By so doing, and by placing them in harmony with the Old and New Testaments, we will set off on our search for truth concerning Christian doctrine and its history throughout all ages of the world.
Excerpt 2
"Open Visions" or Revelation a Consistent Principle during Times of Righteousness
The one principle that has guided every dispensation is continuing revelation, a doctrine and practice that joins man to God and ensures that God's will is performed over man's desires. Although Christianity in general holds that revelation ceased with the death of the Apostles, this presumption cannot be supported by religious history, because it supposes that revelation was no longer necessary. The Old Testament affirms that God revealed His will to man through revelation; the Gospels contain the revelations of the Father to the Son and the Apostles; the remainder of the New Testament provides an account of the Church being guided by revelation from God through direct administration and by the Holy Ghost. Other than the foreboding prophecies of apostasy, nothing in the New Testament foreshadows that the heavens would be silent following the apostolic ministry. To the contrary, the post-apostolic vision, The Shepherd of Hermas, was broadly recognized by the early Church as inspired and authentic scripture. The significant confusion, discord, and controversy following the death of the Apostles punctuate the need for continuing revelation. Thus, God's silence cannot be attributed to a lack of need or sole reliance on past scripture and revelation; rather, His children disobediently sought their own way, as in prior dispensations.
God has always taught His law and His commandments through prophets. The Old Testament documents that God systematically and periodically revealed Himself to man. However, during notable periods the gospel did not exist in its purity and fullness. These "gaps" in the religious record indicate intervals of apostasy when wickedness prevailed and the heavens were silent. Just before the Lord called Samuel as a prophet, there is this note:
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. (1 Sam. 3:1; emphasis added)
In another example, when Saul could not receive revelation because of his wickedness, "neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam. 28:6), he resorted to enlisting the help of a woman who, by "familiar spirits," might summon Samuel from the dead. These illustrations demonstrate that disobedience and rebellion are responsible for the Lord withholding revelation from the heavens. Nowhere in Old Testament history is this fact more evident than in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Recounting the wickedness that caused the downfall of Israel, it laments:
Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord. (Lam. 2: 9; emphasis added)
Thus, although the Old Testament period is commonly identified as an age of revelation, the nearly four hundred year period between Malachi and John the Baptist stands as a monument reminding Israel that God will not provide direction, even to His chosen people, when they reject Him. (see also Ps. 74:9)
Maccabees supports this assertion. After rebuilding the altar and not knowing what to do with it, Maccabeens determined to wait until another prophet should be sent among them. (1 Mac. 4:46). Another prophet did not come until John the Baptist and Jesus.
The Apostle Peter recognized the importance of continuing revelation when he wrote to the saints in his day:
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power of the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed. . . . Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. (2 Pet. 1:16-21; emphasis added)
In verse 16 Peter declared he was not persuaded by fables as to his testimony of Jesus; rather, he was an actual eyewitness of the Savior's ministry, and he had personally heard the voice of God proclaim His Son. When Peter said, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy," the word we implied that all the Apostles had received "a more sure word of prophecy." Peter added, "Where unto ye do well that ye take heed." Peter was saying that if his audience would obey the "more sure word of prophecy," they would be blessed. In other words, "We receive revelation which you would do well to obey." These verses may also allude to the importance of personal revelation, so that man may be found doing God's will and not simply his own. If so, when Peter referred to the "more sure word of prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed," he may have been saying that we must seek our own "sure" or certain salvation by exhibiting profound faith in God and "tak[ing] heed" to personal revelation and then submitting to such, as Jesus Himself exemplified in the Gospel of John. (Jn. 8:38-40)
Peter was quick to point out that man is not at liberty to render private interpretations of ancient scripture, implying that this sacred role is reserved for God's Apostles and prophets as they are inspired by the Holy Ghost. He teaches us that the prophecy he refers to is not just anecdotal, rather revelation occurrs when holy men speak as directed by the authority and power of the Holy Ghost.
Paul also communicated the idea of continuous revelation to the Saints at Corinth:
Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. . . . We speak wisdom . . . yet not the wisdom of this world. . . . But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew. . . . But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2:5-8, 10)
Who was to reveal the "hidden wisdom" after the death of the Apostles? That which is hidden cannot be written in a book, or it would no longer be hidden. It cannot be disguised in parable, allegory, or a "type" for the masses; otherwise, who will decipher the hidden parts, absent a recognized living prophet, and give an authoritative interpretation to the faithful? Christianity over the centuries has proven time and again that interpretation of scripture is a very serious problem. John Calvin never rendered a commentary on the book of Revelation because he said he did not understand it.27 What purpose would revelation from the heavens serve if it were not meant to be understood and used to benefit those who sincerely desire to know and love God? If Christianity is ever to be united, it will happen only when a prophet speaks authoritatively in the name of God, as in ages past. Paul teaches that the "deep things" of God are fully understood only when revealed by the Holy Ghost, not simply by a well-schooled grammarian or theologian.
Scripture itself is not for private interpretation, as regards the doctrine to be preached to the entire Church. For example, we don't see a lay Church member of apostolic times declaring doctrine in the Bible--we see Peter, John, and Paul. Significant theological and communication problems would arise if all Christians laid claim on the right to authoritatively interpret scripture in behalf of the Church. This problem alone points dramatically to the need for living prophets. No wonder one of the earliest bishops, Papias, wrote:
If ever someone who had accompanied the presbyters should come, I examined carefully the words of the presbyters, [to learn] what Andrew, Peter, Philip, Thomas, John, Matthew, or any other of the disciples of the Lord said and what things Aristion and the presbyter John, disciples of the Lord, are saying. For I did not suppose the contents of books would profit me so much as the words and living voice.28
Peter and Paul's witness regarding continuing revelation is vindicated by the Old Testament prophets, by the Savior's ministry, and by the apostolic ministry that followed; there is no indication in any apostolic writings that divine communication (such as with Paul on the road to Damascus, or when he was "caught up to the third heaven") would be permanently cut off after the death of the Apostles. Of course the only scriptural exceptions to this claim are the many prophesies of coming apostasy, a condition that would preclude revelations from the Lord.
If one admits an apostasy after the apostolic age, as many profess, by what inspired method would God set the record straight? Revelation to His prophets, such as with Moses, has been His pattern of the past.
Excerpt 3
Early Dissension and Schism--The Passing of the Primitive Church
What transformed such an orderly, unified, and loving environment into one of chaos, envy, and enmity? Scholars have been baffled for centuries regarding the many changes that transpired in the Church shortly after the death of the Apostles. Few records shed light on what happened between the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the mid-second century. Nevertheless, something disastrous must have occurred, because we now find the Church raging in turmoil, contention, and apostasy. One cannot help pondering the full import of Peter's thoughts when anticipating the future:
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. . . . Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you. (1 Pet. 4:7, 12)
Paul likewise appeared urgent after warning the Saints of wolves in sheep's clothing:
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. (Acts 20:31)
John, warning the faithful who yet remained wrote:
Even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; . . . These things I have written unto you concerning them that seduce you. . . . For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. (1 Jn. 2:18-19, 26; 2 Jn. 7)
Accordingly, about thirty years after Peter and Paul's warnings, the Lord, through the Apostle John, issued a call of repentance to the entire Church. To Ephesus the Lord had said, "Repent, and do the first works; or else I will come quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place" (Rev. 2:5); to Smyrna, "Be thou faithful unto death" (Rev. 2:10); to Pergamos, there are those "that hold the doctrine of Balaam, . . . [and] also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate" (Rev. 2:14-15); to the Saints at Thyatira, "Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, . . . to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication; . . . as many as have not this doctrine, . . . hold fast till I come (Rev. 2:19-25); to Sardis, "I know thy works, that thou . . . art dead. . . . I have not found thy works perfect before God" (Rev. 3:1-2); to Philadelphia, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the world . . . ; hold fast (Rev. 3:10); to Laodicea, "I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot. . . . So then because thou art lukewarm, . . . I will spew thee out of my mouth (Rev. 3:15-16). Some congregations were failing quickly while others were striving to hold on. Yet John's message was clear to all: "Repent: to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7).
Continuing problems among branches of the Church encouraged many of the first leaders to persevere in the practice established by Paul and other Apostles to write letters of exhortation and instruction. After another dangerous controversy at Corinth, brought on by "envy and strife," Clement of Rome, at about the same time as John (ca. A.D. 96), wrote an epistle urging those in sedition (apostasy) to submit to the authority of the presiding elders. Clement's epistle is held in high regard by Eusebius, who wrote:
Of this Clement there is one epistle extant, acknowledged as genuine, of considerable length and of great merit, which he wrote . . . to . . . Corinth, at the time when there was a dissension in the latter. This we know to have been publicly read for common benefit, in most of the churches, both in former times and in our own; and that at the time mentioned a sedition did take place at Corinth, is abundantly attested by Hegesippus.157
Present-day Christianity also esteems Clement's letter because it is the earliest of the remaining Christian writings following the New Testament authors. Clement wrote:
Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate [bishop]. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole Church, and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry. For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties. . . . But we see that you have removed some men of excellent behaviour from the ministry, which they fulfilled blamelessly and with honour.158
Clement observes weakening faith at Corinth witnessed first by Paul (1 Cor. 11:18-19; 3:3-5). The Apostle censured them again in a letter at least one other time, as indicated earlier.159 Now some thirty years later, the divisions and heresies first reported by Paul began to broaden because the Apostles were no longer in place to restrain escalating apostasy.
Ignatius also clearly confronted the problem of rebellion. In a revelation from God, by the Holy Ghost, he received inspired direction to counsel the members to follow their divinely chosen leadership:
For though some would have deceived me according to the flesh, yet my spirit is not deceived; for I received it from God. . . . having learned before hand the division caused by some among you, [God] is my witness, . . . the Spirit made an announcement to me, saying as follows: Do nothing without the bishop.160
Ignatius also pointed out the pattern of how apostasy actually begins. In the following example certain members question the age of the bishop and begin holding private meetings without the authority of the bishop:
Now it becomes you also not to despise the age of your bishop, but to yield to him all reverence. It is right then, that we should be really Christians, and not merely have the name; even as there are some who recognize the bishop in their words, but disregard him in their actions. Such men seem to me not to act in good faith, since they do not hold valid meetings according to the commandment.161
The fact that Ignatius wrote similar letters of warning and admonition regarding the role and authority of the bishop to five of the six churches he addressed demonstrates the general problem of rebellion that the Church faced. Ignatius praised those at Smyrna for sending a delegate to Antioch with a letter (possibly from Polycarp), helping to restore unity in his own congregation at Antioch.162 And although we must recognize the strength of the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia, according to John's testimony near the end of the first century (Rev. 2:9; 3:10), Smyrna's fortitude came as a result of inspired leadership (perhaps Polycarp), a devout and faithful servant who had been personally acquainted with some of the Apostles. After the humble and devoted bishops who succeeded the Apostles (Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp) were martyred, inspired Church leadership appears to have decayed rapidly. One wonders why Ignatius in his letter to the Romans used words which seem to suggest that the authority of Christ was in the process of being taken from the earth:
Remember in your prayers the Church in Syria [Antioch], which has God for its Shepherd in my room. Its bishop shall be Jesus Christ alone,--and your love.163
It seems probable that if there was to be an earthly succession (as there always had been, dating back to Old Testament times), Ignatius would have mentioned this fact; instead, he seemed to say that since he would not be returning, the Lord Himself would take his place as bishop in Antioch. Although the people of Antioch elected a new bishop, did this presbyter possess the authority of Jesus? The fact that Ignatius indicates that earthly leadership will not replace him (he said the Lord alone would be bishop in his room) may signify that priesthood authority was passing from the earth.
Ignatius's letters were written in captivity while he was traveling to Rome, where, according to Eusebius, he suffered martyrdom in A.D. 108.164
Finally, The Shepherd of Hermas, a series of visions, probably received at the turn of the first century,165 was considered equally as orthodox as those in the Bible today, and highly regarded by the early Church. The reason for its exclusion from the New Testament canon was not a lack of wide acceptance but rather failure of some third-century leaders to understand all its message; and the fourth-century Church demanded apostolic authorship since it no longer believed in continuing revelation. The angel's warning to the Shepherd, like John's revelation, centered around a "last call" to repentance. Unlike the apostolic charge from Jesus to "go ye therefore and teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19), the angel directed her message only to those who had already been baptized but were in sin and surrounded by apostasy:
But I say to you all, as many as have received the seal, keep simplicity and bear no malice, and do not remain in your guilt, or in remembrance of the bitterness of offences. Be of one spirit and put away these evil schisms, and take them away from yourselves that the Lord of the sheep may rejoice over them. But he will rejoice if all be found whole; but if he find some of them fallen away, it will be woe to the shepherds. But if the shepherds themselves be found fallen away, what shall they answer to the Master of the flock? That they have fallen away because of the sheep? They will not be believed.166
This passage is reminiscent of an earlier Old Testament time:
My people hath been lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. All that found them have devoured them. (Jer. 50:6-7; see also Ezek. 34:2-10)
The visions recorded in The Shepherd of Hermas must have been the final call to repentance to the baptized members of the Church of that day. Although the angel allowed that the "heathen" would be able to repent until the last, those who were already members would only have this one last chance to repent:
Your seed, Hermas, have set God at naught, and have blasphemed the Lord, and have betrayed their parents in great wickedness, . . . they have added to their sins wanton deeds and piled up wickedness, and so their crimes have been made complete. . . . After you have made known these words to them, which the Master commanded me to reveal to you, all the sins which they have committed shall be forgiven to all the saints who have sinned up to this day, if they repent with their whole heart, and put aside doublemindedness. . . . For the Master hath sworn to his elect by his glory that if there be still sin after this day has been fixed, they shall find no salvation; for repentance for the just has an end; the days of repentance have been fulfilled for all the saints, but for the heathen repentance is open until the last day.167
The angel indicates that "up to this day," meaning the time of Hermas's vision, the saints may repent of their wickedness; however, she states that "after this day has been fixed," there will not be a second chance. Although the Shepherd's declaration of a single opportunity to repent may seem severe, this was actually the last of many warnings and is consistent with similar occurrences in preceding dispensations. Like the wicked in Enoch's time, the Saints rejected John's first warning. Those who rejected Noah--when sin had become fully ripe (Gen. 6:3, 5)--were destroyed when the rains came and the earth was flooded. When the "crimes" of the early Christian Church had "been made complete," the Lord withdrew his priesthood as he had promised (Rev. 2:5). The Saints had become deceived, as the Apostles had prophesied, and like Cain were attempting to serve God as they desired, not as the Lord had taught them. (Gen. 4:5-7; Gal. 1:6)
However, the angel also sent her message to those who would yet be faithful: "You . . . 'who work righteousness,' [and] remain steadfast . . . your passing [will] be with the holy angels. Blessed are you . . . [who] endure the great persecution which is coming."168 Nevertheless, the angel declared that they must repent quickly. Those who had sinned but desired to change were among those stones rejected, but not "cast far way from the tower:"
These are they who have sinned and wish to repent; for this reason they have not been cast far way from the tower, because they will be valuable for the building if they repent. Those, then, who are going to repent, if they do so, will be strong in the faith if they repent now, while the tower is being built; but if the building be finished, they no longer have a place, but will be cast away.169
In this passage the angel states that there are those who "wish to repent"; although at this point they are rejected because of their sins, if they follow through with their righteous desires and repent, they will yet be included in the Church (tower). There is an unmistakable sense of urgency, for the angel insists they must "repent now, while the tower is being built." When would the tower be finished? Would it be before the passing of the Church of this age, or at Christ's Second Coming? The angel seems to refer to the Saints of Hermas's day because the vision and warnings are plainly directed towards them. They were given one last chance to repent, remembering that "the days of repentance have been fulfilled for all the saints, but for the heathen repentance is open until the last day." The tower would soon be completed and the period provided for repentance ended.
Later we learn that other stones, in contrast to those placed near the tower, were being cast far away. These, the angel said, were those who had once believed but "because of doublemindedness leave the true road. They think it possible to find a better road, and err."170 The Shepherd desired to know whether those stones failing to repent at that time had the same opportunity of inclusion in the tower:
"Repentance," she said, "they have, but they cannot fit into the tower. But they will fit into another place much less honourable, and even this only after they have been tormented and fulfilled the days of their sins, and for this reason they will be removed, because they shared in the righteous word."171
The majority, although members of the Church [those who shared in the righteous word], rejected Christ's pure teachings because of "doublemindedness," thinking "it possible to find a better road." These unrighteous Saints would continue in the wicked world and would not receive the same reward at the day of judgment as those who repent before this "fixed time" spoken of by the angel.
Again reinforcing the previous conclusion, the Apostles (Acts 1:6), like the Shepherd, wanted to know about the "end times:"
And I began to ask her about the times, if the end were yet. But she cried out with a loud voice saying, "Foolish man, do you not see the tower still being built? Whenever therefore the building of the tower has been finished, the end comes. But it will quickly be built up; ask me nothing more. This reminder and the renewal of your spirits is sufficient for you and for the saints. But the revelation was not for you alone, but for you to explain it to them all, . . . these words which I am going to say to you. . . . I charge you . . . to speak them all into the ears of the saints, that they may hear them and do them and be cleansed from their wickedness."172
Just as Jesus had explained to His Apostles, "it is not for you to know the times or the seasons" (Acts 1:7), the angel instructed the Shepherd to "ask me nothing more." She informed the Shepherd that the Lord's "reminder" to repent was "sufficient" and that he must declare this message to all. The tower would soon be built, she said, and the opportunity to repent or, in other words, "the end," would soon come. The angel was not speaking of "the end" of the world because the end did not come quickly--the Savior has not yet returned in His glorious Second Coming. But the end did come for the Church of that age when a human church replaced the Divine Church established by Jesus Christ. The most compelling evidence that the Church did pass away is that conditions failed to improve in the Church; instead they grew significantly worse. Divisiveness, contention, and the alteration of sacred doctrines and rites escalated after this period.
The angel's final warning was addressed to the leaders of the Church:
Therefore I now speak to the leaders of the Church and those "who take the chief seats.". . . You are hardened, and will not cleanse your hearts. . . . See to it . . . that these disagreements do not rob you of your life.173 (see also Jer. 12:10)
History documents that the leaders of the Church did not cleanse their hearts or repent but forged their own religion and their own path (see Jer. 8:20). Uncertainty as to doctrine and proper direction replaced the confidence inspired formerly by the Apostles.
John revealed that the individual churches were symbolized by "candlesticks" (Rev. 1:20). After warning various churches, he testified that if they did not repent, their candlestick, or church, would be removed from out of its place (Rev. 2:5). Did the churches repent or did things get worse? Hermas, about A.D. 100, and Hegesippus, around A.D. 140, testified that conditions had deteriorated.
Did the Church respond favorably to the new warnings given by the angel to the Shepherd? Justin Martyr recorded that controversies and false doctrines were escalating dramatically in his day.
Did the Church see any improvement after Justin in A.D. 155? Irenaeus in Against Heresies witnessed that corruption and apostasy within the Church had reached alarming proportions.
Did the Church finally repent after Irenaeus in A.D. 180? Bishop Cyprian in A.D. 251, responding to significant discord and faithlessness among the African saints, wrote his plainspoken exposition, On the Unity of the Church:
This evil, most faithful brethren, had long ago begun, but now the mischievous destruction of the same evil has increased, and the envenomed plague of heretical perversity and schisms has begun to spring forth and shoot anew; . . . the Holy Spirit foretells and forewarns us by the apostle, saying, "In the last days," says he, "perilous times shall come. . . ." Whatever things were predicted are fulfilled. . . . Error deceives as the adversary rages more and more; senselessness lifts up, envy inflames, covetousness makes blind, impiety depraves, pride puffs up, discord exasperates, anger hurries headlong.174
Sadly, controversy and wickedness reached new heights during the reign of Constantine in the early fourth century, and the Church continued its downward spiral thereafter throughout the Middle Ages.
The Christian Reformer John Wesley, writing in the eighteenth century, explained:
Soon after the pouring out of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, in the infancy of the Christian Church, there was indeed a glorious change. "Great grace was then upon them all," Ministers as well as people. "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul." But how short a time did this continue! How soon did the fine gold become dim! Long before even the apostolic age expired, St. Paul himself had grounds to complain, that some of his fellow laborers had forsaken him, having "loved the present world." And not long after, St. John reproved divers of the angels, that is, the ministers, of the Churches in Asia, because, even in that early period, their "works were not found perfect before God."
Thus did "the mystery of iniquity" begin to "work," in the Ministers as well as the people, even before the end of the apostolic age. But how much more powerfully did it work, as soon as those master-builders, the Apostles, were taken out of the way! Both Ministers and people were then farther and farther removed from the hope of the Gospel. In so much that when St. Cyprian, about an hundred and fifty years after the death of St. John, describes the spirit and behavior both of laity and Clergy that were round about him, one would be ready to suppose he was giving us a description of the present Clergy and laity of Europe. But the corruption which had been creeping in drop by drop, during the second and third century, in the beginning of the fourth, when Constantine called himself a Christian, poured in upon the Church with a full tide. And whoever reads the history of the Church, from the time of Constantine to the Reformation, will easily observe that all the abominations of the heathen world . . . overflowed every part of it. And in every nation and city the Clergy were not a whit more innocent than the laity.175
Finally, confirming fulfillment of the prophecy received by John the Revelator, Wesley summarized:
Such is the authentic account of "the mystery of iniquity" working even in the apostolic Churches!--an account given, not by the Jews or Heathens, but by the Apostles themselves. To this we may add the account which is given by the Head and Founder of the Church; Him 'who holds the stars in his right hand;' who is 'the faithful and true Witness.' We may easily infer what was the state of the Church in general, from the state of the seven Churches in Asia. One of these indeed, the Church of Philadelphia, had "kept his word, and had not denied his name;" (Revelations 3:8;) the Church of Smyrna was likewise in a flourishing state: But all the rest were corrupted, more or less; insomuch that many of them were not a jot better than the present race of Christians; and our Lord then threatened, what he has long since performed, to "remove the candlestick" from them.176
As witnessed by the Apostle John and the Shepherd, the wicked world continued but God's Church was taken from the earth for a season--as it had been from time to time during the patriarchal dispensations under similar conditions of apostasy. The candlestick, as attested to by John Wesley, had long since been removed.
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