Biblical trace of the church

Front matter

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Descending Rev.21:9.io

Biblical Trace of the Church

Chapter I. Whence Came The Church?

HE church of God, whence came it? from heaven Or of men? We can boldly answer that it was not built by men; for we read that it is "a stone cut out of a mountain without hands." Dan. 2: 34, 45. And again, "a kingdom set up by the God of heaven." Verse 44. In the book of Revelation we find written: "I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." Rev. 21: 2.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God — Verse 10.

New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. — Rev. 3: 12.

io THE CHURCH.

Some infer from these texts that a literal city is yet to descend upon the earth, which shall be the future home of the saints for one thousand years, the length of a much-fancied millennium, which they suppose is soon to commence.

These are false ideas, for the word of God nowhere teaches a millennium, nor does a syllable of it insinuate that this earth will be a future home of the saints. But it contrariwise teaches that "here have we no continuing city." Heb. 13: 14.

If all who adhere to the millennium tradition would read carefully Rev. 21: 9, where the angel tells John the heavenly Jerusalem is "the bride, the Lamb's wife," then notice whom the New Testament so repeatedly denominates "the wife of Christ," they would at once discover their error.

Paul identifies the "heavenly Jerusalem" with "the church of the firstborn," and "the general assembly" of the saints. Heb. 12: 22, 23. The church, therefore, is the very city John saw descending. It may puzzle some to understand that the church is of heavenly origin, when they consider that it consists of men and women. To all such we would say, it is because Jesus, its foundation, builder, head, door, etc.; and the Holy Ghost, its leader, teacher and sanctifier are from heaven: and because all its members are "born from above" {See Emphatic Diaglctt jfno. j; 3.), that the church is spoken of as having descended from thence.

MORNING LIGHT AGE. n

Chapter II. The Morning Light, And How It Gradually Vanished Away

Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night. — Isa. 21: 11, 1?. The morning here spoken of was the early part of the Christian era, when the glorious light of the gospel of Christ shone clear as crystal. The night was the dark age of the apostasy which followed it.

We will now take up a few of the principal features and doctrines of the apostolic church, one by one, and show how the household of professors gradually departed from them.

UNITY.

Jesus founded his church in unity. He saith concerning her, "My dove, my undefiled is but one." Cant. 6: 9. And again: "Other sheep I have[ Gentiles] which are not of this fold [not Jews]: them also I must bring," and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Jno. 10: 16. The night of his apprehension he prayed for the sanctincation of his people that they might be made perfect in one. Jno. 17: 17-23.

The apostolic church retained perfect unity for a time. In the "Acts of the Apostles," an inspired history written about A. D. 63 or 64, we read, "All that believed were together." Acts 2: 44. They lifted up their voice to God with one accord. — Acts 4: 24. The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. — V. 23. Soon some fell under the anti-christ spirit and departed from the true faith. Of them we read as follows: "Certain which went out from us." Acts 15: 24.

In A. D. 90 St. John wrote his general epistle, in which he spake of these, saying, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt haye continued with us." 1 Jno. 2: 19.

In A. D. 66 Peter prophesied that there should be false teachers among the people, who privily should bring in damnable heresies. 2 Pet. 2: I. Paul also in A. D. 60 prophesied, saying, "After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20: 29, 30. These predictions were speedily fulfilled. Ignatius and Clement, *who wrote at a little later period, spake otten of the many schisms extant in their day. And though they taught pointedly that "charity admits no divisions" {Clements first epistle to Cor. 21: 5.), "and any one following the maker of a schism shall not inherit the kingdom of God" ( Ignatius to Pliiladclpliicuis 1 : p. ) , the accursed work of division grew and multiplied until hundreds of schisms had m^de their appearance within the first three centuries. See John S. C. Abbots History of Christianity.

The unity of the Spirit having thus been broken,

•- : See Apocryphal New Testament.

and the morning light obscured, a good foundation was laid for the papacy, which hitherto could not make its appearance.

HUMBLE EQUALITY ELDERSHIP.

Jesus taught that the elders in his church were servants, and not masters. He forbade his apostles to be called masters, saying, "One is your master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren." Matt. 23: 8-1 1. Similar teaching is found in the epistles. Peter exhorts the elders as follows: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock." 1 Pet. 5: 23. Paul when speaking to the Corinthians of his authority, said, Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy. — 2 Cor. 1 : 24.

The apostles, evangelists, pastors, prophets, exhorters, teachers, etc., are denominated in scripture, "the presbytery." 1 Tim. 4: 14. The titles bishop and elder are used interchangeably. Tit. 1: 5, 7. The title elder is applied to the apostles, I Pet. 5: 1; 2 Jno. 1; 3 Jno. 1; evangelists, 1 Tim. 5: 17; local officers, Acts 14: 23; 20: 17; Tit. 1: 5; the general presbytery, Jas. 5: 14.

But this noble apostolic system did not long continue. Before the close-of the first century a popish iron-jacket svs^em had crept into the church, which exalted one eider in each local congregation above the rest, calling him bishop ; while the minor elders i 4 THE CHURCH.

were known as the presbytery. This spirit is manifested in the epistles of Ignatius. In his epistle to the Philadelphians we read: "There is one bishop, together with his presbytery, and the deacons my fellow-servants." Chapt i : v. 12. In his letter to the Magnesians we read: "I exhort you that you study to do all things in divine concord; your bishop presiding in the place of God; your presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles." Chapt. 2: v. 4, 5. In his epistle to the Smyrnaeans we read: "He that honors the bishop shall be honored of God, but he that does anything without his knowledge ministers unto the devil." Chapt. 3: v. 7. "It is not lawful without the bishop, neither to baptize, nor to celebrate the holy communion: but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing unto God." V.5. As it will enable the reader to see more clearly how far the people of Ignatius' day had degenerated from the true apostolic system, we might mention here, that, in the days of the apostles, baptism was administered by the deacons, when no human being was present but his applicant and himself. Acts 6: 1-6:8: 1. At a later period the local bishops in the metropolitan cities were exalted to a higher dignity than the rest. D'Aubigne says, "The council of Nice, in its sixth canon, mentions three cities, whose churches, according to it, exercised a long-established authority over those of the surrounding provinces: these were Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch." History ofReformaPon, Book /", Chapt. 1. It was to this beast authority that Paul alluded when he said in A. D. 54, "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." — 2 Thess. 2: 7. According to ecclesiastical histories this beast authority began to center in the bishop of Rome about A. D. 270, With this date the history of the morning light age closes, and the age of the apostasy properly begins.

BAPTISM.

We will now notice how the church deviated from the true doctrine and mode of baptism. Many perversions of this doctrine were brewed at a very early date. The first, perhaps, was that of the object in baptism; viz., that it is to wash away sins. This delusion is taught in the epistle of Barnabas, said to be a writer of the first century. He says: "We go down into the water full of sins and pollutions; but come up again bringing forth fruit." Ch. 10: v, 14.

Ignatius was also in this same rut. He says: "Jesus Christ was * * * conceived in the womb of Mary * * * by the Holy Ghost: He was born and baptized, that through his passion he might purify water, to the washing away of sin." Eph. 4:9.

When men were once won to this delusion, a good foundation was laid for nearly all the perversions of the doctrine of baptism. For instance, if someone accepted Christ in his last hours, not being baptized; under this delusion, the only hope for him would be to baptize a living man in his stead. Some infer from 1 Cor. 15:29 that this was practiced by some deceived men in the days of Paul.

Again, if some one should accept Christ upon his death bed, not being able to be immersed, such a delusion would prompt the rite of sprinkling. Soon somebody gets very liberal and desires that children shall participate in this ordinance, hence they adopt and invent the practice of infant sprinkling, etc. This is a facsimile of the way the doctrine of baptism has been perverted.

FAITH AND THE G-IFTS OF THE SPIRIT.

" Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

and the evidence of things not seen." Heb. u: I.

"So faith, to our soul, is our ears and our eyes. Our hands and our arms, that reach to the skies, And pluck from the beautiful tree of life. Our shield of protection amid the strife,"

Faith in apostolic times opened the blinded eyes, unstopped the deaf ears, loosed the tongues of the dumb; healed the palsied, the lepers, and diseased persons of every description; cast out devils, raised the dead, and exercised all the gifts of the Holy Spirit; besides the myriads of souls who were by faith raised from a spiritual death in trespasses and sins, to a life of "righteousness and true holiness." But gradually, as the people retrograded from the unadulterated truth of the Gospel, faith fell into a lethargy until his mighty works ceased upon the earth. But faith did not rest in silence so soon after the apostles as many suppose. In the following extracts from the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, the reader will see that the gifts of the Spirit, though decreasing in power as the light lessened in brilliancy, were manifested in the church as long as the Morning Light shone.

MIRACLES PERFORMED A. D. 180.

"These accounts are given by Irenaeus in those five books of his, to which he gave the title of ' Refutation and Overthrow of False Doctrines.' In the second book of the same work he also shows that even down to his times, instances of divine and miraculous power were remaining in some churches. 4 So far are they,' says he, ' from raising the dead, as the Lord raised, and as the apostles by means of prayer, for even among the brethren in a case of necessity, when a whole church united in much fasting and prayer, the spirit has returned to the ex-animated body, and the man was granted to the prayers of the saints.'

And again he says, after other observations: 'But if they say that our Lord also did these things on'y in appearance, we shall refer them back to the prophetic declarations, and shall show from them that all those things were strictly foretold, and were done by Him, and that He alone is the Son of God. Wherefore, also, those that were truly His disciples, receiving grace from Him in His name performed these things for the benefit of the rest of men, as every one received the free gift from Him.

Some, indeed, most certainly and truly cast out demons, so that frequently those persons themselves that were cleansed from wicked spirits, believed and were received into the church. Others have a knowledge of things to come, as also visions and prophetic communications; others heal the sick by fhe imposition of hands, and restore them to health. And, moreover, as we said above, even the dead have been raised and continued with us many years. And why should we say more? It is impossible to tell the number of the gifts which the church throughout the world received from God, and the deeds performed in the name of Jesus Christ, that was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and this too for the benefit of the heathen, without deceiving any, or exacting their money. For as she has received freely from God, she also freely ministers.'

In another place the same author writes: 'As we hear many of the brethren in the church who have prophetic gifts, and who speak in all tongues through the Spirit, and who also bring to light the secret things of men for their benefit, and who expound the mysteries of God.' These gifts of different kinds also continued with those that were worthy until the times mentioned." Book V, Chapt. 7.

THE MIRACLE OF NARCISSUS, A. D. 211.

Many miracles are attributed to Narcissus of his countrymen, as they received the tradition handed down from the brethren. > Among these they relate a wonderful event like the following: About the great watch of the passover, they say, that whilst the deacons were keeping, the vigils of oil failed them; upon which all the people being very much dejected,

Narcissus commanded the man that managed the lights to draw water from a neighboring well, and to bring it to him. He having done it as soon as said, Narcissus prayed over the water, and then commanded them in a firm faith in Christ, to pour it into the lamps. When they had also done this, contrary to all natural expectations, by an extraordinary and divine influence, the nature of the water was changed into the quality of oil, and by most of the brethren a small quantity was preserved from that time until our own, as a specimen of the wonder then performed." Book VI, Chapt. g.

THE PESTILENCE WHICH PREVAILED ABOUT A. D. 265.

'A calamity more dreadful to ■ them than any dread, and more afflicting than any affliction, and which, as one of their own historians has said, was of itself alone beyond all hope. To us, however, it did not wear this character, but no less than other events it was a school for exercise and probation. For neither did it keep aloof from us, although it assailed the heathen most.' To this he afterwards adds: ' Indeed, the most of our brethren, by their exceeding great love and brotherly affection, not sparing themselves, and adhering to one another, were constantly superintending the sick, ministering to their wants without fear and without cessation, and healing them in Christ, have departed most sweetly with them.' Though filled with the disease from others, and taking it from their neighbors, they voluntarily, by exsuction, extracted Jtkeir pains.

Many also, who had healed and strengthened others, themselves died, transferring their death upon themselves, and exemplifying in fact that trite expression which seemed before only a form of politeness, or an empty compliment; they were, in fact, in their death, 'the offscouring of all.' Book VII, Cliapt. 22. Eusebius gives no account of the manifestation of any of the gifts of the Spirit at a later date than the above, though he followed the church in his narrative to about A. D. 337.

HOLINESS.

Holiness is freedom from all sin, wrought in the heart by two distinct works of divine favor. In the first is granted absolution from all guilt, and grace to live a righteous life. The second includes the purging of the heart from inbred sin, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Holiness is in truth the mainspring of all gospel truth. Hence to retrograde from it would be to throw open the doors to every species of error.- It was in this manner that the way was paved for the apostasy. Had holiness ever been retained by the church, there had never been an apostasy; had it never been regained the apostasy had never been swept away.

The doctrine of sanctification — the second work of grace— must have been hidden from the general masses of the people at a very early date. It might, however, have been maintained by a scattered few until the end of the morning light age, which lasted but about two hundred and forty years after Christ's ascension. In this is comprehended the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah: "The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while." Isa. 63: 18. The doctrine of justification by faith — the first work of grace — has never been totally obscured from the people, though in the latter end of the Papal Age it was maintained by very few. When the Reformation broke out, so few people understood it that the reformers were everywhere regarded as heretics because they taught it.

Part II

THE PAPAL AGE. A. D. 270-1530.

CHAPTER I.

THE APOSTASY FORETOLD IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES.

S we read the sacred Word we find it is

,j written that "in those days, after that trib- Jj| ulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the

5}%3 moon shall not give her light; and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken." Mark 13: 24, 25.

Many take the above text in a literal sense, and in order to prove that the darkening of the sun and moon has occurred, refer to some period when they were by some means eclipsed; for instance, the darkening of the sun at the crucifixion of Christ; the "dark day" spoken of by Webster; or some other of the numerous eclipses of the sun or moon. We acknowledge a supernatural eclipse of the sun at the crucifixion of Christ, but that was not the one predicted above, for Jesus said it should be "after that tribulation," the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, under Titus, in A. D. 70.

The words, sun, moon, and stars in the above prophecy are metaphors, the signification of which we will now proceed to show. Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." Jno. 8: 12; 12: 46. By this he means that he is the spiritual sun. He is denominated "Sun of righteousness" by the prophet Malachi. Mai. 4: 2. He says unto his church, "Ye are the light of the world." Matt. 5: 14. By this he means that she is the spiritual moon.

In the creation of the sun and moon God drew a beautiful type of Christ and his church. As the sun is the source of all literal light to our solar system, so Christ is the source of all spiritual light to the universe. As the moon is, of itself, a cold dark body, and borrows all its light from the sun; so the church within itself possesses no light whatever, and receives all its illumination from Christ. As the rays of the sun, striking the moon, are reflected towards the earth, so the rays of Christ pouring constantly upon his church from above are reflected into this sinful world. This anti-typical sun and moon are the ones referred to in Jesus', prediction. They were darkened in the apostasy, when the spiritual sky, becoming gradually obscured by the fogs of human inventions, concealed from the vision of the people the pure faith and light of the gospel.

The falling of stars Jesus predicted, these literalists apply to the great shower of meteors, which fell about sixty years ago. This we consider as absurd as their interpretation of the first part of the text. Meteors are not real stars, as many illiterate suppose. They are mere gas lights. There are instances on record of hard stony substances falling upon the earth. These are called meteorolites. But they are too insignificant to be classified with stars. Simple meteors never strike the earth. Millions of them are constantly flying through the universe. When they approach too near the earth, gravitation draws them toward its surface; hence they appear to us to be falling from heaven. They can be seen upon any clear night, but are most numerous in the month of November. It was in this month that the great shower of 1833 fell- But this is not the only meteoric shower upon record. Thomas Dick, in his work on the Sidereal Heavens, tells us there was a similar occurrence in November of the following years: A. D. 1779, 1799, 1831, 1832, 1834, 1835, l8 36 and 1837. Many more incidents of the same kind might be cited, but we deem the aforesaid sufficient. It seems that in the month of November, the earth in its orbit, passes through a field, which serves them as a kind of orb. The reader, if he gives this subject due investigation, will understand that the falling of meteors and meteorolites is a natural and very common phenomenon: hence should not be looked upon as a fulfillment of our Lord's prophecy. Real stars, which are either fixed or planetary, never fall. If they should, they are as apt to fall some other direction as toward the earth. Should one of them, in falling, happen to strike the earth, it would be knocked into oblivion; for many of them are much larger than the earth. That any of them shall ever come tumbling down here is incredible.

The falling of stars Jesus foretold, was the falling away of that glorious train of holy men and women, who in the early days of Christianity shone "as lights in the world." Phil. 2: 15. They were cast down to the earth, and stamped upon by popery until their lights were obscured.

We will now hear Amos' prophesy of the apostasy. It shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.— Amos 8: 9. This text is to be taken in the same sense as that in the gospel of Mark. To confirm this, we call the reader's attention to what was to follow the going down of the sun. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all' your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. — Verse 10.

Xo one can read a history of the "dark ages," without acknowledging in it the fulfillment of the above prophecy. Amos proceeds to say, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. — Verses n — 13. The piophet here shows that a dreadful ''famine of hearing the words of the Lord" should follow the going down of the sun. When we consider that this was literally fulfilled in the papal age, by the edict of Rome depriving the laity of the use of the holy Bible, we are forced to conclude that he was foretelling the apostasy.

Let us now turn to the book of Joel. Here we read: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. — Joel 2: 31. The sun and moon here have the same signification as in the texts previously considered. We might, for a moment, wonder how the church was turned into blood; but when we remember how freely the blood of her members flowed in the age of Romanism, the mystery is solved. If we wish to trace the church through that dark period, we must do so by the blood of the martyrs. If we were to pen a complete history of the church in the " dark ages;" we should only be the author of a large "book of martyrs." Truly the church has been turned into blood.

We will now turn to the second chapter of Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians. Here we read: Be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, **■* as that the day of Christ is at hand. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work.— Verses 2-4, 7. " Falling away" in the above is identical with the falling of the stars in Mark 13: 25, and signifies the general apostasy.

The "man of sin" is the pope of Rome. We find him guilty of every thing predicted of the "man of sin." He bears such titles as, "Holy Father," "Vicegerant of the Son of God," and others equally as blasphemous. He claims authority over the souls and bodies of men; he assumes power to forgive the sins of the quick and dead; and to damn whom he wills. Tetzel, one of his indulgence merchants, in one of his harangues, is said to have made use of the following langua-e: "The Lord our God has ceased to reign, he has resigned all power to the pope." Similar language was made use of by another indulgence peddler by the name of Samson. The apostle further describes the "man of sin" as follows: Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.— Verses 9, 10. "With all power," signifies the great temporal power of the pope. We will explain this more fully hereafter in its proper place.

Concerning the ''signs and lying wonders" of this prophecy, I would say, a simple record of the lying wonders of Romanism only is needed for explanation. Previous to the reformation of the sixteenth century, in the papists' h^use of worship at Wittemberg, railed by them the Church of All Saints, was shown a fragment of Noah's ark, some soot from the furnace into which the three Hebrew children were cast by the king of Babylon, a piece of wood from the cradle of Jesus Christ, some hair from the beard of St. Christopher, and nineteen thousand other relics of greater or less value. At Schaffhausen was exhibited the breath of St. Joseph which Nicodemus had caught in his glove. In Wurtemberg was seen an indulgence merchant, having his head adorned with a large feather, which he declared had been plucked from one of Michael's wings. See H Aubigiic s History of the Reformation, Book I, Chapt. j.

Our good common sense tells us this was all presumption. The manger which first served Jesus for a cradle, and all the rest of his cradles, if he had any more, are decayed long ago. Not a particle ot any of them can be produced, nor could have been at the time stated above. Nicodemus never caught any breath of St. Joseph. Michael has no wings or feathers, etc. The papists had a staircase at Rome, which they declared to be Pilate's, and had been transported from Jerusalem to Rome by miraculous power. Book H, Clta.pt. 6.

At Einsidlen was carefully preserved in a monastery, the image of the virgin Mary, which the papists declared to have the power of working miracles. Over the gate of the abbey, where this was kept, they wrote the following inscription: "Here a plenary remission of sins may be obtained." These horrid lies were so universally believed by the superstitious people of that age, that great throngs came on pilgrimage to Einsidlen, from all parts of Christendom; hoping thus to merit this grace at the festival of the virgin. Book VIII, Chapt. 5.

Lies similar to these emanated from VVilsnack, near YVittemberg, in the days of John Huss, causing that place to be made a resort of pilgrims from all parts of Europe. See Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. XII, Page 404.