The Splitting of The Church
John to the seven churches, seven is a symbolic
and representative number used in the scripture to indicate a period of time, a
time of repetition, such as seven days is a week, a period of time that will
repeat itself as long as time exist. It signifies the fullness of and a
marker that indicates the completeness of the works of God. If man is
involved, then the number seven is a time of testing and it requires, and is
indicative of, an act of faith. Joshua was required to march around the walls
of Jericho seven times; Naaman was required to wash in the dirty river of
Jordan seven times. Now, if we can view the seven churches as representative
churches, then we can see the history of the church unfold and the message that
is passed down to the church of today. If we refuse to accept these churches as
representative churches, and the significance of the use of the number seven
then we are justifying the changing and polluted messages that are being
preached in many
of the churches today.
The seven churches named in the second and
third chapter of Revelation represent the churches throughout the church age.
They are representative churches, chosen by the spirit because of certain
characteristics typical of the character of the church, not only in the day
when John wrote, but on down through the centuries until the church is caught
up to meet their Lord in the air. These seven churches represent periods of
time clearly defined in both sacred and secular history.
Many growing
churches, in search of the Mega-Church status have divested themselves of the
spiritual and atonement promises of the Gospel and began to focus on the
entertainment and financial motivational aspects of Christianity. The knowledge of God is cast aside as new or
updated messages emerge that redefine God and caters to the needs and progress of
the knowledge of good and evil. The modern
day organized church operating as a business began the process of recreating
itself when it was forced to acknowledge a dwindling pool of indoctrinated
souls. In view of Daniel’s prophecy, (Daniel
12:4), the indoctrination process failed with the sudden increase of knowledge
that took place within the last two hundred years.
Studies showed that many of the young people
who grew up in the church were leaving the church after reaching the age of
consent. A church without young people
is a dying church To remain viable new methods of attracting and involving young
people had to be implemented. To attract
this vast pool of young and old, ministers begin by learning to preach
motivational messages with a scriptural subtext and the spirit of God was
redefined as nothing but an emotional reaction. The church that is depicted in Revelation
3:14, underwent a startling transformation.
The changing
course of the organized church is not a new thing. During the early days of the New Testament
Church when the Gentiles were becoming believers, they were forced to accept
the Jewish Law and all of its provisions, particularly circumcision. For many
non-Jewish descent, it was a source of contention and one which faced St. Paul
in his ministry to the gentiles. It was the first major dispute in the New
Testament Church It is a dispute that
was settled, yet it is still alive today. Galatians
3:24-26 Wherefore the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But
after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul’s teaching is re-interpreted in such a manner the it gives a certain
instability to faith in Christ.
The oldest organized church of record, the Catholic church became embroiled in disputes, soon after it was established as an organized body. In his letters to the seven churches, Jesus describes it as a church that had lost its first love. For the first thousand years of Christianity, there were no "denominations" within the hierarchy of the church as there is today. Offshoot groups existed, but they were considered "heresies" and part of the church’s mission was to bring these groups into one fold. In 1054 the catholic church, the church that lay claim to being the church founded by Saint Peter split.
The first division within Christendom came in 1054 with what was called the "Great Schism" between the Western Church and the Eastern Church. From that point forward, there were two large branches of Christianity, which came to be known as the Catholic Church (in the West) and the Orthodox Church (in the East). The next major division occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther and "Protestantism" as a movement or denomination officially began in 1529.
We will not
attempt to do a detailed study of organized church history, but from 1054 and
forward church history will show a pattern of splits upon splits. Many of these splits were orchestrated by men
who were striving to maintain the purity of
Christian values, while there were those who was in search of power.
The church of England, initially prompted by
a dispute over the annulment of the marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of
Aragon, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534
and became the established church of the Empire by an Act of Parliament in the
Act of Supremacy, (Rights of the Empire), thus beginning a series of events
known as the English Reformation. Once
the door was open and God’s refusal to actively take sides, ‘splits’ became acceptable within the
household of faith as the means of starting a new church or denomination.
The desire to stand
out, the desire to be a superstar, the desire to be in charge is the driving
force behind many new denominations and ministers entering into the vineyard of
Christ. To make such statements is to open myself up to
criticism, but there is an urgent need for the truth to be told. Hiding behind scriptures out of context and
making false claims of God has placed the church in a tenuous position. To sustain itself in a blatant attempt to
remain relevant, that which was once considered to be a part of the world is
now being drawn into the church, not for the purpose of edifying God, but for
the purpose of attracting more people into the church as a place of
entertainment. Modern day churches are
seeking to merge worship and entertainment, and there are those who are good at this are
reaping the benefits while Jesus is left standing at the door knocking.
Before we
proceed further, to understand the word of God as pertaining to the churches we
must be able to reconcile the meaning of these scriptures: Matthew 16:18 And I
say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Acts 8:3
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and
haling men and women committed them to prison.
Acts 12:1-2 Now about that time
Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with
the sword. I know you heard in church
recently that God was just standing by waiting to deliver you, or he is just
waiting to pour out his blessing upon you. These
types of statements invoke a feel good emotional response, but this is not the
true mission of the church or the
Gospel.
If we abide in
Christ, then we are a member of his church.
Though we might suffer and even die, the Devil will not be able to stand
against us. The church is a spiritual
body, the Devil can affect our natural but he is powerless against our
spiritual body. Understanding the word
of God is not complicated, but when we let one or two words shape our understanding
of what is being said, or what we see, the end result can be disastrous. The three most important aspects of any
conversation is, who is talking, who is being spoken to and what is the
conversation about.
Recently I
posted a picture on the internet with the caption, “Can you see the bear?” A simple question that required a yes or no
answer. There were those who said yes,
they could see the bear and there were those who said no. Now there was a third group that publicly
stated that I had seen a bear and went on to poke fun at my sighting. A simple test that was suppose to be used in
support of this discussion turned out to be rather embarrassing based upon the
number of people who didn’t get the question right. The same as Jesus was not standing there
pointing at a rock and telling Peter, upon this rock I will build my church. The church was to exist within the heart and
not on a piece of ground.
Before the level
of the knowledge of good and evil was allowed to progress to the level it is
today there was no need to restudy the Bible in the original cultural context. Now
I will challenge you to step out from behind your wall of indoctrinated beliefs
and ask yourself several questions. What
is the purpose of the church and what is the purpose of the Gospel? Some will exclaim, to bring glad
tidings. Glad tidings of what? God is
about to give you a whole lot of money?
How profane. A breakthrough is
coming on your job? You don’t have to go
to a church building or even pray to God for a breakthrough on your job. The church is suppose to be about the Gospel
of Christ, not about the doctrine of men. The doctrine of man is a Pagan response to a
spiritual God.
False teachers are
in the majority and they are flourishing today. They have erased the powerful
gospel of the water and the Spirit which Jesus announced on the earth, reducing
it to little more than a faint memory, dismissing it as being too elementary, condescending
about it. In its place they have created another gospel, and, preaching only
about the righteousness of man. This is what has allowed Christianity to
degenerate into such a sorry state that it finds itself in today. What we see today in masses in the pulpit
and on TV is the smiling faces of pastors, stoking their ego's, as they preach
a failed gospel of prosperity and promising favors, while nothing is said about Luke 21:11, and there will be
great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be
terrors and great signs from heaven. (NASB)
Next
The Exposition Of A Failed Church, Pagan Worship
Part #3
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