Church History

Click on headings to expand them, or links to go to specific articles.

Before ascending into Heaven, Jesus had told his disciples to return to Jerusalem and stay there until they were "endued with power from on high." On the day of Pentecost, a rushing wind from heaven filled the room in Jerusalem where the disciples were sitting, tongues of fire appeared above the 120 people who had gathered to pray and, running into the streets, the disciples spoke in foreign languages understood by strangers in the city.

The people asked: "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?"

The disciple Peter replied:

This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:... Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:16, 36)

The people then asked Peter saying: Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Peter again replied:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."

This call to repent is still heard around the World today.

The Early Church

The healings, miracles, and teachings that followed Jesus' ministry also flourished in the early church. They healed the sick, raised the dead, spoke in tongues, and prophesied in Jesus' Name. The persecution that followed Jesus' ministry also followed the early church. As evidence of the truth of Jesus' resurrection, 10 of the 11 remaining disciples (Judas Iscariot having hung himself after betraying Jesus) were martyred for their Christian testimony. The 11th disciple, John, was sent to a penal colony on the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of "The Revelation of Jesus Christ".

One of the people who persecuted the early church was a Pharisee named Saul. While heading to Damascus from Jerusalem, a bright light appeared to Saul and said "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." Saul then changed his name to Paul and became a great Christian Apostle, writing a significant portion of the Christian New Testament.

Peter was the first disciple to preach to the Gentiles (those who were not Jews), and found that the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles just as it had fallen on the Jews. Inspired, Paul began missionary journeys around the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, preaching, healing, and being persecuted.

Both Peter and Paul prophecy in their writings of false doctrines arising in the church. Paul even said "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). The gospel that Paul and the Disciples preached is recorded in the New Testament. The only way to verify whether historic or modern churches teach correct or false doctrines is to see if they hold to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles above all other teachings, and see if they have the fruit of the Spirit.

The early Christian church was also persecuted, and did not persecute heathens or other Christians. Any Church guilty of persecution does not follow the example of Jesus Christ set forth by the Apostles in the Bible.

• Heretics
• Popes Through History
• Ethiopian Christianity
• Non-Catholic Christians
• Individual Christians
• Christian Movements
• Persecuting Christians
• Controversy over the Date of Easter

Before Jesus' death and resurrection, Peter denied Jesus three times, while the other disciples abandoned him. All this changed on the day of Pentecost, when Peter and 119 other disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to testify boldly of Jesus Christ, baptizing those that believed on His name.

The first love of the Church was Jesus Christ, whom Peter and the other disciples did not fully know until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Pentecost was not the only time that the Holy Spirit fell on the believers, and this phenomenon continued throughout the New Testament and beyond. The early Church did everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus - teaching, praying, baptizing, believing - and the Lord confirmed his followers with supernatural signs - raising the dead, healing the sick, prophecy, and righteous living.

• Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Mediterranean coasts, Africa, and Asia;
• Supernatural signs and wonders;
• The authorship and compilation of the Christian New Testament,
• Love under persecution, and grace in the face of death

These early Christians were rich in their knowledge of the teachings of Jesus Christ, having many witnesses of Jesus’ ministry among them, including the twelve apostles and Mary, Jesus’ mother. By writing these memories down, the disciples started writing the New Testament. These stories were soon complimented by the doctrinal teachings of the Apostle Paul, as he received revelation and understanding of Jesus Christ. These writings established the whole essence of Christianity and its doctrines:

• Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
• Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ;
• The Custom of the Passover/Eucharist;

Polycarp

The Christian churches in the second century were persecuted, but vibrant:

• Various Churches had been established with a succession of Bishops tracing back to the Apostles,
• Mighty men continued in the missionary tradition of the Apostles,
• Supernatural signs continued to follow the Christian believers
• The complete New Testament had been written and compiled.
• Christian doctrine had been fully established.
• The churches continued to fight against heresies, and experienced persecutions.

Irenaeus provides evidence of this wealth in his writings:

• He quotes from all of the New Testament books except Philemon, 3 John and Jude,
• He testifies of healings and miracles in his own ministry (while noting that these signs are absent from the heretic's ministries),
• He became a missionary (and then Bishop) in the French city of Lyons, having been raised in Smyrna in Polycarp's Church.
• He wrote in length against heresies, and on the correct doctrine of the nature of Christ.

All the other expressions, likewise, bring out the title of one, and the same being, the Lord of Power, the Lord, the Father of All, God Almighty, Most High, Creator, Maker and such like, these are not the names and the titles of a succession of different beings, but of one and the same. (Irenaeus, Volume 1, page 412 of the Ante Nicene Fathers, )

• He confirms that a number of churches continued to exist that were established by the Apostles (including, but not limited to the Church at Rome).

Origin of Doctrines:

• The doctrine of One God in Three Persons (the Trinity) was formulated by Tertullian, a priest in Carthage (Tunisia). The Church of Rome did not initially agree with Tertullian, but this doctrine slowly gained status in the Church at Rome until Bishop Felix began advertising this doctrine to the Church at Alexandria.
• The Bishops in the churches that had Apostolic succsession began to exert influnece over other churches, excommunicating those who did not listen (sending them outside the camp), while fighting among themselves.
• Traditions were implemented (like pennance) that were not Biblical.

In 325 the Council of Nicea produced the Nicean Creed, which formalized the doctrine of the Trinity - another victory for the Church of Rome.

Of the 250-318 Bishops that attended the Council of Nicea (along with 1,200 deacons and accompanying laity - per Athanasius and Eusebius of Caesarea), only two Arians refused to agree with the Nicene creed. This either indicates that they all were in unity, that the creed was sufficently vague to support each of their doctrines, or that the voting was rigged. Considering that 22 Arian supporters attended, the latter two are the most likely. The fact that further councils were called to refine this doctrine, each of which have significant dissidents leads to the conclusion that the creed was at least extremely vague.

Ecumenical Councils

1. First Council of Nicaea (325): repudiated Arianism and Quartodecimanism (Easter on the 14th of Nissan), adopted the Nicene Creed (in support of the Trinity), exceptional authority acknowledged for the patriarchs of Alexandria and Rome, for their respective regions;

1. First Council of Constantinople (381): revised the Nicene Creed into present form, and prohibited any further alteration of the Creed without the assent of an Ecumenical Council.
2. Council of Ephesus (431): repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (Greek Η Θεοτόκος, "God-bearer" or more commonly "Mother of God").
3. Council of Chalcedon (451): repudiated the monophysite doctrine, established that Christ had two natures, human and divine; adopted the Chalcedonian Creed.
4. Second Council of Constantinople (553): reaffirmed doctrines explicated by previous Councils, condemned new Arian, Nestorian, and Monophysite writings.

According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1908), a half-pagan and half-Christian ceremony was performed at the dedication of Constantinople in 330 AD when, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was placed over the head of the Sun-God's chariot, accompanied with hymns. It is about this time that the first celebration of Christmas is recorded.

Constantine donated great amounts of money to the Church at Rome, and build the old St. Peter's Bascilica. Bishops taxes were reduced, and many pagan temples were converted into Christian Churches. While this sounds like a revival, Constantine did not care about salvation and was baptized only on his deathbed. Instead, Constantine thought to win the loyalty of his subjects by subtle manipulation: flattery, and religion.

By 400, Anastasius became the first Bishop of Rome to use the title Pope. The doctrine of post-milleniumism began at this time, which resulted in a period of Dark Ages with Catholic Church at the head of Christendom.

References

• Haas, Christopher, “The Arians of Alexandria”, Vigiliae Christianae Vol. 47, no. 3 (1993), 239
• Chadwick, Henry, “Faith and Order at the Council of Nicaea”, Harvard Theological Review LIII (Cambridge Mass: 1960),173

Byzantine Empresses

Saint Theodora ( Greek Θεοδώρα) (c. 500–June 28, 548) was empress of the Byzantine Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I. While her advancement in Byzantine society was up and down, she made use of every opportunity. She had admirers by the score. Procopius writes that she was a courtesan (and, according to other sources, firstly a prostitute). Some scholars believe that Theodora was Byzantium's first noted proponent—and, according to Procopius, practitioner—of abortion; she convinced Justinian to change the law that forbade noblemen to marry lower class women (like herself). Theodora also advocated the rights of married women to commit adultery, and the rights of women to be socially serviced, helping to advance protections and delights for them; and was also something of a voice for prostitutes and the downtrodden. She also helped to mitigate the breach in Christian sects that loomed large over her time; she probably had a large part in Justinian's efforts to reconcile the Non-Chalcedonians to the Chalcedonian party.

Saint Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη, Eirēnē) (c. 752 – August 9, 803) was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Her most notable act was the restoration of the orthodox veneration of icons or images, she summoned two church councils. The first of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the soldiers. The second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the adoration of images and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. She had her son’s eyes plucked out after he tried to win the throne from her, and it is said that he died of the wounds.

Navigation

Home Our Podcast The List of Problems Life Story Prophecies & Visions Seven Seals Was William Branham Honest? Doctrines

Church Ages Jesus Languages Videos Print Resources Help! Facebook Contact Us