In the series, After the Acts, we have looked at the writings of those men, commonly called the “church fathers,” which survive from the early centuries, and we have confirmed that there were definite changes in the doctrines and practices of the church during that period. From this evidence a clear warning sounds to all who hold the apostolic truths today. The Truth has been lost before; it can be lost again.
The progress of Christian apostasy was foretold in the New Testament itself. The Apocalypse particularly revealed these developments. Our previous study leads naturally into the present one — themes relating to the fulfillment of prophecy in the Revelation.
The purpose of prophecy
We know from the Old Testament, and from the subsequent history of the Jewish people, that Yahweh issued many warnings to them about their backsliding ways. It is a fact of history that they failed to heed these warnings and were eventually cast off because of their apostasy. We believe that there is an exact parallel to this history in the development of the Christian church.
Prophecies as they were given to Israel included three basic elements. They (1) warned and admonished the hearers; (2) outlined future events affecting the nation, and (3) promised that a remnant would be saved at last.
Jeremiah illustrates this. In 24:5 the prophet says that he warned the people, “Saying, turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and wrong doings.” Then he foretells those events that would occur with respect to his people, beginning with the invasion of the land by Nebuchadnezzar. The same pattern is seen in chapter 26. Finally, in chapters 29-31, we have again the process of (1) warning, (2) a forecast of dreadful events to come, and (3) the unchangeable truth that a remnant would be saved and the desolate land renewed.
Daniel’s prophecy
The book of Daniel is a classic example of apocalyptic writing, and the Revelation is generally conceded to be its New Testament amplification. Daniel’s prophecy is certainly continuous-historic. This is especially apparent in chapters 2, 7, 8 and 11 (observe the oft-repeated phrases “then” and “after this”). These chapters provide the key to understanding the Apocalypse. Like parts of the Revelation, Daniel 11:1-39 may baffle us at first, but when read in conjunction with the history of Palestine, it is a most remarkable prophecy. Jews living in the centuries before Christ could look at the chapter and see one verse after another fulfilled in their own days. As with the Revelation, we cannot understand the prophecy if we know nothing of the relevant historical events.
Here in Daniel, we find a scriptural guide for understanding prophecies of events affecting the Christian church as found in the Apocalypse.
The message of the Apocalypse
If we do not understand the theme of the Book of Revelation, we will misunderstand this vital prophecy.
The purpose of the book is quite the same as that of the Hebrew prophets. (1) it exhorts and warns those to whom it is sent. (2) it outlines the future course of history as it affects this same audience. (3) it offers hope as to the eventual outcome of those who remain faithful. The only difference between the Old Testament prophecies and the Revelation is that the New Testament prophecy is addressed, not to the Hebrews, but to believers in the Christian era. Thus, the progress of the Christian apostasy, its corruption of the truth, its success, its eventual punishment and final extinction are the elements which comprise the central theme of the book. As the LORD made every effort to bring Israel to repentance, so He endeavored to work with the ecclesia established by His Son. For a period of time after the church had taken the wrong course, He brought circumstances to bear which, if properly perceived, would have reversed the course of her history. Finally, as He had done with Israel, He would disavow the apostate body, now wrongly representing itself as His people.
“The mystery of iniquity”
Paul in II Thessalonians 2, addresses the subject of apostasy. Believers at the time were vexed because they expected the coming of Christ to be eminent, and the apostle sees fit to let them know there must first be a time of testing. “That day shall not come, except there come a falling away (apostasy) first, and that man of sin be revealed.” That “lawless one” (RSV) would appear at the proper time, causing many to forsake the Truth, but he will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus at his coming.
So we have, like the Old Testament prophecies, first, an admonition: “Stand firm and hold to the teachings we (the apostles) passed on to you.” And second, a prophecy is given as to what would occur when the ecclesia should fail to observe the warning: “The coming of the lawless one…deceives those who are perishing.” “They perish,” the apostle says, “because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.” The ultimate apostasy would be the result: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe a lie” (NIV).
“There will be false teachers”
Peter, in his second epistle, likewise writes as a New Testament prophet. He warns that as there were false teachers in Israel, so false teachers would arise in the church. “They will secretly introduce destructive heresies…Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (NIV). The church, according to Peter, would go astray to follow the course of Balaam, “who loved the wages of wickedness.” It would have been better, this apostle writes, for these men not to have known the way of righteousness, “than to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”
John, in the Revelation, describes prophetic visions, which continue this theme. The book begins with admonitions to the ecclesias and warnings of severe consequences in the absence of repentance. Then, in Revelation 16-18, the prophecy reveals the apostasy as fully developed, dishonoring God and persecuting the saints. Following this, the false church receives in various stages the punishments due her.
God’s view of the apostasy
We live in an “ecumenical” age where tolerance is the order of the day. We recognize some benefit from this, because we are able to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience, with little fear of persecution. But a time when “every man does that which is right in his own eyes” has its hazards. We may be led to adopt the philosophy of the world around us — that one way to God is as good as another. We need constantly to look at things from God’s perspective as opposed to our own, and to the influences around us. The Lord cannot abide the changing of His Truth into a lie (Rom. 1:25).
How does God view the churches of Christendom? Does He simply disregard them, as we often do, considering them astray from the Truth but well-meaning? To see the matter from God’s point of view, we turn to the Revelation, and follow the false church in its development. The language of Revelation 16-18 is very strong and uncompromising. Whatever is being spoken of in these chapters, it is something that God despises — some human system that He will tolerate just so long and no longer. Then His Son will destroy it with the brightness of his coming.
Take a look at the language of Revelation 18. “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup…She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her” (NIV).
Early history of the church
The primary source for the history of the early church is Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History. Eusebius Pamphilus was a bishop of Caesarea in Palestine during the early part of the fourth century. He records the history of the church from the beginning to his own day, the time of Constantine. Eusebius does not tell us all we would like to know, and some of his accounts are open to question, but his work complements the other writings of these early centuries. Eusebius worked from earlier sources, many of which are no longer available to us, and for this reason his work is of some importance.
An earlier history of the church had been written by Hegesippus, c. 160 A.D. Unfortunately his work disappeared during the Middle Ages, but Eusebius had access to it and cites some facts from that earlier history. Hegesippus was a Jewish believer, while Eusebius was of Gentile origin.
Eusebius, as a contemporary of the Emperor Constantine, provides some insight into the condition of the church at that time. It had reached a critical point in its development. As he looks back at the severe persecutions the church had recently endured, and welcomes the peace provided by the new emperor’s sympathy for the Christian religion, Eusebius sees the sun rising after a dark night. But in their acceptance of Constantine as their deliverer, he and his contemporaries would compromise their Christianity.
Christianity after Constantine
Fourth century Christianity contrasts sharply with that of the preceding centuries. The church became an organization characterized by worldliness, a religious system with great influence but pervaded by corruption.
Christendom, under Constantine, had become wedded to the state, with the emperor himself directing its progress. This situation was only altered when the popes took supreme power themselves. They effectively replaced the emperor as head of Western Christendom. The Eastern church developed as a separate entity, finally breaking formally with the Roman church. Except for its refusal to acknowledge the authority of the popes, however, the eastern (Greek/Russian) branch differed very little from its Roman sister-church.
We will follow some of the themes relative to the development of this false Christianity. We trust that such a review will help us to better understand the apocalyptic message — and to appreciate more fully the precious gift of the true gospel.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One