Christianity had its source in the life and teachings of Christ and His apostles. He came to fulfill that which was written by Moses and the prophets, and to confirm the promises made to the Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Our Lord said that the words He spoke were not His own, but were the words of God who sent Him. “I have not spoken of myself, but the Father . . . gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). Paul states: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son . . .” (Heb. 1:1,2). We must, therefore, recognize that Christianity was originally of divine origin.
But when we compare Christianity to. day with first century doctrine and custom, it reminds us of a river, pure and wholesome at its source, but almost completely polluted by the things which have been thrown into it along the way. History confirms this gradual pollution, and reveals how, when and where church authorities have adopted doctrines that cannot even be found in the Bible.
Why the change?
Before we go into a history of the church councils to find out just what they did, let us ask why this state of affairs came upon a faith that was of divine origin. In the early days of Christ’s ministry He said: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 8:13,14). Such words would indicate that the majority would go astray and that only a few would find the narrowness and straightness acceptable. Because of this condition the Master said: ” . . . when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth”? (Luke 18:8). Paul also said that Christ would not come “except there come a falling away first . . . ” (2 Thess. 2:3).
Even in first century Christianity we see a changing scene, a deterioration or pollution noticed by Paul, Peter and John. Bidding farewell to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:29 he said: ” . . . 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.” Again in 2 Tim. 4:3,4 he said: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; . . . And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” This condition developed when some who were former pagans joined the Christians and were still influenced by their former philosophies. The apostle Paul warned Timothy of some who erred, having said that the resurrection is already past. He also felt the loss of loyalty to his teaching in Asia, stating that they had turned away from him.
Pollution comes
The last message from our Lord on Patmos reveals how the well established seven churches of Asia had become contaminated in doctrine and practice by the deeds of Balaam, the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes and the practices of the wicked woman Jezebel. Peter also predicted ” . . . there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord . . . And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2nd Peter 2:1,2). They mocked Peter preaching the return of Christ, saying: “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2nd Peter 3:4). This is the situation described in our Bibles. Surely the river has been polluted by the things thrown into it by men.
One river I know of starts in a clear, lovely spring up in the hills. Along the way, many factories, laundries, mills, etc. dump their dirty refuse and waste in it, until, at Newark, the police won’t let the boys swim in it. Our salvation, then, depends upon the purity found only in the days of Christ and the apostles, the head waters of the stream, a sacred fountain where all that thirst may come and partake without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1). Our religion should not be a matter to inherit from parents. We should not be a Catholic or a Protestant just because our mother or father was one.
The Master had told the apostles that some of them should be put to death, and toward the end of the first century each of the apostles suffered martyrdom under the persecutions of Nero, Domitian, Decius, etc. During this period of pagan Rome, emperor worship was compulsory, and the Christians were condemned because they were saying . . . “that there is another king, one Jesus” (Acts 17:7).
Man made creeds
During the years of persecution, emperor worship was the issue under pagan Rome, but martyrdom was “the seed that spread even unto Caesar’s household.” At the beginning of the third century we find Christianity quite prevalent in the Roman world, but sorely divided by doctrinal disputes. So emperor Constantine called a council of church authorities at Nicaea (325 A.D.), for he realized he could rule more easily if the churches were unified. He invited some three hundred bishops (not all bishops were invited) to decide the current question and dispute over the nature of Christ and His relation to the Father. They adopted by majority vote what is known as the “Athanasian creed” which asserts that God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are three persons in the triune Godhead, co-equal, co-eternal. This is the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity, adopted by majority vote at a church council, presided over by a pagan emperor.
It is wise for us to go back to the Scriptures on this question, as well as all others. We hear the words of Jehovah at Mt. Sinai in the first commandment: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord”; or we read Paul’s positive statement for the Christians of his day: “Unto us there is one God, the Father”, in contrast to the many gods of the Greeks and Romans. Within a few centuries the political and religious groups worked together until church and state were one. It was during this period that the emperor Phocas designated the bishop of Rome as universal head of the entire church. This was in 606, and the beginning of the Papacy.
While there were many dissenters, such as the Donatists, Waldenses, Huguenots, etc., the dominant power in Europe was Papal, controlling not only religious affairs, but even business affairs. “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:16,17). Also we call to mind the words of Rev. 18:7: “…I sit a queen, and am no widow . . “
During this era an edict was proclaimed forbidding priests and monks to be married; penances were established; persons wishing to be forgiven by the priest had to fast for a period of time, or abstain from meat. All this was foretold by Paul, who said: “Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, . . . forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Where was the Bible during these dark ages? It was written only in Latin which no one could read but the priests. At the church council at Trent it was decreed: “If the Scriptures be read more harm than good would come, and if any have it in possession they shall not have absolution of their sins.”
Bible only source
These facts from history show how and when the stream of Christianity has been corrupted since the days of the apostles, by the things that have been thrown into it along the way. Our Bible, then, is the only reliable source of knowledge, for “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2nd Timothy 3:16), and is able to make us wise unto salvation. We must be grateful for the work of such men as William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into a language anyone can read and understand.
In the early 15th century a new development in the Christian church occurred, known as the Reformation, led by such theologians as Luther, Calvin, Knox and later by Wesley. We now find a complex situation which is to many a distressing problem, to the unbeliever a reproach. This condition will exist until the return of the Master. In that day many will say: ” . . . Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit” (Jeremiah 16:19). Our Lord said concerning His return: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22,23). When we read in our Bible about the future life we find a glorious form of worship in the age to come. Following are a few Scriptures that speak of this glory:
” . . . for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest” (Hebrews 8:11); “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14); “And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles” (Zech. 14:16); “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3).
When the Master drove the money-changers out of the temple (Matthew 21:13), he said: ” . . . My Father’s house shall be called the house of prayer . . . ” The future temple is described by the prophet Ezekiel in great detail, its location, size, purpose and glory. After all the details and regulations we read in Ezekiel 48:35: ” . . . and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One