South African Bible Believers

CHURCH HISTORY - Third Period

• Old or Imperial Catholic Period (Pergamum, Abnormal Mustard Tree)

• The Faith Disputed (313-590) (Rev 2:12-17; Matt 13:31-32)

A period which began with victory over persecution soon saw the Church succumbing to the favours of the Roman Empire and testimony declined.

Description of the Lord

• of Himself - the Judge (Rev 2:12)

• of the Church - Raised to worldly power

Dilution of Testimony

• Decree of Constantine AD313 - Toleration of religions.

• Persecutions stopped. Professing Church suddenly popular. Favours of bishops sought by all. Large numbers of unsaved joined "the Church"

•  artificial growth - abnormal mustard tree where evil resided ("birds of the air" - "Satan's throne").  Church elevated by emperors - marriage of Church & State - "Balaamism" (Rev 2:14)

Departures from Scripture - confirmed - Distortion of Truth in addition to those in previous period.

• Worship of Mary as "Mother of God", of saints, martyrs, relics.

• Priests become sacrificing priests.

•  Lord's Supper perverted - Transubstantiation & Mass.

• Infant baptism, baptism of unsaved.

• Vestments introduced - like pagan priests.

• Sacraments, monasticism developed.

• Salvation in Catholic Church alone.

Defence of the Faith - "Antipas" =  "against all" (Rev 2:13)

• Priscillian - Fourth Century Spanish nobleman - adhered to New Testament principles & practice - First Christian to be martyred  by the Catholic Church

• Athanasius - exiled 5 times, staunch defender of doctrine of the          Deity of The Lord Jesus - "very God of very God".

• Three Cappadocians

• Canon of New Testament recognised & closed - Third Council of Carthage (397AD) to repudiate heretical literature.

Disputes over Doctrine - Ecumenical Councils

• Council of Nicea (325AD) condemned Arianism.  The Lord Jesus acknowledged as God - "Homoousios" (of one substance, essence)

• Council of Constantinople (381AD) condemned Macedonianism & Sabellianism. Holy Spirit acknowledged as God.

• Council of Ephesus (431AD) condemned Nestorianism. Two natures of our Lord in one Person - understood: Theanthropos = God-Man -  Hypostatic Union of Two Natures. Nestorian Church separated from Catholic Church.

• Council of Chalcedon (451AD) condemned Eutychianism. Two natures of our Lord not fused into one nature acknowledged - Coptic Church separated from Catholic Church.

Divisions of Visible Church

• Old Catholic Church - five Patriarchates & five Patriarchs

• Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria monarchical episcopacy.

• Anti-Catholic Church - Nestorian (Syria, Persia, etc).

• Coptic (Egypt, Abyssinia)

• Non-Catholic Pilgrim Church - Persecuted by Catholic Church -   actually New Testament assemblies labelled by their persecutors various names - Novatians (Italy etc), Donatists (North Africa), Priscillianists (Spain), Celtic Church(British Isles)

• Paulicians or Thonraks (Asia Minor, Armenia), Waldensians (Italy), Albigenses (France) etc.

 Dissemination of the Gospel

Western Europe and Eastern Europe were evangelised by the Catholics from Rome and Constantinople.  These two groups came to be known as Roman Catholic & Greek Orthodox (or Byzantine) Churches respectively.

Distinctive Personalities of the Catholic Church

Athanasius, Three Cappadocians – Basis the Great & his brother Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus – Hilary, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Jerome, Leo the Great, Leo the Isaurian (the Iconoclast).