HISTORY OF GOD'S TRUE CHURCH

Some two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ declared, 'I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.' (Matthew 16:18). His true Church was prophesied to never die out. No matter how intense the persecution throughout the centuries from the the time it was first founded in AD 31 to the present, there was always a small group of faithful followers, empowered by God's Holy Spirit, to keep the faith alive!

The word "church" , derived from the Greek word ecclesia means to be "called out". This means that the true Church of God is one which has come out of the world because though the true church is in the world, it is not of the world (John 15:19). That explains why the true church was, still is, and will remain the minority till the end of this church age.

Since the birth of the Church from Pentecost to the present, the Church has undergone seven separate and successive eras. These seven eras are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Geographically, these were seven cities located in Asia Minor (now western Turkey) on a mail route in biblical times. The messages in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 on these seven cities/eras are spiritual pattern that span the history of Christs' Church over the two millennia - from AD 31 until the Second Coming of Christ.

Before going into the history of each of these seven church eras, it is appropriate to take a glimpse of what happened immediately after the apostolic era of the church. Perhaps the most influential and most destructive of all false teachers is Simon Magus - the word 'magus' means sorcerer or magician. He is probably one of the first founders of the first century heretical movement that mixed truth with falsehood. Christian writers of the second and subsequent centuries were influenced by his false teachings, including well-known Christian writers like Ignatius, Tertullian and Origen.

Simon Magus - the high priest of the Babylonian religion - was especially attracted to the philosophy of Gnosticism. The Gnostic school of philosophy teaches that all reality could only be understood by those well trained in philosophical reasoning. Extending such logic to biblical interpretation, these Gnostics concluded that all events and commandments recorded in the Bible were mere allegories and metaphors never to be taken literally. Simon Magus used the tricks of Gnosticism to deceive and confuse many of his fellow Samaritans for his own purposes. His infamous name was so well-known that the Encyclopedia Britannica referred to him as the 'Samaritan Messiah' and the 'father of all heresy'.

His work of heresy was set to expand as he travelled from city to city to propagate his own counterfeit brand of Christianity. He propounded the doctrine of grace as the licence to disobey God's law. Hence, in the early formative years of the growth of the true Church of God was this counterfeit movement. Many like Simon Magus claimed to be apostles, but are not. Revelation 2:2 was recorded as a warning to the church in the Ephesus era, 'I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars.'

At this juncture, let's look at the ministries of Christ appointed twelve apostles. It is worthy to note that Christ instructed His twelve to minister to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6). Again, He reiterated this same statement in Matthew 15:24, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' Because when he comes in His glory, the twelve disciples shall sit upon the twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28).

Christ chosen twelve apostles were sent to the lost tribes of Israel after ministering in Jerusalem and Judea in the formative years of the church. The rest of the book of Acts records primarily the works of the Apostle Paul and his missions to the Greek and the Romans areas. Since most of the records of the book of Acts were mainly focused in the eastern Mediterranean area from Judea in the east to Rome in the west, much of the work by the other apostles to the lost tribes were left unrecorded. Some bible scholars conjectured that it could be God's purpose to leave the identity of the lost tribes hidden throughout the ages, perhaps until the time of the end.

When the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the invading Assyrian army, they were taken captives and many of them relocated to the areas in and around Assyria and Media. Their place of abode include places like Parthia, Scythia and Armenia. In a period of a few centuries, many had already migrated to the northwest - the present area of Western Europe. James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, in his epistle acknowledged the twelve tribes scattered abroad. The Apostle Peter addressed his opening espistle in 1 Peter 1:1 to the pilgrims scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. All these areas are in the northern part of Asia Minor.

According to highly acclaimed historians of that period, Joseph of Arimathea, Simon Zelotes and Aristobulus planted the true church in Britain. It seems that Joseph of Arimathea played a significant part in the work of the church in Britain. So was Aristobulus, a disciple of the Apostle Paul (Romans 16:10), who became the first bishop of Britain.

As was the case throughout the history of God's true church, when there was persecution, the church grew and spread to many regions where it was first preached. One account relates how the Roman Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) summoned the Apostle John to Rome and questioned him about the teachings that Christ was to reign as King and would abolish all human installed governments. John's reply: "You shall reign for many years given you by God, and after you very many others; and when the times of things upon the earth have been fulfilled, out of heaven shall come a King, eternal, true Judge of the living and the dead, to whom every nation and tribe shall conform, through whom every earthly power and dominion shall be brought to nothing, and every mouth speaking great things shall be shut." (Acts of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian", page 560-562).

Not too long thereafter, John was banished to the Isle of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea. It was there that he received the vision from the Lord Christ to record the prophecies of Revelation. Upon his release, John resided in Ephesus for the remaining years of his life. He was the only apostle to die of old age, the rest were martyred.

John's death around AD 100 ended the apostolic era - the most part constituted the Ephesus Era. Polycarp succeeded him and it was then that the Smyrna Era commenced.