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The Lords ChurchThrough the Ages

• Part 2
• The Post-Apostolic Period

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The Lords Church Through the AgesWhere Are We?
The New Testament Church Post-Apostolic Period Medieval Period Reformation Period Restoration Period The Lords Church Today
A.D. 33 - 100 100 - 600 600 - 1300 1300 - 1700 1700 - 1900 1900 - 2011
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Why This Study?

• A study of history is profitable for learning
  valuable lessons (1 Corinthians 1011-12)
• A study of the Post-Apostolic Period will show
  the beginnings of apostasy the when, where, and
  why of apostasy within the Lords church

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Understanding Some Terms

• The Post-Apostolic period is the period after
  (post) the death of the apostles and those who
  personally knew the apostles.
• The Apostolic Fathers were a group of men who
  knew some of the original apostles and who lived
  at the end of the 1st Century and the beginning
  of the 2nd Century (Clement of Rome, Ignatius,
  Justin Martyr, Polycarp, etc.).

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Understanding Some Terms

• The Ante-Nicene (before Nicea) period runs from
  100 to 325.
• The Ante-Nicene Fathers were a group of men who
  lived after the Apostolic Fathers and before
  the Council of Nicea in 325 (Irenaeus, Clement of
  Alexandria, etc.).

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Five Key Marks of the Post-Apostolic Period

• 1. Persecution of the New Testament church
• 2. Further departures from the faith
• 3. Men and their movements
• 4. Councils and their creeds
• 5. Union of church and state

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Five Ps Behind the Apostasies of the
Post-Apostolic Period

• 1. Pride
• 2. Power
• 3. Prominence / Prestige
• 4. Promiscuity
• 5. Passivity

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Persecution of the New Testament Church

• Principle persecutors Roman emperors
• Prominent martyrs Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus
• Pertinent reasons Christians opposed Rome
• Popular reactions some Christians gave up, some
  Christians held on

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Further Departures From the Faith

• Departures in doctrine
• Departures in worship and practice
• Departures in organization
• Departures in character

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Men and Their Movements

• Men Apostolic Fathers, apologists,
  Alexandrians, men of North Africa, preachers
• Movements monasticism, the papacy

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Councils and Their Creeds

• Councils Nicea (325, 787), Constantinople (381,
  553, 680), Ephesus (431) Chalcedon (451)
• Creeds formal statements of faith came out of
  the councils and governed religion
  (Canon Law)

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Union of Church and State

• Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity
  in the early part of the 4th Century, but he put
  off baptism to the end of his life. After
  Constantines conversion, much good was
  accomplished 1) Rome protected the Apostate
  Church instead of persecuting it, 2) church
  buildings were restored and reopened, 3)
  heathenism was discouraged, 4) crucifixion was
  abolished, 5) infanticide was repressed, 6)
  slavery was regulated, and 7) gladiator contests
  were suppressed.

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Union of Church and State

• After Constantines conversion, much bad was
  also accomplished 1) the Apostate Church was
  run like the Roman Empire and 2) heathen
  religions were converted and brought much of
  their belief and practice with them into the
  Apostate Church (images, ceremony, holy days,
  etc.).

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Union of Church and State( Apostate Church Run
Like the Roman Empire )

• The Roman Empire

• The Apostate Church

• Emperor (Head)
• Senate
• Imperial Governor
• Provincial Governor
• Civitas
• Common people

• Pope (Head)
• Council
• Patriarchal bishop
• Metropolitan bishop
• Clergy (bishop / priest)
• Laity (common people)

Hierarchy of Authority
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Lessons Learned

• How will you react to the persecutions that
  Christians face today (Lk. 622-23 2 Tim. 312)?
•  Departures from the faith come when individuals
  do not know the scriptures, respect the
  scriptures, or both (2 Pet. 316-18)
• Will you follow men and their movements or Jesus
  Christ and his word (Mt. 175)?

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Lessons Learned

• One wrong, like a departure from the faith, often
  leads to other wrongs like forming councils and
  creeds to answer and defend against the
  departures (2 Tim. 216 313)
• The Lord never intended for his church to be a
  political machine of church and state, but a
  teaching body (1 Tim. 315)

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The Lords Church Through the Ages

• Let us be content to respect Bible authority and
  do the Lords work in the Lords way
• Let us be the faithful remnant of the Lords
  church today