Mystery of the Ages.PDF - Blow the Trumpet

it. But it was not the gospel Christ preached--his prophetic message of the comingkingdom of God.Emperor Decreed Doctrine of False ChurchWhat happened to the true Church during those centuries in which the gospel wassuppressed?Emperor Constantine died in A.D. 337, just over 300 years after Christ wascrucified. He had given his blessing to a church that claimed to be the one that Christfounded.Now that they were free from fear of oppression--the persecuted becamepersecutors. Those of the true Church who dared to disagree with their doctrine werebranded as heretics, worthy of punishment.In about A.D. 365 the Catholic Council of Laodicea wrote in one of its mostfamous canons: "Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work onthat day, rather, honouring the Lord's Day. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, letthem be anathema from Christ." This was a virtual sentence to torture and/or death. Thefalse church did not herself put true believers to death, but caused them to be put to death(Rev. 13:15). This decree of A.D. 365 definitely shows that there were true Christiansobserving the Sabbath.The small remnant of Christians of the Smyrna era fled once more--to seek thereligious freedom they needed to practice their beliefs.They left few records. Occasionally they appear as a footnote of history, rejectedas heretics, ridiculed, and hounded by their enemies. But their strongest testimony comesfrom Jesus himself, in his words of encouragement to the Church that was at Smyrna. "Iknow your works, tribulation, and poverty....Do not fear any of those things which youare about to suffer....Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev.2:9-10, Revised Authorized Version).And so the baton passed from the Smyrna Christians to those of the Pergamos era.These had been called to carry the truth through one of history's most difficultperiods--the Dark Ages.The power and influence of the great universal church spread far and wide,driving those who clung to the truth of God ever further into the wilderness.But they were never far from threat of persecution and martyrdom.And so very few of the Pergamos Christians remained faithful.One thousand years after Jesus had founded his Church, the exhausted remnant ofthe Pergamos era handed over the baton.The Thyatiran era got off to a vigorous start, preaching repentance throughout theAlpine Valley of Southern France and Northern Italy. Many heard and were converted.The religious authorities quickly reacted to this challenge.Leaders of the true Church were arrested. Some were martyred.After the death of its first leaders, the Church went into a temporary decline--butemerged once more under the dynamic leadership of Peter Waldo. For several years in the12th century, these Waldensians flourished in the Alpine Valleys, preaching what truth