Post by BrentKoivopolo888 on May 23, 2023 12:48:53 GMT -6
Jesus Christ rejected all of the religious movements of his day when he said "I will build my church." (Matthew 16:18) From that time until this it has become increasingly difficult to identify the church that he established.
For the first few centuries after the ministry of Jesus on the earth his church grew very rapidly. It spread into most of Europe, parts of Africa and parts of Asia. Then changes began to happen just as Jesus and his disciples had predicted. There began to be divisions and the "falling away" or "apostasy" began to take place. The leavening of "false teachers" actually corrupted the whole church just as the parable of the woman who hid the leavening in the three measures of meal until it was all leavened. (Luke 13:21)
Catholic Churches
For over a thousand years there existed only about four different churches that called themselves "Christian" and that claimed to be "Catholic" or "universal." There was a struggle among these four churches to be recognized as the Catholic Church. However, they all remain to this day.
The Roman Catholic Church is very well known in most parts of the world, especially in the west.
The Orthodox Catholic Churches are also fairly well known, but more in the Middle
East. The Orthodox Churches are subdivided among the various countries where they reside, such as the Russian Orthodox Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church, the Armenian Orthodox Catholic Church, etc.
Then there are are two other Catholic Churches that are much less well known in the west. The Nestorian Catholic Church is a somewhat smaller church thatn exists in Asia Minor and as far east as India.
The Coptic Catholic Church is strongest in Africa but also has some adherents in Asia.
These four different Catholic Churches all claim to have had their beginnings with Christ and his Apostles. The Roman Church believes that Peter was the foundation of that church. The Orthodox Churches believe that Paul founded their churches and so all of them believe that one or another of the Apostles passed his authority on to their churches and that it has descended in an unbroken chain of authority to them at this present time.
After nearly one thousand years under the spiritual rule of the Catholic Churches, some of the leaders within the Roman Church rose up in protest against abuses and excesses of that church in Europe. Some of these men assisted in translating the Bible into the common languages of Europe from the Greek, Latin and Hebrew. The people began to read the Scriptures for themselves and found them to teach very different things than what was then being taught by the Roman Church. Martin Luther protested against the sale of "indulgences." (Paying money to be forgiven for a sin that you may wish to commit in the future.)
Protestant (Evangelical) Churches
These people protested and are thus called Protestants. Today they go by various names depending on who started their movements. Martin Luther's followers called themselves "Lutherans." Luther translated the Bible into German. The Wesley brothers, John and Charles were leading men at the beginnings of the Methodist Church. Roger Williams is one of the men around whom the Baptist Churches rallied. Other well known men in the Reformation were John Wycliffe and William Tyndale of England, John Huss of Bohemia, John Calvin of France, John Knox of Scotland, Huldreich Zwingli of Switzerland and many others. Most of these men were directly connected originally with the Roman Catholic Church. There was no other church in their day except the other Catholic churches which existed in other areas of the world.
(Asuza St Revival, Jesus Movement, Charismatic Renewal, Moravians and the 100 Year Prayer Service, Arminianism, IHOP Asbury Revival and Jesus Image and the God the Father Movement deserve honorable mention here, but even they are stepping stones to the third kind of Christian Church....-B-ALHS-KV)
These men (Protestants-B-ALHS-KV) protested and tried to reform the Roman Church that they felt had gone astray in the great Apostasy of the preceding 1,000 years. Thus began the Reformation Movement from which sprang hundreds of Protestant Churches. Today there exists more than 300 Christian churches who find their roots in the Protestant Reformation. They are known by many different names, such as: Presbyterians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of Christ, Salvation Army, Baptists, Pentecostals, Mennonites, Seventh Day Adventists, and many others. Many of their followers today prefer to be called "Evangelicals", or simply "Christians" because they say they are no longer protesting. But they must not forget that the very men who founded their churches between two and five hundred years ago, did protest and many of them were persecuted to the death. The churches of the Reformation Movement can all be traced back to a former connection with the Roman Church or one of the other Protestant churches that broke away from Rome.
It must be recognized that the Protestant Reformation Movement that began about the time of the invention of the printing press near the end of the 1400s was as much a struggle for political freedom as it was for freedom of worship. The countries of northern Europe revolted against the Roman Church and became mostly Protestant. The countries of southern Europe largely remained under the control of the Roman Church. Consequently when the New World was colonized, the new settlements largely reflected the political and religious systems of the countries of their origin. North America and Canada became mostly Protestant countries. Mexico, Central America and South America were settled by Roman Catholic conquistadors who brought their priests with them, so those countries naturally developed Roman Catholic institutions. The priests brought with them their own images and put them in the places of the Indians had previously worshipped. Many people fled to the New World trying to escape the tyranny of the Inquisition which ruthlessly destroyed or tortured anyone who did not accept the absolute rule of the Roman Church.
Thus far we have discussed the most commonly known forms of Christianity. The Catholic Churches teach that they have an unbroken chain of authority reaching back to the Apostles, and the Protestant Churches but dispute that claim. Their founding leaders taught that the Roman Church fell into so many excesses and abuses during the hundreds of years of the "Middle Ages" that its chain of authority was broken. They recognized this as the great "Apostasy" that is mentioned in many places in the Bible.
Restoration Churches
The third kind of Christian church that exists today has some things in common with both the Catholic churches and with the Protestant churches. It is known as the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. Also known as the Restoration Movement, its adherents agree with the Catholic churches that authority from God is important and that it is a Biblical principle. However, the Restoration Movement agrees with the Protestant churches by teaching that no spiritual authority could have remained in the Catholic churches after the many changes that had taken place and the great abuses of power and wickedness in high places during the 1,000 years before the Reformation began.
The Churches of the Restoration agree with the teachings of the Bible that there would be a great "falling away" or "Apostasy" before Christ would return. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) They also agree with the Bible that the only way out of such spiritual darkness would be a Restoration directly from heaven. Man alone could not recover that which had been lost for so long. Revelation 14:6, Malachi 4:5-6) Only by a new revelation of God's power could the Church of Jesus Christ be restored to its former purity and called back out of the wilderness as prophesied in the Bible.
Perhaps the best way to illustrate some of the differences between the three types of Christian churches is through an analogy. Suppose a young man married a beautiful and virtuous young woman. After establishing a happy home in their community he was required to leave for a length of time. In his absence conditions became so unbearable in the community that his bride had to flee from their home and hide herself. In her absence another woman came and lived in their home. This woman was not at all like the kind and virtuous bride that the groom had married. This woman was a harlot and began to use force and cruelty to rule over their neighbors. When the husband returns to their home, will he want "reformation" or "restoration?" Would it be sufficient for a priest, minister or even a marriage counselor to come into their home and try to "reform" her character? Or would the husband cry out in despair, "I want my original bride back!" Of course, he would want "restoration."
The Restoration Churches teach that when Jesus Christ returns as the groom for his wedding feast, he will look for his Bride. Nor is Jesus a polygamist. He will not accept the 300 plus different churches as his brides. According to Jesus' own words he says that not everyone who calls him Lord will be allowed to enter into the wedding feast at the time of his return. Jesus also said "many shall come in my name."(Matthew 24:5)
It is a fact that most of the founders of the Reformation also looked forward to a time when God would "restore" that which had been lost. They knew that before Jesus returns there must be a great awakening where God would again begin to work among men as He had in the days of the Prophets and Apostles. (With the Everlasting Gospel in Revelation (the sealed Book of Isaiah 29 (The Book of Mormon) the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood structure the Church structure and the "Latter Day Glory", angelic visitations, Zion in Independence Missouri with Temples, Telestial, Terrestrial and Celestial Glories, etc.-not just a great awakening amongst the Protestants like the Moravians or the Jesus Revolution, as good as those things were-BLSKV) They also lamented that it did not happen in their day. The Reformers also recognized that the appointed time had not arrived yet, but that it would soon come.
That time came in the decade of 1820 to 1830 when God again moved to restore his Church and his divinely called ministers who were then sent out to preach and teach the "fullness" of the "Gospel of the Kingdom." Many wonderful and surprising events have taken place since 1820 until the present. Many prophecies from the Bible have been and are still being fulfilled.
The Restoration Churches teach that there are two basic principles at work in the history of the world. They are the principles of Apostasy and Restoration. They are as simple as the natural laws that govern the physical world around us. Left to themselves all things tend to run down, wear out and die. This can take place even more quickly when there are people who help the process along. Restoration is the principle that seeks to reverse the process of decay. These principles have been in effect since the fall of Adam. Man has rebelled and fallen away from God, and God has moved to restore man to his presence. God has always used his supernatural power to restore his people to Himself. He has used prophets, angels, miracles and even sent His own Son to die in our place so that we can be restored to His presence.
We invite you to investigate the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the miraculous events that have accompanied the Restoration. We invite you to do what the Bible says:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)
You can receive your own personal testimony from God. You do not have to rely only on the word of others. We believe that anyone who will sincerely and honestly ask God in faith will be given an answer from on high. Millions of people have testified that God has answered their prayers and they have testified that they know that the Restoration Movement is from God. We believe that its purpose is to fulfill God's promises to His people before the return of His Son Jesus Christ.
Plan of Action
We invite you to read the Word of God each day in order to increase your faith in and knowledge of God and his plan for your life. Accept and be obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Speak to others each day of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of his plan of Redemption for the world.
For Further Information:
www.3scriptures.com
left hand corner drop down menu for the Scriptures (Inspired Version, Book of Mormon, doctrine and Covenants, Lectures on faith and RLDS Church History
Christ's love is unconditional. Let no man talk you out of that precept.
The Endowment by Earl R. Curry.
www.jesusisthechrist.net
See white spiral bound ZRF edition of The Endowment for missing line