Biblical Church History

Following the Hand of God and the Hand of Satan

Church Reference Approx. date

Meaning

Ephesus Rev. 2:1-7 90 – 200 AD Fully purposedSmyrna Rev. 2: 8-11 200-325 AD Bitterness and

death Pergamos Rev. 2: 12-

17325-500 AD Much marriage

Thyatria Rev. 2: 18-29

500- 1000 AD

Oder of affliction

Sardis Rev. 3:1-6 1000- 1500 AD

Red ones

Philadelphia

Rev. 3: 7-13 1500- 1900 AD

Brotherly love

Laodicea Rev. 3:14-22

1900- Rapture

Civil rights

THE 7 PERIODS OF CHURCH HISTORY

Revelation 2:18-29c.1000-1500 A.D.

“RED ONES”

ThyatIra

SARDI s

ThyatIra

I. The CommissionRev. 3: 1a

SARDI s

(Rev 3:1) And unto the angel of the church in

Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God,

and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou

hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

SARDI s

Remember, the name of each of the churches is directly correlated with God’s view point of that time period The name “Sardis” means red ones God’s view point of this church age during the darkest time to ever hit the earth through massive persecution and blood shed of bible believers was the “red ones”

SARDI s

During the Dark Ages the

Catholic Church slaughtered millions of Christians, and this atrocity is never mentioned today! The world has almost completely forgotten the many millions of people who were burned at the stake by the papacy because they wanted to worship God according to the Bible.Karl Marx- “If you can separate people from their history, you can convince them of anything.”

ThyatIra

II. The CharacterRev. 3: 1b

SARDI s

(Rev 3:1) And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These

things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name

that thou livest, and art dead.

SARDI s

Remember every time the lord

address one of these Churches, he reminds them of a characteristic of himself that John saw in Chapter 1

That characteristic is the main point of him that those churches need during that time period

(Rev 4:5) And out of the throne proceeded

lightnings and thunderings and

voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the

seven Spirits of God.

(Rev 5:6) And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the

throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb

as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God

sent forth into all the earth.

ThyatIra

III. The Condemnation Rev. 3: 1c

SARDI s

(Rev 3:1) And unto the angel of the church in

Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the

seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou

hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

ThyatIra

IV. The Correction Rev. 3: 2-3

SARDI s

(Rev 3:2-3) Be watchful, and strengthen the things which

remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore

how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I

will come upon thee.

SARDI s

The key is to repent not reform These that he is telling to repent are those that have been seduced into her bed.

ThyatIra

V. The Commendation Rev. 3: 4

SARDI s

(Rev 3:4-5) Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which

have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are

worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white

raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Sardis A. Population of the

remnant

“RED ONES”

SARDI s

Historians place the number around 4 million

Don’t ever lose sight of the fact of no matter how dark Israel got in the Old Testament and the no matter how dark it may get in the church God has always had his faithful few. (1 Kings 19:18)

God has always had those who would not bow to Baal, nor defile their garments.

SARDI s

In this Sardis church period there were those that who were never a part of the Catholic Church. People that stood for the Word of God and against that Church along time before the Reformation.

These people were not try to reform the Catholic Church because they were not ever a part of it.

Sardis B. The myth of

the Baptist being

Protestant

“RED ONES”

SARDI s

In the Ephesus Church Period they are called Montanists•Because a man names Montanist stood against those that preached that there was a priestly class over the lay people.•And many people stood with him so they named them after him.

In the Smyrna Church Period they are called Novations •This man preached against infant baptism

 

SARDI s

In the Ephesus Church Period they are called Montanists•Because a man names Montanist stood against those that preached that there was a priestly class over the lay people.•And many people stood with him so they named them after him.

In the Smyrna Church Period they are called Novations •This man preached against infant baptism

 

SARDI s

In the Pergamos Church Period they are called Donatists•This man preached against the state baptism

In the Thyatira Church Period they are called Paulicians •This group called out the Catholics about them not rightly dividing the truth by gathering their doctrine from the gospels.

SARDI s

In the Sardis Church Period they called by the name of the region they are from in Europe

•Cathari, Bogomils, Albigenses, Waldenses, Henricians, Bulgarians, Petrobusians, Arnoldists, Lollards Hussites and Ana Baptist

SARDI s

The Points of common theology

•They all professed to believe that the Bible alone was the final authority in every matter.•They believed that baptism was for those that had trusted Christ as savior only, and was to be done by immersion•They all believed in separation of Church and State.•None of them would ever pray to the dead (saints) or for the dead (purgatory)•They all rejected the Catholic Mass

THE CRUSADES

A. The background

of the Crusades

from God’s Perspective

SARDI s

Keep in mind as we move into the Crusades, the things we have learned about Satan:

The position he one held..The place he once was…The pride that lifted him up…The place and position he wants back…The peoples(nations) he uses…The plan he uses… (Church- State)

B. The background

of the Crusades

from Historical

and Biblical Perspective

SARDI s

The rise of Mohammed and the religion of IslamThe Moslems, through their power in the Turkish Nations had taken control of Jerusalem.The devil has become firmly established in Europe, through what was called the Holy Roman Empire.In the Sardis Period, he begins to turn his attention to the Middle East.

SARDI s

This was the time of the “feudal” system“Before the rise of national states in Western Europe, the people lived under a system called Feudalism. This was a social system of rights and obligations based on land ownership patterns. Each small district was ruled by a duke, count, or other noble. The noble’s power was based on the land he held in feud….

SARDI s

..This peculiar system of landholding determined the pattern of government. It also gave rise to fortified castles, knights in armor, and chivalry. The term “feudalism” therefore describes and entire way of life. The system of feudalism was established gradually, between the 8th and 11th centuries. France was the land of its earliest and most complete development, but in some for or other it was found in all the countries of Western Europe….

SARDI s

…It flourished especially from the 11th to the end of the 13th century. There are survivals of feudalism in the laws and social usages of modern European countries.”Compton’s New Century Encyclopedia & Reference Collection, Feudalism.

C. The actual

beginning of the

Crusades

SARDI s

The time is 1095 A.D.

The Pope on the throne is Urban the 2nd

SARDI s

Note the infatuation of the Roman Catholic church with relics, images, holy things and places…To the {Catholics} of Europe; Jerusalem in the Holy Land was sacred city. The tomb of Christ, the Mount of Olives, Golgotha, and all places associated with the life and death of Christ were believed to have divine powers of healing and of absolving penitents of sin. People from all parts of Europe made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and other holy places.Compton’s Encyclopedia, Crusades

SARDI s

The report from the Catholics returning from their pilgrimages…

The response of Pope Urban II…

SARDI s

In November of 1095 in Southern France, Pope Urban II calls the Council of Claremont.

It brought:14 Archbishops, 250 Bishops, 400 Abbots, and thousands of tents were pitched outside the walls.

Phillop Schaff, History of the Christian Church, V, 227

SARDI s

After 9 days of deliberation, Urban walked out on an elevated platform to address the people..

“The address was the most effective sermon ever preached by a pope or any other mortal. It stirred the deepest feelings of the hearers and was repeated throughout all Europe.”Ibid.

SARDI s

Key elements of the “sermon”The Catholics are “the elect of God”

The Moslems (Turks) are “the accursed race”

We (European Catholics)a re the answer to the cry of our brothers and sisters in the East.

If we go, Christ Himself will lead the armies.

Those who fight will receive an “incorruptible crown”

SARDI s

The theme throughout the “sermon” was… “God wills it!”

An excerpt from the “sermon”“It is the will of God. Let these words be your war-cry when you unsheathe the sword. You are the soldiers of the cross. Wear on your breast or shoulders the blood-red sign of the cross. Wear it as a token that His help will never fail you, as the pledge of a vow to be recalled.”Schaff, V, 229

SARDI s

The response of the people:

“Thousands at once took the oath and sewed crosses on their garments or branded it upon their bare skin.”Ibid

SARDI s

Meanwhile back in Jerusalem..The leader of the Turks in Jerusalem is saying, “It is the will of Allah that we stay in Jerusalem!”The Crusades were actually “It is the Will of God” vs. “It is the will of Allah.”From a biblical perspective, however, the Crusades were a political move of Satan, dressed in the religious clothes of the Roman Catholic Church, to get the Holy Land under Rome’s domination in order to put his false Christ on the throne in Jerusalem.

D. The Crusades

SARDI s

The First Crusades

1096 to 1099

The first wave was led by “Walter the penniless”..The second wave was led by “Peter the Hermit”..The third wave was led by the Nobles..On July 15, 1099, they finally conquered Jerusalem

SARDI s

The Second Crusade

1147 to 1149

Let by two kings: Conrad III and Louise VII

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The Third Crusade

1189 to 1192

The most popular and glamorized Crusade

Led by King Richard the 1st of England

SARDI s

The Fourth Crusade1200 to 1204Though they did not capture Jerusalem on this trip, they were able to bring back:

The head of StephenA thorn from Christ’s crownMary’s girdleThe Lord’s towel he used to gird Himself

in John 13One of John the Baptist’s armsThe finger Thomas put into Christ’s side

(John 20:27)The head of JamesA tear Christ shedSome of Christ actual blood that was

shed on the cross.

SARDI s

The Tragic Children’s Crusade 1212•The preacher of the Children's crusade was a child about twelve years of age, a French peasant lad, named Stephen of Cloyes, who became persuaded that Jesus Christ had commanded him to lead a crusade of children to the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. The children became wild with excitement, and flocked in vast crowds to the places appointed for rendezvous…

SARDI s

…Nothing could restrain them or thwart their purpose. "Even bolts and bars," says an old chronicler, "could not hold them." The movement excited the most diverse views. Some declared that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and quoted such Scriptural texts as these to justify the enthusiasm: "A child shall lead them;" "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained praise.”…

SARDI s

…Others, however, were quite as confident that the whole thing was the work of the Devil. The great majority of those who collected at the rallying places were boys under twelve years of age, but there were also many girls. When the crusade failed and many children were killed, staved or sold into slavery, the whole event was blamed on the Albigenses. This ignited the slaughter of Bible believers every where

SARDI s

The 5th crusade (1218-1221)

The 6th crusade (1228-1229)

The 7th crusade (1248-1254)

The 8th crusade (1270-1291)

(Rom 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called

according to his purpose.