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History:
Church


I. Pentecost- Birth of the Church-33-64 AD.

  1. The Apostolic Age- Book of Acts  (Acts 1:8 key outline verse)
    1. Judea- Acts 1-7
      1. Birth of Church.- Acts 2
      2. Stephen was stoned- Acts 7 church is scattered
    2. Samaria- Acts 8-12
    3. Uttermost part of the earth- Acts 13- 28 Paul's Missionary Journeys

II. Persecution-64-313 AD

  1. The first Imperial Persecution-64 AD
    1. Nero blames the Christians for burning Rome 64 AD. Christians are used as torches to light Nero's garden. I believe this is the beginning of the Tribulation period of seven years with the climax at the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The name "Nero Caesar" adds up to 666 in Hebrew (see Biblecodes). "The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church." Christians were forced to live in the catacombs of Rome.
  2. Early Church Fathers
    1. Ignatius-Bishop of Antioch in Syria
    2. Polycarp see Martyrdom of Polycarp
    3. Irenaeus
    4. Tertullian
    5. Justin Martyr
    6. Shepherd of Hermas
    7. Didache
    8. Clement of Rome
    9. Origen
    10. Eusebius (263-339), Ecclesiatical History
  3. Early Heresies
    1. 2nd Century-Gnosticism-secret knowledge
    2. 3rd Century-Monarchianism
    3. 4th Century-Arius
  4. The Last persecution under Diocletion was the worst 303 AD.

III. Political Union of Church & State 313-476 AD

  1. Constantine issues the edict of Milan in 313 AD.
    The persecution stops. Constantine becomes head of the Church. In 323 AD becomes sole emperor, and moves the capitol to Constantinople, now modern day Istanbul.
  2. Rome falls in 476 AD.
  3. Church Councils.
    1. Council of  Nicaea-325 AD Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed
    2. Council of  Contantinople- 381 AD Athanasius vs. Arius- Christ's Deity?
    3. Council of Chalcedon -451 AD. Perfect God and Perfect man. The Definition of Chalcedon
  4. Curch Leaders
    1. Augustine- Books Confessions and The City of God
    2. Jerome- Latin translation-Vulgate.
  5. Growth of Monasteries
    1. Anthony the Hermit
    2. Pillar Saints- Simon of the pillar 423 AD 60 feet up for 37 years.

IV. Pope's Power and Prosperity 476- 1517 AD.

  1. Pope's rise to power to fill the vaccum of the fall of Rome. Kings must get there approval from the Pope. Gregory the Great.
  2. Rise of Islam. Mohammed born in 570 AD retires to a cave where supposedly the angel Gabriel commanded him to be the true Prophet of Allah. He was driven from Mecca. He Fled to Medina where he raised an army and conquered Mecca. They conquered Arabia, North Africa, Palestine, Persia, and Asia Minor. Their main belief is "There is but one God, Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet." After Mohammed's death his teachings where complied into a book called the "Koran." His successors are called "Calph" meaning "successor."
  3. Rise of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne 800 AD
  4. Seven Major Crusades to take back the Holy Land.
  5. New Monastic Orders-reform
    1. Cistercians - Bernard of Clairvaux
    2. Francis of Assisi
    3. Dominicans - Thomas Aquinas- Summa Theologica Man is dead spiritually, but his reason is not like Aristole.
  6. Pre-reformation Leaders
    1. Peter Waldo and his followers the "Waldensians." 1175 AD
    2. William of Ockham 1290-1349 AD. He called for reform in the Roman Catholic Church. He rejected Papal authority. He was a skilled writer. Today we still use the principle named after him "Ockham's razor" which is the fewer or simplier the assumptions the better.
    3. John Wycliff born in England in 1324 AD. Translated the Latin Bible into English in 1388 AD. He imposed the Pope in paying taxes and in doctrine. He is called "the Morning Star of the Reformation."
    4. John Hus followed much of Wycliff. At the Council of Constance he was condemned and then he was burned at the stake in 1415 AD. Peter of Prauge was also burned at the stake.
    5. Savonarola (1452-98) was an Italian preacher of reform who denounced the Pope, was excommunicated, and then executed.
  7. The Renaissance renewed interest in Classical Studies, and therefore the study of the New Testament in the orginal Greek. Erasmus prepared a Greek edition of the NT which is the basis for the textus receptus.
  8. The invention of the printing press in 1455 by Gutenberg. The first book printed was the Bible. The printing press was key to the spread of the Reformation.

V. Protestant Reformation- 1517 AD

  1. Martin Luther was born in Germany on 1483 AD.
    1. On October 31, 1517 Luther nail his 95 theses to the of the Wittenberg Church. For more information about Martin Luther.
    2. Pope's Bull of Excommunication. Luther burns the Bull. (Bull a offical leter from the Pope). 1521.
    3. Martin Luther does not recant at the Diet of  Worms 1521. (Worms is a city in Germany). Luther declares, " I can not will not recanr, for it is neither safe nor right to act against one's conscience-Here I stand, I can not do otherwise. God help me! Amen."
      Luther is taken away to Warburg Castle where he translates the New Testament into the German language. Luther returns to Wittenberg to lead the reformation. Followers of Luther are called "Lutherans."
    4. The Three Great Principles of the Reformation
      1. The Bible is the final authority
      2. We are saved by Grace through faith, not by works.
      3. The Priesthood of Believers. We can pray directly to God.
  2. Zwingli at Zurich, Switzerland. The Anabaptists-Grebel
  3. John Calvin at Geneva, Switzerland- The Reformed Church, The Institutes. The Works of John Calvin.
  4. John Knox in Scotland, the Presbyterians.
  5. Thomas Cranmer - Henry VIII the Anglicans- Church of England.
    1. The Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England. John Bunyan wrote  Pilgrim's Progress published in 1678. He also penned Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666) and The Holy War (1682). See Acacia John Bunyan Online Library.
    2. The Separatists separated from the church. The Pilgrims come to America 1620.
  6. Many translations of the Bible Appeared in English
    1. Willaim Tyndale NT in 1525. See The William Tyndale Gallery and The Tyndale Society.
    2. Miles Coverdale in 1535
    3. Matthew Bible 1537
    4. The Great Bible 1539 (Revision of the Matthew Bible by Coverdale)
    5. The Geneva Bible 1560 which became very popular with its Calvinistic notes.
    6. The Bishop's Bible 1568
    7. The Rheims-Douay Bible from Latin (Catholic version) 1582, 1610
    8. The King James Bible 1611. This was requested by the Puritans, but the Geneva Bible remained more popular for another 50 years. For KJV only web page.
  7. The Counter Reformation by the Catholic Church
    1. The Inquisition - torture and death for those who did not submit to the church. The first real inquisition was suggested by Pope Alexander III 1162 AD. At the Third Lateran Council of 1179 he called for a crusade against the Cathars of France.
      1. The most imfamous is the Spanish Inquisition. There were early ones, but not until 1480 did Ferdinand and Isabella make the Spanish Inquisition a royal instrument with its center at Madrid. They are the same ones that backed Columbus' expedition in 1942.
      2. The Roman Inquisition began in 1542 which was contolled by the Papacy.
      3. In France the Huguenots were persecuted. When Catherine of Medici came to the throne she plotted to destroy them. On Sunday night August 23, 1572 there was the massacre of 30,000 Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day and more in the days that followed. Many fled France.
    2. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits in 1540. Their first and greatest missionary was Francis Xavier (1502-52) who worked in India, Indonesia, and Japan.
    3. The Council of Trent called by Pope Paul III. It met for three sessions: 1545-47, 1551-52, and 1562-63. In 1564 the Tridentine Index was published which listed the books Catholics were forbidden to read which was kept until 1966.
    4. Henry VIII became the "Defender of the Faith" against Martin Luther, but when the Pope delayed in granting a divorce, he split with Rome. Cardinal Wolsey in a great public display in London had all the books of Luther burned. King Henry got parliament to pass the "Bloody Act" that made Protestantism illegal and punishable by death. When Mary the daughter of Henry and Catherine ascended the throne she tried to return England to Catholicism. The Bloody Act   was enforced resulting in many Protestant leaders being cast into prison, and over 900 of them were burned at the stake including Thomas Cranmer, Bishop Latimer, Ridley, and Hooper. Historians call her "Bloody Mary."
    5. The Thirty Years War between Protestants and Catholics 1618-1648. Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Pope Innocent X renounced the treaty in 1651, but the Catholic armies were too exhausted to continue fighting. 

VI. Pietism and Revivals-16-20th Century

  1. Moravans-Count Zinzendorf
  2. Methodists-John Wesley 1740 The "Great Awakening"
  3. Modern Missionary Movement
    1. Started with William Carey in 1792 when he went to India.
    2. Hudson Talyor goes to China.
    3. Dr. David Livingstone explores Africa.
  4. Modern Revival Meetings
    1. Camp Meetings- Cane Ridge Stone and Campbell 1801, Church of Christ
    2. "Prayer Meetings" 1857 Revival
    3. Sunday School started by Richard Blake.
  5. Modern Preachers
    1. 19th Century
      1. Charles Finney-the invitation
      2. D.L.Moody -Toray   Moody Bible Institute
    2. 20th Century
      1. Billy Sunday
      2. Billy Graham - See his Website Billy Grahm Evangelistic Association.
  6. Modern Tongues Movement-History of the Pentecostal Movement
    1. Tongues
    2. Healing
    3. Holy Laughter
    4. Word of Knowledge
    5. Visions
  7. Modern Cults
    1. Seventh Day Adventists
      1. Miller claimed that Christ would return in 1844 then again in 1845. There was great disillusion when Christ did not return.
      2. Ellen White said that Christ did come, but into the Holy Sanctuary. Christ could not return to earth because they had not kept the Sabbath. Church must be on Saturday. Her wrtitings become the basis of their doctines. In recent years some have emphasized the Bible over her wriitngs.
    2. Mormons or The Church of the Latter-Day Saints
      1. Joseph Smith born in 1805. In 1820 he sees his first vision. His second vision is in 1823. The angel Moroni comes to him and tells him where there is a book with gold plates. The Book of Mormon is supposedly a translation of these gold plates that tell about the Indians in America who are said to be the 10 lost tribes of Israel, and how Christ appeared to them after his resurrection. There is no archaeological evidence for this.
      2. Brigham Young took over after Joseph Smith was killed by an angry mob of 200 people who stormed the jail in Carthage, Illinios in 1844. Young led the rest of Smith's followers across the country where they arrived in Salt Lake City in 1847.
    3. Jehovah's Witnesses
      1. Charles Russell - 1879 founded the Zion's Watchtower magazine. Jesus to return in 1914. He did not so they say Jesus returned in secret and invisible.
      2. Joseph Rutherford - 1916 becomes president of the Watchtower Society. He claims Jesus will return in 1922, 23.

VII. Post-Modernism-21st Century

  1. Darwin -  Origin of the Species 1859-Theory of Evolution
  2. Ecumenical movement- World Council of Churches 1948
  3. Vatican Council II 1962-65