The Advent of the End-Time Church: What Are the True and Apostate Churches?

By David J. Wiseman

Since the beginning of the Christian Church, two parallel churches have existed. There is the church organization, so often controlled by man, rather than by God and there is the true spiritual churchthe remnantthat walks in obedience with God regardless of the name over the door.

The Advent of The End-Time Church investigates the end-time church and its origins. There is a decaying organizational church but within it is a glorious church without spot or wrinkle that our Lord is coming back to claim.

It examines the strengths, weaknesses and practices of the church universal. It is a call for the body of Christ to band together with these strengths in these last days for there is one Lord and one church. The Christian must be vigilant against being seduced and fooled.

It is a warning to Gods people how they can be lulled to sleep by stagnant tradition and doctrines, which they believe are time-proven but many of which can be traced to seeds of Gentile paganism. Being grounded in contemporary events, it is a warning to wake up, not only to what is happening in society but also within the church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 2, 2004
• ISBN: 9781418402068

David J. Wiseman

David Wiseman has been a pastor and evangelist since 1970. In addition, he has been a broadcast engineer since 1968 involved in commercial, public and Christian broadcasting. Having first received a technical education, he later studied for the ministry in answer to the call. Although this is his first book, he has published Christian and technical articles. He resides in Southeastern Ohio with Jane his wife of forty-two years where they pastor a church and he serves as a university administrator.

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Contents

Dedication:

Preface

Chapter 1

The Seeds of The Apostate Church

Chapter 2

In Search Of Our True Roots

Chapter 3

The Effects of The Greek-Roman Culture On The Church

Chapter 4

The Effects of Modern Culture On

The Church

Chapter 5

A Warning And Promise To The Church

Chapter 6

The Last Church:

The Eighth Church of The Revelation

Chapter 7

The Bride of Christ

Epilogue

About the Author

Dedication:

To my beloved wife, Jane Lynn (Parsons) Wiseman, of over forty-two years who has stood by my side through life’s experiences and encouraged me to publish this work

Preface

In what has turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy—that our understanding of the book of The Revelation will accelerate as the time of the second coming of our Lord approaches—the Lord has been giving me new insight into this book of the Bible as well as other scripture.

I have never thought of myself as a prophet or operated in the prophetic word, only occasionally preaching or teaching on the subject. I do not consider myself a scholar of prophecy. Yet, for the last fifteen years, God has been revealing to me the formation of the false church of the seventeenth chapter of The Revelation. He has also given a fresh new vision of the true church—the church within a church—a remnant that has always existed.

This is not a treatise on the seven churches of The Revelation, though they are a reference. I will leave that to the scholars on the subject. Many good volumes are extant. My prayer is to add to those works with this effort. Neither is this a suggestion for an organizational ecumenical approach to the unity of the church. Also it should not be construed as denominational bashing. Although I am writing from a non-denominational position for the present, I have been associated with different denominations at different periods of my life. I recognize the move of God on all denominations throughout history. It is, however, a candid revelation of God to one who hath an ear, to hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Revelation 2:7a).

During the decade of the eighties, the Lord began to bring me to the place, spiritually, that I could objectively understand how the body of Christ today is weighed by the messages to the seven churches of The Revelation, chapters two and three. He has been revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the various movements and denominations. He has been exposing what has been contributing to the setting of the stage for the harlot church of The Revelation.

These insights have not come without a price. The process of the potter molding the clay vessel to receive these truths has been, at the same time, both exciting and humbling. I have come face to face with my own biases—and overcoming them—in order to be able to obtain a broad and objective perspective of the body of Christ. The effects of background culture, training and yes, tradition, in the shaping of my own faith and convictions, have been unmaskedgood and bad. I have had to change my own mind and understanding about some elements of my faith.

This work has been born out of the crucible of a personal experience with the Lord, study in the word for over forty years, over thirty years of evangelism and pastoral ministry, including victory, joy, adversity, illness, healing, disappointment, chastisement, deliverance, and enlightenment.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee (Revelation 2:4a)

What does the Lord approve of and disapprove of in the church today? What is the origin of the apostate church? Where does it originate from or has the seed always been here? Does the church today have a role? What does God have to say to the church—the body of Christ—today? Equally important, what does he have for the church today?

The Lord is coming back for a bride—one bride, not multiple brides from each denomination or movement—to take to the wedding feast of the Lamb (Matthew 25:1-10, Revelation 19:9, 21:2). What is this bride like? What is the preparation of this bride for the bridegroom? This writing answers these questions and more. In these pages I present a message to "the Church," not a doctrinal or organizational discourse based on any individual Christian movement, denomination or theological position. It is a search for an accurate picture of both the true and apostate churches.

God has called me to share this message. I offer it to those who seek the truth and a eternal reward in heaven not just participate in a religion. It is for those who desire not to be seduced in these last days; who choose to live close to the leading of the Holy Spirit by whom we are sealed and to those who would rather please God, than men (Romans 8:8, Acts 5:29).

Prayerfully read these pages, being open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, allowing the Lord to speak to your heart.

Chapter 1

The Seeds of The Apostate Church

In over thirty years of ministry, I have encountered many people who do not understand our Christian heritage and history. Many believe that all church doctrine and traditions are time-proven and that all teaching of the church fathers, traced back to what many believe is the first church at Rome, is sacred, daring not to challenge them. But God is challenging and shaking those foundations in these last days.

As the time is nearing for the Lord’s return, certain questions surface with more intensity. What is the apostate church of the Revelation? Where does it come from? What is instrumental in preparing the way to usher it in? How does it relate to the modern Church today? To answer these questions we must return to the beginning of the church, following, her through history, allowing the facts to be revealed.

Origins of the Christian Church

As the pages of the New Testament draw to a close, we see the Christian Church as an example of what she was meant to be, throughout her covenant era. We see her following the Great Commission and functioning in the offices and gifts as operated by the Holy Spirit:

"15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (The Great Commission).

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them; he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." (Mark 16:15-20)

We discover the example of unity intended for the Church at Pentecost and the subsequent manifestations of the Holy Spirit of which Jesus spoke (Acts 2:3). We also see the functional organization of the Church with her headquarters in Jerusalem.

However, in the Book of Acts and the writings of the Apostle Paul, we read of the schisms that began to develop between the Jews, Jewish converts to Christianity and the Jewish converts with the Gentile converts. Much of the disagreement between Christians was over tradition, the interpretation of scripture (Old Testament), and ceremony, namely, circumcision and food laws. We don’t leave the book of Acts, the history of the infant church, without seeing the warnings against false teachers, with differences and divisions among the leaders. John gives a warning concerning false prophets and the antichrist in closing chapters of the New Testament:

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 1 John 4:3

We then turn to the pages of world history and find the Church with her headquarters in Rome. In 70A.D., Jerusalem was destroyed. In 84 A.D., the Jews excommunicated Christians (Jewish converts to Christianity), and the chasm, between the then, predominately Gentile Christian church and her Jewish origins, grew wider.

The church, then planted in Rome, divorced from her Jewish heritage and roots, became increasingly Gentile in leadership, also became influenced more and more by Greek and Roman culture. More will be said on this subject in chapter three.

There was nearly three hundred years of severe persecution by Rome, forcing Christians to live and worship in the catacombs. Thousands were slaughtered in the arena by lions. Emperor Nero tortured multitudes. He used them as torches, being burned alive at Roman festivities. However, in 312 A.D. the Roman warrior, Constantine The Great, acknowledged Christianity after claiming a vision of a flaming cross before a battle that he subsequently won. In 330 A.D., Constantine, then Emperor Constantine I, was baptized on his deathbed and officially declared the founder of the Christian Church seated in Rome. Thus, the Holy Roman Emperor concept of leadership (combined church and state) was instituted. Rome was the capital of the western empire, claiming the whole of Europe as Christian. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, the Roman Christian church continued as a political as well as a religious force.

The bishop at Rome was Pope of the church. The church established in Rome remained unified, organizationally, until East-West factions began to develop, causing a permanent separation by 1054 A.D., which also contributed to the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

The Crusades

The Crusades in the 11th, 12th and 13th, centuries were led by various European leaders with the intent to conquer back the Holy Land from the Muslims. These Holy wars, sanctioned by the papacy and flying the Christian flag, became, in effect, Christian barbarism.

For the most part, these wars degenerated into rape, pillaging, genocide and destruction. In addition to many Muslims slain, anyone who would not adopt Christianity, or opposed it, was put to death, including Jews. The Crusades, with the blessing of the church, possibly put to death more Jews than Hitler. Even today, orthodox Jewish children are told about the Christian Gentile Jew killers. These atrocities were nothing less than a version of ethnic cleansing as we have witnessed in the Baltic States in recent years.

The Inquisitions

The Papal Inquisition, beginning in 1233 was a vehicle of pain and torture for those accused of heresy within the Christian church. It was the choice instrument of control for any that dared to disagree with the church’s edicts. Charged with heresy, many were burned at the stake by the government, at the direction of the church: a pagan-like church and pagan state working in concert, under the auspices of Christianity. The Spanish Inquisition, independent of the Papal Inquisition conducted similar atrocities from 1478-1834.

The Inquisition was a medieval church court instituted to seek out and prosecute heretics. The term is applied to the institution itself, which was episcopal or papal, regional or local; to the personnel of the tribunal; and to the judicial procedure followed by the court. Notoriously harsh in its procedures, the Inquisition was defended during the Middle Ages by appeal to biblical practices and to the church father Saint AUGUSTINE, who had interpreted Luke 14:23 as endorsing the use of force against heretics. (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Copyright 1995)

The Church of Rome languished spiritually, for centuries, through the dark ages, the medieval period, developing organization, creed, dogma and traditions (of men). In the shadow of their forefathers of the nation of Israel, they followed in the rebellious footsteps of the original people of God, more than they realized.

The Modern Era

What is known today as the Roman Catholic Church was essentially born at the time of the east-west division of the Roman Church. Western Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches divided over issues of liturgy, theology, and disciplinary practices. On the other side of the division at the time of the Reformation, developed the roots of the Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed (Calvinism) and other sectarian seeds of Protestantism.

The Church of England (Anglican), which dates to the second century, played a predominant role in opposing the Roman Church during the Reformation, separating from the papacy and declaring the monarchy as the head of the church. An act of Parliament is required to make any changes in liturgy. Many other Protestant denominations have been spin-offs of the Anglican Church.

The Roman Catholic name, for the balance of the church seated at Rome, was a 19th Century development, along with the proclamation by Pope Pius IX, that the Pope was infallible. The Roman Catholic Church holds high, the centuries of developed ceremony, doctrine, tradition and the edicts of the various councils. They also hold to the practice that service, deeds and other works hold merit for salvation by works. Protestants, however, embrace the teaching of the scriptures that salvation is by the free grace of God. The Bible teaches that works are the result, not the cause of salvation.

"8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

The Revival of the Inspired Word

By the third century AD, the teaching of a personal God, a personal Savior and the effective working of the Holy Spirit to enlighten, empower and perform miracles, had all but been expunged by the ecclesiastical methodology, of the organization, of the Christian Church. Practice of the Christian faith became ritualistic, legalistic, dogmatic and political. Jesus called a similar methodology of the Pharisees, the commandments of men (Mark 7:5-7).

The Protestant Reformation, fueled by Martin Luther’s thesis, challenged the Roman Church. Protestants began to focus on the direct inspiration and interpretation of the Bible in the life of the believer. They taught and practiced a simpler and more direct form of worship. Jesus taught that the true believer would worship in spirit and in truth(John 4:23,24) and that he would send another comforter (the Holy Spirit) (John 14:16). The Apostle Paul taught that the Holy Spirit would bring us into all understanding, individually:

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (I Corinthians. 2:13)

The Roman Church developed a discrete priesthood, somewhat resembling that of the Levites in the Old Testament, as mediators between God and man, incubating the concept of a laity. There is no such Biblical basis for a separate clergy and laity as understood by modern definition in the Christian churches. Paul said that every believer is part of a priesthood of believers (I Peter 2:5). The gifts and fruits of the Spirit are—not were—given to all believers and operated directly by the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual members of the body of Christ.

"1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (I Corinthians 12:1-11)

Jesus sits at the right hand of the father interceding for us:

Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

The book of Hebrews declares him to be the High Priest:

"9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

10 Called of God an high