Gone, But Not Forgotten
Have you ever wondered
what happened to the church after the New Testament was written and the last
disciple of Jesus died? If you have than
this book on church history is for you!
Church history is the study of the church as seen through its important
events, places, and people. This book
was written to give you the reader a very basic and clear understanding of the
Christian Church from the time of last apostle’s death (John-98AD), through the Great Reformation in the mid 1500’s, and to the 1900's.
Jesus Himself declared
in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it." Therefore, it
is very important today to know the real history of the true church of Jesus
Christ in response to the many attacks Satan has brought against it. First, there are the counter Christian
groups, also known as “cults,” such as the Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses
that teach the true church was “lost” sometime in the fourth century during the
“supposed” formation of the Roman Catholic Church and they have been called by
God to “restore” the true church of Jesus Christ that differs from mainstream
Christianity today. Second, such
religions like Islam teach that Paul was a corrupter of the Christian faith and
that true Christians were really just followers of Allah and not the
Trinitarian worshippers of Jesus found in the modern New Testament.
However, if these
attacks are true than Jesus lied and failed at keeping His word, meaning the
gates of hell did in fact prevail against the church. But this is not the case, as you will soon
learn as you examine the lives and events of the people that followed the trail
blazed by the first disciples. You will
soon learn that the true church did not die, but rather the true church of
Jesus Christ continued to blaze new trails in each and every generation and is
here today alive and well!
These leaders of the
early church have earned the name “fathers,” because it is upon their shoulders
that today the modern church stands.
Many of them never had the chance to live long lives because they were
martyred and killed simply for believing, “Jesus is Lord”. But for those that had the chance to write
down their beliefs and share with us their profound faith we must honor their
lives by telling their story. This book
is dedicated to their memory and the love they had for Jesus and for truth.
Though today students
are taught in history classes about famous inventors, explorers, and scientists,
this book will discuss the lives of people mostly forgotten by history, but
forever remembered in heaven for overcoming the attacks of the devil by the
blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony and for not loving their
lives so much as to shrink from death, Revelations 12:11. The book of Hebrews describes them best when
it reads, “the world was not worthy of them," Hebrews 11:38. Therefore, in a church age when many pastors
and Christians leaders spend more time chasing the latest “get big quick”
scheme than knowing the deep truths of the persecuted saints of the past, I
write their story in hopes of awakening the senses of cold and numb Christians
to a fresh fire of like faith.
This book is not meant
to be an exhaustive recount of every person and event, but rather a summery of
the major events and people that made them happen. Nor is this book meant to be a detailed
defense of every belief in Christianity, but rather it is meant to tell the
story of the basic Christian truths the church fathers taught with theirs lives
and sometimes with their deaths. I will
not focus on doctrines that that are considered “non-essential” for salvation,
but rather I will focus on the core doctrines that unite Christians all over
the world and did back then.
My aim is to show you
how the true church lived and taught the most important doctrines of Jesus
Christ throughout every generation. Such
as; the belief in one God revealed in three distinct persons, the deity and worship
of Jesus Christ, salvation through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection,
the inspiration of Holy Scripture, and the final judgment of both the saved and
damned.
I pray you will enjoy
your journey through church history and become inspired to follow the church
father’s example of faith, perseverance, purity, and power. Please take some time right now to read this
passage in Hebrews and pray that you will be able to see the “cloud of
witnesses” that went before you and receive strength to fix your eyes on Jesus
and run the race now set before you!
Hebrews 12:1-2, "1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
