The Mystery of the Church Ages
This week we will begin to peel back the layers of mystery surrounding the church age. When ever I hear someone speaking of the "mystery" of the church, rapture etc... It's almost always accredited to the apostle Paul. However, as we are about to see, long before the apostle Paul was given this revelation, Jesus uttered these mysteries using parables. The parables of Matthew Chapter thirteen in particular reveal to us the plan for the church from her beginning to her catching away. These parables are prophetically connected to the letters to the seven churches found in the Book of Revelation, Chapters two and three.
A quick glance of the chart below gives you an idea of what I am talking about. As we delve into this subject, things will become more clear. I believe an understanding of this mystery is vitally important for two reasons. One, because it will help you understand the times we are living in and the urgency of this late hour of prophetic fulfillment. And two, it will help you begin to understand your personal role and calling to help with the rebuilding of this awesome spiritual edifice; the church!
As you can see, there are seven church era's corresponding to the seven churches. Likewise there are seven parables listed, although if you will notice, the church of Philadelphia and the church of Laodicea both correspond to the present day. This actually gives us six church era's, not seven, because at present we are living in the Laodicean Age as well as the Philadelphian Age. There is an eighth parable in Matthew Chapter thirteen, "The Parable of the Householder." This parable gives us the seventh era of church history, namely, the millennial reign of Christ!
A Brief Church History Overview
Pentecost: The birth of the church / 33, 34 A.D.
The Vibrant Church: 34 - 54 A.D.
The church was powerful and united. Healing, self-sacrifice and fellowship were the earmarks of this thriving congregation. Miracles were part of the norm and powerful faith was found in those who professed Christ as their Savior.
The Beginning of Corruption: 54 -313 A.D.
The apostle Paul was already addressing this corruption in his first letter to the Corinthian Church. The tares planted in the vibrant church began to mature and manifest signs of corruption, division and deception. Persecution grew worse and worse as divisions and deception also increased. The truth became very dim.
The Dark Ages: 313 - 1517 A.D.
When the Roman Emperor, Constantine, became a professing Christian, the persecution of the church came to an abrupt end. However, this caused a very quick and very large influx of pagans being baptized into the church as Constantine commanded all to profess Christianity. Therefore, we see this "Mustard Seed" growth sprouting into a large tree very quickly. The church began to blend paganism into church worship as she became married to the world and divorced from Christ. During this 1200 years of the Dark Ages, pomp and ritual soared to new heights as the Roman Papacy was formed and continued to grow and dominate. Only the Bishops and church hierarchy were allowed to read and interpret Scripture. There was no prophetic vision and spiritual blindness abounded.
This is where God began a new work of rebuilding. This era is a parallel to the rebuilding of Ezra and Zerubbabel. As the church began to break away from the clutches of Roman dominance, she grew in grace under Luther. She continued to grow and develop personal prayer and Bible study under Wesley.
The Church Today - 1906 - Present
Continuing from the Reformation Age, the church experienced another "Pentecost" as the Great Awakening and Azusa Street Revival burst forth. This could be seen as a parallel to the ministry of Nehemiah. Once Jesus began to build His church, she moved from Jerusalem to Rome and from Rome to America. As we saw last week, because the Jews rejected and crucified their Messiah, the privilege and honor of being the center of church hierarchy was taken from them (Mt. 21:43).
The persecution became so intense, it scattered the church to the four corners of the earth. eventually, she was relocated to Rome once the Emperor Constantine professed himself to be a Christian. It was from that profession, the papacy was established. As the papacy grew in power, it became a dominate force even over the emperors and kings of that era. As we will see in our continued studies, the Roman Catholic Church became a corrupted cesspool of sin and hypocrisy.
The Big Picture
Taking into consideration the above overview of church history, we can see a principle at work. A principle Jesus revealed as He spoke the parables of Matthew Chapter 13. We will take a deeper look at these mysteries of Matthew Chapter 13 next week. The principle is this: God begins to sow/build something great and immediately Satan begins to attempt to destroy it.
Indeed, it didn't take long at all. On the Day of Pentecost, the day the church was born, Satan began planting seeds of doubt, division and discord. So much so that the apostle Peter found himself having to defend the validity of this awesome spiritual phenomenon: "These men aren't drunk as you suppose..." (Acts 2:15).
Yes, the honeymoon was over rather quickly, we find the apostle Paul found it necessary to confront the Corinthian's fleshly bickering and carnal Christian living with stout words of warning. During this period of time, however, we see there was a remnant of faithful over-comers whom God preserved and used to serve His purposes on the earth. These are those who have "ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches!"
Once the persecution stopped, because of Constantine's profession of Christianity, we see the church began to adopt pagan practices and marry herself to the world. The truth became more and more dim until the Dark Ages moved upon the Body of Christ. In those days, true Christians were almost extinct. Yet, still, God always preserves a remnant!
The Rebuilding Begins Again
As Luther nailed the 95 theses upon the door to the church, the Dark Ages dwindled down to a close and the Reformation began. Jesus is still at work today, rebuilding that which Satan tried so hard to destroy. Yes, Jesus is using living stones for this task and when He is finished; His glory will once again fill this Temple, but the latter glory shall far surpass that of the former! As this latter glory begins to fill the Temple we can expect to see many great exploits coming from the Spirit-filled remnant!
Next week we will take a look at the parables of Matthew Chapter 13. In them, we will look further into this mystery. We will discover God's plan for the church throughout the entire church age!
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