Download - 1998_09

Church History at a GlanceBuilding on Tradition

God Works in Grand Forks

October 1998

Mark McGwire. But his image will be set in the samemalleable substance. And it’s only a matter of time….

Not only is man’s history flawed by sin and warped byour fragmentary perspective, it is transient at best, andmisses the real story entirely. While recording in graphicand endless detail the wars through the ages, secular his-tory takes no account of the Real War. The chronicles thatmen write tell of victors and losers, but never mention theTrue Champion, the Victor of Calvary’s Hill. They writeof kingdoms that evaporate with the morning dew, yetleave unnoticed, unheralded, The Kingdom which shallnever have an end.

Men’s history books are severely edited,amputated, eviscerated. None of thegreat days in history are found in thebooks that men publish. Creation isn’tthere; it’s treated as a religious myth. TheFall isn’t there; man is getting better,isn’t he? (Now there’s a myth!) The con-fusion of languages at Babel, the Flood,the call of Abram, the giving of the Law,the Incarnation and the Transfiguration,the Resurrection, the Birth of theChurch—none of them make it by man’sreckoning. because the great days in his-tory are the days when God entered thisworld and forever changed its course.History. We all have our part to play.And though we would not want to mini-

mize the human government that is ordained by God, Idare say that in the end the work of a Christian mother oran assembly elder or a personal evangelist is far more sig-nificant than a president or a king.

Our part in history is often called biography. But wewho watch it happen one day at a time call it life. Howthe passage of time fools us. It can lull us to sleep.“Brethren, the time is short” (1 Cor. 7:29). The Biblewarns us that things do not “continue as they were fromthe beginning.” We all have a place in history, designedbeforehand by God Himself (Eph. 2:10). Then let usredeem the time (Eph. 5:16). “For now is our salvationnearer than when we believed” (Rom. 13:11).

e know how difficult it is to see things as theyreally are. Ophthamologists tell us that oureyes actually see everything upside down. Ourbrain then turns the information rightside up.

And what we call a blue shirt is really everything butblue. Every other color is absorbed; blue is “rejected,” orreflected from the shirt. Objects which we call solid—tables and concrete blocks and your body—are mostlyspace, approximately the same proportion of space tomatter in as the vast stellar world around us.

But it is not only the material world that is difficult toperceive aright. How easily we can be fooled by circum-stances and people and our own deceitfulhearts. We are warned in Scriptureagainst “the deceitfulness of riches.” Weare told to not look at “the things that areseen, but at the things that are not seen.”

Even a cursory comparison betweenhistory as recorded by men and that in theSacred Record shows a remarkable diver-gence of views. We could almost con-clude that we were reading two differentstories. Almost, but not quite.

As much as men would like to powderand paint the disfigured visage of fallenhumanity, both holy and profane historyagree on this: man is incorrigibly sinful.Conflict, sorrow, wars, corruption, rebel-lion are the rule, not the exception. Thepresent painful chapter in the story of the American pres-idency is only the latest example to remind us of the cor-rupting influence of power—and the relentless linkbetween action and consequence. As Senator RobertByrd (D-W. Va.) assessed the deepening crisis at 1600Pennsylvania Avenue, “There is no question but that thepresident, himself, has sown the wind, and he is reapingthe whirlwind.”

All that men write, in spite of their best efforts, iswritten in the sand. Only God can write in the unchang-ing bedrock of eternal truth. I heard today that the waxfigure of baseball great Roger Maris is being melteddown to be made into the likeness of record breaker

2 UUPPLLOOOOKK • OCTOBER 1998

E D I T O R I A L

b y J . B . N I C H O L S O N , J R .

WHO REALLY WRITES HISTORY?Our toughest challenge: seeing history as God sees it.

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W

3UUPPLLOOOOKK • OCTOBER 1998

UPLOOK(USPS 620-640)

Founded in 1927 as Look on the Fields, UPLOOKis published eleven times a year by UplookMinistries, 813 North Ave., N.E., Grand Rapids,MI 49503.

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UPLOOK magazine is intended to encouragethe people of God in fidelity to His Word, ferven-cy in intercessory prayer, labors more abundant,and love to the Lord. Believing in the practicalHeadship of Christ and the local autonomy ofeach assembly, this is not intended to be anofficial organ of any group or federation of localchurches. The editor and authors take responsibil-ity for materials published. For any blessingwhich accrues, to God be the glory.

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Website: http:\\www.uplook.orgemail: [email protected]

FEATURESGOD WORKS IN GRAND FORKS Gary Clark 8

THE OTHER PUBLISHER 11

A BRIEF CHURCH HISTORY AT A GLANCE Chart 14

BUILDING ON TRADITION Donald L. Norbie 17

ON TIME Poem by John Milton 18

WHO WERE “THE FATHERS”? W. Ross Rainey 19

UNKNOWN, YET WELL KNOWN John A. Bjorlie 21

THE END OF THE WORLD? Andrew Miller 24

JESUS CELEBRATED HANUKKAH Gordon Franz 25

DEPARTMENTS

EDITORIAL 2

FRONT LINES 4

WHAT’S GOING ON? 6

LIVING ASSEMBLIES 10

BOUQUET OF BLESSING 16

Uplook Ministries is a tax-exempt corporation looking to the Lord to provide for the needs of this ministry. This magazine is sentfreely to those who request it, but evidently is not freely produced. Donations should be made payable to “UPLOOK” and sent to:

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C O N T E N T S

Number 9Volume 65 October 1998UPLOOKUPLOOK

Rod Joyce(905) [email protected]

FALL CONFERENCEBrandywine Bible Chapel

(Wilmington, DE) invites you totheir conference with speakers Dr.Arthur Garnes, Randy Amos, andBilly Stevenson. Meetings are sched-uled for Friday, Nov. 6 at 7:30;Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 and6:30.

For information, contact:Tony Colaiuta (610) 459-1707 orSid Bhatt (302) 424-0324

METRO MISSIONARYCONFERENCE

The believers in the New Yorkmetro area extend an invitation totheir annual conference, scheduledfor Saturday, Nov. 7 from 10:30-4:30. All meetings will be held at:Good Tidings Gospel Hall (345Malcolm X Blvd., Brooklyn, NY).

The expected speakers are CurtisJenkins (GA) and James Cochrane(Dominican Republic). Contact:

Jim McCallPhone (718) 994-1318

REFRESHMENT AT BETHANYA conference with Clark

McClelland (NC) is scheduled to beheld at Bethany Bible Chapel (East116th St., Carmel, IN) on Nov. 7 and8. For information, contact:

Brent Logan (317) 259-9252.

BIBLE CONFERENCEThe Christians at Southside Bible

Chapel (Lafayette, LA) are pleasedto announce their plans for a confer-ence Nov. 7-8 with WilliamMacDonald as the speaker.

Meetings on Saturday will be heldat 3:00 and 7:30 with dinner servedat 5:30. On Sunday, the Lord’sSupper will be held at 9:15, followed

dren. The cost per family of $50includes 2 nights and 5 meals.

Call the camp at (828) 488-6012 or e-mail [email protected]

CONFERENCE IN TULSAThe East Tulsa Bible Chapel is

planning a Fall conference to be heldOct. 23-25. The invited speakers areJack Heseltine (OR) and John Heller(AR). Contact:

T. Victor Anderson (918) 446-1591

MISSIONARY CONFERENCEBible and Life Ministries and

Central Bible Chapel are sponsoringa Missionary Conference in Tampa,FL. The theme of the conference willbe: “Establishing New TestamentAssemblies in the 21st Century.”

The speakers: Hank Gelling(Belgium), Mike Attwood (Ireland),Oli Jacobson (FL) and DonaldNorbie (CO). The conference will beheld at Central Bible Chapel, 2135Busch Blvd, Tampa, on Sat., Oct. 24,from 10:00 to 4:00. Lunch will beprovided. For info., contact DavidDunlap at (813) 996-1053.

PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITYWest Hill Gospel Hall (159

Morningside Ave., Toronto, ON) willhost a series of seminars entitled,“Practical Christianity in a World thatDoesn’t Think Christianity isRelevant.” The sessions will be heldthe first Saturday morning of eachmonth from October to April, exceptJanuary. Each Saturday will havethree seminars, with the followingspeakers: David Adams (SpiritualWarfare), Steve Anderson (In It, ButNot of It), Rod Joyce (Bible Study:Getting Deeper).

The sessions will begin at 9 andend at noon on these dates: Nov. 7,Dec. 5, Feb. 6, Mar. 6, and Apr. 3. Forinformation, contact:

LADIES’ CONFERENCEThe seventh annual SC Ladies’

Missionary Conference will be heldOct. 17, DV, at Myrtle Beach BibleChapel (2903 Church St., MyrtleBeach, SC). The invited speakers: Dr.Ruth W. Schwertfeger (WI) and Mrs.Cathy Ruff (Other Areas). Contact:

Mrs. Carol Parks(843) [email protected]

31ST ANNUAL LADIES’MISSIONARY CONFERENCE

A ladies’ missionary conferencewill be held, DV, at Keystone Heights,FL, on Oct. 23 and 24. The speakersare: Ruth Bloom (Immanuel Mission,AZ), Sharon Geesey (Zambia),Esther Howell (Zambia), and CathyRuff (Other Areas).

BACK TO BETHELEdward St. Gospel Chapel will

hold their Youth Bible Conference atBethel Chapel (439 Moore St.,London, ON) on Saturday, Oct. 24from 1:00 until 8:00. The speakerexpected is Bruce Longevin (ON).Dinner will be provided. There are nocharges or fees for the conference.

For further information, contact:M. J. Williams at (519) 668-7837

ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCELakeside Bible Chapel, Sterling

Heights, MI, will hold their annualfall conference Oct. 23-25, 1998.Speaker Daniel Smith (IA) willaddress the theme: Marriage and theFamily. For further information, con-tact Steve Collard (810) 254-7246.

FALL COLORS FAMILY CAMPCamp Living Water (Bryson City,

NC) invites you for a great time offun and relaxation in the beautifulSmoky Mountains. The speaker forthe weekend will be Jamie Hull (CO)with separate sessions for the chil-


F R O N T L I N E S

ship at L’Amable Bible Chapel forquite a few years and his services aremuch appreciated. However, thesaints there fully support him in hisdesire to follow the Lord’s leading toserve at KLBC.

John and Mary DennyIt is with great joy that the elders,

on behalf of the believers in fellow-ship at the Gospel Chapel inHutchinson, KS, extend the com-mendation of John and Mary Dennyto the work at Kansas Bible Camp inHutchinson, KS.

John and Mary were commendedto the Lord’s work at ImmanuelMission in Arizona nine years ago.They were used by the Lord there inmany different capacities.

Over the years, John and Maryhave been associated with KansasBible Camp in different areas, suchas directing, teaching, nursing, andcounseling. John has also been onthe KBC board for a number ofyears. When the need arose for a newdirector at KBC, John and Mary feltthe Lord leading them there, and wewholeheartedly concur.

John, Mary, and their familymoved to Hutchinson in May. Inaddition to their ministries at thecamp, they are also active in min-istries in the local assembly.

SERVICE OPPORTUNITYAssembly Missionary Home

A caretaker couple is required forthe Assembly Missionary Home inAsuncion, Paraguay. Commendationfrom their local assembly is required.The home is available to all assemblymissionaries and those recommend-ed by missionaries who need tempo-rary accommodation.

For further details, write to:The PresidentMision Cristiana enn el ParaguayCasilla 1445Asuncion 1209Paraguay, South America

assembly may be forthcoming.For more information:call Dave at: (319) 351-4601 or e-mail Tim at: [email protected]

CHANGE OF ADDRESSRay and Carol Dolinski have a

new address in London, England:56 Mount Pleasant Rd.Tottenham, London N17 6TNEnglandPhone: 0181 801 [email protected]

COMMENDATIONSGarnet and Gwen Cooney

The believers at L’Amable BibleChapel are pleased to commendGarnet and Gwen Cooney to extend-ed service in Ireland. They haveserved in Ireland on two previousterms and plan to work in theNewcastle West area of the Republicof Ireland. There are new believers inthe area and they hope to see anassembly started.

The Cooneys have served the Lordin Colombia and Jamaica. They wereoriginally commended by L’AmableBible Chapel 13 years ago to do evan-gelistic work in Matheson, ON. Theywere greatly used by the Lord in theassembly work there and also inprison and camp work in the area.

The assembly wishes them God’sblessing and direction in Ireland.

Their daughter, Amanda, willbegin studies at Kawartha LakesBible College in Peterborough, ONthis fall. Their son, John, is presentlyin Ireland but plans to return toOntario to seek employment and pos-sibly continue his pilot’s training.

Dennis EastonThe assembly that meets at

L’Amable Bible Chapel commendsDennis Easton to the Lord’s work atKawartha Lakes Bible College andother areas as the Lord leads.

Dennis has been in happy fellow-

by ministry with Mr. MacDonald at10:20 and 11:15. A covered dish din-ner will be served at 12:45.

Contact Jeff Bloom (318) 232-7798

THANKSGIVING CONF.The Holiday Gospel Assembly

(1842 Grand Blvd., Holiday, FL) willconvene a Thanksgiving conferenceNovember 13 and 14. The expectedspeakers are Joe Reese (ON) andJohn Adams (AB).

Contact L. Cappiello(727) 845-4572

DIGGING DEEP IN SLIDELLSlidell Bible Chapel (Slidell, LA)

will hold their Fall Bible ConferenceNov. 13-15. Lord willing, Tom Taylor(PA) will minister God’s Word andmusic ministry will be provided byABBAS. Come and enjoy thisrefreshing time. Contact Bob Brownat (504) 641-4028 or call the chapelat (504) 649-1960.

FATHERS & SONSThe annual Father & Son retreat

will take place at Camp Iroquoina inthe Endless Mountains of Pennsyl-vania on Nov. 13-15. Don Dunkerton(NJ) will be the speaker. For details,call John MacPherson:

(717) 967-2577

GOOD TIME OF FELLOWSHIPFellowship Family Camp was held

August 2-6 near Estes Park,Colorado. It proved to be a time ofreal blessing with some coming fromKansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, aswell as local people. Phil Kleyman(NE) brought excellent teaching andseveral we had been praying for pro-fessed Christ. Camp dates for nextyear will be August 8-12.

NEW MEETINGStudents at the University of Iowa

in Iowa City are meeting weekly. Inthe will of the Lord, a New Testament


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FRONT LINES

In March 1998, the Far EasternBroadcasting Association (FEBA) inthe nearby Seychelle Islands began aChristian broadcast in the Dhivehilanguage, which further alarmed thegovernment. Up to this point thegovernment had control of all broad-casting in the Maldivian language,and this was perceived as an affrontto their authority. PresidentMaumoon Abdul Gayoom wrote tothe government of the Seychellesand asked them to stop FEBA frombroadcasting, but they politelyrefused.

These broadcasts have createdpolitical tensions in the country, aspresidential elections are scheduledfor this coming November. ThePresident is under pressure fromsome leaders who are pressing for aneven more extreme Islamic state.

Adapted from WEF Religious LibertyE-mail Conference (Mark Albrecht).

the country. The foreigners wereinterrogated, their homes raided, per-sonal items confiscated, and betweenfifteen and twenty were expelled forlife. Nationals who were suspected ofbeing believers or sympathetic tothese foreigners were interrogated,and at least twenty-five still remain inprison as of August 10.

One of the Christian women,Aneesa Hussein, 32, a young mother,has been beaten and is presently insolitary confinement and under fre-quent interrogation. Sources say thatshe will not be released until sherenounces Christianity and againembraces Islam. Fifteen otherwomen—some known believers andsome who were friends of believ-ers—are also detained at the samefacility.

Another group arrested were froma Bible study of young Maldivianswhich apparently formed with littleor no foreign influence. Details ontheir condition and whereabouts areuncertain, though they are assumedto be detained in Dhoonidhoo withthe rest.

This current crisis seems to havebeen precipitated by several things.Scripture portions in the Maldivianlanguage had found their way into thehands of the police, who recognizedthat the quality of translation couldonly have been achieved with assis-tance from local Maldivians. There isa 93% literacy rate in the Maldives,making the existence of NewTestament Scripture in the local lan-guage a serious threat to the govern-ment. Never before had Scripturebeen translated and printed in theMaldivian language.

chain of 1,200 smallcoral islands southwestof the southern tip ofIndia, the Maldives(official name, Divehi

Raajje) prides itself on being 100%Muslim, and to all appearances hasbeen hardly touched by the gospel formany years. The current constitutionmakes it unlawful for Maldivian citi-zens to adhere to anything other thanthe Maldivian government’s interpre-tation of Islam.

Until recently, there were noScriptures in the Maldivian language(Divehi), no local church which aMaldivian could visit to hear theWord of God, no Christian broadcastsin the Maldivian language, and only ahandful of isolated Maldivians whohad trusted the Lord.

This has now changed. Beginningabout 1985, Christians from manynations have come to work in thecountry as professionals. Theylearned the language and culture ofMaldives, establishing friendshipswith Maldivians, and communicatedthe gospel in ways the islanders couldunderstand. Over time the persistentwitness of these Christians led to sev-eral Maldivians giving their lives toChrist. Despite intense communityand government pressure to conformto the ways of Islam, theseMaldivians chose to practice theirChristian faith, to study portions ofScripture and pray together, and com-municate their new hope to familyand friends.

In June 1998, the government sud-denly cracked down, arresting for-eigners and nationals they suspectedof helping to spread Christianity in


The MaldivesUrgent prayer request:You may not even know where thiscountry is, but the Lord does. And He knows His own.

A

W H A T ’ S G O I N G O N ?

missions group, is providing emer-gency food and other supplies to helpprevent illnesses from claiming morevictims. Agency officials say attend-ing to the immediate physical crisisshows compassion and the love ofChrist to the suffering. —MNN

NEPAL’S FAMILIES FOR SALEThe going rate for buying families

in Nepal as bonded laborers is about$250, according to London’sTelegraph newspaper. The country hasan annual legal slave market called theMaghi. —Pulse

ANGOLA & CONGO UPDATEAngola is bracing for a resumption

in its bloody civil war. The country’sdefense minister accuses disaffectedUnita forces of mobilizing in someregions. Aid workers have joined theranks of refugees going to Zambia toavoid violence. Meanwhile, reportsout of the Democratic Republic ofCongo indicate that the government ofLaurent Kabila faces an ongoing chal-lenge from Tutsi military officers. Therebels reportedly control two cities inthe east. Mission Aviation Fellowshiphas grounded its air operation in thecountry. So far, there have been fewreports of damage or injury.

90’s have seen a shift, and many of thebabies are being born to women intheir 20s and 30s—old enough tomarry but choosing to remain single.

Ironically, while the rate for unwedmotherhood seems to be escalating outof control, another study conducted bythe service group Public Allies, indi-cates that younger people long for areturn to traditional families. The studyfound that young people cited theirgeneration’s number 1 problem as “theincrease in divorce and single-parentfamilies.”

Survey respondents, a group of 728young adults aged 18 to 30, evenpicked “having a strong family” astheir most important goal—abovemoney and career.

Economists theorize that marriagesare less alluring because men andwomen have similar roles. Since thehusband no longer acts primarily as thebreadwinner and the wife as the child-rearer, the partners depend less on oneanother. —World

FLOODING IN BANGLADESHIn Bangladesh, the flooding has

become so severe that the governmentis reporting 35 million people havebecome homeless since the monsoonsbegan in July. World Relief, a Christian

JUDGMENT IN MOROCCOAn appeals court in Morocco has

upheld a sentence against four WesternChristians accused of smugglingBibles into the country to avoid cus-toms duties.

British citizen, Graham Hutt, alongwith two Canadians and a French citi-zen were arrested May 30. The fourwere fined $42,000, and Hutt has losthis motorcycle and a $250,000 yachtto the authorities. —Pulse

HISPANICS IN THE U.S.By the year 2005, Hispanics will be

the largest minority group in America,displacing blacks. By 2050, there willbe more Hispanics than all otherminority groups combined, accordingto the Census Bureau. In a recentreport, the bureau also reported thatblacks and Hispanics now compriseabout 15% of children in the country.

—Pulse

PAKISTAN’S CONSTITUTIONA proposed law in Pakistan could

force Christians, in essence, to becomeslaves to the state. The ChristianAction Forum denounced a new lawthat would institute the Koran, alongwith the writings of Mohammed, intothe country’s constitution. Christianleaders fear the law would allow dis-crimination and persecution of reli-gious minorities, leaving them restrict-ed with no rights. The group is callingon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif toimmediately withdraw the bill, sayingit is in the best interest of the country.

—MNN

WHERE’S DADDY?For the first time in 60 years of

research, a Census Bureau study foundthat a majority of firstborn children inAmerica are now born out of wedlock.Back in the 1930s, the figure was 18percent.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, teenpregnancy skyrocketed, but the late


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WHAT’S GOING ON?

Arthur Leonard Farstad (b. Mar. 7, 1935) was called home to be withChrist Sept. 1 from complications following quadruple by-pass surgery.

A graduate of Emmaus Bible School and Dallas Theological Seminary,for many years Art taught New Testament Greek at DTS. With his colleague,Zane Hodges, he worked on The Majority Text Greek New Testament. Thiswork is unique and should be in every serious Bible student’s library. Farstad& Hodges followed a theory of textual criticism outlined in ErnestPickering’s book, The Identity of the New Testament Text. Brother Farstad isthe general editor of the New King James Translation, and wrote a defense ofthat translation in the book, In The Great Tradition. He worked closely withWilliam MacDonald on The Believer’s Bible Commentary as an editor andresource on questions of the Greek language.

More recently, Art was working on a Bible translation which would moreclosely adhere to the Majority Text Greek New Testament. Called Logos 21, itis being published by Broadman and Holman.

Art was a good man. We thank God for his prodigious achievements andtrust that he has enjoyed an abundant entrance into that better land. Our sym-pathies are with his brothers, Dick and Arnie, and their families.

the Grand Forks Civic Auditorium.Also, approximately 6,000 UltimateQuestions booklets were given out.

John Bjorlie, formerly fromNorth Dakota, and now of GrandRapids, MI, preached the gospelnightly. Though only a small numberof outsiders attended, the Christianswere encouraged by valuable con-tacts with saved and unsaved people.

On the first day of this door-to-door effort, a lady called on thehome of the religion reporter for thelocal newspaper, the Grand ForksHerald. As a result, the religion edi-

tor, Stephen J. Lee, interviewedJohn Bjorlie, Marvin Ee, andme. He visited one of the evan-gelistic meetings, and wrotetwo articles for the newspaper.One was a rather short article,but the second was a featurearticle for the Saturday “Faith

and Religion” section of the paper.As a result of those articles, sev-

eral people have begun attending theweekly Bible study. One couple vis-ited our assembly and plans on com-ing weekly until an assembly is start-ed, Lord willing, in Grand Forks.Others attending the study are alsobecoming interested in the work.

We have been greatly encouragedby the prayer response from aroundthe US from a weekly e-mail prayerupdate. If you would like to be addedto that e-mail list, please send yourrequest to:

[email protected]

ly Bible study on NT church princi-ples, and offered a postage-paid tear-off reply card for a free Bible, litera-ture, and information on how tobecome right with God and/or join inthe Bible study.

About 50 people from our assem-bly and other areas participated. Weincluded our children, and this pro-vided a great experience for familiesto serve the Lord together.

People from our assembly havegone to Grand Forks for Bible studiessince May 12. The studies are held ina rented conference room of a local

hotel on Tuesday nights. Part of thegroup stays for the Bible study whileothers continue door-to-door work,and follow up contacts made on pre-vious visits and through mailed-inresponses.

In August, year-long plans culmi-nated with a group of about 40 peoplecoming from Story Book Lodge(MN). Each day we met in Fargo fora time in the Word of God, and thentravelled to Grand Forks for door-to-door work in the afternoon.

A new brochure was handed out,outlining the gospel and inviting peo-ple to nightly evangelistic meetings at

uring the spring of1997, the attention ofour assembly in WestFargo, ND, was rivetedon the flooding of the

Red River Valley and the major dev-astation in Grand Forks. Many of usbecame burdened for the people ofthat city but they were so preoccupiedwith rebuilding their homes and livesthat we decided to concentrate ourefforts the following year.

Meadow Ridge BibleChapel hosted two regionalmen’s meetings where planswere prayerfully laid out toreach the people of GrandForks with the gospel.

Early in 1998, the Lord sentMarvin Ee to the Grand ForksAir Force Base. He was unaware ofour prayers to see an assembly start-ed, though he had the same desire.

The first two Saturdays in May,nearly 10,000 homes in Grand Forksand East Grand Forks were visitedwith a specially prepared gospelbrochure. It pictured the flood andfire damaged downtown GrandForks, and had on the cover, “Uponthis rock I will build My church”(Mt. 16:18). It outlined our doctrinalstatement, summarized the key truthsconcerning a New Testament assem-bly, and our desire to see one plantedin Grand Forks, announced our week-


God works in Grand Forks“We went through fire and through water; but You brought us out torich fulfillment” (Ps. 66:12).

S P E C I A L R E P O R T

DGARY CLARK

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NEWS FLASH: Anyone interested in an intensive week of evangelism in MOBILE, Alabama, please hold JUNE 6-12, 1999, in the will of the Lord. A recent visit by several brethren to the city was encouraging. More to come!

the meetings, he was faced with the fact that he was a sin-ner. He immediately started shouting at the brothers nearhim for condemning him. Myron Martinson replied thatit was the Bible that condemned him, and showed himseveral passages in the Word of God. But Daniel stormedout of the Civic Center, angry at the “Christian hyp-ocrites.”

On Wednesday night, God gave me the opportunity todiscuss salvation one-on-one with Daniel. He was sober,and even somewhat receptive. He apologized for the wayhe behaved the night before. I showed him Ephesians2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and thatnot of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lestany man should boast.” He seemed to understand themessage of the gospel, but when he left the Civic Centerthat night, he didn’t seem to care too much. Yet I think his

soul was pierced. Wednesday night wasthe last time I saw Daniel. Please prayfor his soul. —Daniel Schilling

One goes into a week like this expect-ing something along the lines of a BillyGraham Crusade where thousands turnout and then come forward. What ashock I was in for! Scorching sun,

slammed doors, and people cursing you for what seemedyour very existence—these all took their toll. When fewpeople showed up for the meetings, it made me wonderwhy we did all this. I had to ask if the Lord knew we weredoing this. Well, prayers were answered and people came.Not hundreds, not even fifty—but a handful. The handfulwas just what the Lord wanted us to have.—Peter VanHal

Going door to door you meet all kinds of people:drunks who usually are very willing to take the literature;wealthy people who usually are polite but not interested;people who take the literature just because they can’thear you over their crying baby or barking dog; little kidswho are eager to take whatever you offer them; olderpeople who are lonely and are willing to take anythingjust so they can talk to someone; people who refuse totake it because they’ve got their own religion and don’tplan on changing; and the people who take it and then tellyou to make sure you give it to the person next door: “HeREALLY needs it.”

God loves all of them and wants to offer to them eter-nity with Him, if they will only accept Christ. SometimesI think when I leave a doorstep, “Oh, that booklet’s in thegarbage.” But only the Lord knows what is needed in theperson’s life to bring them to Him. He truly works inmysterious ways! —Priscilla Rodgers

This August, I had the privilege of attending StoryBook Lodge’s Teen Challenge in Fargo, ND. I had no ideawhat my time would be like; only that I would be goingdoor-to-door in Grand Forks. I was ready to serve theLord in whatever way He led me. The first day, on thevan trip up to the city, I was apprehensive. It was my sec-ond time going door-to-door—the first being an after-noon handing out invitations to DVBS. After the groupmet at the local C’mon Inn, and we left for our areas, mytension increased. I thought, “What will the reaction beto Your Word, Lord? Will we see any positive responses,or will we see persecution?”

It turned out that we saw a little of both. As I startedgoing from one door to the next, my fears started to dropaway. There was an exhilaration that I had never experi-enced before from doing the Lord’s work.I realized that no matter what the reac-tions were to the literature, they weren’tdirected at me, but to the Lord. It was HisWord, and I was His delivery boy.

The work in Grand Forks is far fromover. Your prayers are needed with theBible studies. And the literature is stillthere—whether in garbage cans, on coffeetables, in kitchens, or cars. Pray that theLord will still use these booklets to His own glory.

It was certainly a week that changed my life. My rela-tionship with the Lord was strengthened immensely byserving Him. It was one of the best times of my life, andI pray that He will give me another opportunity soon.

—John T. Messerly

On Friday, I was passing out pamphlets door-to-doorwhen I heard some voices across the street. Five youngboys, probably 13-14 years old, said that they would takesome of the “stuff ” we were passing out. I went over andgave each of them the literature. They had questionsabout it and I was able to share the gospel with these fivefor at least 30 minutes! One of them, AJ, paid close atten-tion to what I was telling them, and was not distractedlike the others. Almost all of them had questions, though.

It was amazing to see how the Lord lined up these fiveat just the right time. They were all bored and had noth-ing to do. They said that they would come to thatevening’s gospel meeting, but didn’t show up.

AJ thought he had been saved years ago but could nottell me how a person is saved. He did have some under-standing, though. Please pray for him. —Eric Wiinanen

One man that we met in Grand Forks was Daniel. Hesaid he reads his New Testament, but on Tuesday night of


!

SOME YOUNG PEOPLE TESTIFY ABOUT THEIR TESTIFYINGSOME YOUNG PEOPLE TESTIFY ABOUT THEIR TESTIFYING

lived like First Century believers? It can happen.Here are some observations of what the early church

did. (1) The Word of God was the sole authority (2 Tim.3:16-17; 1 Cor. 14:37). (2) Each local church was gov-erned by a plurality of spiritual elders (Acts 20:17, 28; 1Tim. 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-11). (3) Two church ordinanceswere practiced: the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor.11:23-34) and baptism (Acts 8:35-39, Rom. 6:1-6). (4)All believers acted as priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Heb. 10:19-22, 13:15). (5) The headship of Christ was recognized (1Cor. 11:3; Eph 1:22; Col. 1:18). (6) There are distinctiveroles of men and women (1 Tim. 2:8-3:12; 1 Cor. 11:1-6;14:34-35; Rom. 16:1-23). (7) The church was capable ofexercising discipline (1 Cor. 5:1-5; 1 Tim. 5:20; Titus3:10-11; 2 Thess. 3:6; Rom 16:17). (8) Each local assem-bly was autonomous in the Acts, Epistles, and

Revelation. Churches were always addressedon a local basis and never as a collectivefederation. (9) They engaged in gospel out-reach as a collective body (Rom. 1:15; 1Cor. 15:1; Gal. 1:8; Phil. 1:5, 14; 1 Thess.1:8). (10) Believers practiced holiness of

life (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22, 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:19;1 Pet.1:15-16). (11) They met in the name of

the Lord Jesus (Mt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 1:10-16). (12) Only genuine believers were

accepted into fellowship (Acts 2:41).(13) They met for collective prayer (Acts2:42; 4:24-31; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 2:1, 12).(14) They met for teaching (Acts 2:42; 1

Tim. 4:11-16; Eph. 4:11-24; Titus 2:1). (15) They con-tributed to the financial needs of fellow believers andChristian work and workers (1 Tim. 6:17-19; Philemon18-19; 1 Cor. 9:1-15; 2 Cor. 9; Phil. 4:18-19). (16) Theministry of the Holy Spirit was depended on (Eph. 2:22;Jn. 16:13; Acts 6; Acts 20:28, and several other refer-ences). (17) The Lordship of Christ was assumed (Phil.2:1-11 and many others).

The first century church and the last century church—will there be a difference? How fitting to greet the Lordat His coming with the church having returned home.Let’s make a little church history of our own.

t is possible that this generation will see therapture of the Church, that we will be thoseunique members of the Body that “remainunto the coming of the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15).

It would give us a connection to our brothers and sistersin Christ who lived in the first century. As they saw thebeginning of this age, we could see the close.

Church history is helpful to show how men andwomen in a past generation understood the revelation ofGod. They may inspire us to devotion and warn us oferror, but they cannot add to God’s revelation. For that wemust go back to the New Testament.

New Testament assemblies have always been con-vinced that not only does the New Testament speakauthoritatively on matters of salvation and Christian liv-ing, it is also a record of what God intended for thepractice of the local church. Many believers inassemblies today are attracted to theassembly because it is sound in the fun-damental doctrines. Or the people arewarm and friendly in Christian care andlove. Or there may be an active interestin children or young people. Or theapproach to church practice is a goodway of doing things. But is it theonly right way?

Tensions often exist in assem-blies because there is a fundamentaldifference on this question. Is it amatter of believing only the fundamen-tal doctrines of salvation and leaving eachperiod of history to work out practice based on the evo-lution of tradition and culture? We believe the NewTestament’s record of the early church was God’s way ofinstructing the church of every period of history. Weshould do what the New Testament believers did.

If our time is ever recorded in church history, will itobserve a striking return to First Century practices? Willit note that our generation was characterized by a stead-fast desire to be obedient to the Word of God? Will thehistorian have ample reason to see that this generationsaw itself waiting for the Lord to return and in so doing


L I V I N G A S S E M B L I E S

b y B R I A N G U N N I N G

OUR PLACE IN HISTORYLet’s make some church history of our own

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I

Shortly after the new press waspurchased, Leonard Sheldrake askedWill to print his monthly gospelpaper, Words of Peace. Mr. Sheldrakewrote: “If you feel you could handlethe printing of Words of Peace andthe will of God were so, we couldyoke together in this service for HisName. The time is short. Soon ourLord will come. How much I havelost by lack of devotion to Him. Oh,that He might work in us both to willand to do of His good pleasure.”

With a regular publication, it wastime to name the company. Willknew he would always use his pressto print the gospel, and since he fig-ured he would never print more thanliterature with one fold (a “folio” is apiece of paper folded once), he chose“Gospel Folio Press.”

After three-quarters of a century,Words of Peace continues to be print-ed at GFP by Prospect Publications,with John Bjorlie as editor.

The Pell homestead is situatedonly a few miles from downtownGrand Rapids, but it is nestled inbetween two hills—a secluded havenfrom the bustle of the city. Mr. andMrs. Pell, Sr., bought it from thePostema family on May 1, 1900. Itwas here that their ten children—four boys and six girls—were raised.

A second house had been previ-ously built on the same property,only a few feet away, by one of Mr.Pell’s brothers. After about a year ofusing his mother’s parlor as a work-shop, Will moved the press into thehand-dug basement next door. The

women who dedicated their lives tothe ministry, not counting “overtime,”which usually stretched into themorning hours, or the sacrifices thatwere made so naturally that theyhardly seemed to notice. It was a life-time of investing in eternity.

The teenage son of a wallpaperhanger, William J. Pell hand-letteredgospel tracts on the back of scraps ofwallpaper, then distributed them inthe surrounding communities. By thetime he and his brother Peter were intheir late teens and early twenties,they were already busy conductingcottage meetings, Bible studies, andpreaching on street corners.

The Pell brothers worked togethertheir whole lives. Peter expoundedthe Word to believers and Will fol-lowed in the gospel or a word of stir-ring exhortation. He is rememberedby many for his devotional messages.The brothers were especially well-known for their series with a modelof the tabernacle.

In 1922, Bill Vanprooyen, a localbusinessman, helped Will acquire a$25 hand press and he set it up in theparlor of his mother’s home. Soon

after, Mr. Vanprooyen got adistressed phone call fromWill, saying, “Where arethe letters?” Laughing, Mr.Vanprooyen explained thata printing press is muchmore than a glorified type-writer. He came over toshow Will how to use it,arriving with a case ofmetal type. With these theyset John 3:16, printing it ona small card—GFP’s firstpublication (see p. 12).

hen Christians hear“Grand Rapids,” theythink Zondervan orRadio Bible Class orChildren’s Bible Hour.

But where was the first Zondervanbook typeset? And where did M. R.DeHaan bring his early manuscriptsto be checked before airing them?Who first produced a Bible coursefor The Wordless Book in Arabic? TheReason Why in Korean? God’s Way ofSalvation in Spanish? A bilingualhymnbook in Songo and Portuguese?The answer is Gospel Folio Press.

When visiting assemblies ofbelievers throughout North America,in fact around the world, it’s almostinevitable to meet those familiar withGospel Folio Press and the Pell fami-ly of Grand Rapids, MI. Usually any-one who has spent time there smilesand quips, “Gospel Folio Press is likeheaven…there’s no night there!” In away, they’re right.

Now in it’s 75th year of service,GFP has a rich heritage of men and


The other publisherGrand Rapids, Michigan, is renowned for its Christian publishers. GFP is the best kept secret there.

B A C K W A R D G L A N C E

WA STAFF REPORT

The print shopin 1973

A monthly ministry magazine, Look on the Fields,edited by Leonard Sheldrake and published by GFP, wasbegun in 1927. When Peter Pell became its editor a fewyears later, the name was changed to Uplook. The namewas changed to Assembly Annals in 1933 by its next edi-tor, Dr. H. A. Cameron. In 1968, the name reverted backto Uplook. In 1991, when J. B. Nicholson became editor,the format was enlarged from a small 5x8 size to its pre-sent look. At that time, there were about 800 names onthe mailing list. Almost 10,000 copies of this issue willbe sent throughout the US and Canada and to more thanone hundred foreign countries. The magazine is alsoavailable on the internet.

In 1939, Will became exercised about a daily devo-tional calendar. In spite of discouraging remarks fromsome who said it wasn’t feasible in North America, thecalendar (initially named The Remembrancer but soonchanged to Choice Gleanings) was launched in 1940. Itwas decided to print 800 the first year. Will figured hehad that many friends. “At least I can give that manyaway,” he said. The only daily devotional calendar on themarket for many years, it quickly became the most popu-lar item that the Press produced. Soon they were printing44,000 calendars annually.

In later years, Will felt this to be his main ministry.Whenever he was away preaching, he loved to hunt

through the library of his hosts,searching for fresh material. Ann Pell, one of the sisters, ranthe press until the mid-60’swhen, battling cancer, she wasn’table to work any longer. TimJohnson came on as pressman atthat time and worked along withDave Pell, a nephew of the Pellsisters. Dave and Tim are stillserving the Lord in the printshop today.

When the Lord took Ann home, her sister Ruth tookresponsibility for running the print shop. Today, at 82, shedoesn’t run the machines or manage the mailing roomanymore, but she still proofreads almost every piece ofliterature that goes out our doors. Tillie (who handled theaccounting end of the press for many years) and Lois areretired from the day-to-day operation, but still providesage advice and are both actively involved in the ministryof Rest Haven Homes.

Since Will Pell was more of a preacher and writer thana businessman, through the years he frequently turned toF. W. Schwartz of Detroit for business advice, as well asMr. Vanprooyen (who was involved from the very begin-ning). Often Will and Mr. Schwartz would sit at the

house was occupied by relatives or friends of the Pellfamily until eventually the printing work took over. Withtwo additions, it continues to operate there today.

The ministry soon became a vital part of the wholePell family’s life, with everyone involved—from writingand editing material, to running and maintaining themachines, to providing meals and an open home to visi-tors and staff any time of the day or night.

Around 1925, GFP began printing Sunday Schoolpapers. Childhood Days was started in 1931, withMervyn Paul as editor. At the Sunday School Teachers’Conference held in May of 1931 at Toronto, the LessonManuals were born; J. R. Littleproud was editor until hisdeath in 1941.

Besides Will, Grace, Lois and Peter Pell, the list islong of people who contributed to the Sunday Schoolmaterial. F. W. Schwartz, Nelson Brooks, James Gunn,John Robertson, Helen Shaw, John Small, MargieJohnson, John Walden, Ruth Mattice, Mabel Carter, andRuth Sheldrake are some of those who worked for manyyears writing stories, doing illustrations, and outliningBible lessons.

In 1972, when Lois Pell took over much of the respon-sibility for the Sunday School literature, she had a visitfrom John Boyd of Palos Hills, IL, who suggested sheask Neil Dougal and Boyd Nicholson, Sr., to help withthe writing of the adult Biblelessons. They shared that min-istry for twenty years.

For half a century, teachingmaterial was mailed to SundaySchools around the US andCanada every two weeks. “PaperDay” seemed to nip at the heelsof the one before—no soonerwere all the packages dropped offat the post office, than anotherdeadline was looming, demand-ing that new materials be written, proofread, printed,packaged, labeled, and mailed.

In 1991, after more than twenty years of involvementwith the press, J. B. Nicholson, Jr. accepted the responsi-bility as editor-in-chief for Gospel Folio Press and movedfrom Ontario to Grand Rapids to donate much of his timethere. During the next five years, an undated modularBible curriculum, Line Upon Line, was prepared. Itoffers teachers’ manuals, student workbooks, and take-home papers for the entire narrative portion of the Bibleat four levels of learning—primary, intermediate, juniorhigh, and advanced. The philosophy is that everyone inthe Sunday School, from primary to adult, can be study-ing the same Bible lessons at their individual level.


THE OTHER PUBLISHER

GFP’s first “publication,” 1922

GFP seven years ago. The Lord has been so good to us!While books are flooding the Christian market, there

is real concern by many as to the quality of the teachingfound on the shelves of most Christian bookstores. Aneeded service to the Lord’s people is the distribution ofselected books and products that Christians can trust.Along with the ten or so books per year published byGFP, a wider line from other trustworthy publishers isavailable through our mail order division. We are distrib-utors for John Ritchie, Precious Seed, and Christian Yearin North America. As well, we carefully choose otherbooks to offer to you. This has been a service muchappreciated by readers of quality Christian literature.

What of the future? Only the Lord really knows whatlies ahead, but our desire is to increasingly provide soundbiblical and Christ-honoring resources to the people ofGod. We are not primarily in the printing business; we arein the business of communicating the truth, by whatevermeans it can most effectively communicated.

We are deeply appreciative to the Lord’s people whohave sacrificially and substantially invested in this min-istry over the years—through prayer support, volunteerlabor, providing quality material for publishing, andthrough financial resources that have helped us grow. Webelieve the Lord has raised up this ministry for such atime as this. There is so much left to be done. We need theprayers of the Lord’s people to know how to use the verylimited resources we have at our disposal. And if it is Hispurpose, we need the Lord to open up the way to expandthe ministry here, with larger facilities and improvedequipment so that we can provide more good books, help-ful teaching resources, a more comprehensive website,and other ministry to assist believers in their lives andlabors for the Lord.

kitchen table with a box of graham crackers and a bottleof milk, talking the night away.

On March 30, 1972, Will was called to be with theLord and almost exactly nine years later, his brother Peteralso passed away. The responsibility of the work was leftin the hands of their four sisters: Grace, Tillie, Ruth, andLois. They carried on for a decade with the help of many,but in addition to their responsibilities for Rest HavenHomes and Grace’s failing health, it became almostimpossible to carry on.

In 1991, a Board of Directors was formed for the run-ning of Gospel Folio Press and it was reorganized as anon-profit corporation at that time. Now Gospel FolioPress is the book publishing division of UplookMinistries, which also provides the Lord’s people withtracts, booklets, books, the distribution of dependableChristian literature from other publishers, a tape library,the Uplook magazine, the Modular Bible Lessons, aswell as arranging book tables and our Rise Up & BuildBible conferences.

The past seven years have seen many structuralchanges in the building, technological changes in theequipment, and design and editorial changes in the prod-ucts. A two-color press and astitcher-collator-folder-trim-mer were the first pieces ofequipment purchased in ’91.Macintosh computers havereplaced the Linotype and themanual cut-and-paste process.A color scanner has allowedus to include more graphics inour work. And just this yearthe purchase of an output-to-film device streamlined theprocess even more, bypassingthe darkroom stage.

A toll-free 800 order num-ber, computerized billing, afax machine, e-mail, and awebsite were all unknown at


!

THE OTHER PUBLISHER

The Pell family, 1934

Hea

ther

Mol

denh

auer

The present staff at Uplook Ministries

A brief CHURCH HISTORYat a glanceCHURCH HISTORYPENTECOST

c. AD 29birth of

the Church(Acts 2)

EARLY PERSECUTIONS

death ofStephen(Acts 7)

MARRIAGE ofCHURCH & STATE

the crossexchanged

for an earthly throne

COUNCIL of NICEA Nicene Creed to refute Arianism

(denial of Christ’s full deity). Bishops of Alexandria, Antioch, andRome given authority over divisions

of Roman Empire. AD 325

AUGUSTINEAD 354-430

strongly influences Catholic

and Calvinisticthought

JEROME’SVULGATE

J. translates the Bible into Latin

AD 386

THEODOSIUS inAD 395 divides theempire between

his sons: Honorius (West),Arcadius (East)

COUNCIL ofCARTHAGE

27 books of NT accepted as canonical

AD 397

NESTORIANStake gospel toHuns, Medes,

Elamites, Arabs,Indians, Chinese

AD 636-781

JERUSALEMfalls to the

Muslim CaliphOmar

AD 637

PAULICIANS, AD 653separate fromState Church,

accept only Bibleas authoritative.

100,000 martyred

CHARLEMAGNEcrowned kingDec. 25, 800.

Begins long warto “convert” all of Europe

MARTIN LUTHER(AD 1483-1546)

nails his 95 thesesto the church door

at Wittenberg, October 31, 1517

JEROME SAVONAROLA(AD 1452-1498)early reformer

is tortured, hangedand burned with 2

others in 1498

The SCOTTISHCOVENANTERS

pay the price inblood for their

faith1643-1688

COUNT NIKOLAUS vonZINZENDORF invites

exiled Protestants to set-tle on his Saxony estate,1722. Begins Moravianmissionary movement

JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791)& GEORGE WHITFIELD

(1714-1770), shut out ofAnglican churches, take

gospel outdoors. Methodismthe answer to deism

The GREAT AWAKENING(1720-1776) bringswidespread conver-sions in America and

prominence toJONATHAN EDWARDS

FUNDAMENTALISMis defined in a

12-volume series “The Fundamentals”

edited by R.A. Torrey &A.C. Dixon, 1910-1915

The GREAT WAR1914-1918

when 27 nationsin “total war”show fruits ofNationalism

NEO-ORTHODOXYled by Karl Barth

(1886-1968)declares the Bibleonly “contains”the Word of God

NAZISM’S riseleads to WorldWar II (1939-1948) and theslaughter of 6million Jews

PATRICK(c. AD 372-?)

a Scot,evangelizes

Irelandc. 412

NEW MISSIONARY MOVEMENT:William Carey to India, 1793

Robt. Morrison to China, 1807Robt. Moffat (1816) & DavidLivingstone (1840) to AfricaA. N. Groves (1829) to Persia

WORLD COUNCILOF CHURCHES

formed inAmsterdam with

147 denominations1948

BILLY GRAHAM’Sfirst large

evangelistic “crusade” held in Los Angeles

1949

COMMUNISMleads to slaughter of

untold millions inscores of countries

worldwide1917-present

NEO-EVANGELICALISMfinds an eloquent

spokesman in Carl F. H. Henry, firsteditor of Christianity

Today, 1956

CHARISMATIC MOVEMENTsweeps across Catholicand liberal Protestantchurches, 1960-1975.

Dramatic decline inmainline denominations

COUNCIL of EPHESUS

condemnsPelagius’ heresy(denied original

sin). AD 431

CATHOLIC &ORTHODOXChurches

splitAD 1054

ERASMUS’Greek New

Testament withcritical notespublished in

Basle AD 1516

PAPACYFORMALIZED

Leo I (440-461).RC Church lists

48 popes beforeLeo to Peter

COUNCIL ofCLERMONT

AD 1095Urban II calls

for Crusade totake holy sites

LUTHER’S GermanBible printed, 1522;

WM. TYNDALE’S &MILES COVERDALE’S

English Bible in 1525

STUNDISTmovement

begins amonglower classes

in Russia1858

GEORGE MÜLLER

opens his first orphanage

in Bristol,England, 1836

HUDSONTAYLOR

forms theChina Inland

Mission in1865

C. H. SPURGEONpreaches for the

first time in 6,000seat Metropolitan

Tabernacle at age 22, 1861

COUNCIL ofCHALCEDON

refutesNestorianism

re 2 natures ofChrist. AD 451

SACKING ofROME

by barbarians(Goths) from

GermanyAD 476

ULPHILASc. AD 311-381“apostle to the Goths”

translates theBible into Gothic

SIEGE of JERUSALEMAD 1099, followed by 7

more Crusades(1147-1270). Thousands

of Jews slaughtered as“Christ-killers”

JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564)

publishes “Institutes of the Christian

Religion,” 1536

HENRY VIIIbreaks withRome. The

Supremacy Act of1534 lays groundfor Anglicanism

First BENEDICTINEMONASTERYestablished

AD 529 at Monte Cassino

PETER de BRUEYSspeaks out in

France againstcorruption ofRome. Burnedalive AD 1110

D. L. MOODY(1837-1899)in worldwide

preachingaddresses 100million people

LIBERALISM:German Higher

Criticism, evolution of

religion, denialof supernatural

NEW CULTS:Mormonism, 1830

7th-Day Adventism, 1831Spiritualism, 1848

Russellism (JW’s) 1872Christian Science, 1876

The INQUISITIONheats up, 1215.In 1220, handed

to Dominicanorder. Torture

approved in 1252

CONRAD GREBEL &FELIX MANZ, 1523,insist on believer’s

baptism, reject ideaof State Church. Givenname of Anabaptists

CHARLES G. FINNEYrevivals (beginning

in 1824) and “holiness” teaching

popularizedPerfectionism

“BRETHREN”MOVEMENT

has its beginningswhen four meet

to break bread inDublin, Nov. 1827

VATICAN II, 1962-1965Pope John XXIII attempts to modernize Catholicism.

Changes are unsettling; Catholics allowed to read

Bibles—many saved

PETER WALDO &the “poor men ofLyon” defied pope

(3rd LateranCouncil, AD 1179)to preach gospel

JOHN WYCLIFAD 1320-1384

denounces tran-substantiation.Complete Latin

Bible into English

ST. BARTHOLOMEW’SDAY MASSACRE

August 24-26, 1572100,000 French

Huguenots slaughtered

NEW AGE MOVEMENTpromoted with 1971

publication of “Be HereNow” by Baba Ram Das.

Eastern religions gainground in the West

GREGORY IAD 540-604

transformedbishopric of

Rome into thePapal State

JOHN HUS ofBohemia

AD 1369-1415burned at the stake

July 6, 1415

COUNCIL of TRENTAD 1545-1563

defined Catholicism in

wake of Counter-Reformation

HUGH LATIMER,NICHOLAS RIDLEY &THOMAS CRANMER

burned at the stake in London,

1555-1556

JOHN KNOXreturns toScotland in

1559, influencesReformation

there

JAMES VI of Scotland(James I of England)

calls for Bible translation.

The KJV published in 1611

The MAYFLOWER carries 102 Pilgrims

(Puritan Separatists)to establish a colonyin America. Arrive onNovember 21, 1620

21st CENTURYapproaches with

harvest fieldswhite, the time

nearer thanwhen we believed

CONVERSION of SAUL of

TARSUS (Acts 9)

PAUL’S 1stMISSION TRIP:Syria-Cyprus-

Turkeyc. AD 48

(Acts 13:1-15:35)

JERUSALEMCOUNCIL

c. AD 49-50 (Acts 15)

PAUL’S 2nd TRIP:Turkey-Greece

(Philippi, Thess.,Berea, Corinth)

c. AD 51(Acts 15:36-18:22)

PAUL’S 3rd TRIP:Eph., Maced., Cor., Miletus

AD 54(Acts 18:23-21:17)

PAULIMPRISONED

c. AD 58Voyage to Rome

c. AD 60Martyred AD 67?

INTENSE PERSECUTIONunder NEROburning of

Rome AD 64

FALL ofJERUSALEM

underVespasian/Titus

AD 70(Lk. 19:43-44)

REIGN ofCONSTANTINEEdict of Milan:

repeal of Christian persecution

AD 313

Apostolic Fathers (c. 95-150):Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius,Barnabas. Rising clericalism

The Apologists (c. 140-200)(Ante-Nicene Fathers): Justin

Martyr, Tatian, Tertullian

10 GREAT PERSECUTORS Domitian (AD 81) to Marcus Aurelius (180)

THE EARLY CHURCH, AD 29-313(Pentecost to the reign of Constantine)

THE WORLDLY CHURCH, AD 313-622 (The “Holy” Roman Empire to the Birth of Islam)

THE DARK AGES, AD 623-1492 (Triumph of Islam to the Dawn of a New Era)

THE REFORMATION ERA, AD 1492-1648 (Protest to Puritanism)

THE AGE OF AWAKENING AND REVIVAL, AD 1643-1899 (European Polarization to D. L. Moody)

THE MODERN WORLD, AD 1900-present (Every wind of doctrine—the last days?)

The Polemicists (c. 180-225)(Nicene Fathers): Irenaeus,

Hyppolytus, Tertullian, Cyprian

RELATIVE CALM for the Church (AD 180-313)Exceptions: Severus, Maximin, Decius, Diocletian

MOHAMMEDborn c. AD 569.Birth of Islam

dated fromflight to Medina

AD 622

UNITEDBRETHREN

(from Moravia)banished for theirfaith. Publish Biblein Bohemian, 1470

BIBLES! Preparationfor the coming

Reformation: Italian(1474), Dutch &French (1477),Spanish (1478)

COLUMBUSreaches the NewWorld in 1492;Magellan’s crew

circle the globe byship AD 1519-1522

The 30 YEARS WAR(1618-1648)

closes theReformation period with a

bloodbath

• History is His Story (The Dispensations) L-CHA• The Feasts of Jehovah L-FCH• Key Events in the Life of Peter (map) L- CPE• The Seven Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 L-SCR• Stir up your Gift L-GCH• The Habitation of God on Earth L-TCH• The Levitical Offerings L-OCH• The Seven Parables of the Kingdom L-PCH• Key Locations from the days of the Early Church (map) L-CKL• The Conspiracy of Love: God’s Tactics in Evangelism L-CLL• Psalms: Heaven’s Poetry L-CPS• The Long Walk: Israel’s Wilderness Journey (map) L-CLO• Compound Names of Jehovah L-CNA• Unlocking the Treasure Chest: the Sources of Truth L-CUT• Multiple Names and Titles of the Lord Jesus L-MNT

• Real Snake Handling:The Devil’s Devices L-RSH• Love By Association L-LBA• Isaiah:The Old Testament Evangelist L-OTE• A Brief Church History at a Glance L-CHG• Unfolding of the Doctrine of Dispensations L-UDD• Ten Test Questions to Discern Biblical Orthodoxy L-TTQ• So Great Salvation (definitions, examples, references) L-SGS• Revelation:The Book of Opened Things L-BOT

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O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n t h e O C T O B E R 1 9 9 8 I S S U E O F UUPPLLOOOOKK M A G A Z I N E A v a i l a b l e f r o m G o s p e l F o l i o P r e s s , P . O . B o x 2 0 4 1 , G r a n d R a p i d s , M I 4 9 5 0 1 - 2 0 4 1

! The Psalms: Heaven’s Poetry

M O R E T O P I C A L C H A R T S A M P L E S

! The Feasts of Jehovah and Jewish Calendar Months

! The Seven Churches ofRevelation 2 & 3

! The Key Locations of the Early Church

! Outline of the Dispensationsshowing the purpose of the ages

! The Multiple Names and Titlesof the Lord Jesus Christ

! Stir Up Your Gift with defintions& examples of gifts in Scripture

! 7 Parables of the Kingdom

M O R E T O P I C A L C H A R T S A M P L E S

B O U Q U E T O F B L E S S I N G

HIS STORY“All my possessions for a moment of time”


Careless seems the great Avenger; history’s pages but recordOne death-grapple in the darkness ’twixt old systems and the Word;Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne—Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

—James Russell Lowell

Remember the days of old, consider the years of many genera-tions. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, andthey will tell you. Deuteronomy 32:7

A page of history is worth a volume of logic. —Oliver W. Holmes, Jr.Crown Him the Lord of years,The Potentate of time,Creator of the rolling spheres,Ineffably sublime! —M. Bridges

Some dismiss that “by-gone age” of doctrinal trou-bles and schisms amongChristians, with the remark,“Let the dead bury theirdead.” But none escape theconsequences of history.And ignoring it will notsave us from perpetuatingit. As Elijah did, we shouldconfess, “We are not betterthan our fathers.” Weigh thepast in the balances of thesanctuary. Otherwise wedoom ourselves to a pathstrewn with danger.Lord, Thou hast been our

dwelling place in all generations.Before the mountains werebrought forth, or ever Thouhadst formed the earth and theworld, even from everlasting toeverlasting, Thou art God. Thouturnest man to destruction; andsayest, “Return, ye children ofmen.” For a thousand years inThy sight are but as yesterdaywhen it is past, and as a watch inthe night. Psalm 90:1-4

The Church Universal

One holy Church of God appearsThrough every age and raceUnwasted by the lapse of years,Unchanged by changing place.

From oldest time, on farthest shores,Beneath the pine or palm,One unseen Presence she adores,With silence or with psalm.

O living Church! thine errand speed,Fulfill thy task sublime;With bread of life earth’s hunger feed,Redeem the evil time!

—Samuel Longfellow

He who has no vision of eternityhas no hold on time.

—Thomas Carlyle

Learn to hold loosely all that isnot eternal. —A. M. Royden

Mid toil and tribulation,And tumult of her war,She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore;Till with the vision gloriousHer longing eyes are blest,And the great church victorious,Shall be the church at rest.

—S. J. Stone

The historian is a prophet lookingbackwards. —Schlegel

History, n. An account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant,which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, most-ly fools. —Ambrose Bierce in Cynic’s World Book

That men do not learn verymuch from the lessons ofhistory is the most impor-tant of all the lessons thathistory has to teach.

—Aldous HuxleyHistory repeats itself. Historiansrepeat each other. —Philip Guedella

—LAST WORDS OF ELIZABETH I

planting the teaching of God’s Wordwith their additional doctrines, theirtraditions. In Mark 7 there is the par-allel passage where the Phariseesand their traditions are condemned.The Law itself was complex enoughand very burdensome for the peopleto keep, but the legalistic spirit of therabbis kept on adding rules and reg-ulations. In Matthew 23, where Jesusdelivers a scathing condemnation ofthem, He said, “They bind heavyburdens, hard to bear, and lay themon men’s shoulders; but they them-selves will not move them with one oftheir fingers” (Mt. 23:4). Paul wascaught up in this system, “beingmore exceedingly zealous of the tra-ditions of my fathers” (Gal. 1:14).

The Bible, however, does speak oftradition in a good sense. JaroslavPeliken differentiates between tradi-tion and traditionalism, calling tradi-tion “the living faith of the dead” andtraditionalism “the dead faith of the

living.” It is an insightfulanalysis. But this “livingfaith” which many have, fromwhich “dead” has it beenpassed on? For the Churchdoes this mean the creeds,practices, and pronounce-ments of 2,000 years ofChurch history? If so, whichof all of these contradictoryand confusing traditions isone to follow?The Bible distinguishesbetween two kinds of tradi-tion. There is the “tradition ofmen” (Col. 2:8) and there isthe tradition of the apostles.Paul could write the believersin Thessalonica, “Therefore,brethren, stand fast, and holdthe traditions which you weretaught, whether by word, orour epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15).Later in the same epistle hewrote, “But we command you,

manded, saying, Honor thy fatherand mother: and, He that cursethfather or mother, let him die thedeath. But ye say, Whosoever shallsay to his father or his mother, It is agift, by whatsoever thou mightest beprofited by me; and honor not hisfather or his mother, he shall be free.Thus have ye made the command-ment of God of none effect by yourtradition. Ye hypocrites, well didEsaias prophesy of you, saying, Thispeople draweth nigh unto Me withtheir mouth, and honoreth Me withtheir lips; but their heart is far fromMe. But in vain they do worship Me,teaching for doctrines the command-ments of men” (Mt.15:3-9).

Jesus castigated them for sup-

any of us cringe ifsomeone starts talk-ing about beingloyal to tradition.We think of formal

churches with their ornate ritual andGothic architecture, the priestly garbof their ministers, and the lack ofspontaneity in their services. But howdoes Scripture use the term?

The word “tradition” is a transla-tion in the New Testament of theGreek word paradosis, the noun formfrom paradidomi, meaning “to giveover, to deliver or to pass on.” It isused in Matthew 17:22 by Jesus,“The Son of man shall bebetrayed into the hands ofmen.”

He was about to be hand-ed over to the hands of Hisenemies. Tradition, then, is ateaching or practice whichhas been handed over to thenext generation for its preser-vation and continued prac-tice.

Perhaps many think of tra-dition in a bad sense. Jesuswas surrounded by thescribes and Pharisees andwas challenged by them,“Why do Your disciplestransgress the tradition of theelders? For they do not washtheir hands when they eatbread” (Mt. 15:2).

Jesus replied, “Why do yealso transgress the com-mandment of God by yourtradition? For God com-


Building on traditionIs all tradition wrong? How do we distinguish betweengood tradition and bad?

I T ’ S I N Y O U R H A N D

MDONALD L. NORBIE

study the past to learn lessons and to avoid making thesame mistakes, but the authority for doctrine and practicemust be only the Word of God, the Bible.

It is very easy to lapse into traditionalism and to makeone’s own practices a legalistic norm. The Scripture indi-cates the early churches had their meetings on Sunday,the Lord’s Day, the day when He arose (Acts 20:7). Butthere is no biblical direction as to the time of day. Youmay prefer the Lord’s supper at 9:30, but have no right todemand that all other churches conform. A church mayprefer to sit in a circle at the Breaking of bread, but thereis no apostolic directive to this end. The Scripture teach-es modesty but does not demand a certain dress code forwomen, as some religious groups do today.

It is very easy to lapse into traditionalism; that can bedeadening. We may celebrate the Lord’s Supper every

Sunday, but if the heart hasgone out of the meeting, itbecomes a dead form. Somechurches adopt a regularliturgy and know their partsby rote. Others decry that butstill fall into a lifeless pat-tern—a hymn and a prayer, ahymn and a prayer—with fewheart-warming expressionsof thanks or exercisedprayers. If someone wouldstand and give a heartfeltexhortation, he would beviewed as out of place. “Weare comfortable; do not dis-turb us.” Traditionalism! Yes, we believe in traditions,the traditions of the apostles.When churches appeal toother traditions, they laythemselves open to all sortsof error and confusion. Isaiahcried, “To the law and to thetestimony! If they do notspeak according to this word,it is because there is no lightin them” (Isa. 8:20). It isalways healthy for a church toevaluate its beliefs and prac-tices in the light of God’sWord, not to appeal to its tra-ditions. The Spirit of God isstill eager to lead God’s peo-ple into all truth.

brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that youwithdraw from every brother who walks disorderly, andnot according to the tradition which he received from us”(2 Thess. 3:6). Strong words indeed! The apostlesclaimed the authority of the Lord Jesus as they preachedthe gospel and established churches, laying down a pat-tern of doctrine and practice (Mt. 28:18-20). They werefoundational in the Church (Eph. 2:20).

In writing to a church struggling with moral and doc-trinal problems, Paul exhorted the believers, “Imitate me,just as I also imitate Christ. Now I praise you, brethren,that you remember me in all things and keep the tradi-tions just as I delivered them to you” (1 Cor. 11:1-2).There was a universal, apostolic tradition to which Paulcould appeal. To those who questioned his teaching Paulcould write, “But if anyone seems to be contentious, wehave no such custom, nor dothe churches of God” (1 Cor.11:16). Anyone who wouldchallenge Paul in this areawas warned that he was goingcontrary to the practice of allthe churches.

Later in this epistle Paulclaimed the very authority ofGod for his teaching. “If any-one thinks himself to be aprophet or spiritual, let himacknowledge that the thingswhich I write to you are thecommandments of the Lord”(1 Cor. 14:37). Paul claimedfor these “traditions” of theapostles the same authoritythat Moses claimed as hedescended from Mt. Sinai tothe people of Israel. This isthe Word of God, just asauthoritative as if Christ per-sonally spoke it. Apostolictradition is authoritative.

Since the first century,with the decease of the apos-tles, no man has been able tomake such valid claims forinspiration and authority. Theonly source of direction forthe churches is now the writ-ten Word of God itself. Nochurch should appeal tochurch history for its guid-ance and authority. One may


!

BUILDING ON TRADITION

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race,Call on the lazy, leaden-stepping hours,Whose speed is but the heavy plummet’s pace;And glut thyself with what thy womb devours,Which is no more than what is false and vain,And merely mortal dross;So little is our loss,So little is thy gain.For when as each thing bad thou hast

entombed,And, last of all, thy greedy self consumed,Then long eternity shall greet our blissWith an individual kiss;And joy shall overtake us as a floodWith everything that is sincerely goodAnd perfectly divine,With truth, and peace, and love shall ever

shineAbout the supreme throneOf Him whose happy-making sight alone,When once our heavenly-guided soul shall

climb,Then all this earthly grossness quit,Attired with stars, we shall forever sit,Triumphing over death, and chance, and thee,

O Time.—JOHN MILTON (1608-1674)

On Time

the Lord’s Supper was a means ofensuring unity.

At the time of his martyrdom, hiscontemporaries described him as “aman in all things like the Apostles.As to his martyrdom, he said, “Iwould rather die for Christ than rulethe whole world.”3

JUSTIN MARTYR (?-163)

The date of Justin Martyr’s birthis unknown. He was born at present-day Nablus in Palestine and was oneof the few very learned men of thesecond century. He was an apologist,that is, a writer who defended theChristian faith. Walking by the seaone day, he met a total stranger whotold him about Christ and he becamea believer. He never saw the managain. Justin became an ardentdefender of the faith, having writtenthe Apology for Christianity and sev-eral other works. What we knowabout him comes chiefly from hiswritings.

Justin was later accused of thecrime of being a Christian, and thesentence imposed on him—alongwith several others was that they firstbe scourged, then beheaded. Around163 AD he sealed his testimony withhis blood.

POLYCARP (c. 69—155)

Polycarp was a disciple of theApostle John and a friend ofIgnatius. While still a young man, hebecame an elder at Smyrna, the cityof his birth. He was a link betweenthe apostles and the second centurychurch, having contributed greatly tothe latter. Around 155 AD, local per-secution took place in Smyrna andseveral Christians were martyred. Hewas singled out as the leader of thechurch there and was marked out for

Peter and Paul, and in his letter madereference to their martyrdom. Hewrote with humility yet triumphantlyof persecution, the value of OldTestament typology, the hope ofChrist’s return, and the way of salva-tion, stressing the importance of goodworks in a Christian’s life. He alsodefended the faith against the heresyof Docetism (i.e., that Jesus was apure-spirit, and not a man).

The Apostle Paul mentions a cer-tain Clement in Philippians 4:3, but itis debatable if this is the Clement ofRome who wrote a letter to theCorinthians.

IGNATIUS (C. 50—C. 111)

All we know of Ignatius is primar-ily through 15 letters ascribed to him.He was probably a native of Syria, apupil of the Apostle John, and anelder of the church at Antioch, Syria.He manifested a deep love for Christ,stressed the importance of Christ’sincarnation, and was persuaded that

he first century follow-ing the death of theApostles produced fewChristian writers, fewmen of learning or note.

For the most part, the Christians ofthose days were concerned about liv-ing Christianity and they found in theScriptures all that was necessary totheir salvation and edification.’’1

However, during the second andthird centuries, there were severalprominent Christians or so-calledChurch Fathers.

CLEMENT OF ROME (C. 30-100)

Clement was an elder in thechurch at Rome. Noted for his letterto the Corinthians, he wrote duringthe lifetime of the Apostle John, pro-viding some light on the life of thechurches at the close of the first cen-tury. He had seen both the apostles


Who were “the Fathers”?Prominent Christians of the Second and Third Centuries

A S S E S S T H E P A S T

TW. ROSS RAINEY

“

Ignatius,devoured by

wild animalsin Rome ,

AD 111

result of injuries inflicted during the persecution underthe Emperor Decius.

CYPRIAN (c. 195—c. 258)

Cyprian became a Christian in 246 AD. He was a rich,cultured man of Carthage, North Africa, but gave awaymuch of his wealth to the poor after his conversion. At therequest of the people, he became bishop of Carthage, butaccepted the position reluctantly. However, he developeda strong insistence on the authority of the bishop,although there was no desire on his part to lord it overGod’s flock.

Cyprian was a godly man with a well trained but clearand simple mind. His labors were greatly blessed and hesteered clear of the philosophical teachings of his day,adhering to the plain apostolic line of teaching. He wasthe instrument of a great revival in Carthage, the effectsof which spread far and wide.

Cyprian’s career was limited to 13 years, during whichtime there was considerable persecution, his life havingbeen cut short by a martyr’s death.

AN ASSESSMENT

What can we learn from this vital period of secondand third century Christianity? On the negative side,there are several things we need to observe. The empha-sis placed on one man becoming the bishop of a city orarea laid the foundation for clerisy, which has been soprevalent in the church’s history, something totally for-eign to the teaching of the New Testament. We furthernote the trends toward asceticism, legalism, celibacy, andparty spirit. Also, man’s philosophies commenced toinfluence fundamental Christianity, coupled with a grow-ing spirit of worldliness in the church.

On the positive side, however, we should be grateful toGod for faithful men and women who contended for thefaith, even to sealing their testimony with their life’sblood. We all have feet of clay and are flawed in one wayor another. No one of us holds the truth perfectly,although this by no means excuses us for allowing errorto creep into the church or into our own personal lives.

Whatever valid criticisms we may have of the so-called early Church Fathers, we need to ask ourselves towhat extent we measure up to their sacrificial devotion toChrist and faithfulness to the Word of God. And, if nec-essary, are we ready to die a martyr’s death for His sake?

ENDNOTES

1 T. W. Carron, The Christian’s Testimony through the Ages,p. 41.

2 Ibid., p. 41.3 Elgin S. Moyer, Who Was Who in Church History, p. 209.

martyrdom. When asked to repent of his faith, he isreported to have said, “Eighty and six years have I servedHim, and He has done me no wrong. How can I speakevil of my King who saved me?” He was burned at thestake following his bold and courageous confession.

IRANAEUS (c. 130—c. 202)

Having probably been born at Smyrna, Iranaeus stud-ied under Polycarp and ultimately became an elder atLyons. For many years he labored zealously in literaryactivity, pastoral work, and missionary preaching. Hisgreatest literary work was entitled, Against Heresies, adefense of the Christian faith against the insidious teach-ings of the Gnostics and other heretics.

Iranaeus made full use of the New Testament, show-ing the unity of the Old and New Testaments. We knownothing more of him after 190 AD, and it’s believed thathe died a martyr’s death.

TERTULLIAN (c. 160—c. 220)

Born in Carthage, North Africa, where he lived mostof his life, Tertullian was highly educated and the firstChristian author to write in Latin. For 30 or so years helived in licentiousness, then became a Christian about190 AD. He was a prolific writer, ardent defender of thefaith, and a gifted preacher, his main concerns havingbeen Christianity’s attitude to the Roman state and soci-ety, the defense of orthodox beliefs against heresy, andthe moral behavior of Christians.

Around 207 AD, reacting against the worldliness of thechurch, his own strict moral code led him to cast in hislot with the Montanist schism that was making itself feltin the church at that time. In turn this led him to asceti-cism and legalism. Although married, he placed celibacyhigher than marriage.

Toward the end of Tertullian’s life, he left theMontanists and formed a sect of his own. He was the firstChristian writer to use the words Trinity and Person inrelation to the Godhead.

ORIGEN (c. 185—c. 254)

Born into a Christian family in Alexandria, Egypt,Origen became the greatest scholar and most prolificauthor of the early church fathers. His first major work,First Principles, attempted to systematically presentfundamental Christian doctrines. However, in his attemptto explain Christianity in the prevailing philosophicalideas of his time, it was to the detriment of the former.Nevertheless, he remained faithful to the basic truths ofChristianity.

Origen was deeply spiritual and led a spartan life. Hetraveled widely and his death around 254 AD was the


!

WHO WERE “THE FATHERS”?

Pope Alexander III allowed the “Poor of Lyons” to main-tain vows of poverty, but they were denied permission topreach as laymen unless they were expressly invited topreach by the local clergyman.

At first they thought they could live with this arrange-ment, but soon realized that dissolute clergymen madepoor supervisors. So they went preaching with or withoutan invitation. In 1184, Pope Lucius III had them excom-municated for insubordination.

By this time, Waldo had contacted believers from theAlpine valleys on the boundary between France and Italy.On the west side of the range the believers on French soilwere called Albigenses, probably because of their prox-

imity to the city of Albi.Within Italy, their accuserscalled them Waldenses. It ispopularly assumed that theyare named after Peter Waldo.Both groups were known asVaudois by the French, andthe Valdes by the Italians. Oneof them described his fellow-ship as “the little flock ofChristians referred to falselyand with false names asp.o.v.o.b.” The initials proba-bly stood for “Picards or

Valdes or Beghards,” all such titles were so inflammato-ry that it was unsafe to write them out in full.

Where were the Waldensians doctrinally? We cannotassume that everyone burned at the stake or hurled off acliff by the magistrates of the Middle Ages was a Bible-believing Christian. But in the case of the Waldensians,we believe they were the most strictly biblical group ofbelievers of the Middle Ages. The Inquisition itselfaffirmed their soundness on the basic doctrines ofScripture. The complaint against them was not their doc-trines but their stubborn resistance to papal authority.

The Waldenses were evangelical in the best sense ofthe word, sending out young men in pairs on missionarytrips. The fact that these men were usually unmarried haslead to the slander that the Waldensians forbad marriage.

nyone reading Church histories, especiallythose covering the Middle Ages, will doubt-less meet the Waldensians, the Lollards, andthe Anabaptists. But who were they?

THE WALDENSIANS

In 1160, Peter Waldo (?-1217), a wealthy youngbanker, was stunned by the death of a guest at one of hisbanquets. Peter had also been impressed by the messageof a troubadour who related the legend of Saint Alexius,the penitent scion of a noble family who refused a brideand went into self-imposed exile and poverty. Alexiusreturned to his home years later, destitute and unknown.

Waldo consulted the localtheological minds about thisstory and was directed to thesaying of the Lord Jesus, “Ifthou wilt be perfect, go and sellthat thou hast, and give to thepoor, and thou shalt have trea-sure in heaven: and come andfollow Me” (Mt. 19:21). In1173, he sold his property,gave away all the proceedsexcept what he needed to carefor his wife, and sent his twodaughters to a monastery.Thereafter, in class-conscious feudal Europe, he steppeddown and began to preach to the common people.

At some point in those early years, while he still hadthe income to do so, he obtained a copy of the Scripturesand employed two clerks to translate it into the Romancedialect. Portions of these handwritten translations, calledthe Romaunt or Gallic Version, are still preserved.

As a leader and organizer, Peter banded his co-work-ers together. They were styled “the poor in spirit,” or “thepoor of Lyons.” Their initial intent was not to become aprotest movement. They really had two desires: freedomto preach as laymen, and permission to produce Bibletranslations in the vernacular of the common people.

In 1179, they crossed the mountains in order to pre-sent their cause in Rome at the Third Lateran Council.

21UUPPLLOOOOKK • APRIL 1998

H E R O E S

b y J O H N A . B J O R L I E

UNKNOWN, YET WELL KNOWNThere were always those who simply wanted just to be brethren

A

The burning of Wycliffe’s writings

den and had involved many in his dangerous errors. Hewas seized near Cologne and by court of justice givenover to the fire and burnt. He was a man full of the Devil,more able than any other, constant in his error, clever inhis answers, corrupt in faith, and no promises, no threats,not even the most terrible tortures could bring him tobetray his fellow culprits, of whom there were many. ThisLollard, Walther, of Netherland origin, had little knowl-edge of the Latin language, and wrote the numerousworks of his false faith in the German tongue, as he couldnot do it in the Roman speech, and distributed them verysecretly to those whom he had deceived and led astray. Ashe refused all repentance and recantation, and defendedhis error most steadfastly, not to say obstinately, he wasthrown into the fire and left nothing but his ashesbehind.’” How remarkable that the writer felt entirely jus-tified, thinking he was doing God service, by assenting tosuch monstrous cruelty.

When Wycliff began his work, men were employed topreach everywhere across England, and these alsobecame known as Lollards. How many of them wereburned at the stake in England is hard to know. But theflame they lit swept across Europe with gospel light.

THE ANABAPTISTS

The brethren of Reformation times called“Anabaptists” claimed that their congregations existedfrom earliest times. They affirmed that the havoc andpolitical unrest of the Reformation created a window ofopportunity to these long persecuted brethren. Takingadvantage of the social upheaval, the underground churchof the Dark Ages went public. Missionaries traversedcentral Europe, holding meetings among brethren whopreviously had been secretive. Converted Catholic priestsand monks held conferences, and performed public bap-tisms. Around 1524, in Germany, many gatheringsdeclared their independence from the State Church byreceiving believer’s baptism. It was then that the name“Second Baptizers” or “Anabaptists” was born. Hitherto,almost everyone within a region, whether Catholic orProtestant, had been baptized as an infant. In those daysto have an infant baptized was comparable to parentsapplying for a social security number for a newborn.

The state viewed your baptism papers as they wouldcitizenship papers. To be baptized a second time was torenounce your first baptism, and in their case to appear torenounce your citizenship. This may explain why theAnabaptists were besieged and harried. They had com-mitted treason. With few places to hide, they lived with-out government protection during the times of theReformation in northern Europe. But being neitherLutheran nor Catholic, they were unrecognized and unin-

John Darby noted that many of their beliefs were inreaction to errors of the State Church. “The infamy of theclergy, degraded by species of vice which none can callin question, had roused the conscience of many, andmore as to practice and the acts by which they mademoney than as to dogma. But purgatory, consecration tothe priesthood, indulgences, confession to priests, andprayers for the dead, were all rejected.”

This lines up with the accusation of the inquisitorSacconi, “They preach much from the Gospels and sayamong other things that a man should do no evil, nor lie,nor swear. When they preach from the Gospels andEpistles they corrupt them with their explanations, asmasters of error who know not to sit at the feet of truth,teaching and expounding the Scriptures being whollyforbidden to layfolk. They say that their church is the truechurch and that the Roman church is not a true Churchbut is the Church of malignants. They reprobate Churchwealth and ecclesiastical ‘regalia’ or the high feudal priv-ileges of bishops and abbots. They seek to abolish allecclesiastical privilege and they maintain no one shouldbe compelled to the faith…They condemn the Church’ssacraments and say that a priest who lives in mortal sincannot make the body of Christ; that transubstantiationtakes place not in the hands of the priest…but in themind of him who received it worthily.” And all of thisfrom Rainier Sacconi, who was formerly among the“heretics,” but in the time of persecution left them andbecame a Dominican and an Inquisitor.

The Waldenses saw evident success in gospel work.By the sixteenth century, there were functioning congre-gations in Bavaria, Bohemia, England, France, Italy,Poland, Swabia, and Switzerland. One claimed therewere as many as 13,000 Waldenses believers in Austria.

THE LOLLARDS

The term “Lollard” eventually became a general namefor those deemed heretical to the Roman Church, but itwas not so from the beginning. One opinion is that thename comes from the Middle Dutch, lollaert, meaning tomumble or mutter. Another traces the word to the LowGerman lollen or lullen, meaning to sing in a low tone,from the subdued and plaintive dirges used while accom-panying the dead to the grave. If this is so, it correspondsto the contemporary scorn for hymn singing, whichworldly-minded people speak of as “funeral dirges.”

Much of what we learn of the Lollards has beengleaned, not from their writings, but from their accusers.In Broadbent’s Pilgrim Church, we read, “One chroniclerelates that in 1322 a certain Walther came to Colognefrom Mainz. He was ‘a leader of the Brethren and a dan-gerous heresiarch, who for many years had remained hid-


UNKNOWN, YET WELL KNOWN

vants of Christ were in their mid-thirties, exceptBalthaser Hubmaier, who endured a lengthy interrogationbefore he was burned in Vienna in 1528; he was about 48years old. Three days after his martyrdom, his wife wasdrowned in the Danube River.

Exiled, tortured, drowned and burnt, the death tollmounted to the thousands in Austria, Germany, andHolland. Followers of this fledgling movement had bare-ly poked their heads out of the caves and dens in whichthey were hiding when they were stripped of their mostpromising Bible teachers and evangelists. And thesetremors reached across Europe.

Martin Luther collided with the Anabaptists over thepurity of the Church. The Anabaptists strove for a believ-ing church, comprised only of true Christians, whileLuther could not bring himself to renounce the StateChurch idea (necessarily a mixed multitude of saved andlost). It would mean sacrificing the political support ofthe princes. At this Luther drew back, defending an inclu-sive church where sinners belonged.

Luther felt that the Anabaptists did not understand“the pure doctrine nor did they seek it.” “The pure doc-trine” was Luther’s formula of sola fide (“by faithalone”). He meant that man cannot earn his salvation,neither in whole nor in part. As such it is quite biblical.But Luther’s view of salvation had a lopsided emphasison salvation as a judicial clearing of guilt—“justifica-tion” at the expense of a practical life change—“regener-ation.” This worried the underground Church. They readLuther to mean sola fide as “faith standing alone” or“faith unaccompanied” which they could not accept.They had paid too dearly to recover the lifestyle ofauthentic Christianity to accept a theology which under-mined a distinctive way of life. They appreciated thebook of James, and it shocked them to hear Luther call ita “right strawy epistle.” Lucas of Prague chided Lutherfor neglecting “fruits worthy of repentance.”

Our hearts rejoice to know that there have alwaysbeen, since the days of the apostles, believers who havegone “forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bear-ing His reproach” (Heb. 13:13).

FOR FURTHER READING:Wycliffe the Morning Star, by George S. InnisThe Lollards, the Witnesses for the Truth in Great Britain,

published by the Religious Tract SocietyMedieval Heresy, Malcolm Lambert, BlackwellEcclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont

and of the Albigenses, Peter Allix Anatomy of a Hybrid, Leonard Verduin, EerdmanMartyrs’ Mirror, Herald PressThe Vaudois, J. N. Darby, Collected Writings, Vol. 20

corporated under the laws of the land. Illegal preacherswho raised illegal lights into that inky night soon met theexecutioner. One edict said, “Out of the ashes of Waldomany new shoots arise and it is necessary to impose asevere and heavy punishment as an example.”

Conrad Grebel was imprisoned for three months inthe tower at Zurich. He escaped in 1526, but he did notlive out the year. A fugitive, he narrowly missed martyr-dom by dying of the plague. Felix Manz was repeatedlyarrested and finally drowned in the Limmat River byorder of the Zurich Council in 1527. His execution wasthe first of a long line of Anabaptist martyrs. MichaelSattler was burned at the stake in Rottenburg in 1527.His faithful wife followed him, being drowned in theNeckar River eight days later. In that same year, a con-ference of Anabaptists was held in Augsburg whichbecame known as “The Martyrs’ Synod” because somany of those in attendance lost their lives for the nameof Christ. Hans Denck took a leading part in that confer-ence. Before the year was out, the weary fugitive woulddie of the plague. George Blurock was captured at Tyroland burned at Innsbruck in 1529. All of these gifted ser-


!

UNKNOWN, YET WELL KNOWNt is often thought that when theReformation was established, Europewas divided into Protestants (whetherLutheran or Swiss) on the one hand,

and Roman Catholics on the other. The largenumbers of Christians are overlooked who didnot belong to either party, but who, most of them,met as independent churches, not relying, as theothers did, on the support of the civil power, butendeavoring to carry out the principles ofScripture as in New Testament times. They wereso numerous that both the State Church partiesfeared they might come to threaten their ownpower and even existence. The reason that soimportant a movement occupies so small a placein the history of those times is, that by the relent-less use of the power of the State, the greatChurches, Catholic and Protestant, were ablealmost to destroy it, the few adherents who wereleft being driven abroad or remaining only asweakened and comparatively unimportant com-panies. The victorious party was also able todestroy much of the literature of the brethren,and, writing their history, to represent them asholding doctrines which they repudiated, and togive them names to which an odious significancewas attached. — E. H. Broadbent

The Pilgrim Church

I

to reap? Houses were allowed to fallinto decay; for why build, why repair,why trouble about property, when afew months will put an end to all ter-restrial things?…

The rich, the noble, the princes,and bishops, abandoned their friendsand families, and hastened to theshores of Palestine in the persuasionthat Mount Zion would be the throneof Christ when He descended tojudge the world.

Large sums of money were givento churches, as if to secure a morefavorable sentence from the supremeJudge. Kings and emperors beggedat monastery doors, to be admitted asbrethren of the holy order; crowds ofthe common people slept in theporches of the holy buildings, or atleast under their shadow.

But in the meantime the multi-tudes must be fed. The last day of thethousand years had not yet arrived.But food there was none; corn andcattle were exhausted, and no provi-sion had been made for the future.The most frightful extremities wereendured, far too revolting to berepeated here. But the day of doomdrew nearer and nearer.

The last evening of the thousandyears arrived: a sleepless night for allEurope! Imagination must fill up thedoleful picture. But in place of someextraordinary convulsion, which allwere tremblingly waiting for, thenight passed away as other nightshad done, and in the morning the sunshed forth his beams as peacefully asever. The amazed but now relievedmultitudes began to return to theirhomes, repair their buildings, plow,sow, and resume their former occu-pations.

Thus closed the first thousandyears of the Church’s history; thedarkest day in the reign of Jezebel,and in the annals of Christendom.Miller’s Church History, pp. 323-325

glory” (Lk. 21:25-27).But if ever man might be forgiven

the dream of believing that the end ofthe world was come, it was then. Theclergy preached it, the peoplebelieved it, and it rapidly spread overall Europe. It was boldly promulgatedthat the world would come to an endwhen a thousand years from theSaviour’s birth were expired. Fromabout the year 960 the panicincreased, but the year 999 waslooked upon as the last which anyonewould ever see. This general delu-sion, through the power of Satan, wasfounded on a total misunderstand-ing…of the prophecy concerning theMillennial reign of the saints with

Christ for a thousand years. “Blessedand holy is he that hath part in thefirst resurrection; on such the seconddeath hath no power, but they shall bepriests of God and of Christ, andshall reign with Him a thousandyears” (Rev. 20:6-7).

999—THE YEAR OF TERROR

The ordinary cares and employ-ments of this life were given up. Theland was left untilled; for why plow,why sow, when no one would be left

o period in Churchhistory…presents adarker picture thanChristian Europe atthe close of the tenth

century. The degradation of thePapacy, the corrupt state of theChurch within, and the number andpower of her enemies without, threat-ened her complete overthrow.Besides the Muslims in the East, andthe pagan Northmen, a new enemy—the Hungarians—burst unexpectedlyupon Christendom. In the strong lan-guage of history, they seemed ashordes of savages, or wild beasts, letloose on mankind. Their source wasunknown, but their numbers appearedinexhaustible. Indiscriminate mas-sacre seemed their only war law: civ-ilization and Christianity witheredbefore their desolating march;mankind were panic-stricken.

In addition to these appallingcalamities, famines prevailed andbrought plague and pestilence in theirtrain…The prediction of our Lordseemed to be accomplished: “Andthere shall be…upon the earth dis-tress of nations, with perplexity; thesea and the waves roaring; men’shearts failing them for fear, and forlooking after those things which arecoming on the earth: for the powersof heaven shall be shaken.”

But, though these words describethe state of things then, the prophecywas far from being fulfilled; as ourLord immediately adds, “And thenshall they see the Son of Man comingin a cloud with power and great


The end of the world?Terror strikes and tragedy stalks the nations as theend of the millennium approaches

R E A D C A R E F U L L Y

NANDREW MILLER

!

thrust him through with a spearand also killed one of the Seleucid

soldiers. Thus began theMaccabean revolt.Mattathias, his five sons andothers fled into the GophnaHills and conducted a guer-rilla war against theSeleucids for three years.Eventually Jerusalem wasliberated, yet the Temple wasdefiled. The history of thisrevolt is found in FirstMaccabees 1 and 4 andSecond Maccabees 6 and 10.While these books are notinspired, they record impor-tant historical information.

The Rabbis recount the miracle of Hanukkah in theseterms, “On Kislev 25 begin the Hanukkah days, eight ofthem…When the Greeks entered the Temple Sanctuary,they contaminated all the oil. When the Hasmoneansdefeated them, they searched and found only one cruse ofoil bearing the High Priest’s seal. The cruse had enoughoil for only one day’s burning, but a miracle came to passand it lasted eight days. The following year, these dayswere declared a holiday to be celebrated with the sayingof Hallel and thanksgiving prayers” (Megillat Taanit).

The centerpiece of the celebration is a nine-branchcandelabrum. The first candle is called the “servant”candle and is used to light one additional candle eachnight to commemorate the eight days of the miracle.

JESUS CELEBRATES HANUKKAH

The Lord Jesus observed the celebration of Hanukkahin the Temple during the winter of AD 29 (Jn. 10:22-39).Just prior to this account, two “illustrations” (10:6) ofJesus as the Good Shepherd (10:1-5 and 10:7-10) weregiven, and then Jesus’ interpretation of these parables(10:11-18). The Jewish reader would immediately pickup the messianic connotation of this discourse. TheDavidic Messiah would be a Shepherd (Ezek. 34).

wo friends of mine,Gentile believers in theLord Jesus living in Israel,shared the excitement of

the impending birth of their firstborn. Iinquired as to the due date of the child.The proud father-to-be replied, “Thedoctor said the child is due December25.” I lamented, “The poor child will onlyreceive one set of gifts for Christmas andhis or her birthday.” Yisrael, half-jokinglyresponded, “That’s no problem; we’ll cele-brate Hanukkah instead!” We had a goodlaugh, but I thought to myself, “The LordJesus, the Messiah of Israel, celebrated thefestival of Hanukkah, yet there is no recordin the Gospels of Him celebratingChristmas!”

THE ORIGIN OF HANUKKAH

Hanukkah is a festival which commemorates thepurification and rededication of the Temple by JudasMaccabeus on Kislev 25, 165 BC (usually in December).Three years prior, Antiochus IV, the Seleucid (Syrian)king, defiled the Temple by erecting an idol to BaalShamen (Zeus), sacrificing a pig on the altar, and pro-claiming himself to be a god. Some of the coins he mint-ed had his features on the face of Zeus along with thewords “Epiphanes” meaning “the god manifest.” He alsodecreed that Torah (the Law of God) could not be studiedunder penalty of death, circumcision was forbidden, andthe Sabbath was not to be kept. This brought an internalstruggle within Judaism out in the open. On the one handthere were the observant Jews who wanted to keep Torah,and on the other, the Hellenized Jews who wanted toassimilate into the Greek culture around them andbecome “born again” Greeks.

Antiochus sent troops from village to village with astatue of himself, ordering people to bow down to it. Oneday they arrived in the village of Modi’im. An elderlyman stepped forward to comply with the order, but anobservant priest, Mattathias of the Hasmonean family,


D A R E T O T H I N K

b y G O R D O N F R A N Z

JESUS CELEBRATED HANUKKAHHere is one non-biblical tradition Jesus used for God’s glory.

T

Himself God (10:31-33). Jesus declared that He was thefulfillment of Hanukkah by saying the Father “sancti-fied” the Son of God and sent Him into the world (10:34-36). The Father was in Him and He in the Father (10:38).If the Greek word “sanctified” were translated intoHebrew, it would be “dedication” or Hanukkah!

A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

John writes his Gospel primarily to a Jewish andSamaritan audience. One of the unique things aboutJohn’s Gospel is his emphasis on the Jewish andSamaritan festivals and his indication that Jesus was thefulfillment of these holidays. Hanukkah was the rededi-cation of a defiled Temple. At the beginning of Jesus’public ministry, He said, “Destroy this temple, and inthree days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, It hastaken forty-six years to build this temple, and will Youraise it up in three days? But He was speaking of the tem-ple of His body” (2:19-21). A wicked and corrupt priest-hood had defiled Herod’s Temple. The sinless Lord Jesuswas “sanctified” by His death, burial, and resurrection.He is the New Temple.

The Apostle John selected “signs” (miracles) andevents, when he penned his Gospel under the inspirationof the Holy Spirit, to convey two purposes (20:30-31).The first was to present the deity of the Lord Jesus. Johnskillfully selects the Hanukkah event because of the fes-tival impact on the crowd. In contrast to the arrogant andblasphemous statement by Antiochus IV, Jesus truly isGod manifest in human flesh. The second purpose was tochallenge people to put their trust (believe) in the LordJesus Christ as the One who died for their sins and roseagain from the dead. When they trust Him, God givesthem the gift of eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and ahome in Heaven. There seems to be a marked contrastbetween the response of the Jews on the Temple Mount(10:37-39) and those “beyond the Jordan” who believedon Him (10:40-42). What is your response? Have youtrusted the One who is the fulfillment of Hanukkah?

As He walked through Solomon’s porch on the eastside of the Temple enclosure, some Jews approachedHim and asked Him point blank, “Are you the Messiah?”(10:24). Jesus had to be careful how He answered thatquestion. During the festival, throngs of Jews caught upin the nationalistic fever, were visiting Jerusalem. Theword “Messiah” might spark off riots because of itsheavy nationalistic and political overtones.

Roman intelligence, headquartered in the Antonia’sFortress to the northwest of the Temple, was aware of apopular song entitled “A Psalm of Solomon, with Song,to the King.” In this song, composed during the mid-firstcentury BC by a Pharisee, the Lord was acknowledged asKing and a Davidic ruler would reign forever. Hedescribes how the latter Hasmonean rulers led the peopleaway from Torah and the Romans under the leadership ofPompey punished the people. The Pharisee prays that theLord will raise up a king, the Son of David, to rule overIsrael. In so doing, this king would “destroy the unright-eous rulers,” “purge Jerusalem from Gentiles,” “drive outthe sinners,” “smash the arrogance of sinners,” and“destroy the unlawful nations!” Their king, the LordMessiah, would do all this! (Psalm of Solomon 17). IfJesus answered the question “yes,” the Roman authoritiescould have arrested Him on the spot for insurrection.

Jesus does, however, answer the question in the affir-mative, but not directly. When He answers, He is carefulnot to use the contemporary term and understanding.After pointing out the security which a believer in theLord Jesus has because of faith in Him, He says, “I andMy Father are one!” (10:30). That statement had heavyreligious overtones for the festival which they werepresently celebrating. Those gathered on the TempleMount recalled the events nearly 200 years before on thevery mount where, Antiochus IV, a mere man, pro-claimed himself to be god. Jesus, God manifest in humanflesh, made the same claim but His claim was true. TheJews picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemybecause, in their thinking, He was a man who made

JESUS CELEBRATED HANUKKAH

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Two monosyllables. Three letters in total.Why were they so difficult to say? I was “givingaway the bride” and it was one of the hardestthings I’ve ever had to do. Don’t misunderstand.I was very happy with Beth’s choice of a husband. It was a delight to be involved in such a mar-riage: two devoted souls united in the desire to be living sacrifices for the Lord. What was myproblem? I hadn’t faced the same feeling when my son was married a few years ago.

My mind went back to the dawn of human history. The story really begins with a weddingin a garden, and ends with one, too—in a palace in a land called heaven. On both occasions, theFather is the One who gives away the bride. As I read these two accounts in the first and lastbooks of my Bible, I began to understand how momentous it was for Crawford and Beth to say,“I do” to each other. But I also understood why it was so hard for me to say it first.

When our son, John, was married, he became the head of a new home. I didn’t “give himaway.” But standing there with my firstborn daughter all in white, radiant in love, I was remov-ing her from the place God had put her, under my headship. I was being asked to give her overto a new head, and I felt my side wounded as surely as Adam’s was.

Beth took a new name on August 22. She is now Mrs. Elisabeth Paul. Eve did the same thingwhen God called their name “Adam.” The Bride also bears Christ’s name and we remind our-selves of it every time we pray. We are Christ’s ones—Christians—because we belong to Christ.

It wasn’t easy to give my daughter away, but I better learn to deal with it. I have four moredaughters to go. Unless the other Wedding Day comes first. —J. B. N., Jr.

GivingAway

the BrideWho gives this woman

to be married to this man?I do.

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