THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

The Reformation of the 16th century was a movement within Western Christendom to purge the church of medieval abuses and to restore the doctrines and practices that the reformers believed conformed with the Bible and the New Testament model of the church. This led to a breach between the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH and the reformers whose beliefs and practices came to be called PROTESTANTISM. CAUSES The causal factors involved in the Reformation were complex and interdependent. Precursors of the Reformation proper included the movements founded by John WYCLIFFE (the LOLLARDS) and John HUSS (the HUSSITES) during the 14th and 15th centuries. These reform groups, however, were localised (in England and Bohemia) and were largely suppressed. Changes in the intellectual and political climate were among the factors that made the reform movement of the 16th century much more formidable. The cultural RENAISSANCE that occurred during the preceding century and a half was a necessary preliminary, because it raised the level of education, re-emphasised the ancient classics, contributed to thought and learning, and offered HUMANISM and rhetoric as an alternative to SCHOLASTICISM. Especially through its emphasis on the biblical languages and close attention to the literary texts, the Renaissance made possible the biblical exegesis that led to Martin LUTHER's doctrinal reinterpretation. Moreover, Christian humanists like Desiderius ERASMUS criticised ecclesiastical abuses and promoted the study of both the Bible and the church fathers. The invention of printing by Johann Gutenberg provided a powerful instrument for the spread of learning and Reformation ideas. That grave ills were spreading through the church was already evident at the Fourth LATERAN COUNCIL in 1215, at which Pope INNOCENT III called for reform. The papacy itself was weakened by its move from Rome to Avignon (1309-77), by the Great SCHISM of the papacy, which lasted four decades thereafter, and by the doctrine that supreme authority in the church belonged to general councils (CONCILIARISM). The Renaissance popes were notoriously worldly. Abuses such as simony, nepotism, and financial excesses increased. The church was riddled with venality and immorality. The sale of INDULGENCES was a particularly unfortunate practice because it impinged upon true spiritual repentance and improvement of life. At the same time a genuine upsurge of popular religiosity manifested itself and increased the disparity between the people's expectations and the church's ability to satisfy spiritual needs. Some turned to mysticism and inward religion, but the great mass of people were restless and dissatisfied. A significant political change occurred during the later Middle Ages as well. The HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, which had lost cohesion partly as a result of its struggle with the papacy in the INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY, was weakened by the growth of virtually independent territorial princedoms and free imperial cities. Externally the empire was weakened by the gradual evolution of the nation-states of modern Western Europe. The monarchies in France, England, and, later, Spain were developing dynastic strength and unity that enabled them largely to control the church within their borders. Economically, the rise of commerce and the shift to a moneyed economy had the effect of creating a stronger middle class in a more urban society. The church met financial difficulty during this time because it had become involved in the manorial economy, possessed landed wealth, and had trouble meeting its extensive administrative, diplomatic, and judicial obligations. DEVELOPMENT The Reformation began in Germany on Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, an Augustinian university professor at Wittenberg, posted 95 theses inviting debate over the legitimacy of the sale of indulgences. The papacy viewed this as a gesture of rebellion and proceeded to take steps against Luther as a heretic. The German humanists supported Luther's cause during the early years. The reformer's three famous treatises of 1520, An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and On the Freedom of a Christian, also won him powerful popular support. He was excommunicated in 1521, but in April of that year at the Diet at Worms he stood before Holy Roman Emperor CHARLES V and the German princes and refused to recant unless proven wrong by the Bible or by clear reason. He believed that salvation was a free gift to persons through the forgiveness of sins by God's grace alone and received by them through faith in Christ. Luther was protected by FREDERICK III, elector of Saxony, and other German princes--partly out of intellectual and religious conviction, partly out of the desire to seize church property, and partly to assert independence of imperial control--gave their support to the reformers. In 1530 many princes and cities signed the AUGSBURG CONFESSION presented at the Diet of Augsburg as an expression of the evangelical faith. After years of conflict the settlement reached in the Peace of Augsburg (1555) provided that each German prince would determine the religious affiliation (Roman Catholic or Lutheran) of the territory he ruled. LUTHERANISM also became the established religion of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Apart from the role of the princes, however, the Reformation spread rapidly as a popular movement. It penetrated Poland, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary, and Transylvania. ZWINGLI The Reformation in Switzerland initially developed in Zurich under the leadership of the priest Ulrich ZWINGLI. Zwingli had been influenced by Erasmus and by Christian humanism. He arrived at an evangelical understanding of Christianity from his study of the Bible and from contacts with Lutherans. On Jan. 1, 1519, he began a 6-year series of sermons on the New Testament that moved the city council and the people of Zurich toward reform. The favourable response to The Sixty-Seven Articles, which he prepared for public disputation with a papal representative in 1523, proved the popularity of his program. He called for the abolition of the Mass (and its replacement by a symbolic Lord's Supper), independence from episcopal control, and a reform of the city-state in which both priests and Christian magistrates would conform to the will of God. His influence spread to other Swiss cantons such as Basel, Saint Gall, and Bern. CALVIN Through Lutheran tracts and merchant missionaries, the evangelical movement spread to France, where it won many converts, among whom was John CALVIN. In 1536, Calvin went to Geneva, where a reformation led by Guillaume FAREL was well under way. Calvin was persuaded to stay in Geneva and helped organise the second major surge of Protestantism. In his Ordinances of 1541, he gave a new organisation to the church consisting of pastors, doctors, elders, and deacons. His Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) had great influence in France, Scotland (where John KNOX carried the Calvinist reformation), and among the PURITANS in England. Geneva became the centre of a great missionary enterprise that reached into France, where the HUGUENOTS became so powerful that a synod met in Paris in 1559 to organize a nationwide church of some 2,000 reformed congregations. As a result of the French Wars of Religion, the Huguenot party was checked and the French monarchy kept the kingdom Catholic. ENGLAND Although England had a religious reform movement influenced by Lutheran ideas, the English Reformation occurred as a direct result of King HENRY VIII's efforts to divorce his first wife, CATHERINE OF ARAGON. The formal break with the papacy was masterminded by Thomas CROMWELL, the king's chief minister. Under Cromwell's direction Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals (to Rome; 1533), followed by the Act of Supremacy (1534) fully defining the royal headship over the church. As archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas CRANMER annulled Henry's marriage to Catherine, allowing the king to marry Anne BOLEYN. Although Henry himself wished to make no doctrinal changes, Cromwell and Cranmer authorized the translation of the Bible into English, and Cranmer was largely responsible for the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, adopted under Henry's successor, EDWARD VI. The gains that Protestantism made under Edward (r. 1547-53) were lost under his Catholic sister MARY I (r. 1553-58). The religious settlement (1559) under ELIZABETH I, however, guaranteed the Anglican establishment. THE RADICALS The radicals consisted of a great variety of sectarian groups known as ANABAPTISTS because of their common opposition to infant baptism. The Anabaptist leader Thomas MUNZER played a leading role in the PEASANTS' WAR (1524-26), which was suppressed with the support of Luther. In Munster, radical Anabaptists established (1533) a short-lived theocracy in which property was held communally. This too was harshly suppressed. The radicals also encompassed evangelical humanists and spiritualists who developed highly individualistic religious philosophies. RESULTS An obvious result of the Reformation was the division of Western Christendom into Protestant and Catholic areas. Another result was the development of national churches. These strengthened the growth of modern national states, just as, earlier, growing national consciousness had facilitated the development of the Reformation. The Catholic COUNTER-REFORMATION--including the founding of the JESUITS by IGNATIUS LOYOLA (sanctioned 1540), the Council of TRENT (1545-63), the INQUISITION, the INDEX, and reformed clergy like Charles BORROMEO--gave new life to the old church and was in part a result of the Reformation movement. Finally, the Reformation introduced much radical change in thought and in ecclesiastical and political organisation and thus began many of the trends that are taken to characterise the modern world. [Courtesy of Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1993] Further reading: Bainton, Roland H., Women of the Reformation (1977) and Age of the Reformation (1984); Cameron, E.; The European Reformation (1991); Chadwick, Owen, The Reformation (1964); Chaunu, Pierre, ed., The Reformation (1990); Cowen, I.B., The Scottish Reformation (1982); Dickens, A. G., The English Reformation (1964), The German Nation and Martin Luther (1974), and et al., The Reformation in Historical Thought (1985); Donaldson, Gordon, The Scottish Reformation (1972); Elton, G.R., Reform and Reformation: England, 1509-1558 (1978) and ed., The New Cambridge Modern History, Vol. II: The Reformation, 2d ed. (1990); Grimm, Harold, The Reformation Era, 2d ed. (1973); Hillerbrand, Hans J., Christendom Divided: The Protestant Reformation (1971), as ed., The Reformation (1978), and Radical Tendencies in the Reformation (1988); Kirk, James, ed., Humanism and Reform (1991); McGrath, A., Reformation Thought (1988); McNeill, John T., The History and Character of Calvinism (1954); Olin, John, and Smart, J.D., eds., Luther, Erasmus and the Reformation (1970; repr. 1982); Ozment, S. E., The Reformation in the Cities (1975), When Fathers Ruled (1983), and Religion and Culture in the Renaissance and Reformation (1988); Smith, Page, The Age of Reformation, 2 vols. (1962); Spitz, Lewis W., The Renaissance and Reformation Movement (1971) and The Protestant Reformation (1984); Williams, George H., The Radical Reformation (1991).

SOME LESSER KNOW FACTS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY

By COLIN LUCK Modern Christianity which most Western cultures seem to have some knowledge of actually all springs from Pauline Christianity (which was originally adopted by Rome) but at the time there where numerous different versions of Christianity all of which where fighting for superiority. It was however Pauline Christianity which was eventually adopted by Rome and has since become acknowledged as the only true form of Christianity (this was bought about mainly by force of arms in the attempt by Rome and later the Roman Church to gain widespread acceptance for their beliefs.) Since Rome first adopted Pauline Christianity there have been numerous Christian campaigns to wipe out all different forms of Christianity, but eventually some of these various ideas became involved with the Roman Christianity (e.g. the stories of the Holy Grail) which only surfaced in the 12 th century. There are many examples of what at first appear unrelated ideas becoming accepted over a long time as conventional Christian thought. This is best shown in the New Testament which is at best a collection of various writings that have been edited over the years to suit the aims of the Christian Church of the time. The one item that I really liked, that was not even mentioned in your overview of Christianity, revolved around the Knights Templar who where responsible for forming the first banking system and under whose authority most of the exploring was done: their symbol was the Rose Cross on a white background which has adorned so many characters in history from the Columbus expedition which sailed under the Rose Cross on a white background (this was on the fore sails of all 3 ships involved in the crossing) to the Ivanhoe exploits and almost everything in between. In the Papal Bull of 1213 or thereabouts which disbanded this group, they where accused of Satanic practices, one of which was to use the mould of oranges to prevent infection to battle scars (sound familiar?) to quite a few other things. But in fact the main problem was that the Templars actually thought themselves more holy than the Roman Church. Interestingly enough this very wealthy Order never actually lost its wealth and very few of its senior people where ever caught and none of their religious objects where ever recovered. But the Papal Bull was never proclaimed in what is now known as Scotland, where many believe that the majority of the Templars disappeared to after the Pope attempted to disband this order. The only part of the Templars' wealth that was ever recovered was the land holdings scattered across what is now known as Europe. And it was from Scotland that the very first opposing religion sprang that was never invaded by the church and put to the sword for their beliefs. There where however numerous references to the Templars giving protection to various so-called enemies of the then Christian Faith during the religious campaigns over the years. The Templars are shrouded in mystery. As they where created some time around 1112 there are no definitive records left and their sole goal was the protection of the Holy Land. There are early drawings of two Knights Templar sharing the same horse and in the beginning there where only 12 Knights Templar sent to the Holy Land which where far too few to do as stated which was to protect the Holy Land. They started by doing some what would now be called archaeology and within a very short period of time became an all powerful arm of the Roman Church. The charter under which the Templars where formed required that all new members should hand over all their wealth to the Order. But what is more interesting is that there was no provision for the order to dispose of any of this wealth in any way and to become a Knight Templar was a much sought after position by the Nobility of the time. Other than the Papal Bull that disbanded this order there are very few references made to the actual order and it seems that all references to this particular order have been attempted to be removed from the history of the Church, with only a few vague references remaining. I hope that this little reference to the long lost past helps to confuse the whole situation.

HISTORY of HOLY SPIRIT ACTIVITY

[The following synopsis was Arranged by Ron Knott.] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:1. Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Savior of the body (Ephesians 5:23). It would be good to review the list of those attending the first church service ever recorded. In the book of Acts we see that people were there from every nation. The Lord planned this special meeting so His Word could be taken back to every nation. Most Christians are only familiar with other Church services as recorded in the Bible. Undoubtedly church services were being held at many other places that we have no Biblical record of. There are many records available for large Acts 2 Christian Organizations throughout every century. It has always been hard for me to believe that the Lord died only for the first century and the last century. The gates of hell has never prevailed against His church. "....devoted men out of every nation under heaven." Acts 2:5 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:9-11). Think of the eyewitness story they had to tell when they went back home. Has this important passage slipped by without analyzing the potential explosive evangelistic tool that the Lord set in motion? In this study I want to address the following question. Has the church been alive and well since the day of Pentecost? Did the church die, or lay dormant during the so-called "dark ages?" Was the Azusa Street and the Topeka, Kansas outpouring of the Spirit the first recorded in America? Why is there not more Apostolic Christian history available? The church has suffered many setbacks but the worst have consistently been when men went outside the Word of God to operate it. That is what happened in the Garden of Eden. That is what is happening today by dogmas of men. The Holy Scripture is all we need. Historians and Theologians have omitted the true church from history by deliberately destroying historical documents and by their biased and prejudice teachings. However, after much research of the TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST I have found the following inspiring information. The church, that the Holy Spirit started on the day of Pentecost, has never died, never been weak, but has been alive and well on planet earth for the last 2000 years just like Jesus said it would be. Both historians and religionists smeared, named called, bad-mouthed, and libeled Apostolic One God Christians. Therefore, we cannot rely upon history as pertaining to religious qualities of non-Catholics. Why? Because Bible believers were defamed by the writers of religious history that hated the Apostolic message. American religious history books are full of such slander. The slander and religionists smearing of the Apostolic Church is the way investigators were able to discover the true church during each century.All that researchers had to do was look at those groups that the Catholic Church were against. Who and what were these HERETICS? They were surprised to find that almost all of them were Jesus Name Pentecostals. These so-called Heretics used many organizational names, throughout the centuries as we will discover in this study. Such names as Donatist, Samosatene, Celtic Christianity, Albigensians, Anabaptist, Cathari Mani, Noetus, Priscillianism, Sabellians, are just a few of the Jesus Name Organizations that have been alive and well since the Day of Pentecost. The following is a brief report of the church during each century since the Day of Pentecost. I first list the Apostolic Church, then just below in each time period I list the Catholic system. Note the Catholic information is italics. This study is by no means an attack on the Catholic Church. However, it is a factual testimony of how man made rules overruled God's commands. This led to a great persecution and slaughter, of Jesus Named people, by the Catholic system. Historical references are listed after each quote, with author and page number of the quote. The name of the books can be found in the Bibliography at the end of this study. AD 33-100 AD 34 Phillip baptized the Ethiopian. This new convert took the Acts message to North Africa and started North African Christianity. This message spread through all of Africa. (A. Neander,pp.71,79,132,424) It never perished. AD 46-50 Paue, et.al., evangelized Asia Minor and lower Europe. (Acts 15:14) AD 51 Paul preached on Mars Hill at Athens, Greece. (Acts 17:22) AD 50-60 Apostle Thomas indoctrinated Malabar, India with Acts 2:38 doctrine. (A.S. Atiya, pp. 53,261) AD 66-90 THEY WENT OUT FROM US, because they were not of us. (1 John 2:19;Jude 1-3). Most were apostate Greeks who had been seethed in Platonism, polytheism, mythology and philosophy. Some could never understand monotheism. AD 90 CATHOLIC CHURCH starts. TRINITARIANISM invented. (L. Paine, pp.86,287). It was derived from Plato's celestial arithmetic. (L. Hogben, p.266). Tertullian twisted Plato's TIMAEUS into his "TRINITAS." Here started the Trinity. AD 100-200 The Acts water baptism continued. (A. Neander,p.301) Tongues speaking continued. (W. Horton, pp. 71-75,150). They preached the Apostolic One God message. (Blunt, p. 440). AD 96-100 Apostle John died. He had carried on for Paul and evangelized the Roman world, Armenia, Malabar, Saxony, and Glastonbury. AD 117 Celtic missionaries spread Acts 2 over Western Europe. (A. Neander,p.49). Gospel preached in China. (Langer,p.537). Apostolics had Bibles. (Blunt,p.127). AD 157 MONTANISM amplified. (Blunt,pp.338,440). Montanist were One God tongue talkers, Acts 2 Christians. Montanist were also called SABELLIANISM. (Blunt, PP.340,440). Montanism was alive as late as 1909 in Moravia. R.A. Knox, p.402). AD 180 THE NORTH AFRICAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH fought the Catholic system. (A. Neander,p.132;H.C. Frend, p.91) AD 175 Early ideas about purgatory, catechism, and confirmation seeped into catholicism which was adopted from the Orphic cult. (Bernstein & Green,p. 7.) AD 193 Emperor SEPTIMUS SEVERUS forbade any to join Apostolic Christianity or Judaism! (H. F. Frend,p 91). AD 200-300 AD 200 Hundreds of thousands continued Holy Spirit tongues, gifts of the Spirit. This Apostolic doctrine was in Europe, Eurasia, Asia, including China, and North Africa.(Heick,p.150;M.T. Kelsey,pp.40,41). AD 204 Basilides martyred because he preached Acts 2 message. AD 230 TERTULLIAN declared that tongues-speaking Monarchians outnumbered Catholics. (A. C. Mc Giffert,p.239). AD 240 MANI, born in Persia, baptized in Jesus Name, knew glossolalia, and kept the feast of Pentecost. (Blunt,p.289;J.Laux,p.141). AD 275-300 MAMAS and DONATUS came on the theological scene. Donatism was of Sabellianism. In AD 350 this group had 400 churches. (L. Verduin,pp.30,25.) QUOTE: "In the forms of some of the different sects (Montanist, Donatist, Sabellian, Arian, ect,.) the Monarchian controversy agitated the church of Rome...during the third century, and in the fourth, and called for the two great Councils of Nicea and Constantinople." (J.H. Blunt,P.332). AD 217-222 CALLISTUS devised the hail Marys, self-tortures and proclaimed himself: PONTIFF MAXIMUS. (O.W. Heick,p 101). AD 252 The Council of Cartage directed that newborn infants be baptized within 8 days. (N.C. Eberhardt,p 117). AD 300-400 The major churches of the...East were of Apostolic origin." (A. S. Atiya) AD 320-340 WOLFLEIN (Little Wolf) was one of the greatest Apostolic preachers. He translated the GOTHIC BIBLE. He was responsible for baptism of millions of Europeans in Jesus Name. (H. Daniel-Rops,p.110). After the Nicean Council persecution was more severely levied against them. Only Apostolic Churches continued. (Neander,p. 126) AD 304 Emperor Diocletian killed Jesus Name people. One God Christians were artyred by Rome. (Martyrs Mirror, p.155). AD 313 CONSTANTINE became Emperor of all Rome. AD 325 he held the NICENE COUNCIL, the start of TRINITARIANISM. AD 361 Apostolic churches confiscated by Catholics of Constantinople. We have been duped into supposing Catholicism was dominant by AD 370. There was but a handful of them in Africa. (R.A. Knox,p.5.) AD 390 Emperor Theodosius II killed 7000 Jesus Named Thessalonians. (Wm. anger,p.129) AD 400-500 Beyond the reach or Rome in outlying places such as Saxony, Netherlands, Languedoc, etc., there were whole organizations of Acts 2 Christians. (J.H. Blunt,p. 15). AD 502 The majority of people in W. European tribes had been baptized into the Name of Jesus. (H. Daniel-Rops, p.110) AD 540-670 Bede, "English History" p. 148, found one-God people throughout England. AD 431 COUNCIL OF EPHESUS (laux. p.154) The popes (199 of them) proclaimed Mary to be the "MOTHER OF GOD." (E. Fodor, Turkey 1970, p.243). CATHOLICS BURN ALLEGED HERETICS! (J.B. Russell, p. 22). AD 453 Pentecostal glossolalists martyred by Pope Leo I, some were tongues speaking Priscillianists. (Roth, p.35). AD 476 ROMAN EMPIRE FELL! Rome could no longer lord over other nations. Vain historians wept and moaned over the fall of corrupt Rome. AD 476-1000 THE DARK AGES. AD 600-700 Christianity was found in several Modalistic Monarchian organizations. These were generally referred to collectively as: CATHARI. AD 610 JESUS NAME WATER BAPTISM (Lambert, p. 62). The Jesus Christ water baptism was almost the only one in Frisia until AD 689. There were almost no Catholics. (J.Laux, p. 21.) NOTE: For 526 years (since AD 37-42) Apostolic Celts in Britain had kept the 14th NISAN Passover! One God doctrine was the dominant religion by far. (E.T. Thompson, "Through the Ages, pp. 106-10.) The world has been duped into supposing Catholicism was the only religion there was. AD 662 MOSLEMS FOUGHT CATHOLICS. Islamism was strong. Muslims had the KORAN, their Holy Book. (Bernstein & Green, p. 172). Muslims in Spain were the Moors; and they protected Jews and other one God Christians from Catholic interest. AD 695 Jews were killed in Spain by the Catholics. The adult Jews were martyred in Spain by Catholic believers and children of the jews were seized and reared as Catholics! (C. Roth, p.127). AD 700-800 Celtic-Gothic (Acts 2) Christianity infiltrate W. Europe. Apostolic Christianity was throughout the Eastern Hemisphere, from Frisia to China, in massive organizations which had different names. Montanist, Donatist, Manichee, etc. There could have been more than 40 One God Apostolic organizations. It is amazing to find so many references concerning ancient One God Apostolic people and preachers. AD 730 Pope Zachary was forced to acknowledge that the Christ baptism was dominant. (J.B. Russell,pp.172-175) AD 717 Moslem armies besieged Constantinople. Moslems mocked at Rome's religious system and called it idol worship. (Wm. Langer,p. 15. War started. Moslems (Moors) defeated the Spaniards. This accounts for Catholic-Spanish hate for Moors and Jews. In 1492 Spain regained power and then massed murdered Moors, Jews and Apostolics, 6,000,000 is one figure. (C.Roth,p.123). AD 746-748 Great plagues struck. Cholera, diphtheria, struck and killed millions. ("Ency. Britannica, Vol. 17, Chicago,p.1141). AD 800-900 The Catholic hierarchy slandered all others as, HERETICS! However, alleged heretics filled the lands. AD 800 Quote: "Donatism (Acts 2) was never absent from the medieval scene. It lasted for twelve centuries and it maintained the primitive Apostolic message." (L.Verduin, p.35). The 9th century had more Apostolics than any other. The following references prove this. (Z. Oldenbourg, pp. 29,41,255; J.B. Ressell, pp. 5-14, 172-17. During this period the Catholic system almost suffered total collapse. Apostolic preachers were everywhere. There were more "false priest" as they were called who had been ordained in the Catholic system. (Russell, p. 174). AD 800 Vain kings like Pepin, Charles Martel, Charlemagne, etc., bowed to popes. (Wm. Langer, pp.150-155). Huge land grants were handed to the popes. Charlemagne conquered and confiscated for the Vatican; he made about 54 military campaigns against non-Catholic countries, 18 against Saxony alone. (Berstein & Green, p. 200; E.T. Tompson, pp. 120-125). He then forced people into Catholicism. AD 858-867 Pope Nicholas admitted that Jesus Name baptism was the valid one! ("Enc. Britannica, 11th ed., Vol 3, pp. 365-366). AD 852-889 FEUDALISM STARTED. This is how Europe became Catholic. Rulers used Catholic armies to crush Bulgaria; that religion was forced upon Czechs and Slavics, etc..Jews were then massacred. (Bernstein & Green, p. 150-1; Laux, pp 275-28.) AD 900-1000 The Acts 2 churches continued to grow. GLOSSOLALIA, tongue-speaking, was called MYSTICISM, by some historians. (Russell, p. 172). There were divine miracles and gifts of the Spirit. We find that many organizations slandered as HERETICS. AD 923 Eugenia was baptized in Jesus Name. AD 925 Pelagius was baptized in Jesus Name. AD 980 Sympronius was baptized in Jesus Name. ("Martyrs Mirror," p. 256). SIMONY erupted. This denotes offices bought or sold for money or favors. Some popes sold offices to the highest bidders. (Langer, pp. 215-217). AD 995-999 King OLAF I of Norway, martyred thousands and with military might became the "man" of the lord, and served him! Later the lord handed to the bishop legal rights to the lands. Thus lands passed on to the Vatican. (Wm. Langer, p. 204). About the same time Catholic religion, was by power of the sword, imposed in Iceland and Greenland. AD 1000-1100 The name Cathari gradually faded. Then was heard the name ALBIGENSES. Yet later, Albigensian gradually gave way to ANABAPTISM. Anabaptism simply means to re-baptize someone. The Anabaptist would re-baptize any one who was not baptized in Jesus Name. AD 1015 Russians were militarily forced into Catholic belief. (Wm. Langer, p. 243). AD 1029 Swedes were forced to take on Catholic belief. AD 1035 Danes were forced to take on Catholic belief. AD 1035 Salvic tribes were force to accept Catholic belief. AD 1095 THE CRUSADERS. The Crusaders slaughtered Slavics and Jews on the way to Jerusalem. They took Jerusalem, mass murdered the Muslims and butchered 90,000 Jews. (Berstein & Green p. 255) The Crusaders looted murdered and plundered. They spread venereal diseases all over the Mideast. Then the great PLAGUES broke out. In that holocaust millions died! AD 1100-1200 AD 1105 SCHOOLMEN men denied the Trinity. AD 1108 "MULTITUDES OF FREETHINKERS" This is what the Apostolics, that covered the land was called. Pentecostals in Europe numbered about 4,000,000. (Blunt, p. 15,35; J. B. Russell,pp 54-80) It is interesting how these authors, Blunt and Russell, smeared, slandered those people. They were called "Henricians." Russell referred to them on page 76 as, "Apostolic holiness." They preached "hell fire" sermons. They used the Christ water baptism. Glossolalia was a common trait. Waldo, of Lyons, France was one of the first that turned to Rome for doctrinal approval. He created a hybrid protestant religion. (Blunt, 617). Many Apostolics were put to death. One little girl mocked and laughed as she died in the flames, but would not give up her belief in one God. 7000 people referred to as pious witness of Jesus were martyred at Bourges. (J. H. Blunt, p. 412) AD 1121 COUNCIL of SOISSONS defended the Trinity attacked by the Schoolmen. (Blunt, p.36) AD 1147 St. Bernard of Clairvaux, France stated, "33% of the Catholics went to protestant conventicles!" (L. Verduin, p. 173) AD 1164 PETER WALDO appeared! This was the beginning of PROTESTANT TRINITARIANISM. WALDENSIANISM held Rome's Trinity. In 1179 Waldo's bishops went to Rome for approval. (Blunt, p.617). Waldo set the pattern for modern Trinitarian protestant religion. Luther, Swingli, Menno, etc., followed. AD 1200-1300 AD 1214 On July 27, the frightful happened. France's Catholic government gained control of Languedoc from the English. North France could, under Vatican orders, exterminate the mighty numbers of Apostolics. The papal INQUISITION was unleased upon all non-Catholics. (E. T. Thompson, pp 157-160; Roth, p. 36; Bernstein & Green, pp. 255,302). ALBIGENSIANS MASSACRED. Who were the Albigensians that vain historians, suporting Rome, have so slandered? They were Holy Ghost filled, Jesus Named baptized, God fearing citizens who read their Bibles. They had ecclesiastical systems, schools and hospitals in over 1000 cities. (L. Verduin, pp. 106-115). They were driven out of their cities, then Catholic monasteries appeared. Many fled into Moravia. AD 1284 URSINUS OF ETHIOPIA, an Ethiopian scholar, declared that baptism into the Name, Jesus Christ, alone was valid. This indicates that Philip's witness of the Eunuch years earlier was still working. A century of CATHOLIC MASS MURDER. The INQUISITION was set in motion. It was insanity, devised by insane minds at the Vatican. AUTO DE FEs (Act of Faith!). AD 1233 the Catholic Inquisition, a system of Catholic Tribunal Courts, was officially founded by Pope Gregory IX. It lasted until July 15, 1834. It's purpose was to punish the heretics and all persons guilty of any offence against Catholic orthodoxy. These Heretics should be deprived of the liberty of speech and that assemblies organized by heretics should be dissolved was the law. ("Ency. Britannica" 1950 Ed. Vol. 12, p. 377). The later part of the 10th century until the beginning of the 12th there were numerous executions of heretics, either by burning or strangling, in France, Italy, and the Empire of England. Remember that the heretics are the one God Apostolic organizations who would not accept the church of Rome..C.S. Lovett, "Voice In The Wilderness" p. 9 said, "68,000,000, persons perished in the INQUISITION!" Most do not know that Adolf Hitler was a Catholic, and 6,000,000 Jews also perished under him and that canon law was again used. Canon law or body of laws is laws established by a church. It is a basis for judgment. This is considered to be the most important part of the mass. I suggest those who are interested in learning more about this lawful time of INQUISITION check the Bibliography at the end of this study and review the list of books listed there. AD 1300-1400 AD 1300-1350 Anabaptist organizations (One God) sprang up in many places. AD 1300-1414 Gothic Bibles had been used. English Bibles were used in the early 15th century. Catholics burned all the Bibles they could find. (L. Boettner, p. 89). AD 1312-1315 Apostolics were all over Eastern Europe. AD 1381-1383 John Wycliffe, a professor in the University of Oxford, worked intensely to translate the English Bible. He preached against the countless atrocities of the Vatican. He stated that the Bible alone, without tradition, was the sole rule of faith. In AD 1415, the Council of Constance condemned Wycliffe. In 1428 Wycliffe's bones were burned by papal command. (A. Curtis, "Christ History" p. 1985, p. 24). History records indicate multiplied of Apostolics alive during this century. AD 1303 Many histories describe the complete apostasy of the Vatican, it's popes as devils. AD 1391 JEWS MASSACRED IN SPAIN-EUROPE. On March 15, bishop Ferran artinez started the anti-Jewish riot in Spain. It led to the great SPANISH INQUISITION. 50,000 Jews and Moors were burned in Auto da Fes (Act of Faith), 800,000 more victimized. (Cecil Roth, pp. 14-25). AD 1400-1500 Most non-Catholics were still referred to as ANABAPTIST. However, Anabaptist were neither Catholic or Protestant. This was pre-Reformation day. There were great numbers of Apostolic clergymen preaching Acts 2:38. AD 1420 Apostolic religion swept the land in spite of the Inquisition. It was estimated that there were 4,000,000 One God Christians during that period. Blunt wrote of them as "Streams of Heretics." (Blunt, p. 16). Bainton screamed, "They covered the land." (Bainton, p. 279). There were more than 40 Jesus Name Organizations during this period. The Roman Catholic Inquisition turned Europe into a holocaust. During this century millions of dollars and millions of acres of land were seized from Jews, Moors and Anabaptist. Papal permission for SLAVERY was given to Prince Henry the navigator. (Bernstien & Green, p. 302; Wm. Lnager, pp. 486-504). Henry's captains began the slave trade by taking African Blacks to Portugal. Columbus introduced Black and Indian slavery into the Americas, not American Southerners. Blame the Vatican for slavery. ("The Detroit News, Aug.24,1970, Sec. A). AD 1460 Catholic Podebrad persecuted Apostolics. 400,000 pious Manichaeans (Acts 2 Christians) fled into Bosnia (Knox, p. p. 81) AD 1469 FERDINAND and ISABELLA of Spain were married. They became the earth's greatest husband and wife team of Jew killers. After killing the Jews and confiscating their property they became very wealthy. (Lea, p. 333; C. Roth, pp. 71-90). Could this be the way they financed Columbus in 1492? AD 1496-1500 Malabarese, of Malabar, India, (Acts 2:38 Christians) were massacred by Catholic Inquisitor Alvares Cabral. (A.S. Atiya, p. 359). AD 1500-1600 This was unique century of religious history. Most think of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli as classical reformers. However they set the theological trend for the world's modern Protestant Trinity religions. AD 1517 On October 31 Luther nailed his Theses on the Palace Church door. Now the world had not only Catholic Trinitarianism but it also had Protestant Trinitarianism! However, there were still a lot of One God Christians around. AD 1520-1532 GLOSSOLALIA OUTBREAK. Apostolic Pentecostalism was all through Luther and Zwingli's Europe. (W. Horton, pp. 97-13.) AD 1533 There were big organizations of Anti-Nicenes and Anti-Trinitarians. Some were classed as Salbellians. (G. H. Williams, p. 663). AD 1553 MICHAEL SERVETUS, a Spaniard, was the greatest influence of the Acts two message during the sixteenth and seventeenth century for all of Europe and Asia. He was put to death in Geneva for denying Rome's Trinity theory. Servetus died in Jesus Name, and Calvin murdered him in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.(R. Bainton, p. 29.) SERVETUS studied law. He later became medical doctor. He was also a preacher. He found problems with the Trinity theory. In fact he wrote a book, "On The Errors of The Trinity" that was published in Hagenow, near Strasbough in 1531. His book was wide spread before it could be censored. He had to change his name after writing his book. Under cover he had an assumed name and he practiced medicine in Lyons. He corresponded with John Calvin. Calvin’s views were the same as Luthers. Calvin told the Catholics the location of Servetus and they had him arrested. Calvin encouraged the court to find him guilty of capital crime. Servetus was sentenced to be burned at the stake. The charges were that he did not believe in the Trinity, nor infant baptism. (See: "After the Way called Heresy, by Thomas Weisser, pp. 70-74) AD 1501 Catholics started slavery in the Americas. AD 1521 Luther rejected Biblical Pentecostalism! (Knox, "Enthusiasm", pp.134,135). AD 1531 Luther agreed to the deth penalty in order to annihilate Anabaptist bodies and Jews. (Bainton, p. 279; p. Lapide, "Three Popes and the Jews, p. 25) It appears that Luther was not as sincere about Bible truth as historians and some Christian groups indicate. For instance Mr. Luther fully discused the Acts 2 message with the Apostolics all around him. He rejected it. (See: "Martin Luther," by J. Dillengerger, p. 279; Knox , pp. 134-135). AD 1571 Phillip II martyred about 3,000,000 non-Catholics in the Netherlands. (Thompson, p. 187). AD 1600-1700 Antibaptist groups continued to grow. Sabellianism was throughout Europe. Many pious clergymen were prepared to lay aside doctrinal differences and become true Apostolic Moravian Oneness. (G. H. Williams, pp. 656,698,670). It would be great if they could do that today! Frances Cornwell was one of the most educated Baptist in England during this period. He obtained a Master of Arts degree from Emanuel College. He was also trained at Cambridge. He was a vicar with the Church of England. He said, "The Lord opened the eyes of my understandings about the Acts 2:38 message." ("Two Oueries, p. 5) He wrote extensively and eloquently in defence of Biblical doctrines. Yet he is almost totally ignored by Baptist historians. AD 1662 English citizens, meaning Holy Ghost filled Quakers, were deported from England, and sold as slaves to rich Spanish Catholic families on plantations in Barbados and Jamaica. These pious glossolalists were sold under the "Conventicle and Five Mile Act. (J.H. Blunt, p. 465,466). AD 1611 the King James Bible was printed. There were 47 scholars appointed as translators. All were Trinitarians, most were Englishmen. They worked for 7 years on the translation. AD 1650-1670 Quietism outbreak, in which 60,000 ex-Catholics experienced Pentecostal glossolalia (speaking in tongues). (Knox, p. 243). AD 1700-1800 Acts two message continued to spread world wide. Holy Ghost revivals were breaking out all over. AD 1728-1731 there were 600 recorded Miracles! (Knox, pp. 372-376). There was a 100 year prayer meeting started. (A. K. Curtis, "Christ History" Vol. 2, No. 1, p.1 Knox wrote about England being a Pentecostal Babel. AD 1734 Rev. John Wesley and Charles Wesley, went to the Moravian Christians for doctrine. Both turned to Moravianism (One God Apostolics). They witnessed Pentecostalism among in Georgia. (Knox, pp. 466-469). AD 1772 A Holy Ghost outpouring was in Sweden. AD 1774 on August 6, ANN LEE imported tongues speaking into the US and it spread. (E.D. Andrews,pp.15-19). William Penn brought tongues to America in 1677. (See: "After the Way Called Heresy by, Thomas Weisser) During this century the Catholics and Lutherans killed each other. AD 1733 Thousands of Catholics defected to the state of Georgia, USA and found Holy Ghost salvation. There were many healings and miracles. In 1762, the French government forbade miracles. There were uncountable miracles. (R.A. Knox, pp. 373-38. In 1774 John Wesley lost 400 Methodist to Jesus Name Moravians in London. (R.A. Knox, p. 476). AD 1800-1900 Why didn't we hear more about Apostolics during the 19th century, is a question often asked. As you recall in this study we found that Waldo and Luther set the trend to compromise to Rome's Trinity Doctrine and ignored the Acts two doctrine. Then Protestant Trinitarian influence lured the greater numbers. Many Christian organizations turned to Trinity doctrine. In 1835, Lowell, Ohio, had a Acts 2:38 Church of Camisardds. (Rev. Joe Nelson, Ph.D., W.VA., had the records) In 1850 Dan Huntington, Boston, Mass. baptized converts according to Acts 2:38. (V. Synan, p. 163). In 1854 there was a 10 year long revival in Lebanon, NY and thousands became Spirit filled. Same thing happened in Canada. In 1856 more than 160,000 tongues speakers in America. (Blunt, p. 467). Many other documented Holy Ghost groups were in America during this century. AD 1804 Napoleon fought the Vatican. He seized papal lands and restricted papal rule. He advocated, "Destroy Rome and the papacy." (M. Martin, "The Decline & Fall of the Rome Ch." p. 236). July 15, 1834 the Catholic Inquisition ended. America was about 250 years old at that time. In the 601 years it is estimated that 68,000,000 persons were put to death by the Inquisition. (C. Roth, p.267; Berstein & Green, p. 237 as to dates). Bull fights had its origin after the Inquisition ended. The people were used to watching brutal murder so bull fights were the next best thing. In 1861 the Civil War started and President Lincoln started to abolish human enslavement. The war ended in 1864. In 1900 there were 76,000,000 people in America. AD 1900+ In 1884-1904 Rev.Alvin E. Velie, of Florida, used the Acts 2:38 message and saw thousands filled with the Holy Ghost. In 1901 the famed Topeka, Kansas outpouring of the Holy Ghost came. In 1906-1909 the Azusa street, in Los Angeles, outpouring filled many with the Holy Ghost. Many other outpourings happened during the early 1900 in America. One God organizations started to form. Today there are scores of Acts 2:38 Christian organizations in America and throughout the word. Jesus said, "....the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church." It is frightful to review history and see where thousands worshiped the Lord in accordance with instructions given on the Day of Pentecost. Countries such as Germany, France, England and many more taught the Acts 2 message. What happened to them? Did lack of unity between organizations destroy them. Did compromise annihilate them? Two man made words, that are not in the Bible, have been used to separate sincere God fearing people. The word Trinity is not in the Bible, neither is the word Oneness. These man fashioned words have driven a line of distrust and doubt between devoted souls. Most people, who you labeled Trinitarian, believe in One God. I hope that all people, who call themselves Oneness, believe in three manifestation of One God. With this understanding it is easy to show Bible truth to all who are sincere. History proves the Catholic Church was cruel during the past. However, today many of them are receiving the Acts 2 message. I visited St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York recently. I was shocked to find the lesson for that week, for all Catholics, was the record Acts 10 story about Cornelius. This Bible study quoted the account of Cornelius receiving the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues. It also indicated that Peter commanded these new converts to be baptized in the Name of Jesus. That is a far cry from the Catholics during Great Inquisition. New Testament truth is now being accepted and preached by many organizations that once denounced it. No, they are not coming your way, they are coming God's way. This is good news to the Christian, this is bad news to the legalist. What are we going to do with this wonderful message that millions died for? Are we going to keep it within our "holy huddle," or share it with the World? I am so pleased to see many New Testament Christians Organizations coming together to present Jesus, and His plan, to the World. Some are still adding man made requirement to the salvation message. By this they separate themselves. It is time again for the pious clergymen to lay aside doctrinal differences and become true Apostolic as they did during the dark ages. This study was made possible by the millions who shed their blood for Bible truth. Many scholars did extensive research on this subject. I only assembled their efforts in a condensed package so it could be easily studied. I am especially grateful to Dr. Marvin M. Arnold, D.D., Th. D. and Rev. Thomas Weisser for all their research on this subject. Dr. Arnold wrote Apostolic History Outline." Rev. Weisser authored several booklets on the subject of Apostolic Christianity.