iris89
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Joined: 05 Oct 2011
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 Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:51 pm Post subject: Timeline History of False Doctrine |
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Timeline History of False Doctrine
INTRODUCTION
The city of Ephesus was much mentioned in the Bible as the Apostle Paul received a lot of opposition there by the practitioners of false doctrine, i.e., pagan beliefs, but let's examine how these beliefs got carried over into so called Christianity. Let's start with the early false religious practices of the City of Ephesus.
EARLY PAGAN PRACTICES OF EPHESUS:
The city of Ephesus was situated on what is now the west coast of Turkey. However in ancient times during the 11th century B.C.E, that the Ionian Greeks set out to colonize the west coast of Asia Minor. Those early settlers came in contact with people known for their worship of a mother-goddess, a deity that would later be known as the Ephesian Artemis mentioned in the Bible. In the mid-seventh century B.C.E., nomadic Cimmerians came from the Black Sea in the north to plunder Asia Minor.
And with the expansion of the Persian Empire, King Cyrus subjugated the Ionian cities, including Ephesus. In 334 B.C. E., Alexander of Macedonia commenced his campaign against Persia, thus becoming the new ruler of Ephesus. After Alexander's untimely death in 323 B.C.E., Ephesus became involved in a power struggle among his generals. In 133 B.C.E., Attalus III, the childless king of Pergamum, bequeathed Ephesus to the Romans, making it part of the Roman province of Asia.
TRUE CHRISTIANITY CLASHES WITH PAGANISM:
When the apostle Paul came to Ephesus toward the end of his second missionary tour in the first century C.E., he found a city of some 300,000 residents as recorded at Acts 18:19-21, " And Paul, having tarried after this yet many days, took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila: having shorn his head in Cenchreae; for he had a vow. 19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. 20 And when they asked him to abide a longer time, he consented not; 21 but taking his leave of them, and saying, I will return again unto you if God will, he set sail from Ephesus" (American Standard Version; ASV).
During his third missionary tour, Paul returned to Ephesus and with great boldness spoke in the synagogue concerning the Kingdom of God. After three months, however, opposition from the Jews intensified, and Paul chose to give his daily talks in the school auditorium of Tyrannus as testified to as Acts 19:1-9, "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples: 2 and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they [said] unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was [given]. 3 And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism. 4 And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. 5 And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7 And they were in all about twelve men. 8 And he entered into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and persuading [as to] the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus" (ASV)..
His preaching activity went on for two years, accompanied by extraordinary works of power, such as miraculous healings and the casting out of demons as recorded at Acts 19:10-17, "And this continued for the space of two years; so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the evil spirits went out. 13 But certain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took upon them to name over them that had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." (ASV).
It is no wonder many became believers! Yes,God's (YHWH's) word prevailed, so that a great number of former practitioners of magical arts willingly burned their valuable books as recorded at Acts 19: 18, 20," Many also of them that had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. 19 And not a few of them that practised magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed" (ASV). Paul's successful preaching not only moved many to give up the worship of the goddess Artemis but also aroused the ire of those promoting such pagan worship. The making of silver shrines of Artemis was a profitable business. With their trade threatened, a certain Demetrius incited the silversmiths to riot.see Acts 19:23-32, "And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen; 25 whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this business we have our wealth. 26 And ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods, that are made with hands: 27 and not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana be made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesus. 29 And the city was filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel. 30 And when Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. 31 And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him and besought him not to adventure himself into the theatre. 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in confusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." (ASV).
The confrontation climaxed with the crowd shouting hysterically for two hours per Acts 19:34, " But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians." (ASV). After the uproar subsided, Paul encouraged his fellow Christians once more and then moved on as testified to at Acts 20:1, "And after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia.' (ASV).
ENTRENCHMENT OF PAGAN DOCTRINE AT EPHESUS:
The cult of Artemis was deeply entrenched in Ephesus. Before the time of King Croesus, the mother-goddess Cybele was the central character of religious life in that area. By setting up a mythical genealogical link from Cybele to the Hellenic pantheon, Croesus hoped to establish a religious figure acceptable to both Greeks and non-Greeks. With his support, in the mid-sixth century B.CE., work began on the temple of Cybele's successor, Artemis. The temple was a milestone in Greek architecture. Never before had such large blocks of marble been used to create a building of this kind and size. That temple was destroyed by fire in 356 B.CE. The equally magnificent rebuilt. However, not all were happy with it. For example, The philosopher Heracleitus of Ephesus likened the dark approach to the altar to the darkness of vileness, and he considered temple morals worse than those of beasts. To most, however, the sanctuary of Artemis in Ephesus appeared as if it would never fall into decline.
Of course history proved otherwise. The book Ephesos-Der neue Fuhrer[German] (Ephesus-The New Guide) states: "By the second century, the worship of Artemis and of other established deities of the pantheon plummeted." [source - Ephesos-Der neue Fuhrer]
SO CALLED CHRISTIANITY GOES APOSTATE FOR THE SECOND TIME
So called Christianity first went apostate at the Council of Nicea of 325 A.D. when the pagan Emperor Constantine, a worshiper of the Unconquered Sun, called a council of Christian bishops and forced them to adopt certain canons so as to fuse paganism with Christianity in order to unite his empire religiously as it was starting to fall apart in disunity. These were such pagan things as accepting Sunday the day of worship of the pagans of the Unconquered Sun as the Sabbath; whereas, God (YHWH) had declared Sunday was, the pagan doctrine of the Trinity, etc. [sources - Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957); BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933 and ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D.; Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02); The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976); Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960; Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75.]
Finally, toward the end of the fourth century C.E., Emperor Theodosius I confirmed Christianity" as the State religion for political purposes. Soon the stonework of the once prestigious temple Artemis became a quarry for building material. Also The worship of Artemis sank into insignificance. But unfortunately the pagan worship of was transformed and became a part of so called Christian doctrine. This was warned about at Acts 20:17-30 by the Apostle Paul, "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church. 18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, 19 serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews; 20 how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 24 But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more. 26 Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. 28 Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." (ASV).
And that is exactly what happened. Events reveal that false worship prevailed in Ephesus in the form of apostate Christianity. In 431 C.E., Ephesus was the site of the third ecumenical council, where the isspe of the nature of Christ was discussed. Ephesos -Der neue Fuhrer explains: "The victQry of I the Alexandrians, who held that Christ was only of one nature, namely the divine,... was complete." [source - Ephesos-Der neue Fuhrer]
The consequences were far reaching. "The decision reached at Ep,hesus, by means of which Mary was elevated from" the status of Christ-bearer to that of God bearer, not only provided the basis for the cult of Mary but also produced the first great' schism within the church. . . . The debate
persists to this day." [source - Ephesos-Der neue Fuhrer]
Thus, the worship of Cybele and Artemis' was replaced by the worship of Mary the "God-bearer" or the "mother of god." As the book states, "the Cult of Mary in Ephesus. . . remains to this date a living tradition, which could not be explained apart from the Cult of Artemis." [source - Ephesos-Der neue Fuhrer]
CONCLUSION:
This is but one example of how false doctrine entered the so called Christian church when individuals and so called Bishops did NOT stay in accord with sound doctrine as required by Titus 2:1, "But speak thou the things which befit the sound doctrine:" (ASV) when they failed to give heed to the warning given by the Apostle Paul at Acts 20:29-30, " I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." (ASV).
Now to know the truth, go to:
1) http://religioustruths.yuku.com/
2) http://www.network54.com/Forum/403209/
3) http://religioustruths.lefora.com/
If you wish more information and/or wish to ask a question or what ever, contact me by leaving a PM (personal message) at http://religioustruths.yuku.com/
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today!
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Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today! |
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