The Prophet Thomas Jefferson

by Brian J. Hennessy

Part 3

BC (Before Constantine)

            Many Christians believe the corruption entered in when Constantine, the Emperor of Rome, became a "Christian" in the fourth century. That it was then that the Church (i.e. the people of God) was transformed into the church (i.e. the organized institution). But that is not completely accurate. It is true that Constantine paved the way for the wholesale adoption of many "baptized pagans" and pagan practices into the Church. And it is true that in his official role as Emperor and Chief Priest of All the Religions of Rome with the title of Pontifex Maximus, that he combined the functions of King and Priest in the Church. (This of course, set the stage for the bishop of Rome to later assume the office of pope, a type of anti-christ.) But all that was just frosting on the cake. The organized church system had already crept in long before Constantine arrived.

            There already was in place a serious division in the Church caused by the emergence of an elite class known as the "clergy." This self-appointed leadership, who while tracing their authority to a non-existent thread of apostolic succession, relegated ordinary Believers to the second-class status of "laity."

            That's why just removing the excesses of Romanism could not restore the church to her rightful condition. The surgery had to go much deeper. It had to get down to the roots.


"When Men Were Sleeping"

            Those roots, it seems, began to take hold as early as the end of the first, or start of the second century. Even during the days of the apostles, we can sense the storm clouds gathering as the early followers of Jesus are warned to be on the watch for "false apostles" and "wolves dressed in sheep's clothing." But once the apostles and the early Jewish church had "fallen asleep," and Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed with the remaining Jewish people sent into exile, it really began to go haywire. As Jesus had prophesied in the Parable of the Sower, "...when men were sleeping, the enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away" (Matt. 13:25).

            It happened so naturally, so subtlety. After the Jewish nation as a whole rejected the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the Good News was propelled out into the world of Gentiles (with a prophetic promise from Paul that the Lord's return would be preceded by a reawakening of the Jewish people.) But as Gentile converts poured into the Church and moved into leadership, a body of religious writings emerged with teachings at great variance with the Word of God. Teachings that would in time become the foundation stones of a worldwide Gentile religion known as "Christianity."

            It happened, because, unlike the early Jewish writers of the New Testament who had grown up studying the Law and Prophets, these new writers had no such preparation. They came mostly from pagan backgrounds with a belief system heavily influenced by the Greek philosophers, the Babylonian mystery religions, and the organizational and legal skills of the Roman Empire. Their syncretistic thinking was soon woven throughout much of their "Biblical" teachings and pronouncements. These early church leaders, with names like Origin, and Clement, and Ignatius, and Polycarp, and Justin Martyr, and Basil, were later accorded the titles, "Father of the church," or "Doctor of the church."

            Buried in their leavened writings can be found all the seeds of those doctrines, traditions, and organizational concepts that became the Catholic church and set it apart from true Biblical faith. Later, the powerful councils of the church continually referred to their writings to justify the doctrines and tenets they formed, often giving a superficial nod to Scripture whenever it suited their purpose. All these additions and traditions soon "made void the Word of God" (Mark 7:13). In the process, the Church of Jesus Christ was moved off the solid-rock foundation of God's Word and dependency upon the Holy Spirit, and onto the shifting sand of the word of man.

            To make matters worse, there was a deliberate effort to separate this new Gentile-dominated expression of Christianity from its Jewish roots. The Saturday Sabbath was changed to Sunday. Passover became Easter. Rome became the Eternal City of God in place of Jerusalem. Etc. The ethnic cleansing was so complete that today many Christians are still shocked when they learn that Jesus was a Jew. Or that all the writers of the New Testament, with the possible exception of Luke, were Jews also.

            Centuries passed before the Scriptures were finally translated into the everyday languages of the nations and widely circulated among the people. This allowed the Holy Spirit to again inflame men's hearts and enlighten their understanding. That's when the Church finally realized something was drastically wrong somewhere, and had the courage to begin what has turned into a long, protracted struggle for freedom.


The Wall Remains

            Nearly 1900 years have now come and gone since the Church began its slide into captivity. And sad to say, after all the smoke from all the battles has cleared, the Empire's wall of religious captivity still remains standing. Proof of this is seen in that today's Christianity still abides by the same ecclesiastical form of government that has excluded and stifled the Spirit of God from the days of the Roman Empire.

            It still includes the clergy/laity distinction, which divides the Body of Messiah into a two-caste system, nullifying God's establishment of a royal priesthood of all Believers, and making the church dependent on professionals. It still includes a religious hierarchy of top-down control, which replaces the personal leadership and authority of the Holy Spirit in each believer's life.

            It still includes the concept of placing one or more pastors over a portion of believers (and even non-believers) in a geographic area. Although Scripture says, the pastors and other "coaches" which He gave as gifts, were for the benefit of all the members of the Body - not just for a select few (Eph. 4:12). This unscriptural practice, among other things, allows one man and his gifts to dominate, blurs the headship of Jesus, and prevents the cleric himself from becoming the Lord's free man.

            It still includes the mistaken notion that the Church is here to teach. Jesus said that was the job of the Holy Spirit. "When He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). And the apostle John also declares, "the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need of anyone to teach you..." (1 John 2:27). The role of the church (the people) is not "to teach," but passive. We are to be taught, in order that we might each become the "pillar of truth" in a corrupt world.

            It still includes a religious calendar of holy days and festivals that we are expected to observe (like Easter, Christmas, and Sunday) - times that God never instituted. When the Galatians started to do this, Paul, with great anguish, asked, "how is it that you turn back again to these weak and elemental things, in which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years, I fear for you!" (Gal. 4:9-11).

            It still includes an admonition to keep a 24-hour Sabbath day (also called 'the Lord's Day'), whether it is on Saturday or Sunday. Yet Col. 2:16,17 declares, "Let no man act as your judge regarding food or drink...or a Sabbath day. These are but a shadow of things to come; the reality is found in Messiah." Under the new Covenant, Jesus is now our Sabbath Day. The commandment is to rest in Him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And the work we are supposed to "cease from" is the "work of the flesh." That is, we are to cease working in our own strength, and work, "or walk," in the Spirit.

            It still includes rote religious rituals and works of piety, which are as strange incense in the nostrils of God. Things, which "have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion - but are of no value against fleshly indulgence" (Col. 2:23).

            It still includes temples made of masonry stones, which hinders us from truly comprehending that His only earthly tabernacle now is made of "living stones." He dwells in us now! Scripture declares that we are the temple stones of God's dwelling place - growing into a soon-to-be manifested holy temple of the Lord (see Eph. 2:22; 2 Cor. 6:16).

            And it still includes steeples. Did you ever wonder why there are steeples on churches? They are, of course, very picturesque. And they help identify a church quickly when you drive into town. But what spiritual purpose do they serve? Would it shock you to learn that these "towers which reach toward heaven" reveal the true origins of this Ecclesiastical Empire? For they hearken back to the mother of churches - the first religious building that displeased God so much - the Tower of Babel. As we know, construction of that tower was halted after God gave the people tongues and scattered them to the four winds (that gift has scattered a few more churches since then). As the people went they took the idolatrous tower idea (actually a phallic symbol of sun worship) and the man-made religious system it represented with them. We see it reappear as the ziggurats of later Babylon, as the obelisks of Egypt, the minarets of Islam, the pagodas of oriental religions, the lofty spires of Christian cathedrals, and the white steeples of quiet country churches.

            It's all very reminiscent of the words in the Books of Kings and Chronicles, where even after the reigns of those Israelite kings who "did right in the sight of the Lord," we read: "...only the high places were not taken away" (2 Kings 15:34,35). These "high places" were idolatrous places of worship, which had drawn the people away from the Mosaic system that God had given to His people with which to approach Him. Allowed to exist by succeeding Kings, these high places continually sapped the spiritual strength of the nation of Israel. God condemned them through such prophets as Ezekiel:

"And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! says the Lord God), you built yourself a vaulted chamber, and made yourself a high place in every square; at the head of every street you built your high place and prostituted your beauty..." (Ezek. 16:23-25 RSV).

            Can we not see our churches, from the most humble to the grandest cathedrals, pictured here? Those "vaulted chambers" situated "in every square" and "at the head of every street?" How deceived we have been!
After all this time, this wall of religion, this enduring monolithic sentinel, this crushing collection of dead stone, continues. It has been kept legitimate and unassailable in our fearful imaginations by those who have the most to gain from its continuation. Mortared by centuries of tradition and ignorance, it blocks us from accomplishing the work of Messiah to this very day. In reality, it is nothing more than religious smoke and mirrors designed to keep us all in awe. And in our place. And whenever we get too close and see how all too human the system really is, we are told - as in that revealing scene from the Wizard of Oz - to "disregard that man behind the curtain!"

            The fact is, this religious government of man, with traditions drawn even from pagan antiquity, is without a shred of Divine authority or power, and rules only by our permission. It's high time we withdrew that permission.

Next to Part 4

Back to Brian's Article List