Concluding Thoughts

The first thing we would address is the title of this study.

It may be asked why we chose to entitled this study “Stumbling in the Way” rather than simply “The History of the Gospel age Church”, as that is what it is primarily about.

Actually, the initial goal in putting together this particular study (mostly a compilation of the various works of many fine Bible Students) was not so much to show the history of the church as it was to show how the Lord’s method of instructing and choosing his spokesmen differs from that which we might come to expect. After reviewing the history of the church, it should become self-evident to all that Lord’s ways are not our ways, the world’s ways. This is nowhere more evident than in whom he chose as the seven angels or messengers to the seven stages of the church.

We would naturally expect him in choosing these seven those amongst the more influential, respected or learned of orthodoxy. But the Lord did not choose any such ones as he knew these would be too filled with their own self-worth, to confident in themselves and in their own learning. Most seeking the glory and honor of men more than that of the Lord. No, rather than choose any of these it pleased Him rather to choose from amongst the based things, those generally despised (of the world and the worldly church), but who remain in the “way”, the truth or faith as it was once (or first) delivered to the saints, and make such to be His spokesmen. These tend to be of a more of a humble nature, meek and teachable and thus prepared to be used by the Lord as his spokesmen to the church.

The second goal was to show how in allowing men to chose their own leaders and teachers rather than to accept and heed the Lord’s, as well as their own naivety (poor judgement) to be led rather than to choose for themselves they would be led astray and stumble in the way and led from the path.

As the history of the church confirms, the true “way” (the way of faith and of discipleship), the way in which the Lord and the apostles had originally taught was soon corrupted (both in doctrine and in practice) once the last of the apostles had died and were no longer there to guide and tend to the church. Grievous wolfs (ambitious and power-hungry men) soon crept in and caused many (those who at first were on the correct path, and in the way) to stumble and depart from the faith, the rest, so-called new coverts, Satan’s spawn (the “tares”) were never in the way in the first place. The in results of this corruption would eventually lead to the great falling away, or fall from the faith once delivered to the saints.

The Lord had warned us of this in advance proclaiming that a great trial or testing time was coming upon the church (the true church, see Matthew 24), and that these grievous wolfs would come in and not spare the flock, that the spirit of the antichrist, the Nicolaitan spirit was already at work even in their day and was simply buying its time before rising to dominance and taking control of the His heritage, the church. And as we have learned from this study, everything that we were warned us about came true. One would think that the lessons of the fall (how it came about) would have been learned by all and thus a deterrent to others beginning their walk, but alas most have little knowledge of the church’s history, most don’t even believe that the great falling away has already taken place.

As has been proven over and over, and over again, those who fell to learn the lessons of history are bound to repeat them again. Only a true un-bias study of the history of the church, void of all religious prejudice will prevent this. The various distorted versions put forth by the professing church will not suffice, these are meant only to hide the truth from the people, to hide the corruption which overtook the church. All who heed these deceptive and misleading versions are bound to commit the same errors all over again.

One of the prominent lessons learned from this study was that the chief persecutors of the Lord’s people throughout the gospel age were not the men of the world, the infidel or the non-believers as many have supposed, but rather the chief persecutors of the Lord’s true people were those who professed Christ who proclaimed themselves to be Christians (?), many of these are to be found in a man’s own home, this even as the Lord stated it would be:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” (Matt 24:9, 10)

“Verses 9 and 10 here pertain to persecutions and betrayals by family members and friends that occurred down through the age, especially at the hands of Papacy during the Inquisition. Hundreds of thousands were violently put to death during the terror of the Dark Ages. Jesus spoke these words to comfort those Christians who would suffer, so that when persecutions and betrayals happened, the brethren would not think it strange.”

He goes on to state:

“Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but rather a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.” (Matt 10:34-36)

“A man’s enemies will be those of his own HOUSEHOLD”. When most consider this, they imagine it applies to their immediate family, their father, mother, siblings and in many cases, this is true, but this applies more readily to the HOUSEHOLD of faith, the professing Church. It is here that the one will face the most severe opposition.

“Now brother (Professed believer) will betray brother (Professed believer) to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Mark 13:12, 13)

In the dark ages during the peak period of the apostasy the professing church persecuted and killed (literally) thousands upon thousands of the Lord’s true people, this generally through the same agencies employed by Jezebel (a type of the false church, note the Lord’s reference to her in Rev 2:20) who had the Lord’s followers persecuted, via Ahab (the King, representing the civil authority, government). As noted above brother (fellow believer) betrayed brother.

Unfortunately, this same spirit, the spirit of the antichrist abides in many of the Lord’s professed people even today. We see it all the time on many so-called Christian forums where one brother (supposed believer) accuses another of heresy, of being a heretic, a false teacher simply because their views differ from their own (and or that of the orthodox view which they hold). Most of the Lord’s people including the apostle Paul were referred to as such and persecuted for it. The same applied to all seven of the angels (or “stars”) to the Church, every one of them was accused of being a false teacher and a heretic.

Barring the fact that the Lord states that all of us must eventually give an accounting for every idle word spoken, it would seem the prudent course not to throw around the word heretic to everyone with whom we disagree as we may in truth be inadvertently implying that one of the Lord’s very own, a member of his body, is a heretic. In so doing one is actually calling the Lord a heretic (a liar). This is what was implied when the Lord said to Paul on the road to Damascus, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Paul had never physically persecuted the Lord, but in his persecution of the members of his body he was in essence persecuting the Lord himself, the head of that body.

The only thing preventing many of those who abide the spirit (the character) of the antichrist from physically persecuting their brethren as they did in former times (during the dark ages) is that present society has enacted laws against such things. However, the time is shortly coming in which during the hour of power and temptation many of these laws will be curtail out of expediency for the supposed good of all. Then will be made manifest to all (by their conduct and actions towards the Lord’s people at that time) all who abide the spirit of the antichrist, the spirit of the Adversary.

There is yet to come a very trying experience for the Lord’s true people left here at the end of the age, both in regards to the “feet of him” the last living members of the body of Christ this side of the vail and in regards to the Great Company. This last are to be turned over to Satan (to his various agencies) for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit (the new nature in them) might be saved in the day of the Lord.

Pray that you make your calling and election sure and that you are spared this final trial coming on the Church, and if need be make sure you have on the full armor of the Lord that you may stand in this last day.