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Thousands of Choices
When Christianity began, only a few followed Christ, but now over a third of the world claims Christianity with 34,000 denominations. The document outlines the history of the church from 31-100 AD when it was pure, to periods of compromise and forgetting Bible truths, resulting in a dead religion during 538-1517 AD. The Reformation starting rediscovering Bible truths but the Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches all of God's light. The confusion of denominations calls people to come out and follow the clear truths of God's Word.
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Thousands of Choices
- 1. THOUSANDS OF CHOICES CristopherV. Luaya, MAR Theology Instructor, Northern Luzon Adventist College Pastor, NLAC SDA Church Why So Many Denominations?
- 2. “One Lord, onefaith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5).
- 3.
- 4. “One Lord, onefaith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5).
- 5. • False teachingssoon came in among the believers (1 Cor 11:19). • Some denied the Lord who paid the price for their sins (2 Peter 2:1).
- 6. When the Christian church began,only a few people called themselves Christians.
- 7. Nearly one-third of thepeople in the entire world claim to be Christians.
- 8. With 34,000 choices,how can we ever know which one is right?
- 9. When we studythe Bible, we can know for sure what church has God’s truth.
- 10.
- 14. • This horseis a symbol of the church of the NT, from A.D. 31-100. • The horse is white, meaning a pure church. • Before councils: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
- 15. Many believers inChrist joined the church. Multitudes were added to the Lord (Acts 5:14).
- 16. Soon the gospel hadbeen preached to every creature living on Earth (under heaven) (Col 1:23).
- 17.
- 18.
- 19.
- 20. The horse ofthe bloodstained faith (100-323 AD).
- 21. 31-100 AD 100-323AD 323-538 AD
- 22. These are the balances,or scales, of deceit seen in Hosea 12:7.
- 23. Paul knewthat the church would not stay pure. He warned the believers that grievous, savage wolves would come in among them. Even worse, some of the believers would rise up and speak perverse things that would draw among disciples (Acts 20:29-30).
- 24. During this timeof compromise, many pagan errors came into God’s church.
- 25.
- 26. BIBLE TRUTHS THATWERE FORGOTTEN DURING THE TIME OF THE BLACK HORSE. Salvation by God’s grace—salvation depended on works such as penances, pilgrimages, and payments.
- 27. BIBLE TRUTHS THATWERE FORGOTTEN DURING THE TIME OF THE BLACK HORSE. Salvation by God’s grace—salvation depended on works such as penances, pilgrimages, and payments. Worship—images began coming into the churches.
- 28. BIBLE TRUTHS THATWERE FORGOTTEN DURING THE TIME OF THE BLACK HORSE. Salvation by God’s grace—salvation depended on works such as penances, pilgrimages, and payments. Worship—images began coming into the churches. Day of Worship—It was changed to the pagan day of the sun
- 29. The people werenot allowed to have Bible, so they did not know what the Scriptures said.
- 30.
- 31. 31-100 AD 100-323AD 323-538 AD 538-1517 AD
- 32. This wasthe church of the Dark Ages, from A.D. 538-1517. During this time, people were forced to belong to the Church of Rome. Those who were caught reading a Bible were put to death, and most people had no way to tell the truth from error. The Waldenses kept their Bibles. They took refuge in the mountains, but many were hunted down and killed.
- 33. Sadly, people knownothing of the gospel. Their religion was full of penances, indulgences, images, and ceremonies. The traditions of men became more important than the truths of God (Mark 7:8).
- 35.
- 36. Reformers began torediscover the truths of the Bible: Martin Luther: “The just shall live by faith” (Gal 3:11) = Lutherans. John Calvin: God wants His people to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18) = Presbyterians. A group of believers: Baptism means to go down into the water (Acts 8:38) = Anabaptists. The Baptists later adopted the same belief. William Miller: Jesus is coming soon in the clouds (Matt 24:30) = Movement. They saw that Jesus asks us to keep all the commandments, including the fourth (John 14:15). The dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
- 37. Most churches teach someof the truths the reformers discovered, but the Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches ALL the light of God’s Word.
- 38. God istelling us out of religious confusion, and into the clear truths of His Word. Revelation describes this confusion, and then says, “Come out of her, My people” (Rev 18:4).
- 39. How will youanswer His call?
Editor's Notes
- #3 “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).
- #5 At first there was only one Christian faith. This is why Paul could say, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).
- #6 But false teachings soon came in among the believers (1 Corinthians 11:19). Some of the teachers of these heresies even denied the Lord who paid the price for their sins (2 Peter 2:1).
- #7 When the Christian church began, only a few people called themselves Christians.
- #8 Today, nearly one-third of the people in the entire world claim to be Christians. But there is no longer “one faith.” In fact, there are more than 34,000 Christian denominations in the world today!
- #9 Most churches teach that they are the only church that has God’s truth. With 34,000 choices, how can we ever know which one is right?
- #10 It would be impossible, were it not for one thing. The Bible is very clear that the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). No matter how confusing our choices may seem, God’s Word, which He gave us through the prophets, can always be trusted. When we study it, we can know for sure what church has God’s truth.
- #12 The last book of the Bible helps us understand why there are so many churches. Revelation 5:1 tells of a book with seven seals, each revealing something about the future.
- #13 When the first four seals are opened, we see four horses. Each stands for a different period of time in the Christian church.
- #14 The first horse is described in Revelation 6:2. It was a white horse . The rider had a bow. He was given a crown, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
- #15 This horse is a symbol of the church of the New Testament, from A.D. 31-100. The horse is white, meaning a pure church. When the early believers were brought before councils they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
- #16 The early Christian church was also a conquering church. For the first few believers, a mighty movement was born. During this time, many believers in Christ joined the church. The Bible says that multitudes were added to the Lord (Acts 5:14).
- #17 Soon the gospel had been preached to every creature living on Earth (under heaven) (Colossians 1:23).
- #18 It would have been wonderful to be in this church!. Sadly, the church of conquering faith lasted only until about A.D. 100.
- #20 Jesus opened the second seal, John saw a red horse. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth, so that people would kill each other. The rider was also given a great sword (Revelation 6:3-4).
- #21 This is the horse of the bloodstained faith. From A.D. 100-323, the Romans viciously persecuted the church, but it continued to grow. When unbelievers saw that Christians loved Jesus more than life, they wanted to know why—and often they joined the church.
- #22 When Satan realized that the could not destroy the church by persecution, he decided to try to get into the church and corrupt its teachings. This is what the third seal shows. When Jesus opened this seal, John saw a black horse. Its rider “had a pair of balances in his hand” (Revelation 6:5). The black horse represents a church that is no longer pure. It has a compromised faith. This was the sad state of the church from A.D. 323-538.
- #23 These are the balances, or scales, of deceit seen in Hosea 12:7.
- #24 Paul knew that the church would not stay pure. He warned the believers that grievous, savage wolves would come in among them. Even worse, some of the believers would rise up and speak perverse things that would draw among disciples (Acts 20:29-30).
- #25 During this time of compromise, many pagan errors came into God’s church. It was a sad time for the Christian faith.
- #27 Many Bible truths were forgotten during the time of the black horse, when the Church began to compromise with pagan religions. The first major truth that was lost was the good news of salvation by God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8, 9 says that we are saved by grace through faith, as the gift of God. Our salvation has nothing to do with our own works., yet the Church acted as if it did. Just like the pagan religions, the Church began saying that salvation depended on works such as penances, pilgrimages, and payments. They said people has to pay the Church in order to have their sins forgiven. People did not know that forgiveness is according to the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7).
- #28 Other truths that were lost at that time had to do with worship. God said not to make and worship any sort of graven (carved) images (Exodus 20:4). But during the time of the black horse, images began coming into the churches. Many of these images were straight out of paganism.
- #29 The day of worship was also changed to the pagan day of the sun. People forgot that God said, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (verse 8).
- #30 How could this happen? The people were not allowed to have Bible, so they did not know what the Scriptures said. God’s Word brings light (Psalms 119:130). Without the light of the Bible, people were in darkness.
- #32 The fourth horse was the saddest yet: This was a pale horse: and its rider was named Death. They were given power over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, hunger, and the beasts of the earth (Revelation 6:8).
- #33 This was the church of the Dark Ages, from A.D. 538-1517. During this time, people were forced to belong to the Church of Rome. Those who were caught reading a Bible were put to death, and most people had no way to tell the truth from error. Just a few, such as the Waldenses, kept their Bibles. They took refuge in the mountains, but many were hunted down and killed.
- #34 The church was in sad state. People know nothing of the gospel. Instead, their religion was full of penances, indulgences, images, and ceremonies. Just as with the Jew of old, the traditions of men became more important than the truths of God (Mark 7:8).
- #35 The darkness of error covered the earth and the people, but God did not allow the situation to last forever. As the period of the pale horse came to an end, He raised up men to arise and shine (Isaiah 60:1-2).
- #37 About 500 years ago, people, often known as reformers, began to rediscover the truths of the Bible: Martin Luther learned that “the just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). Those who accepted his message became known as Lutherans. John Calvin discovered that God wants His people to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). His followers became Presbyterians. A group of believers found that baptism means to go down into the water (Acts 8:38). They became known as Anabaptists. The Baptists later adopted the same belief. About 200 years ago, William Miller learned that Jesus is coming soon in the clouds (Matthew 24:30). This began the Advent Movement. As those in this group studied, they saw that Jesus asks us to keep all the commandments, including the fourth (John 14:15). They also discovered that the dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
- #38 Most churches teach some of the truths the reformers discovered, but the Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches ALL the light of God’s Word.
- #39 God is telling us out of religious confusion, and into the clear truths of His Word. The book of Revelation describes this confusion, and then says, “Come out of her, My people” (Revelation 18:4).
- #40 How will you answer His call?