Chapter Six/Unlocking Sacred Secret

The Great Apostasy

When John wrote Revelation, Christianity was upwards of 6o years old. At the outset,it had survived 40 years of constant opposition from Judaism.  Then the Jewish system received a moral blow in 70 C.E. when the unrepentant Jews lost their national identity and what was to them virtually an idol-the temple in Jerusalem.   

Nevertheless the apostle Paul had foretold that there would be an apostasy among the anointed Christians, and Jesus' messages show that in John's old age  this apostasy was already developing.  John was the last of those who acted as a restraint on this all-out attempt by Satan to corrupt the see of the woman.  (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; 2 Peter 3:1-3; 2 John 7-11)  So it was the appropriate time for Jehovah's Chief Shepherd to write to the elders in the congregations, warning of developing trends and encouraging right-hearted ones to stand firm for righteousness.

How the congregation in 96 C.E. responded to Jesus' messages we do not know.  But we do know that the apostasy  developed rapidly after John's death.  "Christians" ceased to use Jehovah's name and substituted "Lord" or "God" for it in Bible manuscripts.  By the fourth century, the false doctrine of the Trinity had infiltrated the congregations.   During this same period, the idea of an immortal  soul was being adopted.  Finally, Roman Emperor Constantine  made "Christianity" the State religion, and this gave birth to Christendom, where Church and State joined forces in ruling for a thousand years.  It was easy to become a new style "Christian."  Whole tribes adjusted to their earlier pagan beliefs to versions of this religion. Many of the leaders in Christendom (false religion, by the way)  became oppressive political tyrants, enforcing their apostate  views by the sword. 

Jesus' words to the seven congregations were completely ignored by the apostatizing Christians. Jesus had warned the Ephesians  to regain the love they had at first.  (Revelation 2:4)  Nevertheless, members of Christendom, no longer being united in love for Jehovah, fought vicious wars and persecuted one another horribly.  (1 John 4:20)  Jesus had warned the congregation in Pergamum against sectarianism. Yet, sects appeared even in the second century, and today Christendom has thousands  of squabbling sects and religions. -Revelation 2:15.

Next time: Chapter Six/Unlocking the Sacred Secret - Conclusion of The Great Apostasy

From the book of Revelation