Irenaeus would have been the first of eight successive men who came to be known as the Greek Fathers in that they came directly after the Apostolic Fathers (those taught directly by the Apostles) and because their writings were all done in Greek. These eight men over a period of about 200 years would lead the majority of professing Christianity into Roman Catholicism through the complete perversion of the doctrine of the Church, the doctrine of salvation, and the doctrines of the end times (Eschatology). The other seven Greek Fathers were:

2. Clement of Alexandria (Egypt; 150 A.D. – somewhere between 211-216; fully integrated Greek philosophy into Christianity, especially Platonism which made logic and reason basic premises for deducing theological truth through Dialectics; Thesis against Antithesis resulting in Synthesis)
3. Origen Adamantius of Alexandria (Egypt; 185 A.D.- 254 A.D.; taught the pre-existence of souls prior to conception, progressive stages of incarnation until the soul returns to God, and is credited with establishing the allegorical method of Biblical interpretation)
4. Athanasius I of Alexandria (Egypt; 293 A.D. - 373 A.D.; might be considered as a return to Sola Scriptura in much of his theology although he was still an Ascetic. He is most famous for his arguments against Arius and Arianism. His doctrine of the Church was still very corrupt and Episcopal in scope and polity.)
5. John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople (Turkey and the capital of the Byzantine or East Roman Empire; 347A.D. – 407 A.D.; he contributed extensively to Asceticism and to the rise of Anti-Semitism within professing Christianity)
6. The Cappadocians Fathers (actually Philosophers who practiced Monasticism, which is extreme Asceticism)

A. Basil the Great of Caesarea (330 A.D. – 379 A.D.)
B. Gregory of Nazianzus (329 A.D. – 389 A.D.)
C. Gregory of Nyssa (335 A.D. – died sometime after 394 A.D.)

Tertullian (125 A.D. – 222 A.D., the first of the so call Latin Fathers as he transitioned from writing in Greek into writing in Latin)

     Tertullian was raised in Carthage, Tunisia (North Africa) within the Roman Empire and grew up as a Roman pagan. It is believed he converted to Christianity (Episcopal Roman Catholicism) around 197 A.D. at about the age of 72. He was trained in jurisprudence and work as a lawyer most of his life. Although he wrote extensively with numerous theological works, there is no historical evidence he was ever a member of the Episcopacy (ordained priesthood).

     Tertullian was an Apologist who wrote mainly against paganism. Tertullian became a strict Ascetic leading him into the strict disciplines of the then developing sect of the heresies of Montanism (an early form of Pentecostalism beginning around 165 A.D.). The Montanists believed God spoke directly through them. An important aspect of this heresy is the idea that these new utterances were viewed as new revelation that superseded and abdicated all previous revelations, even the writings of the inspired Scriptures. Thereby, Truth became fluid and evolving with every new ecstatic utterance. This has been the defining criteria of the cults ever since. If God is still speaking through prophets or tongues, than Truth must be constantly updated, renewed and the Bible is a constantly evolving document. Their extreme Asceticism promoted chastity, even among married couples, and forbidding to remarry after the death or departure of one’s husband/wife.

     Tertullian can probably be credited with the systematizing of the doctrine of salvation within the Church organization (the Universal or Catholic Church) as a process (rather than an event) and the idea of co-redemption. He said that water baptism and penance were the “two planks” upon which the sinner was saved from shipwreck. Tertullian was also a great defender of Apostolic Successionism in the Council of Bishops as the only authoritive Guardians of Truth.

     “Let them produce the original records of their churches; let them unfold the roll of their bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning in such a manner that [that first bishop of theirs] bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the apostles or of apostolic men, — a man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the apostles. For this is the manner in which the apostolic churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter. In exactly the same way the other churches likewise exhibit (their several worthies), whom, as having been appointed to their episcopal places by apostles, they regard as transmitters of the apostolic seed.12 ”

      Tertullian’s prolific and numerous writings would become the educational foundation for the next Latin Father; Cyprian. Cyprian developed the doctrine of the unbroken chain of Episcopal successionism to become an unquestioned dogma of the Universal or Holy Catholic Church.

Cyprian of Carthage (born at the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. – died 258 A.D.)

     Cyprian strictly adhered to and followed many of the teachings of Tertullian, especially regarding organic unity of the Church each entitled The Unity of the Catholic Church and numbered successively. These circulatory epistles are extremely important in our understanding of the ongoing evolution of the heresy of an Apostolic authority continuing in an unbroken succession of bishops that can be traced back to Christ and His Apostles.

     Understanding this is critical to understanding what defines heretical local churches in their continuing propagation of these heresies even into modern times. For every child there is both a mother and a father. For the heresies of the Episcopacy, the mother is always the Holy Catholic Church and the fathers are the succession of Bishops. Cyprian developed this heresy definitively in his epistles.

     “The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say unto thee that thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ He builds the Church upon one man. True, after the resurrection he assigned like power to all the apostles, saying: ‘As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted unto him; whose soever ye retain, they shall be retained.’ Despite that in order to make unity manifest, he arranged by his own authority that this unity should, from the start, take its beginning from one man. Certainly the rest of the apostles were exactly what Peter was; they were endowed with an equal share of office and power. But there was unity at the beginning before any development, to demonstrate that the Church of Christ is one.13 ”

     Clearly the statements of Cyprian here are based upon a complete distortion of Christ’s statement to Peter in Matthew 16:13-20 (see chapter one). Christ was not establishing the foundation for an order of successive Bishops. Cyprian, and those that followed after him, would use this heresy to challenge the right of existence of any local church that did not have direct ties to the Universal or Catholic Church by requiring them to prove an unbroken line of successive ordinations.

     “Produce the origin of your churches; display the order of your bishops, running through succession from the beginning in such a way that the first bishop had as his teacher and predecessor some one of the apostles.14 ”

     Cyprian would later go as far as to teach that the essence of any true Church must be connected to this unbroken chain of successive Bishops.

      “Whence you ought to know that the bishop is in the Church, and the Church is in the bishop; and if any one be not with the bishop, that he is not in the Church . . . The Church, which is Catholic and one, is not cut or divided, but is indeed connected and bound together by the cement of priests who cohere with one another.15 ”

     Under Cyprian’s extreme notion of organic unity, there could not possibly be any salvation for anyone apart from formal membership in the Universal or Catholic Church.

     “If you abandon the Church and join yourself to an adulteress {meaning a local church that could not trace an Episcopal successionism}, you are cut off from the promises of the Church. If you leave the Church of Christ you will not come to Christ’s rewards, you will be an alien, an outcast, an enemy. You cannot have God for your father unless you have the Church for your mother.16 ”

     These men would lay the foundations of Ecclesiological heresy for what Christ addresses in His epistle to the Church at Pergamos in Revelation 2:1217.

“12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (Revelation 2:12-17).

     Pergamos is located about 15 miles from the Aegean Sea. Even though it is almost sixty miles North of Smyrna, the hills of Smyrna are visible from Pergammos from atop a hill that is 800 feet above the city. The city was built surrounding the hilltop where the Temple of Athena and the Altar of Zeus was located. The city was a University city and contained a library with over 200,000 volumes (scrolls). This was an enormous library for this period of history.

    Pergamos was the center of the Imperial Cult containing three separate Temples to the Roman Emperors. The first was built in 29 B.C. In the first century A.D., another was built to honor Emperor Trajan. Later, a third was built to honor Severus. Two other Temples were central to the city, the Temple of Dionysus, the ancient pagan god of vegetation and the Temple of Asklepios, the ancient pagan god of healing.

     The Temples of Athena and the Altar to Zeus represented the marriage of the ancient pagans with the new Hellenized Roman gods. The final state of the evolution was represented in the Temples to the Emperors. Pergammos epitomized the syncretism of religious beliefs, which became the foundational methodology of Roman Catholicism.

     We are immediately reminded in Revelation 2:12 of the aspect of the character of Jesus, which speaks directly to the attitude and problem of this period of church history. Christ says that He is “He which hath the sharp sword with two edges.” This sword is the large Trajan Javelon (the killing or war sword and it refers to judgment).

     In the Church at Pergamos, we find the next progressive step away from the circle of truth by failure in the area of ecclesiastical separation and the syncretism of paganism into Christianity. For over 400 years the Church was under the crushing persecution of satanic opposition (Rev. 2:9 and 13). Historically, up to this time, believers were willing to die for their beliefs rather than deny the Lordship of Christ; hundreds of believers sprang forth from the testimony of each martyrs’ death. Now, Satan would try another tactic to destroy the church. The key to understanding that tactic is found both in the meaning of the name Pergamos and the “doctrine of Balaam” (Rev. 2:14).

     The city was a melting pot of many various cults of paganism, each one blending and mixing with the others. Temples, statues, shrines, and idols would confront Christianity at every area of life. None of them would pose the threat equivalent to the required oath of loyalty and pinch of incense offered in worship to the Emperor. This Christian could not avoid.

     The paganism of the city presented the Christians with continual confrontation of everything they held dear. Every god but Christ was allowed. The immorality of temple prostitution, corruption of government, and social and political injustice at every level of society was the sociological norm.

     The Temple of Asclepius was a particularly prominent place. The snake was the symbol of Asclepius. The temple was serpent infested because the serpent was worshipped. The sick came to the Temple from all over for healing. It was undoubtedly a center of Satanic activity.

     When Cyrus defeated Belshazzar in 539 B.C., the Temple Priests of Baal went to Pergamos with their cultus of mysteries. It became the center of Baal worship and the foundational center for many of its pagan practices at the time of the Apostle John.

     There were two kinds of Roman governors during this period of history. Their authority to execute capital punishment defined the two kinds. The Proconsul was allowed to administrate capital punishment and was said to “bear the sword.” Paul alluded to this in Romans 13:4:

“For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:4).

     It is to this that Christ alludes to regarding His power of eternal life and death in Matthew 10:28 and the truth behind His statement in Revelation 2:12 that He “hath the sharp sword with two edges,” which refers to the Sword of God’s judgment.

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

     The believing and faithful remnant of this historical period were given a commendation by the Lord. This is found in Revelation 2:13:

“I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth” (Revelation 2:13).

     This truth is exemplified by a Christian by the name of Antipas. His name means against all. Apparently he took a stand to the death against all opposition and any pressure to become syncretistic in his beliefs.

     As we have stated, the meaning of the word Pergammos reveals a great deal about this period of church history. The word Pergamos means thoroughly married. It represents the syncretism of the society of Pergamos. The state was thoroughly married to religion. This is the beginning of Christianity becoming a State religion through compromise and syncretism.

     There was no room in this society for a group of people that wanted to be autonomous and independent in their belief system. To the pagan citizens of Pergamos, worship, participation, and sacrifice to their gods meant the continuing welfare of their whole society. They believed that a refusal to participate in their pagan practices by any member of their society would bring the wrath of the gods upon the whole society.

     For over 400 years the church was under the crushing pressure of satanic opposition under the various persecution of Roman Emperors. Every time they would kill a martyr, a hundred new believers would trust in Christ from the testimony of his death. Under this persecution, Christianity was still spreading like a grass fire in a windstorm.

     Satan would try another tactic (one He continues with today because it worked). The key to that tactic is found in the name Pergamos and in the “doctrine of Balaam.” When Satan could not get Christians to renounce Christ by persecution from society, he would try to get them to do so by the acceptance of society. The world became the friend of Christianity.

     In the early part of the 4th century, Emperor Diocletian died, leaving succession to his throne in dispute. Two forces rose up in the resulting tension. One was led by Constantine of the West (Britain and Gaul) and the other by Maxentius in the East. Maxentius marched his forces toward Constantine’s and they met at a little river in Italy at a place called the Milvian Bridge.

     Constantine made a vow the night before the battle that if he won, he would become a Christian. He claimed to see a Cross in the sky (probably the Baal tear drop cross of the occult) with the Latin inscription: ‘hoc signo vinces’, In this sign conquer.

     Constantine was a Baalist. He was deceived by the same method Satan used to tempt Christ (see Luke 4:5-8). Constantine made a pack with Satan to make the world Christian when all he really did was Christianize paganism (more appropriately, it should be said that he paganized Christianity). Constantine made Christianity the state religion, but it would become a new kind of Christianity, not Christ’s kind. Many Christians accepted this escape from persecution and traded their purity and faithfulness to Christ for it. They traded PURITY for PEACE!

     Constantine took all the Baalist Temple Priest (Pontifexs) and declared them Christian. He then declared himself Pontifex Maximus. The priest craft was born and the “deeds of the Nicolaitanes” now became the dogma (“doctrine,” Rev. 2:15) of a perverted church. Pagan Temples became Christian Basilicas (a name that really means heathen temples). Armies were marched into rivers and baptized by the Emperor’s edict.

     Eusebius (about 239-339 A.D.) became a close friend of Emperor Constantine and composed many flattering speeches for him. Eusebius is probably the one most directly responsible for the writings that formulated the dogma of heresy establishing the Nicolaitan hierarchy of the clergy\laity.

     One subject Eusebius dealt with extensively was the succession of Christian Bishops. He was a close follower of the teachings of Origen, and therefore leaned toward Arianism. His political ideas helped create the Christian Empire of Byzantium. Eusebius is a historical example of the syncretism and Nicolaitism of this period that Christ pictures in the marriage of the Church and State by the name Pergammos. Christ had some serious complaints against the Church at Pergammos. These are detailed in Revelation 2:14-15:

“14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans: which thing I hate” (Revelation 2:14-15).

     First, there were those who held to the “doctrine of Balaam.” This is detailed in the Old Testament in Numbers 22:5 through 23:24. Balaam was a prophet of God. He is the typical hireling prophet. The Bible has much to say about Balaam. In II Peter 2:15 it speaks of “the way of Balaam.”

“Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (II Peter 2:15).

     Balaam was a spiritual hireling. He traded his God given gift for power and position in the world. He made merchandise of both his ministry and the people God called him to serve. The “way of Balaam” is the person who views people as the means to advance himself.

“11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep” (John 10:11-13).

“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” (II Peter 2:3).

     The Bible also speaks of the “error of Balaam.”

“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah” (Jude 1:11).

     The “error of Balaam” is the false thinking of the false prophet who believes he exists to be served, rather than to serve. The false prophet uses his position for self-glorification, rather than God-glorification. He wants to be exalted before men, rather than exalt God before men and edify men before God.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (Proverbs 23:7).

     Then there is the “doctrine of Balaam” that Christ speaks of in Revelation 2:14. The Christian is called to preach the doctrine of Christ. In other words, we are to seek to reproduce Christ in others by “renewing” their minds and allowing the Holy Spirit to “transform” their lives from the inside out. A man can merely reproduce what he is himself. He becomes whatever he believes and lives. The “doctrine of Balaam” reproduces what Balaam was.

     Balaam taught the Moabite king Balak to corrupt God’s children. King Balak wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites so that they wouldn’t occupy his land, but Balaam could not. He wanted to, but he could not. So Balaam taught king Balak what he needed to know in order to seduce the children of Israel into compromise so that God would chastise Israel rather than bless them. The “doctrine of Balaam” was that he taught the men of Israel to marry Moabite women and defile their separation unto God. Paul had a similar problem with the believers at Corinth and so admonishes them:

“11 O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. 12 Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. 13 Now for a recompense in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. 14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Corinthians 6:11-7:1).

     As a result of Balaam’s doctrine (similar to the problem at Corinth), God’s children became involved in pagan worship and the fornication of Baalism. Balaam’s doctrine always begins with toleration and ends with a rapid slide into practice. What you begin to fix your eyes on will eventually become what you do (you always fall in the direction you lean).

     Secondly, there was the “doctrine of the Nicolaitanes.” This is the clergy\laity division in the church. What at Ephesus (2:5) was a “deed,” was now a fully developed traditional (not Biblical) dogma of man (a dogma that Christ hates).

     Authoritarian positions of leadership are the easiest roles to take advantage of. When authoritarian positions of leadership are abused by Evangelists, Pastors, and Deacons, they establish a standard that carries with it devastating results. True Biblical leadership always holds itself accountable to the God of the Bible first and the children of God second. When the Lordship of Christ over the Church is replaced with the lordship of man (Nicolaitanism), then Christianity is reduced to a cult and Christians to slaves.

     The Priest-craft of the Nicolaitan system attempts to make man dependent upon them. When Constantine married the State to the Church, he made the Church a political forum of compromise and patronization. He founded the first ecumenical council of which (and everyone since) has been the historical progression of the compromise of truth for unity’s sake. The Nicolaitan hierarchy was the direct byproduct of this marriage. The first thing this hierarchy did was to organize by taking away the autonomy of local congregations. Then they took away the right of local churches to confirm God’s calling upon their leadership. Then they developed the order of presbyters.

     Bishops became the highest order. These Bishops would appoint the individual pastors, who would be accountable to them. Church problems would be appealed to the Bishop. From there, the steady decline of Christianity into paganism is a matter of history. Praise God for His faithful remnant.

Three Giants Steps Out of the Circle of Truth and into Apostasy

     As we continue the study of the period of church history of the church at Pergammos (312-590 A. D.), we find a prophetic record of what would happen (from John’s point in time) and what did happen (from our point in time) on three different fronts.

1. Pergammos (the word) means elevation through marriage. This was the first instance of a State Church.

     On October 27th, 312 A.D. Constantine met Maxentius at the Milvian bridge near Rome in battle. Constantine won. At that point he declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. All property that had been confiscated from Christians was returned to them. However, the Christianity that resulted from this marriage was not the Christianity of the earlier church.

     The Apostles Creed (no Apostles had anything to do with it) was established as a statement of faith in 340 A.D. Under the influence of the Roman cultus, Christianity and the Church joined together in the Roman Empire as a Theonomy. Therefore, the church came to be known as the Holy Catholic (Universal) Church. The state was Roman and so was born the Roman Catholic Church in 312 A.D., the beginning of the Pergammos period of church history.

2. The second major move out of the circle of truth was one that would change both the structure and focus of Christianity for the next 1500 years. During this time there began a major integration of paganism with the truth.

     Constantine was a Baalist. The Roman Empire was filled with thousands of pagan temples to their various gods. In those thousands of temples were thousands and thousands of temple priest and vestal virgins. If we look at some of the practices of this pagan priesthood, it is easy to see how many of their doctrines and practices were adapted to Christianity.

     Pagan priests worshipped the sun god. In their consecration to their priestly office they were TONSURED. That means a circular area on the top and towards the back of their heads was shaved in the shape of the Sun. This practice was forbidden by God to the Jews.

“They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh” (Leviticus 21:5).

     The people of Israel had come out of Egypt. They were familiar with the customs of the priest of Baal there. God clearly instructed the priests of Israel not to copy what was pagan in either this tonsuring or trimming the beard.

     Also, all the pagan temples had an order of women who had vowed perpetual virginity. They were maintained at public expense and constantly kept the fires burning before the idols in the temples. These were known as Virgins of the Sun or Daughters of the Sun. The Chaldean word for daughter is Nonna or Nun. They were taken from their families at very early ages and placed in convents under a Mamacona (Mother Priestess).

     The priests of Baal also took a vow of celibacy (though few were ever celibate). Paul taught Timothy that this would be one of the characteristics of apostasy in the last days.

“1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (I Timothy 4:1-3).

     Another universal practice of paganism was the rite of infant baptism. Almost all pagan sun worshippers practiced it. In Mexico the sun god was WODIN. In Scandinavia he was ODIN. In Rome he was ADON. They were all sun gods with different names, but the practices of worship were very similar throughout the world (we might ask what was the connecting link that created this similarity; i.e. Satan).

     Rev. Alexander Hislop in his book The Two Babylons (Loizeaux Brothers publishers) quotes from Prescott’s book Mexico, volume III, pages 339-340 about Roman Catholic missionaries in Mexico about the practice of infant baptism among the pagan Indians.

     “When everything necessary for the baptism had been made ready, all the relations of the child were assembled, and the midwife, who was the person that performed the rite of baptism, was summoned. At early dawn, they met together in the court-yard of the house. When the sun had risen, the midwife, taking the child in her arms, called for a earthen vessel of water, while those about her placed the ornaments, which had been prepared for baptism, in the midst of the court. To perform the rite of baptism, she placed herself with her face toward the west, and immediately began to go through certain ceremonies . . . After this she sprinkled water on the head of the infant, saying, ‘O my child, take and receive the water of the Lord of the world, which is our life, which is given for the increasing and renewing of our body. It is to wash and to purify. I pray that these heavenly drops may enter into your body and dwell there; that they may destroy and remove from you all the evil and sin which was given you before the beginning of the world, since all of us are under its power . . .’ She then washed the body of the child with water, and spoke in this manner: ‘Whencesoever thou comest, thou that art hurtful to this child, leave him and depart from him, for he now liveth anew, and is born anew; now he is purified and cleansed afresh, and our mother Chalchivitlycue [the goddess of water] bringeth him into the world.’ Having thus prayed, the midwife took the child in both hands, and, lifting him towards heaven, said, ‘O Lord, thou seest here thy creature, whom thou hast sent into the world, this place of sorrow, suffering, and penitence. Grant him, O Lord, thy gifts and inspiration, for thou art the great God, and with thee is the great goddess.’ ”

     This pagan origin is the foundation of baptismal regeneration and infant baptism, not the Bible. These are but a few of the false practices that the marriage to paganism of the Church to the Roman Empire incorporated. Many of these practices continue in major denominations of Christianity today.

3. The third major area is found in Revelation 2:15. It is the rise of the EPISCOPATE.

Schaff’s History of the Church (Vol. II; Ante-Nicene Christianity, 100-325 A. D.; page 133) says the following:

     “Episcopacy in the full sense of the term requires for its base the idea of a real priesthood and a real sacrifice, and an essential distinction between clergy and laity. Divested of these associations, it resolves itself into a mere superintendency.”

     Nicolaitanism was (and is) the doctrine of the EPISCOPACY, the clergy\laity division in the church. From this, the Sacerdotal system of the Old Testament (Covenant) and paganism was adapted into a Sacramental system of today. This was a giant step away from the circle of truth and into apostasy.

     Just as in the pagan religions and Judaism, the priesthood became the mediators between the gods and men. They became the means through which the common man (laity) approached the gods or offered sacrifices to appease the gods. The Episcopacy became the mediators between God and the laity and also the means through which the conference of God’s grace came through the sacraments.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).

“14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

“4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (I Peter 2:4-9).