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God’s Church Through the Ages 
 by 
 John H. Ogwyn
God’s Church has endured through the ages.It is a “little flock” (Luke 12:32), but Godhas always remained true to His promisethat “the gates of Hades shall not prevailagainst it” (Matthew 16:18). In this revealingbooklet, you will find a brief account of thefascinating history of the true Church of God.
 
GCA
Edition 1.0, May 2003©2003 LIVING CHURCH OF GOD
TM*
All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Scriptures in this booklet are quoted from the New King James Version(©Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers) unless otherwise noted.
 This booklet is not to be sold!
It has been provided as a free public educationalservice by the Living Church of God
Contents
P
AGE
1
Chapter 1: What Happened to the Church? 
13
Chapter 2:A Dramatic Transition
26
Chapter 3: The Church in the Wilderness
36
Chapter 4:Taking Root in a New World
 46
Chapter 5: Schisms, Splits and a New Start 
*Application pending. The symbol
TM
, appearing herein, does not indicate trademark registration.
 
1
esus Christ said: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades [the grave] shall not prevail against it” (Matthew16:18). Which church did Jesus build, and what happenedto it?
 When the Bible speaks of the Church, it is never speaking of abuilding or of a human organization incorporated under secularauthority. The word in the Greek language that is translated“church” in English is
ekklesia.
It is derived from two root words inGreek and literally means “called out” or “called from.” In secularusage, it referred to an assembly of citizens who were “called out”from the inhabitants of the city to consider some matter of impor-tance. It was often used in the Greek translation of the OldTestament to refer to the congregation of Israel or to the assemblyof God’s people. “Congregation” or “assembly” expresses the mean-ing in New Testament usage as well.However, the “called out” aspect of 
ekklesia
is fundamental tounderstanding the Church. In Genesis 12 we read that Abrahamwas “called out” by God from Ur of the Chaldees. In Exodus 12 weread of Abraham’s descendants, the children of Israel, being “calledout” by God from Egypt. They then became the congregation of Israel or the “Church in the Wilderness” (Acts 7:38
, KJV 
).One of God’s final warnings to His people is a call to “comeout” of Babylon (Revelation 18:4). The saints of God are not to par-ticipate in that corrupt, end-time culture’s sins so that they will notpartake of the divine punishments that “Babylon” will receive.
 J
Chapter 1
What Happened to the Church? 
of 00

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There are four references to Cathars in this document. As a factual clarification, the term “Cathars” derives from the Greek word Katheroi and means “Pure Ones". They were a gnostic Christian sect of tolerant pacifists that arose in the 11th century, an offshoot of a small surviving European gnostic community that emigrated to the Albigensian region in the south of France.The medieval Cathar movement flourished in the 12th century A.D. throughout Europe until its virtual extermination at the hands of the Inquisition in 1245. There are an ever increasing number of historians and other academics engaged in serious Cathar studies. Interestingly, to date, the deeper they have dug, the more they have vindicated claims that medieval Catharism represented a survival of the earliest Christian practices. Thank you! Brad Hoffstetter Communications Division Assembly of good Christians www.cathar.net Some credible sources: http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/ http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook....

reply08 / 21 / 2009
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