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Ignored by Most Histories

You don't read much of this true Body of Christ in the secular histories of this world! No,
the world little notes, nor long remembers, the activities of this "little flock," hated and despised
by the world, driven to the wilderness by persecution, always opposed, usually scattered! But
there are enough references to it in authentic histories to show that it has continued through every
century to now!

The prophecies bring this Church into concrete focus in the 12th chapter of Revelation.
There she is shown spiritually, in the glory and splendor of the Spirit of God, but visibly in the
world as a persecuted Commandment keeping Church driven into the wilderness, for 1260 years,
through the Middle Ages!

Even in Paul's day, many among those attending at Antioch, at Jerusalem, at Ephesus, at
Corinth, and other places, began to apostatize and turn away from the truth. Divisions sprang up.
Those individuals, unconverted or turned from God's truth and way of life, were no part of God's
true Church, though visibly assembling with those who were. The "mystery of iniquity" was al-
ready working inside these visible churches. This apostasy increased! By the year A.D. 125 the
majority in most churches, especially those Gentile-born, were continuing in many of their old pa-
gan beliefs and practices, though professing to be Christian! Gradually, a smaller and smaller por-
tion of the visible churches going by the name "Christian" remained truly yielded to God and His
truth, and led of His Spirit. After Constantine took virtual control of the visible, professing Church
in the early fourth century, this visible organization became almost wholly pagan, and began ex-
communicating and persecuting all who held to the true Word of God! Finally, it became necessary
for real Christians, who, even as a scattered people, alone composed the true Christian Church, to
flee from the jurisdiction of Rome in order truly to worship God! Thus, the visible, organized
Church which rose to power was the FALSE Church -- the "Great Whore" of Revelation 17.

Injected Into the Church

Nothing illustrates this very fact more vividly than the actual history of the injecting of
Easter into the Western Church.

Here is the quick, brief history of it, from the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition, Vol.
VIII, pp. 828-829):

"There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in
the writings of the Apostolic Fathers .... The first Christians [the original true Church] con-
tinued to observe the Jewish [that is, God's] festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemo-
rations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new
conception added to it, of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb and the first fruits from the dead,
continued to be observed.

"Although the observance of Easter was at a very early period in the practice of the Chris-
tian Church, a serious difference as to the day for its observance soon arose between the

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