Where Did the Church Meet in the Bible? — Part 2

The building-based church system began in Rome during the reign of Emperor Constantine around 324 AD. Constantine claimed to become a Christian at that time and decided to create a religion called Christianity. Since, up to that time, the true disciples had been meeting in secret in their homes or in the catacombs (caves), he couldn't learn anything from them about how to run their religion. He didn’t even know who they were. So, Constantine looked around at the pagan religions of Rome at that time to learn how to run his new Christian religion. Then he simply repackaged and rebranded everything with "Christian" labels, titles, and meanings.

The pagan religions of Constantine's day had special schools to teach their priests how to run their religion. So Constantine decided to create schools to teach his priests how to run his new religion called Christianity. My friends, this is the origin of seminaries and bible schools. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this but there is not one leader in the New Testament church that attended seminary or Bible School. The Apostles were known as “unschooled, ordinary men”. Their qualifications were that they had spent time with and been trained by Jesus.

What about you? Have you been trained by Jesus to be a disciple who is equipped to disciple nations yet? If not, ask Him to train you today! Register to attend a Go Multiply “disciple the nations” training today! Your life will never be the same.
 
Constantine also noticed that the pagan priests wore special clothes, so he decided that the Christian priests would need to wear special clothes as well. This is why so many Christian denominational leaders wear special robes and hats and rings and necklaces today. There is absolutely ZERO mention of New Testament church leaders wearing special clothes.

On and on it went. The Emperor even relabeled the pagan statues of Rome with new names. He decided to call the pagan idol of the sun god “Peter.” The idol to the moon god was named “Paul.” Another one was renamed “John.” Even the idol to the fertility goddess, which was a statue of a woman holding a baby, was renamed the statue of Mary and baby Jesus.
 
There is no place in the New Testament where the church decided to create statues “idols” to (images of) the first church leaders. No, this practice is completely contrary to the practices of the New Testament church. It makes sense that it’s contrary because it didn’t come from the bible. It came from copying pagan practices!

This may be difficult for you to believe or receive. Still, the truth is, that almost all of the traditions and practices of the building-based church system originate NOT in the methods or practices of the New Testament church but in the pagan religions of Rome at the time of Constantine.

The Protestant movement was a wonderful move of God and it restored much of the theology that had gone wrong over the centuries. The thing the reformation failed to do was to change very little to change these Constantinian, pagan imitating practices.