03 - Chapter 03

CHAPTER 3 THIRD CENTURY GLOSSOLALIA

200 AD, Clement of Alexandria: Glossolalia Branded as Heresy by Catholic Bishops: Many Catholic bishops of that day, and before that time, were terrified of the gifts of the Spirit, and claimed only heretics speak in tongues. As a result of this teaching, and other false doctrines of Catholicism, the Spirit of God left them. So, natural they branded all Jesus’ name Pentecostal people as heretics. According to Blunt, Clement claimed that the Catholic:

Fathers gave it [speaking in tongues] as the mark of the false prophets that they spoke in an ecstasy. [55] This blasphemous doctrine of the ancient Catholic Bishops is one of the reasons why the Gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased in Catholicism! Dr. Guignebert speaking of this wrote:

There was a lessening of the authority of the inspired persons…. The gifts which the Spirit had been scattering at will upon a large or smaller number of the brethren do not disappear completely. [56]

Dr. Harnack in his work entitled, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity, spoke of the Catholic Nicolaitan Bishops ruling their churches as god stated: As early as the second century the [Bishops of the Catholic] Church had conquered the people.... By the opening of the third century [AD 200], no layman ventured any longer to call ecclesiastics, ‘brethren….’ After the close of the second century [the Monarchical] bishops were the teachers, high priest, and judges of the church. Ignatius already had compared their position in the individual church to that of God in the church collective. [57] The Nicolaitan practice that was started by Ignatius of Antioch in the Catholic Church the second century came to be an accepted doctrine of Catholicism in the third century. The Word of God emphatically declares that God and His Apostolic Pentecostal Church hated “the doctrine of the Nicolaitans” (Revelation 2:6, Revelation 2:15). Etymologically, the word “Nicolaitans” is derived from two Greek words, which are “nikos” and “laos.” “Nikos” basically means: a conquest or to conquer or to utterly vanquish, and “laos” means: people or laity. [58] The main reason why God and His Pentecostal Church hated this doctrine of Satan is: it took away God’s children’s priesthood ministry of preaching and teaching in the church, and gave it to a paid hireling bishop, and those he ordains to the ministry! Dr. C. C. Gosey, in his book Clear Vision Bible Studies, declared that the Nicolaitans were heretics in God’s

Apostolic Pentecostal Church, who apostatize and formed the Catholic Church. He wrote: We have the name and order, which instigated the Apostolic Succession, fostered in the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church…. Paul’s wolves of Acts 20:1-38 were the Nicolaitans of Revelation 2:6. [59] The Bible and Church History, leaves no room for doubt, that the Nicolaitans were pastors and preachers, who apostatized from God’s Church in the first century, and set up a special order of priesthood that became known as the Roman Catholic Church. Reverend Clarence Larkin in his Dispensational Truth or God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages says: The Nicolaitans were not a sect, but a party in the [true Apostolic] Church who were trying to established a ‘priestly order.’ Probably trying to model the Church after the Old Testament order of Priest, Levites, and common people.... The object was to established a ‘Holy Order of Men,’ and place them over the laity, which was foreign to the New Testament plan. [60]

What Larkin is saying is that these Nicolaitans were trying to establish a special paid priesthood order of bishops and ministers, who were to become the mediators between God and His Church. There is a world of difference between the biblical office of bishops and ministers and this Catholic order! Arnold gave us some interesting insights into the Nicolaitan doctrine. He declared:

DeHaan saw Nicolaitanism-Balaamism as a racket formed in the hierarchical clergy [bishops]…. It was the extreme, expansive division between the clergy and the laity, two factors in the universal-ecclesiastical orders. Nor were Nicolaitans confined only to Ephesus or Pergamos! Characteristically schismatics, they undermined true, Judaic-Christian theology that stemmed from the Upper Room of Jerusalem, Acts two. A big facet of it was the dogmatic distinction between the Catholic clergy and the laity. [61]

220 AD, Origen: Glossolalia Had Ceased in Most Catholic Churches: The New Catholic Encyclopedia, names several Catholic Bishops who condemned Montanism and the gifts of the Spirit, which were working in them. Two of these Bishops were Clement of Alexandria and Origen. [62] According to Origen, the gifts of the spirit in the Catholic Church had just about disappeared. Blunt revealed that Origen:

Notes that the prophetic power had all but ceased, that only some traces of it were in his time to be seen. [63]

220 AD, The Pagan Philosopher Celsus’ Testimony: The Glossolalia of Oneness Pentecostals in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon: Origen mentioned in His writings that the pagan philosopher Celsus knew of many Christians, who lived in Palestine and Phoenicia (Syria and Lebanon), who spoke in tongues. Since Origen declared that glossolalia had ceased in the majority of the Catholic Churches at this time, and Clement declared that Catholic Bishops proclaimed that glossolalia was a: mark of the false prophets, Celsus, therefore, must be referring to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which were abundantly working in the one God, Jesus’ Name Pentecostal Christians of that day. Therefore, Origen in hearing this report was definitely interested in receiving an account of these miraculous events from Celsus. Origen preserving Celsus’ discourse wrote:

Celsus promises to give an account of the manner in which prophecies are delivered in Phoenicia and Palestine, speaking as though it were a matter with which he had a full and personal acquaintance, let us see what he has to say on the subject…. ‘There are many,’ he says, ‘who, although of no name, with the greatest facility [ability] and on the slightest occasion… [prophesied as God’s Spirit spoke through them saying]:

‘I am God; I am the Son of God; or, I am the Divine Spirit; I have come because the world is perishing, and you, O men, are perishing for your iniquities. But I wish to save you, and you shall see Me returning again with heavenly power. Blessed is he who now does Me homage [that is, believes in and serve Me]. On all the rest I will send down eternal fire, both on cities and on countries…. Those who are faithful to me I will preserve eternally.’ Then he goes on to say: ‘To these promises are added strange, fanatical, and quite unintelligible words, of which no rational person can find the meaning. [64] This is a perfect example of what I said in my discourse on Montanus, about God’s speaking through His children in the first person, in the gifts of prophecy or interpretation of tongues. The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia speaking about the one God tongue-talking Pentecostals of that day stated:

Modalist Monarchianism identified the Father, Son, and Spirit so completely, that they were thought of only as different aspects or different moments in the life of the one Divine Person, called now Father, now Son, now Spirit, as His several activities came successively into view, almost succeeded in establishing itself in the 3rd century as the doctrine of the church at large. [65]

225 AD, Hippolytus Against Noetus, A Oneness Pentecostal Preacher: Catholic Bishop Hippolytus confessed that God’s Apostolic Pentecostal Churches vastly outnumbered the Catholic Churches in his day. He also confessed that some, if not many, of the Catholic Churches were converted to the One God, Jesus Name message; he even confessed that several Bishops or Popes of Rome believed and taught that Christ was the God the Father manifested in flesh. After Catholic Pope Callistus was converted to oneness, Hippolytus said he taught:

There is one Father and God, namely, the Creator…. In substance He is one Spirit. For Spirit, as the Deity,’ he says, ‘is not any being different from the Logos, or the Logos from the Deity;’ therefore this one person, according to Callistus, is divided nominally [meaning in name only], but substantially not so [referring to God’s substance]…. All [Catholic] consented to his hypocrisy, we [two-god Catholics] however did not do so and [they] called us worshippers of two gods…. This Callistus became a martyr at the period when Fuscianus was Prefect of Rome. [66]

Let my dear readers take note, the true believers greatly out numbered Hippolytus and his small band of Catholic followers. Not only this, but this proves that their were in the Roman Empire two opposing churches, God’s Modalistic Monarchian Pentecostal Church and the two-god Catholic Church. God’s People did not accuse Catholic Hippolytus of believing in three gods but two gods.

255 AD, Novatian on Glossolalia: This Catholic Bishop was a rival Bishop of Rome with Bishop Cornelius. They both claimed to be the so-called “Pope of Rome.” They both had their followers and both claimed the other to be a heretic. Novatian mentioned the gift of tongues in his writings. Novatian spoke of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He placed in the Church. He definitely believed that the Holy Ghost dwelt entirely in Christ. He also believed that every church should have the gifts of the Spirit operating in them; even though he never mentions that he received it, or if the gifts of the Spirit were working in their churches in his day. Now as stated above, several of the Catholic Bishops during this century wrote about the gifts of the Spirit, but it appears they had no personal knowledge of them. Novatian speaking of the gifts from a biblical perspective wrote: This is He [meaning the Holy Ghost], who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, often discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests counsels, and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata…. The source of the entire Holy Spirit remaining in Christ, so that from Him might be drawn streams of gifts and works, while the Holy Spirit dwelt affluently in Christ. [67]