THE DAY OF REST AT HAND

William Andrew Dillard
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3
It is interesting to note that both the beginning, and ending of man’s allotted work time on this planet is marked by a day of rest. The first day of rest was a literal solar day (since all the days in Genesis One are marked by an evening and a morning). The last day of rest will be a millennial (1,000 years) day. Consider how they are connected.
The initial day of rest which God hallowed, was virtually ignored for 2500 years. Then, God put it into the Mosaic Law with teeth, that it should be adamantly observed. That the purpose of the Law was to teach, and to bring God’s people to the age of Grace is plainly identified. Notice further that the culmination of man’s work, and history on earth will be a day of rest. This is promised in Hebrews Chapter Four, and is otherwise spoken of as the “Day of the Lord.”
Now notice that the Apostle Peter explains that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day, 2 Peter 3:8. The principle to understand is: God gives man six days to labor on earth (6,000 years) and the seventh day of rest is the day of the Lord (the millennial reign of Jesus).
Adam and Eve were created 4,000 B.C. Additionally, it is certain that we are very close to 2,000 years since Jesus’ time. That adds up to 6,000 years.
The coming of Jesus effected a change in the reckoning of time from B.C. to A.D. (Anno Domini, the year of the Lord). History has suffered through the Roman, Julian, and Gregorian calendars, one counting a year as ten months of 30 days each to the others being 12 months of varying days, then every fourth year an extra day added to February. So, it is unclear just what precise year we are really living in, but Another possibility of time computation is that of covenants. God has worked with His people in terms of covenants, especially since Abraham. If the 4,000 years B.C. were completed when Messiah was cut off, fulfilling the Law Covenant, and empowering the New Covenant, ( 33 A.D.), then, if modern calendars are correct, this is actually 1987 (2020 minus 33 years). The last seven years of this age is the tribulation period, so that would make it to be almost on top of us.
Conclusion: We have had our six days of labor. It is time for the seventh day, the 1,000-year Day of the Lord, to begin. It is coming right on time. Are you ready for it?

( I am not a date setter, but this is interesting to roll around, unless, of course, you already know it all!)

WHAT DID SHAMMAH DO THAT WAS SO RIGHT?

William Andrew Dillard

Out of the annals of history of ancient Israel comes an interesting, but little noted individual and event. In 2 Samuel 23:11-12 one is introduced to one of thirty top warriors in King David’s army. His name is Shammah. Although his name and claim to fame is little known among nominal Christians, his service to God and to the king was well known in his day, and it placed him into a sort of “hall of fame” for David’s generals.
The 80 years of the combined reign of Saul and David were years of war after war. Perhaps the most notable of the continuous enemies of ancient Israel was the Philistines. When they were strong, they would attack Israel in some of their weaker places and take whatever they wanted including people. It appears that the Philistines wanted a field of lentils that belonged to Israelites, and they were willing to go to war to take it. The Israelites including presumably the ones who owned the field fled from before the Philistine warriors. But, Shammah did not. He stood his ground and God wrought a great victory that day by his hand. Interestingly, it was a bean patch he protected. Of course, a field of beans ready or near ready for harvest represented a valuable asset to the owner, as well and to the population at large in the marketplace. More interesting is the name of the defender.,”Shammah,” This is a Hebrew word that means “There.” Shammah was not flighty or fearful. He was solid—he was there. He could be counted on in any time of crisis. Indeed, the bean patch was important but more-so was the principle of not giving in to those who would plunder and steal. What did he do that was so right? Simply put, he trusted in God to help him, and to give him victory. Notice that the Bible does not say that Shammah won the victory. Rather it pointedly says that God wrought the great victory.
Why is this recorded in the book of God for all generations of the ages? It is not accidental, but with great purpose. It is for us upon whom the ends of the world are come, said the apostle Paul in I Cor. 10:11. True believers must know that God and one still make a majority.
Do you run away in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds or do you trust in God to help you and give you the victory? If your trust is in God and you are depending upon His promises, that is so right! It is following a Bible example of many precedents of which Shammah is one.

A Lesson from History

December 31, 2016

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I. K. Cross

 

Source: The Baptist Sentinel – March 1988

Some feel that the issue of the universal church is not important.

‘Others declare that Baptists have been divided over the issue through the ages, never coming to agreement on the subject. This depends upon whom you call Baptists. Not everyone that wears the name qualifies with the evidence. On the other hand, prior to the 16th Century Reformation, Baptists were not even known by that name.

“Catholic” in the Generic Sense

It is true that groups identified with Baptist principles prior to the Reformation occasionally used the term “catholic,” or “universal” when referring to the church. But what did they mean? There was nothing else around except the Roman and Greek Orthodox Catholic churches, and groups such as the Paulicians and Donatists certainly did not intend to include them when using the term. All they meant by the term was all true churches considered as one group, much as we use the term church in a generic sense.

History reveals, quite clearly what these congregations believed about the purity and independence of local congregations.

It is also true that when the first confession of faith was written for the Philadelphia Association in America they used the term “universal church.” But a sense of history will clear up your thinking on what these churches believed about the nature of the church. ‘The association was originally made of ‘of Baptists from Wales, one congregation coming as a body from that country. Their minutes were kept in the Welsh language for a number of years. No one knew better than the Baptist in Wales the price they had paid for the true nature of New Testament churches. They had been hounded by the legions and bishops of Rome and they survived only because they could secure themselves in the mountains of that country during the harsh winters. They had stedfastly refused to bow to the concept of the catholic church of Rome, and who would dare accuse them of compromising with the Protestant Reformers’ catholic substitute!

Danger of the Universal Church Concept

Is there a real danger in the universal, invisible church concept, or is it merely a side issue? Back in the 19th century Southern Baptists were writing about the “Universal Church Heresy,” (Re-Thinking Baptist Doctrines, Victor I. Masters, editor). But in 1939 Dr. Aidredge couldn’t even get the floor of the convention to introduce a resolution declaring they did not accept the idea.

Southern Baptist Convention Embraces the Universal Church Theory

In 1963 the SBC wrote the universal church into their declaration of faith (Baptist Faith and Message). Now the denomination declares itself Protestant, claiming its heritage goes no farther back than the 16th century. They meet gladly with Roman Catholic leaders and even greeted the Pope of Rome on his arrival in the U.S. last year. Many of their churches accept baptisms from Protestant denominations and practice open communion, and it is also taught in the classrooms of their schools by a number of their professors.

Shot through with Modernism

This position was taken by the northern convention, American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., long before it was received in the south, and they have become so shot through with modernism that they receive the National and World Council of Churches as an affiliate. It is the universal church concept that has opened the door for the forward thrust of the ecumenical movement among Protestant churches today.

Read Up on Church History

Read history before you embrace the universal church concept, or call it a minor issue. Isaiah warned about drawing sin as it were a cart rope (Isaiah 5:18). Shall we gradually lose our identity as Landmark Missionary Baptist by blending gradually with the dull grey of a universal church protestantism, or will we reaffirm the basic principle upon which we have held our ground through the centuries?

The Church That Jesus Built – pamphlet

This sermon by D. N. Jackson will surprise some, challenge others and there will be those that will reject it out of hand without thought or study. An honest comparison of scripture will challenge those desiring the truth of God’s Word.

 

THE CHURCH THAT JESUS BUILT

By D. N. Jackson

Presenting

The Founding

The Founder

The Foundation

The Form

The Fundamentals

The Future of the Church

The Six “F’s” of the Church

By D. N. Jackson

(Summary of a sermon preached Sunday evening, December 31, 1961, at Calvary Baptist Church, LaVerne, Calif.)

Tonight we are here by invitation to preach a sermon on the CHURCH. I am sure you appreciate the fact that in the short time customarily allotted to a sermon it will not be possible for me to elaborate on this subject. So we must be brief and pointed.

As a basis for our message, let us note the Master’s own words: “… upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

We shall deal with the six “F’s” of the church after this order: 1. The founding; 2. The Founder; 3. The Foundation; 4. The Form; 5. The Fundamentals; and 6. The Future.

1. The founding of the Church

Broadly speaking, the church was founded during the personal ministry of our Lord on earth.

TESTIMONY OF CHRIST: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus testifies while on earth He finished the work which the Father sent Him to do. The establishment of the church being part of the work which He came to do, it stands to reason He established His church before His death.

TESTIMONY OF APOSTLE PAUL: “And God set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues” (I Cor. 12:28). These were gifts the Lord put in the New Testament churches. Mark explains when the gift of apostles was made: “And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach” (Mark 3:13,14).

That was done during the personal ministry of Christ on earth. As the apostles were ordained by Christ in person and placed in the church, it stands to reason there must have been a church in existence, for you cannot put something into nothing. Incidentally, the gifts of healings, miracles, tongues and apostles were done away at the close of the New Testament canon, and this took place when John wrote the book of Revelation.

But the point is; the church must have existed while Christ was on earth, else He could not have placed apostles in it.

Specifically speaking the church came into existence during our Lord’s first year’s of ministry and before John the Baptist was imprisoned. The first disciples to follow Christ were John, Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael (John 1:29-51). These were with Him at the marriage in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1). His disciples were soon increased in number (John 2:23; 3:1-7). This company was authorized by their Lord to administer baptism (John 3:22; 4:1-2), and it was called the bride of Christ (John 3:29). This company, while tarrying at Jerusalem after Christ’s ascension and before the dawn of the day of Pentecost, selected as Judas’ successor one who had companied with them “all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John” (Acts 1:21, 22).

To this company were added about three thousand converts on the first day of the Pentecostal feast (Acts 2:41). And the same company is called a church, Acts 2:47: “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved,” that is “such as were being saved.” This proves the church was founded even before John the Baptist was imprisoned and that it had been perpetuated from that day until the day of Pentecost. This church to which the three thousand were added was the company that began in John’s day, saw the ascension of Christ, and waited at Jerusalem for the coming of the events at Pentecost (Luke 24:49-53; Acts 1:14, 15).

2. The Founder Of The Church

Christ as founder of His church is proved by the following facts:

1. As the Shepherd Christ gathered unto himself a flock, which is said to be the church. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock…to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

2. Christ declared He had a church, Matthew 16:18 “…upon this rock I will build my church.” While on earth He called His company of followers “MY CHURCH.” However, the clause “will build” does not point to His founding the church, but to strengthening it, or building it up in numbers, power and usefulness. In this sense He is still building His church, and will continue doing so until He shall come again.

3. Christ testified that He had a kingdom while on earth, hence He was the founder of it, John 18:36: “My kingdom is not of this world,” that is, not of this world’s system to wage carnal warfare, levy taxes for support of a political government, etc. The point is: Christ established a kingdom in person while on earth. The churches are the executives of His kingdom. When the first church was founded, Christ’s kingdom came into existence on earth.

4. In founding the church, Christ became its headstone, Matthew 21:42: “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

5. The material prepared by John the Baptist (Luke 1:16, 17, 77) was used by Christ in founding His church, as David prepared the material for the construction of the temple which was built by Solomon (I Chron. 22:5).

   Incidentally, since Christ used the ones whom John baptized in founding His church, this identifies His church with the baptism and teaching of John. If you were to go to a Mormon, for instance, and be baptized of him, would you not be known as a Mormon? Then, since the first disciples of Christ identified themselves with John the Baptist and were baptized by him, why were they not Baptists also? And being organized into a church by Christ, why was it not a Baptist church? The name “Baptist” came from God (Matt. 3:1). If John could wear it with honor, why cannot we? And as John was a missionary sent by God (John 1:6) and was divinely called Baptist, why was he not a missionary Baptist? That’s what we are?

3 The Foundation of the Church

Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of the church.

1. He declares Himself as the Rock on which the church is founded. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). The church was not founded on Peter, nor Peter’s confession, nor upon truth as such, but upon the immovable Rock of Ages. “Thou art Peter,” from the Greek petros, meaning a stone that can be moved, used in a metaphorical sense of Peter whom Satan threw around yet was he never crushed. The Greek word for rock on which the church was founded is petra, meaning a large and immovable rock.

The apostle Paul declares that Christ is the foundation, I Cor. 3:11 – “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” This should settle all cavil forever.

2. Prophecy designates Christ as the foundation of the church, Isaiah 28:16: “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” The apostle Peter alludes to this prophecy in his message to the Jewish Christians scattered abroad, and also applies it to Christ (I Peter 2:6). Furthermore, Christ is not only the foundation of the church; He is also its cornerstone, thus tying all the building and its foundation together.

3. The apostle Paul testifies that Christ is the foundation, Eph. 2:20: “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.” Christ was the foundation of the apostles and prophets, on which foundation the church was founded. He was their foundation, and He is the church’s foundation.

4. The Form of Church Government

Baptists are backed by the Scriptures in their claim of a congregational or democratic form of church government, all the members having an equal voice in the administrations of the church’s affairs. This form of church government is proved by the following facts:

1. A whole church voted in the election of an apostle to succeed Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:26).
2. 2. A whole church acted together in the election and ordination of the first deacons (Acts 6:2-6).
3. A whole church acted together in sending forth missionaries (Acts 13:1, 2; 14:26, 27).
4. A church as such is authorized to receive members (Romans 14:1).
5. 5. A church as such is authorized to dismiss members for bad conduct (I Cor. 5:13; II Cor. 2:6; II Thess. 3:6).

The Corinthian church expelled from her membership an incestuous man by majority vote. “Sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many” (II Cor. 2:6). The word “many” comes from an original word meaning “majority.” This shows beyond any reasonable doubt the church maintained a democratic form of government.

6. The congregational form of government is supported by the fact a church is complete within itself and is independent. Other congregations are not necessary for the being of a church, but they may contribute to its well-being. In Acts 16:5 we note that members of a church went abroad and established like churches: “And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.”
7. The fact Christ recognizes a church as being the highest ecclesiastical tribunal on earth supports the congregational form of government, Matt. 18:17a, 18: “And if he shall neglect to hear them (the one or two witnesses) tell it unto the church…Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This authority was committed to a local congregation as a whole, thus showing that all the members should have a voice in any transaction

That is the Baptist system of church government – all members of a church being equals in a perfect democracy. They may not be equals in material possessions, or talents, or resourcefulness, but in authority under the Lord.

Other forms of church government, as taught by certain denominations, include the episcopal and presbyterial forms. By the episcopal if meant a church governed by bishops; and by presbyterial is meant a church is governed by presbyters or elders. These teachings arose after the close of the apostolic period, hence not taught in the Scriptures. They take away from the churches adopting such such systems their autonomous rights, whereas the congregational form of government necessarily implies three things: first, equality of the members touching their voice in the governing affairs of the congregation; second, independence of each church, as already mentioned; and third, each church is amenable only to the Lord in the conduct of its affairs.

5. The Fundamentals of the Church

We do not hesitate to say that the doctrines taught by the churches of the New Testament days are identical with the doctrines taught today by true Baptist churches. These constitute their distinguishing marks by which Baptist identity has been known across the centuries back to our Lord’s day on earth.

Across the centuries Baptists have believed and taught all the fundamentals of the Scriptures, thus making the Bible the man of their counsel. In sum, these teachings include:

1. Salvation by grace without any admixture of meritorious works (Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 11:6; Titus 3:5).

2. Congregational form of church government, as already discussed in this message.

3. Immersion in water as the Scriptural mode of baptism (Acts 8:38, 39; Rom. 6:4).

4. Christ as the sole head over His church (Mark 12:10; Eph. 1:21-23).

5. The Bible as the sole written guide and standard of authority in religious affairs (2 Tim. 3:16,17; John 5:39).

6. The right of private judgment in the interpretation of the Scriptures (2 Tim. 2:15: John 5:39).

7. Freedom of worship, of conscience and of speech. The early Christians avowed and taught religious liberty. Tertullian, a Christian writer of the second and third centuries said:

“Every man should worship according to his own convictions: one man’s religion neither harms nor helps another man. It is accuredly no part of religion to compel religion.”

Justin martyr, a Christian writer of the second century, said:

“Religion cannot be imposed by force; the matter must be carried on by words rather than by blows.”

It is an honor to Baptists that, while they have endured persecution for truth’s sake, they have never persecuted others for their faith. Indeed religious freedom is a trophy of Baptists.

8. Separation of church and state (Luke 20:21-25).

Baptists in every century have championed the cause of religious freedom. They have contended for separation of church and state, but not the separation of God and the state: that the one should not control the other, but both church and state should work harmoniously for the betterment of each. There can be no absolute freedom of religion where there exists a union of church and state. God is over all.

9. Individual priesthood of all believers (Heb. 4:14-16; Rev. 5:10; John 14:13).

Every believer has a right to approach God for himself. He is his own believer-priest, going to God through Christ alone for himself (I Tim.2:5). It is a sin to pray to any saint living or dead.

In addition to these nine points of fundamental tenets, Baptists believe and teach the doctrines of inherent depravity (Eph. 2:3); the convicting and converting power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the word of God (Acts 16:14); the security of the believer (John 5:24); a restricted Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42; I Cor. 11:17-20); the blood atonement of Christ (II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:9) as essentially related to His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:23); our Lord’s resurrection from the grave (Matt. 28:1-6); His ascension back to heaven (Luke 24:51); His personal and visible and premillennial second coming (Acts 1:11; Matt. 24:37-39); a bodily resurrection of the dead (I Cor. 15:51-53); and eternal hell for the incorrigible wicked (Luke 16:19-26); and an eternal bliss in heaven for the children of God (Rev. 21:1-14

6. The Future of the Church

Looking through the prophetic eye in apostolic days, the future of our Lord’s church would be one of joy mingled with sorrows. There is the joy of promulgating the gospel to the ends of the earth, despite the sorrows of tribulations and persecutions to be encountered. Our Lord forewarned His people of the bitter crises they must face, John 16:1, 2: “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”

But despite such disturbing factors, the Lord assured His church of perpetual existence in this world throughout the centuries until He shall come again. This assurance is founded upon certain facts:

1. Christ, who defeated Satan in the temptations, will not allow Satan to overcome His church, John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”

2. Christ assured His church that the “gates of hell” shall not prevail against it, Matt. 16:18: “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” that is, “against her,’ as the original word is in the feminine gender.

3. The immovable foundation of the church, which is Christ himself, is a guarantee of the perpetual existence of the church in all Christian centuries, Matt. 7:24-27. The house built on a rock stood amidst terrific beatings of storms and floods because of its foundation.

4. The apostle Paul declares Christ to be the “saviour,” that is, preserver “of the body,” here used abstractly of the church (Eph. 5:23). He has preserved not only the principles of the church, but the church itself – the “body” plus its principles.

5. Our Lord’s promise to be with His church to the end of the world, that is, the age, is a comforting assurance to us, Matt. 28:20: “…lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

6. God has ordained to receive glory through His church in all ages, Eph. 3:21: “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” If the church has not existed in all ages since Christ’s day on earth, this assurance has failed. But God’s promises are sure.

The world crises through which Christ has preserved His church across the centuries include:

1. The crisis of scorn, ridicule and misrepresentation. As Christ faced it, so His disciples must also face it. Our Master endured this crisis in His life and on the cross. The name Christian was first applied to His disciples at Antioch in derision, and not until the second century did they accept and use it with any degree of pride (Acts 11:26). During the centuries after Christ, His people have been dubbed by various epithets in scorn and ridicule. The types of scorn and misrepresentation which Christians endured especially in the first three centuries may be summed up thusly:

   1. They were called a “sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).

   2. Their teaching was labeled a “contagious superstition” by the Roman governor of Bithynia, whose name was Pliny. This was in the second century.

   3. They were charged with sedition and high treason, because they refused to render worship to the Emperor by burning incense on the altar before his statue.

   4. They were charged with atheism, because they refused to acknowledge the pagan gods. Theism denotes belief in God’s existence, but “theism” is negated, or denied, when the Greek letter “a” is placed before it – “a-theism.”

   5. They were charged with cannibalism, because they claimed to partake of the body and blood of Christ in a symbolic way in the observance of the Lord’s Supper, which had to be done in secret assemblies. The pagan spies twisted the truth by saying the Christians secluded themselves to eat literal flesh and blood of human beings. The bread and the fruit of the vine are only symbols of the body and blood of Christ, not His real body and blood.

   6. They were charged with arson at Rome, Nero had this charge placed against them to take the spotlight off himself, as he had come under suspicion of setting fire to the city. He said the Christians did this in order to prove their doctrine that the world would be destroyed by fire. But they proved themselves innocent of all such charges, and marched forward in a pagan world with the banner of truth unfurled. And the old Ship of Zion sailed on.

2. The crisis of compromise. In every century since Christ’s day, the opponents of Baptists have proposed compromise – to spare their life, if they would give up their faith. Many a Baptist has been led to the stake to be burned, or put to death in some in some horrible manner with the crucifix held before their faces in a plea for them to surrender their faith and live. But great numbers of them went to their death praising God that they were counted worthy to suffer for Him. When the martyr Hooper was led away to his death, his persecutors said to him” “Mr. Hooper, why don’t you give up your faith, for life is sweet.” “Yes, life is sweet,” answered Mr. Hooper, “but eternal life is sweeter.” He left the earth for heaven amidst the flames of martyrdom. The Old Ship of Zion sails on!

3. The crisis of heresy, or false teaching.Commencing with the efforts of the Judaizers at Jerusalem to conjoin works of the law with grace in order for the Gentiles to be saved (Acts 15:1-35), true Christianity has had to battle its way against the darkness of heresy to maintain its purity. Paul said in his day that the “mystery of iniquity doth already work” (II Thess. 2:7). and the main purpose of Peter’s writing his second epistle was to confirm the Jewish Christians in the faith against the onslaught of “damnable heresies” introduced by false prophets and false teachers (II Peter 2:1).

   The theory of baptismal regeneration arose by the end of the second century, and along with it came infant baptism. These twin heresies have proved all along as disturbing factors in Christendom. And in the first part of the third century episcopacy arose with its bold effort to break down the independence and self-governing aspect of the churches which the loyal ones claimed was inherited from the apostolic pattern. By prophecy Paul forewarned the followers of Christ that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith” (I Tim. 4:1) as a system of doctrine (Jude 3).

   Those were the forerunners of a horde of heresies that have been introduced into Christendom since then, including the bodily assumption of Mary and prayers offered to her; the adoration of images in worship; the seven sacraments as means of divine grace for salvation; transubstantiation and the sale of indulgences for the remission of sins. But the old Ship of Zion sails on in the sea of the purity of the faith once delivered to the saints!

4. The crisis of persecution. The church of our Lord Jesus Christ has survived in the purity of the original faith despite persecutions from the following sources:

   1. Worldliness in high official ranks. The first Baptist preacher suffered decapitation for denouncing the adultery of a king and his wife (Matt. 14:3-11). And in some way or other ever since then preachers have had rough sailing when they undertook to draw the line against the impurity of marriage.

   2. Jewish. Not long after the resurrection of Christ, Christians were imprisoned and whipped for preaching the doctrine of His resurrection (Acts 4:1-3; 5:18, 40). This was done by authority of the Jewish high court.

      Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the doctrine held by Baptists (Acts 7:57-60).

      With the exception of John, all the apostles suffered martyrdom, and John himself was sent into exile by Emperor Domitian. They all taught doctrines now held by Baptists.

   3. Pagan. At first the pagan rulers at Rome paid little attention to Christianity, considering it to be another sect of the Jews; but when its pattern was seen clearly and definitely divorced from Judaism, persecution by the pagans began to be waged against its devotees. Then followed ten major pagan persecutions, from Nero in A.D. 67 to Diocletian in A.D. 303. During this time some two million Christians suffered death for their faith.

   4. Catholic. Constantine the Great, claiming conversion to Christianity, and uniting his version of the church with the state in A.D. 313, set the pattern of persecution of his opponents by slaughtering many of the Donatists in North Africa. His successor in the latter part of the fourth century, Theodosius the Great, made it punishable by death for anyone found worshiping contrary to his decrees.

      Gregory the Great, who became a Romish bishop in 590, dispatched Austin to the British Isles to convert those people to the Catholic faith. He succeeded with many of them, especially the Saxons of England, but when he failed to convert the Welsh Baptists, he turned upon them with organized savagery and slew about twelve hundred of them. From these Welsh Baptists, who sprang up as early as A.D. 63, and many of whom sealed their testimony with their blood under the Austin persecution, came Baptists and even a whole church in organized capacity in the colonial days to America.

      After Gregory papal power was increased until it reached its zenith under Pope Innocent III, whose pontificate extended from 1198 to 1216.It was during his time when our forefathers in the faith, called Albigenses and Waldenses, were so severely persecuted. After Innocent papal power began to wane under the impact of moral corruption in the Catholic Church all the way from the priests to the popes, and soon the morning stars of the Reformation began to shine forth. During the time of the papal rule, from Constantine the Great to the Reformation, historians have estimated not less than FIFTY MILLION people were killed for their faith.

      Still the old Ship of Zion sails on!

   5. Prostestant. The Lutheran Reformation, known as the Protestant Reformation, was officially born on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in stout denunciation of the sale of indulgences, that is, the forgiveness of sins from the pope, by john Tetzel, one of the hierarchy’s emissaries sent out to collect money for the Catholic Church under the fraudulent claim of granting remission of sins according to the amount of money expended in this manner.

Had it not been for John Wycliffe of England, John Huss of Bohemia, the Anabaptists, and others, all of whom labored before the rise of Luther, the Lutheran Reformation would never have materialized.

But no sooner had the Reformation gotten well under way, like a steam roller, it crushed under its impact many who had aided Luther in his efforts. Among these were Anabaptists whose lineage runs back to apostolic days and from whom came many Baptists to America in the seventeenth century.

Therefore the true Baptist in America have lineal descent from the church founded by Christ Himself during His personal ministry on earth. This is the true church line across the centuries back to Christ. Any believer in Christ, whether or not he is in this church line, may be saved, but without one’s identifying himself with this line he cannot receive Scriptural baptism, for the authority to baptize was invested in the church line beginning with the one in existence in Christ’s day (Matt. 28:19,20), and has been perpetuated in this line across the centuries. The disciples whom Paul found at Ephesus, who had been baptized without Scriptural authority, were baptized again after he had taught them the truth about salvation and baptism (Acts 19:1-5). You may have been baptized by someone, but unless you have been baptized by divine authority vested in a church whose lineage goes back to the days of Christ, you do not have Scriptural baptism. In this event, then, you should, if you are saved, submit yourself for Scriptural baptism.

So the old Ship of Zion sail on forever, despite fire, dungeon and the sword! Even the wholesale slaughter of the faithful witnesses of Christ failed to shove them into the “gates of hell.”

“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18).

THE CHURCH THAT JESUS BUILT 6

6. The Future of the Church

Looking through the prophetic eye in apostolic days, the future of our Lord’s church would be one of joy mingled with sorrows. There is the joy of promulgating the gospel to the ends of the earth, despite the sorrows of tribulations and persecutions to be encountered. Our Lord forewarned His people of the bitter crises they must face, John 16:1, 2: “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.”

But despite such disturbing factors, the Lord assured His church of perpetual existence in this world throughout the centuries until He shall come again. This assurance is founded upon certain facts:

1. Christ, who defeated Satan in the temptations, will not allow Satan to overcome His church, John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”

2. Christ assured His church that the “gates of hell” shall not prevail against it, Matt. 16:18: “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” that is, “against her,’ as the original word is in the feminine gender.

3. The immovable foundation of the church, which is Christ himself, is a guarantee of the perpetual existence of the church in all Christian centuries, Matt. 7:24-27. The house built on a rock stood amidst terrific beatings of storms and floods because of its foundation.

4. The apostle Paul declares Christ to be the “saviour,” that is, preserver “of the body,” here used abstractly of the church (Eph. 5:23). He has preserved not only the principles of the church, but the church itself – the “body” plus its principles.

5. Our Lord’s promise to be with His church to the end of the world, that is, the age, is a comforting assurance to us, Matt. 28:20: “…lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

6. God has ordained to receive glory through His church in all ages, Eph. 3:21: “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” If the church has not existed in all ages since Christ’s day on earth, this assurance has failed. But God’s promises are sure.

The world crises through which Christ has preserved His church across the centuries include:

1. The crisis of scorn, ridicule and misrepresentation. As Christ faced it, so His disciples must also face it. Our Master endured this crisis in His life and on the cross. The name Christian was first applied to His disciples at Antioch in derision, and not until the second century did they accept and use it with any degree of pride (Acts 11:26). During the centuries after Christ, His people have been dubbed by various epithets in scorn and ridicule. The types of scorn and misrepresentation which Christians endured especially in the first three centuries may be summed up thusly:

   1. They were called a “sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).

   2. Their teaching was labeled a “contagious superstition” by the Roman governor of Bithynia, whose name was Pliny. This was in the second century.

   3. They were charged with sedition and high treason, because they refused to render worship to the Emperor by burning incense on the altar before his statue.

   4. They were charged with atheism, because they refused to acknowledge the pagan gods. Theism denotes belief in God’s existence, but “theism” is negated, or denied, when the Greek letter “a” is placed before it – “a-theism.”

   5. They were charged with cannibalism, because they claimed to partake of the body and blood of Christ in a symbolic way in the observance of the Lord’s Supper, which had to be done in secret assemblies. The pagan spies twisted the truth by saying the Christians secluded themselves to eat literal flesh and blood of human beings. The bread and the fruit of the vine are only symbols of the body and blood of Christ, not His real body and blood.

   6. They were charged with arson at Rome, Nero had this charge placed against them to take the spotlight off himself, as he had come under suspicion of setting fire to the city. He said the Christians did this in order to prove their doctrine that the world would be destroyed by fire. But they proved themselves innocent of all such charges, and marched forward in a pagan world with the banner of truth unfurled. And the old Ship of Zion sailed on.

2. The crisis of compromise. In every century since Christ’s day, the opponents of Baptists have proposed compromise – to spare their life, if they would give up their faith. Many a Baptist has been led to the stake to be burned, or put to death in some in some horrible manner with the crucifix held before their faces in a plea for them to surrender their faith and live. But great numbers of them went to their death praising God that they were counted worthy to suffer for Him. When the martyr Hooper was led away to his death, his persecutors said to him” “Mr. Hooper, why don’t you give up your faith, for life is sweet.” “Yes, life is sweet,” answered Mr. Hooper, “but eternal life is sweeter.” He left the earth for heaven amidst the flames of martyrdom. The Old Ship of Zion sails on!

3. The crisis of heresy, or false teaching.Commencing with the efforts of the Judaizers at Jerusalem to conjoin works of the law with grace in order for the Gentiles to be saved (Acts 15:1-35), true Christianity has had to battle its way against the darkness of heresy to maintain its purity. Paul said in his day that the “mystery of iniquity doth already work” (II Thess. 2:7). and the main purpose of Peter’s writing his second epistle was to confirm the Jewish Christians in the faith against the onslaught of “damnable heresies” introduced by false prophets and false teachers (II Peter 2:1).

   The theory of baptismal regeneration arose by the end of the second century, and along with it came infant baptism. These twin heresies have proved all along as disturbing factors in Christendom. And in the first part of the third century episcopacy arose with its bold effort to break down the independence and self-governing aspect of the churches which the loyal ones claimed was inherited from the apostolic pattern. By prophecy Paul forewarned the followers of Christ that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith” (I Tim. 4:1) as a system of doctrine (Jude 3).

   Those were the forerunners of a horde of heresies that have been introduced into Christendom since then, including the bodily assumption of Mary and prayers offered to her; the adoration of images in worship; the seven sacraments as means of divine grace for salvation; transubstantiation and the sale of indulgences for the remission of sins. But the old Ship of Zion sails on in the sea of the purity of the faith once delivered to the saints!

4. The crisis of persecution. The church of our Lord Jesus Christ has survived in the purity of the original faith despite persecutions from the following sources:

   1. Worldliness in high official ranks. The first Baptist preacher suffered decapitation for denouncing the adultery of a king and his wife (Matt. 14:3-11). And in some way or other ever since then preachers have had rough sailing when they undertook to draw the line against the impurity of marriage.

   2. Jewish. Not long after the resurrection of Christ, Christians were imprisoned and whipped for preaching the doctrine of His resurrection (Acts 4:1-3; 5:18, 40). This was done by authority of the Jewish high court.

      Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the doctrine held by Baptists (Acts 7:57-60).

      With the exception of John, all the apostles suffered martyrdom, and John himself was sent into exile by Emperor Domitian. They all taught doctrines now held by Baptists.

   3. Pagan. At first the pagan rulers at Rome paid little attention to Christianity, considering it to be another sect of the Jews; but when its pattern was seen clearly and definitely divorced from Judaism, persecution by the pagans began to be waged against its devotees. Then followed ten major pagan persecutions, from Nero in A.D. 67 to Diocletian in A.D. 303. During this time some two million Christians suffered death for their faith.

   4. Catholic. Constantine the Great, claiming conversion to Christianity, and uniting his version of the church with the state in A.D. 313, set the pattern of persecution of his opponents by slaughtering many of the Donatists in North Africa. His successor in the latter part of the fourth century, Theodosius the Great, made it punishable by death for anyone found worshiping contrary to his decrees.

      Gregory the Great, who became a Romish bishop in 590, dispatched Austin to the British Isles to convert those people to the Catholic faith. He succeeded with many of them, especially the Saxons of England, but when he failed to convert the Welsh Baptists, he turned upon them with organized savagery and slew about twelve hundred of them. From these Welsh Baptists, who sprang up as early as A.D. 63, and many of whom sealed their testimony with their blood under the Austin persecution, came Baptists and even a whole church in organized capacity in the colonial days to America.

      After Gregory papal power was increased until it reached its zenith under Pope Innocent III, whose pontificate extended from 1198 to 1216.It was during his time when our forefathers in the faith, called Albigenses and Waldenses, were so severely persecuted. After Innocent papal power began to wane under the impact of moral corruption in the Catholic Church all the way from the priests to the popes, and soon the morning stars of the Reformation began to shine forth. During the time of the papal rule, from Constantine the Great to the Reformation, historians have estimated not less than FIFTY MILLION people were killed for their faith.

      Still the old Ship of Zion sails on!

   5. Prostestant. The Lutheran Reformation, known as the Protestant Reformation, was officially born on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in stout denunciation of the sale of indulgences, that is, the forgiveness of sins from the pope, by john Tetzel, one of the hierarchy’s emissaries sent out to collect money for the Catholic Church under the fraudulent claim of granting remission of sins according to the amount of money expended in this manner.

Had it not been for John Wycliffe of England, John Huss of Bohemia, the Anabaptists, and others, all of whom labored before the rise of Luther, the Lutheran Reformation would never have materialized.

But no sooner had the Reformation gotten well under way, like a steam roller, it crushed under its impact many who had aided Luther in his efforts. Among these were Anabaptists whose lineage runs back to apostolic days and from whom came many Baptists to America in the seventeenth century.

Therefore the true Baptist in America have lineal descent from the church founded by Christ Himself during His personal ministry on earth. This is the true church line across the centuries back to Christ. Any believer in Christ, whether or not he is in this church line, may be saved, but without one’s identifying himself with this line he cannot receive Scriptural baptism, for the authority to baptize was invested in the church line beginning with the one in existence in Christ’s day (Matt. 28:19,20), and has been perpetuated in this line across the centuries. The disciples whom Paul found at Ephesus, who had been baptized without Scriptural authority, were baptized again after he had taught them the truth about salvation and baptism (Acts 19:1-5). You may have been baptized by someone, but unless you have been baptized by divine authority vested in a church whose lineage goes back to the days of Christ, you do not have Scriptural baptism. In this event, then, you should, if you are saved, submit yourself for Scriptural baptism.

So the old Ship of Zion sail on forever, despite fire, dungeon and the sword! Even the wholesale slaughter of the faithful witnesses of Christ failed to shove them into the “gates of hell.”

“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18).

This is the last of the out of date pamphlet I have. I will post the complete pamphlet for those that would want to copy for their files.

Elder James S. Coleman

Source: Elder James S. Coleman

302 – October 29 – This Day in Baptist History Past
A Church on the Move

“Among the first Baptist preachers to permanently settle in the west was William Marshall. .. . Other preachers followed Marshall . . . including Joseph Barnett, John Whitaker, James Skaggs, Benjamin Lynn, all of whom were ordained, and John Gerrard, a licensed preacher. . . [These] were responsible for forming the first Baptist church west of the mountains, the Severns Valley which was constituted June 18, 1781.”

Some of the migration west came through what was known as “Traveling Churches.” One such example is the church that had been known as the Upper Spottsylvania Church in Virginia. It had as its pastor Lewis Craig, one of the most successful of the Virginia Baptist preachers. In 1781 Craig decided to remove to Kentucky, and so great was the attachment of his members to their minister, that a majority of them decided to migrate with him.

In the midst of winter, after great hardship and danger, they arrived at their chosen destination, quickly made a clearing and established Craig’s Station on Gilbert’s Creek. Here on the second Sunday of December, 1781, they gathered for worship around the same old Bible they had used in Spottsylvania. John Taylor’s church too became a Traveling Church and relocated to the land of need.

These saints were not willing to become isolated enclaves of spiritual truth. They intended to become witnesses throughout the expanding West.

As a result, churches were established West of the Allegheny Mountains. Four churches met on October 29, 1785, at Cox’s Creek Church and formed the Salem Association, and Kentucky soon became a hot-bed of Baptist enterprise.

Dr. Dale R. Hart From: “This Day in Baptist History III” David L. Cummins pp. 631 – 633

Note from Tom: Rev. Lewis Craig was the most influential of the preaching Craig brothers. They were pioneer Baptist ministers in early Virginia, when preaching without the license of the Church of Virginia was illegal, and Craig and his brothers were occassionally jailed. Lewis is most famous as the leader of “The Travelling Church,” when he and much of his Upper Spotsylvania Church congregation made up the largest mass-immigration into frontier Kentucky — a caravan of some 600 people. He settled at Gilbert’s Creek in Garrard County, Kentucky, then moved to South Elkhorn in Fayette County, and finally he settled in Mason County, where he died. His grave remained unmarked for many years but Kentucky Baptists finally succeeded in marking his grave, though there is some reason to believe they may have marked the wrong grave. He appears to be buried in an enclosure with that of the wife of his son, Lewis Craig Jr.http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi…

Theodore Roosevelt born October 27, 1858

American Minute with Bill Federer

Theodore Roosevelt was born OCTOBER 27, 1858.

His wife and mother died on Valentine’s Day, 1884.

Depressed, he left to ranch in the Dakotas.

Returning to New York, he entered politics and rose to Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

He resigned during the Spanish-American War, organized the first Volunteer Cavalry, “the Rough Riders,” and captured Cuba’s San Juan Hill.

Elected Vice-President under William McKinley, he became America’s youngest President in 1901.

In 1909, Roosevelt warned:

“The thought of modern industry in the hands of Christian charity is a dream worth dreaming.

The thought of industry in the hands of paganism is a nightmare beyond imagining.

The choice between the two is upon us.”

In his book Fear God and Take Your Part, 1916, Theodore Roosevelt wrote:

“Christianity is not the creed of Asia and Africa at this moment solely because the seventh century Christians of Asia and Africa
had trained themselves not to fight, whereas the Moslems were trained to fight.

Christianity was saved in Europe solely because the peoples of Europe fought.

If the peoples of Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries, and on up to and including the 17th century, had not possessed a military equality with, and gradually a growing superiority over the Mohammedans who invaded Europe, Europe would at this moment be Mohammedan and the Christian religion would be exterminated.”

Theodore Roosevelt continued:

“Wherever the Mohammedans have had complete sway, wherever the Christians have been unable to resist them by the sword, Christianity has ultimately disappeared.

From the hammer of Charles Martel to the sword of Jan Sobieski, Christianity owed its safety in Europe to the fact that it was able to show that it could and would fight as well as the Mohammedan aggressor.”

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The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s bookshere.

James Wilson

David Barton – 09/10/2015

James Wilson Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signer of the Constitution Original Justice of the United States Supreme Court James Wilson had a great influence during the American Founding but has been called “the lost Founder” because of his relative modern obscurity. He was born to a poor family in Scotland 273 years ago today (on September 14, 1742), but managed to attend universities in Glasgow, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh. [1]At the age of 21, he immigrated to America and soon began tutoring at Philadelphia College. He studied law under John Dickinson, a fellow member of the Constitutional Convention.  [2] In 1768, he wrote a pamphlet arguing for American independence but it considered too radical for the times. When public opinion later shifted, it was finally published. Thomas Jefferson copied portions of it for his own use, and it is conceivable that parts of Wilson’s essay even influenced the language of the Declaration. Compare the similarity of Wilson’s writing with the wording of the Declaration:   “All men are by nature equal and free. No one has a right to any authority over another without his consent. All lawful government is founded on the consent of those who are subject to it. Such consent was given with a view to ensure and to increase the happiness of the governed above what they could enjoy in an independent and unconnected state of nature. The consequence is that the happiness of the society is the first law of every government.”  ~ James Wilson “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, …” ~Declaration of Independence   Wilson served as a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, where he voted for and signed the Declaration of Independence. He later was a member of the Constitutional Convention, where he signed the Constitution. [3] Under the new federal government, President George Washington appointed Wilson as an original justice on the U. S. Supreme Court, where he served for 9 years until his death on August 28, 1798. He was buried at Christ Church in Philadelphia. [4] Over recent years, the federal courts have become particularly unfriendly to Christianity and religious faith, but it was not that way under Justice Wilson. In fact, Wilson started America’s first organized legal training while he served on the Court, and he told students: “Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed these two sciences run into each other. . . . All [laws], however, may be arranged in two different classes. 1) Divine. 2) Human. . . . But it should always be remembered that this law, natural or revealed, made for men or for nations, flows from the same Divine source: it is the law of God. . . . Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine.” [5] [1] Nicholas Pederson, “The Lost Founder: James Wilson in American Memory,”  Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, Vol. 22, Is. 2, Art. 3, (May 8, 2013).  See also, Robert K. Wright, Jr. and Morris J. MacGregor, Jr., “James Wilson: Pennsylvania,” Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution (Center of Military History, Washington, D.C., 1987). [2] “James Wilson,” Signers of the Declaration of Independence (2014). [3] “James Wilson, Pennsylvania,” Charters of Freedom: America’s Founding Fathers(accessed September 8, 2015). [4] L. Carroll Judson, A Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence(Philadelphia : J. Dobson, and Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., 1839), p. 130-131. See also, “James Wilson, Pennsylvania,” Charters of Freedom: America’s Founding Fathers(accessed September 8, 2015). [5] James Wilson, The Works of the Honourable James Wilson (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chauncey, 1804), Vol. I, pp. 106 & 103-105.

Columbus sighted land October 12, 1492

American Minute with Bill Federer

Columbus was looking for a SEA route to India and China because 40 years earlier Muslim Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453 cutting off the LAND routes.

A biography of Columbus was written by Washington Irving in 1828, filled imaginative dialogue, such as Europeans arguing that the Earth was flat.

Washington Irving was known for imaginative stories such as “Rip Van Winkle,” “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow,” Dutch tales of visits from St. Nick, and coining New York City’s nickname “Gotham.”

Europeans knew the Earth was round from as far back as Aristotle in the 4th century BC.

In the 3rd century BC, Eratosthenes computed the circumference of the Earth with geometry and measurements of shadows cast by tall objects in Alexandria and Aswan.

In the 1st century BC, Posidonius used stellar observations at Alexandria and Rhodes to confirm Eratosthenese’s measurements.

In the 2nd century AD, astronomer Ptolemy had written a Guide to Geography, in which he described a spherical earth with one ocean connecting Europe and Asia.

St. Isidore of Seville, Spain, wrote in the 7th century that the earth was round.

Around the year 723 AD, Saint Bede the Venerable wrote in his work “Reckoning of Time” that the Earth was spherical.

Columbus knew the Earth was round, but the question was, how far around.

The confusion was over the length of a mile.

Columbus read Cardinal Pierre d’Ailly’s “Imago Mundi,” which gave Alfraganus’ estimate that a degree of latitude (at the equator) was around 56.7 miles.

What Columbus did not realize was that this was expressed in longer Arabic miles rather than in shorter Roman miles.

Therefore Columbus incorrectly estimated the Earth to be smaller in circumference, about 19,000 miles, rather than the actual nearly 25,000 miles.

Columbus knew there was land to the west, as he had heard stories of Irish monk St. Brendan sailing in 530 AD to “The Land of the Promised Saints which God will give us on the last day.”

He knew of the Christian Viking Leif Erickson’s voyage in the year 1000 to Vinland.

Columbus read of Marco Polo’s travels to China and India in 1271.

He studied Pliny’s “Natural History,” Sir John Mandeville, and Pope Pius II’s “Historia Rerum Ubique Gestarum.”

Columbus corresponded with Florentine physician Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, who suggested China was just 5,000 miles west of Portugal.

Columbus may have possibly seen maps, rumored to have been in Portugal’s royal archives, from China’s treasure fleets which were sent out in 1421 by Ming Emperor Zhu Di.

Based on this, Columbus estimated that Japan, or as Marco Polo called it “Cipangu,” was only 3,000 Roman miles west of the Canary Islands, rather than the actual 12,200 miles.

Since no ship at that time could carry enough food and water for such a long voyage, Columbus would have never set sail if he had known the actual distance.

As a young man, Columbus began sailing on a trip to a Genoese colony in the Aegean Sea named Chios.

In 1476, he sailed on an armed convoy from Genoa to northern Europe, docking in Bristol, England, and Galway, Ireland, and even possibly Iceland in 1477.

When Muslim Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453 and hindered land trade routes from Europe to India and China, Portugal, which had been freed from Muslim domination for two centuries, began to search for alternative sea routes.

Portugal, under Prince Henry the Navigator, led the world in the science of navigation and cartography (map-making), and developed a light ship that could travel fast and far, the “caravel.”

During Portugal’s Golden Age of Discovery under King John II, Columbus sailed along the west coast of Africa between 1482-1485, reaching the Portuguese trading port of Elmina on the coast of Guinea.

In 1498, Portuguese sailor Vasco de Gama did make it around South Africa to India.

But six year before that, in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella finished driving the Muslims out of Spain and wanted to join the quest for a sea trade route to the India.

They backed Columbus’ plan.

Though Columbus was wrong about the miles and degrees of longitude, he did understand trade winds across the Atlantic.

On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail on the longest voyage to that date out of the sight of land.

Trade winds called “easterlies” pushed Columbus’ ships for five weeks to the Bahamas.

On OCTOBER 12, 1492, Columbus sighted what he thought was India.

He imagined Haiti was Japan and Cuba was the tip of China.

Naming the first island “San Salvador” for the Holy Savior, Columbus wrote of the inhabitants:

“So that they might be well-disposed towards us, for I knew that they were a people to be. ..converted to our Holy Faith rather by love than by force, I gave to some red caps and to others glass beads…

They became so entirely our friends that…I believe that they would easily be made Christians.”

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The Moral Liberal contributing editor, William J. Federer, is the bestselling author of “Backfired: A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance no Longer Tolerates Religion,” and numerous other books. A frequent radio and television guest, his daily American Minute is broadcast nationally via radio, television, and Internet. Check out all of Bill’s books here.