The Lord said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. The gates of hell are access points the powers of hell come through to corrupt and destroy. Can we now say that His church has not been preyed upon through these gates? We can if we understand the true church of God and can distinguish it from the church mankind has built.

      The church the Lord has been building throughout this age has withstood every onslaught from hell and remained a pure, chaste virgin waiting for the Lord’s return. It is “a little flock” and a “hidden seed” that is unseen by most, but it continues to this day. But this church is not the one mankind recognizes. That church is recorded in man’s histories, which are the only histories most know.

      There are some histories that record the “hidden seed” that kept itself from the corruptions of man’s church. We will discuss these, as they can be filled with insights and wisdom from those who followed the Lord where He walked. Many of God’s faithful ones have been part of man’s church and have accomplished much for the Lord there. This is why there will be a time when the Lord says, “Come out of her, My people” (see Revelation 18:4). He wouldn’t say this if He did not have people in that church.

      Even so, the church mankind has been building is the one most recognize and think of as the church. It has not withstood these onslaughts from hell, and it has at times been virtually taken over by it. Man’s church has been one of hell’s main points of access to the world with its corruption and evil. In Revelation, this church is called “the Great Harlot,” because it is a church that could not wait for her Lord, so she married the spirit of the world.

      Some of the most diabolical evil in human history was manifested through the church. Let us view the people who were part of this as “us,” not “them.” We have been given the grace to look back on this history, but if we did not have this, we very likely would do just as they did. However, these things happened at the same time that perhaps some of the most truly Christlike saints were walking the earth and proclaiming Christ. These walked in the light while facing the deepest darkness and being persecuted by those who called themselves Christians, using the most diabolical means.

      This persecution is still going on in much of the world, because not many Christians know our history and are falling into the same traps our spiritual ancestors did. The book of Revelation told the church its history in advance. However, few considered it, so they fell into the traps. As we approach the end of the age, we can now see these lessons even clearer. We must stop this terrible cycle of the church making the same mistakes over and over.

      The worst persecution against Christians there has ever been was orchestrated by other Christians in the Middle Ages. The persecuted did not share many of the views that the institution Christianity had become did and would not submit to them. Those who fell to the great deception sought to crush and destroy any who did not submit and refused the institutional dogma. So, there was a dichotomy between those enforcing institutional Christianity and those following Christ outside the institution.

      This tendency continues to this day. It is not done on the scale it once was, or with the murderous devotion it once had, but the “doctrines of demons” that once caused such terrible persecution are still held by many. It is only that they now lack the political power to implement their murderous tendencies. This great persecution could happen again, except on an even more terrible scale, because of the technology we now have.

      The Lord said in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. We can say this has been true because there has always been a “little flock,” His true church, that has not fallen to the evil the false church did. Throughout the age, there have been those who remained true, waiting for Him. One of the main purposes for the book of Revelation—and this study—is to help us distinguish between these two churches.

      Let us keep in mind that to truly follow Christ and not manmade religion, we are called to walk an ancient path that has been followed for thousands of years. Abraham, the “father of faith,” followed this path and made it clear to us. He was from one of the greatest nations and cultures man had built. The Chaldeans had one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and were the envy of the world at the time for their culture and wealth. Abraham left his life in one of the most prosperous and wonderful places on earth at the time to wander in places he did not know, seeking a city that God was building, not men. He knew God’s city would eclipse anything man could ever build. We, too, can seek this city and become citizens of it.