were the strength and power of the cities. Compare Zech. 8:16 with
Ps. 147:13. Hence, by the words, “The gates of hell,” etc., we are to
understand the council and power of the hellish fiend. Yet, according
to the last mentioned place of Scripture, these shall not prevail
against the church of Christ;[37] and, consequently, no other opposing
agencies; for these are the most powerful and worst enemies.
[37] If Christ is so firm a foundation that not even the gates
of hell can prevail against that which is built upon it, how
very foolish, careless and imprudent are they who forsake this
foundation, and build upon, and trust in, the vain things of this
world! Certainly, everything under the sun, yea, all which our eyes
behold, is vain and transitory. “Vanity of vanities, saith the
preacher,...all is vanity,” Eccl. 1:2, understand: earthly things.
But how much more vain are the sinful and evil things which God has
forbidden, and concerning which he has warned us in his word, that we
should have nothing to do with them! How great will be the fall of
those who build upon these forbidden vanities! If we suffer damage,
and complain, when a material house or building falls, because its
foundation is not firm, how much greater loss will they sustain, and
what greater reason will they have to lament, who will fall both in
soul and body, without ever being able to rise again!
We pass on to other Scripture testimony written for the same purpose.
Matt. 28:20: “And, lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the
consummation of the ages.” Nearly all translators, in order to follow
therein the Dutch way of speaking, render the last words of this
sentence: “unto the end of the world.” But we have, for good reasons,
preserved the Greek mode of expression, inasmuch as it serves better
and more clearly to the end we have in view. For we have found that,
after the common translation, the words, “unto the end of the world,”
have been misinterpreted, and stretched beyond their meaning, by some
inexperienced persons, so that these expound that which has been spoken
of the consummation of time, as referring to the end of locality; even
as though Christ had not here promised his apostles, to remain with
them till all time should have come to an end; but only until, for
the promulgation of the Gospel, they should have traveled unto the
uttermost parts of the earth, which, because it is not possible to
travel farther by land, are called the end of the world.
This is a great error, for, according to his explanation, this promise
would have belonged to the apostles alone, and been limited by their
life time, since they traveled everywhere to preach, so that their
sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the
world.[38] Compare Mark 16:20 with Rom. 10:18.
[38] The words of David, Ps. 19:6, which he spoke of the circuit of
the sun around the whole earth every twenty-four hours, the apostle
Paul applies to the traveling and preaching of the apostles through
the whole world, saying, Rom. 10:18: “Verily, their sound went into
all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” Since the
apostles, in their time, traveled through the whole world, to preach
the Gospel, and, consequently, have been at the ends or uttermost
limits of the earth, it would follow, according to our opponents’
own words, that the promise of Christ, “Lo, I am with you” (or by
you), etc., was completely fulfilled in the apostles, excluding
their descendants from assuming any part of it whatever. This would
certainly be a comfortless matter for us, their descendants; but the
case is quite a different one as is shown in this column.
But, in order that all true followers of Christ and his apostles, to
the end of time, might comfort themselves with this promise, the Lord
has expressly spoken of the consummation of the ages, and declared
that so long (understand: spiritually) he will be with them.
We arrive now at the point we had in view from the beginning, and which
we shall now present more plainly and fully. It is certain that the
Lord has spoken here of the preaching of the holy Gospel, of faith, of
baptism, and of the manner of establishing and building up his church,
as it was his will that the same should be built up and maintained
through all ages. After saying this, he gave the before mentioned
promise.
It is settled, therefore, that the visible church of Jesus Christ
(for this is the one in whom the preaching of the holy Gospel, faith,
baptism, and whatever there is more besides, have place) shall exist
through all time, even unto the consummation of the ages; for,
otherwise, the promise, “Lo, I am with you all the days,” etc., can not
be fulfilled in her.
Even as, besides preaching and faith, baptism shall continue in the
church to the end of time, so also the holy supper. This appears from
the words of Paul, 1 Cor. 11:26: “For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink this cup, ye do shew forth the Lord’s death till he come.”
Thus, if mention is made here of the eating of the bread, the drinking
of the cup, and the shewing forth of the Lord’s death, with the
additional clause that this shall be observed, and continue, till
the Lord come (that is, in the end of time, to judge the world), it
follows: that there will be, throughout all ages to the end of the
world, a church which will observe the external ordinances of Christ
not only in respect to holy baptism, but also to the holy supper, and
the shewing forth of the Lord’s death; unless it can be shown that the
words, “till he come,” have another signification, such as we have
never yet met with in any commentator, since the text is not only too
clear, but also too conclusive.[39] Compare this with Matt. 25:31; John
14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 14; Rev. 1:7; 22:12,20.
[39] Whenever, in the New Testament, the coming of Christ is spoken
of, there is generally, yea, universally, meant by it his last coming
to judgment. “Then ... they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. 24:30. “Behold,
he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him.” Rev. 1:7; also 1 Cor. 11:26.
THE CHURCH OF GOD OBSCURED AND RENDERED ALMOST INVISIBLE IN SOME
PLACES; AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE CAUSE OF IT FROM ANCIENT TIMES.
As the moon, notwithstanding her substance and body never perish, is
not always seen in her full light by the human eye, either, because she
sinks beneath the horizon, or, being too close to the sun, is obscured
by him, or, being far from the sun, is darkened by the shadow of the
earth, which is called an eclipse; even so it is with the substance
and appearance of the church of God on earth. The latter, though
never perishing entirely, does not always show herself in her full
form, yea, at times she seems to have vanished altogether, yet not in
all, but only in some places, either through the slothfulness of some
people, who, from want of regard, or for some other reason, neglect
the external, manifest commandments of God, or on account of some
misconceptions or errors that have arisen, and whereby sometimes many
of the true believers have been perverted, and seduced from the true
worship of God; or in consequence of persecution, violence and tyranny,
exercised against the faith and the practice of it, on account of which
the pious are compelled to hide and, as outcasts from mankind, seclude
themselves in forests, wildernesses, and solitary places; so that its
characteristics, light and virtue could not be seen, much less, known,
by the common world.
When the Church of God of the Old Testament was in Egypt, it could not
observe its divine worship, but had to request permission “to go three
days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord.” Ex.
8:26,27, compared with Ex. 10:26.
During the forty years that this same people was in the wilderness,
such remarkable events happened that all their children remained
uncircumcised, not receiving circumcision until they had become old,
and arrived in the land of Canaan, at mount Aralot. Josh. 5:2–8.
In the time of Elijah this church was so greatly obscured on account
of persecution, that he thought that he alone was left, though God had
reserved to himself seven thousand persons who served him, and had not
bowed their knees to Baal. 1 Kings 19:14,18; Rom. 11:3,4.
When this people had been carried away into Babylon, the house of God,
at Jerusalem, where divine worship was wont to be made, lay waste, and
the stones of the sanctuary were scattered in all the streets; yea,
among the people in Babylon, matters were in so bad a condition, in
regard to religion and the songs of praise with which they were wont to
worship God, that they had hung their harps on the willows that were
planted there by the rivers, Ps. 137:1–4; for which reason they were
numbered among the dead and among those that go down to the grave. Bar.
3:10–14.
After the Babylonian captivity, in the time of the Maccabees, many of
the church of Israel, because of the existing danger, hid themselves in
caves, in order that they might keep the Sabbath. 2 Macc. 6:11.
All these obscurations, like sad eclipses in the divine worship, have
happened in the church of God of the Old Testament, before the birth
and advent of Christ into this world; and much more might be said in
regard to this, if it were necessary, but we consider it sufficient to
have made simple mention of it from time to time.
The same took place also after the advent of Christ in the church under
the gospel, which was composed of Jews and Gentiles; she, too, could
not always raise her head with safety, but was ofttimes, like the sun
behind clouds, concealed from the common sight of men.
Even in the time when Christ dwelt bodily among men, and had risen
from the dead, his disciples, the chief members of his church, sat
concealed, with closed doors, for fear of the Jews. John 20:19.
After the ascension of Christ, the very numerous church which was at
Jerusalem, dispersed, on account of persecution, through the lands of
Judea and Samaria, except the apostles; so that this distinguished
church, which, it appears, was the chief one on the face of the earth,
had to sojourn secretly in a strange land. Acts 8:1.
Afterwards, when the emperor Domitian had banished John, the holy
apostle and evangelist, for the Gospel’s sake, to the island of Patmos,
the Holy Ghost revealed unto him the future state of the church of
Christ, namely, that she would have to flee into the wilderness, on
account of the persecution of Antichrist, and there be fed by God, a
thousand two hundred and threescore days, which, reckoned according to
prophetic language, means as many years. Rev. 12:6–11.
Whether we begin to reckon these years from the death of the apostles;
or with the year 300, when the so-called patriarchs had their origin;
or with the year 600; or a little later, when Mohammed rose in the east
among the Greeks, and the pope in the west among the Latins, and raised
no small persecution against the defenseless and innocent little flock
of the church of Christ, so that all who did not wish to be devoured,
either in soul or in body, had to hide themselves in deserts and
wildernesses; let it be reckoned as it may, say we, a very long period
is to be understood by it, which has extended to this, or, about, this
time.
Here the rose has blossomed very gloriously among the thorns. Song of
Sol. 2:2. Here the dove that was in the clefts of the rock and in the
secret places of the stairs, let her sweet voice be heard.[40] Verse
14. Here the Lord said: “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a
spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” Song of Sol. 4:12. Here the Son of
God has fed, sustained and preserved his church against the sentence
of worldly and carnal-minded men, who, because they are carnal, cannot
comprehend the things of the Spirit of God.
[40] In the clefts of the rock and in the secret places of the
stairs, that is, in persecutions and in solitary and strange regions;
just as “among the thorns” signifies, in the power of evil-minded and
bloodthirsty tyrants.
But, lest any should misconstrue our preceding proposition, let it be
understood, that when we speak of the obscuration, concealment, or the
becoming invisible, of the church of God, we do not mean the church in
general, or in all places, for the church in general has never been
obscured and hidden in all places at the same time; but we mean thereby
some parts of the church in general, namely, some particular societies,
belonging to the body of the general church which is spread over the
whole earth.
It must be stated, also, that by the term, general church, we do not
understand all the churches which bear the Christian name; but only
those who express the Christian name by their upright faith and pure
observance of the Christian and Evangelical commandments.
Now the question arises, whether our church of the present day, called
the Anabaptists, has truly descended, and derived her succession, from
the aforementioned church of God which has existed from the beginning,
and kept the commandments of God in purity.
But, in order to do this briefly and in the best manner, we shall leave
untouched the time and condition of the church from Adam to Christ,
as being an undisputed point; and only examine the time and condition
of the church after the advent of Christ; for the point of difference
relates solely to those who and which, by virtue of true succession,
have a right to the same.
THE SUCCESSION OF THE CHURCH OF GOD, PERSONAL SUCCESSION, AND
SUCCESSION OF DOCTRINE.
From the Latin word _succedo_, that is, to go under, or to take the
place of one, is derived the word, _succession_, which we, though
improperly, have mixed into our Dutch language. The various branches
proceeding from this root, that is, the numerous words taking their
origin from it, together with their significations, we leave untouched;
in general we understand by it, to follow any one in his place, right,
or reign.
There is a twofold succession, natural and spiritual, political and
ecclesiastical, or civil and ecclesiastical; but we have to speak here
only of the spiritual and ecclesiastical, and not of the natural,
political, or civil, succession; for only the former, and, by no means,
the latter, belongs here.[41]
[41] There is not only a natural and spiritual succession, which
could be considered as indifferent only; but both, the natural and
the spiritual, can be good or bad, for in both we find either the
one or the other. But we purpose to speak here only of a spiritual
succession, and, moreover, of such an one that is good. This we shall
consider with regard to good persons as well as to good doctrine.
Now, as succession is of a twofold nature and kind, so also is each
kind of the same twofold and distinct in itself. This will be shown
plainly in the spiritual and ecclesiastical succession.
In order to present this in a clear light, we say that the
ecclesiastical succession may be considered in two ways: firstly, with
respect to the succession of persons; secondly, with respect to the
succession of doctrine.
The latter is a sign and evidence of the former, so that the former
cannot subsist without the latter. Where the latter is, the former need
not be looked for so carefully. But where both are found in truth and
verity, it is not to be doubted that there is also the true and genuine
church of God, in which God will dwell and walk; which has the promise
of an eternal and blissful life; and about which the holy Scriptures
glory and teach so much.
PERSONAL SUCCESSION.
As a great building, house, or castle, can be considered, firstly,
with regard to it as a whole, and, secondly, with respect to its
different parts, so also the whole church of Christ can properly be
considered: firstly, in the whole or in general, as comprising all the
congregations in the whole world, which have in common the most holy
faith, and the practice, which, according to God’s holy Word, must
follow therefrom; secondly, in any particular part of the same, as,
this or that church which is in accord with it, as for instance, the
church at Amsterdam, Harlem, Dort, etc.
Likewise there is also (or, certainly can be) a twofold personal
succession; 1. a general, 2. a particular one. By the general is
understood that succession, which has been, in general, throughout
the whole world, through a succession of true teachers, whether few
or many, according to the opportunity of the times; who have rightly
taught the truth, and propagated it according to their ability;
concerning which (touching their doctrine, especially in regard to holy
baptism, etc.) we have shown, which the true succession is, which,
together with the observance of all the other commandments of Jesus
Christ, is recognized by us, according to the promise of the Lord given
to the true teachers, Matt. 28:20.
By the particular succession is understood the succession of teachers,
from person to person, in a particular church, at a separate place,
and sitting on a throne prepared for this purpose, as for instance, at
Constantinople, of which the Greeks boast; but principally at Rome,
about which the Latins, that is, the papists, make a great ado. But
concerning this there is no promise, law, or commandment to be found in
the whole Gospel, and we, therefore, pass on.[42]
[42] The twelve tribes of Israel, considered as a whole, were but one
church; but with respect to certain parts who had remained on the
other side of the Jordan, namely, Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe
of Manasseh (Josh. 22:1–5); the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who
dwelt in Jerusalem, and formed also a part; and the residue of the
multitude of Israel, who dwelt by the cities of Samaria, it could
very properly be said, that Israel consisted of three churches: 1.
on the other side of Jordan; 2. at Jerusalem; 3. in Samaria, etc.
Even so there is but one church, which, keeping the true faith, is
scattered over many places; but with respect to the multiplicity of
places where they dwell, they may be called _many churches_.
SUCCESSION OF DOCTRINE.
Here the words of Tertullian are applicable. He says: “The Christian
church is called apostolic not just because of the succession of
persons, but on account of the kinship of doctrine, since she holds the
doctrine of the apostles.” _Lib. de_ praescript, etc.
This doctrine every one who boasts[43] of the true succession, must
prove from the true apostolic writings, as the means by which the
church was originally instituted, subsequently established, and
maintained through all times (we speak of the Christian and evangelical
church). Therefore, this doctrine must necessarily, also in these last
times be the mark of the true succession.
[43] “Let no man glory in men,” says Paul, 1 Cor. 3:21. We may not
glory, therefore, in the succession of eminent persons, if they do
not derive their eminence from the eminence and truth of the word
of God. The prophet Jeremiah, going further yet in this point, has
cursed that man who trusts in man, and maketh flesh his arm. Jer.
17:5.
Now, if this is united with the common succession of teachers, we have
everything that is necessary for the demonstration of the true church.
This stands so fast that it cannot reasonably be disputed, much less,
refuted.
The question now will be, in what church the true apostolic doctrine
has been held from the beginning, and is still held; which is a
privilege boasted of by many. We leave it to them, and content
ourselves with the testimony of our conscience, compared with the holy
Gospel of Christ and the faith of the holy church, of which mention is
made, throughout, in the ancient church histories.
To give evidence, then, of the faith professed by us, we declare, that
we believe in our heart, and confess with our mouth:
THE APOSTLES’ CREED.
1. I believe in one God, the Father, the almighty Creator of heaven and
earth.
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin Mary.
4. Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was
buried.
5. Rose from the dead on the third day.
6. Ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the
almighty Father.
7. From whence he will come to judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost.
9. I believe in a holy general Christian church, the communion of
saints.
10. Forgiveness of sins.
11. Resurrection of the flesh.
12. And an eternal life.
This is the most ancient and simple creed, which, it appears, was
confessed already in or about the time of the apostles; and for which
many, yea the greater part of the first Christian believers, have
sacrificed their lives. But as, in the course of time, the true and
simple meaning of the confession set forth was assailed and disputed
by the contradiction and perverse interpretation of contentious and,
not less, erring persons going under the name of good Christians; the
true believers of the church of God were compelled, as often as this
happened, and necessity required, to declare how they understood and
interpreted this or that article.
Hence it has come that at this day there are found among those who are
called Anabaptists, various confessions, which differ in style, but not
in faith (we speak of the foundation of the same), in which confessions
the creed set forth above is more fully interpreted and explained.
Of these we shall present here principally three, which were
acknowledged and adopted without contradiction as a unanimous
confession, by a great number of teachers, assembled from various
districts, in the year 1649, in the city of Harlem. Two of these had
been drawn up at Amsterdam, in 1627 and 1630, and the third at Dort,
the 21st of April 1632; all on account of certain church unions which
took place subsequently in these years.
FIRST CONFESSION.
Drawn up at Amsterdam, the 27th of September, 1627, called “_Scriptural
Instruction_,” concerning who the people are, on whom the peace of God
rests, and how they are bound to peace and unity; given in answer to
the following several questions, of which the first is:
_What are the fundamental and unmistakable marks by which the children
of God and members of Jesus Christ (being the church of God) can and
must be known, according to the testimony of the word of the Lord?_