For many, the term “ancient” implies drudgery and irrelevance. However, the outset of this book will dispel any such notions. The ancient age brims with interest, instruction, and encouragement for today’s readers. This was an age of miracle-working apostles, fearless martyrs, and stalwart church fathers; an age that preserved the scriptures, prescribed the creeds, and produced timeless Christian classics; an age when the church was buffeted by fierce waves of persecution and assailed by heresies of every sort. Through this volume and the ones that follow, the Lord Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of the church, sovereignly shepherded his beloved church by his word and Spirit.
In this first volume of Christ and His Church through the Ages, author and historian Herman Hanko tells the fascinating story of the ancient church during the first six centuries of the New Testament dispensation. He relates how Christ faithfully guided the church from the ministry of the apostles through the fall of the Roman Empire. Highlights of this history include the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles, the persecution of the church under Roman emperors, the deliberations of the ecumenical councils, and the battle for the truth of sovereign grace.
Through this and future volumes, students of church history and interested readers alike will surely grow in their love and appreciation for the saga of Christ’s church. They will find church history to be, as the author once affectionately described it, “the exciting adventure of the marvelous work of grace.”
272 pages.
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