Paul's third missionary journey ended in the year of A.D. 57. He did make it to Jerusalem as he had desired and he was arrested there for "polluting the temple" (Acts21:28-29). The book of Acts records in great detail Paul's arrest in Jerusalem and his subsequent trials and defense. Because during these orations Paul basically simply retells his story which we have studied in great detail, we will simply outline the final events of Paul's life and then move on to complete the history of the Early Church. The record of the Book of Acts closes with events in the year of A.D. 62. What we know about the remainder of the history of the Early Church is drawn from the scriptural epistles and history.

When Paul was arrested in the temple in Jerusalem, a Jewish mob quickly formed to "punish" Paul. When the Roman centurion of the area heard about the uprising, he quickly took Paul in custody to save his life. The centurion permitted Paul to speak to the crowd from the staircase of a castle where he was being held. This story and Paul's speech in his defense is found in Acts chapters 21-22.

The next day the Romans permitted Paul to be tried by the Jewish council and High Priest. Paul saved himself by causing a great argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees because of their differences of belief about the resurrection of the dead. The argument got so heated that the Roman centurion rescued Paul again from their midst. That night God spoke to Paul:

God assured him that his imprisonment was for a purpose! Paul was finally fulfilling his dream to go to Rome, but not quite in the way that he had first envisioned! When a band of Jews tried to kill Paul, the Roman centurion took Paul to Caesarea and asked the governor Felix to hear the case against Paul. Felix was an appointed "judge" by the emperor and was known for his evil decisions! The story of Paul's appearance before the Jewish council and the events of his removal to Caesarea are found in Acts chapter 23.

Five days later, Ananias the High Priest, the Jewish council, and a well known lawyer or "speaker" named Tertullus presented their case against Paul to Felix. After hearing Paul's defense, Felix decided to defer the case until after he could converse with the chief captain that had brought Paul. During this time, Paul was commanded to have free access to anyone who came to see him and was protected by a Roman centurion! Some time later, Felix heard Paul's case again but this time his Jewish wife, Drusilla was present. The scriptures say that Felix "trembled" as Paul preached to him! Realizing that Paul was innocent of the charges against him, Felix commanded that Paul be held until a "convenient season." Felix secretly hoped that some of Paul's friends would pay him large amounts of money to free Paul! These initial trials before Felix are found in Acts chapter 24. Paul was held by Felix for a space of two years! As we move into Acts chapter 25 the date is approximately A.D. 59-60.

Meanwhile Herod Agrippa died and his son also named King Agrippa along with his sister Bernice (with whom he was having an incestuous affair) came to power. They appointed a new governor of the area who was named Festus. The Jewish leaders immediately appealed to Festus to have Paul brought for a trial to Jerusalem. Realizing that Festus would allow the Jewish leaders to kill him, Paul exercised his authority as a Roman citizen to "appeal to Caesar" which meant that he wanted to be tried before Caesar himself. His appeal ended Festus' authority and legal involvement with the case.

Before Paul could be shipped out of Caesarea, King Agrippa and Bernice came to visit Festus. During the visit and festivities, Festus mentioned the case of Paul to the king and Agrippa asked to hear Paul's defense in person. God was using Paul's imprisonment to witness to the leaders of Rome! The next day Paul was brought before Festus, King Agrippa, and Bernice to speak and defend himself. Paul, realizing that King Agrippa was very familiar with Jewish law and Old Testament scriptures and also believed in the one God of the Jews, began to tell his testimony with great anointing. Festus cried out to Paul during the middle of his sermon "much learning doth make thee mad!" But Paul told Festus: "I'm not crazy but speak forth words of truth!" He then addressed Agrippa directly:

"Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" were the words of Agrippa! If he had not been worried about public opinion, Agrippa would have obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ! In the end, though, Agrippa followed in the steps of Pontius Pilate and cared more for his job security than his eternal destination! King Agrippa was so convinced that Paul was innocent of the charges that he would have released him if Paul had not already appealed to Caesar. With the appeal already made, King Agrippa had no other choice but to send Paul by ship to Rome. The account of the near conversion of King Agrippa can be found in Acts chapters 25-26.

The voyage of Paul and the Roman centurion band to Rome ended up being long and dangerous. Luke joined the voyage and tells about the trip and perils in great detail. At first, the winds were blowing the wrong directions so the massive sailing ship made very little progress. Once they progressed past the island of Crete south of Greece, they found themselves in a raging storm! The ship eventually broke apart just off the island of Malta but every person onboard, managed to make it to shore safely. As Paul was helping to gather wood for a fire to warm the cold and wet ship wreck survivors, Paul was suddenly bitten by a poisonous snake! Paul shook the viper off into the fire and the barbaric natives of the island who were helping were astonished when Paul did not die! God had worked a miracle! The natives realized that Paul had power with God and took him to the home of their chief man whose name was Publius. Publius's father was deathly ill and when Paul prayed for him, was instantly healed! Many others on the island then came to Paul and were healed of many diseases. God had brought a great revival to the island of Malta (which is also called "Melita"). Because it was now winter, Paul and the shipwreck survivors stayed on the island for three months.

After the winter was over, Paul was taken on to Rome. There, Paul called the chief of the Jewish leaders in Italy to him and presented his case. Paul was then placed into a sort of "house arrest" for two years. During this time, he was allowed unlimited visitors and won many of the Jewish leaders who came to see him. The Book of Acts closes at this point in A.D. 62. The story of Paul's eventful ship voyage and the miracles on Malta are found in the book of Acts final chapters, 27-28.

Paul also wrote four letters during this time known as his "Prison Epistles." They are the books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. The book of Ephesians is a terrific theological work meant to strengthen and encourage the church in Ephesus. It is one of Paul's greatest masterpieces on the church and the Christian walk. The book of Colossians is simply a condensed version of Ephesians and was meant to strengthen the doctrine of Christ in the church at Colosse. The small book of Philemon was a letter written to a man in the church in Colosse and sent along with the book of Colossians. It was written on the behalf of one of Philemon's runaway slaves, a man named Onesimus, whom Paul had converted in Rome. Paul was asking basically two things: that Philemon would receive, forgive, and love Onesimus as a Christian brother, and that he would permit Onesimus to go free for the work of God. Obviously Philemon did both as fifty years later, Onesimus was referred to as the "bishop" or pastor of the church in Ephesus by Ignatius, the pastor of Antioch! The small book teaches very important lessons about love, forgiveness, proper relationships with employees, and the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Philippians was written to the church in Philippi and was meant to inform them of Paul's situation and encourage them to be "more like Jesus!"

At the same time, Peter had also come to Rome and had written two letters to the church at large. The letters are known as the books of I Peter and II Peter in our New Testament. The book of I Peter was written because Peter could foresee greater persecution coming to the church and it's message is one of "stand for the truth no matter what may come your way." When Peter began to realize that the persecution would include his death, he wrote a final letter addressing and teaching on the major issues of the day. The book of II Peter is sort of Peter's last address and sermon to the church it warns against listening to the many false teachers that were already beginning to appear. Also the book of Acts was being compiled and written by Luke from his many notes. Of course, we have already studied the book of Acts with great detail so there should be no need to describe it's importance!

After A.D. 62, we only know bits and pieces of information from Paul's life. We do know that he was released from his prison confinement for a time. Tradition and history teach that, during this time, he did visit Spain and a great revival erupted in that country. Eventually Paul did return to Macedonia where he wrote two more letters, the books of I Timothy and Titus. Timothy had become as a second son to Paul and was the current pastor of the church in Ephesus. The book of I Timothy was written from Paul as a mentor to a young pastor and contains much valuable advice for those who are in leadership of churches. The book of Titus was written to Titus who had been directed to establish churches and place pastors over them in the island of Crete. It also contains sound advice for spiritual leadership and choosing Godly leaders. In fact the books of I Timothy, Titus, and the later written II Timothy are known by Bible scholars as the "Pastoral Epistles."

In A.D. 64, major persecution upon the Christian church began from the Roman emperor Nero. The city of Rome suffered a major fire in a working class section. It burned out of control for seven days destroying ten of the fourteen wards of the common people and killing thousands. After the fire, Nero seized much of the land and built himself the famous "Golden Palace" upon it; using public money to do so. Many of the people of Rome felt like Nero had set the fire himself and when the complaining began to swell into an uproar, Nero got out of his predicament by blaming the Christians. They had set the fire, he charged and he vowed to hunt down everyone of them and cruelly kill them. Many Christians were burned at the stake or fed to lions. Some were set fire as human torches to light up Nero's gardens during his parties. Still others were beheaded in front of their children and families. This period of extreme persecution lasted until Nero's death in A.D. 68. Peter's prophecy of persecution had come true, yet instead of Christianity ceasing, it began to grow with even more fervor!

During this tremendous persecution, Peter was arrested in Rome and was sentenced to death. Tradition says that when he realized that they intended to crucify him, he screamed that he was not worthy to die like Jesus Christ and was crucified upside down. Peter was killed in A.D. 65. At about the same time, Jude, one of Jesus' brothers who along with James had become a leader of the Early Church, wrote a letter to the church at large. In it, he joined with Peter's earlier letters in warning of the many false teachers which were beginning to appear during the time of persecution. His letter is known as the book of Jude in our modern New Testament.

After Peter was killed, Paul was also arrested in Rome and placed in prison. During this time, he wrote his final letter, the book of II Timothy. It gave more practical, pastoral advice to the young minister and also served as Paul's last address to the church. He knew that the time of his death was near.

Paul was beheaded by Nero in A.D. 68. Tradition says that he cheerfully laid his head down upon the chopping block without a fight. During this persecution, the other disciples and church leaders spread throughout the world teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Once again God used persecution to spread His glorious truth. Everyone except the Apostle John died a martyr. All of them were killed for preaching the Gospel of Christ. For instance, tradition teaches us that Thomas was killed in India after a massive revival there by being placed into a bag and thrown over a cliff. Bartholomew, who was with him, was crucified after first being flayed alive! The leadership role of the Early Church fell into the able hands of Timothy, Titus, John Mark, and John.

There is quite a bit of uncertainty about the author of the book of Hebrews. Paul could have possibly written it but Apollos and others have also been cited. It was written in late 60s because Timothy was still alive (Hebrews 13:23) and the Jerusalem temple was still standing (Hebrews 7:5; 8:4, 13; 10:1-3, 11). If Paul wrote the book, then it was written ~A.D. 65-68. If someone else wrote the book, the date is probably later ~A.D 67-69. It was written to show how that Jesus Christ was the perfect fulfillment of the law of Moses and thus abolished it.

In the late 60s, the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem started a revolt against the Roman rule. Roman armies were sent to fight the rebels. The revolt dragged on for a few years because of the confusion that resulted from Nero's death, but eventually in A.D. 70, the Roman general Titus marched into Jerusalem and burned the city. He also destroyed the temple there thus fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus that one stone would not be left upon another (Matthew 24:1-2). The sacrifices of the law of Moses came to an abrupt halt and the Jews scattered throughout the world to avoid the aftermath. They would not come together as a nation again until A.D. 1948. To this day there is still no Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

We only know bits and pieces about the remainder of the Apostle John's life. Tradition says that he was boiled in oil but survived. Whether or not those stories are true, he did move to Ephesus and was arrested and banished to the corrective island of Patmos. While in Ephesus, John wrote three letters, the New Testament books of I John, II John, and III John. The book of I John was written to teach mature believers on how to love one another and to fellowship. The book of II John was a warning against false teachers and doctrines. The book of III John was a personal letter to commend the faithfulness and works of two men named Gaius and Diotrephes. While on isle of Patmos, John saw visions of future events and wrote the book of Revelation. The first three chapters of the book of Revelation were direct messages of God to seven churches in Asia, the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatria, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The remainder of the book deals with prophecy of past and future events. Throughout the last years of his life, John was also writing a book detailing the first and third year of Jesus Christ's ministry. These memories became the Gospel of John and was written to elaborate and "fill-in-the-blanks" of the other Gospels. Most people do not realize that John did not die on the island of Patmos but returned to Ephesus for the last few years of his life. He died of natural causes in Ephesus sometime shortly after A.D. 100.

John's death signaled an end to the Apostolic era. Many churches continued in the Apostle's doctrine, but many began to give in to the false teachers that were rising up en masse. This era is called by modern Bible scholars as the Post Apostolic Age and is commonly defined as the period of A.D. 90-140. Some churches began to rise up teaching new doctrines such as "Gnosticism." Gnosticism tried to intermingle Greek philosophy and Christianity to make it more appealing to the heathens. It held that salvation came through some sort of "supernatural given higher knowledge" and was not through obeying the gospel. They taught all things spiritual were good and all things natural and material were evil. This belief gave way to the idea that Jesus Christ was not flesh or human but was a spirit being only. They also formed the idea that Jesus Christ could be another "god-like being" that had emanated out of "God the Father."

The next stage of church history is referred to by scholars as the age of the "Greek Apologists." It lasted from A.D. 130-180. During this time, persecution only came from local governors and leaders who were not sympathetic to Christian beliefs. To avoid persecution, many Greek Christians began to write books trying to explain their theology and faith. A few of them wrote truthful exegesis on scripture; the majority, however, combined philosophy, tradition, and scripture in an attempt to make Christianity more appealing to the powers over them. Even though some churches and areas still preached the original Apostles' doctrine, most areas began to slip into false teaching.

The next era is known as the "Old Catholic Age" and lasted from A.D. 170 - 325. Here the elements of what would lead to the formation of the Roman Catholic Church began to form. The false concept of a Godhead of a trinity began to be coined and discussed as well as numerous other false doctrines such as infant baptism, baptism by sprinkling, and a three-fold baptismal formula of "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" rather than the Apostles' "in the name of Jesus." The age ended with the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 which blended church and state and formed the tradition of using church councils to work out doctrinal disputes. Despite wide-spread changes in doctrine and baptismal formulas, many churches still taught and held to the Apostles' doctrine.

The next age of church history was the "Ecumenical Catholic Age" which lasted from A.D. 325 - 787. In it were seven major church councils that formed the Roman Catholic Church and changed many doctrinal beliefs from the original scriptures. The church leadership enjoined pagan beliefs such as idolatry and rites with the church and then renounced Greek and Roman paganism. The concept of water baptism transformed into the Catholic processes of infant baptism, confirmation, and penance (or confession). Priests began to take vows of celibacy and the concept of monks and nuns began. The Lord's Supper became a weekly ritual for salvation and the roots of the doctrine of transubstantiation (the belief that the bread and fruit of the vine literally turn into the body and blood of Jesus Christ after blessing) were formed. The majority of churches got further from the original Apostle's doctrine!

During the fifth century, the Western Roman empire began to fall to barbaric tribes of people. The Roman Catholic Church stepped in to fill the void of government and the time of history known as the "Middle Ages" were born. The "Early Middle Ages" were a time of great regression spiritually and lasted from A.D. 600 - 1100. Pope Gregory announced that tradition was as valid for doctrine as scripture and the voices of the popes were just as valid as the Word of God. The concepts of confession, purgatory, and the sacraments of the church as the process of salvation all came to the forefront of the majority of churches. Pope Gregory also taught that the worship of saints, angels, and relics were okay and even to be desired and widespread idolatry infiltrated the church. For the first time, it became illegal for priests and nuns to marry. If any country rebelled against the king, they were not allowed any religious ceremonies or services and were doomed by the church to "everlasting doom." Despite the extreme persecution and heresy of the mainstream, a small "remnant" of believers still held on to the Apostles' doctrine.

In the age of the "Later Middle Ages" (A.D. 1100 - 1500), the Roman Catholic Church began to fight wars or "crusades" against the Muslims to try to capture the Holy Land formerly known as Judea from them. Thousands of children were organized as an "army" to fight and indulgences (advance forgiveness for any sin you might ever commit) were granted for anyone who would go and fight. Sadly many of the children were killed or died from disease and many others were captured and sold into slavery. Even worse, many of the adult crusaders did not wait until they got to the Holy Land to begin their plundering and looting but began to attack the Jewish people in Europe. After the failure of the crusades, the "Papal Inquisition" was instituted which said that any false doctrine (that is any doctrine that disagreed with the current Roman Catholic belief) was punishable by death. Many people were accused of heresy and killed by tortuous means. Sadly, many of the people were accused by political opponents and those who had a financial stake in the outcomes and were not guilty of any wrong doing. The Inquisition also made it illegal for the common man to own a Bible. The scriptures were translated into Latin which was not commonly spoken and many of the ceremonies and rites of the church began to be conducted in Latin. The time of the Inquisition was known for it's torture devices and horrible deaths. The Spanish Inquisition was of particular horror. Jewish people were the prime targets for this persecution but some of the small remnant who still believed the Apostle's doctrine were also targeted. For example, a man named Michael Servetus was burned at the stake for the crime of saying that Jesus was the Father and citing John 10:30. Because of the extreme persecution of those who disagreed with the Catholic Church and the subsequent burning of their material and literature, very little information is available about the groups that had held on to the original Apostolic doctrine and the truth was relegated to very small, "underground" groups.

After the dark days of the Inquisition, the religious world was ready for dramatic change. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a list of ninety-five theological errors of the local Catholic Church and the "Protestant Reformation" began. His list denounced such common practices as paying money for the salvation of dead relatives, transubstantiation, salvation by works, indulgences, and tradition being equal with scripture. Although, he was off doctrinally in other areas (for instance teaching that water baptism was not necessary for salvation and that only those who were "predestinated" ahead of time could be saved), the religious spark from Luther caused many hungry people to begin searching the scriptures and discovering some of the truths that had been forgotten by the main stream of Christianity. Other groups such as Ulrich Zwingli and the Anabaptist movement were not content to only stop doing the traditions that contradicted scripture but to also stop the things for which there was not a Biblical example. They were not always consistent. For example, Zwingli taught that the process of communion was not a salvational formula or rite, but still baptized infants. The Anabaptists taught that infant baptism was invalid and rebaptized thousands of adults teaching that is was necessary for salvation. A few groups went all the way back to the original Apostolic doctrine and even some of the Anabaptists realized the truth of Jesus' name baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. A group called the "antitrinitarians" began to get revelations of the oneness of God. Even though the majority of movements did not reform to the complete Apostolic doctrine, some did!

With the many men such as John Calvin rising up to debate deep theological issues, many of the groups began to fall into philosophy and a form of their own ritualism. By this time there were many different branches of beliefs apart from the Roman Catholic Church and even the Catholic had changed their view points in some areas of theology to compete. In the 1700s many men began to think that the Reformation had become a political system of endless debate and not centered on scripture and truth. One such man was John Wesley and his brother Charles. In 1735, they sailed to America as missionaries where they met a group called the Moravians. The Moravians impressed Wesley with their spirituality and he realized that they had a much closer walk with God than he had received from the doctrines of the Reformation. Wesley returned to England determined to bring a spark of life into the Church of England. After some prayer meetings in which the Spirit of God reportedly moved mightily, Wesley began to preach a doctrine of repentance and victory over sin through teaching and application of the scriptures and self-examination. Their worship services began to use spirited singing and even outward manifestations of praise such as crying out, jumping, running, dancing, and praying out loud. When the Church of England did not respond to Wesley, his group split off and the Methodist movement was born. As the Methodist movement began, many of the people began to receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, although most of them did not realize what it was. The Methodist revival also introduced the concept of Sunday School for children and Wesley taught that "a fully restored church would include the operation of the Gifts of the Spirit." Many of these hungry people were embracing the Apostolic doctrine and experience!

The fire that started in England spread quickly to the United States. In 1734, a Calvinistic preacher Jonathan Edwards began to preach repentance and turning from sin in powerful sermons. His services began to experience a similar move of God that the Methodists in England were experiencing. As this time of "Great Awakening" spread throughout America, the Methodist began to evangelize the colonies and the Baptist movement was born. Pentecostal type services and experiences particularly spread along the frontier in places such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Many of the blacks and slaves embraced the "spirit-filled" revival and the first black religious movement, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, withdrew from the Methodists because of racial discrimination.

The revival fires of the Great Awakening began to subside as many religions began to give into the philosophical interpretations of scripture. But in 1790s and early 1800s the "Second Awakening" began to occur in mainly the Methodist and Baptist churches. Many churches and preachers began to have "camp meetings" where thousands of people would gather together for a service. One such meeting at Cane Ridge, Kentucky in August 1801 involved almost 30,000 people and reports of gifts of the Spirit, speaking in tongues, healings, dancing, and spirited singing were documented in many places. Many powerful preachers began to hold "revival meetings" where they called for a return to spirit-led, repentant living and expressional worship. Two of the most prominent were Charles Finney and Dwight Moody. They taught that anyone could respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved and that everyone could have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Their preaching and movements led to the formation of the Holiness movement which emphasized Godly living after conversion. It was this movement that set the stage for the Pentecostal movement.

By the 1900s, many of the churches that had been involved in sparking the Second Awakening had lost much of their zeal for the full restoration of the Apostolic church. Yet many preachers of the Holiness movement were studying scripture desiring more of God and to more closely follow the Early Church of Acts. One such preacher, a twenty-seven-year-old young man named Charles Parham, began to seek for the baptism of "the Holy Ghost and fire." On October 15,1900 he opened the Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas. At the end of the first semester he challenged his students to study receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues and whether it was possible to receive the same experience as the original Apostolic church. Everyone came to the same conclusion: "yes, it was real and was available in modern times." After the Christmas holidays, Parham and the students began to conduct prayer meetings asking God for this experience. At on such prayer meeting, a young female student named Agnes Ozman asked Charles Parham to lay his hands on her head and pray for her to receive the Holy Spirit and became the first person in the twentieth century to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Two nights later, on January 3, Parham, his wife, and 12 other students received the same experience. The Pentecostal movement was born!

Parham's group began to hold powerful revival services in Kansas and thousands of people began to receive the Day of Pentecost, Holy Ghost experience! Also many miraculous healings such as blinded eyes being opened began to take place. The revival began to spread from Kansas south all the way into Texas. One convert that received the Holy Ghost in these revivals was an atheist named Howard Goss. He would later become one of the founders of the Assemblies of God and the first General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International. When Howard Goss received the Holy Ghost, he spoke in tongues continually every waking moment for one week. It was a week later before he could preach in English! Realizing that Texas was ripe for revival, Parham opened a Bible college in Houston, Texas.

One student of the Bible college in Houston, Texas was a black holiness preacher named William Seymour. Seymour received an invitation to preach in a Holiness church in Los Angeles, California on Azuza Street. Seymour preached about the Holy Ghost even though he had not received the experience himself. Before the revival was over, Seymour had received the experience along with thousands of others! The group held services daily every night for three years! The Azuza Street Mission, as it was called, literally began to spread the Holy Ghost experience around the world!

As the Pentecostal movement grew, many different beliefs surfaced and many new "organizations" were started. In 1913 many ministers, including the afore mentioned Howard Goss, began to see the need of an organization of ministers to license, protect the church from scam artists and troublemakers, and organize missionary outreach. In the fall of 1914, 128 ministers and missionaries met together to form the General Council of the Assemblies of God and a new organization was born. Almost immediately, the issue of the proper way to be baptized was confronted. Over the next two years, many of the ministers began to realize that the doctrine of the trinity was flawed and that the only way anyone was ever baptized in the Apostolic Church was "in the name of Jesus." In 1915, an overwhelming majority of the ministers were rebaptized "in the name of Jesus." Not all accepted the so called "Oneness message," however, and by 1916, the stage was set for a historical conference. In the conference, the Assemblies of God leaders debated with the "Oneness" movement and the final result was a vote that the doctrine of the trinity and the literal words of Matthew 28:19 be required for water baptism in the Assemblies of God organization. Of 585 ministers, 156 withdrew from the organization realizing that the Apostolic way to baptize was "in the name of Jesus." These ministers became the foundation of the Oneness movement today and several organizations were formed such as the Pentecostal Assemblies of the Word (PAW), the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), and the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ (ALJC), and many other smaller groups. Most of these seek to base their doctrine and religion not upon tradition, but upon the Early Church and scriptural teachings. They try to teach the original message of the early Apostles.

Over all, these movements have seen phenomenal growth. The largest of these organizations, the UPCI, listed over 2,000,000 spirit-filled members and 25,268 churches world-wide in 1998. These numbers are probably way out-of-date because recently there have been literally millions receive the Holy Ghost in such places as the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Thailand.

The questions and decisions that these men faced are the same dilemmas that you and I face today. Will we follow the traditions of men and lean more upon philosophies and opinions of men for our religious experience? Or will we rely upon God's Word and His model: the Early Apostolic Church for our doctrine and lifestyle?! As for me, I will not stop in my walk with God until I see a complete restoration of the Early Apostolic Church! If anyone had it right, they did, and I am open to all that God has for me!