Here's some passages from Ignatius - who was contemporary of the Apostle Johns, friend of John's and fellow-worker/disciple of John - who only survived John by 7 years:
Writing to Ephesus:
Quote:
|
"Let us take heed, brotherren, that we set not ourselves against the bishop, that we may be subject to God....It is therefore evidence that we ought to look upon the bishop even as we do upon the Lord Himself."
|
To the Magnesians,
Quote:
|
"I exhort you that ye study to do all things in a divine concord; your bishops presiding in the place of God; your presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles; and your deacons, most dear to me, being entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ."
|
Excerpts taken From Miller's Church History at 179 (1980).
I may be wrong, but I imagine everyone (on these boards, at least) disagrees with this sort of view of church authority. Yet this sort of perversion arguably was occurring during the life of the apostle John, and argued for by a co-worker of John's - indeed, I believe he was the "bishop" of Antioch even during the final years of John's life.
It is at least worth the question: "What is it about human nature that leans toward this sort of perversion?"
MacDuff is asking this question - but also going a step further and asserting an authoritative answer. It seems much of the push-back against his arguments is the presumption to have the answer. But that shouldn't negate the validity of the question.
On the flip side - it may be entirely wrong to see this as a perversion - given that it was a view endorsed in such close proximity to the author of Revelation. So perhaps the questions should be: "How do we reconcile this view with "being led by the Spirit""?
Thoughts?
In Love,
Peter