Endless Geneologies?

Some workers seem to acknowledge the problem of a lack of evidence supporting their claims of apostolic origin; however, they often try to minimize this fatal flaw. From the VOT Web Site, worker Dan Hilton is quoted as saying this at the Burlington, WA Special Meeting on January 1, 1984:

"Also we are sometimes asked about the period between...the first century and the present twentieth century. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. We have no written records on earth of God's work in the world during this period. God's records are written in heaven, Malachi 3:16, Luke 10:20, Rev. 20:12. Any who would suggest a written genealogy record is necessary between the first and twentieth century would fall into the category of 1 Tim. 1:3-4. 'that thou might charge some that they teach no other doctrine. Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.' "

The passage Mr. Hilton is quoting is from Paul's first pastoral letter to Timothy. Paul, who was under house arrest confined to his own quarters with a Roman soldier on guard over him 24 hours a day, was unable to travel and visit his beloved brothers. So, in addition to prayer, he wrote letters to them, addressing specific problems - this is why they're called pastoral letters, because they are written as a pastor would deal with specific issues within his church:

"I repeat the request I made of you when I was on my way to Macedonia, that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrines or to concern themselves with myths and endless geneologies, which promote speculation rather than the plan of God that is to be received by faith. The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, wanting to be teachers of the law, but without understanding either what they are saying or what they assert with such assurance." (1 Tim 1:3-7)

Who were these "certain people" who were causing such a problem within the church at Ephesus? There were two groups: gnostics and Jews.

The Gnostics were a group of mystics who believed that matter was evil and denied that Christ had a natural corporeal existence. They thought that salvation involved achieving a secret knowledge (gnosis) which resulted in transformation into a higher state of non-physical being. With specific regard to Ephesus, the Gnostics had developed extensive accounts of families of divine aeons withing the "fullness of divinity", i.e., an "endless geneology" that was confusing the newly converted Christians. They were very influential, and therefore are indirectly addressed many times in Scripture (1 Tim 1, Titus 3:19, 1 John 5).

The other problem involved incorporating Jews and Gentiles into one Church. Paul tries to assure the Ephesian church that the redemption purchased by the death of Christ freed all from sin and death (Eph 2:1-4). Some wanted two faiths, Jewish Christianity and Gentile Christianity, but Paul said that in Christ there is only one faith. Artemis and idols are false because there can be no gods but the one true God. Sects and divisions are wrong because Christ is not chopped up or divided into parts or multiple denominational bodies.God's goal is one convenant family containing all peoples and tongues, slave and free, Jew and Gentile. In other words, the Gentiles had been excluded from God and without hope in the world (Eph 2:12). Having confronted his opponents who said that Gentiles could not be saved without circumcision, Paul now explained the great mystery; astounding even the invisible spiritual world: the mystery of the Jews and Gentiles formed into one body in one Church. They were both incorporated into Christ through their baptisms. Christ has torn down the dividing wall (Eph 2:14) - there is only one: one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one hope, one baptism, one faith, one body or Church (Eph 4:4-6).

In Scripture, geneologies ARE important. The divinely-inspired writer of Matthew's Gospel thought it was important to list the geneology of our Saviour Jesus Christ (Mt 1:1-17). The same scenerio exists for Luke's Gospel, as well (Lk 3:23-38). Geneologies are also present in the Old Testament (Genesis 11, Numbers 1, Numbers 3, Numbers 26, Nehemiah 7, etc). If you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then it follows that whatever is contained within it is important enough to be written down, even the mind-numbing census details in the Old Testament. As VOT points out the history of a 100-year-old sect "hardly qualifies it as endless genealogy", and neither are the geneologies presented in Scripture. They have a beginning and end, as opposed to the Gnostic pleromata.

Mr. Hilton admits that they have "no written records on earth of God's work in the world during this period". Although the workers would like to dismiss this as unnecessary, I think that this represents a fatal flaw for 2x2ism. Jesus Christ had divine authority (Mt 28:18) over all people (Jn 17:2, 1 Cor 15:27, Eph 1:20-22, Phil 2:9-10). He knew that he would not be on earth forever, so He called 12 men to lead his followers. He sent them just as the Father sent Him (Jn 20:21), giving them the authority to teach the Gospel (Lk 9:1-2) and said that whoever listened to them listened to Him (Lk 10:16). He told them to preach and baptize (Mt 28:18-20, Mk 16:15-16) and gave them the power to forgive sins in His name (Jn 20:23).

There is no scriptural reason to believe that this was to end with the death of the last Apostle; instead, Jesus promised them that the Holy Spirit would teach them forever (Jn 14:16, Jn 16:13). This is why the church is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Eph 2:20) and this is why the church (not the Bible) is the "pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Tim 3:15). Moreover, Jesus promised, "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20). In the Greek, the phrase is pasa tas hemeras, which means "ALL the days". All means all - not 1st Century, then the 20th Century. A similar Greek phrase is seen when Paul wrote that "to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Eph 3:21) The phrase is pasas tas geneas, or "ALL the generations". All means all - not the first generation, then the 20th Century generation.

There are actually two gaps that workers must explain. The first gap is what I've addressed, which is the gap between the time of Jesus until the time with most historians believe the 2x2 movement originated - late 19th Century Ireland. The other gap is the gap between the time of Jesus and the time when the "Bible" came into existence. The "Bible" did not just drop out of the sky into the nearest bookstore. Jesus established an authoritative, teaching church (Mt 16:18, Mt 18:18) which passed on the gospel for centuries. He never told anyone to write anything down, and it wasn't until 30-40 years at the earliest that the books of the Bible began to be written. For about 4 centuries there was fierce debate over which books belonged in the "Bible", until the Catholic Church formally defined the canon of the New Testament. When one recalls that there was no means of mass-production of Bibles for over a thousand years and that the majority of the public were illiterate, the notion that people could just pick up a Bible and give their "testimony" at meeting is a relatively new invention within Christianity.

Furthermore, it is not as if there were no "written records" of this time. There exist good copies of the writings of early Christians from the 2nd and 3rd Century - Christians like Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, etc. You can find them at any reputable library, or even on the Internet. When you read them, it becomes obvious that they were not 2x2s. And they cannot be dismissed as heretics, because Christ promised that total apostasy would never happen (Mt 16:16-19).

So, it does not seem unreasonable to expect some proof that the 2x2s existed from the time of Jesus. To admit that there are "no written records", while at the same time expecting people to believe them, strains the limits of credibility. It is as if I told you that I am a direct descendent of King David, but since I have no written record of it, you'll just have to take my word for it; or, that Germany actually did win World War II, but although I can't prove it, I expect you to believe me anyway. What sane person would believe me without demanding some amount of evidence? This is no different than a worker claiming apostolic origins but not offering any proof at all. It is nothing but wishful thinking.

The implications are profound: If the workers knew that the 2x2s originated in the late-19th Century but denied it - they lied. If the workers actually didn't know about it - their authority, knowledge, and accountability is questionable at best.