Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

186 THE FIRST AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.the pattern of that which we have described asarising at Jerusalem, and by the same means, thepower of oral teaching. Every such communityhas at its head its bishop, or angel, who sums upand represents in his own person the people overwhich he presides. This is exactly the picturepresented to us at the close of this period byS. John in the Apocalypse, when he is directedby our Lord personally appearing to him to writeseven letters to as many bishops of cities on theseaboard of the province of Asia. Each, with hispeople, is addressed as a unit. One, u I know thyks, and thy labour, and thy endurance, andhow thou canst not bear those which are evil ;"a second, u Fear not what thou art about to suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you intoprison ;" a third, " I have against thee some fewthings, that thou hast there some who hold thedoctrine of Balaam."6 Each has around him hiscouncil of priests, his ministerin deacons, his faithfulpeople. The last apostle is still li ving ; but inall these communities many exist, both of teachersand taught, who have learned Christian doctrine,either from the mouth of an apostle or the comradeof an apostle - a Mark, a Luke, a Silvanus, aClemens. Thus they live mainly upon oral teaching: the voice which went forth from the day ofPentecost is sounding freshly in their ears. Doctrineis in the stage of simple tradition and autho-« Apoc. ii. 2, 10, 14.