2 Thessalonians 2:15
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions
which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."
What does it mean to be an ANTE-Nicene Church?
People ask this question all the time. We believe it is essential to know a little bit of the history of the Church in order to understand. Today, there are usually two types of Churches: Roman Catholic and those that branched out of it, and the Protestant Church and those that branched out of it. Before the Roman Catholic Church existed, the Original Church was called the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. It was not until 300 A.D., that is, over 200 years after the last apostle died, that the Church began to change—a majority, not all, Churches at the Council of Nicaea united with Rome.
In Nicaea, 300 out of the 1800 bishops joined with the Roman Government to reshape Christianity. It was during this time that traditions, teachings, and beliefs were changed, and people were forced to adopt them. Harvest rejects all teachings and doctrines instituted by the council of the Nicaean period and after that conflict with the Bible and the teachings of Christ, the Apostles, and their immediate successors.
Being Ante-Nicene means you hold to the teachings and traditions of the earliest Church and the First Catholic and Apostolic Church. Harvest Christian is an Ante-Nicene First Christian Church.
How does being ANTE-NICENE differ?
1) We believe in God the Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, who was begotten of the Father, and in the Holy Spirit that comes from the Father through the Son. We believe God is a who, not a what. We believe that the true trinity is the Godhead, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is the Godhead that is Trinity.
2) We believe in the Holy Eucharist. That anyone partaking must believe and have been baptized. The Eucharist is not just a symbol or a motion; rather, in the sacrament, the presence of the Body and the Blood of Christ is mystically in them. That Christ is among those who partake. It is not to be taken as ordinary bread and cup but as if one is partaking of the Body and the Blood of Christ.
3) We do not believe in a pre-trib Rapture. This doctrine is new and false and was never taught by Christ, the Apostles, or the successors of the Apostles or First Christians. We believe Christ will return at the end of the tribulation, where the dead in Christ rise first, and we who are alive will be raptured to be with the Lord forever, not just 1000 years.
