Orthodoxy is a historical phenomenon that is not connected with the organization of God, much less with his church. Orthodox: It seems to me that it is time to move on to the question of the Church, especially since you and I have already touched on it. Do you think the Church has existed continuously from the day of its creation to the day of Pentecost? Jehovah's Witness: We believe that as an organization here on earth, the church ceased to exist, having mixed with the state, the empire of Constantine, in the fourth century.

She went from being the Bride of Christ to being a of Babylon. However, throughout all these centuries of apostasy, there must have been "wheat"—individual true anointed Christians. But the "wheat" was mixed with the tares, the worst of which is the Christian clergy, who remain the most essential part of Satan's "seed." This is also said in the Scriptures: "He set before them another parable, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; And while the people were asleep, his enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat, and departed. When the greenery sprang up and the fruit appeared, then the tares also appeared.

And when the servants of the householder came, they said to him, "Lord! Did you not sow good seed in your field? whence then are the tares on it? And he said to them, The enemy of man has done this. And the slaves said to him, "Do you want us to go and choose them?" But he said, 'No, lest, when you pick out the tares, you pluck up the wheat with them' (Matt. 13:24-29). The time of retreat, from the fourth century to 1914, is the time "when people slept."

In the light of the prophecies of Daniel 4:20-21, 28-29, we can see that the 2,520 years from 607 BC to the end of 1914, when Christ Jesus began to reign in heaven. The date 607 BC marks the end of God's theocratic kingdom. Therefore, the date of 1914 is the beginning of its restoration. So, the kingdom ended in 607 BC.

, and the faith was distorted from 325 A.D. But, as I said, a remnant persisted even in these times of apostasy. As Isaiah says: "If the Lord of hosts had not left us a small remnant, we would have been like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah" (Isaiah 1:9). Orthodox: I would call your position lethargic historiography. How can you imagine that Christendom, as you put it, has fallen asleep and "slept" for more than 1500 years?

The purpose of Christendom in every century of church history is the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ. Sending the Apostles to preach the gospel, the Lord said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen" (Matt. 28:19-20).

Notice the second part of verse 20, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Here Christ speaks of the continuity of the Gospel gospel "always, even to the end of the age," meaning not even years, but "days." The continuity of the church's existence in history is evidenced by a prophecy from the Book of Daniel: "You saw him until a stone was torn from the mountain without hands, and struck the image and its feet of iron and clay, and broke them.

Then all were broken together: iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold became like dust on the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, and there was no trace of them; but the stone that broke the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:34-35). What is this stone that breaks the image? What is this mountain that will fill the whole earth? The stone is Christ and His teaching.

Compare: "Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner? Is this from the Lord, and is it wondrous in our eyes? Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and it will be given to a nation that bears its fruits" (Matt. 21:42-43). It also speaks of Christ, whom the builders "rejected"; and that He is the Head of the Church – "He has become the head of the corner"; and that "shall be taken away ...

The Kingdom of God" from the Jews, "and it will be given to the people who bear its fruits." By the way, this text directly contradicts your belief that the kingdom was taken from the Jews in 607 B.C. In reality, they lost it in the days of Herod "the Great," the first non-Jew (Edomite) king over Judah, when the Messiah was born. Of which Jacob also prophesied: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from her loins, until the Mediator comes, and to Him shall be the obedience of the nations" (Gen. 49:10).

The fact that the stone symbolizes the Teaching of Christ is said in the Sermon on the Mount: "Whosoever therefore heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and rushed upon that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on a rock" (Matt. 7:24-25). It also speaks of the invincibility of the Teaching of Christ, in other words, that the biblical truth will not "fall asleep," as strangely, to put it mildly, you teach.

The Lord Jesus Christ clearly testified to the indestructibility of the Church and Her Teaching, saying: "... and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). In the sense of these words, the Church of Christ exists continuously from the days of Pentecost to our days and into eternity. The prophet Daniel says about this: "And in the days of those kingdoms the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be given to another people; it shall crush and destroy all kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2:44).

Jehovah's Witness: As I said, we recognize that anointed Christians have existed throughout the centuries of "apostasy." They were the ones who implemented the principle of the continuity of the witness to the gospel of the kingdom. Orthodox: Can you name any of them? Jehovah's Witnesses: Pierre Waldo, Jan Hus, Bible translators William Tyndall, Luther, and others.

Orthodox: It seems to me that you have a poor idea of what and how these people believed. Jan Hus was the author of a large treatise in defense of the veneration of icons, his associate Jerome of Prague was directly accused of having ties with the Orthodox, for which he was burned, Luther recognized the baptism of infants; they believed in the Holy Trinity, in the Divinity of Jesus Christ, which contradicts your worldview, the Waldenses merged with historical Protestantism.