Church History - Montanists

I developed a recent interest in church history, no that's a lie - I've always been interested in it but this summer I decided to do something about it. I do agree with George Santayana that, 'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.' One of my church leaders lent me 'Church History - A Crash Course for the Curious' by Christopher Catherwood. I am only a couple of chapters in, but I have already learnt a lot - about evangelicalism, various denominations that have risen and died through the ages, and how the church has stood the test of time. It's a great book that I highly recommend to all you 'curious' folk! One of the early, and now extinct denominations that caught my attention was Montanism, so I decided to dig a little deeper.
There are not that many sources around that have documented the practices, doctrines and the demise of this community. Moreover, there seems to have been sects within the Montanist church confined to various localities, and these sects had varied doctrines, again details that are not well documented. I am going to share my findings - but if you would like to correct or add anything, you are most welcome.

The Montanist Church was founded by Montanus - a young Christian convert who is said to have been a priest of Apollo or Cybele - in 2nd century AD. It started in Phrygia, Asia Minor, hence it's followers were also referred to by the names, 'Cataphrygian' or 'Phrygian' which literally means 'out of Phrygia'. Montanus travelled with two female assistants, Prisca and Maximilla - they preached their doctrines and were known for their ecstatic prophecies. It was a sect that placed a lot of emphasis on the Trinity, fidelity during persecution and esteemed chastity, penance and spontaneous reliance on the Holy Spirit.

They were protestants of sorts, as they believed in salvation through Jesus Christ and consecutive repentance. Their doctrines focus primarily on John 14 and 16, chapters that document the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts that we can obtain as a result.
John 14:12 - whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things
John 16:14 - He [Spirit of Truth] will glorify me [Jesus].
They preached that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed through grace and not 'deeds' of righteousness or spiritual superiority; and also that the Spirit provided prophecies to both men and women alike.
Moreover, they propagated a belief in 'The Four Ages'

1. NATURAL AGE - innate understanding of God, through personal revelation and nature. This was the period before the Law i.e. Noah, Adam .etc.
2. LEGAL AGE OF THE FATHER - This age is the age of the Law. From Moses until the period of Jesus, covering all the prophets.
3. GOSPEL AGE OF CHRIST - This is the New Testament period pertaining to the life and ministry of Jesus.
4. REVELATION AGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - They believed that this period, after Christ, was established by Montanists and that it supersedes the age of Christ - WHAT? Supersede? I thought the Spirit was meant to 'glorify Jesus' - moreover, their primary form of teaching is by revelation and NOT via Scripture...sounds a bit dodgy to me!

Montanist meetings are said to have a period of TERROR - I am not quite sure what that meant or constituted. This was followed by a period of QUIET and PASSIVITY IN MIND, where they empty their minds completely to be taken over by the 'spirit' - I am a bit weary about this, hence I have not capitalised it. The 'spirit-filled' state is known as the ECSTATIC STATE, where members of the congregation prophesy in first person, out of the control of one's own will. This varied from the prophecies in the Bible which are characterised by calmness and free will, but this difference was justified as a 'new, higher order' - but weirdly, this was exactly how Montanus is said to have prophesied as a priest of Apollo or Cybele!
In addition to all this, they were pre-millennial - they believed that Jesus' second coming would happen before 1000 AD. They were also quartodeciman - celebrated Easter according to the Hebrew calendar - who wore make-up (Note - make-up was a sign of harlotry) , paid preachers and believed to posses the authority and power to forgive sins.

According to my research, which involves mainly Catholic and Reformed sources, these were the beliefs of the majority, but like I said before the doctrines changed between localities. For example, the famous historian Tertullian, is said to have converted into Montanism, although he remained on records, a Catholic. He wrote that the Holy Spirit did not supersede Jesus but only 'affirmed ambiguities in the Bible', not introducing new doctrines. His teachings resulted in Tertullianism which spread to the West. No matter where it spread, all forms are known to have met their demise by 6th century AD. What caused this sudden decline in a movement that captivated many?

Looking at what they preached and practised, it is clear to see why many had a problem with them - it was not so much that they were exercising the gifts of the Spirit or prophesying, it was more so the manner in which they did it. Can the Spirit of God result in violent or 'ecstatic states'? I don't know, but I see no examples in Scripture! Just because they exercise these gifts, which some believe stopped with the Apostles (I am not here to debate that, although I do believe that they continued), they're wrongly linked to modern day Charismatics or Pentecostals! Just, no! There must surely be demonic spirits that counteract the Spirit of God - how do you discern the two, if you rely on spontaneous revelation, without affirming it with the Word of the Lord? Jesus Himself did not come to overthrow the words of the Father but to clarify them. The deal breaker for me however, was looking at the actual prophecies, as we are asked to 'test the Spirit' - and guess what, they had numerous that did not come to pass. Their prophecies were very 'end-time' oriented (e.g. One of their prophecies stated that Christ would return to New Jerusalem, which will be located in Pepuza or Tymion; they apparently also gave a date - this obviously never happened, and we see their followers declining from this point on) Jesus said He'd come like a thief! Never believe anyone who tells you otherwise, but be ever prepared!

I know that there is a wealth of knowledge out there on Montanism, that I am ignorant to, but with what I have at hand, I certainly see this as a heresy. What scares me though is how much truth it actually holds - much truth that totally loses it's value because of the odd lies and misconceptions that decorate it. These people appeared to be on fire for God, moved and used by the 'spirit', but that was all a lie - doesn't that scare you? The thought that a demonic spirit can imitate the Holy Spirit? There is a spiritual world out there, believe it or not! It reminds me of Matthew 7:15, where Jesus says that false prophets, referred to as wolves, come 'dressed in sheep's clothing' - the false doctrines always contain elements of truth to ease you into it. This calls for us to be vigilant, not only towards attacks of sin that can mar our walks with God but also towards what we're feeding ourselves with. A deluded mind is worse and often harder to correct than an unbelieving one.

Don't lose that 'First Love'

Recently, it dawned on me that my faith flame had been dimming for quite a while. Having had one of the hardest years spiritually, it was no surprise to me that my relationship with God felt far from passionate - it was empty religiosity and dutiful worship that consumed my time rather than the awe-struck wonder with which I used to gaze at the Cross. I realised that I lost my 'First Love' - I was letting myself grow out of love for the Savior. Some thing had to be done, fast!

When married couples complain about growing out of love, what do they mean?

The fire or passion with which they loved each other initially, dimmed - it did not die, but the 'dimming' felt like 'death'.

While our relationship with the Savior is similar, it differs in one way - God never stops loving us with the passion with which He loved us first; the love that brought Him to earth and took Him to the Cross is an unfathomable, unchanging, ever-exuberant love. If friction develops in our relationship with Him, we alone are to blame!

In moments such as this, one can choose to give up assuming the love is dead or, one can choose to make an effort to reignite the passion that once robbed their heart. I am glad that I chose the latter!

God understands that often we can be a Martha - busily trying to serve the Lord 'correctly' and forget to remain at His feet. Thankfully, He gives us the remedy in Revelation 2:1-7.

The Ephesian Church the apostle John was writing to, faced pretty much the same problem. They worked hard for the progression of the Gospel and to eliminate false teachers, they ensured their lives were embellished with good deeds, they persevered through trials and were even intolerant to sin. While this sounds like the resume of the 'perfect Christian' (if there ever could be one!), God said, 'Yet I hold this against you, you have forsaken your first love.' This implies that it doesn't matter what we do but why we do it; it doesn't matter how we start but how we finish.

God's two-step solution soon follows, 'Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.'

1. Reflection
Take some time to pause, think and make a note of what you did and how you did it at the start of your journey with the Saviour.
For me this meant things like longer quiet times, reading more Christian literature, praying often, enthusiastically evangelising (not with fear or out of compulsion).etc.
It's not that I had stopped doing the things above, but somehow now it felt like A LOT of effort. I started off doing them because I wanted to but ended up doing them because I had to!

2. Repent and do the things you did at first
What does He mean? It took me a while to realise that this command consists of two parts...
'Repent' - this is at the heart level. We need to place God at the centre of our lives again, this can only be achieved through confession and prayer.
'...and do the things you did at first' - If we truly repent, this will automatically follow! You'll effortlessly want to delve deeper in love with the Saviour, hence serve Him wholeheartedly!

Losing our 'first love' is equivalent to letting ourselves be overcome by apathy. If you find yourself in such a position, I plead you to give it your all to get that love back. Reading the passage in Revelation shows us that this loss comes with a repercussion - God warns the Ephesian Church that their lampstand will be taken away, meaning they will eventually burn out of faith and no longer be lit for the Saviour. What a shame that would be after a wonderful start, knowing what the Saviour did and yet be doomed for all eternity! However, take heart, for if we overcome this apathy, He promises that we shall partake in what is rightfully ours through His blood.

Don't lose that first love!

Daniel's Bewildering Visions

A couple of days ago I was reading Daniel Chapter 8. It describes one of Daniel's most bewildering visions. What amazed me was its near future, historical relevance and the simultaneous distant future, apocalyptic relevance. Even after Gabriel interprets it, explaining the historical relevance, Daniel is left perplexed and worried, accentuating the complex nature of his visions.

The Historical Relevance

What Gabriel states, in explanation to Daniel, has already come to pass, Biblical prophecies are real, another proof that the Bible isn't just an ordinary book written by a bunch of crazy men - it is God-breathed and was written by men who were inspired by God, they themselves understood very little of what they actually noted down (as depicted by Daniel's baffled response).

The vision commences with the image of a ram with two long horns - however, one horn is longer than the other. The ram established its might in the north, south and the west.  Gabriel later refers to the ram as the Medo-Persian empire. The longer horn clearly refers to the Medians as they emerged first and the later, the Persians. As the map illustrates, the directions in which the Medo-Persian empire extends its dominion historically, is accurate with the Biblical prophecy. Moreover, this also fulfills one more of Daniel's visions as it links to the 'bear with 3 ribs' in Chapter 7 - Medo-Persian empire, having defeated Babylon, Egypt and Lydia, seems to fit the description well.

Historically, the Greek empire followed the Medo-Persian with Alexander the Great actively conquering over and thrashing the Medians and the Persians. Gabriel's interpretation of the goat which follows the ram, therefore is very accurate. It is also, thus, universally agreed that the single horn symbolizes Alexander the Great. After this horn was broken, in its place emerge 4 smaller ones - from one of the four, emerges a tinier one. This beautifully parallels with the four Divisions of the Greek Empire after Alexander's death as the kingdom was divided between his four general successors: Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Ptolemy.
However, unlike the unanimity in the agreements regarding the interpretation of the other images, the little horn has been the center of many disputes, disagreements and debates - while some outline the possibility of it representing Antiochus of Epiphanes, a Syrian who ruthlessly persecuted Jews; others believed it could represent the Roman Papal Dynasty, due to its predominant influence in laws and other matters which also complied to the description in Chapter 7. (Please check out this article for an in depth analysis of the various interpretations: The 'Little Horn' of Daniel's Sea-Beast)

The Apocalyptic Relevance

Besides the excitement this evokes, we ought not forget the passage's apocalyptic relevance which will affect our future. Gabriel did say, "...seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future." This is the beauty of the Bible, although it was primarily meant for the different era, it is also very contemporary and relevant to our society. The words in it are ever-pertinent, thus significant, and should not be changed!


Many have devised ideas and interpretations trying to surface the apocalyptic relevance the book of Daniel holds, especially this Chapter! (I know that I myself have formed an idea of my own about how this fantastical book relates to the end times - which, for obvious reasons, I will not be sharing here!) But, God is the only One who ultimately knows what these wise words truly mean; our incompetent minds often fail us.

However, one thing is certain. The precision and accuracy rendered historically, automatically implies the same when we take the apocalyptic relevance into consideration. Be weary, search God's word and earnestly seek to fathom its mysteries in prayer. Let us be prepared for the Lord's coming! Are you ready to meet our Lord, the God of the universe?

The start of the video below is from a 'EuroNews' clip about the Egypt unrest and deaths that occurred during the time. Wow, can this be the fulfilling of a Revelation prophecy! Scary, you can actually see the Pale Horse(circled)! Others have also said that they've seen this mind-blowing sight, God's word is just inerrant!

Revelation 6:7-8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.