The disciples were first ever called Christian’s in Antioch. You can see that in Book of Acts in chapter 11 verse 26 where it says, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” This is also the first time the Bible uses the label Christians. The label CHRISTIANS from Greek “Χριστιανούς”(Christianos) was coined by Saint EVODIUS, the second Bishop of Antioch, who succeeded Saint Peter and was the predecessor of Saint Ignatius of Antioch who also coined the term “CATHOLIC” dated 107 AD .
From the beginning Christians were known as a completely separate group from Catholics. If these two are the same then why was there a need to call those who followed Jesus Christ Christians and those who simply were part of religion and believed in God - Catholics. When the Disciples visited Antioch they were a group so different and what they were doing, how they moved was so different that they had to coin a new label for them. Clearly the men who coined these descriptive words saw a difference in these two people. That is how the story goes historically. You cant even say that it was just a coincidence either or a mistake of some sort. The same lineage of people who coined the label Catholics were the same people who coined the Label Christians. It was also in the same very place and nothing is a coincidence with God. In my opinion it had to be the same people who named Catholics to name Christians in the same exact place; Antioch so that the world can see the separation. Read more
Before being Labeled Christians I think its important we read a little of what lead up to that moment in Antioch when they knew something new was occurring.
The Apostles Persecuted Chapter 5
17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.
When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.
25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.Catholic Church History:
The early Church before this never referred themselves as Christians. As we read above both terms were coined by one office to describe two different kinds of people. In the Bible the title most often used was for Christians before our current label was “saints, disciples and simply followers of Christ" which is the current meaning behind Christian.
Christian Definition:
Definition of Christian
(Entry 1 of 2)
Catholic Definition:
Definition of Catholic (Entry 2 of 2)
The Greek word for saints is hagios which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” It is almost always used in the plural—“saints.” This reflects not just the individual but the connection to a group of people set apart for the Lord and His Kingdom. God never told us to start a religion, Jesus never commanded us to start a religion either. While Catholicism is religion, Christianity is not - Christian is Label to those who refused to denounce Jesus Christ.
Roman Catholicism, has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization. Along with Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism, it is one of the three major branches of Christianity. Although If you look at the history you can see how these branches adopted the coined Label Christianity because there is power in numbers. Those who wanted political status and power of the church all just fell into the umbrella of Christianity. If you observe the history and how and when and why these labels were coined you'd clearly notice that Christianity was never meant to have branches but it was always the Church of Christ which were his disciples.
The Roman Catholic Church traces its history to Jesus Christ and the Apostles yet the apostles were called Christians and not Catholics by the same people who coined the Label Catholics. Over the course of centuries it developed a highly sophisticated theology and an elaborate organizational structure headed by the papacy, the oldest continuing absolute monarchy in the world. A monarchy is a state or form of government with a monarch at the head of it like a sovereign head of state, especially a king, queen, or emperor. It typically acts as a political-administrative organization with complete and full authority and as a social group of nobility known as “court society.” The number of Roman Catholics in the world (nearly 1.1 billion) is greater than that of nearly all other religious traditions. There are more Roman Catholics than all other Christians combined and they out right beat everyone else too. Read More Here
Don't even get me started on the Vatican.
Here's a video on difference of beliefs
History of Antioch
If you didn't know Antioch was referred to as “all the world in one city,” where you could see all the world’s richness and diversity in one place. Almost like NYC a huge melting pot where the whole world could be seen in one place and the marketplace was its hub. Antioch was designed like most cities of that day: A circular wall on the outside, a marketplace in the center, with the interior of the city walled in way that divided different people groups from one another. That always bring to my mind this map of Chicago divided by race.
Enter Christ-followers. Enter the Gospel. The Church came to Antioch and began breaking down the dividing barriers in a way that upset the society’s existing categories. People from all parts of the city—Jews and Gentiles alike—were suddenly coming together. This group of people was redefining community in an unprecedented way, so much so, that a new word was needed to categorize what in the world was happening. What’s interesting here is that there were so many offshooting sects within Judaism that Antiochians never bothered to learn or categorize differently. But in Christians, they saw something different. The term “Christian” comes from the world’s realization that something new and unheard of was happening. It is often assumed that the name “Christian” was given somewhat flippantly or even derogatively by these powers-that-be—a sort of dismissive wave of the hand to those “little Christs.” Technically, the ending “-ian” means “belonging to the party of,” so “Christians” meant those of Jesus’ party.
As persecution rose later on for Christian’s the Label Christian was known to be given to those who wouldn’t denounce Jesus Christ. The Christian Label was placed on anyone who was a follower of Christ. Christians were always known to be a distinct group. I’m not sure at what point in history did people feel like grouping Christian’s together with Catholics, maybe it was for the sake of numbers and power the whole better together than divided thing.
Enter Protestants:
A member or follower of any of the Western Christian churches that are SEPARATE from the Roman Catholic Church and follow the principles of the Reformation, including the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran churches.
Protestants generally trace to the 16th century their separation from the Catholic Church. Mainstream Protestantism began with the Magisterial Reformation, so called because it received support from the magistrates (that is, the civil authorities).Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church because of corruption in the Catholic Church, some people saw that the way it worked needed to change. People like Erasmus, Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Luther and John Calvin saw the corruption and tried to stop it. This led to a split in the church, into Catholics and various Protestant churches. The Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church first. One of the many issues they had with the Catholic Church was the worship of saints, idols, and for example Mary. John Calvin stated that Mary cannot be the advocate of the faithful, since she needs God's grace as much as any other human being. If the Catholic Church praises her as Queen of Heaven, it is blasphemous and contradicts her own intention, because she is praised and not God.
Enter Denominations:
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organization and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as church, convention, communion, assembly, house, union, network, or sometimes fellowship.
As believers debated the scriptures and sacraments, churches formed and split based on myriad biblical interpretations, ways of worship and organizational structures. From these debates, denominations such as the Presbyterians, Mennonites, Baptists, Quakers, etc.
Western Christianity. The Latin portion of the Catholic Church, along with Protestantism, comprise the three major divisions of Christianity in the Western world. Catholics do not describe themselves as a denomination but rather as the original Church; which all other branches broke off from in schism. So if Catholics don’t even consider themselves part of us and instead separate as the so-called original church then why does the World continue to group as together including blaming all Christian’s for the Catholic Churches atrocities even though that’s exactly why we broke away from them.
The Bible:
Jesus speaks about church: He then stated, “And I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).
What is the church:
“Gk. ekklesia, meaning an out-calling. This word is used in reference to a called-out congregation.”
This note tells us that in Greek—the original language of the New Testament—the word for church, ekklesia, means out-calling. So the church is the congregation, or assembly, of all the people who have been called out of the world by God. Learn more
1 Corinthians 1:2:
“To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints.”
To the church of God equals to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. This strongly indicates that the church is a composition of the saints and that the saints are the constituents of the church. “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. [28] And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues” 1Cor.12
The church is the body of Christ, with Jesus at the head. In Romans 12:4 KJV: For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office. We are all very different, possessing different talents and gifting. However, as the body of Christ, we all pursue the glorification of God.
The Bible did not call us into organized Religion, if anything the Catholic Church is indeed the first to begin a Church that is opposite to the church that Jesus Christ spoke of. The church of Jesus Christ are the members of his own body and not a religious system. God called us into relationship not into religion. The confusion The Catholic Church has caused is the main reason from the first division removing ourselves from them. The second division in my opinion was when Protestants also began to adopt their own religious systems. What brought Protestants together was realizing that the Catholic Church was unbiblical and corrupted but soon enough that same corruption (Humanities Religious System) crept into Protestants and seperated us even further away from the original Church of Jesus Christ which is Jesus himself.
You’re either a follower of Christ or you’re not. You cannot be part of the Church of Jesus Christ however you feel like it and religious systems do not work in Jesus because he does not embody religious systems he embodies God. Jesus is God and anything outside of that is just human created systems.
Personal account:
As performers of deliverance we experience a lot of times what I like to call self exposure of darkness. It’s when demons expose themselves and the plans of Satan. In my time doing deliverance I’ve now delivered someone from demons that came in through Mormonism and Jehovah Witness. They were both religious spirits but specifically would only came out by their names “Mormon” and “Jehovah's Witness”. When I asked them who’s the Strong Man (head demon) behind these religions they’ve all told me “SATAN”.
Believe what you want though but Christian’s are not Catholic and The Christian Church is not a building. I pray as Christian’s we can all unite in that understanding the Bible says we have many members and all members are not in the same office. Meaning God wants to use us all differently and we all have our positions. That shouldn’t separate us from the truth that should organize us under Jesus Christ to be used at the Church of Jesus Christ.
