# The Church Of God Obscured And Rendered Almost Invisible In Some Places; And What Has Been The Cause Of It From Ancient Times. · Page 2 of 2

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Here the rose has blossomed very gloriously
among the thorns. Song of Sol. 2:2. Here the
dove that was in the clefts of the rock and in the
secret places of the stairs, let her sweet voice be
heard.[40](/en/stories/mm-footnotes/part-5/#Footnote_40) Verse 14. Here the Lord said: “A garden
enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up,
a fountain sealed.” Song of Sol. 4:12. Here the
Son of God has fed, sustained and preserved his
church against the sentence of worldly and carnal-minded
men, who, because they are carnal, cannot
comprehend the things of the Spirit of God.

But, lest any should misconstrue our preceding
proposition, let it be understood, that when we
speak of the obscuration, concealment, or the becoming
invisible, of the church of God, we do not
mean the church in general, or in all places, for the
church in general has never been obscured and hidden
in all places at the same time; but we mean
thereby some parts of the church in general, namely,
some particular societies, belonging to the body of
the general church which is spread over the whole
earth.

It must be stated, also, that by the term, general
church, we do not understand all the churches which
bear the Christian name; but only those who express
the Christian name by their upright faith and
pure observance of the Christian and Evangelical
commandments.

Now the question arises, whether our church of
the present day, called the Anabaptists, has truly
descended, and derived her succession, from the
25aforementioned church of God which has existed
from the beginning, and kept the commandments of
God in purity.

But, in order to do this briefly and in the best
manner, we shall leave untouched the time and condition
of the church from Adam to Christ, as being
an undisputed point; and only examine the time
and condition of the church after the advent of
Christ; for the point of difference relates solely to
those who and which, by virtue of true succession,
have a right to the same.



## Original source

[Read this passage on Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65855/pg65855-images.html#FNanchor_40)

[Edition details](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65855)

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