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h a ironside Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth - While the system called "Dispensationalism" has provided a clear distinction between God's dealings with Israel and the church, some extreme views have attempted to relegate the Gospels, the Acts and all early Epsistles to a separate "Jewish Church age" and have no instruction for the Body of Christ today.
Golden Lampstands of Iowa - Antioch Print E-mail

 Antioch
The Antioch Assembly is located three miles east of Clarksville. It has a very scriptural name. In Acts 11:26 "the disciples were called Oiristians first at Antioch." Though the Antioch we speak of is far removed from Acts 11:26, yet here once again are the disciples, the followers and learners of the Lord Jesus called Christians, now gathered in this rural area of North Iowa.

In 1895 and for some years following, there was a congregation here, with its church building and adjoining cemetery. This congregation grew weaker and weaker until finally only the building and cemetery were left. The name Antioch was firmly attached to the place, this now became the name of the assembly of believers, gathered by the Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, meeting at Antioch.

The assembly can rightly be called a hive-off assembly, which is quite proper. It takes place when assemblies of believers grow. It becomes much like the God-given example of a swarm of bees, who labor diligently, and with growing numbers of bees needing more room, they swarm. Then another bee colony is formed and established in another area, and another colony of bees begin to bring in honey.

Many believers lived in the Antioch area, which led to gospel meetings being held in the old Antioch church building and also in the surrounding towns. Russell Nesbit Jr. and Duane Wessels labored much in the area for a number of years; also a number of others held meetings, with some reached by the gospel. There was a deep and warm exercise in view of a lampstand being placed in the area, and on April 7, 1974, they first gathered as a God-planted assembly. At the first meeting there were 15 believers in actual fellowship, plus a number of visitors, and a number of local believers who observed; four of these were shortly added, making a total of 19 in the early meetings. The believers who first together at Antioch had all been a part of the Hitesville, Stout, Falls and Waterloo assemblies and were driving some distance to these assemblies, but now they gathered together at Antioch.
Their first meetings were held in the old church building that was cold and drafty. Fall came and the brethren felt the Lord was encouraging them. They thought it advisable to start construction on a building of their own on a large lot they bought just northwest of the cemetery. With the able help of a Christian brother, Dick Van Mill of Stout, a first class carpenter, and their own willing hands, they were able to move into the basement on February 9, 1975 and into the nicely furnished upstairs on October 12. The hail is a lovely testimony, a lamp-stand to the growing work of the Lord. At the beginning of 1985, the blessing of God on the testimony is seen in the 39 now in fellowship.
The assembly commended in March 1982, Bruce Collins, one of its members, to the work of the Lord.


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