Reformation Misinformation

I have never been comfortable with the “Dark Ages.”  That is, how it is historically  presented has always bothered me.  Why would God basically abandon his church for abut 1500 years?  It doesn’t fit with his “modus operandi.”  It is contrary to the idea that the “gates of hell shall not prevail.”  So what really happened?
We all know we need to scrutinize what we read, but certain stories have been presented as nearly Biblical truth.  To question them is to flirt with heresy.  A different view challenges the legitimacy of established organizations. So is discussion of this good or just causing unnecessary upheaval?
The fact is that there has been a steady stream of true believers through this period, but they are nearly rendered invisible in a history written by their enemies, then passed down in ignorance or convenient inattention.  These believers would not agree to  subject themselves to man-made religious systems, which in essence denied the completeness of Christ’s work for them.  They would not acknowledge men who took authority over them under the guise of speaking for God.  They knew there is only one mediator between God and man.  For this, they were not only mistreated, banished, tortured, and killed, but vicious lies are spread about them to this day.  They are accused of things that make men shudder and turn away from even their memories, refusing to call them brothers.
It is from this perspective that many contemporary Protestant organizations claim their place as those who finally represent God correctly.  However, if they aren’t “the light that rescued the church,”  what are they?  If this type of religious system was not pervasive among true believers up until the time fondly referred to as the Reformation, what was the church like?  Maybe, as Constantine’s cultural absorption of Christianity led to corruption and a Romanized hierarchy, the political forces for the Reformation created a sense of freedom, but only proved to trap in a very similar bureaucracy those who would attempt to please God.
The result of the Reformation was not really religious liberty.  It was political separation of countries from the Catholic administration.  Within the countries that broke away, the Protestant leaders were strictly and severely authoritarian, to the point of frequently killing believers.  There is no example of this in Acts or any New Testament reference.  It is unacceptable.  Today, in most of the western world, the marketplace is more of a power, but the position of those who claim religious authority is not really less stringent.  They would have you think you need them in order to understand and communicate with God.  And, by the way, would you also give them some of your money.  Any system built on this premise is at best man’s foolish ideas of religion and at worst a barrier to walking in freedom and grace.  The Bible makes it clear that we who are believers are to encourage one another, but we are all taught by the Holy Spirit.   Call me by no other name than a believer in the Way.
Addendum:
John 10:27-29   “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
And:  Phillipians 1:6   “… being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
As well as:  Matthew 16:18   “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock (Jesus is always the rock in scripture) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
When we believe in Christ Jesus, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), empowered and safe. He has promised that we are kept by Him and for Him against all forces. His true followers, old or new testament, never abandon Him because by His grace we are saved from sin and our old selves. The body of believers may be learning, maturing, and being conformed to His image, but she is always waiting expectantly for Him. (The church can learn from Israel, but not all in Israel believed and some were destroyed (Jude 1:5) Therefore, we cannot make a direct comparison in this regard between the church and Israel.) Oh, the wonderful faithfulness of God to fulfill His promises to us.