“Then it is simply an accretion of the centuries added by the traditions of men and should be rejected whenever contradicts God’s Word or adds to it.
These traditions of men include a boatload of falsehood that is now part of the doctrine of the church, unfortunately.”
So you believe that apostolic authority ended with the death of the last Apostle.
Where exactly does the bible teach this?
BK,
The Bible teaches the Apostles were laid as a foundation
for the Church. It does not teach we are to have continual
Apostles living on earth [anywhere I can see].
“Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of
the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is
Christ Jesus himself.” Eph 2:20
SO...I would ask you the reverse.
Where does the Bible teach there will always be
Apostles living on the earth?
Where is a selection criteria laid out?
If you use the criteria listed in Acts, when a replacement
for Judas was chosen, it had to be someone who had been
with them from the beginning. Anyone around today that meets
that criteria?
I think not.
Later, completely apart from any action the early Church
took, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to the Apostle Paul
and chose him. Paul was not even a believer when Christ
appeared to him.
Do you believe the Lord will always supernaturally appear
and choose an additional Apostle? Will He continue to choose
non-Christians to become Apostles? In the tradition that
claims Apostolic authority, I do not see either the casting
of the lots (Book of Acts method) nor the Supernatural
appearance of the Lord to choose a non-Christian to become
and Apostle...
[It is worth considering that the Apostle Paul was chosen
while there were already 12 other Apostles living, as far
as we know. That makes 13. So it isn’t like there was a
vacancy...]
Why are there not 12 Apostles, each chosen supernaturally
before they became Christians - directly by the Lord - at
this point in history?
That is the best I can do to respond to your question.
best and Happy New Year,
ampu
PS - You didn’t ask about Apostolic Authority continuing
by the original Apostles who live today, so I will put
that off for another thread.
Act 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
That's the requirement for an Apostle...Therefore, no apostolic succession...