Posted on 10/11/2022 6:45:52 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
So what will the world's final end-time religion look like?
Will it start out with Satanists running around after the Rapture in red tights and pitchforks, sacrificing everything they can lay their grubby hands on? Will it be the New Age 'crystal wearing' hippies announcing the long-awaited Age of Aquarius? Will it be the final manifestation of Chrislam? Unfortunately, there are as many opinions about this subject as there are phony religions out there masquerading as the truth. While we can't say definitively what the Harlot religion will actually look like at the outset, we know by the mid-point of the Tribulation that all worship on earth gets directed towards the Antichrist.
So how does the world get from where it is now (with thousands of different faith systems), to the point where all religions are eradicated and all religious devotion is focused on just one man?
In stages.
Stage 1: Present Day
The spirit of antichrist is alive and thriving in these last days. What is this spirit of antichrist? It is any belief system or philosophy that denies Jesus is the Christ; that He is God come in the flesh (1 John 2:22-23). As John expounds, even in his day, many antichrists had come, but there was a final Antichrist coming. As you may already know, the Antichrist (Gr. Anticristos) doesn't just mean one who is opposed to Christ, but one who is in place of Christ. A Pseudo-Christ. A false messiah. Someone, or something pretending to be the path toward salvation.
At present, there are seven major belief systems in the world today: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, paganism, and humanism. Underneath these major categories, there are between 4,000 to 10,000 subsects/groups. Since Babel, Satan has had to shift his plans from global universalism to that of divide and conquer. Now that the end of the age has come, he is once again attempting to bring it all back together under one roof. While the world is presently being restrained by the Holy Spirit (i.e., the Restrainer), the Church remains the most dominant stabilizing force on the planet. I know it doesn't feel like it at present, but it's true. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18-19 that He would build His church, and the gates of hell would not prevail.
The Restrainer is not just restraining human wickedness through the influences of Christianity upon Western Civilization, but He is also restraining the dark spiritual forces which always seek open doorways into our human domain (Ephesians 6:12). And since Acts 2, He has done so by empowering the body of Christ through signs, wonders, and most importantly, His word. However, once the Rapture occurs, it will remove the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit by the physical removal of the body of Christ (the Church) from the earth.
Stage 2: The Day After
As previously mentioned, there are upwards of 10,000 different religious groups and belief systems out there. Any religious system or philosophy, regardless of how peaceful or benign it appears, which does not unequivocally state that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, is of Satan. So at present, all of this religious diversity works to his (Satan's) favor in keeping the world divided and confused. But once the Rapture happens, Satan will no longer need the division or confusion. Instead, he will need the world to rally around his man Antichrist as quickly as possible. However, Satan is also a bit of a master pragmatist in these regards. He understands the world isn't going to just turn on a dime. He will need to convince unredeemed mankind to get in line behind his chosen seed. This is where supernatural deception comes into play.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie...2 Thessalonians 2:9-11
Shortly after the Rapture, the world will be thrown into a state of chaos. How long that chaos will last is anyone's guess these days. But those people left behind will turn to their respective faith systems, seeking answers as to what just happened. Lacking answers (because the truth will discredit their own belief systems), I see all of these various religions seeking consensus amongst themselves. Along with the overwhelming display of lying signs and wonders (i.e., the satanic light show vis a vis UFOs) in the heavens, I imagine these world religious leaders will join together to promote the idea that Mother Earth/Gaia/Enlightened visitors (E.Ts), etc. had purged the world of the undesirables. That purging was "necessary" to help with the overpopulation of the planet adding weight to their supposed precious climate change "emergency."
In gaining consensus, all of these religious groups will agree on three things:
All paths lead to redemption
All religions worship the same God (just use different names)
Man must evolve to the next level
This is what makes it the harlot- it flatters everyone, and saves no one.
Unfortunately for them, there is a growing group of "non-consenters" who refuse to go along with the new state-sanctioned narrative. Rather, these new believers in Jesus are saying it was the Rapture. Very quickly, these believers are being shunned, censored, imprisoned, and turned into scapegoats for all the world's problems. And as the judgments begin to fall, these believers will be ruthlessly hunted down and rounded up for humiliating show trials and public executions.
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. Rev. 6:9-11
So what makes the final world religious system the Harlot?
We know that when the final world government rises up, it does so alongside a global religion (Revelation 13:1). She is blasphemously wicked and vicious against those who oppose her. She is labeled by God as the Harlot because whores/prostitutes have no loyalty to anyone and only seek after money, pleasure, and power.
So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. Rev. 17:3-6
In context, when the Bible speaks about harlotry here, we are not speaking to sexual immorality, but to spiritual infidelity. This harlot will represent a universalist-type religion where everything is tolerated except for true Biblical Christianity. Let's look at the hierarchy of false religions in the world today, and see how they will be molded into the three categories of the post-Rapture religious system.
Luciferianism: Although this is the smallest and most exclusive religious sub-system in the world, it is also the most powerful. It is the religious system of the global elite and as such, its impacts are felt worldwide. It is also, ironically, the pinnacle for all false religious systems to attain because all false religions ultimately serve the same master (Satan). This is why each false religion is works-based and provides incredibly difficult paths to climb towards, only realizing once at the top that when you strip it all away, it's really Luciferianism. This same works-based/universalist ideology applies to the non-religious secret societies as well, groups such as the Freemasons, Illuminati, Bohemian Grove, et al.
Eastern Mysticism: EM is a really broad term that includes many eastern faith systems and philosophies that find their geographic origins in eastern Asia. Broadly speaking, they are a mix of pantheism, polytheism, ancestor worship, paganism, Gnosticism, relativism, and universalism. The largest of these are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Taoism, but also include Shamanism and Animism among the more primitive cultures. EM is rooted in post-modernism (truth is relative), death is not the end (reincarnation or nothingness), and either there are many gods, or god is in everything.
Roman Catholicism: After the Rapture, the largest organized faction of the left behind "Christian" community will be those of the Roman Catholic Church. In the days to weeks after the Rapture, hundreds of millions of faithful Catholics will turn to the Vatican for guidance regarding what just happened. Doctrinally speaking, since Roman Catholicism believes both that it is the one true church, and also denies the Rapture, therefore, they will militantly push the accepted alternative theory (aliens, Gaia purging the earth, etc.).
Latter Day Saints: (also included here would be Jehovah's Witnesses and other pseudo-Christian groups) who represent the second, single largest organized faction of "Christians" left behind. While we don't have specific numbers, I imagine many millions will question their own faith systems as they see large sections of the real Christian communities removed instantaneously. This may be the wake-up call they need to finally come to the light.
Human Secularists: this includes all atheists, agnostics, "free thinkers", and other humanists who largely reject religion altogether. I believe these groups will be quick to attribute the sudden disappearance of millions to the increasingly observable UFO/AUP activity in the skies at the time just after the Rapture. These will champion the transhumanist movement that the Beast system will come to manifest. However, these groups will not remain atheistic for long though, because, by the midpoint, they will have to worship the man Antichrist along with everyone else or face death.
I know by this point, you're saying, hey, what about the "Christian in Name Only's" (CINOs), the Jews, and the Muslims? Well, truth be told, I don't think Islam has much longer to go before it's largely eradicated as a major global religion. Two points to make about this are: 1) Islam is too restrictive/exclusive for its own good, and thus, of no further use to Satan, and 2) Islamic warriors will largely be eradicated in too great of numbers during the numerous conflicts in the gap and in the early stages of the 70th Week, to be a factor later on (Gog-Magog, Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, Jeremiah 49:34-39 [Elam]). Thus, much/most of Islam's militancy will be eradicated in the opening salvo of the last days.
After these devastating wars in the Islamic world, those left behind will either abandon it for Jesus Christ or the Antichrist. I think it is here where we see the world's great post-rapture revival. Even today we see a large population of those around the world today who are willing to be beheaded for their faith. Not to discount western courage, but as we saw in the 2014-16 public executions by ISIS of believers in Iraq and Syria, Middle Easterners are far more willing to die for their faith than almost any other group. My .02c worth anyway.
As for the large populations of CINOs left behind, it's probably a mixed bag of post-rapture converts presumably regretting their lifestyle choices versus those who abandon the faith altogether. As for the Jews, I believe the Rapture will be a very perplexing issue for them to contend with. If it happens on a Jewish Feast date (or a date like Tish B'Av), then it will be something I think they are more likely to accept as legitimate. However, if it happens on a day not connected with any Jewish significance, then it will be less likely they accept it as divinely appointed.
However, I think once the Rapture happens, it will trigger numerous overlapping geopolitical and economic events that may distract the left-behind populations. Those not familiar with Biblical eschatology will probably have no idea of what just happened and will not have the time to appreciate its significance. Gog and Magog will happen soon after the Rapture, as would the other aforementioned conflicts involving their neighbors. Even those conflicts will result in the destruction of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, which will begin a frenzied series of events by the Jews to get their Temple rebuilt. Perhaps that Daniel 9:27 covenant is tied in with the Harlot more than we think, especially if it involves building the Third Temple.
According to Revelation 13, the whole world marvels and wonders after the Beast. We understand the beast to be an amalgamation of former empires that come to rule the planet with an iron fist. We also understand that out of this Beast system, comes one man who rises up (i.e. the Antichrist). But he does not rise alone. Another beast (from the land) either precedes him or arises with him. Perhaps this False Prophet rises up from the Harlot religious system as well. As mentioned in #5, it is unlikely this man is even religious at all, but rather, a pure humanist promoting the deification of man through the supernatural or technology. This same False Prophet is the one who is in charge of directing all of that worship on earth towards this one cursed man.
Just as the beast system comes to be personified in the man Antichrist, it would seem that the Harlot becomes associated with a city (Rome? Abu Dhabi?). At the midpoint, the world system will turn against the harlot just before Antichrist declares himself to be god. The religious system, its buildings, wealth, clerics, and everything associated with it will be stripped, robbed, burned, and destroyed to remove any competition apart from the absolute devotion to Antichrist himself. And thus, the harlot (the system and all who partook) are condemned to the eternal lake of fire forever and ever.
But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is...
...Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:7-18 (my emphasis)
You are confused.
It was the ROSARY that was created later.
Just keep this up; BB; and you'll probably post Scripture where Jesus called 'peter' SATAN!
Well!
What IS then??
--Snippy_Catholic_Dude(Hail Mary!!)
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.NIV Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.NIV Romans 9:33
As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."NIV 1 Peter 2:4-8
4. As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
5. you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
7. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, "
8. and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
But, since there WAS no NT at the time Christ spoke to Peter, just what DID Peter and the rest of the Disciples know about ROCKS???
NIV Genesis 49:24-25
24. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25. because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.NIV Numbers 20:8
"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."NIV Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.NIV Deuteronomy 32:15
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.NIV Deuteronomy 32:18
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.NIV Deuteronomy 32:30-31
30. How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
31. For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.NIV 1 Samuel 2:2
"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.NIV 2 Samuel 22:2-3
2. He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3. my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-- from violent men you save me.NIV 2 Samuel 22:32
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?NIV 2 Samuel 22:47
"The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!NIV 2 Samuel 23:3-4
3. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: `When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,
4. he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.'NIV Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.NIV Psalms 18:31
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?NIV Psalms 18:46
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!NIV Psalms 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.NIV Psalms 28:1To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.NIV Psalms 31:2-3
2. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
3. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.NIV Psalms 42:9
I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"NIV Psalms 62:2
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.NIV Psalms 62:6
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.NIV Psalms 62:7
My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.NIV Psalms 71:3
Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.NIV Psalms 78:35
They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.NIV Psalms 89:26
He will call out to me, `You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.'NIV Psalms 92:14-15
14. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
15. proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."NIV Psalms 95:1
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.NIV Psalms 144:1
Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.NIV Isaiah 17:10
You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.NIV Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.NIV Isaiah 30:29
And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.NIV Isaiah 44:8
Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."NIV Habakkuk 1:12
O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish......No other rock.............And now you know the Biblical position!
Well that settles what the Bible says on the subject. But one man made denomination has a better idea.
Nope. Was taught that in one of my theology classes during college. It’s in my classroom notes.
Well; as John has reported: John 6:28-29
Your understanding of what the Great Departure is could use some studying. The first thing that happens to those Christians alive in the great departure is the transforming as described by Paul in 1 Cor 15:51-58. Being put into a pine box and buried is not in any way a rapture event. The dead ib Christ rise into the clouds first, in their new glorified fit-for-eternal-living bodies. But you don’t want the truth you want catholiciism and are relying on the ORG.
As regards the oft-quoted Mt. 16:18, note the following Early Church Fathers promise in the profession of faith of Vatican 1:
• Basil of Seleucia, Oratio 25:
'You are Christ, Son of the living God.'...Now Christ called this confession a rock, and he named the one who confessed it 'Peter,' perceiving the appellation which was suitable to the author of this confession. For this is the solemn rock of religion, this the basis of salvation, this the wall of faith and the foundation of truth: 'For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.' To whom be glory and power forever. — Oratio XXV.4, M.P.G., Vol. 85, Col. 296-297.
• Bede, Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, 3:
You are Peter and on this rock from which you have taken your name, that is, on myself, I will build my Church, upon that perfection of faith which you confessed I will build my Church by whose society of confession should anyone deviate although in himself he seems to do great things he does not belong to the building of my Church...Metaphorically it is said to him on this rock, that is, the Saviour which you confessed, the Church is to be built, who granted participation to the faithful confessor of his name. — 80Homily 23, M.P.L., Vol. 94, Col. 260. Cited by Karlfried Froehlich, Formen, Footnote #204, p. 156 [unable to verify by me].
• Cassiodorus, Psalm 45.5:
'It will not be moved' is said about the Church to which alone that promise has been given: 'You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.' For the Church cannot be moved because it is known to have been founded on that most solid rock, namely, Christ the Lord. — Expositions in the Psalms, Volume 1; Volume 51, Psalm 45.5, p. 455
• Chrysostom (John) [who affirmed Peter was a rock, but here not the rock in Mt. 16:18]:
Therefore He added this, 'And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; that is, on the faith of his confession. — Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Homily LIIl; Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.iii.LII.html)
• Cyril of Alexandria:
When [Peter] wisely and blamelessly confessed his faith to Jesus saying, 'You are Christ, Son of the living God,' Jesus said to divine Peter: 'You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.' Now by the word 'rock', Jesus indicated, I think, the immoveable faith of the disciple.”. — Cyril Commentary on Isaiah 4.2.
• Origen, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Book XII):
“For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, 1 Corinthians 10:4 and upon every such rock is built every word of the church, and the polity in accordance with it; for in each of the perfect, who have the combination of words and deeds and thoughts which fill up the blessedness, is the church built by God.'
“For all bear the surname ‘rock’ who are the imitators of Christ, that is, of the spiritual rock which followed those who are being saved, that they may drink from it the spiritual draught. But these bear the surname of rock just as Christ does. But also as members of Christ deriving their surname from Him they are called Christians, and from the rock, Peters.” — Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Book XII), sect. 10,11 ( http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101612.htm)
• Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II):
Thus our one immovable foundation, our one blissful rock of faith, is the confession from Peter's mouth, Thou art the Son of the living God. On it we can base an answer to every objection with which perverted ingenuity or embittered treachery may assail the truth."-- (Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II), para 23; Philip Schaff, editor, The Nicene & Post Nicene Fathers Series 2, Vol 9.
Hmm. Are you sure? I see nothing in there about belonging to a specific denomination or church.
And your point is?
We have the Church.
We are the Church.
Founded by Christ, on Peter.
https://catholicstand.com/dangers-cliques-superior-attitudes-church/
MORMON ATTITUDES OF SUPERIORITY 1. I’m Superior; I have a special gift of the holy Ghost -- you don’t! 2. I’m Superior; I have God’s true priesthood power -- you don’t! 3. I’m Superior; I can go in God’s secret Temple -- you can’t! 4. I’m Superior; I’ve been Endowed with special Gifts and Knowledge -- you’re just normal! 5. I’m Superior; I’ll have my family with me in heaven -- you’ll be with strangers! 6. I’m Superior; I’m becoming a God -- you aren’t! 7. I’m Superior; My women know their place as servants of man and yours don’t. 8. I’m Superior; YOUR creeds are wrong because they come from man - mine comes from God (you can find each one printed in our Scriptures). 9. I’m Superior; I don’t HAVE a creed - I’ve got 13 Articles of Faith. 10. I'm Superior; I have 4 "Bibles"-- the standard works (5 if you count the JST) -- you've only got one: in as far as it is translated correctly. 11. I’m Superior; I can lie with impunity about such things as church membership, church growth, church doctrine, church history, church influence, etc. — -- You can’t. 12. I’m Superior; I am right (everybody knows) when I say 'evangelical' Christians are lunatics -- -- You’re a hideous narrow-minded bigot, who is persecuting me by practicing discrimination by saying I'm not a Christian. 13. I'm Superior; I have a testimony about a prophet -- you don't. 14. I'm Superior; I have a Scripture-producing Amos 3:7 prophet -- you don't 15. I’m Superior; I have a Living Prophet who talks to god every day -- you have a dim-witted hireling of Satan who only talks to himself. 16. I'm Superior; I have my calling & election made sure -- you don't. 17. I’m Superior; I have magic underwear to protect me from the bogey man -- you don’t. 18. I’m Superior; I have secret clasps and grips to give the angel so I get admitted to the celestial kingdom -- you don’t ;so you can’t. 19. I'm Superior; I know secret handshake codes for afterlife entrances-- you don't. 20. I’m Superior; I will see Joseph Smith setting on the right hand of GOD, when I get to Mormon heaven, and he will recognize me and judge me favorably -- You’re on your own; when you get to wherever you’re going! 21. I’m Superior; I’m going to hie to Kolob -- you’re going to who knows where. 22. I’m Superior; I get to have a harem and act like a celestial stud for time and all eternity -- you don’t. 23. I’m Superior; I have sun stones, moon stones, sky stones, cloud stones, Saturn stones, and the evil eye of Osirus guarding my temple -- You have nothing but a stupid cross. 24. I’m Superior; My church has billions in assets stashed away -- yours has taken a stupid vow of poverty. 25. I'm Superior; Last - we have the power to keep a whole race out of our priesthood if we wanted to reinsert our 148-year legacy (we ARE still keeping an entire GENDER at bay!) 26. I'm superior; I have the "higher law" -- everyone else "lives under the "lesser law' because I say so...(over and over). Revision 46.5 Semi-Official creed of the EXclusive club of Freeper Flying Inmans. All rights liable to be abused. |
HMMMmmm
I just HATE it when experts are claimed WRONG! by pip-squeaks.
• Augustine, sermon:
"Christ, you see, built his Church not on a man but on Peter's confession. What is Peter's confession? 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' There's the rock for you, there's the foundation, there's where the Church has been built, which the gates of the underworld cannot conquer. — John Rotelle, O.S.A., Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine , © 1993 New City Press, Sermons, Vol III/6, Sermon 229P.1, p. 327
Augustine, sermon:
Upon this rock, said the Lord, I will build my Church. Upon this confession, upon this that you said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,' I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not conquer her (Mt. 16:18). — John Rotelle, Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City, 1993) Sermons, Volume III/7, Sermon 236A.3, p. 48.
• Augustine, sermon:
For petra (rock) is not derived from Peter, but Peter from petra; just as Christ is not called so from the Christian, but the Christian from Christ. For on this very account the Lord said, 'On this rock will I build my Church,' because Peter had said, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' On this rock, therefore, He said, which thou hast confessed, I will build my Church. For the Rock (Petra) was Christ; and on this foundation was Peter himself built. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. The Church, therefore, which is founded in Christ received from Him the keys of the kingdom of heaven in the person of Peter, that is to say, the power of binding and loosing sins. For what the Church is essentially in Christ, such representatively is Peter in the rock (petra); and in this representation Christ is to be understood as the Rock, Peter as the Church. — Augustine Tractate CXXIV; Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: First Series, Volume VII Tractate CXXIV (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.cxxv.html)
• Augustine, sermon:
And Peter, one speaking for the rest of them, one for all, said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:15-16)...And I tell you: you are Peter; because I am the rock, you are Rocky, Peter-I mean, rock doesn't come from Rocky, but Rocky from rock, just as Christ doesn't come from Christian, but Christian from Christ; and upon this rock I will build my Church (Mt 16:17-18); not upon Peter, or Rocky, which is what you are, but upon the rock which you have confessed. I will build my Church though; I will build you, because in this answer of yours you represent the Church. — John Rotelle, O.S.A. Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City Press, 1993), Sermons, Volume III/7, Sermon 270.2, p. 289
• Augustine, sermon:
Peter had already said to him, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' He had already heard, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not conquer her' (Mt 16:16-18)...Christ himself was the rock, while Peter, Rocky, was only named from the rock. That's why the rock rose again, to make Peter solid and strong; because Peter would have perished, if the rock hadn't lived. — John Rotelle, Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City, 1993) Sermons, Volume III/7, Sermon 244.1, p. 95
• Augustine, sermon:
...because on this rock, he said, I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not overcome it (Mt. 16:18). Now the rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). Was it Paul that was crucified for you? Hold on to these texts, love these texts, repeat them in a fraternal and peaceful manner. — John Rotelle, Ed., The Works of Saint Augustine (New Rochelle: New City Press, 1995), Sermons, Volume III/10, Sermon 358.5, p. 193
• Augustine, Psalm LXI:
Let us call to mind the Gospel: 'Upon this Rock I will build My Church.' Therefore She crieth from the ends of the earth, whom He hath willed to build upon a Rock. But in order that the Church might be builded upon the Rock, who was made the Rock? Hear Paul saying: 'But the Rock was Christ.' On Him therefore builded we have been. — Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956), Volume VIII, Saint Augustin, Exposition on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXI.3, p. 249. (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf108.ii.LXI.html)
• Augustine, in “Retractions,”
In a passage in this book, I said about the Apostle Peter: 'On him as on a rock the Church was built.'...But I know that very frequently at a later time, I so explained what the Lord said: 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church,' that it be understood as built upon Him whom Peter confessed saying: 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,' and so Peter, called after this rock, represented the person of the Church which is built upon this rock, and has received 'the keys of the kingdom of heaven.' For, 'Thou art Peter' and not 'Thou art the rock' was said to him. But 'the rock was Christ,' in confessing whom, as also the whole Church confesses, Simon was called Peter. But let the reader decide which of these two opinions is the more probable. — The Fathers of the Church (Washington D.C., Catholic University, 1968), Saint Augustine, The Retractations Chapter 20.1:.
(Keep banging that drum, Brother!)
Well; if a fella won’t “listen to the church”...
LOL, so spot on!
Likewise...
If the best you can do is to IGNORE every ECF who disagrees with you, then you’re not helping your case much.
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”[a]
17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[b] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
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