Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (God-breathed), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).
To be a Bible-believer one must believe all that Scripture asserts. Part of the reason that there are so many different doctrines and so much confusion is because many people take only the parts of Scripture that they like and ignore the rest. We cannot pick and choose what parts of the Bible to believe. We need to believe all of it!
This is what the Bible says about the Great Commission:
All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt 28:18-20) and, Go into all of the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs...(Mark 16:15-17).
Notice how Jesus tells us to make disciples (Christians) in the Great Commission--by baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and by teaching. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. This makes no sense if believing alone were always enough. There is another category not mentioned, those who believe but are not yet baptized. If those people have not refused baptism, then we must trust them to the mercy of God. They are not guaranteed salvation however. And if they know about baptism and refuse it, they cannot be saved. Many people say baptism is not necessary calling it merely an "ordinance", or just an "act of obedience" or "just a ritual". These people say you must be "born again", but not in the Biblical Christian sense.
What the Bible says about being born again:
Jesus answered and said to unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto Him, how can a man be born again when he is old? can he enter a a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3-5).
Baptism is what the Bible means by being born again (of water and of Spirit). Look at the context: In John chapter 1 we read: And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode upon Him, And I knew Him not, but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which is baptized with the Holy Ghost (John 1:32-33). Mark describes this event as: And straightway up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him. And there came a voice out of heaven, saying Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness (Mark 1:10-12). Jesus didn't need the voice from heaven to tell Him that He was God's Son. He didn't need the Spirit descending to tell Him the Spirit was with Him. These signs are for us! And yet He went out with the fullness of the Spirit after His baptism.
In John 2, Jesus turns the water from the Jewish rites of purification into wine. Why did he use this water? In Numbers 19 of the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), this water is called baptismos from which we get baptism.
The undeniable proof of what Jesus meant by "born of water and Spirit" is confirmed by what happens immediately after Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus: After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judaea; and there He tarried with them and baptized (John 3:22). This is the only time we read of Jesus baptizing with the Apostles. This cannot be a coincidence. John later writes: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that ye might believe and have life in His name (John 20:30). Everything in scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit that we "might believe and have life". It is all there for our salvation. The words of scripture concerning baptism are very clear. We mustn't try to explain them away. What greater sign do we need - the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and the Father spoke? The Spirit hovered over the waters, and God spoke from heaven in Genesis beginning the old creation as baptism begins the new creation. The Dove returned the branch of peace to the ark, just as the peace of Christ is returned by the Spirit in our baptism.
Baptism is the new circumcision
Circumcision was the procedure in which Jewish boys became members of the Old Testament church. Baptism is the new circumcision, the circumcision of Christ. But Baptism really has the power to do what it signifies. In Colossians Paul writes, In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you were risen with Him throughout the faith of the operation of God, who raised him from the dead. And you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your the flesh, have quickened together with Him, forgiven you of all your trespasses (Col 2:11-13). Many talk about making a decision for Christ. But that can't happen. Christ must make a decision for us, we can only accept the gift of faith. That's why Christ gave us baptism rather than "sinner's prayers" or "altar calls". We can't baptize ourselves, someone else must do it. We are passive in the process. So we can't say that we made a decision, we said a prayer, etc. It is God doing the saving. Faith is a gift from God. We must do it God's way and be baptized.
In Paul's letter to the Romans he says that circumcision does nothing, but goes on to say what does make us Christians. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into His death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also walk in the newness of life freed from sin. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might also be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For we he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live with Him (Romans 6:3-7). It is baptism that buries us with Christ, raises us, destroys our sin and frees us. And again in Galations Paul contrasts the ineffectiveness of circumcision with baptism: For ye are all children of Christ by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal 3:26).
In Paul's letter to the Ephesians we read, Christ also loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that He might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. That He might present Himself to the Church having no spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, that she should be blameless (Eph 5:25-26). There's that water again! Jesus works through matter and signs. He could have just told the blind man that he was healed, but instead He put mud in his eyes and made him wash it off. Suppose the blind man had said "I don't need that mud, I'll believe without it!". The Gnostics gave the early church many problems with their teachings that matter is evil. God's creation is not evil! Jesus worked through signs and symbols. Nowhere in Scripture is anyone being asked to say a "sinner's prayer", or to "come forward for an altar call", or to "ask Jesus Christ into their hearts as their personal Lord and Saviour". The altar call was first invented by Charles Finney in the 1800s. Jesus gave us baptism nearly 2000 years ago. Charles Finney did not die for our sins. The "Christ prayer" is in the gnostic "Acts of Thomas", but nowhere in the Christian Bible. The apostle Paul was witnessed to by Jesus Christ Himself on the road to Damascus. Paul called on the Lord, Who are you, Lord (Acts 22:8) and yet still had his sins to wash away. The Lord sent Paul to Ananias so "that thou [Paul] might receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 9:17). Paul says that Ananias "came unto me, and stood, and said unto me receive thy sight. At the same hour I looked upon him" (Acts 22:13). Ananias then asks Paul, "And now why tarriest thou? arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). Even the great Apostle Paul needed to be baptized to remove his sins and receive the Holy Spirit. Paul got the gospel from Jesus Himself. If Jesus had told Paul that his sins could be removed by "asking Jesus into his heart", surely Paul would have done that out in the desert with Jesus. But Paul didn't do that and he still had his sins to be washed away by baptism.
Baptism is not "a work"
Many call baptism "a work" and claim that we can't be saved by baptism since we aren't saved by works. But the word of God says that baptism isn't a work: But after the kindness and love God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5). In baptism we are totally passive. We don't baptize ourselves. Someone else must cleanse our bodies as God cleanses our souls. And it is the other person who says that "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". So we can't say we did or said anything to come to Christ. We know the Jews were very careful not to do any work on the sabbath. That did not keep them from requiring ceremonial washings, the "baptismos", prior to entering the temple. Some people get cleaned up prior to doing work, such as surgeons or cooks. Some get cleaned up after work, such as mechanics and construction workers. But nobody gets cleaned up as their work. We can't come to Christ by our own power, not by saying a prayer, not by walking down an aisle. We can't earn our salvation. We can't choose God, He chooses us. We are totally passive during our baptism.
When Peter preached the gospel for the first time we read: Now when they had heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles; Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Acts 2:37). Did Peter ask the crowd to say a "sinner's prayer", or answer an "altar call", or "ask Jesus into their hearts as their personal Lord and Savior". No, these practices are not the Biblical way to enter the church or to become a Christian. According to the word of God: Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So then those who had received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls (Acts 2:38). These people had already believed for they were cut to the heart (Acts 2:37), and yet they had to be baptized to remove their sins and receive the Holy Ghost.
Some try to explain the plain clear words "for the forgiveness of sins". They say it is the same as saying take aspirin "for a headache", it is just a response. When we say "take an aspirin for a headache", we mean to remove the headache. The aspirin removes the headache as the baptism removes (by forgiveness) the sins. It is not just a response. The Greek work translated "for" here is "eiz". Eis is a Greek preposition governing the Accusative and denoting entrance into, or direction and limit: into, to, towards, for, among. It is the opposite of "ex" meaning out of. When used with a verb it denotes a change of state. It does not mean "as a result of". Perhaps they are confusing it with the Greek word "gar". This argument does not explain why it then says "and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". Note the future tense. In the Bible baptism is done whenever one is ready to become a Christian, whether in jail, in a home or riding a chariot. It is not a public display that the person has already been born again, it is being born again.
Throughout the New Testament baptism is always bound up with faith and repentance
But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized men and women. Then Simon himself also; and he was baptized (Acts 8:11-12). And Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way they came upon a certain water and the eunuch said, See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him (Acts 8:35-38). And Crispus, the chief ruler of the Synagogue, believed all the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8). Even when Cornelius and his family were denied baptism, and the Lord had to send an angel and the Holy Spirit as a sign, they still had to be baptized. It wasn't an option. Can anyone forbid water, that these be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:47-48). Baptism was not looked upon a a burden.
The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write, Eight souls were saved by water. The like figure where baptism doth also now save us (1 Peter 3:20-21). Since sacred scripture says the baptism saves us, forgives our sins, makes us adopted children of God and nowhere does it say that baptism doesn't do these things, this is a difficult problem for those who don't accept the power of God's working. They will usually find some verse about the gospel saving or faith saving. But this is the Gospel! He who believes and is baptized will be saved. Biblically, the sacraments are means of grace. Whenever someone in the Bible was preached the Gospel they asked to be baptized, because that's what was preached to them. This is how we are incorporated into Christ's death and resurrection! This is faith. We must have faith that God will keep His Word, and His Word says that baptism saves. We must come to God in His way. Everything in the Bible is there for a reason. And it must be taken in context. A text without a context is a pretext.
There is only one baptism
Paul describes the body of Christ, the church, as Careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the body of peace. One body and one spirit as you are called in the hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Eph. 4:3-6). So we can't say we are part of the body, the church, without one baptism. It is right up there with one Lord, one God, one Father. So it must be important, right? There is one baptism, not a separate Spirit baptism. We must be born of water and Spirit (John 3:5).
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God, of the doctrines of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Hebrews 6:1-2). Baptism is an elementary teaching. One cannot preach the Gospel without even mentioning baptism. It is true that many recommend baptism, but say that it doesn't save us, regenerate us, forgive our sins by incorporating us into Christ's death, or make us Christians. Paul warns us of teachers having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof; from such turn away (2 Timothy 3:5). Jesus warns us against replacing His teachings with human traditions, so for the sake of your tradition, you make void the work of God (Matthew 15:6). "Altar calls" and "sinner's prayers" are human traditions. Of course you should proclaim your faith before men and you should ask Jesus into your heart, but this isn't how one becomes a Christian. The Holy Spirit didn't put all these verses about baptism into the scriptures to confuse and deceive. Jesus didn't remove us from the burden of the ineffective Old Testament rituals to establish another ineffective ritual. Baptism really is effective.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. This is he that came by water and by blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit, that beareth witness because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness on earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son (1 John 5:9). Notice who the witnesses are: the Spirit, the water, and the blood! They all must agree. How can this happen if there is no water?
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22). Notice where the assurance of our faith comes from, there must be a repentance of the heart and a washing of the body in water.
Baptism is prophesied in the Old Testament. For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean from all your idols. I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will give you (Ezekial 36:24-26).
Some claim that baptism isn't necessary for our salvation because the "good thief" on the cross wasn't baptized and yet he went with Jesus to paradise. Jesus hadn't yet died or risen from the dead. He was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification (Romans 4:26). And he hadn't yet given the command to baptize all nations. The thief was hanging on a cross so he did not refuse to be baptized. Jesus is God so he could save this fellow any way he chooses. He has told us how he has chosen to make us Christians. We must repent, be baptized, and believe. If we refuse we will perish. Others will say that baptism isn't necessary because Paul writes: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel (1 Cor 1:17). A simple look at the context will show that Paul isn't putting down baptism, just responding to the divisions within the church. There are contentions among you (1 Cor 1:11). The people were bragging, I am of Paul, I am of Cephas, rather than all being baptized into Christ. The person doing the baptism is not the object of our faith or whom we identify with. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Cor 1:13). Paul did not travel alone so they divided the duties. Paul being the Apostle, did the preaching. I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase (1 Cor 3:6). The analogy is of planting, and the watering must precede the increase. Paul also baptized just not as much as Apollos. Later on in the letter he states, For by one Spirit we are baptized into one body (1 Cor 12:13).
The idea of being a Christian and a member of the church without baptism was foreign to early Christianity and is a recent idea among people who call themselves Christians. All of the early Christian writers, including those taught by John the Apostle personally, interpreted John 3 as meaning baptism of water and of Spirit. All Christians for 15 centuries interpreted it this way. Every one! Some of the Gnostics, however, believed in a purely spiritual baptism without water. They believed all matter was evil and created by the evil god, the Demiurge. Irenaeus defended orthodox Christianity against this Gnosticism: Wherefore the Lord promised to send the Comforter, who should join us to God. For as a compacted lump of dough cannot be formed of dry wheat without fluid matter, nor can a loaf possess unity, so in a like manner, neither could we, being many, be made one in Christ without the water from heaven. And as dry earth does not bring forth, unless it receive moisture, in a like manner, we also, being originally a dry tree, could never have brought forth fruit unto life without the voluntary rain from above. For our bodies have received the unity among ourselves by means of that laver which leads to incorruption; but our souls by means of the Spirit. Wherefore, both are necessary, since both contribute towards the life of God. . . we have need of the dew of God that we not be consumed by fire nor rendered unfruitful (Against Heresies 180 AD).
This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!
People often object to the sacrament of confession saying that only God can forgive sins. Christ’s opponents said exactly the same thing 2000 years ago and were rebuked for it, “Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7, Luke 5:21, Matt 9:3) Jesus could have easily told them that He was God and that was why He was able to forgive sins, but He didn’t do that because He had something else to show them. Jesus reply to them was, “Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Rise take up your pallet and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of man has the authority to forgive sins on earth” --He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home” (Mark 2:9-11, Matt 9:4-6, Luke 5:22-24). And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men (Matt 9:7-8). The authority was given to men (plural), the Father gave it to Jesus (fully man and fully God) and Jesus gave it to His Church.
The Church was given the power to forgive sins by Jesus
In John’s account of the Great Commission, we read how Jesus, on the evening of His resurrection, gave to His disciples the authority to forgive sins as promised in Matt 9. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”. And when He said this He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:21-22). In Matthew’s version of the Great Commission, Jesus said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). Jesus knew that it would be necessary to continue the Great Commission after the death of the Apostles. That is why Jesus promised: “lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matt 28:20). Christ’s authority continues in the Church until the close of the age, not just until the death of the Apostles. This authority was passed on from the Apostles to their successors in the Church. Jesus was talking to the eleven Apostles here (Matt 28:16, Mark 16:14, Luke 24:33). There is sin in the world today just as in the first century, so the divine remedy for sin is still necessary. Since the priest has the authority to forgive or retain sins, it must be necessary to tell the sins to the priest so he can decide which sins to forgive and which sins to retain. Jesus knew that since people still sin after baptism, the sacrament of confession is necessary.
The Church of the New Testament followed Jesus’ command and forgave sins
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-16). Jesus gave the Apostles the Spirit and sent them with the commission to forgive sins. They took His command seriously. When He gave this authority, He gave them the Spirit (He breathed upon them) as He had promised. The Spirit remains in Christ’s Church forever and His authority lasts forever.
Paul tells how he was given the power to forgive sins from Jesus: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ (2 Cor 2:10) and All this is from God, who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us this ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). The Apostles’ power to forgive sins didn’t come from themselves, it came from God. Paul continues: So we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor 5:20). Christ gave to His Church to power to forgive and retain sins.
The book of James tells us: Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests (Greek presbuteros) of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man; and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he be in sins they shall be forgiven him. Confess therefore your sins one to another; and pray one for another, that you may be saved (James 5: 14-16). The word presbuteros, often translated “elders,” is origin for the English word “priest”. Our word “priest” comes through the German word “priester”. Look up “priest” in any dictionary and it will give this Greek origin. Whenever we see the word “therefore” in the Bible we have to look at what is before it to see what it is there for. Notice that the confession of sins was to occur only after the priests were called.
In the early Church both confession and penance were public. As Christianity became accepted, and was no longer persecuted, it was necessary to change to private confession to protect the privacy of the person confessing. Confessional boxes were added later, in the West, to ensure even more privacy.
When Paul came to Ephesus, believers confessed their sins: Many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices (Acts 19:18). Why would these believers (they were already Christians) confess their sins in the presence of the Apostles if it were enough just to pray to God?
Why did these first century Christians, who were dying for their faith, need the sacrament of confession and some feel we don’t today? Are we more holy than they were?
Going to a priest is going directly to Christ
Paul wrote: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ (2 Cor 2:10). Paul did not forgive sins of himself, but in the person of Christ. The Greek text says "en prosopo Christou." This is where we get the Latin term in persona Christae to describe how the priest is able to act as Christ to us. When we go to a priest to have our sins forgiven we are going to Christ. The priest is acting “in the person of Christ.”
When we become Christians we become part of a family or household (1 Tim 3:15), the Church. The idea of “me and Jesus” is foreign to scripture. Christians are part of a body, for by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body (1 Cor 12:13). Paul compares Christians to the parts of a body. Sin not only offends God, but also hurts the body. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it (1 Cor 12:26). No Christian can say that he doesn’t need the other members, just Christ. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”, nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you” (1 Cor 12:21). Christ gave authority to His Church. The priests are the hands, the feet, the eyes of Christ. No one would say, “My feet are wearing shoes, but I am not.” We also cannot say going to a member of the body is not going to Christ. Jesus gave to Peter individually (Matt 16:19) and to the Apostles as a group (Matt 18:18) the power to bind and loose. The Church has the authority to reconcile the members to the Church. Jesus told the Apostles, “but if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one become to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matt 18:17). Notice the strong language: “EVEN to the CHURCH”.
The sacraments don’t take away from Jesus’ mediation, they apply it to us
Why go to a man if Christ is our one mediator? Paul writes: I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men: For kings, and for all who are in high stations; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all piety and chastity. or this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave Himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle, (I say the truth, I lie not), a doctor of the gentiles in truth and faith. I will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger or contention (1 Timothy 2:1-8). In context Paul is saying that we are able to offer prayers, supplications, intercessions, etc. for all men since we are in the one mediator, Christ Jesus. Many begin reading this at verse 5 ignoring the context. One doesn’t begin a new thought with the word “for.” Jesus uses men to bring other men to Him. God used men to pen the Bible. He uses men to preach. Not many of us become Christians as Saint Paul did—we don’t get knocked down by a light in the desert. Instead we become Christians through God's use of men—men who preach, men who publish Bibles, etc. Paul heard the gospel from Jesus Himself on the road to Damascus. But even Paul had to go to the church to be baptized and have his sins washed away (Acts 22:10-16) and to be ordained (Gal 2:9). No one baptizes himself. Why is that, if we do not need to go to any man?
The Bible tells of how men are used to bring salvation: For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us: so also by Christ doth our comfort abound. Now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation: or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which worketh the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer (2 Cor 5:5-6) and Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Tim 4:16).
It is necessary for us to confess our sins
Scripture declares that If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity (1 John 1:20). This verse makes no sense if all of our sins (past and future) are forgiven when we become Christians. When we become Christians, through baptism, we are cleansed of all “past sins” (2 Peter 1:9).
When a person first realizes that he has sinned and he is sorry for that sin, he should then pray to God for forgiveness. If the sin is a serious one, the person should also go to a priest as soon as possible. Jesus never told anyone to go and pray to the Father until they feel forgiven. When the woman was caught in adultery by the scribes, Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more (John 8:11). She needed to hear it and so do we. We may feel that we are sorry for our sins, but we are not to judge our own hearts. Paul writes to the Corinthians: neither do I judge my own self. For I am not conscious to myself of any thing, yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me, is the Lord. Therefore judge not before the time; until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise (1 Cor 4:3-5).
We need to trust Jesus
Some will say that they don’t need the sacrament of confession. Just a few verses after John describes Jesus’ institution of the the sacrament of confession, he states: Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31). We need to believe all that scripture teaches is there for our salvation. Jesus did not do any unnecessary things. Jesus and the Apostles knew what they were doing. Jesus established Christianity, no one has the right to change it. For anyone to say otherwise is to say they know better than Jesus. Why do most people not doubt that the Apostles were able to heal people or that Peter raised a dead man? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Rise and take up your pallet and walk’? (Mark 2:9).
The Prayer of our Savior on His way to be condemned for our sins
It is customary to grant a last wish to someone the evening before he is executed, even to the worst criminal. In our prisons we let a condemned man choose his last meal. Jesus had a wish for us the evening before He was executed. Jesus, being sinless and innocent, died for our sins, not His own. In gratitude we should grant His wish. First Jesus prayed for His apostles, "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given me; that they may be one, as We also are" (John 17:11). And then Jesus went on to pray for all Christians, "And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in Me; That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as We also are one; I in them, and Thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one; and the world may know that Thou has sent sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast also loved Me." (John 17:20-23). Jesus was on His way to be condemned for us, so we can be sure that He was praying for something very important. We know that this prayer will be answered, because the "prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). Jesus was much more than a righteous man--He was sinless and He was God.
The key to converting the world to Christ
In Jesus’ high priestly prayer in the garden, He gives us the key to converting the world to Himself. Christians are to be perfect in one, in "perfect unity," so that the world may believe Jesus was sent by the Father to die for our sins and that He loves us. Even Dr. Billy Graham has noted that the most common reason, that people who aren’t Christian give for not becoming Christian, is the divisions within Christianity.
Jesus said he founded a Church and gave it authority
Jesus proclaimed, "I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it" (Matt 16:18). Jesus said “Church”, not “churches”. He only founded one and He promised us that this Church will not fail. Those who say that the Church failed are contradicting Jesus. Which Church did Jesus found? Only one Church claims to be that Church. (Churches founded in the 16th through 20th centuries cannot seriously make that claim). All reliable histories, whether by Christians, Jews, or atheists, say that the church founded by Jesus in the first century is the Catholic Church. All other churches can trace their roots back to the Catholic Church. The Encyclopedia Brittanica, which is not a Catholic source, describes the Catholic Church as: “Christian church characterized by its uniform, highly developed doctrinal and organizational structure that traces its history to the Apostles of Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD.”
After Jesus declared He was founding a church, He gave authority to the leaders of that church. Jesus told Peter alone, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matt 16:19 )
Jesus tells us how to handle disagreements concerning doctrines and morals: "it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost. If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Amen, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by My heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matt 18:14-20). This passage only makes sense if there is one and only one Church that has authority on earth. We cannot have different churches teaching different doctrines and make any sense of Jesus’ clear words to us. Protestant commentaries, such as Barclay, The Interpreters Bible, and Abignon, get around this problem by declaring that Jesus never really said this. If we believe the Bible, no one may found their own church. "If they refuse to listen even to the church, they are to be treated as Gentiles and tax collectors."
Some take verse about "two or three gathered in My name" (Matt 18:20) out of context to mean that the Church is not necessary. In context the two or three must be under the authority of the one church. How did the church of the Bible handle disputes concerning faith and morals? Did they get out their Bibles and see who could quote the most verses supporting their argument? No, they took it to the church! The Judaizers at Antioch were saying that the Gentile converts had to observe the entire Jewish ceremonial and sacrificial system, including circumcision and the kosher dietary laws in order to be saved. Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, so they had their “two or three gathered in Jesus’ name” (and a pretty big two--Paul and Barnabas), but they couldn’t resolve the problem. The Judaizers could quote scripture on their side (Deuteronomy). Paul and Barnabas were sent to the Church Council at Jerusalem. "There was much dispute at the council (Acts 15:7) until Peter stood up and spoke and all the multitude kept silence" (Acts 15:12). "Then Paul and Barnabas proclaimed Simeon (Peter) hath declared" (Acts 15:14). The Holy Spirit spoke through this council as He has through Church councils for the last 2000 years. In the letters sent to the churches we read: "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us" (Acts 15:28). After the council, as the Apostles went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep (Acts 16:4). The Greek word used for decrees is “dogmata” from which we get the English word “dogma.” Church councils declare dogma according to the Bible.
Not everyone accepted the dogma pronounced by the Council, just as some people reject the Church Councils throughout the centuries. In the list of Apostles, Peter is always first and Judas is always last. It is the same in the list of the first seven deacons in Acts 6. “And the saying was liked by all the multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor, and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch” (Acts 6:5). Notice how Stephen, the first martyr, is first and Nicolas is last. Nicolas was from Antioch where this Judaizer heresy began. Those who followed Nicolas did not obey the council. They became known as Nicolaitans. In Revelation, Jesus commends those who didn't follow the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which Jesus also hates. “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate.” (Rev 2:6). He calls the Church of Smyrna the seat of Satan, because they follow the Nicolaitans and disobey the decrees of the Church council (Acts 15:29). “I know where thou dwellest, where the seat of Satan is. And thou holdest fast my name and hast not denied my faith. Even in those days when Antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have against thee a few things: because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites.” (Rev 2:13-15).
I don't know about you, but I will follow the Church and not the Nicolaitans
or anyone else who opposes the Church.
Authority is passed on in the Church
Jesus founded the Church, but even He didn’t do this of His own authority, but by the authority given Him by the Father. "So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten Thee" (Heb 5:5). The word “apostle” comes from a Greek word, “apostolos”, meaning “sending out”. Jesus is described in scripture dozens of times as being sent by the Father. The Apostles were sent by Jesus and in turn sent other men with this authority given to them. In John’s version of the Great Commission Jesus says, "Peace be unto you, as My Father has sent Me, even so I send you. And when He said this, He breathed upon them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:21-22). In Mark’s version of the Great Commission, Jesus says, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). In Matthew’s version of the Commission Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:18-20). Jesus knew that all nations would not be disciples before the Apostles died. That is why Jesus promised “lo, I am with you always even to the end the close of the age.” Jesus passed His authority on to His Apostles knowing that the world would not be converted in their lifetime. The apostles did go as far west as Spain and as far east as India, but even today all nations have not heard the gospel. The authority Jesus gave the apostles continues to the end of the age, through the successors of the apostles. Jesus and the Holy Spirit continue with the Apostles and their successors. Notice that Jesus told the apostles are to teach "all" that he had commanded them, not just certain “essentials.”
Since the apostles ministry must continue to the end of the world, the very first thing they did after Jesus ascended into heaven was to appoint Matthias to take over Judas Iscariot’s office of bishop. Peter declares: and his bishopric let another take (Acts 1:20). The Greek word translated “bishopric” is “episkopen” from which we get the English word “bishop.”
Matthias was "numbered with the eleven Apostles" (Acts 1:26). The group was called "the twelve" in Acts 6:2 before Paul became a member. Paul was eligible to become an Apostle since he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, but was not eligible for "the twelve" because he did not accompany Jesus and the Apostles from "the time the Lord Jesus came in and went out among" the Apostles "beginning with the baptism of John, until the day wherein He was taken up from" the Apostles and was not a witness to the resurrection (Acts 1:21-22). From the very beginning the Church had apostolic or episcopal succession. As Jesus sent the apostles, they in turn sent other men with the authority given to them by God. The group known as the Apostles died out at the end of the first century but they passed on their office of Bishop.
Paul was called personally by Jesus Christ, when he was knocked down by a blinding light on the road to Damascus. Jesus personally taught Paul the gospel. Did Paul go off and start his own church? No, Jesus told Paul, you will be told what you are to do (Acts 9:6). Paul went to the Church to be baptized (Acts 22:12-18). Paul went up to Jerusalem to see (historesai or interview) Peter (Gal 1:18) for fifteen days. Then fourteen years later Paul went to be comissioned by James, Peter, John (Gal 2:1-9). Acts 13 describes how "As they ministered (Greek leitourgounton or liturgized) to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they being sent forth by the Holy ghost, departed" (Acts 13:2-4). Notice that when Paul had hands laid on him and was sent by the Church, he is described as sent forth by the Holy Ghost. Paul, called personally by Jesus had to be baptized, ordained a bishop, and sent by the Church.
Paul asks the Romans: "For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach unless they be sent?" (Rom 10:13-15). No one can send themselves. They must be sent by those to whom Christ entrusted the gospel.
Paul tells us how the Holy Spirit has placed bishops in the Church succeed then and rule the Church. “Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, herein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28) When the Apostles ordained men it was said to be by the Holy Spirit. Catholic bishops today are ordained by bishops, who were ordained by bishops, who were ordained by bishops, who were ordained by bishops, and so on, and so on, and so on, who were ordained by the Apostles, who were sent by Christ, who was sent by the Father. Paul tells us this was necessary because others would come in and try to lead people out of the Church and into their own sects: “I know that after my departure ravening wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And of your own selves shall arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30). Notice how Paul does not say that the Church would lead people into error, but that the “ravening wolves” would draw people away. The only way to be safe is to remain in the Church.
Divisions are condemned
Nowhere in scripture is anyone given permission to start an independent church, in fact it is condemned. Paul writes to the Galatians: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkeness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in the tiem past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" ( Gal 5:19-21). Notice that seditions and heresies are in the same list of condemned sins as murder and adultery. The word translated “seditions” here is dichostrasia which means “to cause divisions”. Paul uses the same Greek word in Roman 16:17 and 1 Cor 3:3. In the Romans verse Paul warns, "Now I beseech you brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, avoid them" (Rom 16:7). Those who create divisions must be avoided by Christians, not followed. To the Corinthians Paul writes: “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, and ye not carnal, and walk as men”? (1 Cor 3:3). “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor 1:10). “For we being many are one bread and one body (1 Cor 10:17). For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must also be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you” (1 Cor 11:18-19). “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For the one body is not one member, but many” (1 Cor 12:12-14). “That there be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care for one another” (1 Cor 12:25). After describing the body Paul goes on to describe the hierarchy: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers” (1 Cor 12:28). Paul tells the same Corinthians “God is not the God of dissension, but of peace (1 Cor 14:33). When Paul writes his second letter to the Corinthians his fear is that perhaps when I come I shall not find you such as I would , and that I shall be found by you such as you would not. Lest perhaps contentions, envyings, animosities, dissensions, detractiosn, whisperings, swellings, seditions, be among you” (2 Cor 12:20). Paul beseeches the Ephesians to be “Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father who is above all, and through all, and in us all” (Eph 4:3-6). These divisions that Paul was complaining about were factions within the Corinthian church, not independent denominations. These people would not even dream of leaving the Church leaders and starting their own church. Imagine the words that Paul would have for anyone who did such a thing.
Jesus knew there would be divisions; that is why He prayed for it. But He also knew that some day they would all be one: "And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd" (John 10:16). Let’s not make Jesus wait any longer.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever
The scripture calls the Church "the household of faith, the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15). It is the Church that is the pillar and foundation of truth. If we want the truth we have to go to the Church. If the Church stopped being the pillar and foundation of truth then the Bible would be incorrect. According to the Bible the "manifest wisdom of God" is made known through the Church, even to the "the principalities and powers in heavenly places through the Church" (Eph 3:10). If the angels, who are in the presence of God, need the Church to discover God's wisdom, certainly us humans with our intellects clouded by sin, need her even more. Hebrews tells us "Remember them which have rule over you, which have spoken to you the word of God; whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Be not carried away with divers and strange doctrine" (Hebrews 13:7-9). This verse has no expiration date. It did not expire in 1517. Paul warns many times "That ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind labouring together for the faith of the gospel" (Phil 1:27) "Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord and one mind" ( Phil 2:2). "A man that is a heretick after the first and second admonition reject. Knowing that that such is subverted and sinneth, being condemned of himself" (Titus 3:10-11). "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine, which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself" (1 Tim 6:3-5). "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32).
What happens when we get bad leaders? The woman at the well
John 4:5-25. “He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria, to draw water. Jesus saith to her: Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman saith to him: How dost thou, being a Jew; ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her: If thou didst know the gift of God and who he is that saith to thee: Give me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank thereof, himself and his children and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst for ever. But the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting. The woman said to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well: I have no husband. For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. This, thou hast said truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain: and you say that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe me that the hour cometh, when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father. You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a spirit: and they that adore him must adore him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to him: I know that the Messias cometh (who is called Christ): therefore, when he is come, he will tell us all things.”
The Gospels and especially John's Gospel speak to us on several levels. When Jesus tells the woman that she has had five husbands and is now with another man, she responds that He is a prophet and asks about worship. Many think she is changing the subject because she doesn't want to talk about her husbands.
In the Old Testament, Israel is called to be the Bride of Yahweh, her Husband. When she turns against Him it is referred to as adultery and harlotry. There are two Semitic words for husband and one is "ba’al." God is called Israel’s husband or “ba’al.” The same word “ba’al” meaning husband or lord is used to describe a pagan God, at times the object of Israelites’ idolatry. The ten Northern Tribes went into schism. The Samaritans were the result of the ten Northern Tribes intermarrying with their enemies. When the ten Northern Tribes went into schism they set up an alternative temple on Mount Garizim. The gods of the peoples around them were their other spiritual husbands. The woman not only was unfaithful in her personal life, but the Samaritans were guilty of following other "husbands." The gods of the peoples around them were their other spiritual husbands. Since the Biblical prophets were constantly condemning them and telling them to go back into union with Judah, the Northern Tribes only accepted the first five books of the Bible and ignored the prophets. So when the woman says, "I can see you are a prophet" she is calling Jesus the Messiah, because this is the prophet promised in Deut 18:15,18. They accepted no other prophets. The first 9 chapters of 1 Kings have nothing but good to say about Solomon. As the King of Israel and the son of David, he is a type of the Messiah, of Jesus Christ. But then he goes bad and becomes a type of anti-Christ. The Apocalypse tells us: “Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.” (Rev 13:8). Note the similarities between the leader called the beast and Solomon. Solomon was the man of wisdom whose tax was “six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold” (1 Kings 10:14). The king of Israel was forbidden to multiply horses, wives, and money (gold and silver). See Deuteronomy 17:16-17. Solomon had “seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines” (1 Kings 11:3). He built great armies rather than count on God as Joshua had done.. And he taxed the people mercilessly to build his empire and the temple. After Solomon they had a king who was even worse than Solomon. This is when the Northern Tribes had had enough and went into schism.
Did Jesus said that it was all right for them to worship in their schismatic temple? No. He told her, “You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth.” Even though the Jews had treated the Northern Tribes shabbily, that didn’t matter. Salvation was of the Jews. The Northern Tribes worshiped what they did not know. As Jesus prophesied, the Temple in Jerusalem was about to be destroyed and worship would be replaced by the true Temple, the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church which would soon fill the whole world and offer the Eucharist throughout the world at all times.
If Jesus did not reject the Jews because of their bad leaders (both kings and priests), then why do some suppose He could reject His Church after He promised, “the Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The Church is promised to be with us through all generations: "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, unto all generations, world without end. Amen." (Eph. 3:21). Immediately after promising the Church to us "world without end," Paul implores us to be "Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Eph 4:3-5).
If people would read the Old Testament, they would see that the Jews do all kinds of bad things. When Jesus picks the leaders of the New Testament Church, He again uses sinful men. Judas sells out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Peter and ten of the other apostles deny Jesus. Only John is at the cross from among the Apostles. People complained to Jesus that He ate with sinners. Jesus promised there would always be good and bad people in His Church and ordered us not to try to get rid of the tares. Jesus uses examples of wheat and tares, good fish and bad fish, etc.
So one must wonder why people reject Christ’s Church because their have been “bad” leaders and “bad” members of the Church. Didn’t Jesus tell us that this would happen? The Bible tells us to obey the leaders in the Church and forbids one from splitting from the One Church and starting a competing “church” just as the Northern Tribes did. These verses do not have expiration dates.
Even when leaders misbehave, we are to obey them. Jesus says, “The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not. For they say, and do not." (Matt 23:2-3). The people were supposed to obey the teachings of these leaders, just not imitate their actions. God spoke through a mule in the Old Testament and he even spoke through Caiphas in the New Testament, because of his office of high priest, even though Caiphas was wicked. “And this he spoke not of himself: but being the high priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation.” (John 11:51)
People often say, "we obey men rather than God." They don't realize that this is Peter who first said this when the Jews were opposing the Church. “But Peter and the apostles answering, said: We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29). It is interesting that some will attempt to use this against the Church when Peter was using it to defend the Church. The Jews even realized this. “And now, therefore, I say to you: Refrain from these men and let them alone. For if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God. And they consented to him. (Acts 5:38-39).
Even Gamaliel realized that to oppose the Church could be found to even
oppose God. And 1970 years later, the Church still stands because being from
God you cannot overthrow it. If the Church was not of God it would have fallen centuries ago. Does anyone suppose that Satan is more powerful than God. A weak God could have sustained a Church made up of righteous men. Our powerful God has sustained a Church made up of sinners. No purely human institution could have survived this long.
When Saul (Paul) persecuted the Church, Jesus said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Acts 9:4. Jesus considered an attack on the Church as an attack on Him. Lying to Peter was considered to be lying to the Holy Ghost.
”But Peter said: Ananias, why hath Satan tempted thy heart, that
thou shouldst lie to the Holy Ghost and by fraud keep part of the price of
the land?” (Acts 5:3).
The Rebellion of Korah
Jude 1:3-4. “Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech
you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men are secretly entered in (who were written of long ago unto this
judgment), ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness and denying the only sovereign Ruler and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jude 1:10-11. “But these men blaspheme whatever things they know not: and what things soever they naturally know, like dumb beasts, in these they are
corrupted. Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain: and after the error of Balaam they have for reward poured out themselves and have
perished in the contradiction of Core.”
Jude 1:16-20. “These are murmurers, full of complaints, walking according to their own desires: and their mouth speaketh proud things, admiring persons, for gain's sake. But you, my dearly beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who told you that in the last time there should come mockers, walking according to their own desires in ungodlinesses. These are they who separate themselves, sensual men, having not the Spirit. But you, my beloved, building yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”
Because many don't know the Old Testament they don't know what the contradiction of Core or the error of Balaam were. In the Old Testament the Jews were called a royal priesthood, a holy nation. But they also had a sacrificial priesthood. Core (Korah) thought that they didn't have to follow the appointed leaders (the Levites). Read what happened and what Jude is threatening those who would who would cause separation or schism (hint 14,700 died). This is a stern warning to anyone in the New Covenant who would oppose the leaders in the Church.
16:1-50. “And behold Core the son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab,and Hon the son of Pheleth of the children of Ruben, Rose up against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of thesynagogue, and who in the time of assembly were called by name. And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron, they said: Let it be enough for you, that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them: Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord? When Moses heard this, he fell flat on his face: And speaking to Core and all the multitude, he said: In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him, and the holy he will join to himself: and whom he shall choose, they shall approach to him. Do this therefore: Take every man of you your censers, thou Core, and all thy company. And putting fire in them to morrow, put incense upon it before the Lord: and whomsoever he shall choose, the same shall be holy: you take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And he said again to Core: Hear ye sons of Levi. Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath spared you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to him? Did he therefore make thee and all thy brethren the sons of Levi to approach unto him, that you should challenge to yourselves the priesthood also, And that all thy company should stand against the Lord? for what is Aaron that you murmur against him? Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab. But they answered: We will not come. Is it a small matter to thee, that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey, to kill us in the desert, except thou rule also like a lord over us? Thou hast brought us indeed into a land that floweth with rivers of milk and honey, and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards; wilt thou also pull out our eyes? We will not come. Moses therefore being very angry, said to the Lord: Respect not their sacrifices: thou knowest that I have not taken of them so much as a young ass at any time, nor have injured any of them. And he said to Core: Do thou and thy congregation stand apart before the Lord to morrow, and Aaron apart. Take every one of you censers, and put incense upon them, offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers: let Aaron also hold his censer. When they had done this, Moses and Aaron standing, And had drawn up all the multitude against them to the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all. And the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron, said: separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may presently destroy them. They fell flat on their face, and said: O most mighty, the God of the spirits of all flesh, for one man's sin shall thy wrath rage against all? And the Lord said to Moses: Command the whole people to
separate themselves from the tents of Core and Dathan and Abiron. And Moses arose, and went to Dathan and Abiron: and the ancients of Israel following him, He said to the multitude: Depart from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be involved in their sins. And when they were departed from their tents round about, Dathan and Abiron coming out stood in the entry of their pavilions with their wives and children, and all the people. And Moses said: By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see, and that I have not forged them of my own head: If these men die the common death of men, and if they be visited with a plague, wherewith others also are wont to be visited, the Lord did not send me. But if the Lord do a new thing, and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down, and all things that belong to them, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord. And immediately as he had made an end of speaking, the
earth broke asunder under their feet: And opening her mouth, devoured them with their tents and all their substance. And they went down alive into hell, the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people. But all Israel, that was standing round about, fled at the cry of them that were perishing: saying: Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also. And a fire coming out from the Lord, destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers that lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire of one side and the other: because they are sanctified In the deaths of the sinners: and let him beat them into plates, and fasten them to the altar, because incense hath been offered in them to the Lord, and they are sanctified, that the children of Israel may see them for a sign and a memorial. Then Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherein they had offered, whom the burning fire had devoured, and beat them into plates, fastening them to the altar: That the children of Israel might have for the time to come wherewith they should be admonished, that no stranger or any one that is not of the seed of Aaron should come near to offer incense to the Lord, lest he should suffer as Core suffered, and all his congregation, according as the Lord spoke to Moses. The following day all the multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: You have killed the people of the Lord. And when there arose a sedition, and the tumult increased, Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when they were gone into it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. And the Lord said to Moses: Get you out from the midst of this multitude, this moment will I destroy them. And as they were lying on the ground, Moses said to Aaron: Take the censer, and putting fire in it from the altar, put incense upon it, and go quickly to the people to pray for them: for already wrath is gone out from the Lord, and the plague rageth. When Aaron had done this, and had run to the midst of the multitude which the burning fire was now destroying, he offered the incense: And standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people, and the plague ceased. And the number of them that were slain was fourteen thousand and seven hundred men, besides them that had perished in the sedition of Core. And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant after the destruction was over.” The Church fulfills the prophecies of Daniel
Daniel 2:30-44. “To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have more than all men alive: but that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thought of thy mind. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great statue: this statue, which was great and high, tall of stature, stood before thee, and the look thereof was terrible. The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass. And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay. Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's threshing floor, and they were carried away by the wind: and there was no place found for them: but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream: we will also tell the interpretation thereof before thee, O king. Thou art a king of kings: and the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power, and glory: And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the field do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand, and hath put all things under thy power: thou, therefore, art the head of gold. And after thee shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to thee, of silver: and another third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over all the world. And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into pieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break, and destroy all these. And whereas thou sawest the feet, and the toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron: the kingdom shall be divided, but yet it shall take its origin from the iron, according as thou sawest the iron mixed with the miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay: the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. . And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall be mingled indeed together with the seed of man, but they shall not stick fast one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay. But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never by destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people: and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms: and itself shall stand for ever.”
In the New Testament the Church is said the be built on a rock (Matt 16) and as being “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Eph 2:20). The Church, the kingdom of God on earth is compared to tiny mustard seeds (Matt 13:31) which are planted in the field symbolizing the world (Matt 13:38) and as leaven expanding to fill the whole (Matt 13:33). The Catholic Church has grown from its humble beginnings on the Day of Pentecost, 30 A.D. to a worldwide group of over 1.1 billion people on every continent, speaking every language. If the Church failed and had to be replaced by new organizations as some claim, that would make Jesus a fool rather than a wise builder.(Matt &:24-27). Our God is not a fool.
Daniel 7:2-14. “I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the heavens strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle: I beheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the earth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was given to her. And behold another beast, like a bear, stood up on one side: and there were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof, and thus they said to it: Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had upon it four wings, as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and power was given to it. After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with his feet: and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before it, and had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out of the midst of them: and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof: and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things. I beheld till thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat: his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool: his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened. I beheld, because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke: and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt: And that the power of the other beasts was taken away: and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time. I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him: his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed.”
The first kingdom was Babylon. They were defeated by the second kingdom, Medo-Persia, under Cyrus. They were defeated by the third kingdom, Greece, under Alexander the Great. And the Greeks were defeated by the Romans. The Catholic Church is the kingdom of "all peoples, tribes, and tongues" who "serve Him" and are ruled by the Son of Man "and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed." These are five successive kingdoms. This is why Peter and Paul went to Rome. This is why the early Popes all stayed in Rome even though all but one for the first 300 years were martyred there. They knew the Church would take over the Roman empire and rule it forever. They didn't know it would take over 280 years. When the Protestants left the Church in the 1500s, it is interesting that, except for England (which was inhabited by different people anyway--Anglo Saxons), all of the area of the west that was part of the Roman Empire, when it broke, up remained Catholic. England left so that their King could have a series of wives. He divorced or murdered 5 wives in 9 years. Henry agreed with all Catholic doctrine and in 1527 wrote “In Defense of the Seven Sacraments” against Luther and was rewarded with the title, “Defender of the faith.” The Pope let England leave the Church rather than condone Henry’s immorality. Martin Luther, on the other hand, let Prince Philip have more than one wife. And yet Luther called this Pope the antichrist!
The point here is not to rehash the errors of the past. The point is that we need to come together and fulfill the Great Commission. The world will not believe in Jesus until all Christians come together in perfect unity. It is clear from the writings of the founders of Protestantism, that if they knew what would become of Protestantism, they probably would not have done what they did. John Calvin wrote to Luther’s successor, Philip Melanchton, “It is of great importance that the divisions that subsist among us should not be known to future ages; for nothing can be more ridiculous than that we who have been compelled to make a separation from the whole world, should have agreed so ill among ourselves from the beginning of the Reformation.” Later in his life Luther complained, “I tried to get rid of one pope and now I have 1000.” Today there are over 33,000 distinct denominations and no one knows how many independent churches. What would Luther or Calvin say today? Let us be the generation to end the 500 years of divisions and come back together in one body answering Jesus' prayer for us. He answers our prayers, now let's help answer His!
Why do Catholics add to the finished work of Christ on the Cross and say that some Christians have to go to Purgatory to have their sins forgiven?
The teaching of the Catholic Church on purgatory is: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” [Catechism of the Catholic Church, para 1030]. Purgatory is not a second chance, it is simply the final phase of sanctification for those who have been justified, but still are not yet perfected. Everyone who enters purgatory is on their way to heaven. It could be described as the cleanup room on the way to the banquet. It has not been defined by the Church as being a distinct place or as having literal fire. It may be instantaneous. But we humans existing in time and space often talk about places and lengths of time. This is not necessary to understand purgatory.
Everyone adds to the ‘finished work’ of Christ!
Christ died for the sins of the world, but that doesn’t mean that everyone automatically goes to heaven. His redemptive work upon the cross must be applied to us. We must believe, we must have faith and we must accept His sacrifice on the cross.
And even Jesus Christ does not consider His work finished since He continues to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father (Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25).
Christians still suffer from the effects of sin.
It is true that Jesus was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25), but that doesn’t mean that we don’t suffer from the effects of sin. Jesus died so that we might be freed from the dominion of sin brought about by Adam’s fall (Rom 5:12-5:21), but Christians still must suffer from the effects of Adam’s sin. Christians still suffer pain in child bearing (Gen 3:16), other pain, disease, physical death, and they still toil (Gen 3:7-19).
A Christian must suffer
While the agnostic or the atheist might ask, “If there is a God why does He allow pain and suffering?”, these things have meaning for the Christian. The Christian, being a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) with a new mind (Rom 12:12), thinks differently than the world. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, told us he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me (Matt 10:38). St. Paul tells us that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with Him in order that we might be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17). We must add our sufferings to the sufferings of Christ in order to be children of God and be glorified.
Christians can suffer for others in the Church
St. Paul tells us I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, the church (Col 1:24) and if one member suffers, all suffer together (1 Cor 12:26). He tells the Corinthians the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation (2 Cor 1:5-6). Scripture doesn’t teach that our sufferings take away from Christ’s work on the cross, but rather they join us to it. The righteous Job offered sacrifices for his sons’ sins (Job 1:5).
Christians must be perfect to enter heaven
Jesus Christ commanded, "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly
Father is perfect" (Matt 5:48). We are warned that without holiness "no man shall see God" (Heb. 12:14). Scripture tells us nothing impure will enter heaven (Rev 21:27) where we find "the spirits of just men made perfect" (Heb 12:23). Not many Christians will achieve perfection in this lifetime although that should be their goal. Most still suffer from selfishness, greed, and other sinful desires.
Christians suffer for all sins, but not all sins condemn them
Christians suffer for all sins since all wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal (deadly) (1 John 5:17). Scripture also tells us that if any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal. I do not say that one is to pray for that (1 John 5:16). Three points can be made here:
Not all sin will condemn us. In many places scripture describes sins which cut off our fellowship with God, and if we die unrepentant of these sins, we will not have eternal life (Gal 5:20-21, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Rev 21:8).
There is punishment for these non-deadly sins or else Christians wouldn’t be commanded to pray for them. We can’t be sons of God and share His holiness unless He disciplines us (Heb 12:5-11). Jesus tells us of a sin which will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matt 12:31). There must be forgiveness for some sins after this life or Jesus wouldn’t have said this to Jews who prayed for the dead.
Christians can pray for others’ sins but the sinner must repent of a mortal sin himself.
There is much more to the afterlife in the Bible than heaven and hell
Some English Bibles miss the distinctions, but the New Testament uses a variety of terms describing places, states, or conditions in the afterlife: the lake of fire, gehenna, tarturus, the abyss, the pit, prison, hades, paradise, Abraham’s bosom, etc.
Heaven is the eternal abode of the righteous and the vision of the Lord and His eternal glory. In the Old Testament the dead all went to the underworld of sheol. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, sheol is all but once translated as hades (once it is translated thanatos). Sheol or hades contains two compartments, one for the righteous and one for the damned. Paradise and Abraham’s bosom is in the part of hades where the souls of the pious awaited their resurrection. Tarturus is in the abode of the wicked dead. As early as the century after Christ the Latin speaking Christians began calling sheol or hades by the Latin name purgatorio. In English this is purgatory.
Gehenna or the lake of fire is the eternal abode of the wicked prepared for the devil and his angels. Originally the term described a valley where children were sacrificed to Moloch. All manners of refuse including the bodies of animals and criminals were thrown there. Fires were necessary to consume the dead bodies so that the air might not become tainted.
When the “good thief” on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom, Jesus tells the thief today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:42-43), not heaven. Jesus did not ascend to heaven for more than forty days after the crucifixion. On Good Friday, Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth (Eph 4:9) where He spent three days and three nights (Matt 12:40) and preached to the spirits in prison (1 Pet 3:19). After the resurrection Jesus stated I have not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17).
The book of Hebrews describes how the Old Testament saints such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, etc. all died in faith, not having received what was promised (heaven), but only saw and greeted it from afar (Heb 11:13). The book goes on to say: and all these, though well attested for by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect (Heb 11:39). So Sacred Scripture is clear that these Old Testament saints were perfected in a place or state after their lives on earth were finished. It also makes it clear that we will follow them into this state so that we, as with them, can be made perfect.
St. Paul tells us that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:10-11). This describes the Church. Those in hell are not in the Church and surely are not confessing Jesus as Lord. That’s why they are in hell! So those under the earth must be in a different place. Catholics call this place purgatory.
Jesus speaks of heaven, hell and then a temporary place of punishment
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…Whoever says ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire (Matt 5:19-20, 22). Then He continues to say make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard and you be put into prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny (Matt 5:25-26). What is this place or state if there is no purgatory? No one ever gets out of hell. And there is no suffering in heaven.
Jesus told us a story describing the two compartments of hades (Luke 16). Here He describes Lazarus as being with Father Abraham. There is also a rich man who is separated from them. Abraham tells the rich man between us and you there is a great gulf fixed (Luke 16:26). This is not a parable since parables never mention names.
There can be punishment for sins already forgiven
Suppose a person loses something he borrowed from a friend. The friend might forgive him, but he still must replace the item. God may also require us to pay a price. The prophet Nathan told David, the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because of this deed, you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die (2 Sam 12:13-14). Even though David was forgiven he still was punished for his sin.
Purgatory, including hades and paradise, has not passed away
Hades is mentioned many times in the New Testament. After Christ’s Ascension, Peter quotes David: for Thou will not leave my soul in hades (Acts 2:27). St. Paul shows us that paradise and heaven are still separate (2 Cor 12:2-3). We are still awaiting the time when Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14).
Christians will be tested as through fire on judgment day
Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw--each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Cor 3:14-15). Notice that this verse says that the person shall suffer loss, not just his works. And yet the person will be saved. This purging of a person’s bad works can’t possibly occur in heaven, since a person can’t bring anything unclean into heaven (Rev 21:27).
It is not Church dogma that there is literal fire in purgatory, but it is a perfect analogy since our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:29). The angels closest to God are called seraphim, or literally flaming ones. The Holy Spirit came as tongues of fire in the New Testament Pentecost (Acts 2:3).
Scripture nowhere teaches “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
One proof for the existence of purgatory is that its critics must fabricate scripture verses to dispute it. Catholics respect the Bible as inspired by the Holy Spirit and are forbidden to tamper with God’s Word (2 Cor 4:2). The common proof text used to deny purgatory, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”, is not in the Bible! St. Paul really wrote we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). He was expressing a preference, not making a statement. This does not mean that everyone goes to heaven immediately after death no matter how much they would prefer it. Some go to heaven, some go to hell, and others have to finish their sanctification process prior to entering heaven. St. Paul died a martyr’s death and devoted his life to the spread of the gospel, so perhaps he did go straight to heaven. But even if he had to be purged of something before entering heaven, he could still make this statement since he stated that I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18). St. Paul expressed the same desire to the Philippians when he wrote that his desire is to depart and be with Christ (Phil 1:23). In the same letter he goes on to say that I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus made it His own (Phil 3:10-12). St. Paul knew that through suffering he was being sanctified and conformed to Christ and did not consider this process done in his life yet. He did not consider himself ready to enter heaven yet. Most Christians cannot compare to St. Paul, so how can they consider themselves ready to enter heaven immediately?
Most Christians (including some Protestants) and Jews pray for those whose bodies have died
We have seen that we can pray (1 John 5:16) and suffer for others in the Church. The Church exists on earth, in heaven, and in purgatory. Those in hell are not part of the Church; they have eternally condemned themselves and our prayers will not help them. Those in heaven do not need our prayers. When some of the Jews were slain it was discovered that they were wearing pagan amulets. Judas Maccabeus and his men made atonement for the dead that they may be delivered from their sin. This was called a holy and pious thought (2 Macc 12:45). (Martin Luther removed the two books of Maccabees from his Bible in 1534. They were removed from the King James Bible by the Puritans in 1548). Orthodox Jews to this day pray a Mourner’s Qaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one. St. Paul prayed for his deceased friend Onesiphorus: may the Lord grant him mercy on that day (2 Tim 1:17). All of the earliest Christian liturgies, without exception, had prayers for the dead. Such prayers are written on the walls of the catacombs where the earliest Christians are buried. Eastern Orthodox Christians have always prayed for the dead. Some Orthodox Christians don’t believe in a literal fire or a separate place, but they still believe sins are purged after this life. This is all that the Catholic dogma requires. C.S. Lewis believed in purgatory and praying for the dead even though he was a Protestant.
Pre-Christian Jews, post-Christian Jews, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and some Protestants believe in the doctrine of purgatory and praying for the dead. The doctrine was never challenged until the “Reformation.” In 1519 Martin Luther stated that the existence of purgatory was “undeniable.” Although he later rejected the doctrine in 1530, he permitted prayers for the dead in his official church directory as late as 1543. All Christians believe in justification, a process of sanctification, and ultimately glorification. Without purgatory how does one explain the completion of the sanctification process for those who die physically without being fully sanctified? Isn’t this what happens to most people? Rather than teaching that Christ’s work is not sufficient, all Catholics must believe that there is superabundant merit in Christ’s work on the cross. Not only is Christ’s sacrifice sufficient for our redemption, but by joining our sufferings to His, we can apply His merit towards the temporal punishment due to our sins.
Behold I stand at the door and knock…(Rev. 3:20)
Jesus asks us to allow Him into our hearts, over our tongues, and down into our belly.
Our Lord Jesus tells us, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). As Catholics, we believe we receive Our Lord Jesus (Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity) in the Eucharist (from the Greek Eucharistos) or the Lord’s Supper. Here Jesus asks us to dine with Him and Him with us. The backdrop for the Book of Revelation is the Mass. John was exiled on Patmos so he couldn’t celebrate the Mass on earth, but since it was the Lord’s Day (Sunday), Our Lord Jesuslet John witness the Mass going on in heaven. Even Protestant scholars such as David E. Aune (Word Biblical Commentary), Massey H. Shepherd, Jr. (The Pascal Liturgy and the Apocalypse), and G.K. Beale (The New International Greek Testament Commentary), etc. have commented on this. Shepherd writes,
our theory about the structure of Revelation was provided by the use of the Hallel Psalms (113-18) in chapter 19, immediately preceding the “marriage supper of the Lamb”. The association with the Jewish festivals, and in particular with Passover, suggested at first that this chapter reflected the Paschal Eucharist of the Church. By working backwards through the book from this point, we became convinced that an entire Paschal Liturgy could be reconstructed. And this in turn fits in with the Seer’s statement that his vision was experienced “on the Lord’s Day” (1:10).
The Mass is divided into two main parts, the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist. During a Sunday liturgy of the Word we have an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a reading from Acts or a New Testament Epistle, and a reading from one of the four Gospels. After this we hear a sermon. During the liturgy of the Eucharist we celebrate what some non-Catholics refer to as the Lord’s Supper. The prayers throughout the Mass are taken from all parts of Scripture. In the Book of Revelation, we find the opening of the scroll followed by the reading of the Law, the Prophets, the Gospel, and the Psalms. This is followed by the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Rev. 5:5, John tells us, “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” What does the Lion look like? He looks like a Lamb as it had been slain. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” Rev. 5:6.
In the beginning of John’s Gospel, John the Baptist says of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1:29. This evokes image of the Passover. If you remember reading Exodus (or perhaps you saw the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston), you will remember that the Jews had to kill a Lamb and sprinkle its blood on their doorposts. If they didn’t, their firstborn sons and animals would be dead in the morning. Not only did they have to kill the lamb, every member of the household had to eat it and none could remain until morning (Ex. 12:10). If they did this the Lord would pass over them, otherwise their firstborns would be dead. This was to be a memorial forever. In the New Testament the Church is called the household of God (Gal 6:10, Eph. 2:19, 1 Tim 3:15). And every member of the household must partake of the New Testament Lamb. As Paul writes, “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:7-8). Paul tells us that Jesus is our Passover and therefore we must keep the feast. But what does he mean by the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth? We know Jesus is Truth and Sincerity, and in John chapter 6, He calls himself the “Bread of Life.”
It is no coincidence therefore that John 6 starts out telling us, “And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh” (John 6:4). “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” (John 6:32-33). Jesus promises to give them this bread which is “He which cometh down from heaven.” At this point they don’t understand what Our Lord Jesus is saying. We read, “Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:34-40).
Was Jesus just saying that this means just to believe in Him? Apparently the Jews did not take it this way. “The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?” (John 6:42-42). Now Jesus has the perfect opportunity to clear up the confusion. “Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:43-51). Not only does Our Lord Jesus not clear up the confusion, He now says that the bread He is talking about is His flesh!
Now the listeners are really upset. “The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” (John 5:52). Does Jesus correct their misunderstanding? No! “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.” (John 6:53-58). Jesus says the same thing in even stronger language. They must eat His flesh and drink His blood or they have no life in them. His flesh is called “real meat” or “meat indeed.” His blood is called “real drink” or “drink indeed.” This isn’t figurative language.
Later on in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus disciples were even having trouble with this teaching. “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? “ (John 6:60-61). These were Our Lord’s disciples. They had given up everything to follow Him. Surely Our Lord Jesus would not allow them to leave Him over a misunderstanding. “[What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father” (John 6:62-65). These disciples heard Our Lord Jesus say this in their native language. They heard His inflections and observed His body language. Did they think He was explaining away His previous words? No, they left Him and He let them go. “From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66).
Wouldn’t it have been immoral for Our Lord Jesus to let His disciples leave over a simple misunderstanding? Every time in Scripture people misunderstood Our Lord, He corrected them. In verse 63, He doesn’t say “my flesh profith nothing.” It was His flesh and blood sacrificed on the cross that won the redemption of the whole human race, to all who would come to Him. Jesus says, “the flesh” which throughout the New Testament is used for our carnal way of looking at things. When He says His words are “spirit and life” that can’t mean figurative. His disciples certainly didn’t take it that way and He let them go. Nowhere in Scripture does “spirit” mean figurative. The Scripture tells us “God is Spirit” and angels are called “spirits.” These things are very real.
This was called a “hard saying.” If Jesus was just saying, “believe in me,” that would be nothing for these disciples who had left everything. Some had been following Him for a couple of years. John 6 is about faith. But what takes more faith, to look at what appears to still be bread and wine and say, “That is the Body and Blood of the creator of the universe” or to say that is just bread and wine? It certainly would take faith to look at the little baby in the manger and say that is the God that created everything. It would take faith to look at the man dying on the cross and believe He was God. So it is with the Eucharist.
Sure there was other times that Jesus used metaphors. He said He was a door, He said He was a vine. Everyone understood those metaphors. We know that a door means an entrance. Nobody said, “This guy doesn’t have hinges and a doorknob” or “This guy doesn’t have leaves.” Here they thought He really meant what He said and He didn’t correct them. If He wanted to tell them they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, there was no clearer way to tell them.
Suppose Jesus was using “eat My flesh” in a figurative sense. In the Semitic world this would be saying “to attack or persecute” him. This was the figurative meaning in this culture (Isaiah 9:20, Psalm 14:4, Psalm 53:4, Ezek 29:8, Gal. 5:15, Rev 19:8, etc.). Would this make sense?
Rather than correct to disciples, Jesus let them leave Him. Jesus then challenges His Apostles. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot [the son] of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve” (John 6:67-71).
Peter didn’t understand what Jesus was saying either, but He trusted Jesus as did all of the other Apostles except Judas Iscariot. Here we first learn of Judas’ undoing. Judas could not accept this. Is it a coincidence that at the Last Supper they were celebrating a Passover with Our Lord Jesus this happened? “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28, cf. Mark 14, Luke 22, 1 Cor 11). When Our Lord Jesus told the Apostles that the bread was His body and the wine was His blood, was when Judas went off to betray Our Lord. Judas could not accept the Eucharist. In the Byzantine liturgy, before the Eucharist, they sing, “May I not betray you with a kiss as Judas did.”
Here again Jesus says that they are to eat His body and drink His blood. The blood is called the blood that would be shed for us. Jesus was very specific about what blood it is. In Luke 22:19 and 1 Cor. 11:24 it says, “Do this in remembrance of Me” or as a “memorial.” Does that mean that we only remember Jesus, but He isn’t really present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity? Well if it was negating the statements “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood,” then certainly the first two Gospels would use this phrase. Luke (who probably got it from Paul) and Paul who said he got it from Our Lord were written much later. If someone asks you to do something as a memorial, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t to do the thing they ask. If I ask you to plant a cherry tree when I die as a memorial, it doesn’t mean just remember me and don’t plant the cherry tree. Jesus told them it was His body and it was His blood. The word “memorial” is the Greek word “anamnesis” meaning a memorial sacrifice. Whenever the word is used in the New Testament or the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament where 2/3rds of the New Testament quotations come from) in Protestant Bibles it means this. The Jews did not just remember how their ancestors sacrificed lambs, they had to kill their own each year. This ended in 70 A.D. when the temple was destroyed. No Orthodox or Conservative Jew will eat Lamb on Passover now since the Temple is gone. They substitute something like chicken. But the Passover is to be forever. We keep it in the Church. We eat His flesh and drink His blood.
But weren’t Jews forbidden to drink blood? Yes, they were, but if one reads the reason why, that makes the case even stronger that we must eat Our Lord’s Body and Blood. “Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off” (Lev. 17:4) and “Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood [is] the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh” (Deut. 12:23). The reason that the Jews could not eat the flesh of animals with the blood is because the cultures around them believed they could get the life and spirit of animals in them by drinking their blood. They would strangle a bull, for example, and slit the throat and drink it while it was still warm to get the strength of the bull. That is why in Acts 15 they prohibited the eating of strangled animals. Jesus said, “Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). That is exactly why we must drink His blood. We don’t want the life of cattle or goats in us, but we do want Jesus’ life in us!
But isn’t Jesus in heaven? How can His body be present here on earth? And wasn’t His blood still in His veins when He said, “This is My Blood?” Jesus prepared the people for this objection. How did Jesus prepare them for the Bread of Life discourse? He prepared them by “multiplying” the loaves and fishes. Actually He did not multiply them, He multi-located them. Let me show you what I mean. They started with five barley loaves and two fish. After they had all eaten, they filled five barley loaves with the “fragments of the five barley loaves.” Notice the five original barley loaves still remained and they filled twelve baskets. (How many apostles were there?) After this miracle he walked on the water. The apostles were still thinking spiritual. They were afraid and said, “It is a Ghost” (Matt 14:26). What did Jesus say? “Take heart, have no fear, it is I.” What were they thinking about when they said this? A storm is going on and someone comes up walking on the sea—what else would they be thinking about? The loaves, of course! “But immediately He spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, It is I; have no fear.’ And He got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded.” Mark 6:50-51. What astounded them--that He could calm the storm? No! “And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, for their hearts were hardened.” Mark 6:52. This was the only miracle Jesus repeated: The feeding of the five thousand, the feeding of the four thousand. Just in case they didn’t get the significance Jesus had to keep reminding them of this miracle: “Having eyes, see you not? And having ears, hear you not? Neither do you remember? When I broke the five loves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up? They say to him: Twelve. When also the seven loaves among four thousand, how many baskets of fragments took you up? And they say to him: Seven. And he said to them: How do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:18-21). That is what I mean by multi-locating. The original loaves and fishes appeared to each person. Each person had his fill, but the original remained. So it is with the Eucharist. Jesus being God can do this miracle, just as He could do it with bread and fish, both symbolic of Himself.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we [being] many are one bread, [and] one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor 10:16-17). When Paul talks about the “one bread” he doesn’t mean that the Corinthians all had one big loaf of bread they all ate from, he meant the “one bread” was Jesus. It really was a communion in His Body and a communion in His blood. In the same letter Paul writes, “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body” (1 Cor 11:27-29). To be guilty of the “body and blood” is a Semitic expression meaning to be guilty of murder. If one just disrespects a symbol he is not guilty of this. One would not be arrested for tearing up a picture of the president. Notice what the offense is: “not discerning the Lord’s body.” Discern means to recognize.
Speaking of recognizing the Lord’s body, this Scripture passage was a favorite in the early Church. “And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem [about] threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed [together] and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications [are] these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found [it] even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things [were done] in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.” (Luke 23:14-35). The disciples walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, their hearts even burned when He explained the Scriptures to them, but they didn’t recognize Him until the “breaking of the bread.” He didn’t eat with gloves on, there is nothing in the text about nail holes, it says “He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
We can have a personal relationship with Christ through prayer. But only through the Eucharist we enter into the most intimate relationship one can be in. We, as the bride of Christ, consummate the marriage supper of the Lamb. And we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven. We can do it at every Mass. As Paul writes, “For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which [voice] they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, [that] Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel” (Hebrews 12:18-24). Jesus, being fully God and fully man, transcends time and space and allows us to worship Him with all of the saints who have ever lived. Don’t we have a wonderful God?
The Saints in Heaven
What should be our relationship to the saints in heaven? Should we honor them? Should we ask for their intercessions?
What is a saint? In the New Testament, the Greek word “hagios” is translated holy or saint. It means holy or most holy thing. It is applied to Christians throughout the New Testament (e.g. Act 9:13, 32, 41, 26:10, Rom. 1:7, 8:27, 12:13, 15:25, 26, 31, 16:2, 15, 1 Cor. 1:2, 1 Cor. 6:1, 2, 14:33, 16:1, 15, 2 Cor. 1:1, 2 Cor. 8:4, 9:1, 13, 13:13, Eph. 1:1, 15, 18, 2:19, 3:8, 18, 4:12, 5:3, 6:18, Phil. 1:1, 4:22, Col. 1:2, 4, 12, 26, 1 Thes. 3:13, 2 Thes. 1:10, 1 Tim 5:10, Phm. 1:5, 7, Heb. 6:10, Heb. 13:24, Jud. 1:3, 14, Rev. 5:8, 8:3, 4, 11:18, 13:7, 13:7, 10, 14:12, 15:3, 16:6, 17:6, 18:24, 19:8, 20:9). When we become Christians we are sanctified (Greek hagioazo, the verb form of hagios). Sanctification is a process which continues throughout our lives as Christians here on earth. Paul tells the Christians at Corinth and Rome that they “are sanctified in Jesus Christ, called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2, Romans 1:7). The saints on earth are saints in the making, while the saints in heaven are perfect, no longer struggling with sin, since they are in the presence of God.
All Christians ask other saints to pray for them. Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Coptics, and all other groups that broke from the Church before the 1500s seek the intercession of saints in heaven and of the saints on earth. Some of the more recent groups of Christians, however, see no problem with asking other Christians on earth to pray for them, but never ask those in heaven to intercede for them. The Bible tells Christians to pray for each other. The saints in heaven don’t start disobeying this command once they get to heaven. They continue to pray for us still here on earth.
No Christian can say that they don’t need the saints, including those in heaven. Christians “are all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). The body of Christ is made of many members: “For the body also is not one member, but many. If the foot should say: Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body: Is it therefore not of the Body? And if the ear should say: Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: Is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God hath set the members, every one of them, in the body as it hath pleased him. And if they all were one member, where would be the body? But now there are many members indeed, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand: I need not thy help. Nor again the head to the feet: I have no need of you” (1 Cor. 12:14-21). A saint does not cease being a member of the body of Christ when he goes home to his heavenly reward, and no Christian can say they don’t need that person (“the eye cannot say to the hand”). We are more radically joined to the saints in heaven and to those on earth than our fingers are joined to our hands.
In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he tells Christians to intercede for each other: “I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men: For kings and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God: and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle (I say the truth, I lie not), a doctor of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I will therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and contention.” (1 Cor. 2:1-11). Unfortunately some Christians start reading this statement starting at verse 5 where it says “For there is one God; and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus” and totally miss the point. The point is not that Christians cannot intercede for each other; Paul just asked them to do exactly that and said it is good and acceptable in the sight of God. The fact that Jesus is our one Mediator is used as a reason to show how we are able to intercede for each other. And as we shall see, saints don’t stop interceding when they make it to heaven. Whenever Jesus is described as our Mediator (Greek mesites) in the Bible, it is talking about how, by His shedding of blood on the cross, men were once again able to be reconciled with God (Gal. 3:19-20, 1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 8:6, 9:15, 12:24). Because we are in the one Mediator, Jesus Christ, we are able to intercede for all men, and are commanded to do so. Of course, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26-27) and so does Jesus (Rom. 8:34, Heb. 7:25, 1 John 2:1), but that doesn’t relieve Christians of the obligation to intercede for other men as Paul asks in 1 Tim 2:1.
Those in heaven do know what is happening on the earth and they do care. Jesus gave us two parables to demonstrate this. He explains these parables like this: “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance” (Luke 15:7) and “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10). How often do people on the earth repent? Suppose Billy Graham has a stadium crusade with 100,000 in attendance. This event is broadcast all over the world by television. Tens of thousands, even millions of people could repent upon hearing him preach. Those in heaven would know about each and every repentant sinner. How do they know who really repents? We don’t know for sure, but Scripture gives us some hints that those in heaven do not have the limitations those on earth have now. “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matt. 22:30). “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor 2:9). “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Rachel was long dead (see Gen. 48:7) and departed from the earth during the Babylonian exile when Jeremiah wrote: “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.” (Jeremiah 31:15-16). The Lord answered her prayer. Again when Herod slaughtered the innocents, Matthew tells us: “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matthew 2:18). In the story about Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16, we see that even the rich man in hell showed concern for the people still living. Wouldn’t the people in heaven show more concern? Wouldn’t they pray for us? Jesus tells us to careful what we do to little children since they have their guardian angels interceding to the Father for them. “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10).
The word “pray” simply means to ask. It comes from the Latin word “precari” meaning “request.” The main definition according to Webster’s Collegiate dictionary (and any other good dictionary is “ENTREAT, IMPLORE -- often used as a function word in introducing a question, request, or plea .” When we “pray” to the saints in heaven, we merely ask them for a request so they can pray to God along with us. We pray to God as an expression of our adoration of God and offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. We honor the saints, but we don’t give them the worship due to God alone.
In the Old Covenant the Jews were awaiting the Messiah so that they could go to heaven. In the temple they prayed and sang Psalms to angels who were the only saints in heaven then (see Daniel 4:13) with the possible exception of Elijah (2 King 2:11) and Enoch (Gen. 5:24). Here are a couple of examples.
“Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all [ye] his hosts; [ye] ministers of his, that do his pleasure” (Psalm 103:20-21).
“Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts” (Psalm 148:1-2).
In the New Covenant we find the human saints (Rev. 5:8) in heaven and the angel saints (Rev. 8:3-4) in heaven offering to God the prayers of those still on earth: “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.” (Rev. 5:8) and “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.” (Rev. 8:3-4). If we aren’t permitted to direct our prayers to them, where do they get our prayers? Those prayers are those of the saints on earth since the saints in heaven no longer need prayers.
Why not just pray to the Father in Jesus’ name? We do pray directly to God. But we also realize that our prayers are more powerful when joined with others. As Jesus tells us, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 18:19). All prayers are not the same. We know “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Those saints in heaven have already been made perfect (Heb. 11:40, 12:23). On earth the saints continue to sin: “For a just [man] falleth seven times” (Proverbs 24:16). Sin effects the effectiveness of our prayers: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]” (Psalm 66:18) and “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22). We seek prayer partners in the presence of God who have ceased from all sin, along with prayer partners on earth.
When we pray and worship, we are not only with God, but also with the angels and human saints in heaven. After describing the Old Testament saints in Hebrews 11, Paul (or the author of Hebrews) tells us: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2). When we are looking to Jesus and have our eyes on Jesus we are surrounded by these saints in heaven. Is it polite to ignore them as they cheer us on? “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.” (Heb. 12:22-24). Notice that in our worship and prayer, we don’t just come to Jesus, but to innumerable companies of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect (i.e. the saints in heaven).
Some will argue that the Bible forbids contact with the dead since necromancy is forbidden in Deut. 18:10-11. If one reads the context, one will see that this is forbidding contacting the dead as through a medium as at a séance. Moses died (Deut. 34:5), but that didn’t stop Jesus from communicating with him and Elijah at the mount of transfiguration. (Matt 17, Mark 9, Luke 9). What was Jesus talking to these “dead” guys about? They were talking about our salvation, i.e. His “exodus” (Luke 9:31). The saints are not dead; they are more alive than we are. The Sadducees did not believe in the Resurrection. Jesus told them, “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” (Luke 20:36-38).
Should we honor the saints in heaven, or should all of the honor and glory go to God? God receives more honor and glory by raising up honorable children. Jesus became man to share His glory with us. Jesus told this parable: “And he spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them: When thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the first place, lest perhaps one more honourable than thou be invited by him: And he that invited thee and him, come and say to thee: Give this man place. And then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place; that when he who invited thee cometh, he may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at table with thee. Because every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:7-11). Jesus tells us to humble ourselves so that we may “have glory.”
Paul promises glory and honor to those who live the Christian life: “But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God: Who will render to every man according to his works. To them indeed who, according to patience in good work, seek glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life: But to them that are contentious and who obey not the truth but give credit to iniquity, wrath and indignation. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil: of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. But glory and honour and peace to every one that worketh good: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2:5-11). Peter promises Christians: “And when the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory.” (1 Peter 5:4).
Paul writes to the Corinthians: “And those [members] of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely [parts] have more abundant comeliness.” (1 Cor 12:23) and “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Cor. 12:26). Christians must rejoice when other Christians are honored. The Ten Commandments tell us to worship only God. The first commandment describing our duties to other men tells us to “honor your father and mother.” Scripture is clear that we don’t give the same level of honor to everyone: “Let the presbyters [priests] who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching" (1 Tim. 5:17).
In our society, we honor sports stars, politicians, military heroes, actors, musicians, singers, and almost everyone except those who are examples of the Christian life. Don’t we have things backwards? The Bible tells us to imitate these other Christians. Paul tells the Corinthians: “Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye imitators of me as I also am of Christ. For this cause have I sent to you Timothy, who is my dearest son and faithful in the Lord. Who will put you in mind of my ways, which are in Christ Jesus: as I teach every where in every church.” (1 Cor. 4:16-17). Later he tells them: “Be ye imitators of me, as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me and keep my ordinances as I have delivered them to you.” (1 Cor. 11:1-2). Paul tells the Thessalonians: “For yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. For we were not disorderly among you. Neither did we eat any man's bread for nothing: but in labour and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you. Not as if we had not power: but that we might give ourselves a pattern unto you, to imitate us.” (2 Thes. 3:7-9). Paul tells the Thessalonians: “For yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. For we were not disorderly among you. Neither did we eat any man's bread for nothing: but in labour and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you. Not as if we had not power: but that we might give ourselves a pattern unto you, to imitate us.” (2 Thes. 3:7-9). The book of Hebrews tells us: “Remember your prelates who have spoken the word of God to you: whose faith imitate” (Hebrews 13:7).
The Bible commands the use of graven images in worship
Now I know your friend will quote the Ten Commandments and claim they forbid the making of graven images, but let's look to see what they really say:
Exodus 20:3-5 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;"
and
Deut. 5: "Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee [any] graven image, [or] any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me,"
The whole point here is that we can't make statues to worship them as "gods" not that we cannot make a statue of anything or even use statues in worship. A photograph is a graven image. Any carving is a graven image. People who oppose statues for use in worship have pictures of their mothers or spouses. These same people make statues to honor presidents, generals, etc.--almost everybody but the saints in heaven. They even even have images of dead politicians on their money. How do we know this interpretation is correct? Because God cannot contradict Himself and just five short chapters after God first gives the 10 Commandments to Moses He commands Moses to make two huge statues on angels to put on the mercy seat of the Ark, which is the center of their worship. Angels certainly were a "likeness of that which is heaven above."
Exodus 25:18-19 "And thou shalt make two cherubims [of] gold, [of] beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: [even] of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof."
In Numbers 21, the people were being bitten by serpents and dying. Moses prayed for the people but that wasn't enough. God commanded Moses to make a graven image-- a brass serpent (the people were accusing God of evil so they had to look at a image of the devil himself). In order to live the people had to look at the brass image of the serpent. Some people will say that Moses sinned here. That is impossible because God commanded Moses to do this and God does not command sin.
Numbers 21:8-9 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
In the New Testament Jesus uses this image to point to His
own sacrifice on the cross.
John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:"
God commanded Solomon to build the temple. In the temple there were tens of thousands of statues including cherubim, palm trees, flowers, pomegranates, lilies, lions, oxen. I don't have time to go into all of the statues because there were so many. But you can read about this in 1 Kings 6-9. There were statues of things in heaven, in the earth, and in the waters beneath the earth if you get my point. The Lord commanded Solomon to do this. Afterwards God said it was good and that God had hallowed this house and told Solomon to keep His commandments. Solomon had not disobeyed God by building the temple with tens of thousands of statues, no God commanded this.
1 Kings 9:3-7 "And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, [and] wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. [But] if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments [and] my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:"
Now perhaps someone will bring up the fact that the serpent that Moses was eventually destroyed when the Israelites fell into idolatry and began to worship it as a god. This is true, we read about this in 2 Kings 18:4. We would destroy any statue if people began to worship it as a god, but what does this show us? It shows us that the Israelites were able to keep this statue for hundreds of years before anyone had a problem with it. It wasn't the statue that was wrong but rather the Israelites had picked up the habits of the people surrounding them!
Do Catholics teach that Jesus Christ has to die again and again?
Some people accuse Catholics of teaching that Jesus Christ must die again and again at every Mass. The interesting thing is that the Catholic Church has never taught such an absurdity. Even if we disagree with someone else's doctrines, it is a sin to bear false witness and misrepresent their teachings. The Church has always taught that the Mass, or Divine Liturgy as it is called in the Eastern Rites, is a Holy Sacrifice. Many people, starting with Martin Luther in the 1500s, object to the Mass being called a Sacrifice.
Doesn't the Book of Hebrews say that "there is no more sacrifice?"
Some will say the Book of Hebrews says, "there is no more sacrifice." It is true that those five words appear in a sentence, but that is not what the sentence says. The entire sentence is: "For if we sin wilfully after having the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26). In context, Paul (I believe he wrote Hebrews) is warning them to not turn away from the Christian sacrifice (the Mass) and return to the Jewish temple sacrifices. The text in context reads:
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that hath promised): And let us consider one another, to provoke unto charity and to good works: Not forsaking our assembly, as some are accustomed: but comforting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after having the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins: But a certain dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage of a fire which shall consume the adversaries." (Heb. 10:23-27).
Paul is warning them not to turn from Christian worship (the "gathering together") or there would be no more sacrifice for them. This makes no sense if there was no more sacrifice whether or not they turned away. It would be like telling our children, "If you misbehave, there will be no ice cream on Friday night." Then the children ask, "Are we having ice cream on Friday if we behave?" And then telling them, "No, we never have ice cream on Friday." This would not be much of a threat, and neither would Paul's statement if there was no more sacrifice for anyone.
Throughout the Book of Hebrews, Paul compares the Christian sacrifice (the Mass) as being superior to the Old Testament sacrifices. Jesus is called our High Priest. By definition a priest is one who offers sacrifices. As Paul explains, "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Hebrews 5:1). Paul then explains how Jesus is a priest forever. "For he testifieth: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech" (Hebrews 7:17). Jesus was not just a priest for three hours on the cross; He remains a priest forever.
Paul contrasts Jesus sacrifice with the Old Testament sacrifices: “For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens: Who needeth not daily (as the other priests) to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, in offering himself (Hebrews 7:26-27). Here the one sacrifice of Jesus is being contrasted with the Old Testament sacrifices that had to be repeated over and over and couldn’t take away sin. When it says “once” or “once for all” (Greek ephapax) it is not saying that Jesus’ sacrifice is over and done with, but rather that it continues throughout eternity because Jesus in His Divinity offers Himself up outside of time. Just in case the Hebrews didn't understand this point, Paul goes on to explain it:
"Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of majesty in the heavens, A minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord hath pitched, and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that he also should have some thing to offer. If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest: seeing that there would be others to offer gifts according to the law. Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. As it was answered to Moses, when he was to finish the tabernacle: See (saith he) that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shewn thee on the mount. But now he hath obtained a better ministry, by how much also he is a mediator of a better testament (covenant) which is established on better promises. For if that former had been faultless, there should not indeed a place have been sought for a second. For, finding fault with them, he saith: Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord: and I will perfect, unto the house of Israel and unto the house of Juda, a new testament: Not according to the testament which I made to their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt: because they continued not in my testament: and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the testament which I will make to the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my laws into their mind: and in their heart will I write them. And I will be their God: and they shall be my people" (Hebrews 8:1-10).
Notice that the verse says that it is necessary for Jesus to have something to offer (a sacrifice) or He wouldn't be our high priest (present tense). Melchisadech offered bread and wine. Jesus offered up bread and wine that became His Body and Blood, and told us to do this when we worship Him. The same Greek word ephapax, “once” or “once for all,” is used later in Hebrews where our sanctification is attributed to Christ’s sacrifice. “In the which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ once” (Hebrews 10:10). Obviously our sanctification is not a one-time event accomplished nearly 2000 years ago. Our sanctification is accomplished by our being able to participate in the “once for all” sacrifice of Christ. When Christians talk about being “washed in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14, cf. Rev. 1:5), they are not referring to killing Jesus again, but rather to participating in His Sacrifice and applying it to their sins. The Book of Revelation describes Jesus as the “Lamb which was slain from the beginning of the world” (Rev. 13:8). John, witnessing the heavenly liturgy, hears “Weep not: behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof.” (Rev. 5:5). When John looks up to see Jesus, how does He appear? In the next verse we read, “And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing, as it were slain.” (Rev. 5:6). Jesus is still appearing as a Lamb standing, as it were slain.
The Sacrifice of the Mass was foretold by the Prophet Malachi:
For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation (Hebrew minchah or sacrifice): for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts (Malachi 1:11).
The sacrifice that Malachi prophesied was to be every place in the world and among the gentiles. Either this is describing the Mass or the prophecy is not true. Even dispensationalists, who believe that the Temple will be rebuilt and the Jews will resume the Old Covenant sacrifices, deny that there will be a sacrifice world-wide among the Gentiles in the future. Due to the different time zones, there is a Mass being offered at any given time somewhere around the world.
Hebrews tells us that the New Covenant has better sacrifices (plural): “It is necessary therefore that the patterns of heavenly things should be cleansed with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Heb. 9:23). Our sacrifices of bread and wine are better because they become the Body and Blood of Jesus shed for us (Luke 22:19-20). “We have an altar whereof they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle.” (Hebrews 13:10). An altar (Greek thusiasterion) is by definition a place of sacrifice. In the Mass, we are present not only at the Last Supper, but at Calvary. The Passover feast that began at the Last Supper is complete on the Cross when Jesus says, “It is finished” or “It is consummated” (John 19:30).
The Fourth Cup: It is finished
What did Jesus mean when He said, “It is finished” or “It is consummated” just before He died? Did He mean that everything for our salvation was accomplished? This completed the act of redemption, but our salvation depended on Our Lord’s whole life, death, and His resurrection that hadn’t happened yet. Paul wrote Jesus “was delivered up for our sins and rose again for our justification” (Romans 4:25) and “if Christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain: and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). There are different levels of meaning in the phrase “it is finished,” but to understand how it applies to the Last Supper, we must understand the structure of the Jewish Passover.
Jesus and the Apostles were celebrating a Passover Seder (Hebrew for “Order”) at the Last Supper. Mark writes, “Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, the disciples say to him: Whither wilt thou that we go and prepare for thee to eat the Passover?” (Mark 14:12). Luke writes: “And they going, found as he had said to them and made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down: and the twelve apostles with him. And he said to them: With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you, before I suffer” (Luke 22:13-15). Jesus institutes the Eucharist: “And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke and gave to them and said: Take ye. This is my body. And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the new covenant, which shall be shed for many” (Mark 14:22-24). In a Jewish Passover there are four cups of wine that everyone drinks. The third is the cup of blessing. This is the cup that Mark describes in Mark 14. Paul later writes, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). After Jesus offers the Communion cup, the cup of blessing, He says something interesting: “Amen I say to you that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:25). After the third cup, the cup of blessing, the Great Hallel (Psalms 114-118) is sung. Jesus and the Apostles sing the song and then leave for the Mount of Olives. “And when they had sung an hymn, they went forth to the Mount of Olives” (Mark 14:26). Why would Jesus leave without finishing the Passover? Jesus wouldn’t skip the most important part of the Passover. He had been celebrating Passover since He was a little boy. His statement about not drinking of the fruit of the vine gives us a clue. The participants at a Passover Seder are allowed to drink additional cups of wine between the first, second and third cups, but not between the third and the fourth. After the third cup they pour a cup for Elijah, who is expected to come to usher in the Messiah. While in the Garden Jesus prays, “saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matt. 26:42, cf. Luke 22:42, Mark 16:36). Jesus prayed this prayer three times (Matt. 26:44). What did Jesus mean by “cup” rather than “cross?” Perhaps this goes back to the imagery in Jeremiah and Isaiah describing the cup of God’s wrath or fury. But remember what Jesus said about not drinking of the fruit of the vine and the fact that the Passover was interrupted suddenly before going to the garden.
On the way to the cross Jesus is offered wine, but refuses it. “And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh. But he took it not.” (Mark 15:23). In John’s Gospel, Jesus is shown on the cross as the fulfillment of the Passover. Jesus wears a seamless garment (John 19:23) which is what the priest wore as he sacrificed the Passover. Unlike the criminals at His side, Jesus’ bones were not broken (John 19:31), as a suitable Passover lamb could not have broken bones. In John 19:28 we read, “Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst.” Jesus had been on the cross for hours and had lost much blood. Surely He was thirsty before this. Before when He was offered wine he refused it. Remember He has said that He wouldn’t drink of the fruit of the vine until He would drink it in the kingdom. After Jesus says this He drinks the wine: “Now there was a vessel set there, full of sour wine. And they, putting a sponge full of sour wine about hyssop, put it to his mouth. Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the Spirit” (John 19:29-30). At a Passover, when they drink the fourth cup they say, “Chasal siddur Pesach k’hilchato” (“Our Passover Seder is now complete.)” Hyssop was what the Jews used to sprinkle the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts so that their firstborn sons would be saved (Exodus 12:22). The Jews couldn’t just kill the Passover, every member in the household had to eat of it. As Paul tells us, “For Christ our Passover is sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast” (1 Cor. 5:7-8). We need to participate in Christ’s Passover that started at the Last Supper and was finished on the Cross. Jesus, being God, makes His Sacrifice available to us. “The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?” (1 Cor. 10:16).
Back To Home Page - Почетак
