False Christs

[OldRegular]

Hey Yeshua, how about some documentation, remember now, if its not in the Bible ,then it can't be true.


The Catholic Church was formed by Jesus upon his Apostles/Successors, not on John Smyth or on Luther, or Calvin or any other man or woman. Do you understand that Jesus the Christ is Head of the Catholic Church and He formed His church on the apostles.

The initial Church at Rome was established by true believers in Jesus Christ. Roman Catholicism was established through an unholy union of the Church at Rome and the residue of the Roman empire as Philip Schaff writes in his History of the Christian Church. Schaff tells us [Volume 2, page 73]:

With Constantine, therefore, the last of the heathen, the first of the Christian, emperors, a new period begins. The church ascends the throne of the Caesars under the banner of the once despised, now honored and triumphant cross, and gives new vigor and lustre to the hoary empire of Rome.

Schaff further writes [Volume 3, page 12]:

Constantine, the first Christian Caesar, the founder of Constantinople and the Byzantine empire, and one of the most gifted, energetic, and successful of the Roman emperors, was the first representative of the imposing idea of a Christian theocracy, or of that system of policy which assumes all subjects to be Christians, connects civil and religious rights, and regards church and state as the two arms of one and the same divine government on earth. This idea was more fully developed by his successors, it animated the whole middle age, and is yet working under various forms in these latest times; though it has never been fully realized, whether in the Byzantine, the German, or the Russian empire, the Roman church-state the Calvinistic republic of Geneva, or the early Puritanic colonies of New England. At the same time, however, Constantine stands also as the type of an undiscriminating and harmful conjunction of Christianity with politics, of the holy symbol of peace with the horrors of war, of the spiritual interests of the kingdom of heaven with the earthly interests of the state.

Roman Catholicism may be considered an antichrist but I believe it is actually more akin to Babylon, the Harlot, and an apostate church. Read what Scripture says about this Harlot and contrast that with apostate Rome.

Revelation 17:1-6
1. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Drunk with the blood of the Saints. How many Saints through the years since that unholy union with Constantine have perished at the hands of the pope and teaching magisterium.

Read further and again contrast Scripture with apostate Rome:

Revelation 18:1-24
1. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13. And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16. And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18. And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19. And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
22. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Now I realize that presenting the Bible to members of the Cult of Rome is as useless as shoveling sand against the tide because they have replaced the Bible with the pope and teaching magisterium but the above Scripture aptly describes the Cult of Rome known as Roman Catholicism!

 

[Darrell C]

DHK,I will get back with answers with your questions. Right now I am waiting on a phone call from the doctors concerning my brother and sister who are both in hostice {?spelling } home, my brother especially is in his last hours. Please say a little prayer for him, he has never accepted Jesus. My brother Dan believes in God, but that is as far as it goes, no Trinity or Cross, Resurrection, nothing. Please pray for him , my sister is a 'born again' Christian, and has been reading the Bible to our brother, hopefully he has accepted Jesus as His Lord and Savior before he became non- responsive. I will attempt to answer your list as time permits, I trust you will understand my present situation. Thank You, I appreciate your patience with me.

Praying for you and your brother, lakeside.

God bless.

 

[Yeshua1]

Hey Yeshua, how about some documentation, remember now, if its not in the Bible ,then it can't be true.


The Catholic Church was formed by Jesus upon his Apostles/Successors, not on John Smyth or on Luther, or Calvin or any other man or woman. Do you understand that Jesus the Christ is Head of the Catholic Church and He formed His church on the apostles.

there is NO historical evidence though for any Apostolic succession, as that would be the same as Mormonism teaches and holds with!

The Church of christ was already firmly established at Pentacost, in the time of book of Acts, and there was N O RCC/papacy in history at that time!

the church was and is built upon the cornerstone and Rock of jesus, not peter or the papacy, and the ONLY apostles were the ones jesus had while he was around here on earth, and paul later on!

the real church of christ would be those who hold to the real gospel, and ONLY scriptures, and RCC fails on both accounts!

 

[OldRegular]

I see Roman Catholicism more as a part of the Babylon, the Harlot and the apostate church, rather than the Antichrist. But then the apostate church is antiChrist!

 

[lakeside]

DHK, I will post the other questions another time, after I get through burying my brother.

Originally Posted by DHK View Post
Concerning salvation evangelical churches are united

.-----MY ANSWER---- No. That is not true. The many different conflicting churches of Protestantism all have many different conflicting ways of reaching salvation.


Concerning salvation the RCC is lost. They don't know what it is.

----MY ANSWER-----Keep in mind what St.Paul told the Christians of his day. " If we have died with him[ in baptism; { see Rom.6: 3-4 } we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall not reign with him. In other words, Christians can forfeit heaven. ------

As a Catholic, I will be saved because " I am redeemed by the blood of Christ, I trust in Him alone for my salvation, and, as the Bible teaches, I am " working out my salvation in fear and trembling" {Phil. 2:12 }, knowing that it is God's gift of grace that is working in me".
Concerning other doctrines the RCC believes doctrines that are: extra-biblical, unbiblical, and even anti-biblical.
Many of them have already been listed for you. You go directly against the Ten Commandments. --------MY ANSWER----

All Doctrine is Biblical with the same OT Books that Jesus used. I believe in the Ten Commandments

Idolatry (worship of Mary and other saints) ----- MY ANSWER--- Biblical

necromancy (praying to the dead)-------- MY ANSWER------ We do not pray to dead, those that are in Heaven are more alive than you and me.

--In the OT these sins were punishable by death.------- MY ANSWER---- What sins ? The above are not applicable.


All of the many sins or doctrines related to Mary


--her birth--immaculate conception: heresy. -------- MY ANSWER--- Show me from Bible where it says that


--her continual virginity: her children are mentioned in the Bible.



----MY ANSWER-----

The Bible nowhere says that Mary had other children. Nor does the Bible ever refer to anyone besides Jesus as the " son of Mary" Some passages refer, however to the "brothers of the Lord" and these passages { Matt.12:46-48; 13: 55-56; 27:56 } are sometimes invoked in an attempt to disprove the Catholic's Church's teaching that Mary' was a perpetual virgin. Notice that in these passages, such as in Matt. 13, two of the four men mentioned by name and called " brothers of the Lord " are actually sons of another Mary, the wife of Cleophas { James and Joseph {Matt. 27: 56; John 19: 25 } In Hebrew and Aramaic languages, as they were spoken at the time of Christ, there was no word for cousin or uncle or some other close relative. All close relatives were referred to simply as "brother" or "sister".


--her assumption into heaven--no biblical or historical basis. It only became accepted as a doctrine in the RCC in 1950. (the changing facade of the RCC)---

----- MY ANSWER------- The gift of suffering no corruption in the grave and of being " caught up" into heaven while still alive is perfectly in accordance with Scripture. Similar assumption happened to Enoch { Gen. 5: 24; Heb. 11: 5 } and Elijah { 2 Kings 2: 1, 11-12 } and are promised to some Christians in the future: { 1 Thess. 4: 13-17 }


--her position in heaven: redemptrix, intercessor, (taking the place of Christ)

----- MY ANSWER--- Why do you keep saying that Catholics use Mary as in taking the place of Jesus, no place does the Church teach that.

Purgatory
mortal, venial sins, etc. There is no division of sins. ----- MY ANSWER--- Yes there is -- not all sin is fatal ---as per bible


confession of sins to a priest. Only Christ can forgive sins. ------ MY ANSWER--- first of all, remember where in the bible Jesus gave all authority to His apostles/ successors as in Luke 10: 16 ,then In this verse John 29: 18 Jesus told His apostles that all sins they forgive will be forgiven and all sins they retain will be retained.

 

[lakeside]

My brother passed on. Thank You for your prayers.

 

[OldRegular]

My brother passed on. Thank You for your prayers.

My sincere condolences to you Brother. I have lost four brothers and it is not an easy thing to face!

 

[DHK]

DHK, I will post the other questions another time, after I get through burying my brother.

I am sorry to hear of your brother. Thank you for taking the time to answer this much.

Originally Posted by DHK View Post
Concerning salvation evangelical churches are united

.-----MY ANSWER---- No. That is not true. The many different conflicting churches of Protestantism all have many different conflicting ways of reaching salvation.

As was demonstrated by Walter most Catholics don't have a clue what is evangelical and what is not. Walter included all kinds of Protestant churches whether liberal or evangelical. He included cults some of which denied the trinity. Obviously there is no unity when you lump liberal denominations with cults, etc. with us. There are even liberal Baptists that I would never associate with.
An evangelical church is one who is engaged in evangelism, which means they preach the gospel. That definition is predicated on the supposition that they must first know the gospel in order to preach it. A cult like the Oneness Pentecostal which denies the trinity cannot know the Gospel because they know not who God is. They don't even believe in the God of the Bible. Neither do all the liberal churches that deny the trinity.
What I said is that evangelical churches are united in their doctrine of the gospel (that is salvation), and they are. That is what makes them evangelical.

Concerning salvation the RCC is lost. They don't know what it is.

----MY ANSWER-----Keep in mind what St.Paul told the Christians of his day. " If we have died with him[ in baptism; { see Rom.6: 3-4 } we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall not reign with him. In other words, Christians can forfeit heaven. ------

No they can't and that is not what those scriptures mean.
Baptism can (scripturally) take place only after one has put their faith in Christ. Infant baptism is against biblical teaching; there is no example of it in the Bible. Faith in Christ always precedes baptism. Baptism is purely symbolic of what happens at salvation.
Thus in Rom.6:3,4
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
--Speaking of the symbolic nature of water baptism, Paul says:
When we are baptized (by immersion) we are buried (as Christ was) symbolizing our death to our old life, and we are raised (as Christ was) to a new life in Christ (that we should walk in newness of life).
--If anything this would teach that the Christian will never forfeit his salvation because he is walking in a new life as opposed to the old life that he once had.

As a Catholic, I will be saved because " I am redeemed by the blood of Christ, I trust in Him alone for my salvation, and, as the Bible teaches, I am " working out my salvation in fear and trembling" {Phil. 2:12 }, knowing that it is God's gift of grace that is working in me".

The phrase "working out" is not speaking of salvation in the nature of justification, but rather sanctification. Sanctification is progressive. It has nothing to do with our initial salvation which is an event, not a process.
Romans 5:1
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God."

Concerning other doctrines the RCC believes doctrines that are: extra-biblical, unbiblical, and even anti-biblical.
Many of them have already been listed for you. You go directly against the Ten Commandments. --------MY ANSWER----

All Doctrine is Biblical with the same OT Books that Jesus used. I believe in the Ten Commandments

Not all of them, or you would obey all of them.

Idolatry (worship of Mary and other saints) ----- MY ANSWER--- Biblical

Do you pray the rosary? "the Hail Mary," other prayers to Mary?
Do you go through the stations of the cross, stopping at each one, praying before each one?
What kind of prayers do you find in the missal that your church uses (if they still have one)? Are their prayers there addressed to Mary?

Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
--Those in heaven fell down before Him that sat on the throne (the Lord) and worshiped Him alone. He is the only one that could be worshiped. All prayer was directed to God. To direct any other prayer to any other person is idolatry.
The word worship means "to ascribe worth."
"Thou are worthy O Lord to receive glory and honour and power."
Only God is worthy. Only God is to be ascribed such worth as to be worshiped.
When one prays to Mary they steal or rob God of the worship that is due only Him. It then becomes idolatry.

Exo 20:3-5
(3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(4) 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:
(5) 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;
--A person who is prayed to is "a god."
--Thus the command "not to make any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or in the earth beneath..."
Yet this is exactly what the RCC has done:
A likeness of Jesus and Mary, and other "saints." They bow before them, pray to them. This is idolatry which is forbidden here in the Ten Commandments.
This is what the Hindus do when they create their idols. They do not pray "to the wooden statue," but what the statue represents, the god or demon behind it. For example their elephant god, Ganesh, is a real god to them. He exists in the spirit world. They are not praying to the idol of wood, but what the idol represents, its spirit.
You are doing the same thing--praying to the spirit whom that wood carving (of Mary or Jesus) represents. And that is idolatry. That is what you do when you go through the 15 stations of the cross and pray before each one of them.
But notice, it is not just a sin to bow down before them, it is a sin to make them, to make the images of Mary and Jesus and the other saints. For every image that the RCC makes, they sin. This is part and parcel of idolatry--the creation of the idol.

necromancy (praying to the dead)-------- MY ANSWER------ We do not pray to dead, those that are in Heaven are more alive than you and me.

I realize this is a sensitive time for you, the death of a brother. But as in any funeral the body is taken and buried in a cemetery (barring cremation).
That is the place where "the dead" are buried.
The Bible says:
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
We die, and then we wait for the redemption of out bodies.
Yes, our spirit will go either to heaven or hell. But the resurrection has not taken place yet. Mary is dead. The Apostles are dead. My grandparents are dead, etc. We are commanded not to pray to the dead. That is what necromancy is--praying to the dead.
What did King Saul do? He went to the witch of Endor and asked her to bring up the spirit of Saul, who was dead! He did not pray to Saul, as you pray to Mary and other saints. He went to a medium to ask to bring his spirit up so he could make a request from him. This was wrong. Praying to the dead, Mary or otherwise, is always wrong.

--In the OT these sins were punishable by death.------- MY ANSWER---- What sins ? The above are not applicable.

It is very applicable except that the Jewish law is not applicable. The sin is just as abominable in God's sight today as it was in the day of King Saul.

 

[DHK]

All of the many sins or doctrines related to Mary

--her birth--immaculate conception: heresy. -------- MY ANSWER--- Show me from Bible where it says that

It isn't in the Bible. It is a fable, a fairy tale dreamt up by some imaginative person in order to perpetuate some of the other heresies believed about Mary. One heresy leads to another. Note that you cannot defend such a teaching with the Bible.

--her continual virginity: her children are mentioned in the Bible.

They are mentioned in Matthew 13:55 and in other scriptures.

----MY ANSWER-----

The Bible nowhere says that Mary had other children. Nor does the Bible ever refer to anyone besides Jesus as the " son of Mary" Some passages refer, however to the "brothers of the Lord" and these passages { Matt.12:46-48; 13: 55-56; 27:56 } are sometimes invoked in an attempt to disprove the Catholic's Church's teaching that Mary' was a perpetual virgin.

Notice how you phrased that: "the Catholic's Church's teaching..." It doesn't matter what the Bible teaches, the Scriptures teach, what God teaches, only what the RCC teaches.
These scriptures are very important. It is important to know what they mean, not "what others invoke in an attempt to disprove the RCC"

Notice that in these passages, such as in Matt. 13, two of the four men mentioned by name and called " brothers of the Lord " are actually sons of another Mary, the wife of Cleophas { James and Joseph {Matt. 27: 56; John 19: 25 } In Hebrew and Aramaic languages, as they were spoken at the time of Christ, there was no word for cousin or uncle or some other close relative. All close relatives were referred to simply as "brother" or "sister".

The inspired scriptures of the NT were written in Greek, not Hebrew or Aramaic. That is your biggest problem. We are not discussing Cree, Maori, Hindi, Afghani, French, Arabic, etc. The Scriptures were inspired in the Koine Greek, and that is all that we are interested in.
Matthew 13:55
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
--The context is his immediate family. Jesus is called the carpenter's son, that is, the son of Joseph. Mary is also referred to as his mother. Then the names of his brothers are mentioned. Then in verse 56 his sisters are mentioned. The entire context speaks of his immediate family, not an extended family.

Matthew 13:55 ουχ ουτος εστιν ο του τεκτονος υιος ουχι η μητηρ αυτου λεγεται μαριαμ και οι αδελφοι αυτου ιακωβος και ιωσης και σιμων και ιουδας
--The Greek word αδελφοι or adelphoi means brothers. It does not mean "cousins" or "sisters" or have any other meaning.
According to Thayer's, its primary definition is:
1) a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother
These were the brothers (technically half-brothers) of Jesus. There is no other sensible interpretation.

Also in Matthew one:
Matthew 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
--The plain teaching of this verse is that Joseph did have sexual relations with Mary after the birth of Jesus. In very dignified English that is what the verse says. If you look at a more modern translation or paraphrase it will put it more bluntly for you.

--her assumption into heaven--no biblical or historical basis. It only became accepted as a doctrine in the RCC in 1950. (the changing facade of the RCC)---

----- MY ANSWER------- The gift of suffering no corruption in the grave and of being " caught up" into heaven while still alive is perfectly in accordance with Scripture. Similar assumption happened to Enoch { Gen. 5: 24; Heb. 11: 5 } and Elijah { 2 Kings 2: 1, 11-12 } and are promised to some Christians in the future: { 1 Thess. 4: 13-17 }

Find the grave and you will find the corruption.
Mary is not Enoch, nor is she Elijah. No such promise was made to her. We find her mentioned in Acts chapter one, and no pre-eminence was given to her. She is just one person among 120 others. That is the last mention of Mary in the Bible. Then she died.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
--Mary is no exception.

--her position in heaven: redemptrix, intercessor, (taking the place of Christ)

----- MY ANSWER--- Why do you keep saying that Catholics use Mary as in taking the place of Jesus, no place does the Church teach that.

I don't have the time to look them up, but Bob Ryan has posted dozens of times many prayers that are addressed to Mary as a redemptrix and as Queen of Heaven. Even in the "Hail Mary" it is a prayer of intercession, isn't it?
"Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee; PRAY FOR US sinners now and at the hour of our death.."
That is intercession. That prayer is wrong. It is idolatrous.

Purgatory
mortal, venial sins, etc. There is no division of sins. ----- MY ANSWER--- Yes there is -- not all sin is fatal ---as per bible

There is no purgatory in the Bible. There is heaven and there is hell.
Be sure of your salvation; be sure you have your sins forgiven. If you were to die right now would you go to heaven or hell? Purgatory is not an option. It does not exist. Its existence is simply the figment of some man's imagination.

confession of sins to a priest. Only Christ can forgive sins. ------ MY ANSWER--- first of all, remember where in the bible Jesus gave all authority to His apostles/ successors as in Luke 10: 16 ,then In this verse John 29: 18 Jesus told His apostles that all sins they forgive will be forgiven and all sins they retain will be retained.

Only Christ can forgive sins. Jesus never gave power to his apostles to forgive sins. It wasn't they that had that power, it was the gospel that they preached that had the power. Christ through the gospel that the apostles preached would forgive sins. Man cannot forgive sins; no man can. Only Christ forgives sins.
The Bible says:
"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin."
Not men, not baptism, not works, but only Christ.

 

[OldRegular]

Only Christ can forgive sins. Jesus never gave power to his apostles to forgive sins. It wasn't they that had that power, it was the gospel that they preached that had the power. Christ through the gospel that the apostles preached would forgive sins. Man cannot forgive sins; no man can. Only Christ forgives sins.
The Bible says:
"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin."
Not men, not baptism, not works, but only Christ.

That really sort of wraps it up DHK. When the RC departed from that truth they became apostate and have been on a downhill spiral ever since!

 

[One Baptism]

Brother lakeside, you stated in reply to another:

... All Doctrine is Biblical with the same OT Books that Jesus used. I believe in the Ten Commandments...

I was hoping that you may yet respond to a previous reply that had not yet received response (I understand the condition you have been in with family, and therefore do not desire to press upon you) in your time. Here was that reply, if/when you are ready to do so:

Jesus said:

John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.

He just quoted from the Ten Commandments [Exodus 20:1-17]:

Exodus 20:6 - And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Therefore, may I ask you, brother lakeside, do you keep those Commandments as cited therein, or another set which may be similar but not the same? please see, as a Roman Catholic, before answering:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm

Do you keep the Scriptural Ten Commandments (on Left) or the "traditional" on (far right)?

The two are not the same, and differ one from the other.

Jesus knows our sorrows when family members die, for he himself, lived through the death of his earthly guardian, Joseph.

 

[Rebel]

My brother passed on. Thank You for your prayers.

I am sorry. I will continue to pray for you and your family.

 

[lakeside]

Thank You Rebel

 

[lakeside]

Thank You DHK, OldRegular, One Baptism for your words and prayers.

I will answer all at a later date, I will be busy with finalizing my brother's burial, being he had nobody else. Thank You and God Bless to all of you.

 

[Darrell C]

My brother passed on. Thank You for your prayers.

Sorry to hear this, still praying that God comfort your family.

God bless.

 

[lakeside]

Darrell C,Thank you for your prayers.

 

[Walter]

My brother passed on. Thank You for your prayers.

I was saddened to read of this today. The Lord be with you and your family during this very difficult time. God bless you, Lakeside.

 

[BobRyan]

My brother passed on. Thank You for your prayers.

Very sorry to hear that lakeside. Will be praying for your family. I have not lost a sibling but I have lost a parent and am reminded of that as I read your post.

Blessings.

in Christ,

Bob

 

[lakeside]

Walter and BobRyan, thank you both for your prayers. Trying to locate everybody, I may have to wait until Wednesday to finalize my brother's funeral because some have to travel quite some distance to get here.

 

[lakeside]

Hi all, have a few questions for you while I was emailing friends and relatives on their arrival time. Hope it is alright to ask the following questions.

If the Bible is as clear as Martin Luther claimed, why was he the first one to interpret it the way he did?


The time interval between the Resurrection and the establishment of the New Testament canon in A.D. 382 is roughly the same as the interval between the arrival of the Mayflower in America and the present day. Therefore, since the early Christians had no defined New Testament for almost four hundred years, how did they practice sola Scriptura?


If the Bible is the only foundation and basis of Christian truth, why does the Bible itself say that the Church is the foundation and basis of Christian truth (1 Tim. 3:15)?


Jesus said that the unity of Christians would be objective evidence to the world that He had been sent by God (John 17:20-23). How can the world see an invisible ?unity? that exists only in the hearts of believers?


If the unity of Christians was meant to convince the world that Jesus was sent by God, what does the ever-increasing fragmentation of Protestantism say to the world?


Hebrews 13:17 says, ?Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.? What is the expiration date of this verse? When did it become okay not only to disobey the Church?s leaders, but to rebel against them and set up rival churches?