Ps.
{27:4} One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my
life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his
temple.
{27:5} For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up
upon a rock.
Job.
{38:1} Then the LORD answered Job out of the
whirlwind, and said,
{38:22} Hast thou entered into the treasures of
the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
{38:23} Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?
Ps. {37:39} But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is]
their strength in the time of trouble.
{37:40} And the LORD shall help them and deliver them: he shall deliver
them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
Ps. {41:1} Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver
him in time of trouble.
Isa. {33:2} O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for
thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in
the time of trouble
Rev. {12:1} And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and
there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time
thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book.
Rev. {16:17} And the
seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there
came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the
throne, saying, It is done. {16:18} And there were voices,
and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great
earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth,
so mighty an earthquake, [and] so great. {16:19} And the
great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the
nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before
God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of his wrath. {16:20} And every island fled away, and the
mountains were not found. {16:21} And there fell upon
men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the
weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the
plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding
great.
*******
Christ is our salvation, our rock.
1 Cor. {10:4} And did all drink the
same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them: and that Rock was Christ
Ps. One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my
life
One thing we should ALL desire and seek of the Lord is to dwell with Him in His house all the days of our lives. Dwelling with God is the perfect desire, dwelling with the Lord, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Saviour. Only by His grace is this possible.
There is a time of trouble coming, a terrible time of trouble and God has been prepared for this time for a long, long time. He has a store house of hail in reserve. As sure as anything that has been predicted has transpired, all the rest will.
Ps. {27:5} For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up
upon a rock.
Only by being in Christ can we survive. Only by being hid by Him in the secret of His tabernacle can we have hope. There is hope only in Christ, the rock, the chief cornerstone. May He hide us all in Him as we cling to the promise of salvation found only in Him, no where else, only in Him.
By His grace and mercy.
Amen.
8/13/10
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
We know that the earthly sanctuary was based on the heavenly sanctuary, an example was shown and used to created the earthly sanctuary.
The sanctuary wasn't given to God's people as a dwelling place for them to enter and commune with God as we enter churches today. Things were much different back then than they are today, much different. Let's read a little about the tabernacle- the portable sanctuary- Moses had constructed by God's command.
Exo 40:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 40:2 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
Exo 40:3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
Exo 40:4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.
Exo 40:5 And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.
Exo 40:6 And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
Exo 40:7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.
Exo 40:8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.
Exo 40:9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.
Exo 40:10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
Exo 40:11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.
Exo 40:12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.
Exo 40:13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
Exo 40:14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
Exo 40:15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
Exo 40:16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.
Exo 40:17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
Exo 40:18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.
Exo 40:19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Exo 40:21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.
Exo 40:23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Exo 40:24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
Exo 40:25 And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:26 And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
Exo 40:27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:28 And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.
Exo 40:29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:30 And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
Exo 40:31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:
Exo 40:32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
Exo 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:
Exo 40:37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Exo 40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Amazing.
Now, let's take a look at a bit of the sanctuary services.
Lev 4:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
Lev 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
Lev 4:4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
Lev 4:5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 4:6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.
Lev 4:7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:8 And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
Lev 4:9 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,
Lev 4:10 As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.
Lev 4:11 And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
Lev 4:12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.
Lev 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
Lev 4:14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
Lev 4:16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 4:17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.
Lev 4:18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:19 And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.
Lev 4:20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
Lev 4:21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
Lev 4:22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
Lev 4:23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:
Lev 4:24 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.
Lev 4:25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
Lev 4:26 And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
Lev 4:27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
Lev 4:28 Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
Lev 4:29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
Lev 4:30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
Lev 4:31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
Lev 4:32 And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
Lev 4:33 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.
Lev 4:34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:
Lev 4:35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.
Here we read just a bit about the offerings for various sinners- priests, the whole congregation, rulers, and the common people.
There is extensive reading to do on the sanctuary and all the various offerings commanded of sinners to offer to receive forgiveness. So many people today believe all that means nothing, it's not even worth reading because all this was done away with when the Lamb of God offered Himself on Calvary ending the need of the sanctuary and all it's services. Yes, our Savior was the ultimate sacrificial offering. Every single sacrifice made in the tabernacle, in the temples, all of them going way back to the offerings of Abel were made to God, blood offerings signifying the ultimate blood, our Savior's blood. None of those sacrifices could begin to compare to the sacrifice of the innocent Son of God. Those sacrifices were inferior yet necessary. Those sacrifices proved the people of God understood that blood had to be spilled, a living sacrifice had to be made because sin separates us from God and the sinner is worthy of death. A death in place of a death. Jesus' death in place of our eternal death. The wages of sin is…death.
The many, many sacrificial services talked about in Leviticus reveals truly just how abhorrent our sins are to God. We make light of our sins. We don't consider a lot of things sin that God obviously does. We look at all those restrictions enacted by GOD and feel relief that it was the OLD system, not something God wants us to even consider today. But why? Did God change? Did sin change? Did He suddenly approve of things He didn't before? We don't want all those restrictions, the silly bits about washing, and eating clean or unclean foods, natural bodily functions setting us apart, there is so much that seems offensive to us. We breathe a sigh of relief imagining that all that stuff was done away with along with the need for us to offer sacrifices. We are happy that we are gentiles and not Jewish, gentiles have their own ways yet they can worship God and accept Jesus as their Savior. The old ways are done away, the new ways have replaced them. This is how we like to think, it just makes life a whole heck of a lot easier, right? But we really need to consider sin. Sin is sin is sin. We can't make a sin- not sin. We can't wish sin away. We can pretend all we want that things aren't sin, we're pretty good at doing that aren't we? But all pretense is washed away when it comes to God, He sees through all pretense, nothing is hidden from His sight, nothing.
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
The sanctuary services- God's requirements of us to worship Him, to sacrifice to Him, to find forgiveness in Him making us one with Him so He may dwell among us and we can be with Him. The separation between God and man is a far as any separation can ever be. That separation can be breached and it's only breached through Christ. All the sacrifices ever offered imitated the offering of God's only son. Jesus offered Himself to repair the breach between God and man.
We can all understand this, right? Sin equals death. Sacrifice equals escaping death.
We can't pretend our lives are sin free. We can't pretend that we are worthy to stand before God. All our righteousness's are as filthy rags, worthless in their filthy state. We can only kneel before God pleading for mercy, claiming the grace that His Son offers. We can only pray that God looks upon the righteousness of our Savior and our Savior claims redemption for us.
There were sin offerings for so much- for priests, for whole congregations, for rulers, for common people. If we're to look at the sanctuary to find God's ways we need to understand the sanctuary was set up as a place of sacrifice. It's no wonder that in the new earth after new Jerusalem comes down from heaven that there will be NO temple in that new heavenly city. The separation between God and man will be forever gone! The temple was set up to show the way to God, the sacrifice necessary to do away with the separation. The heavenly Sanctuary contains our heavenly Mediator. When all mediation is finished the temple is no longer necessary. The heavenly Sanctuary is where the greatest Sacrifice of all dwells for now, but not forever. Our Savior will one day, on His Father's command, finish His work in the heavenly sanctuary and then all mediation will be over once and for all. Those that are holy will be holy still and those that are evil will be evil still. By the mercy and grace of our all loving Savior may we be among those that will be holy in Christ, through Christ, for Christ.
Amen!
8/13/11
Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his
will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall
speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.
Dan 11:38 But in his estate shall he honour the
God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold,
and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
Dan 11:39 Thus shall he do in the most strong
holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and
he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
The lure of
power. Possessing power is so enticing. With power comes a certain sense of
protection, superiority, invincibility.
How often do things begin with seemingly good intentions only to end up
falling apart? Getting things in order, creating a system so that there isn't
chaos is a perfectly good idea but when that order ends up with ONE person in
charge, inevitably that power, that person is easily corrupted by the
position. When Jesus came to
earth and began His ministry years later what was one of the first things He did
after facing temptation in the wilderness? He gathered His Apostles to Him. Note the plural!
Jesus did NOT gather one man too Him, one Apostle. Could He have gathered
one? Yes. Jesus could have taken on a single Apostle. Jesus could have trained
one man to carry on His work after He was gone. Jesus could have trained that
single man all the while allowing for many, many disciples- yes?
How perfect it would have been to leave no doubt as to who was to lead,
about how Jesus wanted things set up.
That's not what Jesus did though.
Jesus gathered twelve Apostles, twelve! Twelve to carry on, because even
after Judas' betrayal and death, another was appointed to that place of the
twelve. Twelve to be in a position to carry the gospel to the world as Jesus
would have it go. Then we have Saul renamed Paul, who was chosen by God as well
to carry on His message. God
didn't ever want ONE man in charge of things, not ever! Jesus made this clear
when He distinctly answered the Apostles question about which of them was the
greatest. There was to be NO one
Apostle placed above another! People have taken various verses of the Bible and
claimed this is where this certain disciple was placed above another, but that
would be so contradictory to all that Jesus previously taught and Jesus would
not contradict Himself that way!
Jesus was forever and always to be the HEAD of the body, and then from
there on out there would be two shoulders, two arms, two hands, two legs, two
feet…there would be MANY parts of the body that would contribute to carrying on
His work. For man to set up their OWN plan is contrary to the Savior's
wishes. Yet the papacy did just
that, they created a system that eventually had a single MAN standing supreme,
the voice of God on earth. So
contrary this is to the word of God it's hard to believe that so many millions
are caught up in this lie.
Was this the only
lie of the papacy? Not by a long shot.
'Celibacy for
priests is a discipline in the Latin Catholic Church, not a doctrine: in other
words, a church regulation, but not an integral part of Church teaching. It is
based upon the life of Christ and his celibate way of life. However the first
pope, St. Peter, as well as many subsequent popes, bishops, and priests during
the church's first 270 years were in fact married men, and often fathers. The
practice of clerical continence, along with a prohibition of marriage by men
once they were ordained a deacon, priest or bishop, is traceable from the time
of the Council of Elvira. This law was reinforced in the Directa Decretal (385)
and at the Council of Carthage in 390. The tradition of clerical continence
developed into a practice of clerical celibacy (ordaining only unmarried men)
from the 11th century onward among Latin Rite Catholics and became a formal
part of canon law in 1917. This law of clerical celibacy does not apply to
Eastern Catholics. Until recently, the Eastern Catholic bishops of North
America would generally ordain only unmarried men, for fear that married
priests would create scandal. Since Vatican II's call for the restoration of
Eastern Catholic traditions, a number of bishops have returned to the
traditional practice of ordaining married men to the presbyterate. Bishops are
still celibate and normally chosen from the ranks of monks.'
'Because the rule
of clerical celibacy is a law and not a doctrine, exceptions can be made, and it
can, in principle, be changed at any time by the Pope. Nonetheless, both the
present Pope, Benedict XVI, and his predecessor, spoke clearly of their
understanding that the traditional practice is unlikely to change.'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy>
This TRADITIONAL
practice is something that has been greatly perverted by the papacy. What the Word of God tells us is a good
thing but not a necessity, they took and made it a necessity and thereby causing
untold grief. But once again this
is just another sign of the power they claim to have, a power greater than
God's.
Another great lie
perpetuated by the papacy is the changing of God's law. Changing the seventh
day Sabbath to the first day of the week. The sheer audacity of any man to think
they can change God's law is unbelievable, yet all the proof is there.
And what about
Jesus' mother, Mary? There is NO
where in our Bibles that tells us we are to worship her, that she was sinless
herself, NO WHERE! Mary was given NO power whatsoever. Yet where does the
papacy place Mary? Right up there to be worshipped!
'There is
significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major
Christian traditions. The Catholic Church has a number of Marian dogmas, such
as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. Catholics refer to her as Our
Lady and venerate her as the Queen of Heaven and Mother of the Church; most
Protestants do not share these beliefs.[8][9]'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Mary>
Queen of
Heaven! Entirely UNBIBLICAL!
'The Immaculate
Conception of Mary is the conception (the being conceived) of the Virgin Mary
without, according to the Roman Catholic Church, any stain (in Latin, macula or
labes, the second of these two synonymous words being the one used in the
formal definition)[1] of original sin.[2] It is one of the four dogmatas in
Roman Catholic Mariology. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the
Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic contexts.[3]
The proclaimed
Roman Catholic dogma states "that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first
instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by
Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human
race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin".[1] Being always free
from original sin, she was from the start filled with the sanctifying grace that
would normally come with baptism after birth.'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception>
'Roman Catholic
Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus
Christ and developed by the Catholic Church. "The Blessed Virgin, because she
is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain infinite dignity from the
infinite good which is God."[1][2] Theologically, Roman Catholic Mariology deals
with not only her life but also with veneration of her in daily life, prayer,
hymns, art (where she has been a favorite topic), music, and architecture; in
modern and ancient Christianity throughout the ages.[3][4][5]
The development
of Roman Catholic Mariology is ongoing. It continues to be shaped not only by
papal encyclicals but also by the interplay of forces ranging from sensus
fidelium, to the writings of the saints, to the construction of major Marian
churches at the sites of Marian apparitions. In some cases, sensus fidelium has
influenced Marian papal decisions, providing Mariology with a "theology of the
people" component that distinguishes it from other parts of formal theology.
In terms of
popular following, membership in Roman Catholic Marian Movements and Societies
has grown significantly in the 20th century. This has continued to be matched by
support from the Holy See, with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict
XVI) stating: "It is necessary to go back to Mary, if we want to return to the
truth about Jesus Christ".[6] The ongoing development of Mariology continued in
the 20th century, e.g. in his Angelus address in September 1985 Pope John Paul
II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986
addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima,
Portugal.[7][8][9]'
'Assumption of
Mary
Mary was assumed
into heaven with body and soul (de fide). Mary, the ever virgin, mother of God
was free of original sin. The Immaculate Conception is one basis for the 1950
dogma. Another was the century old Church-wide veneration of the Virgin Mary as
being assumed into heaven, which Pope Pius XII referred to in Deiparae Virginis
Mariae and reported in Munificentissimus Deus.[52] Although the Assumption was
only recently defined as dogma, accounts of the bodily assumption of Mary into
heaven have circulated since at least the 5th century. The Catholic Church
itself interprets chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as referring to it. The
earliest assumption narrative is the so-called Liber Requiei Mariae (The Book
of Mary's Repose), a narrative which survives intact only in an Ethiopic
translation. (Stephen J. Shoemaker, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's
Dormition and Assumption] Oxford University Press, 2002, 2006). Probably
composed by the 4th century, this early Christian apocryphal narrative may be
as early as the 3rd century. Also quite early are the very different traditions
of the "Six Books" Dormition narratives. The earliest versions of this
apocryphon are preserved by several Syriac manuscripts of the 5th and 6th
centuries, although the text itself probably belongs to the 4th century. Later
apocrypha based on these earlier texts include the De Obitu S. Dominae,
attributed to St. John, a work probably from around the turn of the 6th century
that is a summary of the "Six Books" narrative. The story also appears in De
Transitu Virginis, a late 5th century work ascribed to St. Melito of Sardis that
presents a theologically redacted summary of the traditions in the Liber Requiei
Mariae. The Transitus Mariae tells the story of the apostles being transported
by white clouds to the death-bed of Mary, each from the town where he was
preaching at the hour. The Decretum Gelasianum in the 490s declared some
transitus Mariae literature as apocryphal.
An Armenian
letter attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite also mentions the event, although
this is a much later work, written sometime after the 6th century. Other saints
also describe it, notably St Gregory of Tours, St John Damascene, and St
Modestus of Jerusalem.
Theological
debate about the Assumption continued until 1950 when, in the Apostolic
Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, it was defined as definitive doctrine by
Pope Pius XII:
We
pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the
Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of
her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."[53][54]
Since the 1870
solemn declaration of Papal Infallibility by Vatican I in 1870, this
declaration by Pius XII has been the only ex cathedra use of Papal
Infallibility. While Pope Pius XII deliberately left open the question of
whether Mary died before her Assumption, the more common teaching of the early
Fathers is that she did.[55][56]'
Lies!
'Mary as
Mediatrix
Main article:
Mediatrix
In Catholic
teachings, Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man.[61] He alone
reconciled through his death on the Cross creator and creation. But this does
not exclude a secondary mediating role for Mary, preparatory, supportive, in
the view of several prominent, but not all Catholics. The teaching that Mary
intercedes for all believers and especially those who request her intercession
through prayer has been held in the Church since early times, for example by
Ephraim, the Syrian “after the mediater a mediatrix for the whole world [62]
Intercession is something that may be done by all the heavenly saints, but Mary
is seen as having the greatest intercessionary power. The earliest surviving
recorded prayer to Mary is the Sub tuum praesidium, written in Greek.[63]
Mary has
increasingly been seen as a principal dispenser of God's graces and Advocate
for the people of God and is mentioned as such in several official Church
documents. Pope Pius IX used the title in Ineffabilis Deus. In the first of his
so called Rosary encyclicals, Supremi Apostolatus (1883), Pope Leo XIII calls
Our Lady the guardian of our peace and the dispensatrix of heavenly graces. The
following year, 1884, his encyclical Superiore Anno speaks of the prayers
presented to God through her whom He has chosen to be the dispenser of all
heavenly graces. Pope Pius X employed this title in Ad Diem Illud in 1904, Pope
Benedict XV introduced it into the Marian liturgy when he created the Marian
feast of The Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces in 1921, In his 1954 encyclical Ad
caeli reginam, Pope Pius XII calls Mary the Mediatrix of peace.[64] The
theological discussion ongoing, neither Pius XII nor his successors moved to a
closure of this issue.'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_doctrines_of_the_Catholic_Church>
More lies!
'
In several Marian
teachings, such as the Immaculate Conception, the "theology of the people", the
profound and century-old sense of the faithful took precedence over academic
theology.[90] Identical arguments were made for the dogma of the Assumption by
Pope Pius XII.[92] To some non-Catholics and even to some theologically oriented
Catholics, like Karl Rahner, this sensus fidei has some problems.[93]
Nevertheless,
popular Mariology has been a major driving force in the past 150 years. It led
to the two infallible, ex cathedra dogmas: Immaculate Conception (1854) and
Assumption (1950). Since the 1870 solemn declaration of Papal Infallibility by
Vatican I, the 1950 declaration by Pius XII has been the first and only ex
cathedra use of papal infallibility. Thus while the dogmatic definitions of the
Assumption, took place only in the 20th century, the sensus fidelium was
already being shaped in the Middle Ages, and by 1530, Antonio da Correggio had
completed his contract for the elaborate scene of the Assumption in the
Cathedral of Palermo.[94]'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_doctrines_of_the_Catholic_Church>
Such lies! Man's
lies standing in place of God's truth! The papacy is rife with its lies against
God's truth!
'In
this sequence of events the nature of the medieval papacy is clearly seen.
Excommunication of rulers, military campaigns enjoying papal support, rival
popes reigning at the same time, the split between pope and emperor as a factor
in European politics - all these become familiar themes of the Middle Ages.
The cumulative effect, centuries later, is a
papacy of great wealth, vast power, considerable corruption and much reduced
spiritual authority. Eventually these characteristics provoke the
Reformation. But in the meantime the papacy has its period of greatest power,
presiding over Europe's feuding factions and charging handsomely for the
service. '
'The
familiar image of a Renaissance pope begins a little later, with the election of
Sixtus IV in 1471. His patronage of the arts is evident in the Sistine chapel
and the Sistine choir, both named after him. But his lavish patronage goes hand
in hand with a very worldly conduct of the Vatican's affairs. '
'In
1503, his first year in office, Julius launches the great scheme to rebuild St
Peter's. In 1509 the pope invites Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel and persuades Raphael to decorate three rooms in the Vatican.
Christian Rome's greatest glories have been conceived within a space of six
years.'
'In
April 1506 Julius II and his architect, Bramante, are ready to lay the
foundation stone of the new St Peter's. A commemorative medal is struck with
the classical inscription Templi Petri Instauracio (Renewal of the Temple of
Peter), showing a view of a great domed basilica with a classical portico.
In
spirit - though not in detail - this design is similar to the church which is
eventually completed in 1590, by which time Raphael and Michelangelo and
several others have succeeded Bramante as official architect for the scheme.
Meanwhile
the need for funds for the vast new project, together with the unscrupulous
manner in which Renaissance popes are willing to raise them, provokes the great
central crisis of Europe in the 16th century - the Reformation. '
'Germany provides
a context in which materialism within the Roman Catholic church is offensively
evident. Some of the principalities, which together make up the Holy Roman
empire, are ruled by unscrupulous prelates living in the style of Renaissance
princes. Foremost among them is Albert, archbishop of Mainz and one of the
seven imperial electors.
By the age of
twenty-four Albert holds a bishopric and a second archbishopric in addition to
Mainz. Such plurality is against canon law. But the pope, Leo X, agrees to
overlook the irregularity in return for a large donation to the building costs
of the new St Peter's.
Both
pope and archbishop are men of the world (the pope is a Medici). Leo makes it
possible for Albert to recover his costs by granting him the concession for the
sale of indulgences towards the building of St Peter's. Half the money for each
indulgence is go to Rome; the other half will help to pay off Albert's debts (he
has borrowed the money for the original donation from the Fuggers of Augsburg).
This secret
arrangement might distress the faithful if they knew of it. But more
immediately shocking to some is the behaviour of the friar Johann Tetzel, whom
Albert employs to sell the indulgences.
Tetzel is a
showman. When preaching to gullible crowds in German towns he goes far beyond
the official doctrine of indulgences. He promises the immediate release of loved
ones from the pain of Purgatory as soon as a purchase is made. He even has a
catchy jingle to make the point: 'As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, The
soul from Purgatory springs.' '
Pasted
from <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2851&HistoryID=ac65>rack=pthc>
True apostasy!
For more on this
read this article- 'The Vatican Billions - Two Thousand Years of Wealth
Accumulation From Caesar to the Space Age.' http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/vatican_billions.htm
Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his
will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall
speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.
Dan 11:38 But in his estate shall he honour the
God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold,
and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
Dan 11:39 Thus shall he do in the most strong
holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and
he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
This outlines the
Papacy perfectly. Prophecy meets
history in a perfect fit.
Anyone today who
doesn't recognize the fact that the Papacy has a unique power all its own is
totally deceived. There is so
much we are given for our own edification and so much that people would have us
totally ignore. If we don't bother
ourselves with all this nonsense and just leave well enough alone the better for
everyone concerned, right? Just
follow what man tells us and ignore completely what God says.
How many people are truly WATCHING today? We are told to watch and pray, but how
many are really, really watching and praying? Watching means a whole lot more
than simply existing. Watching means a lot more than letting someone else tell
us what we are seeing. For us to
be watching means we are actively looking, we are active. We need to watch in
all things. If history has unfolded prophecy before our eyes how can we close
our eyes to it and pretend it's all false? How? Yet millions do this, millions
and millions would much rather close their eyes and be lulled with soothing
words of the greatest deception.
It is my prayer that we are not among those who would rather be told
smooth things- easy to accept. It
is my prayer that we are among those who choose to delve deep for the truth
hearing hard sayings but knowing them for being the real unadulterated
truth! Being Christ's means
traveling that NARROW path that few will find. If we discover ourselves upon a broad
path where everything is going along nicely and we have millions of people with
us- then we truly have to ask ourselves if we are upon that narrow path Jesus
spoke of.
By His GRACE
always!!!!! In His love! May His kingdom come! May HIS will be done always!
In His
forgiveness, in His righteousness!
Amen.
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
We know that the earthly sanctuary was based on the heavenly sanctuary, an example was shown and used to created the earthly sanctuary.
The sanctuary wasn't given to God's people as a dwelling place for them to enter and commune with God as we enter churches today. Things were much different back then than they are today, much different. Let's read a little about the tabernacle- the portable sanctuary- Moses had constructed by God's command.
Exo 40:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Exo 40:2 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
Exo 40:3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
Exo 40:4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.
Exo 40:5 And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.
Exo 40:6 And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
Exo 40:7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.
Exo 40:8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.
Exo 40:9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.
Exo 40:10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
Exo 40:11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.
Exo 40:12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.
Exo 40:13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
Exo 40:14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
Exo 40:15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
Exo 40:16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.
Exo 40:17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
Exo 40:18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.
Exo 40:19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Exo 40:21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.
Exo 40:23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Exo 40:24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
Exo 40:25 And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:26 And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
Exo 40:27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:28 And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.
Exo 40:29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:30 And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
Exo 40:31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:
Exo 40:32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
Exo 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:
Exo 40:37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Exo 40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Amazing.
Now, let's take a look at a bit of the sanctuary services.
Lev 4:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
Lev 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
Lev 4:4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
Lev 4:5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 4:6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.
Lev 4:7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:8 And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
Lev 4:9 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,
Lev 4:10 As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.
Lev 4:11 And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
Lev 4:12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.
Lev 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
Lev 4:14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.
Lev 4:16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 4:17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.
Lev 4:18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 4:19 And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.
Lev 4:20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
Lev 4:21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
Lev 4:22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
Lev 4:23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:
Lev 4:24 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.
Lev 4:25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
Lev 4:26 And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
Lev 4:27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;
Lev 4:28 Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
Lev 4:29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
Lev 4:30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.
Lev 4:31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
Lev 4:32 And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish.
Lev 4:33 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.
Lev 4:34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:
Lev 4:35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.
Here we read just a bit about the offerings for various sinners- priests, the whole congregation, rulers, and the common people.
There is extensive reading to do on the sanctuary and all the various offerings commanded of sinners to offer to receive forgiveness. So many people today believe all that means nothing, it's not even worth reading because all this was done away with when the Lamb of God offered Himself on Calvary ending the need of the sanctuary and all it's services. Yes, our Savior was the ultimate sacrificial offering. Every single sacrifice made in the tabernacle, in the temples, all of them going way back to the offerings of Abel were made to God, blood offerings signifying the ultimate blood, our Savior's blood. None of those sacrifices could begin to compare to the sacrifice of the innocent Son of God. Those sacrifices were inferior yet necessary. Those sacrifices proved the people of God understood that blood had to be spilled, a living sacrifice had to be made because sin separates us from God and the sinner is worthy of death. A death in place of a death. Jesus' death in place of our eternal death. The wages of sin is…death.
The many, many sacrificial services talked about in Leviticus reveals truly just how abhorrent our sins are to God. We make light of our sins. We don't consider a lot of things sin that God obviously does. We look at all those restrictions enacted by GOD and feel relief that it was the OLD system, not something God wants us to even consider today. But why? Did God change? Did sin change? Did He suddenly approve of things He didn't before? We don't want all those restrictions, the silly bits about washing, and eating clean or unclean foods, natural bodily functions setting us apart, there is so much that seems offensive to us. We breathe a sigh of relief imagining that all that stuff was done away with along with the need for us to offer sacrifices. We are happy that we are gentiles and not Jewish, gentiles have their own ways yet they can worship God and accept Jesus as their Savior. The old ways are done away, the new ways have replaced them. This is how we like to think, it just makes life a whole heck of a lot easier, right? But we really need to consider sin. Sin is sin is sin. We can't make a sin- not sin. We can't wish sin away. We can pretend all we want that things aren't sin, we're pretty good at doing that aren't we? But all pretense is washed away when it comes to God, He sees through all pretense, nothing is hidden from His sight, nothing.
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
The sanctuary services- God's requirements of us to worship Him, to sacrifice to Him, to find forgiveness in Him making us one with Him so He may dwell among us and we can be with Him. The separation between God and man is a far as any separation can ever be. That separation can be breached and it's only breached through Christ. All the sacrifices ever offered imitated the offering of God's only son. Jesus offered Himself to repair the breach between God and man.
We can all understand this, right? Sin equals death. Sacrifice equals escaping death.
We can't pretend our lives are sin free. We can't pretend that we are worthy to stand before God. All our righteousness's are as filthy rags, worthless in their filthy state. We can only kneel before God pleading for mercy, claiming the grace that His Son offers. We can only pray that God looks upon the righteousness of our Savior and our Savior claims redemption for us.
There were sin offerings for so much- for priests, for whole congregations, for rulers, for common people. If we're to look at the sanctuary to find God's ways we need to understand the sanctuary was set up as a place of sacrifice. It's no wonder that in the new earth after new Jerusalem comes down from heaven that there will be NO temple in that new heavenly city. The separation between God and man will be forever gone! The temple was set up to show the way to God, the sacrifice necessary to do away with the separation. The heavenly Sanctuary contains our heavenly Mediator. When all mediation is finished the temple is no longer necessary. The heavenly Sanctuary is where the greatest Sacrifice of all dwells for now, but not forever. Our Savior will one day, on His Father's command, finish His work in the heavenly sanctuary and then all mediation will be over once and for all. Those that are holy will be holy still and those that are evil will be evil still. By the mercy and grace of our all loving Savior may we be among those that will be holy in Christ, through Christ, for Christ.
Amen!
8/13/11
Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his
will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall
speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.
Dan 11:38 But in his estate shall he honour the
God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold,
and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
Dan 11:39 Thus shall he do in the most strong
holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and
he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
The lure of
power. Possessing power is so enticing. With power comes a certain sense of
protection, superiority, invincibility.
How often do things begin with seemingly good intentions only to end up
falling apart? Getting things in order, creating a system so that there isn't
chaos is a perfectly good idea but when that order ends up with ONE person in
charge, inevitably that power, that person is easily corrupted by the
position. When Jesus came to
earth and began His ministry years later what was one of the first things He did
after facing temptation in the wilderness? He gathered His Apostles to Him. Note the plural!
Jesus did NOT gather one man too Him, one Apostle. Could He have gathered
one? Yes. Jesus could have taken on a single Apostle. Jesus could have trained
one man to carry on His work after He was gone. Jesus could have trained that
single man all the while allowing for many, many disciples- yes?
How perfect it would have been to leave no doubt as to who was to lead,
about how Jesus wanted things set up.
That's not what Jesus did though.
Jesus gathered twelve Apostles, twelve! Twelve to carry on, because even
after Judas' betrayal and death, another was appointed to that place of the
twelve. Twelve to be in a position to carry the gospel to the world as Jesus
would have it go. Then we have Saul renamed Paul, who was chosen by God as well
to carry on His message. God
didn't ever want ONE man in charge of things, not ever! Jesus made this clear
when He distinctly answered the Apostles question about which of them was the
greatest. There was to be NO one
Apostle placed above another! People have taken various verses of the Bible and
claimed this is where this certain disciple was placed above another, but that
would be so contradictory to all that Jesus previously taught and Jesus would
not contradict Himself that way!
Jesus was forever and always to be the HEAD of the body, and then from
there on out there would be two shoulders, two arms, two hands, two legs, two
feet…there would be MANY parts of the body that would contribute to carrying on
His work. For man to set up their OWN plan is contrary to the Savior's
wishes. Yet the papacy did just
that, they created a system that eventually had a single MAN standing supreme,
the voice of God on earth. So
contrary this is to the word of God it's hard to believe that so many millions
are caught up in this lie.
Was this the only
lie of the papacy? Not by a long shot.
'Celibacy for
priests is a discipline in the Latin Catholic Church, not a doctrine: in other
words, a church regulation, but not an integral part of Church teaching. It is
based upon the life of Christ and his celibate way of life. However the first
pope, St. Peter, as well as many subsequent popes, bishops, and priests during
the church's first 270 years were in fact married men, and often fathers. The
practice of clerical continence, along with a prohibition of marriage by men
once they were ordained a deacon, priest or bishop, is traceable from the time
of the Council of Elvira. This law was reinforced in the Directa Decretal (385)
and at the Council of Carthage in 390. The tradition of clerical continence
developed into a practice of clerical celibacy (ordaining only unmarried men)
from the 11th century onward among Latin Rite Catholics and became a formal
part of canon law in 1917. This law of clerical celibacy does not apply to
Eastern Catholics. Until recently, the Eastern Catholic bishops of North
America would generally ordain only unmarried men, for fear that married
priests would create scandal. Since Vatican II's call for the restoration of
Eastern Catholic traditions, a number of bishops have returned to the
traditional practice of ordaining married men to the presbyterate. Bishops are
still celibate and normally chosen from the ranks of monks.'
'Because the rule
of clerical celibacy is a law and not a doctrine, exceptions can be made, and it
can, in principle, be changed at any time by the Pope. Nonetheless, both the
present Pope, Benedict XVI, and his predecessor, spoke clearly of their
understanding that the traditional practice is unlikely to change.'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_celibacy>
This TRADITIONAL
practice is something that has been greatly perverted by the papacy. What the Word of God tells us is a good
thing but not a necessity, they took and made it a necessity and thereby causing
untold grief. But once again this
is just another sign of the power they claim to have, a power greater than
God's.
Another great lie
perpetuated by the papacy is the changing of God's law. Changing the seventh
day Sabbath to the first day of the week. The sheer audacity of any man to think
they can change God's law is unbelievable, yet all the proof is there.
And what about
Jesus' mother, Mary? There is NO
where in our Bibles that tells us we are to worship her, that she was sinless
herself, NO WHERE! Mary was given NO power whatsoever. Yet where does the
papacy place Mary? Right up there to be worshipped!
'There is
significant diversity in the Marian beliefs and devotional practices of major
Christian traditions. The Catholic Church has a number of Marian dogmas, such
as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. Catholics refer to her as Our
Lady and venerate her as the Queen of Heaven and Mother of the Church; most
Protestants do not share these beliefs.[8][9]'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Mary>
Queen of
Heaven! Entirely UNBIBLICAL!
'The Immaculate
Conception of Mary is the conception (the being conceived) of the Virgin Mary
without, according to the Roman Catholic Church, any stain (in Latin, macula or
labes, the second of these two synonymous words being the one used in the
formal definition)[1] of original sin.[2] It is one of the four dogmatas in
Roman Catholic Mariology. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the
Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic contexts.[3]
The proclaimed
Roman Catholic dogma states "that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first
instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by
Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human
race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin".[1] Being always free
from original sin, she was from the start filled with the sanctifying grace that
would normally come with baptism after birth.'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception>
'Roman Catholic
Mariology is theology concerned with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus
Christ and developed by the Catholic Church. "The Blessed Virgin, because she
is the Mother of God, is believed to hold a certain infinite dignity from the
infinite good which is God."[1][2] Theologically, Roman Catholic Mariology deals
with not only her life but also with veneration of her in daily life, prayer,
hymns, art (where she has been a favorite topic), music, and architecture; in
modern and ancient Christianity throughout the ages.[3][4][5]
The development
of Roman Catholic Mariology is ongoing. It continues to be shaped not only by
papal encyclicals but also by the interplay of forces ranging from sensus
fidelium, to the writings of the saints, to the construction of major Marian
churches at the sites of Marian apparitions. In some cases, sensus fidelium has
influenced Marian papal decisions, providing Mariology with a "theology of the
people" component that distinguishes it from other parts of formal theology.
In terms of
popular following, membership in Roman Catholic Marian Movements and Societies
has grown significantly in the 20th century. This has continued to be matched by
support from the Holy See, with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict
XVI) stating: "It is necessary to go back to Mary, if we want to return to the
truth about Jesus Christ".[6] The ongoing development of Mariology continued in
the 20th century, e.g. in his Angelus address in September 1985 Pope John Paul
II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986
addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima,
Portugal.[7][8][9]'
'Assumption of
Mary
Mary was assumed
into heaven with body and soul (de fide). Mary, the ever virgin, mother of God
was free of original sin. The Immaculate Conception is one basis for the 1950
dogma. Another was the century old Church-wide veneration of the Virgin Mary as
being assumed into heaven, which Pope Pius XII referred to in Deiparae Virginis
Mariae and reported in Munificentissimus Deus.[52] Although the Assumption was
only recently defined as dogma, accounts of the bodily assumption of Mary into
heaven have circulated since at least the 5th century. The Catholic Church
itself interprets chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as referring to it. The
earliest assumption narrative is the so-called Liber Requiei Mariae (The Book
of Mary's Repose), a narrative which survives intact only in an Ethiopic
translation. (Stephen J. Shoemaker, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's
Dormition and Assumption] Oxford University Press, 2002, 2006). Probably
composed by the 4th century, this early Christian apocryphal narrative may be
as early as the 3rd century. Also quite early are the very different traditions
of the "Six Books" Dormition narratives. The earliest versions of this
apocryphon are preserved by several Syriac manuscripts of the 5th and 6th
centuries, although the text itself probably belongs to the 4th century. Later
apocrypha based on these earlier texts include the De Obitu S. Dominae,
attributed to St. John, a work probably from around the turn of the 6th century
that is a summary of the "Six Books" narrative. The story also appears in De
Transitu Virginis, a late 5th century work ascribed to St. Melito of Sardis that
presents a theologically redacted summary of the traditions in the Liber Requiei
Mariae. The Transitus Mariae tells the story of the apostles being transported
by white clouds to the death-bed of Mary, each from the town where he was
preaching at the hour. The Decretum Gelasianum in the 490s declared some
transitus Mariae literature as apocryphal.
An Armenian
letter attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite also mentions the event, although
this is a much later work, written sometime after the 6th century. Other saints
also describe it, notably St Gregory of Tours, St John Damascene, and St
Modestus of Jerusalem.
Theological
debate about the Assumption continued until 1950 when, in the Apostolic
Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, it was defined as definitive doctrine by
Pope Pius XII:
We
pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the
Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of
her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."[53][54]
Since the 1870
solemn declaration of Papal Infallibility by Vatican I in 1870, this
declaration by Pius XII has been the only ex cathedra use of Papal
Infallibility. While Pope Pius XII deliberately left open the question of
whether Mary died before her Assumption, the more common teaching of the early
Fathers is that she did.[55][56]'
Lies!
'Mary as
Mediatrix
Main article:
Mediatrix
In Catholic
teachings, Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man.[61] He alone
reconciled through his death on the Cross creator and creation. But this does
not exclude a secondary mediating role for Mary, preparatory, supportive, in
the view of several prominent, but not all Catholics. The teaching that Mary
intercedes for all believers and especially those who request her intercession
through prayer has been held in the Church since early times, for example by
Ephraim, the Syrian “after the mediater a mediatrix for the whole world [62]
Intercession is something that may be done by all the heavenly saints, but Mary
is seen as having the greatest intercessionary power. The earliest surviving
recorded prayer to Mary is the Sub tuum praesidium, written in Greek.[63]
Mary has
increasingly been seen as a principal dispenser of God's graces and Advocate
for the people of God and is mentioned as such in several official Church
documents. Pope Pius IX used the title in Ineffabilis Deus. In the first of his
so called Rosary encyclicals, Supremi Apostolatus (1883), Pope Leo XIII calls
Our Lady the guardian of our peace and the dispensatrix of heavenly graces. The
following year, 1884, his encyclical Superiore Anno speaks of the prayers
presented to God through her whom He has chosen to be the dispenser of all
heavenly graces. Pope Pius X employed this title in Ad Diem Illud in 1904, Pope
Benedict XV introduced it into the Marian liturgy when he created the Marian
feast of The Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces in 1921, In his 1954 encyclical Ad
caeli reginam, Pope Pius XII calls Mary the Mediatrix of peace.[64] The
theological discussion ongoing, neither Pius XII nor his successors moved to a
closure of this issue.'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_doctrines_of_the_Catholic_Church>
More lies!
'
In several Marian
teachings, such as the Immaculate Conception, the "theology of the people", the
profound and century-old sense of the faithful took precedence over academic
theology.[90] Identical arguments were made for the dogma of the Assumption by
Pope Pius XII.[92] To some non-Catholics and even to some theologically oriented
Catholics, like Karl Rahner, this sensus fidei has some problems.[93]
Nevertheless,
popular Mariology has been a major driving force in the past 150 years. It led
to the two infallible, ex cathedra dogmas: Immaculate Conception (1854) and
Assumption (1950). Since the 1870 solemn declaration of Papal Infallibility by
Vatican I, the 1950 declaration by Pius XII has been the first and only ex
cathedra use of papal infallibility. Thus while the dogmatic definitions of the
Assumption, took place only in the 20th century, the sensus fidelium was
already being shaped in the Middle Ages, and by 1530, Antonio da Correggio had
completed his contract for the elaborate scene of the Assumption in the
Cathedral of Palermo.[94]'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_doctrines_of_the_Catholic_Church>
Such lies! Man's
lies standing in place of God's truth! The papacy is rife with its lies against
God's truth!
'In
this sequence of events the nature of the medieval papacy is clearly seen.
Excommunication of rulers, military campaigns enjoying papal support, rival
popes reigning at the same time, the split between pope and emperor as a factor
in European politics - all these become familiar themes of the Middle Ages.
The cumulative effect, centuries later, is a
papacy of great wealth, vast power, considerable corruption and much reduced
spiritual authority. Eventually these characteristics provoke the
Reformation. But in the meantime the papacy has its period of greatest power,
presiding over Europe's feuding factions and charging handsomely for the
service. '
'The
familiar image of a Renaissance pope begins a little later, with the election of
Sixtus IV in 1471. His patronage of the arts is evident in the Sistine chapel
and the Sistine choir, both named after him. But his lavish patronage goes hand
in hand with a very worldly conduct of the Vatican's affairs. '
'In
1503, his first year in office, Julius launches the great scheme to rebuild St
Peter's. In 1509 the pope invites Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel and persuades Raphael to decorate three rooms in the Vatican.
Christian Rome's greatest glories have been conceived within a space of six
years.'
'In
April 1506 Julius II and his architect, Bramante, are ready to lay the
foundation stone of the new St Peter's. A commemorative medal is struck with
the classical inscription Templi Petri Instauracio (Renewal of the Temple of
Peter), showing a view of a great domed basilica with a classical portico.
In
spirit - though not in detail - this design is similar to the church which is
eventually completed in 1590, by which time Raphael and Michelangelo and
several others have succeeded Bramante as official architect for the scheme.
Meanwhile
the need for funds for the vast new project, together with the unscrupulous
manner in which Renaissance popes are willing to raise them, provokes the great
central crisis of Europe in the 16th century - the Reformation. '
'Germany provides
a context in which materialism within the Roman Catholic church is offensively
evident. Some of the principalities, which together make up the Holy Roman
empire, are ruled by unscrupulous prelates living in the style of Renaissance
princes. Foremost among them is Albert, archbishop of Mainz and one of the
seven imperial electors.
By the age of
twenty-four Albert holds a bishopric and a second archbishopric in addition to
Mainz. Such plurality is against canon law. But the pope, Leo X, agrees to
overlook the irregularity in return for a large donation to the building costs
of the new St Peter's.
Both
pope and archbishop are men of the world (the pope is a Medici). Leo makes it
possible for Albert to recover his costs by granting him the concession for the
sale of indulgences towards the building of St Peter's. Half the money for each
indulgence is go to Rome; the other half will help to pay off Albert's debts (he
has borrowed the money for the original donation from the Fuggers of Augsburg).
This secret
arrangement might distress the faithful if they knew of it. But more
immediately shocking to some is the behaviour of the friar Johann Tetzel, whom
Albert employs to sell the indulgences.
Tetzel is a
showman. When preaching to gullible crowds in German towns he goes far beyond
the official doctrine of indulgences. He promises the immediate release of loved
ones from the pain of Purgatory as soon as a purchase is made. He even has a
catchy jingle to make the point: 'As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, The
soul from Purgatory springs.' '
Pasted
from <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2851&HistoryID=ac65>rack=pthc>
True apostasy!
For more on this
read this article- 'The Vatican Billions - Two Thousand Years of Wealth
Accumulation From Caesar to the Space Age.' http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/vatican_billions.htm
Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his
will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall
speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God of his
fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.
Dan 11:38 But in his estate shall he honour the
God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold,
and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
Dan 11:39 Thus shall he do in the most strong
holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and
he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
This outlines the
Papacy perfectly. Prophecy meets
history in a perfect fit.
Anyone today who
doesn't recognize the fact that the Papacy has a unique power all its own is
totally deceived. There is so
much we are given for our own edification and so much that people would have us
totally ignore. If we don't bother
ourselves with all this nonsense and just leave well enough alone the better for
everyone concerned, right? Just
follow what man tells us and ignore completely what God says.
How many people are truly WATCHING today? We are told to watch and pray, but how
many are really, really watching and praying? Watching means a whole lot more
than simply existing. Watching means a lot more than letting someone else tell
us what we are seeing. For us to
be watching means we are actively looking, we are active. We need to watch in
all things. If history has unfolded prophecy before our eyes how can we close
our eyes to it and pretend it's all false? How? Yet millions do this, millions
and millions would much rather close their eyes and be lulled with soothing
words of the greatest deception.
It is my prayer that we are not among those who would rather be told
smooth things- easy to accept. It
is my prayer that we are among those who choose to delve deep for the truth
hearing hard sayings but knowing them for being the real unadulterated
truth! Being Christ's means
traveling that NARROW path that few will find. If we discover ourselves upon a broad
path where everything is going along nicely and we have millions of people with
us- then we truly have to ask ourselves if we are upon that narrow path Jesus
spoke of.
By His GRACE
always!!!!! In His love! May His kingdom come! May HIS will be done always!
In His
forgiveness, in His righteousness!
Amen.