THE FOLLOWING ARE SERMON NOTES. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TYPOS, AND OFTEN THINGS ARE NOT EXPLAINED IN THE DETAIL I WOULD PREFER. I PRAY THAT YOU CAN BENEFIT NONETHELESS.

How does God want us to interpret His Word? (Intro & Part 1)

(Introduction)

How does God want us to interpret His Word?Said another way: how does God want us to VIEW His word. Or, what VIEWPOINT of the Bible should we have?

Men have come up with a fancy term to refer to Bible Interpretation (BI): hermeneutics.

hermeneutics (hermeneutical, hermeneutically)The theory and methodology of interpretation, especially of scriptural text.

Another definition: the art or science of interpretation, esp. of the Scriptures.

One man defined hermeneutics as the art of avoiding misunderstanding.

Another said: interpretive lens[es] through which one reads the Bible

PEOPLE OFTEN ALTER THEIR PERCEPTION OF THE BIBLE BASED ON UPBRINGING, FAVORITE CHURCHES, PREACHERS, BOOKS, TRADITIONS, PERSONAL THINKING, AND SOCIETAL THINKING.

BUT--WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO KNOW, OF COURSE, IS NOT HOW MAN INTERPRETS THE BIBLE, BUT HOW GOD WANTS MAN TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE.

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WHAT WE PLAN TO COVER IN THE SERIES: WINDS OF CHANGE IN THE COC (Churches of Christ):

1) Basics of how G wants us to interpret the WOG (Word of God)

2) How the world interprets the WOG

3) LawAre we under one?

4) The marked differences between the Law of Moses (LOM) and the Law of Christ in the NT. (Ordinance based versus teaching based Laws)

5) Dangers of NOT believing were under Law

6) Dangers OF believing were under Lawthe Old Testamentizing of the NT

7) Re-examining popular man-made phrases, such as: We must speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent (SWBS/BSWBIS), and We must have a thus saith the Lord for everything we do (command based approach to hermeneutics)

8) When is an example binding?

9) Serious problems caused due to flawed Bible Interpretation methodology

10) EXTRA EDITION (This relates to the Winds of Change series inasmuch as we are discussing WHY changes are occurring in the COC): The Traditions that have now infiltrated the COC, and have been rigidly imposed upon the church as REQUIREMENTS for Christians today.

11) ETC.

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PART 1: Basics of how God wants us to interpret the word of God (WOG)

How God wants His people to view the WOG

1 Thessalonians 2:13We also thank God continually because when you received the word of God-- which you heard from us--you accepted it not as the word of men, but for it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

A quick look at how the world views the Bible

There are several different viewpoints of the WOG in the world:

Bible NOT the WOG (atheists, agnostics). We wont address these at this time, and already have in the past. Prophecies and other undeniable facts lead the honest truth seeker to no other conclusion but Someone who definitely could foretell the future was responsible for this incredible Book.

The Bible IS the WOG, PLUS I call it the Bible Plus group, a group comprising millions of people. ILL NOTICE THIS VERY SHORTLY, BUT FIRST

HOW DO WE KNOW THE NEW TESTAMENT (NT) IS THE LAST, THE FINAL REVELATION?

J16.13

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all [] the truth [] (Translated as all truth, all truth, all the truth, all the truth, all the truth, all the truthrespectively, by the KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, RSV, ASV). He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (Revelation was the last writing, perhaps implying the end of all inspired writings).

EG Millionaire says: Ill give you $1M. $500K now, and $500K later, equaling ALL. From this we can conclude: after first installment we dont have all of it, and after the second installment we do.

At the time that J16.13 was written, they had truth but NOT ALL. Later, THEY would have it all, the men to whom Christ spoke, such that in 2P1 Peter said they had access to all things pertaining to life and godliness.

2P1.3 (~AD 68?) His divine power has given us everything [] we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

THE BIBLE-PLUS CROWD

Muslims claim both the Torah (penteteuch) Psalms, and Gospels (Jesus life, etc).

But Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the Christ: J8.24 if you do not believe I am the one I claim to be, you will die in your sins.

When asked how they can reconcile the NT w/ Koran, they explain the NT has been corrupted. Unscrupulous Christians and Jews conspired to edit in all references suggesting Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, Lord, Deity, or the like.

Along with the complete absence of evidence to the allegations, is consideration to the overwhelming logistics that would have to be involved for this to happen. Can you describe the logistics involved of how a person could succeed, utterly undetected, in hatching a conspiracy so secret it is undocumented anywhere in history, yet somehow managed to obtain original copies of all of Matthews, Marks, Lukes, Johns, writings, expunge from them all references such a J8.32 and many, many others, and somehow successfully intercepting every copy before it could be hand-copied and distributed by Christians to other Christians who would do the same, and somehow after intercepting them modify all those copies so that were in complete harmony on the Messiah issue and all the other discrepancies the K has w/ the B?

And BTW, how is it that the K was finished in 632 but the first person to allegedly notice all these glaring discrepancies lived more than 400 years later! Mohammed in 632 claimed the B was the WOG and mentioned nothing of errors but instead that all of the WOG (k included) is perfect. Now, in 1064 we suddenly learn of all these GLARING, GLARING errors.

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MormonsBELIEVE THE ENTIRE Bible PLUS the BOM.

WE MIGHT SAY: But wait a minute! You say you believe the NT, but didnt JC plainly state J16.13 they would receive all truth?? Now, you claim in 1830 Joseph Smith (JS) has MORE THAN ALL. How can this be? Doesnt all mean all? But JS came up with MORE THAT ALL.

EG: Polygamy JS claimed P was to be an everlasting ordinance. How long did this everlasting ordinance last? Was JS telling the truth? WAS IT EVERLASTING?

EG: End of the World (EOW): JS said in the D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) that the EOW would take place in 1890-91. That didnt happen. In Dt18: the Bible tells us how to ID a False Prophet: If it doesnt come to pass, they are to be executed as false prophets.

FINALLY, Jesus said if blind lead blind, BOTH go to the ditch. SO Why is anyone following this man or men like him???

NOW, WE COME TO THOSE WHO VALUE THEIR TRADITIONS AS EQUAL TO THE WOG.HOW DO WE KNOW MENS TRADITIONS MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO SUPERSEDE WOG?

Jesus pointed this out clearly in M15.3, :3. Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?...6. you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition9. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'

Mens Traditions ALWAYS seem to supersede the WOG: To replace in power, authority, validity, or importance. In other words, when men say my tradition is on equal par with WOG, what they mean is the tradition supersedes it, replaces it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CATHOLICSIn the Second Vatican Councils document on divine revelation,Dei Verbum(Latin: "The Word of God"), the relationship between Tradition and Scripture is explained: "Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same endit is not from sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the SAME devotion and reverence."

[The UKs Guardian reports] A secret investigationconducted last autumn by three cardinals, found involvement of significant gay networks within the Vatican [which seemed to have] precipitated his [Pope Benedicts]resignation.

CATHOLICS accept the pope as the supreme sp. authority on earth, w/ ability to change WOG by traditions. (per Wikipedia) When the pope is newly elected, the senior The senior Cardinal Deaconthen appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's to proclaim the new pope by his birth name, and announce his papal name:

I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope! The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, etc. THIS IS BLASPHEMY IN ITS WORST FORM, UNPARALLELED AMONG HUMAN RELIGIONS.

LETS GIVE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW CATHOLIC TRADITIONAL TEACHING SUPPLANT THE WOG:

M23.9 call no man your father on the earth, one Father in heaven. The word pope derives from Greek meaning "Father".

Infant baptismbelieving, repentance required before baptism (a2.38)

Only SOME, not All are priests (Peter said it!!!) 1p2:5,9

Only SOME, not All are saints (Saint Benedict, Nicholas, Peter, etc) 1C1.2

Bow to Pope? Dont bow to men (Peter said it!!!) a10.26 Cornelius

Blasphemy is sin: Papal names and descriptions in their own writings and papal exchanges: EG the most eminent and most reverend lord, Vicarius Filii Dei (666) It describes him but ISNT HIS TITLE they say in response.

Adoration of Mary (Luke 11:27-28)

Manufacturing and adoration of images? (Ex. 20:4-5; 1J5.21).

Baptism is immersion instead of pouring? (Col. 2:12=buried).

BISHOPS CANT MARRY? BIBLE: a bishop must be a married man. (1 Tim. 3:2, 4-5).

Oppose the idea of purgatory? (Luke 16:26).

infant baptism (A2.38)

indulgences (MARTIN LUTHERS BIG BEEF), confession to priests, etc

M15.9 Teaching for doctrine the commands of men

JUST AS JESUS SAID: you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition9. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'

PART 2: How God wants His people to view His words

1 Thessalonians 2:13We also thank God continually because when you received the word of God-- which you heard from us--you accepted it not as the word of men, but for it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

A17.11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

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WHY IS A STUDY OF HERMENEUTICS SO IMPORTANT? SALVATION IMPLICATIONS.

(SEE Eye is the lamp of the body link on www.pocketsermons.org )

James 1:21-22Therefore, remove from your lives all spiritual filth and remaining evil,

and humbly receive the implanted word which is able to save your souls.

22 But do not simply listen to the word (and thereby deceive

yourselves)Do what it says.

EG Uzzah / high voltage with/without connection to the POWERPerhaps he had an incorrect view of grace, as did David (upset)

L6.46-49 (read)

Lk 8:21He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

L9.18Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."

We all know we should pay attention to WHAT we hear (eg, per Dt4.2 dont add/subtract), but what about HOW we hear.

Lev 18:4-5You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God.

Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.

Dt4.2, M4.4, AND 2T3.16-7 ALL SPEAK OF ALL THE WOG BEING IMPORTANT (well speak in more detail of these verses at another time.)

1T1.8We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.

AGAIN: Lev 18:4-5 be careful to follow my decrees...

2T2.15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

ATTITUDE OF THE WOG: ALL, CAREFUL, PROPER HANDLING, ANDL8.4-15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Dt18.21-22You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?"

If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

NOTES:

Matt 28:18-20; Rev 20:15-20; 22:18-19; 1 Cor 4:6; 2 Tim 2:15; 2 Pet 3:15-16; Matthew 15:9; And many others...

THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM: http://antipas.net/16faq.htm

"I was raised and schooled in the Roman Catholic Church. I have practiced my faith piously and devoutly for my entire life. I was a Marian devotee and wore a scapular for 35 years. Now, widowed at age 61, after having read through the entire Bible, for the first time I find myself feeling eerily different, even distant, about my religion.

My most pious relatives and the devout among my Catholic friends are vitriolic and acrimonious in their scorn and rebuke since they discovered I have presumed to read and attempt to understand the Holy Scriptures without the aid of a priest or officially approved Roman Catholic literature.

They often will scream and yell about Protestant misinterpretations of Christian beliefs established long ago by early church fathers, about the abandonment of Roman Catholic traditions or about numerous Protestant Bibles with flawed translations. They seem self-righteously proud they have avoided attempting to read the Bible for themselves. They tell me that I am a fool, while assuring me that they "KNOW" what they believe.

I find I am embroiled in a holy war over the issue of my daily routine of studying in the Scofield Reference Bible while listening to a Protestant minister on the radio who sequentially reads through the entire Bible with commentary, explanation, word studies and personal reflections drawn from a lifetime of ministry.

A small group of my relatives and Catholic friends have begun attempting to distract me during the time of these Bible study broadcasts. I have responded by avoiding them, making myself unavailable, and by discovering the different times other radio stations air the same Bible study in my area. I now tune-in on short-wave radio twice a day.

Their attitudes and actions are driving me away from the Mother Church because when I attend Mass is when I suffer their unrelenting vocal attacks in public. It is most embarrassing when they bring our Monsignor into the fray, for he supports my detractor's opinions. It makes my attendance at weddings, funerals, etc., a difficult and uncomfortable situation.

The buzz escalated to a howl when it was discovered I modestly support the organization of the radio minister and purchase bound copies of his commentaries comprising the broadcast material. Now, one close relative often brings nuns to my home to pray for me, three other relatives have made a donation to have mass said for my recovery, and several groups of friends claim to pray the rosary for me, that I might recover my senses and return to being a good Catholic once again.

They are most upset over the fact that I am beginning to realize that the Roman Catholic faith is a sham, that it is a false religion fashioned around showy but powerless rituals and spectacular but worthless ceremonies rooted in pre-Christian religions. For having read through the whole Bible I now see clearly that the pre-Christian religious practices described in the Old Testament, which God commanded the Hebrews to avoid, are mostly the current religious practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

I was quite startled to discover that Protestant Bibles contain a proscription in the Second Commandment against religiously associated idols of any kind, and against images of any living thing when the idols and images are for religious purposes. It is that since no human has ever seen God, no human can ever produce a replica or likeness of God that would be remotely accurate. Which would render every religiously associated idol and image the worthless status of being either a pathetic counterfeit of the Real God or of being an unholy substitute for the True God. And that this worthless and forbidden status applies to all religiously associated idols and images without exception.

Not one officially approved Roman Catholic Bible I have examined contains the Second Commandment proscription against idols and images used in religious worship or involved in pious devotional practices. I get the impression that Roman Catholicism has altered some scriptures to suit its religious practices rather than adjusting its religious practices to fit God's Holy Scripture.

I shudder to think I spent almost sixty years ignorantly engaging in idolatry, identified by and condemned by God in the Bible, simply because that is the way I was raised, that is the faith I was taught. It is scary to realize that I might have never discovered the truth and could have delusionally gone to my grave unsaved while falsely believing I was a saved Christian.

My detractors are making my life a living hell. I am considering moving away from my family, my lifelong friends and my hometown just to have some peace and to regain a more normal and less contentious lifestyle.

Is there really, as I feel the Bible clearly indicates, something terribly wrong with the Roman Catholic religion?

Are my current feelings about the Roman Catholic faith justified?"

Name and location withheld, by request.

The answers are: Yes, and Yes!

Both the Bible and secular history make it transparently clear that you are quite justified in feeling there is something terribly wrong with the Roman Catholic religion.

In spite of the (suspiciously) missing Second Commandment against ALL man-made idols and images (Found in Exodus 20:4-6; in Protestant Bibles), most Roman Catholic Bibles do include many other Old Testament references to God's proscription against ALL religiously associated man-made idols and images.

Clearly and simply showing that God is against the religious use of man-made idols, most especially when idols are used in pious devotions; when used for adoration; and when used for purposes of veneration, service or honor of some personage other than God.

Why haven't Roman Catholics noticed what God says? NO IDOLS! NO IMAGES!

This means: AT ALL TIMES!

No "RELIGIOUS" usage of statues or likenesses of anything! NONE, WHATSOEVER!

What could be simpler or easier to comprehend?

Read the 2nd Commandment - Missing from most of the officially approved Roman Catholic Bible versions:

Compare with: Deuteronomy 5:8-10

The Book Of Exodus, Chapter 20

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;

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

King James Version

You will notice that God says "Those whom He thinks love Him are those whom keep His commandments"! And you are entirely correct in your realization that this proscription against ALL religiously associated idols and images is without any exceptions, ever.

"Counterfeit" Christians BELIEVE God, but they do not OBEY God.

Within both Judaism and "Authentic" Christianity, there are absolutely no circumstances where God finds idols or images acceptable. NONE, WHATSOEVER !

The actual words of the entire Biblical narrative differ greatly from popular Roman Catholic "Religious" myths. The words of the Bible also differ greatly from many other unscriptural "Religious" practices, traditions, customs, and fanciful beliefs in fables or pagan folklore that have been built up around the Roman Catholic "Religion" in opposition to the original, God-given Bible stories.

About "IDOLS": God declares that ALL idols are blind, dead, deaf, empty-of-life, forbidden, mute, religiously worthless, spiritually powerless, sinful. God calls the religious use of idols "Spiritual Adultery"! See: Lev.19:4 - Jer. Ch. 3 - and the entire Books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

About "IMAGES": (Likenesses, Statues and Symbols) Forbidden, whether they are carved, cast, graven, molded or molten - See: Lev. 26:1 - Deu. 5:8 - Deu. 16:22 - Deu. 27:15 - Jer. 10:14 - and the entire Book of Isaiah.

In addition to the testimony of God, which you have discovered in the Bible, both modern archaeology and ancient history weigh-in with overwhelmingly massive amounts of information about the fact that the religious system (today) called Roman Catholicism pre-existed Christianity for ages and eons before the time of Christ Jesus.

The core beliefs and practices of Romanism had existed for three thousand years by the time of the formation of the earliest, NON-Roman Catholic, Apostolic, Christian church in First Century, CE, Rome. Two thousand years ago Romanism had all of today's idols, images, rites, ceremonies, religious orders and ecclesiastical calendar already intact, three hundred years before Romanism first claimed to be a Christian religion in the Fourth Century, CE.

And secular history also shows that what (today) is called Roman Catholicism, as the state religion of Rome, was the avowed enemy of Christianity and of individual Christians for nearly 300 years after the resurrection of Christ Jesus.

Back in those days it was not only the Jews who were persecuted by Rome, for Christianity was perceived as nothing more than a Hebrew cult or sect.

And, lastly, both the Bible and secular history show that, prior to the Fourth Century of this Common Era, what (today) is called Roman Catholicism had no part in the formation of Apostolic Christian doctrine and had no part in the establishment of any Christian church group. While Emperor Constantine decreed Christianity to be tolerated as a "Lawful" religion (Edict of Milan, CE 313), Roman Catholicism did not declare itself "Christian" until the eastern Emperor Theodosius I decreed Christianity as the new, official, state religion of Rome (Edict of De Fide Catolica, CE 380).

Immediately following Emperor Theodosius's decree, those Christian-persecuting Romanists of the former, ages-old, Roman state religion shortly and quickly absorbed (usurped) Apostolic Christianity, taking it CAPTIVE.

And Romanism proceeded to BACK-DATE their Fourth Century, CE, ascension to their newly-endorsed "Christian-like" status to make it appear as if Roman Catholicism had evolved from the original Apostolic Christian Church in an unbroken line of succession from Saint Peter, through all the Popes-of-Rome, right up to today.

At the time of the change-over from pure paganism to a somewhat "Christian-like" form of religion, the Romanists of the Fourth Century, CE, possessed a very well-established, highly-organized system of temples, monasteries and abbeys throughout the Empire. And Romanism enjoyed a deeply embedded and politically connected priesthood having the innate ability of religious deceivers to begin posing as authentic Christian clergy.

The masses of just-converted pagans and heathens had no way of knowing this new state-ordained religion was composed of fakers, posers and frauds, since, as a result of 300 years of persecution, almost no authentic Christians remained (Alive!) to testify against the old Romanists in their new, state-sponsored, "Christian-like", religious permutation.

Those former persecutors of Christians, those old Romanists of the formerly official, pagan, state religion, those old idolatrous Roman Catholic priests, abbots and bishops were not authentically Christian in God's eyes.

As fakers and posers the Romanists never possessed the "Spirit of Truth" from God.

For, at the time of their religious transition, an authentic in-dwelling by the Holy Spirit would have been necessary to (individually) render each one of those Romanists genuinely sanctified by God's standards and, by extension, would have been necessary to alter their "make-believe" idolatrous form of religion into something much more authentically Christian - much more like the purest form of Apostolic Christianity which had completely rejected idolatry.

The old, pre-Christian, Roman religious system had both the MOTIVE (Purpose) and the ADVANTAGE (Temporal Power) to perpetuate its pagan, heathen system of idolatry which, both modern archaeology and secular history prove, had its source and origin in the ancient Chaldean mysticism of Babylon, three thousand years before the time of Christ Jesus.

THE MOTIVE:

[Bullet Point] The new purpose of the old Roman religious system was to retain power within their well-established sphere of religious influence to maintain their hold on the lucratively profitable enterprise called "Religion".

[Bullet Point] To take on, after the early Fourth Century, CE, the appearance of the rightful successors of the original, all Hebrew, Apostolic, Christian Church.

[Bullet Point] And, most importantly, to merge-together the ancient, idolatrous, Roman, religious system with what little they understood of "true" (authentic) Christianity.

The resulting religious amalgam, today's modern Roman Catholicism, while possessing some small amount of Christian truth is so error-filled because the old idolatrous Roman religious system was never rejected but merely ADAPTED.

Back in the 4th Century, CE, Romanism falsely labeled itself as authentic Christianity, even though idolatrous Romanism bears no resemblance to the original "true" form of Apostolic Christianity that SHUNNED idolatry and pagan heathenism.

Romanism has always eagerly admitted it has "baptized" pagan heathenism in order to "Christianize" it, and today's Roman Catholic hierarchy freely admit Romanism had long ago brought pagan heathenism within its ecclesiastical robes.

The Roman Catholics have ignored the format for the Church, found in the Book Of Acts: The Apostles were sent by Christ Jesus to take the Church out into the pagan world. Roman Catholics have reversed that process, and have been busy bringing the paganism of the world into the church.

Romanism, long ago, adapted pagan heathen holy days, religious beliefs and spiritual practices to Christianity. Holy days, religious beliefs and spiritual practices that have no connection to the original, Apostolic, Christian faith.

The Roman Catholics, in the Fourth Century, CE, executed this adaptation in order to comfortably and serenely accommodate the massive influx of pagan heathens into the newly "Christianized" Roman state religion. And those pagan heathens felt right-at-home in the new state religion that supported and embraced the old, idolatrous, religious system so completely, even unto today.

The old Romanist idolaters, posing as the new Christians, were far too dedicated and committed to idolatrous spirituality to ever conform fully to Christ Jesus. For that conformity would have required the complete rejection of idolatry and the complete rejection of all the pagan heathenism which God calls spiritual sin.

But, remember this...

God has made no truce with spiritual sin!

All of the paganistic heathenism adopted many thousands of years ago by Roman Catholicism is the same paganism and heathenism adapted to Apostolic Christianity by Roman Catholicism in the 4th century CE, and is the type of idolatry that all earlier gentile Christian converts were instructed to give-up, quit, forsake, repent-of and cease to practice.

God calls idolatry sin! Spiritual Adultery!

And Roman Catholic idolatry feeds and bolsters humanity's pagan, heathen, spiritual inclination which conforms itself to the natural world so easily. A natural spiritual inclination that the Apostle Paul declares each new, individual, Christian convert must "put-off" (quit, repent-of) in order for God's Holy Spirit to transform one into an authentic Christian "believer" by the spiritual renewal of one's formerly idolatrous, pagan, heathen mind. (See: Romans 12: 1-3)

The Roman Catholic religious system has never had this obligatory experience of spiritual repentance and renewal.

It has never become either holy or sanctified in God's eyes.

THE ADVANTAGE:

[Bullet Point] Through the temporal power of Rome, by the Fourth Century, CE, the Roman religious system had spent the previous 500 years as the established state religion.

[Bullet Point] And, by the Fourth Century, CE, the Roman religious system had spent the most recent 300 years jealously attempting to stamp-out the same Christianity it (then) wished to incorporate and attempt to imitate.

Secular history records that, up until 382 CE, ALL Roman Emperors also carried the title "Pontif Maxum" (Supreme Pontiff, or Pope), head of both the government and the religion of Rome. From 100 years before the first Triumvirate, until the Emperor Gratian's rejection of the religious title, it was a nearly 500-years-long run of Emperor worship as state religion.

During that five-hundred-year period newly minted coins of Rome had the current Emperor's name and likeness on the obverse, with the title "Divi Felius" (The Divine One - The Emperor/God), while holding the royal objects of temporal power.

And those same coins have the title "Pontif Maxum" (Supreme Pontiff - Pope) on the reverse, displaying the Emperor's profile while wearing a miter (the Pope's tall hat that looks like a fish's head with an open mouth) as the royal object of religious power worn by all Emperor Popes, and now worn by all later (NON-Emperor) Bishop-of-Rome Popes.

Roman coins from that period can be viewed in museums, in encyclopedias, and are displayed "For-Sale" on the World Wide Web and in coin collecting catalogs dealing with ancient or historical coins.

Beginning at 382, CE, was the first occasion when a Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome ascended to the title of Pope. Slightly more than 300 years after the time of Christ Jesus was the first time a NON-Emperor was ever a Roman Catholic Pope.

After the relocation of the empire's capitol to Constantinople, after the split that left two separate empires, and after the fall of Rome to the Vandals in the Fifth Century, CE, a succession of Bishops-of-Rome (NON-Emperor) Popes began to also wield the immense temporal powers of the former Emperors.

At this point in time, after the fall of Rome, the "Dark Ages" began in Europe.

And it was during the "Dark Ages" that the Bible became a closed book to the masses of people. The "Dark Ages" are when literacy began a marked decline in Western Europe, for that was when Roman Catholicism put the Bible under lock and key.

Even today Roman Catholics are not encouraged to read the Bible, so most never do.

In today's modern era, Roman Catholics are strongly discouraged from independently attempting to read and understand the Bible; while Evangelical Protestant Christians are strongly rebuked if they do NOT engage in daily Bible study.

Finally, a funny thing happened on the way to the reformation. For, about a thousand years after Roman Catholicism helped usher in the "Dark Ages", a Roman Catholic priest and seminary professor, in Germany, began to read for himself the New Testament in the original unaltered Greek. He was reading Romans 1:17, in Erasmus' Novum Testamentum, a Greek-Latin parallel New Testament wherein the Latin text was a new translation directly from the Greek (for the Latin was not the text of the Vulgate). The revelations he discovered caused him to realize that Roman Catholicism (as it was taught from the Latin Vulgate Bible translation and as it was practiced by Romanists in that day) was a Christian impostor, a religious fraud, and a false claimant of authentic Biblical Christianity.

About five-hundred-years ago, in an era when printing first began to be mechanized; at a time when printed material began to become affordable for the masses of people; at a time when literacy in Europe was beginning to rapidly increase; and at a time when accurately translated Bibles first began to become widely available in numerous common languages (rather than only in Latin or Greek), the iron-fisted control Roman Catholicism exerted over access to the Word of God began to slip and fade away.

The only thing required to realize that

Roman Catholicism is a bogus "Religious" system (a sham)

is to: READ THE ENTIRE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF!

But because Roman Catholicism has neither repented-of nor forsaken its idolatrous origins it has never operated with God's spiritual blessing. And without God's blessing Romanism has been forced to pretend that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ; to pretend to be the successor to Peter the Apostle; and to pretend to offer an authentically sanctified religion that, in fact, is nothing more than a bombastic and flamboyant imitation religion.

Roman Catholicism, however, does NOT imitate authentic Christianity for

idolatry has nothing in common

with the original, all-Hebrew, Apostolic form of Christianity found in the Bible.

THAT idolatry is why Romanism's piously devout and faithful adherents openly display a lack of spiritual fulfillment.

Demonstrated by the many millions of Roman Catholics who are forever chasing-after apparitions of blessed virgins; and so often venerate relics and vague images of Jesus or Mary appearing on a tortilla, or on a huge water storage tank, or on a window pane; and are always managing to conjure-up weeping or bleeding idols and statues.

All of THAT religious foolishness is superstition-based and is rooted in the underlying idolatry of Romanism.

THAT is why Roman Catholicism, as an idolatrous religious system, leaves much to be spiritually desired by its adherents.

Because, even when it is not consciously realized or acknowledged, the faithfully devout and pious adherents of Roman Catholicism clearly demonstrate that they can feel in their souls a spiritual deficiency that Romanism is incapable of filling.

In spite of the showy religiosity of Romanism, its adherents deeply and sub-consciously sense that a superstition-based, idolatrous religion cannot offer a path to genuinely authentic and assured salvation.

Primarily because Roman Catholicism remains (today) the same idolatrous religion that it was before the time of Constantine, a religion that is a blend of folklore and reverence, it is in direct opposition to God's admonition to all potential Old and New Testament believers to cease, desist and flee-from idolatry.

The Bible is very clear and straight-forward about that long-standing and often stated admonition from God against idolatry!

Christ Jesus' statement that He will "set you free" refers to human souls being set free from the spiritual burdens of idolatry. Since, in the absence of Christianity, humans will always drift into idolatrous religiosity; and since idolatry has no power to either forgive sins or provide eternal salvation; those souls caught-up in idolatrous religiosity have no relief for the guilt they feel because of their sins and they have no solution for what to them is a mystery, the attainment of fully assured salvation.

While Christ Jesus, through Biblical Christianity, provides real and effective relief from feelings of guilt for our sins and, by the Grace of God, provides assurance of eternal salvation, Roman Catholicism DOES NOT provide that relief or assurance because it CAN NOT guarantee those provisions.

And Romanism does not guarantee those provisions because, while authentic, Biblical, God-ordained Christianity provides genuine spiritual security through assurance of salvation for its believers, Roman Catholicism can only induce superstition and insecurity in its make-believers.

Romanism is a guilt-based religion with a focus that leaves many of its adherents constantly fixated on feelings of guilt. It is as if feelings of guilt for sins and fear of eternal condemnation is the engine driving the entire Romanist religious system, aptly demonstrating that idolatry is, indeed, heavily laden with tremendous spiritual burdens.

Roman Catholics are tormented with doubt about their eternal salvation whenever they contemplate their religion's teaching on Purgatory (Limbo). And, sadly, they do not realize many will be victimized and betrayed on Judgment Day because Roman Catholicism provides no dependable assurance of eternal salvation, despite Rome's false and pretentious claim of possession of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

As a result of Rome's pretentious claims, while falsely imagining that they are only in Purgatory (Limbo), an untold number of Roman Catholics will permanently end-up in Hell. And, while they further imagine that their stay in Hell is only temporary, as time marches on into never-ending eternity they will eventually come to the helpless, hopeless and lonesome realization that there are NO! EXITS! out of Hell.

THAT is when they will fully realize they have been victimized, betrayed and abandoned.

THAT is why it is so spiritually risky and eternally dangerous to practice Roman Catholicism. And...

THAT is why piously devout and faithful Roman Catholic adherents demonstrate a lack of spiritual fulfillment.

THAT tangible spiritual void is why they foolishly quest-after apparitions, desperately seek to venerate relics or vague images, and marvel at weeping or bleeding idols and statues.

Romanism does not spiritually fulfill them,

as evidenced by their unquenchable demand for more and ever more religious-type experiences.

Quite simply, Roman Catholicism is not spiritually satisfying! Because Romanism teaches that intermediaries are essential to spiritually approach God (a priest, a blessed virgin and favorites selected from an army of saints - as intercessors) Rome can not satisfy the natural, human, transcendental urge (longing) for direct, personal, authentic, spiritual contact with God.

By keeping its piously devout and faithful adherents away from the Bible, Roman Catholicism protects itself from the scandal of having many of its believers question the underlying idolatry of the Roman form of religion that is revealed and exposed in the Holy Scriptures. But, in the end, Roman Catholicism produces religious dupes by blocking, quenching and stifling the fulfillment of that longing for direct, personal, spiritual contact with God.

And once any Roman Catholic reads all of God's Word, Witness, Testimony and Counsel for them self they, just like that priest in Germany, about 500 years ago, will come to the realization that they should flee idolatrous Roman Catholicism...

In the best interest of the eternal destiny of their soul.

Miscellaneous notes:

Long read about 666: http://biblelight.net/envoy.htm Interesting, about 666, catholic claims it isnt a title of the pope, other guy says yes, yet the catholic ADMITS THE phrase vicarious filii dei IS a proper description of the pope! Does the other really matter??? That says it all.

READ DEEP INTO THE ARTICLE, ESPECIALLY 13 DECEMBER 98 RESPONSE TO CATHOLICS REMARKS.

http://biblelight.net/envoy.htm If the Lord Jesus Christ had intended to establish the supreme authority of Peter perpetuated in a dynastic line of popes who would enjoy absolute episcopal jurisdiction over the entire world, all logic demands that He would have categorically and intentionally informed his followers in no uncertain terms! But He did not. Other sacred offices of the church are set forth in Holy Writ, yet strange silence prevails with regard to that which is supposedly the highest of them all! The silence of the inspired writers in omitting to mention such a high office is equivalent to Napoleon's biographer failing to use the title of emperor.

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But, you insist, Mohammeds writings are verbally inspired and absolutely accurate, so it supersedes the Bible. Because of this view the Bible is always interpreted by what the Qur'an says first. Muslims claim Jesus never died or resurrected.

Amazingly, as originally written (before charges against Biblical accuracy took place apparently in 1064), the Quran evidently declares the Bible to be a true revelation of God and demands faith in the Bible, and never suggested errors in it but demanded simple obedience to it.

Sura 2:40-42,126,136,285; 3:3,71,93; 4:47,136; 5:47-51,

69,71-72; 6:91; 10:37,94; 21:7; 29:45,46; 35:31; 6:11

Yet the Bible and the Quran do not agree, especially in the Ks claim Christ is not actually the Christ or Messiah.

But since the Bible was written 500 years before the Quran, and no such charges or suspicions were known to exist questioning the authenticity of the WOG (widely regarded today as easily the most well-attested book of antiquity, containing literally thousands of corroborating MSSs), clearly the burden of proof is upon the Muslim to prove that the Bible is incorrect, and to show how the K could not possibly be corrupted.

But WHY DO MUSLIMS REALLY BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS CORRUPTED? Again, it evidently wasnt until 1064 that the first allegations of Bible corruption were heard by a man named Ibn-Khazem. He claimed the B had been corrupted and falsified. But why such outrageous, unproven claims after 500 years of existence? Because Ibn-Khazem found problems with the K matching the B, a book the K itself endorsed. How could the K be protected? By faith that the Quran was perfect. This meant the B must then be false. He said, "Since the Quran must be true it must be the conflicting Gospel texts that are false. He went on to claim that Christians lost the original NT except for a few traces which God has left intact as argument against them."

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Prior to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, several different Jewish groups had risen to prominence, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, and others. These groups had very different Bible hermeneutics. For example, what it meant to keep the Sabbath day holy or what happened to the soul after death differed among these groups because of their varying Bible interpretations.

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