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The Persecuted Church

 

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The New Testament Communion comes from the feast of Passover. Jesus showed the fulfillment of a tradition the Jews kept for over 1500 years as He sat with them the night before he went to the cross. When He said, “this is my body and my blood”, He had not even died yet. He was giving a figurative illustration of what was to occur the next day by His body given as a sacrifice. He never meant it to be taken as a source of grace, but in remembrance of what He was to do--until He comes again. Just as the Passover feast was to point to Christ on the cross in the future, the communion points back to His accomplishment on the cross in the past. All the feast days were shadows of the true substance, they were to help the Jewish nation stay in God’s blessings and be a means to recognize Christ when He came. If the Eucharist is actually His body and the blood then the lambs they sacrificed 1500 years before would also Jesus’ body (before He was born) as John said behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

 Jesus said this is my body, Selah. Jesus holding the bread up at the last supper, he distinguished between his body and the emblem he held in his hand. When Jesus said you must eat my flesh and drink my blood, it was in figurative language, not literal, it symbolized the life He has to offer.  Can anyone tell us which part of His body did He remove when he gave the bread to the disciples to eat? If it really was about His body He would have been totally consumed by now. The only way one can make sense of this error is to say it is a spiritual body, which then means He was not raised from the dead physically, because He is in his body forevermore and it all is intact, it is whole, no parts are missing.

The bread and the wine become “God & man” the Eucharist becomes the incarnate Christ “…the true body of Christ the Lord, the same that was born of the virgin…”(Catholic Catechism 1106,1374)

“The body is given for us and the blood which is shed for the remission of sins are offered to God by the church for the sacrifice of the whole world. In the Eucharist Christ is present and is offered as the sacrifice which made our peace.” (Vatican 2 vol.2)

The Bible teaches that he (Christ) offered himself on the cross to give us peace. You cannot get peace from a wafer today.

Immolation is the sacrificial killing of a victim. The Church teaches that at the Mass Christ does not suffer, pour out His blood, or die. Instead Christ experiences an “unbloody immolation” (Pope Pius the XII mediator dei no.70) by which He becomes sacramentally present under the appearances of bread and wine, a “most holy victim” (Catholic Catechism 11085,1353, 1362,1364,1367, 1383, 1409, 15451.)

Roman Catholicism teaches that once Christ is present in a state of victimhood upon the altar, He then offers Himself to God the Father by the hands of the priest and in union with the Church (1354,1357).

This re-presentation of Christ death to the Father occurs when the priest prays at the Mass: Father ... we offer to you, God of glory and majesty, this holy and perfect sacrifice: the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation. Look with favor on these offerings and accept them.... Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing. (The Memorial Prayer of the first eucharistic prayer)

In the real sacrifice, blood came from His body. Not so in the MASS-It is separate, as when He Gave the illustration at the Passover before He died. But the Catholic church persists the Mass is “a true and proper sacrifice, not symbolic of another actual event , but the actual “sacrifice of the Eucharist” (Council of Trent session 22 teachings and canons on the most holy sacrifice of the mass chpt.1)

Hebrews says that the confirmation of the Testament depends on the death of the Testator. The Mass makes present Christ in His death and victimhood suffering over and over to give grace. Murdered over and over again. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1353, 1362, 1364, 1367, 1409).

So it is not the remembrance of the finished work but a actual sacrifice by the priest who gives it to recipients for grace.

Each mass the priest re-presents to the father the sacrifice of Christ (Catechism 1354,1357). The scriptures say that Christ gave himself willingly “no man takes my life I lay it down myself. Remember when Moses struck the rock twice, We are told in the NT that rock was Christ. He misrepresented God and was kept out of the promised land. How much more so those priests who continually offer up Christ as a sacrifice on man made altars. They strike the rock many more times than twice.

According to Roman Catholic teaching each time a priest offers the Mass, the wrath of God against sin is appeased. The Mass, even as the cross itself, is a propitiatory or appeasing sacrifice: In this divine sacrifice which is performed in the mass, the very same Christ is contained and offered in bloodless manner who made a bloody sacrifice of himself once for all on the cross. Hence the holy council teaches that this is a truly propitiatory sacrifice, and brings it about that if we approach God with sincere hearts and upright faith, and with awe and reverence, we receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). For the Lord is appeased by this offering, he gives the gracious gift of repentance, he absolves even enormous offenses and sins. (Council of Trent session 22”Teaching and canons on the most holy sacrifice of the Mass chpt.2)

The Mass is an unbloody sacrifice which atones for the sins of the living and the dead. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1367,1371, 1414).

If the Mass is the true blood and body then how can it be unbloody? Which is it? They need to make up their mind. The claim is that it is bloodless, yet the Scripture says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. If it was with blood the first time, why is it not now? Why is what is supposed to turn into His blood, not blood. A bloodless sacrifice has no power, it is only an external show. The blood of Jesus is efficacious as it has continuing throughout time. This shows they do not believe in his eternal sacrifice! It doesn’t need to be represented in the mass over and over again as to portray Christ in His victimhood. He did it once for all. This body and blood of the Eucharist is not the real person but made by hands of men in a bakery.

Christ offered Himself then and now we have men offering Him and calling themselves priests of God who buy bread and wine and use their exclusive powers to change the substance of which you cannot tell but must believe.

The sacrificial work of redemption is continually carried out through the sacrifice of the Mass. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1364, 1405, 1846.)

Each Mass Applies the Saving Power of the Sacrifice of the Cross 1366,1407,1416,1566)

Council of Trent, Canon no.1: If anyone shall deny that the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore the entire Christ, are truly, really, and substantially contained in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist and shall say that He is only in it as a sign or in a figure, let him be anathema (accursed ).”

The bible teaches that we don’t meet Christ in a sacrament, we have a relationship with him by his spirit not by things made by hands.

The Bible states in Heb. 10:10-12 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” He sat down on the right hand of God,  He sat down never to repeat it again. For to do so he would have to come back to earth, which is exactly what the Catholics priest are saying, they call him down from heaven onto their altar each time.

1 Jn.1:9 His blood continually cleanses that which was shed on the cross, not the communion. the Mass is a continuing sacrifice. The Scriptures tell us that a sacrifice which must be constantly repeated reveals itself to be weak as in the OT. If there is any power in the Mass, then why the daily and weekly repetition? Christ’s sacrifice was not like the animal sacrifice that needs to be done over and over- It was once for all. It satisfied His Father and its effects continue today because He alone is immortal and a perpetual High Priest therefore his work is eternal. Jesus went to the cross for His sacrificial work. His last words were “It is finished!”

In the offering of the Mass, there is a real victim: the Lord Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine. For this reason the Church refers to consecrated bread wafers as hosts ,which is from the Latin word for victim. The offering is also real. The priest “ ... offers the immaculate Victim, to God the Father, in the Holy Spirit. ( 2nd Vatican council “Sacred Liturgy” “General instruction on the Roman Missal chpt.2 sect.55. the Mass is “a true and proper sacrifice, not symbolic of another actual event , but the actual “sacrifice of the Eucharist” (Council of Trent session 22 teachings and canons on the most holy sacrifice of the mass chpt.1).

CAN WE ACCEPT THE 2nd PERSON OF THE TRIUNE GOD HAVING A CONTINUAL INCARNATION IN COOPERATION WITH BAKERIES AND JUICE COMPANIES?

What was the purpose of the virgin conception of Mary if the bread is now a incarnation of Christ? A wafer does not talk or move. So how can it be Christ, it is not alive it is man-made, One cannot find Christ in inanimate objects. God does not dwell in a temple made by hands. In Acts 7:48 - 49, Stephen quotes Ps.102 :25--He said he would dwell in a temple not made with hands. The Catholic church says he does. “It is Christ himself.”(1330) “the whole Christ”(1374).

God alone is to be worshipped and adored, not man-made religious symbols. No graven images are to be made on Earth below or Heaven above. WORSHIP takes place for the Eucharist. “In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. “The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist with worship and adoration (1378-1381,1418) “the same worship of Latria or adoration that we offer to God.”(2nd Vatican council sacred liturgy, On holy communion and the worship of the Eucharistic mystery outside of mass.”no.21).

One is then worshipping the creation not the creator (Rom.1).

Remember the brazen serpent in the wilderness. The Jews looked upon it to be healed but, given time, they eventually made it an idol and worshipped it. In Hebrew the word for Idols is ‘eliyl ; apparently from it means good for nothing, . vain or vanity; specifically an idol: no value, thing of nought. pecel (#6459);carved (graven) image.

haneekaar shachah- means foreign or strange worship. Strongs # 7812 shachah- to bow down a) (Qal) to bow down b) (Hiphil) to depress (figurative) c) (Hithpael) to bow down, to prostrate oneself 1) before superior in homage 2) before God in worship 3) before false gods 4) before angel (Thayer’s )

The Hebrew word for idolatry means to bow down to something other than God to genuflect is to worship. To bow down or genuflect is an act of spiritual worship. Judaism has always identified genuflecting or burning incense or candles as worship.(Ex.20) Jesus never gave a command to bow to the wafer that represented him.

This is why the BREAD must be is a metaphor. His sacrifice was the real propitiation. A propitiation is a term meaning toward God to appease His wrath, not toward man. A sacrifice is an offering made to appease God. In the Scriptures we find no mention of the bread and wine as a sacrifice, he was a living sacrifice, these were only symbols that already existed, that he used them to illustrate the real act he himself would accomplish.

Is it alive? Does it move? Can you encase Him in an inanimate object? The Scripture tells us that He doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands. He tells us “I will be with you always...”If one believes that he already dwells in them by the Holy Spirit then the concept of having to be ingested to have grace becomes abandoned. This is kept hidden from most in the church.

The Catechism of Trent p.228 says “the is the true body of Christ the Lord the same that was born of the virgin.” One can actually pray to Jesus in the sacrament. “God desires that consecrated bread and wine be worshipped as divine.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1178,1183,1378,1418).Can the bread move on its own? leave it out and see what happens to it. It will become moldy just like any other bread. Does the body of Christ become corrupt? Can it talk? It has no life on its own, only the priests make the people believe it does. Truly this in fact becomes an Idol.

The Catholic Church realizes that the physical evidence contradicts the doctrine of the real presence. To explain this, it teaches that the “accidents” (qualities) of the bread and wine remain, but that the “substance” (nature) changes.(1373-1377,1413) But is it not the inward nature of an object that produces the outward appearance? There is no other “miracle” recorded in the Bible where the outward evidences show that nothing has happened, as the faithful are expected to blindly believe the opposite that something has happened. God has never dealt with mankind in that manner. Imagine Jesus saying a blind man was healed when in fact he had no eyes still or someone with no arm was healed still missing the limb. A figurative interpretation of Jesus’ words makes good sense. His body need not be everywhere. The inward nature of the bread and wine is consistent with its outward appearance. Rather than physically consuming Christ, we experience spiritual communion with him.

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus is now enthroned ruling in heaven. His bodily return is yet a future event. The Bible never ascribes more than one location to his physical body at any given time. Their objection is Christ is God? And God everywhere?” True, But this refers to his spiritual, not physical presence. In Mt.24:23-24 we are told if anyone says look here is Christ or there! Do not believe it. If they he say he is in the desert or in the inner rooms (the glass case or a wafer) DO NOT BELIEVE IT! Can you bring Christ down from Heaven from where He sits? The priests say they can. According to God’s Word of truth, not mans tradition it says, “Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is to bring Christ down from above)” (Romans 10:6-11).

According to the Catholic view they can do this, God now incarnates again and becomes a wafer. The Scriptural warning in Mt.24 applies. He doesn’t put His power or grace in inanimate objects. Christ is localized in a body sitting at the right hand of God. Are we to take seriously that we actually eat the Lord, that he is transmuted into a byproduct just like food is in our body. This is like the Hindu view of pantheism and is of a pagan influence that God dwells in inanimate objects. Then we must assume that we crush his body in our teeth and actually digest it, which is repugnant to even consider.

In 1 Jn.4:2-3 it says “Every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God” this means only once he incarnated. John is writing after the resurrection In Greek this denotes a continuous action from the past continuing through to the future. In other words, the same body that Jesus took at the incarnation is the same body He resurrected in and dwells in forever. He does not become many little wafers or bodies, being called down from heaven by a priest to be ingested and come out the digestive track (I’m sorry to be so descriptive) He came in the flesh only once he rose in the flesh and continues in a flesh body throughout eternity. He doesn’t put His power or grace in inanimate objects. Grace comes from the person of the Father and Jesus Christ just as the scripture states. Catholics need to trust in God’s word to have the truth, not in their Catechism or traditions.

 

Mary's sinlessness   Mary's Son or Gods only Son   Who gave us the Scripture?
The Eucharist   Jn.6 -eat my flesh Peter the Rock Is it a Mass ?
Praying to Mary?  Problems with the Mary of Roman Catholicism    The Virgin Birth
Purgatory the Spiritual Bermuda Triangle   Idolatry    Traditions found in the Bible
Traditions,Traditions,Traditions   Yesterdays Challenges revisited What is a Saint
  The Apocrypha Unity sought with Islam  Marriage and the Priesthood
It is Written    

 

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