How not to Understand the Bible

"There is a principle in Biblical interpretation that goes: 'A text, out of context, is pretext.'

It means that every text of the Bible should be understood in its integral context: in the unity of the whole message of a chapter, of a series of books, of the theology of the writer, and even the unity of the whole Biblical message. Taken in isolation, a text in the Bible can be reduced to a pretext, i.e., a half-truth or at worst, a misleading misinterpretation."(Quoted from Pope Benedict and the Condom Question, an article by  Fr. Joel O. Jason, STh)

This quotation is right on the money when talking about understanding the Bible. Fr. Jason is telling us what not to do, but get this: he also implies what what one must do to rightly understand a text. 

We will add below a few other things being done by people that leads to error in interpretation. Like Fr. Jason's, they also imply what is the right thing. They are:

1.     Pitting one text from the Old Testament (OT) against a text in the New (NT). Usually some people say that the text  
from NT supersedes the principle of the OT text. Example: The Ten Commandments in the OT are no longer valid   
today because the new covenant introduced by our Lord Jesus Christ, which is written in the NT, carries new laws.

2.     What is true to the people of Israel is not true to the Gentiles.

3.     Israel was to obey the Ten Commandments that they might be called faithful to the covenant with God; while 
Gentiles must only believe in Christ to be called faithful children of God.

Dome of the Rock

4.     Israel's day for worship is the seventh day, which is Sabbath (Saturday); Sunday is for the Gentiles.

Walls of Old Jerusalem

5.     The Old Testament need not be read, the New Testament is the one that is important in one's faith today.

6.     The temple in the old city Jerusalem, now occupied by the Dome of the Rock on a platform called Temple Mount, 
 will be restored before the end of humanity to fully established God's Kingdom on earth.

7.     Thinking that the God in the Old Testament is God the Father, that He is the Creator, the Law-giver, the one who 
appeared, called and chosen Abraham to start, grow and lead a separate group of people, later to be called Israel;
the one who tested Isaac as he was to sacrifice himself and the one who wrestled with Jacob, the immediate . 
ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Also, God the Father was the one who called Moses to deliver them. The  
truth of the matter is it is the pre-incarnate Christ.  

Next: What the right things these seven errors imply.   

Who was the First Human Philosopher?

^{Genesis 3:6-7, ESV:}  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The first human philosopher

Eve was! Our scripture says she was considering the lies that Satan was telling her. She concluded the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden was good for food; it looks good even.

She was musing, "I will know both good and evil. I will be like God. Who would not like to be like Him? I will be having my way in all things. It would be heavenly." All these grand things occupied her mind.

She said to herself, "I will share this good thing with my husband. Both of us will be wise. I need to get his side on my plan out of my respect for him." She went to him and told him of her great discovery. Adam was enthralled and he ate of the tree as his deceived wife wanted him. He loved more the life his wife is leading him into than what God has given.

How's is it now?

Now this scene repeats itself so many, many times over since. Every husband or wife makes philosophy their craft. And like Adam and Eve couples are falling into troubles and fears most of the time. For as the Bible says it very well, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Proverbs 14:12, ESV

Until a man or woman has been freed from being captive of the devil's lies, they will have their whole philosophy of life wrong.

How is it to be?

We need to get back to how God wants us to do things. We need to come near to Christ, His Son, that we might have the life God wants for us. We need to read His Word, which is the testimony of Christ through men he appointed to speak of and for Him. Paul speaks of us to be joined with Christ. This way we become partakers of the divine nature, which will enable us to overcome the corruption in this passing world.

We need to get know the truth to be the light along our journey; the lamp to bring us to the right direction toward the life God wants us to have; and not what the devil forces us to take through his deceptive lies.

Christ Death and Resurrection

His death and resurrection are our own too. His word says so.We only have to admit we are sinners and need God's gift of forgiveness through Christ. Through Him we have life, in the present life and in eternity.

The Antichrist Unmasked (2)

Foreword

How are the Catholic Church and the Vice Mayor of Davao City, (Philippines) Rodrigo Duterte similar? I was inspired by the comment of Inquirer columnist Conrad de Quiroz that described the Vice Mayor’s mind and behavior as judge, jury and executioner.

Pope Paul VI

How should Filipino Catholics feel that only two Filipinos are considered saints? This question was inspired by the trip of Philippine Star Columnist Bobit Avila to Rome for the canonization rites of seven saints. He’s euphoric over the trip.

Should we welcome pain in our lives? Is the guilt we feel as we sin against God designed purposely by Him as pain? If understand the Bible correctly this is really the case; consequently the Decalogue embodies the great love of God for the whole of humanity. This question is inspired the column of Philippine Star columnist Cito Beltran as he talks about physical pain. (CTALK, October 31. 2012)  

We stipulate as in Part I of The Antichrist Unmasked: “All arguments will have support of scripture. References of Bible texts will be drawn from the English Standard Version ¹ unless stated otherwise. This will assure everyone that what we say here are not our opinions, much more conjectures or of human philosophy.”

Part II will add more of the extremely critical mistakes of interpretation like (D) idolatry, (E) immortality of the soul, (F) Judgment on Earth (canonization of saints; Inquisitions for Heresy), (G) original sin, (H) alterations on the Ten Commandments;  and please recall that in Part I we talked about three dangerous misinterpretations of scriptures, namely (A) Peter is the first Pope, head of the Church, (B) The Eucharist (Holy Sacrifice of the Mass), and (C) Acceptance of Evolution and rejection of Intelligent Design, which is really Creation.

Pope John Paul II

Instead of ending with Part II (this article), we will conclude our discussion with Part III. The large amount of important messages that still need to be addressed and communicated makes it necessary. In the last part we will talk about other serious mistakes of interpretation—(I) judgment, heaven and hell. To conclude we will explore their (J) claim of exclusive right to interpret scriptures, and (K) the encompassing Papacy claim of divine authority that they term as Papal supremacy, which is the foundation of all Catholic Doctrines.

D.   Idolatry

The root cause of this practice in the Catholic Church is the deletion of the second commandment. We quote Exodus 20: 3, 4 

  [Verse 1] And God spoke all these words: [Verse 2] “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. [Verse 3]] “You shall have no other gods before me. [verse 4]  “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and  fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Notes:

¹ The English Standard Version, like the classic King James Version, is a word for word literal translation of the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. The study of an alternative, a thought for thought translation like New International Version is recommended to complement study of ESV as we have done with this article. It makes the study more comprehensive and clarifies very difficult texts.

        Initially this was solely the belief of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the one that originated from Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). The other half of Christianity, the Western (Roman) Catholic Church, based in Rome, was of the belief that veneration of the Virgin Mary, other dead saints and relics was idolatry.  The latter capitulated after some time and adopted the former’s belief and made good practice of it. The reason put forward by the Catholic Church: The first commandment (verse 3) implies the second (verse 4). But why would they find necessary to delete it from the Decalogue that they write on their catechism or on all their dissemination platforms? Is there harm in including it with all the rest? Is not altering it in effect a superimposition of men’s interpretation on God’s Word? Why not let the faithful appreciate it by themselves, and be convicted and reminded over and over again of the warning that is very clear from the text? Is there a malevolent intention since the beginning to make the Catholics of all ages ignorant of this particular commandment? With their self-serving pronouncement that they are the only ones capable of understanding the scriptures, the Catholic Church aggravates the crime of concealment with another crime--deception. As well their revision of the 4^th and dividing 10^th commandment into two add to the illegitimacy of the action and to the sinister atmosphere of their intention. [Compare the RCC “Ten Commandments” with Exodus 20: 1-17]

      What the Catholic Church did is an in direct opposition to God’s warning in Deuteronomy 4: 1-2: [Moses warns the Jews] “Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” God’s concern for His children not to sin is clearly seen with this admonition. This is a manifestation of God’s love. The opposite is true with the Catholic Church. The latter leads their followers to sin. We cannot miss to whom the Bible’s prophecies about the antichrist or of the man of sin is pointing to.

E.     Immortality of the Soul

I call this the mother of all false beliefs for it gave birth to other false beliefs: (1) two times judgment (at death and at the end of all life), (2) a host of Marian doctrines, e.g., co-mediatrix (Mary as savior together with Christ),  (3) the accessory belief of purgatory and hell, (4) guidance and leading of the living by dead saints like the Virgin Mary, Peter, Paul, etc.; (5) miracles, e.g., healings or apparitions, beneficial to the living mediated by same dead saints. All these beliefs create a false sense of security, i.e., assurance of redemption, which in turn creates more opportunities to sin. It gives the believer the license to sin, i.e., boldness, as he or she thinks falsely of being already saved. The absence of the Holy Spirit, i.e., the power of God, in the lives of this type of believers—which actually negates their false sense of salvation-- causes them to succumb to practice sinning to which they are prone because of man’s innate sinful nature. Indeed, we can know the real power of God in our lives by this word of God:

You will recognize them by their fruits [read: righteous works]. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree [think a Christian with the Spirit] bears good fruit, but the diseased tree [think one without the Spirit] bears bad fruit. (Matthew 7: 16-17)

The belief of the immortality of the soul is ultimately traceable to the first lie that Satan promoted in the Garden of Eden. He tempts Eve:

          Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We  may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not certainly die," the serpent  said to the the woman. (Genesis 3:1-4, NIV)

God’s word is the first underline, which is the truth; the devil’s is the second, which is the first lie. Man’s immortality is not innate; it is God’s gift and conditional from the very beginning. Man is mortal, while all along only God is immortal (1 Timothy 1:17). ²  Man’s immortality, which he or she must seek, only comes at the resurrection of the true believers of God, His children. Let’s hear Paul explains:

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death is your victory?Where,O death is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15: 53-55)

With Christ’s resurrection He defeated death—and this He shares with God’s children—those who believe in Him.

Those who have Him have eternal life (immortality), which is their ultimate reward. When a man dies the body and soul perish. Let’s see two scriptures:

Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28, NIV) 
Destruction implies death of both the soul and body.

“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine;

the soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4, NKJV)

Do not be misled. The “body and soul or “soul” in the first and second texts, respectively, refer to the whole person. For in fact the soul and body are inseparable. The two scriptures are saying the whole person dies and buried whole too. You can check this through the example of the death and resurrection of both Lazarus and our Lord Jesus Christ. There was no mention of their souls separating from their bodies and going upward and ahead to heaven. It was their spirits (breath) that were returned to God. In fact Jesus stayed on earth for 40 days after He was raised from the tomb. ³ Look out at the end of this piece, in the addendum, for further explanation of the topic.

       F.    Judgment on Earth (Canonization of the Dead Saints and Inquisition for Heresy)

This practice of canonizing only a select few into sainthood is in opposition to what the Bible is teaching. It creates two classes of Christians, which is not consistent with what the Bible teaches. Consider three texts:

• “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1: 7, NASB)                                                                                                                      
• To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…(1 Corinthians 1: 2)  
• (Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1, ESV)

 It is clear from the three texts that all believers called by God are called saints. This puts the Filipino Christians in a fix; only two saints are in the roster. Will only two Filipinos be saved? What fate awaits the rest? Are they second-class Christians after a special one? The Scripture says otherwise:                                                                                                                                             

• (1)    There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)                                                                                                                    
• (2)   Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11)                                                                                             

Worse, this canonization practice is premature being done in a time not appointed by God; and it is faulty being done by unauthorized and fallible men, who should know better. (1 Corinthians 4:5; compare, Matt. 8:29)

Notes:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ² The best example is Jesus. He became a man so that He can die for our sins. I suggest that we all test doctrines with Him. For example: (1) how old—infant or adult; sprinkling or immersion—was he baptized?  (2) What day, Sabbath or Sunday, does he go to church for worship?          

³ This truth belies the claim that the thief on the cross who repented is already in paradise (heaven). The Bible text being bandied about: “[Jesus speaking to the thief] “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” This is an example of the practice of many to build a doctrine on just one text. Invariably if you do this you’ll end up with a false interpretation. In fact the Bible claims that it cannot be broken—meaning it does not contradict itself. The second comma is misplaced by the translators. It should be after today. It should read: “Truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise [think of the first resurrection of the righteous dead].” Comment: Christ has not ascended to heaven yet so that it is not true that the repented thief has gone to heaven on that day. The thief, who is now considered righteous, i.e., saint, will be taken to heaven together with the rest of the righteous dead at the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. (John 5:29)  

                                                                             

We note two things: (1) I emphasize Christ is all and in all. It simply means that in all true believers, i.e., the saints, only one Christ lives within. Therefore, each individual saint is in equal footing regarding faith and spirituality with every one—each one being anointed by only one Spirit. (2) The saints’ model is solely Christ, not any other saint, being joined (yoked) with Him. We should behold Christ that we all might aim the highest model to have the better chances of doing well in our practice of the Christian faith. Consider this text: [The ways of the Father is modeled by the Son] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise—(John 5:19).

Undeniably this canonization practice helps to promote idolatry and the attendant buying and selling of redemption, which is so blatant and rampant today. If we consider who anointed these dead saints, we see fallible men—Vatican leaders and officials--who wouldn’t be able to judge rightfully anyone’s heart as only God could.

There is a negative side to this “investigation, judgment and anointing“ being done by the Papacy in the canonization rites of the Church. This opposite side is exemplified by their putting a mark on members, e.g., the Protestant reformers like Luther, Wycliffe, John Hus, Knox, etc., ⁴ or even non-members who question their false doctrines and practices, as heretics. The Inquisition during the Dark Ages, the Inquisition in Spain and the Inquisition being still done by the Holy Office are well-known examples. Man is not authorized to be the inquisitor, judge and executioner for he is fallible. Only God has this authority. We consider a couple of texts:                                           

• “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce  you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7: 1-3)                                                                                                                     
•  Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in  passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge,  practice the very same things. (Romans 2: 1)                                                                                                

 In claiming this authority the Papacy is being true to their self-serving and arrogant pronouncement that they are God on earth—they the Vicarivs Filii Dei (Substitute of God). They fulfill Bible prophecy in Revelation 13:18:  “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” If we count the Roman numerals in Vicarivs Filii Dei it amounts to 666. ⁵ [My comment about number of a man: In Part III-A of this series, I pointed out that the Papacy is of “man’s wisdom”. In contrast the wisdom and understanding of true believers, i.e., God’s children, is of the Spirit of God.] Consider First Corinthians 2: 10, 12-13:   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                “…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,   that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught  by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^”

              
Notes: 
⁴ Martin Luther was a German monk, priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. (Wikipedia) He was Catholic as most of the reformers and just wanted some changes instituted and some errors in doctrines rectified. The Catholic Church called him a heretic and most wanted to try him but he eluded arrest being helped by a powerful benefactor.  As for John Wycliffe we have this excerpt from the website: www.prca.org/books/portraits/wycliffe.htm:  So hated was he by Rome that, although Rome was restrained in his lifetime from harming him, the church could not let his bones rest in peace. On October 8, 1427, on order of the Council of Constance (the same Council that burned John Hus at the stake), Wycliffe's body was exhumed, his bones burned, and the ashes strewn on the River Swift.

⁵ The Vatican or Papacy is actually being prophesied by the whole scripture in these names: New Testament: (1) man of lawlessness in Second Thessalonians chapter 2; (2) antichrist (1 John 2: 18); (3) sea beast (Revelation 13:1); (4) great harlot or prostitute (Revelation 17:1); and (5) beast with ten horns given power by the dragon (Satan) [Read 13:1-10].  Old Testament: [As the little horn—think of a very small state, this is the Vatican City, emerging from European states.] “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things…. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.  He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. (Daniel 7:8, 24-26)        

G.     Original Sin

The Catholic Church defines it as: “Original sin may be taken to mean: (1) the sin that Adam committed, which we inherited; (2) a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.” (Catholic Encyclopedia)

They use this text in Romans to support their first definition: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12, NIV). [Quick Comment: The text is a broad statement. It can also mean that Adam and Eve’s first sin was followed by all other sins. For to sin or not is an individual’s choice. To illustrate: A big group of people are about to enter the big gate of a big gymnasium. A couple entered first, then the rest followed. It does not say necessarily that the first couple caused the others to enter.]

For the second: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19, NIV)

Why have two possible definitions when the Bible prescribes a specific and functional one, which is that sin, is transgression of the Law. ⁶ “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4, NIV)” The two support texts given by the Catholic Church are too general and can mean anything (like what they have now—the two definitions). This will open the floodgate of men’s opinions resulting to confusion. In contrast, a clearer understanding of the topic will be better served by letting the Bible interpret itself. What comes out will be God’s point of view—the truth.

Let’s see a part of the Bible, which explicitly makes their suppositions false. Ezekiel 18:4, 20 say: ^“For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.” The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

• It is clear that sin is an individual act. Of course, it can be repeated or avoided by anyone; it is anything but inherited though. The opposite of sin is righteousness—keeping the LAW. Let’s apply it to the man Jesus. If the belief of original sin is correct, then Jesus has sinned for He has half of the Mary’s DNA. This contradicts the Scripture. (Hebrews 4:15; 2 Peter 3:14) 
• Also, the false belief in original sin is not consistent with their other belief that the Virgin Mary was born without sin. What’s special about the Virgin Mary that she is excluded from inheriting the original sin? What does she have or done that she trumps Jesus in this regard? And how are we to react with the corollary and bold claims that their word is final and persons who dissent are cursed as heretics? The two bold claims are more of acts of pride than one of knowledge. It’s worth mentioning this psalm:   

              Kill them [David’s enemies] not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power  and bring them down, O Lord, our shield! For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in  their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter, consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more and that they may know that God rules over  Jacob to the ends of the earth. (Psalm 59: 11-13, ESV)   

Notes:
⁶ Bro Soriano tells us of three definitions written in the Bible: (1) Sin is breaking the law; (2) not doing what you know is good; (3) anything done not of faith. The last two are too broad to be functional—meaning, one can’t be very sure if one’s act is a sin. As I have already told the first one is very specific. We will find it very beneficial in the context of the Ten Commandments, which is the LAW by which sinners will be judged. James confirms this truth: For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” (James 2: 11, 12) Is the law of liberty the same as the Ten Commandments? Verse 11 is the context for it mentions the “adultery” and “murder” commandments. Another Bible context: “Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (Revelation 11:19) What’s in the Ark of the Covenant? The two stone tablets where God has written the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue is the covenant. We are told to be faithful to these 10 laws. As well we are told not to add or subtract anything; and to teach to all people and do them. Read Matthew 5:17-19; 19: 16-17

... Also worth to mention is Satan’s proud boast:  

                You (Lucifer) said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set
                my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of  the north; I 
                will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself likethe Most High.’ (Isaiah 14: 13-14)                                                                                                           

Then we recall this couple of texts: (1) This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human [read: authority with human wisdom and not of God] being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. (Daniel 7: 8b, NIV) (2) He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. (Daniel 7:25)

H.       Alteration of the Ten Commandments

There are three critical changes that the RCC made. They are:

T           1.        They deleted the whole second commandment regarding idolatry. This was discussed above.  I add that it has become of second nature to Catholics to venerate carved images of dead saints. Venerate is their word in place of worship to distinguish or disguise the practice. The dictionary however has these synonyms for venerate: revere - respect - honor - honor - esteem – worship. Do you see a difference? What’s important to ask the Catholic faithful is: what are the many ways they show their veneration of the Virgin Mary? They in fact make images made partly of expensive ivories and partly wood and dressed them richly; perhaps also burn incense before them. Another question to ask is: would they still do these things if they have the second commandment back in the Decalogue? We study these two passages:

a.    All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know that they may be put to shame. … Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? …The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.

He cuts down cedars or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the tree     of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.  Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isaiah 44: 9, 10, 12-20) 

b.       What did God tell the unfaithful Jews who worshiped the golden calf in the wilderness? “And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf.” (Deuteronomy 9:16) Recall that the 2^nd command prohibit images of any kind, this is any created thing on the heavens, sea or earth. I wonder if the Catholic Church leadership—not believing Creation as I wrote in Part III-A—do not consider people, e.g., Virgin Mary or any dead saint, as created?                         

 2.         RCC transferred the solemnity of the Sabbath (7^th day of the week) to Sunday without the support of a single scripture. They claim that it’s the mark of their authority to do it. ⁷ As they reproach the Protestant denominations, who claim to follow only the Bible for rules of faith and morals, they also dare them to worship on Saturday too as the Seventh Day Adventist Movement does. Actually this unauthorized action of the RCC was prophesied by the book of Daniel.   

                                                                                                  

             [ Daniel 7:25]  He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints           of the  Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand  for a time, times, and half a time. 

              The change is to the letter of the prophecy: (1) what’s about to think to change? It is an unauthorized alteration; in fact no man is allowed to do it. Anyone can think to change God’s laws, but would it be wise? Is anyone wiser than God? Would God ever commit an error that any man would dare to correct? (2) What is about the times? The Sabbath is time. (3) What about the Law? The Law is the Ten Commandments, by which all sinners will be judged. [Have this in mind: Those who believe Christ and stand by this faith until the end will no longer be under the curse of the LAW. Indeed, the Scriptures teaches that the law is not for the righteous or saints; it is to make the unrighteous or ungodly, i.e., sinners, accountable to God. (1 Timothy 1:9; Romans 8: 1, 2] ⁸

             Let ‘s explain the other items of the text, which are also prophetic, like: (1) He shall speak words against the Most High—this can only be spoken by a counterfeit religion, who looks like the original but actually a disguised enemy (think of the antichrist). (2) Shall wear out the saints of the Most High—the true Christians are being persecuted by the counterfeit church (think of the persecutions and martyrs of the reformation in the Dark Ages; the Inquisition of the Middle ages and of Spain); (3) they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time—there was a period of 1260 years—538 to 1798 AD— of Papacy rule, considered hard and autocratic on the part of the saints. At the end of the said period, Napoleon ended the Pope’s rule by taking captive of the reigning Pope. The Pope died on his captivity. But the cessation of their universal power and authority was just temporary. The Papacy regained their claim of ‘universal’ power and authority later during the time of Mussolini and overtime increased to what it is today. We really see them now as having that universal ecclesiastical authority on earth as they pronounce doctrines, rules of faith and practice.  The Bible speaks very well of this condition in Revelation 17: 1-6:           

                  Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show  you the judgment of the great prostitute [i.e. adulterous Church] who is seated on many waters [think the church controls many nations], with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine [think of false doctrines  which we are discussing at the moment]  of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk [think the many who  are deceived by  these false doctrines]” And he carried me away  in the Spirit into a wilderness, and  I saw a woman [think Vatican] sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and  it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls [think of the very same colors of the cardinals’ garments at liturgical rites in ornately decorated churches], holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes [think of Protestant denominations, who separated from the mother church: RCC, aka Babylon the Great] and of earth's abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” ⁹

        This testimony of the book of Revelation is a very graphic depiction of a church system that deceives the whole world with false doctrines. The last two underlines speak of the martyrs of so many ages that the Roman Catholic Church has sent into the dark dungeons, gallows and fires-in-the-stake executions. ¹⁰

3.             The RCC altered the 10^th commandment by splitting it into two. This was necessitated by the deletion of the 2^nd commandment as we have told above, just to bring back the whole to ten. This has the result to cover-up the deletion (crime). This is deceitful and alarming to say the least. What kind of spirit would do this lawlessness?  

Notes:                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ⁷ Among others there are two important prophecies in the whole scripture: (1) [God’s people keep the Sabbath as a SIGN] “You are to speak     to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign [or mark) between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.”—(Exodus 31:13). (2) [Mark of the Beast in Revelation 16: 2; 19:20] The Roman Catholic Church claims that it is the mark of their authority that they can transfer the solemnity of Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.  Can anyone see the significance of the underline? Is the delineation made in the Scripture between the true believer, i.e., saints, and false, i.e., sinner, clear to anyone? The Sabbath as a sign means that the true saints are sealed by the Spirit of the truth of the Sabbath; in contrast, the false believers are sealed with the mark of the counterfeit Sabbath, which is Sunday. Sunday then comes from the teaching of the antichrist’s spirit, which is of the evil.

⁸ Bro Eli Soriano misapplies this teaching, that Jesus, being righteous, is not accountable to the law. He makes it to mean that Jesus can break the law, as He did in breaking the Sabbath (Read: Bro Eli accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath, this to satisfy or lend support to his opposite Sunday worship belief.) Two wrongs in this teaching: (1) Jesus did not break the Sabbath. If He did He would have committed a sin, which is not consistent with the Scriptures. More so, Jesus, now with blemish, would have not qualified to die as our once and for all sacrifice. What is true is that the Jews, particularly the Pharisees, accused Him of breaking the Sabbath when he healed the sick on this holy day. They were to use this in their ultimate plan to kill Jesus. The latter, like Bro Soriano, have a different understanding from what Jesus calls as work that is not to be done on Sabbath days. Of course, later, Jesus was judged innocent by Pilate. (2) A righteous man, i.e., who knows the truth, is still accountable to the law if he breaks it willfully. If he or she does practice sinning, especially breaking just one of the Ten Commandments, he or she would actually be a false believer—a Christian disciple just in name.  Nowadays we call this kind of believer commonly as a nominal Christian.

⁹ Prostitute or harlot is the biblical language for a church that worships false gods, i.e., idols, as they also worship by their lips God the Almighty. The Bible also speaks of the Roman Catholic Church as mother of harlots for she gave birth to the Protestant denominations, e.g., Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, etc. , which the scriptures prophesied to have fallen away from God as their mother church.

¹⁰ The book of Revelation is the testimony of the living Christ himself. In giving us this warning about the beast that is given power by the dragon aka Satan, shows His great love for His children. We have to praise greatly the Lord!

Next: The Antichrist Unmasked (3)