Catadores de la Palabra en Google+ THE FORGERY OF MATTHEW 27:52b AND 53
[Excerpts taken from:
Daniel L. McConaughy (Seventh Way Corps), Early Patristic Evidence For The
Forgery Of Matthew 27:52b And 53, GMIR (from Aramaic gmr – "to
perfect”, presenting the necessary documentation to get back the original,
God-inspired Word, by believing on 2 Tim. 2:15), The Way Magazine,
May-June 1982]
"And, behold,
the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the
earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came
out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and
appeared unto many” (Mt. 27:51-53).
The words in red were added by a latter editor.
Even W. C. Allen comments:
"This passage
probably comes from… Palestinian traditions… If Christ was the first-fruits of
them that slept [as 1 Cor. 15:22-23 declares *],
how could His resurrection have been preceded by that of these saints? Under
the influence of such idea, the editor adds the caution, "after His resurrection” [which
in its previous tampered form seems to have been "after their resurrection”]
(Allen, W.C. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary of the Gospel According to
Matthew, 3rd ed. Edimburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1912, p. 296).
Early writings that doesn’t quote
the forgery:
Tertullian (c. 160-c. 225 A.D.),
from Carthage in North Africa, does not include this questionable section in An
Answer to the Jews, 13:14, where one would expect him to use it for the
benefit of his argument if it were in his text:
"My People [says God to the
Hebrews] hath changed their glory: whence no profit shall accrue to them: the
heaven turned pale thereat" (and when did it turn pale? undoubtedly when
Christ suffered), "and shuddered," he says, "most
exceedingly;" and "the sun grew dark at mid-day:" (and when did
it "shudder exceedingly" except at the passion of Christ, when the
earth also trembled to her centre, and the veil of the temple was rent, and the
tombs were burst asunder? "because these two evils hath My People done;
Me," He says, "they have quite forsaken, the fount of water of life,
and they have digged for themselves worn-out tanks, which will not be able to
contain water." ” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene
Fathers, III, 170).
Also, in Tertullian’s On
Fasting, chapter 10, is a reference to Matthew 27:45-54 in which the
material in question is not mentioned:
"And so the "pressure"
must be maintained up to that hour in which the orb--involved from the sixth
hour in a general darkness--performed for its dead Lord a sorrowful act of
duty; so that we too may then return to enjoyment when the universe regained
its sunshine.” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers,
IV, 109).
Tertullian’s Apology,
chapter 21, concerning the crucifixion, also makes no note of the addition:
"In the same hour, too, the
light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian
blaze. Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no
doubt thought it an eclipse. You yourselves [the Jews] have the account of the
world-portent still in your archives. Then, when His body was taken down from
the cross and placed in a sepulchre, the Jews in their eager watchfulness
surrounded it with a large military guard” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene
Fathers, III).
Thus, we can conclude that
Tertullian did not have this forgery in his Biblical text, which was in use in
North Africa at the end of the second century.
Melito, The Philosopher (d. 190)
of Sardis (about 120 miles northwest of Ephesus), in The Discourse On Soul
And Body (his document II) does not quote the forgery either:
"And further
on:--The earth shook, and its foundations trembled; the sun fled away, and the
elements turned back, and the day was changed into night: for they could not
endure the sight of their Lord hanging on a tree. The whole creation was
amazed” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, VIII, 756).
Nor in Melito’s document IV. On Faith:
"He who was betrayed by Judas;
He who was apprehended by the priests; He who was condemned by Pilate; He who
was pierced in the flesh; He who was hanged on the tree; He who was buried in
the earth; He who rose from the place of the dead; He who appeared to the
apostles; He who was carried up to heaven; He who is seated at the right hand
of the Father”
Neither in Melito’s document V:
"Thou [Jew]
slewest thy Lord, and He was lifted up upon the tree; and an inscription was
fixed above, to show who He was that was slain. And who was this? (that which
we shall not say is too shocking to hear, and that which we shall say is very
dreadful: nevertheless hearken, and tremble.) It was He because of whom the
earth quaked. He… was Himself hanged up; He… was fixed with nails; He… was borne
up on a tree; the Lord of all was subjected to ignominy in a naked body… the
King of Israel slain with Israel's right hand! Alas for the new wickedness of
the new murder! The Lord was exposed with naked body: He was not deemed worthy
even of covering; and, in order that He might not be seen, the luminaries
turned away, and the day became darkened… hung naked on the tree. It was not the body of our Lord that
the luminaries covered with darkness when they set, but the eyes of men. For,
because the people quaked not, the earth quaked; because they were not
affrighted, the earth was affrighted. Thou smotest thy Lord: thou also hast
been smitten upon the earth. And thou indeed liest dead; but He is risen from
the place of the dead, and ascended to the height of heaven, having suffered
for the sake of those who suffer, and having been bound for the sake of Adam's
race which was imprisoned, and having been judged for the sake of him who was
condemned, and having been buried for the sake of him who was buried. And
further on:--This… was announced by means of the law and the prophets; who put
on a bodily form in the Virgin; who was hanged upon the tree; who was buried in
the earth; who rose from the place of the dead, and ascended to the height of
heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father” (In: Roberts and
Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, VIII, 757-758).
McConaughy includes the reference
to the Homily on the Passion, paragraph 98, of Melito (that he spells as
Melitio), that does not quote the forgery either.
Here we can see that this heresy
by the fourth quadrant of the second century had not found its way to Asia
minor from where Ignatius was also (see below).
Cyprian’s of Carthage (d. 258),
in On the Advantage of Patience, chapter 7:
"And when at the cross, of the
Lord the stars are confounded, the elements are disturbed, the earth quakes,
night shuts out the day, the sun, that he may not be compelled to look on the
crime of the Jews, withdraws both his rays and his eyes…” (In: Roberts
and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, V, 486).
Cyprian of Carthage mentions only
that when the tombs burst open and the bodies were exposed, that the "bodies
returning to the light were restored,” also making no mention of their entrance
and appearance in Jerusalem, in On the Glory of Martyrdom, chapter 29:
"The day fled
into the night; the light gave up all things into darkness; and, its mass being
inclined backwards and forwards, the whole earth was jarred, and burst open;
the dead were disturbed, the graves were laid bare, and as the tombs gaped open
into the rent of the earth, bodies returning to the light were restored; the
world trembled at the flowing of His blood; and the veil which hung from the
opening of the temple was rent, and all the temple uttered a groan.” (In:
Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, V, 587).
This corruption is also not
mentioned in Cyprian’s On Mount Sinai and Sion, chapter 8.
In The Recognitions of
Clement (Chap. XLI. -Rejection Of The True Prophet and Chap. XLII. -Call Of The
Gentiles), a Judean Christian work, written in the first quarter of the third
century, though resting with the Homilies upon an older document,
we find a clear omission of this added material:
"…though He
cured every sickness and infirmity among the people, wrought innumerable
miracles, and preached eternal life, was hurried by wicked men to the cross;
which deed was, however, by His power turned to good. In short, while He was
suffering, all the world suffered with Him; for the sun was darkened, the mountains
were torn asunder, the graves were opened, the veil of the temple was rent, as
in lamentation for the destruction impending over the place. And yet, though
all the world was moved, they themselves are not even now moved to the
consideration of these so great things…Meantime, when He had suffered, and
darkness had overwhelmed the world from the sixth even to the ninth hour, as
soon as the sun shone out again, and things were returned to their usual
course, even wicked men returned to themselves and their former practices,
their fear having abated…” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers,
VIII, 88).
Arnobius (d. 330), also of
Africa, in Against the Heathen, book 1, chapter 53, adds a little more to
Matthew 27:52 (he adds that "the sea was heaved up from its depths”), but he
does not mention the forgery of "many bodies of the
saints which slept arose”, etc.:
"An earthquake
shook the world, the sea was heaved up from its depths, the heaven was shrouded
in darkness, the sun's fiery blaze was checked, and his heat became moderate…”
(In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, VI, 428).
Lactantius (d. 320, a pupil of
Arnobius), who handles his Biblical texts accurately and frequently, makes no
mention of the dead rising in The Divine Institutes, book 4, chapter 19
- Of The Death, Burial, And Resurrectionn Of Jesus; And The Predictions Of
These Events (written 304-311):
"Therefore,
being lifted up and nailed to the cross, He cried to the Lord with a loud
voice, and of His own accord gave up His spirit. And at the same hour there was
an earthquake; and the veil of the temple, which separated the two tabernacles,
was rent into two parts; and the sun suddenly withdrew its light, and there was
darkness from the sixth even to the ninth hour. Of which event the prophet Amos
testifies: "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that
the sun shall go down at noon, and the daylight shall be darkened; and I will
turn your feasts into mourning, and your songs into lamentation." Also
Jeremiah: "She who brings forth is affrighted, and vexed in spirit; her
sun is gone down while it was yet mid-day; she hath been ashamed and
confounded; and the residue of them will I give to the sword in the sight of
their enemies." And the Sibyl: -"And the veil of the temple shall be
rent, and at midday there shall bedark vast night for three hours," When
these things were done, even by the heavenly prodigies, they were not able to
understand their crime…” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers,
VII, 122).
Finally, we come to Origin (c.
185-254), a prolific textual critic, exegete and theologian. In his Homily
on Exodus 7:7, referring to Matthew 27:51-54, he omits the forgery, as he
also does in Against Celsus. In Book II of Against Celsus, the
forgeries are omitted, even at the cost of not benefiting Origen’s statement.
From chapter 33 we read:
"
"But," continues Celsus, "what great deeds did Jesus perform…?
Did he put his enemies to shame, or bring to a ridiculous conclusion what was
designed against him?" Now to this question, although we are able to show
the striking and miraculous character of the events which befell Him, yet from
what other source can we furnish an answer than from the Gospel narratives,
which state that "there was an earthquake, and that the rocks were split
asunder, and the tombs opened, and the veil of the temple rent in twain from
top to bottom, and that darkness prevailed in the day-time, the sun failing to
give light?" But if Celsus believe the Gospel accounts when he thinks that
he can find in them matter of charge against the Christians… our answer to him
is: "Sir, either disbelieve all the Gospel narratives, and then no longer
imagine that you can found charges upon them; or… yield… your belief to their
statements…” (In: Roberts and
Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, IV, 444-445).
Here Origen does not mention the
addition to Matthew. Celsus wrote about 178 A.D. He writes the following, as
quoted in Against Celsus, chapter 55:
"The Jew
continues his address to those of his countrymen who are converts, as follows:
"Come now, let us grant to you that the prediction was actually uttered…
But the question is, whether any one who was really dead ever rose with a
veritable body. Or do you imagine the statements of others not only to be myths
[previously Celsus the Jew had quoted heathen myths: of Zamolxis in Scythia,
the slave of Pythagoras; of Pythagoras himself in Italy; of Rhampsinitus in
Egypt (the latter of whom, they say, played at dice with Demeter in Hades, and
returned to the upper world with a golden napkin which he had received from her
as a gift); and also of Orpheus among the Odrysians, and Protesilaus in
Thessaly, and Hercules at Cape Taenarus, and Theseus], but to have the
appearance of such, while you have discovered a becoming and credible
termination to your drama in the voice from the cross, when he breathed his
last, and in the earthquake and the darkness? That while alive he was of no
assistance to himself, but that when dead he rose again, and showed the marks
of his punishment, and how his hands were pierced with nails: who beheld this?
A half-frantic woman, as you state, and some other one, perhaps…” (In: Roberts
and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, IV, 453).
Either Celsus did not have this
forgery in his text or, if it was circulating at his time, it was considered to
be of doubtful value.
In Against Celsus chapter
59, we come back to Origen, who, in countering Celsus, again makes no reference
to Matthew 27:52b and 53:
"He [Celsus]
imagines also that both the earthquake and the darkness were an invention; but
regarding these, we have in the preceding pages, made our defence, according to
our ability, adducing the testimony of Phlegon, who relates that these events
took place at the time when our Saviour suffered…” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s
Ante-Nicene Fathers, IV, 455).
In the preceding chapters Origen
made no mention of the forgery either.
We conclude with an excerpt of
Origen from chapter 16:
"…ye acknowledge
that he [Jesus] openly suffered"… we do not view His sufferings as having
been merely in appearance, in order that His resurrection also may not be a
false, but a real event. For he who really died, actually arose, if he did
arise; whereas he who appeared only to have died, did not in reality arise. But
since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a subject of mockery to unbelievers,
we shall quote the words of Plato, that Erus the son of Armenius rose from the
funeral pile twelve days after he had been laid upon it, and gave an account of
what he had seen in Hades; and as we are replying to unbelievers, it will not
be altogether useless to refer in this place to what Heraclides relates
respecting the woman who was deprived of life. And many persons are recorded to
have risen from their tombs, not only on the day of their burial, but also on
the day following. What wonder is it, then, if in the case of One who performed
many marvellous things, both beyond the power of man and with such fulness of
evidence, that he who could not deny their performance, endeavoured to
calumniate them by comparing them to acts of sorcery, should have manifested
also in His death some greater display of divine power, so that His soul, if it
pleased, might leave its body, and having performed certain offices out of it,
might return again at pleasure? And such a declaration is Jesus said to have
made in the Gospel of John, when He said: "No man taketh My life from Me,
but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to
take it again." ” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers,
IV, 438).
Obviously, if Matthew 27:52b and
53 was considered to be of high value, Origen would have used it. Though it was
suitable for Origen to comment on it in his commentaries (for he was a textual
critic and was aware of the different readings), it was unsuitable for use in a
polemical work where evidence had to be logical and solid.
The evidence that, thus far, is
found in Tertullian, Melito, Cyprian, The Recognitions, Arnobius,
Lactantius, and Origen is overwhelming. Matthew 27:52b and 53 is a forgery and,
although the entire mass of new Testament manuscripts have it, the early church
fathers do not. The first areas where error arose were Rome and Alexandria,
centers of paganism and philosophy, respectively. As time went on, the corrupt
texts of those leading cities held more and more authority, so that in time,
the error moved out into outlying areas. The first addition was probably "and many bodies of the saints that had fallen asleep arose,”
as is witnessed to by some early writers. Since this chronologically was
incorrect, they added "and came out of the tombs after
his resurrection…”. Forgers added these expressions to make it sound
like Jesus was the first one up. The Greek word for "Resurrection”, used here "
egersiV ”, is also interesting because
it is not used anywhere else in the New Testament or in other early Christian
literature, thus indicating a later use of the word. The earliest Christian
writer who seem to be using this word [if that was not also a later forgery on
his writings] is Irenaeus, in which we found also the earliest witness to this
forgery.
---------
Early writings quoting the
forgery:
"For neither did
it happen at the death of any man among the ancients that the sun set at
mid-day, nor was the veil of the temple rent, nor did the earth quake, nor were
the rocks rent, nor did the dead rise up, nor was any one of these men [of old]
raised up on the third day, nor received into heaven, nor at his assumption
were the heavens opened, nor did the nations believe in the name of any other;
nor did any from among them, having been dead and rising again, lay open the
new covenant of liberty” (Irenaeus’ Against Heresies, Book 4, 34:4, In:
Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, I, 512).
This section has much
non-Biblical material (the source of our forgery) as well, but here it is clear
to see that this tradition was in circulation in Gaul before 200 A. D. [if
Irenaeus really wrote it]. Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200 A.D.) was the first bishop
of Lyons in what is now France.
"How shall we be
able to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves in the
Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly
waited for, being come, raised them from the dead” (Ignatius to the
Magnesians 9:2, In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, I,
62) [to see the forgeries over the works of Ignatius go to: http://fdocc3.ucoz.com/index/0-6].
Clement of Alexandria (d. 215),
in the Stromata 47:1 [if he wrote it], does include this spurious
section:
"And it is well
said by the Shepherd, "They went down with them therefore into the water,
and again ascended. But these descended alive, and again ascended alive. But
those who had fallen asleep, descended dead, but ascended alive." Further
the Gospel says, "that many bodies of those that slept arose,"
--plainly as having been translated to aa better state. There took place, then,
a universal movement and translation through the economy of the Saviour.” (In:
Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, II, 491).
Clement’s background was Gnostic
and the reference to "the Shepherd” (of Hermas – a book of "visions” written in
Rome about 140, also believed by Irenaeus to be "scripture”) shows that he was
significantly influenced by non-Biblical material. In addition, Clement, just a
few lines before this section says, "God is no respecter of persons,” agreeing
with Peter’s great revelation in Acts 10:34. Now, if God is no respecter of
persons, why did Clement say, "many of the bodies of those that slept arose”
instead of "all the bodies”? If God had actually raised the He would have had
to raise all of them so as not to be a "respecter of persons.” Matthew 27:52b has "many bodies of the
saints” also. Here is another contradiction the forgery produced, as Clement of
Alexandria did not perceive this one even though the contradiction lies in the
same paragraph. When a man turns from the true Word of God, his logic is
forever wrong.
Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170-c.
236) in Against the Heresy of One Noetus, chapter 18, does include the
dead being raised, although their appearance and entrance into Jerusalem are
not mentioned, as also do Irenaeus and Alexander. Obviously, the verse
gradually acquired new accretions with the passing of time, as we shall see:
"For His sake
the sun is darkened, the day has no light, the rocks are shattered, the veil is
rent, the foundations of the earth are shaken, the graves are opened, and the
dead are raised, and the rulers are ashamed when they see the Director of the
universe upon the cross closing His eye and giving up the ghost. Creation saw,
and was troubled; and, unable to bear the sight of His exceeding glory, shrouded
itself in darkness.” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers,
V, 230).
In his Chronographia, a
history of the world up to 217 A. D., Julius Africanus, on reporting concerning
the circumstances of the passion and resurrection, makes mention of bodies
being raised but not entering into Jerusalem:
"But what has an
eclipse in common with an earthquake, the rending rocks, and the resurrection
of the dead, and so great a perturbation throughout the universe?” (In: Roberts
and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, VI, 136-37).
We can see that the African text
is beginning to give in to the onslaught of the corrupt Alexandrian and Roman
texts.
Alexander, bishop of Alexandria
(d. 321), in his Epistle on the Arian Heresy (V.-On The Soul And Body And
The Passion Of The Lord, 6.), does include this section, as did his
predecessor, Clement:
"For when our
Lord was suffering upon the cross, the tombs were burst open, the infernal
region was disclosed, the souls leapt forth, the dead returned to life, and
many of them were seen in Jerusalem, whilst the mystery of the cross was being
perfected” (In: Roberts and Donaldson’s Ante-Nicene Fathers, VI, 301).
This heresy had been circulating
in Alexandria for at least a century by the time Alexander wrote. Here we can
also observe the second accretion to the forgery, "many of them were seen in
Jerusalem.”
The Alexandrian school of
interpretation promoted the allegorical method which attempted to read what was
not written in the Bible, which was only possible for an elite intellectual few
("the initiated in the mysteries”).
In the commentaries on Matthew
and Romans of Origen we have the forged material under question but this can be
an additional tampering done either by Jerome or by Rufinus, as seen elsewhere
(http://fdocc3.ucoz.com/index/0-12).
All references: Roberts,
Alexander, and Donaldson, James, eds. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979.
To see the importance of the
Biblical teaching of the dead being dead until the coming of Jesus Christ: http://fdocc.ucoz.com/index/0-80
To see another forgery done to
the book of Matthew: http://fdocc3.ucoz.com/index/0-7
[* Note: "For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at
his coming” (1Cor 15:22-23). According to the Bible, dead people
still dead until the return of Jesus Christ. Dead people is not alive in some
other condition or place, they all are "sleeping”. Understanding this truth is
vital to discern the original lie of Satan, as presented in massive "religious”
events of deception, as it is in the beatification of "saints” performed by the
catholic church (in reality every born again believer is a saint according to
God, because of receiving holy spirit from God. To became a saint does not
depend on a human organization, is God’s business of grace. A saint is not a
"soul in heaven which passed away to a better life”, a born again saint can be
at your side right now even against the general indifference, thanks God that
since the day of Pentecost born again saints have been on earth, preventing,
really restraining the coming of the antichrist, because born again saints have
Christ in them, the hope of glory. The mainstream of the born again saints have
been present outside the instituted and organized philosophical and pagan
"religious institutions”, disguised as "Christian”). Let’s read part of a
recent report of such heathen catholic activity opposed to God’s Word (in bold
letters the catholic abominations),
"beatification may be granted by the Roman Catholic Church
to a person who is seen as having been of overwhelming virtue, whose goodness
has been sustained after death and who is deemed to have interceded
from beyond the grave in a miracle, usually a medical cure that bears no
scientific explanation. Once beatified, the "blessed” and relics associated
with them may be venerated. The pope John Paul II was presented with a
piece of cloth stained with Mother Teresa [of Calcutta’s] blood that is to be displayed in a Roman church for
veneration. Beatification usually leads to the catholic sainthood once
there is evidence of a second miracle… [that]
pope has beatified more than 1,300 individuals in his 25-year tenure”,
in other excerpt of the same source we can read, "the
celebration included a lunch for 2,000 of Rome’s homeless, but some of the
participants were quoted as saying that the baked pasta and chicken was not in
quite the same league as a meal of shrimp mousse, duck and truffles that the
pope offered cardinals and other [catholic]
dignitaries” (information taken from: Alan Cowell, NY Times,
Monday, October 20, 2003, "Fading pope beautifies ‘brave woman’, Mother Teresa
declared step closer to sainthood”).
A previous report reads,
"a miracle is required for beatification. The [roman
catholic] church accepted the case of Monica Besra,
a Hindu woman [that has been living for a long time] in a Missionaries of Charity hospice [that also is
a Mother Theresa’s foundation] who [Besra, apparently]
recovered from a large malignant tumor in her
abdomen or tubercular meningitis, depending of the diagnosing doctor. The "miracle” was credited to
Mother Teresa’s intercession [the catholic church and followers
believe that dead people still alive in heaven after their death, if they were
good on earth, according to their own imaginary standards based only on deeds,
not on grace, not on right believing (as in God’s standards). Even that
weakened pope said in that "ceremony”, according to the previous report: "her [Teresa’s] greatness
lies in her ability to give without counting the cost, to give ‘until it hurts’
”. Catholics believe erroneously that dead good people still alive in
heaven, and that they can "help” people that continues alive on earth. So,
according to the "catholic logic”, what need of Christ’s return under that
faked scenario of the "catholic intercession of dead people that is not really
dead but that still alive on heaven”? Or what need of Christ’s only advocacy as
our only one mediator and our only Way to God? With the catholic wrongful idea
of "sainthood”, they allow spiritualism and evil spirits to impersonate their
"beloved departed ones”]”, the same report also says, "doctors
who treated Besra [the "probe” of a "miracle, supposedly performed by a
dead person that is not really dead, but alive and "making points”, to became
"a saint” according to the catholic rule”, but who can track Besra as to see
who really is her?, whatever Besra’s fate, her damage is already done to still playing
in the favorite game of Satan, deceiving people],
however, refute the miraculous claim, saying medicine is what [apparently]
healed her [so Besra’s case is a lie within a
lie]. A second "confirmed”
miracle is necessary for sainthood” (source: AP,
Saturday, October 18, 2003).
The catholic "beatification” and
"sainthood” is a promotion of the old lie of the serpent "you will not surely
die, you will be as gods”. However, God’s Word is and will be still the truth
(even after that catholic church extinction): "you
will surely die, other than in Christ there is no hope”, "Christ is our only advocate our only mediator, our only
hope, who is the only human alive in heaven”, "if
you confess that Jesus is your Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved, you will became a child of God, and you will certainly be
rescued from the wrath to come”. The catholic practices are idolatry
denounced by God as abomination, no matter how sincere or how convincing it may
appear to our five senses, "oh, look a holy dying pope”, "oh, she was an old
good nun that now is in heaven”, and "look, millions of people are here!”, and
"look at the glory of the Vatican!”, but all of that is wiped out in God’s
eyes. The only hope for any born again Christian is the second coming of Jesus
Christ, that’s when, and only when real Christians are going to be raised from
the dead, and after them, similarly, the real Christians alive at that moment
are going to be changed with an immortal spiritual body. After that, being a
period of time in between, all the rest of humanity is going to raise again,
some to eternal life, and some to experience the second death. Again and again,
"sincerity is not guarantee for truth” and "good deeds will never replace the truth”. Let’s
continue reading and studying the Word of God, the Bible, every day of our
lives, ‘till he comes.]
Related to the expression of the
pope to give "until it hurts”, a most recent report declares that,
"Many traditional "Christian theologians”, particularly
Catholics, dismiss the message that faith [the faith of Jesus Christ in us]
will bring wealth and success”… The Catholic Secretariat in Lagos [Iheanyi Enwerem, wrongfully have
said], "In life, there are certain things we can’t have because God doesn’t
want it”… As a "Response to rigidity”, there are more and more born again
Christians that speak in tongues in Africa ["Christianity on uprising in Africa” (second of two parts), Oct. 25, 2003, by Somini
Sengupta and Larry Rohter, New York Times].
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