Month: September 2017

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 8

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 8 – Other Characteristics of the Little Horn of Daniel 7 – He Blasphemes God

Before I resume my effort to unravel the role that the counterfeit Virgin Mary will play in deceiving the whole world, there are a few other characteristics about the “beast” or “little horn” that I would like to address. The Bible says that he would not only “make war with the saints” and “reign for 1260 years,” but that he would also “blaspheme God,” “think to change times and laws,” and influence “all that dwell upon the earth” to “worship him.” (See Dan. 7: 25; Rev. 13: 6- 8).

The Bible tells us that the papal power “opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name.” (Rev. 13: 6). The title of pope is actually derived from the word papa, which means father. In fact, many nations of the world now recognize the pope as the “Holy Father.” He is also known as “Pontifex Maximus,” which means “the Greatest Bridge- Builder,” signifying that he claims the position of Christ the true “ladder” (or “bridge”) who would span the gulf sin had made between Heaven and earth. (See Gen. 28: 12 and John 1: 51). He also is known by the name of “Vicarius Filii Dei” (the vicar, or official ruling representative, of the Son of God on earth). Thus, he claims to hold the title, position, and authority of God the Father (il papa), God the Son (Pontifex Maximus), and God the Holy Spirit (Vicarius Filii Dei [These texts show the Holy Spirit is Christ’s true vicar on earth: John 14: 16- 18, 26; 15: 26; 16: 7, 8, 13, 14]) Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown [the tiara], as king of heaven, and earth, and the lower regions.

Ecclesiastical literature is replete with exhibits of the arrogant, blasphemous claims of the papacy. Typical examples are the following extracts from a large encyclopedic work written by a Roman Catholic divine of the 18th century, plus other examples of more recent times:

“The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God….

“The Pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power, to whom has been intrusted by the omnipotent God direction not only of the earthly but also of the heavenly kingdom….

“The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws….

“The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth with most ample power of binding and loosing sheep.” (Translated from Lucius Ferraris, “Papa II,” Prompta Bibliotheca, Vol. VI, pp. 25- 29).

“The Pope is infallible….[ He] cannot err when, as Shepherd and Teacher of all Christians , he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals, to be held by the whole church.” (A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, p. 16).

“People who see him— and countless millions have— do not forget him. His appearances generate electricity unmatched by anyone else on earth . That explains, for instance, why in rural Kenyan villages thousands of children, plus many cats and roosters and even hotels, are named John Paul. Charisma is the only conceivable reason why a CD featuring him saying the rosary— in Latin— against a backdrop of Bach and Handel is currently ascending the charts in Europe. It accounts for the dazed reaction of a young woman who found herself, along with thousands around her in a sports stadium in Denver, cheering and applauding him: ‘I don’t react that way to rock groups. What is it that he has? ’

“… When he talks, it is not only to his flock of over a billion ; he expects the world to listen. And the flock and the world listen .

“… John Paul can also impose his will, and there was no more formidable and controversial example of this than the Vatican’s intervention at the U. N. ’s International Conference on population and development in Cairo in September. There the Pope’s emissaries defeated a U. S.- backed proposition John Paul feared would encourage abortions worldwide. The consequences may be global and— critics predict— catastrophic, particularly in the teeming Third World, where John Paul is so admired.

“…. John Paul’s impact on the world has already been enormous, ranging from the global to the personal. He has covered more than half a million miles of travels…. He is an army of one….‘ He’ll go down in history as the greatest of modern Popes, ’ says the Rev. Billy Graham. ‘He’s been the strong conscience of the whole Christian world. ’ ” (Time, Dec. 26, 1994/ Jan. 2, 1995, pp. 53, 54). Didn’t the prophecy of Revelation 13: 3 say that “all the world wondered [admired or marveled] after the beast”! And this includes the youth, for the Stockton Record, as well as many other major newspapers, featured the following article from the Associated Press: “1 million youths rally to pope’s call . The huge crowd, gathered for a Mass at Poland’s holiest shrine during the sixth annual Vatican- sponsored World Youth Day , interrupted John Paul for nearly 10 minutes with applause, singing, and chants of ‘Long live the pope! ’ ”

Another interesting note is that John Paul is not the only one interested in World Youth Day. “The ‘Mary of the New Advent’ to whom the pope referred in Denver is particularly associated with World Youth Day, which John Paul II has been promoting for some years. She was displayed at the all- night prayer vigil of pilgrims who walked to Cherry Creek Park (near Denver) to meet the pope, who came in a helicopter. A journalist who was present writes: ‘It is well past 9 P. M. when the icon, the official one of World Youth Day, is presented. This part of the vigil is referred to as ‘Veneration [worship] of the image of the Virgin Mary: Our Lady of the New Advent. ’

“…. The next day, Sunday, the pope returned in his helicopter. The pilgrims… greeted him again with renewed excitement. There he celebrated Mass and 3000 priests took several hours to minister the wafers to the crowd of 375,000. Addressing Mary in heaven personally at times during his talk, the pope began: ‘With my heart full of praise for the Queen of Heaven , the sign of hope and source of comfort on our pilgrimage of faith to the heavenly Jerusalem, I greet all of you who are present at this solemn liturgy…. This liturgy presents you, Mary, as the woman clothed with the sun … O woman clothed with the sun… the youth of the world greet you with so much love…. In Mary the final victory of life over death is already a reality. ’” (A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 442, 443). Obviously, the pope of Rome is a major player in selling the counterfeit Mary to the world, youth included.

Daniel the Prophet, in further describing the characteristics of the “little horn,” which he saw in vision coming out of Rome, said that “in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” (Dan. 7: 8). And Jesus Christ further warned us through His servant John of the following: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six [666].” (Rev. 13: 18). You have no idea how amazed I was the day I learned that if you take the pope’s title, “Vicarius Filii Dei,” which is on his miter, and assign the appropriate value for each Roman numeral (such as V= 5, I= 1( 6 times), C= 100, U= 5, L= 50, and D= 500), the total comes to 666! That means that every pope that has ever lived and every pope that is to come has the number 666— the title of the Antichrist— and the prophecy is then applicable to the present pope!

Not only is the pope of Rome revered as the great moral leader of the world, he is also, according to Roman Catholic belief , a direct successor of St. Peter, whom Rome refers to as the first pope— the rock on whom Jesus Christ built His church. Friends, this is an untrue conclusion, since Peter was never referred to as the “the rock” by Jesus. The Scripture the Catholic Church uses to support its claim that Peter was the “rock” is Matthew 16: 18: “And I [Jesus] say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” But, if you take this verse, using the original Greek, it actually says: Thou art Peter [Christ called the Apostle by his first name, which in the Greek is Petros— a (piece of) rock , (Strong’s Concordance)], and upon this rock [Christ now refers to Himself as the Rock, which in the Greek is an entirely different word with a different gender— namely, Petra, a (mass of) rock, (Strong’s Concordance)]. In effect, this is like a mountain compared to a pebble, as Divinity rightfully is when compared to humanity. In fact, just a few verses later, when Christ said “that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day,” Peter began “to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Peter was actually saying, “No way, Lord, You will not die.” Friends, without the death of Christ as the Lamb of God, sacrificed for the sins of the world, salvation would be impossible. Peter didn’t understand Christ’s true mission at this time and, therefore, responded emotionally. To this response, Christ “said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense to me.” (Verses 21- 23). Remember that Matthew 16: 18 said that the “gates of hell shall not prevail” against the “Rock.” Well, Satan had just prevailed against Peter, so he could not be the Rock, but the devil certainly will never prevail against the “Rock of Ages”— Jesus Christ!

The Bible says in I Corinthians 10: 4 that “that Rock was Christ.” In fact, Peter himself, when referring to Jesus in the Bible, called Him the “chief corner stone … the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner .” (I Pet. 2: 6, 7). “In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone and laid it Himself. He called it ‘a sure foundation. ’ The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a ‘tried stone. ’ Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam’s guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.” (The Desire of Ages, pp. 598, 599). Christ is the true foundation, the “chief corner stone,” on which the Christian church is built; and by His dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit, we become living stones in His spiritual temple, for we are “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Eph. 2: 20- 22). But since the Roman Catholic Church uses the argument that Peter was the rock, the first pope, it concludes that its popes, as descendants of Peter, along with its bishops and priests, have the power to forgive sins, which the Bible declares is blasphemy. (See Matt. 9: 1- 6).

I remember kneeling, many times, in a confessional and telling my sins to a priest who sat behind a dark screen. Little did I know at that time, that the confessional had its origin with the pagan priests of Babylon (to be addressed later). After hearing my confession, the priest would give me a number of prayers to recite for my penance. On one occasion, I was given a whole rosary [a string of beads of pagan origin] to say for my penance, which included fifty three Hail Marys: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions , as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matt. 6: 7). Since I was young and ignorant of the Scriptures, I did not know that the Bible gives the following instructions in regard to the confession of sin: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” And “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 2: 1, 2; 1: 9).

Go to Chapter 9 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 7

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 7 – The Deadly Wound Was Healed

Even though the Roman Church flourished during the 1260- year period, Revelation 13: 3 tells us that the beast would indeed suffer a deadly wound, and this prophecy was exactly fulfilled in the year of 1798. “In 1798, 1260 years later [from 538], the pope was taken into captivity and the Catholic Church was dealt a mortal blow. It happened just as Revelation had foretold, with remarkable accuracy…. During the French Revolution and under orders from the revolutionary French government, General Alexander Berthier [one of Napoleon’s generals] issued a proclamation in Rome on February 15, 1798, informing Pope Pius VI and the people of Rome that the pope should no longer ‘exercise any function. ’ ” (God Cares, p. 328). “Napoleon had dethroned the Pope, because the Pontiffs found themselves alone, the sole fountains of order, peace, law, and safety” in Western Europe. (The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Christ, p. 27). In 1798, Napoleon intended that there would never be another pope. “The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer prince or Pontiff, its bishop was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor would be allowed in his place.” (Rome: From the Fall of the Western Empire, p. 440). In other words, a deadly wound was inflicted upon the beast power, just as the Bible prophesied: “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death.” (Rev. 13: 3a). But, that was not the end of the story, for the second part of the Scripture prophesied: “and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast .” (Rev. 13: 3b).

But even during the 1260- year papal oppression, when the “woman,” God’s true church, suffered tremendous persecution, God “nourished,” or cared for His children. “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” (Rev. 12: 14- 16).

In Revelation 12: 14, God preserves the woman from being swept away by providing her with “two wings of a great eagle”— an appropriate symbol of God’s paternal care for His children. When the Israelites escaped from Egyptian slavery, Moses said that God had carried them on “eagles’ wings.” (Exodus 19: 4). In Psalm 91: 4, we read: “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust.” And in Deuteronomy 32: 9- 12: “The Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.” Many Christians suffered under the “flood” of persecution that was cast out of the serpent’s mouth, but the “earth helped the woman,” by providing naturally protected and uninhabited areas for her safety. Many Christians fled to such places as the mountain valleys of the Alps, to the mountains themselves, and to the sparsely populated British colonies in North America. And, besides, this raises an important question: Why would Mary, during the 1260 years, flee into the wilderness from the papacy, when the Roman Catholic Church is the one who had set her up as one to be worshipped? Why would they want to destroy her— a pillar in their system of worship? How, then, could the Virgin Mary be the “woman,” who had fled for 1260 years into the wilderness for her safety? Furthermore, when did the literal Mary have any experience of being persecuted and driven into the wilderness by the dragon in the period of her life after the ascension of her Son Jesus? The Virgin Mary simply does not fit!

On the other hand, Satan is relentless in his fury to destroy God’s true church, and will not cease his attempt to annihilate every true Christian. Frantic with frustration for failing to destroy the true church during the 1260 years, Satan, in these end times, directs his bitter attacks against the “remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12: 17). Friends, Satan will use any means he can to accomplish his goal to deceive the very elect— be it the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, or even the spiritualistic appearances of the “Virgin Mary .”

“The Catholic Church is avowedly Roman. Its official name today, as it has been throughout most of its long history, is The Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome.” (God Cares, Vol. 2, p. 327). Again, Revelation 13: 2 says that “the dragon [in this case, the Roman Empire through whom Satan was working] gave him [the Roman Catholic Church with the pope at the head] his power, and his seat [or throne], and great authority.”

“A throne is a symbol of authority. But because this passage already contains the words ‘power’ and ‘authority, ’ we expect ‘throne’ here to convey a more literal meaning. Basically, a throne is a place where an important person sits. Other words for throne are the Greek cathedra , and the Latin sedes, which shows up in the English as see. In the Catholic Church, the building in which a bishop’s throne (or cathedra) is located is called his ‘cathedral .’ The city in which his throne is located is called his ‘see. ’ The ultimate see in Catholicism is the Holy See, the city where the Pope’s throne is located. This city is Rome.” (Ibid.). “Specifically, since the Treaty of the Lateran with Italy, the Holy See has been Vatican City, a 108.7- acre tract on Vatican Hill, lying wholly within the city of Rome.” (Ibid., footnote). Furthermore, Revelation 17: 9 reveals another identifying feature of the great “whore” of Bible prophecy: “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains , on which the woman sitteth.” One Catholic resource acknowledges the following: “It is within the city of Rome, called The City on Seven Hills , that the entire area of Vatican State Proper is now confined.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, p. 529). It should also be noted that the name Vatican comes from the Latin words Vatis, which means diviner, and can, which means serpent . The name Vatican, therefore, is literally interpreted— The Divining Serpent . In fact, there are serpent door handles on the doors of the new St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, and a large papal crest in the Vatican museum features a dragon! Serpent crosiers were commonly carried by bishops and high Catholic Church officials during the Middle Ages.

The Book of Isaiah tells us that Satan’s ultimate desire and purpose in life is to usurp God’s throne: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High .” (Isaiah 14: 12- 14). I am so grateful for the next verse that reveals the fate of the devil: “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [the grave], to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14: 15). Do you not think that Satan could be working through the Pope of Rome, who claims to have the power of God on earth? Paul knew that this power would arise, and wrote about it in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come [the second coming of Christ], except there come a falling away first [an apostasy from within God’s church— from the Greek word, apostasia, in this case an outgrowth known as the church of Rome], and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” (II Thessalonians 2: 3- 5). If people would only study their Bibles the way it instructs them to, by taking “precept upon precept; line upon line… here a little and there a little” (Isa. 28: 10), in other words, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, they would find the truth through the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

According to the prophecy of Revelation 13: 3, the deadly blow would not kill, but only wound, the Catholic Church, and surely one has to acknowledge that his “deadly wound” is healing. History tells us that in 1801, Napoleon signed a “concordat,” or church- state treaty, with a new Pope. “On the other hand, in 1870 the newly emerging nation of Italy deepened the church’s woes for a while by taking away the Papal States, a considerable portion of the Italian peninsula, which the church had owned for centuries…. But in 1929 Mussolini signed a concordat granting the pope full authority over the State of Vatican City, 108.7 acres in Rome which includes St. Peter’s Cathedral.” (God Cares, p. 346). The Vatican had put Mussolini into power, and now Mussolini reciprocated by making the Roman Catholic Church the sole religion in all Italy and giving her 750 million lire in cash and one billion in state bonds.

Ever since 1929 the wound has been healing rapidly. Protestant America, which was built upon the separation of church and state and which had once loudly protested [the word Protestant originated from the people’s “protest” against Catholicism] the establishment of the papal power in this country, now welcomes her with open arms. Times have certainly changed, and even America is “wondering” after the beast! In 1951 President Harry Truman asked the Senate to approve his nomination of an ambassador to the State of Vatican City, and America was plunged into a vortex of agony and protest. Truman finally withdrew his request after “hardly a Protestant church in the country failed to express its opposition formally and often acrimoniously.” (Church State and Freedom, p. 302). More recently, in 1984, President Ronald Reagan’s nomination of William A. Wilson as ambassador to Vatican City was quickly approved by the Senate, 81- 13. At this critical time, only a few voices were heard worrying about church and state. The next event was unbelievable because of the swiftness with which it happened and the players involved. This event was the demise of Communism in Poland through the conspiring efforts of President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, as featured on the front cover of Time on Feb. 24, 1992. [Friends, is this a fulfillment of the prophecy that the “whore” would commit “fornication” with the “the kings of the earth”? (See Rev. 17: 1, 2) The Vatican is a religio- political system whose aim is to control the world!] Then, in a Special Double Issue of Time for December 26, 1994/ January 2, 1995, John Paul II was featured once again on its cover as “The Man of the Year.” Unbelievable! How I wondered what the world’s reaction would have been had the number one news weekly printed instead the pope’s true alias as given by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians—“ The Man of Sin.” (II Thess. 2: 3). This issue of Time was released only two and a half months after the October 9, 1995, issue of U. S. News which also featured Pope John Paul II on its cover. The caption on their cover read: “Honor thy father. ” Here was another blasphemous statement published by another major U. S. periodical in the United States. Has Protestant America forgotten that the Bible clearly says: “Call no man your [spiritual] father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven .” (Matt. 23: 9). Did you know that according to the doctrines of the Catholic Church your spiritual “Father” is the pope of Rome and your spiritual “Mother” is the Virgin Mary? A Catholic Catechism declares: “The Pope is the spiritual Father of all Christians ” and “The Blessed Virgin Mary is our Mother also because, being the brethren of Jesus, we are the children of Mary.” (A Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, pp. 15, 27). I find it quite interesting that the American edition of this book was originally published in 1973 by Marian Publications !

Faithful Protestants, where are the Reformers today? Not only does the Protestant Reformation seem to be a thing of the past, but the churches of the world are uniting on common points of faith , and Mary could be the one to further “heal” the wound of many years . After all, “Pope John Paul II prays every day to the virgin, whom he credits with saving his life.” (Life, Dec., 1996, p. 48). “At a certain moment on May 13, 1981, during an open- air papal audience in St. Peter’s Square, in the presence of some 75,000 people and before the eyes of an estimated 11 million television viewers, Pope John Paul spied a little girl wearing a small picture of Christ’s Mother of Our Lady of Fatima . Just as he bent from his slow moving “popemobile” in a spontaneous gesture to the child, hired assassin Mehmet Ali Agca squeezed off two bullets, aimed precisely where his head had been. As two pilgrims fell wounded to the ground, two more shots rang out, and this time John Paul’s blood stained his white papal cassock.” (The Keys of This Blood, p. 46). “On May 13, 1992 [and again in 1994], John Paul II went to Fatima where he thanked Our Lady of Fatima for sparing his life in the 1981 assassination attempt.” (The Thunder of Justice, p. 151). “Nor is anyone more devoted to Mary. John Paul II, who has ‘dedicated himself and his Pontificate to Our Lady’ bears the M for Mary in his coat of arms; his personal motto, embroidered on the inside of his robes in Latin, is totus tuus sum Maria (Mary, I’m all yours) .” (A Woman Rides the Beast, p. 459).

“Moreover, John Paul is firmly convinced, as are many others, that Mary brought an end to communism throughout Europe. His faith is rooted in the famed prophecies of Mary at Fatima in 1917. According to Sister Lucia, one of the children who claimed to see her, the Virgin predicted the rise of Soviet totalitarianism before it happened. In a subsequent vision, she directed the Pope and his bishops to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart in order to bring communism to an end.

“According to Lucia, papal attempts to carry out that consecration failed in 1942, ’52, and ’82. John Paul finally carried out Mary’s directive in 1984— and the very next year Mikhail Gorbechev’s rise to power inaugurated the Soviet collapse. Says Father Robert Fox of the Fatima Family Shrine in Alexandria, S. Dak.: ‘The world will recognize in due time that the defeat of communism came at the intercession of the mother of Jesus .’ ” (Time, Dec., 30, 1991, pp. 64, 65). In fact, the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbechev, called Pope John Paul II “the highest authority on earth.” Amazing words, coming from the ex- leader of communist Russia!

John Paul II is currently leading the greatest ecumenical movement in history in order to unite all religions under Rome’s leadership. On October 27, 1986, the pope gathered in Assisi, Italy, the leaders of the world’s major religions to pray for peace. Included in the group were snake worshippers, Buddhists, Moslems, Hindus, Spiritists, and North American witch doctors. The pope said they were all praying to the same god, and their prayers were “creating a spiritual energy that was bringing about a new climate for peace.” A prophesied World Religion (see Rev 13: 3, 4, 12; 17: 12- 14) is being formed before our eyes, and the Vatican is the headquarters of the new movement. Is this not “spiritual fornication”?

As stated earlier, the Apostle Paul saw “creeping into the church, errors that would prepare the way for the development of the papacy. Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, ‘the mystery of iniquity’ carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.

“This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of ‘the man of sin’ foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan’s power— a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will.

“… Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the Word that even the Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, ‘It is written. ’ To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the Word. In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with authority over church and state…. To afford converts from heathenism a substitute for the worship of idols, and thus to promote their nominal acceptance of Christianity, the adoration of images [statues of the Virgin Mary] and relics was gradually introduced into the Christian worship .” (The Great Controversy, pp. 49- 52).

Go to Chapter 8 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 6

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 6 – The 1260- day Prophecy and the Papacy

As a matter of fact, the 1260- day prophecy is mentioned seven times in Daniel and Revelation. There are not, as some have supposed, several 1260- day periods; there is only one. It is mentioned seven times, because it is so very important: in Daniel 7: 25 and 12: 7 and also in Revelation 12: 14, as a time, times (i. e., two times— the lowest plural), and a half time; in Revelation 11: 2 and 13: 5, as forty- two months; and in Revelation 11: 3 and Revelation 12: 6, as one thousand two hundred and threescore (sixty) days. In Bible prophecy, there are 360 days to a year, and if you multiply 360 times three and one- half, you will come up with the number— 1260. Also, when time is used in Bible prophecy, a day stands for a year. (See Ezekiel 4: 6; Num. 14: 34). Therefore, the Bible has given us the important key to figuring out the 1260- day prophecy, and that is this— that the 1260 days are actually 1260 literal years.

As Satan used the Roman Empire— particularly King Herod, Pontius Pilate and Nero, as well as many others— to put Christ to death and kill many of God’s people, he, like a chameleon, changed his disguise once again after Western Rome’s fall, but this time, he kept the same Roman roots. The “wilderness” (Rev. 12: 6), symbolizing this 1260- year period, is also referred to as the “great tribulation” (Matt 24: 21)— a time when millions of God’s true people were martyred for refusing to follow the dictates of the Roman Church . The Bible accurately prophesied that the papal power, as symbolized by the “little horn” in Daniel 7: 8, 20, 21 and the “leopard- bodied beast” in Revelation 13: 2, would “make war with the saints.” Only one “religious” organization has been responsible for more persecutions and deaths of faithful Bible believing Christians than any other sect in history— The Holy Roman Catholic Church!

“Step by step, the Roman Empire (the dragon) did indeed give its power, throne, and great authority [Revelation 13: 2] to the Catholic Church… A climax came in 538, when the armies of the Empire [the unfallen Eastern division] drove the Arian Ostrogoths out of Rome. By 538, therefore, the 1260 years could begin .” (God Cares, p. 328). “In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. Its seat of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head over the entire church. Paganism had given place to the papacy. The dragon had given to the beast ‘his power, and his seat, and great authority. ’ Revelation 13: 2. And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Daniel 7: 25; Revelation 13: 5- 7. Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or to suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman’s ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus: ‘Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake. ’ Luke 21: 16, 17. Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the world became a vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet: ‘The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three- score days. ’ Revelation 12: 6.

“The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders. Thus the minds of the people were turned away from God to fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay, more, to the prince of darkness himself, who exercised his power through them. Sin was disguised in a garb of sanctity. When the Scriptures are suppressed, and man comes to regard himself as supreme, we need look only for fraud, deception, and debasing iniquity. With the elevation of human laws and traditions was manifest the corruption that ever results from setting aside the law of God.

“Those were days of peril for the church of Christ. The faithful standard- bearers were few indeed. Though the truth was not left without witnesses, yet at times it seemed that error and superstition would wholly prevail, and true religion would be banished from the earth. The gospel was lost sight of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the people were burdened with rigorous exactions.

“They were taught not only to look to the pope as their mediator, but to trust to works of their own to atone for sin. Long pilgrimages, acts of penance, the worship of relics, the erection of churches, shrines , and altars, the payment of large sums to the church— these and many similar acts were enjoined to appease the wrath of God or to secure His favor; as if God were like men, to be angered at trifles, or pacified by gifts or acts of penance!

“Notwithstanding that vice prevailed, even among the leaders of the Roman Church, her influence seemed steadily to increase. About the close of the eighth century, papists put forth the claim that in the first ages of the church the bishops of Rome had possessed the same spiritual power which they now assumed. To establish this claim, some means must be employed to give it a show of authority; and this was readily suggested by the father of lies. Ancient writings were forged by monks. Decrees of councils before unheard of were discovered, establishing the universal supremacy of the pope from the earliest times. And a church that had rejected the truth greedily accepted these deceptions.

“The few faithful builders upon the true foundation (I Corinthians 3: 10, 11) were perplexed and hindered as the rubbish of false doctrine obstructed the work. Like the builders upon the wall of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day, some were ready to say: ‘The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build. ’ Nehemiah 4: 10. Wearied with the constant struggle against persecution, fraud, iniquity, and every other obstacle that Satan could devise to hinder their progress, some who had been faithful builders became disheartened; and for the sake of peace and security for their property and their lives, they turned away from the true foundation. Others, undaunted by the opposition of their enemies, fearlessly declared: ‘Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible’ (verse 14); and they proceeded with the work, everyone with his sword girded by his side. Ephesians 6: 17.

“… .The darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered to them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The minds of men were so completely controlled by superstition that reason itself seemed to have lost its sway. While priests and bishops were themselves pleasure- loving, sensual, and corrupt , it could only be expected that the people who looked to them for guidance would be sunken in ignorance and vice.” (The Great Controversy, pp. 54- 57).

Friends, I take no pleasure in what I am about to tell you, but I believe you must know the truth. When I was a young Catholic boy attending Annunciation School, not only had I lit candles and said prayers for my dead, departed friends and relatives, while kneeling in front of images of dead “Saints” and the “Virgin Mary” at the Cathedral, but later, as a teenager attending Saint Mary’s High School, I had worked at my father’s liquor store, which was located way across town. I used to see the priests from these schools, dressed in civilian clothes, come into our store and look at the pornographic magazines and novels that were sold there. I used to hide in the back room because I was afraid they would see me. Now I wish I had confronted them for what they were doing!

Then there was the time I was serving Mass as an altar boy with my brother. It was six o’clock Mass, or morning Mass, and the monsignor himself was officiating that morning. When the time came for me to put wine into the chalice for the monsignor, I remember his nudging the small carafe that I was holding each time I poured the wine into his chalice. After his doing this twice, my older and more experienced brother whispered in my ear, “Pour it all in his cup.” Now looking back, I realize the “holy” man was an alcoholic . But there was yet another episode that offended me more than the rest. It was the time I had attended a large Catholic wedding where my Italian cousin was getting married. I remember watching the officiating priest, while at the reception, standing at the bar drinking glass after glass of wine. The guests were patiently waiting for the priest to join the dinner party and bless the food. Finally, someone had the courage to whisper in the priest’s ear that we were waiting for his company and the blessing, and the now drunk, stumbling “Father” yelled out, while staggering in the middle of the hall and impatiently waving the sign of the cross, “What are you waiting for? It’s blessed! Eat !”

Go to Chapter 7 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 5

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 5 – The Woman of Genesis 3: 15 and Revelation 12: 1- 6

The writers of The Thunder of Justice also claim that Mary refers to herself as the one “who crushes the serpent [Satan],” in the end- time, because she is the “woman” of Genesis 3: 15. Let us look at this Scripture in detail and see if this is indeed true. In Genesis 3: 15 the Bible says: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” This verse is a prophecy and promise that someday a certain Son, a particular male Child, would be born into the world [a descendant of Eve], to contest the devil, and though terribly bruised in the contest (His death on the cross), He would conquer the devil with a fatal blow to the head at the end of time. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2: 14).

In Galatians 3: 16 the Bible further clarifies that “to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ .” Thus it is plain to see that it is not Mary at all, but “her seed,” Jesus Christ, that destroys Satan at last. Let us now, with emphases supplied, reread Genesis 3: 15: “I will put enmity [hostility] between thee [Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed [Satan’s followers] and her seed [her descendants in Christ the Deliverer]; it [Christ— the promised Seed, the Deliverer Himself] shall bruise thy head [the death blow— Christ’s complete victory over Satan and Satan’s permanent, eternal destruction after the thousand years (see Ezekiel 28: 18, 19 and Revelation 20: 6- 9)], and thou [Satan] shall bruise His heel [Christ’s death on the cross— a serious wound, but not permanent, for He rose from the dead, having the keys of the grave and of death (Rev. 1: 18), having utterly spoiled Satan’s kingdom and power].

The book, The Thunder of Justice, further claims that “the prophecy of Genesis 3 has been fulfilled with Revelation 12, where Mary is the great sign in Heaven: ‘And a great sign appeared in Heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ’ Pope Paul VI, in his 1967 encyclical, Signum Magnum, identified the Lady of Fatima as the biblical representation of the Woman clothed with the sun.” (The Thunder of Justice, p. 88). The book further states that “Mary, the Woman clothed with the sun, appears as a sign and explains the secrets of the Book of Revelation.”

Also, they claim that “on April 12, 1947, at Tre Fontane (Three Fountains), in Rome, Italy, Our Blessed Mother announced, I am the Virgin of Revelation .” (Ibid. p. 89). And if you listen to the words of Father Gobbi, one of the Marian Movement’s priests whom Mary seems to have communicated through more than any other individual, he claims the Virgin Mary told him on April 24, 1980, the following: “I am the Virgin of Revelation. In me, the masterpiece of the Father is realized in such a perfect manner, that He can shed on me the light of His predilection. The Word assumes His human nature in my virginal womb, and thus can come to you by means of my true function as Mother. The Holy Spirit draws me, like a magnet, into the depths of the life of love between the Father and the Son, and I become interiorly transformed and so assimilated to Him as to be His spouse…. I will bring you [plural] to the full understanding of Sacred Scriptures.” (Ibid., 90).

Friends, the Bible never told us that Mary would interpret Scripture, but that the Holy Spirit will. “But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God… the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God…. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth: comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (I Cor. 2: 10, 11b, 13). Again, in John 16: 13 and 14, Jesus said to His disciples: “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth… and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine [of the wonderful achievements of Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life], and shall shew it unto you.” Thus, it is the Holy Spirit, a member of the Godhead— and not a created being— to whom the interpretation of the Scriptures has been intrusted to guide those who are the honest seekers after the truth of God’s Word. Yet, The Thunder of Justice continues: “Above all, I [Mary] will read to you the pages of its last book [Revelation], which you are living. In it, everything is already predicted, even that which must still come to pass. The battle to which I am calling you is clearly described, and my great victory is foretold.” (Ibid.).

Let us now take a close look at Revelation 12 and see if the “woman clothed with the sun” is truly the Virgin Mary. But before we do this, let us establish some facts about the book of Revelation. First of all, the book is not a “mystery,” but “the Revelation of Jesus Christ …. unto His servant John.” (Rev. 1: 1). The Apocalypse, as the book is sometimes referred to, is derived from the Greek word apocalypsis which means a “disclosure,” an “uncovering,” or a “revelation.” Therefore, the book of Revelation is not to be a mystery, but, on the other hand, it is to be understood by every truly sincere Bible student. Second, Revelation is a book of prophecy and it predicts things “which must shortly come to pass.” (Rev. 1: 1). Third, the book is filled with signs and symbols, and this is the method by which God showed the future to John who faithfully “bare record” of the visions “that he saw.” (Rev. 1: 2). He, for instance, saw a beast with seven heads (Rev. 13: 1); a “great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns” (Rev. 12: 3); and the “great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (Rev. 17: 1).

Every Bible student should know that the Bible interprets itself. Take, for example, Revelation 17: 1—“ the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” If you look at verse 15 of the same chapter, the Scripture says, “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” It is obvious that the “whore” is not a literal prostitute sitting on the Atlantic Ocean, but a representation of some kind of powerful organization that has many peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues under her jurisdiction. And whatever the program or influence of this entity, it definitely does not operate with the blessing or approval of the Author of Revelation. Interestingly enough, throughout the Scriptures the sacred relationship of God to his obedient followers is compared to that of marriage . Notice how God feels when this relationship has degenerated into infidelity: “They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou [Israel] hast played the harlot with many lovers [following the idolatries and corrupt practices of the heathen nations about them], yet return again to Me, saith the Lord. Lift up thine eyes unto the high places [areas of idol worship and consecrated immorality], and see where thou hast not been lien with [the implication is that there is no such place that had not been defiled]. In the ways [the main ways of travel] hast thou sat for them [as a harlot looking for customers], as the Arabian in the wilderness [the hidden thief in the desert eagerly watching for travelers, or caravans, to prey upon]; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead [an attitude of impudence, brazenness, shamelessness]; thou refusedst to be ashamed… Return, thou backsliding Israel [literally, in the Hebrew, Turn back , O backturning Israel], saith the Lord…. for I am married unto you.” (Jer. 3: 1- 3, 12, 14). Therefore, a whore or harlot is used in the Bible as a symbol of a disloyal church that has left the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and is having illicit relations with other men or leaders or gods of this world. (See Ezekiel 16 and 23 for further confirmation). With this in mind, let us now proceed to study the “woman” of Revelation 12, who is just as much a symbol of a religious organization of influence as is the “whore” of Revelation 17, and see if the “woman” is the Virgin Mary.

Revelation 12: 1 begins with John seeing a symbolic mother in the sky, “clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” She is pregnant and eager for her baby to arrive (verse 2), and Satan, shaped like a dragon, is present, ready “to devour her child as soon as it is born (verse 4).” Miraculously, the child escapes and is “caught up unto God, and to His throne (verse 5).”

Immediately, there are questions that arise if one tries to interpret these Scriptures literally, and conclude that this woman is the Virgin Mary. Those who believe that such is the case will say, “After all, was not the Virgin Mary the one who gave birth to the Child Jesus, and was not her Son the supreme object of the devil’s malice? Then the “woman” has to be Mary!” In answer to this let us note the following: First, John saw “a great wonder” in the sky, which he recognized at once to be of great import to the world. And although he knew Mary very well, he did not exclaim, “Behold! I see the glorified likeness of my Lord’s mother in the heaven !” Second, have you ever heard of a woman standing on the “moon” or seen one “clothed with the sun”? Third, has anyone ever seen a dragon, let alone, one with “seven heads”? Therefore, these words must have a symbolic application to literal events! And is not this what you would expect to find when “the revelation of Jesus Christ” is one which “He [Christ] sent and signified [made known by signs, or symbols] by His angel unto His servant John”? (Rev. 1: 1). And would not this be an excellent way to reveal sensitive information to His faithful followers living under a totalitarian government while at the same time seemingly presenting a jargon of words and images to the idly curious? How wise and considerate of His people is the God of the Holy Scriptures!

Three paragraphs ago, I stated that a woman, when symbolized by a whore or harlot, is an apostate people or church. But, in addition to this, the word has yet another meaning when used symbolically. Just as a whore can symbolize an impure church, a virgin can be used to symbolize a pure church . Take, for instance, the following two Scriptures: “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman ” and “For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (Jeremiah 6: 2; II Cor. 11: 2). So could the “woman” of Revelation 12 possibly be “the true church ” and not the Virgin Mary ? Furthermore, her garment is the “sun,” and she stands on the “moon,” and wears a crown of “twelve stars.” What is the significance of “the woman” being “clothed with the sun”? During His ministry, when Jesus was in the temple at Jerusalem and the rising sun came into full view over the Mount of Olives, He pointed to it and announced His mission as the Messiah, saying, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8: 12). Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, had described the Coming One as “the Sun of righteousness.” (Mal. 4: 2). Now in vision on the Isle of Patmos during the last decade of the First Century A. D., John sees “a woman clothed with the sun ”— that is, the glorious light of the “Sun of righteousness ”! It is clear that this momentous event signifies the birth of the God- man, the Messiah! The momentous news of the ages is that the long- promised Deliverer has arrived!

The pure woman— so long recognized by the now aging John to have represented God’s true followers in the Church in both the Old and New Testament times— is at last now bathed in the bright splendor of His immediate Presence! Moreover, she stands with “the moon under her feet.” The Mosaic (Old Testament) dispensation had just ended and had been succeeded by the gospel dispensation. As the moon’s lesser light is borrowed from the sun, so the sacrificial system, the Levitical priesthood, feasts, etc. had shone with a more subdued glory borrowed as types and shadows from what now had become Antitype and Substance in the full spiritual glory of the gospel era. The “woman” is wearing “a crown of twelve stars,” representing the twelve apostles. “By the figure of prolepsis [anticipation of the whole completed picture], the church is represented as fully organized with its twelve apostles before the man- child, Christ, appeared upon the scene. This is easily accounted for by the fact that it was to be thus constituted immediately after Christ should commence His ministry; and He is more especially connected with this church than with that of the former dispensation.” (Daniel and the Revelation, p. 545). To John, looking back from the end of the First Century upon a completed Apostolic Era to one described in the vision of Revelation 12 as just entering its first stages at the beginning of the Christian Era, this prolepsis would seem both logical and appropriate. Even so, with us today. After all, the events of Christ’s birth and short life here on earth as portrayed by John’s vision have proved so significant in our world’s developing history that today the entire world designates its counting of years by the initials B. C. (Before Christ) and A. D. (Anno Domini, 1 A. D.—“ in the year of the Lord,” the supposed year of his birth, though actually over four years after His entrance into the world). From all the foregoing information, it then follows that “her child,” Jesus Christ, was born to the true church. He was given to God’s faithful as a whole, including Mary, who was herself a small, but important part, of the “woman” described in John’s vision.

And who was it that inflicted suffering and temptation on the wonderful child Jesus? “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon… stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered.” (Rev. 12: 3, 4). In verse 9, we learn that the dragon is “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” and once sought to destroy the Christ- child. “We’re dealing with symbols! In the vision, the dragon is seen in heaven— yet Jesus, as we all know, was born on earth. So whom on earth does the dragon symbol stand for? Everyone who has heard the Christmas story knows it was King Herod who sent soldiers to Bethlehem to destroy all the baby boys there, hoping to kill Jesus among them. Herod’s soldiers missed the infant Jesus, because in a dream God had warned His parents to escape. King Herod was a puppet of the Romans. Everyone knows too about Pontius Pilate— another Roman administrator— who nailed Jesus to the cross. It was Rome that tried to destroy Jesus. The great red dragon is primarily Satan— and, secondarily, his agent Rome, acting on Satan’s behalf.

“Triumphantly, after Satan and Rome killed our Saviour, Jesus rose from the dead and ‘was caught up unto God, and to His throne’ (verse 5), where He ‘always lives’ as our High Priest ‘to make intercession’ for us (Hebrews 7: 25, 26).

“Frustrated in his attempt to kill the Son, the great red dragon now turned his hatred against the son’s mother. But the mother escaped into the ‘Wilderness, ’ to a ‘place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.’ (Rev. 12: 6).” (God Cares, Vol. 2, pp. 320, 321). As you are about to see, the experience of “the woman” [from the time of Christ’s ascension to His Father’s throne until the “remnant of her seed” appear and finish God’s work on the earth in the closing moments of human probation at the end of the world] is much more suited to the history of the church than it is to the Virgin Mary.

Go to Chapter 6 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 4

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 4 – The Thunder of Justice and the Marian Movement

The world is ready and ripe for this almost overpowering deception. In fact, the December, 1996, issue of Life magazine featured, on its front cover, a picture of a statue of Mary and the caption: “Two thousand years after the Nativity, the mother of Jesus is more BELOVED, POWERFUL, and CONTROVERSIAL than ever. The Mystery of MARY.” The ending of this article was especially of interest to me. It stated: “Mary… might lead to an ecumenical reunion of Christian churches . It might lead to a closer understanding of the teenage girl who gave birth in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. We could come to know Mary…

“Can we ask this simple girl to guide what has become not a cult but a huge and passionate congregation, a movement requiring a hero, a worldwide flock that has long demanded more of her? That has demanded, in some instances, that she deliver her message herself? I wonder: If Mary became merely human— if people could truly touch Mary— would Mary be enough?”

Please beware, friends, of the expositors of this type of thinking, who also refer to Mary as “Co- Redeemer, Mediator, and Advocate.” First of all, nowhere in the Bible is there any reference to the Virgin Mary as being man’s “Co- redeemer.” The prophet Isaiah, when writing about Jesus Christ, said the following: “And thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer , the mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah 60: 16). In the New Testament, the apostles Paul and Peter each made poignant statements when referring to the price that was paid and the blood that was shed for man’s redemption. Paul said: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God [not Mary] in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” And Peter tells us what the purchase price was: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold… But with the precious blood of Christ , as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (I Cor. 6: 19, 20; I Pet. 1: 18, 19). There can be, then, only one Redeemer— Jesus Christ, the One Who paid the ransom price of His life’s blood, thus giving up an infinite life for a lost human race. Secondly, how can Mary be our “Mediator” when the Bible explicitly warns: “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name [than that of Jesus Christ— see verse 10] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved ” and “For there is one God, and one mediator [not two] between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”? (Acts 4: 12; I Timothy 2: 5). Obviously, Jesus is the only Being qualified to be mankind’s Mediator. And thirdly, would the mother of Jesus ever claim to be our “Advocate” when I John 2: 1 says: “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ”? If the true Virgin Mary were alive, would she contradict the words of her Son? Yet, the book, The Thunder of Justice , which records many of the so- called statements made by the counterfeit Virgin Mary to different people around the world, says that Mary’s role is that of “Co- Redeemer, Mediatrix, and Advocate.” “While Calvary was first and foremost the scene of Our Lord’s Passion and death, it also caused Our Lady to suffer hidden and mystical wounds. No longer does God want the precious wounds of Our Lady to be hidden. Rather, His people are to understand the tremendous purification mankind received and will receive through devotion to Mary’s Hidden and Mystical wounds .” (The Thunder of Justice, p. 29). As if she were crucified for us also! or had an infinite life to give!

Friends, was it Mary’s wounds that Isaiah wrote about in his famous Chapter 53? Was she the one “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted”? Was she the one “bruised for our iniquities”? or the one brought “as a lamb to the slaughter”? No! No! It was Christ! Isaiah did not mince his words when he wrote: “Surely He hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed…. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted…. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” (Is. 53: 4- 9). It was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who said: “I have trodden the winepress alone [or by Myself]; and of the people there was none with Me [not even Mary].” (Is. 63: 3).

Yet, The Thunder of Justice further claims that when the so-called Mary appears to people, some of the other blasphemous titles she uses to identify herself are the following: “The Lady of All Nations,” “The Guardian of the Faith,” “The Immaculate Conception,” “The Pure Sinless One,” “The Mother of the Church,” “Queen of the Holy Rosary,” “Our Lady of Guadalupe” (which means, “She Who Crushes the Serpent”), “His Immaculate Spouse [of the Holy Spirit],” “The Second Eve” or “The New Eve,” “The Queen of the World,” “The Queen of Heaven,” and, last but not least, “The Queen of the Coming Age.”

Please do not think that I am being disrespectful toward Mary by writing this book, for I hope and pray I will meet her on Resurrection Day, when the saints come forth from the grave.

She was indeed a wonderful Christian lady. That is why God chose her to be the mother of the Messiah. But when Satan uses her image as his means of deceiving souls , as a watchman on the walls of Zion, I must blow the trumpet. Therefore, I must take the time to expose the blasphemy implied by some of these names. First, let me address the title of “The Immaculate Conception” together with “The Pure Sinless One.” Did you know that when you mention the name “Immaculate Conception,” almost everyone believes the title applies to the virgin birth of Jesus? But that is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception, which is a Roman Catholic doctrine, doesn’t apply to Jesus at all. It refers to the birth of the Virgin Mary, who, according to the Roman Catholic Church, was conceived without the stain of original sin (see Webster’s Dictionary). This is why she is called “The Pure Sinless One.” The Bible, on the contrary, tells us plainly that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” and “there is none righteous, no not one .” (Romans 3: 23; 3: 10). Besides this, it is very clear from the genealogical records in the Bible and from the fact that Mary was a full- blooded Israelite that she was descended from Abraham on both sides of her family. Now notice this statement by the apostle Paul in Hebrews 2: 16 concerning the human nature of Jesus: “For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.” And Abraham dwelt in fallen, human flesh 2000 years after Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden and several centuries after God destroyed the world by a Flood for the great wickedness of man. Yet, the Catholic Church and the Marian Movement would like us to believe that Mary was holy. In fact, the well- known Catholic prayer, “Hail Mary,” includes the words: “Holy Mary , Mother of God , pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” which words the Roman Catholic Church admits in A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, p. 27, were composed by the Church itself under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, not once in Scripture is Mary called “holy Mary,” but, on the contrary, the Scriptures authored by the Holy Spirit (II Pet. 1: 21), when referring to Jesus, call Him “that holy thing” and “Thy holy child Jesus.” (Luke 1: 35; Acts 4: 30). Christ is the only person in the Bible whose human birth is described thus!

Still again, The Thunder of Justice contradicts the Word of God when referring to what has been labeled the “Assumption”: “Mary was assumed into heaven… Because of her sinlessness, her body did not have to undergo corruption in the grave …. The Church has always held the truth about Mary’s Assumption, and in 1950 it was formally declared to be part of the Catholic dogma by Pope Pius XII .” (Ibid., p. 44). This doctrine, therefore, has now received the stamp of papal infallibility. But has it the stamp of Scriptural authority? If we study our Bibles to see whether “those things were so,” as did the faithful Bereans as recorded in Acts 17: 11, we will, in fact, learn that the only mortals that have been taken into heaven from Adam unto this day are Enoch, Moses, Elijah, and many saints that were resurrected with Christ when He rose from the dead. The Bible says of Enoch: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Gen. 5: 24); of Elijah, the Word says: “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (II Kings 2: 1); of Moses, Jude 9 says: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses,” and Matthew 17: 1- 3 says that when Jesus was “transfigured…. there appeared unto them [Peter, James, and John] Moses and Elias [Elijah] talking with Him.” In this awesome scene, Jesus had given to the three disciples that were watching, a glimpse of His glory, and the two mighty men of God that appeared with Him were perfect representatives of every person who will be saved throughout history. Moses, though having died, was resurrected by Christ, and thus, as it were, was a pledge to all who die in Christ— that they, too, will come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the righteous (John 5: 28, 29; I Thess. 4: 16), and Elijah was a type of all the saved who will be alive and translated when Christ comes the second time. (I Thess. 4: 17). To see that such is a proper interpretation, read Matthew 16: 27, 28— 17: 1- 3 and compare with Peter’s own evaluation in II Peter 1: 16- 18.

In addition to the three patriarchs mentioned above, there was a host of saints that came out of their graves at Christ’s resurrection. Matthew 27: 51- 53 states: “The earth did quake… 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.” Ephesians 4: 8 tells us that these people, more trophies, were taken to Heaven at Christ’s ascension: “Wherefore he saith, When He ascended up on high, He led Captivity captive (or “a multitude of captives”— margin ), and gave gifts unto men.” These heroes of faith were raised as a part of the antitypical offering of “firstfruits” from the grave with Jesus and as a pledge of the final great harvest of the rest of the redeemed on Resurrection Day at His Second Coming! On the other hand, it is also interesting to note that in addition to the definition given to the word “Assumption” by the Roman Catholic Church— namely, “the bodily taking up into heaven of the Virgin Mary”— the word’s primary definition, according to Webster’s College Dictionary, is: “something taken for granted; a supposition; or to assume as true.” Today I know more about the “Assumption” than when I was attending Catholic schools, because while there, I assumed it was truth.

Furthermore, I find it strange that the Apostle John, who lived a number of years after all the other disciples had died and who wrote the Gospel of John and the Apocalypse during the mid 90’s A. D. (when he was an old man), never once mentioned anything about Mary’s having been taken to Heaven, as Rome claims. John, of all the disciples, would have been the final authority on this matter. Please notice why. As Christ’s death on the cross drew near, Jesus beheld His mother and His Disciple John standing beside her at the foot of the cross. As He gazed into her grief- stricken face and then upon John, “He saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her… unto his own home .” (John 19: 26, 27). Christ had made John His mother’s caretaker for as long as she should live! “John understood Christ’s words, and accepted the trust. He at once took Mary to his home, and from that hour he cared for her tenderly. O pitiful, loving Saviour; amid all His physical pain and mental anguish, He had a thoughtful care for His mother…. and in receiving her as a sacred trust, John was receiving a great blessing. She was a constant reminder of his beloved Master .” (The Desire of Ages, p. 752). And John wrote about this matter in the Gospel of John not long before his own death, at a time when Mary, his senior by 25 to 30 years or more, was undoubtedly dead. Why, then, did not John record anything about her “Assumption” in Sacred Writ? Because it just did not happen! For she, just like the beloved apostle, is peacefully sleeping in the grave until that climactic day when she will once again hear the voice of her Son, calling her from the grave on Resurrection Morn!

But it is true that Mary was “highly favoured” [or graciously accepted— see Bible margin] by God and “blessed… among women” (Luke 1: 28), because she had been chosen by God to conceive [miraculously]… in her womb “and bring forth a son,” whose name she should call “Jesus.” (Luke 1: 31). But, the very next verse pinpoints the only One in the verse who deserves to be extolled: “He [Jesus] shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1: 32, 33). In fact, just a few verses later, after Mary had conceived and had gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Mary plainly declares with her own lips: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour .” (Luke 1: 46, 47). Please notice, that Mary humbly acknowledged that the child within her womb was the Son of God— the long- promised Messiah and Deliverer of mankind, Who had consented to become a member of the human race in order to save it, Whom she was to name Jesus, and Who was, just as He is for every person in the world, her Saviour —for the name Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation, or “Saviour” [Matt. 1: 21, margin].

Mary held no illusions that she was the “Mother of God” [words of Catholic origin and part of the “Hail Mary”], for no member of the Godhead had an original mother. “Yahweh” (or “Jehovah”) was the “Self- existent One,” the basic meaning of the term, or the Great “I AM.” Moses, who talked with the “I AM” for a period of forty years, clearly understood this. In Psalm 90, of which he is the author, he wrote, “Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.” And the prophecy in Micah 5: 2 that pinpointed Bethlehem of Judea as the birthplace of the promised Messiah describes Him as One “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting [‘ the days of eternity’— margin].” Rather, Mary realized that she was “blessed among women” to be so “highly favoured” as to become the human instrument by which a member of the Godhead could become incarnate as a human being to effect the rescue of a lost human race. She was the mother of the Messiah, the God- man, when He transferred His original existence into a human one. He became the Son of man, but He remained Deity— the Son of God.

Mary always knew and kept her proper place. When Gabriel told her of the miraculous manner in which she would conceive a child through the agency of the Holy Spirit and that “therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God…. For with God nothing shall be impossible,” her humble response was, “Behold the handmaid [female slave, Greek] of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1: 35, 37, 38). The word “handmaid” in the Greek is doule, which means slave, involuntary or voluntary (as in Mary’s case). The word actually describes real slavery, bondage, or servitude; but even when its usage was meant to be qualified to indicate a perceived relationship to another, as in Mary’s foregoing acknowledgment, it still indicated an attitude of subjection or subserviency by the user. In any event, it is obvious from Mary’s words that she was very humbly compliant with God’s will.

This is also apparent again when she arrives at the home of her cousin Elizabeth, mother- tobe of John the Baptist— Christ’s messenger to announce His arrival and mission— and exchanges initial greetings with her, both being under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. After Elizabeth had acknowledged Mary as “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1: 43), Mary replied, as already noted above, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. ” But note carefully her attitude expressed in her next remarks: “For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” (Luke 1: 46- 48). “Low” in the Greek comes from a word with the connotation of “humiliation” or “abasement,” and is very appropriately used with her choice of “handmaiden,” or submissive “female slave.” She is saying, “Socially, prestige- wise, I am a nobody.” But then she quickly acknowledges the fact that it is the child she bears Who is the Hero and Whose mighty achievements will be so wonderful and so permanent that all future generations, even in eternity, will call her “blessed” for being the willing human agent, in cooperation with God, to make the reality of mankind’s redemption possible. It is hard to imagine a woman who possessed such demonstrated humility now emerging in today’s world as a person assuming such presumptuous titles and boastful achievements as those listed in this chapter, which exalt her to a position of Deity. Interestingly enough, there is not one prayer to Mary in the entire Bible— not one instance of her miraculously helping anyone, nor any promise that she could or would. Jesus is the Savior of the world, the Lamb that was slain, the Sin- bearer with whose stripes and wounds we are healed, the Resurrection and the Life, our High Priest and Mediator before the Father, the “Seed” of the woman who would crush the “serpent’s” head, the descendant of David who was to become ruler on David’s throne forever and ever. In fact, dear friends, notice this beautiful and unequivocal prophecy of the Messiah’s birth and eventual rulership on the throne of His human ancestor David as given by the “gospel prophet” Isaiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God , The Everlasting Father , The Prince of Peace . Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9: 6, 7). This prophecy, dear friend, includes all of Heaven’s intent!

Go to Chapter 5 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 3

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 3 – Modern Day Spiritualism– a Masterpiece of Deception

So why the deception? Because spiritualism lives! As long as there is a devil, there will be spiritualism. And as long as spiritualism lives, the lie— that in death there is continuing life— will be perpetuated! And this bias will often affect the work of otherwise well- meaning translators. Have you not noticed how more and more movies and their plots are being centered around the dead communicating with the living? Satan is working with added enthusiasm in these last days, because he knows that his time is short and that one of his best tools for bringing the world under his deceptive control is spiritualism, based on his great lie that there is in man an immortal spirit that continues on after death and that it is possible for the living to receive vital light and benefit by communicating with the spirits of dead loved ones. These cherished dead can be convincingly impersonated in form, feature, sound of voice, and factual information unknown except by the living participant( s) and the “dead” communicant, as well as by Satan and his fallen angels, who are constantly seeking to cause the multitudes of earth to follow a demonic agenda in direct opposition to Christ’s great gospel commission to prepare the world for His coming and the final end of Satan and his kingdom.

Thus, “the doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that the spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by popular theologians, the spirits of the dead are hovering about their friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort them in sorrow? How can those who believe in man’s consciousness in death reject what comes to them as divine light communicated from glorified spirits? Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds.

“He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven; and without suspicion of danger, they give ear ‘to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. ’

“When they have been led to believe that the dead actually return to communicate with them, Satan causes those to appear who went into the grave unprepared. They claim to be happy in heaven and even to occupy exalted positions there, and thus the error is widely taught that no difference is made between the righteous and the wicked. The pretended visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter cautions and warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence is gained, they present doctrines that directly undermine faith in the Scriptures. With an appearance of deep interest in the well- being of their friends on earth, they insinuate the most dangerous errors. The fact that they state some truths, and are able at times to foretell future events, gives to their statements an appearance of reliability; and their false teachings are accepted by the multitudes as readily, and believed as implicitly, as if they were the most sacred truths of the Bible. The law of God is set aside, the Spirit of grace despised, the blood of the covenant counted an unholy thing. The spirits deny the deity of Christ and place even the Creator on a level with themselves. Thus under a new disguise the great rebel still carries on his warfare against God, begun in heaven and for nearly six thousand years continued upon this earth…. Many will be ensnared through the belief that spiritualism is a merely human imposture; when brought face to face with manifestations which they cannot but regard as supernatural, they will be deceived, and will be led to accept them as the great power of God.” (The Great Controversy, pp. 551- 553).

Therefore, Satan, in his efforts to deceive the very elect in these last days, will use his demons to impersonate our departed loved ones in the form of familiar spirits : boyfriends and girlfriends, grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. So why not a masterpiece of deception— a demon impersonating the mother of Jesus Christ!!!

Go to Chapter 4 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 2

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 2 – The First Lie– Man’s Immortality

In the very beginning of earth’s history, Satan, while in the form of a serpent, told the first lie to Eve. He told her that if she disobeyed the command of God not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she would “not surely die, ” even though God had expressly warned her that “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die .” (See Genesis 3: 4; 2: 17). Satan treacherously assured her (another monstrous lie) that upon eating the fruit “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods , knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3: 5). Friends, are we still believing the devil today? The Bible is quite clear that only God “hath immortality .” (I Tim. 6: 16). In fact, the Bible, on the other hand, contains a number of Scriptures that prove that mortal man receives not his immortality until the second coming of Christ— at the time of the resurrection. (I Cor. 15: 51- 55; John 5: 28, 29). Now please note these unequivocal and authoritative pronouncements on the condition of man in death from Ecclesiastes 9: 5 and 10: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything …. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

I remember the first time I ever read these Scriptures. I immediately wondered why I had always believed that a dead person could speak to me if he so chose. Was this another error of the Roman Church that had been sold to me by the priests? After all, according to the Bible, are not seances meetings in which the devil tries to send his deadly messages to unwary people through a human medium who is supposed to be able to communicate with the so- called spirits of the dead? The greatest of all seances in the Bible occurred when Saul went to the Witch of Endor , described in the Scriptures as “a woman that hath a familiar spirit”— that is, a woman who received messages from an evil angel who claimed to be the “spirit” of a particular dead person usually known to the seeker— and asked her to bring up Samuel from the dead since “the Lord answered him not , neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets?” (I Sam. 28: 6, 7). Since when does a man of God go to the devil for advice when the Lord explicitly said: “Regard not them that have familiar spirits,… to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God”? (Lev. 19: 31; see also Isa. 8: 19, 20). The Bible plainly states: “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence;” for when a man dies, “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish .” (Ps. 115: 17; 146: 4).

So why do most people, both Christians and non- Christians, believe the doctrine of the immortality of the soul? I believe the problem exists because of a misinterpretation of Scripture. In Genesis 2: 7, the Bible says: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living soul.” The Hebrew word for “soul” used in this text is nephesh. Besides being translated 428 times as “soul” in the Old Testament, nephesh is also translated as the following: life— 119 times; person— 29 times; and creature— 19 times. “There is nothing in the words translated ‘soul’ or in their usage in the Bible that even remotely implies a conscious entity that survives the body after death, or that attributes immortality to it. Nephesh is not part of the person; it is the person!” (Bible Dictionary by Siegfried H. Horn, Ph. D., p. 1061).

I believe the confusion stems from a misinterpretation of verses like the following: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12: 7). Many people use this verse in an attempt to prove that the “soul” or “spirit” is, therefore, immortal and goes to God at the point of death. But, if you look at Job 27: 3, you will find a Scripture that will help you understand that the “spirit” is simply the breath of life by which man lives, and which is only lent him of God, and at death goes back to the Great Author of life—“ All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” The Hebrew word used here for spirit is ruach, which is defined in Gesenius’ Lexicon as follows: (a) spirit or breath; (b) breath of the nostrils; (c) breath of air. When the spirit, or breath of the nostrils, goes back to God, the body, made originally from the dust of the earth, now begins its process of going back to the earth as it was and ceases to function as normally, and the nonbreathing individual no longer exists as a living, conscious, thinking being, but will rest in the grave until he is called forth by the voice of Christ “at the last day.” (John 6: 39). “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice , And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation .” (John 5: 28, 29). The righteous dead will rise at the second coming of Christ and together with the living saints will meet the Lord in the air (see I Thess. 4: 15- 18), but the wicked dead will not rise until one thousand years after the resurrection of the righteous. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” (Rev. 20: 5). How can someone “live again” except he has first experienced having died?

By now, friends, you may be asking yourself the question: “How can the Virgin Mary be alive when the Bible so clearly tells us there is no consciousness in death?” To further establish the point, let us look at a few more Scriptures that prove that man is mortal. In the Book of Job, we read: “Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost [breatheth out; Strong’s Concordance], and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more [the heavens roll back at Christ’s second coming (Rev. 6: 14)], they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” (Job 14: 10- 12). And if that weren’t clear enough, Job continues: “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come . Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee.” (Job 14: 14, 15). Obviously, Job believed that he would sleep in the grave until Jesus called him out on Resurrection Morning. (See also Job 17: 13- 16). After all, it was Jesus who spoke of death as a sleep when referring to Lazarus’s state. He never once implied that Lazarus had gone to heaven, but, on the contrary, said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.” (John 11: 11). Then in John 11: 23, Jesus tells Martha, “Thy brother shall rise again,” and Martha responds, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus, in calling Lazarus from the tomb, said, “Lazarus, come forth (John 11: 43),” not “Lazarus, come up!” or “Lazarus, come down!” I believe that Jesus’ use of the word sleep is a very appropriate synonym when used in place of the word death (the first death), because the word implies a temporary state— a state from which every soul “shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt [the second death (see Rev. 20: 12- 14)].” (Daniel 12: 2).

The great teacher, the apostle Paul, clearly understood that he, too, would sleep in the grave until the second coming of Christ: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure [death] is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His [Christ’s] appearing.” (II Tim. 4: 6- 8). Paul knew, as did Martha, that not until the resurrection of the last day, at the second coming of Christ, would he receive the reward of eternal life and be changed from mortality to immortality. Remember, it was Paul who told us in the Sacred Word that mortal man will not put on immortality until the last trumpet blast that calls forth the righteous dead at the coming of Jesus: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [for some will be living when Christ comes], but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible [the Virgin Mary also], and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality [Please notice when this happens— not at death, but at the second coming of Christ].” (I Cor. 15: 51- 53). Earlier in the chapter, Paul stated: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man [Adam] came death, by man [Christ] came also the resurrection of the dead . 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 .” (I Cor. 15: 20- 23).

To solidify this position, let us now look at the request of the thief on the cross, who was crucified next to Jesus as recorded in Luke, Chapter 23. The repentant thief, believing Jesus was indeed the Son of God, “said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” To this request Jesus responded, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou [thou shalt] be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 42, 43). Those who believe in the doctrine of the immortality of the soul often refer to these Scriptures to prove that the spirit of the dead goes immediately to Heaven at the time of death. But let us take a closer look at Luke 23. First, we need to understand that the comma placed before the word “today” was supplied by the translators. If you place it after the word “today,” it would then read, “Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 43). Second, Jesus did not ascend into Heaven as He died, for in John 20: 17, He told Mary in the early morning of His memorable resurrection: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father .” It should also be noted that this statement was made two days after His death on the cross. Thus, the repentant thief was given, that day [Good Friday— the day of the crucifixion], the assurance of eternal life and a place in Paradise, but he, as with the rest of the righteous dead, would not receive his reward until Jesus comes the second time. (See Rev. 22: 12).

Go to Chapter 3 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive? Chapter 1

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by Danny Vierra

Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive booklChapter 1 – My Early Adoration of the Virgin Mary

Growing up as a young Catholic boy in a middle- class family, I was sent by my parents to Annunciation School, where I received my grammar school education. While attending the school for eight years, I was required to attend Mass every Sunday at the Cathedral of the Annunciation, where I would eventually serve for a couple of years as an altar boy, assisting the priests. How I remember the beauty of the Cathedral— the 30- foot- high ceilings, the beautiful mosaic windows, the gold articles of furniture, the purple and scarlet colors, and the statues of the Saints, Mother Mary, and Baby Jesus.

It was not long before the Virgin Mary became as important to me as Jesus Himself. I had a fervent and devoted love for her. I prayed thousands of Hail Marys throughout my younger years, sometimes while kneeling in front of one of the statues of the “Mother of God.” Mary was everywhere. I remember the statue of the Madonna (Italian for my lady) in my mother’s garden and the Madonna vase on her dresser. In the vase were palm leaves, holy cards, and rosary beads. Because of my Italian heritage and my membership in the Church of Rome, I soon learned to respect and reverence the Virgin Mary as being holy and sacred. I heard her name mentioned far more times than that of Jesus, and she soon became my most precious “mediator” to the throne of God.

It was not until I graduated from Annunciation School [the “Annunciation,” according to Roman Catholic teachings, is the announcement which the Angel Gabriel made to the Virgin Mary when he told her that she was to be the mother of Jesus Christ, as related in Luke 1: 26- 38, and celebrated on March 25, as Lady Day] and was accepted into St. Mary’s High School [another school dedicated to the Virgin Mary], where I was to receive the next four years of my education, that I began to question the teachings of Catholicism. The nuns at Annunciation, who were my sole teachers for eight years, had taught me about our first parents, Adam and Eve, who were created by God and lived in the Garden of Eden. But while attending St. Mary’s, where I was to receive my higher education, I suffered a great disappointment that I will never forget. I remember so well the day the priest, who taught my religion class, told me, along with the other students, that the story of Adam and Eve was not to be taken literally. It was merely a story in the Bible— not a fact ! My world was shattered and my confidence in the teachings and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church was marred. I, therefore, began to question the system as a whole. Had I been lied to my first eight years of schooling? and were there other doctrines that I had been taught that were not true?

Twenty years later, I finally decided to search the Scriptures for myself. As I studied the Word of God, I discovered many truths that I had never learned while attending Catholic schools. In fact, I found many of the doctrines of Rome to be contrary to the Bible. One doctrine, for instance, was the doctrine of the immortality of the soul— the doctrine of man’s consciousness in death. What happens to a person when he dies? Does his soul live on forever in the form of a spirit that floats up into Heaven, where he will enjoy eternity, or down into Hell, where he will be tormented forever? How would the priests who “straightened me out” in regards to the Creation story explain these Scriptures: “The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezekiel 18: 20) and “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake , some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”? (Dan. 12: 2).

Have you noticed the thousands of billboards that have appeared throughout this country in the past few years urging you to call for a message from the Virgin Mary? “Why are two billion Hail Marys said daily? Why did five million people, many non- Christian, visit Lourdes this year to drink the healing waters? Why did more than 10 million trek to Guadalupe to pray to Our Lady? Why have 15,000 priests gone to Medjugorje since 1981? Why is it that more girls have been named for Mary than any other historical figure?… Why the need to talk with her? Why are Mary hymns creeping into Methodist songbooks?” (Life, Dec., 1996, p. 45). Where is the Virgin Mary right now, anyway? Is she in heaven with Jesus, or in New York, or in Florida? Or is she in the grave sleeping until Jesus comes? What about all the reported miracles, visions, appearances, messages, predictions, weeping statues, and bleeding icons? What is it about Mary? According to those of the “Marian Movement,” over 300 apparitions, significant enough to merit attention (for there have been thousands reported), have occurred since Fatima. “Fatima is the key Marian apparition of the Twentieth Century. In fact, Pope Pius XII noted that the message of Fatima is one of the greatest interventions of God through Mary in world history since the death of the Apostles.” (The Thunder of Justice, p. 132).

The December 30, 1991, issue of Time magazine reported that “the late 20th century has become the age of the Marian pilgrimage ” to many shrines established to commemorate the many sightings of the Virgin Mary in recent years. “These apparitions have brought millions of people to faith in Catholicism’s Mary. The shrine at Lourdes, France, attracts about 5.5 million pilgrims annually; Poland’s Black Madonna draws 5 million; Fatima, Portugal, ‘draws a steady 4.5 million pilgrims a year from an ever- widening array of countries. ’ Since John Paul II visited the shrine of Mary at Knock, Ireland, ‘attendance has doubled to 1.5 million people each year. To handle the influx, a new international airport was opened at Knock in 1986. ’ A ‘Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine’ has recently opened in Orlando, Florida. The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe near Mexico City ‘draws 20 million visitors a year’….‘ Mary, ’ a goddess suitable for all religions, is already adored by a quarter of earth’s population. ” (A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 453, 454, 457). Unquestionably, Marian apparitions are attracting a huge following, considerably larger than Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, which reported an incredible fifteen million visitors in 1996.

Years ago, “Saint Louis de Montfort, in the Seventeenth Century, wrote about what it would be like for the church in the latter days, and the role of Mary in that plan. He stated, ‘In the Second Coming of the Lord, Mary will be made known in a special way by the Holy Spirit so that through her, Jesus may be better known and served …. Mary will shine forth higher than ever in these last days to bring back poor sinners who have strayed from the family of God…. Mary will raise up apostles of the latter times to make war against the evil one. ’” (The Thunder of Justice, p. 73). Later, “Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1987 encyclical Redemptoris Mater that Marian apparitions signify that the Blessed Virgin’s journey through time and space is a pilgrimage toward the Second Coming of Jesus and her final victory over Satan. This is her role now as it has been predestined from the beginning.” (Ibid., p. 19).

Certainly from the statements above, one might be led to regard Mary as the most important being there is, greater than Jesus Himself. But if you study the Bible, while praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit to define the Word and make its truths known, I believe you will plainly see that not only are the above statements erroneous and deceptive, but that Mary’s involvement in future events is utterly impossible!

Go to Chapter 2 ⇒

All emphases in this article are mine.
Published by Modern Manna Ministries

PROPHETIC PARALLELS – Christ’s Church “Then”. . .and Christ’s Church Now Ch.7

by

By Terry S. Ross

prophetic parallels - greenChapter 7 – Calvary

“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him” (Luke 23: 33).

Oh, the love of our Saviour and His Father! Can we really grasp even a particle of the vast truth about the gift that heaven emptied out for our salvation in the life and death of our Master and friend Jesus Christ? The God who was and is the originator of our very existence, the God who is the way, the truth and the life was about to experience death for us. In this trip through Gethsemane’s gate Jesus would know what it means to be separated from the blessings of His Father and what those who reject His offering of redemptive mercy will suffer.

Who are the “they” mentioned in Luke 23: 33, above? Christ died for us because we need a Saviour, but the church of His day should not have been the ones to murder Him. The crowd that followed the Saviour saw His weak and staggering steps, but most of them manifested no compassion. They taunted and reviled Him because He could not carry the heavy cross. Again the burden was laid upon Him, and again He fell fainting to the ground. His persecutors saw that it was impossible for Him to carry His burden farther. They looked to find someone who would bear the humiliating load. The Jews themselves would not do this, because the defilement would prevent them from keeping the Passover. None of those in the mob that followed Him would stoop to bear the cross.

No one who refuses to bear the humiliating load of Christ’s cross will share in the glory of Christ’s crown. Even though the “church” was literally killing the Son of God, they would continue business as usual and looked forward to keeping the Passover which represented the very Person whom they were killing! They had become so blind that they couldn’t recognize the Truth even when He was actually right before them! Don’t be fooled into believing that something like this couldn’t happen in the church today. It not only can happen, it has happened, and IS happening for the last time right now.

Several women were in the crowd that followed the condemned to His cruel death. Their attention was fixed upon Jesus. Some of them had seen Him before. Some had carried to Him their sick and suffering ones. Some had themselves been healed. These experiences were told from one to another. They wondered at the hatred of the crowd toward Him for whom their own hearts were melting and ready to break. And notwithstanding the action of the maddened throng and the angry words of the priests and rulers, these women gave expression to their sympathy. As Jesus fell fainting beneath the cross, they broke into mournful wailing.

This was the only thing that attracted Christ’s attention. Although full of suffering, while bearing the sins of the world, He was not indifferent to the expression of grief. He looked up at these women with tender compassion. They were not necessarily believers in Him; He knew that they were not lamenting Him as one sent from God, but were moved by feelings of human pity. He did not despise their sympathy, but it awakened in His heart a deep sympathy for them. “Daughters of Jerusalem,” He said, “weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Luke 23: 28). From the scene before Him, Christ looked forward to the time of Jerusalem’s destruction. In that terrible scene, many of those who were now weeping for Him, were to perish with their children. Even these women were amazed at the hatred church leadership had toward Christ! But Jesus told them that they should be weeping for themselves. Why? He was looking forward and He knew that most of the people in the crowd would continue to be influenced by the apostate church leaders who would continue to say “the church” is God’s voice on earth. They, in turn, would continue to believe this and would be destroyed with these leaders because they were not led by God.

From the fall of Jerusalem the thoughts of Jesus passed to a wider judgment. In the destruction of the impenitent city in 70 A. D. He saw a symbol of the final destruction to come upon the world. He said, “Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luke 23: 30- 31). By the green tree, Jesus represented Himself, the innocent Redeemer. God suffered His wrath against transgression to fall on His beloved Son. Jesus was to be crucified for the sins of men. WHAT SUFFERING, THEN, WOULD THE SINNER BEAR WHO CONTINUED IN SIN? ALL THE IMPENITENT AND UNBELIEVING WOULD KNOW A SORROW AND MISERY THAT LANGUAGE WOULD FAIL TO EXPRESS.

If Jerusalem is a symbol of the bigger destruction of the world, what then can we learn? Who made up the populace of that city? The headquarters of the “church” was also the local headquarters of Rome in that part of the country. As they worked hand in hand for the destruction of Christ then, in the future they will also work hand in hand for the destruction of God’s last day people. This may be difficult to believe, but not any more difficult to believe than two thousand years ago. Only those who took God, through Jesus, at His word escaped the destruction of Jerusalem. We can expect that a similar group of believers will escape the destruction to come, as it surely will. Leaders who teach their congregations that they can continue in sin and cannot stop sinning are leading the people to eternal damnation! If we truly love others, the exposure of this deadly heresy must be openly challenged. People must be given the opportunity to know the truth and to stop listening to the lies of these agents of Satan.

Of the multitude that followed the Saviour to Calvary, many had attended Him with joyful hosannas and the waving of palm branches as He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. But many who had then shouted His praise because it was popular to do so, now swelled the cry of, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

When Christ rode into Jerusalem, the hopes of the disciples had been raised to the highest pitch. They had pressed close about their Master, feeling that it was a high honor to be connected with Him. Now, in His humiliation they followed Him at a distance. They were filled with grief, and bowed down with disappointed hopes. The words of Jesus were verified: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad” (Matthew 26: 31).

To follow Christ for political reasons, because it’s popular do so, or for any other reason than from conviction based on love for God and His truth, will prove to be fatal! Every single person whose motivation and actions fall below the standard God has set will betray, forsake, and be lost! The Saviour made no murmur of complaint. He remained calm and serene, but great drops of sweat stood upon His brow. There was no pitying hand to wipe the death- dew from His face, nor words of sympathy and unchanging fidelity to encourage His human heart. While the soldiers were doing their fearful work, Jesus prayed for His enemies, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34). His mind passed from His own suffering to the sin of His persecutors, and the terrible retribution that would be theirs. No curses were called upon the soldiers who were handling Him so roughly. No vengeance was invoked upon the priests and rulers, who were gloating over the accomplishment of their purpose. Christ pitied them in their ignorance and guilt. He breathed only a plea for their forgiveness, “. . . for they know not what they do.”

Here Jesus wonderfully demonstrates the balance of warfare and welfare. While He had exposed His enemies and would have gladly forgiven them if they had repented, He had no pleasure in thoughts of their future destruction. Today, although we are to do the same work, we can be guilty of murder ourselves if we enjoy the destruction of our enemies. We must do what we do for the purposes of salvation, not for the purpose of destruction. Jesus had in perfect balance the words mentioned earlier: “Not blind, nor bitter.” This will be the living motive of every true Christian.

Had they known that they were putting to torture the One who had come to save the sinful race from eternal ruin, they would have been seized with remorse and horror. But their ignorance did not remove their guilt; for it was their privilege to know and accept Jesus as their Saviour. Some of them would yet see their sin, and repent, and be converted. Some by their impenitence would make it an impossibility for the prayer of Christ to be answered for them. Yet just the same, God’s purpose was reaching its fulfillment. Jesus was securing His position as advocate of men in the Father’s presence.

That prayer of Christ for His enemies embraced the world. It took in every sinner that had lived or would live, from the beginning of the world to the end of time. Upon all rests the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To all, forgiveness is freely offered. “Whosoever will” may have peace with God, and inherit eternal life. Here is yet another description of the modern day “church.” No one has greater opportunity to learn about Jesus and His truth than those in the Christian church. The majority are ignorant of many of God’s requirements, but willfully so— they will not read God’s word and find out what their responsibility is. They will not find out that humanity must clasp the offered hand of Divinity and that there are steps they are to take to make their salvation complete. Yes, Jesus “paid it all” on the cross, but the Bible clearly outlines the steps that are to be taken that show us how to take what He did and apply it to our experience— to be converted. Ignorance will not be valid during the judgment period.

Some, during the time of ongoing education, will see the truth, repent and be converted. Others (the majority of those now claiming to be Christians and those in the world) because of stubbornness, willful blindness, wanting to be popular, and love for cherished idols, will refuse to be converted. This group (in the “church”) is the group referred to when we said earlier that “We have more to fear from within the church than without.” Pilate then wrote an inscription in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and placed it above the cross, above the head of Jesus. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.” This inscription irritated the Jews. In Pilate’s court they had cried “Crucify Him!… We have no king but Caesar!” (John 19: 15). They had declared that whoever should acknowledge any other king was a traitor. Pilate wrote out the sentiment they had expressed. No other reason for His crucifixion was mentioned, except that Jesus was “King of the Jews.” The inscription was a virtual acknowledgment of the allegiance of the Jews to the Roman power. It declared that whoever might claim to be the king of Israel, would be judged by them worthy of death. The priests had overreached themselves. When they were plotting the death of Christ, Caiaphas had declared it expedient that one man should die to save the nation (see John 11: 50 and John 18: 14). Now their hypocrisy was revealed. In order to destroy Christ, they had been ready to sacrifice even their national existence.

You will notice that the only offense charged to Jesus was, in fact, the truth. You will also notice that the Jews’ allegiance was with Rome, and not God. To declare that the truth of Christ was above traditions of Rome meant sure death. Until it’s forever too late, the “church” will continue to declare that the traditions of Rome are above God’s word. It is up to you to decide which decree you want to side with!

Satan with his angels were present at the cross. The archfiend and his hosts were cooperating with the priests and rulers. The teachers of the people had stimulated the ignorant mob to pronounce judgment against One upon whom many of them had never looked, until urged to bear testimony against Him. Priests, rulers, Pharisees, and the hardened rabble were confederated together in a satanic frenzy. Religious rulers united with Satan and his angels. They were doing his bidding.

Just as Jesus was completing the first phase of the plan of salvation, Satan and his angels appeared to deceive all who could be deceived. The same deception will take place just as Jesus is bringing the final phase of salvation to a close. We are told in Revelation that Satan will appear as an angel of light to deceive the nations. Most I’ve met realize that Satan will personate Christ in order to deceive, but I have met very few who understand that Satan will not come alone. Unless we have the mind of Christ, which can only be obtained by following Him all the way, this deception to come will be overpowering. Only those who are fully connected with Christ will make it through. The preparation time which we are now enjoying is quickly disappearing and we had better be paying attention.

In their mockery of the Saviour, the men who professed to be the expounders of prophecy were repeating the very words which inspiration had foretold they would utter upon this occasion. Yet in their blindness they did not see that they were fulfilling the prophecy.

This same blindness is even now being repeated. This prophecy is having its fulfillment in our day. In their blindness, several of our leaders are preaching their own doom and fulfilling the prophecy of their own destruction.

Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with agony. All His life Christ had been proclaiming to a fallen world the good news of the Father’s mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. Now, with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father’s reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was His agony that His physical suffering was hardly felt.

Satan wrung the heart of Jesus with his fierce temptations. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of His sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter and broke the heart of the Son of God.

Every soul who takes a stand for Jesus in these last days will have to go through a similar experience in their own sphere. But especially those who are alive just before Jesus comes will understand by experience in a greater measure what price Jesus paid for our salvation. On the other side of the coin, those who choose apostasy instead of Christ will feel the deepened terror that was felt by those who killed Christ.

There will not be another group of human beings who share in this same terror. To make a profession of Christianity and turn from what it really means (especially for the leadership) is serious business.

Oh, brothers and sisters, we do not want to be a part of those in the wayward “church”! To one day face the reality of this truth and know that eternity was in the palms of our hands, yet be forever lost! The terror will be indescribable. Let us choose rather to place our feeble selves in the hands of a caring Father for He will see us through the trouble ahead. No one will escape persecution in the end. A small group will be persecuted by man and by Satan. The larger group will be persecuted by God. Let us choose the RIGHT group in which to be persecuted.

Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs of the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as He submitted to death, He committed Himself to God. The sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.

Evidence suggested that the Heavenly Father had forsaken His Son, but Christ’s personal life experience with God had developed the faith that was victorious over all the assaults of Satan. This faith, the faith OF Jesus Christ identifies His true people who ARE HIS TRUE CHURCH.

Never before had the earth witnessed such a scene. The multitude stood paralyzed, and with bated breath gazed upon the Saviour. Again darkness settled upon the earth and a hoarse rumbling, like heavy thunder, was heard. There was a violent earthquake.

When the loud cry, “It is finished,” came from the lips of Christ, the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be slain. Clothed in his significant and beautiful dress, the priest stood with lifted knife, as did Abraham when he was about to slay his son. With intense interest many were looking on. But the earth trembles and quakes, for the Lord Himself draws near. With a rending noise the inner veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom by an unseen hand, throwing open to the gaze of the multitude a place once filled with the presence of God. No one but the high priest ever lifted the veil separating this apartment from the rest of the temple. He entered there once a year to make an atonement for the sins of the people. But lo, this veil is rent in twain! The most holy place of the earthly sanctuary is no longer sacred.

All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the high priest— or any priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the heavenly sanctuary. It was as if a living voice had spoken to the worshipers: There is now an end to all sacrifices and offerings for sin. The Son of God is come according to His word, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” “By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 10: 7; 9: 12).

This terror and confusion spoken of in God’s word is the same that will be on the earth and in the hearts of apostate pastors, leaders, and all who reject God’s warnings and mercies when Jesus returns. The scenes you have studied in this book are now being repeated and will continue to follow the same course viewed two thousand years ago.

When the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom at the command of God, it was a signal and an invitation to all to understand that no pastor or priest would stand between man and God, save Jesus Christ alone. In this study, the Bible has clearly demonstrated that God is not bound to any pastor, church committee, denominational leader, or to a people once chosen.

It is not our intention to “attack” everyone in leadership positions in the Christian church today. As was said in the opening chapter of this book, there are (although in dwindling numbers) faithful and true pastors and denominational leaders. What is being urged on Christians everywhere is that we not be led astray. We need to be doing OUR OWN Bible study and we need to know that what we believe is based on the Bible— the entire Bible and not what someone else thinks it says. Leaders and theologians are not to take out certain portions of Scripture and make them fit their preconceived opinions. They are not to take Scripture passages out of context to make it fit their theology. The Bible is to be taken as it is written, IN ITS ENTIRETY. We need not fear that it contains errors. God has preserved it and in its pages is life eternal.

This book has been written in the honest hope that all who read it will come to a better understanding of not only what has been, but what is, and what will be. We are convinced that our loving Saviour, Jesus Christ, is warning us about events now happening and those about to happen so that we are not deceived. We also understand that many statements in this book are “hard sayings,” but it is just as imperative that we take them into our life as it was for the disciples.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” says God’s word, for we are told that the majority will be lost because they refused to take God at His word. Wherever you are or whatever you are doing, no matter where your present loyalties lie, we plead with you to take this study most seriously. If our understanding of the past is correct, we believe that your very life depends on how you choose to react to what you have read.

But, as with everything we have stated in this book, be sure you do YOUR OWN study regarding what has been written.

It’s decision time, dear brothers and sisters. What will it be? Will you go to man for your salvation, or to God? Your destiny hangs upon your answer. Choose ye this day . . .

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24: 15).

Copyright © 1999 Servants of the Saviour
Terry & Cathy Ross

End

PROPHETIC PARALLELS – Christ’s Church “Then”. . . and Christ’s Church Now Ch.6

by

By Terry S. Ross

prophetic parallels - greenChapter 6 – “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled . . . “

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know” (John 14: 1- 4).

Here Jesus was saying, “For your sake I came into the world. I am working in your behalf. When I go away, I shall still work earnestly for you. I came into the world to reveal Myself to you, that you might believe. I go to the Father to co- operate with Him in your behalf.” The object of Christ’s departure was the opposite of what the disciples feared. It did not mean a final separation. He was going to prepare a place for them, that He might come again, and receive them unto Himself.

While He was building mansions for them, they were to build their character after His divine example. There are not many ways to heaven. Each one may not choose his own way. Christ says, “I am THE way… no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14: 6).

Many today demonstrate either by word, action, or both that they believe there is more than one way to heaven. The leaders are using their influence to try to convince others that it really doesn’t matter how we worship God. Remember, Cain had this same attitude. These same folks are also saying that we need not worry so much about our character because Jesus understands we are only human. Unfortunately, most people will continue to believe this lie. Jesus DOES understand our humanity! And the problem isn’t with Jesus, it’s with us. We need to understand His divinity! Those who do and who choose to trust Jesus all the way will find the ONLY way to heaven. We will discover eventually that all of these “poor me” arguments to excuse sin are in vain. What good will have been accomplished at the end of time? It will be forever too late when people see that God sets very high standards in regard to repenting and turning from sin. We cannot afford to allow this to be our experience. We have all that is necessary for ours to be a success story in the books of heaven. All we need is a sanctified choice— we need our will to be sanctified— and a right relationship with Jesus. If you will do your part, Jesus has given His life to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, He will do His part. What good will it have been to have attended church or anything else if it’s all been wasted because we did not take the time to find out what God says, not what men say, is the vital part to play in our own salvation? Won’t you determine just now that you will cast your lot with Christ no matter what any man says? Won’t you promise yourself, right this moment, that you will take God and not man at His word? Those who in the end are to be saved for eternity will be those who trusted God with all their minds, bodies, and souls. It is a law of the universe that if we choose to place our confidence in man instead of God and if we choose to doubt God’s ability to bring us all the way to a perfected character, then our doubts will be realized. It is all the way with Christ or none of the way with Him. Did Jesus say in Matthew 5: 48, “Be ye halfway perfect . . .”? No! Those who only make a halfway effort will lose heaven all the way.

Just before Jesus’ crucifixion He earnestly and perseveringly sought to prepare His disciples for the storm of temptation that was soon to beat upon them. He would have them hid with Him in God.

It was education time in the ancient conference church of Jesus’ day and this education Christ came to impart to His disciples. These independent minsters were to take this education to their church and laity alike, but they were not prepared for the approaching storm that was to commence within the church structure. The message Jesus gave to these men to share would cause them much trouble but, nonetheless, it was the message they were to give if they would remain faithful. These same messages of warning and education are being brought again at the Lord’s command, for the last time. Only those, as in Jesus’ day, who heed the messages will be protected in the end.

“I am the way . . . “ as Christ was speaking these words, all present felt a sacred awe as they listened with rapt attention to His words. Their hearts were more decidedly drawn to Him; and as they were drawn to Christ in greater love, they were drawn to one another.

Much emphasis is placed on unity these days within Christian circles. Certainly Jesus prayed for His people to have unity and all heaven is waiting for this to take place. Christ calls for unity. BUT HE DOES NOT CALL FOR US TO UNIFY IF WRONG PRACTICES ARE PART OF THE “DEAL.” The God of heaven draws a sharp contrast between pure, elevating, ennobling truth, and false, misleading doctrines. He calls sin and impenitence by their right name. He does not gloss over wrongdoing with a coat of untempered mortar. I urge our brethren to UNIFY UPON A TRUE SPIRITUAL BASIS. All this talk of unity will have no value in the sight of God if it isn’t based on His high standards. Unity in itself is against God’s kingdom if it’s based on any other foundation than to hold up truth and the pure principles of the heavenly kingdom. God will some day soon have this unity among His true people. Will you and I be in this group? No man can make us do otherwise if this is where we choose to be.

The Saviour was deeply anxious for His disciples to understand for what purpose His divinity was united to humanity. He came to the world to display the glory of God, that men might be uplifted by its restoring power. God was manifested in Him that He might be manifested in them. JESUS REVEALED NO QUALITIES, AND EXERCISED NO POWERS, THAT MEN MAY NOT HAVE THROUGH FAITH IN HIM. His PERFECT HUMANITY is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as Jesus was.

Love for the pure truth of God is the glue that alone will bring this binding together of which so many speak. This unity will ONLY come to those who honestly have the eternal interests of God’s government in mind. ONLY those who protect God’s throne while on this earth of sin will share in His glory in the world made new. This class is the ONLY one which will survive the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

All who will go to work, trusting not in what they themselves can do, but in what God can do for and through them, will certainly realize the fulfillment of His promise, “Greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father” (John 14: 12).

Oh, friend! Do you believe that Jesus has enough power to overcome all the sin in your life? Do you believe that Jesus is your only hope if you are to be an overcomer? Do you believe overcoming sin is as vitally important as it is? If you don’t, then consider these verses:

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5: 5).

“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Rev. 2: 7).

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Revelation 2: 11).

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Revelation 3: 21).

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Revelation 21: 7)

It is obvious, from the testimony of God’s word, that overcoming is something all Christians must do in order to be saved! But how many times have you heard this preached from the pulpit?

Do you believe that Jesus will help you cease from liking whatever sin it is that you may be holding on to? Are you tired of playing church? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, brother or sister, there is hope! But you and I must be willing to put it all on the altar of the Lord. We must be willing to agonize, if need be, in order to overcome. As Christ overcame through this same agonizing in the garden, so we too must travel this road. Remember, God is not building for just a moment but for eternity. Remember what the definition of “the true church” is. It is those who have a living relationship with Jesus. In Revelation 14: 12 and Revelation 12: 17 we read about the identifying traits of the remnant church— those who are the last church who will go through to the end when Jesus comes. We need to understand this much more than we seem to.

The last church will “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12: 17). Revelation 19: 10 says “… for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” And we’ve already discussed prophecy and prophets in the first chapter.

But that is not all that this means. The last church also will have the faith OF Jesus Christ. What does it mean to “have the faith OF Jesus Christ”? It means that the people who comprise the last church— the only church that’s going through— WILL HAVE THE SAME FAITH THAT JESUS HAD. This faith is much more than a profession of belief. This faith believes with the total soul. It’s THE faith that the entire universe possesses. This is the only faith that entrusts itself completely and totally to the Heavenly Father. This faith has total trust, it has made an absolute commitment, and is in complete partnership with the Creator. This faith is the secret ingredient, and the only one, that will ensure total victory. This living faith will, for eternity, bar sin from ever returning to God’s expansive domain. Remember, the Bible says that God “will make an utter end, affliction shall not rise up the second time” (Nahum 1: 9). This means that sin will never again rise up in God’s universe and Jesus will never have to go to the cross again. Therefore, only those who obtain this faith will be trusted with the responsibilities of the faithful ones in heaven.

The wonderful news is that all of heaven is active in giving us all the help we need to make the faith of Jesus our own. We must want it more than anything else. We must want it enough to lay down our own lives— our own wants and desires— for the Father, for “he that loseth his life for My sake,” Jesus said, “shall find it” (Matthew 10: 39).

When Jesus told the disciples that He was going away to prepare a place for them, they were unacquainted with the Saviour’s UNLIMITED RESOURCES AND POWER. He said to them, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name” (John 16: 24). He explained that the secret of their success would be in asking for strength and grace in His name. He would be present before the Father to make requests for them. The prayer of the humble suppliant He presents as His own desire in that soul’s behalf. Every sincere prayer is heard by heaven. It may not be fluently expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present it to the Father without one awkward, stammering word, beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His own perfection.

If we are honestly seeking to follow God’s will, although we may not know how to ask properly, Jesus takes our personal requests upon Himself and presents them in such a manner that the Father is pleased to grant us the blessing sought. Jesus said to ask “In My name.” In Christ’s name His followers are to stand before God. Through the value of the sacrifice made for them, they are of value in the Lord’s sight. Because of the imputed righteousness of Christ they are accounted precious. For Christ’s sake the Lord pardons those that fear Him. He does not see them as vile sinners. He recognizes in them the likeness of His Son, in whom they believe.

The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves. He desires His chosen heritage to value themselves according to the price He has placed upon them. God wanted them, else He would not have sent His Son on such an expensive errand to redeem them. He has a use for them, and He is well pleased when they make the very highest demands upon Him that they may glorify His name. They may expect great things if they have faith in His promises.

But to pray in Christ’s name means much. IT MEANS THAT WE ARE TO ACCEPT HIS CHARACTER, MANIFEST HIS SPIRIT, AND WORK HIS WORKS. The Saviour’s promise is given on condition. “If ye love Me,” He says, “keep my commandments” (John 14: 15 and John 15: 10,14). He saves men, NOT IN SIN, BUT FROM SIN; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience.

True obedience comes from the heart. It was heart- work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, He will so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, finds its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.

AS CHRIST LIVED GOD’S LAW IN HUMANITY, SO WE MAY DO if we will take hold of Him for strength. It is true that we are not to be proud and selfish. We are to esteem others better than ourselves, as well. But the fact that heaven paid such a high price for our redemption should help us to realize that we are valued highly in the eyes of the Father. Have you ever had a friend who you knew valued you? Perhaps you have been through a lot together and your friendship has stood the test. As a matter of fact, as you reflect on some of your hard times together, you come to realize that these times helped to cement your relationship even more. This is how God feels about you, my friend. It is hard to explain the love of God, but He has proven to us this love is real.

The Father is not looking for people who have learned to follow a set of do’s and don’ts. The majority of church members have been taught that God is lurking around somewhere, everywhere, just waiting to pounce on them when they sin or make mistakes. With this belief, is it any wonder that the requirements of God seem negative to most Christians? What the Father is really “lurking around” for is to find someone to appreciate Him, just as we would appreciate a true friend who has done much for us. God will have a people who finally realize their best Friend has paid the supreme sacrifice because He so much wants them to be with Him. With this belief intact, they will understand rightly that they are so much in His debt, they will literally do anything for Him. And this is exactly what they will be doing for eternity. Eternity with God will be living with your best Friend forever!

Those who are saved out of this last generation will understand this love relationship better than any other generation before it. True obedience never comes from a heart that HAS to do what the Lord says. True obedience comes from a heart that WANTS to do what the Lord says because that heart wants to please its best Friend.

When for the truth’s sake the believer stands at the bar of unrighteous tribunals, Christ stands by his side. All the reproaches that fall upon him, fall upon Christ. Christ is condemned over again in the person of His disciple. When incarcerated unjustly for Christ’s sake in prison walls, Christ lavishes the heart with love.

When the battle really heats up, as it surely will, the Lord promised to bring needed help. We are not to be concerned about this, because circumstances may separate us from every earthly friend, but no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always at our right hand to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer.

Already many of us are seeing examples of how family members and many in the “church” follow the mandates of the leadership to shun or ignore true and faithful ones who stand for a plain “thus saith the Lord.” We are now seeing a glimpse of our own future, brothers and sisters. The treatment of those who would stand for Bible truth is a prelude of much worse abuses to come. But Jesus promised that though these things would happen and all would forsake us, as they forsook Him, He would NEVER leave us.

In teaching His disciples, Jesus had opened before them a vast tract of truth. BUT IT WAS MOST DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO KEEP HIS LESSONS DISTINCT FROM THE TRADITIONS AND MAXIMS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. THEY HAD BEEN EDUCATED TO ACCEPT THE TEACHING OF THE RABBIS AS THE VOICE OF GOD, AND IT STILL HELD A POWER OVER THEIR MINDS AND MOLDED THEIR SENTIMENTS. Earthly ideas and temporal concerns still had a large place in their thoughts. They did not understand the spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom, though He had so often explained it to them. Their minds had become confused. They did not comprehend the value of the Scriptures Christ presented. Many of His lessons seemed almost lost upon them.

Nothing, absolutely nothing has changed since two thousand years ago. The trouble in Christ’s day and the trouble in our own is the same. The following key words are very interesting. The word “maxim” in this previous paragraph means rules of conduct written in precise form. I thought about this in terms of the “church manual” and church creeds that are used by many organized churches today. The word “scribe” means official writers, copyists, editors. I immediately thought of the many Christian publishing houses we have today. The word “Pharisees” is the term for the church leaders in Christ’s day who insisted on the validity of the tradition of the Elders. I immediately thought about church committees who enforce “commandments of men” by opinion or popular vote, putting man’s opinion above God’s requirements. The word “sentiment” means a mental attitude or response to a person, subject, or idea based entirely on feeling instead of reason. Using this understanding of these key words, let’s restate what was said in the above paragraph about Jesus teaching His disciples:

Jesus had opened before His independent ministers a vast amount of truth. But it was most difficult for them to keep His lessons distinct from church traditions as well as the church manual and creed. It was also hard to keep His lessons distinct from what the Christian publishing houses had published and from what the denominational headquarters said. They had been educated by these same people to accept the teaching of their church as the voice of God, and this voice still held a power over their minds and molded their feelings. Of course, here we are speaking of things which go against God’s word, not those which support it.

After the upper room experience, the disciples had a better grasp on things, but the above demonstrates all too well just the situation in which most church- goers find themselves. Most are placing their confidence in the wrong place— what man has written ABOUT Scripture rather than what the Scriptures actually say. Most churchgoers are confused and are having a difficult time taking God at His word. Christians have been educated by their church leaders to accept whatever they say as the voice of God. Two thousand years ago the disciples and the general populace of the “church” had some real problems with

Jesus because they had been educated by their church leaders to believe that theirs was the voice of God. When Jesus tried to show them the truth, they were confused and upset that Jesus had such an apparent disregard for that which was sacred to them. Nonetheless, Jesus forged ahead with the work of re- educating those who would listen. The church headquarters was on one side, and Jesus on the other. The church was telling the people that Christ was a liar and an imposter. They were telling the people that they were the only ones who could correctly interpret God’s word for them. Of course, the people automatically equated “the church” with the church leaders because of the way they had been taught by these men. Their sentiments — their feelings — had been molded in such a fashion as to effectively block the work of Christ.

Today, the exact same thing is happening throughout the ranks of Christianity. The sentiments of the people are the same as in former days. The confusion is also the same, as well as the effectiveness of the various church leaders. But in former times, not all the people stayed confused. There were some who finally took Jesus at His word. These are the ones who went through, not the church leadership. These are the ones who made up the REAL church. It was this group who was saved and biblical history dictates these facts. The leadership is NOT the church! God’s church is made up of people who follow HIM; not traditions and maxims of “scribes” and “pharisees” who claim to teach Bible truth, but who are merely parroting what they have been taught and who are teaching for God’s commands the traditions and ideas of men. Men who protect and defend church manuals above

God’s express word. It was not Christ’s purpose to be at odds with the very system He had raised up. Christ came to save the lost and make salvation sure for all those who would accept His truth. But here’s where the rub comes in. Christ ended up at odds with the ancient conference church because it stood directly in the way of His real purpose, which was saving people. The conference of His day was leading the people contrary to His Father’s will and therefore not to heaven, but to hell. This left Christ with no choice but to oppose this corrupt church.

Most of us who find ourselves in the exact position of those in Christ’s day have not purposed in life to be at odds with the system that Christ has raised up. We want to do the same work that Christ did and has called us to do which is bringing the truth of salvation to the people. But the church is standing directly in the way of truth. The modern church, like the ancient one, is often guilty of leading people contrary to the Father’s will and hence not to heaven, but to hell. This leaves us with no choice but to oppose this corrupt “church”. They may be proclaiming “the church is going through,” but as in the days of old, they mean that the conference is going through. Frankly, we know better because the principles of God have not changed since two thousand years ago. We understand that the same history WILL, without a doubt, bring the same result. I realize the process of which I speak is sometimes painful and upsetting. It’s hard for us to change and come to some of these realizations. As the disciples said, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6: 60). But Jesus understands this all too well and will help us if we seek His help. If we don’t, we will never understand that we have many lessons to learn, and many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency in opposition to a thus saith the Lord, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.

Whether we like it, whether we admit it, whether we choose to deal with it or not, we are living in the mirror image of Christ’s day. The situation is the same, and our choices, as in the days of old for those in the church in Christ’s day, will determine not so much IF the church is going through to the end, but IF we are in THE church that does! Dear friends, I would never ask you to take my word for this. That’s what led most of the people in Christ’s day into trouble and what is causing the trouble now— people taking a man’s word. The Bible says that the way to prove things is “to the law and to the testimony” (Isaiah 8: 20). The Bible also says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4: 1). “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7: 17). We must be diligent searchers of Scripture so that we are not deceived.

Please don’t take anyone’s word, but rather “study to show yourself approved” (2 Timothy 2: 15). This is our only safety. We can have confidence that Jesus is still leading and through the Holy Spirit, will guide us into all truth if this is our desire.

The Comforter is called “the Spirit of truth” (John 15: 26). His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the Comforter. There is comfort and peace in truth but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood. IT IS THROUGH FALSE THEORIES AND TRADITIONS THAT SATAN GAINS HIS POWER OVER THE MIND. BY DIRECTING MEN TO FALSE STANDARDS, HE MIS- SHAPES THE CHARACTER. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind and impresses truth upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is through the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ gathers His chosen people to Himself.

Can you comprehend these words, brothers and sisters? Through His holy word, Jesus shows us how deception comes. He is showing us not only how and why the church of His day rejected Him but how and why we are living in the parallel time.

Through false teachings Satan gains his power over the mind. This is exactly what happened in the church structure in Jesus’ day and why it didn’t survive. What I’m concerned most about is that most people do not realize two things that are of prime importance: God’s promises to any person, or any organization, or any nation are always based on obedience. The person who expects a particular promise of God to come true for him is expected to fulfil his end of the contract. Also, you have to realize what God’s church is. How will we know what His church is?

Well this study is a good place to find out. The inspired words telling the history of our forefathers show what the identifying characteristics of God’s church are.

Why do you suppose Jesus was so particular in having these things written? Why do you think the Bible plainly says these things were written down for those “upon whom the ends of the world are come”? (see 1 Corinthians 10: 11). These are not cunningly devised fables or just bedtime stories to tell our children. Our very existence depends on our acceptance of God’s word as it is written. It is not God who is trying to deceive us, but men. What we find hard to accept is that we have far more to fear from within the church than without. It is INSIDE the church system we find the enemy at work. And if we look at the past with candor, honestly seeking for truth, we will learn the lessons Christ desires us to know.

The power of evil has been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this Satanic captivity is amazing. Sin can be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. CHRIST HAS GIVEN HIS SPIRIT AS A DIVINE POWER TO OVERCOME ALL HEREDITARY AND CULTIVATED TENDENCIES TO EVIL AND TO IMPRESS HIS OWN CHARACTER UPON HIS CHURCH.

It has now been sixty centuries and the days in which we live are worse then when Jesus was here. Did the church of two thousand years ago that claimed to be THE church take on Christ’s character? Did the church headquarters? Was THAT church, which made the exact same profession that the modern- day churches are making, really THE church? Is the same question directed at the churches today any less valid simply because it lays at our own door? Who and what is God’s church— the church that refuses the high standards of heaven or those who accept t h e c h a r a c t e r o f C h r i s t a n d b e c o m e overcomers— worshiping God as He has directed (like Abel)? Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But like EVERY OTHER PROMISE, IT IS GIVEN ON CONDITION. There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord’s promises; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine. We cannot “use” the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people “to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2: 13). BUT MANY WILL NOT SUBMIT TO THIS. THEY WANT TO MANAGE THEM- SELVES, this is why they do not receive the heavenly gift— the genuine Holy Spirit. I’m afraid that often there is a counterfeit “holy spirit” people claim to receive and their life testifies that this spirit is not of God. Do not be deceived by those who make a great show of their religion. Understand that for every true manifestation of God there is a counterfeit put out there by Satan. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their call and reception.

HIS PROMISED BLESSING, CLAIMED BY FAITH, BRINGS ALL OTHER BLESSINGS IN ITS TRAIN. It is given according to the riches of the grace of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the capacity to receive.

Those who claim to be “Christians” but who continue to allow self to rule on the throne of their life instead of God will come to an unfortunate end. Their kingdom will perish. It is only by having the faith of Jesus (perfect trust in God) that God’s true and faithful can and will receive the blessings of the Early and Latter Rain (see Joel 2: 23 and James 5: 7 regarding the Early and Latter rain).

When the Early Rain falls, all other blessings follow it. God’s people will realize the gift of character perfection (which is merely Christian maturity in its fullness) and become a reflection of the character of Jesus. They will share in the experience of the overcomer and will at last be free indeed! The fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the character, not one characteristic listed in Galatians 5: 22 will be missing. Heaven’s work for this people will be accomplished; God has promised, this WILL happen! There’s no question about it. The question is, will you and I choose to be a part of this experience?

In the blessing of the Latter Rain the Holy Spirit will combine His power with the messages the three angels of Revelation 14 proclaim, giving them convincing persuasion on the heart of the recipient. Those who have been totally engaged in the work of the Early Rain will be privileged at the time of the Latter Rain to bring others to the feet of Jesus. During Pentecost thousands were converted in a day! These scenes are to be repeated, and with greater power. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of

Pentecost was the former rain, but the Latter Rain will be more abundant. The Spirit awaits our call and reception. Christ is again to be revealed in His fullness by the Holy Spirit’s power. Men will discern the value of the precious pearl (Matthew 13: 46), and with the apostle Paul they will say, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3: 7- 8).

Israel had been represented as a vine which God had planted in the promised land (Isaiah 5: 1- 7). The Jewish people based their hope of salvation on THE FACT OF THEIR CONNECTION WITH ISRAEL. But Jesus says, “I am the real Vine. Think not through a connection with Israel you may become partakers of the life of God, and inheritors of His promise.” Through Jesus alone is spiritual life received. Remember these verses:

“Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [the Jews], and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof [true Christians]” (Matthew 21: 43).

“And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom [the Jews who reject their Messiah] shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8: 11- 12).

“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3: 7).

“And if some of the branches be broken off [the Jews who reject their Messiah], and thou [Christians], being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; For if God spared not the natural branches [the Jews], take heed lest he also spare not thee” (Romans 11: 17, 21). This verse is a very strong warning to us today. God is telling us that if the Jews were cast away because of their disobedience, then we can also be cast away.

“And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3: 9).

“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Luke 3: 8).

And He did— the Gospel went out to the Gentiles and true Christians are now “modern or spiritual Israel.”

Today there are teachers out there teaching that the Jews are still God’s chosen people and always will be. The Bible doesn’t agree with them, as evidenced by the above verses. But don’t take my word for it, look it up for yourself.

The Jews based their hope of salvation on the fact that their church had been handpicked by God. It is true that God had handpicked their church. It was also true this same God was now standing directly in front of them— He was Jesus— telling them plainly that they were lost unless they followed Him. Today, Christians (modern Israel, spiritually speaking) are claiming that their salvation is sure because their church was handpicked by God. It is also true that this same God is now for the last time, through His word, standing directly in front of US, telling US plainly that we are lost unless we follow Him and obey His teachings— His commandments. It is only by following Jesus that we are saved, not by following any other person or any other group. Our connection with “Israel” will not get us into heaven, only our connection with Jesus.

Many were attracted by the beauty of this Vine (Jesus), and declared its heavenly origin. But to the leaders in Israel it appeared as a root out of dry ground. They took the plant, and bruised it, and trampled it under their unholy feet. Their thought was to destroy it forever. But the heavenly Husbandman never lost sight of His plant. After men thought they had killed it He took it, and replanted it on the other side of the wall. The vine- stock was to be no longer visible. It was hidden from the rude assaults of men. But the branches of the Vine hung over the wall. They were to represent the Vine. Through them grafts might still be united to the Vine. From them fruit has been obtained. There has been a harvest which the passers- by have plucked.

After the church of His day bruised, beat, and killed the Vine Stock (Jesus), the Father took Him back unto Himself and Jesus commissioned His independent ministers to bring His message of life to all who would listen. First to the Jews and then to the Gentiles was this message given. All who studied these things and believed the independent ministers who stood for truth, came into the light of truth. Those who were faithful were saved, although the “church” — the recognized corporate structure was lost. Though He was about to be removed from them, their spiritual union with Him was to be unchanged. “The connection of the branch with the vine,” He said, “represents the relationship you are to sustain to Me.”

The Christian is engrafted into the living vine, and fiber by fiber, vein by vein, he grows into the vine stock. The life of the vine becomes the life of the branch. So the soul dead in trespasses and sins receives life through connection with Christ. By faith in Him as a personal Saviour the union is formed. The sinner unites his weakness with Christ’s strength, his emptiness to Christ’s fullness, his frailty to Christ’s enduring might. Then he has the mind of Christ. The humanity of Christ has touched our humanity, and our humanity has touched divinity. Thus through the agency of the Holy Spirit man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is accepted in the Beloved.

We are accepted by the Father only if we, by our own choice, are grafted into His Vine, Jesus Christ. When this happens, the life of the Stock becomes the life of the branch. The fruit comes from the Stock and is exemplified in the branch. Christ’s victory becomes our own. This union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained.

Christ said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me” (John 15: 4). This is no touch- and- go, no off- and- on connection. The branch becomes a part of the living vine. The communication of life, strength, and fruitfulness from the root to the branches is unobstructed and constant. Separated from the vine, the branch cannot live. “You cannot live apart from Me,” said Jesus. “The life you have received from Me can be preserved only by continual communion. Without Me you cannot overcome sin, or resist one temptation.”

When anyone preaches a message that is anything short of what upholds TOTAL VICTORY through the power of Jesus Christ, utilizing justification and sanctification, you may know that he is a false shepherd. The generation that is now in power in the churches, to a great extent, is of that generation that has always rebelled against authority. It is destroying the moral fiber of Christianity. It believes, “if it feels good, do it!” The power has shifted from one that paid attention to the high standards of God’s moral government to few or no standards— that of the world. This is why the leaders are acting from man- made policy instead of God’s holy principles. But I can assure you on the authority of the word of God that entrance into God’s kingdom will never be based on church committee vote! Whether or not we take God’s standards seriously, He does! This and this alone will determine our entrance into His kingdom, or our banishment from His kingdom. God HATES sin, and He is NOT going to allow anyone off this planet alive who will continue to pollute His work. He sets before us life and death. It may not be popular with the “now” generation, but soon enough it will be realized that the “now” generation will be the extinct generation. I do not wish to be a part of the “now” generation, how about you? Wouldn’t you rather be popular with God than with man?

So long as the soul is united to Christ, there is no danger that it will wither or decay. When we live by faith in the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our life; not one will be missing.

The precious news of true Christianity is, it matters not what background we have. It makes no difference who our parents are or what they stood for or didn’t stand for. It is not important if they have German, Irish, Italian, Hispanic, or African blood running through their veins. If we give ourselves over to Christ, the victory that He has gained for us will be ours. Excuses for our lack of faith will cease to find expression. What will be witnessed instead is a consistent and practical godliness as we exercise our faith. This will be seen by those who are searching and see Jesus in us.

“Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away” (John 15: 2). While the graft is merely outwardly united with the vine, there will be no vital connection. Then there will be no growth or fruitfulness. So there may be an apparent connection with Christ, without a real union with Him by faith. A profession of religion places people in the church, but the character and conduct show whether they are in connection with Christ. If they bear no fruit, they are false branches. Their separation from Christ involves a ruin as complete as that represented by the dead branch.

Many, many Christians have been taught that the fruits spoken of in John 15: 2 are indicated by the number of people we have influenced into being baptized into the “church.” This is incorrect. The fruits spoken of are primarily the fruits of the Spirit found in Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5: 22- 26, and the fruits of obedience. Personal character development with all the fruits of the Spirit, active and vibrant, is the evidence that we are co- laborers with Christ. This love is the evidence of our discipleship. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples,” said Jesus, “if ye have love one to another.” When men are bound together not by force or self- interest, but by love, they show the working of an influence that is above every human influence. Where this oneness exists, it is evidence that the image of God is restored in humanity, that a new principle of life has been implanted. It shows that there is power in the divine nature to withstand the supernatural agencies of evil, and that the Spirit of God subdues the selfishness inherent in the natural heart.

The love for the truth and love for the salvation of souls creates the unity among His people that Christ prayed for. This Satan hates, and his agents— those who refuse this love and the converting power of the Gospel— will intensify persecution until Jesus returns. Some of the most flagrant demonstrations of hatred can and will come from those within the “church.”

Love, manifested in the church, will surely stir the wrath of Satan. Christ did not mark out for His disciples an easy path. “If the world hate you,” He said, “ye know it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me” (John 15: 18- 21). THE GOSPEL IS TO BE CARRIED FORWARD BY AGGRESSIVE WARFARE, IN THE MIDST OF OPPOSITION, PERIL, LOSS, AND SUFFER- ING. BUT THOSE WHO DO THIS WORK ARE ONLY FOLLOWING IN THE MASTER’S STEPS. Now are you sure you want to be “just like Jesus”? Many do not as yet comprehend or quite believe that there was war in heaven (Revelation 12: 7). They do not realize that the way to eternal bliss is blocked by the devil and that we will have to overthrow him as Christ did to seize the promised land. There is no other way for this last generation but through this terrible struggle. We especially who have been spoiled by “civilization” are at a great disadvantage. If we are to gain the eternal prize at all it will only be by aggressive warfare in the midst of opposition, peril, loss, and suffering. Of course, the weapons used by Christians will be “the sword of the spirit” — God’s word. But praise the Lord! He has traveled this road before us and He knows the way to safety. If you want Him to guide you through this wilderness on to the promised land, you must be willing to follow Him wherever He leads. Are you willing? It is His purpose that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the Source of all power, shall be ours. We are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable us to overcome as Christ overcame.

Christ designs that heaven’s order, heaven’s plan of government, heaven’s divine harmony, shall be represented in His church on earth. Thus in His people He is glorified. Through them the Sun of Righteousness will shine in undimmed luster to the world. Christ has given to His church ample facilities, that He may receive a large return of glory from His redeemed, purchased possession. He has bestowed upon His people capabilities and blessings that they may represent His own sufficiency. His true church, endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is to be the storehouse in which the riches of His mercy, His grace and His love, are to appear in full and final display. Christ looks upon His people in their purity and perfection, as the reward of His humiliation, and the supplement of His glory. Christ is the great Center, from whom radiates all glory.

If you are convinced that what you are reading is something God would have you understand as truth, then this has to be read as more than just a statement of purpose. It is also a promise of the church Christ will present before the universe and to the Father. We must decide if we will be a part of this church or not. This is our opportunity to do something in return for Him who gave us His all. Those who submit fully to Jesus will be to Him the long awaited reward— the bride He has waited for. Then all His suffering and sacrifice will have been worth it. His heart will be satisfied.

As a consecrated High Priest He intercedes for His people. As a faithful Shepherd He gathers His flock under the shadow of the Almighty, in the strong and sure refuge. For Him there waits the last battle with Satan, and He goes forth to meet it.

In the faithful of the Lord— the one and only true church of God— lies the last great battle between Christ and Satan.

Those who develop a pure love for Christ will not desert Him when it costs them something. To the contrary! They firmly and resolutely engage in the warfare with one purpose— to vindicate the character of God.

Copyright © 1999 Servants of the Saviour
Terry & Cathy Ross

Chapter 7 – Calvary ⇒