Ee-15 Was PETER the FIRST POPE? DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE. Ee-15. WAS PETER THE FIRST POPE?
The question has been asked, Was Peter the first pope? The Roman Catholic Church claims that Peter was the first Pope based upon their list of apostolic succession from Saint Peter, one of the twelve original Apostles of Jesus, to this present day. And then, they try to use that CLAIM based upon their SUPPOSED list of an unbroken line of Spostolic succession, the Catholic Church to ALSO make the claim that the Roman Catholic Church is the ONLY one true church apart from which there can be no salvation. And that is how they deceive Catholics to accept their teachings as being true. All churches that teach FALSE doctrine make the CLAIM that they ALONE are the ONLY true church. They make that claim to control their followers with FEAR. For example, if Jehovah’s Witnesses sincerely believe their church is the ONLY true church, then they will FEAR leaving their church or even QUESTIONING what their church teaches. Now, some Catholics may argue and say that this is simply not true. And they go on to say that the Roman Catholic Church does not teach that they are the ONLY church by which people can be saved. Now, I do not disagree that SOME Catholics, as being INDIVIDUAL Catholics within the Catholic Church, might very well truly and sincerely believe that there are true Christians in many of the Protestant churches, but the official stand of the Roman Catholic Church, according to their Vatican congregation, says that the Catholic Church ALONE is the ONE TRUE church. But some Catholics may still argue and say that Vatican II made some changes and the Roman Catholic Church now says that the elements of salvation do indeed exist in other churches. However, if you click on the links and read more closely, you will see that the Catholic Church still teaches that they ALONE are the ONE TRUE church and they do NOT view the Protestant churches, which separated themselves from the Catholic Church, as being churches at all. Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Church will NOT allow communion to be taken by ANYONE UNLESS they have been baptized in the Catholic Church. Now, again, some parishes may be open to inviting Christians who are NOT baptized in the Catholic Church to partake of communion, but they are doing this despite the official ruling of the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church who write the church dogma. Now, there is TALK of making some changes in these dogmas, but no changes, as of yet, have been actually made, just TALK thus far. So then, since the Roman Catholic church OFFICIALLY teaches that they are the ONE and ONLY ONE TRUE church ALONE, then many Catholics will not dare to QUESTION the teachings of the Catholic Church to see if they are indeed being taught the TRUTH of God's word. And that FEAR and BLIND obedience to follow MAN robs Christians from OBEYING God’s word in Acts 17:11 to search the Scriptures daily to SEE if what they are being taught is the truth or if it is NOT the truth. But I assure you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church, that the Catholic Church is NOT the ONLY church who teaches salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And I assure you that the Roman Catholic Church has MANY FALSE doctrines that directly CONTRADICT the Scriptures. And this study will PROVE beyond any shadow of a doubt that all anyone needs to understand the GOSPEL of our salvation is the word for TRUTH, the Holy Bible, and the very word of Almighty God Himself. It is just that simple. If you want to get CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE answers to what you must do to be saved, then go straight to the SOURCE, the Holy Bible, and just read the New Testament for YOURSELF. By doing this, you will find that there are NO verses in the Bible where Peter is made to be the so-called “SUPREME PONTIFF” over all the other Apostles. Nor will you find any evidence in the Bible ITSELF where Peter was ever in the city of Rome. The word “Rome” is found only 15 times in the Bible and nowhere is Peter found in any of the contexts of these passages of Scripture referring to Rome. The TRUTH of the matter is that there is no mention, in the Bible ITSELF, of Peter ever being in Rome. Now some Catholic apologist may try to argue by quoting 1 Peter 5:13 and say that Babylon is symbolic for the church in Rome.
1 Peter 5:13.
“The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, salutes you; and so does Marcus my son.”
You see, some Bible scholars believe that the name “Babylon” is a code name for the city of Rome that the early Christians used. It has been said that the early Christians used code words so the church would not be persecuted. And thus, some believe that when Peter said the words “the church at Babylon” that he was using the word “Babylon” as a code word so that the persecutors would not know that his letter came from the church of Rome. If this is true, then it would have been a code word for ANY and EVERY church. Again, if this interpretation is true, and the word “Babylon” was indeed a code word, it still does not prove that Peter was speaking of the church in the city of Rome. Other Bible scholars also say that Babylon was an actual city at that time in history, according to the writings of Josephus. And therefore, Peter was speaking of the actual city of Babylon and NOT the city of Rome. But either way, the CONTEXT of this verse does not demand that Peter is IN EITHER the city of Rome or in the city of Babylon, if they are two different cities. You do NOT have to be IN the city ITSELF in order to send a greeting on behalf of this church wherever it may be. You see, letters of greeting were sent to and from different churches all the time to see how their fellow brothers and sisters in the faith were doing. It would be no different than today, if a brother or sister, from another church, wrote to me from Rome, a place that I have never been, and said, Mark whenever you write to the church at Galatia, send them greeting from us, the church that is at Babylon or Rome, if you will, on our behalf. Please read 1 Peter 5:10-14 for yourself and you can see that this is just a greeting from Peter being given for or on behalf of the church at Babylon or Rome. I say Rome, if you accept other interpretations that demand that Babylon is a code name for the city of Rome.
1 Peter 5:10-14.
“But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. 11. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12. BY Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein you stand. (In other words, BY Silvanus, or at the REQUEST of Silvanus, I Peter have written unto you who are at Galatia to exhort you and to send you greetings FROM Silvanus who is at Babylon or Rome, if you will, who speaks for...) 13. The church that is at Babylon, elected together WITH YOU, (Meaning that the church that is in Galatia is ALSO a part of the TRUE church that Jesus built) salutes you; and so does Marcus my son. (Peter was MARRIED, according to Matthew 8:14. But yet the Roman Catholic Church FORBIDS its leaders, priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes to be married. And, according to 1 Timothy 4:1-6, forbidding the leaders to marry is a doctrine of DEVILS. Please read the study called Ee-4. Does the BIBLE Teach CELIBACY in PRIESTS?) 14. Greet you one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you ALL that are IN Christ Jesus. Amen.”
You see this one extremely vague verse of Scripture offers absolutely no sound Biblical evidence to lay the foundation for SUPREME authority to be given to ONE man over the entire church. But rather, this passage of Scripture offers more evidence that Peter was never IN ROME. And it certainly does NOT say anything about Peter as being the so-called SUPREME PONTIFF or the POPE over the church. And again, it does NOT say Rome, it says Babylon. Plus, there is nothing in this verse that even hints that Babylon as being the SEAT of the entire church body of believers. Please understand that right now we are ONLY examining the evidence from the Bible ITSELF. And the Bible itself clearly teaches us that Jesus is the HEAD of the church and Almighty God is the HEAD of Jesus, according to 1 Corinthians 11:3. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church, how vitally important it is to base the doctrines or the teachings of the church on what the BIBLE ITSELF plainly teaches us, and NOT upon church TRADITION. You see, even in church tradition or throughout the history of the church, whenever there was a DISPUTE over doctrine or an argument over what some in the church were teaching, Christians always went back to the teachings of Jesus and the twelve original Apostles of Jesus who were eyewitnesses of what actually took place and heard what was actually said by Jesus. And we HAVE these writings of the first Apostles recorded for us ALL to read for OURSELVES. And again, the Bible itself in Acts 17:11 teaches us to SEARCH the Scriptures for ourselves in order to SEE or to decide for OURSELVES through the leading of the Holy Spirit what the New Testament is truly teaching. In other words, IF it is not CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE to see and understand, then do NOT teach it as DOGMATIC DOCTRINE! And the number one thing that the Roman Catholic Church DOGMATICALLY teaches is that she, ALONE, is the ONE TRUE church and the ONLY church who can trace her roots all the way back to PETER, the very FIRST POPE. But the AnaBaptists make the same CLAIM that they can trace their roots all the way back to Jesus as well. And ALL Protestant churches can trace their roots back to the Roman Catholic Church. So being able to prove that you can trace your roots all the way back to Jesus does NOT prove that your church denomination teaches the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So again, it is simply NOT the truth that the Catholic church is the ONLY church that can trace its roots all the way back to Jesus. There are other Protestant churches that make the same claim of tracing their roots all the way back to Jesus. That is another study in and of itself, but if you would like to pursue this subject further and read about the lineage of these other churches then there are some websites out there showing how these other churches trace their roots back to Jesus. But I can assure you that every church that makes this claim, of tracing their Apostolic succession back to the early Apostles does NOT mean that they do not have any FALSE doctrines. The word “catholic” simply means UNIVERSAL. And thus, the very Apostles of Jesus were “catholic” in THAT sense, but yet there were DIVISIONS in the “UNIVERSAL” church even in the days of the Apostle Paul. So then, it does NOT MATTER whether or not you can trace your denomination church roots in an unbroken line of apostolic succession all the way back to the first Apostles of Jesus. This is NOT what makes any church a TRUE church. For you see, the TRUE church that Jesus built teaches the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel that the Apostle Paul recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible. Now, in my own opinion, there is really no church denomination that I am aware of presently that is WITHOUT ANY ERRORS in any of their teachings. So then, going straight to the SOURCE, the Holy Bible itself, for YOURSELF is the only way to truly KNOW if what you are being taught is the TRUTH. And again, the ONLY TRUE source of the whole truth is the Holy Bible ITSELF. And for true SOUND Biblical Christianity, the only true source of the whole truth is the NEW TESTAMENT of the Holy Bible under the NEW COVENANT. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church or in any other church for that matter, is that ALL churches have at least some error in what they teach. Now please do not misunderstand what I am saying. You see, it may not be quote-unquote “ERROR” that they are teaching, but rather, more so in the WAY that they explain their teachings that have caused some to NOT understand exactly what they are teaching and others think that they are teaching something that is NOT truly Biblical. What I mean by this is that many Protestant churches have a LIST of the tenants of faith as to what they believe. They usually have this list broken down to two separate lists where the one list is labeled ESSENTIAL BELIEFS that MUST, without fail, be believed or you are NOT considered to be a CHRISTIAN by that particular denomination. So case closed, period, end of the discussion, so do NOT QUESTION our AUTHORITY to make these ESSENTIAL tenets of faith. Then some Protestant churches are more flexible and they have a secondary list called the “DEBATABLE” teachings that are taught as truth, but yet these teachings are more FLEXIBLE and therefore they are ALLOWED to be discussed freely and debated using SCRIPTURE, so long as all are in agreement NOT to get hostile and cause strife if you cannot accept what your fellow brother or sister believes. Then in this way, these teachings can be REFORMED and changes made to make them CLEARER and more easily understood so that they AGREE with the WHOLE word of God. However, the Roman Catholic Church does NOT ALLOW their AUTHORITY to be QUESTIONED in ANY of their teachings. Here is the official stand of the Roman Catholic Church:
QUESTION: As Catholics, do we have to accept everything the Church teaches?
ANSWER: It is important to realize that if you want to call yourself Catholic, but you want to pick and choose for yourself which of the Church’s teachings to accept and which to reject, you give everyone else who calls themselves Catholic the right to do the same thing. For example, you believe women should be priests…in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1577 states, “Only a baptized man validly receives ordination…For this reason, the ordination of women is not possible!” Perhaps you believe that contraception is okay. Paragraph 2370 says contraception is intrinsically evil. When you choose to throw out certain teachings you don’t like, you undermine the AUTHORITY that Christ gave to the Catholic Church, and you start to follow the “catechism of your own church” rather than the teachings of Christ’s Catholic Church. If we don’t believe in ALL of it, if we each appoint ourselves Pope and throw out a doctrine here or a doctrine there, then our faith is no longer Catholic. Yes, it can sometimes be a challenge to follow all of the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church that carries on His.
Now the FIRST thing that I want to point out is that Jesus did indeed give his church AUTHORITY to boldly preach and teach HIS GOSPEL and not our OWN gospel. In other words, Jesus did NOT give his church the AUTHORITY to teach FALSE DOCTRINE. So, HOW do we KNOW if a teaching is true or false? We go to the SOURCE, the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, and the very word of Almighty God Himself. Please read the study called >>>Ee-0. What Every CATHOLIC MUST KNOW!<<< for a deeper understanding of what the BIBLE teaches compared to what the Catholic church teaches. But for now, let it be sufficient to say the BIBLE teaches us that it is a very noble thing to QUESTION what we are TAUGHT by the church. In fact, the Bible itself teaches us that we should question what we are being taught to the point that we go to the word of God and search the Scriptures for OURSELVES. And we do this in order to prove whether or not we are being taught the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. For when we see it for ourselves directly from the word of God then that roots us in the word of God so that we will not be deceived. The second thing that I want to point out is that the word “CATHOLIC” means universal, complete, or whole. In other words, as a WHOLE or in general, there are many different groups of believers who do indeed speak the SAME thing about the CORE ESSENTIAL teaching that Jesus is the SON OF Almighty God, the Father. And that Almighty God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to suffer and die for the sins of the whole world. Jesus died for the sins of the WHOLE world so that WHOSOEVER of ANY person, whatsoever person in the entire world, who BELIEVES on His son Jesus shall not perish. But rather every BELIEVER in Jesus as the atonement for their sins shall be given eternal life in the world to come IF they endure unto the end to obey the TRUTH of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ under the New Covenant found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. Any other teaching that goes BEYOND this central CORE UNIVERSAL belief, that is accepted and believed by the WHOLE body of believers, is a DEBATABLE teaching and should in no way be taught in a dogmatic way as being ESSENTIAL to salvation. So if ANY church makes the CLAIM that they ALONE are the ONLY true church, then THAT church should be the one you should TEST to see if their teachings AGREE with the Bible or if their teachings CONTRADICT what the Bible ITSELF teaches. With that being said, let us get back to the study at hand to examine the BIBLICAL evidence that to me clearly shows that Peter was NEVER in the city of Rome, which the Catholic Church dogmatically teaches that Peter was the first PATER. Now this Latin word “Pater” is translated to the English word the first “POPE”, which means “father”. And, therefore, according to the Catholic Church, Pater or “Pope” means the father of all. Or more precisely the word Pope means the supreme “Father” over all other church fathers. And by the Roman Catholic Church saying that unless you believe ALL the teachings of the Catholic Church, then you cannot call yourself a CATHOLIC unless you believe that Peter is the very FIRST POPE. We will get back to the TRUE history of the Christian church and learn exactly when PART of the true Christian church split off or separated itself from the clear, plain, and simple teachings of the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ to wrongly exalt itself as the so-called Holy Roman Catholic Church. And they did this to have just ONE SUPREME PONTIFF over the whole entire church in order to bring THEIR teachings in unity to the church so that all the different sects of the church would teach what THEY teach. And it was chosen by THEM that the seat of the so-called UNIVERSAL Church was to be in the city of ROME. But according to the Bible ITSELF, the Apostles of Jesus always went up to Jerusalem to settle the matters of controversy. So it TRUTH, the SEAT of God’s church has always been in Jerusalem. But for now, rather than focusing on Roman Catholic Church TRADITION, let us focus on the Biblical evidence of Peter never being in Rome. I am going to label these facts of Biblical evidence as point #1 and so forth so that they can be gone over as a condensed list, so to speak. For example, all that we have already discussed is under POINT # 1, which was that Peter was never in Rome. We came to this sound Biblical conclusion because not one single verse of Scripture with the word ROME in it has any connection whatsoever with Peter, therefore Peter is NOT the first Pope. So then, this brings us to point #2 to REFUTE the arguments made by Roman Catholic Church apologist trying to defend the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. POINT #2. Peter was never in Rome because... The Bible ITSELF teaches us that the Apostle Paul was called by Almighty God to preach to Rome and NOT Peter. Therefore, Peter is NOT the first Pope, and Rome is NOT the seat of the church. Please read Acts 23:11, which teaches us that the Lord himself called PAUL to be a witness for him at ROME. Acts 23:11. “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as you have testified of me in Jerusalem, so must YOU bear witness also at Rome.”
In other words, ACCORDING TO THE bIBLE itself, or Lord Jesus Christ called PAUL to preach the gospel of salvation at Rome and NOT Peter as the Catholic Church would have Catholics to believe. For you see, the ONLY reason for WHY the Catholic Church teaches that Peter is the first POPE is because they make the CLAIM that THEY alone are the ONLY true church. And they try to prove that claim by saying that they are the ONLY church that can trace their leaders of the church all the way back to Peter. And thus, in THEIR minds, if the Catholic Church fails to prove, without a doubt, the so-called AUTHORITY of an unbroken Apostolic succession, then they will lose all credibility as being the ONE and ONLY TRUE church ALONE and apart from which there can be NO SALVATION. And if that were to happen then they will lose all of the members who have ever QUESTIONED ANY of their teachings at any time. But they were too afraid to leave the Catholic Church for fear of going to hell if they left the so-called ONLY TRUE church. And that is WHY the Roman Catholic Church uses church TRADITION to try and prove that Peter was the FIRST POPE by showing that writings outside of the Bible by early church leaders spoke of Peter being in Rome. Well, simply being IN Rome does NOT make Peter to be the FIRST POPE OF the Roman Catholic Church. And the Roman Catholic Church knows that if Peter is NOT the first POPE, then, in their minds, they have NO AUTHORITY for any other Pope to be over the WHOLE universal church to form church doctrine that MUST be believed and obeyed. In other words, every Roman Catholic doctrine is based solely on the so-called “INFALLIBILITY” of the POPES to make any error in what they teach. But yet, according to Galatians 2:11-14, the Apostle Paul rebuked the Apostle Peter to his face because Peter was to be blamed for departing from the TRUTH of the TRUE gospel. So I want to assure you, my dear brothers and sister in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church that there is not one believer in Jesus Christ who will go to hell for believing what Jesus, HIMSELF, teaches us in the New Testament of the Bible under the New Covenant. So, buy a copy of the New Testament of the Bible if you do not own one. And if you do own a Bible, then open it up and begin reading it for YOURSELF. For you see, this is the only way you are going to know the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, the GOSPEL of our SALVATION. Neither the Catholic Church nor any other church DENOMINATIONAL baptism can save you. It is YOUR OWN personal faith in the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ that is able to save you. And the ONLY way to know for sure that you are NOT being taught a DIFFERENT gospel, that is NOT the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ, is to get into God's word of TRUTH and prove it for YOURSELF. I cannot emphasize this sound Biblical advice to you enough. So I implore you to read the three part study called E-24. Are You SURE You Have the TRUE GOSPEL, E-25. Will You DARE to TEST YOUR FAITH? Part 1, and E-26. Will You DARE TO TEST YOUR FAITH? Part 2. But for now, let us move on to point number three. POINT #3. Peter was never in Rome because… The Bible teaches us that Paul was called by God to preach to the Gentiles and Peter was called by God to preach to the Jews. Therefore, Peter is not the first Pope.
Please read Galatians 2:1-9 where Paul, Barnabas, and Titus return back to the city of Jerusalem after preaching the gospel for 14 years. Galatians 2:1-9. “Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. (But no mention of Peter, because Peter was in JERUSALEM, which is where Paul was being sent by the Holy Spirit by revelation to settle this argument of being circumcised in order to be saved. So again, the SEAT of that church was in Jerusalem and NOT in Rome) 2. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them (Speaking of the Apostles, James, Peter, and John who were at Jerusalem, which was considered the HOME church or the city were the church began) that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. 3. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4. And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5. To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the TRUTH of the gospel might continue with you. (In other words, Paul would NOT SUBMIT himself to those who CLAIM to be someone just because they may or may not be someone, because they did NOT teach the TRUTH. It was not that Paul was some kind of rebel for NOT SUBMITTING to those who may, are may not, be someone of importance, but rather Paul would NOT SUBMIT to FALSE teaching) 6. But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it makes no matter to me: God accepts no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: (In other words, Paul was saying that some have seemed to conference or plot together to exalt themselves to a place of authority, to try to intimidate Paul. But their self appointed position of authority did not mean anything to Paul, because he KNEW that they were NOT teaching the TRUTH) 7. But contrariwise, when they SAW that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, (Speaking of Paul and whosoever Paul would disciple or train was given the ministry to the Gentiles) as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (Or in the same way the gospel to preach to the Jews was given to Peter) 8. (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 9. And when James, Cephas, (Or Peter. Sometimes Peter was called Cephas, but they are one and the same person. You will find Peter, James, and John mentioned together in several passages of Scripture. Jesus calls Peter Cephas, which we will cover further on in this study) and John, who seemed to be pillars, (And indeed they ALL were pillars in the church, but please notice that the Apostles of Jesus Christ SEAT, so to speak, was the city of JERUSALEM and NOT the city of ROME as the Catholic Church would have you to believe. The main point is that those who SEEMED to Paul as having exalted themselves SAW, understood or) perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that WE (Speaking of Paul and Barnabas) should go unto the HEATHEN (Or that Paul and Barnabas were Apostles sent to the GENTILES in which Rome was FULL of heathen Gentiles ripe for the harvest. And it was ROME where the Apostle PAUL was called by the Lord himself to be a witness to ROME and NOT Peter) and they (Speaking of Peter, James, and John who are specifically named were to go preach the gospel) unto the circumcision.”
Now please notice that this FIRST TRUE church council was no less than 14 years after the founding of the church. And the HEAD or the SEAT of the church was in the city of JERUSALEM and NOT Rome. Paul says it was 14 years since he himself had been at Jerusalem. My point is this. If the city of ROME was the SEAT of the church, then WHEN was it MOVED from the city Jerusalem to Rome? For you see, the BIBLE clearly teaches us that JERUSALEM is where the first church council was held in Acts chapter 15. In other words, when there was a dispute concerning whether or not the Gentiles should keep the Law of Moses they went up to JERUSALEM to settle the matter. They did NOT go to the city of Rome to settle the dispute. Peter was in JERUSALEM along with James when Paul came up to JERUSALEM to settle this dispute. Now, I fully realize that the mere fact that PAUL was called by the Lord HIMSELF to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and that Peter was the Apostle to the JEWS does not prove that Peter never came to Rome to preach to the Jews in Rome. And I fully realize that Paul preached the gospel to the GENTILES in Rome does not prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that Peter was never called as well to preach the gospel to the JEWS at Rome. But again, there is no WRITTEN evidence in the Bible ITSELF that Peter ever went to the city of Rome. In other words, there is no written evidence in the New Testament Scriptures. And there is no written evidence anywhere that is the UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED cannon of the early church writings. To say this another way there is no evidence of Peter ever being IN the city of Rome. And there is no evidence in the Scriptures that the church MOVED the SEAT of the church from Jerusalem to Rome. Nor are there any written documents that the leaders in the Protestant church deem as worthy to be TRUSTED for the forming of church DOCTRINE until after Constantine made Christianity the state religion. And according to the history books, Constantine MOVED the capital to the city of Byzantium which he renamed as the city of Constantinople. So in truth, the “seat” of the church then became the city Constantinople during the reign of Constantine and NOT the city of Rome as the Roman Catholic Church would have Catholics wrongly believe. For you see, it was Constantine who made Christianity the STATE religion of the whole Roman Empire. And that means that ALL the PAGANS automatically were PRONOUNCED to be CHRISTIANS. And that is how the ROMAN Catholic Church FIRST came into existence. And thus, Paganism was MIXED with Christianity by the Roman EMPIRE. And to KEEP the PEACE many COMPROMISES had to be made by the LEADERS of the “universal” church or the WHOLE complete church to satisfy or keep the peace with the Pagan Christians who were NOT true born-again Christians. And that is WHY all of the Roman Catholic Church so-called “holy” days fall on the same days as the pagan holiday celebrations to their pagan gods. Below are TWO videos how the apostate Roman Catholic Church developed over several centuries. Be sure to watch them both. Here is a 30 minute video on how Constantine “LEGALIZED” Christianity and made the capital of NEW Roman the city of Constantinople in the east close to Asia Minor where the seven churches of Asia were located.
And below is a video showing how Constantine DECEIVED some Christians to form a NEW image of Jesus. Keep in mind that Satan can transform himself as an angel of light. Satan saw that persecution just made true Christianity GROW all the more. So Satan changed his strategy, CONFORM Christianity with paganism.
How Christianity Spread In Rome - Secrets Of Christianity 105 - Selling Christianity POINT #4. Peter was never in Rome because... There is no mention of Peter in ANY of the letters written either to Rome or from Rome. Therefore, Peter cannot possibly be the first Pope. Now to me, this a monumental piece of sound Biblical evidence, because IF Peter were TRULY the HEAD of all the church not only at ROME but also over the whole entire church, then there should be countless evidence of Peter being IN ROME all through these letters to and from the church at Rome. But there is NOT even ONE mention of him anywhere in connection with ROME. Neither the name Peter nor the name Cephas is ever mentioned in the book of Romans. Nor again is the name Peter or the name Cephas found in any of the letters written from Rome to the other churches. THINK about this for a moment my dear brothers and sisters, in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church. Can you not see that IF Peter had indeed been the HIGHEST of all the other Bishops, being the first Bishop over all the other Bishops, the HEAD over the whole entire church as you have been taught, being a Catholic by the teachings of ONLY the Catholic church and no other source of teaching, then WHERE is the EVIDENCE in the Bible ITSELF? Why is Peter never even MENTIONED as being in Rome even just one time, IF SO BE, that he was the POPE, the SUPREME PONTIFF, the PONTIFEX MAXIMUS of the entire Roman Catholic Church? I mean to me, IF Peter was the HEAD of all the entire church and the SEAT of the church was indeed at ROME, then there should be tons of sound Biblical evidence of this to PROVE this teaching. But the TRUTH of the matter is that there is absolutely no SOUND BIBLICAL evidence, whatsoever, to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Peter was the first POPE. However, there is plenty of sound Biblical evidence to prove that Jesus NEVER instituted HIS church to be governed in a way where just ONE man is the HEAD over all the entire church. In other words, the “governmental” institution of the Roman Catholic Church where ONE man called the Pope is to be the HEAD of the entire church, is NOT of God. But rather, it is of MAN, seeking to exalt himself to be something that he is NOT, in the eyes of Almighty God. Please read Matthew 21:42-44 where we are taught that Almighty God, the Father, chose to make His Son Jesus to be the HEAD cornerstone of HIS church. Matthew 21:42-44. “Jesus said unto them, Did you never read in the SCRIPTURE, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the HEAD of the corner: THIS is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43. Therefore, say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be TAKEN from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: (Or whosoever BELIEVES this TRUTH, that JESUS ALONE is the HEAD of HIS church, shall SUBMIT to this truth and accept no other teaching) but on whomsoever, it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.:
Trust me when I say that you do not want to reject this TRUTH that Jesus ALONE is the HEAD of his own church and the HEAD over Jesus is Almighty God the Father, according to 1 Corinthians 11:3. In other words, that is no man on the earth that is the HEAD over the church. That job belongs ONLY to Jesus! Now, this Scripture is speaking of the Jews who are rejecting Jesus as the HEAD cornerstone and if they do not repent and believe that Jesus is the ONE, whom the prophecies in the SCRIPTURES foretell of coming. And thus, the kingdom of God would be taken away from them and given to the Gentiles. In other words, Jesus is saying that Almighty God has chosen His Son Jesus to be the HEAD cornerstone of HIS church. Please read Mark 12:10-17, which teaches us that Jesus did NOT submit himself to those who were in high positions just because they were in a high position. For you see, they did NOT teach the truth by the lives that they lived.
Mark 12:10-17.
“And have you not read this SCRIPTURE; (In other words, Jesus is saying READ the word of God for YOURSELVES and you will see the TRUTH) The stone which the builders rejected has become the HEAD of the corner: 11. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 12. And they sought to lay hold on him but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way. 13. And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14. And when they came, they say unto him, Master, we know that you are true, and care for no man: for you regard not the person of men, (Or we know that you do not care if we be master teachers of God's word, because you do not submit to our authority) but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15. Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why do you tempt me? Bring me a penny, so that I may see it. 16. And they brought it. And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. 17. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him.”
Please notice that Jesus was MADE the HEAD by Almighty God Himself. And also notice that Jesus perceived their hypocrisy by REVELATION of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God in him. Jesus knew that they did not speak the truth. So then, Jesus, as our example to follow, did NOT SUBMIT to their intimidation of being highly respected master teachers of God's word, because Jesus knew that they did not practice what they preached. So you need to NOT be intimidated by church leaders to NEVER question what they are teaching you. Also, read Acts 4:7-13, which is right after Peter and John were used by God to heal a man in the name of Jesus that had been crippled from birth but was seen of many, being completely made whole and they wanted to know, by what AUTHORITY they healed this man. For you see, SOME of the leaders of the church want to lord over the flock. They do NOT like to be questioned. And when you ask them questions. They address you as having no AUTHORITY to interpret the Scriptures.
Acts 4:7-13.
“And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, (Or by what AUTHORITY or WHO GAVE you this AUTHORITY to preach the name of Jesus?) or by what name, have you done this? 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, You RULERS of the people, and ELDERS of Israel, 9. If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that BY the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even BY HIM does this man stand here before you whole. 11. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which has become the HEAD of the corner. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter AND John and perceived that THEY were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
So then, our AUTHORITY as BELIEVERS to preach the gospel and to heal the sick comes DIRECTLY from Almighty God Himself. Every believer is to have their own individual FAITH in BELIEVING the WORDS of Jesus, our Lord, and savior. And our authority comes from following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have ONE Lord who is our HEAD and JUDGE over us. And the HEAD of HIS Church is our Lord Jesus Christ and NOT any man in the church who exalts themselves to be RULERS OVER God's children. This will be PROVEN to you by the very word of Almighty God, the Father, as you continue this study in God's word to learn the TRUTH that Peter was NEVER made to be the HEAD of the church by God. But rather, Peter was exalted to this position BY MAN, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, late in the 4th century. But in TRUTH, Peter was just one of the many Apostles of Jesus who were all EQUAL in authority. We will cover this in more detail further on in this study. But for now, let us continue with the sound Biblical evidence that the man, Jesus, ALONE is the HEAD over HIS church. Please read 1 Corinthians 11:1-3, which teaches us that we are to follower our elders, so long as they are following the TRUE Jesus Christ and HIS TRUE gospel teaching, which means that if the elders that we are following, start to teach things that are in CONTRADICTION to the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, the very word of Almighty God Himself, then we are to leave OFF following these FALSE teachings. We can still follow the teachings that we have PROVEN for OURSELVES to be TRUE. But nowhere in God's word are we taught to BLINDLY SUBMIT to our elders just because they are elders or bishops. Keep in mind that this is the Apostle Paul doing the speaking
1 Corinthians 11:1-3.
“Be you, followers of me, even AS I ALSO am of Christ. 2. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 3. But I would have you KNOW, that the HEAD of EVERY man IS Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the HEAD of Christ is God.”
In other words, Paul is saying that AS I submit myself to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ, then I ask that you submit yourselves to me so long as I am practicing what I preach and follow Jesus. And it was the Apostle Paul who wrote the letters to the church in Rome, NOT Peter. But the most important thing that I want you to KNOW is that Jesus ALONE is the HEAD over you and EVERY man including me, the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter. Therefore, if we or any other man or church teach you something that CONTRADICTS the WHOLE word of Almighty God, then you must KNOW that we have NO AUTHORITY to RULE over you to INTIMIDATE you in any way to believe that which you have PROVEN by the word of TRUTH to be FALSE teaching. We are ALL part of the body of Jesus Christ, so long as we believe the word of TRUTH, the gospel of Jesus Christ, no matter what church we attend.
Please read Ephesians 1:15-23.
“Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your FAITH in the Lord Jesus, and love unto ALL the saints, (There is only one thing that causes you to be saved and become a SAINT of God and that is your FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ. Every true believer knows within them that they must obey the words of Jesus in order to receive their promise of reward of eternal life in the world to come) 16. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (YOU are one of God's SAINTS if so be you are a BELIEVER in Jesus Christ, the Son of Almighty God. You do not have to wait to get to heaven and the Catholic Church decides whether or not you are GOOD ENOUGH to be a saint. The Bible teaches us that we, as Christians, are ALL saints right now, right here on the earth in this present world. We are ALL priests unto God and his royal priesthood. We are ALL brothers and sisters in the Lord and we are NOT to lord over each other, but rather exhort each other to continue in the truth of God's word. NOT according to what the organized Roman Catholic Church demands that you, as a Catholic, must believe is the truth just because they said so. But rather, that you believe the truth of the WHOLE word of God as the Holy Spirit teaches you. And HOW are you going to KNOW what truth is UNLESS you read God’s word for YOURSELF? I pray that your eyes of understanding be opened and enlightened in the mighty name of Jesus as you read these studies in God's word and then search the word of truth for yourself to prove to yourself that I am teaching you the truth) 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20. Which He wrought in Christ when He raised him from the dead and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in THIS world but also in that which is to come: 22. And has put all things under his feet, and gave him (His Son Jesus) to be the HEAD over all things to the church, 23. Which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.”
Please read Ephesians 4:11-16, which clearly teaches us that neither God nor His Son Jesus ever gave the church a so-called POPE, to be the HEAD over all the church.
Ephesians 4:11-16.
“And he gave some, Apostles; (Plural. For you see, there were more than just ONE apostle. You see, except for Jesus, the APOSTLES were the highest AUTHORITY in the church. And they ALL shared the authority. In other words, there was never any ONE apostle of all the other Apostles. So then, this concept of the ONE pope being over all the church was a man-made tradition that did NOT exist until well after the last apostle that was chosen by Jesus died) and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors (Or bishops, but NOT like the so-called bishops in the Catholic Church) and teachers; 12. For the perfecting of the saints, FOR the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13. Till we all come in the unity of the FAITH, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: 14. That we henceforth are no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15. But speaking the TRUTH in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the HEAD, even Christ: 16. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which EVERY joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of EVERY part, makes an increase of the body unto the edifying of ITSELF in love.”
There is absolutely NO mention of any POPE or Bishop of Bishops or just one Apostle over all other Apostles. But rather, the Bible itself teaches us that we are ALL members of the ONE body of Jesus Christ, and we ALL help in the ministry. And Jesus himself is the HEAD of the church. But sadly, Satan has DECEIVED the church to DIVIDE into individual church denominations. And at first, it was FALSE teachers exalting themselves. But later on it became the REFORMATION or separating away from FALSE teaching to go back to what the Apostle taught in the first century. Please read Colossians 2:18,19, which teaches us to NOT let any man DECEIVE us. So Again, HOW are you going to KNOW whether or not the teachings of man are not DECEIVING you unless you read God's word for YOURSELF?
Colossians 2:18.19.
“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of ANGELS, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19. And NOT holding the HEAD, from which ALL the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God.”
This verse is very important because the Roman Catholic Church is BEGUILING Catholics to ignorantly and in voluntary SUBMISSION to the teachings of the Catholic Church to WORSHIP the ANGELS. And the Bible itself teaches us, as Christians, that we are forbidden to do in any way shape or form. And by doing this, the Catholic Church is NOT holding the HEAD of the Church, Jesus Christ, in his proper place of honor and worship. Now you may say, wait just a minute, we as Catholics do NOT worship the angels, we do not worship Mary, we do not worship the saints, nor do we worship the relics of martyrs. But I say to you that you do indeed WORSHIP all those things including the ANGELS. For you see, ACCORDING to the teachings of the Catholic Church, which you are dogmatically taught that you must ACCEPT and KEEP ALL their teachings if you want to call yourself a Catholic. Here is the OFFICIAL stand of the Catholic Church from the Catholic encyclopedia as to how Catholicism defines the word “WORSHIP”.
“The word worship (Saxon weorthscipe, "honour"; from worth, meaning "value", "dignity", "price", and the termination, ship; Latin cultus) in its most general sense is homage paid to a person or a thing. In this sense we may speak of hero-worship, worship of the emperor, of demons, of the ANGELS, even of relics, and especially of the Cross. This article will deal with Christian worship according to the following definition: homage paid to God, to Jesus Christ, to His saints, to the BEINGS or even to the objects which have a special relation to God. There are several degrees of this worship:
As the Blessed Virgin has a separate and absolutely superemeinent rank among the saints, the worship paid to her is called hyperdulia (for the meaning and history of these terms see Suicer, Thesaurus ecclesiasticus, 1728).”
In other words, the WORSHIP of Mary, according to the Catholic Church, is a higher form of worship than the Catholic worship of the saints or the ANGELS. But the point that I want you to see is that these DEFINITIONS from THEOLOGICAL MEN are in direct contradiction to the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, which is the very word of Almighty God Himself. So, WHO are you going to TRUST with your reward of ETERNAL LIFE? Are you going to take the CHANCE that these Catholic THEOLOGIANS are right when they CLAIM that it is not IDOLATRY to pray to Mary, to the saints, to bow and kneel before these IMAGES and to WORSHIP all these things including the ANGELS? For you see, as a CATHOLIC you must ACCEPT and obey all these things! OR are you going to be absolutely SURE of your reward of ETERNAL LIFE by OBEYING the CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE word of Almighty God? Remember that THEOLOGIANS are men who THEORIZE and they are NOT necessarily Spirit-filled men of God who receive true revelation and teaching from the Holy Spirit.
POINT #5. Peter is NOT the first Pope because…
The BIBLE does NOT teach that Peter is the ROCK on which Jesus promised to build his church.
Now the Catholic Church INTERPRETS Matthew 16:18,19 as the apostle Peter being the ROCK upon which Jesus will build his church and that Jesus gave Peter the KEYS of the kingdom, which the Catholic Church INTERPRETS as meaning that Peter ALONE has been given ALL AUTHORITY over ALL the church. Here is what these two verses say APART from the rest of God's word, which I see can be INTERPRETED just as the Catholic Church has INTERPRETED these two verses to mean.
Matthew 16:18,19.
“And I say also unto YOU, That YOU are Peter, (Which is the same as saying, YOU are CEPHAS that means little stone) and upon THIS rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19. And I will give unto YOU the KEYS of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever YOU shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever YOU shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
As I have said many times that any verse or verses when taken OUT of CONTEXT and viewed ALONE and APART from the REST of God's word, may SEEM or maybe MADE to say something that it is NOT TRULY saying. So then, let us now KEEP this verse in its CONTEXT to learn what these two verses TRULY mean in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Please read Matthew 16:13-23 where we can CLEARLY see that Jesus is talking to ALL his disciples and NOT just to Peter.
Matthew 16:13-23.
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14. And THEY said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15. He said unto THEM, But who do YOU say that I am? (Speaking to ALL his disciples including us, because we must ALL answer correctly this question in order to be a true Christian) 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: (WHY? Why did Jesus call Peter blessed?) FOR (Or because) flesh and blood has NOT REVEALED it unto you, BUT my Father which is in heaven. (In other words, Jesus said you are blessed Peter BECAUSE this TRUTH that I am the CHRIST, the anointed one of Almighty God, the Messiah, has been REVEALED to you NOT by the teachings of MAN, but rather this truth that I am the Son of the living God was revealed to you by the Holy Spirit of your heavenly Father) 18. And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon THIS rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Now the question is WHAT is the “THIS rock” that Jesus is talking about? There are three choices or three possible INTERPRETATIONS. ONE interpretation is that THIS rock can be Peter. Another interpretation is that THIS rock can be Jesus. And yet another interpretation can be that THIS rock can be what Jesus just got finished saying as to WHY Peter was blessed. Speaking of the “THIS ROCK” as being a sure ROCK SOLID foundation of directly REVEALED KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH by Almighty God through His Holy Spirit, which the gates of hell will NEVER prevail against. For you see, the believer who receives TRUTH REVEALED to him or her DIRECTLY from the Holy Spirit of Almighty God will NEVER back away from the REVEALED KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH. They KNOW that they KNOW that they KNOW it is the TRUTH. And neither man nor any devil can steal away that revealed truth from them. To ME, the rock is both Jesus AND the revealed truth from God. And more precisely, the revealed truth that Jesus is the CHRIST the Son of the living God. Jesus is definitely NOT saying that Peter is the rock because of the CONTEXT. Keep reading) 19. And I will give unto YOU (Speaking of ALL his DISCIPLES including ALL of us, as true born-again Christians are given) the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever YOU (Again, speaking of ALL believers) shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever YOU (Again, all of us as believers) shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20. Then he charged his DISCIPLES that THEY should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. (In other words, Jesus gave the KEYS of the kingdom of God to ALL his disciples, which includes each and every BELIEVER and follower of Jesus Christ. The KEYS of the kingdom of God is our FAITH in the NAME of Jesus as our AUTHORITY over devils and Satan himself) 21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how 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. 22. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be unto you. 23. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get YOU behind me, Satan: YOU are an offense unto me: for (Or because) you savor not the things that be of God, but those that be of MEN.”
Now, most Protestant believers interpret this verse to mean that the ROCK that Jesus was speaking of was HIMSELF being the CHRIST the SON of the living God and I myself also agree that this is a very SOUND Biblical interpretation. But I myself also believe that it is a very SOUND Biblical interpretation to say that THIS ROCK could very well be speaking of the REVEALED KNOWLEDGE of the TRUTH, any TRUTH that is taught in the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible. But more particularly of the REVEALED TRUTH that Jesus is the CHRIST and the SON of the living God, the one true and only Almighty God the Father. So I myself interpret these verses BOTH WAYS seeing that BOTH are the SURE ROCK SOLID FOUNDATIONS on which we stand as believers. You see, any person can say that they believe in Jesus, but have no true FAITH, as in, the KNOWING that Jesus died for their sins and that they are TRULY FORGIVEN of all their sins and that they KNOW that they KNOW that they KNOW that they are SAVED leaving absolutely NO DOUBT. Please read the study E-4. HOW CAN I BE SAVED? so that you can KNOW that you are TRULY saved and that you will have this REVEALED WITNESS of the Holy Spirit deep within you that gives you a ROCK SOLID faith that neither man nor devil can ever steal from you. But the Catholic INTERPRETATION of Peter being that ROCK SOLID FOUNDATION is NOT a SOUND Biblical interpretation. For you see, in this very SAME context Jesus turns right around and calls Peter SATAN and for him to get behind him. So there absolutely is NO WAY that Jesus is saying that Peter is the ROCK that Jesus shall build his church and in just minutes rebuke Peter for listening to Satan. Jesus said that the gates of hell shall NOT prevail against his church that he is building on the ROCK. Now IF that ONE MAN Peter is the ROCK SOLID FOUNDATION of the entire church, then Satan PREVAILED against the ROCK just minutes later. This Catholic INTERPRETATION is completely illogical because of reasons we just covered and also in the gospel of John. For you see, Peter said that he will lay down his life to follow Jesus, but Jesus said back to Peter, WILL you Peter lay down your life for me? Jesus said unto Peter, that before the cock crows, Peter, you will DENY me three times. You see, Peter was not ABLE to follow Jesus UNTIL Peter was FILLED with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth and reveals spiritual things to us. When the Holy Spirit REVEALS to you the TRUTH about who Jesus truly is, then neither man nor devil can steal this revelation knowledge from you ever. But even AFTER Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit he still was overcome by Satan. And the Apostle Paul rebuked Peter to his face because he was to be blamed for turning away from the TRUTH of the TRUE gospel of Jesus, according to Galatians 2:11-14. Also, please carefully consider the following very closely. Please notice the EXACT NAME that Jesus called Peter! This is a monumental clue that proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus was NOT referring to Peter as THE ROCK that Jesus would build his church. Please NOTICE that Jesus did NOT say, You are PETER... Nor did Jesus say, You are CEPHAS. But rather Jesus chose his words very carefully.
Matthew 16:17.
“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: (WHY? Why did Jesus call Peter blessed?) FOR (Or because) flesh and blood has NOT REVEALED it unto you, BUT my Father which is in heaven.”
To say this another way, Almighty God the Father is the one who REVEALED that TRUTH to you Simon Barjona, NOT man. In other words, Jesus did NOT say, blessed are you, Peter, for I have made you the HEAD of the church and men shall call you the first Pope. NO! Jesus said you are blessed Peter BECAUSE this TRUTH that I am the CHRIST, the anointed one of Almighty God, the Messiah, has been REVEALED to you NOT by the teachings of MAN. But rather, this truth that I am the Son of the living God was revealed to you by the Holy Spirit of your heavenly Father. Again, Jesus did NOT say, You are PETER, nor did Jesus say, You are Cephas, but rather, Jesus carefully chose his words and specifically said Simon Barjona. Perhaps Jesus used the more SPECIFIC name “Simon Barjona” because he knew that MEN would exalt Peter above all the other brethren. So what is the difference? Is not saying Simon Barjona the SAME as saying PETER? Well, if words mean anything at all, then NO. For you see, the NAME that Jesus HIMSELF CHOSE to use, was Simon Barjona, as opposed to NOT using Peter or Cephas. You see, the name Simon Barjona has NOTHING whatsoever to do with a stone or a rock of any kind. The name Barjona (Strong’s #920) means son of Jonus or son of Jonah or son of John. The name Simon (Strong’s #4613) means he has heard or the obedient one. The name Peter (Strong’s #4074) on the other hand means a piece of rock. It is the Greek word “PETROS” that means rock, an individual stone, or a small stone. It is translated 157 times as Peter and 4 times as Peter's and 1 time as stone, but never as “rock” in the New Testament. When Jesus said you are SIMON BARJONA and NOT you are Simon PETER, but rather, said You are Simon BARJONA and upon THIS ROCK I will build my “church” the word “ROCK” here is the Greek word “PETRA” (Strong’s #4073). This is a DIFFERENT Greek word that has NOTHING to do with the NAME Peter that means a small stone. This different Greek word “PETRA” means rock, bedrock, or a large massive rock formation with the implication of a solid firm FOUNDATION to build upon. This Greek word is in CONTRAST to the Greek word “PETROS” which means an individual much smaller stone. Now, the name Cephas (Strong’s #2786) is an Aramaic word which does indeed mean rock. But Jesus CHANGED the name Cephas to PETER. The original name of Peter was Cephas which is used 6 times in the New Testament. The Greek word is “Kephas” and it means Cephas, which again is an Aramaic word that means rock. And here is ALL the verses where this name Cephas is used in the Bible.
John 1:42.
“And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”
Now in my Bible, the “A” is CAPITALIZED, which signifies that Jesus was NOT calling Simon Barjona “THE” STONE. But rather, Jesus was calling Simon A stone, which is exactly what the name Cephas means as we have already seen above. Also, in the margin of my Bible, it says that Cephas means PETER as well, which we already discovered means a SMALL rock, and individual stone or a smaller stone and it is never actually translated as “rock” anywhere in the New Testament in the King James Version. Also, the Bible scholars who are fluent in the Greek language define Peter or “PETROS” as being in CONTRAST to the Greek word that Jesus used as being THE ROCK, “the “PETRA” that he would build his church upon in verse 17 as a SOLID SURE FOUNDATION whereas Peter was A stone or a “petros” a smaller individual stone.
1 Corinthians 1:12,13.
“Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 13. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
Here we see that even in the New Testament, while the Apostles of Jesus were still living there were DIVISIONS in the church where some believers were being followers of MEN saying, I am of Apollos, or I am of Paul and others saying I am of Cephas. Please notice that Cephas or Peter was just ONE of these men of God who were being exalted by other believers. Also, notice the PAUL was one of these great men of God as well, but Paul said is Christ divided and was I PAUL crucified for you? In other words, Paul was teaching us NOT to be followers of MEN and say well PAUL says this, or Cephas, says this because we are ALL of ONE body in Jesus Christ who is the HEAD of the church. This passage of Scripture ALONE should prove that NO MAN except for Jesus himself is to ever be called the HEAD of the church that Jesus built.
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you SEEMS to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness. (The TRUTH will always come out) 20. And again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are VAIN. 21. Therefore, let no man glory in MEN. For all things are yours; 22. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23. And you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.”
Here is another passage of Scripture that teaches us NOT to exalt ourselves over other brothers or sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ and NOT to esteem ANY brother over another brother much like we already saw in 1 Corinthians 1:12,13 that we just read.
1 Corinthians 9:1-12.
“Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren't you, my work in the Lord? 2. If I'm not an Apostle to others, at least I am to you! You are the seal that shows I'm an Apostle. 3. This is my defense against those who criticize me. 4. Don't we have the right to eat and drink? 5. Don't we have the right to travel with a wife who believes like the rest of the Apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Cephas? (Here we see that Cephas or Peter has a WIFE. But yet no Pope in the Roman Catholic church is allowed to have a WIFE. We also see that Jesus had BROTHERS. But yet the Catjolic Church claims that Mary remained a virgin her whole life and had no other children) 6. Or is it only I and Barnabas who don't have the right to not work for our living? 7. Who joins the army and pays their own way? Who plants a vineyard and doesn't eat its fruit? Who shepherds a flock and doesn't drink its milk? 8. I'm not saying these things just based on common sense, am I? Doesn't the Law itself say these things? 9. In Moses' Law it's written: You will not muzzle the ox when it is threshing. Is God worried about oxen, 10. or did he say this entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake because the one who plows and the one who threshes should each do so with the hope of sharing the produce. 11. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it so much to ask to harvest some material things from you? 12. If others have these rights over you, don't we deserve them all the more? However, we haven't made use of this right, but we put up with everything so we don't put any obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.”
Here we see that Paul is saying that I too am an Apostle. To paraphrase in my own words, Paul is saying, now, some say that I am not an Apostle of Jesus, but you who to whom I have preached the gospel and you who have believed the gospel that I have preached to you know that I am an Apostle of Jesus Christ. This is what it MEANS to be an Apostle, it means to preach the gospel to those who have never heard the gospel. Also, Paul is saying, I too have seen Jesus. In another place, Paul says Jesus himself taught me these things and I never learned them from ANY MAN. Paul goes on to say that even though he and Barnabas are free to eat and drink whatever the congregation offers them, he took NOTHING from the people so that the gospel would not be hindered.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; 2. By which also you are saved IF you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you have believed in VAIN. 3. For I delivered unto you FIRST OF ALL (Or I preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you BEFORE anyone else. I preached to you) that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; 4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: (This is the core and the HEART of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what is IMPORTANT. All other “DOCTRINE”, in my opinion, should not be made dogmatic and essential for salvation. This is what the early church contended for to preserve and many gave their lives for it. The Apostles did not deem themselves over one another. It was the TRUTH that they defended. And they exhorted one another to keep the faith that was delivered to them at the FIRST) 5. And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some have fallen asleep. 7. After that, he was seen by James; then of all the Apostles. 8. And last of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of due time. 9. For I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.”
Again, we see that Paul is defending his Apostleship. And he says that he is the least of the Apostles, but in 2 Corinthians 11:5 Paul says that he is not behind in any of the Apostles.
Galatians 2:7-9.
“But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8. (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 9. And when James, Cephas, and John, who SEEMED to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen and THEM unto the circumcision.”
Now, one of the arguments that the Catholic Church uses to EXALT Peter ABOVE all of the other Apostles, so that Peter could be seen as the first Catholic POPE OVER the whole church, including the other 11 original Apostles, is that Peter was ALWAYS listed FIRST. However, as you can clearly SEE for YOURSELF that this CLAIM by the so-called INFALLIBLE Catholic Church is in ERROR because the word of TRUTH does not ALWAYS list Peter as being FIRST. Here in Galatians 2:9 you can clearly see that the ORDER of these three Apostles is given as James, THEN Cephas or Peter, then John. Poor John is listed last again, but it was John the beloved that Jesus chose to give his last REVELATION to on the Isle of Patmos? So then, clearly John was a great Apostle. Clearly James was a great Apostle, Clearly, Paul was a great Apostle and yes clearly Peter was a great Apostle. But NONE of the Apostles were greater than ALL of the other Apostles. They ALL were simple APOSTLES and NONE were called the BISHOP of BISHOPS or THE Bishops OVER all the other Bishops. Peter called himself an ELDER in 1 Peter 5:1 and there were many elders in the church. Peter is also called a disciple and there are many disciples in the church. But Jesus said it best when he said you ALL are BRETHREN, which puts us ALL Christians are on the SAME LEVEL where NONE of us are to EXALT OURSELVES to be lord over the church. Nor is any of us to EXALT another Christian to be lord over the church. Jesus alone is the HEAD of the church. My point is that the word of TRUTH clearly teaches us that Peter is NOT the ROCK upon which Jesus built his church. The Roman Catholic Church has deceived its FOLLOWERS by their INCORRECT INTERPRETATION of the words of Jesus. So I implore you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are in the Catholic Church, NOT to be followers of MEN, but rather followers of Jesus and HIS WORDS that are correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
POINT #6. Peter was NOT this first Pope because…
The Catholic Church itself did NOT have its first Pope UNTIL the end of the 4th century.
The writings of Tertullian, who is often quoted by Catholic writers at the first, SEEMED to be in agreement with some of what the Catholic Church teaches, but Tertullian’s later writings definitely do NOT agree with the teaching of the Catholic Church. You see, Tertullian started to see the ERRORS of some of the many Bishops throughout the Roman Empire to the point that he could no longer tolerate them and he joined with another group of believers who were teaching about the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And because of his unwillingness to SUBMIT to the false teachings of these Bishops, he was called a HERETIC by them. So in return, to their name-calling so to speak, Tertullian scoffed at the bishop of Rome with words like the following.
“'I hear that there has even been an edict set forth, and a peremptory one too. The Pontifex Maximus—that is the bishop of bishops—issues an edict: 'I remit, to such as have discharged (the requirements of) repentance, the sins both of adultery and of fornication.'”
This is the first time that the title Pontifex Maximus was used to designate the Roman bishop, but even Roman Catholics note that it was used in irony or in mockery.
“"As regards the title Pontifex Maximus, especially in its application to the pope, there was a further reminiscence of the dignity attached to that title in pagan Rome. Tertullian, as has already been said, uses the phrase of Pope Calixtus. Though his words are ironical, they probably indicate that Catholics already applied it to the pope."” Accustomed as they had been, when they were heathen, to regard the pagan title of Pontifex Maximus with great awe, many of the Christians of the church at Rome may have held its haughty bishop in similar superstitious esteem. A well-known Roman Catholic authority says: "It was apparently in the FOURTH century that it BEGAN to become a distinctive title of the Roman [Catholic] pontiff. Pope Siricius (d. 398) seems to so use it (Ep. vi in P. L. xiii, 1164), and Ennodius of Pavia (d. 521) employs it still more clearly in the same sense in a letter to Pope Symmachus (P. L. lxiii, 69). . . . Gregory VII finally prescribed that it should be confined to the successors of Peter." Now, let us see what happened prior to the official use of the title by Siricius, the Roman bishop in 398 that was just mentioned. Constantine I (306-337 A. D.) was the first of the Roman emperor-pontiffs to make a profession of Christianity. A prominent Roman Catholic historian notes that “as emperor, he was the head (Pontifex Maximus) of the OFFICIAL religion.” That religion was that of the Invincible Sun, whose cult was then at that time the chief pagan religion of the Roman state. While his pagan subjects, who were by decree now Christians, but in name only, regarded him as their sovereign pontiff the way they have always viewed the priest of their religion. And his Christian subjects often spoke of him as “the most blessed prince” and “the servant of God.” He must have had this combination in mind when he, speaking of the Roman Emperor Constantine, said to the clergy.
"While you are bishops of those within the church; also I, having been appointed by God, might be bishop of those outside the church." In Constantine, we have the curious case of the Pontifex Maximus of the official and pagan religion of the Roman state—the high priest of the Invincible Sun—professing to be a Christian at the same time! And he made Christianity the dominant religion of the empire, conferring many favors upon, and giving much aid to, the ecclesiastical party of his choice. With the exception of Julian the Apostate, his successors followed his example. Gibbon observes: "The title, the insignia, the prerogatives of Sovereign Pontiff, which had been instituted by Numa, and assumed by Augustus, were accepted, without hesitation, by seven Christian emperors; who were invested with a more absolute authority over the religion which they had deserted than over that which they professed."
More and more gradually over time, the position of the bishop of Rome became enhanced to eventually become dictator of Christendom that received the aid and support of the imperial Pontifex Maximus of Roman paganism. This strange collaboration continued until the reign of Gratian (375-383 A. D.) On this point, a very interesting point that another Roman Catholic historian brings out is:
"Gratian (375-383) was the first emperor to sever the official bond linking paganism to the imperial power, by refusing to accept the insignia of Pontifex Maximus (chief priest of paganism). 'Such a garment,' he said, 'is NOT becoming to a Christian.' "
Another papal historian Dr.Philip Schaff observes:
"Under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, this emperor went a step further. He laid aside the title and dignity of Pontifex Maximus, confiscated the temple property, abolished most of the privileges of the priests and vestal virgins, and withdrew, at least in part, the appropriation from the public treasury for their support (Cod. Theod. xii. r, 75 ; xvi. 10, zo ; Symmach. Ep. x. 6i; Ambrose, Ep. xvii)."
It is sometimes said that Gratian refused to accept the insignia of Pontifex Maximus and that:
"It was owing, doubtless, to the influence of Ambrose that Gratian refused the title of Pontifex Maximus."
Gratian went a step further, for J. Gamier records:
"Fearing that religion might become disorganized, he offered the title and office to Damasus, bishop of Rome. . . . This bishop, less scrupulous than the emperor accepted the office and from that time until now the title has been held by the popes of Rome, from whom and through whom the whole hierarchy of Western Christendom have received their ordination. So also the honors and powers attached to the title, the dominion of the civilized world, previously wielded by the pontiff-emperors of pagan Rome, passed to the pontiffs and hierarchy of papal Rome, who for centuries imposed their will upon kings and held the nations in thralldom."
Damasus was bishop of Rome from 366 to 384 A. D. There is extant an edict of Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius, in which the Roman bishop is officially designated as “the Pontiff Damasus.” It is as follows:
"It is our pleasure that the nations which are governed by our clemency and moderation should steadfastly adhere to the religion which was taught by St. Peter to the Romans, which faithful TRADITION has preserved and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the discipline of the Apostles and the doctrine of the gospel, let us believe the sole deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: under an equal majesty and a pious Trinity. We authorize the followers of this doctrine to assume the title of Catholic Christians; and as we judge that all others are extravagant madmen, we brand them with the infamous name of 'heretics' and declare that their conventicles shall no longer usurp the respectable appellation of churches. Besides the condemnation of divine justice, they must expect to suffer the severe penalties which our authority, guided by heavenly wisdom, shall think proper to inflict upon the official title and office of Pontifex Maximus, established by Numa and long-held by his spiritual successors as high priest of Roman paganism, were transferred to the head of the Roman Catholic Church. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that Siricius (384-398 A. D.), the successor of Damasus (366-384 A. D.), should use the appellation of Pontifex Maximus as "a distinctive title" of the pope. The Roman bishop had become the legal and official head of the state religion—Roman Catholicism."
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church that the title of Pope, the Pontifex Maximus did NOT become the OFFICIAL HEAD of the state religion called Roman Catholicism, UNTIL 384 AD. Roman paganism was MERGED together with faith in Jesus to BECOME the STATE religion called Roman Catholicism. And all of its followers were commanded to believe the doctrine of the Trinity and assume the name Catholic Christians. This is NOT the church that Jesus built! This is an apostate church that MIXED paganism with Jesus. It is true that in some of these early extra-Biblical writings that Peter is said to be the FOUNDER of the church at Rome, but NONE of these extra-Biblical writings are and never were ever accepted and approved by the church as being TRUSTED writings to form church DOCTRINE. So then, we can NOT rely on TRADITION to form the DOCTRINE that Peter was the FOUNDER of the church at Rome. For you see, the SOUND Biblical evidence found in the New Testament directly CONTRADICTS such a CLAIM. You see the word of TRUTH clearly teaches us that the Apostle Paul was very careful NOT to build on ANOTHER MAN'S foundation. In other words, IF Peter truly did establish the church in Rome as some extra Biblical writings seem to imply, then Paul would have certainly made this point known to us. Paul would have made some mention of Peter establishing the church in Rome. Please read Romans 1:1-7, where the Apostle Paul sends greetings to ALL the BELIEVERS who are IN Rome.
Romans 1:1-7.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2. (Which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,) 3. Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4. And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5. By whom we have received grace and Apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: 6. Among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ: 7. To ALL that be IN Rome, beloved of God, called to be SAINTS: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
It is made clear here that Paul is sending his greetings to ALL the Christians who are IN Rome. Now let us go to the end of the book of Romans and read Paul's closing salutation to ALL the Christians who are IN the city of Rome. Please read Romans 16:1-27, where you will find 27 names of different believers who are IN the city of Rome. And yet you will not find the name of Peter, nor Cephus, nor Simon Barjona among any of these names. So you have to ask yourself the question of WHY the Apostle Paul took the time to specifically NAME 27 Christians but FAILED to mention Peter who, according to the Catholic Church, is the SUPREME LEADER and FOUNDER of the church in Rome?
Romans 16:1-27.
“I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: 2. That you receive her in the Lord, as become saints, and that you assist her in whatever business she has need of you: for she has been a succourer of many, and of myself also. 3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 4. Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. (Again, it was Paul whom Jesus sent to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. And the church in Rome was a GENTILE church) 5. Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the first fruits of Achaia unto Christ. 6. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. 7. Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ before me. 8. Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord. 9. Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. 10. Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus' household. 11. Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that are of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. 12. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which labored much in the Lord. 13. Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 14. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. 15. Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. 16. Salute one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. 17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses CONTRARY to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them. (Meaning that if any come unto you and preach a different gospel other than that the gospel that I have preached unto you then mark them and avoid them) 18. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches DECEIVE the hearts of the simple. 19. For your obedience has come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 21. Timotheus, my work fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. 22. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. 23. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, salutes you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city salutes you, and Quartus a brother. 24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you ALL. Amen. 25. Now to him that is of power to establish you according to MY gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (And this verse here is another piece of sound Biblical evidence that Paul established the church at Rome and NOT Peter as the Roman Catholic Church falsely teaches) according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26. But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27. To God only wise, be the glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. [Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.]”
Now, I realize that Paul does not call everyone directly by name. But do you not think it rather ODD that Paul would list by name specifically so many brothers and sisters in the Lord and NOT even mention the so-called SUPREME PONTIFF Peter. That is of course, IF SO BE, that Peter was indeed the founder and Bishop of all Bishops whose seat or throne was at ROME? Well, the answer is quite obvious as to WHY Paul never mentioned the name of Peter when he sent these greetings to Rome is because Peter was NEVER in Rome, according to the Bible ITSELF. And Peter most definitely did NOT establish the church at Rome because Paul would have never built upon another man's foundation. All of the letters in the New Testament that were written FROM Rome were letters FROM the Apostle Paul. Not ONE letter was sent FROM Rome by the Apostle Peter. And the letter written TO the church at Rome was also sent by the Apostle Paul while he was visiting other churches and preaching the gospel. There is not one letter in the Bible from the Apostle Peter either to or from Rome. So the logical conclusion is that Peter was NOT the so-called head of the church that was supposedly seated in Rome. Again, if Peter established the church at Rome, then Paul would have never built upon another man’s foundation. Please read Romans 15:19,20 where Paul clearly teaches us that he was very careful NOT to preach where someone else had already preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:19,20.
“Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20. Yea, so have I strove to preach the gospel, NOT where Christ was named, lest (Or for fear that) I should build upon ANOTHER man's foundation:”
So NO! A thousand times NO my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are in the Catholic Church, Peter was NOT the Pope of Rome, because Peter was never IN the city of Rome. Now, was Peter the Pope of any other city? Was Peter the so-called Pope of the church? Nor was Peter the Bishop of Rome or even a teacher in Rome. For you see, in truth, the Roman Catholic Church did not take that name of having ANY Pope who was over the whole entire Catholic Church until the FOURTH century. The Christian church, at this time in history, did not have ANY Popes by ANY name in ANY city? Now, some Catholic writers refuse this sound Biblical evidence and chose TRADITION over the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, and say that the early church writings clearly state that Peter founded the church at Rome and that Peter sat in the Papal chair ruling as the first Pope of Rome. And, again yes, there are statements that can be interpreted Peter was in Rome that can be found in SOME of the early church writings of the first and second centuries that Peter VISITED Rome. But again, none of these writings were accepted and approved by the Roman Catholic Church itself when the Roman Catholic leaders of the Catholic Church formed the canon of the ACCEPTED books of the Bible. So then, seeing that these extra Biblical early church writing were NOT accepted writings of the Catholic Church on OTHER things found written in these writings, then to ME, it seems quite obvious that the Catholic Church cherry picks ONLY the certain words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs from of these extra-Biblical writings that SUPPORT what they teach. The Roman Catholic Church is very careful NOT to expose the OTHER PARTS in these writings that contradict other doctrines that the Catholic Church teaches. So my point is this, you can place your trust in TRADITION of the Roman Catholic Church and thereby REJECT what the word of TRUTH, the Holy Bible, clearly and plainly teaches us. Or you can REJECT the untrustworthy, extra Biblical and unapproved writings of TRADITION and accept what the Holy Bible clearly teaches us. Also, you must at least CONSIDER the very real possibility that these extra-Biblical writings were TAMPERED with in order to CONFORM and SUPPORT that Peter in Rome. For you see, if Peter was NEVER in Rome. then he could NOT have been the first Pope. So then, if these early writings have NOT been TAMPERED with by the Catholic Church, then WHY did the Catholic Church not make them a part of the accepted canon of the Bible? I mean what a perfect opportunity to settle this controversy once and for all time to have clear plain evidence actually being IN the Bible. But yet they did NOT accept these writings for some reason and add them to the Bible. So the question is WHY? Could it be that the Catholic Church did indeed TAMPER with these early church writings only AFTER controversies arose against the Roman Catholic Church? Yes, I did say if these early writings were NOT tampered with and changed to have Peter be in Rome. For you see, for Peter to have established the church in Rome and for Peter to be called the first Pope of the Catholic Church, then Peter had to have been in Rome at some point in time. So IF these early writings were NOT altered or fabricated, then WHY were they not added to the canon of accepted books of the New Testament? But, IF they were indeed tampered with, then they would fall under greater scrutiny and the possibility of this tampering would be exposed. You see it would NOT be the first time that the writings of the early church believers were TAMPERED with and changed or added to in a few places so that they would CONFORM to the false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It is common knowledge among many Bible scholars that the King James Bible has some additions made to the original text in order for this version of the Bible to CONFORM to the false doctrine of the trinity. Please check this out for yourself concerning the passage of Scripture in 1 John 5:7;
I John 5:7.
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
Now, as almost always, you have an argument on the other side that denies that this verse was added. And they claim that in most of the original Greek text that it was erased or removed. But if this was true then where is the evidence? Surely you have personally experienced just how difficult it is to ERASE and entire sentence and have absolutely no trace of it ever being erased. Now I am no Greek scholar nor have I personally examined any of the original manuscripts, but the evidence of other Bible scholars to me definitely point to this verse being added to eight of many original Greek manuscripts in order to CONFORM the King James Bible to the false doctrine of the trinity. Now it does not matter to me whether this verse is authentic or whether it was added because the word that is TRANSLATED and these three ARE ONE in verse 7 is the same exact Greek word that is translated in verse 8 and these three AGREE as ONE. So this verse still does not PROVE the doctrine of the trinity. Please read the studies that are related to the man-made doctrine of the Trinity beginning with studies under the heading called >>>N-0. Who is JESUS ACCORDING to the Bible?<<< Those studies will give you a deeper understanding that Jesus is indeed CALLED God by title or be NAME, and Jesus indeed came out from God, but Jesus is not the one true and only ALMIGHTY God who ALONE is the Father. But let us just ASSUME for the sake of argument that all the clear, plain, simple and SOUND BIBLICAL evidence that you just read is wrong and that the TRADITION of the Roman Catholic Church is right. Let us ASSUME that Peter was indeed in Rome despite all the sound Biblical evidence against Peter ever being in Rome. Let us ASSUME that Peter did indeed start the church in Rome, despite the sound Biblical evidence that Paul established the church in Rome, and was specifically sent BY Jesus to Rome. And let us ASSUME that Peter was called the FIRST POPE by UNANIMOUS agreement by the whole church despite the fact that there is absolutely NO biblical evidence for this. And let us also ASSUME that there is indeed an UNBROKEN line of Apostolic succession found ONLY in the Roman Catholic Church that can be traced all the way back to Peter being the FIRST POPE. Even IF all this were true, this does NOT mean that the Roman Catholic Church is INFALLIBLE. And, therefore, it is DECEPTION for any Catholic to teach that the Roman Catholic Church is WITHOUT ERROR in ALL her teachings. The purpose for making the claim to be the only TRUE church is that it teaches the TRUTH. But in truth, the ONE TRUE UNIVERSAL church in the New Testament was DIVIDED. And all the Apostles did NOT teach the same things in ALL of what they taught. What the Apostle taught at FIRST was in one accord. But it did not take long before Satan DECEIVED some Christians to DEPART from the TRUTH of the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ, And it took several years before the Apostles became united to teach that no such commandment was to be given to the Gentile believers to keep the Law of Moses. So even the very Apostles of Jesus were not infallible at the very being of the ALL Jewish Christians church when God turned the gospel to the Gentiles. For you see, they were still yet LEARNING what to do and not do for many years after Jesus ascended into heaven. Remember that we learned in Galatians 2:11-16 where Paul is seen REBUKING Peter to his FACE for being in the WRONG. And if you are completely honest with yourself and with God, then you know that that would have never happened IF SO BE that Peter was the so-called SUPREME PONTIFEX MAXIMUS of the WHOLE church as the Roman Catholic Church CLAIMS. Please read Galatians 2:11-21 that teaches us that Peter and some others were not OBEYING the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ and they were to be BLAMED and CORRECTED for the ERROR.
Galatians 2:11-21.
“But when Peter came to Antioch, I (Paul) withstood him to the face, because he was to be BLAMED (The word blamed here means to condemn or to convict for being in the wrong. So HOW can a supposedly INFALLIBLE Pope be in the WRONG. And WHAT gives Paul, a supposedly INFERIOR apostle, who is UNDER the so-called Bishop over all the other Bishops, the authority to rebuke Peter to the face? The TRUTH of the matter is that Peter was NEVER the Pope of all the church) 12. For before that certain came from James, he (Speaking of Peter) did eat with the Gentiles: but when they came, he (Peter, who according to the Catholic Church is supposed to be the INFALLIBLE Pope and the HEAD of the whole church) withdrew and separated himself, FEARING them which were of the circumcision. 13. And the other Jews DISSEMBLED likewise with him; (Or departed from the TRUTH with Peter) insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their DISSIMULATION. (This word “DISSIMULATION” means to HIDE from the TRUTH, to DISGUISE the TRUTH with a false appearance of the TRUTH. You see Peter FEARED to walk in the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ because of the Jews. Peter did just fine when he was among the Gentile ONLY. But when Peter was among the JEWS, Peter WITHDREW from even eating with his Gentile brothers and sisters in the Lord because he FEARED the JEWS. And Paul REBUKES Peter to his face in front of everyone present for his DISOBEDIENCE to the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ. You see, Paul WITHSTOOD Peter to the FACE in front of all because Peter was to be BLAMED for being in ERROR. And the apostle Paul CORRECTED his ERROR so that Peter would return to the TRUE gospel. Now, if so Peter would have been the HEAD of the whole church, do you think that the ones under him would dare REBUKE the so-called Pope to his face in front of the WHOLE church? Think this through for yourself. The Roman Catholic Church teaches TRADITIONS of men OVER what the Bible ITESLE teaches. Open your eyes and come OUT of the RELIGION of Catholicism) 14. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If you, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compel you the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? (Why does the Roman Catholic Church COMPEL Catholics to observe so-called Holy days of OBLIGATION, when the word of TRUTH teaches AGAINST the observing of days and feasts under the NEW Testament?) 15. We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is, therefore, Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19. For I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
The TRUTH of the matter is that ALL the Apostles made MISTAKES and they all judged each other BY the word of TRUTH and NOT by the so-called AUTHORITY of ONE MAN being set up as the HEAD of the church. And if you are truly seeking the TRUTH about the TEACHINGS of the Roman Catholic Church as to whether or not they are sound Biblical teachings then I implore you to read the studies under the heading >>>Ee-0. What Every CATHOLIC MUST KNOW!<<< Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. So, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading >>>D-0. THE BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of JESUS!<<< And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading >>>C-0. THE TRUE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH!<<< This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED!
To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY is according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God. So please read ALL of the studies under the heading >>>N-0. WHO is JESUS ACCORDING to the BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>U-0. VERSES used for THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>V-0. VERSES used to TEACH that Jesus PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL of the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ! |
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