RITES AND WORSHIP INSTITUTED BY GOD

Jesus said, "Give to Ceasar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" So what can we give to God that he wants from us? Our love and true worship. For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son. He loves the man he created that he wants to dwell with them that was the reason he gave them the Garden of Eden, paradise on earth, which was destroyed by sin, an unforgiven sin that was contracted by the generations after Adam and Eve.

It is this love for men and his will to dwell with them that in Exodus God made his presence in midst of his chosen people the nation of Israel while it was yet to reach the promised land. Every day as they traveled in the desert for 40 years God did not leave them and has made his glory felt, lest the people will once again reject him even after they saw the awesome beyond belief miracles such as the parting of the sea. To make it possible for them to dwell with the people, he commanded them to make a dwelling tent for him with a Tabernacle. It is to be a meeting place between him and Moses administered by the Priests. In that Tabernacle called the dwelling tent and meeting tent, God instituted rites and worship due to him as their God. As it is written "Our fathers had the "tabernacle" of testimony in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed it according to the pattern which he had seen".- Acts 7:44.

So how was the first Tabernacle administered according to God's command and instruction? In Hebrew 9:1 it says "Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary" Hebrew is talking of regulated divine worship, something that is structured following the instruction of God himself and it is done in a sanctuary that is on earth. Continuing in Hebrew 9:2 "For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread, this is called the holy place"

Israel was first chosen not to the exclusion of all people but they are the first to be called, chosen as a priestly nation. A holy nation which will be the light of the world so that God will be known by others as one true and ever-living God.

Jesus said I did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, I come to fulfill them. His coming is the fulfillment of everything that was not perfected in old covenant to be perfected in the new covenant including the rites and worship in the old that is now perfected in the New Rites and Worship in the New Covenant that Jesus himself instituted, the tradition of the institution talked about by St. Paul which he has received and he is passing on to the church. The church is the New Tabernacle of David that has been restored and made into new under the New Covenant. The promised building of the Tabernacle of David turned up to be the Church of Jesus Christ, that is the Catholic Church.

What happened in the Tabernacle of David?

The Tabernacle (Hebrew: מִשְׁכַּן‎‎, Mishkan, "residence" or "dwelling place"), according to the Hebrew Bible, was the portable earthly dwelling place of God amongst the children of Israel from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. According to Talmudic sources, the tent sanctuary remained at Shiloh for 369 years until the Ark of the Covenant was taken into the battle camp at Eben-Ezer (1 Samuel 4:3–5) and captured by the Philistines at Aphek (probably Antipatris)

FROM HERE WE WILL LET THE BIBLE SPEAKS FROM HEBREWS

To fully appreciate the rites and worship in the true church of Jesus Christ, the Holy Catholic Church which is the fulfillment of the restoration and rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David, let us allow the Bible to speak and we will make notation and commentary to elucidate the function of the church of Jesus Christ as an institution of God.

God's will to have his dwelling in his chosen people:

We will go back to exodus when the chosen people of God, Israel was called by and instructed them to make a Dwelling place for him in their midst that he can be with them. This is explained by the Epistle to the Hebrews. The word for dwelling place in Hebrew is Tabernacle or "Mishkan". It was the "residence" of God among the Israelites. It was the holiest place in their midst and the most regulated place. Nothing in there can be seen or touched by anyone unless he is authorized by God. Only the High Priest and the priests are ordained to administer God in his Tabernacle.

In those ancient time, the Tabernacle was portable and movable as the Israelites moved and wandered in the desert, they moved the Tabernacle as well and even such movement of carrying the Tabernacle from one place to another was also highly regulated carefully following every detail that God has instructed them how to. The Tabernacle was with them for as long as they were loyal to God alone but many of the Israelites became apostates and God punished them and left their tabernacle. Thus at Shiloh, after 369 years, the tabernacle fell and captured by the Philistines and brought with them the Ark of the Covenant.

The High Priest of a New Covenant

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.³ Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. ⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. ⁹ It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.¹¹ No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete, and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Worship in the Earthly Tabernacle

9 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. ² A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, ⁴ which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. ⁷ But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸ The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. ⁹ This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. ¹⁰ They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

What is the meaning of this until the time of the new order? 

It means that in those time the food and drink in the worship was just food and a drink made sacred by the rites and worship but today in the Tabernacle of the new covenant, the food is the body of Jesus and the drink is his true blood no longer made sacred but it is by the change of substance and nature are really sacred and holy. Under the perfected rites and worship instituted by Jesus Christ in the new Tabernacle which is the church.

The Blood of Christ

¹¹ But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴ How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

¹⁵ For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”^{[e] 21} In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Melchizedek the Priest

7 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, ² and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

⁴ Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! ⁵ Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Jesus Like Melchizedek Hebrew7

¹¹ If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³ He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵ And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” 

¹⁸ The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.²⁰ And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹ but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’” ²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. ²³ Now there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. 

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,  and of faith in God, ² instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so. ⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age ⁶ and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. ⁷ Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

⁹ Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. ¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ¹¹ We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³ When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” ¹⁵ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. ⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Note that the endless sacrifices of bulls and goats were an imperfect sacrifice. They were just done to remind the people in the old covenant of their sins. As an imperfect sacrifice, it was impossible to forgive sins. Hebrew reminds us that those sacrifices foreshadow the perfect sacrifice that is coming that will be done once for all.

⁵ Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; ⁶ with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. ⁷ Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’” ⁸ First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. ⁹ Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰ And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ only makes perfect those who are being made holy. It refers to the believers alone who are set apart. In Hebrew the meaning of being made holy is being set apart. Therefore its not an automatic forgiveness for all men but that forgiveness is made available for those that will believe and is being set apart from the others or being made holy. That being made holy is a process, a journey towards becoming holy, verse 10 is clarified in verse 14

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First, he says: ¹⁶ “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” ¹⁷ Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” ¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

A Call to Persevere in Faith

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Not giving up meeting together means the breaking of bread or the Thanksgiving Sacrifice the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus Christ which is a memorial of his Sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin he himself has instituted as a sign of the New and Everlasting Covenant.

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² Remember those earlier days after you had received the light when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. ³³ Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. ³⁴ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. ³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”

³⁸ And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” ³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

IN CONCLUSION

The rites and worship due to God and God alone are preserved only in his church, the Catholic Church which the Protestants have called the worship of Idols. It is very offensive to the Lord God to call the worship due to him as worship of Idols by the Protestant bible alone believers. It is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit of which there is no forgiveness because it is a rejection of his grace or gift. They call as profane the rites and worship to the true God celebrated by the Catholic Church presided by the ordained Priests solely authorized to perform such rites and worship as in the days of the Levites in the Old Covenant and is now perfected to this day of the New Covenant by the only "actual" sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross done only once and today is being lived in a commemorative sacrifice of Bread and Wine which he has commanded for the church to do. It is a thanksgiving, a Eucharist to God for the forgiveness of sins. This to us is the mark of the true Church of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church.

Therefore unless a believer enters the true church, he is not a true believer but a false one. No true believer is outside the Holy Catholic Church for there is just one body, one church, and one Lord Jesus Christ who said that unless you eat my body and drink my blood you have no life in you for my body is true food and my blood true drink. He who eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day. The body and blood of Jesus Christ can only be available to us through the rites and worship instituted by the Lord and handed over to the Apostles who handed it over to us. Just exactly as what St. Paul has said. "For I received from the Lord what I also handed over to you.

By Bro. Manny OTFS Chief Apologist

Copyright © 2016 by ONE TRUE FAITH SOCIETY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

YES BROTHER PROTS YOU ARE ANTICHRISTS

It's about time we tell our brother Protestant "Get out of your man-made doctrines and churches. You have long been deceived and its getting worse for you everyday that you profess the Protestant faith of Bible Alone and Justification by Faith Alone. The fact that your doctrines are alone means they are not of Christ but using Christ as a cover of their true identity, of who they really are. The antichrists who have already made their presence even at the time of the Apostles."

Surprised! Yes, Luther is not the first Protestant "reformer" against the Catholic Church long before him, they were many and they all have one characteristic. They all came from the Catholic Church but they have come out to join the band of rebels against the true faith. They are in a continuing rebellion using their false doctrine and heretical teachings. They have wickedly done the deceptions of the many Christians of the Catholic Church by making their own interpretations of the scriptures without regard to the spirit of the words of God but only to the letters of the words used. Corrupting the words of God by changing the words or adding words to the verse thereby changing the spirit or the context of the scripture. A good example of this is the most famous line of the rebels, the Faith Alone. The word alone was added maliciously by Luther in his translation of the bible to German of St. Paul "Man is justified by faith apart from the works". He added the word alone in faith, thus it becomes "man is justified by faith alone apart from the works" changing the entire context of the verse. Meaning that by a stroke of a pen, Luther changes the meaning and spirit of the words of God with his own spirit. That act has deceived millions of souls.

The Protestants don't know that they were all the while following the false doctrine of Faith Alone. Such a bold move did not go unnoticed by the Protestant leaders who wanted their own sets of beliefs imposed upon their followers, they wanted their own church, their OWN, not the church of Jesus Christ. They followed those who were firsts among them in leaving the Catholic church of Christians with their supporters and followers, these are the antichrists according to St. John, who lived long enough to see the rise of the rebels in the church. They managed to come into the church although he said they really don't belong to the church. They came as the destroyer of the church. But they did not succeed and so one after another the rebels will rise and leave bringing their own followers with them and founding their own sects and churches to spread their errors. In that regard heresies abound and reproduced with them as the promoters.

Even Jesus knew that his church will be raided by wolves, the agents of the antichrist the precursor of the seed of Satan that will be revealed in the fullness of time. He warned the Apostles to teach and also warn the church that such people will be able to enter the church bringing in heresies to deceive the elect, the chosen one, the true members of the church of Jesus Christ, that is the Catholic Church of Christians as it is known 2000 years ago.

For those who are asking, are the Apostles Catholics? Of course, they are Catholics because the church of Jesus Christ is Catholic, Acts 9:31 the church that is "throughout all" (Ekklesia Kathy'los).
The church from the beginning has been Catholic or universal, Universal Church or the Catholic Church. In fact, it has been known as such by all the Church Fathers (Bishops, Priests, and Theologians) that immediately came after the Apostles and continued the works they left behind for the continuing build-up of the Catholic Church of Christians according to the holy traditions which they left to be preserved, guarded, protected, and practiced for all time under the leadership of See of Peter as Bishop of Rome, the Roman church which was among the very first churches established by Peter and Paul who both died in Rome.

The establishment of churches in the Roman Empire territories even at the heights of the persecution of Christians, the building of many places of worship, the "house churches" that have been rebuilt into chapels, churches, cathedral, basilica in the first 300 years are monuments testifying to the true church founded by Jesus Christ. The recognition of the Catholic true church is The Catholic Church of Christians. c Church of Christian in the very document that freed the Christians to exercise their faith without fear of being persecuted, tortured, and killed in the same way that other religions of that time were given the same Freedom of Religion is a testament to the truth of who the true church is.

Why is being in the true church Important?

The church is the body of Christ. The body though many is just one. One body of Jesus Christ. So the body is composed of many, it is not alone but many comprising one body. Therefore the one person alone is not the body of Christ. Why? because the church as we have learned in one of my posts is an assembly or gathering of those who are "called out" by the Lord and chosen. The church is not an individual but a body of believers called out by the Lord to assemble or gather together. Such is the church. But those who are called out are required to follow the Commandments of Christ to be accepted as a member of his church and must submit to the authorities of the Church because the commandments are entrusted by the Lord to the church, not to individual converts. For that reason St. Paul referred to the church as the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth. And yet this is not just any church but the church of Jesus Christ, the one he founded and built up through the continuing works of the Apostles from the beginning to the end of time. Such works are passed on through the generations of church Fathers, successors to the Apostles.

Therefore it is important to be in the true, the right, and the only church of Jesus Christ which is the Catholic Church of Christians. There is no other church under heaven and on earth that Jesus Christ founded and built on the rock, that is the Apostles represented by St. Peter.

How do we know it is the Catholic Church?

1. By the Acts of the Apostles

The supposed names of the church in the bible such as Church of God being claimed by different protestant denominations as the true church of Jesus Christ but in reality, they just registered it in the country where they originated. Meaning the church they founded not by Jesus Christ is named that supposed name they got from the Bible. So we have so many Church of God of different founders.

Same as the Church of Christ, we even have and Iglesia Ni Cristo which was founded in 1917 by a man who lived as Catholic, became Protestant going through different denominations until he founded his own church and even call it My Church. It is his church, not Jesus Christ. In fact, it has seen the changing of leadership from the father to the eldest son and now to the youngest son. It is not seen to change that leadership outside the family of the founder. Why? because of the control of the wealth of the church. I believe Jesus did not found his church under the control of one family alone. That is a lie.

The Acts of the Apostle shows the church has leadership but not owned by any of the Apostles bu by Jesus who owned up the church, calling it My Church. The Apostles spread out individually throughout all cities and town, nations controlled by the Roman Empire, preaching, teaching, and converting believers and calling them out into the church.

In Acts 9:31 the church, "Ekklesia" is "throughout all", "Katho'los" or Catholic in cities such as -.
The church is Catholic and this has been known to differentiate it with false churches claiming to be the church. It is clear in the Letter of St. Ignatius to the Smyrneans when he called on the members of the church to follow the bishops in the Catholic Church. He uses the same word "katho'los" to describe the church. Where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. Since the letter was dated sometime in 107 AD and the Acts was written by Luke in about 80 AD, then I can deduce that the church has already been known as Catholic. 

2. By Succession of Bishops and Jurisdiction. We know the true church to be the Catholic Church particularly the Roman Catholic Church  first by a succession of Bishops in the different churches which are united with the Roman Church which exercised jurisdiction on all churches.

The clearest record is the successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome who is non-other than St. Linus. The same Linus of Rome that was of the companions of St. Paul. Such presence of St. Linus and after him St. Clement to ascend to the Bishop of Rome and the Papacy shows that the claim of the Protestants that the Roman Church was an apostate church and founded by Constantine or in another outrageous claim was the church of Peter Magus the magician during the life of  St. Peter and St. Paul. If that would be the case, St. Paul which made a long epistle to the Romans would have rebuked that church of Peter Magus, the magician. But because it is a myth, it is false and a creation of those who want the Catholic Church destroyed.

The succession of Bishops put in place in the church by the Apostles ensured the continued operation of the established churches in every nation. This succession of the holy Fathers has been the fulfillment of prophecies about the church and institution of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

3. By historical context and witnesses

The witnessing of Luke in the Acts, the witnessing of James, Peter, Paul, and other Apostles; the witnessing of historians of the church like Eusebius and Josephus chronicling the journey of the Catholic church from a persecuted church to the church that brought down kings and kingdom including the powerful Roman Empire.

The death of Peter and Paul in Rome. The persecution of the Christians and the church. The witnessing of Pliny the younger on the "rites and worship" of the Christian meeting together every Sunday to worship Jesus as God and to celebrate the thanksgiving or the Eucharist. The apologies of Catholic saints, Cyprian, Justin Martyr, and many others who live in the 1st to the 2nd century. The conversion of pagan Rome to Christianity. Then after years of persecution Roman Emperor of the West Constantine and Roman Emperor of the East Licinius jointly by their agreement declare Freedom of Religion throughout all of the Roman Empire and giving back to the Catholic Church of Christians all their confiscated properties and churches under the Edict of Milan of 313 AD is a very strong evidence of the existence of the Catholic Church of Christians throughout all of the territories of the Roman Empire and we know that there was only one church in the Acts who did such thing and accepted throughout all the places - and that is the Catholic Church.

4. By historical documentary and physical evidence

The original bible in Greek and translation to Latin Vulgate, the Letters, and epistles of the Apostles, the apocryphal books, the epistles and letters and epistles of the Bishops after the Apostles, the ruins of the first church buildings and underground churches in caves, the documents on the councils throughout all the history of the church. There are so many books, documents, written for the Catholic Church documenting its existence from the very beginning of its founding on a Sunday of Pentecost. No other church today can match the library in Vatican kept for the Catholic Church in a safe vault underground.

All pieces of evidence that anyone can gather points to only one church, the Catholic Church which has been identified as the Roman Catholic Church owing to the survival of the Roman Church as the one exercising authority over all the churches. So that the prophecy of Jesus, St. Paul, and others will come true.

Who are the anti-Christs according to John?

 In the article "Rebellious House" I have identified the rebel houses to be that of the Protestant churches. St. John warned us of this rebellious house, those "who have gone out from us" in 1 John 2:18-19 

"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us."

It's very clear from the context by which the verses are written that John is referring to the antichrist who is coming and then refer to the many antichrists that appeared. Who are these antichrists that appeared according to John? They are those who "WENT OUT FROM US" who is the us that John refers to.which includes himself? 

John wrote to 3 Letters to the church although he prefers oral teachings and face to face encounters than writing letters that is why his letters to the church were always short, the longest is the 1st Letter with 5 short chapters while both 2nd and 3rd Letters were really like a one-page letter. The "us" therefore that John is referring to is the church. He made this clear in his 3rd Letter  

"I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church." - 3 John 1:9-10. John was concerned about those who are spreading heresies in the church and who are pulling out of the church those that believe them. So the context of "They went out from us" is about those who were once members of the church but went out of the church believing in their heretical doctrines." In the time of the Apostles, there were already Protestants, the rebels who brought troubles in the church. Apparently, Diotrephes is one of the rebels who like Protestants today have "spread malicious nonsense about us", John said, meaning about the church. 

In the 2nd Letter John again made an identifying mark of the antichrist. Those that don't continue in the teaching of Christ. Since the bible has no print available the first Christians relied heavily on oral teachings of the Apostles. 

"I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out of the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. Anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work." - 2 John 1:7-11

Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. - 2 John 1:7-11 

John clearly points to the antichrists meaning there are many of them. Although we know there is one antichrist that leads them all who will challenge and oppose Christ but will not yet be revealed until the fullness of time has not arrived yet. That is according to St. Paul when the restrainer is removed which is another long topic to discuss. But here they are proving that the types of the Protestants, the rebels who have "gone out" of the Catholic Church are referred to as the antichrists by St. John.

OUR ADVICE TO OUR BROTHERS PROTESTANTS

Stop being obstinate to the truth. We challenge you to remove the callouses from your eyes that blind you. These are the cause by the false doctrines given to you, the Bible Alone and the Justification by Faith Alone. Study closely and open up your minds. Are you really on the right path or you are perishing like the rest of Protestants? 

You think that Catholics blindly follow the Catholic Church. You are wrong, modern Catholics today read the bible and they found that everything in the Catholic Church is exactly what the Bible teaches. And why not, the bible came out of the church works not the church from the bible. The church revelation and founding are not even very visible in the Old Testament yet it is biblical and was in the lips of the prophets hidden in the mysteries until Jesus revealed its founding and building up in the Gospel of Matthew. 

By Bro. Manny OTFS Chief Apologist 

Copyright © 2016 by ONE TRUE FAITH SOCIETY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE KINGDOM REVEALED I

The Catholic Church and the Kingdom Revealed II

This is an update version of my original post about the Catholic Church with the sub title, "The Catholic Church and the Promised Kingdom of God". In that short article, I have shown that the Kingdom of God is the Catholic Church. Now I will qualify that assertion by establishing the relationship of the kingdom and the church of Jesus Christ.

In the article. I looked at the church as the precursor or forerunner of the kingdom which has been established but is not yet visible because it will come with Jesus Christ in the time appointed only by the Father in heaven. In my earlier posts. I have contended that the Kingdom of God and the Church are related or the same in the sense that the Church is the visible reality of the Kingdom of God. It is in the Catholic Church that we see, we feel, we experience the physical presence of the promise kingdom which is unseen. Now that contention I made is confirmed in 1 Peter 2:9 which may have escaped closer study and understanding of those who continue to oppose the Catholic Church every which way they can. In fact, I too have missed the verse and so are the others. That really makes studying the bible, unlike anything that I have studied. I guess it will take a lifetime to even really and totally cover every verse and understand them.

In tackling the important religious issue of the relations of the church and kingdom to which our salvation hangs I will first focus our discussion to the Church of Jesus Christ in the bible which he founded. But first, let us be cleared about the name of the church. The scripture is clear, the words Church of God or Church of Christ are not names of the church as an organized religion as many Protestants would claim but a description of what the church is, that it is a church attributed to God or Christ, meaning it is church with divine origin not a church founded by man or any man for that matter. Therefore it is a great deception to claim them as the name of the church founded by Jesus Christ and making it appear to be the true church as the common practice of Protestant movement and other non-Catholic churches.

The true church is not registered in any man-made kingdoms and nations. It is founded by God himself who is above all powers in heaven or on earth so there is no need for its registration in any registry book because it exists and has continuously existed by its own power and authority. The true church is not under any authority of man-made governments. It is a holy nation as we will learn later in this article. It is higher than any of the nations that have come and gone through generations as it has even existed before any of the nations and governments in the world come into existence.

The mystery of the true church is that it has survived every nation, every kingdom, every powerful ruler and kings in every generation since its founding and continues to live on. Its survival is a testament for its divine origin and its divine purpose for it is written "...but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them (the Apostles building the church). You may even find yourselves fighting against God." - Acts 5:39. No other church or any organization has undergone thousands of years of persecution and attacks from its enemies both from within the church itself and from outside the church that if its just an ordinary man-made church it would have been gone a long time ago.

THE CHURCH HIDDEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES 

The word church only appeared in the New Testament in its original Greek version and not in the Old Testament in the original Hebrew. Why is this so? Because there is no word church in Hebrew but only in Greek. In Hebrew, the word used is "assembly" which is used in either religious assembly or any other assembly called for other purposes.

In Deuteronomy 4:10 it says "Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me assemble the people to me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on earth, and that they may teach their children.". Again the "assembly" is used in Deut 9:10 "The Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God, and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the "day of the assembly." In both instances, the assembly is meant to a meeting called to make announcements and inform the people. God has called the people of Israel to make himself known to them first because Israel is to be the light among all the nations. Note the phrase "that I may let them hear My words" Whether God has spoken to them directly or still through Moses is not clear. The point here is that God calls out people to assemble them for his purpose.

The Hebrew Old Testament called Torah by the Jews was translated into Greek about 250 BC and completed about 132 BC  which in the 4th century was called the Septuagint a Latin word. Notice that translation of books comprising the OT into Septuagint abbreviation LXX took more than 100 years to complete and was done by 72 Jewish Scholars in Egypt where Greek was the common language throughout the region. I will have a separate article on this as it is quite a long discussion too. But the point I'm making here is only when the Hebrew scriptures were translated to Greek that we see the Greek word "ekklesia" used for the word assembly in Hebrew. In the two instances above the Assembly refer to the assembly of the people of Israel. This is important for the understanding of the founding of the church as you will learn.

In the New Testament of the Bible, the church appeared 3 times in the Gospels particularly in Matthew where the founding of the church of Jesus Christ was revealed after the confession of Peter who Jesus really is. There Jesus owned the church by his words "On this rock I will build MY Church". Then he ordered his Apostles to be silent about him as the Messiah. Later also in Matthew, he placed more importance to the church by making it the last authority over brothers who committed sins. Specifically teaching them to bring a brother who is at fault to the church if he won't listen to his brothers. After the ascension, the church appeared many times in Acts and in letters of the Apostles about 111 times which means it is a new revelation that is yet to be understood or known even by the Jews at that time. The Apostles thought that Jesus will immediately establish his visible kingdom upon his resurrection instead he founded his church. But even up to the last time of his presence with them before his ascension to heaven, they were asking still asking him "...are you at this time establish the kingdom to Israel?"

Clearly, the Apostles were themselves a bit confused about the church and the kingdom because all through the 3 years of Jesus public ministry, he was all the time preaching about the kingdom of God which for the Jewish Apostles meant to be the restoration of the kingdom of Israel according to the prophets. Judas Iscariot joined Jesus' public ministry of the thought that Jesus is the Messiah that was to come to restore the kingdom of David to Israel. His betrayal of Jesus was to force him to declare his mission having seen the power Jesus has, he thought it best to put his master on the spot where he may finally declare revolution against the Roman Empire and lead the Jews as their new king restoring Israel. When he realized his mistakes, it was too late and he was bothered by his conscience of betraying his master he committed suicide.

Why was there confusion in the minds of the Apostles and Disciples that were left still supporting the Lord regarding the kingdom? Because it is now evident to us the salvation plan of God is not given in full details but based on the need to know basis. It is likened to a top-secret military operation where the information is compartmentalized and not fully revealed even to the top officers but only the Commander in Chief and his ground commander. They call it "time on target". The information is given only at every phase of the operation. Not everyone and not all people is given the knowledge of everything. This is how God works with regard to his salvation plan for man.

Here is the mystery of why God seems to not advance all the knowledge of his salvation plan even to his church everything that they need to know but only based on the need to know basis. It is compartmentalized. I believe this is because we are in the midst of war against Satan who also has his plans to destroy the salvation plan of God. That is why the truth is not given comprehensively but only on piecemeal. When asked by his Apostles when the end will come, Jesus answered them with an enigma, "No one knows, not even the son nor the angels know, but only the Father". How can the son who is God and speaks of the Father is one with him not know when he will come again for the end times? As God, of course, Jesus should know the will of the Father but he defers his own power in union with the Father's will. Jesus repeats his attitude toward the Father in his prayer in Gethsemane where he said: "Not my will Father, but yours be done". That only shows that God keeps to himself his entire plan in his own time and that keeps Satan getting the upper hand in the war over souls.

Going back to the Apostles, Jesus knew they were still lacking of understanding and he promised them that he will ask the Father to send the Paraclete so they will not be left alone but that he will be with them until the end through the Holy Spirit that will guide them TO ALL THE TRUTHS. With that assurance, Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit to come before they make any action with regard to the building of his church. Only then they will understand that the founding and establishment of the church were hidden in the prophecies of the coming kingdom. They are tied together and Apostles Peter and James will speak about it in the Council of Jerusalem. Clearly, God's ways in battle is a proven strategy in secret wars, the "Need To Know Basis". Even in Jesus' preaching he always speaks in parables then explains it to those that need to know what he meant because he said the knowledge is not for all but only for the chosen few.

Of the Apostles, St. James has given us the revelation of the church in the Old Testament which means it has been part of the plan of God from the beginning. But St. Peter who is the most Orthodox of all the Apostles and the appointed head and leader of the church by Jesus himself has given us the best definition of the Church including it characteristics which actually match that of the prophecies.

The "Tabernacle of David" is the Church

The tabernacle is used throughout the Bible as a picture of God’s presence among his people, among his congregation. David said in Psalm 15:1-4:

“LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the LORD….” 

The Tabernacle is likened to a dwelling place on a holy hill and only the righteous and upright people will dwell who can follow and obey the rules of the Tabernacle. The tabernacle is clearly not just a place but a place with rules. 

In Psalm 122:1 David said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’  The Tabernacle is likened to the house of the Lord. We know that the church is also called a house of God which directly connects the tabernacle of David directly to the church.

Back to Psalm 15 in verses 23-24 we read "Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day-to-day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” 

From the Psalms we learn that the Tabernacle of David is the House of the Lord. In the New Testament the church is also called the house of God. The Psalm refers to the Lord God of Israel but not only of Israel because in both verses 23 and 24 the Lord God is to be proclaimed among all nations and among all peoples. This is a clear prophecy that the tabernacle or the church will house all the nations and all the peoples not just limited to the Jews that are called out.  

We read in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” Interesting to note that there was no temple yet at the time of David, it was built by Solomon… It’s interesting to read what happened at the time the ark was being delivered to the tent of David. We read in 2 Samuel 6:16, 17 :  

“Now as the ark of the LORD came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. So they brought the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it….”

Note: The Tabernacle is also called the House of the Lord. St. Paul also called the church of God as the House of God.

To make a clearer connection of the Tabernacle and the church, let’s read first what Amos the prophet says in Amos 9:8-15 as it will help us understand: 

"Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth, yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,’ says the LORD. "For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.'”

Note: Again here the "house" is used in the House of Israel.

"On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,’ says the LORD who does this thing. Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the threader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God.”

We must take note of the "Remnant of Edom" and "all the Gentiles who are called by My name". I will not discuss it here thoroughly suffice it to say that the Remnant of Edom is the Remnant of  men of Israel. If you are to understand it, you may check ii in my other posts of the same title. But Amos prophecy seems to be pointing to a time when the Tabernacle of David will be raised up again from its ruins and "rebuild it as in the days of old". What is the Tabernacle of David and what happened to it? The tabernacle refers to the temple which started out in tents during the exodus and became the house of prayer of David where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. David did not build the temple but Solomon. The temple built is the same pattern as the Tabernacle. It is there where the rites and worship due to God was celebrated by the authorized priests to perform them such as the daily sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. 

What is the relevance of the Tabernacle of David in Amos to the Church founded by Jesus Christ? In the Council of Jerusalem, James had the inspiration to resolve the issue of the Gentiles joining the church of God using Amos when he said in Acts 15 verses 12-17:

“Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, ‘Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: “After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD. Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the LORD who does all these things.” ’ ” – 

James not only found a way through the scriptures to resolve the issue between the Jews and Gentiles both members of the church but also revealed that the rebuilt Tabernacle of David is the church! The rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David is a prophecy of the end time revival of the House of Israel, the kingdom of David which no longer confined to the Jews but now include the Gentiles as has always been the intention of God in his salvation plan.

The Gentiles were pagans and according to Jewish beliefs  once a pagan always a pagan. But the Gentiles as testified by St. Peter who made the first baptism of the entire household of a Gentile Cornelius and to whom the vision was given where God said "What is made clean, you should not call profane" also believed in Jesus Christ giving credence to a new ministry to the Gentiles advanced by St. Paul in the meeting of the council in Jerusalem. What baffled the first Jewish Christians who at first thought that the church was only for the Jewish Christians were the report that when many of the Gentiles believed, the Holy Spirit would come upon them just as the Holy Spirit had come upon the Jewish believers on the Day of Pentecost. They were speaking in tongues; they experienced the power of God; and there were many signs and wonders happening in the midst of the Gentiles converts to Christianity in the same way as what happened to the Jewish converts. The Church is truly universal or Catholic and not limited to one race of people and religious beliefs but open to those that will believe in Jesus Christ.

Indeed Amos prophecy came true as James saw it. The remnant of Edom that is the preserved of Israel according to Isaiah 49:6 and all the Gentile nations called out by God are now under one house. The House of Christ which is the Tabernacle of David rebuilt which we have connected as the church founded by Jesus Christ.

KEEP READING FOLLOW TO PART II

By Bro. Manny OTFS Chief Apologist

Copyright © 2016 by ONE TRUE FAITH SOCIETY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

 

CHURCH OBJECTS AND IMAGES MADE HOLY

THE CREATIVE SPIRIT OF MAN

Man is made in the likeness and image of God. He is endowed with the gift of the creative spirit that allows him to create arts from the things he sees and the things he imagines. His mind is always curious about knowledge and learning.

He likes to create from his imagination. He can form statues and paintings. In the pagan world, these were attributed to false gods but in the Christian world, these were now attributed to God such that when we look at the statue and images of Jesus, Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints and angels we are reminded of God no longer the pagan deities as before but the true God who was made known to us by Jesus Christ. Using our creative spirit, we glorify the true God in the images of his creation, not the creature. Is it really possible that God can be glorified through the works of the hands of man and the images that man creates dedicating it to God? Is it not written, What God has made clean (holy) thou shall not called profane.

In the Old Covenant, people don’t know who the true God is but in the New Covenant, God is made known by Jesus Christ. Therefore today when we make statues, it’s no longer dedicated to unknown gods and fictional characters of gods but the real one and only God the one God made known to us by Jesus Christ. And so today, the statues of the saints remind us that they are made holy by God. They are the works of the true and ever-living God who by their lives have glorified God and they serve as our model of how we should live in obedience to the will of God. The saints and their statues no longer are attributed to the false God but the true God. The law of God on Idolatry does not cover reverence to the statues and images that are giving glory to him and made holy through the acceptable rites in the church. What is made clean, thou shall not call profane.

Idolatry means giving worship to false gods, meaning they do not exist at all that is why they are called idols represented by statues made to give honor to them. But they do not exist and so they are false gods. But today, the statues we see in the church are attributed to God’s work because the saints are made holy by him. So that the words of God is followed “What is made clean you shall not call profane” meaning what is made holy by God you shall not call idol for even inanimate things and things in nature are creation of God that gives glory to him as it is written – even the stones will give glory to God.

HOLY THINGS AND OBJECTS

When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he was wildly cheered on and welcomed by the Jews. Singing and dancing, he was hailed as king coming in riding on a colt. "Hosanna to the king!" they shouted but the Scribes and Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke his followers and supporters and Jesus said in reply Luke 19:40 "I tell you. he answered, if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out". Can God really make the stones cry out? Of course, he can for nothing is impossible to God. The nature throughout all their existence continuously gives glory to God. In fact, the very existence of the whole of creation as one gives glory to God how much more is a man who expresses his gratitude to God in his own humble way of using his own God-given creativity of fashioning from the clay an image of God who became man. Truly of human nature with flesh, blood, and soul united to his eternal and unchanging divine nature as the only begotten Son of God.

Can inanimate things be made holy? The Bible testifies to this fact. Yes, they can be made so holy that just by looking at them or touching them without authority from God would mean death to the one who commits them. It is written in Numbers 4:1-20 :

Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "Take a census of the descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' households, from thirty years and upward, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tent of meeting" -

"This is the work of the descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things. When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it, and they shall lay a covering of porpoise skin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert its poles."

"Over the table of the bread of the Presence, they shall also spread a cloth of blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the sacrificial bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and the continual bread shall be on it. "They shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material, and cover the same with a covering of porpoise skin, and they shall insert its poles."

"Then they shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, along with its lamps and its snuffers, and its trays and all its oil vessels, by which they serve it; and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of porpoise skin, and shall put it on the carrying bars."

"Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth and cover it with a covering of porpoise skin, and shall insert its poles; and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth and cover them with a covering of porpoise skin, and put them on the carrying bars." 

"Then they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it."They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks and shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of porpoise skin over it and insert its poles."

"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry." 

"The responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light and the fragrant incense and the continual grain offering and the anointing oil--the responsibility of all the tabernacle and of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings." "Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites. "But do this to them that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load, but they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die." 

In the above verses in the book of Numbers God is very orderly, meticulous, and very strict to details of the things which he owned because they have been dedicated to him. He gave minute instruction to  Moses about how to handle religiously Holy Things and Holy Objects. Those who are not allowed to approach them, touch them or to see them even for a moment be cut off from among the Levites and will die. The Kohathites are given the workload of carrying the Holy Objects and Things while they travel in the desert but they are not allowed to see and touch them. Notice that such holy things and holy objects are those things and objects used in the Tabernacle and Sanctuary, the holy dwelling of God among the Israelites. It is thus clear from the mouth of God that things and objects dedicated to him in rites and worship approved by him are his. He owns them and they are made holy by him. Indeed what God has made clean (holy) thou shall not call profane.

For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place.- Hebrew 9:2

When things are dedicated to God through the rites acceptable to him, he takes it seriously. He ALONE MAKES them "Holy" for they are made clean and are holy, they become holy things because once they are dedicated with acceptable rites of dedication, God owns them, he makes himself present in them. The only time that Jesus became so angry even handling a whip and overturning tables shouting at the money changers in the temple "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:12; John 2:15)

Paganism is defeated when they converted and their practices of worship no longer serve the false gods but to serve the one true and ever-living God made known by Jesus Christ. What is made clean thou shall not call profane! A temple that is attributed to the false gods by pagans who did not know the true God can be made clean and rededicated to be offered to the true God. It's like us when then we did not know the true God our temple which is our body was temple of false gods but we were made clean and regenerated, made justified so that our temple becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit.

THE CHURCH, FURNISHINGS, ALTAR, STATUES, AND IMAGES OF SAINTS

The Church is a House of Prayer, it is a holy place, a meeting "tent" for the Lord with his authorized priests and his new people who believed him and has entered the church following his commandment. The church houses the Tabernacle of Christ in the New Covenant. Just as promised in the old that the Tabernacle of David which was destroyed and will be rebuilt by the new Davidic King, the new Tabernacle is rebuilt in the church founded and built by Jesus Christ. This is the Catholic Church. And so as it is in the Old Covenant, everything in the church is holy. They are made holy by God alone upon their dedication to him by his authorized priests in the accepted rites and worship authored by the Lord and given to his Apostles.

That is why today if one enters the Catholic Church building one will notice how it is very similar to the Sanctuary of the Lord including the rites and worship presided by the priests in the church which almost exactly as the rites and worship that the Lord God instituted from the very beginning in Sinai to Moses. To which he instructed Moses the details of how he wanted it done. Likewise, Jesus has instructed his Apostles and the successors of bishops and priests how they will administer the rites and worship in his church which is to be a House of Prayer that can be found only in its true form in the Catholic Church.

Clearly, the Sanctuary, the Tabernacle, the meeting tent, the rites and worship, the holy place, objects and things in the Old Covenant prefigure the Catholic Church today. Why because it is the true church that Jesus founded and built through the Apostles from Peter. There is no other church. Everything in the church is made clean by God therefore no man should call them profane and idols of the pagans. Such name-calling and mocking of the church are profanities that blaspheme God and therefore a sin of the Holy Spirit who dwells in the Church until the time of fulfillment when it will be removed by God as a sign of the coming end time and the revelation of who the Anti-Christ is.

By Bro. Manny OTFS Chief Apologist

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