Sunday, May 13, 2012

*BEST OF DTB #185* The Catholic Defender: Spiritual Communion With The Whore


In the recent debates with Non-Catholics, some of them make the claim that the Catholic Church is the "Whore of Babylon" first described in Revelation 17:1-6. John quickly identifies who this Whore is in verse 18 saying, "The woman whom you saw represents the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth. To St. John, this could only be one city! In Revelation 11:9, St. John identifies where and who this great city is saying, "There corpses (the two witnesses) will lie in the main street of the great city, which has the symbolic names 'Sodom' and 'Egypt' where indeed their Lord was crucified. This is Jerusalem. The Whore of Babylon is Jerusalem and it is no great surprize that St. John recognized the Soverignty of God in Jerusalem.

As I considered this truth, another issue took center stage. Those who believe the Catholic church to be the Whore of Babylon are still awaiting for the Kingdom to be established by Jesus Christ. They are waiting for the establishment of His kingdom. This is an important difference. Jesus already established His Kingdom! He did this 2,000 years ago when he established His Church giving it His authority. This is why they see the Catholic Church as a worldly institution and they believe it comes from the anti-Christ.

Of this kingdom, the Prophet Daniel writes, In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them" (Daniel 2:44). Did Jesus establish this kingdom when he first appeared in human history, or is this kingdom yet to come? This seems to be the question between Catholics and Protestants.

Daniel further writes, "One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14).

Daniel speaks of a kingdom and a king. This kingdom is founded by this king who has an everlasting reign with an everlasting kingdom. All the nations will serve him. The question remains, when is the establishment of this kingdom and the coronation of this king?

Daniel gives an important clue writing "One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship", this is a prophetic utterance of the Ascension of Jesus.

Jesus said, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20). It is interesting that Jesus identifies himself with a question, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Jesus is clearly identifying himself with Daniels prophecy. This is an important answer to the question of when Jesus established the kingdom!

It was Simon Peter who said in reply, "Your are the Messiah (the Christ), the Son of the living God." Jesus as the Christ is truly the "Son of David", who sits on the throne of his Father David. Jesus is the king that Daniel writes about. Jesus replies to Peter, You are Peter (Kapa) and upon this rock (Kapa) I will build my church (kingdom), and the gates of the netherworld (the jaws of death) shall not prevail against it. Jesus is establishing his Church, his kingdom right here and now! At this point, Jesus continues, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what ever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:13-19).

The question is often asked, "If the Catholic Faith is the Kingdom of God on earth, why is there sin and why have some Catholics done evil in the sight of the Lord"? This question disturbs me greatly, but there is an important answer to it. Matthew 13 Jesus gave the parable of the weeds among the wheat, after dismissing the crowds, Jesus explains, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man (remember Daniel's "son of man"), the field is the world, the good seed the children OF THE KINGDOM. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect OUT OF HIS KINGDOM all who caused others to sin and all evildoers. It is clear that the Kingdom of God has been established and there will come a judgment.

Of this Kingdom, Isaiah said, "No weapon fashioned against you shall prevail; every tongue you shall prove false that launches an accusation against you. This is the lot of the servants of the Lord, their vindication from me, says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:17).

The Non-Catholic is trying to save Catholics calling the Church this "Whore of Babylon". As you can see, this is not the case, the Catholic Faith is the one true Church founded by Jesus Christ and set up as his kingdom that will never fall to anyone. The Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D., yet the Church remains. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead and this kingdom will have no end.

This coming Friday, I will be standing up for the Catholic Church and her teaching on the Eucharist. Jeremiah 31:34 says, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt (passover); for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the Lord. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord".

Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords fulfilled this prophecy of Jeremiah. On the night Jesus was betrayed, at the Last Supper, Jesus said, "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28).

For those of you who have a problem with the Catholic Church changing the Sabbath Day to the "Lord's Day", this is a discision of the Kingdom of God on earth. For those of you who want to restore the Old Testament law of Moses, the Catholic Church ruled on this at the Council of Jerusalem in 49 A.D. Jesus said, "You see all these things, do you not (refering to the Temple in Jerusalem)? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:2). The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. fulfilled the Old Testament law, the priesthood of Levi was no more. Now it is the priesthood of Christ, a new and everlasting covenant, a new and everlasting kingdom.

Those of you who continue to cast your sword like Don Quixote at an invisible straw man, you can certainly share in the spiritual communion with the "Whore of Babylon", you can continue to join her in rebellion against the Kingdom of God by refusing to submit to God's authority, His Catholic Church. You can join those who support abortion, gay marriage, secularism, socialism, and what ever else you can join.

Those of you who are Catholic, I encourage you to deepertruth, to discover the depths of grace, the faith of the Apostles and Prophets, the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead, may your oil lanterns be full and ready, Amen.






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