Thanks for clearing that up some. I was basing my comments on this quote from your earlier post.
quote: It is very easy to distinguish between churches that are scriptural and "Institutional churches" or religious organizations which are not! . . . All institutional churches have a dichotomized mind set and distinguish between things sacred and things secular in the lives of the Christians. They observe holy days as distinct from common days; they have "full-time Christian workers", "ministers", "servants of the Lord", or "clergy" who are distinguished from other believers by titles, responsibilities, means of support etc; they have "sacred buildings", "church buildings" which are used for "services" on "holy days" which are distinct from the "ordinary homes" in which the Christians live the rest of the week; they have "holy food" or a "holy meal" which consists of tiny portions of "elements" which are "administered" by "holy ministers" in a "holy building", during a "holy service" on a "holy day" and all of this is quite distinct from meals of "ordinary food" which the saints eat every day at "ordinary tables" in their "ordinary homes".
When you say they distinguish between the sacred and the secular... is that a bad thing? In your last post you agree it is a good thing. But then go on to explain that it all changes in the New Covenant, which means to me that you really are saying it is a bad thing. But doesn't your New Covenant theology bring the sacred down to the common so that God is made on par with humans? I'll tell you why I ask this. You contest that the Sabbath day which God blessed at the end of creation week is no longer holy but is just like every other day--which you claim are now holy too. Thus, the secular days for our work, the 6 days of labor, are made to appear as holy as the day that God specifically blessed and set aside. When did this happen--that God made every day holy? Because of your contention I stated that you are mixing the common with the sacred. I agree that we are to live holy lives every day. But that is no different than when Adam and Eve were the only pair on earth. This fact is not the Sabbath's funeral. You reject the Sabbath because you do not see that it applies to you now. I hope to open to you a wider understanding of the purpose of the Sabbath in the New Covenant experience.
But we will get to more on the Sabbath when I respond to your other questions in another topic in this same cafe. I want to continue with this topic here. I will respond to your outstanding question in the other topic dealing with Col 2. See you there.
Well, we have gotten a bit side-tracked but I would like to get this back on track. We left off in Revelation 13, about verse 10 or 11. That is where I think I will pick it up again, after some review.
For those trying to follow along... We are going to try to get this topic going again. We stopped short of identifying the second beast in Revelation 13, about verse 11. This is most important. I hope we are ready to continue. I believe and hope that we have sufficiently shown that there is no other world power besides the Papacy which could meet all of the identifying marks given in Revelation 13, verses 1-10? If you have questions you may contact me annonymously and privately within this cafe by clicking on the icon at the top of this post. Click the icon which pictures two people shaking hands beside an envelope.
(I just want to stop here to say that I have no hatred for the Catholic people. My wife and her side of the family is mostly Catholic. I have several priests with which I correspond and am quite fond of three in particular. And, I would be ignorant of her operations if God had not revealed the true nature of the spirit which controls the church in his word. So we are simply looking at prophecy and comparing it to history to see if we can identify the objects of the symbolism found in Revelation. After all, it must point to some thing, some one.
I am not mounting an attack on any Catholic person. I am, however, trying to show that God has told us specific things wrong with the church and why he has rejected her. She promotes herself as the sole owner of the sacraments of God's grace and claims that only within her bosom can salvation be found. The accusations against this organization come from her own written words which we present here as evidence of her haughtiness and presumption of power. There is so much more she has claimed through-out the ages which we have not presented. And yet, she is not the focus of this topic.
The focus of this topic is the IC, and more specifically, the IC churches of America. We merely presented the foregoing about the history of the Catholic church to set the stage for future prophecy regarding the second beast in Revelation 13:11. By study of the first beast, the Catholic church, we can know what the image that the second beast will look like, act like, be like. After all, the words in scripture state that the second beast makes an image to, or of, the first beast and causes it to both speak and cause those who do not worship the image to be killed. When scripture says "speak" it is talking about legislation. That is how a state or nation speaks. When it mentions "cause" it is talking of enforcement. So the idea presented is that this beast makes an image to the first beast and legislates laws regarding worship then enforces those laws causing men to worship the image to the beast or be killed. Ok, with that said, let's get started.)
Next, we will undertake to begin to understand the second beast in Revelation 13:11. I will try to limit my posts so as not to leave anyone behind. The subject is no simple matter.
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Here is a link to another topic about the Mark of the Beast:Click Here
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