Tradition vs. Scriptural Authority
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Alongside Mary worship, Sunday and Easter observances constitute centrepieces of the counterfeit church. To highlight their continuing importance, the previous pope, John Paul II, in his “Sunday Letter” (July 5, 1998), made the Catholic position clear:
“Therefore, in commemorating the day of Christ’s Resurrection not just once a year but every Sunday, the Church seeks to indicate to every generation the true fulcrum of history, to which the mystery of the world’s origin and its final destiny leads.
“It is right, therefore, to claim, in the words of a fourth century homily [not the Bible], that ‘the Lord’s Day’ is ‘the lord of days’…Those who have received the grace of faith in the Risen Lord cannot fail to grasp the significance of this day of the week with the same deep emotion which led Saint Jerome to say: ‘Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, it is the day of Christians, it is our day’…For Christians, Sunday is ‘the fundamental feast day,’ established not only to mark the succession of time but to reveal time’s deeper meaning.
“…The fundamental importance of Sunday has been recognized through two thousand years of history and was emphatically restated by the Second Vatican Council: ‘Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery’…The coming of the Third Millennium, which calls believers to reflect upon the course of history in the light of Christ, also invites them to rediscover with new intensity the meaning of Sunday: its ‘mystery,’ its celebration, its significance…”
Apart from the fact that Jesus Christ was not resurrected on Sunday—and was not crucified on a Friday—the Fourth Commandment requires the observance of the seventh day—not—and never—the first day!
The Origin of Sunday Worship
Let’s now examine some of how Sunday worship—through its connection to Easter—originated. About AD 154, a meeting occurred between Polycarp, leader of the true Church, and the Bishop of Rome, regarding the Roman church’s changing Passover observance to Sunday.
The following account reveals the tactics used to establish precedent. An unusual letter appeared after Polycarp had left. Most historians consider it a deliberate forgery. Consider these two sources.
First, “Pope Pius, who lived about the year 147, had made a decree, That the annual solemnity of the Pasch [this Greek word is derived from the Hebrew word pesach, meaning Passover] should be kept only on the Lord’s day [Sunday]; and in confirmation of this he pretended, that Hermes his brother, who was then an eminent teacher among them, had received instruction from an angel, who commanded that all men should keep the Pasch on the Lord’s day” (Origines Ecclesiasticae: Antiquities of the Christian Church, Joseph Bingham, pp. 1148-1149).
And, “…one of the letters forged in the name of Pius, where one [Hermes] is mentioned as the author; and it is stated that in his book a commandment was given through an angel to observe the Passover on a Sunday” (The Apostolical Fathers: A Critical Account of Their Genuine Writings and of Their Doctrines, James Donaldson, p. 324).
If Hermes did receive instructions from an “angel,” would they outweigh God’s instructions through His apostles and prophets? (Read Ephesians 2:20.) Paul wrote in Galatians 1:8: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Plainly, man nor angel holds authority to override God’s Word. But the counterfeit church appropriated to itself the power to supersede and change the “times and laws” of God (Dan. 7:25).
They have done this—and continue to—under the pretext of tradition. Here is the theologian Tertullian’s classic statement from about AD 200: “…If, for these and other such rules [for Sunday observance], you insist upon having positive Scripture injunction, you will find none. Tradition will be held forth to you as the originator of them, custom as their strengtheners, and faith as their observer. That reason will support tradition, and custom, and faith, you will either yourself perceive, or learn from some one who has” (The Writings of Quintus Sept. Flor. Tertullianus, Volume 1, p. 337).
A more recent quote echoes the same approach. Read and reread this one until you cannot forget it: “A rule of faith, or a competent guide to heaven, must be able to instruct all the truths necessary for salvation. Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin all the duties which he is obliged to practise. Not to mention other examples, is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify” (The Faith of Our Fathers, James Cardinal Gibbons, pp. 111-112, 1905 edition).
A stunning admission!
The leadership of the universal church openly asserts that human tradition outweighs God’s inspired Word, all while claiming to be led by the “Word” made flesh—Jesus Christ (John 1:14). Yet Protestants, who profess the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (“by Scripture alone”), are still being drawn back to Rome. Having never left Sunday observance, the return journey is much easier—and shorter.
The False Church’s Final Resurgence
This powerful church has grand designs of dominating all nations. Again, it is not my purpose to attack or slander churches or individuals. The Bible and history directly identify this system and its offshoots. But believers within traditional Christianity are spiritually blind. They may be sincere, like those of all religions, but they are sincerely wrong. The real architect of this system is Satan, not people.
The human architects of all these things are deceived. They are not, certainly for the most part, consciously plotting evil. While they are deceivers, they are also themselves deceived. They are playing a role on a stage within a great Purpose that God is working out.
I take no joy in reporting these truths. Truly I do not. In fact, I wish the responsibility to warn were someone else’s. But it is not. And all those who care about taking action must have the opportunity to do it.
In the darkest periods of Catholic domination, its influence was largely limited to Europe. The first seal—white horse and rider—is now open, preparing to ride at all-out speed across the entire world!
Deception achieved by the counterfeit church in its teachings could hardly be more complete today. Virtually every truth of Scripture has been denied, overturned or discarded by Rome, in favour of tradition or papal “revelation.”
Therefore, the opening of the first seal must mean that this deception will eventually become much more widespread!
Yes, millions today, while they would scoff at this notion, who consider themselves staunch Protestants, or non-religious, or even agnostic or atheist, will come to follow the Babylonian system!
The current pope does not expect that unity of all professing Christians will be accomplished through human effort: “[He] has also emphasized that the way toward unity is not a matter of our programs and schedules but of faithful waiting upon a new initiative of the Holy Spirit which we can neither control nor anticipate” (Zenit).
A “new initiative,” led by a very real “spirit,” is coming! History shows that decisive action taken by large numbers of people is usually sparked by a crisis, and facilitated by a strong central figure or figures—leaders who can offer the masses what they long for, whether it is prosperity and prestige, freedom from oppression, deliverance from suffering or a bolstering of pride and resolve.How will this happen? We have seen that the fragile global economy is providing the crisis. And the central figures? Recall Revelation 13:1-18 “And he [the final False Prophet] does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men [think of this as a “new initiative of the spirit”], and deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do” (Rev 13:13-14).When the False Prophet calls fire from heaven—probably witnessed by billions through television and the Internet—skeptics and scoffers will become “believers.” Miracles will support his endorsement of a civil partner: “I beheld another beast [the false church] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb [purporting to represent Jesus Christ], and he spoke as a dragon [Satan]…and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast” (Rev. 13:11-12).
Who Is Searching?
A closer but brief look at the work of doctrinal and religious deception on matters of Bible truth is important in understanding how hundreds of millions of people—indeed billions over centuries—can come to believe doctrines that are untrue.
It starts this way. Most never reflect on why they believe what they believe or do what they do. In a world filled with customs, traditions and beliefs, few seek to understand—to research—the origin of things. The great majority happily accept what is presented to them without question. Most people basically do what everyone else does—following the crowd because it is easy! They simply adopt common practices because they are well-recognized—the norm—fashionable. Most follow along as they have been taught, assuming what they believe and do is right. They take their beliefs for granted.
One must be willing to ask: Where did popular beliefs come from? What are their roots?
To find the truth of a biblical matter—any biblical matter—one must be willing to open his Bible and honestly accept what it says. The majority of people stoutly defend what they have merely assumed is right or biblical. And they read with prejudice anything that contradicts cherished beliefs.
Now recall Jesus’ statement, “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). In Mark’s parallel account, He continued, “Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mk 7:9).
Why are not millions combing the Bible for such passages in order to escape religious deception? Why are they not discovering additional statements from Christ such as “Why call you Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46), as well as Paul’s plain words, “Not the hearers of the law shall be justified before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13), among so many other basic passages? The obvious answer is that most do not care what God says. They are only too willing to be deceived by their ministers.These are summarized by a passage describing worshippers today: “This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: get you out of the way [forget the right thing], turn aside out of the path [teach what we want to hear], cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isa. 30:9-11). Countless thousands of ministers have been perfectly willing to fulfil the people’s demands.The tragic result is that most who “profess Christ” never connect the Bible to anything they should be doing in their lives!
How So Many Are Deceived!
Another factor comes into play for those who may wish to see at least a little biblical backing from their minister or their church for beliefs. And it is critical.
First understand this. Modern Christendom misunderstands, twists, perverts and ignores all the plain truths of the Bible. Over the centuries, it has counterfeited every one of its true doctrines and replaced it with a cheap substitute. This has been possible because certain less easy to understand passages of Scripture can be easily misrepresented—made to say something that they do not. It is these verses that invariably become the vehicle through which a false doctrine can be introduced—with almost no one able to recognize that it all may have begun with a single wrong scriptural premise. From this can flow an entire doctrine that is nothing more than a house of cards.
Unaware of the most important rule of Bible study, most students of Scripture do not build their doctrinal understanding by beginning with the clearest verses on any subject. Rather, they enter God’s Word with preconceived ideas and go in search of passages that appear to support what they have assumed it teaches. This makes them candidates for confusion and deception.
The apostle Peter stated that the apostle “Paul [wrote]…some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (II Pet. 3:15-16).
Understanding how most people think, and probably completely unaware of any of the rules of Bible study, teachers and “scholars” can then much more easily take advantage of the way certain parts of God’s Word have been written. This applies to areas of Scripture beyond what Paul wrote.
The theological institutes and seminaries of this world have developed a systematic way—done consciously or unconsciously (Rom. 8:7; Jer. 17:9)—of spinning, twisting or dismissing God’s plain words and plain meaning in favour of making passages seem to say what they need them to say. These theologians and religionists portray—and sell!—Satan’s doctrines through use of specific verses, wrongly understood, that supposedly teach their ideas. This permits them to come from a basis—a premise—of Bible authority for their beliefs. This, in turn, helps them to much more easily snare the unwitting and unwary.
Paul warned of “dishonest” people who “handle the word of God deceitfully” (II Cor. 4:2), because they, like their students who are willing to believe them, “received not the love of the truth” (II Thes. 2:10).
God’s servants—true ministers—never, under any circumstances, follow these practices!
In most cases, if one is properly trained and sufficiently grounded in the truth of the Bible, it is easy to see through and expose the deceptive logic misapplied to a verse, and to correctly explain it.