These posts are copies of my sister's book, "The End is Near.
Continued from previous post...
“…testimony of Jesus.”
Before Jesus came to this
world, the Old Testament prophets prophesized about him and the work that he
would do. In the meantime, the
sacrificial system was in place where someone who sinned would sacrifice an
animal and his or her relationship with God would be restored. Revelation 19:10 says, “For the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
It is the plan of redemption prophesized by the Old Testament prophets
that Jesus fulfilled when he came to this earth, died, and went to heaven as
our advocate.
Once Jesus came, we no
longer had to make a sacrifice or do any work in order to be accepted by God;
Jesus did and is doing all the work for us.
This is called Righteousness by Faith, our relationship with God is put
right through belief and trust in Jesus.
And we do not have to go to the temple or to a priest to seek
restoration of a right relationship with God, we go straight to Jesus and he
does it for us as our High Priest in the temple in heaven. He is our High Priest who argues our case,
who gives “testimony” in our behalf, who offers his life and his death in our
place, granting us forgiveness and eventually eternal life.
The writer of the book of Hebrews says, “…we
have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand
of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in
the true tabernacle…” “But when Christ
appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the
greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through
His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal
redemption.” “…how much more will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish
to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living god?” Heb.
8:1, 2; 9:11, 12, 14
Why
did the Catholic Church hate the testimony of Jesus? Because it usurped their power and control of
the people and it took money out of their pockets. As we have seen, the Bible teaches that Jesus
is our High Priest and he shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. The Catholic Church, in the spirit of Balaam
and the Nicolaitans, saw an opportunity to control individuals, obtain absolute
power, and make a lot of money. So it
began to teach that you had to confess your sins to a priest in order to gain
forgiveness.
Then you had to prove that
you had truly repented of your sin by paying some sort of retribution. This would be in the form of penances, such
as saying so many Hail Mary’s, performing some physical hardship, or doing
charity work. Those who could afford it
could bypass the acts of penance and pay for what was called an
Indulgence. (see Appendix 1) The Church made money and they had complete
control over the actions of their subjects.
Thus the Church had substituted themselves and their own rules in place
of Jesus and his sacrifice. The horn had
“…magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host (Jesus);
and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him…”
Dan. 8:11
Thyatira gave “testimony”
to the truth by refusing to go to a Catholic priest and say confessions, by
refusing to do any kind of penance, and by refusing to buy any indulgences.
Martin Luther discovered the truth about Jesus being our priest and our
substitute while he was still a Catholic Monk. He saw that confession to a priest,
the performance of penances, and the selling of indulgences were wrong, and
this led him to rebel against the false church he had loved and the false
beliefs he had held all his life, starting the Protestant Reformation that took
place during the Sardis church era.
“…this horn possessed eyes
like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.” (Dan. 7:8) The Catholic Church was not blind, it knew
what it was doing and even bragged that it had the power to do what it did.
(see Appendix 4) In Daniel 8:12 it says
the horn, “…will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and
prosper.” The Catholic Church did as
it wished, flinging truth to the ground if it got in the way, and it prospered
mightily. Anyone else who wanted to
prosper fell into line because the horn only gives, “…great honor to those
who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many…” (Dan.
11:39) But those who opposed him paid
the price. Daniel said, “…He will
destroy mighty men and the holy people.” (Dan. 8:24) Just like the three kingdoms that opposed the
Bishop of Rome when he was given power by Justinian, the church waged war
against those who “...keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony
of Jesus.”
As we have seen, the horn
held absolute power for 1260 years, from 538 CE to 1798 CE. During this time the two lamp stands, the two
churches Thyatira and Sardis, held on to the truth. They kept God’s commandments and gave
testimony of the truth of Jesus. But why
do Daniel and Revelation spend so much time on this? Because not only was it a big deal in the
past; it is going to happen again in the future. The more we understand the experiences of
Thyatira and Sardis, the better prepared we will be when history repeats itself
and Laodicea faces the same things.
The affect of the changes
made by the Catholic Church can still be seen today. Sunday is when most Christians keep the
Sabbath; priests still hear confessions; penances are still assigned to the
repentant. Now that you know the truth,
what will you do with it? Jesus said, “From
everyone who has been given much, much will be required…” Luke 12:48
Here are the Catholic Ten Commandments:
- I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not kill.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
http://www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-ten-commandments
Here are the 10 Commandments from God's Word:
And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
- Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
http://www.godstenlaws.com/ten-commandments/#.WLzoqvnyu00
