FRIDAY MORNING MANNA
Biblical Numerology: NUMBER THREE- Part XXIX
The Union that the Third Angel’s Message Warns of
We wish to remind the reader of the engine that drives this column from its inception, with a quote from the first of my favorite authors:
“The Holy Spirit’s work is to guide into all truth [John 16: 13, 7-15]. When you depend on the Word of the living God with heart, and mind, and soul, the channel of communication will be unobstructed. Deep, earnest study of the Word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will give you fresh manna, and the same Spirit will make its use effectual . . . Then it [the soul] will be led into all truth.” – Ellen G. White, With God at Dawn (Devotional), p. 122.
Rev. Kevin Annett, M.A., M.Div., a modern-day Martin Luther in courage, advocate for truth and liberty, and similarly hated thus, wrote: “For in truth, not for glory, nor riches, nor honors that we fight, but for liberty, for that alone, which no honest man surrenders but with life itself.” Kevin Annett.com. See also Amazon review by Angeline Ray, MSW, March 1, 2016 of Annett’s Unrelenting: Between Sodom and Zion. Annett is the Secretary-General of The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS).
Friends cancelled his European Tour for death threats from the members of the Ninth Circle. (http://gettingready for 2015.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/Kevin-annett-cancels-european-tour-due-to-death-threats). Such happened also to Dr. Martin Luther. God protected him through supporters among the Reformed German princes.
The late Billy Graham said: “This is the beginning of something so fantastic it could change all of Christendom and will affect you, your children, and their children.” – In an address at Belmont Abbey (Roman Catholic) College, Charlotte, North Carolina.
What was “the beginning of something so fantastic it could change all Christendom ” that ‘America’s pastor,’ listed by Gallup as one of the ‘Ten Most Admired Men in the World’ more than 50 times, whom Pope Paul met at the Vatican in 1993, and called ‘the Protestant Pope,’ referring to?
Has the Papacy fundamentally changed since the Lutheran Augsburg Confession signed by the German princes on June 25, 1530 and the Vatican II, or is it the Lutherans themselves and the Protestant communions that have gradually changed since then? What does Bible prophecy say—a major part of the third angel’s message? Read for yourself the following: 500 Years After Reformation, Pope Knocks on Lutherans’ Door.” By Angus Mackinnon, AFP 1/ 25/ 2016 http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-cisit-sweden-october-mark-reformation-anniversary-1138511358. html.
“Why is the Pope Celebrating the Protestant Reformation?” By Lucy Schouten, Christian Science Monitor. 1/26/2016 https://yahoo.com/news/why-pope-celebrating-protestant-reformation-213035603. As of publish date above there were 62 replies: I quote one. Bill posted: “Martin Luther is spinning in his grave.” The Christian Science Monitor news said:
“The pope is set to commemorate the Reformation in a Swedish Lutheran Church, as he leads into a push to promote interfaith dialogue. Pope Francis has tried to make such interfaith relations a part of his papacy, Reuters reported. For Protestants, the interfaith commemoration is an ‘extraordinary positive move’ that would have been unheard of even a few decades ago, Charles Kimball, an ordained Southern Baptist minister and director of religious studies at the University of Oklahoma, told the Christian Science Monitor.
‘Symbolically, it’s a very vivid and moving gesture that will be well-received, certainly among the Protestant world, and I would think among a large number of Catholics as well,’ Dr. Kimball says in a phone interview. He says that by commemorating the start of the Reformation with the Lutherans—the first heirs to Martin Luther’s break with Catholicism—Pope Francis acknowledges both Luther’s concerns during the Protestant Reformation in 1517 and the reality that friendship among Christians of different sects is becoming more common and valuable.
“Pope Francis is set to lead a joint worship service alongside Lutheran World Federation President Bishop Dr. Munib Younan and General Secretary Rev. Dr. Martin Junge on Oct. 31, 2016, as a kickoff commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, which will be in 2017. . . .
“The pope’s efforts to unify Catholics and Lutherans . . . have not come without criticism from traditional Catholics. ‘It is true that since the 1960’s [as a result of Vatican II Ecumenical Council], it has become commonplace for Catholic theologians and bishops to praise Martin Luther and the Reformers,’ wrote the traditionalist Catholic blog Rorate Caeli, commenting on a Catholic-Lutheran ‘Common Prayer’ released earlier in January. ‘Nevertheless, previous Popes always resisted Lutheran pressure for Catholic-Lutheranintercommunion to be normalized . . . .Under the present pontificate this resistance looks significantly weaker—if it exists at all.’
An interesting insight is an article by Maureen Mullarkey, Religion Section of the Federalist 03-01-2016 titled: “Why Anti-Catholicism Will Rise.” While her analysis of first Jesuit Pope Francis’s precedent-making, historic moves, unsettling and puzzling even to certain sectors of Roman Catholicism, her conclusion that “anti Catholicism will rise in America” is counterintuitive to both past and current developments in the Christian mainstream and religious landscape and prophetic revelation. Mullarkey wrote: “The descent into manipulative power politics by Pope Francis and many bishops presages a resurgence of anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States.”
What the Swedish Lutheran Church and all Christians should never forget likewise is the work of Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli—the leader of the Swiss Protestant Reformation. See Great Controversy, The Swiss Reformer, ch. 9. See also History of the Christian Church, Vol. VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation.
(www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc8.iv.iii.iii.html . Things have dramatically changed since Zwingli’s and Luther’s time—as prophesied. The Pope’s personal guards sworn to protect him with their lives are the famous Swiss guards, officially the Pontifical Swiss Guard, date of birth, Jan. 22, 1506 under Pope Julius. See “The Pope Has A Small But Deadly Army of Elite Warriors Protecting Him” by Tyler Rogoway. (Foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com.)
The Ecumenical Objective: Back to Rome. See Ellen G. White’s The Great Controversy by Harvesttime Books, “a reissue of the 1888 edition, to which has been added the quotation and quotation reference changes in the 1911 edition.” P.O. Box 300, Altamont, TN 37301). Page 486, 487 (their edition) provides vital information which Mullarkey’s analysis fails to take into account:
“I feel that reunion with Rome is not outside the realm of possibility. I didn’t feel that way five years ago . . . History would argue for papal primacy. As for papal infallibility, we may find a way around that” – Bishop James A. Pike, Protestant Episcopal Church, in Los Angeles Times, Dec. 25, 1963.
“I think we realize that there is to be a final unity among Christians there will have to be a central head of the church, and that head will clearly have to be the Bishop of Rome.” – Bishop John Moorman, Ripon, England, chief Anglican observer at Vatican II, quoted in Liberty, December 1963.
“Nothing less than the reunion of all Christendom should be our goal. Our aim should be the union not only of Protestants, but also with [Greek] Orthodox churches, and even with the Roman Catholic Church.” – Archbishop Howard H. Clark, Anglican Primate of all Canada, in Telegram magazine, 1960. [Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches separation of over a thousand years has ended See “Francis and Bartholomew Issue Resounding Call for Church Reunification.” (see ncronline.org/news/global. In 1054 the Roman Catholic and Greek churches spilt apart—the day the Pope and Archbishop excommunicated each other!]
“The division is Christendom is a scandal that keeps people from God.” – Bishop Floyd Begin, Roman Catholic prelate of the Oakland, California, Diocese, in Oakland Tribune, April 25, 1963.
“Major decisions were made at Vatican II [21st Ecumenical Council of the RC, the 2ndheld a St. Peter’s Basilica, opened under Pope John XXII who died before it ended and closed under Pope Paul VI on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1965. Both popes were canonized on April 27, 2014 by Pope Francis]. “
After it ended Catholic officials entered upon and extended series of ‘dialogues’ (meetings), year after year, with leaders of other denominations in order to find ways they could work together. (A total of 25 dialogues were held with the Lutherans between 1965 and 1984 alone.) According to the Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement (published by the World Council of Churches), repeated meetings have been held with the following
denominations: Baptist, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Reformed Church, Greek Orthodox, YMCA, Disciples of Christ, Southern Baptist.
“In 1990, for example, the British Council of Churches became the Council of Churches of Britain and Ireland, with full Roman Catholic membership.
“For decades, and especially since 1965, the following Roman Catholic organizations have worked earnestly to bring Protestants and Orthodox churches back to Rome (the date is when the organization began):
International Young Catholic Students (1930s), Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women, Una Sancta Movement, Unda (Catholic) Media, UNIAPAC (International Christian Union of Business Executives), Caritas Internationalis, the Club of Rome (19702), Pax Christi (1945), Societas Oecumenica (1978), Pax Romana (1921), Focolarfe (also known as Gen or New Generation, 1943), Opus Dei (1928). Plus two Catholic research centers: Ecumenical Research Center, Institute for Cultural Research (1967), Institute for Ecumenics (1957). These organizations are under the direct control of a Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity (1966).
In 1989, its name was changed to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU). Here are the dates when PCPCU first entered upon a series of ecumenical ‘bring us together’ meetings with major organizations: Lutheran World Federation (1965), Anglican Communion (1966), World Methodist Council (1996), Old Catholic churches of the Union of Ultrecht (1966), World Alliance of Reformed Churches (1968), Pentecostals (1972), Disciples of Christ (1977), Evangelicals (1977), Orthodox Church (1979(, and Baptist World Alliance (1984).
The Joint Working Group, co-founded by the Vatican and the World Council of Churches 1965, coordinates meetings [dialogues’) of Vatican officials and other churches. The meetings are often held at WCC headquarters in Geneva.
“A major breakthrough occurred after the turn of the millennium, which resulted—not merely in dialogues with other churches, but an organizational union with them. Here, very briefly, is an overview of what was started by the Vatican:
“In the summer of 2001, four religious leaders in America, two of which were high-placed Roman Catholic priests, contacted every denomination in America and asked them to join a new, gigantic ecumenical organization. They issued their call from the palace of the cardinal of Baltimore.
“Then on January 29, 2003, 46 national church leaders from many denominations and parachurch agencies met on the campus of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. They prepared an initial constitution for this new organization, entitled:Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. (CCT),–intended ultimately to include nearly every religious body in America! As if by clockwork, The National Council of Churches (NCC) immediately announced that it was thrilled at this new development. (The NCC, headquartered in New York City, is a subsidiary of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland.)
“ ‘The CCT plans to include church denominations from five major groups: Evangelical/Pentecostal, Historic Protestant, Orthodox, Racial/Ethnic (including African American churches), and Roman Catholic.’ Eighteen of the churches represented hold membership in the NCC. When 25 denominations or communions approve the CCT, the organization will officially begin.’- Bible Presbyterian Church, Resolution 67: 5.
“Then, on November 17, 2004, the Roman Catholic Church joined as a full member! This created a sensation in the religious world. Already dubbed a ‘super-church,’ this new organization will be able to push through ecumenical projects which the separate churches never could have accomplished.
“But the churches are forgetting the unchanging aims of the papacy.” – End of Great Controversy, Harvestime Books quote. (To be continued next week)