"The Sacrifice of the Mass forms a pivot on which all else turns. If it is what Catholics believe it is, then here is the greatest external manifestation of the love of God for man, and the most magnificent testimonial to the validity of Catholicism; but if it is false, it is the worst farce and blasphemy ever perpetrated upon God or man, and the Catholic faith collapses into nothingness."
                                                                                                                        Cardinal Francis J. Spellman

The Mass, its full title being ‘The Sacrifice of the Mass’, is the principal act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church. It is also known as the ‘Eucharist Sacrifice’, through which, according to Vatican II, "...the work of our redemption is exercised." Rome maintains that through the Mass, "...Christ communicates those graces which through His death He secured for mankind."¹

Respected Roman Catholic scholar, Ludwig Ott, writes: "The Eucharist cures the diseases of the soul by purging it of venial sins and the temporal punishments due to sin."² Ott goes on to describe the Mass as "...a sacrifice of expiation and impetration..."³

The Documents of Vatican II, in dealing with the ‘sacrament’ of the Mass, state that the other six sacraments, as well as every ministry of the Roman Catholic Church and all the work of the apostolate, "...are linked with the Holy Eucharist and are directed toward it." In addition, the Document declares: "The faithful, already marked with the sacred seal of baptism and confirmation, are through the reception of the Eucharist fully joined to the Body of Christ."

Rome says that the Mass is primarily a sacrifice: "Holy Mass is a sacrifice, when the sacrifice is offered it is followed by a sharing of the Victim, communion. Greater emphasis must be placed on the sacrificial aspect... In teaching children let them be taught that the Mass is first and foremost a sacrifice."⁴

The writings of Pope Paul VI in ‘The Credo of the People of God’, state: "We believe that the Mass, celebrated by the priest...is the sacrifice of Calvary rendered sacramentally present on our altars..." One Roman Catholic publication says of the Mass: "It is offering to God the sacrifice of Christ and receiving Christ’s Body and Blood as spiritual food...The Mass is the sacrifice in which the (Roman Catholic) Church adores God, through, with and in Jesus Christ."⁵

Roman Catholicism teaches that, in the Mass, Jesus Christ repeatedly offers Himself for the salvation of the world. The Council of Trent has proclaimed this ‘sacrifice’ as "...identical with the sacrifice of the Cross, inasmuch as Jesus Christ is a priest and Victim both. The only difference lies in the manner of offering, which is bloody on the cross and bloodless on our altars." The Roman Catholic Catechism explains that the whole reason for attending Mass is "...to offer sacrifice to God."⁶

The same Catechism also claims: "The Mass is the true sacrifice of the New Law for in it our Lord, Jesus Christ, through the priest offers Himself to God the Father for the living and the dead..." The whole concept of this ‘sacrifice’ is that Jesus "...continues the offering He made on the cross."⁷

Exactly why the sacrifice of Jesus has to be repeated, or continued, is a question that the Roman Catholic Church finds difficult to answer from the Scriptures. As we shall see in a later chapter, this teaching is in clear contradiction with the Roman Catholic Bible, which says that God’s chosen people "...have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL" (Hebrews 10:10). With seeming indifference toward this and other passages from the Word of God that deal with the crucial matter of Christ’s one and only offering, the Question & Answer Catholic Catechism teaches: "In the Mass, no less than on Calvary, Jesus really offers His life to His heavenly Father."

During the course of the Roman ‘sacrifice,’ the Roman Catholic priest first offers the bread, and then the wine, and then, "...turns to the congregation and says, ‘Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty."⁸

What follows is called the ‘Consecration’, where, it is believed, the bread and wine actually become the literal Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of the Lord Jesus Christ. "The Roman Church teaches that Christ, in the form of ‘the Host’ (the consecrated wafer), is in reality upon the altar, and that the priests have Him in their power, that they hold Him in their hands, and carry Him from place to place."⁹ The book, ‘My Catholic Faith’, teaches: "The priest is ‘Alter Christus’— another Christ...The dignity of a priest is higher than any earthly dignity. He has power that the most powerful civil ruler does not possess. The humblest priest by his word can call down God upon the altar and convert bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ."

The communion bread, in the form of a thin, round wafer, is eaten by the priest, who then partakes of the wine on behalf of the assembly, as this part of the sacrament is usually withheld from the people for fear that a drop of ‘Jesus’ blood’ might be spilt. However, there is no such directive given in the Roman Catholic Bible.

The Lord Jesus Himself said, "...drink from it ALL of you..." (Matthew 26:27). Mark 14:23 tells us, "...He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they ALL drank from it." This Roman Catholic ruling has been relaxed somewhat in more recent years, to the point where it is now common in some churches to allow both the bread and wine to be received by the congregation.

Once having drunk the wine, the priest then proceeds to take a golden dish containing smaller wafers to the congregation, who walk in orderly queues toward the altar to receive the communion wafers. The congregant then returns to his seat, "...knowing that he has Christ’s body and blood within him."¹⁰

Children as young as nine years of age may receive instructions in preparation for their first ‘holy communion’, an occasion that is of the utmost importance to Rome. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus—better known as the Jesuits—once commented: "If...children have made a good first communion they will be submissive to the Pope. Like the stick in the hands of the traveller, they will have no will, no thought of their own!"¹¹

All Roman Catholics are taught from infancy to believe that by attending Mass, they are storing up good works for themselves in order to offset the evil that they have done in their lives. "Attendance at Mass gives him a sense of having fulfilled his duty. He has met the requirement. Regardless of how wicked a person he may be, if he continues to acknowledge the authority of the Roman Catholic Church by regular attendance at mass and by going to confession at least once a year, he remains a member ‘in good standing’..."¹²

The Baltimore Catechism declares: "It is a mortal sin not to hear Mass on a Sunday or a holy day of obligation, unless we are excused for a serious reason." A mortal sin, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, is the greatest of evils, the offender being in danger of eternal damnation. In the book, ‘The Catholic Religion’, we find stated: "The Church insists that all her members must receive holy communion at least once a year and, if possible, every time they go to Mass. Thousands go to holy communion every day."¹³

Roman Catholic scholar, Ludwig Ott, says the Council of Trent ruled that the sacrifice of the Mass "...can be offered, not merely for the living, but also for the poor souls in purgatory."¹⁴ Roman Catholics are encouraged to pay for ‘Masses for the Dead’. They are taught that the more masses that are said, the less time the departed one need spend in the fabled Purgatory. Yet no one, with any certainty, can tell the Roman Catholic when exactly the person in Purgatory is freed, and so the paid-for Masses for the dead simply go on and on. "Purgatory had been (adopted) by Rome in A.D. 593 but it remained a very unpopular doctrine for many centuries. When Mass came into being, however, these two innovations by the Roman Catholic Church became inseparably connected with each other."¹⁵

Former Roman Catholic priest, Lucien Vinet, informs us that masses are said, and paid for, for a variety of reasons, such as: "...in honour of the saints in heaven to obtain their mediation, for spiritual and temporal favors; for health, wealth, a happy trip, protection against rain, hail, insects and for thousands of other good effects."¹⁶

Rome also has requiem or funeral masses on behalf of the dead; nuptial masses for weddings; and pontifical masses, which are conducted by a bishop or other high official of the Roman Catholic Church. These masses are all paid for, there being no such thing as a free Mass, other than the weekly Sunday Mass.

"One very prominent feature of the Mass as conducted in the Roman Catholic Church is the financial support it brings in. It is by all odds the largest income producing ceremony in the church. In Ireland there is a saying, ‘High money, high Mass; low money, low Mass; no money no Mass!’"¹⁷

THE HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MASS

The Roman Catholic doctrine of the sacrifice of the Mass dates back to 1215 A.D. It is significant to note that for the first 1,200 years of Christianity, no Christian had ever heard of such a concept as the Mass or of its being a continuation of, and equally as effective as, Christ’s offering upon the cross.

The idea of the Mass was first proposed by a Benedictine monk named Radbertus, in the 9th century. The Lateran Council pronounced the Mass official Roman Catholic dogma as late as 1215, under the direction of Pope Innocent III. This was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent in 1545.

It was not until the year 1415 that Rome began to withhold the cup from the people. This decree was issued by the Council of Constance, which admitted that the Roman Church had, in previous centuries, permitted the receiving of both the bread and wine, a fact confirmed by The Catholic Encyclopedia: "It may be stated as a general fact, that down to the 12th century, in the West as well as in the East, public Communion in the churches was ordinarily administered and received under both kinds..." and "...clearly beyond dispute."¹⁸

Up until the year 1415, many popes had condemned as sacrilege the serving of only bread in the holy communion. Pope Gelasius, who served from 492-496 A.D., in a letter addressed to certain bishops, said: "We have ascertained that certain persons having received a portion of the sacred body alone abstain from partaking of the chalice of the sacred blood. Let such persons...either receive the sacrament in its entirety, or be repelled from the entire sacrament, because a division of one and the same mystery cannot take place without the same sacrilege."¹⁹

Pope Urban II presided over the Council of Clermont in 1095, which decreed in its 28th canon that, "No one shall communicate at the altar without he receives the body and blood separately and alike, unless by way of necessity, and for caution.." Pope Paschal, in 1118, agreed with Scripture that both the bread and wine were given by the Lord Jesus, "...which custom we therefore teach and command to be ALWAYS observed in Holy Church..."²⁰

The Mass had been celebrated in Latin up until Vatican II, which ruled, in 1963, that masses could be conducted in the common language of the people. To this day a small percentage of Roman Catholics in various countries refuse to have anything to do with such Masses, preferring only to attend those which are performed in Latin.

WHAT IS TRANSUBSTANTIATION?

The Roman Catholic Mass is based on the doctrine of Transubstantiation, which simply means, ‘a change of substance’. It is perhaps the principal doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.

Rome strongly contends that when a Roman Catholic priest exclaims the words, ‘This is my body, this is my blood’, whilst lifting up the elements, it follows that the substance of the bread and wine are miraculously changed into the actual physical body and blood, soul and divinity, of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Roman Catechism says that the priest, "...offers sacrifice in the Mass, when, acting in the person of Jesus Christ, he uses the power of consecration and changes bread and wine into Our Lord’s Body and Blood."²¹ The same Catechism calls this "...God’s greatest gift to man, as well as man’s greatest offering to God."

The ‘New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal’, which is said to be ‘in accordance with the New Revised Liturgy’, includes the following under the heading, ‘The Celebrant (priest) Offers The Bread’: "Accept, Holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, this unblemished host, which I, Your unworthy servant, offer to You, my living and true God, for my countless offences and failings, for all here present, and for all the faithful, living and dead. May IT help both them and me unto salvation and eternal life. Amen."²²

Pope Paul IV once wrote: "Every theological explanation which seeks some understanding of this mystery must, in order to be in accord with Catholic faith, maintain that in the reality itself, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the Consecration, so that it is the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus..."²³

The Catholic Encyclopedia defines ‘transubstantiation’ or the ‘change’ as follows: "In the Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of bread and wine do not remain, but the entire substance of bread is changed into the body of Christ, and the entire substance of wine is changed into His blood, the species of outward semblance of bread and wine alone remaining....in each individual species the whole Christ, flesh and blood, body and soul, Divinity and humanity, is really present."²⁴

The bread, according to Roman Catholicism, literally ‘becomes’ Jesus Christ, and includes His hair, teeth, bones, eyes, eyelashes, toes and finger nails, which to the human eye, remain bread and wine.

Listen to what the Question & Answer Catholic Catechism says if you find the above statement a mere conclusion reached by this author: "Christ is present in the Eucharist, not only with everything that makes Him man but with all that makes Him this human being. He is therefore present with all His physical and human properties, hands and feet, head and human heart. He is present with His human soul, with His thoughts, desires, and human affections."²⁵

Following the ‘consecration’, the communion bread is subsequently referred to as the ‘Host’ (from the Latin hostia meaning victim) and is offered to God as the sacrifice of the Mass: "...take this sacrifice to Your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing."²⁶  This is known as the ‘unbloody sacrifice’.

Pope Pius IV said in his Creed: "I profess...that in the Mass there is offered a true, proper and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead.. And that in the most holy sacrifice of the Eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially the body and the blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ—that there is made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood; which conversion the Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation; I do also confess that, under either kind alone Christ is received whole and entire and a true Sacrament."

St. Alphonse Liguori, founder of the Redemptionist Order, taught the following in regard to the Mass: "With regard to the power of the priests over the real body of Christ, it is of faith that when they pronounce the words of consecration, the incarnate God has obliged Himself to obey and come into their hands under the sacramental appearance of bread and wine. We are struck with wonder when we find that in obedience to the words of His priests—’Hoc est Corpus Meum’, (this is my body), (from which we get the familiar phrase ‘Hocus Pocus’)—God Himself descends on the altar, that He comes whenever they call Him, and as often as they call Him, and places Himself in their hands, even though they should be His enemies. And after having come He remains, entirely at their disposal and they move Him as they please from one place to another...Mary conceived Jesus only once...but by consecrating the Eucharist, the priest, as it were, conceives Him as often as he wishes...hence priests are called the parents of Jesus Christ. Thus the priest may in a certain manner be called the creator of his Creator, since by saying the words of consecration he creates as it were Jesus in the Sacrament." Liguori further adds: "The power of the priest is the power of a divine person, the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world."²⁷

Roman Catholics are taught to believe that they actually eat the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ and that their priests also drink His actual blood! "After the adoration of the ‘host’, the uplifted hands of the priest pretend to offer to God the very body and blood of Christ as a sacrifice for the living and the dead. Then, in the observance of the Eucharist he pretends to eat Him alive, in the presence of the people, also to give Him to the people under the appearance of bread, to be eaten by them."²⁸

Amazingly, Roman Catholicism also claims: "...the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ has no less an effect than to change us into what we have received."²⁹ As shall be detailed later, the Roman Catholic Church also teaches that the bread and wine are to be adored and worshipped as God Himself!!

Another of the Roman Catholic Church’s bold and unscriptural assertions is that, although Jesus Christ is offered daily as a sacrifice upon Roman Catholic altars, "Our Lord does not die anymore, but exists upon our altars, flesh and blood, body and soul, human nature and divine nature just as He is in heaven eternally."³⁰

The Roman Catholic Church also teaches that belief in Transubstantiation is essential to one’s salvation, and has laid curses upon any who would deny this Romanist teaching. The Council of Trent (whose rulings were affirmed by Vatican II) threatened: "If any one denieth that, in the sacrament of the most holy eucharist, are contained truly, really and substantially, the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but saith that He is only therein as in a sign, or in figure, or virtue: let him be anathema (accursed)."

There are some very strange and bizarre teachings and rules that may be found in ‘The Missale Romanum’, a book of laws and regulations that the Roman Catholic Church considers extremely sacred. One example of these is found on page 58, which reads: "If the priest vomit the Eucharist, if the species appear entire, let them be reverently swallowed, unless sickness arise; for then let the consecrated species be cautiously separated and laid up in some sacred place till they are corrupted; and afterwards let them be cast into the sacrarium. But if the species do not appear, let the vomit be burned, and the ashes cast into the sacrarium." Also, "If through negligence any of the blood of Christ hath fallen on the floor, on the ground, or on the boards, let it be licked up with the tongue and let the spot be sufficiently scraped, and the scrapings burned and the ashes laid up in the sacrarium."³¹

THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF TRANSUBSTANTIATION

Along with so many other pagan teachings that Roman Catholicism has loyally and faithfully perpetuated the tradition, presenting these teachings to her unsuspecting followers as Christian, the whole concept of Transubstantiation is foreign to biblical Christianity and did not even originate within the Roman Catholic Church, but is one of the oldest ceremonies known to pagan religion. There are many pages in the scholarly work, ‘Hasting’s Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics’, that make up an article on this subject headed, ‘Eating the God’. These pages include substantial evidence of transubstantiation rites among various anti-Christian nations, tribes and religions in the world.

The Roman Catholic Church, through the medium of its Catholic Encyclopedia, admits that: "Mithraism had a eucharist...the idea of a sacred banquet is as old as the human race and existed at all ages amongst all peoples."³² In ancient Egypt, the consecration of a cake by a priest was alleged to have changed its substance into that of an Egyptian god, Osiris, which was subsequently eaten. The drinking of wine was also part of this ancient rite.

"Even in Mexico and Central America, among those who had never heard of Christ, the belief in eating the flesh of a god was found. When Catholic missionaries first landed there, they were surprised ‘when they witnessed a religious rite which reminded them of communion...an image made of flour...after consecration by priests, was distributed among the people who ate it...declaring it was the flesh of the deity.’"³³

Transubstantiation is said to be Rome’s greatest ‘miracle’. Her priests are said to call down God upon their altars, who then obediently takes upon Himself the form of bread and wine. Similar rites may also be traced to ancient forms of paganism. "The Chaldean priests pretended, by their magic spells...to bring down their divinities into their statues, so that their ‘real presence’ should be visibly manifested in them. This they called ‘the making of the gods’; and from this no doubt comes the blasphemous saying of the Popish priests, that they have power ‘to create their Creator.’"³⁴

The whole concept of the bread and wine being miraculously changed into the real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, finds no mention in either the Apostles’, Nicene or Athanasian Creeds. Its first credal mention was made by Pope Paul IV in 1564. "The idea of Transubstantiation was not without its problems. Tertullian (one of the early Church fathers) tells us that priests took great care that no crumb should fall—lest the body of Jesus be hurt! Even a crumb was believed to contain a whole Christ. In the Middle Ages, there were serious discussions as to what should be done if a person were to vomit after receiving communion or if a dog or mouse were by chance to eat God’s body! At the Council of Constance, it was argued whether a man who spilled some of the blood of Christ on his beard should have his beard burned or if the beard and the man should be destroyed by burning."³⁵ The Roman Catholic Church is guilty of burning alive many in the Dark Ages who dared deny her doctrine of Transubstantiation.

THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE WAFER AND THE BLOODLESS SACRIFICE

The thin round wafer, used by Rome during holy communion, is made from a simple recipe of flour and water. The wafer is that which the Roman Catholic Church teaches becomes the literal body of Jesus Christ and yet remains bread in appearance. As we learned earlier, Roman Catholicism says that the mass is no less a sacrifice than that of Calvary; the only difference being that the Roman Catholic ‘sacrifice’ is an ‘unbloody’ sacrifice.

The Question & Answer Catechism states that Jesus Christ, "...in an unbloody way offers Himself a most acceptable Victim to the eternal Father, as he did upon the cross." As will be detailed in a later chapter, the idea of an unbloody sacrifice can never atone for sin, for the Word of God says: "...IT IS THE BLOOD, as the seat of life, THAT MAKES ATONEMENT" (Leviticus 17:11).

The unbloody sacrifice of the Roman Catholic Mass finds its beginnings in pagan worship, which featured the eating of a small round cake! The Roman Catholic Bible refers to these ‘cakes’ in Jeremiah 7:18: "...the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven..." and in chapter 44:19: "...we baked for her cakes in her image..." These cakes were the unbloody sacrifice that this Chaldean queen of heaven required.

"That ‘unbloody sacrifice’ her votaries not only offered, but when admitted to the higher mysteries, they partook of, swearing anew fidelity to her. In the fourth century, when the queen of heaven, under the name of Mary, was beginning to be worshipped in the ‘christian church’, this ‘unbloody sacrifice’ also was brought in. Epiphanius states that the practice of offering and eating it began among the women of Arabia; and at that time it was well known to have been adopted from the pagans. The very shape of the unbloody sacrifice of Rome may indicate whence it came. It is a small thin round wafer; and on its roundness the Church of Rome lays so much stress..."³⁶

The following questions must be asked at this point: Why does the Roman Catholic Church insist that the holy communion wafer be round? Why does her particular unbloody sacrifice need to be round? Why not a square or rectangular shape? There is simply no reference in any of the New Testament accounts of the Lord’s Supper that stipulates the communion bread should be round in shape. The Bible record states that the Lord Jesus broke the bread. He did not cut it so as to render its shape round. "As we all know, bread does not break into round pieces! Breaking the bread actually represents the body of Jesus which was broken for us by the cruel beatings and stripes. But this symbolism is not carried out by serving a round, disk-shaped wafer completely whole."³⁷

Though support for the round wafer of Roman Catholicism cannot be gained from the Holy Scriptures, it does shockingly, however, find support in its origins: upon the altars of Egypt!! "The thin round cake occurs on all (Egyptian) altars. Almost every jot or tittle in the Egyptian worship had a symbolic meaning. The round disk, so frequent in the sacred emblems of Egypt, symbolised the sun."³⁸

"In the mystery religion of Mithraism, the higher initiates also received a small round cake or wafer of unleavened bread which symbolized the solar disk."³⁹ The round wafer of Rome is merely a continuation of the ancient pagan tradition used to symbolize the sun!! Some Roman Catholic wafers actually include an embossed circle with tiny sun-rays around its perimeter.

This solar disk, or sun symbol, was found high above the altars of the sun god Baal, and was also used by the idolatrous Israelites during their days of apostasy, recorded in 2 Chronicles 34. "In 1854, an ancient temple was discovered in Egypt with inscriptions that show little round cakes on an altar. Above the altar is a large image of the sun. A similar sun symbol was used above the altar of the temple near the town of Babain, in upper Egypt, where there is a representation of the sun, which two priests are shown worshipping. This use of the sun image above the ‘altar’ was not limited to Egypt. Even in far away Peru, this same image was known and worshipped."⁴⁰

A golden image of the sun was also exhibited in the great Temple of Babylon. In Peru, the temple of Cuzco contained the disk of the sun fixed up in flaming gold upon the wall, and all who entered the temple did bow down before it.

What will no doubt come as another shock to most Roman Catholics is the stunning fact that Roman Catholicism is also guilty of having these same sun images!! In St. Peter’s Cathedral, the virtual headquarters of Roman Catholicism, there can be seen high above the altar, at the top of each of the four 95 feet high supporting columns, which hold up a canopy, pagan-like sun images!! Moreover, further images of the sun complete with face and sun rays, are clearly visible directly below these.

In the same Roman Catholic Cathedral, "High on the wall also is a very large and elaborate golden sunburst image, just as there was in the great temple of Babylon. The sunburst images are also like the monstrance sun-image, in which the ‘host’ is placed as a ‘sun’ and before which Catholics kneel and bow."⁴¹ The sunburst image also appears on the ceiling of the canopy, which is over the altar. A similar large sun image appears high above the altar of the church of the Gesu in Rome.

That both the wafer and the unbloody sacrifice of the Roman Catholic Mass do not appear in the Roman Catholic Bible, is a fact that cannot be denied. Equally irrefutable is the evidence given in this chapter that identifies them as having originated in the darkest ceremonies and temples of ancient paganism, which in turn qualifies them as ungodly practices, totally abominable in the sight of the one pure and Holy God. Paganistic practices and traditions have no place in true Christianity. The official footnotes to 2 Corinthians 6:14-16a in the Roman Catholic Bible, which we have been quoting from throughout this series of booklets, clearly state: "...Christianity is NOT compatible with paganism."

ADORATION OF THE HOST

Following the ‘consecration’, the communion wafer used in the Roman Catholic Mass is referred to as the ‘Host’, from the Latin word hostia meaning ‘victim’ or ‘sacrifice’, and is literally worshipped as God! This dogma of Rome was introduced 11 years after the inception of Transubstantiation.

At one point during the Mass, the priest elevates the Host, which the congregation are instructed to look upon with deep faith and adoration, literally worshipping it with the words, ‘My Lord and my God.’ ‘Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents’, contains the following statement: "It is necessary to instruct the faithful that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour and that the same worship and adoration given to God is owed to Him present under the sacramental signs." The sacramental signs spoken of here are the communion bread and wine.

The ‘Credo of the People’, written by Pope Paul VI, states in part: "...it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore in the blessed Host which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word, whom they cannot see, and who, without leaving heaven is made present before us."

The adoration of the Host is so important a teaching in the Roman Catholic Church, that there even exists in various Orders of Nuns, the ‘Cult of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament’, which is devoted to a literal 24 hour-a-day worship of the Jesus Wafer-god, or Host!

For approximately the past 700 years, a feast day called ‘Corpus Cristi’ (the Body of Christ) has been held annually throughout the world. It is a day in which the Host is paraded around the local Roman Catholic church, as well as through city streets, and is looked upon and worshipped by thousands who believe it to be God!!

Many alleged miracles have been attributed to the Host, with some hosts reportedly having been seen bleeding. The Church of Rome maintains a curse to this day upon any who deny the worship of the Host. The Council of Trent (1545-1562) declared in cannon 6: "Whosoever shall affirm that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is not to be adored in the holy eucharist with the external signs of that worship which is due to God, and therefore that the eucharist is not to be honored with extraordinary festive celebration, nor solemnly carried about in processions, according to the laudable and universal rites and customs of the holy Church, nor publicly presented to the people for their adoration, and that those who worship the same are idolaters, let him be accursed."

The adoration of the Host, as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, was commenced by Bishop Pierre de Corbie in celebration of Louis VII's victory over the Albigenses. The victory celebrations drew a great number of people, who continued the adoration of the Host day and night. This practice was eventually approved by the Pope himself.

The early Church, however, did not worship the Host, a fact acknowledged by The Catholic Encyclopedia: "No trace of existence of any such extraliturgical cultus of the Blessed Sacrament can be found in the records of the early Church. It first appears in the later Middle-Ages."⁴² Associations for the Perpetual Adoration of the Host multiplied in number after 1592, when special indulgences were granted to them.

In ancient pagan Rome, where such worship of a wafer-god was not practiced, a man was considered mad who believed that which he ate to be a god. "But what was too absurd for Pagan Romans is no absurdity at all for the Pope. The host, or consecrated wafer, is the great god of the Roman Catholic Church. That host is enshrined in a box adorned with gold and silver and precious stones.’"⁴³

Interestingly, the very teaching that holds that the communion wafer should be believed to be Jesus Christ Himself and is to be worshipped as such, "...seems to be exactly the type of idolatry that both the Old and New Testaments decry as rebellion against God and refusal of His reality as Spirit."⁴⁴ "With the sagacity characteristic of her long career, the Roman Catholic Church takes advantage of that weakness in human nature which seeks some visible and outward object of worship. In the consecrated ‘host’ she presents to her people a god whom they can see and feel."⁴⁵ Jesus said: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

The Church of Rome openly admits that there is not one shred of evidence, even in their own Bible, to support the worship of the communion bread, which Roman Catholicism presents to its followers as Jesus Christ Himself. In answer to this dilemma, The Catholic Encyclopedia replies: "In the absence of Scriptural proof, the Church finds a warrant for, and a propriety in, rendering Divine worship to the Blessed Sacrament in the most ancient and constant tradition..."⁴⁶ It is true to say that any teachings that are based upon tradition rather than the Word of God are merely the instructions of men and are diametrically opposed to the Word of God. Jesus Christ said: "You nullify the Word of God in favor of your tradition..." (Mark 7:13).

"...if the doctrine of transubstantiation is false, then the ‘host’ is no more the body of Christ than is any other piece of bread. And if the soul and divinity of Christ are not present, then the worship of it is sheer idolatry, of the same kind as that of pagan tribes who worship fetishes."⁴⁷

The true Christian is not to, and does not ever, worship or bow down to any symbol or image of anything that is in heaven or on earth or under the earth. This is the Second Commandment of God and may be readily observed in any Roman Catholic Bible, in the Book of Exodus chapter 20. However, it is strangely and conveniently omitted in the majority of the more often read Roman Catholic Catechisms.

ROMAN CATHOLIC ‘PROOF’ OF A PERPETUAL SACRIFICE

The two most central and significant teachings of the Roman Catholic Church concerning the Mass are Transubstantiation—the purported changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ—and the Mass—a bloodless sacrifice, a continuation of the same offering that Jesus made upon the cross, and, therefore, considered as effective as His death at Calvary.

"As the sacrifices in Old Testament times prefigured the great Sacrifice on the cross so it is said, the Mass continues that offering."⁴⁸ The Question & Answer Catholic Catechism declares: "The Mass in no way detracts from the one, unique sacrifice of the Cross because the Mass is the same Sacrifice as that of the Cross, to continue on earth until the end of time...The Mass, therefore, no less than the Cross, is expiatory for sins..."

It is the contention of Roman Catholicism that the Lord Jesus Christ first offered Himself to God on the night before His crucifixion, under the appearance of bread and wine at the Last Supper. We find this explained in the book, ‘The Catholic Religion’: "He offered Himself, under the appearances of bread and wine, to God the Father to atone for the sins of the world. The following day He offered that same sacrifice on the cross, shedding His blood and giving His life."⁴⁹

Former Roman Catholic priest, Charles Chiniquy, comments: "When a priest of Rome, I was bound, with all the Roman Catholics, to believe that Christ had taken His own Body, with His own hands, to His mouth; and that He had eaten Himself, not in a spiritual, but in a substantial material way! After eating Himself, He had given it to each of His apostles, who then ate Him also!!"⁵⁰

Furthermore, Roman Catholicism alleges that on the night He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus not only "...instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of His body and blood..." but that, "He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross through the centuries."⁵¹ This is symbolized by Rome in her portrayal of Christ Jesus as still being nailed to the cross.

Contrary to the teachings of Rome, there is no mention whatsoever of a so-called perpetual offering of the one true sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ anywhere in the Roman Catholic Bible. The Word of God consistently speaks of only ONE sacrifice, offered ONCE for all time, which His people are commanded not to repeat, but to commemorate.

Not so, according to the Roman Catholic Church, who strongly contends that the ‘sacrificial offering’ performed by her priests during Mass is a renewal of the true sacrifice of the Cross. The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "Christ...commanded that His bloody sacrifice on the cross should be daily renewed by an unbloody sacrifice of His body and blood in the Mass under the simple elements of bread and wine." Consequently, according to Rome, Jesus is "...present in our churches not only in a spiritual manner, but really, truly, and substantially as the victim of a sacrifice."⁵²

In stark contrast to the ‘daily sacrifices’ of the Roman Catholic Church, their own Bible states quite clearly that "...we have been consecrated through the OFFERING of the body and blood of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL" (Hebrews 10:10). The Roman Catholic Bible also says: "...this One (Jesus) offered ONE sacrifice for sins, and took His seat forever at the right hand of God; now He waits until His enemies are made His footstool" (Hebrews 10:12,13).

The Lord Jesus Christ does not leave heaven to enter Roman Catholic churches to offer Himself repeatedly in order to redeem His people from their sins, but has in reality "...entered ONCE FOR ALL into the Sanctuary (in heaven) ...with His own blood, thus OBTAINING eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). "Where there is a continual offering for sin, as when the sacrament of the mass is offered daily, it means that sins are really never taken away, and that those who are called priests pretend to continue the unfinished work of Christ."⁵³

If Christ’s offering for sin needs to be continually repeated, as is affirmed by Roman Catholicism, then it becomes no different to any other sacrifice offered for sin that required repetition. However, the sacrifice of the Perfect Son of the Living God, Jesus Christ, was so unique that it required only ONE offering, effective for all time and for all for whom it was made!!

Jesus Christ said whilst on the Cross: "...It is finished..." (John 19:30). The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Jesus was merely referring to His earthly life, but a careful study of the Roman Catholic Bible will promptly reveal that the Lord Jesus spoke of His saving work, the eternal redemption of God’s chosen. All that was required for His work of salvation for those God had given Him ended on that Cross. The Resurrection that followed three days later was God’s seal of approval on Christ’s atoning work at Calvary. God the Son died on that Cross; He was Resurrected on the third day, and is now SAT DOWN at the Father’s right hand till His enemies be made His footstool.

Roman altars are NOT frequented by the Lord Jesus Christ offering Himself again and again to the Father, for this He did ONCE AND FOR ALL at Calvary!! The following two verses of Scripture absolutely and eternally stand in denial of the Roman Catholic doctrine of a perpetual sacrifice: "NOT THAT HE MIGHT OFFER HIMSELF REPEATEDLY, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that were so, He would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. BUT NOW ONCE FOR ALL HAS HE APPEARED AT THE END OF THE AGES TO TAKE AWAY SIN BY HIS SACRIFICE" (Hebrews 9:25,26).

To teach the need for repetition of Christ’s once for all offering to God is to go against the Roman Catholic Bible’s declaration that Jesus Christ’s work of atonement was completed upon the Cross. It stands to reason that if a thing is completed, it does not require repetition. Yet again we find the teachings of Roman Catholicism in complete contrast with the Holy Word of God. "Jesus Christ died once, as the Scriptures so emphatically and repeatedly state; and since He was Deity Incarnate, He was a Person of infinite value and dignity and His work therefore was fully efficacious and complete for the accomplishing of what He intended, namely, the redemption of those for whom He died."⁵⁴

What is also strikingly amiss in Rome’s teaching, is the claim of an unbloody sacrifice. In other words, there is no death upon the Roman Catholic altar. The Roman Catechism describes a sacrifice as the "...highest act of religion in which a priest offers a victim to God, to acknowledge God’s supreme dominion over us and our total dependence on Him."⁵⁵

According to the Collin’s English Dictionary, the word sacrifice can mean one of two things: It is either (1) ‘...the ritualistic killing of a person, or animal, with the intention of propitiating or pleasing a deity"; or (2) a symbolic offering to a deity.’ The Roman Catholic sacrifice of the Mass does not fit either description. Rome says that Jesus does not ‘die again’ upon their altars and, they add, that their offering is not merely symbolical, but equal to that of the cross; that Jesus Christ is actually and physically present.

As was noted earlier, Roman Catholicism contends that the sacrifice of the Mass is as effective for the forgiveness of sins as was Christ’s death at Calvary: "The graces conferred by the Mass as a sacrament are twofold. Through the Mass we obtain forgiveness for venial sins and the remission of temporal punishment still due for past sins."⁵⁶ Yet the Roman Catholic Bible clearly states: "Where there is forgiveness...there is NO LONGER OFFERING FOR SIN" (Hebrews 10:18). For the true Christian, whose sins have been forgiven and whose redemption has been obtained through Christ’s atoning work on the cross, there is no further offering necessary. And as there is no further offering necessary, there is no need for an altar or of a concept such as ‘The Sacrifice of the Mass’.

Subsequently, according to the above Scripture from The Roman Catholic Bible, one can only reach the conclusion that the ‘unbloody’ sacrifice of the Mass is "...an heretical addition to the plan of God, and a forbidden means of seeking the remission of sins....The witness of the infallible Word of God condemns the Mass...as false and heretical. It is an offense to God and falsely offers hope of salvation and of the pardon of sins, and it falsely offers the promise of ‘grace’ to those who participate."⁵⁷

Moreover, the ‘unbloody sacrifice’ of the Roman Catholic Church can have no effectiveness for remission of sins, for it is bloodless. Again, Leviticus 17:11 states: "...IT IS THE BLOOD as the seat of life, WHICH MAKES ATONEMENT." Also, the Letter to the Hebrews informs us: "...WITHOUT the shedding of blood THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS" (9:22). Dear Roman Catholic, the blood of Jesus Christ has been shed upon the cross, and, therefore, forgiveness has been obtained. No further offering need be made.

"The so-called sacrifice in the mass certainly is not identical with that on Calvary, regardless of what the priests may say. There is in the mass no real Christ, no suffering, and no bleeding. And a bloodless sacrifice is ineffectual.....Since admittedly there is no blood in the mass, it simply cannot be a sacrifice for sin." ⁵⁸

Another problem that emerges for Rome is the fact that the Roman Catholic altar is a contradiction in terms: "It was probably the invention of the priesthood which brought in the altar. THE EARLY CHURCHES HAD NO ALTAR. The Jewish altar, done away in Christ, was a massive structure of brass on which a constantly burning fire consumed the Jewish offerings. It was a type, of course, of the Cross on which Christ ‘once for all’ (Hebrews. 9:26) offered Himself. An altar without fire is a contradiction in terms, just as the ’unbloody sacrifice of the mass’ is a contradiction of the clear teaching of Scripture..."⁵⁹

The Roman Catholic Church also teaches that the words of the Lord Jesus found in Luke 22:19, "...do this in memory of Me," signify His ordaining the apostles as priests and giving them the power to ordain priests. The Roman Catechism, in commenting on Jesus’ words, declares that Jesus (1) "Ordained His apostles priests; (2) gave them power to ordain priests; and (3) commanded all priests in like manner to consecrate, offer and administer His Body and Blood."⁶⁰ However, Hebrews 7:25 tells us that the priesthood of Jesus Christ is unchangeable and, therefore, cannot be transferred to others: "...but He, because He remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away." Remarkably, the footnotes to Hebrews 7:20-25 in the Roman Catholic Bible agree with this: "...Jesus becomes the guarantee of a permanent covenant that does not require a succession of priests as did the Levitical priesthood because His high priesthood is ETERNAL AND UNCHANGEABLE." In yet another case of Romanism shooting itself in the foot, these comments are a denial of the necessity, and therefore the credibility, of its own priesthood!

Even in light of this evidence, Roman Catholicism still upholds the curse pronounced by the Council of Trent upon anyone who "...saith that by those words, ‘do this for the commemoration of Me’, Christ did not institute the apostles priests, or did not acclaim that they and other priests should offer His own body and blood: let him be anathema."

What Jesus simply did at the Last Supper was to show the apostles that, when they would eat the bread and drink the wine, it was to be done in memory of Him, it was not a sacrificial act. Jesus said: "...My house shall be called a house of PRAYER for all peoples...", not a house of sacrifice! (Mark 11:17; Isaiah 56:7). The apostle Paul said: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you PROCLAIM the death of the Lord until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). It is vitally important for the Roman Catholic to here note that Paul did not say ‘we repeat the death of the Lord’, but that we do PROCLAIM the death of the Lord; we memorialize it; we perpetuate, not the sacrifice itself, but the MEMORY of it.

The Lord’s Supper was held at the time of the Jewish Passover, which itself is a ceremony filled with symbolism in the form of this representing that, and was part of the traditional Passover meal, which had no connection whatsoever with the Old Testament sacrificial system. "...The key word throughout the Passover observance is ‘remember’: we do this to remember that, and we do that to remember this. The emphasis in the last Passover was the concept of ‘in remembrance of Me.’"⁶¹

The words of Jesus in Luke 22:19,20: "...This is My body, which will be given for you....This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which will be shed for you", clearly refer to His once for all offering and can in no way be referring to its repetition. His body WAS ‘given’ and his blood WAS ‘shed’.

Jesus’ Words are unmistakable: "...do this IN MEMORY OF ME..." (Luke 22:19). If Christ was present on Roman Catholic altars, as is the claim made by Roman Catholicism, the Mass could not qualify as a memorial, since the One being remembered would be present. One cannot have both. A memorial is something held in honor of one who is NOT PRESENT!!

Lucien Vinet, the former Roman Catholic priest, comments: "A memorial cannot be the real and actual thing. If Christ had left us His real Self we would not need a memorial. Pictures of our dear ones are fine memorials of them but cannot be the actual and real presence of those we love. The first Christians celebrated holy communion, but never believed that Christ was corporeally and substantially present among them after Ascension Day. To them, communion was a memorial of Christ, but not the actual physical body and blood of the Lord."⁶²

How the Roman Catholic Church has turned the simple instructions given to the apostles by the Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper into a contrived and unbiblical drama! The Roman Catholic priest undergoes extensive training in Seminary in order for him to perform the mass, for which he needs a remarkable memory: "...he (the priest) makes the sign of the cross 16 times; turns towards the congregation 6 times; lifts his eyes to heaven 11 times; kisses the altar 8 times; folds his hands 4 times; strikes his breast 10 times; bows his head 21 times; genuflects 8 times; bows his shoulders 7 times; blesses the altar with the sign of the cross 30 times; lays his hands flat on the altar 29 times; prays secretly 11 times; prays aloud 13 times; takes the bread and wine and allegedly turns it into the body and blood of Christ; covers and uncovers the chalice 10 times; goes to and fro 20 times; and in addition performs numerous other acts. If the priest forgets even one element of the drama, he commits a great sin and technically may invalidate the entire mass. Add to the above the highly colored robes of the clergy, the candles, bells, incense, music etc., and you see something of the complexity of the program."⁶³ A program totally without any Biblical support, but one that finds ample support in the traditions of paganism.

The Roman Catholic Bible contains no such elaborate ceremony as seen in the mass with its accompanying drama, but in contrast, tells of a simple meal made up of bread and wine eaten in memory of Christ. All the Lord Jesus did was take the bread, break the bread and offer it to His disciples. He then took the cup, telling all the disciples to take and drink from it.

Such a ceremony as the mass is completely foreign to the pages of the Roman Catholic Bible, which portrays true Christianity as simple and free of the elaborate rituals and ceremonies, that paganism and Roman Catholicism have in common. The Bible does not contain any directions on how to organize such a ceremony as the mass. It is the invention of men. "Search the Gospels, the Book of Acts, and the Epistles, and you find many admonitions to prayer, praise, preaching the Gospel, etc., but not one word about the mass. The apostle Paul gave many instructions and exhortations concerning the government and duties of the churches, but he says nothing about the sacrifice of the mass."⁶⁴

"We can only conclude that the mass is a medieval superstition, designed to throw a veil of mystery over the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper....From a simple memorial feast it became a miraculous re-enactment of the sacrifice on calvary...the purpose was to exalt the hierarchy, to clothe it with an air of mystery, and, particularly as regards the mass, make the priest appear to have supernatural powers."⁶⁵

TRANSUBSTANTIATION - WHAT DOES THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE SAY?

As was specified in a previous chapter, Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic teaching wherein the bread and wine of the Mass are believed to be changed into the actual physical body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet undergo no change in appearance. The bread and wine also retain their original taste, colour, smell, weight and dimensions.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that "Chemical analysis or human science cannot demonstrate that the change has taken place. It is a special kind of change, absolutely unique. It is called sacramental. Such a change can only be known through faith in the teaching of Christ and His Church, faith in the Word of God."⁶⁶ But nowhere in the Word of God can it be found that such a change takes place!!

In other words, the Roman Catholic Church claims Transubstantiation to be a miracle worked by the power of God exclusively through the Roman Catholic priest, though it remains indiscernible to the human senses. However, no miracle of this type is recorded in Scripture. In contrast to this, every miracle of God in the Roman Catholic Bible was obvious and apparent to all. It had tangible evidence to support it. One could readily see that a change had occurred: the blind man could see; the crippled man could walk; the deaf could hear and the dead were raised. One did not merely hear about a true miracle of God; people were not forced into believing it by faith, but an actual change was seen. Such is the evidence of a true miracle from God.

For instance, when the Lord Jesus performed His first miracle at Cana, He changed the water into wine (John 2). According to those present, the water no longer looked like water, it had undergone a real change. It became wine, looked like wine, smelled like wine and tasted like wine. This true miracle of God is so unlike the empty Roman Catholic ‘miracle’ of transubstantiation, which produces no change!

Though there is no physical evidence for her people to see, Roman Catholicism insists its followers, UNDER PENALTY OF ETERNAL DAMNATION, believe something that not only goes against their senses, but also runs contrary to the very attributes that are characteristic of a true miracle of God. A true miracle of God, as seen in the Roman Catholic Bible, was always accompanied with proof that left no doubt in the mind of the people, even the enemies of God, that a change had truly taken place. Dear Roman Catholic, let this sink deep into your minds. Think about what you are being told to believe by your church. Remember, you are not simply being asked to believe something, the Roman Catholic Church is TELLING you, it is commanding you, that you MUST BELIEVE, independently of your God-given mind, or you will burn in hell forever!!!

The Scripture passage most often used by Roman Catholicism in defence of its Transubstantiation doctrine is John 6:48-58. The following are the key verses: "I am the living Bread that came down from heaven; whosoever eats this Bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world..."; "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you..."; "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life..." (vs. 51,53,54).

The Roman Catholic Church would have us believe that the Lord Jesus was speaking literally when He uttered these words. However, these words of Jesus were spoken approximately 1 year before the institution of the Last Supper, and are in no way referring to it. Jesus was speaking comparatively of the time when the Jews had eaten manna from heaven: "Your ancestors ate manna in the desert but they died..." (John 6:49).

The Roman Church fails to give an answer to other passages in the Bible that have never been taken literally, wherein Jesus refers to Himself in the following terms: "...I am the Gate...", "I am the Vine..." (John. 10:9; 15:5). Now, no one believes that Jesus Christ is actually made of wood and has a handle; or that He is literally a vine, neither does God become literal bread! But figuratively speaking, Jesus Christ IS the Gate through which one must enter into heaven; He IS the vine which His people abide in and are thereby able to bear fruit, and He IS the Bread that true believers ‘eat’ so that they might have life.

"When He (Jesus) said, ‘Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life...’ (John. 6:54), He was speaking of a spiritual relationship between Himself and His people in terms of the Old Testament type, that is, eating the passover lamb and drinking the passover wine; but His Jewish hearers, being literalists, as are the Roman Catholics, misunderstood His words. The Jews pondered over such statements: (‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ John. 6:52). "He said, ‘You are the salt of the earth...’ (Matthew 5:13), and ‘You are the light of the world...’ (Matthew 5:14)....James said, ‘The tongue is also a fire...’ (3:6), and again, ‘...you are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears’ (4:14)....None of these statements are true if taken literally....Similarly, the expressions, ‘this is My body and this is My blood’, are clear enough for all except those who will not see, or those who merely follow medieval theologians. It is unreasonable in the extreme to take these two expressions literally while taking the others figuratively."⁶⁷

The Roman Catholic Church teaches precisely what the carnal Jews had mistakenly believed, that Jesus’ words in John 6 were spoken literally of His body being eaten and His blood being drunk. But Jesus had this to say in response to the Jews, and His words are just as relevant for every Roman Catholic today: "What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. THE WORDS I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU ARE SPIRIT AND LIFE" (John 6:62,63).

Jesus was here saying: "‘What then if you should see the Son of Man ascending where He was before?’ Christ was asking them, ‘If you think you must literally eat Me for salvation, what will you do when you see Me ascend back to heaven?’ And this was why He immediately soothed their perplexed hearts by saying, ‘It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life’ (v.64). His words of eating and drinking were to be understood in a spiritual or symbolic sense and not literally."⁶⁸ Jesus often used figurative language in His teachings (see Isaiah 55:1-3; Matthew 16:5-11; John 7:37-39).

The best, nay the only, interpreter of the Holy Scriptures is not the Roman Catholic Church but the Holy Scriptures themselves as taught by God’s Holy Spirit. John 6:58 says: "..whoever eats this bread will live forever." Compare that with John 3:36: "Whoever BELIEVES in the Son has eternal life..." "There are not two ways of salvation, one by the sacrament and the other by faith. Eating the bread is a representation of what happens when a person believes, he partakes of everlasting life through the Son of God. John 6:35...gives the key to the interpretation, ‘...whoever comes to Me will never hunger,’ that is eating Christ’s flesh. How do we eat Christ’s flesh? By coming to Him. ‘And whoever believes in Me will never thirst.’ How do we drink Christ’s blood? By believing on Him. We feed on Christ by coming to Him. We drink His blood by believing on Him. Salvation is by faith alone."⁶⁹

"...It requires little discernment to see that the words ‘eat’ and ‘drink’ are synonyms for believe. This our Lord made plain when He used the word ‘believe’ six times over in the passage from John 6 (John 6:29,35,36,40,47, and 64)."⁷⁰

Coupled with Jesus Christ’s use of symbolic language, it is interesting to note its use by David in 2 Samuel 23:17. In response to his soldiers having risked their lives to bring him water, David said: "The Lord forbid that I do this! Can I drink the BLOOD of these men who went at the risk of their lives?..." This is just another example of the Bible’s use of symbolic language.

Though the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the blood is to be drunk so that one can have eternal life, she WITHHELD THE CUP for centuries from her own followers! Only by coming to Jesus Christ through faith can there be salvation, not by merely eating the bread and drinking the wine of communion. This is done in remembrance of Him, not to gain eternal life, but as a subsequent act of every true believer. In addition, the Gospel of John, as well as other Gospel accounts, along with the passage in Paul’s first Letter to the Corinthians 11:25,26, all demonstrate the figurative meaning of Jesus’ words, ‘this is My body, this is My blood.’

Luke 22:20: "...this cup is the new covenant in My blood..." Paul added: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup..." "In these words he (Paul) used a double figure of speech. The cup is put for the wine, and the wine is called the new covenant. The cup was not literally the new covenant, although it is declared to be so as definitely as the bread is declared to be His body. They did not literally drink the cup, nor did they literally drink the new covenant....Nor was the bread literally His body, or the wine His blood. After giving the wine to his disciples Jesus said: "...from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes" (Luke 22:18). So the wine, even as he gave it to them, and after He had given it to them, remained ‘the fruit

of the vine’! Paul, too, says that the bread remains bread: "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily.... A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup" (1Cor.11:27,28). No change had taken place in the elements. This after the prayer of consecration, when the Church of Rome supposes the change took place, and Jesus and Paul both declare that the elements still are bread and wine."⁷¹

In addition to all this evidence is the Scriptural law contained in the Old Testament: "Since the life of every living body is its blood, anyone who partakes of it will be cut off" (Leviticus 17:14); and Deuteronomy 12:16: "...you shall not partake of the blood..." This law was confirmed in Acts 15:28 by the Council at Jerusalem. "The actual eating of human flesh and blood is repulsive, abhorrent to all right minded people...such practice is contrary to Scripture and to common sense...the Jerusalem Council, legislating for the Christian dispensation, ratified a provision against the eating of blood: "...to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, [and] from blood..." (Acts 15:29). It is impossible to believe that when the apostles thus set forth the law of God they were themselves partakers, not merely of animal blood, but of human blood—as they would have been if in the Lord’s Supper they regularly ate the literal flesh and blood of Christ."⁷²

Moreover, the Levitical law concerning sin offerings states clearly that the sin offering WAS NEVER TO BE EATEN!! Jesus was the sin offering for God’s chosen, therefore, according to the Roman Catholic Bible, it is against Scriptural law to eat Him!! As far as the issue of the SACRIFICE of the mass is concerned? "In the New Testament the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is always presented as a sacrament, never as a sacrifice....the fact that in the Lord’s Supper the elements are eaten is proof in itself that it was never intended to be a sacrifice."⁷³

"...The idea of eating the flesh of a god was of cannibalistic inception. Since heathen priests ate a portion of all sacrifices, in cases of human sacrifice, priests of Baal were required to eat human flesh. Thus ‘Cahna-Bal’, that is, ‘priest of Baal’, has provided the basis for our modern word ‘cannibal.’" Former Roman Catholic priest Charles Chiniquy comments: "...I extremely abhorred the idea of eating human flesh and drinking human blood, even when assured that they were the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ Himself. But what troubled me most was the idea that God, so great, so glorious, so holy, could be eaten by me like common bread!"⁷⁵

In light of the Roman Catholic Church’s claim that Jesus Christ is physically present today and only in their churches, under the appearance of bread and wine, we recall the warning given by the Lord Jesus to His followers in Matthew 24:23: "If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, HERE is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There He is!’ DO NOT BELIEVE IT"

JESUS CHRIST - THE ONE TRUE OFFERING!!

Although the Roman Catholic Church holds to the historical fact that Jesus Christ suffered and died only once, upon the cross at Calvary, she does not teach that His once for all offering was enough. Roman Catholicism teaches that Christ’s offering is to be continued on a daily basis in the sacrifice of the Roman Catholic Mass. But, as this chapter of the booklet will demonstrate, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was offered ONCE on the cross and needs NO repetition!

The Letter to the Hebrews describes the Old Testament priesthood as a type of the One True Priest, the great High Priest Jesus Christ, who was to come. It tells us that after the Lord Jesus had offered Himself as a sacrifice to God, "...He took His SEAT forever at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Christ’s being SEATED signified that His work of redemption was completed, and its effect eternal!

After the cross, no further sacrifices for sin were required—not from any priesthood—for Christ’s sacrifice, being everlasting, abolished the need for a priesthood. Neither was there any need to repeat Christ’s once for all offering, for a closer inspection of the phrase ‘once for all’ as used in Hebrews 10:10 reveals that it is describing something that "...is of perpetual validity, NOT REQUIRING REPETITION."⁷⁶

"It follows then, that the sacrifice of Christ was a once and for all sacrifice that requires no repetition—no perpetuation. You cannot perpetuate an event in time which happened once and for all. Commemorate it, yes. Perpetuate it, NO!"⁷⁷

The Roman Catholic Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus "...lives forever to make intercession..." (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus does not live forever to repeat His once for all offering upon Roman Catholic altars!!

The Old Testament sacrifices were offered daily, for none of them were that perfect sacrifice which was to come. Hebrews 7:27 reminds us that "He (Jesus) has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day...He did that ONCE FOR ALL when He offered Himself" (Hebrews 7:27). Here we see a direct contrast with Jesus’ unique sacrifice and the daily sacrifices of a human priest. True believers "...have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE AND FOR ALL" (Hebrews 10:10).

Not only is there no need for Christ’s offering to be repeated, it CANNOT be repeated, for a repetition of Christ’s offering, no matter what the Roman Catholic Church says, would require His suffering, His death, and His blood to be shed again, and these things, according to the Roman Catholic Bible, will NEVER happen again!!: "We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him" (Romans 6:9).

"Hebrews, chapters 7, 9 and 10, constitute an overpowering refutation of all Roman Catholic claims regarding the Mass. Seven times this passage thunders forth its truth, ‘ONCE’, and those sounds come rolling down the centuries to us today, announcing the finality of an accomplished redemption. This finality of Christ’s sacrifice and the perfection of His priesthood sweep away for ever the claims of a sacrificing priesthood within the framework of a New Testament Christian Church."⁷⁸

Hebrews 9:26 states: "...but now once for all He has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by His sacrifice." There is no sin for a Roman Catholic priest to ‘take away’ by his ‘sacrifice’, for the sins of God’s people have been taken away by Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus Christ does not regularly appear on Roman Catholic altars. We can be certain, however, of where Jesus does appear. The Word of God tells us that " ...Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but HEAVEN itself, THAT HE MIGHT NOW APPEAR BEFORE GOD ON OUR BEHALF" (Hebrews 9:24).

In searching for what God has said in His Word concerning Christ’s sacrificial offering, the word ‘once’ continues to appear and it is the word that we strongly emphasize to every Roman Catholic today when talking about Christ’s offering for sin: ONCE!! This word alone is enough to negate the need for the Roman Catholic Sacrifice of the Mass.

IN CONCLUSION...

The Roman Catholic Bible tells us of the sacrifice that the true believer is to offer to God, which is the sacrifice of praise! "Through Him then let us continually offer God a SACRIFICE OF PRAISE..." (Hebrews 13:15; cf. Psalm 116:17). The apostle Peter states: "...like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). The true Christian is to offer to God those sacrifices "...which are the offerings of the heart—the sacrifices of prayer and praise....It is called ‘sacrifice’, not because it makes an expiation for sin, but because it is of the nature of worship."⁷⁹

"Thank God that His followers can look back to what their Lord did on Calvary and know that He completed the sacrifice for sins once for all, and that their salvation is not dependent on the whim or arbitrary decree of any priest or church. Any pretense at a continuous offering for sin is worse than vain, for it is a denial of the efficacy of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary."⁸⁰

COME OUT FROM HER....

The purpose of this booklet has not been to judge or condemn you, the Roman Catholic, but has been designed to educate you, to inform you of facts and proper biblical teaching which the Roman Catholic Church has not given you. It has been written in order to provide you with historical facts about the origins of many of your Church’s teachings and traditions. You have read for yourself what the Roman Catholic Church admits to and what your own Roman Catholic Bible says, and doesn’t say—what it teaches and simply does not support. Ultimately, this booklet is a plea for you to come out of the Roman Catholic Church, away from all its man-made doctrines and pagan practices, away from its false gospel. God must be worshipped HIS way, for no other way is acceptable unto Him. There is no other way to worship the true God—and therefore be a saved, justified and true follower of God—other than the way He has prescribed in His Holy Word. There is no Gospel that must be believed, by which a man is saved, other than the one that reveals the Righteousness of Christ.

We have presented the truth to you. Verifiable truth. We have quoted from many sources approved by your own Church including a Church approved Bible. But do not believe things simply because you saw them written in a booklet. The Bible commends those who properly investigate what is presented to them as truth and we encourage you to do so. In Acts 17:11 the apostle Paul and Silas preached to the people at Berea. The Roman Catholic Bible says that "These...were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and EXAMINED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO." The Scriptures were their sole authority. They did not refer to the writings of mere men, seeking out their opinions, but went immediately to the Holy Word of God knowing that His Word alone could be trusted, and was the sure test for all teachings being presented as God’s own decrees (see 2 Peter 1:19). Paul and Silas were not offended by their examining and putting to the test what they was saying, they did not say ‘How dare you examine what we have said to you; don’t you know who we are?’ Every Christian, indeed every person, is to examine by the Holy Scriptures all that is presented to him as God’s teaching, and if it does not match with the Scriptures, you can be sure it did not come from God and is to be rejected out of hand. Writing to true believers, John said, "Beloved, DO NOT TRUST every spirit BUT TEST the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

The subtle deceptiveness of the Roman Catholic Church is that she teaches some truths of Scripture but always adds to them, something which the Scriptures roundly condemn: "Add NOTHING to HIS Words, lest He reprove you, and you be exposed as a deceiver" (Proverbs 30:6). In speaking against such deception the Lord Jesus warned His disciples to "...Look out, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6 cf. Galatians 5:9). Later, the disciples "...understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of THE TEACHING of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:12). The Pharisees and Sadducees were the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. The apostle Paul warned: "...watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles, in opposition to the teaching that you learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by fair and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent" (Romans 16:17,18). EXAMINE EVERYTHING! TEST EVERYTHING BY THE WORD OF GOD! For we are dealing with eternal issues here. We are dealing with heaven and hell, and what a person believes determines their eternal destiny, for the doctrine you hold to is the surest evidence of whether or not it is the true God Who has revealed Himself to you or whether it is a false god whom you have embraced.

Some examples of such deceptiveness are as follows: the Roman Catholic Church teaches her followers to pray the Lord’s prayer, but they are encouraged to do so whilst holding the Rosary which is a pagan invention and has nothing to do with true Christianity. Yes, Rome agrees that God alone forgives sin, but they add that this power to forgive has been given to her priests and one must go to them to receive it and not directly to God the Father through Jesus His Son, as the Scriptures prescribe. Yes, Roman Catholicism teaches that the Bible is the Word of God but it considers tradition to be equal to God’s precious Holy Word and insists that she is the only true interpreter of Scripture! In other words, what ROME says God’s Word is saying is what is to be obeyed, rather than what the Scripture’s interpretation of Itself is saying! Compare Scripture with Scripture, not Scripture with a man’s interpretation. All along, Roman Catholicism adds to God’s Word and in other instances withholds certain parts of it, such as the second Commandment, from its publications. It is true that Roman Catholicism teaches ‘the death, burial and resurrection’ of Jesus Christ but it is vitally important to note that while she may correctly teach some aspects of these things—things which are aligned with historical fact—the Roman Catholic Church does not teach the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ "...in accordance with the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).

It is no accident that so much pagan tradition is found today in Roman Catholicism. It has been carefully managed and seen to, that old pagan/occultic rites and traditions, which the Bible calls demonic, are continued to be adhered to and promoted as vigilantly as they were by the early pagans, but now with a Christian veneer thus setting up the Roman Catholic Church as the unmistakably identifiable anti-christian system referred to as ‘Babylon’ in the Bible. Roman Catholicism stands today not only against Christ, for it does not teach His Gospel, but Rome has also, in a most vulgar way, usurped Christ’s position. The papacy claims that it is the vicar of Christ on earth, rather than the Holy Spirit as the Word of God says.

That which immediately reveals a religious organization’s ungodly foundation may be seen in the gospel it teaches. What a person, or organization such as the Roman Catholic Church, says about Who Jesus Christ is, what He has done and for whom He has done it—in other words His Person and His Work—will reveal whether or not that person or organization is of God (see 2 John 9). After having preached to them the True and only Gospel of salvation which reveals the true God and true Christ, Paul the apostle warned the believers in Galatia that "...even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel OTHER THAN the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed" (Galatians 1:8).

There are many who by nature are religious; many who are extremely zealous for what they believe to be the things of God, yet Scripture reminds us that by nature "There is no one just, not one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God" (Romans 3:10,11). Saving, God-given faith in the true and only Gospel of God shows that it is the true God Who has revealed Himself. Belief in any gospel other than that one and only Gospel of God reveals that it is not the true God Who has revealed Himself but rather a false god who cannot save.

We implore you to come out of the Roman Catholic Church. A Church which is headed, not by the Lord Jesus Christ, for it does not promote His Gospel, but by a man who calls himself the ‘Pope’, and who allows himself to be addressed as ‘Holy Father’, a title which God ALONE is worthy. God ALONE is Father, and God ALONE is Holy. The Lord Jesus only ever referred to God as ‘Father’, and in Revelation 15:4 Jesus, praying to the Father said: "...You ALONE are Holy..." How dare ANY man take upon himself a title of which ONLY God is worthy! Not incidentally, the Lord Jesus Christ also said to His followers not to call any man on earth father, that is in a spiritual sense, for One was their Father and He resides in heaven: "Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven" (Matthew 23:9). Roman Catholicism responds to these words of the Lord Jesus by calling every one of its priests ‘father’, and demanding that everyone else, Roman Catholic or not, do likewise despite admitting in their footnotes to Matthew 23:9 that, "...Jesus forbids not only the titles (rabbi, father and master) but the spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance."

Pope Leo XIII once blasphemously declared: "The Pope holds upon this earth the place of God Almighty..." Robert Bellermine, famous Jesuit Cardinal of the 16th century and also a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, had this to say: "All the names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ by virtue of which it is established that He is over the Church, all the same names are applied to the Pope." The Catholique Nationale of Paris, in its July 13, 1895 issue, contained the following claim made by the then archbishop of Venice, later to become Pope Pius X. He said, "The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ Himself hidden under the veil of the flesh..." Dear Roman Catholic, the Pope is NOT Jesus Christ! JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!! ONLY through the Lord Jesus Christ is there salvation, not through the Pope and his ‘church’ of Rome.

"History is replete with sayings that mocked Romanism’s false claim to celibacy: ‘The holiest hermit has his whore’" and "‘Rome has more prostitutes than any other city because she has the most celibates’" are examples. Pope Pius II called Rome ‘The only city run by bastards, the sons and grandsons of popes and cardinals’.

"Even Roman Catholic historians admit that among the popes were some of the most degenerate and unconscionable ogres in all history. More than one pope was slain by a husband who found him in bed with his wife. To call such a man ‘His holiness vicar of Christ’ makes a mockery of holiness and Christ. Yet the name of each of these mass murderers, fornicators, robbers, warmongers—some guilty of the massacre of thousands—is emblazoned in honor on the Church’s official list of Peter’s alleged successors, the popes" (‘The Berean Call’, July ‘94, p.2).

"Will you believe the words of the Roman Catholic Church or will you believe the words of the Roman Catholic Bible? It is for you to decide. Remember, there are only two religions in the entire world, man’s and God’s. If it is not the truth of God that you are believing, then you have embraced the lies of the Devil." You have embraced a false gospel wherein is no salvation. "Man’s religion is by works—his own efforts, his fastings and prayers, his obedience to the Church. That, in effect, makes him his own saviour. God’s is by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all... The Roman Catholic Bible states clearly: "...we have been JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...Romans 5:1." The Roman Catholic Bible makes it perfectly clear that man cannot save himself and that Christ is his only hope; his only Saviour."⁸¹

"Salvation is not dependent on a human priest, Mary, Baptism, the saints, the sacraments, the Mass, confession, good works, membership in the Roman Catholic Church or the Pope."

Salvation is not gained by our loyalty or service to a person—be they our parents or grandparents and their religious traditions which they have passed down to us—or to an institution such as the Roman Catholic Church, but rather by our acceptance of the truth!! "Jesus said: "...I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father EXCEPT THROUGH ME" (John 14:6) and "I am the Gate. Whoever enters through Me will be saved..." (John 10:9). Acts 4:12 says: ‘There is NO salvation through ANYONE else, nor is there ANY other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.’

It matters not how religious a person is or how sincere he might be in his religious pursuits, if a man has not the Gospel of God, if he does not "...remain in the teaching of the Christ (he) does not have God..." (2 John 9). "That all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned" (2 Thessalonians 2:12). Scripture also speaks of the vengeance that will be had upon the enemies of God "...at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels, in blazing fire, inflicting punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (1 Thessalonians 7-9).

Only through the Gospel of Christ wherein is revealed the Righteousness of Christ, without which no man can be saved, is there true salvation: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. IT IS THE POWER OF GOD for the salvation of everyone who believes: for the Jew first, and then Greek. For in it is revealed the Righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, the one who is righteous by faith will live" (Romans 1:16,17). Central to the Gospel message is the Person and Work of Jesus Christ and, according to the Scriptures, if one is wrong about Christ, if one has embraced erroneous doctrine concerning Christ the Person and His Work, one is not merely in need of correction yet nevertheless saved, one has in fact fallen for another jesus who is identified by false doctrine, and thus remains in a lost state. Only in the True Jesus is their salvation. Belief, however sincere, in a false jesus CANNOT SAVE! You see, not only does the apostle Paul state that the Gospel is the power of God but he also defines this statement in 1 Corinthians 1:18: "THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved IT (THE CROSS) IS THE POWER OF GOD."

Belief in false doctrines concerning Christ constitutes a belief in another gospel, one which does not represent the true Christ but a false savior (see 2 Corinthians 11:3,4). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) and never presents a man with, nor leads him to believe, a false gospel: "But when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all truth..." (John 16:13). Jesus prayed, "Consecrate them in the Truth. Your Word is Truth" (John 17:17). The true believer is consecrated, or sanctified, through the truth which is the Word of God and not through the lies of men. Speaking to saved men, the apostle Paul stated: "...God chose you as the firstfruits for salvation through sanctification BY THE SPIRIT AND BELIEF IN TRUTH" (2 Thessalonians 2:13). There is no true sanctification if one’s faith is not in the Truth of God.

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which says that man is dead in sin, without God and without hope of salvation by anything he is or does in an effort to please God and gain His favor, is a man saved: "Therefore, remember that at one time you...were at that time without Christ...without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:11-13). "You were dead in your transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). "All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which says that a man is saved not by works, not by anything he has done, is doing or will do, but solely by the grace and mercy of God, is a man saved: "...a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified" (Galatians 1:16). The cry of the truly justified sinner is that he is "...justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, Whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by His blood..." (Romans 3:24,25).

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which says a man is not saved based on anything he has done but solely by the grace of God through the election of grace, is a man saved: "...God chose you as the firstfruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13). "As He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him" (Ephesians 1:4); "He saved us and called us to a holy life, NOT ACCORDING TO OUR WORKS, but according to His own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began" (2 Timothy 1:9). No saved person ever came to God first (see 1 John 4:19). In every case God came to the person first and gave them the gift of salvation, not because they had in any way earned this gift, but freely and only by the will of God and the grace of God. Scripture says that by nature "...there is no one who seeks God" (Romans 3:11). "But when one does not work, yet believes in the One Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. So also David declares the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works" (Romans 4:5,6).

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which says that Christ died exclusively for His people, those whom God had given Him (see John 17:2), and has provided them with an atonement for their sin, having their sins imputed, or charged, to Him and imputing unto them His perfect righteousness, is a man saved. Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep....I will lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:11,15). Writing to true believers Paul said, "For our sake He made Him to be sin (for us) who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which says that all His people shall come to Him, hear and believe His Gospel, is there true salvation. None whom the Lord has given unto Him shall perish, none shall be plucked from His Hand, but all for whom He died shall be saved: "My sheep hear My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of My hand" (John 10:27,28). "Everything that the Father gives Me WILL come to Me..." (John 6:37).

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which states that none for whom He died shall ever perish, but all who have had their sins charged to Him shall be given eternal life, is a man saved. Salvation has not only been obtained for God’s chosen, but it is eternally maintained by the Will of God and all that Christ has done: "...Give glory to Your Son, so that Your Son may glorify You, just as You gave Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all You gave Him" (John 17:1,2). Christ has not only obtained salvation for His people, by paying the penalty for their sin and imputing to them His righteousness, He also maintains their salvation by His eternal and completed work upon the cross. Thus ALL the glory for salvation belongs to God and none of it is shared with any man based on his works. Only THIS Gospel gives ALL the glory to God for salvation and wherein there is no room for man to boast in anything he is or has done.

Only by belief in Christ’s Gospel, which states that no man is, or can be saved by his own righteousness, by his own efforts at obedience to God’s Law, but only by the perfect Righteousness of Jesus Christ which is freely imputed based on His grace and mercy ALONE to all those for whom He died, is a man saved. The apostle Paul wanted to "...be found in Him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith..." (Philippians 3:9). Paul considered all that he was and did in the realm of religion as rubbish, and therefore himself as a lost person, before knowing Christ and His Gospel: "...because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish..." (Philippians 3:8).

Only those who have heard the Word of Truth, God’s Mighty Gospel, can be said to truly hope in the true Christ: "In Him you also, who have heard the word of truth, THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION, and have believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13).

Look then to the only true Jesus Who is the Author and Finisher of the Faith which God gives and which only believes in the true Gospel.

ANY AND ALL FAITH IN ANOTHER JESUS WILL NOT SAVE.

ANY AND ALL FAITH IN ANOTHER GOSPEL WILL NOT SAVE.

"Whoever believes (THE Gospel) and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16).

The true born again believer knows that "...by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

May God bless each and every one of you with His Truth as revealed in His Gospel.

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1.   Canons & Decrees of the Council of Trent, (1919 edition).
2.   Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Ludwig Ott, p.395, Mercier Press, Cork, Eire.
3.   Ibid., pp.412-413.
4.   The Catholic Religion With Peter And Under Peter, pp.60-61, (distributors: Campion Press, Melbourne).
5.   The Catholic Religion, Imprimatur E. McAuliffe, p.98, Catholic Enquiry Centre, 1966.
6.   Roman Catholic Catechism, article 184, Australian Catholic Truth Society, 1937.
7.   Ibid., p.107.
8.   The Catholic Religion, op.cit., p.107.
9.   Roman Catholicism, L. Boettner, p.174, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company, 1962.
10. The Catholic Religion, op.cit., p.130.
11. 50 Years in the "Church" of Rome, C. Chiniquy, p.40, Chick Publications, 1985.
12. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.184.
13. The Catholic Religion, op.cit., p.130.
14. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, op.cit., pp.412-413.
15. I Was a Priest, L. Vinet, p.43, Protestant Publications, 1949.
16. Ibid., p.52.
17. Concise Guide to Bible Christianity and Romanism, p.49, 1991.
18. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.4, p.176, article: ‘Communion Under Both Kinds’.
19. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.188.
20. Romanism & Protestantism, Rev. R.W. Weir, p.122, London: A & C black, Soho Square, Edinburgh, 1910.
21. Roman Catholic Catechism, op.cit., p.46.
22. New St. Joseph Sunday Missal, According to the New Revised Liturgy, Australian Edition, p.21, 1966, 
       Catholic Book Publishing Company.
23. The Credo of the People of God, Pope Paul VI, pp.204- 205.
24. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.4, p.299 & Vol.14, p.586.
25. The Question & Answer Catechism, Doubleday & Co.,1981.
26. New St. Joseph Sunday Missal, op.cit., p.32.
27. The Duties and Dignity of the Priest, St. A. Liguori, Brooklyn USA, 1927.
28. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.176.
29. Instruction on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery, p.10, A.C.T.S. Publications, Melbourne.
30. What Is He Doing At The Altar?, pp.25-26, C.H. Martindale, S.J. Catholic Truth Society.
31. Roman Missal, Blakeney’s Manual, pp.119-122.
32. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.10, p.404, article: ‘Mithraism’.
33. History of the Conquest of Mexico, Prescott, Vol.3.
34. The Two Babylons, Rev. A. Hislop, p.259, S.W. Partridge & Co., 1916.
35. Babylon Mystery Religion, R. Woodrow, p.119, Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association Inc., 1966.
36. The Two Babylons, op.cit., pp.159-160.
37. Babylon Mystery Religion, op.cit., p.121.
38. Wilkinson’s Egyptians, Vol.5, p.353.
39. Isis Unveiled, Blavatsky, p.351.
40. Babylon Mystery Religion, op.cit., pp.121-122.
41. All Roads Lead to Rome?, M. de Semlyen, p.39, Dorchester House Publications, 1993.
42. The Catholic Encyclopedia, p.153, article: ‘Perpetual Adoration’.
43. The Two Babylons, op.cit., p.255.
44. Born-Again Catholics and the Mass, W.C. Standridge, p.24, Independant Faith Mission, 1980.
45. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.184.
46. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.5, p.581, article: ‘Eucharist’.
47. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.179.
48. Romanism & Protestantism, op.cit., p.119.
49. The Catholic Religion, op.cit., p.99.
50. 50 Years in the "Church" of Rome, op.cit., pp.80-81.
51. Documents of Vatican II, paragraph 47.
52. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.10, p.13, article: ‘Mass, Sacrifice of’, & Vol.7, p.346, article: ‘High Altar’.
53. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.183.
54. Ibid., p.183.
55. Roman Catechism, op.cit., p.46, article 179.
56. Question & Answer Catechism, op.cit.
57. Born-Again Catholics and the Mass, op.cit., p.25.
58. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.174.
59. Fundamental Protestant doctrines, Vol.2, p.5.
60. Roman Catechism, op.cit., p.177, article 45.
61. Fruit from the Frucht (newsletter), Dr. A. Fruchtenbaum, p.6, Ariel Ministries.
62. I Was A Priest, op.cit., p.42.
63. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., pp.170-171.
64. Ibid., p.171.
65. Ibid., p.188.
66. The Catholic Religion, op.cit., p.127.
67. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., pp.177-178.
68. You Can Lead Roman Catholics to Christ, W. Wein, p.127, Lambert Printing Co., 1961.
69. Manual of Roman Controversy, R.P. Blakeney, pp.110-113, Edinburgh.
70. Roman Catholicism Tested by the Scriptures, J.A. Coleman, p.34, 1973.
71. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.176.
72. Ibid., p.178.
73. Ibid., p.174.
74. Babylon Mystery Religion, op.cit., p.120.
75. 50 Years in the "Church" of Rome, op.cit., p.139.
76. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament words, p.445, W.E. Vine, M.F. Unger,
       W. White, Jr., Nelson, 1985.
77. Evangelical Catholics, S. Mawhinney, p.22, Christian Ministries Incorporated, 1992.
78. Roman Catholicism Tested by the Scriptures, op.cit., p.37.
79. Notes on the New Testament, A. Barnes, p.1407, Kregel, 1962.
80. Roman Catholicism, op.cit., p.182.
81. The Catholic Bible Has The Answer (booklet), O.J. Smith.