Christian Unity or Ecumenicalism sounds like a good thing. Ecumenicists will cite Christ’s words, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”(John 17:21). The problem is that statement of Jesus referred to His Disciples, those who abide in him (John 15:4-9) and obey his teachings (John 14:21) which includes that the gospel is salvation through faith, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16), “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved,” (Romans 10:9-10), and “All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God,” (1 John 4:15), not works (Ephesians 2:4-11). There wasn’t denominations when Jesus said those words, just disciples of Christ, Followers of The Way. Denominations formed during The Acts of the Apostles, one heretical sect said you have to be circumcised to be a Christian (Acts 15:2), and the true Disciples who believe salvation is by grace (Acts 15:4-11) defeated them at The Council of Jerusalem. Then the apostle Paul chronicled divisions beginning of “Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ,” (1 Corinthians 1:12) that factions were forming to which he offers two contradictory pieces of advice that are in harmony in their context, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13), & “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction,” (1 Corinthians 1:10), and “For, in the first place, when you meet together in church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and in part I believe it, for [doubtless] there have to be factions among you, so that those who are of approved character may be clearly recognized among you,” (1 Corinthians 11:18-19). The first two verses is about churches who believe its grace thru faith in Jesus; Christians should not be divided if they agree on the essentials of Christianity, while the third verse about it being necessary to have divisions is about being among heretical sects of Christianity that add to Christ’s blood and Grace, “Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Spirit of Grace,” (Hebrews 10:29), and who preach a different gospel, “ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!,” (Galatians 1:8-9), and “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, thisyou tolerate and put yo with too easily!” (2 Corinthians 11:2-4). This brings me to the rub. We can be in unity with other Christians and denominations who agree salvation is by faith, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation,” (Roland 10:9-10), “All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God,” (1 John 4:15), who believe that God is a Trinity, “Go therefore, and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19), and “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” (John 20:21-22), and other essentials. But there can be no harmony, no ecumenicalism with The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches that teach another gospel of works (Galatians 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 11:2-4) and who have begun to slither into Protestant circles, seducing people with Gregorian Chant, Icons, commentaries, patristic fathers, and their distorted church histories to make them seem like authentic Christianity.
Pope Francis I like his predecessor has tried to build a bridge with Protestants, but make no mistake the olive branch is made of serpents with fangs to poison our “pure and simple devotion to Christ,” (2 Corinthians 11:2) Rome spies our freedom, “This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.” (Galatians 2:4), and seeks to make you trample on the blood of Jesus and insult the spirit of grace, “How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29). I confess church history took me into their halls, I became for a time bespelled by Rome and The Eastern Churched, though the Holy Spirit kept me from falling into the full pit of adders. Many Christians like myself get enticed by Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism reading Church History. We want to shirk the notion that Christianity was pure from 30-100 A.D. and then not again till 1517 A.D. with The Reformation, we listen to the scholars who say we cannot call the period between 100-1517 A.D. as the dark ages of faith, when the gospel was hidden by Constantinian, Byzantine, and Medieval Roman veils, even though the Intertestament Period between The Old and New Testament periods which lasted four-hundred years is full of errors like prayers for the dead in Maccabees because God swore he would bot speak for that period and then in 1 A.D. was born in Bethlehem. We want to believe Jerome, Augustine, Antony of Egypt, Athanasius, and etc were worthy men we can add to the Apostles. That the faith had sparks in those unreformed times. I wanted to believe it, I was was mistaken. Plato and the Greek Pagan Philosophers taint the interpretations of the Holy Scriptures in Augustine, Jerome, and etc. While occultic and demonic doctrines from Arianism to mystical teachings swim in the Eastern Church pools. Icons are used to open doors to other worlds, “The pictures are not there just to be looked at as though the worshipers were in an art museum: they are designed to be doors between this world and another worl… If a door is to do its job, it must have throughput in two directions. As we move toward an icon, it moves toward us with a warm and precise Christian content—if we understand the language that it speaks. The primary purpose of an icon is to enable a face-to-face encounter with a holy person or make present a sacred event, but icons are also “theology in color.” (Praying with Icons -Ancient Spiritual Disciplines, Chapter Five: Living Doors, Linette Martin), and are idols of grace, “As such it is a means of grace, something approaching a sacrament. This is why the icon is an object of veneration: lights and incense are burned before it, people bow before it and kiss it. Its matter (the wood, paint, etc.) is a channel of spiritual grace, as is the water of baptism or the oil of chrismation. St. Theodore the Studite writes, “We should believe that divine grace is present in the icon of Christ, and that it communicates sanctification to those who draw near with faith. ” (Praying with Icons -Ancient Spiritual Disciplines, Chapter Five: Living Doors, Linette Martin). This is wrong. We do not get grace from wood or images, grace is unmerited favor from God we received from Christ once and for all time, hence we can boldly go to throne of God, “” (). The idea that icons are doors is creepy, like astroprojection tunnels which ate evil, I have even read Orthodox Priests can use these “living doors” to spy on people or travel through them. The fact icons are used to connect with dead saints, “it can communicate the presence and something of the spiritual nature of the holy person depicted (Christ, the Virgin, or some other saint),” (Praying with Icons -Ancient Spiritual Disciplines, Chapter Five: Living Doors, Linette Martin), also means its necromancy just as the Mass in Catholic Church is necromancy to help dead people in purgatory which does not exist, necromancy is forbidden, “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31), “And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isaiah 8:19), “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people,” (Leviticus 20:6), and “And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.” (2 Kings 21:6, and “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8).
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches, “you may never know or come close to God,” (The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy, Bishop Kallistos Ware/ Timothy Ware, Part II: Faith and Worship, Chapters 10, 11, 12 and 13,
and The Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer 2010 film that interviews Eastern Orthodox Priests around the world); in contrast Jesus teaches we can and should know God, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ” (John 17:1-3), and his apostles teach the same, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,” (Philippians 3:8), “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” (Philippians 3:10), “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God,” (1 John 4:6-7), “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him,” (Hebrews 11:6), “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen,” (2 Peter 3:18), “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded,” (James 4:8), “All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God,” (1 John 4:15), “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me,” (John 17:21), “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16), “What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people,” (2 Corinthians 3:16). The words of God the Son Jesus Christ and His apostles tell us God wants us to know Him and that He lives in us! The teaching of Eastern Orthodox Church is contrary to Scripture! Thus it is false! While The Eastern Church tries to put a wall between believers and The Lord with demonic doctrines, Roman Catholicism does this with a pantheon of saints, Mary, and intermediaries, they do not approach The Trinity, they go to Mary and the saints, but there is only one intermediary, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the Son of Man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5), and “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus,” (Hebrews 10:19). There is no need for angels, saint, or Mary to get us to God or achieve favor, we have it! We are kings ans priests now, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light,” (1 Peter 2:9), and “from Jesus, the Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins with his own blood
and has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.Amen.” (Revelation 1:4-6, 2000 Jubilee Bible)
We cannot have unity with these false churches of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. They preach a different gospel, a different spirit, and different Christ, “For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily.” (2 Corinthians 11:4). Their Jesus looks like the Real Jesus but his work is unfinished, you have to do penance and spiritual works and seek mercies from dead saints, shrines, and rituals, when the truth is Jesus accomplished it all, “So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come.[e] He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.
That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. 20 Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:11-28), and “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.
But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,
“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,
“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says,
“I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.” (Hebrews 10:1-18). Jesus does not keep offering himself over and over for sin as Catholic Priests do in the Mass, thinking they can re-crucify Christ over and over for sanctification in the Mass. This is why the Mass is satanic, and if you attend one, repent and read Hebrews 9:11-28 out loud! If you attend an Eastern Orthodox Service, repent of being in a sanctuary with idols that Orthodox believe give them grace, when Grace is from Jesus, and close the doors the icons open, “” () by the Name and Blood of Jesus! They don’t even say those doors open to heaven, but another world! What world?! They claim Christ and the saints world, but that is a lie, it is mystical realm of spiritual darkness that can be seen and felt in Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem which Eastern Orthodox Priests preside over in chants and services and have erected giant icons to be doors to demons and religious spirits!
We have to stand firm as Biblical Protestants against the serpents of Romanism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The former is working hard in a Neo Counter-Reformation to seduce Christians into believing Catholics and Christians are brothers and are the same. We are not! Catholics believe Sacraments and salvation is through their Church alone , we believe salvation is found only jn Jesus, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”,” (Acts 4):10-12, and “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Eastern Orthodox are more honest about that we Protestants are not their brothers, but they are seducing people like The Bible Answer Man Hendrik "Hank" Hanegraaff from a “pure and simple devotion to Christ,” (2 Corinthians 11:2) mainly through church history and being discovered for first time by Westerners who on a quest for the pure and the original church get told its Eastern Orthodoxy, when they admit “their church began at Pentecost,” (The Orthodox Church, Katherine Clark, Simple Guides), but evidence points to Eastern Orthodoxy beginning with 325 A.D. with Constantine and The Byzantines.
Jesus warned, “there will be false prophets and false christs to lead astray if possible the Elect.” (Matthew 24:24). Two of those false christs are Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, who with their effeminate christ (see Catholic paintings of Jesus, he seems almost female or homosexual) and Turkish angry christ (see Eastern Orthodox icons, his forehead in some looks like it is exploding with wrath) deceive billions and lead them from The Truth, The True Christ in Scripture who says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30), and “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son..” (John 3:16-18). Rome (Catholicism) and The East (Orthodox) put heavy yokes on people of pious works and mysticism, but Jesus’ burden is light, He carried it all for us at the cross and has become sacrifice once for all time to reconcile us to God. Amen.
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