Bible Doctrine
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX ‘Infallibly Declared’ That Mary Was A Divine Being And Commanded Catholics Everywhere To Worship Her
Pope Pius IX wrote the Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the character and nature of Mary, called Ineffabilis Deus, published on December 8, 1854, in Rome
Pope Pius IX is best known for writing the Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the character and nature of Mary, called the Ineffabilis Deus, published on December 8, 1854, in Rome
If you are a Roman Catholic, you might want to click away right now, because this article will blow your mind. In it, we will prove conclusively that the official teachings of the Roman Catholic church elevate the humble and obedient Mary to a level equal with very God Himself. We will not use our opinions or preconceived notions about what we think the Catholic church teaches, no, but instead use official Vatican doctrine concerning this issue. The doctrine we will look at today is called the dogmatic bull Ineffabilis Deus, of Dec. 8, 1854, declared to be infallible and authored by Pope Pius IX.
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12 (KJV)
Today we bring you the story of what is perhaps the most interesting pope of the last 1,700 years since the Roman Catholic church was formed in 313-325 AD by the Roman government. You will meet Pope Pius IX, a colorful character to say the least. Little known ‘fun facts’ about Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti include that for a 35 year period he was the longest serving pope in Catholic history, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, and he was the very first pope to be captured with the then new medium of photography. Pretty cool, right? Not content to rest on those laurels (pun intended), Pius would be forever known as the man who officially elevated Mary to the level of the Godhead. This article will prove that.
Pope Pius IX is best known for writing the Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the character and nature of Mary, called the Ineffabilis Deus. Pius made many “infallible” statements about Mary, not the least of which include that she was “born sinless”, that she is seated in Heaven at the “right hand of Jesus”, that she is to be the object of the affections of Catholics, and that she is to be prayed to for guidance, wisdom and for the fulfillment of all the “needs of the faithful”. As if that wasn’t enough, Pius went on to threaten anyone who dared disagree with these statements, saying that they would be kicked out the Catholic Church, would be considered as apostate, and that would face the full “penalties established by law” for their refusal to pray to Mary.
Now we would like to present selected portions of the Ineffabilis Deus, with the quotes of Pope Pius IX unedited, after which we will comment from the biblical position. We also urge you to read the full document in it’s complete context after you are finished with this article. If you are a Catholic who does not pray to and worship Mary, then you are a bad Catholic because that is the official teaching of the Catholic Church.
If you are a Catholic who denies that Catholicism teaches Mary worship, this article will forever prove that position to be untrue. And with that we give you the dogmatic papal bull of Ineffabilis Deus, or the Immaculate Conception of Mary, written in Rome and declared to be official Catholic doctrine and teaching.
Ineffabilis Deus
Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception. Given at St. Peter’s in Rome, the eighth day of December, 1854, in the eighth year of our pontificate.
- MARY DECLARED TO BE BORN SINLESS: “The Catholic Church, directed by the Holy Spirit of God, is the pillar and base of truth and has ever held as divinely revealed and as contained in the deposit of heavenly revelation this doctrine concerning the original innocence of the august Virgin — a doctrine which is so perfectly in harmony with her wonderful sanctity and preeminent dignity as Mother of God — and thus has never ceased to explain, to teach and to foster this doctrine age after age in many ways and by solemn acts. From this very doctrine, flourishing and wondrously propagated in the Catholic world through the efforts and zeal of the bishops, was made very clear by the Church when she did not hesitate to present for the public devotion and veneration of the faithful the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin. By this most significant fact, the Church made it clear indeed that the conception of Mary is to be venerated as something extraordinary, wonderful, eminently holy, and different from the conception of all other human beings — for the Church celebrates only the feast days of the saints.” Not only did Pope Pius declare Mary to be born sinless, he goes on to compound his blasphemy by saying that her birth is different from “all other human beings”. Jesus was born as a human being, was He not?
- CATHOLIC CHURCH COMMANDED TO TEACH THIS DOCTRINE: “These truths, so generally accepted and put into practice by the faithful, indicate how zealously the Roman Church, mother and teacher of all Churches, has continued to teach this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. Yet the more important actions of the Church deserve to be mentioned in detail. For such dignity and authority belong to the Church that she alone is the center of truth and of Catholic unity. It is the Church in which alone religion has been inviolably preserved and from which all other Churches must receive the tradition of the Faith. The same Roman Church, therefore, desired nothing more than by the most persuasive means to state, to protect, to promote and to defend the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This fact is most clearly shown to the whole world by numerous and significant acts of the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors.” Again, here we see that this idea of the “divinity of Mary” was not just theological musings by some of the faithful, but rather deeply entrenched doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.
- MARY’S BIRTH EQUAL TO THE BIRTH OF JESUS: “The Feast of the Conception should be celebrated in every church with the very same honor as the Feast of the Nativity; that it should be celebrated with an octave by the whole Church; that it should be reverently and generally observed as a holy day of obligation; and that a pontifical Capella should be held in our Liberian pontifical basilica on the day dedicated to the conception of the Virgin. Finally, in their desire to impress this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God upon the hearts of the faithful, and to intensify the people’s piety and enthusiasm for the homage and the veneration of the Virgin conceived without the stain of original sin, they delighted to grant, with the greatest pleasure, permission to proclaim the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin in the Litany of Loreto, and in the Preface of the Mass, so that the rule of prayer might thus serve to illustrate the rule of belief. Therefore, we ourselves, following the procedure of our predecessors, have not only approved and accepted what had already been established, but bearing in mind, moreover, the decree of Sixtus IV, have confirmed by our authority a proper Office in honor of the Immaculate Conception, and have with exceeding joy extended its use to the universal Church.” Here is where Pope Pius IX begins to really pour it on, declaring that the Roman Catholic Church must honor the birth of Mary with the same reverence as the birth of Jesus. Those are his exact words, and he is only just getting warmed up. But I think anyone with half a brain can see where this is going. Pius says that Mary is sinless, her birth is to be celebrated, and that she alone is the “center of Catholic unity”. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that the RCC has already put her on equal footing with God. But wait…there’s more.
- THEY LIE ABOUT HER PERPETUAL VIRGINITY: “All these things our illustrious predecessor, Alexander VII, summed up in these words: “We have in mind the fact that the Holy Roman Church solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Conception of the undefiled and ever-Virgin Mary, and has long ago appointed for this a special and proper Office according to the pious, devout, and laudable instruction which was given by our predecessor, Sixtus IV. Likewise, we were desirous, after the example of our predecessors, to favor this praiseworthy piety, devotion, feast and veneration — a veneration which is in keeping with the piety unchanged in the Roman Church from the day it was instituted. We also desired to protect this piety and devotion of venerating and extolling the most Blessed Virgin preserved from original sin by the grace of the Holy Spirit.” The bible clearly and plainly shows that Mary had other children, a minimum of 6 to be exact. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” Mark 6:3 (KJV)
- PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE THIS DOCTRINE ARE THREATENED: “And therefore, against all and everyone of those who shall continue to construe the said Constitutions and Decrees in a manner apt to frustrate the favor which is thereby given to the said doctrine, and to the feast and relative veneration, or who shall dare to call into question the said sentence, feast and worship, or in any way whatever, directly or indirectly, shall declare themselves opposed to it under any pretext whatsoever, were it but only to the extent of examining the possibilities of effecting the definition, or who shall comment upon and interpret the Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers or Doctors in connection therewith, or finally, for any reason, or on any occasion, shall dare, either in writing or verbally, to speak, preach, treat, dispute or determine upon, or assert whatsoever against the foregoing matters, or who shall adduce any arguments against them, while leaving them unresolved, or who shall disagree therewith in any other conceivable manner, we hereby declare that in addition to the penalties and censures contained in the Constitutions issued by Sixtus IV to which we want them to be subjected and to which we subject them by the present Constitution, we hereby decree that they be deprived of the authority of preaching, reading in public, that is to say teaching and interpreting; and that they be also deprived ipso facto of the power of voting, either actively or passively, in all elections, without the need for any further declaration; and that also, ipso facto, without any further declaration, they shall incur the penalty of perpetual disability from preaching, reading in public, teaching and interpreting, and that it shall not be possible to absolve them from such penalty, or remove it, save through ourselves, or the Roman Pontiffs who shall succeed us.” Wow, that’s harsh. That’s what Pope Pius IX declared to be the penalty for disagreeing with his doctrine of worshipping Mary, harsh yes, but perfectly in line with the history of the Roman church. After all, who was it that fed Christians to the lions? it was Rome. Who was it that killed Jesus and executed all the apostles except for John? It was Rome. Who was it that killed millions of Christians in the Spanish Inquisition? It was Rome, and to this the bible bears true witness. “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Revelation 17:5,6 (KJV)
- MARY GIVEN THE POSITION OF JESUS CHRIST: “This doctrine so filled the minds and souls of our ancestors in the faith that a singular and truly marvelous style of speech came into vogue among them. They have frequently addressed the Mother of God as immaculate, as immaculate in every respect; innocent, and verily most innocent; spotless, and entirely spotless; holy and removed from every stain of sin; all pure, all stainless, the very model of purity and innocence; more beautiful than beauty, more lovely than loveliness; more holy than holiness, singularly holy and most pure in soul and body; the one who surpassed all integrity and virginity; the only one who has become the dwelling place of all the graces of the most Holy Spirit. God alone excepted, Mary is more excellent than all, and by nature fair and beautiful, and more holy than the Cherubim and Seraphim. To praise her all the tongues of heaven and earth do not suffice.” Now Pope Pius IX is running on all 8 cylinders! Drunk on his false doctrines, he now takes his praise of Mary into the stratosphere. Mary is not just the humble and obedient servant the bible says she is, no that’s not good enough! The RCC now says she is “more holy than holiness”, that she is “sinless perfection” that she is the “dwelling place of the Holy Spirit”, Wow, imagine that! Looks like Jesus is not so special and unique after all, eh? If you are intellectually honest, you can clearly see that Pope Pius is commanded worship of Mary. This is not mere veneration, as is falsely claimed. Only Jesus can possibly meet the standards of perfection set by the RCC for Mary, only Jesus could ever be considered “more holy than holiness”. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10,11 (KJV)
- CATHOLICS COMMANDED TO PRAY TO MARY: “Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very dear to us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal for piety, religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this most sweet Mother of mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties, needs, doubts and fears. Under her guidance, under her patronage, under her kindness and protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing is hopeless. Because, while bearing toward us a truly motherly affection and having in her care the work of our salvation, she is solicitous about the whole human race. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard.” Now we have it all under one roof, for here we read the words of Pope Pius IX in his infallible declaration commanding Catholics to venerate Mary, invoke the name of Mary, and to PRAY TO MARY. Showing for all time that yes, Catholics do pray to Mary because Roman Catholic doctrine commands them to do so.
There is much more that Pope Pius IX had to say on this doctrine, and again we urge you to read the whole document in its complete context. But trust me, it only gets worse. The takeaway that you need to get from all this is that the Ineffable Deus is not “one pope’s opinion”, it is confirmed doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the interest of full disclosure, I was a Catholic for the first 30 years of my life. I was baptized as a baby, received “first holy communion”, was “confirmed”, spent 3 years as an altar boy in St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes, NJ, and in total was educated in the Catholic school system for 12 long years. Part of our Catholic training was learning how to pray to the Virgin Mary. Statues of Mary were everywhere you looked, we were taught about the many apparitions of Mary around the world, celebrated Mary on May Day, and gave her the top spot in our thoughts and devotions. St. Mary’s school and Roman Catholic Church taught us these things by order of the Vatican. Every other Catholic school or church I ever visited in 30 years did likewise. So with all that being said, why am I constantly hearing Catholics denying that they pray to Mary, when it has been the official teaching and position of the Roman Catholic Church since 1854?
What we have written here is not an “anti-Catholic” article, it is an article that shows you in the very words of Pope Pius IX himself as he declared Mary to be equal to God and to qualify to become the “fourth part” of the Godhead. All popes since 1854 have confirmed the blasphemous words of Pope Pius IX, as you can see on the Vatican website here.
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4 (KJV)
Roman Catholicism is not biblical Christianity, not even close. It is Mystery, BABYLON from the book of Revelation and the enemy of very God Himself. If you are Catholic, God is calling YOU to come out of this evil system before it is destroyed. This article is not hate speech, it is the truth, and your very soul depends on what you do with it. I was once enslaved in the Roman system, but God called me out and saved me. He is calling you out, too.
Pope Pius IX Begins The Longest-Ever Reign Of A Catholic Pope
By the 1850s Pius IX had become more conservative, and he began to consolidate the power of the Church. The capture of the Papal States by the Italian Army in 1870, however, led to him declaring himself the ‘Prisoner of the Vatican’.
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Bible Doctrine
There Is No Such Thing As ‘Limited Atonement’ In Your King James Bible, Jesus Christ Paid For The Sins Of The Goats Just As Much As For The Sheep
No such thing as a limited atonement in the Bible as far as what Jesus did on the cross is concerned, the atonement God provided becomes self-limiting when it’s refused by a sinner who doesn’t want it.
John Calvin was a philosopher who created a system of biblical interpretation that ‘sounds good’ when you first hear it, but if you have any Bible knowledge at all, it falls apart pretty quickly. The theology of Calvinism has been immortalized in the acronym TULIP, which states the five essential doctrines of total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at limited atonement, shall we?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (KJB)
I went to a site supporting Calvinism and found this definition of limited atonement: The doctrine of limited atonement—the L in TULIP—teaches that Christ effectively redeems from every people “only those who were chosen from eternity to salvation” (Canons of Dort, II.8). As Ursinus explains in his commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, Christ’s death was for everyone “as it respects the sufficiency of satisfaction which he made, but not as it respects the application thereof.” In other words, the death of Christ was sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world, but it was God’s will that it should effectively redeem those and only those who were chosen from eternity and given to Christ by the Father. Particular redemption is often considered a more favorable term, because the point of the doctrine is not to limit the mercy of God, but to make clear that Jesus did not die in the place of every sinner on the earth, but for his particular people. source
So that’s the premise of limited atonement, that Jesus on the cross only paid the sin debt of the sheep who would believe, but no payment for the goats who rejected Him. Does that sound right to you? Sure doesn’t sound right to me, and your King James Bible is in agreement as well. Jesus on the cross paid for the sins of the whole world, everyone. He paid for the sins of Adolf Hitler, Buddha and the Ayatollah Khomeini just as much as He paid for the sins of Jim Elliot, DL Moody and Robert Sheffey.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” 1 Timothy 2:3-6 (KJB)
Now John Calvin and John MacArthur teach that the “all men” is only referring to the elect, and not to ‘all men’ even though is says all men. But as you can clearly see, three times in the passage Paul is telling us that Jesus paid for the sins of all men. What would settle this debate, would be if we could find a verse showing that the Lord Jesus bought and paid for the sins of the people who rejected Him and who didn’t want His payment. Does such a verse exist? Yep, sure does.
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1 (KJB)
Peter shows us a remarkable truth, that Jesus bought and paid for the sins of the people who rejected Him, who died in their sins as the entire chapter shows us, and went to Hell despite having their sins paid for. Wait a minute! If their sins were ‘bought and paid for’, how did they wind up in Hell? That’s a great question, it’s such a good question in fact that John MacArthur and all his many minions are unable to answer it. Your King James Bible doesn’t hesitate for even a nano second to answer it.
“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:22,23 (KJB)
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:12-14 (KJB)
Jesus died on the cross, shed God’s blood, and made a payment for the sins of the whole world. When a sinner hears the gospel, receives it and believes it, they are then ‘sealed unto the day of redemption’ and placed into the body of Christ, which the Bible says is the Church. Do you see what just happened there? Don’t miss it! A sinner is saved when they believe the gospel and then put into the body of Christ. How is that possible? Because Jesus made their payment on the cross. A payment for who? For all sinners. What happens to the sinners who hear the gospel and refuse it? They are not put into the body of Christ, they remain unsaved, die in their sins and spend eternity in Hell. So who are the elect? Glad you asked.
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” 1 Peter 1:2 (KJB)
“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” Romans 8:33 (KJB)
The elect are not a pre-determined group of people, meaning God did not preselect some to be saved and some to be lost, that’s not Bible doctrine. The elect in the Church Age are sinners who heard the gospel, believed it and became born again. Can anyone become part of the elect? Absolutely, happens all the time. In just the past few weeks, Amber, Shaun and Patricia prayed to get saved after considering the gospel for a period of time. Those 3 souls are part of the newly-elected body of Christ. But what about predestination, you cry?!? Glad you asked.
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8:29,30 (KJB)
Look carefully at those verses from Romans 8 I just gave you, what does it say? It says that God 1). foreknew who would believe the gospel and become born again, no question about it, God is omniscient. Now what did He predestinate those souls to do? God predetermined what would happen to all those souls who trusted in Him, the verse does not say He predetermined who those souls would be. This is where MacArthur, Sproul and even John Calvin hit the wall and crashed. An understanding of 6th grade English shows you that quite clearly.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (KJB)
God foreknew who would receive the gospel, and predetermined what would happen to them after they got saved. All mapped out ahead of time. But if you cannot understand basic English, and know the difference between the subject and the object, then you will come to a wrong conclusion every time. No such thing as a limited atonement in the Bible as far as what Jesus did on the cross is concerned, the atonement God provided becomes self-limiting when it’s refused by a sinner who doesn’t want it.
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Please continue to pray for us, and for wisdom for me especially, as we continue taking steps to print the NTEB branded King James Bible for our free Bible and Bibles Behind Bars program. It is exciting and intimidating at the same time. If the Lord has prospered your financially, we ask you to donate to help us continue to send out free Bibles at this level, and even higher than we are at the moment. It takes a lot of prayer, and a lot of resources to do all this. Praise the Lord we are doing it, all of us together, labouring in the Lord’s harvest field. TO THE FIGHT!!!
When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.
But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)
“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB
Bible Doctrine
Contrary To What The Hyper-Dispensationalists Tell You, The Body Of Christ Began At The Cross And Not Somewhere In The Book Of Acts, And It’s Before Paul
The body of Christ started the same time the Church started, on the cross at Calvary where Jesus made a payment for sin in God’s shed blood.
Nothing like a King James Bible to clear up false teaching, and today we take a look at when the body of Christ, and the Church, actually began. The hyper-dispensationalists will try and tell you that it started in Acts with the commission of Paul, and nothing could be further from the truth. Paul himself tells you in Romans 16:7 that there were many people in the body of Christ before he was. In fact, the body of Christ doesn’t begin anywhere in the book of Acts, it begins on the cross at Calvary.
“And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” Ephesians 2:16 (KJB)
What was Jesus doing on the cross? Lots of things. First of all, Jesus went to the cross to make a payment for sin, and that payment is the shed blood of God as we see in Acts 20:28. That payment is the thing that makes reconciliation between lost sinners and a holy and righteous God possible. Heretics like John MacArthur and the ‘reformed’ crowd will try and talk you out of it, but don’t you let them.
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Ephesians 1:7 (KJB)
“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13 (KJB)
Secondly, Jesus shed blood on the cross established something on this earth the bible calls the body of Christ. What is the body of Christ? It is Jew and Gentile come together by faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, and it is called the church, the called out assembly. On the day of Pentecost, this assembly, the Church, was placed into the body of Christ where it will remain for all eternity. Everyone who becomes born again by saving faith in what Jesus did on the cross, and receives that payment made in God’s blood, is placed into the body of Christ through the Church.
“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:22,23 (KJB)
By the time Paul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, the Church is well established and made up exclusively of Jews and Jewish proselytes. But when the Holy Ghost is offering them the Kingdom of Heaven in Acts 7, all they have to do is believe and repent at the preaching of Stephen, they instead murder him, an act which simultaneously put the Kingdom of Heaven on a 2,000 year pause, and ushered in what we call the dispensation of the Church Age. From this point on, Jews will be side-by-side with Gentiles in a mystery called the body of Christ which Jesus will task Paul with revealing. It didn’t start with Paul, but the knowledge of it comes through Paul by the Spirit. It began on the cross at Calvary.
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.” Ephesians 3:1-7 (KJB)
Paul was given the job of revealing the mystery of the body of Christ, but it did not start with him as you can obviously see. The hyper-dispensationalists get it wrong, as they usually do, because they don’t understand what the ‘rightly dividing’ of 2 Timothy 2:15 actually is. True biblical rightly dividing is not a hammer to smash things with in large pieces, as evidenced in the ‘Romans to Philemon!!’ battle cry of the hypers. No, rightly dividing is done on a verse-by-verse-basis anywhere in the Bible, comparing what you read, in the context that you find it, to what God has written through the apostle Paul.
Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church
- HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page
When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.
But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)
“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB
Bible Doctrine
If You Think That Signs, Miracles And Wonders Are For The Church Age, We Invite You To Take Our NTEB Mark 16 Challenge And Post Your Score Below!
Can you perform all 5 of the signs, miracles and wonders Jesus lays out in our NTEB Mark 16 Challenge? We invite you to try it and see how well you do!
Let’s get right into it, shall we? In the beginning of the Church Age, when the last of the apostles died, they were not replaced. The Bible was finished being written around the year 96 AD, and there has been exactly zero new biblical revelations from God since that time. Boatloads of revelation, wisdom and insight on what He spent 1,500 years to write, but no new revelation. There are no prophets, there are no apostles, and signs, miracles and wonders are not for believers in the age of grace.
“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJB)
The main people promoting this false gospel of signs, miracles and wonders are a branch of the Charismatic Movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, and a more deluded bunch you have never seen. They stand on stage telling people to not pray when they or a loved one are sick, but to ‘claim your healing’ and all will be well. But sadly, real life in the Church Age doesn’t work like that. Bethel shaman Bill Johnson found that out when his ‘co-pastor’ wife Beni got sick with cancer. Despite years of teaching that Christians can just ‘claim their healing’, she was unable to claim hers. Does that make Bill Johnson a false teacher? It sure does, and a dangerous one at that.
Maybe you are one of those people who believe that signs, miracles and wonders are for today, and that reading this article is making you mad. If that’s you, take this little test and see how well you do. Remember that we are scoring on the 5-point must system, and that you must be able to do all 5 things Jesus says the people He is talking to can do. Buckle up and let’s take the test!
Take The Mark 16 Challenge:
Doctrinally speaking, Jesus is addressing His disciples who are awaiting the installation of the literal, physical and visible Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. Prophetically, Jesus is speaking about the 144,000 witnesses that show up during the time of Jacob’s trouble. The people He is not speaking to is me and you living here in the Church Age, hence the whole point of taking this test in the first place.
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:15-18 (KJB)
- CASTING OUT DEVILS: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils” Start with that, can you cast out devils from the body of the afflicted person? To the people Jesus is speaking to, they absolutely can. First you have to be able to discern between demon possession and mental illness, can you do that, doctor? You might want to tread lightly with this one. But please feel free to take a shot, this is a favorite of Charismatics and Roman Catholics. In fact, back in 2019, the Vatican started giving courses in exorcisms to Christian pastors, what an amazing coincidence! (insert eye-roll here)
- NEW TONGUES: “they shall speak with new tongues;” When was the last time that you, in the Spirit, were able to speak in a foreign language you did not know? I am not talking about the made-up nonsense of Kenneth Copeland and Rodney Howard Browne, I am talking about the biblical gift on tongues which, as Acts 2:5-12 shows us, is the ability to speak a known foreign language not previously known to the speaker. Comment below with story of when you did this, and what was said by you after the biblically-appointed interpreter – 1 Corinthians 14:26-30 – has translated what you said.
- SNAKE HANDLING: “They shall take up serpents;” Can you handle venomous snakes, get bit and shake it off like Paul does in Acts 28:5? Why not? This is one of the signs, why can’t you do it? Pastor Jamie Coots of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church died after handling a snake because, well, snake handling is not for the Church Age. But please, feel free to prove me wrong. (seriously, don’t do it).
- DRINKING POISON: “and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;” The snake handling and the poison drinking are both under the banner of “it shall not hurt them”. That said, how well would you fare with cyanide in your Diet Coke? Come on, man! So far, if you’re honest, you are 0-for-4. But the passage is talking about Revelation 8:11.
- HEALING THE SICK: “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” I am still waiting for anyone to be able to do this, and if you can please email me, I have a few sick friends who could really use your gift. Of course, Jesus is referring to James 5:13-15, passages fulfilled during the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Who could do these things when Jesus said them? Why, the apostles of course, and Paul did them as did Peter and all the rest. We call this the ‘apostolic signs’, and to have them you have to be an apostle. No exceptions. These signs were used to bring in the Kingdom Age which did not happen after the murder of Stephen in Acts 7. These signs were also used to show the people that the apostles were who they said they were as the New Testament was being written. During the time of Jacob’s trouble, the 144,000 witnesses from Revelation 7:1-8 will have all of these signs, and will ‘finish the job’. You will notice that our modern-day false prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation healed exactly no one during the COVID pandemic, and the few that attempted to prophesy failed miserably. So the next time you are introduced to ‘Apostle So-and-So’, and ‘Prophet Fair-thee-well’, send them this link and ask them to take the test. Please be sure to post your score in the comments section so we can all see how much of an apostle you are. I’ve always wanted to meet one!
Meet some of the ‘apostles and prophets’ of the Charismatic Movement
These are the people who tell you that ‘signs, miracles and wonders’ are for today, watch them in action and tell me if you believe them.
Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church
- HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page
When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.
But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)
“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB
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