The More I Read My Bible About the Pharisees, the More I'm Reminded of the Roman Catholic Priesthood

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As this week is Holy Week, I really want to reflect on how sad it is that Roman Catholics are under the bondage of the Pharisees that they blindly serve. The more I read about Jesus' last four days of his ministry prior to His crucifixion - the more I'm reminded of the hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic priesthood in so many ways.

Did you remember the very first thing Jesus did after the triumphal entry to Jerusalem was to clean the Jewish Temple during His time ( Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48 and John 2:13-16?)? I couldn't forget the words which can be summarized as, "Make not My House a house of merchandise." which quotes Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. It's talking about just how the house of worship has become a den of robbers. The people were making merchandise out of worship. The whole place was full of cheating and dishonesty. Instead of selling the clean animals within reasonable districts - the Pharisees have turned it into a marketplace.

Hmmmm... doesn't that remind me of the Roman Catholic priests and their money making system out of religion? I read about how often everything is paid for. Your child needs some sprinkling which they call baptism? You pay. It's your first confession? You pay. It's your first communion? You pay. It's time for confirmation? You pay. It's time for marriage? You pay. It's time for last rites? You pay. Your loved one supposedly dies in grace? You still pay for a series of masses because they say that those who die in grace can't be guaranteed instant access to Heaven until more masses are said. This became the system of indulgences which was sponsored by Johannes Tetzel. One slogan said, "When a coin in the coffer clings - a soul from Purgatory springs." This enraged Martin Luther after he found out that salvation was definitely not for sale!

The Woe of the Pharisees still continue to remind me of just how hypocritical the Roman Catholic priesthood is. It's stupid to call pastors as Pharisees all the while the description is so perfectly fit for the Roman Catholic priesthood.  We can read the account on  and Matthew 23:1–39, Mark 12:35–40 and Luke 11:37–54. Matthew provides the most detail of the Pharisees in one whole chapter where the Pharisees are exposed for the filthy self-righteous people they are. Reading through Matthew 23 gives me the full picture of just how it really fits with the Roman Catholic system. What's even more unusual is that Matthew 23:14 is missing in Roman Catholic translations while Mark and Luke still include the evil of making a pretense with really long prayers.

Introduction to the Pharisees' hypocrisy

Just reading the first 12 verses of Matthew 23:1-38 (and take note that I'm reading from the King James Version) gives me chills down my spine and reminds me of the daily news concerning Roman Catholic priests:
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, [2] Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: [3] All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. [4] For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. [5] But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, [6] And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, [7] And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. [8] But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. [9] And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. [10] Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. [11] But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. 

It really reminds me of how twisted the Roman Catholic priesthood is. They have created the fictitious Chair of St. Peter - where they claim to succeed blessed Peter's legacy and that the Popes are supposedly the successors of Peter. The Pharisees were building their legitimacy on claiming they succeed Moses' legacy but they don't. If anything, I would want to say that the Popes are indeed the successors if Caiaphas in some say.

There is the grand example of hypocrisy and the feeling of importance among the Roman Catholic priests and the Pharisees. Both Roman Catholicism and the Pharisees' Judaism have added so many useless rituals. The Roman Catholic system adds so many requirements for salvation such as rituals and prayers - even going as far as to say that priests save souls and God forgives sins through them when that is a lie. The Roman Catholic priesthood claims to succeed the work of the apostles but preach a very different gospel - a gospel of faith plus works where sanctification is a requirement for salvation when the Bible says it the other way around (Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 2:11-14). They have made themselves holier than thou. That keeps reminding me of how the Roman Catholic priesthood is so elevated it blinds its followers.

This is all about greetings in the marketplace. Nothing is wrong with greeting the pastor in the marketplace. The problem is this men love the greetings of men and they believe that they should get the most important seats. The Pope goes around the world and almost everyone bows to him. The Roman Catholic priests go around and they expect that the faithful should bless their hand or give them a holy kiss or greeting. Worse, shouldn't be even more disturbing that Roman Catholic priests are called "father" in the spiritual sense when Jesus forbade it? Catholic apologists have tried to cut through it without thinking that Jews called Abraham as "father" because he is their biological descendant or that Paul was a father figure. Yet nothing in the pages of the Bible (even from the writings of the apostles) suggest that the priest should even be called father. Yet many still insist it's biblical which is proof of blindness. Worse, the Pope is even called Holy Father which is a title that should be ascribed to God alone (John 17:11). 

The eight woes against the Pharisees

Reading through the eight woes (Matthew 23:13-36) really further reminds me more of how I'm glad that Jesus called me out of Babylon:
[13] But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.  
[14] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
[15] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.  
[16] Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! [17] Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? [18] And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. [19] Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? [20] Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. [21] And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. [22] And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.  
[23] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. [24] Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.  
[25] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. [26] Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.  
[27] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. [28] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  
[29] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, [30] And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. [31] Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. [32] Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. [33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? [34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. [36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

It just continues to remind me of how these charges still stand true against the Roman Catholic institution. They have built a system of salvation where the priests claim "Oh we save your souls! Trust us!" but neither the priest nor the parishioner enter into Heaven. Think about all the long prayers done as a pretense such as the Rosary or Novenas. Think about how much money is spent for Masses where the faithful hope that their dead ones who supposedly died in grace will get out of Purgatory. Think about how many people convert to Roman Catholicism or are Roman Catholics - many of them live their life like they have a license to sin. Talk about a man who's so religious yet he's habitually adulterous. He makes fun of a pastor who's repented of adultery while he lives in his adulterous lifestyle. Think about the mean woman who is either a homewrecking whore or a horrible mother or mother-in-law. Doesn't that make those converts even worse a child of Hell than the Pharisees?

Swearing by the Temple of God and Heaven really means nothing to the Roman Catholic priest, doesn't it? It makes me think of how often the Pope claims to have the Holy Spirit's work of Papal Infallibility. Though the Roman Catholic catechism doesn't teach that the Pope is supposedly free from all human error - but they teach that he is freed from doctrinal error with the help of the Holy Spirit. Yet this one has been used to erroneously add new doctrines. Pius X was addressed as Most Holy Lord. Pius XI on April 30, 1992 had stated one of the worst blasphemies ever where he said he is God on the Earth. Some Roman Catholics many deny it to death but it's truth that has been said. Roman Catholic historian Moreri writes that to make war with the Pope is to make war with God. Another Roman Catholic writer named Decius states that the Pope can do what God can do. That's just plain blasphemy isn't it that they wear by Heaven and the Temple to justify their erroneous office.

Roman Catholicism is too focused on the externals. Have I prayed the Rosary? Have I said my Hail Marys? Have I been faithful in confession and in attending the masses? What is so observed is how many times the Roman Catholic system itself has violated the weightier matters of the Law such as judgment, mercy and faith. It's all about looking good rather than doing good. The Roman Catholic priests want to appear as nice and friendly as possible yet there are so many hidden scandals. I even heard of accounts where the bones of aborted infants were found underneath some convents. The Vatican itself tries to look pure and holy yet the filth and scandals are heaped as high as Heaven. How much money in itself was done by extortion. The Roman Catholic system has gotten wealthy through payment for salvation as well as through brutal conquests such as the Crusades and the Inquisition just to name a few! Worse, it's a system that's drunk with the martyrs of Jesus even before the Reformation started. Revelation 17:1-6 says:
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: [2] With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. [3] So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. [4] And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: [5] And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth. [6] 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.

The problem is also with how often they Roman Catholic system itself also honors and builds the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchres or monuments of the righteous. It's so disgusting how they give honor to Mary the mother of Jesus while teaching so much error about her. They create another Mary which blocks the earthly mother of Jesus who was no proud Madonna but a humble woman who loved her Lord Jesus. They honor Peter who accepted no honor from men yet the Popes demand they be bowed at. They honor Paul as a pillar with Peter yet their source of tradition is not from the pages of the Scriptures. Instead, they have brutally misused Paul's writing to the Thessalonians to add unbiblical traditions rather than follow apostolic traditions. They honor the apostles but they don't even follow their epistles. Instead, they added so many practices not found in the New Testament either! They honor the Old Testament prophets but they continue in the same destructive path that the Israelites kept going into and murdered the true men of God for lovingly telling them the truth. 

This is the sad reality that's going on. This is not written because I hate Roman Catholics. They may go ahead and say I hate them but in truth this is written out of love. As a former Roman Catholic who nearly became an agnostic or atheist since my faith crisis - my heart goes out to them hoping that they will find out the truth. Then again, I think that if God didn't choose me then could have I come out of her? I doubt it.
Revelation 18:4-5
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. [5] For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

In short, God is still calling His Elect out of the sinister Babylon system then the end shall come. God is patiently waiting until all His people are out of the same sinister system. Thank God that He's waiting patiently until times comes He will put an end to the sinister world system!

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