Catholic Quarter

Ever wonder why the Catholic Church is the oldest church around in Christianity? How does it sustain itself? And is a church really meant to be perpetual or ever revolving with reformations?

Well for starters, we know that it God’s government and kingdom has no end (Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 2:44). Christ speaks of this when using the analogy of a house built on rock instead of sand (Matthew 7:24-25); we know the house is actually the Church (1 Timothy 3:15); Christ full reiteration that the kingdom built on rock will last forever is in His promise “And upon this rock I will build my Church that even the powers of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Powers of hell shall not prevail against it? Sounds a lot like Daniel 7:14 and Luke 1:32-33.  Read more... (428 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Ever wonder why they call the Church the Body of Christ, or even how that statement is to be interpreted? In this brief exhortation, I will take you through scripture and try to expand on some ideas and elaborate on others.  Read more... (208 words, estimated 50 secs reading time)

What is The Church? It is comprised of eight things.

1. Body of Christ
2. [Must be] One
3. Perpetual
4. Authoritative
5. Apostolic Succession
6. Apostolic Church
7. Primacy and Papacy
   
8. Infallible

As for this article, we will go over the bare basics the Bible confirms as the foundation, the Church (1 Timothy 3:15), lain before us for mankind to follow.  Read more... (1072 words, estimated 4:17 mins reading time)

“She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil.” – Martin Luther from Personal “Little” Prayer book, 1522.

“Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that ‘brothers’ really mean ‘cousins’ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers” Martin Luther from Sermons on John, chapters 1-4 (1539).

The aspects of Mary are broken into several categories:  Read more... (1374 words, estimated 5:30 mins reading time)

Mary is understood to be of royal descent by her bloodline to king David (Luke 1:32). She is coroneted in heaven, “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne” Revelation 12:1-5). If we break it verse by verse, we see that the twelve stars with the sun and moon is the same metaphor proposed to Joseph in his dreams that he would inherit royalty over Egypt (Genesis 37:9). We know that Joseph provided aid for the entire world when in need, during the seven year famine.  Read more... (781 words, estimated 3:07 mins reading time)

The evidence through Scripture. St. Paul speaks of types [Greek, tupos] in Romans 5:14. Tupos, or typology, is how we understand the David and his kingdom is a type of Jesus as King and the Kingdom of Heaven; Moses and the Ten Commandments is a type Jesus as Law Giver with Laws; Aaron and Staff is a type of Jesus as High Priest and Authority; King Solomon being the wisest King, the son of the first true godly king, David, of the Davidic Kingdom is a type of Jesus, whom is the son who receives from His own flesh the Kingdom that was already His. John’s gospel expounding with typology. Read Genesis and the Gospel of John and you will see the blatant typology woven into John writing.  Read more... (793 words, estimated 3:10 mins reading time)

The Woman in Genesis, The New Eve, found in Genesis 3:15, has always been understood to be Mary; “I will put enmity between you [serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” The woman who gives birth to the seed Whom crushes the dragon’s head is fulfilled in Revelation 12. John sees in this revelation a woman who gives birth to a son who rules with an iron rod. In the end, we see that “the dragon became angry [enmity] with the woman and went off to wage war [striking heel] against the rest of her offspring [seed], those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus” [Rev 12:17]. Eve was the mother of all life till her sin in which she became the mother of the corporeal living. Mary became the New Eve, the new mother of all spiritually alive, by her yes to God (Lk: 1:38; Mt 12:49-59; Jn 19:26-27; Rev 12:17). This is made evident in Typology [Roman 5:14, Greek tupos].  Read more... (694 words, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)

If God the Father is paternal to Jesus then so it is to us, than so must Mary being maternal to Jesus must be as such to us. She answered the call to embrace her children (John 19:26-27).  Read more... (866 words, estimated 3:28 mins reading time)

“Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that ‘brothers’ really mean ‘cousins’ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers” Martin Luther from Sermons on John, chapters 1-4 (1539).  Read more... (1611 words, estimated 6:27 mins reading time)

“She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil.” – Martin Luther from Personal “Little” Prayer book, 1522.

In Genesis 3:15, God promised enmity between the woman (Mary) and the great serpent, we see also a foreshadowing of what enmity is in the Ark of the Covenant; purity that allows no room for anything but purity.  Read more... (1555 words, estimated 6:13 mins reading time)