I want to add discussion to the words of christ in relation to Peters succession:
(Mat 16:23 KJV) But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
To me this clearly identifies that Peter is influenced by Satan. I’m not saying he is Satan but is influenced.
** Matthew 7:
To me this is quite simple a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit, That is the indicator.
Jesus clearly emphases his teaching in terms of a ‘seed’ which will grow. The parables contain stories on what the kingdom of heaven is like.
** Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
I
to expand the parable and the text in the chapter:
Luke 8:4-15
** 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this:… 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.**
To subphrase:
** 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. **
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
Further:
Matt. 16:13-20
*15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ,” .
It is quite obvious what Jesus termed as one of his followers. It is best expressed in this verse:
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
A self proclaimed Christian (follower of Christ) or Christian church if they call themselves a follower of Christ would of course if they knew god, sell their possessions and follow Christ to the cross, especially if they want to enter the kingdom of heaven…
Luke 22:54-62
** Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also Uwas with him; for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
**
Disciple he was, and his job to keep the word alive, but Christian he was not.
Matthew 22:14
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
So in conclusion using Jesus own words, is you will know them by their fruits. A good tree only bears good fruit. Just have to look through history if this applies to the various popes to see where the Peter’ soil stands.
and we are reminded to this day of Jesus’s words to Peter
" for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men"
Even such things as trying to prove your church is first or better or universal above others are all things of men and not of those who dedicate themselves to the spiritual service of god.
This is typical Jonestown heretical interpretation of Holy Scripture. This is what happens when you try to stand a tripod on just one leg.
The catholic church is the one,true church that Christ intended to exist after His ascension into heaven and of whi h He left Eter as its first pope…264 poes later to Pope Benedict XVI. And the gates of hell have not and will not prevail against her. Much less your new age dribble.
My advice to whome er has the misfortune of falling prey to your interretations-dont drink the kool-aid.