There is nothing in the Bible to support the “Rapture” theology that is so rampant among non-Catholics around the world and especially here in the U.S. Several different times in the gospels and in other parts of the NT it says plainly that we will be “Raised up…at the last day”, so this is just junk theology that was concocted about 200 years ago by a Church of Ireland pastor and has never been believed by the Christian church until lately and even then not by all of them and not with the same beliefs. It is all nothing more than the varied interpretations of non-Catholics. Worth being aware of, but not at all worthy of belief.
The part of your webpage that I think is the most laughable (or would be if it wasn’t so blatantly a slap in the face of the facts of history) is this paragraph:
Apostasy means - 1. An abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one’s faith or religion.
Many people believe this portion of scripture is refering to a Great Apostasy (abandonment) in which many churches throughout the world fall away from their faith, or literally abandon what they profess to be true (ex: the Bible). If Paul is talking about this “Great Apostasy” in which many Bible believing churches “fall away” from the foundations, then we have a problem. The problem we have is that there have always been churches in which the congregation has “fallen away” from the word of God. **The Catholic Church is a prime example. The Catholic Church has been far away from the word of God ever since it was established in 312 A.D. by Constantine. The Catholic Church leads the world in Christianity that has “fallen away” from the word of God with a membership worldwide of over 1 billion souls. **
There are several things badly wrong in this passage, beginning with the fact that the Catholic Church was not founded in 312 by Constantine. This is easliy verifiable by the writings of the ECF such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, the close friend & disciple of St. John as well as bishop of the church in Antioch and martyr for the Catholic faith, who wrote the following passage in his letter to the church at Smyrna in 107, (less than 10 years after St. John passed away)
See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Christ Jesus does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles. Do ye also reverence the deacons, as those that carry out[through their office] the appointment of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper(18) Eucharist, which is[administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be; by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it.** Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.**
and then again, CHAP. VII.–LET US STAND ALOOF FROM SUCH HERETICS.
They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer,(7) because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death(11) in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect,(13) that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that ye should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of(15) them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion[of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved.(16) But avoid all divisions, as the beginning of evils.
This is was written a good 205 years before Constantine lived, so history plainly shows that the early Christian church called itself “The Catholic Church” from the time of the apostles. This also shows that the Catholic belief in the Eucharistic Real Presence of Christ was already stated not only by St. Paul in 1st cor. 11:23-30, but by the immediate followers of the apostles, so if you don’t share that belief, guess who’s in the wrong? It sure isn’t the Catholic Church.
Furthermore, if as people like you assert, the Catholic Church did come into being at that time (which is not true) and immediately became pagan in it’s teachings, why did the Roman Emperor Julian persecute the church only 48 years later because it
wasn’t pagan? That’s historic
fact Brian and if you have a shred of integrity and love for the truth you’ll look into it for yourself and stop believing bunk that someone else has told you. (What church did you say you belong to? I don’t believe that you have been upfront with us on that.)
Pax vobiscum,
