How is that done?Its very possible that those who think they are hearing from the Holy Spirit are in error…Satan shows up as an angel of light and sometimes its his spirit.Thats why we need to test it to see if its from God.
Your are asking how the great deciever shows up as angel of light. Just look all around in this world and see his evil works.
That is, as you would say, speculation.
The nature of the Episcopacy in the early Church is worth a thread in its own right. Why don’t you start one?
Many distinctively Christian beliefs are to be found, not in the Gospels, but in the Epistles. Does that invalidate them? Do you claim that those things which the Apostles taught are not to be derived, ultimately, from Christ?
That would be true if the Apostolic office could only be passed on in its totality. The Catholic position is that the Apostle’s authority to pass on and teach Sacred Tradition was passed on to their successors, but not the fullness of the Apostolic office, especially the charism to deliver new general revelation. The Catholic position, BTW, is the position to be found in the writings of the early Church.
That is entirely consistent with the modern prejudice that everything be “put in writing”. However, that is scarcely a universal human attitude. Remember that the Abrahamic covenant made it from Abraham to Moses before being written down. How many centuries was that?
No, I am asking how one tests a message to see if it is from God.Your are asking how the great deciever shows up as angel of light. Just look all around in this world and see his evil works.
How can they be trustworthy witnesses when their testimonies are based on hearsay? They are only stating what they have been told by men before them. That does not make them trustworthy witnesses. Just try to win a court case with witnesses that testify based on hearsay. They will all be disregarded.
What does scripture say about testing the spirit? You answer me.
1 John 4:1-3 – "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."What does scripture say about testing the spirit? You answer me.
rod of iron said:
/s I do believe Justin would have said the same. I know he was testing me. 
Rod of Iron, Thanks for the double confirmation.Rod of Iron, Thank you for my confirmation. I was testing the spirit.
In that case Mark cannot be a trustworty witness to the life of Jesus, because he was not an eyewitness. His writing is hearsay that he got from Peter.
rod of iron said:
So you want to play what If? Obviously one is right and one is wrong. In certain cases maybe both are right? Oh well
If the truth is objective, then in this case only one can be right. The two beliefs are irreconcilable. And this isn’t playing “what if”.So you want to play what If? Obviously one is right and one is wrong. In certain cases maybe both are right? Oh well
Like I said obviously one is not tuned into the Spirit. ok Ill play. If this situation came up and we could not come into an understanding or be in agreement I personally would bring this situation to the body of christ other mature christians] and ask for prayer that the Holy Spirit will reveal the Truth. Now if this doesnt work Ill call you Justin
. I do have faith and trust in the Holy Spirit.
So from where would you select those mature Christians? Say twenty from the first person’s church and twenty from the second? Or would you choose just from those who already agree, one way or the other?Like I said obviously one is not tuned into the Spirit. ok Ill play. If this situation came up and we could not come into an understanding or be in agreement I personally would bring this situation to the body of christ other mature christians] and ask for prayer that the Holy Spirit will reveal the Truth. Now if this doesnt work Ill call you Justin
Like I said Justin if that didnt work I would call you. We then could proceed over to you church and find 40 mature christians.
P/s Where two or more are gathered in prayer I am there in their midst.I guess two or three would work?
Let say that we haven’t been able to come to a conclusion by using Scripture and prayerful discernment and you’ve now come to me for my advice. I’d say that we can look at it rather like the problem faced by a judge when two interpretations of law are presented to him by two lawyers. When a judge needs to decide which of two conflicting interpretations of a law (the Bible, in this metaphor) is correct, he goes to the case books (the writings of the early Church fathers, to continue our metaphor) to see what the earliest recorded decisions involving that law say. The earliest rulings decide which way the judge judges. So when you come to me for my help, we’d turn to the writings of the ECF’s.Like I said Justin if that didnt work I would call you. We then could proceed over to you church and find 40 mature christians.
So you would turn to the early christian fathers, like they didnt have there own problems. No early church had it all together. The same applies today no church has it all together. What early church do you want to look at ?Galatians,Ephesians,Thessalonians,Philipians.Colossians.
Whatever ones provide us with sub-Apostolic Chistian writers whose writings survive. I’m more interested in the list of writers than from where they come. Examples:So you would turn to the early christian fathers, like they didnt have there own problems. No early church had it all together. The same applies today no church has it all together. What early church do you want to look at ?Galatians,Ephesians,Thessalonians,Philipians.Colossians.