DID JESUS ESTABLISH CHRISTIANITY (Matthew 16:18)?
Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my CHURCH; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".
Acts 11:26 "And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the CHURCH, and taught much people. And the disciples were called CHRISTIANS first in Antioch".
Someone asked me, Is "Christianity" the name of the Church Jesus established? Upon my careful examination of the Question of this sort, I decided to take care to answer him so as not to stir up any confusion in the minds of my readers. The term Christianity is a two combined words, "Christ" and "-ianity". 'Christ' comes from the Greek transliterated word Christós, meaning 'the anointed' and was translated in Hebrew as "Messiah"; which was giving as the title for Jesus after His resurrection and ascending into the Heaven. The '-ianity' also means 'a community of". Christ-ianity is therefore interpreted as the "anointed community" or "anointed sect of believers".
Now let us consider Acts 2:36,38 which reads, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and messiah. 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost".
Jesus has been ordained into the office of Messiah (Christ) after His ascension into the Heaven and sat at the right hand of Majesty. It is only Messiah or Christ, which was transliterated to mean "the anointed one" or "the one set apart by God for His holy use", has the power to remit sin and grant the gift of the Holy Spirit unto those who believe in His Gospel. No believer has been given this office to operate in, since no man on earth is worthy or qualified.
The followers of Jesus Christ were first called 'Christians' in Antioch (Acts 11:26) and it was accepted by them because it has a good bearing. This was later adopted by the Church at the Council of Nicaea in 325AD, and the Church became known as Christian community - Christianity. Questions to be considered:- 1. Can the believers grant the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy spirit, which is the office of the Messiah? If yes, then it means we share the same office with Christ as Co-Messiahs, Co-Mediators, Co-High Priests and we are also sitting at the right hand of Majesty in Heaven with Christ. If no, then why do we deceive ourselves by accepting an office which we are not worthy of upon ourselves.
2.Why was it that in Antioch they were called Christians but not in Jerusalem where the Church started?
3.Was it the Holy Spirit that gave them the utterance to name the Church Christianity or the Pagans that called the disciples Christians, and so the name Christianity?
4. Did Our Master Jesus the Christ called his disciples Christians or He told them to call themselves Brethren (Matthew 23:8-10)?
"Christianity" became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 312 AD and was declared as a universal religion in Roman Empire in 380 AD. Since then, there has been confusion on the doctrine (Faith) of Christ. Many theologians, religious proselytes, heretics, philosophers, biblical historians, etc have tried to put Christianity on its rightful FAITH, but, because its foundation was not built upon Jesus the Messiah, all their efforts have been in vain; and the result is the uncountable Denominational Churches that we see today.
There are reported to be approximately 41,000 Christian denominations, many of which cannot be verified to be significant. Those denominations with Wikipedia articles are considered in order to ensure that all entries on the list are notable and verifiable.
Note: Between denominations, theologians, and comparative religionists there are considerable disagreements about which groups can be properly called Christian, disagreements arising primarily from doctrinal differences between groups. For the purpose of simplicity, this list is intended to reflect the self-understanding of each denomination.
Note: There is no official recognition in most parts of the world for religious bodies, and there is no official clearing house which could determine the status or respectability of religious bodies. Often there is considerable disagreement between various churches about whether other churches should be labelled with pejorative terms such as "cult", or about whether this or that group enjoys some measure of respectability. Such considerations often vary from place to place, where one religious group may enjoy majority status in one region, but be widely regarded as a "dangerous cult" in another part of the world. (Wikipedia).
The question is "do God approve of these numerous denominations"? Many people have become frustrated and confused; some have lost their hope in Christianity, creating the impression that there is no God and blaspheming against God and His Holy Spirit. O God! What a great apostasy!
The Roman Christianity used the term Christian for the believer and Christianity for the community of believers, because the Bishops and the infallible Pope considered themselves to be equal to God and therefore has the right to grant remission of sins to sinners and give certificate of indulgence to them, which grant them access to Heaven, which is unscriptural. These sinners will pay for the "INDULGENCE rate and receive certificate of Indulgence.
Since the Ecclesia (The Church), which is the One Body of Christ became Christianity, it had gone through schisms and there has never been the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The one baptism has also changed to different baptisms, the one doctrine of Christ (2John 9) has turned unto diverse doctrines, which is of the Devils (1Timothy 4:1)
Well, you will be surprised to note that, what we have believed to be the numerous Denominational Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ today - I mean "Christianity" is nothing but a collection of garbage dumped in an obscure place, an abominable entity which leads men to destruction and eternal damnation. I'm not trying to be audaciously rude or disrespectfully insultive to God, but this is the Gospel truth, and God bears me witness that this is the Anti-Christo Church Paul confirmed that it had already started from Jesus the Messiah's reference to the prophet Daniel. "United we stand, divided we fall"! Jesus said any kingdom that is divided cannot stand.
If all these denominational Churches have one umbrella, 'Christianity', as one spiritual body of Christ, then what is the denominating spirit that is dividing this numerating Christianity unto pieces, where each church becomes so egocentric. Christianity which is the universal Umbrella for the denominational Churches stands on a vehicle of human ideology, hatred, division, self seeking, self centred or egocentric, lack of discipline, inordinate passions of social self, witchcrafts and immoral conduct. What can we say in parallel to the Ekklesia of Jesus the Messiah? Nothing but a great Apostasy!
There is a set time for Christianity to rule as Satan's divided kingdom on earth, and at the end of God's appointed time, the sanctuary of the Lord shall be cleansed. Finally, can someone tell me the name of the Church that Jesus established in Matthew 16:18, which began at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:1-4; 41-42)? Since His name was given prior to His coming, I think the name of His ministry must also be given to differentiate between His and the existing Church (Judaism).
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