Christian Rome’s Interference with the Work of Christ
FURTHER STUDY: C. Mervyn Maxwell, God Cares, vol. 1, pp. 145 188; William H. Shea, Daniel 7-12, pp. 85-120.
Christian Rome interfered with the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary in different ways. For instance:
1. The Eucharist is the sacrifice of Christ. Through it “the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.” Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday, 1997), p. 381.
2. Forgiveness of sin is not exclusively through the work of Christ. “He [Christ] entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry.” Page 402. “It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church”—Page 278.
3. Confession of sins to priests. “Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance.”—Page 405.
4. Exclusive mediatorial role of Christ is obscured. Mary “is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”—Page 275.
5. Purgatory casts shadows on Christ’s work. After death Christians imperfectly purified “undergo purification [in purgatory], so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”—Page 28.
“It required a desperate struggle for those who would be faithful to stand firm against the deceptions and abominations which were disguised in sacerdotal garments and introduced into the church. The Bible was not accepted as the standard of faith.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 45.
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2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” AND 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”