Resolve to Know the Truth - News With Views

A.M. Byrd

January 1, 2025

The New Year is upon us. Many have made resolutions that they will fail at and toss aside in about 10 minutes from now. I made a resolution too, but I doubt I will fail at it. I’m going to think differently and not succumb to the world’s ignorant, destructive, perverse ways.

Something has been eating at me for months. My family are, by confession of faith, Catholic, Roman Catholic and/or Protestant. Many, but not all, confess Christ Jesus as Savior and believe on Him for their salvation, as the propitiation for our inherited sin nature. Those of us who are believing Christians, recognize the Christ, Jesus, as the Word of God and the head of The Living Church.

What is the Living Church? It is the Body of Christ, being the multitudes of believers who rely on Him, do their best to obey His Laws and His precepts, as the final authority of our faith. It is not a structured brick and mortar building; nor steel and glass cathedral, nor an event center that seats 75,000 humans and preaches wealth and prosperity and shines their toothy Pepsodent smiles as wide as they can, while they pass the offering plates to endlessly extend their televised indoctrinations of pliable, hypnotized, lazy minds. These ravenous wolves who prey on people’s inner hopes and selfish desires rake in the money; these “preachers” who live in sumptuous luxury off the donations to their so-called “ministries” don’t REALLY care a whit about the salvation of their Flocks. Their entire purpose is to be put on pedestals and worshipped as “God’s’ messengers, while they lead the masses utterly astray with their “Feel Good Gospels.

That’s part of the problem with our human race/society/culture. We want to feel GOOD about ourselves; we want to excuse our wayward trends, our perversions, and our hedonism. We want to sit in those pews and pretend that all is forgiven and then exit the church doors and resume our judgmental biases in all their self-aggrandizing fashions. Woe unto ye, hypocrites, the Holy Scriptures say to us. We’ve left humility in the dust bin of our consciences.

But do we stop and take account of where THAT road leads us? God is either in us, or He isn’t. When He IS, the Holy Spirit, which is His whispering, indwelling voice in our redeemed minds and hearts, speaks to us constantly of decisions we make or are inclined to make. It also warns us of troubled waters just ahead.

Some people have learned to listen to that still, small voice…most haven’t. We’re too arrogant, too self-serving and self-worshiping. I mean, take a look at the hatred in just our own country! The instant President Trump was declared victor in the Nov election, I rejoiced…for about 5 minutes; then I realized that the social/culture war just got even more desperate and dangerous. When he started announcing his personal cabinet picks, I knew the turbulent political waters were going to get A LOT more dangerous for our nation.

My personal beliefs and traditions are not to be imposed on any other human being. One of the greatest gifts the Lord our God gave to us as a species, was freedom of choice. I may not be impressed with many of Trump’s picks, but some of them have me downright terrified. When one investigates the backgrounds, social and historical affiliations of some of the people who are going to be closest to our president, I can see the unmitigated disaster unfolding for our sovereign national status…we are just barely sovereign even now; and hanging by a mere silken thread.

Which brings me to the intent of this communication. Who has the authority to determine how we live our lives? Does a church dogma direct our pathway? What is more important? Our personal adherence to a specific doctrine, directed through our choice of denomination and the practice thereof, or the immutable Law of God and how it is applied to our lives? Does Man have the ability, divine right and/or authority to change God’s Laws?

Apparently so.

THAT gives me great pause to consider the ramifications of such an attitude. The moment Humans practice the profane act of disobedience to a Law given by God Himself, written on a tablet of stone, is the moment we commit the ultimate act of transgression against our Creator. It is said that the only unpardonable sin is to grieve the Holy Spirit. I think putting oneself above God is the single most defiant act possible.

Why do I bring this up?

For centuries Man has tried to unwrap the prophecies and perplexing visions in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, the minor prophets; then there are NT disclosures of Christ Himself in Matthew, Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, and John’s Revelations for instance. But the one continuous thread of Man being in observance of God’s laws and precepts, is that the Almighty Creator is the absolute Sovereign over all things, and we must not be so pompous and presumptuous as to think we can overrule His edicts. If God says, DON’T do something or DO do something, in accordance with our reverence (fear) of Him, we should bloody well follow His laws.

Long ago, when I was a girl, I attended Catholic catechism on Wednesday nights. My paternal grandparents were Roman Catholic. My maternal grandparents were First Baptist. When I asked the Sister leading our class, where in the Scriptures I could find God’s recommendation of praying to the Virgin Mary for intercession with Him, or confessing my sins to a mortal priest so I could endlessly repeat Hail Mary’s and Our Fathers, she suggested I discuss it with our Monsignor. He didn’t think I was good Catholic material and suggested that I might find a different doctrinal home. It never sat very well with me that they wouldn’t answer my question but told me to hit the door instead.

Then about 6 months ago, it began to really materialize in my thoughts that the Pope was becoming a lot more powerful in his influence over world leaders. The Papal State is the smallest country/nation on earth, but arguably one of the most powerful, spiritually and diplomatically, on earth as well. I’ve read the Bible books that tell us what the future will look like, even though those books and letters are shrouded in symbolism and vague representations. But we know a few things for sure. There will be a world unified under one umbrella of doctrine; political, religious and military………….and we should take heed to not take the “mark” of that counterfeit system. Well….what in hell would THAT LOOK LIKE?

A few weeks ago, I watched a docu-series that rattled me to the core. I grew up with the Ten Commandments. These are the Laws of God, and one in particular set aside as supremely important:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is within them and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and hallowed it.” Exodus 20: 8-11

So, thinking to myself, only the Jews (and 7th Day Adventists) practice the Sabbath; I’m not inclined to become Jewish, mostly because there is so much to study to convert. Isn’t there another option? How do I tell my employer I can’t work on Saturday’s!! That’s not gonna fly at all. Let me do a little more thinking. So while “thinking” I began digging. Where did Sunday take over being the Sabbath? Why do we observe Sunday? Somewhere back in my feeble memory, I remember SUNday was the day the Sun was worshipped. That was a pagan ritual in Egypt. When did it creep into Christianity?

The Pope declared it his divine right to determine what day we would worship God…he’d override God’s sanctification of the Sabbath. Like Christmas is derived from the pagan worship of the winter solstice. Christ Jesus wasn’t born on Dec 25th. You might well ask, how can I buck 2 thousand years of tradition like that? Well, shucks…I guess it’s because I like FACTS not just convenient but ultimately unprovable or false postulations.

Here, we will take a little side trip:

Luke 1:24-28, 31 chronicles [the] events [of the time if the birth of Jesus], “Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ‘Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.’ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’…And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.”

Based on the Bible text and knowledge of the priestly courses (Zacharias, Elizabeth’s husband, was a priest in the Temple; see below) we can estimate that Jesus was born around the time of Tishri, which falls in mid to late September. This approximation is reached by starting at the conception of John the Baptist, which occurred in Sivan (June). Then, we count forward six months to arrive at Gabriel’s announcement of the conception of Jesus, which happened in Kislev (December). Finally, we count forward nine more months, which is the average time it takes for human gestation, to reach Tishri (September) when Jesus was born.

Relating to the priestly courses: In those times, Jewish priests were divided into 24 courses that served in the temple throughout the year. The order of Abijah was the eighth priestly course (see 1 Chronicles 24:6-19) which served in the temple during the 10th week of the priestly cycle. The 10th week started on the second Sabbath in the month of Sivan, which falls approximately from mid-May to mid-June. After Zechariah returned from his priestly duties, Elizabeth became pregnant with John the Baptist. When Was Jesus Actually Born? Biblical, Historical Evidence

Further investigation denotes Herod the Great’s reign, the Murder of the Innocents that Herod proclaimed must occur due to his jealous fear of another king to threaten his power and the end of Herod’s reign, likely ending between 4 and 1BC. 2 calendars were being used during that time so the exact date takes alot more math than I have available in my limited grey matter. Splitting the difference, we can presumably, securely say however, that the Christ was born in approx 2 BC, give or take, and it was most likely sometime in September, when shepherds were grazing their flocks.

At this point, what does it matter? He was born, He preached the Kingdom of God, died for the forgiveness of OUR sins and rose on the 3rd day, after which He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, fulfilling all the prophecies of the ancient prophets in the OT.

But I digress. Returning to my commentary, here is what I found:

“The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ.”

“The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ.” Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. (The Pope can modify divine law.) Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary

“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” Father T. Enright, C.S.S.R. of the Redemptoral College, Kansas City, in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, printed in History of the Sabbath, p. 802

“The church…took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday…. The Sun was a foremost god with[in] heathendom…. And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday.” (Dr. William L. Gildea, The Catholic World , March, 1894)

“Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles . . From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first.”—Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August, 1900.

“The civil authorities should be urged to cooperate with the church in maintaining and strengthening this public worship of God, and to support with their own authority the regulations set down by the church’s pastors. For it is only in this way that the faithful will understand why it is Sunday and not the Sabbath day that we now keep holy.” (Roman Catechism, 1985)

This particular statement has me hopping mad. How DARE the church and civil authorities “cooperate” with each other to make me “understand” what day it is “important” to worship or not??? Shouldn’t I worship the Lord every day? God gave me a brain to USE, not have it sit idle in my cranium and be a mass of folds and neurons to simply keep the inside of my skull warm? Could they be any more insulting?

But this takes the cake:

“Sunday is our MARK of authority. . .the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact “ Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1, 1923.

Well, guess what; “They”, the collective ‘church’ and all their polished pastors and pulpit charlatans, can take their “MARK” and put it right up where the sun don’t shine.

I may have to work on Saturday, as my Savior Christ reckoned fit for the disciples when they gathered grain on Saturday because they were hungry, or when Christ himself healed the withered hand of an unfortunate person on Saturday, because love and mercy is as great as Saturday worship, but I will hold always to the recognition that the Pope and the Catholic Church are not above my Creator, nor my Salvation in Christ.

The Pharisees declared Christ Jesus possessed of the devil because he DARED to preach and heal on the Sabbath. That is what happens when Man, in his imperious narcissism thinks he is better or more righteous that the Lord our God.

The Jesuit Pope might want to consider his own salvation. The First Commandment says “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”

That includes Mary, the pure vessel God used to bring the Saviour to us and the Emperor Pope of Rome.

There. I said it.

E-Mail Alice Byrd: alliebyrd77@1791.com