BIBLE DECLARATION ABOUT PASTORS AND BISHOPS
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INTRODUCTION:
Some of the existing issues or problems which we as the Church need to correct in the Church today are the issues heightened by Rome. One of these problems is on “Pastors and Bishops which is greater”? Evidently the Bible listed the fivefold ministry of the Church. This record is found in Eph. 4:11. It says “and he gave to some Apostles and to some to Prophets, and to some Evangelists, and to some Pastors and to some teachers”. In these fivefold ministry, Bishop is not included.
There is nothing as Bishop/s in the fivefold ministry here. However the existence of the office of the Bishops in scripture was created by the Apostles. We are going to discuss about it here as we continue in the study. But let us first continue with the fivefold ministry of the Church. The Church according to Jesus was in total control of God’s business through the above mentioned offices.
THE APOSTLES WERE IN CHARGE:
The offices of the Apostles were the leading offices of the Church, as we know that Peter the Apostle was made the head of others. He was asked to strengthen his brethren by the Lord. In fact, the Churches were planted by the Apostles in the early Century, about AD 25-90. You can understand how Apostle Paul planted many Churches in Ephesus, in Philippi, in Colossae and just to mention but a few.
When they open up a Church they would plant a Pastor there to teach them. One clear example was Timothy who was ordained a Pastor to the Church at Ephesus. He was Pasturing the Church there and Paul told him not to allow anyone deride his youthful age. He was also instructed to look out for men of unquestionable character and ordain them as Bishops Tim. 3. The Pastor was asked to ordain Bishops in his Church just to help the Pastor.
Another example of a Pastor who was in charge of a church was Pastor Titus who was in Crete posted there by Apostle Paul Titus. 1:3-5. It was the duty of the Apostles to establish a Church and the Pastors would be drafted there to teach them. Titus was also instructed to seek out for men of good characters in his Church and ordain them as Bishops or Elders of the Church, just to help the Pastors.
The Evangelists were field workers of the Church like Evangelist Philip who went to Samaria to preach when persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem. At that time every office of the Church was active and none was dormant. Though in these offices, all of them were teachers to the Church. This does not rule out the office of the teachers, no. The Apostles in addition were teachers to the Church, like when the Bible said that Paul taught the Church, Peter taught the Church etc.
HOW DID BISHOP APPEAR IN SCRIPTURE?
According to the Bible, the office of the Bishops was established at the instance of the Apostles. It was not in the fivefold ministry of the Church, so to say. The Apostles established the office of the Bishops to admonish the Church where there was no Pastor to handle the art of preaching and teaching the Church. The root word or the etymology of the word Bishop is derived from two words
1. From the Latin word “episcupus” and meaning “elder or Bishop”.
2. From the Greek word “episcopos”.
These have one meaning “elder”. Therefore the word Bishop means an “Elder” of the church. Bishop in biblical context does not mean Pastor but elder. And according to the Apostles, the elders which were ordained in the Bible were to teach and to admonish the people where there was no Pastor, no teacher, no Evangelists, no Prophets or Apostles resident for that local church.
The Bishops were accountable to the Pastors, and to the Apostles etc. They did not rob any shoulder/s with the Pastors or the Apostles. In fact Apostle Paul instructed Titus to select men in his church who were to be ordained as elders or Bishops Titus.1:5. These elders were selected by the Pastor of a local Church, based on their good conduct and ability to perform one thing or the other to support and help the Pastor.
But these day people select themselves and ordain themselves as Bishops, and they have usurped the authorities of the Pastors. What we see today is a clear shift of the scriptural bishops. And they are no longer under the Apostles how much more the Pastors. Today no Bishop has any time to listen to the Apostles who are the greatest in God’s settings. This will now inform you what I’m saying about the trend of things.
HOW DID THE BISHOPS GROW WILD OUT OF SRIPTURAL POSITION?
God’s settings in the Church were normal and properly organized until Rome entered into it. Of course the other name for Rome is “Dominance”. Once they enter into any group or association, they dominate it. The Emperors were killing the Church until the appearance of Constantine the great. Constantine did much evil to the church by enacting many decrees which did not favor the church. When Rome entered into the Church, the settings in the Church changed.
Remember that Prophet Daniel prophesied that “the Beast or the horn shall think to Change times and Law” Dan.7:25. This was done as soon as Emperor Constantine the great took up the throne of Rome. It was this Emperor who stopped the killing of the Church by his Roman Predecessors. Yes what the former Emperors were doing was to fulfill the prophecy of Daniel, which said “the terrible Beast devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it” Dan.7:7.
But when Constantine stopped the killing of the members of the Church, he inflicted another heavy wound on the same Church. He thought he was doing God a service, but instead, he carried ahead the programs of his master the Devil.
It was Constantine who made the decree to stop “Sabbath day worship” to “Sunday worship” which was a service to “the Sun god”. Although before this decree to change the Sabbath to Sunday was made, he had already changed God’s system of ministers. He appointed a Bishop from Rome over the Pastors, the Apostles, and the fivefold ministry to be headed by Rome. This was where Rome came in as a part of the Church.
But before this exercise was made the church had been over three hundred years in existence at Jerusalem etc. He made one of the Roman people a Bishop to oversee the Church of Christ, and those who opposed his decree were eliminated. Imagine when an idolater was appointed as the Pastor or Bishop over the church, what does the idolater know about the Church? After eliminating all those who opposed this setup, they now claimed to be the first Church. This claim lasted over a thousand years and no one could make mention of the Church at Jerusalem again.
NOW THE QUESTIONS ARE?
Considering their claim of being the first church, we present these questions to them and their Bishops, their clergy and those who make the claim.
1.
Who owns the Church? Answer- Jesus Christ
2. From which nation? Answer – from Nazareth in Israel
3. From which Continent? Answer- Asia
4. But who inaugurated the Church? Answer- the Holy Spirit
5. Where was it inaugurated? Answer- At Jerusalem (upper Room)
6. On which Occasion? Answer- the feast of Pentecost Acts. 2.
7. Does Rome celebrate feast of Pentecost? No
8. What’s the relationship between Rome and Israel at that time? Answer- Rome was the sixth world power which was ruling the world at that time, and they intruded into the affairs of the Church through prophecy.
9. Is it true that Apostle Peter established the Roman Church? Answer- No.
10. How was he used on this claim? Answer- Peter was even killed by Emperor Nero before the entrance of Rome into the church. It is therefore a false claim.
11. But why was his name used? Answer- It was only to deceive the people, and to cover their wickedness and to make people to believe in their games.
12. About what time did Rome enter into the church? Answer- After about 311 to 312 AD. Church was in existence over 300 years before they entered.
13. Which prophecy brought them into the church? Dan.7:7 & 7:25.
PENTECOSTAL BISHOPS ARE FOLLOWING ROME’S EXAMPLE.
But Biblical bishops were under the Pastors before Constantine elevated the Roman Bishop over the Church. This elevation lifted up the shoulders of the Roman Bishops and they derided and despised the Pastors and other officers of the Church. And since then the Roman Bishops have never respected any officer of the Church.
They were highly lifted and are seen as “holy priests or even God, for that they were arrayed in Royal Robs”. But the Pastors of the Church were not and are not in Royal Robs. Now our own people, i.e “the Pastors” are now desiring and ordaining themselves like the Roman Bishops. We are envying the Roman setup, and following the footsteps of Rome over the Church of Christ as well. This is a wrong concept. Many people in the Church, especially those with ambition to be a minister of God, are now going to be installed Bishops in accordance to Roman specification.
HEAR MY DECLARATION:
Any Pastor who goes ahead to ordain himself as a Bishop has actually demoted himself to the position of the Elder of the Church. God has not changed his system or setup of the Church, no matter how you look at it. The Bible Bishops were only elders of the Church. They are not Pastors, nor greater than the Pastors. So the Pastors are greater than the Bishops.
Send your suggestion and we shall discuss it. Use my emails at the top of the page, thank you.
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