Down below I have posted quotes from the online Catechism concerning, APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION.
This is the foundation that Catholicism uses as its authority to interpret the scriptures, amongst other things.
Down below I have put in CAPS what I want to examine.
If their foundation crumbles then Catholicism has no authority.
It is like what Paul said about the Resurrection, 'If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at
Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.' (1 Corinthians 15)
Well, the Catholic church is in a similar dilemma. If their alleged apostles have not witnessed the resurrection
then they don't have the authority of the twelve or of the apostle Paul.
There is nothing about successors or replacements other than Mathias, because it was prophesied, and to get the
number back to twelve.
The apostles were to be 'witnesses to the Resurrection', '22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same
day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a WITNESS with us of HIS RESURRECTION.'
This was THE FIRST requirement to being an apostle.
Mathias was witness to the life, death and Resurrection of Christ and he replaced Judas the traitor.
This was prophesied in scripture.
20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and
his bishoprick let another take. (Acts 1:20)
This replacement was not to show apostolic succession but to get the number of the twelve Jewish apostles back
to twelve again. This is so they could judge the twelve tribes IN THE END.
'29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my
table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.' (Luke 22)
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when
the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
(Matthew 19)
'And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.'
(Revelation 21)
This HERE is about Israel not the body of Christ.
Apostolic succession is a good example of the Catholic church taking what applied to the twelve and applying
it to the Catholic church.
This is replacement theology at its worst.
The Mormons believe in apostolic succession as well. We will also look at that on this site.
Not only are the alleged apostles of the Catholic church not Jewish they have not witnessed the resurrection
of Christ.
They also have no scriptural precedent for believing in a line of succession.
The Catechism says, '"For it is through CHRIST'S CATHOLIC CHURCH ALONE, which is THE UNIVERSAL HELP TOWARD SALVATION,
THAT THE FULNESS OF THE MEANS OF SALVATION CAN BE OBTAINED.'
So not only has the Catholic church claimed to have authority to teach and intepret through the line of apostles,
they also claim that salvation comes only through the Catholic Church.
So let's not mistake the fact that the Catholic church has made bold claims that excludes any Christian Church
outside the grasp of this borg.
What could have motivated such a gross interpretation of scripture by the Catholic elite?
What motivated the Pharisees and many Rabbis to come up with all this nonsense that is now written in the Talmud?
Control, pure and simple.
This gives them control over the masses.
Appointing a successor in Acts One had to be to someone that witnessed the resurrection of Christ and was Jewish.
This was not to perpetuate the apostleship down through the years to now.
When James the brother John died, there is not one reference to him being given a successor. (Acts 12)
'And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded
further to take Peter also.' (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) (Acts 12)
Why?
Because they already had their twelve to judge the tribes of Israel.
The apostle Paul 'witnessed the resurrected Christ' (Acts 9:3-6;1 Corinthians 15:8), but he was not one of the
twelve.
However, it is he that the Catholics have excluded. Paul was not one of the twelve but was an apostle. (Galatians
1:1)
"After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present,
but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was SEEN OF
ME ALSO, as of one born out of due time." (1 Corinthians 15)
He was NOT sent to Israel ONLY, as the twelve were, he was sent to the Gentiles. (Galatians 2:9)
'And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they
gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that WE should go UNTO HTE HEATHEN, and THEY UNTO THE CIRCUMCISION.'
(Galatians 2:9)
The Catholic church has taken a foundation meant for Jews that witnessed the resurrection and who were sent to
the Jews, (Acts 11) and have applied it to their sinking Foundation.
They have done all this while giving only a polite nod to but excluding the apostle to the Gentiles.
"But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he (PAUL)is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
(Acts 9)
So should we accept the interpretation and addition of all this extrabiblical (outside of scripture) nonsense
from a group of elitists that have built a foundation of sand?
God Forbid!
The Online Catechism:
77 "In order that the full and living Gospel MIGHT ALWAYS BE PRESERVED in the Church THE APOSTLES LEFT
BISHOPS AS THEIR SUCCESSORS. They gave them their own position of teaching authority."35 Indeed, "THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING,
which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, WAS TO BE PRESERVED IN A CONTINUOUS LINE OF SUCCESSION until the
end of time."36
78 This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from
Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates
and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes."37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are
a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of
the Church, in her belief and her prayer."38
79 The Father's self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, REMAINS PRESENT AND ACTIVE IN THE
CHURCH: "God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through
whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church - and through her in the world - leads believers to the full truth,
and makes the Word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness."39
1209 The criterion that assures unity amid the diversity of liturgical traditions is fidelity to apostolic Tradition,
i.e., the communion in the faith and the sacraments received from the apostles, a communion that is both signified and guaranteed
by apostolic succession.
815 What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity "binds everything together in
perfect harmony."265 But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion:
- profession of one faith received from the Apostles;
-common celebration of divine worship, especially
of the sacraments;
- apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's
family.266
816 "The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's
pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. . . . This Church, constituted and organized
as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter
and by the bishops in communion with him."267
The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains: "For it is through
CHRIST'S CATHOLIC CHURCH ALONE, which is THE UNIVERSAL HELP TOWARD SALVATION, THAT THE FULNESS OF THE MEANS OF SALVATION CAN
BE OBTAINED. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all
the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully
incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God."268
The bishops - successors of the apostles
861 "In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, [THE APOSTLES] CONSIGNED,
BY WILL AND TESTAMENT, AS IT WERE, TO THEIR IMMEDIATE COLLABORATORS THE DUTY OF COMPLETING AND CONSOLIDATING THE WORK THEY
HAD BEGUN, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God.
They accordingly designated such men and then made the ruling that likewise on their death other proven men should take over
their ministry."374
862 "Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be TRANSMITTED
TO HIS SUCCESSORS, IS A PERMANENT ONE, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church,
a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops."375 Hence the Church teaches that "the
bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens
to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ."376
The apostolate
863 The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the SUCCESSORS OF ST. PETER AND THE OTHER APOSTLES,
in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church
share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as
well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over
all the earth."377
1087 THUS THE RISEN CHRIST, by giving the Holy Spirit to the apostles, entrusted to them his power of sanctifying:10
they became sacramental signs of Christ. BY THE POWER OF THE SAME HOLY SPIRIT THEY ENTRUSTED THIS POWER TO THEIR SUCCESSORS.
This "apostolic succession" structures the whole liturgical life of the Church and is itself sacramental, handed on by the
sacrament of Holy Orders.
