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EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH:
THE LORD'S SUPPER

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS
GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH.
THAT IS WHY HE IS GOD

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THE LORD'S SUPPER

There are two church ordinances: baptism and the Lord's Supper. As with baptism, the stand of Baptists on the Lord's Supper has led to much persecution, torture, and death. What does the Bible teach about the Lord's Supper, or Communion? This ordinance is referred to as the communion in 1 Corinthians 10:16, as the Lord's table in 1 Corinthians 10:21, and as the Lord's supper in 1 Corinthians 11:20. In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 the Apostle Paul calls to remembrance the Last Supper that was recorded in Matthew 26:26-27, Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:17-20.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

1 Corinthians 11:23-25
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Matthew 26:26-28
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:22-24
22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Luke 22:17-20
17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

The passages in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, Matthew 26:26-27, Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:17-20 cannot mean that we are to partake of the literal body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to 1 Corinthians 11:23, it is intended that communion, or the Lord's Supper, be a remembrance (memorial) that represents the blood and body of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholics like to use John 6:53-58 to formulate their wicked doctrine of the Lord's Supper. John 6:53-58 is NOT a Lord's Supper passage. We say again that the passage in John 6 is NOT a passage dealing with the Lord's Supper, but we will deal with it again in the discussion on unscriptural teachings concerning the Lord's Supper. See "False Views Of The Lord's Supper" below.
What can we gather from a further examination of the Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Matthew 26:26-27, Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:17-20? It is the Lord's Supper. Therefore, it is the Lord through the Scriptures that dictates who is allowed to participate, the elements that are required, and the steps that are to be followed in its observance. Now let us examine the whole passage on the Lord's Supper. It is obvious from the first mention of communion in 1 Corinthians 10 that Paul is dealing with a spirit of rebellion and sin within the church at Corinth. This spirit of rebellion was marked by lust, idolatry, heresy and division within that church. Read 1 Corinthians chapters 10 and 11 and you will see what we are talking about.
According to 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 the Lord's Supper is an act of Communion.

From these two verses, we see that the communion was composed of two elements: the cup and the bread. We will discuss those elements in more detail below. Communion is the worship service whereby we come together in unity with the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost to commemorate, remember, and offer up thanksgiving and praise for what the Lord Jesus Christ done for us when he sacrificed His blood and body on the cross of Calvary. The time before partaking of the cup and the bread should be a time of the greatest reverence toward God and tearful examination of our hearts as to whether we are right with God and our fellow believer's. Communion is really a time of sweet spiritual fellowship with the Lord and other believers. The major passage governing the Lord's Supper is contained in 1 Corinthians 11 verses 17-34. These verses say:

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (KJV)
17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

In this passage we see the scriptural rules for the observance of the Lord's Supper. This passage taken together with 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 shows that the Lord's Supper is:

1. An act of communion: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. Paul refers to the cup of blessing being in the communion of the blood and body of Christ.

2. An act of obedience: 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23-25. The practice of the Lord's Supper is a commandment. 1 Corinthians 11:2 says: Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. Also, the phrase "this do" occurs once each in verses 24 and 25.

3. An act of remembrance: 1 Corinthians 11:24-25. Twice in verses 24 and 25 we see that the Lord's Supper is to be done in remembrance of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. It is in no way a re-sacrifice or a continual sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ!! A re-sacrifice or a continual sacrifice of Christ is blasphemy!

4. An act praise and thanksgiving: 1 Corinthians 11:24. In every passage where the Lord's Supper is described, thanks is offered up to God for the blood and body of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we commemorate the Lord's sacrifice for us we should remember that Hebrews 13:15 says: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name". The book of Revelation also says:

Revelation 5:6-14
6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Notice the praise that is offered for the blood of the Lamb. Notice also from Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26 that a hymn was sung following the completion of the Lord's Supper.

5. An act of testimony: 1 Corinthians 11:26. The Lord's Supper is a picture ("Ye do shew") of the breaking of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood. In the phrase "Ye do shew the Lord's death till he come", we see that the Lord's Supper is both prophetic and continual. This phrase tells us that He is coming back and that we are to continue to observe the Lord's Supper until His return.

6. An act of self examination: 1 Corinthians 11:27-31. If you partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily, you are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to these scriptures, if you partake unworthily, you are under the judgement and condemnation of God. If you are unsaved, you are unworthy. If you have any unconfessed sin in your life, you are unworthy. If you have ought against your brother or sister in Christ, you are unworthy. Or, if you know that your brother or sister has ought against you and you have not went to them to try to make it right, you are unworthy. Matthew 5:23-24 says: "23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift". Further, Matthew 18:15 says: "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother". Notice in both of these scriptures that it says if your brother has ought against you and not if you have ought against your brother. One of the keys to observing the Lord's Supper is unity (no divisions). If you have ought in your heart against a brother or sister in Christ you cannot be in unity with the body. Get it right!

7. An act of examination for the whole body as a church: 1 Corinthians 11:18-22. It was not just the individuals within this church that were under rebuke and condemnation. The church as a whole was rebuked because there were divisions, heresies, drunkeness, a general disrespect for the house of God, and shame being brought upon the poorer members. In other words, they lacked unity, they practiced false doctrine, they used alcoholic wine in the service of the Lord's table, and they shamed the house of God by their selfish attitude toward the poor. It is evident that the Communion within the church at Corinth had become an ocassion for a drunken feast. Any church that will allow such to go on places itself and its members under the condemnation and judgement of God (1 Corinthians 27-31). It is the church's responsibility to teach its members what is expected of those who partake of the Lord's table. The church should set aside a time before the Lord's Supper for each member to examine themselves. An opportunity should be given for the members to get right with the Lord and with their fellow members. There should also be a time of testimony, confession, and prayer before partaking of the Lord's table. In as much as is possible, churches must guard this ordinance to ensure that no one partakes unworthily. The time of the Lord's Supper is not the time to deal with church discipline issues. These issues should be dealt with before the Lord's Supper is held.

The Lord's Supper is a church ordinance and not an individual ordinance. There are four different viewpoints as to who may participate of the Lord's Supper. These viewpoints are referred to as closed communion, close communion, open communion, and clinical communion. By closed communion we mean that only members of that particular congregation can partake of the Lord's Supper. By close communion we mean that anyone who is a member of a church of like faith and order regardless of what congregation they belong to can partake of the Lord's Supper. By like faith an order, we mean Independent Baptists who hold to the same doctrine that we do. By open communion, we mean that anyone who says that they are saved regardless of what denomination they belong to can partake of the Lord's Supper. Open communion is sometimes referred to as cheap communion. By clinical communion, we mean that it is privately administered to the sick and the shut-ins. At Hilltop Baptist Church, we are opposed to open communion because it would require us to be in fellowship with every denomination and cult that holds doctrines and heresies contrary to the 1611 King James Bible. At Hilltop Baptist Church we hold to the close communion viewpoint on the Lord's Supper. However, we have absolutely no problem with any church that holds to a position of closed comminion.
We believe that the Lord' Supper is restricted to saved and baptized church members. Every description and instruction involving the Lord's Supper that is given in the Scriptures is given in the context of an organized assembly, in other words a church. We believe that the church was started by the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles and empowered by the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. We also believe that the Lord's Supper is restricted to churches that are in unity (1 Corinthians 11:18), restricted to those individuals in fellowship with God, and restricted as to its elements. We will talk about the elements of the Lord's Supper next.
The elements of the Lord's Supper are unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. The Webster's 1913 dictionary defines leaven as: "Any substance that produces, or is designed to produce, fermentation, as in dough or liquids". Fermentation turns liquids into alcohol. The liquid used in the Lord's Supper is NEVER referred to as wine in the King James Bible. The liquid is always referred either as "the cup" or "the fruit of the vine". In the three accounts of the Lord's Supper in the Gospels, the liquid of the Lord's Supper is always referred to as "the fruit of the vine". Depending on the context, the word "wine" in the Bible can refer to either fermented or unfermented wine. The words "the cup" are used six times in relation to the liquid of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:27, Mark 14:23, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 10:21, and 1 Corinthians 11:25). According to Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:7, the feast of the unleavened bread was underway when the apostles partook of the Lord's Supper. During the feast of the unleavened bread, NO products containing leaven were allowed in anything the Jews consumed. This would include fermented liquids. Nor was any leaven allowed in their homes during the feast of unleavened bread. Therefore, none of the elements included in the Lord's Supper would have contained leaven. That rules out fermented wine since leaven is used in the fermentation process: that means no alcoholic wine. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Christ would not have instituted fermented wine as a part of the Lord's Supper because there are over 160 verses in the Bible that speak against the use of alcoholic beverages. According to Mark 15:23, the Lord refused wine mingled with myrrh just before his crucifixion. The words leaven, leavened, and leaveneth are used 37 times in 29 Bible verses. Leaven is almost always used in a bad sense in the Bible. The word unleavened is used 61 times in 50 verses. In the Bible, the word unleavened is always associated with holiness (in offerings), righteousness (of the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation, and Christian conduct), and perfection (the Lord Jesus Christ). In the Bible, a symbol for evil and contamination is leaven. Leaven is a type of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6-7), a type of false doctrine (Matthew 16:6,11-12; Mark 8:15), a type of false religion (Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21), and a type of state controlled religion (Mark 8:15). For the Lord Jesus Christ to have partaken of fermented, or alcoholic, wine would have been sin. Christ was NOT a sinner. Much of the argument for including alcoholic wine in the Lord's Supper appeals to church history and tradition. Much is made of the argument that the only reason that many churches stopped using alcoholic wine was because it was a response to the alcohol prohibition and temperance movements. All those arguments turn on history and tradition. It does not matter if the greatest Baptist preachers who ever lived used alcoholic wine in the Lord's Supper. When history and man made tradition are called upon to make void the word of God, then we must rise up in protest and ask: "What does the Bible say"? In our ungodly culture and mindset, we are so given over to alcoholic beverages that we automatically assume alcohol when we hear the word "wine". In the Middle East, particularly in Jewish culture, the unfermented juice of the fruit of the vine was referred to as wine. While some of the juice was turned into fermented alcoholic wine, most of it was preserved unfermented by processes such as boiling, fumigation, subsidence (settling), filtration, and etc. The key to determining which is meant in Scripture is context, context, context. Part of context includes its intended use and the intended user. Any Scripture taken out of context is a pretext for false doctrine. Such is the case for the use of alcoholic wine in the Lord's Supper. It is false doctrine. For an excellent Scriptural presentation on the Scriptural meaning of wine see William Patton's book "Bible Wines".
Both the cup and the bread must be partaken of as a part of the Lord's Supper. They cannot be separated. Such is the case for Roman Catholics in canons 1388 and 1390 of the 1994 Catechism which require the bread alone in the Latin, or Western rite. There is no instance in Scripture where the Lord's Supper was described or remembered where both elements were not partaken of. Any devilish religious rite or satanic religious ceremony that does not include both elements for members of the church cannot be called scriptural communion. It would be more approprietly referred as partaking of the cup of devils. 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 states:

1 Corinthians 10:20-21
20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

FALSE VIEWS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

From the rebuke of Paul in 1 Corinthians chapters 10 and 11 we can see that the church had turned the Lord's Supper into a full fledged feast where everyone but the poor people gorged themselves. The Lord's Supper is not to be a fellowship meal where the lusts of the flesh are celebrated. It is to be a solemn ocassion where the sacrifice of Christ is to be remembered and memorialized. There are many doctrines that are unscriptural teachings concerning the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is NOT a sacrament, transubstantiation, the mass, the eucharist, consubstantiation, the Christian Passover.

SACRAMENT

The term sacrament is used by the Roman Catholic Church and those Protestants who came out of the Roman Catholic Church to refer to the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. This is the common view held by most reformed churches. According to most of their definitions, a sacrament is an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. They also refer to the sacraments as channels through which to receive grace. This makes the sacraments a part of salvation (works). Some of the Protestants have two sacraments while others hold to seven sacraments [Episcopalians (American Anglicans) and Anglicans (Church of England) hold to seven]. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches hold to seven sacraments. The Orthodox churches are not rightly referred to as Protestant because they did not come out of the Roman Church during the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church split into two groups in 1054. The Western group became the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern group became the Eastern, or Greek, Orthodox Church. Baptists are NOT Protestants because they never were a part of Roman Catholicism. The word sacrament is from the Latin word "sacramentum" which is used to describe a mystery, or initiation rite, into any pagan religion. William R. Newell in his book on Revelation had this to say about the term sacrament:

"Furthermore, the Reformed creeds did not get free from Rome as regards what they still called “sacraments,”—a Babylonish term. For sacramentum was the Latin word for a mystery of the pagan religion. “The grand distinguishing feature of the ancient Babylonian system was the Chaldean mysteries, that formed so essential a part of that system” (Hislop, p. 4). “Even in the prayer-book of the Church of England, the Lord’s Supper is called ‘these holy mysteries’! But such a term for it is unknown in the New Testament, and was subsequently introduced merely because the initiates (of Babylonish idolatry) fixed upon the Memorial Supper as the one thing in Christianity which they could most easily metamorphose into a Mystery, or Sacrament. Then, associating Baptism with the bath which preceded (pagan) initiation, they called it, also, a Mystery, or Sacrament,—though they often dropped all disguise, and spoke of it plainly as initiation.”

The Satanic idea of alcoholic wine for the Lord's Supper came from the Babylonian, or Chaldean, mysteries. Sacraments were used by the pagans for initiation into the Babylonian mysteries. Pagan baptism was the very first initiation rite into the Babylonian mysteries! As part of these ceremonies, they also partook of the cup of alcoholic wines. The "sacraments" of "holy orders" and "extreme unction" also came out of the Babylonian mysteries. Revelation 17:5 describes the church of Satan as "MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH". Thus, this religious harlot and her daughters would be marked by participation in the mysteries, or sacraments, that came out of the Babylonian Mysteries. The whole idea of sacraments is a pagan concept that came to the Roman Catholic Church from Satan out of the Babylonian Mysteries. The whole system of sacraments came to the Roman harlot via Pergamos from Babylon. Revelation 2:13 refers to the city of Pergamos as Satan's seat. To follow the trail of the Babylonian mysteries into the Roman Catholic Church read Alexander Hislop's book "The Two Babylons".
Most Protestant churches today hold to doctrines of the Lord's Supper brought to them out of the Reformation. We refer to it as sacramental theology. The reformers did not make a total break with the false doctrines of the Roman Catholic harlot. The problem with the reformers was that they brought two of the seven Roman Catholic "sacraments" out of the Roman Church with them. These "sacraments" were baptism and the Lord's Supper. Though the views of the reformers on the Lord's Supper were different from those of the Roman harlot, the reformers and their followers today still hold to doctrines of the Lord's Supper that are heresy. Theirs is a modified version of the same Roman Catholic heresy. The reformers John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Ulrich Zwingli held the heretics' view on the Lord's Supper. These three heretics and their henchmen also persecuted, tortured, maimed, and murdered Baptists because of their scriptural stand on baptism and the Lord's Supper. Everywhere these three heretics and their henchmen went they pushed the leaven of the state controlled church. The state controlled church was then used to persecute Baptists and to push their false sacramental gospel. That is why most of the reformers and the Roman harlot are drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. What do we think about "the sacraments"? No thanks to a sacrament in our church. We want to memoralize in the Lord's Supper what the sinless Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, has done for us when he sacrificed his body and shed his blood. We do not want that memorial leavened with the sin of alcoholic wine or the Babylonian mysteries. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world!

TRANSUBSTANTIATION

The Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation is also a damnable heresy. Transubstantiation is but a part of the unscriptural doctrine of the Roman Catholic Mass. The mass is sometimes referred to as the eucharist. The doctrine of the mass is so complicated that it is composed of 98 separate canons in the 1994 Roman Catholic Catechism that cover 22 pages that are 8-1/2"X11". These canons are numbered 1322 through 1419. So much for the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). These canons instruct that the mass: has the power of reconcilliation (1385); cleanses us (1393); preserves us from future sins (1395); commits us to the poor (1397); is a re-sacrifice of Christ (1410); become the body and blood of the Lord (1411); is a "transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity"(1376 and 1413); are for the living and the DEAD (1414); forgives sins (1416); and that the wafer of the mass is to be worshipped (1418). The mass is but a part of an unholy religious package that counts the blood of Christ an unholy thing thereby trodding under foot the precious Son of God. Transubstantiation is the hocus pocus sham whereby the Roman Catholic Church claims that its Babylonian priesthood changes the elements of the Lord's Supper into the actual body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Alexander Hislop had this to say about transubstantiation:

"The greatest miracle which Rome pretends to work, is when, by the repetition of five magic words, she professes to bring down the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, to make Him really and corporeally present in the sacrament of the altar. The Chaldean priests pretended, by their magic spells, in like manner, to bring down their divinities into their statues, so that their "real presence" should be visibly manifested in them. This they called "the making of gods"; and from this no doubt comes the blasphemous saying of the Popish priests, that they have power "to create their Creator." There is no evidence, so far as I have been able to find, that, in the Babylonian system, the thin round cake of wafer, the "unbloody sacrifice of the mass," was ever regarded in any other light than as a symbol, that ever it was held to be changed into the god whom it represented. But yet the doctrine of transubstantiation is clearly of the very essence of Magic, which pretended, on the pronunciation of a few potent words, to change one substance into another, or by a dexterous juggle, wholly to remove one substance, and to substitute another in its place". (Hislop, The Two Babylons, page 259)

Puff goes the magic dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan! Transubstantiation did not become official Roman Catholic dogma until it was decreed by Pope Innocent III following the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. The mass of the Roman Catholic Church is stated by the Roman Catholics to be an unbloody re-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Vatican II Council stated that the mass is a "sacrifice in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated". The Roman Catholic Catechism of 1975 states:

"The sacrifice on the altar is no mere commemoration of Calvary, but a true and proper act of sacrifice, whereby Christ the high priest, by an unbloody immolation offers himself a most acceptable victim to the eternal father, as he did on the cross."

The true source of this doctrine of an unbloody sacrifice is identified by Hislop:

From Tacitus we learn that no blood was allowed to be offered on the altars of Paphian Venus. Victims were used for the purposes of the Haruspex, that presages of the issues of events might be drawn from the inspection of the entrails of these victims; but the altars of the Paphian goddess were required to be kept pure from blood (Hyslop, The Two Babylons, pages 156-157).

"The sacrifice which the papal priesthood are empowered to offer, as a "true propitiatory sacrifice" for the sins of the living and the dead, is just the "unbloody sacrifice" of the mass, which was offered up in Babylon long before it was ever heard of in Rome" (Hyslop, The Two Babylons, page 219).

Necromancy was also associated with the unbloody sacrafice of the pagans. That is the major reason Roman Catholics appeal to dead "saints" and venerate (worship) the fake, or maybe even real, dead body parts of the "saints". Note the inspection of the entrails in the quote just above. The Bible describes this doctrine of appealing unto dead saints as "seeking unto familiar spirits". The word necromancy has as one of its roots "necro" which always refers to dead bodies. Necromancy is the use of magic or sorcery to conjure up the spirits of te dead. The refusal to accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of the mass resulted in the death of millions of Bible believing Christians (Baptists). The Roman Catholic and Protestant solution to disagreeing with their doctrine was persecution, banishment, torture, and murder. I do not recall seeing that as a God ordained church disciplinary procedure in the New Testament?! The Roman Catholics and Protestants were more than willing for you to die for THEIR RELIGION and for your CHRISTIANITY. Persecution of Bible believing Baptists was also the order of the day almost from the establishment of the American colonies. Then it continued to be a battle into about the mid 1800s in the United States. This occured for decades in spite of the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution (See John T. Christians' work "The History of the Baptists, Volume 2").

CAN WE PARTAKE OF THE LITERAL
BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST?

Now, we will deal with the Roman Catholic heresy that states that we must partake of the literal body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lord's Supper. The following Scripture is used by the Roman Catholics to support their cannibalistic doctrine of the Lord's Supper:

John 6:53-63
53Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

We say again that this passage in John 6 is NOT a passage dealing with the Lord's Supper. This passage closes out Christ's response to a question from the Jews in John 6:28-31. In John 6:63, the Lord Jesus Christ plainly states that he was not talking about literally eating his body and blood when he stated "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit". In other words, Christ is saying that though the words I speak are not literally true they are spiritually true. We know from verse 60 that the Jews thought that the words of Christ were incredible. We also know from verse 61 that the words of Christ offended them. In the passages dealing withe the Lord's Supper and the passage in John 6, could they have eaten of his flesh and drunk of his blood were he alive before them!? It is incredible that anyone would take these passages of Scripture and use them to teach that we are to partake of the literal body and blood of the Lord Jesus Chist. It is obvious from the context of these scriptures that strictly figuaritive language is being used. We are not literally partaking of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe there was another reason the words of Christ both confounded and offended the Jews. If Lord Jesus Christ was requiring the apostles to partake of the literal body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, then what do we do with the clear commandments of God not to partake of any blood. This commandment is contained in at least the following verses: Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 7:26-27, Leviticus 17:10-14, Leviticus 19:26, Deuteronomy 12:16, Deuteronomy 12:23, Deuteronomy 15:23, Acts 15:20, Acts 15:29 . If the words of Christ to drink the blood were to be taken literal, then would Christ be commanding them to break a clear commandment of God? Absolutely NOT! Those present knew that he was not telling them that they had to literally eat his flesh and drink his blood. That would make the Lord Jesus Christ a sinner. Scripture refers to the Lord's Supper as a remembrance and not a literal re-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is obvious from the context of all these Scriptures that Christ was speaking figuratively, or symbolically, since He was literally present with those He was speaking to. In 1 Corinthians 10 and 11, it is obvious that Paul was restating what had already figuratively said by the Lord Jesus Christ and establishing it as a one of the two church ordinances.
We reject the Roman Catholic heresy of the mass for the following reasons:

1. The Roman Catholic mass is an unfruitful work of darkness. It has been proven to be a part of the Babylonian mysteries (Revelation 17:5, Revelation 18:1-7).
2. The Roman Catholic mass is an act of blasphemy that in no way resembles the Scriptural presentation of the Lord's Supper.
3. The blasphemous unbloody sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Satanic altars of Roman Catholicism cannot atone for sin. Any sacrifice that does not include the blood of Christ is a useless exercise in futility. It is a religious farce. Without the shedding of the blood (of Christ) there is no remission for sin (Hebrews 9:22).
4. The Lord Jesus Christ was once offered as our perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:28, Hebrews 10:10, and 1 Peter 3:18). A perpetual re-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the pagan altars of Rome is blasphemy.
5. To set up a dead wafer as an object of worship is idolatry (Exodus 20:3 and Exodus 34:14)
6. To give a dead wafer the power to cleanse us from sins, to prevent future sins, and to forgive sins is placing an image in the place of God and giving it the attributes of God.
7. Offering prayers to and for the dead and masses for the dead is an occult practice prohibited by the Bible. The Bible prohibits: communicating with familiar spirits, magic, sorcery, wizardry, witchcraft, and necromancy (Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6; Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-11; 1 Samuel 28:3,7-9; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Kings 23:24; 1 Chronicles 10:13; 2 Chronicles 33:6; and Isaiah 8:19). Note particularly the warning of Isaiah 8:19: "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?". The living are not to seek unto the dead.

CONSUBSTANTIATION

Consubstantiation is the doctrine of the Lord's Supper that was put forth by Martin Luther. Martin Luther was one of the reformers that came out of the Roman Catholic Church. He was actually a Roman Catholic priest. As such, he probably would have conducted thousands of Roman Catholic masses. Martin Luther was the founder of the Lutheran Church. Unlike the doctrine of transubstantiation that sees the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ literally present in the elements of the Lord's Supper, consubstantiation sees the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as being spiritually present in the elements of the Lord's Supper. It is a very mystical view of the Lord's Supper. Both consubstantiation and transubstantiation are heresies. Created objects such as the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper cannot have bodies, spirits or souls in them. That is an idea that borders on pantheism which sees God in every object. In the case of the Roman Catholics, the bread becomes an object of worship. Like Roman Catholics, most who hold to the doctrine of consubstantiation refer to the elements of the Lord's Supper as the host. Both see them as being a host for either the physical or the spiritual presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither doctrine is Scriptural. Denominational groups that hold to consubstantiation include Lutherans, Anglicans, some Eastern Orthodox Churches, and many Episcopal Churches. Many of the Episcopal Churches also blasphemously teach that the Lord's Supper is a re-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Episcopal Church also refers to the Lord's Supper as either the eucharist or the mass. Not all of the churches within these denominational groups hold to the same position on this doctrine.

CHRISTIAN PASSOVER

The Jewish Passover was a symbol of the Old Covenant and as such should not be celebrated by Christians. The Lord's Supper was strictly a remembrance and commemoration of the Passover that Christ had accomplished for us on the cross. The Lord's Supper is but a symbol of remembrance for the NEW COVENANT. When Christ went to the cross, the Passover as a symbol of the OLD COVENANT was abolished. The Passover was strictly a commandment given to the Jewish people in Exodus chapters 12 and 13. The Jewish Passover must be observed on a specific date each year as determined by the Jewish calendar. The Lord Jesus Christ did NOT institute a Christian Passover when he observed the Lord's Supper with the apostles. The Lord's Supper was distinct from the Passover. The commandment in 1 Corinthians 11:25 says: "After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me". There was no set time for the observance of the Lord's Supper as there was for the Passover. The Jewish Passover was required once a year. The Lord's Supper was to be observed as oft as ye drink it. The Lord Jesus Christ done away with the Passover when he became THE PASSOVER for both the Jew and the Gentile. 1 Corinthians 5:7 says: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us". The Jewish Passover was an ordinance. According to Colossians 2:13-17 Christ nailed the handwriting of the ordinances to His cross and said that no man was to judge us in respect to the observance of holydays and Sabbath days. These verses say:

Colossians 2:13-17
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The holydays and Sabbath days including the Passover were but types and shadows of Him that was to come. Christ became all the holydays and Sabbath days that were ordained of God in the Old Covenant, or the Old Testament. They are no longer required.

The Christian Passover is the Covenant View. Under the Covenant View of the Bible, Israel = the Church, Circumcision = Baptism, and Passover = the Lord's Supper. Some of those who observe a Christian Passover are the United Churches Of God, Seventh Day Churches Of God, other Churches Of God, Jews For Jesus, Messianic Jews, and the Jehovah Witnesses.

THE MORMON HERESY

The Mormons say: "Today the sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice". The only problem with the water is that water is not a Scriptural symbol of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The cup is referred to as the fruit of the vine which is unfermented grape juice. Joseph Smith, the father of Mormonism, received his doctrine of the Lord's Supper from his father the Devil (like father, like son). Joseph Smith was also a necromancer.

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