PAPAL DISTORTION OF HEBREWS 9:12 In Hebrews 9:12, we have another verse which speaks of Christ’s once-for-all work of redemption for us. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood he entered in once into he holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” How does the Roman Catholic church interpret a verse like Hebrews 9:12 that clearly teaches Christ’s once-for-all work of redemption? For the answer, we turn to the book, “Crossing the Threshold of Hope,” written by Pope John Paul II (New York: Knopf, 1995), p. 139. He wrote: “The Church is the instrument of man’s salvation. It both contains and continually draws upon the mystery of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice. Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ “constantly enters into God’s sanctuary thus obtaining eternal redemption.” As we can clearly see, the former pope has altered Hebrew 9:12 and hence completely changed its meaning. Let’s evaluate his change this verse of scripture. First of all, the pope replaces “He entered in once” with “constantly” so it will read, “constantly enters into God’s sanctuary.” The Greek word for entered εἰσῆλθεν is in the aorist tense, indicating a one-time past event, yet the pope renders it in the present tense “enters.” Likewise, he changed “having obtained eternal redemption” (past tense) so it read “thus obtaining eternal redemption” (present tense). Though the wording of Hebrews 9:12 is changed from what is recorded in scripture, the pope puts it in quotation marks, implying that the source of his words is in fact Hebrews 9:12. The pope’s subtle alterations completely changes the meaning of the Biblical text. The way the pope renders the verse makes it come out sounding like it supports the Mass. This is disingenuous to say the least. In reality, the pope has changed what scripture says. Not even an apostle or prophet of God would ever dare to change what God has said; however, the pope has deliberately done just that. However, the pope’s attempt to change the meaning of Hebrews 9:12 to garner support for the Mass is futile. Apparently, he did not understand the theme of the entire Epistle of Hebrews, which is a “once for all” work of redemption by Christ, and is diametrically opposed to what he was trying to accomplish by changing one verse. Unfortunately, this is what can happen when one exalts Catholic doctrine and tradition and is willing to change scripture to conform to their false teachings.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 04:14:40 +0000