Saturday 3 October 2009

Prophecy, Ecumenicalism and Antichrist

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What do you believe about prophecy, dear Bishop Manchester, in respect to ecumenicalism, the unity of the churches and the coming of the antichrist in the last days. I would be very grateful for your comments and discerment, thank you and God bless you, Wayne.




Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John and was taught directly by a number of other apostles. Irenaeus, therefore, was one of the last to be taught all aspects of the faith by those who learned at the feet of the twelve apostles of Jesus. In his treatise, Against Heresies, Irenaeus wrote that the teaching of the apostles was that the exact name of the antichrist is a secret kept by God until the man of sin arrives on the earth. Also taught was the statement that the antichrist is not worthy to be heralded ahead of time, but only when we must know it. The conclusion is that God will reveal the name and person of the antichrist to the Church through corroborated prophecy, dreams, and visions, only when the antichrist is about to appear to the world for the last struggle in the battle between good and evil.
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We speak "ecumenical language" when we proclaim: "I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." "Catholic" has the same meaning as "ecumenical." The "ecumene" means "the entire inhabited world"; therefore "ecumenical" means "pertaining to the entire cultural world" or "concerning all of mankind."
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My understanding of Christian unity is unity in the Father’s love for all who believe in Jesus Christ for every denomination and group who profess and have faith in Him, hold fast to His teachings, and accept Christian doctrine as enshrined within Holy Scripure.
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I talk about such matters as prophecy, the antichrist and, indeed, ecumenicalism in The Grail Church, but I do not dwell on these matters and neither should you.
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