THE CATHOLIC “TIME MACHINE”

Many people are intrigued by the idea of time travel.  If there could only be a machine that would be able to bring us back into the past and hear, personally, Abraham Lincoln’s delivery of the Gettysburg Address, or to experience how things were in the days of Christopher Columbus, or to go back to the time of Moses when the Red Sea was parted!  Or it could bring us into the future to marvel at the technological advances of mankind.  This idea, of course, has been used in a number of science fiction movies and television shows.  

Here Comes the Past

While time travel is not a reality, it seems that the Catholic Church claims to enjoy some sort of time travel concept.  “How absurd,” you may respond, “to say that Catholics believe any such thing!”  But consider the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist.  According to the Catholic Catechism (CCC #1104, #1375, #1413, #1566), the past is not just brought to mind, but actually “made present” when the communion bread and wine are consecrated by the priest.  That is, during the mass, the event of Jesus Christ giving His flesh and blood on the cross is “mysteriously” made present… today… now.  According to the Catholic Church, Calvary (that event which happened 2000 years ago) is actually somehow transported across time, to this present moment for the one who partakes of Catholic communion.  This is a foundational claim of the Catholic Church.  

“Anamnesis” 

Catholics believe this mainly because they think that Jesus was speaking literally when He said, “This is My body… this is My blood” (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20) when breaking bread and pouring out wine at the Last Supper.  He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).  The Greek word Jesus used here for “remembrance” is “anamnesis,” and Catholics claim that anamnesis actually means “to make present,” to “re-present,” or “memorial sacrifice.”  

  

The Catholic Church uses much flowery and philosophical language to describe this “time travel” event.  Now, participating in communion is indeed a biblical concept, but rather than using a biblical explanation of what’s happening, they have to resort to the fancy, high-sounding philosophy of Aristotle (e.g., “substance” and “accidents”) to explain why there is a supposed change in the bread and wine. 

  

But the truth is, this is not what the Greek word “anamnesis” really means.  The “Online Etymology Dictionary” defines anamnesis this way:

“Recollection, remembrance, reminiscence,” 1650s, from Greek anamnesis “a calling to mind, remembrance,” noun of action from stem of anamimneskein “remember, remind (someone) of (something), make mention of,” from ana “back” (see ana-) + mimneskesthai “to recall, cause to remember,” related to mnemnon “mindful,” mneme “memory;” from PIE root “men-“ (1) “to think.” In Platonic philosophy, “recollection of a prior life.”

This source says absolutely nothing about “re-presenting” or “making present,” or that it is any kind of “sacrifice.”  Other reliable sources tell us the same thing as the previous source:

Strong’s Concordance:

“A recalling, remembrance, memory.”  

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:

“A remembering, recollection; to call Me (affectionately) to remembrance (Luke 22:19).”

NAS Exhaustive Concordance:

“Remembrance, reminder.”

As for as we can tell, it is only Catholic, Orthodox, or quasi-Catholic groups that claim that anamnesis means “to make present.”  

Catholic Sources

There are two Bible verses where Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of Me,” and they are Luke 22:19 and 1 Corinthians 11:25.  But even many Catholic Bible versions like the New American Bible, the Douay Rheims Bible, the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, and the New Jerusalem Bible, all translate the word anamnesis in these two verses as either “remembrance,” “memorial,” “memory,” or “commemoration.”  None of these translate the term as “memorial sacrifice” or “Calvary made present,” or “re-presenting Christ.”

No doubt, they certainly would have been happy to translate it that way if they could have, but, in this particular case, these Catholic Bible versions proved to be true to the original Greek.

“One and the Same?”

According to the Catholic Church, the priest’s offering of the Eucharist supposedly “transcends time” (CCC #1085).  It is not another offering of Jesus Christ to God, but is “one and the same” offering as Calvary (CCC #1367).  Therefore, it is bringing the past into the “now.”   Again, this is the stuff of which time machine stories are made.   This is an incredibly bold claim… and it is also ridiculous and unscriptural.  It is true that the effects of Jesus’ work on the cross are eternal, perhaps displayed permanently in a Heavenly scene to remind us forever (Revelation 5:6), but nowhere in the Bible is there an event that is literally brought forward on earth from the past.  

The event of Calvary is no more actually “made present” today in communion than the death angel was once again “made present” every time the Jews celebrated the past event of Passover (Exodus 12:21-25).  But it IS something “made present” mentally, something remembered.  Once again, “Do this in remembrance of Me” speaks of using one’s mental faculties, not some supernatural time travel experience whereby a past event is literally made present. 

  

Catholics may object and say that they never claimed that the event of Calvary is literally made present in the Eucharist.  They seem to go out of their way to avoid using that specific term concerning Calvary’s “presence,” but at the same time, they will insist that the bread and wine turn into His literal body and blood.  Furthermore, CCC #1104 says that this ritual supposedly does not just recall Calvary, but ACTUALIZES this event.  So, there seem to be some mixed signals here. 

More Than You Bargained For!

Furthermore, when describing the mass, they say things like, “the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” in the Eucharist.  In that moment, Christ is present in the “fullest sense,” and He is “wholly and entirely present” (CCC #1374). 

And of course, this is all a great mystery where He is somehow “sacramentally” made present (however that’s supposed to work).  Once again, the Catholic Church is engaging in word games.  

But no, being exposed to the “whole Christ” in the “fullest sense” would be describing our state in HEAVEN.  That level of exposure to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, could only happen when we are in our glorified bodies and then able to endure His absolute fullness and glory!  Otherwise, like the apostle John, we could not even stand before Him:

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me…  

  

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead…  (Revelation 1:12, 17)

This is what happens when a mere human sees “the whole Christ” in the “fullest sense.”  Even John, probably His closest friend, fell as a dead man in Jesus’ “fullest” presence.  John was utterly stunned and unable to even look at Jesus.  He was overwhelmed by the majesty of the Son of God.  If the Eucharist was all that Catholics say it is, no man would be able to stand before it. 

 

A Dose of Reality

The Catholic concept of Calvary “made present” is a false teaching to make Catholics believe that they have more to offer than other churches do.  But their “fullness of truth” is a lie.  Their priesthood is false, and they cannot do what they claim to do in the mass.  Their priests are not able to “bring Christ down” from His throne in Heaven, to be “offered up again,” where He must “bow His head in humble obedience to the priest’s command,” as one very popular Catholic book describes.  This is utter blasphemy.  And that source is quoted in this article:

https://www.jashow.org/articles/guests-and-authors/greg-durel/the-mass-miracle-or-mendacity/

According to the Catholic Catechism (CCC #1566), when celebrating the Eucharist, it is “From this unique sacrifice [that] their whole priestly ministry draws its strength.”  Well, since the foundation of “this unique sacrifice” is based on time travel and other unbiblical concepts, it is therefore false and crumbles beneath the weight of its own outrageous claims.  

But why is this ritual the ultimate experience for Catholics?  Why do they think that physically eating and drinking “Jesus” is the greatest form of worship?  Why the focus on the bread and wine, rather than on His actual work and suffering on the cross?  There’s something fishy about this.  Jesus said that He wanted believers to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), not by physically eating Him. 

It’s Not About Time Travel

Jesus said nothing whatsoever about communion being anything more than a holy memorial.  Sure, this is indeed a solemn and wonderful event, during which emotions may be high, and where a deeper appreciation for Calvary and a deeper love for God may be present, along with sorrow for one’s sins.

But getting the benefits of Calvary is not time travel.  It does not require God to actually transfer an event from the past to the present time.  God does not have to actually “make Calvary present” for us to have its benefits.  Its benefits are simply received by faith.  The only “mystery” involved is that He would still love us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8).  In communion, He is making Calvary real to the hearts of undeserving souls, and making us deeply aware of the magnitude of what happened at the cross.

Whose Offering?

Again, the Catholic version of the simple ritual of holy communion amounts to an actual claim of time travel.  This is very important.  Since it is not possible and not biblical to “time travel” and transport the past into the future, therefore, it is NOT POSSIBLE that the mass and Calvary are “one and the same,” or “one single sacrifice.”

Sometimes they are accused of sacrificing Jesus again, but the Catholic Church strongly insists that they are not, but rather, that they are re-presenting that one-time, once-for-all sacrifice of Calvary.  Well, that might sound good, but that’s not what’s happening.  Only Jesus, Himself, was able to make this offer (Calvary), and He will NOT do it again.  No one can offer Him as a sacrifice.  And no one can re-offer Him.  No one can present Him as a sacrifice and no one can re-present Him.  He cannot be “presented anew.” 

 

One last time: It is impossible for Him to be offered up again, since 1) Only HE, HIMSELF, could make the offer, not man; and 2) He said it would be ONCE FOR ALL (Hebrews 7:26-27; 9:12, 26-28; 10:10-12).  This “Eucharistic sacrifice” is not Jesus.  It is a REPLACEMENT of Him.  Catholics, please let that sink in.

Conclusion

The ritual of communion (partaking of the bread and wine) is to point to the gospel message and to emphasize what Jesus did on the cross, and not to point to the elements (bread and wine) themselves (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).  That would be missing the point.  If you want His “maximum presence” on earth, do what Jesus said to do:

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

That’s how he is present on earth after His ascension to Heaven.  He would be with us spiritually.

     

“But,” the Catholic may object, “don’t you think that God is certainly able to bring something back from the past?  He has all power.  He transcends time.  Why would you Protestants think that this is impossible with God?”

But this is not about God’s power or ability.  Yes, God transcends time, and yes, He could do this if He wanted to, but the question is not “CAN God do this?”  The question is, “What is God really saying here concerning communion?”  And Jesus gives us the answer all along, right there in the context:

“Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19)

That’s it, folks.  He simply wants us to ever be mindful of the incredible work that He did on the cross.  The event of Calvary is the apex of all human history.  He paid the penalty for OUR sins there.  And for those people who embrace this truth, and trust in this work alone, and are humble enough to surrender to His will, He gives eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

See also these articles on the Eucharist:

http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2009/10/eucharist-part-1.html

http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2009/11/eucharist-part-2.html

http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2016/01/access-denied.html

HERE’S AN OFFER(ING) YOU CAN’T RE-USE

This is sort of an unintended follow-up to last month’s article on the Catholic Eucharist, which can be found here:

http://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2016/01/access-denied.html

The Catholic Church makes much of the Eucharistic Mass by insisting that not only is the Eucharist an offering to God for the forgiveness of sins (CCC #1350, #1354, #1366, #1369), but when it is offered in the Mass, it is the very same sacrifice that Jesus offered on Calvary (CCC #1366, #1367).  But is it really a re-presenting of Calvary, as they claim?  Is the work of Jesus on the cross even something that mortal man is able to offer to God at all?  The answer to both of these questions is no.

Consider this analogy:

Let’s suppose you have committed a very serious crime and you are fined and you owe the court one million dollars.  And there is no way that you could possibly pay your fine in your lifetime.  But a rich and merciful stranger pays the debt in full.  Imagine your relief at the kindness of this stranger!  You are now free of your impossible debt!

But a little later, you decide that you want to go back to court and present, not the money, but the memory of the stranger’s payment, and you “offer” that memory to the court as payment.  And you insist that by doing this, you are actually “making that past event present,” in effect, paying the debt.  But the judge is not amused and says:

“But that paid-off debt is a past transaction that need never be brought up again.  And even if we could accept payment for a closed account, offering the mere memory of a past payment is absurd.  Furthermore, the million dollars that was offered in the past was never yours to offer.  Remember, you were unable to pay the debt.  It was the rich stranger’s offering, not yours.  To try and somehow now offer to the court, as payment, the mere memory of someone else’s past payment of your debt is a joke.”  The judge continues, “If you want to say thanks for my accepting your rich stranger’s offer, that’s fine.  But you can’t ‘offer’ anything for this closed account, much less the memory of it.  And furthermore, the memory of a past event does not magically “make it present.”  Again, attempting to offer the memory of an event as some kind of valid payment to the court is an insult to both the court and the rich stranger.”

And an insult it is.  Now, compare the spiritual application of the story above to what the Catholic Church claims for the Eucharist:

In much the same way, you have sinned against Almighty God and you have a debt of sin that you could never pay.  But a merciful and perfectly sinless Person (Jesus Christ) is willing to pay for your sins with His life, and He pays for it once and for all on the cross of Calvary (Hebrews 10:10-12, 14, 18).  It is a singular and very unique offering, “the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18; Romans 5:8).

But you (the Catholic or the priest) decide that you want to take the memory of His payment for sin and somehow “offer” it once again to the Father as a payment for your sin through the ritual of the Catholic Mass.  And the Father tells you, “But the payment for your sin is a past transaction and it cannot be ‘re-offered’ to Me (Hebrews 10:14).  It can never be your offering, since My Son is the One Who offered it (Hebrews 10:10, 12).  It is forever HIS offering, and no one else’s.  No priest, individual, or church can ever offer, present, or ‘RE-present’ it to Me.  It could only be offered by the Perfect God-man, and it was offered ONCE FOR ALL at Calvary (Hebrews 10:10-18).  Anyone else attempting to ‘offer’ what Jesus did is committing a vain and blasphemous mockery.”  The Father continues, “If you want to thank Me for accepting His perfect payment, that’s fine.  But no one can ever go back and re-offer what My Son did, lest it be a ridiculous pretense and an insult to both Me and My Son.”

So, once again, no one can “present Calvary” as an offering, no matter how well-intentioned the “offer” is.  The only way that MAN can offer Calvary is by sharing its truth with others, by spreading the gospel.  The Bible never suggests any other way for man to “offer” Jesus.  The work of offering a sacrifice for man’s sin has already been done perfectly by the one spotless Person, and as stated earlier, it was done by Him once for all (Hebrews 10:10-12, 14, 18).  Jesus said that it is finished (John 19:30), the penalty for sin is paid. 

 

The Catholic Church claims that Jesus is continually offering His sacrifice - through the priest - daily in the Eucharist.  But the Bible tells us that while every priest STANDS to present offerings (Hebrews 10:11), Jesus is now SEATED at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12) in Heaven, signifying that His work of redemption is finished!  He is not continually offering because He is finished offering.  There were no chairs in the Jewish temple or tabernacle, so no offering for sin was ever done sitting down.  The sin offering is finished, so there is no need whatsoever for Him to “RE-present” His offering to God.  By the way, using this term is just a word game that the Catholic Church plays to try to downplay the “once for all” aspect of His work, so they’ll say:  “No, we’re not offering Jesus again; we’re just ‘re-presenting’ His once-for-all offering.”   You can make up all the fancy terms you want, but “RE-presenting” is simply re-offering, no matter how you slice it.  And you can’t offer a sacrifice for sin that has already been offered, anyway.

If Jesus’ work on the cross ever needed to be offered again to God, for man’s sin, that would mean that it was ineffective the first time.  All “repeat” offerings or “RE-presented” offerings for sin are imperfect ones (Hebrews 10:1-2, 11).

  

Once again, Jesus’ work on the cross does not need to be re-offered or RE-presented.  It was perfect, final, and fully sufficient (Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14).  But it will not, it cannot, ever be offered to God again for sin.  Not even by Jesus Christ.  Unless the inspired author of Hebrews lied when he said:

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)

But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:18)

The offering of the Eucharist and the event of Calvary are NOT one and the same.  It is blasphemous to equate ANY human work, ritual, or accomplishments with Calvary.  Jesus’ offering of Himself on the cross is a priceless one-time offering – it cannot be “RE-offered,” “RE-presented,” or “RE-used” as an offering to God.  It is not ours to offer.