@Ghost-of-a-Duke

Yes, I did.

When I left the mainland of China thirty-three years ago, there were not more than four million Christians in China. Recently I read a newspaper article which says that now in China there are forty million believers.

President Roosevelt told him that because so many American taxpayers were Christians, Russia would have to open the churches once again before aid could be given. Roosevelt pointed out that his people could not help one who persecutes Christians. Stalin thought that since the churches had been closed for years, there probably were not many Christians left. Therefore, he promised Roosevelt to open the churches. To his great surprise, at Easter, 1944, crowds of Christians gathered into the church buildings for Easter worship.

A basic problem among Christians, especially among those in organized Christianity, is related to the religious worship of God. Even many unbelievers have the concept of worshipping God in a religious way.

The primary source of the divisions among Christians throughout the centuries has been ordinances. We may trace these ordinances all the way back to the time of Babel.

Although some Christians in Orange County condemn us as heretical, they themselves still practice the pagan festival of Christmas. To be sure, during the three and a half years of the great tribulation all Christians will abandon such things as Christmas, Easter, the worship of Mary, and all paganism.

As Antichrist and the ten horns are destroying the Vatican, do you think that people in the United States will still attend the Catholic Church? Certainly not! By that time many genuine Christians in Catholicism will turn to the way of the Lord's recovery.

After the rapture of the firstfruit, the local churches will be used by the Lord to help all the remaining Christians. This will be the second function of the recovery. During the great tribulation, Christians will have a proper place to which they can go. Christmas, Easter, and all the traditional things of Christianity will be discarded. There will be no more arguments, all the divisive names of the daughters of the great prostitute will be abandoned, and the Lord will absolutely vindicate His way of the church.

No one can deny that there is something real in the Roman Catholic Church. She holds a golden cup in her hand, and she is gilded with gold, precious stone, and pearls (v. 4), the same materials with which the New Jerusalem is built.

Ghost can produce ONE SINGLE SENTENCE which clearly quotes Witness Lee saying being in Judiasm, Catholicism, or Protestantism necessarily means you cannot be saved.

ONE SENTENCE.

Now saying that God is not building up the church in these things is not saying all those in these things are not saved, cannot be saved, never were saved, and destined to be lost forever.

The book of Revelations says followers of Satan will go to hell.

Witness Lee said that Protestants and Catholics were an organization of Satan.

Join the dots.

I further believe that the Lord's recovery will spread to the leading cities throughout the world. Already there are some churches in Europe and at least seventeen churches in Brazil. Moreover, there are churches in Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, and many throughout all the countries in the Far East, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines. The Lord's recovery is spreading. In many leading cities the local church stands as a testimony to both believers and unbelievers. We must sound our trumpet and testify of Christ and the Body. Eventually, all the Christians in the world will be influenced. Presently, some argue with us, fight against us, and oppose us. But the day is coming when every mouth will be shut, for all we have been ministering will be fulfilled.

@sonship

'Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as Judaism, all [have] become an organization of Satan.'

Now, you can try and wriggle around that as much as you want, but there is no getting away from it.

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke
You're a flaming hypocrit coming here with crocodile tears as if you are SO tolerant !, SO considerate of fair treatment of believers in the Christian public ... NOT!

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

Hold your horses there sonship.

"Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, All these will I give You if You will fall down and worship me." (Matt. 4:8,9)

To follow Satan is to worship Satan, and if Lee is correct about Protestants, Catholics and Jews being an organization of Satan (being led by him) then Revelations is quite clear that they are destined for hell.

And in the course of time Cain brought an offering to Jehovah from the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought an offering, from the firstlings of the flock, from their fat portions.

And Jehovah had regard for Abel and his offering. But for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. And Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. (Gen. 4:3-5)

Witness Lee here acknowledges his dept to Christian teachers of the past. This would be unusual to do it he thought all Christianity had nothing positive but was only produce things of Satan.

[My bolding]

Standing on the
Shoulders

of Many Great Teachers
to See the Complete Picture
of God's Eternal Purpose

We are not boasting that we have seen the picture of God's eternal purpose, for we are standing on others' shoulders to see this vision. We thank God for those who have gone before us. Many great teachers are our support. We are standing on the shoulders of John Nelson Darby, Darby stood on the shoulders of Count von Zinzendorf, and Zinzendorf stood on the shoulders of Martin Luther. We have gone higher, not by ourselves but by standing on the shoulders of all the foregoing great teachers. The divine book has never been as open and clear to the church as it is today. Even twenty years ago the Bible was not as clear to us as it is today. It took us more than forty years to properly place some of the pieces of the puzzle. It is because of the Lord's mercy and grace that today we are able to see and speak of God's eternal purpose, which is to work Himself into all His chosen people as their life, nature, and everything so that they may be fully saturated by and with God Himself. This purpose can be seen in Ephesians 3:17, which says, “That Christ may make His home in your hearts.” Christ making His home in our hearts is the experience of God working Himself into us to fulfill His eternal purpose.

@sonship said
Witness Lee here acknowledges his dept to Christian teachers of the past. This would be unusual to do it he thought all Christianity had nothing positive but was only produce things of Satan.

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

How do you balance that with:

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

How do you balance that with:

Before you pepper me with more of YOUR "How Comes?" and "Hows? and "Whys?" interspersed with time staling wisecracks,

YOU give an alternative interpretation to the parable of the meal being ENTIRELY LEAVENED by what was "hidden" in it.

Answer a question before you reach into your little bag of twenty more.

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

'The Lord is not building His church in Christendom, which is composed of the apostate Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. This...is being fulfilled through the Lord's recovery, in which the building of the genuine church is being accomplished...Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as Judaism, all [have] become an organization of Satan.'

@sonship said
@Ghost-of-a-Duke

Do that AND provide your alternative better take on the parable of the leavened meal.

You're going to do some work.

Witness Lee again gives credits to teachers of Christianity.

We owe so much to many teachers of the Bible who have gone before us, and today we are standing on their shoulders. I consider the footnotes that we have published in the Recovery Version as the aggregate of the proper understanding of the New Testament. We are really blessed to be living in these latter days. We have received the aggregate understanding of the Bible because we are standing on the shoulders of many who have gone before us. Today we understand the Bible better than Martin Luther and J. N. Darby because we have inherited the truth they saw, and by the Lord's mercy, we are standing on their shoulders and have gone on to see more. The Bible was spoken by God in the holy writings, translated by many scholars, and interpreted by the Body of Christ throughout the centuries. Today the proper understanding of the Bible has been collected in our writings in order for us to study, learn, and spread the divine truths.

@Ghost-of-a-Duke

Maybe I will seek wisdom from Lee on this....

The interpretation of the Bible has been built up by the entire Body of Christ through the past nineteen centuries. We inherit all the interpretation of the past centuries and stand on the shoulders of the foregoing teachers. We have to thank the Lord for this. Furthermore, we have to thank the Lord that He has shown us more in the last few decades, such as the practical church life; the all-inclusive, life-giving, compound Spirit, even the seven Spirits; God's economy; God's dispensing; and the ultimate consummation of the church, that is, the New Jerusalem, the mingling of the processed Triune God with the transformed tripartite man for God's eternal manifestation and expression.

@sonship said
Witness Lee again gives credits to teachers of Christianity.

We owe so much to many teachers of the Bible who have gone before us, and today we are standing on their shoulders. I consider the footnotes that we have published in the Recovery Version as the aggregate of the proper understanding of the New Testament. We are really blessed to be living in these latter ...[text shortened]... ead the divine truths.

https://www.ministrybooks.org/SearchMinBooksDsp.cfm?id=052AEADDEA

Witness Lee speaks of the Christian education he owes to teachers in the denominations and Christianity.

I was born in Christianity and raised up there. I even received my education in Christianity. In my seeking of the Lord, I passed through organized Christianity, fundamental Christianity, Brethren Christianity, and even Pentecostal Christianity. I also entered into the teachings of the inner-life Christians. In my entire life, I have never met a Christian who can compare with Brother Nee. I received the greatest and the highest help from him. He picked up good and helpful things from nearly every denomination, from every kind of Christian practice, and from all the seeking saints throughout the history of the church, and he passed them on to us. The first time I stayed with him, I realized that he was standing on the shoulders of many who had gone before him.