Verified answer

Peter's Keys and Papal Succession

Jer. 33:17 - Jeremiah prophesies that David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the earthly House of Israel. Either this is a false prophecy, or David has a successor of representatives throughout history.

Dan. 2:44 - Daniel prophesies an earthly kingdom that will never be destroyed. Either this is a false prophecy, or the earthly kingdom requires succession.

Isa. 22:20 - in the old Davidic kingdom, Eliakim succeeds Shebna as the chief steward of the household of God. The kingdom employs a mechanism of dynastic succession. King David was dead for centuries, but his kingdom is preserved through a succession of representatives.

Isa. 22:19 - Shebna is described as having an "office" and a "station." An office, in order for it to be an office, has successors. In order for an earthly kingdom to last, a succession of representatives is required. This was the case in the Old Covenant kingdom, and it is the case in the New Covenant kingdom which fulfills the Old Covenant. Jesus our King is in heaven, but He has appointed a chief steward over His household with a plan for a succession of representatives.

Isa. 22:21 - Eliakim is called “father” or “papa” of God's people. The word Pope used by Catholics to describe the chief steward of the earthly kingdom simply means papa or father in Italian. This is why Catholics call the leader of the Church "Pope." The Pope is the father of God's people, the chief steward of the earthly kingdom and Christ's representative on earth.

Isa. 22:22 - we see that the keys of the kingdom pass from Shebna to Eliakim. Thus, the keys are used not only as a symbol of authority, but also to facilitate succession. The keys of Christ's kingdom have passed from Peter to Linus all the way to our current Pope with an unbroken lineage for almost 2,000 years.

Acts 1:20 - we see in the early Church that successors are immediately chosen for the apostles' offices. Just as the Church replaced Judas, it also replaced Peter with a successor after Peter's death.

John 21:15-17; Luke 22:31-32 - Jesus' creation of Peter's office as chief shepherd with the keys passed to Linus, Cletus, Clement I, all the way to our current Holy Father.

Matt. 23:2 - this shows that the Jews understood the importance of succession to the chair and its attendant authority. Here, Jesus respects Moses' seat ("cathedra") of authority which was preserved by succession. In the Church, Peter's seat is called the "cathedra," and when Peter's successor speaks officially on a matter of faith or morals, it may rise to the level of an "ex cathedra" (from the chair) teaching.

Eph. 3:21 - this divine word tells us that Jesus Christ's Church will exist in all generations. Only the Catholic Church can prove by succession such existence. Our Protestant brothers and sisters become uncomfortable with this passage because it requires them to look for a Church that has existed for over 2,000 years. This means that all the other Christian denominations (some of which have been around even less than one year!) cannot be the church that Christ built upon the rock of Peter.

It is totally compatible with Scriptures… and also Tradition, which Catholics believe in (another question to address altogether.). Scripture and Tradition are ALWAYS compatible… you can back up Tradition with Scripture.

We believe Peter was the first pope. This is called the Primacy of Peter. The current pope is his successor… a continual line. This idea of “passing on” the authority is a part of what is called “apostolic succession”, which is also supported in both Scripture and Tradition, but I will not address that here.

Here are a few verses which assert that Peter was a pope, though they didn’t call it a “pope”

Matthew 16: 18-19 ******** VERY important

Luke 22:32

John 21:17

Acts 1:13-26

Acts 2:14

Acts 5:1-11

Acts 8:21

Acts 10:44-46

Acts 15:7

Acts 15:19

Galations 1:18

Also note that in these verses, Peter’s name is always first among the Apostles: Matthew 10:1-4, Mark 3:16-19, Mark 16:7, Luke 6:14-16, Luke 9:32, Acts 1:13,

Matthew 18:21, Mark 8:29, Luke 8:45, Luke 12:41, John 6:69.

Hope this helps. Thought it might be better to give you some verses and let you discover it yourself :)

My position: Fundamentalist Christian

1) Why is their a Pope for the Catholic Church?

The same reason that there is a President for the United States and a CEO for a business. It is purely a matter of organizational hierarchy - a position of authority that is intended to act as oversight for regional authorities.

2) I don't think the bible mentions anything about needing a pope

True, but it does mention the need for elders and "episkopos" (overseers). There is clearly a hierarchy even in the very early church: the council of 12 in Jerusalem has authority over the entire church; Paul has authority over those churches which he established; and the elders of each of those churches had authority over their congregations, including the lesser church officials (such as deacons) within each church. That the hierarchy of the church - of necessity - needed to grow as the church itself grew is hardly something that needs to be laid out in Scripture. Scripture shows us that a multi-level hierarchy existed: there is no reason to think that such a system (that is, in general) is improper in any way.

3) a lot of my protestant friends say he is something made up just to satisfy the Catholic church

Well, I'm not sure what this means. There *is* a pope - he is not imaginary. Perhaps that *office* was invented to "satisfy the Roman Catholic Church" - but similar offices (archbishop, elder, apostle, ruling council, etc.) have been formed in nearly every Christian sect with a significant number of churches. Should all churches be under the authority of only their elders? Or, should the biblically-established use of hierarchical leadership be followed, in some form? If the latter - why is "pope" any less correct than "archbishop" or "bishop" or "apostle" or "ruling council"?

If it eases your mind, don't think of the pope as "pope". Think of him as "chief mortal executive officer".

Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

The RCC or the Roman Catholic Church . well I agree you should learn the history . starting with how Rome came to be . They came into the lands and the people that lived there took them in . and taught them and built them a city . and in payment for those good deeds the Romans Killed them and put them into slavery . then later down the line of many deaths of other people . they came to the Jesus . they killed him blamed it on the Jews . the Jews was there new pet to destroy . And after they killed the Jesus . they needed a new way to get control over the people . so they used all the teaching of the people that they had killed and conquered and they built a new religion and called it Christianity . and they said that there is only one God . this along with many other teachings of the Jesus and deciples . they turned into a torture device . they forced the people into worshiping this God . they made it illegal to worship any other God . Unless you payed for the privilege to worship . the system they had set up as Kings would soon become so corrupt and cruel to the people . then an uprising came . and they took the power from one tyrant and placed it into several . this wasnt much better . Absolute power corrupts absolutely . then came the monarch . those people were to be of a Godly way . but again . Absolute power corrupts absolutely. and still today they rule with this godly power . and there powers control the USA . as well . we are the right hand of Rome . we are forced to use that same corruption . the reason for this POPE is just another way to spit in the face of Jesus's God . this is why they go out of there way to do just the opposite of what the teaching of Jesus and many others before him used . the bible mentions were Rome stand with God . read about the churches in Revelations . and look up each one . then when you get to the last one God is most displeased with them and it tells why . this is the RCC that it is referring to .

The position of Pope was established by Christ and the office has been maintained in an apostolic manner since the time of Christ.

Jesus asked his disciples "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" The disciples then offered various answers - "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." But the question that Jesus then asked was crucial: "But who do you say that I am?"

The answer provided by Simon Peter set in motion the formation of the Catholic Church by Jesus. "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." With this answer, Jesus established the Catholic Church with Simon Peter designated the first Pope.

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Around or about 45 AD, Peter went to Rome and from there lead the Catholic Church. As of today, there have been 263 Popes in direct succession to Peter.

He's just there to lead the Church. In retrospect, it's like having a pastor lead a Protestant church. All the Protestants need to calm themselves down and stop calling Catholicism a cult. Their sects wouldn't be existent without Catholics in the first place.

do you work or have a family? there is a head to every organization - from the partiach or matriac to the CEO -- that is reality. the pope is like the head of the organization. in the episcopal they their archbishop of canterbury(i think that's his title) in othes it's the president of the association. even the first baptist churches, church of God in Christ, methodist, protestant, etc all have a leader at the helm trying to lead the entire masses. this person is to spend their life in prayer and learning trying to help thoseof us who, while we can think and pray for ourselves, often need study groups or other places to asnwer questions. without a leader/guide, to whom would questions be asked - each other is surely one asnwer but do we all have time to dedicate 24/7 to prayer and learning. while i wish it was so, it is not.

BTW ask your protestant friends where the word BIBLE is in the bible ; )

We do not really know why Jesus gave the the office of Pope.

John 21:15-17 states:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

He then said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jesus) said to him, "Feed my sheep.

Matthew 16:17-19 states:

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The Catholic Church believes the Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.

The Pope is the senior pastor of 1.1 billion Catholic Christians, the direct successor of Simon Peter.

The Pope’s main roles include teaching, sanctifying, and governing.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 880-882: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3a...

With love in Christ.

But it does say about one Church lead by one man and he was the first Pope.

Where does it say in the Bible Sola Scripture?

No where it came from Luther who said also Christ was a Sinner.

Before the Great Schism of 1054 (when the Roman Church and the Orthodox Church split) the Pope was merely another Bishop. Same as the Bishops of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, etc.

The Bishop of Rome was considered to be "first among equals" (the council of bishops) as opposed to "the supreme authority."

EDIT:

For all those "thumb downers"...

Check your Church History!