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The Roman Catholic Church is founded upon a lie, that it is the one true apostolic church of God that Jesus Christ founded through Peter. This article will chronicle the 28- Scripture verses that proclaim Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) is the only Rock of Scripture, and will explain the deception of the Catholic Church in using Matthew 16:16- 18 to proclaim Peter as the rock upon which Jesus Christ built His church.

DEUTERONOMY 32:4,15,18,31:
He is the ROCK, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the ROCK of his salvation.

Of the ROCK who begot you, you are unmindful and have forgotten the God who fathered you.

For their rock is not as our ROCK.

1 SAMUEL 2:2:
There is none holy like YHWH (the Lord), for there is none besides You, nor is there any ROCK like our God.

2 SAMUEL 22:2,32,47, 23:3:
YHWH (the Lord) is my ROCK, and my fortress, and my deliverer.

For who is God, except YHWH (the Lord)? And who is a ROCK, except our God?

YHWH (the Lord) lives! Blessed be my ROCK! Let God be exalted, the ROCK of my salvation!

The God of Israel said, the ROCK of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.’

PSALM 18:2, 28:1, 31:2,3, 42:9, 61:2, 62:2,6-7, 71:3, 78:35, 89:26, 92:15,22, 95:1: YHWH (the Lord) is my ROCK and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

To You I will cry, O YHWH (Lord) my ROCK: Do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.

Be my ROCK of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For you are my ROCK and my fortress.

I will say to God my ROCK, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

Lead me to the ROCK that is higher than I.

He only is my ROCK and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
*(Psalm 62 verses 2 and 6).

In God is my salvation and my glory; the ROCK of my strength, and my refuge is in God.

Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for you are my ROCK and my fortress.

Then they remembered that God was their ROCK, and the Most High God their Redeemer.

He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the ROCK of my salvation.

To declare that YHWH (the Lord) is upright; He is my ROCK, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

But YHWH (the Lord) has been my defense, and my God the ROCK of my refuge.

Let us shout joyfully to the ROCK of our salvation.

ISAIAH 17:10:
Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the ROCK of your stronghold.

MATTHEW 16:18:
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this ROCK I will build My assembly (church), and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

1 CORINTHIANS 10:4:
And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual ROCK that followed them, and that ROCK was Messiah (Christ).

In the preceding aforementioned 26-verses, YHWH (the Lord) God or Messiah (Christ) were referred to as being the Rock a total of 28-times. Roman Catholicism has usurped the title of ‘Rock,’ which belongs to Messiah (Christ), and has bestowed it upon the Apostle Peter. The Catholic Church was founded on a lie, upon a self-serving intentional twisting of one single solitary verse of Scripture to establish itself as the one true church that Jesus Christ founded through Peter ‘the rock.’

PROPER CONTEXTUAL INTERPRETATION OF MATTHEW 16:16-18

MATTHEW 16:16-18:
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of the living God.”
Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My assembly (church), and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Peter identified Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah (Christ). Yeshua (Jesus) said that Peter was blessed by a revelation from His Father in heaven, who revealed that He was the Messiah (Christ) to Peter.

After Peter answered who Yeshua (Jesus) was, He replied in kind saying. “You are Peter…” then said, “and upon this rock I will build My church.”

1. Yeshua (Jesus) never calls Peter a rock. He said, “You are Peter…”

2. Yeshua (Jesus) then said, “and upon this rock,” in reference to the statement that Peter just made about Himself in which Peter said, “You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of the living God.”

3. Yeshua (Jesus) said, “I will build My church,” NOT the church of Peter.

4. Yeshua (Jesus) was NOT building a denominational church. The word ‘church’ itself is a mistranslated word in English bibles; a pagan-based word meaning ‘circle,’ having to do with a Greek goddess of mythology. The proper interpretation for ‘church’ in Matthew 16:18 is ‘assembly,’ and elsewhere in Scripture ‘church’ should be properly translated as ‘assembly,’ ‘called out ones,’ ‘congregation,’ or ‘group.’

5. Yeshua’s (Jesus’) assembly is when two or three are gathered in His name, worshiping Him in spirit and in truth (Matthew 18:20; John 4:24).

A proper interpretation and the totality of Scripture identifies the Messiah (Christ) as the Rock of Matthew 16:18.

Catholics worship a different rock: Peter, as their first history-revised pope, and worship all men who have subsequently held the title of pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

Peter never served as a bishop or pope of Rome. There is no Scriptural evidence that Peter was ever in Rome at all. Scripture records Peter’s travels and Rome was not on the list (1 Peter 1:1). Peter was an apostle to the Jews (Galatians 2:7-8).

Scripture nowhere indicates that Peter was the leader of the disciples. The apostles asked among themselves who would be the greatest (Mark 9:34) and this occasion would have been a perfect time for Messiah (Christ) to declare the supremacy of Peter. Yeshua (Jesus) replied that he who would be first would be last and servant of all (Mark 9:35). Yeshua (Jesus) declared that there are rulers and those who are great exercise authority over men, yet it shall not be so among you (Matthew 20:25-26).

Peter never went on to build or establish the Roman Catholic Church.

Shortly after Matthew 16:16-18, Peter would go on to deny Messiah (Christ) three times (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:55-62). Initially, Peter went fishing for fish, and not for men, after the death of Messiah (Christ) (John 21:3). Peter, in denying Messiah (Christ) three times and by going fishing after the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), was not the personification of a rock.

QUESTION:

2 SAMUEL 22:32:
Who is a ROCK, except our God?

CATHOLIC ANSWER:

Peter is the rock!

CORRECT ANSWER:

1 SAMUEL 2:2:
There is none besides You, nor is there any ROCK like our God.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:4:
And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual ROCK that followed them, and that ROCK was Messiah (Christ).