Encyclopedia of Terms, Customs, and People
Author: Amazing Discoveries™
Originally Publishe on: Jun 3, 2009
Summary: Get straight facts and Biblical insight about many historical figures, complicated religious terms, and rituals.
ReadResearch ToolsEncyclopedia of Terms and Customs
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Antinomianism
Antinomianism is a belief in salvation through predestination. Antinomians believe that they are not obligated to follow any moral or ethical laws because their salvation is secure despite any sin.
Antinomians believed that Christians are free from the laws (Greek nomos) of morality by virtue of God's grace. Critics charged antinomians with licentious living. Apparently popular among Gnostic sects, antinomianism was revived among the Anabaptists and by Johann Agricola, a one-time student of Martin Luther who retracted his position after arguments with Luther and Luther's associate Philip Melanchthon. Antinomianism was held by members of various sects during the British Commonwealth.i
Antinomianism in History
Grace and the Law
Sources
This entry is adapted from Professor Walter Veith's lecture They Have Made Void Thy Law Part 2.
Antiochus Epiphanes
The Story of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Abomination of Desolation?
Sources
By Keith King.
B
Blasphemy
In the Bible, we see two definitions of blasphemy:
1. Claiming the power to forgive sins
2. Claiming to be God
By Wendy Goubej
The Bottomless Pit
The expression “bottomless pit” refers to the earth in a state of darkness and confusion. This is the condition the earth will be in during the thousand years after Jesus’ Second Coming. Genesis 1:2 says that “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” This word “deep” is translated from the Greek word abussos. The same word is translated “bottomless pit” in Revelation 20:1-3.
Prophecy teaches that the earth will again be in a condition of abussos:
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light…I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down (Jeremiah 4:23,26).
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit (Isaiah 14:12-15).
For six thousand years Satan has been causing suffering and catastrophe on this planet. He has tempted and snared millions, but during the millennium Satan and his angels will be the only living creatures to remain on the earth. They will have to meditate on all the destruction and waste that they have caused. There will be no one left to tempt and deceive because all those who did not choose to make Jesus their Saviour will be destroyed by the brightness of His coming and remain dead until Jesus returns to recreate the earth
Revelation 20:2-3,5 tells us this:
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
What John witnessed in this vision was symbolic. He saw an actual pit in vision but shutting up the dragon in the pit was symbolic for binding Satan in chains of circumstance as his activities come to a halt. The earth will be in a state of complete desolation and darkness until Jesus comes after the thousand years to recreate it (see Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1-2)
C
Confession
A modern confessional at the Church of the Holy Name in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Source:...
Confession, also called Penance or Reconciliation, is a practice of the Catholic Church in which a person confesses sin to a priest. The priest then gives absolution of the sin, on the condition of some kind of response, such as repeating prayers.
According to the book Symbols of Catholicism, there are three "necessary steps to obtaining absolution." They are as follows:
1. Act of Contrition — Showing sorrow for committing the sin
2. Act of Confession — Telling the priest about the nature of the sin
3. Act of Satisfaction — Doing penance, such as saying prayersi
These three steps and the nature of confession were confirmed by the Catholic Council of Trent's 14th session:
If anyone denies that for the full and perfect remission of sins three acts are required on the part of the penitent...namely, contrition, confession and satisfaction, which are called the three parts of penance...let him be anathema. If anyone denies that sacramental confession was instituted by divine law or is necessary for salvation; or says that the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, which the Catholic Church always observed from the beginning and still observes, is at variance with the institution and command of Christ and is a human contrivance, let him be anathema.ii
Finding Forgiveness
Sources
F
Futurism
The Reformation preachers unanimously identified the papal system as the Antichrist, and the Roman Church as Babylon—causing a mass exodus of believers out of the Catholic institution.
Because Rome realized that the Reformation could jeopardize her position as a religio-political power, she employed five strategies in what became known as the Counter Reformation. One of those strategies was the creation of futurism and preterism, two different interpretations of the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation. These interpretations contradicted the reformers' stance of historicism.
The Oxford Handbook of Eschatologysays that futurism “argues that Revelation looks beyond the first century to the period immediately before the end times. Thus the book was not written for those who received it, but for those living much later. Jesuit scholars after the Reformation refined this approach to prove that current attempts to identify the Pope as the Antichrist could not possibly be true since the Antichrist will not be revealed until far into the future, just before [Christ’s Second Coming]" (Jerry Walls, Oxford University Press, 2007).
Read more abut futurism.
H
Historicism
Popular religion has given several methods of interpreting Bible prophecy, such as futurism and preterism. However, the correct way to understand the prophecies of Scripture is historicism.
E.B. Elliott defines historicism as “that view which regards the prophecy [of Revelation] as a prefiguration of the great events that were to happen in the church, and the world connected with it, from St. John’s time to the consummation; including specially the establishment of Popedom, and reign of papal Rome, as in some way or other the fulfilment of the types of the Apocalyptic Beast and Babylon” (Horae, Vol. 4, p. 564).
I
Indulgences
Catholicism teaches that you can be forgiven in advance for your sins—even to this day....
"Indulgence" is a Roman Catholic term that is not found in the Bible. The Vatican defines an indulgence as "the taking away of the temporal punishment due to sin."i
The Roman Catholic Church defines "temporal punishment" as suffering in the fires of purgatory for venial (lesser) sins. According to the Catholic Church, mortal sin is sin only Jesus can pay for. Venial sins are lesser sins we must pay for in purgatory as a means of purification before we can enter heaven.
Through performing certain rituals or works according to specific Vatican rules, and paying money, a Catholic may obtain an indulgence to shorten the time spent in purgatory. The amount of temporal punishment that is taken away is determined by the value of the act.iiAccording to the Catholic Church, the primary purpose for granting indulgences is to "help the faithful expiate their sins."iii
The Pope is said to have the authority to give these indulgences to Catholics from a treasury of merit. This invisible treasury contains the infinite merits of Christ, as well as the merits of Mary and the saints. According to Catholic catechism, Catholics can attain "their own salvation and at the same time cooperate in saving their brothers."iv
History of Indulgences
The Truth
Sources
This entry is adapted from Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries' brochure Indulgences: Can Good Works and Rituals Really Save You? by Mike Gendron.
The Inquisition
The Inquisition is an institution of the Catholic Church by which it has protected itself against incorrect teaching or doctrine. It is based on two ideas: 1) that religious belief is an objective gift of God, not something open for individual interpretation, and 2) that the Church is a sovereign society based on revelation whose duty it is to protect God's deposit of faith.i
Medieval Inquisitions (1184-1860)
The Spanish Inquisition (1478-1834)
The Roman Inquisition (1542-1860)
The last documented Inquisition was the Roman Inquisition, which targeted heresy in Italy itself, with effects also in Southern France. It was fairly tame compared to the previous three eras.
The Inquisitions affected Italy, Southern France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Bohemia, and even portions of England.vi Each era of the Inquisition targeted different groups, including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Catharists. Sorcerers, witches, and those who branched off into twisted versions of Catholicism were also subject to trials. It is impossible to estimate how many were tried or killed in the Inquisitions, as reports range from thousands killed to millions killed.
Since its restoration by Pope John Paul II in 1981, the name for the office of the inquisition is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or more simply the “Holy Office.” It is made up of cardinals and bishops, and is primarily involved in the judging of doctrines, practices, and ideas, rather than individuals.vii CardinalJoseph Ratzinger originally presided over the "Holy Office." Since Ratzinger’s appointment as Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, Cardinal William Levada has been Prefect of the Congregation.
On March 12, 2000, Pope John Paul II delivered a speech in which he apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church for the Inquisition, and the injustices perpetrated during that time.viii
Sources
J
Justification
Jesus entered into the courts of heaven with the blood of His own sacrifice and is listening to our prayers of confession and sorrow for our sins. He pleads His very own blood on our behalf, because we have acknowledged our guilt and have accepted His substitution for us. Because Jesus pays for our penalty, we can be freed from the condemnation we otherwise deserve (see Romans 8:1). Read more about how you can be justified through Christ.
L
Lent
Lent is generally a 40-day period of fasting and prayer observed by many Catholics and Protestants just before the Easter season.
When did it start?
What does Lent celebrate or commemorate?
Is Lent Biblical?
Sources
For more about fasting, see also the Fast of Tammuz and Ramadan.
By Keith King.
M
Mithra
The chief god of Persia was the sun god, Ahura-Mazda, who later became known as Mithra (also Mithras). Under the name Mithra he became the most important god in Rome.
The Iranian sun god Mithra killing the bull. This scene is alluded to in Zoroastrian...
Historian Will Durant says this about the worship of Ahura-Mazda:
For a while, under Darius II (521-486), [the worship of Ahura-Mazda] became the spiritual expression of a nation at its height...Underneath the official worship of Ahura-Mazda, the cult of Mithra and Anaita—god of the sun and goddess of vegetation and fertility, generation and sex—continued to find devotees; and in the days of Artaxeres II (404-359 BC) their names began to appear again in the royal inscriptions. Thereafter Mithra grew powerfully in favor and Ahura-Mazda faded away until, in the first centuries of our era, the cult of Mithra as a divine youth of beautiful countenance—with a radian halo over his head as a symbol of his ancient identity with the sun—spread throughout the Roman Empire, and shared in giving Christmas to Christianity. Christmas was originally a solar festival, celebrating, at the winter solstice, the lengthening of the day and the triumph of the sun over his enemies. It became a Mithra, and finally a Christian, holy day.i
The leading gods of ancient Persia were Mithra, the sun god; Anaita, the nature goddess, and her lover Haoma, who rose to life again. Later, the dying-rising Haoma became transformed into the dying-rising Mithra, the saviour god. Learn more about the history of Mithraism
Satan twisted God's plan of salvation. He infused pagan religions with a mythical version to pervert the beauty and meaning of God's plan and to cause people to misunderstand the true Saviour and His sacrifice when it actually came. Mithra worship was a carefully contrived counterfeit of Christianity, which Satan has been using to confuse minds over the centuries.
Mithraism in Catholicism
Adapted from Vance Ferrell, Christmas, Easter, and Halloween—Where Do They Come From? (Altamont, TN: Harvestime Books, 2003).
Sources
P
Paschal Mystery
The Pope often talks of the “paschal mystery.” What is the paschal mystery, and is it based upon Christian or pagan ideas?
What is the Paschal Mystery?
Are these Rituals Biblical?
Easter Mass
Sources
By Keith King.
Preterism
The Reformation preachers unanimously identified the papal system as the Antichrist, and the Roman Church as Babylon—causing a mass exodus of believers out of the Catholic institution.
Because Rome realized that the Reformation could jeopardize her position as a religio-political power, she employed five strategies in what became known as the Counter Reformation. One of those strategies was the creation of futurism and preterism, two different interpretations of the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation. These interpretations contradicted the reformers' stance of historicism.
The Oxford Handbook of Eschatologyexplains that preterism sees Revelation only in terms of its immediate historical context:
Revelation [is] described [as] the plight of Christians in the late first century, and its apocalyptic symbols pointed directly to [the city of] Rome as the church’s persecutor...Most modern [preterist] interpreters...insist that the book was never intended to predict conditions or events beyond the first century Jerry L. Walls, (Oxford University Press, 2007).
Purgatory
Purgatory is a Catholic doctrine established at the eighth session of the Council of Florence on November 22, 1439. It was also decreed at the Council of Trent on December 4, 1563:
...the holy council commands the bishops that they strive diligently to the end that the sound doctrine of purgatory, transmitted and received buy the Father and sacred councils, be believed and maintained by the faithful of Christ, and be everywhere taught and preached.i
The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that purgatory "is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions."ii
Catholic teaching says that purgatory is a place of purification. This cleansing occurs because salvation does not actually purify God's people enough that they can enter heaven:
All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven…The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.iii
This doctrine is not Scriptural, but instead has pagan origins. Historian Alexander Hislop tells us that every pagan system from the Egyptians to the Greeks includes a belief in purgatory. He says that, "in every system, therefore, except that of the Bible, the doctrine of a purgatory after death, and prayers for the dead, has always been found to occupy a place…Paganism leaves hope after death for sinners, who, at the time their departure, were consciously unfit for the abodes of the blest. For this purpose a middle state has been feigned, in which, by means of purgatorial pains, guilt unremoved in time may in a future world be purged away."iv Read more about purgatory and paganism from Alexander Hislop, or read our article on hell and purgatory.
The Bible says nothing about purgatory, or about the concept that our souls continue to live—in another place—immediately after we die, which is reinforced by belief in purgatory. However, it does tell us that only through Christ can we be saved; there is no other way to get to God (John 14:6). His sacrifice is enough to purify us from all our sins—big or small (1 John 1:7-9). There is no need for further purification after death. Our own works or suffering, whether here or in an afterlife, can never bring about our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Sources
Q
Quakerism
Members of the Religious Society of Friends (also called Quakers or Friends), participate in an "Alternative Christianity." The Society, which began in 1660, has a Christian background, and highlights important values such as non-violence and God's love for all people. However, many key elements of Quaker doctrine stray from true Christianity.
Pluralism
Tolerance of Sin
Experiential Religion
Sources
R
Ramadan
One of the Five Pillars of Islam is the observance of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar—a period of religious fasting and meditation on the Qur’an.
When did Ramadan begin historically as a fast period?
What is the purpose of Ramadan’s fasting?
Is the fast of Ramadan Biblical?
Sources
For more about fasting, see also Lent and the Fast of Tammuz.
By Keith King.
The Rosary
The rosary is a tool for Catholic prayer. Similar to the mantra beads used in Eastern religions, the rosary is a string of beads which represent various prayers that need to be recited. The "Hail Mary" and "Our Father" prayers are repeated the most often.
History of the Rosary
The Rosary and Spiritualism
The Rosary and Mary Worship
Rosary praying is an unBiblical, and even pagan, practice that pulls people farther away from God rather than drawing them closer. Instead of glorifying God, it exalts Mary, who, although an important historical figure, has no power to answer prayers. Mary should never be worshiped or regarded as anything more than a humble human who was willing to be used by God during her life for His purpose and glory.
Sources
S
Saint
Christians do not always agree on the definition or usage of the term “saint.” The Catholic Church, for example, uses this term to refer to a person officially recognized and venerated for having attained heaven after an exceptionally holy life. They teach that people who have not lived a good life can gain merit from these “saints” so that they too can enter heaven. Read a news story about a recently-canonized Catholic saint
There are several problems with this definition. First, the Bible teaches that when we die we do not go straight to heaven but rather rest in the grave until the resurrection. If we have been faithful, we will be raised at Jesus’ Second Coming and go to heaven with the living faithful (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). No dead person could give us any protection whatsoever, because the dead are still waiting unknowingly their graves.
Second, the Bible does not teach that we can gain any merit whatsoever by other people’s good works. Everyone will gain the reward of their own works when Jesus comes again:
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be (Revelation 22:12).
Also, we are rewarded for our works, but not saved by them. No one will be saved by the good they have done, or especially not the good anyone else has done (see Titus 3:5-7). What, then, is the Biblical definition of a saint? Here are two places where the Bible uses the word:
They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD (Psalm 106:16).
Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you (Philippians 4:21).
This first text in Psalms calls Aaron the priest a saint. Aaron was anything but perfect, as the Biblical account of his life shows (see, for example, Exodus 32). Although Aaron was a sinner, he was considered a saint because he trusted in the merits of God’s Son, the Lamb who would one day come to be sacrificed to save us from our sins.
Aaron was a true follower of God and lived his life to bring honor and glory to God. He knew that he could obtain mercy and pardon for his sins if he confessed them and relied upon God for salvation. Aaron went to his death in the hope of being resurrected one day and spending eternity with the Lord.
The second text, in Philippians, tells us to salute every saint in Christ Jesus. Paul is simply referring to those who also believe in God. We know that no one except Jesus has lived a perfect life. The Bible says, “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
The Bible also tells us that those that overcome, keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus will enter the kingdom of heaven (see Revelation 2, 3, and 14). These are the saints that the Bible talks about. They are not saints because of what they have done themselves but because they are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and have overcome sin through faith in Jesus.
Sanctification
Sanctification is essential for salvation. The definition of sanctification is “to set apart as holy; consecrate, to make free from sin.”
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication (1 Thessalonians 4:2-3).
Sanctification God's work to transform our characters, so that we can keep His law. It is the ability to “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). This transformation of character can only be obtained by faith and acceptance of Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins:
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).
We cannot obtain sanctification unless we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour and have His Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Then by faith and the surrender of our will to Him our characters are transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says we must believe the truth “because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). What is the truth? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). He also said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
We must have a personal relationship with Jesus and this is obtained through the study and acceptance of God’s Word, the Bible. The Holy Spirit helps understand God’s Word and convicts us that we are sinners in need of a Saviour. We are then pointed to Jesus who is our forgiveness if we confess our sins. Then, through His power, we undertake the change of character that enables us to keep God’s law.
When we ask God to work in us, we begin to grow into the people He wants us to be.
This is a work of a lifetime. It is not instantaneous. Jesus described this by giving us the example of how corn grows: “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:28).
Paul also describes this transformation in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This glass is the mirror that James refers to in James 1:23-25:
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all involved in this work of sanctification for us:
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2).
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).
God is more than willing and able to perform this work of sanctification in our lives. What is our part in all this? We must keep our eyes on Jesus and not allow Satan to distract us with the things of this world or our own past failures and difficulties. We must remain on the path where our feet can walk in safety. This is simply done by God’s word at work in our lives. The Psalmist wrote, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). We may claim the promises of our faithful and merciful God everyday.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
T
The Fast of Tammuz (17th of Tammuz)
The Cleveland Jewish News says, “Tammuz, for whom the month was named, was, in Babylonian mythology, the son of the god Ishtar. He was supposed to descend into the underworld in the middle of summer and reappear the following spring. The myth is generally regarded as representing the spirit of vegetation, or possibly the sun, which sets each day earlier after the summer solstice.”i
Despite these pagan roots, the fourth month of the Jewish sacred calendar is called Tammuz. The 17th of Tammuz is the day of a special fast, which begins a mourning period that extends to the 9th day of fifth month, Av.
When did this fast start?
What does it celebrate or commemorate?
Is this fast Biblical?
Why Fast?
Sources
For more about fasting, see Lent and Ramadan.
By Keith King.
The Three Angels' Messages
Revelation 14 tells of three important messages to the world:
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
John’s vision here is not symbolic of three literal angels. Rather, it refers to God’s people who proclaim these truths.
The Three Angels’ Messages are the final messages of warning to the world. When the messages have reached everyone, the time of probation will close and Christ will return to free His people. Read more about the Three Angels' Messages
Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation is the Catholic belief that when a priest blesses the bread and wine of the Eucharist, it becomes Christ's literal body and blood. Catholicism teaches that Christ taught His disciples about transubstantiation, and then gave them the power to transform the bread and wine into His body and blood. This power is then passed on through ordination to priests throughout the generations.i
Catholic catechism says this:
"Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to His Church..."most especially in the Eucharistic species." The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend." In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." "This presence is called 'real'...because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes Himself wholly and entirely present." It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament.ii
The Catholic Council of Trent in the 16th century determined this to be the truth about transubstantiation:
But since Christ our Redeemer declared that to be truly His own body which He offers under the form of bread, it has, therefore, always been a firm belief in the Church of God, and this holy council now declares it anew, that by the consecration of the blood and wine a change is brought about of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood. This change the Catholic Church properly and appropriately calls transubstantiation.iii
For the most part, the bread and wine do not seem to change in form, appearance, smell, or taste while transubstantiated. Catholics call these senses the "accidents," and say that although these do not change, the "real" substance of the bread and wine become the full presence of Christ:
The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.iv
The History of Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation Today
Is Transubstantiation Biblical?
Sources
originally published by Amazing discoveries.
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