I just don't understand why Catholics say the Catholic church is the first church?

Question

In revelation 1:11 ( Jesus said to John ) -- I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Answer 1

Jesus said those that shall be first will be last.I just thought I'd throw that in there.But seriously what really makes the difference is are they practicing what was preached to them or have they had their candle stick removed and now walk in darkness.I really believe they are a part of the Anti-Christ, I know that sounds strong but I just can't imagine such a large group of people being so deceived as they are.All they would need to do to find the truth is open their Bibles and read.But its as if the choose to be deceived.They also claim Peter to be their first pope but no where in the Bible does it indicate that Peter was ever in Rome.
When I was 16 I set a record for the 220 yard dash.I am now 51 and my grandchildren can out run me.But at onetime I was first.

Answer 2

The “first church” is the church that is recorded in the New Testament, especially in the Book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul. The New Testament church is the “original church” and the “one true church.” We can know this because it is described, in great detail, in Scripture. The church, as recorded in the New Testament, is God’s pattern and foundation for His church. On this basis, let’s examine the Roman Catholic claim that it is the “first church.” Nowhere in the New Testament will you find the “one true church” doing any of the following: praying to Mary, praying to the saints, venerating Mary, submitting to a pope, having a select priesthood, baptizing an infant, observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as sacraments, or passing on apostolic authority to successors of the apostles. All of these are core elements of the Roman Catholic faith. If most of the core elements of the Roman Catholic Church were not practiced by the New Testament Church (the first church and one true church), how then can the Roman Catholic Church be the first church? A study of the New Testament will clearly reveal that the Roman Catholic Church is not the same church as the church that is described in the New Testament.

Answer 3

No matter how many times you point out that the facts "don't add up" for the false claim that Rome was the home to the first christian church, Catholic apologists, PR agents and spin doctors will never admit the truth.

Either, they play with the word "Catholic" which means universal saying "see we are the universal church, therefore the first"....

Or they throw the "Peter was made the first Pope by Jesus, and we say Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, so it must be first..."

On the first argument, pure word plays is not enough. It might be fun for first year philosophy students studying logic, but not a valid argument.

On the second, there is and has never been any solid evidence Peter was ever the first bishop of Rome, only that he was taken to Rome to be executed, which is itself an extraordinary thing, implying Simon (Peter) the Zealot must have done something else other than been a christian?

The siege of Jerusalem perhaps? Josephus lists Simon the Zealot as being one of the leaders who was caught before the end of the siege...
See:
http://one-faith-of-god.org/new_testament/apocrypha/josephus_wars/josephus_wars_0110.htm

The biggest exposure of the lie of the Vatican is the fact that the orthodox (Eastern) churches split as early as the 7th Century when Rome created its ficticious claim to be the primary church. Even with this overwhelming evidence, Catholic spin doctors say it was about minor disputes concerning religious icons...You will never get a straight and honest answer..

Answer 4

The Jerusalem church was the first church (Acts 1).
Then churches sprang up in many places in the following decades.
The claim that Rome had the preeminence at that time seems unlikely to me.

Later on in the West it might have had some pre-eminence, and then when barbarians were making life chaotic in the western half of the Roman Empire a strong hierarchy may have been very advantageous. Its pre-eminence may have been overstated at that time as a "white lie" to help a strong hierarchy to establish.

They probably also believe due to the claim of Jesus that "on this rock I will build my church" being applied to Peter, coupled with the tradition that Peter became the leader of the Roman church. But that would appear to be some time on his life, as he was still a leader of the Jerusalem church when Paul had done some missionary journeys (Galatians 1).

Peter was the key leader of the Jerusalem church, especially early on.

Answer 5

Jesus founded, authorized, empowered, and guaranteed only one church ... the Catholic Church ... and he expressed a desire that his church would always be one, until he comes again.

The "churches" spoken of in Revelation are not separate churches ... they are merely different congregations of believers ... but all of the same universal, Catholic faith.

There was only one Christian faith extant in the world up until the time of the 15th century reformers ... and it was without doubt, the Catholic faith.

The Catholic faith is the faith of Christ and the apostles, the faith of the early church fathers, the faith of the martyrs, the faith that converted the Roman emperor, the faith that converted the Roman empire, the faith that compiled the old testament and wrote the new testament, and the faith that saved the world from darkness, when the Roman empire, along with most all of western civilization, collapsed under the weight of it's own accumulated sins.

The Catholic Church is also the faith that rebuilt the world in the image of heaven, the faith that tempered the ambitious depravity of princes, kings, non-Christian and totalitarian governments, and the faith that defended (and continues to defend) authentic Christianity against all enemies.

It's been doing all these things, according to Christ's command, continuously for the last 2000 years, all around the world, in every country and in every place, proclaiming Jesus Christ as God and Savior 24/7 & 365, without exception.

Now, do you understand?

Answer 6

OK. It's time to pass the crack pipe to the next dude.

What did Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, state about the Bible? In his "Commentary On St. John," he stated the following: "We are compelled to concede to the Papists that they have the Word of God, that we have received It from them, and that without them we should have no knowledge of It at all." Regardless of what non-Catholic Christians may think or say, according to secular, objective historians, the Catholic Church alone preserved Sacred Scripture throughout the persecution of the Roman Empire and during the Dark Ages. All non-Catholic Christian denominations owe the existence of the Bible to the Catholic Church alone. Why did God choose the Catholic Church to preserve Scripture if It is not His Church

Answer 7

You are misinterpreting the meaning of "church" as it is used in the bible verse you have quoted above.

You are incorrectly interpreting and individual "church" as a building and/or group of believers in a particular area.

While the word "church" can be used in this fashion, there is also the collective meaning to the word as well.

Remember, while Catholics are spread out worldwide, and attend masses at local houses of worship, they are not really
separated from each other. They are united together as One Church because they share a common Doctrine.

Having said that, it is not uncommon for the word "church" to be used in a singular fashion: refering only to a specific group of believers in a given geographical area and/or believers from a specific house of worship. But this singular use of the word "church" does not negative the collective definition of "church".

It's not really that complicated. You just have to realize that the English language can allocate many definitions to just one word. While ancient languages might have had specific words for specific meanings, English doesn't always do it that way.

Therefore when reading Biblical texts, especially something as complex as the Book of Revelation, we HAVE TO consider the intended meanings of the words as put forth by, first - the original author of the Book, and second - take that into account when reading the text in English.

Answer 8

there was one original church founded by christ, there was a layety, there are only 2 churches with any ties to that church, the roman catholic church, and the orthodox church, it was a collection of five churches that formed the one holy catholic and apostolic church, in the year 1054, the pope excommunicated the other 4 patriarcs and the other 4 excommunicated the "roman"catholic church, from there luther pounded his 99 thesis on the catholic church door in germany and started the lutheran church, from there, henry the 8th started the englican church, which the pilgrims fled england for, and on the schisms went, but only the orthodox churches of greece, russia, antioch, and jerousalem, and rome in their own way , can claim to be the original church of Christ.

Answer 9

The catholic church is a whole body made up of different churches that's why its called the Universal Church. The churches in Asia were all part of the Universal Church. Just like Rome is it's own church. Each church is considered different in each city because it has it's own over-seer (a bishop). The bishop of Rome is considered the ruling bishop over all churches in the One Holy Catholic (Universal) Church.

Answer 10

The first organized church after the period of grace was in Antioch and founded by the Apostle Paul.