6And 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,
7Saying 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.
8And 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.
9And 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,
10The 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:
11And 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.
12Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
7Saying 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.
8And 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.
9And 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,
10The 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:
11And 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.
12Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Revelation 14:6-12.
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There is more though. Let's look at the Trinity for a moment. The Trinity is one God in three Persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are individual persons, and yet they are all One God. Now let's look at the Lord's Prayer. The first words are: "Our Father who art in Heaven.." The Church which is the body of Christ is united but is made up of individual people. Notice something? The Church is to be one not for any secular reason, but because God is One. When we pray "Our Father..." we say Our not My because the body is needed. Only by understanding this can we come to a clear understanding of Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17. Let's listen to it carefully. "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (v.20b-23). We must be united not because we are trying to create a Utopia, because we cannot, but because we are fulfilling Jesus' prayer, because only by doing so can we be true witnesses.
The Catholic Church believes that she is the True Church because she believes that Peter was the first pope who with the other apostles established the Church that was truly created by God. They cite Bible verses like Matthew 16:18-19, John 21:15-23, Acts 1:15-26, and Acts 8:14-17. Because of this, Catholics claim that Protestants and the Orthodox left the Church and thus must return for unity to be achieved. Of course, non-Catholics disagree. For many Protestants, belief in Trinity is ultimately what defines a Christian. However, we must work with the Catholics, not against them. Only through prayer, through God (and only through God), can we help create unity. God Himself will create the unity. "We are [only] unworthy servants; we have only done our duty" (Luke 17:10b). Of course, there are many Catholics who are hostile towards non-Catholics but this is not Jesus' prayer is it? I don't know about you, but I don't think the so-called religious wars of the 15th and 16th centuries were too Christian.
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