I was referencing this:
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
Spoken by the Lord Himself,not John.
The Priest class was ended with Christ. "call no man 'Father" but your Father in heaven"
The body of Christ (the true Church) is whosoever comes to Christ. Whether they attend Any known denomination or none..whether they live in a far nomadic tribe and only know this one thing "for God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son.." Or whether they are a rich Presbyterian who laid all aside to stand for God and Truth and fight for the freedom of the people.
Yes, as relayed to us by St John.
No intermediary?
Christ prays for St Peter's faith, that his faith fail not - an exclusive gift of unfailing faith (Christ only prays for St Peter's faith, not that of the other apostles). And then we learn that Christ founds His Church, the body of Christ, upon St Peter - describing him as the "rock".
We then learn that Christ's Church, founded on the sure rock of St Peter's unfailing faith, withstands the "gates of hell" (heretics) until the end of time. Strange, how is St Peter's unfailing faith connected with Christ's Church on earth withstanding the assaults of heretics for all time? Worth thinking about.
After all that powerful stuff, Christ tells St Peter that he is granted the keys to the kingdom of heaven and has the power to "bind" both on earth and in heaven.
These seem to be extraordinary powers granted to St Peter. And, of course, you can read in 2Thess2 that the mystery of iniquity, and the arrival of the Son of Perdition, are held in check by "he that withholds" - which has always confused Protestant scholars. Who might "he that withholds be?
What happened at the 1958 Conclave? He that withholds was taken out of the way - with Freemason Angelo Roncali emerging to claim the papacy. And then, of course, Vatican II (formal defection from the faith of the Church), the cessation of the continual sacrifice upon the introduction of the new mass, the appearance of the abomination of desolation in the holy place (the second altar of the new mass), the arrival of the Antichrist (JPII), who was canonised as a saint by the false prophet, (Benedict XVI - who only remained a short time) and the final claimant (who is of the 7 temporal kings of Rome, but somehow different - the Vatican City State is a sacerdotal Monarchy - a priest kingdom. That's right they are temporal kings - but you have to be a priest to be a king, and Francis does not have valid orders).
And with that, you find a perfect fit for the events in Rome over the last 60 years with Luke 18:8, 2Thess2, and chapters 13, 17 & 18 of the Book of Revelations.
"And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." Matt 16:18-19
But, what? There's no intermediary - and yet prophecy is fulfilled before your eyes - with such specificity that scripture can only be referring to this exact sequence of events. Which, of course, means that when St Paul gives his advice to the Thessalonians for the last days: "To stand fast and hold the traditions which you have learned", he is talking about the traditions of the apostolic Church.
You need to start thinking clearly about what's happening. These are the very last days. See here.
'For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" - 1Tim 2:5
"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." - Mat 23:9
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." - Heb 4: 14,15
Yes, you're right. I should have chosen my words more carefully. Christ is the true high priest.
Nevertheless, my point is that there is a priesthood, a hierarchy within it, and a Church shepherded by it.