Lutheran World Federation Moves Toward Unity With the Eastern Orthodox Church
As the world approaches the 1,700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicaea next year, the Lutheran World Federation and the Eastern Orthodox Church have a big announcement.
After 40 years of discussions, the two churches agree that it is best to use the original Greek translation of the Nicaean Creed, which does not use the Latin term Filioque. This seemingly small change is a big deal.
The inclusion of this controversial Latin term in the Nicaean Creed has divided Eastern and Western Christianity for over 1,000 years. If the Roman Catholic Church follows the Lutheran World Federation’s lead, the Great Schism could be nearing its end.
Council of Nicaea: The Bible says the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26). So the delegates at Nicaea also wrote that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father.” Yet when people noticed this verse proves that the Father and Son are different beings and not part of a trinity, the Catholic Church added the Latin term Filioque to the Nicaean Creed. This term means “from the Son,” so the Catholic version of the Nicaean Creed says the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”
The Lutherans inherited their belief from the Catholics, but are now recommending the term Filioque be dropped from the Nicaean Creed to heal “age-old divisions between our communities and enable us to confess together the faith of the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381).”
Doctrinal error: The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the power of the Most High (Luke 1:35-38), and so is not a person like God the Father or God the Son. So while the Eastern Orthodox Church is correct about the source of the Holy Spirit, it is incorrect about the nature of the Holy Spirit.
According to Bishop Marcellus of Ancyra, who attended the Council of Nicaea, the Gnostic teacher Valentinus “was the first to devise the notion of three subsistent entities (hypostases), in a work that he entitled On the Three Natures. For he devised the notion of three subsistent entities and three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
Later Christians combined the Gnostic tradition that there are three God Beings with the Jewish tradition that there is one God to forge the trinity.
Reunited church: As the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea approaches, many Christians are considering the time when there was less division in the Christian world. They are trying to overcome these divisions and form a reunited church, even if it means accepting doctrinal errors.
Bible prophecy tells us that this push for unity at any cost will be largely successful. In Isaiah 47, God foretells that a great false church will wield supreme power in the end time, boasting that she will not know “the loss of children,” or daughter churches.
This prophecy prompted Herbert W. Armstrong to state with absolute certainty, more than 40 years ago, that Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches would gravitate toward unification with mother Rome.
Learn more: To avoid being deceived, you need to understand what the Bible says about the nature of God. You can begin by reading Chapter 1 of Mr. Armstrong’s book Mystery of the Ages.
