compose his congregation. These were to follow closely in his footsteps and would be underpriests serving with him as the great High Priest—a truly NEW priesthood. The twelve apostles were next to Jesus in the congregational structure of which Jesus was the head, Peter being among these and being one of the underpriests. Peter, being a follower of Jesus Christ, was certainly not the head of the congregation. Peter was not Pontifex Maximus, but a Christian priest serving under the great Melchizedekian high priest, Jesus Christ. Thirty years after the apostle Peter died, the resurrected Jesus said to the apostle John on the penal isle of Patmos: “I am the First and the Last, and the living one; and I became dead, but, look! I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades [inferni, Latin Vulgate; hell, Dy; AV].” (Rev. 1:17, 18) Jesus had spoken of this same authority when he was a man on earth. He said:

“Just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is. Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” “He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I shall resurrect him at the last day.”—John 5:26-29; 6:54.

Since Jesus was to be given the “keys of death and of Hades [Rev. 1:18]”, he could authoritatively say to the apostle Peter that even though Peter and the rest of the congregation of believers would go down to death and into Hades or Sheol as they die a sacrificial death like their Master, yet the gates of Hades would not be able to keep shut over the congregation for all time. Why not? Because Jesus, after being resurrected and ascending to the Father, where he presented his life merit in sacrifice for humankind, would be able to do that which no Pontifex Maximus could ever do, that is, use his “keys of death and of Hades” to open the doors and let his congregation out by means of a resurrection from the dead. At the time that Jesus said this he had just asked them whom they believed him to be. Matthew 16:16-19 records for us the ensuing conversation:

ON WHOM IS THE CONGREGATION BUILT?

“In answer Simon Peter said: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ In response Jesus said to him: ‘Happy you are, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in the heavens did. Also, I say to you, You are Peter, and on this rockmass I will build my congregation, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of [what? Hades? No, but of] the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you may bind on earth will be the thing bound in the heavens, and whatever you may loose on earth will be the thing loosed in the heavens.’”—See also Mark 8:27-30 and Luke 9:18-21.

The above words of Matthew 16:18 form a highly disputed text. Hence, below we print the original Greek text. Then underneath we print the English transliteration of the Greek. Under that we next print the word-for-word English translation of the Greek as given in the book entitled “The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - the Nestle Greek text with a new Literal English Translation by the Rev. A. Marshall D. Litt,” as printed in 1960 by Samuel Bagster and Sons Limited, London, England.

Κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἰ

Kago de soi lego oti su ei

“And I also to thee say [,] - Thou art

Πέτρος καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω

Petros kai epi tautei tei petrai oikodomeso

Peter, and on this - rock I will build

μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι

mou ten ekklesian kai pulai

of me the church, and [the] gates

ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς.

haidou ou katiskhusousin autes.

of hades will not prevail against it.”

It is not difficult to see that there is a difference between Peter (Pétros) and rock (pétrai). The difference is that in the Greek text Pétros is masculine in gender, whereas pétrai is feminine. The same difference is also seen in the Latin Vulgate version. Even the Aramaic (Syriac) version shows the difference in gender by means of a particle that goes with each of these two words Peter and rock.b Notice that Jesus did not say to Peter, ‘You are Peter, and upon YOU I will build my church.’ From the above Greek text it is plain that Jesus was not saying that Peter was the pétra (“rock”) and that on Peter (Pétros) he was building his church or congregation. Jesus was saying that he would build his church or congregation upon himself as the Foundation. Even the apostle Paul identifies Jesus Christ with the Rock, in 1 Corinthians 10:4, which reads: “All drank the same spiritual drink. For they used to drink from the spiritual rock-mass [pétra] that followed them, and that rock-mass [pétra] meant the Christ.”

Jesus certainly took into consideration the prophecies in Isaiah 8:14 and Isa 28:16, with which he was well acquainted. These prophecies state: “He must become as a sacred place; but as a stone to strike against and as a rock over which to stumble to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and as a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” “Therefore this is what the Lord Jehovah has said: ‘Here I am laying as a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, the precious corner of a sure foundation. No one exercising faith will get panicky.’” Was it Peter, then, who would be this “rock over which to stumble to both the houses of Israel”? Is it Peter in whom Christians put their faith for salvation? Assuredly not! but it is Jesus Christ. Paul makes this clear beyond a doubt in his application of the prophecies to Christ, at Romans 9:32, 33 and Ro 10:4: “They stumbled on the ‘stone of stumbling’; as it is written: ‘Look! I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass [pétra] of offense, but he that rests his faith on it will not come to disappointment.’ For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness.”

WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE NEW PRIESTHOOD

Did Peter think that Jesus meant that the church would be built upon Peter himself? Did Peter think that he was a greater priest than his Master, the great Melchizedekian High Priest of God to whom Peter was only an underpriest? Let us listen to his own words on the matter: “The Lord is kind. Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, you yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is contained in Scripture: ‘Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment.’ It is to you, therefore, that he is precious, because you are believers; but to those not believing, ‘the identical stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass [pétra] of offense.’ These are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word.” (1 Pet. 2:3-8) It is absurd to think that Peter was the foundation upon which the church was built, and we must be very careful that we do not become disobedient to the word by not accepting these words of Peter, for we might stumble to our destruction.

Therefore, as the apostle Paul so effectively argues: “For since the priesthood is being changed, there comes to be of necessity a change also of the law.” (Heb. 7:12) Jesus was the head of a new priesthood, and his followers, composed of the apostles and others whom he has selected during the past nineteen hundred years and who will all together number 144,000 under their one head Christ Jesus, are a new priesthood serving in connection with a new covenant. Through God’s undeserved kindness he has brought about a new system of things, replacing the former Jewish system of things with its imperfect priesthood and animal sacrifices. The new system of things based on Christ’s own sacrifice operates under the new covenant. This sacrifice makes possible the forgiveness of the sins of mankind.

There is, therefore, no need of repeated sacrifices such as the Levitical priesthood of the line of Aaron used to offer at the temple nor a repeated sacrifice of the mass, as is done by Christendom’s priesthood, but the one sacrifice of Christ Jesus has been offered and now it is not a matter of a repeated sacrifice. Rather, his sacrificial work is done and Christ Jesus is installed in the heavenly Zion, laid as a tried stone, the precious cornerstone of a sure foundation, in fulfillment of prophecy of Isaiah 28:16. He was rejected nineteen centuries ago by the earthly Zion, but it is in spiritual Zion, heavenly Zion, that he now resides, and he has a full supply of the bread of life for humankind as a result of his sacrifice, which he is ready to administer. As Paul says at Hebrews 9:28: “So also the Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many; and the second time that he appears it will be apart from sin and to those earnestly looking for him for their salvation.” In 1918 he began to resurrect his faithful congregation to be with him. A few are still on earth with prospects of joining him in the near future. During the thousand-year reign of Christ, his congregation of underpriests will serve with him in the heavens as kings and priests and will have the glorious privilege of administering the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice to faithful humankind on the earth. So it is not to any pontiff or even a Pontifex Maximus, but to the Melchizedekian High Priest Jesus Christ in the heavenly Zion that all persons with faith must come.—Rev. 20:6.

Putting the Worship of the True God First

TIME and time again in the Scriptures our attention is directed to the folly of putting the things of this world first. For example, there was the man, in Jesus’ parable, who kept increasing his barns to store up his grain, not knowing that suddenly he would die and not be able to enjoy it at all. We are warned that those who put money first in their lives are led astray from the faith and stab themselves all over with many pains. And those who sow to the flesh are warned that they will reap corruption from the flesh.—Luke 12:16-21; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10; Gal. 6:7, 8.

Then what should come first in our lives? The worship of the true God Jehovah. It contributes toward the most important issue in the universe, the vindication of Jehovah’s