Hello…

[1] Was Simon a disciple of John the Baptist??

Although John the Baptist had his disciples, the Scriptures do NOT teach that Simon was one of John the Baptist’s disciples. The chronology of events in [John 1:35-51] is as follows:

• One day, John the Baptist stood with two disciples and announced that Jesus Christ was ‘The Lamb of GOD’. [John 1:35-36]

• One of these two disciples was Simon’s brother named Andrew. The other disciple was not identified by name. However, logic points to the other disciple being John (ie. the writer of the Gospel of John). These two disciples who stood with John the Baptist followed Jesus Christ to His abode. [John 1:37-40]

• Andrew first went to find his brother Simon and announced to him that he had found ‘THE MESSIAS’ or ‘THE CHRIST’. [John 1:41]

• Andrew brought his brother Simon to meet Jesus Christ. [John 1:42]

• The next day, Jesus Christ met Philip and Nathanael. [John 1:43-51]

As we can see in this account, although Simon was most probably aware of John the Baptist’s public ministry through his brother Andrew, there is NO specific mention that Simon himself was a disciple of John the Baptist.

[2] Is ‘Simon, son of Jona’ the same person as ‘Simon Bar-jona’??

Yes! The ‘Simon, son of Jona’ of [John 1:42] is indeed the ‘Simon Bar-jona’ of [Matthew 16:17]. The term ‘Bar-jona’ is a Hebrew word which means ‘son of Jona’. The name ‘Jona’ has various equivalent spellings such as ‘Jonas’ or ‘Jonah’ [See Strong’s Concordance: (Greek/#2495) and (Hebrew/#3124)]. This clearly demonstrates that Simon was NOT the son of John the Baptist. In the Scriptures, there is no record of John the Baptist having a wife or children.

[3] Who is ‘THE ROCK’??

In [John 1:42], Jesus Christ indeed calls Simon by the name ‘Cephas’. The name ‘Cephas’ means ‘a stone’. In Greek, the name is ‘Petros’. In Latin, the name is ‘Petrus’. In English, the name is ‘Peter’. Thus, ‘Cephas’ = ‘Peter’ = ‘a stone’.

Now, the Scriptures confirm that Peter is definitely ‘a stone’. However, in [Matthew 16:18], the term ‘this ROCK’ does NOT represent Peter. The term ‘this ROCK’ is a direct reference to JESUS CHRIST! Unknown to all the disciples of the New Age Thought Movement and followers of the Eastern religions, philosophies, and mythologies, the Scriptures teach that ‘THE ROCK’ is one of Jesus Christ’s names which confirms His unique and exclusive DEITY:

(1) In the Old Testament, Moses confirms the following concerning the GOD OF ISRAEL:

‘Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the ROCK, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.’ [Deuteronomy 32:1-4]

(2) In the Old Testament, King David confirms the following concerning the GOD OF ISRAEL:

‘For who is GOD save the Lord? or who is a ROCK save our GOD?’ [Psalms 18:31]

(3) In the New Testament, Paul confirms the following concerning JESUS CHRIST:

‘Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual ROCK that followed them: and that ROCK was Christ.’ [I Corinthians 10:1-4]

(4) In the New Testament, Peter confirms the following concerning JESUS CHRIST:

‘Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a CHIEF corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the HEAD of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a ROCK of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.’ [I Peter 2:6-8; Matthew 21:42]

The Biblical verses above are written in basic 5th Grade English and clearly teach the following ABSOLUTE TRUTH:

• GOD = ‘the ROCK’

• JESUS CHRIST = ‘the ROCK’

• Therefore, JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!

The only people who will stumble at this ABSOLUTE TRUTH are the DISOBEDIENT UNBELIEVERS.

[4] Beware all Roman Catholics!

All the historical and present-day pope and disciples of Roman Catholicism are guilty of gross doctrinal ERROR in their reading and understanding of [Matthew 16:18]. They all fail to see that the foundation of the Body of Christ (ie. the Church) is NOT a man called Peter. The foundation of the Body of Christ (ie. the Church) is NOT a man-made religious organization called Roman Catholicism. The Scriptures teach that the foundation of the Body of Christ (ie. the Church) is JESUS CHRIST (GOD in the Flesh) [I Corinthians 3:11]. There can be NO other foundation! Thus, like ALL man-made religions, Roman Catholicism is founded on a LIE!

In summary, according to the Scriptures:

• Simon = Cephas = Peter = ‘a stone’ (NOT the foundation of the Body of Christ!)

• JESUS CHRIST = THE MESSIAH = GOD in the Flesh = ‘THE ROCK’ (The ABSOLUTE FOUNDATION of the Body of Christ!)

In its vain attempts to establish some semblance of historical credibility through ‘apostolic succession’, Roman Catholicism has always taught that Peter was the first pope. This doctrinal nonsense is as RIDICULOUS as the fairy tale dogmas of the so-called ‘Law of Attraction’. Peter was NOT the first pope. In fact, Peter was NEVER a pope! The term ‘pope’ does NOT exist in the Scriptures. The term ‘pope’ belongs to Papal Rome through the politics of Emperor Constantine. In contrast, the Scriptures teach that Peter was a Jewish fisherman [Matthew 4:18], was married [Matthew 8:14], had at least one son [I Peter 5:13], and was a disciple and Apostle of Jesus Christ [Matthew 10:2].

Thanks for reading.

Concerned Citizen