Why the Protestant Mission Is Not Yet Complete
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany. Why? In part because a Roman Catholic salesman named Johann Tetzel had come to Wittenberg selling the forgiveness of sins—a practice called indulgences, which the popes still offer today.
Luther took an enormous risk. In those days, if you opposed Roman Catholic teaching, you could be burned alive at the stake. His biblical doctrine of justification by faith struck at the heart of Catholicism. That truth spread across Europe like wildfire, sparking a new interest in the Bible. This was especially significant, since the Roman Catholic Church had outlawed Bible reading in 1229 at the Council of Toulouse.
Unfinished Work of the Reformers
Luther and many early reformers were not able to separate fully from Roman Catholic doctrines. Two unbiblical teachings in particular remain a barrier to completing the Protestant Reformation: Sunday worship and the state of the dead.
Sunday Worship
Sunday worship entered the church in the second and third centuries, competing with the Bible Sabbath—the seventh day. The word “Sunday” never appears in Scripture. Why? Because Sunday was the day pagans worshiped the sun god, hence its name.
In the Bible’s reckoning of time, days are numbered, not named, except for the sixth day, called the “Preparation Day” (Luke 23:56), and the seventh day, the Sabbath. This is the day God rested, blessed, and sanctified at creation (Genesis 2:1–3). It is also the day Jesus and the apostles kept holy (Luke 4:16).
The State of the Dead
Both Catholics and most Protestants believe the righteous dead go to heaven immediately after death. The Bible, however, consistently teaches that death is a sleep.
Jesus said of Lazarus: “Lazarus is sleeping, but I go to awake him out of sleep” (John 11).
Paul taught that death is a sleep: (1 Corinthians 15)
Solomon wrote: “The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
Paul also declared: “The dead in Christ shall rise first” at the second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
Jesus taught that the dead would hear His voice and rise from the grave at His return: (John 5:28–29).
The Bible is clear: “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17).
The Antichrist Question
Another departure from biblical faith is the shift in how Protestants view the Antichrist. The early reformers—Wycliffe, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, and others—all identified the Papacy as the Antichrist.
However, in the 1830s John Nelson Darby and others began promoting the idea that the Antichrist would come in the future. This teaching, known as Futurism, was first developed by Jesuit Francisco Ribera in 1591. The Jesuits, commissioned by the Council of Trent to destroy the Protestant Reformation, promoted this doctrine widely. Sadly, they succeeded.
Today, most evangelicals believe in this Jesuit-inspired teaching, along with the idea of a secret rapture of the church. Few realize its origins.
The Call to Finish the Reformation
In light of these errors—Sunday worship, the false teaching about the dead, and the secret rapture—it is vital for Protestants to finish the Reformation by discarding unbiblical doctrines.
Jesus said: “Thy word is truth” and “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
Guided by the Spirit of Truth, we must study together to know what Scripture truly teaches and be set free from Catholic and Jesuit errors.
