Jesus tells Peter, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona:. . . . thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;” [Matt. 16:17-18] but, just moments later says to him, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me:” [Matt. 16:23 – Lesson citation #4] – the very opposite of what he’d just said.
“Offence” (Strong’s 4625) – “Skandalon” in Greek – a trap, snare, entrapment – i.e. how someone is caught in their own devices (like their personal bias, carnal thinking); a stumbling block.
From B. Cobbey Crisler’s book, “Auditing the Master: A Tax Collector Report”:
• “It’s what Peter said in the second instance [daring to rebuke Jesus, saying to him, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this [Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection] shall not be unto thee,” – Matt 16:22, after first saying, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” – Matt 16:16] that was Satan’s attempt to distort and discount Scriptural prophecy.”
• “How did Jesus look on the cross to a Jewish nation that had been brought up to regard a Messiah who would be victorious over everything, not be crucified as a criminal.”
• “. . . perhaps, the greatest threat facing the [early Christian] church is the attempt to distort the role of its founder in Scriptural prophecy and the role of the church itself in the fulfillment of Scriptural prophecy.”
Similarly. . . .
• Is it not an “offence” (a stumbling block) for her followers to allow Satan (error) to “distort and discount Scriptural prophecy” by not seeing and acknowledging Mrs. Eddy’s proper place/true light in the fulfillment of Scriptural prophecy, that is, as the woman in the Apocalypse/Revelation?
• How do “Science and Health,” and its author, Mrs. Eddy, look to a world that has been brought up to regard the Comforter, the second coming of Christ, as anything/anyone other than a “little book” written by none other than a woman, whose earthly life was plagued by challenges and suffering due to the same hatred of Truth that caused Jesus’ suffering?!
• Is not the greatest threat facing the Christian Science Church/Movement today the distortion of the role of its Discoverer, Founder, and beloved Leader?
From Paul R. Smillie’s book, “Mary Baker Eddy – The Prophetic and Historical Perspective”:
• “. . . the recognition of [Mrs. Eddy’s] proper place and position in relation to the Christian Science Movement has been almost lost. Is it not interesting therefore that the Christian Science Movement, paralleling this loss, is fast approaching the point of extinction?” (p. ix)
• Mrs. Eddy: “For the world to understand me in my true light and life would do more for our Cause than aught else could.” (1893 letter to Edward Kimball & the Smillie book – p. xiv). Definition of “aught” – anything at all.
• Mrs. Eddy: “All the people need, in order to love and adopt Christian Science, is a true sense of its Founder. In proportion as they have it, will our Cause advance.” (“We Knew Mary Baker Eddy – First Series,” p. 40 & the Smillie book – p. xi)