"The Reformer [Luther] never permitted his impassioned protest against the Rome of his day to blind him to the ongoing presence of Christendom within that jurisdiction: "We on our part confess that there is much that is Christian and good under the papacy; indeed everything that is Christian and good is to be found there and has come to us from this source. For instance we confess that in the papal church there are the true Holy Scriptures, true Baptism, the true Sacrament of the Altar, the true Keys for the forgiveness of sins, the true Office of the Ministry, the true catechism in the form of the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Articles of the Creed". (Luther AE 36:16)"
-- Dr. John R. Stephenson, Eschatology
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