Conference: 1995 Pre-Trib Study Group
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Abouttwenty-five hundred years ago God gave the prophet Daniel a vision of fourstrange beasts representing the four world empires which are now history: theBabylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman. Yes, there were other largeempires based in Egypt, China, Central and South America and Arabia, butScripture gives them no prophetic significance because they will not riseagain, only Rome will. Symbolic of the Roman Empire, the fourth beast retainedcharacteristics of the three empires which preceded it, yet it was far more"dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great ironteeth: it devoured" (Dan 7:7) the known world, breaking and trampling allthat opposed it.
Thisfourth beast had ten horns corresponding to the ten toes on the huge image seenin Daniel chapter two, an image which depicted the same four world empires. Theimage's two legs foretold the split of the Roman Empire: politically, whenConstantine moved his capital to Constantinople in 330 A.D.; and religiously,between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, when in 1054 Pope Leo IX inRome excommunicated Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople. The tentoes of iron mixed with clay signified ten kings who must reign when "theGod of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed"(Dan 2:44).
Nearly700 years after Daniel, around 95 A.D., the Apostle John was given threefurther prophetic visions of this terrible fourth beast as recorded inRevelation 12, 13, and 17. At that time, the world empires represented by thefirst three beasts had come and gone exactly as Daniel had prophesied. Thefourth beast-the Roman Empire-was then at the height of its power. It, too,would fall, but unlike its three predecessors and exactly as the Bibleforetold, it would not be conquered by a successor. No fifth empire would ariseto take its place.
Instead,Scripture foretold that the Roman Empire itself would be revived in a morepowerful form to control all of earth just before Christ's Second Coming.Numerous Scriptures indicate this. Since the Roman Empire was never ruled byten kings at one time as foreseen in the image's ten toes and the fourthbeast's ten horns ("ten kings that shall arise" - Dan 7:24), it mustbe revived worldwide di-vided into ten regions under separate sub-rulersaccountable to Antichrist. Ten nations in Western Europe could hardly representthe revival of an empire which included far more in its day. Moreover, we areclearly told that "power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, andnations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him..." (Rev13:7-8). Interestingly, today's world has already been divided into ten regionsby the Club of Rome. Only when Antichrist's position and power have been fullyestablished will the Second Coming take place with Christ returning to destroyAntichrist and his kingdom and to set up His own Millennial reign over thisearth from Jerusalem: "whom the Lord shall destroy... with the brightnessof his coming..." (2 Thes 2:8-9).
Chapters12, 13, and 14 of Zechariah prophesy quite clearly not a gradual take-over ofthe world as some teach, but a cataclysmic intervention by Christ from heaven.So did Daniel: "...a stone [Christ] was cut out without hands, which smotethe image... [which] became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor; andthe wind carried [it] away... and the stone that smote the image became a greatmountain [Christ's kingdom], and filled the whole earth" (Dan 2:34-35).This unprecedented event known as the Second Coming can only take place"in the days of these [ten] kings..." (2:44).
Johnsaw this fourth beast three times: first as a red dragon seeking to destroyIsrael: "...and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and tenhorns, and seven crowns upon his heads..." (Rev 12). In chapter 13 thisdreadful beast appears again representing the revived Roman Empire whose"deadly wound was healed"-and also its ruler, the Antichrist whom"all that dwell upon the earth shall worship." Notice, "the dragongave him his power and his seat and great authority." So the "reddragon," who is Satan, is actually building his kingdom and usingAntichrist to his own ends.
Johnexpresses no shock at the sight of the beast; but in his third vision of thisscarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns he is staggered (Rev 17:6) when hesees a woman on its back. A WOMAN RIDES THE BEAST! And not as in a rodeo on acreature which is trying to buck her off, but sitting relaxed and comfortable,holding the reins, obviously a key player in the unfolding drama ofAntichrist's rule over the revived Roman Empire! Who is this woman? John's vision provides at least fourteenspecifics which identify her beyond question.
FIRSTOF ALL, she is a city (v 19). Some authors have identified the UnitedStates as MYSTERY BABYLON, but that is clearly erroneous because the USA is a country and the woman is a city.
SECONDLY, the city sits on (i.e. is built on) sevenhills (v 9). Several cities siton seven hills. John's vision, however, eliminates all but one as we shall see.That the seven heads also signify seven kings does not take away from the factthat they, too, represent seven hills upon which the woman/city sits.
THIRDLY, emblazoned on her forehead is her name,MYSTERY, BABYLON. Saddam Hussein has been rebuilding Iraq's ancient city ofBabylon, headquarters of the first world empire. The Woman could not be that city, however, rebuilt for the Antichrist, for several reasons. Itis the fourth Empireheadquartered in Rome which is to be brought back to life, not the BabylonianEmpire. The ten toes and ten horns belong to Rome. And Babylon was not built onseven hills, nor does it meet anyof the other identifying criteria. Rome, however, was and has universally beenknown as the city of sevenhills. The Catholic Encyclopediastates: "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills,that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined."
CharlesDyer counters, "The seven heads are associated with the beast, not thewoman... it does not identify the location of the prostitute because she is notan organic part of the beast." Nor is any cowboy an organic part of hishorse. The seven heads areassociated with the woman: they represent seven hills on which she sits. That'slocation. No organic relationshipis required.
Interestingly,Rome was also known as Babylon. In his book, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Catholic apologist Karl Keating writes:"Babylon is a code word for Rome. It is used that way six times in thelast book of the Bible [so he acknowledges that the woman in Rev 17 is Rome!]and in extrabiblical works such as Sibylling Oracles (5, 159Q, the Apocalypse of Baruch (ii, 1), and Esdras (3:1). Eusebius Pamphilius, writing about 303,noted that ...Peter ...referr[ed] to [Rome] figuratively as Babylon [in 1 Pe5:13]." The Bible often addresses a person or city under another name. Forexample, Jerusalem is called "Sodom and Egypt" (Rev 11:8) and Satanis addressed as the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14 and as the prince of Tyrus inEzekiel 28.
Could Rome bethe Woman on the Beast? That would make good sense because the Beast she ridesis the revived Roman Empire.
FOURTH, this Woman is called "the great whore...with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication..." (vs 1-2).While Ninevah (Nah 3:4) and Tyre (Isa 23:16-17) were associated withprostitution because of their rampant sexual immorality, literal whoredom andfornication would be impossible for a city. Spiritual fornication, however, would be possible for acity if it were a spiritual entity.
Jerusalemis such a city. It's called the "holy city" and the "city ofGod," having been chosen by God to represent Him to the nations.Tragically, Jerusalem violated that relationship and was repeatedly accused byGod's prophets of spiritual harlotry and adultery. Isaiah said of Jerusalem:"How is the faithful city become a harlot" (1:21)! (See also 2 Chr21:11; Jer 3:9, Ezek 16:1-15, etc.) Jerusalem, however, can't be the womanriding the Beast because it wasn't built on seven hills nor does it meet any ofthe other criteria in John's vision.
Thereis one other city in the world-and only one-which is a spiritual entity and could there-forecommit spiritual fornication with the kings of the earth. And it is built onseven hills. Again that city is Rome, the headquarters of Roman Catholicism,which claims to be the true Christianity. Its Pope claims to be the Vicar ofChrist. Moreover, the Roman Catholic Church claims that its members have takenthe place of Israel as the true people of God and that Rome is therefore theNew Jerusalem. Catho-lic Rome claims the very titles God gave to Jerusalem:"the Holy City" and "the City of God" and even "theEternal City."
Let me stateright now that I have no desire to attack Catholics. I'm not a Catholic"basher" as I've been accused of being. I love Catholics and wantthem to know the truth. Let's set the record straight. The Canons and Decreesof the Council of Trent, which Vatican II reproposed, contain more than 100anathemas damning me and every evangelical Christian for our beliefs and ourunwillingness to accept Catholic dogmas and authority. So who is really"bashing" whom? Let's face the facts hon-estly-from history and theBible-whatever they may be
We'vealready discovered from John's vision that these four criteria-being a city,known as Babylon, built on seven hills, that committed spiritual fornicationwith earth's rulers-have ruled out every city on earth except Rome. We are, of course, not talking aboutpolitical/civil Rome, but about religious Rome and more specifically, theVatican and the Roman Catholic Church as the worldwide leader of a false andantichrist "Christianity." The pope is currently leading the greatestecumenical movement in history in order to unite all religions under Rome'sleadership.
As only oneexample, in 1986, Pope John Paul II gathered in Assisi, Italy the leaders ofthe world's major religions to pray for peace. There were snake worshipers,fire worshipers, spiritists, animists, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, NorthAmerican Indian witchdoctors. I watched in astonishment as they walked to themicrophone to pray. The Pope said they were all praying to the same "God" and that their prayers werecreating a spiritual energy that was bringing about a new climate for peace. Onthat occasion John Paul II allowed his good friend the Dalai Lama to put theBuddha on the altar in St. Peter's church in Assisi and with his monks to havea Buddhist worship ceremony there, while Shintoists chanted and rang theirbells outside. The prophesied world religion is in the process of being formedbefore our eyes and the Vatican is the headquarters of the movement. Is thisnot spiritual fornication such as no other city either has or could commit?
Theobjection is raised that Vatican City is only a small part of Rome and is notitself built on seven hills. Historically, however, the Popes ruled as kingsover all of Rome and the surrounding area, as well as over large territoriesacross Italy known as the papal states. Pope Innocent III abolished the RomanSenate and placed the administration of Rome directly under his control. Itwasn't until 1870 that Rome and the other Vatican-controlled territories werefinally captured by the army of the newly united Italy, the Jews were liberatedat last from Rome's shameful ghetto and Pope Pius IX took refuge in VaticanCity, which has been the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church ever since.
Today,the Vatican owns about one-third of Rome and its influence is everywherethrough its monuments, churches and other institutions scattered throughout theentire city of seven hills. That Church proudly identifies itself as the Roman Catholic Church. A recent article in the NationalCatholic Reporter, titled"Rome, where the pontiff is supreme," declared: "No city comesclose to being so suffused with religious culture as Rome is with Catholicism.What has emerged over the centuries is unmistakably a culture of thepapacy." The article goes on to refer to the monuments to RomanCatholicism found everywhere in Rome and states: "All roads lead, sooneror later, down the via della Concilizione to the Vatican .... Rome is... theworld's spiritual crossroads." Our Sunday Visitor's CatholicEncyclopedia adds:"...hence, one understands the central place of Rome in the life of theChurch today and the significance of the title, Roman Catholic Church ....Since the founding of the Church there... Rome has been the center of allChristendom." World's spiritual crossroads ...center of allChristendom! This is the onecity in the world built on seven hills and known as Babylon which isundoubtedly a spiritual entity.
Hasspiritual Rome violated its claimed relationship with Christ and thus beenguilty of spiritual fornication? The popes have repeatedly engaged in partnershipand thus spiritual fornication with emperors, kings and princes. Claiming to bethe Bride of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church has been in bed with godlessrulers down through history. Hundreds of examples could be given, not just fromcenturies past but from recent times as well.
Considerthe alliances with Mussolini and Hitler. The Vatican literally put Mussoliniinto power. Pope Pius XI and his cardinals praised Mussolini as a man chosen byGod and forbade Roman Catholics to oppose him politically. In turn, Mussolinisigned the Concordat with the Vatican in 1929, making Roman Catholicism thesole religion of Italy. The Vatican received 750 million lire in cash and 1billion in state bonds. Four years later in 1933 came a similar Concordat withHitler, resulting in the Vatican's reception of hundreds of millions of Germanmarks from the Nazi regime all through World War II. Similar concordats withmany other governments have made the Roman Catholic Church the only religionallowed in those countries and have brought persecution and death uponthousands of evangelicals. One could not ask for clearer examples of"fornication with the kings of the earth"! Ancient Babylon doesn'tmeet this criteria, nor does any other city.
Christnever joined forces with Caesar nor did Peter or Paul. But the Roman CatholicChurch has continually engaged in adulterous relationships with secular rulersright up to the present. The cover of Time magazine for February 24, 1992declared: "HOLY ALLIANCE: How Reagan and the Pope conspired to assistPoland's Solidarity movement and hasten the demise of Communism." The alliance between Reagan and Pope JohnPaul II, between the CIA and the alleged Vicar of Christ, could only be calledspiritual fornication. It violated everything Christ taught about His churchnot being of this world. Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig acknowledgedthat "the Vatican's information was absolutely better and quicker thanours in every respect." Vatican liaison to the White House, Arch-bishopPio Laghi, kept reminding American officials, "Listen to the Holy Father.We have 2000 years experience in this." Two thousand years is anexaggeration, but there have been centuries of political intrigue at which theVatican is clearly the master! And this is the true Church? No, this is thewhore!
MikhailGorbachev has called the pope "the highest spiritual authority onearth." Gorbachev paid tribute to the earthly power of the Roman CatholicChurch when he wrote in his syndicated column: "Pope John Paul II played amajor political role in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe ...theevents in Eastern Europe might not have been possible without the presence ofthis pope, without the great role... which he knew how to play on the worldscene." Such praise could never have been given to Christ or His Apostleswho were martyred by the secular world which the popes have embraced inspiritual fornication and have even dominated.
FIFTH, this city on seven hills "rules over thekings of the earth" (v 19). In John's day it was the Rome of the Caesarsthat ruled the world. After the Caesars lost their power the popes ruled intheir place and over wider territories and often more ruthlessly. Christ saidthat His kingdom is not of this world and His servants are not to fight. Indirect disobedience, the popes, who included some of the greatest militarycommanders in history (Innocent HI, who "held all Europe in his net,"never lost a battle), fought with armies and navies in the name of Christ to builda huge kingdom, an unrivaled worldwide empire of property, wealth, andpolitical influence which is very much of this world. Papal worldly power hasbeen wielded for centuries in fulfillment of John's remarkable vision-whileancient Babylon has been in ruins. Hundreds of examples could be given. Hereare a few.
PopeAlexander II decreed that Harold, the lawful King of Eng-land, was a usurper,excommunicated him and his followers and gave the throne to William, Duke ofNormandy. With the Pope's blessing, William the Conqueror killed Harold inbattle, took over England and was crowned in London on Christmas Day in 1066.He accepted the crown of England "in the name of the Holy See ofRome." As the Pope's agent, William the Conqueror, now their king, was requiredto teach the English people "due obedience to Christ's Vicar" and topay their taxes to the Pope punctually.
PopeAlexander Ill excommunicated the Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarosa. The lattercame for revenge with his armies against the pope and was soundly defeated.Frederick I, the emperor, came to Venice where he grovelled at the pope's feetwith his face in the dust, begging forgiveness. The pope put his heel on theemperor's neck while the cardinals chanted, "Thou shalt tread upon thelion and adder ...." Papal Rome has ruled the kings of the earth!
PopeGregory VII's claim to be "King of kings" was no idle boast! In 1077,Gregory forbade Henry IV, heir of Charlemagne (who had been crowned emperor byPope Leo Ell) and supreme head of the Holy Roman Empire, to rule the kingdomsof Italy and Germany and threatened to excommunicate anyone who would serve himas king. In fear for his life, Henry journeyed across the Alps in winter to begthe pope's forgiveness. The humbled emperor had to stand 3 days in penitence,barefoot and in a haircloth shirt outside the Pope's castle at Canossa beforehe was granted an audience to express his repentance.
In1155 Pope Adrian IV gave the crown of Ireland to the King of England,consigning the Irish to the merciless cruelties of Henry II. A later King ofEngland, John Lackland, tried to break free from Rome, and Pope Innocent IIIforced him to surrender his crown, thereafter allowing him to rule only as avassal of the Holy See. One 18th-century Catholic historian counted 95 popeswho claimed to have divine power to depose kings and emperors. Historian R.W.Southern declared: "During the whole medieval period there was in Rome asingle spiritual and temporal authority exercising powers which in the endexceeded those that had ever lain within the grasp of a Roman emperor."
PopeGregory XI's papal bull of 1372, In Coena Domini, claimed papal dominion over the entireChristian world, secular and religious, and excommunicated all who failed toobey the popes and to pay them taxes. That bull was confirmed by subsequentpopes and in 1568 Pope Pius V swore that it was to remain an eternal law.
Surelyno other city at the present or in history can rival the way in which Rome,especially Catholic Rome, qualifies as being a city reigning over kings! Againthese are but a few of hundreds of examples that could be given coveringcenturies when Babylon lay in ruins. Nor is empire building an abandonedfeature of the past. The Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium on November 21, 1964 declared that "theCatholic Church ceaselessly and efficaciously seeks for the return of allhumanity and all its goods under Christ..," meaning, of course, under thePope, Christ's alleged Vicar. THESIXTH POINT: Not only is Babylonthe code name for Rome, but Rome's connections to Babylon go much deeper.Ancient Babylon drew its Semitic name, Bab-ilu ("gate of god") fromthe Tower of Babel around whose ruins it was built. That tower, designed toreach heaven, was the headquarters of the first world religion, just as Romewill be for the coming world religion of Antichrist. Furthermore, just asBabel's tower and city ("Let us build us a city and a tower whose top mayreach unto heaven" - Gen 11:4) united church and state, so the popeswielded both civil and religious authority; and in like manner the Woman andthe Beast she rides unite the coming world government and world religion.
Withits attempt to reach heaven by steps of its own making, Babel/Babylon was theultimate works religion. And so it is in Roman Catholicism: salvation isunquestionably by works. Vatican II declares: "To gain indulgences the workprescribed must be done ....From the most ancient times in the church good works were also offered to God for the salvation ofsinners .... [A]II men may attain to salvation through faith, baptism and the observanceof the commandments."
TheCouncil of Trent as reproposed by Vatican II decreed: "If anyone says thatthe sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation... and thatwithout them... men obtain from God through faith alone the grace ofjustification ...let him be anathema." Clearly good works play a key rolein earning salvation in Catholicism as the average Catholic would testify. Thusby its practice of salvation through good works and ritual, Catholic Rome, onceagain, fits the description of the Woman whose name is Babylon.
THESEVENTH identifying feature:John tells us that the name BABYLON emblazoned on the Woman's forehead ispreceded by the word, MYSTERY. Here again Rome qualifies: mystery is the veryheart of Roman Catholicism. Pope Paul VI's encyclical on the Eucharist istitled, Mysterium Fidei.Vatican II refers repeatedly to "the mystery of the Eucharist." TheVatican's new universal catechism declares that all of the church's liturgy is"mystery" and that its aim is "to initiate souls into themystery of Christ (It is mystagogy)." By claiming to be the custodian of a"mystery" which only its priests and bishops can mediate, the RomanCatholic Church keeps its members dependent upon it rather than upon Christ fortheir salvation, which it has historically sold for money and still does sotoday (Mass cards and indulgences, for example) and thus trades in the"souls of men" (Rev 18:13).
THE EIGHTHPOINT: John notes that the Womanon the Beast is clothed "in purple and scarlet" (v 4). These were thecolors of the Roman Caesars, became those of the Roman Catholic hierarchy andremain so today. For example, the Catholic Encyclopedia declares: Cassock (also called Soutane) - The close-fitting, ankle-length robe worn bythe Catholic clergy as their official garb .... The color for bishops and otherprelates is purple, forcardinals scarlet."Perhaps this seems like a small point, but as one identifying feature afteranother falls into place the case becomes overwhelming. No other city meets allcriteria as does Rome.
THENINTH identifying feature: Thewoman is wealthy beyond calculation: "decked with gold and precious stonesand pearls, having a golden cup in her hand..." (Rev 17:4). The RomanCatholic Church is by far the wealthiest institution on earth. Every cathedralhas its "treasury" where priceless objects are displayed. The valueof innumerable sculptures by such masters as Michelangelo, paintings by theworld's greatest artists and countless other art treasures and ancientdocuments which she possesses (not only at the Vatican but in cathedrals aroundthe world) is beyond calculation. Nino Lo Bello, former Rome correspondent for BusinessWeek, calls the Vatican"the tycoon on the Tiber" because of its incredible wealth andworldwide enterprises. His research indicates that it is probably the largestholder of stocks and bonds in the world, to say nothing of its ownership ofindustries from electronics and plastics to airlines and chemical andengineering firms. There is no church, no city which is a spiritual entity, noreligious institution past or present which even comes close to possessing theincalculable wealth of the Roman Catholic Church.
Therich clothing adorning the woman reflect the fact that the robes worn by popesand the regalia used in pomp and cermony were inherited from the Caesars. OneCatholic historian has written: "...the Bishop of Rome looked likeConstantine, lived like him, dressed like him, inhabited his palaces, ruledover his lands, had exactly the same imperial outlook... the popes had becomeobsessed with power and possessions. Peter's [alleged] successors [became] notthe servants but the masters of the world. They... dress in purple like Neroand call themselves Pontifex Maximus."
TENTH, the woman riding the Beast has a golden cup inher hand. This is the holiest instrument in Roman Catholicism: the goldenchalice used in the Eucharist or Mass. The Roman Catholic Church possessesliterally hundreds of thousands of solid gold chalices.
ELEVENTH, John perceives that this golden chalice isfilled with the "filthiness of her abominations," reflecting theBible's view of the sacrifice of the Mass, the very heart of Roman Catholicism.Such was the conviction of hundreds of thousands of Christians throughouthistory who were burned at the stake for refusing to participate in the Mass,which they earnestly believed was the greatest abomination conceivable. Why?Because it claims to be the literal sacrificial offering again and again of thebody and blood of Christ, whereas the Bible clearly says that Christ'ssacrifice upon the cross was completed once and for all, never to be repeatedagain.
Catholicismclaims that when, at the Last Supper, Christ said, "This is my body...this is my blood," He had to be taken literally: the bread and wine Heheld in His hands had, with those words, become His literal body and blood; andwhen the priest speaks those words today the bread and wine become againChrist's literal body and blood to be sacrificed endlessly on Catholic altarsas truly as Christ was sacrificed on the cross. Yet no one takes it literallywhen Christ said, "I am the door, I am the light of the world, I am theGood Shepherd" or when He called His disciples sheep. Christ was obviouslyspeaking figuratively when He referred to bread and wine as His body and blood.There is no way that the bread could literally be His body when He was sittingthere in His physical body holding the bread! Much less can millions of tinywafers each be simultaneously Christ's literal body and blood, soul,personality, divinity, whole and entire as Catholicism claims. That is notliteralism but mysticism, the MYSTERY emblazoned on the Woman's forehead.
Thereis another grave error involved. Vatican II declares, "Our Savior at theLast Supper... nstituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood...." The Council of Trent agrees that Christ at the Last Supper"offered up to God the Father His own body and blood under the form ofbread and wine ...." If so, then He was sacrificed for the sins of theworld at the Last Supper before He went to the cross! Indeed, He wouldn't haveto go to the cross at all if Catholic priests, as they claim, can truly turnbread and wine into the literal body and blood of Christ and offer it as apropitiatory sacrifice on their altars! This is the great MYSTERY at the heart of Catholicism!
The PocketCatholic Dictionary states:"The Mass is a truly propitiatory sacrifice" by which "the Lordis appeased, He grants grace... and He pardons wrongdoings and sins ...."The Council of Trent declared, "regarding the great mystery of theEucharist... it is the true and only sacrifice." Then the cross isunnecessary!
Of course,Catholicism teaches that the cross is essential, yet it reduces the cross tothe same level as the Mass, declaring that Christ's sacrifice upon the cross isonly effective in its repetition in the Mass, and then only partially each timethe Mass is repeated. It takes many repetitions of the Mass to take a soul toheaven; nor can the Pope himself tell how many Masses may be needed. As the PocketCatholic Dictionary explains:
Finallythe Mass is the divinely ordained means of applying the merits of Calvary.Christ won for the world all the graces it needs for salvation andsanctification. But these blessings are conferred gradually and continuallysince Calvary and mainly through the Mass .... The priest isindispensable, since he alone by his powers can change the elements of breadand wine into the body and blood of Christ... the more often the sacrifice isoffered the more benefit is conferred.
Inother words, Christ's sacrifice is not yet complete but is still in processthrough the Mass. Vatican II says: "For it is the liturgy through which,especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, 'the work of ourredemption is accomplished." But the Bible says redemption has alreadybeen accomplished. Hebrews 9:12 assures us that "by his own blood [Christ]obtained eternal redemption for us." Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:14both state, "In whom [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, theforgiveness of sins ...." Yet Vatican II insists: "For in thesacrifice of the Mass Our Lord is immolated... the Mass is... a sacrifice inwhich the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated." The Pocket CatholicDictionary explains that in theMass Christ "offers himself... as really as he did on Calvary." Thenwhat did Christ mean when He cried in triumph, "It is finished!"?Indeed, that golden cup is "full of abominations" (v 4).
Contradictingitself, Catholicism explains that Christ is not really being sacrificed overand over but His sacrifice on the cross is being "represented" ormade present. Such a statement is meaningless. An event that was completed inthe past cannot be made present. Moreover, if the past event accomplished itspurpose then there is no reason for wanting to perpetuate it in the presenteven if that could be done. For example, if a benefactor pays a creditor the debtsomeone owes, the debt is gone forever. It would be meaningless to speak ofrepresenting or reenacting or perpetuating the payment in the present. The debthas been paid by a transaction that was effected and completed in the past. Onecould well "remember" with gratitude the payment that was made, butno reenactment would have any virtue since there no longer remains any debt tobe paid.
Yetthe new Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered inreparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual ortemporal benefits from God." (par 1414, p 356) That is like trying to paymore installments of a debt that has been paid in full. Clearly the Mass is adenial of the sufficiency of the payment Christ made for sin upon the cross!
TheRoman Catholic Church claims to be in the process of procuring through itsrituals the redemption/salvation which the Bible says Christ has alreadyaccomplished. In order to carry on the "work of redemption," the Catholicpriesthood claims to perform the miracle of transubstantiation: turning breadand wine into the body and blood of Christ "under the appearance ofremaining bread and wine." This MYSTERY is supposed to be a great miracle even thoughthe wafer and wine remain unchanged in physical qualities. There is no such"miracle" in the Bible. Did Christ ever give a blind man his sight"under the appearance of the man remaining blind"? Did He ever raisea dead man to life "under the appearance of the man remaining dead"?Under those circumstances it would not be unbelief but common sense to denythat the alleged miracle had occurred at all!
Suppose thewater turned to wine by Christ at the wedding in Cana had been this kind of"miracle"! The servants pour it out to the governor of the feast andhe exclaims, "I asked for wine. This is water!" The servants insist,"Sir it is wine." Angrily the governor shouts, "It looks likewater, tastes like water, it is water!" "You need faith," theservants insist. "This is a miracle! Christ turned water into wine-butunder the appearance of remaining water." "That's not a miracle,that's a fraud!" would be the governor's response. And he would be right.And so it is with transubstantiation! The golden cup is "full ofabominations."
Thedogma of purgatory is another abomination in the golden cup. Vatican II saysthat although Christ suffered to bear our eternal punishment, we mustpersonally suffer to expiate the temporal punishment due for our sins:"Sins must be expiated ...through the sorrows, miseries and trials of thislife... [or] in the next life through fire and torments or purifying punishments... in purgatory the souls of those'who died in the charity of God and truly repentant for their sins andomissions' are cleansed after death with punishments designed to purge awaytheir debt." Yet Peter himself declared that Christ has "oncesuffered for sins, [He] the just for [us] the unjust, that he might bring us toGod" (1 peter 3:18) not to purgatory.
There is afurther contradiction. Although Catholicism says we must personally suffer, italso says we don't have to. Masses and rosaries can be said, even after one'sdeath, to reduce one's suffering in purgatory. For those who die wearing thebrown scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and fulfill certain other obligations,she promises to go into purgatory the Saturday after their death and take themout to heaven. So they don't have to personally suffer. Christ's sacrifice onthe cross was not sufficient, but its alleged repetition in the Mass, if doneenough times, will eventually get one to heaven. Moreover, good Catholics mayoffer their sufferings to release souls from purgatory. Padre Pio manifestedthe stigmata for 40 years to pay the penalty for the sins of the world so thatsouls could be released from purgatory. Of such alleged saints, Vatican IIsays, "They have carried their crosses to make expiation for their ownsins and the sins of others. They were convinced that 'by their suffering' theycould help their brothers to obtain salvation from God ...." Catholicismhas indeed filled that golden cup with abominations! 35:25 For centuries thepayment of money brought deliverance from purgatory. That practice eventuallytroubled Martin Luther's conscience and sparked the Reformation. Who can forgetthe infamous sales pitch of the Dominican Friar Tetzel, commissioned by PopeLeo X to reap a fortune for Rome: "As soon as the coin in the cofferrings, a soul from purgatory springs"!
Thiswas nothing new. Rome had consistently sold salvation for centuries. Again wesay, she has "made merchandise of...souls of men" (Rev 18:13). Popespublished lists of every crime from incest to piracy to murder with a price forwhich the Church would give absolution for each. For example, a deacon guiltyof murder could be absolved for 20 crowns. The "anointed malefactors"as they were called, once pardoned by the Church, could not be prosecuted bycivil authorities because the Church reigned supreme. Here is a furtherabomination filling the Woman's cup: selling tickets to heaven which actuallysend people to hell!
Similarpractices continue in Roman Catholicism to this day. One may obtain a Mass cardfrom any mortuary. When the names of the deceased and the donor have beenfilled in and an offering given to the church, the priest will place the cardon the altar during Mass, allegedly reducing the time of suffering for thedeceased in purgatory. Of course, the Church makes no guarantee how much thesuffering will be shortened nor how many more Masses must be said before thegates of heaven can be opened. Consequently, multiple Masses are purchasedhoping that eventually enough will have been celebrated. A friend's father diedrecently and he told me that $2,000 in Mass cards were purchased at the funeral.
SomeCatholics claim they don't believe in indulgences; but Vatican II declares:"The Church... teaches and commands that the usage of indulgences-a usagemost beneficial to Christians and approved by the authority of the SacredCouncils-should be kept in the Church; and it condemns with anathema those whosay that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power togrant them." There are 20 complex rules governing indulgences. Rule 17explains that the use of a crucifix, rosary, scapular or medal "can gain apartial indulgence. But if this object of piety is blessed be the Pope or anybishop, the faithful who use it with devotion can also gain a plenary [full]indulgence o the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul ...."
Hereis another abomination filling that gold chalice. What kind of "God"grants favors depending upon whether a priest or a bishop has blessed somescapular or medal and whether it is used on a feast of Peter or Paul-andfavors, remember, which the sufferings of Christ upon the cross could notprocure!
TWELFTH, the Woman is called "the mother ofharlots." As well as spiritual harlots, Roman Catholicism has createdliteral harlots by the millions. Throughout history, and today, priests,bishops, cardinals and popes without number who claimed to be celibates havehad their lovers. There were popes who were the sons of supposedly celibatepopes: Pope Sylverius was fathered by Pope Hormisda and John XI by Sergius El.The list of bastards who ruled the church includes Popes Boniface I, Gelasius,Agapitus, Theodore, Adrian IV and others. No wonder Pope Pius II, who himselffathered illegitimate children, said that Rome was "the only city run bybastards." For centuries it was a favorite joke that Rome had more prostitutesthan any other city because she had the most celibates.
Thesexual exploits of supposedly celibate priests and nuns, once hushed up, areincreasingly coming out in the open. For example, the National CatholicReporter recently stated:"Seven French women ... companions of priests who... are forced to 'liveclandestinely, for a lifetime, the love they share with a priest' [and who]represent thousands of women in similar relationships... arrived at the VaticanAug. 20. [They] asked the pope to... look into the reality faced by 'thousandsof priest's companions who live in the shadows, often with the approval ofchurch superiors, and by the children who... are raised by their mothers aloneor are abandoned."
The Archbishopof Vienna recently stepped down after being charged with sexual abuse ofminors. The Bishop of Basel, Switzerland, too, resigned after admitting to anaffair with a woman whom he made pregnant. The resignation of Ireland's PrimeMinister and collapse of its government was recently precipitated by exposureof 40 years of the Catholic Church and Catholic government officials coveringup the continued sexual abuse of a pedophile priest. Homosexual priests aredying of aids worldwide, with estimates that as many as 70% of priests in someseminaries are practicing homosexuals. The Roman Catholic Church in America haspaid out an estimated 1 billion dollars in the past few years in out-of-courtsettlements to cover up its clergy's sexual abuse. The Franciscan Seminary inSanta Barbara, California recently had to shut down because of the sexualinvolvement of its priests. The Milwaukee archdiocese is in serious financialtrouble due to payments it has had to make for out-of-court settlementsinvolving its priests' sexual affairs. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexicois on the brink of bankruptcy because of the lawsuits against it for priestlysexual abuse. I have a file nearly two inches thick of news articles involvingsexual immorality of Roman Catholic clergy just within the past two years. It isnot that Catholic priests and nuns are any more lustful than the average personthey may have started out with higher ideals-but they have had imposed uponthem the unbiblical rule of celibacy which becomes a burden too great to bear.The woman is indeed and literally "the mother of harlots."
THIRTEENTH, the Woman is drunk "with the blood of thesaints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (v 6). For centuries,to disobey the popes was heresy punishable by death. J.H. Ignaz von Dollinger,a leading nineteenth century Catholic professor of Church History, confessed:[S]ince 1183, the view of the Church had been ...[that] every departure fromthe teaching of the Church ...must be punished with death, and the mostcruel of deaths, by fire.
For 1,000 yearsbefore the Reformation there were Christians who refused to give allegiance toRome and who were slaughtered by the millions. Everyone knows of the Crusadesto retake the Holy Land, but few know that even larger and more numerouscrusades were fought to exterminate Christians all over Europe who, out ofconscience to God and obedience to the Bible, would not submit to the authorityof the popes or embrace Rome's heresies.
The popespromised instant entrance to heaven for those who died in this slaughter of the"heretics." It took about a century to exterminate the AlbigensianChristians who at one time were the majority of the population of southernFrance. Among the cities wiped out by Pope Innocent ifi was Beziers,France-60,000 massacred there, including women and children, in 1208 A.D.,which the pope called "the crowning achievement" of his papacy. Inthe infamous St. Bartholemew's massacre in August 1572, 70,000 Huguenots werekilled, another 200,000 slaughtered over a period of months, causing 500,000 toflee to Protestant countries for refuge. The Waldenses were all butexterminated as were the Hussites. Here is part of Pope Martin V's lettercommanding the King of Poland in 1429 (100 years before the Reformation) toexterminate the Hussites: Know that the interests of the Holy See, and those ofyour crown, make it a duty to exterminate the Hussites. Remember that theseimpious persons dare proclaim principles of equality... that all Christians arebrethren... that Christ came on earth to abolish slavery; they call the peopleto liberty .... While there is still time, then, turn your forces againstBohemia; burn, massacre, make deserts every where for nothing could be moreagreeable to God or more useful to the cause of kings, than the exterminationof the Hus sites.
Wehaven't time to mention the horror of the tortures and murders of theInquisitions which terrorized Europe for centuries. There is no city on earthwhich even comes close to having shed as much blood both of Christians and Jewsas has Rome. Pagan Rome's killing of Christians during periodic persecutions inthe first three centuries was nothing compared to the slaughter of bothChristians and Jews by Catholic Rome. Historian Will Durant writes candidly:"Compared with the persecution of [alleged] heresy in Europe [by the RomanCatholic Church] ...the persecution of Christians in the first three centuriesafter Christ [by pagan Rome] was a mild and humane procedure." Yes, thisWoman is indeed "drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs ofJesus" and no other city even comes close to Rome in this regard.
FOURTEENTH, the fact that it is a WOMAN who rides the Beast also points to RomanCatholicism. Its main figure is a woman, a false sinless, perpetually virginand all-powerful "Mary" whom Rome has invented and worships.Catholics deny they worship Mary and insist that the devotion and honor theygive her is of a lesser quality than that given to God and Christ. Perhaps intheory, but not in practice. There are thousands of large and ornate shrines toMary around the world (nearly 1,000 in France alone) visited by hundreds ofmillions each year, but scarcely a handful of shrines to Christ in the entireworld and generally very small with few visitors.
Pilgrimsto Mary's shrines come to ask for her help and protection. Both the newuniversal Catechism of the Catholic Church and Vatican II declare: "Fromthe most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers andneeds." (par 971, p 253) Why fly to Mary's protection when God'sprotection is available? And if this Catholic Mary can indeed protect allCatholics from all dangers and supply all their needs, then she must be atleast as great as God. And apparently she is more sympathetic, because at least1000 times as many prayers are offered to Mary as are offered to God and Christcombined.
Yes,prayers TO Mary, not just asking her to pray for us but asking her to DO whatshe would have to be God to do-even asking her to provide the salvation andforgiveness of sins that Christ has already provided and offers freely ingrace. In his "Prayer for the Marian Year:' Pope John Paul II asks Mary tocomfort, guide, strengthen and protect "the whole of humanity." To doso she would have to be all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere at once. Hisprayer ends: "Sustain us, 0 Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith andobtain for us the grace of eternal salvation."
ButChrist offers salvation freely to all who will believe in Him and cries out tomankind, "Come unto me!" The Catholic is taught, however, that theway to Christ is through His Mother whose pleas the Lord cannot resist. I wouldbe insulted if friends whom I love, instead of coming directly to me, asked mymother to influence me on their behalf; but the idea that Christ's mother canprevail upon Him for favors is a major belief among Catholics.
Themost recited Catholic prayer, the rosary, cries out for help to Mary, callingher "Mother of Mercy! our life, our sweetness, and our hope!" TheBible says Christ is our life and our hope, and surely God's mercy was extendedto mankind before Mary was born so she could hardly be its Mother! Anotherpopular Catholic prayer to Mary says, "In thy hands I place my eternalsalvation, and to thee do I entrust my soul .... For, if thou protect me, dearMother, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me thepardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than allhell together; nor even from Jesus, my Judge himself, because by one prayerfrom thee, he will be appeased. But one thing I fear; that in the hour oftemptation I may neglect to call on thee, and thus perish miserably. Obtain forme, then, the pardon of my sins ...."
TheCatholic Mary is not the Mary of the Bible, but the Woman who rides the Beast.She is appearing around the world in thousands of apparitions, offering herpeace plan for the world and mil-lions are believing in her instead of inChrist.
Revelation17 and 18 refer to the same city, which was and is both religious andcommercial. By pointing out the similarities, Dyer established that last year.I consider these chapters to be among the most remarkable prophecies in theBible, foretelling with absolute accuracy the rise of this city to worlddominion and its religious abominations.
Thewoman riding the beast cannot be the literal city of Babylon being rebuilt inIraq for many reasons. While Babylon could seem to meet some of the criteria inRev 17, she falls far short of meeting them all. She has been in ruins for 2000years meeting none of the fourteen criteria given to John, while the Vaticanhas been fulfilling them all. Even if, as Dyer argues, Babylon has never beencompletely without inhabitants, she has certainly not played any role in worldaffairs during that time.
Furthermore,that a rebuilt ancient city would somehow become such a great city as to rulethe world (it's not the Beast that is said to rule the world at this point, butthe woman riding it) in a brief time and make up for having been in ruins eversince John penned these lines is rather far-fetched. It also would seem toargue against imminency for the rapture, considering the great length of timeit would take not only for ancient Babylon to be rebuilt but to be inhabited byhundreds of thousands of people and to become dominant in world affairs. Thatit would happen to a city in Iraq makes it even more unlikely.
Whatwe have attempted to show from the Bible and history is not some new theorylately dreamed up but has been the conviction of untold numbers of evangelicalChristians who down through the ages existed independently of Rome and wouldnot give allegiance to her and were therefore slaughtered by the millions.Martin Luther referred to them when he said, "We are not the first todeclare the papacy to be the kingdom of Antichrist, since for many years beforeus so many and such great men (whose number is large and whose memory iseternal) have undertaken to express the same thing so clearly andplainly."
Ofthese martyrs, historian Will Durant wrote, "The Roman Church, they weresure, was the Whore of Babylon ...." Such was the opinion even of manyleading Roman Catholics in the Middle Ages. For example, St. Bonaventure,cardinal and general of the Franciscans, said that Rome was just like the harlot of the Apocalypse. TheReformers were certain of this and it was written into their creeds. Thus D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones declared, "I would not hesitate with the Reformers ofthe 16th century to [say that Roman Catholicism] is, as the Scripture puts it,'the whore." One could hardly come to any other conclusion from John'svision. This has been the view of the evangelical church for 1500 years, yetthat opinion is lately being abandoned by evangelicals in the interests ofecumenism-or because ancient Babylon is now being rebuilt by Saddam Hussein. |
