Identifying the Antichrist

Identifying the Antichrist: Prophecy Errors

· A futuristic view of prophecy, opposed to a historical view: including the view of the Antichrist. There are many errors and contradictions associated with the futuristic viewpoint and we need to view prophecy as the old Protestants did in a historical light. In the 1^st century Paul said "…after my after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in…" (Acts 20:29) and the great Apostle went home to be with the Lord in the 1^st century! Paul also wrote, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work…" (II Thess. 2:7) and again this was in the 1^st century. Also, of course the mystery of iniquity is contrasted with the mystery of godliness (cf. I Tim. 3:16): the mystery of godliness is Christ, and the mystery of iniquity is the Antichrist. Read I John 2:18, 4:3; II John 7. Saint John wrote his Epistles towards the end of the first century. In these sacred passages St. John was writing to the Church about the present manifestations of antichrist spirits during his time. John also described the time in which he wrote these Epistles as the "last time", therefore he deduced that the full manifestation of the antichrist would soon emerge. Now since St. John saw the imminence of these prophecies in the first century, we should certainly be able to presently pinpoint who the Antichrist is. (And not erroneously assume, as modern prophecy scholars would have us believe, that only up until the last minutes before Christ's Return would we be able to identify the Antichrist.) No, there is religious pagan antiquity involved with the Antichrist. This is why there is reference to the ancient Gentile kingdoms of the world when the Holy Ghost prophesied about the Antichrist. And there is a long-standing warfare between his hypocritical church and the true Church. This is why she's filled with the blood of the martyrs and saints. And there is long-standing relationship between the rulers and kings of the earth and the religion of the Antichrist. This is why she's fornicated with the kings of the earth. All of these things couldn't be so quickly developed over the just the 7-year Tribulation Period. There are far too many Scriptures that give us information about the Antichrist which can be applied all throughout Church history as we shall see. History itself shews us the Roman Catholic church perfectly fits the fulfillment of these Biblical prophecies.

· "Most great protestant leaders, like Wycliff, Calvin, Wesley, Finney, Moody, Spurgeon and many others, believed the Roman Catholic Institution is 'The Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.' Rev. 17 describes, not ancient Babylon, but the Vatican today. No other religious system in the world officially calls itself 'MOTHER.' Even her colors are recorded in the Bible: scarlet and purple, symbols of authority. No other religious system has two powers, both political and religious."[i]

· The fifth kingdom of Daniel's kingdom prophecy in Daniel 2:41-43 (the feet of iron mixed with miry clay) is not specifically the recent and modern EU of the 20^th century, but rather it is the broken remnants of the Roman Empire that have existed as a European Community since the Roman Empire fell apart in the fourth century. These remnant nations of Europe are located throughout the areas of the old Roman Empire and have historically been controlled by the Roman Pontiffs and the Holy See. The succession of Roman Pontiff's in Rome most perfectly fit the title of king over this fifth kingdom. We also know the prophecies of the kingdoms in Daniel 2 parallel with the prophecies of the kingdoms in Daniel 7. Hence, in Daniel 7 we can understand the immediate transfer of power from the fourth kingdom of the dreadful beast with iron teeth (the legs of iron – the Roman Empire) to the little horn's kingdom (the feet of iron mixed with miry clay – the Antichrist's kingdom/Catholic Europe). Moreover, it's foolish to think that Daniel's prophecy would be void of a kingdom from the 4^th century to the 20^th century. History shows us that the fulfillment and manifestation of the other kingdoms (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome) rose and fell without time lapses; and thus in accordance with the indication from the Scriptures that these would be immediate changes. "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." (Revelation 17:10-11) These kings are the empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Roman Catholic Europe. The passage says "one is" because Rome was still in power when John wrote Revelation and Catholic Europe was formed after Rome fell apart. Verse 11 also shows that the Antichrist is connected to Romanism, just as Daniel's prophecy described the feet having a mixture of iron from the legs. We also see in verse 11 the beast "goeth into perdition" and likewise he is called the "son of perdition" (John 17:12; II Thess. 2:3). Therefore we conclude that the Antichrist is from this lineage of pagan empires exactly as we see Popery today and thus we read his titles "BABYLON THE GREAT" (Revelation 17:5) and "the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 14:4).

· The “ten horns” of Daniel 7 and Revelation 17 are both Antichrist. "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." (Daniel 7:7-8) "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." (Revelation 17:3) "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." (Revelation 13:1-2)

· It is a mistake to assume that the prophecies about the Antichrist in Daniel Chapter 8 relate to Antiochus IV Epiphanes. And the reason is because Dan. 8:17, 19, 26 all tell us that these prophecies about the Antichrist are for the latter times. And the Bible describes the Church Age of Jesus Christ as the last days. Antiochus IV Epiphanes fought with the Maccabees nearly two hundred years before Christ was born: those were not the last days according to the New Testament. Also Dan. 8:25 tells us that the Antichrist will "…stand up against the Prince of princes…" the Prince of princes is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Antiochus IV Epiphanes didn't stand up against Christ, because Christ hadn't been born at that time. Also we see in Dan. 8:25 that the Antichrist "… shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…" this also describes the actions of the Pope, who also fulfills II Thess. 2:3,4 by exalting himself above Christ each and every day. The Pope also destroys with peace: that's the ecumenical agenda. The satanic scheme subterfuges the truth of the Gospel with the façade of religious unity and love. Yet ecumenicism only compounds the religious lies of this world; and thus leaves men void of the Biblical truth, spiritually dead in sins, uncircumcised, and without salvation through faith in Christ. So while the Pope appears outwardly loving and generous; spiritually he's the Pied Piper (cf. Rev. 18:22) lulling men asleep and leading them off a cliff into eternal hell. ¶ I will say this though, God, through His sovereign purposes, chose to have it appear that Antiochus IV Epiphanes fulfilled all these prophecies. And to some degree Epiphanes did, and that's an incredible example of prophecy. But these prophecies have a deeper significance which relates directly to the Antichrist of the Christian era. And maybe since these prophecies of the Antichrist so clearly paint a picture of the Pope, maybe God chose to blur the imagery somewhat with what could be described as a two-fold prophetic interpretation.

· The description of the horns, beasts, warring against the saints, "speaking great things", and blasphemies of the Antichrist from Daniel and Revelation link the identification of him in scripture. And the "abomination of desolation" recorded in Daniel, Matthew, Mark, and II Thessalonians also connect the description of the Antichrist in those Books. Moreover, the definition of the term "Antichrist" from St. John's Epistles (cf. I John 2:18, 22, 4:3; 2 John 7) also fits description of all the other passages about the Antichrist; especially his vainglorious blasphemy (cf. II Thess. 2:3-4; Ezek. 28:2, 29:3, 9; Daniel 8:11, 11:36). Now, if we have a link between all the passages in the Bible about the Antichrist to Revelation 17 & 18, certainly we can see that Antichrist emanates out of the Roman Catholic church - because the description of her is so clear in those two chapters. We see another connection about the Antichrist in the Books of Daniel and Revelation, with the similar accounts of his death. The term "beast" is used in both accounts of the Antichrist's eternal damnation to the lake of fire. (cf. Revelation 19:19-21; Dan. 7:11)

· The interpretation of this beast is also given in Revelation 17:3. Revelation Chapters 17 & 18 provides conclusive evidence that the "MOTHER OF HARLOTS", which sits upon this beast, is the Catholic religion which incorporates ancient pagan religious practices of Babylon into its idolatrous worship.

· Rome is the MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (Rev. 17:5) and her children are all the cults of the earth, who've learned heresy from their mother.

· Satan is referred to as the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4, 12) therefore the BABYLON of Revelation 17 & 18 is also satanic. And if MYSTERY BABYLON is satanic it is also Antichrist because the Antichrist receives his power from Satan (Luke 22:3; John 13:26-27; 2 Thess. 2:8-9; Rev. 13:2). Moreover the Pope is Satanic, the devil incarnate, because his pompousness and presumptuousness fits the exact attitude of the devil described in Isaiah 14. "Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (Isaiah 14:11-15)

· Failure to recognize the historical prophetic view of the Antichrist mentioned in Daniel 9:26-27. And thus the 69^th week is the time in which the Antichrist "…shall confirm the covenant with many for one week…" And indeed millions have followed the Pope and his pernicious dogmas into hell since the 69^th week began. This is the "abomination of desolation" which Paul referred to in 2 Thes. 2. And this timing coincides with John's Epistle verses stating the spirit of the antichrist was already in the world in his day and called his day the "last time" (see I John 2:18, 22, 4:3; 2 John 7; Heb. 1:2).

· Failure to see that the "ABOMINATIONS" of the Catholic religion in Revelation 17:5 refer to the "abomination of desolation" (Daniel 8:11, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14, 2 Thes. 2:4) which the Pope commits by attributing deity and infallibility to himself. Compare II Thes. 2:4 with Daniel 11:35 and we can see the "abomination of desolation" refers specially to the office of the Roman Pontiff. Not the third Temple in Jerusalem as modern prophecy scholars would have us believe. ¶ The "abomination of desolation" is also a prophetic reference to how the Pope has "…cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered." (Dan. 8:12) By this I mean that the Catholic church's own traditions and superstitious dogmas completely overshadow the true redemptive office of Christ in heaven. And part of our Lord Jesus Christ's office in heaven is that He is our High Priest (cf. Heb. 8:1), moreover He is the only Mediator between God and men (cf. I Tim. 2:5). But the Roman Catholic church completely opposes this truth with a myriad of cardinals, priests, and false mediums. All of which are abominable to the Lord (cf. Ex. 20:3-5, 22:18; I Chr. 10:13-14). And by this we say that the Pope opposes the Priestly sacrifice of Jesus, and this is what is described of the Antichrist in that the "…sacrifice was taken away…" (cf. Dan. 8:11, 12, 13, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11). St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews extensively sets forth the truth of the New Testament Christian Priesthood of Jesus Christ; and at the same time utterly exposes the idolatrous errors of Catholic church with their 'sacramental grace' and abominable masses. Hebrews states over and over again the Christ was once offered, yet in the Catholic church "…every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins" (Heb. 10:11). No institution on the face of the earth frustrates and perverts the eternal sacrifice Christ gave for us on Calvary more than the Roman Catholic church. This is why the abusing and misusing of the Priesthood of Christ is called a "desolation" because "…if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins" (Heb. 10:26). And the Apostle Peter said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) This is why the Pope maketh desolate. By him opposing Christ's true office, he's left souls starving for true salvation. In this the Pope has practised, caused priestcraft[ii] to prosper in his hand, destroyed wonderfully, forecasted devices, polluted the sanctuary, had indignation and intelligence against the holy covenant and forsaken it, and honored the father of lies and the god of forces. (cf. Dan. 8:12, 24-25, 11:25, 30-31, 38; John 8:44) The Antichrist's religion has also tried to hide the truth of Christ's sacrifice with their Vaticanus manuscripts; which omit a weighty portion of the Epistle to the Hebrews, especially that which pertains to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. This also is same manuscript so many of the modern ecumenical bibles are based upon.

· Failure to recognize the Antichrist is not just one man, but a succession of men: namely the Catholic Popes seated as head of the Roman Catholic church. The Popes claim they have an apostolic succession from Peter… they have a succession, but it's not apostolic, it's Antichrist.

· Failure to recognize the true meaning of Antichrist. Not only as someone who is opposed to Christ, but is also at the same time an imposter of Christ. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." (II Corinthians 11:14) And in fact, is the arch-nemesis of Christ by porting himself as Christ, and hence being principally and diametrically opposed to Christ – because Christ is the foundation of the true Church. "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (II Timothy 3:5)

· Failure to recognize the doctrinal apostasy and Biblical departure of the Catholic church. And that this apostasy is directly related to the revelation of the man of sin according to 2 Thes. 2:3.

· Supposing the temple mention in II Thess. 2:4 represents a futuristic temple in Jerusalem. Remember this is a New Testament Scripture with a New Testament application. In the New Testament the temple of God is not a building, but the bodies of believers in whom the Holy Spirit resides. It doesn't make since for the prophecy about the "…abomination of desolation…" (Matthew 24:15) to be interpreted as the literal temple in Jerusalem, when Christ had just prophesied that the temple would be destroyed. (cf. Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6) And the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed just as Christ prophesied in 70 A.D. by the Roman emperor Titus. And ever since then Jerusalem has been "…trodden down of the Gentiles…" (Luke 21:24) also precisely as Christ prophesied.

· The restrainer of II Thess. 2 is not the Holy Spirit. (Although I adore the Holy Spirit and I believe He does restrain.) But this refers to the old Roman Empire (Daniel's fourth kingdom) & the Roman Emperor, because the "son of perdition"/"that Wicked" (the Papacy) emerged after the Roman Empire dissolved and was incapable of any restraining power. Historical facts reveal that the Catholic church and its pagan practices became established in Rome as the Roman Empire was dissolved. This also coincides with the procession kingdoms in Daniel 2. The legs of iron were Rome, but after Rome fall apart the kingdom of the iron and clay feet began to move. Thus we conclude the kingdom of the feet is the kingdom of the Roman Catholic church. This is interesting because the feet are partly iron as the legs were iron. We see that Romanism has retained much of the pagan tradition of the Roman Empire (which it idolatrously boasts of as religious antiquity). And the headquarters of the Vatican is in Rome itself.

· The martyrs were not schismatic fanatics, but heroes of the Gospel of truth and defenders of the LORD'S preserved scriptures. And the reformers were not bigoted zealots, but courageous standard-bearers of Biblical truth; who stood up against lies, apostasy, and error: so men might be saved and have life with Jesus Christ. "Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Hebrews 11:34). Their blood speaks to us today and reminds us of the concealed cruelty of that murderous Mother Church. Today her doctrine is still as blasphemous and as deadly as ever. The Catholic church has destroyed countless souls with her pernicious doctrines and false mediums. And now her influence in the world is as far-reaching as it has ever been. We had better take heed to ourselves and stand against such a nefarious and corrupt enemy of the true Church of Jesus Christ. Moreover the Reformers are best qualified to identify who the Antichrist is because many themselves were once part of the Catholic church, but escaped the darkness of Romanism and were brought gracefully and gloriously into the true light of Christ. Also they were keenly acute in identifying true believers from reprobates. This is because they understood the doctrine of justification through faith, by which salvation rests. ¶ Our Protestant forefathers were far from fools, and they didn't warn us in vain about the Pope being the Antichrist. They saw a clear description of the Antichrist painted in Scripture, during a time when the Popes were in their prime. The Reformers knew that such an arch-nemesis of the Church, which is so evidently portrayed in Scripture, would not go away until the Lord Jesus Christ returns in His tempestuous brightness.

· Moreover by reviewing Church history we see the 7 prophetic church ages in Revelation chapters 2 & 3. The beginning of the third church age, Pergamos, began in 312 A.D. with the Emperor of Rome Constantine's Edict of Toleration. Under this edict Christianity became a recognized religion in the Roman realm. However this recognition was a problem because the Roman rulers didn't seek to be reformed by Christianity, but rather to reform and pervert Christianity. The Romans instituted a new state-church which was a conglomeration of apostate Christianity, Roman law, and ancient Babylonian and Roman pagan religious practices. This new church conglomeration became known as the Roman Catholic church. Now relating to the portion of Scripture in reference to Pergamos we can identify the Antichrist with this church because Revelation 2:13 says "…thou dwellest even where Satan's seat is…" Also there is a reference to their hierarchical priesthood system of Romanism called "Nicolaitans" (Rev. 2:6, 15). This church's members also "…eat things sacrificed unto idols…" (Rev. 2 :14), which sounds very much like the abominable wafer worship of transubstantiation performed at masses. By the year 500 A.D. Romanism was well established as the seat of the Antichrist along with all its idolatry and pagan practices. If the Antichrist has a seat (which Revelation 2:13 clearly suggests), I know of no other seat that has ever existed since the Church Age began that is more antagonistic and opposed to the true Throne of Christ, than the chair of the Roman Pontiff. "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." (Revelation 13:2) Satan's seat is at Vatican Hill and the Pope sits on that chair which is constructed with a demonically inverted cross.[iii] "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain" (Revelation 16:10)

· The Rome Pope is also identified as Apollyon, the locust king of Revelation Chapter 9. The smoke that arises out of the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:2) is symbolic of the strange doctrines and pernicious lies of falsehood set forth by the Catholic church. The smoke of the Catholic church darkens the air and the sun because the air and the sun represent the Gospel and its essentiality to sustain life. Again, the smokescreen of doctrinal fog frustrates the Gospel and deters men from the true light of salvation by casting darkness, misdirection, confusion, and ambiguity over the quickening nature of Biblical truth.

· The abominable mass: "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols." (Amos 5:21-23)

· The Martyrdom of Protestants during the Inquisition: Dan. 7:21, 25; Heb. 11:35-40, 12:4; Rev. 6:9-11, 12:11, 17, 13:7, 17:6, 18:24, 19:2, 20:4; Matthew Chapters 10 & 24; John 16:2, 33

· When the Antichrist's Catholic religion ruled the world, the Pope controlled kings and governments of countries; which brought nations into satanic bondage and created the Medieval Dark Ages.

· The Pope presents himself as a man of peace. Yet he deprives his followers (cf. Matthew 15:14) of the real Jesus Christ and true salvation (cf. Acts 4:10-12) by blasphemously substituting himself for the Prince of life, Jesus Christ (cf. Matthew 24:4-5, 23-24). This deviously clever spiritual destruction "practised" (cf. Dan. 8:12, 24) by the Pope fits the exact description Daniel gave of the Antichrist, "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." (Daniel 8:25)

· "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 1:18) Notice that Jesus Christ said declared that HE has the keys of hell and of death (which are symbolic of eternal judicial power). However, He never said He would delegate this authority to another man. Christ posses and controls these keys, not the Pope. The Pope here again tries to imitate Christ the Lord by posing before audiences with a large metal key in each hand (as if he actually retained this power). This again is blasphemy and a usurping of authority by the devil. That fact that Christ alone has received this exclusive judicial authority (cf. John 5:22; Acts 17:31) can also be found in Revelation 5:1-5 with regards to the book sealed with seven seals.

· Catholicism is nothing more than paganized Christianity, a mixture of Egyptian and Babylonian religious rituals[iv], and modern day baal worship. And this cult is led by the devil incarnate, "…whose deadly wound was healed." (Rev. 13:12, 3) The significance behind this is because it is another emulation of the devil: a counterfeit resurrection. As Jesus Christ was the holy incarnation of God: the mystery of godliness (cf. I Tim. 3:16), contrarily Satan emulates Christ with an unholy incarnation: the mystery of iniquity (II Thess. 2:7). This is the Satanic Antichrist spirit that manipulates the Pope. Therefore throughout the course of Church history, the Church has seen flashes of its arch-nemesis, the Antichrist. These flashes of illumination are like lightning strikes that quickly reveal the identity of that Wicked (cf. II Thess. 2:8). Sometimes this identify is more obscure and darkened than others, but by studying the Holy Scriptures and Church History, it is shocking evident that the Roman Pontiff is without question the Antichrist warned of in the Holy Bible. Today we're seeing these wicked workings of the Antichrist in all kinds of heresies and mischievous assaults against God's Bible-believing people. Prophecy is perfectly lined up with what is going on the world and the Catholic church. Therefore when we look down the corridor of time, and then up to our present generation; it is clearly obvious that the seat of the Pope is the beast's and the dragon's chair. ¶ "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us." (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10) Today the natural eye may find it difficult to discern the same Antichrist characteristics that the Popes exhibited when they ruled the medieval periods with an iron fist; nevertheless that same evil, brutal, and murderous intent is ever present spiritually. Popedom is still persecuting the true Church spiritually with ecumenicism, bible versions, Jesuit lies, her cultic daughters, and the list goes on and on. Because today the serpent has gone underground for winter and the sword is in the sheaf, but the Catholic church has only changed it's modus operandi. Yet soon the Pope will emerge from satanic darkness once again, only to be ultimately destroyed by Christ at His Second Coming. (cf. II Thess 2:8; Rev. 19:19-21; Dan. 7:11)

· According to Deut. 13 and Asa's law (cf. II Chronicles 15:13), ~~both~~ the pope ~~and Jack Van Impe~~ should be put to death.[v] Why? Because Van Impe[vi] hands men over to the pope, who is a false god. And the pope then in turn hands men over to a myriad of other false gods, mediators, and worthless pagan traditions. These men are false prophets that do nothing to procure salvation, but rather impede it. They hinder the Gospel and they blur the pure image of Jesus Christ. And they hinder, confuse, and frustrate the Word of God, the true revelation of Jesus Christ, and the saving grace of our Gospel. "But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings." (Jeremiah 23:22) I can say without any hesitation that ~~Jack Van Impe and~~ the pope have "…stumbled at that stumblingstone" (Rom. 9:32). Van Impe should take heed to I Corinthians 3:21, "Therefore let no man glory in men…" And again, "…that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another." (I Cor. 4:6) Again, "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." (Jer. 17:5) And again, "…the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them." (Jeremiah 2:37) [I’ve confessed to the Lord and asked for forgiveness for writing something hasty here. I know Van Impe loves the Lord Jesus and through Him he’s done a lot of great things for the body of Christ. Yes, I do believe the pope is highly pernicious; and I believe Van Impe’s been negatively influenced by Jesuits; and I believe it’s very wrong to recommend the pope; but I know the Lord God is merciful and it’s not my position to judge him. Again, please forgive me Jesus for writing roughly about a brother in the Lord, and I also pray for Jack. Amen.]

o But this brings up a point. Isn’t it evident to see how much Christians and Evangelicals have back-slide since the Protestant Reformation? Nobody was ‘recommending’ the pope while he was burning up ‘heretics’. Here’s a hypocritical example: the Antichrist and his fiends labeled John Huss as an ‘Arch-heretic’ and had him burnt at the stake. For what? Preaching Wyclif’s Biblical doctrines and preaching against the Catholic church’s outlandish and sinful practices. What a difference we see today! Now ‘Protestants’ are willing to recommend and congratulate the whore? Rome may not be visibly murdering thousands, but she was deeply involved with the Holocaust; and since then she’s been deeply entrenched as the number one enemy of sound Biblical teachings. The great whore of Revelation 17 & 18 has done everything possible to corrupt sound Christian doctrine. In these last days, it’s been done mainly through ecumenicism. Which is nothing more than a clever way to “by peace shall destroy many” (Dan. 8:25). Consider the contrast between the modern Evangelical views of Romanism verses our Protestant forefathers (see Prov. 22:28, 23:10): you’ll notice a shocking apostasy today. If any persons knew the true murderous (see John 8:44) intent of the whore it was the Reformers, they fought against her firsthand. Here are a couple of examples. John Rodgers, right before his martyrdom under the Catholic bloody mary: ‘Abhor that arrant whore of ROME, and all her blasphemies, And drink not of her cursed cup, obey not her decrees.’[vii] Consider the last words of Thomas Cranmer before he was executed under queen mary: ‘And now I come to the great thing that troubles my conscience more than anything I ever did or said my whole life, and that is the publishing of a writing contrary to the truth, which now here I renounce and refuse, as things written by my hand contrary to the truth I believed with my whole heart, written because I feared death. Since my hand offended, it will be punished: When I come to the fire, it will be burned. As for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy and antichrist, with all his false doctrine. And as for the sacrament, I believe as I have taught in my book...’[viii]

· We see a deadly common theme with the pope: substitution. This is a clever wile of the devil. (cf. Eph. 6:11; II Cor. 11:3) The pope denies men the true Mediator (cf. I Tim. 2:5) and true salvation (cf. Acts 4:12) by substituting his own murderous-self for the true Saviour Jesus Christ. (cf. Is. 43:11; Hos. 13:4) Those that trust in the pope (or Mary, or any other Catholic idol—cf. I John 5:21), break the First and Second Commandments and bring themselves under the curse of Jeremiah 17:5.

· The Egyptian "Pharaoh" is clear Biblical picture of the Antichrist, and the Pope perfectly fits that image. This also explains the use of pagan Egyptian religious practices in Catholicism and their blasphemous worshipping. This also links the "Alexandrian Cult" (which began in Alexandria, Egypt[ix]) to the conspiracy of Rome. Because they've attempted to overthrow the authority of God's perfect Bible, the KJV, to drown it out (cf. Gen. 3:1). They've sought to do this by first, creating corrupt manuscripts (cf. II Cor. 2:17, 4:2) by the Jesuits and "closet Catholics" Westcott and Hort, (which are based on the Vaticanus and the Siniaticus) and then with these corrupted manuscripts they've secretly poured millions into the ecumenical new age bibles. This is why prophetic Books of the holy prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel go hard against Pharaoh and pronounce catastrophic judgments against Egypt. And just as God visited Pharaoh with 10 plagues of judgment upon Egypt, God's about to open all His seals, and trumpets, and vials upon Popedom. It's the last Exodus for us when we "…meet the Lord in the air…" (I Thess. 4:17)!

· By reading the prophecies of Ezekiel in Ezek. Chapters 26-32 it is clear to see that Pharaoh of ancient Egypt was a clear typology of the Pope[x] (Antichrist). Therefore as we see that Pharaoh of Egypt resisted Moses with the demonic enchantments of magicians and warlocks (cf. Ex. 7:9-12; II Tim. 2:8), likewise the Popes have resisted the truth with a myriad of demon possessed Jesuits, child-molesting priests, and lying spirits of Satan.

· Only in a fallen world full of wickedness, fraud, lies, and deceit could such a religious reprobate and cheap imitation of Christ be so widely accepted. "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (Matthew 15:14)

· Psalm 2:1-2 & Acts 4:25-26 are Scriptures about the Antichrist and his followers. Because anyone who takes counsel against the LORD and His Anointed, or gathers themselves against the Lord and His Christ: is an antichrist. This is why so many of the kings, rulers, presidents, and leaders of this world (As mentioned here in Psalm 2 & Acts 4. And see also II Cor. 4:4 & Eph. 6:12.) are members of the Roman Catholic church; and typically withstand or reject Biblical truth. Notice also that these men are described as "heathen" (Ps. 2:1; Acts 4:25) because most of these leaders govern pagan nations. And this is the fate of the uncircumcised (cf. Ezek. 32:18-32). This exactly why Scripture tell us that the kings of the earth have fornicated with the Antichrist's religious system and been deceived and drunken with its sorceries. (cf. Rev. 9:11, 16:14, 17:2, 10, 12, 18, 18:3, 9, 20:7-10; Ezek. 27:33, 35, 28:17, 32:10; Is. 47:9, 12-13)

· We must not forget the unspeakably horrendous torment and torture the Catholic church unleashed against those who stood for the Gospel truth. We MUST remember the brave Christian men and women who would NOT compromise their beliefs for the Whore's heresies. This is not an organization that Christ wants to reconcile with; it a satanic church that He will judge and cast into eternal fire: this will be their reward for martyring millions of His believing followers, who gave their lives for the truth. "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10)

· The Antichrist will come from wherever Satan’s favorite and highest level of activity has been throughout the church age—and that’s apostate Christianity. And the leading and most worldly denomination of apostate Christianity is Roman Catholicism, and the head of Roman Catholicism is the Pope.

· "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." (Dan.7:25) This prophetic Scripture from Daniel about the antichrist changing laws is fulfilled by the pope in two ways (by the way, the “laws” referred to here in Daniel aren’t man-made laws of civil government, but the highest laws there are: the spiritual laws of God Almighty [see Rom. 7:14]): (1) the Vaticanus manuscript (from which the new versions are based off of, and which fails the test of 1 John 4:3 as ANTICHRIST because it cannot confess “that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh”) changes God’s laws (His words) and perverts the true Gospel. (2) The Roman Catholic church (the Mother of Harlots) changed the Ten Commandments in their official Catechism by knocking out the 2^nd commandment (forbidding image worship) and changed the 4^th commandment from the sabbath to Sunday (a form of replacement theology). There is no one on earth who has stood against God’s words (the Majority Text and the Reformation Bibles) and Christ’s people (Protestants, Baptists, Anabaptists, Bible-believers, and other ‘heretics’) like the pope and his false Babylonian religion.