Pope frenzy? No, antichrist frenzy

As the Vatican cardinals gather to vote on a second ballot today, seeking their
ope, I want to make a reminder to everyone. Theologians more eloquent than I have spoken out about the Roman Catholic Church's stance against the Gospel.

In this age of 'tolerance' we usually do not see the kind of language that church fathers used even as recently as 50 years ago when describing someone who is opposed to the Gospel: an antichrist. The RCC pope was most often referred to as an antichrist, having the antichrist spirit which John described in his verse in 1 John 4:3). We hear of the coming one man who will be antichrist, but if we say "that man or this man is an antichrist" we are soundly pooh-poohed, being called intolerant or politically correct.

Last night I listened to a John MacArthur sermon about the church, and this morning I read two other essays which discuss the pope in terms of antichrist. I bring your attention to them.

First, how the Pope was spoken of in the past:

John Wycliffe
"When the western church was divided for about 40 years between two rival popes, one in Rome and the other in Avigon, France, each pope called the other pope antichrist - and John Wycliffe is reputed to have regarded them as both being right: "two halves of Antichrist, making up the perfect Man of Sin between them." -Ibid

Martin Luther (Lutheran)
"We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist...personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist." (Aug. 18, 1520) Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 2., pg. 121 by Froom. (In response to a papal bull [official decree]): "I despise and attack it, as impious, false... It is Christ Himself who is condemned therein... I rejoice in having to bear such ills for the best of causes. Already I feel greater liberty in my heart; for at last I know that the pope is antichrist, and that his throne is that of Satan himself." --D'Aubigné, b.6, ch. 9.

Cotton Mather (Congregational Theologian,)
"The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them." Taken from The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom's book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.

John Wesley (Methodist)
Speaking of the Papacy he said, "He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers... He it is...that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped...claiming the highest power, and highest honour...claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." Taken from Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms by John Wesley, pg. 110.

John Knox (Scotch Presbyterian)
Knox wrote to abolish "that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church" and that the pope should be recognized as "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." Taken from The Zurich Letters, pg. 199 by John Knox.

In his sermon, MacArthur spoke of the history of the reformation and began speaking of John Hus, John Knox, and went forward to Martin Luther. He did so because he wanted us to understand that when we casually say, "Christ is the Head of the Church" that was a blood-bought concept purchased by martyrs who opposed Rome's claim to the same and who died horrible deaths exalting the glorious name of Jesus and denouncing the pope.

The Pope's claim to earthly supremacy and headship of the church is satan's longest running attack on the church on earth. Not the only one, but the most successful, longest, and most heinous. The seeker driven pastor is of spirit of antichrist because they look to carnal means to expand the church. The purpose driven pastor is spirit of antichrist because they replace the bible with man-made, corporate methods to expand the church. The prosperity preacher is spirit of antichrist because they replace values and qualities of God with earthly possessions such as money and carnally-driven consumerism. The Charismatic is spirit of antichrist because they replace the word of God with personal experience as authoritative.

The sermon is excellent and heartfelt. You can listen or you can wait for the transcript.

Turning back to the pope, there is so much focus on the process to select a new one, after Pope Benedict's dramatic resignation, it behooves us to remember that the pope is an antichrist. Remember, this is a man who claims to be Christ on earth, infallible and the authority over all the church, replacing Jesus. There is no higher blasphemy. We should not become so inured to this blasphemy that we cave under pressure to NOT say pope is a slave to sin, a man of perdition, and an antichrist. Here is what the folks at The Cripplegate say:
A friendly reminder: the Pope is (probably) the antichrist
"...The identification of the Pope as the antichrist was so ingrained in the Reformation era (for obvious reasons) that Luther stated it repeatedly. For example: “This teaching [of the supremacy of the pope] shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God” (Smalcald Articles, II)."

And again Luther said,

"“We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist…personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist” (sermon on Aug 18, 1520)."

A little known fact about Jonathan Edwards is that he actually wrote a church history book. Titled A History of the Work of Redemption (it is in Vol. 4 of the complete set of his works), he actually identifies the rise of the Papacy, which he places from 479-800, as “the rise of the antichrist.” Edwards describes the time period between 800 and the reformation as “the reign of the antichrist” and structures most of his outline around the theme of the gospel’s advance in relationship to the antichrist.

This was not a doctrine held only by Calvinists and Lutherans. Wesley wrote a book titled Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, and he too saw the antichrist of Revelation and of 2 Thessalonians as the Pope.

I give this long list simply to put forward a response to those that ask me if I care about who the next Pope will be. In short, I do not. And if calling the Pope the antichrist seems like a very unchristian thing to do, I assure you that it is not the theology of the thing that has changed in the last 50 years. Today’s reluctance to make that connection says a lot about how far our evangelical culture has drifted, and very little about the Pope.
The false doctrine spewing from the Vatican is so corrupt that it hardly bears thinking of how these men are allowed to go on taking another breath. God's grace is surely evident in the fact that the ground does not open immediately and swallow them whole.

With that in mind, I bring you to another sad fact. Rick Warren, the man who is one of the pastors advising the makers of the History Channel mini-series, "The Bible," has called for prayer and fasting for the cardinals as they "seek God's will" in selecting a new antichrist pope.

As Erin Benziger wrote last night,
Such realities [of the pope's antichrist spirit] make it difficult for the Christian to deny that the office of Pope is one that should be denounced and condemned by true believers, not one to be celebrated. How, then, ought the Christian respond to the following tweet posted early this morning by purpose-driven pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church?

Do you finally see? Do you see how so many of our "pastors" in our faith have gone off the path, if they were ever on it? How this end time of God's work in the world is unveiling who is false and who is a wolf? God's grace gives comfort but it also gives discomfort as we begin to see the masks come off and the wolves' teeth bare in the gloaming, bloody with prey and looking for more.

The cardinals can no more find God's will than rich old Lazarus begging for water in hell can find comfort. They would not know God's will if they fell into a hole and came nose to nose with it. That Rick Warren, such a popular and influential pastor, should urge us to pray they select a new antichrist and that this process is within God's will is so far out of bounds my heart is racing with amazement.

Do not be caught in a web of deceit that the pope is anything but an antichrist and for all likelihood, will become THE antichrist.

Benzigner finishes, "What a blessing it is to know that the true Body of Christ is never without its leader! Jesus Christ is the only Head that the true Church ever has had or ever will have. No mere man could surpass Him in power, greatness or glory and woe to the man who tries."

Comments

  1. Can you believe it?? Who would have ever thought that the Protestant church would ever blur the lines that were so clearly set by the Reformation? It is happening all over the place in many ministries. Maybe the precursor of the one world religion forming. Only holdout to all of this nonsense are the true born from above believers, the Body of Christ, who will not bow to this kind of thinking. And so the persecution begins.
    Pam

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  2. One more comment: The trailer for the next Bible episode is appalling. It shows clips concerning Jesus and Peter.
    The masses are being introduced to a different Jesus. Deception abounds.

    Pam

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  3. It seems I can only find truth like this being spoken on the Internet. I certainly don't find it in church. Thank you for speaking the truth and instructing and encouraging those of us who are ignorant of the ways of the enemy. I have learned so much since I started reading your blog a few months ago. May the Lord bless you for being a light in the darkness!

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  4. I like Rick Warren and I think he's a great man of God but that tweet is just so wrong. The catholic church has been Satan's most subtle attack on Christianity. As Christians, we should pray that the lost would find God, and not for them to continue going down to their doom.

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  5. But if Christ established Peter as the first among Apostles- and even Paul placed himself under Peter's obedience, doesn't it stand to reason that whoever continues in that line of succession- as established by Jesus- is he whom Christ has called to be head of Church. Now, I am not yet arguing that the pope is or is not an anti-pope or an anti-christ. What I am saying is, if my above point stands as reasonable, then shouldn't our first question be how to remove a bad pope from his office instead of leaving Christ's church behind?

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    1. MichaelQ, apostolic succession is a lie, perpetrated by the Catholic Church.

      Nowhere in Scripture did Jesus, the apostles, or any other New Testament writer set forth the idea of “apostolic succession.” Further, neither is Peter presented as “supreme” over the other apostles. The apostle Paul, in fact, rebukes Peter when Peter was leading others astray (Galatians 2:11-14). Yes, the apostle Peter had a prominent role. Yes, perhaps the apostle Peter was the leader of the apostles (although the book of Acts records the apostle Paul and Jesus’ brother James as also having prominent leadership roles). Whatever the case, Peter was not the “commander” or supreme authority over the other apostles. Even if apostolic succession could be demonstrated from Scripture, which it cannot, apostolic succession would not result in Peter’s successors being absolutely supreme over the other apostles’ successors.

      Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/apostolic-succession.html#ixzz2NS5zHVFq

      Jesus will remove popes from office, not us. We don't care about the pope, is my point. What we look toward is the Holy Scripture as inerrant and infallible guide, prayer and the reliance on the Holy Spirit to illuminate its truths to us, and congregate in a local assembly to encourage the brethren and to learn from our pastors. That is our role and duty.

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    2. To call this a lie perpetrated by Catholicism ignores scripture and the early church. Christ interacted directly with Peter in a way unlike any other apostle. He called Peter the rock upon which the Church would be built. He entrusted Peter with the keys to the Kingdom, telling him whatever was bound on earth was bound in heaven. The resurrected Christ instructs Peter directly to feed his lambs, watch over his sheep. Some passages of note: Acts 1:20-26,1 Corinthians 11:2, Thessalonians 2:15, 1 Timothy 1:6 and 4:14. Those are passages from scripture, and they are not insignificant; they make it clear that apostolic succession was alive and well. The fact that Peter was rebuked, or that other apostles had prominent roles, does not reduce the scripture-sound notion that Christ favored Peter to lead his flock as the shepherd here on Earth. Beyond that, the notion of apostolic succession was an undeniable part of the early Church, among people who knew those who had direct contact with Christ, and is found all over writings that predate what became the Biblical canon; a canon, I might add, that, through the work of the Holy Spirit, was decided upon by the Catholic Church.

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    3. It is not ignoring scripture, it is twisting scripture to say that Jesus founded His church on Peter. Peter was responding to the Lord's query, who do you think that I am? Peter said you are the son of the Living God, the Messiah, and Jesus replied, I will build my church on this. On Peter's ANSWER, the fact that Jesus is God. Not that Jesus came to earth to live a sinless life, die an agonizing death to be raised again only to found the church upon a *man.* Think, Anonymous, think. The church is founded upon Jesus the everlasting cornerstone, not a sinful man who died.

      If you want scripture that explains the situation of how the Catholic Church twisted that verse you mentioned, go here to see the answer to the question Was Saint Peter the first pope?"
      http://www.gotquestions.org/Peter-first-pope.html

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    4. "I say you are peter and on this rock I will build my church."

      Jesus is clearly the founder. Peter is clearly the foundation. Jesus must necessarily be the cornerstone of that foundation- without a cornerstone a structure won't stand. But you simply can't claim that it is twisting scripture to say that Jesus didn't say the above quote.

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    5. MichaelQ, I did not say that Jesus didn't say the quote. As a matter of fact, I paraphrased the entire exchange for you. Peter is not clearly the foundation, all the apostles are (Eph 2:20). If Peter was supreme among the apostles, why does he state he is a *fellow* elder instead of asserting his supremacy? (1 Pet. 5:1-2). No, there is no apostolic succession. More here

      is Peter supreme among the apostles?
      http://carm.org/peter-supreme-among-apostles

      When the apostles died, the foundation the apostles was laid and no one succeeded Peter with any more authority than any other believer. That is because the bible was completed and the Spirit brought truth to the believers. The pope is a lost man who is already condemned. He is lost because what he believes varies from what Jesus taught.

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    6. I suggest that Roman Catholics sit down and read 1 Peter and 2 Peter. then read the book of Hebrews. Read carefully and pay attention to what you are reading. Compare what it says in holy scripture to what the religion of Rome teaches. Ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment as you read. The scriptures are chock full of direct contradictions to what Rome teaches. The RC hierarchy are able to keep people in bondage to false religion because the people are not reading their bibles and comparing what is taught to scripture. You cannot go by one verse. You have to look at the whole of what scripture teaches. Don't just look at the scripture about the rock. Compare what that scripture says with the other scriptures about Peter and by Peter. About Who else is called a Rock, especially in the Psalms. Then you will be much closer to understanding the truth. You must turn from the lies of Roman Catholicism and repent of false religion. God forgives those who come to Him with a repentant heart. Only Jesus Christ can save. He only can forgive sin. He died ONCE (see Hebrews). We can go to God directly in prayer if we are truly born again. Jesus Christ is the ONLY mediator between God and man. Mary can do absolutely nothing for you. She is dead. She is alive to God in heaven, but she is dead from a human perspective. We are to have no dealings with speaking to the dead. Why seek the living among the dead? See Luke 16 starting in verse 19. The rich man in hell is begging Abraham to send someone to his brothers and warn them. Abraham says no to that and to every request asked by him. He also says there is no going from hell to heaven once you are there. There is NO purgatory! The Roman Catholic church, like the Pharisees in Jesus' day keep people from entering the kingdom. Flee from this false system!

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  6. I agree whole heartedly with this article. That born again christians should follow Rick Warren is shocking. Chuck Smith said on his radio program that we should pray that perhaps God will allow us to work together with this system that has now elected a new pope after being asked by a caller what this pope could mean for the christian church. I was amazed by Chuck's answer although I realize he has many unscriptural teachings.

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  7. Only the True Christians know that the Catholic church is an apostate church no matter who is elected pope, it will carry on regardless and fulfil Revelation prophecy. But what is most amazing is that this guy is an Italian by birth and the First Jesuit, so i have feeling this IS The Last Pope! and Antichrist that we have been waiting for. Did anyone notice the Seagull that landed on the Vatican chimney? giving us all a clue? SEA....as in Beast from the Sea.hmmm
    Another Great Post Elizabeth,

    Peace and Blessings,
    Rebecca Bonnell

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    1. I agree with you Rebecca.

      Their last Pope was "prophesied" to be Italian. What is interesting to me is, if this is the last Pope, we Christians are given a glance at what he looks like before we go home. Interesting to get a glimpse of the possible false prophet, and what has been spoken of in Revelation for almost 2000 years. This is speculative I know. But with all that's happening and culminating right before our eyes, I do believe we are at the door just before the Tribulation.

      --------------------

      As far as using names for people who are obviously against Christ and systems that are against Christ--the Apostle John did not have a problem in calling people liars and Rome Antichrist! As one article states: "John was not talking about someone far off in Rome; he was referring to persons known to his readers."

      "Name-calling, accurately done, is not only not a sin, it is a virtue. It is identifying a person for what he is, and this cannot be done except by doing it. Those who deny that Jesus came in the flesh are antichrists and liars. Those who deny the resurrection are fools, and so on. The reluctance to call names is a type of reluctance to draw valid conclusions from the evidence; it is an attempt to "curb logic," to use the neo-orthodox phrase. suggested that a separation be made between Ones theology and his person, indicating that it is permissible to judge his theology, but not his person. Such a separation is foreign to the Scriptures. The reason one is not to call a brother Raca or Fool is that his theology is basically correct: He is a brother and has been regenerated by God. His theology is his person; as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Not only are we not to make a separation between a person’s theology and his person, we are commanded to judge another person by his theology. John, in 2 John, does not say that the theology of certain people is antichristian (though it is) nor does he say they speak lies (though they do). He calls the people antichrists and liars. He judges their persons by their theologies, and he commands the elect lady and her children to do the same. John commands the elect lady and her children not to show any hospitality to such liars and antichrists. It is not without significance that John first gives his reasons, then calls names, and then gives the command. Accurate identification is necessary to appropriate action. Unless that identification is made, the appropriate action will not follow."-end quotes

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  8. Looks like Rick Warren may have gotten the answer to prayer that he wanted. Just check out the history of the Jesuits. That is eye-opening.

    Pam

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  9. Thankyou for that reply Linda. I have been using discernment a lot lately, especially where the Anglican church is concerned and their latest 'Major Works of Sin' agreeing to employ gay clergy who are in relationships as long as they remain celibate...hmmm that's Major Hypocrisy! and I cannot carry on going to my Anglican church...as it's now an Apostate church and is on the sippery slope to Hell. Many church's that were born out from the RCC are either apostate or are becoming apostate, due to not obeying The True Word of God. Another sign of how short our time is here. Hallelujah.
    Oh and my Mum thinks I am judging and to be careful, my reply was that I am using discernment, which we are told to do, fell on deaf ears. Sigh!

    Peace and Blessings,
    Rebecca Bonnell

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