Sign In Sign-Up

Welcome!

Close

Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...

Yes, Please make this my home page!

No Thanks

  Don't show this to me again.

Close

With the advent of the printing press in the15th century, and the resulting explosion of Bibles accessible in the common language from Protestant sources, it became readily apparent to those who could now study the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation in particular, that Bible prophecy identified by symbols a persecuting apostate entity generally known as antichrist. The following table shows the common elements from several places in scripture that aid in identifying this antichrist power:

HISTORICISM

Now if we list and develop the above characteristics of antichrist, the following becomes readily apparent:

1. It will rise to be a great power after the fall of the pagan Roman empire (after 476 A.D.).
2. It will be a geographically small nation (a little horn).
3. It will rule over many people, nations, and tongues (it will be universal).
4. It will be headquartered in the city of seven hills, Rome.
5. It will be a religio-political entity — a political city-state ruled by a priest-king.
6. Its priest-king will make great and blasphemous claims.
7. It will claim authority over all kings.
8. It will claim its power to change the holy times and laws of God as its mark of authority.
9. It will be an apostate church, that makes the nations drink her cup of apostate doctrine.
10. It will be a "mother" church, with apostate daughters coming from her.
11. It will be a persecuting power, killing the faithful saints of Jesus Christ as heretics.
12. It will hold power and authority for 1260 years following the fall of pagan Rome.
13. It will suffer a deadly wound that will end 1260 years of dominance and persecution.
14. It will be revived after the deadly wound, and all the world will wonder at it's revival.

In this the "Historical" interpretation, the antichrist was clearly not merely a single individual, it was a system of apostasy and persecution that would hold sway for over twelve centuries. The inevitable conclusion of those who studied these prophesies in scripture, before and during the Protestant Reformation, was that there was only one entity that fit all the above characteristics: the papal dynasty of the Roman Catholic Church. Is it any wonder that the Catholic Church was so violently opposed to the scriptures being available for everyone to read for themselves? There was such a stir created during the reformation that the  Fifth Lateran Council (1512-17 A.D.) resorted to strictly forbidding anyone to publish a book without prior censorship, and also prohibited anyone from preaching on the subject of antichrist:

SESSION 10, 4 May 1515, On censorship of books:

... "some printers have the boldness to print and sell to the public, in different parts of the world, books — some translated into Latin from Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and Chaldean as well as some issued directly in Latin or a vernacular language — containing errors opposed to the faith as well as pernicious views contrary to the Christian religion and to the reputation of prominent persons of rank. The readers are not edified. Indeed, they lapse into very great errors not only in the realm of faith but also in that of life and morals. This has often given rise to various scandals, as experience has taught, and there is daily the fear that even greater scandals are developing." ...

... "We therefore establish and ordain that henceforth, for all future time, no one may dare to print or have printed any book or other writing of whatever kind in Rome or in any other cities and dioceses, without the book or writings having first been closely examined, at Rome by our vicar and the master of the sacred palace, in other cities and dioceses by the bishop or some other person who knows about the printing of books and writings of this kind and who has been delegated to this office by the bishop in question, and also by the inquisitor of heresy for the city or diocese where the said printing is to take place, and unless the books or writings have been approved by a warrant signed in their own hand, which must be given, under pain of excommunication, freely and without delay."
    "In addition to the printed books being seized and publicly burnt, payment of a hundred ducats to the fabric of the basilica of the prince of the apostles in Rome, without hope of relief, and suspension for a whole year from the possibility of engaging in printing, there is to be imposed upon anyone presuming to act otherwise the sentence of excommunication." ...

SESSION 11, 19 December 1516, On how to preach:

... "We command all who undertake this task of preaching, or will later undertake it, to preach and expound the gospel truth and holy scripture in accordance with the exposition, interpretation and commentaries that the church or long use has approved and has accepted for teaching until now, and will accept in the future, without any addition contrary to its true meaning or in conflict with it. They are always to insist on the meanings which are in harmony with the words of sacred scripture and with the interpretations, properly and wisely understood, of the doctors mentioned above. They are in no way to presume to preach or declare a fixed time for future evils, the coming of antichrist or the precise day of judgment; for Truth says, it is not for us to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. Let it be known that those who have hitherto dared to declare such things are liars, and that because of them not a little authority has been taken away from those who preach the truth." ...

But the Catholic Church eventually came to the conclusion that it would not be able to ban or burn all the Bibles, heretical books, and heretics that possessed or preached from them. This oppressive and crude tactic merely confirmed their identification as the harlot persecuting church of prophecy. A new and more subtle approach was needed in order to effectively counter the application of apocalyptic prophecy to the Catholic Church.

One major identifying characteristic the Catholic Church needed to deal with was the time period of 1260 years that the antichrist power was to rule, according to Protestantism's Historicist interpretation. There simply is only one entity on earth that has ruled for this length of time after the fall of pagan Rome, and that is the Roman Catholic Church (See also Time, Times, and Half a Time? and The Red Dragon and Rome).

A new "interpretation" would have to be found that deflected attention away from the twelve century papal rule of the middle ages. This would fulfill the prophecy of Dan 7:25, that the little horn power would think to change the prophetic set times of the most High, just like king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon thought to change the prophetic vision of the statue man in Daniel chapter 2, by building an all gold statue in chapter 3. The little horn, Mystery Babylon, would in like manner, try to deny and obscure the meaning of prophecy.

---

So, according to Ribera, the 1260 days and 42 months and 3 1/2 times of prophecy were not 1260 years, but a literal 3 1/2 years, and therefore none of the book of Revelation had any application to the middle ages or the papacy, but to the future, to a period immediately prior to the second coming, hence the name Futurism.

Manuel De Lacunza (1731–1801), a Jesuit from Chile, wrote a manuscript in Spanish titled La Venida del Mesías en Gloria y Magestad ("The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty"), under the pen name of Juan Josafa [Rabbi] Ben-Ezra about 1791. Lacunza wrote under an assumed Jewish name to obscure the fact that he was a Catholic, in order to give his book better acceptance in Protestantism, his intended audience. Also an advocate of Futurism, Lacunza was deliberately attempting to take the pressure off the papacy by proposing that the Antichrist was still off in the future. His manuscript was published in London, Spain, Mexico and Paris between 1811 and 1826.

La Venida del Mesías en Gloria y Magestad online at the National Library of Chile (in Spanish).

Edward Irving (1792-1834), a Scottish Presbyterian and forerunner of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, translated Lacunza's work from Spanish into English in a book titled The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty with a Preliminary Discourse, published in London in 1827 by L.B. Seeley & Sons, which included Irving's own lengthy preface. Here are excerpts from Irving's translation:

Lacunza asserts that Antichrist would appear near the end of time:

That there shall be an Antichrist; that he shall be revealed, and publicly declared, towards the last times; and that he shall commit in the world the greatest evils, making formal war against Christ, and all that pertains to him; —these are three certain things, of which no Christian can doubt. -- Vol. I, Part II, Phenomenon III,  pg. 259.

Antichrist, Lacunza concludes, would not be just one man:

ACCORDING to all the signs given in the Holy Scriptures, and others, not equivocal, offered to us by time, which is wont to be the best interpreter of the prophecies, the antichrist, or the contrachrist, with whom we stand threatened in the times immediate upon the coming of the Lord, is nothing but a moral body, composed of innumerable individuals, diverse in themselves, but all morally united and animated with one common spirit, against the Lord and against his Christ; -- Vol. I, Part II, Phenomenon III,  pg. 260.

As to the harlot woman riding the beast in Revelation 17, Lacunza acknowledges it is indeed referring to Rome:

... the doctors do all agree, that the woman here spoken of is the city of Rome, in other times the capital of the greatest empire in the world, and now the capital and centre of unity of the true Christian church. On this first point, which is not called in question, there is no occasion to tarry. -- Vol. I, Part II, Phenomenon III,  pg. 288.

... it is not present Rome which is at all spoken of here, but future Rome alone to which the prophecy hath its determinate application. -- Vol. I, Part II, Phenomenon III,  pg. 295.

Rome yes, Lacunza agrees, but not the Roman Catholic Church of his day, which he calls the true church, rather he pushes this prophecy in Revelation 17 off into the future:

Rome, not idolatrous but Christian, not the head of the Roman empire but the head of Christendom, and centre of unity of the true church of the living God, may very well, without ceasing from this dignity, at some time or other incur the guilt, and before God be held guilty of fornication with the kings of the earth, and amenable to all its consequences. And in this there is not any inconsistency, however much her defenders may shake the head. And this same Rome, in that same state, may receive upon herself the horrible chastisement spoken of in the prophecy; -- Vol. I, Part II, Phenomenon III,  pg. 296.

This apostate Christian group termed Antichrist would be:

... slain and destroyed by Christ himself in the great day of his coming in glory and majesty. -- Vol. I, Part II, Phenomenon IV,  pg. 321.

Edward Irving's translation of  Lacunza's Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty Volume I  in Adobe 6 PDF format. (1.4 mb) Volume II in Adobe 6 PDF format. (1.4 mb) Both Volumes I & II revised on 28 July 2003.

Margaret McDonald, a 15 year old Scottish girl, and member of Edward Irving's congregation, had visions in early 1830 that included a Secret Rapture of believers before the appearance of the Antichrist. She informed Irving of her visions by letter. Irving then attended the prophecy conferences that began in Dublin Ireland in 1830 at Powerscourt Castle, where he promoted both Futurism and a Secret Rapture.

Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792-1866), scholar and librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury, further promoted and established Futurism in England after 1826, as a result of reading the work of Manuel De Lacunza.

John Nelson Darby (1800–1882), a Church of Ireland clergyman, later with the Plymouth Brethren, also promoted Futurism and a secret rapture. Darby attended the series of meetings on Bible Prophecy that began in 1830 at Powerscourt, Ireland, and at these conferences Darby apparently learned about the secret rapture as revealed by vision to Margaret McDonald, and promoted by Edward Irving, and he soon visited Margaret MacDonald at her home in Port Glasgow, Scotland. Darby later visited America several times between 1859 and 1874, where his Futurist theology was readily accepted.

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1813-1875), formerly with the Plymouth Brethren, he became Presbyterian, and published The Hope Of Christ's Second Coming in 1864, in which he gave the following testimony on the origin of the secret rapture:

"I am not aware that there was any definite teaching that there would be a secret rapture of the Church at a secret coming, until this was given forth as an "utterance" in Mr. Irving’s Church, from what was there received as being the voice of the Spirit. But whether any one ever asserted such a thing or not, it was from that supposed revelation that the modern doctrine and the modern phraseology respecting it arose. It came not from Holy Scripture, but from that which falsely pretended to be the Spirit of God, while not owning the true doctrine of our Lord’s incarnation in the same flesh and blood as His brethren, but without taint of sin." -- Footnote 1 for Chapter 9, pg 35.

Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921), greatly influenced by the writings of J. N. Darby, incorporated Futurism in the notes of his Scofield Reference Bible. First published by Oxford University Press in 1909, one million copies were printed by 1930. The Scofield Bible was instrumental in firmly establishing the Jesuit inspired Futurist interpretation in the Protestant Bible schools of the United States in the 20th century.

The Jesuit Inspired Futurist Lie Spreads
To America's Protestant Seminaries

These seminaries and ministries have wholly abandoned the historical Protestant and biblical teaching that the Roman Catholic Church is the apostate church, the harlot of Revelation, with the Antichrist papacy at its head, and instead serve to screen the papal Antichrist power from being perceived by their students or viewers. They are accurately described as false prophets!

• Dallas Theological Seminary (a nondenominational Protestant school): Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952), a student of Cyrus Scofield, founded Evangelical Theological College (now DTS) in 1924, which is likely the most influential seminary in the United States today. Futurism, and the secret rapture (which they call the blessed hope), are covered in articles 18-20 of the DTS Full Doctrinal Statement.
   
  Some of the more well known alumni and faculty of DTS:
   
  • John Walvoord (Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, President of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986, Chancellor of DTS since 1986), author of The Rapture Question (1957), and member of the revision committee for The New Scofield Reference Bible.
  • Chuck Swindoll (Insight for Living), President of Dallas Theological Seminary since July of 1994.
  • Charles C. Ryrie (Professor Emeritus Dallas Theological Seminary), author of The Ryrie Study Bible, which has been characterized as the updated Scofield Reference Bible for the end of the twentieth century.
  • Hal Lindsey, (hallindsey.com - hallindseyoracle.com) author of The Rapture: Truth or Consequences (1983), perhaps the best known prophecy author of the last 30 years. Sole credited Bible authority for Trinity Broadcasting's recent Futurist antichrist movie Omega Code.
  • J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988), Through the Bible Radio series.
  • Kenneth N. Taylor (former director of Moody Press, founder of Tyndale House Publishing), author of The Living Bible. Tyndale House publishes the hugely popular Left Behind Futurist series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.
  • Thomas Ice (Executive Director of the Pre-trib Research Center), Th.M. from DTS, co-founder of Pre-trib Research Center with Tim LaHaye.
  • Renald Showers, Most High God: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel.
     
• Moody Bible Institute of Chicago: In 1890, C. I. Scofield began a Comprehensive Bible Correspondence Course, later taken over about 1914 by the Moody Bible Institute (Dwight. L. Moody, founder of the Moody Church, had converted Scofield, and Scofield preached and presided at Moody's funeral in 1899).
   
  • Moody Press supplied Sunday School lessons to the Assembly of God churches about 1914, introducing Pentecostals to Futurism and the secret rapture theory.
  • The Ryrie Study Bible, by Charles C. Ryrie, a graduate Dallas Theological Seminary, boasts 10,000+ study notes and is listed among the best selling books published by Moody Press.
  • Jerry B. Jenkins, co-author of the Left Behind series, is the former vice president for publishing of Moody Bible Institute, and former editor of Moody Magazine. Currently he is Moody Bible Institute's writer-at-large.
     
• Western Theological Seminary (Reformed Church in America).
   
  • Alma Mater of Tim LaHaye, founder of the Pre-trib Research Center, co-author of the Left Behind series of books, by far the most popular series promoting Futurism and the secret rapture, which has sold 20+ million copies. Published by Tyndale House, at least 12 titles are planned for the series. The film version of the first book in the series has been produced by prophecy authors Peter and Paul Lalonde of Cloud Ten Pictures:
       Left Behind - The Film Project
       Left Behind - The Movie
    Released first on video cassette, and then in theaters in early 2001, people who have seen Left Behind say it is confusing, and lacks a Gospel presentation of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, making it of little (if any) evangelistic value, much like TBN's Omega Code and Megiddo (Omega Code II).
     
• Tim LaHaye School of Prophecy - opens in January 2002 on the campus of Liberty University
  Lynchburg, V.A., Dr. Jerry Falwell - Chancellor. Tim LaHaye says he was impressed by the prophecy conferences of Albury Park and Powerscourt held in Britain in the 1820's and 1830's and this led directly to his co-founding the Pre-trib Research Center. Edward Irving and J. N. Darby attended, and apparently greatly influenced, these 19th century British prophecy conferences where the secret rapture and futurism gained in acceptance among Protestant prophecy scholars.

Well known ministries teaching Futurism and the Secret Rapture:

• Trinity Broadcasting - perhaps the largest Christian TV Broadcasting Network, TBN has produced two futurist themed movies: Omega Code and Megiddo (Omega Code II). TBN also airs the following movies with end-times, secret rapture / futurism themes:

The Moment After -  TMA Productions.
Two FBI agents investigate the reason for the sudden mysterious disappearance of millions of people.

The Gathering -  DRC Productions.
Two unbelieving women and a believing husband have disturbing visions of the impending tribulation and sudden rapture of Christians.

End of the Harvest - Christiano Film Group.
A college student, who experiences strange dreams of a farmer harvesting wheat, reluctantly defends end-time Bible prophecy when another student fails to give the presentation to a group of die-hard atheists in a philosophy club. Subtly promotes spiritualism (communications from the dead).

• Jack Van Impe Ministries - Author of The Jack Van Impe Prophecy Bible and a verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation entitled Revelation Revealed. On his TV program, Jack claims that God Himself has shown him the error of previous Bible interpreters and given him the absolutely correct interpretation of the book of Revelation. Producer of the following futurist-themed movies:
  • Apocalypse I: Caught in the Eye of the Storm.
  • Apocalypse II: Revelation.
  • Apocalypse III: Tribulation.
  • Apocalypse IV: Judgment.
     
• Jerry Falwell Ministries - heavily promotes the Tim LaHaye School of Bible Prophecy, which opened in January 2002 on the campus of Falwell's Liberty University.
   
• John Hagee Ministries - Offers the John Hagee Prophecy Study Bible, billed as "the only Prophecy Study Bible of its kind", with over 300 pages of Bible Prophecy study notes and having unique Bible Prophecy charts. John Hagee has strongly promoted the Left Behind books and movie with hour long infomercial TV programs.
   
• The King is Coming, World Prophetic Ministry, Colton, California, Ed Hindson President. Founded by Dr. Howard C. Estep (1916-1986),  author of The Catching Away (1967). Committed to the literal interpretation of the Bible. Dr. Dave Breese, former President of W.P.M. and Teacher on "The King is Coming." referred to Scofield's margin notes when teaching the Futurist interpretation of Daniel's 70 weeks on The King is Coming. Contributed to the Tim LaHaye Study Bible, billed as "the most complete study Bible ever!". Tim LaHaye has been guest speaker for a series of programs on the "The King is Coming".
   
• Grant R. Jeffrey (Prophecy Online)
   
• Hilton Sutton World Ministries
   
• Zola Levitt - Zola Levitt Ministries "holds to a strictly literal and inerrant Bible interpretation, salvation through Christ alone, a soon pre-tribulation Rapture of all believers and the establishment of a thousand-year kingdom on Earth."
   
• John Ankerberg (Ankerberg Theological Research Institute), (Harbor Lighthouse)
   
• Perry Stone (Manna Fest), Founder and President of Voice of Evangelism Ministries Inc.
   
• Chuck Missler (Koinonia House). Questions Continue: The Great Snatch?
   
• Dave Hunt (The Berean Call) - author of A Woman Rides the Beast, remarkably enough, teaches the secret rapture and future antichrist in his newsletter The End Times.
   

Again, Alcazar found no application of prophecy to the middle ages or to the papacy. That his interpretation differed so greatly from that put forth by Francisco Ribera or Cardinal Bellarmine, mattered little. Catholicism, the supposedly divine and infallible interpreter of scripture, was presenting two vastly different and quite incompatible interpretations of prophecy in a desperate effort to counter the claims of the reformers.

THE GREAT CATHOLIC DIVERSION REVEALED

The intent of both Futurism and Preterism was to be diversionary, to counter or offset the Protestant Historical interpretation, and present alternatives, no matter how implausible they might be. The result is evident from the following chart, which illustrates the three schools of interpretation regarding antichrist:

Now the truly amazing part of all this is that the Futurist theory dominates Protestant teaching today. About all you hear or read about today is the yet-to-appear antichrist, who will be unveiled in the last 3 1/2 years of Daniel's 70th week, when he declares himself to be God in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. That scenario, as you can now see, is directly traceable back to the pen of the Jesuit Francisco Ribera. Note what one Protestant writer had to say over one hundred years ago:

    Next we come to consider the time of the rise of the Futurist system as we now have it, and the occasion which led to it.
    So great a hold did the conviction that the Papacy was the Antichrist gain upon the minds of men, that Rome at last saw she must bestir herself, and try, by putting forth other systems of interpretation, to counteract the identification of the Papacy with the Antichrist.
    Accordingly, towards the close of the century of the Reformation, two of her most learned doctors set themselves to the task, each endeavouring by different means to accomplish the same end, namely, that of diverting men's minds from perceiving the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Antichrist in the Papal system. The Jesuit Alcasar devoted himself to bring into prominence the Preterist method of interpretation, which we have already briefly noticed, and thus endeavoured to show that the prophecies of Antichrist were fulfilled before the Popes ever ruled in Rome, and therefore could not apply to the Papacy. On the other hand the Jesuit Ribera tried to set aside the application of these prophecies to the Papal Power by bringing out the Futurist system, which asserts that these prophecies refer properly not to the career of the Papacy, but to that of some future supernatural individual, who is yet to appear, and to continue in power for three and a half years. Thus, as Alford says, the Jesuit Ribera, about A.D. 1580, may be regarded as the Founder of the Futurist system in modern times.
    It is a matter for deep regret that those who hold and advocate the Futurist system at the present day, Protestants as they are for the most part, are thus really playing into the hands of Rome, and helping to screen the Papacy from detection as the Antichrist. It has been well said that "Futurism tends to obliterate the brand put by the Holy Spirit upon Popery." More especially is this to be deplored at a time when the Papal Antichrist seems to be making an expiring effort to regain his former hold on men's minds. Now once again, as at the Reformation, it is especially necessary that his true character should be recognized, by all who would be faithful to "the testimony of Jesus."

From Daniel and the Revelation: The Chart of Prophecy and Our Place In It, A Study of the Historical and Futurist Interpretation, by Joseph Tanner, published in London by Hodder and Stoughton, 1898, pages 16,17.

In what could only be described as a stunning reversal, Protestants have over time actually become the papacy's greatest ally by spreading its Jesuit spawned propaganda. What irony that Protestants, who originally broke away from what they clearly recognized to be the harlot antichrist led church of prophecy, now champion the Futurist interpretation from high profile global ministries. Futurism has without doubt, been successful beyond the wildest dreams of its Jesuit authors. The same can be said for the Preterist interpretation of Luis De Alcazar, although to a lesser degree.

---

The above article is based primarily on information obtained from The PROPHETIC FAITH OF OUR FATHERS, The Historical Development of Prophetic Interpretation, by Le Roy Edwin Froom, Volume II, Pre-Reformation and Reformation Restoration, and Second Departure, published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington D.C., Copyright 1948, Chapters 21-23 in particular.

DISCLAIMER: Although our small group of Christian believers keep the seventh day sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11; Acts 16:13; Heb. 10:25), which is the Lord's day (Is. 58:13; Matt. 12:8; Rev. 1:10), holy according to the commandment (Luke 23:56; 1 John 2:4; Rev. 22:14), we are not affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventists or any other denomination.

Left Behind by the Jesuits  

The Secret Rapture  

Identifying the Beast  

Testimony of The Reformers

      In ancient times God allowed his people to go astray and worship in the idolatrous ways of the nations of the world (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; Judges 2:13; 10:6; I Sam. 7:3,4; 12:10; I Kings 11:5,33; II Kings 23:3-5,13; Jer. 7:18; 44:17,18). And the New Testament makes it clear that God will allow his people to go astray today. Ancient sun-worship was an idolatrous custom of the nations of the world from the earliest times of recorded history. Ancient celestial deities were worshiped under a variety of names, but they all shared identical or similar attributes. The Scriptures record numerous instances when God's people turned to pagan idolatry; “and they worshipped the sun” (Ezek. 8:16); “the queen of heaven” (Jer. 7 & 44); etc. (Judges 2:13; 10:6; I Sam. 7:3,4; 12:10; I Kings 11:5,33; II Kings 23:13; Ezek. 8:13-16). When God delivered the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, many of his people yearned for the idols of the pagan gods (Ezk. 20:1-16). The book of Acts says of God's own people, even after he delivered them from bondage in Egypt, “in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,...Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven;” (Acts 7:39-43). (Click thumbnails below to see images comparing the striking similarities between the various ancient and modern idolatries:)

Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:11,12)

---

ROME'S CHALLENGE - WHY DO PROTESTANTS KEEP SUNDAY?

A Dictionary of the Holy Bible
By John Brown
Edinburgh, 1789
and
A Dictionary of the Holy Bible
By John Brown
Philadelphia, 1798
(Note: In 18th century English a long sounding lower-case "s" resembled a lower-case "f" in appearance)

(page 71)
ANTICHRIST, an adversary of Jesus Christ. Heretics who denied the doctrine of the Trinity, or the divinity or incarnation of Christ, &c. were called Antichrist: of this sort there were many in the time of the apostle John, i John ii. 13, 22. and iv. 3. But one particular system of wicked persons, principles, and practices, is chiefly so designed: in the daily fear of which the primitive Christians lived. The scripture represents this Antichrist as a very man of sin, and son of perdition: as a strong delusion over-spreading the whole Roman empire; as a terrible judgment introduced by ignorance and hatred of the truth and apostacy from it; as springing from the bottomlefs pit, amidst terrible smoke of superstition and error; as sitting in the temple or church of God; as exalting himself above magistrates, angels, and every thing called God; as a contemner of the gods of the idolatrous hieathen, and the God of his prosessed fathers, in the primitive church, and setting up a new class of Mahuzzim, deities to protect his different dominions; as given to the vilest blasphemy, error, cruelty, and persecution; as possessing a civil and ecclesiastic power over the ten parts of the Roman empire, and seizing upon three of them for his proper domain; as establifhing his abominations, unnumbered by false miracles, and lying wonders; as excluding from civil commerce such as do not more or less solemnly acknowledge, and submit to his power. United under one head, the destructive angel of the bottomless pit, the promoters of this delusion, were to be many and mischievous, as locusts and scorpions: ruinous to such as had not the true grace of God; having their conscience seared as with an hot iron; speaking lies in hypocrisy; propagating the doctrines of devils, forbidding to marry, or on occasions, to use lawful and wholesome meats;—while their hearers had itching ears, heaped up teachers, and gave heed unto fables:
(page 72)
they were to be lovers of them-selves, covetous, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, falfe accusers, incontinent, wallowers in all manner of uncleanness, intemperate, fierce, defpisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, creeping into houses, and leading captive silly women laden with sins. The chief residence of this monster was to be Rome: its name, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. The Number of his name is 666, whose numeral letters constitute Latinus or Romiish, and whose square root is 25, the number of the articles of faith, and of many other things in the Romish church. This Antichrist began to work in the apostolic age, but was checked by the power of the Roman empire till that was destroyed, and a fearful apostacy from the faith happened in the church. His duration is 1260 years; during which he promotes idolatry, lies, and blasphemy, treads the church under foot, and persecutes the saints, who all along bear Witness against his abominations; nor do the terrible ravages of the Turkish angels, loosed from the Euphrates, in the least make his subjets to repent of their idolatries, murders, sorceries, fornications, thefts. At the end of his reign, he shall, with craft and fury, almost entirely cut off faithful witnessing for Chrift:—but all of a sudden, by the pure preaching of the gospel; by the effusion of sevenfold plagues, or vials of divine wrath; by the revolt and opposition of his own subjects, shall he be terribly distroyed, to the consternation of his adherents, and the great joy of the saints, both Jews and Gentiles, Dan. vii. 8—12. 20—26. and xi. 36—40. 2 Thess. ii. 3—12. 1 Tim. iv. 1—3. 2 Tim. iii. 1—7. and iv. 3,4. Rev. ix. 1-—11. 20, 21. aud xi. and xiii. to xix. chapters. The above characters, drawn from the scripture, can, with no justice, be applied to the heathen emperors of Rome; much less to the fanciful Danitish Antichrift of Popish writers, the Armillus of the Jews, or the Daggial of the Mahometans. The Mahometan system may indeed be considered as a lesser and more improper Antichrist; but neither are the most of the characters applicable to it. It sits not in the church, nor contains any pretensions of men to power equal to God's: allows of no idolatry, nor is it noted for persecution of the saints: nor was it established by lying wonders, but by the power of the sword.
But every part of the above character is clearly applicable to the PAPACY. In the apostolic age it began to work in the ambition and false doftrines of the pretended apostles; all along, in the succeeding ages, it operated more and more in the growth of error and superftition; and in the aspiring temper of the clergy, chiefly of the bishops of Rome. The continued power of the emperors was long a check to the pride of the Roman bishops; but when the seat of the empire was removed to Conitantinople, about A.D. 330; when the western empire was entirely dissolved by the barbarians, A.D. 476; and finally, when ia A. D. 566, the emperor Justin stript Rome of her consuls and senate, and made it subject to the Exarch of Ravenna, they had full opportunity to exert their ambition.
Seven forms of government, viz. by kings, consuls, decemvirs, tribunes, dictators, emperors, Heathen and Christian, and by Gothilh kings, had already had their turns at Rome; and the empire was parcelled out into ten different Sovereignties. The Chriilian clergy had heaped up the
(page 73)
unscriptural dignities of lordly bishops, archbishops, metropolitans patriarchs, one over another. They still wanted an head to unite them into one body. The bishops of Rome, by encouraging appeals to their bar, by pretending deeds of council in their favour, and a thousand other fraudulent methods, struggled for the sovereignty; nor were the patriarchs of Conftantincple idle. Gregory the Great filled tlve Romish see about A.D. 600. In opposition to John of Constantinople, he loudly maintained, That whoever claimed an uniiversal headship over the Christian church, was doubtless the forerunner of Antichrist, if not actually He. Meanwhile, he laboured with all his might to incrcase the fooleries of superstition; the multitude of which, along with their attendant errors, now darkened the face of the Chnftian church; and to procure preferment flattered Phocas. About A.D. 606, or 608, bishop Boniface the 3d, by flattering of Phocas the emperor of Constantinople, one of the vilest traitors and murderers, and one of the most inhuman and wicked wretches, that ever breathed, procured himself the title of Universal Bishop. Deputies were immediately dispatched through the western churches to introduce the new superstition, and procure submission to the Romish yoke. These deputies were often very ignorant, and quite incapable to officiate, in the language of the countries whither they came. A remedy was found; about A. D. 666, it is said Pope Vitalian appointed all religious worship in public to be performed in Latin. This at once concealed the ignorance of the deputies, and marked the churches with an implicit subjcilion to Rome. The Popes exerted their sacred power in promoting tho idolatrous worihip of images, reliques, saints, and angels; in adding to the farmer
superstition; in erecting new offices and orders of monks, till the nations groaned under the load of the numerous and oppressive clergy, who, by means crafty and base, appropriated to themselves the most part of the wealth and power of the Christian world. Not content with ecclesiastic authority, the Popes grasped at the civil. About 750, or 756, they became princes of Italy, lords of the three sovereignties of the dukedom of Rome, the exarchate of Ravenna, and the region of Pentapoles. They gradually proceeded to claim a suprcme authority over all the kings and emperors in Christendom; deposing the emperors of Germany, kings of France, England, &c. at pleasure, and absolving their subjefls from their allegiance. They pretended to dispose of the countries in Asia, Africa, and America, to the Portugoese and Spaniards, who conquered them. They extended their power to the angels, charging them to conduct to the celestial mansions, such departed souls as they pleased ; and ordering devils to leave the bodies which they had possessed. They assumed a practical supremacy over the divine persons themselves, in pretending to form and divide the glorified body of Jesus at pleasure; in altering the divine laws; issuing forth pardons, and indulgences in sin; in cancelling the obligation of oaths, &c. What ignornnt, proud, blasphemers, atheiits, inchanters, murderers, whoremongers, incestuous and perjured persons, many of the popes were! and how ignorance, superstition, idolatry, and every other crime, abounded by their means, is obvious to every one acquainted with their history. In the 10th and 11th centuries, things were in a most deplorable condition: the great part of the Romish Christians were similar to beasts in stupidity, and to infernals in im-
(page 74)
piety. In the subsequent age, the scholastic learning began. Its chief tendency was to pervert and obscure the scripture, render the Christian principles quite unintelligible, and to fupport the abominations then introduced. To render it impossible for the laics to discover the errors and horrid villainies of the clergy, their reading of the scripture was represented as extremely dangerous, and enacted to be no less criminal. To prevent every murmur againit their conduct, courts of inquisition were erected, by means of which, the least suspicion of pretended heresy, or even the falsest accusation, exposed multitudes to the danger of confiscation of goods, of imprisonment, tortures, and death.
In every part of the Antichristian period God had his witnesses for the truth; and terribly were these persecuted and murdered by the Papists. The Waldenses of Piedmont and France, in the 12th and 13th centuries; the Wickliffites of England, in the 14th; the Bohemians in the 15th, were the most noted; and between a million or two, or perhaps more, were murdered on that account. In the i6th century the shocking impiety, fraud and oppression of the Romanists provoked vast numbers to throw off their yoke. The Pope's authority was abolished in Britain, in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, and a great number of States in Germany and Switzerland. Multitudes in France, Poland, Hungary, and even in Italy and Spain, were convinced of, and rejefted the Popish delusions. By an establishment of their abominations in the council of Trent, but chiefly by murderous wars and persecutions in Germany, Low-countries, France; by horrid massacres in France and Ireland; by bloody perfections in Poland, Hungary, England, Scotland, Savoy, &c. the Popes agents, for about 150 year, attempted to reduce them.
Great men have thought, that Antichrist's general slaughter of the witnesses, and their death of three ytars and a half, have already happened. Some things similar have indeed taken place. After the council of Constance, about 1414, sat three years and a half to ruin them, and establish Popery, the Bohemians remarkably prevailed. After the affairs of the Protestants had been about three years and a half in a ruined condition, Maurice, who had formerly betrayed them, took arms in their favour, and recovered their liberties about A.D. 1551. After about three years and a half persecution, have the Protestants of Savoy oftener than once got relief. Three years and a half the Protestant religion seemed almost ruined in England, under Queen Mary; and again under King James II. of Britain; and at the end thereof, waa re-established by Elisabeth, and K. William: nor was it much above three years and an half; when relief from the massacres began to be granted the Protestants in France and Ireland. But it is observable, all these slaughters were particular; nor are the kingdoms of this world yet become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ. We must therefore believe the sad and most grievous conflict with Antichrit to be still future. The present abounding of ignorance, the contempt of the scripture, the prevalent errors on the head of justification and free will, the attachment to gaudy pomp in the worihip of God, the pride, ambition, contention, and loose living of the Protestants, appear wide steps towards a return to Rome.
http://books.google.com/books?id=x_4qAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq#PPA71,M1
See also:
A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, By John Brown, Albany, 1816, pages 40-42
http://books.google.com/books?id=V31AAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=&lr=#PPA40,M1

The Union Bible dictionary
For The Use Of Schools, Bible Classes, and Families
By Frederick Adolphus Packard, Philadelphia, 1855
(page 55)
ANTICHRIST.
Who is antichrist? has been a question of curious and not uninteresting speculation for ages. The prevailing opinion seems to be, that the papal power is intended to be represented; and that the history of that power thus far corresponds very accurately in its principal features with the sure word of prophecy.
http://books.google.com/books?dq=&pg=PA55&id=1BYXAAAAYAAJ#PPA55,M1

The Westminster Bible Dictionary
Philadelphia, 1880
(page 332)
Man of Sin
Whoever reveals the distinctive features of the Man of Sin; whoever wields the temporal or spiritual power in any degree similar to that in which the Man of Sin is described as wielding it,—he, whether pope or potentate, is beyond doubt a type of Antichrist.
http://books.google.com/books?dq=&pg=PA332&id=Dp0_AAAAYAAJ

People's Dictionary Of The Bible
Philadelphia, 1893
(page 26)
Antichrist
The word antichrist does not always mean openly opposed to Christ, but putting something in the place of Christ. Any person teaching any way to God, excepting through Christ, is Antichrist. Any person teaching any way of salvation, excepting through the blood of Christ, is Antichrist. John says that in his day, "Now are there many antichrists." 1 John 2:18. The papal church, putting its traditions in the place of the Scriptures, putting the Virgin Mary, the saints, the Pope, the priest, good works, the mass, purgatory, etc., as the way of salvation, in place of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is pre-eminently Antichrist.
http://books.google.com/books?id=QbEsAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=#PPA26,M1

      Let us now move forward a hundred years and witness the apostasy of modern Christianity. Nominal Christians unfamiliar with history are easily misled by biased modern-day reference works such as the 1997 edition of the Illustrated Dictionary Of The Holy Bible which states:

“The main reason the Bible discusses the Antichrist is not to encourage idle speculation, but to warn believers not to be misled by his deceit (Matt. 24:4-5, 23-24). The time when the Antichrist will appear will be very hard for the faithful. They need to be prepared with special instructions on how to deal with this unsettling event.“ (Illustrated Dictionary Of The Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1997, p. 68)

      As we can see, even our modern Bible dictionaries now agree with the Jesuit propaganda of Francisco Ribera and Robert Bellarmine, and ignore the pages of history, the documented events that have taken place over many centuries which clearly reveals the system of antichrist. As early as the late 1800's, coinciding with the growth and spread of Roman Catholicism in America, Bible dictionaries began the process of omitting any reference that connected the papacy to Antichrist. Fortunately, the scriptures give us a clear picture of antichrist — past, present and future.

1) “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;...Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,” (1 Timothy 4:1,3) (Abstinence from meats on certain "holy days" and celibacy of the clergy is not in the New Testament.)
a) Canon 277 of the Roman Catholic church: “Clerics [priests, bishops, etc.] are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven, and are therefore bound to celibacy.” (Compare this with the scriptures: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife,” “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife,” (1 Timothy 3:2,12))
b) Canons 1250-1252 of the Roman Catholic church: “The law of abstinence prohibits meat and soups made of meat....”(1250.) and “must be observed every Friday.”(1251) “every Ash Wed, every Friday and Saturday of Lent, [etc.]...”(1252. 2.) (Compare this with the scriptures: “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4,5))  

2) “and I saw a woman...full of names of blasphemy,” (Revelation 17:3)
a) The Pope of Rome has taken unto himself the title of "Holy Father", a title belonging exclusively to God (John 17:11).
b) Circa 1200 A.D., Pope Innocent III declared himself "the bridegroom", a title belonging exclusively to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 9:15; 25:1-13).
c) The Pope claims to have the authority to forgive sins ("And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" Luke 5:21)
d) Pope Pius IX declared himself "infallible" in July of 1870; (Theological quarterly, Vol. XIII, 1909 p. 66)
e) Pope Leo XIII, in an encyclical letter dated June 1894, said, ”We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty,” i.e. “We hold the regency of God on earth.”
Note: These are not merely extravagant adulations of the Dark Ages, to be repudiated by the moderns; these terms express the unchanging doctrinal claims of the Roman Church, that put man in the place of God. ("so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3,4) (The Roman Catholic Church challenged, 1920, p. 155; The Encyclical Letters, p. 330; The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, p. 304; The Rights of the People: or, Civil Government and Religion, 1895, p. 216; Americanism Vs. Roman Catholicism, 1921, p. 194; Our Day in the Light of Prophecy, 1918, p. 149)  

3) “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)
a) Catholic priests insist on being called "Father" by their followers.  

4) “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5)
a) The Roman Catholic church has substituted the one and only mediator between God and men, via Peter, Paul, Mary, the pope, the priest, etc.  

5) “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7)
a) Catholics are told by their "Fathers" to say "12 Hail Marys", "10 Our Fathers", etc., and they will be absolved of their sins.  

6) “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,” (Revelation 17:4)
a) Purple and scarlet are official colors of the Roman Catholic church. (Photos of Bishops and Cardinals at Pope John Paul II funeral: Photo 1; Photo 2; Photo 3)  

7) “I will shew unto thee...the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication....And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:1,2,18)
a) The Bible tells us that the kings of the earth will gather together under a religious cloak to do battle against the true God of the Bible, Jesus Christ and his true followers (Psalms 2; Acts 4; Revelation 16). (See Kings of The Earth)  

8) “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” (Revelation 2:20,21)
a) Jezebel adopted the worship of "the queen of heaven" and taught God's servants to commit spiritual fornication. The Catholic church teaches people to bow down before idols and images of Mary whom they call "the queen of heaven." (Photos of Catholics worshipping the "queen of heaven": Photo 1; Photo 2; Photo 3)  

9) “Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” (Revelation 2:22)
a) During the Catholic Mass the priest holds up the bread and wine and says, "We believe that bread and wine truly become the glorified Body and Blood of Jesus Christ", and is "truly become the Body and Blood, soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ", and "What had been bread before has truly become the Blood of Christ, and Jesus is truly present on the alter under both forms." (see "The Mass" in the NASB, 1975 Catholic heirloom Edition, pages 462:14-30). This practice is clearly defined as Idolatry and Adultery in Webster's dictionary; “the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her” “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Revelation 18:3,4)
The same ancient Pagan symbols of idolatry are being used today in Roman Catholic churches around the world (see Photos comparing ancient Pagan idols with modern Catholic symbols).  

10) “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:” (Revelation 17:6); “the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;” (Daniel 7:21); “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:” (Revelation 13:7)
a) See The Catholic Inquisition: Video; and Torture Tools of The Catholic Inquisitions. “Beside those victims of the Inquisition, there were Huguenots, Albigenses, Waldenses, and other Christians who were massacred, tortured, and burned at the stake by the hundreds of thousands simply because they refused to align themselves with the Roman Catholic Church and its corruption and heretical dogmas and practices. Out of conscience they tried to follow the teachings of Christ and the apostles independent of Rome, and for that crime they were maligned, hunted, imprisoned, tortured, and slain.” (A Woman Rides The Beast, Dave Hunt, 1994. These facts have been documented by many historians. Our Banquet, H.A. St. John, 1894, pp. 362-364)  

11) “And he [the man of sin of the harlot church] 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:” (Daniel 7:25)
a) The Roman "Decretalia," an authoritative work in the Roman ecclesiastical law, exalts the pope thus: "He can pronounce sentences and judgments in contradiction to the right of nations, to the law of God and man....He can free himself from the commands of the apostles, he being their superior, and from the rules of the Old Testament, etc." "The pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." (Decretal De. Translat. Episcop. Cap.)
b) The Roman Catholic church changed the laws of God's ten commandments: 1st- by virtually abolishing the second commandment prohibition of idolatry, thus allowing the institution of statues of saints as a sort of intermediary between man and God; 2nd- by changing the fourth commandment to keep holy the seventh day sabbath, thus erroneously proclaiming the first day of the week as the day of the Lord and allowing the institution of the first day of the week as a sort of holy day. (See The Seventh Day Sabbath)  

12) “The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman [harlot church] sitteth.” [hills are sometimes called mountains] (Revelation 17:9)
a) The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined." (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson, 1976, see "Rome"). The official Catholic Bible, NASB, states, “The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits enthroned.” (Revelation 17:9)

      Only one church in the world fits all of these prophetic Scriptures perfectly. The Holy Bible foretold of it. History confirms it!

      Historian Dave Hunt said, “Why would Rome ever apologize for or even admit this holocaust? No one calls her to account today. Protestants have now forgotten the hundreds of thousands of people burned at the stake for embracing the simple gospel of Christ and refusing to bow to papal authority. Amazingly, Protestants are now embracing Rome as Christian while she insists that the "separated brethren" be reconciled to her on her unchangeable terms! Many evangelical leaders are intent upon working with Roman Catholics to evangelize the world.... They don't want to hear any "negative" reminders of the millions of people tortured and slain by the Church to which they now pay homage, or the fact that Rome has a false gospel of sacramental works.” (A Woman Rides The Beast, Dave Hunt, 1994)

      Read the following information which was taken directly from the NAB (New American Bible), the official Roman Catholic Bible, and see if the church of Rome does not present a false gospel of sacramental works:

The Mass
It is a true, but unbloody, sacrifice, in which the Body and Blood are offered to God under the appearance of bread and wine. On the Cross the sacrifice of Christ was physical and personal; in the Mass Christ is both priest and victim, and the sacrifice is made through the Ministry of His priests. Pope Pius XII indicated the role the laity should play in the celebration of the Mass.... The faithful are no longer to be mere spectators at the Mass, but are to participate in it, along with the priest. The second Vatican Council convened under Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, further declared: "The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this Mystery of Faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through a proper appreciation of the rites and prayers they should participate knowingly, devoutly, and actively. They should be instructed by God's word and be refreshed at the table of the Lord's body . . . by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him.... (page 462-2)

THE OFFERTORY (Liturgy of the Eucharist). After the Offertory procession, the priest prepares the gifts of bread and wine which will be used in the Eucharist.... "Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation. Through Your goodness we have this bread to offer which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become our bread of life. (page 462-14)

PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS (Liturgy of the Eucharist). Having prepared the gift of bread, the priest now prepares the gift of wine, which is to be changed into the Blood of Christ. (page 462-15)

THE CELEBRANT WASHES HIS HANDS (Liturgy of the Eucharist). This washing of the hands is symbolic of the purification of the soul, so that the priest may approach the great sacrifice without blemish. (page 462-16)

CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD (Liturgy of the Eucharist). We believe that bread and wine truly become the glorified Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. (page 462-19)

THE ELEVATION OF THE HOST (Liturgy of the Eucharist). Now the priest raises the consecrated Bread for all to see and adore. What had been bread before had truly become the Body and Blood, soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ. (page 462-20)

CONSECRATION OF THE WINE (Liturgy of the Eucharist). The Wine has now truly become the Blood of Christ, and Jesus is truly present now on the alter under both forms. (page 462-21)

THE ELEVATION OF THE CHALICE (Liturgy of the Eucharist). Again, the celebrant raises the chalice for all to see. It is the Blood of Christ. Jesus offers Himself anew to His Heavenly Father as He did on the Cross.... (page 462-22)

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD (Liturgy of the Eucharist). The celebrant holds a particle of the Eucharistic bread and uses the words first used by St. John the Baptizer: "Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who takes away the sins of the world." (page 462-29)

THE COMMUNION PROCESSION (Liturgy of the Eucharist). Having humbly confessed their unworthiness, and asking for forgiveness, mercy, and peace, the communicants proceed to the foot of the alter to receive Holy Communion. The priest holds the Consecrated Host before each communicant saying: "The Body of Christ!" and each communicant replies: "Amen." (page 462-30) (New American Bible, 1975, Catholic heirloom Edition)

      If the Roman Catholic Mass is not a false gospel of sacramental works, then nothing is. If the so called act of “Transubstantiation” and the elevation and veneration of the “Host” as the “Real Presence” of the “true God” is not gross idolatry and another gospel, another spirit and another Jesus, then neither is the Mormon Temple Ceremony false. So what if a Catholic claims to believe in only one God: “the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19). Compare the false Romish gospel of sacramental works with the “once for all.... one sacrifice for sins for ever” in the true scriptures of the Holy Bible where “there is no more offering for sin”, even as the Lord Jesus Christ was dying on the cross at Calvary some two thousand years ago, and said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and the old covenant of sacrifices offered by priests for the sins of the people was “finished” and forever done away with (Heb. 8:13; 10:18):

“But Christ... by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:11-14)
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many”, “Who...by himself purged our sins” (Heb. 1:3; 9:28). For “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.... But this man,.. offered one sacrifice for sins for ever.... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Heb. 10:10-18)

      Article six of chapter twenty-nine of The Westminster Confession of Faith states:

Of the Lord's Supper.
ART. VI. That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine, into the substance of Christ's body and blood (commonly called transubstantiation) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common-sense and reason; overthroweth the nature of the sacrament; and hath been, and is, the cause of manifold superstitions, yea, of gross idolatries. (The Westminster Confession of Faith, 1646, 29:6)

      We'll conclude this revealing study by quoting the apostles Peter and Paul, as they urge us to “turn from these vanities” of “superstitious” “doctrines of men” and “from dead works to serve the living God” (Acts 14:15; 17:22; Col. 2:22; Heb. 9:14):

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2); “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” (Eph. 1:13); “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (I Pet. 1:9); “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” (I Cor. 10:14)

If you have heard of the Illuminati Order and you thought it was some kind of mythological conspiracy theory, here are the archives from George Washington himself, which prove not only their existence, but that they were intensively active in the United States of America. George Washington was also certain that some of the illuminati had infiltrated some of the American Lodges of Freemasonry.

                                        “TO G. W. SNYDER.  
                                                                                Mount Vernon, 24 October, 1798.  
    REVEREND SIR,
    I have your favor of the 17th instant before me, and my only motive for troubling you with the receipt of this letter is, to explain and correct a mistake, which I perceive the hurry in which I am obliged often to write letters has led you into.
    It was not my intention to doubt, that the doctrines of the Illuminati and the principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States, On the contrary, no one is more fully satisfied of this fact than I am.
    The idea that I meant to convey was, that I did not believe that the lodges of freemasons in this country had, as societies, endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the former, or pernicious principles of the latter, if they are susceptible of separation. That individuals of them may have done it, or that the founder, or instrument employed to found the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects, and actually had a separation of the people from their government in view, is too evident to be questioned.” (The Writings Of George Washington, Vol. XI., 1855, p. 337)

It is an undeniable fact that conspiracies exist. It is also an under appreciated fact that most people have been conditioned to pay little or no attention to conspiracies. Misinformation is often circulated in the media and elsewhere for the purpose of leading people away from the truth. This was in the past and still is today one of the main functions of the Catholic Jesuit organization. It is no coincident that high level Jesuits are also high ranking Freemasons. The following information reveals some of the methods employed to deceive. “Morals and Dogma” is an official Masonic book written by occultist Albert Pike. Pages 104 and 105 of this Satanic occult book states:

“Masonry, like all the religions, all Mysteries, Hermetiscism, and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and misinterpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve to be mislead;”
“So Masonry jealously conceals its secrets, and intentionally leads conceited interpreters astray. (Morals and Dogma, pp. 104, 105)