Even at the Door - the USA and Rome in Prophecy

The message this morning, Even at the Door, speaking of the U.S. and Roman prophesy, is I think very relevant for what we see happening, because I do think that if we were living back in the days of Jesus, he stood to preach once and he said, “This day is prophesy fulfilled in your ears.” I think it’s safe to say that this day, prophesy is being fulfilled in your seeing, as well as in your hearing.

Back in February, Pope Benedict XVI, first time in hundreds of years that a pope that was in comparatively good health, for some strange reason resigned. That put into motion the wheels of their process where their college of cardinals came together and they selected a new pope that nobody had ever really heard of before, or very few people, from Argentina. The first pope from the Western Hemisphere.

Furthermore, he was the first Jesuit pope. So what is a Jesuit? Jesuits were founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola and it’s a special group of troopers, agents, within the Catholic church whose supreme purpose is to over-throw the faith of Protestants. That’s what their design, definition of their purpose was, because Protestants were taking more and more people out of the Catholic church following the Reformation.

If you read in the book Great Controversy, there’s a page here, Page 234, “The first triumphs of the Reformation past, Rome summoned new forces hoping to accomplish its destruction. At this time, the Order of the Jesuits was created. The most cruel, unscrupulous and powerful of all the champions of popery, cut off from earthly ties and human interest, dead to the claims of natural affection, reason and conscience, holy silence, they knew no rule, no tie, but that of their order. And no duty but to extend its power, vowed to perpetual poverty and humility, it was their studied aim to be devoted to the over-throw of Protestantism and to the reestablishment of the people’s supremacy.”

So that’s what the purpose of the Order of Jesuits is. Some will say, well, yes, it’s true that’s what it was when it was founded, but time evolves, things change. Case in point, are you aware that Harvard University was established to train ministers to be preachers? Who looks at Harvard that way today? Look how much it has changed. People argue, yes, the Jesuits were first established for that purpose, but it’s totally different today. It’s an education group. I’m not so sure that there aren’t some in its ranks that still understand what it’s founding purpose was. It would be hard to believe that a person could choose to be a Jesuit for that many years and not at least look on Wikipedia to find out what it is.

So I have a feeling that Pope Francis is aware of what a Jesuit is. I might also add at this point, people wondered why he chose the name Francis. The commentators just jumped right in and said it’s probably because of his love for St. Francis of Assisi, loved the animals and he was a man of peace. But he never said that. That was entirely speculation. Others speculated that maybe it was because he’s a Jesuit and the cofounder of the Jesuits was someone by the name of Francis Xavier. They thought maybe that’s the reason. He’s never stated what it was, but I’d be more inclined to believe the latter.

I want to say as I go into this, a lot of us may be Catholics, a lot of us have Catholic roots and Catholic friends and family and the Catholics are some of the most wonderful people in the world. You’ve heard me say that I went to two different Catholic schools growing up. The first time I ever heard and understood the attitude was a Catholic teach in my Catholic school, so there’s going to be millions of Catholics in heaven. Probably more Catholics in heaven than Seventh Day Adventists. So is that clear to everybody? What we’re talking about here is a system of belief that is contrary to the teachings of the bible. Mother Teresa is a lovely person that lived a life of sacrifice and giving. There are wonderful Catholic people around the world doing incredible things. We want to look at what prophesy says because the bible prophesies foretell powers that would come to play in the last days.

If you read in your bibles, I’m going to read to you from Revelations 13:1-4, “Then I stood on the sand of the sea and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast that I saw was like a leopard and his feet were like the feet of a bear and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads had been wounded mortally, a deadly wound, and the deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled or wondered and followed the beast. So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast and they worshipped the beast saying, “Who is like the beast and who is able to make war with him?”

I think it was Stalin that said, “How can I win a war against the pope when he has no divisions,” meaning no army. But he realized that he was a force. I’ve read several articles this week and I don’t have time to quote them all, but you’ve probably seen some of them. Those who are acquainted with history are saying how different the headlines look. They never dreamed they would have seen Americans, both Catholic and Protestant, fawning over the pope. And atheist and agnostic.

They said if they understood the foundations of this country and Protestant history, this is unprecedented. The words that I’m hearing are historic, awesome, unprecedented, unequalled, extraordinary. Just pick any adjective you can think of and all the commentators are fighting with each other to find the best adjective to describe the kind of outpouring, the standing ovations, the wall-to-wall media coverage that Pope Francis has been receiving and they’re wondering to what do we attribute this.

Look at what the Protestant Reformation founders and the native founders of our country, this is what their view of the papacy was. I’m going to give you a number of quick quotes. They’re very strong and you can check these out for yourselves. Martin Luther, who of course is the founder of the Lutheran Church, he said, “We are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist. We’ll explain why he said that in a moment.

John Calvin, the Calvinist, the Presbyterians, “I deny him to be the vicar of Christ, who is infuriously persecuting the gospel, demonstrates by his conduct that he is the Antichrist. I deny him to be the head of the church. Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman Pontiff Antichrist.” That’s some pretty strong words that at least deserve our attention. Were these guys all out of their minds? Why did they say that?

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, “He is it that exalted himself above all of his call God or that is worship claiming the highest power and the highest honor, claiming the prerogatives that belong to God alone.” That’s what Wesley said.

John Knox, Presbyterian, “As with Luther, he finally concluded that the papacy was the Antichrist, the very Antichrist and the son of perdition of whom Paul speaks in the book of Thessalonians.” There’s some others.

You’ve heard of Roger Williams. He’s the one to whom we owe liberty of conscience in the U.S. He was the one that was smart enough to know when it comes to the Ten Commandments, they’re on two tables of stone, and the first four Commandments, everyone needs to decide for themselves. The last six Commandments, no society can survive that does not enforce them dealing with man’s relationship with his fellow man. By the way, that one also includes the one about adultery and marriage. Roger Williams, first Baptist pastor in America. He spoke of the pope as the “Pretended vicar of Christ on earth who sits as God over the temple of God exalting himself not only above all is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals over the spirit of Christ and over the Holy Spirit and God himself.” Pretty strong statements. There’s probably not a Christian here who hasn’t either heard or quoted from Spurgeon.

I forgot I had Cotton Mather here, congregational Theologian. In his book called the Fall of Babylon, he writes, “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 is so marvelously answered that if any who leave the scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them.” Someone told me of Cotton Mather, he had memorized the entire New Testament.

Here’s Charles Spurgeon. Every Protestant and some Catholic preachers around North America quote from Spurgeon. He’s called the Prince of Preachers, a great minister in England. “Behold on her forehead the name, a mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth, the church of Rome and her teachings are a vast mountain of rubbish covering the truth of God.” That’s pretty strong words.

Wycliffe, you’ve heard of the translator, John Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cramer, John Bunion, author of Children’s Progress, the translators of the King James Bible. The men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of faith. Sir Isaac Newton, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon. These men, among countless others, all saw the office of the papacy as Antichrist. Why? Sentiments are very different in our country today, wouldn’t you say?

I’d like to read something to you from the book Great Controversy, Page 563. “Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendency and the papists are taking a more conciliatory course to gain influence. There’s an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the form churches from the papal hierarchy. The opinion is gaining ground, but after all, we don’t differ so widely on vital points and it’s been supposed, and a little concession on our part will bring us into better understanding with Rome.”

“Time was when Protestants placed a high value on the liberty of conscience that has been so purchase. They taught their children the art of popery and held to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed. The defenders of the papacy declare that the church has been maligned, that the Protestant world is inclined to accept this statement.”

“Many urge that it is unjust to judge the church today by the abominations and absurdities that martyr reign during the centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as a result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the influence of a modern civilization has changed her sentiments. All that she has done, her persecutions of those who reject her dogmas she holds to be right and would she not repeat the same acts should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now be imposed by secular governments be removed and Rome be reinstated in her former power and there will speedily be a revival of the tyrannies and persecutions that were in the past.”

That’s prophetic and this was written 100 years ago. “Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years.” Talk about the understatement of the book.

So we believe in the three angels’ messages. They go to the world, then Christ returns. That’s Revelation 14. What is the second angel’s message in Revelation 14? I borrowed some of this presentation from one of my Evangelistic programs. In Revelation 14:8, “Followed another angel saying Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” Why does it say “…is fallen, is fallen?” Because Babylon fell in the Old Testament in the days of Daniel. Babylon falls a second time in our current age. “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” You remember the Tower of Babel, there was spiritual confusion there.

So we have a call, Babylon has fallen, come out of her, my people. God says he has his people that are scattered everywhere in Babylon. We’re going to find out what Babylon is. How does describe or symbolize Babylon in Revelation 17. Revelation 17:18, “The woman that you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.”

So take your bibles real quick. We’re going to read Revelation 17 and I want you to look at verses 1-6. This is describing a religious institution in the last days. Revelation 17:1, “Then one of the seven angels who that the seven bowls,” these are the vials, the bowls of wrath, “…came and talked with me saying come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot that sits on many waters.”

What does a woman represent in bible analogies? A church and so a harlot, would it be a faithful or an unfaithful church? By the way, God called His people in the Old Testament, so we’re not being derogatory. This is the same terminology that God used for Israel and even for His church. Whenever his bride was unfaithful, he said I redeemed and yet you’re going after the paganism of the world.

“…with whom the kings of the earth,” so this woman, this church, has relationships with the governments, the kings of the earth, “…committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Not unfermented wine, because they get drunk. “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast that was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” We’re going to look at each of these characteristics quickly.

“The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.”

So what was it that made John marvel? First of all, if you wonder what is that woman, you can see right there, that slide Revelation 17:18, go to the last verse in that and it says, “The woman that you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.” What great city was reigning over the kings of the earth when John had his vision of revelation? Same great city that was ruling when Jesus was crucified. It was the kingdom of Rome.

So you’ve got a woman, a woman is a church in Rome. Right there, that’s a major clue, I would think. Let’s look at some of the other characteristics. Number three, what other evidence from Revelation 17 proved that Babylon refers to papal Rome? First of all, it says she’s guilty of blasphemy. Blasphemy means when a man assumes the prerogatives of God are blaspheming God and you have examples of that.

You can read for instance in Ferraris Ecclesiastical dictionary, “The pope is of so great a dignity and exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God and the vicar of God.” You almost saw people fawning and acting like that if you’ve seen any of the media coverage this week. I don’t even know if the Beatles got that kind of reverence.

Pope Leo XIII, “We hold on this earth the place of God almighty.” Would that qualify as blasphemy when a man puts himself in the place of God? It’s says she’s dressed in purple and scarlet. What are the colors of the papacy? The bishops are dressed in purple. The cardinals are dressed in scarlet. It goes on, “Adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls.” Would you say that the Catholic church fits that criteria? It’s one of the richest institutions in the world.

At one time, I don’t know if it’s still true, they owned more silver than any other private institution in the world. They own some of the most expensive real estate in the world just because as cities grew up, they always put the churches in the middle of the town and the towns grew around them and they owned the central real estate in these towns.

“Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations,” central to the mass is this golden cup. As a matter of fact, you read in the Catholic encyclopedia, the chalice is the most important of sacred vessels in the service.

Do you know why the Protestant Reformation was triggered? A lot of it was over a doctrine called Trance Substantiation. The Protestant Reformers could not accept the teaching of the Catholic church that the pope had the ability or the priests during the service to go through their incantations.

Have you ever heard the expression hocus pocus? It’s because one of the phrases they uttered in Latin when they did the mass sounded like hocus pocus to people and they said they were converting that fermented grape juice into the actual blood of Christ. It was basically giving man the power to recreate God and so they said that was wrong. And it all revolved around that cup. She’s called the mother. You read on and it says, “…of harlots,” meaning she has daughters. It’s the opposite of the 144,000. These daughters represent churches that came out of her.

The pope is not only the vicar Catholic church or the leader of the Catholic church. He pastors a church in Rome. It’s the Lateran Church. He is the pastor of a particular church. Here is the marble plaque in front of the Lateran Church that Pope Francis is the pastor of and this is what the translation is. “The sacred Lateran mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.”

When they talk about Protestant churches, there’s been a big appeal of the Pope for Protestants daughters, the separated brethren, to return to the mother church. They even refer to themselves as the mother church out of which the Protestants came. But many of them didn’t come all the way out. They still retained some of the unfaithful teachings, which is why they’re called harlots. She has daughters who are also fallen, do we see that happening in the news?

How many of you remember a little more than a year ago, January 21, when some of you saw that YouTube where Pope Francis made a heartfelt appeal to a Protestant gathering of ministers, charismatic ministers in particular, to return, that we could embrace each other, let’s give each other a spiritual hug. And he said “Ye is the misunderstood Joseph that has been rejected by his brethren.” It was a very clever analogy that was made.

At the end of it, Kenneth Copeland and everyone started to pray for the Pope in tongues. The Pope at least provided translation. They did not. But that went all over the world. It was an appeal and everyone was shocked that he did it. This was delivered by an Anglican pastor who had strong Catholic gleanings by the name of Tony Palmer. Also you have other leaders, Joel Osteen and Rick Warren. They represent Protestant leaders.

It’s calculated in my opinion that the pope is reaching out to these leaders, like Kenneth Copeland and James Robison and Rick Warren and other leaders of other churches. Here is a picture after he sent them a video, they then all came as his guest. They had a three-hour lunch together at the Vatican. One of the purposes of that lunch, something very strange happened. Tony Palmer, who is sort of a liaison from the pope to the Protestants of North America who had declared the Protestant Reformation was over, he said it three times during his talk. He had brought a document that he is inviting the pope to sign on the 500th anniversary. It is a declaration of faith in unity for mission between Evangelicals, Protestants and Catholics. They want to sign it in 2017 on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the 50th anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

You realize that 50 years ago, 50 years back from 2017, the Catholic church embraced the speaking in tongues of the Charismatic Movement and there’s been great growth in that group. You know why that is happening? In 1901, 96 percent of the people in South America were Catholic. Now it’s more like 64 percent. That’s also happening in North America. The Catholic church is on decline. Protestants are growing in South America and other parts of the world, Africa, Central America. The pope understands that the future of their church is going to hinge on developing an alliance with Protestants.

Do you know what’s happening with the demographics in Europe right now? Islam is growing like gangbusters. All over England and Europe, what used to churches are now being converted to mosques and many are just closed. The pope reads the handwriting on the wall. They look far into the future and they see what’s happening. They realize that the future is going to depend on their developing an alliance with the Protestants and Evangelicals, which are based mostly in -- most of the missionaries in the world are sent from North American. This is headquarters for Protestantism in the world, North America. He needs an alliance here.

Also where’s the financial leadership in the world? Why do think 911 happened in New York City? It was a shot at the financial leadership of the world. The fashion leadership, the media leadership. It’s North America. And so he’s working to build an alliance, but being very careful through it all saying let’s be friends, hugging everybody, but understand that I am the leader of this new group. He will remain the leader.

Did any of you see the acumental inter-religion prayer program, yesterday or the day before, at 9/11? He was right in the middle of it. It was all for him because he was there and there you had Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and Sikhs and I may be leaving someone out. They were all gathered offering prayers. But that represented the major religions of the world, right there on that stage. Gathered at 9/11 at the invitation of the pope all praying for world peace together. It’s full of symbolism.

So this power that we’re reading about would be having daughters. During a passionate call for unity from the Vatican, the pope said that Christian division is a wound in the church’s body and the work of the father of this court. There have been several statements where the pope is describing the division between Protestants and Catholics as a wound that must be healed.

That’s the language that you find in Revelation 13. It says, “She persecuted and martyred the saints.” We read in Revelation 17 this woman was a persecuting power. Did any of you catch it last year? This year actually, June 22, 2015, the pope stopped there in Italy, in Turin, he visited a village in the Italian Alps and he prayed that the Waldensians would forgive the Catholic church for their persecutions.

So it’s not me or Protestants who are making up new history that the Catholics were a persecuting power. Just look up the word inquisition. It’s estimated that somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 million people were put to death by this power that reigned for over 1,260 years. “Great numbers were driven from their habitations where their wives and children, stripped and naked, many of them inhumanly massacred.” This is a book called the History of the Popes. Why else would the pope apologize? He knows it’s true.

By the way, do you know how the Waldensians responded when they got together? They didn’t respond that day. They had a formal meeting. They rejected his apology. They thought it was too shallow for all the suffering they’d endured. The news didn’t carry that. Very few people saw that in the news.

After F, it says that she, this power, would sit upon seven mountains. What are those seven mountains? I think everyone knows. Look in the encyclopedia, City of Seven Hills. You know what comes up, Rome. It’s known as the City of Seven Hills. This is a quote right out Wikipedia here, “Rome was founded in 753 b.c. on the seven hills, a term used for centuries to describe the primary hills surrounding the old city.” And I won’t name them for you because I don’t do it very well. It says, “She rules over the kings of the earth.” This is not just a religion. This is a political power.

Do you realize that the kingdoms of the world, not all of them, but many of the nations of the world, including the Unites States, have ambassadors that go to the Vatican. Why do the United Nations gather to hear the pope? He’s a pastor. They’ve never done that for Billy Graham. The reason is that it is not just a religious power. It’s a political power. They were very smart in 1929 establishing that 109 acres as an independent country. They’ve got their own coinage, they’ve got their own army, it’s a microcosm of a nation. But they do it so they can have the status of having ambassadors and having diplomatic relationships with the kings of the earth. You can look at the way they roll out the red carpet in the governments.

December 17, end of last year, the pope plays a major role in resolving the 50-year U.S./Cuba standoff and we saw that he tied that off when he came to America. He stopped and there’s a picture of him meeting with Fidel Castro and we’re seeing that relationships now are warming between the U.S. and Cuba. He inserted himself in that process. Not only there, but Time Magazine, this month, “From Cuba to climate change, he has revitalized the Vatican’s role in global diplomacy.

It’s not just a religious power. Now he’s bringing his activist agenda to the U.S. And as I mentioned a moment ago, I captured this online of him speaking to a packed United Nations. This is right up the street from where I grew up on 51st Street in New York. I often used to see all the flags from the different countries. They’ve all come for a general assembly. It’s not an accident. He times his visit to the U.S. when there would be a U.N. general assembly and he knew he would be invited to share his agenda with the world. I’ll talk about what some of those statements were. They gave him a standing ovation. They don’t do that for everybody. As a matter of fact, some people walk out when people speak at the United Nations.

By the way, August 22 last year, the pope said, it wasn’t the first time a pope said this, that is appropriate to use military power under certain cases. As much as they talk about peace, he realizes there’s times to use force and military power. That will come to play in the future.

How did the beasts of Revelation 12, 13 and 17 compare? I’m going to read through this quickly for you. I just want to draw something to your attention. You’ll notice in Revelation 12, it talks about this beast that wanted to destroy Jesus as a baby, having seven heads and ten horns. That was the power of Rome, the devil operating through the kingdom of Rome ruled by Caesars.

But then you go to Revelation 13, it says again, “Now this new beast rises up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.” And then when you get to Revelation 17, you see it again, “This woman is sitting on a beast,” with what, “…seven heads and ten horns.” Now this woman is sitting, the seat is where the former Roman power used to be. Because the Roman Catholic Church is a comingling of the pagan religions of Greco Roman Theology and Christianity. A lot of things came into the church when Constantine moved the capitol to Constantinople, or Justinian did, actually. He made the bishop of Rome the head of the church, gave him military power and people came pouring into the church when it because politically correct and they brought in a lot of pagan rights and ceremonies with them. What used to be the pure teachings of Jesus became comingled with paganism.

Number five, what is the meaning and origin of the word Babylon? Babylon, you go to Genesis 11, they said, “Let’s build a city in a tower whose top might reach to heaven and the Lord said let us go down there and confound their language that they may not understand one another’s speech, therefore the name of it is called Babel because there the Lord did confound the languages of the earth.”

Do you know why we call babies babies? It’s because it comes from the word babel, because babies babel. When they could not understand one another’s speech, it’s called babbling. You’ve heard that expression before. It was man-made religion is what it was. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They were going to work their way to heaven, salvation by work. And so that’s what Babylon represents and that’s what counterfeit religion involves.

Number six, how does God describe His people in urging His people to leave Babylon? Revelation 18, “He cried mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit come out of her my people that you be not partakers of her sins that you receive not of her plagues.” And as God’s people are to be calling folks out of Babylon, there are millions that are flowing in.

As a matter of fact, even Raul Castro, when the pope came by, he said, you know, I was a Catholic growing up. I’ve been a communist atheist all my life, but Pope Francis makes me want to join the church again. So all these people. The Catholic church is having a big campaign called Come Home. They have beautiful graphics, beautiful videos, inviting Catholics to come home again. I think I already told you, 90 percent of the Catholics approve of Pope Francis. Not a fraction of that with Pope Benedict. Sixty percent of Protestants and atheist, agnostic, very popular. But this is a time when people are to be called out.

Number seven, Jesus repeatedly includes or indicts Babylon for making the world drunk with her wine. What is the wine? What are some of the specific teachings we need to be concerned about? For one thing, that the Ten Commandments are not binding.

You know, 100 years ago in North America, there was no Protestant church that said the Ten Commandments are not binding. If they were, they weren’t very popular. You had the Ten Commandments on the wall in public school. Any of you remember when the Ten Commandments were on the wall in public school? They outlawed that in 1962. So of course it was in many of the churches. But more and more churches are saying we’re not under the law now. The Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross. It’s the old law, it’s the old covenant. Have you heard that before? But not just that, when it comes to idolatry, doesn’t the bible say that we’re not to make statues and pray to them? And yet there’s a lot of idolatry that goes on in Catholic church and some of the Orthodox churches. It’s more paintings for them. Catholic church is more statues. There’s Pope Francis praying to a statue of Mary.

Sunday sacredness, the bible says remember the seventh day. And we’ve known that for years that since the last law about worshiping the beast is involving a commandment of God and it involves worship. There’s a good chance it’s going to involve laws that tell us to go to church on Sunday. It’s interesting, we’re seeing more of that.

Just before the pope came to America, he made a radio address where he said I’d like to announce what my three initiatives are, today prophecy is being fulfilled in years, because while I’m preaching this here, he’s in Philadelphia announcing his three initiatives. He said that they are. Celebration, prayer and work. Those are three initiatives. He explained what the celebration initiative was. He said it’s about keeping Sunday. That’s what he said in his message to the family was, a catechesis is a teaching. How many of you are a member of Roman catechism? We have some ex-Catholics here who went through catechism. The pope, when he announces a new catechesis, it is an official teaching that should be included in the catechism. Very interesting.

If you were wondering if he was going to talk about Sunday while he’s here, he is. He gave us a script. In that is a short address, but I’ll just read some pertinent points. He said, “Moments of rest, especially on Sunday, are sacred because in them we find God. The Sunday Eucharist brings to us celebrations every grace of Jesus Christ.” So any grace you want of Jesus comes through the mass, the Sunday mystical ceremony that was a corruption of the Last Supper. They say every grace is going to come through that, you need to participate in it. And that’s where the priest has really exalted to the ability to be able to transform the fermented grape juice into the blood of Christ and the wafer into the body of Christ.

Let me read something else to you here. How many of you remember hearing about the pope’s encyclical for climate change? The pope is getting involved in the environment. It’s a massive document, but the encyclical of the pope is a very important official teaching that is distributed, that means it’s going to be part of their agenda. He’s saying because the environment is deteriorating, it’s affecting the climate, it certain is affecting the ecology and there are serious pollution problems.

In his encyclical June 18, 2015, he says we see for example in the law of the Sabbath, on the seventh day God rested from His work. He commanded Israel to set a side each seventh day as a day of rest as a Sabbath. Similarly, every seven years a sabbatical year was set aside for Israel to complete the rest of the land, when sowing was forbidden and one only reaped what was necessary to live on and feed one’s household.

Finally, after seven weeks of years, after 49 years a jubilee was celebrated. That was a jubilee Sabbath. In the backdrop of these three bible examples of Sabbaths for the earths, he says on Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world, the planet. We need to rest for the planet. Sunday is the day of the Ressurection, the first day of the new creation. His first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims man’s eternal rest in God. I thought the Sabbath was a sign of that. It goes on. I can’t read it all. Even now we are journeying towards the Sabbath of eternity, the new Jerusalem. He’s speaking of Sunday here. Also, and so the day of rest centered in the Eucharist, Sunday, sheds light on the whole week.

You mark my words, he is going to use environmental reasons, social reasons, economic reasons and religious reasons to say that the world, because he’s going to appeal to believers and non-believers, that we need to start remembering, everybody’s got to start working on Sunday. We’ve got to worship on Sunday and all it’s going to take is some catastrophic natural disaster, financial disaster, something apocalyptic to happen.

Where do you think the world would turn right now for a spiritual leader? I’ll give you ten seconds to find your answer. Where do you think? Who do you think the first choice is going to be? I think we see it all happening before our eyes right now.

Secret Rapture. Do you know where that doctrine came from? The Jesuits. The idea of the Secret Rapture did not exist in the Christian church until a Jesuit by the name of Francisco Rivera prepared that, countered theology, which is now embraced by most Protestants, came straight out of Jesuit teaching. It was put by Scofield and the Scofield bible notes and adopted by people like Hal Lindsay and then the charismatics began to adopt it. Protestants used to believe in the literal, visible, audible coming of Jesus. It was not a secret. But they wanted to get rid of the historic interpretation prophesy. Why? Because the historic interpretation of prophesy is what Luther and Wesley and Spurgeon and Whitefield, they all believed. But it said that the pope was the Antichrist. He might be a nice guy.

I’m just amazed at how patient he is as he goes around. He seems to humble. And his endurance, one meeting after another. He never loses his temper with all those reporters and paparazzi, poparazzi is what they are. He never gets upset. He never throws Yamaka at them or anything. He seems like a very nice guy. I’m not talking about the guy. I’m talking about what the position represents and when you say you are the vicar of Christ to the world, Jesus said the Holy Spirit is my vicar. The Holy Spirit is his representative. So all the Secret Rapture doctrine is a concoction of the Jesuits. Immortality of the soul.

April 27, 2014, Pope Francis canonized two former popes as saints. Why is that important? That means that they become deities you can pray to. They become holy saints that will actually answer your prayers. Never in the bible are we told to pray to anyone but God through Jesus. But the idea that they don’t go through a resurrection and a judgment, but they go straight to heaven and become saints, that teaches the immortality of the soul.

In order for me to make someone dead holy so you can pray to them, who is greater, the one that is made a saint that you pray to or the one who has the authority to make them a saint? You know what the subliminal suggestion is when the pope declares another pope to be a saint? It’s almost like you’re superior, that you have divine power to declare this person can be prayed to. Talk about God makers. It’s interesting because Pope Benedict was there that day, so you had two living popes honoring two dead popes. But I think that would be confusing for Catholics. So when you pray our Father in Heaven, which one are you talking to? I know I say that sarcastically, but it really is a question.

Eternal torment. This is a teaching that came out of the dark ages. We do believe there is a heaven and there is a hell. As a matter of fact, the Seventh Day Adventist hell is hotter than the Baptist hell because the Baptist hell just simmers people forever. Ours burns them up. There is a heaven and there is a hell, but the idea that people burn forever and ever, I used to go to Catholic school and that was one of the things that turned me away from Christianity because I thought God was a sadist, that he would take some teenage boy, if I should die lost, I used to think I’m going to burn, a billion years go by and I haven’t even started yet, feeling constant burning. Think about that. That is just a horrific teaching.

Through these great two errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. These two errors are being held forth right now. Confessing your sins to a priest, talking about what some of these teachings are that are a concern, is that something that the bible teaches?

The idea of baptizing a baby. The thing that you need before baptism, you need to be taught, you need to believe, you need to repent. Can a baby do that? That’s a teaching that came out of the Catholic church. Confusion of tongues. Another sign of Babylon and her daughters, as I mentioned when Kenneth Copeland and his group wanted to pray for the pope, they all started to pray with these gibberish, ecstatic utterances and I used to go to this church. Did they know what they were saying? It’s gibberish. This came out of paganism. It’s the Oracle of Delphi and kind of rituals of prayer. They called them holy rollers when I first came to America.

Number eight, what power will support the beast in the end time? Here’s where we come to today. You notice in Revelation 13, after it talks about this first beast, they held another beast coming up out of the earth and he two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. This is another world power that would arise out of a new country. Right about the time the first receive it’s deadly wound, 1798, we had our Declaration of Independence in 1776, we were not recognized by the other worlds as an official nation until 1798 because we had pretty much won our battle against the British. They saw us as an independent country at that point. The United States, North American, which has become the Bastian, it’s become the beach head, the Protestant growth around the world and the message, in spite of all the problems. There were problems, but they had freedom of religion on the Protestant churches came and they thrived in this country under our Constitution. But that’s going to change.

It says he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, meaning that something is going to happen in the Unites States and in Canada where they’re going to start doing the same things that were done by the church in the Dark Ages of persecuting those who don’t agree and causing, forcing the earth and those that dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. Now, who’s the first beast? It was the papacy, the Roman Catholic church, that the Protestants in American are going to start compelling the world to recognize the first beast. That’s hard to imagine that would happen.

I can’t forget this photograph. It’s several years old and Pope John Paul II died and here you’ve got three U.S. Presidents on their knees before the pope. I’m sure they were just being respectful, but still. And when it talks about the U.S. making an image to the beast, I wouldn’t make too much of out if, but it always strikes me as really strange when you look at the Vatican and you look at the capitol, you wonder did they have the same architects. Actually St. Peters was Michelangelo. I think he was dead by the time they built the capitol. And what’s out in front of the Vatican? They have a big Egyptian Obelisk as pagan as it can get. What’s the Washington Monument?

National Geographic, August, will the Pope change the Vatican? You go into the article and it says, “Will the Pope change the Vatican or will the Vatican change the Pope?” Right now he’s making big changes, but he’s not changed their theology as much as people think. He’s being very careful in his words.

This last week on Fox News, a BBC journalist was being interviewed by Judge Janine and he has been the correspondence of the Vatican, he’s been on 40 foreign journeys for the pope, very well-versed. His name is Wiley, David Wiley. She was talking about how the pope is modifying things, he’s making changes. He says, no, you’re not reading the fine print. He said, “Read the fine print. Do not forget he is a Jesuit and the Jesuits are very canny people. He is a super-pope in that he has received great intellectual training. He’s not just nice and congenial, is extremely shrewd in what he is doing and he does it with humility.”

Nine, according to the prophesy, what dramatic change will take place in America? It tells us that he spoke as a dragon. American starts as a lamb. Who’s the lamb in the bible? Jesus. But ends up speaking like a dragon. How does a nation speak? With the laws that it legislates and this week, for the first time, the pope addressed our legal leaders, our legislature, our congress, our senators, and they gave him a standing ovation. Supreme Court, we legislate through the Supreme Court.

The majority of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court in the U.S. used to be 100 percent Protestant. Did you know that? It gradually began to change in the last 40 years so that with the retirement of John Stevens, now there are no Protestants on the Supreme Court. There are six Catholics and three Jews on the Supreme Court. Saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast that had the wound by the sword and did live.

And so what you’re going to see next I think is there’s going to be some event. You read on in Chapter 13, it says he makes fire come down from heaven. I don’t know if Satan is going to use this moment to impersonate Christ and then point to the religious leadership in Rome and say we need to come together as a world. I don’t know if there will be a natural disaster. I don’t know exactly, but it says that he makes fire come down on the earth on the sight of men.

Now this is a picture. If this doesn’t say it all. Here you have President Obama standing with the pope. He’s got the Vatican flag flying in the middle of our capitol next to the American flag in front of the Washington Monument. That’s sort of where it is. He makes an image to the second beast that had the woman by the sword.

Number ten, what three powers will unite against God’s people in the end time? Three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and the false prophet. It says they go forth to the kings of the earth to gather them together. They are brought together. There is going to be an effort to develop confederacy. When it says out of the mouth, there’s going to be words, but they will not be truth, like the plagues that came on Egypt. A frog’s power is in its tongue. A false message is going to go to the world that is going to confuse people. They are the spirits of devils working miracles to go forth to the kings of the earth and the whole world to gather them to the battle of great day of God.

Here’s that picture I was telling you about of the pope on the platform I think yesterday, 9/11, with having the joint prayer service with religious leaders representing the major religions of the world. What effective methods will this end time coalition use? For they are the spirits of devils working miracles. Counterfeit signs. He does great wonders so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth and the sight of men to the sea of them that dwell upon the earth by the means of those miracles that he has power to do. Everybody needs to make an image to the beast and worship the beast and receive the mark of the beast or they cannot by ourself, does not government have the power right now and the governments of the world to control transactions with a cashless society? It wouldn’t take much to make that happen.

What will prevent God’s end time people from being deceived? This is my last slide. To the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Friends, very few people are hearing what you’re hearing today. This is what Protestants used to believe, that we need to go by the bible. God foretold exactly what is happening in the world. Even members of our own church said those things are never going to happen. I haven’t heard them say that lately because we have seen things happen in the last three years since the election of this Jesuit pope more quickly than the last 200 years.

In my mind, I can see, I can imagine a number of scenarios where very quickly there will be a crisis in the world and people are going to look to the leader of the Roman church to be the spiritual leader. Not just spiritual leader, but he is showing that he is a political leader. The way he went to the Middle East, invited the president to Palestine and Israel to come to the Vatican pray, they came. He is inserting himself in the peace process in several different parts of the world right now. A number of things could happen that would bring all of this together.

I’m not going to pretend I know exactly how. Prophesy is best understood looking back, but God has told us these things, so when they do come to pass, we might believe. So how are we going to know? How are we going to be able to detect these final things to the law and the testimony? We need to have a relationship with the Lord and the bible.

Being interested or fascinated with prophesy is not going to save you. Even recognizing its fulfillment will not save you. It’s going to have to be a surrender of your life. A full surrender of your life to Jesus and a willingness to not only be a hearer, but a doer of his work. To not only be baptized in water, but to be baptized in the spirit. If ever we needed it, we need it now because there’s going to be a shaking that’s coming. People are going to be shaking. They’re be going out of our church and they’re going to be coming from Babylon into his church. Come out of her my people. Out of Babylon into what? Into the church that still stands for the word of God. I want to be one of those people, friends, don’t you? Amen.