EXAMINING
the TOUGH ISSUES
FACING
CHRISTIANS TODAY!
Issue #25 // July 7, 2006 // Editor: Darryl Eberhart
(Updated through: July 26, 2007) (www.toughissues.org)
NOTE: All “emphasis” throughout this newsletter, unless otherwise noted, is by the editor of “Examining the Tough Issues (ETI)”.
WARNING: This ETI newsletter may
seriously “disturb” some folks’ “comfort zones”; however, TRUTH
is far more important than any of our “comfort zones”.
DEDICATION: This issue of ETI is dedicated to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; it is secondarily dedicated to all those who have fought, and are currently fighting, against false doctrine, corruption, and tyranny!
DEFINITIONS (hopefully in alphabetical order):
“Absolution” (One of the meanings from Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “In the canon law, a remission of sins pronounced by a priest in favor of a penitent.” ((Ed. Comment: See definition of “penitent”.))
“Ad hominem” (per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “[Literally, to the man]: Appealing to one’s prejudices rather than to reason, as by attacking one’s opponent rather than debating the issue.”
“Ad hominem” (per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “Attacking your ‘opponent’ (e.g., his character, background, past sins or indiscretions, associations, intelligence, scholarship, etc.), rather than honestly debating the topic or subject of discussion, writing, etc.” ((NOTE: This has frequently been the standard “tactic” used by so-called “liberals”, “social engineers”, secret societies, cults, etc. – and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church! It is the old “attack the messenger rather than [dealing with] the message”. Some folks call it “character assassination”.))
“Anti-”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “A
preposition signifying ‘against’, ‘opposite’, ‘contrary’, or ‘in
place of’; used in many English words.”
((Ed. Comment: As you read this newsletter, please keep in mind this meaning “in place of” for the prefix “anti-” as concerns the anti-Christ – one who sits “in [the] place of” Christ.))
“Antichrist”
(per VINE’S Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words;
1985): “Antichrist [Greek: antichristos]…can mean either
‘against Christ’ or ‘instead of Christ’, or perhaps, combining the two,
‘one who, assuming the guise of Christ, opposes Christ’…”
“Antichrist”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “A
great adversary of Christ; the man of sin; described [in] I John 2:18; II
Thessalonians [Chapter] 2; [and] Revelation [Chapter] 9. Protestants generally suppose this adversary to be the Papal
power; and some divines [i.e., clergymen] believe that, in a more
general sense, the word extends to any persons who deny Christ or oppose
the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.”
“Antichrist”
(per Steve Wohlberg, author of the book End Time DELUSIONS; 2004;
Page 89): “The word ‘antichrist’ literally means ‘opposed to’ or
‘in the place of’ Christ, and in its most subtle and diabolical
manifestation it concerns something which [Ed. Note: or someone
who] claims loyalty to Jesus [Christ] while really leading
[others] away from Him.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding three definitions: Leading Protestant Reformers (e.g., Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, etc.) agreed that the Roman Pontiff [i.e., the pope of Rome] was clearly identified in Scripture as the Antichrist.))
“Auricular”
(Meaning #1 per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language):
“Pertaining to the ear; within the sense of hearing; told in the ear,
as auricular confession.”
“Babylon” (per
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006):
“Ancient city on the lower Euphrates River (in what is now central Iraq), the
capital of Babylonia: noted for wealth, luxury, and wickedness.”
“Babylonia”
(per Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006): “Ancient
empire in southwestern Asia, in the lower valley of the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers: it flourished c.2100-689 B.C. and again, as Chaldea or ‘New
Babylonia’, c.625-538 B.C.”
((Ed.
Comment to the two preceding definitions: Alexander Hislop, in his book The
Two Babylons, reveals the remarkable similarities between the pagan
Babylonian priesthood and the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church, e.g.,
auricular confession to an authorized priest.))
“Black
Pope” (per
Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “An Italian nickname for the Jesuit
Superior General: He is the commander-in-chief of the ‘Society of Jesus’
(i.e., the Jesuit Order). He is the real power ‘behind the throne’ of
the Papacy; and he is also the master of all these: his Jesuit order, the
Knights of Malta, and the highest levels of Freemasonry – and of all that he
controls through them.”
“Catholic bashing”
or “Anti-Catholic” (per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “Two
‘labels’ that, for the most part, are applied, usually by Roman
Catholics, to any and all who dare to point out any of the following:
(a.)
Errors in Roman Catholic doctrine;
(b.)
Papal Rome’s and the
Jesuit Order’s well-documented history of fomenting and orchestrating
bloody revolutions and wars;
(c.)
Papal Rome’s well-documented history (for centuries) of suppressing
the possession of, and the study of, the Holy Bible by the common people in
their own native language;
(d.)
Papal Rome’s well-documented history of torture, Inquisition,
‘holy’ wars, and ‘holy’ crusades against innocent
Bible-believing Christians (such as the Albigenses and Waldenses);
(e.)
Papal Rome’s well-documented history of hating and brutally
persecuting Jews, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians throughout the
centuries, (e.g., the Vatican’s religious genocide in the 1940s
against Serb Orthodox Christians in Fascist Croatia, where from 600,000 to 1
million men, women, elderly, and children were tortured and murdered
by Roman Catholic Ustashi military units that were frequently led by Roman
Catholic priests, friars, and monks);
(f.)
Papal Rome’s and the Jesuit Order’s well-documented history of assassinating
heads of State (e.g., President Abraham Lincoln, King Henry III and King Henry
IV of France, Czar Alexander I and Czar Alexander II of Russia, President Benito
Pablo Juarez of Mexico, etc.);
(g.)
The well-documented history of Papal Rome’s support of
totalitarian police states (such as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Fascist
Croatia) during World War II;
(h.)
The tremendous wealth (banks, stock holdings, property, gold,
etc.) of the Roman Catholic Church;
(i.)
The control of the top levels of Freemasonry by the Roman Catholic
Jesuit Order; and,
(j.)
The heavy-duty infiltration (and control) of the top
intelligence agencies in the world (e.g., CIA, Mossad, Russian KGB [now called
the FSB & SVR], and British Intelligence) by the Jesuits (through their
Knights of Malta, Jesuit ‘temporal coadjutors’, and high-level
Freemasons).”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: Loraine Boettner, in Roman Catholicism (1962) on page 298, tells us: “By celibacy…is meant the sectarian requirement of the Roman Catholic Church that its priests, monks, and nuns abstain from marriage. It is not to be confused with the vow of chastity, which is also taken by the members of these groups, and which means abstention from sexual relations. According to Canon Law the vow of celibacy is broken if the priest marries, but not if he engages in sexual relations.” Boettner then adds this comment: “The requirement for celibacy…is entirely without Scriptural warrant, and was not generally enforced in the Roman [Catholic] Church until more than 1000 years after the time of Christ.”))
“Chaste” (per Webster’s
New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006; adjective: first two
meanings): “1. Not indulging in unlawful sexual activity; virtuous. 2.
Sexually abstinent; celibate.”
“Chastity”
(per Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006): “The
quality or state of being chaste; specifically, a) virtuousness b) sexual
abstinence; celibacy; c) decency or modesty d) simplicity of style.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: Loraine Boettner, in Roman Catholicism (1962) on page 298, tells us: “By celibacy…is meant the sectarian requirement of the Roman Catholic Church that its priests, monks, and nuns abstain from marriage. It is not to be confused with the vow of chastity, which is also taken by the members of these groups, and which means abstention from sexual relations. According to Canon Law the vow of celibacy is broken if the priest marries, but not if he engages in sexual relations.”))
(a.) “A believer in the religion of Christ.”
(b.) “A professor of his belief in the religion of Christ.”
(c.) “A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.”
(d.) “In a general sense, the word ‘Christians’ includes all who are born in a Christian country or of Christian parents.”
(a.)
“A house consecrated to the worship of God…”
(b.)
“The collective body of Christians, or of those who
profess to believe in Christ, and acknowledge Him to be the Savior of mankind…”
(c.)
“A particular number of Christians, united under one form of
ecclesiastical government, in one creed, and using the same ritual and
ceremonies…”
(d.)
“The followers of Christ in a particular city or province…”
(e.)
“The disciples of Christ assembled for worship in a
particular place, as in a private house.”
(f.)
“The worshippers of Jehovah or the true God, before the
advent of Christ…”
(g.)
“The body of clergy, or ecclesiastics, in distinction from
the laity. Hence, ecclesiastical
authority.”
(h.)
“An assembly of sacred rulers convened in Christ’s name to
execute His laws.”
(i.)
“The collective body of Christians, who have made a
public profession of the Christian religion, and who are united under the
same pastor; in distinction from those who belong to the same parish, or
ecclesiastical society, but have made no profession of their faith.”
“Confession”
(per the Roman Catholic Baltimore Catechism): “Confession is the
telling of our sins to an authorized priest for the purpose of obtaining
forgiveness.”
“Confession” (Meaning #3 per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “The act of disclosing sins or faults to a priest; the disburdening of the conscience privately to a confessor; sometimes called auricular confession.”
“Confessional” (per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “The seat where a priest or confessor sits to hear confessions; a confession-chair.” ((Ed. Comment: Ex-Roman Catholic priest Charles Chiniquy at times refers to the “confessional” as the “confessional-box”. A more modern term would be the “confessional booth”.))
“Confessor”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language):
(#3): “A priest; one who hears the confessions
of others, and has power to grant them absolution.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: The Jesuit
Order, more than any other Roman Catholic religious order over the past 400+
years, made sure that it was Jesuit
priests who were the “father-confessors”
to emperors, kings, emperors’ and kings’ mistresses, queens, princes,
princesses, revolutionary leaders, top military generals, and the rest of the
“higher levels of society”.))
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: Many writers have questioned the “sincerity” of Constantine’s “conversion” to Christianity! He remained at the head of the pagan priesthood as “Pontifex Maximus” after his supposed “conversion” to Christianity in 313 A.D., and it appears that he simply cut a political deal with the organized “Church” of his day. Author Dave Hunt, in his book A Woman Rides the Beast (1994), tells us on page 46: “While heading the Christian Church, [Roman Emperor] Constantine continued to head the pagan priesthood, to officiate at pagan celebrations, and to endow pagan temples even after he began to build Christian churches. As head of the pagan priesthood he was the ‘Pontifex Maximus’ and needed a similar title as head of the Christian Church. The Christians honored him as ‘Bishop of Bishops’, while Constantine called himself ‘Vicarius Christi’, [that is,] Vicar of Christ.”))
“Croatia” (per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “[A former constituent] republic [1946-1991] of [the Federated People’s Republic of] Yugoslavia, in the northwest part: formerly, until 1918, a kingdom.” [Ed. Note: In the early 1940s it was an “independent” Roman Catholic Fascist State, and an ally of Nazi Germany. It became an independent republic in 1991 with the breakup of the Federated People’s Republic of Yugoslavia.]
“Crusade” (per
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974; first two
meanings): “1. Any of the military expeditions which Christians [Ed.
Note: to be more precise, Roman Catholics] undertook from the end of
the 11th [century] to the end of the 13th century
to recover the Holy Land from the Moslems.
2. Any church-sanctioned war or expedition like this.”
((Ed Comment to the preceding definition: The Papacy launched “holy” crusades against Bible-believing Christian groups, such as the Albigenses in southern France, and the Waldenses in southeastern France and northwest Italy.))
“Donation of Constantine
[a.k.a. the “Gift of Constantine”] (per 1955 World Scope
Encyclopedia): “…The transfer of the ownership of the city of
Rome and surrounding territory to the Pope by the Roman Emperor Constantine
(272-337). The document which was once believed to prove this [alleged] historical
fact was eventually unveiled as an early medieval falsification.”
“Donation of
Constantine, The” [a.k.a. the “Gift of Constantine”] (per
Dave Hunt, author of the book A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Pages
72, 73): “The popes’ authority even extended to large territories outside
Rome acquired in the eighth century. At that time, with the help of a deliberately
fraudulent document manufactured for the popes known as ‘The
Donation of Constantine’, Pope Stephen III convinced Pepin, king of the
Franks and father of Charlemagne, that territories recently taken by the
Lombards from the Byzantines actually had been given to the papacy by the
[Roman] Emperor Constantine. [King]
Pepin routed the Lombards and handed to the pope the keys to some 20 cities…and
the huge chunk of land joining them along the Adriatic coast.
Dated
30 March 315 [A.D.] ‘The Donation [of Constantine]’ declared
that [the Roman Emperor] Constantine had given these lands, along with
Rome and the Lateran Palace, to the popes in perpetuity.
In 1440 this document was proven to be a forgery by
[i.e., through the efforts of scholar] Lorenzo Valla, a papal aide, and is so
recognized by historians today.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding two definitions: Lorenzo Valla (1405-1457), an Italian scholar, used both historical evidence and linguistics to prove in 1440 that the so-called “Donation of Constantine” was indeed a deliberately fraudulent document – a forgery used by the Papacy to steal the territory that became the Papal States. According to Diarmaid MacCulloch, in his book The Reformation (2003), two other scholars, English bishop Reginald Pecock and the future German Cardinal Nicolas of Cusa, also came to the same conclusions as did Lorenzo Valla concerning the fraudulent nature of this document.))
“Eucharist” (per Dave Hunt, author of the book A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Page 522): “A special form of bread (tiny wafer or host) and ordinary wine which is believed to be the literal Body and Blood of Jesus Christ by having been consecrated by a [celibate Roman Catholic] priest and thus having been ‘transubstantiated’ through a special formula and power which [Roman] Catholic priests alone possess. The offering of this miraculously constituted ‘Christ’ upon [Roman] Catholic altars is the principal part of the ceremony or ritual known as the ‘Sacrifice’ of the Mass and is believed to be efficacious in the remission of sins.” (See definition for the term “Transubstantiation”.)
“Ex cathedra”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “[Modern
Latin: Literally, ‘from the chair’]: With the authority that comes from
one’s rank or office: often specifically with reference to papal
announcements, on matters of faith or morals, that have authoritative
finality.”
“Fornication”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “1.
Voluntary sexual intercourse, generally forbidden by law, between an unmarried
woman and a man, especially an unmarried man…
2. Bible: a.) Any unlawful
sexual intercourse, including adultery; b.) Worship of idols.
“Freemasonry” (per I. A. Sadler, author of the book Mystery, Babylon the Great; 2003; Pages 175-181): “Freemasonry is another branch of the Babylonian Mysteries, which has survived under different names from the time of the fall of open pagan worship in the 5th century. …Freemasonry is just as ripe for manipulation by the Jesuits and the Church of Rome, that it may be used for the purposes of Rome, as any Protestant denomination. [Ed. Note: Freemasonry has been manipulated by the Jesuits for many decades.] …In Britain and the USA, Freemasonry appears as a ‘Christian’ organization. However, this is a most dangerous pretense, for the true god of Freemasonry is Lucifer, who is Satan appearing as an angel of light. …Both Freemasonry and the Church of Rome [at their highest levels] worship the same god… Masonic ceremonies implicitly deny the sufficiency of Scripture. …[Freemasonry] is particularly strong in many Baptist churches in the USA… Those in the lower levels of Freemasonry know nothing about the higher and even more secretive degrees.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding
definition: The highest levels of Freemasonry are controlled by the Jesuit
Superior General. American historian James Parton tells us: “…If
you trace up Masonry, through all its Orders, till you come to the grand
tip-top, head Mason of the World, you will discover that the dread
individual and the Chief of
the Society of Jesus [i.e., the Black Pope –
the Superior General of the Jesuit Order] are
one and the same person.”))
“Genocide”
(per Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary; 1971): “The deliberate
and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.”
“Genocide”
(per Professor R.J. Rummel, author of the book Death by Government;
1994; Page 31): “Among other things, the killing of people by a
government because of their indelible group membership (race, ethnicity, religion,
language).”
“Genocide” (per Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn, co-authors of the book The History and Sociology of GENOCIDE; 1990; Page 23): “A form of one-sided mass killing in which a state or other authority [Ed. Note: such as a RELIGIOUS authority] intends to destroy a group, as that group and membership in it are defined by the perpetrator.”
((Ed. Note: Religious authorities often place a label of “heretic” on those who disagree with their religious traditions and laws – and then ask the State to punish or execute all “heretics”.))
“Heretic” (per
Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary; 1971): (a.) “A
dissenter from established church dogma; especially:
a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who disavows a revealed
truth”; (b.) “One that dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine
of any kind.”
((Ed. Note: Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language adds this important clarification for the term “heretic”: “In strictness, among Christians, a person who holds and avows religious opinions contrary to the doctrines of Scripture, the ONLY rule of faith and practice.”))
“Heretic” (per
Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “As concerns historical Roman Catholic
use of this term: A ‘label’ applied by the Papacy to anyone who dared in the
past, or who dares today, to question either (1) papal authority, or (2) any of
the unscriptural doctrines based solely upon ‘tradition’ that have been
promulgated by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, such as
‘transubstantiation’, ‘indulgences’, ‘papal infallibility’,
‘purgatory’, ‘worship of images’, ‘a celibate priesthood’,
‘auricular confession to a priest’, etc.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definitions of “heretic”: It is easy for corrupt church officials to “label” a group of Bible-believing Christians (even the population of an entire region or province) as “heretics”, and then to send armies to crush them and to loot their property! The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, i.e., Papal Rome, labeled the Bible-believing Albigensian and Waldensian Christians as “heretics” prior to sending armies to crush them!))
“Hierarchy” (per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974):
(a.) “A system of church government by priests or other clergy in graded ranks”
(b.) “The group of officials, especially the highest officials, in such a system”
(c.) “A group of persons or things arranged in order of rank, grade, class, etc.”
“Holocaust”
(per Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary; 1971): (a.) “A
sacrifice consumed by fire”; (b.) “A thorough destruction, especially
by fire.”
“Hypocrite”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “1.
One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without
the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is
destitute of true religion. 2. A
dissembler; one who assumes a false appearance.”
“Idol” (per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): [noun] “1. An image, form or representation, usually of a man or other animal, consecrated as an object or worship; a pagan deity. Idols are usually statues or images, carved out of wood or stone, or formed of metals, particularly silver or gold. 2. An image. 3. A person loved and honored to adoration. 4. Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment… An idol is anything which usurps the place of God in the hearts of His rational creatures…”
“Idolatry”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “1.
The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not
God. Idolatry is of two kinds:
the worship of images, statues, pictures, etc., made by hands; and the
worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels,
men and animals. 2. Excessive
attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.”
“Image” (per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): [noun] “1. A representation or similitude of any person or thing, formed of a material substance; as an image wrought [i.e., formed; produced] out of stone, wood or wax. 2. A statue. 3. An idol; the representation of any person or thing, that is an object of worship. The second commandment forbids the worship of images. 4. The likeness of anything on canvas; a picture; a resemblance painted. 5. Any copy, representation or likeness…”
“Indulgence”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974;
Meaning #7): “Roman Catholic Church: A remission of temporal or purgatorial
punishment still due for a sin after the guilt has been forgiven in the
sacrament of penance.”
“Indulgence”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language;
Meaning #4): “In the Romish [Ed. Note: Roman Catholic] church,
remission of the punishment due to sins, granted by the pope or church, and
supposed to save the sinner from purgatory; absolution from the censures
of the church and from all transgressions.”
“Infallible”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “1.
Incapable of error; never wrong. 2.
Not liable to fail, go wrong, make a mistake, etc.; dependable; reliable; sure.
3. Roman Catholic Church: Incapable of error in setting forth
doctrine on faith and morals: said especially of the Pope speaking ex cathedra
(i.e., in his official capacity).
“Infallible”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language;
Meaning #1): “Not fallible; not capable of erring; entirely exempt from
liability to mistake; applied to persons. No man is infallible; to be
infallible is the prerogative of God only.”
“Inquisition”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language):
(Meaning #4): “In some [Roman] Catholic countries, a court or
tribunal established for the examination and punishment of ‘heretics’.
This court was established in the 12th century by ‘father’
Dominic, who was charged by Pope Innocent III with orders to excite [Roman]
Catholic princes [i.e., rulers] and people to extirpate [i.e.,
destroy completely] ‘heretics’.”
“Jesuit Order”
(per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “The Jesuit Order is a religious
order of the Roman Catholic Church, officially approved by Pope Paul III in
1540. The primary goals of this order are (1) to roll back the Protestant
Reformation and the freedoms that it brought to many of the inhabitants of this
planet; (2) to enhance the power and prestige of the Papacy; and (3) to rule
despotically over the governments of the world through the Papacy. The head of the Jesuit Order is the Jesuit Superior General
– the ‘Black Pope’ – the real power behind the Papal throne. The
Jesuit Order is infamous for fomenting revolutions and wars, assassinating heads
of State, and subverting nations.”
“Jesuit Temporal
Coadjutor” (per Eric Jon Phelps, author of Vatican Assassins):
“Someone who performs service or duties for the Jesuit Order, but
who is not a Jesuit priest. This
person may be of any race, religion, or sex.”
“Knights of Columbus” (per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “An international fraternal, benevolent, and proselyting society of Roman Catholic men, founded in 1882.” [Ed. Note: Also called “the Pope’s militia”.]
((Ed.
Comment to the preceding definition: Author Jack Chick tells us the following
about the Knights of Columbus in his 1983 book Smokescreens:
“The legions of Rome are awesome. More than one million practicing
[Roman] Catholics make up the ranks of the Knights of Columbus.
They are fraternally pledged to the ideal of bringing America under papal
rule.
They are powerful, wealthy, [and] loyal.”))
“Knights of Malta” (per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “A Roman Catholic religious-military order headquartered in Rome with, and under the command of, the Jesuit Superior General. Much of the wealth of the Knights Templar, when it was disbanded in 1312, was given to the Knights of Malta. Many Knights of Malta have held top-level positions in various governments, in the world’s foremost intelligence agencies, in international banking, and in the publishing world. A number of Knights of Malta continue to hold such positions.”
“Mafia” (per Webster’s
New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974; Meaning #2): “A
secret society of criminals thought [Ed. Note: it has been well proven]
to exist in the U.S. and other countries, engaging in blackmail, illicit trade
in narcotics, etc.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: If you doubt that the Mafia exists, then please read the book Double Cross by Sam and Chuck Giancana. This book reveals connections between “the Mob” and the CIA – especially in the assassination business. It is $10.95 postpaid from “Radio Liberty”. To order by credit card, call their toll-free order line at 1-800-544-8927.))
“Mass” (per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “The celebration or service of the Eucharist, a sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church, consisting of a series of prayers and ceremonies…” (See definition for the term “Transubstantiation”.)
“Mass” (per Dave Hunt, author of A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Page 523): “The offering upon [Roman] Catholic altars of the alleged Body and Blood of Christ (in an ‘unbloody manner’) there created through the professed miracle of ‘transubstantiation’. This ‘sacrifice’ is declared to be efficacious for the forgiveness of sins and shortening one’s suffering in purgatory…” (See definition for the term “Transubstantiation”.)
“Mass Murder”
(per Professor R.J. Rummel, author of Death by Government; 1994;
Page 31): “The indiscriminate killing of any person or people by a government.”
“Mass Murder” (per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “The indiscriminate killing of any person or group of people by either a government, or by a religious institution – or, by a government AND a religious institution working hand-in-hand together to eliminate their perceived enemies.”
“Nicolaitan” (per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “One of a sect in the ancient Christian church, so named from Nicolas, a deacon of the church of Jerusalem. They held that all married women should be common to prevent jealousy. They are not charged with erroneous opinions respecting God, but with licentious [i.e., wanton; unrestrained by law or morality] practices.”
“Nicolaitans” (per Halley’s Bible Handbook; Page 702): “The ‘Nicolaitans’, it is thought, were a sect who advanced licentiousness as the proper way of life.”
((Questions and comments by Editor of ETI concerning the term “Nicolaitans”:
(1) Might the Lord Jesus Christ be trying to tell us Christians something through the use of this term “Nicolaitans”? When we break down the “Greek” components of the word, we find the term “nikao” which means to “conquer, overcome, prevail”, and the term “laos” which means “people”. We derive our English word “laity” from the Greek word “laos”.
(2) Could the term “Nicolaitans” signify a group of clergymen within an ecclesiastical system, who use a hierarchical mechanism to “rule vigorously and forcibly” over the laypersons [i.e., the laity] within that religious system, “bringing [them] into bondage”?
(3) Or, as author James Lloyd puts it: “This elevation of the clergy to the status of ‘interpreter’ [of the Holy Bible] for all us ‘foolish’ laymen is referred to as ‘the doctrine of the Nicolaitans’ in the book of Revelation.”))
“P2 (or P-2) Masonry” (per John Daniel, author of The Grand Design Exposed): “There is a Masonic Propaganda group, number two…known as the ‘P-2 Club’, with its headquarters being in Rome. …The P-2 Club is a propaganda society of the world’s elite which includes high-ranking Roman Catholic prelates and, of course, Jesuits.” (The Grand Design Exposed; 1999; Page 169)
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: P2 Masonry had its fingerprints all over the murder of Pope John Paul I, who was poisoned to death in 1978 before he could implement his plans to “clean house” at the Vatican and at the Vatican Bank. He had learned that many top-level Roman Catholic prelates were high-level Masons, and had made plans to remove them from power. If you doubt that Pope John Paul I was murdered, then I suggest that you read the book The Murder of John Paul I by Vance Ferrell. This book is $6.50 postpaid. It provides very strong evidence that Pope John Paul I was murdered by his Masonic enemies inside the Vatican. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Harvestime Books” and mail it to: Harvestime Books // P.O. Box 300 // Altamont, TN 37301. To order by credit card, please call 1-931-692-2777.))
“Pagan” (per Webster’s
1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “[Noun]: A heathen;
a Gentile; an idolater; one who worships false gods…”
“Papacy” (per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “[a.] The office and dignity of the pope or bishop of Rome; popedom. [b.] Papal authority.”
“Papal” (per
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “1. Of
the Pope or the papacy. 2. Of the Roman Catholic Church.”
“Papal States”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “Former
territory in Central and North Central Italy, ruled by the papacy from
the 8th century until 1870.”
“Penance” (per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): (a.) “The suffering, labor or pain to which a person voluntarily subjects himself, or which is imposed on him by authority [Ed. Note: such as a “father-confessor” in the Roman Catholic Church] as a punishment for his faults, or as an expression of penitence: such as fasting, flagellation, wearing chains, etc. ‘Penance’ is one of the seven sacraments of the Romish church.” (b.) “Repentance.”
“Penance” (per
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006): “1.
Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church: a) A sacrament involving the
confession of sin, repentance, and acceptance of the satisfaction imposed,
followed by absolution by a priest; b) the satisfaction imposed, as the recital
of certain prayers. 2. Any act of reparation, self-punishment, etc., done in
repentance for a sin or wrongdoing.”
“Penance” (per
Wilson Ewin – author of numerous books on Roman Catholicism): “Penance is
the sacrament in which sins committed after baptism are forgiven. [Roman]
Catholics also refer to it as ‘confession’.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding three definitions: For Roman Catholics, “penance” involves the requirement that they make “auricular confession” to an authorized Roman Catholic priest at least once a year.))
“Penitent” (Two meanings from Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language):
(a.) “One that repents of sin; one sorrowful on account
of his transgressions.”
(b.) “One under the direction of a confessor.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: Meaning “b.” above most often refers to a Roman Catholic under the direction of a “father-confessor” – in other words, under the direction of a Roman Catholic priest who hears confession.))
“Pontifex Maximus”
(per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “[Latin for ‘Supreme Pontiff’]: A
title of the supreme leader of the pagan priesthood in the Babylonian Empire
and in pagan IMPERIAL ROME; and a title of the supreme leader of the
Roman Catholic priesthood of PAPAL ROME.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding definition: Author I.A. Sadler, in his book Mystery, Babylon the Great (2003), tells us on page 27: “The Babylonish monarch is also known in history by the Latin title ‘Pontifex Maximus’, which is rendered in English either ‘Supreme [Pontiff]’ or ‘Sovereign Pontiff’. The word ‘Pontiff’ comes from the Latin ‘Pontifex’, which means ‘Roman high priest’.”))
“Pope” (per
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974; Meaning #1):
“Roman Catholic Church: The bishop of Rome and head of the [Roman
Catholic] Church.”
“Popery” (per Webster’s
1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “The religion of the
church of Rome, comprehending [i.e., including] doctrines and
practices.”
“Prelate” (per
Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “A high-ranking clergyman, e.g., a
bishop.”
“Purgatory”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “Among
[Roman] Catholics, a supposed place or state after death, in which
the souls of persons are purified, or in which they expiate such offenses
committed in this life, as do not merit eternal damnation. After this purgation
from the impurities of sin, the souls are supposed to be received into
heaven.”
((Ed. Comments to the preceding definition:
(1) It took quite a while for the Roman Catholic Church to “invent” this doctrine. Loraine Boettner, in Roman Catholicism (1962; Page 229), tells us: “The doctrine [of purgatory] was proclaimed an article of faith in 1439, by the Council of Florence, and was later confirmed by the Council of Trent, in 1548.”
(2) Purgatory has to be one of the greatest “moneymakers” ever invented by any religious institution! Loraine Boettner, in Roman Catholicism (1962; Page 222), states: “Every year millions of dollars are paid to obtain relief from this imagined suffering [in purgatory].”))
“Religicide” (per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “The murder of any person or people by a religious organization or denomination because of religious differences between the victim and the perpetrator (often with the victim being falsely designated a ‘heretic’ by the perpetrator).”
“Roman Catholic”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “Roman
Catholic, as an adjective, denoting the religion professed by the people of Rome
and of Italy, at the head of which is the pope or Bishop of Rome; as a noun, one
who adheres to the papal religion.”
“Romanism”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “The
tenets of the church of Rome.”
“Romish” (per Webster’s
1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “Belonging or
relating to Rome, or to the religion [i.e., Roman Catholicism] professed
by the people of Rome and of the western empire, of which Rome was the
metropolis; [Roman] catholic; popish; as the ‘Romish’ church; the
‘Romish’ religion, ritual or ceremonies.”
“Sacerdotal”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “1.
Of priests or the office of priest; priestly.
2. Characterized by belief in the divine authority of the
priesthood.”
“Sacrament” (per Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006; first two meanings): “1. Christianity: Any of certain rites instituted by Jesus [Christ] and believed to be means of grace: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and Anointing of the Sick are the seven recognized by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches; Protestants generally recognize only baptism and the Lord’s Supper (the Eucharist). 2. The Eucharist, or Holy Communion; also, the consecrated bread and wine, or sometimes the bread alone, used in the Eucharist.”
((Ed. Comments to the preceding definition:
(1) Eucharist: Please see the definitions for “Eucharist”, “Mass”, and “Transubstantiation”. There is a world of difference between the celebration of Holy Communion in Protestant churches and the “Mass” in Roman Catholicism. It was the issue of “transubstantiation” (the supposed “miraculous change of substances” that allegedly occurs during the “Mass”) that was used as a life or death “litmus test” by the Roman Catholic Church to direct State executions (most often by burning at the stake) of hundreds of thousands of innocents who disagreed with this unscriptural Roman Catholic doctrine.
(2) Penance: Please see the definitions for “penance”. For Roman Catholics, “penance” involves the requirement that they make “auricular confession” to an authorized Roman Catholic priest at least once a year.))
“Tradition”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language;
Meaning #3): “That which is handed down from age to age by oral
communication. The Jews pay great regard to tradition in matters of religion, as
do the Romanists [Ed. Note: Roman Catholics]. Protestants reject the
authority of tradition in sacred things, and rely only on the written word
[Ed. Note: the Holy Bible]. Traditions may be good or bad, true or false.”
“Transubstantiation”
(per Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language): “Change
of substance. In the Romish
[i.e., Roman Catholic] theology, the supposed conversion of the bread and
wine in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ.”
“Transubstantiation”
(per Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition; 2006): “1.
The act of transubstantiating; change of one substance into another.
2. Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church: a) the doctrine that,
in the Eucharist, the whole substances of the bread and of the wine are changed
into the body and blood of Christ, only the accidents [i.e., non-essential
attributes] of bread and wine remaining; b) this change.”
((Ed. Comment to the preceding two definitions: It was the issue of “transubstantiation” (the supposed “miraculous change of substances” that allegedly occurs during the “Mass”) that was used as a life or death “litmus test” by the Roman Catholic Church to direct State executions (most often by burning at the stake) of hundreds of thousands of innocents who disagreed with this unscriptural Roman Catholic doctrine.))
“Ustashi” – “Catholic Actionists” – The Roman Catholic militia (and later army) in the Roman Catholic Fascist State of Croatia during World War II.
“Vatican City”
(per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): “Independent
papal state, constituted in 1929 as an enclave in Rome…”
“Vatican-Papacy-Jesuit-Knights
of Malta cabal” (per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): “This is a
term I use to describe the most powerful geopolitical-financial-religious
institution in the world, which is governed by the Jesuit-controlled
hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. This institution includes (1) the
Vatican-Papacy, (2) the Jesuit Order, (3) the Jesuit-controlled Knights
of Malta religious-military order, (4) other religious and religious-military
orders (such as the Knights of Columbus), (5) Jesuit ‘temporal coadjutors’,
(6) the ‘Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’ (i.e., the
Inquisition), (7) the highest levels of Freemasonry (which are controlled by the
Superior General of the Jesuit Order), (8) the Vatican Bank, (9) the numerous
financial, corporate, real estate, and stock holdings of Papal Rome, and (10) a
large priesthood with a tremendous intelligence-gathering mechanism called the
‘confessional’. This cabal is
by far the biggest and most powerful ‘player’ on the New World Order
(N.W.O.) ‘chessboard’, and is the biggest promoter of one-world government
and one-world religion – both of which are to be under the authority of the Jesuit-controlled
Papacy! This cabal has a long
‘track record’ of torture and genocide; and it is infamous for (1) fomenting
bloody revolutions and wars (to include two world wars), (2) assassinating heads
of State, and (3) subverting nations. It hates religious liberty, freedom of
speech and press, and popular, representative government; and it loves Fascism
and ecclesiastical tyranny. This
cabal hates the American Constitutional Republic, and made plans for its destruction
in three meetings in the 19th century (at Vienna, Austria in 1814-15;
at Verona, Italy in 1822; and at Chieri, Italy in 1825).”
“Vicar” (per Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition; 1974): [Ed. Note: “vicar” with a “small ‘v’”]: “1. A person who acts in place of another; deputy. …4. Roman Catholic Church: A.) A church officer acting as deputy of a bishop. B.) [Vicar]: The Pope, regarded as earthly representative of Christ: in full: Vicar of (Jesus) Christ.”
“Vicar of Christ”
(per Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI): Just one of many titles assumed by the
popes of Rome. The pope of Rome is
“claiming”, by the use of this title, to act in the place of
Jesus Christ on planet Earth. Webster’s
1828 American Dictionary of the English Language tells us the following
concerning the word “vicar”: “The pope pretends to
be vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. He
has under him a grand vicar, who is a cardinal, and whose jurisdiction extends
over all priests, regular and secular.”
IMPORTANT NOTE #1: I
(the editor of the ETI & TTT newsletters) am not a Roman Catholic; I also
most definitely am not anti-Roman Catholic as far as individual
Roman Catholics go. My dad and 90%
of my relatives are Roman Catholic; and the majority of my friends are Roman
Catholic. I am, however, against the top levels of secret
societies (from the hierarchy of the Jesuit
Order to the hierarchy
of Freemasonry).
This is because these secret societies control the leadership of the
Roman Catholic Church (through the Jesuit Order and P2 Masonry), and have often used this
hierarchical system for evil purposes, such as “holy” Inquisition,
“holy” crusades, “holy” wars, and religious genocide. The
hierarchical system of the Roman Catholic Church is used quite
efficiently by secret societies not only to keep over one billion Roman
Catholics “in line”, but also to gather intelligence, and to infiltrate
(through its Knights of Malta,
Jesuit “temporal coadjutors”, etc.) governments and various Christian
denominations. I am also against any religious hierarchy that tries to
place itself equal to, or above, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God – or
equal to, or above, God’s Holy Word (i.e., the Holy Bible) and His Ten Commandments!
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: We can no longer afford to REMAIN SILENT on critical issues for fear of offending any particular group – in this case, Roman Catholics. Please carefully consider this quote by author Dave Hunt: “We are told to love one another as Christ has loved us. Pop psychology trivializes that command by equating it with a ‘positive’ attitude. Forgotten is the first duty of love: to speak the truth (Ephesians 4:15). Real love does not flatter or soothe when correction is needed but [rather] points out the error which is blinding and harming the loved one. Christ said, ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and repent’ (Revelation 3:19). Instead, the idea is now current that love excludes rebuke, ignores the truth, and seeks unity at any price. Only disaster can result.” (A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Page 403)
IMPORTANT NOTE #3: When I use the term “GOD” in this newsletter, the reference is to the LORD God Almighty of the Holy Bible.
This editor of the ETI and TTT newsletters has been writing more on the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy, and especially the Jesuit Order, in recent newsletters because I keep uncovering more and more about the deep hatred that the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church has for independent Bible-believing Christians, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and Jews. We Americans have, for the most part, been largely ignorant of the well-documented history of the Roman Catholic Church in conducting brutal religious genocide (via Inquisition, “holy” wars, and “holy” crusades) against all the afore-mentioned groups. Sadly, many Americans believe the “ecumenical rhetoric” of Roman Catholic prelates – i.e., that the Roman Catholic Church has “changed her ways” and now loves all the “separated brethren”. However, my study of the Papacy shows me that this is just a RUSE [i.e., a “stratagem” – per Webster’s Dictionary: “any trick or scheme for achieving some purpose”]. The “purpose” is to bring all Christian denominations under the “umbrella” [i.e., the control] of the Papacy!
Yes, the Papacy [i.e., Papal Rome], despite its “ecumenical rhetoric”, has not changed a bit over the many centuries in the following categories:
Indeed, power – absolute power – has long been the pursuit of Papal Rome. History has recorded Papal Rome’s deep hatred for religious liberty and freedom of conscience. The U.S. Constitution, with its “Bill of Rights” guaranteeing such liberties, has long been hated by Papal Rome. (For a good example of this hatred, please read the Syllabus of Errors issued in 1864 by Pope Pius IX.) I have heard that there is an acronym in use by some Knights of Columbus in America. This acronym is “M.A.C.”: “Make America Catholic”. America is the last “roadblock” in the way of Papal Rome and her globalist rich and power elite lackeys in their quest for one-world government and one-world religion. Is America scheduled for a religious genocide – an Inquisition – as occurred in the 1940s in Croatia? I believe the danger is very real and possibly quite imminent – and that is why I have been writing more and more about the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy (i.e., Papal Rome), its long-held dreams of world domination, its love of Fascist regimes, and its well-documented history of torture and religious genocide!
The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest “Christian” denomination in the world, with over one BILLION adherents. The Roman Catholic Church “claims” to be the oldest of the “Christian” denominations. (Yes, she is the largest; however, she certainly is NOT the oldest of Christian groups.) She also “claims” that she can trace her leadership back to the Apostle Peter. She “claims” that Peter was the first “pope”. She “claims” that her pope is the “Vicar of Christ”, and that he has the “right” to rule on Earth in both temporal [i.e., civil] and spiritual matters. She “claims” that her pope is infallible on matters of faith and morals when speaking “ex cathedra”. The Roman Catholic Church also “claims” the “right” to use force whenever and wherever she deems such use “appropriate”. Is the Roman Catholic Church the one, true church of Jesus Christ? Are these “claims” of the Roman Catholic Church true, or are they false?
IF the Roman Catholic Church is what she “claims” to be – and IF what she “claims” for her pope is true, then all Christians should bow to her authority. If the Roman Catholic Church is not what she “claims” to be – and her pope is not what she “claims” he is, then she, her pope, and her entire hierarchical system need to be exposed for what they really are! (If they are not who they claim to be, then they are imposters – pretenders – fakes – and “false apostles”!)
A number of Bible passages have been included in this newsletter to show us that the Lord Jesus Christ severely castigated the religious leaders of His day for the very same “sin” of which the prelates of Roman Catholicism are guilty today (i.e., honoring their “traditions” over God’s Holy Word – the Holy Bible). Some of the Bible passages will show us that some of Jesus Christ’s original 12 apostles tried to warn us that “wolves” (in the proverbial “sheep’s clothing”) had already begun to infiltrate the humble, simple Christian Church of their day!
Many quotations (some by very famous personages) will be used in this newsletter. When you read these quotations, you will see that many serious accusations have been leveled at the Roman Catholic Church, and that there is a lot of historical evidence to back up those accusations. Some of these quotations – and I could have included many more – show us that the Vatican-Papacy-Jesuit cabal has been “guilty” of fomenting many bloody revolutions and wars, of assassinating many heads of State, and of carrying out the most brutal religious genocides, such as occurred in the Roman Catholic Fascist State of Croatia in the 1940s. (In this horrible religious genocide, the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia worked hand-in-hand with a Roman Catholic Fascist State to plan, orchestrate, and carry out brutal torture and mass murder that claimed the lives of from 600,000 to one million innocent Serb Orthodox Christian men, women, elderly, and children. In fact, many of the Roman Catholic Ustashi military units were led and “advised” by Franciscan priests, monks, and friars. Two of the top leaders of this brutal religious genocide were Jesuit prelates: Archbishops Aloysius Stepinac and Ivan Saric!)
Other quotations will show us that many individuals throughout history have tried to warn us of the tremendous amount of paganism and false doctrine that entered the “Roman” Catholic Church. (Many pagans were allowed to enter the “Romish Church” without first becoming real Christians – and they brought their pagan beliefs and practices with them!)
Other quotations will show us that many individuals have tried to warn us about the Vatican-Papacy-Jesuit cabal’s designs against the American Republic, and how they, along with European monarchs, planned in the 19th century to destroy the American Republic. Other individuals have warned us what would happen if the Papacy [i.e., Papal Rome] ever gets total control of America!
I have listed a lot of “definitions” at the beginning of this newsletter. I have done so for several reasons:
II. HERE ARE SOME RELEVANT BIBLE VERSES (with some comments):
[The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth]: “Know ye not that YE [Christians] are the temple [Greek: naos] of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (I Corinthians 3:16)
((Comments by Editor of ETI concerning the preceding Bible verse:
(1) See also the expressions “temple of the Holy Ghost [of God]”, “temple of God”, and “temple of the living God” in I Corinthians 6:19 and II Corinthians 6:16. (Greek naos is used for temple.)
(2) We Christians need to keep this definition of just WHO the “temple of God” is when we consider “that man of sin…the son of perdition”, who is found sitting in “the temple of God”, “showing himself [i.e., proclaiming himself] that he is God” in II Thessalonians 2:3, 4.))
[The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians at Thessalonica]: (Verse 3): “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [i.e., the “day of Christ’s coming” – see verses 1 and 2] shall not come, except there come a falling away [Greek: apostasia] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (Verse 4): Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth [i.e., sits] in the temple [Greek: naos] of God, shewing [i.e., showing] himself that he is God.” (II Thessalonians 2:3, 4)
((Ed. Comments and questions concerning the preceding Bible passage:
(1) Most Bible scholars agree that the expressions “the son of perdition” and “that man of sin” described here in II Thessalonians 2:3 refer to “the Antichrist”.
(2) The Apostle Paul most likely
used this expression “the temple [Greek: naos]
of God” in II Thessalonians 2:4 to refer to the “body of Christian
believers” rather than to a “physical building” – such as
the so-called “rebuilt Jewish temple” in the “end times”. (Please
see the Apostle Paul’s use of “naos” [temple] in I
Corinthians 3:16, 17; I Corinthians 6:19; and II Corinthians 6:16.) Generally,
in the New Testament, the Greek word “hieron” is used for the temple
complex of buildings; the Greek “naos” for the inner
sanctuary or, metaphorically, for the “body of Christian
believers”. Steve Wohlberg in his book End Time DELUSTIONS
states: “…Every time Paul used the word ‘naos’,
he always applied it to the Christian Church, and never to
a rebuilt Israeli temple!”
(3) The term “sitteth” [i.e., sits] does not mean merely to sit on a chair. Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language states the following for the third meaning of the word “sit”: “To occupy a seat or place in an official capacity.” Webster’s 1828 Dictionary then gives this following example for the above definition: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Matthew [Chapter] 23.” Do we know anybody today who sits in Christ’s (or, Peter’s) “seat” claiming to be the “Vicar of Christ” on earth? Answer: The pope of Rome!))
“And He [i.e., the Lord
Jesus Christ] said, Take heed that
ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My NAME, saying,
I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after
them.” (Luke 21:8) (See also Matthew 24:5 and Mark 13:6.)
((Ed. Comments and questions concerning the preceding Bible verse:
(1) “In My [Jesus
Christ’s] NAME”: Interestingly, the Jesuit Order is called the “Society
of Jesus”.
Likewise, many popes have taken the title of “Vicar
of Christ” unto
themselves. Many of these same popes (claiming to act in Christ’s name)
approved the horrible torture used in the brutal “holy” Inquisition, and some of them ordered “holy” crusades of extermination
to be launched against Bible-believing Christians in southern France and in
Northwestern Italy, i.e., against the Albigensian and Waldensian Christians.
(2) Why do some of the people “interpreting” this verse of Scripture
assume that these many folks “saying
I am Christ”
are really claiming that they personally are “Jesus Christ”? Might the
intended meaning of the above verse be: those folks coming in Christ’s name, “saying,
I [Jesus] am Christ”?
Since Jesus Christ is addressing Christians, how could “nut
cases claiming to be Jesus Christ”
be capable of deceiving Christians into following them?
Might not a much more reasonable explanation for this capacity of
deceiving Christians be the explanation that these many folks are saying
that Jesus indeed is Christ
while in reality they are deceivers (and “wolves
in sheep’s clothing”) “in
the very midst of the Church itself”?
(Compare Matthew 15:7-9 and Isaiah 29:13.) In other words, these deceivers
are merely “pretend (i.e., phony) Christians”!))
(Verse 29): “For I [i.e., the Apostle Paul] know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. (Verse 30): Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29, 30)
(Verse 13): “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. (Verse 14): And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (Verse 15 a.): Therefore it is no great thing if his [i.e., Satan’s] ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…” (II Corinthians 11: 13-15 a.)
((Comments by Editor of ETI concerning the preceding two Bible passages:
(1) The “wolves” began infiltrating the Christian Church at its highest levels shortly after the Apostle Paul’s death – as he had predicted through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.
(2) Notice in II Corinthians 11:13 that these “false apostles” are able to pass themselves off as “apostles of Christ” – no doubt deceiving many sincere Christians. Interestingly, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary tells us that Jesuit missionaries are called “apostles”.))
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” (II Timothy 4:3)
(Verse 1): “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily [i.e., secretly; clandestinely; stealthily] shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (Verse 2): And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (Verse 3 a.): And through covetousness shall they with feigned [i.e., fictitious, fabricated] words make merchandise of you...” (II Peter 2:1-3 a.)
((Comments by Editor of ETI concerning the preceding Bible passage:
(1) In other words, the Apostle Peter is saying that these false prophets and false teachers would be slick con artists who would pretend to be Christians in order to gain the confidence of Christians – to either lead them astray doctrinally or to reap “monetary benefits” from them (e.g., “Mass cards for the dead” and “indulgences”) – or both!
(2) “Denying the Lord”: This denial does not have to be in words; this denial can take the form of “actions taken contrary to God’s Word” or “failure to obey God’s Commandments”.
(3) The Roman Catholic Church’s slaughter of tens of millions of innocent men, women, and children through “holy” Inquisition, “holy” wars and crusades, and religious genocide (against Jews, Moslems, independent Bible-believing Christian groups, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians) has truly given Christianity a “bad name” (i.e., made Christianity to “be evil spoken of”) in many parts of the world!))
“And that because of false brethren unawares [i.e., stealthily; secretly] brought in, who came in privily [i.e., clandestinely; stealthily; secretly] to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.” (Galatians 2:4)
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (Revelation 2:6)
“So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” (Revelation 2:15)
((Ed. Comment concerning the preceding two verses: The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to the angel (or, messenger) of the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:6, and to the angel (or, messenger) of the church in Pergamos in Revelation 2:15.))
((NOTE: It certainly wouldn’t hurt to repeat here my earlier comments and questions concerning this term “Nicolaitans”:
(1) Might the Lord Jesus Christ be trying to tell us Christians something through the use of this term “Nicolaitans”? When we break down the “Greek” components of the word, we find the term “nikao” which means to “conquer, overcome, prevail”, and the term “laos” which means “people”. We derive our English word “laity” from the Greek word “laos”.
(2) Could the term “Nicolaitans” signify a group of men within an ecclesiastical system (i.e., a religious denomination) that uses a hierarchical mechanism to “rule vigorously and forcibly” over the lay people (i.e., the laity) within that religious system, “bringing [them] into bondage”?
(3) Or, as author James Lloyd puts it: “This elevation of the clergy to the status of ‘interpreter’ [of the Holy Bible] for all us ‘foolish’ laymen is referred to as ‘the doctrine of the Nicolaitans’ in the book of Revelation.”))
(Verse 3): “But He [i.e., the Lord Jesus Christ] answered and said unto them [i.e., the scribes and the Pharisees], Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? (Verse 4): For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor thy father and mother’: and, ‘He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death’. (Verse 5): But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, ‘It is a gift [i.e., dedicated to God], by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me’; (Verse 6): And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free [i.e., from the obligation to honor his parents]. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” (Matthew 15:3-6)
((Comments by Editor of ETI concerning the preceding Bible passage:
(1) This “gift” (to the Temple) enabled a Jew to give his property to the Temple, and thus be released from his obligation to support his parents (in their old age).
(2) Jesus Christ was speaking to the top religious leaders of His day in the above passage. He told these phony, pompous, proud religious leaders that they had made “the commandment of God of none effect” through their “tradition”! How is it that fallible men (to include popes, cardinals, and bishops) think that they can override God’s Holy Word [i.e., the Holy Bible] with their man-made “traditions” (e.g., purgatory, celibate priesthood, etc.)? What unmitigated gall!
(3) Jesus Christ called these phony, pompous, proud religious scoundrels (i.e., the religious leaders of His day) such names as “hypocrites”, “whited [i.e., whitewashed] sepulchers”, “vipers”, “blind guides”, “fools”, etc. (Please read Matthew 23:1-36 – it contains the account of one of Jesus Christ’s harshest attacks on the “religious establishment”.) I wonder, would Jesus Christ call the religious leaders of our day these very same “nasty names”?))
(Verse 7): “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias [i.e., Isaiah] prophesy of you, saying, (Verse 8): ‘This people draweth nigh [i.e., near] unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. (Verse 9): But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matthew 15:7-9) (NOTE: Please compare Isaiah 29:13.)
((Ed. Comments concerning the preceding Bible passage: (1) Jesus Christ was rebuking the scribes and Pharisees (the religious and political and judicial leaders) of His day. Jesus Christ also rebuked these corrupt “church” leaders (and also the political and judicial leaders) a number of times in the Gospels, calling these corrupt leaders such names as “hypocrites”, “whited [i.e., whitewashed] sepulchers”, “vipers”, etc. (2) We find many churches today likewise “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”.))
(Verse
1): “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, (Verse
2): Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
(Verse 3): All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe
and do; but do not ye after their works [i.e., don’t do what
they do]: for they say and do not. (Verse 4): For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be
borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not
move them with one of their fingers.
(Verse 5): But all their works they do for to be seen of men:
they make broad their phylacteries [i.e., slips of parchment with a
Scripture verse or passage worn on the body], and enlarge the borders of
their garments. (Verse 6): And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and
the chief seats in the synagogues, (Verse
7): And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
(Verse 8): But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your
Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
(Verse 9): And call no man your father upon the
earth: for one is your Father,
which is in heaven. (Verse 10): Neither be ye called
masters: for one is you Master, even Christ. (Verse 11): But he that is greatest among you shall be
your servant. (Verse 12): And whosoever shall exalt himself shall
be abased [i.e., humbled]; and he that shall humble himself shall be
exalted. (Verse 13): But woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men: for
ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer [i.e., allow] ye them that
are entering to go in. (Verse
14): Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long
prayer: therefore ye shall receive
the greater damnation. (Verse 15): Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make
him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. (Verse 16): Woe unto
you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the
temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he
is a debtor [i.e., he is under obligation]!
(Verse 17): Ye fools and blind: for
whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
(Verse 18): And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing;
but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. (Verse
19): Ye fools and blind, for whether is greater,
the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?”
…(Verse 23): “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Verse 24): Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. (Verse 25): Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. (Verse 26): Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Verse 27): Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited [i.e., whitewashed] sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. (Verse 28): Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Verse 29): Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, (Verse 30): And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. (Verse 31): Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. (Verse 32): Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. (Verse 33): Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Verse 34): Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge [i.e., whip severely] in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: (Verse 35): That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. (Verse 36): Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” (Matthew 23:1-19, 23-36)
((Ed. Comments concerning the preceding Bible passage:
(1) Jesus Christ was speaking to the top religious leaders of His day in the above passage. He had earlier told these phony, pompous, proud religious leaders that they had made “the commandment of God of none effect” because of their “tradition”! (Please see Matthew 15:3-6.) How is it that fallible men (to include popes, cardinals, and bishops) think that they can override God’s Holy Word with their man-made “traditions” (e.g., purgatory, indulgences, celibate priesthood, papal infallibility, auricular confession to priests, etc.)? What unmitigated gall!
(2) In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ called these phony, pompous, proud religious scoundrels (i.e., the religious leaders of His day) such names as “hypocrites”, “whited [i.e., whitewashed] sepulchers”, “vipers”, “blind guides”, “fools”, etc.))
(Verse 7): [Jesus Christ is speaking to the religious leaders]: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Verse 8): For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, [such] as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. (Verse 9): …Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. …(Verse 13 a.): Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition…” (Mark 7:7-9, 13 a.)
((Comments by Editor of ETI concerning the preceding Bible passage:
(1) The Lord Jesus Christ was not afraid to challenge the top religious leaders of His day to their very faces, and He certainly told them exactly what He thought about their precious man-made “tradition”!
(2) The Pharisees of Christ’s time, who placed their man-made “tradition” above God’s Word, have been replaced by the modern-day “Pharisees” (i.e., the prelates of the Roman Catholic Church), who likewise have placed their man-made “tradition” above God’s Holy Word!))
“He [i.e., Jesus Christ] challenged the ideas and smugness of the arrogant religious leaders of the day who had so long distorted God’s Word, putting God’s people in bondage. The largest group of leaders feeling threatened was the Pharisees. They were masters at self-promotion and became livid when anyone dared disagree with their ‘exalted’ ideas. Jesus [Christ] immediately ran into conflict with these pompous religious leaders when His teachings countered their man-made ideas of holiness.” – Pastor Ron Hembree (A Daily Joy: A Quick Study Guide Through God’s Word; Page 291)
“From the first, Jesus [Christ’s] teachings brought Him into conflict with the Pharisees. Tradition, for them [i.e., these pompous religious leaders], was binding. They [i.e., the Pharisees] preferred the oral teachings of the rabbis to the written Word of God. Jesus [Christ] never hesitated to denounce ‘tradition’ whenever it watered down or undermined Scriptural principles. The conflict grew until the angry Pharisees demanded Christ’s death.” – Pastor Ron Hembree (A Daily Joy: A Quick Study Guide Through God’s Word; Page 292)
((Ed. Comment to the preceding two quotations: These two quotations apply equally to the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church throughout much of Church history. Indeed, Roman Catholic prelates have put their own man-made “traditions” in the place of the Word of God. They have placed countless millions of their adherents under a hierarchical system of BONDAGE through their false doctrine, superstitions, threats of “excommunication”, and threats of withholding the “sacraments”. They have also tortured and slaughtered millions of Christians who dared to disagree with their man-made “traditions”, corruption, and monopolistic papal authority!))
“When Jesus [Christ] cleansed the Temple [in Jerusalem], He exposed the ‘moneychangers’ for what they really were. They were not there to help the worshippers, as they claimed, but were frauds. They only wanted to rip off those who had come to pray. The ‘dealers’ [i.e., moneychangers] operated in the outer court of the Temple, the ‘Court of the Gentiles’. Jews from abroad were not allowed to use their own currency to pay the annual Temple dues. These greedy moneychangers fixed an unreasonably high rate of exchange, taking advantage of the vulnerable. Jesus [Christ] overturned their tables and drove them from the Temple…” – Ron Hembree (A Daily Joy: A Quick Study Guide Through God’s Word; Page 294)
((Ed. Comments to the preceding quote:
(1) The Jewish religious leaders controlled, and greatly profited from, this money-changing concession in the outer court of the Temple.
(2) The religious “moneychangers” are still in operation today within so-called “Christendom”. Throughout Church history, these greedy men have ripped off millions upon millions of poor Roman Catholics through such practices as (a.) the selling of “indulgences” [i.e., remission of punishment due to sins], (b.) the sale of relics, (c.) prayers and Masses for dead relatives, etc. Additionally, the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy, through its Jesuit Order and Knights of Malta, controls major banking, corporate, and media interests! Indeed, “organized religion” is a very profitable “business”!))
“The Vatican has large investments with the Rothschilds of Britain,
France and America, with the Hambros Bank, [and] with the Credit Suisse in London and Zurich.
In the United States it has large investments with the Morgan Bank, the
Chase-Manhattan Bank, the First National Bank of New York, the Bankers Trust
Company, and others. The Vatican
has billions in shares in the most powerful international corporations
such as Gulf Oil, Shell, General Motors, Bethlehem Steel, General Electric,
International Business Machines [IBM], T.W.A., etc.
At a conservative estimate, these amount to more than 500 million dollars
in the USA alone.
In
a statement published in connection with a bond prospectus, the Boston
archdiocese listed its assets at Six Hundred and Thirty-five Million
($635,891,004), which is 9.9 times its liabilities.
This leaves a net worth of Five Hundred and Seventy-one Million dollars
($571,704,953). It is not difficult
to discover the truly astonishing wealth of the [Roman Catholic] Church,
once we add the riches of the twenty-eight archdioceses and 122 dioceses of the
USA, some of which are even wealthier than that of Boston.
Some idea of the real estate and other forms of wealth controlled by the [Roman]
Catholic Church may be gathered by the remark of a member of the New York
Catholic Conference, namely ‘that his church probably ranks second only to the
United States government in total annual purchase’.
Another statement, made by a nationally syndicated Catholic priest,
perhaps is even more telling. ‘The Catholic Church’, he said, ‘must be the
biggest corporation in the United States. We
have a branch office in every neighborhood. Our assets and real estate holdings
must exceed those of Standard Oil, A.T. &T., and U.S. Steel combined.
And our roster of dues-paying members must be second only to the tax
rolls of the United States government.’
The
[Roman] Catholic Church, once all her assets have been put together, is
the most formidable stockbroker in the world.
…The Wall Street Journal said that the Vatican’s financial
deals in the U.S. alone were so big that very often it sold or bought gold in
lots of a million or more dollars at one time.
The
Vatican’s treasure of solid gold has been estimated by the United Nations
World Magazine to amount to several billion dollars.
…But this is just a small portion of the wealth of the Vatican,
which in the U.S. alone is greater than that of the five wealthiest giant
corporations of the country. When
to that is added all the real estate, property, stocks and shares abroad, then
the staggering accumulation of the wealth of the [Roman] Catholic
Church becomes so formidable as to defy any rational assessment.
The Catholic Church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence. She is a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state of the whole globe. The pope…is consequently the richest individual of the twentieth century.” – Avro Manhattan (The Vatican Billions; 1983)
((Ed. Comment to the preceding quote: Please remember
that the above figures are from over 2 decades ago! The Roman Catholic
Church is one of the wealthiest institutions the world has ever seen! The
wealth, power, and influence of today’s Roman Catholic leaders far exceed
the wealth, power, and influence ever held by the Jewish religious leaders of
Christ’s day! How do these wealthy prelates of Roman Catholicism
compare to the poor apostles of Jesus Christ’s day?))
“Most
[Ed. Note: a sizable chunk] of [Papal] Rome’s
wealth has been acquired through the sale of salvation. Untold billions
of dollars have been paid to her by those who thought they were purchasing
heaven on the installment plan for themselves or [their] loved ones. The
practice continues to this day…
…There
are the further [Roman Catholic Church] abominations of corrupt
banking practices, laundering of drug money, trading in
counterfeit securities, and dealings with the Mafia (fully documented
in police and court records), which the Vatican and her representatives
around the world have long employed. Nino Lo Bello, former ‘Business Week’
correspondent in Rome and Rome bureau chief for ‘New York Journal of
Commerce’, writes that the Vatican is so closely allied with the
Mafia in Italy that ‘many people…believe that Sicily…is
nothing more than a Vatican holding’.
The Roman Catholic Church is by far the wealthiest institution on earth.”
Dave Hunt (A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Pages 75, 76)
((Ed. Comments to the preceding quote:
(1) The sale of “indulgences”, Mass cards for dearly departed loved ones, etc., have long brought immense wealth into Papal Rome’s coffers!
(2) Papal Rome’s connections to organized crime are well documented. One good book that points out such connections is the 495-page paperback book Double Cross by Sam and Chuck Giancana. It is only $10.95 postpaid from “Radio Liberty”. To order a copy by credit card, please call toll-free 1-800-544-8927.))
“The CIA profited as well, discovering through Mooney’s [i.e., Chicago Mob boss Sam “Mooney” Giancana’s] bribe-friendly contacts new avenues for diverting their own ‘dirty money’, funds garnered from illicit CIA activities.
To
courier the millions of dollars that would soon pour across U.S.-Mexican
borders, Mooney [i.e., Chicago Mob boss Sam “Mooney” Giancana, who once
had a private audience in Rome with Pope Paul VI] called upon the Roman
Catholic Church.
In
1958, Cardinal Stritch left Chicago to accept a position in the Vatican.
Stritch’s successor in Chicago, Cardinal Cody, proved in Mooney’s
[i.e., Chicago Mob boss Sam “Mooney” Giancana’s] estimation to be a
stellar replacement. Mooney said Cody was a corrupt man who
enjoyed the trappings of wealth and, therefore, welcomed a close relationship
with him.
Father
Cash, the Chicago priest Mooney utilized as a courier, had
traveled under Mooney’s orders across the nation and to Europe for close to
two decades. With Mooney’s move into the southern hemisphere, [“Father”]
Cash was told to add Latin America to his itinerary.
During Mooney’s [i.e., Chicago Mob boss Sam “Mooney” Giancana’s] tenure outside the United States, Chuck [Giancana] heard talk among Outfit [Chicago’s organized crime syndicate] men that millions of dollars flowed to Continental Illinois, a bank then heavily invested in Finibank, a Swiss bank owned in part by the Vatican and controlled by financier [i.e., Sicilian Mob financial wizard and Vatican consultant] Michele Sindona, Mooney’s Gambino [i.e., New York Mob boss Carlo Gambino] connection. Some was couriered by Mooney’s trusted lieutenants to Washington, D.C., where it was converted to bonds and then forwarded to Finibank or another Sindona-controlled European shell, generally in Rome, London, or Athens. But still more was carried out of Chicago to Mexico, under the safety of the priest’s robe, to be placed in banks scattered throughout South and Central America, but most often in Panama. Often these funds were then diverted to Milan [Italy] and on to the Vatican Bank in Rome, where they were easily transferred to Finibank in Switzerland – and straight into the hands of Michele Sindona and an up-and-coming Chicago priest residing in the Vatican, Paul Marcinkus. The CIA, eager to improve its own financial position, was said to have followed suit, dealing frequently and closely with [Bishop Paul] Marcinkus and [Michele] Sindona.”
Sam and Chuck Giancana (Double Cross; 1992; Pages 470, 471)
((Ed. Comments to the preceding quote:
(1) CIA-Organized Crime-Vatican ties run deep, to include cooperation in narcotics, money-laundering schemes, munitions smuggling, assassinations, etc.
(2) Chicago priest Paul Marcinkus later became a bishop; he also became president of the Vatican Bank, where he was involved in very sordid financial dealings. Pope John Paul I was murdered (i.e., poisoned to death) in 1978 because he was going to remove Marcinkus from being president of the Vatican Bank, and because he had made plans to remove many P2 Masons (which included a number of cardinals) from their powerful positions inside the Vatican.))
“…The
CIA had continued their head-over-heels affair with [Chicago Mob boss]
Sam [“Mooney”] Giancana. For months, activity had been fierce; Mooney
[Giancana] had collaborated with the intelligence agency [i.e., the CIA] in
covert operations ranging from the Castro assassination plot and Cuban-exile
training to Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Asian operations. He’d also
played a critical role in the CIA’s international smuggling and
money-laundering ventures. Along with his New York friend [New York Mob
boss] Carlo Gambino, Mooney had introduced the [CIA] agents early on
to the range of services that might be performed by Sicilian Mob financial
wizard and Vatican consultant Michele Sindona.
[Chicago
Mob boss Sam] Mooney [Giancana] confided that through their Vatican
connections and shady banking deals, he and [New York Mob boss Carlo] Gambino
had assisted the CIA in pouring millions of illegally earned dollars into [Vatican
consultant Michele] Sindona’s illicit ‘slush funds’. In exchange, the
CIA contributed heavily to [Roman] Catholic charities
– some legitimate, others not.”
Sam and Chuck Giancana (Double Cross; 1992; Page 431)
((Ed. Comments to the preceding quote:
(1) CIA-Organized Crime-Vatican connections run deep, to include cooperation in narcotics, money-laundering schemes, munitions smuggling, assassinations, and other sinister-type activities!
(2) Sam “Mooney” Giancana knew too much about CIA-Organized Crime-Vatican connections, and so he was shot to death on June 19, 1975 – before his scheduled appearance before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.))
“God ought to be worshipped without an IMAGE; IMAGES serving only to bring the Deity into contempt.” – Aurelius Augustine (Known as Saint Augustine of Hippo; 354-430 A.D.)
“We Christians have nothing to do with IMAGES, on account of the second commandment. The first thing we teach those who come to us is: to despise IDOLS and all IMAGES; it being the peculiar character of the Christian religion to raise our minds above IMAGES, agreeably to the law which God Himself has given to mankind.”
Origen (185? -254? A.D.; Christian theologian & scholar)
“…In the fourth century, the worship of IMAGES was abominated [i.e., loathed; detested] by the Christian church; and that even their admission into places of worship, for whatever object, was regarded by the most eminent of bishops with abhorrence.” – John Dowling (The History of Romanism: From the Earliest Corruptions of Christianity to the Present Time; 1845; Page 154)
“It is an injury [i.e., an offense; an insult] to God to make an IMAGE of Him in base [i.e., inferior; contemptible] wood or stone.” – Justin Martyr (? –165? A.D.; martyred 2nd century defender of the Christian faith)
“Confess
your sins every day in prayer. Why
should you hesitate to do so? I do not
tell you to go and confess to a man, [who is a] sinner as
you are, and who might despise you if he knew your faults. But confess them to God, who can forgive them
to you.”
John Chrysostom (Known as Saint John Chrysostom; 350-407 A.D.) (From his homily on Psalm 1, vol. V., Page 589)
“This idolatrous worship of Mary was unknown in the Church for the first four hundred years, and was a gradual development in the Roman [Catholic] Church, being bitterly contested for many years.”
Samuel D. Benedict (Former Bishop of the Evangelical Catholic Church; Catholic Doctrine in the Bible; Page 55)
“The people in the Roman [Catholic] Church are being gradually trained to worship Mary in place of God. The Roman Church has adopted a heathen idea and calls Mary the ‘Queen of Heaven’. This title is of heathen origin, and the offering of prayers to the supposed ‘Queen of Heaven’ is a sin. The [Holy] Bible distinctly mentions the ‘Queen of Heaven’ and condemns such idolatry. Read Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17. There is no queen in Heaven; only a King.”
Samuel D. Benedict (Catholic Doctrine in the Bible; Page 56)
“[Roman] Catholic doctrines steal honor and glory due to Jesus Christ and give it to Mary, popes, wafers, saints, statutes, etc.”
Rick Jones (Understanding Roman Catholicism; 1995; Page 181)
“But when it is evident that the goddess enshrined in the Papal Church for the supreme worship of its votaries [i.e., devout worshippers], is that very Babylonian queen [i.e., Semiramis] who set up Nimrod, or Ninus ‘the Son’, as the rival of Christ, and who in her own person was the incarnation of every kind of licentiousness, how dark a character does that stamp on the Roman [Catholic] idolatry.” – Alexander Hislop (The Two Babylons; Page 88)
“The
ancient Babylonian religion depicted the goddess mother as the only
one who could control her son. And so the same satanic idea was incorporated
into [Roman] Catholicism…[i.e., that] Jesus [Christ] is
angry and only Mary can appease Him…and so [Roman] Catholics are
afraid of the loving Savior…and they believe only Mary can get them
into heaven.
This ‘angry Jesus’ is not the Jesus [Christ] of the [Holy] Bible who said: ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28)… The ‘Mother of God’ that [Roman] Catholics worship is not the Mary of the [Holy] Bible. Satan has successfully deceived them [i.e., millions of Roman Catholics] into worshipping the counterfeit goddess, ‘The Queen of Heaven’.” – Jack Chick (From his tract “Why is Mary Crying?”)
“All accretions [Ed.
Note: Here indicating increases in the growth of doctrines in the Catholic
Church], such as purgatory, the authority of tradition, the priesthood, the
papacy, the worship of the Virgin Mary and the saints, the veneration of relics,
auricular confession…penance, etc., are totally without Scriptural
basis and should be
branded as false.”
Loraine Boettner (Roman Catholicism; 1962; Page 13)
“We search in vain in the Bible for any word supporting the doctrine of
auricular confession. It is equally
impossible to find any authorization or general practice of it during the first
one thousand years of the Christian era.
Not a word is found in the writings of the early church fathers about
confessing sins to a priest or to anyone except God alone.
Auricular confession is not mentioned in the writings of Augustine,
Origen, Nestorius, Tertullian, Jerome, Chrysostom, or Athanasius – all of
these and many others apparently lived and died without ever thinking of
going to confession. Those writers gave many rules concerning the practice and
duties of Christian living; but they never say a word about going to [auricular]
confession [to a priest]. Never were penitents forced to kneel to
a priest and reveal to him the secret history of all their evil thoughts,
desires, and human frailties. No one other than God was
thought to be worthy to hear confessions and to grant forgiveness.
…But gradually as the church gained power the practice of seeking spiritual counsel and advice from the priest was turned into the confessional. Confession was first introduced into the church on a voluntary basis in the fifth century, by the authority of [Pope] Leo the Great. But it was not until the Fourth Lateran Council, in 1215, under Pope Innocent III, that private auricular confession was made compulsory and all Roman Catholic people were required to confess and to seek absolution from a priest at least once in a year. At that council the twin doctrines of auricular confession and transubstantiation were decreed. It will be recalled that that was the period of the greatest extension of priestly and papal power over the people. It was, therefore, during the darkest days of the State and of the Church that this masterpiece of deception was brought forth.” – Loraine Boettner (Roman Catholicism; 1962; Page 199)
“That object [of the pagan Babylonian mystery religion] was
to bind
all mankind in blind and absolute submission to a hierarchy
entirely dependent on the sovereign of Babylon. In the carrying out of
this scheme, all knowledge, sacred and profane, came to be monopolized
by the priesthood, who dealt
it out to those who were initiated in the ‘Mysteries’ exactly as they saw
fit, according as the interests of the grand system of spiritual despotism they had to administer might seem to require. Thus the people, wherever the Babylonian system spread, were bound
neck and heel to the priests.
The priests were the only
depositories of religious knowledge; only they had the true tradition,
by which the writs and symbols of the public religion could be interpreted; and
without blind and implicit submission to them, what was
necessary for salvation could not be known. Now compare this with the early
history of the Papacy,
and with its spirit and modus operandi throughout, and how exact was the
coincidence!”
Alexander Hislop (The Two Babylons; Page 7)
“When it [i.e., the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchical system] had once succeeded in dimming the light of the Gospel, obscuring the fullness and freeness of the grace of God, and drawing away the souls of men from direct and immediate dealings with the One Grand Prophet and High Priest [i.e., the Son of God, Jesus Christ] of our profession, a ‘mysterious’ power was attributed to the [Roman Catholic] clergy, which gave them ‘dominion [i.e., rule] over the faith’ of the people – a dominion [i.e., rule] directly disclaimed by apostolic men (2 Corinthians 1:24), but which, in connection with the confessional, has become at least as absolute and complete as was ever possessed by [the] Babylonian priest over those initiated in the ancient Mysteries. The clerical power of the Roman [Catholic] priesthood culminated in the erection of the confessional. That confessional was itself borrowed from Babylon [i.e., the pagan Babylonian priesthood]. The confession required of the votaries [i.e., devotees of a particular religion] of Rome [i.e., the papal system] is entirely different from the confession prescribed in the Word of God. The dictate of Scripture in regard to confession is, ‘Confess your faults one to another’ (James 5:16), which implies that the priest should confess to the people, as well as the people to the priest, if either should sin against the other.” – Alexander Hislop (The Two Babylons; Page 9)
“But
at its [i.e., the Babylonian system of iniquity] first introduction into
the Church, it came in secretly and by stealth…
It wrought [i.e., worked] ‘mysteriously’ under fair [i.e.,
attractive; pleasing] but false pretenses, leading men away from the
simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus [Christ].
…Therefore it was brought in [to the Church] secretly, and by little and little, one corruption being introduced after another, as apostasy proceeded, and the backsliding Church became prepared to tolerate it, till it has reached the gigantic height we now see, when in almost every particular the system of the Papacy is the very antipodes [i.e., the direct opposite] of the system of the primitive [Christian] Church.” – Alexander Hislop (The Two Babylons; Page 8)
“Her [i.e., the
papal system] judgment is now evidently hastening on; and just as it
approaches, the Providence of God, conspiring with the Word of God, by light
pouring in from all quarters, makes it more and more evident that Rome
[i.e., the papal
system] is in very deed the Babylon
of the Apocalypse; that the
essential character of her system, the grand objects of her worship, her
festivals, her doctrine and discipline, her rites and ceremonies, her priesthood
and their orders, have all been derived from ancient
Babylon; and, finally, that the Pope himself is truly and properly the lineal representative of [Babylonian
king] Belshazzar.” – Alexander Hislop (The
Two Babylons; Page 3)
“Inability to discern the paganism of Romanism [i.e., Roman Catholicism]
springs undoubtedly from a deep spiritual blindness. Disturbing enough,
this would speak of a fundamental ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
itself on the part of many claiming to be Christians.
Perhaps for the majority, ignorance of the Vatican constitution
merely stems from a simple lack of being informed. For too many, however,
ignorance of popedom comes as the result of a deliberate choice.
It grew in preference for acceptability, personal benefit, and the praise of
men.
To have squarely faced the issue of
[Roman] Catholicism with
frankness and sincerity of heart, the individual would have paid a price.
It cost the reformers and other millions their
very lives…”
Wilson
Ewin (You
Can Lead Roman Catholics to Christ; 1981; Page 25)
“Suddenly, the Vatican II Council of the early sixties took place and
radical modifications of the outward appearance of [Roman]
Catholicism
began to emerge. No
change in the fundamental doctrines, teachings or dogmas of the Church ever took
place however.”
Wilson Ewin (You Can Lead Roman Catholics
to Christ; 1981; Page 14)
Here are some quotations by ex-Roman Catholics who came out of the bondage of the hierarchical religious system of “Roman” Catholicism:
“…I hereby declare my resignation from the membership of the Roman Catholic
Church and from its religious order called the Society of Jesus [Ed.
Note: i.e., the Jesuit Order] in obedience to God’s Word as my conscience
discerns. Henceforth I do not accept the headship of the Roman Catholic
authorities since they deny the Bible, and obstruct my mission to preach the
Gospel without compromise.
In my conscience I believe that many of the official doctrines and
practices of the Roman Catholic Church come against God’s written Word. These
aberrations have resulted because of a ‘rotten root’, which is, that the
Church, even after the Canon of Scripture was completed, holds that there are
two sources of divinely revealed Truth: The Bible and Tradition.
In practice, the Tradition has added to and contradicted the inerrant and
completed Revelation in the Bible. I
hold the Bible as the final norm to judge what is God’s Word for us today.
To please God I have to obey what He says.
In His inerrant Word He says: ‘Blessed are those who hear the Word of
God and keep it.’ (Luke 11:28) Jesus
[Christ] is against ‘Making void the Word of God through your
tradition which you hand on.’ (Mark
7:13)
I also believe from Scriptures that the ‘religious vows’ and the
‘clerical hierarchy’ as practiced in the Roman Catholic Church today, making
the clergy a Brahmanical [Ed.
Note: pertaining to the priestly Hindu caste] upper class, set apart as
holier than the rest of the Royal Priesthood [Ed. Note: i.e., all true
Christians are “priests” unto God], are anti-scriptural and not according
to God’s Biblical pattern for His Church.
…I hereby renounce all the religious vows taken in the ‘Society of
Jesus’, which includes the special ‘cultic’ vow of obedience to the Roman
Catholic Pope. I hereby renounce
all false vows and consecrations to Mary or any other departed saint or created
spirit, that have been performed by me or by anyone else on my behalf, with or
without my knowledge.”
(6-20-1998)
Victor John Joseph Affonso (Ex-Roman Catholic Jesuit priest)
“…For many years I was a dutiful participant in the religion
of Rome. I was born and confirmed
into the [Roman] Catholic religion. But I
had never read the Bible nor was I encouraged to do so. I grew up on the [Roman
Catholic] Catechism, but I was never challenged with a comprehensive understanding
of the Word of God. I was also
ignorant of history.
…I did not know the Jesus of the Bible. I knew only a
‘jesus’ of my own imagination. I
was like most of you [Ed. Note: he
is addressing Roman Catholic readers] –
I lived in a gray world of being Roman Catholic without knowing the
gospel of Jesus Christ. I
urge you to read the Word [of
God] and ask questions. I also
urge you to go to God through Jesus [Christ] and submit to His
Word.”
Robert
M. Zins (Former Roman Catholic; Romanism:
The Relentless Roman Catholic Assault on the Gospel of Jesus Christ)
“We saw that God said, ‘Come to me’, and in the Gospels we are told
to pray to our Father in Jesus’ name,
never to a saint or to Mary. The
disciples did not
pray to Stephen who died very early in the Acts of the Apostles, or to James who
was killed early on.” – Bob Bush
(Ex-Roman Catholic Jesuit priest)
“I wanted to follow the Word of God and, unfortunately, the Pope who is
held up as the leader of Christendom holds onto things [Ed. Note: e.g., doctrines and rituals] that contradict the Word
of God.” – Bob Bush (Ex-Jesuit priest)
“So here we have an example of someone in Scripture, Mary, who was a
very beautiful person and a model of Christian life…in
her walk with the Lord – and it gets distorted off into a tradition…a
dogmatic definition that contradicts Scripture.”
– Bob Bush (Ex-Roman Catholic Jesuit priest)
“Where my doubts were really tormenting me was inside the confessional
box. People were coming to me, kneeling before me, confessing their sins to me.
And I, with a sign of the cross, was promising that I had the power to
forgive their sins. I, a sinner, a man, was taking God’s
place, God’s right, and that terrible voice was penetrating me, saying:
‘You are
depriving God of His glory. If sinners want to obtain forgiveness of their sins, they
must go to God and not to you. It is God’s law
they have broken. To God, therefore, they must make confession; to
God alone they must pray for forgiveness. No man can
forgive sins [i.e., against God and against other individuals], but Jesus
[Christ] can, and does forgive sins.’”
Joseph Zachello (Ex-Roman Catholic priest)
“Her [i.e., Dr. Brewer’s mother] influence helped me realize the importance of the Bible in determining what we believe. We often discussed subjects such as the primacy of Peter, papal infallibility, the priesthood, infant baptism, confession, the Mass, purgatory, the immaculate conception of Mary, and the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven. In time I realized that not only are those beliefs not in the Bible, they are actually contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture.” – Dr. Bartholomew F. Brewer (Ex-Catholic priest of the Discalced Carmelite Order)
“The plain truth of infallible Scripture and the irrefutable facts of
reliable ecclesiastical history, document the steps taken by the Church of Rome
as it evolved across the centuries and substituted
[i.e., REPLACED]:
Dr. Bartholomew F. Brewer
(Ex-Roman Catholic priest)
“Sadly, millions of [Roman]
Catholics prefer their own church fantasies to God’s truth.
It is astonishing to realize the number [of Roman Catholics] who
do not understand their own religion, much less the plain teaching of
Holy Scripture.” – Dr. Bartholomew F. Brewer (Ex-Roman Catholic priest)
“…An honest, unbiased study of Roman Catholicism in the light of [Holy]
Scripture reveals that the Church of Rome is ‘Counterfeit
Christianity’.”
Dr. Bartholomew F. Brewer
(Ex-Roman Catholic priest)
“What has turned my soul against Roman [Catholic]
abuse of power is the
way in which it has tortured
and burned such saints of
God as Joan of Arc, hundreds of the Albigensian martyrs in France in the 12th
century, the Knights Templar, John Huss [Czech Jan Hus], the Dominican Savonarola, the Dominican Giordano
Bruno, [and] the Anglican bishops Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer.
The Inquisition has promoted at least two wholesale massacres: [hundreds
of] thousands of Protestant Waldensians in northern Italy, and thousands of
Protestant Huguenots by the massacre of St. Bartholomew in France.
More than 30,000
of the most cultured Protestants of France were put to the sword on the
night of St. Bartholomew, August 24, 1572.
At the news [of this
brutal, bloody massacre], the Pope had cannons fired, proclaimed a jubilee,
ordered a Te Deum of thanksgiving to be sung, and struck a special medal to
commemorate the glorious ‘victory’.” – Charles A. Bolton (Ex-Roman
Catholic priest)
“Auricular confession is a public act of idolatry.
It is asking from a man
[i.e., the priest] what God alone, through
His Son Jesus, can grant: forgiveness of sins.”
– Charles Chiniquy (1809-1899; Ex-Roman Catholic priest; friend of President
Lincoln)
“But blessed be God, every time I read the [Holy]
Bible there was a mysterious voice saying to me, ‘Do you not see that in
the Church of Rome you do not follow the teachings of the Word of God,
but only the traditions
of men?’”
Charles Chiniquy (Ex-Roman Catholic priest)
“It is beyond question that he [i.e.,
the pope] can err
even in matters touching the faith. He does this when he teaches heresy by his
own judgment or decretal. In truth,
many Roman pontiffs [i.e.,
popes] were heretics.” (1523)
Pope Adrian VI (Adrian Florensz Dedal; born-died: 1459-1523; pope: 1522-1523; also seen in some books as Pope Hadrian VI)
“As for abominations, even [Roman]
Catholic historians admit that among the popes were some of the most
degenerate and unconscionable ogres in all history. Their numerous
outrageous crimes, many of which are almost beyond belief, have been
recited by many historians from preserved documents that reveal the depths of papal
depravity…”
Dave Hunt (A Woman Rides the Beast;
1994; Page 78)
“When one looks at the lives of the popes of Rome he sees a ghastly
array of egregious evils, heinous crimes, and glaring sins which cannot be
matched by any other group of men in the annals of history. Other men and other
organizations have committed great atrocities and evils, but never on such a
wide scale, or for such a long time, as the Popes of Rome.
The evils of the Popes are compounded by the fact that while committing
all the evils, atrocities, massacres, inquisitions, immoralities, and teaching
all the false doctrines of Rome, ALL THESE DEMONIC MONSTERS CLAIMED AT THE SAME
TIME TO BE THE VICAR OF CHRIST ON EARTH. Roman
Catholic scholars, such as Malachi Martin, one of the leading Roman Catholic
scholars of the 20th century, describe in great detail the evils of
the Roman Catholic papacy. So if
people today do not know of such evils, it is not because they never happened or
have not been publicized, it is because people are willfully IGNORANT of
them.”
((Ed. Note: Emphasis is by Pastor Cooke.))
Pastor
Ronald Cooke (The Death of the Pope of Rome; 2005; Page 5)
“Popes during the Middle Ages were not in any sense men who had
inclinations to set examples for morality.
First and foremost, they all came from enormously wealthy backgrounds;
[they were] aristocratic
warlords [who were] determined through the most disgusting corruptions,
bribery, and bloodshed, to have that ultra coveted position [of Roman
Pontiff].
To be pope was to gain absolute power and wealth beyond the scope
of any other means. Extravagant
luxuries, pomp, and excesses, even surpassing that of the emperor’s table,
excited the lust and passions of these aristocratic families to a fever pitch.
Vast riches were paid to rivaling parties to buy them out or to cast a
favorable vote. Unsuccessful attempts usually led to assassinations.
Orgies, incest, homosexuals, mistresses, rape, murder, plunder, in
some of the most shameful scandals known to man, are all recorded as the every-day
rottenest lifestyle of these so-called ‘saintly’ religious rulers.
Rome was virtually a moral cesspool of corruption; proving
graphically that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Regardless of the opinions of sanctimonious [Roman
Catholic] apologetics, this is the ‘red, raw meat’ of papal history…”
Peter de Rosa (Roman Catholic historian & former Jesuit; from his
book Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy)
“The Canon Law, among other things, declares that the Pope is the lord
of all kings, and all
people; that the [Roman
Catholic] Church can use force
in carrying out her discipline; that her clergy are exempt from the civil
tribunals of the land; that all laws contrary to Canon Law are void; that all education must be under the control of the Bishops; that the Pope can depose ‘heretical’ sovereigns; that he can release from oaths and prisons;
that the priests have power to direct the people in their political duties; and
that ‘heresy’ is to be punished with death.”
– Hector Macpherson (The Jesuits in History; Page 116)
“Had
the Roman Catholic Church remained a purely religious organization
like any other sect, the world would have been spared centuries of evil
[Ed. Note: such as “holy” Inquisition, “holy” crusades,
and Roman Catholic-instigated religious genocide].
But in the course of its development the Romish Church, through its
Popes, entered the civil sphere and aspired to universal
monarchy.
In
the fatal year 800, when Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by [Pope]
Leo III, there was set upon Western Europe the Papacy, a colossal system whose
object is despotic rule of man and society in all spheres, sacred and
secular. The Papacy claimed not only to possess the ‘Keys of
Heaven’, but also to rule the earth. The pope came to be regarded as
the sole representative of Deity on earth, and from him must the empire
be held.
…In its egotistical blindness, and intoxicated with the fumes of sacerdotal conceit, the Papacy set itself in opposition to the spirit of nationality, which in the Middle Ages was beginning to create order out of the disorders caused by the fall of the Roman Empire. Foiled in its endeavors to reign unchecked over rising nationalities the Papacy attempted to rule through monarchs devoted to the [Roman Catholic] Church.”
Hector Macpherson (The Jesuits in History; Pages 108, 109)
“We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist.” – Martin Luther (1483-1546; German Reformer)
“Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman
pontiff Antichrist. …I
shall briefly show that ([the Apostle] Paul’s words in II Thessalonians
[Chapter] 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which
applies them to the Papacy.”
John Calvin (1509-1564; French Protestant reformer)
“[The Pope is] the very antichrist,
and ‘son of perdition’, of whom [the Apostle] Paul speaks.”
– John Knox (1505-1572; Scottish Reformer)
“He [i.e., the Pope] is in an emphatic sense, ‘the Man of Sin’, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he [i.e., the Pope] is, too, properly styled ‘the Son of Perdition’, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers. …He it is…that ‘exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped’ [II Thessalonians 2:4]…claiming the highest power and highest honor…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.” – John Wesley (1703-1791; English clergyman)
“Wherefore it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist
himself. I could prove the same by
many other Scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.”
– Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556;
English churchman; archbishop of Canterbury)
“[The Pope is] the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the ‘Temple of God’ [Ed. Note: i.e., the body of believers in Christ], exalting
himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and
consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy
Spirit, yea, and God Himself…speaking
against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the ‘son
of perdition’ (II Thessalonians 2).”
Roger Williams (1603-1683;
English clergyman and colonist in America; founder of Rhode Island –
considered the first Baptist pastor in America)
“There is no other head of the church but [i.e., except]
the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in
any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that ‘man of sin’
and ‘son of perdition’ that exalteth himself IN the CHURCH
against Christ and all that is called God.”
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
“The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist IN the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome
all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered
that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous
blindness upon them.”
Cotton Mather (1663-1728; American clergyman and writer)
“John Wycliffe in England, Martin Luther in Germany, John Calvin in
France, John Knox in Scotland, Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, and countless
others, all preached that the humble Nazarene was the Christ and that
the proud Roman papacy
was the antichrist of [Holy]
Scripture. As a result of this high-impact, double-edged message – for Christ
and against antichrist – the river of history literally changed its course.
Hundreds of
thousands of people in
Europe and England forsook the Roman [Catholic] Church.”
Steve Wohlberg (Jewish Christian; End Time DELUSIONS: The Rapture, Antichrist, Israel, and the End of the World; 2004; Page 112)
“[John] Wycliffe,
[William] Tyndale, [Martin] Luther, [John] Calvin, [Thomas]
Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, [John] Bunyan, the translators of
the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist
confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, [John] Wesley, Whitfield,
Jonathan Edwards; and more recently [Charles] Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle
and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men, among countless others, all saw
the office of the Papacy
as the antichrist.”
Michael De Semlyen (All Roads Lead to Rome?: The Ecumenical Movement; 1993; Pages 197, 198)
Here are some quotations that show the Roman Catholic Church’s propensity for torturing and murdering her perceived enemies – which has included millions of innocent men, women, and children throughout the centuries:
“When confronted with ‘heresy’, she [i.e.,
the Roman Catholic Church] does not content herself with persuasion;
arguments of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and she
has recourse to force,
to corporal punishment, [and]
to torture.”
H.M.A. Baudrillart (Rector of the
Catholic Institute of Paris)
“The
most ghastly abomination of all was the system of torture. The accounts
of its cold-blooded operations make one shutter at the capacity of human beings
for cruelty. And it was decreed
and regulated by the popes who ‘claim’ to represent
Christ on earth…”
William Shaw Kerr (Bishop; Church historian)
“Through relentless torture, starvation, genocide, massacres, burning at the stake, against every conceivable fury of [Papal] Rome, they [i.e., the ‘seeds of protest’] could not be extinguished. History estimates that over one hundred million people lost their lives during that time of [Papal] Roman tyranny. Is it any wonder that God graphically describes this onslaught of [Papal] Rome as her being ‘drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus’, and calls her the ‘Beast’?”
John Daniel (The Grand Design Exposed; 1999; Page 27)
“History records the appalling story of suffering and martyrdom
endured by untold millions
across the centuries at the hand of the PAPAL
MACHINE.”
Wilson Ewin (You Can Lead Roman Catholics
to Christ; 1981; Page 33)
“Disregarding the maxims and the spirit of the Gospel, the papal
Church, arming herself with the power of the sword, vexed the Church of
God and wasted it for centuries,
a period most appropriately termed in history, the ‘dark ages’.
The kings of the earth gave their power to the Beast.”
John
Foxe (or, Fox) (1516-1587; Foxe’s Book of Martyrs)
“The
desire for worldly power began to manifest itself in the Church, on a
broad scale, in the 4th century, when the Roman Empire ceased its
persecutions, and made Christianity its State religion. The spirit of
Imperial Rome passed into the Church. The Church gradually developed
itself into the pattern of the Empire it had conquered.
[Imperial]
Rome fell. But Rome came to life again, as a world power, in the name of the [Roman
Catholic] Church. The popes of Rome were the heirs
and successors of the Caesars of Rome. The Vatican is [located] where
the Palace of the Caesars was. The [Roman Catholic] popes
have claimed all the authority the Caesars claimed, and more. The Papal
Palace, throughout the centuries, has been among the most luxurious in
all the world. Popes have lived in pomp and splendor unsurpassed
by earthly kings. In no place on earth is there more ostentatious pageantry and
show of magnificence than at the coronation of a pope.
…The
horrors of the Inquisition, ordered and maintained by
the popes, over a period of 500 years, in which unnumbered millions
were tortured and burned, constitute the most brutal, beastly
and devilish picture in all history.
…The
city of Rome, first pagan, then papal, has been the dominating
power of the world for two thousand years (200 B.C. to A.D. 1800).
…It is inconceivable that any ecclesiastical organization, in its mania for power, could have distorted and desecrated and corrupted, for its own exaltation, the beautiful and holy religion of Jesus [Christ].”
Dr. Henry H. Halley (Halley’s Bible Handbook)
“For
rejecting the doctrine of transubstantiation, Christians were burned
at the stake by Roman Catholics by the hundreds of thousands.
Church historian R. Tudor Jones writes that ‘the majority of the martyrs were
ordinary people, including many women…’
John Foxe was an eyewitness and earnest historian of the fierce
persecution in England in his day. His Book of Martyrs gives detailed
accounts of many public trials and executions of those whom the Roman
Catholic Church judged to be ‘heretics’ worthy of death. His
descriptions of Christians being burned at the stake tell of their
inspiring bravery in the face of such a horrible death and of the determination
of Roman Catholicism to exterminate everywhere true
Christians who opposed her.
Similar records have come down of the massacres of Jews at the hands of the Roman Church.” – Dave Hunt (A Cup of Trembling; 1995; Page 160)
“During the Dark Ages, over 150 million Christians were put to death because they would not
abide by the universal religion [Ed. Note: Roman Catholicism]
at that time.” – Bill Hughes (The Enemy Unmasked; 2004;
Page 52)
“This [American Civil] war [of 1861-1865] would never have been possible without the sinister influence of the Jesuits. We owe it to popery that we now see our land reddened with the blood of her noblest sons.”
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865; 16th President of the United States)
“The [American] Civil War was not a ‘homespun’ affair.
It was the result of the same upheavals that have changed the face of
Europe. The promises and active help of the European empires and the Church
of Rome along with the Jesuit Order had stiffened the resolve and
attitude of the Southern leaders, some of whom were quite willing to see the
monarchic principle triumph in North America.”
– C.T. Wilcox (The Transformation of the Republic; 2005; Page 8)
“The public is practically unaware of the overwhelming
responsibility carried by the Vatican
and its Jesuits in the starting
of two world wars – a situation which may be explained in part by the gigantic
finances at the
disposition of the Vatican
and its Jesuits, giving them power
in so many spheres, especially since the last conflict.”
Edmond Paris (The Secret History of the Jesuits; 1975; Page
9)
“Estimates
of the number of victims [of the Vatican’s Holocaust in Croatia in
the 1940s] exceed a million. This is probably a realistic
figure. Yugoslavia in its war
crimes trials estimated that from 700,000 to 900,000 victims were ‘tortured
and put to death…[in] the two dozen concentration camps’ within
Croatia, and tens of thousands never reached the camps. Many were Jews, but most
were Serbians of Orthodox faith who were give the choice of conversion to Roman
Catholicism or death.
Both in Yugoslavia and the Ukraine, Roman Catholic priests, bishops, and cardinals, with the full knowledge of the Vatican, participated in and gave their blessing to some of the bloodiest and most barbaric massacres of the war, aimed at giving Roman Catholicism control of these regions.”
Dave Hunt (A Woman
Rides the Beast; 1994; Pages 303, 304)
“Roman Catholicism was born in blood, has wallowed
in blood, has quenched its thirst in blood, and it
is in letters of blood that its true history is written.”
– Baron DePonnat (French statesman) (1940)
“[The Jesuits]
are the deadly enemies of civil and religious liberty.
Nothing that stands in their way can become so sacred as to escape their
vengeance…” – R.W. Thompson (Ex-Secretary,
American Navy)
“[American Secretary of the Navy R.W.] Thompson pinpointed
exactly who would be the agents used by the monarchs of Europe to destroy
the republic of America, namely, the Jesuits
of Rome! Since 1815 there has been a continual assault on America by the Jesuits
to try to destroy the constitutional rights of this great nation. The
famous inventor of the Morse code, Samuel B. Morse, also wrote of this sinister
plot [of the Jesuits]
against the United States.”
Bill
Hughes (The Secret Terrorists; 2002; Page 7)
“During this Congress [of
Verona, Italy in 1822], it was decided that America would be the target
of Jesuit emissaries
and that America was to be destroyed at all costs. Every principle of the
[U.S.] Constitution was to
be dissolved and new Jesuitical
principles were to be put into place in order to exalt the Papacy
to dominion in America.”
Bill
Hughes (The Secret Terrorists; 2002; Page 14)
“These three meetings, at Vienna, [Austria
in 1814-15,] Verona, [Italy in 1822,] and Chieri, [Italy in 1825] were
held with as much secrecy as possible.
However, one man attended the first two meetings that would not be
silenced. British foreign minister
George Canning contacted the U.S. government to warn them that the monarchs of
Europe [Ed. Note: with the encouragement and support of the Papacy
and the Jesuits]
were planning to destroy the free institutions of America.” –
Bill Hughes (The Secret Terrorists; 2002; Page 15)
“If the American people could learn what I know of the fierce hatred
of the priests of Rome against our institutions, our schools, our most
sacred rights, and our so dearly bought liberties, they would drive them out as traitors.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865; 16th President of the United States)
“The fact is that very few Protestants
have realized how entirely Rome
is a political church, and
that she always makes her political
advancement her first object.”
(1896)
M.F. Cusack (Ex-nun of Kenmore; from her book The Black Pope)
“But we recognize in the Roman Catholic priesthood, and the Jesuit brotherhood, two distinct POLITICAL organizations, united in purpose and using religion as a mask for POLITICAL purpose, as they always have done in all ages and countries.” – J. Wayne Laurens (American historian; The Crisis: Or, the Enemies of America Unmasked)
“…The Church of Rome, with its sixteen [Ed. Note: now approaching 17] centuries of intrigue, plans fifty or a hundred years ahead. The ultimate goal of the GREAT SCHEME is to throw the ‘lever of time’ back by restoring the Pope as the ‘universal arbiter’ from whom all the rulers of the earth must receive their authority to rule, as [occurred] during the Dark Ages.” – Burke McCarty (The Suppressed Truth about the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln)
“…The [Roman Catholic] Church to rule the world; the [“White”] Pope to rule the Church; [and] the Jesuits [Ed. Note: headed by the “Black Pope”, the Jesuit Superior General] to rule the [“White”] Pope – such was and is the program of the Order [i.e., Society] of Jesus [i.e., the Jesuit Order].”
John Daniel (The Grand Design Exposed; 1999; Page 64)
“No more cunning plot was ever devised against the freedom, the
happiness and the virtue of mankind than Romanism
[i.e., the Roman Catholic hierarchical system].” – William Ewart
Gladstone (1809-1898; British statesman and prime minister) (Letter to Earl
Aberdeen)
“…Here
[in Fascist Croatia in the 1940s] the [Roman] Catholic Church
[erected] a State in complete accord with all her tenets.
The result was a monster standing upon the armed might of twin
totalitarianisms: the totalitarianism of a ruthless Fascist State and
the totalitarianism of [Roman] Catholicism…
What
gives to such a creature of Vatican diplomacy its peculiar importance is
that here we have an example of the [Roman] Catholic Church’s
implementing all her principles, unhampered by opposition, or by fear of
world opinion.
The uniqueness of the Independent [Roman] Catholic State of Croatia lies precisely in this: that it provided a model, in miniature, of what the [Roman] Catholic Church, had she the power, would like to see in the West and, indeed, everywhere. As such it should be carefully scrutinized. For its significance…is of the greatest import to all the freedom-loving peoples of the world.”
Avro Manhattan (The Vatican’s Holocaust; 1986; Page 9)
“The Jesuit Order is an association of highly organized warrior priests.
They are politicians first and
foremost and have been expelled from virtually every country they have
had the opportunity to corrupt and destroy. Their modus operandi is political
and educational infiltration and subversion and the fomenting of wars and
revolutions in order to weaken and mold the target country into submissive
pliability, to then be used
to carry out their purpose of global ecclesiastically backed dictatorship.
The United States
is no exception to
this.”
C. T. Wilcox (The Transformation of the Republic; 2005; Page 8)
“It is my opinion that if the
liberties of this country – the United States of America – are destroyed,
it will be by the subtlety of the Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are the most crafty, dangerous enemies
to civil and religious liberty. They have instigated MOST of the
wars of Europe.”
Marquis
de LaFayette (1757-1834; French statesman and general; served in the
American Continental Army under General George Washington)
“The presence of the Jesuits in any country, Romanist or Protestant, is likely to breed social
disturbance.” – Henry
Palmerston (1784-1865; British statesman and prime minister)
“Persecution of non-Catholics in Catholic-controlled
countries should warn Americans as to what will happen here if the pope ever gains full
control of this country. [Papal]
Rome never
changes.” – Raywood
Frazier (1960)
“Let America again be forewarned as to Rome’s intention ‘to make America [Roman] Catholic’.” – Larry Harrison (Publisher)
Here are some warnings about the ecumenical movement:
“Christians should not allow themselves to be aligned with the false
religion of [Papal] Rome [i.e., Roman
Catholicism]. They
[i.e., Roman Catholic prelates] may
cry ‘separated brethren’ all they want. The facts are that
[true] Christians have nothing
in common with the sacraments and antichrist doctrines of [Papal]
Rome. They never have and never will.
…All those who dance with
[Papal] Rome long enough
will soon realize that it is a one-way street if you want [Papal] Rome as a partner.”
Robert M. Zins (Former Roman Catholic; Romanism: The Relentless Roman Catholic Assault on the Gospel of Jesus Christ)
“The [Roman
Catholic] church seeks not virtue, but herself,
her aim and her recruitment; her true concern is the constant swelling of her
ranks, the strengthening of her power. Are you then surprised at her
predilection for Germany, despite the latter’s crimes? The (R.C.)
[i.e., Roman Catholic] Church and Germany? But they are sisters. Both love
themselves for themselves alone and are hypnotized by their own powers; both
know perfect organization, discipline, hierarchy and contempt of liberty;
both know how to justify their methods; both exercise dissimulation and
hypocrisy. In short, they both are opposed to the Christian
spirit.” (Written during the First World War)
Rene Boylesve (Roman Catholic; member of the Acadamie Francaise; written during the First World War)
“The truth of God at the 16th century Reformation delivered
millions from sacerdotal [i.e., priestly] tyranny
[of Roman Catholicism]
and the ‘traditions of men’. It is the duty of every Christian to watch against all encroachment
upon this precious liberty.
Yet many today, disguised as evangelicals, call good evil and evil good. To combat social, cultural and mortal decay, they willingly ignore the fact that Roman Catholicism is paganism in a new garb. The crying need today is for discernment, to distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. The Church’s need is sanctified fear – the passion to please God more than the culture. To substitute orthodoxy with heterodoxy [i.e., a forsaking of Biblical doctrines in this instance] because of some shared scriptural truth like the Trinity or the deity of Christ – because of some common experience like speaking in tongues, healing and other nonbiblical experiences, is patently wrong. These blind leaders of the blind, these thrill seekers who like to dance with eyes shut, will never raise a voice against the false doctrines, evil intentions and emerging program of the papal Church.” – Dr. Bartholomew F. Brewer (Ex-Catholic priest of the Discalced Carmelite Order)
“The entire ecumenical movement is far advanced in its efforts
to bring all religions of the world together…under the canopy of
the Vatican.”
Wilson Ewin (Canadian Christian
writer and author)
((Ed. Note: The next
four sections (IV. through VII.) will endeavor to briefly compare the true early
Church with the “counterfeit/imposter/usurping State-sponsored Church”
[i.e., the Roman
Catholic Church]. God willing, I will write separate newsletters (or articles)
in the future comparing the true Church with the counterfeit Church, and
comparing the real Apostles with the “false
apostles”.))
IV. HISTORY OF
THE TRUE EARLY CHURCH COMPARED TO HISTORY OF THE STATE-SPONSORED COUNTERFEIT
CHURCH
I
highly recommend that everyone who calls himself (or, herself) a “Christian”
do an in-depth study of the New Testament, especially the book of Acts
and the Pauline Epistles. ((NOTE: The
“Pauline Epistles” are those epistles [i.e., letters] written by the Apostle
Paul to various local churches of his day – letters that became part of the
New Testament.)) Such a study will show anyone with an open mind that the early
Christian Church started out in very humble surroundings, and that nowhere in the teachings of Jesus Christ and His original Apostles can anything
be found promoting the setting up of a massive hierarchical religious system
with a priesthood that would rule “vigorously” over the laity!
The
book of Acts in the New Testament – and the Pauline Epistles – reveal that
the “early Church” was made up of simple folks (men and women) who
frequently met in individuals’ homes. The Apostle Paul,
Barnabas, and other Christian leaders went around setting up “churches”
(humble gatherings of humble Christians) in various locations (and, again, often
in homes). The “believers” were all considered to be equal (i.e., brothers and sisters). Eventually, bishops [i.e., overseers]
were appointed over the larger churches, especially in large cities. These
bishops were considered equals among themselves for at least three or
four centuries. (During the early history of the Church, the “bishop of
Rome” was not
considered the head of the Church – nor was he considered to have any
power or authority over the other bishops.)
The
Celtic and Waldensian branches of Christianity were in existence prior
to the establishment of the papal
hierarchical religious system – a system that arose out of the “ashes” of
the Imperial Roman Empire. Indeed, the massive papal hierarchical religious
system that we know today didn’t really even begin its “evolution” until
at least 350 to 400 years after Christ’s resurrection – and then only after the Bishop of Rome had
worked long and hard to bring the bishops of many other large cities under his
control – often through bribes or various forms of intimidation.
Though
independent Christian groups were often called “heretics” by the Papal
hierarchical religious system, in fact they were just simple Bible-believing
Christians who placed the Bible as their primary rule of faith, and who wanted
nothing to do with the immensely corrupt, immoral Papal religious system that
was full of paganism and “man-made traditions”. Two of these groups
of Bible-believing Christians were the Albigensian Christians in southern
France, and the Waldensian Christians in southeastern France and northwestern
Italy. Roman Catholic popes launched vicious “holy” crusades against both of
these Bible-believing Christian groups.
Again
it must be emphasized that the “Roman”
Catholic Church did not really begin to “evolve” until almost 350 to 400
years after Christ’s resurrection! Roman
Catholicism can trace its beginnings to the “marriage” that occurred between
the hierarchical “organized Church” at Rome and the Roman State. Through the
efforts of Roman Emperor Constantine, “Christianity” became the State religion of the Imperial
Roman Empire. And when the Imperial Roman Empire finally fell under
the many assaults by the “barbarians”, the “Roman” Catholic Church moved
into the power vacuum that had been created by that fall.
The
Bishop of Rome, through a fraudulent document (“The Donation of Constantine”) and other “smoke
and mirrors”, took over the leadership not only of the organized
“Christian” Church, but also over what was left of the political
remains of the Roman Empire. “The Donation of Constantine” is now
admitted by even Roman Catholic scholars to be a fraudulent document. Author
Dave Hunt provides the following information concerning this document on pages
72 and 73 of his book A Woman
Rides the Beast:
“The
popes’ authority even extended to large territories outside Rome acquired in
the eighth century. At that time, with the help of a deliberately fraudulent
document manufactured for the popes known as ‘The Donation of
Constantine’, Pope Stephen III convinced Pepin, king of the Franks and
father of Charlemagne, that territories recently taken by the Lombards from the
Byzantines actually had been given to the papacy by the [Roman] Emperor
Constantine. [King] Pepin
routed the Lombards and handed to the pope the keys to some 20 cities…and
the huge chunk of land joining them along the Adriatic coast.
Dated
30 March 315 [A.D.] ‘The Donation [of Constantine]’ declared
that [the Roman Emperor] Constantine had given these lands, along with
Rome and the Lateran Palace, to the popes in perpetuity.
In 1440 this document was proven to be a forgery by
[i.e., through the efforts of scholar] Lorenzo Valla, a papal aide, and is so
recognized by historians today. Yet allegedly infallible popes continued for
centuries to assert that ‘The Donation [of Constantine]’ was genuine
and on that basis to justify their pomp, power, and possessions.
…Thus the Papal States were literally stolen by the popes from their rightful owners.”
Dave
Hunt also tells us the following about Roman Catholic popes:
“While
heading the Christian church, [Roman Emperor] Constantine continued to
head the pagan priesthood, to officiate at pagan festivities, and to endow pagan
temples even after he began to build Christian churches. As ‘head of the pagan
priesthood’ he was the ‘Pontifex Maximus’ and needed a similar
title as head of the Christian church. The Christians honored him as ‘Bishop
of Bishops’, while Constantine called himself ‘Vicarius Christi’, (Vicar
of Christ).
…In the Middle Ages, the bishops of Rome began to claim that they were the ‘sole representatives of Christ upon earth’. Demanding that the entire church worldwide must be subject to their rule, they forbade any other bishops to be called ‘papa’ or pope and took to themselves the three titles of [Roman Emperor] Constantine – ‘Pontifex Maximus’, ‘Vicar of Christ’, and ‘Bishop of Bishops’ – which they retain to this day.” (A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Page 46)
As
the Roman Catholic hierarchical system continued to grow over the centuries, the
popes began to concentrate more power within the papacy. Initially, Church
Councils were often more powerful than the pope, and some Church Councils
actually overruled some popes, and even deposed a few popes!
However, in the 19th century Pope Pius IX managed to seize
total power with the new doctrine of “papal infallibility”.
Author Dave Hunt tells us how Pope Pius IX foisted (i.e., imposed)
“papal infallibility” upon the Roman Catholic Church:
“Much of what we know about the sinister intrigue behind the
scenes and the dishonest conclusion of [the] Vatican I [Council of 1869-1870] is owing to the work of
Swiss historian and scholar August Bernhard Hasler. …What he learned…about [the] Vatican I [Council] was so disturbing…that
he felt compelled to write ‘How the Pope Became Infallible’. Hasler met an untimely
death just after the manuscript was finished.
…Devout
Catholics today have sincerely believed the deceitful impression given by
their Church that Vatican I’s declaration of [papal] infallibility represented the mind and
will of the attending bishops. On
the contrary, many bishops were strongly opposed to affirming [papal]
infallibility both on scriptural and traditional grounds.
Some left in protest before the final vote was taken, and only affirmed
it later under Vatican threats
and for the sake of Church unity.
…Oppressive
rules were imposed [during
the Vatican I Council] which were designed to stifle opposition and
eliminate free discussion.
…In the main
sessions, those who dared to voice any opposition were interrupted…
Sincere Catholics believe papal infallibility was passed down from Peter
to his successors. But in fact it was foisted upon the Church by a ruthless
cadre of Vatican insiders who conspired to stifle discussion, rigged elections, and
literally intimidated bishops into voting, out of fear, for a proposition which
they opposed.” (A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Pages 132, 133)
“[Pope]
Pius IX [at the Vatican I Council of 1869-1870] constantly applied
pressure and threats,
engineered behind-the-scenes intrigue, and denounced in vicious terms
any who opposed [papal]
infallibility.” (A Woman Rides the Beast; 1994; Page 137)
Loraine
Boettner, in Roman Catholicism (1962; Page 244) tells us: “The
[Vatican] Council [of
1870] which ratified the infallibility decree was clearly packed in favor of
the Jesuit-controlled
papal party.”
Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church bears little resemblance to the simple, humble, true early Church that met in people’s homes, and that studied Holy Scripture to prove what was true or not. The Roman Catholic Church quickly grew into a massive geopolitical-financial-religious powerhouse that used forced conversions, torture, assassination, burnings at the stake, and even mass murder (to include religious genocide) to increase and maintain her geopolitical-financial-religious power base. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church has been guilty of fomenting many revolutions and wars, especially through the Jesuit Order in the past four centuries! How does any of this even resemble the teachings and practices of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, the Apostle John, or any of the early disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Possibly one of the greatest differences between the true Church and the counterfeit Church is in how they treat the Holy Bible. True Christians throughout history have greatly revered the Holy Bible and have placed it as their #1 authority in matters of faith and practice. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, has placed her many traditions equal to, or even in higher authority than, Holy Scripture. Despite her claims that the Roman Catholic Church reveres Holy Scripture, her “man-made traditions” (e.g., purgatory, celibate priesthood, papal infallibility, etc.) actually contradict the clear teachings of the Holy Bible!
The Roman Catholic Church actually suppressed the reading of the Holy Bible by the common man in his native language for centuries. In fact, for several centuries the Roman Catholic Church waged war against the Holy Bible. She not only burned Bibles printed in the common man’s language, but she also burned those who printed and/or distributed Bibles or portions of Scripture.
VI. APOSTLES AND
POPES: HUMILITY OR POMP & RICHES
A. Apostolic Succession
A key component of Roman Catholicism’s claim of “legitimacy” rests upon “apostolic succession”, i.e., that Peter was the “rock” on which Christ would build His “church”, and that Peter was the first “Bishop of Rome”, i.e., the first pope. One hardly knows where to begin with the numerous proofs to show that the Apostle Peter was neither the first “Bishop of Rome” nor the first pope. I will list some of the more important proofs, and I am grateful to Philip De Courcy’s excellent book Standing Room Only: A Contemporary Exposé of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Agreement (1999) for several of these points. (Words in “italics” in the below-listed “bullet” points, unless otherwise noted, are direct quotes from De Courcy’s above-mentioned book.)
“Apostolic succession” allegedly being traced back to the Apostle Peter as the first pope of Rome falls into the same category as the fraudulent “Donation of Constantine” mentioned earlier in this newsletter – i.e., it is a big, fat, papal LIE!
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said that He had “not where to lay his head”. (Please see Matthew 8:20.) What Jesus Christ was saying was that He did not have His own house in which to sleep. Compare this to the pope of Rome who has many PALACES in which to lay his head! Jesus Christ wore simple clothes, lived a simple life while on planet Earth, and had few possessions. Many of the popes of Rome (the so-called Vicars of Christ) have worn magnificent robes and crowns, lived in great wealth and luxury, and had many possessions (to include numerous palaces). Jesus Christ never FORCED anyone to become a “Christian”, yet the popes of Rome (the so-called Vicars of Christ) have authorized “forced conversions”, such as occurred in Catholic Croatia in the 1940s. Jesus Christ never tortured anyone, nor told anyone else to torture others. Yet numerous popes of Rome (the so-called Vicars of Christ) have authorized the most brutal torture of human beings the world has ever seen! Jesus Christ never launched a “holy” war or “holy” crusade against other human beings, yet numerous popes of Rome (the so-called Vicars of Christ) have launched numerous “holy” wars and “holy” crusades against Jews, Moslems, and even Bible-believing Christians! Jesus Christ never committed murder, yet numerous popes of Rome (the so-called Vicars of Christ) have murdered their rivals in order to become pope or to maintain their power base after becoming pope! Jesus Christ never committed fornication or adultery, yet numerous popes of Rome (the so-called Vicars of Christ) have committed fornication and adultery on a massive scale. (At least one pope was murdered by an irate husband who caught him in the very act of adultery.) ((And yes, I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and popes are mere fallible men. However, the popes of Rome do “claim” to represent Jesus Christ on planet Earth, and I would think that therefore they should be held to a fairly high standard! After all, aren’t these popes of Rome supposed to be imitating the life of Jesus Christ as much as they possibly can?))
Jesus Christ loved little children, and He sternly warned that no one should harm them! Yet we find popes and other top-level Catholic prelates in the past century protecting pedophile priests whenever they possibly could! (I do not have “space” in this newsletter to get into a detailed discussion of the great harm that the Roman Catholic Church has brought upon thousands of innocents through her celibate priesthood! Mandatory celibacy for Roman Catholic priests and nuns has to be one of the most evil devices ever invented by men. The many sexual abuse lawsuits brought against Roman Catholic priests here in America show us that many “little children” have been grievously harmed because of this man-made “tradition” of mandatory celibacy for the Roman Catholic priesthood!)
The Apostle Peter and some of the other original apostles of Christ were simple fishermen who were not wealthy men. The Apostle Paul worked with his hands as a tentmaker to support his Christian ministry. When the original Apostles of Christ were confronted by individuals trying to exalt these simple preachers, they immediately refused any “worship” from men. For example, see Acts chapter 14 where some of the people of Lystra tried to make the Apostle Paul and his fellow preacher Barnabas “gods”. Paul and Barnabas tore their clothing and cried out: “We also are men of like passions…” (Acts 14:15)
Likewise, the Apostle Peter, when Cornelius fell down at his feet and began to worship him (i.e., Peter), told Cornelius: “Stand up; I myself also am a man.” (See Acts 10:24-26.) The Apostle Peter, just like the Apostle Paul, REFUSED to accept the worship of men, knowing that only GOD the Father – and His Son, Jesus Christ – deserve such worship!
Some of the early Christians began to put too much emphasis on one particular Christian leader. Indeed, some of these early Christians were saying that they were followers of the Apostle Paul; others were saying that they were followers of Cephas (i.e., the Apostle Peter); and still others were claiming to be followers of the Christian leader Apollos. The Apostle Paul let them know in no uncertain terms that they (i.e., the early Christians) belonged to – and owed their allegiance to – JESUS CHRIST, and not to any man (and that would certainly include the Roman Catholic pontiff – the Pope)! (Please see I Corinthians 1:12, 13 and I Corinthians 3:1-23.)
This quote by Philip De Courcy nicely sums up the sordid history of these
Roman Catholic pontiffs (popes) who “claim” to be the “Vicar of
Christ”:
“The procession of popes and the history of the papacy are an embarrassment to all that is called biblical Christianity. It is a blight on Christ’s name, and injustice to [the Apostle] Peter, and a corruption of the gospel.” (Standing Room Only; 1999; Page 286)
VII. MISSION
& FOCUS OF THE EARLY REAL CHURCH COMPARED TO THE FOCUS OF THE
COUNTERFEIT CHURCH – Making disciples for Christ versus making money and
accumulating wealth, power, and land
The “mission” of the true early Christian Church was, in general, two-fold:
The “focus” of the true early Christian Church was also, in general, two-fold:
Now compare this with the mission and focus of the hierarchical, “organized Church” – i.e., the Roman Catholic Church:
The “mission” of the Roman Catholic Church has been, in general:
After the American Republic was born, the Roman Catholic Church added to her above listed “mission statement” the following: In general, the destruction of religious liberty and popular, representative government whenever and wherever they raise their “heads”; and, specifically, the destruction of the American Republic with its Bill of Rights. Plans for the destruction of the American Republic were laid at three secret meetings in the 19th century: The Congress of Vienna in 1814-15; the meetings at Verona, Italy in 1822; and, the meetings of top-level Jesuits at Chieri, Italy in 1825.
The “focus” of the Roman Catholic Church has evolved over the centuries, moving farther and farther away from the simple gospel of salvation through faith in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and from the clear teachings of Holy Scripture, and has been shifted to:
((IMPORTANT WARNING: “Marian Apparitions” have exponentially increased over the past century, and many books have been written by Roman Catholic authors dealing with their “messages”. I have examined many of these “Marian” messages, and I found that most of them do NOT “square” with the clear teachings of the Holy Bible. These messages are NOT coming from the humble Blessed Mary of the Holy Bible, but rather they are coming from “another source” (from the “Dark Side”). “Marian Apparitions”, and their “messages”, will no doubt play a major role in the massive deception predicted by the Holy Scriptures for the “end times”!))
We have seen from the numerous relevant quotations given in this newsletter that very serious accusations have been leveled against the Roman Catholic Church. History has shown us that these accusations are based on good, solid historical evidence that has been well documented. The Roman Catholic Church has tortured and slaughtered millions upon millions of innocent people throughout the centuries – Jews, Moslems, and Christians – men, women, elderly, and children! She has used brutal torture and religious genocide frequently throughout history, and as recently as the 1940s in the Roman Catholic Fascist State of Croatia, where she tortured and butchered up to one million innocent men, women, elderly, and children!
History also shows the fingerprints of the “Vatican-Papacy-Jesuit cabal” all over the fomenting of wars and revolutions (to include World War I and World War II), the assassinating of heads of State (such as President Abraham Lincoln and Mexican President Benito Pablo Juarez), and many other sinister activities in the geopolitical-financial arena (to include massive banking scandals).
History has also shown us that the Roman Catholic Church stepped into the power vacuum created when the Imperial Roman Empire fell. Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church is simply a slightly “Christianized”-version of Pagan Rome. Because of the immense amount of paganism that quickly infiltrated the Roman Catholic Church, she much more closely resembles the pagan priesthood of the Pagan Roman and Babylonian Empires than she does Biblical Christianity.
The numerous Bible passages that we have looked at show us that warnings were given by the early Apostles about “wolves” that would come into the true Church pretending to be apostles of Christ! We also saw that the religious leaders of Christ’s day were guilty of exalting their man-made “traditions” above God’s Holy Word, and that Jesus Christ strongly rebuked them for doing so! The Roman Catholic leaders of our day (and from previous centuries) are no different than those pompous, phony religious leaders of Christ’s day, because they also have exalted many Roman Catholic man-made “traditions” (e.g., purgatory, indulgences, celibacy of priests, papal infallibility, auricular confession to a priest, etc.) over the clear teachings of the Holy Bible! In fact, many Roman Catholic doctrines totally contradict the clear teachings of the Holy Bible!
Indeed, Roman Catholicism is a cleverly packaged “counterfeit” of true, Biblical Christianity. She has the “trappings” of Christianity – that is, she has a thin “veneer” of Christianity, and she uses many Christian terms (e.g., salvation, sanctification, justification, confession, etc.). However, Roman Catholicism assigns different meanings to these terms than does the Holy Bible. Papal Rome’s “gospel” is different than the simple “gospel” found in the Holy Bible!
Roman Catholicism keeps her “faithful” dutifully obedient and docile through her sacerdotal system that exalts her celibate priesthood over the laity, and uses that priesthood to control the laity and keep it “in line”. (The “confessional” plays a very important role in controlling the laity!) Through threats of excommunication and the withholding of the sacraments, many Roman Catholics are kept in a “religious system” that can never tell them how much money and how many prayers it will take to get them or their relatives out of “purgatory”. They are taught that their pope (a mere man, a sinner according to the Word of God) is infallible, and that they are to take for the “gospel truth” whatever he passes down to them “ex cathedra”. They are likewise to give him and other Roman Catholic prelates “blind obedience”, and never to question their decisions or actions!
Finally, the Roman Catholic Church hates religious liberty and loves Fascism. History – and especially the history of World War II – has clearly revealed this to us. The Roman Catholic Church also hates our American Republic – and made plans together with European monarchs in the 19th century to destroy it. The “Vatican-Papacy-Jesuit cabal” has fomented and orchestrated most of the wars of the past four centuries, to include two world wars. Now it is working overtime to foment World War III, so that it can then sit on top of the smoldering remains when the dust clears, in control of both the one-world government and one-world religion. The Roman Catholic Church is first and foremost a massive geopolitical-financial MACHINE that crushes all opposition to her grandiose global plans whenever and wherever she can get away with such mayhem in relative safety. Some folks would describe the Roman Catholic Church as the most ferocious, torture-loving, mass-murdering MACHINE that the world has ever seen!
At the beginning of this newsletter, in the introduction, I stated the following: “IF the Roman Catholic Church is what she ‘claims’ to be – and IF what she ‘claims’ for her pope is true, then all Christians should bow to her authority. If the Roman Catholic Church is not what she ‘claims’ to be – and her pope is not what she ‘claims’ he is, then she, her pope, and her entire hierarchical system need to be exposed for what they really are!”
I strongly believe that the overwhelming evidence of Holy Scripture and history show us that the “claim” of the Roman Catholic Church to be the one, true Church of Christ is blatantly FALSE. Likewise her claim of “apostolic succession” going back to Peter (allegedly the “first pope”) is blatantly FALSE!
All Christians need to study the “uncensored” history of the Roman Catholic Church. Why? The answer is simple: The Roman Catholic Church has an extremely well-documented history of slaughtering not only Jews and Moslems, but also millions of Christians – as recently as the 1940s in the Roman Catholic-controlled Fascist State of Croatia! Where will she strike next? Will America be her next target for Inquisition and genocide?
Roman Catholics – especially Roman Catholic Americans – also need to study the “uncensored” history of the “Roman” Catholic Church. They must learn how much the “Roman” Catholic Church hates religious liberty and popular, representative government – and how she made plans with European monarchs in the 19th century to destroy the American Republic! They also need to compare Roman Catholic doctrine with Holy Scripture. Why? The answer is simple: If the Roman Catholic Church is not the one, true Christian Church, but rather a clever counterfeit with “Christian trappings”, then Roman Catholics are placing their hope of eternal salvation in a counterfeit religious system that can never save them!
Both Roman Catholic and non-Roman Catholic Americans must become aware of the “Roman” Catholic Church’s plans to control both the one-world government and one-world religion – and to sit at the head of both – just as she controlled the European continent for many centuries!
Both Roman Catholic and non-Roman Catholic Americans who call themselves “Christians” should examine several passages in the Holy Bible (e.g., Revelation 18:4; Isaiah 52:11; and Jeremiah 51:6, 9, and 45) where God tells His people to get the heck out of any false or evil system before He destroys that system! (And if it is a “religious system” that calls itself “Christian” but does not solely exalt Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible, but rather exalts Mary, popes, saints, shrines, relics, etc., then it is not true Biblical Christianity – and Roman Catholics must make a conscious decision whether to remain in it, or to get the heck out of it!) Please carefully consider the following Bible passage:
(Verse 2): “And he [i.e., an angel] cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils [i.e., demons], and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. (Verse 3): For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed [i.e., have become] rich through the abundance of her delicacies.’ (Verse 4): And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues’.” (Revelation 18:2-4)
((Ed. Comments to the preceding Bible passage:
(1) The term “fornication” is frequently used
in the Holy Bible to refer to “spiritual fornication”. Webster’s
1828 American Dictionary of the English Language gives us the following as
one of the meanings of the term “fornication”: “Idolatry;
a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. II
Chronicles [Chapter] 21 [and] Revelation [Chapter] 19.”
(2) Could a possible “application” of the term “Babylon” in the above Bible passage be to a “religious” system that ruled for centuries over kings, and brought “idolatry” into the Church?))
Indeed, everyone who calls himself or herself a “Christian” – whether Roman Catholic or non-Roman Catholic – needs to do some in-depth study of the “hierarchical, religious system” that calls herself the “Roman Catholic Church”. And that brings us to this newsletter’s last section, entitled “What Can We Do?” I suggest that you purchase as many of the recommended books, CDs, DVDs, and tracts as you can possibly afford, and begin studying this issue for yourself.
X. WHAT CAN WE DO?
1. If you think that this ETI newsletter contains important information, then please make copies of it and give them away “free of charge” to your relatives, friends, and neighbors.
2. Please read John Daniel’s article “Vatican Design Exposed” that deals with the two Bible books of Daniel and Revelation on his Internet web site: www.vaticandesignexposed.com.
3. If you believe that this topic is important, then
please purchase some of the following “informational tools” that show the
differences between the real and counterfeit Churches:
a. The 224-page paperback book Babylon Religion: How a Babylonian goddess became the Virgin Mary by David W. Daniels – illustrated by Jack T. Chick; 2006; Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-7589-0631-5; $13.80 postpaid: This book, using simple language and illustrations, gives conclusive evidence that the “Mary” of Roman Catholicism is the religious “spitting image” of Babylon’s queen-goddess Semiramis – and that some Roman Catholic doctrines, such as auricular confession to a priest, came straight from the pagan Babylonian goddess religion. This book also presents the gospel of Jesus Christ as found in the Holy Bible. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
b. The 550-page paperback book A Woman Rides the Beast by Dave Hunt; 1994; Publisher: Harvest House Publishers; ISBN 1-56507-199-9; $16.80 postpaid: It has chapters on Church history (dealing with Inquisition, “holy” crusades against Bible-believing Christians, etc.), the Croatian Holocaust of World War II, the Vatican Ratlines that helped Nazi and Fascist war criminals escape punishment at the end of World War II, and much more. It also has appendices on “purgatory”, “indulgences”, and other Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
c. The 159-page paperback book Did The Catholic Church Give Us The Bible? by David W. Daniels; illustrated by Jack Chick; 2005; Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-7589-0579-3; $11.80 postpaid: It tells the story of the war against God’s Holy Word, the Bible. It shows clearly two separate trails for Bible manuscripts: the trail of the true Bible manuscripts and the trail of the false Bible manuscripts. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
d. The 96-page paperback book Is Alberto for Real? (Compiled by Sidney Hunter); 1988; Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-937958-29-8; $8.35 postpaid: It refutes accusations made against Dr. Alberto Rivera (an ex-Jesuit priest who exposed sinister Vatican behind-the-scenes activities). It contains lots of great quotations about the Jesuits, Vatican activities during World War II, the killing of “heretics”, etc. To order a copy, make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. To order by credit card, please call 1-909-987-0771.
e. The 194-page paperback book Jesuit
Plots from Elizabethan to Modern Times by Albert Close (with an
additional chapter by Dr. Clive Gillis); Publisher: Protestant Truth Society;
$8.95 postpaid: It exposes Jesuit plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I and
King James I, to foment revolution and civil war, to infiltrate the British
government, etc. To order a copy, please make check or postal money order payable to “The
Conversion Center”, and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC
28327-0265.
f. The 330-page paperback book The
Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop; Publisher: Chick Publications;
ISBN 0-937958-57-3; $14.80 postpaid: It compares the ancient pagan Babylonian
religion with Roman Catholicism. As
the back cover of this well-researched book states: “…Alexander
Hislop reveals that many Roman Catholic teachings did not originate with Christ
or the Bible, but were adopted from ancient pagan Babylonian religion, and given
Christian names.” This book covers such topics as purgatory, prayers for
the dead, the confessional, the sacrifice of the Mass, Christmas, Easter,
Pontifex Maximus, etc. To
order a copy, make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”,
and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019.
To order by credit card, please call 1-909-987-0771.
g. The 411-page paperback book The Grand Design Exposed by John Daniel; 1999; Publisher: CHJ Publishing; ISBN 0-927022-41-9; $20 postpaid: It is an exposé about the Jesuit takeover of the top levels of Freemasonry. It fills in many “historical gaps” concerning the sinister activities of the Jesuit Order. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “American Sentry Books”, and mail it to: American Sentry Books // P.O. Box 14 // Crawley, WV 24931.
h. The 220-page paperback book End Time DELUSIONS: The Rapture, the Antichrist, Israel, and the End of the World by Steve Wohlberg; 2004; Publisher: Treasure House (Destiny Image); ISBN 0-7684-2960-9; $15 postpaid: It convincingly refutes errors in Dispensationalism – including the Pretribulation Rapture and the 7-year period of tribulation. It also refutes “delusions” about who the Antichrist is and who “Israel” is. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “White Horse Media”, and mail it to: White Horse Media // P.O. Box 8057 // Fresno, CA 93727. To order by credit card, please call toll-free 1-800-78-BIBLE.
i. The 93-page paperback book Smokescreens by Jack T. Chick; 1983; Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-937958-14-X; $7.35 postpaid: It has an excellent chapter entitled “A 20th Century Inquisition” that exposes the horrors of the Roman Catholic religious genocide against Serb Orthodox Christians in the 1940s, and includes photographs of both the victims and perpetrators of this barbaric genocide. It also has a chapter that covers other mass murders carried out by the Roman Catholic Church. To order, make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
j. The 470-page paperback book Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe; $12.99 postpaid: It contains the stories of many victims of ecclesiastical tyranny – stories of martyrs like John Huss, William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, etc. These martyrs paid the ultimate price for opposing false doctrine – some being horribly tortured – some being slowly burned (roasted) at the stake. Their stories of courage must not be allowed to die. This book is a “must read” for all Christians. We all should learn the truth about ecclesiastical tyranny! To order a copy, please make check or postal money order payable to “The Conversion Center”, and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC 28327-0265.
k. The 236-page paperback book The Vatican’s Holocaust by Avro Manhattan; 1986; Publisher: Ozark Books; $9.95 postpaid: This book deals with the Roman Catholic clergy-led genocide against Serb Orthodox Christian peasants and farmers in the 1940s in Croatia during World War II, and includes photographs of some of the victims and perpetrators of this barbaric genocide. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Ozark Book Publishers”, and mail it to: Ozark Book Publishers // P.O. Box 3703 // Springfield, MO 65808.
l. The 150-page paperback book The
Secret Terrorists by Bill Hughes; 2002; Publisher: Truth Triumphant; $5 postpaid: It deals
with the assassination of U.S. presidents (Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln, Garfield,
McKinley, and JFK), and exposes those who had the motive for
assassinating these men. It also reveals some fascinating facts about the
sinister activities of the Jesuit Order. To order this book, please make check or money
order payable to “Truth
Triumphant”,
and mail it to: Truth Triumphant // P.O. Box 1417 // Eustis, FL 32727-1417.
m. The 160-page paperback book The
Enemy Unmasked by Bill Hughes; 2004; Publisher: Truth Triumphant; $5
postpaid: It exposes the Jesuit Order, the Illuminati, and various
treasonous activities during America’s history. To order a copy, please make check or money
order payable to “Truth
Triumphant”,
and mail it to: Truth Triumphant // P.O. Box 1417 // Eustis, FL 32727-1417.
n. The 466-page paperback book Roman
Catholicism by Dr. Loraine Boettner; 1962; Publisher: The
Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company; ISBN: 0-87552-092-8; $15 postpaid:
It deals with such subjects as the Mass, purgatory, the confessional, celibacy,
papal infallibility, etc. To order a copy, please make check or postal money
order payable to “The
Conversion Center”,
and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC
28327-0265.
o. The 37-page paperback book The
Death of the Pope of Rome by Ronald Cooke; 2005; $6.99 postpaid: It
deals with the death of Pope John Paul II – his beliefs, his practices, etc.
It also provides information on earlier popes. To
order a copy, please make check or postal money order payable to “The
Conversion Center”, and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC
28327-0265.
p. The 144-page paperback book The Priest, The Woman, and The Confessional by Charles Chiniquy (ex-Catholic priest); Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-937958-03-4; $10.80 postpaid: Chiniquy gives quotations from early church fathers, passages from the Holy Bible, and examples from his own experience as a Roman Catholic priest to show us that Christians should be confessing their sins to God and not to a priest. To order a copy, make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. To order by credit card, please call 1-909-987-0771.
q. The 222-page paperback book Understanding Roman Catholicism by Rick Jones; 1995; ISBN 0-937958-48-4; $13.80 postpaid: This book examines 37 Roman Catholic doctrines and compares them to what the Holy Bible says on the same topics. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
r. The 159-page paperback book You
Can Lead Roman Catholics to Christ: New World Order Edition by
Wilson Ewin; 1981; $10.95 postpaid: This book deals with the ecumenical
movement, Roman Catholic doctrines, how to witness to Roman Catholics, and other
important topics. To order a copy, please make check or postal money order payable to “The
Conversion Center”, and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC
28327-0265.
s. The 206-page paperback book The Secret History of the Jesuits by Edmond Paris; Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-937958-10-7; $11.35 postpaid: It covers the history of the Jesuit Order from its founding in 1534 through World War II. The author exposes the Jesuit-controlled Vatican’s involvement in world politics, intrigues, and the fomenting of wars. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
t. The 55-page paperback book The Murder of John Paul I by Vance Ferrell; 1999; Publisher: Pilgrim Books; $6.50 postpaid: This book provides very strong evidence that Pope John Paul I was murdered by his Masonic enemies inside the Vatican. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Harvestime Books”, and mail it to: Harvestime Books // P.O. Box 300 // Altamont, TN 37301. To order by credit card, please call 1-931-692-2777.
u. The 270-page paperback book Rome’s Responsibility for the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by U.S. Army Brigadier General Thomas M. Harris AND The Suppressed Truth about the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Burke McCarty (Two books in one volume); available through Ozark Books; $14 postpaid: Here are two books that provide proof of Vatican and Jesuit involvement in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Ozark Book Publishers”, and mail it to: Ozark Book Publishers // P.O. Box 3703 // Springfield, MO 65808.
v. The 366-page paperback book 50 Years in the Church of Rome by Charles Chiniquy; 1985; Publisher: Chick Publications; ISBN 0-937958-21-2; $16.35 postpaid: This is the life story of Pastor Charles Chiniquy, who was for twenty-five years a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. This courageous priest spoke out against alcoholism and other abuses within the Catholic priesthood. He was rewarded for his efforts by being persecuted by his own Church – and, eventually, was “framed” for a crime he did not commit. A young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln successfully defended Chiniquy in court, largely due to a lady who was willing to testify that she had overheard a Catholic priest asking his sister to frame Chiniquy! Chiniquy became friends with Lincoln, and met with him in the Oval Office. Charles Chiniquy gives proof in his book that the Vatican and the Jesuits were responsible for the assassination of President Lincoln. This book also includes Chiniquy’s observations of the confessional box and the abuses that occurred therein, as well as his experiences while a Roman Catholic priest. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
w. The 216-page paperback book Far
from Rome, Near to God: The Testimonies of 50 Converted Catholic Priests
(Compiled by Richard Bennett and Martin Buckingham); 1994; Publisher: Associated
Publishers & Authors; $15 postpaid: This book presents the testimonies of 50
former Roman Catholic priests who gave their lives to Christ alone and
who therefore left the Roman Catholic Church.
To order a copy, please make check or postal money order payable to “The
Conversion Center”, and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC
28327-0265.
x. The “electronic book” Vatican Assassins: “Wounded in the House of My Friends” (Third Edition; Electronic Book on CD-ROM in PDF format) by Eric Jon Phelps; 1836 pages – includes 760 pictures and portraits from 400 sources; 2007; $45 postpaid: This “electronic book” is the definitive exposé on the Jesuits, their history of assassination, and their long “track record” of sinister activities. Included free with this “electronic book” is an additional CD-ROM with 13 rare books. Eric Jon Phelps used these rare books, which expose Papal Rome and the Jesuit Order, in writing Vatican Assassins. Some of the authors whose books were placed on this additional CD-ROM include: G.B. Nicolini, Edwin A. Sherman, Luigi Desanctis, J. Wayne Laurens, R.W. Thompson, and Theodor Griesinger. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “LOWVEHM, Inc.”, and mail it to: LOWVEHM, Inc. // P.O. Box 326 // Newmanstown, PA 17073. For additional order information (and for additional information on the Jesuits), please visit Eric Jon Phelps’ Internet website www.vaticanassassins.org.
y. The 345-page paperback book The Transformation of the Republic by C.T. Wilcox; 2005; $39.99 postpaid: The “sub-title” of this book is: “The Origins of the Religious Hi-Jacking of the American Government and The Truth Behind the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln”. This book deals primarily with Papal and Jesuit involvement in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, and contains many letters and sworn documents concerning the Lincoln assassination and its immediate aftermath (e.g., the 1867 trial of one of the arch conspirators, John Harrison Surratt). To order a copy, please go to website www.lulu.com and type in the word “Transformation” in the “book search” box.
z. 1. The following “tracts” that deal with Roman Catholicism: “The Death Cookie”, “Why Is Mary Crying?”, “Murph”, “Man in Black”, “Last Rites”, and “Are Roman Catholics Christians?” For information on prices, please call “Chick Publications” at 1-909-987-0771.
z. 2. The 385-page paperback book Standing Room Only: A Contemporary Exposé of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Agreement by Philip De Courcy; 1999; Ambassador-Emerald International; ISBN 1-889893-12-9; $12 postpaid: It shows how the Roman Catholic Church has departed from Biblical truth, and quotes many sources to back up its allegations against the “traditions” in Roman Catholicism. To order a copy, please make check or postal money order payable to “The Conversion Center”, and mail it to: The Conversion Center // P.O. Box 265 // Carthage, NC 28327-0265.
z. 3. The 271-page paperback book Messages from Heaven by Jim Tetlow; 2002; Publisher: Eternal Productions; ISBN 0-9717561-0-4; $17.80 postpaid: This books measures messages from Marian Apparitions against the standard of the Holy Bible. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
z. 4. The 154-page paperback book Queen of All by Jim Tetlow, Roger Oakland, and Brad Myers; 2006; Eternal Productions; ISBN 0-9717561-1-2; $12.85 postpaid: This book not only examines the messages given by Marian Apparitions, but also shows the importance of the Blessed Mary in other religions, including Islam. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Chick Publications”, and mail it to: Chick Publications // P.O. Box 3500 // Ontario, CA 91761-1019. For credit card orders, please call 1-909-987-0771.
z. 5. The 34-page paperback “ProFiles” booklet “The Queen of Heaven” by James Lloyd; 2001; Christian Media; $7 postpaid: It lists early references to the “Queen of Heaven” in the Old Testament; it also shows how Roman Catholicism adopted “goddess worship” from the ancient pagan religions. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Christian Media”, and mail it to: Christian Media // P.O. Box 448 // Jacksonville, OR 97530.
z. 6. The 58-minute DVD entitled “The Inquisition”; color; 2007; $6 postpaid: This DVD tells (through outstanding graphics, illustrations, and photographs) the story of both the 605-year “official” Inquisition’s savagery and the Roman Catholic religicide in Croatia in the 1940s. To order a copy, please make check or money order payable to “Richard Bennett”, and mail it to: Richard Bennett // C/o Berean Beacon // P.O. Box 192 // Del Valle, TX 78617.
“Who will rise up for me against the evildoers, or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psalm 94:16)
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues’.” (Revelation 18:4)