How Blind Can We Be?
The Roman Catholic Church has 1.36 billion members. The new Pope, Pope Leo, has the worship of 1.36 billion people on the face of the earth. If you watched any of the ceremonies of the ushering in of Pope Leo — from Chicago to Rome — it was quite a wake-up call, was it not? To see these people literally prostrating themselves before the Pope, calling him Papa, calling the man Father on the earth.
Do I need to remind everyone that the Roman Catholic Church has killed over 50 million people that would not submit to Rome?
The Woman on the Scarlet Beast
One of the things Richard Bennett — a former Catholic priest who was saved — used to say before he passed away was that it never ceased to amaze him every time all of the cardinals and bishops and archbishops would come out in their purple and scarlet robes. That was very much in evidence at the ceremonies surrounding the election of Pope Leo. Purple and scarlet — precisely as John described the harlot of Revelation 17.
1.36 billion people. That is more than the populations of the United States and Russia combined. And they call this man Holy Father. They call him His Holiness. They call him the Vicar of Christ.
Blasphemy in Plain Sight
Is it not blasphemy to call a man Holy Father? Is it not blasphemy to call a man His Holiness? Is it not blasphemy to call a man the Vicar of Christ? There is one Vicar of Christ — the Holy Spirit himself. There is one Holy Father — God the Father. Any man who accepts these titles for himself is committing the very blasphemy that Revelation 13 describes as written upon the heads of the beast.
The Mark and the Number
It was notable how quickly prominent political figures offered their congratulations and accolades to the new Pope. The world and the beast system are in perfect alignment, just as Revelation 17:17 predicted: For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Many Antichrists
There will be some who say that this is going too far — that to call Pope Leo antichrist is extreme. But the Bible itself says that there are many antichrists who have gone out into the world (1 John 2:18). Pope Leo is against Christ in the most straightforward sense: he takes upon himself the name and office of Christ’s representative on earth, he presides over the veneration of Mary and the worship of graven images, he teaches salvation by works and sacraments rather than by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and he accepts titles of divine honour that belong to God alone.
The Roman Catholic Church is not a flawed branch of Christianity that needs reform. It is the furthest thing from Christianity. If you look at the history of Rome — her inquisitions, her Index of Forbidden Books, her massacre of the Waldensians, her burning of William Tyndale, her 50 million martyrs — you will see a system that has been at war with the gospel of Jesus Christ from its beginning.
The Victor Over the Beast
We should denounce Pope Leo and the Roman Catholic Church and take a stand against her, because she is against Christ and everything Christ stood for. This is not hatred of individuals — it is faithfulness to the God who said, 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).
May the good Lord be with you today in a special way.