by Pastor Joseph Chambers
Revelation 17:16-18King James Version (KJV)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 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.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
It is impossible to accept the Book of Revelation as an authentic part of the New Testament and not identify the Catholic Church, headquartered in Rome, as the “Mother of Harlots.”This religious system has every characteristic of this “harlot woman” and has been so identified by almost every Bible believing scholar and spiritual leader for hundreds of years. Many priests that arose within her ranks called her the Harlot. Every reformation leader I have studied, from Martin Luther on, called her the “Whore of Rome.” This system has twisted every truth in the Bible to fit the dictates of her popes, each of whom she has declared to be the one and only Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. This system has martyred and killed tens of thousands of the most sainted men and women that have walked this earth. Any religious leader that bows at the feet of this “harlot system” is either ignorant of truth, willingly deceived, or totally blind to the spiritual discernment of the Holy Spirit.
God has allowed popes to be appointed to act prophetically and to fulfill more prophetic truth than other popes in previous history. They certainly have seen every act of their reign as pope in a positive light because they were heart and soul traditional, believing Catholics. During Pope John Paul II’s tenure, the “Harlot of Rome” became the “Mother of Harlots”. His charisma that the secular media heralded, was the evil tool by which he flattered the religious world and brought them to his feet. He played the media and the religious world with the skill of a totally consuming and charming deceiver. While I am writing this article, a great part of this world is under the charm of the current pope, Pope Francis, and is moving to the door of the great Tribulation hour.
Let me lay out before you the list of prophetic milestones of these recent popes. The incredible acclaim that has been assigned to them would not make sense unless it was prophetic of what is happening. These popes have embraced all religions, and fit the developing “One World Religion” perfectly.
On The Road To Rome
Look at this list of their accomplishments “on the Road to Rome:”
• Brought Israel within the circle of his embrace.
• Opened the door for Muslims to be called a “religion of faith and peace.”
• Clearly embraced all pagan religions of the world and made them acceptable to the Western mindset.
• Elevated the religious world, “when united”, to be seen as the only instrument of peace. These pope has made “world peace” the gospel of the twenty-first century.
• They have succeeded in preparing almost every political entity on the planet to pay homage to them.
• Rome is suddenly the center of the universe, and will be for days to come and for the soon coming seven years of hell on earth.
• The mainline churches have totally succumbed to the Roman system of religion.
• The Evangelicals are on the verge of complete collapse into the arms of the Catholic embrace of death.
• The Charismatics have long ago become a tool of Rome. No group has done more to bridge the chasm of truth and error.
• The Popes have made Mary worship acceptable within the whole church except Bible believing fundamentalists.
• Images, statues, icons, liturgical fanfare in worship, and many other Catholic designs were only acceptable in extremely liberally churches before these popes. Today, Roman styles and designs have flooded the church world.• The Catholic Church has, from her beginning, embraced other religious doctrines and ideas, and incorporated them as a means to reach into the world cultures. Bible believers have always rejected such compromise until the last two or three decades.
• Finally, recent popes have succeeded in deceiving the church world to go back to the Bible of the Catholic design. The Alexandrian texts and manuscripts were Catholic from the beginning and have now become the text of choice in almost every Christian college and university on the face of the earth. This is the final accomplishment in making this “Harlot” the “Mother of Harlots.”The Road To Rome, Detail By DetailThe last three popes have brought Israel within the circle of their embrace.Nothing is more prophetic than the Catholic Church and the nation of Israel walking together. The popes have had to apologize for the slaughter of what they termed “the Jesus killers” during the Crusades. A multitude of Jews have suffered or died at the hand of this church. Replacement theology was developed within this religious system. The Amillennialism of Catholic theology allows no future hope for the Jewish nation to fulfill its role in prophecy.But there is a large and growing connection between the nation of Israel and the coming “One World Religion.” Israel must become a partner to the One World Religion for at least three and one-half years until the antiChrist’s statue is erected in the third Jewish temple. Then, Israel will know that the Catholic system and her harlot children have deceived her and brought her to great shame. This will be manifest when the Harlot church erects an image of the antiChrist in her temple. The Jews will have to flee Jerusalem while the antiChrist and the False Prophet that leads the one world church take control of the city.
This is one of the pope’s greatest milestones of deception but his theology would provide him no clue of understanding.Recent popes have opened the door for Muslims to be called a religion of faith and peace: As we look by hindsight to the Pope John Paul’s embrace of Arafat on different occasions, and his visit with Arafat in Bethlehem, we see that the pope set the emotions of the world for an embrace of this dark religion. It was like everything the pope did sent a signal to the religious world, and everybody was ready to accept his role model. The secular media is proclaiming this milestone as part of his legacy. The Muslim religion is totally anathema to the Bible. There is no kinship between Jehovah God and Allah and yet the church world is ready to accept this hate-filled system. The Muslim world is destined to be a powerful player in the Tribulation period. The terrorists, within their system, will be a wonderful tool of the “One World Religion” in eliminating the Jewish people and in the martyrdom of a multitude of repentant Christians. The slaughter that is prophesied in Revelation fits the style of both ancient Catholics and present Muslim terrorists.
The persecution of Bible embracing believers after the Rapture will require a vicious army to slaughter and destroy. I would suggest that for every one that they kill, two will turn to Jesus Christ.Popes have clearly embraced all pagan religions of the world and made them acceptable to the Western mindset. This was one of Pope John Paul II’s strangest characteristics. He was called a conservative pope in relationship to theology, yet in his method of evangelism, he was ready to bring home to Rome the pagans without changing their gods. The fact is that this has been at the heart of the Catholic style all the way back to the fourth and fifth centuries. Most of the strange doctrines like Mary worship, purgatory, the Mass, wearing scapulas, etc., were borrowed from pagan religions as a door to bring the world into the church. The Catholic Church is a Babylonian institution with a Christian name.
Dave Hunt documented the marriage of Babylon with the church. Here is his quote from his book entitled “A Woman Rides The Beast”: “Will Durant, a purely secular historian with no religious axe to grind, comments upon the marriage of Christianity and paganism that came about through Constantine’s pretended ‘conversion’ and assumption of church leadership: ‘Paganism survived…in the form of ancient rites and customs condoned, or accepted and transformed, by an often indulgent Church. An intimate and trustful worship of saints replaced the cult of pagan gods…Statues of Isis and Horus were renamed Mary and Jesus; the Roman Lupercalia and the feast of purification of Isis became the Feast of the Nativity; the Saturnalia were replaced by Christmas celebration…an ancient festival of the dead by All Souls Day, rededicated to Christian heroes; incense, lights, flowers, processions, vestments, hymns which had pleased the people in older cults were domesticated and cleansed in the ritual of the Church…soon people and priests would use the sign of the cross as a magic incantation to expel or drive away demons…[Paganism] passed like maternal blood into the new religion, and captive Rome captured her conqueror. …the world converted Christianity…’” (A Woman Rides The Beast, Pages 203-204, by Dave Hunt.)
Roman Catholicism has been a mixture from the time of the church’s marriage to the Roman government.These popes have elevated the religious world “when united “to be seen as the only instrument of world peace. There is no other list of institutions that can aid the New World Order in bringing peace to the world for a short period but world religions. It has become clear that all the talk about world peace is just so much talk unless the religions of the world can learn to live together and unite the people. The Assemblies of God had a conference in Korea a few short years ago with a primary theme of “World Peace”. Some of the strangest bedfellows are in this headlong push for “world peace”. Following the successes of Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Church” and “The Purpose Driven Life” is his new goal of a strategy of “world peace.” You can see the lines of deception that always follow the trendy ideas of almost every successful book or idealistic dream. World peace has quickly become the strategy of the twenty-first century church. Pope John Paul II can be credited with leading this New Age dream. The pope has made world peace the Gospel of the twenty-first century.
The Catholic Church has succeeded in preparing almost every political entity on the planet to pay homage to the pope. Can you imagine anything more prophetic than the world bowing at the feet of a Catholic pope? The news agencies are shattering with the almost God-like respect and acclaim being lavished on this man. Every human being should be respected, but no one should be worshipped. The Roman Church has always sought to make every government bow at her feet. Pope Nicholas I (858-67) said, “Fear, then, our wrath and the thunders of our vengeance; for Jesus Christ has appointed us [the popes] with his own mouth absolute judges of all men; and kings themselves are submitted to our authority.”(A Woman Rides The Beast, Page 228, by Dave Hunt) John the Revelator said, “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” (Revelation 17:1-2)
We are at the door of the above words being perfectly fulfilled. Soon the great Harlot and her children will for a very short time hold sway on a worldwide political level. We cannot know the hour when the “One World Church” will hold sway on a universal basis. While I believe the Rapture must precede this fulfillment, the stages of control will continue to develop. We may well see persecution and hatred against the Bible believing fundamentalists on a new scale. We are the only real force that stands in their way of full control. Rome is suddenly the center of the universe and will be for days to come and in the near future for a seven year period of hell on earth.
As I listened to a bit of international news, a newscaster quoted a publication in Rome which read, “Rome – the center of the world.” The Biblical revelation of this religious harlot identifies this city as the center of Mystery Babylon and her one world church. The Word said, “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” (Revelation 17:9) Rome is known as the city on seven hills. Can our God and His infallible Bible be plainer than this? The Vatican will compete with Jerusalem and Babylon for attention from the present moment until the end of the coming seven years of the Great Tribulation. A few years ago, it was only Jerusalem, and then Babylon came into focus. Now Rome is competing with Jerusalem and Babylon. These three cities are destined for spectacular news until the consummation of all things at the return of Jesus Christ to reign on earth from Jerusalem, not Rome.
The mainline churches have totally succumbed to the Roman system of religion. A few years ago, I attended a Methodist funeral only to realize it was to be a Catholic type event. Listen to this warning from a very familiar voice and noted author: “The Church of Rome portrays herself as the Mother and Mistress of all Christian Churches, and behold the Protestants have a new name – they are no longer ‘heretics’ but ‘separated brethren.’ The Ecumenists, having rejected the Bible, are in total darkness and ignorance concerning the Papacy. In their folly they have all clambered aboard the ‘Roman Express.’ They wish to distance themselves as quickly as possible from anything which exposes the deception, dissimulation and counterfeit of Popery. Hence in Ecumenical Presbyterianism, the Church of Scotland led the way in jettisoning Paragraph IV of Chapter 25 of the Historic Westminster Confession of Faith which reads as follows:
‘There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that antiChrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God.’” (The Pope Is The antiChrist, by Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley) The American mainline churches have all followed suit on this “Roman Express”.Almost every aspect of religious life, worship styles, church architecture and programs has fallen into the models of Rome. The World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches are no different from the Catholic system. The same belittling of Israel as a nation, the same theological bent of either Post-Millennialism or Amillennialism dominates their eschatological views. The mainline churches would have to change little except the marriage of their ministers and the ordination of women to return home to Rome.The Evangelicals are on the verge of complete collapse into the arms of the Catholic embrace of death.
The loudest voices among the Evangelicals are talking the Catholic language. Billy Graham was quoted as saying, “I’ve found that my beliefs are essentially the same as those of orthodox Roman Catholics.” (“McCalls”, January, 1978) W. A. Criswell said, “I don’t know anyone more dedicated to the great fundamental doctrines of Christianity than the Catholics.” (David Beale, Southern Baptist Convention, House on the Sand? pp.142-143) Norman L. Geisler said, “Catholics ‘believe in justification by grace’ and that difference between Catholics and evangelicals ‘are not as great as generally perceived and they are not crucial… [nor do they] involve heresy. …the whole theological core of historic Christianity is held in common.’” (The Southern Cross, January 13, 1994, p. 11)The Evangelical world has basically gone into the arms of the Catholic harlot. There is not enough time for a reformation to save them from this “kiss of death.”
How on earth did such a thing happen?The Charismatics have long ago become a tool of Rome. No group has done more to bridge the chasm of truth and error. Kathryn Kuhlman was the first Charismatic that I have documented that began this embrace of the Catholic world. She almost refused to conduct her crusades unless there were priests and nuns in full dress on the front rows. Often, they were the first to fall under her magical influence. I was anointed to proclaim many years ago that the Charismatic renewal was the greatest deception of these last years before the end of the church dispensation. Pat Robertson has espoused his form of Catholic Millennialism from the beginning. He was just interviewed by the news following Pope John Paul II’s death and his words of praise were perfect Catholic thinking. Mr. Robertson has been a stooge of the Catholic Church from his television studio all the way back to his debut. It’s important to say that whether you speak of the mainline churches, evangelical churches or Charismatic churches that within these churches are some of the world’s finest Christians, and they in no way embrace the false direction that most leaders are going. God has a remnant in almost every Christian organization that are His Rapture-ready saints soon to be removed. Every time you pray, pray for this remnant to remain pure. “Mary worship” has become acceptable within the majority of the church world except Bible believing fundamentalists. This has got to represent the greatest deception of all human history.
The Knights of Columbus state on their present website these words, “The pope’s devotion to Mary is no secret. Throughout his pontificate he has lifted up for our attention and veneration the person of Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mother of the church, Mother of God, our mother. His coat of arms carries a large “M” under a cross and bears his motto ‘totus ‘tuus’ (‘All Yours’)…” (Behold Your Mother, by Bishop Donald Wueri, taken from Knights of Columbus website, www.kofc.org) Pope John Paul II was clearly a Marian pope. He credited Mary with saving his life when he was shot during an assassination attempt. David DuPlessis or “Mr. Pentecost” as he came to be known, went to visit a shrine to one of the acclaimed Marian apparitions and testified that the Holy Spirit was mighty in that place. The voices in what used to be “God’s great churches” have been lost to the warning about such deception. Millions of Catholics and Protestants are now pilgrims to many of the places where Mary is said to have appeared or is appearing.There is a growing list of Maria apparitions occurring worldwide. Recently, a sandwich was sold on E-Bay for thousands of dollars because an impression of Mary was on the sandwich. Earlier, it was a burrito, or the side of a building where her supposed image occurred.. Mary statues are weeping in different locations, and the multitudes are flocking to these sites. This is raw deception playing to the fears and imaginations of unsuspecting souls. This kind of supernatural deception is on the same level as the false faith healers and fakers that have plagued our Pentecostal churches
Images, statues, icons, liturgical fanfare in worship and many other Catholic designs were only acceptable in extremely liberal churches before these recent popes. The church world has changed drastically during the reign of recent popes. I’m certainly not blaming them for all of the rot. Our church was part of a Pentecostal denomination for over forty years. That church recently sold a statue to be erected in the local churches as a lesson from Revelation chapters two and three. Stained glass windows with images of different beings adorn the majority of Protestant churches which would have been blasphemy following the Reformation out of the Roman system. We wonder why churches become liberal after they build big, beautiful temples. The answer is simple: you cannot adopt the liberal styles without paying the price. The Word of God forbids images or any reflection of God, or any creation to be a part of worship, or to be used as points of prayer, or to be erected in any religious fashion. Pure hearts and pure worship are the only ways to honor our God.The Catholic Church has from her beginning embraced other religious doctrines and ideas and incorporated them as a means to reach into the cultures of the world. The sin-friendly church is a perfect copy of the Catholic mindset.
Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church is right out of the Catholic handbook. Bill Hybel and Robert Schuller are Protestant Catholics that are bridging the great divide between the Biblical church and the apostate church. The church needs nothing that the world represents. The only model for God’s church is the book of Acts and the great epistles of the New Testament. I have spent a very small part of our ministry for about fifteen years researching and writing about apostasy and the churches’ descent into the “One World Church” mindset. Bitter tears have accompanied my steps all the way. I am a church minister, and I love the House of God. I’m convinced at this point that the entire spirit of deception sweeping the church in both the Catholic system and the “separated brethren”, as they now call us, is a mindset inspired by deceiving spirits. The only true church is the totally Biblical church. We have no right to bring any idea, modern or ancient, into the church world unless it is Biblical from top to bottom.Finally, the popes have succeeded in deceiving the church world to go back to the Bible of the Catholic design. Nothing has brought the church to the “road to Rome” like the influence of Catholic Bibles. No one can study the Alexandrian manuscripts, where they came from and the difference in the texts, and then compare them to the Received Text without seeing the difference. The Catholic Church hated every effort to translate the Scriptures and especially King James of England for his role in appointing the translators and bankrolling the production of that Bible. But the argument is not the King James Bible; it is the text behind this Bible. The NIV, The Message, and other new translations provide a text that is extremely friendly to Catholic doctrines.
ConclusionThe most recent popes are certainly the “most prophetic popes of Catholic history.” Every point I have made fits the revelations of the end times that fills Holy Scripture. It is no secret why the Catholic Church rejects a literal interpretation of the book of Revelation. That one book, when believed, destroys the whole structure of Catholic dogma. If you will read and believe the chronological text of this great book sent to us by Jesus Christ through the Apostle John, you will fully understand the Catholic Church and cannot help but see the connections. There are many wonderful Americans that are Catholic in their faith. Our expose is not to demean anyone but to show the development of the last days before Jesus returns.If you do not have your anchor in the infallible Scriptures, and if you are not thoroughly on the altar with Jesus Christ, you are subject to danger.The Rapture is imminent, but the hour is unknown. The signs everywhere are of the antiChrist and his system of world control. Always remember,“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2)
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