THE ONSLAUGHT AGAINST BIBLE PROTESTANTISM

THE ONSLAUGHT
AGAINST
BIBLE
PROTESTANTISM
Second in a series of studies on Romanism
Dr. Ronald Cooke
The second in a series of studies on Romanism. In this study
we examine the different approaches of the Vatican to
propagate Romanism and the powers which are directed
against true Bible Protestantism.
INTRODUCTION
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said that false Christs and
false prophets would arise and would deceive, if it were possible,
the very elect. This shows the almost perfect nature of the
counterfeit that does the deceiving. Everyone in the world will be
taken in by falsehood except the people of God. This is one of the
most sobering thoughts that any true child of God can
contemplate. It certainly should alert the millions of professed
believers in the church today who. so carelessly and flippantly,
confess their allegiance to Christ while remaining in fellowship
with organizations which are riddled with men who deny the
cardinal doctrines of Biblical Christianity and in so doing proclaim
the kingdom of Antichrist.
We realize that this series of booklets is a very small
contribution to the effort to warn, enlighten and inform those who
would escape the error of Antichrist and embrace the truth as it is
in Christ, but the effort must be made, for the truth must be told.
There is no other Head of the Church than the Lord Jesus Christ,
and anyone who aspires to usurp His position is a fraud, a
counterfeit and an antichrist.
These may seem like harsh words to some, but only because
they have been neutralized by the false idea of tolerance which is
almost omnipresent today in the western world. To tolerate dissent
and allow freedom of conscience to the individual is one of the
priceless cornerstones of religious liberty. However, many today
seem to confuse toleration with approval. Just because false cults
are tolerated does not mean that they are approved. Protestant
liberty allows the priceless freedom of dissent. We can dissent
very strongly from the position held by Roman Catholicism (and
we do so without apology) even though we recognize their right to
hold to dogmas they confess.
Just because error is tolerated does not mean that it is
approved, and this distinction needs to be made today.
Also, when it comes to the true church, then everything
possible needs to be done to keep unscriptural teachings
from being tolerated in the Body of Christ. We are not to
have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but
rather we are to reprove them. Errors never come in all at
once. First of all. they must be tolerated in the church, and
then they become part of the teaching of the church. It has
ever been so down through church history, and we should
learn from church history not to make the same mistakes of
those who have preceded us.
Many evangelicals. Protestant conservatives, and even
fundamentalists have become quite vague in their opposition
to the false teachings of Romanism. So that the Pope, who
was looked upon by the Reformers and those who followed
them as an antichrist, is now regarded in a much more irenic
spirit by those who would claim to belong to the camp of
historic Bible Christianity.
As far as we can ascertain, no protest is ever made
against the constant barrage about the doings of the Pope on
U.S. television, even though the population of the United
States is only 20 per cent Romanist. Why does a nation that
is sixty per cent Protestant and has another 20 percent who
are noncatholic have to listen to the news about an Italian
prelate every time he so much as blows his nose? We try to
answer this question in this booklet.
Martin Luther was not wrong when he separated from
Rome. History, doctrine, Christian experience and human
experience collectively demonstrate that Luther was right.
We try in this, the second of our three booklets, to show the
Bible Protestant what he is really up against in this global,
political, religious, doctrinal, historical, and. most of all.
spiritual conflict that is raging in the world today.
Every Christian must be a student of the Word today,
for it is the Word of God which reveals the truth, and, when
we know the truth the truth will set us free.
David L. Hoggan said:
The specifically American system consists of a Christian constitutional
system of limitations in politics and a free murket along scriptural lines in
economics. These values alone are conducive to the fulfillment of the American
genius, and they are well worth defending. But situations arise in the history of
this world when one must be prepared to risk all in order to gain all. Such times
of challenge can he surmounted successfully when enough people in the society
realize the nature of the heritage to he presersved and are willing to employ the
necessary means to preserve it.1
The religious freedom of America is part of the
priceless heritage that surely must be worth defending. This
liberty, that so few other nations on the globe enjoy, did not
come about through the work of Roman Catholicism. Islam
or some other false religion: it came about through the
genius of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was
based upon the authority of Scripture. Luther strove mightily
to preserve the right of freedom of interpretation of the
Scripture, in spite of the excesses of the Zwickau prophets
and other groups. Farrar notes in this regard:
Luther maintained with all his force, and almost for the first time in history,
the absolute indefeasible right of private judgment, which with the doctrine of the
priesthood of all Christians, lies at the base of all Christians, lies at the base of all
Protestantism.2
Although some pusillanimous Christians (in their
ignorance today) say that they are not Protestants or Roman
Catholics, just Christians - their very right to say that,
whether they are ignorant of it or not. stems from the
Protestant Reformation. It was because of the titanic struggle
of Martin Luther and the other Reformers that we have the
priceless heritage of freedom of conscience today. (And we
use the word "titanic" without hyperbole.)
One has only to look at those countries where Roman
Catholicism has held sway for centuries and examine the
concept of freedom that prevails in those lands. Boettner
points out:
In order to see clearly what Roman Catholicism really is we must see it (is it
was during the Middle Ages, or as it has continued to be in certain countries such
as Spain. Portugal. Italy, France. Southern Ireland, and Latin America. where it
has had political as well as ecclesiastical control. In those countries where it has
been dominant for
centuries with little or no opposition from Protestantism, we see the true
fruits of the system in the lives of people with all of their poverty,
ignorance, superstition, and low moral standards...The Latin American
nations have been predominantly Roman Catholic for four centuries, and
today the illiteracy rate ranges from 30 to 70%.3
He goes on to point out that these nations have
benefited greatly from Protestant missionaries and economic
aid from the U.S.A. Yet in spite of such aid, and with four
centuries to improve conditions, little has been done in Latin
America for the millions of these who live below a very low
poverty line. Consequently, the inroads of Marxism has been
great in recent years. So great that the majority of monks,
priests and nuns now in Latin America are openly Marxist or
lean toward Marxism.
The heritage of historic bible Protestantism is worth
preserving and worth defending. In this study we try to show
some of the very real powers that are out to submerge
historic Bible Protestantism in a sea of Jesuit casuistry. The
menace is real. So although this study is merely suggestive
rather than exhaustive, hopefully it will raise some questions
in the minds of those who value their freedoms, and will
disturb them enough so that they will be willing to defend
the glorious heritage which they have against the onslaught
of false propaganda which is influencing more Americans
with each passing year. Many times we do not realize just
how much false information we have absorbed and then
defend, until some truth enlightens the mind, and we begin
to see that we have been sadly misled by the magic of words.
May the Lord Jesus Christ be exalted through this study is
our prayer. For He. Who is the truth, is the only source of
true liberty from the bondage of sin and corrupt systems.
Ronald Cooke
Manahath School of Theology
1111 N.Juniata St. Hollidaysburg,
Pa. 16648 Second Printing, January,
1985
References
1. Hoggan, David, 1. The Myth of the New History.
Craig Press. Nutley, N.J. 1965. pp 1-2
2. Farrar. F.W., History of interpretation. Baker Book
House. Reprint, pp 329
3. Boettner, Loraine. Roman Catholicism. Presbyterian
and Reformed Pub. Co.. Philadelphia. 1968. pp 3-4.
6
I. THERE IS A PLAN
Dr. Harold B. Kuhn, the well-known evangelical
educator, said in 1963, after a visit to Washington D.C. for a
meeting of educators from all over the nation: "If
the...monsignors of the Roman Catholic Church have their
way, you will not know America in twenty-five years.'"1
Nineteen years have now passed since that statement was
made. It becomes more prophetic with each passing year.
The ever-increasing cascade of Roman Catholic
refugees into this country has reached unbelievable
proportions in the last few years. The Cuban debacle is the
most recent. The exact number will never be known. Castro,
as of this writing, threatens to unleash another and even
greater wave of refugees. The more than two million
Vietnamese refugees, many of which, contrary to popular
opinion, were not Buddhists but Roman Catholics,
constituted another great influx of loyal soldiers for the
papacy.
According to Tom Tiede, who wrote in his column a
few years ago, there would be an estimated fifteen million
illegal Mexican aliens in the U.S. by 1980. That date has
now passed into histsory without any cause to doubt the
truth of Tiede's statement. He also went on to say: that their
illegal untaxed earnings could run anywhere from "Three
billion dollars to ten billion dollars a year."2 Tiede claimed
that these earnings were sent back to Mexico and out of the
U.S. economy. His concluding remark was perhaps the most
informative and chilling of all. "And then there are the
illegals themselves: the U.S. Catholic Conference says that
we should grant the aliens already here a humane amnesty."3
Tom Tiede wrote those words in 1976. In January of 1981,
the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy,
whose chairman was none other the 'Father' Hesburgh of
Notre Dame, announced that. "They will recommend
granting a general am7
nesty to all illegal aliens living in the country."4
The United States is becoming increasingly Romanized and
very few seem to be concerned. Many secular writers who care
little for Christianity nevertheless are in favour of religion, and the
most prominent religion on the horizon is Roman Catholicism, so
they push that as being good for the country. "A little religion
never hurt anybody.'" is a popular cliche and suits Roman
Catholicism, where a person can be a member of the IRA killer
squads and still be considered a member of the Church in good
standing.
The debates that raged over the hunger strikers in Ulster were
a good example of this type of thinking. Roman Catholic
theologians actually entered into arguments as to whether the
suicidal hunger-Strikers could be considered 'Christian' when they
fasted to the death and so committed suicide. They never once
considered the fact that several of the hunger strikers were
convicted murderers who had shot down and bombed Roman
Catholics as well as Protestants in their murderous spree.
Apparently convicted murderers, if they do not commit suicide, are
'good Christains' as long as they go to confession, receive the Mass
and the Last Rites, and have a 'good Christian' burial.
It is this type of reasoning that should alert every Protestant,
but it passes almost unnoticed among millions today. Think of it.
Eminent Roman Catholic theologians have actually debated in
great detail the merits or demerits of fasting to the death for a
political cause, without recognizing the bloodthirstiness of those
engaged in the fast.
It should also concern every thinking Protestant thai
thousands of Irish American Roman Catholics marched, held
candle-light vigils, and demonstrated in every major city of the
U.S. out of sympathy for the hunger strikers, so displaying to the
whole world their particular brand of Roman Catholic logic. That
is, it is all right to murder, maim and injure others and still be
considered a good Roman Catholic in good standing with the
Roman Church.
8M
urder is unimportant if it is done in a good cause and if it
is Protestants who primarily bear the brunt of the killings.
This of course should surprise no Protestant who has
done his homework in church history. For as we shall see
later in more detail, the Jesuits envisaged the advance of the
Roman Church under the slogan "the end justifies the
means." This same Jesuit philosophy is still at the heart of
the logic of many of the leading theologians of the Roman
Catholic Church and of many of its members in 1981.
The Roman Catholic Church is seen by many wellintentioned
Protestants as a genial giant who. while doing
much good, must of necessity also do some harm now and
then because of its cumbersome size. Therefore it should
not be judged too harshly but should be given due
recognition for its works of mercy and kindness, its
hospitals and other humanitarian efforts in the community.
In sucli reasoning there are two serious flaws. 1. The
Papacy has a plan to win over ignorant religionists to its
side by courting them with kindness and good works. 2.
The Papacy is the center of an organization which directs a
never-ending onslaught against historic Bible
Protestantism. So although good works and kindness cannot
be faulted per se, they must be seen in the total picture.
Historic Bible Protestantism, views Romanism as a religion
that sets itself against the teachings of the Scriptures in
many areas, but most of all in one very important area,
namely, justification by faith. To those who believe in
historic Christianity this is a very crucial issue, for the
eternal destiny of an individual depends upon his
relationship to Chrsit. Protestantism teaches that this
relationship is based upon faith. Romanism teaches that it is
based upon works. This is the crux of the whole matter.
Martin Luther expressed the radical difference between the
two when he made his historic statement: "To set forth the
Church as the way to Christ, instead of setting forth Christ
as the way to the Church, is the fountain of unnumbered
errors."5 So, doing good works for the Church and taking
the secraments of the church are the way to Christ,
9
according to Rome. Such good works to the Bible-believing
Protestant are filthy rags in the sight of a Holy God. So a healthy
biblicism is always at war with an unhealthy Satanically-oriented
works-religion. Because of this radical difference between Historic
Bible Protestantism and Romanism, Romanism must work to
undermine and destroy Protestant truth, in order to preserve its
own system.
Rome, ever since the Protestant Reformation, has directed
what has been called in history the Counter-Reformation. This
was, and is, a movement to undo and overthrow the work of the
Reformation. At first, the plan unleashed wave after wave of
persecution wherever the "church" could command the power and
use its inquisitorial office. Then, as Protestantism consolidated
itself and defeated Romanism in crucial battles such as the battle
of the Boyne in 1690,* the tide turned and Romanism began to
employ other methods to further her goal of bringing the world to
the foot of the Roman Pontiff. Intrigue and education were just
two of those methods which are still with us today. But the most
successful method which is winning enormous support for the
Vatican is the irenic dialogue of ecumenism. Ecumenism to the
Vatican is viewed as a return of all Protestants to
the fold of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
President F.D. Roosevelt said: "In politics nothing happens by
accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."6 This
observation could be extended to include not only politics, but also
religion. The Vatican plans its moves, and every move is made
with the end in view—to bring the world to the feet of the Roman
Pontiff.
Pope Paul recalled Cardinal Rossi from Brazil. This move went
almost unnoticed by the international press: or it could have been
purposely omitted. The reason he was recalled was that he was
considered by many in South
* The Battle of the Boyne actually was a battle in which an army composed
of British, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Protestant Irish, and French Hugenot soldiers
fought a representative army of European Catholicism.
10
America as a strong anti-communist. Pope Paul was pushing
Marxism, so Rossi had to go. So, although many times it
seems there is no connection with moves that are made,
there is a plan and nothing happens by accident.
Romanism is working toward a planned end. The plan,
although monumental in scope, is nevertheless real and
viable.
Paul Blanshard stated it clearly more than thirty years
ago. and his words become more prophetic as the years pass.
There is no (Roman) Catholic plan for America distinct from the
(Roman) Catholic plan for the world. The hierarchy's techniques of promotion
vary from country to country. But the master plan is only one
plan and the world-wide strategy is directed from Home.
The Papacy has only one plan and that is the conversion
of the world to Roman Catholicism. It is not a secret plan
nor is it even mysterious, it is set forth in Papal Encyclicals
and Canon Law. The Papacy does not hide the fact that it is
out to bring the 'separated brethren back to the fold of the
one true church and to establish the Pope as the head of
Christendom and, eventually, as the Vicar of Christ for all
mankind.
This plan does not concern people who do not believe
in eternal destinies. However, if we believe that man can
only be saved from a lost eternity by receiving Christ as his
Saviour, then of course the papal plan is of great concern to
us. For as far as the plan succeeds, so far will millions of
precious souls be lost, not only in the mythical labyrinths of
a spurious purgatory, but in the actual throes of everlasting
punishment.
11
References
1. Heard at a lecture given by Dr. Kuhn, at Asbury Seminary.
2. Tiede, Tom, Syndicated column. Illegal Aliens. Noblesville
Ledger, Dec. 11, 1976, p. 4.
3. Loc. cit.
4. Washington Post. Jan. 7. 1981. p.A4.
5. Farrar, Frederic W., History of Interpretation. Baker Book
House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Reprint 1961 p. 326
6. Allen. Gary. None Dare Call it Conspiracy. Concord Press.
Seal Beach. Calif. (no Date) p. 8
7. Blanshard, Paul, American Freedom and Catholic Power,
Beacon Press, Boston, Mass., 1948 p.
12
II. THERE ARE METHODS
To ascertain the workings of any religion, its history must be
studies. The irenic contemporary claims mean nothing. Anyone
can make irenic statements. The Russians are very adept at such
statements. They constantly assure the world that they have
nothing but the most peaceful intentions toward everyone. They
make these statements even as their tanks roll into Afghanistan
and their poisonous gas suffocates helpless civilians. To
understand Russian Communism we must study their cruel actions
and not their irenic statements.
Another important element, when trying to assess the;
workings of any group, is to examine their practices when in the
majority and when in the minority. Any group which is in a
minority position constantly issues propaganda concerning its
purposes and practices. How that group acts when it is in control
of the situation must be the gauge by which its actions are judged.
We chould never judge Communism by the British Communist
Party. From its minority position it issues statements promising a
workers Utopia. The Communist Party's promises of Utopia must
be weighed against the backdrop of intrigue, betrayal, repression,
mayhem, murder, massacre and continual persecution of those
who disagree with its dogmas, when it is in control of the situation.
When a factual study of the Papacy is made, a similar story
unfolds The Papacy may claim to be the "kingdom of God on
earth." but its methods of promulgating its message have, to say
the least, left much to be desired. Also, its actions when in control
of nations have been such as to demonstrate that it assuredly was
not the kingdom of God on earth.
13
THE METHOD OF INQUISITION
The Inquisition, although almost totally ignored by just about
everyone today, demonstrated that the Papacy did not take her
self-appointed role as God's representative on earth very lightly. Is
it not revealing to notice the complete ignorance of the Inquisition
today? Why is it that so-called intellectuals ignore an institution
that affected almost the entire world of its day. for almost 500
years, in what must be considered the longest lasting display of
bigotry, hatred, torture and massacre, that the world has so far
seen, carried out by one institution?
Intellectuals purport to examine the history of mankind to
find out what it is we have lost in the twentieth-century that we
had in former times, so that they can tell us how we should live
now. In so doing they completely ignore one of the accompanying
holocausts of the Renaissance, the Roman Catholic Church's Holy
Office of Inquisition.
It is obvious that we have many pseudo-intellectuals today
parading their patent ignorance of history under the guise of
superior scholarship. No one who seriously tries to examine
history could ignore the Inquisition. So there are only two
conclusions to come to as a reason for this failure to mention the
Inquisition. One. they are totally ignorant of the impact of the
Inquisition and therefore consider it an unimportant item of
history. Or, two. they know about its impact on history but for one
reason or another they avoid mentioning it in the twentieth
century. We believe that there has been a systematic attempt to
erase the record of the Inquisition from history. Wilder notes:
I graduated from a state college and from a Jorge university and majored in
general history, but not once to my memory was the subject of the inquisition
brought to light. Yet this horror of history looms as importantly in the background
of civilization as any other subject that has crossed the paths of men... Yet men and
women graduate from our high-schools and colleges and walk out into life with
scarcely any knowledge of the Roman Catholic Inquisition, an institution that
probably cost more lives than all the wars of history prior to World War II.1
We can corroborate what Wilder says from our own
14
personal experience. For we also majored in History in
college and we cannot remember the Inquisition being
mentioned once by any professor that we sat under. We also
studied Church Historv in seminary, and the Inquisition was
never so much as mentioned as far as we can recall. As
Wilder notes, there is a very good reason for this absence of
any mention of the Inquisition.
The reason is not hard to see. Teachers of all levels of education, and
textbook componies, as well os school hoards and college trustees, have sense
enough to know that to exhibit these somber truths, would spell dismissal for the
teachers, financial ruin for the publishing firms. and no end of trouble for the
trustees. For this same reason modern day persecutions unleashed by the Church
of Home receive scant attention from press and platform.... As one newspaper
publisher told me. "I have to eat. you know."2
So it is not difficult to understand those so-called "intellectuals'*
in modern evangelicalism who are more interested
in selling books and making a name for themselves
than they are in publishing the truth of the historical record.
How can anyone, pretending to discuss the rise of modern
humanism, fail to recognize that one of the great
contributing factors to this rise was the constant repression
and inquisition carried out by the Church of Rome on the
thinkers of history, so that in time they came to repudiate
not only the Church of Rome, but everything else connected
with religion.
There is nothing worse in the annals of history than a
systematic, cruel, despotic, fanatical and hypocritical
religious persecution carried out against the helpless individual
in the name of the Lord lesus Christ and His
Church. There may have been worse massacres and tortures
in history, but surely never one so treacherous as that
perpetrated in the Name of Him who came to die that people
might be saved from sin. It is unthinkable, when analyzed in
the cold light of truth, that men would actually carry out the
most heinous crimes imaginable against their helpless
victims while praying and chanting and going through the
motions of worship. Yet this is exactly what took place for
almost five centuries until checked, not by the Church, but
by secular governments.
During these five centuries it is estimated by church
15
historians that "from fifty to sixty-eight million human beings
died, suffered torture, lost their possessions, or were otherwise
devoured by the Roman Catholic Church." According to Llorinte
(the official recorder for the Spanish Inquisition, until he suffered
such revulsion that he could no longer continue in that
position):"in Spain alone more than 300.000 victims were
immolated on the flaming piles of the Spanish Inquisition." This
was only one area of operation: the complete picture will never be
known this side of the Judgment.
Many modern scholars of course repudiate the idea that the
Inquisition killed and tortured people in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Michael Schwarz. the executive director of The Catholic
League for Religious and Civil Rights, in repudiating the Chich
comic 'Alberto' said: "Rivera's accounts of the Inquisition are
luridly exaggerated."5 This is the usual position taken by those
who seek to defend Roman Catholicism. No attempt is made to
deal with specific facts. For if Llorente's contemporary account is
correct, and certainly no modern proponent of Rome is in a
position to refute it, it would be very difficult to 'luridly
exaggerate' the burning to death of 300.000 people! Such a mass
martyrdom is beyond the reach of exaggeration. When we
contemplate such a horrible series of burnings and realize that they
were carried out with the agreement and blessing of the "Mother"
church, the self-proclaimed representative of Christ in history, then
such a horrible sequence of crimes becQmes indescribable!
The furor over the Chick comic Alberto demonstrates as
nothing else will the power of innuendo. For it is obvious, in
reading much of the material put out by magazines like
Christianity Today, that the refutation of Riviera's story constituted
a refutation of all anti-catholic writings.
The naive way in which Gary Metz went after Riviera is
almost laughable. One would think that the whole case against
Romanism's intrigue and murders rested upon the
16
shoulders of Riviera. If Gary Metz were really interested in trying
to defend Romanism against attack, then he should have tried to
answer writers of the caliber of Charles Hodge of Princeton;
Albert Henry Newman, the great Baptist church historian: Avro
Manhattan, the British writer who was not granted a visa to visit
the U.S. because of his expose of Rome's cruelties in Croatia; John
B. Wilder, in his documentation of the horrors of the Inquisition;
and a host of other very capable scholars. However such is the
nature of journalism today, journalism today is filled with
intellectual pipsqueaks who have not done their homework when it
comes to Church History. Therefore the impression they give is
that, if they shoot down a Chick Comic, they have dealt a death
blow to those who seek to expose Rome's persecution of the true
saints of God.
The publisher of Chick comics has tried to alert the American
public to the very real intolerance of Romanism. While the
publisher may have erred in his choice of an individual upon
which to base his story, the facts of history still demonstrate the
intolerance of the Roman Catholic system.
(We do not categorically state that Chick has erred, for we
recognize the truth of 'Legend.' The brilliant Harvard scholar
Epstein, in his monumental work The Legend of Lee Harvey
Oswald, points out that every secret service has 'legends' of all its
espionage agents so that false information is fed into dossiers
concerning any individual who may become an embarrassment to
the cause: so that when researchers dig back into the files for
information they are fed false information concerning their
subject. To believe that the Vatican works in the same way is certainly
not too difficult a step to take in light of the fact that it has
had centuries to perfect the technique.)
We cannot rewrite history because of Rome's denial of one
man's story. Rome's intransigence and intolerance are still real. Its
intrigues are still real and its long history of inquisition is also still
real, even if Riviera was proven to be false. This is the crux of the
whole matter. The
17
lengths to which Rome's propaganda machine and evangelical
magazines have gone to whitewash Rome's intrigues do not hold
up under investigation. Gary Met'z may think in his naivete (if he
is not naive then he is a puppet of the Jesuits) that he has garnered
unanswerable data which helps to disprove Rome's intrigues,
simply because he cannot find any corroborating evidence for
Riviera's actions. He has not answered the much larger questions
of Rome's very real intrigues and conspiracies dealt with by an
imposing array of church historians. (The great furor raised over
Riviera actually enhances the odds that his story is true.)
There is obviously an effort being made today to remove the
more cruel forms of Rome's persecutions from the historical
record, to set the stage for the irenic dialogue. So not only in the
world of literature is the effort going forward daily, but also in the
more potent world of movies. Most people do not read today, they
watch movies and television. So the effort to expunge the
Inquisition from the minds of people received a recent shot in the
arm when Mel Brooks put out his parody on the history of the
world. This film, while depicting various events of history,
touched on the Inquisition. However the excerpt was a far cry
from reality.
Priests were shown dancing in ballet costumes, and the whole
atmosphere of this segment was that of a carnival. Most people
would have smiled or laughed at this segment.
Such macabre humor of course could be compared to
laughing one's way through an episode on Belsen or Auschwitz.
The carnival atmosphere is fairly authentic. For, according to some
accounts, the burnings of victims during the days of the Inquisition
was carried out in a circus atmosphere. Those who had already
been mercilessly stretched on the rack were herded along to be
burned while the procession wound its way through the streets to
the appointed place. Mel Brooks may think it is funny, but I
wonder what some of his backers would say if he put out another
play on Hitler's concentration camps
18
in which the SS men and prison guards all danced around
like ballet dancers in leotards while the crowd guffawed.
Hitler's cruelties only lasted 5 years while that of the
Inquisition lasted 500. Neither should be softened by attempting
to make them humorous, for they represent two
of history's most dramatic cases of man's inhumanity to
man.
The modern reader, however, has been well conditioned
to repudiate such inhumane data as irrelevant.
Many evangelicals who agree that the Inquisition was a
horrible interlude in the history of the Church are now
quite prepared to make it nothing more than a footnote to
church history. Having been subjected to the constant
barrage of ecumenical propaganda, the modern evangelical
considers any mention of the Inquisition today as a show
of bigotry. He believes that Rome has changed and that the
Inquisition was just a creature of the dark ages.
It is true that Rome has changed in certain ways, but it
is not true that she has ever repudiated the world-wide
ambitions that produced the Inquisition in the first place.
This is where so many modern Christians have failed to do
their homework. They have failed to examine the reason
for the Inquisition. It is not just a footnote to history, it was
born to facilitate the conversion of the world to Roman
Catholicism. Roman Catholicism may appear to have now
rejected inquisitorial methods, but its aim is still the same:
the submission of the world at the feet of the Roman
Pontiff.
Malachi Martin, the ex-Jesuit who was laicized by
Pope Paul although severely criticizing the church in many
areas, never once repudiates the world-wide ambitions of
the Papacy. He says without any compunction or
disclaimer whatsoever: "With the authority of ]esus. these
Cardinals will choose one of their own number as the
264th successor of Simon Peter."6
He also points out what he believes was the double
role of Pope Paul. He states that the people:
19
will see him as the lost of the old-time Popes firmly rooted in the 1800 year old
Papal tradition... as insistently monarchic as any pope who came before him.
And they will see him as the first of the pilgrim popes ...in the name of all
Christians in order that once more Jesus, his Vicar, and his salvation, he
accepted within the human regime.7
These statements of Martin demonstrate that the
Papacy, as viewed ostensibly by one who has left his ordination
to the priesthood, is still looked upon as acting
under the authority of Jesus; it is still viewed as acting for all
Christians, and is still considered as being headed up by the
Vicar of Christ, the spiritual representative of God on earth
for all humanity. The global aspirations which produced the
Inquisition in the first place are still there. The Vatican is
taking a new tack against the winds of change which are
affecting all humanity, but its global aspirations are still
there and always will be there while the Pope is considered
the representative of God on earth. There is no sign that he is
about to abdicate his position.
THE METHOD OF THE IRENIC DIALOGUE
'Father' Raymand E. Brown, in his book on the crises
facing the church, deals with the Papacy. He cites the
pronouncements of Vatican I concerning the Papacy, and
then tries to work out a way by which Protestants and
Roman Catholics can view the Papacv. Of course the
pronouncements of Vatican I were charged with anathemas
hurled at those who would not admit "a primacy of true and
proper jurisdiction."8 Also "if anyone says that the Roman
Pontiff is not the successor of St. Peter in the same primacy,
let him be anathema."9 A further anathema is pronounced
upon those who deny the Roman Pontiff the full and
supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole church, not
only in faith and morals but also in matters that pertain to
the discipline and government of the Church throughout the
whole world."10 Brown then goes on to try to soften the
language of Vatican I to make the primacy of Peter
palatable to ecumenical Protestants. He concludes the
section dealing
20
with the Primacy of Peter by saying: "A Papacy that would
respect diversities within Catholicism would be a Papacy
with much greater appeal to ecumenical union."11 He also
looks at the issues of Collegiality and Subsidiarity and sums
up his dialogue at this point by saying: "Once again such
collegial give-and-take can reshape the functioning of the
Papacy so that it may serve effectively Protestant churches
which, in any union, would expect a common leader to
respect their own pastoral practices."12
The whole thing that must be noted in this discussion is
that the main element involved in this dialogue between
Lutherans and Roman Catholics was the "restructurine" of
the Papacy. At no point was the issue the abolishing of the
Papacy. In other words, even the most rabid ecumenical
scholar (for 'Father' Brown was accused by conservative
Catholics of selling out the Papacy) does not discuss the
ending of the Papacy. The Roman Pontiff, even to the most
ecumenical Roman Catholic scholar, is still the supreme
ruler of the whole church and the representative of Christ on
earth.
To the Protestant who adheres to historic Bible
Christianity, the Roman Pontiff represents an anti-Christian
system which has replaced the authority of the Written
Word with the traditions of men, and the authority of the
Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ with a sinful man, the
Pope. No true Bible Protestant would ever discuss the
"restructuring of the Papacy," for he does not recognize the
Papacy at all but repudiates it as something evil.
The history of the Popes reads as one of the most
disgusting stories of Church history. Even Roman Catholic
scholars cannot hide the facts of history. However, they get
around the immorality and ruthlessness of some of the popes
by propounding the theory that the 'church' (meaning the
Roman Catholic church) is greater than any man.
21
However, such a subterfuge will not deceive those who
are interested in truth. For the Scriptures set forth the
teaching that the church is to be pure and holy. The true
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has never persecuted one
dissenter, nor has it engaged in ruthless exercises of power,
nor descended into the slime pits of immorality.
When one examines the obscene and grossly immoral
practices of the Popes, the reading of their escapades
becomes so nauseating and so morally revolting that those
with an evangelical conscience may find it very difficult to
continue. When one considers that these men were suppose
to represent none other than the Lord Jesus Christ on earth,
then their immorality becomes even more repugnant.
In the sixteenth century the whole papal system had even on the confession of
its own historians sunk into a formalism and corruption which made it the curse
of mankind. An even more termendous indictment against the decadent morality
of Rome and her priesthood might be drawn from the writings of Petrarch.
Gerson. Machiavelli. Pacus of Mirandoia. or Savonarola....
And things grew worse and worse. How could Rome be respected when the
world saw such pontiffs as Sixtus IV. Innocent VIII. Alexander VI. Julius II. and
Clement VII.... How could the world tolerate on the lips of simonists. nepotists,
adulterers and worse, the claim to be sole interpreters of Scripture, and the
immediate recipients of the power and authority of Christ... How could they
suffer a man so vile as Sixtus IV. to found, unquestioned, that Spanish
Inquisition which is perhaps the most abhorrent phenomenon ever presented to
the loathing of the world.... Were popes, of whom some were equal to Nero and
Domitian in crime, but from their positions and their professions far viler in
infamy, to be suffered forever to wield in the name of Jesus, a power with which
that even of the Caesars was not to be compared.13
No true Bible Believer is going for one moment talk
about the restructuring of a papacy whose history marks it
out as under the judgment and condemnation of a Holy God.
It would be well for all those of the "Moral Majority" to
examine the morality of those with whom they have joined
hands. For the morality of Rome does not have good
historical credentials.
22
References
1. Wilder. John B.. The Shadow of Rome. Aondervan. Grand
Rapids. Michigan. 1960. p.86
2. Loc. cit.
3. Ibid., p. 87
4. Ibid., p.88
5. Clarion-Ledger. Jackson. Miss. Anti-Catholic Comics, p.lA
6. Martin. Malachi. The Final Conclave. Stein and Day
publishers. Briarcliff Manor. N.Y. 1978. p. 14
7. Ibid., pp. 17-18
8. Brown. Raymond E.. Crises facing the Church. Paulist Press.
N.Y./ Paramus. N.J. 1975. p. 64
9. Loc. cit.
10. Loc. cit.
11. Ibid., p. 80
12. Ibid..p.81
13. Farrar, F.W., History of Interpretation, Baker Book House
Grand Rapids Michigan. Reprint 1961. p. 309-10
23
THE METHOD OF DECEIT
When we leave the more irenic climate of dialogue as
and enter the conservative Roman Catholic's idea of the
papacy, we see the blasphemous teaching concerning the
priesthood that is taught to deceive the faithful. The extent
to which the idea of supreme power rests in the papacy is
seen in the claims of the Roman Catholic priest, who
represents the lowest rung on the ecclesiastical ladder.
Porcelli recounts the statements made by Roman
Catholic priests concerning the nature of the position that
they hold.
Between God in heaven and man upon earth stands the preist, who being hath
God and man. combines both natures, and forms the connecting link. I, as priest,
do not follow in rank the cherubim and seraphim in the administration of the
universe. I stand above them, for they are God's co-adjutors... I fulfill three
exalted functions towards the God of our altars. I summon Him to earth. I give
Him to men... Without your (priest's) permission He may not move.1
Outsider the power of the priesthood! Out of apiece of bread the priest's
tongue ran make a God. That is a greater act than the creation of the world.2
The priest is another Christ, and his work is to continue the great work of
redemption.3
To many evangelicals today, however. Porcelli's work
is considered a bigoted picture of the priesthood from
another century. Priests may have talked that way in the last
century but they do not hold such opinions today. This is the
consensus of opinion of many Protestants today.
It should be of interest then to consider the work of the
Rev. P. Chaignon, S.J. 'The Sacrifice of the Mass worthily
Celebrated.' This book was written in 1951 and carries the
Imprimatur of none other than Cardinal Spellman, and the
Nihil Obstat of John M. Fearns who was a doctor of Sacred
theology. Chaignon states candidly:
If such great innocence is required of us (priests) to touch a God-Victim, how
deep should not be our humility at beholding the absolute Maker of the universe
as if were docile to our bidding! Every day He
24
with alacrity and untiring constancy. Nor is it only the Virgin Immaculate. His
Mother, whom He obeys; but He obeys even sinful men. who deserve not to live
in his presence. At the voice of those men He comes down upon the altar. places
Himself in their power, that they may dispose of Him as they please. He permits
them to immolate (sacrifice) Him for the glory of His Father and the salvation of
the world.4
He goes on to say: "The priest at the foot of the altar is
Jesus Christ in the Garden of Olives."5 These and other
statements by Chaignon demonstrate that Rome has not
changed her teaching on the Mass. her teaching concerning
the power of the Priest.
Loraine Boettner points out that the Council of Trent
also stressed the power of the priest in no uncertain terms.
The priest is the man of God, the minister of God... He that despises the
priest despises God: he that hears him hears God. The priest remits sins as God...
It is clear that their function is such that none greater can be conceived.
Wherefore they are justly called not only angels, but also God, holding as they
do among us the power and authority of the immortal God.6
To the Bible-believing Protestant these statements are
considered blasphemous. But to many Protestants today they
obviously are not considered blasphemous. For many
Roman Catholic priests appear on Protestant television
programs today and are accorded a welcome on an equal
basis with other evangelicals without any disclaimers ever
being made. The 700 club will welcome some one like
Francis Schaeffer one night and a Roman Catholic priest the
next night without ever putting in any disclaimers
whatsoever concerning the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Several of these priests which we have seen have
exhibited genial appearances and affable personalities, but
the fact that the Bible teaches the end of a priestly line in
Hebrews and establishes the priesthood of every believer is
never once alluded to. much less discussed. The "priest" is
accepted on basis that he is on a par with the Protestant
minister and no mention is made of his blasphemous claims.
He is viewed in the same light as a saved Protestant minister
and considered just a clergyman of another denomination.
This serious com25
promise is beamed out regularly over the medium of
television, and promotes a favorable image of men who
arrogate to themselves powers and attributes that belong
only to God. Thus Romanism is enabled to enhance its
overall image in the eyes of the general public. The
blasphemy of its claims and practices are thus softened and
made more palatable to an unsuspecting audience.
The eternal loss cannot be measured. Millions upon
millions of deluded souls are trusting in the powers of
ungodly men to help them in eternity. Fallen men. usurping
the place of the Lord Jesus Christ, pretend to immolate Him
again and again on their Romish altars, and teach that this
claimed transubstantiation will actually help the deceived
communicant to find eternal life. Such superstitious magic is
not found in the Scriptures.
The Lord Jesus Christ has paid the supreme once-forall
sacrifice for sin on the middle cross of Calvary. He alone
has power to forgive sins. He alone can dispense
forgiveness to fallen man. Every Roman Catholic priest not
only does not have power to forgive sins or to re-sacrifice
Christ on his idolatrous altars but stands in need of
forgiveness himself from the deceit and blasphemy which
he practices at his altars.
In the on-going onslaught against Historic Bible
Protestasntism today, the continual compromise of
Protestant television programs plays an integral and increasing
part in the deception of the American public. The
onslaught is real and the deception is also real.
26
References
1. Porcelli. Alfred. The Antichrist. His Portrait and
History. Balckwood. N.J. 1971. p. 110
2. Loc. cit.
3. Ibid., p. 109
4. Chaignon P.. The Sacrific of the Mass Worthily
Celebrated. Benziger Brotehrs. New York. New York..
p.27
5. Loc. cit.
6. Boettner. Loraine. Roman Catholicism. Presbyterian
and Reformed Publishing Co. Philadelphia. 1964. p.51
27
THE METHOD OF PROPAGANDA
It is obvious that any group which has a bad public
image seeks to enhance that image by currying favor with
those who are received well by the general public. The
Mormons, who have done an unbelievable job in overcoming
their handicaps, are a good example of the effect of
propaganda. They put on a media blitz before coming into a
certain location. Their ads appear on television. These ads
depict a child and its parents in some encouraging family
situation, and then the ad closes with the reminder that this is
a message from the Church of the Latter Day Saints with the
word "Mormons" in brackets after it. It certainly has worked
to soften up the people for the Mormon avalanche that
follows.
Romanism uses the ads on televison also, but gains
much more mileage out of men like Dr. Jerry Falwell than it
does out of television ads. Dr. Falwell purports to be a
fundamental preacher and has the largest religous broadcast
in the U.S. In his effort "to save America", Dr. Falwell has
worked with some very strange bedfellows.
At a recent Sword of the Lord Conference in Evansville,
Indiana. Dr. Falwell preached a message in which he
said:
A Roman Catholic bishop said. "If 1 stand with you 1 am going to have to
speak out against bingo in our churches, but I'll do it." And he did. And he sent
out the order to all Catholic Churches to vote against it. (The issue was Pari-
Mutuel Betting in Virginia) The Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Southern
Baptists, they all joined with us. --6.000.
You say. "Hey, how in the world could you stand with a crowd like that?"
Hey when a ship is going down and you are out in the water and a fellow throws
you a lifesaver you don't ask him. "Are you a Baptist?" You work that out later.
We are talking about the survival of the country. We are not talking about
theological differences.1
Dr. Falwell went on to say that the Mormons also stood
with him. Here we see the broad ecumenical spectrum of
today's religious world led by a fundamental preacher, all
ostensibly working to save America. In this hodge-podge,
we see the good light in which Mormonism
28
and Romanism are both cast. They are working side-by-side
with a fundamental Protestant preacher to save America and
therefore the public assumes that there must not be anything
wrong with these groups.
There are several points that must be clarified in this
statement of Dr. Falwell. One. is pari-mutuel betting a
greater evil than false religion? Do not Bible-believing
Protestants believe that to be lost forever, through following
the teachings of a false system, is a far greater evil than the
existence of pari-mutuel betting? Two. is it good to work
with Roman Catholic priests who blasphemously arrogate to
themselves powers belonging only to God. without ever
once putting on a disclaimer about what they teach? Three,
is the threat from the Papacy not a far greater threat than that
of Pari-mutuel betting to the survival of a free America?
Finally, the whole argument put forth by Dr. Falwell is a
pious non sequitur. To liken a great nation like the United
States of America to a drowning man in order to draw a
conclusion is not a valid analogy. A drowning man will
drown in a very few seconds if help is not forthcoming. A
great nation, even when on the verge of total collapse, may
still last for many years.
The options open to a drowning man are almost nil and
help must come immediately. A great nation has more
options open to it in order to survive than any drowning
man. What is even more to the point, the Bible Protestantism
that made America great does not need to unite with the
error of Rome or the cultic nonsense of Mormonism in order
to enable America to survive as a free nation. In fact the
survival of America as a free Christian nation is in much
more jeopardy from the advances of Rome and the
thousands of Mormon missionaries than it ever will be from
the advent of Pari-Mutuel betting in the state of Virginia.
Historic Bible Protestantism of course is absolutely
opposed to any form of betting, but also recognizes the
greater menace of false religion. It is easier to get a pagan
29
to accept the gospel than a religious person. Historic Bible
Christianity always sought to change society through changed
individuals rather than through crusades against certain evils.
Modern fundamentalism, in its crusades against certain evils, is
more akin to Romanism than to Biblical Christianity. Selfrighteous
people draw great satisfaction from being against pornography,
abortion and gambling. However, unless they repent of
their unbelief, they will be lost forever with the purveyors of
pornography, the killers of babies, and the gamblers which they so
strenuously oppose.
It is the eternal perspective which has made Bible
Protestantism different and correct. Historic Christianity has not
only opposed certain evils but it has opposed ALL sin. and has set
forth in its preaching the necessity of repentance before any
effective battle can ever be waged against evil. The true Christian
knows that his battle is not against flesh and blood but against
Satan and demonic powers, and we saw in our first booklet that
false religion is the main area in which Satan and his forces work.
Wherever Romanism and Mormonism flourish, immorality
has also flourished. Both groups pretend to a sacrosanct morality,
but their histories belie their claims. It is a fact that has appeared in
several newspapers that Roman Catholic Churches have applied
for liquor licenses in Wisconsin and Louisiana, so that their Bingo
patrons would not have to leave the premises for liquid refreshment.
The police are unable or unwilling to arrest the gambling
church people in most U.S. cities, even though in most cities there
are ordinances against gambling.
So we believe it is very naive of Dr. Falwell to join with the
local Roman Catholic bishop to defeat parimutuel betting in
Virginia, when the Bishop's own church gambles in its bingo halls
all across America, and is never brought to court for its widespread
illegal activities. Even the man in the street can see the gross
hypocrisy of Rome even if Dr. Falwell and others cannot. For a
recent letter
30
in the Altoona Mirror shows that the public sees the gross
hypocrisy of gambling in the church quite clearly.
The greater Ecumenical Council of Altoona opposed
the opening of stores on Sundays, and the Roman Catholic
Church stood with them on the issue as part of the Council.
A man protested the Council's stand. It appears from his
letter that he is secularly oriented. But he closed off his
letter with this unanswerable question.
Which is the lesser of two evils, going out on Sunday afternoon and
making a purchase in a place of business or going to church Sunday
evening and gambling, where the odds are stacked against you?
It is too bad for America, that the secular man in the
street can see the hypocrisy of Rome's morality, but that
fundamental preachers cannot. The survival of America as a
free nation depends upon the restoration of the Protestant
ethic upon which it was founded, accompanied by the
preaching of redeeming grace from the pulpits of the land.
America's survival does not depend upon crusading against
certain evils while other greater evils continue to flourish.
Rome has a plan for America. History amply demonstrates
this. Contemporary happenings also add weight to
Blanshard's contention. It has but one goal in mind although
many tortuous paths may have to be followed to attain it;
that is. the submission of this nation and the world to the
Roman Pontiff. Anything that will contribute to that will be
used, even if it means working with the leading
fundamentalist preacher in America today.
References
1. Sword of the Lord. August 24. 1979. p.14
2. Altoona Mirror. Oct 4. 1979. Section A. p. 9
31
II. HOW INDIFFERENT CAN WE BE TO ERROR
Is it a matter of indifference that the world is headed
toward a rendezvous with Antichrist? That every action by
every Christian contributes something either negatively or
positively toward this meeting?
When one looks at this world, it is very obvious that
many otherwise knowledgeable Christians live their lives in
almost total disregard of some portions of the Word of God.
It surely is instructive to examine some of these areas.
1. Many Christian parents send their children to secular
schools, where they absorb a vast amount of humanism.
Some parents also send their children to "Christian" schools
which have long since jettisoned the great doctrines of the
Bible. In so doing, they put their children under the poison
of something worse than secular humanism, i.e. an outright
repudiation of the Scriptures.
When men handle the Bible from the standpoint of
apostasy, they poison the minds of young people with
greater virulence than the secular scholar who has never
known anything about Christianity. An apostate scholar is
worse than a secular scholar. Yet their are many Christians
who. through some form of mistaken sophistication or
personal pride, send their children out to sit under those
whose main object is to tear down every thing that the
Christian parent has sought to inculcate into his children.
What form of idiocy is this? In what way can it ever be
justified in the light of eternity and the world to come? Yet
thousands of Christian parents, who would not think for one
moment of allowing their child to partake of physical
poison, send them out to be filled with spiritual and moral
poison, under the guise of getting them a good education.
The thinking of such parents is not only naive but
decidedly unscriptural. The Scriptures instruct us over
32
and over to teach our children the precepts of God's Word. If
God's Word is not taught diligently to our children, they
grow up either repudiating it or completely neutralized in the
spirtual conflict between good and evil.
Our children may grow up to be sophisticated in the
eyes of the world, cultured in the eyes of society, but if they
are. they are completely oblivious to the rise of Mystery
Babylon the Great. In our first study we tried to show with
documented material the complete ignorance of church
history which is manifested by today's Christian college
students. They are not only ignorant of their heritage, but
also ignorant concerning the anti-christian forces which are
out to try to dominate the world in which they now live:
which brings us to our second point.
2. Many Christians are completely unconcerned about
the rise of error. They may vaguely recognize that there is
something wrong with their denomination or organization,
but they see no need to separate from apostasy. They seem
to view the rise of Antichrist as something prophesied in the
Scriptures, and therefore they fatalistically accept it; or they
do not really believe that antichristian forces are already at
work, so feel no responsibility toward them.
This type of reasoning apparently is widespread in the
modern church. Error may be real; the apostasy may be
deepening; they may be a part of that apostasy through their
denominational affiliation, but obviously, for one reason or
another, reckon it a matter of little or no importance at all in
the final analysis. They continue on as if error was
dissipating, the apostasy was fading and their denomination
did not support the murderous depredations against
evangelical missionaries in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
What is even more to the point, many Christians obviously
feel that those who try to point our the truth about
the rise of Mystery Babylon the Great are wild eyed fanatics
who are out to disrupt the peace and unity of the
33
Church. It is apparent that many in the visible church today know
nothing or care nothing about spiritual unseen powers which are at
work night and day to silence the true witness of the blood-bought
Church.
It is absolutely incredible that many professing Christians
continue to support the World Council of Churches through their
own denomination, while the World Council of Churches is
pursuing an active role in the support of murderous guerrilas in
various parts of the continent of Africa. The World Council of
Churches defends its murderous campaign as a means to bring
about international justice. They have not tried to hide the fact of
their support of the murderers of evangelical missionaries in
Rhodesia but rather they have sought to defend their policies as a
means to promote revolutions which will result in the equal
distribution of wealth.
Billy Graham still maintains close ties with the World
Council of Churches, and his stance no doubt contributes to the
vacillation of millions of Christians today. There seems to be no
thought whatsoever as to the rise of Mystery Babylon the Great
and the position which every true believer should maintain toward
it.
Is Mystery Babylon the Great a real entity, which will be the
final consummation of this world's system of religions? Is it
already here in inchoate form? Are believers to be unconcerned
about its rise? Is it a matter of little or not importance? These
questions demand an answer from every one who claims to love
the Word.
Is the believer to find solace in the secular education of the
humanists who do not believe in the rise of Mystery Babylon the
Great? Can we learn anything from a secular humanist about man
and his relationship to man, and also his relationship to God? Can
we learn anything from ecumenical scholars and Roman Catholic
scholars about the rise of Mystery Babylon the Great? Many
Christians apparently believe that they can learn from these sour34
ces. for they continue to support them and to send their
children to sit under them.
How far modern "Christianity" has strayed from the
Scriptures is not easy to measure, but it can be safely stated
that it has gone a long way from the truth as taught by the
Reformers. Puritans and those who followed them. It is a far
cry from Historic Bible Christianity.
We do not wr i t e these pages to hurl anathemas at
those who have strayed so far. but we appeal to each one
who reads these pages to examine his own stance toward the
world and the revelation which God has given us. Is God's
revelation binding upon us. or is it of such a nature that we
can ignore those parts which deal with the end-time
apostasy, and liberate ourselves from the enlightenment
which the Word would shed upon us? Does the entrance of
God's Word give light?
When God's Word speaks of the great falling away and
the rise of Mystery Babylon the Great, are these great truths
enlightening to us? Or do we shrug them off as too difficult,
uninteresting, unattractive, negative or irrelevant?
3. Many Christians not only do not believe in a conspiracy,
but they consider anyone who does as a paranoid
extremist, one who is to be relegated to the lunatic fringe or
consigned to the oblivion of the foolish. Many Christians do
not realize how much of the world's humanistic vaporings
they have imbibed. Much of what they hold in a philosophic
sense is based upon an evolutionary framework. They have
never really stopped long enough to ascertain where their
world-view originates. Having accepted (in many cases
unwittingly) an atheistic-evolutionary viewpoint of man and
his environment, they proceed upon that basis to erect their
philosophic superstructure. Evolutionists do not believe in a
conspiracy, they do not believe in the truth that history is
moving toward a consummation. To them, history is a long
sequence of uniform development in which chance, selforigination
and evolution are the main ingredients.
35
Man is his own master, he is directing operations and
moving toward his self-appointed destiny.
However, according to the Word of God it is God who
is working all things after the counsel of His own will and
not puny rebellious man. It is God who will bring every
work into judgement. In the consummation which the
Scriptures reveal there is an overthrow of Satan and the
powers of Darkness. In other words Satan has attempted to
mastermind a plot of his own to dethrone Christ and to set
up himself in the place of Christ. This Satanic conspiracy is
revealed and destroyed. But IT IS A REAL HISTORIC
PHENOMENON! It is not mythical. It is not a fantasy. It is a
real spiritual conflict, in which the powers of God and His
Christ triumph over the powers of Satan and his Antichrists.
It is a spiritual conflict, but that does not mean that it is not a
very real conflict. There are sides in this conflict, and this is
the crucial aspect of this whole subject. For it is apparent
that many Christians believe their position in this
conspiratorial conflict is one of little or no importance.
Whether they heed God's Word concerning the apostasy or
whether they do not heed it seldom occupies a place in their
thinking. They live their professed Christian lives without so
much as a thought as to where their ecclesiastical allegiance
places them. They never examine their philosophic stance
toward the revelation which God has so graciously given us.
They never investigate the organizations which they join,
fellowship with or support. They never heed the Biblical
injunction to try every spirit. So that on any given night
around the world Christians can be found hob-nobbing with
the very forces of Antichrist which they are supposed to be
opposing, when in reality they should be praying with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints and wrestling
against principalities and powers and the rulers of the
darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in the
Heavenlies. This is the Christian's vocation. This is his call.
But as Leonard Ravenhill has aptly said "We wrestle not"
and stop right there!
36
The fact that so many Christians have succumbed to a
non-Biblical life style is apparent in this generation.
Worldly sophistication and acceptance within the ranks of
humanistic academia seem to be the main goals of their
lives. As Rushdoony points out when it comes to a choice
between what the Bible says and what modern science says,
the Bible takes second place. The question that must be
answered is this: is anyone, truly born of God and led by the
Spirit of God. going to put the inspired revelation of the
Holy Spirit on a lower level than the vaporings of apostate
scientists, psychologists, and philosophers?
The deification of man is written large in contemporary
thought. This deification of man is the precursor of
Antichrist who will be the supreme deification of man in all
history. The rise of antichrist started back in the time of the
Apostle ]ohn and has reached mammoth proportions in our
own time. Yet many professing Christians are totally
oblivious to the rise of antichristian powers, and in many
cases openly fellowship with them.
There are many problems connected with the rise of
error and the setting of the stage for Satan's Antichrist and
the False Prophet; and we try to look at some of these in our
next booklet. We do not pretend to have all the answers nor
do we pretend to know who antichrist is. but we do examine
some historical facts which should alert us at least to some
of the elements that will make up the final apostate
conglomerate known as Mystery Babylon the Great. It is our
hope that some enlightenment might come to those who are
careless and nonchalant with regard to the rise of the great
conspiracy and the stance which they ought to take toward it.
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WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA
To listen to many religious leaders today the main thing
that is wrong with America is immorality. Many ministers
and priests constantly point out the sins of America as
pornography, perversion, adultery, and divorce. Certainly
these are greivous sins and will bring the judgment of a holy
God upon any nation which is guilty of them.
However it is enlightening to consider the downfall of
Judah and Jerusalem. The main reason that brings about this
collapse is IDOLATRY. Idolatry is the one sin that destroys
the Southern Kingdom. "Thus saith the Lord, Behold. I will
bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants there
of.... because they have forsaken me. and have burned
incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to
anger with all the works of their hands, therefore my wrath
shall be kindled against this place." In the fall of the
Northern Kingdom the inspired writer tells us: "For so it
was. that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord....
and the children of Israel did secretly those things that were
not right against the Lord their God and they built them high
places in all their cities... and they set them up images and
groves in every high hill, and under every green tree... and
wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger. For they
served idols whereof the; Lord had said unto them. "Ye shall
not do this thing...therefore the Lord was very angry with
Israel and removed them out of His sight." (II Kings 17:7-
18)
The writer goes on to tell us that they feared the Lord
and served their own gods. The context shows that the Lord
had made a covenant with them that they should not fear
other gods nor bow themselves down to them nor serve them
nor sacrifice to them.
Jeremiah in his Lamentations gives us further insight
into the cause of the ruin of God's people. "For punishment
of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater
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than the punishment of the sin of Sodom." Idolatry is a greater sin
than Sodom's perversion! (Would to God that statement could be
written before the eyes of the preachers of America today.)
It is possible to save America from pornography, perversion
and abortion and yet not save her from the judgment of a holy and
outraged God who hates idolatry! The idolatry of Romanism will
do more to bring the judgment of God upon America than the
immorality which she so piously opposes and by which she gains
access to the Moral Majority.
America needs to be made aware of the awful judgment of
God upon IDOLATRY if she is ever to recover from the snares of
false religion, and if she is ever to be saved in a truly biblical
concept of salvation. The second commandment (which Roman
Catholics do not leach in their parochial schools) thunders against
idolatry.
There is a false idea of religion abroad in the United States
today. The Moral Majority certainly demonstrates this fact as
nothing else can. Religion is thought of as a good thing, a teacher
of morality, and therefore the possible savior of America, when in
fact religion is seen in the Scriptures as the place where Satan
operates in his strength, and also it is seen as that which brings the
judgment of God upon both the Northern and Southern kingdoms
of Israel and Judah.
It is not pornography, adultery or perversion which will bring
the judgment of God on America, for there are millions of moral
Americans who oppose all three. (Sodom could have survived if
ten righteous people had been found in her) there are millions of
godly righteous people loft in America. Yet America is ripe for
judgment.
The sins that could bring the judgment of God upon the
United States are the sins of idolatry, compromise and apostasy.
For many of God's own people who oppose adultery, pornography,
abortion and perversion are entangled in all three. The similarities
between the con39
dition that brought the judgment of God upon Samaria and
Jerusalem and the conditions that exist in the United States
today, are far closer than those between America and Sodom
and Gomorrah.
The religious leaders at the time of the fall of the Northern
and Southern kingdoms were those who had led the people
into idolatry and made them commit a greater sin than the
sin of Sodom. The compromise of evangelical, charismatic,
and neo-fundamental leaders with the great idolatrous
system of Romanism will do more to bring down the wrath
of a holy God upon America and the western world than all
the fleshly sins against which these preachers hurl their
anathemas.
The are completely silent on the one great sin that
brought down Israel and Judah. Total silence reigns supreme
concerning idolatry.
Notice carefully it was the sins of GOD'S PEOPLE. His
chosen people, which sent Samaria into Assyria, and Judah
into Babylon in abject humiliation and defeat. The majority
of God's people and God's preachers today are indeed in the
moral majority, but they will in no way block the judgment
of God upon the United States if the fall of Jerusalem and
Samaria is studied. For in the falls of these nations the
people of God were very religious but disobedient and
idolatrous, and for this God judged them severly.
If ever we need to learn from history it is at this very
point. That vehement preaching which fails to deal with the
sins of religious people who, while espousing a sacrosanct
morality are nevertheless idolatrous and disobedient
regarding apostasy and compromise, is useless and worthless
in the end result. The Old Testament judgments are set forth
for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are
come.
Some scholars try to escape the force of the words of
Jeremiah by saying that it is the punishment which is greater
and not the sin. But as Naegelsbach points out, it is the guilt
and sin which is the primary meaning of the
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Hebrew construction here rather than punishment.1 And
John Calvin adds his sound observation which is difficult to
refute when he says:
If any man prefers the other version (that is that it is punishment
spoken of and not guilt) I will not contend, for it is not unsuitable; and
hence also a most useful doctrine may be drawn, that we are to judge of
the grieviousness of our sins by the greatness of our punishment: for
God never exceeds what is just when He takes vengeance on the sins of
men. Then His severity shows how grieviously men have sinned. Thus,
Jeremiah may have reasoned from the effect to the cause, and declared
that the people had been more wicked than the Sodomites.
Naegelsbach goes on to say:
That Sodom was destroyed not by the hands of men. but by the hand
of God alone, is a fact that is emphasized as giving itensity to the
severity of its punishment. Yet... the fate of Jerusalem was still more
terrible, because its guilt was greater than Sodom's.
America's guilt lies in its love affair with idolatry and
the compromise of those who hurl their anathemas at the
nun in the street, but who remain silent at the iniquity in the
pulpit. When the Roman Catholic system of idolatry is
praised by leading evangelists, embraced by the
charismatics, used by the Moral Majority, and generally
accepted by most Protestants as just another denomination,
then the judgment of God cannot be far away! Biblically
ignorant preachers and people may imagine that religion is a
good thing, but the religion of the children of Israel was the
very thing that brought an end to their nation, ruined
Jerusalem and made them captive for 70 years. They were
all worshipping at their altars, groves, and high places and
FOR THESE VERY ACTS OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE
AND RELIGIOUS WORSHIP they suffered the judgment of
an outraged God!
Religious leaders may compare America to Sodom, but
we have never heard any of the nationally known speakers
ever compare America to Jerusalem or Samaria! The reason
that such a comparison is never made is that religion is seen
as something good for America while
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fleshly sins are seen as the ony evils cursing America today.
We believe that we can say without fear of contradiction that
it is false religion which is cursing America today more than
any other sin. Preachers and evangelists may hurl their
anathemas at fleshly sins, but, if they are fellowshipping
with the great apostasy, then they are the main contributors
to the downgrade in America today. The Scriptures tell us
that righteousness exalts a nation. Nowhere does it say that
an idolatrous or an apostate morality exalts a nation. An
idolatrous morality will damn all those trusting in it for
salvation as deep in Hell as any other sin. In many cases
moral religious people are the greatest opponents of the
sacrifice of Christ and the truth of the gospel. It is time our
so-called "great" preachers quit playing games with the
Word of God which they claim to preach. For the Word of
God which thunders against immorality and vice also
thunders with equally loud tones against idolatry, apostasy
and compromise. If a man remains in fellowship with the
end-time apostasy and refuses to reprove the unfruitful
works of darkness and the gross idolatry of our times, his
fiery preaching is not worth the hot air it takes to enunciate
the words.
We must see, if we are ever to halt the moral
downgrade in America today, that false religion produces all
kinds of immorality and sin. Cain brings his offering to the
Lord demonstrating to all of subsequent mankind that he
was a nice religious fellow; and later he turns around and
murders his brother. The Lord Jesus Christ himself also
traces the rottenness of religious people when he so
scathingly indicts the Pharisees, the most religious people
who every lived. "Wherefore, behold I send unto you
prophets and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you
shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you scourge in
your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; that
upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the
earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of
Zacharias...whom you slew between the
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temple and the altar."
The rise of false religion in America has been accompanied
by a rise in all types of sin and corruption. The impact
brought about by the loss of the standards of historic
Christianity is incalculable. It is beyond measurement. But
that such a loss has occurred can be seen in the crime waves
and hideous immorality and sexual perversion of our times.
It should be noted (but seldom is) that the hideous
system of Mormonism taught polygamy until restricted by
secular governments. The various forms of Mormonism still
teach and practice polygamy today illegally in various
places.
The Mafia, which is a one hundred per cent Roman
Catholic outfit, controls most of the gambling and pornography
publishing houses in America. The World Council of
Churches supports murderers and terrorists in several
countries. So it is clear to the remnant of God's people today,
as it was to the remnant in Jeremiah's day, that it is
disobedient religionists that will bring the judgment of God
down again.
The great renowned religious leaders who work with
idolatrous Romanism and apostate Protestantism, ostensibly
to save America, actually invite the judgment of God upon
their disobedience and the millions who follow them in that
disobedience. It is obvious that the one great watershed that
looms large in the modern world of theology is the finality
and authority of God's holy Word. The remnant who holds
to the finality and authority of God's Word separates itself
from those Romanists, evangelicals, compromisers,
apostates, charismatics and other religionists who refuse to
accept the finality and authority of the Word of God. This is
the great watershed in today's theological world.
Satan will take any teaching, philosophy or theology as
long as it is not true to the whole counsel of God. Until we
grasp this truth we will never be good soldiers of Jesus
Christ, nourished up in the words of sound doctrine and
godliness, and America will never be saved in the biblical
sense of the term "saved."
References
1. Lange's Commentary. Vol. 6 Zondervan, Grand
Rapids, Mich. Reprint 1980, p. 184.
2. Ibid..
3. Ibid.
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44
Conclusion
In our next booklet we will examine the papal conspiracy
in detail, and look at some of the problems connected
with the idea of conspiracies. While we seek to make
people aware of enduring conspiracies which have affected
Christian civilization and which still continue to affect it, we
harbor no ill will toward individual Roman Catholics, but
hope for their salvation in Christ. We recognize that not
every Roman Catholic or every Roman Catholic priest for
that matter is caught up in the conspiracy. For it is the
Hierarchy which calls the shots and makes the parish priests
tremble.
However, we must see that Romanism as an entity is
out to control the world. This religious entity has a plan, an
organization, faithful henchmen, global goals and enormous
finances with which to wage its spiritual warfare against the
truth. So although we do not see every Roman Catholic as a
Toman Torquemada, we realize that he could well become
one if he continues in his allegiance to a corrupt and false
system. After all, it is Rome which has spawned its Hitlers,
Francos, Mussolinis, Torquemadas, and a host of other
equally infamous murderers.
Our task as believers is to present the Gospel to every
creature and trust that the entrance of God's Word will give
light and bring sinners from darkness into His marvellous
light. In so doing we must never avoid the truth but rather
we must faithfully uphold it, so that Christendom will never
again return to the dark ages. For if we know the truth, the
truth will set us free and keep us free. We use the term Dark
Ages advisedly, for spiritual darkness that cannot be
imagined covered most of Europe before the Reformation.
The blight of Popery and religious
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immorality was so far advanced the true light of the gospel
was all but eclipsed from the face of the earth. So while
Romanism may call the Reformation "a backward step in
human history," and intimate that many of the "Worst evils
of fascism and communism flow from it,"1 we repudiate such
lies as the vaporings of a system so corrupt that it has lost
not only the gospel, but an appreciation of the truth amidst
the vagaries of useless ceremonies and superstitious and
magical ecclesiastical formulas.
For by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. I do not
frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness is come by the law, then
Christ is dead in vain. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone who believes.
References
1. Blanshard, Paul, American Freedom and Catholic Power
Beacon Press, Boston, 1950. p. 77