CHAPTER XV
THE WOMAN OF REVELATION 17
Written By
S.R. Shearer
"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials,
and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show 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.
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw
a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns.
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked
with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
"And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered
with great admiration.
"And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her,
which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out
of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell
on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book
of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is." (Rev. 17:1-8)
As we have previously indicated - and as Dwight Pentecost of Dallas
Theological Seminary has already suggested - the various verses which
refer to Babylon make it plain that the Scripture has in view something
more than just a commercial and political reality; there is also a religious
reality in view. Pentecost writes:
"... (in the end of days) we see the whole stage (i.e., the world)
filled with two personalities only: a 'Beast' and a 'Woman' ..."
The Beast answers to the civil authority; the woman answers to the
religious authority - and the picture given in the Revelation suggests
the union of these two powers in the "latter days" - a condition of
things not unlike what's happening today in the Islamic world - only
here the picture depicts the Christian world, and the "players" are
not the mosque and the state, but the church and the state! - and
be clear here, we're not talking about some strange "New Age" religion,
but one which is clearly characterized as "Christian" (an apostatized
form of Christianity, no doubt, but "Christian" as the world counts
"Christian," nonetheless) - and to this, most evangelicals - from Barnhouse,
to Gaebelein, from Chafer to Pentecost, from Ironside to Ryrie - agree.
Somehow or other - most likely as the result of what Professor Samuel
Huntington of Harvard has labeled "Civilization Warfare" ["Ethnos
shall rise against ethnos" (Matt. 24:7)] - the Christian world
(i.e., the West) will be profoundly radicalized much in the same way
the Islamic world is presently being radicalized - and indeed, it
appears that the process has already started in the rise of the radical
"Christian-right" parties in Europe and the Christian Coalition in the
United States).
Specifically, the Bible says:
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I
saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of
blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked
with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
"And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON
THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered
with great admiration.
"And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her,
which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out
of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell
on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book
of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is.
"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth." (Rev. 17:3-9)
THE TWO-FOLD NATURE
OF BABYLON THE GREAT
That TWO Babylons are spoken of here is evident from the fact that
when Religious Babylon (i.e., the Woman) is destroyed shortly after
the Abomination of Desolation, she is destroyed because of the jealousy
and hatred of the Ten Kings and the Beast (Revelation 17:6); but when
Commercial Babylon (i.e., the Beast) is destroyed, these same kings,
together with the business leaders of the world, are sorrowful and mourn
her destruction [see Revelation 18].
RELIGIOUS BABYLON
As to the identity of Religious Babylon, she is without a doubt the
false Super-Church of the "last days" which will lend to Commercial
Babylon and the Antichrist the religious legitimacy that they
require in their headlong pursuit of world domination.
Many people - especially those who have grown up in this country during
the last twenty or thirty years and who are thus accustomed to thinking
that civil power can be separated from religious power - are puzzled
as to why the Bible speaks of two Babylons in the "Latter Days" - one
a religious entity and the other a civil entity. They seem genuinely
bewildered by the picture the Bible uses to portray their relationship
one with the other - a woman (the religious entity) riding a beast (the
civil entity). Why, they ask, does the civil power (the beast) have
need of the religious power (the woman)?
The fact of the matter is, however, there is a fundamental mutual
interdependence between religion and politics, and today's multicultural
and secular elites have been making a grave mistake in believing otherwise.
Why? - because civil power, in the end, must be legitimized, and an
appeal to the fickle and even capricious "democratic will of the majority"
- while adequate enough during periods of cultural and economic stability
- often fails to ensure that same stability during periods of turmoil
and dislocation.
Religion gives sanction to obedience on the part of ordinary people
and it legitimizes the exercise of power on the part of
rulers. For this reason, religion has historically been impressed into
all of society's experiences and actions - from simple family chores
to the corporate activities of the state. The fact is, in most societies
religion has been a state obligation and responsibility. It has manifested
the very essence of the state itself - so much so that there has rarely
been any question, at least at the popular level, concerning the vital
link between the practice of religion and the health of the state. To
most societies it has seemed self-evident that all authority emanated
from the divine because from no where else could the certitude so
necessary to social order be derived. The result of religion
has been to put men and women in right relation to their society. It
has assured the order and certainty so necessary to the stability of
most social structures. The proposition that the state could be separated
from a religious undergirding - embodied in the concept of "separation
of church and state" - represents relatively new political thinking.
THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN
RELIGION AND THE STATE
Even today it may be somewhat premature to speak of true "secular
societies" when talking about the more modern societies of the Western
World. The fact is, they may not be so secular after all. There
exists the very real and somewhat sobering possibility that the so-called
"secular states" of the Western World are much more religious than many
care to admit. Today's "secular state" may resemble nothing so much
as a devout priest stripped of his clerical frock and dressed up as
a modern businessman - but a priest nonetheless. It isn't necessarily
the clerical garb that makes the priest, as it is his inner disposition
of mind. One may strip a man of his garments and alter his outward appearance,
but it is a far more difficult task to strip him of the way he thinks
and to alter his inner most being.
If, on a broader scale, one compares the priestly garb to the outward
trappings of a society's religion, and the inner disposition of mind
to the society's culture, then one can begin to appreciate the relationship
between religion and culture. While it is true that most western
societies have been stripped of their religious trappings, it is a far
different thing to believe this has really affected the "core dependence"
of the society's culture on principles which can - in the end - only
be fixed by religion or by an "appeal to the divine."
Governing elites and "politically correct" academicians in this country
may have been making a very grave mistake in over estimating our society's
freedom from a fundamental dependence on a religiously based ethical
system.
Society organizes itself around culture. Culture sets the parameters
of the society. It determines what is "right" and what is "wrong." It
provides the underlying assumptions upon which society is based. But
what a culture determines to be "right" or "wrong" must be anchored
by something. For example, who is to say whether abortion is "right"
or "wrong?" or whether homosexuality is acceptable behavior? or whether
divorce should be condoned or not? or whether the society should be
organized as a patriarchy? or maybe as a matriarchy? One may assert
that he "feels" homosexuality is wrong; that abortion is murder; and
that men should be the head of the family. But that's not enough. Others
may "feel" the exact opposite. And an appeal to philosophy to end the
argument is more often than not futile. Philosophical or ethical speculation
in the absence of some kind of an anchor has normally proven useless
for such purposes. Indeed, all it seems to accomplish is to further
erode fixity and stability, the essential ingredients of the bonds of
social existence. In the absence of an acceptable anchor, philosophical
and ethical speculation exists in a state of perpetual agitation. Should
the agitation continue unchecked, it may lead to the ultimate contempt
of all authority.
Moreover, history is full of situations where even an appeal to the
"will of the majority" has not sufficed to establish cultural parameters.
It didn't suffice a century ago with regard to the question of slavery
- where, contrary to popular belief, a majority of people, both north
and south, saw the question of slavery not worth fighting over. Neither
did it suffice to quell the controversy over "prohibition." And it does
not seem to suffice today over the question of abortion. In all these
instances, the turmoil was (is) kept boiling by a small minority driven
largely by a religious absolutism which was (is) obsessed with its own
righteousness.
Religious absolutism has, over the long run, a dogged and persistent
way of carrying the day, of ultimately triumphing over people and ideas
which are less solidly based. Iran, Algeria and the Sudan are only the
latest in a long list of societies which have succumbed or are in the
process of succumbing to religious absolutism - especially in this time
of cultural disorder and confusion.
Too often, academicians have shoved religion aside, deeming it not
fit for serious study. But what they have perhaps failed to recognize
is the central - indeed, pivotal - role that religion plays in setting
up a culture's parameters, of fixing its boundaries. In the end,
one finds more often than not that it is religion upon which the cultural
norms of a society are ultimately based, either explicitly as in the
case of Iran, or implicitly as in the case of most of the nations
of the Western World. All great societies - especially those which are
expansive - must claim their legitimacy originates from a divine mandate.
The cost of expansion is too terrible and heavy a load for average people
to bear unless they can somehow be made to believe that "God is on our
Side" - Gott mit uns - and that they are acting under a divine
mandate.
CHRISTIANITY: CHANGING THE MOLD
Historically, then, the main function of religion has been to legitimize
state authority - and this has been as true in Western societies as
it is true in Islamic societies and the societies of Asia, India, Latin
America and Africa.
But this is where Christianity - at least Biblical Christianity -
has differed from all other religions of the world. All the early Christian
literature attests to the fact that primitive Christianity had as its
object the establishment of a heavenly kingdom - one of the heart, not
one which was based on brute force; after all, what could worldly politicos
do with a religion whose Author spoke of authority in terms of servitude:
"Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over
them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
"But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among
you, let him be your minister (servant);
"And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your slave:
"Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matt. 20:25-28)
And this is all that Christ and Christianity offered. The "New Testament"
speaks of no "earthly state;" it has no earthly ambitions.
Unfortunately for Western leaders, after Constantine's acceptance
of Christianity (312 A.D.), Christianity was the only religion the rulers
of the West had to work with. The people had made it so. The ethical
force and power of Christianity coupled with the withering force of
Greek philosophy had reduced the hold of paganism on the people's imagination
to the point where paganism proved insufficient a force to any longer
undergird state power and authority.
THE SPIRITUAL & THE TEMPORAL
THE WOMAN & THE BEAST
(Regnum and Sacerdotium)
Every
so-called "Christian" in "Western Christendom" has historically
had two loyalties: one to the "spiritual" church and one to
the "temporal" state, i.e., those twin powers of Regnum
and Sacerdotium that govern the lives of "Western Man"
- most especially in the Middle Ages, but also - more than secularists
would care to admit - even today. To the Caesars of the state
must be given some things, to the church of God must be given
others. Hildebrand [Gregory VII (pope from 1073 to 1085)] put
it this way: "... the spiritual (i.e., churchly) and temporal
(i.e., civil) powers are entrusted to two different orders,
each drawing its authority from God, each supreme in its own
sphere, and independent, within its own sphere, of the other
... the king is subject to the bishop in spiritual matters,
the bishop is to the king in temporal matters." This
doctrine became known as the "Doctrine of the Two Swords" (i.e.,
the "temporal sword" and the "spiritual sword"). Ultimately,
however, the spiritual power was held to be supreme. The
church insisted that there could be no end to the validity of
God's law, and where conflict arose between the power of the
state over and against the power of the church, the state must
give way. Why? - because the church held that spiritual laws
were fixed and immutable, and as a result, "All customs and
all written laws (i.e., all man-made laws and customs)
which were adverse to natural (i.e., spiritual) law were to
be accounted null and void." There was to be no gainsaying the
voice of the church: Si Roma locuta sit, cause finita sit.
Secularists tend to believe that such thinking is dead and
gone - but for them to think so is very naive. Indeed, most
sincere Christians - even today - if given the choice between
obeying the "Law of God" as opposed to the "Law of Man" (i.e.,
the state) would not hesitate to choose the "Law of God." One
has only to look to the Culture War which is raging in the United
States for confirmation of this fact - especially insofar as
it pertains to abortion and homosexuality. Secularists are making
a big mistake in underestimating the power of the "spiritual
sword" - the primacy of "God's Law" over and against "Man's
Law" in most people today - in doing so, they may be digging
their own graves in the ever intensifying Culture War. There
is, of course, nothing Biblical about this kind of thinking;
indeed, it is precisely this kind of reasoning that will lead
to the disaster of the "end of days." And it is exactly this
relationship between the state (Regnum) and the church
(Sacerdotium) that the Bible portrays as a woman riding
a beast! |
The problem then became how to reorient Christianity away from its
primitive objective - the establishment of a heavenly kingdom - and
replace the heavenly and spiritual calling of the church with the worldly
goal of establishing of God's kingdom on the earth; then to use this
"apostatized" form of Christianity to undergird Western political
power. The church was reduced in this process to a mere tool in the
hands of men who cared little or nothing for its true spiritual and
heavenly message. Their only interest was in earthly power and their
care for the church extended only as far as the ability of the church
to secure that power. The tool these men used to transform the church
was Roman Catholicism.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM AND STATE POWER
The touchstone of Roman Catholicism was (and still is) the integration
of the church with the Roman state - the Western World. This is
the antithesis to all that the church was meant to be - a heavenly reality,
not something of the earth, and most especially, not something of Imperial
Rome; indeed, the Bible - as we have already indicated - is very plain
on this matter:
Jesus said,
"My kingdom [reign (basileia)] is not of this world (Kosmos):
if my kingdom were of this world (Kosmos), then would my servants
fight ... but ... my kingdom (is) not from hence." (John 18:36)
And the Apostle John warns,
"The whole world (Kosmos) lieth in the evil one." (I John
5:19) and -
"Do not love the world, or anything in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in
the world ... comes not from the Father ..." (I John 2:15-16)
Satan is the great KOSMOKRATER (world-ruler) of this
earth, and he has directed all his strength and ingenuity into causing
it to flourish. To what end? - to capture man's allegiance and draw
him to himself. He has one object: to establish his own dominion in
human hearts world-wide.
The Bible teaches that the world is under Satan's control, and he
is its ruler. But many Christians - especially those who are being drawn
into the effort to save the nation for "Christ and the church" - apparently
have an extremely difficult time in understanding this. They seem unable
to fathom exactly who really is in charge here. True, they will acknowledge
that Satan has an "influence" in the world and among the nations, but
that is all that they will ever ascribe to him - influence, not control.
But that is not what the Bible says; the Word of God clearly states
that Satan CONTROLS the world. Satan controls the entire world:
"And the devil, taking him (i.e., Christ) up into an high mountain,
shewed unto him ALL the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
"And the devil said unto him ... (ALL THIS) IS DELIVERED UNTO ME AND
TO WHOMEVER I WILL GIVE IT." (Luke 4:5-6)
The church is to have nothing to do with the world. Why? - because
it belongs to Satan; therefore, it is beyond remedy; there is nothing
that can be done to "reform" it - it is fit only for judgment. In Chapter
II we used the parable of a ship to explain what apostasy is, but the
Scriptures use a much harsher parable: they compare apostasy to harlotry.
Why? - because as Christians we have been espoused to Christ and are
no longer to consider ourselves citizens of this world, but rather we
are now subjects of a heavenly kingdom "... which hath foundations
whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10)!
As we indicated in Chapter 2, we are now to think of ourselves as
"pilgrims and strangers" to this world - to its politics and all such
things; we are to have none of it - it no longer is of concern to us.
Once it was of great and legitimate concern to us, but no longer, for
we have been translated from this world to the kingdom of God's dear
Son. Paul says,
"... for people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking
(another) homeland ... that is a HEAVENLY one. Therefore, God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city
(another country - a HEAVENLY one)." [Heb. 11:13-16]
And again, Paul writes:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ ... In (Whom) ... we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His
grace, in (Whom) ... we have obtained an inheritance, having been
predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the
counsel of His will ... I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far
above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as
head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness
of Him who fills all in all." (Eph. 1:3, 7, 11, 18, 19-23)
Where is our inheritance, then? - clearly, it's in the heavens with
Christ Jesus our Lord.
THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE OF "END TIMES"
So - again - what is apostasy? It is the turning back of Christians
from faith in the heavenly kingdom of Jesus Christ to the worldly kingdom
from which we came. And more - and at its subtle best - it is the seeking
of Christians to advance the Kingdom of Christ through worldly means.
How far and to what extent the development of this synthesis has proceeded
in the Catholic world (and in those Protestant bodies which have embraced
post-millennialism) can best be seen in a study of Catholic eschatology
(doctrine of "end times") - because eschatology is the summation of
a faith's theology: it defines the goals of that theology, what it is
ultimately aiming at.
Catholic eschatology points unwaveringly to an earthly kingdom; there
is little hint as to anything "heavenly" in its doctrine of "end times."
Its aims are totally directed at earthly domination. And the twists
and turns of this eschatology are mind boggling, especially in its manifestation
as it relates to the reunification of the Western World under Vatican
domination.
The Catholic tradition of "end times" pictures an era filled with
great war and turmoil which will lead finally to the emergence of two
breathtaking and towering personalities: (1) the "Great Monarch" (or
"King of the West"), and (2) the "Angelic Pastor." The "Great Monarch"
will emerge out of the wars and revolutions of the "end times," assuming
control over the Roman World (Western Civilization), eventually triumphing
over the forces of the "godless East," and finally seizing control of
the entire world. Under his rule, mankind will enjoy a great world-wide
peace.
During this time, there will reign on the Throne of Peter a saintly
pope who will be known as the "Angelic Pastor." The "Angelic Pastor"
will assist the "Great Monarch" in the destruction of Protestantism,
Islam, and Jewry, and the conversion of the entire world to the Catholic
faith.
CATHOLIC "PROPHETIC UTTERANCES" AS TO
THE GREAT MONARCH & THE ANGELIC PASTOR
The prophecies of the "Great Monarch" (or "King of the West") and
the "Angelic Pastor" find their origin in Catholic "prophetic utterances"
dating from Hippolytus (died 235) to the present. The following are
examples of but a few of these "utterances:"
- Hippolytus: "The Great Monarch who shall subject all the
east, shall come around the end of the world."
- Caesar of Arles (469-543): "The Great Monarch shall extend
his dominion over the entire earth. At the same time there will be
a great Pope (the Angelic Pastor), who will be most eminent in sanctity
and most perfect in every quality. This Pope shall have with him the
Great Monarch ... This Great Monarch will assist the Pope in the reformation
of the whole earth."
- Chronicles of Magdeburg (12th Century): "There shall arise
an emperor (the Great Monarch) ... who shall rule ... and by whom
the decayed estate of the church shall be reformed and the ancient
glory of the empire (the Roman) restored."
- Abbot Joachim (died, 1202): "After many prolonged sufferings
endured by Christians, and after a too great effusion of innocent
blood ... a remarkable pope will be seated on the pontifical throne,
under the special protection of the angels. Holy and full of gentleness,
he shall undo all wrong ... and recover the kingdom of Jerusalem ...
In order to obtain these happy results, having need of a powerful
assistance, this holy Pontiff will ask the cooperation of the King
of the West (the Great Monarch)."
- Holzhauser (died, 1658): "When everything has been ruined
by war, when Catholics are hard pressed by traitorous coreligionists
and heretics ... then the hand of Almighty God will work a marvelous
change, something apparently impossible according to human understanding.
There will rise a valiant monarch (the Great Monarch) anointed by
God. He will rule supreme in temporal (i.e., in civil) matters. The
Pope will rule supreme in spiritual matters at the same time. Persecution
will cease and justice shall reign. He will root out false doctrines
and destroy the rule of Moslemism. His dominions will extend from
the east to the west. All nations will adore God their Lord according
to Catholic teaching. The reign of the Great Monarch may be compared
with that of Caesar Augustus, who became emperor after his victory
over his enemies, thereby giving peace to the world - also with the
reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, who was sent by God, after
sever persecutions, to deliver both the church and state. By his victories
on water and land, he brought the Roman Empire under subjugation,
which he then ruled in peace ... The Great Monarch will have the special
help of God and be unconquerable."
[AND HERE IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT - TO THOSE EVANGELICALS WHO
HAVE AT LEAST A MODICUM OF KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE "END OF DAYS" -
THEY SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES WHETHER OR NOT THE "GREAT MONARCH" AND THE
"ANGELIC PASTOR" DO NOT BEAR A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE TO THE BIBLICAL
PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FALSE PROPHET!]
The battle, then, which the Catholic faith pictures for the church
is not one which is waged against "principalities and powers in heavenly
places" (Eph. 6:12), but one which is totally earthly and is carried
on by means of the arms of the flesh. It's a battle for the earth,
not the heavens.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
AND REVELATION 17:
THE WOMAN RIDES A BEAST
Of course, such a plunge into the immoral and debauched affairs of
this world could not help but leave its smell on Roman Catholicism,
and it was against this stench, which had over the centuries attached
itself to the "Church of Rome," that the Protestant Reformers revolted
during the Reformation; to a person, they found little difficulty in
identifying the woman on the beast in Revelation 17 as the Church of
Rome. Indeed, as late as the early Twentieth Century, the Rev. Alexander
Hislop of England found little trouble in receiving widespread acceptance
for his book, The Two Babylons, in which he wrote:
"There never has been any difficulty in the mind of any enlightened
Protestant in identifying the woman (of Revelation 17) 'sitting on seven
mountains', and having on her forehead the name written, 'Mystery, Babylon
the Great', with Roman apostasy. No other city in the world has ever
been celebrated, as the city of Rome has, for its situation on seven
hills ... To call Rome the city 'of seven hills' was by its citizens
held to be as descriptive as to call it by its own proper name. Hence
Horace speaks of it by reference to its seven hills alone, when he addresses,
'Thy gods who have set their affections on the seven hills'. Martial,
in like manner, speaks of '... the seven dominating mountains' ... Now
while this characteristic of Rome has ever been well marked and defined,
it has always been easy to show, that the church which has its seat
and headquarters on the seven hills of Rome might most appropriately
be called 'Babylon', inasmuch as it is the chief seat of idolatry under
the New Testament, as the ancient Babylon was the chief seat of idolatry
under the Old." 1
Most evangelicals today would consider such a statement extreme. But
until the latter half of this century, such thinking was considered
well within the evangelical mainstream. The fact is, Hislop's view here
is the historic position of the Protestant / evangelical church: it
was the view held by Luther, Zwingle, Huss, Calvin, Whitefield, Finney,
Mueller, Moody, Ironside, Barnhouse, Gaebelein, Torrey, Warfield, Pentecost,
Walvoord, etc., etc., etc. (for instance, Barnhouse, Ironside, and Gaebelein
specifically endorsed the above passage) - and if there has in
recent years been a softening of the evangelical / Protestant attitude
towards the Catholic Church, it certainly hasn't been because the Catholic
Church itself has changed - it's evangelicals who have changed!
The fact that many of the leaders of today's evangelical church -
people like John Wimber, Paul and Jan Crouch, and even Chuck Swindall,
the current president of Dallas Theological Seminary - find it difficult
to continue in the vein of their Protestant and evangelical forefathers
insofar as their attitude toward Catholicism is concerned only indicates
the kind of craven duplicity that some of our present-day leaders are
engaged in - hypocrites who present themselves as evangelicals and as
the heirs of our evangelical faith, and who cavalierly trade upon the
godly reputation of yesterday's evangelicalism, while all the while
denying the very doctrines which empowered that church and made it what
it was; it may be an indication of how close to the end we really
are.
But it isn't as if "old-line" evangelicals (men like Barnhouse, Gaebelein,
Ironside, etc.) had not anticipated such a change. Most of them - if
they were alive today - would have had little trouble in believing that
the reference to the "whore" of Revelation 17 as "the mother
of harlots" [Rev. 17:5] was a clear reference to these so-called "new-evangelicals"
- men like Gary DeMar, Ed McAteer, James Kennedy, Ray Sutton, Duane
Gish, Pat Robertson, Morris Cerullo, etc. - who seem to be hell bent
on racing one another to embrace Roman Catholicism as a "sister church,"
especially as the exigencies of political warfare press themselves ever
more heavily on them as they jam forward with their program to "take
the nation back for Christ and the church" - a program which they have
come to believe cannot succeed without Catholic support. To the men
and women involved in this kind of political activity, heresy and doctrinal
differences cannot be allowed to stand in the way of their politics.
But in doing so - in placing more emphasis on political aggrandizement
than on spiritual growth, these men - and the denominations they lead
- are acquiring the same stench to themselves that has historically
attached itself to Roman Catholicism. Political activity requires compromise,
and compromise leads ultimately to apostasy - the process is inexorable
and is as sure as the proposition that the sun rises in the east. And
when apostasy has done its work, heresy and idolatry are the inevitable
result. That is what happened to Roman Catholicism, and this is what
will happen to those who follow in Catholicism's wake.
With this in mind, maybe it's time to back up a little and take a
look at what the Protestant Reformation was all about, and to examine
more closely why evangelicals have historically avoided any connection
with that abominable institution.
WHAT IS THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH?
What was it that so repelled all the old-line evangelicals with regard
to Catholicism? Put plainly, it is the fact that the Roman Church no
longer has anything to do with Biblical Christianity and has become
instead very much a heathen institution. Indeed, as not only Hislop,
but Gardner, Edgar and countless other Protestant theologians have demonstrated
- theologians endorsed not by the "pop" evangelists and whiz-kid luminaries
of today's TV Christianity, but by such Protestant eminences as Donald
Barnhouse, Charles Simpson, Dwight Moody, etc. - most of the so-called
"mysteries" of the Roman Catholic Church are literally Babylonian
in origin.
That almost the entire thrust of Roman Catholic teaching is anti-Christian
in character (and denies salvation by Grace alone) there can
be little doubt. To this fact, the teachings of all the great Protestant
/ evangelical leaders - some of whom were forced to forfeit their lives
to Rome (and not because they were engaged in any kind of warfare against
Catholicism as such, but simply because they denied Rome's pretensions
and preached salvation through Grace), leaders like Huss (martyred
by Rome), Lady Jane Grey (martyred by Rome), Luther, Zwingle, Calvin,
Hun (martyred by Rome), Brown (martyred by Rome), Tyndale, Latimer (martyred
by Rome), Ridley (martyred by Rome), Cranmer (martyred by Rome), Wesley,
Whitefield, Carey, Raikes, Darby, Newton, Spurgeon, Moody, Pentecost,
Walvoord and more names too numerous to mention - bear uncompromising
testimony. One should study carefully the witness of these lives and
the teaching of these men before one too quickly accepts the theological
nonsense of a J.I. Packer or a Richard John Neuhaus - a kind of moronic
theological dribble which tramples under foot the lives and testimony
of these heroes of the faith and accepts in its place the "pop" religion
of a Paul and Jan Crouch.
The great crime with which the Roman Catholic Church was (is) involved
is the denial of salvation by Grace alone! - and the adoption
of a "grail-like" (please see Chapter XVI) or Gnostic process of salvation
by works based on mortification [often of an extreme nature leading
even to self-flagellation (beatings and whippings) - a practice which
is going on even today in Opus Dei, the Jesuits, etc., and especially
in those monkish orders dedicated to Fatima - to say nothing of ordinary
parishes in the Philippines, Latin America, etc.], and a kind of fleshly
piety and strict adherence to the sacraments of the Roman Church.
Concerning these practices, Luther wrote after he had been saved,
"I was indeed a pious monk, and followed the rules of my order more
strictly than I can express. If ever a monk could obtain heaven by
his monkish works, I should certainly have been entitled to it. Of
this all the friars who have known me can testify. If it had continued
much longer, I should have carried my mortifications even to death
..."
Admission into heaven by his own works of piety, mortifications, flagellations
and adherence to the sacraments of Rome is the end towards which Luther
had aimed; and not only Luther, but countless other sincere Catholics
- even today. What a shameless deception - and how cruel to those who
are entrapped in this kind of system - for Protestant leaders, men like
Chuck Colson, Pat Robertson, etc. to deny all this, and by doing so,
leaving these poor souls entrapped in an unremittingly evil system of
religion. There will be a reckoning some day for people who compromise
the Gospel in such a way - maybe not in this life-time, but certainly
in the life-to-come.
You still doubt, do you? You think, perhaps, that we are being too
"sensational" and "extravagant?" - straining at gnats" Oh? Then let's
pause for a moment to examine the sacraments of the Roman Church, and
by doing so to appreciate more fully the "machinery of works" through
which the Roman Church has enslaved its adherents.
In the New Testament, we only read of two sacraments, or divine institutions
as connected with a saved people - baptism and the Lord's Supper. However,
in the Roman Church five additional sacraments have been added - confirmation,
penance, extreme unction, ordination, and matrimony; and concerning
baptism and the Lord's Supper, both have been so convoluted in "infant
baptism" and the Mass as to be totally unrecognizable to the true saints
of God. In addition, the Roman Church adheres to a number of other doctrines
which are so outrageous and / or idolatrous that no sincere Christian
could ever involve himself with them; for instance, Mary-worship, worship
of the saints, relic-worship [often of dead body parts (e.g., hands,
fingers, bones, etc.) of the so-called saints of the Roman Church],
confession, purgatory and indulgences (which follows logically the doctrine
of purgatory), etc. [For a more thorough understanding of these sacraments,
we refer the reader to Gardener's Faiths of the World and Edgar's
Variations on Catholicism; in addition, we recommend Albert James
Dager's excellent booklet on the subject - available through Media
Spotlight (P.O. Box 290, Redmond, WA 98073-0290).] While we certainly
don't have time to examine all of these "damnable heresies" [as the
Bible refers to them (2 Peter 2:11)], we will examine quickly three
of them: (1) the "Mass" or "Transubstantiation," (2) Mary-worship, and
(3) Indulgences.
THE HERESY OF THE CATHOLIC MASS
The doctrine
of the "Mass" or "Transubstantiation" occurs nowhere in the New Testament,
or even the so-called "Greek" or "Latin Fathers" of the church. Nonetheless,
in the year 1215 the Lateran Council held it to be among the settled
doctrines of the church. By a cannon (decree or edict) of that council
it was affirmed that when the officiating priest utters the words of
consecration at the Lord's Table (or "Mass"), the "Bread" and "Wine"
are converted literally and actually (not just symbolically)
into the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ - the bread being "transubstantiated"
into the actual body of the Lord, and the wine into His actual
blood. This is witchcraft of the worst kind.
From this belief, an untold amount of superstition results. The
now "consecrated" bread and wine receive divine honors. When the
wafer (the bread) is held aloft, the people in most Catholic countries
fall down and worship it (which is idolatry). On some occasions - especially
in Latin countries - the wafer is placed in a casket, and carried
in solemn procession in the church, and sometimes in the streets, and
as it passes, the people are required to bow down in worship and admiration.
So far have these superstitions been carried, that the wine is not even
passed to the people anymore for fear that it will be profaned. How
is it, then, that people like J.I. Packer can dismiss this sort of superstition
and idolatry and still call themselves with any semblance of honesty
and integrity "evangelical?" - or even "Christian?" People gave their
lives to avoid the taint of this kind of Catholicism, and now Colson
and others say its not worth troubling ourselves over - that it's all
just a "misunderstanding." What a sham! What a deceit! - there will
be a reckoning some day!
THE HERESY OF MARY-WORSHIP
In 1095, the Council of Clermont confirmed the adoration and veneration
of Mary as the "Mother of God" [note: not the mother of Christ - but
the "Mother of God," - the subtlety here is important!]. Romanists may
affect to deny that they honor Mary with the worship due to God only,
but in their books of devotion, it's quite another thing, and prayers
to the "Virgin" occupy a prominent place. Consider the following prayers,
and then judge for yourself whether Mary is being worshipped or not,
the protestations of certain charismatic Catholics notwithstanding:
"If the winds of temptation arise, if thou run upon the rocks of tribulation,
look to the star, call upon Mary. If thou art tossed on the waves of
pride, of ambition, of distraction, of envy, look to the star, call
upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the temptation of the flesh toss the
barque of thy mind, look to Mary. If disturbed with the greatness of
thy sins, troubled at the defilement of thy conscience, affrighted at
the horrors of the judgment, thou beginnest to be swallowed up in the
gulf of sadness, the abyss of despair, think upon Mary - in danger,
in difficulties, in doubts, think upon Mary, invoke Mary."
If this isn't worship, I don't know what is. Indeed, what it really
is, is idolatry - and the Bible has some very serious things to say
about idolatry: "Cursed is the man who makes an idol ..." (Deut.
27:15) One should be very careful here because the curse falls on those
who even countenance such things - and isn't that what evangelicals
are doing when they ally themselves with Catholics "to take the country
back for Christ?" - tacitly countenancing it.
And again:
"We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God, despise not our
petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever
glorious and blessed Virgin."
And again:
"Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and in the hour
of death ..."
And again:
"Hail, holy Queen Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our
hope! - to thee we cry, poor banished sons of Eve, to thee we send
up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this valley of tears; turn,
then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, etc.,
etc."
And in the "mysteries" of the Rosary ["Fourth Glorious Mystery" (The
Assumption)], this is written"
"Hail Mary:
- The eternal predestination of Mary as the masterpiece of God's
hands.
- Her Immaculate Conception (i.e., incarnation), and her
plenitude of grace and reason while within the womb of her mother,
Saint Anne.
- Her nativity, which gladdened the whole universe.
- Her presentation and stay in the Temple.
- Her admirable life exempt from all sin.
- The fullness of her singular virtues.
- Her fertile virginity and painless birth.
- Her divine maternity and her alliance with the Most Holy
Trinity (again, idolatry).
- Her precious and loving death.
- Her resurrection and triumphant assumption."
And the "Fifth Glorious Mystery [The Coronation]:
- The triple crown with which the Most Holy Trinity crowned Mary.
- The joy and new glory heaven received by her triumph.
- To recognize her as Queen of Heaven and earth, angels and
man.
- The treasurer of the graces of God, of the merits of Jesus Christ,
and of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
- The Mediatrix and Advocate of men.
- The destroyer and ruin of the devil and of heresies.
- The secure refuge of sinners.
- The Mother and nurturer of Christians.
- The joy and sweetness of the just.
- The universal refuge of the living, the all-powerful consolation
of the afflicted, of the dying, and of the souls in purgatory."
And again, some of her other titles and appellations:
- "Ark of the Covenant."
- "Gate of Heaven."
- "Morning Star."
- "Refuge of Sinners."etc.
And then evangelicals leaders like Glen Cole, the former pastor of
Capital Christian Center in Sacramento, California (and one of the most
important men in the Assemblies of God), Pat Robertson, Chuck Colson,
J.I. Packer, etc. - to say nothing of countless other Protestant and
evangelicals throughout the country - have the titanic temerity and
enormous presumption to imply that the Reformation was all just a misunderstanding
- after all, isn't that what "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The
Christian Mission in the Third Millennium" all about (which all these
men - and many more besides - have endorsed? - their lawyerly and weaselworded
protestations to the contrary, notwithstanding)? The colossal insolence
and artless naivet�of such thinking is breathtaking. What are these
men thinking? - and it isn't as if all these heresies are hidden away
somewhere in the deeper recesses of the Catholic Church - but rather
quite to the contrary: they are reiterated daily in Catholic "Masses"
throughout the world in which every Catholic is expected to participate!
THE HERESY OF INDULGENCES
History places the first formal practice of indulgences in the early
part of the eleventh century, though the informal practice of indulgences
had been carried on for centuries. Once again, the Council of Clermont
(1095) - in which Mary-worship had been instituted - provided the forum
through which this heinous doctrine was declared a dogma of the church.
The theory behind the doctrine of indulgences was simple: from the earliest
period, it had been the practice of the Roman Church to impose painful
works of sufferings (even flagellations) on offenders. When these sufferings
were discharged or undergone, they were called "satisfactions." But
when the penance was shortened or entirely remitted because of some
monetary consideration or good work, this was called an "indulgence."
And how exactly could one obtain an indulgence? It was alleged that
the Roman Church had a vast Treasury of "Good Works" stored up in it
as a result of the "works" of her saints - that these saints [who had
been so recognized ("canonized") by the church] had done more than was
necessary for their own salvation (notice here, salvation through works),
and by their "excess" works a treasury had been formed of which the
Pope possessed the keys, and which he could apply for the relief of
offenders both in this life and in Purgatory. The Doctrine of Indulgences
offered for a sum of money the pardon of sins, and even - in extreme
cases - a license for sins to be committed.
Protestants tend to believe that this practice - which so outraged
people everywhere in the sixteenth century that it was the immediate
cause of the Reformation - has been abrogated by the Church of Rome.
Tsk! Tsk! - No such thing! As any good Catholic can tell you, the practice
is alive and well - and is continuing to line the pockets of Rome with
untold amounts of money yearly.
Now let it be perfectly understood here, the doctrines, sacraments,
dogmas, and practices described in the preceding paragraphs - and much
more besides - are not simply the practices of the Medieval Roman Church,
but are still the very current practices of today's "modern" Church
of Rome. So astonishing is this to the mind of most Protestants everywhere
(especially those of the charismatic persuasion), that they are tempted
to exclaim (as with almost everything else they don't want to accept):
"I simply don't believe it!" But a simple perusal of Catholic literature,
easily available at any Catholic bookstore, will confirm the practice
of all this in today's Catholic Church.
Indeed, the deification of Mary has reached such heights of idolatry
today that even the Protestant Reformers would now be astounded; Vatican
II, rather than reversing this process, accelerated it by reaffirming
the Virgin Mary as the "Mother of God" (not Jesus). She was also declared
the "Mother of the Church." As a matter of fact (and as we have just
noted in the "mysteries of the Rosary"), the Roman Church now teaches
that Mary was conceived without original sin (immaculate), was bodily
received into heaven just like Jesus (the Assumption), and is now "CoRedemptrix"
(Savior or Redeemer) with Christ.
This is heresy, plain and simple! - and make no mistake about it,
the leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal all subscribe to these
hideous, non-Christian, and even occult beliefs, their "saintly" "lifting
up of holy hands" at ecumenical charismatic gatherings and their affirmation
of the Nicene and Apostles' Creed notwithstanding. [After all, to affirm
the Nicene Creed on the one hand, while on the other hand one involves
himself in Mary Worship is oxymoronic! - and for people to say otherwise
is just plain stupid! - and not a little disingenuous. The fact is,
it's as oxymoronic for one to say that he is a member of the Nazi Party,
but that he is not an antiSemite as to say he believes in the Nicene
Creed but that it's still OK for him to involve himself in Mary Worship
- and if Christians are willing to take such statements at face value
and put their trust in such oxymoronic thinking, then they deserve the
fate that will no doubt ultimately befall them.]
These things are not hidden except insofar as there is a stubborn
Protestant refusal to look at the facts of the matter, coupled with
a fairly well orchestrated effort by many well-known evangelicals to
obscure them from the main body of Protestants and evangelicals.
The teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are just as aberrant as
the Mormons or the Jehovah Witnesses, and if it were a modern sect,
it would certainly be classified as such.
Many Catholics may not be fully aware of what their church teaches
and others (secretly) may not agree with it. And, of course, there are
no doubt many saved Catholics, but that despite the teachings of
the Catholic Church, not because of them! The path which evangelicals
must take to unity with such an institution must be one which rigidly
refuses to examine the essential teachings of Catholicism.
We can have unity with the Roman Catholic Church only at the expense
of the truth, or we can have the truth. Until recently, the former
was not considered an option.
The Bible solemnly - and even forebodingly - cautions Christians
not to have anything to do with Roman Catholicism, and especially as
we see "that day" approaching. Specifically, it warns:
"And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth
over the kings of the earth. "And after these things I say another
angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was
lightened with his glory.
"And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and
the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful
bird.
"For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and
the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of
her delicacies.
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,"
"COME OUT OF HER,"
"my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues."
"For her sins have reached unto heaven, and
God hath remembered her iniquities.
"Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according
to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
"How much she hath glorified herself, and lived
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in
her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
"Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning,
and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong
is the Lord God who judgeth her." (Rev. 17:18; 18:8).
FOOTNOTES
- Rev. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons
(A&C Black Ltd., London, 1916) pg. 1-2.
The following articles expand to one degree or another on
the theme developed in this chapter.
Argentina, The Death Squads
& Christian Activism Bad
Alliances In Defense Of Morality - A Good Idea?
The Business Right And The
Christian Right An Alliance Made In Hell Bob
Jones, John Wimber, And The Vineyard Christian Fellowships
Christian Evangelicals
And The Death Squads: Oh What A Tangled Web We Are Weaving For
Ourselves! Concerned
Women Of America Council
On National Policy Creating
A Common Partnership Between The Moneyed Elites And The Religious
Elites The
Death Squads: Bringing In The Kingdom Of God Through Terror, Torture
And Death Death
Squads - They're Closer Than We Think Evangelicals
& The Roman Catholic Church Ideological
Origins Of The CNP The
Image Of The Beast [Part 2 in our series on Apostasy]
George Bush,
The "Promise Keepers," The Principles Of Messianic Leadership
The Olson Salon:
A Case Study Of The Machinations Of The Religious Right (Part
1) The
Organized Church And The End Of Days Pat
Robertson Who Is He? What Is he? Paul
Crouch, TNB, & The "Christian Unity" Pahllus
Worship & The New Charismatics Political
Christianity The
Rich Have Seized Control Of The Church! Richard
Mellon Scaife: The Evil That Money Can Do The
Right Wing Panics Robertson,
D'Aubuisson, & The Death Squads Rutherford
Institute & R.J. Rushdoony Strange
Bedfellows: The Religious Right & The Secular Right
Striking A Blow At Today's
Pastoral System Uncovering
The Theological Compromises Evangelical Politicos Have Been Forced
To Make We
Are All Being Played For Suckers |
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