Russell & Colin Standish - The Antichrist Is Here

How am anyone be unaffected by the
events which have recently transpired with

such bewildering rtqidiJy in Eurvpe?
These events are apparently irrelevant and con-

fusing to many American youths and adults who do
not understand the deeper significance of these
breathtaking changes that challenge the leadership
of this world. While we are caught up in the euphoria
of the liberation of Eastern Europe from commu-
nism, few people recognize that even greater op-
pression is soon to overtake these nations and the
whole world.
•
The authors' biblical knowledge and keen

insight into church history are invaluable to their
evaluations of these important events. Those who
are interested in the scriptural book of Revelation
ought to read this book. This gives the clearest
evidence that John Paul II has been the most
significant factor in the dramatic events that have
transpired in 1989 and 1990; furthermore, it reveals
the key role of the papacy in the unfolding events of
the future.
0-923309-82-6
$6.95
ANTICHRIST IS
HERE
Russell R. Standish
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Colin D. Standish
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Puhlished & Distributed by ~
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A Division of I ldrtland Institute
I' 0. Box 1
Rdpi<Lln, Virginid 22733
Copyright by Hartland Publications
ISBN 0-923309-22-5
Dedication
In the midst of this world of hypocrisy, there are still a
few souls who tread the dusty pathway of life with an eye
single to the glory of God. Integrity still keeps these
trustworthy individuals faithful to God's direction in their
lives. We want to honor such men and women.
This book is affectionately dedicated to Pastor Frank
Basham-pastor, evangelist, and, above all, a true friend of
both God and man. In spite of the considerable physical
problems of Poliomyelitis as a young child, this man fol-
lowed the calling of the Lord, and trained for the gospel
ministry. He gave a lifetime of faithful service, and was
gifted with the ever-present vision of the completion of the
gospel mission and the return of his blessed Lord. He
sought to encourage others with the blessed hope of the
Second Coming that he cherished.
Colin is honored to be married to the niece of this min-
ister. He officiated at their wedding in 1963.
4 Antichrist Is Here
This page intentionally left blank.

Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully express their appreciation for the
untiring labor of their secretaries, Frances Lundberg and
Susan Kuobong, for their painstaking efforts to prepare this
manuscript.
6 Antichrist Is Hert'

Antichrist Is Here
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ..................................................................... 3
Dedication .................................................................................. .5
Chapter 1.................................................................................. 11
Worldwide Unity Movements
Chapter 2.................................................................................. 23
Who Is the Antichrist?
Chapter 3.................................................................................. 35
Roman Catholicism and the Antichrist
Chapter 4.................................................................................. 45
Early Concepts of the Antichrist
Chapter 5..................................................................................53
The Medieval Reign of the Papacy
Chapter 6.................................................................................. 69
Original Sin
Chapter 7.................................................................................. 77
The Papal Record
Chapter 8..................................................................................85
The Deadly Wound Is Healed
Chapter 9..................................................................................95
All That Dwell Upon the Earth Shall Worship Him
Chapter 10.............................................................................. 105
Globalism and One World Government
Chapter 11 ........................................................................... 115
European Political Unity
Chapter 12 .............................................................................. 123
Blasphemous Claims
Chapter 13 .............................................................................. 133
False Principles of Salvation
Chapter 14 .............................................................................. 145
The Deadly Wound Re-examined
Chapter 15 .............................................................................. 159
Seven-Headed Monsters
Chapter 16 .............................................................................. 167
The Mystery of the Seven Heads
Chapter 17 .............................................................................. 177
TheTen Homs
Chapter 18 .............................................................................. 189
The Final Fate of the Antichrist
Chapter 19 .............................................................................. 197
Future Expectations
Chapter 20 .............................................................................. 207
The Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God
Chapter 21 ............................................................................. 219
A Moment to Decide
Chapter 22 .............................................................................. 231
Come Out of Her, My People
- - - --------------------
Antichrist Is Here
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1
Worldwide Unity
Movements
I n 1956, our in-depth study on the history of Europe in

the nineteenth century was a portion of the second year
of our history major at the University of Sydney. We were
especially interested in the year 1848 because this was the
year of revolutions, according to historians. As we reflect
upon the history of that era, we recognize that the turmoil
and change of that period pales into insignificance when
compared with the events of the second half of 1989 and
the early months of 1990. Within a period of six months,
Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Bulgaria,
and Romania had thrown off the shackles uf communism.
The Soviet Union provided a multiparty political system.
The republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia had also
made significant progress toward the attainment of inde-
pendence from the U.S.S.R. The southern republics of Ar-
menia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan had become unruly.
If we had predicted, on January 1, 1989, that, before that

year would close, Poland would install a democratically
elected non-communist prime minister; that the hard-line
Communist Party in Hungary would be transformed; that
East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and
Hungary would have new presidents; that the Berlin Wall
would come down; that East and West Berliners would
jointly celebrate the commencement of the new decade;
that free passage between the two German republics would
be permitted; that Hungary would remove the barbed-wire
entanglements and the lookout posts along its common
border with Austria; that Czechoslovakia would open its
doors for the free exit of its citizens to other countries; that
virtually all Eastern European nations would commit
themselves to have their own multiparty political systems;
that the Lithuanian Communist Party would dissociate it-
self from the Moscow Communist Party as a first step to in-
dependence; that the Estonian Labor Union Organization
would separate from its parent organization; that
Alexander Dubcek would be restored to a position of
leadership in Czechoslovakia; that the U.S.S.R. would offi-
cially request papal assistance in the Ukraine; and that
Poland and East Germany would officially apologize to the
Czechoslovak nation for joining the U.S.S.R. in 1968 during
the suppression of the liberalization movement; then we
would have been justifiably regarded as wild-eyed
speculators. If we had predicted that such changes would
be made before the turn of the millennium, we would have
been regarded with only a little more credibility; yet all
these dramatic events took place in four fateful months.
Worldwide Unity Movements 13
While the year 1989 saw the unprecedented dismantling

of communism in Eastern Europe, the events of that year
had an earlier beginning. From the successful Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia during 1917, communism was in the
vanguard of political change. The defeat of Nazism and
Fascism, in the Second World War, and the ruthless
negotiation of Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference, paved
the way for the Soviet Union to assume total control of the
destiny of Eastern Europe. Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia
were annexed to the Soviet Union in August 1940, under an
agreement with Hitler. Parts of eastern Poland and eastern
Romania were absorbed into the Soviet Union. Poland
(which included much of what was formerly eastern Ger-
many), Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and
East Germany became little more than vassal states of the
ironfisted Soviet Union. Only Yugoslavia (more liberal)
and Albania (more ruthless) adopted a communism that
was not directly under Soviet domination. The power and
intent of the Soviet Union was demonstrated by its relent-
less suppression of the liberation efforts which had arisen
in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). When the
Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, it became the ultimate
symbol of the cold war and the separation of Eastern
Europe from the West. The massive arms race was the in-
evitable result. The Soviets (superpower of the East) and
the Americans (superpower of the West) eyed each other
with absolute distrust.
Ever since, the Soviets and Americans have tenaciously
fought each other all over the world from Korea to Viet-
nam, Cuba to Nicaragua, Iran to Afghanistan, Angola to
Ethiopia, and in other countries. Providentially, none of
14 Antichrist ls Here
these wars developed into a direct conflict between the su-

perpowers. The advance of communism in Asia added to
the alarm in the West. When, by 1951, the communists had
subjugated China, the most populous nation of the world,
one fifth of the people on this planet had joined the
bloodred banner of communism. North Korea, North Viet-
nam, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Af-
ghanistan formed communist governments. The
Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia also fought
wars against communist terrorists. The tentacles of com-
munism were reaching across the planet.
The Americas were not left untouched. Not only Cuba
but much of Central and South America either had com-
munist rule or serious challenges from leftist organizations.
Several African nations, such as Tanzania, Angolia, and
Ethiopia, opted for communist-type governments. It was
not surprising that a high level of neurosis developed in
the Western world, peaking (but not ending) with the Mc-
Carthy years in the United States.
It would be wrong to assume that communism is dead;
yet it is mind-boggling to note the rapid decline of com-
munist powers at the end of the 1980s. Not even the most
optimistic Westerner could have predicted the events of
1989. From Lenin through Konstanin Chernenko, the
Soviet Union had maintained anti-West and antireligion
stances. When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the leadership
of the U.S.S.R. in 1985, the early efforts of perestroika and
glasnost were viewed with extreme skepticism by most
Western politicians and observers; however, as hard-line
Old-Guard leaders lost their leadership roles one after the
other, the new revolution became more believable. This
change of political leadership had not come easily. The

gradual increase of freedom came with the resurfacing of
old grievances being expressed in demonstrations and
riots. The annexed mini-nations of Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania began demanding greater independence. Ar-
menia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were each in various stages
of social and political upheaval. It was a far cry from the
cruel days of Stalin.
The reforms in the Soviet Union encouraged freedom
movements in other Eastern European nations. Poland was
the first to experience the winds of change. Long before
Gorbachev' s reforms, the Polish political revolution was
taking shape. With the unheard-of establishment of the
Solidarity Trade Union, the winds of change were evident.
Lech Walesa streaked across the headlines of the
newspapers of the world as a meteorite, and assumed the
role of a larger-than-life modem hero. Surprisingly, the
Soviets of the late 1980s did not follow the policy of
military intervention that the Soviets in Hungary and
Czechoslavak.ia had during 1956 and 1968. Without such
outside interference, with growing boldness, this move-
ment gained overwhelming popular support.
Following a moderately different course from that of the
Polish, the Hungarians began a no-less-determined blood-
less coup against their hard-line communist leaders. This
time, there were no Soviet tanks or battalions sent to sup-
press the popular sentiments of the nation. The stage was
set for the dramatic events of 1989. These events were
fueled by the holding of free elections in Poland where, for
the first time in more than four decades, candidates other
than red-card-carrying communists were permitted to cam-
paign for elections. As a result, the Solidarity Party swept

into power.
Even before this, hard-line communist leaders in Hun-
gary were rapidly losing their influence. A more liberal
group of leaders was openly calling for the nation to adopt
a Western-style democratic form of socialism. By the mid-
dle of 1989, a freedom of expression, unknown for decades,
emerged in Hungary. One correspondent testily demanded
the return of 40 years of life that he claimed that the com-
munists had taken from him, while others called for a
withdrawal of the Soviet troops.
In the last few months of 1989, the existing European
scene changed with dramatic rapidity. First, thousands of
East Germans demonstrated, forcing their hard-line leader,
Erich Honecker, to retire. Thousands of East German
citizens found their way to the West via Czechoslovakia
and Hungary. In November of 1989, the government began
to demolish the Berlin Wall that had been a symbol of hos-
tility and separation since its erection in 1961. Some East
Germans even dared to talk of a reunification of Germany,
a prospect that not all Western or Eastern nations relished.
This soon became such an overwhelmingly popular move-
ment that, by February of 1990, the communist leaders of
East Germany accepted it as inevitable. The first free elec-
tions of East Germany that were held on March 18, 1990,
swept the Conservative Coalition into power, and ensured
the reunification of Germany within a very brief period.
Tentative efforts to put down riots and demonstrations
proved fruitless; as a result, the authorities were left with
the basic option to permit the doors of the nation to open,
and grant the right of free exit and entry of its citizens. The
mass public demonstrations of East Germany were fol-
lowed by similar demonstrations in Czechoslovakia. As in
East Germany, attempts were made to quell the demonstra-
tions, but the people would not be silenced. Eventually,
the nation's long-serving leader, Milos Jakes, was forced to
resign. Efforts to reform the system were hastily made, but
the populace considered these to be inadequate, as
evidenced by the massive demonstrations in their demand
for free elections. Alexander Dubcek, the deposed
reformer of 1968, became the popular hero of 1989 and the
presiding officer of the legislature. The new president was
Vaclav Havel, also a longtime hero of reform.
Even more surprising were the changes in hard-core
communist Bulgaria. With much less fanfare, the elderly
Todor Zhivkov stepped down after 35 years of leadership.
There was clear evidence that, behind these rapid changes,
Mikhail Gorbachev was encouraging, even insisting, that
the reforms of Eastern Europe occur.
But the most tragic events in Romania happened after
Nicolae Ceausescu had ruled for 24 years. Ceausescu was
a pitiless dictator. In June 1989, when the Chinese had
brutally suppressed a student uprising in Tiananmen
Square in Beijing, Ceausescu apparently believed that a
similar response against a popular uprising against his rule
would succeed. This led to thousands of Romanians losing
their lives. The revolution could not be stopped, and
Ceausescu and his wife were executed on Christmas day,
1989, after a hasty trial.
The dramatic announcement from the Soviet Union

(February 7, 1990) that opened the nation to multiparty
elections was another evidence of the collapse of European
communism.
We can only speculate concerning the influence that
these changes will have upon communism in other areas of
the world. Despite the fact that the student freedom move-
ment of China was ruthlessly suppressed in June 1989, the
question may still be properly posed, "How much longer
will this mammoth nation be able to stand against the
forces of change?" There can be no disputing the evidence
that, in spite of the student suppression, which represented
a serious hindrance to these freedom initiatives, China is
still in the midst of change. Precedents set in China will un-
doubtedly affect the policies of other nations such as North
Korea and Tanzania, which historically have been greatly
influenced by Chinese communism. Tanzania is already
showing signs of change after its first leader, President
Nyerere, admitted that he may have been wrong in choos-
ing a socialist form of government for his developing na-
tion. North Korea is gradually opening its doors to
foreigners. The overtures of Vietnam for aid from the West
expresses a worldwide trend.
In the Western hemisphere, national leaders are ponder-
ing what these changes in Eastern Europe will mean to
Cuba. Even now, communist nations that are not as-
sociated with the Warsaw Pact, such as Yugoslavia and Al-
bania, are experiencing growing pressures to establish
more liberal policies. One fact is certain: Worldmde com-
munism certainly is declining.
Many Christians have failed to perceive the significant

influence that the rise of atheistic communism has had
upon the thinking of Protestants as they sought to identify
the antichrist power of biblical prophecy. With the rise of
communism and its attendant evils, many Bible scholars
had their attention drawn away from the Roman Catholic
Church which, up to the early twentieth century, had been
identified by Protestants as the antichrist. This fact partly
accounts for the rapid increase in books that support the
futurist interpretation of the antichrist. Futurists teach that
antichrist is a single individual reigning at the end of the
age. Increasingly, the papacy has adopted the role of the
peacemaker and the champion of social justice. When a
worldwide survey was conducted in the early 1980s, an
overwhelming majority of respondents saw Pope John Paul
II as the man who is most likely to bring peace to our
planet. U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General
Secretary Yuri V. Andropov, second and third, respective-
ly, were thought to be the next most likely to bring peace
to our world.
In February, 1984, in meetings between Reagan and John
Paul II, the issue of global peace headed the pope's agenda.
This fact is greatly significant. It surely was a remarkable
about-face by a power that was known to be the most ruth-
less suppressor of religious freedom in Europe for more
than a thousand years. The ravening wolf now appeared
in the garb of a lamb.
This collapse of communism was foreseen and initiated
by the papacy.
In the 1960s . . . one senior Vatican diplomat said,

"We'll win out against the communists in the next
generation" (Our Sunday visitor, Nov. 26, 1989).
For the last 40 years, it has taken courage and unwaver-
ing loyalty to the Word of God for Protestants to identify
the papacy as the antichrist. This power will play the
greatest role in the end-time oppression of God's people.
The euphoria resulting from the changes in Europe will be
short lived. To many, the events in Europe represent con-
siderations of little importance to the average individual in
other parts of the world, but how wrong such an evalua-
tion is! In the Washington Post of December 2, 1989, a front
page article reviewed a survey of young Americans. This
survey concluded that these youths viewed the events in
Europe as either confusing or irrelevant to them. It was
clear that parents, teachers, pastors, and politicians are fail-
ing to communicate the future impact of these changes in
Europe upon Americans and citizens of other non-
European nations.
The events which have been happening in Eastern
Europe are only part of a worldwide mosaic which is
readying the world for the final climactic fulfillment of
Revelation, chapters 13-18. The Word of God pinpoints
this remarkable movement that is sweeping both the
religious and political worlds as the final effort marshals
the combined forces of the world against Christ and His
faithful remnant people.
On both the religious and political fronts, there are
dramatic moves toward unity. Unfortunately, neither
movement is established upon the biblical principles of
unity which are built upon a truth that sanctifies the soul of
man.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth
Gohn 17:17).
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also
might be sanctified through the truth Gohn 17:19).
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning crafti-
ness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking
the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ (Ephesians 4:11-15).
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the
truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the
brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure
heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which
liveth and abideth for ever (1Peter1:22, 23).
The unity movements that are fueled by peace initiatives,
such as the globalfest that was held in Moscow on January
1990, provide a climate whereby all dissenters are un-
timately considered enemies of peace and unity. This
creates the conditions that are necessary for the great
tribulation through which God's faithful people will en-
dure. No doubt, these religious and political leaders who
are orchestrating, under the guidance of Satan, these final
climactic events of earth's history have no thoughts con-

cerning santifying truth. Both politically and spiritually,
the papacy will be acknowledged as the unifying power in
the world. At that time, this prophecy will be fulfilled:
All the world wondered after the beast (Revelation
13:3).
2
Who Is the Antichrist?
E cclesiastical turmoil was everywhere. The new pope,

Urban VI, returned the seat of the papacy to Rome
after 70 years of exile in Avignon, France. But many of the
cardinals rebelled against Urban's strict discipline. They
returned to Avignon and crowned the bishop of Geneva,
Robert of Cambray, as Pope Clement VII. Now there were
two popes. That year was 1378. For 31 years, both Rome
and Avignon continued to elect popes; each claiming to be
the vicar of Christ; each claiming to be the infallible succes-
sor to Peter; each claiming that the other was the antichrist!
In England, a powerful priest who was the rector of
Lutterworth, john Wycliffe, agreed with both of them.
The fiend no longer reigns in one, but in two priests
that men may the more easily overcome them both in
Christ's name. Now is antichrist divided, and one
part fights against the other (Emma H. Adams. John
Wycliffe, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Oak-
land, 1890).
Wycliffe's stand against papal taxation would have led

him to the stake if it were not for the powerful friendship
of English peers and even the royal court; however, two
great Moravian Reformers, John Huss and Jerome of
Prague were burned at the stake in Bohemia. They were
greatly influenced by Wycliffe.
Identification of the papacy as the antichrist became the
constant theme of the Protestant Reformation. Martin
Luther believed that the papacy, not an individual pope,
was the antichrist. These sentiments were shared by
Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, and other Reformers. The following
are the comments of just a few of the Reformers. The con-
sensus of their views is striking.
I. Martin Luther:
There sits the man, of whom the apostle wrote (2
Thessalonians 2:3, 4), that will oppose and exalt him-
self above all that is called God. That man of sin to be
revealed, the son of perdition . ... He suppresses the
law of God and exalts his commandments above the
commandments of God (LeRoy Froom. The Prophetic
Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2, p. 281).
We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the
seat of the true and real antichrist (ibid., p. 256).
2. John Calvin:
I deny him to be the vicar of Christ. ... He is an-
tichrist-1 deny him to be head of the church Uohn
Calvin Tracts, vol. I, pp. 219, 220).
3. John Knox:
That tyranny which the pope himself has for so
many ages exercised over the church, the very an-
tichrist and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks
(The Zurich Letters, p. 199).
Who Is the Antichrist? 25
4. Philipp Melanchthon:
It is most manifest, and true without any doubt,
that the Roman pontiff, with his whole order and
kingdom, is very antichrist. . . . Likewise, in 2 Thes-
salonians 2, Paul clearly says the man of sin will rule
in the church by exalting himself above the worship of
God (LeRoy Froom. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers,
vol. 2, pp. 296-299).
5. Sir Isaac Nwton:
But it !the papacy] was a kingdom of a different
kind from the other ten kingdoms (referred to in
Daniel 7:7, 8). . . . And such a seer, prophet, and
king is the Church of Rome [referring to the little horn
of Daniel 7] (Sir Isaac Newton. Obseroations on the
Prophecies, p. 75).
6. John Wesley:
Romish papacy, he is, in an emphatical sense, the
man of sin Oohn Wesley, Antichrist and His Ten
Kingdoms, p. 110).
7. Samuel Lee (a seventeenth-century Rhode Island min-
ister):
It is agreed among all mainlines of the English
Church that the Roman pontiff is the antichrist
(Samuel Lee. The Cutting Off of Antichrist, p. 1.)
The statement from the Westminster Confession of Faith
of the Church of England, which was later used by the
Presbyterians, is significant:
There is no other head of the church but the Lord
Jesus Christ, nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be
head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin and
son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church
against Christ and all that is called God (The
Westminster Confession of Faith, Section 6, chapter 25).
The Helvetic Convention of Switzerland mentions the

papacy as the predicted antichrist. The Lutheran state-
ment, contained in the Smalcald articles, refers to the pope
as the very antichrist who exalts himself and opposes
Christ. The 1680 New England Confession of Faith stated
that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and not the pope
of Rome, who was identified as the antichrist and the son
of perdition.
The identification of the papacy as the antichrist was the
focal point of the Reformation.
These ideas became the dynamic force which drove
Luther [and the other Reformers] on in his contest
with the papacy (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1962 edition,
vol. 2, p. 61).
After the initial thrust of the Reformation, the identifica-
tion of the papacy as the antichrist became less common;
however, it was still strong among Protestants of almost all
denominations until about the end of the nineteenth cen-
tury. Today, in the environment of the ecumenical move-
ment, it has certainly become most unpopular to identify
the papacy as the antichrist. The majority of Christians
prefer to ignore the issue, believing it to be of little impor-
tance in today's modern society.
The concept of the antichrist goes far back in history.
From the time of the sixth century B.C., when Daniel
prophesied about the apostate power that is called the little
horn (see Daniel 7:8-11, 24-26; 8:9-12, 23-25), Jews living in
the period before the birth of Christ often referred to the
coming of the anti-messiah. Some of the Maccabees, a
powerful Jewish sect of this period, were convinced that
the little horn (the anti-messiah) was fulfilled when the
Who ls the Antichrist? 27
Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrated the

temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C., necessitat-
ing the rededication of the sanctuary.
Some Christians thought that Emperor Nero (died in
A.D. 68), who ruthlessly slaughtered many of the Chris-
tians in Rome, might have been the fulfillment of Daniel's
prophecy. But the apostle John clarified the matter when he
indicated that neither Antioch us Epiphanes nor Nero could
fulfill the specifications of the antichrist. Writing about the
end of the first century A.D., John identified the antichrist
(not as one person) as many people, some of whom were
present in his day.
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have
heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there
many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last
time (I John 2:18).
It surprises many people to learn that the antichrist is
mentioned by name only four times in the Bible, and then
only by the apostle John (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). But
this has not dampened the enthusiasm of Christians who
know that the antichrist is the most crucial enemy of truth,
salvation, the cross, and of Christ Himself. There has been
no shortage of efforts to provide a contemporary identity
of the antichrist. During the dreadful years of the Second
World War, some even identified Adolf Hitler as the an-
tichrist. Others have identified the great Muslim power
and, more recently, atheistic communism as antichrist.
While the term, antichrist, is sparingly used in the Scrip-
tures, this apostate power is vividly described in the Bible.
Paul uses the terms, the man of sin and the son of perdition.
He pinpoints the appearance of antichrist as occurring

prior to the second coming of Christ.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he
is God (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4).
In Revelation, John uses different symbolism to identify
the antichrist, including the beast, Babylon, and the impure
woman.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,
and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth
as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his
power, and his seat, and great authority (Revelation
13:2).
And the great city was divided into three parts, and
the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of
the wine of the fierceness of his wrath (Revelation
16:19).
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilder-
ness: 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 (Revelation 17:3-5).
As stated earlier, the Old Testament prophet, Daniel,

describes this antichrist power with the symbol of the little
horn.
And he [the little horn] shall speak great words
against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of
the most High, and think to change times and laws:
and they shall be given into his hand until a time and
times and the dividing of time (Daniel 7:25).
The century-old question remains. Who or what is an-
tichrist? Is it one individual? Is it a succession of in-
dividuals, a nation, or a power? Has the antichrist come? Is
he here now, or will he appear in the future?
Many within modern conservative Protestantism look
for a satanic individual who appears just prior to the end of
the world, who will sit in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem,
blaspheming and desecrating it, and ruthlessly persecuting;
however, many Christians cannot accept this position.
They discern many statements of Scripture that do not sup-
port such an interpretation.
Still others brush the issue of the antichrist aside, declar-
ing it to be unimportant. Such a position is untenable be-
cause this power will, Scripture declares, deceive almost all
of the world. Such a fact demands that Christians search
for an accurate identity of the antichrist power.
It already has been established that the Reformers
unitedly identified the papacy as the antichrist. In spite of
the planned efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to
employ numerous strategies in order to dissuade Protes-
tants from their identification of the antichrist, the iden-
tification of the antichrist as the papacy largely remained
unshaken.
In his book, The Church of Rome, the Apostasy (Pres-

byterian Board of Publications, 1841), William Cuninghame
specifically identified the papacy as the man of sin and the
antichrist. He pointed to the Roman Catholic Church as
guilty of idolatry, Mary reverence, image worship, and
saint worship (p. 105). He also pointed out numerous in-
stances of blasphemy by the church (pp. 199, 120). He
identified the call to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4,
5) as a call out of the Roman Catholic Church (pp. 155-
160).
In 1846, in his book, Christ and Antichrist, the former pas-
tor of the Norfolk, Virginia, Presbyterian church, Samuel J.
Cassels, presented one of the most comprehensive reviews
that identified the papacy as the antichrist. This book was
thoroughly endorsed by Presbyterian, Episcopalian,
Methodist, and Baptist leaders of the day; yet, by the end
of the nineteenth century, the identification of the papacy
as the antichrist had been undermined.
In his book, Christianity and Anti-Christianity in Their
Final Conflict, Samuel Andrews identified the beast that is
described in Revelation 13 as a cruel and oppressing
secular state. He did not identify it as the papacy, as Protes-
tants, prior to the twentieth century, had consistently iden-
tified it. By the earlier part of the twentieth century, the
futurist interpretation of prophecy had almost received
universal acceptance among Protestants; yet there were
still a few Protestants who correctly identified the papacy
as the antichrist. Fred J. Peters, in his work, The Present An-
tichrist (1920), was one of these. He cited the Waldensians,
Huss, Jerome, Luther, Calvin, Sir Isaac Newton, Latimer,
Bunyan, Moody, and Spurgeon as dedicated Christians
who were agreed that the man of sin is the anti-Christian

pope. Peters correctly identified the 70-weeks prophecy of
Daniel 9 as the 490 years left to the Jews to be God's chosen
people.
The Roman Catholic Church determined to dispel the in-
disputable scriptural evidence of the identity of their
church as the antichrist power. They claim, in the futurist
view of prophecy, that the antichrist is an individual who
will appear only at the end of time, and will cause havoc in
the Christian church for a literal period of three and a half
years. The futurist view of prophecy, adopted by the
Roman Catholic Church, claims that the antichrist is an in-
dividual who will appear only at the end of time, and will
cause havoc in the Christian church for a literal period of
three and a half years.
Today, the futurist view is predominant in mainstream
Protestantism. In his book, His Apocalypse (1924), John
Quincy Adams presented the futurist concept to be the
satanic power that will appear at the end of time. This false
concept was also supported by F. M. Messenger in his
book, The Coming Superman (1928). More recently, the
futurist view was supported by Herman Hoyt in his book,
The End Time (Moody Press, 1969).
It has taken time; yet the Jesuits have done an effective
work. During the Council of Trent (1545-1563), one of the
great burdens of the Roman Catholic bishops was to
destroy the influence of the Protestant identification of the
Catholic Church as the antichrist. Eventually, the task was
given to the newly formed elite intelligentsia, the Jesuits.
In 1585, Francisco Ribera contrived his futurist interpreta-
tion of prophecy. His whole thesis was that the antichrist

was a future personage who, at the end of time, would
challenge the power of Christ. And, with great persecution,
he would suppress God's people.
The early part of the nineteenth century saw the rise of
the Anglo-Catholic movement within the Church of
England. The Oxford professor, S. R. Maitland, imbibed
and taught the futurist concepts of Ribera in order to muf-
fle the alarmed protest of faithful evangelistic Anglicans
against the suggestions of reunification with Rome. (See
the next chapter, entitled "Roman Catholicism and the An-
tichrist.")
The pioneers of the Protestant Reformation were not
simply following a concept of retaliation when they iden-
tified the Roman Catholic Church as the great antichrist
power of prophecy. They were correctly discerning the in-
spired words of Holy Scripture.
Notice the following reasons why the identification of
the antichrist is so important to God's end-time people:
1. So that we will not be deceived by the great effort to
unite the world under the banner of this power (Revelation
13:8).
2. That we might seriously take the challenge, of Revela-
tion 18:4, 5, to call God's people out of this apostate religion
into the truth of God. True Protestants do not make this
identification out of bigotry or hatred; instead, they do it
out of love for lost humanity. An integral part of the
proclamation of the gospel commission necessitates that
men and women be led to the salvation that will free them
from the bondage and deception of sin. Today, like no
Who Is the Antichrist' 33
other time in our history, the identification of the antichrist

and the invitation to call men and women out of Babylon
must be made.
3. Both the second and third angels' messages, of Revela-
tion, chapter 14, focus upon the fall and destruction of this
power and all who serve it. Its identification is necessary
to warn the world.
The delinquency of the Christian churches, over the last
several decades, to correctly identify the antichrist must be
reversed if God's people are to do the work that is neces-
sary in warning men and women before the end of human
probation. The invitation of the kingdom of God demands
that the warning against the papal antichrist and his work
be given.

3
Roman Catholicism and

the Antichrist
T he powerful impact that the Reformers made in iden-

tifyin!; the Roman Catholic Church as the antichrist
can scarcely be imagined today. As milJions of Christians
joined the Reform movement, the Roman Church at-
tempted to use methodology that has proven so successful
for more than a thousand years in order to eliminate those
whom it designated as heretics. With the exception of the
isolated communities of faithful Christians (often hidden in
the natural fortresses of the earth), the church had been
remarkably successful in its persecution. This success had
been achieved by the arm of the state, which ruthlessly
eliminated millions of those who would not bow to the
church's authority.
Historians fail to agree on the number of people who
were tortured and martyred for their efforts to uphold pure
Bible truth, but estimates range from 50 to 120 million.
These men, women, and children lost their lives during the
period of papal domination. Almost all of this was done at

the hand of secular governments which subserved the
designs of the papacy.
The period of the sixteenth century proved different.
Sickened by the excesses and corruption of the papacy,
many monarchs and rulers embraced the Protestant Refor-
mation, and were no longer vassals of the papacy, obeying
its commands; thus, in a number of European countries,
the arm of flesh was not available to carry out the Roman
Church's dictates. This situation naturally alarmed the
Roman Catholic Church. The papacy was not accustomed
to this circumstance; therefore, it discerned that a new
methodology had to be devised in order to counter the
rapid spread of the Reformation which was engulfing
Europe. Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Scandinavia,
Britain, and other countries generally accepted the mes-
sages of the Reformers.
A Spanish soldier, Ignatius Loyola, who had recovered
from serious wounds that he sustained in war, established
a new order of priests and brothers-The Society of Jesus,
better known today as the Jesuits. Loyola was born in
1491, just six years after Luther. After meditation in the
famous monastery of Montserrat, in the northeastern
comer of Spain, he vowed to forsake his former ways and
became "a soldier of God." He symbolized this vow by
placing his weapons on the altar of the monastery.
With six other young men, he attempted a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem in 1537, but was unable to reach his desired des-
tination because of war. As a result, he spent time in
Venice, Italy, where he formed his society in 1537. This new
Roman Catholicism and the Antichrist 37
Catholic order was approved by the beleaguered Pope Paul

III in 1540. The order was established under the strict or-
ganization of a medieval army. Loyola became the first
general. Before his death in 1556, the Jesuit order had been
established in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Germany,
parts of South America, and Asia. He was canonized by the
Roman Catholic Church in 1622.
Loyola was an intelligent, persuasive leader with a
remarkable penchant for clever scheming. His order (the
Jesuits) arose during the excitement of the Reformation,
and soon attracted some of the most intelligent and in-
genious youths of the Roman Catholic Church. This order
quickly attained the reputation of containing the intel-
ligentsia of the church. The order's leader was referred to
as the black pope, and the order became so powerful that
there were times when it threatened the very church that its
members were pledged to defend. For a time, the order
was banned by the church.
The church looked to this new order when it was
deprived of the assistance of the civil powers of Europe to
enforce its edicts against Protestantism. In an attempt to
defend itself against the Protestant Reformation, the
Roman Catholic Church called a meeting of one of its most
important councils, in 1545, in the small northern Italian
city of Trent. The council continued to occasionally meet
for 18 years, concluding in 1563. It is generally believed
that this council ushered in the beginning of what was
known as the Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Refor-
mation. While some reforms were achieved which touched
the most blatant abuses of the church, the framework of
doctrine and beliefs remained the same.
There were two significant issues of paramount con-

cern- justification by faith (with particular emphasis on its
relationship to salvation) and the Protestant identification
of the papacy as the antichrist of Scripture. Regarding the
topic of justification by faith, the bishops, by majority vote,
declared that the gospel incorporated both justification and
sanctification. Sadly, they defined sanctification, not as
mediated by faith alone, but according to the seven
"sacred" sacraments (baptism, confirmation, Mass, extreme
unction, penance, marriage, and holy orders); thus the
pagan concept of salvation by works was retained.
The subject concerning the antichrist was an altogether
different challenge. The arguments of the Protestant
Reformers had been so persuasive that even some loyal
Roman Catholics were uneasy. It was perceived that debate
and dialogue were unlikely to settle the issue; thus it be-
came imperative that the Roman Catholic Church assert a
different interpretation of the scriptural prophecy which
pinpointed the identity of the antichrist in order to remove
attention from the papacy. Realizing that the goal of the
recently established Jesuits was to derail the Protestant
Reformation by whatever means was possible, their finest
young scholars were directed to the task of turning Protes-
tant scholars away from their identification of the papacy
as the antichrist.
A satisfying alternative to the Protestant challenge of
prophetic interpretation did not come quickly or easily.
Eventually, two scholars provided interpretations that
were designed to destroy the Protestant identification of
the papacy as the antichrist. The first of these interpreta-
tions was presented by Francisco Ribera, a Spanish Jesuit.
Roman Catholicism and the Anlichrist 39
Ribera applied the prophecies of Revelation, with the ex-

ception of the first three chapters, to the future. Antichrist,
according to Ribera's commentary that was finished in
1585 and published in 1590, would be a single diabolical in-
dividual who would arise at the end of time. He would be
received by the Jews, and would reestablish Jerusalem and
the temple; further, he would abolish Christianity, revile
Christ, and terribly persecute all Christians during his
three-and-a-half-year reign. The fact that the futurist
view of prophecy was of Jesuit origin will be alarming to
many Evangelical Protestants. It deeply concerns many
Protestants that the thesis of Ribera is so closely aligned to
the modern futurist view that is held by fundamentalist
Protestants.
The history concerning the introduction of the futurist
interpretation of prophecy into Protestantism underscores
the clever and effective work of the Jesuits. Thorough in-
filtration of the Jesuits' erroneous ideas has robbed Protes-
tantism of its heritage. The work of Ribera took many years
to bear fruit in the Protestant community. Its origins in
Protestantism can be traced to the forerunners of the
Anglo-Catholic movement at Oxford University, in Great
Britain, during the early nineteenth century. Ribera's thesis
was sent to many of the universities of Europe (including
Oxford University) shortly after he had developed it. Led
by a small group of Anglicans who were exploring the con-
cept of reunification with Rome, the philosophy of Ribera
was rediscovered from this thesis.
More than 200 years after the thesis was sent to the
universities, men such as S. R. Maitland, James Todd, and
William Burgh were suggesting that the English Church
should reunite with the Church of Rome. There was an im-

mediate outcry from Protestant-believing Anglicans who
pointed to the Roman Catholic Church as the historic an-
tichrist of prophecy. At this point, the determined scholars
of Oxford "dusted off" the thesis of Ribera, and vigorously
taught the futurist concept in order to prove that the Roman
Catholic Church could not justifiably be identified as the
antichrist; therefore, it was a safe church with which to
unite with. Initially, this turnabout made little impact ex-
cept in England; thus, as late as the end of the nineteenth
century, most Protestant authors in the United States con-
tinued to identify the papacy as the antichrist. One
hundred years later, the Jesuit interpretation has become so
universal that almost all authors, many without any
knowledge of the past history of prophetic interpretation,
have accepted the futurist concept.
John Darby introduced the futurist view together with
the secret rapture (another Jesuit concept) to the United
States. He also introduced dispensationalism, and taught a
disjunction between law and grace. Darby lived for awhile
in Plymouth, England. After studying at Trinity College, in
Dublin, he briefly served as an Anglican curate. After join-
ing the Brethren in Dublin, he later established the
Plymouth Brethren Church. He accepted, as truth, the
doctrine that the antichrist, a satanically controlled world
ruler, would appear at the end of the world, and ruthlessly
persecute during the period of the great tribulation. Christ
would come just prior to the tribulation in order to rapture
the faithful Christians (the church). Darby declared that,
after three and a half years of persecution by the antichrist,
Christ would return to punish the antichrist, and set up His
kingdom for a thousand years. Justice, peace, and unity is

to reign during that time.
Darby, during six visits to the United States between
1859 and 1874, brought these views to the Americas. Here
he found some response from the conservative Protestants
who little suspected the Jesuit origin of these interpreta-
tions. He also attracted some learned theologians who,
though not necessarily accepting his rapture theology,
were excited by his teachings. This led to conferences. The
first was held in a Presbyterian church, and was followed
by conferences in Chicago (1886), Niagara (yearly between
1883 and 1897), and Long Island (1901); however, it took
the work of a lawyer who became a preacher, Cyrus Inger-
son Scofield, to popularize the futurist view.
When Scofield accepted Christianity, he developed into
a persuasive advocate of the futurist interpretation of
prophecy. He was a follower of the Plymouth Brethren
teachings of John Darby. Soon, he was writing notes and
commentaries about the Bible, an idea that he developed at
the 1901 Long Island Conference in New York. These ex-
planatory notes were added to certain biblical printings
which became famous as did the Scofield Bible. Millions of
these Bibles were sold by colporteurs, especially in the
southern part of the United States. His interpretations
were soon accepted by many with almost the same
authority as the Bible itself. It has often been stated that
the Scofield Bible has done more than any seminary (some
say all seminaries combined) to influence the theology and
prophetic interpretation of conservative Protestants in the
United States. Today, it is shocking to realize that the
Jesuit concepts are almost without challenge in a large

segment of conservative Protestantism.
This review of the Jesuit efforts to defuse the Protestant
identification of the papal antichrist would not be complete
if we did not refer to the work of Louis de Alcazar. De Al-
cazar, also a Jesuit, defined what has become known as the
preterist view of prophetic interpretation. The preterists
believe that Revelation, instead of being a prophetic book,
actually sketches events which occured in the era of the
Roman Empire; likewise, preterists ascribe the writing of
the book of Daniel to a period later than the sixth century
B.C., when Daniel lived. They claim that the prophecies of
Daniel were written during the time of the early years of
the Roman Empire (second century B.C.), and suggest that
these describe the persecution of the Jews during the
period between the writing of the Old and the New Testa-
ments. As stated earlier, some of the Jewish Maccabees
believed that the desecration of the temple, by Antiochus
Epiphanes in the second century B.C., represented the
abomination of desolation that's cited in the book of Daniel
(Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:7). De Alcazar and present-day
preterists have accepted this interpretation.
The preterist view has had particular appeal to modem
scholars and higher critics of the Bible. Such an interpreta-
tion eliminates the need for divine revelation and prophetic
interpretation. Modernists reject any interpretation that
would depend upon divine intervention or divine en-
lightenment; thus, modernists claim that the prophecies of
Daniel were written after, not before, the events.
Neither the futurist nor the preterist views can be sus-

tained in the light of biblical investigation. The concept that
the antichrist will be a single individual is an explicit denial
of the testimony of John, who identified many antichrists,
even in his day.
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have
heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there
many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last
time (1 John 2:18).
Surely, this text alone is sufficient to destroy the futurist
concept. Further, the very testimony of Jesus places the
abomination of desolation future to His time, thus falsify-
ing the claim that this prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled by
Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century B.C.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in
the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)
(Matthew 24:15).
It is extraordinary that, in the light of such texts as these,
both the conservative wing (futurism) and the liberal wing
(preterism) in Protestantism have so easily been convinced
by the deceptive presentations of the Jesuits, whose only
objective has been to take the attention away from the
Roman Catholic Church. They have certainly not been
motivated by a sincere desire to comprehend biblical truth;
therefore, we must reject these two schools of prophetic in-
terpretation as unsound and unbiblical.
An unscriptural basis for biblical interpretation of
prophecy has been urged upon Protestantism. The climate
which has been established, under the pretense of
tolerance, makes it most unpopular to identify the an-
tichrist as the Roman Catholic Church. The climate of

ecumenism provides the shield against such identifica-
tion. To identify Roman Catholicism as the antichrist ap-
pears to be unloving and divisive; yet all true followers of
Christ will seek for truth. Though truth will not divide, it
will point out the error that does divide. Those who
proclaim truth are frequently seen as the troublers of Israel.
(See 1Kings18:17, 18.)
Sincere Christians will recognize that there is no urtity
that is separate from truth; thus, twice in His prayer for
urtity, Jesus identifies the truth that sanctifies as a founda-
tion for unity.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth .
. . . And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also
might be sanctified through the truth Gohn 17:17, 19).
Any other basis for unity is, at best, mere consensus,
and most likely includes compromise; at worst, it is rank
apostasy.
Genuine love demands the identification of the antichrist
power so that no honest person will be deceived, for eter-
nity is at stake. While identifying the Roman Catholic
Church as the antichrist power, we hasten to remind all
sincere Christians that many of Christ's true followers are
still members of that church. They are unaware of the great
deception under which they worship. The Saviour died for
them as well as people of all other faiths. This is the time
for love to be expressed in sincere action as these precious
saints are called out of apostasy into the light of God's
saving truth.
4
Early Concepts of the

Antichrist
S amuel Cassels' book, Christ and Antichrist (1846),

presents some of the most outstanding evidence ever
presented to identify the Roman Catholic Church as the an-
tichrist power of prophecy. Cassels, a Presbyterian cler-
gyman who served in Norfolk, Virginia, gained
endorsement not only from prominent pastors of his own
church but also from Methodists, Baptists, and Epis-
copalians. His book represents the understanding of the
antichrist that was passed down from the great sixteenth-
century Reformers, and demonstrates the almost united
stand taken by Protestant churches up to and beyond the
middle of the nineteenth century. The authors of this book
are greatly indebted to the careful research of the Bible, by
Samuel Cassels, for many of the insights that are presented
here.
Many earlier writers offered insightful definitions of the

antichrist.
MacKnight: "One who puts himself in the place of
Christ, or who opposes Christ."
Schleusner: "In the books of the New Testament, it [an-
tichrist] always signifies an enemy of Christ and His
religion."
No power of the Christian Era has more accurately ful-
filled these descriptions than the papal power of Rome.
Cassels, with clear perception, identifies the different
names of antichrist in the Bible, reporting this identification
as the heritage of the Reformers and Protestants. The
names he cited were Paul's man of sin (see 2 Thessalonians
2:2-7), the little horn of Daniel 7 and 8, and the beast of
Revelation 13 (Samuel J. Cassels, Christ and Antichrist, pp.
12, 13).
It is of the highest significance that some of the early
church Fathers in the Roman Catholic Church pinpointed
the future antichrist. Of course, these early church Fathers
did not understand that these insights were identifying the
future direction of the church that they loyally served. We
cite representative writings of these thought leaders of the
early Christian church as reported by Cassels;
1. Tertullian (155-222): He spoke about the future
breakup of the Roman Empire, "whose separation into ten
kingdoms will bring on antichrist." (The division of the
Roman Empire was not completed until A.O. 476.)
Early Concepts of the Antichrist 47
2. Cyril of Jerusalem (315--386): "There shall arise, at the

same time, ten kingdoms of the Romans at different places
indeed, the reigning all of them at the same time. After
them, the eleventh will be antichrist, who, through magical
wickedness, will seize the power of the Romans." The
papacy not only took Rome as the seat of its authority, but
even took the title of Pontifex Maximus from Pagan Rome
for its supreme bishop, the pope.
3. Jerome (347-420): "Says the apostle [Paul in the second
epistle to the Thessalonians], 'Unless the Roman Empire
should first be desolated, and antichrist proceed, Christ
will not come.' "
4. Augustine, bishop of Hippo (354-430): "It can be
doubted by none but that he [Paul) speaks these things (2
Thessalonians 2:2-7] concerning antichrist, and that the day
of judgment will not come unless he first appear."
5. Pope Gregory the Great of Rome (540-604): "I say confi-
dently therefore, that whosoever calls himself Universal
Bishop, or even desires in his pride to be called such, is the
forerunner of antichrist."
With perfect accuracy, the early church leaders iden-
tified the papacy as the antichrist, little knowing that the
church of which they were leaders would actually become
the great antichrist power of prophecy, and assume the
very characteristics that they had discerned from God's
Word.
The concept of the early church Fathers, concerning an-
tichrist, is of great significance. All the church Fathers ex-
cept Gregory wrote before the complete break-up of the
Roman Empire and before the rise of Papal Rome to secular
power; thus they did not suspect that they were identify-
ing the very church of which they were a part. It was evi-
dent that they expected this power to be another entity.
And it is certain that they did not consider the developing
papacy to be the antichrist. This fact permitted them much
greater objectivity and honesty in detailing the identifying
characteristics of the antichrist than later Roman Catholic
scholars.
Perhaps the most striking statement of those cited is that
of a pope himself, Gregory the Great (Gregory I). Gregory's
statement was made in reprimand to John, bishop of Con-
stantinople, who was perceived to be seeking recognition
as head of the whole Christian church. John had taken the
title of ecumenical patriarch. Gregory knew Constantinople
well because he had served as papal nuncio to Constan-
tinople from 579 to 584. At this time, there was bitter rival-
ry between Rome and Constantinople. Rome was the
dominant See of the West. And Constantinople had
dramatically risen to prominence following the city's
founding by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
Constantinople was, by the time of Gregory the Great, the
leading See of the East. This rivalry continued until the
eventual separation of the Eastern Orthodox churches from
the Roman Catholic Church in 1054. It is ironic to speculate
on the fact that Gregory had similar ambitions to those of
John, although his response was to call himself the seroant
of God's servants. No doubt, Gregory used his strong ad-
monition as an attempt to weaken the resolve of the bishop
of Constantinople.
This statement significantly attests to the fact that, at the
time of Gregory's reign as bishop of Rome (590-604), he
was not seen as bishop over the whole Christian church.

Gregory's statement surely is an effective witness against
the claim to the primacy of the bishop of Rome from the
time of Peter the apostle; however, it must be acknow-
ledged that, in 533, Emperor Justinian had declared the
bishop of Rome to be above the bishop of Constantinople.
(See chapter 5, entitled "The Medieval Reign of the
Papacy.")
Certainly, the bishop of Rome had already claimed the
title of Pontifex Maximus, a claim that boasts the right of
hierarchical control over all Christendom, if not the entire
world. Although the Protestant Reformation seriously
weakened the papal authority, the latter part of the twen-
tieth century has witnessed an alarming reversal of the
stand of the Reformers so that the pope is now regarded as
the head of the Christian church by many Protestants and
non-Christians. In evidence of this fact, Anglican Prelate
Robert Runde, archbishop of Canterbury, made a call on
October 2, 1989, "for Protestants to accept the pope as
universal leader" (Singapore Straits Times, Oct. 3, 1989).
Let us analyze Gregory's statement in which he asserts
that "he who calls himself Universal Bishop will be the
fore-runner of antichrist."
The antichrist is clearly identified as a power of
worldwide influence. According to Daniel 7 and 8, it arose
out of the Roman Empire. Certainly, the only bishop who
claims this today is the bishop of Rome. And his power
arose out of the ashes of the Pagan Roman Empire.
It is remarkable how Tertullian, Cyril, Augustine, ;ind
Jerome perceptively set forth the timing of the rise of the
antichrist. None of them offer a thought for the preterist

view that claims a pre-Christian fulfillment of the an-
tichrist prophecy; likewise, there is not the slightest hint in
their writings that the antichrist will have a short reign just
prior to the return of Christ. It was understood that this
antichrist power would exert its powerful influence before
the return of Christ. Perhaps Tertullian's statement is the
most incisive. He understood that, though the Roman Em-
pire was still of great strength and power during his
lifetime, it would divide. And this division would shortly
thereafter herald the reign of the antichrist.
The contribution of Cyril of Jerusalem is also very im-
pressive. He saw that the antichrist power would seize and
assume the power of Pagan Roman. Had Cyril lived at a
later period of history, he surely would he have seen that
the papacy was the power which assumed the authority of
Pagan Rome.
The statements of Jerome and Augustine are more
general than those of Tertullian and Cyril. This, no doubt,
is due to the fact that they both lived during the declining
years of the Roman Empire. Augustine had misapplied the
millennial period to the 1,000 years after the birth of Christ,
and believed that Jesus would return in A.O. 1000; thus,
when Sylvester II was crowned pope in A.O. 999, it was
confidently predicted, by many, that he would be the pope
at the time of the Second Coming.
Augustine did not understand the 1260-year reign of the
antichrist as recorded in Scripture (Daniel 7:25; 12:7;
Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5), and perhaps both Augus-
tine and Jerome were uncertain of the extent of the reign of
the antichrist power. (See the chapter that is entitled

"Medieval Reign of the Papacy.") Certainly, both were so
uncompromisingly Roman in their allegiance that neither
would have tolerated the thought that the church which
they served was already developing the telltale charac-
teristics of the antichrist of prophecy. Few of the Catholic
Fathers did more than these men to sow the seeds of apos-
tasy and paganism in the church with which the antichrist
power is now so clearly identified.
Jerome developed the Latin Vulgate Version of the Bible
that was built upon the tampered Greek manuscripts of the
Western church. In later times, this Bible became the basis
of the Douay English Bible of the Roman Catholic Church,
and has been the basis upon which the corrupt modem
translations of the English Bible (such as the Revised Ver-
sion, the Revised Standard Version, the New English Bible,
and the New International Version) have been derived.
Augustine, more than any other church Father, integrated
pagan concepts within the Christian church. These pagan
teachings contributed to the apostasy of the early Christian
church.
The early church Fathers wrote a significant amount of
material concerning the antichrist. By the time of the Mid-
dle Ages, the term, anlichrist, was more frequently used as
synonymous with antipopes. During the period of the
papacy's most blatant excesses, two or more prelates fre-
quently claimed the papal throne. The Roman Catholic
Church now identifies 38 such antipopes, but debates still
rage in some quarters as to who was the authentic pope
and who was the antipope. With the supposed succession
of Peter at stake, it has often been a bitter battle. One pope,
Leo VIII (963-965), was initially an antipope, contem-

poraneously ruling with his predecessor, Pope Benedict V.
Later, Leo was elected as an authentic pope. When more
than one pope claimed the papal throne, it was common
for each to call the other the antipope and, by implication,
the antichrist.
The issue of the antichrist was not a doctrine of deep
study within the papacy during the Middle Ages; however,
after the Protestant challenge, Ribera and De Alcazar
presented spurious theories, both carefully designed to
deny the scriptural identification of the papacy as the an-
tichrist. Since the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church
has expended much effort to convince Protestants that the
Reformers' identification was a result of the contentions of
the times in which they lived, and did not reflect the true
biblical concept of the antichrist; however, a careful review
of the Scriptures re-emphasizes the fact that the Reformers
did not simply respond to polemics but to a careful and ac-
curate study of biblical prophecy. These understandings
were consistent with those of the apostles and the early
church Fathers.
5
The Medieval Reign of

the Papacy
T he early Christian church greatly suffered at •he hands

of the pagan world. All of Christ's apostles, except
John, suffered the death of martyrdom. At the hand of the
diabolical Nero, myriads of innocent Christians were mar-
tyred. With varying intensity, later emperors plundered the
ranks of the servants of Christ. The words of Jesus were in-
deed fulfilled.
Remember the word that I said unto you, The ser-
vant is not greater than his lord. If they have per-
secuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have
kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all
these things will they do unto you for my name's
sake, because they know not him that sent me Oohn
15:20, 21).
No doubt, the apostles recalled other words of Jesus
which rang in their ears.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per-
secute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so per-
secuted they the prophets which were before you
(Matthew 5:11, 12).
Christians were torched, beheaded, thrown to wild
animals, and suffered all sorts of cruel and brutal punish-
ments for their refusal to pay homage to pagan gods.
These refusals were often interpreted as treason against the
emperor. Some models of courage come down to us today.
Perhaps few examples are more moving than that of the
unwavering loyalty of Bishop Polycarp in the second cen-
tury. As a young man, Polycarp had known the aged
apostle John. At the age of 86, in 155, he was hunted down
like a wild animal and eventually captured. Before the as-
sembled multitudes, he was asked to renounce his loyalty
to Christ by paying respect to the pagan deities. His un-
wavering faith was passed down to generations through
his words, "Eighty and six years have I served Him
(Christ), and He hath done me no wrong. How then can I
speak evil of my King who saved me?" That day the aged
leader laid down his life, a testimony that he "was faithful
unto death" (Revelation 2:10). No doubt, for him, Christ
h~s reserved the "crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge" will give him at His second coming (2
Timothy 4:8).
Unquestionably, the persecution reached it fiercest
dimensions during the ten-year period that commenced
during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. This persecution
was foretold in prophecy concerning the church of Smyrna,
The Medieval Reign of the Papacy 55
as recorded in Revelation 2. The church of Smyrna repre-

sented the second period of church history, from the end of
the apostolic period (A.D. 100) to the end of the Diocletian
persecution (A.D. 313).
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:
behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,
that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee
a crown of life (Revelation 2:10).
The ten days of the prophecy symbolize the ten years of
this persecution (A.D. 303-313). Though Diocletian abdi-
cated his emperorship in 305, his successor, the ruthless
Caesar Galerius, intensified the persecution. On February
23, 303, Diocletian, though married to a Christian, ordered
all Christian churches closed, all Scriptures and liturgical
books burned, and all Christians placed outside the law of
the land. Many Christians were butchered when two
mysterious fires destroyed a Roman palace in Nicomedia.
Christians were ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods under
pain of death if they did not. The tortures were terrible,
especially in Egypt, Syria, Tyre, and Palestine.
What Satan was not able to accomplish through persecu-
tion, he was able to achieve through the fallible support of
Roman rulers. While the Christian church found that it
could stand strong when persecuted, it totally failed to
meet the test of fidelity when popularity was heaped upon
it. In 312, toward the end of the Diocletian persecution,
Constantine, then a pagan, marched on Rome. As emperor,
Constantine soon saw the political advisability of seeking
the loyalty of Christians, and published the Edict of Tolera-
tion, which granted religious freedom to Christians. Con-
stantine exempted the clergy from municipal duties and

military service, freed Christian slaves, and legalized be-
quests to the church. The joy of Christians knew no
bounds.
It is not clear when Constantine's allegiance to Chris-
tianity began. Even though his mother became an ardent
Christian, he always supported some of the best teachers of
paganism. It is evident that he claimed Christianity well
before his deathbed "baptism."
Constantine's acceptance of Christianity was the first
step toward the union of church and state, a pattern that
was later to characterize the persecution of the papacy
against dissenters. The exercise of state authority was
shortly evidenced. In 321, Constantine mandated the obser-
vance of Sunday throughout the Roman Empire. Because
the majority of his officers were still pagans, he enjoined
Sunday worship, not as the Lord's day, but as the day of
the sun; thus he sought to bind his pagan and Christian
subjects together. This step, more than any other, led the
Catholic Church to reject God's Sabbath, and replace it
with the pagan day of worship. Later that century, the
Council of Laodicea (about A.O. 365) admonished Chris-
tians to rest on Sunday, in memory of the resurrection;
thus, step by step, the Sabbath (unwaveringly upheld by
the Scriptures and by the apostles of Jesus) was slowly
replaced by the pagan day of worship.
The efforts of the bishop of Rome were not well-received.
Even by the end of the fourth century (except in Rome and
Alexandria), the majority of Christians favored the keeping
of the seventh-day Sabbath. Satan was subtly working to
tum men and women away from the day which alone sig-
nifies man's loyalty to the sovereignty of Christ.
The famous Ambrose, bishop of Milan, under whom
Augustine trained in the late fourth century, was a Sab-
bathkeeper; however, he records that, when he traveled to
Rome, he worshiped with the Romans on Sunday. Because
of this, it was he who originated the saying, "When in
Rome, do as the Romans do." It became popular, before
the fourth century, to honor Christ on both the seventh and
the first days of the week. One was usually treated as the
fast day, and the other as the feast day.
In an endeavor to make the biblical Sabbath unpopular,
Rome tried to enforce Sabbath as the fast day. But, well
into the fifth century, Augustine expressed his displeasure
that most of the churches around him kept the Sabbath as
the feast day and as their primary day of worship. Of
course, it was this ambivalence of worship days that led to
the two-day weekend, with a concept that they were both
holy days (holidays). Step by determined step, Sunday
was enforced on the people as the special day of worship.
And, as illiteracy and ignorance developed during the Mid-
dle Ages, it became increasingly easier for church leaders
to enforce their beliefs and destroy truth.
In spite of the increasingly ruthless attempts to enforce
Sunday observance, the majority of Christians, in the first
six centuries of the Christian Era, kept Sabbath in accord-
ance with the fourth commandment. In the churches of
Asia, including Syria, India, and the Nestorian churches as
far away as Siberia and China, the majority of members
kept Saturday as the Sabbath. Even Spain kept the Sabbath
until the seventh century, as did England. In the areas of

Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, Christians steadfastly ob-
served the seventh-day Sabbath until the twelfth century.
Even the declaration of Pope Gregory the Great, in A.O.
603, in which he proclaimed that the antichrist would keep
Saturday as Sabbath, did not influence vast segments of
Christians who were loyal to the Sabbath.
In both England and Scotland, it took the marriage of the
rulers to Roman Catholic princesses to bring about the in-
troduction of papal Sunday worship, and ensure its accep-
tance by the populace. In England, Osway, the most
powerful king of England during that time, was the king
of Northumbia. He married a Roman Catholic princess.
The queen worked with her priestly confessor, Wilfred,
who had been well-schooled for four years in Rome, to un-
settle the king. To the delight of Wilfred, King Osway
called the Council of Whitby on the east coast of York, in
664, to settle the issue. The godly Celtic leader, Caedmon,
in Northumbria, answered every falsehood that was
presented by Wilfred. But the king, weakened by his mar-
riage, succumbed to the argument that the bishop of Rome
was the successor of Peter; therefore, doctrine must be
based upon the dictates of the Roman bishop.
The Sabbathkeeping Celtic church of Scotland continued
to thrive, albeit often under military attack, until the rule of
Malcolm III in the eleventh century. Malcolm himself had
been compromised by his education in Roman Catholic
England as a young man. There he studied with Prince Ed-
ward, who later became the king of England, and was
called Confessor. It was his fascination with Margaret,
daughter of a former English royal family, that spelled the
doom of Sabbathkeepers in Scotland. Margaret was

brought up in Roman-Catholic-dominated Hungary, and
had purposed to be a nun; however, Malcolm successfully
pleaded with her to be his queen. With great zeal, she un-
dertook the task to take over the Celtic church.
Colomba had brought Christianity to Scotland, and es-
tablished a missionary training school on the western is-
land of Iona five centuries earlier. Failing to discredit the
memory of this revered Irish missionary, Queen Margaret
turned her attention to the church itself. She was soon ef-
fectively discrediting the Celtic church. The queen was
supported by her husband, the weak Malcolm III, to call a
council which initiated policies that rapidly suppressed
Sabbathkeeping in Scotland. The Scottish church was also
forced to accept other Roman Catholic religious forms, in-
cluding the papal form of keeping Easter. She so effective-
ly educated her children that her son, the next king of
Scotland, was fully Roman Catholic in his beliefs and
edicts.
In every century, God's sovereignty was acknowledged
by Sabbathkeepers. Many Waldensians, both in Lombardy
(Italy) and Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), were Sabbath-
keepers. The Welsh were faithful Sabbathkeepers until the
first Roman bishop was seated in 1115. During the twelfth
century, Sabbathkeepers were also to be found in England,
France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, and Holland.
There were Sabbathkeepers right up to the time of the
Reformation in most of these countries. Before the Refor-
mation, reports came from Bohemia (Czechoslovakia),
Norway, Russia, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Finland, and Swit-
zerland of Sabbathkeeping citizens.
Many Sabbathkeepers were severely tortured and mar-

tyred. Two of the best known Sabbatarian martyrs, of the
Reformation period, were Oswald Glait and John James.
Glait was a Central European who traveled from place to
place preaching the Sabbath truth. He was eventually cap-
tured. After a little more than a year in prison, soldiers
bound him hand and foot, dragged him through the city,
and threw him into the Danube River.
John James, an English Sabbatarian, was arrested Sab-
bath afternoon, October 19, 1661, while he was preaching.
The monarchy had been restored only the previous year,
and King Charles II was placed on the throne. James was
charged with treason against the king. He was sentenced
to be hanged. His body was cut up. His heart was flung
into a fire; his head was placed on a post outside the build-
ing in which he had preached; and other parts of his body
were scattered around the city as a warning to other Sab-
bathkeeping Christians. The Sabbath, so desecrated by the
Roman Catholic Church, comes to us today with a blood-
bought heritage.
A number of Sabbatarian Christian churches now exist.
These include the Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh Day
Baptist, Worldwide Church of God, Church of God and
the Seventh Day. Most Protestant churches have unex-
plainably accepted the counterfeit day of worship-Sun-
day. Daniel predicted the papacy's attempt to destroy
God-established laws and times.
And he [the apostate little-horn power] shall speak
great words against the most High, and shall wear out
the saints of the most High, and think to change times
and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a
time and times and the dividing of time (Daniel 7:25,

emphasis added).
Only the Roman Catholic Church fulfills this prophecy.
Its own boastful claims confirm that it has fulfilled this
identification as the apostate little horn of Daniel, chapter
7.
It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority
of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday
in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Thus,
the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is a
homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the
authority of the (Catholic] church (Louis Gaston de
Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, 1868,
p. 225).
The Catholic Church for over 1,000 years before the
existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mis-
sion, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday ("The
Christian Sabbath," The Catholic Mirror, 1893, p. 29).
The Sabbath was only one of the myriad of major
doctrinal changes that were introduced by the Catholic
Church. None are consistent with Bible truth. In his
monumental book, The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop
identifies many of the pagan rites which infiltrated the
Roman Catholic Church. These include image worship, the
Madonna and child, Christmas, Easter, Mass, extreme unc-
tion, purgatory, prayer for the dead, relic worship, confes-
sion to priests, prayers to saints, christening, the rosary,
candles, and the sign of the cross. By the Middle Ages, all
these had found a firm place in Roman Catholic worship
and liturgy.
Because belief and practices of the church could no
longer be substantiated by the Bible, the church claimed
authority beyond the Word. It claimed that Christ had in-

stituted such authority in the church, basing this upon
Christ's dialogue with Peter.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and what-
soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:18, 19).
Of course, these words of Jesus, properly understood,
were a play on words that indicated the weakness of Peter
as compared with Christ. The term, rock, referred to in this
verse, is not referring to Peter (whose name means a rolling
stone) but to Christ Himself. This is made clear by Paul.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief
corner stone (Ephesians 2:20).
Whenever the church is given primacy over the Word,
the church departs from its God-given mission. The Chris-
tian church was destroyed by the acceptance of paganism
under the guise of church authority.
With the abject ignorance and illiteracy of the majority of
the serfs of Europe during the Middle Ages, it was a simple
matter for the educated priests to keep the masses of the
people in total apostasy; yet, in spite of this, great move-
ments which upheld biblically-based truths resisted the
papal oppression. From the early years of Christianity, two
great movements, the Celtic and the Waldensian, refused to
bow the knee to Babylon worship. Both of these groups of
people widely scattered the truth in Europe, and refused to
acknowledge the authority of the bishop of Rome. Each

sought to teach the people, in their native language, the
truths of the Word of God.
Other groups who believed Bible truths later arose, in-
cluding the Albigenses and the Huguenots. All reforming
groups were ruthlessly persecuted. Many adherents were
martyred. Without the authority of the Word, the church
chose to follow the pattern of Pagan Rome, using its
authority to produce conformity by force. As the terrible
Inquisitions were instituted, millions lost their lives rather
than bow to the pagan apostasy of the church. Once in
power, the church exercised the same ruthlessness against
dissenters that Pagan Rome had exercised against Chris-
tians when it possessed the power.
By the fifth century, the church supported the persecu-
tion of those who deviated from the Roman Catholic
Church, but it had not yet supported the procedure of put-
ting them to death. Early in the fifth century, Chrysostom
advocated every attempt to suppress and silence the so-
called "heretics," on the pretext that if this was not under-
taken, they would influence others; yet he did not
advocate the death penalty. About the same time, Augus-
tine, bishop of Hippo, supported banishment, fines, forfeit-
ing of property, and similar penalties for "heresy," but he
did not support the death penalty against dissenters. How-
ever, about this same time, pagans began to be murdered
by Christian emperors and fanatical Christian mobs. It was
not long before Christians were destroying fellow Chris-
tians, again by the power and authority of the state. The
total numbers that were martyred during the Middle Ages
has been estimated between 50 and 120 million individuals.
The Roman Catholic Church has never officially repented

of this appalling record.
The medieval reign of the papacy is readily traced to the
rule of Emperor Justinian. In 533, Justinian had to decide,
once and for all, whether the bishop of Rome or the bishop
of Constantinople was the supreme bishop. The bishop of
Rome thought he was the authentic pope since his roots
could be traced back to the apostle Peter. The bishop of
Constanople claimed primacy because of Constantine's
transferance of the Roman Empire's seat from Rome to
Constantanople in the fourth century. Justinian decided
that the bishop of Rome should be acknowledged as the
supreme bishop of the church. The reigning bishop of
Rome, John II, received the title of Pontifex Maximus
(supreme pontiff); however, it was not until 538 that the
pope could exercise the power that was bestowed by this
title. In that year, the Ostrogoths were expelled from
Rome, leaving the way open for the papacy to exert the
temporal power that was invested in the pope by his as-
sumption of the title of Pontifex Maximus. By this time,
Virgilius was the reigning pope. It is significant that Vir-
gilius, who spent a good deal of his reign in exile, was the
first pope who was not canonized by the church. The
worldly power that he assumed, on behalf of all sub-
sequent popes, led to a sharp reduction in the number of
later popes who have been canonized.
The title, Pontifex Maximus, had been bestowed upon
Caesar Augustus (the Caesar at the time of the birth of
Christ) by the senate in Rome, in appreciation for his strong
and peaceful leadership of the Pagan Roman Empire.
More than 500 years later, this title was transferred to the
pope of Papal Rome; thus began the temporal as well as

the ecclesiastical rulership of the papacy. The period
during the 1260 years of papal domination of Europe is
foretold in Scripture. This 1260 year period is dated from
538, when the pope exercised his newly bestowed authority
after the expulsion of the Ostrogoths.
The 1260-day prophecy can be found in Darnel 7:25;
12:7; Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5. Different words
and phrases are used for the time period that's covered,
such as time, times, and the dividing of time; one thousand two
hundred and three score days; and forty and two months. It
must be understood that the Jewish calendar had 30 days
in each month and 360 days to the year; thus, each expres-
sion, the three and one half years and the forty-two
months, consisted of 1260 days. In these prophecies, a day
is symbolic of a year. The 1260 years represented the
domination of the European world by the papacy (from
538 until the pope was taken prisoner by Napoleon's army
in 1798). This was a precise fulfillment of prophecy.
Not only did the Roman Catholic Church ruthlessly per-
secute in Europe during this period but it also persecuted
in all other parts of the world where its influence was felt.
When Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese sailor, pioneered the
trade routes to India via the south of Africa in 1498, the
Catholic Church followed. Its attention was especially at-
tracted to the Thomas Christians on the southwest coast of
India, near Goa. Finding Sabbathkeepers there who ob-
served a form of Christianity much closer to that of the
apostolic church, the Catholic invaders soon employed the
assistance of the new order of the Jesuits to help •convert"
these Christians. Overwhelmingly, these believers resisted.
To add further encouragement to the Indians to follow

Catholic practices, the Inquisition was instituted. Unmerci-
ful tortures were experienced. Those who failed to give al-
legiance to the servants of Rome were burned at the stake.
In an especially brutal way, the executioner first dashed the
blazing torches that were on poles into the faces of these
hapless victims, causing excruciating agony, until their
faces were burned to cinders. Next, they lighted the fagots
at the feet of these faithful Christians (B. G. Wilkinson.
Truth Triumphant, Leaves of Autumn, Payson, AZ, 1985, p.
319).
In like manner, the Portuguese pitilessly persecuted the
Muslims of Java. The people were often left with only two
alternatives-accept Catholicism or die. Naturally, the
majority chose Catholicism; thus, at gunpoint and sword,
many instant ''Christian conversions" were made. In the
New World, the church was no less ruthless. In places
such as Guatemala and Peru, the persecutions of the
Spanish Inquisition were felt with ruthless ferocity.
To a major extent, after the fall of the papacy in 1798,
there was less papal persecution because the church no
longer had the power of the state to enforce its heartless
edicts. The Word of God clearly states that the restored
papacy will again become a powerful persecuting agent.
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had
the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of
his name (Revelation 13:17).
And he had power to give life unto the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast should both speak,
and cause that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed (Revelation 13:15).
Once again, Catholicism, assisted by apostate Protestan-

tism, will enforce its edicts by the arm of the civil law. (See
chapter 9, entitled "And All That Dwell Upon the Earth
Shall Worship Him.") It will require a return to true loyal-
ty to God's Word and a true submission to Christ if His
people are to remain faithful under such persecution. Now
is the time to find the power of the indwelling Christ in
order to gain victory over every wrong word and action, so
that, when the ultimate test comes, we will unflinchingly
remain loyal to Christ.

6
Original Sin
T he doctrine of original sin has influenced the teachings

of Roman Catholicism more than any other concept.
In introducing this false doctrine into the Christian church,
Augustine, the bishop of Hippo, declared that a baby, from
the moment of conception, is guilty of the original sin of
Adam. This guilt at conception merits eternal torment in
hell for that child. Augustine, borrowing from pagan
doctrine, asserted that "baptism" alone purified an infant
from original sin; thus God was represented as an unjust
monster who torments those that He has given life to if
their parents carelessly omit to have them sprinkled. This
damnable doctrine specifically challenges the plain words
of Scripture.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not
bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father
bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of
the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20).
No one is punished for the sins of his father; yet, despite

the contrary testimony of Scripture, some popes made even
more absurd pronouncements.
Innocent I (401-417) wrote to the Council of Milevis
and Galasius I (492-496) wrote to the bishops of
Picenum that babies were obliged to receive com-
munion. If they died baptized but uncommunicated,
they would go straight to hell (Peter de Rosa, Vicars of
Christ, p. 289).
The concept that babies who had died before recieving
communion were in hell was finally rejected by the Council
of Trent in the sixteenth century; however, this concept of
eternal torment for babies is still held.
The doctrine of original sin has popularized the false
form of baptism that sprinkles infants with water. This
eventually led the vast majority of Christians to forsake the
biblical doctrine of adult (believer) baptism which is per-
formed by full immersion. Pope Gregory believed
Augustine's error.
Gregory the Great said that unbaptized babies go
straight to hell, and suffer there for eternity (ibid.).
Catholics faced heavy strains upon the marriage relation-
ship, as ordained of God, when they accepted the view
(prevalent in some pagan societies) that sexual relations in
marriage was sinful. Prelates were always ready to defend
it even when attempts were made to demonstrate the in-
consistency of the doctrine of original sin.
Gregory [the Great] was not blind to the problem
this [the doctrine of original sin] raised. For example,
parents were cleansed from original sin in baptism.
How could they hand down original sin to their
babies? He answers: Though holy themselves, they
Original Sin 71
handed down corrupt nature through sex, desire gal-

vanized by lust. Babies are born as the damned fruit
of the lust of their redeemed parents. From the first,
they are the offspring of Gehenna, or Hell; they are
just children of wrath because they are sinners. If they
die unbaptized, they are condemned to everlasting
torment for the guilt of their birth alone. Existence is
itself a state of sin; to be born is to qualify for eternal
punishment (ibid., p. 452).
Another inconsistency concerned the incarnation of
Christ. He certainly did not possess a nature that was con-
taminated by original sin. Since He was conceived of the
Holy Spirit, it was asserted that He was free of original sin
because no sex was involved. But, in order to distance
Jesus further from original sin, the doctrine of the Immacu-
late Conception of Mary was fabricated. Mary was also
stated to be born of a virgin and conceived of the Holy
Spirit.
Until the twelfth century, Christians took it for
granted that Mary was conceived in original sin. Pope
Gregory the Great emphatically said that "Christ
alone was conceived without sin." Again and again,
he said all human beings are sinful, even the holiest,
with the sole exception of Christ. His reasoning and
that of all the Fathers leaves no doubt in the matter.
The sex act always involved sin. Mary was conceived
normally, therefore in sin; Jesus was conceived vir-
ginally, therefore without original sin ... The cult of
the virgin developed apace in the Middle Ages.
Catholics tended to lose sight of the humanness of
Christ [because of the false view that His human na-
ture differed from ours]; as a result, He appeared
remote, not so much the Mediator between God and
men as God Himself. This created the need for a
mediator with the Mediator, someone holy and

powerful. The rise of Mariology coincided with the
decline of Christology (ibid., pp., 332, 333).
Unfortunately, the doctrine that Christ's human nature
differed from ours led to loss of faith in His mediatorial
work on behalf of mankind.
For there is one God, and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
The reason that Christ's mediatorial role has been
usurped by priests and saints is because the doctrine of
original sin has removed Christ as our High Priest and
replaced Him with human priests. Jesus' qualification as
our High Priest depends upon His possession of our na-
ture.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels;
but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore
in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconcilia-
tion for the sins of the people. For in that he himself
hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour
them that are tempted (Hebrews 2:16-18).
Christ was made like His brethern in all things. By pos-
tulating the notion that Christ was made different from
mankind, the Roman Catholic Church deprived Christ of
His right to be our High Priest. No man is born with
original sin, but all are born with sin-weakened natures.
Christ was also born with a sin-weakened nature, as Scrip-
ture testifies.
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh
(Romans 1:3).
Original Sin 73
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh (Romans 8:3).
Christ could not have been tempted as we are if He pos-
sessed a human nature that was different from ours. He as-
sures us that He indeed understands our human feelings
and infirmities because, as a man, He was tempted as we
are; yet He did not sin.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin
(Hebrews 4:15).
The doctrine of original sin also led to the declaration
that those who had never heard the gospel would all perish
in eternal hell.
It is not as if pontiffs and Fathers said that they did
not know how babies were saved; they categorically
said it was impossible. They did not plead ignorance
of the fate of the mass of mankind who had never
heard of Christ; instead, they affirmed, without
qualification, that they all went to hell. There was no
salvation outside the church (by the church, they
meant the Catholic Church wherein entry was gained
only by baptism of water). These views were repeated
century after century without one dissenting voice. It
was Catholic teaching, taught always, everywhere by
everyone. We noticed that when Francis Xavier went
to the Indies he was certain that unbaptized pagans,
however virtuous, could not get to heaven (Peter de
Rosa, Vicars of Christ, p. 460).
Notice what the Scriptures quote Jesus as saying con-
cerning this issue:
If ye were blind, ye should have no sin Gohn 9:41).

When Paul spoke on Mars Hill, in Athens, Greece, he
referred to the former ignorance of the Greeks in matters
that partained to the gospel.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at
(Acts 17:30).
Paul also revealed God's attitude toward all people and
their relationship to His law in his epistle to the believers in
Rome.
For there is no respect of persons with God. For as
many as have sinned without law shall also perish
without law: and as many as have sinned in the law
shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the
law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall
be justified. For when the Gentiles, whkh have not
the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
which shew the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing
one another;) in the day when God shall judge the
secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel
(Romans 2:11-16).
Those who are ignorant of the gospel message are
judged according to their response to the minimal light that
they possess. Some will obtain eternal life. Jesus died for
the salvation of the whole world. He does not want anyone
to perish even though some souls will choose to disobey
the light that they have received and will perish.
The Lord ... is longsuffering to us-ward, not will-
ing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Original Sin 75
The doctrine of original sin, a doctrine that is not found

anywhere in Scripture, has been the mother of the most vile
doctrines ever to enter the Christian church. These vile and
unscriptual doctrines are eternal torment of unbaptized
babies, the concept of limbo (created in order to soften this
first doctrine of eternal torment of unbaptized babies), the
sinfulness of the sexual relationship in marriage, the im-
maculate conception of Mary, the denial of the true human
nature of Jesus, the acceptance of confession to priests, the
denial of Christ's mediatorial and High Priestly ministry,
the ritual of infant baptism, and the notion that those who
have never heard the Christian message are, by that fact
alone, excluded from eternal life.
Perhaps W.E.H. Lecky, in his book History of European
Morals, as quoted by Peter de Rosa, in his comments upon
the "fate" of unbaptized babies (that are assumed to have
died while still in possession of original sin) elegantly sums
up the foundation of the doctrine of original sin.
That a little child who lives but a few minutes after
birth and dies before it has been sprinkled with the
sacred water is, in such a sense, responsible for its an~
cestor having six thousand years before eaten a for-
bidden fruit; that it may, with perfect justice, be
resuscitated and cast into the abyss of eternal fire in
expiation of this ancestral crime; that an all-righteous
and merciful Creator, in the full exercise of these at-
tributes, deliberately calls into existence sentient [sen-
sitive] beings whom he had, from eternity, irrevocably
destined to endure unspeakable, unmitigated torture
are propositions which are at once so extravagantly
absurd and so ineffably (indescribably] atrocious that
their adoption might well lead men to doubt the
universality of moral perception. Such teaching is, in
fact, simply demonism, and demonism in its most ex-

treme form (quoted in Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ,
p. 461).
7
The Papal Record
I n this era of ecumenism, many often overlook the abys-

mal record of the papacy. The Vatican has never
repented of this. In May, 1990, the emperor of Japan public-
ly repented of the crimes perpetrated in Korea during the
Japanese occupation of 1906-1945. But the papacy has
never repented of her crimes of vastly greater proportions.
This summary of the papacy's record is not written in
order to cause anyone to despise the Catholics because
these people are greatly loved of God; however, in order to
demonstrate why God, in His Word, uses such strong lan-
guage in His denunciation of Catholicism, we need to un-
derstand that Scripture is speaking about the religious
system, not against individual persons for whom He died.
We quote from a Catholic author lest Protestant sources
are thought to be biased. Dr. Peter de Rosa (a former
professor of ethics and metaphysics, in Westminster Semi-
nary, and a former dean of theology, in Corpus Christi Col-
lege) has not concealed this record in his classic work,

Vicars of Christ.
Claiming to be in the apostolic succession from Peter,
popes have led out in the most appalling evils. Who can
seriously believe the claim of apostolic succession when
popes have conducted themselves in a manner that is so
foreign to the Christ-filled life of the apostle Peter? The
Jews made similar claims, in their retort to Jesus, that they
were the descendants of Abraham. This claim was geneti-
cally valid, but the character of these people proved how
utterly false this claim was. The papal claim of apostolic
succession is also a fallacy.
No one can successfully refute the fact that many evils
were perpetrated, in the name of God, by the Roman
Catholic Church. In 1432, a group of godly bishops held a
council in Basel, Switzerland, without papal approval.
These sincere prelates merely wished to cleanse the church
of the more obvious evils in its midst. Their suggestions
and the response of Pope Eugene IV typified papal re-
sponses over many years to such proposed reformations.
In spite of curial efforts to scupper it, a council met
in Basel in 1432. The bishops showed they were in
earnest. [They declared that] from now on, all ec-
clesiastical appointments shall be made according to
the canons of the Church; all simony' shall cease.
From now on, all priests, from the highest to the
lowest rank, shall put away their concubines.
Whoever, within two months of this decree, neglects
its demands shall be deprived of his office, though he
be the bishop of Rome. From now on, the ecclesiasti-
cal administration of each country shall cease to
depend upon papal caprice ... The abuse of ban and
The Papal Record 79
anathema by popes shall cease ... From now on, the

Roman curia [which are the popes] shall neither
demand or receive any fees for ecclesiastical offices.
From now on, a pope should think not of the world's
treasures but only of those of the world to come.
This was strong meat. Too strong. The ruling
pope, Eugene IV, summoned his own council at
Florence. [The council that met in] Basel [in 1432] he
labelled "a beggarly mob, mere vulgar fellows from
the lowest dregs of the clergy, apostates, blaspheming
rebels, men guilty of sacrilege, gaolbirds Uailbirds],
men who without exception deserve only to be
hunted back to the devil whence they come (Peter de
Rosa, Vicars of Christ, p. 138).
One man who sought reformation and paid with his life
as a result was the Bohemian Reformer, John Huss.
Huss, who was brave, chaste, incorruptible, a stem
opponent of simony and clerical concubinage met a
harsher fate. Forbidden counsel, tried on a trumped-
up charge, interrogated by Dominicans who had not
read his books, even in translation, he was sentenced
to death ... It was clearly more sinful to say, as did
Huss and the New Testament, that, after the blessings
the Eucharist should still be called "bread" than to be
a greedy, murderous, incestuous pope who misled the
church on almost everything (ibid., pp. 132, 133).
This latter reference is to Pope John XXIII (no connection
with the twentieth-century pope of the same name) who,
the same year that Huss was martyred (1415), was deposed
after his conviction on five charges. Peter de Rosa quotes
Gibbons' record concerning the fact that the number of
charges against Pope John XXIII was reduced from fifty-
four to five.
The most scandalous charges [against Pope John

XXIJI] were suppressed; the Vicar of Christ was only
charged with piracy, murder, rape, sodomy, and in-
cest (ibid., p. 132).
For these crimes, the pope received a jail sentence of
three years! It was said of the same pope that he was ex-
onerated of the charge of heresy because he did not evince
sufficient interest in religion to say anything heretical.
Such secularization on the part of a Christian leader was
shameful.
Even more shameful was the conduct of Pope Innocent
IV and his curia who, because of a dispute with Emperor
Frederick II, were forced to leave Rome and set up court in
Lyons, France. After the emperor's death, Innocent IV and
his entourage returned to Rome. History testifies that the
pope was misnamed. In a letter that was dated 1520, Car-
dinal Hugo, writing in the pope's name, expressed ap-
preciation to the citizens of Lyons for their hospitality
during his period of dire need; however, the cardinal
pointed out that all the benefits had not been one-sided
was evidence of this fact.
During our residence in your city, we fthe curia]
have been of very charitable assistance to you. On our
arrival, we found scarcely three or four purchaseable
sisters of love. Whilst at our departure we leave you,
so to say, one brothel that extends from the western to
the eastern gate (ibid., p. 164).
No true Christian could experience anything but revul-
sion at this conduct by claimed religious leaders.
It is the iniquitous doctrine of papal infallibility that was
proclaimed at the Vatican I Council of 1870 which prevents
The Papal Record 81
contemporary popes from expressing regret for these dis-

gusting activities. One wonders what Guiseppe Sarto (bet-
ter known as Pope Pius IX, who introduced the dogma of
papal infallibility) thought about the statement that Pope
Adrian VI made in 1523.
If by the Roman Church you mean its head, or pon-
tiff, it is without question that he can err even in mat-
ters touching the faith. He does this when he teaches
heresy by his own judgment or decretal. In truth,
many Roman pontiffs were heretics. The last of them
was Pope john XII (ibid., p. 285).
At the Vatican I Council, no less than 140 bishops ab-
sented themselves from this session which voted papal in-
fallibility. They would have done themselves and their
church a better service if they had displayed greater
courage, and boldly voted what their consciences dictated.
In the session, only two bishops evinced such courage-the
Italian bishop, Riccio, of Cajazzo, and the American bishop
Fitzgerald, of Little Rock; however, they also demonstrated
the shallow depth of their convictions a few minutes later.
Those two brave bishops, who, a moment ago,
denied it, now confessed on their knees to Pius IX-
"Modo credo, Sancte Pater"-that they believed it as
sincerely and unreservedly as they believed in God's
and Jesus' divinity. Theirs was the quickest conver-
sion in history (ibid., p. 187).
If, as had been declared, popes are infallible when they
speak ex cathedra, then surely Pope Adrian VI's statement
that popes have been fallible in matters of faith is an infal-
lible statement. The reader will see at once the problem
which is inherent in such a statement.
Applying the God-like quality of infallibility to some of

history's most evil men underlines God's utter rejection of
the papal system. It is a system which designates evils as
virtues and virtues as evils.
In his seventeenth-century book, Romano Pontifice,
Cardinal Bellarmine stated, "If the pope were to err by
imposing sins and forbidding virtues, the church
would still have to consider sins as good and virtues
as vices, or else she would sin against conscience"
(ibid., p. 71).
With such an abhorrent concept of right and wrong, one
designed by the archdeceiver himself, no wonder Pope Cle-
ment XI (1700-1721) could declare the following:
There is no higher duty than obedience to the pope.
Obey him, and there can be no question of condemna-
tion from God (ibid., p. 325).
If this pope is to be believed, those who, at the command
of the popes, perpetrated the Inquisition (in which millions
of fruitful and innocent men and women were cruelly tor-
tured and killed) were "pleasing" to our loving and
beneficent God, the "justice" of the Inquisition, a part of
papal policy for centuries, may be judged by the following:
In the Libra Nero (Black Book) on display in the
Vatican for the guidance of Inquisitors, as late as the
end of the nineteenth century, it was stated, "Either
the person confesses and he is proved guilty by his
own confession, or he does not confess and is equally
guilty on the evidence of witnesses. If a person con-
fesses the whole of what he is accused of, he is un-
questionably guilty of the whole; but, if he confesses
only a part, he ought still to be regarded as guilty of
the whole, since what he has confessed proves him to
be capable of guilt as to the other points of the accusa-
The Papal Record 83
lions ... If, notwithstanding all the means employed,

the unfortunate wretch still denies his guilt, he is to be
considered as a victim of the devil. As such, he
deserves no compassion from the servants of God nor
the pity and indulgence of the Holy Mother Church.
He is a son of perdition. Let him perish among the
damned" (ibid., p. 230).
[From the moment of arrest, the victim of the In-
quisition] had no hope ... Alone and friendless, he
was refused legal representation . .. Defense witnesses
were not allowed. All prosecution witnesses (their
identities were kept secret from the prisoner) were
given equal status. Among them might be the
accuser's servants whom he had dismissed for theft or
incompetence or others of ill-repute or unreliable tes-
timony (ibid., p. 231 ).
It is understandable why a Roman Catholic author was
constrained to state Pope Innocent's opinion.
In [Pope] Innocent's view, it was more wicked for
Albigenses to call him the antichrist than for him to
prove it by burning them-men, women, and children
by the thousands (Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ, p.
225).
Despite all this iniquity in the leadership of the Catholic
Church, men today praise the papacy as a bastion of liber-
ty, justice, and democracy. It must never be forgotten that,
even today in the United States, there is an obvious dif-
ference between the privilages of democracy and the
freedom of expression that individual Catholics enjoy in
society and the secrecy and absolute control in church
government.
A Catholic rejoices in openness, complete freedom
of worship, and democracy. He takes it for granted
that freedom leads to a deepening of the truth. He is

used to his leaders having to present themselves for
his approval. He can vote them in; he can vote them
out. He demands press conferences, freedom of infor-
mation, and an unfettered press that is like a second
government. In the church, a Catholic has to put up
with total secrecy and lack of accountability. There
are no choices ... He has to accept what he is given.
In the church, there are no press conferences, no
checks and balances, and no explanations. The con-
trol from the top is absolute. The impression given is
that freedom and discussion lead to the dilution of
truth (Ibid., p. 209).
In truth, even in the last decade of the twentieth century,
the papacy is the archopponent of liberty, justice, and
democracy.
No wonder God is constrained to declare the final judg-
ment of this corrupt religious body.
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 ac-
cording to her works: in the cup which she hath filled
fill to her double. How, 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 (Revelation
18:5-8).
Endnote
1
The selling of church appointments.
8
The Deadly Wound Is

Healed
T he San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday, February 12,

1929, exploded with the headlines, "Mussolini and
Gasparri Sign Historic Roman Pact ... Healed Wound of
Many Years." It was hardly likely that the correspondent
and the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle had any con-
cept of the significance of the dramatic event that they were
reporting. The previous day, February 11, 1929, Cardinal
Gasparri (representing Pope Pius XI) and Benito Mussolini
(representing King Victor Emmanuel III) signed the
Lateran Treaty.
When the nation of Italy was reunited, in 1870, by
Garibaldi, no temporal kingdom was allotted to the
papacy. In fact, the Papal States were forcibly wrenched
from Vatican control and ceded to the kingdom of Italy.
This festering sore left a major rift between the Italian
monarchy and the papacy. As a protest against the decision
of the Italian monarchy to cede the Papal States to the
kingdom of Italy, no pope had set foot outside the Vatican

from 1870 to 1929; however, things changed with the sign-
ing of the Lateran Treaty. Among other things, the
kingdom of Italy guaranteed the international sovereignty
of the Holy See, giving it absolute and sole jurisdiction over
the Vatican State. This territory was merely 108 acres. The
words chosen for the San Francisco Chronicle report were
most remarkable. These included "healed the wound of
many years" and "healing the wound which had festered
since 1870." These very words paralleled the words that
were used in Scripture almost two thousand years before,
in the prophecy, of the revival and renaissance of the
papacy.
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to
death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the
world wondered after the beast (Revelation 13:3, em-
phasis added).
Revelation, chapter 13, provides dramatic insight into
the final efforts of the antichrist power to deceive the world
and coerce all its inhabitants to obey his edicts. It offers
evidence that the papacy would dominate the Christian
world for 1260 years. (See chapter 5, entitled "The
Medieval Reign of the Papacy.") This period ended in 1798
when General Berthier, of Napoleon's army, conquered the
various Italian states, and eventually took the reigning
pope, Pius VI, prisoner to northern Italy and then back to
southern France, where he died in August 1799. This act
inflicted the deadly wound that was prophesied in Revela-
tion 13:3. At that time, few foresaw the future revival of
the papacy because of its complete destruction.
The Deadly Wound Is Healed 87
Jn the year 1797, the Directoire (revolutionary govern-

ment of France) had commissioned Joseph Bonaparte
(brother of Napoleon), who was already at Rome, to make
plans that, upon the death of the sickly Pius VI, no new
pope would be elected. The Directoire saw the papacy as
the irreconcilable enemy of the French Republic. To the
dismay of the French leadership, Pius VI survived and
recovered from his illness. Had Pius VI died in 1797, as
seemed certain, the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation,
which told of. the 1260-year medieval rule of the papacy,
would have proven wrong by one year. Biblical prophecy
is accurate to the very year.
On arrival in Rome in 1798, Berthier's officers demanded
that Pope Pius VI surrender his temporal power. When he
refused, he was dragged from the altar, his rings were
removed from his fingers, and he was taken prisoner. With
the death of Pius VI, in August 1799, and Napoleon's
declared determination that no successor would be elected,
it was almost universally believed that the papacy had
come to its final and irreversible end. One correspondent
wrote the obituary of the papacy.
However, the sure word of biblical prophecy said that
the deadly wound would be healed (Revelation 13:3). That
healing has been a long and slow process, but it began
surprisingly early. Shortly after the death of Pius VI, the
French Revolutionary forces had serious catastrophes, and
troops had to be withdrawn from southern Italy. Taking
advantage of this situation, the cardinals met and elected
Barnabas Chiarominti as Pope Pius VII on March 14, 1800,
only six and a half months after the pope's death; thus
began the re-establishment of the papacy.
Surprisingly, Napoleon soon became reconciled to the

fact that most of the French citizens supported the Roman
Catholic Church. He signed a concordat with the Catholic
Church, declaring that the state acknowledged the Catholic
Church as the religion of France, and called for the loyalty
of the bishops to the state. On December 2, 1804, reluctant
Pope Pius VII had traveled to Paris in order to crown
Napoleon as the emperor of France in Notre Dame
Cathedral. Napoleon took the crown from the surprised
pontiff and crowned himself as emperor. Today, the
Vatican museum displays the magnificent pair of eight-
feet-tall porcelain candlesticks that were used during the
coronation ceremony which followed Napoleon's assump-
tion of the title of emperor. Napoleon offered them as a
gift to the restored papacy. Step by painful step, the papacy
began its rise until the Lateran Treaty, of 1929, was signed.
From this point onward, the power and influence of the
papacy experienced steady growth. More recently, that
growth has been dramatic.
It is strikingly significant that the deadly wound of
modern spiritual Babylon parallels the wounding and
resurgence of ancient Babylon. From the early time of the
restoration of civilization after the Noachian flood, Babylon
and Nineveh dominated the world. For at least 1,300 years,
the city of Babylon had held the pride of the Middle East.
This period of time was very similar to the 1260 years of
papal domination in medieval Europe; however, in the
year 700 B.C., ancient Babylon was to receive its deadly
wound. At this time, Assyria (to the northwest) had as-
sumed domination over Babylon. Just as France held
The Deadly Wound ls Healed 89
similar religious beliefs to Italy, so Assyria had held similar

pagan concepts to those of Babylon.
In 721 B.C., Sargon 11 completed the captivity of the Is-
raelites that was commenced by his predecessor, Shal-
maneser V. After the death of Sargon II in 705, Sennacherib
cast his eyes upon the southern kingdom of Judah. Mar-
shaling a mighty army, Sennacherib would have suc-
ceeded, but the miraculous intervention of God left 185,000
Assyrian soldiers dead outside the walls of Jerusalem. (See
2 Chronicles, chapter 32.)
After the death of so many soldiers, the army of Sen-
nacherib was depleted. Sensing the weakness of Assyria,
the Babylonians revolted; however, Sennacherib succeeded
in putting together another army that ruthlessly put down
the revolt of the Babylonians, destroyed multitudes of its
people and its images, and razed the city to the ground.
This seemed to be the final demise of ancient Babylon. It
had received a deadly wound.
Before the end of the seventh century B.C., Nabopolas-
sar, the Chaldean, assumed the throne of Babylon. He
destroyed Nineveh, and established a kingdom that was
greater than any before. Under his son, Nebuchadnezzar,
the Nee-Babylonian Empire became the greatest in the
world. And the city of Babylon was established as the cen-
ter of culture and education. The deadly wound certainly
was healed; yet the prophet, Jeremiah, accurately
prophesied the events which were to occur during the
height of its power.
Out of the north there cometh up a nation

against her, which shall make her land desolate, and
none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall
depart, both man and beast Geremiah 50:3).
Come against her from the utmost border, open her
storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her ut-
terly: let nothing of her be left Geremiah 50:26).
Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the
wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the
owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more in-
habited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from
generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith
the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall
any son of man dwell therein Geremiah 50:39, 40).
And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan
her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble
they shall be against her round about Geremiah 51:2).
And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every
purpose of the Lord shall be performed against
Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation
without an inhabitant Geremiah 51:29).
Subsequent to the dramatic healing of the deadly wound
of ancient Babylon, the city was destroyed at the height of
its glory and power, by Medo-Persia, in 539 B.C. In an
awazing parallel, the Bible foretells the wounding, restora-
tion, and final destruction of modem Babylon at the height
of its glory and power.
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon
is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornica-
tion. And the third angel followed them, saying with a
loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his
The Deadly Wound Is Healed 91
hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of

God, which is poured out without mixture into the
cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels,
and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of
their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and
they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast
and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of
his name (Revelation 14:8-11).
16:19).
We are living during the time that the papacy is being
restored to even greater power than it exercised during the
Middle Ages. The influence of the medieval papacy was,
for the most part, confined to the sphere of Europe; how-
ever, the neo-papal power is asserting its mighty influence
over the whole earth.
And all the world wondered after the beast (Revela-
tion 13:3).
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship
him, whose names are not written in the book of life
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world
(Revelation 13:8).
And the woman which thou sawest is that great
city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth
(Revelation 17:18).
As lads growing up, we well-remember Pope Pius XII
(successor to Pius XI). As Cardinal Pacelli, he had been
papal nuncio to Nazi Germany. He was greatly
suspicioned, during World War II, of being sympathetic to
the Nazi and Fascist causes. It was still an era of contention

between many Protestants and Roman Catholics. We can-
not forget our maternal grandfather, John Bailey (of north-
ern Irish Protestant heritage), and his unwavering bigotry
against Roman Catholics. He was an avid reader of The
Rock, a weekly paper put out by anti-Catholic Protestants
who reported every excess of the Roman Catholic Church.
Many years later, Russell (then a physician in Sydney)
happened to have the editor of The Rock, Mr. Campbell, as
his patient. Russell mentioned our grandfather's loyalty to
his paper. The editor bitterly reported that, in the 1940s,
this paper had a weekly circulation of 40,000 copies, but
had dropped, by the 1970s, to a monthly paper with a cir-
culation of about 2,000. Then, with strong emotion, he
added, "It's all the fault of those ecumaniacs." Times had
certainly changed.
The suspicion that Pope Pius XII engendered was espe-
cially strong in the allied nations. At that time, it was easy
to distrust the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church.
After the death of Pius XII, in 1958, the College of Cardinals
unexpectedly chose the 76-year-old Cardinal Roncalli as
Pope John XXIII. Many expressed the view that he would
be an interim pope until the cardinals could agree upon a
more suitable younger man. But John XXIII, in four and a
half short years, changed the face of Catholicism. His
Vatican II Council altered the image of the papacy from
one of intrigue and suspicion to that of love and social jus-
tice. The impact of this change was more obvious in the
United States than in most countries. Just prior to the
Lateran Treaty, Al Smith had accepted the Democratic
nomination as the 1928 presidential candidate. But Smith,
The Deadly Wound ls Healed 93
a Roman Catholic, was overwhelmingly defeated by the

Republican, Herbert Hoover. Anti-Catholic feelings clearly
governed the voters' decision at that time. Some predicted
that no major party would be foolish enough to again field
a Roman Catholic presidential candidate.
Little more than 30 years later, the ecumenical climate
was so favorable and Pope john XXIIJ had.so modified the
papal image that John Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, not
only received his party's endorsement but won the
presidency. Since then, the relationship between the
papacy and Washington has shown dramatic improve-
ment. American presidents now commonly visit the pope.
In the 1980s, Protestant Ronald Reagan utilized the grow-
ing popularity of the papacy to his political advantage. He
correctly perceived that he could enhance his reelection
prospects by meeting with Pope john Paul II, in Fairbanks,
Alaska, in 1984. A few decades earlier, such a meeting
would have almost certainly doomed his reelection
prospects; further, President Reagan engendered
remarkably little opposition to his move to reestablish full
diplomatic relations with the papacy for the first time since
the 1860s.
In the latter part of the 1980s, we witnessed even greater
evidences of the revival of papal influence. For decades,
the relentless advances of atheistic communism, which had
engulfed almost half the population of the world, had
seemed like an irresistible force that threatened to envelope
the whole planet. Communism's advances were so spec-
tacular that most overlooked the steady resurgence of the
papacy. Only those who continued to diligently search the
sure Word of scriptural prophecy were not deluded. They
were brave enough to declare that it was not communism

but Catholicism that would be the major "player" in the
events that would culminate in the return of Jesus.
The latter part of the 1980s left the world spellbound
with the rapidity of the changes which occurred in both the
political and religious worlds. As communism was being
dismantled in Eastern Europe, the religious world was
relentlessly pursuing union, not only among Protestant
denominations but, even more significantly, between
Catholics and Protestants. (See chapter 9, entitled "And
All That Dwell Upon the Earth Shall Worship Him.") The
stage was being set for the great final test of loyalty to God.
9
All That Dwell Upon the

Earth Shall Worship Him
I n the religious world, the ecumenical movement is gain-

ing great momentum. Emphasis is placed upon both or-
ganic union and spiritual union. An organic union is the
physical union of two or more churches into a single
church body. Many such unions have already been formed,
including the United Methodist Church of America, the
United Church of Canada, the Uniting Church of Australia,
and the Church of South India. Well-known church leaders
indicate that they will not be satisfied until all Christian
churches are united into one body.
Of course, this goal has many impelling aspects. The
United Christian Church, it is believed, will present a
wonderful power to modern Christianity and the non-
Christian world in the most persuasive manner; however,
an examination of almost all uniting churches reveals signs
of impotency, membership loss, and stagnation.
It is not hard to understand the reason for the failure of

the architects of these united churches to fulfill their expec-
tations. In 1986, Colin attended the sixth International Con-
gress for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug
Dependencies that was held in Nice, France. At the ban-
quet which was held at the conclusion of the congress, he
was seated next to a minister of the Uniting Church of
Australia. During their conversation, Colin inquired con-
cerning the nature of the doctrinal agreements that the
Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists (who
formed the Uniting Church) had made. The clergyman as-
serted that they united on New Testament Christianity, not
on doctrine. Pressing the issue a little further, Colin asked,
"What common basis did the freewill Methodists find for
unity with predestinarian Presbyterians?" The minister ad-
mitted that he had never given thought to the issue, al-
though he had been a Methodist minister before this union
took place. Later, he sent Colin a copy of the articles of
Uniting. A review of these articles did not reveal one single
belief upon which the consolidated church had been estab-
lished.
In 1977, Russell had had a similar experience. As
Deputy Medical Superintendent of the Austin Hospital, in
M~lbourne, he supervised the chaplaincy. Graham Gib-
bens, a Presbyterian minister, was the senior chaplain.
When asked concerning the major doctrinal difference be-
tween Presbyterians and Methodists, in relation to their
proposed union in that year, Graham replied, "You know,
I've never given it any thought." One wonders how John
Knox (founder of the Presbyterian Church), John Wesley
(founder of the Methodist Church), and the nonconformists
All That Dwell Upon the Earth Shall Worship Him 97
of England (who established the Congregationalist Church)

would have reacted to this careless attitude toward biblical
doctrine.
The ecumenical movement and the World Council of
Churches have determined to de-emphasize doctrine.
Many have naively accepted the propositi9n that "it is not
doctrine we need, but Christ," without realizing that every
doctrine of the Scriptures is a dynamic revelation of Christ.
How can one preach the doctrine of the Incarnation
without including the Babe of Bethlehem who became
man's Redeemer? How can one preach concerning the fate
of man in death without preaching of the One who is the
Resurrection and the Life? How can one preach baptism
outside the context of the One who renews His life to us?
How can one preach about the heavenly high priestly min-
istry of Christ without preaching about the One who is our
Sacrifice, judge, High Priest, Mediator, Advocate, and In-
tercessor? How can one preach the law of God without
revealing the One who is the very transcript of His charac-
ter? With the exception of truth and doctrine, our faith is
empty; and our knowledge of Christ is minimal. A new
nondoctrinal approach to religion leaves the adherents
weak, ignorant, uncertain, and an easy prey for the
archdeceiver.
Surely, the ecumenical movement is a device of the
enemy of souls to prepare a people to be partners in the
eternal, destructive "game" of Satan instead of rising to
shine for Christ. In the year 1989, leading Christian repre-
sentatives made some remarkable pronouncements. After
his visit with the pope, Robert Runde, archbishop of
Canterbury and primate in the Anglican Church in Great
Britain, on October 2, 1989, urged all Christians to recog-

nize the pope as the leader of all Christians.
Archbishop Robert Runcie, the head of the
Anglican Church who is discussing unification with
the Roman Catholic Church, called for Christians to
accept the pope as the common leader, presiding in
love (Charlottesville, Virginia, Daily Progress, Oct. 1,
1989).
This call was not given without protest from a small
vocal group of determined Protestants.
Robert Runcie suggested, at the weekend in Rome,
that Christians throughout the world should accept
the pope as universal primate. This has aroused
Protestant anger (Singapore Straits Times, Oct. 3, 1989).
Many are confidently predicting the reunification of the
two largest churches in the world, the Church of England
and the Church of Rome, by the year 2000. If this happens,
the Reformation will have come a full circle. The Anglo-
Catholic movement within the Church of England, which
began in the 1820s at Oxford University, will finally have
triumphed.
This is so significant because Bible prophecy predicted
that, at the end-time, almost everyone in the world will
give allegiance to the papacy. John referred to the papacy,
using the symbol of the beast.
phasis added).

(Revelation 13:8).
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and
shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into per-
dition: 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 (Revelation 17:8).
Mainline Protestantism in the United States, including
Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists, Lutherans,
and Episcopalians, are the controlling backbone of
American society and politics, and has experienced strong
reversal in the last 30 years. Time magazine, May 22,
1989, reported that, since 1965, the United Church of Christ
(Congregationalists) had shrunk 20 percent; Presbyterians,
25 percent; the Episcopal Church, 28 percent; Methodists,
18 percent; and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
43 percent. Together, they had a net loss of 5.2 million
members. The growth of American Roman Catholics, 16
percent in the same period, is quite significant.
Time magazine also reports that Sunday School participa-
tion in the mainline churches has dropped 55 percent in the
past two decades. This woeful omen is most frightening for
these mainline Protestant churches who were once the
powerful standard makers of American society. The quote
from Professor Richard Mouw, of the nondenominational
Fuller Theological Seminary, in California, is the most
striking statement from the article: "If there is an estab-
lishment voice today, it is that of Roman Catholicism. The
Catholics are the calm, dignified, authoritative voices."
Richard John Neuhaus supports this view, in a book he
authored which claims that this is the Catholic moment in

America.
The report of the 10-year dialogue between Roman
Catholic theologians and theologians who represent the
Southern Baptist Conference (the two largest churches in
the United States) is even more significant than reports of
the events within the Church of England and mainline
Protestant churches in the United States. The Associated
Press reported what the joint communique stated.
We not only confessed, but experienced one Lord,
one Faith, and one Baptism (Williamson Daily Nws,
Aug. 26, 1989, emphasis added).
It is impossible to imagine how Southern Baptist
theologians could experience one Lord with a church that
claims that the pope is another God on earth. It is certainly
impossible to understand how a church which has so
strongly proclaimed salvation by faith can confess to have
spiritual union in faith with a church that has steadfastly
adhered to salvation by faith and works (the keeping of the
seven sacred sacraments). Finally, we are puzzled about
how a church which practices adult baptism by immersion
could compromise this one baptism with Roman Catholics
who practice infant sprinkling, because the sprinkling of
infants is a satanic counterfeit of true baptism. How could
Southern Baptist theologians so pervert the faith of their
Fathers?
The newspaper further reported that "the Southern Bap-
tists and Roman Catholics . . generally have been
regarded as doctrinally far apart, but their scholars find
that they basically agree" (ibid.). Here we can discern the
peril of entrusting doctrinal decisions to a few theologians
or scholars. Every conceivable perversion of truth has

found support, in some way or another, from the scholars.
There is hardly a theological training school throughout the
world that is committed to the teaching of the pure faith
of Jesus. As in Jesus' day, it is the common folk who
value pure biblical truth; and the oracles of God have
been entrusted to them.
The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err
therein (Isaiah 35:8).
The missionary endeavors of the future will be quite sig-
nificantly hindered if the report's following statement is ex-
cepted.
Both sides admitted past unfairness to each other,
with predominantly Roman Catholic countries dis-
criminating against Southern Baptist missionaries,
and the latter laboring among Catholics without
respecting their faith. Such competition and conflict in
missionary work can become a stumbling block to those
who have not heard the gospel (Williamson Daily
News, Aug. 26, 1989, emphasis added).
Undoubtedly, many sincere Southern Baptists will be
alarmed by this report. Evangelical Anglicans are also
deeply concerned by the plea of Archbishop Runcie for
closer ties with the papacy. But, in these actions, the dis-
cerning Christian will see that the time has come when all
Christians who do not give supreme homage to Christ and
the Bible will eventually give their allegiance to the papacy;
thus this fulfills the unerring prophecy that all the world
will wonder after the beast (Revelation 13:3). While a
casual perusal of this joint declaration may seem good in
many ways, it will basically lead the Southern Baptists to
diminish and ultimately eliminate all work for the salva-

tion of Catholic Church members; thus Southern Baptists
cannot give that final call, by God's elect, to His precious
saints who are still members of the Roman Catholic
Church.
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 (Revelation 18:4, 5, em-
phasis added).
U.S. News and World Report magazine, January 15, 1990,
addressed another new phenomenon in the United States-
the growing trend of Protestants, even Evangelicals, to
move toward liturgical ritualistic, ceremonial, and
sacramental forms of religion. This movement apparently
is a reaction against the informal, often irreverent, forms of
worship that have arisen out of the Pentecostal and Charis-
matic movements. Ritualistic worship has appealed to
some who are weary of listening to tame, bland sermons of
repetitious themes in many mainline churches. The rituals
of the Orthodox churches have often been practiced as a
refreshing alternative. Such a movement will surely be able
to accommodate itself to the Roman Catholic form of
sa..:ramentalism.
This thrust toward one world religion envisages the en-
compassment of far more sects than Christendom. In 1988,
Or. Robert Runcie gave the Sir Francis Younghusband
Memorial Lecture at Lambeth Palace (home of the
archbishop of Canterbury) for the fiftieth anniversary of
the establishment of the World Congress of Faiths. He
ominously quoted the words of the late Sir Francis:" All the
centuries that the Spirit of God has been working in Chris-
tians, He must also have been working in Hindus, Bud-
dhists, Muslims, and others." Dr. Runcie then commented
that dialogue enabled people of various religions "to share
the sustaining insights and transforming treasures of their
faith, and to recognize an affinity of the human heart in the
fellowship of the Spirit." The archbishop's reflection on a
visit to India was even more disconcerting .
. . . IHe arrived with} the certainties of an encapsulated
Western Christianity but came away realizing that
there are new ways of thinking about God, Christ, and
the world. He spoke of his experience of God among
the Hindus of Madras, "where gods and goddesses
take hundreds of different forms and images. The
shc("r diversity of the Divine was disconcerting. God
somehow seemed greater than Western monism . . .
We have lost something that other faiths may help to
restore to us" (The Sentinel, vol. 42, No. 4, spring 1989,
emphasis added).
Those who do not accept God's commission to urge
Christians to forsake apostate religions will themselves be
found among that huge ecumenical group who receive the
seven last plagues that are cited in Revelation 16. Myriads
of formal Christians will be lost in spiritual Babylon. But
God will have a remnant who will give God's final invita-
tion to the world.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of God, and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).

10
Globalism and One

World Government
J
ust as unity movements are gathering strength within
Christendom, so the tide of unity in the political world
1s swelling. The concepts of a one world government and
globalism have much support. Contrary to the views of
many, this is a most serious movement. Many political
philosophers believe that a single would government is the
only hope for the survival of the human race. Large num-
bers of politicians in developing countries are also attracted
to to this concept, believing that such unity is economically
benificial to humanity. Many of the most avid advocates of
political unity have made extravagant claims about the ad-
vantages of a one world government. The claim that such a
government will eliminate poverty and starvation and es-
tablish a new order where all would share in the resources
of the affluent nations of the world is particularly attractive
to those in developing countries. This is a pipedream; but
it is held by those who are blind to the reality of the abject
poverty that is still in most first world countries, including

the United States.
Passivists are also attracted to the concept of a one-world
government, believing that a world that is united under
one government will provide a peaceful environment. But
people of this persuasion ignore the fact that civil war is
presently more common than international war.
Satan, in his last desperate effort to control the world, is
striving to gather churches and governments under his
banner. This greatly facilitates his efforts to gain total con-
trol of the world. Using his talents, honed by millennia of
experimentation with the human mind, he now is making
his final effort to capture the total allegiance of the human
race.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!
for the devil is come down unto you, having great
wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time (Revelation 12:12).
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17).
For there shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; in-
somuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect (Matthew 24:24).
The present thrust for political unity is not unique. By
conquest, men such as Charlemagne, Napoleon, Kaiser
Wilhelm, and Hitler have tried to unite Europe, as well as
Globalism and One World Government 107
the world. The medieval church attempted to achieve unity

built upon a common faith. It established the Holy Roman
Empire, but it has frequently been said that, "it was neither
holy, Roman, nor was it an empire." In the aftermath of
the Napoleonic wars, the Austrian, Prince Klemens Metter-
nich-Winneburg, hoped to bring peace by an agreement
that would secure the borders of European nations where
they were.
After the Metternich system, as it was called, broke
down during the revolutions of 1848, Queen Victoria chose
to encourage the intermarriage of all the royal families of
Europe. She succeeded in this, but, in bringing peace, she
did not. The stark reality of this was witnessed in World
War I when King George V, of Great Britain, was leading
his nation against his first cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm of Ger-
many. The word of prophecy had proclaimed that the
reunification of Europe will not take place.
The prophet, Daniel (see Daniel, chapter 2), told about
the rise of four great powers that were represented by the
great image. The first was the head of gold that represented
the kingdom of Babylon; then followed the silver arms and
breast of Medo-Persia; succeeded by the brass of Greece,
and the iron of Rome. The prophecy finally presented the
mixture of iron and clay in the ten toes of the image. This
symbol represented the division of the Roman Empire into
ten European kingdoms. This division was completed by
A.D.476.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and
part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong,
and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron
mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves
with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay (Daniel
2:42, 43).
Human efforts to unite Europe have consistently failed,
as the prophecy declared; however, a new effort is being
made to unite Europe through economic ties. There is no
doubt that the architects of the European Economic Com-
munity (EEC, often known as the Common Market) had
goals far beyond economic unity leading to political unity.
The EEC had its beginnings in 1957. The initial gathering,
in the City Hall of Rome, was sealed by what is significant-
ly known as the Treaty of Rome. Initially, six nations were
signatories to the treaty-West Germany, France, Italy,
Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Subsequently, six
more nations have joined-Great Britain, the Irish
Republic, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, and Greece.
Together, these nations represent an economic output
that exceeds that of the United States. They now have a
European parliament that is situated in Strasbourg. While
much of the role of the parliament is advisory, it has at-
tracted some notable deputies, such as Willy Brandt who
was former chancellor of West Germany. Many see its fu-
ture role as one of increasing political influence. Its power-
ful influence was demonstrated in June 1989, when
Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party, in Great Britain,
took a sound beating at the hands of the Opposition
Labour Party in the election of deputies to the European
parliament. This greatly weakened the prime minister's ef-
forts to modify the agreements on the European monetary
system that is scheduled for 1992. When, in the week fol-
lowing the elections, she was in Spain with the leaders of
the other 11 nations, she found herself almost impotent to

make headway in her efforts.
The year 1992 will be an important year for the EEC.
That is the date set for the introduction of the European
monetary system (EMS). The plan is to introduce the
Eurodollar. It is hard to imagine how this new system will
take over the British pound, the Danish kroner, the Dutch
guilder, the French franc, the West German mark, the
Spanish peso, the Italian lira, and the Greek drachma. In
that year, it is planned that all border controls between
member nations will disappear. In fact, some controls have
already been removed.
In 1987, Colin was driven from Holland to Belgium. He
discovered that there were no immigration or customs bar-
riers between the two countries. After 1992, once a citizen
of a country that is outside the EEC arrives at an entry
point in any one of the 12 nations, he will not need any fur-
ther entry formalities in order to cross national borders.
National passports in member countries of the EEC have
already been abolished, and all citizens of the 12 nations
receive a common European passport.
It is not difficult to understand how this European move-
ment fits into the final plans of Satan. John, the revelator,
foresaw the time when the pa pal power would implement
an economic boycott against God's faithful people.
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that
had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name (Revelation 13:17).
A united Europe could easily facilitate this boycott, par-
ticularly a union that is primarily based upon econo~ic
principles. The remarkable events of contemporary history

urge us to realize the fact that the end of the world is near.
While Europe will not unite into a single nation, it is clear
that the ties will become so close that, more and more, the
papacy will be in a strong position to exert a controlling in-
fluence over the united community of European nations.
These united powers will indeed provide the human
strength to enforce the dictates of the papacy.
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,
which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive
power as kings one hour with the beast. These have
one mind, and shall give their power and strength
unto the beast (Revelation 17:12, 13).
The Eastern European nations are already turning to the
pope and the Vatican for guidance. In a poll that was con-
ducted toward the end of 1989 in Poland, 87 percent of
those who voted said that they trusted the Roman Catholic
Church; and only 11 percent had said that they had con-
fidence in the Communist Party (San Francisco Chronicle,
Nov. 16, 1989). Tadewsz Mazowieck.i, solidarity president
of Poland, made his first international visit with the pope.
It might be argued that, like the pope, he is Polish and
Catholic, but, this in itself represents an important change
from the approach of the former communist leaders.
Diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Poland were
quickly normalized. Later in the year, Catholic repre-
sentatives from Hungary visited the Vatican in order to
dialogue on church and state relations. There is no doubt
that these once hard-line communist nations are now turn-
ing to the papacy for guidance and support.

phasis added).
The recent events in Eastern Europe provide amazing
evidence of the failure of the communist party to destroy
religion. It is clear that religion has flourished much more
under communist repression than under Western freedom.
During December 1989, the Lithuanians of the Soviet
Union exercised a newfound religious freedom for the es-
timated 3,000,000 Catholics among its 3,600,000 population.
The most significant event of December 1989 was not the
summit meeting of President George Bush with Mikhail
Gorbachev; instead, it was Gorbachev's unprecedented
visit to the Vatican. The Washington Post of December 2,
1989, made this striking statement:
Of all the meetings with world leaders that Gor-
bachev has had since he became the Communist Party
general secretary in March 1985, today's [with Pope
John Paul I!] was probably the most extraordinary
(Washington Post of Dec. 2, 1982).
Time magazine emphasized the significance of the meet-
ing with these words:
More than any of the 18 summit meetings between
Soviet leaders and U.S. presidents, Gorbachev's
pilgrimage to the papal library will make his nation a
respectable participant in world discourse (Time
magazine, Australian edition, Dec. 4, 1989).
Gorbachev himself described the visit as "a truly extraor-
dinary event," and it certainly was because no general
secretary of the Soviet Union had visited the reigning pope
since the arrival of Communism in Russia more than seven
decades ago. In the same Washington Post report, the

pope was quoted as saying that the meeting was "a sign of
the times that have slowly matured, a sign that is rich in
promise." Prophecy-studying Christians will see great sig-
nificance, especially in the last portion of that statement.
At the meeting with Gorbachev, the pope had a heavy
burden upon his mind-the fate of the Ukrainian Catholics.
In the 1940s, Stalin had almost destroyed the Ukrainian
Catholic Church (between four and five million members),
disbanded its organization, and forced them to unite with
the Russian Orthodox Church. This group became the
largest persecuted group of Christians in the world.
When invited to visit Moscow, John Paul II stipulated
that he could accept Gorbachev' s invitation only if permis-
sion was granted him to first visit the Lithuanian and Uk-
rainian Catholics, and only when the Ukrainian Catholic
Church was allowed to reorganize and function normally.
Gorbachev agreed to hasten this event. Just prior to the
meeting that was held between Gorbachev and the pope, a
Roman Catholic priest was interviewed on an American
CBS news feature. His significant statement was that "the
meeting is between the lion and the lamb, but no one is
sure which one is the lion and which is the lamb." The
meeting itself quickly showed that it was the pope who
held the upper hand. He was, without question, the lion.
We can expect these events to continue in rapid succes-
sion. It is certain that before this book is published, many
additional events will show the dominant role of the
papacy in world religion and political events. Truly, the
world is "wondering after the beast." Soon only those who
have their names written in the Lamb's book of life will

refuse to worship him. Unquestionably, this is a time for
all of God's people to draw closer to their Saviour. It is a
time to look up, for our redemption draweth nigh (Luke
21:28). This is a time when every faithful servant of Christ
must make his calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).

11
European Political Unity
A t the end of April 1990, the 12 nations of the

European Economic Community met in Dublin, the
Republic of Ireland, in conference. Flushed with the
euphoria which had arisen over the imminent unity of East
and West Germany, the West German chancellor, Helmut
Kohl, together with the French president, Francois Mitter-
rand, urged the members of the community to work
toward political integration (Singapore Straits Times, April
30, 1990).
Prime Minister Charles Haughey, of Ireland, who was
then the president of the European Economic Community
(a post which rotates every six months among the heads of
the 12 member states), had called this special meeting to
discuss the matter of German unity. Taking advantage of
this extraordinary session, Kohl and Mitterrand made a
proposal to extend the meeting to discuss European politi-
cal unity. The Franco-Germans expressed themselves in
this letter:
Given the profound changes in Europe, the estab-

lishment of the EC internal market and the realization
of economic and monetary union we believe it is
1
necessary to accelerate the political construction of the

12 (ibid., April 21, 1990).
These leaders left no doubt concerning the time frame
that they envisaged:
Our objective is that these fundamental reforms--
economic and monetary union as well as political
union-take effect on January l, 1993, after the
ratification by national parliaments (ibid.).
It should not pass unnoticed that the two leaders
referred to the European Economic Community, not as the
EEC, but as the EC-the European Community. The latter
abbreviation is growing in popularity as the emphasis for
European unity is changing from a purely economic union
to one of political significance.
Ever since the destruction of Imperial Rome, one con-
queror after another has entertained ambitions to unite
Europe under his authority. Men such as Charlemange,
Napoleon Bonaparte, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Adolf Hitler
have pursued this delusion of grandeur, but each has
decidedly failed in reaching his ambition.
Now we see, for the first time, an effort to unite
European nations by peaceful means, simply relying upon
their acquiescence. This initiative of Chancellor Kohl and
President Mitterrand is doomed to fail just as surely as did
the efforts of dictators to achieve this aim by conquests.
God's mighty Word has spoken! In one of the great
prophecies of Scripture, God outlined the history of the
world from the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
European Political Unity 117
until the second coming of Christ. This vast stretch of

prophetic time was viewed in a symbolic dream by King
Nebuchadnezzar himself. In this dream, he saw a statue
composed of a head of gold which represented his own
kingdom of Babylon. This was followed by the chest and
arms of silver that represented the Medo-P'ersian Empire
which succeeded Babylon. The third portion of the statue
consisted of an abdomen and thighs of bronze, which rep-
resented the Grecian Empire. This was followed by the legs
of iron which represented the mighty Roman Empire that
succeeded Greece.
But it is the feet which interest us today. Unlike the rest
of the image's body, these feet were not composed of metal
alone, as Scripture tells us.
His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay
(Daniel 2:33).
The Bible makes it perfectly plain that the iron kingdom
of Rome would eventually be divided into the various na-
tions of Europe; furthermore, in the history of this world,
these nations would never again unite.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the
iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with
the miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of
iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest
the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle them-
selves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave
one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay
(Daniel 2:41-43).
john the revelator spoke of the day when the ten horns
(or the ten toes as they are depicted in Daniel) would rep-
resent the nations of Europe that would "have one mind"
(Revelation 17:13). This is certainly not referring to politi-
cal unity. It refers to unity in purpose. The prophecy of
Daniel 2 reveals that the nations of Europe would never
again unite as a single political entity-"They shall not
cleave one to another." While we can look for unanimity of
purpose among the nations of Europe, particularly in their
support for papal dominance, we can be just as certain that
these nations will not politically unite again.
It is very likely that Francois Mitterrand, in supporting
the German proposal, was motivated by the fear of a
united Germany.
France has suffered three German occupations in the last
120 years. The French people no doubt believe that, in a
united Europe, they would have much more security
against a revitalized Germany than they have experienced
in the past; however, in this, they are doomed to disap-
pointment. While it is true that Mrs. Thatcher is a par-
ticularly strong opponent of the European political unity,
she, nevertheless, correctly predicted that "the process of
European union would founder as soon as member states
faced the prospect of having to cede national sovereignty
and accept collective decision making" (Singapore Straits
Times, April 1990).
We must not overlook the fact that France is a Catholic
nation and that Chancellor Kohl leads the Catholic political
party of Germany. Make no mistake, the Vatican is careful-
ly monitoring, if not actively instigating, the move for a
united Europe. Pope john Paul II has called "an unprece-

dented Europe-wide meeting of bishops to discuss spread-
ing the church's message across the continent" (ibid., April
23, 1990).
Let us notice this fact in the light of the call from France
and Germany, a few days later, for European unity. The in-
terest of the Roman Catholic Church in European unity is
as intense as it is self-serving.
The concept of a united Europe, one that recognizes
its Christian roots, has been an important thread run-
ning through the pope's speeches on a two-day visit
to Czechoslovakia .... Europe has about 1,000 of the
world's 3,000 bishops. The synod apparently will for-
mulate' a strategy to meet the pope's vision of a
Europe united by its Christian roots (ibid.).
We may rest assured that what the pope means by Chris-
tian roots is Roman Catholic roots; thus Kohl and Mitter-
rand, in their letter to Prime Minister Haughey, were
either reflecting the pope's wishes or they were using their
good offices, at the request of the pope, to forward his
desires.
For countries such as France and Germany, which are
likely to dominate any united Europe, there would be
potential advantages. But what about the fate of the
smaller countries? Already, it is reported that Mrs.
Thatcher was not alone in her stand against political union.
Community leaders said other countries such as
Denmark, Luxembourg, and Portugal also had reser-
vations (ibid.).
It is understandable that smaller nations such as Den-
mark, Luxembourg, and Portugal would be very hesitant
to join a united states of Europe. The Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics has provided a contemporary example
of the difficulty of ruling a nation of united states that con-
sists of concentrations of diverse ethnic citizens. We only
have to examine the situations in the Baltic states and the
states of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan in order to
realize that the fate of ethnic minorities within a larger
union is not to be desired.
If the smaller countries of Europe were to lose their
sovereignty, they would become mere puppets in the
hands of the larger nations. This would be particularly so
if all of Europe was united to include the U.S.S.R., Britain,
France, and Germany.
Undoubtedly, calls for a united Europe will continue, but
we have the sure Word of God that political union in
Europe will not transpire. No student of God's Word
could ever doubt this fact. There will be, as we have men-
tioned, a coming together of these nations in purpose and
ideals that are particularly related to the religious issues
and the dominance of the Vatican in these religious issues.
But that unity will transpire despite the fact that national
sovereignties will be maintained. The European parlia-
ment will never become a sovereign parliament for a single
nation-the united states of Europe-because God, in His
infallible foreknowledge, has revealed that this will never
transpire.
We are living in the last days. Satan is diligent in his at-
tempts to make of none effect the prophecies of God. He,
too, is doomed to failure. We are near the end of this
world's history. Speaking of the division of Europe, God
has revealed to us what will follow the period of the

divided nations of Europe.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, that shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever (Daniel
2:44).
There will be no united nation of Europe. Soon the
kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will be established at His
second coming. At that time, He will take the redeemed
with Him to heaven. We can have great certainty concern-
ing the definite failure for moves toward political union in
Europe. No prophecy has ever failed to accurately reveal
the future as clearly as if it was the past because every
word of God is sure. Christ's second coming alone is our
only hope for future unity.

12
Blasphemous Claims
S ome have wrongly identified the antichrist power as

either an atheistic power, such as communism, or a
pagan power, such as Hinduism or Buddhism. But this
does not agree with the Scriptures. Paul testified that the
antichrist power would possess the veneer of Christianity.
It would be a power that actually claimed to be approved
of God.
He as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Daniel also saw this power attempting to usurp the
authority of Jesus.
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of
the host (Daniel 8:11).
John revealed that this false religious power would
demand worship.

(Revelation 13:8).
He further declared that those who would not willingly
worship the antichrist power would face death. Scripture
indicates that an attempt will be made to enforce the wor-
ship of the antichrist throughout the entire world.
This power is also described as a blasphemous power.
And he shall speak great words against the most
High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws (Daniel 7:25).
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
From the accusations made against Christ by the leaders
of the Jews, we know the scriptural meaning of blasphemy.
It means one who usurps the place of God.
But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest
answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the
living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the
Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou
hast said: nevertheless I say unto you , Hereafter shall
ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and corning in the clouds of heaven. Then the
high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken
blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses?
behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy (Matthew
26:63-65).
Blashpemous Claims 125
And the high priest stood up in the midst, and

asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is
it which these witness against thee? But he held his
peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest
asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye
shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the
high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we
any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy:
what think ye' And they all condemned him to be
guilty of death (Mark 14:60-64).
The antichrist is appropriately designated by the name of
blasphemy in Scripture.
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a
beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and
ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon
his heads the name of blasphemy (Revelation 13:1).
This name indicates that the antichrist claims to be God
or the Son of God. There is ample evidence that the papal
church has frequently repeated such claims. Some striking
examples are here cited:
The priest may, in a certain manner, be called the
creator of his Creator, since by saying the words of
consecration, he creates, as it were, Jesus in the sacra-
ment [the Eucharist] by giving him a sacra.mental ex-
istence. Oh happy function of the priest! He that
created me (if I may say so) gave me power to create
Him; and He that created me without me is Himsell
created by me (Dignities and Duties of the Priest, pp. 32,
33).
Were the Redeemer to descend into a church, and
sit in a confessional to administer the sacraments of
penance, and a priest to sit in another confessional,
Jesus would say over each penitent, "Ego te absolvo"

[I absolve you]. The priest would likewise say over
each of his penitents, "Ego te absolvo," and the
penitence of both would be equally absolved (ibid., p.
28).
To pardon a single sin requires all the omnipotence
of God .... But what only God can do by His om-
nipotence, the priest can also do by saying "Ego te ab-
solvo.... " Indeed, it is not too much to say that, in
view of the sublimity of their offices, the priests are so
many gods (ibid., pp. 34-36).
He [the priest] can hardly wait to each dawn when
he will once again hold the Lord between his fingers
[the wafer of the Mass] .... Our priests pick up the
Lord and move Him here and there, fonvard and
backward (Our Sunday Visitor, Dec. 1, 1946).
In December 1985, Russell and his wife, Enid, were
present at a papal audience at the Vatican. At its con-
clusion, it was announced that the sins of all in attendance
were absolved because of their presence there; and, further,
Pope john Paul II had provided absolution for all of their
loved ones! In a very real sense, the pope usurped a power
above God, for he "forgave" the sins of men and women
who offered no evidence of repentance.
Is it any wonder that the Scriptures describe the an-
tichrist in such graphic terms?
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking
great things and blasphemies (Revelation 13:5).
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against

God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and
them that dwell in heaven (Revelation 13:6).
With such blasphemous claims, it is plain that the
papacy cannot lead men and women to the kingdom of
heaven. Obviously, such a power offers an invalid plan of
redemption that will lead all its followers to eternal an-
nihilation. Without doubt, the plan is a masterpiece of
Satan. With the exception of God's saints, all the world
will come under the hypnotic influence of the papacy.
Jn Life magazine of December 1989, Stefan Kanfer, in his
incisive article, "The Triumph of john Paul II," dramatized
the power of john Paul II. Kanfer details the pope's, step
by victorious step, inside role in the extinction of the Com-
munist Party in Poland. The prestige of the papacy had
been put in a difficult position by the liberation theology of
the Latin American Catholics. Kanfer pointed out that the
communist collapse came at a most important time for the
papacy because of the decline in church attendance in
Western Europe and the liberal theology positions that
were taken by many Catholics, both lay members and cler-
gy in the United States.
Kanfer made a most significant observation when he said
that the pope's "objective is not a holy war against com-
munism, it is nothing less than the liberation of the world
itself." He concluded his article with the perception that
"the man who is likely to be remembered in the church's
third millennium stands on the balcony of Saint Peter's
Square, smiling down in delight and triumph, but not in
surprise." Bible understanding Christians should not be
surprised because the direction of these events is well-

detailed in Holy Scripture.
It will again be seen that, just as soon as the Roman-
Catholic-backed governments rise to power, oppression
rather than freedom will result. Poland is already a strik-
ing example. The surprising rapidity of the movement
toward total Catholic control in Poland can already be seen
from reports concerning certain Protestant churches which
were forbidden to distribute literature in that country.
Solidarity has definitely made it clear that it will only
recognize one church-the Roman Catholic Church.
Perhaps the most striking prophecy of Scripture points to
the fact that, under the garb of peace, the papacy will yet
destroy many.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to
prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in
his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also
stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be
broken without hand (Daniel 8:25, emphasis added).
It is not surprising that "peace" is the greatest theme of
contemporary Catholicism.
The accommodation of Catholicism, in its desire to bring
all peoples under the umbrella of its authority, was no bet-
ter demonstrated than during the World Day of Prayer for
Peace on October 1986. On that day, Pope John Paul II met
with many of the world religious leaders (Christian, pagan,
even African witch doctors, and Togo snake handlers) at
Assisi, Italy. All such meetings appear to be overtly under
the canopy of Catholicism or as a prominent participant
with the Catholic Church. The town of Assisi (made
famous by Francis of Assisi, the Roman Catholic lover of
B/ashpemous Claims 129
nature and advocate of peace) has become a focal point for

international prayer for peace. In 1989, a lot was said about
Archbishop Runcie's pilgrimage to Assisi to pray for peace.
Jointly sponsored by the Costa Rican government and
the Roman Catholic Church of Costa Rica, seven hundred
international delegates met in San Jose on June 25-30, 1989,
in order to discuss peace and the new order that it is hoped
will be established in the twenty-first century. Here, marry-
ing the pagan humanistic concepts of the New Age with
Roman Catholic leadership, the chancellor of the United
Nation's Peace University, Robert Muller, gave the keynote
address.
We must also hope that the pope will come before
the year 2000 to the United Nations; speak for all the
religions and spiritualities on this planet; and give the
world the religious view of how the third millennium
should be a spiritual millennium, a millennium which
will see the integration and harmony of humanity
(Muller's report in Flashpoint, January 1990).
The pope is the only public figure that has been sug-
gested as the one who will oversee this world union. This is
surely a most dramatic tum of events in human history.
On November 22, 1989, it was stated over the radio sta-
tion, WJOY, that "the people of Eastern Europe are focus-
ing their attention on Pope John Paul II for spiritual
leadership in order to help bring about a peaceful solution
to their political turmoil." Various religious leaders are
urging their members to lay aside their differences, and
work in unity under the banner of Rome. Some are even
advocating church unification. The only response from
Pope John Paul II was that "the issues separating our
beliefs are not insurmountable; however, when it comes to

ordination of women, birth control, and the Eucharist,
Protestants must realize our assiduous position on these is-
sues. n
It is essential to recognize that this "unity" will always be
on the basis of Protestant capitulation to Catholicism.
The pope's planned meeting of the approximate 1,000
European bishops, in 1991, was said to be for the purpose
of "finding ways to meet the pope's vision of a Europe
united in its Christian roots-including Eastern Europe
after the fall of communism" (U.S.A. Today, April 23, 1990).
There is no question that the pope's goal is the unifica-
tion of the whole world under his banner. The Christianity
that the pope envisages is not biblical Christianity; instead,
it is Roman Catholicism. A unity built on Roman
Catholicism will lead to severe persecution of those who
will not surrender to the leadership of the papacy.
The weight of this world without God cannot be es-
caped by recourse to drugs, the misuse of sex, the cul-
ture of violence, or joining sects. This world must be
conquered (Washington Post, April 23, 1989, emphasis
added).
While we agree that God alone has the answer to
mankind's needs, we fear the pope's statement that places
the joining of sects with the evils of drugs, promiscuous sex,
and violence. This statement indicates repressive actions
against minority religions.
Bishop John Mooreman, the leader of the Anglican
delegation of observers to the Second Vatican Council, was
quoted as saying, "I think we realize that, if there is to be a
final unity among Christians, there will have to be a central

head of the church; and that head will clearly have to be
the bishop of Rome."
Further, Bishop Oxman asserted, "I believe that union
can and must be established in Christ's churches in the
world. Since the Roman Catholic Church refuses . . . to
accept union except on the basis of all other churches
repudiating their own churches and returning to Rome, the
first step toward union must be taken by the Protestant
churches."
The ecumenical movement has sought to bind the
churches together by a common Bible, established upon
corrupt Greek texts. Almost all modem Bible translations
are heavily dependent upon the Codex Sinaiticus and the
Codex Vaticanus, two ancient Greek manuscripts from the
vVestem Roman Empire, for the translation of the New Tes-
tament. Both have suffered from interpolations and dele-
tions. So much is missing from the Vaticanus that it has
sometimes been referred to as the abridged New Testa-
ment; thus hundreds of texts, or parts of texts, which are
found in the European Bibles of the Reformation are not
found in these modem translations. Nations as diverse as
Italy, the Netherlands, and Hungary all have new ecumeni-
cal Bibles that are accepted by both Protestants and
Catholics.
One of the great issues of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries was Protestantism's unwavering support of the
Greek manuscripts from the Eastern Roman Empire which
were preserved with far greater integrity than those in the
West. Today, these texts are commonly referred to as the
Textus Receptus (the Received Text or the Majority Text).

A list of ecumenical hymns, which are thought suitable for
singing in all churches, has also been established. All these
are telltale signs of the false unity about to come.
There is every evidence that the blasphemous claims that
are made by the papacy will be accepted by the majority of
earth's inhabitants in the very near future.
13
False Principles of
Salvation
A t first glance, the Catholic faith appears to be a com-

plete gospel. john Wesley, the founder of
Methodism, demonstrated that the gospel of the cross of
Jesus embraced not only the justification, that was so
beautifully presented by the sixteenth-century Reformers,
but also sanctification. The gospel of Jesus is a complete
gospel, encompassing justification (pardon and forgive-
ness) and sanctification (holiness, cleansing, and purifica-
tion). The Bible is rich in verses that emphasize this
understanding. We are justified by faith, and that same
faith also sanctifies us.
To open their eyes, and to tum them from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me
(Acts 26:18, emphasis added).
The same sacrifice of Jesus that justifies also sanctifies.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also

loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the
people with his own blood, suffered without the gate
(Hebrews 13:12).
By the which will we are sanctified through the of-
fering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
(Hebrews 10:10).
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) was convened by the
Roman Catholic Church in a desperate effort to counter the
Protestant Reformation. Over the 18-year period of the
council, the bishops discussed many issues, but few more
vigorously than the issue of whether the gospel consisted
of justification alone. This principle had been presented by
the sixteenth-century Reformers. Eventually, by majority
vote, the bishops upheld the concept that the gospel con-
sisted of both justification and sanctification.
Some have subsequently claimed that those who believe
that the gospel embraces sanctification along with justifica-
tion are rejecting the Protestant Reformation and embrac-
ing a Catholic concept of the gospel. No conclusion could
be further from the truth. It is essential to recognize that
what was voted by the Council of Trent was not a true
concept of either justification or sanctification. True jus-
tification and forgiveness takes place only in those who in-
vite Christ to take control of their wills. He alone can
transform the life, and turn us from wickedness unto holi-
False Principles of Salvation 135
ness. Without that power, we are impotent to truly live the

life of a Christian.
The sanctification that was espoused by the Council of
Trent and the Roman Catholic Church is not based upon
faith in Jesus; instead, it is works-oriented sacramentalism.
Like the Jews of Christ's day who put their trust in
ceremonialism (the doing of the sacrificial services and or-
dinances), the bishops of Rome voted that the keeping of
the seven sacred sacraments (Mass, holy orders, marriage,
baptism, penance, confirmation, and extreme unction) were
meritorious for salvation. The statement of the bishops was
the ultimate statement of a works gospel, a sanctification
that is built upon sacramentalism.
This was exactly the legalism of the Jews that was con-
demned by Christ. It is a belief that works can merit salva-
tion.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judg-
ment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done,
and not to leave the other undone (Matthew 23:23).
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonder·
ful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity
(Matthew 7:22, 23).
Authentic Christianity, while disavowing any hint of
legalistic salvation, nevertheless accepts, by faith, Christ's
merit and death to empower each one to live the life of vic-
tory. The sanctification that is understood by faithful Chris-
tians does not contain one whit of legalism or merit of

human works. It is established upon a sanctification that is
a gift of God through the merits of the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ; thus genuine Christians constantly accept the
clearest testimony of Scripture that links justification and
sanctification together in the gospel. In so doing, they deny
the ceremonialism of the Jews and the sacramentalism of
the Roman Catholic Church. An example of works-oriented
concepts in the salvation of the Catholics can be seen in the
following statement:
Faith alone will not save man, but good morals, or
good works, are necessary (The Convert"s Catechism of
Catholic Doctrine, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc.,
1977).
The concept that salvation is merited by faith plus
human works is a pillar of the Roman Catholic apostasy.
While it is fully understood that no one can be saved
without good works because these are the inevitable
fruitage of sanctification, it must be adamantly stated that
there is no basis or merit in good works unto salvation.
Our salvation is only the result of the infinite grace of God,
through the merits of His Son, Jesus Christ; thus personal
holiness is, in no measure, a basis of our salvation, but God
has declared it to be a condition upon which He bestows
His full salvation. As shown in the parable of the pearl of
great price, salvation is a free gift that costs our all. Only a
true Christian can comprehend this paradox.
It must be acknowledged that many Protestants have
been imprisoned by legalism, but the Word of God is ex-
plicit that the righteous live a life of faith. Some have so
strongly preached the law that they have almost ignored
the One who alone gives power to keep the law. God
presents the law and faith together, and both are to be
given equal weight because we cannot keep the command-
ments of God unless we have the faith of Jesus.
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus (Revelation 14:12).
The gospel of Jesus does not allow the barrenness of
legalism or the powerlessness of antinomianism (the false
doctrine that the observance of the law of God is irrelevant
to salvation). The law and the gospel are inseparable
"Sidmese twins." To ignore one is to destroy them both.
The emphasis upon works, in the Roman Catholic
Church, arises from the influence of paganism. The pagans,
with their good gods and bad gods, focused upon in-
gratiating themselves to the good gods in a self-centered at-
tempt to obtain all their benefits. They further attempted
to appease the bad gods in order to avoid receiving their
curses; thus pagans build their worship upon a ceaseless
round of activities, ceremonies, and sacraments in a futile
effort to achieve their goal. In many Buddhist temples,
both good gods and devil gods are worshiped. In the
famous Burmah Road Buddhist Temple, in Penang,
Malaysia, there are, in addition to good gods, two gods
with opium streaming from their mouths. These idols,
which are designated as devil gods, are earnestly entreated
by their worshipers.
As the early Christian church more and more imbibed
the pagan philosophy of the former Roman Empire and
embraced its principles, it began to institute rounds of
works-oriented practices which were taught to be essential
to human salvation. The unconverted have always

preferred such works-oriented practices over a dependent
faith in Jesus. Such a belief appeals to the checklist men-
tality which lulls us into carnal security. A simple com-
pliance with the minimum requirements for salvation will
not save even one soul. Such does not require a transfor-
mation of heart. The natural human heart may meet all the
check.list items as did the rich young ruler. It may feel
secure in conforming to all these requirements; however,
the individual may be moving headlong toward eternal
oblivion while his priest assures him that he has secured
eternal life.
The medieval Roman Catholic Church had developed
this works-based brand of salvation into a refined art.
Through confession to the priest, penance, the payment of
monies, pilgrimages, attendance at ritual services, and
other acts, the individual was made to feel a deep sense of
security when his heart was still carnal. The Jews of
Christ's day had, in the same way, learned to depend
upon human effort for salvation. They had based their
hope of salvation upon fulfilling the most detailed obliga-
tions of both the Torah (God's Word) and the Mishnah
(man's word). Both the Jews and the Roman Catholics
ha·;e forgotten the divine principles of salvation in their
consideration of the acts of obedience to merit their salva-
tion.
Behold, thou desires! truth in the inward parts: and
in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wis-
dom. Purge me with hyssop, and 1 shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in
me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit
within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;

and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted
unto thee. For thou desires! not sacrifice; else would I
give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a
contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not despise (Psalm
51:6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17).
The great message of righteousness by faith in Jesus
must be proclaimed at the end of the world. Satan has
used the Roman Catholic concept of sanctification to dis-
credit the truth of true sanctification by faith. Colin well-
remembers that a prominent Protestant theologian, in a
dialogue, said, "Sanctification is a good principle, but it is
not part of the gospel."
The Bible is rich with statements that link justification
with sanctification in the gospel. But before sharing these
with the reader, let us once more make clear what these
terms really mean. Justification is simply divine forgive-
ness and pardon, which restores individuals to a position
before God as if they had never sinned. Sanctification
refers to the cleansing and purification of the soul. In the
New Testament, justification is synonymous with the term,
righteousness; and sanctification is synonymous with the
term, holiness.
When we confess our sins (which crucified our Saviour)
with deep repentance, we are forgiven and justified. In the
sight of God, our sins are no more. We stand righteous
before God as we accept, through faith, the perfect merits
and grace of the One who has had victory over sin and
died for us.
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened

us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any
man should boast (Ephesians 2:5, 8, 9).
God is so good. He not only provides, through Christ,
the divine power to forgive but also restores. Ii is not His
purpose that we should continue to live a life of sin which
engenders guilt, condemnation, and low self-esteem. He
desires to keep His people from falling back into sin. His
love provides the forgiveness of our sins, through Christ.
He also provides the power to keep His faithful children
from returning to their sin. Now, it has to be acknowledged
that many faithful Christians have fallen back into sin. The
moment we take our eyes off Jesus, we certainly become
vulnerable to the assaults of Satan. The wonderful thing is
that we are not rejected because we failed our Lord.
My little children, these things write I unto you,
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advo-
cate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John
2:1).
It is in God's plan for His children that they should, rely-
ing upon His power moment by moment, live a life free
from the bondage of sin.
Let us examine a selection of the many texts that unite
justification and sanctification as inseparable aspects of our
salvation.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for-
give us our sins [justification J1 and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness [sanctification] (1john1:9).
There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus [justification], who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit [sanctification)

(Romans 8:1 ).
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins [justification],
and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me (Acts 26:18).
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Ex-
cept a man be born of water [justification] and of the
Spirit [sanctification J, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God Oohn 3:5).
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew
no sin [justification[; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him [sanctification] (2 Corin-
thians 5:21).
It is most important that those whom God will redeem
are both justified and sanctified.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he
which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous [justified[, let him be righteous still: and he
that is holy [sanctified], let him be holy still (Revela-
tion 22:11).
There are Protestants who have stated that the linking of
sanctification together with justification in the gospel is
spiritual adultery. They believe this because they have ac-
cepted the works concept of sanctification that is espoused
by the Roman Catholic Church instead of the biblical con-
cept of sanctification by faith; thus they have concluded
that it is unthinkable to ascribe any merit for salvation to
human effort. In this, they are correct because there cannot
be one shred of merit in human effort, even that motivated
by the Holy Spirit. Important as the strongest efforts of the
human will are, they are no basis whatsoever for our salva-
tion. Our salvation is assured, as we have said earlier, on
the basis of Christ's grace alone; thus the Bible teaches that
we are both justified and sanctified by God through the
life, death, and high priestly ministry of the Son of God.
When this is properly understood, we need not fear the
works-oriented sanctification that is espoused by the
Roman Catholic Church. It is a crude counterfeit of true
sanctification.
In the loving power of the Saviour, God will have a
people who truly reflect His character.
And to her [God's church] was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for
the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (Revelation
19:8).
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads. These are they which were not defiled with
women; for they are virgins. These are they which fol-
low the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were
redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto
God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found
no guile: for they are without fault before the throne
of God (Revelation 14:1, 4, 5).
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,

and to present you faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy Oude 24).
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor
speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in
their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and
none shall make them afraid (Zephaniah 3:13).
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungod-
liness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniq-
uity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works (Titus 2:11-14).
Sadly, neither the Roman Catholic Church nor many of
the Protestant churches teach the biblical principle of salva-
tion through faith; as a consequence, they are denying their
members the knowledge of the principles by which only
God's people will be prepared for Christ's return. It takes a
day-by-day commitment of our lives to Jesus, allowing
Him to work in us to make such a preparation.
Work out your own salvation with fear and trem-
bling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12, 13).
144 Antichrist ls Herc

14
The Deadly Wound

Re-examined
S erious students of Bible prophecy have been fascinated

for a long time with the deadly wound of the beast of
Revelation 13 and its healing.
world wondered after the beast (Revelation 13:3).
We have seen that the deadly wound was inflicted upon
the papacy in 1798, when General Berthier, of Napoleon's
army, took the pope a captive to France. This wound was
further deepened in 1870, when Giuseppe Garibaldi seized
all the territory of the Papal States and incorporated it into
the new kingdom of Italy; thus the papacy had been
stripped of its last vestige of temporal power, a power it
had exerted since A.O. 538.
In reality, Rome fell to Italian forces that were led by
General Raffaele Cadoma on September 20, 1870. Pope
Pius IX capitulated, and a national vote was taken in the
Papal States, in October 1870, which resulted in an over-

whelming majority in favor of union with Italy. The event
which stimulated the overthrow of the Papal States is sig-
nificant to the student of God's Word.
The way had been paved by the meeting of the
[first] Vatican Council, in 1869-1870, and its proclama-
tion, in July 1870, of the infallibility of the pope. This
symptom of the increasing centralization and
clericalization of the church revived some of the old
opposition (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1963 edition, sub-
ject: Italy).
The relationship of the declaration of the unscriptural
doctrine of papal infallibility and the resultant loss of
Vatican sovereignty over the Papal States is frequently
overlooked. The papacy had caused its own downfall.
The healing process was initiated by Benito Mussolini,
prime minister of Italy, who, in 1929, signed the Lateran
Treaty which restored temporal power to the papacy by
returning its possession of the territory of Vatican City.
This territory, just a mere speck of Rome that occupies only
108 acres (one sixth of a square mile), has become the cen-
ter of the most powerful political organization upon earth.
As succeeding popes have strengthened their influence
upon the destinies of nations, the wound has healed so ef-
fectively that it is now almost impossible to detect even the
scar.
When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, it appeared that the
College of Cardinals could not decide on a suitable replace-
ment. As a temporary measure, they chose the elderly Car-
dinal Roncalli as Pius XII's successor. In four and a half
years, as Pope John XXIII, he completely changed the face
The Deadly Wound Re-examined 147
of Catholicism, and dispelled the antagonism of most

Protestants.
Upon the death of John XXIII in 1963, the archbishop of
Milan, Cardinal Mantini, was elected Pope Paul VI. In the
fifteen years of his pontificate, Paul VI introduced a
schedule of worldwide travel for himself that had never
before been undertaken by a pope. In this manner, he be-
came an international figure. While he did not possess the
charisma of John XXIII, he nevertheless rode on a wave of
Catholic popularity that was generated by his predecessor.
With the death of Paul VI in 1978, Cardinal Luciani,
archbishop of Venice, was voted to fill the papal seat. He
assumed the title of John Paul I. His sudden death, after a
mere 33 days in office, precipitated a return of the cardinals
to the Sistine Chapel, in the Vatican, in order to elect
another man to the papal throne. For over 400 years, the
choice of a pope had always been an Italian. It was not an-
ticipated, on this occasion, that there would be any devia-
tion from this precedence.
All evidence, at the time, indicated that this was indeed a
fierce, close contest in the early ballots between the
archbishop of Milan and the archbishop of Naples. But
neither could obtain the two-thirds majority vote that is re-
quired for papal election; thus the College of Cardinals
turned its attention to a compromise candidate. To the
amazement of the world, a Polish prelate (Cardinal Karol
Wojtyla, archbishop of Cracow) was appointed. He was
not even the primate of Poland (that appointment, at the
time, was held by the archbishop of Warsaw); yet this un-
likely selection has proven to be an act of pure genius in
the fulfillment of the aims and political ambitions of the

Roman Catholic Church. No pope has ever prepared the
way for a greater fulfillment of Bible prophecy than has
this former armaments factory worker from Poland.
Today, Pope john Paul II has gained the respect and ap-
plause of almost all peoples of every nation. He is seen as a
peacemaker, a champion of underprivileged nations, and
an upholder of democracy. Such a reputation is amazing
for the head of a power which has the worst record of any
in the field of democracy. This power has a record of bel-
ligerence second to none, and has kept more nations in a
state of poverty and backwardness than any other power in
the history of this world.
The noted Catholic scholar, Peter de Rosa (former profes-
sor of metaphysics and ethics at Westminster Seminary;
dean of Corpus Christi College, in London; and a former
Jesuit priest who was trained in the Gregorian University
in Rome), had this to say concerning the Roman Catholic
record of justice:
The record of the Inquisition would be embarrass-
ing for any organization; for the Catholic Church, it is
devastating. Today, it prides itself, and with much
justification [the authors would dispute this judg-
ment], on being the defender of natural law and the
rights of man. The papacy, in particular, likes to see
itself as the champion of morality. What history
shows is that, for more than six centuries without a
break, the papacy was the sworn enemy of elementary
justice. Of eighty popes in a line from the thirteenth
century on, not one of them disapproved of the theol-
ogy and apparatus of Inquisition. On the contrary, one
after another added his own cruel touches to the
workings of the deadly machine (Peter de Rosa, Vicars

of Christ, Corgi Books, 1989, p. 244).
The Bible had declared that, notwithstanding this truly
abysmal track record, all the world would regard the
papacy with wonderment.
We have seen evidence of this even among the Protestant
churches which were originally established to throw off the
unmatched evils and errors of the Roman Catholic Church.
Many Anglicans, Lutherans, Baptists, and others now see
no peril in establishing close relationships with the Roman
Catholic Church. In this, they are utterly blind. Even Billy
Graham has proclaimed Pope John Paul II as the most sig-
nificant religious figure in the present world.
It is not without reason that the claim has been put
forth in Protestant countries that Catholicism differs
less widely from Protestantism than in former times.
There has been a change; but the change is not in the
papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the
Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism
has so greatly degenerated since the days of the
Reformers (Ellen White. The Great Controversy, p. 571).
The calls of the archbishop of Canterbury to elevate the
pope to spiritual leader of Christendom falls upon deaf
ears when suggested to those who believe Bible prophecy.
Such men and women are appalled by the lack of spiritual
insight shown by churches such as the Lutheran and
Southern Baptist churches. Still there are numerous men
and women who doubt the ability of the Roman Catholic
Church to hold sway over the atheistic and non-Christian
world.
Recent events in communist Europe have shown the

error of such complacency. Once it was believed that com-
munism and Catholicism were irreconcilable enemies.
The meeting of the pope and Mr. Gorbachev, in
December 1989, indicated to the world the symbolic
end of the twentieth century's most dramatic spiritual
war, a conflict in which the seemingly irresistible force
of communism battered against the immovable object
of Christianity (Time magazine, Australian Edition,
Deccmbcr4, 1989).
Time has revealed the truth of Bible prophecy which in-
dicates that all the world will wonder after the beast. Mr.
Gorbachev's visit to the Vatican, in December 1989, was an
immensely significant act. Prior to that visit, he had taken
the unprecedented step to seek the pope's assistance in
order to help him calm the Catholic citizens in the Ukraine.
Stalin thought that the Vatican was weak. At the
Postsdam Conference, in 1945, Stalin had scornfully asked
Churchill, "How many divisions did you say the pope
had?" Gorbachev found that the pope has many divisions
of loyal followers on the streets of the cities of the Ukraine
and Lithuania.
Gorbachev well-knew that the pope could not be trusted
to quiet the voice of revolt in areas of Catholic concentra-
tions unless he offered to fulfill the Vatican's objectives;
thus, in anticipating his meeting with John Paul II, it was
stated that he would offer the following inducements:
"Come to Moscow and other Soviet cities on an of-
ficial tour," he [Gorbachev] will say: "Talk of peaceful
change to your co-religionists in the Ukraine and in
separatist Lithuania as well; urge them, as Cardinal
Glemp did in Poland years ago, to be patient and not
to seek to overthrow the political regime" (Singapore

Straits Times, Nov. 13, 1989).
Gorbachev offered to undo "Stalin's forced amalgama-
tion and subjugation" (ibid.) of the Roman Catholic Church
with the Russian Orthodox Church; furthermore, the Soviet
leader planned to return the seized church properties, and
to permit the reopening of Roman Catholic schools in the
U.S.S.R.
The author of the article cited above, William Safire of
the New York Times, perceptively referred to this.
The pope will want to use the opportunity offered
by Mr. Gorbachev as a lever to help end the schism in
the church. With that theological motive, he is likely
to strike a political deal (ibid.).
The schism here that is referred to is between the Russian
Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
Gorbachev, notwithstanding some progressive moves in
Eastern Europe, demonstrated absolutely no insight in
opening up his country to the inroads of Roman
Catholicism in this way. Religious freedom is one thing;
facilitating Roman Catholic expansionist ambitions is en-
tirely another. But here before our eyes is clear evidence of
the escalating favor that's afforded to the Roman Catholic
Church by communist regimes-all the world wondered
after the beast.
In spite of all the efforts during 40 years of communist
rule, Catholicism may be stronger today in Eastern Europe
than before communism.
After 40 years of suppression, Christian democracy
is finding its natural constituency in tact across
Central Europe. In Slovakia, the Hungarian provinces,
and rural Poland electorates are overwhelmingly

Catholic, conservative, and cautious. Despite the ini-
quities of the postwar years, the church has main-
tained massive influence, all the more now that it has
been a focus of moral resistance to communism . ...
Here lies the obvious danger inherent in the right-
wing revival: A church sponsored eruption of
nationalism and obscurantism that already threatens
the stable development of democracy in Eastern
Europe (Singapore Straits Times, April 17, 1990).
It was not surprising that Hungary, formerly one of the
staunchest opponents of Catholicism, resumed diplomatic
relations with the Vatican on February 9, 1990 (Newsweek,
Feb. 19, 1990). It was Hungary which had, in 1948, im-
prisoned Cardinal Mindszenty, Roman Catholic primate of
Hungary. During the 1956 uprising, the cardinal fled to the
American Embassy in Budapest where he spent almost two
decades in political asylum before dying in exile in Austria
during 1975. But now Hungary is "wondering after the
beast" in fulfillment of the prophetic Word. Poland had, in
July 1989, been the first Eastern bloc country to open
diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The U.S.S.R. and the
Vatican resumed diplomatic relations on March 15, 1990.
In March 1990, two significant events occurred in
Romania. Though Romania has less than three million
Roman Catholics and Eastern Rite Catholics among its
twenty-three million inhabitants, its importance in the
papal schemes of the future has not escaped the attention
of the pope. The return of the Vatican Embassy that was
confiscated by the communist leaders in Romania 40 years
ago was the most significant. In the same month, John Paul
II named 12 new bishops for Romania-seven Roman
Catholics and five Eastern Rite bishops. He also elevated

two former underground bishops to the rank of
archbishop. There was no resistance from the new leaders
of Romania. Talk of a return to diplomatic relations with
the Vatican was then heard. Romania established
diplomatic relations with the Vatican on M~y 15, 1990.
The pope is also anxious to obtain the cooperation of the
Orthodox churches of Europe.
He visited Iin 1979] the Orthodox patriarch of Con-
stantinople, with an objective that was not obvious
even to his Vatican associates. The patriarch is the
spiritual head of all Orthodox churches in the world.
Through him, Karol Wojtyla [Pope John Paul II]
wanted to convey the same message to Eastern
Europe's Orthodox churches: Communism's collapse
is near, be ready to fill the vacuum (Enrico Jacchia, of
the International Herald Tribune, in the Singapore
Straits Times, March 13, 1990).
No wonder the pope sees that "a new European political
order will be set up, and the goodwill of a cooperative
Soviet leadership in shaping it is of utmost importance"
(ibid.).
Not only are the Soviets supporting such a unity but the
leadership of the United States is also.
He !President Bush] said he was resolutely in favor
of a united and peaceful Germany in a united and
peaceful Europe (Singapore Straits Times, April 15,
1990).
The U.S.S.R.'s tacit permission of Roman Catholic
Lithuania's succession from the U .S.S.R that was declared
by the Lithuanian parliament on March 12, 1990,
demonstrates how powerful the papal influence is upon
the Kremlin. Many may wonder why Lithuania, a country

of a mere 3.6 million people, would dare to challenge the
strong power of the U.S.S.R., the third most populous na-
tion upon earth with 280 million people. Such do not un-
derstand that feverish activity by the Roman Catholic
hierarchy is undoubtedly supporting the Lithuanian
people. It must be recognized that Mr. Gorbachev dare not
antagonize the papacy lest such action incites the Catholics,
in the strategically important Ukraine, to revolution; thus,
in a very real sense, the president of the U.S.S.R. is greatly
limited in his opinions in dealing with this small territory.
Sending in the Red Army, which could easily settle the
issue of secession, is certainly not a likely option that is
presently open to the Russian leadership. Such an action
would alienate the Vatican and seriously threaten
Gorbachev's position. Incredibly, the world's smallest na-
tion, a minuscule one sixth of a square mile, is effectively
dominating earth's largest nation that consists of over eight
and a half million square miles. Only an omniscient God
would have foreseen such an unlikely situation; thus the
communist world, for reasons of political expediency, at
present has little option except to "wonder after the beast."
We can expect to see much posturing by the U.S.S.R.
over Lithuania's unilateral declaration of independence.
This has already been seen with the occupation of the head-
quarters of the Lithuanian Communist Party, the rounding
up of Lithuanian deserters from the Red Army, the move-
ment of tanks through the capital city, Vilnius, and similar
actions.
But, Gorbachev's saber rattling aside, there is every
indication he believes the three republics have the
right to secede, though only after Moscow has agreed

to the terms of separation (Time magazine, April 2,
1990).
The Vatican's pressure has undoubtedly caused Gor-
bachev to come to such a conclusion. Lenin, Stalin,
Malenkov, Kruschev, and other Soviet leaders would sim-
ply have marched a few battalions of the four million
strong Red Army into Lithuania (total population only 3.6
million), and that would have speedily ended the matter.
In 1956, the independence movement in Hungary, a nation
far stronger than Lithuania, was quelled in a few days.
Similarly, in 1968, Czechoslovak moves toward democracy
were put down because of the Russian military machine.
Due to the pope's intervention in Soviet affairs, the Soviet
response to the declared independence of Lithuania is ex-
pected to be different.
Western observers concurred that a full-scale in-
vasion !of Lithuania] was unlikely. "What we see
now is Gorbachev raising the ante in what will be
hard and drawn-out negotiations," said an American
diplomat in Moscow. "Lithuania has a united popula-
tion on the issue of independence, and I don't think
they'll back down. And Moscow has pretty well ruled
out force." At independence ceremonies in Namibia
last week, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard
Shevardnadze said, "We are against the use of force in
any region, and we are particularly against the use of
force domestically" (ibid.).
Unquestionably, the pope is playing a decisive role in
what is happening in Lithuania.
The pope, on Saturday !April 14], met Soviet Presi-
dent Mikhail Gorbachev's personal adviser, Vadim
Zagladin, for talks believed to have touched on
Lithuania. He also issued a message of support to

Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church leaders, saying he
felt closer than ever to the aspirations of the
Lithuanian people! The Vatican's ambassador to Mos-
cow, last week, indicated that the Vatican was willing
to act as a mediator in the Lithuanian crisis if both
sides wanted. Italian Communist Party newspaper,
Unita, said Mr. Zagladin had been sent by Mr. Gor-
bachev to examine how the Vatican could play a role
in ending the face-off between the Kremlin and the
Baltic Republic which declared itself independent on
March 11 (Singapore Straits Times, April 16, 1990).
On March 18, 1990, East Germany held its first
democratic elections. Incredibly, the Christian Democrat
Party, the party of the Roman Catholic Church, easily
emerged as the most successful of the 21 parties that con-
tested the polls. They received over 40 percent of the votes
while their closest rivals, the Social Democrats, received 24
percent, and the party for Social Democracy (the reformed
Communist Party) received 16 percent. The success of the
Christian Democrat Party was remarkable, not only be-
cause it was achieved in a nation that had been avowedly
communist for over 40 years but because East Germany in-
cludes German territories which were overwhelmingly
Lutheran prior to the advent of communism. The results of
this election certainly demonstrated the efficiency of the
Roman Catholic Church even in communist nations which
were former strongholds of Protestantism.
In the non-Christian world, there is no greater foe to
Catholicism than Islam; yet even, in this sphere,
Catholicism is making giant strides. When, in the 1930s,
the Islamic population in Rome requested permission from
Mussolini to build a mosque in Rome, he replied with an

emphatic "No! When we can build a Roman Catholic
church in Mecca, you can build a mosque in Rome."
Mussolini's statement at least contained a marginal level of
logic.
But today a $50,000,000 mosque is under construction in
Rome with Vatican approval. The head of the mosque,
Prince Abolghassem Amini, has openly stated his great ad-
miration of Pope john Paul II. He has expressed a desire for
closer Islamic links with the Vatican (Sarawak Tribune,
Malaysia, March 8, 1989).
Is it any wonder that the Reuter's correspondent who
reported this matter perceptively declared, in speaking
about the construction of the mosque, "Its religious and
political symbolism is very important, a sign of the limes"
(ibid., emphasis added). It is indeed a sign of the times
vastly more significant than the reporter recognized. The
architect of the mosque, Vittorio Gigliotti, also insightfully
exclaimed, "This is a work of exceptional historic,
religious, cultural and political importance. It will have
tremendous impact upon public opinion!" (ibid.).
When Pope john Paul II visited Indonesia in 1989, hordes
of citizens of that nation flocked to his meetings, despite
the fact that its population is predominately Islamic.
Similar crowds of unprecedented proportions attended
the papal gatherings in Buddhist Singapore and Thailand,
as well as Hindu India, on previous visits. Truly all the
world is wondering after the beast. Pope John Paul II has
been seen by more individuals than any other human in
the entire history of the world. Bible prophecy is being ful-
filled in our time with unerring accuracy. How alert we

must be if we are to be prepared for the serious crisis
ahead, when Roman Catholicism will once more seek to
force its errors upon the consciences of true men and
women by using the arm of political power. She will not
disdain from the use of fearful persecution anymore than
she did in the past.
When church leaders such as the archbishop of Canter-
bury openly recognize the papacy as the head of all the
Christian churches, they are ignoring the potent lessons of
history as expressed by President Roosevelt.
Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we
enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them
(Life, March, 1990).
15
Seven-Headed Monsters
T hree seven-headed monsters are described in the book

of Revelation.
1. And there appeared another wonder in heaven;
and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads
and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads
(Revelation 12:3).
2. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a
beast rise out of the sea, having seven heads and ten
horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his
heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I
saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion:
and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and
great authority (Revelation 13:1, 2).
3. 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 (Revelation 17:3).
Many Christians have found these symbolic beasts to be
incomprehensible. But God intended the book of Revela-
tion to be understood.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the

words of this prophecy (Revelation 1:3).
Fortunately, the Bible is its own expositor. Let us first
examine the first seven-headed monster-the dragon beast.
God does not leave us in the least doubt about wl>o is rep-
resented by this beast.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole
world (Revelation 12:9).
Satan uses human instrumentalities to pursue his
nefarious schemes. The following prophecy refers to God's
church as a pure woman and Christ as her child.
The dragon stood before the woman that was ready
to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born (Revelation 12:4).
At the time of Christ's birth, King Herod, a vassal of the
Roman Empire, was ruler in Judea. In order to destroy the
baby Jesus, whom Herod feared as a potential rival, he had
all males under 2 years old slaughtered.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of
the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and
in all the coasts thereof (Matthew 2:16).
Christ's life was saved only because God intervened by
warning Joseph to flee with Him to Egypt. But Satan had
done his utmost, using the human arm of the Roman Em-
pire, to destroy Christ before His ministry commenced;
thus the seven-headed monster of Revelation 12 iJlustrates
the fact that all counterfeit religions, which inevitably op-
pose God's truth, are motivated by Satan. In this sense, the
Seven-Headed Monsters 161
dragon of Revelation 12 is a key to our understanding of all

the beasts of prophecy.
Many have wondered why God uses beasts to symbolize
nations; yet such individuals do not question the use of
such symbolism in the secular world today. A few years
ago, when there was a major border dispute between China
and the U.S.S.R., Asiaweek magazine printed a cover il-
lustration that depicted a fierce bear and an enraged panda
fighting. Only a most ill-informed reader would have
needed to be enlightened concerning which nations were
represented here; likewise, countries represent their sport-
ing teams in symbols of animals and birds. In Rugby
League, the Australian team is called the Kangaroos and
the New Zealand team, the Kiwis. In Rugby Union, the
British team is referred to as the Lions; the South African
team, the Springboks; and the Australian team, the Wal-
labies. Americans frequently use the eagle as the symbol of
their nation. France uses the cockerel, and Thailand uses
the elephant; thus God, in His wisdom, uses a form of sym-
bolism that's well-understood by mankind.
The second seven-headed monster has a more specific
meaning, although still motivated by the demonic power of
Satan. Notice that this beast was a combination of the fea-
tures of a leopard, a bear, and a lion. These characteristics
undoubtedly refer to the symbolic animals of the great
prophecy of Daniel 7. In that prophetic outline, the lion
symbolized Babylon; the bear symbolized Medo-Persia;
and the leopard symbolized Greece. This second seven-
headed monster evidently possesses the evil characteristics
of the enemies of God's truth and His people.
The second monster is identified by the description of its

activities and the duration of its reign.
great things and blasphemies; and power was given
unto him to continue forty and Mo months. And he
opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blas-
pheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that
dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make
war with the saints, and to overcome them: and
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues,
and nations (Revelation 13:5-7).
The period of papal dominance during the 1260 years is
here reiterated. Each Jewish month consisted of 30 days;
thus 42 months equals 1260 days. As previously shown, a
prophetic day is symbolic of a literal year. Papal Rome
dominated Europe and, later, much of the world for
precisely 1260 years. Since the year A.O. 538 (when the
Ostrogoths were driven out), the Roman emperor per-
mitted the pope to implement Emperor Justinian's edict of
A.O. 533. This made him the head of all the churches.
Papal authority was maintained in Europe until the pope
was made a prisoner by Napoleon in 1798.
Let us note the other identifying characteristics that are
cited, including the persecution of God's people and blas-
phemy against God and His tabernacle. Daniel prophetical-
ly attributes these precise characteristics to the little-horn
power which also represents the papacy.
and think to change times and laws: and they shall be
given into his hand until a time and times and the
dividing of time (Daniel 7:25).
Note that the blasphemy against God and the persecu-

tion of His saints function together during a specific period
of time-"time and times and the dividing of time." These
time periods literally refer to one year, two years, and hall
a year-a total of three and a half years. The Jewish year
consists of 12 months each of 30 days; thus a Jewish year
was 360 days in length. Simple multiplication of 360 by
three and a hall provides the figure ol 1260 prophetic days
or literal years, precisely identical to the time that's
specified in Revelation 13.
All three monsters possess ten horns. The book of Daniel
once more assists us in unfolding the mystery of these sym-
bols, for the fourth beast of Daniel 7 also possessed ten
horns. Daniel represented the Roman Empire by the sym-
bolic fourth breast.
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings
that shall arise (Daniel 7:24).
Revelation 13:1 records that each of the ten horns
possesses a crown. The Roman Empire fractured into the
ten kingdoms of Western Europe-the Huns, Ostrogoths,
Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli,
Lombards, and Anglo-Saxons. Today, these tribes largely
constitute the European nations. The presence of the ten
horns indicates both the location of the papacy in Europe
and the powerful support given to it, by the nations of that
continent, during the era of its supremacy.
The thirteenth chapter of Revelation, as we have seen,
also depicts a lamb-like beast with two horns which gave
power to this second monster after it had received the
deadly wound (Revelation 13:11-17). We shall see more of

this beast later.
The third seven-headed monster (of Revelation, chapter
17) is greatly significant to this present era. This beast also
has ten horns, but they are uncrowned. And a whore sat
upon the beast.
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 HAR-
LOTS 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
(Revelation l 7:4-6).
This woman of ill-fame represents the evil counterfeit
religion of Babylon, in various guises, which has viciously
oppressed God's people. The religion of modem Babylon
was derived from the religion of ancient Babylon which
also formed the basis of the religions of Medo-Persia,
Greece, Pagan Rome, and Papal Rome. Although Babylon
was utterly destroyed many centuries ago, her religion
remains very much alive in all the apostate faiths that are
1
based upon its false dogma.
This woman can justifiably be seen riding upon each of
the beasts which represent the great forces in opposition to
God's pure truth. This red colored seven-headed monster is
merely another aspect of the same satanic power. The iden-
tification of this power will be discovered in the following
chapter.
Endnote
For a more complete discussion of this matter, see Adventism Proclaimed
by the same authors. Write to Hartland Publications, P. 0. Box l, Rapidan, Vir-
ginia 22733, U.S.A.
166 A11/iclzri:;I !':- l !crt'
This page intentionally blank.

16
The Mystery of the Seven

Heads
T he Bible gives us the clue that the unravels the

mystery of the third seven-headed monster.
And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the
woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fal-
len, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and
when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition
(Revelation 17:9-11 ).
In Scripture, a mountain is symbolic of a nation or
kingdom. In the following text, God is speaking about the
Babylonian Empire:
Behold, I am against thee, 0 destroying mountain,
saith the Lord (Jeremiah 51 :25).
It should not surprise us that the seven kings are as-
sociated with the seven mountains.
Exponents of prophecy have long pondered the mystery

of the five fallen heads, the one present, and the one in the
future. Various explanations have been suggested. Most of
these explanations have assumed that the one that "is" is a
power that is contemporaneous with the period in which
the book of Revelation was written.
One of the greatest nineteenth-century exponents of the
prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, Uriah Smith, sug-
gested that the seven heads represented the seven types of
government that were in control during the era of the
Roman Empire-kingly, consular, decemviral, dictatorial,
triumviral, imperialist, and papal (Uriah Smith. Daniel and
the Revelation, Signs Publishing Company, p. 669).
We greatly admire Uriah Smith's work, but this explana-
tion does not fit the criteria as we shall see. These heads
evidently represent individual powers rather than various
aspects of a single power.
The view that the head that "is" represents Pagan Rome
(the power in ascendancy during the period in which John
wrote the book of Revelation) remains popular. Using this
basis for the sixth kingdom, these interpreters have sug-
gested that the five fallen kingdoms were Egypt, Assyria,
Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The seventh kingdom
which is yet to come, by this understanding, was Papal
Rome. But this interpretation may be faulted on two
grounds. Firstly, Egypt and Assyria never appear in God's
great list of world apostate powers that are represented in
the books of Daniel and Revelation. Secondly, what the
Bible says about this seventh power is very significant.
He must continue a short space (Revelation 17:10).
The Mystery of the Seven Heads 169
Since the papacy dominated the world scene for 1260

years, the longest period of any power in the history of this
world, it could hardly be said that it continued "a short
space"; thus this interpretation fails to meet the specific
criteria given in the prophecy.
The reason that interpretations such as fhose cited above
have failed to meet the specifications of the prophecy is be-
cause the setting of the prophecy has been overlooked.
This prophecy was not fulfilled in the days of John the
apostle; instead, it is fulfilled during the time of the end
when the great investigative judgment is in session. We
shall review this setting.
And there came one of the seven angels which had
the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,
Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the
great whore that sitteth upon many waters (Revela-
tion 17:1, emphasis added).
While it is not within the purpose of this book to ex-
amine the investigative judgment in detail, it should be
stated that this judgment commenced in the year 1844. 1
One recent attempt to unravel the mystery of the seven
heads suggests that these represent popes. Commencing
with Pope Pius XI, the pope who authorized the signing of
the concordat with Mussolini in 1929, they number five
who are fallen (the remaining four dead popes are Pius XII,
John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul !). In this under-
standing, Pope John Paul II is advanced as the head that
"is," and it is expected that he will die and be replaced by
another pope who will sit on the papal throne for a· brief
period. While interesting, such an explanation does not in-
dicate why the period of the eighties is designated as the
period that "is." The seven heads, or mountains, are seven

powers. They are not specific rulers or forms of rule. Thus
this view must be discarded.
Dr. Mervyn Maxwell (a modern exponent of prophecy),
in his book, God Cares, correctly accepts the view that the
sixth head, the head that "is," corresponds to the time of
the investigative judgement. His interpretation of the
seven heads consists of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece,
Pagan Rome, Papal Rome, the wounded papacy, and the
restored papacy. This view almost fulfills the given criteria,
but not quite. It does not permit a reliable explanation of
the mysterious eighth head; also, the wounded power of
the papacy was so weak that it was in no position to
strongly oppose God's truth; yet the prophecy does pro-
vide another vital clue to the correct understanding of this
fascinating prophecy. We need to consider this.
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the
eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition
(Revelation 17:11).
The eighth is said to be a beast, and is reported to be of
the seven beasts. This definitely directs our attention to the
beasts that are so prominent in the prophecies of Daniel
and Revelation.
With this information, our understanding of the
prophecy is clarified. The first five beasts are as follows:
1. The lion with two eagle's wings, in Daniel 7:4, repre-
sented Babylon.
2. The bear that was raised on one side, in Daniel 7:5,
represented Medo-Persia.
3. The four-headed leopard, in Daniel 7:6, represented

Greece.
4. The ten-horned monster, in Daniel 7:7, represented
Pagan Rome.
5. The seven-headed, ten-horned monster, in Revelation
13:1, 2, represented Papal Rome.
To this point, this understanding fits very comfortably
with the characteristics that are set forth in this prophecy.
Since Papal Rome received its deadly wound (Revelation
13:3) in 1798, we must search for another world power in
Satan's master plan to oppose the church of God.
History concerning this era provides insight into the
sixth head or beast-the one that "is." At the time of the
dramatic fall of Papal Rome, one of the most bloodstained
revolutions in history, the French Revolution was in
progress. For the first time, the world was directed away
from religion to atheism as the perpetrators of the French
Revolution abolished religion and set up a profligate
woman of low morals as the goddess of reason.
The influence of the movement of atheism was to have
far-reaching effects upon the nations of Europe and
beyond. Atheistic communism, which was to dominate
Eastern Europe for over 70 years of the twentieth century,
perceptively traced its roots to the French Revolution.
Karl Marx, the father of Communism, was a deep stu-
dent of French history. He not only studied the French
Revolution but also the revolution of 1848 in France, where
civil war had broken out between the workers and the mid-
dle class. Marx wrote two books in German concerning the
lessons to be learned from the French uprisings--Die Klas-
senkampfe in Frankreich 1848 bis 1850 and Der Achtzehnte

Brumaire des Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. Even the nations of
Western Europe were not untouched. Each, one by one, be-
came a twentieth-century bastion for godlessness.
Countries such as Italy and France possessed very strong
communist parties. The Communist Party of Italy was
capable of receiving 40 percent of the popular votes that
were cast in democratic elections in 1948 (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1963 edition. Subject: communist parties). While
we would not make an issue out of it, we do find it intrigu-
ing that the monster of Revelation 17 is designated by a
color-a scarlet colored beast (Revelation 17:3). Could this
be another specific clue inserted by an omniscient God in
order to provide us evidence that the identity of this
monster is atheistic communism? This power splashed its
symbolic red across the nations of the earth.
Britain, a former bastion of Christianity, lost its way. An
Englishman, Charles Darwin (about the time of the com-
mencement of the investigative judgment), offered a theory
of origins which discarded the concept of our Creator.
Rationalists (such as the British earl, Bertram Russell)
gathered much support. The English Church, in many in-
stances, embraced agnosticism. Men such as Dr. Robinson,
bishop of Woolwich, declared that it would be good to
cease discussion about God in his absurd book, Honest to
God. In a British broadcasting (BBC) television program, in
the mid-eighties, Hugh Montefiore, bishop of Birmingham,
was asked if he could present a sound piece of evidence for
the existence of God. He suggested, "Well, there's evolu-
tion!" That same bishop, fifteen years earlier, had been ac-
cused of declaring Christ to be a homosexual, an accusation

that he refused to deny.
Dr. David Perkins, bishop of Durham, declared that
Christ was not born of a virgin birth, and that He was not
resurrected from the dead. Jn 1985, a London Daily
Telegraph survey of 42 Anglican bishops indicated that 31
expressed doubts in the resurrection of Christ.
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching
vain, and your faith is also vain (1 Corinthians 15:14).
Europe was not overwhelmed by a movement of
religion; instead, it was overwhelmed by an avalanche of
political and "religious" atheism.
Persecution of the loyal soldiers of Christ became almost
as intense under this manifestation of satanic power as it
had been under its predecessor, Papal Rome.
Undoubtedly, the beast of Revelation 17 includes
atheism, both in the West and in the East, in the form of
European communism. But this prophecy accurately
predicted that it would not be the sixth head which would
bring about the final satanic acts upon this earth. Just as
the five previous powers had passed away, so communism
and atheism, as the chief violators of the freedom of Chris-
tians to worship God by following biblical principles in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, would also pass away.
In only a few months in 1989, the sixth head of atheistic
communism has almost been swept away. The perceptive
Christian has witnessed one of the most dramatic fulfill-
ments of Bible prophecy as we enter the last decade of the
second millennium of the Christian Era. The sixth head
has fallen, the seventh is emerging; yet many Christians
are blind to the significance of these events. We have been

fully warned that the last days will come as a thief to the
unprepared (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day
should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children
of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the
night, nor of darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5).
But are we? Many Christians are almost in a deep coma
in regard to their perception of the signs of the times.
On January 15, 1990, Russell found himself seated next to
an English Baptist pastor on a flight from London to Sin-
gapore. They discussed the cataclysmic events in the com-
munist world. To Russell's surprise, he found that this
minister of the gospel was totally oblivious to the great sig-
nificance of the events which had just transpired. Ap-
parently, he had not studied that vital book of Revelation.
Many atheists are not so blind. The renowned Marxist
thinker, Milovan Djilas of Yugoslavia, made this insightful
comment:
The Soviets are changing the course of history, not
just of Eastern Europe but of the world (Bombay,
Times of India, January 29, 1990).
Djilas, while not aware of the scriptural basis of his asser-
tion, nevertheless fully perceived the global significance of
the fall of atheistic communism. As Christians, we possess
infinitely more light than a Marxist philosopher.
The only beast which remains unaccounted for is the
second beast of Revelation 13:11-17-the two homed lamb-
like beast which especially, but not exclusively, represents
apostate Protestantism in the United States. This former
pillar of religious tolerance, as we shall see, will change the

established rights of its citizens and persecute God's saints
during the process of restoring the power of Papal Rome.
And he deceiveth them ... saying to them that
dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to
the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live. And he had power to give life unto the image of
the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship
the image of the beast should be killed (Revelation
13:14, 15).
We have seen the effective demise of atheistic com-
munism in Europe within the last quarter of the year 1989.
Just as Medo-Persia followed Babylon without interval,
Greece similarly followed Medo-Persia, and Pagan Rome
succeeded Greece in rapid succession. Just as Papal Rome
emerged from its pagan counterpart and atheism arose at
the point of papal demise, we can also expect the rise of
persecuting apostate Protestantism in the very near future
because Satan leaves no vacuum in his unwearied efforts to
defeat the gospel of Jesus. We have already seen Protes-
tantism in the United States clamoring to restore the pres-
tige and power of the Roman Catholic Church. Baptists,
Lutherans, and others (discarding their Protestant heritage)
are courting the favor of the papacy. The archbishop of
Canterbury has joined the host of deluded religious leaders
in blindly fulfilling divine prophecy. The papacy will soon
be restored, with Protestant support, to its former position;
then the following prophecy truly will be fulfilled.
176 Anticl1rist Is Here
Even he is the eighth, and is of the seven (Revela-

tion 17:11),
The eighth is surely the restored papacy which was the
fifth head of the seven.
Beware of the seventh and the eighth that it supports.
Protestantism, in league with restored Catholicism, must
continue a short space (Revelation 17:10).
Jesus is coming soon! Then this earth will be destroyed.
We each need to ponder one awesome question:
Seeing then that all these tl1ings shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy con-
versation and godliness (2 Peter 3:11)?
God leaves us in no doubt concerning the answer to this
all-important question.
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for sucl1
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in
peace, without spot, and blameless (2 Peter 3:14).
We can be prepared for that great day only as we trust
God's grace and power.
Endnote
1
For a more biblical discussion of the investigative judgment
and its prophetic dating, see Tlie Sacrificial Priest by the same
authors. Write to Hartland Publications, P.O. Box 1, Rapidan,
Virginia 22733, U.S.A.
17
The Ten Horns
T he prophecy of Revelation 17 presents a_nother inter-

esting international development. Refemng to the ten
horns which represent the nations of Europe, an explana-
tion of their significance is provided.
The beast that is here referred to is not the red monster
but, as the context of Revelation 17:11 demonstrates, it is
the eighth beast-the papacy. Bible prophecy here informs
us that the nations of Europe will, during the time of the
seventh head, unite with the papacy to once more promote
its authority; thus apostate Protestantism in the United
States and the European nations will form a powerful al-
liance to promote papal dominance once more. We can an-
ticipate that, as in the past, the papacy will take advantage
of the power of the state to enforce fearful persecution of
those who dare to stand against its evil doctrines. This per-
secution undoubtedly will surpass, in ferocity and inten-
sity, the Inquisition of the Middle Ages. Remember that
this eighth head (the restored papacy) will "cause that as

many as would not worship the image of the beast should
be killed" (Revelation 13:15).
The speech of john Paul II, April 1989, was ominous. Ad-
dressing thousands of young Italian soldiers, he expressed
the hope "that each nation's army could one day be joined
into a world authority" which would have the "effective
means to enjoin respect for justice and the truth" (Battle
Cry, summer 1989). There is no doubt that such a world
army would enforce the ruthless dictates of the papacy
against dissenters.
At the end of the sixth head (atheistic communism), the
devil was immediately prepared with his seventh.
American Protestantism and Protestantism elsewhere in
this world are already loudly proclaiming a newfound
unity of faith with Roman Catholicism. Similarly, Europe
has been prepared for its role in the form of the European
Economic Community which was established by the Treaty
of Rome. Since the days of the Roman Empire, there has
not been such close ties among the European nations.
Twelve nations are already members-Belgium, Denmark,
France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Nether-
lands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and West Ger-
many. At the precise moment that Eastern Europe was
throwing off the shackles of communism (October 1989), a
most symbolic event happened in each of those 12 nations.
This significant action was the abolition of national
passports in those countries. Citizens of each of these 12
nations may now only obtain a common European
passport.
The Ten Horns 179
Recently, another country has abandoned its tight restric-

tions:
The Albanian People's Assembly last week granted
all citizens the right to travel abroad, abolished restric-
tions on the practice of religion, and allowed all
suspects the right to an attorney (Time magazine, May
21, 1990).
On December 31, 1992, closer unity will be forged in
Europe. At that time, the nations of the European
Economic Community will abolish all customs barriers
across their borders. There will no longer be any immigra-
tion formalities when passing from one nation to the other.
Thus these powers will be the United States of Europe ex-
cept that there will not be full political unity. After Decem-
ber 31, 1992, it is proposed that the famous currencies of
the past (the British pound sterling, the French franc, the
German mark, the Italian lira, and the Dutch guilder) will
all disappear in order to be replaced by a common curren-
cy known as the Eurodollar.
The United Kingdom is the only one of the 12 members
in the Economic Community that holds any serious reser-
vations to the implementation of the unified currency
proposal. Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of the
United Kingdom, has always been halfhearted in her sup-
port of this European ideal. Significantly, her political for-
tunes have never been at a lower ebb than at the tum of the
decade. Her political party was, in April 1990, over 20 per-
cent behind the opposition Labor Party in opinion polls.
Within her own party, moves are afoot to depose her from
the party leadership. If this should transpire, the successor
almost certainly would be Mr. Michael Heseltine. Contrast

these two politicians.
If Mrs. Thatcher is popularly seen as" anti-Europe,"
and is resisting British participation in the European
monetary system because it would take away the
sovereign right of parliament to decide Britain's
economic policies, Mr. Heseltine tries to look as
European as he can (Singapore Straits Times, March
20, 1990).
If Mrs. Thatcher resists the challenge to her leadership
within the conservative party, she must face a general elec-
tion before June 1992, just six months prior to the im-
plementation of the unified monetary system and the
elimination of immigration and customs barriers. At that
election, she faces almost certain defeat. In either case, by
December 31, 1992, it is almost certain that Margaret
Thatcher, the last resistance to complete European unity,
will be out of the political arena. All will be prepared for
prophetic fulfillment.
Other European nations will surely seek entry into this
powerful economic union. Four new nations are already
seeking entry into the European Economic Community -
Austria, Cyprus, Hungary, and Turkey (Newsweek, March
12, 1990). Others are expected to follow. There already is
increasing cooperation between the EEC and other
European nations. Six nations outside the EEC have
formed the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
These are Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and
Switzerland. A Newsweek report stated that "the odds are
good that all six EFT A countries, including reluctant Swit-
The Ten Horns 181
zerland, will have accepted close association with the com-

munity [the EEC] by the end of 1992.
Perhaps the unheralded 35-member Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) is more sig-
nificant. This organization consists of members from every
European nation now that Albania has joined. This or-
ganization, which also includes the United States and
Canada, was formed in 1975 by the Helsinki Final Act.
The act remained largely a dead letter for the first
decade after its adoption (Newsweek, March 12, 1990).
To the surprise of most members, the CSCE debat-
ing club took on new life in the mid-1980s (by no coin-
cidC'ncr) just as Gorbachev took power in Moscow
(Newsweek, March 12, 1990).
This was no coincidence because God had foretold that
the nations of Europe would be of one mind at the time of
the seventh head. Incredibly, Newsweek foresees that "the
European Community and the CSCE are emerging as the
likely poles around which the new Europe will organize it-
self."
The careful Bible student will studiously observe these
two organizations, one a household name and the other al-
most unknown. The fact that the United States has a voice
in the CSCE brings together the lamb-like beast and the ten
horns as prophecy proclaims. These will uphold the papal
power.
Since the days of the Roman Empire, Europe has never
been in a position to speak as one mind. The CSCE repre-
sents the first organization in the history of Europe to
which every European nation has excepted membership.
In the light of Bible prophecy, this is most significant.
Newsweek was unaware that it was describing the fulfill-

ment of prophecy when it reported that "the European
Economic Community is tightening its political ties in
order to 'speak as a single voice' in world affairs."
Now, for the first time in history, we have a single or-
ganization in which every European nation is a member,
now that Albania officially joined. This is very significant
in the fulfillment of Revelation 17.
Albania yesterday edged further away from its self-
imposed isolation after Mr. Adil Corcani, the prime
minister, said that his country intended to join the all
European Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (Financial Times, May 9, 1990).
In June 1990, Colin visited Copenhagen, Denmark. A
meeting of the CSCE was in session. He attended the meet-
ing, and observed every nation of Europe, from the Holy
See (Vatican) to the U.S.S.R., present. Albania had sent rep-
resentatives for the first time. The ominous significance of
the growth of the CSCE may be judged by its evaluation by
the Soviet Union.
With the collapse of the Warsaw Pact & NATO in-
sisting on incorporating a united Germany into the
Western military alliance, Moscow is anxious to chart
a new security system for Europe . ... [Soviet foreign
minister] Shevarnardze's idea is to convert the CSCE
into what could be called a structure to safeguard
European peace. . . Here was the coalition of a
greater European council grouping all the heads of the
state that would meet once a year (Singapore Straits
Times, June l, 1990).
The Ten Horns 183
The CSCE would become the most powerful military al-

liance in the history of the world if the Soviet Union's sug-
gestion is accepted.
While the "iron curtain" separated the two parts of
Europe, this could not be so. Communism had to be dis-
mantled before this prophecy could be fulfilled. As Mr.
Gorbachev predicted, there will be" a commonwealth of in-
dependent nations pursuing one goal" (the Australian
Magazine, February, 1990); thus the superstructure for the
restoration of the eighth apostate power which was part of
the seventh-the papacy-is already in place. As in the
past, Satan has left no vacuum in his efforts, now so
feverish, to subvert the faith of Christ.
Some have suggested that the brief alliance of t'1e papacy
and the united nations of Europe will endure for just 15
days because Scripture testifies that they "receive power as
kings one hour with the beast" (Revelation 17:12).
One hour is one twenty fourth part of a day. Using
prophetic symbolism, this would be equivalent to one
twenty fourth part of a Jewish year (360 days), which is 15
days. The Greek word that is here translated as one hour
sometimes implies a brief period of time; thus we cannot
make a dogmatic statement about the duration of this un-
holy Roman alliance.
The nations of Europe will quickly see the folly of their
action as the final events of earth's history unfold; how-
ever, it will then be forever too late. At that time, these na-
tions will turn on the papacy with unprecedented ferocity.
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the
beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her
desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and bum
her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil
his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the
beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And
the woman which thou sawest is that great city
[Rome], which reigneth over the kings of the earth
(Revelation 17:16-18).
Before the end of April 1990, led by President Francois
Mitterrand, of France, and Chancellor Helmut Kohl, of
West Germany, the 12 nations of the European Economic
Community were launched on a pathway toward political
union. Their objective is to unify a common foreign and
security policy by 1993. Such an achievement would lead
the European Community of nations toward political
unity. This was always in the minds of the early architects
of the EEC, but few believed that this was possible. Though
Great Britain, Denmark, and Portugal expressed reserva-
tions and concerns about this direction, these concerns
were not sufficient to dampen the enthusiasm of the
majority of nations (Washington Post, April 29, 1990).
It is hard to project the impact of such a momentous
decision. The Word of God clearly states that complete
political union of these nations cannot be achieved, as we
have seen (see chapter, entitled "European Political
Unity"). The prophet, Daniel, in his interpretation of the
dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, foretold the collapse of
the Babylonian kingdom and the subsequent rise and fall of
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome (Daniel 2:36-40). The
Roman Empire was not to be succeeded by another world
political power; instead, it was to collapse into the ten
divisions which represented most of Europe. These ten
The Ten Horns 185
divisions will never be united until the Lord sets up His

kingdom.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry
clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of
men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as
iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom
shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever (Daniel 2:43, 44).
It is clear that there will be an intimate union as the na-
tions of Europe unite together in "one mind" in order to
serve the objectives of the papacy, but Daniel's prophecy
assures us that this union will fall short of political inter-
gration.
The stunning events in Europe not only confirm Bible
prophecy but give unmistakable evidence of the soon
return of Jesus. Many will be shocked to learn that the
European Economic Community in Europe has chosen the
tower of Babel as its symbol and "Many Peoples, One
Voice" as its motto.
Undoubtedly, every effort will be made to suppress ef-
forts that expose the papacy. Politicians in Great Britain
are already talking of changing the blasphemy laws to
cover materials that stir up religious hatred. Such laws
would easily be applied to those who call men and women

out of the papacy.
As we observe these movements rapidly transpiring
before our very eyes, 1 we need to press close to our God.
Each must unreservedly dedicate his or her life to Jesus.
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of
God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the
world (Philippians 2:15).
Endnote
1
One puzzling aspect of this prophecy is its comment concern-
ing the kings that have received no kingdom as yet (Revelation
17:12). This may refer to the fact that the union of these
European states would not lead to a political unity. Note that the
word "kingdom" is in the singular. Another less likely inter-
pretation is that other monarchies will be restored as the Spanish
monarchy was at the time of the death of General Franco. A
surprising number of monarchies are still functioning in Europe,
including half of the members of the European Economic Com-
munity-Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Spain, and the United Kingdom. Other monarchies in Europe
are to be found in Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, and Sweden.
The collapse of communism has raised the hopes of many
claimants to the former thrones of Europe. Life magazine, March
1990, quoted King Michael of Romania as saying, "If they want
me back, of course I will go. As constitutional monarch, I can
guarantee the constitution, freedom, democracy." Several other
deposed kings and descendants of such kings were cited to have
similar desires. These included Grand Duke Vladimir, of Russia;
Germany's Louis Ferdinand, of Prussia; Crown Prince
Alexander, of Yugoslavia; Otto, archduke of the Austro-Hun-
The Ten Horns 187
garian Empire; King Simon II, of Bulgaria; King Constantine II, of

Greece; and King Leka 1, of Albania. Others in France and Italy
covet a return to a monarchial system.
18
The Final Fate of the

Antichrist
W e have noted that the nations of Europe will finally

tum upon the papacy with great ferocity (Revela-
tion 17:16); however, before this occurs, Scripture states
that the nations of the world will cry, "Peace and safety" (1
Thessalonians 5:3).
Cries of peace are already being heard. These cries are
based upon two diplomatic negotiations in Rome and Mos-
cow.
The pope's vision of a unified Europe from the At-
lantic to the Urals and Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev's no-
tion of a "common European house" had, until
recently, only geography in common. Yet the more
the Soviet leader introduces changes in his country
and reorients Soviet foreign policy, the closer they
grow (Singapore Straits Times, March 13, 1990).
It is the Vatican which is largely orchestrating those
changes in Soviet foreign policy.
The word in Rome is that, during the meetings with

Mr. Gorbachev in December, the pope noted that
there had not been bloodshed in the Baltic Republic
[Lithuania}, the Ukraine, or the other Soviet regions
where there is a strong Roman Catholic presence.
This was in striking contrast to what was happening
in mostly Muslim Azerbaijan. The message to the
Soviet leader seemed to be that Mr. Gorbachev could
survive the secession of the Baltic states and even peri-
odic trouble in Central Asia. But if turmoil erupted in
the important, populous Ukraine, he could not sur-
vive. Because of the large Catholic population there,
the Vatican could provide invaluable help in keeping
spirits calm. The pope said, after Mr. Gorbachev's
visit, that he would pray for the Soviet leader. Mr.
Gorbachev said that he had asked for the pope's
spiritual contribution. The design is one of vast
proportions. For Mr. Gorbachev, it would mean sub-
stantial help in keeping order and stability in the sen-
sitive regions of his country where there are large
numbers of Catholics. For the pope, it would mean
gaining religious freedom in the Soviet Union (Straits
Times, March 13, 1990).
Past indications are that promises made by the Vatican
are only valid so long as they meet Vatican political needs.
When expedient to do so, the Vatican regards its as-
surances as ropes of sand broken with ease; thus Gor-
bachev, in accepting john Paul !I's promise to keep Roman
Catholics in the Ukraine calm, would be a naive student of
Vatican political policy if he expected an indefinite tenure
to that promise.
If Lithuanian independence is firmly established and
recognized by the world community of nations, it would
not be beyond Vatican treachery for it to encourage similar
The Final Fate of the Antichrist l 91
ambitions in the Ukraine. Already, mild calls for such in-

dependence are abroad.
The Ukrainian nationalist party, Rukh, buoyed by
fresh election victories after just six months in exis-
tence, has pledged to follow the example of the Baltic
states and push for independence (Bangkok Nation,
March 22, 1990).
Fortunately, for the U.S.S.R., the Rukh Party obtained
only 30 percent of the seats in the first multiparty election;
thus, at the present, it does not possess the political muscle
to implement its agenda.
Mr. Odarich, the leader of the Rukh Party, has made an
ominous prediction:
Against little Lithuania, he [Gorbachev] could still
find ,1 pretext to send in troops. But, against the
Ukrainian people, this is impossible (ibid.).
The devout student of prophecy will watch the events in
the U.S.S.R. with great interest as they evolve, particularly
the interplay between the Kremlin and the Vatican.
While all three Baltic republics-Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania-crave their pre-1940 independence, it is quite
significant that Lithuania, with its more than 80 percent
Roman Catholic population, was the first to declare its in-
dependence. The other two have cautiously followed. This
tum of events did not provide a simple solution for Gor-
bachev. Military intervention was hardly a viable option
because of the delicate Vatican relations at stake. On the
other hand, doing nothing would have been an invitation
for other republics to follow the same example. Gorbachev
chose the less dangerous option of economic boycott-a
warning to other Soviet republics; yet this option is less

threatening to developing relations with the Vatican.
Significantly, on March 15, 1990, the Vatican and the
U.S.S.R exchanged ambassadors for the first time in over 70
years.
We can rest assured that it is not religious freedom that
the Vatican seeks for the U.S.S.R. Prophecy predicts that
papal dominance will be achieved in the U.S.S.R. and
throughout Europe, but only for a "short space." As the
iron curtain totally crumbles and becomes only a matter of
historical interest, the cries of peace are perfectly under-
standable. Troops and armaments in Europe have been in-
creasingly cut back; nevertheless, the same divine voice
declared that there would be a swift end to peace.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sud-
den destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a
woman with child; and they shall not escape (1 Thes-
salonians 5:3).
This depicts the cataclysmic end to the powers of this
earth, when God's hand is felt in the affairs of men. The na-
tions of the world have followed, for too long, the policies
of expediency instead of righteousness. The final support
(in Europe, America, and the whole world) of the antichrist
power is the final affront to a pure and holy God.
In a few brief verses, the prophet, Daniel, saw the
scenario which we have portrayed. A little background
detail is necessary. At the death of Alexander the Great, his
kingdom was divided into four parts by his four powerful
generals. Lysimachus became the king of the North;
Ptolemy because the king of the South; Cassander accepted
The Final Fate of the Antichrist 193
the throne of the Western territories, and Seleucus, the

Eastern.
Daniel used the terms, King of the North and King of the
South, to depict the principal powers that are involved in
the last-day events which have been discussed in this book.
We know that they are last-day events because Daniel
places them "at the time of the end" (Daniel 11:40). Let us
read this fascinating prophecy:
And at the time of the end shall the king of the
south push at him [the king of the north]: and the king
of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind,
with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many
ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall
1
overfl(JW and pass over (Daniel 11:40).
Two victories are recorded here. Firstly, the king of the
South, at the time of the end, "pushes at" the king of the
North. Secondly, the king of the North eventually gets his
revenge, and destroys the king of the South with great
alacrity ("like a whirlwind"). The present day kings of the
South and the North, as symbolized, are not geographical
entities; instead, they are political entities that possess char-
acteristics of the two former kingdoms.
This fact is easily illustrated in examination of the king of
the South. The original king of the South incorporated the
territory of Egypt. No ancient kingdom blasphemed the
name of God more than this land did. Pharaoh retorted
when Moses and Aaron sought the release of the Israelites
from Egypt.
And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord, that I should
obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord,
neither will I let Israel go (Exodus 5:2).
Egypt symbolized atheism, and was a fitting symbol of

its political entity-communism. Another beast, the beast
of Revelation 11, was appropriately represented by Sodom
and Egypt (Revelation 11:8), two areas over which the king
of the South ruled. This is the least noticed beast in the
book of Revelation; yet it is a powerful symbol of the
atheism that commenced at the time of the French Revolu-
tion.
It is advantageous to spend a brief moment examining
this beast because it clarifies a number of things about the
king of the South. In Revelation, chapter 11, God's two
witnesses-the Old and New Testaments-are mentioned.
The zealous effort to destroy these witnesses during the era
of papal dominance is outlined. But, with the coming of
the sixteenth-century Reformation, the power of those wit-
nesses was seen.
And when they [the Old and New Testaments]
shall have finished their testimony, the beast that as-
cendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war
against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them
(Revelation 11 :7).
This passage refers to the banning of the Scriptures in
Paris and throughout France during the French Revolution.
At that time, thousands of copies of the Holy Bible were
cast into the bonfires.
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the
great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and
Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Revelation
11:8).
It all started in Poland, say close advisers to the
pope. One can hardly deny it, adds Adam Bonlecki [a
priest], editor of the Polish edition of Osseruatore
The Final Fate of the Antichrist 195
Romano. During Karol Wojtyla's first trip to Poland as

Pope john Paul II, in 1979, the streets were filled with
millions of people. He sent a clear message to the
crowds, "Liberate yourselves from fear; it is the only
tool the regime can use against you." That was the
beginning of the great events that unfolded in the fol-
lowing years, says Bishop Szczepan Wesoly, who ac-
companied the pope. For the first time, the people
realized the extent of their potential strength. A year
later, during the strikes at the Lenin Shipyards, in
Gdansk, huge portraits of the pope were everywhere,
a new and incredible thing in a communist country-
the snowball that became an avalanche. And now
Vatican diplomats, some of the world's most effective,
are on the move (Singapore Straits Times, March 13,
1990).
God's Word has surely been fulfilled because the papacy
has overflowed and surpassed the strength of communism.
And this has transpired as we have looked on.
The ascendancy of the papacy, with its period of terrible
persecution, will be mercifully short-lived.
The ten horns [nations of Europe) which thou
sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and
shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire (Revelation 17:16).
Daniel, too, predicts the same fate for the papacy, but
uses different words. Daniel declares that the king of the
North "shall come to his end, and none shall help him"
(Daniel 11:45).
The antichrist will finally be abhorred by all the nations
which supported her in the time of her ascendancy. But it
will be forever too late for those who supported the papacy
when it was a popular movement. Such heeded man's die-
tales instead of responding to the pleas of a loving God.

Today is the moment to make our calling and election sure.
It will be forever too late for those who await the destruc-
tion of the papacy before they turn to God. Let us always
cherish God's promise to us:
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-
ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Endnote
1
Pastor Jan Knapper presented an excellent exposition of this
passage in Sydney, Australia, in December 1990.
19
Future Expectations
W hat can the faithful student of prophecy expect to

take place between now and the return of Jesus?
What role will the papacy play in these events?
Revelation and Daniel both depict the papacy as a per-
secuting power.
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the
saints, and prevailed against them (Daniel 7:21).
High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High
(Daniel 7:25).
And it was given unto him to make war with the
saints, and to overcome them: and power was given
him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations
(Revelation 13:7).
And he had power to give life unto the image of
the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship
the image of the beast should be killed (Revelation
13:15).
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that

had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name (Revelation 13:17).
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of
the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus
(Revelation 17:6).
This persecution is directed toward the true followers of
God. In recent years, the religious and political climates
have not been as conducive, as in past ages, to persecution.
But religious groups, step by step, will give their allegiance
to the papacy. As nation after nation recognizes the papacy
as the great cohesive force in the world, the religious and
political climates are being altered. Persecution of God's
faithful people will follow. This persecution will be ac-
cepted as an appropriate weapon against those who will
have nothing to do with a religious ecumenism that has
been established upon apostasy. Let us not forget that the
Roman Catholic Church has never officially repented of the
grave evils that it perpetrated against God's saints during
the Middle Ages.
Once again, the state will execute the dictates of the
church. As history repeats itself, we can expect this union
of church and state to exercise persecution and terror upon
faithful Christians. The forces which are presently advocat-
ing church I state unity are already strong in the United
States. Sadly, its own statements make it clear that, when
the circumstances are right, the Roman Catholic Church
will again resort to ruthless persecution. In the nineteenth
century, the archbishop of Saint Louis shared his convic-
tion and purpose concerning his clerical duties:
Future Expectations 199
Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian

countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all
the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic
religion is a central part of the law of the land, they
are punished as other crimes.
Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop of the
Catholic Church takes an oath of allegiance to the
pope, in the following words: "Heretics, schismatics,
and rebels to our said lord [the pope), or his aforesaid
successors, I will to my utmost persecute and oppose"
(nineteenth-century archbishop).
God's authentic people will increasingly depend upon
Christ alone for their strength and courage. The Word of
God will provide the sole foundation for their faith and
practice. They will cling to the Lord for strength to gain vic-
tory over every deceptive art of the evil one. They will be
sanctified by the truth. With all other faithful people, they
will receive the divine power of the latter rain, which will
enable them to take the gospel of the soon-coming Saviour
to every individual upon the earth.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the
Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and
he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and
former rain unto the earth (Hosea 6:3).
And it shall come to pass afterward, that 1 will pour
out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions Goel 2:28).
At the time of Pentecost, the apostles received the
former rain.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place. And sud-
denly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they

were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance (Acts 2:1-4).
This power enabled the early Christians to take the
gospel to all parts of the world. Writing about A.O. 64,
Paul was able to report that the gospel had, in just three
decades, spread worldwide.
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and
be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,
which ye have heard, and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made
a minister ... (Colossians 1:23, emphasis added).
The latter rain will give power to God's faithful remnant
to take the message of Christ's soon coming to every part of
the planet. The gospel that will be preached worldwide
will be the everlasting gospel.
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them
that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud
voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of
his judgment is come: and worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters (Revelation 14:6 1 7).
This gospel (see chapter 22, entitled "Come Out of Her
My People") will be especially directed toward the faithful
who are presently in the Roman Catholic Church and those
Protestant churches who have surrendered their allegiance
to the papacy. But it will also spread to every non-Christian
land.

Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For
remembered her iniquities (Revelation 18:4, 5).
At that time, all the world will be emphasizing unity
(political, economic, social, and religious), and the papacy
is seen as the great peacemaker and leader in social justice.
The efforts of God's faithful people to call J::lis people out of
Babylon will be seen as divisive, disruptive, and
counterproductive to worldwide peace initiatives. This
small, scattered group of faithful will increasingly become
the object of examination by the enemies of truth. After all
efforts to "convert" them to papal allegiance fails, state-ad-
ministered persecution will be directed against them. This
is the witness of prophecy. No doubt, this action will be
defended by claiming that the saints alone are responsible
for the failure to achieve total peace and unity upon the
earth. They will be represented as traitors. The efforts of
the faithful to convince the masses that biblical truth alone
is the foundation of true Christianity and genuine peace
will prove futile.
All except the most sincere will reject the pleas of the
faithful, and will tum their wrath against them because
most are biblically illiterate and drunk with the false beliefs
of the papacy. The masses will not have the least thought
that they are rejecting the final invitation of a loving,
longsuffering Saviour. By their actions, they will reject
God's law. In so doing, they reject the One of whom the
law is the very transcript of His character.
It is self-evident that the day of worship will provide the

central issue in this final test of loyalty to God. The Scrip-
tures foretell that this false church will attempt to change
the times that God had established. The only time of wor-
ship that God has perpetually established is the Sabbath.
And he [the little-horn power] shall speak great
words against the most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the most High, and think to change times and
laws (Daniel 7:25, emphasis added).
It is certain that no human authority can change God's
law or His ordained time for worship. The papacy has suc-
ceeded in convincing most of the Christian church that it
has that authority; thus it is not surprising that the Roman
Catholic Church has long boasted that its claim to church
authority is superior to biblical authority. Her claim is that
her power is vested in the change of Sabbath worship from
Saturday to Sunday observance. Here are a few examples:
Question: Which is the Sabbath do.y?
Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Satur-
day'
Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday
because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity
from Saturday to Sunday (Peter Geiermann, The
Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1977 edition, p.
50).
Question: Have you any other way of proving that the
church has power of instituting festivals or precepts?
Answer. Had she not had such power, she could
not have done that in which all modern religionists
agree with her. She could not have substituted the ob-
servance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the
observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for

which there is no scriptural authority (Stephen
Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, 1876, p. 174).
The Roman Catholic Church has always claimed the
homage of the Protestant churches because of their obser-
vance of Sunday as their day of worship.
It was the Catholic Church which, by the body of
Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday in
remembrance of our Lord; thus, th!? observance of
Sunday by the Protestants is a homage they pay, in
spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic]
church (Louis Gaston de Segur, Plain Talk About the
Protestantism of Today, 1868, p. 225).
The Catholic Church for over 1,000 years before the
existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mis-
sion, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday ....
But, the Protestant says, "How can I receive the
teachings of an apostate church? How, we ask, have
you managed to receive her teaching all your life, in
direct opposition to your recognized teacher, the Bible,
on the Sabbath question" ("The Christian Sabbath,"
from The Catholic Mirror, 1893, pp. 29-31)?
It is true that the Roman Catholic Church has instituted
many other nonbiblical practices; for example, the rosary,
penance, purgatory, limbo, and infant baptism are Roman
Catholic innovations that are not founded upon the Word
of God. But none of these have assumed the symbolic im-
portance to papal authority that the change of the Sabbath
has achieved. The Sabbath has become the basis upon
which the papal church has established its authority above
the authority of the inspired Word of Scripture. Thls
should not be surprising because the Sabbath was estab-
lished as God's special sign of authority. It establishes the
fact that Christ is our Creator. By worshiping on His Sab-

bath, we accept His sovereignty in our lives. By rejecting
the Sabbath, the Roman Catholic Church has rejected the
Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).
All sorts of spurious arguments have been used in a vain
effort to sustain Sunday sacredness. Some have attributed
the "solemnity" of Sunday to the fact that Christ rose from
the dead on that day. But Jes us instituted only two or-
dinances of the church to commemorate His resurrection-
baptism (Romans 6:3-8) and the communion service (1
Corinthians 11:23-26). Christ never inferred that Sunday
should be observed in place of the Sabbath. The pagan
origin of Sunday observance is clearly recognized by the
fact that the first day of the week, Sunday, is observed from
midnight to midnight, a practice that was instituted by the
pagans (instead of observing the divine time schedule from
sundown to sundown). We could properly ask the Chris-
tian world why it did not instead choose Friday as its day
of worship, as our Lord died on that day. In 1985, the Lon-
don Daily Telegraph reported that 31, of the 42, Anglican
bishops that were surveyed did not believe in Christ's
resurrection. It would be most difficult for these bishops to
argue Sunday sacredness as the basis of a resurrection in
which they did not believe.
The Bible emphasizes that the Sabbath seal is central to
God's seal of loyalty that will be placed in the foreheads of
God's final faithful people.
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the
trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in
their foreheads (Revelation 7:3).
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount

Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads (Revelation 14: 1).
Scripture specifies that the Sabbath is the sign of
sanctification.
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying,
Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign be-
tween me and you throughout your gene~ations; that
ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify
you (Exodus 31:13).
Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a
sign between me and them, that they might know that
I am the Lord that sanctify them (Ezekiel 20:12).
In the Bible, the sign of God is synonymous with the seal
of God.
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of
the righteousness of faith which he had yet being un-
circumcised (Romans 4:11, emphasis added).
Those who will be God's loyal people at the end-time
will be Sabbathkeepers. The Word of God is clear that
these end-time saints will be keepers of the law, irrespec-
tive of persecution, deprivation, and death threats.
which keep the commandments of God, and have the tes-
timony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17, emphasis
added).
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus
(Revelation 14:12, emphasis added).
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in
through the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14, em-

phasis added).
God's true saints who are faithful unto death will keep
all God's commandments in the divine strength that is
provided by Christ. These saints will live eternally with
Him.
20
The Mark of the Beast

and the Seal of God
A lthough the Bible states that the saints will receive the
seal of God that secures their eternal salvation, it also
introduces the mark of the beast, which will be received by
those who reject the invitation of Christ to separate from
Babylon. This mark will be received either in the forehead
or in the hand.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads (Revelation 13:16).
And the third angel followed them, saying with a
loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his
hand ... (Revelation 14:9).
Some students of Scripture have postulated that lost men
and women will receive a visible mark; however, in view
of the symbolic language of Revelation, it is evident that
the mark, or seal, that is received in the forehead is indica-
tive of allegiance to Satan or Christ. These marks will be
embedded in the mind, the decision-making area of the

brain. Those who receive the mark in the hand (unlike
those who receive it in the forehead) will not be deceived
by the papal power or its false teachings; however, they
will capitulate when the test comes. They will obey the dic-
tates of the antichrist and fail to secure eternal life because
of their refusal to fully accept Jesus and all His directions in
their lives. The following words of Jesus are of eternal im-
portance to every Christian:
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my
sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father
with his angels; and then he shall reward every man
according to his works (Matthew 16:24-27).
This certainly is the time to draw close to Jesus, allowing
Him to lead in every step of our lives.
We can expect that, in its last, desperate effort to sub-
jugate the whole world to its nefarious deception, step by
determined step, the papacy will attempt to enforce Sun-
day observance as a sign of its authority and power. Be-
cause of the prophesied allegiance of the nations to the
papacy (see Revelation 14:8, 18:3), there will be a repetition
of the past-the civil governments of the world will enforce
the wishes of the papacy; thus national and international
laws will be framed, requiring all to worship on Sunday. It
can be expected that legislation will eventually be enacted,
The Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God 209
in an attempt to force Sabbathkeepers to violate God's

sacred day of worship.
A careful study of Revelation, chapter 13, indicates that
the United States will play a significant role in these closing
events. As we have seen, the prophecy of Revelation 13
identifies the second power that will play the primary role
as the enforcer of the dictates of the papacy. This new
power is brought to view in the second part of Revelation
13.
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake
as a dragon (Revelation 13:11).
The following facts demonstrate that this power is the
United States of America.
I. A beast in biblical prophecy always represents an
earthly power. This is evident from Daniel's prophecy of
the four beasts.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse
one from another. The first was like a lion, and had
eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were
plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and
made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart
was given to it. And behold another beast, a second,
like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it
had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of
it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much
flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a
leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a
fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was
given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and
behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and
strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it
devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from a11
the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns
(Daniel 7:3-7).
These four beasts represented the four successive
dominant political powers of Babylon, Medo-Persia,
Greece, and Rome.
2. This new power, revealed in Revelation 13:11, arose
from the earth. It will be noted that the powers of Daniel 7
arose from the sea.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse
one from another (Daniel 7:3, emphasis added).
The sea, in biblical prophecy, represents multitudes and
people.
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou
sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and mul-
titudes, and nations, and tongues (Revelation 17:15).
These powers that are depicted in Daniel, chapter 7,
arose out of the densely populated areas of the Old World.
This new power, by contrast, must be a New World nation
because it arises from the earth (indicating a sparsely popu-
lated area) instead of the sea.
3. This second beast power had to arise around 1798 (the
end of the 1260 years of European papal domination).
PrGphecy spoke about the first beast of Revelation 13 which
represented the papacy.
great things and blasphemies; and power was given
unto him to continue forty and two months [or 1260
days] (Revelation 13:5).
The lamb-like beast arose to power after the papal beast,

thus fixing its origin in the latter portion of the eighteenth
century.
4. This new power is depicted as lamb-like in its begin-
ning; whereas, the other beasts of biblical prophecy are
generally depicted as beasts of prey. Such a power would
establish itself without great conquest in a minimally popu-
lated region of the world.
5. The choice of a lamb rather than a sheep indicates a
very young nation.
The biblical criteria excludes every nation upon earth ex-
cept the United States of America. It arose under the ban-
ner of a constitution which granted, as no other nation
before, political and religious liberty. In this enactment, the
United States forged the peaceable characteristics of a
lamb. It arose, at the end of the eighteenth century, in the
sparsely populated territory of the New World that is far
removed from the denser populated nations of Europe and
the Middle East. When the United States gained inde-
pendence, its total population was a mere three million.
Divine prophecy predicted that the characteristics of this
lamb-like beast would change. It would speak as a dragon;
thus we must expect the United States to become, even
though founded upon the principles of religious freedom,
an oppressive power that will enforce papal dictates.
Recent court rulings indicate a dramatic departure from
the time-honored American heritage of protecting the
religious rights of minority groups. A 1990 Sepreme Court
opinion (in the United States) is a frightening example of
this.
In what was called a "radical departure" from pre-

vious rulings protecting religion, the Supreme Court
Tuesday forcefully declared that it would no longer
shield believers whose practices violate general laws.
Religions that are out of the mainsteam are most
likely to be affected because their unconventional
practices and lack of political clout have led them to
depend on the courts for protection.
The ruling came in the case of two American In-
dians who were fired from their jobs as drug coun-
selors1 in Oregon, after they admitted ingesting peyote
during a religious ceremony. On a 6-3 vote, the court
upheld their dimissal.
But in the sweeping opinion, Justice Antonin
Scalia went far beyond the case, and declared that
when religious rights clash with the government's
need for reform rules, the court will side with the
government.
As a nation, "we cannot afford the luxury" of strik-
ing down laws simply because they limit someone's
religious practices, Scalia said. He advised religious
adherents to look to the political system, not the
courts for protection ("Religious Fine Print Blurred,"
The Fresno Bee, April 18, 1990).
When the supreme court of Nebraska, in 1990, ruled that
a Jehovah Witness father could not teach his daughter
Jehovah Witness beliefs in competition to his divorced
wife's Roman Catholic beliefs, another nail was hammered
into the coffin of religious liberty.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast
before him, and causeth the earth and them which
dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly
wound was healed (Revelation 13:12).
Sadly, we must expect that this great nation of freedom

will be transformed into a persecuting power whose main
object will be to obliterate God's saints from the earth.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might
buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name (Revelation
13:16, 17).
Is it not highly significant that members of the Protestant
churches of America are now seeking reconciliation with
the Roman Catholic Church? Even one of the most conser-
vative of all Protestant churches in the United States, the
Southern Baptists, seeks basic agreement with the Roman
Catholic Church. (See chapter 9, entitled "All That Dwell
Upon the Earth Shall Worship Him.")
The Southern Baptists are not the only Protestants who
are drawing closer to Roman Catholics.
Roman Catholics and Lutherans stepped closer
together Monday, when church officials from both
denominations announced plans to draw up a
covenant that will increase cooperation between the
most powerful religious bodies in Minnesota (The
Minneapolis Star and Tribune, Oct. 171989).
The capitulation of Protestantism to Catholicism is
seen worldwide. In July 1990, the president of the
Australasian Council of Churches, the Anglican
bishop of Bendigo, Bishop Oliver Heywood, and the
Roman Catholic archbishop of Sidney, Cardinal Ed-
ward Clancy, sat side by side, in Adelaide, talking

about plans for a new national ecumenical body. , ..
The move has been described as ''a revolution'' in
Anglican-Catholic nations, and could be the first step
towards the eventual merger of the two churches (Sid-
ney Morning Herald, July 1990).
The new ecumenical body is projected to be operating by
1992. It seems that the 1992-1993 era will be tremendously
significant in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Ninety per-
cent of the Christian community, in Australia, will be rep-
resented in the new organization.
The following assertion is even more ominous:
Its [the new ecumenical council's] formation is also
expected to encourage the church community to take
an even greater part in the political area. ''Politics is
what drives our society in many ways, and if the
church is to be part of society, which it is, then clearly
we have to be involved," Bishop Heyward said. "If
there is a bit of rough and tumble, then so be it" (Sid-
ney Morning Herald).
When the church unites with the state, persecution of
dissenters inevitably follows.
Today many Christians of various faiths and their min-
isters are joining together in special days of prayer for
Christian unity, little recognizing that such prayers do not
ascend to God, but to the archdeciever. At these ecumenical
prayer meetings, Christians are being subtly conditioned to
unite with Rome.
It is obvious that not only the churches of Protestantism
are turning their faces toward Rome but also the nations of
the world are uniting under the supervision of the papacy.
We can expect these unions to continue to accelerate their
cooperation in the near future. The closer they come

together; the more secure this unity will be achieved. The
persecution of God's people will consequently follow this
renewed union of church and state. The Bible predicts it.
History confirms that this has always been the result of
such a union. The gospel will be taken to every part of the
world under these most difficult and trying circumstances.
Many faithful children of Christ will lose their lives during
this time.
Communist nations have officially apoligized for their
past wrongs. Poland and East Germany have openly
apoligized for joining the Russian Army in quelling the
democracy movement in Prague during 1968. Even the
U.S.S.R. has at last confessed its guilt to Poland for the liq-
uidation of 15,570 officers of the Polish Army in the Katyn
Forest in 1940. Even the emperor of Japan, in 1990,
apoligized for the actions of Imperial Japan against Korea
during its occupation in the years of 1905-1945.
But no such confession has ever come from the lips of
the Roman Catholic hierarchy. When Pope John II visited
Czechoslovakia in April 1990, he had a golden opportunity
to visit Huss Square, where his spiritual predecessors
burned John Huss at the stake simply because he refused to
acknowledge the Roman Catholic blasphemy that priests
are capable of creating our Lord's body and His blood in
the Mass. The pope studiously avoided such a confession
of wrong. This attitude stems from the papal dogma of in-
fallibility, which protects the seeds of futher persecution
when papal authority exercises the power that it had
during the Middle Ages. Since she has never repented of
the evil excesses that she has done in the past, she 1s
capable of persecuting God's people again.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11).
We must expect to see large numbers of professed
Protestants capitulating to Roman Catholicism. This tragic
trend is already accelerating; on the other hand, we must
expect significant numbers of God's faithful people to leave
the apostate churches, and join one fold under the
bloodstained banner of Jes us Christ.
Before the return of Jesus, there comes a time when every
human being's destiny is sealed. All have made an ir-
revocable decision for Jesus Christ or for Satan. A million
years would not change that decision.
At that time, Christ will make His awesome pronounce-
ment:
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he
which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is
holy, let him be holy still (Revelation 22:11).
At this time, the Spirit of the Lord will no longer call
people to repentance because there is no purpose in the
Holy Spirit's appeal to the heart once each person's destiny
is sealed. The Bible speaks about this time.
There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
since there was a nation (Daniel 12:1).
The prophet, Jeremiah, also refers to this time.
It is even the time of Jacob's trouble aeremiah 30:7).
At this time, the full fury of Satan will be turned upon

God's faithful people in an attempt to eliminate them from
the face of the earth. At that time, the effort to destroy
God's people becomes universal. God pours out His judg-
ments upon the earth during this period of vicious per-
secution. Many of these judgments, as recorded in
Revelation 16, are directed against those who have wor-
shiped the beast or are at the center of papa~ power. Two
typical plagues are cited. There are seven in all.
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon
the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore
t:pon the men which had the mark of the beast, and
upon them which worshipped his image (Revelation
16:2).
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the
seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of dark-
ness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain (Revela-
tion 16:10).
Prior to the return of Jesus, Rome is destroyed.
16:19).
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon
is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornica-
tion (Revelation 14:8).
At that time, God's saints who have been sustained only
by His love and preserving power will see, with great
rejoicing, the return of their long-awaited Lord and
Redeemer.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven

with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with
the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord (1Thessalonians4:16, 17).
The promise of Jesus will be fulfilled:
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).
These saints have not worshiped the beast because they
have fully surrendered their lives to Jesus, and their names
are recorded m the Lamb's book of life (see Revelation
13:8).
The Lord is now calling all readers to total loyalty to
Himself, so that their eternal destiny will be secure in the
One who gave His life for the salvation of every human
being.
21
A Moment to Decide
B efore the creation of this earth, the eternal unity of the

universe was split apart by the leader of the angels-
Lucifer.
How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of
the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God: l will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:12-14).
In the form of a snake, Satan succeeded in destroying the
loyalty of earth's first inhabitants to God.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of
the field which the Lord God had made. And he said
unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto
the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God
doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, know-
ing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis
3:1-6).
The issue, in the Garden of Eden, was a simple one-Eve
had the choice to accept the Word of God or the word of
the deceiver. Since then, that has been the issue. Today,
humanity faces the same decision-whether to accept the
Word of God, the One who is the truth {John 14:6} and
cannot lie {Titus 1:2), or the word of Lucifer, Satan, the
father of lies {John 8:44). The destiny of every human being
rests on this simple decision.
In one sense, Satan has always had an advantage over
God. God can only present truth, unadulterated and un-
modified. Satan can present an almost infinite combination
of truth and error. The battle is between the truth of God,
on the one hand, and the mixture of truth and error of
Satan, on the other. One willful step away from the truth of
God places us upon Satan's territory, and is sure to lead us
further into error of thought and action. There is only one
way to be totally committed to God.
Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God
(Deuteronomy 8:3).
So many, today, have not understood that rejecting the
Word of God, even a small part of it, is dangerous to their
eternal salvation. While concentrating upon the mercy of
A Momeni lo Decide 221
God, they have failed to give due acknowledgment to

mercy's twin sister-justice. A just God could never trust a
man or woman who has not been loyal to His Word to be a
loyal citizen of heaven or of the new earth. The charac-
teristics of the saints that will enter heaven are simply
defined in Scripture.
Herc is the patience of the saints: here are they that
Placed in the setting of the time of the end, this text offers
three unequivocal characteristics of those who accept the
saving grace and mercy of Jesus. First, they have patience,
or, as we would say today, endurance or perseverance.
They do not yield their loyalty to God by compromising
truth or Christian practice. They daily appropriate Christ's
strength to obey everything that God says. These saints
keep both the commandments of God and the faith of
Jesus. While the antichrist has sought to change and
depreciate the law of God, the saints cherish and obey it be-
cause they recognize that it is an exact transcript of the
character of God. When we have the mind of Christ
(Philippians 2:5), His character is revealed in us through
the keeping of His commandments. But Paul reminds us
that we cannot keep the commandments of God unless we
also have the faith of Jesus.
Whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
This faith enables us to believe that Jesus is completely
able to save us, from sin, for His kingdom. Such a faith
leads to victory over sin as our lives are constantly sub-
mitted to Jesus Christ. This faith is always demonstrated
by obedience.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent

sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that
he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it
he being dead yet speaketh (Hebrews 11:4).
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not
seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the
saving of his house; by the which he condemned the
world, and became heir of the righteousness which is
by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go
out into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went (Hebrews 11:7, 8).
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews
11:24, 25).
Throughout human history, millions have suffered per-
secution, deprivation, torture, imprisonment, and death
rather than give up their loyalty to God. Such ultimate
decisions are not hurriedly made, nor are they impulsive.
God's faithful children have always been those who have
developed the habit of daily submitting their wills and
lives to Christ. They have allowed Jesus to guide them in
every decision that they have made. As the Lord has per-
mitted them to be tested on the little issues, they have
leaned upon His strength for victory. The same strength is
appropriated as more difficult tests come. Jesus has always
been their strength and comfort because they fully believe
the promises of God.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suf·
fer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
A Momeni to Decide 223
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that

ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Those who fail in the days of severe test and trial have
also failed earlier in the simple tests of life. They are often
oblivious to the fact that they are making decisions that are
of eternal consequence. They frequently wish to delay the
day of commitment, but such is usually a commitment that
is never made.
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salva-
tion (Hebrews 2:3).
Knowing our tendency to indefinitely delay, He en-
courages us.
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation (Hebrews 3:15).
Our minds immediately recall two tragic rulers who
sought to delay their response to the convicting power of
the Holy Spirit. As Paul, during his trial (following his ar-
rest in Jerusalem), presented opportunities for salvation to
these leaders, their hearts stirred within them. Felix was
the first to witness Paul's powerful appeal.
And as he [Paul[ reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled,
and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have
a convenient season, I will call for thee (Acts 24:25).
Tragically, there is no record that Felix ever made a
decision to follow Jesus during any convenient season. This
was Felix's only opportunity to decide.
Soon afterward, King Agrippa had his moment of
decision.
King Agrippa, believes! thou the prophets? I know
that thou believes!. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Al-
most thou persuadest me to be a Christian (Acts 26:27,

28).
Again, there is no record that Agrippa was, at a later
time, fully persuaded to be a Christian. His moment of
eternal destiny was sealed at that moment. There is never
an "almost." We either are under the banner of Christ or
we are serving with the legions of the archrebel, Lucifer.
The importance of one decision can be seen in the lives
of Daniel, Mishael, Azariah, and Hananiah. These four
captives from Judah were destined for slavery; however,
the most powerful potentate of the day, King Nebuchad-
nezzar, made the enlightened decision to train the elite of
the captives for positions of rulership. The king even
provided, for these young trainees, the same food and wine
of which he partook. This decision of the four Jewish
youths, not to violate their conscience, was to have
profound implications throughout their lives. Daniel was
obviously the leader in this decision.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor
with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested
of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile
himself (Daniel 1:8).
If these four men had not made this decision then, the
book of Daniel would never have been written. The ex-
periences, in chapters 3 and 6, would never have taken
place as recorded. Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael
(Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) would never have
refused to bow to the golden image on the plain of Dura,
with their lives at stake, if they had not earlier made their
dietary decisions. Neither would Daniel have continued to
A Moment to Decide 225
audibly pray in front of his open window in defiance of the

command, of King Darius, that all who worshiped another
instead of the king would be thrown into the lions' den.
While God delivered His faithful servants in both these
tests, deliverance may not always be God's plan. But
whenever men and women have made the ultimate
sacrifice, God has provided the strength to face even the
cruelest of deaths. To the true Christian, loyalty to Christ
has no conditions.
During the persecutions of the Middle Ages and the time
of the Reformation, many nobly faced imprisonment and
even martyrdom in their unswerving loyalty to proclaim
the gospel of Jesus Christ. John Bunyan, famed author of
Pilgrim's Progress, spent many years in prison because he
refused to acknowledge the right of any human authority
to authorize his preaching of the precious Word of God. A
sympathetic judge did all he could to save Bunyan from
prison. Aware of Bunyan's blind 2-year-old daughter, the
judge offered to pardon him for preaching without ec-
clesiastical permission on condition that he agree not to do
it again. But Bunyan said that he must preach by the
authority of God. The judge then volunteered to arrange,
with the Anglican Church, for him to receive approval to
preach. Bunyan insisted that God had delegated this
authority to no man except Jesus Himself. Sadly, the judge
enforced the law of the day, and the faithful Bunyan was to
survive many years in the dreary prison of Bedford.
Even more moving is the faithfulness of the sixteenth-
century English martyr, Thomas Arthur. Arthur, too, was
summoned for preaching without the permission of the
Roman Catholic Church. His words crystallized the

courage that the proclaimers of the everlasting gospel will
have at the end of time.
Let our adversaries preach by the authority of the
cardinal; others by the authority of the university;
others by the popes; we will preach by the authority
of God. It is not the man that brings the Word that
saves the soul, but the Word which the man brings.
Neither bishops nor popes have the right to forbid any
man to preach the gospel; and if they kill him he is not
a heretic, but a martyr (D' Aubigne, The English Refor-
mation, vol. 1, p. 291).
Jesus foretold that God's faithful people will indeed face
fearful persecution.
If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours
also (John 15:20).
In many countries, this has already taken place. When-
ever freedom of religion is violated, men and women have
had to make quick decisions that have evidenced their
loyalty or disloyalty to God. Frequently, the seventh-day
Sabbath, of the fourth commandment in the decalogue, has
been at stake. Only a small number have remained faithful
to their Sabbathkeeping under threats of confiscation,
separation from family, imprisonment, torture, death, and
when civil authorities have demanded that they send their
children to school on Sabbath or work on God's holy,
sacred day.
In 1972, a woman in East Germany faced the ultimate
decision-send her 8-year-old daughter (her only child) to
school on Sabbath or have her removed by civil authorities.
In spite of her prayers, the child was taken away. But God
had not forgotten her. When a plaque that declared her to

be an unfit mother was posted in the center of the woman's
village, the villagers rallied to her plight. They proclaimed
her to be one of the finest mothers in the village; also, they
forced the officials to return the girl to her mother by refus-
ing to do any work assignment for the government until
this was done. The child was returned to her mother. What
a great God we serve!
In another country that was swept by revolution, a
Christian press was taken over by the revolutionaries. Im-
mediately, the Sabbathkeeping staff was required to work
on Sabbath, at the risk of execution if they refused to obey.
All workers capitulated except one pressman who placed
his loyalty to God above his own life. When he reported to
work on Monday, he was given one more chance to show
his loyalty to the revolution by working the next Sabbath.
He refused, and immediately the execution squad was
summoned to take him to the place of execution. As he
was being roughly taken out of the door of the press build-
ing, the revolutionary chief abruptly called him back and
informed him he had his Sabbaths free from work. When
the other workers heard about what had happened, they
entreated the chief for the same consideration, but were
greeted only by the angry response, "Get out of here!"
They had lost their moment to decide for Christ.
In recent times, we have seen efforts to establish Sunday
laws. It has been a characteristic of communist countries to
require work and school attendance every day of the week,
excluding Sunday. This has created untold hardships for
faithful Sabbathkeepers. As a result, many were im-
prisoned. Some had their children taken from them. And
some died as martyrs to their faith. Two islands in the free

world (Fiji and Puerto Rico) led the way, in the late 1980s,
in legislating Sunday laws that prevented normal activities
on Sunday. It has been well-known that Sabbath obser-
vance will become the final test of loyalty to God just prior
to the second coming of Jesus.
During September 1989 in the United States, a chilling
warning was given to Sabbathkeeping Christians when the
First Circuit Court of Appeals, in Boston, upheld the
validity of the Puerto Rican Sunday closing laws. Once
again, the court system of the United States demonstrated
its readiness to enforce legislation that is designed to place
special significance upon the pagan day of the sun. This
court opinion certainly renewed the intention of activist
groups, such as the Lord's Day Alliance, to apply pressure
for Sunday closing laws to be enacted by legislatures on the
mainland of the Unites States. It is more likely that such
laws will be enacted in a time of great national need or
crisis.
People of other races have a much tougher mentality
than those in the Western cultures. It will require a total
commitment to Christ in order for faithful people to stand
the tests and trials that are just ahead of us. Only those
who daily study God's Word, and, under the power of the
Holy Spirit, apply these truths to their lives will prove
faithful. Now is the time to make your decision for Christ.
Even though the test of loyalty will encompass every facet
of our lives, the Sabbath test will rivet the attention of the
world to the challenge of God's authority and rulership.
As we approach the time when the image to the beast is
fully formed, now is a time to make decisions for truth and
righteousness. As the fury of the antichrist reaches its apex,

only those who are secure in the power of Jesus Christ will
stand faithful. The decision made then will depend upon
the decisions made now. There can be no neutrality then,
anymore than God allows neutrality now.
He that is not with me is against me; and he that
gathcrcth not with me scattereth abroad (Matthew
12:30).
We realize that this book will bring, to many readers, the
challenge of their lifetime. We believe no one can read it
without being brought, like Felix and Agrippa, to a
decision in his or her life. We pray that your decision,
renewed every day, will be to join the faithful group of
God's loyal remnant. The King's return is close at hand.
Be ready "to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians
4:17). Be ready to join the triumphant band in their shout of
victory.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God;
we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is
the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and
rejoice in his salvation (Isaiah 25:9).

22
Come Out of Her, My

People
he final divine call to humanity provides the urge~!

T invitation to separate from the Roman Catholic
Church and the fallen Protestant churches which have
adopted her apostasy.
Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For
remembered her iniquities (Revelation 18:4, 5).
This call comes with the everlasting gospel that ts
proclaimed to all the inhabitants of the earth. Jesus gave
His disciples a precious promise when they asked Him
when the end of the world would be.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and
then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14).
That promise has always been the dynamic force that has
motivated Christ's true followers to proclaim His message
of love, salvation, and soon coming to this world. Jesus

was not dealing in general terms because He said "this
gospel," not "a gospel." Evidently, this was not a tem-
porary or transitory gospel. This gospel is most clearly
defined, in Revelation 14, in what is frequently referred to
as the first angel's message, which is part of the other two
messages that follow.
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them
that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud
voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of
his judgment is come: and worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters (Revelation 14:6, 7).
It is one thing to be called out of Babylon; it is another
thing to know where to go. When the Jews were given the
opportunity to leave literal Babylon, many remained. So it
will be when the final invitation is given. God will have an
authentic church with His true believers. The book of
Revelation frequently refers to the pure woman at the end-
time. Such symbolism is always representative of God's
true, pure church.
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her
feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars
(Revelation 12:1, emphasis added).
testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17, emphasis
added).
Come Out of Her, My People 233
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him
that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely (Revelation 22:17, emphasis added).
It is self-evident that it will be this church which will
give the invitation of Revelation 18:4 to the world. It will
present the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14:6, 7 to
earth's inhabitants. Those honest souls who reach the con-
viction that they are members of a church from which God
is calling them now have the opportunity to join that group
of people who will take this everlasting gospel to the
world.
It is essential that we discover the message of the ever-
lasting gospel, and discern which church espouses it in its
fullness. The everlasting gospel is to be known, believed,
lived, and proclaimed. A review of Revelation 14:7 reveals
that there are four interwoven elements of this message:
1. Fear God.
2. Give glory to Him.
3. The hour of His judgment is come.
4. Worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of waters.
An understanding of these principles will reveal the
church that has accepted these truths. It is possible that
some readers will not possess a thorough understanding of
the meaning of each of these components. We will use the
good Protestant principle of biblical interpretation as we
explore the Scriptures because the Bible surely is its own
best expositor, the only flawless guide to its own meaning.
1. Fear God. John, the author of Revelation, undoubted-

ly was a great student of the Old Testament because he fre-
quently quoted from it. The book of Revelation, in many
places, parallels the book of Daniel and other Old Testa-
ment prophecies. John acquired his concept of godly fear
from what he read in the Old Testament. Consequently,
we must turn to the Old Testament in order to discover the
broad scope of the command to fear God.
The experience of Abraham, when he was about to offer
Isaac on Mount Moriah, clarifies the meaning of implicit
and unwavering obedience to God's command.
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad,
neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld
thy son, thine only son from me (Genesis 22:12, em-
phasis added).
These words are of major significance because they were
spoken by Christ Himself. Since the book of Revelation is
the revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1), consistency
requires that we apply the same meaning to the use of the
same term in each passage.
Abraham's faith was so firm that he obeyed God's
awesome request, and believed that God could and would
raise his boy from the dead. He believed this despite the
fact that there is no inspired record that a single human
had ever been raised from the dead prior to the Mount
Moriah experience. This, in reality, was absolute faith that
was manifested by unquestioning obedience to our God.
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered
up his on1y begotten son, of whom it was said, That in
Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God

was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from
whence also he received him in a figure (Hebrews
11:17-19).
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses explained the mean-
ing of the requirement to fear God.
That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep
all his statutes and his commandments, which I com-
mand thee (Deuteronomy 6:2).
Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of
the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him
(Deuteronomy 8:6).
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God re-
quire of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in
all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to
keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes,
which l command thee this day for thy good
(Deuteronomy 10:12, 13)?
These passages call God's people to obey the law of God
and His Word. To fear God is to so implicitly trust God
that our lives will not reflect our own fallible, human judg-
ment. Instead, we will be ready to follow God's leading
whatever it may be. Only such a people will be able to be
used by God to take the everlasting gospel to every nook
and cranny of this world.
They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the
lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they
loved not their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11).
The Roman Catholic Church is not the only church that
refuses to acknowledge God's power to keep His people
from falling into sin. Most Protestant churches today deny
that God's people will possess perfection of character

before Christ returns. The Bible is replete with assurances
that, in His power, Christ's humble flock will overcome all
sin. In confirmation of this fact, we cite a selection of pas-
sages from Holy Writ.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit (Romans 8:3, 4).
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for-
give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un-
righteousness (1John1:9).
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungod-
liness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus
2:11, 12).
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the utter-
most that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the
flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for
he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the
flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God (1 Peter
4:1, 2).
Many have a form of godliness but do not possess the
genuine love for God that is so essential for those who are
seeking to serve Him.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof: from such tum away (2 Timothy 3:5).
Such will not receive the crown of life. It must be remem-

bered that we cannot, by our human effort, have day-by-
day victory over sin. It is the grace of God that provides
such strength.
appeared to all men (Titus 2:11).
Only Christ, the victorious One, can keep us from falling.
Now unto him that is able to keep you· from falling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy Gude 24).
He has promised that those who have submitted their
will to Him will not be tested above their endurance.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suf-
fer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that
ye may be able to bear it(! Corinthians 10:13).
A daily commitment of our lives to Jesus requires us to
truly fear God. Freedom from the enslavement of sin is the
greatest blessing that God desires to give us.
2. Give glory to Him. At first thought, it would seem im-
possible that fallen humans could give any glory to the
God of the universe. God possesses infinite glory, and we
innately possess none. Glory represents character. Adam
and Eve lost their garments of light when their characters
were marred by sin. The all-perfect One surely possesses
infinite glory. We must trust the Lord that somehow we
will be empowered to "give glory to Him." The Bible does
not leave us in ignorance. Jesus Himself addressed the
issue.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may

see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven (Matthew 5:16).
Righteous characters reflect works of righteousness. Our
works must always be for the glory of God, and never for
ourselves. Paul's writings add another dimension to this
command to "give glory to Him."
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever
ye do, do all to the glory of God (1Corinthians10:31).
Even in our daily food and drink, our dietary habits, we
need to reflect the glory of God. Paul also tells us that we
are the temple of God.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple
of God is holy, which temple ye are (1 Corinthians
3:16, 17).
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of
God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with
a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's (1Corinthians6:19, 20).
And what agreement hath the temple of God with
idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing: and I will receive you (2 Corinthians 6:16, 17).
Note the striking relationship between 2 Corinthians
6:16, 17 and idolatry. The image worship of the Roman
Catholic Church can never lead to God dwelling in the
human temple.
Referring back to 1 Corinthians 10:31, it is evident that

our health habits need to reflect the glory of God. Many
churches have given little heed to the relationship of bibli-
cal health habits to Christian character; also, they have not
taken a stand against alcohol or tobacco. They do not edu-
cate their members in those dietary principles which will
enhance their Christian commitment, service, and honor to
God. It is evident that God's faithful church will practice
these true health principles.
God's true end-time church will teach the command-
ments of God and claim Christ's provision to keep His
faithful servants from falling back into sin. They will also
honor God with their habits of a healthy lifestyle. Sadly,
most churches of Protestantism do not measure up to these
requ i rem en ts.
3. The hour of His judgment is come. This judgment hour
message is little understood in Christendom. It cannot be
understood by most Christians because they have accepted
the Greek-pagan concept of immediate life after death that
has been consistently taught since the time of the ancient
city of Babylon. The Bible consistently teaches that death is
a dreamless sleep. Each deceased person awaits the call of
the Life-giver at His second coming.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead
know not any thing, neither have they any more a
reward; for the memory of them is forgotten (Ec-
clesiastes 9:5).
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might; for there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou
goes! (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the

earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some
to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).
These things said he: and after that he said unto
them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may
awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord,
if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of
his death: but they thought that he had spoken of
taking of rest in sleep Gohn 11:11-13).
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed (1 Corinthians
15:51).
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring
with him (1Thessalonians4:14).
job recognized that he would see God in his flesh instead
of in a spirit body.
And though after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God Gob 19:26).
God's reference to souls means living humans who sin
and will be destroyed if they do not repent of their sins.
There is no indication of eternal punishment in Scripture.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father,
so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sin-
neth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4).
The Bible plainly states that only God possesses immor-
tality.
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light
which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath
seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power
everlasting (1Timothy6:16).
Come Out of Her, My People Z41
The Word of God teaches that the faithful receive im-

mortality only at the resurrection of the righteous dead.
Behold, l shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorrup-
tible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal _must put
on immortality (I Corinthians 15:51-53).
The Bible teaches that man is presently mortal.
Jesus wished to give His disciples the hope of eternal life.
He did not point them to the moment of their deaths; in-
stead, He directed their minds to His second coming-the
time when they would be resurrected. Study this passage
carefully.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if l go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where l am, there ye may be also
Oohn 14:1-3).
God, in His infinite wisdom, allows His fallen creation to
rest in the grave until He calls them forth in the resurrec-
tion; thus God's redeemed are spared the agony of observ-
ing the effects of sin upon their living loved ones. In His
justice, God allows the unfallen angels of the universe to
review the records of the human race before one soul is
saved.
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as
snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his
throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as

burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth
from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto
him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him: the judgment was set, and the books ""·ere
opened (Daniel 7:9, 10).
John identifies these myriads of beings as multitudes of
angels who are present at the judgment.
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels
round about the throne and the beasts and the elders:
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands (Revelation
5:11).
This judgment is presently in progress in heaven. It takes
place just prior to the return of Jesus. Daniel refers to the
establishment of Christ's kingdom that is immediately after
the judgment of the beast power.
And there was given him [Christ] dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: his dominion is an ever-
lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Daniel
7:14).
In this judgment, all who have claimed loyalty to God
are judged. God formally declares who are His faithful
people. It is important to note that this judgment begins
just after the end of the medieval reign of the papacy.
Daniel mentions the papal power.
and think to change times and laws: and they shall be
given into his hand until a time and times and the
dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they
shall take away his dominion, to consume and to

destroy it unto the end (Daniel 7:25, 26).
The 1260 days were indeed symbolic of the 1260 years of
papal dominance over Europe. (See chapter 5, entitled "The
Medieval Reign of the Papacy.") This time period began in
538 when Pope Vigilius exercised the role of Pontifex Maxi-
m us, and concluded with Pope Pius Vi's imprisonment in
1798. This prophecy, the 1260-year period of papal domiance
is represented by the term, a time, and times, and half a time,
literally one year, two years, and half a year, or 1260
prophetic days (1260 literal years).
The papacy (here represented by the little horn) will be
judged as unfJithful, and all those who worship him will
similarly be judged as unfaithful. This same judgment con-
siders the lives of God's people.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince which standeth for the children of thy people:
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
since therr was a nation even to that same time: and at
that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book (Daniel 12:1).
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to [in favor ofJ the saints of the most High; and
the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom
(Daniel 7:22).
God's judgment is against the little horn (the papacy)
and in favor of His people. What a wonderful message this
is to the world. Christ stands up for His people in the judg-
ment. It would be a fearful experience to have to stand
alone before God's judgment bar without the One who
lived a perfect life and died for our salvation. Our Lord,
our Saviour, stands up for us in the judgment. What a
thrilling prospect' Both authors have preached this mes-

sage around the world, and both have thrilled at the
response of Protestants, Catholics, Christians, and non-
Christians to this message.
We have found only one church that preaches this mes-
sage-the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We have been
especially blessed to recognize that this church also
upholds the Bible principle that declares that God's saints
will keep the commandments of God through the faith of
Jesus.
We also realize that this church has, for well-over a cen-
tury, placed emphasis upon the message of healthful
living.
4. Worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the
sea, and the fountains of waters. This final facet of the ever-
lasting gospel calls for worship of the Creator. This com-
mand incorporates an explicit reference to the Sabbath
commandment.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six
days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the
seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it
thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hal-
lowed it (Exodus 20:8-11).
There is only one day that God has ordained as the

reminder of His creative power-the seventh day of the
week.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which
he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from
all his work which he had made. And God blessed the
seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had
rested from all his work which God created and made
(Genesis 2:2, 3).
This day was honored by the ancient patriarchs and re-
established by Moses. God is particular. It is not within
man's province to determine the day which should be hal-
lowed.
And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they
gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one
man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and
told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which
the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy
sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to
day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which
remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the
morning (Exodus 16:22, 23).
This day was set aside as a sign or seal (see Romans 4:11)
of sanctification.
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying,
Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign be-
tween me and you throughout your generations; that
ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify
you (Exodus 31:13).
Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a
sign between me and them, that they might know that
I am the Lord that sanctify them (Ezekiel 20:12).
This day was kept by the faithful throughout the Old

Testament era. Christ worshiped on this day when He was
on earth.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to
read (Luke 4:16).
Christ claimed this day as His very own.
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath
(Mark 2:28).
Paul also worshiped on this day.
And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath,
and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks (Acts 18:4).
During life in the new earth, all of God's redeemed will
worship Him on that special day.
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon
to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all
flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord
(Isaiah 66:23).
Some Christians who are not very knowledgeable about
the Scriptures have questioned whether Saturday is the
Sabbath that is referred to in the fourth commandment.
The Bible establishes this fact in relation to the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on what has be-
come known as Good Friday, and rose from the dead on
Easter Sunday. There is only one day between these two
days-Saturday. Luke refers to the day of Christ's death
(Friday).
And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath
drew on (Luke 23:54).
The Sabbath was observed, in Christ's day, from sunset

on Friday evening and extended to sunset on Saturday eve-
ning, as God had commanded; thus, when Jesus died at 3
p.m. on Friday, it was still the preparation day, and the
Sabbath soon followed.
Matthew recorded the day of Christ's resurrection (Sun-
day).
In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week, came Mary Mag-
dalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And,
behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of
the Lord descended from heaven, and came and
rolkd back the stone from the door, and sat upon it
(Matthew 28:1, 2).
Scripture decisively declares that the Sabbath is indeed
Saturday. History testifies to the fact that no alteration in
the weekly cycle has occurred since apostolic times.
This was the day upon which most of the faithful Chris-
tians, up to at least the seventh century (see chapter 5, en-
titled "The Medieval Reign of the Papacy"), worshiped.
We recognize that the Roman Catholic Church proudly
boasts that it was not Christ or the apostles who changed
the Sabbath from the seventh day (Saturday) to the first
day (Sunday). As previously mentioned, many gave their
lives in loyalty to their Creator. At the end of time, the Sab-
bath will once more become the great test of loyalty to
Christ.
Satan hates the Sabbath because it is an acknowledgment
of the One to whom we justifiably owe total allegiance.
Ever since the controversy in heaven, Satan has sought to
claim the rulership of this world. Worship on the pagan
day of the sun is an acknowledgment of Satan's rulership.

One shows, by what day he worships, his loyalty to the
sovereignty of the Creator in their lives. God desires to
recreate His image in our hearts.
As its name attests, the Seventh-day Adventist Church
teaches the eternal, unchangeable law of God and Jesus'
provisions for keeping it; the healthful lifestyle of the Bible;
and the judgment-hour message. It also teaches men and
women to acknowledge their loyalty to Christ by keeping
holy His sacred seventh day.
The authors were born into an undivided Seventh-day
Adventist family; however, in their youth, they challenged
every truth that the Seventh-day Adventist Church taught.
By earnest prayerful study of God's Word, we were com-
pelled to acknowledge that the Seventh-day Adventist
Church, and that church alone, proclaims the truth of the
everlasting gospel. It alone can be trusted to take the gospel
to the world, under the power of the Holy Spirit. We en-
courage all faithful Christians-Catholics and Protestants
alike-to unite with God's remnant church, the Seventh-
day Adventist Church. The same sincere invitation is ex-
tended to all non-Christians.
The reader might well ask, "Is the Seventh-day Adventist
Church a perfect church?" The answer to this question is
an emphatic "No." It is under fearful assault today because
of its loyalty to Christ and His gospel. Many of its members
and even ministers have wavered from the everlasting
gospel. Other church members are indifferent. Still others
have become enemies of the gospel while they seek to
retain their membership in the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Both the authors are ordained ministers of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church, and well-know that large
numbers of nominal adherents have failed to present God's
gospel truth. If such apostasy and indifference were not
found in God's church just prior to our Lord's return,
Scripture would not be accurate. But, irrespective of this
fact, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the only
depository of God's truth on earth today. The Bible details
a fearful sifting and shaking of God's people at the end of
time. We are presently in that time.
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of
Israel among all nations, like as com is sifted in a
sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth
(Amos 9:9).
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all na-
tions shall come: and I will fill this house with glory,
saith the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:7).
Many will worship the beast and his image, but God will
bring His sheep, from all faiths, into His fold. The wheat
and tares grow together until the end-time. While many
who are presently within the Seventh-day Adventist
Church will fail and leave the church during the final test,
it can be expected that multitudes of faithful men and
women will join its fellowship. We invite you, the reader,
to be one of these.
We will also be glad to hear from you. We pray that
God will abundantly bless you as you seek to follow in the
humble footsteps of your Lord and Saviour. This is not a
frivolous decision. Those who are seeking to follow Christ
have only one alternative-to honor His Lordship by wor-
shiping on His sacred Sabbath day. The invitation is now
extended to all who are seeking to join that church which

will unitedly take the everlasting gospel, as presented in
Revelation 14:6-12, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and
people.
For further information concerning the gospel that is
being taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, it may
be obtained through free Bible study guides by writing to
Hartland Institute, Box 1, Rapidan, Virginia 22733, U.S.A.
It is the earnest prayer of both authors that each reader
will accept the great salvation of our Saviour.
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Inspirational VHS Videos (approximately four hours each video)

"Education for Today." Three videos at $54.95. Discussion on
discipline, entertainment, parenting, competition, and other topics
by Dr. Standish.
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Like to Tell You More About . . .
College
An opportunity to learn in a country setting with
Christ-centered classes, work education, and outreach
ministries. Majors: Pastoral Evangelism, Christian
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A friendly and relaxing atmosphere, with qualified
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Meetings scheduled, in various locations, concerning
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Phone 703-672-3100.
Hartland Journal
Information about what God is doing for us, as well
as articles on physical and spiritual health.
Institute Publications
Books, inspirational cassetes, and videos for serious
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MasterCard accepted. Phone 703-672-3566.
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How am anyone be unaffected by the

events which have recently transpired with

These events are apparently irrelevant and con-

The authors' biblical knowledge and keen

Puhlished & Distributed by ~

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I n 1956, our in-depth study on the history of Europe in

If we had predicted, on January 1, 1989, that, before that

While the year 1989 saw the unprecedented dismantling

these wars developed into a direct conflict between the su-

change of political leadership had not come easily. The

paign for elections. As a result, the Solidarity Party swept

The dramatic announcement from the Soviet Union

Many Christians have failed to perceive the significant

In the 1960s . . . one senior Vatican diplomat said,

climactic events of earth's history have no thoughts con-

Who Is the Antichrist?

E cclesiastical turmoil was everywhere. The new pope,

Wycliffe's stand against papal taxation would have led

The Helvetic Convention of Switzerland mentions the

Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrated the

He pinpoints the appearance of antichrist as occurring

As stated earlier, the Old Testament prophet, Daniel,

In his book, The Church of Rome, the Apostasy (Pres-

who were agreed that the man of sin is the anti-Christian

tion of prophecy. His whole thesis was that the antichrist

other time in our history, the identification of the antichrist

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Roman Catholicism and

T he powerful impact that the Reformers made in iden-

period of papal domination. Almost all of this was done at

Catholic order was approved by the beleaguered Pope Paul

There were two significant issues of paramount con-

Ribera applied the prophecies of Revelation, with the ex-

should reunite with the Church of Rome. There was an im-

kingdom for a thousand years. Justice, peace, and unity is

Jesuit concepts are almost without challenge in a large

Neither the futurist nor the preterist views can be sus-

tichrist as the Roman Catholic Church. The climate of

Early Concepts of the

S amuel Cassels' book, Christ and Antichrist (1846),

Many earlier writers offered insightful definitions of the

2. Cyril of Jerusalem (315--386): "There shall arise, at the

was not seen as bishop over the whole Christian church.

antichrist. None of them offer a thought for the preterist

the antichrist power. (See the chapter that is entitled

Leo VIII (963-965), was initially an antipope, contem-

The Medieval Reign of

T he early Christian church greatly suffered at •he hands

as recorded in Revelation 2. The church of Smyrna repre-

stantine exempted the clergy from municipal duties and

until the seventh century, as did England. In the areas of

doom of Sabbathkeepers in Scotland. Margaret was

Many Sabbathkeepers were severely tortured and mar-

time and times and the dividing of time (Daniel 7:25,

authority beyond the Word. It claimed that Christ had in-

acknowledge the authority of the bishop of Rome. Each

The Roman Catholic Church has never officially repented