NINETEEN: THE SLOW EMERGENCE OF THE PAPACY
So, the location is to be Rome. The man is to be "Peter." Said Leo I, leader of the church in the middle of the 5th century:
"From the whole world, a single man, 'Peter', is chosen and appointed to rank before all Gentiles and all apostles, all Fathers of the church...it is expressly Peter who is to govern all whom Christ governs in the first place." (Gontard, p. 137)
Thus the headship of the new church is to be given to a man. How the church can ignore the plain teachings on the "body of Christ" given by the apostles, can only be explained in terms of Satan's slowly confusing, blinding ways.
Paul states it clearly in Ephesians 1:22...
"God put all things under Christ's feet and gave Christ to be head over all things to the Church, which is (Christ's) Body..."
Head in Heaven, body on earth. Head gives commands, through various workings of the Spirit, including shepherds (not lords), gifts, miracles. And the body responds.
The church which has a human, "visible" head is not the church of the Lord Jesus Christ!
And using the picure of priesthood, God's is made up of high-priest Jesus and all His believers. Satan's, a poor mimic, but strong enough to deceive millions, has an earthly high priest, is located in a human capital, boasts temples and cathedrals, but is doomed for destruction.
TWENTY: BABYLON BAPTIZED
The place, Rome. The man, Peter. The worship, decidedly Babylonian. Even back in the 2nd century, Tertullian of Carthage had noted:
"How much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." (Tertullian,De Idolatria, c.14,p.682)
Not so the "Christians." They begin to adapt quite nicely to their surroundings. Meeting pagans half way becomes the in thing. In fact, says Hislop:
"the paganism which Rome has baptized is in all its essential elements, the very paganism which prevailed in the ancient literal Babylon." (p.2)
As early as the Council of Nicaea the question of Mary, via certain Egyptian Christians, is being introduced. Her titles, her prerogatives, are suggested. But many of the questions remain unanswered at that early time, and yet today they are not totally dealt with. Babylonianism is in the church, unquestioned.
One of these Mary ideas is that, perhaps, the Holy Trinity ought to consist of the Father, the Messiah, and the Virgin Mary. How such blasphemy? There is a "logic" to it:
The Assyrian practice was to include the goddess of the air, or spirit, as a part of their trinity. This is carried over to the Christian world by considering Mary as that same object of reverence. The "air," the "spirit," the Spirit, Mary...all the same, you see. (Do you really?)
Please recall that I am here a reporter and do not believe this foolishness. Perhaps most Catholics do not either. But in the early church the question was asked. I am not certain that the possibility of such a doctrine was categorically denied.
No matter. The cult of Mary will survive on other, equally blasphemous, ideas. She will be called, like Semiaramis, the "queen of heaven "; she will be praised as the "house consecrated by God "; men will say she is the "awful dwelling place, the mansion of God, the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, the temple of the Trinity...in which men may safely come near to God become man, Mediatrix." Of the simple young lady named Mary they will say, "The Lord himself created her in the Holy Ghost and poured her out among all His works."
In art she will be portrayed with a circle of light above her head, as are goddesses of Babylonian origin. The blue-eyed golden-haired madonnas of Babylon will be transformed into one with mideastern complexion. Overnight.
Still following Hislop, and adding my "amen's," I quote:
"Away then with the deadly delusion that Rome is Christian! Every day the 'Grand Mystery' is revealing itself more and more in its true character. There is not, and there cannot be, any safety for the souls of men in Babylon. ' Come out of her my people! ' is the loud and express command of God. Those who disobey that command, do it at their peril."
TWENTY-ONE: DOCTRINAL ANATHEMAS
The Babylonian system has been fond of making lists of anathemas, or curses. In keeping with its character, it has also killed ("delivered to the secular arm" is the precise wording) those who dared to defy her authority.
I thought it appropriate to list some anathemas also. Though none shall be threatened with death by me, it is proper to warn all that what John said about adding and subtracting from his Revelation is, I believe, equally true of any Word from God. Thus, doctrines which come after the apostolic foundations were laid (the Spirit-inspired writing and collecting of New Covenant books) are immediately suspect. Using a list of Jorain Boether in Roman Catholicism, pp.7-9, I would like to list a few of the teachings and practices that come from Rome, and the approximate date that they began to be taught officially:
(all dates are A.D.)
prayers for the dead, 310
the sign of the cross, 320
veneration of angels and dead saints,375
the daily "Mass", 394
the worship of Mary, through the term "Mother of God",431
priests clothed differently from "laity", 500
purgatory, 593
Latin as standard language in church, 600
kissing of the pope's feet, 709
temporal power of popes, 750
worship of cross, images, relics, 788
holy water, 850
veneration of St. Joseph, 890
baptism of bells, 965
canonization of dead saints, 995
fasting on Fridays and during lent , 998
celibacy of priesthood, 1079
rosary, 1090
inquisition of heretics, 1184
sale of indulgences, 1190
confession of sins to priest at least once a year,1215
adoration of the wafer, 1220
Bible forbidden to laymen, 1229
scapular, 1251
cup forbidden to laity, 1414
apocryphal books added (Trent), 1546
immaculate conception of Mary, 1854
papal infallibility, 1870
assumption of Mary into heaven, 1950
[The word "veneration", by the way, is a clever Roman way to disguise the fact that worship of idols actually takes place in the Roman system. People are told, "We don't really worship, we venerate." Everyone's closest friend at times like these, Mr. Webster, shows that the word venerate is derived from the Latin venerari, the first meaning of which is "to worship." (Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition, c.1972)]
Such is a short list of the areas in which the church put on the ways of Babylon, and slowly became the lady spoken of by John. For a full listing, consult the ecumenical councils of the "church" down through history. It is a fascinating and very involved study. The changes I am suggesting came about quite slowly. Only the spiritually perceptive in each generation could have noticed. But for us, living in this day, comparing our New Testament with the monstrosity headquartered in Italy, can there be any serious doubt about who she is?
TWENTY-TWO: THE ANCESTRY OF THE ROMAN CHURCH
The thread of false doctrine can be traced through modern Babylon's history. It is not my intention to refute each item, only to indicate that the refutation of all such add-on's is that they are add-on's, and not even hinted at in the foundational teachings of the New Testament. However, most can be found in ancient Babylon's worship.
Modern Babylon claims to have "descended" from ancient days in an unbroken chain of succession. With this we must agree. But we cannot trace this succession back to the Apostle Peter. It is obvious that the lineage links up with the Caesars in the 4th and 5th centuries, and from there back to the Tower of Babel, or even the Garden of Eden. The scarlet threads of domination, prostitution, and murder lead us all the way.
Malachi Martin in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Church has relevant comments:
"The Popes of Rome were the heirs and successors of the Caesars of Rome...the Popes have claimed all the authority the Caesars claimed, and more. The Papal palace, throughout the centuries, has been among the most luxurious in all the world. Popes have lived in pomp and splendor unsurpassed by earthly kings. In no place on earth is there more ostentatious pageantry and show of magnificence than at the coronation of a Pope...the city of Rome, first Pagan, then Papal, has been the dominating Power of the world for 1600 years!"
On the other hand, take the true successors of Peter, as described in his (Peter's) own words in the first letter that bears his name (towards the end of your New Testament).Read along as I point out these items. Successors of, followers of, believers of Peter are:
1) born again, full of the Holy Ghost
2) persecuted
3) holy
4) stones built into the wall (not foundation rocks)
5) members of a royal priesthood (not the Roman priesthood)
6) submitted to secular authority. they honor the king, not dominate or manipulate him.
7) able to recognize Jesus as the True Shepherd of the Flock
8) not lords over, but examples to, other believers
9) not serving the flock for dishonest gain
10) able to recognize (paganism of) Rome as Babylon
In his second letter,he mentions four additional earmarks of the true successors of Jesus:
11) they are centered on a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one
12) they know that false prophets will exploit the church through covetousness
13) they are not afraid to speak against fleshliness, and they are equally able to be rebuked by fellow leaders (as Paul)
14) they believe in the fundamentals of the New Covenant teachings: heaven, hell, day of judgment, Jesus and His blood the only way of salvation, the imminent return of Jesus, the virgin birth etc.
It will be enlightening for you to keep this list in the back of your mind, and to compare it to the characteristics of men I will describe, with Halley and others, in the coming chapters. Then you decide who descended from Christ through the apostle Peter, and who came down from Satan through the Babylonian religious system.
TWENTY-THREE: THE JEWS REVISITED
During this transition period, the Jews continue to be hated. As the "keys" are handed to "mother church," note well the anti-Semitic thread.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa(c. 330-394) calls the Jews murderers of the Lord, "companions of the Devil, accursed..."
Saint John Chrysostom(c. 394-407), so perfect in some of his teachings, accuses Jews of "behaving no better than hogs and goats in their lewd grossness and excesses of their gluttony."
Saint Ambrose(c.340-397) is quoted as saying, " I have set this synagogue in flames...there should be no place left in which Christ is denied."
The Catholic Church looks back and ascribes "sainthood" to certain of its members, as those quoted above. I have used their term, but I use it loosely. Only God knows who is and is not a saint.
Pitting Catholic against Jew is not meant by me to absolve individual Jews from guilt before God. All those who reject the Jewish Messiah are included under God's wrath. But judgment of this sort -condemnation- has not been committed to the Body of Christ. Christ said that He did not come to condemn, but to save. The church's mission is to hold out, to the end, the hope of salvation to all men.
And according to Scripture, it is to the Jew first that we throw out the life-line. How blind the church must have become to hate Jews in the name of the world's greatest Jew! How Jesus' heart must be crushed.
More, unfortunately, on this thread later.
TWENTY-FOUR: THE DARKEST OF AGES BEGINS
The greatest world powers, the most oppressive and bloodiest, have been those which gained total control of their subjects, body, soul, and spirit. Of such is the lineage of Babylon.
Of the Babylonian family, by far the worst and most oppressive of all is that one which has gained its ascendancy from Pagan Rome, united to the people of God. If the light that is in the world is darkness, how great is that darkness.
Thus the "Dark" Ages. The greatest light ever to shine on the planet, Christ, His Church, His Word, essentially turned into darkness. Yes, a remnant persists to the end, but most of Christendom returns to Satan's clutches.
c. 500 A.D.
We now trace the story of the leaders of Babylon from about 500 A.D. until the time when light was permitted to break upon us again. This is a story oft told by Protestants, and will seem quite familiar to many. I will not spend the time that its duration would normally demand, for that reason.
Let us tread through the mist and gloom. It will be most important that our own light is lit as we walk through the cavernous waste. It is a most depressing spectacle.
Halley leads (p. 726):
"Rome fell in A.D. 476. But in the name of Christ, by the aid of the church, Rome came to life again. Papal Rome ruled the world on a vaster extent, and for a longer time, and with a more despotic hand, than ever Pagan Rome had done, or any world power before it...the Papacy arose on the ruins of the Roman Empire, in the name of Christ, occupying the Throne of the Caesars...brought itself to power through the prestige of Rome, and the name of Christ, and by shrewd political alliances, and by deception, and by armed force..."
In 500 A.D., the term Pope, "father," was restricted to the bishops of Rome. Before, it had been used -even then un-Scripturally - of all the bishops.
"The idea that the Bishop of Rome should have authority over the whole church was a slow growth, contested at every step, and never universally recognized." (Halley, p. 767)
But when it finally settled in, darkness reigned, and has tried to reign ever since. Following Halley and others we will briefly look at some of the remarkable depths to which the "church" was sunk in its millennium of horror.
