Our Lord Jesus came to this world to humiliate himself in order to pay the price for our sins (read Philippians 2:1-11 to understand this assertion). Jesus said: “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;” “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister…” (Matthew 20:25, 26 and 28). This suggest that the true disciple will have to go through that same process of “humiliation-exaltation”, as it is written: “…for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”. It is therefore necessary at this present time that we humiliate ourselves in order for us be exalted with Christ in the future. It is evident that the so called “holy father” alters these guidelines, exalting himself in this present age, reason enough for him to be humiliated in the future in accordance with the statement made by Jesus. Being the fact that the Pope in not undergoing this process of humiliation at this present time, but rather he is being so much exalted by humanity, as to be called even “the Holy Father”, “Prince of the Church”, etc., we must conclude that he is not following the footsteps of the Master, who said, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord”(Matthew 10:24).
Lets make a brief analogy between Christ and the Pope, and we shall discover that the Pope of Rome is in overt opposition to the Christ.
1. Christ, poor – the Pope wealthy
2. Christ, without social stature – the Pope, commended as a Prince
3. Christ, totally accesible – Pope, totally inaccesible.
4. Christ, relied totally on God – Pope, relies on the FBI
5. Christ, always among the poor – Pope, with the kings and the wealthy
6. Christ, always rejected and persecutted – Pope, always hailed and accepted
7. Christ, non political – Pope, the greatest politician
Without a doubt the Pope does not comply with this basic and fundamental requirement of humiliation – exaltation. For this reason we can conclude without hesitation that the Pope is not a legitimate and true follower of the Master. This makes him as a false representative of Christ.
Rome claims that the apostle Peter was the first “so called” Pope:
The Vatican claims that Peter was ordained as the first Pope when Christ said: “And I say also unto thee , That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;…” (Matthew 16:18). Let us analyze the following passages: “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesane’a Philip’pi, he asked his disciples, saying. Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” “And they said, Some say that thou art John the Bap’tist: some, E-li’as; and others, Jer-e-mi’as, or one of the prophet. He saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jo’na: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this roch 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 whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-19).
We do not need to be intellectuals nor highly educated to understand from the context that Christ is not referring to Peter as the rock over which the church will be built upon, but to the fact that He himself (Christ) is the son of God and the Savior of all mankind. Let us suppose Christ was refering to Peter as the rock or as the foundation of the church, he would rather said: “upon that rock I will buit my church”. If the church was to be built upon Peter, then it would have crumbled, for Peter denied the Master three times (Matthew 26:69-75). Paul affirms that Christ is the foundation of the church (and not Peter), let us read: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). Christ told Peter “Feed my sheep” three times, he did so to give his approval as one of the apostles because Peter denied him (three times) For this reason Peter felt grievance; let us read: “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas lovest thou me? Peter was grived because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him. Feed my sheep”. Undoubtedly, we can not contemplate it in any other way. It is evident that Christ was reminding him denial ( Notice this: if he was being ordered as Pope: Why did Peter felt grived?). Therefore, what we said earlier “And I will give unto there the keys of the kingdom of heaven” that Christ said to Peter, is without a doubt, a representation because in Matthew chapter 18 verse 18 Christ talking to all the disciples (verse 18) said: “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven”. It is clear that for them to be able to bind and loose, they must have in their possession the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
It is imperative to understand that the keys of the kingdom of heaven is just a symbol of authority, which is given to the legitimate ministry, who are those whom God has revealed the truth of the Gospel. What Christ did with Peter was to confirm what the Father already had done: Reveal him the truth about the gospel which is Christ himself. This is why the Lord said: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-17).
Therefore, those whom the Eternal Gospel have been revealed they also receive the keys to bond and loosen. Bear in mind that God does not confer gifts to those who would become arrogant and pretentions, but rather to those who will carry out God’s purpose, which is to edify his church which would prevail by the Gospel (see 1 Corinthian 15:1-2).
Let us suppose Peter would had been appointed Pope or ruler of the church, then we would have to say that the apostle Paul would have been aware of such rank, and an omision of the highest ministerial rank among those mentioned in Ephesians 4 would be an astoundingly gross error: let us read: “And he gave some, apostle; 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:” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Isn’t this clear? And furthermore, the existence of such position within the true Church would have been known by Peter himself! If Peter was a Pope he would not tolerate Paul’s words, (Paul called himself the last of the apostles) in which he calls him hypocrite. Paul said that he withstood Peter to the face because he was teaching the Gentiles to circumcise, which is one way to betray the truth about the gospel, therefore he was to be blamed (see Galatians 2:11-16). Peter himself said: “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,…” (1 Peter 5:1). Take notice that the apostle places himself at the same level as the rest of the apostles, and declares that what makes him different to the others is not his ecclesiastic ranking within the Church, but the fact of being an eye witness of the sufferings of Christ.
There is a proof by the light of the Scriptures that the apostolic church was not ruled or governed by Peter, but it was under the administration of the Council of Jerusalem (see Acts 15:1-4 to confirm this statements).
Without a doubt: Rome’s claim that Peter was the first Pope has no biblical foundation. Therefore, this claim is false, therefore the Pope is a false representative of Christ.
The Pope should be preaching the eternal gospel in order to fulfill the church’s commission:
As we said before, the gospel is the event of the Calvary. This is the way God consummates his purpose of eternal living among his creatures, at the end of times (see Ephesians 1:10). Through the gospel we are freed of condemnation, that is what Paul declared: There is therefore now no condemnation to then which are in JesusChrist…” (Romans 8:1). That kind of peace that the gospel brings us is the same peace Christ referred to when He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you”. Notice how Christ establishes the diference between the peace of this world and the peace he left us. Truly, the peace of this world is unreachable. Man will always be at war with himself and with God. Peace is really an attribute of the new age. So preaching the gospel is the only way to obtain peace with God and at the same time it sets us to wage war against this evil world with its interests: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:…” (John 16:33). Christ, his gospel, and his forgiving love constitutes that true peace. Whoever accepts this blessed hope will live at peace with others, but whoever rejects this perspective in which God has placed us will never attain peace; in the contrary, as the apostle said: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,…” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
This glorious and everlasting gospel is what gives meaning and a reason to be to the church and its ministry. Apart from the gospel, there is only ruin, gloom and darkness. Preaching the gospel means to announce the coming of the new kingdom, and new heavens where peace and justice abide (read 2 Peter 3:13) The gospel is not about what has occured within me, but rather what God has already done for us in Christ.
The Papal system is not known for preaching peace and eternal justice, but they are rather known for promising peace and justice in this passing age of corruption. Kings and rulers of this world to obtain that which the Bible already states that is unreachable, in the contrary, this will get worse till “those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:…” (Matthew 24:22).
By no means we are pretending to evade our responsibility with society (as some may accuse you). Our intent is to put everything in the clear perspective and proper order that the Scriptures, the Word of God, place them. Any intent to alter this order of events would bring forth catastrophic consequences, and afterall that’s what really counts. The advice of Christ was: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
The greatest show of good will this king of this present age of corruption could give to reconsider his position and make a radical turn and begin preaching God’s kingdom which in the future, instead of promising through his well known an improbable justice and equity. As declared by Peter, he must become an example through actions not empty words. He could very well conduct himself more humanly and like Christ to be among the poor. No one has ever been affected in any negative way for receiving a proposal; politicians do it all the time-of course, from words to actions there is a long way to go. The only ones who get harmed by offering something are the ones who preach the gospel, for as the apostle declared: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
The Catholic Roman theology has been well known through the history of the Church. For rejecting the objective, historical and universal gospel preached by men, such as Paul, Marthin Luther, Melanchton and others. Rome has always pretended to put the believers deeds as cause of salvation. Dispite there were doctrinal differences among the reformers of the 16th Century, they all, in one voice, accepted the greatest of truths, that is the gospel or the righteousness which is by faith only. They also concluded that if the Pope stands in opposition of this fundamental truth and instead he preaches that salvation is achieved through faith plus deeds, hence, the Pope is the Anti-Christ.
We conclude by the light of what we have seen and considering all these aspects, neither the Pope, nor the Roman bureaucrats preach the everlasting gospel, but a different gospel. Consequently lets take the advise of Paul thats in Galathian 1:8 that says: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed”.
CONCLUSION
If these past statements have not convinced our readers that the Roman Pope is in fact the antichrist, let us introduce you to the greatest biblical prophecy in Scripture: the prophecy about the fourth beast of Daniel chapter seven.
If we really want to discover which power is represented by the beast of Daniel 7:7 represents, it is necessary to distinguish those characteristics the Bible identifies about this power, in order to identify which power in history gathers such description. Let us now review these characteristics given by Daniel and Paul and John the seer of Pathmus are the following:
1) A man who utters great things (Daniel 7:8)
Can there be any doubt that this description clearly identifies the Roman Pontiff, as it is the case of the polyglot John Paul II?
2) It shall subdue three kings to achieve absolute power (Dan. 7:24)
The Pope is clearly identified here: History records the fall of the Heruls, the Vandals and the Osthrogoths, who opposed the election of the bishop of Rome as Holy Father.
3) He will wear out the Saints of the most High (Daniel 7:25)
Dear friend, there is no doubt on the fulfillment of this statement. History is our best ally, so no one can deny the Roman Pope is here also alluded. The holy wars, the killings and the Inquisition were among the instruments of terror been used by this religions power.
4) Will think to change the times and the law (Daniel 7:25)
It is clear: Daniel is making reference to God’s laws, because human laws are always suceptible to changes. We have identified the only power in history that claims to have enough authority as to alter the law of God: Rome with the Pope as its absolute ruler. Anthiochus Epiphanes, whom the Catholic Church claims to be the fourth beast of Daniel 7:7, does not fit this biblical description, for he has never stepped in with the law of God. Antiochus was a king who belonged to the third beast of Daniel 7:6, which represents the Greek Empire, which was divided into four kingdoms (as written in the prophecy about the four heads). Antiochus was a descendant of Seleuch, one of the four generals who benefited of the division of the kingdom after the death of Alexander the Great. Then, if Antiochus is part of the third beast, how can he be part of the fourth beast which was diverse from all beast that preceded it? The religious aspect makes it diverse from all the others, as the prophecy declares. Without a doubt, this aspect of Daniel 7:25 is a clear and indubitable reference to the Pope, and not to any other political power.
5) And through his policy also shall cause craft to prosper in his hand (Daniel 8:25)
Popes have been skilfully clever in their quest for absolute power and recongnition throughout history – but, how is it posible that deceit could prosper so much in their hand is such a way that “…all the world wondered after the beast”? (Revelation 13:3).
6) And he shall magnify himself in his heart (Daniel 8:25)
It is very simple to ratify this statement. The bishop of Rome really thinks he is holy, even when he is aware that this belief is contrary to the Most High, who through the word of the apostle says: “As it is written, Therѥ is none righteous, no, not one”. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace…” (Romans 3:10, 23-24). The Pope allow people to kneel before him and kiss his ring, contrary to Peter (the so called first Pope) who did not encourage such act (see Acts 10:25-26).
7) And by peace shall destroy many (Daniel 8:24-25)
Peace has been a constant proverb of the Pope, but he does not preach the peace of the gospel, he rather preaches the passing and ephimeral peace of this world in chaos, as we previously stated. The Pope is the only one who indubitably fits this description. History also records the many persecutions unleashed by this evil provoking others to fight on his behalf. Daniel said that his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power (8:24) ¿Is it not clear?
8) He is Worshipped ( by men)
The apostle Paul brings about an astoundingly clear description in regards to this character: “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 2:4).
The Antichrist’s form of opposition is not through overt action, but rather through a more subtle manner, with cunning craftiness, for his true intention is to be like God. The word “antichrist” gives us the idea of a pretension to supplant the Christ, not to work on God’s behalf but to distort it through hidden tactics. This is the way and style of Satan and his ministers, as the apostle says: “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Our dear friends, I exhort you to search and inquire that which so clearly God has already revealed to us in His Word, which is the Bible. However we are very pleased to inform about Rome’s most notable in their pretension to stand against God. Rome’s way to approach God, which the Scripture so clearly presents as an objective method of dependence in our Advocate, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who paid the price of our transgressions almost two thousand years ago on behalf of everyone who wants, through faith, to be part of that glorious New Age which is about to appear. This is the only way to attain eternal life, but Rome has pretended to alter the foundation of our salvation through the principles approved at the Council of Trent: That man is saved by faith plus his personal conduct. We all agree that a man of faith improves his behavior or conduct, but we can never approve that when we talk about salvation our deeds do not count. The apostle Paul concludes in Romans chapter 3 verse 28: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law”. Notice how Paul ends with a irrefutable conclustion.
This difference may seem irrelevant or not important, neverthless I must warn you, dear reader, that the Roman way to approach God (faith and deeds) leads us to death and by turning us event egocentric and arrogant, and hence, neutralizing the only effective way for mankind to reach eternal life, that is, the total dependance in Christ. This matter is of such importance that Daniel in his prophecy says about this would have monstrous proportions.
We have also presented before you the sad reality that the throne of the Pope was established not by God, but a position created by men. The bishop of Rome by his own means established himself. He is now a symbol of earthly wealth. The humble carpinter of Galilea often said: “My kingdom is not of this earth and…”“the son of man hath not where to lay his head”.
My dear freinds, you have been warned, to follow a despotic system that tortured those who it persecutted is to follow the road to death itself. The one who started the tortures, Inocent the third makes a mockery of his name. How is it posible that such a corrupt man could name himself Inocent? If I was a part of this church, I would leave such an ideology and leave making a u turn to follow our lord JesusChrist and his noble principles of nobility, equity and justice. Chist would say “learn of me for I am meek and lovely in heart…” That is the banner that we want to hoist the flag of the blood of Jesus simbol of the lamb of God that cleanses all sin of the world. We have exposed the beast of Daniel chapter seven in the open. Now we will shift to another direction and see the image of the Beast, or the False Prophet. Don’t miss the next series of article about Pentecosthalism.
See you next time.
