SELLING EDITED J-40. Is the Roman Catholic Church the AntiChrist?
In this study of God's word, we will answer the following questions one at a time with a brief yes or no answer and then I will give the scriptures to support my answers.
#1. Is the Roman Catholic Church THE Antichrist, as in, Will Catholicism be the FINAL Antichrist religious system in the last 1260 days right before Jesus returns?
The short answer to question #1 is a NO!
#2. Is the Roman Catholic church an “antichrist” system, as in, has the Roman Catholic church ever been used by Satan to DECEIVE Christians and fulfill some of the prophecies pertaining to the antichrists?
The short answer to question #2 is YES! and a NO!
The reason I say yes AND no is because, in TRUTH, the PEOPLE are the true church and NOT the denomination or the organized religious system of the Roman Catholic Church. In other words, YES, the CLERGY has been used by Satan in the past and is even still yet being used by Satan today to DECEIVE Christians with false doctrines. Also, in the past, the LEADERS of the Roman Catholic Church persecuted, tortured, and even killed the Christians, who opposed the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. But again, I would not say that ALL Roman Catholic Christians approved of such antichrist characteristics of the CLERGY. To ME, the term antichrist carries the meaning of NOT being saved and against Jesus as being the CHRIST and SON of the living God. Thus, for me, to say that every single Roman Catholic is antichrist at any point in the history of the Roman Catholic Church would be to set myself up as the judge of God's people. And that is something that I myself will never do intentionally. Yes, I agree that the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church has DECEIVED their followers by being DECEIVED themselves. Remember dear children of God we do NOT war against flesh and blood. And ANY person who believes and confesses that Jesus died for their sins and that God raised him from the dead is a part of the body of Jesus Christ and, therefore, they are a part of the church no matter what church denomination they belong to or attend.
#3. Is the PAPACY of the Roman Catholic church antichrist?
The answer to this question, in my own opinion, is yes. But again, they have been DECEIVED by Satan and I do not believe that they are all INTENTIONALLY deceiving Christians. During the dark ages, middle ages, or the time of the Inquisition it can be clearly seen by all with eyes to see and ears to hear that the Papacy was being used by Satan as his antichrist system to try and stamp out the TRUTH of God's word. There are many leaders in the Catholic Church who openly agree that some of the Popes back then were given over to Satan. It would seem that there was and possibly still is a greed for power in the Roman Catholic Church to be the “mother” church OVER all other church denominations. Also, when we use the definition of the word antichrist and there also being MANY antichrists spoken of in first and second John. then we can see that the Roman Catholic Church is still yet being DECEIVED to teach many false doctrines. And one of their main doctrines is the antichrist denying that Jesus was ANOINTED of God by wrongly teaching that Jesus is Almighty God himself by being the second person of the Trinity. Please see the studies I have written relating to the doctrine of the Trinity and why is it not sound Biblical teaching even to the point of being antichrist or against the ANOINTING of Jesus.
#4. Will the last Pope be the Antichrist?
The short answer to question #4 is a NO!
The reason why I say no is because neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the Pope fulfills ALL the prophecies of THE antichrist. Now, this is not to say that the Pope will have nothing whatsoever to do with any works that will promote or help the final antichrist religious system. Every soundly rooted and grounded Christian knows that they cannot and will not COMPROMISE their faith to allow other religions to be MIXED with true sound Biblical Christianity. And it is very obvious to us to see that the Pope is making every effort to UNITE all the religions of the world. Also, it is sad to say that many Catholic laypeople or the laity will embrace this uniting of MIXING other faiths because they have already been MIXING many pagan practices beginning as early as the fourth and fifth centuries.
#5. Is Pope Francis the Antichrist?
Again, the answer is a NO because no Pope will be THE FINAL Antichrist. And the reason why no Pope can be the Antichrist is that they do NOT fulfill ALL the prophecies pertaining to THE final antichrist at the end of this present age who must appear or be revealed no less than 1260 days right before the second coming of Jesus.
#6. Is worshiping God on SUNDAY the MARK of the beast?
The answer to question #6 is an emphatic NO! Absolutely NOT! And here are the sound Biblical reasons why worshipping God on SUNDAY is NOT the MARK of the beast!
Revelation 13:17.
“And that NO man might buy or sell, SAVE (Or EXCEPT) he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
In other words, ONLY those who take the MARK of the beast will be able to buy and sell. Now, the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches like the Seventh Day Adventist and other Sabbath-keeping church denominations are wrongly teaching that worshiping God on Sunday is taking the MARK of the beast. They claim in countries like the United States of America are setting the stage for the mark of the beast. And they use the Sunday blue law that was passed in some states here in the United States making it a law that no stores to be open on Sunday as one of their examples that the mark of the beast is coming soon. So then, if so be that some kind of Sunday law were to be passed again forbidding all stores to be open on Sunday, then Sabbath-keeping Christians could NOT buy or sell EITHER. The Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us that ONLY those who have the MARK of the beast system will be ABLE to buy and sell. So the NO WORK on Sunday law argument that is used ONLY by Sabbath-keeping church denominations is DECEIVING Sabbath-keeping Christians by using FEAR so that the Sabbath-keeping Christians will not leave the Sabbath-keeping church denominations. Let us take a look at some more characteristics of the antichrist and the antichrist system.
Revelation 14:11.
“And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of HIS NAME.”
The church is ALWAYS referred to in the FEMININE using the pronouns she or her and never in the male gender using him or his. Therefore, NO Christian church denomination is likely to be the antichrist system in the last days that will cause people to receive the mark of HIS NAME. Well, some may TRY and argue that the Roman Catholic Church is not a Christian church. And those who judge the Catholic Church as not being a Christian church denomination, I say, who made you be the judge of all Catholics as being lost or NOT saved and thus Catholics do not have a sound Biblical testimony of Jesus being their Lord and Savior? I was once a Catholic myself and I personally know many Catholics that have a truly loving relationship with Jesus. They believe that Jesus suffered and died for their sins. Yes, they are deceived by many false teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, but what church denomination is there that does not have any false teachings? I can tell you right now, that the church denominations that dogmatically demand that they ALONE are the ONE TRUE church will have one or more FALSE teachings. And some of them have many false teachings. Let us move on to another characteristic of the antichrist system.
Revelation 20:4.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
First of all, to me, it is impossible for the worshiping of Almighty God and his Son Jesus on a Sunday to be the mark of the beast. For you see, the Bible ITSELF teaches us that the MARK of the beast system will be received UPON the FOREHEAD or on the HAND. There are no Scriptures that say that the mark of the beast is worshiping the one true God and his Son on the wrong day of the week. In fact, the Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans chapter 14 that we, as Christians are NOT to esteem ANY day of the week, month or year above any other day. We are to worship God in Spirit and in truth every day of our lives. Again, many if not most Roman Catholics HAVE a testimony of Jesus dying on the cross for their sin and testify that Jesus was raised from the dead. NONE of the verses that speak of the mark of the beast have anything to do with worshiping Jesus on ANY CERTAIN day of the week. I personally believe that the mark of the beast system will be DENYING that Jesus is the SON of the living God. The Greek word “charagma” translated as “mark” has the meaning of emblem and a badge. The mark is something that will be stamped or carved or etched. So to me, and a vast number of other Christians, we believe that the mark of the beast system is a BADGE of SERVITUDE to Allah in the religion of Islam which DENIES that Jesus is the Christ and the SON OF the living God. And Islamic Muslims wear a BADGE of servitude UPON their FOREHEADS and also BEHEAD Christians and Jews who do NOT convert to Islam to worship their god Allah. Muslims also were a badge of servitude to their god Allah on their right arm. And the Hebrew word translated as “right” means the right hand or the right SIDE. So the right arm is on the right-hand SIDE of the body. And the Hebrew words translated as hand also mean power or an instrument of power. Now, the truth of the matter is that the Christians who are teaching that the Roman Catholic church is the antichrist of mystery Babylon are mostly if not all seventh day of the week Sabbath keeping church denominations. And the Seventh Day Adventist Church is probably the most well-known advocate for Sunday keeping Christians taking the mark of the beast. Again, it is just a FEAR tactic to try and scare Sunday Christians to convert to Sabbath-keeping Christians. Yes, there may be many Christians who have been deceived by their teachings and thus you are now parroting their teaching but I myself have found that most of the teachings on the Internet pointing to the Roman Catholic church as being the antichrist religious system and Pope Francis as THE Antichrist are MOSTLY the seventh day of the week Sabbath keeping churches. And OBVIOUSLY, they have their OWN agenda, which is to try and prove that worshiping God and his Son Jesus on Sunday is ANTICHRIST and it blasphemes God. Please read the studies that I have written under the heading >>>WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?<<< that give ALL the verses used by BOTH sides of this highly controversial argument between the seventh day of the week Sabbath keeping Christians and the rest of the TRUE Sabbath-keeping Christians who are RESTING in Jesus as their TRUE Sabbath. Below is a list of all the signs and characteristics of the antichrists throughout history and THE final Antichrist that must appear or must be revealed no less than 1260 days before the coming of Jesus. Read through the list first and then I will bring out a few points of why neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the last Pope can possibly be the antichrist religious system and the Antichrist right before Jesus returns. Take note of the emphasized phrases and most of you will not need any explanations at the end of this study because the Holy Spirit himself will open your eyes to the truth of the whole word of God.
#1. THE Antichrist is described as a LITTLE HORN coming OUT FROM among the TEN HORNS to be the FINAL kingdom right before Jesus returns. (Daniel 7:8 and Daniel 8:9 speaks of the LITTLE horn and Daniel 7:7,20,24; Revelation 12:3; 13:1; and Revelation 17:3,7,12,16 speak of the TEN horns which are ten KINGS that have not yet received a kingdom.)
#2. He will be cast down out of HIS sanctuary. (Daniel 8:11, Revelation 12:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:7.)
#3. His power will not be his OWN, but rather Satan will give him POWER. (2 Thessalonians 2:8,9, Revelation 13:1-18; 17:12,13.)
#4. He will reign 42 months, 1260 days, a time times and half a time or 3 1/2 years right before the second coming of Jesus. (Revelation 11:2 and 3; 12:4 -6; 13:5: 12:14, Daniel 7:25.)
#5. Jesus will fight AGAINST his kingdom at his second coming. (Zechariah 14:1-5, Zechariah 2:8,9: Psalm 83:1-18, Isaiah 31:4,5, Isaiah 63:1-6; Isaiah 66:15,16, Daniel 7:20-22; 9:26, Joel 3:1-8, Micah 4:3, Revelation 19:9-21.)
#6. He will stand up against the Prince of princes and fight against Jesus at his coming. (Daniel 12:25, Revelation 17:14; 19:19.)
#7. He will be destroyed AT the coming of Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 2:8, Daniel 2:34,35,45.)
#8. He will be given to the burning flame. (Daniel 7:11, Revelation 19:20; 20:10,14,15.)
#9. He MUST rule the LAST kingdom right before the second coming of Jesus. (ALL of the Scriptures given above)
#10. He is called the man of LAWLESSNESS in some translations of the Bible or man of SIN, the son of PERDITION in other Bibles and he MUST be REVEALED no less than 1260 days before the coming of Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 2:3,4, Revelation 17:8-11.)
#11. He exercises all the power of the FIRST beast that had a wound and was healed meaning that he comes AFTER the other antichrist kingdom before him. (Revelation 13:12.)
#12. He shall PERSECUTE God's people BOTH the Jews and the Christians and SHEDS their BLOOD. (Revelation 16:6; 17:6; 18:24, Revelation 11:7, Psalm 14:4; 53:4; Isaiah 3:12,15; 52:4,5, Joel 3:2, Micah 3:3, Zephaniah 2:8.)
#13. The Antichrist kingdom LOOKS harmless at first, like a LAMB, having eyes of a MAN. (Revelation 11:13 and Daniel 7:8)
#14. He shall speak BLASPHEMES against the most high God. (Daniel 7:8,11,25: 11:36, Revelation 13:6.)
#15. He shall rule in the same area as the Grecian Empire. (Daniel 8:9,23.)
#16. He does great wonders so that he makes fire come down from heaven. (Revelation 13:12,13.)
#17. He will be given power over ONE-FOURTH of the earth. (Revelation 6:8.)
#18. He DECEIVES his followers to make an IMAGE OF the first beast. (Revelation 13:14.)
#19. He causes the image to SPEAK. (Revelation 13:15.)
#20. He causes the people to take the MARK of the beast in their FOREHEAD or the RIGHT HAND and they cannot buy or sell unless they take the MARK of the beast system. (Revelation 13:16-18.)
#21. He shall cause them to WORSHIP the beast. (Revelation 13:16-18.)
#22. He will have an army of 200 million. (Revelation 9:16.)
#23. His conquering will be primarily in the Middle East and his focus will be on Israel to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, but he will also kill Christians. (Daniel 11:40-45, Psalm 83, Isaiah 14:25; 19:23, Micah 5:5, Revelation 6:8. Revelation 11.)
All of the above signs and characteristics are a MUST for the FINAL Antichrist and his antichrist beast system. But SOME of these characteristics also fit the MANY antichrists and their antichrist systems throughout history beginning with the rise of the Roman Empire to conquer the Grecian Empire to the east. Please read the study “A NEW LOOK AT THE 2300 DAYS OF DANIEL!” for all the Scriptures showing that the 2300 days represent 2300 years which began when the Roman Empire began to expand its empire to the eastern province of the Grecian Empire. The list of signs and characteristics below fit the antichrists and their antichrist religious systems BEFORE the final Antichrist, but SOME also apply to the FINAL Antichrist as well. I will highlight those is yellow. The ones highlighted in green only apply to the antichrists in HISTORY and thus those prophecies have already been FULFILLED in history which in my own opinion cannot and will NOT apply to the final Antichrist.
#24. He takes away the DAILY SACRIFICE. (Daniel 9:27; 8:11-13; 11:31; 12:11, 1 Kings 9:7,8. 2 Chronicles 7:20,21, Isaiah 64:10,11. )
#25. He destroys Jerusalem and the TEMPLE. (Matthew 24: 1,2, Luke 19:43,44, Daniel 9:26. Isaiah 64:11,12. Jeremiah 19:8.)
#26. He sits in the temple of God and exalts himself above all that is called God proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3,4, Ezekiel 28:1-10, Daniel 11:36, Revelation 13:6.)
#27. He will NOT be like his fathers. (Daniel 11:24)
#28. He will NOT regard the God of his fathers. (Daniel 11:37.)
#29. He will NOT have REGARD of women. (Daniel 11:37.)
#30. He will SEEK to change the LAWS. (Daniel 7:25: 11:31; 12:11.)
#31. He will SEEK to change the TIMES. (Daniel 7:25)
#32. He will distribute or scatter the spoil, the loot, the plunder, and the riches among the people. (Daniel 11:24
#33. He will have a stout look or a FIERCE countenance. (Daniel 7:20; 8:23, Isaiah 10:12.)
#34. He will have arms on his side or an army. (Daniel 11:31, Luke 21:20. Revelation 17:11-14; 19:19.)
#35. He is the rider of the four horsemen of Revelation Chapter 6. (Revelation 6:2-9.)
#36. He shall understand DARK SENTENCES. (Daniel 8:23; 11:30.)
#37. He shall have INTELLIGENCE on his side. Daniel 11:30.)
#38. He comes in PEACEABLY. (Daniel 11:21,24; Jeremiah 9:8.)
#39. He shall destroy man by PEACE. (Daniel 8:25.)
And the last sign or characteristic below MUST fit the FINAL Antichrist, but also will fit SOME of the antichrists and their antichrist systems throughout history.
#40. He MUST be of ASSYRIAN descent. (Isaiah 10:24; 30:30.31; Micah 5:5.)
Now, I will explain only some of the signs and characteristics used by the Seventh Day Adventist church and other Sabbath-keeping churches to try and promote their lie that worshiping God and his Son Jesus on a Sunday is a sin and even the taking of the mark of the beast.
#31. He will SEEK to change the TIMES. (Daniel 7:25)
Sabbath-keeping churches use this verse and say that the Roman Catholic church CHANGED the TIME by changing the calendar and also changing the Saturday Sabbath to Sunday. But the Bible itself says that he will THINK or SEEK to change the times. And Muslims have sought in the past and are still yet seeking to have the prime meridian changed to go through Mecca. So Islam FITS the word of the Bible which says he shall THINK or SEEK to change times and not that he will actually succeed to change times.
#40. He MUST be of ASSYRIAN descent. (Isaiah 10:24; 30:30.31; Micah 5:5.)
This should be self-explanatory because Pope Francis is NOT a Syrian from the Middle East.
#25. He destroys Jerusalem and the TEMPLE. (Matthew 24: 1,2, Luke 19:43,44, Daniel 9:26. Isaiah 64:11,12. Jeremiah 19:8.)
The Roman Catholic church played NO part in the destruction of the Temple is 70 AD. The Christians FLED Judaea obeying the teachings of Jesus when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies.
#24. He takes away the DAILY SACRIFICE. (Daniel 9:27; 8:11-13; 11:31; 12:11, 1 Kings 9:7,8. 2 Chronicles 7:20,21, Isaiah 64:10,11.)
The Roman Catholic church played NO part in the taking away of the daily animal sacrifice of the Jews. Personally I myself do not see the Jews building the third temple. I mean the Jews are already in hot water, so to speak, with God for denying his Son Jesus as their Messiah. And if they build a temple to sacrifice animals to God this would truly be a slap in the face of God and an all-out rejection of Jesus being the Messiah. The Bible teaches us that the last 1260 is part of the seventieth week of Daniel where God turns again a second time to his people Israel with the preaching of the gospel with greater glory than the early church preaching to the Jews only. So I myself am seeing many Jews coming to Jesus in the last days.
#22. He will have an army of 200 million. (Revelation 9:16.)
Yes, the Vatican has its own army, but it is far far away from being 200 million men riding on horses. And I doubt very seriously that the pope or anyone else could persuade 200 million Roman Catholic Christians to go to war against Israel to seek to wipe every Jew off the face of the earth. But on the other hand, the Islamic Muslim armies already hate the Jews with a passion. So some big countries and or countries with military power could easily persuade the radical Islamic Muslim countries to make war with Israel.
#17. He will be given power over ONE-FOURTH of the earth. (Revelation 6:8.)
The Roman Catholic Church has power and influence over much more than one-fourth of the earth. Keep in mind that this power is given to the beast system to KILL men. This does not say that the beast will kill one-fourth of mankind, but rather says that he will be given power over a FOURTH of the LAND to KILL men. And the LAND speaks of a specific region of the world. But on the other hand, the Islamic Muslim dominated countries cover right at ONE-FORTH of the earth. So, no matter how one interprets this verse the Roman Catholic Church does NOT FIT this prophecy.
#15. He shall rule in the same area as the Grecian Empire. (Daniel 8:9,23.)
All the prophecies FIT the Islamic Muslim Ottoman Empire, beginning with it's wound with the sword of war actually using swords and it's rising to power once again in our day right before our eyes beginning with a SMALL number of RADICAL Muslims using literal swords of jihad to make themselves in the IMAGE of the first beast just like one prophecy teaches us. They shall make an IMAGE of the beast and shall worship his IMAGE. The Greek word translated as make also means to DO, to execute, to PRACTICE, and to EXERCISE the IMAGE of the beast. In other words, BECOME LIKE the Islamic Ottoman Empire to make war with the SWORD to convert people to Islam with the sword of war. Please read the meanings of this Greek word form E-Sword. G4160 ποιέω poieō poy-eh'-o Apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct): - abide, + agree, appoint, X avenge, + band together, be, bear, + bewray, bring (forth), cast out, cause, commit, + content, continue, deal, + without any delay, (would) do (-ing), execute, exercise, fulfill, gain, give, have, hold, X journeying, keep, + lay wait, + lighten the ship, make, X mean, + none of these things move me, observe, ordain, perform, provide, + have purged, purpose, put, + raising up, X secure, shew, X shoot out, spend, take, tarry, + transgress the law, work, yield. Compare G4238. G4238 πράσσω prassō pras'-so A primary verb; to “practice”, that is, perform repeatedly or habitually (thus differing from G4160, which properly refers to a single act); by implication to execute, accomplish, etc.; specifically to collect (dues), fare (personally): - commit, deeds, do, exact, keep, require, use arts. Now, the single act in this context is that once EVERYONE is converted to Islam OR DEAD then the image or the single ACT of making war with the sword will end. Let us continue with the Scriptures which I believe point directly to ISLAM as being the MARK of the beast prophesied in the Bible.
Daniel 11:23
“And after the league made with him, he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a SMALL people.”
The literal translation reads, “with a little of the nation.” In other words, he shall start out with only a small number of people. And again, this FITS radical Islam which is growing stronger in number in the Middle East. Now, while Rome is NORTH of Israel it is not due north. And the descriptions of the King of the NORTH do NOT FIT the Roman Catholic Church. The Bible itself teaches us that at the coming of Jesus to execute the WRATH of God that Jesus will fight against those ARMIES that are making war with ISRAEL. Now, I myself cannot see how any Christian can come up with the idea that the Roman Catholic church will make WAR with Israel. Jesus MAY fight against the Roman Catholic Church LEADERS in Vatican City in Rome but I do not see the Roman Catholic Church making war with Israel. And prophecy teaches that Jesus will fight against the antichrist kingdom AT his coming
#5. Jesus will fight AGAINST his kingdom at his second coming. (Zechariah 14:1-5, Zechariah 2:8,9: Psalm 83:1-18, Isaiah 31:4,5, Isaiah 63:1-6; Isaiah 66:15,16, Daniel 7:20-22; 9:26, Joel 3:1-8, Micah 4:3, Revelation 19:9-21.)
Read Psalm 83 which NAMES the TEN MUSLIM countries that will seek to wipe Israel off the face of the earth in the last days. Again ISLAM FITS ALL the prophecies where the Roman Catholic church only fits a few when they are FORCED upon Catholicism to try and prove that Christian must keep the seventh day of the week lest they are taking the mark of the beast if they worship God and his Son Jesus on a Sunday. Another thing that Sabbath-keeping Christians should know is to THINK for yourself. You see, the Seventh Day Adventist church teaches that ALL the seventieth week of Daniel has ALREADY been fulfilled. And then they turn around to teach about the MARK of the beast being AFTER the seventieth week seeing that to THEM the entire seventieth week has supposedly already been fulfilled. But the Bible itself teaches us that the MARK of the beast is during the last half of the seventieth week of Daniel called the time of great tribulation and it will be forced upon BOTH the Christians AND the JEWS with the threat of BEHEADING or DEATH. So the Seventh Day Adventist teachers are CONTRADICTING themselves. Pay attention to what you are being taught by your church denomination. Seek God for YOURSELF and search the Scriptures WITHOUT the dogmatic INTERPRETATIONS of the seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. I implore you to read all the studies I have written on the subject of the Sabbath. Here is just one of many in-depth sound Biblical Bible studies on the Sabbath to get you started. Please read “SABBATH KEEPERS ARE RIGHT!” and follow it up by continuing to read all the studies listed with links under the heading >>>WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?<<< And to learn more on the end times please read the studies under the heading >>>PROPHECY---THE COMING OF JESUS!<<< Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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