Truth Provided Broadcast 10-17-01
IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A CHRISTIAN CHURCH? part III
Welcome to yet another edition of an ongoing investigation as to whether or not the Roman Catholic church is a christian church. For those of you just tuning in, I have been discussing over the last few weeks all the evidence that supports the fact that the leaders in the Roman Catholic church do not believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. It is "another gospel" that is being preached from Rome. So please stay tuned today and the coming weeks, for I hope to share examples and ample evidence that the Roman Catholic church is not a church of Jesus Christ.
Moving right along, to give you an idea of how subtle and twisted the theology of Rome has become. On EWTN Catholic television Chicago channel #51 at 11:00 am on May 2, 1995 A Roman Catholic priest makes the statement for all those tuned in across the nation that, "Fellow believers stoned Stephen"
Many honest and trustworthy Catholics will believe this priest when he says fellow believers stoned Stephen, simply because it's a priest saying it. Trusting man is so dangerous though. Lets look at what the Bible reveals about this statement. First of all, we need to find out who these people are that Stephan is talking to and eventually stoned by. In Acts 7:51 Stephen tells us that they are "stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." Does this sound like Stephen is talking to believers? Do believers always resist the Holy Ghost? Are believers uncircumcised in the heart? I don't think so. Reading further you will find that they were very angry with Stephen for revealing the truth about them. He told them how they persecuted the prophets of old and how they murdered Jesus on the cross. He let them know he knew how they rejected the Law of God, and when they realized deep inside themselves that he was speaking the truth, they viciously attacked him. When the angry mob seized him and actually started biting him with extreme hatred, Stephen realized his life was coming to an end. He then did what all true Christians do, he left it all in the trustworthy and loving hands of Jesus. His faith was so that he actually saw the heavens opened and Jesus sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Even now, even though they were literally ripping Stephen to shreds, he wanted them to know the God he knew. He declared... "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." [Acts 7:56] After hearing this they got even more intense and violent with him. If they were fellow believers as the Catholic church believes, they would be rejoicing with Stephen. Instead they took Stephen "...out of the city, and stoned him:..." [Acts 7:58] Are these the loving acts of fellow Christians? The Catholic church seems to think so. Fact is, that is actually a good description of the Catholic persecutions of over 150 million Christians that were killed. The Pope did in fact admit that they thought they were killing those Christians in the "service of truth" in his "mea culpa" of March 12, 2000. Does that not make a strange and prophetic echo of John 16:2,3 where Jesus says, "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me."
Is the Catholic church saying they are fellow believers because Saul, who later becomes the great Disciple Paul, is present at the stoning of Stephan as a young man in Acts 8:1? Saul was still a NON-BELIEVER at this time in his life. He has yet to get to the road leading to Damascus in Acts chapter nine where he meets Jesus first hand. Saul was greatly persecuting Christians all the way up to the day he had his eyes "opened" on this road to Damascus. Plus, it wasn't until after Saul becomes a believer is his name changed to Paul. Saul was absolutely and positively NOT a believer the day Stephen was martyred. In fact the Bible says that "Saul was consenting unto his death" [Acts 8:1] This is not normal Christlike activity is it? To consent to the death of someone is the same as killing them, and this in direct conflict with commandment # 6. How is it possible to say that fellow believers stoned Stephen? I am truly confused by this statement of the Catholic church, as are many of my Catholic friends today.
Many Catholics are wondering "how did it get so bad?" It's a sad tale to tell, but if it isn't told it will continue until all is lost, and there are too many devoted children of God still within this church of error. Lets look to the leaders of the church, maybe they can tell us how it got so bad.
Pontiff praises Buddhism
Declaring he had come as a "friend from Rome," an
exhausted Pope John Paul II offered a message of religious harmony...
Buddhist leaders have threatened to disrupt the visit unless the
pope apologize for passages... that they view as critical
of their religions doctrine of salvation. As he did before
leaving Rome Jan. 11, John Paul issued conciliatory remarks...
Daily Southtown Jan. 22, 1995 p. A11
Does this not give one the idea that if someone gets in your face about your God you should drop to your knees and beg their forgiveness and tell them their god is ok too. I don't mean to be sarcastic but when a man of God is confronted on issues of faith he should stand firm in Jesus. What kind of picture is being placed in the heads of all those young Catholics out their that want to share Jesus with their Buddhist neighbors? Their leader is now telling the Buddhist religious leaders that everything is copecetic with God and their idea of worshipping another god. This is what's happening, think about it, the Pope is the leader of the world wide Catholic church. He doesn't try to share Jesus with these Buddhist monks, instead he wants to join hands with them and sing kumbaya. Is it not written, "...be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." [1 Timothy 4:12] How can the Pope claim that praising the idol worshipping leaders of Buddhism as being righteous acts of godliness. Instead of setting a good example, or exposing their misgivings of Buddha, or even trying to share Jesus with them, he apologizes for offending them with the Word of God.
From the Chgo SunTimes
Aug. 29, 1993 in the article titled,. Praying for world peace it states
this
CHICAGO- Buddhist monks draped in saffron robes joined black
turbaned Sikh priests in gold and white, ...Roman Catholic Cardinal
Joseph Bernardin mixed with Jain nuns, who were wearing
mouth coverings that prevented them from harming even an insect that
might fly into their mouths. ...More than 6,000 representatives
of faith traditions from Protestantism to Zoroastrianism have
registered for the nine-day conference.
The Bible is very plain about walking with the heathen. It is not a safe practice. Yet the Catholic church teaches it is a must if we are to have world peace. Again, is it not written... "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" [2 Corinthians 6:14] Is this a difficult verse to understand? I think not, yet the church teaches that embracing the heathen is an accepted practice. Again, don't get me wrong, I am not saying to ignore the unbeliever. I am saying that we should not let them pressure us into an open denial of Jesus just to make a friend. All of us should step out and share Jesus the One true God with every non-believer we can find. When asked, "Why does the Catholic church participate in Hindu feasts?" The church's reply is, "To make friendly relations" Biblical fact here is this. Jesus did NOT say we were to join hands with non-believers in an effort to make friendly relations and global peace. In fact, Luke 12:51 declares, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:"
In the Daily Southtown June 28,1995 on p. A11 in the article. Church leaders strive for unity we read, Walking arm in arm, the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches began a series of meetings Tuesday designed to pull their faiths closer nearly 1,000 years after they split. -The pope embraced Bartholomew outside the Vatican guest house where the Orthodox leader will stay till Friday. Bartholomew - called the "first among equals" - has a full schedule of talks with Vatican officials. -The pontiff also has made improving Catholic - Orthodox bonds a principal goal.
The photo along side the article shows the Pope embracing "the first among equals" as an open sign of unity. Is the church teaching it's flock to evangelize Jesus? Or is the church embracing the world religions to try and create friends by lenience? Catholics the world over are finally starting to realize the extreme errors running rampant in their beloved church due to the revelations of the Holy Spirit's truth in Scripture. Ask yourself this question, why after 1,000 years is the Pope wanting to "pull their faiths closer"? Did the Orthodox church change its doctrine? Did the Buddhists? Did the Catholic church change? How can they join, unless they agree? fact is, no one has changed. It just happens to be the prophetically perfect time for all this to occur.
And by the way. The lazy theology of Rome has paid off. It has sufficiently deadened the desire to protest within the hearts of millions of Catholics. All the church sanctioned beer drinking, cigarette smoking, carnival gambling, bingo playing, filthy and violent movie watching, weekly sports addictions, and foul eating habits has conditioned the Catholics into such a state that they truly don't care what their Pope does. They trust him 100% because he tickles their ears in ways that truly makes them believe it's perfectly ok to do those things that Scriptures declare is deadly to the soul.
We all know that we mostly learn by example when it comes to our religious leaders. When they do something that is Scripturally wrong, we get the thought in our minds that it must be ok. It's like we sometimes assume that they are blessed with additional information that we don't have that allows them to do what we perceive as sin. Some of us however are blessed with discernment to see it for what it is. Sin. Plain and simple.
When our religious leaders show an obvious lack of faith in the Almighty, it causes the children in the church to experience a lack of faith as well. Take for example the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II...
On May 13, 1981, he was shot at close range and severely
wounded in an assassination attempt as he entered Saint
Peter's Square in the Vatican, but he recovered fully "John
Paul II," Microsoft (R) Encarta Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft
Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
I understand it's a terrifying thing to be shot at close range. I also understand that this is a man of God, and the leader of an extremely large church. Every act of this Pope is an example for all Catholics world wide. And since the one world church began on June 26, 2000, all the churches are looking to him as their spiritual leader. Every move this Pope makes is noted by Catholics the world over as a divine appointment. He speaks and the people listen. He prays and they join him. He is the leader of their church and he is supposed to be an ambassador of Jesus. He should be the embodiment of every man's faith in the ever living God of all the ages. So what does he do after he gets shot and survives? He purchases a bullet proof "pope-mobile" to show the entire Catholic population that his faith in God to protect him is null and void. However, his faith in man and his invention of bullet proof glass is ever faithful, so much so, that he is paraded through the streets of cities waving for the world to see, "protected" by man.
Should not this man of God let the children of his church hear him say that, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" [Psalms 23:4] Why doesn't this Pope trust God to protect him? Doesn't this Pope believe that the Word of God says, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;" [Psalms 91:5] How can he expect the church to follow his example if he is not willing to follow the example of Jesus himself? Jesus had many threats to shorten His life and prevent Him from doing God's will. Did He run and hide? No, He trusted His Heavenly Father to protect Him all the way till He finished His work on the cross. Plus, what of Paul? Did he not often find himself in situations that would cause many to cower in fear? Paul shares with us in II Corinthians 11:23 -27 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
It seems Paul could have used a bullet proof hiding place as well. Or Paul could have chosen to have numerous Apostolic body guards about him. Or perhaps Paul could have easily chosen to merely preach by proxy, and let another man stand in his place to preach his pre-written sermons to the people. But Paul, as did Jesus, trusted the Almighty and ever living Father to protect him until his work on earth was finished.
Think on this... Let us say for a moment, you find yourself walking in the worst gang infested area of Chicago to share Jesus with a friend in need. All of a sudden you hear shots ring out. Do you run and hide and decide not to share Jesus with your friend today? Or do you come to the decision that God Almighty has control over absolutely every aspect of creation. If today is your day to die, you will. Plain and simple. If today you are not to die, you won't. Plain and simple. Even if a gunman were to stick a gun right in your face. Rest assured, if the devil is out to stop you he MUST first get permission from God before ANYTHING can happen to you. If he gets permission, it's God's will. Period. If he doesn't, it's God's will. Period! Surrender ALL, and you will see God in ALL! Understand, I am not saying hurry to the nearest gang infested area of Chicago you can find. If the Lord has not "convinced" you that you must enter in, DON'T GO! You must understand that "... Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." [Matthew 4:7] Do not put the Lord to a foolish test, you may get shot!
It is a frightening thing when you see a religious leader as the priests, bishops, cardinals, and even a pope doing things that are un-Biblical and outright evil. The thing that is frightening is that some of the loyal Catholics will trust these leaders simply because they are asked to do so.
Last month in manila, Pope John Paul II said loyalty to the papacy
is essential for acceptance by the Catholic church. ...loyalty
to the pope is a must for reconciliation. He said:
"Consequently, a Catholic who wishes to remain such, cannot
reject the principle of communion with the successor of Peter."
-Calvary Contender & The Sword of the Lord Feb 10, 1995
p. 2. art. Pope says Loyalty to Him is Essential
Do you understand what's being said here? "loyalty to the pope is a must for reconciliation." If you are not loyal to the Pope, your sins are not forgiven! For the sake of time, I won't even comment on the statement in the article that said, "communion with the successor of Peter" is a principle that should not be rejected.
I pray for all those loyal and trustworthy Catholics out there that trust these leaders as infallible. I pray that they open their Bibles and see for themselves the truth about what is actually happening all around them. It is no fault of their own, they trusted their religious leaders to do the right thing, and they were let down.
This church has gotten the people so wrapped up in trusting mankind over God for everything in life, that it's becoming evident in every day life for some. I used to have a hard time leaving the house in the morning without first praying the rosary to Mary first. I would go out of my way to tell my friends about what my priest did, or some bishop did, etc.. Never did I tell them what Jesus did! I'm not the only one either. I know many Catholics that talk all about the clergy like they are some earthly angels on a mission from God. Some even go so far as to trust the faith of a priest over their own faith to get them by. For example, in the Daily Southtown Public Forum Nov. 27, 1994 p. A18 in the article Church will survive. A Catholic woman is recorded saying, "Father O'Donovan will help us go forward, with his faith and caring.
Does not the Scriptures proclaim that we will be standing ALONE on that last day? However, many loving
and loyal Catholics have succumbed to the charms of their religious
leaders. They look to them to be their saviors on earth. They seem to
believe their parish priest will get them through their rough times
by his faith alone. This is a very dangerous trick of the devil. In the nineteenth
chapter of the book of Acts we see a similar situation where quite a
few Jews took it upon themselves to try and cast a demon out of a man
by using Paul's faith in Jesus, instead of their own faith.
Acts 19:13-15 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
The seven sons of a Jewish chief priest tried to cast the demon out by using the name "Paul preached about." They did this because they knew of Paul's ministry and they saw all the wonderful works Paul was able to do in Jesus' name. They had an immense faith in Paul. So they figured all they needed to do was recite the name of Jesus "whom Paul preacheth." The demon in the man knew Jesus, and he even knew Paul, but these faithless men standing before him he knew as no threat. So the possessed man attacked all seven of the men and sent them away naked and beaten. It is because they had no faith in Jesus the Saviour, they only had faith in Paul the man. Their faith in Paul couldn't cast the demon out, nor will their faith in a roman catholic priest save them on that last day.
I have noticed during my many years as a devout Catholic that my parish priests and nuns always seem to be more involved in the glorification of their fellow man rather than God. We have been warned in advance in the Word of God that this will happen. Romans 1:25 tells us that there will be those "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." I was guilty of this as well. I recall many times telling friends about what my priest did, or what the Pope did as a way of what I thought was ministering to them. Never once did I tell them what Jesus did for me on the cross. Or never did I tell them what Jesus was doing in my life at that very moment. Glorification of the creature rather than the Creator is so evident to me now when I see all the statues of dead saints or "creatures" standing as religious icons in the church. And yet all along this sin of idol worship is so plainly warned about in God's Word.
Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
This is the second Commandment. The Almighty actually wrote these Ten Commandments upon stone with His own finger, and many choose to ignore them when their church sanctions them as obsolete. We all know that God Almighty inspired 40 men to write His Holy Bible. But did any of us ever realize that God Almighty wrote the Ten Commandments with His Very Own Hand? And yet this is the very focal point of attack the world over, and it's not just the Catholic church either.
However, the Catholic church has actually gone so far as to RE-WRITE the ten commandments. Does the Word of God warn us of this outright attack? Does the Bible tell us that the devil will try to change the Law of God? Yes it does. In Daniel 7:25 we find that the devil will, "think to change times and laws:" of God in the end times. In order for the devil to do this he needs mankind to do his bidding. What better way than with a church, because he knows everyone trusts their church.
Bear with me a moment as I share with you the ten commandments of the Roman Catholic church as compared to the commandments of the Creator God.
The Law of
God
The Law of God
Changed by the Catholic
church
As it is written in the Holy Bible.
I. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not
I. Thou shalt have no other gods before
have strange gods before
Me.
me
Please note:
The 2nd commandment of the Bible
has been removed and the 3rd was moved up/
II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord the
II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any God in
vain.
graven image, or any likeness of anything that in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is
in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep
my commandments.
III. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.
III. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God
in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that
taketh his name in vain.
IV. Honor thy father and thy mother.
IV. 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 hallowed it.
V. Thou shalt not kill.
V. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may
be long upon the land which the LORD thy God
giveth thee.
VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery. VI. Thou shalt not kill.
VII. Thou shalt not steal. VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy VIII.
Thou shalt not steal.
neighbor.
IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. IX.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.
X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his
manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his
ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
See General St. Joseph's Catholic
Catechism
See Exodus 20:1-17
Daniel tells us that the beast will attempt to change the Law of God. And as we see here, it has. The Ten Commandments of the Bible total 295 words in lenght. However, the Roman Catholic ten commandments are a total of only 77 words. This is an open attempt to change the Law of God, regardless of the fact that Jesus Christ Himself declared in Matthew 5:18, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law..." The Catholic church has removed 218 jots and tittles from the Law of God just as Daniel stated they would.
By the way, if you will notice, to make up for the empty space created by commandment number two being removed in the Catholic doctrine. The church took the actual commandment number ten and then split it in two to make commandments number nine and ten in their catechism books.
Many people don't understand why the Catholic church removed the second commandment. But when you read the second commandment and then step into a Catholic church, you see why they removed it. If they were to keep the second commandment in, they would have to remove all the statues, specifically the kneelers placed in front of those statues which openly declare to all Catholics. BOW DOWN before this statue! Instead they decided to change the ten commandments even though God Almighty says, "For I am the LORD, I change not;" [Malachi 3:6] "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." [Psalms 89:34] "...all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever," [Psalms 111:7]
The Catholic church has actually gone so far as to sanction
the worship of images (statues) in their very doctrine! This
means they have again re-written the Word of God to reflect "the
commandments of men" as the preferable method of worship.
The second council of Nicea, A.D. 787, was called to establish image
worship in the church. This council is recorded in Ecclesiastical
Annals, by Baronius, Vol. 9, pp.391-407. (Antwerp, 1612); and
Charles J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church From
the Original Documents book 18, chapter 1, sec. 332-333; chapter
2, sec. 345-352 (T. and T. Clark ed., 1896), Vol. 5, pp. 260-304, and 342-372.
It makes what Jesus said in Matthew 15:6,9 much clearer now doesn't it?he said, " ...Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
The Catholic church has for many hundreds of years taught their loyal and loving flock that their doctrines are more important than that of the Word of God. Over the centuries we have seen many inventions of the Catholic church that have become doctrines or should I say, "the commandments of men." I say that because, nowhere are they considered legal and holy doctrines according to the Bible. Remember, this is a church. What they say is doctrine MUST be verified in the Word of God ALWAYS. The Bible MUST be the base and foundation of the church or it cannot be considered a church of God. For it is written in Isaiah 8:20, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."