Thank you for reading this Bible study on Roman Catholic Beliefs
If you disagree with an explanation, please provide scriptural evidence for your position.
Just saying that you disagree, or that your Priest, the Pope, or a top radio/TV preacher teaches differently, is not enough.
For we must rely on scripture and the historical fulfillment of prophecy, not on
speculations that have no proof.
The Word of God is our final authority, not any man.
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Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you in Jesus name!
David Nikao
You need to stop at some point and pray over how you yourself my friend the unknown David. Might ctualy be the antichrist. 1.2 billion catholics say you should pray over this.
Daniel 7:7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns“
Greece was defeated by Rome, the fourth beast of Daniel 7, the dreadful and terrible beast that trampled everything in its path, including the Jews and Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The Roman Empire was different as it killed millions of Christians in Rome, as Satan used them to try to wipe out the Early Church.
When the last Roman Emperor was removed in 476 A.D., the Roman Empire split into 10 civil kingdoms.
Daniel 7:8 “and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots.“
Out of the ten kingdoms, the Little Horn of the Roman Catholic Church emerged, which claimed authority over both the civil world and the ecclesiastic world.
The Roman Catholic Church subdued and destroyed three of the ten kingdoms;
the Heruli, Ostrogoths and Vandals; who did not bow down to their authority.
Daniel 7:8 “And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.“
The office of the Papacy acts and speaks for the whole body. The Popes spoke pompous words, proclaiming to be God, to be Jesus Christ, and that salvation is only through the Roman Catholic Church, all of which is Antichrist.
Pope Pius IX said “I alone… am the successor of the apostles, the vicar of Jesus Christ. I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Source: History of the Christian Church, by Henry Charles Sheldon, p. 59.)
Pope Boniface VIII said “We declare, say, define, and pronounce, that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Source: Bull “Unam Sanctum,” as cited in “Apostolic Digest, Book V: The Book of Obedience”)
Pope John Paul II said “Don’t go to God for forgiveness of sins: come to me.” (Source: Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1984.)
Daniel 7:25 “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.“
The Roman Catholic Church persecuted the followers of Christ, during the Dark Ages and the Inquisition.
At the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. they changed the calendar to be based on the Sun, not the moon as God ordained in the Bible. In the Catechism, they removed God’s 2nd Commandment, which forbids idol worship, and divided the 10th commandment into two.
They reigned for 1,260 years, from 538 A.D. when Emperor Justinian gave them power over all churches; until 1798 A.D., when the Pope was taken captive and imprisoned, where he later died.
2 Thessalonians 2 describes the transition of power from Roman Emperors to Roman Popes.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 “for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first“
When Emperor Constantine joined the idol worship of pagan Roman with Christianity, it created the beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church. Many Christians compromised their beliefs to be exalted in Rome, after several centuries of severe persecution.
Pure Christianity apostatized into a religion with pagan holidays, idols and theology.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 “and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition“
Both of the times that the phrase “son of perdition” is used in the Bible, it refers to someone who claimed to follow Christ, but was really antichrist in their beliefs and actions. Both Judas and the office of the Papacy have fulfilled this role. So the “son of perdition” is someone who would deceive within the church.
2 Thessalonians 2:4 “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
The temple of God is not a physical Temple, it is the body of Christ. In the name of Christ, the Pope is seated in the midst of the Christian Church, which is the temple of God.
Pope Innocent III said “We may according to the fullness of our power, dispose of the law and dispense above the law. Those whom the Pope of Rome doth separate, it is not a man that separates them but God. For the Pope holdeth place on earth, not simply of a man but of the true God.” (Source: “Decretals of Gregory IX,” Book 1, chapter 3.)
Saint Pope Pius V blasphemed, “The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” (Source: Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Cities Petrus Bertanous Chapter XXVII: 218.)
Pope Leo XIII declared, “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”
(Source: Pope Leo XIII Encyclical Letter, June 20, 1894)
2 Thessalonians 2:7 “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”
Up to the beginning of the 4th century, Rome was a pagan city, and the Emperor was the high priest, called the Pontifex Maximus, of its religion.
As long as the Roman Emperor was in power, the Papal Pontifex Maximus could not take power. The last Roman Emperor was removed in 476 A.D. Shortly thereafter, in 538 A.D., the Roman Catholic Church gained religious and civil power when Eastern Emperor Justinian issued a decree making the Pope head of all churches.
You say you rely on the bible alone for your teachings. But going through it there is a lot of stuff which is not from the Bible. How do you justify that?
The sea beast of Revelation 13 is the Roman Catholic Church, which rose to power after the Lord caused the Roman Empire to collapse. It reigned for 1,260 years (1,260 prophetic days) from 538-1798 A.D.
It worked relentlessly to eliminate the Two Witnesses, the Word of God and the Church of Christ, both of which testified that salvation is by faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, not by works through the Papal Church; and that the Papal Church is the beast of Revelation, the Little Horn of Daniel, and the Pope, the Son of Perdition.
Its reign ended when the Pope was imprisoned by the Jesuits in 1798 A.D.
Revelation 13:1 “Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.”
John is showing us that it is the same beast as in Daniel 7, which had ten horns.
A beast in prophecy represents a kingdom power. Water in Bible prophecy represents people, and the Roman Catholic Church rose up out the 10 kingdoms of the fallen Roman Empire. The blasphemous name may be “Vicar of Christ” or “Holy Father.”
Messiah caused the Roman Empire to collapse internally from the seal judgments, and to be attacked by army after army from the trumpet judgments. So he caused the Bishops of Rome and Emperor Constantine to create a counterfeit church, to seek to destroy the Church of Christ from within. Like the Roman Empire, they would persecute the saints, but they also misled people with a false salvation message.
The Roman Catholic Church home is St. Peter’s Basilica. Basilica means: a place of a king, the abode of the Basalisk, the abode of the serpent.
In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk, from the Greek βασιλίσκος basilískos, “little king;” Latin regulus) is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilisk
It is telling us that the Little King, the Little Horn of Daniel 7, would rule there, which the Popes have fulfilled.
The Vatican features several serpents and dragons in the artwork.
Revelation 13:2 “Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.”
John is telling us that the beast would have the characteristics of Greece (leopard), which put education and logic above revelation; Medo-Persia (bear), which put the rule of law above mercy (Dan 6:12); and would speak like Babylon (lion), which was steeped in astrology, and the spirits of the occult. The Roman Catholic Church displays all of these attributes.
The name ‘Vatican’ means ‘divining serpent’ from Latin Vatis=diviner, and can=serpent. It’s not pointing to just one person, it’s pointing to a position. The President of the United States, the King of England, have all been fulfilled by many people. The office of the Papacy is the same way.
Revelation 13:3 “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.”
When the Roman Empire collapsed, their head, the Roman Emperors, were removed from power, which was the deadly head wound. It recovered in the form of the Roman Catholic Church, when Popes took authority as the Pontifex Maximus, and claimed civil and ecclesiastical authority over the whole world.
Revelation 13:5, “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.“
Popes have claimed to be God, to be Jesus Christ in the flesh, to forgive sins, to provide salvation, and other blasphemies.
Satan used the Roman Catholic Church to deceive in the name of Christ. The 42 months here is the same 1,260 years as Daniel 7:25 spoke about with “a time and times and half a time” which occurred from 538 – 1798 A.D.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1990, Vol.26, p.938) says “The ultimate humiliation of the Church came when Pius VI was driven out of Rome by the French armies in 1798 and in the following year was taken captive by them and dragged back to France, where he died.”
Revelation 13:7 “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.”
Satan used the Roman Catholic Church to make war with the saints during the Dark Ages and the Inquisitions. They persecuted the saints so extensively, that they pronounced the opposers who testified against them as dead.
“We define that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff (Pope) hold the primacy over the whole world.” (Source: Laetentur Coeli, Council of Florence, 1439)
And at that time, they did have control of the whole civilized world.
Daniel, Paul and John all described the same thing, the antichrist Popes of Rome rising to power after the Roman Empire collapsed.
Notice the commonality of the prophecies, that the Popes would rise to power, that they would speak against God, and that they would reign for 1,260 years.
After the internal collapse from civil war, famine and pestilence; and after the Roman Empire was attacked by many armies; the last Western Roman Emperor was removed in 476 A.D.
The Little Horn of Daniel describes the Popes, who rose to power after the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Daniel 7:8 “I considered the (10) horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”
The 10 horns of the 4th beast of Daniel 7 foretold that the Roman Empire would split into 10 civil kingdoms, and that a Little Horn, the Popes of Rome, would rise up among them, and pluck out three of the kingdoms that did not bow down to his authority. They subdued and destroyed three of the ten kingdoms, the Heruli, the Ostrogoths and the Vandals.
Daniel 7:25 “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: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
Daniel foretold that the Little Horn, the Popes of Rome would speak against Elohim, and reign for 1,260 years.
The ‘restrainer’ of 2 Thessalonians 2 described the Roman Emperors who restrained the Popes from taking power.
“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.” Verse 4
The Roman Emperor was the restrainer, because as long as he was in authority, the Popes could not take power.
Shortly after the last Roman Emperor was removed in 476 A.D., the Son of Perdition, the Popes of Rome, rose to power in 538 A.D. They sit among the followers of Messiah, which is the temple of God, and they proclaimed to be God.
The sea beast of Revelation 13 rose up out of the people groups, out of the 10 civil kingdoms, that were created when the Roman Empire collapsed.
“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Verse 5
The Popes were given civil and ecclesiastic power as a church/state, and they took the Emperor’s title of Pontifex Maximus, and the ‘deadly head wound‘ was healed.
John is telling us the same thing as Daniel, that the Popes of Rome would reign for 1,260 years, and speaking blasphemies, proclaiming to be God and to forgive sins.
Revelation 17 tells us that five forms of Roman government, referred to as kings, had passed when John wrote Revelation.
“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.” Verse 3
Here is the same beast as Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 described, with 10 horns.
“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, 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.” Verses 10-11
The seven kings represent the seven forms of government that existed in the Roman Empire, and the 8th represents the Popes of Rome who took power.
Five had passed. One was at the time, the Emperors of Rome. And one existed during the ‘short space’ between 476, when the last Roman Emperor was removed, and 538, when the Popes of Rome took power.
The antichrist is not just one man, it is a position, like the President of the United States. It has been fulfilled by many Popes.
Messiah said that many would come in my name, and the many Popes proclaim to be the “Vicar of Christ” or the “substitute Christ.”
8 days waiting for moderation for 2 short comments? Really?
Sorry for the delay Dan 🙂