“Holy Father.” Really?
The First Offense:
“AND call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9.
“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are” (John 17:11).
Catholic theologians have grievously taken the above Scriptures out of context citing that the head of the family is called father and that the first Scripture with promise in the Bible states that one should honor his mother and father and there are references of master, rabbi, leaders etc… Please note that in Matthew 23:1-36 Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees for seeking positions of prominence and honor.
We do not misinterpret the context nor the setting in which he was speaking. While there are other references using the title, father, there is but One in the entire deserving of the sacred title of “Holy Father” (John 17:11).
Here, he is clearly set apart from every master, rabbi, shepherd and leader. Christians cannot bear to call the leader of the Catholics, Holy Father. Yet it rolled smoothly off the lips of broadcasters, atheists, and many others unknowing the implications. To call the Pope, “Holy Father,” is to make him God.
The Second Offense:
Pope Francis received worship. The Antichrist will call himself god and accept worship. (And we know that there are now many antichrists.) Not even angels would receive worship (Rev. 22:9).
“For it is written thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” Luke 4:8b.)
It is no secret that the Pope claims to give absolution or forgiveness of sin. Who can forgive sin but God? This man for all seasons has come dangerously close to standing in God’s stead as millions worship him. His style so paralleled the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, it is uncanny.
(Unlike those who trip over themselves to see the Pope—a false representative of God, we know that in the biblical account, the tax collector Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore tree above the crowd so he could get a glimpse of Jesus, the true Savior. When Jesus Himself told Zacchaeus to come down, this led to his repentance and transformation.)
In a great attempt to see the Pope, one family drove 13,000 miles, a 124 day journey in a weathered Volkswagen bus. (Jesus called the Pharisees blind guides.)
“If our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost and the God of this world has blinded their minds” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
“If the blind lead the blind they both fall in the ditch” (Matthew 15:14).
Clearly, tradition has blinded the Pope who attributes his religious beliefs to patriarchal heritage. His followers are equally blinded.
Famous Quotes from Various Popes:
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) “The Pope cannot make a mistake.”
Pope Innocent IV (1243-54) He described himself as “the bodily presence of Christ.”
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” (Encyclical Letter, June 20, 1894)
Pope Francis (Catholic News, posted July 5, 2014) “Some think they can have a personal direct, immediate relationship with Jesus outside of the communion and the meditation of the church, such temptations are dangerous and harmful; in the words of the great Pope Paul VI, absurd dichotomies.”
These are indeed harmful dangerous, and divisive words out of the mouth of leaders that millions are following.
O Generation, who has beguiled you that you would worship a mere man? Let not tradition bind you but read the Bible for yourself and find the truth. This is not an attempt to lash out at Catholics but for all to find their freedom in Jesus Christ for whom the Son sets free is free indeed” (John 8:36).
The Third and Most Damaging Offense:
No antidote for sin?
Reaching into the heart of every true Christian and snatching away their only hope of forgiveness of sin, and eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the Pope said the Cross was a failure. Headlines should have been glaring all over America, the nation that was built upon: “In God We Trust.”
The songwriter said: “If it had not been for an old rugged Cross, then forever my soul would be lost.”
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
If the Cross was a failure then everyone are still in their sin, including the Pope and we have no other hope. But Scripture tells us otherwise:
“Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The victory achieved at Calvary is every Christians’ hope. We look for a resurrection!
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17).
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we of all men are most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
We are admonished: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).
We must continue to put forth the truth for the Lord Himself is soon to appear for those who look for Him.