“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9).

In response to a portion of one of my past commentaries, an individual stated that he spoke, in German, with the “Holy Father” and was told that my commentary was in error. So I asked this man if he was referring to the Creator of the universe or to a mere man who had been elevated by other mere men to the position of god on earth. I received no response.

Jesus’ words in the above verse are clear; we aren’t to refer to any man as Father as we have only one Father which is in heaven. Imagine referring to a “man” as Holy Father; besides being against the Word of God, it just doesn’t sit well. What are the implications of any man desiring to be so revered on earth?

“And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased…” (Matthew 23:12a)

Abased means to be humbled. If you continue reading Matthew 23 you’ll discover one of many heptadic (sevenfold) structures in the scriptures.

The seven woes outlined by Jesus are a condemnation of the Pharisees and scribes of His day. Seven times Jesus refers to these men as hypocrites. Then He drives the final nail into their coffin with these words:

“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33)

Although Jesus’ words were pointed at the Pharisees of His day, they also paint a perfect picture of the popery of the Roman Catholic Church as we can plainly see their hypocrisy displayed throughout its bloody awful history.

Jesus is very specific about all who wish to be first.

“And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

There is a religion where the leadership is elevated to such an exalted position that these men actually believe they are Christ on earth. They refer to themselves as “Vicarius Christi” which is Latin for Vicar of Christ.

“The Latin equivalent of the Greek word “anti” is “vicarious” from which comes Vicar. So those who refer to themselves as Vicar of Christ are actually calling themselves anti-Christ, or another Christ.”

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.’” (Matthew 24:4-5)

The question is, who would follow such men? Why would anyone want to replace our Lord Jesus the Christ the Creator of the universe with a mere human? The answer can be found in the above verse “Take heed that no man deceive you.”

The deception has been with us since the Apostles wrote their epistles. In the fourth century AD Constantine became the first pope. From that time on the popery began their reign of terror by deceiving and murdering the masses. When the word of God is not taken seriously the deception is easily manifested.

A short history lesson: During the 14th century A.D. a devout Christian man stood up against the evil of the anti-Christ system. John Wycliffe was one of the first to translate the scriptures from Latin into the language of the common folk. Wycliffe was hounded by the Catholic Church because of his stance against it.

Wycliffe said, “The authority of the Scriptures was greater than the authority of any man.”

And that “We ought to believe in the authority of no man unless he say the word of God, that if any man in earth, either angel of heaven teacheth us contrary of holy Writ we should flee from him as from the foul fiend of hell, and hold us steadfastly to the truth and freedom of the holy gospel of Jesus Christ.”

The Catholic Church hated Wycliffe so much that 44 years after his death they had his remains exhumed, his bones smashed, and then burned. The council of Constance then condemned Wycliffe and had him anathematized. Down through the ages the popes have condemned any and all who would stand against them and their doctrines.

Jan Huss was another that was condemned by the council of Constance at the same time as Wycliffe. Huss was burned at the stake in 1415 for his opposition to papal infallibility and because he stood on the authority and infallibility of the Bible. When the Roman Catholic Church caught Huss’ followers, they burned them at the stake. A century later, inspired in part by the sermons of Huss, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

Jan Huss, Jerome of Prague, and many others believed the Bible and placed its authority over the Roman Catholic popery, thus the popery condemned them all and burned them all at the stake. These were true Christians being burned at the stake; true believers in Christ who knew the truth about the popery, that all the popes were and are anti-Christ. Following this religion and believing in their doctrines will get you to only one location upon your death, and it isn’t heaven.

Martin Luther made the following statements:

The Pope, possessed by demons, defends his tyranny with the canon “Si papa.” This canon states clearly: if the Pope should lead the whole world into the control of hell, he is nevertheless not to be contradicted. It’s a terrible thing that on account of the authority of this man, we must lose our souls which Christ redeemed with His precious blood.

Luther also declared, “I believe the Pope is the masked and incarnate devil because he is the anti-Christ.” All the reformers from Wycliffe to Spurgeon believed the pope to be anti-Christ. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “It is the duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is, no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the popery in the Church of Rome, there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name.”

William Tyndale was another who was terribly persecuted by the Roman Catholics. They hated Tyndale because he was determined to translate the New Testament scriptures from Greek into English. Rome’s position on this subject was as follows: Simple and uneducated men were not to touch the Bible or venture to preach its doctrines.

After completing his translations of the Bible, Tyndale was put to death by the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church (basically that means the pope). One of Tyndale’s statements that so infuriated the Roman Catholic Church and which put the final nail in his coffin was this:

“I defy the pope and all his laws if God spare my life here these many years I will causeth the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost.”

Tyndale was speaking to a Roman Catholic priest in his own home. Of course, I would be remiss without saying that the Roman Catholic Church did take pity on William Tyndale as they first strangled him before burning him at the stake

But murdering William Tyndale was not enough for this most ungodly religion of anti-Christ. They also burned all the Tyndale Bibles they could get their hands on, as well burning at the stake all those who were in possession of a Tyndale Bible. The Roman Catholic Church is as bloody as any tyrannical ruler in earth’s history.

Looking back through the whole ungodly history of the Roman Catholic Church it’s not hard to discover that they have always stood contrary to the truth of the scriptures. The popes have always claimed to be Jesus Christ on earth. Anyone who knows their Bible and believes it to be the inerrant Word of God must be appalled at the Catholic popes and their horribly blasphemous statements.

From the inception of the Roman Catholic Church, the popes have declared themselves to be equal with God. They took to themselves the title of Holy Father with full authority over the Church.

Pope Innocent III, who fathered the inquisition, said, “The Pope holdeth place on earth not simply of a man, but of the true God.” Pope Nicholas said of himself “I am in all, and above all, so that God Himself, and I, the vicar of God, hath both one consistory and I am able to do almost all that God can do. I then, being above all seen by this reason, to be above all Gods.”

Pope Nicholas also claimed that the popes themselves had the power to change the gospel itself saying “Wherefore, no marvel if it be in my power to dispense with all things, yea, with the precepts of Christ.”

The Lateran Council, while addressing Pope Julius II, said to him “Take care that we lose not that salvation, that life and breath which thou has given us for thou are shepherd, thou art physician, thou art governor, thou art husbandman, thou finally art another God on earth.”

Pope Pious X declared, “The Pope is not simply the representative of Jesus Christ; on the contrary he is Jesus Christ Himself, under the veil of the flesh. Does the Pope speak? It is Jesus Christ who is speaking. Hence when anyone speaks of the Pope, it is not necessary to examine but to obey.”

Pope Pious IX blasphemously declared “I alone am the successor of the apostles. The voice of Jesus Christ, I am the way, the truth, and the life…” 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.”

Pope Clement VI said “No man outside obedience to the Pope of Rome can ultimately be saved. All who have raised themselves against the faith of the Roman Church and died in final impenitence have been damned and gone down to Hell.” Pope John XXIII said, “Into this fold of Jesus Christ no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff and only if they be united to him can men be saved…”

In 1984 Pope John Paul II was quoted as saying “Don’t go to God for forgiveness of sins: come to me.” Catherine of Siena, one of the patron saints of Italy, said “Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not to raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest in his bosom. He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him, we do to Christ. We honor Christ if we honor the Pope.”

There is no doubt in my mind that the Roman Catholic Church is pure evil in origin; they remain so even in today’s enlightened society. Why do I say this? Even though our current society is supposed to be enlightened there are few that know and understand the Word of God. Therefore many remain susceptible to the deceptions of Rome while ignoring Jesus’ admonition to beware of such deceptions.

This commentary is just the tip of the iceberg when compared to the volumes of heresies which would describe even more of how horrible the Roman Catholic Church has been to the true Christians over the last 1,700 years. Suffice it to say, Jesus told us about this evil that would appear on the scene claiming to be Him, but since they wouldn’t listen to Him why would they listen to me?

The apostle John wrote about the anti-Christ’s that would come and who were already among them.

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” 1 John 2:18-19.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “For truth’s sake, our Protestantism must protest perpetually…No peace with Rome…” Yet what we currently see taking place is many evangelicals running back to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. This is a hard thing to witness, as we who are true believers in Christ know how obscene the Roman Catholic Church actually remains.

The way to enter Heaven is not by elevating ourselves to a position of prominence resulting in men bowing to us with much pomp and circumstance, but to humble ourselves as little children. “…Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3.

Sometimes it takes a lot of humbling to become as a little child in the eyes of God. For some of us it may take a lifetime to understand how to become “as little children”.

The Catholic popery work to elevate themselves to positions of exaltedness above the laity thus they are in for a huge surprise. First of all it’s obvious these popes have no fear of God. Secondly, they can’t be believers in Christ as all indications are that they disparage God’s Word.

Instead of cherishing the Word of God as true believers do and adhering to God’s precepts as the truth they simply ignore God as they make themselves out to be god on earth.

Study your Bible. Don’t be one of those who have been, or are about to be, deceived in these end times. Call no man your Father on earth as God is our Father. All in all pray for all those deceived individuals, but by all means stay far clear of the Roman Catholic Church.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (1 Corinthians 2:12).

Through the Holy Spirit of God we are given discernment, an ability to grasp the meaning of the scriptures. On the other hand, the spirit of this world keeps many people blinded to the truth. Not the blindness associated with normal eyesight mind you, but rather a blindness that affects the ability to see the things of God. Why do so many allow the god of this world to claim dominion over their lives?

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

The Holy Spirit that dwells in every born again believer teaches us the things of God. Without the Spirit of God people are unable to learn much about Him or His ways. We believers can do our best to teach the lost and we should, although it’s not through man’s wisdom that they will come to any real understanding of who God is, but through His Holy Spirit.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14.

The world will not receive the teaching of the Holy Spirit unless they first become born again. They will only consider the things of God as foolishness because the things of God are learned through the Spirit of God. That’s why God is so intent on His children learning His word. But the lost, on the other hand, are not in a mode of learning about God or His word. They’re lost and must first be convicted by His Holy Spirit to believe the truth over the enemy’s lies.

Although God loves them, the rest of the world won’t really understand who He is until they come out of their rebellion (remove the blinders). Even though this blindness can be effective in keeping people in darkness it doesn’t have to be final. All of humanity has a choice to make, which is whether or not to stay in the dark (blind) or to open their eyes to the truth.

Satan is, of course, the god of this world. He has placed himself in that position of self-perceived prominence and as such he defends his fallen state with all tenacity. Satan has provided all the lies that convince people to put on the blinders and to keep them on. Although the mentality of the lost world is to go with the flow, join the crowd, and to remain mentality in a state of denial, that tendency to reject the truth can be overcome. In his first epistle the apostle John speaks of those who have overcome the enemy.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them” (1 John 4:4).

Everyone can, if they so chose—overcome the lies of the enemy.

“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Corinthians 2:15).

The natural man cannot spiritually determine God’s will for his life. Furthermore, the natural man can’t really acknowledge the existence of Satan or that of his demonic hoard because he hasn’t been given the ability to judge all things spiritual. Satan and the demons are in a spiritual realm that exists only as fantasy in the minds of most of his blind followers.

And yes, the lost are Satan’s followers whether they want to acknowledge that truth or not.

On the other hand, the spiritual man is empowered through God’s Holy Spirit to recognize God’s kingdom and His glory. We know Satan is no fantasy, we know he exists. We know that our lives are constantly under attack from an invisible but real spiritual world of demonic beings. Through knowing God’s Word we learn how to avoid the traps set down by those demonic hoards. Without the Holy Spirit of truth enlightening us and empowering us we too would be as blind as the rest of the lost in this world.

As the natural man lives his life in the enemy’s camp, Satan feeds him more lies so his life is filled with a continual barrage of deception. The longer a person stays in the enemy’s camp the harder it will be to come out and join the saved. Why do these people believe Satan over God? They prefer to. The agnostic will tell you “You can’t prove God exists.” This attitude is simply a denial of the truth.

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20).

God has given everyone the ability to see Him through His creation. It’s sad to realize that those who won’t believe are only condemning themselves as they continue in their spiritual blindness.

This blindness that Satan imparts unto the lost is akin to his being their life guide. It’s Satan’s agenda to keep everyone he can in that state of spiritual blindness so they can’t see the light of Christ. With blinders in place, as these folks look at God’s creation they may see a form of beauty but they don’t attribute that beauty to God the Creator, but to Satan the evolutionist.

These folks don’t actually attribute evolution to Satan, oh no. The lost believe it was their PhD scientists that discovered this phenomenon not realizing Satan was and still is behind the Darwinian theories of evolution as well as the big bang lie. The blind believe in evolution because that’s what Satan pushes and since he is their spiritual guide they believe him over God.

As long as people reject God our Creator and Savior, they must place their hope of the future in the only tangible thing they can come up with. That tangible is a self-reliance attitude which is, simply put, the reliance on one’s self for everything and which is satanic to the core. The lost are wholly reliant on themselves or government for provisions and sustenance. And when they die, they believe that’s the end. Lights out, there’s nothing else.

Through spiritual blindness people have assured themselves that there is no heaven or hell so there’s no eternal existence after death and thus there’s nothing to be concerned about—live as you want to live. On the other hand some believe in heaven, but not hell. With this flawed mindset everyone gets into heaven no matter what they believe.

Satan is undoubtedly quite proud of his mastery when it comes to convincing the spiritually blind that there are many paths to Heaven. When Satan comes in contact with someone who really feels the need to believe in a god, he will take a different route than with atheist and agnostics. He’ll enlist the help of false teachers of which there are many willing to step in and guide the spiritually blind away from Christ as the one true way to the Father and show them all the different paths which, as we believers all know, lead not to Heaven but to Hell.

Believers know God because it’s His good pleasure that we know Him and that we continue in a loving relationship with Him. He reveals Himself to us, to teach us His ways and to provide for us. He does this through His Holy Spirit.

Now that we have the Holy Spirit sealed within us, acknowledging Jesus Christ as our Creator and Redeemer makes perfect sense. But a Redeemer of mankind, a God who would die for His creation is a foolhardy concept indeed—to the natural man’s blind belief system. Satan has achieved great success in this arena. So what must one do to remove the blinders and get out of the clutches of God’s enemy?

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Pretty simple huh? Yet many will still reject the simplicity of that verse. Blinders attached to the satanic realm can’t be removed any other way. God did not design stumbling blocks into His free gift of salvation. Nor did He make salvation difficult to understand. Enter heaven by Jesus Christ or condemn yourself to hell, there’s no simpler way to put it. There is nothing easier than believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18.

That name is Jesus Christ, not Buddha, Allah or his prophet Mohammad, the Virgin Mary, or the New Age god or goddess Maitreya. Or any other fictitious named god or co-redeemer that lost mankind can conceive of.

The simplicity of the gospel of Christ flies in the face of the natural man’s ability to make sound judgments in relation to his blinded mind. I’ve heard those still wearing blinders profess “It just can’t be that simple. There must be more to it.” And so off they go adjusting their blinders as they continue to stumble along in unbelief.

Saying, “Yes” to Jesus is not difficult. We make it difficult through our own presuppositions of who God is. Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us into the knowledge of God, many presume God is in everything and that all one must do is to go out and commune with nature to experience Him.

So instead of belief in His only begotten Son, their communing becomes a feel good experience with nothing, or a burning in the bosom as the Mormons put it. This, too, is another tactic of Satan’s to form fit the lost with the blinders he’s so effectively created.

A quote from a brother who recently visited me was so appropriate for this commentary that I must include it here: “Satan will lead you as close as possible to the truth without losing you to salvation.”

Amen to that brother!

But God is not a rock or a tree, and what He did to bring eternal salvation to His creation is beyond our full comprehension. What God went through allowing His only begotten Son to die in our stead must have hurt Him horribly. And the excruciating pain that Jesus went through on that cross we can’t even imagine. Jesus knew, before the foundation of the world, that His Father would require the ultimate sacrifice to be carried out.

And even though He prayed to His Father that if there was any other way for mankind to be saved that that cup might pass from Him, He knew His Fathers will would be accomplished.

“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” ( Luke 22:41-42).

There is no other way.

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

If folks persist in their rejection of the truth—which is rebellion to God, even after all that has been explained, then God will allow those who reject Him to have their way. He doesn’t want a bunch of robots and He won’t demand our love. He won’t interfere with an individual’s rejection of Him, and that’s the truth.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God loved His creation so much that He made a salvation provision for us, a way out of the most horrible eternity ever imagined. God provided Himself as a sacrifice for all.

“God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8).

He did, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Jesus Christ is the propitiation for all sin. That, my friends, is pure love. Satan, on the other hand, hates all humanity and wants nothing more than to deceive all into holding on to the blinders (lies) he’s promoted throughout time so they can join him in his place of torment for eternity.

Are you one of Satan’s followers still wearing those blinders to your own destruction? If so, you’ve just been enlightened with the only way to avoid that one way ticket to hell. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. Believe that truth and the blinders will fall off immediately. You will see clearly and the Holy Spirit will teach you what you need to know from that point on.

“I was blind, but now I see.” You will, too.

On the other hand… wait… No, there is no other hand.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Father, how can they be so blind?

God bless you all.

Ron Graham