40 years ago, I happened upon the book The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. I do not recall how I discovered that book – whether in a used bookstore or just left behind by somebody who had already read it – but it greatly affected my outlook on life and inspired me to read more and more about the subject of end-time events. I could not get my hands on enough books and videos that dealt with the topic. It totally intrigued me and motivated me to read God’s Word more often and discover the hidden gems of what is to take place during the Last Days. It also compelled me to be absolutely sure that I was prepared for the onset of the dark days of what is referred to as the Tribulation period.

The number 40 is a significant number in the Bible. I have read that it is mentioned 146 times in Scripture, and it usually symbolizes a period of testing, trial, or probation. Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness to begin His earthly ministry. It rained 40 days and 40 nights during the time of Noah to bring on the Great Flood. Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mt. Sinai on two separate occasions when He communed with God and received His 10 Commandments. The first three kings of Israel – Saul, David, and Solomon – each reigned for 40 years. Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh that unless they repented from their sins, that in 40 days, their city would be destroyed.

While my 40 years of searching out information on Bible Prophecy pales in comparison to those momentous events, it is still to me a noteworthy time frame and makes me reflect even more on just how close we are to the summation of the Church Age – the Age of Grace – and the nearness to the time of Christ’s second appearing. Without trying to set a date as to when the Lord will take His Church out of this world and begin the prophesied last seven years of another testing period before He finally returns physically, I cannot help but wonder if it all could come to pass this year, especially when considering how badly the conditions of the world are deteriorating and how the end-time signs are completely engulfing us.

Growing up in the Roman Catholic system, I was never exposed to Bible prophecy. It was completely foreign to me. About the only time I would ever hear anything to do with Christ coming back was during their Mass when the mantra ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again” is repeated daily just before their Communion service. Other than that, nothing. Never during sermons, CCD (Catechism) classes, or even 6 years of Catholic grade school. I was totally in the dark about it, just as most Catholics are. So, to read that book and to find out about things that take place in the Last days was new and extremely exciting to me.

Having my eyes opened to the subject – and it had to be Divine providence that led me to discover such books – it created in me such a desire to learn more about Bible prophecy and greatly motivated me to get involved in partnering with ministries that taught on end-time events, and especially those that reached out to the world with the great news that Jesus Christ is coming back soon and He wants you to be saved and to be prepared for what lies ahead.

Another effect of reading the Bible more diligently because of this new interest was that it led me to come out of the Roman Catholic religion and embrace Jesus Christ alone for my salvation – instead of a false system of works. We are saved freely by His grace and not by things that we do to earn it.

It really got me on fire to do my part to warn others and to be a part of the Lord’s Great Commission, as spelled out in Matthew 28:19:20: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

To those of us who study Eschatology – or Last Days events – it is abundantly clear that the world is rushing headlong into such an abysmal world-state and that with each passing hour, we are drawing ever closer to the onset of this horrible period. Most of the Earth’s population, conversely, has no clue as to what is going to happen soon. It will totally blindside most people.

To my way of thinking, what better part of God’s Word do we have to inform us of just how real and true His Word is than those verses that inform us as to what will transpire in the prophesied last days? We are now witnessing these things unfolding before our eyes? It is completely on target as we see events lining up exactly as the prophets and Jesus said they would to usher in the wrap-up of human government and His very soon return. You can literally open the Bible today and watch on the evening news or other media outlets the same things prophesied eons ago by inspired authors, the things that are taking place around the globe.

To those of us who study the subject and are clued into what was foretold to occur, we can see these end-time events developing. Without Bible prophecy, how would we know that Israel was to become a nation again? They were dispersed throughout the globe for almost 2,000 years, and yet we were told that they would be back in their ancient homeland again. That happened in 1948.

They would again establish Jerusalem as their capital and recapture the Temple Mount, where once stood the first two Temples. Prophecy tells us that a third Temple will be rebuilt soon on the exact site that the first two were erected, and there are movements taking place right now in Israel behind the scenes, as it were, to prepare for that soon occurrence. Prophecy also warns us that when this Temple is erected, a future world leader will defile that building and declare himself God.

Without knowing scripture about end-time events, most people and countries are clueless as to the significance of Israel being back in the land. God’s Word said it would happen, and it has happened for a reason. God’s Word is true, and His relationship with that nation and people is everlasting. He does not break His promises or renege on His covenants that He had established with them centuries ago.

How close is the world getting to the end? Here are some key indicators. The prophet Ezekiel warns that a conglomeration of Russia, Turkey, Iran and others will invade Israel in the last days. Those very nations are now just north of Israel in neighboring Syria, fighting insurrectionists, and have established a foothold in that region of the world. Something will trigger them to enter Israel “like a cloud,” and God Himself, not Israel, will destroy 5/6ths of the invading forces. They are on the doorstep now. How much more time will elapse before they make their ill-fated move? Read about it in Ezekiel 38, 39.

Students of prophecy are also keenly aware that the city of Damascus will be destroyed in a noticeably short time span. Isaiah 17 foretells that it will happen overnight – that quickly, which almost suggests a nuclear device will be employed. Israel, right now, is conducting almost weekly raids and airstrikes, in and around the city of Damascus, in an effort to quell the nefarious movements by Iran within Syria, in Iran’s often repeated quest to destroy the Jewish State.

How much longer until Damascus gets leveled due to a series of missteps and ratcheting tensions between a belligerent rogue nation like Iran – who is bent on the destruction of Israel – and the IDF forces of the Jewish State, who are compelled to go after these guys and thwart their desire to destroy them? It cannot be too much longer if Damascus is already in the crosshairs on a daily, if not weekly, basis. Keep an eye on that situation. It will not be much longer until literally the whole situation and the city will explode.

Israel is the key to Bible Prophecy; they are the focal point. The Bible is Israel-centric. It is at the very center of foretold end-time events and how the rest of prophesied occurrences will be tied to what is happening there and how things around the world will play out.

The condition of the world is extremely ripe for the rise to power of a foretold future world leader who will govern with an iron fist. He will come in peacefully at first, with a small group of like-minded individuals, and then will utterly transform life on Earth to a Hell-like condition. The Bible says in the second half of his seven-year reign that Satan will enter into this person and wreak havoc across the globe. You do not want to be here for that.

America is now primed to assist in seeing a person like this rise to power. Those on the radical left, who have a globalist agenda and are bent on the weakening of our nation, are doing all they can to sow the seeds of discord within our country and position us to abandon our sovereignty and fall in behind a one-world ruler and governance.

Such movements and the promotion of them by these Marxist-minded individuals include homegrown terrorist groups like BLM and Antifa, whose only goal is to inflame racial tensions. Other ways to weaken our nation include:

• Defunding the police forces.
• Opening up our borders.
• Promoting and further legalizing and funding the abortion industry.
• Doing all that’s possible to celebrate and export the perversion of homosexuality and transgenderism and compelling citizens of our nation to accept and embrace this abhorrent mindset.

One cannot escape hearing about or seeing these daily manifestations unless one totally shuts himself off to any or all news.

The Antichrist, when he does rise to power, will have no better ally than the present occupant of the White House and his administration. America’s influence will continue to diminish in the coming days, and we will lose our sovereignty. It must happen in order for all nations to align and be controlled by a central government operating out of the region of the old Roman Empire.

America is not even mentioned in Bible prophecy and has been an impediment to the establishment of a one-world government.

Donald Trump was the last obstacle to preclude the USA from joining forces with the globalists. His America First attitude and policies were a continual thorn in the side of those nations and groups who want to relinquish control over their states and bring about a central governance. He had to go at all costs. Two impeachments, a constant 24 hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year smear campaign never let up until he was out. Even a very dubious election had to be unleashed to ensure this guy and his way of thinking were out of here. His kind of reasoning and policy-making could not be allowed to continue; it had to be snuffed.

The devil must be extremely pleased. He now has a dupe in the White House, and his policy can prosper. His man of sin can soon be promoted. The World is rejoicing, but they have no idea what lies ahead. Doom and gloom do not even begin to describe what the last seven years are going to be like when this guy is in place. Things will get completely out of control, and life on this planet will become extremely darkened as this leader gains more and more power. And he will not be impeachable.

The days are dark and getting darker. The Book of Revelation and Matthew 24, where Jesus informs His disciples just how bad life will get on planet Earth before His second coming, are just two of the key scripture books and passages that describe what lies ahead and how it is presently developing in the World. Time and space in this article preclude me from listing all that will come to pass.

Famines, pestilence, wars, disease, earthquakes, unusual and severe weather phenomena will decimate most of Earth’s population – only a fraction of the present 7 billion plus citizens of the world will make it all the way through the entire final seven years of this foretold Tribulation Period. Jesus talked of these things, and He does not lie. His intent in having these Bible prophecy verses included in scripture is not meant to scare us so much, but to prepare us. It is going to happen, and He wants you to be ready before it starts and to make a much-needed decision.

The devil is working overtime to get his players in position. He is fully aware that his time to destroy lives and to carry out his sinister operations is drawing to a close. Once the Tribulation Period is underway, he will have just seven years left to leave destruction in his wake on this planet. He wants to take as many as he can to the same abode where he will wind up and prevent souls from spending eternity in a state of bliss with the Lord in Heaven. He has been busy planning on how he is going make this planet a living hell for those left here.

And no one has to endure what is coming. By making a decision for Jesus Christ right now, you will be spared from the horrible hour that is soon upon us. He is going to remove His body of believers – the True Church, all those who have put their complete faith and trust in His finished work on the cross – just before the start of that seven-year period.

Those who have rejected His gospel by not accepting the free gift of salvation that He extends to everyone will be left here to try to survive the whole horrible ordeal. Jesus said about that time in Matthew 24 that no flesh would survive this time unless its days had been limited. It will be a time unlike ANYTHING that has ever occurred in this world.

To sum up what is coming, Jesus will remove His Church from Earth in what is known as the Rapture. A world leader will arise quickly – the devil has him picked out – and he will force Israel to agree to a seven-year so-called peace treaty. That action starts the clock on the Tribulation hour.

The world leader’s reign will begin somewhat peacefully, but as time goes on, things will radically worsen. While this is happening, 144,000 Jewish evangelists will be tasked with presenting the true gospel to those left behind. A great number of people will get saved, but most, if not all, will be martyred for their faith. The Antichrist and his false prophet – the leader of the coming One-World Religion – will force all to take a mark, to show their allegiance to this “man of sin” and to be able to buy or sell goods. Without his mark clearly displayed on people, they will be targeted and hunted down for elimination.

Far better to accept Christ now freely, than to have your head lopped off or any other means that they decide to implement.

Midway through these seven years, Satan will enter into this human leader, and from Jerusalem, in the rebuilt Temple, will declare himself God and force all people to worship him. This is what he has craved from the time of his fall; for all to worship him and not God.

All nations, at the end of this period, will be drawn into the land of Israel, where they think under the inspiration of the Antichrist, that they can do battle with Jesus Christ and his host of believers as He returns to Earth. Jesus destroys these satanically inspired forces, immediately sends this Antichrist and his false prophet to the Lake of Fire, and Satan is bound for a thousand years in a place of torment.

Jesus begins His 1,000-year rule on Earth from Jerusalem, then after that, the Great White Throne judgment occurs, and all those who have rejected the free gift of salvation will be cast into the Lake of Fire, where eternal torment will be a continual state of being. Not a pretty picture. But one that can easily be avoided.

If not for Bible prophecy, we would not know that these things are coming. Jesus Christ, in the Book of John, chapter one, is referred to as the Word. What He spoke and what is contained in the Word of God, the Holy Bible, is true. He does not lie. He is not out to trick people or misinform them. What He says is going to happen will happen. These events are going to take place. What are you going to do about it?

Souls hang in the balance. Your soul is on the line. Is it really worth forfeiting a free gift, only to have to maybe endure the whole seven years of hell on Earth, then an eternity separated from God and loved ones only to be dying forever in the Lake of fire? Why go through that??

Take the free gift of salvation. Is your pride really worth it? Who wins? Not you. Not God. Only another lost soul in a place that can never be escaped from. Do not be foolish. Do not spend eternity in anguish and regret.

The solution is simple and entirely free. What a deal. Will you take it? There is no end to eternity. For the lost, it will be a constant state of torment. Separated. Alone. All hope abandoned. And you are only there because you rejected the only way out.

Conversely, for those who do something to forever change their destiny on this side of eternity, Heaven awaits. You will be enjoying the rest of your existence with loved ones forever who have made the same decision as you. Your life then will really take off. Unlimited potential and desires will be realized. No aches, no pains, no sorrow, no bills, no dangerous threats, no fake news, and no devil to trip you up.

You will not be relegated to spending eternity on a cloud someplace strumming a harp. That is fiction. The Bible tells us that we will be co-heirs of the universe with Jesus Christ. If you want to explore the far reaches of the universe, suddenly it will be possible. Things that were impossible to do while here on this Earth, in our present physical bodies, will be attainable when we are finally clothed in a glorified new body that we will acquire in the heavenly realm.

The differences between those who spend eternity in Heaven versus those who regrettably opt out because of a poor decision will be vast. No hope, no loved ones, no joy, and no escape are the ever-present conditions and reality for those who say no to Jesus. Do not make such a foolish mistake. The split second that you die without Christ in your life, you will realize that you made an awful, tragic, unrepairable choice. At that point, it will be too late to change your circumstances. You will be in an unrecoverable condition.

Do not go into the Tribulation hour. It will be a horrible time on Earth. And beyond that – way, way beyond it – do not go into eternity without Jesus. Those things right now are staring you in the face. They are coming. It is going to happen. We are soon, very, very soon into that period.

Jesus says in John 14:6: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” No particular denomination or no certain religious affiliation is the means for salvation. You MUST be trusting in Jesus Christ completely for your redemption. How?

Admit that you are a sinner. You are continually sinning, and you can’t help it. You don’t want to do it, but it happens. You need help with this condition. “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Believe that Jesus Christ is who He said He is. He is the Savior of the World. He is the Son of God. He is God (John1:1). Only He can save us from our sins. He paid our sin penalty on the cross. He only is the means for redemption. Invite Him into your life to save you. Trust in His work and put all your faith into Him being able to save you. Outside of doing that – completely trusting in Him for your salvation – you will be lost and will die in your sins. Don’t do that!

Confess that He is your Savior. That you are trusting in Him alone. Not in your works, not in your goodness, not in anything else.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9:10).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

stevemeehan1225@gmail.com

False Catholic Doctrines
Growing up as a Roman Catholic, I was led to believe that I was on the right course to be able to gain entrance into Heaven one day. I mean, who else besides Catholics have the insurance policy that has cradle to grave coverage – and even beyond, with the afterlife doctrine of Purgatory to cover any leftover sins?

Roman Catholicism has the priests to absolve one’s sins; they have the same priests to administer the consecrated bread that has become Jesus to them; they have the Mother of God to intercede on our behalf, if we are unable to reach God the Father or Jesus with our petitions and who also lessens one’s time in Purgatory; and of course, they have the Pope, the Holy Father, Christ’s representative on Earth, to watch over the flock. It was all very reassuring to know, as we were taught, that we belonged to the only One True Church. What other religion offers so much as does Roman Catholicism, and how could one go wrong by trusting in their teachings?

From the very beginning of a Catholic’s life, one is baptized into the Catholic Church by the sprinkling of water over the forehead as an infant – maybe only a week old – and thus the requirement of being born again as a Christian had been fulfilled. There used to be a teaching that unbaptized babies would go to a place called Limbo, since even an un-regenerated baby could not attain entrance into Heaven.

As an infant, I had no concept of sin; I did not know that someone had to pay the penalty for my sin, nor that Jesus Christ was the only one qualified to be the propitiation for my sins.

Stand-ins or proxies, or Godparents, as they are known, were the ones who would acknowledge for the infant, that they would shun sin and they would make the profession of faith into Roman Catholicism on the child’s behalf. They would also affirm that they would offer instruction to the child as he or she grew in the Catholic faith, if the child’s parents neglected to do so. After the first of many sacraments to come had been accomplished, I was now baptized and well on my way in my Christian journey.

Years later, as I grew into adulthood and started to read the Holy Scriptures for myself; and under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, I began to see that the rite of Baptism was normally performed after a person had already acknowledged that they were a sinner and in need of a qualified savior to cover the cost of their sins. It was after they had invited Jesus Christ into their life to be their personal Savior, and thus being born again, that a person would be baptized as an outward sign to others of what had already transpired inwardly.

In all the cases that I have read in the Holy Word of God, the person being baptized was fully immersed into water rather than just having water sprinkled over the forehead.

The full immersion typifies what has happened to the recipient in the ritual of baptism. Upon being lowered into the water, it symbolizes that they have died to their old self, their fleshly, physical birth, and have now arisen out of the water in a spiritual rebirth, all of which takes place spiritually when a person fully places their trust in Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation. They have then become born again; and so the Baptism ritual is an outward sign to others of what had already occurred the moment we had said yes to Jesus.

Christ tells us in John 3:3, that unless we are born again, we cannot see the Kingdom of God.

How is it possible then, for an infant to meet the requirements of being born again, when they have no knowledge of sin, that one’s sin problem must be atoned for, and that only belief and trust in Jesus is the correct requirement for salvation? How can godparents speak for the infant or the priest perform the ritual to one who is incapable of acknowledging their need for a savior?

Even Jesus Christ, although He did not need to do it but allowed Himself to be baptized for righteousness sake and to set an example to others who would follow Him, was only baptized as an adult and just before the start of His earthly ministry.

If we are followers of Jesus Christ, shouldn’t we follow His example of baptism only after we have acknowledged our need for Him and to show others outwardly that we have accepted Him and want to obey His commands? How then does infant baptism have any merit since the child has no knowledge of its need to be saved first?

On every Sunday and “Holy Day of Obligation,” as a Roman Catholic, we would dutifully go to Mass. Upon entering the church, normally a Catholic would first dip his hand into a font or a little cup-sized holder of water, then proceed to make the sign of the cross. This “Holy Water” had a threefold effect to acquire blessings: it was a sign of repentance for one’s sins; it was done for the protection from evil; and thirdly, it was a reminder of one’s baptism into the Catholic faith.

The sign of the cross was instituted early in the progression of the Roman Catholic religion. It normally precedes a prayer and then also concludes the prayer. It was also, at one time, done three times by the priest just before the consecration of the bread: first on the forehead, then on the lips, then over the heart. Three fingers were used to signify the Holy Trinity, and the movement was up from the forehead down to the chest signifying Jesus coming down from Heaven to the Earth; then right to left, signifying Jesus starting with the Jews; then passing to the Gentiles. Over time, the sign of the cross switched from going right to left, to left going right.

Upon entering the church, the Catholic faithful would genuflect before the image of Jesus nailed to a cross or the presence of Jesus in the golden monstrance before one would enter and sit in the pews. I can remember as an altar boy during my Catholic parochial grade-school years, during the Mass, it was one of my duties to go down to the communion rail area and pull back the cart that contained the votive candles from before the statues of Mary, so that the priest could administer the communion wafer to the faithful unimpeded.

The church would be full of Roman Catholic regalia, unseen usually in Protestant churches. Stained glass windows were very prominent, especially in the churches that were constructed in areas where the offerings taken in were substantial. Stations of the Cross would line either side of the church and would be prayed before by the faithful, usually during the Lent season. Statues of Mary are always prevalent in all Catholic churches, as well as figurines of other “saints.”

There are usually kneelers in front of the statues and the votive candles, where the faithful can light a candle and pray facing the statue. I can remember doing this practice many times, as well as seeing my parents, relatives and others doing the same thing. Candles were always burning before these images. I can remember gazing intently into these forlorn-looking figurine eyes, just hoping that they could hear my prayers and maybe offer an answer or relief at the time. Many, if not all Catholics engage in this solemn devotion and prayer time.

It was as if these figurines were the actual beings listening to our prayers.

It wasn’t until later in life, again, that I discovered through Bible study that God abhors this kind of activity. Those statues are not God and they don’t hear or answer prayer requests. They are inanimate objects and should never replace a true relationship with Jesus Christ or God the Father. The Second Commandment absolutely forbids this kind of activity and should never be conducted by a true child of God.

Exodus 20:4-6 reads: “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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I 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 showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

This is a commandment not to do this! It is the second one, just after the first which reads: “I am the Lord thy God…thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

God even equates the worshipping of statues as hating Him; we are placing something else before Him. This commandment was originally given to the Chosen People of God, the Israelites, but also extends to those who have become children of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and those who have accepted Him. This commandment was never rescinded.

The Bible is replete with examples of false worship directed towards statues, groves of trees, and other images. There is no shortage of verses in Scripture where God detests the placing of images up to worship instead of rightly praying to the Lord in spirit. The apostle John wrote:

“But the hour comes, and now is, when true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

If we are to worship Him in spirit and truth, then we must not be placing graven images before our eyes and praying to them. It is wrong, it is false, and it is detestable to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Why the Catholic Church has deleted the Second Commandment and allows this kind of activity to flourish throughout their ranks and cathedrals is beyond comprehension. They call themselves the One True Church, yet they continually defy God and encourage this kind of worship. In certain countries, mostly Roman Catholic, they dress up statues of Mary, then parade around behind it, adoring it and throwing flowers in the street before it.

What a pagan ritual! And abhorred by the Creator of all.

A few years ago, I went to a Good Friday Mass at the behest of my mother, who is still a dyed-in-the wool Roman Catholic. I agreed to go only if I could take her to a worship service of my choosing at a later date. During the Mass, one of the parishioners had wheeled out a figurine of a cross that he had constructed, and it had been blessed by the local priest. The faithful then were instructed to come up out of their seats, and in single file form, come before the cross and give their adoration. But they were admonished, in order to save time, either to just kiss it, touch it or kneel before it – only one of those three.

I shook my head in disbelief as I stood in my pew and observed this idolatrous procession. The old priest kind of glared at me for not being involved in this graven image spectacle.

It was unbelievable. Christians, true Christians, should not be bowing down, kissing, touching, praying to, dressing up, and parading behind graven images! It is false worship, and it is condemned by God.

Jesus tells us in John 14:15: “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Later in the Mass, the priest gets to the consecration of the bread, the culmination of the Roman Catholic worship service. He has the power, as endued from on high by Rome itself, to change the elements of bread and wine into the physical and spiritual manifestation of Jesus Christ – all of His humanity and all of His divinity. It is through this Transubstantiation that the bread and wine have now become Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Creator of the Universe, in their belief.

The bread and wine still retain the physical characteristics of bread and wine; but somehow, through spiritism, or mysticism, or just plain old hocus-pocus, these wafers are now Jesus Christ, who apparently is not seated by the right hand of the Father in Heaven anymore, but continually shows up on the altars of Roman Catholic churches in the form of a wafer!

It is amazing to me how the faithful of Roman Catholicism can fall for this. This is now their God? In the form of a wafer? It doesn’t speak, it doesn’t heal, it doesn’t forgive sins; it is just to be consumed physically, and then what? I think if Jesus Christ did show up at all those Masses, wouldn’t one want to introduce Him to family members or friends so that they too could experience Him?

The whole idea of God being reduced to an inanimate object like a wafer is ludicrous, yet well-meaning Catholics buy into it and don’t question it. It is like the story of the Emperor and his new clothes. He tells everybody that he is wearing the most expensive and finest apparel known to man; and even though he is naked, all of his following believe what the Emperor is telling them. Oh, yes, those clothes are wonderful. Not until a young lad blurts out that the Emperor is naked, then they can see the ruse for what it is.

We don’t receive Jesus via a wafer; we receive Him internally and spiritually when we accept what He has accomplished for us on the cross. It is only then that we are saved and that He takes up residence in our lives through His Holy Spirit.

We become born again through His spirit. We recognize our inability to make it to Heaven because of sin in our lives; recognize that we are incapable of saving ourselves through works or good living; and recognize that only Christ can save us from ourselves and lack of purity. That is how we intake Jesus, not through a wafer. Eating Him physically would have no benefit to us spiritually.

He told the woman at the well that He was Living Water. Does that mean that we should worship a glass of water? He told the woman that if she drank what He had to offer, that she would never thirst again. Physically, while on Earth, of course she would thirst again. Spiritually, if she invited Jesus into her life and accepted His free plan of salvation, she would be filled spiritually with Living Water, and her spirit would never thirst again.

In John 6 is where Roman Catholicism contends that Jesus was speaking to the crowds in a literal sense, in a physical sense, that unless one eats the physical body of Jesus they would die in their sins. It is a discourse that goes back and forth between the physical and the spiritual.

The Jews heard Him in physical terms, after just having eaten of the loaves and fishes that Jesus fed them, so of course they were repelled by Him speaking of eating His flesh. They turned away, but apparently Rome has not turned away from that and has incorporated a cannibalistic rite in which they proclaim that they are physically eating Christ’s flesh and spirit. Jesus, though, qualifies, in John 6:63 that He is speaking in spiritual terms:

“It is the Spirit that quickens (or comes alive); the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

In John 6:47, Jesus says: “Verily, Verily (or Truly, Truly), I say unto you, he that believes on me has everlasting life.”

We are saved by believing on Him, not by eating His flesh or a poor substitute as in a wafer. One could eat those wafers for the rest of their life, but unless they believe in Jesus for their salvation, it will be a futile exercise and warrant them nothing.

Why substitute what Christ has told us in His Word regarding salvation and instead put forth a worthless, idolatrous, even a blasphemous practice of worshipping and ingesting a gluten wafer? How is this worshipping in spirit and truth if we are engaged in a false means of receiving Jesus?

This has all the earmarks of a false doctrine instituted by our spiritual enemy. Jesus Christ does save, but not via a wafer.

The communion service is a remembrance of what Christ did for us physically on the cross. He offered up His body and blood physically so that we could take Him in spiritually. We remember, at those communion services, what He did one time for the remission of our sins.

We don’t eat Him physically; He has already entered us spiritually when we accepted Him and His atonement for our sins. The physical aspect of Him in us would be a temporary condition, but with Him spiritually dwelling in us it is eternal. Don’t worship a wafer!

The angels, in the Book of Acts, at Jesus ascension into Heaven, even asked the men of Galilee why they continued to gaze into the heavens at the disappearing of our Lord. They were told that Jesus would again come in like manner, when He does return to Earth. He will come with the clouds in the end times, and not daily in the form of a wafer at every mass that is performed on an hourly basis.

When He physically returns, there won’t be any mistaking it. He even said, in the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24, not to believe those who are saying Christ is here or there – as the priest does on the altar during the so-called Transubstantiation ruse – or that Christ is in the secret chambers – as the priests contend about the wafer in a golden monstrance. Jesus said believe it not.

Again, when Jesus does return, there will be no doubt about His arrival.

In Roman Catholicism’s churches, there are also confessional booths. When I was in about 2^nd grade, I had my first confession. It was very intimidating to walk into that booth and confess my sins. It was almost akin to telling God about my shortcomings. I remember the opening rote words told to the priest: “Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been (well, up to that point, all my life – all 8 years or whatever!) since my last confession.” Then, one would list all their sins and conclude the litany with, “For these and for all my unconfessed sins, I am truly sorry.”

That was usually followed by a little spiel about how wrong it was to be involved with these kinds of activities, and then came the sentence.

I would usually cringe and hope it would be a light sentence: a few Our Fathers, a handful of Hail Mary’s, but nothing too drastic like a whole rosary or a novena. Then, of course, after receiving my penalty, I was absolved by the priest and told not to do it again. To which, I would dart out, and be glad that the whole exercise was over.

Again, years later, while immersing myself in what the “Good Book” had to say, I discovered that Jesus commanded us not to call any man on Earth “Father.” In Matthew 23:9, Jesus tells us:

“And call no man your father upon the Earth; for one is your Father, which is in Heaven.”

It would seem to me, and I’m sure it is right, that Jesus here is referring to our Spiritual Father. Obviously, we have a male parent whom we refer to as a father. But, we are told by Jesus not to call anyone father in the spiritual sense. So, it begs the question: why does Roman Catholicism insist on calling their priests “father?”

Aren’t we supposed to do what Jesus says? Are we followers of Jesus, and as Christians shouldn’t we abide by what he commands us? If Roman Catholicism is true Christianity, why are they defying God again on this?

If the Catholic priests are indeed Christians, wouldn’t they be our brothers instead? It would seem that the title, in the way they use it, would infer that their priests are lord over us. Even the pope – which means papa – has the title of Holy Father. That to me is seriously wrong. Only one is our father, as Jesus tells us, and our Holy Father resides in Heaven.

No man on Earth is holy enough to be our father, let alone Holy Father. Only one time in Scripture is the term Holy Father used. In John 17:11, Jesus is praying to God the Father, and refers to Him as Holy Father. No man comes even close to the holiness of God the Father, so giving the pope this title robs God of His glory.

When a certain ruler approached Jesus to confer with Him, he called Jesus “Good Master.” Jesus responded, “Why call me good. No one is good, except for one, that is, God” (Luke 18:19).

It seems to imply, if the ruler only knew of Jesus as being a man, that certainly he was not good or holy. If the ruler, of course, knew that Jesus was in fact God, then the ruler was right. The pope, being a man and in need of a savior, is not good or holy. All of us fall short of the glory of God. To call another man holy, or even Holy Father, completely steals away the glory due to God alone.

Our Father is in Heaven, and he alone is Holy.

The pope also claims the title of “Vicar of Christ” or Christ’s representative on Earth. How is that possible? Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be His representative on Earth. He indwells all believers. No man can be God’s representative on Earth. Why would we need another? Why teach and practice these things if they are contrary to God’s Word?

They have claimed to have given us the Bible and yet they do things and teach things that defy what Christ and the Apostles taught us. Why would they do this?

The priests, in the form of penance and in other aspects of Catholic tradition, have us praying to Mary. Why? Didn’t Jesus in Matthew 6:6 tell us to pray to the Father directly? He never told us to pray to dead saints, or to Mary, but to the Father in Heaven only.

There is no scripture verse that tells us that Jesus passed out rosary beads to His Apostles and then to have them pray to His earthly and human mother, Mary. She is not the Mother of God, as God had no beginning nor had parents. Mary, or the Catholic version of her, is not omnipresent, omniscient, nor omnipotent. She is not God. She cannot be everywhere at all times, she is not all knowing as to when people are praying to her, nor all powerful to be able to answer and change circumstances in one’s life.

Roman Catholicism has grossly distorted the Mary of the Bible. Jesus is our Lord, not Rome. Jesus tells us to pray to the Father; Rome says Mary. Jesus is our only mediator; Rome tells us that Mary is His Co-Redeemer. The Bible tells us to pray to God for intercession; Rome teaches that Mary intercedes on our behalf.

So, do we follow Christ and His teachings or do we follow man and their false beliefs? The fingerprints of the adversary are all over the false doctrines that emanate from Rome.

The question comes down to: Whom do we follow? Whose path is correct? What or who will lead us in the correct path to salvation?

Roman Catholicism puts forth their plan of salvation that, in the end, cannot even assure salvation. One is baptized as an infant into their system; attends weekly mass to receive Jesus physically in the form of a wafer; confesses one’s sins to a “father” and he absolves us of those sins by paying a penance.

Scripture tells us in Mark 2:7: “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

And why pay a penance? Didn’t Christ pay the penalty for all my sins on the cross? Did He come up short and I have to pay for the rest?

Rome points us to the pope, to the priests, to the sacraments, to a wafer, to Mary, to Purgatory, to statues, and to everything else other than Jesus Christ for our salvation.

There is no doubt that the devil has been very involved with the formation and grooming of Roman Catholicism over the centuries. They defy God at every instance in their litany of false doctrine and point repeatedly to a false system of worship rather than in Jesus Christ to save us.

I was aghast at what I used to believe in as a child and young adult growing up in the Roman Catholic system. It wasn’t until the Lord opened my eyes, I discovered His Word, and Jesus came into my life, that I could see how wrong Romanism is. It is pseudo-Christianity. They have all the appealing things on the outside to draw in the ignorant to their system – ignorant of the truth of God’s Word, that is.

It isn’t until we receive Christ into our lives that He gives us eyes to see and His Holy Spirit for discernment. They have a false gospel of works, a false Jesus in the form of a wafer, a false version of Mary, and they offer no assurance of salvation.

They claim, after one spends their whole earthly life in the Roman Catholic system and then untold decades, centuries, eons – they don’t even know – in a fictitious place called Purgatory to purge any leftover sins that Christ couldn’t cover, the priests couldn’t absolve, and the penitent couldn’t atone for – even after all that, for one to claim that they are saved is committing the sin of presumption. What?! After a lifetime of that, in their system, they still don’t know if they are saved, and one sins by claiming otherwise? What a corrupt, bankrupt system! Why put one’s faith in that?

Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Forsake the false religious systems; and yes, Roman Catholicism is a false religious system.

Put your trust in Christ, not in a religious system. God’s Word tells us we have assurance of our salvation by the atonement of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 5:12-13 we read:

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

Is it that important for you Roman Catholic friends to belong to their church with their false doctrines, their false system of worship, with their lifetime plan of salvation, to only end up in a Christ-less eternity? Is it that important to defy God by their practices only to wind up forfeiting everything for a bankrupt system? What is the attraction in belonging to an organization that misleads their adherents in a plan that offers zero assurance of ever making it to Heaven?

Is it the eye candy of the cathedrals with their ornate furnishings, the stained-glass windows, the gold statue of Jesus hanging on a cross, the nicely painted figurines of Mary showing her “sacred” heart, or the gold monstrance keeping their Jesus confined behind a glass window? Is it the pope dressed in his dazzling white cassock, riding around in his pope mobile, or the cardinals dressed up in their purple and scarlet attire? Is it the relics, the bones, the incense, the statues, the wafers, the candles burning to Mary, and all of the rest of the fleshly appealing things that they have to offer?

Is it more important for you to embrace all of those substitutes that they have beguiled people with over the centuries than to have a right relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son?

Nowhere in the entire Bible does it say that the Roman Catholic church is the means of salvation, nor are they God’s One True Church. It is all a façade, all a sideshow, replete with false teachings and a false system of salvation. It is the Devil’s masterpiece of deception—a “Christian” church that has so much to offer, except for the true means of salvation through Christ alone.

They continually deny the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement for all of our sins by the issuing of penances to pay for one’s sins, and then by their dogma of a place called Purgatory. They deny that Christ alone is our mediator and instead point to Mary as well, even though she didn’t go to the cross for us. Their mass utterly rejects Christ’s one time sacrifice on the cross, and instead offers a bloodless sacrifice over and over on their altars.

They present a false gospel of works through Mass and the sacraments instead of Christ’s gospel of grace that cannot ever be worked for. They present a false Mary that they claim never sinned, but the true biblical Mary acknowledged her need for a savior. They present a false Christ that is ingested in the form of a wafer versus the true Christ who takes up residence in our spirits when we invite Him into our lives.

What is so appealing with believing in a false gospel, a false Mary, a false Christ, and ultimately a false plan of salvation? Is it really that important to you to embrace all of that and then miss out on an eternity with Christ in Heaven?

Do not put your trust in a false religious system. Please follow what a lot of former Roman Catholics have done, like myself.

Their religion cannot save you. You must flee their clutches, their bondage system, and embrace God’s plan of salvation. Only Christ can save, and He is waiting with open arms.

“Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

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