First Seal:The White Rider Part 2

                Last week we talked about exactly who the white rider is. We also talked about one of the many possible suspects of who this white rider is. Today I would like to expand on this a little more. It is not my intent that you believe the LDS church is, by itself the anti-Christ. There are many factors at play here, many dangerous spiritual beliefs that actually open the way for the anti-Christ to rise to power.

                Remember what I said last week, how Jesus warned that there would be many who come in His name claiming that they are the Christ. The suspect I would like to talk about next is a man who boldly claims he is the “Vicar of Christ.”[i]

            It is the Catholic belief that the Pope stands in the place of Jesus until the return of Jesus. In the mind of the Catholic faith, he is the head of all Christian churches and he will unite the world into one religion in which he Pope is the head. There is a danger in this ecumenical movement. This idea of joining all Christian faiths under the Catholic banner has taken on a new life and has even penetrated bible believing Christians who would otherwise reject most Catholic doctrine as heretical.  [ii] But instead bit by bit protestants accept more and more of the church doctrine.

How far douse this world acceptance go? Well, consider the source. This is the official stance of the Catholic Church on religions that do not teach Jesus as the only way to salvation.

“Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.”[iii]
            In other words, it is the Catholic stance that broad is the way that leads to salvation and narrow is the way that leads to destruction. Jesus took the opposite stance.
“ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
                Also see Mat.7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
                This belief that all roads lead to heaven is dangerous. Not just because it leads souls into Hell but it also prepares the way for the anti-Christ to establish his world religion worshiping the beast of the sea. Don’t think this will have momentum among protestants? Consider this video of Billy Graham.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axxlXy6bLH0 Start really paying attention around 1:18. Did you hear what Billy Graham said? “Muslim world, Buddhist world or Christian worlds all are members of the body of Christ because they all have been called by God.”Billy Graham is a well known evangelist in the Christian faith, and now he is asserting that for all intents and purposes that the blood of Christ was unnecessary. Upon further study we find a Catholic connection in his past were he in endorsed by the Catholic Church, speaks at their universities, and was a friend to Pope John Paul II.[iv]

The Vatican is not the only ones perpetuating this broad idea of all paths leading to God, many religions have been proclaiming this stance for years. But what makes the Catholic Church unique is its worldwide influence. Vatican city is among the wealthiest cities in the world and is the only city with that kind of authority which is also a city ruled by a religion. Let’s look at some recent news that illustrates just how much power the Catholic Church has.

I have been praying for my brothers and sister in Christ who live in China. You see, over the last Easter several Christians were arrested for practicing their faith.  [v] However, the group that seems to be oddly not persecuted is a group that is distinctly Catholic.[vi]

The point is this. The one world religion is essential to the coming anti-Christ. It is the goal to unite the world spiritually, so that when he rises to power the world will accept him as the only god.

“ So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4
                To sum up, be wary of the white rider. He will look innocent, he will come from strife, and he will conquer the world. There is much more to this rider that I have not yet gotten to, but we will come back to him. You will see his hand all over the place as we delve deeper into Revelation. In the mean time brothers and sisters be mindful, wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

[i] Catechism of the Catholic Church #882 http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#882

[ii] http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/Mark_Wordfroms/manews0083.shtml starting paragraph 11

[iii] http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html

[iv] Smoke Screens by Jack Chick Ch.8 http://www.chick.com/reading/books/153/153_08.asp

[v] http://www.christianpersecution.info/index.php?view=10208

[vi] http://efpastormeritus.blogspot.com/2011/06/chinas-national-patriotic-church-to.html

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