It has been a few years since the new Roman Catholic Pope Francis was elected to lead their church, and the “god of this world” (Satan) has not been disappointed, and everything is going according to his plan. The minds of millions remain blinded to the truth of the gospel, and Satan is very pleased with that.
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)
The principalities and powers of darkness must be amazed, at how easy it has been for them in these last days, as they barrel forth with their “doctrines of devils” and meet with little resistance.
The Jewish apostle Paul knew what it was like to live in religious deception, until he was delivered out of that darkness by the awesome power of Jesus Christ. I thank the Lord for saving that man and using him for his own glory. Who but the Lord could take a man who formerly persecuted and killed Christians, turn him around, and have him preach the same faith which he once destroyed? (Acts 9:21, Galatians 1:23) So listen up to the warning that Paul gave almost two thousand years ago:
Now the SPIRIT speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and DOCTRINES of DEVILS; (1 Timothy 4:1)
I was raised as a Roman Catholic, and I was even an altar boy as a young man. I was baptized as an infant, received my confirmation, attended a Catholic parochial school and high school, but I did not know the Lord. I was religious but lost. During the 1970s and 80s I had an insatiable desire to search for the truth, which lasted for quite some time. I met my wife Cathy in December of 1980, and we got married in July of 1981. I continued to search for truth and I convinced Cathy to attend a one night mind control seminar with me so that I might improve my memory. During the free class the teacher forgot what day it was, and that just struck my funny bone, because I was there to improve my memory. I could not stop laughing to the point of tears, but I believe the Lord protected me because the teacher had just asked everyone in the class to empty their minds. Cathy just looked at me and began to laugh also, and we both felt uncomfortable with that whole thing.
In the mid 1980s we began attending Roman Catholic charismatic healing Masses, and that continued for close to three years. We were hungry for the truth, and the charismatic masses were more lively than the “regular” Mass. We used to encourage others to come along with us, which they did, and as I look back now, I am sorry that they did. Very often the Rosary would be continually prayed during the healing part of the service, which could last for several hours. The rosary is a set of beads, with each bead representing a prayer, which were mainly “Hail Mary” prayers.
On one occasion the Catholic priest walked around the church sprinkling “holy water” on the congregation, and we were sitting right near the front of the church as he took the brass wand, dipped it into the bucket of “holy water” and let it fly toward us. There was a young lady sitting directly behind us who immediately crashed down into the hard wooden pew, and was literally knocked out cold. I kept looking behind me, and I was amazed at what I just saw. It was quite a while before she sat up again. We thought that this was the work of the Holy Spirit at the time, but we were deceived.
Cathy joined a small charismatic prayer group at a nearby church, and she wanted me to go with her, but I did not want to go. I eventually visited that group as well as another charismatic prayer group at another church. Cathy was set to be “installed” as a Roman Catholic Eucharist minister, which means that she would be able to dispense the Catholic Communion Wafer Host to other Roman Catholics. On the day that she was set to be “installed” she got very sick and could not go. As we look back now we knew that it was the Lord who was watching over us.
During that time we heard that the “Virgin Mary” was said to be “appearing” over in Medugorje, Yugoslavia and we became very interested in that. Some of the people in the charismatic prayer groups came back from trips over there, and they shared their experiences with us. Some of them showed us their rosary beads, and said that the chain which held the beads changed from a silver color to a gold color while they were there! We were WOWED by everything that we heard! We started buying different videos about the apparitions at Medugorje, and we handed out literature also. That lasted for quite some time also.
In late 1988 we began attending a non-denominational church in NYC, and we began to hear the word of God preached. The first thing I noticed was that the guy in the pulpit was wearing a suit and a tie, and no vestments. I looked around the theatre and I saw no statues either. That puzzled me because that is what I was used to when I went to “church.” Sometimes we would go to Mass in the morning and attend the service at this church at night. The Lord was drawing us by his Spirit, even though we did not realize it at that time.
Cathy began to read the Bible regularly and she began to see that the scriptures contradicted the messages that were coming forth from “Mary” over in Medugorje, Yugoslavia. She told me one day that “Medugorje” could not be true because it contradicted the word of God. She would try to get me to listen to her but I resisted her for at least a few weeks. One day she came downstairs with four typewritten pages and she asked me to read them, she was crying as she said that. Something just prompted me to listen to her that day, and I told her that I would pray about it. (But I just said that to sound spiritual). We had bought one of those Bibles that have a one year reading plan, and one day I said to Cathy “I want a real Bible with verses from Genesis to Revelation” so I went out and bought me a King James Bible. I started to read the gospel according to John one day when the whole thing came together for me. I knew that Jesus Christ was real and that he came down from Heaven. I knew that Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh and that he suffered severe persecution before he was killed on the cross. I knew that he rose from the dead. But the most important thing was that I KNEW that he did it for ME! I can tell you that I felt the presence of God that day, and it does not matter to me if a person does not believe that you can feel the presence of God. I knew it, and I felt the LOVE of God toward me. It was the TRUTH of God’s word that set me free.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
I could not put the Bible down and I would spend hours reading the word of God. I felt like a little kid in a candy store as I studied the scriptures for myself for the first time in my life. I remember talking to people who I previously spoke to about the appearances of “Mary” and I told them to forget everything I told them about Mary. It was just JESUS CHRIST and nobody else. Cathy and I emptied our home of all the “religious” trinkets such as the rosary beads, crucifixes and other such things, and we discarded them.
Over the years there have been many valleys, and there have been many mountaintop experiences also, and the Lord has kept us through it all. I have shared this testimony with you so that you might know when I speak against the false doctrines of Rome, I am doing it because the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who SAVED me and gracefully rescued me from that gross deception, with his strong right hand of salvation! I LOVE the precious souls within the Catholic system, but I HATE their false gospel!
There are millions who are being told in this day and age that the Roman Catholic church is just another Christian denomination, and I am telling you that it is not. I am telling you that you are dealing with principalities and powers of darkness that have one goal in mind, and that is the precious souls within that system. That is it! The same principalities and powers that thwart true Christians every day 24/7 are using the false teachings of Rome to their work. They do not care how they do it, as long as they do it. Those principalities and powers have been able to seduce millions into their way of thinking for many years now, and it is getting to the point where it is downright scary. The well known Pastor/Author Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life) requested prayer that the Roman Catholic Cardinals might make the right choice for their Pope before they elected Jorge Bergoglio to be their Pope. Things are even worse than you think. May the Lord have mercy on the modern day famous “evangelists”, and media hungry ministers, who remain silent about these things! I am glad that we can still laugh because we have the joy of the Lord through all of these things.
I want you to remember this. Rome still teaches and believes that they are the one TRUE church and that is their official doctrine. Her main goal is to have total “Christian Unity” under her wing, and under her Pope one day. Rome still teaches that the Roman Catholic Mass satisfies the justice of God for sins committed against him. So in other words when the Roman Catholic Priest performs the Mass, the justice of God is being satisfied. That is their official teaching, and that is what I grew up with also. You can find that in the New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (Lesson 27 item #4, page 173) which has the Catholic Imprimatur, which means that Rome declares it to be their Official doctrine. That Catholic Mass is not only for the LIVING people but it is also for the DEAD people who are in PURGATORY, a place that is not anywhere to be found in the scriptures. Jesus Christ, the “way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6) spoke about light or darkness, salvation or damnation , and Heaven or Hell!
That ONE FALSE DOCTRINE of the CATHOLIC MASS alone is enough to make it a FALSE GOSPEL, and it is the obligation of Pastors to WARN their congregations about these things. Why? Because there is more than a good chance that their congregants have friends, family or relatives who are Roman Catholics.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9)
I will not go into great detail but Rome teaches that a person is born again into the church when they are baptized as an infant. I was baptized as an infant, but I was not truly born again UNTIL the Lord dealt with me through the word of God, which is his chosen means of evangelism.
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)
The Roman Catholic Church preaches a false gospel, because they have allowed their own man-made traditions to strangle out the truth of the scriptures. The light of God’s word reveals the cancer of the darkness which lurks within. The Catholic church declares that their sacred tradition, Sacred scripture, and the Magisterium (Catholic teaching office) are so connected that one of them cannot stand without the others. (Catholic Catechism 1994, item#95) Not only that but the Roman Catholic church still has over 100 curses (anathemas) against people who hold beliefs contrary to their own false teachings. Those curses (anathemas) were instituted at the Council of Trent, and upheld by Vatican Council II. Do not be deceived folks, and remember that the Lord Jesus Christ SAVED me out of that deceptive system!
The truth of the matter is that the word of God CAN stand alone, and the many martyrs who were slain by Rome are a testimony to that. People such as Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Huss, John Wycliffe and many others have paved the way so that we might have a Bible in our hands today. The millions, including myself, and my wife Cathy, who have been SAVED out from the Roman Catholic system are a testimony to that.
The word of God is the sword of the Spirit and he will guide us into all truth by using that same word. He has done it for countless millions, and he will do it for you too!
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Ephesians 6:17)
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)