Is The Pope The AntiChrist？

Our Bible study. We're coming to our next Bible study. Part 15 that we dealt with a week or two ago was concerning, will the Antichrist be a Muslim? But I want to move on here tonight to, is the Pope the Antichrist? I definitely don't deal with controversial issues, I can assure you, but I want to take you to scripture tonight, reading from Daniel chapter seven. Daniel chapter seven. As we continue with this series, we're not dealing with this to be controversial or to provoke a reaction. Absolutely not. I wouldn't want to do that. I wouldn't want to waste my time. I've almost never spent time critiquing things and messages. This is utterly unique that I'm critiquing the Islamic Antichrist and now asking this question tonight. So please don't think I have any other motive than feeling a necessity. Because listen to me, if I give you a description of a person and it's not accurate and you're waiting on that person and the description I gave does not match, it's so vague or so contrary to the person you're waiting for, you're going to be looking in all the wrong directions. And I assure you, if people are waiting for an Islamic Antichrist and yet he's not going to rise from Islam, you're going to be missing a hundred things that are happening, which are the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. That's why I'm dealing with this here tonight. And we're going to ask the question, will the Antichrist be the Pope or will the Pope be the Antichrist? Daniel chapter seven, reading first from verse seven to verse eight. After this, I saw in the night vision and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and breaking pieces and it stamped the residue with the feet of it. And it was diverse from all the beasts that went before it. And it had 10 horns. I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man and a mouth speaking great things. Then down to verse 19, then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others exceed and dreadful whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass, which devoured breaking pieces and stamped the residue with his feet. And of the 10 horns that were in his head and of the other, which came up and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that speak very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. Then last of all, just one last verse, verse 25, and he shall speak great words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the most high and think to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and at times and the dividing of times. Let's just pray here tonight. Father, we do love you. We exalt you. We thank you that even here as we gather, we know that the written scriptures carry absolute authority, no decree, no command by any church, by any Pope, by any Cardinal, nor God by no church committee. It's your word that has absolute authority and we judge all things by the written scripture. Lord God, that is the only rule for faith. That is the only test of every spirit, every doctrine of every lifestyle and Lord God, we thank you for the supreme authority of the written scripture that everything must submit itself to the truth written in this precious book that you've given us. Thank you for the headship of Jesus Christ that we as a church have only one head. We have only one sovereign Lord who speaks, who dictates, who rules, who has absolute authority over the church of Jesus Christ. We love you, Lord Jesus, that it's you that we look to for forgiveness of sins. You are the only high priest over our salvation. You're the only one who can forgive us. You're our only intercessor. It's only in your name that we pray and it's only in you that we have salvation. We thank you that on the cross you made one sacrifice for sin never to be repeated. You laid down your life, shed your blood, you atoned for sin. Nothing can be added to that. Lord God, nothing can be improved on the one sacrifice you made and we love you tonight, Lord Jesus. I thank you. My sins are forgiven. I thank you. I have a high, great high priest at the right hand of the father, whoever maketh intercession for the saints. We love you and Lord God, tonight I pray make Christ to be the center of this message even as we deal with other things. Don't let us lose our vision of Christ. Let us see Christ preeminent in all things. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. My message here tonight is, is the Pope the Antichrist? As we said, we've done 14 messages expounding the book of Daniel. The last time we dealt with Islam and now we're going to deal with the Pope or the papacy in the Catholic church. These messages have been added as an appendix purely to bring clarity because these are such live issues of those that are listening, the messages and what is going on in the church today. Last time as we looked at the Islamic Antichrist, we noted that there is a difference between the Antichrist being an Arab and being a Muslim. There's a big difference in that. You say, I believe he will be an Arab, but I do not believe he will be a Muslim. I want you to understand that those that teach the Islamic Antichrist, I agree with much that they teach. I'm very thankful for much that they teach, but I disagree that the Antichrist and his religion will be Muslim or Islamic. I totally disagree. We showed that last time. We mentioned how Shubhat, one of the teachers concerning this, became a radical Catholic in the year 2014. No wonder he wanted to take the spotlight off the Pope and off the Catholic church because he himself was a closet Catholic or someone moving towards a very radical Catholic view. Today, he still preaches the Islamic Antichrist and mocks the idea that Catholicism could have anything to do with deception in the last days. We already said that Islam has 1.8 billion people in the world who are members or associated with it. That is 24% of the world's population. We said that in Ezekiel's war that is soon to take place, that Islam is going to fall on the mountains of Israel. I believe that's going to be a momentous event that's going to open the way for an evangelizing of Muslims, as well as for the rise of Antichrist. Here tonight, let me go to and ask the question, is the Pope the Antichrist? Some may think that such a question or idea or even a suspicion that the Pope or the papacy could be the Antichrist. They could think it's old-fashioned, out of date. In this ecumenical era that we live in, everybody is a brother. We accept all churches and we have exalted love above doctrine, that we would simply talk about our Catholic brothers and sisters. After all, at Vatican II, which finished in 1964, surely the Vatican changed, the Catholic Church changed, it became open, it became more doctrinal, it allowed guitars and speaking in tongues. So surely it must be more biblical and more correct. Let's look tonight at this question and we will look at a wide spectrum on this. If you look at the Catholic Church, it has 1.3 billion members. A lot of them may be bad members, but they are still officially considered members. That is 18% of the world's population, or almost one out of five people will even in a secular sense be considered Catholic in our world. So this is a major thing we're asking here tonight. It's not a small issue, it's major. If we're Bible Christians and if we're looking at Bible prophecy, almost 40% of all Catholics actually live in South America and the Catholic Church is growing fastest within Africa. The Holy See, or what is called the Holy See in the Catholic Church, is the official government of the Catholic Church and it is headed up by a person called the Pope or an institution called the Papacy. Vatican City State is a country, a nation within our world. It has only a population of, now listen carefully, 825 people. It has to be the smallest nation state in the world and yet its citizenship is far larger. Every single Catholic has dual citizenship with this small Vatican City State. Every Catholic in the world is a citizen of Vatican City. It's considered a nation, a country, a government, a function and political system, and yet it's the base, the headquarters of a religion. It is the home of one of the biggest religions in the world. So we don't discount it. We recognize that the Catholic Church, that the papacy is a very powerful thing and if we're living in the last hour of the fulfilling of prophecy, where does it fit in? Is it part of the bride? Is it a false harlot church? Is it going to be for the Antichrist or against the Antichrist? We ought to ask these questions. In the year 1871, the Holy See, its government, had only 16 foreign diplomats. By 1929, it had 27 foreign diplomats. By the year 1985, it had diplomats or diplomatic relations with 53 different countries. I'm somewhere here, but by 2013, look at the change over 150 years. By 2013, it was exchanging diplomats with 180 nations in the world. The Catholic Church and the papacy has never been as strong politically, religiously, and numerically as it is tonight. Never has it been so strong. These people, diplomats, are called nunisios. They carry more power and influence than any other secular diplomat from any country in the world, whether it be America or China or Britain or Ireland. They have extraordinary power and they're appointed by the Pope and immediately after finishing as a diplomat, they become an archbishop. They are some of the best informed men on the nation of the world. Imagine having diplomats that went out to all these 180 plus nations. Within each one of those nations, you have a large percentage within that country that adhere to you as a religion. We see that these diplomats are religious, but they're also political. They have an entire people within each nation who are faithful to them and will feed them information. In fact, they have a loyalty to the people state. It is a remarkable institution, no matter what you think about it. Let's look at some of these recent Popes. Pope Pius XII, who was the Pope during the Second World War. Let me just say, he was also a supporter initially of Mussolini, Hitler, and other tyrants that began to rise at that time. I've recorded elsewhere where Pius actually commended Hitler and encouraged him after he invaded Austria, after he was on the march for world power. Pius was in there putting his stamp of blessing. Do you know the papers he signed agreements with Hitler, Mussolini, and going back to Napoleon, all these great political tyrants that have arisen. Just trace back and you'll find that Rome has always signed legal agreements with them. It's a very political institution, and yet it's a very religious institution. But do you know since Pope Pius XII in the Second World War, he began to promote and support European federalism, or unification. But not only that, as a Pope after the war, he began to support the idea that the entire world ought to become a federal state under one power. He was a great supporter of the UN when it was formed in 1945. In fact, he suggested that an international, super national institution would be invaluable for world peace. He also believed that such an institution should receive, and listen to this, this is what the Pope of the Second World War said, that this institution should receive supreme power to act without the constraint of national governments. Do you know since the Second World War, every single Pope in Rome has been a supporter of a world government. In 1964, the Holy See, the government of Rome, was granted observer status at the United Nations. In 1964, her UN status was not only confirmed in 2004, but it was strengthened. Do you realize no other religion has an ambassador at the UN? The Catholic Church is the only religious institution that will be represented in the United Nations, and her power recognized. Each Pope since Pius XII has given wholehearted support to the United Nations, and as a result, the UN has invited each Pope to address its Parliament, straight the way down to Pope Francis. Now Pope Francis is the Green Pope. He is the Pope of the New World Order. He is actually 100% behind the Great Reset, and all that is happening in our world, climate change, the green change, all of this wealth redistribution, he's a great supporter. So we see the loyalty of all these men. Don't tell me it's not important to ask this question tonight, whether the Pope is the Antichrist or not. Don't tell me it's not an important question. It's a vital question, because it's one of the most remarkable political religious systems on our earth, and we are in the last days, and we need to know where it fits in. Pope Paul VI in the year 1967, listen to what he stated. Amazing. I could give you hundreds of these quotes that would shock you tonight, but he stated in 1967, the right to private property is not absolute and unconditional, and the public authorities, in other words, governments, could intervene in private ownership for the greater good of all. Then Pope John Paul, who was one of the most liked of all popes, like previous popes, he called for international law. Be very careful. When international law comes, it will not be a good thing. These men want it. So he called for international law to manage world affairs and wealth redistribution. John Paul's funeral on the 8th of April 2005 turned out to be the largest gathering of international statesmen outside of the UN in world history. There were four kings, five queens, and at least 70 presidents and prime ministers there at his funeral. It was remarkable, utterly astounding. If we begin to look at the pope, the papacy, the religious system, if we test it by scripture, we begin to find that the pope is actually called the vicar of Christ. The word vicar means to be in place of, and in fact many people have pointed out it is the word for antichrist, the vicar of Christ, to stand in the place of Christ in the earth. That is one of his names, one of his titles. He claims to stand in the position or in the place or to represent Christ on the earth. What is the antichrist? Antichrist doesn't always mean to be against. The word antichrist also means to stand in the place of, to take up the position of. He also claims to be the head, the only head on the earth of the worldwide catholic church. My bible tells me that Jesus is the only head of the church on earth or in heaven, and yet here we have one of the most ancient, long-running, respected institutions on the earth with its leader, the pope, claiming to be the head of maybe one-fifth of the world's population to represent this religious system. When you begin looking at catholic doctrine, it didn't become more broad and open at Vatican II. It actually intensified its doctrines. Its doctrines are worse than at the time of the reformation. They still claim to have power to forgive sins. They still add works to grace as a means of salvation. The mass that each pope, that catholic priest in each city and town across the world performs almost daily, the mass is an abomination. If you look at their teaching, they believe that Christ is sacrificed afresh in the mass. They believe he dies afresh, his blood is shed afresh, that this is his body and his blood. They believe that. That is an abomination and a denial of Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross. They say prayers to Mary, yet Jesus said, he taught them, he said, don't even pray to me. When you pray, pray to your father in heaven. It's a denial of Christ's teaching. They also pray to saints. It is filled with idolatry. One of the commands is don't bow down, don't make an image, yet they do that. It's all through Catholicism. They have enforced celibacy of the priesthood. Immorality has spread through their institution. We've seen it here in Ireland, the abuse in monasteries, nunneries of a young generation in our world. Everyone knows it to be true. And also if you go back into history, you'll find that the Catholic church was one of the land faiths in all of history. Just Google, look up the donation of Constantine. It was exposed in the year 1516 and now they would never stand with it. But that document, the donation of Constantine was used to steal nations, lands, states of governments and peoples for many hundreds, several hundreds of years. I assure you, this is massive what we are looking at. Now here tonight, I want just for a moment to look at a teaching that's called historicism. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it, don't know about it, but historists actually teach that the Pope is the Antichrist. In fact, let me go further, that the papacy from the first Pope straight through to Francis, not one individual man, but the man, the person, the office, this position of the Pope is the Antichrist. Now I'm going to tell you which men believed this throughout church history. These were not flakes. They were not foolish people, but often there were men that were part of the system, got saved in the midst of it and suffered at its hands. Now historians, what do they believe? It's not as popular today, but I believe it will have something of a reviving in our day. What do they believe? When you go to the book of Daniel, they actually believe the four empires, just like what we've taught in this series. And they believe that the fourth one is Rome, the Roman empire. They also believe in the teaching from Daniel. What they teach is that when Rome fell, that it was going to be divided into 10 nations, 10 kings, 10 nations were going to rise up after the fall of Rome. And that after those 10 nations rise up, that a man called the Pope, the papacy, the Antichrist, who was going to have his base in the city of Rome, he was going to rise up. And for a thousand years, this institution of the papacy, all different men coming one after the other, but that institution would be the little horn of Daniel's prophecy that we read about in Daniel seven. They actually have taught on men all through church history for a thousand years have taught that the little horn was the Antichrist, who is the Pope at each individual time, and that the papacy would continue until Jesus returned physically to the earth. They didn't believe he was the Antichrist, was an individual man, but a succession of man or the papacy. They also taught in the book of Revelation that the seven churches were seven church ages, which covered all of church history and Thyatira was the greatest era of the Catholic church. And so they fit all this in. Now, let me tell you some of the men, only a few of the men who actually taught this that I've just told you, that the Pope, according to Daniel, is the little horn. Who are some of those that believed it? John Wycliffe of England, who came out of the Catholic church, taught the Pope was the Antichrist. He was before the Reformation. Savonarola, a Catholic priest in Italy, taught the Antichrist was, or sorry, the Pope was the Antichrist. Martin Luther from Germany taught it. John Calvin of France, John Knox of Scotland, William Tyndale, who was one of the great translators of our English Bible. He was an Englishman. He taught that. The translators of the King James Bible believed the Pope was the Antichrist. Sir Isaac Newton, that great thinker of England, he believed it as well. John Bunyan from Bedford, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, he believed this. So did Matthew Henry, the great commentator. John Wesley, who raised up the Methodist movement, he taught this as well. George Whitefield, that great revival preacher. Albert Barnes, the commentator. A.J. Gordon, a preacher from America, a great missionary ambassador, he taught it. J.C. Ryle, an English Anglican, he taught it. C.H. Spurgeon, the English Baptist, he taught it. Hudson Taylor, the missionary to China, he taught it. D.L. Moody, the evangelist from America, he believed it. Now I've got you all worried. You'll be beginning to think, should we be believing this? And also H.G. Guinness, who was a great evangelist from Ireland of the Guinness family. He was a great revivalist and in 1859 revival in Northern Ireland, he was far greatly more used than even Spurgeon. They said he was a far greater preacher and he's seen tens of thousands turn to the Lord. A.B. Simpson, the great missionary in America, he taught that the Pope was the Antichrist, the papacy. And also, down to more recent times, Martin Lloyd-Jones also taught it, a great expositor of the Bible. Now we know that the Reformation began with Luther and all of the, some of these other men and new churches raised up, they all believed. The Presbyterians, the Reformation churches, all of these new churches began to believe this. They taught it wholeheartedly and they began to be called Protestants. Now Protestants doesn't mean that they protest. Everyone thinks it means that. It doesn't mean that at all. Do you realize the founders, the first Protestants, if you go back and trace all the founding leaders, all the first Protestants who taught this, they actually were first Catholic priests. They were born into Catholicism. Their families for generations have been in it. They grew up in it. They ministered in it. They become Catholic priests in it. They knew it. But you know what? God saved them out of it in a mighty, mighty way. Many spiritual movements in history have believed the Pope as the Antichrist. The ancient Valdensians who were all across Italy and France and Europe prior to the Reformation, they believed this. The Hussites in Bohemia before the Reformation, they believed it. The Lollards all across England, they believed it. So it's not a new teaching. It is a widespread teaching and certainly was very strong from the year 1200. After the Reformation, the Puritans almost all believed it. The Covenanters of Scotland almost all believed it. The Baptists straight down to the early Pentecostal revival. All the great missionary movements of the 18th and 19th century. All the great revivals straight up to the Welsh revival. The leaders believed in this doctrine. And so it's a very remarkable thing that we're dealing with. Even in the year 1988, lest you think it's just an old-fashioned thing. In 1988, and I remember this clearly, and you can watch it on YouTube, Pope John Paul II was the first religious leader to address the European Parliament at Strasbourg. That's the man they chose, John Paul. As he stood to speak, he was just about to begin his speech. In the background, a old-fashioned street preacher rose up and you could hear his voice booming out. It was I.R.K. Paisley, an MP from Northern Ireland, but also an old-fashioned preacher. And do you know what? He was shouting, crying out. See, he was a member of the Parliament. In fact, he had the highest European vote of any politician that was in that Parliament at that time. He had the highest vote, the most popular. And he was in there and he began to cry out, I denounce you, the Pope, as the Antichrist of Rome. And he kept pulling posters out. And as he snatched it off, he pulled another one out with it written upon him. Men immediately were upon him, punched him. The security guards removed him and the Pope smiled. It was like something out of the days of Luther or the Dark Ages, where an old-fashioned preacher stood up and denounced the Pope for what he was exposing him. While the idea of the people Antichrist has a very long and respectable history and much truth connected to it, I personally cannot agree with it. I wonder if I can, and the clock's against me, I can assure you already. But praise God, we're right in the midst of the screen now. But I want to show you, if I can, simply and briefly, if that's possible, why I do not believe this. I respect these men. I believe much that they taught, I would actually agree with. A bit like the Islamic Antichrist, there's a lot I can agree with, but not the fundamental issue that the Antichrist will be a Muslim. So it is with this, I agree with much that they stood for. Many of them suffered terribly. All the martyrs for a thousand years suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church. I have a high estimation, much that they preach taught, I agree with, but I believe they were wrong in saying that the Pope was the Antichrist or that the papacy fulfills the prophecies. I do not believe that. I believe there'll be a singular Antichrist who arises very shortly in our world, at the end of age, and he'll be here when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. So let me at least try and give you five points in this of why I do not believe the Pope is the Antichrist. Is he an Antichrist? Yes. Yes. But he's one of many Antichrists, but there is going to be one singular Antichrist. Now, why do I not believe this teaching of the historists that see this teaching and all of these great men of God who I highly respect down over church history and these spiritual movements that I've written about and talked about, why do I believe differently? How could these men have been wrong? My first point, and we're going to look at Daniel chapter seven here and my five points, we're going to look at what they believed. And I'm going to simply point out why I would disagree, why these great preachers and teachers, why I would differ from them. And you can decide for yourself. First of all, the fourth beast, the fourth beast, let's look at this, what they believed, what I believe and what you're going to have to decide the Bible teaches. It says in Daniel chapter seven, verse seven, and this I saw on the night visions and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and it break in pieces and it stamped the residue with the feet of it. And it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it. And it had 10 horns. Now the historists, these great men have taught this down over the years. Now I agree with them in this point that the fourth beast is the Roman empire. They taught and believed this without a doubt. They believed the same as us on the four empires, their identity, their rise and their fall. And like us, they believe the fourth beast is the Roman empire situated with its headquarters and the city of Rome with its Imperial leadership. We agree with them. They actually taught this, but concerning this fourth beast, they went a little further. Now, listen carefully what I'm going to say. It's a scripture you all know. Well, I'm sure it's from second Thessalonians chapter two, verse seven, talking about the revealing and the rise and the manifestation of Antichrist. Now listen this first and listen to how they interpret it or how they did in history. Second Thessalonians chapter two, verse seven. For the mystery of iniquity does already work from the days of Paul, the early church. It's already working. What is the mystery of iniquity? It's going to lead to the manifestation of the Antichrist. Only he who now let us will let until he be taken out of the way. This is all in the context of Antichrist, that there is something hindering him until it be taken out of the way. Do you know what they actually taught? They taught that this hindrance to the revealing of Antichrist was the Roman empire. That's what they believed. They believed holding back the mystery of iniquity, holding back the revealing of Antichrist was the Roman empire and that the Roman empire had a fall for Antichrist to arise. So they believed in history up until that point we agreed with them. But in saying that the Roman empire was going to fall and when it fell that the Antichrist was going to arise and it's been there in place since then. Now it's a beautiful teaching this because it was brilliant men studying it, praying over it, laboring over this and it's a remarkable teaching far better put together than Islamic Antichrist. The Islamic Antichrist has no traction on this when you begin to read it. But they believed the Caesar's imperial Rome was holding this back. In fact when Constantine the Great, the great Roman emperor who at the end of his days supposedly converted to be a Catholic Christian, he himself believed that a day was coming when the Roman empire was going to fall and that there was going to be 10 divisions and then Antichrist as an individual would appear. So Constantine the Great, that great emperor of the Roman empire, one of its greatest and last leaders, he actually believed that's why he unified the Roman empire. When he was a young man it was all divided, sometimes divided in four and he believed the Bible prophecy that said when it divided into 10 then Antichrist would come. So what did Constantine the Great try to do? He unified it. It was in four regions, he unified it down to two and then finally one. Why did he do that? Driving him was the thought that if he could unify the Roman empire and leave a united empire that Antichrist wouldn't arise soon. It was actually Christians taught him about Bible prophecy. They said 10 kings will arise, then a little horn, he would be a singular Antichrist that would bring tribulation against the saints and so Constantine the Great was scared of that ever happening in his day. Well after the death of Constantine the Great in the year 337 there was a steady and slow decline and a breaking apart and a disintegration of the Roman empire and especially the influence of the western half of the empire until Theodicius the first who died in the year 395 was the last emperor to rule over a united Roman empire, the last one over a united Roman empire in the year 395. After that the city of Rome and the Roman empire started to get attacked on their northern border. There were various Germanic, very aggressive, very military, very strong military wise with armies began to attack the northern border of the army. All of these Germanic tribes came one after another. There were the Franks, the Goths, the Huns, the Vandals. You may not have known that a Vandal was a tribe that came down against the Roman empire just wave upon wave upon wave. The Suevs, the Burgundies, there were various tribes swept in causing a decline of the western Roman empire and this all happened within a hundred year period. The great Roman empire began to disintegrate. You see all these men actually taught this. They believed these tribes were the ten kings. We're going to look at it shortly but in the year 401 Alaric, the first king of the Visigoths, he invaded Italy but he was defeated and held back but finally in the year 410 he sacked the city of Rome, invaded it, raped and pillaged for three long days as his people moved into the city of Rome. Do you realize in that year 410 it was the first time in 800 years that the Roman government had been subdued by a foreign force like this. It was called the fall of Rome or the beheading of Rome. This one act sent shockwaves across the entire Roman empire and the church. Then one generation later after this, or in fact two generations, the last emperor of the western empire. He was called Romulus Augustus. He was forced to abdicate in the year 476 by these other forces that come in. At the time he was a 15 year old boy and at that point he only ruled over Italy and the south of Gaul. He was forced to step down. He was forced to abdicate his position, his title and his position was abolished in that particular year. The man who came in was a Roman general of Germanic descent and blood and he appointed himself as the king of Italy but the imperial Rome was finished. Now here's where the historians, this is what they believe, that once Rome was removed then all these tribes arose and out of this arose the Catholic church, the papacy. As soon as the imperial political Rome was removed from Rome, from the city of Rome, when its power comes to an end, the papacy arose. Now they're absolutely right. They're absolutely right that these things actually began to happen but listen, why do I not believe that they're correct in their interpretation? Rome at this point did not divide into 10 regions, 10 nations or into 10 kings. Also here's another reason. At this point the eastern portion of the Roman empire based at Constantinople in Turkey, it continued for another thousand years so this was only the western portion. It did not divide into 10 and it was only the western section of it. This is what they don't acknowledge and I believe they've made a mistake. Also this first and second Thessalonians, listen carefully before I move to my second point, it says there in second Thessalonians concerning something being taken out of the way that antichrist will not come forth until something is taken out of the way. We know in our day most people, most bible teachers will say it's the holy spirit or it is the church, it is the rapture, it's the removal of the real church. They say it has to be taken out of the way in our day for antichrist to be revealed so they say the holy spirit is removed from the earth. This has been popular teaching using this verse here in second Thessalonians chapter 2. Only he who now let us will let until he be taken out of the way and they say very often that that's the holy spirit. I disagree and let me just prove it. I'm not going into this very deep but let me prove that it isn't the holy spirit. A simple look at the greek and you can do this after the you can go look in your Strong's Concordance, test it for yourself. You don't need to argue with me. It'll be proved if you simply look at the term taken out of the way. If you look at the greek, do you know what it means? It means to be birthed forth in the midst. It's not something being removed. It's something being birthed forth in the midst. That is the specific greek. In fact the word genitai here for to be taken out, taken out is the greek word genitai. It's used 600 times in the new testament and you never once does it mean the removal or the taken out of anything and actually doesn't. Now I believe we're going to be caught up to meet Jesus in the clouds. I believe that so don't get confused here but all I'm saying is this particular term does not teach about the removal of the holy spirit or the church being moved out of the way. It doesn't teach that. The word actually means to be birthed forth. It's to give birth. It's a term for a mother giving birth for a child. So what is it talking about? It's not talking about the removal of something. It's talking about the birth and forth of antichrist. So all of this is being held back. The mystery of iniquity is held back until this actually happens and if you go and look at vines or youngs or strongs this is going to be confirmed. Now they taught that this roman beast had to be removed. It had to be. The roman empire was what was withholding. I disagree with that and they believe it had to be. It was the only the roman empire holding back the rise of the antichrist who was to be the pope and also they even though they believe in the fall of the roman empire some of them at least believed in the healing of the wound. Remember the bible revelation talks about the wounding of the roman empire but the reviving of it. But that's my first point the fourth beast. The second point here the ten horns. So we're just looking at Daniel 7. First we have the fourth beast. So we see what they believe and what we believe. Then the second point here the ten horns. Look with me at Daniel 7 24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. If bible teachers and preachers just preach the text the word as it's written there'll be very few problems I can assure you. If we just if we rather than interpreting just preached it as as the words are. So again this second point the ten horns. Who do they these historists who all these great men through a thousand years who believed the pope was the antichrist. So what did they think the ten horns were? The roman empire falls. It's removed out of the way. Who did they think these ten horns were? Let me explain. They taught and still teach or explain that the ten horns or ten kings were ten germanic tribes that all arose outside of the roman empire but invaded against that northern border attacked the city of Rome. That's who these ten kings were. They were tribes. They weren't even nations. They were tribes. They were military groupings of germanic peoples. They came down and attacked Rome and they took over ground and invaded Italy and began to replace the old western roman empire. Notice not the east it was the western roman empire and to replace it. So they said first come the roman beast then arose these ten germanic tribes. These ten kings and then the little horn was going to arise after them and so they say this fulfills. It's not in the last days. It's not in the last three and a half years or the last seven years. It's not future but it's been in history. That's why we call them historists. They believe all this happened in history past. They would call me a futurist saying I believe the ten kings are yet to come. Yes I do. I believe this is the biblical teaching. So why do I disagree with them? It's look at this verse Daniel 7 24. It says that these ten kings will arise from within the roman empire. Look what it says in verse 24. Out of this kingdom. Which kingdom? The fourth beast. The roman empire. These ten kings are going to arise out of the roman empire. What do they teach? They teach that it's ten tribes coming. They teach it's ten tribes that arose and came from outside the empire, invaded it and then replaced it. But that isn't what Daniel teaches. Do you see how important it is to read little terms verses very carefully? And again if you go to the book of revelation chapter 13 verse 1 and we see the revival or the healing of the roman empire when it arises in the last days. And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns and upon the horns are ten crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Do you see when the roman empire when that political beast revives again its head gets healed and it revives again when we first see it arise. Do you know what? It has ten horns and they're ruling together and on these ten horns were ten crowns. In other words at the revival, the restoration of the roman empire, when it comes alive again you're actually going to see these ten kings. They're not in the history past. It's when Rome gets revived. Not only that Rome fell but Rome has to revive before you begin to see these ten horns. They cannot be in history because Rome has not been revived. It hasn't been healed. Its wound has not been healed yet. So we see that when we see this fourth beast it's going to have ten horns with crowns on each of those horns. They're going to reign together. When Rome revives her wound is going to be healed and there'll be ten kings ruling over that joint roman empire. Notice another thing here why I don't agree with them on these ten horns. It doesn't say nations does it? Do you know everyone who says about there's going to be ten nations arise. There's going to be ten nations in Europe. There's going to be ten nations in the world or in the middle east. The bible never says that anywhere. Not one verse. It never. It says ten horns and what does it say in this verse? The ten horns are the ten kings that shall arise out of this fourth empire. Out of this fourth beast or this fourth kingdom. It never says tribes. Never says kingdoms. Never says empires. Never says nations. What are they? They're ten kings that arise from within the revived roman empire. Not outside it. They are within it. They arise out of that political system. Notice as well these ten tribes become and in their teaching these ten tribes become ten nations of western Europe. France, Germany, England etc. This is what they teach. That all of these nations then they give their power. These ten kings, these ten nations then gave their power to the little horn who was the pope. They say that these nations still exist and still recognize the pope. Let me put another button here. This is only the western portion of the roman empire. They're ignoring the eastern part. Their ten tribes have become ten nations in western Europe but they're ignoring all the ground that used to be the roman empire. This would actually be a bit like if we went to Daniel chapter 2. Remember the image we saw and the two iron legs were the roman empire. It was the fourth kingdom on the earth. It would be a bit like only recognizing one of the legs. Totally ignoring one of the iron legs and therefore these teachers ignore Israel. It used to be part of the roman empire. Syria, Egypt, Turkey, other nations were a part of the roman empire but they ignore all of that and they only concentrate on ten nations within Europe. It would be a bit like putting the ten toes of the statue on one foot on one of the legs and I'm sure you wouldn't agree that would be very good. The man would fall over. If you go to wikipedia and always check it out. Don't just take verbatim everything wikipedia says but if you go there it gives a list of 45 germanic barbarian tribes that attacked the room at the end of its existence. 44. How do you pull out these 10? In fact everyone who teaches this gives 10 different names of 10 different tribes. They don't all agree. Also in Daniel's prophecy it says that when the little horn arises it will uproot three of these kings. Well they teach the historic teachers. It was the vandals, the ostagus and the hooli. You didn't even know who the hooli was. Now you know why we have a hooli and maybe named after some of these. I don't know. Please don't quote me on that but what they actually teach is that papal Rome destroyed those three peoples, those three nations. Actually there were five tribes that papal Rome come against in those days and yet there was all of these other two tribes. So and again one last point here before I move to my third point. If you look at Daniel chapter 2 the two feet of the statue are made of iron and clay and listen to what it says straight after. After it comes down to the feet and we see the stone coming from heaven to hit the toes of the feet made of iron and clay. Listen to verse 44 of Daniel 2. And in the days of these kings, talk about the feet, the toes. In the days of these kings, the ten, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. What happens in the days of those ten kings? In that generation, in that time period, Jesus will set up a physical kingdom upon the earth. How could it be in past history? How could it be these ten tribes that became ten European nations that suddenly gave rise to the papacy? How could that possibly be at all? You see, good men have taught this, that this was so. But how could it possibly be? My third point, the little horn. So we have the fourth beast, we have the ten horns, third of all the little horn. Going to Daniel 7 verse 8. I considered the horns and behold there came up among them another little horn before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots. It is very important to note that the Bible says here that the little horn arises amidst the ten horns. In other words, the ten horns are in place as the little horn arises. The ten horns are in the Roman beast, not outside it like they teach. And when those ten horns arise in this Roman beast, another little horn arises in the midst of them, among them, at the same time as them. And so we see here that this certainly did not happen with the papacy and the Frankish kings, the French or the Germanic kings, those original Frankish kings, did the Pope arise from within their system, within their nations, within their political structure? No, not at all. In fact, the papacy was there. The little horn, or what they call the little horn, the papacy didn't arise after these ten nations. We actually know from church history, the papacy was there in formation, arising, forming. It had already taken the titles of the Roman imperial room. It had taken their colors. It had taken their palace. It had taken their city of Rome. All of this, the bishops of Rome were already arising as papas, as papists. They were already arising before these ten Frankish kings arose with power in Europe. Notice another thing. A horn in Daniel always represents a single king or a single man. Do you remember on the Grecian empire, the first little horn, who was it? Alexander the Great. Horns in Daniel always represent individual men, not institutions. No, not at all. Never. Horns in Daniel, in the beasts, always mean individual men. We know the ten horns are ten distinct men. Also, the little horn is not a succession of popes. It's not an institution. It's not a position. It's not a title. The little horn does not represent the popes of a thousand years or 1,500 years. It cannot do. The little horn always represents a single man. Now, when we go to the New Testament, we realize that the word Antichrist is only used five times in the Bible. Of course, he's called many different names, but in the New Testament, five times the word Antichrist is used, only by John the Apostle, and only in his first and his second letter. It doesn't even get mentioned in Revelation. This is one of his greatest names, Antichrist, but also in Daniel 7, the little horn is another classic name for the Antichrist. Now, over in John's letters, in 1 John 2, verse 18, listen to what he says. Little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard, that Antichrist shall come. Even now, in John's day, there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. Do you see from that verse that John clearly states that now in his time, there were many Antichrists. So we understand Antichrist just isn't a term for one man at the end of age. There were Antichrists during the first century. In fact, there were many. And John writing here, he says this in his own generation. This is way before the rise of the papacy. This is before his death, just before the year 100. He says there are now many Antichrists, and that these many Antichrists were men in John's day who he could identify, who had gone forth out of the church. They used to be inside the church. They used to profess to be born again Christians. They rose up under the preaching of the apostles. But these men went out from the church. They denied Jesus Christ to come in the flesh, and they denied the Father. And they went out, and they become Antichrists. It's a very interesting definition of Antichrist. But he also prefaces this. He says something else here. He says about Antichrist shall come. Not only is there many Antichrists in his day, but he said Antichrist singular shall come. There's going to be one in the future who is called the Antichrist, a singular person. And John says he will come, and you've heard about him. The Old Testament predicts him. Daniel prophesies about him, the little horn, many other names, the Assyrian. There are many names for him. But what is John writing there? He says there are now many Antichrists, but there's going to come one. There's going to come a real Antichrist. The word Antichrist means to be opposite to, against, instead of, or to stand in the place of. It has the dual meaning of being opposed to, but taken the place of. It has both meanings. And so we begin to see that those who teach that the papacy was the little horn. I cannot agree with that. He was a single horn. He was a man. He was an individual. He had prophesied as the Antichrist who will come in the last days. Yes. I would have no problem saying the papacy is Antichrist and that the Popes were individually an Antichrist, but I do not believe that's a fulfillment of the little horn. Absolutely not. The little horn has never come, never arisen. There's been many Antichrists. There will be in our day, many Antichrists, but there's only going to be one little horn and he'll be an individual man who arises right at the end of time. Notice as well in Revelation 19, 20, that the beast is taken with the false prophet and thrown into hell. And again, in Revelation chapter 20, verse 10, the same thing is repeated. Do you realize only a person, an individual or an angel can be thrown in hell, not an institution. The papacy cannot be thrown into hell. The Antichrist, if he is all the Popes cannot be thrown into hell. An institution can be destroyed and burned and judged on earth. Babylon, the woman riding the beast can be destroyed. They're institutions. But you know what? The little horn, the Antichrist or the beast of Revelation, it actually says in Revelation 19 that he'll be taken with. How do I know the false prophet isn't just a institution and that it's a man? Is the false prophet a man or is a bigger movement in our world? It's a man. Both of them are men. How do I know that? Because they're taken and it says these both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. You see, I believe in a personal Antichrist who's going to come in the future at the end after the 10 kings, after the reviving of the Roman empire. He's going to be an individual, not a system, institution or a succession. It cannot be. He has to be an individual man. If he's going to be thrown into hell, fourth of all, let me just mention here the 1,260 days. We know that in Daniel 7, 25, it speaks about a time, times and dividing of time in connection with the little horn. It also speaks in Daniel and in Revelation several times about this same time period, a period of three and a half years, 42 months or 1,260 days. All of this flows together. It's always in the context of last days, always in context of the 10 kings and the rise of the little horn, always in the context of the great tribulation, always in the context of the end of it, leading up to the coming, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the end of the tribulation. Now, what do they believe? What does the historist, how does he explain the short period of three and a half years or 1,260 days? How do they tie this into the succession of the papacy? They actually say a day represents a year. So the 1,260 days are actually years. They say day represents a year. So for every day there, they make it a year. So listen carefully. So they make it 1,260 years and they actually teach that these were the literal years of people rule and persecution of the church. They actually teach, they used to teach, you know, those that were being persecuted. Do you know the Catholic popes, the cardinals, the papacy and the Catholic church, the inquisition killed at least 50 million Bible believing born again Christians over a period of about 1,300 years all across North Africa and Italy, all around the Mediterranean, all through Europe, up into Armenia, France, Italy, England, they massacred them, burned them. Millions, millions of real Christians were martyred. Who did it? It wasn't the old Roman empire. It was the popes of Rome. Do you know the first crusades that were raised up by popes weren't against the Saracens or the Muslims in the Middle East. They were against the born again Christians of the south of France and they massacred entire towns. They destroyed them. They hunted them down generation after generation. France ran with the blood of the martyrs. The Catholic church massacred the Huguenots, massacred Bible believing Christians wherever they found them. They scattered them across the nations, Bulgaria, Hungaria, Armenia, all of these nations. The blood ran all across England, Scotland. Saints, I want to tell you there's good reasons why these people living during this era identified the pope as antichrist. The Catholic church as the woman riding the base because their blood was running in the streets. No wonder real prophets rose up and pointed the finger at the papacy, immoral. You know those popes, they had children to their own children. They were immoral, wicked men. I dare not tell you the factual history of the popes. I couldn't, maybe even YouTube would ban the video if I began to tell you all that was involved within them. And so how do they trace these years? They say it began in the year 476 when Romulus Augustus was dethroned as the last imperial Roman emperor of the western empire. That's when the clock began to tick. They said that was the last emperor. Shortly after in the year 538, the underlying this year 538, said march the beginning of the rule of antichrist or the little horn. That's what they teach that that's when it began. And it continued until the year 1798 in the French revolution when Napoleon marched his revolutionary army into the city of Rome and abolished the papacy, discontinued it and ended the persecution of the real church. Now you can understand why so many believe this through a millennia of history. You do understand here tonight, don't you? Why so many believe this and why in reading this history that even Christians today are so convinced that the Pope is still the antichrist. He certainly is an antichrist. There's no doubt about it. But here's why I don't agree with these facts. The emperor, Justinian the first, who actually proclaimed the papacy, gave it its power and began the clock ticking during that time. He created a church government over the Catholics of five patriarchs over it. That's what he created. Not just one little horn. He didn't give power to the little horn. He gave power to five bishops in five different regions. Well, you know, we've taught thoroughly in this about the three and a half years. You cannot extend that. You cannot do that. The papacy existed before that time. Persecution extended after that time. And I could start giving you reasons why I don't believe it. But I want to move to one last point as we close here. Number five, it's refuted in the book of Revelation. And I'm going to condense this and close here on this point because I could keep you for five hours on this last point. Why do I not believe the Pope is the antichrist, the actual antichrist or the institution when I turn to the book of Revelation? Well, when you turn to the book of Revelation, for instance, Revelation chapter 13, it would have been better if they would have chosen the second beast of Revelation 13. Remember, he is the false prophet with the appearance of a lamb with two horns as a lamb. But when he speaks, he's like a dragon. They should have chosen the false prophet. He's a religious leader, not the first beast. They shouldn't have chosen that seven headed beast to represent antichrist or the papacy. So that's one point that I believe the book of Revelation really begins to start causing problems with this whole theory. And see when you realize so many of these men like John Calvin never taught the book of Revelation. Luther wouldn't touch it. He wasn't even sure if it should be in the Bible. Many of the reformers who rose up with the reformation didn't know how to make head or tail of the book of Revelation. So they weren't accurate. They went to Daniel for all the prophetic teaching, but they stayed away. Calvin wrote on every book of the Bible apart from Revelation. He just stayed away from it. No wonder amongst these church circles, they didn't have clarity. They didn't see it accurately. Also the Pope or the papacy simply cannot be the antichrist. It would bring confusion to Revelation 17. In Revelation 17, the woman who is the city of Rome, the woman is a religious institution riding on the back of the beast. Notice this as we close. I believe this is the clincher to show that it's utterly impossible. So a beast arises, it's got 10 horns or 10 leaders. The woman, when you first see it, the woman who is the Catholic church is riding on its back. You see it. And as far as that goes, they were correct. They were identifying this religious system. When the Roman empire revives again, when this last world government arises and its wound is healed, its seventh head comes to power with 10 kings. When you see that, the papacy, the Catholic church, the Vatican as a religious institution is going to be riding on the back of the revived political Roman empire. I've got no doubt about that. And it's very easy to prove that that woman is the religious institution. She's idolatrous. She is a false harlot church. She is based in the city of Rome. She is guilty of the blood of the martyrs through the ages. And in Revelation 17, this is the end of her history. In other words, these are her very final actions. When we see her after her complete history through millennia of history, she's a very ancient woman here. She's got a complete history before her. But when we see this beast arise, she is on the back riding. Isn't that true of the Catholic church where we began? She is there hand in hand with the bringing forth of this last world government. She is key to it. She is critical. She is promoting it. She wants a one world government. She wants the redistribution of wealth. She wants other power to be in this political system, but she doesn't realize what she's dealing with. When you come to Revelation 17 and you see this political beast arise with the Catholic church on its back and the 10 horns come to power, do you know what we read in those verses? That those 10 horns, they do two things. Two things. They're only there for a short period of time. They're the seventh head. They're going to give place to the little horn or the eighth head or the antichrist. But here they are, when they appear, they've got this old mother of harlots on their back. She is there promoting them. And yet when those 10 horns arise, two things they do. First of all, they destroy her with fire. She doesn't get cast in hell. Why? She's an institution. She's not an individual. She's not a literal woman. She's not a female president of America. I can assure you, if you believe that, I'm so sorry to disappoint you here tonight, but it's not. She is an institution. Therefore, she has to be destroyed by fire. The 10 kings destroy her. Then those same 10 kings give their power to the beast. Do you realize, and remember when the beast arises, the antichrist, he uproots three of these 10 kings. So that's why I know in Revelation 17, he hasn't arisen yet. You know why? Because three of them haven't been uprooted. All 10 of them destroy the scarlet woman. And what a message I could preach to you on the destruction of the Catholic church from Revelation 17. The woman riding the beast has a long history, as we've mentioned here. That's why all these great preachers pointed their finger at the church. They could see it, but I just disagree. Why do I disagree that the pope is in the antichrist? Because he arises after the destruction of the woman and he arises on the beast, not on the woman. He arises in the midst of the 10 horns. He is a political man. He's not a religious leader. His false prophet will be the religious leader. And do you know what? The Catholic church will be destroyed before antichrist is revealed, appears on the scene and brings forth his religion. Saints, it's mind-blowing what I'm sharing with you here tonight. In our last message, I said Islam is going to be devastated and removed before antichrist arises. Now I'm showing you tonight that the Catholic church as an institution in Rome is going to be utterly dismantled. They're going to devour her, burn her with fire. Nothing of her is going to be left before power is handed to antichrist. Do you realize in this hour we are about to see the devastation of the two biggest religious systems on the face of the planet? Islam and Catholicism is going to meet their end as all the Bible prophecy comes to pass. I have wondered over the past year why many in the Catholic church, we know that Francis is for a world government. He's a globalist. He's for the green agenda. He is working to promote this political system. But within the Catholic church over the past year, many priests have come out exposing the great reset. They've become very bold against Pope Francis. They are saying he's apostatized from the faith and many sincere Catholics are beginning to say something is wrong. Do you know what I believe? The Catholic church is heading for its destruction as an institution, but many sincere people in that system are actually going to be wide open for the gospel in these days ahead. You're literally going to have a billion Catholics in utter confusion. They're either going to go and serve this new world secular system, this new world religion, or they're going to go back and seek for the real Lord Jesus Christ. I'm praying right now for all of those in the Catholic church, like I am for Islam. I don't hate them. I love Catholics. Most in our church are from a Catholic background. I'm in a city, in a nation, that until recent times, until while I was a young man, it was still 98% Roman Catholic. I love Catholics. I'm in the midst of a Catholic stronghold. I would die for Catholics to see them forgiven and make the Lord Jesus Christ. As we close this message tonight, we've covered a bit of ground. I think I've got 50 more pages to share with you on this, but this is our burden at the end of tonight. Will you unite with me as we pray for all those in the Catholic church? We love them. We care about them. As we close, like we did with Islam, we care about the Muslims. We love the Muslims. It won't be an Islamic antichrist. Those people are going to need the gospel. With Catholics, the Pope isn't the antichrist. They'll dispense with him when they have no more use for him, but all those pro-Catholic people are going to be in devastation. We need to pray for a revival amongst them here tonight. Let's pray together. Father, we do thank you for this message tonight. Lord God, for all the martyrs through the ages, all the men that came out of Catholicism, prophets, preachers who arose in its midst, who came forth out of it and started new movements. Lord God, spiritual missionary movements who are great reformers, great preachers, great leaders like John Knox came out of that Catholic movement. Many of them like Tyndale laid down his life, got burnt at the stake for translating the Bible into the language of the people. Lord God, we pray for the Catholic church. Right now, we agree together. Lord God, we know that she's going to fall. She will not be the antichrist system or religion, but my God, we pray for all the billion-odd souls within this system. We pray for their salvation. We pray for a revival that you'd save millions out of her. Lord God, hundreds of millions would receive the gospel. My God, we know that there's coming one last great harvest, one last great outpouring on the Muslim world, upon the Catholic world, and oh God, we agree here tonight. Lord God, give us this window of opportunity, an hour of revival that we might reach many souls for the Lord Jesus Christ. We bless you tonight. We praise you as our great high priest. Thank you for the blood of Jesus. Thank you for your atonement. My God, our families in this church for generations have been blinded by Catholicism, held bound, blinded, told lies, deceived by this system. Will you avenge us over? You are going to judge this wicked religious system. You love the people, but you hate the system. You detest the teaching, and you are very shortly, it's you that puts in the hearts and the minds of these 10 world rulers to destroy this woman. It is your judgment that's going to fall on this Catholic system, and my God, we pray that you'd set many millions, hundreds of millions free from her who are going to turn to the real gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We bless you. We love you. Thank you that you had mercy on us. We're not better than anyone else. My God, we so easily could have went on our way to hell, believing deception, religion, bowing before idols, praying to Mary. Lord God, look into the mass instead of looking to the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We love you tonight in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen.