THEY CALL HIM ANTI-CHRIST
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"When the western church was divided for about 40 years between two rival popes, one in Rome and the other in Avigon, France, each pope called the other pope antichrist - and John Wycliffe is reputed to have regarded them as both being right: " -
-LeRoy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, 4 vols. (Wash DC: Review and Herald publishing assc, 1950-1954)


The following is a list of Christians through out the ages that have recognized the Roman Pontiff as being the "Anti-Christ" of the Bible.


“Now it is certain, first, that since the tenth century, wherein Arnulphus, Bishop of Orleans, called the Pope Antichrist, in a full Council at Rheims, nothing has been more ordinary than to give him this title. The Antipopes of the eleventh century very lavishly bestowed it upon one another. This example was followed in the twelfth century, and has never since been discontinued till the time of the Reformation; a vast number of writers having set themselves against the Pope and the Papacy, openly proclaiming him to be the Antichrist, and his Church the Great Whore, and Mystical Babylon” (Peter Allix, The Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont and of the Albigenses, I, 1692, 1821 edition, p. 281).


“Tergandus, [Ninth Century] Bishop of Treves, called the Pope Antichrist, yea, a wolf, and Rome, Babylon” (Martyrs Mirror, 5th English edition, p. 240).

Arnulf Bishop of Orleans (Roman Catholic)

"deplored the roman popes as "monsters of guilt" and declared in a council called by the King of France in 991ad that the pontiff, clad in purple and gold, was, "Antichrist, sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself as God" -Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian church, 8 vols., reprint of the 3d (1910)ed. (Grand Rapids Mich.: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.)

The Waldensians identified the Pope as the Antichrist. In 1100, the Waldensian document, Noble Lesson, identified the Pope as the “Antichrist, the predicted murderer of the Saints, hath already appeared in his true character, seated monarchally in the seven-hilled city.” “Of the authenticity of the Noble Lesson, the beautifully simple production of a confessedly simple people, there can, I think with the learned Raynouard, be no reasonable doubt entertained” (Faber, The History of the Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses, p. 371).

According to Waldensian documents, the Antichrist’s first work is that the Eucharist is idolatry because he worships the wafer equally with God and Christ, prohibiting the adoration of God alone. His second work is: that he robs and deprives Christ of the merits of Christ, with the whole sufficiency of grace and justification and regeneration and remission of sins and sanctification and confirmation and spiritual nourishment; and imputes and attributes them, to his own authority, or to a form of words, or to his own performances, or to the saints and their intercession, or to the fire of Purgatory. His third work is that he attributes the regenera?tion of the Holy Spirit to a dead outward faith; baptizing children in that faith; and teaching, that, by the mere work of the outward consecration of baptism, regeneration may be procured. This fourth work is that he rests the whole religion of the people upon his Mass. His fifth work is that he does everything to be seen, and to glut his insatiable avarice. His sixth work is that he allows of manifest sins, without ecclesiastical censure. His seventh work is that he defends his unity not by the Holy Spirit, but by the secular power. His eighth work is that he hates, and persecutes, and searches after, and robs, and destroys, the members of Christ.

These things and many others are the cloak and vestment of Antichrist, by which he covers his lying wickedness, lest he should be rejected as a pagan. But there is no other cause of idolatry, than a false opinion of grace and truth and authority and invocation and intercession, which this Antichrist has taken away from God, and which he has ascribed to ceremonies and authorities and a man’s own works and saints and purgatory (Faber, The History of the Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses, pp. 379-384).



Eberhard II, archbishop of Salzburg (Roman Catholic)

"stated at a synod of bishops held at Regensburg in 1240 (some scholars say 1241) that the people of his day were "accustomed" to calling the pope antichrist." -LeRoy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, 4 vols. (Wash DC: Review and Herald publishing assc, 1950-1954)

John Wycliffe
"When the western church was divided for about 40 years between two rival popes, one in Rome and the other in Avigon, France, each pope called the other pope antichrist - and John Wycliffe is reputed to have regarded them as both being right: "two halves of Antichrist, making up the perfect Man of Sin between them." -Ibid

On September 9, 1560, Pastor Jean Louis Paschale of Calabria, just before he was burned alive in the presence of Pope Pius IV in Rome, turned to the pope and “arraigned him as the enemy of Christ, the persecutor of his people, and the Antichrist of Scripture, and concluded by summoning him and all his cardinals to answer for their cruelties and murders before the throne of the Lamb” (J.A. Wylie, History of the Waldenses, ca. 1860, p. 120).
1.


Martin Luther (Lutheran)
"We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist...personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist." (Aug. 18, 1520) Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 2., pg. 121 by Froom. (In response to a papal bull [official decree]): "I despise and attack it, as impious, false... It is Christ Himself who is condemned therein... I rejoice in having to bear such ills for the best of causes. Already I feel greater liberty in my heart; for at last I know that the pope is antichrist, and that his throne is that of Satan himself." --D'Aubigné, b.6, ch. 9.

Cotton Mather (Congregational Theologian)
"The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them."
Taken from The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom's book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.

John Wesley (Methodist)
Speaking of the Papacy he said, "He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers... He it is...that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped...claiming the highest power, and highest honour...claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." Taken from Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms by John Wesley, pg. 110.


Thomas Cranmer (Anglican)
"Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons." (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.)
Taken from Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.
Roger Williams (First Baptist Pastor in America)


He spoke of the Pope as "the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself...speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2)."
Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.
1689 London Baptist Confession


John Knox (Scotch Presbyterian)

Knox wrote to abolish "that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church" and that the pope should be recognized as "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." Taken from The Zurich Letters, pg. 199 by John Knox.

John Calvin (Presbyterian)
"Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt... I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy." Taken from Institutes by John Calvin.



ODE TO THE PAPACY

How shall we know the true Church of Christ? Christ said men would be known by their fruits (Matthew 7:20). All who are a part of Christ’s Church on earth are partakers of his Divine Spirit (Romans 8:9), and they will naturally bear the fruits of that indwelling Spirit (Galatians 5). Their overwhelming love for God will cause them to obey His Commands (1st John 5:3, Revelation 12:17, 14:12), and they will put forth every effort to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24), His Word being the infallible standard of truth (John 17:17, Isaiah 8:20, 2nd Timothy 2:15). Yes, their greatest emblem will be love.

Keep these things in mind, as you read just some of the following Papal Claims:

Pope Nicholas- "I am all in all and above all, so that God himself, and I, the Vicar of God, hath both one consistory, and I am able to do almost all that God can do... Wherefore, if those things that I do be said not to be done of man, but of God, WHAT CAN YOU MAKE ME BUT GOD?.... I then, being above all prelates, seem by this reason to be ABOVE ALL GODS. Wherefore, no marvel if it be in my power to dispense with all things, yea, with the precepts of Christ." (See Decret. Par. Distinct 96 Ch.7 Edit Lugd. 1661).

Pope Pius IX- "I alone despite my unworthiness, am the successor of the Apostles, the Vicar of Jesus Christ: I alone have the mission to guide and direct the bargue of Peter; I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE."

Now it is certain that if there was a man on earth who embodied the Living Christ, who was selected and anointed by God to be the Vicar of Christ on earth as the Papacy certainly claims to be, then no doubt the men who hold the place of Pope will fulfill all the gracious and lovely things we previously mentioned. But has the Papacy done this? Has their chief emblem been love? Have they shown Purity? Obedience to God? Has the Papacy been a Dove? Or a Serpent? Has the Pope been a Lamb or a wolf? Has it been a light or has she been darkness?

History testifies that when the Roman Church was at her pinnacle, the world was at its darkest. Have you ever heard of the Dark Ages? How can the “light of the world” make the world a darker place? It absolutely cannot! Yet, when the Papacy held sway over much of the known world, much of the known world was left in the shadow of death.

Has the Papacy shown love? Or has it been something else? We will not take the time in this booklet  to look at the persecutions of the Waldensese, the ravages of the Duke of Alva, the fires of Smithfield; the tortures of Goa, the crusades, the massacres, and the inquisitions. But we urge you to study the history of these yourself, and know just how cruel the Papacy can be. As one author said:

“The Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a complete knowledge of history” (William E. H. Lecky,, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. II, pp. 35, 37).

What we wish to do with the space we have left, is to look at a few persons, of whom Rome says was chosen by Christ to embody his Presence, and to represent him upon the Earth.  The following are brief sketches of some of the more interesting holders of the title 'Vicar of Christ' [Pope] (it should be noted that the Latin equivalent of the Greek 'anti' is 'vicarius,' from whence is derived the word 'vicar').

In 896 Stephen VII set in motion the trial of his rival, the late Pope Formosus who had been dead for 9 months at the time. Formosus' corpse was dragged from its tomb and arrayed on a throne in the council chamber. The corpse, wrapped in a hair shirt, was provided with a lawyer,  who wisely remained silent while Pope Stephen raved and screamed at it. The crime of Formosus was that he had crowned emperor one of the numerous illegitimate heirs of Charlemagne after first having performed the same office for a candidate favored by Stephen. After Stephen's rant, the corpse was stripped of its clothes and its fingers were chopped off. It was then dragged through the palace and hurled from a balcony to a howling mob below who threw it into the Tiber. The body was later rescued by people sympathetic to Formosus and given a quiet burial. Stephen was strangled to death a few years later.
 
In 964 Pope Benedict V raped a young girl and absconded to Constantinople with the papal treasury only to reappear when the money ran out. Church historian Gerbert called Benedict 'the most iniquitous of all the monsters of ungodliness.' The pontiff was eventually slain by a jealous husband. His corpse, bearing a hundred dagger wounds, was dragged through the streets before being tossed into a cesspit.


In October 1032 the papal miter was purchased for the 11-year old Benedict IX. Upon reaching his 14th year, a chronicler wrote that Benedict had already surpassed in wantonness and profligacy all who had preceded him. He often had to leave Rome in a hurry.

In the year 1073 AD Gregory VII,
who we mentioned earlier, was a master forger, who had an entire school of forgers turning out document after document bearing the papal seal of approval. Gregory also formalized the celibacy doctrine in order to curtail the many gifts of church lands being given away to all of the illegitimate children of priests and bishops.

In the year 1316 Pope John XXII was elected Pontiff. During his reign prices were enumerated by the Roman Chancery for about every imaginable sin, ranging from rape to sodomy. When the price was paid, the person was pardoned of that sin.

In 1471 Pope Sixtus IV charged Roman brothels a Church tax. According to historian Will Durant, in 1490 there were 6800 registered prostitutes in Rome. Pius II declared that Rome was the only city run by bastards (the sons of Popes and Cardinals).

During his pontificate Innocent VIII (1484-92)
granted a 20-year Butterbriefe indulgence to persons who met his price. For a sum, one could purchase the privilege of eating favorite dishes during Lent. 

In 1492AD arose another interesting figure, named Alexander VI (formerly Rodrigo Borgia). Alexander committed his first murder at the age of 12. Upon assuming the Papal miter he cried, "I am Pope, Vicar of Christ!" In his book “Decline and Fall” Gibbon referred to Alexander as the Tiberius of Rome. Like his predecessor Innocent VIII, Alexander sired many children, baptized them personally and officiated at their weddings in the Vatican. He had ten known illegitimate children (including the notorious Cesare and Lucrezia), by his favorite mistress Vannoza Catanei. When she faded, Borgia took the 15-year old Giulia Farnese. Farnese obtained a Cardinal's red hat for her brother who later became Paul III.

In 1503 Alexander was followed by Julius II who purchased the papacy with his own private fortune. He didn't even pretend to be a Christian. He was a notorious womanizer who sired many children out of wedlock. Julius was so eaten away with syphilis that he couldn't even expose his foot to be kissed.

Under Leo X (1513-21)– who cursed and excommunicated Martin Luther-specific prices were enumerated by the Roman Chancery for every imaginable crime. For instance, a deacon accused of murder could be absolved for 20 crowns. Once pardoned, he could not be prosecuted by civil authorities. Leo X also commissioned the Dominican friar Tetzel to sell indulgences which released one from purgatory. Tetzel's famous refrain went, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs!"

During the 1990's the Roman Church paid out more than $1 billion in claims to victims of sex abuse by clergy.


In November 2000 Italian headlines screamed, "Devil Defeats Pope!" Il Messaggero reported that the Pope had been confronted by a teenage girl in the Vatican who screamed insults in a cavernous voice during an audience. John Paul attempted an exorcism but his ministrations had no effect on the girl. Also during John Paul’s reign,  Msgr. Luigi Marinelli’s book, “Gone With the Wind at the Vatican” was published. It revealed  money-laundering prelates, sex abuse and Satanic rituals are all performed within the walls of the Holy See.

According to Catholic historian Peter de Rosa in his book Vicars of Christ:
"Popes had mistresses as young as fifteen years of age, were guilty of incest and sexual perversions of every sort, had innumerable children, were murdered in the very act of adultery. Hence the old Catholic phrase, why be holier than the Pope?"

Now dear reader as we close our booklet we must ask: What thinketh thou? Was Peter the first Pope of Rome? And are the men who hold the title of ‘Pope’, truly the Vicars of Christ? Did Christ create such an office? Or is it all a dolled up lie? Could it be that the billions who bow before the Pope, are in reality bowing down to an imposter, just like those who bow down to the statue of Jupiter in St. Peter’s Basilica, thinking that it is really Peter? Is Rome the Capital of God’s Kingdom on earth or would Martin Luther be more correct, who declared:

"If there is a Hell, Rome is built over it. It is an abyss from whence issues every kind of sin." ------- The truth is before your eyes.




                             
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