Three Angels Messages Part 50

Welcome again as we continue our study of the Three Angels’ Messages found in Revelation 14. We are now examining the message of the third angel, the first part of which reads, “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.’”

            Who or what is this beast? It is obvious that the term “beast” is used in a symbolic way. In our previous studies, we saw that the beast that has the mark to be avoided is the first beast described in Revelation 13, the beast from the sea, introduced in Revelation 13:1-10. We also noted that Scripture often uses symbols and figures to teach truth, and that there is a danger in being too literalistic when studying the Bible.

            Verse 5 provides for us two more clues to identify the beast, one involving behavior and the other involving length of duration (at least in an uninterrupted reign). “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.” Pompous words and “blasphemy” would characterize this entity. Has Catholicism fulfilled this aspect of the prophecy? What is “blasphemy” in the biblical sense?

            We may think of blasphemy as being profane language or uncouth words, but the Bible gives a more specific definition. When Jesus Christ came to this earth, He was God incarnate. “The Word became flesh.” John 1:14. Although from outward appearance this may not have seemed so, He was in fact the Creator God in sandals. This was part of God’s miraculous and bold plan to make salvation a reality. God would step from His throne, remove His diadem and live here as a human being, to die for our sins and give us an Example of how to live. The Scriptures make this abundantly clear.

            This “God in the flesh” truth was so unthinkable that the pagans would never have dreamed of it. When faced with the assignment of bringing back to life Nebuchadnezzar’s forgotten dream, his counselors said, “It is a difficult thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Daniel 2:11. They were right, but they were so wrong! Yes, it’s true that only God could reveal such secrets. In that they were correct. But the Bible tells us that this very God is involved in the affairs of this planet and did indeed make His dwelling with flesh. Almost as a direct rebuttal to the statement of Babylon’s wise men, John tells us that, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14. That is the beautiful fulfillment of the term Immanuel, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23. What a sacred, sublime truth! Beyond human grasp! Past the reach of the “wise men” of Babylon! Unimaginable by mortal minds!

            This was so difficult to comprehend that Jewish religious leaders, themselves versed in Scripture, the sacred writings that testify of Jesus, found it nearly impossible to accept. They should have been prepared to welcome the birth of the Messiah and pave the way for His ministry, but Satan had blinded their hearts through pride and unbelief. Thus when Jesus affirmed His true status, His true identity, they reached for stones to silence the voice of what they determined to be “blasphemy.”

            Jesus said, “‘My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.’ Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works to you stone Me?’ The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’” John 10:29-33.

            Like the wise men of Babylon, these Jews were right, and they were so wrong! They were right to define “blasphemy” as occurring when a “man makes himself God.” In that they were absolutely correct. But they were so wrong in not realizing that the One Who stood before them was God in the flesh! For another person to make such a claim would indeed be blasphemy. But it would have been inaccurate for Jesus to deny His divine nature.

            The Jews in their accusing Jesus of blasphemy became more specific on another occasion. A paralyzed man, by the help of four of his friends, was lowered through the roof and into the presence of the great Healer. When Jesus saw their faith, He said, “‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’ But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” Mark 2:5-7. Again, they were right, but so wrong!

            It is true that only God can forgive sins. David prayed, “Against You, You only have I sinned.” Psalm 51:4. Jesus said, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” Matthew 18:15. But confessing ones faults to a brother is not the same thing as confessing ones sins before God. James counsels to confess our “faults” one to another (James 5:16), but nowhere in Scripture are we told to approach a human mediator and confess our sins to another mortal. There is only One Mediator brought to view by Scripture, and His name is Jesus. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 2:5.

            We see then, that the Bible identifies it as blasphemy when a man claims to be God, and more specifically when a man claims to be able to forgive sins. How do papal claims compare with either of these two? Remember that Satan has always wanted to be equal with God. It was that aspiration which caused his fall in the beginning. “I will be like the Most High” was his lofty and ambitious desire. Isaiah 14:14. For that reason he was removed from heaven. But he has ever since attempted to achieve that goal. When Jesus was about to begin His ministry, Satan came to tempt Him, and the last of those temptations included an offer to give Him all if He would bow and worship Satan. To this offer, Christ said, “No thank you.”

            Satan has always wanted to be equal with God, or at least claim that he is. Thus through unsuspecting humans, perhaps even well- intentioned churchmen, he has spouted his assertions. With sadness we read the boastful and arrogant claims that have fallen from the lips of pontiffs through the ages. They are all hollow echoes of the great claim made by Lucifer himself ages ago. “I will be like the Most High.”

            Keep in mind that this matter of boastful, blasphemous claims is one of the hallmarks of the Bible’s picture of the apostasy. Daniel mentions it in his description of the horn power that was “speaking pompous words.” Daniel 7:8. Daniel 11’s king of the north “shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods.” Paul includes it in his description of the “man of sin,” who “sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2:4.

            John underscores this point in identifying this power as “antichrist,” with the prefix “anti” having the meaning of “in the place of,” or “instead of.” It is the Greek equivalent of the English word “vicar,” which comes into our language from a Latin background, and means “in the place of,” or “instead of.” Do you realize that when the Pope says, “I am the ‘Vicar of Christ,’” that if he spoke those words in the Greek language he would be saying, “I am the Antichrist”? That’s what anti means; the one who claims to be “in the place of” Christ. We’ll study this in greater detail a little later. In Revelation 17’s picture of the “harlot”, the beast upon which she rides is full of the names of blasphemy.” Revelation 17:3.

            The very title “pontiff” is blasphemous. It hails back to the priests of ancient Babylon, who styled themselves the ones who made the connection between heaven and earth. The root of the word is “pont” or “bridge,” as in (with a slight variation in spelling) the famous explorer Ponce de Leon (“Lion’s Bridge”), or “pontoon,” a bridge made of floating containers. A “pontage” is a tax or levy paid to cross a bridge. The pope’s title Pontifex Maximus might be translated “the greatest bridge maker.” One who wears this label is claiming to be the “bridge” between the “here” and the “hereafter”; the connecting link between God and man. Is there a mortal being on this earth who would dare to claim that title? Who would claim to be the connecting link between man and God?

            The Bible makes it plain that Jesus is the link between heaven and earth. He is the mystical “Ladder” of Jacob’s dream. Genesis 28:12-19; John 1:51. When we read, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25), of Whom is this speaking? Is it speaking of a human being? Is it speaking of a pope or priest? Certainly not! It is speaking of Jesus, the divine Son of God!

            Nonetheless, here are a few of the claims made by popes and prelates. Pope Leo XIII in his Encyclical Letters said, “We hold on this earth the place of God Almighty.” We read, “The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ.” Decretal De Translat. (For references for these and the following quotes see http://amazingdiscoveries.org/AD-Articles-TotalOnslaught-ThePopeIsGodOnThisEarth.html)

            Cardinal Bellarmine stated, “All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.” In an 1895 article appearing in the “Catholic National” we find this startling statement. “The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of flesh.” In 1512 Christopher Marcellus said this to Pope Julius II: “Take care that we lose not that salvation, that life and breath which thou has given us, for thou art our shepherd, thou art our physician, thou art our governor, thou art our husbandman, thou art finally another God on earth.”

            “The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God…The Pope alone is called most holy…Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of hell. Moreover the superiority and the power of the Roman Pontiff by no means pertains only to heavenly things, but also earthly things, and to things under the earth, and even over the angels, whom he is greater than. So that if it were possible that the angels might err in the faith, or might think contrary to the faith, they could be judged and excommunicated by the Pope. The Pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power.”

            The blasphemy of the papacy reaches its zenith in the mass, in which the priest is said to have the power to bring to life the actual body of Christ, in the wafer he holds. At the climax of the service, He raises the host high in the air and pronounces the words, “Hoc est corpus,” “This is (My) body” and lo, that which was mere bread moments before has now become the Sovereign God of the universe! Think of this absurdity! Mortal man creating the life Giver! The creature creating the Creator! There’s strong evidence that the phrase, “Hoc est corpus,” in a strange twist of irony, became corrupted through time into the verbal potion of magic “hocus pocus.”

            We were watching television a few decades ago when the pope visited the United States. As his tour concluded, he was lifted up by helicopter to be transported back to the airport for his return flight. As the helicopter rose in the air, we were shocked to hear the television commentator say, “Now we can truly pray, ‘Our father which art in heaven.’” Amazing!

            A secondary application of the blasphemous indictment is the papacy’s claim to forgive sins. When Jesus spoke the words, “Your sins are forgiven” to a lame man, the Pharisees charged Him with “speaking blasphemies. Who can forgive sins but God alone.” Luke 5:20, 21. As we said, they were correct in their understanding of the definition of blasphemy, but woefully ignorant of the divine nature of the One Who had spoken those words. Yet the Catholic priest claims the power to forgive the sins of one who comes to him in the confessional.

            Catholicism stands for the principle that the Church and its Traditions are above the Scriptures. “As the Catholic yields his judgment in spiritual matters implicitly, and with unreserved confidence, to the voice of his church, so, too, the Protestant recognizes no teacher but the Bible.” Catholic Mirror, September 9, 1893. Behold how perfectly this is represented in the giving of the host by the priest to the congregant. The priest places with his own hand the wafer on the outstretched and waiting tongue of the parishioner, an accurate portrayal of the member receiving the dogma of the church with “unreserved confidence.”

            We love our pets and have had several to enjoy through the years. And they get their share of “treats” we can assure you! But we noticed that our dog Sully, though he loves and trusts us dearly, will almost always sniff what we hold out to him before he gobbles it up, just to check to see that it's edible. Are humans as careful with what they enter their minds? Something to think about!

            A while back we pulled into the parking lot of a local food store and parked behind a vehicle whose bumper had an interesting sticker on it. It was obviously a Christian symbol including a cross, and we thought, as we walked up the entrance of the store, that we might leave a card or piece of literature on the windshield of the car when we left. As we departed the store with groceries in hand and walked toward our car, we noticed that the owner of the vehicle parked in front of ours was just then placing her bags into the trunk. “This is perfect!” we thought.

            We slowed as we passed her car and waited for the right moment, then said, “I couldn’t help notice your bumper sticker,” pointing to it. “You must be a Christian.” “Oh, yes, I am a Christian.” “What faith do you practice?” we politely inquired. “Oh,” she said, “I go to the church right over there,” gesturing to the Catholic Church across the street. “Wonderful!” we said. “So you believe in the Bible, right?” “Oh yes, the Bible!” “And the Ten Commandments, you believe in them too, don’t you?” “Oh yes, the Ten Commandments!” she responded.

            We ventured to go one step further and proceeded cautiously. “Have you ever compared the Ten Commandments in the Bible with the commandments in the Catechism? Do you know that the Bible tells us the seventh day is the Sabbath, but that the Church changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday?” “Oh,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “I don’t get into all that. I just do what they tell me to do.” How sad! We pray for that lady, that she will come to know and follow the Scriptures of truth.

            “Q. What if the Holy Scriptures command one thing, and the Pope another, contrary to it? A. The Holy Scriptures must be thrown aside. Q. What is the Pope? A. He is the Vicar of Christ, King of kings, and Lord of lords and there is but one judgment seat belonging to God and the Pope.” Roy Livesey, Understanding the New Age, p. 101. A bumper sticker on a trailer said, “I go where I am towed.”

            The “forty two months,” as we have seen, represents the period of 1260 years from 538 A.D. through 1798 A.D. This period of time is addressed no less than seven times in Scripture. By repeating it this often, it’s clear that God must want us to know about this! It is referred to as the “forty two months,” the “1260 days” and as a “time, times and the dividing of time.”

            There can be no question but that the first beast of Revelation 13, the beast that has the mark which must avoided, is the system of the papacy. God loves Catholics, but He has a right to call out the system which Satan has used to pervert the Holy Scriptures. We have a choice in life; will we love and obey the Sovereign Creator by keeping His sacred law? Or, will we allow something else, anything else, to take the “first place” that belongs to Him only? Please join us next time as we will take a closer look at Revelation 13:6. Maranatha!