But not in the Roman Catholic church of the Dark Ages. Church leaders set themselves up above the people with the arrogant claim that salvation was only through them. Only they could interpret the Scripture. Only submission to them could guarantee salvation. They had Saint Peter’s keys of the kingdom, along with the authority to open the doors to heaven for those submitting to them, and to close those doors and consign to eternal damnation those who would not submit. That is what made the Roman Catholic church the antichrist.

Even some Catholics now admit that their church went a bit too far on that one. But this is where it gets controversial. The Dark Ages are past. The Roman Catholic church is a lot more Scriptural now. They even allow the common people read the Scriptures for themselves in their own language! A lot of Catholics are godly, true believers, filled with the Spirit of God and serving God with all their hearts. So why do I still claim that the Roman Catholic hierarchy is the antichrist?

Because they still put themselves in place of God. They arrogate for themselves the right “to make alterations in times and law” (Dan 7:25), and claim God’s authority to change the clear words of Scripture according to their traditions. And what’s worse, most Protestant denominations go right along with them!

One key example is the Sabbath. The Scripture is quite clear that “the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God…” (Ex 20:10) but no. The Catholic church way back at the time of Constantine decided they would change that to the pagan “Day of the Sun” in a dramatic compromise with the sun-worshipers. The Feasts of Israel were prohibited and pagan holidays such as Christmas (birth of Tammuz, the sun god) and Easter (the Feast of Ishtar, mother of Tammuz) were substituted in their place. In fact, thousands of Scripture passages talking about Israel being God’s chosen people and God’s many promises concerning the ultimate restoration of Israel – all wiped out, with the arrogant claim that the Catholic church had now replaced Israel throughout the Scriptures. Wow.

I’d sure hate to be the one standing before Christ at the Bema Seat Judgment trying to explain, “Well, yeah Jesus. Your Holy Word just had a few problems here and there so I fixed ‘em for You.”

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