That is the antichrist – anyone who thinks he can play God, change His Holy Word, and elevate himself up over mankind with another gospel, a different way to God. In the process, he not only distorts the true gospel but also distorts the very nature and character of God Himself, changing the God of love into a monster who threatens to forever torment in hell all those who don’t go along with the program.

So is that it? Are all Roman Catholics antichrists? No, of course not. They are dear, precious children of the Heavenly Father, who “know in part and… prophesy in part” (1 Cor 13:9) just like the rest of us. The antichrists (and Scripture affirms there are many of them - 1 Jn 2:18) are only those who insert themselves and their doctrines between us and God. The Roman Catholic hierarchy, for example, in which we are separated from God by ten levels of priests, bishops, cardinals, popes, saints, and the ‘holy virgin.’

And it’s not just the Catholics here, either. There are too many things that the Protestants never quite got around to protesting. “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the traditions of men… rather than according to Christ.” (Col 2:8) This is religion - all the religious efforts of men to find God, their own way. I call it religiosity.

Anyone who changes the truth of Scripture to fit the doctrines and traditions of men is the antichrist. They are the “goats” of Jesus’ parable. (Matt 25:31-46) They put on a great religious show, but they don’t know God or have His Spirit. “Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power… always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.” (2 Tim 3:5, 7)

Yes, one of these days (possibly very soon) one will rise up in the spirit of the antichrist to fulfill Revelation 13 in a final attempt to deceive all mankind. He might be a good Catholic - and he might not, as that spirit has swept all through the religious world. I just wanted you to know where it all started in the early days of the Christian church, back even before they were called “Roman Catholic.”

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