The professing church right now is a hot mess! There are elements of the Bride of Christ that are holding to God’s Word, operating in faith, sold out for Jesus and His return. There are other elements of the ‘Professing Church’ that have set aside many of God’s precepts and are hawking a version of Christianity that little resembles biblical teaching. Let’s start by taking off from where we left off in the series just completed, (The ‘Same God’ Fallacy.) We had spent some time discussing the current doctrinal wanderings of the Catholic Church. In early 2016,Pope Francis Bergoglio is a man who speaks compassion in despite the theology. In early 2016, the Pope released a video in which he reached out to people of different faiths. In the video, he said, “ In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God.”[i] To those who know their Bible this was a shocking statement. The 1st chapter of John’s Gospel clearly teaches that only those that accept the sonship of Jesus the Christ have bestowed on them the right to be called “children of God.”
This was not the only flight from biblical truth authored by Francis. Early in his papacy he seemed to open the gates of Paradise to atheists who “follow their conscience,” and softened the Church’s stance on homosexuality and sex outside of marriage. But perhaps his most glaring biblical error would be his acceptance of alternate ways to the Father. He has reached out to other religions, including both paganism and Islam to – offering them as alternatives – it would seem – to the ‘Catholic way’ of salvation. In the Spring of 2019, Pope Francis signed the Abu Dhabi Declaration with a leading Islamic Imam, entitled, “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document contained a statement which reads, “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.”[ii] Sooo, the diversity of religions is “willed by God,” mmmmm! That certainly is an unbiblical statement. But given the fact that Francis was the first to condone and allow Muslim prayers at the Vatican, it should not have been surprising. Once he event thought it would be a really keen idea to acknowledge and bless the statue of a pagan, naked fertility and mother goddess of the indigenous people of South America. [I mean, what could possibly be wrong with that?!][iii]
Cardinal Vigano, a papal critic, pulled no punches when levying charges against the Holy See. “The abomination of idolatrous rites has entered the sanctuary of God and has given rise to a new form of apostasy whose seeds…. are growing with renewed vigor and effectiveness. The process of the internal mutation of the faith, which has been taking place in the Catholic Church for several decades, has seen with this Synod a dramatic acceleration towards the foundation of a new creed, summed up in a new kind of worship [cultus]. In the name of inculturation, pagan elements are infesting divine worship so as to transform it into an idolatrous cult.” Life Site News reports that this “is aimed at fundamentally ‘transforming’ the Catholic Church, is aligned with a ‘globalist’ agenda, and ‘serves as a catwalk to ferry what remains of the Catholic edifice towards an indistinct universal religion.’”[iv]

This is right in line of course with where the Bible says we’ll be heading during the Tribulation; a One World Religion managed by the False Prophet in honor of the Antichrist. There is no equating Relational-Christianity with non-biblical religions, especially the meanderings of indigenous paganism with its idol worship. Scripture weighs in on such practices. “In 2nd Corinthians we find a warning. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” (2Corinthians 6:14-16) Did you catch that? “What part has a believer with an unbeliever?” We CANNOT compromise the purity of our faith. Jesus called upon us to worship God in spirit and in truth…and to honor the pagan – or the Islamic – or the Hindu – or the what-have-you, is to deny the Truth for which Messiah came and died and rose. He is “the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) And there is no other!
So, while the leadership of the Catholic Church is tripping down a road to scriptural irrelevancy, elements in Evangelicalism are proclaiming that there is coming a great revival prior to the rapture of God’s people. Others are talking about the establishment of a Church Triumphant that will conquer the culture of the world for Christ and present it to Him at His return. Now, there may or may not be a coming Grand Revival before Jesus snatches away His Church. Spirit-filled pastors have said that they believe there is coming a great harvest. But the notion of a conquering Church lies in contradiction to the prophetic line of the Scripture.
The prophetic view of the End Times Church is one of apostasy and abandonment of the faith. As recorded in Matthew 24:10, Jesus said, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” (ESV) Paul wrote, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.” (2Timothy 3:5) (NLT) And again, Paul warned Timothy, “that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” (1Timothy 4:1) (ESV) Finally, a great sudden apostasy will open the way for the rise of Antichrist. (See 2Thessalonians 2:3)[v] Today, we are living through a period of time when the peoples of the world are being put through, what is essentially an Antichrist Conditioning Program. And that’s where we’ll start from next time.
[i]In first prayer video, Pope stresses interfaith unity: ‘We are all children of God’, Catholic News Agency, January 7, 2016
[ii] Mary Rezac, Pope Francis signs peace declaration on ‘Human Fraternity’ with Grand Imam, Catholic Herald, February 5, 2019
[iii] Mumbo-Jumbo in Vatican Gardens, EN News, October 4, 2019
[iv] Diane Montagna, Abp Viganò: ‘The abomination of idolatrous rites has entered the sanctuary of God’, Life Site News,
November 6, 2019
[v] David Reagan, Be On Guard: The End Times Church Is One Inundated With Apostasy, Lion & Lamb Ministries, November 26, 2023
Leave a Reply