Christianity Today

The Papal system is antichrist. This is easily discerned from the Bible by those who can read. Some things never change: “From the earliest ages of the catholic church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven” Ad caeli reginam 1 Pope Pius XII Also hymns Salve Regina and Ave Regina Caelorum. Jeremiah 44:25, 27 KJV “ 25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her… 27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.” Also Gal 1:8-9 and 1 Tim 4:1-3

Very sad to see some of the hostile comments regarding the Catholic Church on this thread. Actually, I was there too, once. Having been born into the Church, leaving it for 10 years and attending some very wonderful evangelical churches here in Southern California, I have returned for the past 25 years in full enthusiasm. It was much ignorance, pride, and unwillingness to deem not myself the final arbiter of truth and historical and traditional teaching and fact that allowed me to recognize, with all Her warts, (like all Churches) She is, like it or not, the entity what was delegated "all truth" as in Matt Ch 16. Audrey, citing dissenting former priests is not very credible. So examine with an open heart, and you may be surprised what you find. Scary, I know. I've been there. God Bless.

Here is a quote from Pope Francis' first homily following his election. He states that the Church must profess ""the one glory, Christ Crucified"(1 Corinthians 1:23). "The same Peter who confessed Jesus Christ, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God(Matt. 16:16) I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. This has nothing to do with it.” He says, “I’ll follow you on other ways, that do not include the Cross.” When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes, but not disciples of the Lord. I would like that all of us, after these days of grace, might have the courage – the courage – to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of the Lord: to build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way, the Church will go forward."

http://www.protestant-alliance.org/ Please consult the abovementioned website and you will understand a lot more about the Vatican than you know. Protestants, though they must maintain a godly testimony and loving attitude even to those who disagree with them theologically, should not be praying for a Pope to lead them, but to repent before the Lord of their disobedience and look unto Christ the author and finisher of our faith. The increasing secularism of our society should not be the ground of "co-operation" It will be simply hypocritical. We need a "REVIVAL" of our churches and committment - serious one - of our members to Biblical Christianity. We should not be like Israel of old wanting a king to be like all other nations, we have already a KING , Jesus Christ and we need to obey His voice. "If you love Me you shall keep my commandments".

Although Catholics say they agree with the good news of the gospel, they also deem it not sufficient for salvation. They say that you must also: 1) Come to Jesus through the "mother" church; 2) Believe in the Seven Sacraments; 3) Believe in intercession by Mary; 4) Believe in the intercession of the saints; 5) Be baptized in the Catholic Church; 6) Attend mass and confession; 7) Believe that during mass, the bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Jesus; 8) Believe in the ex cathedra infallibility of the Pope -- and more, much more. WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD SAY? "Truly, truly, I [Jesus] say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." John 5:24