THE PAPAL COUNTER ATTACK
Soon after the Reformers broke their ties with Rome, Papacy saw that it must counteract its identification as Antichrist—or stand condemned. Jesuit scholarship rallied to the cause by providing alternatives to the definition of Antichrist. The most successful tack was taken by Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) of Spain, founder of the Futurist system of prophetic interpretation. Ribera proposed that Antichrist would appear in the distant future (our day), and stated: “Antichrist would be a single evil person who would be received by the Jews and would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.”
Amazingly, this erroneous teaching has become the most popular view in our day, even with members of Protestant Churches!
THE LURE OF UNITY
Papacy now wants to mend old wounds, and the Church of Rome beckons to its separated brethren, (the Protestant Churches, the daughter systems) to reunite with the Mother Church.
Have the Protestant Churches forgotten why they separated? Have issues of substance changed to let them reunite? Are they ready to submit to Papacy as having universal primacy, the supreme authority?
In November of 1993, Moody Bible Institute in its periodical said: “Today… the lines that separate evangelicals and Roman Catholics are fading.” Charles Colson wrote, “It’s high time that all of us who are Christians come together regardless of the difference of our confessions and our tradition…” Today the ministries of Billy Graham, Luis Palau, World Vision and charismatic groups such as YWAH involve activities with the Roman Church.
In May of 1995 Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical on Christian unity, “Ut Unum Sint” (“That They May be One”). The encyclical was an unprecedented call for Protestant and Orthodox denominations to dialogue on a Christian unity that would accept the authority of the Pope.
On May 12, 1999, the co-chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission issued the document “The Gift of Authority.” The commission agreed, “The Pope has overall authority in the Christian world …” and there is “need for a universal primacy exercised by the Bishop of Rome [the Pope] as a sign and safeguard of unity within the reunited Church” (cf. Authority in The Church 11, 9).
In October 1999, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation issued The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Roman Catholics declared the conflict between them and Martin Luther in 1517 had been just a misunderstanding, and the matter should not be an issue to deter unity.
HAS THE “LEOPARD CHANGED HIS SPOTS?”
Many are making enormous efforts at reunification, and contend that the Papacy today is not the same as that system of the dark ages. They point out that the Popes today have been instituting reforms and great humanitarian efforts. But, are these claims valid? Has Papacy changed its stance on the issues that first caused the Protestant Reformers to identify it as The Antichrist system? Has Papacy retracted its claim of being God’s divine channel, on which was bestowed divine authority over the Christian world?
Fact—The Church of Rome states that the Pope has overall authority in the Christian world, and, when the other Churches unite with them, the Pope will exercise universal primacy. The Vatican Website states: “The Roman pontiff exercises supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church …he holds a primacy of ordinary power over all the churches.”
Fact—Infallibility is still taught by the Roman Catholic Church. From The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII: “In general, [the Roman Pontiff has] exemption or immunity from liability to error or failure…” Infallibility is attributed to the Roman Pontiff’s ex cathedra teaching. For an ex cathedra decision it must be clear that the pope intends to bind the whole Church, to demand internal assent from all the faithful…
Fact—Papacy still expects heads of State to court her favor. Diplomatic protocol dictates that dignitaries of Protestant nations wear black in the Pope’s presence to acknowledge that they are mourning separation from the Mother Church. BBC News, October 17, 2000.
Soon after the Reformers broke their ties with Rome, Papacy saw that it must counteract its identification as Antichrist—or stand condemned. Jesuit scholarship rallied to the cause by providing alternatives to the definition of Antichrist. The most successful tack was taken by Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) of Spain, founder of the Futurist system of prophetic interpretation. Ribera proposed that Antichrist would appear in the distant future (our day), and stated: “Antichrist would be a single evil person who would be received by the Jews and would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.”
Amazingly, this erroneous teaching has become the most popular view in our day, even with members of Protestant Churches!
THE LURE OF UNITY
Papacy now wants to mend old wounds, and the Church of Rome beckons to its separated brethren, (the Protestant Churches, the daughter systems) to reunite with the Mother Church.
Have the Protestant Churches forgotten why they separated? Have issues of substance changed to let them reunite? Are they ready to submit to Papacy as having universal primacy, the supreme authority?
In November of 1993, Moody Bible Institute in its periodical said: “Today… the lines that separate evangelicals and Roman Catholics are fading.” Charles Colson wrote, “It’s high time that all of us who are Christians come together regardless of the difference of our confessions and our tradition…” Today the ministries of Billy Graham, Luis Palau, World Vision and charismatic groups such as YWAH involve activities with the Roman Church.
In May of 1995 Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical on Christian unity, “Ut Unum Sint” (“That They May be One”). The encyclical was an unprecedented call for Protestant and Orthodox denominations to dialogue on a Christian unity that would accept the authority of the Pope.
On May 12, 1999, the co-chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission issued the document “The Gift of Authority.” The commission agreed, “The Pope has overall authority in the Christian world …” and there is “need for a universal primacy exercised by the Bishop of Rome [the Pope] as a sign and safeguard of unity within the reunited Church” (cf. Authority in The Church 11, 9).
In October 1999, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation issued The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. Roman Catholics declared the conflict between them and Martin Luther in 1517 had been just a misunderstanding, and the matter should not be an issue to deter unity.
HAS THE “LEOPARD CHANGED HIS SPOTS?”
Many are making enormous efforts at reunification, and contend that the Papacy today is not the same as that system of the dark ages. They point out that the Popes today have been instituting reforms and great humanitarian efforts. But, are these claims valid? Has Papacy changed its stance on the issues that first caused the Protestant Reformers to identify it as The Antichrist system? Has Papacy retracted its claim of being God’s divine channel, on which was bestowed divine authority over the Christian world?
Fact—The Church of Rome states that the Pope has overall authority in the Christian world, and, when the other Churches unite with them, the Pope will exercise universal primacy. The Vatican Website states: “The Roman pontiff exercises supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church …he holds a primacy of ordinary power over all the churches.”
Fact—Infallibility is still taught by the Roman Catholic Church. From The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII: “In general, [the Roman Pontiff has] exemption or immunity from liability to error or failure…” Infallibility is attributed to the Roman Pontiff’s ex cathedra teaching. For an ex cathedra decision it must be clear that the pope intends to bind the whole Church, to demand internal assent from all the faithful…
Fact—Papacy still expects heads of State to court her favor. Diplomatic protocol dictates that dignitaries of Protestant nations wear black in the Pope’s presence to acknowledge that they are mourning separation from the Mother Church. BBC News, October 17, 2000.
