The Cult of Catholicism Part 3

The Roman Pontiff: Progenitor of the Antichrist

In 331 B.C., Alexander the Great, the Greek king from Macedon, invaded and conquered ancient Persia. In 325 A.D., the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea convened to combat the heresy of Arius which was more commonly known as Arianism.

What could those two events possibly have in common? Those events had this in common: The defeat of the Persians by Alexander opened the door for the first time to the influence and subsequent dominance of Europe over the ancient Middle East.

Alexander's triumph over Persia paved the way for the Roman Empire to spread its culture and authority over much of that region two centuries later.

However, here's the real relationship that binds Alexander's invasion of Persia with the first Council of Nicaea: That first ecumenical council became the foundation for the Roman Catholic Church that would become the most powerful and fearsome religious entity throughout the world for many centuries.

And Alexander's triumph over Persia made it possible for the Catholic Church to spread her influence throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and eventually across the entire world.

But a little known fact that's extremely important to understand is the number of years that occurred from the time of Alexander's conquest until the first Nicaea council convened--that time-frame according to the ancient 360 day calendar constituted 666 years.

The significance of that time-frame cannot be understated because that tells us beyond a shadow of a doubt that the dreaded Antichrist is going to come from the Roman Catholic Church. It was the apostle John who recorded the Revelation in about 90 A.D. who revealed that the number of the Beast or Antichrist will be 666. (Revelation 13:18)

That number will be included in the infamous mark (Revelation 13:16-17) that all of the earth's inhabitants will be required to receive if they want to live in the Antichrist's global kingdom.

Those who refuse the mark will not be able to buy, sell or transact any business. They will literally be forced to survive by their own instincts. And those who receive the mark will be condemned by God to eternal damnation. (Revelation 14:9-10)

John also said this concerning the infamous number 666: "it is man's number." (Revelation 13:18) 

What did John mean by that? He meant that the Antichrist, who many will consider to be divine, will in fact be just a mortal man. But he will be empowered by Satan who will give this wicked man "his power and his throne and great authority." (Revelation 13:2)

Many well-meaning but biblically illiterate Christians become offended when it's suggested to them that a future Roman Pontiff could be the Antichrist.

However, many early church fathers and scholars truly believed that the Antichrist will come from the Roman Catholic Church. Among them were Martin Luther, John Wesley and Cotton Mather.

Luther, who was a Catholic monk until God opened his eyes and led him away from Rome, said this concerning the identity of the Antichrist: "We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist."

And Cotton Mather, a Congregational Theologian, said this: "The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them."

Indeed, that "marvelous blindness" has fallen upon millions of Christians across the world who can't see what so many early church fathers clearly saw. Why? We'll answer that question in Part 4.