Dancing with the Devil

Dancing with the Devil! 
                                                                                                                              By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                                                              August 4, 2014

    “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
    Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 
    Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
    A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
    Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
    Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” 
                                                                                                  Matthew 7:15-20

    “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues,”  
                                                                                                            Revelation 18:4   

WARNING!

     Some readers will not like this study!  In fact, some will hate it, and also hate me for writing it!  Why?  Because when the subject of “separation” comes up in the ranks of Christianity, there are many today who just don’t want to hear it, and will not stand up and be counted in the defense of this Biblical and doctrinal truth.  If the reader is one of those timid souls who has neither the GRACE nor the GUMPTION to stand for the truth of God’s Word, then I suggest you lay this study aside right now and read no further, for I have every intention of exposing this subject to the light of God’s inspired Word and to the light of history.  Our readers have been warned!  . 
    My motivation in writing this study is to do my part in exposing “the falling away” from the Lord and the truth of His Word which is occurring in these last days, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and to encourage true believers  to “stand fast” and “occupy” until He comes for us, Luke 19:13.  The long prophesied “falling away” has arrived, and is happening RIGHT NOW.  Those true believers who have “seeing eyes and hearing ears,” well know that such is happening, Matthew 13:16.  Regardless of whether some in the ranks of Christianity want to believe it or not, I cannot be silent. I MUST SPEAK OUT

 When the “Falling Away” Began…..

    To find the actual beginning of the “falling away” taking place today, we must go back in human history some 4,357 years.  This is the time when Noah and his family came forth from the Ark after the flood. The eight souls that came forth from the Ark were well acquainted with the living God, and well understood God’s hatred for, and righteous judgment of, wickedness and unrighteousness.
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    In spite of this, Jewish history records that Cush, the firstborn son of Ham and grandson of Noah, grew up to be a wicked man, Genesis 10:6.  But Cush’s wickedness was as nothing compared to the wickedness of Cush’s sixth son, Nimrod, 10:7-10. Once more, following the flood, apostasy [turning away from God] had begun in the human race, and as humanity increased on the earth after the flood, so apostasy [turning away from God] among mankind also increased throughout the centuries. Today the “falling away” is fast approaching the same degree of wickedness and rebellion it was at when the Lord God destroyed the pre-flood world in the days of Noah, and when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot, Luke 17:26-30.   
    When Noah and his three sons and their families had come out of the Ark after the flood, the Lord God explicitly told them to “…Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [refill] the earth,” Genesis 9:1. In other words, the Lord God instructed the descendants of Noah’s three sons to spread abroad across the face of the whole earth, and repopulate the entire earth. This should have been fairly easy to do, because at that time there was not but one gigantic continent, Genesis 1:9-10. But spreading abroad across the face of the whole earth was not what Satan, the adversary of the Lord God, wanted for mankind, so Satan enticed and deceived wicked Nimrod.  So way back there in human history Nimrod was faced with the choice of obeying God or “dancing with the Devil.”     
    Nimrod was not having any “scattering abroad” of mankind after the flood. Rather, Nimrod wanted to keep all humanity together, desiring to serve as their ruler and spiritual leader over a “World Order” with a “one-world religious system,” placing himself as the object of mankind’s worship. The expression, “Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord,” [Genesis 10:9] literally means that Nimrod was a hunter of souls, who exalted himself and his lust for power and majesty “before” and above the Lord God. Readers should notice that “…tbe beginning of his kingdom was Babel…,” 10:10.  In order to keep the people together in a “World Community,” in direct opposition to the will of God, Nimrod instigated and led post-flood humanity into cooperating together to build the Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:1-4.  Many believers today have never seriously studied Bible Chronology, and therefore are not aware that this entire wicked departure from the Lord occurred within just 101 years after the flood. How wicked and deceitful is fallen man’s “sin nature.”     
    When the people after the flood listened to Nimrod, and chose to disobey the commandments of the Lord to spread abroad over the face of the whole earth, then the Lord God intervened by confusing their tongues or languages. This forced them to spread abroad over the whole earth, separating themselves into different peoples and nations by joining themselves with others who spoke the same language. Read it for yourself in Genesis 11:1-9. 
    Thus the Lord God brought to an abrupt end wicked Nimrod’s first attempt to establish a “World Order” with a “one world religion.”  Hello!

Moving Forward

    The next great attempt on the part of fallen mankind to establish a World Community with a one-world religious system occurred hundreds of years later when Nebuchadnezzar became the ruler of ancient Babylon as recorded in The Book of Daniel. However, the Lord God graciously gave to Nebuchadnezzar a dream of the future of the nations of mankind, Daniel 2, explicitly pointing out that it is the Lord God who “…removeth kings, and setteth up kings…,” Daniel 2:21. Therefore, it is God who has the final say in the affairs of mankind.  How slow fallen men are to learn this truth.  
    In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he was shown that there would be only four great world empires that would rule over the whole known world in successive order before the last man-made kingdoms would be destroyed by the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish His own righteous Kingdom upon the earth.  Carefully study Daniel 2:27-45.  Compare Revelation 13:1-2. 

The Four World Empires

    Each of these four great kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream are referred to as “world empires” because of the one thing they all had in common;  they all literally reigned over the entire known world
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which existed at the time of their rule.  I am well aware that men today refer to the British Empire,  Napoleon Boneparte’s Empire, Adolph Hitler’s “Nazi Empire,” the Soviet Empire under Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, etc.  However, these are merely “figures of speech,” and far from reality, for none of these kingdoms ruled over the whole known world.  None of them! 
    The four world empires shown to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream were in order:
[1] The Babylonian Empire, which was succeeded by [2] the Media-Persian Empire, which was succeeded by [3] the Grecian Empire, which was succeeded by [4] the Roman Empire.
    Our readers should carefully notice in the Book of Daniel that the fourth world empire upon the earth [the Roman Empire], would never cease to exist until the Lord God Himself brings it to an end at His Second Coming. Yes, I am saying, without apology to any reader, that the Roman Empire is still in existence today, and has been in existence ever since it was established following the overthrow of the Grecian Empire. Study Daniel 2:40-45 carefully, and pay attention to, and believe, what you are reading.
The Fourth World Empire

    The fourth world empire seen by Nebuchadnezzar was the Roman Empire.  The Romans [Italians] began to gradually expand their territory, according to the historians, as far back as 600 B.C.  The expansion of their territory resulted in numerous wars between Rome and other countries, ultimately resulting in the breakup of the Grecian Empire which had been established by Alexander the Great.  Historians claim that political Rome was firmly established as the dominant power in Europe and the Middle East by 100 B.C.  Prior to the birth of Christ, the little country of Judea came under bondage to the Roman Empire, and was in such bondage at the birth of Christ and during the Lord’s personal ministry.  It is this fourth world empire, the Roman Empire, that I want to center the attention of our readers upon in this study.  The inspired Scriptures clearly teach that the Roman Empire, in some form, would not cease to exist from the time it was established, until the Lord Himself destroys it at His Second Coming.  I am sure that some readers are already asking how this could be?   Let’s  see…..

Rome’s Nemesis!

    Isn’t it amazing that the political and military powers of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, could not overthrow the Roman Empire, and free themselves from bondage, and from having to pay tribute to Rome? Yet the rulers of the Roman Empire feared, that through the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Lord’s little church and band of disciples the entire Roman Empire would be undermined and collapse.  Glory! How great is our God!    
    During the personal ministry of Christ Jesus our Lord, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ was established in the earth in the land of Israel.  On the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, the Lord’s church was given spiritual power from Heaven, enabling them to carry the gospel of Christ “to the uttermost part of the earth,” Acts 1:8.  The Greek word translated as “power” in Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18, and other New Testament Scriptures, is the Greek word, “dynamis.”  Many Christians today are not aware that this Greek word is the source of our English word, “dynamite.” Surely every intelligent reader is aware of the destructive power of dynamite when it explodes.  But how many are aware of the destructive, and the instructive, power of the Word of God when it is proclaimed in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ?  Glory to God! 
    Those early disciples and Christian believers were certainly aware of such power, and used that power to carry the gospel throughout the whole Roman Empire [the known world] in the forty years following the resurrection of Christ, Colossians 1:6; 1:23.  Everywhere the disciples went throughout the Roman Empire, preaching the gospel of Christ, hundreds and even thousands of the Roman citizens turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith for salvation, Acts 17:6; 20:21.  Hallelujah!    
    In doing so, these new Christian believers discarded the pagan and heathen gods of the Roman Empire.  Such a mighty move of God disturbed the Roman rulers to the extent that they began attempting to hinder this “new religion” [?] in order to keep it from spreading. 
    Please dear readers, do not ever refer to true Bible believing Christianity as a “religion.” It is not
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Real Bible believing Christianity is a personal faith which a true believer places in the Lord Jesus Christ, bringing about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is the pagan and heathen “religions” of the world who serve their dumb and dead gods.  The God of true Christian believers lives and ministers to His believing people every day, and no reader of this study should ever forget it!
    The rulers of the Roman Empire became so “frightened” by the amazing spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire that they set out to destroy it.  They first made it a crime against Rome to convert from the pagan Roman religions to Christianity. This reminds me of the equally ignorant Muslim and Hindu rulers today who persecute and even execute those of their own people who convert to Christianity. The rulers of Rome imprisoned, tortured, burned, crucified, and murdered Christians by the hundreds, but amazingly, the more the Roman Empire persecuted the Christians, the faster Christianity grew and multiplied.  Christian history records that there were ten great persecutions of Christians by the Roman Empire in the first 300 years after the coming of Christ into the world, and the tenth and final Roman persecution lasted exactly ten years. This may or may not correlate with the statement of Christ in Revelation 2:10. At the present time I don’t have Scriptural proof of such a correlation, therefore I do not teach it as a Biblical or historical fact.      
    As the Roman rulers saw it, Christianity was the “nemesis” or “enemy” that threatened to bring down the whole Roman Empire, Acts 17:6.  What were those Roman rulers to do?  They were too wicked and spiritually dull witted to believe the gospel themselves, but they reasoned that they had to do something to stop the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire.  So what were they to do?  They planted a tree
The Scriptural Background

    Why is it that even many Christian believers today, when studying the “Book of Daniel” do not recognize that Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream was given to shed more spiritual light on his first dream?  By Divine Inspiration Daniel plainly stated that Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams were for the purpose of making known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days,” 2:28.  Compare Daniel 2:45, 6:26, 7:26, 8:17, 8:19, 8:23, 10:14, 11:6, 11:27, 11:35, 11:40, 12:4, 12:9, and 12:13.  Any serious prophecy student should be able to understand that these fifteen references to the “end times,” the “end of days,” the “time of the end,” the “latter days,” the “end of years,”  and the “latter time” make it obvious that the whole Book of Daniel was not given for the primary purpose of informing God’s people about the history of the four ancient Empires, but rather was given for the purpose of informing God’s people about the course of these world empires through human history, and especially about how they would all be brought to an end by the glorious Second Coming of Christ, Daniel 2:44-45.  Is this too hard for some readers to see and understand?        
    In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar was given his second dream.  Study this chapter carefully.  In this second dream the Babylonian Empire under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar is portrayed as “a tree,” Daniel 4:10-17.  This second dream of Nebuchadnezzar had a near fulfillment in the person of Nebuchadnezzar himself, but also a future fulfillment in reference to the Kingdom of Babylon. I will prove this statement as we continue to study.  As Daniel interpreted the dream for King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel pointed out that the near fulfillment applied to Nebuchadnezzar himself, 4:19-27, and so it came to pass, 4:28-36.  The future fulfillment is clearly indicated by the fact that “the tree” was cut down and “a band of iron and brass” was placed about the stump of the tree, 4:14-15.  It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to understand that the band was placed about the stump of the tree to preserve it.  At the time the tree was cut down, it was not the intention of the “holy watcher” that the tree be destroyed, but rather that it be temporarily removed, to be later restored.  That is what happened to Nebuchadnezzar himself, and that is what the prophecies of the Bible reveal would happen to the Babylonian Empire. Compare Job 14:7-9.
    I also don’t think it takes much intelligence to understand that Nebuchadnezzar himself was not literally the Babylonian Empire.  He was only one of the rulers over it.  While his immediate kingdom was preserved to him, and he returned to his right mind to finish out the “appointed time” the Lord God had assigned for him to rule, yet his experience only typifies what was to happen to his Babylonian Kingdom across the course of the centuries.  Proof?  Gladly!
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The Origin & Symbolism of the Tree

    In Daniel 4 the Babylonian Empire is portrayed as “a tree.”  It is explicitly stated that the tree
“…grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth, 4:11.  This tells us that even heaven itself was taking notice of this great tree, as revealed by “a watcher” coming down from heaven, 4:13. 
    However, while the Middle Eastern nations, Europe, and even parts of Asia, took notice of the power and majesty of ancient Babylon, it certainly was not true that at that time ancient Babylon was seen “by all the earth.”  No, I am not correcting Scripture. The inspired Word does not need to be corrected. Rather, I am simply pointing out that the exact wording of this Scripture makes it clear that there was yet to be a future fulfillment of this passage. This is the only way that “the tree” could ever be seen “to the end of all the earth.” 
    In 4:12 the Scripture states, “The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.”  Wow!  What a statement! Glory! 
    This statement was never literally true of ancient Babylon.  Yet it is and has been literally true of the “religion” which came forth out of ancient Babylon.  What do I mean?  I’m so glad you asked.
    Notice that the inspired Word explicitly states that “the leaves thereof were fair.”  The Hebrew word translated as “fair” in this Scripture literally means, “beautiful; lovely; fair to look upon.”  This exactly describes the appearance of the beautiful scarlet and white satin and silk robes worn by the cardinals, bishops, and archbishops, and the Pope himself, and of the flair and pageantry set forth by the adherents of the “Holy Roman” religion.  Their outward appearance is indeed beautiful in the sight of men, but don’t be deceived by such outward beauty, Proverbs 31:30.  Remember that the inspired Word says that Satan himself is transformed into “an angel of light,” 2 Corinthians 11:14.    
    The “fruit” of the tree was “much, and in it was meat for all.”  Over the centuries since this religious “tree” was planted in Rome, it has become the wealthiest and most financially powerful institution on earth today.  More worldly treasure is owned and controlled today by the “Holy Roman Catholic Heirarchy” than by the combined treasuries of the governments of the whole rest of the world. Does this tell our readers anything about who is financially able to manipulate the economies of the nations of the world?  And who really is able to finance the wars of this world?  Think about it! 
    Notice that “the beasts of the field had shadow” under this tree.  The word translated as “beasts” in this Scripture is the equivalent of the Greek word in Revelation 6:8.  This word can refer to actual wild animals, yet in the Scriptures it is often used to speak of extremely wicked and vicious men, especially those wicked men who rule over the nations, Revelation 13:1, 13:11-12, 17:3, 17:7-8, 17:11-12, 17:16-17, 19:19-20, and many other passages in God’s Word too numerous to list. Take your Concordance or Lexicon and study this for yourself.  It doesn’t take a great deal of study of history, to see how the Roman Popes have used their political and religious powers right through the centuries to hide and protect some of the most vicious and wicked rulers in human history.  This is glaringly true of their protection of Adolph Hitler and his Nazi henchmen during and following the Second World War.  
    The word “field” in this passage refers to the whole world or earth, as stated by the Lord Himself in Matthew 13:38.  The “beasts” of this present evil world have literally been hiding under the “shadow” of the “tree” of the Babylonian religious system for centuries.  But this is by no means the full picture…..
    The inspired Word also states that “the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof.”
    In the parable of The Sower in Matthew 13:3-9, the Lord Jesus Himself, in explaining that parable, clearly stated that “the fowls” who come and steal the Word out of the hearts of men, typify “the wicked,” Matthew 13:4; 13:19.  In other words, the spiritual and demonic forces that presently dwell in “the heavenlies” above the earth, Ephesians 6:12.  These demonic spirits have been dwelling in “the boughs” or branches of the Roman religion for centuries.  They are what give “mystical, and on occasion, supernatural powers” to the leaders and adherents of this false religion.  Take heed! 
    Don’t fail to notice the statement in Daniel 4 that “all flesh was fed of it.”  Any serious student of Bible prophecy knows that during the coming Tribulation period, there will come a time when all who
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are living on the earth at that time will be required to receive “a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name,” Revelation 13:16-17.  Folks, this amounts to depriving mankind of whatever food is available to keep them alive, unless they are willing to receive the “mark.” Until it is too late, many will not realize that receiving that mark will seal their eternal doom, Revelation 14:9-11. Now can you guess what religious institution upon the earth today will be placed in charge of administering this world food program for the anti-christ? It would require an organization which has offices or representatives in nearly every city, town, and village throughout the whole world to supervise and administer such a program properly. Now what organization would that be?  I’ll give you a clue…what religion on earth today actually boasts that they have spread their religion [their branches or boughs] into every nation and people on the earth?  Well…??

Babylon’s Religion

    Even many believers today have never seriously studied the religious system of ancient Babylon, and therefore know next to nothing about it.  But they should have studied it!  Why?  Because it was the exact same system set up by Nimrod and his wicked wife, Semaramis, centuries before the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and was preserved in Babel through all of those centuries. And because it is the direct counterfeit and enemy of the Lord’s church, opposing true Bible believing Christianity at every opportunity.   
    The “god” which was worshipped in ancient Babylon was “Bel” or “Baal.” See Isaiah 46:1, Jeremiah 50:2, and 51:44. Any serious Bible student should recognize this term as the name of an idol “god” [graven image] representing Satan himself.
    Since this religion had been passed down through the centuries all the way from Nimrod, this should make it plain that Nimrod, after the flood, made a deliberate choice to follow Satan rather than God.  Nimrod and his equally wicked wife, Semaramis, established and built an entire religion devoted to the worship of Satan.  Nimrod made a deliberate choice to “dance with the Devil.” 
    UPDATE…..In the past two weeks, an insider and whistle blower who has left the Roman religion, has published a book in which he claims that the Satanic ritual of “the black mass” is regularly and secretly observed in the Vatican, and in his book he explicitly named some of the most prominent and important men in the world today, as men who attend these ritualistic “black masses” held secretly at the Vatican. Any reader who does not know what a “black mass” is, should look up the subject and study it for yourself. Hello!        
    As our readers study Daniel 1 through 4, the chapters primarily dealing with Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, don’t fail to notice the emphasis on “Bel,” the “god” of the Babylonians.  After the Israelite captives were brought to Babylon, Daniel and his companions were given new Babylonian names, as recorded in Daniel 1:7.  Notice that Daniel was named Belteshazzar.” This literally means, “Bel will protect.”  The names given to Daniel’s companions also reflect the names of lesser important “gods” in the Babylonian pagan religious system. Then there is the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar,” who was ruling over Babylon at the time the kingdom was overthrown by Media-Persia, Daniel 5.  This word literally means “Bel protect the king.”   Isn’t it obvious from reading this chapter in Daniel, that “Bel” was not able to protect Belshazzar in view of God’s will being done?  Glory!            
    From these and other Scriptures I could give, it is glaringly obvious that the entire ancient Kingdom of Babylon was devoted to the worship of “Bel,” an idol “god” personifying Satan himself. Is the light beginning to break through to some readers?

Connecting the Dots…..

    The time finally came when King Nebuchadnezzar died.  His son, Nabodinus then became ruler over Babylon. But, to a fault Nabodinus loved war and fighting and conquering other nations. He was bored with merely ruling over Babylon.  So in the third year of his reign, Nabodinus made his son, Belshazzar, co-regent with him over Babylon.  This set Nabodinus free to go off to make war, while
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still technically being the King of Babylon. This is why the inspired Scriptures state that Belshazzar was reigning over Babylon at the time the armies of Cyrus the Mede invaded Babylon, and it is also why Belshazzar offered to make Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon, Daniel 5:16. 
    What some are not aware of, is that Cyrus was a believer in the God of Israel, Isaiah 45:1-3.  As such, Cyrus literally hated the pagan Babylonian religion. When the army of Cyrus invaded Babylon, Cyrus issued an order to his soldiers that every “priest” of the wicked Babylonian religion was to be immediately executed without mercy. 
    However, word of Cyrus’s order to execute the priests of Babylon spread quickly after Cyrus army had entered the city, and some of those Babylonian priests fled out into the night, fleeing for their very lives.  Figuratively speaking, as the “tree” was being cut down, “seed” or “fruit” from the “tree” was being scattered.     
    Now at that very time in history the city of Pergamos in ancient Phrygia [modern Turkey] was what is referred to today as a “city-state.” In other words the city itself was a kingdom. In ancient times a strong, wealthy man might build a city, and then make himself king over all the people who chose to dwell in his city, and over all the surrounding territory that he was able to bring under his control.  That was the situation with ancient Pergamos at the time Cyrus conquered Babylon.
      Several of the priests of Babylon fled through the night, escaping from Babylon, and then traveling to the ancient city of Pergamos, where the king of Pergamos welcomed them into his city and gave them sanctuary.  The king of Pergamos then allowed them to set up their wicked Babylonian religious system in the city of Pergamos, where it remained for several hundred years. 
    This is exactly why the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in 96 A.D, in dictating His letter to John in Revelation 2:12-17 [Revelation 1:18-19], explicitly stated to the church at Pergamos, “I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat [thronos…throne] is:….,” Revelation 2:13.  This makes it glaringly obvious that in 96 A.D., when the Lord gave the Revelation vision to John, the city of Pergamos was the world headquarters of the ancient Babylonian religious system, which had been set in place in Babel by Nimrod after the flood, Genesis 10:8-10.    
    So now our readers know how “the tree” which was chopped down in Babylon sprouted again in the city of Pergamos.  Some “seed” or “fruit” from that tree found its way to Pergamos, was planted or transplanted there, and once again “the tree” began to grow in Pergamos. But why in Pergamos?  If our readers will look up the meaning of the word translated as “Pergamos” in their own Concordance or Lexicon, the word literally means “marriage.”  Keep this meaning in mind as we continue to study, as this is by no means the end of the story…..
    In 133 B.C. one of those Babylonian priests by the name of Attalus III had become the king of Pergamos, making him a “priest-king.” His position perfectly counterfeited the type of Christ who will also fill the role of being a “priest-king” during His coming Millennial Kingdom.  Shortly before Attalus died, he willed his city-kingdom of Pergamos to the expanding Roman Empire. So upon his death Pergamos passed into the possession of Rome.  The Roman rulers did not immediately do anything with Pergamos.
    But in approximately 156 A.D. one of the Roman Emperors made a trip back to the eastern half of the Roman Empire. During his trip he visited the city of Pergamos, There he was highly impressed at the slavish, unquestionable, devotion and obedience which the adherents of the Babylonian religious system paid to their priests.  That Roman Emperor reasoned that if the Babylonian religious system was established in Rome, and made the official “state” religion of the Roman Empire, it would solve many of the political problems associated with ruling the Empire.. So when the Emperor returned to Rome, he took several of those Babylonian priests [more seeds from the tree] with him back to Rome, and encouraged them to “set up shop” in the seven hilled city of Rome, Revelation 17:9; 17:18. And they did!  Isn’t God’s Word wonderfully revealing when it is seriously studied? 
    Now our readers know how, when the “tree” was cut down in Babylon, “seed” from the Babylonian “tree” was transplanted from Babylon to the city of Pergamos, and then later from Pergamos on to Rome.  And in Rome the “tree” sprouted and grew yet again, exactly as prophesied in Daniel 4. 

The Planting of the Tree
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    Now let’s move forward to 313 A.D., shortly after Constantine had become Emperor over the Roman Empire. Constantine was well aware that for 300 years there had been nothing but conflict between the Roman Empire and the “new Christian religion.” In spite of 300 years of bitter persecution by the Roman Empire, Christianity had not been wiped out, but had steadily increased. Constantine was a wicked and shrewd politician.  He apparently reasoned, “If we can’t defeat this religion, let’s join it and control it from within.”  And that is exactly what Constantine decided to do! 
    Many religious historians today speak of Constantine as a great “father of the church.”  Sic! Ignorance gone to seed!  The best thing that can truthfully be said about Constantine is that he was a wicked, corrupt, conniving, shrewd, politician.  While publicly “professing” to believe in Christ, he stedfastly refused to even be baptized until the night before he died, and then he did so just in case the “Christians” might be right about baptism being necessary for salvation [and that is faith?].  There were many “professing” Christians by that time that were teaching the “damnable heresy” [2 Peter 2:1-2] of “baptismal regeneration,” and Constantine didn’t want to take a chance on missing heaven. So he submitted to baptism the very last night before he knew he was going to die.  So much for Constantine being a great “Christian believer.”  Sic!
     When Constantine ascended to the throne of the Roman Empire, he shortly began proclaiming to all the citizens of Rome that he had been given a vision by God [?] of a Christian type cross in the sky, accompanied by the latin words, “By this sign conquer.”  Constantine took his supposed vision to mean that he should embrace and assist in the furtherance of the Christian “religion,” rather than  continuing to persecute Christianity.
     Therefore in 313 A.D., Constantine convened a Church Council, demanding that every Christian preacher and pastor throughout the Roman Empire come to the council he assembled.  At that council he set up the heirarchy system of bishops and archbishops and lesser officials who were given ecclesiastical authority and power over certain areas of the Roman Empire.  The “priests” [preachers and pastors] in those areas of the Empire were then to be in submission to the authority of the bishop and archbishop who had been given authority over that particular area, and all were to be in submission to the infallible “Holy Father” in Rome. Sic! Constantine also declared himself to be the official “Papa” or “Holy Father” of the “Holy Roman Catholic [universal] Church,” bringing church and state together as one entity.
    I am not making any of this up! The details of this whole sordid affair are preserved for those who seriously want to study the matter, in The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus.  This history is still in print and can be obtained at any good Christian bookstore, or online at Amazon.com. There are also other good books which give revealing insight into the Roman Babylonian religious system preserved today in the so-called “Holy Roman Catholic Church.”  I would recommend that serious students of God’s Word secure and read, The Two Babylons, written by Alexander Hislop, and Fifty Years in the Church of Rome by Charles Chiniquy.  Also Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe. These books set forth names, dates, and places which can easily be verified in history. Each of these books can be purchased from Chick Publications, or from any good Christian bookstore.  The little booklet, The Trail of Blood, written by J. M. Carroll, is also a “must” for those who truly want historical insight into this subject.   
    What Constantine and his followers were too spiritually dull-witted to understand was that the preachers and pastors who came to his council, were those who were willing to compromise on God’s Word with the unbelieving lost world, 2 Corinthians 11:12-15.  These compromising preachers and pastors were willing to “dance with the Devil” and became a part of Constantine’s hierarchy.      
    On the other hand, there were many preachers and pastors who absolutely refused to attend Constantine’s council, and never had any part in.  Over the next 1,000 years, the Heirarchy established by Constantine bitterly persecuted and callously murdered millions of Bible believing Christians who refused to depart from the truth of God’s Word and give up their living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.. Historians look back on this period of time today and refer to it as “the Dark Ages.”  This is what happens when people go to “Dancing with the Devil.” 
    During the “Dark Ages,” true Bible believing Christians who refused to identify themselves with,
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and submit to, the Roman “church” were raped, robbed, had their homes looted and burned, and their fortunes stolen, were tortured, burned at the stake, hung, crucified, and callously murdered by the followers of the Roman religion. It is conservatively estimated by Christian historians that a minimum of 50 million true Bible believing Christians perished at the hand of the Roman Babylonian whore during the “Dark Ages.”  Read Revelation 17:1-6. All of this bitter, bloody, persecution of true believers, including names, dates, and places where these things occurred, are recorded in the history books I have recommended to our readers in this study. Buy the books and read the record for yourself. This is what happens when men adopt vain “religion,” rather than truly repenting of their sin and receiving  the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior.           

The Marriage

    What Constantine and his followers were too spiritually dull witted to comprehend, was that wicked old “Jezebel,” the high priestess of the ancient Babylonian whore religious system, having previously been brought to Rome, was just waiting for the opportunity to “join the church,” and put on the robes of “Christianity,” making herself appear to be a “Christian” organization. And this is exactly what she did at Constantine’s Council. So Satan used Constantine to make a “marriage” between the ancient Babylonian religious system and “Christianity.” Read again Matthew 7:15. 
    If this sounds to our readers like some theory which I have invented, it isn’t!  Turn and carefully study the  Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven given by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 13. Notice especially parable No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4.  These three parables correlate exactly with the truths that I have thus far set before our readers. 
    Parable No. 2 is the parable of The Wheat and the Tares.  The Lord explicitly says in this parable that He sowed “good seed” in His field, 13:24.  “But while men slept, His enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way,” 13:25.  When the “good seed” sown by the Lord, and the seed of the “tares” sown by Satan first sprouted, they appeared to be identical, but when they reached mature growth it could easily be seen that they were different. Why? Because the wheat turns a golden color when it matures; the color of glory and righteousness.  But as the tares mature they turn black; the color of sin and darkness, and wickedness carried out in secrecy.  Now what is the favored color of the Roman Babylonian religious system right to this day?  Do not all of their “priests” dress themselves in black?  You know they do!  The Lord Jesus explicitly said, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,” Matthew 7:20.
      Parable No. 3 is the parable of The Mustard Seed.  In this parable the Lord explained how a mantook a “mustard seed” and sowed it in his field.”  As the mustard seed grew, it became “a tree” and “the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof,” Matthew 13:31-32.  Now isn’t this interesting?  The Lord Jesus Himself clearly stated that a mantook the mustard seed and sowed it in his field.”  The man was Constantine, and the Roman Empire was “his field.” Christ Jesus also set forth almost exactly the same description of this mustard plant which had grown into “a tree” as the description given in Daniel 4.  By the way, notice that the Lord clearly stated that the mustard seed “is the least of all seeds,” 13:32.   If our readers have never seen a seed from the mustard herb plant grown in the Middle East, it is indeed so small that it appears more like a dot from the point of a pen, than it does a seed.  Yet the Lord also said that it grows into “the greatest among herbs.” However, that mustard plant in the Middle East does not ordinarily grow into “a tree.”  It is then obvious that Christ was speaking of a monstrosity; a mustard plant that for whatever reason grew far larger than a normal mustard plant and spread out great branches large enough for “the birds of the air” to lodge in the branches. In other words, the demonic powers of the heavenlies would come and take up residence in the branches of this corrupt “tree.”  This perfectly harmonizes with the description given of the “tree” in Daniel 4 which typified the establishment of the Babylonian Roman religion.  Hello!
    Oh, one more thing about the Middle Eastern mustard plant.  I am told that a mature mustard plant STINKS.  It is odious!  Think about how this “tree” smells in the nostrils of the Lord God of Heaven.   
    Parable No. 4 is the parable of The Hidden Leaven.  In this parable the Lord said that “a woman”
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took “leaven” and hid it in “three measures of meal” and the result was that the whole kingdom was ultimately leavened.  Leaven is what we today refer to as “yeast.” The yeast or “leaven” spreads through the dough and causes it to rise.  But in the Scriptures “leaven” is given a negative meaning, being looked upon as typifying sin, wickedness, false doctrine, false teaching, and false teachers. Paul was inspired of God to urge the Lord’s church at Corinth to “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us,” 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. 
    The woman in this parable was obviously a wicked woman, for she “hid” the “leaven” in “three measures of meal.”  In other words, she did not wish to be seen publicly doing what she was doing, so she quietly and secretly slipped the “leaven” into the three measures of meal.  This parable perfectly describes “Jezebel,” the “religious” old Babylonian whore, slipping her “false doctrines and teachings” into the ranks of Christianity in 313 A.D, the third century of this present Christian Era
    Folks we are clearly warned in the Scriptures that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” 1 Corinthians 5:6.  Now look around you today and compare the teachings and doctrines of modern Christianity with what our Christian forefathers in the faith stood for and against back across the centuries, even as little as 50 years ago.  Is the “leaven” planted in the ranks of Christianity in 313 A.D. still working?  Answer the question honestly!  Some “professing Christians” even today are “Dancing with the Devil.”         
    This truth is clearly pointed out by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in His letters to the churches at Pergamos and Thyatira, Revelation 2:12-29.  There is nothing “Christian” about the Roman Babylonian whore religion, nor has there ever been, regardless of their claims to the contrary.  Their religious organization is the very embodiment of every pagan and heathen religious teaching and practice on the face of the whole earth.  PERIOD!   
    It is well known that many of the statues and images of so-called “Christians” in the Vatican and other places in Rome today, are in reality statues of the old Roman “gods” who were simply given Christian names and titles after the supposed conversion of Constantine.  Sic!
    I have no desire to deliberately offend any reader, but I must stand for the truth of God’s Word and Christian history.  The so-called ”Holy Roman Catholic Church” is not now, nor has it ever been “holy,” “a church,” or even “Christian” in the true Biblical sense. Rather, it is a religious hierarchy, a counterfeit “church,” established for no other purpose than to oppose the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to deceive and enslave the multitudes of humanity by bringing the whole of humanity under the pagan and heathen religious practices of the whole lost, unbelieving, world.  Every heathen or pagan religion, every cult, sect, or deviate religion on earth can be traced right back to the “mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,” Revelation 17:5.  Hello!    
    Do I hate Catholicism?  Yes I do!  Do I hate Catholics?  Absolutely not!  My heart goes out to the millions of Catholic people all over the earth who have been deceived by the old Roman whore religion. While I totally reject their “religion,” I have nothing but love and compassion for their souls.  I thank God for the GRACE OF GOD and the love of God that has enabled me over the years to lead a number of these deceived Catholic people to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus, motivating them to leave the Roman Babylonian whore religious system.  Sadly, today even most “professing Christians” don’t pay a lick of attention to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”  In the exact same context, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,” 7:20. What better way to deceive people than by pretending and proclaiming to be a devout “Christian” religion?  Think about it!   
    Today millions of people all over the world look at the Pope and the Catholic priests as “holy men of God.”  Sic!  However, the Pope himself just a few weeks ago publicly admitted that as many as half of the Catholic priests around the world may be pedophiles, preying on little children entrusted into their care.  And these are “holy men of God?”  And the “Holy Roman Catholic Church” tolerates this situation, and basically does nothing about it?  Pardon me while I barf!  
    Folks, there is not a single doctrinal truth set forth in God’s Word, not one, that old “Jezebel” has not corrupted in one way or another, Revelation 2:20-21.  Whether some like this or not, in this study I
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have set forth the truth, and the wise will diligently consider what I have set before our readers!  But if any reader is angry at me for shining the light of history and the Bible on wicked old “Jezebel,” let’s move from “angry” to “furious.”  I’m not through yet…..

Subsequent History

    Many of our readers have or are familiar with Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.  It is one of the best historical accounts still available today, of events which occurred in the ranks of Christianity during “the Dark Ages,” and events leading up to the Protestant Reformation, and even some events following the Protestant Reformation.  It can be ordered from Chick Publications, the producers of the little Chick tracts. 
    History records that when the political power of the visible Roman Empire was broken, and the Roman Empire ceased to exist as an actual government in the fourth century of this present Christian Era, the “Papa” [Pope] of the Roman Babylonian “religion” then assumed both the political and spiritual powers of the Roman Empire, and through the Papal Heirarchy the Roman Empire kept right on functioning, and is still functioning today.  The prophecies set forth in Daniel 2:40-44 and 7:19-26 will be perfectly fulfilled to the letter, whether some choose to believe it or not.
    Constantine’s Roman Babylonian “church,” through the power of the state, exercised power over the churches with an iron fist from the time it was brought into existence until the invention of the printing press in the 1400,s. There were many churches and pastors, especially among the Baptists, who were never identified with the Roman Babylonian whore religion, either before or during the “Dark Ages.” Oh yes there were!  The Lord Jesus Himself said so!  Read Revelation 2:24 and 3:4 and believe what you read. But those churches and pastors were forced to flee to the mountains, caves, valleys, and catacombs in order to preach the gospel and conduct spiritual services for their followers.  The Lord’s letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29 deals with the churches during the “Dark Ages,” and explicitly refers to “Jezebel” who was the ancient persecutor of God’s people, 1 Kings 16 – 21.

The Protestant Reformation

    The first major publishing job turned out on Gutenberg’s new printing press was the Gutenberg Bible.  The printing press made the whole Bible available to the public in an inexpensive form. For the first time in human history every family and even individuals could now own a copy of the Bible for themselves. Glory to God!
     The result was that thousands of people who had never read the Word of God for themselves in the past, now were able to read it..  This literally produced a spiritual “revolution” and uprising against the corrupt Babylonian priesthood. The people who seriously began studying the Scriptures began to understand what “freedom in Christ” really meant.  Among them was Martin Luther, who diligently studied and absorbed the Biblical doctrine of God’s grace in Christ.  Luther then wrote and nailed his “99 Thesis” to the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and the Protestant Reformation was born.  The reformation swept through the entire ranks of Christianity, breaking the power of the Roman Babylonian religion everywhere it went. Millions of people were blessed with hearing the uncorrupted gospel of Christ for the first time, and millions were saved by the grace of God. I am not a Protestant, yet I do thank God for bringing the Protestant Reformation to pass. The Lord’s letter to the church at Sardis in Revelation 3:1-6 deals with the Protestant Reformation.  Please notice that there were strong warnings given by the Lord Jesus to the Protestant churches in this letter, 3:1-3.  Most Protestant churches today are totally ignoring those warnings!  They do so to their own peril.     
    Some of the Protestants obviously hadn’t really learned much, for many of them turned against anyone and everyone who didn’t see “eye to eye” with them on the Scriptures and persecuted them, just like wicked old “Jezebel” had persecuted those who stood for the truth during the “Dark Ages.” Yet with the passing of time, it became evident that the power of the Roman church was broken and Protestanism was here to stay [?], and all the churches gradually began to treat one another with some
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degree of mutual respect.  This allowed the churches to get back to the business the Lord had assigned to His church; that of witnessing “to the uttermost part of the earth” about His saving grace, Acts 1:8. 
    The greatest period of evangelism in the history of New Testament Christianity, since the Apostolic period, followed the Protestant Reformation, occurring during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries when missionaries were sent into nations all over the earth to preach and teach the gospel of Christ.  Millions were saved, and the “good seed” of the gospel was planted in the hearts and minds of countless people who had never previously heard it.  This missionary zeal is reflected in the Lord’s letter to the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13.

The Lord’s Promises

    Don’t fail to notice that the Lord Jesus made two distinct promises to His church and to His people in these letters to the churches…..
    [1] In 2:24, in the letter to the church at Thyatira, the Lord explicitly told His churches and people who had just come out of the terrible persecution of the Dark Ages, “I will put upon you none other burden.”  I take this to mean that true Bible believing and teaching churches, and true people of the Lord, saved during this present dispensation, will never be required to go through and endure anything again like they went through during the Dark Ages.  That totally rules out the Lord’s churches and people from going through any part of the Tribulation period.  Hello!
    [2]  The Lord then explicitly confirmed the meaning of His promise by making yet another promise to His church and people in Revelation 3:10, “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation [peirasmos…tribulation], which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”  Right here the Lord Jesus explicitly promised His church and people that He would keep us from the Tribulation period.  How?  By resurrecting and rapturing His church and people to glory BEFORE the Tribulation period begins, 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9; 4:13-18.  Folks, I am not responsible for the “willing ignorance” of some today who scoff at the Pre-tribulation Rapture.  Anyone who takes a position on the rapture, other than the Pre-tribulation Rapture is knowingly making the Lord Jesus out to be A LIAR!  I literally rejoice that I will never have to face my Savior and Lord with the burden of such a sin upon my conscience.  I believe the Lord’s promises!  Do you?
The Future of Jezebel

    I believe all of the Lord’s promises!  This includes the promises the Lord Jesus made to “Jezebel,” the high priestess of the ancient Babylonian religion.  So what promises did the Lord make to this old Roman Babylonian whore?  Let’s see…..
    In the Lord’s letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29, specifically speaking to and about “Jezebel,” the Lord explicitly stated, “Behold, [1] I will cast her into a bed, and [2] them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation [Greek text: tribulation; the great one], except they repent of their deeds,” 2:22. 
    Folks, speaking with “tongue in cheek,” as someone in the past  has said, “I am as old as the hills.”  This is not a boast, but neither is it a complaint.  I well remember when Pope John XXIII [Pope John the 23rd] issued his Papal Bull [they sure named that right] calling for the “Ecumenical movement.” And this movement has been going on ever since that time.  This was nothing less than an invitation to all of Protestantism [and others] to come back “home” and get in bed with “Mama Jezebel.” What did the Lord say about casting her into a bed?
   In the next Scripture, 2:23, the Lord Jesus further promised, [3] And I will kill her children with death; and [4] all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and [5] I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”
    Whether some want to believe it or not, all of these so-called “Christian” denominations which came forth from the Roman Babylonian whore religion, [children of Jezebel] according to the Lord Jesus Himself, are going to be judged and die by the Lord’s decree. Why?  Because “a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit,” Matthew 7:17.  The multiplicity of so-called “Christian” denominations in the world
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today, most of whose origins can be traced right back to the Roman Babylonian harlot, have not furthered the cause of Christ, but rather have spread “religious” confusion throughout the world.  “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints,” 1 Corinthians 14:33.   
Identifying the Lord’s Churches

    Folks, during His personal ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ chose those Apostles which should lay the foundation for His church [Ephesians 2:19-22], and the Lord Himself entrusted to them “the faith” He expected them to teach and preach and pass on to others, Jude 1:3..  Then on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, the Lord endued His church with “power from on high,” enabling them to carry His “faith” into all the world.  The Lord Jesus does have a church [a local, visible, body of baptized believers] in this world, and the Lord’s church was teaching and preaching and keeping “the faith” for three hundred years before the corrupt counterfeit church of Constantine was even established.  The Lord’s church is still in the world today, and is still teaching and preaching and keeping “the faith” that was entrusted to it by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and by the Lord’s Apostles, Acts 2:42.  So what one “denomination” among the many is the Lord’s church today?   
    The Lord’s church or churches cannot be identified by the name hanging over the door, but rather by the doctrines they teach and preach, and their practices in living out those doctrines before men.  Any religious group today who believes themselves to be one of the Lord’s churches, yet who refuses to hold fast to the literal truths of the Apostolic doctrines and teachings of God’s Word [“the faith”] is not one of the Lord’s churches, no matter how much they claim to be.  Folks, all that the Lord Himself requires of true believers to be in His church is to receive His Word at face value for what it actually and literally says, and then depending on His Grace, live and work out “the faith” in our lives, Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-16.  Is this just too much for the Lord to require of those who “claim” to be in His church and thereby in His Bride?  Notice that in Philippians 2:15 the inspired Apostle is asking the believers in the Church at Philippi to be “blameless and harmless.”  Isn’t this exactly what the inspired Word says that the Lord Himself is going to do in regards to His church in Ephesians 5:26-27?  Every honest reader knows it is! 
    However, even a true believer must yield themselves to the Lord God and seek daily to be led by His Word and His Spirit in order for this to be accomplished.  Do our readers really want to be a part of the Lord’s church and thereby “the bride of Christ” when the Lord comes, or will some readers be satisfied with just being “a guest” at the wedding? It is your choice!  You have the choice of truly living a sacrificial life for the Lord Jesus, or of catering to the flesh and “dancing with the Devil.”  Which one do you, as a believer, really want?
Dancing with the Devil!

    In this study I have made it quite clear to those readers who want to believe the truth, that the so-called “Holy Roman Catholic Church” is not now, nor has it ever been a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ, but rather is a counterfeit church disguised behind a “Christian” façade.  Those readers, and others, who are foolish enough to be deceived by it, are “dancing with the Devil.”
    But amazingly, here in “the end times,” a great boost has now been given to the ecu-maniac-al movement by some whom the Pope presumed to be “great charismatic leaders.”  A few weeks ago the present Pope in Rome wrote a letter to Kenneth Copeland, who for whatever reason, the Pope appeared to believe that Mr. Copeland is the major “leader” in the Charismatic movement today.  The Pope urged Mr. Copeland to use his influence to encourage the Charismatic and Pentecostal churches to seek fellowship again with “Mother Rome,” in order for all Christianity to become “one” as the Lord prayed in John 17:6-24.  I am sorry to have to report that Mr. Copeland, at a huge gathering the following week read the Pope’s letter to that gathering and rejoiced that “the holy Father” had a loving desire [Sic!] for his erring sheep to come back home to the holy Mother church. Barf! 
    Then Mr. Copeland got busy arranging for a group of charismatic, Pentecostal, church leaders to make a trip to Rome to seek reconciliation with the “Holy Father.”  And the trip was made!  Kenneth Copeland, James Robison, and other supposed “leaders” of the charismatic and Pentecostal churches,
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and of Protestantism, flew to Rome and met with the “Holy Father,” receiving his blessings for having done so!  Uh-oh! 
    Whom the Pope blesses, the Lord God curses.  Look out!  Some readers refuse to believe this?  History is on my side!  The Popes through the centuries have given their “blessings” to many in the past. In more recent times, the Popes gave their blessings to Lenin, to Stalin, to Hitler, to Mussolini, to Peron of Argentina, and to many other “rich and famous” men of the world.  Where are those men  now, and what happened to their kingdoms?  Hello!   
    Here is where this study gets really sticky!  I am sure some readers will despise me for pointing out the truths of history and God’s Word which I have set forth in this study. But I have to say that rather than the Pope’s recent overture being a movement of God to reconcile all of Christianity as one united body of Christ, it is rather a Satanic deception aimed at destroying the truth of God’s Word from the earth among men and replacing it with the teachings, doctrines, and practices of “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOT AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH,” Revelation 17:5. 
    By the way, how many of our readers are aware that this present Pope is a “Jesuit?”  How many have ever bothered to research and look up the depraved, bloody, oath of allegiance that even a practicing Catholic must  take in order to join the ranks of the Jesuits?  That’s what I thought!       
    Folks, rather than a great end-time revival in these “last days,” the great “falling away” from the faith was just given a tremendous boost by these latest developments, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.  These imagined “evangelical leaders” who are believed by many to be the leaders of the whole charismatic and Pentecostal Movement, were yet not deep enough into God’s Word, nor spiritually mature enough themselves to recognize the Pope’s overture to them as the deceptive farce that it is!  They not only are willing to return to “Mother Jezebel” themselves, but they want all of “professing Christianty” to join with them in returning to Rome. This tells me that these boasted “evangelical leaders,” will also be willing, when the time comes, to submit themselves to the “Holy Father” in Rome as the leader of the whole Christian world.  Sic!
    I again point out that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself plainly stated that “them that commit adultery with her” will be cast into “tribulation, the great one,” Revelation 2:22.  I don’t care how “brilliant” some of these “evangelical leaders” think themselves to be, no man has ever outsmarted the Lord Jesus Christ!  Hello!
    The only way to avoid the consequences of this, according to the Lord Jesus Himself, is to “repent” of such wickedness, but they had better hurry.  The very fact that these so-called “evangelical leaders” are presently courting the favor of the old Roman whore religion is evidence of the “falling away” and the shortness of time. 
A Question….?

    Folks, the Lord Jesus is going to return real SOON, and resurrect and rapture all true New Covenant believers to glory, whether some want to believe it or not.  After years of being blasted by those who do not want to believe in the Pre-tribulation Rapture, my faith is still intact and my “blessed hope” has never shone more brightly than it is shining today. 
    It is just plain logic and common sense, that after the rapture has occurred and the Tribulation does begin on the earth, many lost unbelievers who will be left behind on earth at the rapture, will finally sort out the whole picture in their minds, and come to the realization that the rapture really did occur, exactly as true believers had warned them it would, and exactly as God’s inspired Word predicts.  Then many of those left behind will fervently begin to seek the Lord as their own Savior, finally believing the Bible and literally devouring its pages in their every spare minute.  Thousands or even millions will turn to the Lord for salvation. Glory to God! But it will too late for them to escape the Tribulation period, and the wrath of the old Babylonian whore
    Now carefully study Revelation 6:9-11.  This fifth “seal” is opened in the first half of the Tribulation, sometime after the beginning of the Tribulation.  Now my question…..?
    Who are the souls “under the altar” that “were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held”? Remember when this question is asked, humanity on earth will already be in the
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first half of the Tribulation. So who are these souls? They are not the raptured believers, for the raptured believers are already in Heaven with the Lord in their glorified bodies, Revelation 5:8-10.  So they have to be people who will be left behind on earth when the rapture occurs. But why have they been slain and their souls are under the altar of God in Heaven?  For three reasons!
    [1] Wicked old “Jezebel” will cast off all pretense of being a “Christian” organization during the Tribulation, and rather will revert back to the worship of “Bel” [Satan], and attempt to force Satanic worship on every living human being on the earth, Revelation 9:20-21; 12:3-9; 12:17; 13:4-8.   
    [2] Because that is where the souls of believers go when their lives have been sacrificed for Christ upon the earth, their martyrdom being signified by their souls being beneath the altar in Heaven.   
    [3]  Because, contrary  to the opinions of some who study God’s Word rather shallowly, there is absolutely no place for Bible believing Christianity on the earth during the reign of the anti-christ over the New World Order.  No place! No toleration for Bible believing Christianity! None! 
    The anti-christ and his mistress, “Jezebel,” the Roman-Babylonian whore [Revelation 17:1-6], will set out with a vengeance to remove every trace of Bible believing Christianity from off the face of the whole earth during the Tribulation.  This will include confiscating, burning and destroying every Bible they find, and putting to death every person with whom they find a Bible. Every person who seeks to turn to the Lord God of Israel after the beginning of the Tribulation will be slaughtered by the anti-christ and his mistress, the old Babylonian whore religion. Dear readers, can’t you see what is going to unfold after the start of the Tribulation among those left on the earth?  Yes, I am unashamedly weeping as I write out what I see and know to be the truth. The Lord God has graciously given me a deep burden for the souls of others.   
    Does this give our readers any insight into who Copeland, Robison, and others are dealing with today?  Whether they have enough spiritual discernment to know it or not, when men start cuddling up to the “Holy Roman Catholic Church,” both history and the inspired Word reveal that they are only
Dancing with the Devil!
What Should True Believers Do…??

     We should do what God’s Word explicitly and repeatedly commands; “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” Carefully study 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Isaiah 48:20, 52:11, Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6; 51:45, Revelation 18:4-5.

Conclusion

     My readers have the message the Lord impressed upon my heart to write, whether some wanted to hear it or not.  Isaiah 58:1 and Ezekiel 33:8-9 are still in the Bible!  When so-called “evangelical Christians” began courting the favor of the Roman Pope, Christianity is in deep trouble, and someone has to sound a warning.  I personally refuse to be silent and “dance with the Devil.”      
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    Permission is given to any true believer or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written
    I take this opportunity to thank my precious Lord Jesus Christ for allowing me the privilege of teaching and preaching His wonderful Word over these past 60 years.  I thank the Lord God for touching the hearts and minds of His people who have helped to support this literature and Internet  ministry these past few years.  Thank you so much dear brothers and sisters in Christ for caring and being willing to share your blessings with this old preacher.  I would like to meet every reader in glory, and I truly hope that no reader disappoints me. 
    Please address all comments, questions, and correspondence to:  Pastor F. M. Riley, Last Call Gospel Ministry, 184 County Road 108, Harrisburg, Missouri 65256, or I can be contacted by email at:
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