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Saturday 6 January 2018

REV. 3:10 - THE PRETRIB RAPTURE CLINCHER! BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     When pretrib promoters are asked for a single verse proving a pretrib rapture, they invariably bring up Rev. 3:10 with a "I gotcha" look on their face. This verse says "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."
     The Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study Bible states: "This [Rev. 3:10] is the most specific guarantee from our Lord Himself that Christian believers will not go into that seven-year Tribulation period He is about to unveil (Rev. 6-18)."
     Thomas Ice, in an article titled "Kept From The Hour," writes: "I believe that Revelation 3:10 is a verse teaching that the church is promised exemption from the seven-year tribulation period, thus supporting the pretrib rapture."
     Hal Lindsey's 1999 book (the cover of which says "Hal Lindsey...Vanished Into Thin Air...The Hope of Every Believer" - a cover that is unintentionally humorous!) has this comment about Rev. 3:10 on p. 231: "The promise of being kept from the hour...[does] fit into the pattern of a pre-Tribulation Rapture scenario."
     This escapist interpretation of Rev. 3:10 (which was never a part of any official Christian theology or organized church before 1830) can be traced, unhindered, all the way back to a 19th century British group called the Irvingites who admitted they had been influenced by young Margaret Macdonald of Scotland. In Dec. 1831 one Irvingite writer identified as "Fidus" included the following in an article in his group's journal "The Morning Watch" (pp. 260f):
     He said that after "Philadelphia" is "caught up, that which withholdeth shall have been removed; all, on pain of death, shall be obliged to receive the mark of the beast...." "...that, being translated, we may in the pavilion of God escape the desolation of the wicked one and that universal hour of trial....that as the church of Philadelphia, in preserving the word of patience, refuses to let it go; so her being preserved from the hour of trial is not her being enabled to bear it, but her being exempt from undergoing it...."
     He added that the saints are "caught up...under the second woe (Rev. 11:13)...translated before the supremacy of the man of sin...." "Thou may be translated on the morrow...."
     (Note the "pretribness" - a word I coined - as well as imminence in Edward Irving's group, the first group to publicly teach what even John Darby admitted later on was then a "new" view that had never been known before! Mountains of details on the earliest pretrib rapture development of the 1830s, curiously found in no other work examining the start of pretribism, are found in my book "The Rapture Plot.")
     Was Darby correct? Let's see how the greatest Greek NT scholars of the past had interpreted Rev. 3:10.
     John Wycliffe: "Wherefore let us pray to God that he keep us in the hour of temptation, which is coming upon all the world, Rev. iii."
     Matthew Henry: "Those who keep the gospel in a time of peace shall be kept by Christ in an hour of temptation [Rev. 3:10]."
     John Newton: " 'Fear not temptation's fiery day, for I will be thy strength and stay, Thou hast my promise, hold it fast, the trying hour [Rev. 3:10] will soon be past.' "
     Albert Barnes: "...he will keep them in the future trials that shall come upon the world [Rev. 3:10]."
     R. C. Trench: "...the Philadelphian church...to be kept in temptation, not to be exempted from temptation...."
     Alexander Maclaren: "He will keep us in the midst of, and also from, the hour of temptation" [Rev. 3:10].
     J. H. Thayer: "To keep [Rev. 3:10]:...by guarding, to cause one to escape in safety out of."
     M. R. Vincent: "The preposition ['from'] implies, not a keeping from temptation, but a keeping in temptation" [Rev. 3:10].
     H. B. Swete: "The promise [of Rev. 3:10], as Bede says, is 'not indeed of your being immune from adversity, but of not being overcome by it.' "
     Theodor Zahn: "...He will preserve...at the time of the great temptation [Rev. 3:10]..."
     A. T. Robertson: "In Rev. 3:10...we seem to have the picture of general temptation with the preservation of the saints."
     R. C. H. Lenski: "...it [Philadelphia] shall be kept untouched and unharmed by the impending dangers [Rev. 3:10]."
     E. J. Goodspeed: "...I also will keep you safe in the time of testing that is going to come upon the whole world [Rev. 3:10]...."
     Emil Brunner: "The Church of Philadelphia [Rev. 3:10] receives a wonderfully comforting message: 'Because you have endured and kept faith with me therefore I will preserve you in the hour of trial.' "
     John R. W. Stott: "He would not spare them from the suffering [Rev. 3:10]; but He would uphold them in it."
     The next time you hear persons claiming that Revelation 3:10 is proof of a pretribulation rapture, feel free to share the information in this paper with them. Hopefully they will thank you even before the "hour of trial" arrives.
     (The preceding experts are just a portion of the 124 most eminent Bible scholars, from Christ to the present day, that I include in my lengthy online article entitled, fittingly, "Famous Rapture Watchers" which includes sources and pages alongside all of the quotes.) 


Thursday 4 January 2018

THE REAL MANUEL LACUNZA BY DAVE MACPHERSON

       A few of my acquaintances, especially John Bray, have claimed that a Catholic priest named Manuel de Lacunza (using the pen name "Ben-Ezra") originated the pretribulation rapture belief and introduced it in his notable work "The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty" (1812). Well, now is the right time to tell you that I am forced to kindly disagree with the Lacunza claim. Here's why:
     Bray, in his 1982 booklet "The Origin of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Teaching," admitted that he'd been influenced by an early 20th century pastor, Rev. Duncan McDougall of the Free Church of Scotland, who wrote the booklet "The Rapture of the Saints." McDougall, copied by Bray, was inspired by "much before" speculation in a Lacunza quote (Vol. I, p. 99) which declared that "much before" Christ's "arrival at the earth" He "will give his orders" involving a shout, the archangel's voice, and the trumpet of God (I Thess. 4:16).
     But both McDougall and Bray were evidently unaware that a few paragraphs after the "much before" quote (and in the same context), Lacunza reveals that other writers of his time commonly believe that "a few minutes will suffice----five or six" between the catching up and the touchdown at Jerusalem. Although Lacunza doesn't explain his "much before," a day----or even an hour----would be "much before" when compared with only five or six minutes.
     Lacunza speculates (Vol. II, p. 250) that the "wrath" and "commotion" of the "day of the Lord's coming" (that is, the second advent) will last at least "forty-five natural days." Bray somehow sees these days as part of "the tribulation period" and claims that in Lacunza's view the raptured saints are up in the air with Christ throughout the same 45-day period.
     Even though Lacunza places a rapture before this period, he repeatedly notes that this period is "after the entire ruin of Antichrist," "after the coming of Christ in glory and majesty," "in the age to come," etc.!
     After the meeting in the air, Lacunza even has the raptured saints back on earth during the 45 days! In Vol. II (pp. 262-3) he declares that they will immediately become Christ's messengers; he quotes Isa. 18:2: "Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled"----in other words, to "the relics of all nations which shall survive" Antichrist's reign.
     Does Lacunza teach a rapture occurring 45 days before the coming to earth, as Bray claims? Let's look at Vol. I.
     On p. 83 Lacunza refers to the book of Revelation and writes that "the nineteenth chapter speaks of the coming of the Lord in glory and majesty, which Christians with one consent do wait for." Pages 99-100: after quoting I Thess. 4:13-18 Lacunza quotes Matt. 24:30 and then comments: "If you compare this text with that of St. Paul, you shall find no other difference than this, that those who are to arise on the coming of the Lord, the apostle nameth those who are dead in Christ, who sleep in Jesus; and the Lord nameth them his elect."
     Lacunza (p. 113) again quotes I Thess. 4 and Matt. 24 in this manner: "...He shall descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive, &c. and it appears to me, that you will find St. Paul and the Gospel speaking one and the same thing: He shall send his angels and they shall gather his elect from the four winds; who can be no other than those very ones who are in Christ, who sleep in Jesus."
     For years I sent Lacunza quotes like the ones above to Bray and urged him to abandon that Catholic priest. Finally, in a letter dated Oct. 17, 1990 (still in my files), Bray wrote: "I don't even know what all Lacunza was talking about."
     (He's the same Bray who's been promoting 18th century pastor Morgan Edwards as a pretrib. But I've been telling Bray that Edwards believed that "Antichrist" was the Catholic papacy which had already been on earth for 1200 years before Edwards wrote his book! I've also told Bray that Edwards viewed the Ottoman Empire as Rev. 13's second beast----a beast that was already four centuries old in Edwards' day! It would have been impossible for Edwards to expect an event which logically should have happened centuries earlier! I covered all this in my later piece "Morgan Edwards' Rapture View.")
     Interestingly, even Tim LaHaye's 1992 book "No Fear of the Storm" (alias "Rapture Under Attack," alias "The Rapture"), p. 169, admits that "Lacunza never taught a pre-Trib Rapture!"
     If Lacunza's 1812 book contains pretrib, as McDougall and Bray have claimed, why was such doctrine unknown before 1830? It wasn't that John Darby and Edward Irving were unaware of Lacunza's work, for both discussed it in their pre-1830 writings. And it wasn't that Darby and Irving were opposed to novel ideas, for both began to embrace pretrib after it emerged in 1830.
     One final thought: why did the world have to wait until McDougall's time to hear something about Lacunza that it had never heard before?

Thursday 28 December 2017

LUCIFER THE ANOINTED CHERUB! SIMON BRAKER NAR FALSE PROPHET LEICESTER

The guru of Holy Trinity Church (CofE), and apparently also Trinity Life Church (AOG) (both in Leicester), has issued a further "vision". Braker is the founder of School of the Spirit in Leicester. He is also a senior leader of Holy Trinity Church and claims to operate in the office of a "Prophet", in tandem with "Apostle" John McGinley. What Braker has to say is deeply disturbing from a biblical perspective.

Jesus Christ The Door

Braker refers to "a giant door made up of many small doors". He goes on to denigrate those who say that there is only "one door", those who warn about false doctrines: "..they tried to stop people going through the other doors the Holy Spirit was directing them to.." On the contrary, Braker is operating through the spirit of error. (1 John 4:6). He is directing people away from the Holy Spirit to the false gods of ecumenism, a movement that stands in opposition to the true faith once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 1:3). Let me make it quite clear, there is only ONE DOOR in the New Testament; that would be JESUS CHRIST (John 10:7-9), whose name is noticeably missing from Braker's vision, though indeed he does mention "THE CHRIST", which is ominous. Christ means "the anointed one" - and there are plenty of false New Age "christs" who own this title. (Matthew 24:24). Jesus Christ does not incorporate many doors. Indeed we must strive to enter through the (singular) narrow door. (Luke 13:24). The Holy Spirit will only lead us through one door:

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:7-9).

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6).

Unsurprisingly the comments on 'Richard's Watch', demonstrate the fruit of Braker's vision - confusion and introspection:
  • "What I find scary though is whether or not one can actually tell if one’s ignoring the Spirit on the one hand, or trying to get through the wrong door(s) on the other." 
  • "I have the same confusion! The way I think about it at the moment – which may perhaps be cutting myself too much slack – is that this sort of worry can really only come from a genuine willingness to please God, which it requires some genuine humility to have. The time to really be worried is when you don’t care if you’re humble or not any more…" {1}

When people rely on mysticism and false unsubstantiated visions as against the Word of God, fear and confusion are inevitable. God is not the author of confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:33).

. ..for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (sound mind). (2 Timothy 1:7).

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.. (2 Peter 1:3).

Lucifer The Anointed Cherub!

Braker: "I could see the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of a lamb, the face of an eagle, the face of a dove, and the face of a woman and the face of a small child all at the same time.. I understood this person was the Holy Spirit.."   

This sounds very familiar (with alterations)! (Proverbs 30:6).

And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. (Ezekiel 10:14 cf. 10:20).

..the spirit of the living creatures was in them. The cherubim: And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. (Ezekiel 1:5-6).

The key to Ezekiel's vision are the four living creatures in Revelation 4:6:

..and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:

The living creatures of Revelation are instrumental in summoning the four horsemen (Revelation 6:1-8), and later they give the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God. (Revelation 15:7).

The fact that these living beings are creatures i.e. created beings, defies the interpretation that they are the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 10:20 confirms that they are cherubim i.e. part of the angelic hierarchy.

Particularly significant is that prior to his rebellion, Lucifer (Satan) is described as the anointed guardian cherub! Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; (Ezekiel 28:12-15 KJV). Followers of Simon Braker should be very careful that he is not leading them into the worship of angels, and in particular the worship of Satan himself who appears deceptively as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. (Colossians 2:18-19).

The Person of the Holy Spirit defies physical description since He is Spirit. When coupled with one of the names of God in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is described in terms of ruach i.e. breath, wind, spirit, Greek-pneuma.

The only time anything like a physical description of the Holy Spirit is given in the scriptures is at Jesus' baptism:

..and the Holy Spirit descended on him (Jesus) in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22 cf. Mark 1:10; Matthew 3:16).

Braker, or the entity working through Braker, picks up on the metaphor of a dove, but mixes it with Ezekiels vision of the creatures. This is blasphemous.

The primary vehicle for the Holy Spirit moving and speaking are the scriptures. It is possible to accept certain aspects of the scriptures without the Holy Spirit, but no one can possess the fullness of the Holy Spirit while practicing doctrines of demons and things contrary to the scriptures. (1 Timothy 4:1). Braker separates the Word of God from the Holy Spirit, whereas in reality they are inseparable!

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

God has not "updated" or added to his Word as these false NAR ecumenical false teachers would have us believe:

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8).

"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” (John 8:51).

..take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Ephesians 6:17).

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (John 8:31).

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9).

To conclude: In essence Braker blasphemes and denies two Persons of the triune Godhead: Jesus Christ, whom he co-mingles with many doors (an allusion to ecumenism); and the Holy Spirit whom he co-mingles with Lucifer. It doesn't get much worse than this!

This post concerns those who have somehow become embroiled in the lethal spiritual deception that is increasing exponentially in these perilous times. (2 Timothy 3:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:11). There may be people on the periphery who have not been sucked into the delusion of the self appointed NAR false "apostles" and "prophets". I particularly warn these people to seek the Lord in prayer, and to search the scriptures, to see if these things are so. (Acts 17:11).

Braker's parting shot: "Let those who have an ear hear." He actually has the audacity to repeat Jesus' own words in the Book of Revelation. Jesus Christ stands at the door (singular) of the churches and knocks: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20). Noticeably, Philadelphia, the faithful church, receives a commendation ..you have kept my word and have not denied my name. (Revelation 3:8).

Braker is one of the speakers at Prophetic Destiny Conference 2018 in Pasadena, CA, along with Ché Ahn, Kris Vallotton and other well known NAR false teachers.{2} Ché Ahn and Kris Vallotton are just two of the many "evangelical" reprobates who met the Pope in 2016 and sold out to Rome.{3}  Braker is clearly at the epicentre of the global apostasy taking place before our very eyes!  I have added some useful links about the Roman Catholic system at the end of this post.

Kris Vallotton at the Vatican in 2016!




He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:22-30).


Simon Braker 14th December 2017:

"The Lord took me into a vision/ dream

I was stood in front of a giant door, the door was so large that I could not see to the top of it, As I watched, I saw people walking up to this door and it was at this point that I saw this one door was actually made up of many small doors within the one big one,

As a person walked up and suddenly many of these small doors would open as they approached, as they did blinding light shone through the doors of many different colours.

I saw that as each person approached, they were greeted by a person the like I’ve never seen and it will be very hard to explain,

This person had no fixed shape like fire, wind or water, they also had no fixed colour as they shifted and changed constantly, as I looked, in the midst of this, I could see the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of a lamb, the face of an eagle, the face of a dove, and the face of a woman and the face of a small child all at the same time.

Sometimes one face would become more clearer than the others, yet the other faces could still be seen in the midst of the wind the fire and the water,

I understood this person was the Holy Spirit, as each person came to the door he would greet them and invite them to enter into a new door,

I heard him say, the greatest doors are the ones you have to bow lowest to get through,

As one older man came forward many of the small doors opened all at the same time the light was both refreshing and blinding at the same time,

The man greeted the Holy Spirit and clearly they where close friends as they embraced one another like brothers, as they did the man was lost in the flames wind and water,
They spoke for a short time,

Then the man looked at the door, smiled then bowed to the ground and began to crawl towards a very small very low door, as he got close, he reached out to open the door, the moment his hand touched the handle he was lifted up off of the ground at an awesome speed and a door that was very high up opened to him, blinding light poured out the door as it opened as he entered in,

It was at this point that I notice there were other people in Front of the door, most of them ignored The holy Spirit, others actually argued with him when he directed them to a door to enter through,

Still others where trying to climb up to the high doors but the would keep falling, each time they fell they became more and more bitter.

I then saw another group, they were shouting, you must only come through this door and not only did try to force people through it, but they also tried to stop people going through the other doors the Holy Spirit was directing them to,

I could see that as a new door opened for a person it would sit upon the other open doors that person had, so each new door sat upon the others,

I then saw another group of people to the side of the door, they were all together rolling around in the mud in a pigpen, they were blind to their door for the mud covered their eyes, i could see many had been in the mud so long that they had began to rot in the midst of it.

Upon the door I saw the the words-
THE REVELATION OF THE CHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM

Let those who have an ear hear!" {4}

“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, he likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth.." (Deuteronomy 4:15-18 cf. Romans 1:23).

Saturday 16 December 2017

POPE FRANCIS MARIOLATRY: THE IDOLATROUS WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MARY

Pope Francis reflected on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception at his Angelus address on Friday, December 8th, as the Church celebrates the Marian Solemnity.

Ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, Pope Francis said the words of the angel Gabriel in the Gospel of Luke contain the key to understanding the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
The Pope said Gabriel calls Mary “full of grace”, even before pronouncing her name.
In this way, he said, God “reveals the new name, which God has given her and which befits her more than the one given by her parents.”
The Holy Father said “full of grace” means that “Mary is full of the presence of God”.
“And if she is entirely pervaded by God, there is no place in her for sin. This is extraordinary,” he said, “because unfortunately the whole world is contaminated by evil.”
Mary alone, he continued, is the “ever-green oasis” of humanity. She is “the only uncontaminated person, immaculately created to welcome fully – with her ‘yes’ – God who came into the world”.
Pope Francis went on to say that, when we call Mary “full of grace”, we are paying her “the greatest compliment, which is the same offered her by God.
Because Mary is without sin, he said, she is immune to ageing, since “sin makes one old, not age”, and worthy of the name tota pulchra, or “all fair” or “completely beautiful”.
“Since her youth depends not on age, her beauty consists not on external appearances. Mary, as the day’s Gospel shows, does not excel in appearance. She is from a simple family; she lived humbly in Nazareth, an almost unknown place.”
Finally, Pope Francis reflected on the secret of the “beautiful life” lived by Mary, “full of grace”.
{1} 


Is the Douay-Rheims Roman Catholic translation of Luke 1:28 equivalent to saying that Mary was without sin?

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (KJV).

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). (ESV).

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (Douay-Rheims Roman Catholic Bible).

Gabriel greeted Mary as: "favoured one", verb - perfect passive participle - nominative singular feminine. Gabriel himself explains the unusual manner of his greeting to Mary for us: But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:30). To have "found favour with God", indicates that God's grace/favour was bestowed upon her. The phrase demonstrates nothing more than was said of Noah, Moses and David.

The Greek verb in question is charitoo - Mary is a recipient of God's grace and as such highly favoured:

"Cognate: 5487 xaritóō (from 5486 /xárisma, "grace," see there) – properly, highly-favored because receptive to God's grace. 5487 (xaritóō) is used twice in the NT (Lk 1:28 and Eph 1:6), both times of God extending Himself to freely bestow grace (favor)." {2}

The other occurrence of charitoo in the New Testament:

..to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6).

As events in Luke's gospel progress, Mary's own language (and also that of her cousin Elizabeth), confirm that she is indeed highly favoured and blessed. However, to say that Mary is sinless is to wander off into dangerous error and idolatry. Mary confesses that God is her Saviour in Luke 1:47. In other words, God is Mary's saviour and deliverer. If Mary had no sin she would not need to be saved or delivered.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38).

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:41-45).

And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.. "(Luke 1:46-49).


The prophet Daniel received a comparable greeting from Gabriel:

And he said, “O man highly esteemed (greatly loved) fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” (Daniel 10:19; cf. Daniel 9:23,10:11,19, ).

Stephen was "full of grace": And Stephen, full of grace (charitos) and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.(Acts 6:8 cf. Acts 6:5).


God is able to make all grace abound to you.. (2 Corinthians 9:8; cf. 1 Peter 1:2). 

The term "full of grace" does not depict sinlessness unless it is applied to Jesus Christ:


And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14).

The Assumption of Mary

The Assumption of Mary is the Roman Catholic dogma set out in the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII on November 1st 1950:

The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory [Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus 44]. {3}

Munificentissimus Deus is an extremely problematic document, and although Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary an infallible divinely revealed dogma, it directly contradicts the scriptures. Concerning Mary's perpetual virginity, Matthew 1:25 tells us that Joseph did not know Mary intimately until after she gave birth to Jesus. Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55–56 refer to James, Joseph, Jude and Simon, the brothers of Jesus, the son of Mary. These verses also refer to the sisters (plural) of Jesus. Concerning Mary's alleged Assumption, nothing is heard of her after Acts 1:14. The critical choice before us is whether we trust the inerrancy of the scriptures or the alleged infallibility of Papal doctrines. (Proverbs 30:6).

Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. (Psalm 119:89 cf. Psalm 119:160; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:25).

The Formation of a One World Government and Religion

John's vision in the book of Revelation describes a “beast" (the Antichrist), rising out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 13:1). The dragon (Satan) gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. (Revelation 13:2). ..the whole earth marvelled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (Revelation 13:3-4). .. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation. (Revelation 13:7). Daniel’s vision of the four beasts confirms a final world government, consisting of a confederacy of ten kings (horns), corresponding to the ten toes in Daniel 2:39-43, who will yield their power and authority to the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13).

..terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:16-24 cf. Daniel 2:41-42).

Since Vatican II, Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT), Rome has been swallowing up whole denominations piecemeal, despite the fact that the reasons for the Reformation remain, and have in fact widened. The Mariology statements set out in Munificentissimus Deus took place in 1950 and were not known to the Reformers. Furthermore, the treasury of merit, purgatory, indulgences, justification through the sacraments, and other false doctrines were all reaffirmed in 1992 in the updated Catechism of the Catholic Church. Shortly after his election, Pope Francis met with leaders of various denominations including Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and also Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist leaders. Like his immediate predecessors, his aim is for all religions to unite for peace and justice under Rome.

Billy Graham can pick up the tab as the man chiefly responsible for evangelicalisms movement toward Rome since the 1950s. Both Franklin Graham and Anne Graham Lotz have followed in his footsteps. Some other names involved in the mammoth slide towards Rome are Rick Warren, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Bill Johnson, James Robison, John and Carol Arnott and Benny Hinn. On June 10 2016, various New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) fake "apostles and prophets", including Mike Bickle, Ché Ahn, Kris Vallotton and Stacey Campbell–attended a private meeting with the Pope along with dozens of other Protestant leaders from North America and Europe. In fact it is extremely rare to find a church these days that is not involved in ecumenism. They have all abandoned the essential principles of the apostles teaching (Acts 2:42) and the Reformation. (Romans 3:12-13). Luther and the early reformers emphasised scripture over tradition, faith over works, and grace over merit, as distinct from Roman Catholic doctrine.{4} The gospel plus anything else is a false gospel. The onset of the end time apostasy and one world religion prophesied in the scriptures is well and truly upon us:

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:10-14).

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:1-6).

“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. (Revelation 18:4-5).




{1} http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/12/08/pope_angelus_immaculate_conception/1353687
{2} http://biblehub.com/greek/5487.htm
{3} http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus.html{4} https://archive.org/stream/fourhundredyear00daugoog#page/n292/mode/2up

Tuesday 12 December 2017

X-RAYING MARGARET BY DAVE MACPHERSON

   (For several decades some pretrib leaders have deceitfully isolated Margaret Macdonald's posttrib-resembling statement "The trial of the Church is from Antichrist" to try to establish that she was posttrib. I have in mind leaders like R. A. Huebner, Charles Ryrie, Thomas Ice, and Frank Marotta. The same prophecy teachers are among those who've covered up the fact that partial rapturism----Margaret's view----sees a pretrib rapture of PART of the church while also seeing the REST of the church enduring a future tribulation. The following "X-ray" is found on pp. 169-174 in my 1983 book The Great Rapture Hoax.)
   Professor Ryrie wonders how Margaret can declare that "the trial of the Church is from Antichrist" (lines 85-86) and speak of "the fiery trial which is to try us" (line 65) if the Church will "be caught up" before Antichrist arrives (lines 39-40). Apparently he's unaware of the terminology used by Partial Rapturists.
   First of all, "Church" can denote the sum total of true believers on earth at any given moment. (Actually, in a larger sense, it refers to all such believers who are to live during the Church age. Conceivably most of the Church is now with the Lord; they are the dead in Christ who will also participate in the catching up.) Margaret has a message for all of the Church of her time (note "all" in line 14): some will be Spirit-filled and raptured, while others will be left on earth. She thus divides the Church; those left behind are properly called "Church." She even divides the ones left behind, for "many" (lines 62, 71) will fall away and there will be "stony-ground hearers" (line 71).
   Margaret uses "us" and "we" in her second division (after the catching up) in an identifying, compassionate way----and not in a self-involving way. Again she states that "all should be filled" (line 93), but she knows that some, including possibly her friends, will be "turning from Jesus" (line 94), "not entering in" (line 95), "passing the cross" (line 97), "looking from the cross" (line 100), and so on. Although she is sympathetic towards those who won't be raptured (and doesn't really know who will be raptured), she herself wants to be in the Rapture and prays for it (lines 113-115); she doesn't expect to be left behind. (Even Hal Lindsey can use "we" while not including himself! See The 1980's: Countdown to Armageddon, pp. 28, 32. Is he himself a farmer? Has he himself seen a UFO?)
   Although Margaret employs "us" and "we" and "our" in a self-involving way in parts of her revelation, she stands back and uses detached expressions more frequently when referring to Christians: all, men, his people, those who have the light of God, those that are alive in him, spiritual temple, his body, the church, candlestick, temple, bride, she, the people of God, man, those who were filled with the Spirit, the one taken, the very elect, the real members of the body of Jesus, those...counted worthy to stand before the Son of man, the body, the servants of God, and so on. (Even in her second division she uses detached terms more frequently than "us" and "we.")
   What about "Church"? Can Partial Rapturists use this term when describing those left behind after a Rapture?
   We've already noted the June, 1831 article by "Fidus" in The Morning Watch. He spoke of a first-stage catching up, then mentioned (p. 277) "the people of God who are left, and who alone shall know the event happened to their brethren...." On page 280, while referring to the seven churches of Revelation, he mentioned "all the churches, all the seven, the complete church of Christ." (Even Laodicea, the group left behind, is part of the Church.) In the December, 1831 issue of the same journal, the same writer, speaking about the reign of Antichrist, declared on page 277: "That a part of the church shall be so tried, I believe." (Those left behind are Church members.)
   When Margaret uses "Church" in her second division, she means part of the Church----the part left behind. Do later Partial Rapturists connect "Church" with those left behind? Does later Partial Rapturism see the "Church" on earth when the Matthew 24 coming arrives?
   In an article entitled "Seven Prophetic Parables and Seven Churches" which appeared in the June, 1888 issue of The Prophetic News and Israel's Watchman, G. H. Pember wrote on p. 175: "Philadelphia, then, is taken away, but Laodicea is spued out of Christ's mouth and left behind....The Lord is not in the midst of this fallen church; He has moved outside. Yet He lingers, and knocks at the door, if, perchance, any man----not the whole Church----should hear His voice."
   Robert Govett, whom John Walvoord mentions in his latest book, included similar reasoning in his book Christ the Head; the Church His Body (1890). On pp. 194-195 he said: "'Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven.' 'Then ye also shall be manifested together with Him in glory.' This appearing of Christ ends the Church, considered as a body under trial on the earth." (The Church, then, is still on earth after the first-stage coming, according to Partial Rapturists. And Margaret properly used "Church" when she described true believers left behind.)
   Even Walvoord unwittingly adds fuel to the fire in The Rapture Question (Revised). On p. 97 he says that Partial Rapturism teaches that only the faithful of the Church will be in the Rapture, while the rest will be raptured later on. The rest of what? Although he doesn't say it, the answer can only be the rest of the Church! If the ones left behind are the only part of the Church on earth after the Rapture, they can be described properly as the Church----the term Margaret and other Partial Rapturists have used.
   On the same page Walvoord also refers to Partial Rapturists as Pre-Tribs (Pre-Tribs who see part of the Church raptured in a first-stage coming instead of all of the Church). If today's Partial Rapturism can be labeled Pre-Trib, as Walvoord labels it, even though the earliest Partial Rapturists taught a much smaller gap than Partial Rapturists teach today, it isn't difficult to believe that Walvoord's brand of Pre-Trib also had the same small gap in its earliest days, which is exactly what we've discovered.
   Margaret and the Irvingites influenced Darby and the Brethren far more than the latter influenced the former. As we've seen, the former came up with the framework of Pre-Trib much sooner than the latter did. It isn't surprising then to find out that the earliest Brethren (and even Darby) were influenced during their initial development by Partial Rapturism!
   Although he doesn't go into much detail, Harold Rowdon's The Origins of the Brethren does reveal several early Brethren who, at the first, were under the spell of the Partial Rapturistic Irvingites; Rowdon includes (see primarily his third chapter) H. B. Bulteel, a Mr. Douglas, Captain Percy Hall (who taught a secret Rapture in 1831 at Plymouth), A. N. Groves, Lord Congleton (John Parnell), G. V. Wigram, a Mr. Clarke, J. B. Stoney----and Darby himself! (I find myself writing these words on April 29, 1982----the 100th anniversary of Darby's death.)
   Darby's Letters reveal the impression Partial Rapturism made on himself and other early Brethren. In a letter dated August 19, 1833 (Vol. 1, pp. 22-24), he mentioned that a Rev. Hardman had been promoting such a view; Hardman believed that Philadelphia would be raptured away and that Laodicea would be left behind. Darby summarizes Hardman's view of Laodicea by writing: "And then the church left in its Laodicean state...." (Note that Darby refers to those left behind as the "church"----the term Margaret and others used.) Referring again to Partial Rapturism, Darby says: "It is an important consideration in the present state of things. It commends itself morally to one's mind." Near the end of the letter Darby writes: "He will surely draw substantially His saints together before the end come, though there may be some left in...."
   In the same volume (p. 58), Darby comments on the Tribulation in an 1843 letter: "It may be some will pass through, but I am more than ever confirmed that it is not presented to our faith, but the contrary, and that the faithful will be kept from it." In the next sentence, while using the same language employed by Partial Rapturists today, he speaks of "greater faithfulness which made us escape it." In a letter written on May 1, 1848 (same source, p. 132) Darby declares: "Signs, I judge, are for those who have not been faithful enough to keep or find the bride's position...." (Note the stress on faithfulness----a Partial Rapturistic works principle.)
   In lines 82-83 Margaret misquoted part of Luke 21:36, a verse that is often used by today's Partial Rapturists. Note that she didn't use it in the usual Partial Rapturistic manner, although the Irvingites often did in The Morning Watch; "Fidus," for example, did so on p. 280 in the December, 1831 issue. In later decades many others were touched by this viewpoint. A. B.Simpson was one. In his "Queries" column (The Christian Alliance, December 7, 1894), Simpson quoted this verse and then added:
   "It would seem perfectly clear, from these words, that those who watch and pray shall prevail to escape the Tribulation, and shall be caught up to stand before the Son of man. We cannot help believing that there will be a portion of God's true people in a state of readiness for His coming, and there will be other Christians, like the 'foolish virgins,' found unprepared, and excluded from the first and highest place in connection with His Millennial Kingdom." (Note the word "portion.")
   Today's Pre-Trib Rapture view actually sprang from a crude form of Partial Rapturism; Margaret Macdonald was followed by the Irvingites and then by the Plymouth Brethren during their early days. A person can truthfully say that gold has been discovered in a certain place even if the first gold is mixed with some silver; it's still called a gold strike. All Darby did later on was mill out the "silver"----and Pre-Trib teachers have been coming up with "pure gold" since then. (Those who reject this explanation would do well to remember that even Walvoord's latest book classifies Partial Rapturists as Pre-Tribs. Indeed, both schools of thought flow from the same headwaters.)
   For more facts about Margaret, Google "Margaret Macdonald's Main Point," "Margaret Macdonald's Rapture Chart," and "Pretrib Rapture's Missing Lines."

Monday 4 December 2017

UNDER A DIVINE CURSE: NAR APOSTLES AND PROPHETS IN BED WITH THE JESUITS!

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8).

Undiscerning Christians too easily get caught up in the ecumenism of the false church for the sake of "unity". By scriptural standards, ecumenical unity is under a divine curse, since it conflicts with the gospel preached by the foundational apostles. The scriptures state that division and obstacles are caused by those who teach things contrary to the apostles' teaching. (Romans 16:17).

The New Apostolic Reformation seven mountain mandate and the Jesuit Counter Reformation strategy share the common objective of taking over the world in the name of Christendom. Ecumenism is the vehicle currently utilised in reintegrating the so called "separated brethren" into a single worldwide entity devoid of organisational distinctions under Rome. The NAR make no secret of their dominionist strategy, whereas historically, the Jesuit intention has been to infiltrate every area of society as dissemblers.

The first coming of Jesus Christ was a literal fulfilment of scripture. As such, there is no possible reason to presume any view other than that His Second Coming (Parousia) will also be a literal fulfilment of scripture. The literal interpretation of the Parousia, premillennialism, was the orthodox view of the early church, a view confirmed by the early church document, the Didache, Chapter 16. Other witnesses are various early fathers: Papius, Ireneaus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Hipplytus, Methodius. The premillennial view necessitates that certain events must occur before the Parousia: The gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to the nations. (Matthew 24:14 cf. Revelation 14:6); the conversion of all Israel. (Romans 11:25ff.), the falling away (apostasy) of many. (Matthew 24:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:3); the great tribulation. (Matthew 24:21); the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) is revealed. (2 Thessalonians 2:3); a visible universal rapture and Parousia.

The view taken by the NAR is postmillennial i.e. Jesus cannot return until their seven mountain mandate is complete and the church has achieved dominion over the earth. This is described as a "Golden Age", a literal or figurative thousand year rule of the church over every area of society. The dominionist view violates the scriptures in a number of crucial respects. For instance, it is clear that there will be great wickedness on the earth prior to Jesus return, ..as it was in the days of Noah. (Matthew 24:37). There will be great persecution of Christians prior to the end of the age. (Matthew 24:21). Jesus Christ will return to an intensely hostile earth, not one under Christian dominion! Jesus Christ Himself, not the church, will establish His kingdom: ..and the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Revelation 19:14-15).

The Roman Catholic amillennial view was the invention of Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century. Amillennalism was later supported by Reformers Luther and Calvin, thus making it a Protestant doctrine. This view does not fit the biblical scheme at all, since it regards Jesus Christ's thousand year reign as purely symbolic. (Revelation 20:1-3). According to this view, the millennium is identified as the present church age. In common with Dominionism, the Postmillennial view supports the idea that Christianity will spread over the earth, and that the church will reign victoriously prior to Christ's Coming. At the end of the church age, Christ will return in final judgement and establish the new heaven and the new earth. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-5:2; 2 Peter 3:10).

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the NAR reject the principle Sola scriptura (Latin: by Scripture alone); the doctrine that identifies scripture alone as the sole infallible rule of faith and practice. The Roman Catholic dogma of an ex cathedra oral tradition through supposed "infallible" statements made by the Pope is mirrored by the distinctive NAR statement that God has restored the governmental offices of apostle and prophet to the church. NAR founder and self appointed "Apostle" C Peter Wagner, claimed that proper church government, headed by latter day apostles and prophets, was finally restored in 2001, allegedly the beginning of the "Second Apostolic Age". These so called "apostles and prophets" claim equality with, and even superiority to, Jesus' foundational apostles and prophets, thus they nullify the Word of God. (Mark 7:13).

Kris Vallotton, second in command of the Bethel Cult, meets Pope Francis.



















The NAR are very cosy with the RCC. It doesn't take a genius to deduce that they are working together behind the scenes to create the coming One World Religion under the Antichrist. "Apostle" Rick Joyner unashamedly announced in 1998 that he had become a Knight of Malta (the Knights of Malta are Roman Catholic order/secret society). NAR false prophet Paul Cain had already been knighted or was knighted at the same time. Gravesucker and necromancer Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of the Bethel Redding cult and NAR "Apostle", is engaged with "the New Evanglization of Catholics".

Mike Bickle and his wife, Daine, with Pope Francis.

"Earlier this month, on June 10, (2016) leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) –including International House of Prayer founder Mike Bickle, the apostle Ché Ahn (Harvest International Ministry), and prophets Kris Vallotton (Bethel Redding) and Stacey Campbell (Wes and Stacey Campbell Ministries)–attended a private meeting with the Pope along with dozens of other Protestant leaders from North America and Europe. The NAR leaders’ participation in the meeting is troubling for a number of reasons..

The NAR’s vast influence
First, the meeting shows that the Vatican is aware of the vast influence held by NAR apostles and prophets since, in the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to reach out to Protestants, Vatican officials felt it necessary to include leaders in the New Apostolic Reformation. It also shows how mainstream the NAR movement has become—despite its aberrant teachings.."
{1}

NAR "Apostle" Che Ahn meets the Pope

According to Ian Paisley, the Blood Oath was also quoted by Charles Didier in his book Subterranean Rome (New York, 1843), translated from the French original. And Fr. Alberto Rivera, who escaped from the Jesuit Order in 1967 and died under suspicious circumstances in 1997, confirmed before his untimely death that the induction ceremony and the text of the Jesuit Oath were identical to what appeared in the 1913 Congressional Record.

The following is the text of the Jesuit Extreme Oath of Induction as recorded in the Journals of the 62nd Congress, 3rd Session, of the United States Congressional Record (House Calendar No. 397, Report No. 1523, 15 February, 1913, pp. 3215-3216), from which it was subsequently torn out. The Oath is also quoted by Charles Didier in his book Subterranean Rome (New York, 1843), translated from the French original. Dr. Alberto Rivera, who escaped from the Jesuit Order in 1967, confirms that the induction ceremony and the text of the Jesuit Oath which he took were identical to what we have cited below. – A. N.]

When a Jesuit of the minor rank is to be elevated to command, he is conducted into the Chapel of the Convent of the Order, where there are only three others present, the principal or Superior standing in front of the altar. On either side stands a monk, one of whom holds a banner of yellow and white, which are the Papal colours, and the other a black banner with a dagger and red cross above a skull and crossbones, with the word INRI, and below them the words IUSTUM NECAR REGES IMPIUS. The meaning of which is: It is just to exterminate or annihilate impious or heretical Kings, Governments, or Rulers.

Upon the floor is a red cross at which the postulant or candidate kneels. The Superior hands him a small black crucifix, which he takes in his left hand and presses to his heart, and the Superior at the same time presents to him a dagger, which he grasps by the blade and holds the point against his heart, the Superior still holding it by the hilt, and thus addresses the postulant:

(The Superior speaks:)

My son, heretofore you have been taught to act the dissembler: among Roman Catholics to be a Roman Catholic, and to be a spy even among your own brethren; to believe no man, to trust no man. Among the Reformers, to be a Reformer; among the Huguenots, to be a Huguenot; among the Calvinists, to be a Calvinist; among other Protestants, generally to be a Protestant; and obtaining their confidence, to seek even to preach from their pulpits, and to denounce with all the vehemence in your nature our Holy Religion and the Pope; and even to descend so low as to become a Jew among Jews, that you might be enabled to gather together all information for the benefit of your Order as a faithful soldier of the Pope. You have been taught to plant insidiously the seeds of jealousy and hatred between communities, provinces, states that were at peace, and to incite them to deeds of blood, involving them in war with each other, and to create revolutions and civil wars in countries that were independent and prosperous, cultivating the arts and the sciences and enjoying the blessings of peace; to take sides with the combatants and to act secretly with your brother Jesuit, who might be engaged on the other side, but openly opposed to that with which you might be connected, only that the Church might be the gainer in the end, in the conditions fixed in the treaties for peace and that the end justifies the means. You have been taught your duty as a spy, to gather all statistics, facts and information in your power from every source; to ingratiate yourself into the confidence of the family circle of Protestants and heretics of every class and character, as well as that of the merchant, the banker, the lawyer, among the schools and universities, in parliaments and legislatures, and the judiciaries and councils of state, and to be all things to all men, for the Pope's sake, whose servants we are unto death. You have received all your instructions heretofore as a novice, a neophyte, and have served as co-adjurer, confessor and priest, but you have not yet been invested with all that is necessary to command in the Army of Loyola in the service of the Pope. You must serve the proper time as the instrument and executioner as directed by your superiors; for none can command here who has not consecrated his labours with the blood of the heretic; for "without the shedding of blood no man can be saved". Therefore, to fit yourself for your work and make your own salvation sure, you will, in addition to your former oath of obedience to your order and allegiance to the Pope, repeat after me:

(Text of the Oath:)

I_______________ , now in the presence of Almighty God, the blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed St. John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, and all the saints, sacred host of Heaven, and to you, my Ghostly Father, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, in the pontification of Paul the Third, and continued to the present, do by the womb of the Virgin, the matrix of God, and the rod of Jesus Christ, declare and swear that His Holiness, the Pope, is Christ's Vice-Regent and is the true and only head of the Catholic or Universal Church throughout the earth; and that by the virtue of the keys of binding and loosing given to His Holiness by my Saviour, Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical Kings, Princes, States, Commonwealths, and Governments, and they may be safely destroyed. Therefore to the utmost of my power I will defend this doctrine and His Holiness's right and custom against all usurpers of the heretical or Protestant authority whatever, especially the Lutheran Church of Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and the now pretended authority and Churches of England and Scotland, and the branches of same now established in Ireland and on the continent of America and elsewhere and all adherents in regard that they may be usurped and heretical, opposing the sacred Mother Church of Rome. I do now denounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king, prince or State, named Protestant or Liberal, or obedience to any of their laws, magistrates or officers. I do further declare the doctrine of the Churches of England and Scotland of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and others of the name of Protestants or Masons to be ####able, and they themselves to be ####ed who will not forsake the same. I do further declare that I will help, assist, and advise all or any of His Holiness's agents, in any place where I should be, in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Ireland or America, or in any other kingdom or territory I shall come to, and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestant or Masonic doctrines and to destroy all their pretended powers, legal or otherwise. I do further promise and declare that, notwithstanding, I am dispensed with to assume any religion heretical for the propagation of the Mother Church's interest; to keep secret and private all her agents' counsels from time to time, as they entrust me, and not to divulge, directly or indirectly, by word, writing or circumstances whatever; but to execute all that should be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me by you, my Ghostly Father, or any of this sacred order. I do further promise and declare that I will have no opinion or will of my own or any mental reservation whatever, even as a corpse or cadaver (perinde ac cadaver), but will unhesitatingly obey each and every command that I may receive from my superiors in the militia of the Pope and of Jesus Christ. That I will go to any part of the world whithersoever I may be sent, to the frozen regions north, jungles of India, to the centres of civilisation of Europe, or to the wild haunts of the barbarous savages of America without murmuring or repining, and will be submissive in all things, whatsoever is communicated to me. I do further promise and declare that I will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war, secretly and openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Masons, as I am directed to do, to extirpate them from the face of the whole earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex nor condition, and that will hang, burn, waste, boil, flay, strangle, and bury alive these infamous heretics; rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women, and crush their infants' heads against the walls in order to annihilate their execrable race. That when the same cannot be done openly I will secretly use the poisonous cup, the strangulation cord, the steel of the poniard, or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honour, rank, dignity or authority of the persons, whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agents of the Pope or Superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Father of the Society of Jesus. In confirmation of which I hereby dedicate my life, soul, and all corporal powers, and with the dagger which I now receive I will subscribe my name written in my blood in testimony thereof; and should I prove false, or weaken in my determination, may my brethren and fellow soldiers of the militia of the Pope cut off my hands and feet and my throat from ear to ear, my belly be opened and sulphur burned therein with all the punishment that can be inflicted upon me on earth, and my soul shall be tortured by demons in eternal hell forever. That I will in voting always vote for a Knight of Columbus in preference to a Protestant, especially a Mason, and that I will leave my party so to do; that if two Catholics are on the ticket I will satisfy myself which is the better supporter of Mother Church and vote accordingly. That I will not deal with or employ a Protestant if in my power to deal with or employ a Catholic. That I will place Catholic girls in Protestant families that a weekly report may be made of the inner movements of the heretics. That I will provide myself with arms and ammunition that I may be in readiness when the word is passed, or I am commanded to defend the Church either as an individual or with the militia of the Pope. All of which I,_______________, do swear by the blessed Trinity and blessed sacrament which I am now to receive to perform and on part to keep this my oath. In testimony hereof, I take this most holy and blessed sacrament of the Eucharist and witness the same further with my name written with the point of this dagger dipped in my own blood and seal in the face of this holy sacrament.

(He receives the wafer from the Superior and writes his name with the point of his dagger dipped in his own blood taken from over his heart.)

(Superior speaks:)

You will now rise to your feet and I will instruct you in the Catechism necessary to make yourself known to any member of the Society of Jesus belonging to this rank. In the first place, you, as a Brother Jesuit, will with another mutually make the ordinary sign of the cross as any ordinary Roman Catholic would; then one crosses his wrists, the palms of his hands open, and the other in answer crosses his feet, one above the other; the first points with forefinger of the right hand to the centre of the palm of the left, the other with the forefinger of the left hand points to the centre of the palm of the right; the first then with his right hand makes a circle around his head, touching it; the other then with the forefinger of his left hand touches the left side of his body just below his heart; the first then with his right hand draws it across the throat of the other, and the latter then with a dagger down the stomach and abdomen of the first. The first then says Iustum; and the other answers Necar; the first Reges; the other answers Impious. The first will then present a small piece of paper folded in a peculiar manner, four times, which the other will cut longitudinally and on opening the name Jesu will be found written upon the head and arms of a cross three times. You will then give and receive with him the following questions and answers:

From whither do you come? Answer: The Holy faith.

Whom do you serve? Answer: The Holy Father at Rome, the Pope, and the Roman Catholic Church Universal throughout the world.

Who commands you? Answer: The Successor of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Who received you? Answer: A venerable man in white hair.

How? Answer: With a naked dagger, I kneeling upon the cross beneath the banners of the Pope and of our sacred order.

Did you take an oath? Answer: I did, to destroy heretics and their governments and rulers, and to spare neither age, nor sex, nor condition; to be as a corpse without any opinion or will of my own, but to implicitly obey my Superiors in all things without hesitation or murmuring.

Will you do that? Answer: I will.

How do you travel? Answer: In the bark of Peter the fisherman.

Whither do you travel? Answer: To the four quarters of the globe.

For what purpose? Answer: To obey the orders of my General and Superiors and execute the will of the Pope and faithfully fulfil the conditions of my oaths.

Go ye, then, into all the world and take possession of all lands in the name of the Pope. He who will not accept him as the Vicar of Jesus and his Vice-Regent on earth, let him be accursed and exterminated. {2}