by Pastor Mark Downey
In Part 1, we learned that the Roman Catholic Church was not the first church in Christendom and that Peter was not the first Pope. Most students of Christian Identity know that the first above ground church was in Glastonbury, England. Thanks to Joseph of Arimathea, Britain was the first of all kingdoms to receive the Gospel. This was confirmed by the Church Councils of Pisa (1409), Constance (1417), Sienna (1424) and Basle (1434) that maintained, "The churches of France and Spain, must yield in point of antiquity and precedence to that of Britain, as the latter church was founded by Joseph of Arimathea immediately after the passion of Christ". The RCC was established on a foundation of lies and a corruption of the Word of God.
In today’s Scripture reading, we read about the Pharisees holding to traditions more so than the Word of God and they must have been quite a sight with their exorbitant costumes and ornate utensils of worship. What a coincidence that the RCC followed in their footsteps. Well, what did Jesus mean by “in vain”? He was telling those people that they were wasting their time, because you cannot worship God and heresy at the same time. John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit, and for those worshipping Him it is necessary to worship in spirit and in truth.”
If you try to worship God in a false religion, you are worshipping in vain. Notice also, the correlation God makes between worship and doctrine. This is very interesting and important! You can't truly worship God unless you worship Him in Truth. Most of the people in the world who think they are worshipping God are, in reality, living a lie, worshipping in vain and wasting their time. The Catholic religion is the unrepentant sinner’s religion. You can still live like the devil and feel comfortable in a Catholic church without fulfilling any of the demands of a Christian. Most of the catholics I have known over the years, cursed in God's name, indulged in the profane and obscene, had contempt for true Christians, never shared their faith with anyone, and had an arrogant attitude about the fact that they were ‘Catholic.’ You won't feel comfortable living like that in a genuine New Covenant church.
This is another reason why the Catholic religion is so popular; you are not required to live righteously. There is no call to holiness. Instead, you are taught by the catholic priests to go into a confessional booth to make everything right i.e. a license to sin with impunity. It's sickening to see the elimination of God’s judgment! The catholic religion does not require you to carry your Cross, but you can wear a crucifix glorying in the torture of Christ. The catholic religion is perfect for the mongrel or mongrelly-minded who don’t want to repent, but want religion. A catholic doesn’t have to humble themselves or turn from their wicked ways and there’s no expectation for their nation to be healed of decadence and corruption. But be warned Mr. and Mrs. Catholic, you will be judged when your time comes. The Christian life is a life of faith, not ceremonial religion or institutional ritual. We read in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Many people refuse to live by faith; instead, they prefer to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste religion. Catholicism eliminates faith. When a Christian prays, they do not need to pray through a statue of Mary or dead men’s bones. Rather, the Christian prays to God from within the heart. Jesus said, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17:21. The Kingdom of God is within your heart only if you have been begotten from above through the blood of our Kinsman Redeemer. No religion can save you. Only Jesus can save you. Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father, but by Me” John 14:6. Furthermore, any person who does not profess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth in the flesh is an antichrist (I John 4:3). The catholic religion offers all the external manifestations of religion, but their hearts are far from God, because for doctrines they teach the commandments and traditions of men.
We’ve already seen where the concept of popery is unbiblical and on that misbegotten principle alone, the RCC never should have flourished. Obviously, Peter could only be Pope if Jesus authorized the existence of that office. The Bible specifically mentions apostles, elders or bishops and deacons, but no popes, no cardinals, no monks, no nuns… none. If the office of Pope was established by Jesus, the New Testament is completely silent as to its veracity. Catholics believe the Pope is the head of the church, but the Bible says Jesus, “Is the head of the body, the church… that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). Ephesians 5:23 says a husband is head of his wife as Jesus is head of the church; so if a wife submits to two husbands it is adultery. Likewise, for the church to submit to two heads of the church, it would be spiritual adultery. It would not be far-fetched to call that church a whore. I’m not slinging mud for the sake of sensationalism, because this is what God thinks of such things. In fact, did not Israel ‘go a whoring after strange gods’?
The authority of the Popes is said to be the foundation of the Church. The RCC claims that the Pope may issue laws, whether Papal constitutions, ecclesiastical Canons, Papal Bulls (briefs) and a Holy See (decree), in spite of the fact that the Bible says there is but one lawgiver (James 4:12). Man-made laws promulgate lawlessness, because it undermines the authority of God. I Cor. 3:11 says there can be no other foundation than Jesus Christ. But, the catholics try to prove that Peter is the foundation of the church with the succession of Popes through their misinterpretation of Mt. 16:18, “That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.” But the context is not discussing who Peter is nor what his position is, but who Jesus is and what His position is. The passage does not exalt Peter; it exalts Jesus. Jesus does not confess Peter; Peter confesses Jesus. The verse is not saying Peter is the rock on which the church is built, but rather it contrasts Peter's name (Greek Petros, masculine - a piece of rock) to the rock on which the church would be built (Greek petra, feminine - a solid ledge of rock). Jesus often compared Himself to inanimate objects: a temple (John 2:18-22), a door (John 10:7), a vine (John 15:1-11). Here, He compares Himself to a rock, a name often used for the deity in the Old Testament (Psa. 31:3; 71:3; 89:26). The foundation of the church is not Peter. It is the truth that Peter had just confessed, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (v16). To say Peter is the foundation would be tantamount to putting a man in place of the deity of Christ. And this is what the RCC has done.
The lives of Peter and the Popes make them entirely unfit to be the foundation of Jesus’ church. Peter was rebuked by Christ with the strong accusation of being a satan (Mt. 16:23); Peter denied Jesus three times, even cursing about it (Mt. 26:74-75); and he was hypocritical (Gal. 2:11). And let’s not forget what the Catholic Encyclopedia has to say about their own Popes: at least 4 Popes admitted to having illegitimate children; 5 Popes were sons of priests and 1 or 2 were the sons of Popes; some of these priests may have been married, but left their families to become priests; at least 6 Popes were excommunicated or condemned as heretics; rival claimants to the Papacy disturbed the RCC some 25 times in 12 centuries; for 40 years (in the 14th century) 3 pretenders to the Papacy claimed the allegiance of Catholics, which was never really ascertained. Would God be the author of such confusion as to who was the head of the church? Christians should believe that the church is founded on the sinless life of our Savior.
The true church cannot be identified by tracing a succession of bishops. We can see that the catholic succession is a chain which is missing all of the vital links that would sanction its existence. It was apostate from its very beginning and the New Testament writers were well aware of those who were spoiling the sanctity of the biblical church. II Tim. 4:3-4 reflects a religious climate in which people would turn away from the Truth and would turn to fables; they would depart from the faith and require people to abstain from marriage and certain kinds of food. Catholicism has advocated both of these false doctrines. Acts 20:28-30 tells us that the bishops or overseers would teach error and lead people astray; Paul called them wolves who would speak perverse things and develop their own cadre of disciples. This is exactly what Simon Magus did and he set a pattern of error in which the blind would lead the blind.
This is a deadly serious revelation about one of the most rotten religions on the face of the earth. Again, I’m not engaged in gratuitous catholic bashing for the sensational sake of animosity or vitriol, but rather a love for our own race that has been led astray by a wolverine priestcraft and are now given reason to come out of that dreadful abomination that smears the glory of God. By the same token, catholics do not have a monopoly on heresies and whoredoms; judeo-churchianity is entrenched with universalism and jew-worship. “Come out of her, My people [Israelites], that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” Rev. 18:4. Paul faced these usurpers in his own day and was astonished that his kindred were so easily removed from their calling and the grace they found in Christ, to something completely different, some other gospel, which agitated so much trouble for them, that Paul said it should be accursed. Our movement is simply identifying the same apostasy that bothered the 1st century Christians; only I should stipulate that the modern apostasy will be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
The true church can be identified by its doctrines and practices by comparing it to biblical teachings and how we’re supposed to behave. God has preserved the Gospel as the seed by which the church is reproduced. You can read about it in the parable of the sower and know for certain that, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reapeth” Gal. 6:7. The Bereans, “Received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so” Acts 17:11. Can the same be said of catholics? Unfortunately, they would rather take the word of man, a Pope or a priest, than knocking off the dust from their Bible and reading it for themselves. The RCC is a religion for people who want a momentary infusion of piety, rather than The Way in which we live our lives.
The perfect example of how strangely distorted a religion can get, that purports to be Christian, is the catholic mass. There are some Christians who are aware of what is going on, but there are many more hyphenated denominational churches who think everything is just fine. Everybody loves everybody else and hence inter-faith conferences. The Baptists, Mormons, Jews, Jehovah Witnesses ad nauseam, think they are all serving the same God, but in different ways. The early church believed in the same things that gave them unity as I Cor. 1:10 states that they were, “Perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” And then reinforced by Gal. 4:4-5, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” There is nothing about one “mass.” The meaning of these verses is that there really is but one church on earth and the RCC isn’t it. How can it be if it does things its own way contrary to the Bible?
When those of us in Christian Identity obey the instructions of the Lord’s Supper, commonly called communion, is that the same thing as the catholic mass? Well, let’s find out. The bread or wafer used in the mass is called the ‘host.’ When the host has been consecrated (set apart for a sacred purpose) and offered as a sacrifice in the mass, it then becomes the ‘eucharist.’ One of the great motivating forces of the RCC is the eucharist. But it’s really nothing more than a Ritz cracker or a little cookie. If I took a crayon and drew a cross on this cookie and told you, “This is Jesus!”, what would you say? You might measure me for a straight-jacket or think I’m high on dope, but this is what catholic’s believe and go so far in their Canon law to say, “If any one shall deny that the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of… Christ… contained in the most Holy Eucharist; and shall say that He is only in it as a sign, or in a figure, let him be accursed.” How’s that for unity. Can anyone show me where in the Bible, Jesus is transferred to a cookie and the cookie itself is to be worshipped? And that if you don’t go along with the program, you receive damnation.
When the priest walks out holding up the cookie in the ‘monstrance’ (a fancy ornate gold/silver receptacle that holds the “host”), which looks like a sunburst (reminiscent of sun worship), and people come up and kiss it and adore it, I have to ask, “Where is that in the Bible?” If any Protestant were to say, “Hey, that is idolatry,” then the catholic is obligated to curse him. The RCC believes the bread spoken of at the Last Supper actually becomes Jesus Christ and it is to be worshipped as God. Back in 1554AD, a priest carrying the eucharist could stand before a family of Christians in Scotland, tied to posts with dried kindling up to their waist. The priest would dangle the cookie in front of their faces and ask if what he held in his hand was the actual body, blood and deity of Jesus Christ. When they replied, “Sir, it is merely a symbol.” The priest would then give the nod to his assistant to place the torch onto the wood and set those damn Bible-believers on fire. Did they believe Mark 13:6, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many”? Yes, they did! And they were murdered for that belief by the RCC. As the victims screamed in agony, the priest held up his crucifix and said, “All this is for the greater glory of God.” But, in reality, it was for the vainglory of the RCC. And guess what? The catholic mass is still on the canonical books and is just as strong today as it was in the Middle Ages. It was re-affirmed by the Vatican II Council (1965) and Pope John XXIII (1958) said, “I do accept entirely all that has been decided and declared at the Council of Trent.” Do you think they would hesitate to burn you at the stake today if they could get away with it?
We in Christian Identity are well aware of the two greatest adversaries of God and our race and that is the jews and the other is catholics. Both have a history of murder and bloodlust. John’s Revelation talks about a “Woman drunken with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev. 17:6). We should note that catholic “saints” are an adulteration of biblical saints; as different as a hunter is to the hunted. This “mother of harlots” had the name “Mystery Babylon.” Both jews and catholics are rooted in the mystery religions of ancient Babylon. The jewish holy book is the Babylonian Talmud and the RCC has adopted many of the religious trappings of Babylon. Perhaps the “Mystery” is the hidden relationship between jews and catholics carefully kept secret for centuries.
There is a teaching within the RCC called ‘temporal power.’ It means that the Pope should control every person on the face of the earth, including their property and religious beliefs. They are pushing for this ‘temporal power’ to this very day to enshrine the Pope as a world-wide dictator through the ecumenical movement. The jews, likewise, have the megalomania of an era of 10,000 years called the Pax Judaica, where Christianity and the White race have been eliminated and they will rule the world undisputed; each jew having 2,000 goyim slaves. Both qualify as ‘antichrists’ in the truest sense of the word.
But, let’s go back in time and look at what the Vatican did in the name of Christ, if you’re not yet convinced that the RCC is evil and cares not one whit about the Truth. On August 22, 1572, the bloody St. Bartholomew massacre began. This was to be one fatal blow to destroy the Protestant movement in France. The king of France had cleverly arranged a marriage between his sister and Admiral Coligny, the chief Protestant leader. There was a great feast with much celebrating. After four days of feasting the soldiers were given a signal. At twelve o'clock midnight, all the houses of the Protestants in the city were forced open at once. The admiral was killed, his body thrown out of a window into the street where his head was cut off and sent to the Pope. They also cut off his arms and privates and dragged him through the streets for three days until they finally hung his body by the heels outside the city.
They also slaughtered many other well known Protestants. In the first three days, over ten thousand were killed. The bodies were thrown into the river and blood ran through the streets into the river until it appeared like a stream of blood. So furious was their hellish rage that they even slew their own followers if they suspected that they were not very strong in their belief in the Pope. From Paris, the destruction spread to all parts of the country. Over 8,000 more people were killed. Very few Protestants escaped the fury of their persecutors.
A similar massacre occurred in Ireland in 1641. The conspirators picked October 23, the feast of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order. They planned a general uprising for the whole country. All Protestants would be killed at once. To throw them off guard while the plan was being made, extra acts of kindness were shown to the Protestants. Early in the morning the conspirators were armed and every Protestant they could find was immediately murdered. They showed no mercy. From children to the elderly, they were killed. Even invalids were not spared. They were caught by complete surprise. They had lived in peace and safety for years and now found no place to run. They were massacred by neighbors, friends, and even relatives. Death often was the least they had to fear. Women were tied to posts, stripped to the waist, their breasts cut off with shears and left to bleed to death. Others who were pregnant were tied to tree branches, their unborn babies cut out and fed to the dogs while the husbands were forced to watch.
What you've just heard is fully documented and historically factual. It is found in Foxe's Book of Martyrs, a book that at one time in America was in every Christian home along with the Bible. I want you to notice that both of these murderous assaults by the Vatican against the Christians in France and in Ireland followed a similar pattern. Before the attacks, there was a time of healing when the Roman Catholics became friendly and warm, and in both cases the Christians were so relieved that they let their guard down and assumed the Vatican had changed. This was their fatal mistake and it cost them their lives.
In researching the number of our people killed during the Inquisition, I discovered quite a disparity between catholic and Protestant statistics. You can tell right away when the deflated numbers reflect catholic revisionism of around 3,000 killed in a 1,200 year time span. Whereas, non-catholic sources put the number in the millions. Infamous means of torture are part and parcel of the catholic Inquisition: impalement, the coffin cage, the head crusher, the knee splitter and who can forget the dreaded rack. Well, the RCC would like for the religious psychopaths and sadistic methods they used to ruthlessly intimidate Europe into submission to the Vatican to go down the memory hole. The torturer was paid out of seized funds belonging to the victim and if the victim had no money then the relatives were made to pay. Perverted celibate priests abused the confessional by threatening female penitents to have sex with them or face the Office of the Inquisition. In 1710, Father Anthony Gavens revealed on his deathbed, "By these diabolical persuasions they were at our command, without fear of revealing the secret" – ‘Master-Key to Popery’, page 36. Most people are ignorant of the utter barbarism of the Inquisition and how entire populations were consumed by fear of the so called church. It was perhaps one of the most tragic era of man’s inhumanity to man. It wasn’t just the prosecution of heresy; it was the persecution of Protestant reformers, nonconformists and anybody who disagreed with official policy. In Luke 9:54, the Disciples James and John were upset, for some entire towns had refused to even hear their message and they asked Jesus if He could bring down fire from heaven and incinerate the inhabitants who had rejected them. But Jesus was horrified and told them, "You do not know of what sort of spirit you are, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them from the penalty of eternal death." Christian Identity does not live on bread alone and certainly not on cookie gods, but “By every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” It would behoove our kindred who are still lost to the world through catholicism, to listen to the words of Jesus rather than the Pope, to wit, “Take My yoke [the government of Christ instead of the traditions of man] upon you, and learn of Me; for I am peaceful and meek in My heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light” Mt. 11:29-30. The yoke of Rome is an enemy and I will continue to identify this adversary with the Truth of the Word. Until next time, may the Lord bless and keep thee from the devices of that most mysterious Babylon of modern times. We do not start fights with anyone, but we will fight for what is right.
