The pivotal point in history was the first advent of Christ: His birth, live, death, resurrection and ascension.  Then just before his ascension, He gave us the GREAT COMMISSION:   ìGo ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.î  Mark 126:15.  Then on the day of Pentecost, three thousand were filled with the Holy Spirit.  They were like an army, on the march for Christ.  In a short time, the number increased to five thousand.  They began to take the world by storm.  But, persecution was ìThe order of the day.î  In Acts 8:1, it says, ìAnd at that time there was a great persecution against the church.î  This persecution intensified in the next century.  This was the time when Christians were burned at the stake, thrown into the lionís dens in the coliseum, and resorted to the catacombs.  Also, it was during this time that the expression was coined, ìThe book of the martyrs is the seek of the church.î  And yet, I understand that by the beginning of the 3rd century, about half of the Roman Empire had been genuinely converted, and were Christian.

Then at this pint, we had one of the most deadly attacks on the church in all of its history: The union of church & state!  This was when Constantine came on the scene.  In other words, he must have had that attitude, ìif you canít whip ëem, join ëem.î

Recently I was a news report on TV, entitled, ìThe history of Christianity for the first one thousand years.î  Ant it brought out the fact that Constantine did not join the church for spiritual reasons, but for political reasons.  According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, he saw a bright vision of a cross, at noontime, and heard a voice saying ìIn this sign, conquer.î  This was a complete switch.  Instead of the state persecuting the church, now it was the church persecuting Christians, A strategic verse would be John 16:2.  Jesus predicted this.  He said, ìyea, the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.î  This cam to a climax with the ìMassacre of St. Bartholomew.  According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,

 ìTHE MASACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW, was the name given to the massacre of the Huguenots, which began in Pairs on St. Bartholomewís day, Aug., 24, 1572.î  Now, the Huguenots were Christians.  And, the encyclopedia said that over fifty thousand Christians were martyred.  And yet, one of the most shocking testimonies I ever hear was the dying testimony of King Charles himself.  Here it is:  ìThe last words of Charles IX, who ordered the massacre on St. Bartholomewís day were:  ìWhat blood!  What murders! I know not where I am.  How will all this end?  What shall I do?  I am lost forever.  I know it.î Does that tell us anything?

Well, youíve heard the expression: HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.  And friends, on of the deadliest dangers we face right now is, the union of church and state.  Someone has said,  ìcoming events cast their shadowsî.  And of course, this is the direction weíre going right now.  Most churches are incorporated, or registered with the state.  And of course, a corporation is a creation of the state.   And what the state creates the state controls.  And so friends: Our deadliest danger fight now is Government control.

 Ant then, in the September issue of the National Geographic, 1989 is an article entitled, ìRetracing the first crusadeì According to this article, they decided to retrace the original crusade, under the direction of a ìDuke Godfrey,î in 1096.  It describes the journey, and then it goes on to describe this invasion of Jerusalem.  Iíll not give you the details, but the climax is given in a matter-of-fact manner.  Thee National Geographic says and I quote-ìThe siege ended when Godfrey and his knights overran the ramparts from a tower and stormed the city.  The defenders and their wives and children were massacred with such ferocity that the victors waded in blood up to their anklesî end of quote.  Well, Iím quoting from the National Geographic now and again says-quote ìfor more than three weeks the hosts waited while two giants siege towers were constructed.  Duke Godfrey himself initiated the successful breakthrough.  On July 15, the siege tower in which he rode was levered and pushed to the weakest point of Jerusalemís wall.  Beams were run out at rampart height to make a bridge, and the first knights charged across.  Even their hard-bitten contemporaries were shocked by the terrible massacre that followed as the maddened crusaders rampaged through the city in a bloody catharsis for that appalling, three-year journey.  No one has ever seen or heard of such a slaughter of pagans, recalled on knight grimly.  Almost the whole city was full of their dead bodies.  The temple were the Muslims made their last-ditch stand, he said, was streaming with their blood.î End of quote.  And so, we might ask, who has shed more blood than the Roman Catholic Church?

A few years ago the PRARIE OVERCOMER, gave a quotation from the New York Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church.  Here it is:  ìThe Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth.  By divine right, the pope has supreme and full power in faith and morals over each and every pastor and his flock.  He is the true Vicar of Christ and the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians.  He is the INFALLIBLE ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of, and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by no one: GOD HIMSELF ON EARTH.î  Now friends, thatís not an accusation, thatís a quotation.  DONíT DENY YOUR OWN SIGNATURE!

And so friends, I repeat: This is not an ATTACK on Roman Catholic.  In fact, I feel that this is the most loving thing I can do.  May I ask, am I your friend, if I allow you to go on, trusting false hopes, wen I know about it?  Am I your friend if I go on and say nothing?  I think of II Cor. 5:14-ìFor the love of Christ constraineth us.î  Paul faced this same thing in his day.  In Gal. 4:16 he says, ìAm I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?î  Now friends, I want to present a list of twenty doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that are, all of them, inventions of the church.  None of them are in the Bible.  This list is given with the dates of their origins.  No. 14 is:  ìThe Bible forbidden to laymen.  1229 AD.  Now if ANY church can get away with this, say, thereís no limit to what they can put over.  Well, I want you to look this list over, and give each one some real thought.  And friend of mine, if you will buy this bill of goods, well, I donít think you have an excuse for being deceived.  Her they are:

 Friends, in the book of Revelation, we find the presentation of a great whore.  And may I SUGGEST THAT THIS GREAT WHORE IS THE Roman Catholic Church.  In Rev. 17, verse one, the angel says to John:  ìCome hither, I will shew unto thee the judgment of the GREAT WHORE THAT sitteth upon many waters.  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.î  Verse four:  ìAnd the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: A combination of wealth and wickedness.)

ìAnd upon her forehead was a name written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.  Rev. 17:5

ìAnd the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the earth.î  Rev. 17:18.  To what extent does the Roman Catholic Church reign over the world?

ìAnd the seven heads are the seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.î  Rev. 17:9 Rome is famous as being the seven hill city.

ìAnd he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth are the peoples and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.î Rev. 17:15

ìHow much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.î  Rev. 18:7 (MY! How the Catholic Church fits this picture!)

ìFor all nations have drunk of the wine of her wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.î  Rev. 18:3 Just how much of the wealth of the world does the Catholic Church control?  For instance, in Mexico: A land of extreme poverty, and yet the Catholic Church is rolling in riches.  And: converted priests have testified to the EXTREMEM IMMORALITY within the priesthood.  Homosexuality, abortion and immorality, to say nothing of its extreme lust for money.  ìThe Church demands cash for ALL SERVICES.î  So we have the command: ìCome out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.î Rev. 18:4

Now, to summarize the situation, I would like to give you the testimony of Emmett McLaughlin, a converted Roman Catholic priest: He says: ìSuch intensive indoctrination was unknown to the Western world outside of the Roman Catholic Church until it was copied by Fascism, Nazism, and Communism.î  He also says,  ìI came to believe that the American government was to be tolerated though wrong.  Tolerated because it gives unlimited freedom to the Roman Catholic Church, wrong because it gives freedom other churches.î  Now Iím sure that the average Roman Catholic layman knows nothing about this.  But Emmett McLaughlin was a priest.  He was on the inside.  He would know the policy of the SYSTEM.  And to give you an example, I quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica:  ìJohn Huss-Bohemian preacher and reformer; burned as a heretic.î  You see, according to the record, he was promised protection if he would come andbecause it gives unlimited freedom to the Roman Catholic Church, wrong because it gives freedom other churches.î  Now Iím sure that the average Roman Catholic layman knows nothing about this.  But Emmett McLaughlin was a priest.  He was on the inside.  He would know the policy of the SYSTEM.  And to give you an example, I quote from the Ees.î  Now Iím sure that the average Roman Catholic layman knows nothing about this.  But Emmett McLaughlin was a priest.  He was on the inside.  He would know the policy of the SYSTEM.  And to give you an example, I quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica:  ìJohn Huss-Bohemian preacher and reformer; burned as a heretic.î  You see, according to the record, he was promised protection if he would come andbecause it gives unlimited freedom to the Roman Catho
In the Latin American countries, we have a people who are still in heathen darkness.  And yet, most of them are within this pagan system, called Roman Catholicism.  Now, these have not been evangelized with the gospel, as many would have you believe, but here we have a people who have been CONQUERED, SUBDUED, and FORCED into a pagan religious system.  And, of course, their life-style conforms to the system.  Instead of being an evangelized people, whose lives have been transformed by grace, and who are reaching others for Christ: we have a primitive people, the very essence of the heathen, who, in savage form, are living in immorality, and opposing, with force, any suggestion of Biblical evangelism.  For instance, back in the 1950ís, I read of the persecution in Columbia, South America.  According to this article, 49 protestant churches were destroyed, 34 protestant churches confiscated, and 89 protestant church leaders were murdered.  Say, does this sound like a missionary movement, designed for reaching people for Christ, or something more like the INQUISITIONS?

Now friends, I want to emphasize the fact that there is no office of a priest in the New Testament church.  This was strictly and Old Testament office, and pertained to Israel.  You cannot find the office of a priest in the New Testament church.  Donít try it, it cannot be done.î  Of course there were the twelve APOSTLES.  There were deacons, evangelists and preachers, but no priests.  But if an organization can establish itself as having priestly authority-if they can convince the laymen that they cannot read the Bible for themselves, but must accept this assumed authority, what more could they ask for?  This is the recipe for TOTAL TYRANNY!  And then, along with this, is the ecumenical movement.  The argument is that we should drop our differences, and all get together as one big family.

You see, the basis for much of this can be laid on the doorstep of an apostate, apathetic Protestantism.  The charismatic movement is leading the way in this.  And major denominations have lapsed into what is called, Liberalism, or Modernism.  This movement, to a great extent, denies, the DEITY of Christ, the authority of the Bible and salvation by grace through faith in Christ.  They are well described in II Tim. 3:5 as, ìHaving a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.î  The average young person in America knows no more about the gospel than the ho-en-tot in Africa.

At this time, the world is in shock at the violence in schools, and the immoral behavior of young people.  Itís almost a panic situation.  Our jails are running over, corruption, both on the inside and outside of THE LAW.  Thereís the cry for more jails and more policemen.  Christian parents are under attack.  ìWhat are we going to do?î  We have a movement toward ì HOME SCHOOLING.î  But the argument is that young people need the SOCIAL life of schools.  Well, what is more deadly than that?  Thatís the main thing we need to escape.  In contrast we have the WELSH REVIVAL?   This was a Spiritual awakening that began with a youth meeting in the little country of Wales, and spread almost around the world.  At that time, I understand, there was no need for jails in the little country of Wales.  Policemen had very little to do.  And I also remember the same thing in the little area of Sanco, Texas when I was a boy.  They must have had a jail, but I cannot remember any one being arrested.  A sheriff had almost nothing to do.  And yet people would come from hundreds of miles around to the camp meetings that would last for two weeks.  Such preaching, praying and singing!  And so, could we not say, that the solution for our trouble would be found in II Chron. 7:14-ìIf my people, which are called by my Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.î  On the other hand, we may be faced with II Tim. 3:12-13-ìYea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.î  And then II Tim. 4:3-4 says, ìFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables.î

Recently I heard on the news that there are sixty million Roman Catholics in the United States.  MY! WHAT A MISSION FIELD!  Just think! Sixty million people who are trusting a man instead of Christ as a mediator.  This stands in bold contrast with I Tim. 2:5 ìFor there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.î  If we are going to have a priest in the church, our next question is: Where is our TABERNACLE or TEMPLE?  Remember, the PASOVER, the TABERNACLE or Temple, along with their priests and rituals, all pointed forward to the coming of Christ.  ìWhere fore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.î Gal. 3:24.  They were ALL fulfilled IN HIM!  ìFor the Law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did.î  Who was this ìBETTER HOPE?î  Also remember, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He alone, can fulfil this promise.  Acts 4:12-ìNeither is there salvation in any other: For there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST BE SAVED.î

However, an ecumenical movement, will have its fulfillment in a ONE-WORLD-CHURCH.  This religion will be under the rule and reign of the ANTICHRIST.   The time is coming, and it seems to be near when, ìHe, as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he IS GOD.î  II Thes. 2:4.  The 13th chapter of Revelation gives us a birdís eye view of this ìman of sin.î  Listen to it:  ìAnd all that dwell upon the earth shall WORSHIP him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.î  Rev. 13:8.  ìAnd he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that they image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not WORSHIP the image of the beast should be killed.  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.  An that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of hi name.î Rev. 13:13-17.  Then it goes on to give us the results of joining this church: Listen to it: Itís awesome:  ìIf any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast and his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.î  Rev. 14:9-11.

Now hereís the other side of the coin: THE GOSPEL: A definition of the gospel is seen in I Cor. 15, BEGINNING AT VERSE ONE:  ìMoreover brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL: And then it goes on to say:  ìhow that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.î  In John 14:6 Jesus said, ìI am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the father BUT BY ME.î  (Not by way of a church or a priest, but BY ME.)  In John 1:12, we read,  ìBut as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name.î  Paul told the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31, ìBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.î  Then I want to point out that this is not just a mental belief, but a decision from the heart.  An act of the will, ìFor with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvationì Again, in Acts 4:12 we see that this is very EXCLUSIVE.  ìNeither is there salvation in any other: for there is none that other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.î  That stands quite in contrast with the Roman Catholic position that salvation is vested in their church, their priests and their pope doesnít it?

NOW:  In the light of all this, are we willing to go on and fellowship with a system that has shed the blood of more Christians than any other pagan system in the world?  In view of the fact that thereís absolutely no office of a priest in the New Testament Church, are we willing to go on and call them Christian?  In view of the twenty doctrines that I presented, that are not in the Bible, but are inventions of this church, are we still willing to go on and call them Christina?  In view of the fact that the Bible is a forbidden book to the layman, are we willing to take their work for it all?  In view of all the Bible has to say about the Harlot City on the seven hills, are we going to close our eyes and pretend that we donít see the picture it presents?  In view of the fact that we have sixty million people in the U.S.A. who are living in this heathen darkness, are we willing to go on and discriminate against them and neglect to present to them the GOSPEL?  In other words, do we love them enough to contradict them?  Well, in view of all this may we remember the GREAT COMMISSION:  ìGo ye into all the world and preach the gospel.î  Mark 16:15.  And in so doing, we need to keep II Cor. 6:14-18 in mind:  ìBe ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial?  Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God: AS God hath said, I WILL DWELL IN THEM, AND WALK IN THEM, AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.  WHEREFORE COME OUT FOM AMONG THEM AND BE YE SEPARATE, SAITH THE LORD; AND THOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU, AN DWILL BE A FATHER UNTO YOU, AND YE SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, SAITH THE LORD ALMIGHT.î  And then, the main thing is if we LOVE these people, how can we keep silent.  Remember, ìfor the love of Christ constraineth us.î  II Cor. 5:14.

And so, on the one hand, we are not to have ìFELLOWSHIPî with them.  On the other hand we are to LOVE them, and present to them the GOSPEL.  And I repeat: Do we love them enough to contradict them?  ìFor the love of Christ constraineth us: because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.î  II Cor. 5:14.  And so, an appropriate conclusion would be the golden text of the Bible-ìFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

ìLet no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God, sitteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he IS GOD.î  II Thes. 2:3-4.

Someone has said, the greatest love story ever told s the Gospel Story.  ìFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.î  John 3:16.  You see, the death sentence was passed upon the human race in the Garden of Eden.  In Gen. 2:17, God had said to Adam, ìBut of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest therof thou shalt surely die.î  They ate of it, and of course, man has been dying ever since.  ìFor as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.î  I Cor15: 22.  This includes ìthe lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.î Rev. 21:8.

ìBut God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.î  Rom. 5:8.  This was accomplished on THE OLD RUGGED CROSS, when Jesus was crucified.  And, crucifixion was the most horrible means of capitol punishment the world has ever known.  And, He was dying in our place. ìFor Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.î I Pet. 3:18.

But, ìIn Christî we have a resurrection.  Remember, Christianity is unique: The resurrection is recorded in all four Gospels.  ìMoreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospelÖ. How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY according to the Scriptures.î  I Cor. 15:1-4.

And then, in the last chapter in the Bible, we have an invitation: ìAnd the Spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that is athirst come, AND WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take of the water of life freely.î  Rev. 22:17.  This invitation is also seen in John 1:12-13, ìBut as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: Which were born, not of Blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.î  In other words, this is called a new birth.  Jesus told Nicodemus ìVerily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.î  John 3:3.

And so, His invitation ìCome unto me: is a LOVE AFFAIR.  We must accept or reject Him.  And just as a girlís future depends on the man she marries, so in like manner, or future depends on our response to His invitation.  In other words, Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.  THIS IS THE WORLDíS GREATEST LOVE STORY!

ìAnd I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.î  Rev. 21:2