Introduction
The Holy Bible describes—albeit symbolically—the antichrist power as an organized religious system, given authority by Satan. It is a counterfeit system with a beautiful façade, i. e. Christ-like, tasked to promote the devil’s prime interest as he competes with Christ for the loyalty of humanity.1 The Bible underscores Satan’s primary purpose as spoken of by Jesus: “Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy” and he does it surreptitiously under the cover of darkness (ignorance of truth). That we cannot see Satan and his demons makes for an environment pregnant and fertile for their work of deception. As a result they easily put doubt on people’s mind of the true character of God and much more that He exists.
False Religions are Antichrists
First, there’s the antichrist religious power, i.e., the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) 2 and second, the minor antichrists, all false CHRISTIAN religions. 3 (There are now thousands of Christian denominations or congregations worldwide and increasing day by day. Only one of these is the true religion).4 They act, behave and promote themselves as true religions. But this is only an outward appearance for they are really counterfeits. Think of the Pharisees of the Old Testament; or the “Padre Damasos”, hypocritical priests in the Philippine hero Rizal’s writings.” People tend to believe them for they are teaching from the Bible and appropriating for themselves positions they themselves created. They actually use religious language and infuse mysticism and more mystery on their teachings, practices and rituals. These make their followers more confused or not nearer to the truth. Some leaders and teachers do it with sincere hearts but as they are being deceived by Satan, they are teaching a mix of truth and error. Most will do it with intention to make money or to gain power out of their so-called service to God. The Bible calls the latter groups false prophets who peddle (sell) the truth.5
Notes:
1 “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, ESV)
2 This is an old revelation, traced even as early as the first century at the time Paul and John. It was given more emphasis during the time of the Protestant Reformation. Luther, et al. pointed their finger to the Roman Catholic Church as the Antichrist spoken of in the Bible. This history of the church (God’s people) has been totally forgotten to the detriment of succeeding believers—generations to generations. Their assurance of salvation is totally compromised unless they study the Bible on their own.
3 The ultimate Antichrist will be Satan himself. As God’s people [Church] eagerly awaits Christ’s Second Coming Satan will counterfeit Christ’s appearance. Those who have not loved the truth, meaning who have not read, understood and practiced the Bible’s truth or principles will fall for this sham and will be destroyed in the true Second Coming of Christ. In fact many generations have died who have believed the lies. And for them Judgment has been entered in the books of Heaven; its execution done in the 2nd Coming.
4 The sum total of all Christian religions (denominations or congregations) comprises the Church. Within every congregation are true believers and false. God will separate them ultimately in the Day of Judgment for He alone knows everyone’s heart. Therefore, Luther, the protestant reformist, in saying that the true church is invisible is telling us what it really is. What we are seeing now is every Tom, Dick or Harry is calling his church as true as if they (leaders) can know of everyone’s heart and God has entrusted them with the judgment. Can any man be fair? No man can be. Precisely, Jesus said that no man should judge for who can be a fair one when man is fallible. What about the non-Christian religions? In God’s eyes they are unbelievers (heathens), to be grouped with the false Christians at the Day of Judgment.
5 Some false prophets may even believed what they teach are indeed true, although they are rare. Let’s hear Paul on this subject. In 1 Thessalonians 1:3-6 (ESV) Paul says, “3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery,[b] as you know, nor with a pretext for greed— God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.” Like Paul, false prophets also claim these things mentioned above.
The Bible affirms that Satan has deceived the whole world. He rules the world now.6 This is not an over exaggeration. Tens of millions members of these false church systems are as deceived as their priests, pastors, preachers, ministers and so-called founders. And they are not aware of it. There lies the great danger of deception—that you are not aware you are being deceived. Members think they are worshiping the true God but in fact they are worshiping a substitute image (god). They feel secure and safe but in truth this is false security.
Nevertheless, the Bible also affirms that true believers are inside these false religions and God will call them out at the opportune time that He will determine. I am one good example being called out from the Roman Catholic Church when I was already 55 years old. I got deceived just as my parents were, as their parents were, as the latter’s parents were and so on. By God’s grace through His Word I got undeceived. I feel great, thankful and really secure with my deliverance from lies.7
This is the meaning of the truth of Antichrist as written in the Bible: false religions teach and practice some doctrines that in fact obscure or divert the focus of the believer from Christ. By their teachings they make an image or present a person, e.g. Pope or the dead Virgin Mary and other dead saints or living persons claiming to be the Christ, to take the place of God and make people worship them subconsciously As a result their followers think they have come to believe and worship Christ and/or God the Father. What they actually worship is a substitute poised before their eyes and hearing. The dark reality is hidden from their consciousness. This is not different from the idolatry that the second commandment speaks about. They are thinking Christ while worshiping a powerless graven image impressed on their minds by false teachings. This is unlike the time the Israelites worshiped the golden calf fashioned by Aaron at their instigation.
Notes:
6 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, which is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:9, ESV) Another text to consider, “…concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16: 9-11, ESV)
7 Baptism of children at least one year of age makes a continuous line of generations of Catholics. Each person’s faith is inherited so to speak. This is not biblical for one’s faith must be each individual’s decision. Faith in God comes from both reason and heart and not through an ordained practice of any church. Out of ignorance of the truth, the parents of Roman Catholics are inadvertent parties to the deception of their children.
False doctrines and false practices come from misunderstanding the Bible
Bible misinterpretation, intentional or not, is the root cause of false practices and wrong teachings. In addition the Roman Catholic Church holds traditions and old pagan practices as worthy as the Scripture for rules of faith and practice. Traditions are actually rules derived from the opinions of men that have been passed from generations to generations. The Romans’ practice of polytheism is one good example of the numerous pagan practices. History tells us that the RCC adopted the images of the Romans’ gods and goddesses and conveniently renamed them with the names of well-known religious figures like St. Peter, St. Paul, et al. There is an amalgamation of true religion concepts or beliefs and false ones--appearing beautiful and truthful but in fact a bitter and dangerous brew.
On the other hand the mainline Protestant Christians, whom biblical prophecy names as daughters of the RCC,8 hold the Bible as the sole source of truth or principles. In this group misrepresentation is the main source of error for they have the spirit of darkness teaching them. Error is fatal for one’s salvation however sincere one may be in one’s faith.
Salvation is God’s Primary Blessing
The most important or primary blessing being given by God is our salvation or redemption. This is the foundation of all God’s providence. God is holding all men—from Adam to the last human--accountable for their sins and the penalty of death hangs on their heads. Salvation through Christ frees you from Satan and his lies, from being captive of sin and from the penalty of death. It involves God putting to death your inherited sinful nature, changing your heart and spirit and transforming your mind as you behold Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection. Freed from sinful tendencies, from Satan and from the world’s influences, one has the freedom to do right and truly become a child of God. When saved, one’s life - physical, mental, social and spiritual—here on earth changes for the better and this will grow, mature and hold firm into the resurrection life. 9 Physical death is just a temporary rest between the present life and life in the eternal. In fact Jesus said death is like sleep. As you awake from sleep in the resurrection you take up the moment or memory of things before your sleep. This is the manner that death and sleep are similar. (The unrighteous dead will have the same identity and experience when they wake up on their resurrection. For example Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Napoleon, Stalin, Gadhafi and the like will still be wicked harboring unrighteous thoughts. It is not far fetched to think that Satan will employ them to lead big armies of wicked people as they war with the righteous in the last battle called Armageddon.) 10
Notes: 8 The bible prophecy we are talking about is found in these texts: “The woman [=Roman church] 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 [=Protestant religion] and of earth's abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus [=persecutions done by the Roman Catholic Church in the early and Middle Ages].( Revelation 17:4-6) The Roman Catholic Church is really in apostasy, which was prefigured by Israel in the Old Testament, who were first in apostasy. In contrast, what the Old Testament called the “remnant” of Israel prefigures the true people of God in these modern times. If the remnant Israelites are said to have scattered in the four corners of the earth, the contemporary remnant people of God are also scattered. Many believers today are confusing the physical and organized church with the true “temple of the Spirit (God)”, which is the individual believer, and taken collectively they are the invisible Church. That’s the reason they take the bait of the rampant false teaching that an organized church can take them into the Kingdom of God. Consequently, many of these Christians are nominal in their faith, which should be expected.
9 In practice, all these good things accrue to one who is faithful as he reads and study, accept and obey what the Bible teaches. In short God’s way to redemption is found in the Bible. Understanding the gospel and walking in conformity on a daily basis and standing in faith until the end give assurance of one’s salvation.
10 “For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:14-16, ESV)
False Religion Teaches a Way to Eternal Life other than Jesus
The ultimate reward of salvation is immortality. False religions or these antichrists present to people ways to salvation, which is essentially the GOSPEL, that deviate from what the Bible ordains. The Bible calls these ways FALSE GOSPELS. Invariably a false church preaches that you can only be saved by being baptized in their church. The RCC claims this false gospel; and also the Philippines’ “Iglesia Ni Kristo” (INC) just to name two. One who claims their whole church membership will be saved is saying the same thing as the RCC and INC, e.g. the Philippines’ “The Old Path” of Bro. Eli Soriano. In these cases the church as they define is made the image to take the place of Christ as Savior. This is a subtle deception not readily discerned or known by the members or anyone for that matter, but their ‘fruits’ will manifest the real character of the ‘faithful’. In truth, this teaching lacks the power to transform and renew a person.
But what does the Scripture say? Christ said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Note the definite article the preceding way, truth and life. It means Christ is the only way towards the Father, he is the absolute truth and he is the only source of eternal life. God the Father ordained it this way even before the creation. 11 He has given Christ all the authority in heaven and on earth. This is the essence of the GOSPEL. What Christ has done when he came the first time as a man, his death, and his resurrection produced the bases whereby salvation is secured for anyone who receives Christ and believes. He has ascended to heaven to serve as our High Priest and is forever living to intercede in behalf of the true believers; 12 and giving power to their lives through the Spirit. He will come back as King and Lord, overthrow all earthly kingdoms and re-establish the Kingdom of God that will last forever. This is the ultimate prophecy that the Scriptures have in the book of Daniel and Revelation.
The antichrist powers obscure this truth about Christ. For example RCC says 1) you can be forgiven of your sins by doing penance and being credited of indulgences earned by the Pope, Mary, the saints, religious brothers and nuns after confessing your sins to a human priest, 2) the soul of the dead can go to purgatory and be forgiven sins by the offering of a mass by the living or given indulgences after giving a gift to the church; 3)The Eucharist (mass) is a real sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and beneficial for salvation. In all these cases a false image is impressed on the minds of the faithful.The truth is you confess your sins directly to God and Christ will intercede in your behalf. Christ’s death is the once for all (men including those yet to be born) sacrifice that has paid the penalty of past, present and future sins. The way mentioned above as means of salvation for the dead is purely a lie for after death one’s fate has been sealed, for one is judged by his deeds when he or she was living or if he or she has acknowledged, received and believed Christ in his or her life or not. These two options are the same, meaning they have the same dynamics. Mentioned above is the fact that Christ needs only to die once. Therefore, the daily masses done by the Catholics is absolute absurdity. The deception is patent when you know the truth.
The minor antichrists will say: 1) faith in Christ plus membership in their church will save you; 2) their founder is a “messenger”- one sent from God - so their doctrines and the church can only be true and salvation is assured; the doctrine of infallibility is implied; 3) the name of their church is the same as that one written in the Bible (it implies the church name makes the church a true church; 13 4) their programs extol and lift up the founder more than Christ; 5) the founder of the church is Christ himself or an equivalent e.g. Philippine Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, Sun Myung Moon, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, José Luis de Jesús Miranda, et al. All these take away the focus on Christ. Although Christ is also preached together with these extraneous teachings, a different image other than Christ are impressed on their minds. This is where the daily or weekly rituals and church rules and practices—(e.g. weekly worship, pilgrimage to the main or central church or miracle sites; big donations)--of this kind of churches obtain power and becomes the ends rather than the means toward redemption. On the other hand a church that preaches Christ solely cannot go wrong for Christ is both the means and the end. 14
In the first case above, they would be thinking their church would save them so they devote themselves zealously to practices, causes, services and ministries of the church. On the second case, they would adhere blindly to whatever their “messenger” teaches them. They are blind to the fact that he is a fallible human just as anyone else. In the third case, the inanimate object, which is the church name, gives them false security. And on the fourth and fifth cases, we take Pastor Quiboloy as a good example. He takes the place of Christ (God)--the essence of the antichrist. Instead of preaching “follow Christ” he tells his members “follow me.”These five examples impress a substitute image of Christ in their members’ mind. These false images, being visible and continually promoted have power. In contrast, with Christ not visible and second priority in the preaching program, Christ remains mostly under the radar of the members’ mind. There is great danger in these impure teachings for they blindside the ‘faithful’. As a result, they may feel secure in their redemption but are actually lost.
Truth is only found in the Scriptures
Truth can only be found in Christ or in the Word of God. They are one and the same. The Bible is the Word of God given to us by God himself. God preserved it through the ages for everyone; primarily to counteract the many lies that Satan speaks through his evil followers. From cover to cover Christ dominates the Word. He is the creator, the lawgiver, the covenant maker and invisible leader and deliverer, protector and judge of his people in the Old Testament. In the New Testament he is the incarnate Christ (one who came in the flesh), the one who lived the Holy Spirit-empowered life that we should follow, the one who died, the one who resurrected, the one who ascended to heaven and sat at the right hand of God, the exalted one of God, the one who lives forever to act as mediator or our advocate before the Father, and in the future the one to come for his brothers and sisters (the righteous or true believers of both the Old and New Testament times) to be presented to the Father in heaven. All these things embody what Christ says that he represents: the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Nothing can add to our salvation for Christ is all-sufficient. Only in complete union with Christ—in death and in life--is one saved.
Salvation is God’s Free Gift
Our salvation is a gift from God! Indeed, all the means—faith, repentance, power, strength, purification, godliness, hope, etc.—beneficial for redemption proceeds from him. No church or person (even Mary as Catholics are made to believe and who is resting in her grave up to this moment) can add to what Christ has done and what he is doing and what He will do for us. A true believer only has to accept and believe Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and live as he lived. And one can only do so on Christ’s grace, i.e. power and strength. In doing this they enter a covenant i.e. relationship and fellowship, with God the Father and Christ through the Holy Spirit that dwells within them. The same Holy Spirit (Spirit of God) gives them power or strength to obey God’s commands, precepts and teachings found in the Bible, e.g. the true Ten Commandments, that they might please the Father and find grace throughout their lifetime; preserved to stand faithful until the end.
From the beginning the Father has given the authority to his Son to do all of the above. The Son has really delivered so far and there is no question the Son will complete his work until all is accomplished. All things, especially humanity, that are wrought by man’s greed and sin are beyond saving; of course except for the true believers. They will be destroyed by a consuming fire from heaven (as exemplified by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) and turned to ashes to be trampled upon by the righteous who will inherit the earth made new by God.
The Church was Ordained and Established by Christ
Do we still need a church then? Yes, the Bible teaches that you need a church. In fact it is the body of Christ and He is the head. If we speak of the body this is the collective living body of the faithful and not the physical churches that are visible. Now Christ lives forever seated in the right hand of the Father. It means all things co-here in Him. It also means He is in command over the heavens and the earth and all things in them. (It is not Peter or the Pope as the RCC teaches. In fact they are dead and they are in their graves. Who can have power while dead, or much more act in our behalf?). The church has some essential purposes and roles to play on the earthly life of the believers. It proclaims the gospel to the ends of the earth and this inexorably builds the church. It teaches the Word of truth which is the power to cleanse and purify the saints’ lives to prepare them for the future eternal Kingdom.
Read and Study the Bible First on your Own,
...to answer the question: is the true church visible as a particular denomination that we know now or remains invisible?
As a new seeker of truth, you must read and study the Bible first because of the circumstances I have told above. False religions abound worldwide and one will most likely meet one. Probably you are already in one of the religions or denominations I have mentioned above. Satan rules the world at the moment so that most of the teachers of Scriptures are being deceived.
First thing to do is to get to know the theme(s) and topics that the whole Bible presents. Get the overview first thing. View the forest so to speak from above not minding the trees (details) at the meantime. For example one grand theme is the spiritual as well as the physical battle of Christ (with his angels) and Satan (with his fallen angels). The battle is arguments of truth (the Scripture) in case of Christ and of lies (misrepresentation of the Scripture) in the case of Satan. Both will use human instruments, true religion systems and false or counterfeit, respectively). And humanity is in the middle of the war.15 But of course the one big and encompassing and primary theme is the salvation story, where God the Father through Christ enters into an everlasting covenant with His children whom He sovereignly calls, chooses and preserves for the eternal life!
When you got the feel of the story of salvation, i.e. gospel, which is Christ’s deliverance of humanity from being captive of Satan and unrighteousness you are ready to read religious books and articles in magazines dealing with the Bible and hearing preachers as they preach Christ. But note down the teachings they are presenting and the references on Scripture and study them at home. Your understanding of scripture must prevail always. Do not take as Bible truth their teachings until you have checked it against your understanding of the reference text (s). The Bible has a promise that God himself teaches his children—God knows His true children-- as they read scriptures. The Holy Spirit who is the author will reveal truth progressively. Be patient, for deep truths will take time to be understood or revealed in your study of the Word.
May God bless you with His grace and peace!
Notes:
11 Christ said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” This statement defines the complete process of salvation. The WAY speaks of a path to the Father’s heart, who is Christ; Christ brings the Word of TRUTH to all men; the Word makes them holy (Christ said in John 17:17: “Father, sanctify them with your truth. Your WORD is truth.”) Being made holy you can enter LIFE, which is the blessed hope. To be precise eternal life has started upon baptism into the faith of Christ. Then God gives the assurance of eternal life as one remains in Christ until the end. God, when He calls someone has already qualified him or her as His child. The experience is exclusive to the individual, which we cannot say to be true with any collective visible church. However, it is to be said that true and false believers make up the membership of every Christian church. It is for this reason that no visible church can say they are the true church. Any church that does this misrepresentation is making a false image that becomes a stumbling block for the salvation of anyone. In contrast, the image of Christ when lifted up by a preacher becomes the power of God for salvation.
12 This presents the importance of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can pray to God and Christ, who is our High Priest seated on the right hand of the throne. He intercedes for us.
13 In the Old Testament Israel is the equivalent of the Church of God today. Israel is a Biblical name. Has the name “Israel” saved every Jew? Today, will a church named “Church of God” save every one of its members? No is the answer for both questions. This falsifies the statement that a church to be true must have a name that is written in the Bible. Another good example is the fact that the term “Holy Bible” cannot be found in the Scripture. But still believers are treating every word of the Bible as the Word of God and as truth.
14 In you have an interview with a Bro. Eli Soriano follower you will invariably, if not all the time, elicit praise for the preacher. In this case the follower believes he is saved by being a follower of Bro. Eli Soriano and will live that way. This image is always on the top and center of his mind and Christ is just in the perimeter. Consequently, over time he or she follows Bro. Eli’s pronouncements faithfully and believes all of them to be true. It is doubly dangerous as the follower now neglects totally the reading and studying of the Bible on his or her own. I call this following an image of Bro. Eli rather than of Christ. This proves to be the power of the antichrist as I have mentioned. I am sure the antichrist himself is not aware of this. It would take another man—that has the Spirit of God—to discern this deception. As a counter ploy God takes the initiative to teach His children that He has foreknown.
15 “Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve”. (Luke 22:3, ESV) The Judas’ betrayal resulted in the killing of Jesus. The Bible also records the killing of all innocent children less than two years of age as ordered by Herod, with the purpose of possibly killing the baby Jesus. This is a couple of good examples of the physical battle between Christ and Satan. The spiritual battle is translated into the physical. (This should make people believe the unseen, which God is). Judas, one of the chosen, is called the man of perdition; the antichrist (RCC) is called with the same name. Before the betrayal, Judas presents a beautiful face but it turns out he is a counterfeit, dark and ugly in the inside. Indeed, false prophets are inside the church and those they have deceived—false believers—are inside too. Jesus said this to be the case. (Read: Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43
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