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Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano Who Exposed Pope Francis And The ‘Gay Mafia’ Inside The Catholic Church Is Hiding In Exile Afraid For His Life

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò wrote a blistering letter outlining secret ‘Gay Mafia’ that he says is inside Catholic Church Pope Francis is covering up.

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Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò Exposes Gay Mafia Inside The Catholic Church
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In the instant he became one of the most controversial figures in modern Catholic Church history, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò went dark.

Last year, we brought you the story about a former papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, released an explosive, 11-page report in which he laid out a series of allegations against a number of high-ranking prelates, including Pope Francis. In that report, Viganò laid out his claim of a ‘gay mafia’ inside the Catholic Church that was making it possible to enable all the pedophile priests to keep abusing children.

“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Revelation 17:4-6 (KJV)

Now Viganò is hiding in exile, afraid for his life. Just a few months ago, Vatican treasurer and personal confidant to Pope Francis Cardinal George Pell was found guilty of pedophilic child assault, Francis said he knew nothing about that, either. If I were Viganò I would hire a food tester, even in exile, the Roman harlot has an incredible reach.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò who called on pope to resign gives 1st interview since self-imposed exile

FROM LMT ONLINE: The retired Vatican ambassador to Washington wrote a bombshell letter last summer calling on Pope Francis to resign on the grounds that he had tolerated a known sexual abuser. As that letter was published, Viganò turned off his phone, told friends he was disappearing, and let the church sort through the fallout.

Nine months later, in his first extended interview since that moment, Viganò refused to disclose his location or say much about his self-imposed exile. But his comments indicate that, even in hiding, he is maintaining his role as the fiercest critic of the Francis era, acting either as an honorable rebel or, as his critics see it, as an ideological warrior attacking a pope he doesn’t like.

Viganò corresponded by email with The Washington Post over two months, writing 8,000 words in response to nearly 40 questions. He was blistering in his criticism of Francis, saying “it is immensely sad” that the pope was “blatantly lying to the whole world to cover up his wicked deeds.”

The Vatican has had little official response to Viganò. A communications official declined to comment for this story. But Francis last month responded for the first time to Viganò’s summer letter. The pope said he knew “nothing, obviously nothing” about the misconduct of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick and could not remember if he had been personally warned about McCarrick by Viganò in 2013. Viganò claimed to have told Francis that McCarrick had “corrupted generations of seminarians and priests.”

“How could anybody, especially a pope, forget this?” Viganò wrote to The Post.

McCarrick was defrocked in February, after the case exploded into public view and he was found guilty in a Vatican proceeding for “sins” with minors and adults.

In his correspondence with The Post, Viganò offered detailed thoughts about church affairs, but he resisted personal questions – and he declined requests to meet in person. Viganò wrote that he has become “more careful about whom I meet and what I say.” He said questions about him were “irrelevant to the serious problems facing the Church.” “My life is quite normal, thank you for asking,” he wrote.

Viganò wrote “n/a” in response to questions about where he was living, whether he believes his safety is under threat, and how his actions last August have otherwise altered his life. Viganò wrote that he has not been contacted by the Catholic Church since his accusations were initially published by several conservative church news outlets. He described himself as an “old man” who “will be appearing in front of the Good Judge before too long.” Viganò, 78, was two years into his retirement when he came forward with his letter, a stunning break for a lifelong church representative who’d held major bureaucratic posts inside the Vatican and represented the Holy See in several countries as a diplomat.

“My silence would make me complicit with the abusers, and lead to yet more victims,” he said.

Although Viganò’s letter focused on only McCarrick’s case, it became a touchstone for a wider and fierce struggle over internal corruption, the role of homosexuality in abuse, and whether Francis is leading the church astray.

Viganò wrote last year that both Benedict XVI and Francis had known about McCarrick’s misconduct. But he portrayed Benedict as attempting to take quiet disciplinary action against the then-cardinal and Francis as patently ignoring those sanctions.

Last month, private letters disclosed by a former McCarrick aide supported Viganò’s claim that McCarrick was told by the Vatican to retreat from public life during Benedict’s papacy. But it is also clear that McCarrick swiftly ignored his orders from Rome, even while Benedict remained pope. No documents have surfaced showing whether Francis knew of the sanctions against McCarrick by the time he became pope in 2013.

Viganò said the “truth will eventually come out” for Francis, as it had for Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former archbishop of Washington who portrayed himself last summer as being unaware about complaints against McCarrick – a claim that documents subsequently proved false. Viganò suggested to The Post that Francis is covering up other cases, “as he did for McCarrick.”

For Catholic traditionalists – a group that includes some bishops and cardinals, as well as pundits, journalists and everyday members of the faith – Viganò has become a revered symbol, though an absent one. “He’s certainly acquired a very strong moral leadership in the Catholic world,” said Virginia Coda Nunziante, president of Italy’s March for Life committee.

Viganò frequented conservative church conferences and antiabortion events before the release of his testimony; now, he is a no-show. He keeps in touch with people only on his own terms, calling them from a Skype account that does not resemble his own name.

Many in the Catholic world feel that Viganò – long known for his hot temper and inner-Vatican rivalries – is neither credible nor interested in stopping sexual abuse. They note that documents show he tried to quash an investigation into a Minnesota archbishop accused of misconduct, an accusation Viganò denies. They also say his testimony last summer was a barely-veiled attack against homosexuals in the upper ranks, and that his real goal was to weaken Francis rather than help the church.

“There is an element of Machiavellian exploitation” with Viganò, said Austen Ivereigh, a papal biographer.

As far as the McCarrick case, the Vatican pledged in October to conduct a “thorough” study of its archives and reveal what it finds about who knew what. The church has since said only that an investigation is ongoing.

“The results of an honest investigation would be disastrous for the current papacy,” Viganò wrote to The Post. He also acknowledged that such an investigation may harm the reputations of more traditionalist pontiffs, Benedict and John Paul II, who presided over McCarrick’s rise.

“But that is not a good reason for not seeking the truth,” Viganò said. “Benedict XVI and John Paul II are human beings, and may well have made mistakes. If they did, we want to know about them. Why should they remain hidden? We can all learn from our mistakes.”

Viganò did not respond directly to a question about whether he has documents to back up his claims. “The time has not yet come for me to release anything,” Viganò said, instead calling on the pope and other Vatican officials to release documentation, “assuming they have not yet destroyed it.”

Viganò also spoke in detail about one of his most contentious beliefs: that the sexual abuse crisis would be “far less severe” if the “problem of homosexuality in the priesthood were honestly acknowledged and properly addressed.”

The question of whether homosexuality has anything to do with abuse has divided the Vatican hierarchy. Studies show there is no correlation between sexual orientation and the likelihood to commit abuse. Francis has emphasized not homosexuality, but the vast power chasm that priests take advantage of when abusing younger victims. But people like Viganò raise the point that 80 percent of clerical abuse victims are male, and the majority of those are 14 and older.

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is mind-boggling that the word ‘homosexuality’ has not appeared once, in any of the recent official documents of the Holy See” on events dealing with abuse and youth, Viganò wrote.

He said a “gay mafia” among bishops, intent on protecting themselves, was “sabotaging all efforts at reform.”

Viganò referenced only two regrets about his letter last summer. He said he wished he had spoken out sooner. He also said, “in retrospect,” he would have softened the call for Pope Francis to resign – a demand even Viganò’s supporters said was far-fetched and distracting.

Viganò now leaves open the possibility that Francis could repent, and says the pope should step down “if he refuses to admit his mistakes and ask for forgiveness.” READ MORE

Pope Francis faces accusation of ignoring sexual abuse

Another accusation has emerged in the Catholic Church’s ongoing sexual abuse scandal. A former senior Vatican diplomat to the U.S., Carlo Maria Vigano claims that Pope Francis knew about, and ignored, allegations of wrongdoing by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, previously archbishop of Washington, D.C.

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Donald Trump

THE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST: The UFC On The White House Lawn This Weekend Stunningly Brings Us The Ancient Roman Empire Roaring Back To Life

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President Trump Hosting UFC On The White House Lawn Is A Stunning Symbol Of America’s Roman Spirit And The Coming Revived Roman Empire Of Daniel

Washington has always been draped in Rome. From the Senate to the Capitol, from the marble columns to the imperial domes, from the eagle imagery to the fasces displayed in Congress, America’s ruling class built its civic temple with Roman hands and Roman imagination. The United States presented itself as a republic, but it borrowed the language, architecture, symbolism, and ambition of the empire that came before it. Rome was never as far away from America as we were told. It was carved into the stone from the beginning. Now the symbolism has stepped out of the marble and onto the White House lawn.

“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17, 17,18 (KJB)

On this episode of the Prophecy News Podcast, Rome understood spectacle. Rome understood how to command the imagination of the people. The arena was never merely entertainment. It was power on display. It was the empire telling the masses who ruled, who conquered, who mattered, and who could be crushed. The Caesars knew that the people could be governed through bread, blood, theater, fear, glory, and distraction. The arena was Rome’s pulpit, and the empire preached itself through violence, triumph, and applause America learned the lesson well, very well. The White House, the palace of American executive power, becomes the stage. The fighters become the spectacle. The cameras become the amphitheater. The nation watches as combat entertainment is fused with politics, patriotism, celebrity, military pageantry, and national celebration. Just as it was in the days of Rome. This is not just another headline in a collapsing age. This is a prophetic snapshot of the Roman spirit of empire rising in the modern West. America is not named in Daniel as the final empire, but America has carried the Roman spirit across the modern world. It has exported Roman-style law, military order, global dominance, civic religion, political symbolism, mass entertainment, and imperial power under the banner of freedom and democracy. America calls itself a republic, but it increasingly behaves like an empire. That was Rome’s path as well. First the republic, then the strong men, then the spectacle, then the empire. And finally, the inevitable collapse of all of it. The White House lawn has become the arena, and that old Roman spirit is speaking once again. Here at our 250th anniversary, our republic is fading, the spectacle is rising, the Beast system is forming. And the final empire of Antichrist is preparing for its last act before the King of kings returns to break it in pieces and set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Is America Mystery Babylon? That’s the question we will be looking to answer here on Day 2,279 of 15 Days To Flatten The Curve!

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• The RIGHTLY DIVIDING Radio Bible Study

Every Sunday evening from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, we offer an in-depth rightly dividing and dispensationally correct rocket ride through the preserved word of God as found within the pages of the King James Holy Bible. 

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Every Monday and Friday afternoons from Noon to 1:30 PM EST, we examine breaking news and current events  in light of bible prophecy. 

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  • FRIDAY AT NOON: Friday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.

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Listen to What Our Donation Angels Have to Say About the Ministry of Now The End Begins

  • “You are truly an end time ministry and I appreciate how our Precious Lord is using you to educate his very own flock. There is a lot of confusion , but your ministry is putting scripture in the right prospective. Thank-you so so much Geoffrey S Grider for standing firm and putting in a lot of hours of your time. God Bless You , also your Ministry and your family. IN JESUS MIGHT NAME.” T. Muto
  • “Jesus. I am now 64 years old and never in all the years I’ve been a Christian was I able to grow in the Lord as much as I have in the last past year. All because of our blessed brother’s work Geoffrey Grider who as the bravery of standing fast forward without fear of claiming the truth of God by the power of his love in Jesus Christ. May God bless you abundantly to the end my dear brother… ROMANS: 8: 36,37,38” Mireille Anderson
  • “I met you at the car dealership earlier this year. We spoke briefly, then you handed me a card and told me to check out the website. You left. A few minutes later, you returned to tell me not to forget to look up the website. I told you…” I already did. I already subscribed.” In that short time we spoke, I experienced from you…a total stranger…peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, compassion, and love. I am convinced that God sent you to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. For that, and for the work you are doing for the Kingdom of God, I say…Thank you and God Bless You.” Sonia Merced
  • “I really enjoy the emails and Bible studies! I haven’t found a church and enjoy your services very much! Be blessed brother!” Marcia Mann
  • “You and your organization are on the front lines in the Battle For Truth…. current events, end times, and trying to awaken a sleeping Laodicean Church. Thank you brother for fighting for us and all your teaching and insight God bless…” Daniel Cartrette
  • I just want to thank you for the teachings you give every Sunday night on radio.  You are such a blessing to me. I absolutely love your way of teaching the scriptures.  I don’t have a church where I can have fellowship and teaching, so you have been my teacher for many months now. Thanks God you are there for all of us who have no church to go to.  I pray that the Lord will bless you abundantly in your ministry, and your loved ones too.  You are such a blessing to me, and many others, in these last days before the rapture.  Thank you so much Geoffrey, from the bottom of my heart. May the Lord keep you, until He comes back for us. You are in my prayers.” Donald Godin
  • “Thank you for the work  you are doing brother.  Your page and your testimony were a blessing to me this morning as I came across it for the first time.  Thank you for the reality of your testimony and what God has done for you in introducing you to Jesus our Lord.  God has brought me, in salvation, to Himself as well, through His love and mercy and grace in salvation.  How can we praise Him enough?  How can we not share this good news!?  I pray this day for God’s blessing on your ministry that He may save many souls through the work He has called you to.  Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)” Mark and Melissa
  • “Love the Sunday night bible study. I want to support someone who has the passion for the lost like Geoffrey does and rightly divides the word of God. God bless you.” Teresa Carey
  • “I give because not many news outlets are brave enough or Godly enough to tell these stories from a Christian’s point of view. I see stories here that will not be seen anywhere else.” William Grayshaw
  • “It’s hard to find solid biblical teaching in America these days. It’s a blessing to be able to take part in a ministry financially without being concerned about false teaching. All glory to God! God bless!” Maximilian Swan
  • “I donate because you are reporting the truth about the increasing wickedness of our time, as God’s word foretold. In so doing we are reminded to “Keep looking up” as we wait in joyful hope for the Lord’s coming, Maranatha! ” Anthony Sloane
  • “Geoffrey has the best End Times News out there. I have been receiving his emails for years now and always enjoy his Sunday night messages although I don’t always think exactly as he thinks. We are all in this “boat of life” together and as I come to the end of my life’s journey here, I am more aware of Jesus’s call for us to be one as He and the Father are One.” Deborah Cleaveland

STREET-TESTED NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS:

This is the official gospel tract of NTEB, used here on the streets of Saint Augustine and sent around the world as they are purchased through our website. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting the work of Now The End Begins by purchasing a box of these full-color, high-quality gospel tracts. Thank you in advance!

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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THE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST: Spielberg Says ‘Disclosure Day’ Movie Takes The Position Of The Catholic Church To Prepare People To Receive Aliens

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Spielberg’s New Aliens Film ‘Disclosure Day’ Shows How Hollywood, Rome And The Government Are Conditioning Mankind To Receive A Counterfeit Revelation

Now here’s a little wrinkle to the new Steven Spielberg ‘Disclosure Day’ movie that almost no one is talking about. Spielberg says the movie narrative takes the position of the Roman Catholic Church to prepare people to welcome UFOs and aliens into our global society. Remember that Vatican announcement some years back when Pope Francis said when aliens arrive, the Catholic Church will baptize them? Well, hello there! Steven Spielberg and the Vatican in an end times bed together, who knew? Now you know. You won’t hear this on any other Podcast, so buckle up.

“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 (KJB)

On this episode of the Prophecy News Podcast, back in 2014, Pope Francis stunningly said Rome would be open to baptizing Martians when they showed up. Now Steven Spielberg is rolling out a UFO disclosure film with a Roman Catholic nun character and theological questions about God, creation, and intelligent life beyond earth based on Roman Catholic doctrine and teachings. Hollywood and the Vatican are not accidentally walking down the same road — they are rehearsing the same end-times script. Amos asks “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” They cannot. This Friday, Steven Spielberg gives the world the gospel of the coming Antichrist as Rome gets ready to sprinkle the aliens upon their arrive. And this lost world, already primed by decades of UFO and extreterrestrial conditioning, will call it revelation while the Bible openly calls it deception, and warns us not to fall for it. Christian, you have no idea how deep this rabbit hole goes, but today, you’re going to find out!

Study Helps And Links For Today’s Podcast

We Are Broadcasting Live Four Days A Week

  • The BIBLE BELIEVERS Sunday Service

Every Sunday morning, from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST, we invite you to join us live and in-person at the Bible Believers Church here inside the NTEB Bookstore in Palatka where we lift up the Lord Jesus Christ in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and preach a message from the pages of the King James Authorized Version Holy Bible.

OUR MOST RECENT SUNDAY SERVICE VIDEO: Faith Like A Child


• The RIGHTLY DIVIDING Radio Bible Study

Every Sunday evening from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, we offer an in-depth rightly dividing and dispensationally correct rocket ride through the preserved word of God as found within the pages of the King James Holy Bible. 

  • SUNDAY NIGHT: Our original Sunday Night Radio Bible Study, it’s from 7:00 – 9:00 PM EST, and we have praise, singing, testimony and of 90-minute King James Bible study. All our King James bible study programs are archived here.

• The NTEB PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST Hour

Every Monday and Friday afternoons from Noon to 1:30 PM EST, we examine breaking news and current events  in light of bible prophecy. 

  • MONDAY AT NOON: Every Monday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.
  • FRIDAY AT NOON: Friday at Noon we review all the latest news and events related to bible prophecy, and examine what is happening in light of what is written. If you miss the live show, all of our Prophecy News Podcast programs are archived here.

Your Generous Donations Make These Live King James Radio Bible Studies & Prophecy News Podcasts Possible!

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

Listen to What Our Donation Angels Have to Say About the Ministry of Now The End Begins

  • “You are truly an end time ministry and I appreciate how our Precious Lord is using you to educate his very own flock. There is a lot of confusion , but your ministry is putting scripture in the right prospective. Thank-you so so much Geoffrey S Grider for standing firm and putting in a lot of hours of your time. God Bless You , also your Ministry and your family. IN JESUS MIGHT NAME.” T. Muto
  • “Jesus. I am now 64 years old and never in all the years I’ve been a Christian was I able to grow in the Lord as much as I have in the last past year. All because of our blessed brother’s work Geoffrey Grider who as the bravery of standing fast forward without fear of claiming the truth of God by the power of his love in Jesus Christ. May God bless you abundantly to the end my dear brother… ROMANS: 8: 36,37,38” Mireille Anderson
  • “I met you at the car dealership earlier this year. We spoke briefly, then you handed me a card and told me to check out the website. You left. A few minutes later, you returned to tell me not to forget to look up the website. I told you…” I already did. I already subscribed.” In that short time we spoke, I experienced from you…a total stranger…peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, compassion, and love. I am convinced that God sent you to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. For that, and for the work you are doing for the Kingdom of God, I say…Thank you and God Bless You.” Sonia Merced
  • “I really enjoy the emails and Bible studies! I haven’t found a church and enjoy your services very much! Be blessed brother!” Marcia Mann
  • “You and your organization are on the front lines in the Battle For Truth…. current events, end times, and trying to awaken a sleeping Laodicean Church. Thank you brother for fighting for us and all your teaching and insight God bless…” Daniel Cartrette
  • I just want to thank you for the teachings you give every Sunday night on radio.  You are such a blessing to me. I absolutely love your way of teaching the scriptures.  I don’t have a church where I can have fellowship and teaching, so you have been my teacher for many months now. Thanks God you are there for all of us who have no church to go to.  I pray that the Lord will bless you abundantly in your ministry, and your loved ones too.  You are such a blessing to me, and many others, in these last days before the rapture.  Thank you so much Geoffrey, from the bottom of my heart. May the Lord keep you, until He comes back for us. You are in my prayers.” Donald Godin
  • “Thank you for the work  you are doing brother.  Your page and your testimony were a blessing to me this morning as I came across it for the first time.  Thank you for the reality of your testimony and what God has done for you in introducing you to Jesus our Lord.  God has brought me, in salvation, to Himself as well, through His love and mercy and grace in salvation.  How can we praise Him enough?  How can we not share this good news!?  I pray this day for God’s blessing on your ministry that He may save many souls through the work He has called you to.  Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)” Mark and Melissa
  • “Love the Sunday night bible study. I want to support someone who has the passion for the lost like Geoffrey does and rightly divides the word of God. God bless you.” Teresa Carey
  • “I give because not many news outlets are brave enough or Godly enough to tell these stories from a Christian’s point of view. I see stories here that will not be seen anywhere else.” William Grayshaw
  • “It’s hard to find solid biblical teaching in America these days. It’s a blessing to be able to take part in a ministry financially without being concerned about false teaching. All glory to God! God bless!” Maximilian Swan
  • “I donate because you are reporting the truth about the increasing wickedness of our time, as God’s word foretold. In so doing we are reminded to “Keep looking up” as we wait in joyful hope for the Lord’s coming, Maranatha! ” Anthony Sloane
  • “Geoffrey has the best End Times News out there. I have been receiving his emails for years now and always enjoy his Sunday night messages although I don’t always think exactly as he thinks. We are all in this “boat of life” together and as I come to the end of my life’s journey here, I am more aware of Jesus’s call for us to be one as He and the Father are One.” Deborah Cleaveland

STREET-TESTED NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS:

This is the official gospel tract of NTEB, used here on the streets of Saint Augustine and sent around the world as they are purchased through our website. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting the work of Now The End Begins by purchasing a box of these full-color, high-quality gospel tracts. Thank you in advance!

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

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How Constantine’s 4th-Century Religious Revolution Turned Persecuted Christianity Into The State-Backed Roman System That Became The Catholic Church

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The Roman Catholic Church Rose From The Ruins Of Pagan Rome As Constantine’s Empire Turned Christianity Into A State-Favored Religious Institution

The origins of the Roman Catholic Church are not found in Peter preaching at Pentecost, Paul writing to the churches, or the apostles planting local assemblies under the authority of Jesus Christ. The New Testament church began in the first century as a spiritual body of born-again believers saved by grace through faith. The Roman Catholic system, as a centralized, hierarchical, sacramental, state-favored religious institution, began taking recognizable shape in the 4th century, when professing Christianity was forcibly joined to the power structure of the Roman Empire in what can only be described as a hostile corporate takeover. Cue the woman riding on the Beast.

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Revelation 17:6 (KJB)

The Bible knows nothing of a pope ruling from Rome, a priesthood offering a repeated sacrifice of the mass, Mary as mediatrix, purgatory, relic veneration, indulgences, cardinals, monasteries, confessionals, or a Vatican state. Those are not apostolic doctrines. They are later historical developments, many of them growing out of the centuries after Constantine. The church that Christ purchased with His blood was not a Roman corporation. It was, and remains, a spiritual body.

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28 (KJB)

Constantine Did Not Start Christianity, He Politicized It

The decisive historical shift came under Constantine. In A.D. 313, Constantine and Licinius issued what is commonly called the Edict of Milan, granting legal toleration to Christianity and restoring confiscated Christian property. Britannica describes it as the proclamation that “permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire.” That was the beginning of the Constantinian shift: Christianity moved from persecuted faith to protected religion. But what looked like relief from persecution also opened the door to corruption by imperial power. Before Constantine, Christians were often hunted by Rome. After Constantine, bishops began receiving imperial favor, church disputes became matters of state interest, and the machinery of Caesar began wrapping itself around professing Christianity. That is not the pattern of the New Testament.

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight,” John 18:36 (KJB)

The Lord Jesus Christ did not commission His apostles to build a religious empire. He sent them to preach the gospel for the salvation of individual souls for the body of Christ.

Nicaea Shows The New Imperial Church Order

In 325 AD, Constantine called the Council of Nicaea to address the Arian controversy over the deity of Christ. The deity of Christ is absolutely Bible truth, and Arius was wrong. But the historical issue is not merely what doctrine was debated; it is who summoned the council and what that revealed. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia, preserved at New Advent, says the emperor “begged the bishops of every country to come promptly to Nicaea,” provided imperial transport, and supplied their maintenance during the council. It also admits that it is “not historically known” whether Constantine convoked the council solely in his own name or in agreement with Pope Sylvester.

That is a staggering admission. Why? Because that means that the first great council of the emerging imperial church order was not called by an apostle, not called by Scripture, not called by a New Testament pattern of local church authority, and certainly not by Jesus hand-picked leader Paul, but by a Roman emperor. The problem is not that Nicaea affirmed the deity of Christ. The problem is that this moment reveals a new arrangement: the emperor and the bishops now standing together in a system of church-state power. The apostolic churches had pastors, elders, and bishops. They did not have Caesar organizing their doctrine and funding their councils.

“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder,” 1 Peter 5:1 (KJB)

Peter did not call himself pope. He called himself “an elder.”

Theodosius Completed What Constantine Began

Constantine legalized and favored Christianity to enhance and increase his political power and control. Later, Theodosius I pushed Nicene Christianity into the position of imperial orthodoxy. Britannica notes that Theodosius “established the creed of the Council of Nicaea (325) as the universal norm for Christian orthodoxy” and convened the Council of Constantinople in 381. This is where the matter becomes even more plain. By the late 4th century, the Roman Empire was no longer merely tolerating Christianity. It was enforcing a particular form of Christianity as the approved religion of the empire.

That is the soil from which Roman Catholicism grew. not the upper room, but the imperial court; not apostolic simplicity, but Roman organization; not spiritual separation, but church-state union.

The Bible warned against exactly this type of mixture:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14 (KJB)

The Church At Rome Was Not The Roman Catholic Church

Paul wrote to believers at Rome in the first century, but Romans is not a Catholic epistle. There is no pope in Romans. No mass. No Marian dogma. No priestly confessional. No Vatican treasury. No sacramental system. Paul addressed saved people in a local assembly.

“To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:” Romans 1:7 (KJB)

Notice what he does not say: “To the pope at Rome.” He does not address Peter as bishop of Rome. He gives no instruction to submit to Roman supremacy. He teaches the same gospel he preached everywhere else: justification by faith, grace, the blood of Christ, and the righteousness of God apart from the works of the law.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” Romans 5:1 (KJB)

The later Roman Catholic claim that the church of Rome is the mother and mistress of all churches cannot be read out of the New Testament. It must be read back into it from later ecclesiastical tradition, which is exactly what they did.

The Bishop Of Rome Rose By Prestige, Politics, And Power

The bishop of Rome did not appear in the first century as a universal pope. His authority grew gradually because Rome was the imperial capital, wealthy, influential, and associated by tradition with Peter and Paul. Over time, the Roman bishop increasingly claimed special authority over other churches. But that development was historical and political, not biblical and apostolic. In the New Testament, church government is local. Bishops and elders oversee flocks. No single bishop rules the entire body of Christ from one city.

Paul told Titus:

“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city,” Titus 1:5 (KJB)

That is the Bible pattern: elders in every city, not a pope over every church.

Pagan Rome Did Not Die, It Put On A Religious Robe

The Roman Catholic system absorbed much of the machinery, imagery, and religious instinct of pagan Rome. As the empire became “Christianized,” the old Roman appetite for temples, ceremonies, sacred offices, relics, holy days, and priestly mediation was repackaged under Christian vocabulary.

This is one of the most important points: Roman Catholicism did not simply absorb New Testament Christianity. It institutionalized, ritualized, and Romanized it. The result was a religious system with Christian terms but Roman architecture; biblical names but pagan habits; apostolic language but imperial structure. The New Testament believer is not saved through a church hierarchy. He is saved by the finished work of Jesus Christ.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9 (KJB)

That one verse destroys Rome’s sacramental system. A number of years ago, Pope Francis dispatched Anglican bishop Tony Palmer to start spreading the message that Rome now believed in salvation by grace through faith, but it was a ‘failed from the start’ effort that rang hollow everytime it was sounded.

The Real Issue Is Authority

At the heart of the Roman Catholic question is not merely history. It is authority. Rome says authority is Scripture plus tradition, interpreted by the magisterium under papal authority. The Bible believer says final authority is the word of God. Anything else that is more or less is not of God.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16 (KJB)

The Roman Catholic system must lean on tradition because its defining doctrines cannot possibly be established from the New Testament. The papacy, the mass as a sacrifice, Marian dogmas, purgatory, indulgences, priestly absolution, and the treasury of merit are not apostolic Christianity. They are later man-made additions.

The Bible warns against religious tradition replacing the commandment of God:

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition,” Mark 7:13 (KJB)

The Bottom Line

The Roman Catholic Church did not begin as the church Christ founded. It arose as a historical development after the apostles, especially in the 4th century, when Christianity was legalized, favored, organized, and eventually enforced by Roman imperial power. Constantine opened the door in 313 AD. Nicaea in 325 AD displayed the new imperial-bishop alliance. Theodosius advanced Nicene Christianity as the empire’s religious norm by the end of the 4th century. From that soil grew the Roman Catholic institution: hierarchical, sacramental, political, and centered increasingly on the authority of Rome.

The first-century church was a body of believers gathered around the apostle Paul and his gospel. The Roman Catholic Church became a religious empire gathered around Rome and its hierarchy. That’s the dividing line.

  • One is spiritual. The other is institutional.
  • One is built on the finished work of Christ. The other developed a priestly system of mediation.
  • One preaches salvation by grace through faith. The other binds men to sacraments, tradition, and ecclesiastical authority.

The Bible believing conclusion is plain: the Roman Catholic Church is not the mother of biblical Christianity. It is the Roman corruption and counterfeit of it. At the Council of Trent in 1545, the Roman Catholic Church offficially declared their opposition to Paul’s gospel, and that’s where things have remained ever since.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

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