Now, with the neo-Protestant church, they just don't care. They don't care about anything. This is what we're doing. The culture is their God. Rome said that baptism is necessary for salvation.
Rome says Mary was born like Jesus without sin. That's probably one of their worst heresies. to put her on the level with Christ. And then Say, well, we do this because it is the tradition of the church, which is code for, we just made it up. And you can't challenge it.
Mm. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation chapter 17 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio.
Well, you picked a fine time to come to church. This is This is one of those messages where you might lose people. The great harlot, that's our subject. And how Christianity Well How does false Christianity get exposed if we cover it up? If we sidestep it.
If we pick and choose what to talk about not be led by the Spirit while it does not get exposed. False Christianity snatches more souls. When we turned a blind eye to it, This um this is unpleasant. Section of Scripture For a pastor to preach on, at least this one, I actually got a little queasy over this a few times. Mainly because The Roman Catholic Church is The only Entity in history that fits all of this.
And I know that Listening to this message now, or maybe later, are those of you who have loved ones who are Roman Catholics. You may have friends, good friends, Close friends? that are Roman Catholics?
Well It's not my intention to Single them out. Mainly, it is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, its popes, its cardinals, its bishops, its priests. They are the ones that are the most guilty. And the advocates of them also, and that's where it gets sticky. The easiest false church to expose on earth from the scripture is the Roman Catholic.
Church and Neo Protestants. You know, you go and you see um A Presbyterian church or an Episcopal church, and they have the defective six-rainbow flag, that's a neo-Protestant church. and it fits the abominations of this great harlot that we just read about in verses one through six. Because of the blatant That in your face corruption of God's Word to Man. The scripture, the Bible.
But not only is Rome and the Neo Protestants the easiest to expose, they are also the most fiercely defended. By even those who call themselves fundamental Christians. Even some fundamental Christians are reluctant to admit that. The blasphemies of these two Entities are blasphemies. They'll hide from them, afraid of what people might think for calling them out.
Roman Catholicism has painted a bullseye on its own back. I didn't do it. I didn't Tell people to go pray to Mary? to pray to other dead people? I haven't told people to ask Mary to intercede for my sin.
And many, many, many more I did not kill the Huguenots by the thousands. I did not torture. The Jews and anybody that dissented with me In the Inquisition of Thomas Tacamara? Under the authority of the popes. I didn't do any of those things.
And then get up and say, I'm a Christian. I think Roman Catholic theology and neo-Protestantism is criminal. But I also understand many people I don't know. The Neo-Protestants is right there in your face. You see that six defective six rainbow flag, you know they're wrong.
but with the Catholics it's a little bit more complicated. People are born into this. They don't know any better. Peter said about false teachers: These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest. for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever?
He said they're playing with hell. And they're going to lose. Think of that. repulsive bishop Of the Episcopal Diocese in Washington, D.C. that sought to scold our president.
over anticipated Judging of homosexuals. She's a nut. Should never be associated with Christianity. She is the one that Peter was talking about. She's not the only one.
He's not a Roman Catholic. In an episcopal These are blasphemers. And haters of the scripture demanding that Jesus approve of their sin. Jesus asked about John the Baptist, what did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
A man clothed in nice garments? No, you went to hear a prophet. and John's message was invective. He offended people in his preaching. And yet they came out in droves to hear him.
Because they were hungry for God. They had been so starved by their clergy. that it was refreshing to have a prophet even though he preached fire. It was refreshing because it was true. And I have learned there are a lot of people that say they're Christians and they don't want all the truth.
They don't want the truth to be the truth. True pastors routinely offend churchgoers who overrule the Bible. I don't know of any other way to pastor. We say these things not to infuriate them. I'll provoke them.
We have to rescue them. perhaps to provoke them to thought.
Well, now we look at these verses. We'll only get to six this morning. We'll get the other Remaining verses Hopefully next session in Revelation. But in verse 1, John writes, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.
Now the angel that was used by God to disperse judgments is now being used to reveal to John the future. And Revelation seventeen and eighteen are adding details to the seventh trumpet and its final judgment in the seventh bowl.
Now the angel That is showing John these things. He understands what's going on and he's not objecting. He's telling it like it is, and John is receiving it, though he's going to be blown away at the end. This Introduction incidentally of verse 1 is also almost identical to the introduction or to a verse in 21.9, Revelation 21.9. But there oh, we should read it, because it's about the Lamb.
and not about the great harlot, Revelation twenty one verse nine. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. You catch that sharp contrast? Here It is the great harlot. There, in chapter twenty-one, it is the bride.
We're not supposed to miss these things. They're supposed to mean something. Do not words mean something to us? And so you have this distinction between the followers of Jesus Christ and the false followers. Indicating that the great harlot is, in fact, disloyal.
And what makes this harlot great is her apostasies, her association with truth in the name of Christ. Acts chapter twenty. Listen to what Paul said And from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Out of the very churches, there are churchgoers. who will speak perverse things.
And they'll be appointed to high positions, and they'll be loved and received and honored. In spite of their evil, to draw away the disciples after themselves. This is not limited by any means to Roman Catholicism or Neoprotestantism. It's an. What do we call it?
Non-denominational churches, many of which have no doctrine. They just say what the people want. Says of the great harlot who sits on many waters, Well, in many waters has to do with many nations, their coastlines, and then the inland population populations. It's blunt truth, no mincing of words. The angel is telling John just like it is, and John is supposed to report these things, and he has done that.
What is happening here is The occult, the false religion, and all of its practices are being personified as a corrupted religion. Within Christendom. Within the church. You say, well, it doesn't say the name.
Well, it's not supposed to say the name. At the time John received this, The beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church, for example, was almost four hundred years away. And then what about the Neoprotestants? That are now aligning themselves with bold face heresies Flying the flag that makes mockery of God's judgments. and God's desires.
All of this is love. This is not anger. These are stone cold facts that belong to our faith. And if you cannot Preach What the Bible preaches, as a Christian, you might have a sleeper cell living in your heart. That's working for the enemy.
A harlot will go with anyone. That's what an apostate does. Anyone but the right one. This harlot cannot be Antichrist, since, by the end of this chapter, Antichrist kills this harlot. This one is to get to the point.
Represents The apostate church In the Great Tribulation period. And it is made up, led by Rome. But it includes Nondenominations that are left behind from the rapture And the neo Protestant churches that once protested the popes but now have lined back up with the popes. And everybody is just getting along well with each other, embracing Antichrist and his heresies and continuing. to pretend to be a church and we already see it happening.
When you fly that defective six rainbow flag, you would think the people inside of that movement would say, hey, we're not agreeing with Christ, let's not call ourselves a church anymore, let's call ourselves something else. But they're not doing that. they're remaining in Christendom. infecting as many people as they can. And quite indignant when you point it out.
So a global ecumenical apostate system Within Christendom against Christians and Jews which is not new. I've given scenarios throughout the Revelation to point out some of these things that are coming are already lined up. For last session, we talked about the G7 and the Council, the UN Security Council. which lines up with the the beast having the seven heads and the ten horns. These things are not stretches of the imagination, nor are these indictments against apostasy within the church.
I already pointed out the Spanish Inquisition. People claiming to be Christians killing Christians and Jews. In the name of Christianity. And thousands, again.
So the harlot represents apostate anti-Christianity within Christendom. Numbers chapter 25, we read this. This is about Balaam. and his influences With the uh Moabites to corrupt the Jews, Now Israel remained in the acacia grove, And the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. That harlotry is spiritual Idolatry and disobedience, boldface.
Not, well, my flesh was weak and I stumbled. No, I don't care what God has to say. I'm doing this. And nobody better say anything about it.
So that indicates from numbers 25. That harlotry is used in Scripture as a metaphor for blatant disloyalty to God from the people who claim to belong to God. Therefore, this woman represents the apostate church. intentionally disloyal to Scripture. And thus the word Harlot, great harlot at that, the greatness being that It's not just into idolatry, she's supposed to be loyal.
Antichrist, no surprise that he is disloyal to God. He's never lined up with him. The unfaithfulness Gives us The context, the words and the history give us the context of what's going on here, leaving no question about the identity. Of these of this malicious figure, Concerning faith Heaven and hell the greatest institution in history to be unfaithful. The most wealthy, which will come out as we move through.
The verses The most wealthy, the most political, the most influential, and the most violent entity in Christian, in world history, in world history amongst. within Christendom. The occultism, the paganism, the heresy, the blasphemy. all in the name of Christ. Whereas the cults such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons were never part of Christianity.
Joseph Smith.
So One of the key figures in starting Mormonism was very clear. We're not Christians, we're Mormons. And then when they wanted to get more members into the church they wanted to rebrand themselves, and so they began to say we're Latter day Saints. Then when that wasn't working so well, they rebranded yet again and called themselves LDS. And so if you're looking for a church and you drive by a nice Mormon church looking building and you don't know any better, you might be attracted to say, you know what, I'm going to go there for service.
You're not getting Jesus Christ. You're getting a cult. that has taken the Bible And it's mixed it in. With It's a teaching straight out of hell. And we know this is what Satan does.
God told the Jews this very thing. And Paul reinforced it. The things that the Gentiles were sacrificing to were demons. Beyond the idols And so, by this time in human history, all false Christianity. will be under The oversight of Rome.
At the time of this great tribulation, Antichrist, however, He uses This apostate system. to get into power. And that's why at the end, once his power is solidified, he turns, he tramples it, and he devours the flesh, as we're told in verse 18 of this chapter.
Now in the fourth century the false Christians flooded into Christendom. And they inserted the leaven into Christianity. Constantine made peace with Christians, but Theodos I comes along and makes it law to be a Christian.
Well, all the pagans said, well, it's the law, but that doesn't mean we're going to follow it. And so you ask yourselves, how did the Easter bunny become a part of the resurrection. How does Easter eggs become part of the resurrection? How does a name of a goddess? become the name of the day of the resurrection.
Well, there that's how it happened when the pagans came in. They just mingle these things into Christianity. And now it's become a sacred cow. If you point it out, somebody's going to raise an eyebrow at you, if not worse. Luke's Gospel chapter 13.
And again he said To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. And that will be the great tribulation period. When it's all leavened, The organized church, because the true Christians won't be allowed to assemble. They'll be persecuted.
Only those who put the pinch of incense on the altar of Antichrist will be allowed. to retain Their services. This um Woman, you know Rome is very clear. about being the mother church. Let's review some of her doctrines so we get an understanding.
What's going on here? The Pope is infallible in all religious matters. This came about in eighteen the Roman Catholic Church evolved into what it is today. This came about in eighteen ninety one. A D So I'm infallible in all religious matters, which makes it impossible for anybody to challenge me.
Or say I'm wrong. How convenient. I've created a religion. Where if I say I'm right, that's the end of the story. Salvation is only achieved through the church.
For that church. Imagine if I came up here and said, nobody gets saved unless they come to Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville. You know the heresy. that that would be. Salvation can only be achieved through the sacraments.
That is the baptism, that's all inclusive, the communion that they got the control. and anybody outside of that It was devilish. We have a lot of people that have come out of Roman Catholicism to Christ, and they resent. being duped all those years. by a church that they entrusted their soul with.
Only to find out That church didn't agree with the Bible. And that's the biggest difference between Roman Catholicism. and fundamental Christianity. Fundamental Christianity says the Scripture is our source. And our final source.
Sola scriptura from the Reformers. Rome says no, the Pope is the source, along with the magisterium, the bishops. the cardinals who decide these things.
Now with the Neo Protestant church, they just don't care. They don't care about anything. This is what we're doing. The culture is their God. Rome said that baptism is necessary for salvation.
Rome says Mary was born like Jesus without sin. That's probably one of their worst heresies. to put her on the level with Christ. And then Say, well, we do this because it is the tradition of the church, which is code for, we just made it up. And you can't challenge it.
None of this is delightful. None of this is pleasant. We want churches to love the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. We want the people of God to accept His truth and be eager to preach it even if it costs them persecution. That's what we want.
But what we don't want is this leaven mingled in And then, you know, you put on the enemy's uniform and said, I'm not the enemy. And you are. They believe that, according to the popes in 1172 AD, Mary is inseparable. With the saving work of the Son. That makes her co-redemptrix.
She's the co-redeemer. This is heresy. Prayer for the dead. We'll get people into heaven. They're they're having seances under the guise of This nonsense.
Salvation is achieved through the Eucharist. You have to confess your sin to a priest. The church forgives sins. Outside the church, there is no salvation. if you have been exposed to their teaching.
These are the things that they Are upholding. They're not secret. You can go right online, look them up very easily, and validate it. Is there no fear of answering to God for this? I would be afraid.
This is what Paul said in Second Thessalonians chapter two, verse three Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come, that is the rapture, unless the falling away comes first. The Greek word for falling away is Apostasy. The apostasy will come. When the church is removed, and then it continues, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of hell. The man of sin being the beast, the antichrist.
He has many other names than just antichrist. But that one fits The easiest.
So we see these facts. leading up to this great apostasy. But proof means very little to those who refuse to accept it because they don't like it. And that that is very dangerous. Listen, in 1999, May 14th, Pope John Paul II kissed a copy of the Koran.
That was delivered to him By a delegation from Iraq. as a gift. And of course, they cover that over well. It was a gesture of kindness. It was a gesture of.
Blasphemy. Again, look it up. It's online. Spotted seat. At the Vatican, when a Muslim delegation arrived they're treated like they belonged to Mother Rome.
Yeah. And I think This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
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Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Hello. I didn't run up to the bottom of the city.
