From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.:

*Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. The word Protestant is derived from the Latin protestatio meaning declaration which refers to the letter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the edict of the Diet of Worms against the Reformation.[1] Since that time, the term Protestantism has been used in many different senses, often as a general term to refer to Western Christianity that is not subject to papal authority.[1]

The doctrines of the Reformation can be summarized as a) the rejection of papal authority, b) rejection of some fundamental Roman Catholic doctrines, c) the priesthood of all believers, d) the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth, and e) the belief in justification by faith alone.[2][3]

While the faiths and churches born directly or indirectly of the Protestant Reformation constitute Protestantism, in common usage, the term is often used in contradistinction to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy[4]. This usage is imprecise. There are many non-Roman-Catholic, non-Eastern-Orthodox communions that long predate the Reformation (notably Oriental Orthodoxy). The Anglican Church, although born of the Protestant reformation, differs from the reformation principles of most other Protestants and is referred to as a middle path - a via media - between Roman Catholic and Protestant doctrines. Yet some other groups, such as the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses, reject Protestantism as having deviated from true Christianity and see themselves as restorationists.

The Antichrist and the Protestant Reformation

I want to begin this study of "who is the antichrist"; we'll start with 1 John 2:18-23 as we will see several truths about this person called the antichrist:

18 "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even (1) now are there (2)many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19They (3)went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 20But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.21I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22Who is a liar but he that (4)denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also].

(1) John probably wrote this book around 70AD - 90AD

(2) When the Apostle John was alive he said "there are [already] many antichrists; this fly's in the face of all the Christians who believe in a future 1 person antichrist

(3) He said "they went out from us" - In other words, they proclaimed to be Christians of the true church, i.e., the Apostle's church

(4) These antichrists "deny that Jesus (the man) is the Christ" - John talks more about this in 1 John 4:3 where we will see the fulfillment of this teaching being taught today. 

{Key verse} - 1 John 4 - 1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." - Here John is saying that us Christians i.e., ye of God, are to "overcome them" or we are to discerned who they are. Have you wondered like me why John was so adamant in making sure all of his followers understood that Jesus did in fact become flesh, just like you me?  John wanted people to know that he laughed and cried with Jesus, they both slept outside in the woods, they both had to relieve themselves when they could find some privacy, they both had strong body odors when they could not wash, and they were both tempted in every way just like all of his followers; Jesus Christ was fully man and God.

• Heb 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

• John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh"

• Rom 9:5 - "Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen"

• Phil 2:6 - "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men"

• 1 Tim 3:16 - "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

• Key verse - Heb 2:14 - "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham."  - The "seed" of any man came from the first man who sinned and corrupted all of the following seed including Mary.)

• Heb 2:17 - "Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren,"

• 1 Peter 2:4 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

• Key verse - Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

   WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT to understand that Jesus was born with a sin nature just like you and me? The reason is because you can have a person who:

1. Believes that Jesus Christ came from God

2. Jesus is God

3. Jesus never sinned

4. He fulfilled all prophesy

5. He willing died on the cross for all of our sins

6. He rose from the grave after 3 days and 3 nights and is now seated on the right hand of God

BUT, if this person claims that Jesus was not a man (person just like you and me) that Jesus did not receive the "sin nature" from his mother, this person is an antichrist.  Guess who this points to?

This is what the Catholic faith teaches about Jesus Christ coming in the "flesh":

491. "Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, 'full of grace' through God, [Lk 1:28] was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of JESUS Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of ORIGINAL SIN. [Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854): DS 2803 You can also verify this in the online version of the Catechism book... http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1K.HTM

492. The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".137

493. The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin", as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature".138 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.
As St. Irenaeus says, "Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race."141

Mary - "ever-virgin"

499. The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man.154 In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it."155 and so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin".156

504. Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary's womb because he is the New Adam, who inaugurates the new creation: "The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven."162 From his conception, Christ's humanity is filled with the Holy Spirit, for God "gives him the Spirit without measure."163 From "his fullness" as the head of redeemed humanity "we have all received, grace upon grace."164

505. By his virginal conception, Jesus, the New Adam, ushers in the new birth of children adopted in the Holy Spirit through faith. "How can this be?"165 Participation in the divine life arises "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God".166 The acceptance of this life is virginal because it is entirely the Spirit's gift to man. the spousal character of the human vocation in relation to God167 is fulfilled perfectly in Mary's virginal motherhood.

As you can read the leaders of the Holy Roman Catholic church teach that Mary was perfect and sinless and she brought forth a perfect and sinless Son; yet our Bible teaches that "Jesus was tempted in all ways yet did not sin" (Heb 2:18 and 4:15.) Again we are all born with a sinful nature, we choose to sin when we come to the age of accountability; Jesus was born with this same sinful nature, the difference was, He chose not to sin. Jesus was born in the water (the womb) and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. John and Paul were giving clues to the early Church warning them who the antichrist would be. John told us one of the main things the antichrist will claim is that Jesus Christ was not fully human with a sin nature.

Now for Paul's clues:

KEY: 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, {unto him: or, around him} 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man (1)deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a (2)falling away first, and that (3)man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who (4)opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he (5)as God (6)sitteth in the (7)temple of God, (8)shewing himself that he is God.

(1) Jesus said the same thing in Mat 24:4 "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (The Pope says he is Christ on earth)

(2) The "falling away" comes from within the Church as Paul was writing this letter to the Church, moreover he said "don't you know you are the Temple of God"?

(3) Antichrist (Strong's dictionary) interpreted as one who substitutes for Jesus Christ, Son of God, just as an antipope substituted himself into the office of the Papacy.

(4) Opposeth or denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and exalteth; each time a priest gives communion, they believe they have the power to bring back Jesus Christ to this earth turning the bread into His actual flesh, and the wine into His actual blood.

(5) The "white" Pope believes he is god on earth - 

(8) From "Crossing The Threshold of Hope", by Pope John Paul II: First Chapter: "The Pope": A Scandal and a Mystery

[pg. 3] The leader of the Catholic Church is defined by the faith as the Vicar of Jesus Christ (and is accepted as such by believers). The Pope is considered the man on earth who represents the Son of God, who "takes the place" of the Second Person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity.

[pg. 13] The Pope is not the only one who holds this title. With regard to the Church entrusted to him, each bishop is Vicarius Christi.

Note that on page three of the Pope's book, "represents the Son of God" is synonymous with "Vicar of Jesus Christ". A vicar clearly represents, substitutes for, or "takes the place" of another, as stated. Consequently "represents the Son of God" can be translated in Latin as Vicarius Filii Dei, which in Roman Numerals will add up to 666. The title Vicarius Christi, translated into English, means a substitute for Christ, i.e., Antichrist, as demonstrated above, which is applied by the Pope to every bishop of the Catholic Church!

One of the major verse in the NT that a futurist use for a "future" one-world antichrist is 2 Thes 2:6: "know what withholdeth (or restrains} that he (antichrist) might be revealed".. However, if you read closely to what Paul was saying to his Church 5 "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know...: Paul like John was giving clues to the Church that something in the future was going to be removed and then the antichrist will make himself known. Paul personally told his congregation who this force or power was but he knew better then to put it in writing as he was already getting threats from the circumcised Jews and he didn't want an even greater power to treated him and his young flock, i.e., the Roman government.  Yes, Paul knew that Rome in the near future going to break up into 10 kingdoms and one of the smaller kingdoms (horns) was first going to destroy 3 of the kingdoms which is going to be the first clue, then this ruler will proclaim that he is Christ on earth or the Vicar of Christ. Paul knew this by reading the Book of Daniel and because the Holy Spirit revealed it to him.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. {withholdeth: or, holdeth} 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

2 Thes 2:3-11: "Let 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"

Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lutheran): "Luther ... proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy ... And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror seized their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated on the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow on Rome." Taken from J. H. Merle D'aubigne's History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.
Based on prophetic studies, Martin Luther finally declared, "We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist." (Aug. 18, 1520). Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by LeRoy Froom. Vol. 2., pg. 121.

John Calvin (1509-1564) (Presbyterian): "Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt... I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy." Taken from Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

John Knox (1505-1572) (Scotch Presbyterian): John Knox sought to counteract "that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church." As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) (Anglican): "Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons." (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.


The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647): "There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God." Taken from Philip Schaff's, The Creeds of Christendom, With a History and Critical Notes, III, p. 658, 659, ch. 25, sec. 6.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) (Congregational Theologian): "The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them." Taken from The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom's book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.


A Great Cloud of Witnesses: "Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist." Taken from All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen. Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205. 1991.

So we can read our Christian (Protesting) fathers thought and taught that the Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic church was indeed the antichrist and since every Pope from the beginning  dies, he passes on his title to the next Pope, thereby each Pope becomes the next antichrist (we will read more about this later.)

Now it is time to look a little deeper into the teachings of the Catholic church on who is really the true Christ (on earth) today:

 

"The letters inscribed in the Pope's miter are these 'VICARIUS FILII DEI'. which is the Latin for 'VICAR OF THE SON OF GOD.' Catholics hold that the church, which is a visible society, must have a visible head. Christ, before his ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative... Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the church, was given the title, 'VICAR OF CHRIST'." Our Sunday Visitor, (Catholic Weekly) "Bureau of information," Huntington, Ind., April 18, 1915.

Rev 17-18:

there are many 'names' to the office of Pope Each of these names do in fact have a numeric value simply because LATIN, the chosen language of Rome, is not only their ALPHABET, it is also their NUMERIC SYSTEM! To this day the Latin "Numeric System" is called, ROMAN NUMERALS. For example, in their alphabet, the letter "I" = 1, and the letter "C" = 100 in Latin.

Vicarius Filii Dei, is cited by the rector of Berlin, Andreas Helwig [or Helwich] (1572-1643) in his Antichristus Romanus. PLUS, if you would like many more documented facts as well as copies of Roman Catholic publications with "Vicarius Filii Dei" displayed within them, see this page...  http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/666.htm

A quick side note ->