CHURCH HISTORY, CHAPTER 14 HELLISH MOTHER CHURCH SARDIS CHURCH PERIOD, 1000-1500 AD “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers…” Matt. 23.33

God’s warnings to us…”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;” 2 Thess. 2.3 “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: …” 2 Thess. 3.7 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Col. 2.8

The end of the first millennium (1000 AD) marks the beginning of the Sardis Church Period which culminates in 1500 AD – the start of the . God calls this Sardis church age…DEAD (Rev. 3.1). The word “Sardis” means “red ones” (pg 408). This was the bloodiest time in all history. The behavior of the Roman was nothing short of disgusting…it was wicked, evil, vile, sadistic…too awful to contemplate…the pope was a fascist dictator. Such “Christian” behavior was condoned by the council of Trent (1546 AD) and is still valid (according to the RCC) today!

The Roman Catholic Church is a religious prostitute (Rev. 17) that has traded God and His Bible for ultimate power and unity in the world’s system (pg 361). The popes believed they were the “most holy lord” on this earth and the final authority in every matter. They were not subject to any laws (this included the hierarchy of the RCC), but everyone else was subject to the law of the land and all ecclesiastical laws of the RCC (the ten commandments were of course obsolete). If you were not a member in good standing of the Roman Catholic Church, you could not be saved! We are to accept as fact that the RCC is an accurate representation of Biblical Christianity (pg 362). If you do not exercise regular participation in the cannibalistic rite of black magic (mass), you are headed for hell…your only remaining hope is “extreme unction.” The Lord Jesus said…”this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22.19). The Lord’s Supper is clearly a memorial (ordinance), never a sacrifice (sacrament). So set on world domination were the popes that Innocent IV sent an embassy of Dominican monks to China to inform them that they were under the pope’s dominion. The Khan, (a son of Genghis Kahn), however, told them to take a hike! He sent them back to the pope (pg 364). Undaunted, the popes persisted to no avail for nearly 200 years. The RCC also unsuccessfully attempted domination of Japan.

The only light remaining during this Sardis period came from the descendants of believers from centuries past. Although they varied from each other on some finer theological points, all adhered to the following: (pg 366): 1. the Bible is the final authority 4. They would not pray to saints or for the dead 2. Baptizing babies is not Scriptural 5. They rejected all points of the RCC mass 3. Separation of church and state

Six major crusades took place during the first 300 years of the Sardis period. These were started by Pope Urban, who hoped to recapture Jerusalem from the Mohammedans. It never happened. One very sad event was the Children’s Crusade in the early 13th century. They came from various nations in Europe, the holy land (Israel) being their planned destination. More than half of the original 13,000+ died over a few months. The survivors were sold as slaves to Mohammedans in North Africa. There were no survivors.

More than half this chapter gives details of Roman Catholic atrocities that are too lurid to repeat. Over a 1500 year period the RCC was responsible for the cold-blooded murders of at least 50 million people. Groups that resisted hellish mother church would include: Bogomiles, Paulicians, Albigenses, Cathari, Manichaeans, Waldenses, Anabaptists, Novatians, Donatists. These people are the forefathers of Bible-believing Baptists.

There is a tendency to shrug this off by saying…well, that was back then; they didn’t know any better…they did know better. They are without excuse (Rom. 1.20). The bottom line is the apostate Roman Catholic Church had such vicious & furious hatred for anyone that crossed them, especially the Bible believers (heretics) (pg 389). To this end the Inquisition was established during the 13th century, its express purpose being to exterminate every human being in Europe that differed with them. When we consider that the Council of Trent (1546 AD) is still counted valid, we are faced with the awful realization that Rome never changes.

The constant failure of historians to tell the truth by interpreting the past correctly stems from willful ignorance and cowardice (pg 394). They operate under pretense of trying to remain neutral and objective. The fact is…they cannot be trusted. So, what is truth? What determines greatness? What is the standard by which we judge all things? There must be a final authority…it is the words of the living God found only in a King James Bible (pg 396-397). But none want to accept any absolute standard which inevitably leads to anarchy – back to the RCC we go with a devil’s bible, a devil’s plan of salvation and ultimately the devil’s ambition to rule the world without opposition. The RCC (blatant killers) claim to be the bride of Christ and the only true church that Jesus founded – John 8.44 personified! (pg 400). The inscription on the pope’s hat…Vicarius Filii Dei…18 characters…6+6+6 (God is not mocked! – Gal. 6.7). God ended up splitting hellish mother church – greatly weakening it because they expended much energy opposing each other. He also greatly depopulated the church with the Black Plage of 1347-1350, which killed about one-third of the population, mostly Catholics.

There were highlights in this Sardis period that are noteworthy: ARNOLD OF BRESCIA 1110-1155 AD (pg 403-404) Although he was Roman Catholic, he was sympathetic toward the , Paulicians, Albigenses & Manichaeans. He was opposed to sacramentalism, infant and was in favor of separation of church and state. In 1155 AD, he was hung. JOHN WYCLIFFE 1320-1384 AD (pg 404-405) He is referred to as “the Morning Star of the Reformation.” Profoundly anti-Catholic, Wycliffe translated the Bible from Latin into English because he believed the word of God should be in the language of the people. Although he used some “old Latin” manuscripts (Antiochan), he mostly used Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (Alexandrian). For this reason, his work is not counted a predecessor of the King James. He trained and encouraged street preachers (Lollards), and was a major influence on John Huss (anti-Catholic). Wycliffe so endeared himself to the RCC that 70 years after his death they dug up his bones, burned them and threw the ashes in a river. JOHN HUSS 1369-1415 (pg 407-408) Huss was Bohemian. So enamored was he of Wycliffe’s writings that he translated them into his native tongue. For this he was branded a heretic by holy mother church and excommunicated. Huss was invited by the pope to discuss their differences and promised safe conduct, but upon arrival at Rome, was promptly burned at the stake (lying to a heretic was permissible). SAVONAROLA 1452-1498 (pg 408-411) For the most part, he was a faithful Catholic, but he sympathized with Huss, the Waldensians, & the Paterines. His greatest heresy was to consider the Bible to be the highest authority. He was burned at the stake in 1498 AD. 1090-1145 (pg 411) Henry was a Benedictine monk who rebelled against his church, declared it corrupt, disagreed with , the mass, & images as aids of worship; he was imprisoned and died in jail. PETER OF BRUYS 1080-1126 (pg 411) A street preacher, Bible believer (heretic), against infant baptism, , images in worship, prayers for the dead, Peter was burned at the stake in 1126 AD. LEUTHARD & TANCHELM (pg 411) Both Dutchmen (Flanders), they street-preached all over Europe in open opposition to the RCC, declaring the priesthood to be corrupt and the mass unscriptural. They both were eliminated.