Francis I and Foolish Pentecostals
Francis I and Foolish Pentecostals, PDF format
The Jesuit Roman pope, Francis I, is going out of his way – in accordance with the instructions he has received from the Jesuit general, his superior – to promote ecumenism between Romanism and Protestantism; and he has been especially active, more so even than John Paul II, in seeking with great cunning and subtlety to woo those within the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement.
I have written about this before. There was his message, broadcast by Charismatic con-man, Kenneth Copeland.[1] Then there was his meeting, held in the Vatican, with a delegation of Charismatic and “Evangelical” leaders.[2]
Francis Embraces Giovanni
And then in July he travelled to Caserta, in southern Italy, and had a private meeting with a Pentecostal pastor and old friend from their days in Buenos Aires, Giovanni Traettino.[3] And after meeting with him, Francis paid a surprise visit to a Pentecostal church in Caserta, called the Evangelical Church of Reconciliation, where he gave a speech to some 200 Pentecostals from Italy, the USA, and Argentina.[4]
This was ground-breaking enough.
But then things got really interesting.
In his speech, Francis asked for forgiveness from Pentecostals, apologising for Roman Catholics who persecuted Pentecostals in the past, and called for ecumenical dialogue to continue, and for “unity in diversity”![5]
This was all so typical of Jesuit ecumenical tactics. It was all designed to deceive. The “apology” was designed to deceive. The waffle about “unity in diversity” was all designed to deceive. But coming as it did from the pope of Rome, it made a profound impression on those foolish and gullible Pentecostals, who sat there lapping it all up. Traettino doubtless spoke for them all when he said to Francis: “With men like you, dear Francis, there is hope for us Christians.”[6]
Traettino
Francis’ Speech to Italian Pentecostals
We need to carefully analyse relevant portions of his speech. Here we see the deception of the devil, through his servant the Man of Sin and Son of Perdition.
Let us begin with the following quotation from Francis’ speech:
“When one walks in God’s presence, there is this fraternity. When, instead, we are still, when we look too much to one another, there is another way… which is bad, bad! – the way of gossip. And we begin to say, ‘but you, don’t you know?’ ‘No, no, I’m not for you. I’m for this and that…’ ‘I am for Paul,’ ‘I am for Apollos,’ ‘I am for Peter.’ And so we begin, and so from the first moment division began in the Church. And it isn’t the Holy Spirit who creates division!… He who creates division is in fact… Satan. He interferes in communities and creates divisions, always! From the first moment, from the first moment of Christianity, this temptation was in the Christian community. ‘I belong to this one,’ ‘I belong to that one.’ ‘No! I am the Church, you are a sect.’ And so the one who wins over us is him, the father of division – not the Lord Jesus who prayed for unity (John 17)…”[7]
What Jesuitical subtlety! In seeking to condemn the divisions between Romanists and others, he paraphrases1 Cor. 1:10-13, where Paul chastises the Corinthians for dividing into parties, with some preferring to follow Paul, others, Apollos, others Cephas (Peter). But Paul was condemning divisions between Christians, even within the same local church. True Christians must not be divided; but there must be a separation between Christians and non-Christians, between believers and unbelievers, between light and darkness, between those who worship Christ and those who are idolaters! This is the plain teaching of Paul, in writing again to the Corinthians, in 2 Cor. 6:14-18. Thus there is sinful separation (that between true Christian and true Christian when one follows a certain leader and another follows a different one), and there is right separation, indeed separation that is commanded by the Lord, separation that is created by the Holy Spirit (contrary to Francis’ false teaching) – and this is the separation between Christian and heathen, Christian and idolater! Roman Catholics are not Christians, but idolaters, adherents of a false and heathenish religion masquerading as “Christianity”! And therefore no true Christian is united to them.
This is precisely why, in past times, Protestants did not unite with Romanists in anything. Today, of course, “Protestants” are so weak doctrinally, so confused, so unclear about what the Bible actually teaches, and in the vast majority of instances so lost themselves, that they will readily receive this false teaching of Francis, with his false interpretation of the text in 1 Corinthians chapter 1! Those Pentecostals who were addressed by him would claim to possess the miraculous “gifts of the Spirit” among themselves (as all Pentecostals do, albeit falsely); one of which is the gift of discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10); and yet not one of them was able to discern the lies and false doctrine being spouted, through the Papal Antichrist, the lies of “the spirit of Antichrist” itself (1 Jn. 4:3)! So much for their “spiritual gifts”!
But there was more, even, to the devilish subtlety of the Roman pope’s words. He said it is divisive for people to say, “I am for Paul”, or, “I am for Apollos”, or “I am for Peter” – and yet what does he call himself, and what do the hundreds of millions of Roman Catholics call him, and all popes of Rome? “The successor of Peter”! The false “Church” of Rome claims to have been built by Christ upon Peter the apostle, according to their incorrect interpretation of Matt. 16:15-19. They claim that Peter was the head of all the apostles, and that he was made the first pope by the Lord Jesus; and that ever since then there has been an unbroken succession of popes down to the present one.
Now, assuming for a moment that the Papal system was and is a true church (it certainly isn’t, but let us assume this just for a moment, for the sake of the argument), this would mean that for all these centuries, Papists have done the very thing Francis now condemns! They have said, in their multiplied millions, “I am for Peter”; “I am of Peter”. What hypocrisy, then, for Francis to now condemn the very thing his own “church” has done for so very long!
Of course, the Papal system is not Christian, and Papists are not true Christians. But they believe they are! They believe, in fact, that their “church” is the one true church, and that they are the true Christians! Therefore, when Francis speaks this way, it shows the hypocrisy and deception encased within his words.
He furthermore chastised those who say, “No! I am the Church, you are a sect.” And probably not one of those Pentecostals sitting there drinking in his words stopped and said to themselves, “But this is precisely what the Papacy says! It claims to be the true Church, and calls all others ‘sects’! It has always done so. And believing itself to be the one true Church and all others to be sects, it has persecuted them through the centuries, shedding the blood of multiplied millions!” No, those foolish Pentecostals did not discern the serpentine subtlety of Francis’ words. A Jesuit will say anything, he will even at times contradict his own “church’s” doctrine, if it promotes his objective. The motto of the Jesuits has always been, “The end justifies the means.”
Francis pointed to John 17, where Jesus prayed for unity. But this prayer has been answered! All true Christians are united in the Lord Jesus Christ! This is a spiritual unity, not some ecumenical, institutional “unity”. This is not what the Lord prayed for at all.
Let us move on to another part of Francis’ speech.
“The Holy Spirit creates ‘diversity’ in the Church. The First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12. He creates diversity!…. the Holy Spirit himself creates unity, and so the Church is one in diversity.”
Again, very cunning. Francis knew that in all the Bible there is no book so beloved to Pentecostals as the epistle of 1 Corinthians (with the exception of the book of Acts), for it is in this epistle – including in chapter 12, the very chapter Francis referred to – that much is said about spiritual gifts. And it is true that in 1 Cor. 12:4 it says, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” And in v.6 it says, “And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” However, Paul, in speaking of the diversities of spiritual gifts which the Lord gave to the apostolic Church before the Scriptures were complete, was not, in these words, referring to “unity in diversity” in the sense which Francis meant it. The Roman pope was speaking of the diversity between Roman Catholics and Protestants; of the diversity between Papists and Pentecostals; etc. An entirely different matter!
Later in the same chapter, Paul writes of the one spiritual body of Christ (the Church), and of the fact that within the one body there are many members; and this of course is the usual passage used by ecumenists, both Papists and others, to call for “unity” between them. But Paul was speaking of the unity of true believers within the true Church! He was certainly not speaking of the unity of Papists, Protestants, Pentecostals and everyone else! This false “unity” is an abomination to the Lord!
1 Corinthians 12, then, rightly divided, has nothing to say to ecumenists in their pursuit of diabolical “unity” between varying shades of spiritual darkness.
But let us go on.
Francis said: “On this path we have very often done the same thing as Joseph’s brothers, when jealousy and envy have divided us. Those who arrived first wanted to kill their brother…. [T]he same thing was done that Joseph’s brothers did: denunciation, the laws of these people… and these laws were sanctioned by the baptized! Some of those who made these laws and some of those who persecuted, denounced their Pentecostal brothers because they were ‘enthusiasts,’ almost ‘madmen’ who ruined the race, some were Catholics… I am the Pastor of Catholics: I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the devil and did the same thing that Joseph’s brothers did. I ask the Lord to give us the grace to admit and forgive.”
Using the example of Joseph’s brothers, he again revealed the subtlety of the serpent. Francis made it look as if Joseph’s brothers could be compared with “Christian brothers”. But this is impossible. Joseph’s brothers were unregenerated men! They were men of darkness, not of light. They wanted to murder Joseph, and God’s Word says, “he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness” (1 Jn. 2:11); and, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 Jn. 3:15). Roman Catholics have zealously persecuted uncounted millions unto death, in a thousand and one diabolically cruel ways. They are not Christian brethren. Francis dared to even say of these persecutors: “some were Catholics.” Some were Roman Catholics? What a lie! Multiplied thousands were Roman Catholics! Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, were Roman Catholics! History’s pages are overflowing with the persecutions carried out by Roman Catholics, massacring millions upon millions of people: true Christians, Protestants, Jews, even Muslims. And what’s more, they were carrying out the official orders of the Roman popes! The Lord Jesus had prophesied of them when He said, “the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” (Jn. 16:2). And he added, “And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me” (v.3). These were not Christians. They were Papists, but not Christians. The history of centuries is the history of Papist persecution of those who differed with them in religious matters.
And now Francis I, pope of Rome, says: “I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the devil”. The only true part of these words of his was when he said they were tempted of the devil. As for the rest of his words here, what lies and what a cover-up! He calls them “Catholic brothers and sisters”. He is blind to the truth – that men who massacred others in the name of their “church” were not Christian brethren. And as for them “not understanding”; a lie again: they knew perfectly well what they were doing, for they were carrying out the very orders of Francis’ own predecessors in the papal office! One after another of those vile Roman popes sanctioned murder, torture, massacre. Oh, they understood what they were doing all right!
And as for his “plea” for forgiveness: for one thing, no one can ask forgiveness for sins committed by others in the past; nor can those who were not sinned against say, “We forgive you”, on behalf of those who were sinned against in the past. History is what it is. What is done is done. The sins were committed, those wicked men died and went to hell, and anyone who thinks that another man can say, today, “Forgive them”, and people today can respond, “We forgive”, and that this somehow wipes the slate clean, is naive in the extreme. The only ones who can ask for forgiveness for those sins of the past are the ones who committed the sins – and it is too late for them, for they are in hell and there is no forgiveness there.
For another thing, it is all very convenient to say, “I’m sorry for what Roman Catholics did in the past”, but this is a smokescreen to hide Rome’s present crimes. It has become very fashionable for politicians and others to beg forgiveness for crimes committed long ago. But it is all so much nonsense. This is not biblical repentance! No one living today can ask forgiveness for sins committed in the past by others.
Let us look at another part of Francis’ speech.
“We are on this path of unity between brothers,” he went on. “Some might be astonished: ‘But the Pope went to the Evangelicals!’ He went to find brothers! Yes! Because – and what I will say is truth – because they were the ones who came first, in Buenos Aires, to find me…. And so this friendship began, this closeness between pastors of Buenos Aires, and today here.”
Yes, there will be many Roman Catholics who will be astonished at these ecumenical overtures of their pope. But many others, ecumenicals themselves, will not be astonished at all. After all, the ecumenical movement is decades old now. And yes, the sly Jesuit pope calls “Protestant” ecumenicals “brothers”, which excites the foolish “Protestants” no end; but he conveniently does not emphasise that Rome, in her official documents, refers to their churches as not being true churches, and they themselves as being “separated brethren”, implying that Rome insists they must be gathered into her fold.
But here’s the part which is most disgraceful of all: the fact that in Argentina, it was not Jorge Bergoglio, the future Francis I, who approached the “Evangelicals”, but rather it was they who approached him! “Evangelical” pastors in Buenos Aires (“Evangelicals” falsely so called) went to the Romish cardinal Bergoglio, making overtures of friendship and seeking unity with him and with the evil, false “church” he represented! How utterly disgraceful. What blind fools, to approach the representative of the ancient Babylonian religion masquerading as a “church”, and seek for unity with him, and with that false religion! Would those men seek unity with Hinduism? Would they try to unite with Buddhism? Popery is just as much a false religion as Hinduism or Buddhism. All three, in fact, originated in the religious mysteries of ancient Babylon;[8] the only difference being that in Popery, that heathenism disguised itself as “christianity”. Yet to the representative of this false religion they went, professing themselves to be brethren, and desiring unity.
Brethren they are indeed, but not brethren in Christ.
Lastly, Francis said: “Thank you so much. I ask you to pray for me, I am in need of it so that at least I won’t be so bad. Thank you!” John Paul II had the ability to “connect” with non-Papists in this way; but even he seldom went so far as this present pope, who bends so far backwards to create the impression that Romanists and “Protestants” are all one that he even requests their prayers! And furthermore, he gives the impression of great humility when he says he needs their prayers to keep him from being bad! Clever, diabolically so. And very, very effective.
Well, that was Francis’ speech to the Pentecostals. But we must not leave out an examination of aspects of the speech of Giovanni Traettino, the so-called “Evangelical” pastor and friend of the Antichrist, when he addressed Francis at the Pentecostal gathering in Caserta, Italy, before Francis gave his own address!
Giovanni Traettino’s Speech to Francis
“I wish to share some considerations,” Traettino said, “and, in particular, dearest Pope Francis, my beloved brother, our joy is great because of your visit, my personal joy, that of my family, that of the whole of our community and of our spiritual family, of our guests and of our friends.”[9]
“Dearest Pope Francis”? “My beloved brother”? Listen to the voices echoing through history, the voices of the Waldensians of Italy, for example: did they call the Roman popes of their day “beloved brothers”, their “dearest’ friends? No. All we hear, echoing off their mountainous homes, are the cries and groans of the tens of thousands of dead and dying, as they are hurled off high peaks, or suffocated by smoke in their caves, or run through with spears, or killed in so many other merciless ways, by the armies of the Roman popes, sent with one great purpose: to wipe them off the face of the earth. Long century after long century, Christians in Italy and across Europe were hunted to death by the papal armies; but now, men falsely claiming to be Protestants, brethren of those true believers of the past, speak of the leader of the same diabolical, hate-filled religious system as their “beloved brother”. How much they have to answer for!
Incredibly, Traettino actually referred to the Waldensians towards the close of his speech. He said: “I am happy to conclude these reflections with a thought of Francis of Assisi, whom I’m sure you love very much, evidently, because you chose the name Francis. But I want to tell you that Evangelicals also love Francis very much, even from the historical point of view. If I think of the Waldensians, for instance: who have a sensibility which is – let’s say – profoundly Franciscan…” True Evangelicals would not uphold Francis of Assisi as a model Christian in any sense. The man was a Papist through and through. As for the Waldensians, today large numbers of them are ecumenical themselves; but to speak of the Waldensians of old as having a sensibility that was “profoundly Franciscan” is utter drivel. There was a world of difference between them and Franciscanism. Large numbers of them were true Christians, who paid the ultimate price for their adherence to the Lord Jesus Christ. Francis of Assisi, on the other hand, was a Papist, and a very strange man besides.
Traettino continued to pour fawning praise on Francis’ head: “A great and unexpected gift [he meant Francis’ visit to the Pentecostal gathering], unthinkable a short time ago. You will be able to read it in the eyes of the children and the elderly, of young people and of families. We love you very much! And there is something you must know: there is for your person, also among us Evangelicals, so much affection, and so many of us pray for you every day: also every day they pray for you. After all, it is easy to love you very much.” It is true a papal visit to a Pentecostal gathering was unthinkable not that long ago; but who has changed to make it possible? Has the Papacy changed? No – it is the same as it has always been. It is not the Papacy that has changed, it is the Pentecostals! Oh, and notice, too, how they are increasingly referring to themselves, and being referred to by others, as “Evangelicals”. Since when have Pentecostals, with their unbiblical doctrines relating to the Holy Spirit and the all-sufficiency of Scripture (among others), been true Evangelicals? It is just another sign of the confusion of the times, the deliberate blurring of labels to merge everyone together.
And why is it so “easy” to love Francis, as Traettino claimed? What marks of being a true Christian have ever been displayed by Francis? None. Indeed it is impossible for him to display any, for he is not a true Christian. And when Pentecostals pray for him, as Traettino says they do, what do they pray for? How can they justify praying for a man as a brother who himself prays to Mary, worships idols, worships a piece of bread as Christ, believes in salvation by works, and blasphemously claims to take the place of Christ on earth? This all just shows, once again, that they are Francis’ spiritual brethren, yes – but they are not brethren in Christ.
Was Traettino done? Oh no, he wasn’t done. He had more to belch out about his “dearest Francis”: “Several of us even believe that your election as Bishop of Rome was wrought by the Holy Spirit.” This statement is heretical, and diabolically evil. On the one hand, the Word of God says of the Papal Antichrist (every Papal Antichrist, the long dynasty of Roman popes): “whose coming is after the working of Satan” (2 Thess. 2:9); on the other hand, Giovanni Traettino says of the same man that his election was wrought by the Holy Spirit. Which statement is truth? That of the divinely inspired Word of the living God, or that of a mortal, fallible, foolish man? On the one hand, a mere man, Giovanni Traettino, says the election of Francis was the work of the Holy Spirit; on the other hand, contradicting this man’s evil statement, the Word of God says, “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist” (1 Jn. 4:3). No pope of Rome truly confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh; for not only do they deny it by their false doctrines, but also, although “they profess that they know God”, the truth is that “in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Tit. 1:16).
Traettino added of Francis’ election “A blessing above all for the whole of Christianity in dealing with the world: this is what I personally think.” Traettino’s personal opinion is absolutely irrelevant; besides which it is absolutely wrong.
Traettino went on to say: “With men like you, dear Francis, there is hope for us Christians. For all!” This man makes the Roman pope the hope for all Christians? Were Christians in a hopeless state before the arrival of Francis? What exactly was this man going on about? What shocking words tumbled out of his fawning mouth, one heretical statement following another.
He then said: “With just one gesture, you have widened the door, you have accelerated the realization of God’s dream. You have become part of Jesus’ prayer: that they may all be one.” The almighty God has a dream? He sits helpless in the highest heaven, wringing His hands and dreaming of the day when “all will be one”? This is blasphemous. What kind of god does Traettino worship? Certainly not the true God! And as for “widening the door” for “unity”, true Christians follow a narrow way, not a wide one (Matt. 7:13,14), a way which excludes all who think they are wiser than the Most High and set up “a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12).
Listen now to Traettino making no bones about his betrayal of true biblical Protestantism: “we also live and experience in a new way our being Evangelicals, which is no longer nourished by anti-Catholicism – as it was for some time – but which recognises our own origins and roots in the historical tree of Christianity, Catholicism and the Reformation included.” In other words, Protestant anti-Catholicism is a thing of the past, “Evangelicals” are no longer anti-Catholic, and they believe that Roman Catholicism is a major part of Christianity, to which they are united! Such is the blind ignorance, the airy sweeping aside of centuries of biblical Protestantism, by this deluded man.
There was much, much more in Traettino’s speech to Francis, and much more could be analysed biblically and would be found as far from being biblical as it is possible to get. But let us come to his concluding remark:
“Now we introduce Pope Francis, who would like to share some thoughts with us, what he has in his heart…. There is nothing organised. It is a ‘Pentecostal’ meeting, so we appeal to the Holy Spirit to guide Pope Francis.”
And with that, this spiritually blind Pentecostal leader allowed the Roman Antichrist to address his flock. Antichrist being guided by the Holy Spirit? It is impossible.
Traettino’s Friend Matteo Calisi Elaborates on the Papal/Pentecostal Meeting
A friend of Traettino gave his take on the papal visit to the Italian Pentecostal gathering. This man, Matteo Calisi, is the founder and president of the Communità di Gesù (Community of Jesus) in Bari, Italy, and the co-founder – along with his friend Traettino – of Consultazione Carismatica Italiana (Italian Charismatic Consultation, or CCI), a joint committee of Roman Catholic Charismatics and Pentecostals. Calisi has collaborated with the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and in 2008 the pope of Rome, Benedict XVI, appointed him as a member of this council. On various occasions he has personally met with the popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. So he, just like Traettino, is neck-deep in both the unbiblical Pentecostal/Charismatic movement and the unbiblical ecumenical movement.
In an interview with the Roman Catholic news service, Zenit, Calisi spoke of the visit of Francis I to the Pentecostal gathering, in glowing terms. He said: “The visit of Pope Francis to the Evangelical Church in Caserta on July 28, 2014… had a historic significance. It is the first time that a Pontiff has visited an Evangelical Pentecostal Church, and even though it may sound unusual to many of us, we must remember that Pope Francis, when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, had stable relationships with the Pentecostal Churches of his town and used to attend several private and public meetings with representatives of these Evangelical communities.”[10] Yes, slithering his way into the affections of Pentecostals has been a mission of Francis for years. Now, as pope, he has a platform to promote this ecumenicity as never before.
Calisi praised Francis for his request for forgiveness, and also added that Francis had stated that “the word ‘sect’ is not to be used to name a group of Christians.” Here it appears that Calisi was reading far more into Francis’s words than Francis actually intended. So desperate are Pentecostals/Charismatics to clutch at any perceived indication of a softening on the part of the Papacy towards them – however small and insignificant it may be – that they fail to even properly hear what is being said.
Calisi went on to say that the visit by Francis had a far wider significance, for – according to him – 600 million people are Pentecostals in the world today, making Pentecostalism the second-largest “Christian confession” after the Roman Catholic “Church”. This number is debatable, but it is true to say that Pentecostalism numbers many tens of millions and is growing rapidly worldwide; so that the Papacy cannot afford not to engage with it in its relentless pursuit of “unity” (which is not true unity at all, but rather eventual absorption into Rome).
After speaking at length about the many ecumenical works he has been involved with, Calisi made a very significant remark: “we understand that the Holy Spirit is giving a boost to the ecumenical process among the churches, not only the Pentecostal ones. At the same time we can see, through the Petrine ministry, a growing incisiveness and decision to continue a friendship with the Evangelical Pentecostal and Charismatic churches”. There it is, in the midst of typical Pentecostal phraseology about this being the work of the Holy Spirit: an actual statement by this man that the pope of Rome exercises “the Petrine ministry” – the ministry of Peter the apostle! An acknowledgment that the popes of Rome are the successors of Peter the apostle. An acknowledgment, in short, that what Rome claims about the popes is true!
In my previous article[11]
I dealt with the fact of secret agents of the Vatican at work in
“Protestant” circles, notably agents of the Jesuits. Some are actual
Jesuit priests working undercover, while others are not priests or even
officially Roman Catholics, but are working for the Jesuits all the
same. We may never know precisely who these men are, at least in the
majority of cases; but of this we can be certain: they are there, often
in top positions within the “Protestant” ministry, and they are edging
their congregations ever closer to the Roman Catholic institution.
Geoff Tunnicliffe’s Take on the Papal/Pentecostal Meeting
Now to return to Francis’s “apology” for the fact that Roman Catholics persecuted others in the past. This feeble “forgive us” farce was seized on with alacrity by the secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance, Geoff Tunnicliffe. This man was one of those who made a pilgrimage to the pope of Rome in July, along with other wolves in sheep’s clothing such as Kenneth Copeland and James Robison;[12] and almost as soon as Francis issued his pathetic plea for forgiveness, Tunnicliffe, all fired up with ecumenical excitement, rushed to issue a feeble personal “apology” (it could hardly be called such) of his own during an interview with Vatican Radio, asking for forgiveness for Evangelicals who discriminated against Roman Catholics![13]
Let’s look at what he said:
When asked about Francis’ meeting with the Pentecostals in Caserta, Tunnicliffe said, “I think Pope Francis reaching out to Evangelicals bodes well for future conversations, because that will allow us to go deeper in our interactions together.”
Note again how Pentecostals are called “Evangelicals”. This is becoming increasingly common. Any “Evangelical” leader who refers to Pentecostals as “Evangelicals” reveals that he has no biblical grasp of what Evangelicalism is. Not that we needed this statement of his to reveal this, for Tunnicliffe heads up the World Evangelical Alliance, an institution which is Evangelical in name only. It is a disgraceful body, led by men who are blind to the Evangel – the Gospel – they claim to know and preach; men who can deny the very Evangelicalism which stood boldly against Popery in the past, and proclaimed the true Evangel without fear of man. When the secretary general of this world body can say that such interactions between Papists and “Evangelicals” are a good thing, it shows those calling themselves “Evangelicals” have no understanding of the true Gospel, nor of the false one of Popery.
He then said: “Over recent years, the World Evangelical Alliance, which represents some 650 million Christians around the world, has had growing interaction with the Vatican and the Catholic Church. We’re just concluding our second official theological dialogue which identifies areas of common concerns and areas where we still differ.”
The Alliance may represent 650 million people, but it does not represent 650 million Christians. An organisation that recognises Popery as Christian has no spiritual discernment whatsoever when it comes to knowing who are Christians and who are not. And note that he says there are areas where “we still differ” with Rome. This means there are many areas where they no longer differ at all! Such is the atrocious state of professing Evangelicalism in our day. There is nothing Christian about it, and it is way past time all true ministers, and all true Christians, stopped tiptoeing around facts like these and called a spade a spade. These are goats, not sheep; led by wolves, not shepherds.
Geoff Tunnicliffe and Francis I
Regarding Francis’ “apology”, Tunnicliffe said he wanted to commend
Francis for taking such a public step, saying it was “biblical” and
“reflects the message of Jesus.” No, it was not biblical, for it was
not repentance according to the Bible. This was not how Jesus taught
repentance and forgiveness.
“I also need to say this: I recognise that in history there have been situations where Protestants, including Evangelicals, have discriminated against Catholic Christians and I am really sorry for these kinds of actions, because while we can disagree theologically, this should never lead to discrimination or persecution of the other.”
It seems almost no one has noticed, but Tunnicliffe’s “apology” amounted to no more than this: “I am really sorry for these kinds of actions.” At the most, this was nothing but his own personal sadness about it; certainly not an apology on behalf of 650 million others!
Furthermore, he would be very hard pressed to find many examples in history where Protestants persecuted Roman Catholics. There are such cases, certainly; but they are a drop in the ocean compared with Rome’s centuries of bloody persecution of Protestants. In most cases Rome likes to point to examples of Protestant governments punishing Roman Catholic traitors, or spies; but that is an entirely different matter. That is not religious persecution! Oh, and let us not fail to note how Tunnicliffe calls Papists “Catholic Christians”. As Rome is an utterly false and heathenish religion, are we going to hear Tunnicliffe speak of “Hindu Christians” or “Muslim Christians” in the future? Doubtful. But when it comes to the Harlot on the seven hills, “Evangelicals” like Tunnicliffe ignore its heathen doctrines and its persecuting spirit and its completely false gospel of works, and go weak-kneed as they contemplate the day when, they fervently hope, all Protestants and all Romanists will be one.
“Jesus,” said Tunnicliffe, “clearly calls us to be one” (citing Jn. 17). The truth is, however, that the Lord Jesus’ prayer has been answered, in the spiritual unity between all true believers. He did not pray for the unity of Christians with heathens. If as Tunnicliffe claims, Jesus wants Roman Catholics and Protestants to be one, then He also wants Roman Catholics and Protestants to be one with Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and everyone else – because Roman Catholicism is no more Christian than any other false heathen religion in the world! But very clearly, Christ’s prayer was for the spiritual unity of all true believers. This excludes all Papists, as well as those calling themselves “Evangelicals” but holding to the same false gospel that Tunnicliffe holds to.
He said that “while there are differences within the Christian denominations,” at the core “we have so many areas of communality.” Again, he called Rome Christian. And although he, and those who follow him, might have many areas of “communality” with Papists, true Christians, and true Christian churches, do not, and never will.
Conclusion
Although these latest forays into the world of Pentecostalism/Charismatism by the pope of Rome are more blatant than ever before, the fact remains that Pentecostals and Charismatics have been engaged in ecumenical dialogue and activities with the Roman Catholic institution for decades now. For all their talking and shouting about having “the gifts of the Spirit” – gifts which, in any case, ceased with the completion of the New Testament Scriptures by the end of the first century AD, as it was prophesied they would in 1 Cor. 13:8-12 [14] – they demonstrate precisely the same abysmal spiritual ignorance and blindness as all other ecumenical – including “Evangelicals” unworthy of the name. They all reveal their terrible lack of knowledge of the Bible. We live in a time of unprecedented biblical ignorance and false “christianity”.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye [true believers only] are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:14-18).
September 2014
Shaun Willcock is a minister of the Gospel. He runs Bible
Based Ministries. For other articles (which may be downloaded and
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ENDNOTES:
[1]. Copeland in Popeland: Kenneth Copeland Embraces “Unity” with the Roman Pope, by Shaun Willcock. Bible Based Ministries, March 2014. Available on our website: www.biblebasedministries.co.uk.
[2]. “Protestant” Pretenders Go On Pilgrimage to the Papacy, by Shaun Willcock. Bible Based Ministries, September 2014. Available on our website: www.biblebasedministries.co.uk.
[6]. Evangelical Pastor Giovanni Traettino’s Words to Pope Francis in Caserta, Zenit.org, July 29, 2014.
[8]. See the monumental classic, The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop. Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, New Jersey, 1959.
[9]. Evangelical Pastor Giovanni Traettino’s Words to Pope Francis in Caserta, Zenit.org, July 29, 2014.
[14].
For a detailed examination of this and other portions of Scripture
which show that the miraculous gifts ended with the completion of the
Scriptures, listen to That Which is Perfect, a set of two CD messages by Shaun Willcock, available from Bible Based Ministries: www.biblebasedministries.co.uk.
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