The Adventist church LOVES to claim that the Pope is the Anti-Christ. This was another of the points I had to understand before accepting the authority of the Catholic Church. After all, if the Pope were the Anti-Christ then there is a huge problem in the authority of the Church that Christ established. So, I wanted to look at many of the proof texts that Adventist’s use in establishing the idea that the Pope is the anti-Christ. At first view, many of the verses used seem very convincing.
As I soon found out, I could probably write 30 pages on this subject alone. We have learned that Adventist leaders, Ellen G. White, and Evangelists have misrepresented Catholic practices, doctrines, history and discipline in order to falsely assert that the Catholic Church is the anti-Christ. Let’s just begin with the clearest verse in scripture about who the anti-Christ really is:
1 John 2:22: "Who is a liar, but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is Antichrist, who denieth the Father and the Son."
Even Adventists have a hard time not admitting that the Catholic Church does NOT deny the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Ghost. If you need proof just browse through any Catholic catechism, go to any Catholic church, or listen to any Catholic Prayer, which begins with the invocation of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In fact, it is Adventism which began as a non-Trinitarian church, which denies that unity of the Father and Son in One God. It is early Adventism (among other groups) that is described by this verse. Thankfully, the Adventist Church aligned itself with the doctrine of Rome in this matter, and now is a Trinitarian church.
But one must ask, can a true church, (as Adventism makes a claim to be) be built on a false concept of God? I remember being taught a song as a child about how the wise man built his house upon a rock. Adventism’s foundation was built on a false concept of God. (Anti-Trinitarian) A false doctrine = false foundation. So what happens? According to the story and song; the house will come crumbling down.
Adventism claims that Rome, which has always been Trinitarian and even defined the Trinity, began with a solid foundation in the doctrine of God but is now a false religion. While at the same time, it teaches that Adventism began with a false concept of God, or foundation, and is now the true religion. Does this make sense to you? It doesn’t to me!
This next point may be a strange defense to some; however, it has biblical backing and made an impression on me.
Mark 3:23-26 And after he had called them together, he said to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan be risen up against himself, he is divided, and cannot stand, but hath an end.
Ok, let me ask a question, who is the most well known resource for demon possession? Adventism? No.. Baptists? No, although more so than Adventism. Catholicism? Yes! Catholicism, both eastern and western rites have rites of demon exorcism. The original church of Christ established by Christ and the Apostles performed exorcisms; the current Catholic Church, also continues to perform exorcisms as it has done throughout history since the first century.
According to the verse above, if the Catholic Church was in fact headed by the antichrist under the influence of Satan, or even just a false religion, it cannot divide itself, or it would fall. Catholicism traces her roots back for nearly 2000 years; obviously she did not divide herself and fail to “stand”. Exorcism is one of the traditions that has been passed down through the church for the past 2000 years; a tradition that the Adventist church does not define in her practices.
Ok, so let’s look at some of the other proofs that are used to try to prove that the Pope is or will be the Anti-Christ. According to the Adventist church the Pope was the little horn in Daniel who uprooted the three horns. They place the date for this at 538AD; the problem with this interpretation is that the papacy was around for hundreds of years prior to 538AD.
“The periods here mentioned--"forty and two months," and "a thousand two hundred and threescore days"--are the same, alike representing the time in which the church of Christ was to suffer oppression from Rome. The 1260 years of papal supremacy began with the establishment of the papacy in A. D. 538, and would therefore terminate in 1798. At that time a French army entered Rome, and made the Pope a prisoner, and he died in exile. Though a new Pope was soon afterward elected, the papal hierarchy has never since been able to wield the power which it before possessed.” {GC88 266.2}
“This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the establishment of the papacy, A. D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time, when the papacy was abolished and the Pope made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity." {GC88 439.2}
Samuele Bachiocci, a noted Adventist Theologian, makes the following comments on the Adventist Position on the rise and fall of the papacy in 538 and 1798 respectively, in his “End Time’s” newsletter, Edition 87:
“The historical reality is that the papacy was not established in 538, nor was it abolished in 1798. The corrected reading of the New Edition is a noticeable improvement, but it is still inaccurate. The reason is that 538 hardly marks the beginning of the "supremacy of the papacy," nor does 1798 signals "the downfall of the papacy." It is evident that the editorial workers who helped Ellen White to make the necessary corrections, knew little about the history of the papacy.
The development of the "supremacy of the papacy" began long before 538. In his book on The History of the Christian Church - which has served for many years as the standard text book for church history classes - Williston Walker devotes chapter 6 to the "Growth of the Papacy" during the fourth and fifth centuries. He points out that during this period there were influential Popes like Damasus (366-384), Innocent I (402-417), and Leo I, called "the Great" (440-461), who greatly advanced both the spiritual and temporal power of the papacy.22
For example, the last Pope mentioned, Leo I, known as "Leo the Great," greatly increased the political prestige of the papacy by threatening with hell fire Attila the Hun, when he was approaching Rome in 451 with his terrifying soldiers. Attila obeyed the Pope and withdrew beyond the Danube. Later Pope Leo secured concessions from the Vandals when they took Rome in 452. He is called "Leo the Great" for advancing and consolidating the power of the papacy. The development of the supremacy of the papacy is a gradual process that can hardly be dated from 538. The process began already in the second century as the primacy of Bishop of Rome was widely recognized and accepted. Over the centuries various Popes contributed to strengthen the supremacy of the papacy, both as a religious and political power.
But it was not until 756 that the temporal sovereignty of the papacy began, when the Frankish King Pepin waged tow military campaigns against the Lombard's who had extended their occupation to central Italy. Pepin liberated the territories of Central Italy, and donated them to the Pope. To justify the legitimate right of the papacy to rule these territories, the famous document of the Donation of Constantine was fabricated at this time. The document claims that Constantine donated to the Pope the whole of Italy and other western countries. For the next thousand years this false document served to boost the temporal power of the papacy.
In 756 began the history of "The States of the Church," that is, the temporal supremacy of the papacy that was to last until 1870. In that year, Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia and later of Italy, with the help of enthusiastic voluntary troops who were fighting for national unity, succeeded in taking over the papal territories of central Italy and thus to unify all the land of Italy into one nation.
Inadequate Corrections
What is true for 538 is also true for 1798. In both instances the corrections are inadequate. The change in the 1911 edition of The Great Controversy from "the abolishment" to "the downfall of the papacy," is a noticeable improvement, but it is still inadequate. Why? Simply because 1798 does not signal "the downfall of the papacy." The taking of Pope Pius VI, as a prisoner by the French General Berthier, marked a temporary humiliation of the papacy, but not its downfall. When Pius VI left Rome on February 20, 1798, he was an old, dying man who still functioned as Pope, though in a limited scale. He found refuge first in Siena and then near Florence, where a small Curia was organized to administer the church. In fact, before his death he planned for the election of his successor.
The imprisonment of Pope Paul VI was condemned by Russia and Austria. Both nations decided to join forces to restore the Pope to his Pontifical throne in Rome. When the French government was confronted with this new coalition and with popular uprisings, it decided to transfer the Pope to Valence, in France, where he died 40 days later, on August 29, 1799.
The death of Pius VI can hardly be seen as the "abolishment" or "the downfall of the Papacy." It was simply a temporary humiliation of the prestige of the Papacy. In fact, Pius VI was able to give directives for the election of his successor. Few months after his death, the Cardinals met in Venice on December 8, 1799, and elected Barnaba Chiaramonti, who took the name of Pious VII, in deference to his predecessor.
The new Pope was able to negotiate with Napoleon the Concordat in 1801 and the Organic Articles in 1802. These treatises restored to the Pope some of the territories of the States of the Church and regulated the extent of the Papal authority in France.
The following years marked, not the downfall, but the resurgence of papal authority, especially under the Pontificate of Pius IX (1846-1878). In 1854, Pius IX promulgated the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. In 1864 he issued the famous Syllabus of Errors, known also as "INDEX," which for many years listed all the political ideologies, religious beliefs, and publications to be rejected by Catholics (Even our Adventist books have been listed in the INDEX. I learned it the hard way while working as a literature evangelist in Italy).
The crowning event of Pius IX's pontificate was the convening of the First Vatican Council on December 8, 1869. It had a remarkable large attendance from all over the Roman world and on July 18, 1870, the Council promulgated the dogma of Papal Infallibility. This dogma has greatly enhanced the authority of the Pope, and discredits any attempt to attribute to 1798 the downfall of the papacy.” (http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/eti_87.html)
Now, an Adventist professor, historian and theologian wrote this. He is considered by some to be the church’s foremost authority on Catholicism, since by his claims; he grew up in Italy and went to school at Roman Catholic schools, studying under a Jesuit professor.
If Dr. Bachiocci is correct in his assertion that the papacy did not begin or gain supremacy in 538, which he is; and if he is correct that the papacy did not cease, or experience the downfall of the papacy in 1798, which he is, then applying the 1260 year prophecy to the Vatican is wrong. This disproves Adventism’s use of both Dan 7 and Revelation 13 to justify this incorrect assertion.
Let’s look at another popular assertion by Adventists that we can hear at revelation seminars, bible lessons, and books. An Adventist teaching has been that that one of the titles of the Pope comes out to equal 666 in numerical meaning. The Problem is that now, apparently, the Church is backing off this teaching as being misleading. Notice the quote below from the SDA Sabbath School Quarterly, Q2, 2002, Study for June 6th. (emphasis added) (http://ssnet.org/qrtrly/eng/02b/less10.html)
“The number of the beast. The mark, the name, and the number of the beast are closely related (Rev. 13:17). Many suggestions have been made to explain the meaning of 666. Here we must be very careful. The Bible does not say that the number is the added numerical value of the letters of a name. Some see in the meaning of 666 a symbol of humanity separated from God. Humans were created on the sixth day, and the number can stand as a symbol for humanity without divine rest (the seventh day). Humans have claimed ultimate independence from God (the cause of their fall), and even now they do not want to find rest in Christ.
Over the years, numerous Bible students have come up with various explanations for the 666. Some found significance in the fact that if you added up the number of letters in the name of a former president of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, it came to 666; others saw meaning in that, years ago, all the buses in Jerusalem had 666 on their license plates. This is futile speculation that adds nothing toward understanding truth. The important point is that God's Word has given us enough information to know what the key issues are and who the players will be in the last days, even if we do not know all the details for now, such as the precise meaning of 666. “
Then again on Friday June7th, the quarterly reads:
“1. Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of God). Since the Reformation, this papal title has been used to calculate the number 666. But there are several questions that should make us cautious. First, it is not clear that this title is an official one. Second, there is no clear indication in Revelation 13 that the number is based on the numerical value of the letters of a name. The phrase "it is the number of a man" (vs. 18, NIV) could be translated "it is the number of [humanity]"; that is, of humans separated from God. Third, those who insist in counting the numerical value of letters confront the problem of deciding which language will be used. Because the text does not identify any language, the selection of a particular one will be somewhat arbitrary. At the present time, the symbolism of intensified rebellion, six used three times, and total independence from God seem to be the best option. Time will reveal the full meaning of the symbol.”
It appears that even though the SDA church has been using this for years as a “proof” in their revelation seminars and even the Bible Commentaries, the church is beginning to be honest about the truth. Again the Adventist church is agreeing with what the Catholic Church has been claiming for centuries.
One other interesting note that I hope to develop more in the future is the fact that Rev 13, which speaks of the beast rising out of the see, puts the 1260 day oppression of the saints AFTER the wound was healed. Adventist’s believe that the wound was healed in 1929, which again, makes their chronology of prophetic scripture out of line with what scripture actually says, since SDA’s believe the 1260 day oppression began in 538. For more on this please see the article at: http://www.diesdomini.com/Papers/Q_Prophecy_Rev13_edited.pdf
Conclusion: