The Resurrection of Religious Tyranny
By Pastor Hal Mayer
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry once again. Today, we are going to investigate the continuing rise of the Holy Roman Empire. I have been following this development for many years. If you want to understand what I have said on the incredible progress of the Catholic power and influence in the past, get my powerful series called Prophetic Secrets of the New World Order. But today we are going to look at the events that have shaped Europe both anciently and today.
Let us pray. Dear Father in heaven, thank You for Your word. It provides an anchor to the soul in these troublous times. It helps us to sort out what is happening in the geopolitical sphere as well as in our personal lives. Please help us today. Join us as we investigate the fulfillment of prophecy in our times. Send Your Holy Spirit, so that He can give us insights into prophecy in scripture. In Jesus name, amen.
Let us begin our study with Revelation 13:1-3, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”
This beast, for many years, had the appearance of passivity and kindness. But one day soon, it will reemerge as a powerful and abusive beast again. Amazingly, this beast is resurrecting right now, slowly but surely so as not to alarm the public. Secular people would strongly resist, and Protestants with a memory would also react negatively to it. So, it has to work by stealth and in secret. It must not get its fingerprints on the developments, but it must, nevertheless, orchestrate its emergence from the political underground. So, it works behind the scenes to accomplish its mission.
Listen to this statement from Great Controversy, page 581, “God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.”
There is a hidden hand guiding the nations toward a resurgence of the Holy Roman Empire. This hidden hand cannot be identified by observation. Only by the word of God can it be seen and understood.
Do you know who Eduard Habsburg is? Probably not. He is Hungarian and is Archduke Eduard of Austria. He is a diplomat and is currently Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See. He is a practicing Catholic, of course, and he’s well connected with the Papacy.
I’d like you to notice what he wrote. “Empires have gotten something of a bad rap lately.”
There’s a lot of reasons posited for it, and he has his own. He thinks an empire is a good thing. He thinks that Europe should be a union under the Roman Catholic Church as the empire was traditionally. He is working to resurrect and restore the Holy Roman Empire. It’s more than a nostalgic feeling. The Habsburgs ruled the empire from the 13th century to 1918, which was the dark ages. That’s nearly 650 years! It is over half of the 1260-year prophecy. Habsburg lands stretched from Portugal to Poland; from the Balkans to the Atlantic, and stretched throughout South America. The Habsburgs were kept in power by their allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church who saw them as the rulers who would enforce and defend Roman Catholic policies. They love the Roman Catholic Church. Their identity was and is Catholic. And they worked to promote her and defend her for many centuries as the empire’s rulers.
Eduard Habsburg recently wrote a book extolling the Holy Roman Empire in the most glowing terms. It is called The Habsburg way, 7 Rules for Turbulent Times. It is obvious that he is longing for the empire to raise again. He downplayed all the horrible cruelties under the Habsburgs, which they did for the church, and elevated Catholicism as the best solution for man’s political problems. Not only were these Habsburg rulers strong Roman Catholics, they ruled the empire with the intention to forcefully promote and defend it under Catholicism. They saw their rule as divinely ordained. And this is more important to understand today than ever. As America’s leaders have become corrupted by power and money and the country is in decline, the mood is right for praising the empire and casting it as a better system of government in contrast to American political corruption.
The late Otto von Habsburg, who died in 1999, was the last reigning monarch of the Austral-Hungarian Empire. Though he was only a titular monarch over a non-existent empire, he was very strongly working for the European Union to become Catholic. The old Holy Roman Empire was his model. Holy, which means Catholic, Roman, which means European, and Empire, which means a tyrannical dictatorship again. The House of Habsburg has given up all notions of being rulers again, but they have not given up the idea of a Holy Roman Empire. They see the hidden hand coordinating and working to bring the European Union to the place where it becomes the replacement, or the revitalization of the Holy Roman Empire.
But nostalgia for the old ways of the Habsburg’s Holy Roman Empire is growing in Europe that has such a historical legacy. Think tanks, politicians and academics are growing more and more eager to unearth, repair and rebuild it. The Holy Roman Empire is emerging bit by bit from the ruins.
In his book The Habsburg Way…, Eduard Habsburg advocates the revival of the values of the Habsburg dynasty. He says that the Holy Roman Empire is dormant but still very much alive today. And, of course, he’s right.
He says that what Europe needs is a “real overarching leadership that embodies traditional European values, someone like an emperor who reminded people of the things that united them… While there were different nations in the empire, Christianity, that timeless idea of empire, and the person of the emperor himself were the unifying principles.”
Of course, by “Christianity” he means Roman Catholicism. Who does he think could be the emperor? The only overarching person that could rise to the stature needed to meet the requirements he identifies, is the pope. He wouldn’t write that book The Habsburg Way, if he didn’t think it would be well received.
In other words, he and other Habsburgs are pushing for a resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire with the pope again at the head. They love the Roman church. And since the Habsburgs are spread all over Europe it is not unthinkable.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote in the Daily Telegraph, June 15, 2023,
“The idea of empire as and organizing form of politics is enjoying a rehabilitation in Brussels…”
He also said some want a “muscular ‘sovereign Europe.’ to match China and America.”
That means a military buildup with capabilities on the level of China and America, both of which have enormous military resources. With world government leaders’ proclivity for surveillance, censorship and control, the idea of empire also raises dystopian images of the inquisition which was almost as enduring as the Habsburgs. The Spanish Inquisition alone existed more than 300 years from 1478 to 1834. They don’t want to talk about that.
But there is one more element. That element is culture. Europe is in love with its culture. Since 2018 thousands of cultural events celebrating the cultures of Europe have been hosted. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, former German defense minister, said, “When we are not ready to love our culture, then others will start to define our culture.”
He was speaking of the massive invasion of Muslim refugees in Germany that were unable to integrate into the culture of the Germans.
“It can’t be our goal to leave that which grew over centuries in which is seen in the church towers, which is seen in the club culture, which is grown in a Christian-Jewish Western society, to others that come in to us.”
Guttenberg is calling for Germans to defend their culture, which especially involves its religion. That religion was a state religion. It was the Roman Catholic religion. The empire was held together by the church, and the Habsburgs defended the church from every threat, including the threat of the Reformation. Charles V was a member of the House of Habsburg. And he was determined to stamp out the Reformation if he could.
By the 6th century the papacy was established. However, it did not control the masses…yet. But the hidden hand was at work. Once the papacy had gained a foothold in Europe and established herself in Rome, then persecution could begin. Charlemagne lived at the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th. He created the circumstances which led to the Habsburgs becoming the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. In other words, he laid the foundation of the enduring Habsburg dynasty.
In the words of Great Controversy, page 54 we read what happened.
“Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman’s ax. Now were fulfilled the words of Jesus: “Ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake.” Luke 21:16, 17. Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the world became a vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says the prophet: “The woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three-score days.” Revelation 12:6.”
Charlemagne is celebrated today by the Catholic Church. For example, a weeklong festival featuring Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, who united Europeans through war, extermination or conversion to the Roman Catholic Church on pain of death, was held at the Aachen Cathedral in 2018. And every year a prestigious award, called the Karlspreis, is awarded to some important person who was especially useful in doing something to promote European unity. In 2023, the Karlspreis was awarded to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, probably because he is trying to get into the European Union. Rome is behind this. The war in Ukraine is about a dispute between branches of the Orthodox Church. Zelenskyy is fighting for something that the Catholic Church wants; a larger European Union that it will eventually dominate.
The significance of the Karlspreis, or the Charlemagne award, reveals the enormous importance of Charlemagne to the Roman Catholic Church. While Justinian laid the foundation for the Holy Roman Empire by his decrees in 532, and 533, and by defeating the Ostrogoths in 538, Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was the dictator king of the Franks from 768-814 AD, that united Europe under the religion of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to great bloodshed of those who were faithful to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. His predecessor Clovis I, king of the Franks was the first Roman Catholic king in Europe. He defeated the Visigoths in 508, which began the 1290-year period of prophecy of the Book of Daniel.
Aachen was the favorite residence of Charlemagne, and for a time, it was the political center of Europe. It was the place of coronation of medieval kings, particularly German kings who were the strongest leaders of the Holy Roman Empire. The sponsors of the Karlspreis, the City of Aachen, “refer to Charlemagne as the ‘Founder of Western Culture,’ meaning Roman Catholic culture, and assert that under his reign, the City of Aachen was once the spiritual and political center of the whole of what is now Europe.” As you can see, this city has deep Roman Catholic symbolism to Europe. Without Charlemagne, Rome would not have had the strength or power that it held from the 9th century onward for hundreds of years. Charlemagne is seen as the role model for later emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. And the emperors continued to forcibly support the Roman Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the church gradually wrapped her arms around the empire and by stratagem they controlled those who became its rulers. Rome then used the state to enforce her principles, doctrines and decrees on the people. Rome became rich and increased with goods, including the souls of men.
Let’s read it from Revelation 18:12-13, “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.”
Obviously at the end of time, Rome will still be trafficking in such merchandise. She uses her spiritual status to great advantage. She works behind the scenes to make herself wealthy by working with the merchants of the earth. And since she is so well connected, she is growing in power and respect. Don’t expect Rome to go out easily. It will take the supernatural power of God to do so. This time, instead of merely trying to rebuild the Holy Roman Empire, Rome is aiming for the whole world.
Turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation 13:8 and you’ll see what I mean. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”
Otto the Great is considered to be the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. He died in 973 A. D. He was not just a regular and insignificant ruler in Europe. It is said that he is historically as important as Charlemagne. The Magyars, or the tribe that became the Hungarians, had been pillaging and plundering and murdering for decades in Europe. Otto the Great united the European tribes in the fight against the Magyars. He is said to have wielded the “holy lance” against the wild hoards in 955. This weapon is now on display at Vienna’s treasury and is said to contain a nail from Christ’s cross. Of course, that’s preposterous. But the weapon is a symbol of what Otto did for Roman Catholic Europe. Otto forcefully consolidated Europe under the Roman Catholic Church, wielding the sword to bring everyone in submission to the church. He was lauded as the “head of the whole world.” Germany especially became the center of the political empire while Rome became the spiritual center.
Why is America in decline? It is because Rome has to bring America to its knees before it can use it as a tool to oppress and control the world. The Bible tells us in Revelation 13:11-17 that America will have the same persecuting power that Rome had. America can’t be a weak nation when that time comes. In fact, America will become the political center of the earth, while Rome becomes this spiritual center again. Let us read it.
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
If America is going to be able to do all that, she cannot be a weak nation. America is going to rise again. Don’t look at the current political leaders or the current economic plight for guidance into the future. They are only working in the present to fulfill the intentions of the hidden hand, and, of course, for their own benefit.
Maximilian and Leopold were also from the House of Habsburg. These dictators have been celebrated and extolled as great examples of leadership. Yet they were cruel tyrants, and at their behest, and in cooperation with the Catholic Church, millions of people lost their lives as persecution continued against the truth and against God’s true people.
In 2019, Austria celebrated the “Maximilian year,” to honor the 500th anniversary of the death of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I, a cruel and despotic emperor. His death was on January 12, 1519. And of course, the Catholic Church was involved with the Austrian authorities to organize more than 100 celebratory masses and other events.
Austria hosted a special exhibition, “The Emperor’s New Saint–Maximilian I and Margrave Leopold III in Times of Changing Media.” This exhibition explained how Maximilian I venerated Leopold III (who lived from 1073-1136) as ruler of Austria.
The veneration of canonized rulers as patron saints of the Habsburg lands was not only a statement of piety, but also an intensely political affair.
“The ruling monarch saw himself as a successor of the saints, whose reliquaries served as attributes at the ruler’s accession as a sign of legitimate, divinely ordained sovereignty.”
The Habsburg heaven: patron saints of lands and dynasty
This insight from the history of the Holy Roman Empire explains a lot about why European leaders honor past emperors. They think God ordained these ancient emperors to rule on behalf of the Catholic faith.
The veneration of Leopold III had a lot to do with how much power that Maximillian had. The more that Leopold was venerated the more powerful and violent the empire became in confrontations with opponents and enemies, which included Muslims, Turks, Jews, and especially Protestant reformers.
Eduard Habsburg said Leopold I was the “pinnacle of the Catholic faith in Habsburg lands.”
The Habsburgs may appear as if they have disappeared from the stage of action. But they haven’t. They’re still around. And they are working to resurrect the days of peril for God’s people again. And days of peril are ahead for God’s people when the values and principles of the Catholic Church, as promoted by the Habsburgs, rise up and persecute God’s true people again.
Rome used the emperors as civil rulers to carry out her wishes in the empire. And Maximillian and other emperors were brutal and violent toward these groups. Even with this history, many of Europe’s leaders, especially those of Germany, still want to see a restoration of the Catholic faith as the ruling power in Europe. Can you imagine what that will bring to modern Europe and the world as Rome regains her power? After all it would be in Europe’s interests to see Rome’s rulership extended to the rest of the world as well.
Many people in Europe and outside of it, want to see the Holy Roman Empire resurrected. They are looking to the Catholic Church and the European Union for this revival. They want to emphasize the good and ignore the evil and thereby change people’s perceptions of the truth concerning the empire. The trouble is, whenever leaders get more power, they abuse it and are hungry for more. Every time, in every empire, it’s been cruelty and violence perpetrated by the leaders and the emperor. Often it was in collaboration with or at the behest of the religious leaders. Emperors become calloused to human life.
So, from modest origins, the Habsburgs gained control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in just a few decades, especially through intermarriage, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from Hungary to Spain, and parts of the New World and the Far East.
The late Otto von Habsburg, the last reigning monarch of the Habsburg dynasty in exile, had the dream to revive the old empire in the form of the European Union.
Is it any wonder that we have the following statement in the book Great Controversy, page 615? “Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.”
This tells us very clearly that in the old world, or Europe, Romanism will reassert her power. It was the Holy See that controlled the so-called united Europe during the Middle Ages. But now once again Rome intends to take the spiritual control of Europe to herself. In order to do this and fulfill the prophecy that we have just read, Rome must be able to manipulate the economy and the politics of Europe. She is working on this persistently by her hidden hand.
The European Union is seeking to unite all the nation states of Europe under the European Union. Rome is currently helping to assist them. And when it is completed, she will manifest herself as the one who is responsible for it. It will then be a Holy Roman Empire brought about by the Vatican in control of world leaders who, as the Bible describes, have committed “fornication” with her.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote in the Telegraph explaining that Germany has almost solitary control of the European Union.
“It is simply unthinkable that the EU can survive as a reconstituted the Holy Roman Empire governed from Berlin…”
But it is happening. Maybe very few people believe it, but it is happening. In fact, we are aware that it will be an overwhelming surprise that comes upon the world at the end of time and it will surprise even the elect though they will have the Holy Spirit to hold them steady during that time.
Let’s read it from Prophets and Kings, page 626. “Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts.”
So, you can’t make preparation by looking at current events. The study of current events is important, but it is not the preparation you need to stand when you are overwhelmed with accusations or opposition. That comes by surrender to God and study of His word.
I’ll read on. “The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion, a religion of words and forms, where truth is kept in the outer court.”
Is truth being kept in the outer court? Let the truth sink in and change your life. There is nothing like knowing and living the truth that will give you the connection with Jesus. And He will guide you through the maze of deception and web of lies.
Reading on… “God calls for a revival and a reformation. The words of the Bible and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit. But the Bible has been robbed of its power, and the result is seen in a lowering of the tone of spiritual life.”
Is that happening today? Has the truth been robbed of its power, even in the church? You see, the enemy is doing everything he can to destroy the influence of the truth in the church. And he’s been quite successful, especially by mixing it with some error.
Let’s read some more. “In many sermons of today there is not that divine manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul. The hearers cannot say, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32.”
When you go to church and listen to the sermon, is your conscience and your soul awakened? Does your heart burn with love for souls? Does the sermon really impress you with present truth? Or is it just an insipid presentation of a mixture of truth and error?
“There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine presence. Let the word of God speak to the heart. Let those who have heard only tradition and human theories and maxims, hear the voice of Him who can renew the soul unto eternal life.”
So, the best way to prepare for the coming crisis, is to immerse yourself in the word of God. And in tandem with that, share it with souls that are lost. This is not European style. To a European, personal religion is generally a private matter. The public part of it is political, a matter of state. Roman Catholicism is a religion of forms, rites and rituals, and it is not intended to convert the soul to Jesus. Instead, the soul is converted to Rome and serves the political church. And Rome uses many devices to accomplish this.
The Habsburgs were Catholic. And in medieval times people believed that the only way to heaven was by living the Catholic faith. If you were a ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, whether high station or low, you were Catholic. Your identity was only valid if you were Catholic. And if you were the emperor as well as a king or a noble, you were expected to see that your subjects under your dominion were also living the Catholic faith. Forced allegiance to the Catholic Church was an act of charity because it supposedly helped others to reach eternal salvation.
The idea of the separation of church and state was a foreign idea to the Habsburgs who ruled Europe. And modern leaders have the same or similar viewpoint. But separation of church and state is the basis of freedom which took root in the new world and then spread to Europe and challenged its imperial foundations.
Today, the separation of church and state is taken to an extreme. Any public display of religious faith must be strictly limited in some people’s minds. But if religion is entirely excluded from the public square, then it can have no influence. This extreme view of the separation of church and state will cause a Hegelian reaction the other way, back toward a political law or rule that requires citizens to behave or act in a certain way.
Sunday worship is a sign of Rome’s authority. Rome cannot survive without Sunday worship. All that Rome is rests upon Sunday worship. And so, she is seeking to establish, or reestablish Sunday worship throughout the world. And she is determined. She will use whatever means she can including bribery, intimidation, persecution, to make Sunday laws that are oppressive and opposed to God’s law. She seeks to change times and laws.
Daniel 7:25 predicts this. “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
So, she will demand that rulers in the tradition of the Habsburg dynasty makes laws so that everyone will worship on Sunday and reject the Sabbath of the Lord. Many of the rulers see that they are ruling by Rome’s authority. And they will comply with her demands.
When the Habsburgs were crowned as emperors, they first received communion and swore on a relic containing the blood of Saint Stephen (supposedly), the first Christian martyr. And they received vestments that looked like what a Bishop wore. This was intentional to show that the emperor was divinely ordained. This was not just a political affair, but a religious event. The papal church did everything it could to link the crown with the miter. And today Rome still tries to link the papal crown to the civil crown. It matters not whether the rulers are presidents or prime ministers; monarchs or dictators. It’s all the same to her. She will work with them when she can all the while promoting the idea that rulers are divinely appointed and that Rome has the divine authority to tell them what they must do.
Of course, the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor came; it was claimed, ultimately from Christ through the pope. This made being Catholic crucial to ruling in those days. Being Catholic was their identity. And the Habsburgs still carry that identity. This ultimately led to the Habsburg family cooperating with Catholic rulers and committing some of the worst atrocities of history. Their history is rather whitewashed now, but the fact is that these were despotic rulers. Their league with Rome led to wars, persecutions, pogroms, murder, and cruelty. The old saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely certainly held true.
Today, history is being rewritten to make the church appear as a victim of grasping rulers. The Reformation is merely treated as an opportunity, or temptation for dukes, princes, and kings to persecute Catholics and take away the property of the church, which had huge resources and possessions, and in the process replenish the empty coffers of the state. The significance of the religious awakening that swept Europe is downplayed in an effort to promote the idea of the Holy Roman Empire.
The counter reformation under Ferdinand II, who was also a Habsburg ruler, and devout Catholic, effectively reignited the Catholic faith in Europe. The Council of Trent especially strengthened the legal and theological basis of the counter reformation. And since that time there have always been those who longed for an empire again. The Catholic Church used the Council of Trent to justify themselves and place them back on the throne of Europe and regain the power of the Habsburgs. The Reformation, however, could not be stamped out in a short time. Eventually the founding of America established liberty and freedom, especially religious freedom, and the West could not be subjugated to Rome until modern times. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire took away the rest of the lands and the power of the Habsburgs.
Rome hates liberty of conscience as does the enemy of all mankind. Let’s read it from Great Controversy, page 564. The author is quoting Josiah Strong in his book Our Country.
“There are many who are disposed to attribute any fear of Roman Catholicism in the United States to bigotry or childishness. Such see nothing in the character and attitude of Romanism that is hostile to our free institutions, or find nothing portentous in its growth. Let us, then, first compare some of the fundamental principles of our government with those of the Catholic Church.
“The Constitution of the United States guarantees liberty of conscience. Nothing is dearer or more fundamental. Pope Pius IX, in his Encyclical Letter of August 15, 1854, said: `The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a most pestilential error—a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a state.’ The same pope, in his Encyclical Letter of December 8, 1864, anathematized `those who assert the liberty of conscience and of religious worship,’ also ‘all such as maintain that the church may not employ force.’
“The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a change of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop O’Connor: ‘Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.’… The archbishop of St. Louis once said: ‘Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes.’…
“Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in the Catholic Church takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which occur the following words: ‘Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord (the pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute and oppose.’”
Many nations in Europe had to create some sort of constitutional government similar to that which America had developed. The European Union has to undo all of this. And it could not have been created without a long process of treaties and agreements by unelected officials and bureaucrats. At first, they worked in secret, then more openly as the European Union took shape. Starting with the European Economic Community, which they said was never to become a political unity. But that was a lie. It became a political entity however when the European Union emerged. The whole purpose was and is to resurrect the Holy Roman Empire.
It was the same way that Rome worked to establish herself in the first place.
Let’s read it in Great Controversy, page 49. “Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, “the mystery of iniquity” carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work.”
Deception is of the enemy. He can only tell lies. Oh, he tells some truths, but he cannot tell a truth without mixing it with lies. Heaven can only tell the truth. Heaven will never tell you lies.
I don’t want to be caught up in lies at the end of time. To come up to the judgment and realize that you have believed lies all your life and therefore lost your salvation would be devastating. We need Jesus to give us truth to live by and emancipate us from the dominion of lies and deception. As we come to the end of time, and the Holy Roman Empire is being resurrected, we are staring at a terrible time for God’s people. When the Sunday laws are enacted, and persecution roils God’s church, we will need to depend upon the Savior for even our bread and water. I don’t know how long that will be from now, but I know that I must be united with Christ and given over to loyalty to him.
Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we realize that this world is changing. Satan is working to create systems of control that remove liberty and freedom. You’re going to let him do it because as Your Spirit is withdrawn from the earth Satan’s lying spirit will have more power. Please help us to see that power for what it is. Give us Your Holy Spirit of discernment that we may understand the hidden hand in our world today. Thank you for being with us and sustaining us. In Jesus name, amen.