As JUBILEE draws closer, the cry will go up that the Whore of Babylon is the AUTHORITY by which ALL must draw their knowledge of doctrine, dogma and religious liturgy. We fundamental, Blood-bought, Bible-based Christians need to remind ourselves that SCRIPTURE ALONE is our authority! Cults may teach that authority rests in an organisation, such as the Catholic Church, the Mormons, or the Jehovah’s Witness, they err however, for God has given us the only authority for doctrine, instruction in righteousness and Divine veracities - that authority is Scripture.

The dangers of departing from this authority are seen in the following discussion: A Christian evangelist asked a Roman Catholic what he believed. The man replied, “I believe what the Catholic Church teaches.” “What,”said the evangelist, “does the Catholic Church believe?” “What I believe,” was the reply. “And what do you both believe?” said the evangelist. “We both believe the same thing,” replied the man.

To believe only what others believe, just because they believe it and claim to be the authority, is blind credulity. In contrast the Bible which is God’s word tells us: “be ready always to give an answer to every one that asketh a reason for the hope” that is within ourselves (I Peter 3:15).

The Bible is more than a collection of books which were grouped together by the early Church, books and letters written by different men in various time slots in history. The Bible declares again and again that it is a Divine revelation. Never, not once, does the Bible say that its writers, of themselves, were “inspired” or that they had a “concept.” No, the Scriptures are called “the Oracles of God,”(Rom. 3;2); “the Word of God” (Luke 8:11); “the Word of the Lord” (Acts 13:48); “the Word of Life” (Phil.2:16); “the Word of Christ”(Col.3:16); “the Word of Truth” (Eph.1:13); “the Word of Faith” (Rom.10:8).

Two thousand times, by similar statements the Scriptures declare that the Bible is the very Word of Almighty God, it is God-breathed.

Believing in the Word of God will give solid faith, salvation, sound doctrine, a clear understanding of God’s will, nothing else is needed:

1. The Bible read and believed will impart spiritual life, and the soul will be saved (James 1:21; I Peter 1:23; John 6:63; II Peter 1:4; II Corinthians 5:17). We know that no church has the power to do this, or the authority, because GOD declares that only the Bible has.

2. The Bible has cleansing power. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy Word” (Psalm 119:9). Also refer to John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26. By this we know that no church has the authority to forgive sin or cleanse sin, for the simple trust in and heeding of God’s Word is declared by God to be sufficient.

3. By God’s Word are we kept from evil and the power of the devil (Psalm 17:4; 119:11; John 17:14,17). Therefore we know that no man or group of men is needed to act as a authoritarian safety structure.

4. A most important instruction is given to those who have found Life, through trust in the words of Scripture. The verses found in I John 2:26,27, show that there would be men who would seek to “seduce” people religiously. These would make out that they were the ones alone who could teach the meaning of Scripture. They would lead others away from the pure Word of God, unto themselves and their doctrines. The Bible says that we have no need for such counterfeit “priests” or leaders: “ But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.... These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” The cults such as the Catholic Church and the Mormons teach that the Christian must yield to the teachings which only they can impart. But the Word of God tells us that we need no man at all to interpret the Word of God FOR us. When we are saved, we have “an unction from the Holy One” and an “anointing” which teacheth you all things”, and it is “truth.” That does not mean we do not have pastors and preachers, for the Bible shows that this is Scriptural. It means that those preachers must teach only what God reveals in Scripture, if they do not do so, they should be rejected. Preachers of God are there simply to expound the Scriptures, through the Holy Spirit’s enabling.

How can we interpret the Word of God unaided by a Church like the Roman Catholics, some may ask. The best way to interpret the Bible, indeed the proper way, is to read it, not seeking to find some fancy interpretation at all. The Bible is given by God as an open revelation, it is not hidden knowledge to those who are redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. But to the natural man, who is going to church, trying to earn salvation by good religious works, the Bible is a closed book, for it is spiritually discerned! The main reason people need some church to interpret the Bible is that they are not saved, they have never trusted in Christ Jesus as their personal Saviour.

Apart from a few basic doctrines, the Catholic Church does not teach Bible doctrine at all! The Catholics teach that God is Father(yet they worship the goddess), they believe in the Trinity, and they believe in the virgin birth (yet they twist that to say that Mary was the “Immaculate Conception”, a foolish doctrine which pretends that Mary was born sinless etc). The utterly horrifying doctrine of the “Queen of Heaven”, who is supposed to be Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, is one of the most blasphemous of all the R.C. doctrines.

This church which claims to have authority over the revealed Word of God, adapts Babylonian doctrines, and twists and perverts the plain Biblical tenets. Consider the “Queen of Heaven” fiasco:

1. On Easter Day 1988 Pope John Paul II’s message included a prayer to “the Queen of Heaven for protection and peace in the world.” Pope John Paul II has promoted Mary-worship, just as Catholics have done down the centuries. Is this a correct thing to do, according to the Bible? The only references in Scripture which speak of the Queen of Heaven relate to the Canaanite pagan, demonic goddess! Israel, when in rebellion against God, burned incense to this foul goddess, made cakes for her, and gave up drink offerings to her, The Queen of Heaven is utterly loathsome in the Almighty God’s eyes. See Jeremiah 44:17-25, 7:18 for this. (“The Two Babylons” by is an excellent book on the horrors of the pagan worship of the Queen of Heaven in the Catholic Church).

Is the “Queen of Heaven” called anything else in the Catholic Church? Yes, she is called the very Mother of God, what blasphemy. As if the First Cause, the Creator of All could have one who came before Him! Mary was merely the mother of the earthly Jesus, the incarnate One, not the mother of the Eternal Almighty God.
And here I quote from “All Roads Lead to Rome” by Michael de Semlyen:

ALL the above are claimed by the Catholic Church. None of these are at all Scriptural, and “Mary” worship turns people away from their true worship, of our Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father. Is the Catholic Church a worthy organisation to claim authority over the Word of God itself? Most assuredly NO! John Paul II has a personal motto, it is ‘totus tuus’ (totally yours). Michael de Semlyen tells us that applies to Mary, not Jesus. At his enthronement the Pope proclaimed ‘... all that I have is thine, my Queen and Mother.’

2. The Mass of the Catholics is the very heart of this counterfeit “church”. The Second Vatican Council described this as ‘the fount and apex of the whole Christian life.’ What is this “Mass” in reality all about? Rome claims it is actually a sacrifice! Look what “A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, 6-278: Catholic Truth Society, London 1985, has to say about the Mass: “One and the same Sacrifice with that of the Cross, in as much as Christ, who offered himself, a bleeding victim, on the Cross to his heavenly Father, continues to offer himself in an unbloody manner on the altar, through the ministry of his priests.” One can see here that in Catholic doctrine Christ is supposed to be a perpetual sacrifice, He is supposed to be still hanging on the Cross, that is why Catholic churches have the crucifix displayed. Is this true to God’s Word? NO!

God’s Word tells us “So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many...” It tells us that “It is Christ that died, yea rather that is RISEN again, who is even AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:28). Is Christ still on the Cross, perpetually dying? NO, He has risen from the dead, is at the place of authority on God’s right hand, and is interceding for His Blood-bought ones! Is the Catholic Church a fit “church” to claim higher authority than even the Scriptures? Or even equal authority? No church has that right, not even the finest one that has ever existed on the earth - nor would any Godly church seek to do anything but humbly submit to the Holy Bible, God’s Word.