Ralph Martin - The Activity of the Antichrist

[Music] i'm going to speak about i hate to say it hot topic today the antichrist the reason why i'm going to speak about it is because some of the most significant leaders in the church have begun to speak about it cardinal mueller who was the head leader of the congregation for the doctrine of faith uh for five years beginning with pope benedict and going through pope francis and he actually wrote an endorsement from my book he's one of my theological heroes right now and i was really very moved that he was willing to write an endorsement so he said in this book this is this is the book i'm talking about a church in crisis pathways forward in this book dr martin is squarely facing the serious crisis that is unfolding both in the church and in the culture he does so in an honest but fair manner and offers solutions that have implemented would do a great deal to restore health and strength to the church and allow it to be the light to the world it is meant to be this is an important book that should be widely read pretty excited to get that endorsement well cardinal mueller is one of the people who has begun to speak about the work of the antichrist what he did is he published something called the manifesto of faith this is what he said in the face of growing confusion about the doctrine of the faith many bishops priests religious and lay people of the catholic church have requested that i make a public testimony about the truth of revelation it is the shepherd's very own taps to guide those entrusted to them on the path of salvation this can only succeed if they know this way and follow it themselves so what what did he what did he reaffirm in his manifesto of faith he reaffirmed the reality of grave sin the obligation to form one's conscience by forming our conscience based on the word of god uh the need to be free of mortal sin before receiving communion the need for faith and repentance for salvation the reality of hell and eternal punishment and the reality of the deception of the antichrist all of which he points out are clearly taught in the catechism of the catholic church now cardinal casper who's one of the most influential people advising pope francis he was very significant in what happened in the two synods on the family and getting that ambiguous footnote into the document that's caused so much confusion and so much conflict in the church which seems to say that it may be possible for people who have divorced and remarried without receiving an annulment to receive communion in the church cardinal casper went ballistic when cardinal mueller reaffirmed these basic truths he said he was quote totally horrified at mueller's statement that failing to teach the truth of the catholic faith quote is the fraud of antichrist he claimed that cardinal mueller is somehow disloyal to the pope by publishing the manifesto and that this could quote unhinge the catholic church i don't know for some reason these days people are getting unhinged when just the most basic truths of the faith are reaffirmed that the catholic church has believed for two thousand years without controversy but today these basic truths are being attacked they're being undermined which is why i wrote the book this is why i wrote the book 40 years ago called the crisis of truth but it's not just cardinal mueller here's another very prominent cardinal who some say is in the running possibly to be elected considered papably considered qualified to be pope cardinal william ike of utrecht of the netherlands he felt like we needed to take a look at what the catechism says about the final trial the church must undergo before the lord returns again and the reality of religious deception so he he quotes article 675 of the catechism of the catholic church which says the church's ultimate trial before christ's second coming the church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers the persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the mystery of iniquity in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth we're going to take a look more at what the catechism the catholic church says about the antichrist but somebody else who's spoken clearly about the reality of the antichrist recently is pope benedict xvi who went through a lengthy interview with somebody who's interviewed him for book length books in the past and this is this is what cardinal bishop excuse me pope benedict xvi said 100 years ago everybody would have considered it to be absurd to speak of a homosexual marriage today one is being excommunicated by society if one opposes it the same applies to abortion and to the creation of human beings in the laboratory so this is pope emeritus benedict the 16th he goes on modern society is in the middle of formulating an anti-christian creed and if one opposes it one is being punished by society with excommunication the fear of the spiritual power of the antichrist is then only more than natural and it really needs the help of prayers on the part of an entire diocese and of the universal church in order to resist it he's saying what we sense happening in society the anti-christian christian currents that are gaining the upper hand in many countries is causing people to think about what the church teaches about the antichrist and it's causing a certain fear could this be the antichrist working to bring together false currents in the church with evil currents in society and suppress the truth he's raising it as a very serious question he's recognizing that this fear right now in the world amongst dedicated christians about are we entering into the time of the antichrist i want to say right up right up front i don't know but let's take a look at what some of the signs are and let's take a look at what the catechism of the catholic church actually says but then also we're going to take a look at something really interesting while doing a research for the book i came across some remarkable things that archbishop fulton sheen whose cause for canonization is going on right now set about the coming work of the antichrist first let's ask ourselves what does the catechism actually teach it says before christ second coming the church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers and then the catechism cites luke chapter 18 verse 8 and matthew chapter 24 verse 13. the persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth some more scripture quotes here will unveil the mystery of iniquity in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the are we going to be able to withstand the pressure under the threat of being excommunicated from contemporary culture or being excommunicated from polite society if we hold firm to the truths of the faith in the face of this bullying in the face of this threats in the face of this persecution then it goes on to say the supreme religious deception is that of the antichrist of pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of god and of his messiah come in the flesh that spirit is definitely powerfully present today the spirit of technology will solve all our problems if we just allowed the elite to rule the world the world will be in a better place of course every time the elite has tried to rule the world it's created a hell on earth but there's elite forces right now powerful forces right now wanting to take control of the the governmental structures of the world uniting with perhaps a false religion a false accommodation a false denial of the absolute claims of christ to be the only foundation where's the world to find salvation that's happening here's the next section of the catechism the antichrist deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment the church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism especially intrinsically perverse political form of a secular messianism big words but basically saying every time we try to take into our own hands to fix the problems of the world apart from god we're going to create a deception we're going to create an illusion we're going to create a false structure that ultimately is going to end up persecuting christ in the church and ultimately going to be hell on earth for human beings a lot of times people say you know with our technology with our knowledge with the explosion of knowledge with our excellent universities the world's going to become a better and better holy place and and the more we uh eliminate those who are obstructing progress the more we are eliminating people who are standing in the way of this progress things are going to get better and better this is not what's revealed to us i think also of that third volume in the space trilogy of c.s lewis called that of strength which is so relevant today to today it is so relevant to what's happening today if you haven't read that hideous strength recently i'd recommend it anyway here's what the catechism says the church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final passover which you will follow her lord in his death and resurrection referencing revelations 19 verses 1 to 9. the kingdom will be fulfilled then not by a historic triumph of the church through a progressive ascendancy but only by god's victory over the final unleashing of evil which will cause his bride to come down from heaven unless the scripture quotes revelation god's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the last judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world uh maybe a month or so ago i did a video called two signs that will accompany uh the lord that will have to happen before the lord returns it's been one of our most popular videos i think it's over 130 000 or something like that if you haven't seen it take a look at it two two events that will happen before the lord returns and what those what scripture shows us from second second thessalonians chapter two is that the two events are a great apostasy a turning away from faith on the part of those who have faith and a removal of the restrainer on evil and how many will fall away many will be deceived by the antichrist by the appearance of a lawless one because they refuse to open their hearts to the truth in order to be saved and a spirit of deception a spirit of delusion will come upon them and it's almost like their rejection of the truth becomes a darkness that descends upon them the consequence of the rejection of the truth is a darkness that makes them susceptible to the horrible deception of the evil one and final damnation so this is serious business and that's why i'm talking about it now let's talk now about archbishop sheen's insight into the antichrist way back in 1947 venerable archbishop sheen began to talk about what he saw happening but he he reminded us that the devil will not look like a comic book devil but will be disguised as a great humanitarian now a 2011 center for research on the apostolate study found that 83 of catholics thought that the devil was only a symbol it doesn't happen when things like that are also being said in rome from time to time although to pope francis's credit he's talked about the reality of the devil more than any pope in recent memory here's what archbishop sheen writes the antichrist will write books on the new idea of god to suit the way people live induce faith in astrology so as to make not the will but the stars responsible for sins he'll explain guilt away psychologically as inhibited eroticism make men shrink in shame if their fellow men say they are not broad-minded and liberal boy is that ever powerful today he will be so broad-minded as to identify tolerance with indifference to right and wrong truth and error he will spread the lie that men will never be better until they make society better this is the whole focus on if we could just fix the structures of sin we'd have heaven on earth if you don't if you don't fix sin in the heart you can never stop structures of sin from being reproduced time and time again yes we should be concerned about structures of sin we should be concerned about the social teaching of the church we should be certain about as much as in a power we can make this world a better place to be but that's not the primary mission of the church that's not the primary mission of the church one of my concerns about what's happening in rome today like like the amazon synod and various documents that are being published is that so much emphasis is being placed on creating a new humanism uh aligning with the united nations and with other world religions to to care for the environment to combat global warming that those things are good in themselves but when they're being emphasized like they are today they're overshadowing the primary mission of the church so many people are getting the impression that these personal things about personal repentance and personal holiness aren't where the action is the action isn't you know working for political and social change and uh what kind of change what's our criteria for the change you know we hear slogans hope and change well what kind of change what kind of hope what are we really hoping for are we hoping for uh the absolute claims of christ to be shut off to the side so that world religions can come together working with international aid organizations and in the united nations to kind of take control the governments of the world and make one world government people there are people explicitly advocating for that i do talk about it in my book let's go on with archbishop machines amazing insights into how the antichrist will work he will spread the lie that men will men will never be better until they make society better he will foster more divorces on the disguise that another partner is vital he will increase love for love and decrease love for actual persons he will vote he will invoke religion to destroy religion he will even speak of christ and say that he was the greatest man who ever lived his mission he will say will be to liberate men from the servitudes of superstition and fascism oh my goodness where where is this all happening today like where everybody's being called a fascist who kind of wants to resist the socialist revolution that's filled with hatred and and well anyway that's that's another topic but we're we're there right now with this kind of stuff but in the midst of all his seeming love oh he will his mission he will say will be to deliberate men from the servitudes of superstition and fascism which you will never define yes these these terms are being tossed around and people are being called names but there's no definition there's no definition given it's just scare words you know making people scared uh making people hate but in the midst of in the midst of all his seeming love for humanity and his glib talk of freedom and equality marsha sheen concludes he will have one great secret which he will tell to no one he will not believe in god archbishop sheen continues commenting how the three temptations of christ in the desert will be repeated for the church today and for individual catholics the temptation to turn stones into bread as an earthly messiah will become the temptation to sell freedom for security as bread became a political weapon only those who think his way may eat we saw this in the soviet union we saw people who opposed the communist totalitarian takeover and destruction of religion thousands and thousands of monks and priests were slaughtered monasteries and churches closed down but then then there were the cowardly bishops who kind of cooperated with the government and we've seen that time and time again in church history cowardly bishops who don't believe in god maybe who are afraid who are more concerned about themselves than denying himself and dying and for the sake of jesus have gone over to support hostile governments like in the french revolution like in uh henry the eight's persecution of the church where almost all the bishops went over to henry viii and broke with the one true holy catholic church it can happen again the antichrist wants no proclamation of immutable principles from the lofty heights of a church but mass organization through propaganda the antichrist wants opinions not truths commentators not teachers we here at renewal ministers are trying in our own poor way to pass on what we've received from the lord what we've received from the apostles what the church has always taught what we find in the catechism of the catholic church we're trying not to add or take away anything that's been revealed to us it's so important today if we're not going to be deceived that we know the word of god that we know what the church teaches truly and really in the catechism of the catholic church the antichrist will prefer gallup polls not principles nature and not grace and to these golden calves will men toss themselves from their christ to have a new religion without a cross a liturgy without a world to come the city of man without a city of god or politics which is a religion it reminds me of that line of scripture that the day's going to come when people are going to hold to the form of religion but deny its power people are going to hold on to the rituals of the church the outward form of the sacraments of the church even the prayers of the church and the creeds of the church but not really believe them and use them as a way of lulling people into the deception of the antichrist the antichrist breaks down all national boundaries laughs down patriotism dispenses men from piety to country so they only become members of a revolutionary class today the archbishop might add to his description of those under the spiritual influence of the antichrist the revolutionary class silicon valley and the global elite archbishop sheen for sore people lonely and desperate but not wanting to humble themselves and adore the one true god flocked to accept the counter church that promises to unite people in a world brotherhood and give meaning to their lives that they once found in the true church quote only those who live by faith really know what's happening in the world the great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive processes going on from now on the struggle will be for the souls of men this is back in 1947 he already saw it happening it has so advanced that it's really vying right now for control of the world he saw a great division taking place people dividing into two different religions as absolutes the god who became man and the man who makes himself god brothers in christ and comrades and antichrists this is serious stuff pope benedict says it's scary stuff and he understands that people are scared by what's happening how are we going to handle the situation we're facing how do we how are we going to handle the possibility that we could be seeing a tremendous work of the evil one a tremendous plan of satan to actually excommunicate true disciples of jesus christ from society punish them restrict their employment opportunities restrict their educational opportunities restrict their free speech restrict freedom of religion we know right now that there are major forces in in our country united states and many other countries that are eager to suffocate freedom of religion and elevate over it their vision of a brave new world where anything goes and man becomes god and creates a hell on earth go back to second thessalonians chapter 2. who's destined to be deceived by the antichrist those who have refused to open their hearts to the truth and so be saved so brothers and sisters here's the truth jesus christ is the lord he really has been sent from heaven a man has come from heaven the word has become flesh and it's dwelling among us right now jesus christ is present today right in the midst of the church right in the midst of the confusion right in the midst of these forces that we've been taking about right in the midst of deception jesus christ is alive and he's the same yesterday today and forever and he's asking right now he locked to him in fact he uses the image he says how i would have like a mother hen would gather her chicks how i would have gathered you into my arms but you would not have it may we not be among those who would not have jesus gathering us to his sacred heart would we not be among those who refuse being gathered to mary's immaculate heart because as as mary said of fatima jesus wants devotion to the immaculate heart of mary to be established in the world hey you may not fully understand all the theology but it's what jesus wants he wants us to love him like mary loves him he wants us to know it's possible for human being to love in that kind of way and be loved in that kind of way jesus wants us this is pretty amazing if we do his will if we believe in him if we repent of our sins if we abide with him if we allow his word to abide in us he says i'm going to call you my mother my brother my sister you're going to be family to me and there's nothing in all the universe that will ever be able to take you away from me if you just stay close if you just hang out with me if you just accept my friendship if you're just loyal to me a couple weeks ago i did a video on the struggle to pray we we need to pray we need to be with the lord we need to pay attention to him we need to read his word and if we do we literally have nothing to fear even if they should kill us praise the lord to live is christ but to die is gain jesus told us the only thing we need to fear if we're his friend is sin he said if your right arm if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off if your right eye causes you to pluck it out don't fear those who can kill the body but fear only being separated from me forever in hell it's the only thing we have to fear and as we grow in the depths of our union with the lord if we grow in our our love for him and exceed receiving his love for us perfect love cast out fear and we can live even in the midst of oppression and bullying and threats the glorious freedom of the sons and daughters of god let's pray father thank you for your holy word your word made flesh your word written and transmitted to us by the holy apostles and thank you for raising up men of clarity and courage in the church today we thank you for cardinal mueller we thank you for cardinal ike we thank you for benedict the 16th we thank you for the catechism of the catholic church we thank you for all men and women faithfully who are preaching and teaching your word we thank you for all those who are not taking anything away from your word not adding anything to it but transmitting humbly and faithfully your word that will save us and deliver us and protect us from anything that ever may happen [Music] amen you

Channel: Renewal Ministries

Views: 111,977

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Keywords: Christianity, Jesus, Christ, Evangelism, Mission, Spirituality, Evangelization, Religion, Catholic, Church, God, Trinity

Id: scksme5PCU8

Length: 28min 35sec (1715 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 18 2021