Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Greetings from Charlotte, NC! My wife, Dr. Douglas Winnail and I recently returned from an important visit to our churches and media contacts in the British Isles. Then, we flew on down to Rome. After a number of visits to important historical sites, we were in St. Peter’s Square when Pope Benedict XVI gave his Sunday “Angelus” talk and blessing. Although we could not understand most of what he said in other languages, he did at one point speak in English and stated, among other things, “Because Christ has given the church power to forgive sins, I now forgive all of your sins!”
It is incredible that a human being would claim to “forgive” the sins of all those tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square when he does not even know whether they believe in God or Christ, whether they have truly repented of their sins, or anything else?
Many skeptics throughout the world, of course, see the foolishness in this type of religious exercise. It makes them scoff and further increases their doubt and even sarcasm toward the God of the Bible. The Scriptures clearly reveal that only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7), and that we must ask God to forgive our sins (Matt. 6:12).
My friends, countless books, articles and films are now coming out to “expose” Christianity and attack the validity of the Bible. For more than three years, The Da Vinci Code has been near the top of the bestseller list. It has engendered enormous interest in whether the Bible is true or false. Many other books have picked up on the interest in The Da Vinci Code, including books about the “Gospel of Judas,” the “Gospel of Mary,” and the so-called “Lost Gospels,” etc. Now the motion picture based on The Da Vinci Code will be coming to your neighborhood theater about the time this letter arrives! It may have a huge impact on the faith of professing Christians.
A very real Satan the Devil will use all of this “silly stuff” to unsettle human beings all over the world and influence them to doubt the existence of a real God—especially the God of the Bible. Many of these books and articles now coming out are very cleverly written. Often, they contain some truth—mixed with a lot of error. Those of you who have read the Bible and believe the Bible may remember how God forbade Adam and Eve from eating of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9; 3:3). For our Creator knew how easy it is for human beings to be misled and confused—especially when wrong choices are made so appealing to the five senses by Satan the Devil!
As I have written before, The Da Vinci Code—though written not as a history but as a novel—does have a “little” truth in it here and there. But even this little bit of truth will be perverted by Satan and his misguided followers to undermine the God of the Bible. Notice the following exchange between the young heroine of The Da Vinci Code, Sophie, and the pseudo-historian, Teabing:
“‘Why would a pagan emperor choose Christianity as the official religion?’
Teabing chuckled. ‘Constantine was a very good businessman. He could see that Christianity was on the rise, and he simply backed the winning horse. Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.’
‘Transmogrification,’ Langdon said. ‘The vestiges of pagan religion in Christian symbology are undeniable. Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints. Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint for our modern images of the Virgin Mary nursing Baby Jesus. And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual—the miter, the altar, the doxology, and the communion, the act of ‘God-eating’—were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.’
Teabing groaned. ‘Don’t get a symbologist started on Christian icons. Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian God Mithras—called the Son of God and the Light of the World—was born on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days. By the way, December 25 is also the birthday of Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity’s weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Originally,’ Langdon said, ‘Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan’s veneration day of the sun.’ He paused, grinning. ‘To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god’s weekly tribute—Sunday.’” (The Da Vinci Code, pp. 232-233).
The truth is, God did allow the “pagans” to take over the name of “Christianity” from the time of Constantine on. I have written extensively about this for decades—before Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, was even born! If you wish true information from a genuinely Christian point of view, be sure to call or write us and request a copy of our eye-opening booklet, Satan’s Counterfeit Christianity. It will be sent absolutely free upon your request.
But all sincere people need to be careful not to “throw out the baby with the bathwater!” Just because “mainstream” Christianity has adopted many pagan beliefs and practices and has rejected the Ten Commandments—including the biblical seventh-day Sabbath—this does not invalidate the Bible! For the Bible itself clearly warned all who would listen that this would happen!
The Apostle Paul warned us, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” (Acts 20:29-31). As most of you subscribers already know, there are literally dozens of specific warnings in the Bible about the “take over” of professing Christianity by deceived men under the influence of Satan. And the Apostle John described Satan as an extremely powerful spirit being “who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9).
Yet, there has always been a true Church on this earth. Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades [the “grave”] shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). The true Church is described as the “body” of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) and it is to do the work of God. Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
The true Gospel—the Good News about the coming Kingdom of God soon to be set up to rule this entire earth (Rev. 11:15; 1 Cor. 6:2-3, etc.)—this Gospel is to be proclaimed as a “witness” to “all the nations.” A “witness” does not mean the act of converting the whole world! For, again, God’s Word tells us that the vast majority of human beings—even at the end of this age—are so deceived that they will directly fight Christ when He returns in all His glory! (Rev. 17:14).
However, it is important to realize that God’s inspired Word is not “disproved” by all the foolish musings of these books and articles now coming out. Rather, the rapidly increasing fulfillment of specific Bible prophecies—along with many other proofs—clearly indicates that the Holy Bible is, indeed, the divine revelation from the Creator as to the meaning and purpose of life—and that it reveals the way of life by which this purpose may be attained. My friend and colleague, Dr. Douglas Winnail, is now completing an inspiring booklet which will offer additional specific proofs as to the validity of the Bible. This booklet will be offered to you in the up coming semi-annual letter which I usually send to all our subscribers twice each year. And, incidentally, this semi-annual letter will replace the normal co-worker letter next month.
Meanwhile, this Work of the living Christ continues to move forward with increasing power. We are now pleased to announce the addition of a powerful television station in Phoenix, AZ, which will begin airing Tomorrow’s World television program on Sunday, June 4 at 10 am. This fine station, KAZT-TV, has a potential viewing audience of some 1.4 million households. So please pray for our success on this station in reaching many additional people with the Truth of Almighty God!
And let us all continue to “watch” the exciting fulfillment of biblical prophecies as Jesus instructed us (Luke 21:36). An attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities may have occurred even by the time you have received this letter! And, sadly, the “breaking” of the pride of American and British power in the Mideast and all over the world continues just as we have specifically predicted for decades. Before the darkness falls, let us all who understand become fully involved in preaching the real message of God to this dying world.
With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith