6 signs of a cult

If I may, I would like to better define the lines between a Christian church and an actual cult. All too often the word cult is addressed to people that believe in the second coming, trust the Bible, or just plain home school their children. What amazes me is how often it is the Catholic church that labels people with the title cult, when they themselves sport all the earmarks of a cult. This is an ancient technique designed to hide the truth in plain sight.

When the commandment keeping, prophecy understanding children of God came out of hiding about 200 years ago, the Roman church with their many millions of members decided they should be immediately tagged a cult. Reason being, not only were these Christians embracing the Law of God as a fruit of true Christianity, they also had an uncanny ability to match prophetic facts with historic documentation. Rome of course didn’t like that one bit. They feared their message because they were the ones being unmasked. Every prophecy that has ever been uttered in Scripture regarding Antichrist was now being uncovered and explained using un-refutable evidence. The finger was pointing directly at the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Thousands of years of History had now afforded these Christians with ample evidence that was readily available. To lend credence to their message, the Bible itself was now being printed for the common man allowing him to verify all that was being said. No more did the

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have the ability to burn the bibles and translate them into the dead Latin language. The prophetic fulfillment of the Bible’s ability to witness absolute truth has allowed almost anyone with a competent knowledge of history a valid method by which to identify Antichrist. Rome knew they had no way of defending itself with the Bible because it was the very book exposing them. Instead, they reared up on their heels, took a deep breath, and yelled CULT as loud as she could to try and prevent the truth from exposing them as the true and easily identified as well as prophecied Cult of ages.

Common nature has proven that the natural reaction to the mass opinion is to always go with the crowd. In other words, the mind-set had been cultivated that declares, if everyone is saying it, it must be true. Problem with that thought process is, when it comes to Scriptural facts, the crowd theology is always wrong. Case in point, the entire planet back in Noah’s day thought Noah was just some crazed lunatic building a boat on dry land. They came to the conclusion that his preaching that the end of the world was coming by a flood was not accepted by anyone with common sense.

Science has in fact proven that before this time in earth’s history, it had NEVER rained on the planet. The earth was well watered within as well as by a gentle dew each morning. No one believed Noah when he said water would come from above and flood the earth. The great firmament was still in place, the great deep was still just under the earth’s crust that was not only watering the soil and roots, it was gently warming it as well due to the close proximity of the earth’s magma. So, rain as we see today was simply not necessary. The plants had all the water they needed, the atmosphere was hyperbolic in nature. So the thought of rain, let alone clouds in the air seemed absolutely insane to the majority. Did their adamant disbelief somehow stop the now scientifically proven global flood from coming? No it did not. Scientists have not only proven a global flood occurred. They have also found pillow lava that can only form under water, as well as large salt formations on most mountains, including Mt. Ararat. Not to mention the actual petrified ark of Noah that has been probed, flown over and even photographed over the years. In fact…

· In 1916 during World War I, Russian pilot Lt. Zabalotski photographed the ark while on a reconnaissance mission

· In 1944 a photo of the ark appeared in an issue of the “Stars & Stripes” publication of the

military

· And Ron Bennet, UPI White House photographer, during the Carter administration was on board Air Force One, while on an escorted flight over Mt. Ararat. He was told along with everyone else on board to look out their windows and see for themselves NOAH’S ARK!

That ark is there, and there was a global flood. We now know this. The majority in Noah’s day stated Noah was wrong. The majority, or shall I say, the entire planet figured since everyone else thought Noah was mistaken in his prophetic declarations, he must be wrong. How can the whole planet be wrong they thought? How can this one man, and his small family be the only true followers of God?

Well, it’s no different today! When the commandment keeping and prophecy understanding child of God came out of hiding directly after Rome paused killing the Christians, they started to proclaim prophetic facts that angered the dragon. Satan knew his methods of deception, and crowd theology worked real well in Noah’s day. As the saying goes, if it works don’t fix it, right? So, the Devil prodded the prelates of Rome to proclaim the true Christians to be a cult simply because they didn’t go along with the new majority, which is of course the hundreds of millions of Catholics that were taught to blindly accept what their leaders said as truth. These peculiar people that are keeping what the

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called the “Jewish Sabbath,” had to be a cult. Look at how strange they are Rome said! They don’t go to church in Sunday like we do! They don’t embrace the doctrines that we do! They don’t believe our Pope is holy like we do! So they must be a cult.

Problem with this lie of Rome was, there will always be people out there that will open their bibles to verify the Truth. They are called the elect. According to Matthew 24:24, the elect can not be deceived.

So.. how can we tell the difference between a cult and a Christian church? Finding a Christian church is rather easy. It’s one that will adhere to the Christian God’s Bible as the sole authority. I have a page on the site, called “Remnant Christian Fruits” in the “Bible Truths” section of the website that lays out 8 of the major biblical teachings that we can use to identify the true remnant church, or Bride of Christ in the last days. If we were to look for this church we must not settle for just any church. We must make sure it is exactly as the Word of God describes it to be. It won’t step off that platform of Truth no matter what the cost.

A cult on the other hand ignores the written Word of God in key areas. They will twist Scripture to their end but leave just enough truth to appear as a church. Looking closer, we find they don’t rely on Scripture at all. In fact they rely on what Jesus refers to as doctrines of demons and traditions of man over and above the Scripture. Here is the key we will use in our investigation.

One more thing is the cult will always seek to go against biblical jurisprudence, or actual Christian truths as is found in the Bible. All one needs to do in this respect is to look at the church in question, investigate its doctrines and teachings to do as the Berean’s of Acts chapter 17 did. We must see what they have to preach, and then open a Bible to see if those things are so.

So.. let’s do that with Roman Catholicism shall we? Does it stand up to the acid test of truth? Do they go by a simple whatsoever saith the Lord? The

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does claim to be a Christian church does it not? So let’s see if that is so? If they are a Christian church, then they won’t have a problem with the Christian Bible.

Biblical jurisprudence is defined by Isaiah when he says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20) Bringing a Bible into the mix is an absolute necessity when a church proclaims to be Christian, yet has fruit that says otherwise. You can use a Bible to expose non-Christian faiths as well of course, but not as effectively as you can with so called followers of Christ because Muslims, Buddhists, or even Zoroastrian nuns don’t accept him as Lord. So when you walk up to them with a Bible they don’t understand that book as truth. They ignore it. In that respect the Bible is only effective to the believer that holds it. But as I said earlier, Rome claims Christ as Lord. So the Bible will have to be the method by which she must be tested! Isaiah made that very clear.

In my research over the years I have found many signs of cultic activity in many churches. Of course there are far too many of these signs to mention. So I will concentrate on what I like to refer to as the SIX MAJOR SIGNS OF A CULT. If the church you are investigating has more then one of these, there is a good chance this is a church that has stepped off the platform of truth and should be avoided at all cost. But if they have ALL SIX, then this is most assuredly a bonafide, died in the wool actual cult we are dealing with.

Every cult has a single powerful human leader. In fact, all cult leaders will proclaim themselves a god on earth. Do you recall Jim Jones? or Charles Manson? They both proclaimed themselves to be Jesus Christ. Did you know the Pope does this as well? Listen to what the Pope's of Rome have to say in that regard.

"The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Christ himself, hidden under the veil of flesh." Catholic National July 1895.

"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty" ...Pope Leo XIII Encyclical Letter of June 20, 1894,

"For thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician, thou art the director, thou art the husbandman, finally thou art another God on earth." Labbe and Cossart's "History of the Councils." Vol. XIV, col. 109

The title "Lord God the Pope" is found within a gloss of Extravagantes of Pope John XXII, title 14, chapter 4, In an Antwerp edition of the Extravagantes, the words, "Dominum Deum Nostrum Papam" (Our Lord God the Pope) can be found in column 153. In a Paris edition, they are found in column 140.

"The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land . . . He is the vicegerent of Christ, and is not only a priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords"--La Civilta Cattolica, March 18, 1871.

"It seems that Pope John Paul II now presides over the universal Church from his place upon Christ's cross," said Bishop Dunn, who traveled with seven other prelates to Rome. Taken from an article entitled, "Auckland Bishop Says Pope Presides From the Cross" AUCKLAND, New Zealand, SEPT. 20, 2004 -Zenit.org (Article # ZE04092001)

The cult leaders word, or teachings of the cult become absolute truth over shadowing the Word of God. In fact, ALL cult leaders declare their traditions are above the Bible. They must do this because the Bible exposes them. They need to make the Bible appear fallible so as to ingrain the thought process that makes man’s word appear superior to God’s Word. What does the Vatican say about their tradition?

"The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ. The Pope has authority and has often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ." - Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap.

"...the church is above the Bible, and the transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact" Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1,1923.

"The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the Church had changed...the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by its own authority." Canon and Tradition, p. 263

(82) As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "DOES NOT derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. BOTH SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION MUST BE ACCEPTED AND HONORED WITH EQUAL SENTIMENTS OF DEVOTION AND REVERENCE. Catechism of Catholic Doctrine Page 31

"The Scriptures indeed is a divine book but it is a dead letter, which has to be explained, and cannot exercise the action which the preacher can obtain." -Our Priesthood, p. 155

They also state that the Bible is a…

"...A dead and speechless book." -Roman Catholic booklet entitled “Question Box”, p. 67

"The doctrines of the Catholic Church are entirely independent of Holy Scripture." -Familiar Explanation of Catholic Doctrine, Rev. M. Muller, p.151.

Each cult uses force to coerce its members into submission. Most cults today will use high pressure tactics to get people to not only join them, they also resort to extreme measures to make them stay. They do this mainly because they know the loved ones of their converts would eventually reveal their hidden evil agenda to them causing them to leave the cult. Is there evidence to support the fact the Roman Catholic church tries to use force to convert people to Catholicism?

"For teaching faith contrary to the teaching of the Church of Rome, history records the martyrdom of more than 100 million people ." Brief Bible Readings p. 16 Harvest Time books

"There was no village of the Vaudois valleys but had its martyrs. The Waldenses were burned; they were cast into damp and horrid dungeons; they were smothered in crowds in mountain caverns, mothers and babes, and old men and women together; they were sent out into exile in the winter night, unclothed and unfed, to climb the snowy mountains; they were hurled over the rocks; their houses and lands were taken from them; their children were stolen to be indoctrinated with the religion which they abhorred. Rapacious individuals were sent among them to strip them of their property, to persecute and exterminate them. Thousands of heretics" or Waldenses, "old men, women and children, were hung, quartered, broken upon the wheel, or burned alive and their property confiscated for the benefit of the king, and Holy See."-Thompson - The Papacy and the Civil Power

"The Catholic Church has persecuted ... when she thinks it is good to use physical force she will use it... Will the Catholic Church give bond that she will not persecute?... The Catholic Church gives no bonds for her *good behaviour*." -Western Watchman, Dec. 24, 1908 (emphasis added)

"On August 24, 1527, Roman Catholics in France, by prearranged plan, under Jesuit influence, murdered 70,000 Protestants within the space of two months. The Pope rejoiced when he heard the news of the successful outcome."-(Roman Catholic publication) The Western Watchman, Nov.21, 1912

Foxes book of Martyrs reports Rome killed over 500 MILLION Christians during their prophecied attack on Christ and His bride.

The reason Rome killed these Christians is widely known. Even recently, (March 12, 2000) the

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admitted they did this to Christians thinking they were doing God’s will just as Jesus predicted they would think.

They thought their forceful methods would bring many into the church. It’s true, they did bring people in, but those people were weak and fearful of Rome torturous acts and they denied Christ merely to save their lives. Sadly, Jesus said in Luke 17:33, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Many went to Christ-less graves simply because they chose to do as Rome demanded over what God commanded. However, there were many that will see a better resurrection because they trusted the Jesus of the Bible and exposed the Antichrist of Rome all the way to their graves.

And by the way, for those of you that think it’s impossible for Rome to kill 500 million Christians during its 1260 year prophecied reign. Which was from 538ad to 1798ad. Let’s do the math shall we? If they only killed HALF of the 70,000 as that article said they killed every two months, that would actually equate to, Rome killing only 210,000 Christians each year. Or, 2,100,000 every 10 years, or 210,000.000 every 100 years. But history proves, and Rome admitted, to killing for 1260 years. So, if we are gentle in our math and state Rome killed only 210,000 a year, even though they admitted to killing twice that already in writing. That would equate to them easily killing well over 2,520,000.000 innocent people over the course of 1260 years. And that’s not counting those they killed spiritually. So, the next time someone shows you historic evidence that Rome killed a mere 500 Million during their 1260 year first prophecied reign, it will seem a bit more easy to believe now won’t it?

Each cult leader will teach a Jesus that is not found in the Scriptures. Like Jim Jones, or Charles Manson, their version of "Jesus" was light-years from the true Jesus of the Bible. Do we see a different Jesus in the Roman Catholic church as well? Do they really preach the Jesus of the Bible in Rome?

A Cult will teach a Gospel of good works in place of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, like Jim Jones, Charles Manson, and even some of the more "gentle" cults of today. Their leaders always taught that you must work your way to Heaven. Jim Jones declared the Kool-Aid a work that will “set them free.” Charles Manson declared murder their good works. Of course, some cults will use works of murder and mayhem, while still there are others that use good works as their requirement. Does the Catholic church teach you can gain Heaven by what you do instead of what Jesus did?

The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance. What is an indulgence? "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints." "An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin." Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead. The Catechism of the Catholic church says: (Indulgences/good works) Item# 1471 Page 411

An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity. Ibid Item# 1478 Page 413

Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted. Ibid Item# 1479 Page 413

(NOTE: They do not mention Indulgences are received by BUYING THEM here.)

Cults often urge their converts to leave their families. This is a common feature wherein the cult leaders force their converts away from families to prevent them from learning the truth about the cult they are now a member of. All too often some governments actually step in to break up such "communes" because of what has been happening lately. Their reasoning for doing this has to do with the mass suicides many of these cults are known for. I recall back in the 70’s how cults were the focus of many interventions. A family member or friend would be lured away by some cult member. Once there, they are brainwashed, and taught everyone outside the cult are evil and hell-bent on their destruction. So, friends or family, and often both would abduct the loved one back from the cult and bring them to a neutral location where they try to bring them back to reality. In these interventions they would attempt to re-educate, or un-wash their brains during a long series of conversations with loved ones. This was usually done by a cult specialist that would come in and show the affected loved one how the cult had twisted numerous Bible verses to get them to believe their lies over actual truth. It would usually take several days to even weeks in some cases to get the loved one to realize the truth.

Does the Roman Catholic church have a communal structure? Do they house some of their converts so as to keep them away from their family members? This is the easiest of all cultic evidences to expose. The Roman Catholic church is infamous for its Rectories, Convents, and Monasteries

Rectory:
Is a Place were only male priests live permanently away from their family.

Convent:
Is a Place were nuns permanently live away from their family. Cloistered nuns rarely see strangers, let alone family.

Monasteries
Is a place where monks are housed away from society as well as their families and oftentimes in complete silence.

It states... "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Revelation 18:1-5, "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."

Besides the largest and most dangerous cult. The Roman Catholic Church. There are other cults out there as we all well know. One in particular I would like to bring to your attention. It is attacking the SDA church from within its ranks as did the Roman Catholic church so long ago. They disguise themselves as Sabbath keeping Christians with a strange twist on the Scriptures. It is the Yahweh and Yeshua movement that I like to refer to as the YAHcult.

Please understand, not everyone that embraces the biblical name of God are of this YAHcult. The major keys to watch for are they insist you will burn in Hell if you use any other name for God or His Son, and most of them also push the Feast Days as an absolute requirement to gain Heaven.