"He is to be an imitation of Christ, a close, clever, and astute imitation which will deceive the world for ages, only those excepted who, taught by the Holy Spirit, shall be able to see through the disguise and detect the enemy under the mask of the friend... Antichrist translated into English is vice-christ, rendered into Greek, is Antichrist... and so, then every time the Pope claims to be the vicar of Christ, he is calling himself the Antichrist." - The Papacy is the Antichrist by Rev. J.A. Wylie, pages 2, 12-18. Edinburg: George McGibbon.

In the Smalcald articles Martin Luther singles out one particular statement of the Apostle Paul which beyond all doubt labels the pope as the antichrist:

"... the Pope raised his head above all. This teaching shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and apposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power. This is, properly speaking, to exalt himself above all that is called God, as Paul said in 2 Thess 2:4" Smallcald Art. II. art IV, 9-10.

The pope is called Vicarius Filii Dei, "the vicar of the Son of God." - Pope Gregory XIII. Papal Decretals, Dist. 96, Col 296. The title Vicarius Filii Dei is one of the main marks of the antichrist; it is the number of the beast.

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six" (Revelation 13:18). So let us count it by Roman numerals.. V equals 5; I equals 1; C equals 100; A has no numeric value; R, no value; I equals 1; U (Or V - in Latin they are the same) equals 5; S has no value; F, no value; I equals 1; L equals 50; I equals 1; I equals 1; D equals 500; E has no value; I equals 1. Add them up and you have 666. Here you have the number of that man called the pope.

No one else has ever or will ever be able to exalt himself above all that is called God more than the pope of Rome, who holds millions of people at his command and has over four hundred thousand priests as agents of his ambition. He dares to appose the Scriptures, and rejects even their central truth! He condemns justification by faith alone, which is fundamental to all, and which is the heart of the Gospel. As recorded in decrees still in effect in the Catholic church, the pope puts himself against (anti) Christ by damning and cursing those who follow the truths of sacred Scripture given by Christ.

"To submit to the Roman Pontiff, we declare, say, define, and pronounce to be absolutely necessary to every human creature to salvation." - Bull Unam Santam of Pope Boniface VIII.

If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sin for Christ's sake; or that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be accursed." - Council of Trent Can. 9, 12.

But the Holy Bible says:

"The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Jesuits, a militant religious order of priests instituted during the Reformation to 'protect' the Church of Rome against Bible-believing Christians, were the first ones to introduce a new theory in order to divert men's minds from perceiving the fulfillment of the prophecies of the antichrist in the Catholic church. The Jesuit Ribera, about A.D. 1580, brought out the futuristic system, which asserts that the antichrist is yet to appear and will be a supernatural individual. Those among Protestants who advocate the futuristic system are playing into the hands of Rome. The identification of the pope as the antichrist may not be easy for people to grasp, perhaps because they never served the pope or they have only seen and heard what the Vatican wanted them to see and hear. His imitation of Christ is so deceptive that you need a knowledge of history and scripture along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit to see through his disguise and detect the enemy of Christ under the mask of this so-called 'holy father'.

By the grace of God, the fathers of the Reformation and millions of saved Roman Catholics left the pope to follow Christ, even if it meant the torments of the papal inquisition or tribulations caused by priests, friends, and relatives. One is Christ and the other is the antichrist. The pope may sincerely believe that he is serving God but he has only to study the Scriptures to determine that he is pitifully deceived.

There can only be one head of the Church on earth or in heaven and that head is Christ, the chief cornerstone, the rock on which the true Church is built [see 1 Corinthians 10:4]. He is a jealous God and will not share his glory with any pope or any other sinner who needs a Saviour.

Dear friend, even the Roman Catholic Bible says: "He who rejects me [Christ] and does not accept my words, has one to condemn him. The word that I have spoken will condemn him on the last day" (John 12:48). "Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Repent of your sins and turn to Christ, the only Saviour, while there is still time, while your heart is still beating, while you have a concern for the destiny of your immortal soul.