I think we have to make an important distinction. Pagan Rome of the first century is much different than Christian Rome (Catholic Church).... Pagan Rome tried to squash and kill Christianity, while Christian Rome embraced it. It was a massive conversion and perhaps one of the most important historical moments in Christian history. It is quite likely that Revelation is speaking about Rome, but it is speaking about ancient Pagan Rome.
I would like to stress that this study does not represent the opinion of a cerain denomination but my own belief based on the biblical truth.
Probably EVERY Denomination has some Doctrinal Errors BUT They ALL Complete each others in HARMONY because Jesus's Church is ONE and UNIVERSAL !
But when There is an Accusation Then We must study God's word to Know the TRUTH about it.!!
Now Let's Continue our Study Together
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1) Persecuting The Apostles and Prophets
When the Whore falls we read,
"Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you....In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth" ( Rev 18:20, 24).
This shows that the Whore persecuted not just Christians, but apostles and prophets. Apostles existed only in the first century, since one of the requirements for being an apostle was seeing the risen Christ (1 Cor. 9:1)..This proves that we are talking here about Pagan Rome and not Catholic Church (Christian Rome)!.
And For The Persecutions that Happened throughout History by the Early Catholic Church against the Protestant Reformation...We can't deny this Fact
Most certainly there have been some BAD POPES throughout history. Some Believers will point to this as proof that the Catholic Church is Pagan. Even Jesus chose a bad disciple, Judas. We don't say "Hey Jesus can't be the Saviour, he was pagan because he had a bad disciple." Of the first apostles, 11 out of twelve deserted him in Gethsemane .. Why would we think the Church would be spared from bad people if Jesus' original 12 yielded to the attacks of the devil.
Yet, The 11 disciples were not Bad like Judas !!...They became GREAT Apostles !.
Who doesn't sin ?! . Bible says "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
SO DON'T BE DECIEVED !!!.
We ALL come short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:23)
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2) The Seven Heads
Continuing in Revelation, the angel begins to explain to John the woman's symbolism: "This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while" (Rev.17:9-10).
This passage gives us one reason why the Catholic Church cannot be the Whore. We are told that the heads "are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come." If five of these kings had fallen in John's day and one of them was still in existence, then the Whore must have existed in John's day. Yet Christian Rome and Vatican City did not. However, pagan Rome did have a line of emperors, and the majority of commentators see this as the line of kings to which 17:10 refers. Five of these emperors are referred to as having already fallen, one as still reigning in John's time, and another yet to come. Since Jerusalem had no such line of kings in the first century, this gives us evidence that the Beast (though not the Whore) is Pagan Rome not Christian Rome (Catholic Church).
Now bring in the distinction between Pagan Rome and Vatican City-the city where the Catholic Church is headquartered. Vatican City is not built on seven hills, but only one: Vatican Hill, which is not one of the seven upon which ancient Pagan Rome was built. Those seven hills are on the east side of the Tiber river; Vatican Hill is on the west !!
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3) Clothed in Purple and Red
"and cry out: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!" (Revelation 18:16)
Purple and red are not the dominant colors of Catholic clerical vestments. White is. All priests wear white (including bishops and cardinals when they are saying Mass)-even the pope does so.
The liturgical meaning of purple and red in Catholic symbolism. Purple symbolizes repentance, and red honors the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs.
God commanded that scarlet yarn and wool be used in liturgical ceremonies (Lev. 14:4, 6, 49-52; Num. 19:6), and He commanded that the priests' vestments be made with purple and scarlet yarn .(Ex. 28:15, 33 and Ex.39:1-8)
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4) Reigns over Kings
"The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)
This passage of Revelation makes sense when it is referring to Pagan Rome but makes no sense when Christians try to associate it with modern Christian Rome. The passage says that the Whore will have power over kings. Modern Rome has no power over modern "kings", in fact there are almost no kings left in the world. Nor does the Church have power over political leaders, otherwise abortion, contraception, and pornography would not be legal in the civilized world. Revelation says that whore was the center of commerce. (Rev 18:17-19) No economist today will say that modern Rome is a leader in commerce. The US, Japan etc are. However, ancient Pagan Rome was a leader in commerce.
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