Dear praying friends,

As mentioned in my last 2 newsletters I have been giving serious thought to the future strategy and functioning of ‘Take Heed’ in the light of a number of relevant factors. As promised I am enclosing herewith a further ‘personal letter’ that sets out my settled line of thought on these issues – a line that I trust will still enable me to serve the Lord and His people to the glory of His name.

In particular for those without computers can I draw attention to the short letter that needs to be returned to me requesting inclusion in a new mailing list being drawn up to enable me to send out an annual ‘review’ letter.

Returning to this present newsletter, as you will see, all but the last page has been devoted to an exposure of the ever present challenge posed by The Papacy to the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. As you receive this newsletter, the UK will be on the brink of a visit by the present Pope, Benedict XVI. In the 19th century Bishop J C Ryle wrote ‘We are in imminent peril of re-union with Rome’ – considering the spiritual state of the nation I think the ‘imminent peril’ could be described more as a ‘take-over by’ rather than a ‘re-union with’ Rome. May ‘the candle’ for truth, lit by the martyr Hugh Latimer, shine brightly in these days.

Your servant for Christ

CECIL ANDREWS

• Papal Pretensions

Normally when a Papal visit takes place it has all the appearance of a well-oiled machine running very smoothly. Meticulous planning and overwhelming acceptance usually appear to be the order of the day. However, the Papal visit to the UK planned for 16th-19th September 2010 appears to have encountered a number of planning difficulties and certainly lacks overwhelming acceptance even to the point where a petition was launched on the Prime Ministerial Downing Street web site calling for the UK government not to use taxpayers money to substantially part-fund this Papal visit.

According to a short article in the Daily Express of 6th July ‘The Pope’s first UK visit in nearly 30 years could cost taxpayers up to £12 million as it emerged yesterday that the budget has spiralled by half… up to £4 million would need to be added to the £8 million government contribution’. Radio Ulster presenter, William Crawley posted the following on his ‘blog’ on 16th July –

‘A 10 Downing Street petition critical of the Pope has been removed by Whitehall officials more than three months before it was due to close. During the short period it was online, the petition gathered 12,339 signatures’.

Part of the text of the petition read as follows –

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to disassociate the British government from the Pope’s intolerant views ahead of the Papal visit to Britain in September 2010… We also request the Prime Minister to assure us that the Pope’s visit will not be financed by the British taxpayer.”

This ‘blog’ posting attracted many comments and the following is particularly revealing of the reaction of many to what happened

‘This seems like a serious attack on the democratic process to me. A lot of important issues are raised in the petition which the Government should deal with. What is the point of the government allowing only petitions with which it agrees to run their proper course? This attempt by the Government to silence the voice of Papal critics could swell the numbers of those who will protest against the Pope’s visit.

In addition to a clear lack of overwhelming acceptance by the public to the visit the planning for the visit has also been very far from smooth and in attempt to ‘get the act together’ Chris Patten, former MP and a staunch Roman Catholic was drafted in to help with the arrangements. The Daily Telegraph reported as follows on 4th June 2010 –

‘The former Governor of Hong Kong and European Commissioner, who is now Chancellor of Oxford University, will work with teams from the Roman Catholic church and the Cabinet Office. As a Catholic as well as an experienced diplomat, ministers believe he will be able to get the first ever papal state visit to Britain back on track following a series of setbacks. One church insider described his appointment, to be confirmed by Downing Street next week, as “inspired”, adding: “He is liked by all sides and can be a bridge between the state and the church.”

Some of the difficulties for the planned trip also emerged in the course of this article –

‘It emerged this week that key aspects of the three-day tour in September could be scaled back or even cancelled if the Church cannot raise the money needed, originally estimated at £7m but now said to have doubled. The highlight of the trip was due to be the beatification of England’s most famous convert to Rome, Cardinal Newman, before 200,000 pilgrims at Coventry Airport. But it is now possible that the Mass could take place at a seminary near Birmingham in front of just 10,000. A prayer vigil was meant to take place in Hyde Park but Royal Parks said no such event has been booked’.

According to the Roman Catholic Zenit news agency (28th July) Mr Patten gave an interview with Vatican Radio on Monday 26th July during the course of which he stated –

‘I am absolutely certain that all the preparations undertaken by the government, local governments, the Episcopal conferences of Scotland and England, will make the Pope’s visit an incredible success’… He acknowledged that the preparation of the Papal visit has been more complex than expected… Patten explained that to a degree, it is almost easier to organize a visit of, for example, U.S. President Barack Obama, than a papal trip, because with state visits of presidents there aren’t the large events of 100,000 people or more at an open-air venue… He expressed the hope that the visit will “ensure, I hope, that the Catholic community and the faith communities are enabled to relate very closely to the Pope at pastoral events and interfaith events,” but that it will offer “the opportunity to demonstrate that the government of a largely non-Catholic country still has a formidably large agenda to work with the Catholic Church, many of which the government feels very strongly.”… “When we ‘parade’ the importance of this relationship we will perhaps even surprise some people who were critical of this visit in the first place,” he added… Patten pointed out that there seems to be a certain religious intolerance that “is particularly directed at the Catholic Church because of the Catholic Church’s prominence, and longevity and self-confidence in asserting some basic truths.”… Patten explained also that some criticisms are due to the costs of the Papal visit which, according to him, may cost up to £12 million… He asserted that Great Britain’s fiscal difficulties do not justify the closing of the country to the rest of the world… He noted that it should be easier to transmit messages on social justice, for example, given “the interest of the younger generation in issues of social equity.”… He said he hoped “we are able to get those messages across clearly,” and that he’s “not at all pessimistic.”

As mentioned, Chris Patten was Governor of Hong Kong and he personally oversaw the handing back of that former British Colony to Chinese rule and control – I wonder does he secretly hope that this latest appointment may play a major role in The Vatican’s hope’s to ‘recapture’ their control of England that was lost in the wake of The Reformation?

In his June ministry newsletter entitled ‘Papacy Set to Recapture England’ former Roman Catholic priest, Richard Bennett, based in Texas, wrote –

‘However, while Henry VIII broke with Papal Rome politically, he personally never got beyond Roman Catholic doctrine. Nevertheless he came to see that he could use the growing Reformation movement for his own political ends… Ever since Henry’s severance of English servitude to the Pope, the Vatican has been intent to undermine the religious and political influence of the Church of England and its monarch. The proposed September 2010 Papal visit to the UK is no exception to this centuries-long Vatican policy. By choosing to elevate John Henry Newman in a thoroughly Roman Catholic ecclesiastical event at this particular time, Benedict is mounting an offensive to demonstrate visibly to the world that the UK is being brought back under Roman Catholic bondage… 477 years after Henry VIII opened the primary conflict, comes the Pope officially as the head of a sovereign civil state, the Holy See… But equally important he comes as head of the Roman Catholic Church in order to re-establish Roman Catholicism as the religion of the UK… It is also highly significant that the visit is to be exactly 450 years since Catholicism, as the state religion, and the Pope’s authority were formally removed from Scotland (The Pope is scheduled to spend most of the first day of his visit in Scotland) Thus the Scottish 450th anniversary of abolishing Papal authority in their realm will be dishonoured by a Pope reminding Britain of its “Catholic roots”… Benedict XVI, a skillful politician, understands that England lost its sovereign status in December 2009 when the Treaty of Lisbon went into effect. Little wonder then that the second stage of the “beatification” of Newman has had to wait until now… In the meantime, the Lord’s people need not be deceived by the enticing spectacle that is to be paraded before the world in September 2010.’

The full text of Richard’s article can be accessed via his web site on http://www.bereanbeacon.org/

In the local UK context, thankfully as well as ‘secular’ opposition there has also been ‘spiritual’ opposition. The United Protestant Council is I understand planning to hold public protests in both Edinburgh and London and the Spirit of ’88 a London protest. The Protestant Reformation Society is holding a 3-day conference on ‘The Papacy Today’ at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford from 24th-26th August [DV] with at least 7 speakers scheduled to make contributions.

Here in Northern Ireland both the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Free Presbyterian Church have issued very good statements outlining their positions in response to the planned Papal visit.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church statement said in part – ‘We must express our dismay and sorrow at the proposed visit of Pope Benedict to the UK. We regard his claim to be the Vicar of Christ on earth as false and eternally ruinous to those who are deceived by it and who put their trust in it. We hold no ill will to the Roman Catholic community. On the contrary, we desire their highest and everlasting good… We consider the proposed visit to be a further instance of the UK turning from the true Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ’

The Free Presbyterian Church statement said in part – ‘As Reformed Evangelical Protestants we totally reject the arrogant and more importantly unscriptural titles and claims of the Pope. Those claims, historically viewed as blasphemous by Protestant churches, mean that his visit cannot be construed as simply pastoral. We publicly disassociate ourselves from and condemn those church leaders who will welcome and meet with him… Our supreme aim and overriding concern is to exalt the Only King and Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. We will therefore, at this time, call all people to a personal faith in the Saviour as the Only Mediator between God and men’

Both of these statements made reference to ‘lofty claims’ made for and by the Pope and this brings me to the title of this article – ‘Papal Pretensions’ for ‘Pretensions’ are quite simply, according to Collins English Dictionary, ‘false claims to merit, worth or importance’.

To try and illustrate my own opposition to these ‘Papal Pretensions’ I want to refer to a debate that I personally took part in back in 1998. It was held in Fresno, California and I partnered my friend, ex Roman Catholic, Rob Zins, in 2 debates with 2 supposed former evangelicals who had converted to Rome.

The first debate centred on part of the wording of Paragraph 882 of the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church. The salient portion of that paragraph for the debate purpose reads as follows ‘the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as Pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered’.

Needless to say both Rob and I stood opposed to the wording of this paragraph and I want now to set out some extracts from what I said in that debate as I publicly rejected these ‘Papal Pretensions’.

‘In the proposal that is being considered tonight two specific claims are made. One relates to a position within the Church and the other relates to a power over the Church. At the outset I want to declare my outright rejection of this proposal and the claims contained therein… I want to bring before you 2 things that the Scriptures PROHIBIT and 2 things that the Scriptures PREDICT.

Firstly – The Scriptures prohibit ‘The THOUGHT of the Papacy’ What I mean by my use of the word ‘thought’ is the idea or concept of The Papacy. The Scriptures on two counts reject the ‘thought’ of the Papacy. The Scriptures reject firstly THE PARTICULAR PRIESTHOOD that Rome claims is according to paragraph 1594 of the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH – “under the authority of the Pope, successor of Peter.”

In his magazine ‘The Sword and The Trowel’ of April 1867 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, under the heading ‘Search the Scriptures’ made the following points based on the teachings of the Scriptures

1. No person in the Christian church, whether he be an apostle, an elder, or an evangelist, is ever spoken of in the New Testament as a PRIEST; nor do we find the most distant allusion to the appointment of an order of PRIESTHOOD – I AGREE!

2. For the work of the ministry, Christ “gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” [Ephesians 4:11] but never do we read of his giving PRIESTS – I AGREE!

3. The Apostle wrote Timothy and Titus particular directions relative to the appointment of bishops, deacons, etc; but no mention is made of PRIESTS – I AGREE!

4. The Scriptures distinctly teach that all believers, by virtue of their union with the Lord Jesus Christ, are made KINGS and PRIESTS unto God, a holy and a royal priesthood, “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” [1st Peter 2:5&9; Revelation 1:6]– I AGREE!

5. It clearly follows that a humanly-appointed order of priesthood is a deceptive invention of man, and directly opposed to the teaching of Holy Scripture – I AGREE!

… Then secondly, the Scriptures reject THE PAPAL POWER ascribed by Rome in her Catechism to the Pope who is supposedly the successor of Peter.

When several of the disciples were debating about which one of them would be the greatest, as we read in Mark 9:34, we find the Lord Himself saying “If ANY MAN desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all” and to emphasise the contrast between what the world considers greatness to be and what God considers greatness to be the Lord sets it out in the next chapter – Mark 10:42-45 “ Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so SHALL IT NOT be among you: but whosoever will Be GREAT AMONG YOU, shall be your minister; And whosoever of you will be CHIEFEST, shall be SERVANT of all: For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many”. The very idea of one disciple ruling over all others as happened in the Gentile world was totally rejected by no less a person than the Lord Himself and He cited His earthly life and behaviour as a pattern to be copied.

When a delegation needed to be sent to Samaria we learn from Acts 8:14 that Peter AND John were chosen to go together and we learn from verses 15-17 that they ministered jointly – neither of them took a lead over the other… At the Council of Jerusalem recorded for us in Acts 15, Peter is simply one of a number of contributors and when the Council had ended, a statement was issued on behalf of everyone and not on the authority of one individual – it was a joint communiqué and not a ‘Papal bull.’

Peter in his own epistles never alluded to possessing the position and power which Rome has accredited to him and indeed his writings exude an aroma of apostolic humility such as we find in 2nd Peter 3:2 “be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of US the APOSTLES of the Lord and saviour” (and) 1st Peter 5:2-3 “feed the flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof…neither as being lords over God’s heritage”. The Scriptures, by their rejection of the Roman Catholic allegiance to a PARTICULAR PRIESTHOOD and to PAPAL POWER, clearly PROHIBIT ‘The THOUGHT of the Papacy.

Secondly – The Scriptures prohibit ‘The TITLES Of The Papacy’. As we come to consider this point let me begin by quoting Isaiah 42:8 where God Himself says “I am the Lord; that is MY name: and MY glory will I NOT GIVE to another, neither MY praise to graven images.”

… Only once in the Scriptures is the expression “Holy Father” used and it falls from the lips of the blessed Son of God as He prays to His Father in His great High-Priestly prayer of John 17:11… I have no doubt in my mind that the God of Heaven is OUTRAGED by this abuse of a TITLE which belongs exclusively within the realms of HIS NAME. The Papacy has sinfully dared to appropriate to itself a TITLE that belongs ALONE to GOD THE FATHER.

In 1st Timothy 2:5 the Apostle Paul declares unambiguously that “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” – the ONLY ONE who can bridge the chasm separating man from God is the Lord Jesus Christ and YET, another TITLE claimed by the Pope is ‘PONTIFEX MAXIMUS’ meaning ‘the supreme bridge-builder.’

… Referring again to the proposal before you tonight we find that this UNSCRIPTURAL ROMAN PONTIFF is referred to as holding the office of VICAR OF CHRIST… The word VICAR means ‘a personally appointed substitute or representative.’ THE SCRIPTURES teach that GOD has his own ‘personally appointed substitute and representative’ and he most certainly IS NOT THE POPE IN ROME! God’s ‘personally appointed substitute and representative’ on earth today is GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Lord Jesus Christ promised the coming after His departure of “the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. HE SHALL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS” [John 14:26]. This promise of God’s personal presence through the coming of the Holy Spirit, after the ascension of Christ, is repeated a number of times such as John 15:26 and John 16:7-15. It is clear that the Papacy has adorned itself with a TITLE that belongs ALONE to GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT and overall the entire Triune Godhead has fallen victim to the Scripture-contradicting ego of this Scripture defying dynasty.

… Taken overall, the TITLES assumed by the Papacy elevate the holder of the office to a level equal to ALMIGHTY GOD… The Scriptures prohibit ‘The THOUGHT of the Papacy’ and the Scriptures prohibit ‘The TITLES of the Papacy’.

Moving on now I want to bring before you 2 things that the Scriptures PREDICT. Firstly – The Scriptures predict ‘The TEACHING of the Papacy’. In John chapter 10:1 the Lord Himself makes this statement – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” Consistently over many centuries The TEACHING of the Papacy has served to place the Papacy in the role predicted by the Saviour in the verse I have just quoted – in the light of the truth of the Scriptures, the Papacy by its TEACHING has shown itself clearly to be “a thief and a robber”. The One Who has been robbed most and suffered the greatest loss through the TEACHING of the Papacy is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

The Scriptures teach that CHRIST ALONE was ‘immaculately conceived’ without sin… Not only do the Scriptures teach that CHRIST ALONE was ‘immaculately conceived’ but the Scriptures also teach that CHRIST ALONE was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” [Hebrews 7:26]

However, with full Papal backing as we have already heard, the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, teaches in paragraph 493 ‘By the grace of God MARY remained FREE OF EVERY PERSONAL SIN HER WHOLE LIFE LONG’… unscriptural ROBBERY has just been carried out on the GLORIOUS PERSON of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Papacy, by its TEACHING that we have just considered has effectively ROBBED CHRIST OF HIS UNIQUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The New Testament Scriptures teach clearly that CHRIST ALONE is the only REDEEMER and a good example is found in 1st Peter 1:18-19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, But with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”. These verses teach that CHRIST ALONE is the UNIQUE SINLESS REDEEMER and that CHRIST’S BLOOD ALONE was the UNIQUE ACCEPTED SACRIFICE. However as we examine various teachings emanating from the Papacy we find that once more Christ has fallen victim to their expertise in asset or attribute stripping.

Pope Benedict XV wrote in the early part of this century ‘Mary suffered and as it were nearly died with her suffering Son… so we may well say that SHE WITH CHRIST REDEEMED MANKIND’…

The present (1998) Pope John Paul 2nd wrote in Salvifici Doloris ‘It was on Calvary that MARY’S SUFFERING, BESIDE THE SUFFERING OF JESUS… was mysteriously and supernaturally fruitful for the REDEMPTION OF THE WORLD’

The Papacy by its TEACHING has not only robbed CHRIST of HIS UNIQUE RIGHTEOUSNESS but it has also robbed CHRIST of HIS UNIQUE REDEMPTION

Not content with robbing CHRIST of the unique attributes displayed by Him during HIS RIGHTEOUS WALK and HIS REDEMPTIVE WORK whilst here on earth the Papacy by its TEACHING also robs Christ of HIS present HEAVENLY WORK. Paragraph 969 of the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH says in part – ‘Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of ADVOCATE, Helper, Benefactress and MEDIATRIX’. Earlier I dealt with the Scriptural truth that CHRIST ALONE is the ONLY MEDIATOR between God and men so there is NO ROOM FOR A MEDIATRIX despite paragraph 969.

What about the teaching in this same paragraph 969 of MARY as ADVOCATE? Yet again the Scriptures totally reject this teaching for in 1st John 2:1 we read – “My little children, these things I write unto you that ye sin not. AND IF ANY MAN SIN WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS”. CHRIST, on the grounds of HIS UNIQUE RIGHTEOUSNESS, is accepted by God THE FATHER, as the UNIQUE ADVOCATE on behalf of HIS REDEEMED PEOPLE.

The Scriptures in John chapter 10:1 predicted the coming of robbers and thieves and the TEACHINGS of the Papacy confirm it solidly in these roles as over the centuries it has progressively robbed Christ of HIS UNIQUE RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS UNIQUE REDEMPTION and HIS UNIQUE ROLES.

The Scriptures predict ‘The TEACHING of the Papacy’ and then SECONDLY the Scriptures predict ‘The TRACK RECORD of the Papacy’. The Scriptures clearly predict a number of features which when taken together conform to what I have referred to as The TRACK RECORD of the Papacy.

The first feature predicted is “THE MANY”. In Matthew 24 the Lord Himself warns His followers of DECEPTION and FALSE PROPHETS and He makes this significant statement in verse 5 “For MANY shall come in my name, saying, I AM CHRIST, and shall deceive MANY”…

Listen to these words from Pope Pius 1X – ‘I ALONE have the mission to guide and direct the barque of Peter; I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE’.

Referring to this same Pius 1X the report of proceedings for 9th January 1870 during the first Vatican Council contained these words – ‘The Pope is Christ in office, Christ in jurisdiction and power… we bow down O Pius, as before the voice of Christ, the God of truth; in clinging to thee WE CLING TO CHRIST’.

In 1890 the then Bishop of Laval [Monseigneur Bougeaud] wrote – ‘The Pope IS JESUS CHRIST hidden under a veil. He is as the host upon our altars. The Pope is the second manner of the REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST’… SADLY, there was a second ‘MANY’ predicted in that same verse – the ‘MANY’ who would be deceived by those we have just considered and they are the Roman Catholic people who from the 4th century onwards have been cruelly deceived by the Papacy and its claims.

The second feature predicted is “THE MAN”. In 2nd Thessalonians 2:3 Paul speaks of a “MAN of sin” who will be “revealed” and in verse 4 he details how this MAN will conduct himself – according to Paul this MAN “opposeth and exalteth HIMSELF above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, AS GOD, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that HE IS GOD”.

From the 4th century onwards, history reveals the Papacy and we have already considered how Popes have readily and willingly allowed themselves to be referred to with TITLES that truly belong ALONE to Almighty God – in so doing they have ‘opposed God’ and ‘exalted themselves’ – just as the Scriptures predicted…

Pope Boniface V111 summed it all up with these words – ‘The Pope is of so great dignity and power that he constitutes one and the same tribunal with Christ, so that whatever the Pope does, seems to proceed from the mouth of God… THE POPE IS GOD ON EARTH’.

History teaches that when expedient to do so the Papacy exercised this God-like Power and in his book ‘THE PAPACY’ [which was awarded 1st prize in 1851 by the Evangelical Alliance in the UK – today’s Evangelical Alliance would probably shred it!] Rev.J.A.Wylie wrote – “History presents us with a list of not less than 64 emperors and kings deposed by the popes.”

Some may say that the Papacy has changed and such things could never happen today – again I quote the Rev.Wylie who with great wisdom cautioned his readers in these words – “though the Church of Rome is [silent on her claims meanwhile, we are not warranted to take that silence for surrender. They are not claims renounced; they are simply claims not asserted.”

… The third feature predicted is “THE MARTYRS”. Revelation chapter 17 tells of a foul/world-dominating religious system which is spoken of as “the woman…arrayed in purple and scarlet colour” [verse 4] and in verse 6 we read of “the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the MARTYRS of Jesus”.

History is littered with accounts of the bloody butchery inflicted on the true saints of God at the instigation of the purple and scarlet bedecked Roman Catholic Church. The following extract is from Halley’s ‘Pocket Bible Handbook’ – ‘Between 1540 and 1570 no fewer than 900,000 Protestants were put to death in the Pope’s war for the extermination of the Waldenses. Think of monks and priests directing, with heartless cruelty and inhuman brutality, the work of torturing and burning alive innocent men and women and doing it in the Name of Christ, by the direct order of the “VICAR OF CHRIST”.’

In France on the night of August 24 1572, thousands of Huguenots, including most of their leaders were massacred in what became known as the St Bartholomew’s Massacre. Pope Gregory X111 commemorated this savagery by striking a medal which bore his own image on one side and on the other side men and women were depicted being slaughtered by an angel with a sword and a cross under the words ‘Massacre of the Huguenots 1572’…

Some 30 years after his death (John) Wycliffe was condemned as a heretic by the Synod of Constance [1415] and an order was made that his bones should be dug up, burned and thrown into a river and a few years later that is exactly what happened – not even the grave afforded protection against the wrath of Rome.

The ‘MANY’, The ‘MAN’ and The ‘MARTYRS’ – features clearly predicted by the Scriptures all find their fulfilment in The TRACK RECORD of the Papacy.

Before moving to a conclusion can I just add that the ‘MELTDOWN’ of the Papacy is assured in the Scriptures for we read in 2nd Thessalonians 2:8 of the revelation of “that Wicked” – and that is none other than the Papacy– and Paul states that “the Lord shall consume [it] with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy [it] with the brightness of his coming”…

Tonight’s proposal speaks of the Roman Pontiff being Pastor of and having universal power over THE ENTIRE CHURCH. In conclusion let me turn again to some lines from THE PAPACY by the Rev. J.A.Wylie that sum up the grim reality – ‘The Church [so called] of Rome has no right to rank amongst Christian Churches. She is not a Church, neither is her religion the Christian religion…The Church of Rome bears the same relation to the Church of Christ which the hierarchy of Baal bore to the institute of Moses…Popery is the gospel transubstantiated into the flesh and blood of Paganism, under a few of the accidents of Christianity’.

To these thoughts I say ‘Amen’ and I count it a privilege, beyond measure, to have been allowed by Almighty God Himself to stand here tonight to reject this proposal that exalts ANTI-CHRIST at the expense of MY SAVIOUR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

As stated earlier, these have just been some extracts of my presentation at the debate in Fresno in 1998 – if anyone would like to receive the full text of what I said that night, if they contact me, I would be happy to send to them, a photocopy of my entire discourse.

Rome has not and cannot change – she still has her sights set on world domination and this upcoming visit to the UK is just one more manoeuvre in her centuries-long strategy to achieve that goal.

Recently I was sent by email some comments written by Peter Radcliffe, editor of the English Churchman newspaper and I think they are fitting as a conclusion to this article on ‘Papal Pretensions’ –

‘Some nations are full of temples and idols. The 16th Century Protestant Reformation freed England from this and established freedom within biblical law. The Queen plans to welcome the chief fraudster, the Pope, to perform his deceitful Mass and his pretentious saint making miracle. Supposedly here as an Apostle, the Pope brings a curse of superstition to our once blessed land. He fills the void left by atheism and multiculturalism. The latter is just a spin word for the superstition of polytheism that is so barbaric and hopeless. The Pope’s idolatry thrills the natural carnal self-righteous sinner who will not repent.

APPENDIX

• Two Timely Publications

The British Church Newspaper of 30th July carried reviews of two publications relevant to this upcoming Papal visit. The titles, prices and some extracts from each review are as follows –

• Pope Benedict XVI and the United Kingdom

‘This book… consists of articles by ministers and elders of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland with the insertion of a concluding article by Dr D L Dabney (1820-1898). The book is both informative and thoughtfully written… In their articles the contributors bring before us the falseness of Roman Catholic teaching… It was appropriate to conclude with Dr Dabney’s article as it could easily have been written about the situation in the UK today’.

Available from:-

• Free Presbyterian Publications,
• 133 Woodlands Road,
• Glasgow;
• G3 6LR
• Price £5.00

• John Henry Newman:

Becoming Rome’s first ecumenical saint: By former priest Richard Bennett and Spirit of ’88 director Michael de Semlyen

‘This timely booklet seeks to tell us what John Henry Newman, Rome’s most high-profile British convert, really believed… The first part reveals the confusion in Newman’s thinking. False religion is always confusing… So, amidst the confusion, the authors wisely focus on the two central issues – Justification by faith alone and the idolatry of the Mass… Newman was an evil man whose feet stumbled upon the dark mountains. It is a gross affront to our country that the papacy should presume to put him of all people on a path which is designed to make him the leading English saint… this booklet is a must’.

Available from

• Dorchester House Publications
• PO Box 67,
• Rickmansworth,
• WD3 5S
• Price £2.00 

Extracts of my ‘open email’ sent 11th July to William Crawley : presenter of Radio Ulster’s ‘Sunday Sequence’ programme –

… as regards your programme, Sunday Sequence, currently being broadcast, thus far I have caught part of the discussion on ‘evangelism’, the item on the Anglican rejection of an amendment by their 2 leading Archbishops and the interview on the upcoming Roman Catholic beatification of J H Newman. Do you really appreciate what a non-programme for Christians this Sunday Sequence has been?

1. The discussion on ‘evangelism’ featured an atheistic humanist, an active Jew and a Roman Catholic Bishop but NO faithful Christian/Biblical input.

2. The Anglican item majored on ‘women bishops’ and the ‘gay’ Jeffrey John controversy with again NO faithful Christian/Biblical input on either subject.

3. The Newman beatification item again had NO faithful Christian/Biblical perspective but focused rather on the whole ridiculous, unscriptural notion that an earthly, non-Christian organisation [The Vatican] can ‘create’ saints…

This programme and many of its predecessors speak volumes about the spiritual standing of all involved… and demonstrate the blatant BBC antipathy towards faithful Biblical Christianity.

Extracts of email reply from (Rev) Bert Tosh, producer.

Sunday Sequence is a programme which deals with a wide range of religious and ethical issues – about which there can often be a considerable variety of opinion. It is broadcast to a general audience which includes people of many religious faiths and those of no faith. It has never been and, for practical reasons, could not be the policy of the programme to attempt to include every theological opinion on all of the subjects under discussion. It may be worth noting that the 11 July programme included an interview with Professor David Wenham… an evangelical Christian, who defended the integrity of the Pauline letters… The report on Protestant identity also included evangelical Christians, such as Jeffrey Donaldson MP… The item on marriage… was an interview with an advocate of traditional Christian marriage… Thank you for writing with your feedback on this edition of Sunday Sequence.

Extracts from my email reply sent to (Rev) Bert Tosh.

My problem was not that there were no items with input from a faithful Christian/Biblical perspective… but rather that in the items I mentioned in my email the faithful Christian/Biblical perspective was either totally ignored or, particularly in the ‘evangelism’ panel discussion, it was identified and dismissed out of hand. ‘The broad road’ was trumpeted triumphantly by all 3 contributors and ‘the narrow road’, taught clearly by the Lord Himself, was ridiculed and rejected out of hand by all 3 contributors. This unbalanced bias against the faithful Christian/Biblical perspective is a regular feature of many items included in Sunday Sequence and hence my assertion about what a non-programme for Christians it has become.

• ‘Personal Letter’ included with September 2010 ‘News From The Front’

Dear friends of ‘Take Heed’,

As promised in the letter enclosed with the March 2010 newsletter I am setting out what I see as the way forward for myself and ‘Take Heed’ [DV]. Firstly, in relation to my health, can I say that thankfully the blood condition is not as some people feared, leukemia, but is rather a condition known as thrombocytopenia.

It affects blood platelet levels – when they’re normal I’m fine but when they drop I’m tired and over the years I’ve learned to live with it. Currently I’m not on any medication for it but my blood values are regularly monitored to check if any intervention would be required.

Now, in relation to future strategy and functioning, I read an article that spoke of “the developing trend of gradual retirement or part-tirement… Clive Bolton, at-retirement director for Aviva Life, says: ‘Gradual or part-tirement appears to be a very real choice for many older people rather than the traditional rigid retirement age’.” I liked this concept of “part-tirement” and so I think that will be the direction that I will steer for both myself and ‘Take Heed’ [DV].

What does that mean in practical terms? Well, as I mentioned in my earlier letter, with increasing computerisation there is now a ‘decreasing need for the printed circularisation of information’. That being the case I plan [DV] to issue just one further ‘News From The Front’ in December 2010.

However, for those without computers, I would plan to offer to send a ‘review’ letter each December [from 2011 DV] to those wishing to maintain their link with ‘Take Heed’.

For those interested, enclosed is a request form asking for inclusion in the mailing list for this new annual ministry ‘review’ letter.

Over the years I have been privileged to host visits by many gifted speakers but such visits will also be discontinued as they are particularly ‘draining’ both physically and otherwise. However, despite discontinuing these aspects of ministry, I hope [DV] to continue the watchman work of ‘Take Heed’ as follows

The ministry web site of www.takeheed.net will be maintained and articles added as I’m led by the Lord to write. [For those who do not have computer access to the web site, if they have a ‘computerised’ friend or family member, then that person could ‘subscribe’ (no cost involved) via our web site to receive automatic notification of any new articles added].

I will still be available to ‘field’ the many telephone, email and letter inquiries for information and also to speak in churches/fellowships etc.

Again I will still be available to contribute to radio debates and programmes should any such invitations be received.

This then represents my thinking on “part-tirement” and in closing I would once more covet your prayers for Margaret and me at this time of transition.

With all good wishes in Christ

Cecil Andrews

• Request form for inclusion in new mailing list for annual review letter

Dear Cecil,

I should like to be included in the new mailing list to receive your annual ministry ‘review’ letter to be issued each December from 2011 [DV].

Yours in Christ

Name:____________________________

Address:__________________________

__________________________________

Telephone No:____________________________

This signed request letter should then be posted to

• “Take Heed” Ministries
• 29 Edengrove Park,
• Ballynahinch,
• Co Down
• BT24 8AL
• Northern Ireland