The pink Elephant in the room is Islam.
The first character of Revelation 17 is the “whore” or “woman,”
which in biblical language represents a religion, or church
(e.g.Ephesians 5; 2 -Corinthians 11:2).
The second is the beast that has seven heads and 10 horns.
The third is the “saints” or “martyrs,”
a group of people the “woman” lives to persecute and destroy.
God prophesies that this woman, or church, would have an international
presence, and would come to possess incredible wealth:
“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls
She is conspicuously wealthy, overflowing with material splendor.
She is a famous religion known and revered by people across the planet
(see also verses 2 and 15 and Revelation 18:3).
The Roman Catholic Church is the most recognizable
and illustrious religion on Earth. Worldwide, it has more than
1.2 billion followers, roughly 400,000 priests and some 221,000
parishes. Catholicism has a presence on every continent and in every nation.
More than 5 million tourists flock to Vatican City annually.
They visit to admire Michelangelo’s legendary frescoes, to
attend mass in the Sistine Chapel, and in the hope of catching
a glimpse of the most venerated figure on the planet: the pope.
The Catholic religion is the most famous Christian religion
on Earth, yet it is shrouded in mystery and bloodshed
The Catholic Church teaches it is the one true church founded by Jesus Christ
The Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as
definitive is infallible. the Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider
of education and medical services in the world. Catholic belief holds that the Church
"is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth" and that it alone possesses the
full means of salvation
The church, in fact, has built Western civilization”
(How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization)
a book by Tom Woods explores the reasons why we are all,
as a civilization, deeply indebted to the Catholic Church.
It is inaccurate to imply that the Catholic Church is solely
responsible for building Western civilization. The influence
of English-speaking civilization, which had a distinct antipopish,
anti-Catholic identity, is responsible as much as if not
more than the Catholic Church. But Woods’s fundamental
point is correct. Catholic leadership and teaching has had
a decisive and far-reaching influence on Western religion,
politics, culture, science and education, often in ways most
people fail to recognize.
The Vatican has presided over the rise and fall of kings
and governments, the emergence of political and ideological
movements, and the discovery and colonization of new lands
and peoples. The Catholic religion has influenced every facet
of Western society, from art and music to science to the
measurement of time to the annual holidays we celebrate.
Its influence over Europe is even more extensive: It has shaped
Europe’s justice systems, its educational institutions, many of
its most prominent cities, its economies and even agriculture.
When it comes to religion, every Christian denomination—
except one—can directly or indirectly trace its lineage back to
Roman Catholicism.
The Roman Catholic Church is the most defining and influential
institution in Europe’s history—yet somehow it remains a total mystery!
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“The [European] Community is living largely by the heritage of
the Holy Roman Empire,though the great majority of the people
who live by it don’t know by what heritage they live.”
—Otto von Habsburg--a descendant of that famous line of European royalty
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Among historians, it is generally accepted that the Holy
Roman Empire was the cyclical reincarnation of the ancient
Roman Empire, presided over in each instance by the Catholic
Church. Oxford Dictionary defines it as the “empire set up in
Western Europe following the coronation of Charlemagne
as emperor in the year 800. It was created by the medieval
papacy in an attempt to unite Christendom under one rule.”
The founders of the EU, and many European leaders today,
readily acknowledge that the supreme goal of the European
Union is to live “by the heritage of the Holy Roman Empire.”
European politicians regularly declare their admiration for
Charlemagne and publicly admit that they seek to create a
united Europe that “embodies the tradition of Charlemagne.”
What is the “heritage of the Holy Roman Empire”? Who
was Charlemagne? What is the “tradition of Charlemagne”?
