#788 1689 Confession The Church Part 2

26:4 The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church. By the Father's appointment, all authority is conferred on Him in a supreme and sovereign manner to call, institute, order and govern the church. The Pope of Roman Catholicism cannot in any sense be head of the church; rather, he is the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, and the son of destruction, who exalts himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God. The Lord will destroy him with the brightness of His coming. 

…17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,… Colossians 1: 17-19

…18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”… Matthew 28: 18-20

…11 And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.… Ephesians 4: 11-13

…2 not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness (the son of destruction) is revealed. 4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.…
…5 Do you not remember that I told you these things while I was still with you? 6 And you know what is now restraining him, so that he will be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.…
…8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and FALSE wonder, 10 and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.… 2 Thessalonians 2: 2-10

I agree with the spirit of this that the pope is a form of Antichrist, as there are many though that come not only in Christ name, but also claiming to be a or the Christ. The Roman Catholic church has led it's parishioners in all sorts of idolatries, including the worship of Mary, praying to Mary, and in their dogma, viewing the Pope as Christ (God) here on earth. They have also differed from Scripture insisting that celibacy is a mark of holiness, forbidding their priest to marry, teaching that Peter was not married, and that Mary remained a virgin even after the birth of Christ. It is my prayer that all who want to know God for Who He is, through Christ will come out of this superstitious system which holds it's traditions above Holy Scripture, which is the inspired Word of God. 

…2 By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is already in the world at this time. 4 You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.… 1 John 4: 2-4

17 The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever. 18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.… 1 John 2: 17-19

…54 Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?”… Matthew 13: 54-56

…4 Have we no right to food and to drink? 5 Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6 Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?… 1 Corinthians 9: 4-6

…2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. 3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,… 1 Timothy 4: 2-4

Popes

There are, in this world, even today, so many that teach another gospel, even in the so called Protestant church. Prosperity teachers (health and wealth) like Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen (self help, motivational, gospel of self esteem) types of Antichrist abound. Anyone who tickles your ears, appeals to the fleshly wants, rather than pronouncing God's Holiness, His judgement against sin, and the call of Christ "that if any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and come follow me." Any pastor or teacher who puts down or makes light of the cross, knows no call to holiness, or appeals more to feelings and emotions, rather than the whole counsel of God, who trust more in selling experiences rather than preaching what God has said and bases success upon numbers rather than the work of the Holy Spirit, has drawn men to himself rather than pointing them to Christ.