Some days ago I wrote a document where I considered the background of the migratory policy of the current presidential administration of the USA. With the acceptance of massive illegal entrance of people coming from Catholic countries, Joe Biden proposes to gradually change the Protestant and Republican system of this country.
A friend of mine from South Korea, Koot Van Wyk, shared with me an additional testimony from history dealing with the political immigration of Rome when the barbarians were expelled from the city in the year 538. That policy purposed to impose the Catholic faith in Rome, facilitating the beginning of papal rule. He wrote:
“Adventists and non-Adventist scholarly friends are very impressed with your” document… “What Biden is doing now is exactly what Procopius explained in his biography of Justinian. In 538 Justinian settled immigrants in Rome, took land from Roman citizens and gave it to foreigners. Rome was in chaos.”
Does the Current President of The USA Hate Protestant American History?
Other evidence reveals a veiled attempt of Joe Biden to change the political and religious image of the USA. Biden seems to hate the Protestant history of the USA, apparently supporting those who consider this Protestant country a non-Christian country. Why? Because the left is now exploiting a weakness in that history to tarnish the image of Protestant America, discounting the great principles of freedom left by the heroes of the American Revolution. What was that weak point? Black slavery.
It is noticeable that Biden also canceled the orders of Trump to protect the monuments of the heroes of the USA, as well as the monuments Trump planned to build of American historical figures linked to Protestantism. But Biden didn’t demolish the statue of John Paul II in Washington DC.
Biden pretends to liberate America from Protestant capitalism by imposing the Roman Catholic social agenda which in some ways follows a similar pattern of the communist agenda, now under a religious guise in order to accrue power. He—like the pope and most Latin-American political leaders now—wants to strengthen the power of the state at the expense of the people, increasing taxes and making the people dependent on the generosity of the state. He wants to do like “the kings of the Gentiles who wanted to lord over them,” exercising “authority over them and calling themselves benefactors” (Luke 22:25).
But, what has the Roman Catholic Church to offer to a Protestant country? Was the Middle Ages better than the freedom brought by Protestantism?
Just to start, look at the wealth of the Vatican, and then, compare it with what cardinals and bishops are doing everywhere,
“Conscientious souls are kept in constant terror fearing the wrath of an offended God, while many of the dignitaries of the church are living in luxury and sensual pleasure” (GC 568).
Are now the popes really presuming that they have the moral vision to impose on the world a better distribution of money? If the popes were unable to bring peace and righteousness for more than a millennium to the peoples over whom they ruled, will they be able to unite the nations under the Roman Catholic banner to set a new Christian order better than what Protestantism could build in two centuries?
Slavery
The popes kept slaves for centuries, and justified slavery for life of pagan Africans in certain “bulls” issued during the Middle Ages. Who introduced slavery in the modern world? The Roman Catholic Church. After the American continent was discovered, theologians in Valladolid met to discuss if Indians had a soul and, therefore, were human beings or not. Some reached the conclusion that yes, they were human beings, and consequently they could not be enslaved to serve their masters like domestic animals. Thus, Indians could be Christianized in the Catholic faith. In order to get people to do the work that Christianized people could not be forced to do, they decided to bring black people from pagan Africa to occupy their place at the service of the Conquistadores.
Evangelical Contribution to the Papal Influence in the USA
Billy Graham considered pope John Paul II as “Bridge Builder” (the original meaning of Pontiff), attributed formerly to pagan priests during the Roman Empire. And he believed that the pope had become “the moral leader of the world.” Former president George W. Bush called John Paul II a “Hero for the Ages.”
Rick Warren called all Christians to submit to the pope, calling him “our pope,” and “the pope of all Christians.”
We could continue quoting Protestants and Evangelicals admiring and looking for the favor of recent popes. They were either completely unaware of the real intentions of the Vatican or, naïvely presupposing that the world had changed enough as not to allow the supremacy of the bishop of Rome again on the world.
What was the warning of the Spirit of Prophecy to the Protestant World who is today wooing the papacy?
“God’s world has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare” (GC 581).
Dangers for Seventh-day Adventists
Should not we as Seventh-day Adventists pay attention to that warning of the Spirit of Prophecy? The trend of the administration of our church in some European countries is more toward a Post-Modern Liberal Evangelical form of the Emergent Church than a Seventh-day Adventist representation. Some are deciding to ordain women and form part of the World Council of Churches, fomenting a national congregationalism instead of a united world church. This is happening also in Australia, and in some regions of the USA.
Some of us are impressed by the way the North American Division is falling into the same snare warned of by E. G. White, a trap set in Rome. Many leaders are being dragged there by the new Wokeist religion, which turns the attention of the people to a political and social struggle agenda that will not prepare the people to live in heaven, but to hate those whom they oppose. They neglect so many warnings of the apostles. One of them says: “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Cor 10:4). We were called rather to exalt the Lord as the only hope for salvation.
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” “Come to me,” not to wokeism, not to social warfare.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).
The end is coming. Let us prepare to meet the Lord for a better world.
He is the King, not the pope, not Mao, not Stalin, not “woke” advocates, or anyone else.
Our King called us to be fishers who call the people to come out of Babylon, not as political, social and religious agents to fix the problems of Babylon. We call the people to come to Jesus for freedom from sin, and to dream of a better world in God’s kingdom.
Dr. Alberto R. Treiyer was born in the Adventist community of Libertador San Martín, Entre Ríos, Argentina. Dr. Treiyer is an author, and has a doctoral degree in theology from the University of Strasbourg, France. He has served as the director of the theological department at the Adventist Antillian College in Puerto Rico, where he taught for six years. He has also taught at the University of La Sierra, and Columbia Union College, as well as theology in Costa Rica and Columbia. Alberto is now a retired pastor, giving seminars, and writing books and papers that support our distinctive message.