I was betrayed by my priests, lied to by my Roman Catholic education, and now here was the Book the Roman Catholic church claimed to teach, and they did nothing of the kind! What a thing, man, what a thing.
This past March 14th, I celebrated 30 years of being a blood-bought, saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit and eternally secure unto the day of redemption born again Christian. It's been a long-enough time period now, that sometimes I struggle to recall just how raw and fresh it was to get saved, after nearly 30 years as a 'sprinkled and confirmed' member of the Roman Catholic Vatican system. Alongside my Gideon's King James Bible, there was another book that helped make this transition from darkness unto light a little easier.
"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Ephesians 5:8-11 (KJB)
I got saved a little differently than most people, I got saved with just me and the Holy Spirit, there was no other human interaction that was aware of in my life at that time. I got saved in 1991, so there was no internet, there was Christian radio but I was unaware of it, I had no Christian friends and had never set foot inside a Christian church. You can read my personal testimony of salvation here. I remember as I started to read my King James Bible in those early days, and as I went along, things would pop up in my Bible reading that just really made me mad. I read in Mark 6:3 (KJB) how Mary had 6 other children and did not stay as the 'perpetual virgin' as I was taught. I read in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (KJB) how the Lord's Supper was an ordinance, not a sacrament, and that the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross was to never be repeated. That made me mad because I was taught to believe, in 3 years as an 'altar boy' and in 12 years of private Jesuit and Franciscan education, that the "Mass" was the ongoing sacrifice of Jesus. I was betrayed by my priests, lied to by my Roman Catholic education, and now here was the Book the Roman Catholic church claimed to teach, and they did nothing of the kind! What a thing, man, what a thing.
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns." Revelation 17:4-7 (KJB)
It was within this environment that a copy of 'A Woman Rides The Beast' by Dave Hunt came my way, and it was an eye-opener to say the least. After many months of ire-inducing reads through my King James Bible, here was someone able to explain to me how there could be such a chasm-like disparity between biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism. I remember reading this book in wide-eyed excitement, page after page, unable to put it down before finishing it. Now maybe if you were not raised as a Roman Catholic for your entire life, maybe the connection would not be so visceral for you, but for me it was off the charts.
This book was, after my King James Bible of course, my first step into what would become a lifelong hunger for and study of the word of God. Stops along the way after "A Woman Rides The Beast" would include a biography of DL Moody, 'Dispensational Truth' by Clarence Larkin, and then attending a service where Peter S. Ruckman was doing the preaching 'sealed the deal' for me as far as my Christian education was concerned. When the Lord called us to open the NTEB Bookstore last Spring, I knew that this amazing book by Dave Hunt would have a place of honor alongside our collection of King James Bibles. Whether you were raised Roman Catholic like I was, or just want to have a deeper understanding of the prophecies contained in Revelation 17 & 18, I personally and highly recommend you get yourself a copy, it will open your eyes to the truth of the woman who rides the beast.
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