Tom McCurry

THE PROPHETIC GEOGRAPHY OF DECEPTION The final book of Scripture provides a startlingly precise blueprint of the global religious deception that would dominate the closing chapters of human history. In Revelation 17, the Apostle John is shown a visionary depiction of a powerful, corrupt religious system symbolized as a woman riding a beast. To ensure that the reader would not be left guessing as to the physical, historical location of this apostate system, the angel explicitly decodes the prophecy with geographical data that can fit only one city on earth. 1. The Woman on the Seven Mountains The angel instructs John with absolute clarity: "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." (Revelation 17:9) In the ancient world, it was an undeniable, universally recognized fact that Rome was the city built upon seven hills (the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal). Classical Roman poets like Virgil, Horace, and Ovid explicitly referred to Rome as the "seven-hilled city." The prophecy provides a literal geographical anchor: the seat of this global religious deception is located precisely within the borders of Rome. 2. Clothed in Imperial Splendor John describes the staggering wealth and visual identity of this religious system: "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls..." (Revelation 17:4) If you walk into a Vatican consistory, you are immediately confronted with a sea of these exact two specific colors: scarlet is the official color worn exclusively by Roman Catholic Cardinals, and purple (amaranthine) is the official color worn exclusively by Roman Catholic Bishops. The wealth of the Vatican in its priceless gold art, its jewel-encrusted chalices, its massive treasures accumulated over centuries of selling spiritual favors, matches the prophetic description with breathtaking accuracy. 3. A Sovereign Power Over the Earth Finally, the angel identifies the unique political status of this city-centered entity: "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18) In John's day, that city was pagan Rome. But when the western empire collapsed, it was the Papacy that preserved this exact political dominion over secular rulers. To this day, the Vatican is not merely a church; it is a recognized, sovereign independent state (Vatican City). It maintains its own ambassadors, signs political treaties (concordats) with global nations, and exerts an unparalleled geopolitical influence over the kings of the earth.

John was corrected for kneeling, addressing the angel, directing spiritual devotion, seeking divine communication. Catholic "veneration" (hyperdulia) includes kneeling, speaking to saints, asking for supernatural favors, dedicating shrines and feast days and attributing miracles to saints. In Scripture, this is worship, even if Catholics deny it with words. Intentions don’t override God’s commandments. The angel defined the rule: "WORSHIP GOD." (Rev. 19:10; 22:9) Not Mary. Not saints. Not angels. Not relics. Not statues. Not dead "intercessors." God ALONE receives religious acts and prayers.

Why Didn’t God Destroy Lucifer? It’s an honest question. If God had destroyed Lucifer the moment rebellion appeared, wouldn’t all the suffering that followed have been prevented? At first, that seems like the obvious solution. But another question would have remained. Was Lucifer right? Was God hiding something? Fear can force obedience. It cannot create love. So God allowed rebellion to reveal itself. Not because He delighted in suffering… But because the universe needed to see where Satan’s principles lead when they’re fully lived out. History has seen that demonstration ever since. Every war, every injustice,every broken family, every grave, every tear. They all testify to the same truth. Life apart from God’s government never produces freedom. It ends in death. renewingprotest.substack.com…

The apostolic church did not evolve into Roman Catholism; Catholism evolved away from the apostolic church. Catholism CHANGED but the Apostolic Faith DID NOT. Doctrines defined long after the apostles: • Papal infallibility (1870). • Immaculate Conception (1854). • Assumption of Mary (1950). • Indulgences. • Treasury of merit. • Transubstantiation defined in 1215. • Sunday sacredness. • Confession to priests. • Mass as a repeated sacrifice. • Veneration of saints & relics. • Rosary (invented in Middle Ages) etc. NOTE: NO apostle taught these. NO early church father practiced these in the first century. These were unknown to Irenaeus, Ignatius, Justin Martyr & the apostles. This proves Roman Catholicism is not the continuation of apostolic Christianity