The word of the Lord here is quite serious. The second part of Matthew 13:33 says, “Until the whole was leavened.” Please bear in mind that today, the lump of meal is not yet fully leavened. All orthodox students of prophecy agree that the power of Roman Catholicism has not diminished. The Lord says that this will go on until the whole is leavened. Today, Roman Catholicism has been leavened to quite a serious extent. It has been leavening for over a thousand years! But we cannot say that the lump is fully leavened yet. The Lord says that one day the whole will be leavened. The power of Catholicism will continue to expand. It will not stop until its end comes, when it is fully consumed by fire. The word of the Lord is quite serious here: “Until the whole was leavened.” Here the Lord tells us that the power of Roman Catholicism will continue to expand.
How great has the Roman Catholic Church become! How numerous are the heresies found in it! The leaven has gained more and more ground. The Lord’s supper has become the Mass, and the bread has become the flesh of Christ. Transubstantiation, the doctrine of turning the bread into the actual flesh of Christ as soon as one touches it, has prevailed. There are incense, crucifixes, and rituals. People put their trust in various organizations and names. The Catholic Church is more tightly controlled than any country or state in this world. There are all kinds of organizations within it, and one could not understand all of them even if he spent several years to study them. On the one hand, it has confused the doctrine of Christ. On the other hand, the tree has become very large.
Here I will quote some words from some of the popes. The popes call themselves universal overseers. Originally, an overseer was an elder of a local church, and the elders of the local churches were called overseers. Eventually, one of the overseers became a bishop and ruled over other elders of the church. Still later, the bishops began to take control over other churches, and then eventually, over the whole world. Thus, the pope called himself the universal overseer. One of the popes said, “I, the Pope, am the king of kings, and my laws precede all laws.” This was the written declaration of a pope concerning his papal authority. Does this declaration sound like something that should come out of the mouth of one who follows the lowly Jesus of Nazareth? Not at all.
In the Vatican Conference in 1870, a decree read, “The Pope of Rome cannot change or improve on his own words.” Imagine how great the authority of Roman Catholicism has become! Anything can be improved upon except the words of the pope of Rome! His words are the supreme command and cannot be improved upon. What kind of spirit is behind these words? Clearly, man’s authority has usurped God’s authority! The above statement applies to all proclamations by any pope. We can find numerous claims similar to this one.
One pope in Rome published a message called “The Scheme.” At first, Roman Catholicism believed that only the church was infallible. But this message extended this claim by telling everyone that not only was the church infallible, but the pope was infallible as well. The pope could not be wrong in himself. The Chinese expression bu-neng-tzo-wu for infallible may not sound that strong in Chinese, but in Greek, Latin, and English infallible is a very strong word. Only God is infallible, but Catholics say that the pope is infallible as well. This is heresy and leaven.
What is God’s attitude toward Catholicism? Revelation 17 speaks of a great harlot. She is not just an adulteress but a harlot. To commit a moral sin after one is married is adultery, but to commit a moral sin without a marriage at all is harlotry. Here the Bible calls Roman Catholicism a harlot.