The Church is Drunk on the Wine of Babylon and it Worships the Beast

By Donald Werner

What is it to be drunk on the wine of Babylon? How does the Church worship the Beast? First, we must understand who is Babylon the Great. And then we can better understand what it means to be drunk on the wine of Babylon. Then we will need to understand what true worship is. And then we will understand why and how the Church worships the Beast.

So, who is Babylon the Great? The short answer is; the entire Christian Church is Babylon the Great. Why? That's what this book is all about, and in this book I will lay out the reasons why the Christian Church is Babylon the Great, why it is referred to as the Great Harlot and her many daughters, as well as the Beast and his image. Each of these labels are given to the Christian Church in the Book of the Revelation, because of some specific false teaching of the Church. Which false teaching goes with each name? I will share that in this book.

What do I mean when I say the Church worships the Beast? How do they do that? And it’s not by bowing down in front of statues. Why do they do that? That I will share in this book.

God in not just calling His people out of Babylon the Great, in the Book of the Revelation, He is telling them how to leave? And how do people leave? God lays out a process by which we can get out of Babylon the Great, what is it? I have all those answers in this book.

To be drunk on the wine of Babylon has nothing to do with alcohol. But like being intoxicated with alcohol, when a person is indoctrinated with religious teachings, and (or) Christian Church doctrines, they result in the same inability to grasp ‘new truths’, which are contrary to the ‘old truths’ they currently believe. Christian teachings, even the false ones, are especially hard to give up because Christians are told that eternal life depends on their beliefs of those doctrines.

Christian that are indoctrinated with church doctrines have a very hard time to see the faults in those Christian doctrines, so, trying to move away from those false teachings is like a vehicle that is stuck in the mud and can’t move forward – at least not without some good traction. And those false teachings result in a person unknowingly the worship of the Beast.

The good news is, there is an antidote to this intoxication, that’s the traction we need to set aside all false teachings and move forward out of Babylon. That antidote is learning, accepting, believing and keeping of Jesus' words. And I will share what those words are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9781304641304

Book preview

THE PREFACE

What is it to be drunk on the wine of Babylon?  Wine contains alcohol and consuming too much wine causes a person to be intoxicated. Intoxication caused by alcohol results in a person: being unable to learn, understand, and think rationally. In the past I’ve worked at a rescue mission where I did evening Bible studies.  Occasionally an intoxicated (drunken person would come to sit in on the study.  Even though the intoxicated person could hear me, they couldn’t comprehend what I was saying. Because of their being intoxicated they just can’t grasp ‘new truths’ which are contrary to the ‘old truth’ they already believed.

To be drunk on the wine of Babylon has nothing to do with alcohol. But like being intoxicated with alcohol, when a person is indoctrinated with religious teachings, and (or) Christian Church doctrines, they have the same inability to grasp ‘new truths’, which are contrary to the ‘old truths’ they currently believe.  It’s like they are stuck in the mud and can’t move forward. Christian teachings, even the false ones, are especially hard to give up, because Christians are told that eternal life depends on their beliefs.

After growing up in a Christian family in a Christian culture, with Christian religious instruction and teaching, our minds are ingrained with what we were told is the truth.  It’s like those ‘old truths’ are etched in our brains and we cannot accept ‘new truths’, which is contrary to what we have already learned.

It is very hard for a person to accept ‘new truth’ after being indoctrinated with the ‘old truth’.  The ‘new truths’ are general rejected by an indoctrinated person just as they would be rejected if they were given to an intoxicated person.

So, who is Babylon the Great? And, what are the teachings of Babylon that indoctrinate a person so they are intoxicated?  Also, who is the Great Harlot?  Who is the Beast?  And why is God his calling His people out of, Babylon the Great, in the Book of the Revelation.  Why does God cry out, ‘Come out of her My people’?  I have all those answers for you in this book. 

Fortunately there is an antidote for this intoxication (being drunk on the wine of Babylon), but that antidote requires that we release some long held beliefs and church teachings.  And then accept the truth that Jesus spoke as your supreme authority.  His truth will set you free – but you must set aside Paul’s words and the Church’s words and embrace Jesus’ words alone.

Who is Babylon the Great?  Babylon the Great is the Christian Church.  If you are a Christian, not only won’t you like my answers, and you may disagree.  You will perhaps tell me that I don’t know what I am talking about.  But, please read what I have to say, because I don’t just make wild accusations, I will also provide proof from the Scripture that the Christian Church is Babylon the Great, the Great Harlot and her many daughters, and the Beast and his image.  Each of these titles is assigned to the Christian Church in the Book of the Revelation, and each title is referring to a specific error in its doctrines, and that I will explain.

Understanding what I have to share in this book is critical because it will affect your eternal salvation.  This information is something you may not like, but you need to know.

You will not hear what I have to tell you in any Christian Church, and that is for obvious reasons. And it’s not that those in the Christian Church would intentionally deceive anyone, but rather, they themselves are deceived, being drunk on the wine of Babylon.

Don

THE INTRODUCTION

Who am I? I grew up as the middle of nine children in a good Catholic family on a southern Minnesota dairy farm.  After college and tech school I worked as a computer programmer and then network engineer until I retired.  But, while in my late 20’s I began to seriously study the Scriptures. After a thorough study of the Bible, I saw the glaring difference between what the Bible taught and what the Catholic faith taught and practiced. I was concerned because so much of what the Catholic Church teaches, and preaches is not from the Bible. And they claim that Catholic Church membership and accepting their doctrines are necessary for salvation, even though some of their doctrines are contrary to the teachings of the Bible. 

The Catholic Church seems to have set the Bible aside and replaced it with its man-made laws, rules, papal decrees, church traditions, creeds, and manmade doctrines, which include praying to Mary and the saints, worshiping Mary, purgatory, the Mass, seven sacraments as a means of saving grace, etc., all of which are contrary to what the Bible teaches. The Catholic Church does teach some Bible, but only in a manner that supports their Catholic doctrines, creeds and teachings. The Catholic Church freely and unashamedly acknowledges that it believes its ecclesiastical authority and its traditions are of a greater authority than the authority of the Holy Scriptures and that means Jesus’ words and YHVH’s words are of a lesser authority than what the Church teaches and preaches.  So, I had to decide whether to entrust my eternal life to the Catholic Church, or to God’s Word as found in the Scriptures, so I chose God’s Word. So, around 30 years of age, I left the Catholic Church along with my Catholic family and friends to join the Lutheran Church. And I continued to study the Bible.

I found that Lutheranism followed the Scriptures much closer than Catholicism; however, after studying theology for years at a major Protestant Theological Seminary, I found that I couldn’t reconcile some of the Protestant church doctrines with Jesus’ words, yet they expected me to believe, preach and teach those doctrines. Based on the plain reading of the Scriptures they were wrong with Sunday worship, infant baptism, rejection of God’s law, their understanding of the Lord’s Supper, their sacraments as a means of grace, ordaining of Homosexuals into the ministry, rejecting of God’s appointed feast days and then insulting God with their Easter Sunday Ham dinners. Eventually I had to choose between following Jesus and the Church, so I chose Jesus. So, I dropped out of the seminary in my senior year because of those irreconcilable differences. So, after 18 years, I left the Lutheranism, and my Lutheran friends, and in my early 50’s, and I joined a Sabbath keeping SDA Church. 

The SDA Church followed the Scriptures even closer than the Lutheran Church, for they did adult baptisms, they kept God’s Sabbath day holy, and they didn’t celebrate Easter, but they also didn’t keep Passover or any of YHVH’s holy days which He commanded us to keep for all generations. 

However, as I continued to study the Scriptures, I found that they too fell short of following all of Jesus’ words and YHVH’s commands. It was then that I discovered that it wasn’t just the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and the SDA Church that failed to faithfully in following all of Jesus’ teachings and YHVH God’s words, but rather the entire Christian Church has failed – and I will share how they all fail in keeping Jesus’ words and the commands of YHVH God in this book.  Again, I had to make a decision; was I going to trust in what the Christian Church taught me, or was I going to trust YHVH’s words and Jesus’ words?  I had to forsake the Christian Church to go with what YHVH God commanded and what Jesus commanded.

For almost 65 years I was drunk on the wine of Babylon, believing all the Christian Church told me.  How did I get sober?  By my embracing Jesus’ words, and rejecting all other words: especially the word, teaching of the Church and Paul’s epistles.  (see the Chapter on Paul in this book to understand why Paul’s epistles must be subordinate to Jesus’ words).

So, today in my mid 70’s, I’m still following Jesus’ teachings and commands and still seeking for more of his truths. And I will not settle for the Christian Churches’ corrupt doctrines or their diluted versions of the truth.  Jesus said he was to be our only teacher (Matthew 23:10) because he will teach us all we need to know – including the truths that will set us free (John 8:32) from all damning deceptions.  And I will explain exactly what those great deceptions are in this book.

We all must follow Jesus’ words even if we have to separate ourselves from the Christian Church and walk alone on the Narrow Way that leads to eternal life.  Perhaps Jesus called it a Narrow Way because we will need to walk it alone.  It’s better to walk alone on the Narrow Way leading to eternal life than to walk in a group of nice Christian people, even friends and family, headed for eternal destruction. 

Jesus said, John 10:27-28, "My sheep continually to hear My voice (words or teachings), and I know them, and they continually follow Me.  And I continually give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." By our continual hearing Jesus’ words, accepting them as truth, believing them and continual following Jesus’ words, we are set free from all damning deceptions so that we may receive eternal life.

In this book I will share with you just what those damning deceptions are, and then from Jesus’ words I will share the truth that will set us free.

Now that I made some serious charges against the practices and teachings of today’s Christian Church, read the evidence that I will share in this book and you need to judge for yourself. I believe you will be amazed, enlightened and perhaps shocked by what you read, and come to the same conclusion I did.

Donald Werner, [e-mail]

Chapter 1 – BABYLON REJECTS JESUS’ TEACHINGS

Why Christians must embrace the ‘faith of Jesus’ to be saved

The Christian Church does not keep the faith of Jesus.  The Christian Church tells people to have ‘faith in Jesus’, but that’s not near the same as having the ‘faith of Jesus’.  What is the ‘faith of Jesus’?  Jesus was a Jew, his faith was Judaism and we are told to walk as Jesus walked (1John 2:6).  Jesus said the saints of God have ‘the faith of Jesus’ and keep God’s commandments’ (Revelation 14:12). 

Contrary to what you may have been told, Jesus was never a Christian, he never kept the Christian faith, nor did he endorse or start the Christian Church.  Jesus was a Jew and remained a practicing Jew his entire life and he kept the Jewish laws and did the traditions, even in his death and resurrection.  John wrote that if we abide in the teachings of Christ we will walk as he walked.  If we abide in Jesus’ teachings we will do as he did, believe as he believed and we will emulate him.

Jesus embraced Judaism because it is the religion of the Bible, which is God’s word (Matthew 4:4).  Jesus did not speak negatively about Judaism, although is spoke out against some corrupt religious leaders.  And he did that as a warning to us, that we are to trust the word of God over our religious leaders.

If Jesus was alive today he would have nothing to do with today’s Christian religion.  How do I know that?  Because today’s Christian religion teaches and preaches contrary to what Jesus taught, preached and practiced.  He rebuked people to doing what the Christian Church teaches, preaches and practices.

We must heed and follow Jesus’ teachings.  Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and I give them eternal life.  And those who heed his voice he gives eternal life (John 10:27-28, Matthew 7:24-25, but those who will obey him will not receive eternal life (John 8:51, Matthew 7:26-27)  As you will read below, Christianity does not follow the teachings of Jesus, and that may be surprising and shocking, but it is true.  Christianity has set aside a number of Jesus’ commands and teachings to embrace the word found in Paul’s epistles.

So what was it that Jesus told us to do, which is also compatible with Judaism, but the Christian Church ignores?  Keep reading.

The truth is; Christianity is a messed up religion, not because of what Jesus said or did, but rather because of what Paul wrote in his epistles.  Even though Jesus warned us about the doctrine of the Pharisees, the Church ignores that warnings. The Christian Church actually rejects most of what Jesus said and instead embraces what Paul the Pharisee wrote in his epistles.  Jesus said beware of the doctrines of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:12) and he told us why, he said they were ‘lawless hypocrites’ (Matthew 23:28) and Paul bragged about being a Pharisee (Acts 23:6).  Paul was most certainly lawless, for he gave us in his epistles 36 reasons why we don’t need to keep God’s law.  And Paul was a hypocrite liar, he admitted it in 1Corintians 9:19-22 and 2Corinthians 12:16.  Paul was a lawless hypocrite and taught lawlessness.  Jesus’ religious belief and practices and the Pauline Church don’t have much in common; see below.

Jesus said – worship YHVH alone (Matthew 4:10) quoting Exodus 20:2-3

The Church says – worship a Trinity of Gods

Jesus said – Keep YHVH’s Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:18-19) quoting Deuteronomy 29:9

The Church says - we don’t need to keep YHVH’s laws – they have been done away with.

Jesus said - he was a Prophet (Mark 6:4) based on Deuteronomy 18:18

The Church says - Jesus is God, one of three.