As predicted by Alberto Rivera in the mid 70's, well known evangelical leaders have gone public with a call for evangelicals to unite with Catholics to form the great apostate world church.

The cover of the July, 1995 issue of Charisma and Christian Life magazine showcases the question: "Catholics and Protestants, Can we walk together?"

Charles Colson, Watergate convict turned ecumenicist, says, "Evangelicals and Catholics [must] stand together in common defense of the truth." Christian Broadcaster Pat Robertson advises, "...it is time that we focus on the similarities between evangelicals and Catholics" (emphasis added).

It's understandable that Colson, married to a practicing Roman Catholic, would not want to face daily contention with his wife who is not willing to put away her sacraments. But other evangelical leaders should know better than participate in this unity of compromise.

A recent example of this "standing together" and "focus on similarities" thinking was displayed at an ecumenical gathering called "Congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization" held in Florida during July. About half of the ten thousand participants were Catholic with the rest from Protestant, Pentecostal and nondenominational churches.

Those who spoke were also as diverse, including broadcasters Pat Robertson and Paul Crouch, Raniero Cantalamessa, a Catholic priest who often preaches at the Vatican and is chaplain to Pope John Paul II, Church of God in Christ Bishop Gilbert Patterson, healing evangelist Benny Hinn, COGIC Bishop Ithiel Clemmons, Assemblies of God General Superintendent Thomas Trask, Episcopal Bishop John Howe, and Jack Hayford, pastor of the Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif.

"The Holy Spirit wants to break down walls between Catholics and Protestants," said Congress chairman Vinson Synan.

Synan is Regent University's theology dean and chairman of the non-denominational, charismatic North American Renewal Service Committee which has sponsored two other such congresses in 1987 and 1990.

Synan's article "Overcoming Ancient Divisions" also in the July Charisma and Christian Life stated that, "...the time has passed for churches to allow ancient divisions to prevent Christian values from being brought into public life and discourse."

The danger in dropping what Synan has called merely "ancient divisions" would be to remove the division between compromise and truth. For 1700 years Bible-believers around the world died rather than bow to Rome and compromise the gospel.

Loraine Boettner in his book "Roman Catholicism" reminds us that, "The one consuming purpose of the Vatican is to convert the entire world, not to Christianity, but to Roman Catholicism."

With America "on course" to be brought under submission to the Roman Catholic Church the Vatican is working to control the one city that our modern world believes in the key to peace, Jerusalem.

In his book, "A Cup of Trembling, Jerusalem and Bible Prophecy," Dave Hunt outlines the way Rome would control Jerusalem and the disputes between the Arabs and the Jews over Jerusalem.

The Vatican says it wants to internationalize Jerusalem to keep it safe for all religions to come and worship there.

But Hunt shows us the real motivation, "Jerusalem is to become the 'second Vatican of the world,' with all three major religions functioning there, as the Pope hinted, under the authority of Rome. ...and that Catholic governance of Jerusalem will provide a firm hand for quick settlement of future disputes between Jews and Arabs."

Hunt points out that these "future disputes" would be settled by bringing the Jews under subjection to the Vatican, "...Israel exists no longer, and in its place there is now the 'one, holy, catholic, and apostolic' Church headquartered in Rome, a Church which all mankind Jews and Gentiles, must join and to whose leadership they must submit if they are to be saved from God's wrath."

And quoting from the Vatican II council, Hunt shows us that the Vatican already considers the Moslems a part of the church: "...the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Moslems: these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us [Rome] they adore the one, merciful God..."

In the midst of Rome's neat little package deal for the subjection of Evangelicals, Israelis and Arabs Bible-believers must stand and proclaim the truth. Rome is not the church of Jesus Christ and we must call her people to come out of her.