Chapter 14: The Ecumenical Trap
The Most Dangerous Deception
You've seen the spiritual counterfeits: channeling, psychedelics, New Age practices. Each one offered partial truth mixed with something else entirely.
These deceptions aren't just theological errors. They're judgments, plagues upon churches that have abandoned truth (see Chapter 15).
But there's a deception more dangerous than all of them combined.
It doesn't come from obvious occult sources. It doesn't require drugs or meditation techniques. It doesn't ask you to channel entities or consult astrology charts.
It comes wrapped in the language of love, unity, and tolerance. It quotes Jesus saying "that they all may be one" (John 17:21). It appeals to your desire for peace, your exhaustion with division, your longing for Christians to stop fighting and start working together.
It's called the ecumenical movement.
And it's building the platform for the mark of the beast.
Denomination decoder timeline: https://theremnantthread.com/studies/denomination-decoder
What Ecumenism Really Means
Ecumenism comes from the Greek oikoumene (οἰκουμένη), meaning "the whole inhabited world." The ecumenical movement seeks to unite all Christian denominations (and increasingly, all religions) under one banner.
Sounds beautiful, doesn't it?
Unity. Cooperation. Breaking down walls. Setting aside petty theological differences to focus on serving humanity together.
The problem is simple: You cannot have unity without truth.
When Jesus prayed "that they all may be one" (John 17:21), He didn't pray for organizational unity at the expense of doctrine. The full prayer:
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth."
Unity comes through truth, not despite it.
The ecumenical movement inverts this. It says: "Let's set aside our doctrinal differences and focus on what we agree on."
Translation: Let's pretend the commandments don't matter as long as we're nice to each other.
But the remnant is identified by specific criteria (Revelation 12:17): those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Not those who have warm feelings about Jesus while ignoring what He commanded.
The Vatican's Ecumenical Strategy
The modern ecumenical movement has a clear center of gravity: the Roman Catholic Church.
Not every ecumenical participant realizes this. Many Protestants genuinely believe they're participating in grassroots Christian unity. But follow the institutional power, the diplomatic initiatives, the coordinated messaging. It all flows through Vatican channels.
Vatican II: The Strategy Shift (1962-1965)
For centuries, the Catholic Church's position toward Protestants was straightforward:
You're heretics. Come back to the Roman Catholic Church or face eternal damnation.
Then came the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), which fundamentally changed the Roman Catholic Church's public strategy.
Instead of denouncing Protestants as heretics, Vatican II called them "separated brethren," Christians who had valid baptism and elements of truth, but needed to return to "full communion" with the Roman Catholic Church.
The language softened. The condemnations became invitations. The anathemas became dialogue.
But the goal never changed: Bring the Protestants back under papal authority.
Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism (1964) states:1 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Unitatis Redintegratio [Decree on Ecumenism], November 21, 1964, Introduction §1. Vatican Archive. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html.
"The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council... The term 'ecumenical movement' indicates the initiatives and activities encouraged and organized, according to the various needs of the Church and as opportunities offer, to promote Christian unity."
The call is for unity itself, not "unity around truth" or "unity through commandment-keeping," which leads to the assumption that unity under the Roman Catholic Church is unity in truth.
The Spiritual Infiltration
Ecumenism isn't just organizational. It's spiritual.
Before any unity document is signed, the preparation has already happened.
The Vocabulary Shift
The language in evangelical churches has changed over the past thirty years:
- "Quiet time" became "contemplative prayer"
- "Bible study" became "lectio divina"
- "Prayer" became "centering"
- "Devotional life" became "spiritual formation"
These aren't different words for the same thing. They're Catholic vocabulary for Catholic practices.
Protestants now use Catholic terms without recognizing either.
The Result
The spiritual formation movement, now mainstream in evangelical seminaries, draws explicitly from Catholic sources (see Chapter 13). Richard Foster admits the term came from Catholicism. Dallas Willard's recommended reading includes Catholic mystics. Evangelical leaders attend retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.
The Enneagram (rooted in occult channeling, transmitted through Jesuit priests) is standard in evangelical leadership training.
No Vatican document required. No interfaith summit needed.
The fusion has already happened in the spirituality of ordinary evangelicals.
The Implication
Organizational ecumenism makes headlines. Spiritual ecumenism transforms quietly.
When Protestants already practice Catholic-derived spirituality, unity documents just ratify what's already real.
When evangelical leaders read Catholic authors, recommend Catholic practices, and use Catholic vocabulary, the Reformation is over in practice, whatever they say in theory.
The trap isn't being set. The spiritual preparation was complete a generation ago.
Pope Francis: The Acceleration
Every pope since Vatican II has advanced the ecumenical agenda, but Pope Francis has accelerated it dramatically.
February 4, 2019: The Document on Human Fraternity
Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb signed a joint declaration in Abu Dhabi. The full passage states:2 Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, "A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together," Abu Dhabi, February 4, 2019. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2019/outside/documents/papa-francesco_20190204_documento-fratellanza-umana.html. Archived at: [archive link]
"Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings."
The phrase "diversity of religions... are willed by God in His wisdom" immediately sparked controversy. Does God actively will Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism to exist as valid paths? Or does He merely permit them while desiring all to know truth?
One month later, Bishop Athanasius Schneider confronted Pope Francis privately during a March 2019 ad limina visit. The Pope responded that the phrase should be understood in the sense of God's "permissive will" (God allows it through human free choice) rather than His "positive will" (what God actively desires).Bishop Athanasius Schneider reported Pope Francis's private clarification in March 2019. See: "Bishop Schneider: Pope clarified statement on 'diversity of religions,'" Catholic Herald, March 8, 2019. https://catholicherald.co.uk/bishop-schneider-pope-clarified-statement-on-diversity-of-religions/. Archived at: Archive.org
At an April 3, 2019 general audience, Pope Francis stated publicly: "Why does God allow many religions? God wanted to allow this: Scholastic theologians used to refer to God's voluntas permissiva [permissive will]. He wanted to allow this reality: there are many religions."Pope Francis, General Audience, April 3, 2019. Quoted in multiple sources. See: "Does God want religious diversity? Abu Dhabi text raises questions," National Catholic Reporter, February 7, 2019. https://www.ncronline.org/spirituality/does-god-want-religious-diversity-abu-dhabi-text-raises-questions. Archived at: Archive.org
The problem: No official clarification or correction was ever issued.
Bishop Schneider requested that Pope Francis publish an official clarification through a Vatican dicastery. He never did. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued no statement. The document itself was never amended. The controversial phrase remains unchanged on the Vatican website.
On June 10, 2019, Cardinals Raymond Burke and Jānis Pujats, along with several bishops, published a "Declaration of Truths" responding to the controversy, stating: "The religion born of faith in Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church, is the only religion positively willed by God.""Declaration of the truths relating to some of the most common errors in the life of the Church of our time," published June 10, 2019 (Pentecost Monday), signed by Cardinals Raymond Burke, Jānis Pujats, Archbishop Tomash Peta, Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, and Bishop Athanasius Schneider. See: Edward Pentin, "New 'Declaration of Truths' Affirms Key Church Teachings," National Catholic Register, June 10, 2019, https://www.ncregister.com/news/new-declaration-of-truths-affirms-key-church-teachings (Archive.org).
Even interpreted charitably as "permissive will," the implications are problematic. If God permits Islam's rejection of Jesus as Son of God, Hinduism's polytheism, and Buddhism's godless philosophy (while desiring unity and peace with these systems), then doctrinal truth becomes secondary to interfaith cooperation. The question shifts from "What does God command?" to "What can we agree on despite our differences?"
But Jesus didn't say "I am a way, a truth, and a life."
He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
Exclusive truth claim. Not pluralism. Not "all religions are valid paths." Whether interpreted as God's "permissive will" or not, signing a document with a Muslim leader that equates religious diversity with racial and linguistic diversity blurs the line between truth and error in service of ecumenical unity.
October 2020: Pope Francis on Civil Unions
In a documentary interview, Pope Francis endorsed civil unions for same-sex couples, saying:3 Pope Francis, interview in documentary Francesco directed by Evgeny Afineevsky, premiered October 21, 2020, Rome Film Festival. Quoted in: "Pope Francis voices support for same-sex civil unions in new documentary," Catholic News Agency, October 21, 2020. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/46093/pope-francis-voices-support-for-same-sex-civil-unions-in-new-documentary.
"Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God... What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered."
This isn't just theological liberalism. This is the pattern: Unity with the world's values supersedes obedience to God's commands.
The Bible is clear: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Leviticus 18:22). Jesus affirmed: "He which made them at the beginning made them male and female" (Matthew 19:4).
But ecumenism requires compromise. If you want unity with modern culture, you set aside "divisive" biblical standards.
The LGBTQ+ issue is just the test case. The real question beneath it: truth or unity?
Pope Leo XIV: The Pattern Continues
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025. Within weeks, the College of Cardinals elected Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history.
The choice of papal name carries weight.
Leo X (1513-1521) was the pope who excommunicated Martin Luther in 1521, fought the Protestant Reformation tooth and nail, and endorsed the selling of indulgences. He wanted Luther executed as a heretic.
Now a new pope chooses "Leo" while pursuing Protestant-Catholic reunion.
The irony is deliberate. The name that crushed the Reformation now welcomes Protestants home.
Leo XIV is also the first Augustinian pope. Saint Augustine (354-430 AD) shaped the theological framework that defines Roman Catholicism:
- Trinity doctrine formulation
- Original sin theology
- Sacramental understanding
- Church authority concepts
The pope who advances ecumenical unity comes from the order of the theologian who shaped the doctrines Protestantism challenged.
In November 2025, Pope Leo XIV traveled to İznik, Turkey (ancient Nicaea) for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD). He signed joint declarations with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, advancing Catholic-Orthodox reunion.
Why does Nicaea matter?
The Council of Nicaea came just four years after Constantine's 321 AD Sunday edict. The same era that codified the Nicene Creed (foundation of Trinity doctrine) also marginalized Sabbath-keeping and elevated Sunday. The council that Pope Leo XIV celebrates is the council that formalized the doctrinal departures from apostolic Christianity.
The climate-Sunday agenda continues uninterrupted.
Within months of his election, Leo XIV was addressing the United Nations climate conference: "God's creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat." He explicitly invoked Laudato Si' and called for "true ecological conversion."
The platform Francis built, Leo expands.
Protestant Capitulation
You'd expect Protestants to recognize the trap and resist.
Instead, they're racing to join.
The Manhattan Declaration (2009)
More than 150 Christian leaders (Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical) signed a joint declaration affirming "the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty."4 "Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," November 20, 2009. Original signatories included Chuck Colson, Robert George, Timothy George, and over 150 Christian leaders from Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical traditions. Full text available at https://manhattandeclaration.org/. It obscured the fundamental differences (Sabbath vs Sunday, sola scriptura vs tradition, justification by faith vs works + sacraments) by focusing on shared social positions.
Sounds good, right?
The problem: It positioned Catholics and Evangelicals as theological allies fighting common cultural battles.
Unity around political goals replaced unity around biblical truth.
The Lausanne Movement
The Lausanne Movement, birthed from Billy Graham's evangelistic efforts, now actively promotes Catholic-Evangelical cooperation.5 The Lausanne Movement originated from the First International Congress on World Evangelization (Lausanne, Switzerland, 1974), convened by Billy Graham. The Fourth Lausanne Congress took place in Seoul, South Korea, September 22-28, 2024. See "About Lausanne," The Lausanne Movement, https://lausanne.org/about, and "Seoul 2024," https://lausanne.org/gatherings/congress/seoul-2024.
The Fourth Lausanne Congress (Seoul, 2024) included Catholic participants and emphasized "global collaboration" in evangelism as if Catholics and Protestants preach the same gospel.
But they don't.
The Protestant gospel: Saved by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Catholic gospel: Saved by grace + works + sacraments + purgatory.
Those aren't compatible. You can't have unity while preaching different paths to salvation.
Ecumenical Worship Services
In cities across America and Europe, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and sometimes Muslims gather for joint worship services.
They pray together. Sing together. Celebrate "unity."
But they don't worship the same God.
Catholics worship through Mary as mediatrix. Protestants (theoretically) reject this. Catholics observe Sunday as a holy day. The remnant keeps the seventh-day Sabbath. Many Protestants have adopted Trinity. The biblical testimony is the Father alone as the only true God (John 17:3).
When you worship together despite fundamental doctrinal differences, you're not uniting in truth. You're uniting in compromise.
And compromise with error is still error.
The Climate Sabbath: Sunday as Unifying Cause
This is where ecumenism becomes prophetically significant.
Various religious and secular groups are now promoting Sunday rest as an environmental solution.
The logic goes:
- Climate change threatens the planet
- Overconsumption and constant work contribute to environmental degradation
- A mandatory day of rest would reduce carbon emissions and give the earth time to recover
- Sunday is the traditional Christian day of rest
- Therefore, Sunday rest laws would benefit both spiritual life and planetary health
The Vatican has been explicit about this.
Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato Si' (On Care for Our Common Home) calls for Sunday rest as ecological necessity:
"On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world... We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity."
The substitution is telling: "like the Jewish Sabbath." This acknowledges Saturday was the original, but promotes Sunday as its Christian replacement. Yet what God placed inside the Ark of the Covenant (the Fourth Commandment, Exodus 40:20) cannot be legitimately "replaced" by what humans positioned outside it. The moral law in God's presence doesn't yield to papal encyclicals.
Various Protestant groups have joined the push:
- The World Council of Churches has endorsed Sunday rest legislation as environmental stewardship
- Evangelical Climate Initiative has promoted "Sabbath rest" (Sunday) as carbon reduction
- Faith-based environmental groups present Sunday laws as religious freedom (choosing to rest) rather than coercion
But here's the trap: Once Sunday rest becomes tied to planetary survival, dissent becomes ecocide.
If you refuse to observe Sunday because you keep the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday), you're not just religiously stubborn; you're actively harming the planet. You're selfish. You're putting your "legalistic" Sabbath-keeping above the survival of future generations.
This is how persecution becomes morally justified in the persecutors' minds.
They won't see themselves as opposing religious freedom. They'll see themselves as protecting the planet from dangerous fundamentalists who won't cooperate for the common good.
The Pattern: Babylon's Final Form
Stepping back, a pattern emerges:
- Doctrinal differences minimized ("We're all Christians; let's focus on what unites us")
- Social/political goals emphasized (Fight abortion, defend traditional marriage, save the planet)
- The Roman Catholic Church positioned as moral leader (Pope Francis as global conscience, Vatican as diplomatic center)
- Sunday promoted as universal rest day (For faith, family, and planetary health)
- Dissenters marginalized (Sabbath-keepers labeled divisive, legalistic, anti-environment)
- Legal enforcement proposed (Sunday laws "for the common good")
Revelation predicted this exact progression:
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
Three unclean spirits (working through dragon, beast, false prophet) gather the whole world.
Dragon: Paganism/spiritualism (the deceptions we covered in Chapter 13) Beast: the Roman Catholic Church (the papal system that changed the Sabbath) False prophet: Apostate Protestantism (churches that claim biblical authority but obey the Roman Catholic Church's Sunday)
The ecumenical movement unites all three.
New Age spirituality joins hands with Catholic mysticism joins hands with Protestant evangelicalism, all agreeing that unity matters more than truth, that doctrinal precision is divisive, that we should all just get along.
And Sunday becomes the visible, universal sign of that unity.
This is Babylon's final form: not obvious paganism, not open Satan worship, not persecution for cruelty's sake, but persecution in the name of love, unity, and saving the planet.
The most dangerous deception isn't the one that looks evil. It's the one that looks righteous.
Why Sabbath-Keepers Are the Target
You might wonder: "If the goal is global unity, why focus specifically on Sabbath-keepers? Why not just let us do our thing while everyone else observes Sunday?"
Because the seventh-day Sabbath is the seal of God, the sign of His authority as Creator.
God Himself defines it:
"Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them."
"And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."
The Sabbath is explicitly called God's sign, His mark, His seal, His identifier. Revelation 7:3 shows God sealing His servants "in their foreheads" before the final judgments. What is that seal? The sign between God and His people, the Sabbath.
Sunday is the mark of the beast, the sign of the Roman Catholic Church's authority to change God's law.
You can't have both.
When Sunday becomes the universal rest day enforced by law, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath becomes an act of visible defiance. It's a public declaration:
"I reject the authority that changed God's commandment. I obey the Creator, not the creature. I will not bow to Babylon."
That's why Sabbath-keepers become the final battleground.
Not because Sabbath-keeping saves you (it doesn't; only faith in Christ does). But because Sabbath-keeping is the visible test of loyalty when the world enforces Sunday worship.
Revelation 13:15-17 describes the enforcement:
"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
Economic boycott. Social exclusion. Legal persecution. Eventually, death decree.
All for refusing to worship (observe Sunday) when commanded.
This is why the remnant is identified as "those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus" (Revelation 12:17, 14:12).
When the world says, "Bow to unity and observe Sunday like everyone else," the remnant says:
"I will keep God's commandments, including the Fourth. I will worship on the day He commanded, not the day the world mandates. I will stand with the Creator, even if I stand alone."
That's the final test.
The Counterfeit Unity
Ecumenism offers something attractive: an end to conflict, cooperation instead of condemnation, peace among Christians.
But it's a counterfeit unity.
True unity is found in obedience to the Father's commands and testimony of His Son. False unity is found in tolerance of disobedience disguised as love.
Jesus didn't pray for organizational unity at the expense of truth. He prayed for unity through truth:
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth... that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." (John 17:17, 21)
Unity in the Father means unity in His Word. Unity in His commands. Unity in obedience.
The ecumenical movement reverses this:
- Unity first, truth later (if ever)
- Tolerance of doctrinal error for the sake of cooperation
- Setting aside "divisive" commandments (like Sabbath) to focus on "more important" things (like social justice)
But God doesn't have a hierarchy of "important" and "less important" commandments.
James 2:10 settles it:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
You can't keep nine commandments and ignore the fourth. Breaking one breaks all.
The ecumenical movement says, "Let's ignore the fourth commandment (Sabbath) so we can all get along."
The remnant says, "Let's obey all ten, even if it costs us everything."
One path leads to unity with Babylon. The other leads to unity with the Father.
The Universalism Trap
There's a teaching spreading through modern Christianity that makes the ecumenical movement look cautious by comparison.
It says everyone is already saved.
Hitler. The Pope. Your atheist neighbor. Everyone. They just don't know it yet.
Christ reconciled the entire cosmos to Himself at the Cross. The work is finished. Universal. Complete. All humanity is already "woven into His divinity."
This theology (sometimes called hyper-grace or universal reconciliation) makes the remnant disappear entirely.
If everyone's already saved, why separate? Why obey commandments? Why come out of Babylon?
You're already in.
The Texts They Cite
Universalists point to passages that use the word "all":
"Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."
"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself."
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
See? All men. All things. All made alive.
Universal salvation. No remnant. No separation. No judgment.
But context changes everything.
What "All" Means
Paul wrote another "all" passage in Romans:
"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
If "all" means every individual without exception, then all are condemned through Adam (true) and all are justified through Christ (universalism claims this too).
But six verses earlier, Paul clarified:
"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."
"They which receive."
Salvation is not automatic, not universal, not given without response.
Christ's sacrifice is sufficient for all. It's applied to those who receive.
The offer is universal. Acceptance is not.
Jesus' Binary Language
Jesus Himself spoke in absolutes:
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
Not "many go in but don't know it yet."
Few find it.
At the judgment, He divides humanity into two groups:
"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Sheep and goats. Wheat and tares. Saved and lost.
Never "everyone's already saved, some just don't realize it."
Jesus taught separation, not universal inclusion.
This pattern repeats throughout the Roman Catholic Church's theological innovations. The Trinity doctrine obscures the Father's unique position as "the only true God" (John 17:3). The immortal soul doctrine obscures the distinction between conditional life and death. Universal reconciliation obscures the distinction between saved and lost. Eastern mysticism's "all is one" theology takes this to its logical extreme: everything is divine, nothing is profane, Creator and creation merge. Each step blurs a biblical distinction God established. Each step makes the remnant's separation seem unnecessary.
Permanent Separation
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham explains:
"And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
A gulf. Fixed. No crossing.
Revelation describes those who worship the beast and receive his mark:
"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
Permanent consequences. Eternal separation.
Not "everyone's saved, but some don't experience it yet."
Why This Matters
Universal reconciliation theology erases the remnant.
If everyone's already saved, commandment-keeping doesn't matter. The Sabbath doesn't matter. Coming out of Babylon doesn't matter.
You're already woven into divinity. Just relax and enjoy it.
But Scripture describes a remnant, a specific people who "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17).
Not everyone. A remnant.
The dragon makes war against them specifically. Why wage war if they're already saved?
Universalism is the ultimate ecumenical trap. It removes every boundary, erases every distinction, and eliminates the need for obedience.
The wide gate gets wider.
And the few who find the narrow way disappear entirely.
How It Ends
Revelation 18 describes Babylon's final collapse:
"Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
"Come out of her, my people."
God has people still in Babylon. Christians in Catholic churches. Christians in Protestant churches. Christians in ecumenical organizations.
They're sincere. They love Jesus. They're trying to do right.
But they're in Babylon.
The call is clear: Come out.
Not come out when it's convenient. Not come out when your pastor agrees. Not come out when your family understands.
Come out now.
Because the plagues are falling (see Chapter 15). Judgment is already in motion. And those who remain in Babylon when her final fall comes will share in her punishment.
Ecumenism is the trap that keeps you there.
It says: "Don't be divisive. Don't leave. We're all Christians. We're working toward unity. Just be patient."
But you can't be patient with disobedience. You can't tolerate commandment-breaking for the sake of unity. You can't stay in Babylon hoping it will reform.
Babylon will never reform. It will fall.
When it does, the remnant will be standing outside.
Questions to Consider
The honest questions:
Have you equated unity with truth, believing Christians should cooperate regardless of doctrine?
Unity without truth is compromise. Unity with error is still error. Biblical unity comes through obedience to God's commands, not tolerance of their violation.
Do you care more about being accepted by other Christians than being faithful to what Scripture actually commands?
The ecumenical movement trades truth for acceptance. The remnant trades acceptance for truth. You can't have both.
If Sunday laws are promoted as necessary for planetary survival, will you compromise the fourth commandment to avoid conflict?
This is the test that's coming. The pressure will be intense: social, economic, legal. Your choice now determines your choice then.
Are you more afraid of division among Christians than disobedience to the Creator?
Jesus didn't come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). Following truth divides. The minority who obey have always been outnumbered by those who compromise.
The ecumenical trap is set. Most Christians will walk right into it, believing they're promoting unity and love.
But the remnant will recognize it for what it is: Babylon's final call to compromise.
And they will refuse.