Wings of Liberty • March 7, 2025

Don’t Relent! Ash Wednesday, And the Image to the Beast

Bible prophecy warns us to expect powerful religious forces to hijack the American government and endorse and enforce a Roman Catholic institution as a condition of buying and selling.i


This website has spoken (here, here, here and here) of the repeated papal and false Protestant efforts to seize control of civil power in the United States and reunite church and state. As Delilah the harlot sought to discover and eliminate the secret of Samson’s power, so the Papal harlot has unceasingly sought to find and eliminate the source of America’s power, and bring it to its knees.


As Delilah sensed the moment of her triumph had come, the Papacy surely senses that the fall of the mighty is near. On behalf of apostate Protestantism, the harlot’s daughters, the New Apostolic Reformation believes in the subordination of the state to the church, and counts a number of prominent politicians and advisors in Washington D.C. as its followers.ii Catholic Integralism also maintains the church must control the state, and counts the Vice President as its follower,iii as well as multiple Cabinet members from the Opus Dei-influenced Heritage Foundation.iv Catholicism and apostate Protestantism, therefore, are in a position to exert substantial control over government, in effect uniting church and state in fulfilment of Bible prophecy.


In another harbinger of the proximity of the crisis, on Wednesday, March 5, the White House held a Catholic mass on its grounds and issued a statement in celebration of the commencement of the Catholic festival of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The statement of the President and First Lady reads as follows:


 This Ash Wednesday, we join in prayer with the tens of millions of American Catholics and other Christians beginning the holy season of Lent—a time of spiritual anticipation of the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


During the Lenten season, Christians spend 40 days and 40 nights praying, fasting, and giving alms to deepen our faith and strengthen our belief in the Gospel. Today, followers of Christ wear crosses of ash on their foreheads—a sacred reminder of our mortality and our enduring need for Christ’s infinite mercy and redeeming love.


As we solemnly contemplate Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the cross this Lent, let us prepare our souls for the coming glory of the Easter miracle.


We offer you our best wishes for a prayerful and enriching Lenten season. May Almighty God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America.v


The White House should not be hosting Catholic mass on government grounds. The White House is a government building, and it ought to be a neutral religious space, not a place to endorse the practices of any one religion, or denomination. So why are the President, the head of the Executive Branch, and the First Lady, issuing a statement on a government website with respect to Lent at all?


Donald Trump and his wife Melania can celebrate Lent if they want, but they ought not to misuse the enormous power of the US government to encourage or endorse religious practices to Americans. The Bible says, “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”vi

The point is that government leaders are welcome to observe Lent if they wish in their own personal lives, but they are out of their sphere of authority to use their influence to normalize Lent or any other religious observance.

The White House statement then claims that Lent is a Christian practice, but is Lent biblical? Does the Bible talk about moping around with the sign of the cross drawn with ashes on your forehead?


The Bible answer is a resounding ‘No’. Lent is not a biblical precept or festival any more than Sunday is the biblical Sabbath. Both are Roman Catholic traditions devoid of Scriptural origin.


With respect to Sunday observance, Rome boasts of its change of the Sabbath, even issuing an unanswerable challenge to Protestants who bow in homage to her authority in honoring Sunday. We invite you to read “Rome’s Challenge” if you have never done so.vii


Similarly, Lent is a Roman Catholic tradition. It is a merits-based exercise from start to finish devoid of the righteousness of Christ. The Reformer John Calvin called it “superstitious” and “wrongheaded zeal.”viii The Reformer Ulrich Zwingli declared the observance of Lent incongruous with the Christian gospel in a sermon on April 16, 1522.ix We would add that Lent is precisely the kind of public virtue signalling the Bible condemnsx and right-wing conservatives dislike about their left-wing opponents. Think of it as the Catholic version of painting a rainbow on your face.


Key Points of the White House Statement


The endorsement and promotion of Lent by the White House is a violation of the spirit of the separation of church and state. It is a formal commendation by the civil power of the US government of a Roman Catholic religious festival.


Consider the following.


  1. The Executive Branch of the US government has no business declaring its favor, participation in, or endorsement of a certain religion’s festivals


The White House in its statement on the official government website refers to "the holy season of Lent". As discussed, there is nothing in the Holy Bible about Lent being a holy season. God never said anything about Lent at all, it is wholly an ordination of the Man of Sin. But apart from this, the Executive Branch of government should not be declaring festivals or feast days to be holy or unholy. That is not the proper role of any earthly government.


When God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses, they were written on two tables, thus evidencing the difference between humanity’s obligations to God, and humanity’s obligations to their fellow humanity. Christ declared in immortal words the principle of the separation of church and state when He stated, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”xi


God is holy, and it is for the Lord to declare what is holy and what is not. Caesar is not holy, and has nothing to do with saying what is or is not holy. Any attempt to declare that something is holy when God has not said that it is holy is an intrusion on the exclusive territory of the Deity.


2. The White House states that, During the Lenten season, “Christians spend 40 days and 40 nights praying”, and "Today, followers of Christ wear crosses of ash on their foreheads."


It is not for the American government to declare what the followers of Christ do or do not do. This ill-conceived statement underscores the pitfalls of government wading into the religious realm to declare what is orthodox.

First, and strictly factually speaking, it is the followers of the Papacy, and Pope Gregory specifically, who put ashes on their foreheads,xii it is not done pursuant to any decree of Christ. According to the Catholic Church, “the use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance.”xiii Canonical penance is a form of works-based righteousness by which Catholics believe they accrue or accumulate personal merit to gain standing with God. Penance in Catholicism was declared by the Council of Trentxiv to be “at all times necessary for the remission of grievous sin.”xv The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the person who sins “must repent and as far as possible make reparation to Divine justice.”xvi


But the Bible teaches that Christ has made reparation for humanity. He died “once for all”,xvii and that the “Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”xviii No additional reparations (works) can be added to the completed work of Christ in taking the sins of the world upon Himself. The Apostle Paul states, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”xix


3. The White House claims the penance of Lent “deepens our faith and strengthens our belief in the Gospel”


Is this true? No, it is not. Works based righteousness, i.e. wearing ashes on one’s forehead to make reparations for sin, undermine and repudiate faith in the Gospel. They do not strengthen faith in the Gospel at all! Such acts of penance declare that a person places merit on their own acts of contrition, their own works, to commend themselves to God, and disbelieve the sufficiency of Christ’s payment for the sins of the world.xx


4. Jesus Christ never wore ashes on His forehead, nor did He command His followers to do any such thing, nor is there any example of any of His apostles doing this


On what basis does the White House presume to declare that the followers of Christ do this?

Do the mournful people following the Papacy’s Lent realize that Jesus specifically taught His followers not to fast in this way? The Lord declared, “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”xxi

Christ said the reward of the people with ashes prominently displayed on their foreheads is the notice of men, not the commendation of God.


5. The White House states that we should "... prepare our souls for the coming glory of the Easter miracle" by fasting for Lent.


Should a neutral state on a government website be making this statement? Is it the place of the Executive Branch to offer spiritual advice to Americans? Why is the U.S. government promoting the Papal teaching that penance and fasting is required to prepare for Easter?


Promoting papal teachings on Lent is a definite step toward promoting Papal teaching on the sacredness of Sunday. Since the White House has already declared that the Papal practice of Lent is “holy”, is it not reasonably foreseeable that the White House will one day declare that the Papal teaching of Sunday is also holy, and is the day that Christians rest from their labors?


CONCLUSION

The Bible teaches that religious forces will cause America to make an image to the Papal power, and enforce observance of the mark of Papal authority – the change of the fourth commandment to solemnize dia solis, the Day of the Sun – Sunday.


Revelation 13 states that the Lamb-like Beast will cause everyone “to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.”xxii Given the certainty of the prophetic warnings in Revelation 13, the White House’s endorsement of Papal ashes on the foreheads of Americans is uncomfortable foreshadowing.

Lent has its origins in paganism and Babylonian myth. The word "Lent" comes from the Old English word for Spring, "Lencten". To read about the pagan origins of Lent, and the 40 day weeping for Tammuz referred to in Ezekiel 8:13, 14,..... click here.

_______________________





i Revelation 13: 11-18


ii https://forward.com/culture/672745/christian-nationalist-guide-influence-trump-election/; NAR Apostle Paula White is the Senior Advisor of the newly created White House Faith Office.


iii https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/j-d-vance-and-the-rise-of-the-postliberal-catholics.html


iv https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/26/kevin-roberts-project-2025-opus-dei


v https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/03/the-president-and-first-ladys-message-on-ash-wednesday-2025/


vi Romans 14 :22


vii https://www.romeschallenge.com/


viii https://heidelblog.net/2013/02/calvin-on-lent/


ix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Sausages#:~:text=The%20Affair%20of%20the%20Sausages%20(1522)%20was,God%2C%20Huldrych%20Zwingli%27s%20Reformation%20took%20its%20start.%22


x Isaiah 58:4, 5 “Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?”.


xi Mark 12:17


xii https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/lent/ash-wednesday.html?

srsltid=AfmBOopiIDBGnYFGsJhchQ4xtGbzxfWFN-JckjKMQbIAu_fMH_IUkgo-

 

xiii https://www.ncregister.com/blog/9-things-to-know-and-share-about-ash-wednesday-oeeorfvu - penance is a Catholic concept of works-based merit to earn standing with God.

 

xiv (Sess. XIV, c.i)


xv https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618b.htm


xvi https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618b.htm


xvii Hebrews 10:10


xviii Isaiah 53:6


xix Romans 4:4,5


xx 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead: And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. Colosians 1:20, 21 For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled.


xxi Matthew 6:16


xxii Revelation 13:16

THE MAN OF SIN: THE PAPAL CLAIM TO DIVINITY

By Wings of Liberty • January 18, 2026
As ecumenical dialogue sweeps the planet and the Protestant denominations return to their mother, as Revelation 17 prophesied, we wish to remind the remaining Protestants on the fence of the history of the Reformation: please remember your history, and who you are thinking of going back to. At the heart of the Reformation, is the issue of sola scriptura. The Bible is the Word of God. It is the sole rule of faith. The Papacy has always put itself above the Word of God. Like the serpent of old, it says, “hath God said?”, and insinuates itself between man and God. The Pope “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” – 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Nothing has changed in the Papacy. The change is in Protestantism. Please consider where you are going before it is forever too late.

The Law of Iron

By Wings of Liberty • January 9, 2026
The following remarkable interview occurred this week between Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller and CNN’s Jake Tapper. The discussion involved the capture of Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela, the fate of its enormous resources, and growing imperialistic intentions targeting the island of Greenland.

FAKE MONEY, FAKE SABBATH

By Wings of Liberty • December 21, 2025
FAKE MONEY, FAKE SABBATH Everyone knows it is a crime to print fake money, or to use it, also known as “passing it off”, as legal tender. If you want to go to jail fast, print fake money and give it to your buddies for their trips to 7/11. Why does the government get so bent out of shape if you make your own money? Because that’s their exclusive domain. The Constitution (Article 1, section 8) says that only Congress has the power to print money. And boy are they doing a lot of it! 38 Trillion of it in fact, and counting, and they don’t want any competition from civilians. Yes, if there’s anything left in the Constitution that the federal government actually takes seriously it’s the right to print money! The Bible says that we are to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s – Matthew 22:21. There is no doubt that regulating money is primarily the domain of government. Similar to ancient Rome, it has the faces of it's leaders on it. American money also bears the Great Seal of the United States, featuring the coat of arms on one side, and the so-called Eye of Providence on the other, a symbol which bears uncanny resemblance to the Eye of Horus in the rites of ancient Egypt, as well as the All-Seeing Eye in occult practices. God, the Creator and eternal sovereign of the universe, also has an exclusive domain, and he’s even more jealous about His authority than Caesar. Caesar has been delegated temporary oversight (by God) of civil government while this earth remains. But God has always retained sovereignty over religious matters. His domain is itemized in the first four commandments of the Decalogue, separated and enumerated on a separate table of stone to show unmistakably that this is the Creator’s exclusive domain. As part of humanity’s obligations to the Creator, God declares that the seventh day of the week is His Sabbath, and He blessed it as such. The Sabbath predates the fall of humanity – Genesis 2:1-3. It is the sign of His creative power – Exodus 20:11. It is the sign of His sanctifying power – Exodus 31:13; Hebrews 4:9, 10. The seventh day is “the Sabbath of the Lord thy God” – Exodus 20:10; Mark 2:28. God has exclusive jurisdiction over the Sabbath. It bears the great seal of the Creator – His name – the LORD; His title – Creator; His jurisdiction – heaven and earth – Exodus 20:11. God is far more jealous over His Sabbath than Congress is over money printing. The government will throw you in jail if you help it print money. But the Bible says that those who attempt to change the words of the Most High will be destroyed – Revelation 22:19. The Founding Fathers of America believed in the separation of church and state. But there has arisen new kings today “who know not Joseph”, nor the blessings that Providence bestowed on this great land in the past. The forces which are running America into the ground through debt will also establish a counterfeit Sabbath. Sunday sacredness will be exalted, and passed off to the public as the genuine article in much the same way any common counterfeiter makes fake Benjamins. If Congress jealously guards the right to print money, does it not think the God of the universe will jealously guard His Sabbath from counterfeiters? But that is what Sunday sacredness is – it is a counterfeit. It is the mark of the Papacy, and the sign of its authority. It is the Roman Catholic Papacy which boasts to have changed the law of God – it admits it is a counterfeiter. The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine by Reverend Peter Giermann states the following: “ Question: Which is the Sabbath day? Answer : Saturday is the Sabbath day. Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church in the Council of Laodicea transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” The Reverend Steven Keenan’s Doctrinal Catechism says similar: “ Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day; a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” There are many indicators which demonstrate that powerful forces are pushing American society toward a union of church and state and the imposition of Sunday rest laws on the populace. Jesuit-educated Erika Kirk, the new president of Turning Point USA, has given an interview where she laments the loss of Sunday blue laws, and has stated that society must be “retrained”. i On November 13, 2025, the Michigan House of Representatives passed House Resolution 222 which officially declares November 23, 2025, as “Christ the King Sunday”. Christian Nationalists today want the same thing Pius XI wanted when he wrote his encyclical Quas Primas in 1925 (which is referenced in the Michigan resolution), and created the original Catholic Feast of Christ the King Sunday. They want a union of church and state. The Michigan resolution was sponsored by Republican state Representative and Catholic, Josh Schriver, who also sponsored a resolution in September 2025 to honor Pope Leo XIV upon his election as pope. ii The White House has issued another press release honoring another Catholic holiday. First it honored Lent, and encouraged Christians to observe Lent, which is a festival entirely devoid of biblical basis. Now it has honored the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. iii The executive branch of government has declared that, “For nearly 250 years, Mary has played a distinct role in our great American story”, and “As we approach 250 years of glorious American Independence, we acknowledge and give thanks, with total gratitude, for Mary’s role in advancing peace, hope, and love in America and beyond our shores.” The attribution of God’s blessing and protection over America to Mary is idolatry, and blasphemy. Papist Jonathan Berry, architect of Project 2025’s Sunday provisions, has been ratified as Solicitor of Labor. The Department of Labor has wasted no time in moving toward a unification of church and state. It is hosting regular prayer services where federal employees are encouraged to pray and sing hymns. iv Berry has stated his intention to restore Sunday sacredness in America and use his civil authority as Solicitor of Labor to punish transgressors of Sunday rest laws. v Sunday laws are coming. A global conversation has begun and it will grow until it becomes the dominant issue on this planet. Everyone on earth will pick a side. On one side is the Creator of the universe, and His pledge to “write His laws in our hearts and in our minds – Jeremiah 31:31-33. To make all things new. He says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” On the other side is the ecumenical movement, the Papacy, the civil and apostate powers of government, and their false Sabbath, the eminent pagan day of the Sun. You will decide where you stand. ________________________________ i https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2HjvrMaHnlw ii https://www.wingsofliberty.net/michigan-house-of-representatives-pass-resolution-to-establish-papal-holiday iii https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/12/presidential-message-on-the-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception/ iv https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/12/politics/department-of-labor-hosts-first-prayer-service-emulating-regular-pentagon-events v https://www.wingsofliberty.net/copy-of-the-curse-of-church-and-state-part-3-liberty-threatened