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

MAY 17, 2026: REDEDICATION AND THE IMAGE OF GOLD

By Wings of Liberty • May 6, 2026
Nearly six hundred years before the birth of Christ something occurred in ancient Babylon which symbolizes the final events of our day. The most powerful king in the world at that time erected a statue of gold on the plain of Dura, and called the dignitaries of his kingdom to come bow down and worship it. The Bible says that they “were to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up” – Daniel 3:3. Carefully note the wording. Nebuchadnezzar’s dedication of the image was a service which blended worship and patriotism: Religious Nationalism. Church and state. Attendance and participation were mandatory. The statue symbolized a golden age that would never end. It was not just a civil idea, it was a religious idea, in direct response, a rejection, to the dream Nebuchadnezzar had in Daniel 2. The ceremony of the dedication of the image in Daniel 3 was a religio-nationalist event. Failure to worship the image was not only unpatriotic, it was a capital crime, punishable by execution in a fiery furnace. See Daniel 3:1-6. Daniel was a book sealed – Daniel 12:4. Revelation is a book opened – Revelation 5:5. Revelation, in other words, explains the book of Daniel and its prophetic significance to us. Revelation 13 maps out a repeat of the events of Daniel 3 and 6, but on a worldwide scale. The healing of the deadly wound to the papal power – this is finished. We have already passed it in the dust of history. It occurred in 1929 when civil power was restored to the Vatican, uniting church and state. Next is the setting up of the image to the papal power. Church and state. In Daniel 3, the three Hebrew worthies face a religious-political test. In Daniel 6, Daniel faces a similar political and religious test. The Lord is informing us of what is to come. In Revelation 13 we have the explanation. The Bible declares: Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 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. Fast forward from Babylon to our day, more than two and a half millennia later. The most powerful man in the world is calling the country to the re-dedication of the nation. Re-dedication to what??? Rededication to its founding principles? Rededication to the separation of powers? Apparently not, for the three branches of government are collapsing into the power of the executive branch. Rededication to the separation of church and state? Negative. Rededication to liberty of conscience? Nope. Freedom of religion? No. None of these. The meaning of Trump’s “Golden Age” is the same as in ancient Babylon: permanence and power. It is not a civil service alone that is planned. No, there is a religious element to this service, as there was in Daniel 3. There is mention of a god. Re-dedication to God. This is religio-political language. The rededication of the nation to God. And that is the same forbidden ground that Nebuchadnezzar trod on more than two and a half thousand years ago during the height of ancient Babylon and its golden image which was supposed to herald a golden age. The parallels are astonishing. Striking. Too clear to miss. To blend religion and civil governance is to make an image to that oppressive and despotic papal power which ruled the world for 1260 years. Revelation prophecies that the “lamb-like beast” which comes up out of the earth will make an image to the papal power. That means America – which is built on a separation of church and state – will reunite church and state once more in violation of its founding principles. This is happening right now. The world will change forever on May 17, 2026. Church and state are uniting, and the nation, in violation of its founding principles and the First Amendment, will gather to rededicate civil society to God. With a union of church and state will come the push for religious legislation, because if the nation is dedicated to a god, then it will next attempt to enforce the observance and worship of that god. The blessings of God have been showered on America, but always on the condition that it maintain its covenant to safeguard liberty of conscience and the separation of church and state. The blending of church and state violates that covenant and will lead to a marked deterioration in every aspect of society. Babylon is fallen, is fallen – Revelation 14:8. The mark is coming – the requirement that Sunday be sanctified. That is the mark of papal power – the contended change of the fourth commandment. Revelation 14 contains the last warning to humanity: Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 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. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Donald Messiah

By Wings of Liberty • April 13, 2026
World leaders tend to have inflated egos. Familiarity with worldly power and the ability to command armies and multitudes tends to go to their head. But as arrogant and narcissistic as the average head of state is, few of them claim to be god. That class of elite arrogance is usually reserved for a select group of the great megalomaniacs of history. 1 Pharoah in Egypt right before his country was destroyed by the ten plagues. Herod before he was eaten by worms, right after the multitudes declared, “it is the voice of a god, and not a man” – Acts 12:22. Papa Doc Duvalier in Haiti, who rewrote the Lord’s Prayer to give worship to himself – “Our Doc, Who art in the National Palace…/Hallowed be Thy name…/Thy will be done at Port-au-Prince and in the provinces/Give us this day our new Haiti/and never forgive the trespasses of the antipatriots who spit every day on our country”. Pharoah. Herod. Alexander the Great, who is rumored to have drowned in his own vomit. Papa Doc. And Donald Trump.  Long tending towards delusions of deity, the president released an end time signal picture on April 12, 2026 on his own platform, “Truth Social”.

HORMUZ STRAIT-JACKET, OVERWHELMING SURPRISE

By Wings of Liberty • March 30, 2026
The following paragraph was penned over 120 years ago, but accurately describe the events of our world today. And tomorrow. In the last scenes of this earth’s history, war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him. Maranatha, 174 (1897). … It is March 30, 2026. The Strait of Hormuz, a corridor through which a third of global shipping once passed, i has been largely closed to traffic for thirty days. The population at large has yet to realize the full catastrophic implications of this closure. When they do, they are likely to panic. In the weeks leading up to the commencement of the war in Iran, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate fluctuated between $55 and $66/barrel. Today, it is $101.56/barrel. Brent crude is even higher, surpassing $115/barrel as of the time of writing. The Strait of Hormuz is the conduit for 40% of global fertilizer shipments, and 50% of urea shipments. 50% of global sulphur, used in pesticides, insecticides, and fungicides, come through the Strait of Hormuz. All such traffic is at a standstill. Already struggling farmers are confronted with the twin spectres of rapidly rising fuel costs and limited fertilizer. Maybe the timing of the invasion of Iran is just a coincidence. Maybe it was unforeseen that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz if it was attacked. Maybe the people who plan wars don’t have sophisticated war gaming capabilities and artificial intelligence war simulators which project likely outcomes. Or maybe, if the elites who want a global population collapse could pick any moment to interrupt shipping traffic and create conditions for widespread famine on planet earth, they would pick the spring planting season. Coincidence or not, in addition to the cessation of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, China has also restricted fertilizer exports. ii Suddenly, the prospect of famine in various places globally is rising. To say that people are unprepared would be a gross understatement. Grocery stores in the western world stock approximately 3 days worth of food. Nearly all domestic food transportation globally runs on diesel. On February 23, 2026, the U.S. retail diesel price was $3.809 per gallon. By March 23, 2026, it had risen to $5.375 per gallon. Those costs will be passed on to consumers sooner or later, and inflation will erode the savings and financial stability of the population. Nations are being squeezed. Many countries in Asia have implemented fuel rationing. Sri Lanka has introduced a QR-code-based rationing system limiting private cars to 15 litres per week. Bangladesh restricts motorcycle purchases to 2 litres per day and private cars to 10 litres per day. Myanmar has instituted an "odd-even" rationing system for fuel purchases based on vehicle registration numbers. Cambodia has seen significant closures with a third of petrol pumps shut down. South Korea has ordered public servants to reduce passenger car use and capped refined fuel exports. Thailand has encouraged remote work, limited air conditioning to 26°C, and suspended fuel exports. Vietnam is encouraging remote work and limiting personal vehicle use, while some smaller stations have temporarily closed due to declining supplies. Nepal has limited the use of official vehicles to essential services and is considering an odd-even system for private vehicles. Pakistan has reduced available fuel for government vehicles by half. We have repeatedly been told that the war in Iran will be over quickly. But US soldiers were informed by their commanding officers that this war will bring in Armageddon. If the theocons who control the White House are anticipating Armageddon, why would anyone think that this is going to be a transitory situation? Or that everything will go back to normal if the Iran issue is resolved? The reality is that a paradigm shift has taken place in the upper echelons of power in America. There is now a union of church and state, and the Iran war is a religious war. A “holy war”, at the conclusion of which the theocons claim will usher in a “golden age” of peace and prosperity. Stock markets and political analysts have yet to understand, or even begin to consider, what this means in all its various ramifications. In the meantime, we propose that readers watch the following video on food scarcity, and seriously consider taking steps to plant a garden soon. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c77M4mC7yLg ________________________________________________ i https://www.etcgroup.org/content/experts-warn-strait-hormuz-fertilizer-and-fuel-blockage-could-lead-global-food-crisis ii https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-restricts-fertiliser-exports-further-crimping-war-tightened-supply-2026-03-19/