A Thanksgiving Message

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Hebrews 11:13

Dear Friends in Christ,

As Thanksgiving arrives, our hearts are drawn back to Plymouth Massachusetts  in 1620—to those courageous men and women who crossed the Atlantic not for comfort, but to preserve a pure faith according to the Word of God. The Pilgrims did not merely seek a new land; they sought freedom from the spiritual tyranny of Rome and from every intrusion upon the authority of Scripture.

The Pilgrims knew what they were fleeing from. Their real life experiences brought strong convictions and in their resolve to remain free from the corruptions of Roman Catholicism they penned the Cambridge Platform.  In the Cambridge Platform of 1648, we read In CHAPTER XXVI. (26)  Section IV (4)  

There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ, nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God, whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

William Bradford, the Governor of Plymouth, clearly warned of Rome’s influence and recorded why the Pilgrims fled England. In the very first chapter of Governor Bradford’s   “Of Plymouth Plantation”  he wrote:

It is well known to all godly and discerning people that ever since the first shining of the gospel light in our honorable nation of England—being the first nation the Lord adorned with that light after the thick darkness of popery had covered and overspread the Christian world—Satan has, from that time until now, continually stirred up wars and opposition against the saints in one form or another.

Sometimes he has used bloody deaths and cruel tortures; at other times he has used imprisonments, exile, and many other harsh treatments. For he is unwilling to see his kingdom fall, the truth advance, or the churches of God return to their ancient purity and recover their original order, liberty, and beauty.

Throughout the text, Governor Bradford condemns the work and doctrines of popery.

“the darkness of popish ceremonies, and men’s inventions thrust into the worship of God… the grievous bondage of men’s commandments.”

“the grosse darknes of popery which had covered & overspred ye Christian worled”

“…the ceremonies, the service book, and other popish and antichristian inventions — which have been the plague of England to this very day.”

“After the great apostasy brought about by Antichrist — the Man of Sin — the churches fell from their purity and gospel order.”

These early believers understood that Rome’s authority stood in direct contradiction to the finished work of Christ and the sufficiency of Scripture. Their stand—costly, unwavering, and rooted in biblical conviction—laid the foundation for the freedoms we enjoy today.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we honor their legacy, remembering that true liberty survives only where Christ’s truth is upheld above every earthly power.

At the Berean Beacon, we labor in that same spirit—exposing the utter depravity and horrors of Roman Catholicism and calling men and women out of spiritual deception and into the marvelous light of the gospel of grace. And we are deeply grateful for you, our fellow workers in this mission.

Your prayers sustain this ministry. Your financial support enables every video, article, internet outreach, and testimony. Your partnership makes it possible to continue Richard Bennett’s legacy of exposing Rome’s errors and proclaiming the gospel of Christ with clarity and compassion.

From our hearts to yours—thank you. May the Lord bless your home this Thanksgiving with His peace, His presence, and a renewed confidence in His unchanging Word.

In the love of Christ, Greg Bentley

For Further Reading at the Berean Beacon
The Early Authentic Church and the Deception of Roman Catholicism
Sola Scriptura and the Early Church
Sufferings of the English Protestants Under Bloody Queen Mary