An article in the Oct. 3, ‘03 edition of the Denver Post headlined, "Pope nearing ‘last days,' prelate says." The article reported that, "VATICAN CITY - One of Europe's top cardinals said Thursday that Pope John Paul II was nearing "the last days and months of his life," the first ranking prelate to say the 83-year-old pontiff is dying."
With this report in mind we wanted to share for consideration our 1996 Rapture Watch message which was titled, "Hebrew Pope in Waiting."
In Chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation verses 1-6 we find the main prophecy which describes the final great false religion which will control the end time, one world government for the first 3 ½ years of its 7 year dominion.
Verses 15-18 foretells of the religions eventual destruction by the one world government midway through the final 7 years. It is a hideous manifestation described as a blood thirsty, soiled woman who is drunk with evil deeds.
In Revelation 13:11-15 we are shown that this vile religion will have a leader in its beginning, which God calls the false prophet (see Rev. 19:20). This false prophet will eventually join in a revolt against the religion's main city and direct the world's worship instead to a man who will proclaim himself to be God manifest in the flesh (see II Thess. 2:3-4).
Because this religion and the false prophet have the following clues connected to them we are persuaded that this worldwide religion will present itself as Christian.
In Rev. 13:11 the false prophet is described as a bizarre lamb sporting two horns. We are told that he speaks like a dragon. Throughout the Bible the sacrificial lamb is identified with Jesus Christ. The false prophet's lamb-like appearance reveals it is Christianity he will be falsely representing.
Horns are symbols of pagan deity and earthly authority. Jesus Christ made no claim to earthly authority when He came to this world as the Lamb of God (Jn. 18:36). The horns of the false prophet reveal his occult loyalty and quest for power.
Then lastly, the voice of a dragon is clearly a reference in Scripture to Satan (Rev. 12:9). The belying appearance of a gentle lamb at first hides his role of Satan's emissary.
In Revelation 17 the religion is described as a great harlot, an indicator that this is an institution which has lent itself out to defilement and has prostituted itself from the truth.
In II Thessalonians 2:3 we are told that at the time of this deception's pinnacle of influence there will be a departure or apostasy. This cannot take place unless the deceived were once acquainted with the truth. To apostatize from the true religion of God is to fall away from His Word and His Christ. Reading II Thess. 2:9-15 in its full context verifies that this rejection of truth is precisely what will happen.
Our personal candidates for this prostituted religion and its false prophet are the Roman Catholic Institution and its Pope. We make no claim to infallibility, but we truly believe an excellent case can be made from the description of its wealth and power all the way to the fact that every disclosure of Rev. 17:7-11, in regard to this religion, dynamically link it to the location and history of Rome.
The prophesied last days world dominating 10 nation confederacy, which most prophecy students are rightly convinced will arise out of the European Union, also, not surprisingly had its start in Rome, Italy with the signing of the Treaty of Rome.
It is in Rome where the Pope and the headquarters of Roman Catholicism resides in the small, but powerful independent country known as Vatican City.
So is there any proof that the presently presiding Pope is anti-Christian and has plans for Roman Catholic, world dominion in the future? You can rest assured there is and the aging Pope John Paul II even believes that the world will be turned to Roman Catholicism through demonstrations of supernatural signs. Read Rev. 13:11-15 again very carefully concerning the coming false prophet and the signs he will produce.
To most the proof presented will do nothing to move them away from their acceptance of the Pope and Roman Catholicism's apostasy. We have already been told in God's Word this would be so.
For those with open hearts let us first determine whether or not Pope John Paul II represents the true Christianity that has blessed mankind through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pope John Paul II has joined together in prayer with Muslims, Buddhists, snake worshipers, Animists and fire worshipers just to name a few of the various religions he has shared worship with. He has declared that people "need to look into the teachings of Hinduism" and has called for all religions to join in a united quest for global peace. In October of 1996 the present Pope embraced and defended evolution in defiance of God's proclaimed, direct creation of mankind as is recorded in Genesis 1.
Though the teachings of the Bible repeatedly condemn this man's leading, it will be necessary to quote only one verse from Jesus Christ to expose his anti-Christ stand. Quoting from the Gospel of John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
To tell people they should look to the teachings of Hinduism, to pray in union to false gods and to call for joint efforts by false religions to establish world peace is blasphemous and a defiant challenge to Christ the only Savior and all the He accomplished by the shedding of His own precious blood on the cross.
A foreshadow of the great apostasy prophesied to take place at the time of the end can be seen in the countless numbers of recognized church leaders that are leading their flocks to embrace the Pope and Roman Catholic heresy as being of God. The Word of God, which utterly condemns the heretical teachings of Roman Catholicism, is considered irrelevant for the sake of political correctness and the unity of compromised men.
To reveal the goals of John Paul II we can go directly to a source from within the Catholic camp. Malachi Martin is a former Jesuit priest and has taught at the Vatican as a theologian. Dr. Martin has written a most revealing book about the present Pope titled, "The Keys of this Blood." Dr. Martin has affirmed that his book has been reviewed by both the Pope and the Vatican administration and has their full approval of its content. Malachi Martin states that the Pope claims to have had a revelation given to him from Mary while he was recuperating from the assassination attempt on his life on May 13, ‘81. He claims that Mary is going to cause a sign of miracles to the world that will demand that everyone upon the earth recognize John Paul II as the moral, spiritual, geo-political ruler of the world before the year 2,000.
Stating what John Paul II has in mind Malachi Martin says, "Willing or not, ready or not this Pope by the end of this decade will preside over the first one world government that has ever existed - what this Pope has in mind to do will be to rule government with absolute authority to decide the basic issues of human survival and prosperity, issues as basic and far reaching for all of us as our food supply, our trade, our financing, our politics, population control, environmental conditions, education and culture."
Of additional interest is that most Bible believing Christians recognize that the apparitions of Mary to John Paul II are not of God and that John Paul II is being deceived. Looking at his reoccurring health problems in 1996, the possibility of his being removed from his office seems increasingly likely. If this is the case then we should expect that another Pope will arise to carry forward John Paul's vision into the Tribulation Period.
It is fascinating to realize that many Bible prophecy students interpret the reference to the false prophet coming out from the earth in Revelation 13:11 to mean he has ancestry in the land of Israel.
Why we find this so intriguing is revealed in the following article from the Sept. 18, ‘96 Reuter news regarding the possible next Pope. We quote, "France's top Roman Catholic was born a Jew. His mother was arrested by the Nazis and died in the Auschwitz extermination camp...Pope John Paul's visit to France will cast a spotlight on Jean-Marie Lustiger, 70 the cardinal-archbishop of Paris, named by some Vatican watchers as an outside contender to succeed the ailing pontiff. A personal friend of the Polish pope, the son of Polish refugees converted to Christianity while he was hidden in Catholic boarding schools during the 1940-44 German occupation." Perhaps this will turn out to only be idle speculation, or then again time may reveal a Hebrew pope will serve the Anti-Christ.
These are the last days and the iron hands of tyranny and the occult will one day close inescapably around the unprepared of the world. The catastrophes predicted by the Bible, which are just over the horizon, will bring everything into place. Escape and true liberty can be found only by those who have received Christ's offer for forgiveness.
Today you can have the light of truth illuminated in your own heart by the promised indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. It only takes a sincere faith in Jesus Christ trusting Him to forgive you for all your sins. He promises that you will be forgiven and your sins no longer remembered. You will have the freedom and peace that only your Creator Father in Heaven can give to you and you will dwell in the light of your Lord for eternity.
Before the Anti-Christ takes his place at the start of the final 7 years of tribulation which will soon come upon the world, all who have trusted in Jesus will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and shall forever more live in the eternal joy and Malachi Martin states that the Pope claims to have had a revelation given to him from Mary while he was recuperating from the assassination attempt on his life on May 13, ‘81. He claims that Mary is going to cause a sign of miracles to the world that will demand that everyone upon the earth recognize John Paul II as the moral, spiritual, geo-political ruler of the world before the year 2,000.
Stating what John Paul II has in mind Malachi Martin says, "Willing or not, ready or not this Pope by the end of this decade will preside over the first one world government that has ever existed - what this Pope has in mind to do will be to rule government with absolute authority to decide the basic issues of human survival and prosperity, issues as basic and far reaching for all of us as our food supply, our trade, our financing, our politics, population control, environmental conditions, education and culture."
Of additional interest is that most Bible believing Christians recognize that the apparitions of Mary to John Paul II are not of God and that John Paul II is being deceived. Looking at his reoccurring health problems in 1996, the possibility of his being removed from his office seems increasingly likely. If this is the case then we should expect that another Pope will arise to carry forward John Paul's vision into the Tribulation Period.
It is fascinating to realize that many Bible prophecy students interpret the reference to the false prophet coming out from the earth in Revelation 13:11 to mean he has ancestry in the land of Israel.
Why we find this so intriguing is revealed in the following article from the Sept. 18, ‘96 Reuter news regarding the possible next Pope. We quote, "France's top Roman Catholic was born a Jew. His mother was arrested by the Nazis and died in the Auschwitz extermination camp...Pope John Paul's visit to France will cast a spotlight on Jean-Marie Lustiger, 70 the cardinal-archbishop of Paris, named by some Vatican watchers as an outside contender to succeed the ailing pontiff. A personal friend of the Polish pope, the son of Polish refugees converted to Christianity while he was hidden in Catholic boarding schools during the 1940-44 German occupation." Perhaps this will turn out to only be idle speculation, or then again time may reveal a Hebrew pope will serve the Anti-Christ.
These are the last days and the iron hands of tyranny and the occult will one day close inescapably around the unprepared of the world. The catastrophes predicted by the Bible, which are just over the horizon, will bring everything into place. Escape and true liberty can be found only by those who have received Christ's offer for forgiveness.
Today you can have the light of truth illuminated in your own heart by the promised indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. It only takes a sincere faith in Jesus Christ trusting Him to forgive you for all your sins. He promises that you will be forgiven and your sins no longer remembered. You will have the freedom and peace that only your Creator Father in Heaven can give to you and you will dwell in the light of your Lord for eternity.
Before the Anti-Christ takes his place at the start of the final 7 years of tribulation which will soon come upon the world, all who have trusted in Jesus will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and shall forever more live in the eternal joy and perfect will and power of God. But remember that before the Church is caught up to heaven, we have been told in God's Word there will be a falling away from the faith. Quoting from I Timothy 4:1 we read, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." Hold fast to Christ and the sound doctrine of Scripture.
If you would like some free information which more thoroughly explains how and why Jesus Christ paid the full penalty for your sins almost 2,000 years ago, then write and ask for "God's Plan for Salvation."