This time last year the German Ratzinger, named Pope Benedict precipitously resigned his office for reasons that have remained shrouded, though he had complained of the powerful homosexual lobby in the Vatican’s Curia. Within two weeks of the shocking resignation the assembled conclave quickly elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Italian Cardinal who’d been residing in Argentina. It is interesting that Bergoglio is reported to have been the first runner up when Ratzinger was elected in 2005.
But that didn’t just automatically carry over to the post resignation conclave. According to the Archbishop of Vienna there were “strong signs,” even one of a supernatural nature that Bergoglio was “the chosen one.” One of those signs, he admitted, came from visitors from Latin America who whispered his name in the ear of the Archbishop. As to the “supernatural” sign, he says that occurred in the conclave and must not be told. You just have to wonder what kind of “supernatural” stuff goes on behind conclave doors.
The Archbishop who related the incidents was speaking before an Anglican conference in London, and went on to say that Bergoglio (now known as Pope Francis) had “a strange similarity” with the Anglican Archbishop Justin, and that was a “little miracle.” A “sign from the Lord,” the indication being that the leaders of the Anglican and Catholic churches might want to get together. The Vatican has been involved in “outreach” to other Christian, Jewish and even Muslim entities for years, and it is beginning to look as though the long-held ambition of the Roman church may be taking on new significance.
This pope signaled that he would be extraordinary from the beginning. He insisted on carrying his own luggage, drove a clunker, and refused lodging in the customary papal palace. Then he went out of his way to identify himself with those in poverty, a problem with which he was very familiar from his years in Argentina. He came out with comments cordial to homosexuals, going so far as to indicate that their lifestyle would not be an impediment to salvation as long as they were otherwise good and caring people.
Then in the fall of 2013 the new pope released his “Apostolic Exhortation” where he said, “The worship of the golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.” The inference was not lost on some commentators who branded the statement “pure Marxism.” Once the pope got wind of it he boldly declared that he was no Marxist, but that he knew a lot of Marxists, and said they were very nice people. Clearly he is friendly with the communist ideology and those who promote it.
Back to the content of his statement. How can free enterprise in a free society be defined as “the dictatorship of an impersonal economy?” Clearly the intent was to express disdain for the capitalist system that made the United States the envy of the world, and lament the absence of central control. If there is some doubt that was his intent we have the unmistakable statements Pope “Francis” just made. And it’s not just what he said, but how, and to whom he said it.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations along with the heads of “major agencies” of the UN were meeting with the pope at the Vatican when the pope came straight out with it. He called on governments to redistribute wealth in a spirit of generosity. Funny isn’t it, how generous governments can get with other people’s money? And how generous the head of perhaps the smallest country (the Vatican) but wealthiest institution in the world can be with other countries’ money. The pope went on to criticize the “economy of exclusion.” You might wish that there would be some further definition of some of these awkward phrases making headlines, but when you consider the context,none is necessary. According to the report by the Associated Press from Vatican City, the pope “frequently lashed out at the injustices of capitalism and the global economic system” and called on the UN to promote a “worldwide ethical mobilization of solidarity with the poor.”
Then comes the quote about the “legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state,” and calls for the private sector and civil society to cooperate.
First of all, all of the western nations have already delved deeply into socialist policies, European nations more than Britain, Canada, Australia and the United States. None has gone so far as to embrace the ruinous communism of the former Soviet Union, but we all know how that worked out. Europe’s experiment with socialism already brought its universal currency to the brink of collapse, and they’ve had to back away in the wake of disasters in Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland. The panic of recent years has been temporarily quelled with assistance from Germany and the European Central Bank. But the Economist warns that a careful balancing act will be required if future crises are to be averted. Adopting the pope’s call in Europe, embracing immigrants from Africa and the Middle East, setting them up in a western lifestyle at the expense of those who do work and earn a living (if only at the rate of 30 hours per week) would spell disaster for the euro.
For the most part, the pope’s suggestions have already been implemented to a large degree here in the United States. Food stamps now look and act lik any other credit or debit card, and have been extended, actually promoted by our government to people well above the poverty line. If you doubt it, try the nearest search engine. “Stimulus” programs fixed it where people could continue receiving other people’s money, maybe indefinitely, and changed qualification standards in what looks like one more effort to deplete the value of the American
dollar. Plus we’ve got 11,000,000 on disability income!
Immigrants of the illegal variety have flooded in to climb aboard the endless train of government benefits and handouts. We mostly hear about those who’ve crossed the southern border from Mexico, but there were some 115,000 here from the Middle East according to the Census Bureau clear back in 2002. We can only wonder how many are here now, and what kind of toll it is taking on America’s generosity. Even one of the Boston bombers is reputed to have been taking advantage of state provided welfare, although the authorities clamped down on efforts to get to the bottom of whether he and his brother were also taking advantage of federal programs.
But you get the point. America, largely by the authority of presidential phone and pen is inviting illegal entry into the country, and then dishing out rewards ranging from welfare, food stamps, educational benefits and who knows where it ends. What more would the pope have us do, and who cares?
Maybe what “Francis” (the talking pope) is saying wouldn’t be of such great concern to us if it wasn’t for the understanding of Bible prophecy, and the role to be played by a false prophet who will ally himself with a great political power. The attributes of this religious and political alliance include having the power to force acceptance of their new world order to be able to buy and sell.
Where is the political part of the Mark of the Beast equation? The Church of God emphatically believes, and has taught for some 70 years that it will be Germany at the helm of ten key nations of Europe. That doesn’t look very likely under the current leadership, but that could well change before long. There are plenty of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish political movements gaining traction in Europe. European news over there is rife with such reports.
What we do know is that Europe’s currency is fragile. We also know that many are concerned about the long-term viability of the U.S. dollar. Withtrillions being squandered in the name of “compassion” and “environmentalism” we know it can’t go on forever, and quite a few well positioned analysts believe it may already be too late if these policies are not turned around soon. But, of course the pope wouldn’t stand for that! The pope, in his little sermon urging the UN to do its part to push nations to implement ever more socialism, also tipped his miter to the environment. And the extreme environmentalist movement won’t rest until we all stop emitting, completely.
One can’t help but consider. Has the pope read the book of Revelation? We know Catholics are not supposed to even try to glean anything on their own from the Bible, let alone the book of Revelation. But the pope, being a learned scholar elected to lead the world’s estimated1.2 billion Catholics, has he read it? Does he know about the attributes of the false prophet and the role he is to play?
This pope just came out the day before lecturing the UN about the evils of the global economy, to call for Israel to safeguard “holy sites” in Jerusalem. The report on that mentioned graffiti spray painted on some church or other, but knowing what we do, it is interesting that the things that this new and unexpected pope is most vocal about, are the very things the Bible says the Church is to watch for. It’s beginning to look like “Francis” is auditioning for the role of false prophet, in the expectation that everything else might fall into place. With the fragility of the euro, and the accelerating degradation of the dollar, it just might.
