With the passing of Pope John Paul II, the media of the world focused on Rome as never before. A Roman Catholic fest ensued in which the “kings of the earth” in the form of presidents and prime ministers, monarchs and dictators gathered for the funeral of the first global Pope. Our truly worldwide media was for the first time able to fixate the attention of the planet on the funeral of a pontiff. For this Slav Pope who visited 102 countries in his almost 27-year reign and is already being given the accolade of ‘John Paul The Great’ and likely to be made a saint, there was unprecedented adulation.
ON the night of 16th October in 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland became the first non-Italian pope in 455years. This was the year of three popes; Paul VI, John Paul I, whose died after only one month and John Paul II, whose pontificate was to be the longest and most luminous of the 20th century and the third longest in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Karol Wojtyla was an actor who had a gift for languages. He was destined to bring about a display of the papacy in the world the like of which had not been seen since mediaeval times. He was a different kind of Pope; complex and schooled in confrontation. Theologically he was intransigent and more traditional than his namesake predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI. At the same time however he was deftly politic. This Pope saw himself as a spiritual figure that transcended geographical and ideological boundaries whose mission was to deliver a clear set of Roman Catholic ideas and to foster peace and human dignity through the power of faith.
Most significantly he was an Iron Curtain Pope who was to play a major role in the collapse of communism. His very election lifted the spirit of believers across Eastern Europe and instilled confidence in the adversaries of governments in Poland and other lands behind the Iron Curtain that their cause would outlast all the repression. Here was a larger-than-life symbol that could bring to the world’s notice their suffering. Six million people turned out for the Slavic pontiff’s first visit to Poland in 1979. The visit came to be regarded as a detonator for changes that swept the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe a decade later.
It was soon to become evident from his foreign visits, which were to become the great feature of his whole reign, that John Paul II with his strong presence and command of many languages was a charismatic figure. Millions of Roman Catholics came to his Masses and went away intoxicated by his faith and courage. The response of the
Communist leadership was to authorize an attempt, which almost succeeded, to assassinate John Paul II on 13th May, 1980 – Fatima Day, which the Pope always regarded as a sign of his life being spared by the Virgin Mary. He undoubtedly knew the risks he was taking, but in a sense, the attempted assassination was a tribute to his influence and to his courage.
Setting aside for a moment what we know to be the nature of the papacy, the significance of Pope John Paul II to the European counter-revolution of the late 20th century cannot be over stated. He understood Polish and European nationalism. As a young man he had experienced the tyrannies of Hitler and Stalin and was, therefore, one of those very rare heroic Poles who reach out to the world. In respect of the Israel people on the Eurasian continent, Pope John Paul II may yet be seen to have been an instrument to greatly assist the liberation of many of the remnants of the tribes that have remained in the Eastern lands.
In this respect we note that Karol Wojtyla, from his birth on 18th May, 1920, lived precisely 31,000 days to his death on 2nd April, 2005. As 31 is the number of Deity, we can certainly see that as John Paul II, the first global Pope, his role in liberating the remnants of Israel behind the Iron Curtain is confirmed in that very precise measure. In fact, when we consider how in old age his health deteriorated, due to the long term effects of the bullet wounds he suffered in the assassination attempt, the very precise measure of 31,000 days is intriguing.
The other side of coin is that this measure is expressed as 2 x 12 x 1290 plus 40 days – the final forty days for a period of trial being the duration of his final illness. The cycle expresses the desolation factor (1290) multiplied by the number of government (12) doubled. The desolation factor here reveals the nature of Roman Catholicism and coupled with the governmental factor we see the global feature of his papacy. The prophet Daniel referred to “the overspreading abominations” (Daniel 9:27), in respect of the Beast system, which in the religious aspect, the pagan Christianity of Romanism has represented. The word “overspreading” here has the meaning of “a wing” which expresses the way John Paul II made a display of the papacy to the world. He flew the world, so to speak, on the wings of aircraft to fascinate more than one billion Roman Catholic faithful.
Only Two Real Thrones Remain
The long reign of the Pope included a (pastoral) visit to England in 1982 – being the first papal visit to England and which coincided with the Falklands conflict. In this respect it is interesting that the Pope after 40 days of severe illness at the end of his life, should pass away on the 2nd April, 2005, the anniversary of Argentina invading the Falklands Islands. The great feature of a papal visit to England is that it provides a constitutional conflict. The Pope is universal bishop and head of state in Vatican City. Whereas, The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, as well as being Head of State in the United Kingdom. Thus when the Pope was on English soil from 28th
May to 2nd June, 1982, which included a meeting with The Queen at Buckingham Palace, there existed a contention or conflict of domain.
When The Queen made visits to John Paul II in Rome, as she did on two occasions, exactly 20 years apart, she wore black, as do all female Protestant royalty. It is a symbol (not that it is admitted), of the Protestant nations being heretic. The Roman Catholic nations are treated differently, when their female royalty visit the Pope they wear white. Interestingly and in broad terms, the division between the Protestant and Roman Catholic nations defines the Protestant nations as being of Israel; their related royalties being centred on the Davidic Throne in Great Britain. While the Roman Catholic nations, being not of the Israel nucleus as such, are found genuflecting before the counterfeit papal throne of God’s throne upon Earth.
It has been said on radio in Britain in recent times that there are only two real thrones left in the world – the British throne and the papal throne. Prophetically, as we approach the Return of the Lord to take up the Throne of David, we would expect to see the real throne and the counterfeit throne as the two outstanding seats of spiritual authority remaining in the world – the throne centered in the midst of the body-politic of His servant people and the counterfeit throne in Rome, the latter which He “shall destroy with the brightness of His Coming” (II Thessalonians 2:8).
With the Appearing of Jesus Christ in the midst of the Foundation of Peace upon Earth, or the New Jerusalem, there will be no need for the papal throne with its universal pagan authority holding the world in its thrall. The Rev. Robert Fleming in his Discourse The Rise and Fall of Rome Papal, published in 1701, gave the date of 2018 – an inspired projection of a time cycle for his century – as the likely end of papal authority, being 1,260 solar years from AD 758 when the papacy became a temporal power under Pope Paul I.
Is the Final Pope the Next Pope?
Another prophecy which now proves of interest is that of the Irish holy man and doctor from Provence, named Malachy, who was born in Armagh in 1094 and died in Clairvaux in 1148. He was renowned for his gift of prophecy, particularly relating to the papacy. He was noted for his piety, his spirituality and his teaching and was the first Irish saint, canonized in 1190 by Pope Clement III. His forecasts began with Pope Celestine in 1143 and, comprising 112 popes in all, come to an end with the next pope. His prophetic accuracy is very good – particularly when it comes to the last five popes (reference source: Henry Kelly, Daily Mail, London, 19th April, 2005 – before the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on that day – see below ).
Of John XXIII (1958-1963) he wrote “There will be a Pastor and a Mariner.” John was the first modern Pope to be a popular world figure and he had been the Patriarch of Venice, so the maritime connection is obvious.
Then of Paul VI (1963-1978), he wrote, he would be “Flower of Flowers.” His family coat of arms is three fleurs-de-lis.
Of the ill-fated John Paul I (1978) who lasted only 33 days, Malachy wrote, he would be “Of the Half Moon.” He was in fact elected on 26th August, 1978 when there was exactly a half moon.
Concerning John Paul II (1978-2005) he wrote, that he would be “Of The Labour of the Sun.” Since this was the first global Pope, who travelled more than any Pope in history, it is not difficult to see his multiple circumnavigations of the planet as sun-like.
Now we come to Benedict XVI (2005- ) of whom Malachy wrote would be “Of the glory of the Olive.” The Benedictine order is known as Olivetans and they have always believed that the successor to John Paul II would be theirs. Before Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI, it could not be seen how Malachy’s prediction about the olives could be fulfilled. There was no Benedictine connection with any of the 115 Cardinals in the Electoral College (stated by Kelly in his article before the new Pope emerged).
After this new present Pope, Malachy wrote there will appear: “The final Pope who will be like Satan, taking the form of a man called Peter, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations after which the seven-hilled city, Rome, the seat of the Vatican, will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people.”
It would appear from this prophecy that the papacy could see a final expression of the antichristos, or Antichrist, prior to the Return of Christ as Judge. The Popes’ claim to be ‘vicar of Christ’ is false. Anti-Christ in Greek, as well as ‘opposed to Christ,’ means ‘in place of Christ’ (in the sense of being in front of Christ) or ‘vicar of Christ.’ The Popes and their Roman Catholic Church while laying claim to be strong in Trinitarian belief, both in dogma and in practice, actually deny Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Their spiritual identity as the Antichrist is revealed in history and by Scripture in Daniel 7, II Thessalonians 2 and in Revelation 13 and 17.
In Joseph Ratzinger, age 78, of Germany – the first German Pope since the 11th Century – the Roman Catholic Church has its leading hardliner and the oldest pontiff to be elected since 1730. He it is who has stated that Anglicanism and Protestantism are “not proper churches.” Benedict XVI, because of his age, may become very active while he lives and maybe the final Pope of Malachy’s prophecy will appear within a decade or so. Perhaps he will indeed come forth “like Satan … amid many tribulations” and come to a significant end of his authority by 2018, as Robert Fleming suggested in 1701.
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Readers of this article may like to send for the June/July, 2005, Newsletter from Spirit of ’88 which majors on the passing of Pope John Paul II. Any wishing to do so should write to: Spirit of ’88, P.O. Box 67, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 5SJ, England.
