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Bible Prophecy and the Last Pope
Written: 2-11-2013
Rapture Forum Staff: Chris
Today the world awoke to the news that Pope Benedict XVI was resigning his post as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict cited health reasons as his inability to continue as Pope of the Catholic Church. Word is that February 28th is Pope Benedict's resignation effective date. The resignation of Pope Benedict sent shockwaves through the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Benedict did not give any prior notice or any intentions to resign. Reports indicate that even the Pope Benedict's inner circle was caught unawares. The news that Pope Benedict was resigning brought to the forefront the "prophecies" of St. Malachy. St. Malachy was an Irish priest who had a vision about the popes all the way through the end time. The news reports stated:
Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday morning that he would be stepping down as the head of the Catholic Church, making him the first Pope to step down rather than die in the position in more than 600 years. A new pope will be selected by the end of March. There will undoubtedly be much speculation about who will take over the reigns of the Catholic Church, but one thing that we can look to for some guidance about who might be the the next pope are the infamous papal prophecies of St. Malachy. St. Malachy, the first Irish saint, had a vision of the next 112 popes. We've had 111 since, and are on the verge of seeing No. 112, which Malachy says will be the final pope before the end of the world as we know it.
As we can see there is a lot of controversy around this development. The frenzy of the developing news is such that non-biblical prophecies are being given the same weight as they give prophecies from the Bible. This I believe is a gross error. St. Malachy's prophecies were from a vision that he recieved that no one knows where they came from. They surely weren't inspired by God as the Bible contains all the Revelation of God that is to be given to mankind. Being that the Bible is closed for new revelation, it is my opinion that even if the St. Malachy's prophecies turn out to be supposedly "accurate" (there is a lot of speculating and interpretation in the previous prophecies) that it does not indicate the hand of God at work.
In this day and age as we approach the end times that we are in, it is my belief that Satan will try to influence and deceive the masses with things like the St. Malachy prophecies. and at very worse there could be some sort of deception in the air if the so called St. Malachy prophecies appear to be correct. We know from news articles earlier today that the last pope named by St. Malachy is that of "Peter the Roman". Up until now, no pope has chosen the title "Peter". The only one named Peter in the church is the Apostle Peter whom the Roman Catholic Church believes that they were founded. The news went on to report:
St. Malachy prophesized that the final pope would be "Peter the Roman", which is interesting because no pope to date has chosen the name of Peter out of respect for Peter the Apostle. There has also been speculation that the final pope would be black. Even more curiously, there is a black cardinal in Ghana, Peter Turkson, who is believed to be a frontrunner and whose name has come up in previous discussions of papal appointment.
Cardinal Turkson has said in the past that "if God would wish to see a black man also as pope, thanks be to God." Catholic Church chronicler Rocco Palmo has called Turkson the lone Scripture scholar in the Pope's "Senate", and believes that his status as a potential "papabile" has been elevated due to his 2009 appointment as spokesman for the Second Synod for Africa.
Outside of the Church, there are also many who believe that Turkson is the favorite to take over as pontiff. Even the London bookmakers believe he's the top choice. Odds comparison site Oddschecker.com lists Turkson at best price odds of 4/1, and as short as 2/1 with some firms. Francis Arinze, the Nigerian Cardinal, is also a huge favorite with the bookies.
As we can see here the existence of a "black pope" is indeed possible as two of the immediate front runners for pope are two black men from Africa. This fits in very well with the supposed prophecies of St. Malachy. There is also the fact that one of the front runners name just so happens to be "Peter". While all of this is nonetheless interesting, it is my opinion that Bible prophecy students and others need to remain firm and grounded in the only proven and inspired Word of God -- the Holy Bible. In the last days we can expect Satan to be working hard to deceive people as he puts his final touches on his last stand against the Lord of Lords.
It is equally important that even if the St. Malachy prophecies appear to be "correct" and we do see a "Peter the Roman" that we should continue to remain only under the influence of the Holy Bible. This we know includes the inspired Word of God. We have no assurances that the St. Malachy prophecies are worth anything. It is my hope that people do not become to "drunk" with the words of an obscure Irish priest that they discard the proven word of God. While I will continue to observe the developments of the Roman Catholic Church as they seek out a new pope, I will refuse to put any stock into the "prophecies" of St. Malachy. The "prophecies" of St. Malachy are not confirmed by the ancient prophets to be authentic and inspired by the Holy Spirit. As a watchman on the wall, I will sound the alarm here in the early days to warn people not to become "drunk" from the deception of the god of this world. It is just like Satan to distract God's people with deceptive tricks and schemes here in the last days.
Beware and be on guard for deception. Stick only with the proven Word of God in the Holy Bible. Keep looking up, our redemption is drawing nigh!!
God bless.
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