Will the Pope become the Antichrist?

Will the Pope become the Antichrist?
By Chris Schang

A common question asked by new people on the forums is whether or not the current pope, or a pope at all for that matter, will become the future Antichrist as spoken of in the Bible? With the popes of the Roman Catholic Church calling for more and more “ecumenical” ties between the different faiths, it is easy to see why people would become concerned.

However, it is my opinion that it is possible that a pope of the Roman Catholic Church could possibly end up as the False Prophet, but not the Antichrist. The reason being that the False Prophet is a religious leader which would seem to make more sense for a pope to fill that role since they are the primary religious leaders calling for a “blending” of the faiths. The Antichrist on the other hand, is seen as a political and military leader. The Antichrist will lead a One World Government, whereas the False Prophet will lead the One World Religion until the mid-point of the Tribulation period.

With the popes of the Roman Catholic Church calling more every day for all the great “faiths” of the world to come together under one umbrella, it appears to me that we are seeing more and more signs of the emergence of a potential end times religion that the Bible warns us about.

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast [a]in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.” – Revelation 13:11-12.

The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will only be interested in “religion” until the mid-point of the Tribulation period when he will then demand that the world worship him as “god”. The Antichrist will be indwelt by Satan after his miraculous “resurrection” when he recovers from a deadly head wound. This fact explains why the Antichrist’s main goal is to get people to follow him.

As we have seen in the Bible in early accounts of Genesis, one of Satan’s long time goals is to have people worship him rather than the One True God. Satan is interested in using someone (the False Prophet) to get the masses to follow a single religious leader so that he can easily try to take a hold of that lead and get them to worship him. It is a very clever and tricky plan that we can see is taking shape in the world today.

For these reasons, it is my opinion that the pope of the Roman Catholic Church will be much more likely to be the False Prophet spoken of in Revelation rather than being the Antichrist. The truth be told, the world stage is being set as we speak for the arrival of both the Antichrist and the False Prophet.

For those who need to make a decision for Jesus Christ, it is my hope and prayer that you will not decide to be around when these two individuals make their initial appearances. To avoid meeting the Antichrist and the False Prophet, one needs to make a positive decision for Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior so they can escape the wrath to come. If not, the only other option will be to go through the terrible time of wrath known as the Tribulation period. Please make that decision for Christ today while there is still time.

God bless.