WHY EVANGELICALS ARE SHAKY ABOUT THE POPE’S POPULARITY
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
Evangelicals frankly don’t know what to do with the recent death of Pope John Paul II. They are having the theological shakes and one can’t blame them.
After all, the large percentage of evangelicals are attuned to biblical prophecy. They at least know the broad outlines. Many know the fine lines.
Therefore, they are particularly aware of Revelation 13 in which symbolically there is pictured the false prophet. He rules with an antiChrist. The former is a demon possessed religious leader. The latter is the demon possessed political leader. Their charisma encircles the entire globe — all peoples, languages and tribes, to use the language of Scripture.
These two leaders also rule from the city of seven hills. Many evangelicals interpret that city as Rome, the city of seven hills. Rome is in the center of Europe. Therefore, it’s in a most convenient geography from which the devil-engulfed antiChrist and false prophet can wage influence for hell throughout Europe and then the entire world.
Further, Revelation 17 pictures the whore, the latter symbolically representing the prostituting of the true Christian faith. It is not a symbol literally meaning a female prostitute; instead, the symbolic whore represents both an institution and a city, as detail is given in Revelation.
Further, in Revelation 11:1-2, a tribulation is mentioned as lasting about 7 years, shortened somewhat for the believers’ sake. The first half of the tribulation is given as 1260 days. When considering that the biblical year was 360 days, that breaks down to 3 l/2 years. The second half is given in 42 months which equals 3 l/2 years. Put the math together and one has a tidy 7 years, shortened briefly "for the elect’s sake."
All this scenario specific can then equal a political leader and religious leader ruling for hell from Rome, starting with a ten nation alliance of Europe (the present day European Union having begun as a ten-nation alliance committee and the latter still in existence as the beginning core of the present EU). These two devil possessed personages then will rule over a church of Satan which prostitutes the true Christian doctrines. The rule will last almost 7 years.
Therefore, if the religious leader has his office in Rome, could not that religious leader, the false prophet, be in fact a corrupt Pope? That’s the nub of the evangelicals’ anxiety. And could Pope John Paul II be the last of the commendable popes? Could the next Pope then be the false prophet symbolized in the Book of Revelation, particularly in chapter 13?
Now there are other evangelicals who really don’t have much trouble with the deceased Pope for they consider him to have lived a believer’s life, giving forth gospel truths in the traditional Catholic style, naturally.
Further, they highly regard him for his moral stands, such as pro-life and anti-homosexual lifestyle. Therefore, these evangelicals continue on with such admiration for another Christian leader on Earth who maintained a sense of Christian ethic and the basics of Christian doctrine: Jesus as Only God Savior, Bible as divine revelation, the actuality of heaven and hell, the reality of sin and Satan, salvation only through the sinless sacrifice of Christ upon Calvary, and a Judgment Seat of Christ at which all mortals give an accounting of their earthly sojourns.
With much going sinful within Protestantism, certain evangelicals then say that it’s hard today to point accusing fingers at the Vatican. The Episcopal Church of America has sold its soul to apostasy by baptizing practicing homosexuality as a divine blessing. Likewise have other mainline denominations including the United Church of Christ (Congregational), Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and Presbyterian Church of America.
Even the United Methodist Church at its last annual conclave almost slid off the holiness chart by baptizing homosexuality as spiritually approved. Even the Mennonites, that supposedly pure, simple living group, has heavy leadership, editorial personages championing homosexuality as legitimate for Christians.
So with Protestantism clinging for its life through the evangelical, biblical believers of all denominations, it’s hard for some evangelicals then to oust completely the Roman Catholic Church as well as turn their backs on the witness of Pope John Paul II.
Therefore, these evangelicals hold the prophetic time line to the present moment mainly. They say this: The Pope was a man who was on our evangelical side on moral issues. He held to biblical doctrinal basics just as evangelicals do.
Therefore, we have to stick together in these confusing times with any semblance of the righteous remnant. Consequently, we will laud the Pope for what he means to us evangelicals according to the aforementioned.
However, these same evangelicals, attuned to prophecy, hold in balance the future. They are not sure if the next Pope will in fact be the false prophet; maybe he will turn against his own believing community and play the part of the devil’s man. If so, we are all in for big trouble.
However, no mortal knows for certain where we are on the divine time line. We think we know something about His time line; but none of us is God so as to have the last word on that time line.
Therefore, we may have the next Pope being a commendable individual like unto Pope John Paul II. Therefore, if he is, then those cautious evangelicals don’t want to jump the gun by starting the accusing game and so be found the eventual fool.
That’s the tension right now held by evangelicals open to options finally known only, at this point, to the divine and His calendar for prophecy fulfillment.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
Evangelicals frankly don’t know what to do with the recent death of Pope John Paul II. They are having the theological shakes and one can’t blame them.
After all, the large percentage of evangelicals are attuned to biblical prophecy. They at least know the broad outlines. Many know the fine lines.
Therefore, they are particularly aware of Revelation 13 in which symbolically there is pictured the false prophet. He rules with an antiChrist. The former is a demon possessed religious leader. The latter is the demon possessed political leader. Their charisma encircles the entire globe — all peoples, languages and tribes, to use the language of Scripture.
These two leaders also rule from the city of seven hills. Many evangelicals interpret that city as Rome, the city of seven hills. Rome is in the center of Europe. Therefore, it’s in a most convenient geography from which the devil-engulfed antiChrist and false prophet can wage influence for hell throughout Europe and then the entire world.
Further, Revelation 17 pictures the whore, the latter symbolically representing the prostituting of the true Christian faith. It is not a symbol literally meaning a female prostitute; instead, the symbolic whore represents both an institution and a city, as detail is given in Revelation.
Further, in Revelation 11:1-2, a tribulation is mentioned as lasting about 7 years, shortened somewhat for the believers’ sake. The first half of the tribulation is given as 1260 days. When considering that the biblical year was 360 days, that breaks down to 3 l/2 years. The second half is given in 42 months which equals 3 l/2 years. Put the math together and one has a tidy 7 years, shortened briefly "for the elect’s sake."
All this scenario specific can then equal a political leader and religious leader ruling for hell from Rome, starting with a ten nation alliance of Europe (the present day European Union having begun as a ten-nation alliance committee and the latter still in existence as the beginning core of the present EU). These two devil possessed personages then will rule over a church of Satan which prostitutes the true Christian doctrines. The rule will last almost 7 years.
Therefore, if the religious leader has his office in Rome, could not that religious leader, the false prophet, be in fact a corrupt Pope? That’s the nub of the evangelicals’ anxiety. And could Pope John Paul II be the last of the commendable popes? Could the next Pope then be the false prophet symbolized in the Book of Revelation, particularly in chapter 13?
Now there are other evangelicals who really don’t have much trouble with the deceased Pope for they consider him to have lived a believer’s life, giving forth gospel truths in the traditional Catholic style, naturally.
Further, they highly regard him for his moral stands, such as pro-life and anti-homosexual lifestyle. Therefore, these evangelicals continue on with such admiration for another Christian leader on Earth who maintained a sense of Christian ethic and the basics of Christian doctrine: Jesus as Only God Savior, Bible as divine revelation, the actuality of heaven and hell, the reality of sin and Satan, salvation only through the sinless sacrifice of Christ upon Calvary, and a Judgment Seat of Christ at which all mortals give an accounting of their earthly sojourns.
With much going sinful within Protestantism, certain evangelicals then say that it’s hard today to point accusing fingers at the Vatican. The Episcopal Church of America has sold its soul to apostasy by baptizing practicing homosexuality as a divine blessing. Likewise have other mainline denominations including the United Church of Christ (Congregational), Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and Presbyterian Church of America.
Even the United Methodist Church at its last annual conclave almost slid off the holiness chart by baptizing homosexuality as spiritually approved. Even the Mennonites, that supposedly pure, simple living group, has heavy leadership, editorial personages championing homosexuality as legitimate for Christians.
So with Protestantism clinging for its life through the evangelical, biblical believers of all denominations, it’s hard for some evangelicals then to oust completely the Roman Catholic Church as well as turn their backs on the witness of Pope John Paul II.
Therefore, these evangelicals hold the prophetic time line to the present moment mainly. They say this: The Pope was a man who was on our evangelical side on moral issues. He held to biblical doctrinal basics just as evangelicals do.
Therefore, we have to stick together in these confusing times with any semblance of the righteous remnant. Consequently, we will laud the Pope for what he means to us evangelicals according to the aforementioned.
However, these same evangelicals, attuned to prophecy, hold in balance the future. They are not sure if the next Pope will in fact be the false prophet; maybe he will turn against his own believing community and play the part of the devil’s man. If so, we are all in for big trouble.
However, no mortal knows for certain where we are on the divine time line. We think we know something about His time line; but none of us is God so as to have the last word on that time line.
Therefore, we may have the next Pope being a commendable individual like unto Pope John Paul II. Therefore, if he is, then those cautious evangelicals don’t want to jump the gun by starting the accusing game and so be found the eventual fool.
That’s the tension right now held by evangelicals open to options finally known only, at this point, to the divine and His calendar for prophecy fulfillment.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
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