Prophecy in Scripture speaks of people, places, and events sometimes hundreds or even thousands of years before their fulfillments. Within Bible prophecy there is a time period designated as the End Time when Satan will attempt to culminate his plan against God. Equally, Bible prophecy reveals that God will definitely culminate His sovereign plan concerning human history and the Devil.
One prophetic aspect dealt with by both God and Satan concerns the two women mentioned in Revelation 12 and 17. From the days of the early Church, the woman mentioned in Revelation 12 was always viewed as the Church. Over the centuries, especially since Dispensationalism arrived in the 1800s, the shift of interpretation of the woman has been drawn to the nation of Israel; however, Israel is not mentioned in chapter 12, and the woman is presented with the sun, moon, and stars. Israel is an earthly nation elected by Jehovah, whereas the Church is the “heavenly” view of the woman.
This woman is presented from four perspectives: three in chapter 12 and one in chapter 17. First, she is viewed as the woman clothed in her beauty; again, we believe this to be the Church throughout history; Satan has ever been poised over the woman.
Second, there is a man child “within” her, a part of her and yet distinct from her; he is to “rule all nations with a rod of iron.” Dispensationalism uses Revelation 19:15b to interpret this man child as Christ. However, it should be equally acknowledged that Revelation 2:26, 27 declares that overcoming saints will also rule “with a rod of iron.” We believe the man child of Revelation 12 to be the saints taken out of the institutional Church at the Rapture; this man child is caught up quickly. In this context the Dragon was out to devour only the man child, not the woman. Following the rapture of the man child, the woman flees to the wilderness (12:6).
Third, in Revelation 12:17 we also read of a “remnant” of this woman, with whom the dragon “was wroth” and “went to make war.” It is said of this remnant that they “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” We believe this remnant (12:17) to be those saved during the Tribulation Period (6:9–11; 7:9), who seem to be Gentiles that in the aftermath of the Rapture come to accept Jesus Christ.
Fourth, we later read in Revelation 17 (after the man child is taken and the remnant of the woman’s seed is separated from her) of a woman coming out of the wilderness. This woman is called “Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.” Who is this finally seen coming out of the wilderness into which the woman of Revelation 12 ran? We believe this woman is the Roman Catholic Church in its final form leading globally all of the religions, with the concept of the Pope being the beast out of the earth. This woman will ride the back of the scarlet colored beast, the Antichrist.
To understand this woman of Revelation 17, we must go back in history and view events that have transpired to bring her to her present form. We first note Babylon, which had its beginning in Genesis 10 and 11, under the apostates Cush and Nimrod. These apostates reacted against God and truth leaving the other families of Noah to begin their own political and religious civilization. Babylon began as a city (political) with a tower (religious) to reach unto heaven. Though its inhabitants were scattered after the Lord confounded their language, the vision for this city powerfully returns during the days of Daniel under the “head of gold,” King Nebuchadnezzar. Although his great empire soon falls, the apostle John gives prophetic insight that Babylon will return. In Revelation 17 it returns as a mystery (religious); in chapter 18 it returns as a city (political). The prophecies reveal that one day Babylon will rise to be a most impressive city, a commercial city, a world capital city, dominated by a universal religion. Yes, Babylon is coming back.
The empire prophecies of Daniel 2 increase our understanding concerning a future kingdom (which at the time of Daniel was not known); this kingdom is represented as the iron legs of the man-image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Following this empire comes a final empire marked by both iron and clay in the feet and toes of this image. The two iron legs prophetically are the two divisions of the later Roman Empire. The final empire, though distinct from the legs, will have the iron of the legs mixed with clay. Babylon, the older head city-empire, and Rome, the younger city-empire, will return.
The Prophecies of Babylon and Rome
There has been much speculation as to the implications of these prophecies. Does it mean that the geography of Babylon will be led by the government of Rome in a united empire? Or is Babylon to signify the restoration of an Old Testament idolatry and Rome to become in some form a New Testament idolatry? There were two exoduses in the history of the Jew: one was from Egypt (representing sin and the world) and one from Babylon (representing religious apostasy). In these days of increasing apostasy, we should be careful to understand that Babylon and Rome are coming back into prominence with an apostate force that we will have to meet as genuine Christians. It may be that we have thought so much about the Jews and Palestine in prophecy that we have not thought enough about Babylon and Rome. They both have their roots historically, philosophically, and archaeologically in Babel, Bel or Cush, and Nimrod. And they are coming back as Satan hopes to fulfill his own ancient conquest against God and His people.
Perhaps a word on the time period of the present world age would aid us in this prophecy. The apostle Paul indicates that the present age will meet a concluding transition at a certain generation “upon whom the ends of the world [Greek, “ages” in the plural] are come” (1 Cor. 10:11). The beginnings of the empires (Gen. 10) are to be found in Babylon and the scattering aftermath (Gen. 11:1–9); the “times of the Gentiles” began with Babylon (Dan. 2); and according to Revelation 18, those “times” will conclude with Babylon. Thus, all of the great empires of history have directly or indirectly come from Babylon. Its antiquity is greater than Rome, for it was the initial rising, tangible blasphemy both politically and religiously against Jehovah God. Yet, the Son of God came to earth during the height of the Roman Empire. Rome too had its birth in the “times of the Gentiles”; Babylon rejected the true God in creating its own religion against God (Gen. 11:1–4), and Rome, the Empire, rejected the Son of Man by crucifying Him. Just as Babylon is coming back, prophecy likewise declares that Rome is coming back in some form. Both Babylon and Rome will serve Satan again against God, His Son Jesus Christ, and His people.
Related to these past forms of Babylon and Rome, a final form of these two cities is yet to arise in history. Although apostasy, the final frontier of sin, is the same in its characteristics of innate and malignant evil, it is ever mutating to come to its finality. In our day, Roman Catholicism is truly a combination religiously of old Babylon idolatry and Roman idolatry. This religious system and its political powers throughout history have constantly mutated; even true in our lifetime, it continues rapidly its mutation toward its final form, “Mystery Babylon,” the Mother Harlot (Rev. 17).
Though some will not agree with this full view of Revelation 17 and 18, we believe the city of Babylon in Revelation 18 will be the literal capital of the Antichrist Kingdom. Likewise, “Mystery Babylon” will somehow be identified with Roman Catholicism, though perhaps in a different form than its present presentation, in order to accommodate the assimilation of all the religions of the world to bring about a global, one world religion. Ecumenicity today is leading to Interfaithism, which ultimately will lead to the one world religion. We believe Roman Catholicism will be at the forefront of these developments. It seems that all of the religions of the earth will merge into Romanism by the middle part of the Tribulation Period. She, in her final form, will lead them; her titular head will be the beast out of the earth (Rev. 13:11–15).
Roman Catholicism: Its End-time Changes
Roman Catholicism, the oldest and largest Christian apostasy, has continued to mutate assimilating heresies from Judaism, Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, and sprinklings of Egyptian, Babylonian, and pagan Roman religions. Nonetheless, it came to a crucial change in its reaction to the Reformation in the 1500s. Prior to the Reformation there were several evangelical movements (with limited light) within the Roman Catholic Church. But the Council of Trent brought this Church into a new mutation of Romanism in its adamant stance against the Reformation and more specifically, the Bible and its Christ. Then in 1868 the convening of Vatican I deepened its dark, apostate heresy with the dogmatization of the infallibility of the Pope.
Further crucial mutations have occurred in Romanism in the twentieth century. The first was during the time of Pope John XXIII when he spoke of the Protestants as simply “separated brethren” and Christian “sisters” of Rome, though not “daughters.” This was the first time since the Reformation that such a gesture had been given by Rome to those outside of her Church; this acknowledgment indicated a change in the mood of Rome towards those who had brought about the Protestant Reformation.
The next crucial change within Romanism came during the Second Vatican Council (held intermittently from the fall of 1962 through 1965). Romanism endeavored to finally enter “the twentieth century” by way of this Council amidst the increased decline in number of parishioners. Vatican II became Rome’s hope to confront the Church’s relations with the modern world and the Pope’s call for Church renewal. Two Popes presided over this momentous twenty-first ecumenical council: Pope John XXIII opened the council and after his death, Pope Paul VI concluded it. This council was prophetically viewed by many of the Church leaders as a means to bring in the “winds of Pentecost” and provide a fresh move from heaven throughout the Church.
It is interesting to note that four of the men who took part in the opening of this historic council eventually became a Pope: Cardinal Montini, who succeeded Pope John XXIII and became Pope Paul VI; Bishop Luciani, eventually became Pope John Paul I (whose death, according to insiders of the Vatican was an assassination); Bishop Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II; and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who attended as a theological advisor, and later became Pope Benedict XVI. Drastic changes in the global Church came from this Council; these changes included a vernacular Mass/Eucharist. All of these compromises were to carefully accommodate an easing of relationships between the Protestants and the Roman clergy.
A third crucial change came on October 4, 1965, when Pope Paul VI presented himself with a false humility and kindness before the United Nations. He bestowed upon the audience the thought that the United Nations had the power for peace and authority to change the world. It was also in his message to strongly promote the need of a universal community of interdependence among all the nations. It must be understood that the papacy has always been (and especially in the twentieth century) a strong supporter of socialism, communism, and the new world order. The Popes of the past and present centuries have also had a belief in the redistribution of all the wealth of the world; this is especially true with the ideologies of the recent Pope Francis I. The papacy believes that the government leaders, along with the help of the Roman Church, could bring about this new world order.
A fourth crucial change was the Charismatic movement which swept into the Roman Catholic Church between 1969 and 1972. It was sanctioned by Rome, having its own representative within the movement through Cardinal Leo Suenens. He was the crucial man within the Second Vatican Council whom Pope John called upon to be one of the moderators of the Council. When the first session of the Council fell into a deadlock, Suenens pulled it out of its chaos and set the agenda for the rest of the Council meetings. It was after this Council that Suenens committed himself (drawing much controversy) to the deepening of dialogues with other Christian denominations and religions, as well as granting greater liberties to the laity (including women) within the Church. Amidst his diversity of manipulations within the Interfaithism movement, he was the prominent Romanist endorser of the so-called “Catholic Charismatic Renewal.” The Charismatic movement within the Romanist Church by 1972 spilled over into the Pentecostal denominations following their own heretical “neo” movement within so-called “Neo-Pentecostalism.” The Charismatic movement broke down many of the barriers between Romanism and Protestantism. Now this movement has become a “religious glue” to bring much of Christendom together.
Malachi Martin, a prolific writer within the Roman Catholic Church, wrote in his early book The Final Conclave of the staggering changes among cardinals, bishops, and priests. Though there was a movement among traditional Romanists to return to the Tridentine formulas (Council of Trent) of Romanism, the majority of the Church had now embraced the contemporary world; there would be no turning back.
A fifth crucial change came with the conclave election of Pope John Paul II in 1978, who reigned as pontiff until his death in 2005. A native of Poland, he was a key power behind the overthrow of the communist party there through the Solidarity Movement. He also was one of three key men, along with Gorbachev and Reagan, who brought down the Berlin Wall. He was a strong socialist believer, although he acknowledged that the socialism of communism was not working; instead, he desired to bring about a socialism through the Roman Catholic Church. John Paul II was the man the Romanist Church needed for global “public relations” through his charismatic personality. He helped bring the Romanist Church to a greater acceptance throughout the world. He became the most beloved Pope of all times. Kings, queens, the Dalai Lama, Evangelicals such as Chuck Colson and James Dobson, evangelists (among them Billy Graham), laity, and many others were all brought under the powerful spell of this Pope. He helped greatly to assist in Rome’s enlarged acceptance within the religious and political worlds.
From one perspective Rome remains the same in root and spirit; it will never give up the keys of authority or give up its declaration of being the “true” Church. But the twentieth century proved that Romanism is willing to make many concessions and changes to bring all of Christendom under its authority, and even to become a strong leader in the Interfaith movement to produce the coming new world religion.
Most Recent Popes
After the death of John Paul II, there was the election of Joseph Ratzinger, the strong theologian behind John Paul II. He was more of a private scholar of the Church without the charisma to lead the Church’s interactions with other religions and nations. Nevertheless, he was chosen to be the next Pope due to his closeness to John Paul II and his theological abilities. Ratzinger, taking on the name Pope Benedict XVI, came to the papal throne in 2005 and reigned until the early part of 2013. Though he has been strong in the “traditions” of Rome, he has been very weak in dealing with the sodomy issue among the clergy. There were rumors in and around the Vatican of pressures for him to resign. Just days before Pope Benedict became the first pontiff to resign in 600 years, his office was embroiled in further intrigue—this time involving the discovery of an alleged homosexual underworld within the Vatican. The morality of the Roman Catholic cardinals strongly came into question. At the beginning of this year of 2013, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic leader in Britain, resigned after allegations of inappropriate acts toward male priests surfaced against him in the Observer newspaper. Though the Roman Church is against marriage of the clergy, they believe this form of sin (sodomy) does not fall under celibacy. The immoral scandal of lies and manipulation surrounding sexual abuse is escalating within the Roman Catholic Church as this underground behavior among priests, bishops, and cardinals is becoming more and more publically revealed. Cardinal O’Brien was slated to attend the most recent conclave to decide on the next Pope; however, amid the controversy he said he would not.
While the public understands that no one but the Pope has seen the 300-page dossier of this most recent scandal, it is evident that it contains the breadth of corruption within the Vatican. This internal investigation was prompted by the “Vatileaks” scandal last spring, and it discovered extensive corruption involving stealing and immorality among the priests and their staff at the Vatican. Concerns of financial mismanagement first surfaced through hundreds of controversial documents leaked into the Italian media last year. These documents revealed corruption within the highest echelons of the Catholic Church, including Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone, the 78-year-old secretary of state. The man cleaning up the Vatican’s finances was Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who, according to the New York Times, made enemies within the powerful administrative body of the Roman Catholic Church (the Curia) for identifying the corruption. Against his wishes, he was removed from his post and sent to serve as an ambassador to the United States in Washington, D. C.
These are only the latest of many recent indications that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has become increasingly isolated under Ratzinger’s very strict cover-up rule.
Apart from the turmoil within the Roman Catholic Church, political governments trying to “modernize” their societies have defied Church teachings and influence. Let us note a few of the embarrassments to the Church:
(1) During the recent American presidential election, the Roman Church decided that it was totally opposed to President Obama’s plan to introduce the Obamacare health insurance mandate. The reason? It would include funding for birth control. In an effort to placate the bishops, Obama has since offered two radical modifications that would relieve the Church of having to provide such things to its employees. There is a strong indication that this confrontation was manufactured as a means of defeating Obama at the election, but it failed. The Romanist parishioners voted against the Church and the bishops were unable to order them into voting the way the Church told them to. Instead of rushing to the polling booths to defeat Obama, its parishioners voted for him in record numbers.
(2) In Spain, once regarded as the most Roman Catholic country in the world, the previous secularist government legalized same-sex marriage. The Church set its face against such a reform and spoke vehemently against it. Nevertheless, the reform passed. The new government, which is supposedly sympathetic to the Vatican, promised to repeal the law. It has failed to do so, thwarted by the constitutional court. Abortion reforms were enacted, Church privileges were reduced, and changes were made to the stranglehold the Church had on education.
(3) As for the country of Portugal, similarly, same-sex marriage is now legal. This happened despite the Roman Church’s best efforts to defeat it.
(4) In the Philippines, the Church declared that a bill in parliament to make birth control products legal and freely available must not pass. Yet, it passed.
(5) In Ireland, once unquestioningly under the thumb of the Roman Church, the child abuse revelations have been so extreme as to cause the prime minister to denounce the Church in Parliament. He has since closed the Irish Embassy at the Vatican.
(6) In South American countries, which the Pope could once guarantee to rule with a rod of iron, there have been rebellions. In Brazil, same-sex marriage was approved (although the Church succeeded in defeating attempts to reform the harsh abortion laws).
(7) In Mexico City, same-sex unions are now legal. This political agitation and these attempts to interfere in democratic parliaments are increasingly resented. Poll after poll shows that the Roman Catholic population neither agree with nor accept the Vatican’s doctrines on abortion, birth control, homosexuality, or assisted suicide. This is reflected in the dwindling number of Roman Catholics now attending Mass or having anything else to do with the Church.
Although Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) has resigned, he still will be living in Vatican City at a monastery. Many will sigh with relief at his departure. He leaves behind a reactionary College of Cardinals he was instrumental in forming.
The new Pope Francis I, born in South America (though of Italian parents), is the first Jesuit to be elected Pope. The Jesuit movement came into existence by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, when he and six other young men took on the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to become “God’s soldiers” and eventually the watchdog for the Pope, offering absolute obedience to him. The Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna Della Strado, a title of the Virgin Mary. The “Superior General” (by outsiders called “the Black Pope” due to the black robes the Jesuits wear) heads up the Jesuit men and powers around the world. He is chosen for life by the Jesuits themselves. Little is heard about this voting procedure, for the Jesuits often work incognito.
The new Pope is against the trappings of the historical papacy; he is a socialist in heart and a strong believer of the redistribution of global wealth. Again, we must remember, a Jesuit has taken the vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. It is now becoming more and more obvious that he is his own man; his absoluteness of papal power may reveal many more changes coming to the Roman Catholic Church, if he lives long enough. The permissibility of the “discussion” of clergy marriages may be entertained through his papacy. More will be addressed concerning this current Pope in the next Straightway issue.
The Coming New Religion
We must realize that the coming new world religion is yet to be finalized in history. Such a new religion will be composed of the contributions of change from within Romanism, apostate Protestantism, Judaism, Mid-east religions, and the ancient religions from the Far East. All these changes will blend together to make the final new religion. We should not conclude that the past or present Romanism is that final form. Nor should we conclude that the final form is without a dynamic and large contribution from the past and present form of Romanism. Like a mother and her paramours with illegitimate children, there is a new religion that will be born in the coming days through the coming together of all of the neo-movements.
We believe Romanism in a new form will head up the one world religion of the new world order. She will not be the Antichrist; nonetheless, she will ride the back of an Antichrist new world order. God’s providence is bringing us politically into a generation both in America and around the world where a climate is being readied for the coming of Antichrist. We also are witnessing the pressure religiously for the coming of the Mother of Harlots led by a False Prophet.
In our next issue we want to explore the possible facets that seem to be coming. God’s people must be ready to face them yet with the Blessed Hope of the maranatha spirit.