ST. JOHN'S, NFLD.- 7.29.99 - A hell without fire and brimstone. That's the Roman Catholic Church's latest view on what life in the hereafter might be like. And it comes straight from the Pope. The Pope made the statement yesterday in the Vatican City.
At this morning's mass at the basilica of St. John's, news of the Pope's statement caught most of the people completely by surprise. "The Pope said what?" asked one man. "I'd have to see it before I believe it." For centuries the popular image of the wrath of God has been fire, brimstone, and every imaginable - and unimaginable - horror. The modern teaching of the Catholic church does not refer to hell as a place.
So, for many practicing Catholics, like Frank O'Leary, the Pope has simply confirmed what they believe anyway. "A lot of these things are metaphorical," he says. "I never really thought of heaven as a physical place. It is not surprising to me that the Holy Father would point out that hell is not physical in the sense of this physical plane that we're on right now."
The Pope isn't saying there's no hell at all. He's saying
that hell is the state of eternal torment a soul ends up in when
it cuts itself off from God. And so another piece of religious
folklore gives way to the rational mood of our times. It was
only last year that Catholics heard from their Pope about the
need to build more bridges between faith and reason. And just
last week he set the record straight about heaven. Not as a place
in the clouds but as a state of eternal union with God.
VATICAN CITY, (The Associated Press By Ellen Knickmeyer) Oct.
28 1999 With Pope John Paul II presiding next to the Dalai Lama,
representatives of 20 of the world's faiths closed a millennium-ending
gathering today with a forceful denunciation of religious extremism.
Assembled in St. Peter's Square,
the 200 clergy and lay people appealed to world leaders to refuse
to allow religion to be used to incite hatred and violence. Pope
John Paul II shakes hands with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader
the Dalai Lama at the end of Interreligious Assembly in St. Peter's
Square at the Vatican.
Participants from various faiths attended the assembly. Any use of religion to support violence is an abuse of religion, John Paul said in his final message to the four-day council, speaking to a crowd of red- and orange-robed Asian monks, Catholic priests in black cassocks, Muslim women in head scarfs and Africans and American Indians in the traditional clothing of their own countries.
[Source of the Toleranz graphic from a German Masonic book]
Beyond the message of tolerance it produced, the council was
remarkable for the scenes it brought to a bastion of Christianity:
An American Indian pivoting in the center of the square at sunset,
blessing the four corners of the earth from the heart of Rome.
Muslims spreading out newspapers in the marble colonnade to kneel
toward Mecca and pray.
If you want to know what this accomplished, I'll tell you this, said Rabbi Ron Kronish. This morning at coffee, a colleague from a neighboring country I won't say which one, but I'm from Israel told me, 'This is the first time in my life I ever met a Jew.'
John Paul summoned representatives of the world's religions to the Vatican for one last try during this millennium at cooperation to solve common problems of the world's people.
The council is opposed by traditionalists in many religions, made uneasy at seeing their faith put on an equal footing with others. The first Vatican interfaith council, at Assisi in 1986, was a factor in the only formal Catholic schism of this century, when hard-liners in the church in France broke away from the Vatican.
This second meeting, 13 years later, stressed the differences between religions but denounced exploiting them for violent ends. Twenty-six Buddhists from West and East alike were among the believers taking part in the council, but, notably, the list included none from mainland China.
Tibet's spiritual leader in exile, the Dalai Lama, joined the
last hours of the ceremony, sitting next to John Paul on the
steps of St. Peter's in the candlelit closing ceremony.
POPE JOHN PAUL II KISSES THE KORAN
November 4, 1999 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information
Service, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277) - In May 1999,
during an audience granted to three Muslims at the Vatican, Pope
John Paul II bowed to the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and kissed
it (Christian News, Oct. 18, 1999, p. 16).
The three Muslims were the Shiite
Imam of Khadum mosque, the Sunni president of the Iraqi Islamic
Bank, and a representative of the Iraqi ministry of religion.
The photo of the gesture has been shown repeatedly on Iraqi television.
A mere six months later, Indonesian Muslims demonstrated their
reply to the Pope's gesture by slaughtering Roman Catholics in
East Timor who had voted their independence from Indonesia. [To
confirm this go to website: http://mail.ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ394.htm]
POPE AND ARAFAT ISSUE JOINT JERUSALEM DECLARATION
Pope John Paul II and Yasser Arafat issued a joint condemnation
today of any unilateral decision that would "change the
unique character of Jerusalem," terming such a decision
"legally and morally invalid." The two, who met in
the Vatican today, called for an international status to be granted
to Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak continues to refuse to include areas around Jerusalem in the upcoming transfer of territory to the Palestinian Authority. He is, however, apparently willing to make a change in the withdrawal maps and grant territorial contiguity between several of the Palestinian-autonomous enclaves. So reported Army Radio today.
ISRAEL'S RESPONSE
The Jews very extremely worried that there might be an assassination attempt on the Pope in Israel, which they would have never lived down. They spent a great deal of money and time on security. Ha'aretz Correspondent, by Joseph Algazy - Islamic Movement activists vociferously opposed the government's decision to evacuate them from a Nazareth site contested by Muslims and Christians, prior to Pope John Paul II's visit next month.
The contested site borders on Casa Nova Street, where the Pope's procession will pass on the way to an internationally televised mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation. The government last month approved the construction of a mosque on part of the plot, after the papal visit. Since last October, Islamic Movement activists have been struggling to entrench their presence on the site.
Senior members of the Catholic Church said that the Vatican
is encouraged by the position of Arab leaders from Egypt, Jordan,
the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia who expressed their
opposition to the construction of a mosque on the contested site.
In return, Arab leaders promised to build a larger mosque at
a different site in the city... [Source: http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=02/24/00&id=70214]
IsraelWire (Andra Brack) February 16,2000 - "Israel expresses
its great displeasure with the declaration made today in Rome
by the Holy See and the PLO, which includes the issue of Jerusalem,
and other issues which are subjects of the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations on permanent status. The agreement signed by these
two parties constitutes a regretful intervention in the talks
between Israel and the Palestinians.
There is no denying that Israel safeguards freedom of conscience and freedom of worship for all, and provides free access to the holy places of all faiths. Similarly, there is no question that the religious and cultural character of Jerusalem is being preserved, as are the rights of all the religious communities and their institutions in the city.
Consequently, Israel flatly rejects the reference to Jerusalem
in the aforementioned document. Jerusalem was, is, and shall
remain the capital of the State of Israel, and no agreement or
declaration by these or any other parties will change this fact.
January 19, 1999 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277 - fbns@wayoflife.org) - Pope John Paul II was joined in Rome on January 18 by representatives of 23 Protestant and Orthodox denominations in a show of Christian unity. The gathering was said to be the "the biggest concentration of Christian Churches since the Second Vatican Council" (Crescenzio Sepe, general secretary in charge of the Vatican s Jubilee celebrations).
The Christian leaders included George Carey, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Diodoros, Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, and Athanosio, Orthodox Metropolitan of Heliopolis and Theira, Bishop Christian Krause of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop Lonas Jonson of Sweden, and a representative of the World Council of Churches. The occasion was the opening of the "Holy Door" of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. This was the fourth and final such ceremony at four of Rome s basilicas since Christmas.
UNIVERSALISM/ SYNCRETISM
The first occurred on Christmas eve with the opening of the "Holy
Door" to St. Peter s Basilica. On that occasion, the pope
called the door "the gate of the Lord" and prayed that
Christ would "be for us the true door" and that He
would "grant that no one may remain outside his embrace
of mercy and peace" ("Pope Launches Holy Year With
Ceremonial Opening of Basilica Door," Los Angeles Times,
Dec. 25, 1999).
This reminds us that Pope John Paul is a universalist who believes that men do not have to be born again through personal faith in Jesus Christ to be saved. In 1991 he addressed Muslims as "my beloved Muslim Brothers and Sisters," and said, "I close my greeting to you with the words of one of my predecessors, Pope Gregory VII, who in 1076 wrote to Al-Nasir, the Muslim Ruler of Bijaya, present-day Algeria. ...we believe in and confess one God, admittedly in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the Creator of the world and Ruler of this world " (Christian News, quoting Hamdard Islamicus, Summer, 1991).
The New Catholic Catechism confirms the pope's universalism, saying: "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind s judge on the last day."
It was Pope John Paul II who arranged the Day of Prayer for World Peace in 1986 in Assisi, Italy. For that occasion the pope brought together one of the most amazing mixtures of religious confusion ever assembled on earth. First there were leaders of many of the "Christian" denominations, including the head of the Anglican church and representatives of the World Council of Churches, the Baptist World Alliance, Disciples of Christ, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Lutheran World Federation, the YWCAs and the YMCAs, and the many of the Orthodox groups.
Joining this hodgepodge of apostate Christianity were representatives of eleven other religions: Buddhists, Hindus, North American Indians who invoked "the Great Spirit of the Sky," Shintos, Bahais, Jainists, African animists who called on "The Great Thumb," fire-worshipping Zorastrians, Sikhs, and Moslems who cried out to "Allah."
The gathering on January 18, which occurred on the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, focused on ecumenical oneness. The pope said that it is not God's will for "the church" to be divided, and he called for all denominations to be united with Rome: "From this basilica, where we are meeting in a spirit of hope, I look toward a new millennium .. that in a not so far future finally reunited Christians can walk together as one people, following the path of the pope" ("Pope stresses pan-Christian aspect of Catholic Jubilee," Agence France-Press, Jan. 18, 2000).
The pope said that Christians are united by baptism, calling the January 18 gathering "a step toward unity in the Spirit in which we were baptized." He said: "We have received one Baptism. This places a sacramental bond of unity among those who, through it have been regenerated" (Vatican Information Service, Jan. 18).
This reminds us of Rome s false sacramental faith/works gospel. Rome teaches that salvation is a process which begins with baptism and is maintained and strengthened through participation in the other Catholic sacraments. Though Rome acknowledges that salvation is by the grace of Christ, it redefines that grace to include works and sacraments. Consider the following quotes from the New Catholic Catechism:
1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all
personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.
1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.
... The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism
that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes
care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord
to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water
and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament
of Baptism...
1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes
the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God,
who has become a "partaker of the divine nature," member
of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.
980 It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized
can be reconciled with God and with the Church.
1129 The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of
the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. ... The fruit of
the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the
faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a
living union with the only Son, the Saviour.
These quotations from the New Catholic Catechism, which was published in Latin in 1992 and in English in 1994, leave no doubt of Rome's false gospel. When the Philippian jailer asked the Apostle Paul what he had to do for salvation, Paul did not tell him to be baptized or to join a church and participate in sacraments; he exclaimed the glorious gospel of full, free salvation through faith in the atonement of Christ: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). When the Jews asked Jesus Christ what work they must do to be saved, He replied: "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29). When the Apostles came together in Jerusalem to entertain the question of salvation, they concluded that men are saved solely "through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:11).
At the January 18 gathering the pope prayed for "forgiveness
from Christ for every time in the history of the Church that
His plan for unity was upset." What hypocrisy! The doctrinal
heresy of his own institution has been one of the greatest sources
of disunity among churches. The Apostles established the first
churches upon the pattern that Christ had designed. They delivered
the "faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) and
completed the Bible, which is the sole and complete authority
for church faith and practice. It was the self-willed heretics
who departed from the apostolic faith in the centuries following
the death of the apostles and who formed the Catholic Church
upon fallible human tradition who destroyed the unity of Christ
s churches. [Source: The Way of Life web site is http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud.
The End Times Apostasy Online Database]
Excerpts pertinent to Interfaith planned for the Pope's ceremonies in Israel: Holy Year 2000 calendar published by the Central Committee in Rome, might help Christians on their pilgrim journey to Israel, and manifest their solidarity with all Churches.
The ecumenical exigency, so strongly marked by Pope John Paul II, must find in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land the most fertile and exemplary soil. The whole world expects and awaits so much from reconciliation and harmony between the diverse religions, particularly among the descendants of Abraham, father of all who believe in God. From the Vatican, November 11, 1998. Roger Cardinal Etchegaray President + Crescenzio Sepe Secretary General
The Jubilee Calendar of the Church in the Holy Land takes
into consideration the very diverse aspects of this community.
Accordingly, it is inter-ritual, local, Catholic, ecumenical,
interfaith, and international.
The Year 2000 will hopefully be the occasion for all three to come to know each other better in order to understand and find each other in reconciliation and collaboration.
Some events are still in their early planning stage, while others ecumenical, interfaith, civil-are only now being considered, to say nothing of possible celebrations organized by the pilgrims themselves or by different national groups, etc.
It is hoped that the events contained therein will help sustain and nourish the piety of the faithful, both here and throughout the world, and help lead them on their road to conversion. May it also help toward a reconciliation between peoples as well as between believers of all religions, particularly in this holy part of the world. May all one day, rejoice in the inspired vision recalled by Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter Tertio millennio adveniente:
Jerusalem, 25 October 1998, Feast of Our Lady of Palestine,
principal patroness of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land Way
of the Cross is conducted by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy
Land every Friday throughout the year. [Source: http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/jub/JUBmain.html]
The time table for the Pope's visit in the Holy Land.
March 21st: Arrival by Air from Jordan to Ben Gurion Airport
Driving up to Jerusalem.
March22nd: Visit of Bethlehem. Church of the Nativity. Reception
by the Chairman Arafat.
March 23rd:Jerusalem, Visiting Various churches, Prayer at Holy
Sepulchre, Visit at Temple Mount and the Wailing wall, Reception
by President Weitzman and Prime Minister Barak.
March 24th:Sea of Galilee, visiting various churches, Capernaum,
leading Mass on mount Beatitudes.
March 25th: Nazareth, mass at the bazilica of the Annunciation.
March 26th: Various Churches in Jerusalem, in the evening, flight
out of Ben Gurion Airport.
POPE PREPARES JERUSALEM FOR THE ANTI-CHRIST
On March 21, 2000, the pope of Roman Catholicism arrived in Jerusalem.
The carefully orchestrated pilgrimage designed to minimize Israel's
divine right to fully inherit Jerusalem and all of the land promised
to her by Almighty God began ironically on the Jewish festival
day of Purim. The word Purim means 'lots' as in casting lots
when gambling. The name Purim (lots) was given in remembrance
of a murderous plot by Haman. Haman cast lots to decide when
he should carry into effect a decree issued by the king for the
extermination of the Jews (Esther 3:6, 9:24). The tables were
turned on Haman and instead it was he and his off spring who
would die (Esther 9:25).
When recognizing the determined efforts of the Devil and his minions to partition and destroy Israel in fulfillment of the prophesied course of events for these last days - the pope's arrival in Israel on Purim should be viewed in our estimation as having taken place according to preordained schedule. Like the death of Haman, who nurtured a murderous plot against the Jews in defiance of God so too will the same fate of Haman the foolish gambler come back upon the heads of the children of darkness who are preparing in Jerusalem the lair for the religion of the Anti-Christ.
An article from the March 27, 2000 Israel Wire, which headlined, Pope... returns... to Rome reported that the pope met with Grand Mufti Ikrema Sabri on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, where he called upon the church to assist in ending Israel's occupation of Jerusalem. Throughout Christian history, a large number of prophecy teachers have recognized that the dominating false world religion and government prophesied of in Revelation Chapter 17 for these last days would come forth from the old Babylonian and Roman Empires. Details for the full scope of the prophecies which develop the composite picture of this political religious power are scattered throughout the Bible.
We have dealt in the past with the fact that this partnership described in greater detail in Revelation 13 will reach its zenith, during the establishment of a seven year covenant with Israel and her neighbors. (Daniel 9:27.) Prophecy and current events overwhelmingly support that the present day European Union, which originated in Rome, Italy, with the signing of the Treaty of Rome, is indeed the promised restored Roman Empire, which will bring forth in Israel the last day's beastly world dictator called the Anti-Christ. (Daniel 11:45, John 2:18.)
It is also just as evident to us for the same reason that the Roman Catholic Church is in truth a major endtime forerunner of the ghastly Babylonian harlot religion, which will unite in full power with the European Union in its final push for world dominion. Her purpose at present remains the same as when she assumed the authority and power of the decaying historic Roman Empire within her courts. That is to unite apostate Christianity and pagan religions together in preparation for allegiance to the restored endtime Roman Empire, through their common roots found in the Babylonian mystery religion. She is a bishop on the last day's chessboard , but she remains a disposable piece all the same.
To understand the overwhelming and exhaustive amount of evidence that the Babylonian religion continues on in the Catholic Church one only needs to check out Alexander Hislop's 'The Two Babylons' from their local library.
The Babylonian trail leading to Rome is dramatic to say the least, when reviewing the history of the holy Roman Empire. We have shared in the past that if this position is the correct one then certain developments would need to take place.
1. The rise of the pope's global political power: Many people are not aware that the pope commands his own chair in the United Nations, which is marked 'The Holy See'.
2. The pope's involvement with the European Union: Pope John
Paul
II has stated that his intention is 'to unite Europe under the
historical Christianity of old - remember the Dark Ages. (See
Revelation 17:6.)
3. The pope opening dialogue with the Jews in preparation for establishing himself as the supreme religious ruler of the Holy Land and to position Roman Catholicism as the harlot religion, which will be carried for approximately three-and-one-half years by the beastly king who will one day soon dominate the region. (Revelation 17:7.)
Current events continue to confirm the position that a European Babylonian/Roman alliance will one day soon rule from out of Jerusalem in these last days. The September 19, 1993 edition of the Denver Post which headlined, 'Accord may hasten papal visit to Holy Land' reported that, 'The peace agreement signed by the Israelis and Palestinians... will hasten a long-discussed papal visit to the Holy Land...the accord will lead to Vatican jurisdiction over part of the city that is holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians... Only in July 1992, did Israel and the Vatican establish a formal commission to negotiate diplomatic ties.
The Arabic News of October 16, 1999, clearly revealed that a global religion is on the immediate horizon and that the Roman Catholic Church continues to establish itself as a leader in this Anti-Christ endeavor. The article titled, 'Vatican hosts international meeting on inter-religions dialogue' reported that, 'The Vatican will host on October 24-28 an international meeting on dialogue between religions... The encounter, to be attended by more than 200 representatives of 50 countries, seeks to 'consolidate inter-religious dialogue for a future peace and solidarity among all humankind... The encounter will be crowned with a final declaration. [Source: Rapture Watch http://www.rapturewatch.com]
POPE ROCK CONCERT BENEFIT
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) by Mia Sulpor - April 11 2000 - Pope John
Paul II, the Eurythmics, Lou Reed and Andrea Bocelli may not
sound like your typical concert lineup, but that's the roster
for the Great Jubilee Concert for a Debt-Free World, May 1 2000,
at the Rome University.
The Pope will welcome and address the young audience at the
free outdoor rock concert. His speech, which will be broadcast
on television worldwide, will focus on reducing debt in the world's
poorest nations.
Following the pope's address, Bocelli will sing a musical tribute
to him. Organizers of the event hope the Vatican's participation
helps bring global exposure to the issue.
Although the final performance lineup has not been decided and additional invitations are being extended to other artists, organizers are already predicting a turnout of more than half a million people.