Yesterday the Catholic Church announced the election of a new Pope, a Jesuit from Argentina named Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Cardinal Bergoglio assumed the position of the Bishop of Rome, following the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI, and took the Papal name of Francis. News reports are saying that his election is the first time an Argentinian has been elected, and it's the first time that a Jesuit has been elected.
I'm not a Catholic but I do recognize that most of the world sees the Catholic church as being "normal". And the Jesuits have been a religious order officially since 1540, so they are viewed as being a "normal" Catholic group by most people. I find it really "abnormal" though, that the Papal Conclave elected a Jesuit to be the Bishop of Rome.
Throughout history, the Jesuits have had a, shall we say, difficult time being seen as warm and fuzzy, despite whatever reputation benefits they have received from their founding of many great universities. But, from their years of harassing the protestant movement by convicting and executing their leaders, to meddling in the affairs of countries, to the proliferation of Liberation Theology, they have had a mixed approval rating even among Catholics.
I'm not a Catholic but I do recognize that most of the world sees the Catholic church as being "normal". And the Jesuits have been a religious order officially since 1540, so they are viewed as being a "normal" Catholic group by most people. I find it really "abnormal" though, that the Papal Conclave elected a Jesuit to be the Bishop of Rome.
Throughout history, the Jesuits have had a, shall we say, difficult time being seen as warm and fuzzy, despite whatever reputation benefits they have received from their founding of many great universities. But, from their years of harassing the protestant movement by convicting and executing their leaders, to meddling in the affairs of countries, to the proliferation of Liberation Theology, they have had a mixed approval rating even among Catholics.
The primary cause, I believe, of this stems from the fact that the Jesuits were formed in 1534 and existed as a religious order for 7 years prior to being recognized by Pope Paul III in 1540. They swear allegiance to the leader of their order, the Superior General, or the "Black Pope" because of the color of his vestments in comparison to the white vestments of the real Pope, who is sometimes referred to as the "White Pope". And this allegiance they swear to the Black Pope is stronger than the allegiance to the White Pope.
Since the Jesuit swears allegiance to the General of an autonomous order, and it's more binding that the oath they swear to the real Pope, why did the other Cardinals vote for him at all? Since he may not be independent but instead may be subordinate to the Black Pope? The answer can only be answered by pointing out how strong the Jesuit movement is within the church today.
The Catholic Church is probably most successful today in South & Central America which is where the Jesuits are very influential with their Liberation Theology. So it is really quite natural that a prominent member of the strongest order in the most Catholic region of the world would be elected Pope.
There is something else that piques my interest more than the Jesuit intrigue.
When I look at it from a Biblical Prophecy point of view, I see something very interesting. It may be nothing, or I may be imagining things, but in Revelation 17:7-13 there is a passage about a woman riding a 7-headed beast. There is an interpretation of the woman and the beast in this passage, and it's that they are symbols representing the Catholic Church. But that is a discussion for another time. But for the sake of this discussion, let's assume that they do represent the Catholic church, primarily because my whole point depends on it!
(On a side note, I am always trying to look at things in different ways because I believe all interpretations of the book of Revelation so far are, at best, partially accurate. Since the Pharisee's were surprised by John the Baptist and then Jesus Christ, what are we going to be surprised by? - RB)
Here are a the verses that stood out to me tonight:
Since the Jesuit swears allegiance to the General of an autonomous order, and it's more binding that the oath they swear to the real Pope, why did the other Cardinals vote for him at all? Since he may not be independent but instead may be subordinate to the Black Pope? The answer can only be answered by pointing out how strong the Jesuit movement is within the church today.
The Catholic Church is probably most successful today in South & Central America which is where the Jesuits are very influential with their Liberation Theology. So it is really quite natural that a prominent member of the strongest order in the most Catholic region of the world would be elected Pope.
There is something else that piques my interest more than the Jesuit intrigue.
When I look at it from a Biblical Prophecy point of view, I see something very interesting. It may be nothing, or I may be imagining things, but in Revelation 17:7-13 there is a passage about a woman riding a 7-headed beast. There is an interpretation of the woman and the beast in this passage, and it's that they are symbols representing the Catholic Church. But that is a discussion for another time. But for the sake of this discussion, let's assume that they do represent the Catholic church, primarily because my whole point depends on it!
(On a side note, I am always trying to look at things in different ways because I believe all interpretations of the book of Revelation so far are, at best, partially accurate. Since the Pharisee's were surprised by John the Baptist and then Jesus Christ, what are we going to be surprised by? - RB)
Here are a the verses that stood out to me tonight:
(Revelation 17:8-11)7 kings, 5 fallen, 1 is, 1 is not yet but when he comes will continue a short space. Hmmm very interesting!
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Obviously some sort of royal succession, right?. We have always thought prophecies like this were for some future generation, but some people will be alive when this all happens, what if it was us?
I then had a curious thought, how many Popes have there been since Israel came back into existence in 1948?
- Pius XII (1939-1958)
- John XXIII (1958-1963)
- Paul VI (1963-1978)
- John Paul I (1978-1978)
- John Paul II (1978-2005)
- Benedict XVI (2005-2013) Retired, still alive.
- Francis (2013- )
The first 5 sitting Popes in office since 1948 are all dead.
(5 have fallen)
and the 6th one is still alive while his successor is in office.
(and 1 is)
It would then force us to accept Pope Francis as "the other one is not yet come".
The next interesting thing I noticed was verse 14 in Revelation 17.
(5 have fallen)
and the 6th one is still alive while his successor is in office.
(and 1 is)
It would then force us to accept Pope Francis as "the other one is not yet come".
(Revelation 17:10)If Pope Francis is the one who "is not yet come", then something may happen in the near future that will shorten his time if office.
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is,and the other is not yet come;
(Revelation 17:10)We are not told of the cause, only that it will happen. But notice what happens next in verse 11.
...and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
(Revelation 17:11)Notice that it says the beast is the 8th, and is "of" the 7th. So if Francis is the 7th king as a Jesuit, then the 8th king may be the whole Jesuit order, or it could be the "Black Pope" who is the head of that order. Also it says the beast "was, and is not". I believe this is Gods way of explaining the un-Godly nature and origin of this beast. It is the opposite of when God describes himself as "I AM that I AM", which means: "he is and always will be".
And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
The next interesting thing I noticed was verse 14 in Revelation 17.
(Revelation 17:14)Since the early years of the Jesuits consisted of their efforts to harass Protestants, even executing them, it is quite consistent and logical that the 8th beast (along with the 10 kings) will wage war against Jesus and his followers. Also, the word "beast" may be quite appropriate title for this 8th king since he is willing to fight against the embodiment of love - Jesus Christ.
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
I may be way off with this impression, and I'm sorry if I have offended anyone with my assumptions or opinions. But I do like to think of all possible scenarios in regards to Biblical Prophecy, because you just never know if your generation will be the one when the prophecy is fulfilled, and you don't want your biases to blind you from noticing it!
And if you do see it, you wont be saying disclaimers like I am here. In all regards to all things I write on the site, whether I am right or wrong, we should always be looking for the day of his appearing!
I pray for the Catholic Church, it's leaders and it's members, that they all will make sure they have saving faith in Jesus Christ if they haven't done so already. And that is my prayer for all who read this.
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