A Marriage Made in Hell

Adolf Hitler and Pope Pius XII

"Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns."--Revelation 17:3

After the recent presidential election in America that saw Barack Obama reelected against formidable odds, we've been told that the Roman Catholic Church is officially dead. And certainly, when you look at the support Obama received from Roman Catholics in this election, you could make a strong case for the Catholic Church's demise.

For example, 78 percent of Hispanics who are predominantly Roman Catholic, voted for Obama while 52 percent of non-Hispanic American Roman Catholics voted for Obama. Those are significant numbers when you realize that Obama is perhaps the most liberal, anti-Christian president in the history of the American republic. Despite the fact that the Catholic Church condemns abortion, homosexuality and same sex marriage, the majority of American Roman Catholics ignored their church's teachings to vote for an enemy of the Catholic Church. To say that the Roman Catholic Church has lost its influence in America would be a serious understatement.

You may remember the Catholic Church's vain attempt to rally its membership earlier this year with a protest called "Fortnight for Freedom" (June 21-July 4) that was a response to the Obama Administration's Obamacare edict that mandated religious institutions offer abortion and contraception coverage to their employees via their health care plans. Fortnight For Freedom was supposed to be the Catholic Church's clarion call to its membership to rise up against such government intrusion into religious freedoms. Instead, Fortnight For Freedom never generated much interest and was quickly forgotten.

Is the Roman Catholic Church finished in America and throughout the world? Though that would seem to be the case with the Catholic Church's declining influence and membership, biblical prophecy reveals otherwise. According to prophecy, the Catholic Church is going to experience a comeback throughout the world while Islam and secular humanism are going to wane and vanish.

But how so? By the appearance of supernatural events and miraculous signs and wonders that science won't be able to explain away. Though that scenario seems unlikely and farfetched, it's going to happen. In fact, we are beginning to see an increase in Marian apparitions and strange phenomena such as weeping portraits and statues in both Catholic and Orthodox churches as we get closer to this counterfeit spiritual revival that will envelop the entire world and attract millions to follow it. The Apostle Paul explained: "The coming of the lawless one (Antichrist) will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

This counterfeit religious revival will be centered in Rome and will arise in conjunction with a global government. The Apostle John witnessed an allegorical manifestation of this religious-political relationship in a vision (Revelation 17) he received in about 90 A.D. while in exile from Rome on the island of Patmos. John witnessed a garishly dressed prostitute riding high atop an ugly scarlet beast that featured seven heads and 10 horns. Though the scarlet beast represents a global government that will feature 10 nation groups headed by seven powerful leaders, what is the identity of the prostitute that rides this beast?

The prostitute represents a powerful religious institution that will be partners with this world government. But what is her identity? John gave us a clue; she represents a city surrounded by seven hills.(Revelation 17:9) Only two cities on earth are surrounded by seven hills; Rio de Janeiro which is located in Brazil and Rome which is located in Italy. The Vatican is located in Rome and is the world headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. When John recorded his vision, the Catholic Church didn't exist and wouldn't come into existence until the Fourth Century A.D. 

So don't write the Catholic Church's epitaph just yet. She may seem finished, but she's about to make an incredible comeback. Unfortunately, that comeback is going to take millions of people to hell in the process.