The Final Pope



The Leader of Rome

Since the Vatican recently announced the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope to step down since Gregory XII resigned in 1415, a myriad of reasons have been offered for Benedict's sudden and unexpected departure.

Some have suggested that Benedict was forced to resign because he was too soft on pedophile priests and allowed the church's sex scandals to fester which seriously damaged the Vatican's image. Others have suggested that the predominantly Italian College of Cardinals, the body that will choose the next pope, wants an Italian pontiff after two successive non-Italian popes. (John Paul II, Benedict XVI)

And then there are those who claim that Benedict's resignation fulfills a prophecy allegedly revealed in the 12th century by St. Malachy, an Irish archbishop who claimed that God gave him a list of the final 112 popes that would rule the Catholic Church. St. Malachy's prophecy, we're told, is said to have described each of the 112 popes beginning with Celestine II in 1143.

According to the St. Malachy prophecy, the 111th pope would resign from the papacy and open the door for the 112th and final pope to reign. If the St. Malachy prophecy indeed began with Celestine II, then Benedict is the 111th pope, and he did in fact resign. Furthermore, St. Malachy's prophecy names the 112th and supposedly final pope Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman.

And furthermore, one of Benedict's potential successors is Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone who is the current secretary of state for the Vatican that Benedict appointed as Camerlengo or Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church in April, 2007. Bertone is also known by the name of--you guessed it--Peter of Romano or Peter the Roman.

Some people who have embraced this prophecy are already predicting that Cardinal Bertone, aka Peter the Roman will be the dreaded Antichrist. Is there any credence to St. Malachy's prophecy? Did this prophecy really come from God? How do we explain that the 111th pope in St. Malachy's prophecy did indeed resign and his potential successor bears the name of Peter the Roman?  

First of all, let me explain that I believe this is indeed a prophecy, but that it didn't come from God. Since I believe that the Roman Catholic Church is a counterfeit that was created by Satan, I believe that St. Malachy's prophecy is demonic. But isn't Satan a liar? Then why would he reveal something nearly 900 years ago that would come to pass? To deceive millions of biblically illiterate Christians. And Satan has the ability to manipulate the circumstances within an institution he controls such as the Catholic Church to fulfill St. Malachy's prophecy.

The Roman Catholic Church offers a counterfeit path to eternal life through a system of works rather than by faith in Jesus Christ's death on the cross for all sinners and His resurrection from the dead. The Bible emphasizes salvation by faith alone (Romans 10:9-11, Ephesians 2:8, John 3:16) while the Catholic Church, which appeared about 250 years after the Bible's New Testament was completed in about 90 A.D., denies that. In fact, the Catholic Church pronounces a curse upon anyone who believes in salvation by faith.

If Cardinal Bertone does succeed Benedict, then some people will be convinced that the Roman Catholic Church is God's church. But it isn't and it never was.

And whoever succeeds Benedict won't be Rome's final pope. That pope will indeed be the Antichrist. But several events must still take place, including the reunification of the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and the rise of a one world government that will feature 10 nation groups headed by seven powerful rulers. http://www.prophecyreviewonline.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=66077

And so, the next pope won't be the last one. He is still yet to come. You'll know him when he arrives. St. Malachy didn't name him, but the Bible did--he'll be known as the Antichrist.