Francis the Argentine

Pope Francis

"At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."--Matthew 24:10-11

And so, another false prophecy has come and gone.

The latest prophetic sensation that recently made the rounds throughout much of Christendom centered around a 12th century prophecy alleged to have been revealed by an archbishop from Ireland named St. Malachy.

According to St. Malachy's prophecy, after the reign of Pope Celestine II (1143-1144), 112 more popes would sit on Peter's throne and then the end of the world would come. According to this prophecy, the 111th pope would resign and make way for the final pope who would be known as Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman.

Who was the 111th pope? He was Benedict XVI. After Benedict recently announced his resignation, the Christian world--specifically Pentecostals and Charismatics--became apoplectic with the anticipation that St. Malachy's prophecy was about to be fulfilled. Many Christians truly believed that the end of the world was at hand and the return of Jesus Christ was imminent.

What added to the drama was the fact that one of the candidates for the papal throne was Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, who was appointed by Benedict as the Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church in 2007. Cardinal Bertone was also known by the name of Peter of Romano or Peter the Roman. 

Surely, St. Malachy's prophecy was true! The prophecy that God revealed to the Irish archbishop of Armagh 900 years ago was going to be fulfilled right before our eyes! And the Christian world had called it! Hallelujah and glory to God!!

And then the College of Cardinals went and foiled St. Malachy by choosing Argentine Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio to be Benedict's successor. Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis, is a Jesuit scholar who quite literally flew under the radar concerning the candidates who were being considered for the Roman Papacy. He wasn't even on a list compiled by Tom Horn and Cris Putnam who co-authored a dubious book (Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope is Here) that supported St. Malachy's prophecy.

Needless to say, after Archbishop Bergoglio was chosen as Benedict's successor, many people were disappointed. Included among those disappointed folks were some popular Christian prophecy experts who embraced St. Malachy's false prophecy and ran with it. And suffice to say, they're not looking so credible right now.

Pope Francis isn't Peter the Roman. He isn't the final pope. That pope is still to come. When he does appear, true Christians will recognize him as the Antichrist. Then the end will truly be at hand. But that is still ahead in the future. http://www.prophecyreviewonline.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=81352

In the mean time, true Christians had better wake up and realize that they are indeed living in prophetic times. Jesus Christ himself warned us that in the last days, many false prophets would appear throughout the world and deceive multitudes. (Matthew 24:10-11, Matthew 24:24-25) 

We've seen that prophecy fulfilled in just the last three years with the failed Harold Camping prophecy that falsely predicted a 2011 rapture; the Mayan Apocalypse that didn't occur in December, 2012 and now with St. Malachy's bogus prophecy.

It's time for Christians to start paying attention to their true prophets and to stop listening to false prophets such as Harold Camping and St. Malachy. But, is anyone listening?