Koenig's Commentary

A Kind and Courageous Pope
Plays a Prophetic 'End Time' Role

Pope John Paul II died Saturday afternoon. His life was significant. This is a man who faced down communism in his native Poland and was such a powerful force against communism that the KGB tried to assassinate him.

He was a staunch advocate of life, believing that life was sacred because it was given by God. He stood firm against abortion and held to the traditional Catholic (and biblical) doctrine regarding the sanctity of marriage and celibacy outside of marriage. He was consistent against war, opting for peace all the time. He loved children and had a special relationship with the youth of the Catholic Church. Many do not agree with the underpinnings of the Catholic Church but respected this Pope for his commitment and character. And the world mourns his death.

Evangelical Protestant Christians, who often have been at odds with the Catholic Church, enjoyed a period of cooperation and blessing with this particular Pope. He sincerely wanted people to come to Jesus Christ and accept Him as their personal Savior. A world evangelist, Pope John Paul II often was open to the Protestant church on the way to attaining this ultimate goal. While he seemed to personally strive toward Christian purity, he must have been grieved with the American church, which often took its own direction in disobedience to God’s word.

The media coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II will be seen on television by over two billion people, nearly one-third of the world’s population, positioning the deceptive doctrine of the Catholic Church as true “Christianity” and ushering in the end-time church that may well give rise to the Antichrist and the False Prophet as prophesied in the Bible.

By virtue of the false doctrine of the Catholic Church and its promotion as “the” Christian Church, the next pope shall sit in the seat of a false prophet and may be uniquely positioned to become either the false prophet or the antichrist as the world enters into the end-times. For example, the basic tenet of biblical Christianity is salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The famous Bible verse known the world over is John 3:16 — in which Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV). Jesus also said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Catholic doctrine does not deny salvation through Christ but promotes other ways to salvation such as prayers through the Virgin Mary — mother of Christ, and by absolution of sins by priests. The Catholic catechism, which is the doctrine and statement of faith of the Catholic Church, states that “Only priests who have received the faculty of absolving from the authority of the Church can forgive sins in the name of Christ.” And Mary, the mother of Christ, is “the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.”

Further, the new catechism, which was endorsed by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992, seems to deify the blessed mother in several places. One of them says, “Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple, we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.”

As Hal Lindsey, Christian author and commentator, says, “Roman Catholic dogma is at great odds with the Scripture. And it does not take a priest to see it. The Bible’s central teachings are simple and clear. I know that many Catholics have come to true faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, in spite of the teaching of their Church. But let us never lose sight of the fact that there is great error in the central dogma of the Church ... an error powerful enough to blind someone to the simplicity of simple faith in Christ as our only atonement for sin.”

The massive numbers of world leaders flocking to Rome to mourn the loss of Pope John Paul II has been called unprecedented by historians and journalists alike, and invokes a type-and-shadow of the one-world religion as prophesied in the end-time book of Revelation in the Bible.

The picture of five non-Catholic U.S. dignitaries — U.S. President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — bowing down in prayer before the deceased body of the Pope is an unprecedented scene in world history and shows how the world can be united under one religion by a powerful man with the mantra of world peace.

“It is extremely rare throughout American history for an American president to go to a funeral of any foreign dignitary ... No American president has ever gone to a papal funeral before,” said Allan Lightman, professor of American history and presidential historian, in an interview with ABC News. “It was considered quite a situation in 1995 when then-president Bill Clinton went to the funeral of slain Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin, but it was not this kind of extraordinary delegation of a sitting president, former presidents and a first lady. Look, the Pope has strode like a colossus over the late 20th and 21st century [sic]. And here we have the greatest spiritual leader of our time being paid homage by, of course, the most powerful, political and material leader of the world — George W. Bush.”

Leaders from nearly every major country in the world (except China), including Arab nations, the Palestinian Authority and royal families, are slated to attend the Pope’s funeral. This includes radical Islam, European Protestants, the United Nations, Buddhists and Hindus who have already paid homage by attending viewings and praying for the deceased pope. Most all have expressed public sentiments in support of Pope John Paul II, especially how he promoted world peace in countries across the globe. For example, Islamic terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad expressed fond memories of the Pope, who often demanded that Israel give up land for peace. Hamas officially mourned the Pope as a “great man of peace.” Palestinian Authority President Mohmaud Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei said the Pope supported the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital city.

Many are speculating about who the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church will be; many others are hypothesizing what the next pope may be — pope, false prophet or anti-Christ. Irrespective, all Vatican watchers agree that the next Pope will play an important role in both theological and political circles.

There are many in the Christian faith who believe the Roman Catholic Church, vis-á-vis the Pope, will play a role in the end-times. Some say the Catholic Church will be the one-world church that all other churches will join in ecumenical unity. Others say the Pope will become the Antichrist. Still others say the Pope will be the false prophet of the Antichrist who gives him credibility and authenticity. There are healthy disagreements among experts, but most believe that the Catholic Church will be intimately involved in the theological and political landscape of the end-times.

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