The times we are living in are startling! Shocking events are occurring all around us which are fulfilling prophecies from the Bible and God’s faithful messengers throughout the ages! Christ Jesus told us that before His coming the world would be like it was in the days Noah and of Sodom and Gomorrah – violence, unbelief, sexual perversion of every kind, disrespect for the sanctity of marriage, and hatred for those who wish to call sin by its right name (Matthew 24:9-12, 37-39; Luke 17:26-30; Gen. 6:5-13; 19:4-7,9,14,15). All of these signs are receiving a striking fulfillment in our day!!
But do we have any other signs that the very end of the world is right at hand before us? Most definitely, “Yes!” More than time permits to entertain here! But let us focus upon one major prophetic point – that is, the polarization of religious groups into two basic camps! Is that really foretold in prophecy? You bet it is! Multitudes will join hands with deceptive false religion and the world together! But just a remnant will remain faithful to the Lord God and His commandments! Let’s investigate a little bit further, and look at the evidence all around us too! It’s shocking! We’re going to have to choose sides – the world, or the Lord! So, we’d better have a clear picture of just what is going on in our world today and how prophecy is fulfilling!
Revelation says, “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration” (Revelation 17:6). She has committed fornication with “the kings of the earth” and they with her (Rev. 17:2). When the Bible describes this “harlot” woman it is talking about an impure church (see the historical biblical references on this point here, Ezekiel 23:1-5, 36-39) who has affected the entire world with her abominable and corrupt teachings and practices. She has hurt many who were aiming to be faithful to the Lord! She is laden with horrible sins! She has also been “in bed” or mixed up with the “kings” or governments of the world in many ways to further her corrupt practices. Her influence blankets peoples and cultures from all around the world, and she sits upon the ancient city which ruled the world in the Apostle John’s day, and was known as the city of “seven hills” (Rev. 17:15,18,9). As Wikipedia put it, “City of Seven Hills usually refers to Rome.” (See article; also here.).
The woman is riding upon a “beast” having “seven heads and ten horns” (Rev. 17:3) and this is also pictured in Revelation 13:1. The Bible identifies this symbol of a “beast” as being a government or kingdom (See Daniel 7:17,23). So, this woman (church) is riding upon a government power (the power of state) to do what she likes to do more easily. The church and state are mixed together. The Bible also points out that this woman is covered or clothed in “purple” and “scarlet color.” Additionally, she is filthy rich (See Rev. 17:4; 18:2-5,16,17). See the fulfillment here. I don’t know any other worldwide church (or, “woman”) colored like that, and sitting in abundance or luxury upon a city of “seven hills” than the Roman one. Do you? Please remember that this prophecy is talking about a false religious system, who has defected from the pure and true teachings of Jesus Christ. It is NOT talking about loving, sincere, Christian people who are unknowingly involved. God DOES in fact have sincere people there today, and He is calling them to take hold of something better (See Rev. 18:4-5). Find out who all the Protestant Reformers believed this to be (View quotes here).
“All the world wondered after the beast” (Rev. 13:3). This woman and her state power are quite the spectacle for the world to look at and to admire. She has a religious manner that attracts many! She is very popular with the entire world! After ruling with great power over the “kings of the earth” for many years during what we call the dark ages, her “beast” or state power was to receive a “deadly wound” (Again, see Rev. 13:3). She lost her state power. It was a deadly blow! However, the Bible says that wound was to be healed! She would regain it, and then again she would begin to become very powerful! In fact, so powerful and popular that a later last day governing power, influencing the whole world, would “make an image” to her, an “image to the beast” (Rev. 13:11-14). All would be led to “worship” her! This makes her (“the beast”) more than just a government alone, but rather a religious-political system. People are led to “worship” this character. You have the corrupt church (the harlot woman) and the state combined. Worship is the central issue here and all the world is led to follow this corrupt system (power of state being one of the primary means by which this takes place). The Bible says if we go along with it then we’ll not be saved (Rev. 13:8).
God’s group, on the other hand, say “with a loud voice” to worship God the Creator alone (our Father, Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit), and to reverently “keep His commandments” (Revelation 14:6,7,12). They warn everybody in the world to NOT follow this corrupt and wicked system which is call “Babylon,” represents confusion, and dishonors God’s commands (Rev. 14:8-11).
Now for the shocking and surprising evidence of what is going on today and how the prophecies are fulfilling before our very eyes!
Certain Protestant Groups and Catholics Moving Together towards each other
There has been a movement slowly gaining steam in the Protestant and Catholic worlds (which today is moving much faster and becoming more prominent). It has been a movement to heal the breach between the two and to come together in oneness again; To work together in unity with each other while making light of their doctrinal differences. It is a movement of linking together and bridging the gap of separation. It’s a movement that will pay homage to the pope.
Recently, the new Pope Francis (Catholic) and Tony Palmer (Anglican, and a personal friend of the Pope) have been making an effort to join together two separate worlds into one Christian fellowship – Catholicism and Charismatics/Pentecostals. According to Tony Palmer, similar unions with Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists have already been made since 1999. This he refers to as “the post-Protestant era.” In this video Palmer states that we are not to be “spiritual racists”, but should realize our need to connect with the Catholic church upon “spiritual grounds” and to not be concerned with doctrinal differences. This video is about 30 minutes long. First, Palmer gives an introduction to his ideas, then he shows a conference of Charismatic leaders receiving a message from him and Pope Francis (by video). The Pope called for spiritual brotherhood. See the video, “The Miracle of Unity has Begun,” here on YouTube. Furthermore, you can view the video of the whole conference on YouTube in which Kenneth Copeland makes a heartfelt response to accept the Pope’s invitation (towards the end at video time 38:42).
The agreement Tony Palmer mentioned in the video above between the Catholic Church, the Lutherans, and Methodists is concerning the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. This was one of the major points that Luther had cried out against in his protest (Salvation by grace through Faith alone – “Sola Gratia”), but it is obviously not the only point on which the reformer brought issue against. There were many others as well – it was his 95 Thesis paper. The point that Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists have now joined together on this point is a fact. See the Wikipedia article here under the subheading “recent activity.” You can view the actual points agreed upon either at the EWTN website or at the Vatican Website.
As for Anglicans making a movement to reunite with Rome, in 2010 there were 100 US Anglican Parishes who decided to reunite with the Catholic church. Some further developments took place in 2011. You can read about this in an article listed here by the Telegraph.
The US Roman Catholic church and a number of other “Protestant” churches recently agreed to recognize each others’ baptisms. That’s a very historical movement and a sign of the seriousness of our times! This was reported January 29, 2014 in the Huffington Post. Catholic leaders, and certain “Protestants” have been pushing for “unity.” You can see the whole article here. Here’s a small excerpt from the end of the article showing involvement, “The agreement was first approved in 2008 by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). American Catholic leaders voted on the it in 2010 and the agreement was later approved by the governing bodies of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ” [bold added for emphasis of which churches were involved].
United States Government Relations with today’s Vatican
It is shocking to see the developments going on here as well. The United States began as a government primarily consisting of Protestant leaders and principles! This was because many of the early people coming to this country were doing so for the sake of freedom! Europe had been filled with religious persecution and intolerance! This is why the “Separation of Church and State” was so highly prized as a tenant of the American Constitution! Congress was not to establish a state religion or to prohibit the free exercise of people’s faith. This is part of the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”.
Those principles were entirely the opposite from those which the Catholic church had maintained! Just look at the history of Europe! The Roman Church felt it their divine duty to crush out “heretics” and to wield a sturdy hand of power over all the state powers, inasmuch as was possible. The US government proposed an entirely different approach which flew in the face of established Roman Church practices. For reasons such as this, Vatican and USA traditionally did not have a close relationship. However, over time, the barriers have been breaking down.
Not only that, but the leadership of the US government has been changing in many key areas from Protestant to Catholic. At the beginning of the US government, nearly all the Supreme Court justices were Protestant. Now, as of 2013, six of them are Roman Catholic and three are Jewish. Click here to view the Wikipedia article on the Supreme Court (scroll to point#5, “Religion” to view the line up).
Now, John Boehner, a House Speaker (and a Roman Catholic), has invited Pope Francis to come and address a joint Session of Congress! This is a very historical “open invitation” and the first ever of its kind. This was reported by ABC News, March 13, 2014. Read the ABC Article online here and you can also view the original letter of invitation which is also posted there. The article caption reads, “Pope Francis has been invited by House Speaker John Boehner to speak to a joint session of Congress.”
In the ABC article, proponents pushing for this invite were trumping Pope Francis to be a great “moral leader” and one who is aiming “to promote love and understanding among faiths and nations.” Further comments made it sound as if his leadership was an answer for correcting many of the problems and challenges our world is facing today!
As you consider who are some of the key leaders in our nation please also consider that according to the Roman Catholic church, if you are a Catholic, then your highest duty and responsibility is to the Catholic Church and to furthering its work. Your highest duty is not to any earthly government, besides Rome.
Eastern Religions pushing for love and unity among all faith groups!
Perhaps at first glance, including something here from Eastern Religions may not seem relevant to this conversation. However, we may quickly see that it is! I’ll give two examples.
First, a Buddhist Master by the name of Chin Kung, who began in China and later moved to Taipei, Taiwan, has been pushing for a movement of peace, love, unity, and harmony among all peoples from various faith groups! He wants to see all people from different religious walks coming together with each other on all sorts of common points for the good of mankind and then not dealing with or dwelling upon differences and peculiarities of faith. In other words, this message goes right along with the idea of Catholics and Protestants uniting! The message of this man is becoming more and more popular and he has been asked to teach and to share at numerous colleges, universities, and conferences around the world. Take a look at the following excerpt from his website:
“It began in November of 1998 that Master Chin Kung took the initiative to visit organizations of major faiths in Singapore, including Muslim, Catholicism, Methodist Church, Hinduism, Taoism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. In that same year, he supported the project of Multi-faith Centre of Griffith University. In the year 2000, Master Chin Kung has helped to organize a delegation of leaders from nine religions in Singapore to visit religious organizations in China for two weeks. This trip was very successful.” To view more please visit his website.
Secondly, The Bahai Faith. This faith began about 150 years ago and today has nearly 5 million followers, located all around the world! People are saying this faith “…brought to humanity a stirring new message of peace and unity.” From a webpage about this faith we can also read these fundamental beliefs behind it, “For a global society to flourish, Bahá’u’lláh said, it must be based on certain fundamental principles. They include the elimination of all forms of prejudice; full equality between the sexes; recognition of the essential oneness of the world’s great religions; the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth; universal education; the harmony of science and religion; a sustainable balance between nature and technology; and the establishment of a world federal system, based on collective security and the oneness of humanity.” You can gather more information from www.bahai.org .
The point here is that these particular eastern religions are pushing spiritualistic messages of “peace and unity” which cater to the secular world very well! They are also aiming to promote their ideas among Catholic and Protestant groups and have been actively doing so! Obviously, Christians who cling to their Bibles would never go for sacrificing the peculiar and particular points of their faith, but watered-down “Protestantism” and Catholicism have never really been too particular about following the distinct points of the Bible. The idea of having “Peace, love, harmony, and unity” is precisely the idea behind these Eastern Faiths and also behind the unions of Catholics and “Protestants” reuniting with each other on common ground, thus “meeting in the middle,” as Bishop Tony Palmer quoted from Pope Francis.
Are we not on our way to having a “one world religion” under the “Catholic” (meaning “universal”) church head? Cannot the Pope, with his nearly 1.18 Billion followers from around the world take a major role of leadership in just such a movement of unity? By the recent looks of things, it seems that he is aiming to do just that, if possible! And who is behind it all? None other than the Devil himself, hidden under a clock of righteousness and apparently white garments! [Statistical church membership was taken from a Vatican 2009 report to USA Today, boasting to be the largest church in the world and having a membership that works out to be about 1 in 5 people among the world’s population today. See article here].
One final thought to consider – An incredible message! (Even Prophetic!)
A little over 100 years ago, there was a female religious author who was one of the most prolific female authors of all history, and also one of the most translated as well! She wrote a book called “The Great Controversy” which traces out Christian History from the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, through the early centuries, the Reformation, the Pilgrims to America, later Revivals, and the final events described in the Bible prophecies of the book of Revelation!
The book is well worth the reading, and in light of all the recent developments in our world today, could even be said to be prophetic! Please consider the following excerpts from the chapter entitled, “The Impending Conflict.”
“….the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement…” [Note: That was and is in reference to an ongoing movement to establish Sunday as a common day for rest and worship. This happened in ancient Rome when Pagan sun worshipers united with the Roman church. Catholicism has pushed that repeatedly throughout history by legal means. It has been pushed in the United States before, and is being pushed in Europe strongly even today. View European Sunday Alliance official webpage. Such laws can create problems for people who desire freely to worship God on other days]. Continuing, “…The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God’s law, His servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men. {GC 587.1}
Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience. {GC 588.1}
As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed…” [Blogger’s Note: See also Rev. 13:11-14 on this point]. “…And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power. {GC 588.2}
The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. {GC 588.3}
Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith; but at the same time he works as a destroyer. His temptations are leading multitudes to ruin.”
You might consider reading the whole book, “The Great Controversy,” by Ellen G. White, and getting the full context our our Christian History that led us up to this day and place! The book is very well referenced and informative! It’s a really incredible and helpful read! You can get the book here on Amazon or Google it to find free MP3 audio versions for download. You can even find free text versions online such the one found here.
It’s pretty incredible how these statements written well over 100 years ago are describing the events of our world today!
The Take Home
The evidence is all around us that Jesus is coming soon! The world is falling into line with the last day events described throughout the Bible’s prophecies! The question is, are we ready to meet the Lord? Are we ready for what is about to come upon the earth? Will we be among those who stand strong and faithful for the Lord amidst the perils of the last days or will we be swept away by the tides of evil and compromise that are washing through our world! Let us pray, prepare, and labor to be among the faithful! Let’s be ready! The end of all things as we know them here is at hand! Though we know not the day nor the hour, yet Jesus is soon to come! The seasons are changing! (Matthew 24:32-34). “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). Amen.
