LittleShepherd wrote:
That's not even implied in Scripture. He will gain power, but his beginnings are mostly a mystery. That's why it's speculation. Kate never claimed it was anything else.
To suggest the Pope may be the anti-Christ is ridiculous. The end of times may be near according to some ministers, but we still have a way to go.
LittleShepherd wrote:
Most do take the Pope seriously. Even many noncatholics(and nonreligious people altogether) take the Pope seriously. He is one man with a lot of power. Again, the issue was people with what some might perceive as "too much power" in their sphere. Many people with religious views(and even many without) could consider the Pope such a person.
Is that why many Catholics ignore or disagree with the papacy's stance on abortion, premarital sex, contraception, death penalty, gay priests, allowing women to be priests, etc.?
LittleShepherd wrote:
Also, while Kate was speaking on his influence in religious circles, you're blind if you claim the Pope has no governmental power. Do you have any idea how many government leaders have met with the Pope at some time or other? How many have asked for his advice and opinions on various matters? How many registered voters have looked into the Pope's views on various issues? No governmental powers...yeah, right. They might not be overt, but they're there. It's a position with a lot of power, no matter which way you look at it.
They seek his advice, but they don't allow him to make their decisions. If so, Cuba would now be free, since Castro's had several meetings with the late Pope Jean Paul II.
If the papacy declares a Crusade today, will most Christians listen? Probably not. In fact, some Crusades didn't even take place in the past, because many medieval Christians disregarded the Pope's call for new Crusades. The Pope has a lot of symbolic power, but it shouldn't be inflated to the point of hysteria.
In developed countries, we have a thing called separation of church and state. I doubt most people will overlook that secular institution to return to the religious fanaticism of the Middle Ages.
LittleShepherd wrote:
While the UN, World Bank, etc. might not be the eventually organizations that do fill the roles set forth in Revelations, some organization(s) will eventually rise and succeed in the goals of one-world currency and one-world government. In a very real way, these organizations are "setting the stage" for those future events.
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And you forget that I never said they were not the initial stages of the Apocalypse.
LittleShepherd wrote:
<B>Nobody tried to pinpoint the exact time of Christ's return here.</B>
Relax, bub.
Maybe not here, but some Christians do try to do that. We don't know when Christ is going to return. It might be in 50 years, or it might be in 500 years. The Bible foresaw the founding of Israel, dissolution of the Soviet Union, horrific epidemics, strange weather patterns, etc., but we must still witness the rise of the anti-Christ. I believe the televangelist Pastor Van Impe stated that there'll be a major disturbing change in Christendom which is happening in the West, specially in Europe where church attendance and religiousness are declining. But we don't know how far or fast the Church will "die" there if at all. Also, it's said that there'll be further chaos in the world, particularly in the Middle East, so we'll have to see what happens.