Is Pope Benedict XVI / Joseph Ratzinger The False Prophet?

Does The Last Pope Fit the Prophecy of The Antichrist or False Prophet?

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Before getting into whether the new Pope Benedict XVI is the last pope according to Catholic Prophecies, let's discuss the question of which of the two infamous End Times figures of Bible Prophecy the pope could best fit: the Antichrist or the False Prophet?

Revelation 13 is the prophecy where both figures are described in the most detail. 

Rev 13:11 - And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Here is why I think this identifies the False Prophet as a future pope:

• Like A Lamb - In the Bible, the Lamb represents Christ, the Lamb of God.  The pope takes the title "Vicar of Christ" meaning he is presented as Christ on Earth, in his place.  So he is literally the most famous man on Earth to be "like a lamb", or like THE lamb.
• Two Horns - The pope's mitre literally has two horns.  If you go to the Catholic Encyclopedia, they themselves call it a "two horned mitre"!  Again, it's plain meaning is fulfilled in the pope.  He is a like a lamb with two horns.
• Spoke Like a Dragon - Revelation 12:9 tells us that Satan is the Dragon and the "Serpent of old" of the Garden of Eden.  Jesus called Satan the Father of lies (Jn 8:44).  Therefore speaking like a dragon means lying.  But this "spoke like a dragon" is more than just telling any old mistruth.  Remember how Satan "spoke" to Eve in the Garden?  He did not tell her obvious satanic lies like "drink human blood and worship me" that even Eve would know to reject.  Instead he told her subtle, appealing lies which sounded reasonable and very good, and included the dropping of God's name.  This is exactly how the pope operates.  Most reading this already know that the pope's Catholicism is at odds with the teaching of the Bible.  Even in the midst of leading people astray from what the Bible teaches, he is widely respected as a man of God, and a great world spiritual leader.  That's speaking like a dragon! (NOTE: For the record, I have no malice towards Catholicism or the office of the Pope in writing what I have above, only love for the Truth.  In fact, I was Catholic until I read the Bible through for myself-something I was never encouraged to do by Catholicism, for obvious reasons.)

Revelation 13:12-14 — 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

The Pope is the leading religious figure whose endorsement is the most important one a future Antichrist "declaring himself god" (2The 2:4) would want in order to ensure his world following.  Therefore, the pope is positioned better than anyone on the scene to fulfill this prophecy. As well, Catholicism already has a long history of making images (statues) for people to worship in front of, disregarding the Biblical injunction against doing this abomination to God.  Not to mention that Catholicism already has a legacy of many documented miracles for the greater miracles predicted at the hand of the False Prophet to fit into.

Why Not Antichrist?

In case you may still be wondering if the last pope could be the Antichrist, notice these scriptural titles for the Antichrist:

• Daniel 9 calls him "the Prince...who shall come."
• Daniel 11 calls him "the King of the North."
• Daniel 7 and 8 call him "the little horn" among other horns...with the horns explained there to be kings or rulers.

These passages give the idea not of a religious leader, but that of a prominent political ruler.  If the Antichrist is going to be the head of the coming One World Government, he ought to have been a lesser political ruler already.  While the pope does "rule" the Vatican principality, he is known chiefly as a spiritual leader, not the political ruler of a principality that is 0.2 square miles containing only 720 subjects. Rather than being known for being the "prince of the vatican", he is known worldwide as the religious man in place of the "lamb" who wears a mitre with "two horns," just like the false prophet.

If someone still wants to argue that ruling the Vatican makes the pope a good candidate for the Antichrist, then I would ask which religious authority will be left to be his False Prophet "like a two-horned lamb speaking" who directs everyone to worship him as god (2The 2:4)?  But, as it turns out, a perfect match has already been found on the political scene today for the Beast of Revelation 13, matching Scripture requiremetns for the Beast in literal ways no pope in history ever has.  The many scriptural details given to identify the Beast point to Prince Charles of Wales, a very powerful, influential and connected individual.  His full official name as it appears in English and Hebrew newspapers adds up to 666 in the ancient Hebrew Gematria, among other fulfillments such as his heraldic achievement being literally pictured by the beasts of Daniel and Revelation.  And not to miss the obvious, he's a prince as Daniel 9 requires.

111 or 112 Popes?

So assuming the last pope will be the False Prophet, let's delve into whether Pope Benedict XVI is the last pope.  Whether the new "pope #111" in Malachy's prophecy of future popes is the False Prophet depends on which version of Malachy's prophecy is correct (if any).  The first version of Malachy's prophecy of the remaining popes included only 111.  However, a later release had an additional pope to make 112.  If there is yet one more, it would be conceivable for Ratzinger, aged 78, to be a short-lived transitional pope prior to the final False Prophet pope (in fact, he himself pronounced a short papacy at hearing of his election, and his brother bemoaned the effect it would have on his health).  Under this scenario he would only live a few years in time for a new pope to take his place right before the Great Tribulation starts.

Indeed, other Catholic prophecies (like Conchita of Garabandal *) say the pope after John Paul II will be the last before the End Times or "end of the time, but not the end of the world".  I see this in agreement with Malachy's list because the list does not say we have 10 or 20 more popes.  Instead it provides another witness saying we are at the cusp of the Great Tribulation once we get past one more pope.  At most one more pope left would indicate we are just a couple of years-not, say, 10 or 100-from big prophetic events beginning.  Again, according to the Garabandal prophecies, a great worldwide harmless but frightening "Warning" followed by a diastrous "Chastisement" will come once the final pope before the "end of time" has passed...our Benedict XVI.

But is there any evidence from the Bible to help us know if Pope Benedict XVI is the False Prophet?  Unfortunately, the Bible itself just does not give much identifying information for the False Prophet (as opposed to the Antichrist, who the Bible has more details identifying him as Prince Charles than there is for you to identify who you are).  Nevertheless, the description it does provide about the False Prophet is enough to conclude that it will likely be a pope.

The Real "Signs of the Apocalypse"

But if we knew for sure that the False Prophet was in his papal office already, it would not tell us anything more about timing than we already know from other things.  With the Antichrist identified already and almost 60, we know we do not have many years to go before he must take power.  Likewise the future False Prophet must be already alive and advanced in age as well, as both versions of Malachy's list would require.  So even if they were both now identified, we still could only guess how long it will be before they begin their reign of deception in the Great Tribulation. 

Instead, there are other signposts the Bible tells us to watch for that will appear before the Great Tribulation arrives to usher these infamous "New World Order" leaders in.  I speak of the final Middle East (nuclear) war between Israel and the Arabs, the appearance of Elijah the Prophet in Jerusalem to lead the remnant, the gathering of the 144,000 and "the Woman" (of Revelation 12), and the arrival of Planet X / Wormwood.  For details on those events see my book Planet X in Bible Prophecy.

* Note #1: Drs. J.G.A.M. Leushuis of Norway has informed me that Garabandal is not an officially approved "constat" apparition. It is labeled "constat non" or neutral. So when I call it a Catholic prophecy I mean it is not Muslim or Baha'i, not that the RCC sanctions it.

* Note #2:  There is some confusion on whether Pope John Paul II would be the last pope before the end times or the pope after him (Pope Benedict XVI). I received this information by email that corrected me on my mistaken understanding that it was three instead of four popes from when Conchita was visited before the "end of times":

The three Popes that are four.

Translated from http://personales.mundivia.es/rjm/lospapas.htm and http://www.heiliggeist-seminar.de/Garabandal6.htm

Conchita was with her mother Aniceta and Mrs. Ortiz on the way to the Church. The following conversation arose: --...The Pope has died," her mother said. Conchita Answered: "Ah, yes the Pope died. Then there are THREE Popes left." Up to this point, so far so good. Nevertheless, once they returned home, Aniceta felt uneasy and wanted to more deeply know the thoughts of her daughter who seemed to act with reservation in the presence of Mrs. Ortiz. At home, alone, fearing a possible error of her daughter, her mother asked her: "How do you know that there are only THREE Popes left?" Conchita answered: "By the Holy Virgin. In fact she told me that FOUR Popes would still come but that She did not count one of them." Aniceta Said: "But why not then, count ONE?" Conchita answered: "She did not say why, She only said to me that she did not count ONE. Nevertheless she told me that he would rule the Church by just a very short time." Answering the question, Aniceta asked: "Perhaps for that reason she does not count him?" Conchita said: "I do not know why. Her mother asked: "And what comes later?" Conchita said: "She did not say"

Thanks to Alfredo Barrera for emailing me on this.

See also Why The Beast/Antichrist And The False Prophet Enter The Lake of Fire First

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