ICG’s Mark Armstrong on Pope’s Upcoming Visit

Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict XVI

In his weekly update last night, ICG’s Mark Armstrong wrote:

Stand by for all the buzz the pope’s upcoming visit to the UN will generate. He’s coming as a “pilgrim of peace” to promote dialogue between cultures and religions based on fundamental human rights. Doesn’t that sound meaningful? You can expect to hear reporters and pundits shamelessly referring to him by his blasphemous title, H___ F_____. I’m not even going to write it, because he is neither. He’ll be promoting the new universal ENVIRONMENTAL religion that threatens U.S. sovereignty. He’ll be preaching to the choir at the UN, and the media will swoon. Some of his front-men have already warned of that newly identified deadly sin. The sin of “wasteful driving habits.” The universal church has bought into global warming, and it’s not just a political issue anymore. It’s taking its rightful place in the realm of religion. The pope obviously doesn’t want to see the faithful lured away into the “new age” movement. And since there’s no beating the brainwashing blitz of “climate change” propaganda, the Vatican’s obvious move is to get on board.

It’s been a long time since the universal church re-wrote the Ten Commandments. They call it their “Traditional Catechetical Formula.” (Don’t try pronouncing or looking up that word) It simply means the papacy has officially instituted it as doctrine. The Commandment-replacing formula omits the second Commandment about idolatry. I guess that takes care of the statues, crosses and steeples. The other glaring change is the omission of the SABBATH. “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day,” is how the new version reads, and it is their third papal commandment. It is one more in a long line of examples of these parading “holy men” of questionable orientation overruling God. It’s been leaked that he will also address the priest abuse scandals.

This “greatest” of all “Christian churches” has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements in the U.S. to try to keep the lid on the unbelievable sexual abuses their “spiritual leaders” have committed against the children (predominantly young boys) of their members.

On several of those points Mark Armstrong is correct. (Regarding global warming, however, the Bible makes it clear that it will occur, please see CGG and Al Gore.)

Mark Armstrong is clearly correct that the Vatican has made many changes in doctrine, including the renumbering of the Ten Commandments (please see Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Living Church of God?).

Furthermore, since it is the plan of the Vatican to become more “ecumenical” so that it can dominate Europe and the rest of the world (please see Pope Benedict XVI to Have “Ecumenical” USA Trip), I agree that some statements encouraging ecumenicalism will be made.

I also believe that the Pope will make statements that falsely indicate that his church has true apostolic succession (which it does not, please see Apostolic Succession) and that it is the original true church (which it is not, please see Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome ). Even Catholic approved writings support my assertions here (please see What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History?). Yet the media will, by and large, ignore all of that as they really do not know what happened with early Christianity (if you wish to know more, please see the articles at The History of Early Christianity page).

In the same report Mark Armstrong also wrote:

The Biblical scenario for a King of the North over running a King of the South is clearly not yet a reality.

And that is correct.

Despite that being correct, however, Ronald Weinland of CGPFK will, in a week, insist that the 1335, 1290, and 1260 days of Daniel chapter 12 have began (even though they require that there actually be a King of the North when one properly understands how Daniel 12 ties in with Daniel 9 and 11) and Ronald Weinland of CGPFK will most likely state that Pope’s trip somehow marks the start of the 1260 days (which he claims begins next Thursday).

However, the Great Tribulation (which MUST begin with the start of the 1260 days) cannot begin next Thursday, despite Pope Benedict XVI’s visit (nor can it begin until at least 2012).

But this Pontiff is helping to set the stage to fulfill a variety of biblical prophecies. And he will get a lot of media attention in the next week.

Some articles of related interest may include:

Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Living Church of God? Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? Which group best represents true Christianity? This documented article answers those questions.
End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? There is a Mayan calendar prediction for change in 2012. 2012 changes were also centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans and the Hindu Indians (who were not even on the same continent). Do these Mayan/Hindu/Hopi prophecies have any value? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Can the great tribulation start before 2012?
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them.
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin?