Ecumenical Indian Leader Dies, But Catholics and Orthodox Should Fear Ecumenism

An ecumenical educational leader recently died in India:

A Tribute to an Educationist in the Ecumenical Movement – Dr. Mani Jacob

The National Council of Churches in India is saddened to learn of the demise of Dr. Mani Jacob, General Secretary of All India Association for Christian Higher Education (AIACHE) and Chancellor of Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHIATS)…

A leading educationist Dr. Mani Jacob, among other things, will be remembered for his initiative in the growth of the All India Association for Christian Higher Education as a leading organization of Christian Higher Education representing the educational institutions of the Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in India. http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=99901

I did not know Dr. Jacob and do not wish to disparage his intentions.

But my concern is that many have been, and still are, working towards ecumenical unity amongst the Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. And this is not a good thing. My reading of both Catholic and Hindu prophecy suggests that the Indians will likely support a coming ecumenical power that the Bible warns against (Revelation 13:1-4). Notice some Catholic prophecies:

St. Bridget (14th century): Before Antichrist comes, the portals of Faith will be opened to great numbers of pagans (Birch, DA. Trial, Tribulation & Triumph: Before During and After Antichrist. Queenship Publishing Company, Goleta (CA), 1996, p. 449)

Cardinal La Roque (c. 18th century): A regeneration of Faith will appear in Asia (R. Gerald Culleton. The Prophets and Our Times. Nihil Obstat: L. Arvin. Imprimatur: Philip G. Scher, Bishop of Monterey-Fresno, November 15, 1941. Reprint 1974, TAN Books, Rockford (IL), p. 193).

Pope Leo XIII (1893): The Orient, courageously and successfully explored by the Portuguese, is coveted by many today for its lucrative trade. We, however, have a more noble purpose in mind…To take care, therefore, of the preservation and propagation of the Catholic religion among the Hindus, a Hindu clergy has to be formed that could administer the sacraments and govern the Christian people properly, no matter how menacing the times…Be sure that the role of Christianity in such remote regions becomes well known. Make your people understand that something must be done for the Hindus (Leo XIII. AD EXTREMAS ON SEMINARIES FOR NATIVE CLERGY. Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on June 24, 1893. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_24061893_ad-extremas_en.html viewed 07/19/09).

And while some may dismiss those as old writings that are no longer relevant, efforts are being made to bring the Indians into the fold with the Catholics. Notice three items from the 21st century (the second item has to do with Hindus visiting the shrines in Fatima, Portugal):

BERHAMPUR, India, SEPT. 13, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The principal challenge facing the Church in India is not the reconstruction of buildings destroyed by anti-Catholic violence by Hindu fundamentalists, but rather the restoration of interreligious trust, says a bishop of Orissa…

Bishop Nayak: …the Christian presence, though we are hardly 2%, our service in terms of education, the social services, and the health service is almost 20% — service that we are giving. And they say that this is the reason for the increase of conversions in the area, so this is one. They are threatened by this increase in number… if you allow Christians to grow in number they will take over India.

Q: They will eventually conquer.

Bishop Nayak: They will conquer, so that is the fear — that is the unfounded fear…building up solidarity locally among different groups of different religions will be the first, and to build up the lost trust, to bring back, again that we can live together as we have been living from time immemorial. That will be the first priority. (http://www.zenit.org/article-30328?l=english)

Hindus…were allowed to conduct a pagan prayer chant at the altar in the sanctuary of the Little Chapel of the Apparitions…on May 5, 2004…a national television station in Portugal broadcast that a group of Hindus from Lisbon was allowed to commandeer the Shrine for a pagan prayer chant, with the Hindu “priest” standing at the Catholic altar invoking false gods in the causes of peace, while the Hindu congregation in the Little Chapel responded with a chant. (Vennan J. Portuguese Press Reports: “Fatima Rejects Control by Pope”. The Fatima Crusader, 82, Spring 2006, pp. 20-21,25)

October 2003, when Rector Guerra held an interfaith Congress at Fatima…the heretical Father Jacques Dupuis said…that all religions — Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist — are positively willed by God and these religions are all part of the “Kingdom of God”. (Ibid, p. 24)

Since Vatican II (a major Catholic ecumenical council that ran from 1962–1965), many Catholics have been justifiably concerned that doctrinal compromise for the sake of ecumenical unity with those outside of fellowship of Rome was inevitable. The Hindu ceremony mentioned above was also approved by local Catholic clergy in Fatima. And this ecumenism concern is beyond Hindus and those who live in India.

Notice what the “Lady” in Medjugorje allegedly said:

All religions are equal before God…In God there are no divisions or religions; it is you in the world that created divisions…God directs all denominations as a king directs his subjects…It is you who are divided on the earth. The Muslims and the Orthodox, like the Catholics, are equal before my Son and before me, for you are all my children. (Ferrara C. Setting the Record Straight. The Fatima Crusader, 98, Spring 2011, pp. 19-20)

Now, while God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), no real Christian believes all religions are equal before God–there is one true faith (Ephesians 4:5). But this “wonder”, that many believe in, apparently made such a proclamation.

The Orthodox have long taught that the Church of Rome (known sometimes as Latins in their writings) will change doctrines to those of the Orthodox. A document known as the Anonymou Prophecy of 1053 refers to this as the “Deferring of the Latins to the error-free faith of the Orthodox”, it then claims “The Orthodox Faith will expand from East to West” (Tzima Otto, p. 116).

Here is an explanation from Orthodox scholar H. Tzima-Otto (bolding in original):

Many Catholic prophecies speak of the victory of the ‘true Catholic faith’, while Orthodox prophecies, although they agree on everything else, predict a victory of the ‘true Orthodox faith’…When we speak of the future Council, it is bound to be ecumenical…there will come a true re-unification of the Christian Churches…This Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is not going to be Roman Catholic as understood today…

The error-free Orthodox faith…The Orthodox did not experience a Vatican II, they did not begin to rewrite Scriptures…Hence, error-free in the sense that it has not been contaminated by satan…(Tzima Otto, H. The Great Monarch and WWIII in Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Scriptural Prophecies. Verenika Press, Rock City (SC), 2000, pp. 120-122)

Thus, the Orthodox expect Rome to change its doctrines, because they feel that the Roman Catholic Church adopted errors from satan.

Notice that according to another Byzantine prophet, the final (the Orthodox recognize seven previous ones) ecumenical council satisfies what “heretics” want:

Saint Nelios the Myrrh-Gusher (died 1592): During that time the Eighth and last Ecumenical Synod will take place, which will satisfy the contentions of the heretics…(Tzima Otto, p. 111).

By satisfying “heretics”, clearly this council compromises and changes the religion, which will be called “Catholic”. If heretics are truly heretics, should their complaints be satisfied? The Bible warns about a leader who “he shall think himself able to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25, Douay-Rheims). The Catholic saint Jerome wrote that this leader was the King of the North and Antichrist (as he, like many, confused the two):

“. . .And he shall crush the saints of the Most High, and will suppose himself to be able to alter times and laws.” The Antichrist will wage war against the saints and will overcome them; and he shall exalt himself to such a height of arrogance as to attempt changing the very laws of God and the sacred rites as well…” (Jerome. Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 7. Translated by Gleason L. Archer. (1958). http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_daniel_02_text.htm viewed 07/30/11)

But those of our persuasion believe all these things are spoken prophetically of the Antichrist who is to arise in the end time…Verses 40, 41…the king of the North…(Jerome. Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 11. Translated by Gleason L. Archer. (1958). http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_daniel_02_text.htm viewed 12/20/08).

The Beast/King of the North is primarily a political-military leader who will persecute the saints, per Daniel 11:30-35, while the final Antichrist is primarily a religious leader per 1 John 4:1-3 who will support that Beast per Revelation 13:12. Consider if an antipope convened/attended an ecumenical synod that satisfied heretics, would he not also be supportive of changing laws? Many Catholic prophecies warn about an antipope who will arise and who could be the final Antichrist, who is a religious leader (see the book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect for details).

One Catholic nun foretold of a time when some agreement would deceive many:

Jeanne le Royer (died 1798): One day I heard a voice which said, ‘The new Constitution will appear to many other than what it really is. They will bless it as a gift from heaven; whereas it is really a gift from {haydes} and permitted by God in His just wrath. It will only be by its effects that people will be led to recognize the Dragon who wanted to destroy all and devour all (Dupont, Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement. TAN Books, Rockford (IL), 1973, p. 53).

Whether this is a reference to some type of power agreement with the Beast (Revelation 17:12-13) or the ecumenical council (cf. Revelation 13:1-4), notice that it is expected to be satanic (Satan is the Dragon, per Revelation 12:9).

A Catholic prophecy shows that after its church is reformed/changed, the Orthodox (called the Greeks sometimes in Roman Catholic writings) will come back:

Roger Bacon (died 1294): There shall arise a…priest to reform the Church. The Greeks will return (to the Church)…there will be one fold, one shepherd (Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, p. 149).

All (Catholic or otherwise) should be careful, compare their teachings with the Bible, pray to God, and not accept doctrines that are unbiblical for the sake of this coming ecumenical unity.

Now, perhaps I should mention that while most of the members of the Eastern Orthodox Church I have spoken with are generally opposed to unity with the Catholics of Rome, much of the Orthodox clergy seems to be in favor of it (especially in Europe). Most Roman Catholics I have spoken with do not believe that they should change doctrine for unity with the Orthodox or others.

All people, whether they profess Christ or not, need to take heed and NOT support the coming ecumenical unity if it is supported by signs and apparent miracles (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12). Despite denials by many who now oppose ecumenical unity, the Bible warns that nearly all, however, will end up being deceived (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 13:1-4,8).

Only the elect, those who truly will “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) and who received “the love of the truth” (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:10) will not fall for this. Will you? Do you really have “the love of the truth”?

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Why Should American Catholics Should Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster?
Orthodox Must Reject Unity with the Roman Catholics The talks for unification involve compromise and the apparent rising up of a changed religion that no one should accept.
India, Its Biblical Past and Future: Any Witness? The Bible discusses the origins of those of Indian heritage and discusses some of the witness to them (including those in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka).
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers?