Malaysia Makes 179 Nations With Full Diplomatic Relations with Vatican City

Vatican City (photo by Joyce Thiel)

The Islamic nation of Malaysia joined 178 other nations to enter into full diplomatic relations with Vatican City:

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 11, 2012 (Zenit.org).- With Malaysia being the latest addition, there are now 179 states that enjoy full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

Benedict XVI on Monday gave his traditional address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, and the Vatican press office offered a summary of the highlights of the Vatican’s diplomatic activity in 2011.

Added to the 179 states are the European Union, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the Office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In regard to international organizations, the Holy See is present at the U.N. in the capacity of observer and is a member of seven U.N. organizations and agencies, an observer in an additional eight and a member or observer of five regional organizations.

Last Dec. 5 in Geneva, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) approved the Holy See’s status as a member. http://www.zenit.org/article-34102?l=english

Is this necessarily a good thing?

The Bible warns of a woman that makes compromising deals with the nations of the world:

1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. (Revelation 17:1-6)

Notice what a Catholic scholar has written:

There was a strong anti-Roman tradition in the early Church. Rome was the harlot city soaked in the blood of the saints, the centre from which spread out wave after wave of persecution. The Book of Revelations’ gloating vision of the coming ruin of Rome, ‘Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great’ (Revelations 14:8), remained a persistent strand so long as the empire continued to persecute the church, and survived even into the Middle Ages (Duffy, Eamon. Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes. Yale University Press, New Haven (CT), 2002, pp.2,6).

So, the early Christians tied in the warnings about the harlot city Rome with Babylon.

Does that have any applicability now?

Yes, and it is not just us in the Living Church of God who believe that. Notice what the January 2012 newsletter from the Fatima Center (a Catholic-ran publication) reported about the Vatican’s new relationship with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) :

In what some laud as a promising partnership, the Holy See announced that it has joined the International Organization for Migration.

The avowed purpose of the organization is to facilitate an “orderly and humane” process of allowing people to move from one nation to another. Many migrants, especially unprotected women and children, are exploited by international sex trafficking rings, and combating this exploitation is one of the chief current purposes of the organization.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the latest incarnation of a group that began in the wake of World War II when millions of displaced persons lived under distressed conditions. Its initial focus was Europe, but it has since expanded to include every part of the world.

It boasts a budget of about $1 billion, has more than 5400 employees and offices in about 100 countries. Its policy on abortion is not stated explicitly in the voluminous if somewhat vague information offered on its web sites concerning gender issues, but it does support the activities of World Aids Day for the prevention of HIV, which presumably includes the distribution of condoms.

It would seem that the Church has again entered into an unholy alliance in its attempt to get in step with the modern world. When will the Church realize that the modern world and the Catholic Faith are moving in different directions?

The above is trying to tell Catholics that compromise is occurring. Yet sadly, more serious compromise is expected.

As far as Malaysia goes, my family and I have visited this multi-island nation and would like to visit it again. Malaysia is basically an Islamic country, and even not Muslim, we were treated well there.

Catholic and biblical prophecy point to a time when many of the Muslims will at least temporarily enter into a deal with Catholic leaders (cf. Revelation 13:4,8; Daniel 11:27; Psalm 83:3-8). What Malaysia’s likely involvement would be in such an arrangement is not biblically clear (Catholic prophecies seem to point to the conversion of Asians to Catholicism), other than it seems that Malaysia, like the rest of the nations in the world, would apparently support such an arrangement (Revelation 13:4,8). But ultimately, it would seem that those in Malaysia and most of the rest of Asia will rebel against the power that is strongly aligned with Rome (Revelation 16:12).

The news about Malaysia entering into full diplomatic relations with Vatican City may be a step towards the fulfillment of various prophecies.

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?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon?
Islands and Bible Prophecy What’s ahead for islands? What does the Bible prophesy 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?
What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.
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. Português: Qual é fiel: A igreja católica romana ou a igreja viva do deus? Tambien Español: Cuál es fiel: ¿La iglesia católica romana o La Iglesia del Dios Viviente? Auch: Deutsch: Welches zuverlässig ist: Die Römisch-katholische Kirche oder die lebende Kirche von Gott?