Papal conclave about to begin: What characteristics would the final pope have?

Vatican City (photo by Joyce Thiel)

The cardinals of the Church of Rome are to start voting in not too many hours for the next pope:

March 11, 2013

Rome (CNN) — Preparations, both spiritual and practical, neared completion at the Vatican on Monday, where Roman Catholic cardinals will gather to begin the process of selecting the next pope.

The conclave — the secret papal election — begins Tuesday in the Sistine Chapel, which has been closed to the public while Vatican staff readied the ornately decorated vestry for deliberations. http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/11/world/europe/vatican-pope-selection/index.html

In the 12th century, a bishop (who was later canonized as a saint by Rome) named Malachy predicted, with what some believe is complete accuracy, every pope since 1143. The Catholic Encyclopedia has stated:

The most famous and best known prophecies about the popes are those attributed to St. Malachy…These short prophetical announcements, in number 112, indicate some noticeable trait of all future popes from Celestine II, who was elected in the year 1143, until the end of the world.(Devine, Arthur. “Prophecy.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 10 Mar. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12473a.htm>)

Another Catholic writing has stated:

Priest Gaudentius Rossi (19^th century): According to St. Malachy, then, only ten, or at most eleven, popes remain to be in future more or less legitimately elected. We say more or less legitimately elected, because out of those future popes it is to be feared that one or two will be unlawfully elected as anti-popes. (Rossi, Gaudentius. The Christian Trumpet: Or, Previsions and Predictions about Impending General Calamities, the Universal Triumph of the Church, the Coming of the Anti-Christ, the Last Judgment, and the End of the World; Divided Into Three Parts, 4th edition. Patrick Donahoe, 1875. Original from Oxford University. Digitized Sep 1, 2006, p. 203)

If the list is complete, then the next pope is the final pope and would be an antipope/antichrist who betray Rome.

According to some very old tradition (Hippolytus of Rome wrote of this in the early third century, On Christ and Antichrist, Chapter 14), this person would be from the tribe of Dan. This would suggest that the individual would be of Irish or Danish heritage.

On the other hand, various Catholic writings suggest that this individual would be of Germanic heritage.

Because the Beast of the sea of Revelation 13:1-10 is heavily promoted by the Beast of the land (the final Antichrist) of Revelation 13:11-17, the two of them would be expected to be able to communicate well between themselves. Because of that, one or both would be expected to be fluent in German and/or the English languages.

Will this be the next pope?

This is possible. The timing of this papal election is consistent with biblical prophecy.

In both Malachy’s description of the one who would be the next, and potentially last, pope and chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation we see:

Reference to the city of seven hills/mountains.
The destruction of the city of seven hills/mountains.
The end of a power in Rome.
Persecution.
Troubles/tribulations on the earth.
A type of judgment.
Events for the end time.

Whether or not the next pope is the last pope, the fact is that the last pope on the Malachy list seems to be warned against in the Holy Bible.

We will see who will be elected Pontifex Maximus relatively soon. According to certain interpretations of Catholic private prophecy, including the Malachy list, the next pope would be the final pope, as well as a compromising persecuting, antipope. According to biblical prophecy an ecumenical false persecuting religious leader is to rise up very soon (Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?).

According to biblical prophecy, the last pope will be ecumenical (cf. Revelation 13:4,8,14). The last pope will be political (Revelation 13:14-17). The last pope will also perform signs that will deceive many (Revelation 13:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11)–though this may not be apparent for some time, even if the pope that is next elected is that leader. The last pope will have economic influence (Revelation 13:16-17). The last pope will allow Rome to be betrayed (cf. Revelation 17:15-18). He will also be involved in getting armies to gather in Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16) that will fight Jesus (Revelation 19:19-20).

This warned about leader could very well be the one elected pontiff, possibly this month.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Malachy Prophecies and “Peter the Roman” An Irish bishop allegedly predicted something about 112 popes in the 12th century. Pope Benedict XVI was number 111. The next pope would be number 112 and is to reign until Rome is destroyed. May he be an antipope/final Antichrist?
Pope Benedict XVI and the next pope Will the pope that succeeds Pope Benedict XVI fulfill biblical and non-biblical prophecies? What about Pope Benedict himself? Pope Benedict XVI resigned his pontificate effective February 28, 2013. Might his resignation lead to the fulfillment of prophecy? Might his resignation lead to the prophesied Antichrist according to biblical and Catholic prophecies? Do Catholic prophecies foretell of an antipope as the next pope? Is the Peter the Roman of the Malachy prophecies the next pope? Is there a 6,000 year plan? Is the 6,000 year almost up?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2021 or 20xx?
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet”. Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy.
Is There an Islamic Antichrist? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? 1964 article by David Jon Hill, originally published in the old Good News magazine.
Peter and Rome He was an original apostle and early Christian leader. Where was Peter buried? Where did Peter die?
Overview: How Does the Church of God Agree and Disagree with Other Faiths Professing Christ? This overview answers that and explains what the Church of God basically stands for. In the appendices provides information about certain complaints and as well as an overview about many COG-related groups.
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. Is telling the truth about the early church citing Catholic accepted sources anti-Catholic? 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.
Apostolic Succession What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible? Did you know that Catholic scholars really do not believe that several of the claimed “apostolic sees” of the Orthodox have apostolic succession–despite the fact that the current pontiff himself seems to wish to ignore this view? Is there actually a true church that has ties to any of the apostles that is not part of the Catholic or Orthodox churches? Read this article if you truly are interested in the truth on this matter!
Early Church History: Who Were the Two Major Groups Professed Christ in the Second and Third Centuries? Did you know that many in the second and third centuries felt that there were two major, and separate, professing Christian groups in the second century, but that those in the majority churches tend to now blend the groups together and claim “saints” from both? “Saints” that condemn some of their current beliefs. Who are the two groups?
Nazarene Christianity: Were the Original Christians Nazarenes? Should Christians be Nazarenes today? What were the practices of the Nazarenes.
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?
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?