ARE ALL RELIGIONS NOW COMING UNDER ONE UMBRELLA?
“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. 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.” Revelation 13:11,12
Pope Francis urged members of all religions and those belonging to no church on Wednesday to unite to defend justice, peace and the environment and not allow the value of a person to be reduced to “what he produces and what he consumes”.
Francis, elected a week ago as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, met leaders of non-Catholic Christian religions such as Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists, and others including Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus.
“The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of furthering respect of friendship between men and women of different religious traditions,” the Argentine pontiff told the religious leaders in an audience at the Vatican.
Speaking in Italian in the frescoed Sala Clementina, he said members of all religions and even non-believers had to recognize their joint responsibility “to our world, to all of creation, which we have to love and protect.
“We must do much for the good of the poorest, the weak, and those who are suffering, to favor justice, promote reconciliation and build peace,” he said.
Francis told the religious leaders to fight “a one-dimensional vision of a human person, according to which man is reduced to what he produces and what he consumes,” which he said was “one of the most dangerous snares of our times”.
While he said history had shown that any attempt to eliminate God had produced “much violence,” he reached out to those who seek truth, goodness and beauty without belonging to any religion.
“They are our precious allies in the commitment to defend human dignity, build a more peaceful coexistence among people and protect nature with care,” he said.
Source – Yahoo News
Does this mean the Pope is the the false prophet as many have started insinuating? I truly do not know. However, any call to both Christians and non-Christians, including even those with no religion and no belief in any God, to unite in one religious belief cannot be simply glossed over. This call, if interpreted literally, is a strong rebellion against God's own Word from someone who cannot claim ignorance of what God's Word teaches. However, could he have meant it in an innocent way? I also do not know. What I do know is that the Holy Scriptures, throughout the Old and New Testaments, consistently teach AGAINST any form of deep alliance with those who do not know nor honor God. The verse that readily comes to my mind is 2 Cor 6:14-16:-
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.
It therefore goes without saying that this call for the unity of all religions, and this assumption that all deities being worshiped by other religions is the same as the Almighty God of Israel, cannot be anything but a wrong call and a false assumption respectively.
On the other hand, however, I cannot say for sure who is the false prophet or the beast as referred to in Revelations 13. There are many true devout men of God who have prophetic ministries in this regard and who have addressed this issue much better that I can. Suffice it to say that there are several schools of thought as to who and also as to the manner in which these characters will be revealed. I have no doubt in my mind, however, that we are in the end times.
If you ask my opinion on this particular matter of who is who or who is what, I will say we should allow events to play out and let God be God. In my own humble opinion, Christians everywhere should be more concerned with strengthening their relationship with Jesus Christ, with living a higher life of love, with ensuring that they carry the gospel to as many as they can in obedience to the great commission, and with living a life of true saltiness and true shining Christian lamps (Matt 5:13-16). The matter of whether this will be the very last Catholic Pontiff should be left to the one true and only God, the God of Israel, who knows all things, sees all things and is present in all places.
Let us continue to watch events as they unfold. And as we watch, let us not forget to be on our guard regularly praying fervently for ourselves, our loved ones and every one we come across; and let us not worry much who is who as end time events play themselves out, but always bearing in mind Jesus' exhortation in Luke 21:34 (NASB):-
"Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
And finally, let us not play God but let God who is always true be God!
“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. 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.” Revelation 13:11,12
Pope Francis urged members of all religions and those belonging to no church on Wednesday to unite to defend justice, peace and the environment and not allow the value of a person to be reduced to “what he produces and what he consumes”.
Francis, elected a week ago as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, met leaders of non-Catholic Christian religions such as Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists, and others including Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus.
“The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of furthering respect of friendship between men and women of different religious traditions,” the Argentine pontiff told the religious leaders in an audience at the Vatican.
Speaking in Italian in the frescoed Sala Clementina, he said members of all religions and even non-believers had to recognize their joint responsibility “to our world, to all of creation, which we have to love and protect.
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| The new Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis, works toward one world religion |
“We must do much for the good of the poorest, the weak, and those who are suffering, to favor justice, promote reconciliation and build peace,” he said.
Francis told the religious leaders to fight “a one-dimensional vision of a human person, according to which man is reduced to what he produces and what he consumes,” which he said was “one of the most dangerous snares of our times”.
While he said history had shown that any attempt to eliminate God had produced “much violence,” he reached out to those who seek truth, goodness and beauty without belonging to any religion.
“They are our precious allies in the commitment to defend human dignity, build a more peaceful coexistence among people and protect nature with care,” he said.
Source – Yahoo News
What Does This Mean
In these end times, and with the rapidity with which several Bible prophecies are being fulfilled, this news item above will cause quit a stir and lead a lot of eyebrows to rise. A call from a religious personality like the Catholic Pontiff towards a one world religion is not something to cast aside.Does this mean the Pope is the the false prophet as many have started insinuating? I truly do not know. However, any call to both Christians and non-Christians, including even those with no religion and no belief in any God, to unite in one religious belief cannot be simply glossed over. This call, if interpreted literally, is a strong rebellion against God's own Word from someone who cannot claim ignorance of what God's Word teaches. However, could he have meant it in an innocent way? I also do not know. What I do know is that the Holy Scriptures, throughout the Old and New Testaments, consistently teach AGAINST any form of deep alliance with those who do not know nor honor God. The verse that readily comes to my mind is 2 Cor 6:14-16:-
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.
It therefore goes without saying that this call for the unity of all religions, and this assumption that all deities being worshiped by other religions is the same as the Almighty God of Israel, cannot be anything but a wrong call and a false assumption respectively.
On the other hand, however, I cannot say for sure who is the false prophet or the beast as referred to in Revelations 13. There are many true devout men of God who have prophetic ministries in this regard and who have addressed this issue much better that I can. Suffice it to say that there are several schools of thought as to who and also as to the manner in which these characters will be revealed. I have no doubt in my mind, however, that we are in the end times.
If you ask my opinion on this particular matter of who is who or who is what, I will say we should allow events to play out and let God be God. In my own humble opinion, Christians everywhere should be more concerned with strengthening their relationship with Jesus Christ, with living a higher life of love, with ensuring that they carry the gospel to as many as they can in obedience to the great commission, and with living a life of true saltiness and true shining Christian lamps (Matt 5:13-16). The matter of whether this will be the very last Catholic Pontiff should be left to the one true and only God, the God of Israel, who knows all things, sees all things and is present in all places.
Let us continue to watch events as they unfold. And as we watch, let us not forget to be on our guard regularly praying fervently for ourselves, our loved ones and every one we come across; and let us not worry much who is who as end time events play themselves out, but always bearing in mind Jesus' exhortation in Luke 21:34 (NASB):-
"Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
And finally, let us not play God but let God who is always true be God!
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