April 4, 2005
Pope John Paul II and My Empty List
I’m sure you folks all know by now that Pope John Paul II has passed away.
He was the third-longest-serving pope in the history of the Catholic Church.
John Paul left some mighty big shoes for his successor to fill. He set the record of being the most traveled pontiff. He visited dozens of nations and met with a host of world leaders. During his life, he became the most recognized religious leader in the world.
Karol Wojtyla was viewed as an outsider before he was elected in October 1978. Most Catholics had never heard of him and at the time, selecting someone from Poland--an eastern block communist country--was viewed an novel choice. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
Historians say his greatest legacy will be his role in the fall of communism in Europe. Joseph Stalin once mockingly asked, “How many divisions does the Pope have?” The ruthless dictator would have been stunned to see that military might could not prevent the Church aided revolutuion that overthrew communism in one eastern Europe nation after another.
Pope John Paul’s orthodox line on many Church teachings was a source of irritation for liberal believers who did not like his proclamations against contraception, abortion, married priests and homosexuality.
As an evangelical Christian I have many differences with the Catholic Church; however, I find it very odd that John Paul's teachings on morality put most leaders in the Protestant camp to shame.
The passing of John Paul will likely prove to be a major event in prophecy. His departure could clear the way for the progression of many end-time events.
For 20 years, I have maintained a list of people who, I have believed, needed to be removed from power before prophecy can advance. The Bible says events need to work in a certain direction, and sometimes someone stands in the way.
Because they prevent the fulfillment of prophecy, I refer to these people as blocking agents. I believe God puts people into positions of power until the time is right for events to move forward. Some of the previous world leaders I have had on my list include Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev and Yasser Arafat.
After Yasser Arafat died last year, only one name remained on my list. Of course, his name was Pope John Paul II. What now remains is a world full of people who are unwilling or unable to stand in the way of the tribulation hour.
The reason I perceived him as a blocking agent was his mismatch with the predicted false prophet. The Bible tells us the Antichrist will be aided by a religious leader who will unite all the world’s religions under one banner.
Pope John II was very helpful in laying the foundation for the global ecumenical movement, but he did not fit the description of the false prophet. The most obvious disqualifier was his conservative view and his Church's incompatibility with non-Christian faiths. John Paul was eager to meet with the leaders of other faiths, but he maintained the supremacy of Catholicism. Later in his life, his advanced age made it all but certain that he could carry out an end-time role.
In the coming days, it will be immensely important to learn what type of leader will replace John Paul II. Because the pope generally serves for life and heads a flock with 1.1 billion followers, his potential influence on prophecy cannot be overlooked.
If a new pope should emerge from the liberal wing of the Catholic Church, it may become fair to say that we are in the last days of the last days.
"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev. 17:1-5).
Going for the Record... Again, Again, and Again
The frequency of natural disasters is starting to get very interesting. We are in a pattern that I have never before seen in my lifetime. Every few weeks, some new record is set by a disaster somewhere in the world.
In my February 28, 2005 update, I wrote an article entitled “Going for the Record... Again.”
That article highlighted the oddity of several record-breaking natural disasters over the past year.
On March 21, I returned to the subject with an article about a massive cyclone striking Australia. The title of that update could have been, "Going for the Record... Again and Again."
I chose as this week's title “Going for the Record... Again, Again, and Again” because of the magnitude-8.7 earthquake that struck off the northwestern coast of Indonesia.
The temblor was related to the 9.0 magnitude undersea quake on December 26 that killed as many as 270,000 people around the Indian Ocean. Because this latest quake did not trigger a large tsunami wave, only a few thousand people died.
The March 28 quake was still massive by historic measures. It ranks in the top ten of the most powerful quakes of the past century. We would have to look back to the New Madrid quake of 1811-1812 to find twin quakes of this intensity.
If this pattern of back-to-back calamities continues during the near future, shortness of time should be the driving reality for every Christian. We have already reached the point at which the first few years of the 21st century will be reflected on as a time of where the frequency of natural disasters was usually high.
It is my observation that we are experiencing the final stage of the birth pangs Jesus warned the Church to look for.
"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are {merely} the beginning of birth pangs” (Mat. 24:7-8).
-- Todd
End-Time Lure to Mel Gibson
I have an acquaintance in Hollywood. He and I have very similar roots in that, as children, we both call a little –and I mean little—town in southern Arkansas the place of our beginnings on this big, beautiful planet. His mother and my mother were best friends in Hampton High School.
We have little in common anymore. He is a close friend to former President Bill Clinton and still associates with him on occasion, I suspect. Harry Thomason is his name –married to Linda Bloodworth-Thomason these days.
Harry–at that time co-owner of a Little Rock film company that made commercials-- and I worked together on an advertising presentation for the company I served as director of advertising and public relations. We failed to make the sale to the chairman of the board, although he did praise the effort as “very creative.” Not creative enough to spend the bucks to make it come alive on the TV screens of Arkansas and America, however.
Harry and I haven’t had dealings since then. Harry’s career caught fire and rocketed to Hollywood, Ms. Bloodworth, and a personal friendship with a president. My flame took me on a less spectacular arc, sometimes doing pretty well, sputtering, then doing okay again.
Harry lives his days and nights under the blinding lights of glitz and glitter. I live mine –well—just blind. Physically, but not spiritually, I’m thankful to say.
Now to segue into my subject. I would like to have a moment or two alone with a Hollywood personality again. I’m really shooting for the top, not just for one whose rocket hasn’t yet ignited. I would like to put out a plea to the blockbuster champion of the recent past, Mr. Mel Gibson. How’s that for ambition?
That’s why I call the piece, “A Lure to Mel Gibson.” With that you can discern my advertising/PR background, right?
What do I want to talk to Mr. Gibson, superstar, about? What else? The return of Christ!
What a title, huh?! “The Return of the Christ.”
So, Mr. Gibson, how about it? Just 20 minutes or so. I can give you a concept for a sequel that will –well, to be honest—it probably will not make you too popular. Guess that’s not much of a lure after all, is it?
But, who knows? I would have said that a picture depicting “The Passion of the Christ” would have flopped, too.
I didn’t see Harry’s potential, so what do I know? On the other hand, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins have done pretty well with the subject in the written form.
This I can tell you with absolute certainty, Mr. Gibson, a film about the Revelation of Jesus Christ and His coming again in great power and glory –if produced with the kind of money and dynamic creativity you have at your fingertips—will rock the entertainment world and the rest of the planet, too—with seismic quaking never before experienced in movie theaters.
The first coming of Jesus as a humble little baby to be sacrificed as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, in contrast to His return at the end of the great war called Armageddon, will be stupefying to a world of earth-dwellers God says are rebels that must be judged by His righteous wrath.
You portrayed the Lord as a man willing to make the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. But that’s barely scratching the surface of the greatest story ever told. And that story has never been fully told on the big screen. But, again, people don’t want to think about God’s judgment. You would be risking your phenomenal record as one who bucked the gurus of Hollywood.
We at Rapture Ready stand prepared to advise on the “Return of the Christ.” Just 20 minutes –maybe 30—that’s all we ask. Let us show you what happens from the place where your movie ended. The timing at this moment in human history is right. Jesus can catastrophically intervene into the affairs of this world at any moment. The story –yet future—will absolutely stagger you, Mr. Gibson. I guarantee it. Let us show you what the passion of Jesus Christ is all about in its fullest sense.
Anybody out there with Hollywood contacts? How about our Aussie friends down under? Anyone know Mel?
“The Return of the Christ.” Coming very soon, not necessarily to theaters near you!
--Terry
